Elements not being clearly known it is impossible to discover the Nature of the Bodies which are composed of them This Philosopher says true that there are four Elements Fire Air Water and Earth But he does not clearly know the Nature of them He gives no distinct Idea of them Nay he will not have his Elements to be composed of the Fire Air Water and Earth that we see for in short if it were so we should at least have some Knowledge of them by our Senses It is true in many Places of his Works he endeavours to explain them by the Qualities of Heat and Cold Humidity and Driness Weight and Lightness But this manner of Explication is so impertinent and ridiculous that I cannot conceive how so many learned Men should be satisfied with it 'T is what I am going to prove Aristotle in his Book of the Heavens pretends that the Earth is the Center of the World and that all Bodies which he pleases to call simple because he supposes them to move by their own Nature must be moved by simple Motions He affirms that besides the Circular Motion which he maintains to be simple and by which he proves that the Heavens he supposes to move Circularly are a simple Body that there is only two which are simple The one descending or from the Circumference to the Center the other ascending or from the Center to the Circumference That these simple Motions agree with simple Bodies consequently that the Earth and Fire are simple Bodies one of which is absolutely heavy and the other absolutely light But because Heaviness and Lightness may meet in one Body either absolutely or in part he concludes that there are also two Elements or simple Bodies one of which is heavy in part and the other light in part viz. Water and Air. This is the Method he takes to prove that there are four Elements and no more It is evident to such as examine Mens Opinions by their own Reason that all these Propositions are false or at least they can never pass for clear and indisputable Principles of which we have very clear and distinct Idea's and which may serve for the Foundations of Physicks It is certain that there is nothing more absurd than an Essay to establish the Number of Elements by Imaginary Qualities of Weight and Lightness In saying without any Proof that there are some Bodies which are heavy others light through a Principle in their own Nature For if we may speak without proving what we say we may affirm that all Bodies are naturally heavy and that all endeavour to approach to the Center of the World as the Place of their Rest And we may on the contrary maintain that all Bodies are Naturally light and have a Tendency to the Heavens as the Place of their greatest Perfection For if we object to him who says all Bodies are heavy that Air and Fire are light he can only answer that Fire and Air are not light but only less weighty than Earth and Water and that is the Reason they seem light It is so with these Elements as if a Piece of Wood which seems light in Water not because it is light of it self since it falls down when it is in the Air but because the Water which is more heavy makes it ascend and bears it up If on the contrary we should object to one who would maintain that all Bodies are Naturally light that Earth and Water are heavy he would likwise answer that these Bodies seem heavy because they are not so light as others which surround them That Wood for instance seems heavy in the Air not because it is heavy since it swims when it is in the Water but because it is not so light as Air. It is therefore ridiculous to suppose these Principles indisputable that Bodies are heavy or light in their own Nature On the contrary 't is plain that all Bodies have not the Power of Motion in themselves and that 't is indifferent to them whether they are moved upward or downward East or West North or South or any other Way we can conceive But if according to Aristotle there are four Elements such as he wishes them to be Two Naturally heavy and two Naturally light viz. Fire Air Earth and Water What Consequence can we draw from thence to discover the Knowledge of the Universe These Four Elements are not such Fire Air Water and Earth as we see they are quite different we know them not by our Senses and still less by Reason because we have no distinct Idea of them I mean we know all Natural Bodies are composed of them since Aristotle has said it But the Nature of these compounded Bodies is unknown to us and we cannot discover them but by knowing the Four Elements or simple Bodies which compose them for we know the compound only by the simple Fire Aristotle says is Naturally light the ascending Motion is simple Therefore Fire is a simple Body since Motion must be proportioned to what it moves Natural Bodies are compounded of simple Bodies Therefore there is Fire in all Natural Bodies But a Fire which is not like to that we see for Fire is often only in Power in Bodies which are compounded of it What is it these Periparetick Discourses teach us That there is Fire in all Bodies either Actual or Potential that all Bodies are composed of something which we do not see and whose Nature we are unacquainted with We see then that here is very much advanced But if Aristotle does not discover to us the Nature of Fire and the other Elements of which all Bodies are composed probably we may imagine he has discovered at least the chief Qualities and Properties of them We shall further examine what he says thereof He declares to us there are four principal Qualities which belong to the Sense of feeling l. 2. c. 2 3. de gen corrupu Heat Cold Moist and dry of which all others are composed In this manner he distributes these first Qualities to the Four Elements To the Fire he gives Heat and Dryness to the Air Heat and Moistness to the Water Coldness and Humidity and to the Earth Coldness and Dryness Chap. 2. He affirms Heat and Cold to be active Qualities and Dryness and Humidity to be passive ones He thus defines Heat That what collects things of the same kind Cold which assembles all things either of the same or of a different kind Moisture that which is not easily contained in its own Bounds but in Foreign Limits and Dryness that which is easily contained in its own Bounds and not easily in the Limits of the Bodies that are about it Thus according to Aristotle Fire is a hot and dry Element 'T is therefore an Element which collects things of the same Nature which is easily contained within its own Limits and difficultly in the Limits of Forreign Bodies The Air is an hot and moist Element and therefore assembles
will not always be condemned although they say only impertinent things provided they speak them after a Scientific manner What makes men capable of thinking makes them fit to discover Truth but 't is neither Honour Riches nor Dignities nor false Learning that can give them this capacity it proceeds from their Nature They are made to think because they are made for Truth Even Health it self is not sufficient to make them think well all that it can do is not to be so great an impediment as Sickness is Our Body in some manner assists us by Sense and Imagination but it does not help our Conception For although without help of the Body we might by meditation oppose out Idea's to the continual Efforts of the Senses and Passions which perplex and efface them because we can only at present overcome the Body by the Body Yet it is plain that the Body cannot illuminate the Mind nor produce the Light of Understanding in it for every Idea which discovers the Truth comes from Truth it self What the Soul receives by the Body is only for the Body it self and when it persues those Phantoms it discovers nothing but Illusions and Chimera's I mean it does not see things as they are in themselves but only as they relate to the Body If the Idea of our own greatness or littleness is often an occasion of our Error the Idea we have of external things and what has any relation to us causes not a lest dangerous impression We have just said that the Idea of greatness is always attended with a great Motion of Spirits and that a great Motion of Spirits is always accompanied with an Idea of greatness and that on the contray the Idea of littleness is always attended with a weak motion of Spirits and that a weak Motion of the Spirits is always accompanied with an Idea of littleness From this Principle 't is easie to conclude that such things as produce a great Motion of to the Spirits in us must naturally appear to us to have more Greatness that is more Power more Reality and more Perfection than others for by Greatness I mean all these things and many such like So that Sensible Things must appear to us greater and more solid than those which cannot be felt if we judge of them by the Motion of the Spirits and not by the pure Idea of Truth A great House a magnificent Train fine Furniture Offices Honours Riches c. appear to have more greatness and reality in them than Virtue and Justice do When we compare Virtue with Riches by a clear view of the Mind then Virtue gains the preference but when we make use of our Eyes and Imaginations and judge of these things only by the emotion of the Spirits that they excite in us we undoubtedly prefer Riches to Virtue 'T is from this Principle that we have so mean an Opinion of Spiritual things which do not affect the Senses That the Idea's of our Minds are less Noble than the Objects they represent That there is less reality and substance in Air than in Metals in Water than in Ice That the spaces betwixt Earth and Heaven are avoid or else that the Bodies which fill it have not so much reality and solidity as the Sun and Stars have In fine if we fall into an infinite number of Errors about the Nature and Perfection of every thing 't is because we argue upon this false Principle A great motion of Spirits and consequently a strong Passion always accompanies a sensible Idea of greatness and a small motion of Spirits and a weak Passion likewise attends a sensible Idea of littleness We apply our selves much and bestow a great deal of our time in the Study of whatever may excite a sensible Idea of greatness and neglect what gives us a sensible Idea of littleness Those great Bodies for instance which move about us have always made an impression upon us we at first adored them because of the sensible Idea we had of their greatness and brightness Some bolder Genii have examined their Motions and in all Ages the Stars have been the Object either of the Study or Veneration of many Men. We may even say that the fear of these imaginary influences which at this day terrify Astrologers and some weak Persons is a kind of adoration that a depraved Imagination pays to the Idea of greatness which represents these Coelestial Bodies The Body of Man on the contrary tho' infinitely more admirable and worthy our application than whatever can be known of Jupiter and Saturn with all the rest of the Planets is almost unknown to us The sensible Idea of the dissected parts of the flesh hath nothing great in it and even causes disgust and horror so that 't is but a few years since Ingenious persons look'd upon Anatomy as a Science which merited their application Kings and Princes have been Astronomers and proud of that Title The grandeur of the Stars seemed to agree well with the greatness of their Dignities but I don't believe they thought it any honour to understand Anatomy and to be able to dissect a Heart or a Brain well It is the same with many other Sciences Rare and extraordinary things produce greater and more sensible Motions in the Spirits than those which we see every day we admire them and consequently affix some Idea of greatness to them and thus they excite in the Spirits Passions of esteem and veneration 'T is this which overturns the Reason of many Men for some are so curious and respectful for every thing of Antiquity what comes from far or is rare and extraordinary that their Minds become Slaves to it because the Mind dares make no Judgment upon what it respects Truth I grant is in no great danger because some Men wholly employ themselves about Medals Arms the Dress of the Ancients the Chinese or Barbarians It is not absolutely useless to know the Map of Old Rome or the Roads from Tomquin to Nanquin altho' it be more useful to know those we shall have more occasion to Travel In fine we have nothing to object against the knowledge of the true History of the War of the Greeks with the Persians or of the Tartars with the Chinese or that persons shou'd have an extraordinary inclination for Thucidides and Xenophon or for any other that pleases them But we cannot suffer that Reason shou'd be so subjected to the admiration of Antiquity that we must be forbidden to make use of our Understanding to examine the Opinions of the Ancients and that those who discover and show the falseness of them shou'd pass for presumptious and rash Persons There has been Truths in all Ages if Aristotle has discovered some of them further discoveries may be also made to this day The Opinions of this Author must be proved by good Reasons for if Aristotle's Sentiments were solid in his time they will be so now 'T is a pure illusion to pretend to
things of the same kind and is not easily contained in its own Limits but in that of others Water is a cold and moist Element which gathers things together both of the same and of a different Nature which is hot easily contained within its own Bounds but in that of others And in fine the Earth cold and dry and therefore collects things of the same and of a different Nature which is not easily contained in its own Bounds and very difficultly in that of others Here the Elements are explained according to the Sentiment of Aristotle or according to the Definitions he has given of their chief Qualities and because if we will believe him the Elements are simple Bodies whereof all others are compounded the Knowledge of these Element and their Qualities must be most clear and distinct since all Physicks or the Knowledge of Sensible Bodies which are composed of them ought to be deduced from thence Let us see then what is defective in these Principles First Aristotle joyns no distinct Idea to the Word Quality We know not whether by Quality he means a real Being distinct from Matter or only the Modification of Matter It seems sometimes as if he meant it in one Sense and sometimes in another It is true in the Eighth Chapter of Categories he defines Quality to be that which causes a thing to have such or such a Name but that will not satisfie our Demands Secondly the Definitions he gives of his four first Qualities Heat Cold Moist and Dry are all false or useless This is his Definition of Heat Heat is that which assembles things of a like Nature First we do not see that this Definition perfectly explains the Nature of Heat although it should be true that Heat collects all things of the same Nature But secondly it is false for Heat does not collect all things of the same Nature Heat does not assemble the Parts of Water it rather dissipates them into a Vapour Nor does it assemble the Particles of Wine or those of all other Liquors or fluid Bodies whatever Nor even those of Quicksilver On the contrary it resolves and separates all solid Bodies and even Fluids although of a different Nature And if there are any whose Parts Fire cannot dissipate 't is not because they are of the same Nature but because some are too gross and too solid to be raised by the Motion of the Parts of Fire In the third place Heat indeed can neither assemble nor dissipate the Parts of any Body whether Homogeneous or Heterogeneous For to assemble to separate or dissipate the Parts of any Body it must move them Now Heat can move nothing or at least 't is not evident that Heat can move Bodies For although we consider Heat with all the Attention possible we can only discover that it may communicate to Bodies a Motion which it has not in it self Yet we see that Fire moves and separates the Parts of Bodies that are exposed to it It is true but it may be it is not from its Heat for even it is not evident that it has any at all 'T is rather by the Action of its Parts which are visibly in a continual Motion It is plain that the Parts of Fire which strike against any Body must communicate a Part of their Motion to it whether there is Heat in Fire or not If the Parts of this Body are but a little solid and gross the Fire cannot move them and make them slip one upon another In short if they are a Mixture of subtle and gross ones the Fire can only dissipate those that it can push strong enough to separate intirely from the rest Thus Fire can only separate them and if it assembles them 't is merely by Accident But Aristotle pretends quite the contrary Separation says he which some attribute to Fire is only a resembling of things of the same kind De gen corr l. 2. c. 2. for 't is only by Accident that Fire dissipates things of a different kind If Aristotle had at first distinguished the Sentiment of Heat from the Motion of the Particles whereof the Bodies we call Heat are composed and had afterwards defined Heat taken for the Motion of the Parts by saying Heat is that which agitates and separates the invisible Parts whereof visible Bodies are composed he would have given a tollerable Definition of Heat Nevertheless it would not perfectly have contented us because it would not precisely have discovered to us the Nature of the Motion of hot Bodies Aristotle defines Coldness to be that which assembles Bodies of the same or of a different Nature This Definition is good for nothing For 't is false that Cold assembles Bodies To assemble them it must move them but if we consult Reason 't is evident Cold can move nothing In Effect by Cold he means either what we feel when we are cold or that which causes the Sensation of Cold. Now it is plain that the Sensation of Cold can move nothing since it can push nothing What it is that causes Sensation we cannot doubt when we examine things by our Reason for 't is only Rest or a Cessation from Motion So Cold in Bodies being only a Cessation from this Sort of Motion which accompanies Heat it is evident that if Heat separates yet Cold does not Thus Cold assembles neither things that are of a like or different Nature for what can push nothing can assemble nothing In a Word as it does nothing it collects nothing Aristotle judging of things by the Senses imagines Cold is also positive as well as Heat because the Sensations of Heat and Cold are both real and positive And he also thinks that these two Qualities are active And indeed if we follow the Impression of our Senses we have Reason to believe that Cold is a very active Quality since cold Water congeals reassembles and in a Moment hardens melted Gold or Lead after a little is poured upon them although the Heat of these Metals is great enough to separate the Parts of any Body they touch It is evident by what we have said of the Errors of the Senses in the first Book that if we rely only upon the Senses to judge of the Qualities of Sensible Bodies it is impossible to discover any certain and undoubted Truth which can serve as a Principle to assist us in the Knowledge of Nature For by this Method only we cannot discover what things are hot and what cold For of many Persons who should touch Water that is luke-warm some of them would think it hot and others cold Those that are of a hot Constitution would think it cold and those that are of a cold would think it hot And if we supposed Fish capable of Sensation 't is very probable they would think it hot when all Men think it cold It is the same with the Air it seems hot or cold according to the different Dispositions of the Bodies that are exposed
MALEBRANCH's Search after Truth OR A TREATISE OF THE NATURE OF THE Humane Mind AND Of its Management for avoiding Error in the SCIENCES To which is Added The Authors Defence against the Accusations of Monsieur de la Ville ALSO The LIFE of Father Malebranch of the Oratory at Paris With an Account of his Works and several particulars of his controversie with Monsieur Arnaud Dr. of Sorbonne and Monsieur Regis Professor in Philosophy at Paris Written by Monsieur Le Vasseur lately come over from Paris VOL. II. Done out of French from the Last Edition LONDON Printed for S. Manship at the Ship in Cornhil 1695. TO THE Marquess of Normanby My Lord THis Translation of the Second Volume of Father Malebranch's Recherche de la Verite Humbly begs the same Favourable Acceptance and Protection as Your Lordship was pleased to grant the First Nor could I have any Temptation to seek another Patron for it either in respect of the Author or my Self Every one that has had the Honour to know Your Lordship is very Sensible that You have Successfully Studied Mankind in General and are therefore a very good Judge of this Subject As for my Self Your Lordships preventing Goodness and extream readiness to serve me has already outdone the utmost Ambition of My Lord Your Lordships most Faithful and most Obedient Servant Richard Sault The Life of Father Malebranch of the Oratory at Paris With an Account of his Works and several Particulars of his Controversie with Monsieur Arnaud Dr. of Sorbonne and Monsieur Regis Professor in Philosophy at Paris Written by Monsieur Le Vasseur lately come over from Paris Done into English by R. S. FAther Nicholas Malebranch was Born at Paris of a considerable Family in the Year 1638. His Eldest Brother is now one of the Counsellors in the first Chamber of the Parliament at Paris where he is disinguisht by his Integrity and other Qualifications that are proper to make a good Magistrate When Father Malebranch became of Age to choose an Imployment suitable to his Birth and Inclination his Parents proposed to him to make him a Member of that August Body but he generously refused so handsome an Establishment and thought rather of retiring from the World and devoting himself to the Church To this End he chose the Congregation of the Priests of the Oratory which continually supplies France with Learned Divines Excellent Preachers and Men capable of filing the most Eminent Dignities of the Church Father Malebranch spent the first Years of his retreat in studying Divinity and Languages necessary for the understanding of Holy Scripture and other Ecclesiastic Authors But as he felt a greater Pleasure and Inclination for those Sciences that are acquired by Reasoning and Meditation than for those which depended only on Memory and were founded upon Historical Facts or the Writings of Antient Authors he resolved to content himself with reading the Holy Scripture attentively and imploying the rest of his Time in the Study of Metaphysics and the knowledge of himself The Book intituled A Search after Truth was the first Fruit of his Meditations Never was there any Book received with so great an Applause in France nor in other Countries where they are curious in matters of Reason and good Sense All the World was surprized to see a Young Philosopher who knew Man better than the Celebrated Monsieur Des Cartes his Master did at the end of his dayes and who had found the secret of writing upon abstracted things after so noble and polite a manner The Able Men of France Italy Germany England and Holland earnestly sought his Acquaintance and gave him particular Marks of the Esteem which they had conceived for him Madam the Princess Elizabeth Palatine that Illustrious Scholar of Monsieur Des Cartes was so charmed with his Search after Truth that she resolved to make it her Manual and to have it alwayes with her Notwithstanding the Esteem her most Serene Highness had for the Memory of Monsieur Des Cartes she easily confessed that Father Malebranch had out-done that great Philosopher as to what regarded the knowledge of the Humane Mind and the Consequences of the Vnion of the Soul and Body She wrote to her Sister Madam the Princess Louise Abbess of Maubuisson in France that she was surprized that having near her Abbey a Man of such merit so rare and so distinguisht that she had not sought his Acquaintance What was most great and extraordinary in Malebranch was that he alwayes preserved a Humility and Modesty that was truly Christian in the midst of all the Praises and Applauses that he had received in his own Country and elsewhere He was alwayes watchful over himself and would not so much as hearken to so refin'd a Temptation as the greatest Philosophers of Antiquity have not been able to withstand It was with extream Displeasure that Father Malebranch observed afterwards that certain Persons otherwise perswaded of the solidity of the Principles of the Cartesian Philosophy which he had so happily explained were not yet sufficiently convinced of the Truth of the Christian Religion and of the Morals of Jesus Christ Being troubled at the fatal blindness of these Philosophers he resolved to make use of the Principles in which they agreed with him to prove to them the Corruption of Mans Heart and the necessity of such a Mediator as Jesus Christ To this end he Publish'd a little Book of Christian Conversations and from that time he only applyed himself to make use of the Truths which he had discovered to prove the beauty and solidity of that Divine Philosophy which Jesus Christ teaches us in the Gospel What Glory what Honour is it for a Christian Philosopher to have set in so full and so clear a light the Reasons which we can now so advantageously use against Atheists and the Enemies of the Gospel With the Principles of Father Malebranch we may boldly defie the Atheists to explain to us how the Blood circulates in their Veins how they feel Pleasure and Pain by means of certain Motions which are excited in their Body without supposing the Existence and Action of an Infinite Perfect Being who is only capable of punishing and rewarding us And if this pretended strength of Mind of which our Atheists so much boast is baffled when they consider but a Bowl that is in motion an agreeable titillation or Pain which they feed before the Fire what if we should desire them to explain the formation and increase of an almost infinite number of Organized Bodies to tell us bow this vast Machine of the Vniverse could be formed and move of it self after so just and regulated a manner in every thing that is necessary for its Conservation What Comfort is it for us to learn that even the irregularities which appear in the World and concerning which the Enemies of our Religion reproach us with an insulting Air are certain marks of the infinite Perfection of the Author of Nature
this good and his hatred is so much the greater as his love is stronger because the motion of his Will in his hatred is here in effect only a motion of love the motion of the Soul towards good not differing from that whereby we fly the privation of it as has been already said The third thing is the Sensation proper to the Passion and in this it is a Sensation of Hatred The motion of Hatred is the same as that of Love but the Sensation of Hatred is quite different from that of Love which every one may know by his own experience Motions are actions of the Will but Sensations are modifications of the Mind The Motions of the Will are the Natural Causes of the Sensations of the Mind and these Sensations of the Mind in their turn maintain the Motions of the Will in their determination The Sensation of Hatred is in this Man a Natural Consequence of the Motions of his Will which is excited at the sight of Evil and this Motion is afterwards maintained by the Sensation it causes What we have said of this Man might even happen although he should have no Body But because he is composed of two parts naturally united the Motions of his Mind communicate themselves to his Body and those of his Body to his Mind Thus the new determination or the increase of the Motions of his Will naturally produces a new determination in the Motion of the Animal Spirits which always differs in all the Passions although the Motion of the Soul be generally the same The Spirits then are forcibly pushed into the Arms Legs and Face to give the Body a disposition necessary for the Passion and to disperse over the Face the Air a Man ought to have when we offend him in relation to all the circumstances of the Injury he receives and the quality or power of him that does and of him that suffers the Affront And this diffusion of the Spirits is so much the stronger more abundant and quicker as the good is greater the opposition stronger and the Brain more sensibly affected If then the Person of whom we speak should only receive some injury in his imagination or if he receives a real one but flight and such as can make no considerable shaking in the Brain the diffusion of the Animal Spirits will be weak and languishing and perhaps insufficient to change the common and natural disposition of the Body But if the injury be great and his imagination be heated it will cause a great shaking in his Brain and the Spirits would he diffused with so much force that in a moment they would create in his Body the air and gesture of the ruling Passion If it is strong enough to overcome his air would be threatning and fierce If it is weak and cannot resist the evil that oppresses him his air would be humble and submissive His Complaints and Tears would naturally excite in the Standers-by and even in his Enemy motions of Pity and from thence they would draw the relief that could be hoped for from his own power It is true that the Spectators and Enemy of this Miserable Person have the Spirits and Fibres of their Brain already agitated I with a violent motion contrary to that which produces Compassion in the Soul the Complaints of this Man would but exasperate their Rage and so his Misfortune would be inevitable should he always continue in the same air and gesture But Nature has well provided in this case for at the sight of the near loss of a great good it naturally forms upon the Face such lively and surprizing Characters of Rage and Despair as to disarm the most Barbarous Enemies and make them become like Statues The terrible and unexpected fight of the Lineaments of Death drawn by the Hand of Nature upon the Face of a Miserable Wretch stops in the Enemy who is affected with it the Motion of the Spirits and Blood which carried him to Revenge and in that moment of favour and attention Nature draws a-new a humble and submissive air upon the Face of this unfortunate Man who begins to hope because of the change of his Enemy's Countenance whose Animal Spirits receive a new determination they were not capable of a moment before so that he Mechanically enters into the motions of Compassion which naturally incline his Soul to Charity and Mercy A Passionate Man cannot without a great abundance of Spirits either produce or preserve in his Brain an Image of his misfortune lively enough or a commotion strong enough to give the Body a forced and extraordinary gesture the Nerves which answer to the inward part of his Body receive at the sight of any evil the necessary shocks and agitations that cause the humours that are fit to produce the Spirits which the passion requires to run into all the Vessels that have communication with the heart For the Animal Spirits being dispersed through the Nerves which go to the Liver Spleen Pancreas and generally to all the Bowels they agitate and shake them and by their agitation press forth the humors that these parts preserve for the Exigencies of the Machine But if these humors always flowed after the same manner into the heart if they there received at divers times a like fermentation and if the Spirits which are formed therein equally ascended into the Brain we shou'd not see such hasty changes in the motions of the Passions The sight of a Magistrate for instance wou'd not in a moment stop the transports of of a furious Man who is persuing his revenge and his face heated with Blood and Spirits wou'd not all of a sudden become pale and languid through the apprehension of some punishment Thus to hinder these humors that are mixt with the Blood from entring after the same manner into the Heart there are Nerves which environ them at their passage which by being contracted or dilated by the impression that the sight of the Object and power of the Imagination produce in the Spirits shut up or open the way to those humors And to hinder the same from receiving a like agitation and fermentation in the heart at divers times there are also Nerves that cause the Palpitations which being not equally agitated in the different motions of the Spirits do not push the Blood with the same force into the Arteries Other Nerves dispersed through the Lungs distribute the Air to the heart by contracting and dilating the branches of the Trachea which serve for respiration and after this manner regulate the fermentation of the Blood in relation to the circumstances of the Passion which rules And in fine to regulate the course of the Spirits with the greatest exactness and speed there are Nerves which environ the Arteries as well those which go to the Brain as those which conduct the Blood to all other parts of the Body So that the shaking of the Brain which accompanies the unexpected sight of some Circumstance because
to the Sun he is very near the Earth and very distant when he is joyned to the Sun It is the same with the Superiour Planets Jupiter and Saturn as for the Inferiout ones such as Mercury and Venus to speak properly they are never opposite to the Sun The Lines that all Planets seem to describe about the Earth are not Circles but they approach very near to Elipses and all these Elipses appear very different because of the different Situation of the Planets in respect to us In short all that we observe in the Heavens with any Certainty concerning the Motion of the Planets agrees perfectly well with what we have said of their Formation according to the most simple Ways As for the fixed Stars Experience tells us some of them diminish and intirely disappear and some of them also there are which appear anew whose Brightness and Magnitude much augments They increase or diminish as the Vortices do of which they are the Centers and receive more or less of the first Element We cease to see them when they are made up of Spots and Crusts ' and begin again to discover them when these Spots which hindered their shining are wholly dissipated All these Stars keep near the same Distance amongst themselves since they are the Centers of Vortexes and are not drawn so much as they resist other Vortexes or as the Stars are They all shine like Suns because like the Sun they are the Centers of some Vortexes which are not yet swallowed up They are all equally distant from the Earth although they appear to the Eye as fastned to a concave Surface For if we have not yet compared the Parallax of the nearest with that of the most distant by the different Situation of the Earth from six Months to six Months it is because this Difference of Situation is not great enough to render this Parallax sensible because of the Distance we are from the Stars It may be by the means of Telescopes some small matter might be observed In fine all that we can discover in the Stars by our Senses and Experience is not different from what we have discovered by the Mind by examining the most Natural Relations which is between the Parts and Motions of Extension If we would examine the Nature of Bodies here below we must first consider that whereas the first Element being compounded of an infinite Number of different Figures the Bodies which have been formed out of the Congeries of the Parts of this Element would be manifold Some of their Parts would be branched others long and others round but irregular in every respect If their branched Parts are gross enough they would be hard but flexible and inelastick like Gold If their Parts are less gross they would be soft and fluid like Gums Fat or Oyles But if their branched Parts are extreamly delicate they will be like Air. If the long Parts of Bodies are gross and inflexible they will be sharp incorruptible easie to dissolve like Salt If these same long Parts are flexible they will be insipid like Water If they have gross and irregular Parts in every respect they will be like Earth and Stones In short we shall have Bodies of many different Natures and not two of them that will intirely be alike because the first Element is capable of an infinite Number of Figures and all these Figures never combine after the same manner in two different Bodies Whatever Figures these Bodies have if they have Pores great enough to permit the second Element to pass through they will be transparent like Air Water and Glass c. whatever Figures these Bodies are endued with if the first Element intirely surrounds some Parts of them and agitates them strongly and swift enough to repulse the second Element on all Sides they will be Luminous like Flame If these Bodies repulse all the second Element which shocks them they will be very white if they receive it without Opposition they will be very black In short if they repulse it by divers Shocks or Vibrations they will appear of different Colours As to their different Situation the heaviest that is those that have the least Power to continue their Motion in a right Line will be nearest the Center as Metals Earth Air Water will be more distant from it and all Bodies would keep the Situation we see them in because they ought to be placed so much the more distant from the Center of the Earth as their Motion is greater And we must not be surprized if I now say that Metals have less tower to continue their Motion in a right tine than the Earth Water and other Bodies less solid although I have before said that the most solid Bodies have more Power to continue their Motion in a right Line than others For the Reason why Metals have less Power to continue to move than the Earth or Stones is because they have much less Motion Since it is always true that two Bodies unequal in Solidity being moved with an equal Swiftness the most solid has the most Power to keep in a right Line because then the most solid has the most Motion and 't is the Motion that gives the Power If we would know the Reason why near the Center of the Vortices gross Bodies are heavy and yet are light when they are more distant from it we must consider that great Bodies receive their Motion from the subtle Matter which environs them and in which they swim Now this subtle Matter actually moves in a Circular Line and only inclinesto move in a right Line and communicates this Circular Motion to the gross Bodies which it carries along with it without communicating to them its Efforts to remove from the Center by a right Line only so much as this Effort is followed by the Motion it communicates to them For we must observe that the Parts of the subtle Matter making an Effort towards different Sides can only compress the gross Bodies they carry along with them For this Body cannot go to different Sides at the same Time But because the subtle Matter which is near the Center of the Vortex hath much more Motion than it imployes in the Circulation and communicates to the gross Bodies it draws after it only its Circular Motion which is common to all its Parts And if gross Bodies should chance to have more Motion than that which is common to the Vortix they would soon lose it by communicating it to the little Bodies they meet From when it is plain that gross Bodies near the Center of the Vortex have not so much Motion as the Matter in which they swim each Part of which is moved after many different Ways besides their circular or common Motion Now if gross Bodies have less Motion they certainly make a weaker Effort to pass into a right Line and if they make less Efforts they are obliged to give way to those that make more and consequently to approach
soon have seen an infinite number of Motions which are neither compounded of a right nor circular Line Or rather he should have thought that the Motions compounded of Motions in a right Line might have been infinitely different if we suppose that compounded Motions increase or diminish their Swiftness in an infinite number of different ways as is evident from what has been said before There are says he only these two simple Motions the Right and the Circular of which all Motions are composed But he is deceived the Circular Motion is not Simple we cannot conceive it without thinking of one point to which it relates and whatever includes a Relation is Relative and not Simple It is true we can conceive the Circular Motion as produced by two Motions in a right Line the Swiftness of which are unequal according to a certain Proportion for a Motion compounded of two others which are made in a right Line and which diversly increase or diminish their Swiftness cannot be Simple In the third place he says all simple Motions are of three sorts one from the Center another to the Center and the third about the Center But it is false the last is Simple as I have already said 'T is also false that there is no simple Motions but those that ascend and descend for all Motions in a right Line are Simple whether they approach to or remove from the Center the Poles or any other Point All Bodies says he are composed of three Dimensions Therefore all Bodies ought to have three Simple Motions What relation is there between these Simple Motions and Dimensions Nay more all Bodies have three Dimensions but no Bodies three Simple Motions In the fourth place he supposes that Bodies are either Simple or Compounded and he says Simple Bodies are such as have in themselves some Power of Motion as Fire Earth c. and that the compounded ones receive their Motion from those which compose them But in this Sense there is no Simple Bodies at all for there are none which have in themselves any Principle of their Motion Nor is there any compounded Bodies since Compounded suppose Simple which are not thus we should have no Bodies at all What Imagination can we have of defining the Simplicity of Bodies by a Power of moving themselves What distinct Idea's are united to these words of Simple and Compound Bodies if Simple Bodies are only defined by their relation to an Imaginary Power of moving themselves But let us examine the Consequences he draws from these Principles Circular Motion is a Simple Motion The Heavens move circularly therefore this Motion is Simple Now Simple Motion can proceed only from a Simple Body that is from a Body which moves by its own Power Therefore the Heavens are a Simple Body distinct from the four Elements which move by right Lines It is very evident that all this arguing contains only false and absurd Propositions Let us examine his other Proofs for he brings a great many to prove a thing as useless as it is false His second reason to prove that the Heavens are a Simple Body distinct from the four Elements supposes two sorts of Motions the one Natural and the other Violent or against Nature But it is plain enough to all those who judge of things by clear Idea's That Bodies having not in themselves the Nature or Principle of their Motion as Aristotle understood there can be no violent Motion or such as is contrary to Nature It is indifferent to all Bodies whether they are moved or not moved on one side or moved on the other But Aristotle who judges of things by the Impression of his Senses imagines that Bodies which are always placed by the Laws of the Communication of Motion in such or such a Situation in respect to others are placed there of themselves because they like it best and that it is more conformable to their Nature This is Aristotle's way of arguing The Circular Motion of the Heavens is Natural or else contrary to Nature If it is Natural as we have said it is a Simple Body distinct from the Elements since the Elements move not circularly by their Natural Motion If the Circular Motion is against the Nature of the Heavens the Heavens would be composed of some one of the Elements as Fire or some other thing But the Heavens cannot be composed of any of the Elements for if for instance it was Fire the natural Motion of Fire being to ascend the Firmament would have two contrary Motions the Circular and the ascending one which could not be since a Body cannot have two contrary Motions If the Firmament was composed of some other Body which by its Nature did not move circularly it would have some other Natural Motion which cannot be for if naturally it ascended it must be either Fire or Air if it descended it would be Earth or Water Therefore c. I shall not stop here to make particular Remarks of the Absurdity of these Arguments I only say in general that what Aristotle here says signifies nothing distinct and that there is nothing of Truth or Conclusion in it His third Reason is as follows The first and most perfect of all Simple Motions must be the Motion of a Simple Body and even of the first and most perfect of Simple Bodies But the Circular Motion is the first and most perfect of all Simple Motions because all Circular Lines are perfect and no right Line is so For if it is Finite we may add something to it if Infinite it is not yet perfect since it has no * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 make the same Equivocation as Finish'd and End This Philosopher proves thus that an infinite Line is not perfect because 't is not finish'd End and things are perfect only when they are finished therefore Circular Motion is the first and most perfect of all Motion Therefore Bodies which more circularly are Simple and the first and most Divine of Simple Bodies His fourth Argument All Motion is either Natural or not so and all Motion that is Unnatural to one Body is Natural to some other We see that Motions that descend and ascend which are Unnatural to some Bodies yet are Natural to others For Fire descends not Naturally but the Earth does Now the Circular Motion is not Natural to any of the four Elements There must be then a Simple Body to which this Motion is Natural therefore the Heavens which are moved circularly are a Simple Body differing from the four Elements In fine The Circular Motion is Natural or Violent in some Body If it be Natural it is evident that Body must be the most Simple and Perfect If it is not Natural it is very strange that this Motion should continue always since we see all unnatural Motions endure but a little time We must therefore after all these Reasons believe that there is some other Body separate from all
only upon the false and confused Idea's of the Senses since this Rule which preserves Light and Evidence in all just and solid Arguments only breeds Confusion in their Discourses It is not possible to expose the Fantasticalness and Extravagances of the Explanations that Aristotle gives of all sorts of Matters when the Subjects he treats of are simple and easie his Errors are simple and very easily discovered but when he pretends to explain compounded things and such as depend upon many Causes his Errors are at least as compounded as the Subjects he treats on and it is impossible to take them in Pieces so as to discover them all to others This great Genius which they pretend has done so well in his Rules for Definitions did not so much as know what things were necessary to be defined Because putting no Distinction between a clear and distinct knowledge and a Sensible one he imagined he was able to know and explain things to others which he had no distinct Idea of himself Definitions must explain both the Nature of Things and the Terms which compose them and stir up in the Mind distinct and clear Idea's of them But 't is impossible after this manner to define the Sensible Qualities of Heat Cold Colour Taste c. when we confound the Cause with the Effect and the Motion of Bodies with the Sensation which accompanies it because Sensations being Modifications of the Soul which we know not by clear Idea's but only by an inward Sensation as I have explained in the third Book it is impossible to affix Words to Idea's we have not As we have clear and distinct Idea's of a Circle a Square a Triangle and so distinctly know the Nature of them we may give good Definitions thereof We can even deduce the Idea's we have of these Figures all their Properties and explain them to others by Terms to which these Idea's are affixed but we cannot define either Heat or Cold being only Sensible Qualities for we know them neither distinctly nor by Idea but only by Conscience or Internal Sensation Nor must we define Heat which is external by any Effects For if we substitute in its Place the Definition that we shall give it we shall soon see that this Definition will only deceive us If for instance we define Heat to be what assembles things of the same kind without saying any thing more we may in following this Definition take such things for Heat as have no Relation to it We may say that the Loadstone assembles the Filings of Iron and separates them from those of Silver because it is hot that a Pigeon eats Hemp-Seed and leaves other Grain because she is hot That a Covetous Man separates his Gold from his Silver because he is hot In fine there is no Extravagancy that this Definition will not engage us in if we were stupid enough to follow it This Definition then does not explain the Nature of Heat nor can we make use of it to deduce all its Properties since if we keep precisely to its Terms we conclude Impertinences and if we put it in the Place of the thing defined we shall have a strange Piece of Nonsence Yet if we carefully distinguish Heat from the Cause of it although we cannot define it since it is a Modification of the Soul whereof we have no Idea we may define the Cause of it since we have a distinct Idea of Motion But Care must be had that Heat taken for such a Motion does not always cause the Sensation of Heat in us For Water for instance is hot since its Parts are fluid and in Motion and 't is apparent that Fish feel it warm at least warmer than Ice whose Parts are more in Rest but it is cold in relation to us because it has less Motion than the Parts of our Bodies For what hath less Motion than another Body is in some manner in rest in respect to that Body So that 't is not in Relation to the Motion of the Fibres of our Bodies that we must define the Cause of Heat or the Motion which excites it We must if we can define this Motion absolutely and in it self and then the Definitions we shall give may serve to discover the Nature and Properties of Heat I do not think my self obliged to examine the Philosophy of Aristotle any further and to unravel the extreamly confused and perplext Errors of this Author It seems to me that I have already shewn that he does not prove his four Elements and that he defines them ill That his Elementary Qualities are not such as he pretends that he knows not the Nature of them and that all second Qualities are not compounded of them And lastly although we should grant him that all Bodies were composed of four Elements as second Qualities of the first his whole System would be useless in a Search after Truth since his Idea's are not clear enough always to preserve Evidence in our Ratiotinations If 't is doubted that I have not related the true Opinions of Aristotle it may easily be seen by examining the Books he has writ of the Heavens of Generation and Corruption for 't is from them that I have taken almost all that I have said I had no Design to relate any thing of his Eight Books of Physicks because there is some learned Men who pretend that 't is only a Discourse of Logick And 't is very probable since we find there many indetermined and trifling Words As Atistotle often contradicts himself and as we may maintain almost any manner of Opinion from some Passages taken out of him I doubt not but we may prove by Aristotle even some Opinions contrary to those I have attributed to him but I am not afraid of it it is sufficient that I have the Book by me I cited him from to prove what I have said Nay I shall not give my self any great Trouble to examine whether these Books are Aristotle's or not I take them as for such and as they are commonly received For we ought not to disquiet our selves to know the true Genealogy of things for which we have no Esteem CHAP. VI. Some general Advices which are necessary to conduct us regularly in a Search after Truth and in a Choice of the Sciences THAT it may not be said I only destroy without establishing any thing certain and indisputable in this Work It will be proper to shew in a few Words the Order we ought to keep in our Studies to avoid being deceived and that I even note some most necessary Truths and Sciences in which we may meet with such Evidence as we cannot hinder our selves from consenting to them without suffering the secret Reproaches of our Reason I shall not explain these Truths and Sciences at large because 't is already done I do not pretend to make a new Impression of other Persons Works but content my self with referring to them I will only shew the Order we ought to