See fkulking Truth to her old cavern fled, Mountains of Casuistry heap'd o'er her head! VARIATIONS. VER. 643. In the former Edd. it stood thus, Philofophy, that reach'd the Heav'ns before, Shrinks to her hidden cause, and is no more ! And this was intended as a cenfure of the Newtonian philo fophy. For the Poet had been misled by the prejudices of foreigners, as if that philofophy had recurred to the occult qualities of Ariftotle. This was the idea he received of it from a man educated much abroad, who had read every thing, but every thing fuperficially. Had his excellent friend Dr. A. been confulted in this matter, it is certain that fo unjuft a reflection had never difcredited fo noble a satire. When I hinted to him how he had been impofed upon, he changed the lines with great pleasure into a compliment (as they now stand) on that divine Genius, and a fatire on that very folly by which he himfelf had been mifled. REMARK S. VER. 641. Truth to her old Cavern fied,] Alluding to the faying of Democritus, That Truth day at the bottom of a deep well, from whence he had drawn her: Though Butler fays, He firft put her in, before he drew her out. VER. 643. Philosophy, that lean'd on Heav'n] Philofophy has at length brought things to that país, as to have it efteemed unphilofophical to reft in the first caufe; as if its ends were an endless indagation of caufe after caufe, without ever coming to the firft. So that to avoid this unlearned difgrace, fome of the propagators of our best philofophy have had, recourfe to the contrivance here hinted at. For this philofophy, which is founded in the principle of Gravi tation, first confidered that property in matter, as fomething extrinfical to it, and impreffed immediately by God, upon ¡t. Which fairly and modeftly coming up to the first Cause, Phyfic of Metaph fic begs defence, REMARK S. 645 was pushing natural enquiries as far as they fhould go. But this flopping, though at the extent of our ideas, and on the maxim of the great founder of this Philosophy, Bacon, who fays Circa ultimates rerum fruftranea eft inquifitio, was mistaken by foreign philofophers as recurring to the occult qualities of the Peripatetics: whofe fenfe is thus delivered by a great Poet, whom, indeed, it more became than a Philofopher. "Sed gravitas etiam crefcat, dum corpora centro "Accedunt propius. Videor mihi cernere terrâ "Emergens quidquid caliginis ac tenebrarum "Pellai Juvenis Doctor conjecerat olim "In Phyficæ ftudium. Anti-Lucr. To avoid which imaginary difcredit to the new theory, it was thought proper to feek for the cause of gravitation in a certain fubtile matter or elaftic fluid, which pervaded all body. By this means, inftead of really advancing in natural enquiries, we were brought back again, by this ingenious expedient, to an unfatisfactory fecond caufe: Philofophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before, "Shrinks to her fecond caufe, and is no more. For it might still, by the fame kind of objection, be afked, what was the caufe of that elafticity? See this folly cenfured, ver. 475. and confuted in the following words of an excellent Philofopher, who having demonftrated the abfolute impoffibility of any fubtile matter or elaftic fluid's being able to perform the office here affigned to it, as it muft impell every particle of matter an infinite number of different ways at once, and inceffantly, goes on thus, "When it is faid that "the higher we rife in the SCALE OF NATURE towards the "fupreme caufe, the views we have from Philofophy appear more beautiful and extenfive; we may obferve that the fcale of "material caufes in philofophy is not like the rifing Scale of Beings in the creation: though the fuppofed fcale here, "seems to have been taken from that. In the fcale of BEINGS, "the beginning is low; and every fpecies rifes in perfection 66 See Mystery to Mathematics fly! In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die. REMARK S. "as we afcend: There is an amazing variety, from dead "matter, to living fpirit: nor does the gradation end there. "This is full of inftruction and delight: we fee ourselves "in the middle of the feale, and are certain of rifing higher, "as rational beings were not made for utter extinction. "But it is not fo in a fcale of material CAUSES. There are "no degrees of perfection in matter. All matter is equally "an unactive fubftance, that refifts a change of its state. "The higher we had afcended in fuch a fcale, we should "have met with the more obfcurity. We fee it is fo in ❝ us. reality to those who pretend to mount this way. The first fort of matter might perhaps have been feen easily; "the fecond, but darkly; and the third, not at all. This "had been the way for the Deity to conceal himself: And "this is the view which this philofophy endeavours to give It is equivocal language to fpeak of rifing towards "the fupreme caufe through a fcale of material caufes. No Philofophy ever yet difcovered the fecond ftep of the scale. "I fee a stone fall. I am certain there is but one ftep here. "A fluid that impreffed a crufhing force on a small piece of "matter, would have as much overcome my ftrength to "wade through it, as if I had endeavoured to walk in the "bottom of an ocean of Mercury, or fomething more dense. "Thus we fee their second step is a fiction, to divert the ❝attention, and fet us a gazing at fomething that cannot be "feen. The views that we have from this Philofophy are "indeed very dark and myfterious. Philofophers fpeak of "not excluding the Deity out of nature, as of a favour: But "they endeavour to exclude him from every thing we can point out, to discover him. They endeavour to make us "eafy, by telling us, he is every where active, and every where "prefent: But at the fame time they try to reftrain his acti"vity, to quadrate with their hypothefis; and make him "prefent, only that SUBTILE MATTER may exercise his "power and knowledge. Nothing can derogate more from "the Government and Influences of the Deity."- -BAXTER. Appendix to his Inquiry into the nature of the human foul, p. 194. Religion blushing veils her facred fires, REMARK S. 650 VER. 645, 646. Physic of Metaphyfic, etc.-And Metaphyfic calls, &c.] Certain writers, as Malbranche, Norris, and others, have thought it of importance, in order to fecure the existence of the foul, to bring in question the reality of body; which they have attempted to do by a very refined metaphyfical reafoning: While others of the fame party, in order to perfuade us of the neceffity of a Revelation which promises immortality, have been as anxious to prove that thofe qualities which are commonly fuppofed to belong.only to an immaterial Being are but the refult from certain difpofitions of the particles of matter, and confequently that the foul is naturally mortal. Thus, between these different reafonings, they have left us neither Soul nor Body; nor, the Sciences of Phyfics and Metaphyfics the leaft fupport, by making them depend upon, and go a begging to, one another. VER. 647. See Myftery to Mathematics Ay!] A fort of men, who make human reafon the adequate measure of all. Truth, having pretended that whatsoever is not fully comprehended by it, is contrary to it; certain defenders of Religion who would not be outdone in a paradox, have gone as far in the oppofite folly, and attempted to fhew that the Myfteries of Religion may be mathematically demonftrated; as the authors of Philofophic, or Aftronomie Principles of Religion, natural and revealed; who have much prided themfelves on reflecting a fantastic light upon religion from the frigid fubtilty of fchool moonshine. VER. 649. Religion blushing veils her facred fires,] Blufbing as well at the memory of the paft overflow of dulnefs, when the barbarous learning of fo many ages was wholly employed in corrupting the fimplicity, and defiling the purity of Reli gion, as at the view of these her falfe fupports in the prefent; of which it would be endlefs to recount the particulars. However amidst the extinction of all other Lights, fhe is faid only to withdraw hers; as hers alone, in its own nature, is unextinguishable and eternal. VER. 650. And unawares Morality expires.] It appears from hence that our Poet was of very different fentiments VOL. V. Y Nor public Flame, nor private, dares to shine; Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall; 655 REMARK S. from the Author of the Characteristics, who has written a formal treatife on Virtue, to prove it not only real but durable, without the fupport of Religion. The word unawares alludes to the confidence of thofe men, who supposed that Morality would flourish beft without it; and confequently to the furprize fuch would be in (if any fuch there are) who indeed love Virtue, and yet do all they can to root out the Religion of their Country. |