448 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book V, 



MaterlalHm may be faid to be the Philofophy of the Senfes : And 

 it has undoubtedly arifen from Men believing, as Plato fays cer- 

 tain Philofophers in his time did, that nothing cxifted but what they 

 could lay hold of with their hands, or otherwife perceive by 

 their Senfes. Of this Se£t was one Ariftodemus, mentioned by 

 Xenophon in the Memorabilia. Socrates, in order to convince 

 him that there were Gods, or Superior Intelligences in the Uni- 

 verfe, infifts much upon the evident marks of council and defign, 

 that appeared in their works. ' Ay, but,' fays Ariftodemus, ' I 



* do not fee thofe Powers who perform all thefe wonderful things, 



* as 1 fee the Artifts of thofe works which we admire here on 



* Earth.' ' But neither,' fays Socrates, * do you fee your own 



* Mind, which moves your Body, and does fo many other things*.' 

 This argument I have infifted much upon in this Work ; and, 

 indeed, if a man is not convinced that there is an invifible Power, 

 which moves his own Body, it is impoffible he ever can believe in 

 the invifible things of God ; for the argument, as Dr. Prieftley ad- 

 mits, fairly proceeds by analogy, from the Motions of our own 

 Bodies to the Motions of other Bodies in Nature ; becaufe, fays 

 the Dodor, if there be a Mind in us, which moves our Bodies 

 there alfo mufl be a Mind in other Bodies, when they are moved, 

 but not moved by any thing external : And, indeed, it is im- 

 poffible to divide the Matter ; but we muft either be perfe£t Mate- 

 rialifts, like him, or Demi-Materialifts, and very bad Reafonei's. I 

 am, therefore, not at all furprifed, that the Dodor, and other Ma- 

 terialifts with whom -I have converfed, fhould deny that our Bodies 

 are moved by our Minds : But, on the contrary, I think they ar- 

 gue very confiftently ; and, however wonderful it may appear that 

 our Bodies fhould move themfelves, and not be moved by our 

 Minds, it is not at all more wonderful, than that many other Mo- 

 tions 



* Memorabilia, lib. i. 



