Chap. XIX. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 281 



another paflage In the fame Query *, he fays, ' That, though the 

 * world could not rife out of chaos by the mere laws of nature, yet, 

 ' bf^ing oiice formed, it may coatinic, by thefe hws, for many ages.' 

 That is to fay, as I underftand the words, that the world, being once 

 formed and fet a^^omg, will go on of itlelf, by the force of mere mat- 

 ter and mechanifm, according to certain laws of motion originally im- 

 prefled upon it. Now. though the word ivoiid ufed here is broad e- 

 nough to comprehend all things on this earth, animals and vegetables, 

 as well as inanimate bodies, vet I am perfuaded Sir Ifaac had nothing 

 in view but the fyftem of the heavens, as it is explained in hi^ Princi- 

 pal where he undoubtedly makes a machine uf the folar fyltem. But, 

 as I have obferved, the fyftem of Des Cartes, and the other French 

 philofophers, who make a machine of ani.nals a'^d vegetables here on 

 earth, as well as of the celeftial bodies, is more confiftent with itfelf, 

 and more agreeable to the analogy that we obierve in nature, than Sir 

 Ifaac's fyllem. And, I think, we may fairly argue, that if, by virtue of 

 the force originally impreffed, the celeftial bodies continue to move, all 

 the bodies here on earth do hkewile move in the fame manner. But if, 

 on the contrary, it be certain that not only organized bodies here on 

 earth are not moved m that way, but even unorganized bodies, I think 

 the conclufion will be tair on the other fide. Now, that the brute ani- 

 mals are mere n achines, n()b')dy, I thi;,k, can ferioufly believe, who 

 does not, at the fame time, believe, that wc ourfelves are mere ma- 

 chines, and are only moved by impulfes origuially given us. Neither 

 has it been hitherto attempted, as far as I know, to account in that 

 way for rhe motion of the vegetable. And, even as to unorganized 

 bodies, 1 think it is as imi^oifible that they can perform all their various 

 movements from any force originally imprcfled upon them. In this 

 way, we might account f> r a ftop.e falling to the ground once ; but, 

 how fhall we account for its falling fo a fecond, third, and innumer- 



N n able 



* Page 378. 



