Mechanical Philosophi}. It 



*^ orbs, they become enlightened, warmed or in- 

 *^^ flamed : spirit, or air, pushed in with irresisti- 

 *' ble compression ; and motion, rotation and pro* 

 " gression were accounted for, without having 

 ^* recourse to such miserable terms as projection, 

 *^ gravitation, or attraction."' 



These wild and fanciful opinions attracted much 

 attention in Great-Britain, and were embraced by 

 some learned and respectable men; especially by 

 those who entertained the groundless fear that New- 

 ton's system of philosophy was hostile to revelation. 

 Among these the celebrated Parkhurst, Bishop 

 HoRNE, and the Rev. Mr. Jones, of Nay land, were, 

 perhaps, the most able and distinguished. — But 

 notwithstanding the weight of a few names, which 

 appeared on the side of this hypothesis, before the 

 close of the eighteenth century, it had lost a large 

 portion of its advocates; and both the admiration 

 and the knowledge of Hutchinson's voluminous 

 writings had nearly disappeared. 



Another opponent of the Newtonian system was 

 Godfred William Leibnitz, a philosopher of 

 Leipsic, in Germany, whose celebrated theory de- 

 mands our notice. He taught that the whole uni- 

 verse is made up of monads, that is, simple sub- 

 stances without parts or figure, each of which is, by* 



e After examining, with considerable care, Hutchinson's Works, In 

 I a vols. 8vo. printed in 1 748, I did not dare to undertake the arduous 

 task of exhibiting the opinions scattered through his erudite but obscure 

 pages, in a short compass, and in my own language. I have therefore taken 

 the above abstract from the Medical Repository, vol. iv. p. 281, 2%%. 

 Those who wish to obtain a farther knowledge of the peculir c notions of 

 this singular man, without the trouble of wading through hi^ dull and te- 

 dious volumes, will find a tolerably distinct and comprehensive account of 

 them, in the State of the Republic of Letters, &c. vol. V. for the year 1730 

 — And in a work entitled. Thoughts concerning Religion, &c. printed at 

 Edinburgh, 1 743. It is curious to observe, that while the Hutchinsonians 

 so liberally censure the followers of Newton for giving too much activity 

 to matter, they fall into the same error (as they call it) in an equal degree. 

 But, in truth, if Newton's idea of attracti-ve ponver be examined, it will be 

 found only another mode of expression for a continual Divine agency^ exerted 

 according to a ctrtain laiu. 



