Nor has Dr. Priestley any reason to suppose gravity, elasticity
and electricity to have been imprest on bodies by a superior Being, and
not originally inherent in matter, unless to favour his own hypothesis
of a Deity. He absolutely says matter could not have had those powers
without a communication from a superior and intelligent Being. If
matter is perceived in regulated motion, it is added bluntly, that it
must be by a mover possessed of a competent intelligence, and that a
Being therefore of such power and intelligence _must_ exist. Whoever
finds no difficulty in believing the contrary will find as little
difficulty in Mr. Hume's hypothesis, that motion might as well as other
powers and properties have been originally inherent in matter, or at
least have been a necessary result of some matter acting upon another.
It has always been a doubt with Theists, whether they can better prove
their God's existence by moral or physical considerations. Dr.
Priestley seems to think the _forte_ of the argument lies in the latter
proof, and lays particular stress upon his observation respecting cause
and effect, which therefore cannot here be so readily dismissed. He
makes great reference to the works of art. Theists are always for
turning their God into an overgrown man. Anthropomorphites has long
been a term applied to them. They give him hands and eyes nor can they
conceive him otherwise than as a corporeal Being.
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