A DISCOURSE Written to a LEARNED FRIER, BY M. DES FOƲRNEILLIS; SHEWING, That the SYSTEME of M. DES CARTES, and particularly his Opinion concerning BRUTES, does contain nothing dangerous; and that all he hath written of both, seems to have been taken out of the First Chapter of GENESIS.

To which is annexed the SYSTEME GENERAL Of the same CARTESIAN PHILOSOPHY.

By Francis Bayle, Dr. of Physick at Tholose.

Englished out of French.

LONDON, Printed, and are to be sold by Moses Pitt at the White Hart in Little Britain, 1670.

A DISCOURSEWritten t …

A DISCOURSE
Written to a Learned Frier, shew­ing that the Systeme of M. Des Cartes, and particularly his O­pinion concerning Brutes, does contain nothing dangerous; and that all he hath written of both, seems to have been taken out of the First Chapter of GENESIS.

My Reverend Father,

I Know very well, that Moses hath not written his Ge­nesis with a design to explain to men the Secrets of Na­ture; but I do also know, that being inspired by God, as he was, [Page 4] he could say nothing about the production of the World, which is not true. And therefore I e­steem, that to find the Principles of Natural Philosophy infallible, they are not to be sought but in that History which He hath given us of the Creation of the World; or at least, that we ought to e­steem false whatever is said of Nature, when it cannot be recon­ciled with all the Circumstances of this History.

Do not wonder therefore that I so often refer you to Genesis, and that I lay so much weight upon the Principles of Monsieur Des Cartes. Most of his Tenets are so conform to what Moses hath said, that it seems, he be­came a Philosopher only by the Reading of this Prophet. But that you may the more easily ap­prehend how great an agreement [Page 5] there is between that Sacred Writing and his Philosophy, I intend to expound unto you the first Chapter of Genesis literally; and you'l see, that in doing so, I shall discourse to you almost the same things which I told you last, when I explained to you the Principles of M. Des Cartes.

The only difference you'l find is, that M. Des Cartes writeth things more particularly, and with a design to make them known what they are in them­selves; whereas Moses writeth like an Historian, who discour­seth of Nature only so far as was needful to make us admire the power of the Author thereof. Thus the one speaketh only of the principal things, and the o­ther dives more into particulars; and yet all these particulars are clearly nothing else but a more [Page 6] ample explication, and a Sequel of those main things which Mo­ses hath recited in so concise, so bold, and so true a manner.

I told you the other day, that M. Des Cartes in the beginning of his Principles useth much reason­ing to shew, That there is a God: That all what is, is only by him: That he begun this great piece of Workmanship, which we call the World, by creating Bodies: That from that time he moved them, and that he still continues to move them. I also told you, that among so many differences, which the Figures may make be­tween Bodies, M. Des Cartes takes notice of three principal ones; that he shews, there is a very great Number, of such as are round like little Balls; others, subtil enough to fill the spaces left by these Balls between them­selves; [Page 7] and others again, whose irregular Figures do so entangle them one with another, that they may compose the greater Masses.

I added, that examining the several changes, which the Mat­ter or the Aggregate of all these Bodies may have suffered succes­sively, M. Des Cartes sheweth, that there may have been formed many Masses of different big­nesses, of a figure approaching to that of the Earth; above which he sheweth, that there was to remain a number of particles, some like those which compose the Water, and others like those which compose the Fire: That this Aggregate of Earth, Water, and Air, was to be mixed, and surrounded with an almost infi­nite number of those little Bo­dies made in the form of Glo­bules, and with these other sub­tiler [Page 8] ones that were to fill up their Intervalls. And that, last­ly, M. Des Cartes repeats often, that God entertains in a continual motion this subtile matter, which else could not be moved.

Now all this, if you mark it, is nothing else, than to describe Philosophically and exactly (for the making out of the least cir­cumstances of it) the same won­ders which Moses hath described Historically in these few Lines; God created in the beginning Hea­ven and Earth. Now the Earth was void, and brought forth no­thing, because it was covered with deep waters; Darkness was upon the face of this Abyss, and the Lord moved a subtil matter upon the Waters.

He that shall well examine [Page 9] what the Prophet hath said, will find that 'tis the same thing which the Philosopher hath endeavoured to explain.

The FIRST DAY.

IF we shall follow the one in the progress of his Reason­ings, and the other in the pro­gress of his History; we may judge, that it is of Moses, that Des Cartes hath learned, that the Light was made before the Sun; at least it will appear, that this place of Genesis, which for so many ages hath perplexed mens spirits, is found happily cleared, according to the Letter, by the Principles of M. Des Cartes.

[Page 10] Moses having shewed that the Earth was infertile because of the Waters encompassing it, and the Celestial matter useless, because the motions of it were not regu­lated; he goes on to shew, that God, who does nothing in vain, began, for the ordering of all these things, with the Creation of Light: He expresseth himself magnificently, as he is wont to do; and maketh the Almighty speak on this occasion in such a manner, which is capable all a­lone to perswade, that it is the Lord himself that made him speak thus.

Behold his Expressions; And God said, Let there be Light, and there was Light. He adds, That God saw, his work was good; that he divided the Light from the Darkness; and that he gave the name of Day to the Light, [Page 11] and the name of Night to Dark­ness

There is no man of good sense, who sees not, that Moses, having declared, that in the beginning God created Heaven & Earth, & that certain Bodies, subtil enough to be called Spirits, were carried to and fro, does signifie, that all the Bodies were already created; and that God did maintain from that time in the whole mass of matter as much motion, as he con­serves in it now; and that what he hath made in all the following six dayes, was only to put those Bodies in order, and to regulate all their motions.

So that, if speaking like an Historian, Moses hath marked out the first day of this admira­ble Contrivance by the formati­on of Light, this signifies only to us, that God disposed the Bo­dies, [Page 12] as they ought to be, to pro­duce this wonderful effect; which was sufficient for an Historian; but the Philosopher was to make it out, how these Bodies were to be disposed for that purpose.

Wherefore chusing from among all the Figures those, which might be most proper for the lit­tle Bodies which cause Light, and seeing that those, which he had described as Globules, being mo­ved in a certain manner, would be satisfactory to all that is known of the Rayes which are made by the Light; M. Des Cartes hath supposed, that there were form­ed divers Vortexes or Whirl-pools of these little round Bodies, and that many of them turning round about one and the same Center, a part of the matter, which fills up their Intervalls, was gathered towards the Center, whence it [Page 13] did propel the Globules which surrounded it; so that this pres­sure of the Globules made Light in all those places, where was found a sufficient conflux and heap of subtile matter.

But he adds, that as in this be­ginning there was not yet a great plenty of these more subtil parts in the Centers of the Whirlpools, the action, which pressed the Glo­bules, did not reach far; so that the places, which its effect could not reach to, remained in dark­ness, whilst the other were alrea­dy enlightned: which agreeth admirably with the effect, which Moses ascribeth to the first Word of the Lord, which did separate the Light from the Darkness, from the time it began to form it: From thence also we may say, according to Genesis, that the Night was where the Darkness [Page 14] had remained; and the Day, where the Light had begun.

You will observe, that by the Word Light, we are here to un­derstand nothing else but that, which is the cause, that the Bo­dies, called Luminous, excite in us the sentiment,, which makes us perceive them, and not the sentiment it self.

Men do often confound these two things, and 'tis certainly from thence that all the doubts pro­ceed that are met with on this Subject. But me thinks, that in what Moses hath written of Light, 'tis evident, that he would only speak of what is found on the part of the Bodies, and not of the Effect which it produceth in such Subjects as are capable to have the sense of it; since it is certain, according to Moses, that when that, which is called Light, [Page 15] was created, there was yet none of the other Creatures which are esteemed capable to perceive it.

I desire you to observe by the by another thing, which is; That this sentiment, which we have from Luminous Bodies, is in such a manner on the part of our Soul, and hath such a necessary respect to the motion of certain parts of our Brain, that very often, with­out the excitation of the nerves of our Eyes by any Luminous bo­dy, we have the sense of Light. Thus in Dreams, the fortuitous course of the Spirits moving those parts of our Brain, the a­gitation whereof is designed to excite in us that sentiment, ma­keth us clearly see Objects that are not present: And by the same reason those, who marching in a very obscure place hurt their [Page 16] head against the Wall, are sub­ject to see a thousand Fires; whence we are to conclude, that those motions of the Brain which have nothing that resembleth the thoughts which arise in the Soul on their occasion, may be exci­ted by other Bodies than those we call Luminous. But it was very proper, not to give this name but to Bodies, whose figure and motion were so proportio­nate to the fineness and tender­ness of our Eyes, that their nerves might be moved by them with­out pain, and without danger to the other parts of our Body. Wherein, me thinks, M. Des Cartes hath succeeded admirably well; it being not possible to as­sign to Luminous Bodies a fitter Figure than that which he hath given them, nor a motion more convenient, than that which he hath ascribed to them.

The SECOND DAY.

MOses relating what passed the Second Day, for the formation of the Firmament, expresseth himself in these terms; God said, let the Firmament be in the midst of the Waters, and let it separate the one from the other. He adds, that the Firmament was presently made, and the Waters were separated from the Waters, so that there were some of them above and some under the Firma­ment, which he called Heaven.

To understand how the Wa­ters were separated one from the other by the formation of the Fir­mament, according to the senti­ment of M. Des Cartes, we shall [Page 18] need only to relate what he teacheth of the Waters and of the Firmament.

Those who have read what he hath written thereof, do know, that after he had considered all the effects of Water, he conceived that the particles, which compose it, must be smooth, long and pliant; and that by this supposi­tion alone he hath rendred a rea­son of all what is observed in Water, whether it be running, or whether it enlarge it self in a Vessel, or whether we see it in drops, or in the form of a Scum, or whether it rise in Vapours, or whether, remaining without mo­tion, it appear in Ice or Snow.

We know also, that he suppo­seth, that there hath been a great number of these particles very smooth and very pliant, mingled with other bodies, a great part [Page 19] of which had figures so embaras­sing, that their Aggregate could form no other but hard Masses.

Lastly, We know, that he suppo­seth these last particles have been the matter of many Masses almost like the Earth; and forasmuch as these Masses could not be very so­lid & very hard, but by an extream pressing of the Branchy parti­cles which compose them, it is evident, that the particles of water which were mixed there­with, were driven out of it, and that so the surfaces of those great Masses were to be altogether co­vered with it.

This being supposed, it is now to be observed, that, according to M. Des Cartes, the formation of the Firmament is nothing else but a perfect disposition and ran­ging of all the Whirlpools, of which I have already spoken in [Page 20] the Subject of Light: Their number is so great, and the space they fill so vast, that the word Firmament, according to the tru­est interpretation, signifieth a vast extension. There is nothing that deserveth more this name, than their Aggregate. But as we ought to mark the time of the formation of every thing, only from the moment which giveth it its perfection; M. Des Cartes ha­ving supposed, that the Aggre­gate of all the whirlpools was not yet well ordered, when the Light began, nor their motion very free, doth mark the time of the formation of the Firmament, then only, when they were so well ad­justed, that the Ecliptick of the one answering to the Poles of the other, they began to move among themselves with a motion altogether free, and so propor­tioned, [Page 21] that not any one re­ceived a Let from all those, which encompassed it.

'Tis at this instant, that, ac­cording to Des Cartes's Hypothe­sis, the Masses, which were in the same Vortex, where the Earth was, began to be separated from it by the matter of that Vortex, which insinuated it self betwixt them, and which kept them more or less distant from the Center, according to the difference of their grossness or solidity. Now, as we have noted, that they were all covered with their Waters, and that the matter of the Vor­texes (which, according to this Doctrine, is the matter of the Firmament) separated them from the Earth, it was true to say, fol­lowing the same Doctrine as well as that of Genesis, that the Wa­ters were severed from the Wa­ters, [Page 22] by the formation of the Fir­mament.

Thus M. Des Cartes, who seems always to follow Moses, dispo­seth the Waters so, that they are some above, and some under the Firmament. For we know, that what the Prophet calls in this place Ʋnder, is the Earth we inhabit; and all that is severed from it by the Celestial matter, may be said, in respect of us, to be above the Firmament.

I do not explain this more at large, nor do I examine, how well these different Conservato­ries of Waters, which M. Des Cartes placeth in several parts of Heaven, do represent those Ca­taracts, whence the Lord drew forth, at the time of his wrath, what served to overwhelm the Earth.

Neither do I make reflection [Page 23] upon the Changes, which have happened to the Earth by this super-abundance of Waters. This is perhaps the cause of the Clouds, Rains, and the first apparition of that admirable Phaenomenon, which the Lord made use of to secure Noah against the apprehensions of a new De­luge, when he promised him to shut up for ever those Cataracts, which he had opened for his ven­geance; but this would carry us too far.

The THIRD DAY.

THe Third Day Moses obser­veth, that, the Waters co­vering the Globe of the Earth, it was convenient to gather them together into certain places, to the end that the other parts thereof remaining discovered, the Earth might produce Herbs, Plants and Trees of all kinds. He saith, that the same word, which had operated the wonders of the precedent days, wrought that also. To which he adds, that what appeared dry, was called Earth, and the collection of the Waters, Sea.

Now it is evident, that if the [Page 25] Earth had remained perfectly round, the waters could not have been gathered into places, to leave others dry. We must there­fore believe, that the same day, which saw the separation of the Waters from the Earth, saw also the formation of the Hills, and that certain parts of the Earth being raised above others, left Vallies betwixt them for Beds to the waters, and Cavities under their Elevations, to receive a quantity of water, approaching to that which should appear no more. 'Tis thus, that M. Des Cartes explicateth the matter. He declareth also, how the Earth was enabled to produce herbs, plants and trees, and how the different Juices, which run within the bo­som of the Earth insinuate them­selves into several Seeds, whose pores are adapted to their figure.

[Page 26] I desire you in this place to ob­serve, that Moses saith not, that God made any Soul for Plants; he only saith, that the Earth, ren­dred fertile by the word of the Lord, did produce them. But those Philosophers who have al­waies had recourse to Souls, when they would explicate the effects of certain Organical Bodies, of which they could not discover the Springs, have given one to every Plant. They have belie­ved, that it was impossible, to give an accompt of Vegetation without it. But M. Des Cartes, without adding any thing to the Scripture, where Moses speaketh of Plants, of their Seeds, of their increase and fruit without speaking of any Soul, hath be­lieved, there needed none to be supposed to give a reason of their Nutrition; and he hath so clear­ly [Page 27] shewed, that Vegetation is performed by the local motion of the parts which come in afresh, and by the fitness of their figure to the pores of that plant, which they are proper to increase, that I think I may assure, that there is none, how little soever accustom­ed to Ratiocination, but will ac­knowledge, after he hath exami­ned what he saith on this Sub­ject, that there remains not the least probability to maintain, that Plants have Souls.

Yet you know, that there are yet some who will defend, that there are Vegetative Souls. But what, I pray, can authorize them? Not Reason surely. That tells us all, that things ought not to be multiplied without necessi­ty; and since we do manifestly see, that Figure and Motion may be the entire cause of Vegetation, [Page 28] we ought not to no purpose have recourse to Souls. Nor can it be the Authority either of Man, or of the H. Scripture; for that of Man cannot be considerable against the evidence of natural Notions, and against the Experi­ments by which this Errour is convinced. As to that of Sacred Writ, it is manifest, that that is not on their side, and nothing ap­pears there that may come near to what they would attribute to Plants, viz. a Vegetative Soul.

The FOURTH DAY.

THe Fourth Word did form two great Luminaries in the Firmament, to divide perfectly the Day from the Night, and to mark the difference of Dayes, Seasons and Years. The same Word formed also the Stars, ac­cording to the History of Mo­ses.

M. Des Cartes explaining this as a Naturalist, saith, that the se­veral Vortexes, which had been formed of all the Celestial mat­ter, having been adapted to one another, as was most convenient for the continuation of their mo­tions, there flowed so much of the most subtil matter towards [Page 30] the Center of each of them, by the pressure of the Globules, which tended to recede from it, that at length each of the Whirlpools came to have in his middle so great a quantity of this matter, that it was able to propel the glo­bules to the extremities' of the Whirlpool, and by this action to form such Rays, as those are, whose force makes us see the shi­ning Sun.

He adds, that this subtil mat­ter, gathered at the Center of each Vortex, may have force e­nough to thrust the Globules of the Neighbouring Vortexes, and to make there its action sensible. So that, according to this Au­thor, the shining collection of subtil matter, which was made in the Center of this Vortex wherein was the Earth, was, in respect of it, the greatest Lumi­nary, [Page 31] that is, the Sun: Those that were made in the other Vor­texes, were Stars; and that of all the great Masses, which was found nearest, and most disposed to pro­pel towards it the Light of the Sun, was the lesser Luminary, that is, the Moon. I shall say no more of it; and 'tis so well known, that the difference of Dayes, Nights and Seasons comes from the different situation, wherein the Earth, the Sun & other Stars are found, that I should be tedi­ous to repeat here what M. Des Cartes hath written on this Sub­ject.

The FIFTH & SIXTH DAY.

THe Fifth Day God said; Let the Waters produce the Moving Creature that hath a li­ving Soul, and Fowl that fly above the Earth. And the Sixth Day he said, Let the Earth bring forth the Living Creature after its kind, Cattel, and creeping things, and Beasts of the Earth. I do not add the rest; for it is enough to say, that God would have it so, to let men know, that it was so.

This Place teaching us, that if it may be said, that Fish and the other Brute Animals have Souls, [Page 33] these Souls are produced by the Waters and the Earth; M. Des Cartes had reason to believe, that what is here called Soul, is no­thing else but little Bodies so ad­justed to the Organs of Fishes and other Brutes, that they make them live, move and grow.

He hath admirably explained upon this Subject the Circulation of the Bloud; the manner how it is heated in the Heart; how it runs into the Arteries, whose dif­ferent pores let out the particles, which their figure maketh fit for the nourishment of the Members; and how the finest parts of all ex­tricate themselves from the rest, to go to the Brain, whence they are distributed into Muscles, where they serve for the motion of the whole Body.

He doth give such an accurate accompt of all these things only [Page 34] by the figure and the motion of the little Bodies, and the dispo­sition of the Organs, that there can remain no doubt of them. And that it may not seem a won­der, what he saith of the heat of the Bloud, which he maketh the chief Spring of all those Functi­ons, commonly called Vital and Animal, he proves, that they must necessarily be performed by Bo­dies, without the need of any Soul; adding to his Reasons the example of certain Liquors, which are cold to the touch when they are asunder, but grow pre­sently hot, even to a degree of e­bullition, when they are blended together. As this effervescence happens to Liquors, which are not so much as suspected to have Souls, M. Des Cartes hath, me thinks, advanced nothing but what is rational, when he saith, [Page 35] That the heat of the Bloud, join­ed to the disposition and the de­pendance of the Organs, is able without a Soul to cause the nu­trition and motion of Brutes.

Me thinks also, that he had reason, since, what the Vulgar Translation calls a Living Soul, was produced by the Waters and the Earth, to believe, that this kind of Souls were only Bodies. And indeed there are so many places, whereby we may know, that this was the meaning of Moses, that 'tis a wonder to me to find men still doubting thereof.

I should tire you to recite them all to you; let me only desire you to reflect a little on Lev. 17. 11. where you will plainly find what it is that enlivens Flesh and Beasts; The Soul of all Flesh is in the Bloud. The same saith M. Des Cartes. But Deut. 12. 23. Moses [Page 36] expresseth himself yet more clearly, to make us understand, that Beasts have no other Souls than the Bloud: Only be sure that thou eat not the Bloud: for the Bloud is the Soul. And that it might be yet more understood, he adds; And therefore thou maist not eat the Soul, but shalt pour it upon the Earth as water. Is there not then all the reason in the world, that those Souls, which the earth produceth, which may be eaten, and poured out upon the earth as water, should be counted among Bodies?

I grant indeed, that the bloud, when it is heated, is exhaled in very subtil parts, and that these fine parts are those, which do nourish and move. But how subtil soever they be, they are Bodies, and they have nothing more of spiritual in them, than [Page 37] flame, composed of parts yet more subtil, which yet never any man was so unadvised as to call spiri­tual.

I wonder for my part, that those who have given Souls to all that is nourish'd, have given none to a Flame, which converts into it all the bodies it lays hold on. And (what is more) I wonder, how men could come to attribute to Souls the cause of Nutrition and Motion, whereas we see nothing but Body that is capable to be moved, and that Nutrition is no­thing else but an addition of Bo­dies to Bodies. But without insist­ing so much upon Ratiocination, is it not visible, that Moses (who cer­tainly ought to be believed) ac­knowledges no other thing for the cause of the motion and nu­trition of Beasts, but the bloud? I think not, that any man, who [Page 38] considers it, will contend about it any longer.

But that you may the better know the force of all these pas­sages, which hitherto I have on­ly taken according to the Vulgar Translation, and which, accord­ing to this version, leave no dif­ficulty, although the word Soul have been there employed; I shall now make use of a means, which wil prevail upon your spi­rit, and better perswade you than any other.

You know more than one Lan­guage; and among others you know the Hebrew, which I under­stand not. I shall tell you then, that a while ago, reflecting on that place of Scripture, where is described the work of the Fifth, and that of the Sixth Day, there appeared to me so great a diffe­rence betwixt the manner, in [Page 39] which the formation of Brutes, and that of Man was made, that I believed, what word soever was used in the Vulgar, there must be used very differing Ex­pressions in the Hebrew.

I saw, that the Vulgar said, that the Beasts have a Living Soul, and that the same Translation used the same word to signifie the Life of Man: But I found withal, that besides that living Soul, which the Vulgar gives to Man, as it doth to Brutes, 'tis added, that Man was made to the Image of his Maker, whom I knew to be a pure Spirit. Whence I conclu­ded, that since this Resemblance could not be drawn from the Bo­dy, the Creator having none, it must needs be taken from some­thing of a superiour order, and, in a word, from the Spirit. To this I added, what the Vulgar ex­presseth, [Page 40] speaking of Man in the Second Chap. of Gen. Where I saw, that the Lord, who had made him a living Creature, as the Beasts, had breathed into him something which Beasts had not, and which, me thought, should be in him the Principle of a Life altogether different from theirs, and the cause of that ad­vantageous resemblance, which he was to have with his Maker.

All these things did already sway much with me for the ad­vantage of Man; but believing that I might yet better discover the sense of those places, by get­ting the Interpretation of the He­brew, I consulted Monsieur de Compiegne, who is known to be the ablest we have in this Lan­guage. I prayed him to give me the Version of the first and se­cond Chapter of Genesis; and in [Page 41] this Version I found the full proof of what I always thought, and of what M. Des Cartes had written on this Subject. For I saw, that in the place, which speaks of the Production of Fishes and other Brutes, where the Vulgar saith, Let the Waters and the Earth bring forth Living Souls, my Interpreter said, Let the Earth and the Water produce Living Individuals: which car­rieth with it a very good sense, and expresseth the thing in a far more conceivable manner: For, it is very intelligible, that the Earth and Waters have produced living Individuals, that is, that they have been so fitted and disposed by the Almighty hand of the Lord, as to form Organical Bo­dies, which being fit for Nutri­tion and Motion (in which con­sists all the Life of Bodies) were [Page 42] to be called Living; but foras­much as they could not be divi­ded without being quite destroy­ed, were to be called Individu­als.

Secondly, I see in the place which speaks of the formation of Man, that not only he was form­ed out of the Earth by the hands of the Lord, and that thereby he was become a Living Indivi­dual, as Beasts are; but above that, I see, that besides this In­dividual or Body Organick, which maketh him feed & move like Beasts, he hath received a­nother thing, which my Inter­preter calls Mens, and which I call Spirit, or Thought.

So that, as there is nothing spoken of a Soul for Plants in the Vulgar (as I have already obser­ved) so there is neither in the Hebrew for Brutes. Neither is it [Page 43] said, that Brutes have Sense, (which I also desire you to note) but this only is said, that they have Life and Motion. And be­cause this Life and this Motion do depend upon the disposition and correspondence of many Or­gans, the Division of which would hinder the effect; Moses, to sig­nifie this Aggregate by one word, useth that of [...], which signi­fieth Individual.

But that, which we ought to consider above all, is, what the same sacred Writer so well decla­reth; That Man hath a Body or­ganized as Brutes have, and that this Body liveth by the same Principles which give life to Brutes; that having said, that the Individuum of every Beast was produced by the Waters and the Earth, he saith, that that of Man was also produced of the [Page 44] Earth. And to make us under­stand, that this dust of the earth, which before was divisible with­out danger, was so disposed that it became an Individual, as eve­ry one of the other living bodies; he expresseth himself by the same word he used speaking of Beasts; and at the same time adds, that the Lord inspired into this living Individual, of which he would make a man, that which he ex­presseth by the word [...], that is, a Spirit, or Thought.

This seems to me so strong, that I think there can remain no more scruple about this point, viz. what we are to believe hence­forth of Brutes and of Man. Mo­ses hath given us clearly to under­stand, that Brutes live and move, because the Bloud and the con­trivance of their Organs maketh of each of them an Individual [Page 45] Body, which remains fit for those two effects, as long as that con­trivance lasts: And why should we attribute any other thing to them but this individual body, by which an accompt can be gi­ven of their Life and Motion?

But then, Moses saith not, that they have Sense. Why should we devise, that they have any? Or, at least, what danger is there to assert, that they have none?

Lastly, this Man, inspired by God, teacheth us, that the Brutes have nothing but what a Body may have, and that we have a body as they. But he adds, that we have besides a Spirit; or, if you will, a Soul, which we know is alone capable of having sense, of judging, of willing, and of all the other wayes of thinking. Why then should we not assert, that the brute Animals have nothing [Page 46] but Body, and that they have no sentiment? And why should we not affirm, that besides a body, like unto that which they have, (which maketh us not resemble our Maker) we have a Soul, which giveth us that admirable advan­tage to resemble him as much as a Creature is capable to do?

If after all this you shall still tell me, that the opinion of M. Des Cartes is dangerous, in that it maketh Brutes live and move without a soul; I shall answer you, that then the History of Moses is dangerous, forasmuch as it teacheth us the same thing.

But if, after you have seen, how well Moses doth separate that in Man, which maketh him live and move, from that which maketh him think, you shall ex­amine, how the Creed of S. Atha­nasius, which we read every day [Page 47] as the Symbol of our Faith, defi­neth Man, you'l see, that he saith, that the Flesh, and the Rational Soul make all what he is: To which he adds, that, as these two substances, how different soever they be, constitute but one man; so God and Man make but one and the same Christ. But as in our Lord Jesus Christ it is not al­lowed, whatever the Union of his two Natures be, to confound them so, as to attribute to the one what comes from the other; so there is alwayes great danger to confound in Man the two Sub­stances which do compose him, and the Functions which depend from each of them.

Those that give to the Body sentiment or other perceptions, which cannot belong but to the Soul, are subject to believe, that Man, as a Beast, hath nothing [Page 40] but Body. On the other hand, those who think, that the Soul is that which causeth Nutrition and Motion in Man, are liable to be­lieve, that the Beasts, which feed and move, have a Soul as Man hath; and when there is no other difference betwixt Souls than that of more or less, there is an Axiom, which saying, That more or less changeth not the Essence, ma­keth, that Men will soon accustom themselves to believe, that if all perisheth in Beasts by death, there remains also nothing in Man, when he hath lost his Life.

As for me, I doubt not at all, but what hath been said of Ve­getative and Sensitive Souls, which are attributed to Plants and to Beasts, hath made impious men believe, that those which are gi­ven to men, may be of the same nature.

[Page 49] If my Discourse were not too prolix already, I could explain to you the most wonderful operati­ons of Brutes by the sole Con­struction of their Organs, as all the operations of a Watch are made out to you by the contri­vance of its parts; and shew you, that there is no difference betwixt Artificial and Natural Engines, but in this, that the Author of Nature is a far more excellent Artist than Men are, and that he hath known to apply such parts to one another, as are much subtiler and much nimbler than those are of which we commonly compose our Machines. I could alse demonstrate to you, that there is nothing known to us in Brutes, even in the Ape it self, which may not be explicated from Bodies; and that in Man there are Thoughts, which all the [Page 50] diversities imaginable in Figures and Motions cannot give an ac­compt of. But I should exceed the Bounds I have prescribed to my self, and it sufficeth me to have shewed you, that M. Des Cartes hath alwayes followed Moses, to make you aver, that his Philosophy contains nothing dangerous.

Mean time I shall acknowledge, that the formation of the World according to M. Des Cartes, seems to have something different from that of Moses. But when you shall have considered the Design of the Prophet, and also that of the Philosopher, you will confess that this difference ought not to make us say, that they have re­ceded from one another.

Moses hath delivered the thing as 'twas done. He saith, that God created the Earth, the Waters, [Page 51] the Celestial Parts, then the Light, and the rest; so that, when the Sun was created, the Earth was already inriched with Fruits, and adorned with Flowers. Whereas M. Des Cartes maketh the Sun the Cause, not only of the Fruits, and Flowers, but also of the gathering together of many in­ward parts of the Earth. The same also maketh the Earth to have been formed a long time after the Sun, although the Scri­pture noteth, that it was created before.

But here we are to take notice of 2 things: The one is, that M. Des Cartes hath said himself, that his Hypothesis was false in this, that he supposeth that the formation of each Being is made successivly; assuring, that this way not being so proper for God, we are to be­lieve, that his Omnipotency hath [Page 52] put every thing in the most per­fect condition it could be in, from the first moment of its producti­on.

The other is, that M. Des Car­tes was, like a Philosopher, to explicate only the reason, why things are conserved as they are, and the different effects we now admire in Nature. Now, as 'tis certain, that things are naturally conserved by the same means which hath produced them; so it was necessary for to find, whe­ther the Laws, which he suppo­seth Nature follows to conserve her self, are true, that he should examine, whether the same Laws could have disposed it as now it is: And finding, that according to the History of Moses it self, although the Sun was formed af­ter the Earth, it is yet by the Sun, that God conserveth the Earth as [Page 53] now it is, the heat thereof being cause of all the Productions and Changes therein; M. Des Cartes was to shew, that this same Sun could have put it into that state we now find it in, if the great Creator had not put it there in an instant by his Omnipotent power.

'Tis true indeed, that the man­ner, in which M. Des Cartes de­scribeth, that the Sun hath dis­posed the Earth, is successive, which he acknowledgeth (as I have already noted) to be not so sutable to God in producing things: But however, as that which God doth in conserving the World, is successive, and must be so, that every thing may have a certain duration; it was proper for our Philosopher to examine, whether the Principles which he laid down to give an [Page 54] accompt of the duration of all Natural Beings, could have pro­duced them by succession of time; which he hath done with an exactness, which seems to me incomparable. And so M. Des Cartes hath therein done nothing, contrary to the Design of Mo­ses.

Moses knew, that 'tis by the Sun that God conserveth the Earth and the Natural Beings, those at least which are nearest unto us; but lest it should be thought, that that Luminary was the cause of all, he would have us know, that Light, which de­pends most of all from the Sun, was made before the Sun. And this was necessary to give notice of to those who were to know these Wonders, that God hath wrought them all by his sole will; and if he conserveth them now [Page 55] with a kind of mutual Depen­dency, yet they do not owe their Being nor their Conservation to one another, but to God alone.

M. Des Cartes on his part, be­ing to explain that correspon­dence, which God hath put be­tween the things of Nature, and being to give an accompt by the Sun of all that is done in that part of the World which is most known to men, could not better declare to us, how well the Sun is fitted and disposed by the First Power to maintain the natural state of all we see, than by shew­ing, that, following this same dis­position, the Sun could have in progress of time put our World into the condition 'tis in, if it had not been more proper to form all the Creatures in an Or­der altogether contrary to that, which was required by the de­pendance [Page 56] that now is between them, and to produce each Being in a way, which might shew, that as the Author of the World had need of nothing to make all things, so he needed no time to bring forth any of the things we admire.

Lastly, If you consider, that that Wisdom, which put the first Man into his most perfect state from the first moment of his Pro­duction, did subject his Conser­vation to the same Laws, from which he hath made to depend the formation of those that are born of him, and that, for the right knowledge of the Nature of Man, it would be much more proper to examine the different Changes, which happen in the Seed from the time of Concep­tion, unto the Birth of those that are generated, than to examine [Page 57] the miraculous formation of him, whom Omnipotency finish'd in beginning him; you will doubt­less find, that for the well know­ing, whether what is taught of the Laws, which conserve the or­der of Nature, be true, there is no better way, than to consider, whether those Laws could have produced the same.

I will not examine here, whe­ther what is commonly believed of the stability of the Earth, is better explicated by the Hypo­thesis of M. Des Cartes, than by those which have preceded him.

Neither shall I examine, whe­ther it be more true than o­thers; himself hath said (as I have already noted) that it may be false. And certainly among an Infinity of ways, which God may use to make one and the same thing, it is difficult to assure, [Page 58] which that is he hath taken actu­ally. But me thinks, that Men have reason to be content, when they have found one of them, which can give an accompt of all the Phaenomena, and is not con­trary to what the H. Scripture and the Church propose to us. M. Des Cartes hath been so shy to advance any thing not conform to what they declare to us, that he hath expresly submitted to the one, what he seems to have whol­ly taken out of the other.

Thus whosoever shall read his Writings with the same Spirit, wherein he wrote them, will not be in any danger of being decei­ved, and will be alwayes ready to acknowledge his Errors, as soon as those that are to direct his Belief shall make him understand them. As for me, I am perswa­ded, that if we should condemn [Page 59] what M. Des Cartes hath writ­ten touching the manner in which the several Aspects of the Sun & the Earth are made, and that up­on judging, it would not be a sufficient stability for the Earth, to remain always at rest in the midst of all the Celestial matter, which is found between the Body of the Moon and it, we should come to determine, that the Cir­cle which M. Des Cartes makes all that matter run through in 1. year about the Sun, is contrary to what we ought to believe of the rest of the Earth; his greatest Followers, imitating his submission, would submit themselves first of all. For in short, as they know by evident Demonstrations, not only that 'tis God that is the Cause of the mo­tion in the least portion of the Matter, but also that it is his Omnipotent hand which directs [Page 60] ordereth it throughout; it would be much more easie for them than others, to conceieve, that the same Hand can direct the Motions of the Sun, and of all the Cele­stial Matter about the Earth, so as it should not receive the least shaking from it.

For the rest, I think I cannot repeat too often, that M. Des Cartes hath not pretended, that his Hypothesis was true in all, and hath even acknowledged, that it was not so in certain things. But once more, I esteem, he had rea­son to think, that it was allowa­ble for Men to make suppositions, and that they were all receivable, so they did satisfie all the Appea­rances, and were not contrary to Religion.

You'l find in some of his Let­ters, that he took much pains, when he was about to advance [Page 61] certain Propositions, to know, whether they had been condem­ned. It is by the Motives of this discreet apprehension, that he dedicated his Meditations to the Doctors of the Sorbon. And in short, it appears in his whole Conduct, that he would not for all the knowledge and Honour of the World, run the hazard of an Anathema. I must tell you also, that I think I know some of the best Wits, which are much addicted to his Tenets; and I know not one of them, that would not abandon them, if they had been condemned. I doubt, whether the same would be done by those that follow Aristotle, if his Opinions should be condemn­ed anew: I say anew, because you know, that they have been so by the Laws, and even by a Council: And yet, although [Page 62] nothing have been changed since in the Canons about it, many think they may follow him not­withstanding. My chief Design is not to blame Aristotle; I intend only to justifie M. Des Cartes, and I think I have done it suffici­ently, I am,

Reverend Father,
Your Humble and Obedient Servant, Des FOƲRNEILLIS.
At Paris, Nov. 6. 1669.
THE GENERAL SYSTEME …

THE GENERAL SYSTEME OF THE CARTESIAN PHILOSOPHY:

By Francois Bayle, Dr. of Physick at Tholose.

Englished out of French.

LONDON, Printed, and are to be sold by Moses Pitt at the White Hart in Little Britain, 1670.

A TABLE of the HEAD'S of this SYSTEME.

  • I. OF Metaphysicks.
  • II. Of Logick.
  • III. Of Physiology, in general.
  • IV. Of the Productions in the Bowels of the Earth.
  • [Page 66] V. Of Meteors.
  • VI. Of Sensible Qualities.
  • VII. Of Plants.
  • VIII. Of Animals.
  • IX. Of Man.
  • X. Of the Passions.
  • XI. Of Morals, and the So­veraign Good of Nature.

THE GENERAL SYSTEME OF THE CARTESIAN PHILOSOPHY.

Of METAPHYSICKS.

HE that will have a Metaphysical cer­tainty of the Ex­istence of things, may with reason, and even ought to call in question all which the [Page 68] Senses represent to us, because they do ordinarily deceive us: But whilst he doubts of the ex­istence of the Objects of the Senses, he cannot possibly doubt that he or that part of himself, we call Soul, which doubteth and thinketh, exists.

And because Thinking alone maketh the Soul know its exist­ence, she is convinced, that she is a Substance, whose Essence or Nature is to Think, and nothing else; and consequently that she thinks alwayes. Whence it also follows, that the Soul is more assured of her Existence, than of that of any other thing, and that she knows her self bet­ter than any other thing, since she cannot discover any propriety of it, but she must discover in her self a new one, that is, the faculty or propriety to know it.

[Page 69] If the Soul makes reflection upon the Idaea's or Conceptions she hath, she will find one of them, which represents to her a Being infinitely perfect, which is God. And observing that this Idaea contains by representation an Infinity of Perfections, she will be constrained to acknow­ledge, that this Idaea could not be in her, if this infinitely perfect Being, which she represents, had not lodged it there, and conse­quently, that this Being, which is God, exists.

And because this very same Idaea contains the external Exist­ence of this infinitely perfect Be­ing, which she represents, the Soul is obliged, by a new con­viction to avow, that Existence belongs to the Essence of God, and by consequence, that he ex­ists necessarily.

[Page 70] Lastly, Forasmuch as the Soul knows, that there is not any ne­cessity for her to exist to day be­cause she did exist yesterday, she is thence convinced, that she needs to be conserved: and be­cause Conservation is nothing but a continual Production, she must needs confess, that God, to whom alone belongs this Production, ex­ists, and that 'tis in vain here to have recourse to a progress in in­finitum, because the matter in question is the present Conserva­tion, the first cause of which must exist.

The Idaea we have of God, whereby we apprehend him to be a Being soveraignly perfect, al­though it be not complete, be­cause it comprehends not expli­citly all that is intelligible of him, yet it is very clear, and very di­stinct, because it clearly shews us [Page 71] his whole Nature; just as we say, that a man knows the whole Na­ture of a Triangle, when he knows a Superficies bounded by three Lines; although he do not know many of its Proprieties, which perhaps will never be all known to the best Geometers.

Being most assured, that there is a God, and his Nature being such, that he cannot deceive us, we are certain, that we shall ne­ver erre in things we know clear­ly and distinctly. Wherefore having clear and distinct Idaea's of the Corporeal Nature, or of Substance in general, and also in particular of some Bodies which present themselves dayly to our mind by the Senses; and know­ing besides, that we are not the Causes of those Idaea's, since we often have them against our will; we must necessarily conclude, [Page 72] that they are excited in us by sensible Beings that are without us and actually exist in the World; and that these Beings are really distinct from the Soul, because that her Nature is alto­gether different from theirs; whence it follows that she is Im­mortal.

And because the Idea's, which we have of things corporeal, are often different, we have cause to believe, that the Beings which produce them, are different also. And because these Idaea's are sometimes renewed, after they have ceased to be for some time, and that we have no reason to believe, that a thing which is once, should be anihilated, we are obliged to hold that there are Be­ings, which last even when they are not felt; and this is the only means we have to assure our [Page 73] selves of the existence of the Number and Duration of Sensible Beings.

We are not only assured of the Existence of Bodies, but also, that there is one, which is more properly ours than all others, because it accompanies us every where, and the Motions made therein excite some Thoughts in our Soul, and the Thoughts of our Soul produce reciprocally some Motions in the Body. Which convinceth us of the Union there is between the Soul and the Bo­dy, which consists not only in their mutual presence, but in a true mode, which in its nature is such, that we cannot comprehend it by our Understanding, nor by our Imagination; but we infer it only by the Experiments of the Senses.

Our Errors proceed from the [Page 74] ill use of our Freedom, in that our Will being in some manner of a vaster extent than our Under­standing, we do not contain that within the Bounds of this, but we either judge of things we do not clearly conceive, or we judge of them otherwise than we con­ceive them. For it belongs to the Understanding alone, to con­ceive or to represent Objects sim­ply, whereas the Judgment and all other determination is an Act of the Will.

The chief perfection of Man consists in the good use of his Freedom, and in never judging otherwise of things than he con­ceives them; which is so proper to every one, that even those who have their Understanding less enlightened, may altogether possess this perfection, forasmuch as 'tis alwayes in their power to [Page 75] suspend their Judgment, that is, to keep themselves from as­serting or from denying a thing, of which they have not clear and distinct Idaea's: which is to be understood of those only that be­long to the Instruction of the Mind; for very often we ought not to look for evidence in things which concern the Conduct of our Life, and less in those which per­tain to Religion, because knowing evidently, that God cannot de­ceive us, and that there are infi­nite things in him, which are a­bove the reach of our Spirit, his Authority ought to produce in us a certainty, which surpasseth that of the greatest Evidence.

We may distinguish three de­grees in each sense. In the first, we are to consider nothing but the Motion, which the external Ob­jects do immediately cause in the [Page 76] corporeal Organ; and 'tis this alone, we have common with Brutes. The second contains all that results immediately in our Mind, because it is united to the Corporeal Organ, mov'd and dis­pos'd by those Objects: Such are the Sentiments of Heat, of Titil­lation, &c. And this is all we ought to refer to Sense, if we will exactly distinguish it from the Ʋnderstanding. The third comprehends all the Judgments, which we have been accustom'd to make from our Infancy con­cerning things that are about us, upon the occasion of the Impres­sions, that are made in the Or­gans of our Senses; and 'tis in these Judgments, that our princi­pal Errors do consist; so that when we say that the certainty of our Understanding is greater than that of our Senses, we mean [Page 77] nothing else, than that the judg­ments we form in a riper age, by reason of some new Observations we have made, are more certain than those, we have formed from our Infancy, without having re­flected on them.

Of LOGICK.

IT cannot be said, that the Precepts which are common­ly taught in Schools, are to be al­together rejected or despised, since they are established upon very good Reasons; nor that a great number of Questions, which are treated therein, and which at first sight appear odd enough, are of no use. For although it be not valuable, to know the truths which they explain, yet the dif­ficulty there is in examining them exerciseth the Mind, and renders it more able to penetrate and to clear up the Difficulties which are met with in weighty matters; provided, Men use this Caution, [Page 79] that by too much applying the Mind to those things which sub­sist no otherwise than in an Idaea, they be not taken for real Beings, and such as do exist without the Understanding.

Thus Geometricians make themselves capable, promptly to explicate the most difficult Pro­blemes in those matters which are of use in the life of Man, by ex­ercising themselves in the most knotty and the most abstract Questions of Algebra, and by making Magical Squares and o­ther things, which are of no use in themselves.

But, to speak precisely, no man of good sense, that acts can­didly, and labours only to find out Truth, either alone or joint­ly with others, without any de­sign of deceiving them, and with­out any ground of fearing to be [Page 80] deceived himself by any Sophism, needs any other Precepts of Lo­gick, but these four ensuing.

The first is, never to receive any thing for true, which is not evidently known to be such, that is, never to take in more into our Judgments, than what presents it self so clearly and so distinctly, that we cannot at all doubt thereof.

The second, to divide each of the difficulties, which we dis­cuss into as many small parts as is possible, and necessary for exa­mining them the better.

The third, orderly to conduct our Thoughts, by beginning with the most simple and the most ea­sily knowable Objects, and so by degrees to ascend to the know­ledge of the more compound­ed.

[Page 81] The fourth, to make through­out such complete Enumerations, and such universal Reviews, that we be assured, we omit no­thing.

Of NATURAL PHILO­SOPHY.
Of the Systeme of the World, and the Causes of the Dis­position and Order of the most considerable parts thereof.

THE extension into length, breadth and thickness, is that, we call Body or First Mat­ter; and whosoever shall atten­tively consider the Idaea he hath of this Matter, will be convinced, [Page 83] that a Vacuum is impossible; that Rarefaction is made only by the acquisition of some new Matter, and Condensation by the loss of some other; that the interior place of a Body is not different from that Body; that the World is indefinite; that 'tis repugnant, there be more Worlds than one, although there may be many Bo­dies that may be inhabited as our Earth is; that the Matter of the Heavens and that of things Sub­lunary are of the same kind; Lastly, that a Cubique Foot of Lead holds not more Matter than a Cubique Foot of Cork.

Divisibility, Figure, and Impe­netrability are the Essential Pro­prieties of Matter. Motion, Light, Colours, &c. are its common Accidents. That which Philo­phers call the Quantity of a Body, is not the extension of that Body [Page 84] precisely, but its Extension as such, that is, forasmuch as it may be measur'd by such and such a number of Feet, Fathoms, or the like measure.

Divisibility is the most fertil of all the proprieties of Matter; 'tis from thence, that the several Magnitudes and Figures of her parts are derived; and from the different disposition of these do proceed all the different Beings, which make up the World. The Matter cannot be actually divi­ded but by Local Motion; and this, being taken formally, is no­thing else but the successive ap­plication of a Body, in all it hath outwardly, to the several parts of the Bodies which touch it im­mediately. Motion, which is cal­led Efficient, consists in the force or power of moving, which God from the beginning hath put into [Page 85] the parts of the Matter, and which he still conserveth therein in the same quantity; for which cause he is called the First Mover. The parts of the Matter, accord­ing as they differ in Magnitude and Figure, are called the Second Causes of this same Motion, for­asmuch as they communicate it mutually to one another, or re­tain it, according as they have the power of it; and that is done following these Rules.

  • 1. All Body which is moved and meets with another quiescent Body in its way, if it propels it, commu­nicateth to the same of its own mo­tion in proportion to its Bulk.
  • 2. When the Motion of a Body is made in a curve Line, each of its parts in particular tends always to continue its Motion in a streight Line, and effectually continueth it, [Page 86] if it can separate it self srom the rest.
  • 3. All Body which is moved, and communicateth nothing of its Mo­tion to another Body, which it meets, must reflect, that is, loose its determination, without loosing any thing of its Motion; whence it follows, THAT that Body must not rest, as they speak, in the point of Reflection; and that the direct Motion and the Motion reflected are not contrary, but only their Determinations are so.
  • 4. When an hard Body falls per­pendicularly upon another hard Bo­dy which it moveth not, the Refle­ction must be made in the same Line, in which the Incidence is made. And when an hard Body falleth obliquely upon another hard Body, which it moveth not, the Reflection must be made at equal Angles.
  • [Page 87] 5. When a Body passeth obliquely out of one Medium into another which it penetrateth more easily, it must be diverted by approaching to the Perpendicular: On the con­trary, it must be farther removed from the same, when it penetrateth the second Medium more difficultly.

There is no Motion differing from the Local, not even that which is called the Motion of Generation; whence it follows, that 'tis useless to admit Substan­tial Forms in Beings meerly Ma­terial.

Being assur'd, that God hath put into the Matter, of which the World is composed, a certain quantity of Local Motion, and that he alwayes conserveth the same; we are also assur'd, that, although God had not produced the World all at once, it would [Page 88] have come to pass by the Rules of Motion, we have laid down, that in the indefinite Extension of the Matter there would have been form'd a great number of Vortexe, or Whirl-pools, which would have continued to move of themselves without the suc­cours of any Intelligence, and kept always the same Situation in respect to one another.

It is likewise evident, that ma­ny parts of the Matter which composeth each Vortex, of what Figure soever you suppose them, must, in hitting one against the o­ther, have broken their Angles, until they were made near round, and so formed the Matter, which we call the Second Element.

The Matter, that is come away from about the parts made round, must necessarily have acquired a Motion much swifter than that [Page 89] of the said round ones. Where­unto if you add, that those parts being extreamly small, their smal­ness must make, that they can change their Figure every Mo­ment, to adapt themselves to the Figure of the places where they are to pass; you have that, we call the First Element.

The third and last Element is nothing else but the Surplus of the parts of the Matter, that are insensible, but yet grosser than those of the first and second Ele­ment, and which having kept the entangling Figures they had in the beginning, have been pro­per, more easily to be joined ma­ny together, and to compose great Bodies, as the Planets, than to be made round.

'Tis superfluous to admit other Elements than these three, because there are no other Bodies in the [Page 90] whole Universe, that are simple, that is, the Forms of which do not contain any Qualities, that are contrary.

From thence, that all the Matter of each Vortex turns round, & striveth to recede from the Center, it must come to pass that the Matter of the second E­lement does recede farther from it, than that of the first; which consequently must take up the space which is at the Center of every Vortex: Whence striving still to recede, it thrusts from all sides the second Element; and adds to its force the impression, which is requisite to move the Optique Nerve, the Motion of which passing afterwards into the Brain, giveth the Soul occasion to produce the Sentiment of Light.

As to the Great Bodies that [Page 91] were formed of the third Ele­ment, and are called Planets, they were to follow the Circular Mo­tion of the first and second, and to range themselves in each Vor­tex the nearer to, or the farther from the Center, the more or less solidity they had; and be­cause the more solid are actually gone farther from it, they also take up, in making a Revolution, so much the longer time, the greater their distance is from the Center.

But although the Planets do without resistance follow the course of the Matter of the Hea­vens which carrieth them about Circularly, yet we must not therefore say, that they move al­together as swift; whence it comes to pass that the Matter of the Heavens not being able to continue its course in the degree [Page 92] which its swiftness requireth, by reason of the Encounter of these great Bodies, it is forced to turn about them, and to make a par­ticular Vortex, which maketh them wheel about their Center the same way wherein it turns it self.

And because all things conti­nue in the state wherein they are, and by the same means, they were put into it; it follows, that the Vortex or Systeme, wherein we are, still maintains and keeps it self by the Rules above decla­red.

The Sun takes up the Center of our Vortex, as every Star pos­sesseth that of some other. He turns continually about the Axe of the Ecliptick: And because he is made up of the most subtile Matter, it may be said, that he is made up only of that of the [Page 93] first Element; the Heavens, of the second; and the Earth with the Planets, of that of the third: Whence it follows, that there can be no composed Bo­dies, but on the surface of these last.

After the Sun follows Mercu­ry, which is distant from the Sun 200 Diameters of the Earth, and maketh his Revolution in about 8 Moneths. The Earth is distant above 600 such Diameters, and maketh her conversion about the Sun in one year, and about her own Center in 24 hours. Mars is remote from the Sun about 900 Diameters, and maketh his Re­volution in 12 years. Saturn is about 6000 Diameters off from the Sun, and finisheth his period in 30 years.

The Earth carrieth about in her Vortex the Moon, which ma­keth [Page 94] a Revolution in 27 days and some hours. All the Matter, which extends it self from the Earth unto the Moon, is call'd the Elementary Matter; and be­cause this Matter contains many parts, which are mov'd much swifter than others, 'tis conse­quent that all are unequally de­termin'd to recede from the Cen­ter of the Motion; and that those, which move swiftest, rece­ding from it with more force than the rest, are able to beat them downwards; which maketh some appear lighter, and others hea­vier.

It cannot be doubted, but that the Systeme, in which we are, is such as hath bin declared, since of so many, which Philosophers have fancied, there is none but this, which agrees perfectly with that, delivered by Moses. Besides [Page 95] that therein we find, in a very natural and very simple motion, not only the Causes of the gene­ral Phaenomena, as are the Dire­ction, Station and Retrogradation of the Planets, of the Motion of the Spots of the Sun; of the Motion of the Planets about their Center, of the Vicissitudes of Days and Nights; and of the Diversity of the Seasons, but also of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea, of all the Proprieties obser­ved in the Magnet, and in short, of all the Appearances in the par­ticular Bodies.

Of all the Systemes there is none, that deserveth so much to be rejected, as that of Ptolomy. For, besides that from the Ag­gregate of all the parts thereof, there results a Whole that is monstrous, it is not able to give an accompt, why Venus appears [Page 96] sometimes increasing, and some­times full; why Mars, Jupiter & Saturn, are alwaies in the lower part of their Epicycle at the time when they are retrograde; why the Moon respects us alwayes from the same side; why Saturn appears to us under different Shapes, now round, then oval; nor give a reason of many Ap­pearances more.

Of the PRODUCTIONS, made in the Bowels of the Earth.

THE Diversity of the Pores of the Earth is the Cause, that the Matter of the first Ele­ment, passing through them, ta­keth the Form of so many seve­ral Juices, Salts, and Oyles, of which are afterwards formed all the Metals and Minerals, which are found in the Bowels of the same.

The Magnet hath the proprie­ty to draw Iron, or Iron to draw the Magnet, only from this Cause, [Page 98] that the Pores of them are so disposed, that the striate or chan­nell'd Matter, (as the Philoso­pher calls it) which comes from the Poles of the Elementary Mass, and continues its way tho­row the Pores, which are paral­lel to the Axe of the Earth, pas­ing more easily through the pores of the Loadstone and of I­ron, than through those of all the other Bodies, drives away by this means all the Air met with between both: And be­cause this Air finds no place to pass into (because all is full) but into that, which the one or the other of these two Bodies quit­teth, there is a necessity, that the Iron should be thrust towards the Loadstone, or the Loadstone towards the Iron.

The Sea furnishes Water to all [Page 99] Fountains; those that are on the tops of Mountains, are formed of Waters, that are reduced in­to Vapours by the heat, which is found in the Entrails of the Earth.

The subterraneous Fires differ nothing at all from those that are kindled in our Chimneys. They come from this, that where there are Mines of Sulphur or Bi­tumen, there are raised Exhala­tions, which lighting upon sub­terraneous Cavities, fasten to the Roofs, as Soot does to the inside of our Chimneys, and there make a kind of Crust, which hath a great disposition to take Fire; and which taketh flame actually, either by the at­trition of its parts, which their weight loosens from one another, [Page 100] or by the fall of some great Stone, which tumbling down from the top of the Vault, sets it on fire, as the Pestle doth Gunpowder, when being very dry, 'tis too vi­olently stamped.

Of METEORS.

VVInds do principally come from nothing but the dilatation of Vapours. And this dilatation depends from the presence of the Sun, or from the heat he hath left in the Earth, or in the Waters. When the Sun riseth, we feel an Easterly wind; when he setteth, a Westerly; a­bout Noon, a Northerly; and about Midnight, a Southerly. Men seldom fail to find these four sorts of Wind every day upon the great Seas; but they are not in the same order observ'd upon Land, by reason of the Moun­tains, and of the variety of Cli­mates, which hinder it.

[Page 102] Mists and Clouds are nothing else but the same Vapours, that made the Winds, which having lost their agitation, stop in great number in certain places, and thereby hinder the action of the Rays of Light.

Rain is nothing else, but the same Vapours, that made the Clouds, which are converted in­to many little drops of Water by the action of the Air, which a wind hath carried upwards after it had been considerably heated near the Earth.

The parts of the Clouds, which meet only with cold Air to pass through, after that they are loos­ned, do come unto us in the same state, and by this means do make that Substance, we call Snow.

[Page 103] Hail is nothing else but some portions of a Cloud, which ha­ving been melted in part, do meet with a cold Air, that con­gealeth them afresh.

Thunder depends from this, that in the Air there are divers Stories of Clouds, of which the higher fall upon the lower; the Air, driven out from between them, being determined to pro­duce a sound for the same reason, that another Air produces one in Musical Organs.

Lightning proceeds ordinarily from this, that the Exhalations, which are between two Clouds, whereof the one falls upon the other, are so pressed, that there is some part of those Exhalations, which swims but in the sole Mat­ter of the first Element, and con­sequently [Page 104] taketh the form of Fire.

A Thunderbolt is nothing else but a portion of these kindled Exhalations, which moveth down to the Earth, where it must needs strike high Bodies, rather than lower ones; and produce so ma­ny different and wondrous Ef­fects, as we see, according to the Nature of the Exhalations, of which this Thunder-bolt is formed.

A Rain-bow is nothing else but many drops of Rain, which re­ceiving the Rayes of the Sun, break them many different ways, and which, after they have thus broken them, return them to our Eyes with the modifications re­quisite to excite in us all the sen­timents of the Colours, we per­ceive in this Meteor.

Of SENSIBLE QUALI­TIES.

HArd Bodies are those, all whose parts are at rest one by another.

Liquid Bodies are such as have all their parts moving separately; whence it comes, that these latter have the propriety of dissolving the former. And if a Liquid is unable to dissolve an Hard Body, or if it have the force to dissolve one rather than another, that pro­ceeds from hence, that its parts are more or less gross or agitated, and from this that the configura­tion of the Pores of the Bodies, [Page 106] which are to be dissolved, is different.

All the diversities of Liquors consist in the different sizes and shapes of their parts. Those that have irregular and entangling fi­gures, do compose Liquors that are called Fat; and those, whose figures are very well polish'd and very smooth, make those, we call Lean. All Liquors are kept in mo­tion by the matter of the first and second Element, which slides into their Pores, and moveth al­wayes of it self, ever since it was first put in motion in the begin­ning of the World.

The constrained Figure, given to the Pores of Hard Bodies when we bend them, is the dispositive Cause of the force they have of redressing themselves, and the [Page 107] Matter of the second Element, pas­sing through these Pores, is the Efficient Cause of the same. The Suppleness of hard Bodies consist­eth in the texture and connection of their parts. Their Fragility in that their parts do but immedi­ately touch, without being o­therwise locked in with one ano­ther.

The Heat of hot Bodies consists in the agitation of all their insen­sible parts about their own Cen­ter; whence it follows, that the greater this agitation is, the stronger is the heat, and conse­quently there can be nothing hotter than a Flame, there being nothing more agitated, as Expe­rience confirms it. All the diver­sities of Flames proceed from this, that the parts which com­pose them are more or less gross, [Page 108] and consequently more or less ca­pable to agitate the Bodies, which are the Subject of their Action. The propriety of Heat is always to dissipate, and never to con­gregate but by accident. Foras­much as it consists in Motion, it must rarifie certain Bodies, and condense others at the same time, according as the parts of those Bodies are equal or unequal, and diversly ranged and disposed.

Cold consists in whatsoever can make an hot Body lose that kind of Motion wherein Heat con­sists; and because one Body can­not take from another Body the Motion it hath, without losing the same it self, it follows from thence, that whatever Body re­frigerates another, must grow hot it self.

[Page 109] Odors in scenting Objects are nothing else than the insensible parts of the same, which being sever'd from one another swim up and down in the Air, and be­ing taken in together with the in­spired Air, excite a Motion in the extremities of the Olfactory Nerves; which they do so many several ways, as we find several kinds of Smells.

Tasts in savoury Bodies consist only in the parts of the same, for­asmuch as they are subtil enough, and sufficiently agitated to pene­trate the Pores of the Tongue, and to move the Nerves serving for the Organ of Tast. All the diversity of Tasts depends upon the size, shape, and motion of the Savoury Bodies.

Sound is double, the one from [Page 110] the Body resonant, which is cal­led the primitive cause of Sound; and the other from the Medium, which ordinarily is the Air. The Sound of this latter consists only in a simple tremulous Motion of the Air, which striketh our Ear, and exciteth the Organ of Hear­ing. The Sound from the reso­nant Body consists in general in the force it hath to excite that trembling in the Air; but in par­ticular, this force depends upon many Modes of Being, which are very different, as appears in Bells and strings of Instruments. A sharp sound comes from thence, that the trepidations of the Air do closely follow one upon ano­ther. The grave, that those Motions of the Air are less fre­quent. The Consonancies and Dissonancies depend upon this, that the impressions, which seve­ral [Page 111] resonant Bodies make in the Air at the same time, do meet, or not meet at all.

Light in luminous Bodies con­sists in an actual Motion of all their parts; and in transparent Bodies, it depends upon this, that the Matter of the second Element which is in their Pores, and which reacheth to our Eyes, is thrust forward by the parts of the lu­minous Body; whence it follows, 1. That it is not so much a Moti­on, as an inclination to Motion. 2. That it passeth in an instant to all sorts of distances. 3. That it is nothing material in the Medi­um, through which it passeth, and that it doth but mark, in what manner the Luminous Body acts against that, which it enlightens. 4. That many Lights do not con­found one another. 5. That [Page 112] Light must refract and reflect, and, in short, have all those pro­prieties, that are observed in it.

Colours in general are nothing else, but Light it self modified by the Surface of the Bodies, we call colour'd. The White Colour particularly consists in this, that the Superficies of the white Bo­dy is asperated by innumerable small Surfaces of an almost specu­lar nature, which are so placed, that some looking this way, and some that way, they yet reflect the Rays of Light falling on them, not towards one another, but outwards to our Eyes.

The Black consists in this, that the Surface of the Black Body is asperous after such a manner, that it altogether deads the Rays of Light which fall upon it, and keeps them from reflecting back [Page 113] again to the Spectators eyes. All other Colours consist in this, that the Superficies of the Bodies thus coloured are in such a manner un­equal, that the little Globes of the second Element, which enter into the composition of the Rays, encountring them, do reflect, losing a part of their direct Mo­tion, and acquiring in stead of it somewhat of a Circular Moti­on. And 'tis also in the several proportions, to be met with be­tween these two Motions, that all the several Colours do consist: And because these Proportions may be changed a thousand diffe­rent wayes, 'tis no wonder we see so many different Colours.

The Humors which compose our Eyes, are contrived by Na­ture to determine the Rayes, that come from one and the same point [Page 114] of the Object, to re-unite in one and the same point of the Retina; whence 'tis, that it may be said, that there is formed a true Image of the Object on the bottom of the Eye. Yet this Image doth not consist in a resemblance to the Object, but only in this, that it is capable to give to the Soul an occasion to per­ceive all the several Qualities of the Objects, which it rela­teth to; which it doth by the simple Motions wherein it con­sists.

Although one only Object imprints two Images at once in the two Eyes, yet we do not therefore see double, because the Eyes are not the immedi­ate Organs of Sight, but the Brain alone, in which the two Impressions made in the Eyes [Page 115] do re-unite by the interven­tion of the Sympaticall strings of the Optick Nerves, before the Soul perceives it.

Of PLANTS.

THE form of Plants consists in the particular texture of their Fibres, and in the size, shape, and disposition of the parts which compose them: Whence do result in Plants such Channels and Tubes, as are fit to receive those Juices, which are proper for them, and no o­ther; and the Matter of the first and second Element is determin­ed to make those Juices to run, to be variously agitated and fer­mented, to concoct and prepare them, that they may serve, ac­cording to their several parts, for Matter to nourish the Wood, Pith, and Bark, and to produce [Page 117] Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits.

The Vicissitude of Day and Night, of Winds warm and cold, dry and moist, contributeth much to cause the Juice, which from the Root of the Plant hath passed into the Bark, to be attenuated, to run with more force, to jelly and fix, and to run afresh: As the vicissitude of the Seasons of the Year maketh, that this Juice runs more plenteously sometimes to the Body and Branches, and sometimes towards the Roots.

When this Juice is too copi­ous, it relaxeth the texture of the Fibres of Plants, and suffo­cates their natural Heat, which depends upon the quantity of the first Element, agitating that Juice, whose force ceaseth, assoon as the Interstices of the Fibres do considerably change their natural state.

[Page 118] If this Juice be in too small a quantity, the Plant is dried up little by little; but if it be too copious, or if the shapes of its parts are very different from those of the Pores of the Plant, it spoyles and destroyes the woof of the fibres in the Bark of the Roots, or maketh it degenerate into another Plant, especially in its first rise, by changing this same texture, and thereby ma­king it fit to receive the Juice, by which that Plant is nourish'd, into which 'tis made to degene­rate. Whence it is, that certain Seeds are infallibly corrupted, when they are cast into certain Earths; and that others degene­rate in them; as Wheat some­times produces Tares, or Barley, or Oats.

It is not at all necessary, that there should be a Soul in Plants, [Page 119] to cause the Juice, which serveth them for nourishment, to be di­stributed into all the parts to in­crease them, and to form Flow­ers and Fruits; no more than there needs a Soul, to make Li­quors rise to a considerable height in filtration, or in a little Tube of Glass, against their own weight, & variously to fix them­selves according to the diversity of their parts, and of the Chan­nels through which they run. Plants have their life potentially, or in the first act, as the Schools speak, by the sole contrivance and structure of their parts; but they live actually when the Juice runs through their Pores, &c.

Of ANIMALS.

THE Form of Animals, as that of Plants, consists in the Magnitude, Figure and Stru­cture of the parts, of which they are composed; with this diffe­rence, that the nature of Animals is of a more complicated and more excellent contrivance, by reason of the manifold and more particular functions they have need of for their conservation. For, they not being fixed to the Earth, as Plants are, to draw thence their nourishment, it was requisite, that they should be a­ble to move to and fro, for find­ing their necessary food, and that they should be composed so arti­ficially, [Page 121] that the little particles, which exhale out of Bodies, or the Light which results thence, striking certain Organs, might be able to determine them to pursue after that, which should be convenient for them, & to flee from, or to repel that, which should be noxious to them.

Forasmuch as most of the Mo­tions, that are observ'd in Ani­mals, are accompanied in us with some knowledge, it hath been believed, that there was in Ani­mals a principle of knowledge, which is called the Sensitive Soul, that produced them; without considering, that the same Moti­ons are very often made in us without our Soul's contributing any thing to them, seeing she doth not think on them, and that at times they are made against her will. And those can hardly [Page 122] disabuse themselves, who do not know, that God hath put motion into Matter in general, that he hath contriv'd the Bodies of Ani­mals after a certain way, and that he hath establish'd certain Rules of Motion. But those, that have this knowledge, observing that they see nothing but Motion in brute Animals, they find the true cause of it in the general state of the world, and the determination in the particular structure of the the Body of Brutes, and they know by the Laws of the Mecha­nicks the necessity there is, it should be done in such a man­ner.

What concerns the Nutrition of Animals; the Food, they have swallow'd, is digested and chan­ged into Chyle in the Stomach by a gentle fermentation, which is wrought by the mixture made of [Page 123] the Aliments, and Spittle, and the acid Juice, which is distill d into the Stomach, and of the re­mainder of the precedent Food. There is also made in the small Intestines another fermentation, by the means of the Gall, and the Pancreatique Juice, which maketh the Chyle more fluid, and causeth the good to be more ea­sily separable from what is useless and gross.

The Chyle is changed into Bloud in the Heart by a special fermentation, which is there made by the means of a Fire that shineth not, and of the ferment­ed Bloud, which remains in the Heart; to which the mixture of the Lympha contributeth not a little, which comes from above, and that of the Gall, which comes from beneath, together with the Bloud, which is convey­ed [Page 124] by the Vena Cava into the right Ventricle of the Heart. The Ears of the Heart, (two Muscles of an admirable structure, which shews their use) do propel the Bloud in the Ventricles of the Heart, when this relaxeth or sub­sideth; and the Heart, closing it self after the Bloud is ratified and fermented, thrusts it towards all the parts of the Body by the Ar­teries (which then make the mo­tion called the Pulse) for Nutri­tion. But what sticks not to the parts, is carried from the Lungs to the Heart by the Venal Artery, and from the rest of the Body by the Vena Cava.

The most spirituous part of the Bloud is carried to the Brain, where the Spirits are separated from it to serve for the functions, call'd Animal; whence flowing into the Nerves that pass to the [Page 125] Organs of Sense, and filling them, they keep their fibres tense whilst the Animal is awake. Hence it is, that the impressions of the Objects can be transmitted into the Brain, and there change the disposition of the extremities of the Nerves, that are distributed in certain Muscles, and determine the Spirits to flow there, to make them swell, and to move the Members, to which these Mus­cles are fixed.

And because there may be an infinite variety in the Impressions, made by the Objects upon the Senses, there may also be an in­numerable variety in the deter­minations of the Spirits to flow into the Muscles, and by conse­quence an infinite variety in the Motions of Animals; and that the more, because there is a great­er variety of parts, and more [Page 126] contrivance and Art in the stru­cture.

During Sleep, the Nerves of the Organs of the Senses not be­ing full, nor their fibres tense, the impressions of the Objects, unless they be very violent, are not transmitted to the Brain, to determine there any Motion.

There are five outward Sen­ses, and they all receive the im­pression of the Objects by medi­ate or immediate contact. The grossest Sense is called the Touch, to which all the Membranous and Nervous parts serve for Organ.

The Tast hath it Seat in that woof of Nervous Filaments which is spred over the Tongue and Palat; but chiefly upon the end of the Tongue.

The Smell hath its Residence in that fine Membrane which is [Page 127] extended in the cavity of the Nostrils.

The Hearing hath for its Or­gan small Nerves, which end in the extremities of that Mem­brane, we call the Tympanum or Drum.

The Sight hath for its Organ the Retina, more particularly, the other parts of the Eye ma­king the Rayes of Light or Co­lours which come from divers points of the Objects, to affect divers points of the Retina.

There are three inward par­ticular Senses; that of Thirst, which hath its Seat in the Throat; that of Hunger, in the Stomach; that of the Passions, in the Heart.

The Sense, called the Com­mon Sense, hath its Seat in the Brain; and because the Animal [Page 128] Motion, and the Functions of all the Senses depend upon the Spi­rits that come from the Bloud, 'tis therefore that the Scripture saith, that the Soul of the Beasts is in the Bloud.

Of MAN.

MAn is made up not only of a Body, which, as that of Animals, hath a peculiar stru­cture of Organs, wherein con­sists, in some sense, the Form of this Body; but also of a Soul, which is the true and essential Form of Man, or of the Hu­mane Body as such, after the manner that Aristotle taketh this Word Form in his First Book of Generation, Chap. 10.

By reason of the Union, which [Page 130] is between the Soul and the Bo­dy, the Impressions, which the Objects make upon the Senses, are cause that there do re­sult in the Soul certain Sen­sations. And not only the Soul perceiveth many Motions that are made in the Body, but she also is able to produce or to hinder them. 'Tis true that this is only done by variously deter­mining the Motion of the Ani­mal Spirits by her Thoughts.

Man hath as many Exteriour and Interiour Senses as Ani­mals, but with this difference, that in these, all the Action of the Senses consists in the Mo­tion of the Corporeal Organ, whereas in Man the motion of the Organ is accompanied with a Thought or Perception of the [Page 131] Soul, which is called the Senti­ment of Sound, of Light, of Colour, &c.

Of the PASSIONS.

MAn hath also his Passions, which are perceptions of the Sentiments or Commotions of the Soul, which are referred particularly to her, and which are caused, entertained, and for­tified by some Motion of the Spi­rits.

Admiration is a sudden surpri­sal of the Soul, which maketh that she is carried, with attention to consider the Objects, that seem rare and extraordinary to her.

[Page 133] Love is a perception or moti­on of the Soul, caused by the motion of the Spirits, inciting her to join her self by the Will to the Objects, which appear agree­able to her.

Hatred is a motion caused by the Spirits, which inciteth the Soul to a separation from the Ob­jects, which present themselves as disagreeable or hurtful to her.

Desire is an agitation of the Soul caused by the Spirits, which disposeth her to will future things which she represents to her self as sutable and beneficial.

Joy is an agreeable commotion of the Soul, caused by the enjoy­ment she finds in a good, which the Impressions of the Brain re­present to her as hers.

[Page 134] Sadness is an unpleasing Lan­guor, caused by the Incommodi­ties which the Soul receiveth of the Evil of Defect, which the Im­pressions of the Brain represent to her as concerning her self.

These six Passions are primi­tive, and all the Genus's, whose Species all the others are.

According to the Institution of Nature, all the Passions refer to the Body, and are not given to the Soul, but forasmuch as she is joined to [...]. So that their na­tural use consists only in this, that they fortisie and make lasting in the Soul those Thoughts, which 'tis good she should conserve, and by which she is incited to consent and to contribute to the Actions that may serve to keep the Body, or to render it in some manner more perfect: As also all the E­vil, [Page 135] which they can occasion, con­sists in that they strengthen and entertain thoughts more than needs; or else, that they keep others, which it is not good to in­dulge to.

Of MORALITY.
Of the Soveraign Natural Good.

IF we consider Goodness with relation to our selves, the So­veraign Good of the Soul of every one in particular, consists in a firm and constant will to do well, and in the contentment produced thereby. And 'tis herein, that all Virtues do consist.

Justice, for example, is no­thing but a constant Will to give [Page 137] to every one what we judge to belong to him.

Boldness, nothing but a con­stant Will to execute things dan­gerous, when we believe them to be the best.

Humility, nothing but a con­stant Will, never to prefer ourselves before others, and to think, that others have their Free Will as well as we, & can use it as well as we, &c. Now 'tis this alone, which deserveth Praise and Ho­nour; 'tis from hence alone, that the greatest and most solid Contentment of Life results, and consequently wherein the Sove­raign Good consists.

There are two sorts of In­difference, which appertain to humane Liberty: One is from the [Page 138] Object's part, and this is not Essential; on the contrary we are never more free, than when we are less indifferent. The other consists in the real and positive faculty, we have to de­termin our selves to the one or the other of two Contra­ries; and this is always found in the Will, and agreeth per­fectly well with all the im­pressions, that are caused in her from God's part, although we do not conceive, how this agreement is made.

The Angels, and the Saints in Heaven, do love God freely; but their Liberty consists not, as Ours doth, in a positive fa­culty to determin themselves to the one or the other of two Contraries; but only in this, that [Page 139] seeing God Soveraignly Good, they love him in such a manner, that they feel not any exteriour force, constraining them there­to.

FINIS.

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