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Show Extent of Humane Knorvledge. 'Book IV. Figures and Parts, we can no way attain, whilll we are confined to this Earth, there being no natural Means, etthcr by Senfanon or Rcii~Gtion, to convey their certain Ideas 111to our Mmds.· They are out ot the reach of thofe Inlets of all our l{nowledge; and what forts of Furniture and Inhabitants thofe ~anfions contain in them, we cannot fo much as~ucfs, much lefs have clear, and dillinCl: ldt"as of them. §. ~ 5 . If a great, nay for the gr~atcll, part of the feveral ranks of Bodin in the Univcrfe, fcape our nonce by the1r remotenefs, there are others that arc no lefs concealed from''" 6y tbeir Min•trnifs. Thefe infenfihle Corpufclcs, being the a :live parts of Matter, and the great Inllruments of Nature, on wl11ch depend not only all thelf fccondary Quaht1es, but alfo moll of 5heir natural Operations; our want of precife dillinGI: Ideas of their primary ~ali ties, keeps us in an uncureable Ignorance of what we defire to know about them. I doubt not but if we could difcover the Figure, Size, Connexion, and Motion of the minute conllituent parts of any two Bodies, we lhould know without Trial feveral of their Operations one upon another, as we do now the Propemes of a Square, or a Triangle; and we lhould be ~ble to tell before Hand, that Rubarb would purge, Hemlock kill, and ~pmm make a Man ileep; as well as a Watchmaker does th~t a l!tde p1ece of Paper, la1d on the Ballance, will keep the Watch from gomg t1ll1t be removed; or that fome fmall part of it being rubb'd by a File, the Mochin would quite lofe its Motion, and the' Watch go no ;nore. Did we know the mechanical AlfeGI:ions of the Particles of Rubarb, Hemlock, Opium, and a Man, as a Watch-maker does thofe of a Watcl), whereby it _performs all its Operatio~s; and of a File, which by rubbing on them wtll alter the F1gure of any of the Wheels ; the dilfolving of Silver in arua fortis, and Gold in ar. regia, and not 7Jice verfo, would be then, perhaps, no moredtflicult to know, than it is to a Smith to underlland why dle turning of one Key will open a Lock, and not the turning of anothe~. But whilft we are. dellitute ·of ~nfes, acute enmtgh to d1fcoyer the mmute Parttcles of Bodtes, and to gtve us Ideas of their mechonical Affections, we mull be content to be ignorant of their proper· ties and ways of Operation; nor can we be alfured about them any farther, than fome few Trillls we make, are able to reach. But whether they will fucceed again another time, we cannot be certain. This hinders our certain Kno":ledge of un~verfal Tr~ths,concerning natural Bodies. And our Reafon carnes us herem very l1ttle beyond particular matter of FaG!:. §. ~6. And therefore I am apt to doubt that, how far foever humane Indullry may advance ufeful and experimental Philofophy in piJJ!ical 7J,ing,s, fcientifical will llill be out of our reach; becaufe w~ want per· feGI: ,and adequate Ideas of thofe very Bodies, which are nearell to us, and moll under our Command. Thofewhich we have ranked into Claffes un· der names, and we think our felves beft acquainted with, we have but very imperleGI:, and iocompleat Ideas of. DillinQ Ideas of the feveral forts of Bodies, that fall under the Examination of our Senfes, perhaps, we may have; but adequate Ideas, I fufeeGt,.we have not of any one amongft them. And though the lormer of thefe will ferve us for common Ufe and Dilcourfe; yet whilft we want the latter, we arenot capaUe of Jcientific.l Knowled(.e; nor lha!l eve~ be able to d1fcover general, inllruClive Truths conc~rnmg them. Cerramty and Demonllratiop, are Thing~ we mull not, m thefe Matters, ~~~nd to. By the Colour, Figure, Talle,and Smell, and other fenlible ~ahttes, we have as clear, and di.llinGI: Ideas of Sage and Hemlock, as we have' of a Circle and a Triangle: But having no /Je.r · ' · ' of . Chap. III. Extent of Humane l(nml!ledge • of the pJrticular primary Q,alities of the minute parts of either of thefe Plants, nor of other Bodies we would apply them to, we cannot tell whot eff>L'k they will produce ; Nor \\'hen we fee thofe EffeGI:s, can we f.>· much os gu·:f<, muolt lcfs know, their manner of produfrion. Thus flavin& no Ideas of the particular mechanical AlfeGtions of the minute parts ~f Bodieo;, that are w[thin our view and reach, w~ are ignorant of their Confritut[ons , Powers, and Operattons ; and of Boches more re" mote, we are ig>1orant of their very outward Shapes and Being<. ~- 17. This, at firll fight, will !hew us how dlfl,roportlonate _our Knowledge is to the whole extent even of matenal Bemgs; to wh1ch, if we add the Confider:rtion of that >nfinite number of Spirits that may be, and probably are , wh[ch are yet more remote fro1n o•r Knowledge, whereof we have no cogn1zance, nor can frame to our felves any dtfnnGI: Ideas of their feveral ranks and forts, we null find thiS caufe of Ignorance COO' coal from us, in an impenetrable ob(curity, a! moO. the whole intelleCl:?al World; a greater, certainly, and more bt'autiful World than the matenal. for,bating fome very few,an,l thofe,1f I may fo call them, fuperfictal/de.,~~ which Spirit, we, by reileG1:1on, gc-t of our own and of the Father of all Spt· rits,the eternal,independent Author ol them an~ us,and all Thmgs,wehave no certain information, fo much as ofthelt Ex1llence, but by revelation. Angels of all forts ar~ naturally beyond our d1fcovery. And all thofe In· telligences, whereof tiS ltkely there are more Orders than of corporeal SubOances , arc Th>ng< whereof our natural Faculties g1ve u<. no certam account at all. That there are Mmds, and thmkmg Bemgs, m other Me!' :IS Well us himfelf, every Man has a reafon, from thetr Words and Act~.ons, to be fJtisfied. But betw:en us and the Great GOD, we can have no certain knowledge of tl1e Ex1llence_ofany Spmts, but by revelauon; much Je(s have we dillinCl: /Jeas ofthe1r d1fferent Natures, Condltl?ns, States, Pvwers, and feveral Conllitutions, wherem they agree or dtffec from one another, and from us. And therefore in what concerns thelf dtf" lerent Species and Properties, we are under an abfolute tgnorance. . ' h8 Second!J-, IV hat a fmall part of thefubllanttal Bemg< that are m the Univcrle, the want of Jde•s leave open to our Knowledge, we have feen. In the next place, another caufe of Ignorance, of no lefs moment, IS the ""•t of a d.fcov"ab!e Connexion bet1veen tbofe Ideas we bave. For wher.eever we want that, we arc uncrly uncapable of umverfal and. certam Knowledge; and are, as in the former cafe, left only to Obfervatton and Experiment· which how narrow and confined tt ts, how far from gene· nl Knowledge we need not be told. I fliall give fome fe1v inflances of thiscaufeof o~r Ignorance, and lo leave it. 'Tis evident that the bulk, ri•ure and motion of fevcral Bodies about us, produce 111 us fevcral S~n· li~ion; as of Colours Sounds Tallcs, or Smells, Pleafure and Pa_m, t'5c. thofe mechanical AffcGI:io~s of Bodies, having n? affimty at all Wtth thefe Ide"' they produce in us, there bemg no concetvable connex10n be· tween any impulfe of any fort of Body, and any percepnon of a 1';;:1ouri· or Smell we find in our Minds, we can have no dtllmGI: know ge_o fuch O;~rations beyond our Experience; a_nd can reafon _no ?therw1fe !bout them than as the elfeCl:> or appomtment of an mfirutel~ W~. Agent, whici1 pcrfeGI:Iy furpafs our Comprehenlions. As tho ~~~:.3° li:nf1ble, (ecnndary ~alities we have m our Mmds, can, by us, be . Y deduced from bodily Caufes, nor an:y: correfpondence or conn~~lOe~ be fouad between them and thofe pnmary ~ahues fidhtch h ( op lienee thews us) produce them in us; fo, on the other 1. eblt e Hpetions or our Minds upon our Bodies, is as unconcetva e. ow any 1..79 |
