Chap. XIL] Phllosophi) of the Human Mind. 171 



lisbed a doctrine which soon led to singukir con- 

 sequences. He laid it down as a principle, which, 

 indeed, had tlien been admitted by all preceding 

 philosophers, that we do not perceive external ob- 

 jects ijruiiediately, but by means of images, or 

 ideas of them present to the mind. In order to 

 account for the production of these ideas in the 

 mind, he maintained that the soul of man is 

 united with a being possessed of all perfection, 

 who has in himself the ideas of every created be- 

 ing; and therefore that we see all things in God. 

 Malebranche Avas sensible that this system left no 

 evidence of the existence of a material world ; for 

 if the mind sees all things in God, or if the Di- 

 vine ideas alone are perceived by us, we cannot Ijc 

 certain that the various forms of matter around 

 us exist, since the ideas in the Eternal Mind were 

 the same before any creature was made. Ihis 

 conseciueiice he candidly acknowledged, and mam- 

 tained that the only evidence we have of<thc ex- 

 istence of a material world is derived from Reve- 

 lation, which assures us that God created the Hea- 

 vens and the Earth, and that the IVord xius mack 

 flesh. This doctrine was vigorously and mgeni- 

 ously opposed by its authors countryman and con- 

 temporary, Anthony Arnauld, doctor ot the Sor- 

 bonne. But thougl^ the latter succeeded m sliow- 

 ino. the weakness and fallacy of the reasonmgs 

 which he attacked, he was not equally successtul 

 in establishing a consistent and satisfacto.y theory 

 -of liis own. The svstem of Malebranche, how- 

 ever, notwithstanding its visionary character was 

 warmly espoused by Mr. N orris, an LngliM di- 

 vine, who, in 1701, published a large and labon- 



