Page:Three Books of Occult Philosophy (De Occulta Philosophia) (1651).djvu/354

 Theophrastus, Avicen, Algazeles, and all Peripateticks confess, and confirm.

Chap. lvi. The same is confirmed by reason.

The world, the heavens, the Stars, and the Elements have a soul, with which they cause a soul in these inferior and mixed bodies. They have also as we said in the former book, a spirit, which by the mediating of the soul is united to the body: For as the world is a certain whole body, the parts whereof are the bodies of all living creatures, and by how much the whole is more perfect and noble then the parts, by so much more perfect, and noble is the body of the world then the bodies of each living thing. It would be absurd, that all imperfect bodies and parts of the world, and every base Animal, as Flies, and Worms should be worthy of a life, and have a life and soul, and the whole entire world a most perfect, whole, and most noble body, should have neither life, nor soul; It is no less absurd, that Heavens, Stars, Elements, which give to all things life, and soul most largely, should themselves be without life, and soul; and that every plant, or tree should be of a more noble condition then the Heaven, Stars, and Elements, which are naturally the cause of them; And what living man can deny that earth, and water live, which of themselves, generate, vivifie, nourish, and increase innumerable trees, plants, and living creatures? as most manifestly appears in things that breed of their own accord, and in those which have no corporeall seed. Neither could Elements generate and nourish such kind of living creatures, if they themselves were without life or soul. But some haply may say, that such kind of living creatures are not generated by the soul of the earth, or water, but by the influencies of Celestiall souls; These the Platonists answer, that an Accident cannot beget a substance, unless haply as an instrument it be subjected to the next substance, because an instrument removed from an artificer is not moved to the effect of the