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Show Vuir,Jerfa! Propojitions, Book IV-entire thing by it felt; having all its ~alities in it felf, and independent of other Things; overlooking, for the mofl: part, the Operations of t hofe invifiblc Fluids, they are encompalfed with; and upon whofe Motions and operations depend the greatef1: part of thofe qualities which aretal<en notice of in them, and are made by us the inherent marks of DiflinCtion, whereby we know and denominate them.. Put a J>iece of Gold any where by It fclf, let no other Body encompafs It, tt wili"Immedtatcly lofc all its Colour and Weight, and ped1aps Malleablenefs. too; which, l_or ought I know, would be changed mto a perfect Fnabthtv. Water, In which to us Fluidity is an etfential ~ality, left to it felf, \vould ceafe to be flu id. But if imnimate Bodies owe fo much of their prcfent llate to other Bodies without them, that they would not be what they appear to us were tho[e Bodies that environ them removed, it is yet more fo in Vegc;ables, whteh are nounfl1~d, grow, and produce Leaves, Flower$, and Seeds, in a conllant Suc~efhon. And if we look a little nearer into the flate of Animals, we f11all find, that their Dependence, as to Life Motion and the moll confiderable Q!lali~i~s to be obferved in them, i; fo whoJiy on extnnfical Caufes and ~altttes of other Bodies , that make no part of them, tl1~t they cannot fubfill a moment without them : though yet thofe Bodtes on whtch they depend, are httle taken notice of, and make no part of the complex Jd .. r, we frame of thofe Animals. Take the Air but a minut~ from the greatell par~ of living Creatures,and they prefently lofe Senfe, Ltfe, and Matton. Thts the neceflity of breathing has forced into our Knowledge: But_how many other extnnfical, and poflibly very remote Bodtes, do the Spnngs of thofe admirable Machines depend on which arc not vulgarly obferved, or fo much as thought on ; and hoi; many_ are there, whtch the fevercll Enquiry can never difcover ? The Inhabitants of tlus fpot of the Univerfe,though removed fo many millions of Miks from the Sun, yet dep~nd fo much on the duly tempered motion of Parttcles commg from, or ag1tated by it, that were this Earth removed butafmall part of th:ltdillance,out of its prefent fituatioo,and placed a !itt!~ farther or nearer that Source of Heat, 'tis more than probable, that the greatefl: part of the Antmals m It, would immediately perifl1 : fincc we find them fo often dellroy' d by an excefs or defect of the Sun's wormth, whtch an acctdental pofition, in feme parts of this .our little Globe, expofes them to. The ~a hues obferved in a Load-Ilene mull needs have their Source far beyond the. Confines <;>f that Body: and' the ravage made often on feveral forts of Ammals, by mvtfible Caufes, the certain death (as ":e are told) offome of them, by barely pafling the Line, or, as'ris certam of others,by bemg removed into a Neighbouring-Country ,evidently fhew,that the Concurrence and Operation offeveral13odies,with which they are feldom th~ught to have any thing to do, is abfolutely neceffary to make them be ":h~t they ap(>ear to us, and to preferve thole ~alitics weltt\mV, and dtllmgut1h them by. We arc then quite out of the way, when we thmk, that Tlungs co.ntain within themfelves the Q!jalities,that appear to us 111 them : And we 111 vam fearch for that Conilitution within thellody of a Fly,or an Elephant, upon which depend thofe ~a li ties and Power,s we obferve m them; for which, perhaps, to underiland them a~ ght1 we. ought to look ilot only beyond this our Earth and Atmofphere, ut even beyond the Sun, or remotell Star our Eyes have yet difcovered: For hOI~ much the Bemg and Operation of particular Subllances in this ~ut Giobe, depend on Caufes utterly beyond our view, is impoflible f9r 0 to determme. We fee and percetve fame of the Motions S'Od groncr PC(attons of Things here about us ; but whence the StreamS"'CGme that keep Chap. VI. their Cf"ruth and Certainty. keep all thefe curious Machines in motion and repair how conveyed d modified, i~ beyond · our notice a~d appreh: nfion /and the great p:~, and Wheels, as I rrpy fa fay, of this llupendtous Structure of the Uniyerfe, _may, for ought we know,_ have fuch a connexion and dependence 111 ~hetr. In{luences and Operattons one upon another, rhat, perhaps, Thmgs m t.us our M~nfion, would put on quite another face, and ceafe to be what they arc, tf fame one of the .Stars, or great Bodies incomprehenlibly remote from u>, lhould ceafe to be, or move as it does. This ts certam, Thmg<, however abfolute and entire they feem in themfelves are but Retainers to other parts of Nature, for that which they are moft ta~en nottce of by u~: Thetr obfervable Qt!alitics, Actions, and Powers, are owtng to fomctlung Wtthout them; aqd there is not fo complete and )Jerfett a part, that we l<n?W, of Nature, which does not owe the Being It has, and the Excellencies of it, to its Neighbours; and ,., muj} look a .t.rfat deal farda than the Surface of a'IJ Body, to comprehend perfeCtly thofc Quallfur that are 1n it. . ~- I2. If this be fo, it is not to be wondred, that !PC ha7Je very imperJefl !dear of S•tflancer ; and that the real E!Tences, on which depend thetr Propertl(S and Operattons, are unknown to us. We cannot difcover fo much as the lize, figure, and texture of their minute and active Parts, which is really in them; much lcfs the different Motions and Impulfes made in a~d upon them by Bodies from without,and the Effects bf them, upon wluch depend, and by which is formed the greatell and mo~ remarlmhle part of thofe ~a l i ties we obferve in them, and of Whtch our complex ! dear of them arc made up. 'Ibis confideratlon alone !Pay fetus _at rell, as to all hopes of our having the ld<ar of their real Eftences; whtch, wlulll we want the nom mal F.ffences we make ufe of in• llead of them1 will be able to furnifh us but very fparingly with any general Knowledge, or uciverfal Propofitions 'capable af real Certainty. §. I J. We are not therefore to wonder, if Certainty be to be found in very few general Propofition;; made concerning Subfl:ances : Our .Know• ledge of their Qualities and Properties go very feldom farther than our Senfes reach and inform us. Poflibly ingui(itive and obferving Men may, by llrength of Judg,m<nt, pi!netrat< farther, and on Probabilities taken from wary Obfervation, and Hints well laid together, often guefs right at what Expenence has not yet dtfcoveted to them. But this is but ~uefling llill;it amounts only to Opinion,and has not t!Jatcertainty which lS reqUtfite to Knowledge: For all general Knowledge lies only in our own Thoughts, and ·confills barely in the contemplation of our own air ilract ld<ar. Wh~rever we perceive any agreemeQt or difagreement amongfl: them,there we have general Knowledgc;and by putting the Names of thofe Ideas together accordingly in Propofitions, can with certainty pro~ounce general Truths. But becaufethe abfl:raet !dear ofSubfl:ances,for W htch their fpecilick Names lland, whcne~er they have any dillinct and d~terminate fignilicat!on, have a difcove<able connexion or inconfillency Wtth a very few other Jd,ear, the certainty of univerfal Propolitions conccrnmg Subllonces, is very narrow and fcanty in that part, which is our pnncipal enquiry concerning them: and there is fcarce any of the Names of Subllances,let the Idea it is applied to be what it will, of which We can generally, and with certainty pronounce, that it has or has not thts or that other ~ality belonging to it, and conllantly co-exifiing or mconfillent with that Idea, where-ever it is to be found. 297 |