116 Of the Immortality of the Soal, VoL II. To apply this thento my prefent purpofe. That the Soul of Man is of an Im- mortal Nature, is not capable of all kinds and degrees ofEvidence. It cannot be proved by our Senfes, nor is it reafonable to expe& it fhould be fo proved, be- caufe the Soul is fuppofed, by every one that difcourfeth of it, to be a thing of fuch a Nature, as cannot be feen or handled, or fall under any other of our Sen- fes : nor can it be provedto usby ourown experience, whilewe arein this World ; becaufe whoever dies, which is the only Trial can be made whether our Souls re- main after our Bodies, goesout of this World. As for Mathematical Demonftra- tion, the Nature of the thing renders it incapable of it. It remains then that we reft contented with fuch Arguments as the Natureof the thing will bear, andwith fuch Evidence asMen are contented to accept of, and do account fufficient in o- ther Matters ; fuch Evidence as a prudent confideringMan, who is not credulous on the one band, and on the other is not prejudiced by any Intereft againft it, would reft fatisfied in. Havingpremifed thefe general Confiderations, to clear my'way, I now come to fpeak to the particular Arguments, whereby the Immortality of the Soul may be made out to our Reafon. And the beft way to eftimate the force of the Arguments which I (hall bring for it, will be to confider before-hand with our felves, what Evidencewe can in reafon exped for a thingof this Nature. Suppofe our Souls be Immortal ; by what kind of Arguments couldwe delire to be affuredofit ? Set- ting. afide Miracles and Divine Revelation, could wedefire more than this ? 1. That the thing be a natural Notion and Di &ateof our Minds. H. That it doth not contradict any other Principle that Nature bathplanted in us, but does very well accordand agree with all other themolt natural Notions of ourMinds. III. That it be futable to our natural Fears and Hopes. IV. That it tends to the Happinefs of Man, and the good Order and Govern- ment of the World. V. That it gives the molt rational account ofall thofe inwardAf ions, which we are confcious to our felves of, as Perception, Underftanding, Memory, Will, which we cannotwithout great unreafonablenefs afcribe to Matter, as the Caufe of them. If all there be thus, as I shall endeavour to make it appear they are, what greaterfatisfa&ion could we delire to have of the Immortality of our Souls, than thefeArguments give us ? I do not fay that any one of thefe Arguments Both fufficiently conclude this thing; nor is it neceffary, that taken tingly and by themfelves they fhould do it ; it is fufficient that they concur to makeup one en- tire Argument, which may be a fufficient Evidence of the Soul's Immortality. To illuftrate this by an inftance. Suppofe a Man fhould ufe thefe two Arguments, to prove that fuch a Man deferves tobe credited in fucha Relation. Fiat, Becaufe he had fufficient knowledge of the thing he relates ; and, Secondly, Becaufe he Is a Man of Integrity and Fidelity. Neither of thefe alone would prove the Man to be worthy of Credit; tho both together makeup agood Argument. So 'tis in thefe Arguments which I have produced ; it may be, no one of them is a fufficient in- ducement, taken tingly and by it felf, to fatisfy a Man fully that the Soul is .lm- mortal ; and yet they may concur together to make a very powerful Argument. I begin with the I. That our Souls are of an Immortal Nature, that they do not die and perifh with our Bodies, but pals into another State upog the Diffolution of our Bodies, is a natural Notion and Di&ate of ourMinds. That I calla natural Notion, which the Minds pf all Men do naturally hit upon and agree in, notwithflanding the di- flance and remotenefs of the feveral Parts of the World from one another, not- withflanding the different Tempers, and manner and ways of Education. The only way to meafure whetherany thing be natural or not, is by inquiring whe- ther it agree to the wholekind or not : if it do, thenwe call it natural. Omnium confenfrs nature vox eft, The confent ofall is thevoice ofNature, faysTully, fpeaking of the Univerfal Agreement of all Nations in this apprehenuon, . that the=Souls of Men remai,, after their Bodies. And this he tells us he looks upon asa very great Argument, Maximum veré Argnmentum eft, naturam ipfam de Immortalitate anima- rum tacitamjudicere, P.,lród omnibus cureflot &maxirne .quiefeno quai pe(t. mortent fn- tura
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=