Note 48 — Chapter III · FIRST PRINCIPLES

I. 337. ‘Planius ergo dici videtur cum in unaquaque re principium actionis et motus sit pars illa mobilissima, actuosissimaque et quasi flos totius materiae quae et ipsa sit quam Formam solent dicere, et haberi possit quasi tenuissima contextura subtilissimarum, mobilissimarumque Atomorum; ideo primam causam moventem in Physicis rebus esse Atomos: quod dum ipsae per se, et juxta vim a suo authore ab initio usque acceptam moventur, motum omnibus rebus praebeant sintque adeo omnium quae in Natura sunt motuum, origo, principium et causa.’

This quotation shows that Gassendi is confused. Motion in bodies he attributes to the perpetual interaction of their parts, which is possible, because some are finer than others. But the original motion is in the Atom, which, as we have seen, being what it is cannot have motion. To Gassendi this difficulty seems to be overcome by saying God gave the motion to the Atoms. Gassendi’s atom is an ultimate, not only in the sense of being the last in analysis, but also as the point at which physical explanation collapses.