2,6% ON THE TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS. 



tians, who from religious oftentation, gave themfelves 

 a far more marvellous afpect, and their antient hiftory a 

 far more venerable appearance, than either the nature of 

 things or the progr-efs of the human underftanding al- 

 lowed. 



If we would know how nations whofe reafon is not 

 yet confirmed by reflection and obfervation, repre- 

 fent to themfelves the foul : we have no more to do 

 than, either to call to mind what were our thoughts in 

 regard to this word when we were children, or to re- 

 mark what the lower clafs of perfons among us under- 

 hand by the expreffion, the foul. With all men, ab- 

 ftracl ideas unfold themfelves from fenflble impreffi- 

 ons ; with all men, fenfible images and impreffions 

 are the firft object of all reflection ; with all men, ab- 

 ftract and general ideas are at firfl no more than pic- 

 tures of the imagination : with all men, therefore, 

 who have not yet by continued reflection tranfported 

 themfelves into the fuperior region of intellectual ideas, 

 the reprefentations of abftracted objects, that do no; 

 lie within the province of the fenfes, are nearly the 

 fame, becaufe they are prepared from nearly the fame 

 materials. The uncultivated man reprefents the foul 

 as a fubtile airy being, with juffc the fame dimenlions, 

 frame and figure as we perceive in the grofs material 

 body : and, fince he has no other knowledge of man 

 than what he acquires through the fenfes, and confe- 

 quently, fince it cannot occur to him, how can he be- 

 lieve that his foul may be otherwife fafhioned than his 

 body ? The proof of this is to be feen in the manes 

 of the antients ; which were fubtile and airy outlines of 

 the body which the foul had inhabited upon earth. 



The 



