ives; also Corporeity, Walking, Speaking, Life, Sight, and the
like, that signifie just the same, are the names of Nothing; as I have
elsewhere more amply expressed.

But to what purpose (may some man say) is such subtilty in a work of
this nature, where I pretend to nothing but what is necessary to the
doctrine of Government and Obedience? It is to this purpose, that men
may no longer suffer themselves to be abused, by them, that by this
doctrine of Separated Essences, built on the Vain Philosophy of
Aristotle, would fright them from Obeying the Laws of their Countrey,
with empty names; as men fright Birds from the Corn with an empty
doublet, a hat, and a crooked stick. For it is upon this ground, that
when a Man is dead and buried, they say his Soule (that is his Life) can
walk separated from his Body, and is seen by night amongst the graves.
Upon the same ground they say, that the Figure, and Colour, and Tast of
a peece of Bread, has a being, there, where they say there is no Bread:
And upon the same ground they say, that Faith, and Wisdome, and other
Vertues are sometimes powred into a man, sometimes blown into him from
Heaven; as if the Vertuous, and their Vertues could be asunder; and a
great many other things that serve to lessen the dependance of Subjects
on the Soveraign Power of their Countrey. For who will endeavour to obey
the Laws, if he expect Obedience to be Powred or Blown into him? Or who
will not obey a Priest, that can make God, rather than his Soveraign;
nay than God himselfe? Or who, that is in fear of Ghosts, will not bear
great respect to those that can make the Holy Water, that drives them
from him? And this shall suffice for an example of the Errors, which are
brought into the Church, from the Entities, and Essences of Aristotle:
which it may be he knew to be false Philosophy; but writ it as a thing
consonant to, and corroborative of their Religion; and fearing the fate
of Socrates.

Being once fallen into this Error of Separated Essences, they are
thereby necessarily involved in many other absurdities that follow it.
For seeing they will have these Forms to be reall, they are obliged to
assign them some place. But because they hold them Incorporeall, without
all dimension of Quantity, and all men know that Place is Dimension, and
not to be filled, but by that which is Corporeall; they are driven to
uphold their credit with a distinction, that they are not indeed any
where Circumscriptive, but