God to be blameless for their Evils, and yet he somewhere makes the three Fatal Sisters notwithstanding, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, to be busie about them also. For according to the sence of the Ancients, Fate is a Servant of Divine Providence in the World, and takes place differently upon the different Actings of Free-willed Beings. And how Free a thing soever the Will of Man may seem to be, to some, yet I conceive it to be out of Question, that it may contract upon it self such Necessities and Fatalities, as it cannot upon a suddain rid it self of at pleasure. But whatsoever is said in the Sequel of this Discourse by way of Opposition to that Fatalism of the Neoterick Christians, is intended only to vindicate what was the constant Doctrine of the Christian Church in its greatest purity, (as shall be made manifest) and not to introduce any New-fangled conceit of our own.
V. We must now proceed to give a more full and perfect account of these three several Fates, or Hypotheses of the Mundane System before mentioned, together with the Grounds of them, beginning first with that which we Principally intend the Confutation of, the Atheistical or Democritical Fate. Which as it is a thing of the most dangerous Consequence of all, so it seems to be most spreading and infectious in these latter times.
Now this Atheistical System of the World that makes all things to be Materially and Mechanically Necessary, without a God, is built upon a peculiar Physiological Hypothesis, different from what hath been generally received for many Ages; which is called by some Atomical or Corpuscular, by others Mechanical: of which we must therefore needs give a full and Perfect Account. And we shall do it first in General, briefly, not descending to those minute Particularities of it, which are disputed amongst these Atomists themselves, in this manner.
The Atomical Physiology supposes that Body is nothing else but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is, Extended Bulk; and resolves therefore that nothing is to be attributed to it, but what is included in the Nature and Idea of it, viz. more or less Magnitude with Divisibility into Parts, Figure, and Position, together with Motion or Rest, but so as that no part of Body can ever Move it Self; but is alwaies moved by something else. And consequently it supposes that there is no need of any thing else besides these simple Elements of Magnitude, Figure, Site and Motion (which are all clearly intelligible as different Modes of extended Substance) to salve the Corporeal Phaenomena by; and therefore, not of any Substantial Forms distinct from the Matter; nor of any other Qualities really existing in the Bodies without, besides the Results, or Aggregates of those simple Elements, and the Disposition of the Insensible Parts of Bodies in respect of Figure, Site and Motion; nor of any Intentional Species or Shews, propagated from the Objects to our Senses; nor, lastly, of any other kind of Motion or Action really distinct from Local Motion (such as Generation and Alteration) they being neither Intelligible, as Modes of extended Substance, nor any ways necessary. Forasmuch as the Forms and
