of my Imagination and the Illusion of my Senses The Inward Man which is in me will deride the Animal and Earthly one which I carry about me Lastly The New Man shall increase and the Old Man shall be destroy'd provided I always obey the Voice of him who speaks so clearly to me in the most Secret Recesses of my Reason and who having made himself Sensible to condescend to my Weakness and Infirmity and to give me Life by those very means by which he gave me Death speaks yet to me through my Senses after a very strong lively and familiar manner I mean by the preaching of his Gospel And if I interrogate him in all the Metaphysical Natural and pure Philosophical Questions as well as those which regard the Regulation of Manners I shall always have a Faithful Master which will never deceive me I shall not only be a Christian but a Philosopher I shall make a good Judgment of things and in a word I shall follow both by Grace and Nature the way which will guide me to all the Perfection I am capable of It must then be concluded from what I have said That to make the best use that we can of the Faculties of our Soul our Senses Imagination and Mind we must only apply them to those things for which they have been given us We ought carefully to distinguish our Sensations and Imaginations from our pure Idea's and judge according to our Sensations and Imaginations of the relation that External Bodies have to ours without making use of them to discover Truths which they always confound And we must make use of the pure Idea's of the Mind to discover Truths without ever attempting to judge by them of the relation that External Bodies have to ours because these Idea's never have Extension enough to represent them perfectly to us It is impossible that Men should have a sufficient Knowledge of all the Figures and Motions of the little Particles of their Body and Blood and of those of a certain Fruit in a certain time of their Sickness to be able to discover the relation of Agreement betwixt this Fruit and their Body and that if they should eat of it it would recover them Thus our Senses alone are more useful to the Preservation of our Health than the Rules of Experimental Physick and Experimental Physick than the Theoretick But Experimental Physick which allows much to Experience and still more to the Senses is the best because all these things ought to be joyn'd together We may then use our Reason in all things and 't is the Privilege which it has above the Senses and Imagination which are limited to Sensible Things but we ought to use it with Circumspection for though it is the chief part of our selves it often happens that we are deceiv'd when we permit it to go too far because it cannot act sufficiently without wearying it self I mean it cannot know sufficiently how to make a good Judgment and yet it will not forbear Judging A SEARCH AFTER TRUTH BOOK IV. Of the Inclinations and Natural Motions of the Mind CHAP. I. I. It 's necessary the Mind have Inclinations as well as the Body Motions II. God acts the Humane Mind only for himself III. Mens Minds are only inclin'd to Particular Good through the Motion they have to Good in General IV. The Origine of the Chief Natural Inclinations which will make up the Division of this Fourth Book IT would not be necessary to Treat of Natural Inclinations as we are going to do in this Fourth Book nor of the Passions as we shall do in the following in order to discover the Causes of the Errors of Mankind if the Understanding did not depend on the Will in the Perception of Objects But whereas it is the Will that directs it which makes it resolve and applies it to some Objects rather than others it is absolutely necessary to apprehend its Inclinations well to penetrate into the Causes of the Errors to which we are liable If God I. It 's necessary the Mind have Inclinations as well as the Body Notions when he Created this World had produced Matter infinitely extended without giving it any Motion there would have been no difference in Bodies All this visible World would still have been a meer Mass of Matter or of Extension which indeed might serve to discover the Grandeur and Power of its Author but there would not be that Succession of Forms and that Variety of Bodies which compose all the Beauty of the Universe and which incline Mens Minds to admire the Infinite Wisdom of the Governour thereof Therefore I am of Opinion That the Inclinations of the Mind are in the Spiritual World what Motion is in the Material World and that if the Mind were without Inclinations or if it never had any Desire we should not meet with that Variety in the Order of Spiritual Things which not only makes the World admire the Profoundness of the Wisdom of God approve the Variety of Material Objects but also his Mercy his Justice his Goodness and generally all his other Attributes Thus then the Difference of Inclinations produces in the Mind an Effect much like unto that which the Difference of Motions produces in the Body and the Inclinations of Mens Minds and the Motions of Bodies together constitute all the Beauty of Created Beings Thus all Spirits must have some Inclinations as well as Bodies have different Motions But let us endeavour to discover what Inclinations they ought to have Were not our Nature Corrupted it would not be necessary to seek out by Reason as we are going to do what the Natural Inclinations of Created Spirits ought to be It would be sufficient in order thereunto to consult our selves and we should discover by the Inward Sentiments we have of what passes within us all the Inclinations we ought Naturally to have But whereas we know by Faith that Sin has destroy'd the Order of Nature and that Reason informs us that our Inclinations are Irregular as it will appear in the Sequel we are obliged to go another way to work Since we cannot trust to what we feel we are obliged to explain things in a more Sublime Manner but which without doubt will seem to have but little Solidity in it to those who only esteem what relates to the Senses It is an undeniable Truth II. The Principal End of the Actions of God is himself and he only acts Mens Minds for himself that God can have no other Principal End for his Operations but himself and that he may have several Ends less Principal which tend all towards the Preservation of the Beings which he has created He can have no Principal End but himself because he cannot Err nor place his Final End in Beings which are not Perfect But he may propose as a less Principal End the Preservation of Created Beings because as they all participate of his Goodness they are necessarily Good and even
create in us a General Diffidence of all our Senses We shall then show that we must not rely upon the Testimony of our Sight to Judge of the Truth of things as they are in themselves but only to discover what Relation they have to the Preservation of our Body that our Eyes generally deceive in all they represent to us in the Greatness of Bodies in their Figures and Motions in Light and Colours which are the only things we see that all these things are not what they really appear to be that all the World is deceiv'd in them and by this Error led into innumerable others We shall begin with Extension and produce those Proofs which incline us to believe that we never see any thing as it is We commonly see Animals with Microscopes Of the Errors of Sight in respect of Extension consider'd in it self much less than a Grain of Sand that is almost Invisible to the naked Eye * Journal des Scavans du 12. Nov 1668. we have even seen some a thousand times yet less These living Atoms walk as well as other Animals Then they have Legs and Feet and Bones in these Legs to uphold them Muscles to move them Tendons and an infinite Number of Fibres in each Muscle and lastly Blood or Animal Spirits extreamly subtile and fine to fill and contribute successive Motion to these Muscles It 's impossible without this to conceive that they Live are Nourish'd and Transport their little Bodies into different Places according to the different Impression of Objects or rather 't is impossible that even those who have employ'd all their Life time in Anatomy and an Enquiry into Nature should represent the number diversity and fineness of all the parts whereof these little Bodies are necessarily Compos'd to make them live and execute all those things that we see them do The Imagination is lost and astonish'd at the sight of so surprizing a Smallness it cannot apprehend nor take hold of such Parts that have no hold for it and altho' Reason convinces us of the Truth of what we have said yet the Senses and Imagination oppose it and often compel us to doubt of it Our Sight is extreamly limited but we must not limit its Object the Idea which it gives us of Extension hath very narrow Bounds but we must not thence conclude that Extension hath the same Bounds it is doubtless Infinite in one Sense and this little part of Matter that is hid from Eyes is capable of containing a World in which there are as many things tho' much less in Proportion as in this great World we Inhabit The little Animals we spoke of have perhaps other little Animals which they devour that are Imperceptible because of their Stupendious Smallness That which is a Handworm in respect of us these Animals are so in respect of it and perhaps there are in Nature yet lesser and lesser ad infinitum in so strange a Proportion as this betwixt a Man and a Handworm We have Evident and Mathematical Demonstrations of the infinite Divisibility of Matter and this is sufficient to incline us to believe that there may be Animals lesser and lesser ad Infinitum altho' out Imagination is lost in the Thought God made Matter only to form Admirable Works thereof and since we are certain there are no Particles whose Smallness is capable of limiting his Power in the formation of those little Animals why do we unreasonably limit and diminish the Idea we have of an Infinite Creator by measuring his Power and Operations by our Finite Understanding Experience has already undeceived us in part by shewing us Animals a thousand times less than a Hand-worm why would we have them to be the last and least of all for my part I see no reason to imagine it on the contrary it 's much more probable to believe that there are some yet much lesser than those we have discovered for indeed those little Animals are not so much wanting for Microscopes as Microscopes for them When we examine the * Principle of Generation Germ in the midst of Winter taken out of the Bole of Tulip either by the Naked Eye or a Convex Glass we very easily discover leaves in it that will become green those that are to compose the Flower of the Tulip that little Triangular part which encloses the Seed and the six little Columns which encompass it at the bottom of the Tulip so that we cannot doubt but the Germ in the Bole of the Tulip contains a whole Tulip It is reasonable to believe the same of the Germ of a Grain of Mustard that of the Kernel of an Apple and generally of all sorts of Trees and Plants although undiscoverable by the Naked Eye nor even with a Microscope and it may be confidently said that all Trees are contain'd in little in the Germ of their Seed It does not appear unreasonable to think that there are an infinite number of Trees in one single Germ since it does not only contain the Tree whose Seed it is but also a great number of other Seeds which may also include in themselves new Trees and new Seeds of Trees which last also may contain other Trees and Seeds as fruitful as the first and thus on ad infinitum So that according to this Opinion which cannot appear impertinent or ridiculous to any but those who measure the Wonders of the Almighty Power of God after the Idea's of their own Senses and Imaginations one might say that in one Kernel only of an Apple there might be Apple-Trees Apples and Seeds of Apple-Trees for almost infinite Ages in the proportion of a perfect Apple-Tree to an Apple-Tree in its Seed and that Nature does only unfold these little Trees by administring a sensible growth to that which is out of its Seed and an insensible but real growth proportionable to their bigness to those which we may conceive to be their Seeds for we cannot doubt but that there may be Bodies small enough to insinuate themselves in the Fibres of these Trees which we may conceive to be their Seeds and by that means to nourish them What we have said of Plants and their Germs may be also applied to Animals and the Germ of which they are produc'd We see in the Germ of a Tulip's Bole an entire Tulip * The Germ 〈…〉 〈…〉 we also see in the Germ of a new laid Egg a Chicken perhaps entirely formed although it has not been hatch'd We discover Frogs in the Eggs of Frogs and other Animals besides even in their Germ upon a Curious Inquisition but when the Eyes of the Body can pierce no deeper the Eyes of the Mind must not be limited * Vâ—â—â— De 〈…〉 M. 〈…〉 being much more extended We suppose then that all the Bodies of Men and Animals which shall be produc'd till the Consummation of Ages have probably been produc'd from the Creation of the World * 〈…〉 I mean the first Female
great Images upon the bottom of the Eye as those Faces which are nearer as the Senses only Perceive but never Judge to speak properly 'T is certain that this Judgment is nothing but a compounded Sensation which consequently may be sometimes false However V. That these Judgments deceive us in some particular Occurrences that which is nothing else but Sensation in us may be consider'd in respect of the Author of Nature who excites it in us as a kind of Judgment I speak sometimes of Sensations as of Natural Judgments because this way of speaking serves to give a reason of Things as may be seen here in the Ninth Chapter towards the end and in many other places Altho' these Judgments which I have spoke of are useful to correct our Senses very many ways and that without them we should very frequently be deceiv'd yet they are also occasions of Error For Instance If it happens that we see the top of a high Steeple behind a great Wall or a Mountain it will appear very near to us and very little but if afterwards we should see it at the same distance yet with many Fields and Houses betwixt it would doubtless appear the greater and at a farther distance altho' in each Station the Projection of the Rays of the Spire or its Image which is Painted at the bottom of our Eyes would be altogether the same Now it may be said that we see it greater because of a Judgment that we Naturally make viz. that since there is so much Land betwixt us and the Steeple it must be further and consequently greater But on the contrary if we saw no Fields betwixt us and the Steeple altho' we even knew there were many and that it was a great way off which is very remarkable it would always appear very near and very little as I have said And it may also be suppos'd that this is done by a Natural Judgment of our Soul which thus sees this Spire because it Judges it about five or six hundred paces distant for commonly our Imagination does not represent a greater distance between Objects and us if it be not assisted by a Sensible view of other interjacent Objects beyond which it can yet imagine farther 'T is for this cause See the 9th Chapter towards the end that when the Moon Rises or Sets we see it greater than when it is elevated above the Horizon for when it is very high we see no Objects betwixt it and us whose greatness we know to Judge of that of the Moon by comparing them together but when it is near Setting we see betwixt it and us many Fields whose breadth we know very near and so we Judge it at a greater distance because we see it at a greater It 's observable that when the Moon is Risen above our Heads altho' our reason assures us that it is at a very great distance yet it seems to us to be very little and very near for indeed these Natural Judgments of Sight are only built upon the Perceptions of the same Sight and Reason cannot correct them So that they very often deceive us in causing us to form free Judgments which perfectly agree with them for when we Judge by our Senses we are always deceiv'd but we are never deceiv'd when we conceive for a Body only Instructs as a Body but God always teaches us Truth as I shall show hereafter These false Judgments deceive us not only as to the distance and bigness of Bodies but also in making us see their Figure other than it is We see for Example the Sun and Moon and other Spherical Bodies very distant as if they were Plains and Circles because at this great distance we cannot distinguish whether the opposite part is nearer to us than the others and because of this we Judge it at an equal distance 'T is for the same reason we Judge that all the Stars and the blue which appears in the Heaven are at the same distance and as it were a perfectly Convex Vault because our Mind supposes an Equality where it sees no Inequality altho' it ought not positively to conclude but where it sees evidently I shall not tarry here to Explain at large the Errors of the Sight as to the Figures of Bodies because any Book of Optics will save me that Labour This Science indeed does only show how the Eyes are deceiv'd and all its direction consists but in helping us to make those Natural Judgments we have spoke of at such time as we ought not to make them and this may be done after so many ways that there is not one Figure in the World which may not be Painted after a thousand different manners so as that the Sight will Infallibly be deceiv'd thereby But this is not a place to Explain these things thorowly what has been said is sufficient to show that we must not trust to our Eyes when they represent the Figure of Bodies to us altho' we are not so subject to be deceiv'd by Figures as other things CHAP. VIII I. That our Eyes do not inform us of the greatness or swiftness of Motion consider'd in it self II. That duration which is necessary to be understood to know what Motion is is unknown III. Examples of the Errors of Sight in respect of Motion and Rest WE have discover'd the principal and most general Errors of the Sight about the Extension of Figures we must now correct those in which it deceives us about the Motion of Matter and this will not be a very difficult performance after what we have said about Extension for there is so great a relation betwixt these two things that if we are deceiv'd about the bigness of Bodies we must unavoidably be deceiv'd in their Motion But to offer nothing except what is clear and distinct we must first take away the Equivocation of the word Motion for this Term commonly signifies two things the first is a certain power that is imagin'd in a mov'd Body which is the Cause of its Motion the second is a continual removal of a Body that is departing from or approaching to another that is consider'd as in a State of Rest When we say for Instance that a Bowle hath communicated its Motion to another the word Motion is here taken in the first signification but if it be said simply that a Boul is in Motion it is taken in the second Sense And indeed this term Motion signifies both the Cause and Effect together which yet are in themselves two different things They seem to me to be in the grossest and most dangerous Error concerning force who attribute to it Motion and the transportation of Bodies these fine terms of Nature and impressed Qualities seem to me to be only a proper Subterfuge for the Ignorance of the falsly Learn'd See the 3d Chapter of the Second Part 6. l. and impious Libertines as may be very easily proved but this is not a fit place to
any other Liquors do It gives us the Foil to speak with Plautus and produces many effects in the Mind which are not so advantageous as those that Horace describes in these Verses Quid non ebrietas designat Operta recludit Spes jubet esse ratas in praelia tendit inermes Sollicitis animis onus eximit addocet artes Faecundi Calices quem non fecere disertum Contracta quem non in paupertate solutum It would be easie enough to give a reason of the principal effects that the mingling of the Chyle with the Blood produces in the Animal Spirits and afterwards in the Brain and even in the Soul it self As why Wine rejoyces us and gives a certain Vivacity to the Wit when it is taken with Moderation and for sometime besots Men when 't is drank to Excess From whence proceeds the heaviness after Meals and many other such things for which generally very ridiculous reasons has been given But though we shall not here make a Book of Natural Philosophy yet it will be necessary to give some Idea of the Anatomy of the Brain or make some Suppositions as Mr. D'Cartes has done in his Treatise of Man without which 't will be impossible to explain our selves But if one reads this Treatise of Monsieur D'Cartes with attention we may satisfie our selves upon these questions because he explains all these things or at least gives a sufficient light to discover them as he has done by Meditation provided one has some Knowledge of his PRINCIPLES CHAP. III. That the Air one breaths causes likewise some change in the Spirits THE second general Cause of the changes which happens in the Animal Spirits is the Air we breath for altho' it does immediately make as sensible impressions as the Chyle nevertheless in some time it produces the same effect as the Juice of our Food does presently This Air enters from Branches of the Wind-pipe into that of the Venous Artery and from thence it mingles it self and ferments with the rest of the Blood in the Heart and according to its particular disposition and that of the Blood it produces great changes in the Animal Spirits and by consequence in the faculty of Imagining I know that there are some Persons who do not believe that the Air mingles it self with the Blood in the Lungs and Heart because by their Eyes they cannot discover in the branches of the Wind-pipe and those of the Venous Artery the passages whereby the Air is communicated But we must not confine the Action of the Mind to that of the Senses it can penetrate what is impenetrable by them and apply it self to such things which they cannot 'T is certain that some parts of the Blood continually pass from the branches of the Venous Artery into those of the Wind-pipe as the smell and moistness of the breath sufficiently proves and yet the passages of this communication are imperceptible why therefore cannot the subtile parts of the Air pass from the branches of the Wind-pipe into the Venous Artery altho' the passages of this communication are not so visible In short more humours are evacuated by transpiration from the imperceptible Pores of the Arteries and Skin than by any other passages of the Body and even the Pores of the most solid Metals are not so small but that there are Bodies in Nature small enough to find a free passage for otherwise these Pores would be clos'd up It is true that the Gross and branchy parts of the Air cannot pass through the ordinary Pores of Bodies and that even Water altho' very gross can glide through those passages where this Air is sometime forced to stop But we are not speaking here of those gross and branchy parts of the Air they are it seems unuseful enough for fermentation 't is only of the smallest parts such as are swift and sharp that we speak of and which have none or very small branches to stop them because they are the most proper for the fermentation of the Blood I might nevertheless affirm upon the Relation of Silvius that even the grossest part of the Air pass from the Wind-pipe into the Heart since he assures us that he hath seen it pass thither by the help of M. de Swamerdam for it is more reasonable to believe a Man who says he has seen it than a thousand others who only speak of it by chance It is then certain that the most subtile parts of the Air which we breath enters into our Heart and with the Blood and Chyle maintains there that fire which gives Life and Motion to our Bodies and that according to their different Qualities they produce great changes in the fermentation of the Blood and in the Animal Spirits The truth of this is every day made evident by the divers Humours and different Characters of Persons dispositions that are of different Countries For Example the Gascons have a more lively Imagination than the Normans those of Roan Diep and Picardy differ very much among themselves and that much more from the Lower Normans Nunquid non ultra est sapientia in Teman Jer. c. 49. v. 7. altho' they be very near together But if we consider Men whose Countries are at a greater distance we shall meet with differences still more strange as an Italian and German or a Dutchman In fine there has in all times been some places that have been renowned for the Wisdom of their Inhabitants as Teman and Athens and others for their Stupidity as Thebes Abdera and some others Athenis tenue coelum ex quo acutiores etiam putantur Attici crassum Thebis Cic. de fato Abderitanae pectora plebis habes Mart. Boeotum in crasso jurares aere natum Hor. CHAP. IV. I. Of the Change wrought in the Animal Spirits by the Nerves that go to the Lungs and Heart II. Of that which is caused by the Nerves that pass from the Liver to the Spleen and so into the Bowels III. That all this is done without the assistance of our Will but cannot be effected without a Providence THE third Cause of those changes that happen to the Animal Spirits is the most general and most active of all because it is that which produces maintains and fortifies all the Passions To apprehend which well it 's necessary that we know that the fifth sixth and eighth pair of the Nerves have most of their branches extended through the Breast and Belly where they are very useful for the preservation of the Body but extreamly dangerous to the Soul because the action of these Nerves do not depend upon the Will as those do which serve to move the Arms Legs and other external parts of the Body I. of the change of the Spirits caus'd by the Nerves which go to the Lungs and Heart for they act much more upon the Soul than that does upon them It must therefore be consider'd that many branches of the eight pair of the Nerves cast themselves amongst
distinct from others but also all Objects lying betwixt us and that which we consider When for Example we look upon a distant Steeple we commonly see at the same time many interjacent Fields and Houses and because we judge of the distance of these Fields and Houses and see the Steeple is beyond them we judge also that it is very distant and also greater than if we saw it alone However the Image thereof which is traced at the bottom of our Eye is always of an equal bigness whether there are Fields and Houses betwixt us or not provided we see it at an equal distance which is suppos'd Thus we judge of the bigness of Objects by their imagin'd distance and the Bodies betwixt us and the Object do much assist our Imagination in it even as we judge of Duration or the length of Time after some Action done by the remembrance of a confess'd Series of Things which we have done or of Thoughts which we have successively had after this Action for 't is all these Thoughts and Actions which have succeeded one another that assist our Mind in judging of the length or duration of some Time or rather a confus'd remembrance of all the successive Thoughts about the same thing is nothing else but our Judgment of Duration even as a confus'd sight of the Fields which are betwixt us and the Steeple is the same thing as our Judgment of the distance thereof Hence 't is easie to know the true Reason why the Moon appears greater when it rises than when it is much elevated above the Horizon for when it rises it appears many Leagues distant from us and even beyond the Sensible Horizon or the Earth which terminates our sight whereas we judge it to be but about half a League from us or seven or eight times as high as our Houses when it is most elevated above the Horizon Thus we judge it much greater when it is near the Horizon than when it is very distant from it because we imagine it much more distant from us when it rises than when is it very high It 's true there are a great many Philosophers who attribute what I have said to the Vapours which rise out of the Earth I agree with them that Vapours refracting the Rays of Objects make them appear the greater I know there are more Vapours betwixt us and the Moon when it rises than when it is risen very high and consequently it must appear something greater than if it were always equally distant from us However it cannot be said that this refraction of the Rays of the Moon is the cause of these apparent Changes of its greatness for this refraction hinders not but that the Image which is traced in the bottom of our Eyes at the rising of the Moon is not less than that which is form'd there when it has been risen a considerable time Astronomers which Measure the Diameters of the Planets observe that that of the Moon grows larger in proportion to its distance from the Horizon and consequently in proportion to its appearing less to us so that the Diameter of the Image Painted at the bottom of our Eyes is lesser when we see it greater Indeed when the Moon arises it 's more distant from us by the Semi-diameter of the Earth than when it is perpendicularly over our Head which is the reason that its Diameter is greater than when it arises above the Horizon because then it approaches to us That then which is the cause of our seeing it greater when it rises is not the refraction of its Rays made by the Vapours coming out of the Earth since the Image which is form'd by these Rays is then less but it is the Natural Judgment that we make of its distance because it appears beyond the Earth which we see very distant from us as was explain'd before and I 'm surpriz'd that Philosophers should look upon the reason of this appearance and deceit of our Eyes to be more difficult to find out than the greatest Equations of Algebra This means of Judging of the distance of any Object by the Knowledge of the distance of Things lying betwixt us and it is of great use to us when the other ways which I have spoken of fail us for by this we can Judge that certain Objects are distant from us many Leagues which we cannot by any of the others however if we Examine we shall find many defects in it For first this way serves only to Judge of Objects which are upon the Earth and but very rarely and for the most very unprofitably of Things that are in the Air or in the Heavens Secondly we can't make use of it upon the Earth but in things that are a very few Leagues distant from us And thirdly we must be assur'd that there are betwixt us and the Object neither Vallies Mountains or any such thing which hinders us from making use of this means Lastly I believe there are none who have not had Experience enough in this subject to be perswaded that it is extreamly difficult to make a certain Judgment of the distance of Objects by a sensible view of Things placed betwixt them and the Object But I have enlarg'd too much already upon this head These are the Means by which we Judge of the distance of Objects we have observ'd considerable defects in them and may conclude that the Judgments which are form'd upon them must be very uncertain Hence I can easily show the Truth of the Propositions which I have advanced I have suppos'd the Object at * See the preceding Figure C considerable distant from A then it may by many steps advance towards D or B without my knowing it since I have no certain means to judge of its distance it may even be suppos'd to recede towards D when 't is imagin'd to approach towards B because the Image of the Object is sometimes Painted greater upon the Optic Nerves whether because the Air which is betwixt the Object and the Eye causes a greater refraction one time than another or whether it happens sometimes from the little tremblings of this Nerve or lastly whether the Impression which the imperfect uniting of the Rays upon the Optic Nerve are dispers'd and communicated to the parts which ought not to be affected with them for it may happen from many different Causes Thus the Image of the same Objects being enlarg'd on these occasions inclines the Soul to believe the Object is near Suppose as much be said about the other Propositions Before I conclude this Chapter I must observe that it much concerns us for the preservation of our Life to know well the Motion and Rest of Bodies in proportion to their nearness to us and that it signifies little to have an exact Knowledge of the Truth of these Things when they are remov'd to a great distance from us This will evidently show that what I have advanc'd in general about all the Senses as
that they do not help us to the Knowledge of Things but in respect to the preservation of our Body and not according to what they are in themselves is exactly true in this case since we have a more exact Knowledge of the Motion or Rest of Bodies in proportion to their nearness and which we cou'd examine by the Senses than when they are so distant That the Relation they have to our Bodies ceases as when they are five or six hundred Paces from us if they are of an ordinary bigness and even nearer than that if they are less or in fine farther off if they are greater CHAP. X. Of Errors about Sensible Qualities I. A distinction of Soul and Body II. An Explication of the Organs of the Senses III. To what part of the Body the Soul is immediately Vnited IV. How Objects act upon Bodies V. How upon the Soul with Reasons why the Soul does not perceive the Motions of the Fibres of the Body VI. Four things which are Confounded in every Sensation WE have seen in the preceding Chapters that the Judgments we form by these means of our Eyes about Extension Figure and Motion are never exactly true yet we must confess they are not absolutely false they include at least this Truth That Extension Figure and Motion whatever they are are without us It 's true we often see things which are not and which never were and we ought not to conclude that a thing is without us from hence only that we see it without us there is no necessary connexion between an Idea that is presented to the Mind of Man and the Existence of a thing which this Idea represents That which happens to those who sleep or are delirious sufficiently proves this however we can ordinarily be assur'd that Extension Figures and Motions which we see are without us These are not meer imaginary things they are real and we are not deceiv'd if we believe they have a real Existence and which is independant of our Mind though it 's very * See the Explanations difficult to prove it It is then evident that the Judgments we make about the Extension Figures and Motions of Bodies contain some Truth but the same cannot be said of those things that belong to Light Colours Sapors Odours and all other sensible Qualities for Truth is never to be found there as we have shown before We do not here distinguish Light from Colours because we believe they are not very different nor can be separately explain'd We shall be oblig'd to speak of other sensible Qualities in General at the same time that we treat of these two because they might be explain'd from the same Principles We ought to be very attentive to the things that follow for they are of the most important Consequence and much more useful than those things we have yet spoken of I suppose first Distinction of the Soul and Body that the Reader has made some Reflexion upon the two * I here cast Idea every thing that is the immediate Object of the Mind Idea's which are found in our Soul one which represents the Body to us and the other the Mind that he is able to distinguish them by the positive Attributes which they include in a word that he be well persuaded that Extention is different from Thought Or else I suppose him to have Read and Consider'd some Places of St. Augustin as the 10th Chapt. of the 10th Book of the Trinity the 4th and 14th Chap. of the Book of the Quantity of the Soul or the Meditations of Descartes especially that which respects the Distinction of the Soul and Body Or lastly the Sixth Discourse of M. de Cordemoy du discernement de l'ame du Corps I suppose also II. Explication of the Organs of the Senses that he knows the Anatomy of the Organs of the Senses and that they are compos'd of small Branches which have their Original in the middle of the Brain whence they disperse themselves through all the Members of Sensation and that at last without any interruption terminate at the Extreme parts of the Body That whilst we are Awake or in Health one of their Extremities cannot be mov'd but the other is also mov'd because of their perpetual Intension just as an extended Cord cannot be mov'd in one part without communicating motion to another The Reader must also know that these little Strings or Branches may be affected after two ways either at the end which is at the extremity of the Body or at that which is in the Brain If these little Strings are shaken by the Action of External Bodies upon them and this Motion is not communicated to the Brain as it often happens in sleep then the Mind receives no new Sensation by that Action but if these Strings are mov'd in the Brain by the Course of the Animal Spirits or by some other Cause the Soul perceives something although the parts of these Strings which are out of the Brain and which are dispers'd through all the parts of our Bodies be in perfect rest as it often happens in sleep It is not amiss to observe here by the by III. The Soul is immediately united to that part of the Brain where the Strings of the Organs of the Senses meet how Experience teaches us that we do sometimes feel pain in such parts of our Bodies as have been cut off because the Strings of the Brain which belong to those respective parts being shaken after the same manner as if they were effectually hurt the Soul feels a very real Pain in these Imaginary Parts Now all these things shew visibly that the Soul immediately resides in that part of the Brain where all the Organs of Sense meet I mean it perceives all the Changes which pass there by means of Objects which Cause or have been accustom'd to Cause them and perceives nothing that passes out of this part but by the interposition of the Fibres which terminate there This Position being well conceiv'd it will not be very difficult to shew how Sensation is made which must be explain'd by some Example When I thrust the Point of a Needle into my Hand IV. An Example how Objects affect Bodies this Point removes and separates the Fibres of the Flesh the Fibres are continued from this place to the Brain and when one sleeps they are extended enough not to be shaken unless those of the Brain be also shaken it follows then that the Extremities of these Fibres which are in the Brain are also moved If the Motion of the Fibres in my Hand is moderate that of the Fibres of the Brain will be so also and if the Motion is violent to break something upon my Hand it will be much stronger and more violent in the Brain Thus also if I come near the Fire the small parts of Wood which it continually in great number and with much violence disperses as may be prov'd by
is only in God and from God that we can expect Pleasures for which we have so strong so natural and so just an Inclination CHAP. XVIII I. Our Senses deceive us in things which are not Sensible II. An Example drawn from the Conversation of Men. III. We must not confide in Sensible Habits WE have sufficiently explain'd the Errors of our Senses in respect of their Objects as of Light Colours and other Sensible Qualities we must now show how they seduce us about Objects to which they have no relation by obstructing our serious attention and inclining us to Judge of them upon their Testimony This is what deserves very well to be Explain'd Attention and Application of Mind I. That our Senses deceive us in things which are not Sensible to the clear and distinct Idea's we have of Objects is the most necessary thing in the World to know their Nature for as it is impossible to see the Beauty of any Work without opening our Eyes and looking earnestly upon it so the Mind cannot evidently see the greatest part of Things with the Relations they have to one another unless it considers them attentively Now 't is certain that nothing diverts us more from attending the clear and distinct Idea's of our Senses and consequently from removing us farther from the Truth and also deceiving us To apprehend this Truth it 's necessary to know that the three ways of perceiving viz. by the Senses Imaginations and Pure Vnderstanding do not all equally affect the Soul and consequently not afford the same equal attention to every thing it perceives by their means for it is much affected with what touches it much and less with that which touches it little Now that which it perceives by the Senses touches and engages it extreamly but that which it knows by the Imagination affects much less but what the Understanding represents to it I mean what it perceives of it self independent of the Senses and Imagination does very seldom excite it No body can doubt but that the least pain of the Senses is more present to the Mind and renders it more attentive than the Meditation of a thing of much greater consequence The reason of this is that the Senses represent Objects as present but the Imagination as absent Now according to the Laws of Order amongst many Goods or Evils proposed to the Soul those which are present touch and affect the Soul more than all the others which are absent because it 's necessary for the Soul to determine readily upon what is to be done in this occurrence Thus it is much more affected with a little Pricking than with the most elevated Speculations and the Pleasures and Evils of this World make a greater impression upon it than the terrible Pains or infinite Pleasures of Eternity The Senses then extreamly affect the Soul with what they represent to it now as it is limited and cannot clearly conceive many things at a time so it cannot clearly apprehend what the Understanding represents to it at the same time as the Senses offer something to its consideration it then forsakes the clear and distinct Idea's of the Understanding however proper they are to discover the Truth of things as they are in themselves and applies it self only to the confus'd Idea's of the Senses which affect it more and which represent things unto it not as they are in themselves but only according to the Relation they have with its Body If a Man II. An Example drawn from the Conversation of Mâ—n for Example would explain some Truth it 's necessary that he make use of Speech and that he express his internal Motions and Sentiments in sensible Motions and Ways Now the Soul cannot at the same time perceive distinctly many things Thus having always a great attention for what comes by the Senses it very seldom considers the reasons propos'd to it but it is much affected with the sensible Pleasure which depends upon the Measure of Periods upon the Relations of Gestures with Words upon the Beauties of a Face upon the Air and Manner of one that speaks however after it has heard it must Judge this is the Custom Thus its Judgments must be different according to the diversity of Impressions which it shall receive by the Senses If for Example he that speaks delivers himself easily if he keeps an agreeable Measure in his Periods if he has the Air of a Gentleman and a Man of Sense and if he is a Person of Quality if he has a great Retinue if he speaks with Authority and Gravity if others hear him with Respect and Silence if he Converses with Wits of the first Classis in sine if he is happy enough to please and to be esteemed he shall have Reason in whatever he advances his very Dress shall pass for Demonstration But if he is so unhappy as to have the contrary Qualities however concludingly he demonstrates he shall prove nothing at all Let him speak the finest things in the World they shall never be taken notice of the attention of his Auditors being only to that which touches the Senses the disgust they shall entertain to see a Man appear despicably shall wholly take them up and divert that application which is due to his Thoughts his attire shall make its Master and every thing that he says contemptible and his way of speaking being that which is peculiar to a Thoughtful Philosopher shall incline his Auditors to believe that these sublime Truths he treats of being above their ordinary Capacity are only delirious and extravagant Notions These are the Judgments of Men their Eyes and Ears Judge of Truth and not of Reason even in these very things which depend only on Reason because Men are only affected with sensible and agreeable Objects and scarce ever bring with them a strong and serious Attention for the discovery of Truth III. We must not rest upon a sensible and agreeable manner of doing 〈◊〉 thing Nevertheless it is very unjust to Judge of things after that manner and to despise Truth because it wants those Ornaments which please and slatter our Senses Philosophers and discerning Persons should be asham'd to enquire more Industriously into agreeable Matters than into Truth it self and to feed their Mind with the Vanity of Words rather than the Truth of Things 'T is common to the unthinking part of the World to Souls of Flesh and Blood to suffer themselves to be won by the fine Periods Figures and Motions which excite the Passions Omnia enim stolidi magis admirantur amantque Inversis quae sub verbis latitantia cernunt Veraque constituunt quae belle tangere possunt Aures lepido quae sunt fucata sonore But Wise men endeavour to Guard themselves against the Malignant Power and prevailing Charms of these sensible Manners of doing things their Senses impose upon them as well as other Mens for indeed they are Men but they generously despise their Testimonies they
use of our own Wit and so accustom it of it self to discover truth then to suffer it to be spoiled with idleness by only applying it to such things as are already well known and discover'd Besides there are some things to be observed in the difference of Peoples Genii that are so fine and so delicate that althô we may be able to discover and perceive them well our selves yet we cannot represent them to nor make others sensible of them But to explain as much as possible all these differences that are to be observed in Dispositions and that very one may the more easily observe in himself the Cause of all the changes that he feels at different times it seems very proper in general to examine the Cause of these Changes which happen in the Animal Spirits and in the Fibres of the Brain because thereby we shall discover all that are found in the Imagination Man never continues very long in the same Mind every one hath sufficient inward proofs of his own inconstancy he judges of the same Subject sometimes after one manner and sometimes after another In a word the Life of Man consists only in a Circulation of Blood and in another Circulation of Thoughts and Desires and it seems the best way of imploying his time would be in seeking after the Cause of these Changes which happen to us so that way to know our selves CHAP. II. I. Of the Animal Spirits and the Changes to which they are subject in general II. That the Chyle goes to the Heart and thereby produces some change in the Spirits III. That Wine has the same effect 'T IS agreed by every on I. Of the Animal Spirits that the Animal Spirits are only the most subtile and active parts of the Blood which subtilises and agitates it self chiefly by the Fermentation that it receives in the Heart and by the violent Motion of the Muscles whereof this part is composed that the Spirits are conducted with the most of the blood through the Arteries into the Brain and that there they are separated by some parts that are destined to this use which are not yet agreed upon From hence may be concluded that where the Blood is very subtile there are much Animal Spirits but where it is gross there are but a sew that if the Blood is composed of such parts as are easily received into the Heart or very proper for Motion the Spirits which are in the Brain will be extreamly heated or agitated and if on the contrary the Blood ferments not sufficiently in the Heart the Animal Spirits will be languishing without action and without strength so that according to the solidity which shall be found in the parts of the Blood the Animal Spirits shall be more or less solid and consequently have more or less strength in their Motion But these things must be explained more at length by Examples and incontestible Experiments to make the truth evident The Authority of the Antients has not only blinded the Minds of some Men II. That the Chyle goes to the heart and causes some change in the Spirits but we may say it has shut their Eyes also For many Persons have still such a respect for their opinion or it may be so opinionative that they will not see some things which they could no longer contradict if they would only please to open their Eyes We may see every day Persons that are much esteemed for their Learning who write Books and publish Conferences against the visible and sensible Experiences of the Circulation of the Blood against that of Weight the Exastick power of the Air and others of the like Nature The discovery that Mr. Pecquet has made in our time which we make use of here is in the Number of those that are unfortunate only because he discover'd it before he had grey Hairs and a venerable Beard But we shall nevertheless make use of it not fearing but there will be some Judicious Persons who will not find fault with it According to this discovery the Chyle goes not immediately from the Bowels into the Liver by the Mesaraick Veins as the Antients believed but passes from the Bowels into the Lacteal Veins and afterwards into certain receptacles where they meet and from thence it goes by the Thoraick Duct or Canal along the Vertebres of the Back and so mingles it self with the Blood in the Axillary Vein which enters into the upper part of the Vena Cava and thus being mingled with the Blood it meets in the Heart From this Experiment may be concluded that the Blood thas is mingled with the Chyle being very different from the other Blood which has already Circulated many times through the Heart the Animal Spirits which are only the most subtile parts thereof will be also very different in Persons that are Fasting and others who have just Eat Moreover because that amongst Meats and Drinks which are generally used there is great variety and even those Persons that use them have bodies diversly disposed two Persons that have just Dined and at the same Table will feel in their faculties of Imagination so great a variety of changes that it would be impossible to describe It is true that those who are in perfect health digest so quick that the entring of the Chyle into the Heart scarcely augments or diminishes any of its heat and hinders not the Blood from fermenting there almost the same manner as if it entered only by it self so that their Animal Spirits and by consequence their faculty of imagining receives very little if any change But for Old and infirm People they observe in themselves very sensible changes after they have Eat they grow very dull and sleepy or at least their imagination becomes very Languishing and they have neither Vivacity or quickness left they no longer conceive any thing distinctly nor can they apply themselves to any thing whatsoever in a word they are perfectly altered from what they were before But that the most healthful and strongest may also have sensible proofs of what we have already said III. That Wine produces the same effect they need only reflect upon what happens to them when they have drunk more Wine then they are accustomed to or else by observing what would be the effects if they drink Wine one Meal and Water another For 't is certain that if they are not entirely stupid or if their bodies are not composed after a very extraordinary manner they shall soon perceive a gayety of temper some little drowsiness or some other like accident Wine is so Spiritous that it comes near the nature of our Animal Spirits but are these a little too luxurious to submit to the command of the Will because of their Solidity and excessive Agitation Thus even in the strongest and most vigorous Men it produces greater changes in the Imagination and in all the parts of the body Vinum Luctator delosus est then Meat or
exposed alter some of their Parts and some Worms Feed upon them as Experience has shew'd There is no other difference between those Bodies that are very hard and dry and others unless it be that they are compos'd of very gross and solid Parts and consequently less capable of being agitated and separated one from another by the Motion of those that hit against them for which reason they are looked upon as Incorruptible Nevertheless they are not so by their Nature as Time Experience and Reason sufficiently shew us But as for the Heavens they are Compos'd of the most Fluid and subtle Matter and particularly the Sun And he is so far from being void of Heat and Incorruptible as Aristotle's followers say that on the contrary he is the hottest of all Bodies and the most liable to Change It is he that Heats Moves and Changes all things For it is he who produces by his Action which is nothing but his Heat or the Motion of his Parts all the Novelties we see in the Change of Seasons Reason demonstrates these things But though some may contradict Reason yet no Body can resist Experience For since some have discovered in the Sun by means of Telescopes Spots as large as the whole Earth which have been form'd in it and have been dissipated in a little time It is no longer to be deny'd but that he is more subject to Change than the Earth we inhabit All Bodies are therefore in a continual Motion and Change and particularly those that are the most Fluid as Fire Air and Water next the parts of Living Bodies as Flesh and even the Bones and lastly those that are the most solid The Mind ought not to suppose a kind of Immutability in things because it sees no Corruption or Alteration in them for it is not a proof that a thing is always like unto it self because no difference is observ'd in it or that things are not because we have no Idea or Knowledge of them CHAP. XI Examples of some Errors of Morality which depend on the same Principle THe Faculty of the Mind imagining and supposing Resemblances where-ever it perceives no Visible Differences also engages most Men into Errors which are yet more dangerous in Points of Morality Here are some Examples of them A French Man meets an English Man or an Italian That Stranger has peculiar Humours He has a Niceness of Mind or if you please he is Haughty and Troublesome This will at first induce this French-man to Judge that all English-men or Italians have the same Character of Mind with the Person they have convers'd with He will Praise or Blame them all in General And if he meets with any other he will fancy at first that he is like unto him he has already seen and therefore will suffer himself to be inclin'd to some Affection or secret Aversion towards him In a word he will Judge of all the Individuals of those Nations by this famous proof that he has seen one or many that had certain Qualifications of Mind Because he knew not whether the rest were different supposing them all alike A Religious of some Order commits a fault This is a sufficient Reason for those who know it to Condemn all the Individuals of that Order indifferently They all wear the same Habit and have the same Name they are alike in that This is enough for the Common Sort of Men to Fancy that they are all alike They suppose that they are all alike because not being able to search into their Hearts they cannot see positively whether they differ Calumuiators who study how to Blast the Reputation of their Enemies commonly make use of this and Experience teaches us that it succeeds for the most part And indeed it is very suitable to the Capacity of the Common Sort of Mankind For it is not difficult to find in numerous Communities though never so Holy some irregular Persons or such as have Ill Sentiments since in the Company of the Apostles of which Jesus Christ himself was the Head there was a Thief a Traitor an Hypocrite in a word a Judas The Jews without doubt would have been very much to blame to pass an Ill Judgment against the most Holy Society that ever was because of the Avarice and Fault of Judas and if they had Condemned them all in their Hearts because they suffered that Ill Man among them and Jesus Christ himself did not punish him though he was sensible of his Crimes Therefore it is a manifest Fault against Reason and Breach of Charity to pretend That a Community is in some Error because some of their Members were so although the Heads should dissemble it or were the promoters of it themselves It is true that when all the Members will defend an Error or Fault of their Brother the whole Community may be thought Guilty but that seldom or never happens for it seems morally impossible that all the Members of an Order should have the same Sentiments Men therefore should never conclude thus from Particulars to Generals but they cannot Judge simply of what they see they always fly out into Excess A Religious of such an Order is a Great Man an Honest Man they conclude that all the Order is composed of Great Men of Good Men. Likewise a Religious of an Order has Ill Sentiments Therefore all that Order is Corrupted and has Ill Sentiments But these last Judgments are far more dangerous than the first because it is a Duty to Judge well of our Neighbours and the Malignity of Man occasions that Ill Judgments and Discourses held against the Reputation of others make a stronger Impression upon the Mind than advantageous Judgments and Discourses do When a Worldly Man who iudulges his Passions fixes strongly upon his Opinion and pretends in the heighth of his Inclination that he is in the right to indulge it Men Judge reasonably that he is obstinate and he owns it himself as soon as his Passion is over So when a Pious Person who is perswaded of what he says and who has discover'd the Truth of Religion and the Vanity of Worldly Things endeavours according to that Knowledge to reform the Vices of others and reprehends them with some Zeal Men of the World also take him to be an obstinate Man and therefore they conclude that Devout Men are obstinate They Judge moreover that Good Men are far more obstinate than Vain Ill Men because the latter only defending their Ill Opinions according to the different Motions of the Blood and Passions they cannot continue long in their Sentiments They come to themselves again Whereas persons of Piety remain steddy because their Foundation is unalterable and does not depend on a thing so inconstant as the Circulation of the Blood Therefore ordinary Men conclude that Pious Men are obstinate as well as the Vicious Because they are as Passionate for Truth and Virtue as Ill Men are for Vice and Falshood Both speak almost in the same
can discover some plain easie Truths But if it were possible for us wholly to lay aside Pleasures and Sensations we should be capable of discovering with ease the most conceal'd Truths and the most difficult that are known For the more we remove from that which is not God the nearer we draw to God himself we avoid Error and we discover Truth But since the Fall since the unruly Love of anticipating Pleasures which rules predominantly the Mind is become so weak that it can penetrate into nothing and so Material and Dependant on the Senses that it cannot reach difficult things which do not affect it It does not even perceive common Notions and often concludes for want of Attention that they are False and Obscure It cannot distinguish the Truth of things from their Usefulness the relation they have among one another from the relation they have to us and it often believes that those are the Truest that are the most Useful the most Agreeable and that affect it most In fine That Inclination Infects and Confounds all the Perceptions we have of Objects and consequently all the Judgments we make of them Here are some Examples It is a common Notion that Virtue is preferable to Vice that it is better to be Chaste II. Some Examples than Intemperate and Voluptuous But our Inclination for Pleasure confounds that Idea to that degree on some occasions that we have but a glimpse of it left and it is impossible to draw the Consequences from thence which are necessary for the Conduct of Life The Soul is so taken up with the Pleasures it hopes for that it supposes them Innocent and aims at nothing but the Means to enjoy them Every body knows that it is better to be Just than Rich That Justice exalts a Man more than the Possession of the most Sumptuous Buildings which often serve less to discover the Grandeur of the Owner than the Greatness of his Injustices and Crimes But the Pleasure which Inadvertent People receive in the Vain Ostentation of their False Grandeur sufficiently fills up the small Capacity of their Mind to conceal and obscure so evident a Truth from them They foolishly imagine that they are great Men because they have great Houses Specious Algebra is certainly the finest I mean the most Fruitful and most Certain of all Sciences without it the Mind has neither Penetration nor Extent and with it it is capable of knowing almost every thing that can be known with Certainty and Evidence As Imperfect as that Science has been it has made all those Famous that have learn'd it and that have known how to Practice it They have thereby discover'd Truths which seem'd almost Incomprehensible to other Men. It is so well proportion'd to Humane Minds that without distracting their Capacity with useless things in what they seek after it conducts them Infallibly to what they aim at In a word It is an Universal Science and as it were the Key of all other Sciences yet as valuable as it is in it self it has nothing in it that is taking in order to Charm Men by this reason only that it is not Sensible It has been buried absolutely in Forgetfulness for several Ages There are at this very time many Men who do not know the name of it and among a Thousand Persons you will hardly meet one or two who understand any thing in it The most Learned that have reviv'd it in our days have not carried it very far and have not handled it with that Order and Clearness it deserves Being Men as well as others they have at last been disgusted with those pure Truths which are not attended by Sensible Pleasure and the Disquietness of their Will being Corrupted by Sin the Inconstancy of their Mind which depends on the Agitation and Circulation of the Blood has not allow'd them to consider any longer those Great those Vast and those Plentiful Truths which are the Immutable and Universal Rules of all Transitory and particular Truths that may be known with Exactness Metaphysics is also an abstracted Scieâ—â—â— which does not affect the Senses the Study theâ— of afford the Soul no manner of Pleasure for which reasoâ— the said Science is very much neglected and 〈◊〉 often meet Men that are so Stupid as boldly to dâ—â— common Notions There are some that deny 〈◊〉 one may or ought to affirm a thing is by what is included in the clear and distinct Idea one has of it That Nothing has no Proprieties That a thing cannot be reduc'd to nothing without Miracle That no body can move it self by its own Force That an Active Body can communicate no more Motion to any Body it encounters than it has of it self and the like They have never consider'd those Axioms with Stediness and Clearness enough to discover the Truth of them distinctly and they have sometimes made Experiments which have falsely convinc'd them that some of those Axioms were not true They have seen on some occasions that two Visible Bodies meeting each other ceas'd both to move after the Blow They have seen in others that the Bodies which were hit had more Motion than the Visible Bodies that did hit them And this Sensible Sight of some Experiments whose reasons they see not makes them decide things against certain Principles which pass for common Notions in the Minds of all those that are capable of any Attention Ought they not to consider that Motions may be communicated from Visible Bodies to Invisible ones when the Bodies that are in motion meet or from the Invisible to the Visible on other occasions When a Body is Suspended by a Cord the Knife wherewith that Cord is cut does not give the Motion to that Body it is an Invisible Matter that does it When a Coal of Fire is flung into a heap of Gun-powder it is not the motion of the Coal but an invisible Matter which scatters all the parts of that Powder and which gives it a motion capable of blowing up a House There are a Thousand ways by which invisible Matter communicates its Motion to gross visible Bodies At least it is not evident that it cannot be done as it is evident that the moving force of Bodies can neither be increas'd nor diminish'd by the usual force of Nature So Men see that the Wood that is slung into the Fire ceases to be what it is and that all the Sensible Qualities they observe in it dissipate themselves and from thence they think they are in the right to conclude that it is possible for a thing to return to its former nothing They do no longer see the Wood and they only see a few Ashes which succeed it and from thence they judge that the major part of the Wood ceases to be as if the Wood could not be reduâ—◠〈◊〉 invisible parts At least it is not so evident that this 〈…〉 that the force which gives a being to all things is not subject to change and that