THE PREFACE.

THERE being already published many and good books to prove the Being and Attributes of God, I have chosen to contract what was requisite for me to say upon this subject, into as narrow a compass, and to express what I had to offer, in as few words as I could with perspicuity. For which reason I have also confined myself to one only method or continued thread of arguing, which I have endeavoured should be as near to mathematical as the nature of such a discourse would allow ; omitting some other arguments which I could not discern to be so evidently conclusive; because it seems not to be at any time for the real advantage of truth to use arguments in its behalf founded only on such hypotheses as the adversaries apprehend they cannot be compelled to grant: Yet I have not made it my business to oppose any of those arguments, because I think it is not the best way

for any one to recommend his own performance by endeavouring to discover the imperfections of others who are engaged in the same design with himself, of promoting the interest of true religion and virtue. But every man ought to use such arguments only as appear to him to be clear and strong, and the readers must judge whether they truly prove the conclusion.

That Difficulties arising merely from the Nature of Eternity, are not to be regarded, because equal in all Suppositions

ibid.

PROP. II. That there has existed from Eternity some one Immutable and
Independent Being

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Of the Absolute Impossibility of an eternal Succession of dependent Beings, existing without any original independent cause at all PROP. III. That that Immutable and Independent Being, which has existed from Eternity, without any external cause of its Existence, must be Self-existent, that is, Necessarily-existing

Of the true Idea of Self-existence; That it is the Idea of a Being, the
Supposition of whose Non-Existence is an express Contradiction
That every Man may be more certain of the Being of a Supreme Indepen-
dent Cause, than he can be of any thing else besides his own Existence
Of the Idea of God, including Self-Existence

That the Material World cannot possibly be the first, original, and inde-
pendent Being

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ibid.

The Form of the World not necessary

Nor its Motion

Mr Toland's pernicious opinion of Motion being essential to Matter, confuted

The Matter of the World not necessarily existing

A Confutation of Spinoza's opinion concerning one only Substance Concerning the Eternity of the World, and that the opinion of the best Ancient Philosophers in that Matter did not at all favour the Sentiments of Modern Atheists

PROP. IV. What the Substance or Essence of that Being, which is Self-existent or Necessarily-existing, is, we have no idea, neither is it at all possible for us to comprehend it

Of Infinite Space

Of the Vanity of explaining things by such School-terms as have really no Signification at all

PROP. V. That though the Substance or Essence of the Self-existent Being is itself absolutely incomprehensible to us, yet many of the Essential Attributes of his Nature are strictly demonstrable, as well as his existence; as, in the first place, that he must of necessity be Eternal

Of the manner of our conceiving the Eternity of God with respect to succession

PROP. VI. That the Self-existent Being must of necessity be Infinite and
Omnipresent