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On the Loadstone

William Gilbert

P. Fleury Mottelay (1893)

William Gilbert's De Magnete (On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies, 1600) is the first great work of experimental physical science in England and the founding text of the study of magnetism and electricity. Physician to Queen Elizabeth I, Gilbert systematically investigated the loadstone with his spherical 'terrella,' concluding boldly that the Earth itself is a giant magnet—so explaining the compass and the dip of the magnetic needle. Insisting on experiment over received authority, he coined the term 'electricity' and profoundly influenced Kepler and Galileo. The translation is P. Fleury Mottelay's of 1893.

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Contents

  1. Preface
  2. The Author's Preface
  3. Interpretation of Certain Words
  4. Book I
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2: Magnet Stone, of what kind it is, and its
    3. Chapter 3: The Loadstone has parts distinct in their natural
    4. Chapter 4: Which pole of the stone is the Boreal: & how it is
    5. Chapter 5: Loadstone seems to attract Loadstone when in natural
    6. Chapter 6: Loadstone attracts the ore of iron, as well as iron
    7. Chapter 7: What Iron is, and of what substance,
    8. Chapter 8: In what countries and districts iron
    9. Chapter 9: Iron ore attracts iron ore.
    10. Chapter 10: *Iron ore has poles, and acquires them, and settles
    11. Chapter 11: *Wrought Iron, not excited by a loadstone,
    12. Chapter 12: *A long piece of Iron, even though not excited by a
    13. Chapter 13: *Wrought iron has in itself certain parts Boreal and Austral:
    14. Chapter 14: Concerning other powers of loadstone, and its
    15. Chapter 15: The Medicinal Virtue of Iron.
    16. Chapter 16: That loadstone & iron ore are the same, but iron an
    17. Chapter 17: That the globe of the earth is magnetick, & a magnet; &
  5. Book II
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2: On the Magnetick Coition, and first on the
    3. Chapter 3: Opinions of others on Magnetick Coition,
    4. Chapter 4: On Magnetick Force & Form, what it is; and on the
    5. Chapter 5: How the Power dwells in the
    6. Chapter 6: How magnetick pieces of Iron and smaller
    7. Chapter 7: On the Potency of the Magnetick Virtue, and on
    8. Chapter 8: On the geography of the Earth,
    9. Chapter 9: On the Æquinoctial Circle of the Earth
    10. Chapter 10: Magnetick Meridians of the Earth.
    11. Chapter 11: Parallels.
    12. Chapter 12: The Magnetick Horizon.
    13. Chapter 13: On the Axis and Magnetick Poles.
    14. Chapter 14: Why at the Pole itself the Coition is stronger than in
    15. Chapter 15: *
    16. Chapter 16: Showing that Movements take place by the Magnetical
    17. Chapter 17: On the Iron Cap of a Loadstone, with which
    18. Chapter 18: An armed Loadstone does not endow an
    19. Chapter 19: Union with an armed Loadstone is stronger;
    20. Chapter 20: *
    21. Chapter 21: *
    22. Chapter 22: *
    23. Chapter 23: Magnetick Force causes motion towards unity,
    24. Chapter 24: A piece of Iron placed within the Orbe of a
    25. Chapter 25: Exaltation of the power of the Magnet.
    26. Chapter 26: Why there should appear to be a greater love between
    27. Chapter 27: *The Centre of the Magnetick Virtues in the earth
    28. Chapter 28: A Loadstone attracts magneticks not only to a
    29. Chapter 29: On Variety of Strength due to Quantity
    30. Chapter 30: The Shape and Mass of the Iron are of most
    31. Chapter 31: On Long and Round Stones.
    32. Chapter 32: Certain Problems and Magnetick Experiments about
    33. Chapter 33: On the Varying Ratio of Strength, and of the Motion
    34. Chapter 34: Why a Loadstone should be stronger in its poles
    35. Chapter 35: On a Perpetual Motion Machine, mentioned
    36. Chapter 36: How a more robust Loadstone may be
    37. Chapter 37: Use of a Loadstone as it affects
    38. Chapter 38: On Cases of Attraction in other Bodies.
    39. Chapter 39: On Bodies which mutually repel one another.
  6. Book III
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2: The Directive or Versorial Virtue (which we call
    3. Chapter 3: How Iron acquires Verticity through
    4. Chapter 4: Why Iron touched by a Loadstone acquires an opposite
    5. Chapter 5: On the Touching of pieces of Iron
    6. Chapter 6: What seems an Opposing Motion in Magneticks
    7. Chapter 7: A determined Verticity and a disponent Faculty are what
    8. Chapter 8: Of Discords between pieces of Iron upon the same pole
    9. Chapter 9: Figures illustrating direction and showing varieties
    10. Chapter 10: On Mutation of Verticity and of Magnetick
    11. Chapter 11: On the Rubbing of a piece of Iron on a Loadstone
    12. Chapter 12: In what way Verticity exists in any Iron that has
    13. Chapter 13: Why no other Body, excepting a magnetick, is imbued
    14. Chapter 14: The Placing of a Loadstone above or below a magnetick
    15. Chapter 15: The Poles, Æquator, Centre in an entire Loadstone
    16. Chapter 16: If the Southern Portion of a Stone be lessened,
    17. Chapter 17: On the Use and Excellence of Versoria: and how iron
  7. Book IV
    1. Chapter 1: ON VARIATION.
    2. Chapter 2: That the variation is caused by the inæquality of the
    3. Chapter 3: The variation in any one place
    4. Chapter 4: The arc of variation is not changed equally
    5. Chapter 5: An island in Ocean does not change the variation, as
    6. Chapter 6: That variation and direction arise from the disponent
    7. Chapter 7: Why the variation from that lateral cause is not
    8. Chapter 8: On the construction of the common mariners'
    9. Chapter 9: Whether the terrestrial longitude can be found from
    10. Chapter 10: Why in various places near the pole the variations
    11. Chapter 11: Cardan's error when he seeks the distance of the
    12. Chapter 12: On the finding of the amount of variation: how great
    13. Chapter 13: The observations of variation by seamen vary, for the
    14. Chapter 14: On the variation under the æquinoctial line,
    15. Chapter 15: The variation of the magnetick needle in the great
    16. Chapter 16: On the variation in Nova Zembla.
    17. Chapter 17: Variation in the Pacifick Ocean.
    18. Chapter 18: On the variation in the Mediterranean Sea.
    19. Chapter 19: The variation in the interior of large
    20. Chapter 20: Variation in the Eastern Ocean.
    21. Chapter 21: How the deviation of the versorium is augmented and
  8. Book V
    1. Chapter 1: ON DECLINATION.
    2. Chapter 2: Diagram of declinations of the magnetick needle, when
    3. Chapter 3: *
    4. Chapter 4: Concerning the length of a versorium convenient
    5. Chapter 5: That declination does not arise from the attraction
    6. Chapter 6: On the proportion of declination to latitude, and
    7. Chapter 7: Explanation of the diagram of the rotation of
    8. Chapter 8: Diagram of the rotation of a magnetick needle,
    9. Chapter 9: Demonstration of direction, or of variation from the
    10. Chapter 10: On the variation of the declination.
    11. Chapter 11: On the essential magnetick activity sphærically
    12. Chapter 12: Magnetick force is animate, or imitates life; and in
  9. Book VI
    1. Chapter 1: ON THE GLOBE OF THE EARTH, THE
    2. Chapter 2: The Magnetick axis of the Earth
    3. Chapter 3: On the magnetick diurnal revolution of the Earth's globe,
    4. Chapter 4: That the Earth moves circularly.
    5. Chapter 5: Arguments of those denying the Earth's motion, and
    6. Chapter 6: On the cause of the definite time, of an entire
    7. Chapter 7: On the primary magnetick nature of the Earth,
    8. Chapter 8: On the Præcession of the Æquinoxes, from the
    9. Chapter 9: On the anomaly of the Præcession of the Æquinoxes,