fingly and folely from the imperfection of Man; and yet that in the gradation from infinite perfection to abfolute nothing, there must be one rank occupied by fuch a Creature as Man with all his imperfections about him; that these imperfections must be annexed to his fituation, and adhere to every thing that relates to him, to his happiness, to his morals, to his government, and to his religion that, in like manner, all other created Beings must have Evils and Imperfections peculiar to their ftations, and proportioned to their inferiority; notwithstanding all which, there is as much Good, and as little Evil in the univerfal fyftem, as the nature of Creation will admit of; and that therefore it is a work equal to what we might expect from the Operations of infinite Be nevolence joined with infinite Power.

PHILO

W

E are fo accustomed to connect our Ideas

of Time with the Hiftory of what paffes in it, that is, to mistake a fucceffion of Thoughts and Actions for Time, that we find it extremely difficult, perhaps impoffible, totally to feparate, or diftinguish them from each other and indeed had we power to effect this in our minds, all human language is fo formed, that it would fail us in our expreffion yet certain it is, that Time, abstracted from the thoughts, actions, and motions which pass in it, is actually nothing: it is only the Mode in which fome created Beings are ordained to exist, but in itself has really no existence at all.

THO' this Opinion may feem chimerical to many, who have not much confidered the subject, yet Bb 2

it

it is by no means new, for it was long fince adopted by fome of the most celebrated Philofophers of Antiquity, particularly by the Epicureans, and is thus well expreffed by Lucretius:

Tempus item per fe non eft; fed rebus ab ipfis Confequitur fenfus, tranfa&tum quod fit in avo, Tum quæ res inftat, quid porro deinde fequatur; Nec per fe, quemquam tempus fentire, fatendum eft, Semotum ab ufum, motu, plâcidaque quiete.

Time of itself is nothing; but from Thought Receives its rife, by lab'ring Fancy wrought, From things confidered: while we think on fome As prefent, fome as past, and some to come: No thought can think on Time, that's ftill confefs'd,

But thinks on things in motion, or at rest.

CREECH.

FROM obferving the diurnal revolutions of the Sun, and the various tranfactions, which pafs during those revolutions, we acquire conceptions of Days; by dividing thefe Days we form Hours, Minutes, and Seconds; and by multiplying them, Months, Years, and Ages; then by measuring these imaginary periods againft each other, and bestowing on each diftinct denominations, we give them the appearance of fomething real: Yefterday, which is paft, and To-morrow, which is not

yet