Philosophical dissertations, with proper reflections : proving I. The non-eternity of matter and that there is a vacuum. II. That there must necessarily be one self-existent being in three self-existent properties ... III. That the light and heat of the sun ... are purely spiritous ... IV. That the soul is immortal / By Benjamin Parker.

  • Parker, Benjamin, -1747.
Date:
1738
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Philosophical dissertations, with proper reflections : proving I. The non-eternity of matter and that there is a vacuum. II. That there must necessarily be one self-existent being in three self-existent properties ... III. That the light and heat of the sun ... are purely spiritous ... IV. That the soul is immortal / By Benjamin Parker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    rily Exift eternally in Space ; and Infinity cannot be without Perfections, nor Perfections without Intelligence $ for without Intelligence there can be nothing PerfeCf 5 nor can there be a neceffa- ry Exiftence without Infinite Perfections, (as will appear hereafter, )Matter cannot therefore be Self - Exiftent becaule Incapable of Intelli¬ gence or Perception. It therefore follows, that a neceffary Self- Exiftent Being mult be Spiritual, fince nothing could be infinite and eternal, that was incapa¬ ble of Perception, Thinking, or Intelligence 5 which ACts, Matter being incapable of, mult neceffarily render it incapable ofSelf-Exiftence, fince the very Nature of Self-Exiftence muft imply Intelligence j becaufe that which was Incapable of Intelligence muft imply Non- Exiftence in its own Nature and Neceffity. And it being impofible, but that there muft be fome Exiftence from Eternity, it muft therefore follow that that eternal Exiftence muft be indued with Intelligence as a neceffary con- fequence of his Eternal and neceffary Exiftence. Now that there has been an Eternity Paft without Worlds and Inhabitants, and yet no Time was ever without them, is eafy and na¬ tural to imagin, as neceffari y there muft, and it cou’d not be otherwife, as appears from the foregoing Proofs of the Non-Eternity of Matter 5 fomuft Space be as neceffarily Infinite and Eter¬ nal j Infinity then was neceffarily exiftent in Space , otherwife Space cou’d have nothing in it to be call’d Exiftence ; a nd Intelligence muft neceffarily exift in Infinity ^ and in Infinite In¬ telligent