Full Idea
Power is a thing so much of its own kind, and so simple in its nature, as to admit of no logical definition.
Gist of Idea
Powers are quite distinct and simple, and so cannot be defined
Source
Thomas Reid (Essays on Active Powers 1: Active power [1788], 1)
Book Reference
Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.199
A Reaction
True. And this makes Powers ideally suited for the role of primitives in a metaphysics of nature.