wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and

Ch A p. III. interpreted^ Nothing out of Nothing. 1 1that he is dejiroyed, tvben he lofeth thofe difpqfilions^ becaufe the fubjecl Socrates>?/// remains the fame \ fo Jieither are ive to fay^ that any thing elfe is abfolutelyeither gen. rated or corrupted, becaufe the fubjlance or matter of every thingalxays continues. For there mufi needs be fotne certain nature., from \x.bicb all 0-ther things are generated^ that fiill remaining one and ihe fatne.We have noted this pafiage of AriflotW^ the rather,becaufe this is juft thevery doctrine of Atheilis at this day ; that the fiibflance of matter or extendedbulk is the only real entity, and therefore the only unmade thing, thatis neither generable nor creatable, but neceflTarily exiftcnt from eternity ; butwhatever elfe is in the v/orld, as life and animality, foul and mind, being allbut accidents and affections of this matter (as if therefore they had no real entityat all in them) are generable out of nothing and corruptible into nothing,fo long as the matter, in which they are, ftill remains the fame. The refultof which is no lefs than this, that there can be no other gods or god, thanfuch as was at firft made or generated out of fenfelcfs matter, and may be corruptedagain into it. And here indeed lies the grand myllery of atheifm,that every thing befides the fubftance of matter is made or generated, andmay be again unmade or corrupted.However Aiaxagoras, though an lonick philofopher, and therefore, asftiall be declared afterward, fucceflbr to thofe atheiltick Materialifts, was atlength fo far convinced by that Pythagorick dodrine, that no entity could benaturally generated out of nothing, as that he departed from his predeceflbrsherein, and did for this reafon acknowledge mind and foul, that is, all cogitativebeing, to be a fubftance really diflindt from matter, neither generable outof it nor corruptible into it ; as alfo that the forms and qualities of bodies(which he could not yet otherwife conceive of than as things really diftindtfrom thofe modifications of magnitude, figure, fite and motion) muft forthe fame caufe pre-exift before generations in certain limilar atoms, and remainafter corruptions, being only fecreted and concreted in them. By meanswhereof he introduced a certain fpurious atomifm of his own ; for whereas thegenuine Atomifts before his time had fuppofed ohov^ avo,«o.k?, difftmilar atomsydevoid of all forms and qualities, to be the principles of all bodies, Anaxagorasfubftituted in the room of them his o,aij»OjU£«i2, h'lsfirailar atamsy enduedfrom eternity with all manner of forms and qualities incorruptibly.XVI. Wehavemade it manifeft, that thofe Material philofophers, defcribedby Arijlotle, were abfolute Atheilis, not merely becaufe they made body to bethe only fubftance, though that be a thing, which Ariflotk himfelfjuftly reprehendsthem for alfo in thefe words of his, oVoi iiXv ai/ fv t£ ro ttzk kJ luiau £iva» .TToAAap^w? a.^xfloMViTi, rui ya.^ (ra/j-xruv ri ^oi'XJ^x T(9^Ea(ri ^6-jov, ru-jh x