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

8^. Platonifls make Mind and JVjfdom Book I.be underftanding, reafon and wifdom, it feems to follow from hence, thateither the firft and the fccond are really nothing elfe but two difterentnames, or inadequate conceptions of one and the lame thing; or elfe, if theybe diftinflhvpolbifes, or perfons, that the firft of them mull needs be «.»;and S.Koyoq^ devoid of mind., reafon and zdfdom ; which would be very abfurd.To which, all the reply we can make, is as follows : Firft, that this isindeed one peculiar arcanum of the Platonick and Pythagorick theology,(which yet feems to have been firft derived from Orpheus and the Egyptians,or rather from the Hebrews themfelves) that whereas the Pagan Theologersgenerally concluded, w~j-j TTu.\\m K^ayiArtAm, 'That Alind and Under/} anding,properly fo called, was the oldejl of all things, the higheft principle and firftorioinal of the world •, thofe others placed fomething above it, and confequentlymade it to be not the firft, but the fecond. Which they did chieflyupon thefe three following grounds. Firft, becaufe underftanding, reafon,knowledge and wifdom, cannot be conceived, by us mortals, otherwife thanfo as to contain fomething of multiplicity in them ; whereas it feems moftreafonable to make the firll principle of all, not to be number or multitude,p ,jg but aperfeft Mo;.W, ox Unity. Thus Plotinus, ao'^irov p.tv voinric uVtts^ o''|i?»TEnnead.V. loiiloy-iiir, St Ciro toj noiiToZ' uo >e) EifJiTjci £x rr; aopifou hccSoi; Xy tcj tvoq rx I'tSri >^Lib IV. cap 0,' 0.^1^1x0]' tc-jto yi^ vo-jj. J'lo oJ;i^ an-Aoj-r, «AA