sehr vrima foveat, toto leghinu ope: perfecto, poses tiam ta len *Bap in part is ejus vobis crederdis galer Da Cort antihop. X. K de das Decembris, Doutino Perpetuo Algusto, ferfùn Consula. „á Leyden, Juris Prok sso, fut cal berter about te pages in 'as inio „pult ngas 1, to deglish; this is the wh ed, chatted, trified, locad by much the greatest part of: estez a cert, in entting oven v ood ** fin, la e ting victuals and app voking tobacco, and in chatting w 8. ash ted about day's work. e day er hoe and at this? Chores e a', tobacco, tus Vie", bat I aun resolved to tranne Justician and s r's potes by daylight, and read Gilbert's Tenures I am master of both, and I will meddie with ro book in this chamber on a week day; on a Sunday i will 1. Inqiry into the Nature of the Honara Soul, and for t, I will sometimes read Ovid's Art of Love to Mrs. all be my ruthol. I have read Gilbert's first "euds, his evening, bat an. not master of it. This con as Ro abort sunrise, unpitched a load of bay. d two bars more of Justinian, ad in the aft ... Dearm Webb's, then around by the mill poate da pipe with Webb3 at the Doctor's, and 12 0.4 again Gilber's section of Feady 7, Read a few leaves in Rinder ་ ་ ་ ོ་ ather. in the one John Adar. td both belonger to the her his son John Qun ey, "14 born. ch i standing very much in theje resented in the flor with accompanies the present asive Cheapres--the wor, however spelt is well understood bestauchority for its use. Nadio Webl, before referred so. vos pulcherrima foveat, toto legitimo opere perfecto, posse etiam nostram Rempublicam in partibus ejus vobis credendis gubernari." Data Constantinopoli XI. Kalendas Decembris, Domino Justiniano perpetuo Augusto, tertiùm Consule.- Cicero 1 de Orat. "Pergite, ut facitis, adolescentes; atque in id studium, in quo estis, incumbite, ut et vobis honori, et amicis utilitati, et reipublicæ emolumento esse possitis." Arnoldus Vinnius in Academiâ Leydensi Juris Professor fuit celeberrimus. I have read about ten pages in Justinian, and translated about four pages into English; this is the whole of my day's work. I have smoked, chatted, trifled, loitered away this whole day almost;-by much the greatest part of this day has been spent in unloading a cart, in cutting oven wood, in making and recruiting my own fire, in eating victuals and apples, in drinking tea, cutting and smoking tobacco, and in chatting with Dr. Savil's wife at their house and at this. Chores, chat, tobacco, tea, steal away time; but I am resolved to translate Justinian and his commentator's notes by daylight, and read Gilbert's Tenures by night, till I am master of both, and I will meddle with no other book in this chamber on a week day; on a Sunday I will read the Enquiry into the Nature of the Human Soul, and for amusement, I will sometimes read Ovid's Art of Love to Mrs. Savil. This shall be my method. I have read Gilbert's first section, of Feuds, this evening, but am not master of it. 6. Friday. Rose about sunrise, unpitched a load of hay, translated two leaves more of Justinian, and in the afternoon walked to Deacon Webb's, then around by the mill pond, home; smoked a pipe with Webb3 at the Doctor's, and am now about reading over again Gilbert's section of Feudal Tenures. 8. Sunday. Read a few leaves in Baxter's Enquiry into the Nature of the Human Soul. He has explained with great exactness the resistance which matter makes to any change of its state or condition, whether of motion or of rest, the vis inertiæ, 1 The two houses were separated only by a cartway, and both belonged to the father of the author. In the one John Adams, in the other his son John Quincy, nine years after this date, was born. Both are still standing very much in their primitive state, as represented in the plate which accompanies the present volume. 2 Anglice-chares and chewres-the word, however spelt, is well understood and has the best authority for its use. 3 His cousin, Nathan Webb, before referred to. VOL. II. the positive inactivity of matter, not barely its inactivity, but its antiactivity, for it not only is destitute of a power of changing its state from rest to motion or from motion to rest, but it has a positive power, each single particle has a positive power of resisting any force that attempts to change its state. But a leaden ball held between my fingers, as soon as I withdraw my fingers will, of itself for aught I see, change its state from rest to motion and fall suddenly to the floor. This phenomenon is not vis inertiæ; it is by no reluctance or aversion to motion that it moves, but it seems to be a tendency to motion, an active principle. If it is passive, the agent that presses it downwards is invisible; but because matter, in all the experiments I have tried, resists a change from rest to motion upwards, will it follow that all matter essentially resists a change from rest to motion downwards? Is it a posteriori from experiments that he deduces this proposition that all matter essentially resists any change of state? or is it a priori from some property that is essentially included in our ideas of matter that he demonstratively argues this vis inertia? Is inactivity and anti-activity included in our ideas of matter? Are activity, perceptivity, &c., properties that we by only comparing ideas can see to be incompatible to any properties of matter? If nothing is matter which has not this anti-active principle, then human minds are not matter, for they have no such principle; we are conscious that we can begin and end motion of ourselves. If he argues a posteriori from experiments, he can pretend only to probability, for unless he was certain that he had made the experiment and found the property in every particle of matter that ever was created, he could not be certain that there was no particle in the world without this property, though he had tried all but one and found that they had it. We have tried but a few parcels of matter; the utmost we can say is, that all we have tried are inactive; but for argument's sake I will deny that all the parcels that we have tried have this property; on the contrary I will say that all have a motive power downwards; powder has an active power springing every way, &c. Thus experiment is turned against the doctrine. I cannot yet see how he will prove all matter anti-inactive a priori from properties of matter before known essential, with which he must show this to be necessarily connected. |