Excerpt from Essays, Philosophical, Historical, and Literary To thefe very powerful and cogent argu arguments the advocates for philofophical liberty, viz. Clarke, Beattie, Butler, Price, Law, Bryant, Wollaflon, Horfley, &c. Reply to the following purpofe -as all mankind have an internal con fcioufnefs of freedom, and as it is impofiible for any metaphyfical fubtilties fo totally to overpower the original and genuine dictates of nature, as to excite a real belief in the mind of any rational being that he is not mailer of his own actions, but that he is a mere machine, and as incapable of controlling the events of his life, or the determin ations of his will, as a puppet to refill: the impulfe of the wires by which he is put in motion, it might feem fuflicient to appeal to common fenfe for the refutation of affertions fo extravagant and abfurd; but in order more completely to expofe the fallacy and detect the fophiflry of thofe arguments by which their antagonifts attempt to reafon men out of their reafon, it is proper, fay they, to enter into a more full and accurate inveftigation of them; and with refpeet to the fo much boafied argument from the necefi'ary operation of caufes and effects, they profefs their readinefs to acknowledge the neceflity of a caufe to the produetion of any effect, but they can by no means admit the application of this axiom to the fupport of the hypothefis in queftion, nor by any meam allow that motives are to be ponfidered as the efficient caufes of volition: The man alone is the agent, and forms the volition, 319011 the view and confideration of motives indeed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.