therefore, he endeavour'd to get a true Notion of the Form of some one
thing, whose Essence was the most simple and uncompounded. Now he
perceiv'd that the Essence of Animals and Plants consisted of a great
many Properties, because of the great variety of their Operations; for
which reason, he deferr'd the enquiring into their Forms. As for the
Parts of the _Earth_, he saw that some of them were more simple than
others, and therefore resolv'd to begin his Enquiry with the most simple
of all. So he perceiv'd that _Water_, was a thing, whose Essence was not
compounded of many Qualities, which appear'd from the Paucity of those
Actions which arise from its Form. The same he likewise observ'd in the
_Fire_, and _Air_.

§ 46. Now he had a Notion before, that all these four might be chang'd
one into another; and therefore there must be some one thing which they
jointly participated of, and that this thing was Corporeity. Now 'twas
necessary, that this one thing which was common them all, should be
altogether free from those _Qualities_, by which these four were
distinguish'd one from the other; and be neither _heavy_ nor _light_;
_hot_ nor _cold; moist_ nor _dry_; because none of these Qualities were
common to all Bodies, and therefore could not appertain to _Body_ as
such. And that if it were possible to find any such Body, in which there
was no other Form superadded to _Corporeity_, it would have none, of
these Qualities, nor indeed any other but what were common to all
Bodies, with what Form soever endu'd. He consider'd therefore with
himself, to see if he could find any one Adjunct or Property which was
common to all Bodies, both animate and inanimate; but he found nothing
of that Nature, but only the Notion of _Extension,_ and that he
perceiv'd was common to all Bodies, _viz_. That they had all of them
_length, breadth_, and _thickness_. Whence he gather'd, that this
Property belong'd to Body, as Body. However, his Sense could not