144 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



Even in this life, a common imderftanding ads without Body ; and 

 the philofophical Mind ads fo much in that way, that it may he 

 faid to exift, for the greater part, without Body. It is true, indeed, 

 that a perfed Savage, that has not formed Ideas, can hardly be faid to 

 operate without the Body, or to be any better than a mere Brute. But 

 ftill he is an Intelledual 'Qoing potentially, as we are in our ftate of 

 infancy : And it is a fine obfervation of Ariltotle, That, in things 

 eternal, fuch as the Mind is, whatever gsa^s, potentially, will, fome 

 time or other, exift in energy or actuality ; fo that, in fuch Beings, there 

 is no difference betwixt the pojfe and the ejfe *. And, therefore, as it is 

 impoffible to deny but that the human foul ?nay exift in that way, it is 

 fair to conclude that, fome time or other, it ivill fo exift, not only fe- 

 parated from Body, with which I have fiid it is not immediately con- 

 neded, but even from Animal Life. 



As to the Animal Life, I do not think we have any reafon to believe, 

 that it either does, or ever will, exift in a feparate ftate: For we fee, that 

 all its energies and operations arife from Body, and are relative to Body 

 only ; and, therefore, as we know nothing of the nature of any thing 

 but by its operations, we ought to conclude, that it is of fuch a Nature 

 as never was deftined to exift without Body. And, if this be true 

 of the Animal Life, it certainly cannot be otherwife in the Vegeta- 

 ble Life : Nor indeed can we have any idea of a Vegetable Mind 

 without a Vegetable, which it nourifties, makes to grow, — preferves 



the individual, and propagates the kind f. 



6 to, 



* To y«e^ i»J^i;i;lir^«( T«u litai (ivh» >i«^f{!i 1» Tcif «<5"iOI5* De NdtU, Aufcult. Lib- 3. 



cap. 5. Seil. 6. And the reafon is, that, if what is in potentiality never exifts, the 

 potentiality would be given in vain, and would exiil for ever to no purpofe. Now, 

 fays Ariflotle, Nature does nothing in vain ; MaS'sh « i^vtrn i^aiu futrry Lib. 3. cap, 

 10. De j47iima. It may be obferved that Ariftotle applies this maxim only to things 

 eternal, meaning the Principles and E (Fences of things, which, being immaterial, as 

 I have fliown, (p. 72. )> are all eternal ; whereas the corporeal forms are in conftant 

 diange and fucceffion. 



t See what I have further faid upon the feparate exiftence of the feveral Minds 

 in us, in the firft volume of this work, book, z^ chap. 16. 



