234 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book m. 



as many lubtile difputes about the different kinds of fyllogifin, as 

 we had in Europe 200 years ago *. But befides the arts and iciences 

 that I have mentioned, the Egyptians made great progrefs in phi- 

 lofophy, and even in the higheft part of philofophy, that is, theology; 

 for it is certain that they knew the dodrine of the Trinity, which 

 Plato learned in Egypt, and alfo his dodrine of Ideas. Now philo- 

 fophy is the fcicncc of fc'iences : For it contains the principles of all 

 fciences ; and however learned a man may be in particular fciences, 

 if he be not a philofopher, he cannot know the firft principles of 

 any fciciice. This I have elfevvhere lliown to be the cafe of two 

 fciences; I mean geometry and arithmetic, which are very accurately 

 treated by Euclid, but of which, not being a philofopher, he did 

 not underftand the principles, and did not even know what the fub- 

 ieft of them was, viz. that quafitity was the fubjeft of both ; quantity 

 continuous of geometry, and quantity difa'de of arithmetic : Nor did 

 he know what the hrfl; principle of each of them was ; I mean 

 the point in geometry, and the monad in nuinber f. And I think 

 I have fhown that Sir Ifaac Newton, though a great aftronomer, 

 vet, not being a philofopher, did not know that great princi- 

 ple not only of natural philofophy, but of theology, that mind is 

 the author of all motions in the univerfe, and confequently of the 

 motion of the heavenly bodies. 



This may fuffice as to the invention of arts and fciences in Egypt. 

 With rcfpe^t to the propagation of them to other countries, the 

 Egyptians had the fmeft climate and foil, and a river, which once a 

 year overflowed that foil, and renewed it annually by covering it 

 with the beft earth, I believe, in the world : I mean the earth 

 of Ethiopia. The produdlions, therefore, of this land and ri- 

 ver, joined with the beft polity that ever was, made them multi- 

 ply fo faft, that it was neceflary for them to fend colonies to 



very 



* Preface to Vol. III. of ibis work, p. 59. 

 t P. 28. of this Vol. 



