"Stoical Phyfiology, &c.--- The Celestal Fire, which the Stoics call Ether, and "which they suppose pure, lucid, and fit "for Motion, according to them, mixes "itself with every Thing, and animates "Vegetables, and preferves all Nature. "This Ethereal Heat, which is fubtile, "and admits no Mixture, is the Soul "or Mind of the World, and God. As " in Euripides

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"This vaft, this boundless Ether you "behold,

A

"Whose soft Embraces the whole Earth

"enfold,

"This own the Chief of Deities above, "And this acknowledge by the Name " of Jove.

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Voffius, B. 7. p. 166. Cicero in his First Book of the Nature of the Gods, reports, that Zeno maintains the Ethers to be God-Cleanthes, who was a Difciple of Zeno's, one while fays the "the World is God; then he afferts that "the most remote, the Highcft the Allfurrounding, the All-enclofing, and All-embracing Heat, which is called Ether, is moft certainly the Deity. So Laertius, &c. Peter Galatine, &c. p. 604. Homer, Plato, Orpheus, Sidenius, fay,

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"The

t

"The Heaven is Jupiter's; he fits on high,

"Compels the blackning Clouds and " rules the Sky."

So under this Word Aer, Parker's "Effays, 251. Orpheus in his Hymn to "Pan--fings most remarkably of Jove.

"There's none from me his Actions can
" conceal,

"Be he a God, or Mortal: I reveal
"What is, or has been done; my Name
"is Air,

"Whom, if you pleafe, you may call Ju
piter;

"For, as a God, I'm prefent every where! "Your Cities, Houses, Selves are full of me, "For what Place can to Air impervious be: "And He that's every where, above, below, "All Place poffeffing, needs must all "Things know.'

The Heathens at last had one chief, and several inferior Gods; but they did not fet the Inferiors to do the Work of the Chief, ibid. Voff. B. i. p. 5. " I am "not ignorant that Pythagoras worship"ed many Gods. Yet he acknowledged "only one fupreme Deity, the Father of

Gods

"Gods and Men: The reft he held as in"ferior Gods, the Minifters and Agents "of the fupreme Deity. This is the Doe"trine of Onatus a Pythagorean -- The "other Gods, fays he,ftand in the fame Re"lation to the firft and chief Deity, whom

we know mentally and in Speculation,

r as the Chorus-Singers to the Coryphæus, "(the chief Singer or Precentor,) or as Sol"diers to the General.---And Plato like"wife in his Epiftle to Hermeas and Co"rifcus, in Stobaus's phyfical Eclogues a

fays, that he is the chief Officer and "Ruler of all the Gods, both present and "future."

Upon a falfe Suppofition that Princes were called Gods, they have forged another that the Heathens called the Souls of dead Princes Gods; indeed their Godmakers thought the Souls of Men were made of Air. Claudius Ptolom. de Judic. Facult. p. 20. "Among the fimple Ele

ments of which Compounds are made, "the Earth and Water are not only in "greatest Abundance, but feem formed

by Nature for Patients and Recipients; "Fire and Air, wich are more agile, pof"fefs the Property of both Active and "Paffive; but the Ether, which is conftantly of the fame Tenour, has, we fee, only the effective Virtue. And fince in N 2

"Com

Compofitions we call that properly a Body, which has more of Matter and "the Vis Inertia; and the Soul, that "which is endued with the Power of "moving Body, and itfelf; it seems a"greeable to Reason to refer Body to the "Clafs of the Elements of Earth and Wa

ter, but the Soul to Fire, Ether, and "Air." And when they left the Body they paffed into, and mixed with their Gods, Ether, Air, &c. Peter Galatin, &c. p. 490. "These are almost the very "Words of Ariftotle the Stagarite, which "both he, the Platonics and Socratics, "fucked from the Mouth of Pythagoras, "who, in his Golden Verfes, writes,

"The Soul fet free from Body's dark "Abode,

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Mingles with Æther, and becomes a "God."

P. 2.

Gyrald of the Gods of the Gentiles, Dionyfius and Eufebius, and others, do well in defining God nega"tively, by denying any Parts of the "World to be God; that is, they affert, "that neither the Heaven, nor the Ether, "nor the Sun, or Moon, or Light of the "Stars, or the Elements, nor, laftly, the <whole Univerfe, and what are con"tained in it, are God, but the Works of

"God.

« God.” Let us fee the Confequence of this Miftake; we will not fuppofe, but fufpect that he (Sir Ifaac Newton) could not avoid the Trinity, without making one Perfon infinitely extended, fo that there could be Room for no more Perfons but one. He faw what Ufes were made of it, if he did not make them himself; and as he did not retract it, he stands Principal. The late Heathens knew nothing of any other Refidence, Heaven, or Names but thefe only; expected their Souls fhould be mixed with the Subftance of the Air, or of that Intelligence in it; fo he has not fo much as made his Deus a Visage, much lefs that Vifage in any feparate Place, nor any Difference in Place, for either Heaven or Hell. A poor Builder of a Palace for Jehovah Aleim, who has put them and their Enemies in the fame Place, nay their Enemies in their Effence. So has given us the ftupid Heathen Definition of all Hand, all Eye. Gyrald, &c. p. 11. M.P. Part 2d, p. 70. "But fince I am mention

cr

ing the Gods of the Gentiles, let me "give you Pliny's almoft ridiculous Opi"nion of the Gods. In his fecond Book "He writes much to this Purpose, to feck "after their Form or Figure, I look upon as a Weakness of human Nature. Whoever is God, if indeed he is any other than

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