the quality of a black body, or a colour arising from such a texture and situation of the superficial parts of a body as deadens or rather absorbs the light falling upon it, without reflecting any, or very little of it, to the eye. In this sense blackness stands directly opposed to whiteness, which consists in such a texture of parts as indifferently reflects all the rays thrown upon it, of whatever colour they may be. Descartes, says Dr Priestley, though mistaken with respect to the nature of light and colours, yet distinguishes justly between black and white; observing, that black suffocates and extinguishes the light that falls upon it, but that white reflects it.