e Part I. ter display and reprove than in the words of C2cero, in the beginning of his firft Book de finibus Bonorum & Malorum. This Declination (faith he) is altogether childishly feign'd, and yet neither doth it at all folve the difficulty, or effect what they defire. For first they say the Atoms decline, and yet aflign no reason why Now nothing is more fhameful and unworthy a Natural Philofpher [turpius Phyfico] than to affert any thing to be done without a Caufe, or to give no reason of it. Befides, this is contrary to their own Hypothefis taken from Sence, that all Weights do naturally move perpendicularly downward. Secondly, Again fuppofing this were true, and that there were fuch a Declination of Atoms, yet will it not effect what they intend, for either they do all decline, and fo there will be no more concourfe than if they did perpendicularly defcend; or fome decline, and fome fall plum down, which is ridiculoufly to affign diftinct Offices and Tasks to the Atoms, which are all of the fame Nature and Solidity. Again, in his Book de Fato he fmartly derides this fond conceit thus; What cause is there in Nature which turns the Atoms afide? Or do they caft Lots among themselves which fhall decline,which not? Or why do they decline the leaft interval that may be, and not a greater? why not two or three minima as well as one? Optare hac quidem eft non difputare. For neither is the Atom by any extrinfecal impulfe diverted from its natural courfe; neither can there be any cause imagin'd in the Vacuity through which it is carried why it fhould not move di rectly; neither is there any change made in the Atom it felf, that it fhould not retain the Mo tion natural to it, by force of its weight or gra-. vity. As for the whole Atomical Hypothefis, either Epicurean or Democritick, I fhall not, nor need. I, fpend time to confute it; this having been already folidly and fufficiently done by many learned Men, but efpecially Dr. Cudworth, in his Intellectual Syftem of the Univerfe, and the late Bishop of Worcester, Dr. Stillingfleet, in his Origines Sacra. Only I cannot omit the Ciceronian Confutation thereof, which I find in the Place first quoted, and in his first and fecond Books de Natura Deorum, because it may ferve as a general Introduction to the following Particulars. Such a turbulent Concourse of Atoms could never (faith he) bunc mundi ornatum efficere, compofe fo well-order'd and beautiful a Structure as the World; which therefore both in Greek and Latin hath from thence ab ornatu munditie] obtain'd its Name. And again moft fully and appofitely in his fecond de Nat. Deorum. If the Works of Nature are better, more exact and perfect than the Works of Art, and Art effects nothing without Reafon; neither can the Works of Nature be thought to be effected without Reafon. For, is it not abfurd and incongruous, that when thou behold'ft a Statue or curious Picture, thou should'st acknowledge that Art was us'd to the making of it; or when thou feeft the course of a Ship upon the Waters, thou D 2 fhould'ft fhould'ft not doubt but the motion of it is regulated and directed by Reafon and Art; or when thou confider'ft a Sun-dyal or Clock, thou fhould't understand prefently, that the Hours are fewn by Art, and not by Chance; and yet imagine or believe, that the World, which comprehends all thefe Arts and Artificers, was made without Counfel er Reafon? If one fhould carry into Scythia or Britain fuch a Sphere as our Friend Poffidonius lately made, each of whofe Converfions did the fame thing in the Sun and Moon and other five Planets, which we fee effected every Night and Day in the Heavens, who among thofe Barbarians would doubt that that Sphere was compos'd by Reafon and Art? A wonder then it muft needs be, that there should be any Man found fo ftupid and forfaken of Reafon, as to perfuade himfelf, that this most beautiful and adorn'd World was or could be produc'd by the fortuitous concourfe of Atoms. He that can prevail with himself to believe this, I do not fee why he may not as well admit, that if there were made innumerable Figures of the one and twenty Letters, in Gold, suppose, or any other Metal, and thefe well fhaken and mixt together, and thrown down from fome high place to the ground, they when they lighted upon the Earth would be fo difpos'd and rank'd that a Man might fee and read in their Ennius's Annals; whereas it were a great chance if he should find one Verfe thereof among them all. For if this concourse of Atoms could make a whole World, why may it not fometimes make, and and why hath it not fomewhere or other in the Earth made a Temple, or a Gallery, or a Portico, or a Houfe, or a City? which yet it is fo far from doing, and every Man fo far from believing, that fhould any one of us be caft, fuppofe, upon a defolate land, and find there a magnificent Palace, artificially contriv'd according to the exacteft Rules of Architecture, and curioully adorn'd and furnish'd, it would never once enter into his Head, that this was done by an Earthquake, or the fortuitous fhuffling together of its compotent Materials; or that it had ftood there ever fince the Conftruction of the World, or first cohæfian of Atoms; but would prefently conclude that there had been fome intelligent Architect there, the Effect of whose Art and Skill it was. Or fhould he find there but one fingle Sheet of Parchment or Paper, an Epiftle or Oration written, full of profound fenfe, exprefs'd in proper and fignificant words, illuftrated and adorn'd with elegant Phrafe; it were beyond the Poffibility of the Wit of Man to perfuade him that this was done by the temerarious dashes of an unguided Pen, or by the rude scattering of Ink upon the Paper, or by the lucky Projection of fo many Letters at all adventures; but he would be convinc'd by the evidence of the thing at first fight, that there had been not only fome Man, but fome Scholar there. The Cartefian Hypothefis confider'd and cenfur'd, Having rejected this Atheistick Hypothesis of Epicurus and Democritus, I fhould now proceed to give particular inftances of the Art and Wifdom clearly appearing in the several Parts and Members of the Univerfe; from which we may justly infer this general conlufion of the Pfalmift, In Wisdom haft thou made them all: But that there is a fort of profeffed Theifts, I mean Monf. Des Cartes and his followers, who endeavour to disarm us of this decretory Weapon, to evacuate and exterminate this Argument, which hath been fo fuccefsful in all Ages to demonftrate the existence, and enforce the belief of a Deity; and to convince and filence all Atheiftick Gainfayers. And this they do, First, By excluding and banishing all confideration of final Caufes from Natural Philofophy, upon pretence, that they are all and every one in particular undifcoverable by us; and that it is rafhnefs and arrogance in us to think we can find out God's Ends, and be partakers of his Counfels. Atque ob hanc unicam rationem totam illud caufarum genus quod à fine peti folet, in rebus Phyficis nullum ufum habere exiftimo, non enim abfque temeritate me puto inveftigare poffes fines Dei. Medit. Metaph. And for this only reafon, I think, all that kind of causes which is wont to be taken from the end, to have no use in Phyficks of natural Matters; for I cannot without rafhnefs think my felf able to find out the ends of God. And Again, in his Principles of Philofophy, Nullas unquam rationes circares Naturales a fine quem Deus aut Natura in iis faciendis fibi propofuit admittimus, quia non tantum nobis de bemus |