ON THE TRANSMIGRATION OP SOULS. 267 



fleeted, or made nice obfervations, on the nature of 

 their imagination, it is the only criterion for judging 

 between felt and merely imagined things. With all 

 our metaphyseal acutenefs, and the nicer!: fpirit of 

 difcrimination, we mould never have thought of dif- 

 tinguifhing the perceptions of our dreams from the 

 perceptions of our waking hours, did not our intercourfe 

 with other men, and the teftimony of thole that were 

 prefent while we flept, convince us, that, of all we 

 think we have perceived, nothing has happened. Upon 

 thefe principles, now, the favage reafons: During my 

 fleep I have actually feen, heard, done, what I am 

 confeious I have feen, heard, and done ; yet I know 

 for certain that my body has not rlirred from the place : 

 confequently my foul mull neceffarily have left the 

 body, and have roamed about in all the places which 

 I have feen ; confequently, it is not to be denied that 

 the foul does leave the body, and with the greater! ve- 

 locity traverfes the moft diftant places without it. 



So confiftently and methodically, indeed, the favage 

 does not reafon : but all thefe middle terms neceffarily 

 lie undeveloped in his intellect : and he would reduce 

 them to this very form if he had once been taught the 

 method of fyllogifms and enthymemes. That favage 

 nations hold their dreams for realities we are expreflly 

 told by travellers ; firice they are not fufficiently verfed 

 in natural philofophy for explaining the nature of 

 dreams : fo they believe that their foul, when me fees 

 the body buried in fleep, takes advantage of thefe 

 moments, for going abroad, and afterwards returns to her 

 tabernacle of fleftu- — On awaking, they believe the foul 



to 



