Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/916

 GOD

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GOD

Gohkth made of the Wood Tamarin, are rank'd among the Medicinal Drugs ; in regard the Liquors infixed a while therein, arc fuppofed to acquire a Quality which renders them good in Difeafes of the Spleen.

The Word is French, Gobelet ; which Salmafius, and o- thers derive from the Barbarous Latin, Cupa : Sudteus de- rives it from the Greek xvTtKKw —

GOBELINS, a celebrated Manufactory, eftabli/h'd at 'Paris, in the Fauxbourg St. Marcel, or St. Marceau ; for the making of Tapiftry, and other Furniture, for the ufe of the Crown. See Tapistky.

The Houfe where this Manufacture is carried on, was built by two Brothers, Giles, and John Gobelins, both ex- cellent Dyers, and the firfl who brought to 'Paris the Secret of dying that beautiful Scarlet Colour ftill known by their Name j as well as the Jittle River Sievre, on whofe Banks they fix'd their Dye-houfe ; and which is now known by no other Name than that of the River of the Gobelins.

It was in the Year 1667, that this Place, till then call'd Gobelin's Folly, chang'd its Name into that of Hotel Royal des Gobelins, in conlequence of an Edict of Louis XIV.

Monf. Colbert, having re-cftablifh'd, and with new Mag- nificence enrich'd and compleated the King's Palaces, par- ticularly the Louvre, and T'uilleries, began to think of making Furniture, ftntable to the Grandeur of thofe Buil- dings : With this "View he call'd together all the ableSl Workmen in the divers Arts and Manufactures throughout the Kingdom - y particularly Painters, Tapiftry-makers, Sculp- tors, Goldlmiths, Ebenifts, &c. and by fplendid Offers, Pen- sions, Privileges, &c. call'd others from foreign Nations.

And to render the intended Eftablifhment more firm and lafting, brought the King to purchafc t\\cGobelins, for them to work in ; and drew up a Syftem of Laws, or Policy, in XVII Articles.

By thefe it is provided that the new Manufactory mail be under the Administration of the Superintendant of the King's Buildings, Arts, $$c. That the ordinary Mafters thereof Shall take Cognizance of all Actions, or Proceffes brought againft any of the Feribns in the faid Manufactory, their Servants, and Dependants: That no other Tapiftry Work Shall be imported from any other Country, &c.

The Gobelins has ever Since remain'd the firfl: Manufa- ctory of this kind, in the World. The Quantity of the fineft, and nobleft Works, that have been produe'd by it ; and the .Number of the beft Workmen bred up therein, are incre- dible. In effect, the prefent flourishing Condition of the Arts, and Manufactories of France is in a great mcafyre ow- ing thereto.

Tapiftry Work, in particular, is their Glory. During the Superin tendance of M. Colbert, and his SuccefTor M. de Loti- vois, the making of Tapiftry is faid to have been practis'd to a Degree of Perfection, fcarce inferior to what was an- tiently done by the Englijh, and Flemijh.

The Battles of Alexander ; the Four Seafons ; the Four Elements ; the King's Palaces, and a Series of the principal Actions of the Life of Louis XIV. from the time of his Marriage to the firfl: Conqueft of Franche Comte, done •from the Defigns of M. le Srun, Director of the Manufa- ctory of thcGobelins, are Mafter-pieces in their kind.

GOBONE, Gobonated, in Heraldry, the fame as Com- pone. See Com pone.

GOD. — No juft Definition can be given of the Thing Signified by this Name, as being infinite, and incomprehen- sible. See Definition.

In Scripture, he is defined by, I am that I am : Alpha and Omega ; the Beginning and End of all Things.

Among Philofophers, he is defined a Being of infinite Per- fection ; or in whom there is n o Defect of any thing which we conceive might raife, improve, or exalt his Nature. See Perfection.

Among Men, he is chiefly confider'd as the firfl: Caufe, the firft Beinp, who has cxifted from the Beginning, has created the World, and who fubfifts neceSfarily, or of him- felf. See Cause, &c.

Sir IJaac Ne-ivton chufes to confider, and define G©2? not as is ufually done, from his Perfection, his Nature, Exiftence, or the like ; but from his Dominion. c The Word God,' accord- ing to him, * is a relative Term, and has a Regard to Ser-


 * vants : 'Tis true, it denotes a Being eternal, infinite, and ab-

1 abfolutely perfect, without Dominion, would not be God.
 * folutely perfect; but a Being, however eternal, infinite, and

' Lord is not God : The Dominion of a fpiritual Being or ' Lord, conftitutes God; true Dominion, trueG<?^; thefu- ' preme, the Supreme ; feign'd, the feign'd.
 * The Word God frequently Signifies Lord ; but every


 * From fuch true Dominion it follows that the true God is


 * living, intelligent, and powerful ; and from his other Per-


 * fections, that he isfupreme, or Supremely perfect : He is


 * eternal, and infinite, omnipotent, and omnifcient; that


 * is, he endures from Eternity to Eternity, and is prefent


 * from Infinity, to Infinity.


 * He governs all Things that exift, and knows all Things


 * that arc to be known : He is not Eternity, or Infinity, bur


 * eternal r.nd infinite: He is not Duration, or Space, but he

' every where; and by exifting always and every where,
 * endures, and is prefent: He endures always, and is prefent

ty and Infinity. See Eternity, Duration, Space, &c.
 * conftitutes the very Things Duration and Space, Eterni-

1 Since every Particle of Space is always, and every indi- 4 vifible Moment of Duration, everywhere, the Creator and c Lord of all Things can never bcminquatn nvfqttam. See Ubiquity, &c.

' He is omniprefent, not only virtually, but alfo fubftan-

Power, Sec.
 * tialiy ; for Power without Subftance cannot fubfift. See

1 All Things are contain'd, and move in him ; but with-


 * out any mutual PaSIion : He fuffers nothing from the Mo-

\ his Omniprefence.
 * tions of Bodies - nor do they undergo any Refiftance from

c fame NeceSIity he exifts always, and every where. Herce 1 alfo he muft be perfectly fimilar ; all Eye, all Ear, all
 * It is confeffed thatGOiZ) exifts neceffarily ; and by the

1 ingand acting 5 but after a manner not at all corporeal, after
 * Brain, all Arm, all the Power of perceiving, understand-

c to us unknown. See ANTHROPOMOp.r-iiiTE.
 * a manner not like that of Men, after a manner wholly


 * He is deftitute of all Body, and all bodily Shape; and


 * therefore cannot be feen, heard, nor touched; nor ought

1 poreal. See Imace, &c.
 * to be worfhip'd under the Reprefentation of any thing cor-

' know the Subftance even of any Thing : We fee only the
 * We have Ideas of the Attributes of God, but do not


 * Figures, and Colours of Bodies; hear only Sounds, touch


 * only the outward Surfaces, Smell only Odours, and tafte

1 know their inward Subftances, and much lefscan we have
 * Tafts ; and do not, cannot, by anySenfe, or any reflex Act

stance, &c,
 * any Notion of the Subftance of God. See Body, Sue-


 * We know him by his Properties, and Attributes ; by the

c Caufes ; but we adore, and worfhip him only on account of ' his Dominion: For G(?i,fetting afideDominion, Providence,
 * mofl wife, and excellent Structure of Things, and by final

Tbilof. Nat. Trmcip. Math, in Cake. See Fate, Na- ture, &c.
 * and final Caufes, is nothing elfe but Fate, and Nature.

A late ingenious Divine has wrought thefe Thoughts of that admirable Philofopher into Form, and ripen'd them in- to a more exprefs Syftem; in a Difcourfe upon this Occafion.

The great Principle or Proportion he lays down, is that 1 God is not rightly defined a Being abfolutely perfect, but


 * a fpiritual Being endued with abfolute Dominion — Not

( feet ; but only that it is his Dominion, not his Perfection,
 * that he denies the fclf exiftent Being to be infinitely per-


 * that is intended by the Word God.'

The felf exiftent Being, he obferves, may be confider'd either abfolutely, or relatively : Abfolutely, as he is in his own Nature, and as he is confider'd by the Metaphyfician : Relatively, as he ftands related to his Creatures, and as he is confider'd by the Religionift, his Worfhipper. Now, in treating of the Definition of God, he intends a nominal, not a real Definition; not what the Nature of that felf-exiftent Be- ing is, which we call God; but what it is we mean by the Word God: Which, on this Syftem, is that felf exiftent Be- ing, confider'd not abfolutely, but relatively; not as he is abstractedly in his own Nature, but as he ftands related to the Univerfe, whofe Sovereign Lord he is. See Universe.

'Tis added, that the Names given him ijj. mofl: Lan- guages, denote, not his abftracr, metaphyseal, and abfolute Idea, but his religious, popular, and relative one.

Indeed, every WorShipper of God will allow that he wor- ships that Self exiftent Being for no other Reafon, but be- caufe he is God; that is, becaufe he is Lord and Sovereign; for one would be under no Obligation to worfhip a Being, tho' abfolutely perfect, that had no Dominion over him. — A perfect Being without Dominion, would be only an Ob- ject of Contemplation, and Admiration; not of Worfhip; For Worfhip is only a Payment of Homage, an Acknowledg- ment of Subjection ; which, where there is no Dominion, cannot be due, and is therefore always due in proportion to the Degree of Dominion.

The Word Gtf^ Signifies Lord, and not a Being abfolutely perfect: Thus when I fay, my God, the God of the Uni- verfe, it feems plain, that the Notion of Godh relative, not abfolute, that is, includes Dominion, not abfolute Perfection; and if I were to exprefs the fame in any other Words, could I do itotherwife than thus, My Lord, the Lord of the Uni- verfe; and not thus, my perfect Being, the perfect Being of the Univerfe ?

Indeed, it feems impossible to prove the Exiftence of a God, in the Senfe affix'd to that Name, a priori, or any other wife than from his Dominion ; that is by arguing from the Effect to the Caufe. The following Propositions, 'tis true, are undeniably demonstrable a priori. i° That there is a felf-exiftent, i. e. neceSTarily exiftent Being 5 becaufe the

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