Copy 1, Volume 1

Rohault's System of natural philosophy / [Jacques Rohault] ; illustrated with Dr. Samuel Clarke's notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy. With additions [by R. Laughton and C. Morgan]. Done into English by John Clarke.

  • Jacques Rohault
Date:
1735
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rohault's System of natural philosophy / [Jacques Rohault] ; illustrated with Dr. Samuel Clarke's notes taken mostly out of Sir Isaac Newton's philosophy. With additions [by R. Laughton and C. Morgan]. Done into English by John Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    unequal exift, and the Truth of our 'Judgement agrees only to the Things that may poflibly exift. 12. We may alfo reafon infinitely various ways ; and by this means all the Mathematical Truths are difcovered, which are fo different from one another, and from the Principles from which they are deduced : But becaufe the Confequences have a ftriCI Relation to the Antecedents, and can contain no more in them than they ; and we have already feen that our Judgement does not prove that any Thing exifts • it follows, that our Reafoning proves no more than this, that Things without us may poflibly exift. 13. However, (1) there is one Exception to this Rule, and that is, God: For whoever hasth z Idea of Him, may by Reafon be allured of his Exiftence, if he be confidered as a Being every way perfeCI, and if Exiftence be owned to be a Perfection. But I fhall not here enter into the Particulars of this Demonftration; the Dignity of this SubjeCt merits to be treated of particularly by it felf. 14. But fince we are here fpeaking only of natural Things, and our Perception, Judgement, and Reafon alone do not prove their Exiftence, we muft certainly have re- courfe to our Senfes before we can judge that they exift. And we cannot know whether our Senfes do fufficiently prove this, nor in what manner they prove it, unlefs we firft define what we mean by Senfation. 15. Long Cuftom makes us many times reafon with fo much eafe and readinefs, that very often, Reafon and Sen- fation go together, when we think that Senfation only is concerned : Wherefore that we may not confound the one with the other, and fo be led into Error, let us examine this Matter in other Perfons. Let us fuppofe a Man juft born, and that he was in an extraordinary manner endued with the Judgement and Prudence of a grown Perfon; and, that we may examine only one Senfe at a time, let us fup¬ pofe that his Eyes are not yet open, and, that he is put into a Place, where there is no kind of Smell or Noife. 16. Now in order to find out what the Senfe of Feeling is ; let this Man’s Arm be prick’d with a Needle. It is manifeft, that he will feel the fame fort of Pain that we feel, when at any time we are pricked with a Needle, becaufe we fuppofe him to be fuch a fort of a Man as we 12. That Reafon doet not convince us that any 'Thing exift •without our felves. 13. Tbi fence 0 may be ated by fon. 14. That tvt ought to make ufe of our Senfes to prove, that the Things ivttbout us exift. 15. TheWay to know dim ftin&ly what Sen. fation is. 16. An Ex. ample in a Needle. (i) There is one Exception,) How is too nice and fubtle an Argument; the Idea of God proves his Exift- that drawn from the Variety, Beau¬ ty, Order, and Difpoficion of the Creation, does much more fully and ftrongly infer a God, ence. See Cartef. Princip. Part F. Artie. 14. and Regis Metapbyf. Lib, (. Parti, Chap. 5. But this »3 are j
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