410 Matter not eternal and uncaused.

possibility of any mutation, or succession os one thing to M'ether would appear to be also removed. Abstract succes-sion in eternity is scarce to be understood. What is itthat succeeds? One minute to another perhaps? £—vlylut undasupervenit undam .J But when we imagine this,we fancy that the minutes are things separately existing*which keep on their own course, tho’ there Were no Be-ing at all existing. This is the common notion, and y etit is a manifest prejudice. Time is nothing but the hfsiena at created, successive Beings and eternity the nl ‘cejfary existence of the Deity. Therefore if this necessaryBeing hath no change or succession in his nature, his eX'istence must of course be unsucceslive.

We seem to commit a double oyer-sight in this cafe'

- first we find succession in the necessary nature and

istence ot the Deity himself, which is wrong, if there 3 '

sotting above be conclusive: And then we ascribe this fst'

cejjian to eternity, considered abstractedly from the Etfi'

mal Being, and suppose it [--one knows not what] 3

thing subsisting by itself, and flowing one minute aft er

another. This is the work of pure imagination , and cost

trary to the reality of things. Hence the common

phorical expressions, “ Time runs apace.” “ Let us M

** hold on the present minute:” and the like. The Phd°

lophers themselves miflead us by theirillustrations.

compare eternity to the motion of a point , running ° n fe

ever, and making a tracelefs infinite line. Here

is supposed a thing actually fubfisting, representing

present.minute, and then they ascribe motion or juctejj

to it; that is they ascribe motion to a mere hon-en

to illustrate to us a successive eternity. Hence all the P

plexities of a past eternity , made up of finite juccejj .

tarts: and hence the contradiction of a punflumj a* though