Ro PRODUCTION SECT, XIV. 2 . i. 



fpirit of animation would appear to be capable of exifting as well 

 feparately from the body as with it. 



I beg to be underftood, that I do not with to difpute about 

 words, and am ready to allow, that the powers of gravity, ipe- 

 cific attra6iion, electricity, magnetifm, and even the fpirit of 

 animation, may confift of matter of a finer kind ; and to believe, 

 with St, Paul and Maibranch, that the ultimate caufe only of all 

 motion is immaterial, that is God. St. Paul fays, " in him we 

 live and move, and have our being ;" and, In the i5th chapter 

 to the Corinthians, diftinguifhes between the pfyche or living 

 fpirit, and the pneuma or reviving fpirit. By the words fpirit 

 of animation or fenforial power, I mean only that animal life, 

 which mankind poflefs in common with brutes, and in fome 

 degree even with vegetables, and leave the consideration of the 

 immortal part of us, which is the object of religion, to thofe 

 who treat of revelation. 



II. i. Of the Senfe of Touch. 



THE firft ideas we become acquainted with are thofe of the 

 fenfe of touch ; for the foetus mult experience fome varieties of 

 agitation, and exert fome mufcular action, in the womb ; and 

 may with great probability be fuppofed thus to gain fome ideas 

 of its own figure, of that of the uterus, and of the tenacity of 

 the fluid, that furroumls it, (as appears from the fats mention- 

 ed in the fucceedin^ Section upon Inftincl ) 



Many of the organs of fenfe are confined to a fmall part of 

 the body, as the noftrils, ear or eye, whilll the fenfe of touch is 

 difFufed over the whole fkin, but exifts with a more exquifite 

 degree of delicacy at the extremities of the fingers and thumbs, 

 and in the lips. The fenfe of touch is thus very commodioufly 

 difpofed for the purpofe of encompaffing fmaller bodies, ani for 

 adapting itfelf to the inequalities of larger ones. The figure of 

 fmall bodies feems to be learnt by children by their lips as much 

 as by their fingers ; on which account they put every new ob- 

 jet to their mouths, when they are fatisfied with food, as well 

 as when they are hungry And puppies feem to learn their 

 ideas of figure principally by the lips in their mode of play. 



We acquire our tangible ideas of objeds either by the fimple 

 preflure of this organ of touch again (t a folid body, or by 

 moving our organ of touch along the furface of it. In the former 

 cafe we learn the length and breadth of the objeft by the quan- 

 tity of our organ of touch, that is imprefled by it : in the latter 

 cafe we learn the length and breadth of objedlsby the continu- 

 ance of their preflure on our moving organ of touch. 



It 



