PART XIII.

EPICURUS.
557
Space • therefore neither hath it any Extremity.
' Now.^ that which bath no Extremity hath no
and that which hath no End doubt left is not Finite^ but Jnfintie.
(b) Lucres, i. confirmed *, (h) for if you imagine an
E.Kcremicy, and fuppofe fomeiMan placed in it, who with great force, throwes a Dart towards it’s utmoft Surface, the Dart will either go for¬ ward, or not, but be forced to ftay. If it go forward, there is place beyond, wherefore the Extremity was not there, where we defin’d it .• If not,Lherefore there is fomthing beyond,which hinders the Motion, aud fo again, the Extre¬ mity was not in the fore-defigned place.
(c) Laert,g6S, Moreover, {c^his infinity belonging to thsVni-
verfe is fuchjboth in the multitude of Bodies^ and the magnitude of V zemm ; nay, in Infinites rhru- fting themfelves forward mutually, alternately, or in order. ‘For if were Infinite,
‘ and Bodies Finite, then Bodies, which are in ‘ perpetual Motion , (a^ we JhaU anon declcd'e.^ )
* would refi; no where, but bedifperfedl / carried ‘ through the infinite Vacuum.^ as having no- ‘ thing to Hop them, and reftrain them, by va- ‘ rious Repercuflions. But if xdtstEacuum were ‘ Finite, the Bodies Infinite, then there would ‘ not be place large enough for the Infinite Bo-
(d) Laert. ‘ dies to exift in.
‘ FJence ( ) we ought not fo to attibnte to
‘ the Vniverfe.^ or Infinite Space, the being above ‘ or below, as if there were any thing in the ‘.Univerfe 'higheft, or any thing lowell: ; the ‘ former, by conceiving the fpace over our Head, ‘ not to be extended to Infinite- the later, by ‘ imagining that which is under our Feet not to ‘ be of Infinite extent, as if both that which is ‘ above and that which is below, were termi- ‘ nated with fome one and the fame point, as it happens with us,or the middle of this World, one of its extream parts being imagin’d high- eft, the ocher loweft • for in Infinite, which hath neither extreams nor middle, this cannot be imagin’d.
‘ Wherefore it is beter to afTame fome one ‘ Motion, which may beunderftood to proceed
* upwards into Infinite, and in like manner ano- ‘ ther which downwards-, although that movea- ‘ ble, which from us is carried up towards the ‘ places over our Fleads, meet a thoufand times ‘ the Feet of thofe who are above, {con- ‘ ceiting other worlds., ) think it comes from below ^ ‘ or which from us is carried towards that quar-
ter, which is under our Feet, to the Heads of ‘ thofe who are below us, and who are thence apt
* to imaging that it comes from. above: Notwith- ‘ Handing which Imagination of theirs, either ‘ of thefe oppofite Motions, taken intirely, is ‘ rightly conceived to be of infinite extent.
Inert. ‘ To thefe is confentaneous, ’that(e)the Uni- ‘ verfe was ever fuch as it now is, and fuch as ‘ it now is fhall ever be, for there is nothing ‘ into which, loftng the Nature of the Vniverfe., ‘ it may be changed -, and befides the Univerfe , ‘ which containeth all things, there is nothing, ‘ which by afTaulting it, can caufe an alteration
creafe, and is void of Generation and Corrupti¬ on, and therefore is eternal, not having begin¬ ning, not' end of Duration.
And indeed, many things in it are moved and changed, but whatfoever Motions and Muta¬ tions you conceive, they bear no proportion, if compared with the immenfity of the Univerfe it felf. Nor is therefore the whole Univs^fe either moved into any othfer place, or changed into any other thing ^ does it therefore not perfevere to be ever the fame, which it ever was 7 For the Motions. and Mutationf in it wO'e always alike, lo as in may by faid, that ( ^ ) there . ^ufeb. is nothing new done in the Vniverfe, more, than what was already done in the infinity of time.
in It.
if)EHfeb.
Rightly therefore is the Univerfe eHeemed as (/) immoveable, tliere being noplace beyond it, into which it may be moved .- So alfo Immutable, forafmuch as it admits neither Decreafe nor In-
c H A p. in.
Of the Divine Nature in the Vniverfe'.
I>Uc before we fpeak of things in the Uni- ) verfe, which arc generated and corrupted, and of the Principles whereof they are made, it is fit to premife, and put, as a By-difeourfe, aTreatife concerning Divine Nature as well for the Excellency of that Nature, as for that, although it be of the fame with corporeal Na¬ ture, yet is it not fo much a Body, as a certain thing like a Body, as having nothing common to it with other Bodies, that is, with tranfitory, or generated, and perifhable things. Now it firH being ufually queftion’d concerning t^e Di¬ vine Nature, whether there be any in the Uni¬ verfe, yet the thing feems as if it ought not at all to be called in qaeHion, forafmuch as Nature herfelf hath imprinted a Notion of the Gods in our Minds.- For what Nation is there, or what kind of Men, which without Learning have not fome PrjEnotion of the Gods ?
Wherefore, feeing it is an Opinion nor ta¬ ken up by any Inltitution, Cuftom, or Law, but the firm confent of all Men, none e.xcepted, we muft necellarily underHand, that there are Gods ; becaufe we have the knowledg of them ingiafted, or rather innate in us. But that, con¬ cerning which the Nature of all men agreech, muH necellarily be true • thei cfpre it is to be acknowledged, that there are Gods:
{a) Indeed men may feem, when they beheld (i')Lucrer. thecourfe of the Heavens, and the various Sea- fons of the year, to wheel about, apd return in certain order, and were not able to know by what Caufes it were performed, to have recurr’d to this Refuge, to attribute all things to the Gods, and make them obey their Beck, placing ' them-withall in Heaven, for that they beheld in Heaven the Revolution of Sun, Moon, and Stars but how could they attribute thefe to the Gods, unlefs they had firH knciiwn,thac there were Gods ?
(fc) ’Did they not rather derive a knowledg ‘ of the Gods from the Apparitions ofOreamsf'*
‘ certainly, they might by fome great Images ‘ incurring to them under human Forms, by ‘ Dreams, conceive that there are indeed fome ‘ Gods endued with fuch a human From j they might, I fay, not fo much in Sleep, as when Awake they called to mind, that thofe excel¬ lent Images had appeared to them in Sleep, fb
c;=^8 ' EPICURUS. PART XlII
Majeftick of fo fubtle a compofure, and fo well proportion’d in ftiape, conceive that there is no repugnance, nay, that there was a neceffity, that fomwhere there fhouldbe things of like nature with thefe, capable alfo of Senfeor Uuderftand- (f) Lmeu ing, (c) becaufe they fancied them moving their Limbs, andfpeaking. And thofe alfo immortal, becaufe their (hape was always prefent to their apprehenfions becaufe, their Form remain’d ftill the fame, and was of fuch grandeur, that they feem’d hot eafy convincible, but there were fuch ; moreover Blefled, forafmuch as they nei¬ ther tear death, nor take any pains in efFefting • \ their Works.
U) CicM Mt. ^ (d) They might alfo by difeourfe ufe that deor. I, or quivaletice.^ by which when we treat¬
ed of the Criterics, we affirmed it was conclu¬ ded, that if the multitude of Mortals were fogreat^ that of Immortals was not lefs^ and if thofe things which deflroy he innumerable.^ thofe which preferve ought alfo to be innumerable.
... (e) Which way foever it came, we have this
certainly by Prenotion, That we think the gods are blelfed and immortal : ‘ For the fame Nature ‘ which gave us information of the gods them- ‘ felves imprinted alfo in our Minds, that we ‘ efteem them Blelfed and Eternal Which if it Cf)L/ien.] be fo, our Opinion is truly laid down, (/) ‘ What is Eternal and Blelfed, neither is trou- ‘ bled with any bufmefs it felf, nor troubles any ‘ other •, therefore not polfelfed with Favour or ‘ Anger ^for all fuch are weak.
And if we fought no further than toWorlhip the gods pioully, and to be free from Superftiti- on, what we have faid were fufficient •, for the excellent Nature of the gods is worlhipped by the Piety of Men, as b eing Eternal, and rnofl: Blelfed. For to whatever is excellent, Venera tion is due *, and all Fear, proceeding from the Power and Anger of the gods, would be expel¬ led • for it is underftood, that Anger and Favour arc far feparatc from a Blelfed immortal Na¬ ture • which being removed,no fears hang over us as to the gods. But for confirmation of this Opinion, the Soul enquires after the Form and the Life, and the adlion of Mind, and agitation in God.
.. (*) ‘ As to the Form, Nature partly inflruds
partly Reafon •, for by Nature, all of us, of ‘all Nations, have no other Form, but Human,
* of the gods. For what other Forms ever occur ‘ to any Man, waking or lleeping ? But not to ‘ reduce all things to their firft Notions,Reafon ‘ it felf declares the fame. For feeing it is pro- ‘ per to the molb excellent Nature, either be-
. ‘ caufe it is Blelfed, or becaufe it is Sempiternal,
* that it be molt beautiful, What compofition ^ of Limbs, What conformity of Lineaments, ‘ What Figure, What Form can be more beau- ‘ tiful, than the Human ?
‘ Now if the Figure ofMen excelleth the Form ‘ of all things Animate, and God is Animate, cer- ‘ tainly he is of that Figure which is the molt ‘ beautiful of all. And forafmuch as it is mani- ‘ felt, that the gods are mult Blelfed, and none ‘ can be Blelfed without Virtue, nor Virtue con- ■■ fill without Reafon, nor Reafon confill in any ‘ Figure but that of Man \ we mull acknow- ‘ ledge, that the gods are of Human Forn^.
But when I fay, that the gods arc of the Form
of a a Man,and of an animate Being, Do 1 there¬ for attribut fuuh a Body to them, as ordinarily Men and animate Beings have? By no means:, For ‘God is not a thing, as fays, meerly !n- ‘ carporeal ; becaufe what kind of thing that is,
‘ cannot be underftood, for then he mult nccef- ‘ farily want Senfe, he mull Want Prudence, he ‘ mull want Pleafure 5 all which we comprehend ‘ together with the Notion of the gods. But nei¬ ther is he therefore a grofs Body,no not the molt fubtle that can be epagmentated of Atoms • but he is altogether a Body of his own kind, which indeed is not feen by Senfe, but by the Mind ^ nor is he of a certain Solidity, nor compofed of Number, but confills of Images, perceived by Comparifon •, and which, compared with thofe that ordinarily occur,and are called Bodies, may be faid ‘ to be ( not Body,but ) as before 1 faid,
‘ refemblance of Body, and ( for example ) .not ‘ to have Blood, but a certain refembance of ‘ Blood.
In the mean time,I mull intimate by the way, that (^) he is not fuch a kind of Body as is co- Co) Lidasn. agmentated of Atoms, for then he could not be Sempicernal,and upon hisGeneration would fol¬ low Corruption : upon his Concretion, DilTipa- tion, and fp he could not be Sempiternal. Thus, there are four things to be elleemed Eternal and Incorruptible the Vniverfe, which hath no place into which it can fall Eacuum^ which cannot be touch’d, nor receive any blow ^ the Matter of things, which nnlefs it did fubfill unchanged, thofe things which are dilTolved would go away into nothing • ^nd the Divine Nature., which is inconcrete, and, by reafon of its Tenuity, can¬ not be touched nor llruck.
Hence one of the Natural Philofophers was in a great error, when he faid. That the Nature of the gods is fuch, as to diffufe,and fend forth Images out of it felf • for in this manner, fom- what might be fo taken out of it,as that it might beadmitted dilTolvable. But (jo) fome have mif (fc; Seneca de interpreted our meaning, when, upon our ad- benef 4. 19. mitting many Worlds, and faying, that there are Intermundia^ that is Intervals between the Worlds, they affirm we place the gods in the In- termundia, left they Ihould receive any injury by the Worlds ruine. For as ( i) racuum,{ois(i) lucres.^. the nature of the gods more fubtle, then to fear any harm from Bodies^ which if it did fear, in no place were it more to be feared than in the Intermundia, when the World Ihould come to be dilTolved, ^
Neither can we defign in what places the gods live, feeing that this our Worjd is not a leat worthy of them; but we can only fay in ge¬ neral, filch as -the Poets delcribe Olympus, fuch are, wherefoever they be,the blefled and quiet Seats of the gods.
( i ) Where Showers not fall, nor Winds unruly blow, ( k.) Luctet.-i,
Where neither blafting Frofi, nor hoary Snow
Rifle the place j but Heaven vs ever bright.
Spreading bis Glorious Smiles with chearfkl Light.
(0 ‘ Hereupon it being further demanded, (i) cic.hc, dt. ‘ what kind of Life that of the gods is, and what ‘ ftate of age they enjoy, it may be anfwered,
‘ That certainly,than which nothing can be more ‘ Happy, nothing more abundant in all Goods,
‘ can
Hkt XIII.
ET 1 C U Rtf S.
55P
( i ) Laert.
‘ can be imagined. For God doth nothing, he i?'
* not intangledin any Employments, he under- ‘ takes no Works',but joyeth in his own Wifdom ‘ and Virtue. He ktiows for certain that he fhall ‘ ever be in Plearures,both Greateft andEternal.
* This God we juflly ftyle BlefledjWho ourfelves ‘ place a blefled Lif6 in feenrity of Mind, and in ‘ difengagement from all Bufmefs ; but not, fuch ‘ as others do deferibe him. Laborious, invol- ‘ v?d in great and troublefomc Employments.
j ^^ble indeed by reafon'of its littleriefs, but iri- di vifible by reafort of its Solidity.
CHAP. IV.
Of F)rji Matter^ or^ of 'the Principles of Compound
things in the .Vniverfe,
'V TOw to refume'and perfue our DifcouiTe, forafmuch a? in the firft place ’tis mani- teft by Senfe, that in Nature many tilings are generated, and many corrupted ; therefore we muft conclude, that hereto is required Matter, of which things may be generated, and into which they may be refolved •, For (a) of nothing^ nothing is made ; and into nothing^ nothing goes away. For iffomthing were made of nothing., every thing might beproduceing from any thing, 06 not required Seeds ; andif that which per ilheth did go into nothing, all goings would peri/h abfolutely, there not remaining thofe things into which they were dijfolvcd.
Befides^ forafmuch as we affeft to know the nature of any thing, generated or made, it is firfl: demandedjwhether it be fome thing one and Ample, or compounded of fome things which themfelves are limple and precedent. It is ma- nifeft,that nothing generated or made can be one and Ample, feeing that it hath parts of which it was made up, and into which again it may be diflblved,which therefore are precedent and more Ample • and if they ftill be compound¬ ed, they may be conceived toconfiftof thofe, which at length are the Arft and moft Atiipje.
Thus again it appear, fLif (b) of Bodies, fome are Concreti0ns,ov([t you like it better, )concrete or compounded Bodies others, of which Conere- ’ tions, or compounded Bodies, are made , Thefe, if firfl: and Ample, are the Arft matter of things, and are termed Principles, and, by the later Authors, Elements alfo.
Thefe Principles, or Arft things of all, muft be Ample uncompouuded Bodies,(or rather Atoms) and indivifible, or not refolvable by any force, and confcquently immutable, or in themfelves void of all mutation. I mean, if it fhall Jo come to pafs, as that'in the diftolution of Compounds, aH things go not into nothing, but that there conftjl and perjevere a certain Nature, full, or void of vacuity, and therefore folid *, which being fuch, it cannon in any part, or by any means, admit a diverjion, and fo be dijfolved.
Wherefore it vs necejfary, that thofe which dye cal¬ led the Principles of compounded Bodies, he, as of a Nature, full, folid, and immutable, fo whol¬ ly indivifible whence we ufe to call them Jtbms. We term it an Atom, not as being the leaft, that Is, ask were a point, ( for it hath a Magnitude ) but for that it cannot bedivided,it being incapa¬ ble of fiiffering, and void of vacuity. So that he iv ho faith,, names that which is free from
a bloW,an(i cart fuffer nothing ^ and which is in-
'(a) Laert,
C H . A P. V.
That there are Alfms iu Natiir}, which’ are the Priii^ ciples of Compound Bodies.
THat ( a ) there are Atoms, Che fcfdn al- ledged fufficientlyconvinceth *' For, fee¬ ing that Nature makes nothing of ribthihg, an reduceth nothing to nothing, ther'e^nftfft remain in the diflblution of compound Bodies fomthing that is incapable of further diflblution. Certain¬ ly if you fjy that it is ftill diftblvable, or divifi- ble, it will be necelFiry by fubdividing, to come at laft to fomthing 'that is folid, and incapable ofdivifion Ance that neither Nature itfelf doth dihblve things infinitely, but ftays in fome laft things- nor can Body admit bf iin Ihflnke di- vifion, '
^ (f>) ’ In a finite Bo(^’’ doubt left ilj'etc can-» '( i ) Laenl not be parts of infinite -either rriiflficUde or ‘ magnitude ■, wherefore,there cannot be under- ‘ flood to be performed in. ir,.not only that di- ‘ vifioh into infinite which is made into lefs, or ‘ by parts always lefier, and proceeds everob- ‘ ferving the fame propofrion of diVifion ; but ‘alfo that^ progrellion into infinit.e, ''which is ‘ made by preceeding nbc^always by lefFer, but ‘ by equal, or thofe which ^rc called determinate ‘ parts. For jfince infinite parts muft needs be admitted to ferve for an infinite divifton' how can there be infinite of them in a finite Body? » '
‘ He certainly who once hath faid, that in eve- ‘ ry thing there are parts infinite in number, is ‘ not able fuAher to underftand and declare how ‘ that magnitude, whereof he fpeaks, comes to ‘ be finite, For whethfer the parts that a divi- ‘ fion or progreffion may be made in*o infinite ‘ be determinate, ( that is, equal among them- ^ felves, ) or indeterminatfe, ( that is,aiWayslef- ‘ fer )ic is manifeft that the magnitude, whofe ‘ parts they are, and which eonfilh and is com- ‘ pounded of them, muft indeed be infinite.
‘ And fince on the other fide, a finite mag- ‘ nitude manifeftly hathan extreme or part; eafte to be perceived and fJiewn , ‘ unlefs this part ‘ may by feen by itfelf, and as the laft,we cannot, although we fhould fubdivide it, ‘ underftand any ‘ other part, which fhould be thought the laft rathe)' than this for that with as niuth reafon will be divijible. *■ Whence it will come, that by pro- ‘ceeding/wrtfcer, arid corifequeDtly towards an ‘ extreme part into infinite, we can never ar- ‘ rive, not even by thought, to that part which ^ is the laft, nor be able to over-rUn, by progreffion^ even the leaf /pace.
( c ) Add to this. That unlefs ini DifTolutions^ iutrst. there did remain little Bodies; fo folid as that they cannot be difiblved by any force, the dif¬ ference between Body arid could riot be fufficiently underftood>' inafmuch a5 nothing of Body, by infinite attenuation, would be Capable to refift ; by which mearis too all things Would become weak or fofE,and nothing could be made hard, feeing that Solidity only is the foundation of hardneft. Nrikhet n^ed fiiruple, as if.be-
riaufe
EPICURUS.