Creation A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books. By Sir Richard Blackmore. The Second Edition |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. | BOOK V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
 | Creation |  |
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BOOK V.
The ARGUMENT.
The Introduction. A Description of the calamitous
State of Mankind, by reason of innumerable
Woes and Sufferings to which they are obnoxious.
Diseases of the Body. Trouble and
Grief of Mind. Violence and Oppression. The
Vicissitude of human Affairs, and the certain
Prospect of Death. Whence it appears that
suits the State of Mankind, and therefore
desirable, there should be a God. Argument
against the Fatalists, who assert the Eternity
the World. There must be granted some Self-existent
and Independent Being. The Corporeal
World cannot be that Being. Prov'd from
Mutability, and the Variety of Forms rising
and disappearing in the several Parts of Nature.
From the Possibility of conceiving, without
any consequent Contradiction, less or more
Parts in the World, than are actually existent.
From the Possibility of Plants and Animals having
had different Shapes, and Limbs, from
what they now have. The pretended fatal Chain
of Things not self-existent and independent; because
all its Links or Parts are dependent, and
obnoxious to Corruption. Fate a Word without
Sense or Meaning. Two more Arguments against
the Eternity of the World, from the Contemplation
of the Light of the Sun, and of Motion.
Aristotle's Scheme consider'd and confuted.
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Ah hapless Mortal Man! ah rigid Fate
What Cares attend our short, uncertain State?
How wide a Front, how deep and black a Reer
What sad Varieties of Grief and Fear,
Drawn in Array, exert their fatal Rage,
And gall obnoxious Life thro' ev'ry Stage,
From Infancy to Youth, from Youth to Age?
What Cares attend our short, uncertain State?
How wide a Front, how deep and black a Reer
What sad Varieties of Grief and Fear,
Drawn in Array, exert their fatal Rage,
And gall obnoxious Life thro' ev'ry Stage,
From Infancy to Youth, from Youth to Age?
Who can compile a Roll of all our Woes?
Our Friends are faithless, and sincere our Foes
Now sharp Invectives from an envious Tongue
Improve our Errors, and our Virtues wrong:
Th'Oppressor now with arbitrary Might
Tramples on Law, and robs us of our Right.
Dangers unseen on ev'ry Side invade,
And Snares o'er all th'unfaithful Ground are laid.
Our Friends are faithless, and sincere our Foes
Now sharp Invectives from an envious Tongue
Improve our Errors, and our Virtues wrong:
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Tramples on Law, and robs us of our Right.
Dangers unseen on ev'ry Side invade,
And Snares o'er all th'unfaithful Ground are laid.
Oft Wounds from foreign Violence we feel,
Now from the Ruffian's, now the Warrior's Steel:
By Bruises or by Labour we are pain'd;
A Bone disjointed, or a Sinew strain'd.
Now fest'ring Sores afflict our tortur'd Limbs,
Now to the yielding Heart the Gangrene climbs.
Now from the Ruffian's, now the Warrior's Steel:
By Bruises or by Labour we are pain'd;
A Bone disjointed, or a Sinew strain'd.
Now fest'ring Sores afflict our tortur'd Limbs,
Now to the yielding Heart the Gangrene climbs.
Acute Distempers fierce our Veins assail,
Rush on with Fury, and by Storm prevail:
Others with Thrift dispense their Stores of Grief,
And by the Sap prolong the Siege of Life:
While to the Grave we for Deliv'rance cry,
And promis'd still, are still deny'd to die.
Rush on with Fury, and by Storm prevail:
Others with Thrift dispense their Stores of Grief,
And by the Sap prolong the Siege of Life:
While to the Grave we for Deliv'rance cry,
And promis'd still, are still deny'd to die.
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See Cholic, Gout and Stone, a cruel Train
Oppos'd by all the healing Race in vain,
Their various Racks and lingring Plagues employ,
Relieve each other, and by Turns annoy,
And, Tyrant like, torment, but not destroy.
We noxious Insects in our Bowels feed,
Engender Deaths, and dark Destruction breed.
The Spleen with sullen Vapours clouds the Brain,
And binds the Spirits in its heavy Chain:
Howe'er the Cause Phantastick may appear,
Th' Effect is real, and the Pain sincere.
Hydropic Wretches by degrees decay,
Growing the more, the more they waste away:
By their own Ruins they augmented lye,
With Thirst and Heat amidst a Deluge fry.
And while in Floods of Water these expire,
More scorching perish by the Feaver's Fire.
Stretch'd on our downy, yet uneasie Beds,
We change our Pillows, and we raise our Heads:
From Side to Side for Rest in vain we turn,
With Cold we shiver, or with Heat we burn.
Of Night impatient we demand the Day,
The Day arrives, and for the Night we pray:
The Night and Day successive come and go,
Our lasting Pains no Interruption know.
Oppos'd by all the healing Race in vain,
Their various Racks and lingring Plagues employ,
Relieve each other, and by Turns annoy,
And, Tyrant like, torment, but not destroy.
We noxious Insects in our Bowels feed,
Engender Deaths, and dark Destruction breed.
The Spleen with sullen Vapours clouds the Brain,
And binds the Spirits in its heavy Chain:
Howe'er the Cause Phantastick may appear,
Th' Effect is real, and the Pain sincere.
Hydropic Wretches by degrees decay,
Growing the more, the more they waste away:
By their own Ruins they augmented lye,
With Thirst and Heat amidst a Deluge fry.
And while in Floods of Water these expire,
More scorching perish by the Feaver's Fire.
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We change our Pillows, and we raise our Heads:
From Side to Side for Rest in vain we turn,
With Cold we shiver, or with Heat we burn.
Of Night impatient we demand the Day,
The Day arrives, and for the Night we pray:
The Night and Day successive come and go,
Our lasting Pains no Interruption know.
Since Man is born to so much Woe and Care,
Must still new Terrors dread, new Sorrows bear,
Does it not suit the State of human Kind,
There should preside a Good Almighty Mind?
A Cause Supream, that might all Nature steer,
Avert our Danger, and prevent our Fear?
Who, when implor'd, might timely Succour give,
Solace our Anguish, and our Wants relieve:
Father of Comfort might our Souls sustain,
When prest with Grief, and mitigate our Pain.
Must still new Terrors dread, new Sorrows bear,
Does it not suit the State of human Kind,
There should preside a Good Almighty Mind?
A Cause Supream, that might all Nature steer,
Avert our Danger, and prevent our Fear?
Who, when implor'd, might timely Succour give,
Solace our Anguish, and our Wants relieve:
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When prest with Grief, and mitigate our Pain.
'Tis certain Something from all Ages past
Without Beginning was, and still will Last.
For if of Time one Period e'er had been
When Nothing was, then Nothing could Begin,
That Things should to Themselves a Being give,
Reluctant Reason never can conceive.
If you affirm, Effects themselves produce,
You shock the Mind, and Contradiction chuse
For they, 'tis clear, must act and move before
They were in Being, or had Motive Pow'r:
As active Causes, must of right at once
Existence claim, and as Effects, renounce.
Then Something Is which no Beginning had,
A Causeless Cause, or Nothing could be made
Which must by pure Necessity exist,
And whose Duration Nothing can resist.
Without Beginning was, and still will Last.
For if of Time one Period e'er had been
When Nothing was, then Nothing could Begin,
That Things should to Themselves a Being give,
Reluctant Reason never can conceive.
If you affirm, Effects themselves produce,
You shock the Mind, and Contradiction chuse
For they, 'tis clear, must act and move before
They were in Being, or had Motive Pow'r:
As active Causes, must of right at once
Existence claim, and as Effects, renounce.
Then Something Is which no Beginning had,
A Causeless Cause, or Nothing could be made
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And whose Duration Nothing can resist.
Let us enquire, and search by due degrees
What, Who this Self-Existent Being is.
What, Who this Self-Existent Being is.
Should the material World's capacious Frame
Uncaus'd, and independent Being claim,
It would thus form'd and fashion'd, as we see,
Derive Existence from Necessity,
And then to Ages unconfin'd must last
Without the least Diversity or Waste.
Necessity, view'd with attentive Thought,
Does plain Impossibility denote
That Things should not Exist, which Actual are,
Or in another Shape, or diff'rent Modes appear.
Uncaus'd, and independent Being claim,
It would thus form'd and fashion'd, as we see,
Derive Existence from Necessity,
And then to Ages unconfin'd must last
Without the least Diversity or Waste.
Necessity, view'd with attentive Thought,
Does plain Impossibility denote
That Things should not Exist, which Actual are,
Or in another Shape, or diff'rent Modes appear.
But see, in all corporeal Nature's Scene,
What Changes, what Diversities have been?
Matter not long the same Appearance makes,
But shifts her old, and a new Figure takes.
If now she lyes in Winter's rigid Arms
Dishonour'd, and despoil'd of all her Charms,
Soft vernal Airs will loose th' unkind Embrace,
And genial Dews renew her wither'd Face.
Like fabled Nymphs transform'd she's now a Tree,
Now weeps into a Flood, and streaming seeks the Sea.
She's now a gaudy Fly, before a Worm,
Below a Vapour, and above a Storm.
This Ouze was late a Monster of the Main,
That Turf a lowing Grazer of the Plain,
A Lion this did o'er the Forest reign.
Regard that fair, that branching Laurel Plant,
Behold that lovely blushing Amarant;
One William's broken Frame might have assum'd
And one from bright Maria's Dust have bloom'd
These shifting Scenes, these quick Rotations show
Things from Necessity could never flow,
But must to Mind and Choice precarious Being owe.
What Changes, what Diversities have been?
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But shifts her old, and a new Figure takes.
If now she lyes in Winter's rigid Arms
Dishonour'd, and despoil'd of all her Charms,
Soft vernal Airs will loose th' unkind Embrace,
And genial Dews renew her wither'd Face.
Like fabled Nymphs transform'd she's now a Tree,
Now weeps into a Flood, and streaming seeks the Sea.
She's now a gaudy Fly, before a Worm,
Below a Vapour, and above a Storm.
This Ouze was late a Monster of the Main,
That Turf a lowing Grazer of the Plain,
A Lion this did o'er the Forest reign.
Regard that fair, that branching Laurel Plant,
Behold that lovely blushing Amarant;
One William's broken Frame might have assum'd
And one from bright Maria's Dust have bloom'd
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Things from Necessity could never flow,
But must to Mind and Choice precarious Being owe.
Let us suppose that Nature ever was,
Without Beginning, and without a Cause;
As her first Order, Disposition, Frame
Must then subsist Unchangeably the same;
So must our Mind pronounce, it would not be
Within the reach of Possibility,
That e'er the World a Being could have had
Diff'rent from what it is, or could be made
Of more or less, or other Parts, than those
Which the corporeal Universe compose.
How, Fatalist, we ask, if those subvert
Reason's establish'd Maxims, who assert
That we the World's Existence may conceive,
Tho' we one Atome out of Nature leave:
Tho' some one wand'ring Orb, or twinkling Star
Were absent from the Heav'ns, which now is there:
Tho' some one Kind of Plant, or Fly, or Worm
No Being had, or had another Form.
Without Beginning, and without a Cause;
As her first Order, Disposition, Frame
Must then subsist Unchangeably the same;
So must our Mind pronounce, it would not be
Within the reach of Possibility,
That e'er the World a Being could have had
Diff'rent from what it is, or could be made
Of more or less, or other Parts, than those
Which the corporeal Universe compose.
How, Fatalist, we ask, if those subvert
Reason's establish'd Maxims, who assert
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Tho' we one Atome out of Nature leave:
Tho' some one wand'ring Orb, or twinkling Star
Were absent from the Heav'ns, which now is there:
Tho' some one Kind of Plant, or Fly, or Worm
No Being had, or had another Form.
And might not other Animals arise
Of diff'rent Figure, and of diff'rent Size?
In the wide Womb of Possibility
Lye many Things, which ne'er may actual be:
And more Productions of a various Kind
Will cause no Contradiction in the Mind.
'Tis possible the Things in Nature found,
Might diff'rent Forms and diff'rent Parts have own'd.
The Boar might wear a Trunk, the Wolf a Horn,
The Peacock's Train the Bittern might adorn.
Strong Tusks might in the Horse's Mouth have grown,
And Lions might have Spots, and Leopards none.
But if the World knows no Superior Cause,
Obeys no Soveraign's arbitrary Laws;
If absolute Necessity maintains
Of Causes and Effects the fatal Chains;
What could one Motion stop, change one Event?
It would transcend the wide, the vast Extent,
The utmost stretch of Possibility,
That Things, from what they are, should disagree.
Of diff'rent Figure, and of diff'rent Size?
In the wide Womb of Possibility
Lye many Things, which ne'er may actual be:
And more Productions of a various Kind
Will cause no Contradiction in the Mind.
'Tis possible the Things in Nature found,
Might diff'rent Forms and diff'rent Parts have own'd.
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The Peacock's Train the Bittern might adorn.
Strong Tusks might in the Horse's Mouth have grown,
And Lions might have Spots, and Leopards none.
But if the World knows no Superior Cause,
Obeys no Soveraign's arbitrary Laws;
If absolute Necessity maintains
Of Causes and Effects the fatal Chains;
What could one Motion stop, change one Event?
It would transcend the wide, the vast Extent,
The utmost stretch of Possibility,
That Things, from what they are, should disagree.
If to elude this Reas'ning, you reply,
Things what they are, are by Necessity;
Which never else so aptly could conspire
To serve the Whole, and Nature's Ends acquire;
To form the Beauty, Order, Harmony,
Which we thro' all the Works of Nature see.
Ready we this Assertion will allow,
For what can more exalted Wisdom show?
With Zeal we this Necessity defend
Of Means directed to their useful End;
But 'tis not that, which Fatalists intend,
Nor That, which we oppose in this Debate,
An uncontroul'd Necessity of Fate,
Which all Things blindly does, and must produce,
Unconscious of their Goodness and their Use,
Which cannot Ends design, nor Means convenient chuse.
Things what they are, are by Necessity;
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To serve the Whole, and Nature's Ends acquire;
To form the Beauty, Order, Harmony,
Which we thro' all the Works of Nature see.
Ready we this Assertion will allow,
For what can more exalted Wisdom show?
With Zeal we this Necessity defend
Of Means directed to their useful End;
But 'tis not that, which Fatalists intend,
Nor That, which we oppose in this Debate,
An uncontroul'd Necessity of Fate,
Which all Things blindly does, and must produce,
Unconscious of their Goodness and their Use,
Which cannot Ends design, nor Means convenient chuse.
If you persist, and fondly will maintain
Of Causes and Effects an endless Train;
That this successive Series still has been,
Will never cease, and never did begin:
That Things did always, as they do, proceed,
And no first Cause, no Wise Director need:
Say, if no Links of all your fatal Chain
Free from Corruption, and unchang'd remain;
If of the Whole each Part in Time arose,
And to a Cause its borrow'd Being owes;
How then the Whole can Independent be;
How have a Being from Necessity?
Is not the Whole, ye learned Heads, the same
With all the Parts, and different but in Name?
Could e'er that Whole the least Perfection show,
Which from the Parts, that form it, did not flow?
Then, tell us, can it from its Parts derive,
What in themselves those Parts had not to give?
Of Causes and Effects an endless Train;
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Will never cease, and never did begin:
That Things did always, as they do, proceed,
And no first Cause, no Wise Director need:
Say, if no Links of all your fatal Chain
Free from Corruption, and unchang'd remain;
If of the Whole each Part in Time arose,
And to a Cause its borrow'd Being owes;
How then the Whole can Independent be;
How have a Being from Necessity?
Is not the Whole, ye learned Heads, the same
With all the Parts, and different but in Name?
Could e'er that Whole the least Perfection show,
Which from the Parts, that form it, did not flow?
Then, tell us, can it from its Parts derive,
What in themselves those Parts had not to give?
Farther to clear the Subject in Debate,
Inform us, what you understand by Fate.
Have you a just Idea in the Mind
Of this great Cause of Things by you assign'd?
If you the Order and Dependence mean
By which Effects upon their Causes lean,
The long Succession of th' efficient Train,
And firm Coherence of th' extended Chain;
Then Fate is Nothing, but a Mode of Things,
Which from continu'd Revolution springs;
A pure Relation, and a meer Respect
Between the Cause effective and th' Effect.
If Causes and Effects themselves are That,
Which your clear-sighted Schools intend by Fate
Then Fate by no Idea can be known,
'Tis one Thing only, as a Heap is One.
You no distinguish'd Being by it mean,
But all th' Effects and Causes, that have been.
If you assert, that each efficient Cause
Must act by fix'd inevitable Laws:
If you affirm this Necessary State,
And tell us this Necessity is Fate;
When will you bless the World with Light to see
The Spring and Source of this Necessity?
Say, what did so dispose, so Things ordain
To form the Links of all the casual Chain;
That Nature by inevitable Force
Should run one Ring, and keep one steady Course?
That Things must needs in one set Order flow,
And all Events must happen, as they do?
Can you no Proof of your Assertion find?
Produce no Reason to convince the Mind,
That Nature this determin'd Way must go?
Are all Things Thus, because they must be so?
We grant with Ease there is Necessity,
The Source of Things should Self-existent be;
But then he's not a Necessary Cause,
He freely acts by arbitrary Laws.
He gave to Beings motive Energy,
And active Things to passive did apply;
In such wise Order all Things did dispose,
That of Events Necessity arose:
Without his Aid, say, how you will maintain
Your fatal Link of Causes; hence 'tis plain
While the Word Fate you thus affect to use,
You coin a senseless Term th'unwary to amuse.
Inform us, what you understand by Fate.
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Of this great Cause of Things by you assign'd?
If you the Order and Dependence mean
By which Effects upon their Causes lean,
The long Succession of th' efficient Train,
And firm Coherence of th' extended Chain;
Then Fate is Nothing, but a Mode of Things,
Which from continu'd Revolution springs;
A pure Relation, and a meer Respect
Between the Cause effective and th' Effect.
If Causes and Effects themselves are That,
Which your clear-sighted Schools intend by Fate
Then Fate by no Idea can be known,
'Tis one Thing only, as a Heap is One.
You no distinguish'd Being by it mean,
But all th' Effects and Causes, that have been.
If you assert, that each efficient Cause
Must act by fix'd inevitable Laws:
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And tell us this Necessity is Fate;
When will you bless the World with Light to see
The Spring and Source of this Necessity?
Say, what did so dispose, so Things ordain
To form the Links of all the casual Chain;
That Nature by inevitable Force
Should run one Ring, and keep one steady Course?
That Things must needs in one set Order flow,
And all Events must happen, as they do?
Can you no Proof of your Assertion find?
Produce no Reason to convince the Mind,
That Nature this determin'd Way must go?
Are all Things Thus, because they must be so?
We grant with Ease there is Necessity,
The Source of Things should Self-existent be;
But then he's not a Necessary Cause,
He freely acts by arbitrary Laws.
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And active Things to passive did apply;
In such wise Order all Things did dispose,
That of Events Necessity arose:
Without his Aid, say, how you will maintain
Your fatal Link of Causes; hence 'tis plain
While the Word Fate you thus affect to use,
You coin a senseless Term th'unwary to amuse.
You, who assert the World did ne'er commence
Prepare against this Reas'ning your Defence.
If Solar Beams, which thro' th' Expansion dart,
Corporeal are, as learned Schools assert,
Since still they flow, and no Supply repays
The lavish Sun his dissipated Rays,
Grant, that his radiant Orb did ne'er Begin,
And that his Motions have Eternal been,
Then by eternal, infinite Expence,
By unrecruited Waste, and Spoils immense,
By certain Fate to slow Destruction doom'd,
His glorious Stock long since had been consum'd.
Of Light unthrifty, and profuse of Day,
The ruin'd Globe had spent his latest Ray:
Disperst in Beams eternally display'd,
Had lost in Ether roam'd, and loose in Atomes stray'd.
Prepare against this Reas'ning your Defence.
If Solar Beams, which thro' th' Expansion dart,
Corporeal are, as learned Schools assert,
Since still they flow, and no Supply repays
The lavish Sun his dissipated Rays,
Grant, that his radiant Orb did ne'er Begin,
And that his Motions have Eternal been,
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By unrecruited Waste, and Spoils immense,
By certain Fate to slow Destruction doom'd,
His glorious Stock long since had been consum'd.
Of Light unthrifty, and profuse of Day,
The ruin'd Globe had spent his latest Ray:
Disperst in Beams eternally display'd,
Had lost in Ether roam'd, and loose in Atomes stray'd.
Grant, that a Grain of Matter would outweigh
The Light, the Sun dispenses in a Day,
Thro' all the Stages of his heav'nly Way;
That in a Year the Golden Torrents sent
From the bright Source, its Losses scarce augment;
Yet without End if you the Waste repeat,
Th' eternal Loss grows infinitely great.
Then should the Sun of finite Bulk sustain
In ev'ry Age, the Loss but of a Grain,
If we suppose those Ages infinite,
Could there remain one Particle of Light?
The Light, the Sun dispenses in a Day,
Thro' all the Stages of his heav'nly Way;
That in a Year the Golden Torrents sent
From the bright Source, its Losses scarce augment;
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Th' eternal Loss grows infinitely great.
Then should the Sun of finite Bulk sustain
In ev'ry Age, the Loss but of a Grain,
If we suppose those Ages infinite,
Could there remain one Particle of Light?
Reflect, that Motion must abate its Force,
As more or less obstructed in its Course:
That all the heav'nly Orbs, while turning round,
Have some Resistance from the Medium found:
Be that Resistance ne'er so faint and weak,
If 'tis Eternal, 'twill all Motion break.
If in each Age you grant the least Decrease,
By infinite Succession it must cease.
Hence, if the Orbs have still resisted been
By Air, or Light, or Ether ne'er so thin;
Long since their Motion must have been supprest,
The Stars had stood, the Sun had lain at rest,
So vain, so wild a Scheme you Fatalists have dress'd.
As more or less obstructed in its Course:
That all the heav'nly Orbs, while turning round,
Have some Resistance from the Medium found:
Be that Resistance ne'er so faint and weak,
If 'tis Eternal, 'twill all Motion break.
If in each Age you grant the least Decrease,
By infinite Succession it must cease.
Hence, if the Orbs have still resisted been
By Air, or Light, or Ether ne'er so thin;
229
The Stars had stood, the Sun had lain at rest,
So vain, so wild a Scheme you Fatalists have dress'd.
Let us the wise Positions now survey
Of Aristotle's School, who's pleas'd to say
Nothing can move it self, no inward Pow'r
To any Being Motion can procure.
Whate'er is mov'd, its Motion must derive
From something else, which must an Impulse give.
And yet no Being Motion could begin,
Else Motion might not have Eternal been.
That Matter never did begin to move,
But in th' Immense from endless Ages strove,
The Stagyrite thus undertakes to prove:
He says, of Motion Time the Measure is;
Then That's Eternal too, as well as This.
Motion thro' Ages without Limit flows,
Since Time, its Measure, no Beginning knows.
This feeble Base upholds our Author's Hopes,
And all his mighty Superstructure props.
On this he all his tow'ring Fabrick reers,
Sequel on Sequel heaps, to reach the Spheres.
But if this Definition you deny
Of Time, on which his Building does rely,
You bring his lofty Babel from the Sky.
A thousand fine Deductions you confound,
Scatter his waste Philosophy around,
And level all his Structure with the Ground.
Of Aristotle's School, who's pleas'd to say
Nothing can move it self, no inward Pow'r
To any Being Motion can procure.
Whate'er is mov'd, its Motion must derive
From something else, which must an Impulse give.
And yet no Being Motion could begin,
Else Motion might not have Eternal been.
That Matter never did begin to move,
But in th' Immense from endless Ages strove,
The Stagyrite thus undertakes to prove:
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Then That's Eternal too, as well as This.
Motion thro' Ages without Limit flows,
Since Time, its Measure, no Beginning knows.
This feeble Base upholds our Author's Hopes,
And all his mighty Superstructure props.
On this he all his tow'ring Fabrick reers,
Sequel on Sequel heaps, to reach the Spheres.
But if this Definition you deny
Of Time, on which his Building does rely,
You bring his lofty Babel from the Sky.
A thousand fine Deductions you confound,
Scatter his waste Philosophy around,
And level all his Structure with the Ground.
We then this Definition thus defeat;
Time is no Measure which can Motion mete.
For Men of reas'ning Faculties will see
That Time can nothing but Duration be
Of Beings, and Duration can suggest
Nothing, or of their Motion, or their Rest:
Only prolong'd Existence it implies,
Whether the Thing is mov'd, or quiet lies.
This single Blow will all the Pile subvert,
So proudly rais'd, but with so little Art.
Time is no Measure which can Motion mete.
For Men of reas'ning Faculties will see
That Time can nothing but Duration be
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Nothing, or of their Motion, or their Rest:
Only prolong'd Existence it implies,
Whether the Thing is mov'd, or quiet lies.
This single Blow will all the Pile subvert,
So proudly rais'd, but with so little Art.
But since the Author has such Fame acquir'd,
And as a God of Science been admir'd;
A stricter View we'll of his Systeme take,
And of the Parts a short Examen make.
Let us observe, what Light his Scheme affords,
His undigested Heap of doubtful Words.
Great Stagyrite, the lost Enquirer show
The Spring, whence Motion did for ever flow.
Since nothing of it self e'er moves or strives,
Tell what begins, what the first Impulse gives.
And as a God of Science been admir'd;
A stricter View we'll of his Systeme take,
And of the Parts a short Examen make.
Let us observe, what Light his Scheme affords,
His undigested Heap of doubtful Words.
Great Stagyrite, the lost Enquirer show
The Spring, whence Motion did for ever flow.
Since nothing of it self e'er moves or strives,
Tell what begins, what the first Impulse gives.
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Hear how the Man, who all in Fame surmounts,
For Motion's Spring and Principle accounts.
To his Supream, unmov'd, unactive God
He the first Sphere appoints, a blest Abode:
Who sits supinely on his Azure Throne,
In Contemplation of himself alone;
Is wholly mindless of the World, and void
Of Providential Care, and unemploy'd.
To all the Spheres Inferior are assign'd
Gods Subaltern, and of Inferior kind.
On these he Self-Existence does confer,
Who, as the God Supream, Eternal are.
With Admiration mov'd, and ardent Love,
They all their Spheres around in Order move,
And from these Heav'nly Revolutions flow
All Motions, which are found in things below.
For Motion's Spring and Principle accounts.
To his Supream, unmov'd, unactive God
He the first Sphere appoints, a blest Abode:
Who sits supinely on his Azure Throne,
In Contemplation of himself alone;
Is wholly mindless of the World, and void
Of Providential Care, and unemploy'd.
To all the Spheres Inferior are assign'd
Gods Subaltern, and of Inferior kind.
On these he Self-Existence does confer,
Who, as the God Supream, Eternal are.
With Admiration mov'd, and ardent Love,
They all their Spheres around in Order move,
And from these Heav'nly Revolutions flow
All Motions, which are found in things below.
If you demand by what Impulsive Force
The Under-Gods begin their circling Course:
He says, as Things desirable excite
Desire, and Objects move the Appetite;
So his first God, by kindling ardent Love,
Does all the Gods in Seats Inferior move:
Thus mov'd they move around their mighty Spheres,
With their Refulgent Equipage of Stars.
From Sphere to Sphere communicate the Dance,
Whence all in Heav'nly Harmony advance.
And from this Motion propagated rise
All Motions in the Earth, and Air, and Skies.
The Under-Gods begin their circling Course:
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Desire, and Objects move the Appetite;
So his first God, by kindling ardent Love,
Does all the Gods in Seats Inferior move:
Thus mov'd they move around their mighty Spheres,
With their Refulgent Equipage of Stars.
From Sphere to Sphere communicate the Dance,
Whence all in Heav'nly Harmony advance.
And from this Motion propagated rise
All Motions in the Earth, and Air, and Skies.
And thus by Learned Aristotle's Mind
All Things were form'd, yet Nothing was design'd.
He owns no Choice, no Arbitrary Will,
No Artist's Hand, and no exerted Skill.
All Motion flows from Necessary Fate,
Which Nothing does resist, or can abate.
Things sink and rise, a Being lose or gain
In a coherent, undissolving Chain
Of Causes and Effects, which Nature's Course sustain.
Th'Unmoveable Supream the rest does move,
As proper Objects raise Desire and Love.
They mov'd without their Choice, without Consent,
Move all their Spheres around without intent.
Whate'er he calls his moving Cause, to chuse
He gives that Cause no Pow'r, or to refuse.
And thus from Fate all artful Order springs,
This reer'd the World, This is the Rise of Things
All Things were form'd, yet Nothing was design'd.
He owns no Choice, no Arbitrary Will,
No Artist's Hand, and no exerted Skill.
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Which Nothing does resist, or can abate.
Things sink and rise, a Being lose or gain
In a coherent, undissolving Chain
Of Causes and Effects, which Nature's Course sustain.
Th'Unmoveable Supream the rest does move,
As proper Objects raise Desire and Love.
They mov'd without their Choice, without Consent,
Move all their Spheres around without intent.
Whate'er he calls his moving Cause, to chuse
He gives that Cause no Pow'r, or to refuse.
And thus from Fate all artful Order springs,
This reer'd the World, This is the Rise of Things
Now give us leave to ask, great Stagyrite,
How the first God th'Inferior does excite.
Of his own Substance does he Parts convey,
Whose Motive Force the Under-Gods obey?
If so, he may be chang'd, he may decay.
But if by stedfast Gazing they are mov'd,
And Admiration of the Object lov'd;
If those below their Motive Force acquire
From the strong Impulse of Divine Desire;
Tell us, what Good your God Supream can grant,
Which those beneath, to make them Happy, want.
If Admiration of the God Supream,
And Heav'nly Raptures should their Breasts inflame,
Is that of Motion a resistless Cause,
Of Motion constant to Eternal Laws?
Might not each Second God unactive lye
On his Blue Sphere, and fix his ravish'd Eye
On the Supream Unmoveable, and ne'er
Be forc'd to roll around his solid Sphere?
Say, how could Wonder drive them from their Place?
How in a Circle make them run their Race?
How keep them steady in one certain Pace?
How the first God th'Inferior does excite.
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Whose Motive Force the Under-Gods obey?
If so, he may be chang'd, he may decay.
But if by stedfast Gazing they are mov'd,
And Admiration of the Object lov'd;
If those below their Motive Force acquire
From the strong Impulse of Divine Desire;
Tell us, what Good your God Supream can grant,
Which those beneath, to make them Happy, want.
If Admiration of the God Supream,
And Heav'nly Raptures should their Breasts inflame,
Is that of Motion a resistless Cause,
Of Motion constant to Eternal Laws?
Might not each Second God unactive lye
On his Blue Sphere, and fix his ravish'd Eye
On the Supream Unmoveable, and ne'er
Be forc'd to roll around his solid Sphere?
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How in a Circle make them run their Race?
How keep them steady in one certain Pace?
He this a Fundamental Maxim lays,
That Nature wisely acts in all her Ways:
That she pursues the Things, which most conduce
To Order, Beauty, Decency and Use.
Who can to Reason this Affront endure?
Should it Derision cause, or Anger more,
To hear a deep Philosopher assert
That Nature, not endu'd with Skill or Art,
Of Liberty, of Choice, of Reason void,
Still wisely Acts, where-ever she's employ'd?
Can Actions be denominated Wise,
Which from a Brute Necessity arise,
Which the Blind Agent never did intend,
The Means unchosen, and unknown the End?
That Nature wisely acts in all her Ways:
That she pursues the Things, which most conduce
To Order, Beauty, Decency and Use.
Who can to Reason this Affront endure?
Should it Derision cause, or Anger more,
To hear a deep Philosopher assert
That Nature, not endu'd with Skill or Art,
Of Liberty, of Choice, of Reason void,
Still wisely Acts, where-ever she's employ'd?
Can Actions be denominated Wise,
Which from a Brute Necessity arise,
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The Means unchosen, and unknown the End?
On this be laid the Stress of this Debate;
What wisely acts, can never act by Fate.
The Means and End must first be understood;
The Means, as proper, and the End, as good.
The Act must be exerted with intent
By using Means to gain the wish'd Event.
But can a senseless and unconscious Cause,
By foreign Impulse mov'd, and fatal Laws,
This Thing as good, and that as fit respect,
Design the End, and then the Means elect?
Nature you grant can no Event intend,
Yet that she acts with Prudence you pretend,
So Nature wisely Acts, yet acts without an End.
What wisely acts, can never act by Fate.
The Means and End must first be understood;
The Means, as proper, and the End, as good.
The Act must be exerted with intent
By using Means to gain the wish'd Event.
But can a senseless and unconscious Cause,
By foreign Impulse mov'd, and fatal Laws,
This Thing as good, and that as fit respect,
Design the End, and then the Means elect?
Nature you grant can no Event intend,
Yet that she acts with Prudence you pretend,
So Nature wisely Acts, yet acts without an End.
Yet while this Prince of Science does declare
That Means or Ends were never Nature's Care,
That Things, which seem with perfect Art contriv'd,
By the resistless Force of Fate arriv'd:
This cautious Master to secure his Fame,
And scape the Atheist's ignominious Name,
Did to his Gods of all degrees allow
Counsel, Design, and Pow'r to Chuse and Know.
Yet since he's pleas'd so plainly to assert
His Gods no Act of Reas'ning Pow'r exert,
No mark of Choice, or Arbitrary Will,
Employ'd no Prudence, and express'd no Skill
In making, or directing Nature's Frame;
Which from his Fate inevitable came;
These Gods must, as to us, be Brute and Blind,
And as unuseful, as if void of Mind.
Acting without Intent, or Care, or Aim,
Can they our Prayer regard, or Praises claim?
Of all the Irreligious in Debate,
This shameful Error is the Common Fate;
That tho' they cannot but distinctly see
In Nature's Works, and whole OEconomy
Design and Judgment in a high degree;
This Judgment, this Design, they ne'er allow
Do from a Cause endu'd with Reason flow.
The Art they grant, th' Artificer reject,
The Structure own, and not the Architect.
That unwise Nature all Things wisely makes,
And prudent Measures without Prudence takes.
That Means or Ends were never Nature's Care,
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By the resistless Force of Fate arriv'd:
This cautious Master to secure his Fame,
And scape the Atheist's ignominious Name,
Did to his Gods of all degrees allow
Counsel, Design, and Pow'r to Chuse and Know.
Yet since he's pleas'd so plainly to assert
His Gods no Act of Reas'ning Pow'r exert,
No mark of Choice, or Arbitrary Will,
Employ'd no Prudence, and express'd no Skill
In making, or directing Nature's Frame;
Which from his Fate inevitable came;
These Gods must, as to us, be Brute and Blind,
And as unuseful, as if void of Mind.
Acting without Intent, or Care, or Aim,
Can they our Prayer regard, or Praises claim?
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This shameful Error is the Common Fate;
That tho' they cannot but distinctly see
In Nature's Works, and whole OEconomy
Design and Judgment in a high degree;
This Judgment, this Design, they ne'er allow
Do from a Cause endu'd with Reason flow.
The Art they grant, th' Artificer reject,
The Structure own, and not the Architect.
That unwise Nature all Things wisely makes,
And prudent Measures without Prudence takes.
Grant that their Admiration and their Love
Of the first God, may all th'Inferior move;
Grant too, tho' no Necessity appears,
That with their Rapture mov'd, they move their Spheres.
These Questions let the Stagyrite resolve,
Why they at all? why in this Way revolve?
Declare by what Necessity controul'd
In one determin'd Manner they are roll'd?
Why is their swift Rotation West and East,
Rather than North and South, or East and West?
Why do not all th' Inferior Spheres obey
The highest Sphere's inevitable Sway?
Tell us, if all Celestial Motions rise
From Revolutions of the Starry Skies,
Whence of the Orbs the various Motions come?
Why some the gen'ral Road pursue, and some
In Ether stray, and disobedient roam?
If yours the Source of Motion is, declare
Why This is fix'd, and That a wand'ring Star?
Tell by what Fate, by what resistless Force
This Orb has one, and That another Course?
Of the first God, may all th'Inferior move;
Grant too, tho' no Necessity appears,
That with their Rapture mov'd, they move their Spheres.
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Why they at all? why in this Way revolve?
Declare by what Necessity controul'd
In one determin'd Manner they are roll'd?
Why is their swift Rotation West and East,
Rather than North and South, or East and West?
Why do not all th' Inferior Spheres obey
The highest Sphere's inevitable Sway?
Tell us, if all Celestial Motions rise
From Revolutions of the Starry Skies,
Whence of the Orbs the various Motions come?
Why some the gen'ral Road pursue, and some
In Ether stray, and disobedient roam?
If yours the Source of Motion is, declare
Why This is fix'd, and That a wand'ring Star?
Tell by what Fate, by what resistless Force
This Orb has one, and That another Course?
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How does the learned Greek the Cause unfold
With equal Swiftness why the Sun is roll'd
Still East and West, to mark the Night and Day?
To form the Year why thro' the Ecclyptic Way?
What Magic, what Necessity confines
The Solar Orb between the Tropic Lines?
What Charms in those enchanted Circles dwell,
That with controuling Pow'r the Sun repel?
The Stagyrite to this no Answer makes;
Of the vast Globe so little Thought he takes,
That he to solve these Questions never strives,
No Cause, or of its Place, or Motion gives.
With equal Swiftness why the Sun is roll'd
Still East and West, to mark the Night and Day?
To form the Year why thro' the Ecclyptic Way?
What Magic, what Necessity confines
The Solar Orb between the Tropic Lines?
What Charms in those enchanted Circles dwell,
That with controuling Pow'r the Sun repel?
The Stagyrite to this no Answer makes;
Of the vast Globe so little Thought he takes,
That he to solve these Questions never strives,
No Cause, or of its Place, or Motion gives.
But farther yet, applauded Greek, suppose
Cœlestial Motions from your Spring arose;
That Motion down to all the Worlds below
From the first Sphere may propagated flow:
Since you of Things to show th' efficient Source
Have always to Necessity recourse;
From what Necessity do Spheres proceed
With such a measur'd, such a certain Speed?
We fain would this mysterious Cause explore,
Why Motion was not either less or more;
But in this just Proportion and Degree,
As suits with Nature's just OEconomy.
This is a Cause, a right one too, we grant,
But 'tis the Final, we th'Efficient want.
With greater Swiftness if the Spheres were whirl'd
The Motion giv'n to this Inferior World
Too violent had been for Nature's Use,
Of too great Force mix'd Bodies to produce:
The Elements, Air, Water, Earth and Fire,
Which now to make compounded Things conspire,
By their rude Shocks could never have combin'd
Or had been disengaged, as soon as join'd.
But then had Motion in a less degree
Been giv'n, than that, which we in Nature see;
Of greater Vigour she had stood in need,
To mix and blend the Elemental Seed:
To temper, work, incorporate and bind
Those Principles, that thence of ev'ry Kind
The various Compound Beings might arise,
Which fill the Earth and Sea, and store the Skies.
Say, what Necessity, what fatal Laws
Did in such due Proportion Motion cause,
Nor more or less, but just so much, as tends
To frame the World, and serve all Nature's Ends?
Cœlestial Motions from your Spring arose;
That Motion down to all the Worlds below
From the first Sphere may propagated flow:
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Have always to Necessity recourse;
From what Necessity do Spheres proceed
With such a measur'd, such a certain Speed?
We fain would this mysterious Cause explore,
Why Motion was not either less or more;
But in this just Proportion and Degree,
As suits with Nature's just OEconomy.
This is a Cause, a right one too, we grant,
But 'tis the Final, we th'Efficient want.
With greater Swiftness if the Spheres were whirl'd
The Motion giv'n to this Inferior World
Too violent had been for Nature's Use,
Of too great Force mix'd Bodies to produce:
The Elements, Air, Water, Earth and Fire,
Which now to make compounded Things conspire,
By their rude Shocks could never have combin'd
Or had been disengaged, as soon as join'd.
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Been giv'n, than that, which we in Nature see;
Of greater Vigour she had stood in need,
To mix and blend the Elemental Seed:
To temper, work, incorporate and bind
Those Principles, that thence of ev'ry Kind
The various Compound Beings might arise,
Which fill the Earth and Sea, and store the Skies.
Say, what Necessity, what fatal Laws
Did in such due Proportion Motion cause,
Nor more or less, but just so much, as tends
To frame the World, and serve all Nature's Ends?
Ask why the highest of the rolling Spheres,
Deck'd to Profusion with refulgent Stars,
And all with bright Excrescencies embost,
Has the whole Beauty of the Heav'ns engrost:
When of the others, to dispel the Night,
Each owns a single solitary Light.
Only one Planet in a Sphere is found,
Marching in Air his melancholy Round:
Nature, he tells us, took this prudent Care,
That the sublimest and the noblest Sphere
Should be with nobler Decoration blest,
And in Magnificence out-shine the rest:
That so its greater Ornament and State
Should bear Proportion with its greater Height
It seems then Nature does not only find
Means to be Good, Beneficent and Kind,
But has for Beauty and for Order car'd,
Does Rank and State and Decency regard.
Deck'd to Profusion with refulgent Stars,
And all with bright Excrescencies embost,
Has the whole Beauty of the Heav'ns engrost:
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Each owns a single solitary Light.
Only one Planet in a Sphere is found,
Marching in Air his melancholy Round:
Nature, he tells us, took this prudent Care,
That the sublimest and the noblest Sphere
Should be with nobler Decoration blest,
And in Magnificence out-shine the rest:
That so its greater Ornament and State
Should bear Proportion with its greater Height
It seems then Nature does not only find
Means to be Good, Beneficent and Kind,
But has for Beauty and for Order car'd,
Does Rank and State and Decency regard.
Now should he not considering Men forgive,
If, sway'd by this Assertion, they believe,
That Nature, which does Decency respect,
Is something, which can reason, chuse, reflect?
Or that some wise Director must preside
O'er Nature's Works, and all her Motions guide?
You here should that Necessity declare,
Why all the Stars adorn the highest Sphere:
Say, how is this th'Effect of Fatal Laws,
Without reflecting on a final Cause?
One Sphere has all the Stars; we ask you Why?
When you to Beauty and to Order fly,
You plain assert the Truth, which you deny:
That is, that Nature has wise Ends in view,
With Foresight works, and does Designs pursue.
If, sway'd by this Assertion, they believe,
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Is something, which can reason, chuse, reflect?
Or that some wise Director must preside
O'er Nature's Works, and all her Motions guide?
You here should that Necessity declare,
Why all the Stars adorn the highest Sphere:
Say, how is this th'Effect of Fatal Laws,
Without reflecting on a final Cause?
One Sphere has all the Stars; we ask you Why?
When you to Beauty and to Order fly,
You plain assert the Truth, which you deny:
That is, that Nature has wise Ends in view,
With Foresight works, and does Designs pursue.
Thus all the mighty Wits, that have essay'd
To explicate the Means, how Things are made
By Nature's Pow'r, without the Hand Divine,
The final Causes of Effects assign.
They say, that This or That is so or so,
That such Events in such Succession flow;
Because Convenience, Decency and Use
Require, that Nature Things should thus produce.
They in their Demonstrations always vaunt
Efficient Causes, which they always want.
But thus they yield the Question in debate,
And grant the Impotence of Chance and Fate.
For 'till they show by what Necessity
Things have the Disposition, which we see,
Whether it be deriv'd from Fate or Chance,
Not the least step in Science they advance.
To explicate the Means, how Things are made
By Nature's Pow'r, without the Hand Divine,
The final Causes of Effects assign.
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That such Events in such Succession flow;
Because Convenience, Decency and Use
Require, that Nature Things should thus produce.
They in their Demonstrations always vaunt
Efficient Causes, which they always want.
But thus they yield the Question in debate,
And grant the Impotence of Chance and Fate.
For 'till they show by what Necessity
Things have the Disposition, which we see,
Whether it be deriv'd from Fate or Chance,
Not the least step in Science they advance.
Grant Nature furnish'd, at her vast Expence,
One Room of State with such Magnificence,
That it might shine above the others bright,
Adorn'd with num'rous burnish'd Balls of Light
Does she on one by decent Rules dispence
Of Constellations such a Wealth immense,
While the next Sphere in Amplitude and Height
Rolls on with one Erratic, lonely Light?
But be it so, the Question's still the same,
Tell us from what Necessity it came?
One Room of State with such Magnificence,
That it might shine above the others bright,
Adorn'd with num'rous burnish'd Balls of Light
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Of Constellations such a Wealth immense,
While the next Sphere in Amplitude and Height
Rolls on with one Erratic, lonely Light?
But be it so, the Question's still the same,
Tell us from what Necessity it came?
Let us the great Philosopher attend,
While to the Worlds below his Thoughts descend.
His Elements, Earth, Water, Air and Fire,
He says, to make all Compound Things conspire.
He in the midst leaves the dull Earth at Rest,
In the soft Bosom of the Air carest.
The red-wing'd Fire must to the Moon arise,
Hover in Air, and lick contiguous Skies.
No Charms, no Force can make the Fire descend,
Nor can the Earth to Seats Superior tend.
Both unmolested Peace for ever own,
This in the Middle, that beneath the Moon.
Water and Air not so; for they by Fate
Assign'd to constant Duty, always wait;
Ready by Turns to rise or to descend,
Nature against a Vacant to defend:
For should a Void her Monarchy invade,
Should in her Works the smallest Breach be made,
That Breach the mighty Fabrick would dissolve,
And in immediate Ruin all involve.
A Consequence so dismal to prevent,
Water and Air are still (as said) intent
To mount or fall, this Way or that to fly,
Seek subterranean Vaults, or climb the Sky.
While these with so much Duty are opprest,
The Earth and Fire are privileg'd with Rest.
These Elements, 'tis clear, have not discern'd
The Int'rest of the Whole, nor are concern'd
Lest they, when once an interposing Void
Has Nature's Frame o'erturn'd, should be destroy'd.
While to the Worlds below his Thoughts descend.
His Elements, Earth, Water, Air and Fire,
He says, to make all Compound Things conspire.
He in the midst leaves the dull Earth at Rest,
In the soft Bosom of the Air carest.
The red-wing'd Fire must to the Moon arise,
Hover in Air, and lick contiguous Skies.
No Charms, no Force can make the Fire descend,
Nor can the Earth to Seats Superior tend.
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This in the Middle, that beneath the Moon.
Water and Air not so; for they by Fate
Assign'd to constant Duty, always wait;
Ready by Turns to rise or to descend,
Nature against a Vacant to defend:
For should a Void her Monarchy invade,
Should in her Works the smallest Breach be made,
That Breach the mighty Fabrick would dissolve,
And in immediate Ruin all involve.
A Consequence so dismal to prevent,
Water and Air are still (as said) intent
To mount or fall, this Way or that to fly,
Seek subterranean Vaults, or climb the Sky.
While these with so much Duty are opprest,
The Earth and Fire are privileg'd with Rest.
These Elements, 'tis clear, have not discern'd
The Int'rest of the Whole, nor are concern'd
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Has Nature's Frame o'erturn'd, should be destroy'd.
Tell, why these simple Elements are Four?
Why just so many, why not less or more?
Does this from pure Necessity proceed?
Or say, does Nature just that Number need?
If This, you mock us, and decline the Task,
You give the Final Cause, when we th'Efficient ask.
If That, how often shall we call in vain
That you would this Necessity explain?
Why just so many, why not less or more?
Does this from pure Necessity proceed?
Or say, does Nature just that Number need?
If This, you mock us, and decline the Task,
You give the Final Cause, when we th'Efficient ask.
If That, how often shall we call in vain
That you would this Necessity explain?
But here forgive me, famous Stagyrite,
If I esteem it Idle to recite
The Reasons, so you call them, which you give,
To make us this Necessity believe:
Reasons so trifling, so absurd, and dry,
That those should blush, who make a grave Reply.
If I esteem it Idle to recite
The Reasons, so you call them, which you give,
To make us this Necessity believe:
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That those should blush, who make a grave Reply.
Your Elements we grant: But now declare
How you to form compounded Things prepare,
And mix your Fire and Water, Earth and Air?
The swift Rotation of the Spheres above,
You say, must all inferior Bodies move:
The Elements in Sublunary Space
Are by this Impulse forc'd to leave their Places
By various Agitations they combine
In diff'rent Forms, by diff'rent Mixtures join.
Blended and justly temper'd, they compound
All Things in all th'inferior Regions found.
Thus Beings from th' Incorporated Four
Result, by undesigning Nature's Pow'r.
Hence Metals, Plants and Minerals arise,
The Clouds, and all the Meteors of the Skies.
Hence all the Clans that haunt the Hill or Wood,
That beat the Air, or cut the limpid Flood:
Ev'n Man, their Lord, hence into Being came,
Breath'd the pure Air, and felt the Vital Flame.
Say, is not this a noble Scheme, a Piece
Worthy the Stagyrite, and worthy Greece?
How you to form compounded Things prepare,
And mix your Fire and Water, Earth and Air?
The swift Rotation of the Spheres above,
You say, must all inferior Bodies move:
The Elements in Sublunary Space
Are by this Impulse forc'd to leave their Places
By various Agitations they combine
In diff'rent Forms, by diff'rent Mixtures join.
Blended and justly temper'd, they compound
All Things in all th'inferior Regions found.
Thus Beings from th' Incorporated Four
Result, by undesigning Nature's Pow'r.
Hence Metals, Plants and Minerals arise,
The Clouds, and all the Meteors of the Skies.
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That beat the Air, or cut the limpid Flood:
Ev'n Man, their Lord, hence into Being came,
Breath'd the pure Air, and felt the Vital Flame.
Say, is not this a noble Scheme, a Piece
Worthy the Stagyrite, and worthy Greece?
But now, acute Philosopher, declare
How this Rotation of the heav'nly Sphere
Can mingle Fire and Water, Earth and Air?
The Fire, that dwells beneath the Lunar Ball,
To meet ascending Earth, must downward fall.
Now turn your Sphere contiguous to the Fire,
Will from its Seat that Element retire?
The Sphere could never drive its Neighbour down,
But give a circling Motion, like its own.
So give the Air Impression from above,
It in a Whirl vertiginous would move:
And thus the rolling Spheres can ne'er displace
The Fire or Air, to make a mingled Mass:
The Elements distinct might keep their Seat,
Elude the Ruffle, and your Scheme defeat.
How this Rotation of the heav'nly Sphere
Can mingle Fire and Water, Earth and Air?
The Fire, that dwells beneath the Lunar Ball,
To meet ascending Earth, must downward fall.
Now turn your Sphere contiguous to the Fire,
Will from its Seat that Element retire?
The Sphere could never drive its Neighbour down,
But give a circling Motion, like its own.
So give the Air Impression from above,
It in a Whirl vertiginous would move:
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The Fire or Air, to make a mingled Mass:
The Elements distinct might keep their Seat,
Elude the Ruffle, and your Scheme defeat.
But since th' applauded Author will demand
For Complex Bodies no Director's Hand;
Since Art without an Artist he maintains,
A Building reers without a Builder's Pains:
He comes at length to Epicurus' Scheme,
Pleas'd by his Model compound Works to frame.
One all his various Atomes does unite
To form mixt Things, the famous Stagyrite
By his invented Elements combin'd,
Composes Beings of each diff'rent Kind.
But both agree, while both alike deny
The Gods did e'er their Care or Thought apply
To form, or rule this universal Frame,
Which or from Fate, or Casual Concourse came.
Whether to raise the World you are inclin'd
By This Man's Chance, or That Man's Fate, as blind;
If still Mechanic, Necessary Laws
Of moving Matter must all Beings cause;
If artful Works from a brute Cause result,
From Springs unknown, and Qualities occult;
With Schemes alike absurd our Reason you insult.
For Complex Bodies no Director's Hand;
Since Art without an Artist he maintains,
A Building reers without a Builder's Pains:
He comes at length to Epicurus' Scheme,
Pleas'd by his Model compound Works to frame.
One all his various Atomes does unite
To form mixt Things, the famous Stagyrite
By his invented Elements combin'd,
Composes Beings of each diff'rent Kind.
But both agree, while both alike deny
The Gods did e'er their Care or Thought apply
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Which or from Fate, or Casual Concourse came.
Whether to raise the World you are inclin'd
By This Man's Chance, or That Man's Fate, as blind;
If still Mechanic, Necessary Laws
Of moving Matter must all Beings cause;
If artful Works from a brute Cause result,
From Springs unknown, and Qualities occult;
With Schemes alike absurd our Reason you insult.
And now to finish this less pleasant Task,
Of our renown'd Philosopher we ask,
How was the Earth determin'd to its Place?
Why did it first the middle Point embrace?
What Blandishments, what strong attractive Pow'r,
What happy Arts adapted to allure,
Were by that single Point of all the Void
To captivate and charm the Mass employ'd?
Or what Machines, what Grapples did it cast
On Earth, to fix it to the Center fast?
But if the Earth, by strong Enchantment caught,
This Point of all the Vacant fondly sought,
Since it is Unintelligent and Blind,
Could it the Way, the nearest could it find?
When at that Point arriv'd, how did it know
It was arriv'd, and should no farther go?
When in a globous Form collected there,
What wondrous Cement made the Parts cohere?
Why did the Orb suspended there remain
Fix'd and unmov'd? What does its Weight sustain?
Tell what its Fall prevents; can liquid Air
The pondrous Pile on its weak Columns bear?
The Earth must, in its Gravity's Despight,
Uphold its self; our careless Stagyrite
For its Support has no Provision made,
No Pillar reer'd, and no Foundation laid.
When by occult and unknown Gravity
'Tis to its Station brought, it there must lye
In undisturb'd Repose, in vain we ask him Why?
Of our renown'd Philosopher we ask,
How was the Earth determin'd to its Place?
Why did it first the middle Point embrace?
What Blandishments, what strong attractive Pow'r,
What happy Arts adapted to allure,
254
To captivate and charm the Mass employ'd?
Or what Machines, what Grapples did it cast
On Earth, to fix it to the Center fast?
But if the Earth, by strong Enchantment caught,
This Point of all the Vacant fondly sought,
Since it is Unintelligent and Blind,
Could it the Way, the nearest could it find?
When at that Point arriv'd, how did it know
It was arriv'd, and should no farther go?
When in a globous Form collected there,
What wondrous Cement made the Parts cohere?
Why did the Orb suspended there remain
Fix'd and unmov'd? What does its Weight sustain?
Tell what its Fall prevents; can liquid Air
The pondrous Pile on its weak Columns bear?
255
Uphold its self; our careless Stagyrite
For its Support has no Provision made,
No Pillar reer'd, and no Foundation laid.
When by occult and unknown Gravity
'Tis to its Station brought, it there must lye
In undisturb'd Repose, in vain we ask him Why?
Say, if the World uncaus'd did ne'er begin,
If Nature, what it is, has always been;
Why do no Arms the Poet's Song employ
Before the Theban War, or Siege of Troy?
And why no elder Histories relate
The Rise of Empires, and the Turns of State?
If Nature, what it is, has always been;
Why do no Arms the Poet's Song employ
Before the Theban War, or Siege of Troy?
And why no elder Histories relate
The Rise of Empires, and the Turns of State?
If Generations infinite are gone,
Tell, who so late were Arts and Letters known?
Their Rise and Progress is of Recent Date,
And still we mourn their young imperfect State.
If unconfin'd Duration we regard,
And Time be with Eternity compar'd,
But Yesterday the Sages of the East
First some crude Knowledge of the Stars exprest.
In sacred Emblems Egypt's Sons conceal'd
Their mystic Learning, rather than reveal'd.
Greece after this, for subtle Wit renown'd,
The Sciences and Arts improv'd or found;
First, Causes search'd, and Nature's secret Ways;
First taught the Bards to sing Immortal Lays.
The Charms of Musick and of Painting rais'd,
And was for Building first, and first for Sculpture prais'd.
Tell, who so late were Arts and Letters known?
256
And still we mourn their young imperfect State.
If unconfin'd Duration we regard,
And Time be with Eternity compar'd,
But Yesterday the Sages of the East
First some crude Knowledge of the Stars exprest.
In sacred Emblems Egypt's Sons conceal'd
Their mystic Learning, rather than reveal'd.
Greece after this, for subtle Wit renown'd,
The Sciences and Arts improv'd or found;
First, Causes search'd, and Nature's secret Ways;
First taught the Bards to sing Immortal Lays.
The Charms of Musick and of Painting rais'd,
And was for Building first, and first for Sculpture prais'd.
Man in Mechanic Arts did late excell,
That succour Life, and noxious Pow'r repel;
Which yield Supplies for necessary Use,
Or which to Pleasure or to Pomp conduce.
How late was found the Loadstone's magick Force,
That seeks the North, and guides the Sailor's Course?
How newly did the Printer's curious Skill
Th'inlighten'd World with Letter'd Volumes fill?
But late the kindled Powder did explode
The massy Ball, and the Brass Tube unload.
The Tube, to whose loud Thunder Albion owes
The Laurel Honours, that adorn her Brows.
Which awful, during Eight renown'd Campains,
From Belgia's Hills, and Gallia's Frontier Plains,
Did thro' th' admiring Realms around proclaim
Malbro's swift Conquests, and great Anna's Name.
That succour Life, and noxious Pow'r repel;
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Or which to Pleasure or to Pomp conduce.
How late was found the Loadstone's magick Force,
That seeks the North, and guides the Sailor's Course?
How newly did the Printer's curious Skill
Th'inlighten'd World with Letter'd Volumes fill?
But late the kindled Powder did explode
The massy Ball, and the Brass Tube unload.
The Tube, to whose loud Thunder Albion owes
The Laurel Honours, that adorn her Brows.
Which awful, during Eight renown'd Campains,
From Belgia's Hills, and Gallia's Frontier Plains,
Did thro' th' admiring Realms around proclaim
Malbro's swift Conquests, and great Anna's Name.
By this the Leader of the British Pow'rs
Shook Menin, Lilla, and high Ganda's Tow'rs:
Next his wide Engines levell'd Tournay's Pride,
Whose lofty Walls advancing Foes defy'd.
Tho' nitrous Tempests, and clandestine Death,
Fill'd the deep Caves and num'rous Vaults beneath,
Which form'd with Art, and wrought with endless Toil,
Ran thro' the faithless excavated Soil;
See, the intrepid Briton delves his Way,
And to the Caverns lets in War and Day:
Quells subterranean Foes, and rises crown'd
With Spoils, from Martial Labour under Ground.
Mons, to reward Blarignia's glorious Field,
To Marlbro's Terrors did submissive yield.
The Hero next assail'd proud Doway's Head,
And spite of confluent Inundations spread
Around, in spite of Works for sure Defence
Rais'd with consummate Art, and Cost immense
With unexampled Valour did succeed;
(Villars, thy Host beheld the hardy Deed:)
Aria, Venantia, Bethune and Bouchain
Of his long Triumphs close th' Illustrious Train.
While thus his Thunder did his Wrath declare,
And artful Lightnings flash'd along the Air,
Somona's Castles with th' impetuous Roar
Astonish'd tremble, but their Warriors more.
Lutetia's lofty Tow'rs with Terror strook
Caught the Contagion, and at distance shook.
Tell, Gallic Chiefs, for you have often heard
His dreadful Cannon, and his Fire rever'd,
Tell, how you rag'd, when your pale Cohorts run
From Marlbro's Sword, the Battel scarce begun.
Tell Scaldis, Legia tell, how to their Head
Your frighted Waves in refluent Errors fled.
Shook Menin, Lilla, and high Ganda's Tow'rs:
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Whose lofty Walls advancing Foes defy'd.
Tho' nitrous Tempests, and clandestine Death,
Fill'd the deep Caves and num'rous Vaults beneath,
Which form'd with Art, and wrought with endless Toil,
Ran thro' the faithless excavated Soil;
See, the intrepid Briton delves his Way,
And to the Caverns lets in War and Day:
Quells subterranean Foes, and rises crown'd
With Spoils, from Martial Labour under Ground.
Mons, to reward Blarignia's glorious Field,
To Marlbro's Terrors did submissive yield.
The Hero next assail'd proud Doway's Head,
And spite of confluent Inundations spread
Around, in spite of Works for sure Defence
Rais'd with consummate Art, and Cost immense
259
(Villars, thy Host beheld the hardy Deed:)
Aria, Venantia, Bethune and Bouchain
Of his long Triumphs close th' Illustrious Train.
While thus his Thunder did his Wrath declare,
And artful Lightnings flash'd along the Air,
Somona's Castles with th' impetuous Roar
Astonish'd tremble, but their Warriors more.
Lutetia's lofty Tow'rs with Terror strook
Caught the Contagion, and at distance shook.
Tell, Gallic Chiefs, for you have often heard
His dreadful Cannon, and his Fire rever'd,
Tell, how you rag'd, when your pale Cohorts run
From Marlbro's Sword, the Battel scarce begun.
Tell Scaldis, Legia tell, how to their Head
Your frighted Waves in refluent Errors fled.
While Marlbro's Cannon thus prevails by Land,
Britain's Sea-Chiefs, by Anna's high Command,
Resistless o'er the Thuscan Billows ride,
And strike rebellowing Caves on either Side.
Their Sulphur Tempests ring from Shore to Shore
Now make the Ligur start, and now the Moor.
Hark how the Sound disturbs imperious Rome,
Shakes her proud Hills, and rolls from Dome to Dome!
Her miter'd Princes hear the ecchoing Noise,
And, Albion, dread thy Wrath, and awful Voice.
Aided by thee the Austrian Eagles rise
Sublime, and triumph in Iberian Skies.
What Pannic Fear, what Anguish, what Distress
What Consternation Gallia's Sons express,
While trembling on the Coast, they from afar
View the wing'd Terrors, and the floating War
Britain's Sea-Chiefs, by Anna's high Command,
260
And strike rebellowing Caves on either Side.
Their Sulphur Tempests ring from Shore to Shore
Now make the Ligur start, and now the Moor.
Hark how the Sound disturbs imperious Rome,
Shakes her proud Hills, and rolls from Dome to Dome!
Her miter'd Princes hear the ecchoing Noise,
And, Albion, dread thy Wrath, and awful Voice.
Aided by thee the Austrian Eagles rise
Sublime, and triumph in Iberian Skies.
What Pannic Fear, what Anguish, what Distress
What Consternation Gallia's Sons express,
While trembling on the Coast, they from afar
View the wing'd Terrors, and the floating War
| Creation | |