146 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



the Animal might have the form of a Man ; but he would not be 

 really a Man, any more than an Idiot or a Changeling. 



The greatefl difficulty in this matter is, to know whether the Hu- 

 man Mind tranfmigrates into the Brutal form. And it is the opi- 

 nion not only of the philofophers of the Eaft, but of fome of the 

 Weft, particularly Plato, that the Human Soul may, by way of pu- 

 nilhment, be degraded to inhabit a Beaft. Whether it be fo or not, 

 is a queftion, which, I think, philofophy cannot determine : Only 

 this w^e know with certainty, that, if the Human Intellect be in a 

 Brute, it muft be there latent, as it is in us in the womb and during 

 our infancy. 



That there muft be a tranfmigration of the Animal Mind from 

 Animal to Animal, and of the Vegetable Mind from Vegetable to 

 Vegetable, is, I think, evident, if it be true, what I have laid down, 

 that neither of thefe Minds is annihilated, or periflies, any more 

 than the Intelledual. I think We alfo know with certainty, that thefe 

 tranfmigrations of the Animal and Vegetable life are governed by 

 certain rules, as well as every thing elfe in Nature : But what thefe 

 rules are, I believe no philofopher ever can difcover. 



But, What fhall we fliy of that principle of Motion, that Ele- 

 mental Life, as I call it, which is in every particle of Matter ? Does 

 it tranfmigrate from one particle to another ? And, I fay, it does 

 not ; bec.iufe no reafon can be affigned for fuch tranfmigration : For, 

 as this Life is in the minuteft particles or indivifible atoms, there is 

 no dilTolution or feparation of parts, as in the Bodies of Animals 

 and Vegetables ; and, confequently, the life, which animates them, 

 continues always in them, without tranfmigration or change of any 

 kind= 



What 



I 



