11. IT has been made a difficulty, that the image of the object impressed on the nerve is inverted, so that the upper part of the image is impressed on the lower part of the eye. But this difficulty, I think, can no longer remain, if we only consider, that upper and lower are terms merely relative to the ordinary position of our bodies: and our bodies, when view’d by the eye, have their image as much inverted as other objects; so that the image of our own bodies, and of other objects, are impressed on the eye in the same relation to one another, as they really have.
12. THE eye can see objects equally distinct at very different distances, but in one distance only at the same time. That the eye may accomodate itself to different distances, some change in its humours is requir’d. It is my opinion, that this change is made in the figure of the crystalline humour, as I have indeavoured to prove in another place.
13. IF any of the humours of the eye are too flat, they will refract the light too little; which is the case in old age. If they are too convex, they refract too much; as in those who are short-sighted.
14. THE manner of direct vision being thus explained, I proceed to give some account of telescopes, by which we view more distinctly remote objects; and also of microscopes, whereby we magnify the appearance of small objects. In the first place, the most simple sort of telescope is composed of two glasses, either both convex, or one convex, and the other concave. (The first sort of these is represented in fig. 155, the latter in fig. 156.)
15. IN fig. 155 let A B represent the convex glass next the object, C D the other glass more convex near the eye. Suppose the object-glass A B to form the image of the object at E F; so that if a sheet of white paper were to be held in this place, the object would appear. Now suppose the rays, which pass the glass A B, and are united about F, to proceed to the eye glass C D, and be there refracted. Three only of these rays are drawn in the figure, those which pass by the extremities of the glass A B, and that which passes its middle. If the glass C D be placed at such a distance from the image E F, that the rays, which pass by the point F, after having proceeded through the glass diverge so much, as the rays do that come from an object, which is at such a distance from the eye as to be seen distinctly, these being received by the eye will make on the bottom of the eye a distinct representation of the point F. In like manner the rays, which pass through the object glass A B to the point E after proceeding through the eye-glass C D will on the bottom of the eye make a distinct representation of the point E. But if the eye be placed where these rays, which proceed from E, cross those, which proceed from F, the eye will receive the distinct impression of both these points at the same time; and consequently will also receive a distinct impression from all the intermediate parts of the image E F, that is, the eye will see the object, to which the telescope is directed, distinctly. The place of the eye is about the point G, where the rays H E, H F cross, which pass through the middle of the object-glass A B to the points E and F; or at the place where the focus would be formed by rays coming from the point H, and refracted by the glass C D. To judge how much this instrument magnifies any object, we must first observe, that the angle under E H F, in which the eye at the point H would see the image E F, is nearly the same as the angle, under which the object appears by direct vision; but when the eye is in G, and views the object through the telescope, it sees the same under a greater angle; for the rays, which coming from E and F cross in G, make a greater angle than the rays, which proceed from the point H to these points E and F. The angle at G is greater than that at H in the proportion, as the distance between the glasses A B and C D is greater than the distance of the point G from the glass C D.