Arbuckle, James (d. 1742)

Hibernicus's Letters, No. 76 [Dublin Weekly Journal]

September 10, 1726

"Now, according to my supposition, there being no active intelligent Being, who, by his Presence and Superintendency, governs and directs the Course of those vagabond Images, every thing in the Brain resembles the fortuitous concourse of Atoms."

Now, according to my supposition, there being no active intelligent Being, who, by his Presence and Superintendency, governs and directs the Course of those vagabond Images, every thing in the Brain resembles the fortuitous concourse of Atoms. Two Images meet, and unite to each other; these two meeting with a third, it unites to them in the same manner: and this Meeting and Union continuing for some time, at last occasions a most monstrous Aggregation, very like the Chaos of the Poet, where

Frigida cum calidis pugnant, humentia siccis.

These united Images do sometimes separate from each other with the same facility they had joined, just like the fashionable way of marrying among the Quality; at other times, they maintain themselves in their Union, like poor Folks, without ever getting asunder; especially when this Union is the Effect of Chance, but more particularly when one Animal has thrust a whole Train of Images linked together into the Brain of another. In this last Case one Image of this sort never appears without its whole Retinue; and if a straggling one, in its progress thro' the Brain, chances to strike any of this Chain, all the others will appear, and chime to the last link. These sorts of Chains are what we call Habits; the Temper and Passions strengthen them, and they, in grateful return, strengthen the Temper and Passions.
(pp. 187-8)

Government::Anarchy Population::Vagabonds Uncategorized::Atoms

Reading Dennis Todd's Imagining Monsters (University of Chicago Press, 1995), 137.

At least 4 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1726, 1729, 1734).

The Dublin Weekly Journal ran from 3 April 1725 to 25 March 1727.

Text from James Arbuckle, A Collection of Letters and Essays on Several Subjects: Lately Publish'd in the Dublin Journal. In Two Volumes (London: Printed by J. Darby and T. Browne, 1729). <Link to vol. 2 in Google Books>

Republished as Hibernicus's Letters: or, a Philosophical Miscellany (London: Printed for J. Clark, T. Hatchet, E. Symon, 1734). <Link to ECCO>

07/08/2013