CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BL220 .TM^lVsiT""" "-'""^ Pantheisticon: or, the form of celebrati 3 1924 029 188 393 olin Overs The original of tliis bool< is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029188393 Class 'r>>\ Cv BOOK \ kj Bryn Mawr College Library fifside Ike maim topic, Ihis book also treats of .Subject No. Onpag* Subject No. On page r Jrtnu,! ..UJind.ai// ^^^^rt^ ^!k^tn^ ^^^ 4»-»*-s^,A- ^f^/^^ /^T-Jf^-t^ ■ ^ Pantheifticon : O R, T H E FORM Of Celebrating the Socratic - Society, Divided into Three Parts. Which Contain, I. The Morals and II. Their Deity and Axioms of the Philofophy. PANTHEISTSj III. Their Liberty, and or the Brother- a Law, neither de- HOOD. ■ ceiving, nor to be 1 1 deceived. To which 19 prefix'd A Discourse upon the Antient and Modern Societies of the Learned, as alfo upon the Infinite and Eternal UNiVERSE. I And fubjoincd, ' A fliort Dissertation ^upon a Two-fold Philofophy of the Pantheists, that is to be fol- lowed ; together with an Idea of the befl and moA accomplifhed MAN. [Written Originally in Latin, by the Ingenious I Mr. JOHN to LA N D. And now, for* the firft Time, faithfully rendered inta i English. ,, »* -^ " ■ I ■ . I I ' I '' ■■' ■■ " ^^^ "77^ * ^Printed for Jii^A. Tate rson, at Sh'dh^earU-Heady "Ppofit»'.©v>/;<7/;i-rflrrf, in thtf Strand j *w4.'S.old by * Janus Junius Eoganejius^ TO THE Learned and Ingenious READER. f l^^^p S one, who hai the Intereft (■'■^^i of Mankind greatly at Hearty a7id as a Jlridi ^M Notary of ihh eternal Truth y I prefent to you, (candid Reader) a New Fellowfhip and A 2 • New ir * Mr. Toland was born in the moft Northern Penlnfula of Ireland^ in the Ifthmus of Londonderry, ^:— That Peninfula was originally called, Ints-Eoga>ty or Inii-Eogain ; but it is now called, hujoen, or Jiiis'Owtn. He was chriftcned Janu: Junius, whence he calls himfclf Janus Junius Eoganfjiusx *•*%%% Memoirs of his Life and Writings. 412GIi 'm,^ To the READER. New Regulation j by the embracing of which J you Jhall not only become better iind wifery but even live a Lije of Joy, a Life of Uappinefs and Contentment. By what Chance, or Care, thefe Things have been now brought to Light, it net- iher is my Bufinefs to tell you, nor does it concern you to know. For to form a competent judgment of them, our file View mufi be diredled towards themfelves, iv£ mujl even confult nothing but them^ Jelves, as no extrinfic EJlimation, much lefs Authority, can enhance their Value, i'he Generality of Mankind is averfefrom Knowledge, and vents InveSiives againft its Bartizans ; but as Seneca nobly in- De viu JlruBs us. To ufe our utmoft- EfForts, bf»». that Cattle-like, we might not follow the Herd of thofe that go before j going not where we (hould go, but where they go. And in a few Lines after, Since every Man chufcs rather to be- lieve than judge. Life then is never brought to a Scrutiny, Credulity has always To the R E A D E R. i always the Afcendant, Error handed , down from Father to Son embarrafles our Thoughts in its Mazes, we give headlong into it : In a word, it is the ' dull Infatuation of being led by the Ex- amples of others, that expofes us to Ruin. What therefore remaim to be ^one? We fhall be in Safety, (7^^^ ibid. Cap.' he) if we feparate ourfelves from the *• Multitude 5 for the Multitude (as the Jame Author inculcates a little after) is a Proof of whatjis worft. And no- thing is fo vulgar, (in the Opinion of Tully) as to have no Relifh for Know- De divi- ledge, nat.lib.*. Cap. 39. ^ Philoibphy (to make fill Vfe o/'Tafc.Dit \ Tully'i Wordi) contents itfelf with a few P"J;^L'»>- Judges i it defignedly fhuns the Mul- *' *^' '■ titude, as confcious of its Jealoufy and . ? Hatred J fo that fhould one undertake to vilify and caft an Odium upon Phl- lofophy in general, he may do it with the Approbation of the People; or, ihould to the READER. * iliould he ftrive to attack the Philofo- phy that we adhere to, he may find great Refources in the Syftems of other Philofophers. For your Part, Reader, if you chufe to follow Reafon, rather than Cuftom, for your Guide, you Jhall repute all Human Cafualties to be placed in a Degree far beneath you j you Jhall, patiently take up with your Lot, what-' iver it is j you Pmll keep at a Diftance from you foolijl: Ambition, and gnawing Envy J you fsall dejpije perifloable Ho" nours, being to periJJo yourfelf in a Jhort ^ime J you Jhall lead a peaceable . and pleafant Life, neither admiring nor dread" ing any Thing ; and you pmll defervedly apply to yourfelf thefe Verfes ^/^ Virgil, Felix qui potuit rerum cognofcere caufas, . Lib. it*. Atquc metus omnes & inexorabile fatum Ver. 4po, ^y^j^Q^ pedibus, ftrepitumque Acherontis avari. To the READER. Bleft the Man ! Who could of Things the fccret Caufes trace ; And caft all Fears, and Fate's unmoved Decree, And roaring Acheron^ beneath his Feet. Trapp.' Be fuch by reading thii P AN THE is- TicoN : And when you know that it is a Fhilofophical^ and not a l^heological Dejcription^ that's here given of the So- aty^ (for there's a wide Difference be^ fween unfolding Nature's Myjleries, and difcotirfmg on Religion) I fiall bid yon be wife,^ and FarewelU To the READER, Bleft the Man ! Who could of Things the fccret Caufes i trace ; And caft all Fears, and Fate's unmoved Decree, And roaring Acheron^ beneath his Feet. Trapp.' , Be fuch by reading this Pantheis- TicoN : And ivbeji you know that it is a Thilofophical, and not a theological JDcfcriptioUy that's here given of the So- f 0'> (fo^ there's a wide Difference be- fiveen unfolding Nature's Myfleries, and difcourfing on Religion) I fiall bid yott, be ivife^^ and , FarewelU O F T H E ANTIENT and MODERN SOCIETIES OF THE LEARNED. AS ALSO A DISSERT ATI ON upon the Infinite and Eternal UNIVERSE. I. r^rg^l^ AN, as a fociable Animal, iQ^.^G}.,>:^ can neither live well, nor ^^-iC^^ withort the Help and Con- currence of Others; there- fore feveral Societies, nay innumerable^ neceflkrily arofe from the very Nature f B of 10 PJNTHElSl'ICON. of the Thing. Husbands enter into a ftridt Alliance with Wives, Parents with Children, Maftcrs with Servants, Ma- giftrates with Subjedts, and finally, from the coming together of all thofe Men, with their refped^ive Families, the Union of living in Cities is formed. Some of thcfe Societies are more, others lefs voluntary. The former, of which we fpcak here, were called by the antient J j'ai, Oreeb and Romans^ Brotherhoods^ Friend' K.ait'ix n J}yi[)Sy Felloivfiips, Societies. The latter sc*iaii'^a '°*^» ^^^^ '^^'"y °^^^" ^^^ ^^"^^ Appella- s, ujiua-' tion J but we are not to treat here of »"• the Corporations of Merchants and Ar- tizans, nor of religious Communities, and political Aflemblies j fuch were the Arval Brethren, Titian Qompa7iions^ AU" gujlalsy F/avials, and Antonijiiain. What we fpeak of, are thofe Societies that were frequently Inflituted among the Greeks ^ni\ Roni^nSy either for the Plea- fure ov Inftrudlioi) of the Mind. Re- ligious Aflemblies, efpecially if ^(jld in the Night-time, and all others, either running upon Politics^ or interefting thepfelvcs in any Shape Nvith Regard to the Commonwealth. wer€; Qf\ea t^flfwln- •' ■ ed PJNTHEISriCON. II ed and prohibited by the Laws ; as alfo thofe folemn Pvegalios, many of which were celebrated en ftated Days of the Year, to % nothing of the Companies It may be of Artificers, that fire vaftly different from ^^l\^'^^^ ours. This Misfortune, or Difgrace, alludes feldom or ever befel learned Fraternities, ^^^^^° friendly and facetious Banquets, which p/„y °f" were called by the Grccb^ * Sympofia Free-Ma^ and Syjidcipna, by the Lathis, % Compo- ^o°'- tatioms and Concanatidnes, not unlike the StiJJitia of the Spartans. Each 2wit tff X'(^ • — Thefe Wordj fignify, aM'tf, Ti Jbatcmoney, the ColUflors of Taxes, Charity extended to need/ Friendi, aod the Stocc calUJ the Istr^nei/f. ..-Txr u-i:f PJNTHEISl'ICON, 15 fbe Fcad. For which Reafon, Jup'ttcr '^^f^ Gcod-fcllciv was worOiipped under that -same, as tlie moft equitable Mediator; nnd Arbitrator of the Laws of focial Life. Whoever is willing to know the Qualities that are requisite for a good PreJiJetity mud confult at leifurc the fourth Queftion of the firft Book of Pluf arch's Spnpofia, for they regard ra- ther the Laws of Drinking than Argu- ments Now as thefe Banquets were feafonabU or unfcajonahlc^ more or lefs delicate and fumptuous, thofe which. Hcrmognies calls, Socratic Entertain- '^fjarma. mcr.ts, eafily bore the Sway over all ^'^''«*' others, and were judly more commend- able. We have a Specimen of them in the Writings of the two moft excellent Difciples of the divine Socrates^ to wit, Flato and Zenophon, III. OUR Age likewife has produced not a kw. Who, at Table, de- firous to difpute freely, and with lefs Reftraint, upon any Topic whatfoever, inftitutcd t it- 14 PAN THE IS TICO N, inflltuted Entertainments, not unlike thofc of the SocraticSt arid even called tlicm, not improperly, Socratic Societies, Moft of thcfe are Philofophers, or, at leaft, in a Degree bordering upon Phi- lofophers : Bigotted to no one's Opi- nion, nor led afide by Education or Cuftom, nor fubfervient to the Religion and Laws of their Country ; they freely and impartially, in the Silence of all Prejudices, and with the grcatefl Sedate- ncfs of Mind, difcufs and bring to a Scrutiny all Things, as well facred (as the faying is) as prophane. They are In the A- Called, for the moft Part, Pcinthcijis^ luivy of jjpQQ Account of an Opinion concerning ;i;'J:;;"'GOD and the universe, pecu- /■'..y;.. arc Uaf to thcmfclves } but diametrically op- "^Mid^r P°^^^^ ^° *^^^ Epicureans, Chaolo^ifls, and .,//.. 7,; Oncircpolijh, as they acknowledge no baiUfe, firH: Confufion, no Fortune, much lefs Ma;,fr"f Chancc, to be the M.iker of the World. I r.-^aage Notwithftanding they deliver their Sen- y.i.havc ^imcnts, concerninc; the Caufe and vWc. Origin of Things, in Conjunction with i/wi, the mod antient, moft authen^ tic, and revered Oracle of myfterious Science, iaviiig, PJNTHEISTICON. 15 f Ail Tljuigs are from the IVhokf and the JVhole is from all Tb'mgs, This Hiort Sentence, which they al- ways have in their Mouth, requires to \ be fully explained, wherefore we fliall ' here briefly clear it up, by adjufling ^^cxadly Words to Things. 7hey aJJ'crt that the Umverfe (of ivhicb this jyorld u^e behold mth our Eyes is but ! a [mail Portion) is i?ifimte both in Ex* tefi/Jon and Virtue^ but onc^ in the Con* timation of the Whole ^ and Contiguity of the Parts : Immoveable according to the Whsle^ as beyond it there's no Place or Spacc^ but moveable according to the Pqrts, or by Dijlances in Number infi* nife ; Incorruptible and necejfary both Ways, to wit, eternal in Exijlence and [i Duration : Intelligent alfo by an eminent ■ . Keajon, and not to receive its Denomina" ' iian from our intelleSlual Faculty , unlefi hy a fight Similitude ; Filially, wbofe integrant Parts are always the fame, and eonflituent Parts alisays in Motion, I in- — Air Things are from the All, and chc All it from all Tbiogi. Stor. Edo^. ?b\f. i6 PANTHEISriCON. I could not exprefs thefe Things In fo concife a manner, with greater Per- fpicuity, yet for the further Satisfadion of the Reader, I fliali animadvert upon them, one after another. IV. FROM that Motion and Intelled that conftitute the Force and Har- mony of the infinite Whole, innume- rable Species of Things arife, every In- dividual of v/hich is both a Matter and Form to itfelf, Form being nothing elfe than a Difpofition of Parts in each Body. From whence therefore we may "con- clude, that the bcft Reafon, and moil perfed Order, regulate all Things In the Umvcrfcy in which there are infinite Worlds, diftinguidied from one another, as other Parts by their peculiar Attri- butes, although, with Regard to the Whole, there are no Parts really fepa* rate. .Things moving by Parts in no wife take away from the Perfedion of the Unherfe, as thereby new PerfeiSlions are produced, by a never-ccafmg Prin- >; •' ■ •• - clple PJNTHEIS'llCON. }7 ciple of Generation. Neither is^ the conftant DifTolution of many Things, that rcfult from thofc Parts, an Hin- ^^^^^ ^^_ drance to its Perfedion, inafmuch as gather l.his is a Point of the greateft Perfeflion 5 fromthofi for nothing of the Whole perifhes, but ^*"'« Deftrudion and Produ(5lion fucceed each other by turns, and all by a per- petual Change of Forms, and a certain ^rnoft beautifiil Variety and Viciflitude •of Things, operate neceflarily towards ' ; the Participation, Good, and Preferva- i ttion of the Whole, and make, as it iWere, an everlafting Circulation, v^^^ ^ 1 * That celebrated Darling of the i ^ufes was of Opinion, I'hat from One alljthings are made, and (hall be re' \untted to the fame. Finally, the Force ;and Energy of the Whole, the Creator and Ruler of All, and always tending tothebcftEnd, is GOD, whom you may call the Mtnd^ if you pleafe, and Soul of the Univerfe j and hence it is^ that the Socratic Brethren, by a pccii- ' fe • Diogen. Laert. in proccroio, Sea. 3. fi^ his ri ,?rm* >gvt&cti, xiti iU Tourh a.iA^^tSs«onfoundfia with, the fanic again. i8 PJNTHEIS'-riCON. liar Term, as 1 faid before, are called Pantheists J this Force, according to them, bein^ not feparated from the Unherje itfclf, but by a Diftindion of Reafon alone. Gregory of Ari)nmuj}2^ OcchamuSy Cajetanus, Thomas Aquinai even, who was canonized, to pafs by Others, thought not that they contra- dided the Mofaic Formation of the Worlds neither do I, when they taught, Cofmo. That God was the eternal Caufe of the f**"' " eternal IVor Id, and that allThtngSy from all Eternity^ fowed from God without a Medium ; but Jerom thinks finely upon In Ifai. the Matter, where he fays, That God is iifufid and circumfufed^ both within] attd without the IVorld. And this is the i Sentiment of the antient Philofophers, efpecial ly of the Pythagorics. I i c'fec'fecitbcfer/bcfeffeefedfeefeefe^^jcifecSfe) rife rife) dfe^ | ■ V. ■'■':' To fetftill, in a clearer Light, thc| Manner of the Pantheist's! Philofophizing, I fay, that the firft Bo-[ dies, or the Elements (if I am allowed | the ExprelTion of the. Elements) are / !. ,• .. .) ,. ,.' fa.. . mofl Ixri. I. • FANrUElSnCON. 19 mort fimple, and adlually indivifible, infinite too in Number and Species, ■ and that all Things are made out of their Compofition, Separation, and va- rious Mixture, but with proper Meafu res. Weights, and Motions \ to wit, with a mutual and mechanic Proportion and Difproportion of Parts in their Nature moveable, and with a mutual Determi- nation of concurring and impelling Bo- dies, which without any Void are di'* 'vided into their own Elements. There is no IntermifTion of Determinations, inafmuch as there is no Space void, Vacaum. nor a lad Barrier. For the commonly re- ceived Axiom in Schools, viz. There*i 720 fitch Tk'ng as a Progrcfs of Motion in infinitum, is both fophlftical and falfe, as there are infinite Individuals, and as neither a Firft nor a Laft can be fixed upon ; and though we willingly' grant, that there is no infinite Determi- " nation, or any particular Species of Mo- tion J yet, at the fame time, we make no Allowance for a firft corporeal Move- able," or an immovable Center of the Vnherfe, or even a Center of the Uiii- verfe, in any Senfe whatfoever. As to C 2 the PJNrHEIS'TlCON. the Devices of Epicurus^ who afferted, ^hat tbefe ^Things were cemented, and concreted together , by rough and fmooth, and hooked and crooked Bodies, not for^ getting the Interpofttion of his Void, we n^all leave them to himfelf, with his fortuitous Concourfe of Atoms, and De- clination of the fame not extrinfically determined; afling, perhaps, fomething in his niftances between divers Worlds \ that we fliould not dwell long upon the eternal Defcent of Atoms; to a Line, and fuch like Paralogifms, when in an infinite Space, neither the higheft nor the Idweft, nor the middle nor the lall, can be conceived. Internal and univer- fal Adlion, the chiefeft of all Motions, is circumfcribed by no Limits, the XJtii' vcrje itfelf being unlimited, wherefore there will be no Abfurdity in eftabljfhing an infinite Adion j but all particular Motions mutually terminate, reftrain, retard, or accelerate thernfelves, accor- ding to the Manner and Strength of every Rcfiftance or Impulfe. Our Defign dues not permit us to difpute here, cither upon the mutual A(5lion of the Globus againil themfelves^ or upon Ar- guments PANTHEISriCON, '21 guments in Defence of a Void, which, have been advanced by Philofophers of no fniall Repute. Whoever feeds his Fancy with thefe Notions, let him con- fult the great Newton. In compounded Bodies are contained, as we fiiid, Par- ticles of every Species, that cannot be cut or parted, this or that Species hav- ing the Afcendant, for tbe more there is in a Wmg of the Subjla?ice of another^ (according to the old Maxim) the more it will derive from it its Appellation j (b that, it comes to pafs, that there's no real Innovation in the World, except the folc Permutation of Place, from whence proceed the Produdion and , Deftruftion of all Things, to wity by Generation, Encreafe, Alteration, and fuch like Motions. For all Things, as we already remarked, are in Motion, and all Diverfities whatfoever are fo I many Names for particular Motions, I not one fingle Point in Nature being ab- ifolutcly at reft, but only with regard I to other Things, Reft itfelf being truly land cfTentially a Motion of Refiftance, VI, PANtHEISriCOK VI. TH OUGH T, which we muil not omit fpeaking of, is a peculiar Motion of the Brain, the proper Organ of this Faculty ; or rather a certain Part of the Brain continued in the * Spinal Marrow, and in the Nerves with their •f- Membranes, conftitutes the principal Seat of the Soul, and performs the Mo- tion both of Thought and Senfation j which vary wonderfully, according to the different Strudure of the Brain, in all Kinds of Animals. As to other Movements of the Body, performed by the Means of the Nerve,?, we undertake not here to fpeak of them. The Ethereal Fire environing all Things, and therefore fupreme j per- meating all Things, and therefore inti- mate, of which a Kitchen Fire is a cer- tain analogical and imperfed Similitude j the * The Spinal Marrow that begins in the Brain, and ram along the Ridge of the Baclc. f AUiuHx, a thin Membrane which inclofech the Brain*, whereof there are two, the one thicker, called Diu-a Mattr^ the other thinner, called ?ia Mattr, PANT HE I^ i luu iv. ^3 the Ether, I fay, by a wonderful Struc- ture of the Brain thereunto adjufted, and by exterior Objedts that ad on the . Brain, through the Means of the Nerves of the Senfes, and excite therein various Imaginations, duly executes all the Ma- chinery of Conception, Imagination, Re- membrance, Amplification, and Dimi- nution of Ideas. It is this Fire alone, more fleet than Thought itfelf, and by far more fubtil than any other Kind of Matter, which can with fo quick a Motion run over the tended Cords and Ligaments of the Nerves, and varioufly 2If™*J'* agitate them, according to the different ImprefTions of Objeds upon the Nerves. •What is more, the Ether is a reviving Fire, infufing a fweetand gentleWarmth, not burning, not diflipating, not con- fuming as ordinary Fire. * It rules all : *. •T/^/w^j, (fays the Author of the Treatife ' upon Diet) it difpofcs of all Jhings^ ac-- ' ' 'cording to Nature ^ without Noife, and i ;■•■. ,' '■ ' ■ i'" . ;w- I _: _— , * • — "-wCp ivif •JTCO'TUV IX(Xp*TtJTCtJ, S liTCf CtTCtnA >ca,T* ((.vttv, a,-i6ov kcli 'i-^n x«i -^xysct : sir rit/TU "ji/X"» >3or, (ffomtSf tio^wis, ximciff, /niiacis, J <«Ma^ofvra,it xai yixuTis, xaj wai* Xdi KhAV^UOU Kct] TiVrU epsVcU/UEl' UetMTO, Xa) YOiUUiVt Kcf.1 pAS'JTOyMevi xa/ «xoi/(!/«{Ci xtt/ yivujjiofiiif retri ets'/jftt Hal TX XttAct) X«l T<4 x*xa. X*! ct>a9c4 XCtI liiiA Xdlf e/AtSiXl TX nh KfJiu i'ltUKMivra, retii Tea ffVf^pfiiTi etjff^avo^swj. :Tii) .fi. T«? nioi'ets" xoc) Tdf" eeVj Jcti* To7u vxfis'xr'^xt i){jUii, t* /Ufcc yJxTap, tjJ J^i /MeS* H/M4pMr } X*i IJUTTVIX XCtI •JTActlSJ rtXCKpiJt Jttti ypsvTiJ^ji- ev'x ixvJti/^jitti, xa) iyyomi t Hx^i^tuTcov, x*i «i;S»n, X*) ei'/rnplif. ^KaJ tccut* 'srajy^ii^vi dirs 7V Ip-xs- ^flwlsy ■7r«fc)'Tcc, bray bt©* /<>» nj-jtam J ^m' « ^£p/Mo?£p^ THf 9t)ff|©' ymrxh « 4''XP°'''*P^» *" "'/'poTcpi:^. » ^jpj- Ttp©*, n T» rtMo crsTToy^tf 7rc(J&(^ Trapa Tjjf vhich arc all the a Tree, integrant Parts of a Tree, though fo of '«> ». minute, as not to be perceived by the of SneJ Senfes without Micro fcopes, and not Tree, even then, but in a very few Things. All that this Tree wants Is a fuller Dif- tindlon and Magnitude of Parts, which is gradually acquired by the Application D 2 of PJNTHEISTICON. of ilmple Bodies of diftindl Species, that are, as lb many conflituent Parts, ne- ceflary to the Nourifhment and Increafe of that fimple Body. Therefore no Species of Trees perifhes, in as much as the Seeds, in which it lives, always re- main alive, and fliould they be received in a proper Place, forthwith they imbibe a more diftind Conformation, Nutrition, Augmentation, and by Degrees arrive at a due Perfedion. The fame may be faid of the other Species of the Univerfe, not only of Animals and Trees, but alfo of Stones, Minerals, and Metals, wliich are not lefs vegetable and organic, having their own Seeds, formed in their own Matrix, and encreafing with a pe- culiar Nutriment, as well as Men, Quad- ru pedes, Reptiles, Birds, Fifhes, and Plants. VIII. >^T^ I S true, Philofophers, for the JL ' moft Part, are of Opinion, that Gold, Cryftal, ^f. are fimilar, or Bo- . '•' dies ^JNTHEIS'tlCON, 29 dies of like Nature and Parts,- made up of an external Appofition, or any other "Yayjbecaufe they appear fo to theSenfes. 3ut ihtPantheiJis think, that they con- fift of diffimilar Parts, from whofe Com- prehenfion, (this, or that having the Afcendant, as a Principle of Compofi- tion,) arifes the Body called Homcsomeres. o^wMtfU' •There is no fuch Thing to be met with "°'"°'*' meria. as a fimilar mixed Body, no not even in Leer. i. M«ta!s and Stones, for Chymifls de- J3J* A monfhate, that fuch Bodies are ccmenijed ©f'Sartt! by a manifold growing together of fe'- veral Subftances j^'for- v»hich