The history of philosophy, in eight parts by Thomas Stanley.

Sect. 2.

Physick.

Of Nature (for that was next) they so treated as to divide it into two things: One the efficient, the other giving it self to this, that, thereof might be made somthing. In that they conceived to be a power, in this a certain matter to be effected: in both, matter could not cohere, unlesse contained by some power, nor the power without some matter, for there is nothing which is not enforced to be some where: that which consists of both, they called Body and Qualitie: Of Qualities, some are primary, others arising from these: the primary are uniform and simple; hose which arise from these are various, and as it were multiform. Air, Fire, Water, and Earth are Primary, of these arise formes of living Creatures, and of those, things which are made of the Earth. These principles are called Elements, of which, Air and Fire have a faculty to move and effect; the other parts, Water and Earth to suffer. To all these there is subjected a certain matter without form, destitute of quality, out of which all things are expressed and formed; It is capable of admitting all; and of changing all manner of waies, in the whole, and in every part: This resolves nothing to nothing, but into its own parts, which are divisible into infinite, there being in na••ure no least which cannot be divided. Those which are moved, are all moved by intervalls, which intervalls likewise may be divided in∣finitely, and that power which we call quality, being moved and agitated every way, they conceive the whole matter to be throughly changed, and by

that means those things, which they call qualitative, to be produced, of which, in all coherent nature continued with all its parts, was effected the World, beyond which there is not any part of matter or body: The parts of the World are all things therein, kept together by a Sensitive nature, wherein is likewise perfect reason; It is also sempiternall, for there is no∣thing more strong whereby it may be dissolved: This power they call the Soul of the World, God, a certain providence over all things sub••ected to him, regarding in the first place heavenly things, next on the Earth those thing which appertain to man. The same they somtimes call Necessity, because nothing can be otherwise then is by him ordained; a fa∣tall immutable continuation of eternall order; somtimes Fortune, as producing many things not foreseen or expected by us, by reason of the ob∣scurity and our ignorance of the Causes.