Author: Poems and Fancies Research Assistant

The branchèd atoms form each planted thing:
The hooked points pull out, and make¹ them spring;
The atoms round give juice, the sharp give heat,²
And those grow herbs, and fruits, and flowers sweet.³
Those that are square and flat, not rough withal,                5
Make those which stone and minerals we call.
But in all stones and minerals (no doubt)
Sharp points do lie, which fiery sparks⁴ strike out.
Thus vegetables and minerals do⁵ grow
According as the several atoms go.                                         10
In animals all figures do agree,
But in mankind the best of atoms be.
And thus, for ought we know, the world’s whole frame⁶
May last unto eternity the same.⁷

Such kind of atoms which¹ make heat, make cold,
Like pincers sharp that² nip and do take hold.
But atoms that are pointed sharp pierce through,³
And atoms which are sharp and⁴ hooked pull to.
Yet all must into pointed figures turn,                                 5
For atoms blunt will never freeze nor burn.
’Cause blunt figures do to a soft form⁵ bend,
And soft do⁶ unto wet or liquid tend.

¹

What makes a spark of fire to burn more quick
Than a great flame? Because ’tis small to stick.
For fire itself is in its nature dry,²
Falls into parts as crowds of atoms lie.
The sharpest atoms keep the body hot;                                 5
To give out heat some atoms forth are shot.
Sometimes the sparks for anger fly about,³
Or, wanting room, do thrust the weakest⁴out.
They are so sharp, that what they meet, devour⁵⁶
If other atoms them not overpower:⁷                                    10
As ants, though⁸ small, will eat up a dead horse,
So atoms sharp use⁹ bodies of less force.
Thus atoms sharp grow¹⁰ sharper by degrees,
As stings in flies are not so sharp as bees’.
And when they meet a body solid, flat,                                 15
The weakest fly; the sharpest work on that.
Those that are not so sharp do fly about
To seek some lighter matter to eat¹¹ out.
Thus¹² lighter atoms do turn air¹³ to flame,
Because more thin and porous is the same.                         20
Thus flame is not so hot as burning coal:¹⁴
The atoms are too weak to take fast hold.¹⁵
The sharpest into firmest bodies fly,
But if their strength be small, they quickly die.
Or if their number be not great, but small,                          25
The blunter atoms beat and quench out all.

The¹ pointed atoms all to fire do² turn,
And being sharp, do pierce, which we call burn.³
But by their dryness they become so light⁴
As they do get above the rest in flight,⁵
Where⁶ by consent a wheel of fire they make,⁷              5
Which being spherical, doth round motion take.⁸
This motion makes round⁹ atoms turn about,
Which atoms round are water, without doubt,
And¹⁰ makes the sea go round, like¹¹ watermill,
For as the sun, so water turns round¹² still.                    10

All pointed atoms¹ to life do² tend,
Whether pointed all, or³ at one end,
Or whether they be set round like a ring,⁴
Or whether long and⁵ rolled as on a string.
Those which are pointed, straight, quick motion give,  5
But those that bow and bend, more dull do live.
For life lives dull or merrily⁶
According as sharp atoms be.⁷
And thus the only cause why things do die⁸
Or live, is⁹ as the mixèd atoms lie.                                    10

Life is a fire, that burns¹ full hot,
But when round wat’ry atoms pow’r have got,
Then² do they quench life’s atoms out—
Blunting their points—and kill their courage stout.
Thus they sometimes thrust out each other quite,³      5
When equal mixed, do quietly unite.⁴
The cause⁵ why things do live and die,
Is as the mixèd⁶ atoms lie.

When sick and well the body is by fits,¹
Atoms are fighting,² but none the better gets.
If they agree, then health returns again,
And so shall live as long as peace remain.³

When atoms round do join into one ball,¹
Then they swell high and grow hydropical.
And joining thus they do² so powerful grow,
As they all other atoms overflow.³

Sharp atoms when they meet do get such heat,¹
Such power and strength, as they all others² beat,
And being hot, become³ so very dry,
They drink life’s moisture up, make⁴ motion die.

Long airy atoms, when they are combined,
Do spread themselves abroad, and so make¹ wind,
Making a length and breadth extend so far,²
That³ all the rest can neither go nor stir,⁴
And, being forced, not in the right places⁵ lie;                      5
Thus⁶ pressed too hard, man in great pain doth lie.⁷