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Show Si_mple Modes of Space. Book II. Space void of Body, equal to the fmallefi feparate Particle of Matter now exifhng in Nature, 'tis (\ill Space without Body ; ,and makes as great a difference between Space and Body, as if it were M'Y"' ~I'«, a dtfl:ance as wide as any in Nature. And therefore if we fuppofe not the votd Space nece«.1ry to Motion, equal to the leafi parcel of the diV1ded foltd Mamr, but to i; or;., of it, thefumeconfequence will always follow of Space Wtth· ou§t .M atter. 1 3. But the OEefl:i<>n being here, whether the Mea of Space or Ex-te• fro•, be tbe fame 1vitb the Idea of Body, ~tIS no~ ne~effary to prove the real exi!l:ence of a VacuuM, but the Idea of 1t; wluch t!S plato Men have, when they enquire and difpute, whether there be a Vacuum or no ? For if they had not the Idea of Space ':"ithout Body, they co~ld not make a quefl:ionabout its exi!l:ence: And 1f thetr Idea of Body dtd not mclude in it fomething more than the bare Idea of Space,theycould have no doubt about the plenitude of the World; •nd 'twould be as abfurd to demand, whether there were Space without Body, as whether there were Space without Space, or Body without Body, fince thefe were but different Names ot the fame Idea. . §. '+ 'Tis nue, the Idea <Jf Extenfio•joins it felf fo infeparably with all vifible, and mofl: tanr;ible OEalities, that it fuffers us to fee no <Joe, or feel very few external Objed:s, without taking in impreff10ns of Extenfion too. This readinefs of Extenfion to make itfelfbe taken notice of fo confiantly with other !dear, has been the occafion, I gue!S,that fome have made the whole effence of B•dy, to confifl: in Extenfion; which is not much to be wondred at, fince fame have had their Minds , by their Eyos and Touch, (the bufiefl:of all our Senfes,) fo filled with the Idea of Extenlion, and as it were wholly poffeffed with it, that they allowed no exif\ ence to any thing, that had not Extenlion, I fhall not now argue with thofe Men, who take the meafure and poffibility of all Being, only from their narrow and grofs Imaginations: but having here to do only with thofe, who conclude the eJTence of Body to be Extenjion, becaufe, they fay, they cannot imagine any fenfible OEality of any Body without Extenlion, I fhall defire them to confider, That had they relled:ed on their Ideas ofTafl:es and Smells, as much as on thofe of Sight and Touch; nay, had they examined their Ideas of Hunger and Thirft, and feveral other Pains, they would have found,that they included in them no !den of Extenfion at all, which is but an affed:ion ofBody, as well as the refl: difcoverable by our Senfes, which are fcarce acute enough to look into the pure EJTence of Things. ~. ~5· If thofe !dear, which are conftantly joined to all others, mufl: therefore be concluded to be the Effcnce of thofe Things, which have confl:antly t~ofe Ideas joined to them, and are infeparable from them ; then Umty ts wtthout doubt the effence of every thing. For there is not any Objed: of Senfation or Relled:ion, which does not carry with it the Idea of one: But the weaknefs of this kiRd of Argument we have already fhewn fufficiently. ' §. 26. To conclude, whatever Men ll1all think concerning the exi· ftence of a Vacuum, this is plain to me, That we have as clear an Idea of Space dzflmCI from Solidity, as we have of Solidity difl:inct from Motion, or Matton from Space. We have not any two more difl:inct !dear, and we can as eafily concetve Space without Solidity, as we can conceive Body wtthout Monon! though tt be never fo certain, that neither Body nor Matton can extfl: Wtthout :Space. But whether any one will take Space to be only a relatton rcfultmg from the Exiftence of other Beings at a di· !lance; Chap. XIII. Simple Modes (Jf Space. !lance; or whether they will think the Words of the m !1: . l{mg .Solomon,lhe I£eaven,and the Heaven of Henvenr canno o knowmg or· !th·o fc more emdph!a tlcal ones bf. the infir• ired Ph'1! 0f0c p1't er St t. Pcoanutalmln THhe:e ; ~~ rue, mO'Ve, an 'l:rve our Bein1,.1 are to be undcrfiood · . ' tm I leave every one to con(jder . only our !&a of S . 10 a hteral fenfe, I have mentioned,and diftinei'from that of Bod !ace hts<, hi think, fuch as . . c If. I d' y. rorw et er we conlid . 10 matter tt ,e , t 1e tftance of its coherent folid part< d ll . . 1 er fped: of thofe folid parts, Ex ten/ion , or whether confi.cl an ~a >t, mrebetween the extremities of any Body in its feveral di~:r~g tt' ,as ly10g Length, Breadth, and lhidnefi. or clfe conlideri g . n tins, we call it any two l3odies, or pofitivc Bei~gs without any ~001fidas >:mg between there be any Matter or no betwee~ we call it D'n I eratH>on, whether ed fid d . . I . ' tp ance. owever na m or con 1 ere , >t 1s a ways the f.1me uniform fimple !d. f " rnken from ObjeCts, about which our Senfes have been co jf 0 Spau, of having fetled Id•ar in our Minds, we can revive re ea~ver ant, whereode to another as often as we will and confider tl;e [ ' and .~dd them imagined, either as liHed with foiid parts, fo thot ari~~~~:r 0neJ!l:~nce fo come there, Without d1fplncing and thruftingout the Bod h Y annat before; or elfe as void of Solidity, fo that a )3ody of equJ ~i at wit there that empty or pure Space, may be placed in it without the rmen >ons to expulfion of any thing that was there. emovmg or . §.•7· The knowing precifelywhatourWordsfl:and for would r ' gme, m tlus, as w~ll as a great many other tafes, quickly e~d the di tmafor. l am apt to tlunk, that Men, when they come to examine them fpute. thetr fimple Ideas all generally to agree, though in difcoilrfe with~ lin~ nether, they perhaps confound one another with different Name':e a magme, that Men who abfl:ract their Thoughts and do well · · 1 Idear of their own Minds, cannot muchdziffier in ~bi>Zkinu • 11o,evxam10elthe l h fcl 'h . o> ever tley may perp ext em e veswtt words, accordmg to the way of fi kin f the feveral Schools,or SeCts they have been bred up in . Th rea g 0 unthinking Men, who examine not fcmpuloully and ~aref~I~g 1 t"mongfl: Idear, and flrip them not from the marks Men ufe for they t 1etr own found them with words, there mufl: be endlefs difpute w m, !but con· jargon; efpecially if they te learned bookifh Men, devo;ed ~~nr,:::;'&nd and accufl:omed. to the Language of tt ; and have learned to talk af~' others.. But-1f 1t lhould happen, that any two thinking Meri fhould reatfr have dtfferent !dear, d.tffercnt Not>oos;' I do not fee how the could dl courfe, or argue one wulwmother. Here I mufl: not be m1'flayk 1 · k that every 11 oatm· g I t;Jag·m att·o n m· Mens Brains , is prefenrly eonf, tthoa tt ufonr t of Id<ar I fpeak ~I .. Tts not eafie for the Mind to put off thofe confufed Nottons and PreJudoces 1t has tmbtbed from Cufl:om, Inadvertency and common Converf.1tton: tt requtres pains and affiduity to examin~ i !dear, ttlltt refolves them mto thofeclear anddifl:inct funple tsf which they are compoumfed; and to fee which amongfl: 1·ts {jones,! out 0 l 1 rr: . ' tmpeones Jave or ~ave nota neceuary connexwn and dependence one u 1 ' Ttl! a Man doth this in the primary and original Notions of~hanot 1~: builds upon floatmg and uncertain Principles, and will often find 110gfcs,lf e a lofs. urn e at M:t CHAP. |