Bentley, William, 1759-1819. Papers of William Bentley, 1783-1815: an inventory. Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 April 6. HUG 1203.5 Box 1, Harvard University Archives.

Cambridge 6 April 1784------------

Dear Sir,

Last evening I was favored with a letter from you, which contained much curious & useful information. We have not the work from which it was drawn, nor any prospect of having it soon.

I am told that Diman is very careless about the Worcester papers. They have not been taken from Battles' on my account since I saw you.

When I wrote to you of Priestley's essay, all my design was to refer you to that book for a specimen of what I conceive to be the absurdity of reasoning from assumed principles. Whether the letter was sense or nonsense I am unable at this time to determine; for it only contained my then present apprehensions in the same manner as I should have expressed them had you been present. The ideas made as little transient an impression on me as if the communication had been merely in the way of conversation.

If I rightly recollect, the Doctor has only one expe riment to support his opinion of the penetrability of mat ter. This is that light pervades bod transparent bodies equally in all directions. The fact at present appears to me so far from certain, that I think it proveably false by one of those most common appearances. But this is at present merely opnion; I have had no opportunity to examine it with any body of a metaphysical turn.

In the mere want of variety, I have undertaken to look over Banier's mythology. At Vol. 1. p 46 [He,?] tells us that Aganice daughter of Hegetor, a Thesalian, having learned to predict eclipses, informed her acquaintance that

at a certian time she would draw down the moon to the earth. At the time mentioned she they saw the earth.Eclipse, & made a tremendous noise to induce the moon to resume her place.

I think Pope in his notes on the Iliad frequently informs us that Juno, when used for a part of the Universe, means the Earth. Comparing these two ideas, shall we not have a solution of the account given us in II.xxi.565, of the translation, of a squabble between Juno & Diana. It is impossible to be positive with my stock of antient literature, for I really think of that of all kinds of study it is the must barren; but at present I supose it means nothing more than that there was a lunar eclipse, & that it is described according to the philosophy of the times.

Inclosed I send you a copy of a poem published in 4to [quarto] to in the year 1769, by which you will see that Tutors were not even in the happy days of antiquity treated with more respect than at present. It was at the time generally attributed to my clasmate J.W.A.

I hope your visit will be the week the vacation ends, as every week before that, I shall be employed in Probateering. I will endeavoring to gratify you with regard to the plan of Salem, & to forward your things when the Scholars go home.

Yours affectionately James Winthrop

{Reverend} {William} Bentley.

{James} Winthrop {Esquire} April 6. 1784.

Reverend {William} Bentley

Salem