12. The existence of other finite spirits not knowable, and rests on
faith. What ideas we have of spirits, and how we come by them, I
have already shown. But though we have those ideas in our minds, and
know we have them there, the having the ideas of spirits does not make
us know that any such things do exist without us, or that there are
any finite spirits, or any other spiritual beings, but the Eternal
God. We have ground from revelation, and several other reasons, to
believe with assurance that there are such creatures: but our senses
not being able to discover them, we want the means of knowing their
particular existences. For we can no more know that there are finite
spirits really existing, by the idea we have of such beings in our
minds, than by the ideas any one has of fairies or centaurs, he can
come to know that things answering those ideas do really exist.
And therefore concerning the existence of finite spirits, as well as
several other things, we must content ourselves with the evidence of
faith; but universal, certain propositions concerning this matter
are beyond our reach. For however true it may be, v.g., that all the
intelligent spirits that God ever created do still exist, yet it can
never make a part of our certain knowledge. These and the like
propositions we may assent to, as highly probable, but are not, I
fear, in this state capable of knowing.
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