356 
my cheek, becaufe this philofopher has 
faid, God has fuificiat power over mat- 
ter to caufe it to think. The oftener I 
read Locke, the more Iam defirous fuch 
gentlemen as thefe fhould fiudy him. It 
appears to me that he has done what the 
Emperor Auguftus did, and has iflued 
out an edict de cacreeiad intra fines 
wnperto. Locke has pretcribed bounds 
tofeience, in order to concentrate its 
itrength. What is the foul?—l cannot 
tell. What is matter?—Matter is I 
know not what. But here 1s Doctor 
Feibnitz, who has difcovered that mat- 
ter is. a collection of monades: it may 
be fo; but I do not ata es what 
_thefe moniades are, nor he neither. 
Well then, my foul shail be a monade: 
~—how much now [ am enlightened! 
But, fays our doctor, I will prove to you 
that you are immortal. Will he? that 
will be doing me a pleature ; for T have 
as great a defire to be iminortal as the 
doctor has: I wrote my Henriad for no 
other purpofe. But this good man thinks 
himfclf more fure of immortality from 
his doctrine, than I.do from my Hen- 
riad. Vanitas vanitatum, et melaphyfica 
wanitas ! 
Friend—What do you think of Gat 
fendi? Do you not perceive that he 
weakens the firength of ali his argu- 
ments? 
Volf.—I think fo; but a greater mif- 
chief than. that is, that his. arguments 
fail him, He has gueifed at many things 
which have been proved fince his time. 
It is not fuilicient, for example, to con- 
quer the plenum by the ftrength of ar- 
gument; Newton found it neceflary to 
thew, by examiaing the path of comets, i! 
what Pere the ey are furced on more 
fwittly at the height of our plancts ; and 
confequently are not moved by a pre- 
tended vortex of matter, which cannot 
move flowly at one time. with a planet, 
and fwiftly at anotier. with ‘a comet; 
and that-in the fame fpace. It was ne- 
ceflary that Bradley ihould difcover, that 
light, in its progrets, is not ftopped be- 
twixt a ftar and us; and, conicquently, 
that there is no matter pete. to effect 
fuch ftoppage. This is ‘truly metaphy- 
fical. Gaffendi isa man who tells you 
fimply, there is a gold-mine fomewhere ; 
but thefe are the men who bring you the 
ore worked and refined into pure gold. 
l own to you, my friends, that I have 
rather been an enthufiatt with regard to 
Newton; but it was becaufe I found in 
him fomething divine. I am not apt to 
gite way to enthuiiaim, elpecially in 
Voltaive’s Literary Confeffions. 
give Mr. Locke a flap on the face over, 
his fubject ; 
{May Tf, 
profe. You know that when F wrote 
the Hiftory of Charles XIL. I found him 
to be a common man, whilit others 
looked upon him as a hero. But Newton 
appeared to me.a man-of an uncommon 
fort: all le told me carried with it fuch 
an appearance of. truth, that my lips — 
were fhut, and I_had no refolution te 
open them. Belides, you know what 
Frenchmen are; do buat fpeak with dith- 
dence of what you offer to them, ae 
they take youon your word, In fact, 
is by addrefs that you can ‘pats aie ee 
feit money with potterity for good {pecie 3 
and if Newton has difcovered the truth, | 
fist truth and its difcoverer merit to be 
announced to his ‘age with confidence. 
Tn thort, Newton has fet out philofophy 
jult as fhe ought tobe: he did not atfect 
a file of humour and pleafantry, to fhew 
you he kept good company ; there was a 
neceflity for clearnefs and method, and 
he is clear and methodical. 
Friend.—Here you have given Fon- 
tenelle a little rap on the knuckles. 
Volt.—Granted. Fontenelle has en- 
livened his Plurality of Worlds. Se 
pleafant a fubject admitted of being 
decked out with garlands. of flowers ; 
but. thoughts of a deep and ferious na- 
ture are mafculine beauties, which you 
mu{t cover with the drapery of Poulin’ 
The Dialogues of the Plurality of Worlds, 
from whieh no great matter of inftruction 
is to be derived, and which belides are 
tounded on the wretched hypothefis of 
Vortices, are mobos aenetae very pret- 
ty. It is an agreeable book ; there is no 
depth of metaphyfical learning in it, nor 
any minuteneis of difquifition. When 
Algarotti read me his Dialogues on Light, 
I gave him the praife he merited, of 
having difplayed an infimte degree of wit, 
and clearnels of thought, upon the fineft 
part of phyfics: but, at ‘the fame ' time, 
he had not founded the matter very 
deeply. Wit and lively expreflions an- 
{wer well enough for fuch truths as we 
do but fkim the furface of. I have not 
the leait intention of faying a werd to 
the diferedit of the author “of the Plu- 
rality.ot Worlds, whom Tf look upon ‘as 
one who has done great honour to this: 
world which we inhabit. I have made a 
public declaration to the fame purpofe, 
im fome papers which I fent to all the 
a Newton has the advantage, 
that he has gone to the very bottom of 
and itis abfolute quackery 
to give out fuch a title as this, “ The 
Elements of Newton’s Philotophy made 
eafy to every one’s Capacity.” He muft 
bea very weak man indeed, who fup- 
poles 
