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CHA P. III.

Remarks on Dr. CowARD's fearch after Souls.

HIS learned writer will not alT low of the Soul's feparation from the mortal body; or of a state of continued, active consciousness immediately fucceeding our diffolution. But he will have it, that the foul dies with the body; and yet returns into the hand of God, to be reunited thereunto, at the feafon of an univerfal, fimultaneous refurrection. On the other hand, I am humbly of opinion, there can be no fuch ftate of feparation and reunion; but that the pious Soul, at the inftant of the diffolution of this organic fyftem, or when once unclothed of this body, fhall have a prepared-vehicle, difentangled, and for ever difengaged from all mortal principles; an houfe from God, which fhall be eternal. In which habitation, the

man

man does immediately return to action; and the new organ is commodiously and completely fitted for all those exercises and enjoyments, which make up the perfect felicity of that state.

In this learned difquifition of the Doctor's, which he calls, the fearch after Souls, there is one leading argument which principally deferves notice; and that is, what he very diffufely handles, and wherein he would prove, that the reason and intellectual powers in man, and the animal appetites and affections, are independent on one another, as well as diftinct principles; not defigned by nature to be fubordinate the one to the other: but that they are equally intended for alternate rule and government. Which, if supportable, the Soul's materiality and mortality too will be fully established. The difcuffion of this point appears to be of vaft importance; I have therefore allotted a diftinct chapter for that very purpose. Let us fee how he

reafoneth.

The foul, fais he, has no greater Share in the refifting, than in the exciting of paffions. But that the foul is the living and moving principle, in every part and member of the D 3

body,

body, understanding and perceiving, and remembring in the head, affecting and paffionate in the heart, feeling and moving in the whole body, and in every member of it. The Soul's regard and care is for the whole compofitum, to chufe the beneficial, and to avoid the hurtful things. Hence intellect and paffion are not one of them of the Soul, and the other not of the Soul, but both are faculties of the fame Soul. The heart defires one thing, as vitally good, or abbors it as harmful. The intellect, from common fenfe and understanding, often opposes fuch defires or fears, from confiderations more percipient and duly weighed; and the conteft rifes most often from the nearness or diftance of what they contend about, viz. present or future: one faculty affixing chiefly upon the enjoyment, and the other contemplating the confequence withal. Now if the foul did govern the body, the conteft could not be maintained against it by the paffions, which should naturally be ordered to yield an eafie fubmiffion to it; whereas it is too evident, that the paffions do often over-power and over-rule the intellect: and their conteft, (as ARISTOTLE has told us) is more like a game at tennis than a government: fometimes one of them prevails

and

and fometimes the other. So they look not like a governor and a governed, but rather like equal competitors, sharing in the command and government; and this, fine fine. The conteft bath no determination, but by diffolution of the compofitum; and this proves the thing to be of nature, and so doth the universality of it there being not an buman Soul rightly confituted, wherein this conteft is not fully evident.

a

I am clearly of opinion, that the Doctor's fundamental principle is wrong; and that the Soul has a greater share in the resisting, than it has in the exciting of paffions. And for this plain fimple reason, if it has not, all its painful excitements must be equally attributed to itself, with the pleasureable ones. And moreover, because the refiftance of the Soul, does more properly fuppofe its agency; whereas the excitement of the paffions, will rather fuppofe it merely the fubject of fuch external energy. In other words, as in the one cafe the refifting, plainly implies, the Soul's being active; the exciting of its paffions, will as plainly imply, its being paffive to the ftimulating motive.

D 4

Search after Souls, Vol. I. p. 98.

But

But there is not any thing more certain, than our not having a confcioufnefs of exciting the numberless motive to anger, hatred, grief, dread and terror; or as equally arifing from ourselves, with the refiftance and oppofition which thefe paffions do express towards the ftimulating object.

The apofle Paul has given much the fame description of a man, who has not attained to an habitude of piety and virtue, with what I have now cited from Dr. Coward, as may be feen in his Epiftle to the Romans, the Seventh chapter. But his eighth chapter, as well as almost all his writings, does clearly fhew, that a man who has once embraced the truth, and feen and owned its divine importance, is no more in fuch condition with the flave; that is to fay, overcome, at every turn, by the exciting motive, which fires his luft, and fubdues his reafon. The law of the fpirit of life makes him free from the law of fin and death. The carnal mind only is enmity towards God, and is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Criminal, finful men may put off the old man with his deeds; and put on the new man; and be renewed in the spirit of