Man a machine / Translated from the French of the Marquiss D'Argens.

  • La Mettrie, Julien Offray de, 1709-1751. Homme machine. English
Date:
1749
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Man a machine / Translated from the French of the Marquiss D'Argens. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    *Tis not behaving like a philofopher, to blufti with Pliny at the mifery of our origin : that which bears fo mean an appearance, is here a moil precious thing, for which na¬ ture feems to have exerted her utmoft care and application. But as man, tho* he were to fpring from a dill meaner fource in ap¬ pearance, would be neverthelefs the moil perfe£t of beings ; fo let the origin of his foul be what it will, if it be pure, noble, and fublime, it fhines with rays of beauty that render every one that is endowed with it, worthy of refpeéh The fécond method of reafoning, intro¬ duced by Ahhe Pluche appears to me faulty even in his fydem, which has a mixture of fanaticifm ; for if we have an idea of faith, contrary to the cleared: principles of nature, and to the mod uncontedable truths, we mud fuppofe for the honour of God and of his revelation, that fuch an idea is falfe, and that we do not as yet fufficiently com¬ prehend the words of the gofpel. Of two things one mud be admitted •, ei¬ ther all is delufion, as well in nature, as re¬ velation ; or experience only can account for faith. But what greater folly can there be, than this of our author ? Methinks, I hear a peripatetic, who fays to me -, “ You mud u not credit the experiments of cToricelli% for 6C if we believe them, we banifhthe horror of a vacuum, and then what a fhocking philofophy fhall we have ?” I have demondrated the erroneoufnefs of * ' ‘ ' ’ Abbe
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