is somewhat that is proper to them and is their Form namely That which Philosophers call the Vegetative Soul So also in all Inanimate Bodies which besides Animals and Plants are found in this lower World of Bodies and are liable to Generation and Corruption there is somewhat proper to them by vertue whereof every one of them performs such Actions as are peculiar to it namely various ways of Motion and kinds of sensible Qualities and that the same thing is their Form the same which Philosophers express by the name of Nature Now whenas upon this Contemplation § 36 he was well assured that the true Essence of that Animal-Spirit which his Mind had been so intent upon was compounded of the Notion of Corporeity and some other Notion thereto superadded and that this Notion of Corporeity was common to him with other Bodies but that the other which was adjoyned thereto was peculiar to himself the Notion of Corporeity appeared vile to him and of no account so that he utterly cast it off and his Mind wholly fixed it self upon that second Notion which is called by the Name of the Soul the true nature and state whereof he earnestly desired to understand Upon that therefore he fixed his Thoughts and began his Contemplation with considering all Bodies not as Bodies but as having Forms whence necessarily flow certain Properties whereby they are distinguished from one another And upon his instant prosecuting § 37 this Notion having at last fully comprehended it in his Mind he saw that the whole multitude of Bodies agreed in this that they had some certain Form whence one or more Actions proceeded He saw also that a certain part of this number though they agreed with all the rest in that Form yet had over and above another Form superadded unto it from whence certain Actions issued that were proper thereto He saw too that there was another Classis or Order of Bodies which although they agreed with this Part in the first and second Forms yet were distinguished from them by a third which was superadded unto the two former and from whence also certain Actions issued As for Example all Terrestrial Bodies as Earth Stones Minerals Plants Animals and whatsoever other heavy Bodies do make up one number which agree in the same Form namely that whence descensive Motion proceeds whilst there is nothing to hinder their descent so that whensoever they are forced to move upwards at any time and after left unto themselves they move downwards of their own accord by vertue of that their Form Again some part of the same number of heavy Bodies viz. Plants and Animals though they agree with the former in the same Form which is common to them all yet they have another Form besides from which proceed Nutrition and Augmentation Now Nutrition is performed when the Body nourished doth substitute into the place of that which was consumed somewhat of the like kind which it draws to it self and then converts into its own Substance But Augmentation is a Motion tending to the threefold Dimension of Length Breadth and Thickness according to the just proportion of the Body augmented These two Actions therefore being common to Plants and Animals doubtless arise from a Form which is common to both to wit That which is called the Vegetative Soul But some also of this sort of Bodies and particularly Animals although they have the first and second Forms common to them with the former yet they have a third also superadded whence proceed Sensation and local Motion He saw likewise that every peculiar kind of Animals had some certain Property whereby it was diversified and distinguisht from all the rest He knew also that every such Diversity proceeded from that Form which was proper to it that namely which was superadded to the former and which was common to it with other Animals And the like he saw happen'd to the several kinds of Plants It was also evident to him that § 38 among the Sensible Bodies the which are found in this lower World liable to Generation and Corruption the Essence of some of them was compounded of more Notions superadded to the Notion of Corporeity and others of fewer He knew likewise that the knowledge of the fewer must needs be more easie to him than the knowledge of such as were more in number He therefore sought in the first place how he might attain the knowledge of the true nature of the Form of some one Body whose Essence was made up of fewer Notions Whereupon as he considered the Animals and Plants he sound that their Essence consisted of many Notions by reason of the various kinds of Actions which he observed in them Wherefore he laid aside the Enquiry into their Forms So also as to the Parts of Earth he saw that some of them were more simple than others He proposed therefore to himself the Contemplation of such Bodies as he could possibly find to be the most simple of all So he observed that the Water was a Body very little compounded as he judged by the fewness of those Actions which proceeded from its Form The same he also observed in the Fire and Air. Withall he had before observed § 39 that some of these four Elements were converted into the other and therefore that there must be some one thing which they joyntly participated of and that this thing was the Notion of Corporeity He concluded also that this one thing whereof they all participated must needs be void of all those Notions whereby the four Elements were distinguished from each other namely that it could not move either upward or downward that it was neither hot nor cold neither moist nor dry seeing that none of these Qualities was common to all Bodies and consequently did not belong to the Body as it was a Body So that if it were possible to find a Body wherein there was no other Form superadded to its Corporeity none of these Qualities would be found in it yea that it were impossible any Quality whatsoever should be found in it but what agreed to all Bodies whatsoever diversity of Forms they had He considered therefore with himself whether he could find out any one Adjunct which was common to all Bodies as well Animate as Inanimate But he could find none which agreed to all of them besides the Notion of Extension towards those three Dimensions which are found in all of them viz. Length Breadth and Thickness Whence he gathered that this Notion belongs to the Body as it is a Body However his Sense could not represent to him any Body existent in Nature which had this only Adjunct and was void of all other Forms For he saw that every one of them had some other Notion superadded to the said Extension After this he considered with himself § 40 whether this threefold Extension were the sole Notion belonging to a bodily Substance or whether there were not some other Notion besides contained in it Upon which
it were one and the same Body which he had in his hands yet he handled it in a different manner according as his instruments were fitted for it and with relation to those ends the effecting whereof he had proposed to himself Upon these considerations he likewise § 22 conceived that it was one and the same Animal Spirit the action whereof was Seeing when it made use of its instrument the Eye Hearing when it made use of the Ear Smelling when it made use of the Nose In like manner it exercised its faculty of Tasting by the Tongue and of Touching by the Skin and Flesh more especially of the Hand So when it made use of any Limb to work ought by the effect was motion When it made use of the Liver the effect was Nutrition when of the Stomach it was the receiving and concocting of the Aliment And every one of these actions had its proper part subservient to it none of which could discharge its office but by the vertue of that influence which was thereunto derived from the forementioned spirit resident in the Heart thorow those passages which are called the Arteries insomuch that whensoever they chanced to be broken off or cut asunder or else obstructed the action of that part of the Body presently ceased He found also that all these Arteries derive that spirit from the Ventricles of the Brain and that the Brain receives it from the Heart as also that there is a great quantity thereof in the Brain because that is the place wherein he found several Vessels in which it lay and whereby it was thence distributed into all parts of the Body He also perceived that if any part of the Body came by any means whatsoever to be deprived of the Influx of this spirit the action thereof immediately ceased so that it became like to a contemptible Tool or Instrument cast aside as of no use at all Also that if this spirit forsook the Body altogether or by any means came to be wasted or dissolved the whole Body at the same time became deprived of motion and was reduced to the state of Death These Observations of his and Meditations § 23 thereupon had brought him to that degree of knowledge which I forementioned at what time he had attained to the end of his third Septenary viz. to the twenty first year of his Age. Within the fpace of which time he found out many things of very great use to him for the conveniencies of life For he clothed himself with the skins of wild Beasts when he had cut them out for his use He also shod his Feet with them having made him thread of their Hair as also of the rind of the stalks of Althaea Mallows Hemp and the like Plants which were easie to be parted asunder and drawn into Threads And this he had learned to do out of his former experience in making use of the Rushes He made himself also a kind of 〈◊〉 or Bodkins of the strongest Thorns he could get and of small pieces of Canes whetted and sharp pointed with stones Then for the Art of Building he was taught it by what he saw the Swallows did So he fitted himself with a Room wherein to repose and rest himself and another place for a Larder wherein he laid up the remainder of his victuals He guarded it also with a door compacted of Canes joyned close together lest any wild Beast should chance to enter into it when he happened to be from home upon any occasion He also got into his hands certain Birds of prey which he made use of for Hawking and others of the tamer sort which he bred up and then fed upon their Eggs and Young ones He also took to him the Horns of wild Bulls which he found lying on the Ground the sharp tips whereof he affixed to strong Canes and to thick Staves made of the wood of the Tree Alzan and others of the like kind And so partly by the help of Fire and partly of sharp edged Stones he so fitted them that they served him instead of so many Spears He made himself also a Shield of the skins of Beasts parted into several folds and then compacted together And all these he made him because he saw himself distitute of natural Armes And when he now saw that his § 24 hand served him instead of all and supplied whatsoever desects Nature had made him liable to so that none of all the various kinds of wild Beasts durst oppose him but fled away from him and so excelled him only in their Nimbleness he bethought himself of finding out some art whereby to meet with them in their flight and master this Nimbleness of theirs To which end he judged nothing could be more convenient than to take and tame one of the swifter sort of the wild Beasts and so long to breed it up nourishing it with food agreeable to its nature until at length he might get upon the Back of it and therewith pursue other kind of wild Beasts Now there were in that Island wild Horses and wild Asses out of which number having made choice of some which seemed fittest for his purpose he made them by degrees so gentle and tractable that at length by their help and service he became master of his wishes And when he had made for them out of Thongs and Skins somewhat that competently served him instead of Bridles and Saddles it was no hard matter for him to compass his ends in catching those wild Beasts which he very hardly if at all could have taken any other way All these Arts and Devices he found out whilst he was otherwise busied in dissecting of Bodies and studiously searching after the Properties of the several Parts of Animals and wherein they differed from each other And all this he did in that space of time which even now we assigned viz. within the compass of one and twenty years But after this he began to expatiate § 25 farther in his Contemplations and to take a large view of all such Bodies in the World as were subject to Generation and Corruption as the various kinds of Animals Plants Minerals and divers sorts of Stones Likewise the Earth and Water the Exhalations and Vapours the Ice Snow Hail Smoke Fire and Hoar-frost wherein he discerned much variety of Qualities with diversity of Actions and Motions partly agreeing with partly disagreeing from each other For as he gave his mind to a serious consideration of all these he saw that in part they agreed and in part disagreed in respect of their qualities as also that as they were one in respect of that wherein they agreed so they were many and diverse in respect of what they differed in When therefore he sometimes looked into the Properties of several Creatures whereby they were distinguished from one another he discerned them to be so various and manifold that they were past numbring and that nature diffused it self so far and wide that it was
wholly impossible to comprehend it Yea his own nature seemed also to be manifold unto him whilst he considered the diversity of parts whereof his Body was made up and each of them distinguished from the rest by some Action or Property which was peculiar to it Yea when he beheld every single part he observed it to be yet farther divisible into more parts whence he concluded that the nature of his Body was manifold in respect of its parts and in like manner the nature of every other thing Then applying himself to another § 26 speculation in the second place he saw that all the parts of his Body though many in number yet were so knit and conjoyned together that they were no way divided from each other but made up one and the same Body nor differed among themselves any otherwise than in regard of their actions and uses which diversity was caused by that which proceeded from the Animal vertue of that spirit the nature whereof he had before searched into and found out and that this Spirit was one and the same in its Nature and withall the Cause and very substance of his Being seeing all the other parts which belonged to its Body served only as so many instruments whereby it performed all its operations So that in this respect also his Essence was but one After this turning his Eye hence § 27 and looking on the other kinds of Animals he saw that every one of them was one and the same thing under this consideration Then as he contemplated them distinctly according to their several kinds as Roes Horses Asses and all sorts of Birds he saw that the Individuals of every kind were like each other both as to their outward and their inward parts their Apprehensions Motions and Inclinations and that they differed not from one another but in some sew things in comparison of those wherein they agreed Whence he concluded that the Spirit which was in the whole kind was but one thing not otherwise differing but in this that it was distributed into several Hearts insomuch that if it were possible to recollect all that Spirit which was dispersed into so many Hearts and gather it together into one Vessel the whole thereof would be but one thing even as Water or some other Liquour which being first dispersed into several Vessels and afterwards gather'd into one is one and the same thing in both states as well that of dispersion as that of recollection seeing that the multiplying thereof was only accidental in regard of the distribution into several Vessels Now by this way of Contemplation he saw that the whole kind or Species of Animals was but one Whence he concluded that the multiplicity of Individuals in every kind was but like the multiplicity of parts in the Body of one and the same Person which indeed are not many After this having presented to the § 28 eye of his mind the several kinds of Animals altogether and attentively considering them he saw that they all agreed in this that they had sense received nourishment and moved of their own accord whithersoever they pleased which actions he well knew were the proper effects of the Animal Spirit And as to the others wherein they differed they were not very proper thereunto Upon which consideration it appeared to him that the Animal Spirit so communicated to the generality of living Creatures was in very truth but one though it admitted of some small difference whereby the Properties of those Animals became distinguished from each other even as Spring-water which originally had the same cool Nature being poured into several Vessels may have one part hotter and another cooler according as the one was heated and the other left to its natural coolness So likewise may the Animal Spirit differ in regard of some Qualities or Proprieties according to the variety of Constitutions in several Animals notwithstanding that it may be esteemed but one and the same as that Spring-water is although in some respects it be thus diversified And so under this notion he looked on the whole kind of living Creatures as one Then afterwards upon contemplating § 29 the diverse kinds of Plants he observed that the Individuals of every kind were like one another in respect of their Boughs and Branches their Leaves Flowers or Blooms Buds and Fruits with their vertues and operations And when he compared them with Animals he found that there was some one thing in them which resembled the Animal Spirit whereof they were all partakers and that all of them in that respect were but one thing Whereupon as he took a thorow view of the generality of Plants he determined with himself that they were all but one in respect of that agreement between themselves in their operations viz. in their Nourishment and Growth After this he comprehended the § 30 generality of Plants and Animals altogether in one and the same conception of his mind and thereby saw that they all agreed in regard of both these namely in Nutrition and Augmentation Only Animals did exceed the Plants and excel'd them in this that they had Sense and Apprehension also Notwithstanding he observed withal that there was somewhat in Plants which resembled the sense of Animals as that Flowers turned themselves towards the Sun and that the roots of Plants spred themselves towards that part of the Earth which afforded them nourishment and some other operations like to these Whence it appeared to him that both Plants and Animals were but one in respect of that one and the same thing which was common to them both although in the one it were perfect and compleat in the other more limited and restrained by some impediment like Water distributed into two portions whereof the one is bound up and congealed into Ice the other loose and fluid Thus far then he concluded that Plants and Animals were one kind of thing Then he contemplated those Bodies § 31 which have neither Sense Nourishment nor Growth such as Stones Earth Water Air and Fire all which he saw to have these three dimensions Length Breadth and Thickness and that they differed not otherwise among themselves from one another but that some were coloured others not some hot and others cold and the like differences He observed also that the hot Bodies waxed cold and that the cold waxed hot He saw too that the Water rarefied into Vapours and that the Vapours thickned again and turned into Water Withal he observed that the Bodies which were burnt turned into Coals Ashes Flame and Smoke and that the Smoke when it met in its way with an Arch of Stone as it mounted upwards thickned there into Soot and became like other earthy Substances Whence he resolved with himself that they were all indeed but one thing after the same manner that the Animals and Plants were although in some respect multiplied and diversified Then considering with himself that § 32 one thing wherein he observed Plants and Animals to
long to set down the manner and degrees of that Progress which he made in this Science and besides it is published in many Books Neither is it requisite as to our present Design to say any more thereof than what we have already discoursed Now when he had proceeded thus § 48 far in the Astronomical Science he found that the whole Orbe of the Heavens and whatsoever it contained within its Compass was as it were one entire thing composed of Parts mutually conjoyned to each other and that all the Bodies which he had before considered as Earth Water Air Plants Animals and all the rest in like manner were comprehended in it so that none of them went beyond its bounds He found also that the whole Body or Frame of the World very near resembled some one single Animal so that the Stars which shined therein answered to the Senses the diversity of the Spheres which were contiguous to each other resembled the variety of Limbs and that all those Bodies therein which were liable to Generation and Corruption resembled those things which are contained in the Belly of an Animal such as various Excrements and Humours whence Animals also are often generated as they are in the greater World Now whenas he was thus well § 49 assured that all these things made up as it were one compleat Substance which stood in need of a voluntary Agent viz. to produce settle and order it and that its manifold Parts appeared to him to be but one thing in like manner as the Bodies in this lower World which is subject to Generation and Corruption seemed but one he proposed to his Consideration the World in general and debated with himself whether it were a thing which arose a-new whereas before it had not a Being and so came forth of nothing to obtain an Existence or whether it were a thing which had always existed and never wanted a Being Concerning this matter he had very many and great Doubts within himself so that neither of these two Opinions did oversway the probability of the other For when he proposed to himself the belief of Eternity many Objections came in his way touching the impossibility of an infinite Being in like manner as the Existence of an infinite Body had seemed impossible to him He saw likewise that whatsoever Substance was not void of Accidents a-new produced but always indued with them must also necessarily be produced together with them because it cannot be said to be produced before them Seeing then such a Substance cannot be said to be existent before such Accidents produced a-new it must also be said to have its existence a-new On the other side when he proposed to himself the belief of its being produced a-new some other Objections thwarted him Especially this that the Notion of its production a-new after non existence could not be understood unless some time were supposed which was precedent to its Existence whereas Time was in the number of those things which belonged to the World and was inseparable from it so that it could not be said to be later than time or to have its Being after it He also thus reasoned with himself If the World were produced a-new it must needs have some Cause that produced it And if so why did that Cause produce it now and not before Was it because some Motive supervened which it had not before But it is supposed that there was nothing then existent besides the Cause it self Was it then by reason of some change which befell the Effence of this Cause If so what caused this change Thus he ceased not for some Years to ponder these things in his Mind and to argue with himself Pro and Con. For many Arguments offer'd themselves to him on either side so that neither of these two Opinions in his Judgment overpoized the other Whereas therefore this seemed to § 50 him very difficult to resolve He began to think with himself what would be the necessary Consequence of either Opinion for perhaps thought he there would be the same Consequence of both Whereupon he saw that if he supposed the World to have been created a-new and so to have had its Existence out of nothing it would necessarily follow thence that it could not have risen to this Existence by any Power of its own but contrariwise required some efficient Cause which gave it an actual Being Withall he saw that this Efficient could not be apprehended by any of the Senses for then it would be a bodily Substance which if it were it would be one of those things that belong to the World and so would have had its existence a-new and withall would have stood in need of some other Cause which should have produced it a-new And if this second Efficient also were a Body it would have needed a third to produce it and that a fourth and so there would have been a Progress in infinitum without fixing in any first Cause which to suppose is absurd and irrational The World therefore must necessarily have such an efficient Cause which is not a bodily Substance and seeing it is not a Body there is no reason that it should be apprehended by any of the Senses for the five Senses apprehend nothing but Bodies or such Accidents as adhere to Bodies And seeing it cannot be apprehended by Sense neither can it be comprehended by the Imagination For the Imagination is nothing else but the Representation of the Forms or Images of those things which were apprehended by Sense when the bodily Objects themselves are removed Seeing then that it is not a Body neither can any Properties of the Body be attributed ot it Now the first and chief Property of a Body is the threefold Extension viz. towards Length Breadth and Thickness Wherefore he is far from having any such Extension or any Accidents of Bodies which are consequent to this Property And seeing that he is the maker of the World doubtless he knows what it is and whatsoever is in it and withall hath the Sovereign Command and Ordering thereof Shall not he know it who created it For he is most eminent in Knowledge and omniscient He saw also that if he believed § 51 the Eternity of the World and that it hath been always as it is now and that it came not out of nothing it would necessarily sollow from thence that its Motion also was from Eternity and so without a Beginning whenas no Rest preceded it whence it should take its Rise and begin its Course Now every Motion necessarily requires some Mover or Cause of Motion And that must be either some Power diffused in a certain Body viz. either in the Body of the thing which is moved or in some other Body which is without it or else it is some Power which is not diffused and spread throughout any certain Body Now every Power which is diffused in any certain Body and dispersed throughout it is also divided together with that
be united he saw that it must necessarily be some Body like to these Bodies having length and breadth and thickness and that it was either hot or cold as one of these other Bodies which are destitute of sense and uncapable of nourishment but that it differ'd from them in such Actions as proceeded from it in regard of the Organical Parts which belong to Plants and Animals but not otherwise And perhaps such Actions were not essential to that Body but derived to it from some other Cause that was extrinsecal thereto so that if they were in like manner communicated to other Bodies they would be like unto this When he therefore considered that Body in its Essence as stript naked of all these Operations which at the first sight seemed to proceed from thence he saw that it was no other thing than a Body of the same kind with these Upon which Contemplation it appeared unto him that all Bodies taken in general were but one as well those which had life as those which had none as well those which moved as those which rested in their natural places Only it appeared that actions proceeded from some of them by means of their organical Parts concerning which he as yet knew not whether they were Essential to them or derived to them from without Now whilst he was in this state of Mind he extended not his Thoughts beyond bodily Substances and thereby he saw that the whole Frame of the Creatures was but one Thing which formerly he had looked upon and esteemed as many without number or end In this Opinion and state of Mind § 33 he continued for some time But afterwards upon a view of all Bodies as well Animate as Inanimate which sometimes seemed to be but one thing to him but otherwhiles many and innumerable he saw that one of these Motions was natural and necessary to them viz. upward or downward upward as in Smoke Flame and Air when detained under Water downward as in Water Earth and its Parts all Earthy Bodies with the Parts of Animals and Plants Also that not one of all these Bodies was void of both these Motions neither ever rested but when some other Body came it its way and interrupted its motion as when a Stone in its descension meets with the solid Surface of the Earth which it cannot pierce through whereas if it could it would move downwards still as every Body knows And therefore if one do but lift it up from the Earth he will find it to resist that motion by pressing down his Hand out of a propension it hath to descend again unto the same place In like manner Smoke in its mounting upward is not beat back again unless it meet by the way with some solid arched Body which stops it in its Course and then it will turn aside to the right Hand or to the left but as soon as it hath got out and freed it self from that Body which hindered its motion it mounts up again and makes its way through the Air without any interruption He observed also that if a Leather Bag be filled with Air then tied hard together and plunged into the Water it will strive to get upward and struggle under the Water that detains it nor ever cease to do so until it hath got forth and returned unto the Air but then it is quiet all that reluctancy and strong inclination to move upwards which it had before ceasing altogether He also made a diligent search to § 34 see whether he could find any Body which was at any time destitute of both these motions or a propension to them but he could find none such among all those Bodies which he had at hand to view And this be sought after out of a desire he had to find out what was the Nature of a Body in general and abstractedly considered without any of those Qualities which cause a multiplicity and diversity of Kinds But when he found this too difficult a Task for him and that having considered all those Bodies which among the rest were least subject to these qualities yet could he see none of them in any wise void of one of the two viz. either of Heaviness or Lightness he farther considered with himself whether these two qualities belonged to the Body as it was a Body or to some other Notion superadded to the Body Now upon this Consideration it seemed to him that they agreed to some Notion superadded unto the Body because that if they belonged to the Body as it was a Body no one Body could be found wherein both of them were not whereas we find some heavy Bodies which are void of all Lightness and some light Bodies which are void of all Heaviness and these two are doubtless two distinct Bodies to either of which belongs some Notion superadded to its bodily Nature whereby it is distinguished from the other which Notion is that whereby the one of them becomes diverse from the other seeing if this were away they both would be the same thing in every Respect It appeared therefore very plainly to him that the Nature or Essence of both these Bodies was compounded of two Notions the one wherein they both agreed and this was the Notion of Corporeity or bodily Substance the other whereby the Essence of the one was diversified from the Essence of the other and this was the Notion of Heaviness in the one and of Lightness in the other whereby the one moved upwards and the other downwards both which were adjoyned and superadded to the Notion of Corporeity or bodily Substance In like manner he contemplated § 35 also the Bodies of other Creatures whether they were Animate or Inanimate Whereupon he saw that the Essence of every one of them consisted in this that they were all compounded of a double Notion namely that of Corporeity and of some other thing superadded thereto whether the thing were one or manifold And thus the Forms of Bodies came to be known unto him according to their diversity which were the first Notions that he had relating to the Spiritual World to wit the Notions of these Forms which are not perceiveable by Sense but apprehended only after a certain manner of intellectual Speculation And among the rest of this kind which were thus made known unto him it appeared also to him that his own Animal Spirit which was seated in his Heart as hath been afore declared must needs superadd another distinct Notion to his Corporeity as that whereby he was inabled to perform such wonderful Operations as appeared in the various manners of Sensation and ways of Apprehension with the diversity of Motions which it caused in the Body as also that this Notion was his proper Form or Difference whereby he was distinguished from other Bodies viz. the same which the Philosophers call the Animal that is the Sensitive Soul So likewise that the Principle which in Plants supplies the place of that Radical Heat which is in Animals
Consideration he perceived that besides this Extension there was another Notion of that wherein the Extension did exist seeing that it could not exist of it self as neither that Body which was extended could exist of it self alone without Extension Then he farther considered the Nature of this Extension in some of those sensible Bodies which were indued with Forms as for Example in Clay and he observed that when it was moulded into any Figure as for Instance a Globous one it had Length Breadth and Thickness according to a certain Proportion Then if afterwards this Globous Body of Clay were changed into a four-square or oval Figure that the Length Breadth and Thickness were changed and had another Proportion than before they had but that the Clay was the same still and remain'd unchanged only it had that which it must necessarily have Length Breadth and Thickness in some Proportion or other seeing it could not be wholly deprived of them Then he farther discerned by this § 41 successive change of Figures in the same Body of Clay that this diversity of Figures was a distinct Notion from that Body as also in that he saw the Body of the Clay could not be altogether without them it plainly appeared to him that they belonged to its Essence And from this Contemplation it was apparent to him that a Body consider'd as a Body was indeed compounded of two Notions As for Example the Body of the Clay as consider'd under a Globous Figure and the same consider'd as having only the threefold Extension of Length Breadth and Thickness whether in a Globous or a Square or any other Figure He saw also that it was impossible to conceive any Body which was not made up of these two Notions and that the one of them could not possibly subsist without the other Withall he saw that the one Notion namely that of Extension which could be changed and successively put on diversity of Figures did represent the Form in all those Bodies which were indued with Forms or Figures but that the other which still abode in the same state as for Example the substantial Body of the Clay did represent the Notion of Corporeity which belonged to all Bodies of what Forms soever Now that which we call Clay in the precedent instance is the same which the Philosophers call materia prima the first matter and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is wholly void of all sort of forms Now when his Contemplation § 42 had proceeded thus far and had withdrawn it self from the Objects of Sense so that he now drew near to the Confines of the Intellectual World he began to be somewhat amazed and thereupon bending his thoughts again downwards he returned more seriously to consider and more throughly to examine That in the sensible World whereunto he he had been accustomed Wherefore he retired back a little and forbearing to meditate on the nature of the Body in general it being a thing which he could not take hold of by his sense nor as yet comprehend in his mind he undertook to consider the most simple of those sensible Bodies which he had seen namely those four about which his contemplation had before exercised it self And first of all he considered the Water as to which he saw that when it abode in that state which its form required there appeared therein a sensible Cold and a propension to move downwards but that when it was heated by the Fire or the warm Beams of the Sun the Cold first withdrew it self and departed the Propension to move downwards still remaining but that afterwards when it became more vehemently heated its Propension to move downwards then likewise forsook it so that it strove to move upwards and evaporated into the Air so that both of these qualities wholly left it which before had always issued from its Nature and Form Neither knew he any thing farther concerning its Form but that these two actions proceeded thence and that when they both forsook it the Nature or State of the form was wholly taken away so that the watery form departed out of that Body seeing that actions proceeded therefrom which properly belonged to another form and that another form in its place arose which before was not in the Water seeing that actions proceeded from it which could not naturally proceed thence whilst it retained its former form Now he well knew that when § 43 any thing was a-new produced it must needs have some Producer And from this Contemplation there was wrought in his mind a kind of a general and confused impression of the Effector of that form Then he farther directed his speculation to the considering of those forms to the knowledge whereof he had before attained contemplating them one after another Whereupon he saw that they all had their Existence anew and so necessarily required some efficient Cause Then he examined and diligently considered the Essences of forms and saw that they were nothing else but such or such a disposition of the Body from which those actions proceeded For instance in water when that is vehemently heated it is disposed to move upwards and made apt thereto and that disposition is its form seeing there is nothing present in this motion but the Body of the Water and some accidents proceeding thence which existed not before and are the objects of Sense such as qualities and motion and the Efficient which produced them whereas those accidents had no Existence before so that the aptitude of the Body to some motions before others is its disposition and form And the same truth appeared to him as to all other forms He also clearly saw that the actions which proceeded from these Bodies were not properly theirs but belonged to that Efficient which by those actions produced those Attributes that are ascribed to them And this notion which thus appeared to him is the same thing which was said by the messenger of God viz. Mahomet I am his hearing whereby he hears and his sight whereby he sees And in the Text of the Alcoran Cap. Al Anphali You have not slain them but God hath slain them And thou hast not cast them away but God hath cast them away Now whenas he was certainly § 44 assured of this Efficient the which appeared to him in general and confusedly a vehement desire seized on him to get a distinct knowledge thereof But because he had not as yet withdrawn and sequestred himself from the sensible World he began to seek this voluntary Agent amongst things sensible neither as yet knew he whether it were one Agent or many Wherefore he took a view of all the Bodies that were near him those namely which his thoughts had been continually fixed upon all which he saw were successively liable to Generation and Corruption if not in the whole at least in their parts As for example he saw that the parts both of Water and Earth were corrupted by Fire He saw likewise that the Air was
influx of that voluntary Agent so illustriously glorious the Fountain of Being and of Working He knew therefore that whatsoever Excellencies were by Nature in him were by so much the greater more perfect and more absolute more beautiful illustrious and more lasting and that there was no proportion between those excellencies which were in him and those which were found in the Creatures Neither did he cease to prosecute this search till he had gone through all the kinds of Perfection and seen that they were all in him and proceeded from him and that he was most worthy to have them all ascribed to him above all the Creatures which were intituled to them He also searched into all sorts of § 55 Defects or Imperfections and saw that the Maker of the World was void of them all and separate from them And how indeed should he not be free from all such For what other Notion is there of a defect besides that of meer Privation or what depends upon it And how should he any ways or in any degree partake of Privation who is a most simple Being and of a necessary Existence in himself who gives a Being to every thing that exists and besides whom there is no Existence For He alone is Existence as who alone hath it of Himself he is Absoluteness he is Perfection he is Beauty he is Brightness he is Power he is Knowledge He lastly is that He who is the only He and all besides him are subject to Perishing Alc. c. Alkesas Thus far his knowledge had brought § 56 him towards the end of the fifth Septenary from his Birth that is in the space of thirty and five Years And the consideration of this supream Agent was then so fixed in his mind that it hindred him from thinking on any other things besides so that he forgat the Contemplation of the natural Existence of them wherein he had before exercised his thoughts and left off to enquire any farther into them until at length he came so far that the Eye of his mind could not light upon any thing in the World but that he straightways discovered therein some sootsteps of this supream Agent So that letting pass the Work he presently removed his thoughts to the Opificer on whom his study was most earnestly bent Insomuch that his heart being wholly now withdrawn from thinking on or minding this inferiour World which contains the Objects of Sense became wholly addicted and altogether applied it self to the Contemplation of the upper intellectual World Now when he had attained to the § 57 knowledge of this supream Being this permanent Existence which hath no Cause of its Existence but it self is the Cause of the Existence of all other things he next desired to know by what means he came to this knowledge and with what faculty he apprehended this Prime Existent He made enquiry therefore into all his Senses viz. Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting and Touching and saw that all these apprehended nothing but what was Bodily or inherent in a Body For Hearing apprehends nothing but Sounds which arise from the agitation of the Air when Bodies are dasht one against another Sight apprehends Colours The Smelling Odours The Taste Savours and the Touch the Temperatures or Dispositions of the Body such as Hardness and Softness Roughness and Smoothness In like manner the Fancy apprehends nothing but as it hath Length Breadth and Thickness Now the things which are thus apprehended are all of them the Adjuncts of Bodies and our Senses apprehend nothing else inasmuch as they are faculties diffused throughout our Bodies and divisible according as they are divided Whence it follows that these Senses of ours can apprehend nothing besides a Body which is liable to division For this faculty seeing it is diffused through a divisible Body as often as it apprehends any thing must needs be divided answerably to the divisions of that Body wherein it is Whence we may conclude that every faculty which is seated in the Body can apprehend nothing except a Body or what is inherent in a Body Now it hath been already made evident that this supream Being which hath a necessary Existence is in every respect free from all things whatsoever belong to a Body and that therefore there is no other way or means of apprehending it but by somewhat that is not a Body nor a faculty inherent in the Body or any other way depending upon it by somewhat that is neither within nor without the Body neither joyned to it nor separated from it It appeared also now unto him that he apprehended this supream Being by that which was his Essence and that he had a firm knowledge of this Being Whence it was clear to him that his Essence whereby he apprehended it was somewhat Incorporeal which had no Adjunct of a Body agreeing to it and that whatsoever Bodily thing he apprehended by his outward Part that is by his Bodily Senses was not the true State or Nature of his Essence but that some other thing it was of an Incorporeal Substance whereby he apprehended that absolute perfect and independent Being which is necessarily and of it self existent Thus when he came to know that § 58 his Essence was not a Corporeal Substance apprehensible by any of his Senses or compassed about by his Skin as his Entrails were his Body began to appear a very contemptible thing to him so that he wholly addicted himself to the Contemplation of that Noble Essence whereby he apprehended that Super-excellent Being which necessarily existed Then by vertue of that same Noble Essence of his he considered with himself whether it could perish be corrupted and vanish away or on the other side were of perpetual duration Whereupon he saw that Corruption and Dissolution belonged to the Adjuncts of Bodies and consisted in putting off one form and putting on another as for instance when Water is turned into Air by Rarefaction and Air turned into Water by Condensation when Bodies also are reduced into Earth or Ashes or when the moisture and vigour of the Earth is changed into the substance of various sorts of Plants which grow out of it and are nourished by it For this is the true notion of Corruption So then we cannot any way suppose that to be liable unto Corruption which is neither a Body nor needs a Body for its subsistence but is wholly diverse and separated from all Bodily things Now when he was thus well assured § 59 that his Essence truly so called viz. his Soul was incorruptible he desired to know what would be the condition thereof when it left the Body and was separated therefrom Upon which consideration it appeared to him that it took not its farewell of the Body untill it became an instrument wholly unfit for its use So then as he weighed in his mind all his apprehensive faculties he saw that every one of them apprehended its Object sometimes potentially and sometimes actually as when the Eye winketh or turns
so that both its Existence and its Life must needs be very infirm but that Plants had a stronger Life and Animals a Life more manifest than the Plants The reason whereof is because if there be found any Body among the compound ones wherein the Nature of any one of the Elements prevails above the rest That as far as it is able will conquer the Nature of the other Elements and make void their Activity so that the whole compound will lie under the Power of the prevailing Element whence it will follow that such a Compound will be in a capacity to exercise but a very small Portion of Life according as that domineering Element is disposed to exercise it But if among these Compounds § 65 there be any found wherein the Nature of one Element doth not prevail above the rest then all the Parts thereof will be of an equal Temper and alike Vigour so that no one of them will repress the Operation or abate the Force of the other any more than its own Force is abated by it so that they work upon each other with a like Strength and Activity the operation of one Element not being any way more observable than the operation of another nor any one prevailing above the other in which respect it is far from being like any single Element but appears as if there were nothing contrary to its Form whereby it becomes very apt for and capable of receiving Life And by how much the greater this Equality of Temper is and by how much the more perfect and farther distant from inclining to any one Extream by so much farther is it distant from having any contrary to it and its Life is the more perfect Seeing then that the Animal Spirit the Seat whereof is the Heart is of a most equal Temper for it is more pure and subtil than Earth and Water as it is more gross and thick than Fire and Air so that it obtains the nature of such a Mean as is contrary to none of the Elements in any evident kind of Contrariety by this means it is disposed to become that Form which constitutes an Animal From whence he saw this would follow that the most equal in Temper amongst the Animal Spirits was disposed to exercise the most perfect Life in this inferiour World which is subject to Generation and Corruption and that we may well-nigh affirm of such a Spirit that there is nothing contrary to its Form and that upon this Account it resembles those Heavenly Bodies which in like manner have nothing contrary unto theirs and that therefore it becomes the Spirit of that living Creature which hath the most perfect Life because it is indeed placed in the middle of the Elements not being at all moved either upward or downward And if it could be placed in the midst of that space which lies between the Center and the highest place whereto the Fire reacheth and that no Corruption at all seized on it it would fix it self there nor would have any propension to move either upward or downward but if it should be locally moved it would move in a Round as the heavenly Bodies are moved and if it were moved in its place it would be moved about its own Center and be of a Spherical Figure seeing it could not be otherwise and therefore would become very like to the heavenly Bodies And when he considered the Properties § 66 of Animals nor could see any amongst them concerning which he could in the least suspect that it had any knowledge of this necessarily existent Being but on the other side well knew that as for his own Form or Essence it had the knowledge of it He thence concluded that he was a living Creature endued with a Spirit of an equal Temperature like unto the heavenly Bodies It was evident also to him that he was of a diverse kind from all other sorts of Animals created to another end and destined to the obtaining of some great Perfection and Happiness whereunto no other Animal was appointed And it was enough to shew the nobleness of his Nature and Condition that the most vile part of him viz. the bodily one was most like of all to the heavenly Substances which are removed from this lower World that is liable to Generation and Corruption and free from all Accidents which relate to Deficiency Change and Alteration and that the best part of him was that thing whereby he knew the necessarily existent Being that also his intelligent Form was somewhat Heroical and Divine such as was not changeable nor liable unto corruption such as nothing was to be attributed unto that properly belonged unto Bodies such a thing lastly as could not be apprehended by any of the Senses nor by the Imagination and the knowledge thereof could not be obtained by any other Instrument but by its own Faculty alone So that it was all in one namely the Essence of Man or thing which knew the thing known and the Knowledge it self Neither was there any diversity in any of these seeing that Diversity and Separation are the Attributes and Adjuncts of Bodies whereas here there was neither any Body nor any Attribute of a Body nor any thing adherent or belonging to it And whenas the way now manifestly § 67 appeared whereby it was proper and peculiar to him among all the rest of Animals to be made like unto the heavenly Bodies he saw that it was a Duty necessarily incumbent on him to resemble them to imitate their Actions and endeavour to his utmost that he might become like unto them He discerned also by the vertue of that more noble Part of his whereby he knew the necessarily existent Being that there was in him a certain Resemblance thereof inasmuch as he was separated from all that belonged unto Bodies in like manner as that Being was separated Withall he saw that it was his Duty to labour by all manner of means how he might obtain the Properties of that Being put on and wear his Qualities and imitate his Actions to be diligent also and careful in promoting his Will to commit all his Affairs unto him and heartily to acquiesce in all those Decrees of his which concerned him either from without or within so that he rejoyced and pleased himself in him although he should afflict his Body with Pain and do him harm yea though he should altogether destroy his Body and kill him He saw also that he resembled the § 68 other kinds of Animals in his meanest and vilest Part which he had from this lower World subject to Generation and Corruption viz. this dark dull and gross Body which necessarily required of him for its maintenance and preservation several sorts of sensible things such as meat Drink and Clothing besides propagation of Kind which he observed in the brute Animals as necessary for the continuing of each Species by supplying the Mortality of Individuals Withall he saw that his Body was not made him for
forementioned Creatures whatsoever came to his hand in that proportion which he should afterwards find to agree best with him But if all sorts of Meat were at hand to use he judged that it then behoved him to deliberate with himself and to make choice of that amongst them by the taking whereof there would arise the least Opposition to the Work of the Creator such as was the Pulp or soft inward part of such Fruits as had attained to their full Maturity and whose Seeds were in them apt and ready to produce the like yet so as he took care to preserve those Seeds so that he neither ate them nor marred them nor cast them away into such places which were unfit for them to spring up and grow in such as smooth and hard Stones salt Earth and the like But if he could not meet with such Fruits as had a Pulp fit for Nourishment as Apples Pears Plums and the like then he would take his Food out of such Fruits which had nothing in them fit for Nourishment besides the Seed it self such as Walnuts and Chesnuts were or of such Herbs as had not yet attained to their full Ripeness yet so that of both kinds he took those only to feed on whereof there was the greater plenty and which had a Faculty to produce others of the like kind Withall he took care neither to pluck them up by the Roots nor to destroy their Seeds But in case these also were wanting then he thought fit to take his Food of the brute Animals or of their Eggs yet so that he took his Food of those which were most in number that so he might not wholly destroy any one Kind of them These were the Rules which he set § 73 to himself and thought fit to observe concerning the kinds of Food But for the quantity he saw that was to be observed which sufficed to satisfie his Hunger so that he ought not to exceed that proportion And for the distance to be observed between his Meals he judged it best that when he had taken so much Food as at present sufficed him he should abide contented therewith nor seek after any more until he found some disability in himself which hindred him from exercising any one of those Actions that belonged to the second Conformity those namely which I shall by and by mention But as for those things which necessity required of him towards the conservation of his Animal Spirit in regard of defending it from external Injuries he found no great difficulty therein seeing he was well clothed with Skins and had a convenient place to Lodge in which was shelter enough for him and guarded him sufficiently from all harms that might betide him from without These therefore he thought enough for him and judged it superfluous to take any farther care about them Then as to his Diet he observed those Rules which he had prescribed to himself namely those which we even now set down After this he applied himself to § 74 the second Operation which consisted in a conformity to the heavenly Bodies by imitating and resembling of them and expressing their proper qualities in himself Now when he had run over all their Attributes in his mind they seemed unto him to be comprehended under these three kinds whereof the first belonged to them in relation to the inferiour Bodies which are placed in this earthly World which is liable to Generation and Corruption viz. such as Heat which they imparted to them of their own Nature as Cold by accident Light Rarefaction and Condensation together with other effects which they work in them whereby they are qualified and disposed for the receiving into themselves the influences of those spiritual forms from the supream Cause the necessarily existent Agent The second kind of Attributes were such as agreed to them in regard of their own Nature as it is considered in it self as that they were clear bright and lightsome Bodies pure and far removed from all feculent matter and whatsoever kinds of Impurity Also that they were moved circularly some of them about their own Center and some about the Centers of other Planets The third kind of Attributes was that which they had in relation to the necessarily existent Being as that they always beheld him nor at any time turned away their Eye from him that they were also imploied in that which he appointed them to do and performed his will with a most ready constant and exact Obedience neither were ever moved but according to his Will and by his Power He therefore endeavoured with all his might to resemble and imitate them in every one of these three kinds As to the first kind of Conformity § 75 he judged that his imitation of them consisted in this viz. That he were so disposed and affected as to see no brute Animal or Plant which wanted any thing or which suffered any hurt or loss or was molested with any impediment which he was able to remove from it but he should remove it and that when he chanced to see any Plant which was deprived of the benefit of the Sun through the interposal of another Body or whereto some harmful weed stuck close or was dry and withering and even ready to Die he should remove that which so interposed it self if it could be removed and separate that hurtful weed from it which hindred its Growth and Thriving yet in such a way as not to hurt that which hurt that other He thought it also behoved him to water that Plant which he found dry and thirsty as far as it lay in his power And when he chanced to see any brute Animal which some wild Beast pursued or was intangled in a Snare or molested with any Thorn or Brier that laid hold on it or stuck to it or had some hurtful thing fallen into its Eyes or Ears or which was afflicted with Hunger or Thirst he indeavoured to his utmost power to remove all such Evils from them and to give them Meat and Drink Also when he saw any water which conveniently flowed for affording Moisture to any Plant or Drink to any brute Animal in case he observed any impediment which interrupted its free Course whether it were some Stone which chanced to fall thereinto or whatsoever other thing brought down by the Stream he took care to remove it out of the way Neither ceased he to go on still in this kind of Conformity until that he had therein attained to the very height of perfection As to the second kind of Conformity § 76 in his Assimilation to the heavenly Bodies it consisted in this that he preserved himself in a constant cleanliness by removing all manner of impurity and filth from his Body and to that end washing his Body oftentimes with Water and keeping clean his Teeth and Nails as also the more hidden and secret Parts of his Body as far as lay in him by sweetning them with Odours and by oft making clean