in almost all parts of the World and that on the Contrary we may boldly say of the other that he hath penetrated into that which appeared most obscure in the Eyes of Men and hath shew'd 'em a sure way to dâ—â—cover all Truths that a limited Understanding can comprehend But without relying on the Opinion that we may have of these two Philosophers and of all others let us still look upon 'em as Men and let not the Aristotelians be displeased if after having walk'd so many Ages in Darkness without being able to make any further Advancement we are willing to see with our own Eyes and if after having been led like blind Men we now remember that we have Eyes and essay to Conduct our selves Let us then be fully convinc'd of this Rule Never to give an entire assent but to things that are evident This is the most necessary of all Rules in a Search after Truth and let us not admit any thing into our Minds as Truth but what appears with the Evidence that this Rule demands We must be persuaded thereof to lay by our Prejudices and it 's absolutely necessary that we be deliver'd from our Prepossessions to enter into the Knowledge of Truth because the Mind must be Purified before it can be Enlighten'd Sapientia prima est Stulitia caruisse But before we finish this Chapter II. Remarks upon what has been said about the necessity of Evidence we must Remark Three Things The first is that I speak not here of Matters of Faith which admit not the same Evidence as Natural Sciences do because we cannot perceive things but by the Idea's which we have of them for God hath only given us those Idea's which are necessary to conduct us in the Natural Order of Things according to which we are created so that the Mysteries of Faith being of a Supernatural Order we must not be surpriz'd if we have not the same Idea's of them for our Souls are created by Virtue of a General Decree by which we have all the Notions that are necessary for us See the Explanations But the Mysteries of Faith have been establish'd only by the Order of Grace which according to our Ordinary way of Conception is a Decree consequent to that Order of Nature We ought then to distinguish the Mysteries of Faith from Natural Things We must equally submit to Faith and Evidence but in Matters of Faith we must not look for such Evidence as is in Natural Things we must not rely upon the Faith that is upon the Authority of Philosophers In a word to be Faithful we must believe things not comprehended by Reason but to be Philosophers we must take nothing upon Trust 'T is universally agreed upon that there are other Truths besides those of Faith in which it would be unjust to demand incontestible Demonstrations such for Instance as relate to History and other things depending upon Mans Will For there are two sorts of Truth Necessary and Contingent I call them Necessary Truths that are Immutable in their Nature and have been Decreed by the unchangeable Will of God all others are Contingent Truths Mathematicks Physicks Metaphysicks and even a great part of Morality contain Necessary Truths History Grammar particular Laws or Customs and many other things which depend upon the uncertain Will of Man include only Contingent Truths 'T is requir'd then that the Rule which I have before establish'd be exactly observed in a Search after Necessary Truths whose Knowledge may be call'd Science and we must content our selves with the greatest probability of Truth in History which contains the Knowledge of Contingent Things for one may generally call by the name of History the Knowledge of Languages Customs and even that of the Different Opinions of Philosophers when they are only learn'd by Memory without having had any Evidence or Certainty of them The second Thing to be Remark'd is that in Morals Politicks Medicine and in all Practical Sciences we are oblig'd to content our selves with Probabilities not always but for a time not because it satisfies the Mind but because there is a necessity for it and because if we should defer acting till we were fully assur'd of success we should often loose the opportunity But though there 's a necessity of our Acting yet we should doubtfully rely upon the event of these things we execute and endeavour to make such a progress in these Sciences as that we may in our Affairs act with more certainty for this ought to be the ordinary end of the Study and Employ of all Thinking Men. In fine the third Observation is that we must not absolutely despise Probabilities because it ordinarily happens that many of 'em being join'd together can as strongly convince us as the most evident Demonstrations Of this there are infinite Examples in Physick and Morality So that oftentimes 't is of use to collect a sufficient number of them for Matters which can't be otherwise demonstrated I must confess here that the Rule which I have impos'd is very rigorous that many would rather desire not to Reason at all than to Reason upon these Conditions that they will not move very fast under such Incommodious Circumspections yet they must agree with me that they should proceed surely in following this Rule and that hitherto for having made too much haste they have been oblig'd to turn back again and even a great many Men will agree with me that since Monsteur Descartes hath discover'd more Truths in thirty years than all other Philosophers because he submitted to this Law therefore if many Men would Philosophize as he did they might in time know the greatest part of those things which are necessary for as happy a Life as can be had upon an Earth which God hath Cursed CHAP. IV. I. Of the Occasional Causes of Error and that of these there are Five Principal ones II. The General Design of the Whole Work and the Particular Design of the First Book WE have seen that Men are only deceiv'd because they make not that use of their Liberty which they ought to do and because they do not moderate the haste and eagerness of the Will for bare appearances of Truth that Error consists only in a Consent of the Will which is more capacious than the Perception of the Understanding since Men would not be deceiv'd if they only judg'd of what they understand But though properly speaking 't is only an ill Use of Liberty which is the Cause of Error yet it may be said that we have many Faculties which are also the Causes thereof not true Causes but such as may be call'd Occasional ones I. Of the Occasional Causes of these there are Five principal ones All our Modes of Perceiving are so many Occasions of Deceiving us for since our false Judgments include two things the Consent of the Will and the Perception of the Understanding it is very evident that all our Modes of Perception may
Extension of Bodies in Relation to the Testimony of our Eyes let us imagine that God had created a Heaven and an Earth of a Portion of Matter as little as a Hand Ball and Men upon this Earth in the same Proportions with those in our Great World These little Men would see one another and the parts of their own Bodies as also the little Animals which would be capable of incommoding them or else their Eyes would be useless as to their Preservation Upon this Supposition it is Evident that these little Men would have Idea's as to the bigness of Bodies very different from those that we have of them since they would have Relation to their Little World which tho' as a Ball in respect of ours they would look upon as surrounded with infinite Spaces such as we imagine about ours Or if it may more easily be conceiv'd let us suppose that God had made a World infinitely greater than ours so that this New World should be in respect of ours as ours was in comparison of that which we suppos'd before Let us also suppose that God had observ'd the same Proportion in all the Parts of this New World as he had done in ours It 's manifest that the Men of this last World would be greater than is the Space betwixt our Earth and the most distant Stars that we see this being suppos'd if they had the same Idea of the Extension of Bodies as we have they could not distinguish even some parts of their own Body and would see some others of prodigious greatness So that 't is ridiculous to think that they would see things of the same bigness as we see them 'T is evident from these two Suppositions that the Men of the Great or Little World would have very different Notions about the greatness of Bodies to what we have supposing only that their Eyes gave them Idea's of the Objects that were about them proportionably in bigness to their own Bodies Now if these Men were much assur'd upon the Testimony of their own Eyes that Bodies were as big as they saw them it 's evident they would be deceiv'd and no body can doubt of it yet it 's certain they would have full as much reason as we to defend their Opinion let us therefore at least by the Example of this Error apprehend our selves to be very uncertain of the greatness of those Bodies that we see and that all we can know by sight is the proportion that they have to our Bodies In a word that our Eyes are not given us to Judge of the Truth of things but only to discern those things that may either Profit or Injure us But Men do not only trust their Eyes in Judging of Visible but also of Invisible Objects they even conclude that nothing exists which they see not thus arrogating to their Sight a certain infinite perspicacity 'T is this which hinders them from knowing the true Causes of many Natural Effects If they attribute them to certain Faculties and imaginary Qualities the common Reason is because they do not see the real ones which consist in the different Configurations of these Bodies For Example They see not the Particles of Air and Flame much less those of Light or of other Matter yet more Subtile and this inclines them to believe they do not exist or at least to judge they have neither Power nor Action they have recourse to occult Qualities or imaginary Faculties to explain all the effects whereof these imperceptible Particles are the Natural Cause They choose rather to have recourse to the Horrour of a Vacuum for explaining the Elevation of the Water in Pumps than to the Weight of the Air to the Qualities of the Moon for the Flux and Reflux of the Sea than to the pressure of the Air which environs the Earth to attractive Faculties in the Sun for the Elevation of Vapours than to the Simple Motion or Impulsion caus'd by the parts of Subtile Matter which are continually dispers'd by the Sun They look upon that as an Impertinent Opinion which has recourse to Flesh and Blood to solve the Motions of Animals their Habits or the Corporeal Memory of Man which is owning in part to this that they conceive the Brain to be very little and consequently insufficient to conserve the traces of an almost infinite number of things which are there they are willing to believe tho' they know not how to conceive it that Beasts have a certain Soul which is neither Body nor Mind as also that there are Qualities and Intentional Species to solve the Habits and Memory of Men and such other like things of which they have no particular Notion in their Minds It would take up too much time to enumerate the Errors which this prejudice begets in us almost all the Errors in Physicks are owing to it and whoever attentively considers it will be amaz'd thereat Altho' I 'm unwilling to insist much upon this head yet I can't but take notice of the Contempt which Men commonly have for Insects and other little Animals which are generated as they say out of Corrupted Matter this is an unjust Contempt which is founded only upon the Ignorance of the thing despis'd and the prejudices already mention'd There is nothing Contemptible in Nature all the Works of God are worthy our respect and admiration especially if we consider the admirable ways by which God makes and preserves them The least Flies are as perfect Animals as the biggest Creatures the proportion of their Members is as Just as those of the others and it even seems that God has given them more Ornaments to recompence the littleness of their Bodies they have Crowns Helmets and other Curiosities on their Heads which outdo the most Luxuriant Fancies of Men and I may confidently aver that they who have never seen any thing but with their naked Eye have never beheld any thing so fine so exact and even so magnificent in the Houses of the greatest Princes as what we discover with Microscopes upon the Head of a silly Fly It 's true these things are very small but yet the more surprizing because there are so many Beauties crouded in so small a Space and altho' they are very common yet they are not the less valuable nor less perfect in themselves on the contrary the Wisdom of God is more apparent who hath with so much Magnificence and Profusion perform'd almost an infinite number of Miracles in Creating them Nevertheless our Sight reaches not these Beauties but makes us despise the Works of God so worthy our admiration and because these Animals are little in comparison of our Bodies it makes us consider them as absolutely little and contemptible because of their smâ—llness as if Bodies could be little in themselves Let us then endeavour to distrust the Impressions of our Senses in Judging about the bigness of Bodies and when we say for Example that a Bird is little let us not absolutely
exposed alter some of their Parts and some Worms Feed upon them as Experience has shew'd There is no other difference between those Bodies that are very hard and dry and others unless it be that they are compos'd of very gross and solid Parts and consequently less capable of being agitated and separated one from another by the Motion of those that hit against them for which reason they are looked upon as Incorruptible Nevertheless they are not so by their Nature as Time Experience and Reason sufficiently shew us But as for the Heavens they are Compos'd of the most Fluid and subtle Matter and particularly the Sun And he is so far from being void of Heat and Incorruptible as Aristotle's followers say that on the contrary he is the hottest of all Bodies and the most liable to Change It is he that Heats Moves and Changes all things For it is he who produces by his Action which is nothing but his Heat or the Motion of his Parts all the Novelties we see in the Change of Seasons Reason demonstrates these things But though some may contradict Reason yet no Body can resist Experience For since some have discovered in the Sun by means of Telescopes Spots as large as the whole Earth which have been form'd in it and have been dissipated in a little time It is no longer to be deny'd but that he is more subject to Change than the Earth we inhabit All Bodies are therefore in a continual Motion and Change and particularly those that are the most Fluid as Fire Air and Water next the parts of Living Bodies as Flesh and even the Bones and lastly those that are the most solid The Mind ought not to suppose a kind of Immutability in things because it sees no Corruption or Alteration in them for it is not a proof that a thing is always like unto it self because no difference is observ'd in it or that things are not because we have no Idea or Knowledge of them CHAP. XI Examples of some Errors of Morality which depend on the same Principle THe Faculty of the Mind imagining and supposing Resemblances where-ever it perceives no Visible Differences also engages most Men into Errors which are yet more dangerous in Points of Morality Here are some Examples of them A French Man meets an English Man or an Italian That Stranger has peculiar Humours He has a Niceness of Mind or if you please he is Haughty and Troublesome This will at first induce this French-man to Judge that all English-men or Italians have the same Character of Mind with the Person they have convers'd with He will Praise or Blame them all in General And if he meets with any other he will fancy at first that he is like unto him he has already seen and therefore will suffer himself to be inclin'd to some Affection or secret Aversion towards him In a word he will Judge of all the Individuals of those Nations by this famous proof that he has seen one or many that had certain Qualifications of Mind Because he knew not whether the rest were different supposing them all alike A Religious of some Order commits a fault This is a sufficient Reason for those who know it to Condemn all the Individuals of that Order indifferently They all wear the same Habit and have the same Name they are alike in that This is enough for the Common Sort of Men to Fancy that they are all alike They suppose that they are all alike because not being able to search into their Hearts they cannot see positively whether they differ Calumuiators who study how to Blast the Reputation of their Enemies commonly make use of this and Experience teaches us that it succeeds for the most part And indeed it is very suitable to the Capacity of the Common Sort of Mankind For it is not difficult to find in numerous Communities though never so Holy some irregular Persons or such as have Ill Sentiments since in the Company of the Apostles of which Jesus Christ himself was the Head there was a Thief a Traitor an Hypocrite in a word a Judas The Jews without doubt would have been very much to blame to pass an Ill Judgment against the most Holy Society that ever was because of the Avarice and Fault of Judas and if they had Condemned them all in their Hearts because they suffered that Ill Man among them and Jesus Christ himself did not punish him though he was sensible of his Crimes Therefore it is a manifest Fault against Reason and Breach of Charity to pretend That a Community is in some Error because some of their Members were so although the Heads should dissemble it or were the promoters of it themselves It is true that when all the Members will defend an Error or Fault of their Brother the whole Community may be thought Guilty but that seldom or never happens for it seems morally impossible that all the Members of an Order should have the same Sentiments Men therefore should never conclude thus from Particulars to Generals but they cannot Judge simply of what they see they always fly out into Excess A Religious of such an Order is a Great Man an Honest Man they conclude that all the Order is composed of Great Men of Good Men. Likewise a Religious of an Order has Ill Sentiments Therefore all that Order is Corrupted and has Ill Sentiments But these last Judgments are far more dangerous than the first because it is a Duty to Judge well of our Neighbours and the Malignity of Man occasions that Ill Judgments and Discourses held against the Reputation of others make a stronger Impression upon the Mind than advantageous Judgments and Discourses do When a Worldly Man who iudulges his Passions fixes strongly upon his Opinion and pretends in the heighth of his Inclination that he is in the right to indulge it Men Judge reasonably that he is obstinate and he owns it himself as soon as his Passion is over So when a Pious Person who is perswaded of what he says and who has discover'd the Truth of Religion and the Vanity of Worldly Things endeavours according to that Knowledge to reform the Vices of others and reprehends them with some Zeal Men of the World also take him to be an obstinate Man and therefore they conclude that Devout Men are obstinate They Judge moreover that Good Men are far more obstinate than Vain Ill Men because the latter only defending their Ill Opinions according to the different Motions of the Blood and Passions they cannot continue long in their Sentiments They come to themselves again Whereas persons of Piety remain steddy because their Foundation is unalterable and does not depend on a thing so inconstant as the Circulation of the Blood Therefore ordinary Men conclude that Pious Men are obstinate as well as the Vicious Because they are as Passionate for Truth and Virtue as Ill Men are for Vice and Falshood Both speak almost in the same
understand it to be so because nothing is either great or little in it self Even a Bird is great in comparison of a Fly but little in respect of our Bodies but it does not follow that it is so absolutely for our Body is not the Standard Measure of other Bodies it 's but very small in relation to the Earth and that in relation to the Circle which the Sun or the Earth describes one about the other and this Circle in comparison of the Space betwixt us and the fixt Stars and thus we may still imagine Spaces larger and larger ad Infinitum But we must not think that our Senses give us the just proportion that Bodies have to one another III. Of the Error of our Eyes about Extension of Bodies in relation to one another for exactness is not essential to Sensible Knowledge which is only useful for the Preservation of Life It 's true we know precisely enough the proportion that Bodies have one with another if they be near us but we know little of the proportion that distant Bodies have because they have little relation to our Body The Idea of bigness which we have at the sight of some Body diminishes in proportion to the condition that this Body is in of hurting us and this Idea is presently enlarg'd as Bodies approach us or rather as the relation they have with our Body encreases Lastly this Relation wholly ceases I mean if any Body is so little or distant from us that it cannot hurt us we have no more any Sensation of it So that by the Eye we may sometimes judge very near of the proportion that some Bodies have with ours as also of that they have among themselves but we must never believe them to be of that bigness which they appear to us Our Eyes for Example represent the Sun and Moon about the bigness of one or two Feet over but we must not imagine as Epicurus and Lucretius did that they are really of this bigness the Moon appears much greater to the Sight than the fix'd Stars tho' it 's certain that in comparison of them it is very small Thus likewise we see every day upon the Earth two or more things whose bigness we cannot truly discover because it 's necessary to have their true distance before we Judge of them which is very difficult to know We have the same trouble to make a certain Judgment of the Proportion of two Bodies which are close to us they must be taken in our hands and compar'd together and after all we frequently remain doubtful about them This is evident when we would examine two pieces of Money which are almost equal for then we are oblig'd to place them one upon another to try by a surer way than the bare sight whâ—ther they are equal or not Hence we conclude that our sight does not only deceive us in respect of the bigness of Bodies as they are in themselves but also in the Proportion which they have when compar'd together CHAP. VII I. Of the Errors of Sight in respect of Figures II. We have no Knowledge of the least Things III. The Knowledge we have of the greatest Things is not exact IV. An Explication of certain Natural Judgments which keep us from being deceiv'd V. That these very Judgments deceive us in particular Occurrences OUR Sight deceives us less in the Representation of Figures I. Of the Errors of Sight concerning Figures than of all other things because a Figure consider'd in it self is absolutely nothing and because its Nature consists only in the Relation that is betwixt the Parts which terminate some Space and a Point which is conceiv'd in this Space and which may be call'd as in a Circle the Centre of the Figure yet we are deceiv'd a thousand ways in Figures and we have never any exact Knowledge of them by the Senses We shall now prove II. That we have no Knowledge of the smallest things that our Sight reaches not all sort of Extension but that only which hath a very considerable Relation with our Body and for this reason we see not all the parts of the least Animals or those that compose hard or liquid Bodies So that being unable to perceive all these Parts because of their smallness it follows that we cannot perceive their Figures since the Figure of a Body is only the Term that limits it There are then an infinite number of Figures and even of the greatest which our Eyes discover not to us and therefore they incline the Mind which relies too much upon their Capaciousness and which does not sufficiently examine things to believe that these Figures do not Exist As for Bodies that are accommodated to our Sight III. That the Knowledge we have of the greatest is not exact which are very few in number in comparison of others we discover their Figure very near but we never know it exactly by the Senses we can't even be assur'd by the Sight whether a Circle or a Square which are two of the most Simple Figures are not an Ellipse or a Parallelogram altho' we had these Figures in our Hands and as near our Eyes as we pleas'd Moreover we can't exactly distinguish whether a Line is right or not especially if it be pretty long we must have a Rule for that But why We know not whether the Rule it self is such as we suppose it should be and we cannot absolutely assure our selves thereof Yet without the Knowledge of a Line another Figure can never be known as is evident to all that know what Figures are This is what may in general be said of Figures that are in our Hands and before our Eyes but if they are supposed at a distance from us how great a Change should we find in the Projection they make upon the bottom of our Eyes I 'm unwilling to describe them here they are easily Learn'd in any Book of Opticks or by examining Figures in Picture For since Painters are oblig'd to change them almost every where that they may appear Natural and to Paint for Example Circles like Ellipses 't is an Infallible Mark of our Errors in seeing Objects which are not Painted but these Errors are corrected by new Sensations which may be look'd upon as a kind of Natural Judgments and which might be call'd the Judgments of the Senses When we behold a Cube IV. An Explication of certain Natural Judgments which guard us from Error for Example 't is certain that all the sides or Images of equal bigness with them are never Projected on the bottom of our Eyes since the Image of every one of these sides which is Painted upon the Retina or Optic Nerve is exactly like a Cube Painted in Perspective nevertheless we see them all equal and are not deceiv'd Now it may be said that this happens by a kind of Judgment which we make Naturally viz. that the most distant Faces of a Cube must not Project such
distinct from others but also all Objects lying betwixt us and that which we consider When for Example we look upon a distant Steeple we commonly see at the same time many interjacent Fields and Houses and because we judge of the distance of these Fields and Houses and see the Steeple is beyond them we judge also that it is very distant and also greater than if we saw it alone However the Image thereof which is traced at the bottom of our Eye is always of an equal bigness whether there are Fields and Houses betwixt us or not provided we see it at an equal distance which is suppos'd Thus we judge of the bigness of Objects by their imagin'd distance and the Bodies betwixt us and the Object do much assist our Imagination in it even as we judge of Duration or the length of Time after some Action done by the remembrance of a confess'd Series of Things which we have done or of Thoughts which we have successively had after this Action for 't is all these Thoughts and Actions which have succeeded one another that assist our Mind in judging of the length or duration of some Time or rather a confus'd remembrance of all the successive Thoughts about the same thing is nothing else but our Judgment of Duration even as a confus'd sight of the Fields which are betwixt us and the Steeple is the same thing as our Judgment of the distance thereof Hence 't is easie to know the true Reason why the Moon appears greater when it rises than when it is much elevated above the Horizon for when it rises it appears many Leagues distant from us and even beyond the Sensible Horizon or the Earth which terminates our sight whereas we judge it to be but about half a League from us or seven or eight times as high as our Houses when it is most elevated above the Horizon Thus we judge it much greater when it is near the Horizon than when it is very distant from it because we imagine it much more distant from us when it rises than when is it very high It 's true there are a great many Philosophers who attribute what I have said to the Vapours which rise out of the Earth I agree with them that Vapours refracting the Rays of Objects make them appear the greater I know there are more Vapours betwixt us and the Moon when it rises than when it is risen very high and consequently it must appear something greater than if it were always equally distant from us However it cannot be said that this refraction of the Rays of the Moon is the cause of these apparent Changes of its greatness for this refraction hinders not but that the Image which is traced in the bottom of our Eyes at the rising of the Moon is not less than that which is form'd there when it has been risen a considerable time Astronomers which Measure the Diameters of the Planets observe that that of the Moon grows larger in proportion to its distance from the Horizon and consequently in proportion to its appearing less to us so that the Diameter of the Image Painted at the bottom of our Eyes is lesser when we see it greater Indeed when the Moon arises it 's more distant from us by the Semi-diameter of the Earth than when it is perpendicularly over our Head which is the reason that its Diameter is greater than when it arises above the Horizon because then it approaches to us That then which is the cause of our seeing it greater when it rises is not the refraction of its Rays made by the Vapours coming out of the Earth since the Image which is form'd by these Rays is then less but it is the Natural Judgment that we make of its distance because it appears beyond the Earth which we see very distant from us as was explain'd before and I 'm surpriz'd that Philosophers should look upon the reason of this appearance and deceit of our Eyes to be more difficult to find out than the greatest Equations of Algebra This means of Judging of the distance of any Object by the Knowledge of the distance of Things lying betwixt us and it is of great use to us when the other ways which I have spoken of fail us for by this we can Judge that certain Objects are distant from us many Leagues which we cannot by any of the others however if we Examine we shall find many defects in it For first this way serves only to Judge of Objects which are upon the Earth and but very rarely and for the most very unprofitably of Things that are in the Air or in the Heavens Secondly we can't make use of it upon the Earth but in things that are a very few Leagues distant from us And thirdly we must be assur'd that there are betwixt us and the Object neither Vallies Mountains or any such thing which hinders us from making use of this means Lastly I believe there are none who have not had Experience enough in this subject to be perswaded that it is extreamly difficult to make a certain Judgment of the distance of Objects by a sensible view of Things placed betwixt them and the Object But I have enlarg'd too much already upon this head These are the Means by which we Judge of the distance of Objects we have observ'd considerable defects in them and may conclude that the Judgments which are form'd upon them must be very uncertain Hence I can easily show the Truth of the Propositions which I have advanced I have suppos'd the Object at * See the preceding Figure C considerable distant from A then it may by many steps advance towards D or B without my knowing it since I have no certain means to judge of its distance it may even be suppos'd to recede towards D when 't is imagin'd to approach towards B because the Image of the Object is sometimes Painted greater upon the Optic Nerves whether because the Air which is betwixt the Object and the Eye causes a greater refraction one time than another or whether it happens sometimes from the little tremblings of this Nerve or lastly whether the Impression which the imperfect uniting of the Rays upon the Optic Nerve are dispers'd and communicated to the parts which ought not to be affected with them for it may happen from many different Causes Thus the Image of the same Objects being enlarg'd on these occasions inclines the Soul to believe the Object is near Suppose as much be said about the other Propositions Before I conclude this Chapter I must observe that it much concerns us for the preservation of our Life to know well the Motion and Rest of Bodies in proportion to their nearness to us and that it signifies little to have an exact Knowledge of the Truth of these Things when they are remov'd to a great distance from us This will evidently show that what I have advanc'd in general about all the Senses as
that External Objects emit the Species or Images which represent them And 't is only upon this Foundation that they multiply their Faculties and defend their active intellect So that this Foundation having no Solidity as shall soon be shewn it will be unnecessary to spend any time to overturn the Superstructure We are assur'd then that it is improbable that Objects should emit their Images or Species which represent them for these reasons 1. From the impenetrability of Objects All Objects as the Sun Stars and all such as are near the Eyes cannot emit Species which are different from their respective Natures Wherefore Philosophers commonly say that these Species are Gross and Material in which they differ from express'd Species which are Spiritualised These impress'd Species of Objects then are little Bodies they cannot therefore be penetrated nor all the Spaces which are betwixt the Earth and the Heaven which must be full of them Whence it 's easie to conclude they must be bruis'd and broken in moving every way and thus they cannot render Objects visible Moreover one may see from the same place or point a great number of Objects in the Heavens and on the Earth therefore the Species of these Objects can be reduc'd into a Point But they are impenetrable since they are extended Therefore c. But one may not only see a multitude of very great and vast Objects There is no Point in all the great Spaces of the World from whence we cannot discover an almost infinite number of Objects and even Objects as large as the Sun Moon and the Heavens there is therefore no Point in all the World where the Species of all these things ought not to meet which is against all appearance of Truth The Second Reason is taken from the Change which happens in the Species Such as would know how all impressions of Visible Objects however epposite may be communicatedwithout being weaken'd may read Monsicur Descartes his Dioptricks it 's evident that the nearer any Object is the greater its Species ought to be since we see the Object 's greater But what is yet more difficult to conceive according to their Opinion is That if we look upon this Object with a Telescope or a Microscope the Species immediately becomes Six Hundred times as great as it was before for 't is yet more difficultly conceiv'd from what Parts it can grow so great in an instant The Third Reason is when we look upon a perfect Cube all the Species of its Sides are unequal nevertheless we see all the Sides equally Square So when we consider Ellipses and Parallelograms in a Picture which cannot but emit like Species yet we see Circles and Squares This manifestly shews that it is not necessary that the Object beheld should emit Species like it self that it may be seen In fine it cannot be conceiv'd how it can be that a Body which does not sensibly diminish should always emit Species on every Side which should continually fill all the great Spaces about it and that with an inconceivable swiftness For an Object that was hidden in that Instant that it discovers it self may be seen many Millions of Leagues on all Sides and what appears yet more strange is that Bodies in great Motion as Air and some others have not that power of pushing outwards these Images which resemble them as the more gross and quiescent Bodies such as the Earth Stones and generally all hard Bodies have But I shall not stay any longer to enumerate all the contrary Reasons to their Opinion there would be no end a very ordinary Judgment would raise innumerable Objections Those that we have brought are sufficient though they were not so necessary after what has been said upon the Subject of the First Book where the Errors of the Senses were explain'd But there are so great a number of Philosophers wedded to this Opinion that we believe it will be necessary to say something to encline them to reflect upon their own Thoughts CHAP. III. That the Soul has no power of producing Idea's The Cause of Mens Error in reference to this Subject THe Second Opinion is that of those who believe our Souls have any power of producing the Idea's of such things as they will think upon and they are excited to produce them by the Impressions which Objects make upon Bodies although these Impressions are not Images like the Objects which cause them they believe that 't is in this that Man is made after the Image of God and participates of his Power That even as God Created all things out of nothing and can reduce them to nothing again and then Create them anew so Man can Create and Annihilate the Idea's of all things as he pleases But there is great Reasons to distrust all these Opinions which extol a Man these are the Common Thoughts which arise from a vain and proud Original and which the Father of Light hath not inspir'd This participation of the power of God which Men boast of having to represent Objects and of doing many other particular actions is a participation which seems to relate to something of independance as independance is commonly explain'd it is also a Chimerical Participation which Mens Ignorance and Vanity make them to imagine They depend much more than they think upon the Goodness and Mercy of God But this is not a place to explain these things It 's enough if we endeavour to shew that Men have not the Power of forming the Idea's of things which they perceive No one can doubt that Idea's are real Beings since they have real Properties since they differ from one another and represent all different things Nor can we reasonably doubt that they are Spiritual and very different from the Bodies which they represent But it seems reasonable to doubt whether Idea's by whose means we see Bodies are not more Noble than the Bodies themselves for indeed the Intelligible World must be more perfect than the Material and Earthly as we shall see hereafter Thus when we affirm that we have the Power of Forming such Idea's as we please we shall be in danger of perswading our selves to make more Noble and Perfect Beings than the World which God hath Created However some do not reflect upon it because they imagin that an Idea is Nothing since it is not to be felt or else if they look upon it as a Being 't is a very mean contemptible one because they imagin it to be annihilated as soon as it is no longer present to the Mind But supposing it true that Idea's were only little contemptible Beings yet they are Beings and Spiritual Ones and Men not having the power of Believing it follows that they cannot produce them for the production of Idea's after the manner before explain'd is a true Creation and although Men endeavour to palliate and mollifie the hardness of this Opinion by saying that the production of Idea's presupposes something else but Creation
same Subject I. Explanation of the Second Rule of Curiosity II. Explanation of the Third THE Second Rule that must be observ'd is I. Second Rule of Curlosity That Novelty must never serve as a Reason to believe that things are True We have already said several times that Men must not rest in Error and in the False Felicities they enjoy That it is necessary they should Search after the Evidence of Truth and the real Felicity they do not possess and consequently that they should look after such things as are New and Extraordinary But therefore it does not follow that they should always stick to them nor believe without reason that Opinions are True because they are New and that those are real Felicities which they have not as yet enjoy'd Novelty should only induce them to examine new things with care they must not despise them because they do not know them nor rashly believe that they contain what they wish and hope for But this often comes to pass Men after having examin'd the Ancient and Common Opinions have not discover'd the Light of Truth in them After having had a Taste of the usual Felicities of the World they have not found that Solid Satisfaction in them which should accompany the Possession of a real Good So that their Desires and their Eagerness are not allay'd by the usual Opinions and common Felicities For which reason when they hear any thing that is New and Extraordinary the Idea of Novelty puts them in hopes at first That it is the thing they are in Search of And whereas it is Natural to Flatter our selves and to believe that Things are as we wish they might be their Hopes increase proportionably to their Desires And in fine they Insensibly change into Imaginary Assurances In the next place They joyn the Idea of Novelty and the Idea of Truth so close together that the one never offers it self without the other and that which is most New appears to them to be more True and better than that which is more Usual and Common in which they are very different from those who out of Aversion to Heresie have joyn'd the Idea of Novelty to that of Falseness imagining that all New Opinions are False and Dangerous Therefore we may say that this usual Disposition of the Mind and of the Heart of Men in relation to that which bears the Character of Novelty is one of the most general Causes of Errors for it seldom leads them to Truth whenever it does it is by Chance and good Luck And finally It always directs them from their real Happiness by engaging them in that Multiplicity of Divertisements and False Felicities that the World abounds with And this is the most Dangerous Error into which they can fall The Third Rule against the Excessive Desires of Novelty is II. Third Rule of Curiosity That when we are certain that some Truths are so Mysterious that it is Morally Impossible to discover them and that some Felicities are so Inconsiderable that they can never make us Happy we ought not to suffer our selves to be Excited by the Novelty of them Every body may know by Faith by Reason and Experience that created Goods can never fill the Insinite Capacity of the Will Faith teaches us That all the Things of this World are only Vanity and that our Happiness neither consists in Honours or Riches Reason assures us That since it is not in our Power to bound our Desires and that we are Naturally inclin'd to Love all Felicities we can never be Happy without Possessing that which Includes them all Our own Experience makes us Sensible that we are not Happy in the Possession of those Goods which we do enjoy since we still wish for more Finally We daily see that the Great Felicities which the most Powerful Princes and Kings enjoy on Earth are not capable to satisfie their Desires that they are even more Uneasie and more Unhappy than others and that being Seated on the highest Spoke of the Wheel of Fortune they are the more liable to be precipitated and shook by its Motion than those that are underneath them or nearer to the Center For they never fall but from on high their Wounds are always great and all the Grandeur they are attended with and which they annex to their own Being serves only to Swell and Aggrandize them to make them more Sensible of a greater number of Wounds and expose them the more to the Strokes of Fortune So that Faith Reason and Experience convincing us that the Delights and Pleasures of the Earth which we have not as yet tasted could not make us Happy though we should enjoy them We must be very careful according to that Third Rule not to suffer our selves to be Foolishly Flatter'd with vain Hopes of Happiness which increasing by degrees proportionably to our Passion and to our Desires would change at last into a False Assurance For when we have a Violent Passion for any Good we always look upon it to be very great and we perswade our selves Insensibly that the Possession of it will make us Happy Therefore we must resist those Vain Desires since our Endeavours to satisfie them would be in vain But particularly because that by abandoning our selves to our Passions and by employing our time to gratifie them we lose God and all things with him We only wander from one False Felicity to another We always live in False Hopes We dissipate our Spirits and are agitated a Thousand different ways We meet Oppositions every where because the Advantages we seek for are desired by many and cannot be possessed by many For as St. Paul teaches us Chap. 6. to Tim. Those that have a mind to grow Rich fall into Temptations and into a Snare of the Devil and into divers useless pernicious Desires which precipitate Men into the Abyss of Perdition and Damnation for Covetousness is the Root of all Evil. And as we ought not to seek after the Goods of the World which are new because we are assur'd that we shall not find the Happiness we look for neither ought we to have the least Desire of knowing new Opinions upon a great number of difficult Questions because we are inform'd that the Mind of Man is not capable of discovering the Truth of them Most of the Questions that are treated of in Morality and particularly in Natural Philosophy are of that kind and therefore it behoves us to be very diffident of many Books that are daily written upon those Obscure Intricate Matters For though absolutely speaking the Questions they contain may be resolv'd there are still so few Truths discover'd and so many others to know before we can come to those the said Books treat of that we cannot read them without adventuring to lose considerably Yet Men do not regulate themselves thus they do quite the contrary They do not examine whether what is said to them is possible Do but promise them
and in Truth and to whom they Sacrifice themselves But whereas the True God threatens them in the Secret of their Consciences with an Eternity of Torments to punish the Excess of their Ingratitude yet they will not quit their Idolatry they bethink themselves of performing some good Works externally They Fast like others they give Alms they say Prayers they continue for some time in the like Exercises and whereas they are troublesom to those that want Charity they leave them commonly to imbrace certain little Practices or easie Devotions which agreeing with Self-Love necessarily and insensibly overthrows all the Morals of Jesus Christ They are Faithful Earnest and Zealous Defenders of those Humane Traditions which Ignorant Persons perswade them to be very Useful and such things as the Idea of Eternity that frightens them does continually represent they eagerly defend as absolutely necessary for their Salvation It is not so with the Just They hear the Threatnings of their God as well as the Impious but the confused Noise of their Passions does not hinder them from hearkning to his Counsels The false Rays of Humane Tradition do not blind them so far as to make them Insensible of the Light of Truth They put their Confidence in the Promises of Jesus Christ and they follow his Councils for they know that the Promises of Men are as Vain as their Counsels Nevertheless we may say That that Fear which the Idea of Eternity creates in their Mind produces sometimes so great a Disorder in their Imagination that they dare not absolutely Condemn those Humane Traditions and that sometimes they approve them by their Example because they have some Appearance of Wisdom in their Superstition and in their False Humility like those Pharisaical Traditions mentioned by St. Paul Col. 2.22 23. But that which is particularly worthy of Consideration and which does not so much relate to the Corruption of Manners as to the Disorder of the Mind is That the Fear we have before mentioned extends to the Faith as well as the Zeal of those that are affected with it even to Things that are False and Unworthy the Holiness of our Religion There are many People who do believe and that with an Obstinate Faith That the Earth is Immovable in the Center of the World That Animals are Sensible of real Pain That there are Forms or Accidents really distinct from Matter And a World of the like False or Uncertain Opinions because they fancy that they should oppose the Faith in denying it They are frighten'd by the Expressions of the Holy Bible which speaks to our Capacity and consequently makes use of the common Manner of Speaking without any Design to Instruct us in Natural Philosophy They do not only believe what the Spirit of God will teach them but also all the Opinions of the Jews They do not see for Example that Joshua speaks before his Soldiers as Copernicus himself Galileus and Descartes would speak to the Vulgar part of Mankind and that though he had been of the Opinion of these last Philosophers he would not have commanded the Earth to stand still because he could not have made his Army Sensible by unintelligible words of the Miracle which God perform'd for his People Those who are of Opinion that the Sun is Immovable nevertheless tell their Servants their Friends and even those that are of their Opinion that the Sun Rises or Sets They always speak like other Men when their Principal Design is not to Philosophise Did Joshua perfectly understand Astronomy or if he did did his Souldiers understand it Or if both he and his Souldiers were skill'd in it can any body think that they design'd to Philosophise while they only thought of Fighting Therefore Joshua spoke as he ought to do although both he and his Souldiers had believ'd what the most Eminent Astronomers believe at this time Nevertheless those words of that great Captain Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and what is said afterwards that the Sun stood still according to his Command perswade many People that the Opinion of the Motion of the Earth is not only a dangerous Opinion but that it is also absolutely Heretical and not to be maintain'd They have heard that some Pious Persons for whom we ought to have a great deal of Respect and Deference condemn'd that Opinion They have a confused Knowledge of something that happen'd upon that Subject to a Famous Astronomer of our Age and that seems sufficient for them to believe Obstinately that Faith extends even to that Opinion A certain confus'd Sentiment excited and entertain'd by a Motion of Fear which they hardly perceive makes them harbour Diffidences against those that follow Reason in things which relate to Reason They look upon them as Hereticks They are Uneasie and Troubled whenever they hear them speak and their Secret Apprehensions create in their Minds the same Respect and the same Submission for their own vulgar Opinions and for many other Notions of Philosophy as for Truths which are the Objects of Faith CHAP. XIII I. Of the Third Natural Inclination which is the Friendship we have for other Men. II. It Induces us to approve our Friends Thoughts and to deceive them by False Praises OF all our Inclinations taken in General and in the Sense I have explain'd it in the first Chapter there only remains that which we have for those we Live with and for all the Objects that are about us of which I shall hardly say any thing because that relates more to Morality and Policy than to our Subject As that Inclination is always joyn'd with the Passions it would perhaps be sitter to speak of it in the following Book But Order is not of so much Consequence in that Point In order rightly to apprehend the Causes and Effects of that Natural Inclination I. Of the Third Natural Inclination which is the Friendship we have for other Men. it is fit to know that God Loves all his Works and that he Unites them strictly one to another for their Mutual Preservation For continually loving the Works he produces since they are produc'd by his Love he also continually Imprints in our Hearts a Love for his Works since he continually produces a Love in our Hearts like unto his And to the end the Natural Love we have for our selves may not Annihilate it self and overmuch weaken that which we have for the Things that are not in us And on the contrary That those two Loves which God puts in us may maintain and strengthen each other he has united us in such a manner to all things that are about us and particularly with the Beings of the same Species with us that their Sufferings Afflict us Naturally their Joy Rejoyces us and their Grandeur their Fall their Diminution seems to Augment or to diminish our own Being The new Dignities of our Relations and Friends the new Acquisitions of those that have most relation to us the Conquests and Victories
by different Observations discover the Bonds that unite us one to another but it is impossible to know how that is done We easily see how a Watch points out the Hour but it requires time to discover the Reasons of it and there are so many different Springs in the Brain of the least Animal that nothing can equal it in the most studied Machines If it is not possible perfectly to apprehend the Springs of our Machine neither is it absolutely necessary but it is absolutely necessary in order to govern our selves to know the Effects which those Springs are capable of producing in us It is not necessary to know how a Watch is made to use it but if Men will use it to regulate their time it is at least necessary to know that it points at the hours Nevertheless there are some so little capable of Reflection that one might almost compare them to inanimated Machines they do not feel in themselves the Springs which slacken at the sight of Objects they are often agitated without perceiving their own Motions they are Slaves without feeling their Bonds Finally They are guided a Thousand different ways without knowing the Hand of him that guides them They think themselves the only Authors of all their Motions and not distinguishing what passes within them as a Consequence of a Free Act of their Will from that which is produced there by the Impression of the Bodies which are about them they think they guide themselves while they are guided by some other But this is not a proper place to explain these things The Relations which the Author of Nature has put between our Natural Inclinations in order to Unite us together seems yet more worthy of our Application and Enquiries than those that are between Bodies or between Minds in relation to Bodies For all things are regulated there in such a manner that the Inclinations which seem to be most opposite to Society are the most useful when they are somewhat moderated The desire for Instance which all Men have for Grandeur tends to the Dissolution of all Societies Nevertheless that desire is temper'd in such a manner by the Order of Nature that it serves more for the good of the Publick than many other feeble Languishing Inclinations For it gives Emulation it Excites Men to Vertue it Buoyes up their Courage in the Services they do their Country and so many Victories would not be won did not Soldiers and particularly Officers aspire to Glory and to Imployments Thus all those who Compose Armies designing only their own Interest do notwithstanding procure the Good of their Country Which shews that it is very advantageous for the Publick Good that all Men should have a secret desire of Grandeur provided it be moderated But should all private Persons appear to be what they really are should they freely tell others that they design to be the principal Parts or Members of the Body they Compose and never to be the least it would not be the way to Unite them together All the Members of a Body cannot be the Head and Heart of it There must be Feet and Hands little ones as well as great ones Men to Obey as well as to Command and should every Body say openly that they will Command and never Obey as indeed every Body wishes Naturally it is visible that all Bodies Politick would destroy themselves and Disorder and Injustice would Reign every where Therefore it was necessary that those who have most Sense and are the fittest to become the Noble Parts of that Body and to Command the rest should be Naturally Civil that is they should be induc'd by a secret Inclination to shew others by their Behaviour and Affable and Gentile Expressions that they think themselves unworthy of being thought on and that they believe they are the least of Men But that those they speak to are worthy of all sorts of Honours and that they have a great Esteem and Veneration for them In fine to supply the defect of Charity and the Love of Order it has been necessary that those who Command others should have the Art of deceiving 'em by an Imaginary Humiliation which only consists in Civilities and Words in order to enjoy that preheminence without Envy which is necessary in the whole Body For thus all Men do in some measure possess the Grandeur they desire The great ones possess it in reality * I speak as a Man for the true Grandeur of the Earth does not consist in a turn of imagination and the little ones and the weak only possess it in Imagination being perswaded in some measure by the Compliments of others that they are not look'd upon as they are that is as the least of Men. It is easie to conclude by the by from what we have said That it is a great Breach of Civility to speak often of ones self especially advantageously though one did possess all sorts of good Qualifications since it is not allowable to speak to those we Converse with as if we were above them unless it be on certain occasions and when there are External and Sensible Characters which Elevate us above them For Contempt is the greatest of all Injuries It is that which is most capable of destroying Society and we must not expect that a Man to whom we have given a hint that we look upon him to be below us will ever join with us because Men cannot endure to be thought the meanest part of the Body they Compose The Inclination of Men for Compliments is therefore very proper to Counterpoise that which they have for Esteem and Preferment and to soften the Internal Pain which those feel that are the meanest parts of the Body Politick and it is most certain that the mixture of those two Inclinations does produce very good Effects to maintain Society But there is a strange Corruption in those Inclinations as well as in the Friendship Compassion and Good Will of the others which tend to Unite Men together That which ought to maintain Civil Society often causes the Communication and Establishment of Error Of all the Inclinations that are necessary for Civil Society II. That Inclination induces us to approve the thoughts of our Friends and to deceive them by false Praises those which throw us most into Error are Friendship Favour Gratitude and all the other Inclinations which induce us to speak too advantageously of others when they are present We do not limit our Love to the Persons of our Friends but we also Love whatever does any way belong to them And as they commonly express some Passion in the Defence of their Opinions they insensibly incline us to believe them to approve them and even to defend them with more Obstinacy and Passion than they do themselves Because it would often look ill in them to maintain their own Opinions with Heat But no Body can find fault with us if we defend them In them it would be