Chap. XIV. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 177 



This being eftablifhed, Ifay, that what moves mufl be either material 

 or immaterial ; for the one of thefe being the negation of the other, 

 there can be no middle betwixt them, becaufe a thing muft neceflarily 

 he or not be. Ifj then, it be immaterial, there is an end of the que- 

 ftion ; but, if it be faid to be material, then I fay that it mu(t be wo- 

 V^d itfelf, before it can move any thing elfe ; for it is only in that way 

 that body can move body. If, then, it muft be firft moved itfelf, but 

 cannot itfelf move itfelf, I afk. What it is that moves it ? If it be an- 

 fwered. That it is another material mover, then I repeat the fame 

 queftion, to which the fame anfwer muft be given : And fo we have 

 an infinite feries of material movers^ without any beginning, or prin^ 

 ciple of motion. Now, this is abfurd, and contradictory to this firft 

 principle of natural philofophy, admitted by all philofophers, antlent 

 and modern, that nothing can be produced ivithout a caiife. For, un- 

 lefs there be a firft caufe, of which nothing elfe is the caufe, there is 

 ultimately no caufe at all ; and we do no more than put off or remove 

 the difficulty, without folving it, as the Indian did, when he was afked, 

 What fupported the earth ? and anfwered. An elephant, — What fiip- 

 ported the elephant ? — A tortoife. — His anfwer, as the ftory goes, 

 went no further. But, if he had named a million of things, each fup- 

 porting the other, unlefs he could have named one thing, which it- 

 felf needed no fupport, it is evident that he never would have account- 

 ed for the earth being fupported. 



This, I think, is a demonftration a priori^ taken from the nature of 

 motion : I will give another from the nature of body itfelf. 



All body is, by its nature, feparable and divifible. If, therefore, 

 there were not fomething that kept it together, it would be no longer 

 body, for it would have no extenfion nor jundion of parts. What 

 keeps body thus together, is called the principle of cohefion^ which is a 

 tendency in the feveral parts of the body to be joined, and to remain 

 joined to oue another \ and, as that cannot be without a tendency to 



Z move 



