The Star in the West

226 THE STAR IN THE WEST PARALLEL EXTRACTS FROM THE “ THREE DIALOGUES BETWEEN HYLAS AND PHILONOUS " AND “ An ENQUIRY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING " “ Away then with all that “ The sceptic , therefore , had Scepticism , all those ridiculous better keep within his proper philosophical doubts . What a sphere . . . For here is the jest is it for a philosopher to chief and most confounding question the existence of sen objection to excessive sceptic sible things , till he hath it ism , that no durable good can proved to him from the vera ever result from it; while it city of God ; or to pretend our remains in its full force and knowledge in this point falls vigour . We need only ask such short of intuition or demonstra a sceptic , ' What his meaning tion ! I might as well doubt of is ? And what he proposes by my own being , as of the being all these curious researches ?' of those things I actually see He is immediately at a loss , and feel .” — P. 91 . and knows not what to an swer .” — P. 169 . “ Now , it is plain they [ things ] have an existence ex terior to my mind ; ... There is therefore some other mind wherein they exist , during the intervals between the times of my perceiving them : as like wise they did before my birth , and would doafter my supposed annihilation ... it necessarily follows that there is an omni present eternal Mind .” — P. 91 . “ When he awakes from his dream , he will be the first ... to confess , that ... mankind .. must act and reason and believe ; though they are not able , by their most diligent enquiry , to satisfy themselves concerning the foundation of these operations , or to remove the objections , which may be raised against them .” — P. 170 . “ As to your first question : ( how can you conceive it pos sible that things should exist in God's mind )I own I have properly no idea , either of God or any other Spirit ; for these being active cannot be repre “ While we cannot give a satisfactory reason , why we believe , after a thousand ex periments , that a stone will fall , or fire burn ; can we ever satisfy ourselves concerning any determination , which we