84 FROM THE GREEKS TO DARWIN 



cause of the heavenly bodies, and Intellect (or 

 Design) as the cause of all earthly bodies. But it 

 is more probable that the heavens should have 

 been produced by Nature, Intellect (Design) , or 

 something else of this kind, and that they should 

 subsist through such a designing cause than that 

 frail and mortal animals were produced by it; 

 for order and a firm and certain condition of 

 being are far more obvious in celestial natures 

 than in us; but an uncertain, inconstant, and 

 fortuitous condition is rather the property of the 

 mortal race. . . . Chance and fortune are se- 

 quels (secondary) to both Intellect and Nature. 

 Hence if chance were in an eminent degree the 

 cause of the heavens, it would nevertheless be 

 necessary that Intellect and Nature should be 

 prior causes of many other things as well as of 

 this Universe itself. 



[Of Necessity (Law) and Design in Nature'] 



We must show first, why Nature is a cause 

 which subsists for some purpose, and second, how 

 necessity (natural law) subsists in physical con- 

 cerns, for all natural causes are referred to this. 

 But some may question what hinders Nature 

 from operating for some purpose rather than 

 from necessity; for example, that rain falls for 

 the benefit of the corn rather than because that 



