66 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book II. 



confidered in the works of God, is, Whether they do not fliovT 

 intelligence and fupreme intelligence? And this muft depend upon 

 another thing to be inquired into, Whether the univerlc be a lyftem or 

 not? for if it be a fyftem, it muft be the work of intelligence. That 

 intelli"-ence is effential to the Supreme Being, every man, who has 

 any idea of a God, muft allow; nor, indeed, is it pofTible to con- 

 ceive the Supreme Being without fupreme intelligence. Tliis is the 

 dodrine of all philofophers, Heathen as well as Ch'iftian f- Man, 

 too, is an animal of intelligence, by which he is diftinguiliccl from 

 the other animals upon this earth. Biu he was not To upon his iirft 

 appearance here ; for, as the individuals of the fpecies are without 

 intelligence when very young, fo the whole ipecles was when they 

 firft appeared on this earth and were in what I call the natural ftate. 

 And here it may be obferved in pafling, that, as every thing in rhis 

 univerfe is conduced in the greateft order and confiftency with the 

 whole of things, it was very natural that there ftiould be the fame 

 progrefs of the fpecies as of the individual. But our intelligence, 

 even when it is cultivated by arts and fciences as much as is poifible, 

 is by infinite degrees inferior to the Divine : And yet it is only by 

 comparing our intelledl with what we mull fuppofethe intelligence 

 of God to be, and adding to our intelligence what we may iuppofe 

 is wanting to make it perfedl, that we can have any idea of the Di- 

 vine intelligence ; fo true it is, that it is only by the knowledge 

 of ourfelves, that we can have any idea of God or of fuperior in- 

 telligences. Let us, therefore, compare our intelligence, when brought 

 to the greateft perfedion by arts and fciences, with the Divine : 



And, 



I Vide Plutarch. De Ifide et OJiride, in initio. His words are, Ov ya; «fy»{»i x«/ x?"'? 

 uctKxeict TO ©Jtof, tfh /3^«>r«i! xxi xi(a^>«i; i^x^f" x>^>^* iTris-tr./itt xxi p^Dviifti. Kui t»vt» 

 xxX>.,<rTx vxtJuf Ofjijos >ut tipr.Ki -rf>. Qtw, xtapeiy^xiiito;, 

 Ztos a-^oi6t«t yiyoiei kxi x>iio>« Hoii 



He might have added another authority alfo from Homer, where he f ys, 



■ ©i«i h T£ VXITX 'i(r«cr.». Odyf. 4. V. 379. 



