Creation A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books. By Sir Richard Blackmore. The Second Edition |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. | BOOK IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
 | Creation |  |
157
BOOK IV.
The ARGUMENT.
The Introduction. No Man happy, that has not
conquer'd the Fears of Death. The Inability
of the Epicurean Scheme to accomplish that End.
Religion only capable of subduing those Fears.
The Hypothesis of Epicurus concerning the Formation
of the Universe shewn to be absurd,
I. In a more general Survey of the Parts of the
Universe. II. By a more close and strict Examination
of his Scheme. The Principle of Motion
not accounted for by that Scheme; nor the
Determination of it one way. Pondus, Gravity,
Innate Mobility, Words without a Meaning.
Descent of Atomes; Upwards and Downwards,
a Middle or Center absurdly asserted by
Epicurus in infinite Space. His Hypothesis not
to be supported, whether his Matter be suppos'd
Finite or Infinite. His ridiculous Assertion
relating to the Diurnal and Annual Motion of
the Sun. The Impossibility of forming the World
by the Casual Concourse of Atomes. They could
never meet if they mov'd with equal Speed
Primitive Atomes being the smallest Parts of
Matter, would move more slowly than Bodies of
greater Bulk, which have more Gravity, yet
these are absurdly suppos'd to move the swift
est. His Assertion that some Primitive Atomes
have a direct, and others an inclining Motion
implies a Contradiction. Lucretius his Explanation
of this inclining Motion of some first Atomes
not intelligible. The inexplicable Difficulty
of stopping the Atomes in their flight, and
causing them to settle in a form'd World. The
pondrous Earth not to be sustain'd in liquid Air.
The Epicurean Formation of the Heavens very
Ridiculous. No Account given by the Epicureans
how the Sun and Stars are upheld in fluid
Æther. Their Idle Account of the Formation
of the Air. The variety of Figure and Size
given by Epicurus to his Atomes, a convincing
proof of Wisdom and Design. Another proof
the disproportion of the Moist and Dry Atomes
in the Formation of the Earth. His ludicrous
and childish Account of the Formation of the
Hollow for the Sea. No Account giuen by Epicurus,
or his Followers, of the Motion of the
Heavenly Orbs, particularly of the Sun.
158
159
Carus
, we grant no Man is blest, but he,
Whose Mind from anxious Thoughts of Death is free.
Let Laurel Wreaths the Victor's Brows adorn,
Sublime thro' gazing Throngs in Triumph born:
Let Acclamations ring around the Skies,
While curling Clouds of balmy Incense rise;
Let Spoils immense, let Trophies gain'd in War,
And conquer'd Kings attend his rolling Car:
If Dread of Death still unsubdu'd remains,
And secret o'er the vanquish'd Victor reigns,
Th' Illustrious Slave in endless Thraldom bears
A heavier Chain, than his led Captive wears.
Whose Mind from anxious Thoughts of Death is free.
Let Laurel Wreaths the Victor's Brows adorn,
Sublime thro' gazing Throngs in Triumph born:
Let Acclamations ring around the Skies,
While curling Clouds of balmy Incense rise;
Let Spoils immense, let Trophies gain'd in War,
And conquer'd Kings attend his rolling Car:
If Dread of Death still unsubdu'd remains,
And secret o'er the vanquish'd Victor reigns,
Th' Illustrious Slave in endless Thraldom bears
A heavier Chain, than his led Captive wears.
160
With swiftest Wing the Fears of future Fate
Elude the Guards, and pass the Palace Gate:
Traverse the lofty Roms, and uncontroul'd
Fly hovering round the Painted Roofs, and bold
To the rich Arras cling, and perch on Busts of Gold.
Familiar Horrors haunt the Monarch's Head,
And Thoughts ill-boding from the Downy Bed
Chase gentle Sleep, black Cares the Soul infest,
And broider'd Stars adorn a troubled Breast;
In vain they ask the charming Lyre, in vain
The Flatt'rer's sweeter Voice to lull their Pain.
Riot and Wine but for a Moment please,
Delights they oft enjoy, but never Ease.
Elude the Guards, and pass the Palace Gate:
Traverse the lofty Roms, and uncontroul'd
Fly hovering round the Painted Roofs, and bold
To the rich Arras cling, and perch on Busts of Gold.
Familiar Horrors haunt the Monarch's Head,
And Thoughts ill-boding from the Downy Bed
Chase gentle Sleep, black Cares the Soul infest,
And broider'd Stars adorn a troubled Breast;
In vain they ask the charming Lyre, in vain
The Flatt'rer's sweeter Voice to lull their Pain.
Riot and Wine but for a Moment please,
Delights they oft enjoy, but never Ease.
What are Distinction, Honour, Wealth and State,
The Pomp of Courts, the Triumphs of the Great;
The num'rous Troops, that envy'd Thrones secure,
And splendid Ensigns of Imperial Pow'r?
What the high Palace reer'd with vast Expence,
Unrivall'd Art, and Luxury immense,
With Statues grac'd by Ancient Greece supply'd,
With more than Persian Wealth, and Tyrian Pride?
What are the Foods of all delicious Kinds,
Which now the Huntsman, now the Fowler finds;
The richest Wines, which Gallia's happy Field,
Which Tuscan Hills, or Thine, Iberia, yield?
The Pomp of Courts, the Triumphs of the Great;
161
And splendid Ensigns of Imperial Pow'r?
What the high Palace reer'd with vast Expence,
Unrivall'd Art, and Luxury immense,
With Statues grac'd by Ancient Greece supply'd,
With more than Persian Wealth, and Tyrian Pride?
What are the Foods of all delicious Kinds,
Which now the Huntsman, now the Fowler finds;
The richest Wines, which Gallia's happy Field,
Which Tuscan Hills, or Thine, Iberia, yield?
Nature deprav'd, Abundance does pursue,
Her first and pure Demands are cheap and few.
What Health promotes, and gives unenvy'd Peace,
Is all Expenceless, and procur'd with Ease.
Behold the Shepherd, see th' Industrious Swain,
Who ploughs the Field, or reaps the ripen'd Grain,
How mean, and yet how tasteful is their Fare?
How sweet their Sleep? Their Souls how free from Care?
They drink the streaming Crystal, and escape
Th' inflaming Juices of the Purple Grape;
And to protect their Limbs from rig'rous Air,
Garments, their own Domestick Work, they wear
Yet Thoughts of Death their lonely Cots molest,
Affright the Hind, and break the Lab'rer's Rest
Her first and pure Demands are cheap and few.
What Health promotes, and gives unenvy'd Peace,
Is all Expenceless, and procur'd with Ease.
162
Who ploughs the Field, or reaps the ripen'd Grain,
How mean, and yet how tasteful is their Fare?
How sweet their Sleep? Their Souls how free from Care?
They drink the streaming Crystal, and escape
Th' inflaming Juices of the Purple Grape;
And to protect their Limbs from rig'rous Air,
Garments, their own Domestick Work, they wear
Yet Thoughts of Death their lonely Cots molest,
Affright the Hind, and break the Lab'rer's Rest
Since these Reflections on approaching Fate,
Disturst, and Ill-presaging Care create;
'Tis clear we strive for Happiness in vain,
While Fears of Death within insulting reign.
Disturst, and Ill-presaging Care create;
'Tis clear we strive for Happiness in vain,
While Fears of Death within insulting reign.
But then Lucretian Wits absurdly frame,
To sink those inbred Fears, their Impious Scheme
To chase the Horrors of a Conscious Mind,
They desperate Means, and wild Expedients find.
The hardy Rebels aiming to appease
Their fierce Remorse, and dream a while at Ease,
Of crying Guilt th'avenging Power disown,
And pull their high Creator from his Throne:
That done, they mock the Threats of future Pain,
As Monstrous Fictions of the Poet's Brain.
To sink those inbred Fears, their Impious Scheme
163
They desperate Means, and wild Expedients find.
The hardy Rebels aiming to appease
Their fierce Remorse, and dream a while at Ease,
Of crying Guilt th'avenging Power disown,
And pull their high Creator from his Throne:
That done, they mock the Threats of future Pain,
As Monstrous Fictions of the Poet's Brain.
Thy Force alone, Religion, Death disarms,
Breaks all his Darts, and every Viper charms.
Soften'd by Thee, the grisly Form appears
No more the horrid Object of our Fears.
We undismay'd this awful Power obey,
That guides us thro' the safe, tho' gloomy Way
Which leads to Life, and to the blest Abode,
Where ravish'd Minds enjoy, what here they own'd, a God.
Breaks all his Darts, and every Viper charms.
Soften'd by Thee, the grisly Form appears
No more the horrid Object of our Fears.
We undismay'd this awful Power obey,
That guides us thro' the safe, tho' gloomy Way
Which leads to Life, and to the blest Abode,
Where ravish'd Minds enjoy, what here they own'd, a God.
164
Regard, ye Sages of Lucretian Race,
Nature's rich Dress, behold her lovely Face.
Look all around, Terrestrial Realms survey,
The Isles, the Rivers, and the spacious Sea:
Observe the Air, view with attentive Eyes
The glorious Concave of the vaulted Skies;
Could these from Casual Hits, from Tumult these arise?
Can Rule and Beauty from Distraction grow?
Can Symmetry from wild Confusion flow?
When Atomes in th'unmeasur'd Space did rove
And in the Dark for doubtful Empire strove;
Did intervening Chance the Feuds compose,
Establish Friendship, and disarm the Foes?
Did This the Ancient darksom Horrors chace,
Distinction give, and spread Celestial Grace
O'er the black Districts of the empty Space?
Could Atomes, which with undirected flight
Roam'd thro' the Void, and rang'd the Realms of Night,
Of Reason destitute, without Intent,
Depriv'd of Choice, and mindless of Event,
In Order march, and to their Posts advance,
Led by no Guide, but undesigning Chance?
Nature's rich Dress, behold her lovely Face.
Look all around, Terrestrial Realms survey,
The Isles, the Rivers, and the spacious Sea:
Observe the Air, view with attentive Eyes
The glorious Concave of the vaulted Skies;
Could these from Casual Hits, from Tumult these arise?
Can Rule and Beauty from Distraction grow?
Can Symmetry from wild Confusion flow?
When Atomes in th'unmeasur'd Space did rove
And in the Dark for doubtful Empire strove;
Did intervening Chance the Feuds compose,
Establish Friendship, and disarm the Foes?
Did This the Ancient darksom Horrors chace,
Distinction give, and spread Celestial Grace
O'er the black Districts of the empty Space?
165
Roam'd thro' the Void, and rang'd the Realms of Night,
Of Reason destitute, without Intent,
Depriv'd of Choice, and mindless of Event,
In Order march, and to their Posts advance,
Led by no Guide, but undesigning Chance?
What did th'entangled Particles divide,
And sort the various Seeds of Things ally'd?
To make primæval Elements select
All the fit Atomes, and th'unfit reject?
Distinguish Hot from Cold, and Moist from Dry,
Range some to form the Earth, and some the Sky?
From the Embrace, and gloomy Arms of Night,
What freed the glimm'ring Fire, and disengag'd the Light?
Could Chance such just and prudent Measures take?
To frame the World such Distribution make?
If to your Builder you will Conduct give,
A Pow'r to chuse, to manage and contrive,
Your Idol Chance, suppos'd Inert and Blind,
Must be enrol'd an active Conscious Mind.
Did this your Wise and Sovereign Architect
Design the Model, and the World erect?
Were by her Skill the deep Foundations laid,
The Globes suspended, and the Heav'ns display'd?
By what Elastic Engines did she reer
The starry Roof, and roll the Orbs in Air?
And sort the various Seeds of Things ally'd?
To make primæval Elements select
All the fit Atomes, and th'unfit reject?
Distinguish Hot from Cold, and Moist from Dry,
Range some to form the Earth, and some the Sky?
From the Embrace, and gloomy Arms of Night,
What freed the glimm'ring Fire, and disengag'd the Light?
166
To frame the World such Distribution make?
If to your Builder you will Conduct give,
A Pow'r to chuse, to manage and contrive,
Your Idol Chance, suppos'd Inert and Blind,
Must be enrol'd an active Conscious Mind.
Did this your Wise and Sovereign Architect
Design the Model, and the World erect?
Were by her Skill the deep Foundations laid,
The Globes suspended, and the Heav'ns display'd?
By what Elastic Engines did she reer
The starry Roof, and roll the Orbs in Air?
On the Formation of the Earth reflect;
Is this a blind Fortuitous Effect?
Did all the grosser Atomes, at the call
Of Chance, file off to form the pondrous Ball,
And undetermin'd into Order fall?
Did of themselves th'assembled Seeds arrive,
And without Art this artful Frame contrive?
To build the Earth did Chance Materials chuse,
And thro' the Parts cementing Glue diffuse?
Adjust the Frontier of the Sea and Soil,
Balance and hang in Air the finish'd Pile?
Ye tow'ring Hills, whose snowy Peaks arise
Above the Clouds, and winter in the Skies;
Ye Rocks, which on the Shores your Heads advance,
Are you the Labour and the Care of Chance?
To draw up Stones of such prodigious Weight,
And raise th' amazing Heaps to such a height,
What huge Machine, what forceful Instrument
Did your blind Builder of the World invent?
Could it distinguish, could it Wall around
The damp and dark Apartments under Ground?
With Rocky Arches vault the hollow Caves,
And form the Tracks of Subterranean Waves?
Extend the diff'rent Mineral Veins, and spread
For rich Metallic Oars the genial Bed?
Is this a blind Fortuitous Effect?
Did all the grosser Atomes, at the call
Of Chance, file off to form the pondrous Ball,
And undetermin'd into Order fall?
167
And without Art this artful Frame contrive?
To build the Earth did Chance Materials chuse,
And thro' the Parts cementing Glue diffuse?
Adjust the Frontier of the Sea and Soil,
Balance and hang in Air the finish'd Pile?
Ye tow'ring Hills, whose snowy Peaks arise
Above the Clouds, and winter in the Skies;
Ye Rocks, which on the Shores your Heads advance,
Are you the Labour and the Care of Chance?
To draw up Stones of such prodigious Weight,
And raise th' amazing Heaps to such a height,
What huge Machine, what forceful Instrument
Did your blind Builder of the World invent?
Could it distinguish, could it Wall around
The damp and dark Apartments under Ground?
168
And form the Tracks of Subterranean Waves?
Extend the diff'rent Mineral Veins, and spread
For rich Metallic Oars the genial Bed?
What could prepare the Gulphs to entertain
Between their Shores the interposing Main?
Dis-join the Land, the various Realms divide,
And spread with scatter'd Isles th' extended Tide?
Regard th' unnumber'd Wonders of the Deep,
Where confluent Streams, their Race compleated sleep.
Did Chance the Compass take, and in the Dark
The wide Dimensions of the Ocean mark?
Then dig the ample Cave, and stretch the Shores
Whose winding Arms confine the liquid Stores,
Which gushing from the Mountain to the Main
Thro' verdant Vallies draw their humid Train?
Did it design the deep Abyss, and spread
The ancient Waters on their Central Bed?
To the wild Flood did Sovereign Fortune say,
Thus far advance, and here thy Billows stay:
Be this thy Barrier, this enclosing Sand
Thou shalt not pass, nor overflow the Land;
And do the Waves revere her high Command?
Between their Shores the interposing Main?
Dis-join the Land, the various Realms divide,
And spread with scatter'd Isles th' extended Tide?
Regard th' unnumber'd Wonders of the Deep,
Where confluent Streams, their Race compleated sleep.
Did Chance the Compass take, and in the Dark
The wide Dimensions of the Ocean mark?
Then dig the ample Cave, and stretch the Shores
Whose winding Arms confine the liquid Stores,
Which gushing from the Mountain to the Main
Thro' verdant Vallies draw their humid Train?
169
The ancient Waters on their Central Bed?
To the wild Flood did Sovereign Fortune say,
Thus far advance, and here thy Billows stay:
Be this thy Barrier, this enclosing Sand
Thou shalt not pass, nor overflow the Land;
And do the Waves revere her high Command?
Did Chymic Chance the Furnaces prepare,
Raise all the Labour-Houses of the Air,
And lay crude Vapours in Digestion there?
Where Nature is employ'd with wondrous Skill
To draw her Spirits, and her Drops distil:
Meteors for various Purposes to form,
The Breeze to cheer, to terrifie the Storm.
Did she extend the gloomy Clouds on high,
Where all th' amazing Fireworks of the Sky,
In unconcocted Seeds fermenting lie?
Till the imprison'd Flames are ripe for Birth,
And ruddy Bolts exploded wound the Earth.
What ready Hand applies the kindled Match,
Which Evening Trains of unctuous Vapours catch;
Whence shoots with lambent Flight the falling Star,
And Flames unhurtful hovering dance in Air?
What curious Loom does Chance by Evening spread?
With what fine Shuttle weave the Virgin's Thread,
Which, like the Spider's Net, hangs on the grassy Mead?
Let us the Moulds to fashion Meteors know,
How These produce the Hail, and Those the Snow?
What gave the Exhalations Wings to rise,
To leave their Center, and possess the Skies.
Raise all the Labour-Houses of the Air,
And lay crude Vapours in Digestion there?
Where Nature is employ'd with wondrous Skill
To draw her Spirits, and her Drops distil:
Meteors for various Purposes to form,
The Breeze to cheer, to terrifie the Storm.
Did she extend the gloomy Clouds on high,
Where all th' amazing Fireworks of the Sky,
In unconcocted Seeds fermenting lie?
170
And ruddy Bolts exploded wound the Earth.
What ready Hand applies the kindled Match,
Which Evening Trains of unctuous Vapours catch;
Whence shoots with lambent Flight the falling Star,
And Flames unhurtful hovering dance in Air?
What curious Loom does Chance by Evening spread?
With what fine Shuttle weave the Virgin's Thread,
Which, like the Spider's Net, hangs on the grassy Mead?
Let us the Moulds to fashion Meteors know,
How These produce the Hail, and Those the Snow?
What gave the Exhalations Wings to rise,
To leave their Center, and possess the Skies.
171
Let us no longer missive Weapons throw,
But close the Fight, and grapple with the Foe:
Submit to Reason's strictest Test their Scheme,
And by Mechanic Laws pursue the huddled Frame.
See, how th' ambitious Architects design
To reer the World without the Pow'r Divine.
As Principles the great Contrivers place
Unbounded Matter, in unbounded Space.
Matter was first, in Parts Minute, endu'd
With various Figures, various Magnitude.
Some moving in the Spacious Infinite,
Describe a Line Oblique, and some a Right.
For did not some from a strait Course deflect,
They could not meet, they could no World erect.
While unfatigu'd from endless Ages past,
They rang'd the dark interminable Waste,
Oft clashing and rencountring in their flight,
Some Atomes leap aside, and some upright.
They various Ways recoil, and swiftly flow
By mutual Repercussions to and fro.
'Till shuffled and entangled in their Race,
They clasp each other with a close Embrace.
Combin'd by Concourse, mingled and comprest,
They grow in Bulk, and complicated rest.
Hence did the World, and all its Parts arise,
Hence the bright Sun and Stars, and hence the Skies.
Hence sprung the Air, the Ocean, and the Earth
And hence all Nature had its casual Birth.
But close the Fight, and grapple with the Foe:
Submit to Reason's strictest Test their Scheme,
And by Mechanic Laws pursue the huddled Frame.
See, how th' ambitious Architects design
To reer the World without the Pow'r Divine.
As Principles the great Contrivers place
Unbounded Matter, in unbounded Space.
Matter was first, in Parts Minute, endu'd
With various Figures, various Magnitude.
Some moving in the Spacious Infinite,
Describe a Line Oblique, and some a Right.
For did not some from a strait Course deflect,
They could not meet, they could no World erect.
While unfatigu'd from endless Ages past,
They rang'd the dark interminable Waste,
172
Some Atomes leap aside, and some upright.
They various Ways recoil, and swiftly flow
By mutual Repercussions to and fro.
'Till shuffled and entangled in their Race,
They clasp each other with a close Embrace.
Combin'd by Concourse, mingled and comprest,
They grow in Bulk, and complicated rest.
Hence did the World, and all its Parts arise,
Hence the bright Sun and Stars, and hence the Skies.
Hence sprung the Air, the Ocean, and the Earth
And hence all Nature had its casual Birth.
If you demand what Wise Directing Mind
The wondrous Platform of the World design'd
Did range, divide, and in their Order place
The crude Materials of th' unfashion'd Mass;
Did move, direct, and all the Parts controul,
With perfect Skill to serve the beauteous Whole;
Fortune to this high Honour they advance,
And no Surveyor want, no Guide, but Chance.
The wondrous Platform of the World design'd
Did range, divide, and in their Order place
The crude Materials of th' unfashion'd Mass;
173
With perfect Skill to serve the beauteous Whole;
Fortune to this high Honour they advance,
And no Surveyor want, no Guide, but Chance.
Lucretian Masters, now to make it plain
In building Worlds how raw you are, and vain:
Grant that before this mighty Frame was reer'd,
Before Confusion fled, and Light appear'd;
In the dark Void and empty Realms of Night,
Your restless Atomes did pursue their Flight;
And in their adverse Paths, and wild Career
By Chance rencounter, and by Chance cohere;
Thus claspt in strict Embraces they produce
Unnumber'd casual Forms for different use.
You, who to clearer Reason make Pretence,
Of Wit refin'd, and eminent in Sense,
Let us, ye Sons of Epicurus, know
The Spring, whence all these various Motions flow.
What Vigour pusht Primæval Atomes on?
Was it a foreign Impulse or their own?
If 'twas a foreign delegated Force,
Which mov'd those Bodies, and controul'd their Course,
Asserting this, you your own Scheme destroy,
And Pow'r Divine, to form the World, employ.
If from a moving Principle within
Your active Atomes did their Flight begin,
That Spring, that moving Principle explain,
And in the Scools unrivall'd you shall reign;
Declare its Nature, and assign its Name;
For Motion, and its Cause, are not the same.
In building Worlds how raw you are, and vain:
Grant that before this mighty Frame was reer'd,
Before Confusion fled, and Light appear'd;
In the dark Void and empty Realms of Night,
Your restless Atomes did pursue their Flight;
And in their adverse Paths, and wild Career
By Chance rencounter, and by Chance cohere;
Thus claspt in strict Embraces they produce
Unnumber'd casual Forms for different use.
You, who to clearer Reason make Pretence,
Of Wit refin'd, and eminent in Sense,
174
The Spring, whence all these various Motions flow.
What Vigour pusht Primæval Atomes on?
Was it a foreign Impulse or their own?
If 'twas a foreign delegated Force,
Which mov'd those Bodies, and controul'd their Course,
Asserting this, you your own Scheme destroy,
And Pow'r Divine, to form the World, employ.
If from a moving Principle within
Your active Atomes did their Flight begin,
That Spring, that moving Principle explain,
And in the Scools unrivall'd you shall reign;
Declare its Nature, and assign its Name;
For Motion, and its Cause, are not the same.
We know you'll tell us 'tis impulsive Weight,
Mobility, or Pow'r to move Innate:
Profound Solution! worthy of your Schools,
Where in its boasted Freedom Reason rules:
But thus you mock Mankind, and Language use,
Not to inform the Mind, but to amuse.
Of Motion we the Principle demand,
You say 'tis Pow'r to move, and there you stand!
But is it to explain to change the Name?
Is not the Doubt in different Words the same?
Do you reveal the Spring of Motion more,
By wisely calling That a moving Pow'r,
Which we had term'd a Principle before:
The youngest Head new verst in Reas'ning knows,
That Motion must a Pow'r to move suppose,
Which while in vain you labour to unfold,
You clearly tell us, that Lucretians hold
An active Spring, a Principle approve,
Distinct from Matter, which must Matter move.
Matter, as such, abstracted in the Mind,
We from a Pow'r to move divested find,
Not more to Motion, than to Rest inclin'd.
The Pow'r, which Motion does to Matter give,
We therefore must distinct from both conceive.
A Pow'r to Nature giv'n by Nature's Lord,
When first he spoke the high Creating Word:
When for his World Materials he prepar'd,
And on each Part this Energy conferr'd.
Mobility, or Pow'r to move Innate:
175
Where in its boasted Freedom Reason rules:
But thus you mock Mankind, and Language use,
Not to inform the Mind, but to amuse.
Of Motion we the Principle demand,
You say 'tis Pow'r to move, and there you stand!
But is it to explain to change the Name?
Is not the Doubt in different Words the same?
Do you reveal the Spring of Motion more,
By wisely calling That a moving Pow'r,
Which we had term'd a Principle before:
The youngest Head new verst in Reas'ning knows,
That Motion must a Pow'r to move suppose,
Which while in vain you labour to unfold,
You clearly tell us, that Lucretians hold
An active Spring, a Principle approve,
Distinct from Matter, which must Matter move.
176
We from a Pow'r to move divested find,
Not more to Motion, than to Rest inclin'd.
The Pow'r, which Motion does to Matter give,
We therefore must distinct from both conceive.
A Pow'r to Nature giv'n by Nature's Lord,
When first he spoke the high Creating Word:
When for his World Materials he prepar'd,
And on each Part this Energy conferr'd.
Ye vain Philosophers, presumptuous Race,
Who would the Great Eternal Mind displace,
Take from the World its Maker, and advance
To his high Throne your Thoughtless Idol Chance;
Let us th' Enquiry by just Steps pursue;
With Motion we your Atomes will endue.
We ask, when in the spacious Void they stray,
Why still they beat one Track, and move one Way?
Still the same flight why do their Parties take?
Why This, or That Way no Digression make?
Who would the Great Eternal Mind displace,
Take from the World its Maker, and advance
To his high Throne your Thoughtless Idol Chance;
Let us th' Enquiry by just Steps pursue;
With Motion we your Atomes will endue.
177
Why still they beat one Track, and move one Way?
Still the same flight why do their Parties take?
Why This, or That Way no Digression make?
What will to this our Atomists reply?
They answer, By an Innate Gravity
The pondrous Bodies still are downward born,
And never upwards of themselves return:
Acute and solid Answer! See a flight,
Worthy of finest Wit, and clearest Sight!
Do not these Wise Mechanic Masters know,
That no Man can conceive or high or low,
Nor find Distinction of superior Place,
Or of Inferior, in the empty Space
Uncircumscrib'd, and ignorant of Bound,
And where no Mid'st, no Center can be found?
They answer, By an Innate Gravity
The pondrous Bodies still are downward born,
And never upwards of themselves return:
Acute and solid Answer! See a flight,
Worthy of finest Wit, and clearest Sight!
Do not these Wise Mechanic Masters know,
That no Man can conceive or high or low,
Nor find Distinction of superior Place,
Or of Inferior, in the empty Space
Uncircumscrib'd, and ignorant of Bound,
And where no Mid'st, no Center can be found?
178
Perhaps, your Master's Doctrine to sustain,
And Matter's downward Motion to explain,
You with his famous Gallic Friend assert,
That is Superior, whence your Atomes start,
And that Inferior in the empty Space,
To which they all direct their rapid Race.
And Matter's downward Motion to explain,
You with his famous Gallic Friend assert,
That is Superior, whence your Atomes start,
And that Inferior in the empty Space,
To which they all direct their rapid Race.
Now let us recollect, and what you say
At large, in one contracted View survey.
You say your Atomes move; we ask you, Why
Because it is their Nature, you reply:
But since that Native Pow'r you never shew,
You only say they move, because they do;
But let your Atomes move, we bid you say
Why they move This, and not a diff'rent Way
You tell us, 'tis from inbred Gravity;
That is, you tell us, 'tis you know not why.
'Till what is Gravity you let us know,
By senseless Words how can we wiser grow?
We give you this Ingenite, moving Force,
That makes them always downward take their Course,
We then demand which Place Inferior is
Within the spacious unconfin'd Abyss?
You say 'tis that, to which the Atomes bend
Their swift Career, for still they must descend;
That is, they downward move, because they downward tend.
At large, in one contracted View survey.
You say your Atomes move; we ask you, Why
Because it is their Nature, you reply:
But since that Native Pow'r you never shew,
You only say they move, because they do;
But let your Atomes move, we bid you say
Why they move This, and not a diff'rent Way
You tell us, 'tis from inbred Gravity;
That is, you tell us, 'tis you know not why.
179
By senseless Words how can we wiser grow?
We give you this Ingenite, moving Force,
That makes them always downward take their Course,
We then demand which Place Inferior is
Within the spacious unconfin'd Abyss?
You say 'tis that, to which the Atomes bend
Their swift Career, for still they must descend;
That is, they downward move, because they downward tend.
Let us, Lucretians, now our Task pursue,
And of your Scheme remaining Wonders view.
Say, if your Atomes of Immortal Race
Are equal, and commensurate to Space:
If so, the boundless vast Immensity
While thus possest would full of Matter be:
For in the Vacant (as your Schools approve)
Should Finite Matter be suppos'd to move,
Not knowing how to stop, or where to stay,
It unobstructed must pursue its way,
Be lost in Void Immense, and dissipated stray.
The scatt'ring Bodies never would combine,
Nor to compose a World by Concourse join.
But if all Space is full, if all possest,
Which Supposition you embrace as best,
Then crowded Matter would for ever rest.
Nature no Change of Place had ever seen,
Where all is full no Motion can begin.
For if it should, you'll be compell'd to say,
Body does Body pierce, to force its way;
Or unconfin'd Immensity retreats,
To give your Atomes room to change their Sea
And here with us Lucretius does agree,
That if some Place from Matter be not free,
In Plenitude no Motion could commence,
All would be stagnant in the vast Immense.
And of your Scheme remaining Wonders view.
Say, if your Atomes of Immortal Race
Are equal, and commensurate to Space:
If so, the boundless vast Immensity
While thus possest would full of Matter be:
180
Should Finite Matter be suppos'd to move,
Not knowing how to stop, or where to stay,
It unobstructed must pursue its way,
Be lost in Void Immense, and dissipated stray.
The scatt'ring Bodies never would combine,
Nor to compose a World by Concourse join.
But if all Space is full, if all possest,
Which Supposition you embrace as best,
Then crowded Matter would for ever rest.
Nature no Change of Place had ever seen,
Where all is full no Motion can begin.
For if it should, you'll be compell'd to say,
Body does Body pierce, to force its way;
Or unconfin'd Immensity retreats,
To give your Atomes room to change their Sea
And here with us Lucretius does agree,
That if some Place from Matter be not free,
181
All would be stagnant in the vast Immense.
If it be said, small Parts of empty Space
Are interspers'd thro' all the spreading Mass,
By which some Bodies give to others place:
Then Matter you must grant, would Finite be,
And stretch unequal to Immensity:
And then, as Epicurus judges right,
It would for ever take an useless Flight,
Lost in Expansion void and infinite.
Besides, allowing thro' th' extended Whole
Small scatter'd Spaces not of Body full,
Then Matter, you Lucretians must agree,
Has not Existence from Necessity.
For if its Being necessary were,
Why are some Parts of Space from Matter clear,
Why does it here Exist, and why not There?
Are interspers'd thro' all the spreading Mass,
By which some Bodies give to others place:
Then Matter you must grant, would Finite be,
And stretch unequal to Immensity:
And then, as Epicurus judges right,
It would for ever take an useless Flight,
Lost in Expansion void and infinite.
Besides, allowing thro' th' extended Whole
Small scatter'd Spaces not of Body full,
Then Matter, you Lucretians must agree,
Has not Existence from Necessity.
For if its Being necessary were,
Why are some Parts of Space from Matter clear,
Why does it here Exist, and why not There?
182
Lucretians, now which side you please, embrace;
If in your Void you Finite Substance place,
'Tis dissipated thro' th' Immense Abyss,
And you to form the World Materials miss.
You'll not the Progress of your Atomes stay,
Nor to collect the Vagrants find a way.
Thus too your Master's Scheme will be destroy'd,
Who wholly to possess the Boundless Void,
No less than Matter Infinite employ'd.
If you in Honour to your Founder's Skill,
The Boundless Void with Boundless Sustance fill
Then tell us, how you can your Bodies roll
Thro' Space, of Matter so compleatly full?
The Force this single Reason does exert,
Will the Foundations of your Scheme subvert:
Nor were it needful to pursue the Blow,
Or form a fresh Attack, unless to show
How slight your Works in ev'ry Quarter are,
How ill your huddled Sentiments cohere.
If in your Void you Finite Substance place,
'Tis dissipated thro' th' Immense Abyss,
And you to form the World Materials miss.
You'll not the Progress of your Atomes stay,
Nor to collect the Vagrants find a way.
Thus too your Master's Scheme will be destroy'd,
Who wholly to possess the Boundless Void,
No less than Matter Infinite employ'd.
If you in Honour to your Founder's Skill,
The Boundless Void with Boundless Sustance fill
Then tell us, how you can your Bodies roll
Thro' Space, of Matter so compleatly full?
The Force this single Reason does exert,
Will the Foundations of your Scheme subvert:
Nor were it needful to pursue the Blow,
Or form a fresh Attack, unless to show
183
How ill your huddled Sentiments cohere.
Be this, O Greece, thy everlasting Shame,
That thoughtless Epicurus rais'd a Name,
Who built by artless Chance this mighty Frame.
Could one whose Wit such narrow Limits bound,
Nature, thy Depths unfathomable sound?
Of his sagacious Thoughts to give a Part,
Does not this wise Philosopher assert
The radiant Sun's extinguish'd ev'ry Night,
And ev'ry Morn, rekindled, darts his Light?
That the vast Orb, which casts so far his Beams,
Is such, or not much bigger, than he seems?
That the Dimensions of his glorious Face,
Two Geometric Feet do scarce surpass?
Does he not make the fickle Winds convey
The Sun revolving thro' his crooked way?
That thoughtless Epicurus rais'd a Name,
Who built by artless Chance this mighty Frame.
Could one whose Wit such narrow Limits bound,
Nature, thy Depths unfathomable sound?
Of his sagacious Thoughts to give a Part,
Does not this wise Philosopher assert
The radiant Sun's extinguish'd ev'ry Night,
And ev'ry Morn, rekindled, darts his Light?
That the vast Orb, which casts so far his Beams,
Is such, or not much bigger, than he seems?
That the Dimensions of his glorious Face,
Two Geometric Feet do scarce surpass?
Does he not make the fickle Winds convey
The Sun revolving thro' his crooked way?
184
But since his School has gain'd such spreading Fame,
And modern Wits his Master-Skill proclaim;
Let us yet farther carry this Debate,
And, as you ask, confer on Matter Weight
To make it move within the vast Abyss,
And downward too, ev'n where no Downward is.
If this be true, as you Lucretians say,
That Atomes wing with equal Speed their way,
Then how could This, That Atome overtake?
How could they clash, and how Collisions make?
If in a Line Oblique your Bodies rove,
Or in a Perpendicular they move,
If some advance not slower in their Race,
And some more swift should not pursue the Chace,
How could they be entangled, how embrace?
'Tis Demonstration, 'tis Meridian Light,
Those Bodies ne'er could justle, ne'er could fight,
Nor by their mutual Shocks be ruffled in their flight.
And modern Wits his Master-Skill proclaim;
Let us yet farther carry this Debate,
And, as you ask, confer on Matter Weight
To make it move within the vast Abyss,
And downward too, ev'n where no Downward is.
If this be true, as you Lucretians say,
That Atomes wing with equal Speed their way,
Then how could This, That Atome overtake?
How could they clash, and how Collisions make?
If in a Line Oblique your Bodies rove,
Or in a Perpendicular they move,
If some advance not slower in their Race,
And some more swift should not pursue the Chace,
How could they be entangled, how embrace?
185
Those Bodies ne'er could justle, ne'er could fight,
Nor by their mutual Shocks be ruffled in their flight.
Since Matter of a greater Magnitude
Must be with greater Gravity endu'd,
Then the Minutest Parts must still proceed
With Less, the Greater with the Greater Speed.
Hence your first Bodies, which the smallest are,
On which the swiftest Motion you confer,
Must be contented with the slowest Pace,
And yield to Matter of more Bulk the Race.
Must be with greater Gravity endu'd,
Then the Minutest Parts must still proceed
With Less, the Greater with the Greater Speed.
Hence your first Bodies, which the smallest are,
On which the swiftest Motion you confer,
Must be contented with the slowest Pace,
And yield to Matter of more Bulk the Race.
How wond'rous little must those Atomes be,
Which you endow with such Velocity;
Minute beyond Conception, when we find
Bodies so small, where many are combin'd?
How many various Figures must we take,
What numerous Complications use, to make
Some compound Things, so small of Magnitude,
That all our Senses they with Ease elude?
Which you endow with such Velocity;
186
Bodies so small, where many are combin'd?
How many various Figures must we take,
What numerous Complications use, to make
Some compound Things, so small of Magnitude,
That all our Senses they with Ease elude?
Light Exhalations, that from Earth arise
Attracted by the Sun-Beams thro' the Skies,
Which the mysterious Seeds of Thunder bear,
Of Winds, and all the Meteors of the Air,
Tho' they around us take their constant Flight,
Their little Size escapes the sharpest Sight.
The fragrant Vapours breath'd from rich Perfumes,
From Indian Spices, and Arabian Gums,
Tho' many Years they flow, will scarce abate
The Odoriferous Body's Bulk or Weight.
Attracted by the Sun-Beams thro' the Skies,
Which the mysterious Seeds of Thunder bear,
Of Winds, and all the Meteors of the Air,
Tho' they around us take their constant Flight,
Their little Size escapes the sharpest Sight.
The fragrant Vapours breath'd from rich Perfumes,
From Indian Spices, and Arabian Gums,
Tho' many Years they flow, will scarce abate
The Odoriferous Body's Bulk or Weight.
187
Tho' Antimonial Cups prepar'd with Art
Their force to Wine thro' Ages should impart;
This Dissipation, this profuse Expence,
Nor shrinks their Size, nor wastes their Stores immense.
The Powder which destructive Guns explode,
And by its Force their hollow Wombs unload,
When rarify'd of Space possesses more
Some hundred times, than what it fill'd before.
The Seeds of Fern, which by prolific Heat,
Cheer'd and unfolded form a Plant so great,
Are less a thousand times, than what the Eye
Can unassisted by the Tube descry.
By Glasses aided we in Liquor see
Some Living Things Minute to that degree;
That a prodigious Number must Unite,
To make the smallest Object of the Sight.
Their force to Wine thro' Ages should impart;
This Dissipation, this profuse Expence,
Nor shrinks their Size, nor wastes their Stores immense.
The Powder which destructive Guns explode,
And by its Force their hollow Wombs unload,
When rarify'd of Space possesses more
Some hundred times, than what it fill'd before.
The Seeds of Fern, which by prolific Heat,
Cheer'd and unfolded form a Plant so great,
Are less a thousand times, than what the Eye
Can unassisted by the Tube descry.
By Glasses aided we in Liquor see
Some Living Things Minute to that degree;
That a prodigious Number must Unite,
To make the smallest Object of the Sight.
188
How little Bodies must the Light compound,
Which by your Masters is Corporeal own'd?
Since the vast Deluge of refulgent Rays,
Which in a Day the Sun a thousand ways
Thro' his wide Empire lavishly conveys;
Were they collected in one solid Mass,
Might not in Weight a single Drachm surpass.
Which by your Masters is Corporeal own'd?
Since the vast Deluge of refulgent Rays,
Which in a Day the Sun a thousand ways
Thro' his wide Empire lavishly conveys;
Were they collected in one solid Mass,
Might not in Weight a single Drachm surpass.
At least those Atomes wondrous small must be,
Small to an unconceivable Degree,
Since tho' these radiant Spoils disperst in Air
Do ne'er return, and ne'er the Sun repair,
Yet the bright Orb, whence still new Torrent flow,
Does no apparent Loss, no Diminution know.
Now curious Wits, who Nature's Work inspect
With Rapture, with Astonishment reflect
On the small size of Atomes, which unite
To make the smallest Particle of Light.
Then how Minute Primæval Atomes are,
From this Account Lucretians may infer:
Yet they on these, without regard to Right,
Confer the Honour of the quickest Flight.
Small to an unconceivable Degree,
Since tho' these radiant Spoils disperst in Air
Do ne'er return, and ne'er the Sun repair,
Yet the bright Orb, whence still new Torrent flow,
Does no apparent Loss, no Diminution know.
Now curious Wits, who Nature's Work inspect
With Rapture, with Astonishment reflect
189
To make the smallest Particle of Light.
Then how Minute Primæval Atomes are,
From this Account Lucretians may infer:
Yet they on these, without regard to Right,
Confer the Honour of the quickest Flight.
Within the Void with what a swift Career
Your rapid Matter moves will thus appear.
That all mixt Bodies are in Speed out-done
By your first Atomes, you with Ease will own:
For Compound Beings can no Motion have,
But what their first Constituent Atomes gave:
Then your Primæval Substances exceed
The swift-wing'd Wind, or swifter Light in speed.
How soon the Sun-Beams at the Morning Birth
Leap down from Heav'n, and light upon the Earth?
Prodigious Flight! They in few Moments pass
The vast Etherial Interposing Space:
Should you enjoin a Rock so hard a Task,
It would more Years, than Light will Minutes ask.
One Atome then, so you'll be forc'd to say,
Must Rocks and Hills and the whole Globe outweigh:
Since it exceeds them by its swifter flight,
And swifter Motion springs from greater Weight
Your rapid Matter moves will thus appear.
That all mixt Bodies are in Speed out-done
By your first Atomes, you with Ease will own:
For Compound Beings can no Motion have,
But what their first Constituent Atomes gave:
Then your Primæval Substances exceed
The swift-wing'd Wind, or swifter Light in speed.
How soon the Sun-Beams at the Morning Birth
Leap down from Heav'n, and light upon the Earth?
190
The vast Etherial Interposing Space:
Should you enjoin a Rock so hard a Task,
It would more Years, than Light will Minutes ask.
One Atome then, so you'll be forc'd to say,
Must Rocks and Hills and the whole Globe outweigh:
Since it exceeds them by its swifter flight,
And swifter Motion springs from greater Weight
If Nature's Law your Atomes do's enjoin
To move directly downward in a Line,
Say, how can any from that Path decline?
Th'inclining Motion then, which you suppose,
Whence the first Concourse of your Atomes rose
Must the great Maxim of your Schools subvert,
Which still with one Confed'rate Voice assert,
That Matter by Necessity descends,
In Lines direct, yet part Obliquely tends.
And thus your Matter, by its Native Force,
To diff'rent Points would steer a diff'rent Course:
Determin'd by the same impulsive Weight
Move in a Line oblique, and in a straight.
To move directly downward in a Line,
Say, how can any from that Path decline?
Th'inclining Motion then, which you suppose,
Whence the first Concourse of your Atomes rose
Must the great Maxim of your Schools subvert,
Which still with one Confed'rate Voice assert,
191
In Lines direct, yet part Obliquely tends.
And thus your Matter, by its Native Force,
To diff'rent Points would steer a diff'rent Course:
Determin'd by the same impulsive Weight
Move in a Line oblique, and in a straight.
To heal your System's deep and ghastly Wound,
Which this Objection gives, Lucretius found
A method; who a Motion did invent
Not strait entirely, nor entirely bent:
Which forms a Line to Crooked somewhat like,
Slanting almost, and as it were, Oblique.
Who does not now this wondrous Bard adore?
See Reason's Conqu'ring Light, and Wit's resistless Pow'r.
Which this Objection gives, Lucretius found
A method; who a Motion did invent
Not strait entirely, nor entirely bent:
Which forms a Line to Crooked somewhat like,
Slanting almost, and as it were, Oblique.
Who does not now this wondrous Bard adore?
See Reason's Conqu'ring Light, and Wit's resistless Pow'r.
If Atomes after their Eternal Dance,
Unto this beauteous Fabrick leap'd by Chance;
If they combin'd by Casual Concourse, say,
What in a free and unobstructed Way,
Did in a full Career your Atomes stay?
What Mounds, what Force, when rushing from the Height
Of Space Immense, could stop them in their flight?
Why in their Road did they not forward pass,
But stay, where now we find the settled Mass?
Why did they cease from moving in despight
Of their own Nature, and impelling Weight?
Had the wise Troops Sagacity to know,
That there arriv'd, they should no further go?
That in this Point of all the spacious Void,
To form a World they were to be employ'd?
Did they in Prospect of so great a Good,
In this one Place of all the liquid Road,
All their encumbring Gravity unload?
Fatigu'd, and spent with Labour infinite,
Did they grow Torpid, and unapt for flight?
Or in th' Embrace and downy Lap of Air
Lull'd and enchanted, did they settle there?
Unto this beauteous Fabrick leap'd by Chance;
192
What in a free and unobstructed Way,
Did in a full Career your Atomes stay?
What Mounds, what Force, when rushing from the Height
Of Space Immense, could stop them in their flight?
Why in their Road did they not forward pass,
But stay, where now we find the settled Mass?
Why did they cease from moving in despight
Of their own Nature, and impelling Weight?
Had the wise Troops Sagacity to know,
That there arriv'd, they should no further go?
That in this Point of all the spacious Void,
To form a World they were to be employ'd?
Did they in Prospect of so great a Good,
In this one Place of all the liquid Road,
All their encumbring Gravity unload?
193
Did they grow Torpid, and unapt for flight?
Or in th' Embrace and downy Lap of Air
Lull'd and enchanted, did they settle there?
Grant in this single Place by Chance they met,
That there by Chance they did their Weight forget;
It happen'd there they form'd a mighty Mass,
Where yet no Order, no Distinction was:
Let this be so; we ask you to explain
The wondrous Pow'r that did the Parts sustain,
For still their Nature and their Weight remain.
What from Descent should pond'rous Matter stay,
When no more pond'rous Matter stops its Way?
Can airy Columns prop the mighty Ball,
As Pressure ballance, and prevent its Fall?
And after this remains a mighty Task,
Which more than Human Skill and Pow'r will ask,
The strong mysterious Cements to unfold,
Which Atomes strictly complicated hold.
That there by Chance they did their Weight forget;
It happen'd there they form'd a mighty Mass,
Where yet no Order, no Distinction was:
Let this be so; we ask you to explain
The wondrous Pow'r that did the Parts sustain,
For still their Nature and their Weight remain.
What from Descent should pond'rous Matter stay,
When no more pond'rous Matter stops its Way?
Can airy Columns prop the mighty Ball,
As Pressure ballance, and prevent its Fall?
194
Which more than Human Skill and Pow'r will ask,
The strong mysterious Cements to unfold,
Which Atomes strictly complicated hold.
But let us leave the Heap in Air's Embrace,
To rest unmov'd within the empty Space,
Which knows no Height, or Depth, or middle Place:
Tell, how you build the Chambers of the Sky,
Extend the Spheres, and hang the Orbs on high
You say, when Matter first began to fall,
And settle into this Terrestrial Ball,
Press'd from the Earth thin Exhalations rose,
Vapours and Steams, Materials to compose
The spacious Regions of the liquid Air,
The Heav'ns, and all the Luminaries there.
These Vapours soon, miraculous Event!
Shuffl'd by Chance, and mix'd by Accident,
Into such Ranks, and beauteous Order fell,
As no Effect of Wisdom can excel.
Hence did the Planets hung in Ether stray,
Hence rose the Stars, and hence the milky Way.
Hence did the Sun along the Skies advance,
The Source of Day, but sprung from Night and Chance.
To rest unmov'd within the empty Space,
Which knows no Height, or Depth, or middle Place:
Tell, how you build the Chambers of the Sky,
Extend the Spheres, and hang the Orbs on high
You say, when Matter first began to fall,
And settle into this Terrestrial Ball,
Press'd from the Earth thin Exhalations rose,
Vapours and Steams, Materials to compose
The spacious Regions of the liquid Air,
The Heav'ns, and all the Luminaries there.
195
Shuffl'd by Chance, and mix'd by Accident,
Into such Ranks, and beauteous Order fell,
As no Effect of Wisdom can excel.
Hence did the Planets hung in Ether stray,
Hence rose the Stars, and hence the milky Way.
Hence did the Sun along the Skies advance,
The Source of Day, but sprung from Night and Chance.
But who can show the Legends, that record
More idle Tales, or Fables so absurd?
Does not your Scheme affront ev'n vulgar Sense,
That Spheres of such vast Circumference,
That all the Orbs, which in the Regions roll,
Stretching from East to West, from Pole to Pole,
Should their Constructure, and their Beauty owe
To Vapours press'd from this poor Ball below?
From this small Heap could Exhalations rise
Enough, and fit to spread, and vault the Skies?
Lucretius thus the Manner has display'd
How Meteors, not how Heav'nly Globes are made.
But grant the Steams, which by Expression rose,
Did all the Spheres, and every Orb compose;
Since their Ingenite Gravity remains,
What Girder binds, what Prop the Frame sustains?
More idle Tales, or Fables so absurd?
Does not your Scheme affront ev'n vulgar Sense,
That Spheres of such vast Circumference,
That all the Orbs, which in the Regions roll,
Stretching from East to West, from Pole to Pole,
Should their Constructure, and their Beauty owe
To Vapours press'd from this poor Ball below?
196
Enough, and fit to spread, and vault the Skies?
Lucretius thus the Manner has display'd
How Meteors, not how Heav'nly Globes are made.
But grant the Steams, which by Expression rose,
Did all the Spheres, and every Orb compose;
Since their Ingenite Gravity remains,
What Girder binds, what Prop the Frame sustains?
The Sun's bright Beams which you of Matter make,
From Heav'n their downward flight perpetual take:
Why does not then his Body, which outweigh
By infinite Degrees his golden Rays,
By its own Force precipitated fall,
And hide in Ruins this Terrestrial Ball?
Can Air, unable to sustain the Light,
Support the Sun of such superior Weight,
And all the pondrous Heav'nly Orbs suspend
Against their Nature, which does downward tend?
Tell, wise Lucretius, tell the secret Art,
Which keeps the Heav'ns and Earth so long so far apart.
From Heav'n their downward flight perpetual take:
Why does not then his Body, which outweigh
By infinite Degrees his golden Rays,
By its own Force precipitated fall,
And hide in Ruins this Terrestrial Ball?
197
Support the Sun of such superior Weight,
And all the pondrous Heav'nly Orbs suspend
Against their Nature, which does downward tend?
Tell, wise Lucretius, tell the secret Art,
Which keeps the Heav'ns and Earth so long so far apart.
Thus too the Air press'd from this Mass, you say,
Between the Earth and Skies expanded lay;
Not with Intention, that the solar Light
Thro' the thin Gulph might take an easie flight:
Or that with nitrous Food it should inspire
The breathing Lungs, and feed the vital Fire.
But meer Contingence did the Gulph extend,
Regardless of Convenience, Use, or End.
Now, vaunting Poet, should it be confess'd,
That from the Earth the Air is thus express'd:
Since Things by heavier Things are upward thrown,
Which tend with stronger Gravitation down:
Why are the Sun, and the fair Orbs of Light,
All which so far exceed the Air in Weight,
Hung from the Center at a greater height?
Why do not these their Nature's Law obey,
Rush from above, and near the Center stay,
And make all lighter Bodies give them Way?
Tell us, Lucretius, why they ne'er pursue
This nat'ral Bent, and this undoubted Due.
Since to the Earth you give the middle Place,
To which all heavy Things direct their Race;
If nothing does obstruct, by certain Fate
Things would in Order of their diff'rent weight
Lye round the Earth, and make one mighty Heap,
They would their Place, as different Strata, keep.
Nor would the Air or interceding Sky
Between the distant Orbs, and Worlds divided lye.
Ether and Air would claim the highest Place,
The Stars and Planets would the Earth embrace,
As now the Ocean floats upon its Face.
In vain you labour by Mechanic Rules,
In vain exhaust the Rea on of your Schools
These Questions to resolve, and to explain
How sep'rate Worlds were made, and sep'rate still remain.
Between the Earth and Skies expanded lay;
Not with Intention, that the solar Light
Thro' the thin Gulph might take an easie flight:
Or that with nitrous Food it should inspire
The breathing Lungs, and feed the vital Fire.
But meer Contingence did the Gulph extend,
Regardless of Convenience, Use, or End.
198
That from the Earth the Air is thus express'd:
Since Things by heavier Things are upward thrown,
Which tend with stronger Gravitation down:
Why are the Sun, and the fair Orbs of Light,
All which so far exceed the Air in Weight,
Hung from the Center at a greater height?
Why do not these their Nature's Law obey,
Rush from above, and near the Center stay,
And make all lighter Bodies give them Way?
Tell us, Lucretius, why they ne'er pursue
This nat'ral Bent, and this undoubted Due.
Since to the Earth you give the middle Place,
To which all heavy Things direct their Race;
If nothing does obstruct, by certain Fate
Things would in Order of their diff'rent weight
199
They would their Place, as different Strata, keep.
Nor would the Air or interceding Sky
Between the distant Orbs, and Worlds divided lye.
Ether and Air would claim the highest Place,
The Stars and Planets would the Earth embrace,
As now the Ocean floats upon its Face.
In vain you labour by Mechanic Rules,
In vain exhaust the Rea on of your Schools
These Questions to resolve, and to explain
How sep'rate Worlds were made, and sep'rate still remain.
Since to your uncompounded Atomes you
Figures in Number infinite allow,
From which, by various Combination, springs
This unconfin'd Diversity of Things;
Are not in this, Design and Counsel clear,
Does not the wise Artificer appear,
Who the corporeal Particles endu'd
With diff'rent Shape, and diff'rent Magnitude,
That from their Mixtures all Things might have Birth
In the wide Sea, and Air, and Heav'n, and Earth?
To all these Figures of distinguish'd Kind,
And diff'rent Sizes, are not Ends assign'd?
Then own their Cause did act with wise Intent,
Which did those Sizes square, and ev'ry Shape invent.
Figures in Number infinite allow,
From which, by various Combination, springs
This unconfin'd Diversity of Things;
200
Does not the wise Artificer appear,
Who the corporeal Particles endu'd
With diff'rent Shape, and diff'rent Magnitude,
That from their Mixtures all Things might have Birth
In the wide Sea, and Air, and Heav'n, and Earth?
To all these Figures of distinguish'd Kind,
And diff'rent Sizes, are not Ends assign'd?
Then own their Cause did act with wise Intent,
Which did those Sizes square, and ev'ry Shape invent.
When Atomes first the World began to frame,
Is it not strange that ev'ry Number came
Of such a Figure, and of such a Size,
As serv'd to found the Earth, and spread the Skies?
Had they not met in such Proportion, were
Their Form and Number not as now they are,
In a rude Mass they had confus'dly join'd,
Not in a finish'd World, like this, combin'd.
Did these assembled Substances reflect,
That here a beauteous Frame they must erect?
Did they a Gen'ral Council wisely call,
To lay the Platform of each mighty Ball?
To settle prudent Rules, and Orders make,
In reering Worlds, what Methods they should take?
To ev'ry Atome was his Task enjoin'd?
His Post, and Fellow-labourers assign'd?
Did they consent what Parts they should compose;
That These should Ether make, or Water Those;
That some should be the Moon, and some the Earth,
Those give the Sun, and These the Planet Birth?
If all these noble Worlds were undesign'd,
And carry'd on without a conscious Mind,
Oh happy Accident! auspicious Chance!
That in such Order made the Work advance,
At length to such admir'd Perfection brought
The finish'd Structure, as it had been wrought
With Art transcendent and consummate Thought!
Is it not strange that ev'ry Number came
Of such a Figure, and of such a Size,
As serv'd to found the Earth, and spread the Skies?
201
Their Form and Number not as now they are,
In a rude Mass they had confus'dly join'd,
Not in a finish'd World, like this, combin'd.
Did these assembled Substances reflect,
That here a beauteous Frame they must erect?
Did they a Gen'ral Council wisely call,
To lay the Platform of each mighty Ball?
To settle prudent Rules, and Orders make,
In reering Worlds, what Methods they should take?
To ev'ry Atome was his Task enjoin'd?
His Post, and Fellow-labourers assign'd?
Did they consent what Parts they should compose;
That These should Ether make, or Water Those;
That some should be the Moon, and some the Earth,
Those give the Sun, and These the Planet Birth?
202
And carry'd on without a conscious Mind,
Oh happy Accident! auspicious Chance!
That in such Order made the Work advance,
At length to such admir'd Perfection brought
The finish'd Structure, as it had been wrought
With Art transcendent and consummate Thought!
Since 'tis an Outrage done to common Sense
To fix a central Point in Space Immense,
Why is a Middle to the Earth assign'd,
To which your pond'rous Bodies are inclin'd?
To fix a central Point in Space Immense,
Why is a Middle to the Earth assign'd,
To which your pond'rous Bodies are inclin'd?
Besides, reflect how this Terrestrial Mass
Does the whole Sea a thousand times surpass;
Which in a Line, if drawn directly down,
More than a Mile in depth is rarely known.
Now if by Chance more wat'ry Atomes came
Than earthy to compose this wond'rous Frame;
Or had they both in equal Number met,
Which might as well have been, had Chance thought fit;
Or if the wat'ry (we no farther press)
Were but an hundred times in Number less;
This Globe had lain, if not a gen'ral Flood,
At least a Fen, a Mass of Ouze and Mud;
With no rich Fruit, or verdant Beauty blest,
Wild and unpeopled, or by Man, or Beast.
Does the whole Sea a thousand times surpass;
Which in a Line, if drawn directly down,
More than a Mile in depth is rarely known.
203
Than earthy to compose this wond'rous Frame;
Or had they both in equal Number met,
Which might as well have been, had Chance thought fit;
Or if the wat'ry (we no farther press)
Were but an hundred times in Number less;
This Globe had lain, if not a gen'ral Flood,
At least a Fen, a Mass of Ouze and Mud;
With no rich Fruit, or verdant Beauty blest,
Wild and unpeopled, or by Man, or Beast.
Who will our Orb's unequal Face explain,
Which Epicurus made all smooth and plain?
How did thy Rocks, O Earth, thy Hills arise?
How did thy Giant Sons invade the Skies?
Lucretius, that it happen'd thus, replies.
Which Epicurus made all smooth and plain?
How did thy Rocks, O Earth, thy Hills arise?
How did thy Giant Sons invade the Skies?
Lucretius, that it happen'd thus, replies.
204
Now give us leave, great Poet, to demand,
How the capacious Hollow in the Land
Was first produc'd, with Ease to entertain
All the assembled Waters of the Main.
When Earth was made, this Hollow for the Sea
Was form'd; but how? It happen'd so to be;
It on a time fell out, that ev'ry Wave
Forsook the Earth, and fill'd the mighty Cave,
Which happen'd opportunely to be there,
Where now their Heads the rolling Billows reer
It then fell out, that Stones did Rocks compose,
That Vales subsided, and that Hills arose.
Thus the Formation of the World you know;
So all Events fell out, and all things happen'd so
How the capacious Hollow in the Land
Was first produc'd, with Ease to entertain
All the assembled Waters of the Main.
When Earth was made, this Hollow for the Sea
Was form'd; but how? It happen'd so to be;
It on a time fell out, that ev'ry Wave
Forsook the Earth, and fill'd the mighty Cave,
Which happen'd opportunely to be there,
Where now their Heads the rolling Billows reer
It then fell out, that Stones did Rocks compose,
That Vales subsided, and that Hills arose.
Thus the Formation of the World you know;
So all Events fell out, and all things happen'd so
Can Tales more senseless, ludicrous and vain,
By Winter-fires old Nurses entertain?
Does This unfold how all Things first were made
Without Divine and Supernatural Aid?
His Penetration has Lucretius shown,
By saying Things proceed from Chance alone
As their Efficient Cause, that is, from none?
By Winter-fires old Nurses entertain?
205
Without Divine and Supernatural Aid?
His Penetration has Lucretius shown,
By saying Things proceed from Chance alone
As their Efficient Cause, that is, from none?
But let your Troops, which rang'd the Plains of Night,
And thro' the Vacant wing'd their careless Flight,
The high Command of ruling Chance obey;
Unguided and unconscious of the way
Let them advance to one determin'd Place,
Prescrib'd by Chance, in all th' unmeasur'd Space:
Their proper Stations undirected find,
To form a World, that never was design'd.
Let all the rolling Globes, and spacious Skies,
From happy Hits of heedless Atomes rise.
Be thus the Earth's unmov'd Foundations laid,
Thus the thin Regions of the Air display'd.
Chance shall the Planets in their Place suspend,
Between those Worlds th' Etherial Plains extend.
Direct the Sun to that convenient Seat,
Whence he displays his Lustre and his Heat.
This Labour, all this Progress is in vain,
Unless the Orbs their various Motions gain.
For let the Sun in boyant Ether float,
Nor nearer to the Earth, nor more remote:
Yet did his Orb unmov'd its Beams diffuse,
He'd sure Destruction to the Earth produce.
One half for Heat, and one for Cold would pray
This would abhor the Night, and that the Day.
Did he not Yearly thro' the Zodiack pass,
Were he not constant to his Daily Race,
He would not, by Alternate Shade and Light,
Produce the needful Change of Day and Night:
Nor would the various Seasons of the Year,
By Turns revolving, rise and disappear.
Now can Judicious Atomists conceive,
Chance to the Sun could this just Impulse give,
By which the Source of Day so swiftly flies,
His Stages keeps, and traverses the Skies?
And thro' the Vacant wing'd their careless Flight,
The high Command of ruling Chance obey;
Unguided and unconscious of the way
Let them advance to one determin'd Place,
Prescrib'd by Chance, in all th' unmeasur'd Space:
Their proper Stations undirected find,
To form a World, that never was design'd.
Let all the rolling Globes, and spacious Skies,
From happy Hits of heedless Atomes rise.
206
Thus the thin Regions of the Air display'd.
Chance shall the Planets in their Place suspend,
Between those Worlds th' Etherial Plains extend.
Direct the Sun to that convenient Seat,
Whence he displays his Lustre and his Heat.
This Labour, all this Progress is in vain,
Unless the Orbs their various Motions gain.
For let the Sun in boyant Ether float,
Nor nearer to the Earth, nor more remote:
Yet did his Orb unmov'd its Beams diffuse,
He'd sure Destruction to the Earth produce.
One half for Heat, and one for Cold would pray
This would abhor the Night, and that the Day.
Did he not Yearly thro' the Zodiack pass,
Were he not constant to his Daily Race,
He would not, by Alternate Shade and Light,
Produce the needful Change of Day and Night:
207
By Turns revolving, rise and disappear.
Now can Judicious Atomists conceive,
Chance to the Sun could this just Impulse give,
By which the Source of Day so swiftly flies,
His Stages keeps, and traverses the Skies?
We ask you whence these constant Motions flow;
Will Learned Heads reply They happen'd so?
You say, the Solar Orb, first mov'd by Chance,
Does North and South, and East and West advance:
We ask why first in these determin'd ways
He chose to move? Why thence he never strays?
Why did he ne'er, since Time began, decline
His Round Diurnal, or his Annual Line?
So steadily does fickle Fortune steer
Th' obedient Orb, that it should never err?
Should never start aside, and never stray?
Never in Pathless Ether miss his Way?
Why does he ne'er beyond the Tropicks go?
Why still revolve? Why travel to and fro?
Will it a Wise Philosopher content,
To say these Motions came by Accident,
That all is undesign'd, fortuitous Event?
But if the sluggish Sun you'll not disturb,
But Motion give to this Terrestrial Orb;
Still of the Earth we the same Question ask,
Which to explain, you have as hard a Task.
Will Learned Heads reply They happen'd so?
You say, the Solar Orb, first mov'd by Chance,
Does North and South, and East and West advance:
We ask why first in these determin'd ways
He chose to move? Why thence he never strays?
Why did he ne'er, since Time began, decline
His Round Diurnal, or his Annual Line?
So steadily does fickle Fortune steer
Th' obedient Orb, that it should never err?
208
Never in Pathless Ether miss his Way?
Why does he ne'er beyond the Tropicks go?
Why still revolve? Why travel to and fro?
Will it a Wise Philosopher content,
To say these Motions came by Accident,
That all is undesign'd, fortuitous Event?
But if the sluggish Sun you'll not disturb,
But Motion give to this Terrestrial Orb;
Still of the Earth we the same Question ask,
Which to explain, you have as hard a Task.
Can Chance this Frame, these Artful Scene erect,
Which knows not Works less Artful to effect?
Did it Mechanic Engines e'er produce,
A Globe, or Tube of Astronomic Use?
Why do not Vessels, built and rigg'd by Chance,
Drawn in long Order, on the Billows dance?
Might not that Sov'raign Cause with greater ease
A Navy build, than make the Winds and Seas?
Let Atomes once the Form of Letters take
By Chance, and let those huddled Letters make
A finish'd Poem by a lucky Hit,
Such as the Grecian, or the Mantuan writ;
Then we'll embrace the Doctrines you advance,
And yield the World's fair Poem made by Chance.
Which knows not Works less Artful to effect?
Did it Mechanic Engines e'er produce,
A Globe, or Tube of Astronomic Use?
209
Drawn in long Order, on the Billows dance?
Might not that Sov'raign Cause with greater ease
A Navy build, than make the Winds and Seas?
Let Atomes once the Form of Letters take
By Chance, and let those huddled Letters make
A finish'd Poem by a lucky Hit,
Such as the Grecian, or the Mantuan writ;
Then we'll embrace the Doctrines you advance,
And yield the World's fair Poem made by Chance.
| Creation | |