Mechanical Philosophy). l^ 



published, in 1724, the first part of a large and 

 learned work, which he called Moses's Priii-' 

 cipia, in which he ridiculed the doctrine of gravi- 

 tation as impious and absurd; and in 1727, the 

 second part, in which he delivered what he sup^ 

 posed to be the true principles of scripture philo- 

 sophy. This singular philosopher taught, that the 

 sacred writings are intended to instruct us in all 

 physical as well as moral and spiritual truth; that 

 the Hebrew text of the Bible is not only, in every 

 respect, entire, as it came from God ; but also that 

 every word of it is pregnant with philosophical, as 

 well as theological meaning. Hence his hypothesis 

 is chiefly founded on arbitrary and fanciful inter- 

 pretations of Hebrew words, from the hidden 

 meaning of which he and his followers supposed 

 themselves to have drawn the richest stores of va- 

 rious kinds of knowledge. 



According to Hutchinson, " all things are con- 

 ^' tained in the substance of God, and his substance 

 " extends to infinite space. Heaven and earth, 

 *^ space and matter, are created things, and con-* 

 *' sist of solid atoms; those of earth adhering in 

 *' bodies or dense fluids — those of the heaven in 

 *^ orbs, darkness, fire, light and clouds. The uni- 

 " verse \?>full of these solid atoms : in other words, 

 ^' creation is aplemivi. The matter of the heavens 

 *' is fluid; it is also finite, and has circumferential 

 *' limits or extremities, though it extends through 

 *' all created space, from the sun, its centre, be« 

 '' yond the remotest fixed stars. This matter of 

 " the heavens consists of spirit, or air, light and 

 ^\fire, as three of its principal modifications. The 

 '^ sun is the fire-place which sets all this matter in 

 ** motion, melting, expanding, and throwing it 

 *' off to the most distant confines of creation, where 

 ^' it is cooled, consolidated, and pressed back 

 " again, to be melted anew, and sent forth a se- 



