275 



l> inertia? continuing one projectile motion round tlie 

 sun, and another round the earth. 'Therefore the mo- 

 tion or' this, and by a parity of reason,, that of all the 

 secondary planets, must be guided every moment either 

 by mechanism or by a spiritual power. 



Indeed Sir Isaac thought these powers might arise 

 from a subtle, etherial medium, diffused tli rough the 

 whole universe : but this is only retiring a step farther 

 in the ({ark. For it comes to one, whether the cause of 

 attraction be assigned to grosser bodies themselves, or 

 to the impulse of a medium that penetrates them. If 

 the powers of that supposed medium are unmcchauical, 

 they must be spiritual. And seeing the medium is only 

 supposed, it is more natural to assign these uninechani- 

 cal powers, to bodies which we know disposed to these 

 motions, than to suj^osed bodies, which we know 

 nothing of. 



Farther ; if Sir Isaac supposes such a medium for 

 maintaining attraction, gravitation, and elasticity, how 

 came he not to suppose thiit the same is concerned, in 

 supporting his axioms or laws of motion ] For the knot 

 does not iie in gravitation or attraction, or any particular 

 kind of motion, but in finding powers to produce a?;.ci 

 maintain motion in general. If these are meckaical; 

 it h easy to suppose,, though we should never be able to 

 explain in what manner that the contriver has adjusted 

 the mechanism to produce all the motion observable in. 

 the creatures. But if they are unmechaoical laws, pro- 

 perties, or whatever we may call tbcnx there is no occa- 

 sion for supposing any cause of gravitation, or for taking 

 it amiss to have it called an occult quality, unknown 

 virtue, charm, law,, or any word we have no meaning to 



8. This, unrneehanical philosophy has a bad influence 

 in obstructing our advancement in the knowledge of 

 nature. For how can enquiries into the powers of na- 

 ture be carried on to any decree of perfection, under the 

 direction of a system which muffles our eyes with un.me- 

 chanical laws of matter, suppose the basis of mrchunism, 

 instead of examining whlker these tbcuvjclvcb a./ uo 



