437 



"After his firft leflbn, our Illumine proceeded to explain his other 

 " fymbols. This ferpent, forming a circle, (fays he) is the emblem 

 " of the eternity of the world ; which, like this ferpent, has neither 

 " beginning nor end. The ferpent, you may alfo know, has the 

 " property of annually renovating its ikin. This will figure to you the 

 " revolutions of the univerfe and of nature, which appears to weaken 

 " and even to perifli at certain epochs, but which, in the immenfity 

 " of ages, only grows old to become young again, and to prepare for 

 " new revolutions. — This phenix, is a ftill more natural expofition of 

 " the fucceffion and perpetuation of thefe phenomena. Mythology has 

 " reprefented this bird as revivifying from its own afhes, only to fhew 

 " how the univerfe is reproduced, and will continue to be fo from 

 " itfelf." 



As I have no other materials but Dr. Huttonh memoir, from which 

 I can form a conjefture as to his opinions, I would be forry raflily 

 to afcribe to him any of the principles of this dangerous fefl: : on one 

 point, indeed, their language is very fimilar, the Knight of the Phenix, 

 fays, the world, like this ferpent, has neither beginning nor end i 

 and Dr, Hutton concludes his elaborate differtation with thefe words : 

 " The refult, therefore, of our prefent enquiry is, that zve find no vef- 

 " ^*Z^ rf a beginning, no profpeil of an end" (Edinb. Tranfact. Vol. ift. 

 page 304.) 



Mr. Playfair cannot bear to have thefe two pofilions confounded; 

 the former he condemns harflily, (page 120) but highly applauds the 

 latter. 



The diftinftion between the pofition, " the -world has neither begin- 

 ning nor end" and the aflertion, " ive find no 'veflige of a beginning, 

 no profpe6l of an end" may be ingenious, but it is not new ; Pere 

 Arnauld was cenfured by the Sorbonne, not for denying that certain 

 propofitions condemned by the Pope were to be found in Janfenius's 

 book, but for faying, " that having read the book carefully, he could 

 not find them-" and he is juft as ready to condemn them wherever 



they 



