chusing the shady places in hot Weather, and the sunny ones in cold: And
that all their life-time, both day and night, till they died, was spent
after this manner, without any variation, or minding any thing else at
any time. From whence it appear'd to him, that they knew nothing of this
Being, nor had any desire towards it, nor became acquainted with it by
any Means whatsoever; and that they all went into a State of Privation,
or something very near a-kin to it. Having pass'd this Judgment upon the
Animals, he knew that it was much more reasonable to conclude so of
Vegetables, which had but few of those Apprehensions which the Animals
had; and if that whose Apprehension was more perfect did not attain to
this Knowledge, much less could it be expected from that whose
Apprehension was less perfect; especially when he saw that all the
Actions of Plants reach'd no farther than Nutrition and Generation.

§ 68. He next consider'd the Stars and Spheres, and saw, that they had
all regular Motions, and went round in a due Order; and that they were
pellucid and shining, and remote from any approach to Change or
Dissolution: which made him have a strong suspicion, that they had
_Essences_ distinct from their Bodies, which were acquainted with this
_necessarily self-existent Essence._ And that these understanding
Essences,were like his understanding Essence. And why might it not be
suppos'd that they might have incorporeal Essences, when he himself had,
notwithstanding his Weakness and extream want of sensible Things? That
he consisted of a corruptible Body, and yet nevertheless, all these
Defects did not hinder him from having an incorporeal incorruptible
Essence: From whence he concluded, that the Celestial Bodies were much
more likely to have it; and he perceived that they had a Knowledge of
the _necessarily self-existent Being_, and did actually behold it at all
times; because they were not at all incumbred with those Hinderances,
arising from the Intervention of sensible Things, which debarr'd him