ESSAY VI. 399 fions of which the several parts and particles of a human body are capable, than those few which the soul has any imme- diate power to produce. Now if the soul had an innate or native power to move matter, might it not chuse which part of its own body it would move, and in what manner it would move it? If it must be confined to one body, yet how comes it to be so wretchedly restrained from moving the smaller parts of nature, and from rectifying any of the disorders of the so- lids or fluids in that body by an act of its will ? Why is it so poorly limited to a few grosser motions of the members ? I confess, in the main these grosser motions serve the common purposes of animal life in this world ; but this cannot preserve the body in a state of health, or secure its ease and activity : What ! could a spirit move any matter indefinitely before union, and can it not move any parts of that matter to which it is particularly united ? Can it by its native power move the whole bulk of the animal body, or the larger parts of it, and yet not put the minute parts of it in motion ? Doth not this confinement and limitation of its power sufficiently shew whence all this power comes, and that it is not essential to its nature, but all owing to the special ordination and will of God, in uniting such a body to such a spirit, according to certain rules of his own prescribing ? If we suppose a spirit to have no power of itself to move an atom of matter, except by particular divine commission ; then it is easy to conceive that God in great wisdom and goodness, when he united the human mind to the body, has given it a comtission to move such parts as are fitted in the main to serve the uses of animal life, and no more. In this case it is a bounty and benefit, to have the government over some part of the material creation; but in the other case it is a restraint, and cutting short of natural power : And if that were true, then we might infer with jus- tice that gross absurdity, viz. that if a soul in its own nature hath power to move matter indefinitely, but by union it is restrained, then a spirit not united to a body would have power to move all Of parts of that saine body more universally than the spirit which is united to it; and that consequently Milo's spirit, when his body is dead, and itself disunited from it, can move and change those very parts and atoms of it which it could not move or change when the body was living ; and if it had skill enough to know which parts to move, it might restore thebody of Milo to motion and life again, as was intimated before. IV. Another argument toprove that spirits haveno essential or native power to move matter, is this, that the evil angels, who are full of malice, wrath and envy, would employ their powers in wild destruction among men. Devils are supposed to have residence among mankind to tempt them to sin : But they would
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