were still unconverted Heathens; this brings the Matter to the Old Iffue, and leaves it there too: for he has advanc'd his Notion without any the least Guard of Proof, unless that Parenthesis (a plain plain Philofophical Term) will pals Mufter; which it will do with none but those who take the Apostle without Restriction, Beware lest any Coloff. 2. C. Man spoil you thro' Philofophy.

And indeed, I'm apt to think

8.

Ibid.

this Text efcap'd Eftibius's Obfervation in this Place, for it wou'd have made an Argument of the first Rank in his Book. All this is but introductory to the Defign of this Chapter, which by the Contents of it I guefs'd, was to explode the falfe, but ftate true Notion of the Soul:

From P. 82,

to P. 89.

Pag. 89.

However, Eftibius's Adverfaries are never out of his Way, tho' he goes backward in his Subject to attack them. But now to proceed, he propofes, 1. To fhew what he means by Human Soul. 2. What is meant by Life; and to inquire whether they are not meant the fame, according to the true Intent of the Scriptures. 3. What is imply'd in the Word Understanding, or Mens, with the particular and principal Operation thereunto belonging; that is, Reafon, or Ratiocination. To fhew what he means by the N 4

Soul,

Pag. 89.

Soul, he defines it three feveral Ways; and this the firft: Afflatus originaliter infenfili Materia Divinitus infufus; quo eadem vivit, fentit, & ratiocinatur. The Soul, fays he, is a Breath originally infus'd by God into infenfible Matter; by which it lives, and exerts Senfe and Reafon. Now that the Soul of Man is, originaliter infenfili Materia Divinitus infufa; qua eadem vivit, fentit, & ratiocinatur: All this I grant, and therefore shall pass by all he fays upon it, tho' not fo eafily to be granted, as when he defines Reafoning to be, Impetus quo unumquodque Animal, &c. ad finem obtinendum ftimulatur; thus taking it for granted that Brutes have Reason, tho' I fear it wou'd puzzle him to demonftrate that they have Senfe; yet this

he tells us he will make appear in Pag. 97. in its proper Place. And within Fag. 98. twenty Lines of that, prefumes he has fufficiently prov'd the very fame thing. But our only Difference in the Definition, is about the Word Afflatus, Breath; and I fuppofe we differ in this, because I prefume Eftibius will grant it to be inconfiftent with that Perfpicuity requifite in every Definition, to ufe a figurative, and confequently ambiguous Word, as explanatory. The Question then is, in which Senfe the Word Afflatus ought to be apply'd to the

Human

Human Soul ; he feems to have been ignorant of this Diftinction, or to have knowingly dropt it; and in the room of it has fubftituted this wife one, that Pag.90.

the Soul is not that Breath which

belongs to the Lungs. And having premis'd thus much as explanatory, proceeds to prove his Sense of it from Scripture, how impertinently, in this Place we have already noted, but fhall attend a little to it; Job 33. v. 4. The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Our Soul therefore owes its Original to the Breath of God. But is this any Reason why the Soul shou'd be call'd in a strict Senfe, Breath? Or if it must be strictly fo call'd, because fometimes figuratively fo call'd; I conceive Breath is taken figuratively when apply'd to God; and why it must not be taken so, when apply'd to the Soul, Eftibius may perhaps conceive, but has not exprefs'd. I was recollecting the Use of the Word in Scripture, in order to prove that it must be understood here in a Figurative Sense: When lo Eftibius preventing me with two to one against himself, Job 4. 9. The breath of the nostrils of the Lord shall confume the wicked; which in my Bible is, By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his voftrils they are confumed. Which plainly

relates

relates to their Death; and from hence we may form this Definition of Death, Mors eft Afflatus fenfili Materia Divinitus infufus, quo eadem infenfilis redditur. And is not here a moft perfect Definition, when that which fhou'd constitute the Differentia of it, or diftinguish it from all other things, fuits as well with the contrary and reverse of it? The other Text he has unluckily hit upon, is, Pfal. 33. 6. By the word of God were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. So that the Heavens alfo ought to be defin'd Breath; whereupon, (not to confider how clearly this explains to us the Nature of the Heavens, and what Difcoveries Eftibius might have made thereby, had he bent his Head to Aftronomy or Phyfics) I only crave leave to be inform'd, whether the Heavens are a Substance or Power; and let him refolve me which way he pleases, I am ready to grant that the Soul is as much a Power as the Sun, Moon, and Stars are. In short, Eftibius will make nothing of all the Texts he can produce to this Purpose, 'till he has inferted this amongst his other Demonstrations, That Whatsoever is the Effect of Divine Power, (for that is the plain Senfe of the Breath of GOD) is it felf, in Opposition to Subftance, a Pomer. Thus I have confider'd

all

all that is in Difpute between him and me, in his First Definition of the Soul.

The Second Grand Definition, as he calls it, is that of Life; Actus primarius Materia Seminalis, originaliter afflate, continuatus. Which being only a Continuation of the fame ill-grounded and mistaken Notion of Breath. I fhall have the Reader's leave in paffing it over unobferv'd, to stand and fall by the former; but perhaps he has advanc'd fomething farther towards Proof in the Explication of this Definition, and that must not be neglected. The first Step he takes, is to fhew that his Adverfary's is the more intelligible Doctrin, and therefore does leffen the Power of God, in giving and preferving Life, and therefore is to be rejected; whereas his, which makes Accidents do fuch Feats, as no one cou'd imagin to be done without a Substance, magnifies his Power, even beyond Conception; and therefore ought to be embrac'd. This is truly the Sense of that Argument; which perhaps may startle the Reader a little, but is not fo amazing, as that the Author of it fhou'd elsewhere appeal to the Judgment of fober Men.

In the next place, he aims to prove, That Man propagates his Pag.78. Species, or in his Words, this origi- Pag.104. nal Afflatus or Power in Seminal Matter,

from