The Improvement of Human Reason eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 166 pages of information about The Improvement of Human Reason.

The Improvement of Human Reason eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 166 pages of information about The Improvement of Human Reason.
conclude upon hereafter; and if it so happen’d that he had them all at hand, then he would consider with himself, and chuse that, in the partaking of which there would be the least Opposition to the Work of the Creator:  Such as the pulp of those Fruits which were full ripe, and had Seeds in them fit to produce others of the like kind, always taking care to preserve the Seeds, and neither cut them, nor spoil them, nor throw them in such places as were not fit for Plants to grow in, as smooth Stones, salt Earth, and the like.  And if such pulpy Fruits, as Apples, Pears, Plumbs, &c. could not easily be come at, he would then take such as had nothing in them fit to eat but only the Seed, as Almonds and Chesnuts, or such green Herbs as were young and tender; always observing this Rule, that let him take of which sort he would, he still chose those that there was greatest Plenty of, and which increased fastest, but so as to pull up nothing by the Roots, nor spoil the Seed:  And if none of these things could be had, he would then take some living Creature, or eat Eggs; but when he took any Animal, he chose that sort of which there was the greatest Plenty, so as not totally to destroy any Species.

Sec. 77.  These were the Rules which he prescrib’d to himself, as to the Kinds of his Provision; as to the Quantity, his Rule was to eat no more than just what would satisfie his Hunger; and as for the time of his Meals, he design’d, when he was once satisfied, not to eat any more till he found some Disability in himself which hindred his Exercise in the second Conformity, (of which we are now going to speak;) and as for those things which necessity requir’d of him towards the Conservation of his Animal Spirit, in regard of defending it from external Injuries, he was not much troubled about them, for he was cloath’d with Skins, and had a House sufficient to secure him from those Inconveniences from without, which was enough for him; and he thought it superfluous to take any further Care about those things; and as for his Diet, he observ’d those Rules which he had prescrib’d to himself, namely, those which we have just now set down.

Sec. 78.  After this he apply’d himself to the second Operation, viz. the Imitation of the Heavenly Bodies, and expressing their proper Qualities in himself; which when he had consider’d, he found to be of three sorts.  The first were such as had relation to those inferior Bodies, which, are plac’d in this World of Generation and Corruption, as Heat, which they impart to those of their own Nature, and Cold by accident, Illumination, Rarefaction, and Condensation, and all those other things, by which they influence these inferior Bodies, whereby they are dispos’d for the Reception of Spiritual Forms from the necessarily self-existent Agent.  The second sort of Properties which they had, were such as concern’d their own Being, as that they were clear, bright and pure, free from all manner of feculent Matter, and whatsoever

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The Improvement of Human Reason from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.