Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	body_n	life_n	spirit_n	1,763	5	5.2732	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30483	Remarks upon An essay concerning humane understanding in a letter address'd to the author.	Burnet, Thomas, 1635?-1715.; Locke, John, 1632-1704.	1697 (1697)	Wing B5944; ESTC R3915	7,086	18

Nature of God I think so too according to my Principles but I do not find that you make use of that Argument nor do I remember amongst those many Idea's and Significations of Words which you have stated and defin'd that you have any where told us what Perfection is what its Idea or Definition If it be from this Head that you wou'd deduce the Veracity of God 't is necessary you shou'd tell us what is to be understood by Perfection in your Way how it is deriv'd from the Senses and how it includes Veracity Where you mention the perfections of God you take no Notice of Veracity And in that long Catalogue of Idea's you have given an Account of I do not perceive as I said before that you have any where told us what is the Idea of Perfection what it contains or how it is formed though it be a Name and Notion generally receiv'd and of more Importance than many of those Idea's you have so curiously anatomiz'd And to add that in the last place not only the Truth of Revelation but also of our Faculties in other Things depends upon the Varacity of their Author The Immortality of the Soul was a third Thing which I cou'd not clear to my self upon your Principles You suppose that the Soul may 〈…〉 be sometimes absolutely without thoughts of one kind or other and also that God may if he pleases 〈…〉 for any thing we know by the Light of Nature give or have given to some Systems of Matter a Power to conceive and think Upon these 〈…〉 two Suppositions I cou'd not make out any certain proof of the immortality of the Soul and am apt to think it cannot be done As to the First I wonder how you can observe that your Soul sometimes does not think for when you do observe it you think If a man cou'd think and not think at the same time he might be able to make this Observation But howsoever that be I do not understand how the Soul if she be at any time utterly without Thoughts what it is that produces the first Thought again at the end of that unthinking Interval You say Matter cannot produce a Thought and you say an unthinking Substance cannot produce a Thought and I know nothing in unthinking Man but one of these two What is it then that lights the Candle again when it is put out Besides I am utterly at a loss how to frame any Idea of a dead Soul or of a Spirit without Life or Thoughts What is the Soul when she does not think what Idea or Definition can you give of her in that State she must be actually something if she exist She must then have some Properties whereby she may be defin'd of describ'd something whereby she is distinguish'd from Nothing and from Matter Then after all What Security can we have upon this Supposition that we shall not fall into this Sleep at Death and so continue without Life or Thought And bare being is but the immortality of a senceless Stone You think also which is more surprising that Angels sleep by fits If Angels have Bodies there may 〈…〉 retence for this but if they have no Bo 〈…〉 can have no Fumes or Vapors that cause Sleep nor any wast of Spirits to be recruited Besides according to your Opinion we know nothing of Angels but by Revelation and where does that Revelation tell you that these active Spirits sleep or slumber or dream as you and I do sometimes And after all the common Difficulty still returns How they awake and how they pass from their unthinking State to a thinking State again which i●… always to be consider'd 〈…〉 You compare Cogitation in a Spirit to Motion in a 〈◊〉 and so C●…ssation from Thought in a Spi●…it mus●… answer to R●…st in a Body Now ●…n a 〈◊〉 i●… in R●…st there must be some Cause to put it into Motion I enquire therefore ●…t th●… Cause i●… which in the quietism of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…l I am 〈◊〉 that it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to prove that we have al●… 〈◊〉 for the same thing happens an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Actions and ●…hich w●…●…ou'd not fill up with Thoughts nor ca●…l to mind what we did or mus'd upon ev●…ry Minu●…e or ●…ur Many ●…leeting Thoughts pas th●…gh the Soul without Observati●…n and leave we 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a sometimes what we had 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I 'm sure in one 〈◊〉 this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 I 〈◊〉 go 〈◊〉 wind up m●… W●…h 〈◊〉 wh●…n I had wound it up not t●…n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the same thing may ●…e ob●… in many other 〈◊〉 ●…ay ●…ven in Matt●…r of imm●…diate s●…nsation we sometimes do not perceive that which plainly is expos'd to our Senses we overlook a thing that lies before our Eyes and we seek for that which we hold in our Hands What does not strike us with some Brisknes●… we little min●… when 〈◊〉 and les●… remember when past and absent If while we are awake these things happen to us methinks it cannot be exp●…cted that we shou'd att●…nd and re m●…mber all our sl●…py Thoughts when the Im pressions are more dull and faint The Though●… wandring fortuitous and commonly inconn●… one with another When the Impressi●…ns happ●…n to be strong so as to excite Pain or Pleasure o●… any Passion we remember them an●… many time●… they awake u●… But if th●…y are weak a●… 〈◊〉 they are in Sl●…ep we think no more of them But yet it often happens that next Day or some Days after some Accident or Discourse brings to our Mind such a Dream which without that Occasion wou'd have q●…ite slipt our Memory and wou'd never have been recall'd or thought of ag●…in This shews that we may dream of many thi●…g that we do not remember without so●…e particul●…r Occasion The Brain in Sleep i●… moist something like that of Infants or Children And you wou'd put a Child to a hard Task to tell you at Night all that had pass'd that Day in his Play or h●…s Talk and much more in his Thoughts So I should think you a hard Task-Master if you shou'd put us to count to you all the childish Thoughts we had in the silent Night and in a sound Sleep But to return to the Soul and its Immortality which is our great Concern Whether the Soul be or be not a distinct Substance from the Body I do not perceive that her Immortality can be prov'd by your Principles If she be not distinct from the Matter of the Body when that is corrupted and dissolv'd 〈◊〉 manifest she must be dissolv'd also And if she be a Substance distinct from Matter however you say she is sometimes without Thoughts or any manner of Operation why then may she not be so according to this Doctrine after Death thoughtless and senceless and so without Life T is some comfort indeed that we shall at length return to Life at the Resurrection but I