DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68888#0130
Micrographia.
Their Blues are several kinds of Smalts^ and Verditures^ and Bifi^ and
Vltratnarine^ and Indico, which last has many dirty or dark parts inter-
mixt with it.
Their compounded colour’d bodies, as Pinl^ and Verdigrefe^which are
Greens, the one a Popingay the other a Sea-green 5 then Lac3which is a
very lovely Purple.
To which may be added their Black and White, which they also
usually call Colours, of each of which they have several kinds, such as
Bone Blacky made of Ivory burnt in a close Vessel, and Blue Blacky made
of the (mail coal of Willow^ or seme other Wood 5 and Cullens earthy
which is a kind of brown Black, &c. Their usual Whites are either ar-
tificial or natural White Lead, the last of which is the bestthey yet have,
and with the mixing and tempering these colours together, are they able
to make an imitation of any colour whatsoever: Their Reds or deep
Yellows, they can dilute by mixing pale Yellows with them, and deepen
their pale by mixing deeper with them 5 for it is not with Opacous co-
lours as it is with tranlparent, whereby adding more Yellow to yellow,
it is deepned, but in opacous diluted. They can whiten any colour by mix-
ing White withit, and darken any colour by mixing Black, or some dark
and dirty colour. And in a word, most of the colours, or colour’d
bodies they use in Limning and Painting, are such, as though mixt with
any other of their colours, they prelerve their own hue, and by being in
inch very sinal parts dispers’d through the other colour’d bodies, they
both, or altogether represent to the eye a contpositum of all 5 the eye be-
ing unable, by realbn of their sinalnels, to distinguilh the peculiarly co-
lour’d particles, but receives them as one intire compojitum : whereas in
many of these, the Microscope very easily distinguilhes each of the com-
pounding colours distimft, and exhibiting its own colour.
Thus have I by gently mixing Vermilion and Bise dry, produc’d a very
fine Purple,or mixt colour,but looking on it with the Mier osc ope., I could
easily distinguilh both the Red and the Blue particles, which did not at
all produce the Phantafm of Purple.
To siimm up all therefore in a word, I have not yet found any iblid
colour’d body,that I have yet examin’d,perfeftly opacous 5 but thole that
are least tranlparent are Metalline and Mineral bodies, whose particles ge-
nerally, leeming either to be very small, or very much ssaw’d, appear
for the most part opacous, though there are very few of them that I have
look’d on with a Microfeope, that have not very plainly or circumstanti-
ally manifested themlelves transparent.
And indeed, there leem to be lb few bodies in the world that are in
minimis opacous, that I think one may make it a rational gsuery^ Whether
there be any body ablblutely thus opacous For I doubt not.at all (and I
have taken notice of Very many circumstances that make me of this
mind) that could we very much improve the Microfcope^ we might be
able to lee all thole bodies very plainly tranlparent, which we now are
sain onely to ghels at by circumstances. Nay, the Objetft Glasses we
yet make use of are such, that they make many tranlparent bodies to the
Their Blues are several kinds of Smalts^ and Verditures^ and Bifi^ and
Vltratnarine^ and Indico, which last has many dirty or dark parts inter-
mixt with it.
Their compounded colour’d bodies, as Pinl^ and Verdigrefe^which are
Greens, the one a Popingay the other a Sea-green 5 then Lac3which is a
very lovely Purple.
To which may be added their Black and White, which they also
usually call Colours, of each of which they have several kinds, such as
Bone Blacky made of Ivory burnt in a close Vessel, and Blue Blacky made
of the (mail coal of Willow^ or seme other Wood 5 and Cullens earthy
which is a kind of brown Black, &c. Their usual Whites are either ar-
tificial or natural White Lead, the last of which is the bestthey yet have,
and with the mixing and tempering these colours together, are they able
to make an imitation of any colour whatsoever: Their Reds or deep
Yellows, they can dilute by mixing pale Yellows with them, and deepen
their pale by mixing deeper with them 5 for it is not with Opacous co-
lours as it is with tranlparent, whereby adding more Yellow to yellow,
it is deepned, but in opacous diluted. They can whiten any colour by mix-
ing White withit, and darken any colour by mixing Black, or some dark
and dirty colour. And in a word, most of the colours, or colour’d
bodies they use in Limning and Painting, are such, as though mixt with
any other of their colours, they prelerve their own hue, and by being in
inch very sinal parts dispers’d through the other colour’d bodies, they
both, or altogether represent to the eye a contpositum of all 5 the eye be-
ing unable, by realbn of their sinalnels, to distinguilh the peculiarly co-
lour’d particles, but receives them as one intire compojitum : whereas in
many of these, the Microscope very easily distinguilhes each of the com-
pounding colours distimft, and exhibiting its own colour.
Thus have I by gently mixing Vermilion and Bise dry, produc’d a very
fine Purple,or mixt colour,but looking on it with the Mier osc ope., I could
easily distinguilh both the Red and the Blue particles, which did not at
all produce the Phantafm of Purple.
To siimm up all therefore in a word, I have not yet found any iblid
colour’d body,that I have yet examin’d,perfeftly opacous 5 but thole that
are least tranlparent are Metalline and Mineral bodies, whose particles ge-
nerally, leeming either to be very small, or very much ssaw’d, appear
for the most part opacous, though there are very few of them that I have
look’d on with a Microfeope, that have not very plainly or circumstanti-
ally manifested themlelves transparent.
And indeed, there leem to be lb few bodies in the world that are in
minimis opacous, that I think one may make it a rational gsuery^ Whether
there be any body ablblutely thus opacous For I doubt not.at all (and I
have taken notice of Very many circumstances that make me of this
mind) that could we very much improve the Microfcope^ we might be
able to lee all thole bodies very plainly tranlparent, which we now are
sain onely to ghels at by circumstances. Nay, the Objetft Glasses we
yet make use of are such, that they make many tranlparent bodies to the