Chap.III. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 153 



wife It would exift to no purpofe. — But nothing can operate, that is 

 not fitted and difpofed, by its nature, to operate. This difpofition 

 is called, in Greek, t'^.f, or habit : And, though it makes the thing 

 perfedt, yet, as it is only preparatory to Adtion, which is the ulti- 

 mate end of Nature, it is called by Ariftotle the Firfi Entelccheia ; 

 whereas the other is the Complete Entelecheia or, Energy^ of what is 

 come to its ftate of perfedlion *. 



This is the progrefs of things in generation and corruption. As 

 to things divine; we conceive no fuch progrefs in them, nor any di- 

 ftindtion betwixt Capacity, Habit, or Energy ; but we hold Energy 

 to be eflential to their Nature, fo that they cannot exift without e- 

 nergizing. But this does not hinder that inferior Beings of this kind 

 may be improved in their Natures and Energies, though we cannot 

 conceive them when exifting by themfelves, and not joined with 

 Body, in a ftate of mere Capacity, without Energies at all, or with 

 interrupted Energies. 



There is another diftindion that I likewife think of abfolute ne- 

 ceffity in this argument ; but neither is it made by our modern phi- 

 lofophers, though it be the foundation of the antient philofophy of 

 Nature : The diftindion I mean, is between Matter and Form. Thofe 

 who are perfedlly unlearned in the antient philofophy, will readily 

 conceive this diftincSlion in the works of Art, in which they fee the 

 fame materials afluming very different forms : And the antients faid 

 there was the fame diftindtion in the works of Nature, and that there 

 was Matter^ or, as it is commonly called by modern philofo- 

 phers, Firjl Matter, which received indifferently all Forms and 

 Qualities, and was the common fubftratum of all material thin^-s • 

 the exiftence of which we muft admit, as I obferved before * 



Vol. II. U unlefs 



* For this diftindlion betwixt the »rj»T» and hvrt^t i>TiM)i»», Sec Arid. lib. 2. 

 De Animay cap. 1 . 



t P 12- 3.-- 



