Pagina-afbeeldingen
PDF
ePub

without any Comminution, or fo much as breaking the Skin; even as it is feen that the Juice of Grapes is drawn as well from the Rape, where they remain whole, as from a Vet, where they are bruis'd; to borrow the Parifian Philofophers Si militude.

Whole Grapes pluck'd from the Clufter, and Wine pour'd upon them in a Veffel.

4. Fishes, which neither chew their Meat in their Mouths, nor grind it in their Stomachs, do by the help of a diffolvent Liquor, there by Nature provided, corrode and reduce it, Skin, Bones and all, into a Chylus or Cremor; and yet (which may feem wonderful) this Liquor manifefts nothing of acidity to the Taft: But notwithstanding how mild and gentle foever it seems to be, it corrodes Flesh very strangely and gradually, as Aqua fortis or the like corrofive Waters do Metals, as appears to the Eye; for I have obferv'd Fish in the Stomachs of others thus partially corroded firft the fuperficial part of the Flesh, and then deeper and deeper by degrees to the Bones.

I come now to the second part of the words, In Wisdom haft thou made them all; in difcourf ing whereof I fhall endeavour to make out in Particulars what the Pfalmift here afferts in general concerning the Works of God, that they are all very wifely contriv'd and adapted to ends both particular and general.

But before I enter upon this Task, I fhall, by way of Preface or Introduction, fay fomething concerning those Systems which undertake to

give an account of the Formation of the Univerfe by Mechanical Hypotheses of Matter, mov'd either uncertainly, or according to fome Catholick Laws, without the intervention and affiftance of any fuperior iminaterial Agent.

There is no greater, at leaft no more palpable and convincing Argument of the Existence of a Deity, than the admirable Art and Wisdom that discovers itself in the Make and Conftitution, the Order and Difpofition, the Ends and Ufes of all the Parts and Members of this ftately Fabrick of Heaven and Earth: For if in the Works of Art, as for example, a curious Edifice or Machine, Counfel, Defign, and Direction to an End appearing in the whole frame, and in all, the feveral pieces of it, do neceffarily infer the Being and Operation of fome intelligent Architect or Engineer, why fhall not alfo in the Works of nature, that grandeur and magnificence, that excellent contrivance for Beauty, Order, Ufe, &c. which is obfervable in them, wherein they do as much tranfcend the Effects of humane Art as infinite Power and Wisdom excceeds finite, infer the Exiftence and Efficiency of an Omnipotent and All-wife Creator?

To evade the force of this Argument, and to give fome Account of the Original of the World, Atheistical Perfons have fet up two Hypotkefes.

The first is that of Ariftotle, That the World was from Eternity in the fame condition that now it is, having run through the Succeffions of infinite Generations; to which they add, Self

existent and unproduced: For Ariftotle doth not deny God to be the Efficient Caufe of the World; but only afferts, that he created it from Eternity, making him a neceffary caufe thereof; it proceeding from him by way of Emanation, as Light from the Sun.

This Hypothefis, which hath fome fhew of Reafon, for fomething muft neceffarily exist of it felf; and if fomething, why may not all things? This Hypothefis, Ifay, is fo clearly and fully confuted by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Tillotson, late Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury, and Primate of all England, in his first printed Sermon, and the Right Reverend Father in God John, late Lord Bishop of Chester, in Book I. Chap. V. of his Treatife of the Principles of Natural Religion, that nothing material can by me be added; to whom therefore I refer the Reader.

The Epicurean Hypothefis rejected.

The fecond Hypothefis is that of the Epicureans, who held, that there were two Principles felf-exiftent. Firft, Space or Vacuity; Secondly, Matter or Body; both of infinite duration and extenfion. In this infinite Space or Vacuity, which hath neither beginning, nor end, nor middle; no limits or extreams, innumerable minute Bodies, into which the Matter was divided, call'd Atoms, because by reafon of their perfect folidity they were really indivifible (for they hold no Body capable of Di

vifion,

[ocr errors]

vifion, but what hath Vacuities interfpers'd with Matter) of various but a determinate number of Figures, and equally ponderous, do perpendicularly defcend, and by their fortuitous concourse make compound Bodies, and at laft the World it felf. But now, because if all these Atoms fhould defcend plum down with equal Velocity, as according to their Doctrine they ought to do, being (as we faid) all perfectly folid and imporous, and the vacuum not refifting their Motion, they would never the one overtake the other, but like the drops of a Shower would always keep the fame diftances, and fo there could be no Concourfe or Cohæfion of them, and confequently nothing created; partly to avoid this deftructive Confequence, and partly to give fome account of the Freedom of Will (which they did affert contrary to the Democratick Fate) they did abfurdly feign a declination of fome of thefe Principles, without any fhadow or pretence of Reafon. The former of thefe Motives you have fet down by Lucretius, de Nat. rerum, 1. 2. in thefe words:

Corpora cum deorfum rectum per inane feruntur ·
Ponderibus propriis, incerto tempore fortè,
Incertifque locis, Spatio difcedere paulùm;
Tantum quod nomen mutatum dicere poffis.
And Again;

Quod nifi declinare folerent, omnia deorfum
Imbris uti gutta caderent per inane profundum,
Nec foret offenfus natus, nec plaga creata
Principiis, ita mil unquam natura creaffet.

Now

2

Now Seeds in downward Motion must decline, Tho' vary little from the exactest Line,

For did they still move strait, they needs muft fall

Like drops of Rain, diffolv'd and scatter'd all, For ever tumbling thro' the mighty space, And never join to make one fingle Mass.

The fecond Motive they had to introduce this gratuitous Declination of Atoms, the fame Poet gives us in these Verses, Lib. 2.

Si femper motus connectitur omnis,

Et vetere exoritur femper novus ordine certo
Nec declinando faciunt primordia motûs
Principium quoddam quod fati fœderarumpat,
Ex infinite ne caufam caufa fequatur;
Libera per terras unde hac animantibus,extat,
Unde bæc eft, inquam, fatis avòlfà voluntas ?

Befides, did all things move in direct Line,
And still one Motion to another join
In certain order, and no Seeds decline,
And make a Motion fit to diffipate

The well-wrought Chain of Caufes and strong
Fate;

Whence comes that freedom living Creatures find?

Whence comes the Will fo free, fo unconfin'd; Above the Power of the Fate ?

The folly and unreasonableness of this ridi culous and ungrounded Figment, I cannot bet D

ter

« VorigeDoorgaan »