BOOK I PART II
whatever foundation there may be for a contro-
versy concerning the things themselves, it may
be pretended, that the very dispute is decisive
concerning the idea, and that it is impossible
men coued so long reason about a vacuum, and
either refute or defend it, without having a no-
tion of what they refuted or defended.
Secondly, If this argument should be con-
tested, the reality or at least the possibility of
the idea of a vacuum may be proved by the
following reasoning. Every idea is possible,
which is a necessary and infallible consequence
of such as are possible. Now though we allow
the world to be at present a plenum, we may
easily conceive it to be deprived of motion; and
this idea will certainly be allowed possible. It
must also be allowed possible, to conceive the
annihilation of any part of matter by the om-