PHYSICS. powerful author of thofe laws of nature, according to which, all the phenomena of qualities are regulated, may, as he thinks fit, introduce, eftablish, or change them, in any affign'd portion of matter, and confequently in that whereof a human body confifts. Thus tho' iron be a body above eight times fpecifically heavier than water; yet in the cafe of Elisha's helve, its native gravity was render'd ineffectual, and it afcended from the bottom to the top of the water: and the gravitation of St. Peter's body was fufpended, whilft his mafter enabled him to walk on the fea. Thus the operation of the most active body in nature, flame, was fufpended in Nebuchadnezar's fiery furnace, whilft Daniel's three companions walk'd unhurt therein. And thus the body of our Saviour, after his refurrection, tho' it retain'd the very impreffions that the nails of the crofs had made in his hands and feet, and the wound of the fpear in his fide, as the hiftory of the gofpel affures us; was endow'd with far nobler qualities, than before its death. And, as the apoftle tells us, that this great change of schematism in the faints bodies will be effected by the irrefiftible power of Chrift; we fhall not fcruple to allow of fuch an effect from fuch an agent, if we confider how much the bare flight mechanical alteration of the texture of a body, may change its fenfible qualities for the better. Thus, without any vifible addition, I have feveral times changed dark and opake lead, into finely-colour'd tranfparent glafs, of a lefs fpecific gravity; and thick fetid smoke, into a bright and Icentless flame.

THE

THE

Christian Virtuofo.

T

HE Propofition I fhall here endeavour to establish, is, that a man Experimental may be a virtuofo, or experimental philofopher, without forfeiting to religion, in philofophy leads his chriftianity.

And firft, 'tis certain, that a due courfe of experimental philofophy, greatly conduces to fettle in the mind, a firm perfuafion of the existence, and feveral of the chief attributes of God; which perfuafion is, in the order of things, the firft principle of that natural religion, we allow as the very foundation of reveal'd religion, in general.

general,

the existence of

That the confideration of the vaftnefs, beauty, and regular motions of By discovering the heavenly bodies, the excellent structure of animals and plants, befides God. a multitude of other phenomena of nature, and the fubferviency of most of thefe to man, may juftly induce him, as a rational creature, to conclude, this vaft, beautiful, orderly, and admirable fyftem of things, which we call the world, was framed by an author fupremely powerful, wise, and good, can fcarce be deny'd by an intelligent and unprejudiced perfon. And this is ftrongly confirm'd by experience, which witneffeth, that in almost all ages and countries, the generality of philofophers, and contemplative men, were perfuaded of the exiftence of a Deity, from the confideration of the phenomena of the universe; whose fabric, and conduct, they rationally concluded, could not be juftly afcribed, either to chance, or to any other caufe than a divine Being.

But, tho' God hath manifefted himself, even to fuch as confider things but fuperficially, by ftamping upon feveral of the more obvious parts of his works, fuch confpicuous impreffions of his attributes, that a moderate degree of understanding, and attention, may fuffice to make men acknowledge his being; yet this affent is greatly inferior to the belief which the fame objects are fitted to produce in him, who with care and skill confiders them. For, the works of God are fo worthy of their author, that, befides the impreffes of his wifdom and goodnefs, left, as it were, upon their furfaces; there are a great many more curious and excellent tokens, and effects of divine artifice, in the hidden and innermoft receffes of them and these are not to be difcover'd by the flight glances of the lazy,

:

PHYSICS. lazy, and the ignorant; but require, the moft attentive and prying infpection of curious, and well qualify'd minds. And, fometimes, in one creature there may be great numbers of admirable things, that escape a vulgar eye, which yet are clearly difcernible by that of a true naturalist; who brings with him, befides a more than common curiofity, and attention, a competent knowledge of anatomy, optics, cofmography, mechanics, and chymiftry. In fhort, God has couch'd fo many things in his visible works, that the clearer light a man uses, the more he may discover of their unobvious beauty, and exactnefs; and the more fully, and diftinctly difcern thofe qualities that lie more concealed And the more wonderful things he difcovers in the works of nature, the more corroborating proofs he meets with to establish, and enforce the argument drawn from the univerfe, and its parts, to demonftrate, that there is a God: a propofition of fo vaft a weight, and importance, that it ought to endear every thing to us, that is able to confirm it, and afford us new motives to acknowledge, and adore, the divine author of things.

SA

Now, with regard to this matter, we may confidently fay, that experimental philofophy has a great advantage of the fcholaftic. For, in the Peripatetic fchools, where things are afcribed to certain fubftantial forms, and real qualities; the accounts of nature's works may be easily given in a few words, general enough to be applicable on almost all occafions. But these uninftructive terms neither oblige, nor conduct a man to deeper fearches into the ftructure of things, their manner of being produced, and of operating upon one another; and, confequently, are very infufficient to difclofe the exquifite wifdom which the omnifcient maker has expreffed in the peculiar fabrics of bodies, and the well regulated motions of them, or of their conftituent parts. From the discernment of which things, nevertheless, it is, that there arifes, by way of refult, in the philofophic mind of an intelligent contemplator, a ftrong conviction of the being of a divine artificer, and a juft acknowledgment of his admirable wifdom. To be told, that an eye is the organ of fight, and that this is perform'd by that faculty of the mind, which, from its function, is call'd vilive, will give a man but a forry account of the inftrument, and manner of vifion itself, or of the knowledge of the artificer who form'd the eye. And he who can take up with this eafy theory of vision, will not think it neceffary to beftow pains to diffect the eyes of animals, or ftudy the writings of mathematicians, to underftand the doctrine of it; and, accordingly, will have but mean thoughts of the contrivance of the organ, and the skill of the artificer, in comparifon of the ideas that will be fuggefted of both to him, who, being thoroughly skill'd in anatomy, and optics, by their help takes afunder the feveral coats, humours, and mufcles, of which that exquifite dioptrical inftrument confifts: and, having feparately confider'd the figure, fize, confiftence, texture, tranfparency, or opacity, fituation, and connexion of each of them, and how they are all adjusted in the whole eye, fhall difcover, by the laws of optics, how admirably this little organ is fitted to receive the incident rays of light, and

difpofe them in the beft manner poffible, to give a lively reprefentation of PHYSICS. the numberless objects of fight.

'Tis eafy to fay, in general terms, that the world is wifely framed ; but, I doubt, it often happens, that men confefs the creatures are wifely made, rather because they, upon other grounds, believe God to be a wife agent, than because fo flight an account as the fchool-philofophy gives of particular creatures, convinces them of any divine wifdom in the creator. And tho' I am willing to grant, that fome impreffions of God's wifdom are fo confpicuous, that even, as was faid before, a fuperficial philofopher may thence infer, that the author of fuch works must be a wife agent; yet, how wife an agent he has in those works expreffed himself to be, none but an experimental philofopher can well difcern. And 'tis not by a flight furvey, but by a diligent, and skilful fcrutiny, of the works of God, that a man muft be, by a rational, and affective conviction, engaged to acknowledge, that the author of nature is wonderful in counfel, and excellent in working."

2. After the existence of the Deity, the next grand principle of natural The immortality religion is, the immortality of the rational foul; the genuine confequence of the soul. whereof is, the belief, and expectation, of a future, and everlafting ftate. For this important truth, many arguments may be alledged, to perfuade a fober, and well-difpofed man to embrace it: but, to convince a learned adverfary, the strongest argument that the light of nature fupplies us with, feems to be that afforded by real philofophy. For this teacheth us to form true, and diftinct notions of the body, and the mind; and thereby manifefts fo great a difference in their effential attributes, that fhews the fame thing cannot be both. This it makes out more diftinctly, by enumerating feveral faculties, and functions, of the rational foul; fuch as, to underftand, and that fo as to form conceptions of abftract things, of univerfals, of immaterial fpirits, and even of that infinitely perfect one, God himself: and alfo, to conceive, and demonftrate, that there are incommenfurable lines, and furd numbers; to form chains of reasoning, and draw both cogent, and concatenated inferences about these things; to express intellectual notions, pro re natâ, by words, or inftituted figns, to other men; to exercise free-will about many things; and to make reflections on its own acts, both of understanding, and will. For thefe, and the like prerogatives, that are peculiar to the human mind, and fuperior to any thing that belongs to the outward fenfes, or to the imagination itself, manifeft, that the rational foul is a Being of an higher order than corporeal; and, confequently, that the feat of thefe fpiritual faculties, and the fource of thefe operations, is a fubftance, that, being in its own nature diftinct from the body, is not naturally fubject to perish with it.

And, with regard to this truth, our virtuofo hath an advantage of a mere fchool-philofopher. For, being acquainted with the true and real caufes of putrefaction, and other phyfical kinds of corruption; and thereby difcerning, that the things which deftroy bodies, are the avolation, or other recefs, of fome neceffary parts, and fuch a depraving tranfpofition VOL. II.

Ii

of

PHYSICS. of the component portions of matter, as is altogether unfuitable to the ftructure, and mechanical modification, effential to a body of that fpecies, or kind, whereto it belongs; he plainly perceives, that thefe caufes of deftruction can have no place in the rational foul; which being an immaterial fpirit, and, confequently, a fubftance not really divifible, can have no parts expell'd, or tranfpofed; and fo being exempted from the phyfical caufes of corruption, that deftroy bodies, it ought to laft always. And, being a rational creature, endow'd with internal principles of acting, as appears in free-will, it ought to live for ever, unlefs it pleafe God to annihilate it; which we have no reafon to fuppofe he will do. On the other hand, the modern Peripatetics maintain fubftantial forms, by fome of them, ftiled Semi-fubftantia; to which, in apes, elephants, and others, that pafs for ingenious animals, they afcribe fome fuch faculties, and functions, as feem to differ only in degree from thofe of the rational foul; but, how innocent foever their intentions may be, their doctrine tends greatly to weaken the chief physical way of proof, from whence the immortality of man's mind is juftly inferr'd. For fince, according to the Peripatetics, fubftantial forms are, as they speak, educed out of the power, or potentiality, of the matter; and fo depend upon it, not only as to action, but as to being, that they cannot at all fubfift without it; but when the particular body, as an herb, a ftone, or a bird, is deftroy'd, they perish with it; I think they give great advantage to atheists, and cavillers, to oppofe the immortality of the mind.

And the belief of a divine provi dence.

For if to an ape, or other brute animal, there belongs a Being more noble than matter, that can actuate, and inform it, and make itfelf the architect of its own manfion, tho' fo admirable as that of an ape, or an elephant; if this Being can, in the body it hath framed, perform all the functions of a vegetable foul; and, befides thofe, fee, hear, taft, smell, imagine, infer, remember, love, hate, fear, hope, expect, &c. and yet be a mortal thing, and perifh with the body; 'twill not be difficult for thofe enemies of religion, who are willing to think the foul mortal, to fancy, that human minds are only a more noble, but not lefs mortal kind of fubftantial forms: as, amongst fenfitive fouls themfelves, which they acknowledge to be equally mortal, there is a great difparity in degree; that of a monkey, for inftance, being very far fuperior to that of an oyster.

3. A third chief principle of natural religion, and, confequently, of reveal'd religion, which fuppofes the former as its foundation, is a belief of the divine providence. And, in this grand article, as well as in the two foregoing, a man may be much confirm'd by experimental philofophy; both as it affords him pofitive inducements to acknowledge the article, and as it fhews the great improbability of the two principal grounds, on one or other of which is founded the denial of God's providence.

A virtuofo, who, by manifold and curious experiments, fearches deep into the nature of things, has great, and peculiar advantages, to difcover, and obferve, the excellent fabric of the world, as 'tis an immenfe aggregate of the feveral creatures that compofe it; and to take notice in its

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