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the Jews in that place with the reft; because he brings his Argument from the confeffion of Foreign Hiftorians, who were acknowledged by the Greeks to be of much greater Authority in things of this nature, than they could pretend to themselves.

n A little before, having tranflated fomething out of Ocellus Lucanus, to prove the World Eternal, this Gentleman thus fubjoins, Now it is very much, that this Author, Ocellus Lucanus, who, for his Antiquity, is held to be almoft Contemporary with Mofes, (if not before him) should have fo different a Sentiment of the World's Beginning from that, which Mofes bad: methinks, if Mofes his Hiftory of the Creation, and of Adam's being the First Man, had been a general received Opinion at that time; Ocellus Lucanus, who was fo ancient and fo eminent a Philofopher, fhould not have been altogether ignorant thereof. But what fhall we fay? if Ocellus Lucanus was not fo ancient, but of no Antiquity in comparison of Moses; then, methinks, this Author might have fpared his Pains and his Inferences. And of what Antiquity Ocellus Lucanus was, is fhewn by Ludovicus Nogarola, who tranflated this Piece of Ocellus Lucanus into Latin, and publish'd it with his own Obfervations upon it. For he makes it appear, from Plato, that the Ancestors of this Ocellus being banish'd from Troy, under Laomedon, came to Myra, a City in Lycia; but Laomedon was the Father of Priamus, in whofe

Oracles of Reafon, p. 218.

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time, as every body knows, happen'd the Deftruction of Troy; and fair was then Judge of Ifrael, about Three hundred Years after they had been in poffeffion of the promised Land. He farther fhews, from Lucian, that Ocellus Lucanus was a Scholar of Pythagoras; who lived, fure, long enough after Mofes, to fave our Author's Criticism, or to expofe it. Indeed, the best Accouut we have in Heathen Antiquity, agrees exactly with the Hiftory of Mofes, concerning the Creation of the World. Ariftotle himself was not fatisfied in his own Doctrine of the Eternity of the World; and he confeffes, that all the Philofophers afferted the Creation; he fays, it was esteemed a very ancient Doctrine, and thought, by fome, to be the Do&trine of the moft ancient Theologifts, That it was formed out of Water. It is certain, that Thales, the first Greek Philofopher who treated of these things, one of the Seven Wife Men of Greece, and the Wifeft of them, in Tully's judgment, taught, That God formed all things out of Water. Which Notion, Homer, as well as Thales, was fuppofed to learn from the E gyptians.

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The fame Gentleman has obferved, That the Epicurean Deifts labour to have their Vices imputed rather to a Superiority of their Reason above

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that of others, than to a Servitude of their Rea fon to their own Paffions; which fhews, Vice is naturally esteemed a bafe and low thing. This is transcribed from " Mr. Boyle, without any mention of him: Mr. Blount, it feems, had a mind to give himself the honour of the Obfervation, It is but too plain, that this was his own case, as his unhappy Death declared.

This, I think, is fufficient to fhew, how little this Book deferves the vain Title of The Oracles of Reafon it will be hard to meet with any Book, which has lefs right to fo high a Pretence. I fhall take notice but of one thing more, and that is, Mr. Gildon's Attempt to prove the Materiality of the Soul; his Arguments are as unlikely to prove it, as moft I have feen: but I fhall fhew the Notion to be abfurd in it felf, and impoffible to be maintained.

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The Effence of all Matter muft be the fame, whether Extenfion, or any thing else, be af fign'd as the Effence of it; and though we may be ignorant of the Effence of Matter, yet we know it cannot be effential to it to Think: for then all Matter would neceffarily Think. But the difference in the feveral forts of Matter can be only in Accidents, that is, in Bulk, Reft, Motion, Situation, and Figure, none of which can render Matter capable of Thought. For if a different Bulk of Matter could produce Thought in it, and the Subtile Matter fhould be able to Think and Reason, though the Grofs cannot;

u Style of Scripture, p. 177.

* Ibid. p. 187.

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then the Parts of a Stone would think, when it is ground to Duft; though when they are joined and compacted together, they make up a Body, as unlikely to think, as any thing we can imagine. If Reft could cause Matter to think, a Stone would be the most thinking Creature in the World. If Motion could cause it, then that which moves with moft quicknefs, would think moft, as Fire, and the Sun, and Stars: but Motion is only a fucceffive change of Place, and there is no reason why Matter fhould think in one place, rather than in another; or why it fhould think, when it is moved in a Right Line, or in a Circle, or in any Curve Line, rather than when it lies ftill. Again, There is no reafon why Matter fhould be able to think, or not think, according to its Situation or Pofition; why it fhould think in the Brain, rather than upon the Trencher; or when it is digefted, and reduced to Animal Spirits, rather than when it is in a more compacted Subftance, and has a different relation to the parts of Matter about it. Laftly, If any fort of Figure could produce Thought, Stones muft certainly think, as well as the best of us; and fo, indeed, might any thing elfe: for what Body is there that may not fubfift under all varieties of Figure?

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Neither can any lucky conjuncture of all thefe together produce a Power and Faculty of Thinking. For, imagine what Bulk, Reft or Motion, Situation and Figure you can, to meet together, they are all alike uncapable of fo much as one

Thought;

Thought; fince there is nothing in the Nature of any of these Accidents or Modifications of Matter, but it is as far from any Power of Thinking, as Matter it felf is; and therefore Thinking can no more arife from a combination of them together, than it can proceed from the amaffing together of Matter. All the Accidents, but Motion, have nothing Active or Operative in them, but are only Matter under different Modes and Relations. And Motion, whatever the Figure, or Bulk and Contexture of any Body may be, can be but Motion ftill: and fuppofe what Contexture or Modifications you will; what is Motion, under all Determinations, Collifions and Combinations, but change of Place? and, how can change of Place produce Thinking, under any variety of Contexture in the Particles of Matter? Free-will is impoffible to be accounted for by Matter and Motion, as Epicurus found, who was therefore forced to have recourfe to his Destinationes Atomorum; for which he is fo juftly expofed by Tully. For neither can Matter determine its own Motion, nor can Motion determine it felf, but must be determined by fomething External; whereas all Men find it in their power to determine themselves by an Inward and Volunta-ry Principle.

It is true, indeed, that the Soul, in its Operations, depends very much upon the Temperament of the Body: yet the Soul, even in this ftate, has Thoughts, which have no Relation to the Body, or any Material Thing; as Thoughts b 2

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