Eternal the Absurdity of which we have already refuted or have been an arbitrary or voluntary Motion arising from a Principle of Intelligence Nor can it be but that these two Principles should operate for ends seeing this voluntary Motion could not have proceeded from the Intelligent Principle unless the Intelligent Principle upon notice or conception if I may so speak of things found at least some end to urge that voluntary Motion so that as every the least Effect of that Motion must have been for an end so must it also have issued from an Intelligent Principle in the arbitrary Mover whence it is evident this arbitrary Mover or Cause must have a perfect and absolute knowledge of all its own Effects But here I would not be understood either to define the Intellectual Powers of the first Cause or the Manner of their Operations when all I attempt is to shew that the least Effect of the prime Cause must flow from a voluntary Motion to which although infinitely more perfect that imperfect one of our Wills is somewhat analogous arising from an Idea of that which is to be the Effect of that voluntary Motion and that Idea also infinitely more perfect than any of ours And as this arbitrary Cause cannot but have the most entire and absolute knowledge of all its own Effects so must it be no less acquainted with whatever is possible besides because it comprehends in it all such Possibilities and whatsoever it so comprehends it must it self be conscious of seeing those Principles of Intelligence and voluntary Motion already mention'd cannot be as perhaps in Inferiour and Finite Rationals distinct from the other Faculties and Attributes but on the same account that such Principle are asserted at large to be in the prime Cause they must also be annex'd to whatsoever of it is found to be of eternal Existence seeing whatsoever is found to be so is alike independent of any foreign Impulsor as the prime Cause understood at large alike necessary and immutable and accordingly a Being alike Intelligent and Arbitrary Again as this prime Cause is infinitely powerfull and Wise so it must be infinitely Just and Mercifull too and that because its Effects are the Objects of its Love as well as the Off-spring of its power for so long as they exist they are certainly precious in its esteem and not only when they were first created but even as long as they continue in being it cannot but repute them good In truth unless they were so their All-wise Cause would fall under the imputation of acting in vain and be oblig'd in its own Justification to annihilate the universal System or at least such portions of it as were of no value in its sight by which Rule as we may be assur'd of its general Concern for all so of that Concern's being proportionable to the particular value of each Member so that every such Member in its particular Station is consulted and provided for according to its Dignity the measure whereof is best to be learn'd by examining how large its capacity is of being benefited by the first Cause for there is nothing more certain than that the first All-wise Cause rather than act in vain and to no purpose will benefit it and bless it to the full measure of that Capacity Yet not without conditions too where and so far as the Effect is qualify'd for entring or has actually enter'd into them Wherefore in cases even of Degeneracy in such an Effect the small remains of that Perfection which it receiv'd at first from its Cause are still valu'd by its Cause nay even when it seems good to the Cause that its Effects should undergo any Severities it cannot but either compensate for them afterwards which for the reasons already given it is oblig'd to do when conditions are observ'd or if it consigns over the violators to a perpetual punishment not to insist upon any other defence of its Justice therein I know not why we may not believe that the Effects even by the Laws of their nature decline through degeneracy into such a state of Misery and acquire such a Disposition that upon being translated according to the ordinary course of things into a new Station and condition they necessarily become miserable partly thro' those Defects which they owe to themselves and partly from impressions from without which could not affect them if the nature of the Effect had undergone no change by its Degeneracy Lastly Nothing is a more easie Demonstration than of the Providence of the first Cause from the certainty of its Justice and Mercy Indeed it is most conspicuous in every part of its great Work wherein the whole contrivance appears so admirable the subserviency of this to that so regular and the distribution of properties so just that of all Miracles the order of Nature which we daily behold is certainly the greatest Nor does there seem to be any necessity of betaking our selves to the more simple methods of Demonstration when if we would never so fain we cannot extricate our selves from evidences of such a Providence And when Democritus had modell'd his Atoms and Epicurus had as he fansied put them in a right way to gather into a Body what did it avail them They neither could be Atoms till they were made so nor move a point on till the first Mover set them forward But then what if the Beauty Structure and Order which ensu'd could not arise from any such Principles as it is plain they could not For supposing never so great variety in the figures of the Atoms that one Species of Motion viz. Casus declivis could not by any means beget such a multiplicity of Forms but only generate a solid flinty Mass solid and flinty I say because no manner of concourse could so strongly compact the Atoms as that Indeed it must have fasten'd all of them so close together that nothing could have broken so many free distinct Bodies off the Rock but the Supervention of an Almighty Arm nor yet could each such Frustulum have been so modify'd and temper'd as we find unless by the same So that the Founders and Maintainers of these Principles instead of mending the matter only made more work for themselves and brought their Particles so fairly together at last that when they should have been got asunder again nothing but a superiour Agent being that which they made sure of escaping could separate them For alas Chance has not strength enough If she might bring them together she could do no more afterwards but leave them together Besides what is this Chance at last So far from being a Cause that it never can be any thing but a Coincident For granting these Atoms fell thus together did they chance I beseech you to fall together before they did fall together And still it 's all the same thing whether these Atoms encounter in one kind of Motion or in many for if in many so as that they gather
clear those difficulties which otherwise the Notion of an Universal Flood must necessarily carry with it Phil. As for that further Speculations may in time bring forth a satisfactory Hypothesis but if they should not thus much we know That the Flood was either the ordinary Effect of second Causes though the measures of their Operation be hidden from us or if it could not be such an Effect that it was the direct and immediate Atchievment of Omnipotence it self and let that hush all your Scruples Bur. That were self-resignation with a Vengeance What Shall I be oblig'd to acquiesce in a Miracle because I cannot fathom Nature's measures Phil. Mistake me not I say fathom 'em if you can if that 's deny'd enquire whether the Supposal implies any Contradiction or Absurdity in respect of Nature's usual proceedings If it does not take it for granted 't was no more than the result of ordinary Combinations if it does you may be confident 't was Miracle all and then trouble your head no further Bur. I submit be pleas'd to proceed to your Argument Phil. The Theorist you know presumes it infallibly certain that the Earth rose out of a Chaos at first and that such a Chaos as himself describes Theor. Book 1. Chap. 4. a fluid Mass or a Mass of all sorts of little Parts and Particles of Matter mix'd together and floating in confusion one with another And this Supposition he lays down as a Postulate whereas I must tell you it ought to have been offer'd with such restrictions as render it wholly unserviceable to his main design For why must this Chaos be a fluid Mass Why might it not be as well a drift or shower of Atoms yet unamass'd disorderly dancing one amongst another and at various distances Bur. But this is no better Man than out of the Frying-pan into the Fire You dread the pernicious Doctrines of the Theory and therefore take Sanctuary in those of Epicurus In good time I beseech you consider the Poet's Maxim Dum vitant you know who vitium in contraria currunt Phil. God forbid using of Epicurus's terms should make me his All that I would have amounts to thus much That the Chaos or material Elements of our Earth which were originally created by a Divine Power and afterwards by the same Divine Power so dispos'd and compounded as to form this Sublunary World might as well be a Company or Chorus of Atoms of divers kinds dispers'd and dancing in the great Inane without any just order or distribution as a fluid Mass of mixt Particles Bur. What becomes then of the Authority of the Ancients who not to cite'em particularly understood by their Chaos nothing but a mere Hotch-potch of matter a rude undigested Mixture or Collection of the several Seeds of things animate and inanimate Phil. 'T is e'en as good as ever 't was that is in my opinion none at all sacred Authority always excepted whereto my Hypothesis is not that I know of any way repugnant for if the Tradition of the Ancients avails any thing in the present case it therefore avails because they liv'd at a less distance of time from the Chaos but alas neither their earliness nor the credit of their Tradition qualifie 'em to be better Judges than we of what neither they nor their Fore-fathers could know more than the latest of their Posterity and 't is impossible they should be better acquainted with the Chaos than their Offspring unless they and the Chaos had been Cotemporary Not to mention how much they are indebted to Moses for their Notions as also that most of your Authorities are either properly Poetical or else pure Hypothesis and Theory like your own Bur. Do you not believe then that the Primitive Inhabitants of the Earth might at least give a better guess from the Contemplation of it in its Infancy and most simple condition supposing even its first form the same as its present than we who behold it at so great a disadvantage and almost in its ruins what might be the Constitution of the Chaos Phil. By no means 'till you can prove Harmony a good Comment upon Disorder for whether your Chaos or mine were the true the first People of our world could I suppose see no farther into a Mill-stone than their Successors No doubt they were equally Strangers to all beyond the Superficial parts of our Globe as our selves consequently as much in the dark about the distribution of the Chaos much more about the state of it before that distribution Neither did the righteous Man and his Family that we know of make any remarks at the time of the Deluge which might give us some light into the matter or granting they left a Tradition behind them relating thereto and lost many Ages ago which however there appears no manner of reason why we should grant still I say those remarks must be very imperfect and contribute little enough to our knowledge of the Distribution of the Chaos nothing at all to our knowledge of its Constitution before that Distribution But I entreat you oblige me not to any longer Digression upon this Topick which else will lead us very much out of our way Bur. I shall not but pardon me if I observe to you that unless your dancing Atoms will answer all the ends of our fluid mass I shall hold it reasonable to pay some deference to the Authority of the Ancients which at least confirms the original state of Nature to be such as is fairly solvable according to our Hypothesis of the Chaos Phil. With all my heart when you can alledge a just cause why my dancing Atoms as soon as they are gather'd into a body will not serve the true genuine purposes of a Chaos as well as the Theorist's fluid Mass. Bur. Admitting therefore your Conjecture I cannot conceive of what use it will be to you in the present Disquisition Phil. Of singular use believe me for the Atoms or Particles of my Chaos being free and separate and not sorted into distinct Orders and Species nor allotted their proper distances from each other 't is very probable many less Detachments of them would unite distinctly from any greater Combination and being united into such smaller Masses would in time encounter the larger Combination such an one as we may understand to consist of the grossest matter of all being the likeliest to reach the Center soonest and by their accession render the Superficies of it however Spherical and regular in it self which according to our Supposition it could scarce be to a Nicety very uneven and mountainous All this would be but a natural result and yet requires a more immediate Interposition of Providence to frame the great ball of our Earth so regular as it now appears to be as indeed all Events in the natural World do and ever did and the Deluge no less than the rest notwithstanding the large Province you would assign to second Causes Thus we see what a doughty
Head-pieces in the Hall shake off the delicious Lethargy and take the Field before the Veterans The first Alarm would fetch 'em out of their Quarters and self-preservation would work Miracles And certainly nothing can be more obvious than that an Innovator will be tempted to lay the severest burthens upon them of whose Pusillanimity he has had such experience and whom he very well knows to be always unprovided against his Encroachments Nothing can sollicit an usurping power so much to exercise its violence more upon one man than another excepting in the Case of Competition as meanness of Spirit joyn'd with littleness of condition Be it so yet these Neutrals are prepar'd to gratifie the Publick and establish their own reputations some other way One perhaps by laying out the Cash he knows not how to dispose of upon publick Edifices and Endowments 'T is but erecting an Hospital a Country-School or a Chapel of Ease and then he counts so highly of his merit that Heaven he presumes may very well compound for a thousand Tergiversations and Compliances as if like the Masons of Babel he hop'd to build his way up thither Another sets so much by his Intellectuals that he thinks the fruits of his Understanding may expiate for the perverseness of his Will and Affections Upon this Presumption he veers to all Points deserts a Cause or espouses it as he holds most convenient and thinks if his Volumes of Arts Sciences Languages and Antiquities keep pace with the black Volumes of his Trespasses he bids fair for future Glorification And if he can dandle some mens curiosity and perhaps do a little serious good in the opinion of others instead of seeming a Cypher in his Generation he looks upon himself a main prop of the State and in the high road to Preferment and Esteem A third pitches upon a different method distributes his Money his Loaves and his Small Beer ev'ry Market-day and whether he be a Guelf or Gibelline for Turk or Pope Monarchy-man Fifth-Monarchy-man or no Monarchy-man Whig Tory or Trimmer all or some or none he has made such Friends both in this World and in the next that he need not question but he shall have very good usage here and no uncomfortable reception when he leaves us Such Refuges as these give birth to that abjectness and indifference of temper so universally both affected and applauded Now the summ of all is this They don't much care if they benefit the Common-wealth a little when they are to receive the interest of their own Benefaction provided also they may take their own measures but if any Mortification's to be undergone if the prick of a Pin must be endur'd Fire and Sword may consume a whole Continent before they 'll stir a foot from their Dormitories Now for my part I think these men might as well declare openly and ingenuously against a Government as remain thus reserv'd and unactive for as silence in general is interpreted Consent so in a publick Cause it may justly pass for an approbation of the worst Practices since 't is not to be doubted but he who has not courage enough to assert and suffer in the interest of the Community has not integrity enough to be trusted in its concerns although Perfidiousness and Disingenuity more than enough to make its Enemies depend upon him On th' other hand what spectacle so glorious as a generous Maintainer of his Country's true Liberties courting all Hazards and embracing all Misfortunes for her preservation and advantage quitting the little dirty satisfactions of Life loathing and deriding the dull empty excuses and alleviations of Deserters yet never to be brow beaten out of his Modesty good Humour or Chearfulness He receives the worst indignities with a smile indulges and caresses the very Enemies of his cause and will do any thing but take their example for Complacency and Orderliness ever accompany the Generosity of a Publick Spirit Then too the shyest part of Mankind will readily repose a confidence in him who relinquishes all present enjoyments and conveniences rather than the Greatness and Constancy of his mind No secrets but those of Traytors in their proper trade shall escape his hearing so safe a repository is his breast that how much soever the sentiments of those who know him may differ from his they had rather disburthen their minds to him than to one another Nor is he only Master of their thoughts but often works them insensibly into a concern and esteem if not for his cause yet however for himself at least so far as to have his necessities reliev'd and his Principles valued for Providence never omits to preserve such a force of humanity in the bosoms of most Revolters as may sollicit a provision for perseverers But then what inexpressible exultations does the brave man conceive within when he calls over his principles and practices while his Conscience entertains him with such Musick as this Happy Hero whom no allurements of Riches Pleasure and Parade no tumults of Faction no menaces of Tyrants no inflictions of those Threats can prevail upon to renounce thy regard of the Publick Triumph for ever triumph within thy self and commiserate the weakness of those Wretches who either want judgment and consideration enough to learn the momentousness of that duty or which is worse have not the heart to perform it 'T is true they deserve thy Indignation and Contempt and have too much Charity for themselves to have almost any just Title to any body 's else Yet deny them not thy pity and good wishes nay condescend even to familiarity and respect But be sure remain proof against all their gay promises and all their stupid Satyr Let Curtius Cocles and the Horatii haunt thy imagination and refine upon their Vertues with the more excellent Principles of thy own Religion Thus reign as perfect as the Stoicks Pattern and wanton in the glorious transports of thy noble Soul O ravishing Harmony what Mind so frigid but at this would sicken for further opportunities to signifie its Zeal or in case even the main and last stake of all must be parted with the gallant man collects his vigour redoubles his Fortitude calmly submits to the pleasure of Heaven bequeaths his Friends and Family to its protection receives the fatal blow forgets on a sudden his past Calamities and feels himself Divine Of the Weather ABout three Months since invited by a Friend to share the pleasures of his rustication and enjoying a short respit from a knotty concern I scorn'd to decline the proffer but was attended all my Journey long and the best part of my stay at his house with a most uncomfortable season of Weather enough to have made me repent my forwardness but that the good Coversation of the Family and some Parlour-diversions we found out amongst us diverted the Spleen till such time as matters mended which fell out I remember one night at Eleven of the Clock when my Companions had all betaken themselves