•6 A N T I E N T M E T A P H Y S I C S. Book!. 



CHAP. II. 



Defiiition of Body and Mind — Definitions of Body gi'ven by modern 

 Philofophers not proper — Definitions here gi'uen agree '7.vitJj thofe gi- 

 ven hy Plato and Arifiotle — Ohje6lions to thefe Dcfnitious anfiwered — 

 Impropriety of the EnglfJj Language ixrith refpecJ to the life of the 

 Word Move. — Inconfifience of Mr Locke upon the Suhje6i (s/Mind 

 and Bodv. 



IN the preceeding Cb.aptcr, I rup|X)red that the difference of body 

 and mind^ and the nature of each, was known to tlie reader ; but 

 metaphyfics^ or the firfl: philofophy, fuppofes nothing to be known, 

 nor alTumes any thing from common fenfe or apprehenfion, but de- 

 fines and demonftrates every thing, as far as it is capable of demon- 

 {^ration ; we muft therefore try whether we cannot give fome defini- 

 tion of body and mindy taken from the nature of things as exifting — 

 for it is to be confidered that metaphyfics is not, like mathematics, a 

 fcience of the ideas or notions of our mind^ but of things as they exift 

 ia nature. 



This is the more neceffary, that there has not been, in my opinion, 

 any good definition yet given of body by our modern philofophers ; 

 and, as there are but two things in nature, body and mind^ fo that, 

 what is not body is mind^ it is evident that, without the knowledge of 

 hody^ we cannot know what mind is. The vulgar, and moft obvious 

 definition is manifeflly imperfedt, viz. That ivhich affecls ourfenfes. 

 For, though whatever does fo, is undoubtedly body^ there may be, and 

 certainly is body^ which is not perceived by any of our fenfes. Nei- 

 ther is the definition given by fome of our philofophers, by which 

 body is made to be that which has three dimenfions, lengthy breadth^ 

 and depth, any better j for, though that be a very proper definition 

 ^iven by Euclid of a folid. it is not at all a proper definition of body ; 

 for thefe three dimenfions are only the boundaries of body^ of which 



boun- 



