7. Whether Souls feparated by Death from the Body, retain their Individuation, or are all turn'd into one common Soul? 8. In what part of the Body is the Soul? 9. What Defect is there in the Souls of Perfons, born Naturals? 10. What are we to think of the Definition of the Soul-that it is the first Act of an Organical Body having Life in Power? II. Whether Women have any Souls? To which I join this; Is the Soul of Woman inferiour to the Soul of Man? If fo, will that Superiority continue etermally? 12. Whether the immortal Soul was breath'd into Adam with the Animal, or before, or after? 13. Upon a bare relation of any thing, an Idea of the thing related is at the fame time reprefented to the Imagination; but when we fpeak of God or the Soul, we have mone at all. The reafon of this? 14. Whether our Souls, going out of our Bodies, pafs into any local circumferiptible Place; or, whether they affume certain Vehicles, or fubtile Bodies, retaining the fame characterizing Forms, which their terreftrial Bodies had? 15. Whether the feparated Souls bave any Knowledge of Affairs in this World?. &c. 16. Whether feparated Souls know one another, fince they have zot the Organs of Seeing, Hearing, Speech? 17. Where do Souls go immediately on their Separation from the Body? 18. Whether has a Man three Souls, or no, viz. the Supream, which they call the Mind; the Senfitive, which they call an Image; and Rational, which lies and knits the other two together? 19. What have the Philofophers (guided only by natural Reason) conceiv'd of the future State of the Soul? 20. How are we to understand the Union of the Soul and Body, fince the Soul is pure Immaterial Subftance, and the Body a grofs organiz'd Subftance? 21. Whether the Soul of Man be a Traduction, or an immediate Infufion; if the former, what tolerable Expreffions may we have of the way and manner of a Body's begetting a Spirit? If the latter, how comes it to be defil'd with Original Sin? 22. Whether all Souls are equally happy in Heaven? 23. Whether the Soul of a Child that dies after 'tis quick in the Womb, be happy, or miferable eternally? 24 Whether the Souls of ftudious and learned Men, are more perfect in the World to come, than the Souls of the Ignorant and Illiterate? &c. 25. Where's the soul of Man, when in a Swoon? 26. Whether the Soul, after Death, be in an Active or unactive ftate, during its Subfiftence without the Body? 27. Whether the Soul can be abfent from the Body for a limited sime, without Death, provided the Body remain tenentable? 28. Is the Caufe of Death, or a Separation of the Soul from the *Actus primus corporis organici, in potentia vitam habentis. Body, Body, in the Soul, or in the Body; 29. Whether the Soul does always aliually think or no? There are other Queftions relating to the Soul, Which I have not fet down in this Place; the Brevity I am confin'd to not only denying me that, but also room to make any mention of what other Philofophical Queftions they have answer'd. I muft therefore defire the Reader to fupply this Defect in me, by confulting the Alphabetical Tables to each Volume: where they will not only find what I have omitted, but alfo all other Questions relating to the Mathematicks, Phyfick, Law,Criticifms, Anatomy, and all the other Branches of their Promife of answering all manner of Queftions in every Science and Art, if of any Use or Advantage, general or particular; for I fhall only here give a fhort Direction to two or three in each Science. For Mathematical Queftions therefore confult the Tables. For Phyfick fee the Supplement, as to the original Caufe of the Gout. c. Anatomy in general is well improv'd, fince Hypocrates learnt it of Democratus in the Suburbs of Abdera, and from the Diffection of Brutes gather'd the Anatomy of Man, as the fame Hypocrates teftifies in his Letter to Demagoras. And I am confident, that the Anfwers this Society have given in this Art, (which is a part of the Delphick Precept of Know thy felf, which therefore is the reafon, I fuppofe, * Juvenal fays is must be kept in Heaven) will make any impartial Judge fenfible of their Ability in that as well as the rest of the Sci ences. I am fure the Wits will think it high time for me to difmifs thefe grave and fublimer Subjects, and to come nearer their Province: for I am fenfible that Theology, and Philosophy require too much of Thought, and too much Strength of Judg. ment, to be Entertainment agreeable to their airy Genius, which relishes nothing but a trifling Jeft, a Quibble, or at moft a pleafant Banter, as they call it. Thefe Gentle men are fo wholly poffefs'd with the Spirit of Gaiety, that they think all things dull that are folid; tho' 'tis very hard, they will never give us leave to be ferious, under the fevere Penalty of their Displeasure at our Performances. But that they may have no Caufe to think I have quite forgot them, if they will be fo complaifant to meet me half way, and give for once a ftep or two from their eternal Banter to true Wit, I will now defcend to gratify these partial and incompetent Judges of Wit and Learning, and fhew them that the Athenian Soceety do fometimes unbend from their feverer Studies, to make a grateful mixture of the Pleasant with Profitable, that they might not E cœlo defcendit, yra savrov. Juven. give the leaft caufe to any to think their Endeavours any way imperfect: But they make not Bufinefs of a Delight, or think, that the Life of a Man of Senfe and Reafon, fhould be taken up with no higher Contemplation, than the continual View of the lighter Performances of Wit. This I muft inform these Gentlemen, that they'll feldom find any of thefe eafier Effays of this Society without a juft mixture of Learning; for that is fo much a Part of them, that it gives a lafting Beauty to their very Diverfions. I fhall inftance in one particular, which fome (I am pretty fure without confideration) have been pleas'd to exercise their unintelligible Talent of Banter upon, I mean the Answer to this Query: Whether Fleas have Stings,or whether they fuck or bite when they draw Blood from the Body? This Query, we may fee by the Author, was fent by one of the fair Sex and the Refolution is compos'd not only of true Wit, all the Similies being ex renata, not dragg'd from all the Corners of the Universe, to be cramm'd in by Head and Shoulders, as thofe of fome Men are, who have not gain'd a little Reputation by them; but alfo of a curious Enquiry into the Form, and Parts of that little and domeftick Animal, which tho' fo common, yet is of fo wonderful a Compofure. This I find in Vol. I. p. 38. which if any true Judge of Wit will confult, I queftion not but he will with a great deal of readiness fubfcribe to what I have faid of it, and one ly blame me for the Modelly of my Expreffion. In the very next Page you will meet with no lefs entertaining Difcourfe on this Query: Whether Beauty be real, or imaginary ? The Query is nice, but the Anfwer is incomparably fine. Farther, the three following Questions, viz (1.) Whether it be lawful for a young Lady to pray for a Husband? (2) A Lady de fires to know when she shall have a Husband? (3) Is it better to live fingle, or marry? fwer'd with that Ingenuity and Reafon, (an Ingredient feldom found in the Gailymaufries our Scriblers generally drefs out for publick view) that it cannot but bring the extremeft Satisfaction to any one that pretends with any Juftice to value himfelf as a Man of Wit and Senfe. are an In the feveral Volumes I find the Society endeavouring a farther Diverfion of the Witty, by feveral Effays in Poetry, in anfwer to Queries fent them in Rhime; this being indeed the neceffary refult of their first Promises, of answering all manner of Queftions. In this, as well as in all their other Performances, the Society propofe to themselves the Service of Religion: And I hope the Wits will not wholly condemn them for pretending to Poetry and Piety at once, fince tho' Quarles has fcandaliz'd Devotion with wretched Verfe, yet Beaumont's Pfyche, or. that admirable Poem Spencer's Fairy Queen, defign'd an Encomium on all the noble Train of Ver tues; tunes; the Steps to the Temple, and other Verfes of Crashaw, who was commended by the incomparable Cowley; nay, the Plagues of Egypt, the Paraphrafe on Ifaiah, and other Pindaricks of Cowley himself, fhew, that Poetry is never fo elevated and fine, as when employ'd on Subjects of that nature. Nay, Virtue is fo far from not being the proper Subject of Poetry, that nothing elfe, indeed, is: For, if we believe the best of Poets and Criticks, and examine the Rules. laid down by them for both Dramatick and Epick Poefy, we shall find, that the Aim and End of the firft, is to reward Virtue, and punish Vice; and the bufinefs of the latter is, not only to draw its Characters truly virtuous, but to make them fuccefsful as the Piety of Eneas (and most, if not all of his Trojan Companions) in Virgil; of Godfrey of Bulloign, Tancred, and * Rinaldo c. in Taffo; of David, Jonathan, t. in Cowley, may fatif fy. So that I have reafon to conclude, that that Poet, who pretends to write without this Aim, is either ignorant in his Art, or guilty of perverting i's facred Laws. All this being thus evident, the more equal Readers will, 1 queftion not, be very well pleas'd, when they fee this Society in lofty numbers prefenting a formal Challenge to Vice: and as two Oppofites are beft diftinguish'd when fet together, fo here a Vice in one Column, and its contrary Virtue in another, muft render the first as odious, as it really is, and enhance, if not the Beauty, yet the Efteem of the latter. To perform this with the more Force and Majefty, the Society have, with a great deal of Reafon, made choice of Spencer's Stanza: This new Project for the promotion of Religion is confin'd only to one Virtue and one Vice at a time, that the other half of the Paper may be free to anfwer fuch Queries that are fent them in veríe, as hall any way merit to be taken notice of: Before I difmifs this Point, I think my felf oblig'd to make fome Remarks on the Poetry this Society have already gra tify'd the World withal, becaufe fome, that with no little Ardour afpire to the Name of Criticks, have been pleas'd to pafs none of the most favourable Judgments upon it. I confefs indeed thefe Sparks are not fo kind, as to give us any Reafon for their Procedure in this Affair, or to discover thofe Defects they have found out, fuppofing that their Arbitrary Sentence is fufficient to prove a Guilt; perhaps that * For the Character of Rinaldo is virtuous, notwithstanding his 'Amour with Armida, which was the effect of her Enchantments more than his Inclinations. His 'Repentance of this Failing, his Prayer on Mount Olivet, before his attacking the enchanted Forest, and the reft of his Actions, juftify my placing him in this Number. may may be of great value with thofe who blindly depend upon their Judgment; but we that are fo arrogant to believe an Ipfe dixit no proof, muft take the liberty to queftion their Decifion as very partial. I wish these mighty Criticks had given us fome Standard for the Excellence of Copies of Verfes, or had rang'd them under fome of the known Heads; nay, tho' they had ran as far as the Divifion of * Plato for then I could with the more ease have made an Examination of them, and have obviated thofe Objections they had made. But when Men fpeak at random, without giving any reafon for what they fay, it is fufficient to be as pofitive in our Denial as they were in their Affirmation; 'tis not being as convincing as it is. But to fhew the World that I am not afraid to bring the Poetry of the Society to the Teft, I fhall, according to what Standard I fhall think juft (fince they have given me none) examine it, what that Impartiality which becomes not only an Hiftorian, but a Critick. Every one that has ever effay'd any thing in Verse, cannot but be fenfible of the Difficulty of bringing every part to that Decorum which is neceffary for the Beauty and Perfection of that way of writing; without which, as Cicero obferves, there are not a few Faults break into Poefy as well as Profe. What this neceffary Decorum is, may be gather'd partly from ||Horace in his Art of Poetry; to avoid Obscurity, Trifling, Bombaft, Meannefs both of Thought and Expreffion, and affected Copioufness, which is a fpinning out a Thought into various and fynonimous Expreffions: and this laft Claudian is very much given to, notwithstanding the Character Scaliger gives him. If we can't find the Society guilty of any of these Faults, I think (by fo good an Authority as Horace) we may conclude their Poetry cavil'd at without any juft Reafon. But I fhall confine my felf to one Copy of Verfes, which was writ to the Author of the late Paftoral Poem; for tho' the Poetry they have as yet publifh'd be not very voluminous, yet the Examination of all * In his third Book, De optimo ftatu Civita tis. Hujus + Ut in Vita, fic in Oratione nihil eft difficilius, quam quid deccat videre: pov appellant Græci, nos Decorum.ignoratione non modo in Vita, fed fæpiffime in Poemate & Oratione peccatur. Brevis effe laboro, Obfcurus fio; fectantem levia nervi Deficiunt, Animique profeffus grandia turget, would |