very much greater in reference to their Disposition of Reflecting the
imaginary subtile Beams of Light. For in Black Bodies, those Little
intercepted Cavities, and other Depressions, may be so Figur'd, so Narrow
and so Deep, that the incident Beams of Light, which the more extant Parts
of the Physical Superficies are dispos'd to Reflect inwards, may be
Detain'd there, and prove unable to Emerge; whilst in a White Body, the
Slender Particles may not only by their Figure be fitted to Reflect the
Light copiously outwards, but the intercepted Cavities being not Deep, nor
perhaps very Narrow, the Bottoms of them may be so Constituted, as to be
fit to Reflect outwards much of the Light that falls even upon Them; as you
may possibly better apprehend, when we shall come to treat of Whiteness and
Blackness. In the mean time it may suffice, that you take Notice with me,
that the Blind mans Relations import no necessity of Concluding, that,
though, because, according to the Judgment of his Touch, Black was the
Roughest, as it is the Darkest of Colours, therefore White, which
(according to us) is the Lightest, should be also the Smoothest: since I
observe, that he makes Yellow to be two Degrees more Asperous than Blew,
and as much less Asperous than Green; whereas indeed, Yellow do's not only
appear to the Eye a Lighter Colour than Blew, but (by our first Experiment
hereafter to be mention'd) it will appear, that Yellow reflected much more
Light than Blew, and manifestly more than Green, (which we need not much
wonder at, since in this Colour and the two others (Blew and Yellow) 'tis
not _only_ the _Reflected Light_ that is to be considered, since to produce
both these, _Refraction_ seems to Intervene, which by its Varieties may
much alter the Case:) which both seems to strengthen the Conjecture I was
formerly proposing, that there was something else in the _Kinds_ of
Asperity, as well as in the _Degrees_ of it, which enabled our Blind man to
Discriminate Colours, and do's at least show, that we cannot in all Cases
from the bare Difference in the Degrees of Asperity betwixt Colours, safely
conclude, that the Rougher of any two always Reflects the least Light.