338 AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING SPACE. thing in or of God, it is the very substance of God. However even upon the supposition of this last objector, we May at least infer thus much, that if space be but the immensity of God, then God wheresoever space is, and his essence consists partly at least in this immense space ; and most of the inferences which I drew from the supposition of space being God, are just and na- tural, if space be God's immensity, however harsh and absurd they may be. Let me just mention another argument to prove that space is not God. 4. It bath been proved by some philosophers, Des Cartes, Dr. Cudworth, Mr. Norris, and others, and that with a good degree of evidence, that a spirit is not extended ; and then God, who is the most perfect spirit, includes no idea of extension in the notion of him. The most essential, obvious, and prime ideas of God, are of a spiritual kind, viz. consciousness, thought, wisdom, knowledge, will, active power, goodness, the first cause of all, &c. Now none of these imply extension, or have any need of parts extraneous to each other. Yet if this extended space be the divine substance, it is very amazing, that the pro- perties of deity should have no apparent need ofsuch a substance, and that this substance, should have no conceivable connection with its most essential and necessary properties and powers.- Who canpoint out to us any influence that extension or space can bave towards thinking ? towards wisdom or power ? towards holiness, goodness or faithfulness ? There is no conceivable connection in the ideas. They are not only distinct but se- parable. Banish perfect wisdom and poster from your thoughts, and if possible, annihilate them in thought ; yet space or extension remains : Banish extension from your thoughts, yet perfect wisdom and power remain. We cannot conceive of wis- dom, goodness, power, as inherent in space ; nor can we con- ceive of space as being wise, holy, powerful and good. There loth not seem to be any possible connection in our ideas of these different extremes, nor any real union or connection in the nature of things, since we can banish either of them in our thoughts, and yet the other remainsin the full idea of it. Can one thenbe a property of the other ? Let us enquire again, If God be infinite space, what can this space do toward his creation or government of the universe ? Does proximity enable him to know or to move the corporeal world ? he cannot touch nor be touched. He is supposed to pe- netrateall bodies, but this very penetration does nothing towardhis consciousness, or his movement of them. His knowledge and motive power do not act toward bodies by penetration of them, and there are,two plain reasons for it. (1.) Because God knew the world as well before he made it, and before he supposed to penetrate it, as he does now ; and he caused it at first to arise into being in all its motions, without a prior penetration of it.
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