part XIII.

E P I C U R U S.
575
C H 'A P. VII.
Of the End^ or Corruption of the' World.
THat theVVorld fliall perifh and have an end, is qonfcquenc,Forafmuch as it was genera¬ ted, and had beginning •, for it is neceirary,that ail compounded things be alfo diflipated, and refolved into thofe things of which they are compounded, fome by fome Caufes,others byo- thers ^ but ftill all from fome Caufe,and 'at fome time or other. Whence it is the more to be ad¬ mired, that there Ihould be fomc,who, not only broaching the Opinion, that the World was ge¬ nerated, but even in a manner made- by hands, thence define, that it fhall be ever. For as 1 argued before. What Coagmentation can there beindilToluble? or, what is there that hatha Beginning, but no End?
Certainly, the World feems like an Animal, or Plant, as generated fo fubjed to corruption, as well becaufe, no other wife than they, it con- fifls of Atoms, which by reafon of the inteftine Motion, wherewith they are inceflantly moved, at length mufl: caufe a dilTolution •, as alfo be- caufe, there may happen both to them, and the World, fome extrinfecal Caufe, *which may put them to deftruftion ; Efpeciallylt being known that every thing is produced but one way, but may be deftroyed many ^ As alfo, becaufe, there are three Ages in them, Youth, Middle State, and Old Age •, fo the World firft be¬ gan to grow up j ( as alfo after the time of its generation, there came extrinfecally‘ From the
llniverfe Atoms,which infinuated into the Pores as it were of the World, and by which Heaven, the Stars, the Air, the Sea, the Earth,and other things were augmented, the congruous Atoms accommodating themfelves to thofe that were congruous to them ) then, becaufe there ought to have been fome end of growing, it refted in a kind ofperfeft ftate* and at la'ft began fo to decay, as plainly fhevvs, that it declines towards its laft Age.
'This is firft proved, becaufe, as we fee, in progrefs of time. Towers fall. Stones moulder, Temples and ItPagesdecay, whereby at laft they come to be difiblved •, So we may perceive the parts of the World fenfibly to moulder, and wear away *, a great part of the Earth goes away into Air, (not to fay any thing of thofe greater Concufiions, which make us fear fomtimes, left the whole (hould fall, and finking from under our Feet fink, as it were,into an Abyire,)the Wa- theralfois partly exhaled into Air, partly fo diftributed through the Earth, that is will not all flow back again: TheAiris continually chan¬ ged, many things going forth into it, and many produced again out of it. Laftly, the Fire (not only ours, but the Starry Fire, alfo, as that which is in the Sun, ) fenfibly decays by the emanation, and calling forth of Light. Where¬ fore, neither is there any reafon to think, thatthefe Bodies of the World will continue ever.
Again, becaufe we fee there is a‘ continual Fight amongft the Bodies of the World them¬ felves, through which fomtimes happen Confla¬
grations, fomtimes Deluges, as it were with equal ftrength. But, as in wraftling,fo is itne- teirary,that in the World one of the Contraries prevail at laft, and deftroy all things. If any fhall demand, which of the two is the more like¬ ly to prevail, it may be anfwer’d. The Fire, as being the more adive, and reciving particular recruits from the Sun,and Heaven- fo as,at laft it will come to get the upper hand, and the World thereupon perilh by Conflagration.
Laftly, becaufe there is nothing indjlTolvable: but either as it is folid, as- an Atom ; or intaft- ile, as Vacuum; or hath nothing beyond it whence either a diflblving caufe maycome, or whither itfelf may go forth, as the llniverfe. But the World neither is folid, by reafon of Vucuurn intermix’d *, nor intaftilc, by reafon of corporeal Nature nor hath nothing without it by reafon of its excrendey .- Whence it follows’ that a deftruftion may happen extrinfecally’ by Bodies incurring to it, and breaking it • but* both extrinfecally and intrinfecally, it is capa¬ ble of being difiblved.
This I add becaufe the World may pe¬ rifh, not only by Conflagration;, or, if you will, by Inundatipn alfo, but by many other ways - amongft which the chief is, that, as a li¬ ving Creatnre,(t'o which I already compar’d it,) the frame of the =Soul being unty’d, is difiblved intofeveral parts, and thefe at length are quite difiblved alfo, either by being diflipated, and turning into Air', and the moft minute Dull, or ferVing again for the produftton of fome other living Creatures' -,^50 the Walls, as it were, of the World decaying, and falling, the feveral pieces of it ate difiblved, and go at length into Atoms, which,hdving gotten into the free fpace • oiEdcuum., rnlh downwards in a Tumult, and’ recommence their firft motions; or run’ for¬ ward, far and long;, or foon fall upon other Worlds ; or meeting- with other Atoms, joyn with them to theprodudion of new Worlds.
I And though indeed, as a living Creature may be fooner or later difiblved by departure of the Soul, fo may either of thefe happen to the: World : Yet it is more probable, that it will fo come to pafs, as that in a moment of time, no¬ thing thereof fhall remain except Atoms, and a d'efolate fpace ; for which way fuever the gate of death, as it were, fhall be firft opened, thi¬ ther will all the crowd of Matter throng to get out.
That the World, as I faid, is declining to¬ wards its laft age.is probable,for that the teem¬ ing Earth, as I lately touched, fcarce bringeth forth even little Animals, when as formerly flie produced large ; and that fhe, not without ex- treara labour, brings forth Corn and Fruits, whereas at firft fhe brought them forth of her one accord, in great plenty. Whence it comes, that there are frequent complaints, praifing the former ages, and accufing the prefent, for that they perceive not that it is the courfe of things, that all things fhould decay by little and little, and, wearyed with long fpace of age, tend as it were to deftru than the thing itfelf did perfuade, that within a. Ihort tiiTijwe Ihali fee all things (batter’d in pieces.
CHAP.
EPICURUS. PART XIII;
C H A P. VIH.
Of Infinite Worlds.
Moreover, as to demand. Whether there are, befides this, not only other Worlds but many, even infinite : This feems to be the Anfwer, That there are infinite Worlds. For fi) Inert. (^) -^toms being infinite^ as we formerly /hewed., are carried through infinite fiaces ^ and that fever al ways in far dijlances from this World., and there meeting one another in Multitudes., may joyn to the produflion of infinite Worlds. Since the jdtoms,,be- ^ ‘ ingof this nature, that a World may be made up,
and con/ijl of them, cannot, by reafonof there In¬ finity, be confumed, or exhau/led hy one, nor any determinate number of Worlds ; whether thefie Worlds he fuppo fed, framed after one fa\hion, or af¬ ter di vers. It vs not impo/fible therefore, but that Lucret. 2. there may be infinite Worlds,
And indeed it is as abfurd for a fingle World to be made in an infinite llniverfe,as for one Ear of Corn tofprout up in the vail Field, fowed with many Grains -, For as in the Field there are many GauIes,to wit,m3ny Seeds apt to grow up, and places to produce them ^ So in the Univerfe, befides Places, there are Caufes, not many, but infinite, namely Atoms, as capable of joyning, as thole of which this World was made up. L'ucret.loc.cit. Befides, we fee not any generablc thing, fo one, as that it hath not many^ like itfelf, in the fame kind, (for fo Men, fo Birds, fo Beafts, fo Fifties, are multiplied each under their particu¬ lar Species. ) Wherefore, feeing that not only the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the Sea, and the reft of the parts of the World were generated ; but even the whole' World it felf, which con- fifts of them ; we muft acknowledge, that not only the Parts, but the World itfelf, are not fingle, but many, as to number, and ( for the Reafons alledged ) infinite.
Now there being nothing to hinder, but that fome Worlds may be like this of ours, others unlike it} for there may be equal,there may be greater, there may belelfer ^ there may be, that have the fame Parts, difpofed in the fame Or¬ der *, there may be,that have different Parts, or difpofed in a different Order^ there may be,that have the fame Figure there may be, that have a different, (for though Atoms cannot have an infinite variety of Figures, having a determinate fpace in their Superficies , yet may they be of more Figures than we can number, as Round, Oval, Pyramidal, &c. ) Although, I fay, there be no repugnance in this, yet all thefe di- verfities are only certain kinds of conditions, which vary the common Qiiality,and Nature of the World.
But it feems, that each of the other Worlds, as this of ours, and every compound which is made in that vaft Vacuity, and hath any refem- blance with thofe things which fall under our Ohfei'vation, is generated apart, and after a fa- Ihion peculiar to itfelf, By certain Convolutions, licit. and Inter textur’s of Atoms proper to it -, And this,
vihether it be generated in the Intermundia, (fo We term the interval, included betwixt two or raoreWorldsjnot far diftant from one another,)
or in a multivacuous place, ( that is in which, though there be great and little Bodies, yet va¬ cuities take up the greater ftiare of it, ) or Laft* ly, in a great unmixt and pure Eacuum, though not as fome ( who afftxt Such di Uacuum,) de- feribe it.
For we are to underftand, contrary to them, nsrt. that there floweth together, if not from infinite, at Icajl from one, or more Worlds, or intermundia, fome apt Seeds, that is, a congruo us heap of Atoms, or little Bodies, which are by degrees mutually ■ ad- joyned here and there, and varioufly formed, and change place diver fly, according a/s it happens, and withal receive from without fome Irriguous, as it- were. Accretions • untill a bulk, con/ifting of the whole Ajfembly of all thefe, be made up, and gain a con/iftency, as much as the Principles, of which it was made, can well bear.
For it is not fufficient, for the generation of a Worlds that. a great heap of Atoms be thrown toge¬ ther in a Uacuum and by the accejfion of others, grow bigger, till it roll into another Vacuum : In the fame manner, a/s a heap of SnoWy being tum¬ bled upon Snow, gathers Jlill more, and grows big¬ ger, as was the Opinion of a certain Philofopher^ holding the necejjity of fuch a Method : Since this is repugnant to our daily Experience. For a heap, • vvhofe innermoft kernel, as it were, is folid,und its outermoft fhell folid alfo, can neither be rolled up and down, nor increafed, if the part intercepted betwixt the kernel and the Shell be fluid, as in the World it is.
Finally, That the other Worlds alfo are, be- caufe generated, fubjeft to Corruption, is too ma- nifeft to be mentioned ^ that fome may be di/fob ved fooner, others later ; Some by fome Caufes, Others by others, is a thing neceffanily confe- quentto-the peculiar diverfityof every one.
CHAP. IX.
Of ii^erior Terrejlrial things,
But that (omitting the reft, )we may fpeak more particularly of this our World, fince all things in it arc either contained within the compafs of the Earth, or exceed not the height of the ground, or are placed on high, that is, raifed above the Earth’s Superficies, and there¬ fore may generically be 'divided into the low or Terreftrial fort of things, and thofe which are Sublime, Celeftial, or Aerial •, Let us then fo or¬ der our Difcourlc, as to fpeak firft of the for¬ mer, in regard, that as they are nearer, and more familiar to us ; fo we may thence afeend by orderly degrees to difeourfe, and define, what we fhould moft rationally conjefture of the later, which are more remote from us, and lefs vifible ro us.
In the firft place, we are to take a general view of the body of the Earth, next of the Wa¬ ter, a confiderablc part of this Mafle,and ming¬ led diverlly with the Earth,partly in its Super¬ ficies, partly in its very Bowels •, Afterwards of thefe lelfer Bodies,with wdiich we fee that whole Mafte repleniftied, whether inanimate, as Mine¬ rals^ Stones, and Plants-, or animate, ufually called Animals.
CHA?
$77
HRT XIII. EPICURUS.
CHAP. I.
Of the Earth fituatein the middle of the World.
Flrlb then, as to the Earth, we have already faid, how it was framed together with the other parts of the World •, for it had been to no purpofe to form it firft, beyond the utmofl; Sur¬ face of the' World and then convey it into the World already framed, (ince it was fufficient for that Effed, that there were fuch Seeds found in the Univerfal Mafs, of which it, with the other parts of the World, might be generated ; id the fame manner as it would be unnecefrary,that liv¬ ing Creatures ihould firft be feperated from,and carried beyond this Infinity of things, and be formed there, that, being now perfeded, they might be brought thence into this our Region. Nor was it needful, that they fhould firft be ex- adly wrought in Heaven, and thence tranfmitted to our Earth ^ feeing no Man can fhew, why there muft needs be found fuch Seeds there, of which Animals, Plants, and other vifible Com¬ pounds are made up, and cduld as well "be found here ; Or, whence Heaven hath this priviledge, of having fufficient conveniences for their Ge¬ neration and Nutrition, more than our Earth.
It is already faid, That the Earth, when the Heaven, and other higher Bodies, did fly, as it were, upwards fetled into the middle of the World, and there refted as in the loweft place. We add now, That as it is the middle part of| the World, towards which all hekvy things fall ^ it follows not, that there is alfo a middle part ofitj called the Center,towards whichjall things that ponderate are direfted in h ftreight line ; for all heavy things fall in parallel Motions, without any endeavour to meet in any Angle, there being, as in the Univerfe, fo alio in our World, one Region above, from which all heavy things come, and only one below, towards which they tend.
Whence, as they are not to be approved of, who fay, there arc Antipodes, or Men fo fitua- ted inaftrange region of the Earth, that they walk with their Feet Diametrically oppofite to ours, in like manner as we fee the Images of Men, or other things, either ftand orgowith their Heads downwards under the Water ^ for thefe Philofophers endeavours to maintain,con- trary to the Laws of Nature and of -heavy things. That Men, and qther Terreftrial Bo¬ dies placed there, tend upwards, or towards the Earth ^ and that it is equally impoffible, they Ihould fall down from the Earth, to the inferior places of the Sky^ as that Bodies amongft us here ihould unimpelPd mount up to Heaven. However, upon another account they fpeak con- fequently to their HypothefiSjthat ’tis day with the Antipodes when ’tis night with us, and night with them when ’tis our day.
The Earth then is framed indeed after a cir¬ cular Figure, but yet as a Diih or a Drum is, not like a Sphear or Bowl , for this Surface of it which we inhabit, and which indeed is only habitable, is flat or plain, and not globous, and fuch as all heavy things are carried to it in a ftreight line, or perpendicularly, as was former¬ ly declared.
This being fo, herearilSth a great difficul¬ ty, How it can then be, that it Ihould ftand Rea¬ dy, and not fall downwards into that Region, into which the Antipodes would Aide? But, tie rcafon why the Ear tj). fads not^ w, becaufe it refis upon the Air^ a/s ally' d to it in 'Nature j Nor doth it any more burthen the Air than Animals^ which are of like Nature with the Earthy burthen the Earth.
Nor is it hard to concede, that in the Air beneath there is a power to fuftain the Earth, becaufe the Air and the Earth, by the general contexture of the World, are things not of dif¬ ferent extraftion, but ally’d to one another by a certain affinity. Whence, as being Parts of the fame Whole, one cannot be biirthenfomto the other, but are held by a mutual embrace^ as if they had no Gravity at all efpecially fincethis Earth, however in this upper part of it more compared and heavy, may, defeending lower, be, by degrees, lefs folid, and fo left weighty j till at length, in its loweft part of all, it ap¬ proach very near the nature of the Air which iiipports it.
' And for: this reafon I faid, that the Earth was not made in fomc place out of the World, and thence brought into it , becaufe then it would have prefied the Air with its weight, as our Bor dies are fenfible of the leaft weight, if impoled from without Whereas, neither the Head, nor other Parts are heavy to one another,by reafon that they are agreeable to ont another in Na- turc) and knit to one another by the Common Law of the fan^e Whole.
And that it feem not incredible, a thing'fo tenuious as is Air ffiould b^afbieto upholdTo g(rofs a Bulkj do but cOnfideti,how fubtlea thing the Soul or Animal Spirit isf arid yet how grofs arid weighty a Bulk of the Body' if ujffiolds arid governs, and that only by this means, becaufe is is a thing joyned to' it, and aptly united to it, as the Air is to thriEarth. rt , ; - u-*
But we muft not therefore ffconceive the Earth to be Animate, much lefs a Goddefs,for we haviO formerly proved the contrary > The Earth in¬ deed many times: brings forth feveral living Creatures, yet not as being herfelf Animate^ but becaufe, containing various Atoms and dU vers Seeds of things, (he produceth. many things many ways •, of which, Animate Beings are form* ed. Some there are, who call the Earth, The Great Mother of the Gods.^ and Berecynthia. That to the Earth thefe Names be attributed, if it be lawful to make ufe of Divine things, thereby to fignify Natural things, may perhaps feem to¬ lerable ; but to believe, that there is a Divinity in the Earth, is no way allowable.
C H A P. tl.
.1
Of Earth- QUakeSy and the Flames oflEtns.
IT feems wonderful, how it comes to pafs* That the Earth is fomtimes ffiaken, and trembles *, but this is an EfFeft which may hap¬ pen from diversCaufes,fuppofing that the Earth, as I fee no reafon to doubt, is in all parts alike^ and that below as well as above, it hath Caverns, E e e e : Breaches^
578
EPICURU&