Ethic Demonstrated in Geometrical Order; And Divided Into Five Parts, Which Treat I. of God. II. of the Nature and Origin of the Mind. Iiiof the Nature & Origin of the Affects. IV. of Human Bondage, or of the Strength of the Affects. V. of the Power of the (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: essence. Perfection consequently does not prevent the existence of a thing, but establishes it; imperfection, on the other hand, prevents existence, and so of no existence can we be more sure than of the existence of the Being absolutely infinite or perfect, that is to say, God. For since His essence shuts out all imperfection and involves absolute perfection, for this very reason all cause of doubt concerning its existence is taken away, and the highest certainty concerning it is given,?a truth which I trust will be evident to any one who bestows only moderate attention. Prop. XII.?No attribute of substance ean be truly conceived from which it follows that substance can be divided. Demonst.?For the parts into which substance thus conceived would be divided will or will not retain the nature of substance. If they retain it, then (Prop. 8) each part will be infinite, and (Prop. 6) the cause of itself, and will consist of an attribute differing from that of any other part (Prop. 5), so that from one substance more substances could be formed, which (Prop. 6) is absurd. Moreover the parts (Prop. 2) would have nothing in common with their whole, and the whole (Def. 4 and Prop. 10) could be, and could be conceived without its parts, which no one will doubt to be an absurdity. But if the second case be supposed, namely, that the parts will not retain the nature of substance, then, since the whole substance might be divided into equal parts, it would lose the nature of substance and cease to be, which (Prop. 7) is absurd. Prop. XIII.?Substance absolutely infinite is indivisible. Demonst.?For if it were divisible, the parts into which it would be divided will or will not retain the nature of substance absolutely infinite. If they retain it, there will chapter{Section 4be a p...