William Bower Taylor

“ It becomes evident that bodies do not owe their gravity to an intrinsic force, but to the pressure of the medium in which they are immersed. The motion of heavy bodies no longer appears to us other than as a transformation of the aetherial motions ”

“ What is that mysterious force which causes two bodies to attract each other in the direct ratio of their masses and an inverse ratio of their distance ? Two bodies attract each other ! Then matter is not inert ! ”

“ The disturbance goes on extending throughout the aetherial mass, and by reason of the nature of this medium is propagated in all directions. The atoms nearest to the heavy molecule will receive violent shocks ; they will be powerfully urged and their ranks will grow thin in the neighborhood of the center of disturbance, and the layer contiguous to the molecule will become less dense than the rest of the medium. ”