Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	common_a	nature_n	reason_n	4,591	5	4.8578	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29780	Miracles, work's above and contrary to nature, or, An answer to a late translation out of Spinoza's Tractatus theologico-politicus, Mr. Hobbs's Leviathan, &c. published to undermine the truth and authority of miracles, Scripture, and religion, in a treatise entituled, Miracles no violation of the laws of nature.	Browne, Thomas, 1654?-1741.	1683 (1683)	Wing B5062; ESTC R1298	42,132	76

nothing in the World happens contrary to Nature but that Nature keeps an eternal fixt and immutable Order Before I come to examine his Arguments I shall 1. State what is meant by Nature and the Laws of it in this Controversy 2. Lay down the main Grounds whereupon the possibility of Miracles depends 1. What is the meaning of the Word Nature and the Laws of it in this Controversy A Miracle in the common acceptation of the Word which Spinoza opposes is taken for a Work beside above or contrary to Nature beside the order above the force and contrary to the Laws of it Now the Word Nature may be taken in many Significations Eeither 1. For the Essence of any but properly of Material and Corruptible Beings Or 2. For the Aggregate of them the Material World Or 3. For the Author of Nature God himself called thence Natura Naturans Or Lastly For the Order of the several Bodies as they act amongst one another according to their innate Powers and Dispositions Now the acception of the Word here is for the Aggregate of Bodies in the World and the Order wherein they act amongst one another And so the Laws of Nature must be such as determine the Manner wherein Natural bodies act among themselves whether they be the general Laws of Motion which determine how each part of Matter must be moved upon the occurrence of other Bodies or particular Laws impressed upon their several Natures determining each to act in such or such a particular manner The question therefore about the possibility of Miracles must be this Whether there can be any such Effects in the Material World as are beside above or contrary to the Order wherein Natural Bodies are determined to act among themselves i. e. such Effects as transcend their Power and Efficacy and deviate from or are repugnant to the general or particular Laws of motion determining them to act 2. The Question therefore thus stated I am to shew what are the main Grounds whereupon the Possibility of Miracles depends And I think it may be rationally deduced from these Principles God is able to effect any thing which neither does 1. Imply a Contradiction in the Nature of the thing it self nor 2. Is repugnant to the Nature of God and his infinite Perfection Omnipotence is properly a Power to bring any thing to Effect which does not imply a Contradiction and the Contradiction must lie in one or the other of these two I am to shew therefore that a Miracle or a Work above Nature is not impossible upon either Account 1. A Miracle does not imply a Contradiction in the Nature of the Thing Every Miraculous effect is either a Production of something by a Supernatural Power or a Suspension or utter Abolition of its Being The thing produced or destroyed by Miracle is either Matter it self or a Form Quality Motion or any other Accident of it 1. Matter as suppose a new Portion of it created beyond the extent of this World or the Matter of this World or any determinate Portion of it reduced to nothing 2. A Form Quality Motion or any other Accident of Matter as suppose 1. God should endue any part of Matter with a Form Quality or any other Accident above or contrary to what it other wise might or should have by the course of Nature 2. God should devest any part of Matter of any Form Quality Motion c. which otherwise it must have by the course of Nature Two kinds of Miracles therefore we have here 1. When a portion of Matter is created a-new or reduced to nothing 2. When a Form Quality or Motion or a-any other Accident of Matter is produced suspended or destoyed in a Supernatural Manner And to these two are reducible all Effects above or contrary to the Order of Nature as the whole Frame and Order of Nature is made up of Matter and the Forms Qualities Motions and other Accidents thereof Now neither of these implyes a Contradiction in the Nature of The thing 1. It does not imply a Contradiction for a Portion of Matter to be created a-new or to be reduced to nothing Matter in its own Nature is a Being possible and contingent Possible because its Idea or Conception is not a mere Chimaera and a Notion that destroys it self contingent because it 's Idea or Conception does not include necessity of Existence If matter therefore be in its own Nature a thing possible then unless the Matter of the present World be extended in infinitum which is a Contradiction there is still room and possibility for more to be created but this must be by Miracle quia ex nihilo nihil fit naturaliter Again if matter be in its own Nature a contingent being the Matter of the World or any determinate Portion of it may cease to be or be reduce to nothing but this too must be by Miracle quia in nihilum nihil revertitur naturaliter Possibile therefore it is in the Nature of the thing for a Portion of Matter to be created a-new or reduced to nothing 2. It does not imply a Contradiction for a Form Quality Motion or other Accident of Matter to be produced suspended or destroyed in a Supernatural manner For instance the Form of a Serpent to be produced and again destroyed in Aarons Rod the form and qualities of Blood in the Waters of the Nile of Lice in the Dust of the Earth of Wine in the Water at the Marriage Feast at Cana of Galilee The qualities and powers of Sight in the Blind Hearing in the Deaf Speech in the Dumb Strengh in the Lame Health in the Sick Life in the Dead lastly the form of Bread or the very Humane Nature it self in the matter of a Stone The motion of Ten degrees backward in the Sun for a Sign to Hezekiah and the Suspension of his Natural Motion for a considerable time at the request of Joshua the production or determination of Fire from Heaven at the Word and Prayer of Elijah upon his Sacrifice and the Captains c. sent to apprehend him and the suspension of the action of Fire in Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace The production or determination of the Wind to bring the Locusts and drive them back and to force back the Waters of the Red-Sea at the stretching forth of Moses's Rod And the ceasing of the Wind and Storm at our Saviours command In all these Instances there is nothing done but only a Form Quality Motion or the like produced suspended or destroyed in the parts of Matter by a Power above Nature And that nothing of all this implies any Contradiction in the Nature of the thing may be thus made to appear Matter in its own Nature is indifferently susceptible of any Form or Qualities imaginable and therefore is in it self capable at any time of being without those Forms and Qualities which it has or of having any others instead thereof Capable it is

Question properly admits 2. That his Argument as it proceeds upon his own Principles terminates directly in flat Atheisme or Idolatry 3. That setting aside his own Principles his Argument may in some sense be true and yet not infer the truth of his Conclusion 1. He takes the Word Nature in another sense than this Question properly admits By Nature as I shewed above is meant here the whole aggregate and compages of Bodies in the World and the Order wherein they act amongst one another In this sense therefore Spinoza must be presumed to prove That nothing happens contrary to Nature which whether he does or no will immediately appear In the Conclusion of this first Argument to these Words Nihil igitur in Naturâ contingit quod ipsius Legibus universalibus repugnat c. He subjoyns this Marginal Note N. B. me hîc per Naturam non intelligere solam materiam ejusque affectiones sed praeter materiam alia infinita The Translator I confess has it not whether omitted as impertinent only or as that which would too openly discover the weakness of his reasoning I do not determine but I shall take leave to consider what he has as Spinoza's and not his own Now if Spinoza take the Word Nature in so great a Latitude as to understand by it an infinite number of other things besides Matter he may find it pretty easie to reduce all things within its compass and if he make the Laws of Nature in his sense of so great extent it may be hard for any thing not to fall within their Circuit and Jurisdiction but then the Philosopher's way of Arguing will be as much beside the Question as a Miracle is beside Nature The Schoolmen where they treat of Laws make the first division of them into the Eternal Law and those that are derived from it The Eternal two-fold 1. The Order whereby God eternally decreed to do all things 2. The Order which he decreed to prescribe to his Creatures to be observed by them according to their several Natures and Conditions The latter is branched out in these particulars the Law of Natural Agents of Angels and Men and this either the Law of Natural Reason Divine Revelation or Humane Institution This second Eternal Law and the branches of it are such as that the several Agents to whom they were given may swerve from and not Act in a constant and uniform obedience to them So the Angels first violated their Law then Mankind theirs as they daily do all Laws Natural and Positive Divine and Humane The natural Agents indeed as not endued with freedom of Will observe one constant Order and Tenor if left to themselves yet may either cease to Act or Act otherwise if God in his eternal purpose think fit to interpose who can then either suspend their Operations or determine them to act beyond their Sphere beside their usual course and contrary to their natural tendencies and the Laws of their Motion But the first Eternal Laws is of universal extent and holds inviolably Nothing can fall out beside above or contrary to it It directs to its own grand purposes whatever strayes from the particular Laws of its Creation draws good out of evil and makes all Events conspire to the setting forth of the Glory of God It ordains the sins of lapsed Angels and Men to the irrevokable Damnation of the first and the Redemption of the latter by the most surprizing and mysterious Methods of love and mercy It provides for a suppliment to the lost or decayed light of Nature the Revelations of Law and Gospel by Moses and the Prophets our blessed Saviour and his Apostles and to attest their Divine Authority and Mission ordains Nature to act above or contrary to her self by an obediential Power The same eternal Act of the Divine Counsel decreeing the production of miraculous Effects upon emergent occasions which first determined into Act the whole Frame and Order of Nature We see here an Vniversal Law from whence all things follow and contrary to which nothing does or can fall out An Order eternal fixt and immutable set down with himself by that Supream being who worketh all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That by this he hath appointed times for Miraculous and Supernatural Effects as well as this lasting Period for the constant and settled operations of Nature If this be Spinoza's Law of Nature where he extends the Signification of that Word infinitely beyond the compass of the material World and the order whereby Natural Bodies act therein his Proposition may be true That nothing falls out contrary to Nature but Nature keeps an eternal fixt and immutable Order But then 1. He takes the Word Nature in a different sense from all the World besides 2. Wholely leaves the Question about the possibility of Miracles that being consistent with the Truth of his Proposition if taken in that sense And I wish his sense were so Orthodox as this I have hinted and that all his fault were only that he has mistaken the state of the Question and the meaning of the Terms of it But it will appear far otherwise when we come to examine upon what Principles his Argument proceeds His Argument is this The Laws of Nature are the Decrees of God and therefore involve eternal necessity and truth Ergo nothing can fall out contrary to Nature but Nature keeps an eternal fixt and immutable Order The ground of the Argument lies in this That whatever God Wills or Decrees involves eternal necessity and truth For the proof whereof Spinoza referrs us to his Fourth Chapter The Argument which he brings for it there is drawn from the Identity 〈◊〉 the Divine Will and Vnderstanding and it proceeds thus All the difference between the Understanding and Will of God is he says onely in our conception and that in this manner We conceive God to understand any thing as for instance the Nature of a Triangle when we regard only this That the Nature v. c. of a Triangle is contained eternally in the Divine Nature as an eternal Truth We conceive God to will the same thing when we regard this farther That the Nature v. c. of a Triangle is so contained in the Divine not upon account of the necessity of the nature of a Triangle it self but upon account of the necessity of the Divine Nature and that all the necessity of the nature of a Triangle and its properties as they are conceived as eternal Truths depends not upon the necessity of its own Nature but the Divine So that for God to Will or Decree any thing is for the same to be contained necessarily in the Divine Nature by reason of the necessity of it as an eternal truth And therefore Whatever God wills or decrees involves eternal truth and necessity This is his Principle which he borrows from his Fourth Chapter and we see it is grounded upon a particular Notion which he had