{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_75644/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_75644","id":"gutenberg_75644","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75644","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Environmental Issues","Category: History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming","Cosmology -- Early works to 1800","Creation -- Early works to 1800","Earth (Planet) -- Early works to 1800","Keill, John, 1671-1721. Examination of Dr. Burnet's theory of the earth","Philosophy, Ancient -- Early works to 1800","Warren, Erasmus, 1642?-1718. Geologia"],"text":"The Sacred Theory of the Earth\n\n[Illustration: The Sacred Theory of the Earth.]\n\n[Illustration: Effigies Authoris.]\n\n\n\n\n The Sacred Theory of the Earth\n\n Containing an Account of the\n\n Original of the Earth,\n\n And of all the\n General Changes which it hath already\n undergone, or is to undergo, till the Consummation\n of all Things.\n\n In Two Volumes.\n\n The Two First Books\n Concerning the DELUGE\n AND\n Concerning PARADISE\n\n The Two Last Books\n Concerning the Burning of the WORLD,\n AND\n Concerning the New Heavens and New Earth\n\n With a REVIEW of the THEORY, and of its\n Proofs; especially in reference to Scripture.\n\n The Sixth Edition.\n\n To which is added,\n\n The Author\u2019s Defence of the WORK, from\n the Exceptions of Mr. Warren, and the Examination\n of Mr. Keil.\n\n AND\n\n An ODE to the Author by Mr. _Addison_.\n\n LONDON: Printed for J. HOOKE, at the _Flower-de-Luce_\n against St. _Dunstan\u2019s-Church_ in _Fleet-street_. MDCCXXVI.\n\n\n\n\nAd Insignissimum Virum\n\nD. THO. BURNETTUM,\n\n_Sacr\u00e6 Theori\u00e6 Telluris Autorem_.\n\n Non usitatum carminis alitem,\n BURNETTE, poscis, non humiles modos:\n Vulgare plectrum, languid\u00e6que\n Respuis officium cam\u0153n\u00e6.\n Tu mixta rerum semina conscius,\n Mol\u00e9mque cernis dissociabilem,\n Terr\u00e1mque concretam, & latentem\n Oceanum gremio capaci:\n Dum veritatem qu\u00e6rere pertinax\n Ignota pandis, sollicitus par\u00f9m\n Utcunque stet commune vulgi\n Arbitrium & popularis error.\n Auditur ingens continu\u00f2 fragor,\n Illapsa tellus lubrica deserit\n Fundamina, & compage fract\u00e0\n Suppositas gravis urget undas.\n Impulsus erumpit medius liquor,\n Terras aquarum effusa licentia\n Claudit vicissim: has inter orbis\n Reliqui\u00e6 fluitant prioris.\n Nunc & recluso carcere lucidam\n Bal\u00e6na spectat solis imaginem,\n Stellasque miratur natantes,\n Et tremul\u00e6 simulacra lun\u00e6.\n Qu\u00e6 pompa vocum non imitablis!\n Qualis calescit spiritus ingen\u00ee!\n Ut tollis undas! ut frementem\n Diluvii reprimis tumultum!\n Quis tam valenti pectore ferreus\n Ut non tremiscens & timido pede\n Incedat, orbis dum dolosi\n Detegis instabiles ruinas?\n Quin h\u00e6c cadent\u00fbm fragmina montium\n Natura vultum sumere simplicem\n Coget resingens, in priorem\n Mox iterum reditura formam.\n Nimbis rubentem sulphureis Jovem\n Cernas; ut udis s\u00e6vit atrox Hyems\n Incendiis, commune mundo\n Et populis meditata Bustum!\n Nudus liquentes plorat Athos nives,\n Et mox liquescens ipse adamantinum\n Fundit cacumen, dum per imas\n Saxa fluunt resoluta valles.\n Jamque alta c\u0153li m\u0153nia corruunt,\n Et vestra tandem pagina (proh nefas!)\n BURNETTE, vestra augebit ignes,\n Heu socio peritura mundo.\n Mox \u00e6qua tellus, mox subitus viror\n Ubique rident: En teretem Globum!\n En l\u00e6ta vernantis Favon\u00ee\n Flamina, perpetu\u00f3sque flores!\n O pectus ingens! O animum gravem,\n Mundi capacem! si bonus auguror,\n Te, nostra quo tellus superbit,\n Accipiet renovata civem.\n\n_Jo. Addison, \u00e8 Coll. Magd. Oxon. 1699._\n\n\n\n\n AN ODE\n\n To the LEARNED\n\n Dr. _Thomas Burnet_,\n\n AUTHOR of _The Sacred Theory of\n the EARTH_.\n\nI.\n\n _No common Height the Muse must soar,\n That wou\u2019d thy Fame in Numbers try;\n Nor dare in humble Verse adore,\n But rise with Thee above the Sky:\n You ask a bold and lofty Strain,\n And what we meanly sing, disdain._\n\nII.\n\n _You Nature\u2019s early Birth explore,\n Her disunited Frame disclose,\n From what mix\u2019d Cause, and jarring Power,\n The Infant Earth to Being rose:\n How, in her circling Bosom sleep\n Th\u2019 imprisoned Seas, and bounded Deep._\n\nIII.\n\n _Resolv\u2019d great hidden Truths to trace,\n Each learned Fable you despise;\n And, pleas\u2019d, enjoy the fam\u2019d Disgrace,\n To think, and reason singly wise:\n Each Tale reject by Time allow\u2019d,\n And nobly leave the erring Crowd._\n\nIV.\n\n _Hark! from her weak Foundations tore,\n The bursting Earth asunder flies,\n And, prop\u2019d by yielding Seas no more,\n The dreadful Crack alarms the Skies:\n Whose Arches rent, their Weight forego,\n And plunge in opening Gulphs below._\n\nV.\n\n _Now rushing from their watry Bed,\n The driving Waves disdain a Shore;\n And with resistless Force o\u2019erspread\n That Orb, which check\u2019d their Rage before:\n While scatter\u2019d o\u2019re the foamy Tide,\n All Nature\u2019s floating Ruins ride._\n\nVI.\n\n _New Heavens disclos\u2019d, the silver Train\n The SUN beneath their Waves admire;\n And gliding thro\u2019 the enlight\u2019ned Main,\n Gaze at each Star\u2019s diminish\u2019d Fire,\n Well pleas\u2019d, the MOON\u2019s bright Orb survey,\n Trembling along their azure Play._\n\nVII.\n\n _How strong each Line, each Thought how great,\n With what an Energy you rise!\n How shines each Fancy? with what Heat\n Does every glowing Page surprize?\n While spouting Oceans upward flow,\n Or sink again to Caves below._\n\nVIII.\n\n _As Nature\u2019s Doom you thus impart,\n The moving Scene we scarce endure;\n But, shrinking, ask our anxious Heart,\n If on our Earth we tread secure?\n Whose Fate, unmov\u2019d, as you persue,\n We start and tremble but to view_.\n\nIX.\n\n _Yet these Remains we now behold,\n Which tow\u2019ring once in Hills arose;\n Shall from a new and fairer Mould\n A new and fairer Earth compose:\n Which to her Fate shall owe her Bloom,\n And rise more lovely from her Tomb._\n\nX.\n\n _Yet see This beauteous Fabrick end,\n This second Pride of Fate expire;\n While gushing from the Clouds descend\n The burning Storm, the liquid Fire;\n Where Worlds and Men consuming lie,\n And in one bright Confusion die._\n\nXI.\n\n _Their naked Tops the Hills admire,\n No longer white with fleecy Dew;\n And as they moan the spreading Fire,\n Add to the Flames dissolving too;\n While Rocks from melting Mountains flow,\n And roll in Streams thro\u2019 Vales below._\n\nXII.\n\n _And now the kindling Orbs on high\n All Nature\u2019s mournful End proclaim;\n When thy great WORK, (Alas!) must die,\n And feed the rich victorious Flame:\n Give Vigour to the wasting fire,\n And with the World TOO SOON expire._\n\nXIII.\n\n _Once more her Bloom the Earth renews,\n Smooth\u2019d into Green, eternal Vales;\n Her Glebe still moist with fragrant Dews,\n Her Air still rich with balmy Gales:\n No Change her flow\u2019ry Seasons breed,\n But Springs retire, and Springs succeed._\n\nXIV.\n\n _Oh say, Thou Great, Thou sacred Name,\n What Scenes Thy thoughtful Breast employ,\n Capacious as that mighty Frame\n You raise with Ease, with Ease destroy?\n Each World shall boast thy Fame; and YOU,\n Who charm\u2019d the OLD, should grace the NEW._\n\n\n\n\n TO THE\n KING\u2019s\n MOST\n Excellent Majesty.\n\n_SIR_,\n\nNew-found Lands and Countries accrue to the Prince whose Subject makes\nthe first Discovery; and having retriev\u2019d a World that had been lost for\nsome thousands of Years, out of the Memory of Man, and the Records of\nTime, I thought it my Duty to lay it at your Majesty\u2019s Feet. \u2019Twill not\nenlarge your Dominions, \u2019tis past and gone; nor dare I say it will\nenlarge your Thoughts; but I hope it may gratify your Princely Curiosity\nto read the Description of it, and see the Fate that attended it.\n\nWe have still the broken Materials of that first World, and walk upon\nits Ruins; while it stood, there was the Seat of _Paradise_, and the\nScenes of the _Golden Age_; when it fell, it made the Deluge; and this\nunshapen Earth we now inhabit, is the Form it was found in when the\nWaters had retir\u2019d, and the dry Land appear\u2019d. These things, Sir, I\npropose and presume to prove in the following Treatise, which I\nwillingly submit to your Majesty\u2019s Judgment and Censure; being very well\nsatisfied, that if I had sought a Patron in all the List of Kings, your\nContemporaries, or in the Roll of your Nobles of either Order, I could\nnot have found a more competent Judge in a Speculation of this Nature.\nYour Majesty\u2019s Sagacity, and happy Genius for natural History, for\nObservations and Remarks upon the Earth, the Heavens, and the Sea, is a\nbetter Preparation for Inquiries of this kind, than all the dead\nLearning of the Schools.\n\nSIR, This Theory, in the full Extent of it, is to reach to the last\nPeriod of the Earth, and the End of all Things; but this first Volume\ntakes in only so much as is already past, from the Origin of the Earth,\nto this present Time and State of Nature. To describe in like manner the\nChanges and Revolutions of Nature that are to come, and see thorough all\nsucceeding Ages, will require a steady and attentive Eye, and a Retreat\nfrom the Noise of the World; especially so to connect the Parts, and\npresent them all under one View, that we may see, as in a Mirror, the\nseveral Faces of Nature, from first to last, throughout all the Circle\nof Successions.\n\nYOUR Majesty having been pleas\u2019d to give Encouragement to this\nTranslation, I humbly present it to your gracious Acceptance. And \u2019tis\nour Interest, as well as Duty, in Disquisitions of this Nature, to\naddress our selves to your Majesty, as the Defender of _Philosophick\nLiberties_, against those that would usurp upon the fundamental\nPrivilege and Birthright of Mankind, _The free Use of Reason_. Your\nMajesty hath always appear\u2019d the Royal Patron of Learning and the\nSciences; and \u2019tis suitable to the Greatness of a Princely Spirit to\nfavour and promote whatsoever tends to the Enlargement of human\nKnowledge, and the Improvement of human Nature. To be Good and Gracious,\nand a Lover of Knowledge, are, methinks, two of the most amiable Things\nin this World: And that your Majesty may always bear that Character in\npresent and future Ages; and after a long and prosperous Reign enjoy a\nblessed Immortality, is the constant Prayer of\n\n _Your MAJESTY\u2019s\n Most Humble and\n Most Obedient Subject_,\n\nTHOMAS BURNET.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE TO THE READER.\n\n\nHaving given an Account of this whole Work in the first Chapter, and of\nthe Method of either Book, whereof this Volume consists, in their proper\nPlaces, there remains not much to be said here to the Reader. This\nTheory of the Earth may be called _Sacred_, because it is not the common\nPhysiology of the Earth, or of the Bodies that compose it, but respects\nonly the great Turns of Fate, and the Revolutions of our natural World;\nsuch as are taken notice of in the Sacred Writings, and are truly the\nHinges upon which the Providence of this Earth moves; or whereby it\nopens and shuts the several successive Scenes whereof it is made up.\nThis _English_ Edition is the same in Substance with the _Latin_,\nthough, I confess, \u2019tis not so properly a Translation, as a new\nComposition upon the same Ground, there being several additional\nChapters in it, and several new-moulded.\n\nAs every Science requires a peculiar Genius, so likewise there is a\nGenius peculiarly improper for every one: And as to Philosophy, which is\nthe Contemplation of the Works of Nature, and the Providence that\ngoverns them, there is no Temper or Genius, in my Mind, so improper for\nit, as that which we call a _mean_ and _narrow Spirit_; and which the\n_Greeks_ call _Littleness of Soul_. This is a Defect in the first Make\nof some Mens Minds, which can scarce ever be corrected afterwards,\neither by Learning or Age. And as Souls that are made little and\nincapacious cannot enlarge their Thoughts to take in any great Compass\nof Times or Things; so what is beyond their Compass, or above their\nReach, they are apt to look upon as fantastical, or at least would\nwillingly have it pass for such in the World. Now as there is nothing so\ngreat, so large, so immense, as the Works of Nature, and the Methods of\nProvidence, Men of this Complexion must needs be very unfit for the\nContemplation of them. Who would set a purblind Man at the Top of the\nMast to discover Land? Or upon an high Tower to draw a Landskip of the\nCountry round about? For the same Reason, short-sighted Minds are unfit\nto make Philosophers, whose proper Business it is to discover and\ndescribe in comprehensive Theories the _Ph\u00e6nomena_ of the World, and the\nCauses of them.\n\nThis Original Disease of the Mind is seldom cur\u2019d by Learning, which\ncures many others; like a Fault in the first _Stamina_ of the Body, it\ncannot easily be rectified afterwards. \u2019Tis a great Mistake to think\nthat every sort of Learning makes a Man a competent Judge of Natural\nSpeculations: We see unhappy Examples to the contrary amongst the\nChristian Fathers, and particularly in St. _Austin_, who was\nunquestionably a Man of Parts and Learning; but interposing in a\nControversy where his Talent did not lie, shew\u2019d his Zeal against the\n_Antipodes_ to very ill purpose, though he drew his Reasons partly from\nScripture. And if within a few Years, or in the next Generation, it\nshould prove as certain and demonstrable that the _Earth is mov\u2019d_, as\nit is now, that there are _Antipodes_; those that have been zealous\nagainst it, and engag\u2019d the Scripture in the Controversy, would have the\nsame Reason to repent of their Forwardness, that St. _Austin_ would have\nnow, if he was alive. \u2019Tis a dangerous thing to engage the Authority of\nScripture in Disputes about the Natural World, in Opposition to Reason;\nlest Time, which brings all Things to Light, should discover that to be\nevidently false which we had made Scripture to assert: And I remember\nSt. _Austin_, in his Exposition upon _Genesis_, hath laid down a Rule to\nthis very purpose, though he had the Unhappiness, it seems, not to\nfollow it always himself. The Reason also, which he gives there for his\nRule, is very good and substantial: For, saith he[1], _if the\nUnbelievers or Philosophers shall certainly know us to be mistaken, and\nto err in those things that concern the Natural World, and see that we\nalledge our (Sacred) Books for such vain Opinions, how shall they\nbelieve those same Books when they tell them of the RESURRECTION of the\nDead, and the World to come, if they find them to be fallaciously writ\nin such things as lie within their certain Knowledge?_\n\nWe are not to suppose that any Truth concerning the Natural World can be\nan Enemy to Religion; for Truth cannot be an Enemy to Truth, God is not\ndivided against himself; and therefore we ought not upon that Account to\ncondemn or censure what we have not examin\u2019d or cannot disprove; as\nthose, that are of this narrow Spirit we are speaking of, are very apt\nto do. Let every thing be try\u2019d and examin\u2019d in the first Place, whether\nit be _True_ or _False_; and if it be found false, \u2019tis then to be\nconsider\u2019d whether it be such a Falsity as is prejudicial to Religion or\nno. But for every new Theory that is propos\u2019d, to be alarm\u2019d, as if all\nReligion was falling about our Ears, is to make the World suspect that\nwe are very ill assur\u2019d of the Foundation it stands upon. Besides, do\nnot all Men complain, even these as well as others, of the great\nignorance of Mankind? how little we know, and how much is still unknown?\nand can we ever know more, unless something new be discover\u2019d? It cannot\nbe old when it comes first to light, when first invented, and first\npropos\u2019d. If a Prince should complain of the Poorness of his Exchequer,\nand the Scarcity of Money in his Kingdom, would he be angry with his\nMerchants, if they brought him home a _Cargo_ of good Bullion, or a Mass\nof Gold out of a foreign Country? and give this Reason only for it, He\nwould have no _new Silver_; neither should any be current in his\nDominions but what had his own Stamp and Image upon it: How should this\nPrince or his People grow rich? To complain of Want, and yet refuse all\noffers of a Supply, looks very sullen, or very fantastical.\n\n * * * * *\n\nI might mention also upon this occasion another Genius and Disposition\nin Men, which often makes them improper for Philosophical\nContemplations; not so much, it may be, from the Narrowness of their\nSpirit and Understanding, as because they will not take Time to extend\nthem. I mean Men of Wit and Parts, but of short Thoughts and little\nMeditation, and that are apt to distrust every Thing for a Fancy or\nFiction that is not the Dictate of Sense, or made out immediately to\ntheir Senses. Men of this Humour and Character call such Theories as\nthese philosophick Romances, and think themselves witty in the\nExpression; they allow them to be pretty Amusements of the Mind, but\nwithout Truth or Reality. I am afraid if an Angel should write the\nTheory of the Earth, they would pass the same Judgment upon it; where\nthere is Variety of Parts in a due Contexture, with something of\nsurprizing Aptness in the Harmony and Correspondency of them, this they\ncall a Romance; but such Romances must all Theories of Nature and of\nProvidence be, and must have every Part of that Character with\nAdvantage, if they be well represented. There is in them, as I may so\nsay, a _Plot_ or _Mystery_ pursued thro\u2019 the whole Work, and certain\ngrand Issues or Events upon which the rest depend, or to which they are\nsubordinate; but these Things we do not make or contrive our selves, but\nfind and discover them, being made already by the great Author and\nGovernor of the Universe: And when they are clearly discover\u2019d, well\ndigested, and well reason\u2019d in every Part, there is, methinks, more of\nBeauty in such a Theory, at least a more masculine Beauty, than in any\nPoem or Romance; and that solid Truth that is at the Bottom gives a\nSatisfaction to the Mind, that it can never have from any Fiction how\nartificial soever it be.\n\nTo enter no further upon this Matter, \u2019tis enough to observe, that when\nwe make Judgments and Censures upon general Presumptions and Prejudices,\nthey are made rather from the Temper and Model of our own Spirits, than\nfrom Reason; and therefore, if we would neither impose upon our selves,\nnor others, we must lay aside that lazy and fallacious Method of\ncensuring by the Lump, and must bring things close to the Test of _True_\nor _False_, to explicit Proof and Evidence; and whosoever makes such\nObjections against an _Hypothesis_, hath a Right to be heard, let his\nTemper and Genius be what it will. Neither do we intend that any thing\nwe have said here should be understood in another Sense.\n\nTo conclude, This Theory being writ with a sincere Intention to justify\nthe Doctrines of the _Universal Deluge_, and of a _Paradisiacal_ State,\nand protect them from the Cavils of those that are no Well-wishers to\nsacred History, upon that Account it may reasonably expect fair Usage\nand Acceptance with all that are well-dispos\u2019d; and it will also be, I\nthink, a great Satisfaction to them to see those Pieces of most ancient\nHistory, which have been chiefly preserv\u2019d in Scripture, confirm\u2019d anew,\nand by another Light, that of Nature and Philosophy; and also freed from\nthose Misconceptions or Misrepresentations, which made them sit uneasie\nupon the Spirits even of the best Men that took Time to think. _Lastly_,\nIn things purely speculative, as these are, and no Ingredients of our\nFaith, it is free to differ from one another in our Opinions and\nSentiments; and so I remember St. _Austin_ hath observ\u2019d upon this very\nSubject of _Paradise_; wherefore as we desire to give no Offence our\nselves, so neither shall we take any at the Difference of Judgment in\nothers; provided this Liberty be mutual, and that we all agree to study\n_Peace_, _Truth_, and a _good Life_.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n Gen. ad lit. lib. 1. c. 19. Plerumque accidit ut aliquid de Terr\u00e2 de\n C\u0153lo, de c\u00e6teris hujus mundi elementis, _&c._ C\u00f9m enim quenquam\n Christianorum in e\u00e2 re quam optim\u00e8 n\u00f4runt, errare deprehenderint, &\n vanam sententiam suam ex nostris libris asserere, quo pacto illis\n libris credituri sunt de Resurrectione Mortuorum, & spe vit\u00e6 \u00e6terne\n regnoque c\u0153lorum, quando de bis rebus quas jam experiri vel\n indubitatis numeris percipere potuerunt, fallaciter putaverint esse\n conscriptos?\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS.\n\nThe FIRST BOOK.\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n_The Introduction: An Account of the whole Work, of the Extent and\ngeneral Order of it._ ... Page 1\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n_A general Account of Noah\u2019s Flood. A Computation what Quantity of Water\nwould be necessary for the making of it; That the common Opinion and\nExplication of that Flood is not intelligible._ ... 10\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n_All Evasions concerning the Flood answer\u2019d; That there was no Creation\nof Waters at the Deluge, and that it was not particular or national, but\nextended throughout the whole Earth. A Prelude and Preparation to the\ntrue Account and Explication of it. The Method of the first Book._ ...\n25\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\n_That the Earth and Mankind had an Original, and were not from Eternity;\nprov\u2019d against Aristotle. The first Proposition of our Theory laid down,\nviz. That the Antediluvian Earth was of a different Form and\nConstruction from the present. This is prov\u2019d from divine Authority, and\nfrom the Nature and Form of the Chaos, out of which the Earth was made._\n... 47\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n_The second Proposition is laid down, viz. That The Face of the Earth\nbefore the Deluge was smooth, regular and uniform; without Mountains,\nand without a Sea. The Chaos out of which the World rose is fully\nexamin\u2019d, and all its Motions observ\u2019d, and by what Steps it wrought it\nself into an habitable World. Some things in Antiquity relating to the\nfirst State of the Earth are interpreted, and some things in the sacred\nWritings. The divine Art and Geometry in the Construction of the first\nEarth is observ\u2019d and celebrated._ ... 71\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n_The Dissolution of the first Earth: The Deluge ensuing thereupon. And\nthe Form of the present Earth rising from the Ruins of the first._ ...\n89\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n_That the Explication we have given of an universal Deluge is not an\nIDEA only, but an Account of what really came to pass in the Earth, and\nthe true Explication of Noah\u2019s Flood. An Examination of Tehom-Rabba, or\nthe great Abyss, and that by it the Sea cannot be understood, nor the\nsubterraneous Waters as they are at present. What the true Notion and\nForm of it was, collected from Moses and other sacred Writers.\nObservations on Deucalion\u2019s Deluge._ ... 103\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n_The particular History of Noah\u2019s Flood is explain\u2019d in all the material\nParts and Circumstances of it, according to the preceding Theory. Any\nseeming Difficulties remov\u2019d, and the whole Section concluded with a\nDiscourse how far the Deluge may be lookt upon as the Effect fect of an\nordinary Providence, and how far of an extraordinary._ ... 129\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n_The second Part of this Discourse, proving the same Theory from the\nEffects and the present Form of the Earth. First, by a general Scheme of\nwhat is most remarkable in this Globe, and then by a more particular\nInduction; beginning with an Account of Subterraneous Cavities and\nSubterraneous Waters._ ... 146\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n_Concerning the Channel of the Sea and the Original of it; The Causes of\nits irregular Form and unequal Depths: As also of the Original of\nIslands, their Situation and other Properties._ ... 172\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\n_Concerning the Mountains of the Earth, their Greatness and irregular\nForm, their Situation, Causes and Origin._ ... 188\n\nCHAP. XII.\n\n_A short Review of what hath been already treated of, and in what\nmanner. All Methods, whether philosophical or theological, that have\nbeen offer\u2019d by others for the Explication of the Form of the Earth, are\nexamin\u2019d and refuted. A Conjecture concerning the other Planets, their\nNatural Form and State compar\u2019d with ours; especially concerning Jupiter\nand Saturn._ ... 206\n\nThe SECOND BOOK.\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n_The Introduction and Contents of the Second Book. The general State of\nthe Prim\u00e6val Earth, and of Paradise._ ... 235\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n_The great Change of the World since the Flood, from what it was in the\nfirst Ages. The Earth under its present Form could not be Paradisiacal,\nnor any Part of it._ ... 251\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n_The Original Differences of the Primitive Earth from the Present or\nPostdiluvian. The three Characters of Paradise, and the Golden Age,\nfound in the Primitive Earth. A particular Explication of each\nCharacter._ ... 264\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\n_A Digression concerning the Natural Causes of Long\u00e6vity. That the\nMachine of an Animal consists of Springs, and which are the two\nprincipal. The Age of the Antediluvians to be computed by Solar, not\nLunar Years._ ... 277\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n_Concerning the Waters of the Primitive Earth: What the State of the\nRegions of the Air was then, and how all Waters proceeded from them. How\nthe Rivers arose, what was their Course, and how they ended. Several\nthings in sacred Writ that confirm this Hydrography of the first Earth,\nespecially the Postdiluvian Origin of the Rainbow._ ... 307\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n_A Recollection and Review of what hath been said concerning the\nPrimitive Earth, with a more full Survey of the State of the First\nWorld, Natural and Civil, and the Comparison of it with the present\nWorld._ ... 329\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n_Concerning the Place of Paradise; It cannot be determin\u2019d from the\nTheory only, nor from Scripture only; What the Sense of Antiquity was\nconcerning it, as to the Jews and Heathens, and especially as to the\nChristian Fathers. That they generally plac\u2019d it out of this Continent,\nin the Southern Hemisphere._ ... 345\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n_The Uses of this Theory for the Illustration of Antiquity; The Chaos of\nthe Ancients explain\u2019d; The Inhabitability of the Torrid Zone; The\nChange of the Poles of the World; The Doctrine of the Mundane Egg; How\nAmerica was first peopled; How Paradise within the Circle of the Moon._\n... 363\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n_A general Objection against this Theory, viz. That if there had been\nsuch a Primitive Earth, as we pretend, the Fame of it would have sounded\nthroughout all Antiquity. The Eastern and Western Learning consider\u2019d,\nthe most considerable Records of both are lost; what Footsteps remain\nrelating to this Subject. The Jewish and Christian Learning consider\u2019d,\nhow far lost as to this Argument, and what Notes or Traditions remain.\nLastly, How far the Sacred Writings bear witness to it. The Providential\nConduct of Knowledge in the World. A Recapitulation and State of the\nTheory._ ... 379\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n_Concerning the AUTHOR of NATURE._ ... 401\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\nConcerning NATURAL PROVIDENCE.\n\n_Several Incroachments upon natural Providence, or Misrepresentations of\nit, and false Methods of Contemplation. A true Method propos\u2019d, and a\ntrue Representation of the Universe. The Mundane Idea, and the universal\nSystem of Providence. Several subordinate Systems. That of our Earth and\nsublunary World. The Course and Periods of it. How much of this is\nalready treated of, and what remains. Conclusion._ ... 432\n\n\n\n\n THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n BOOK I.\n Concerning the Deluge, and the Dissolution of the EARTH.\n\n\n CHAP. I.\n The INTRODUCTION.\n\n\n _An Account of the whole Work; of the Extent and general Order of\n it._\n\n\nSince I was first inclin\u2019d to the Contemplation of Nature, and took\nPleasure to trace out the Causes of Effects, and the Dependance of one\nthing upon another in the visible Creation, I had always, methought, a\nparticular Curiosity to look back into the Sources and ORIGINAL of\nThings; and to view in my Mind, so far as I was able, the Beginning and\nProgress of a RISING WORLD.\n\nAND after some Essays of this Nature, and as I thought, not\nunsuccessful, I carried on my Enquiries further, to try whether this\n_Rising World_, when form\u2019d and finish\u2019d, would continue always the\nsame; in the same Form, Structure, and Consistency; or what Changes it\nwould successively undergo, by the continued Action of the same Causes\nthat first produc\u2019d it; and, lastly, what would be its final Period and\nConsummation. This whole Series and Compass of Things taken together, I\ncall\u2019d a COURSE OF NATURE, or, a SYSTEM OF NATURAL PROVIDENCE; and\nthought there was nothing belonging to the external World more fit, or\nmore worthy our Study and Meditation, nor any thing that would conduce\nmore to discover the Ways of Divine Providence, and to shew us the\nGrounds of all true Knowledge concerning Nature. And therefore, to clear\nup the several Parts of this Theory, I was willing to lay aside a great\nmany other Speculations, and all those dry Subtilties with which the\nSchools and the Books of Philosophers are usually fill\u2019d.\n\nBUT when we speak of a _Rising World_, and the Contemplation of it, we\ndo not mean this, of the _Great Universe_; for who can describe the\nOriginal of that vast Frame? But we speak of the _Sublunary World_, this\nEarth, and its Dependencies, which rose out of a Chaos about Six\nThousand Years ago. And seeing it hath fallen to our Lot to act upon\nthis Stage, to have our present Home and Residence here, it seems most\nreasonable, and the Place design\u2019d by Providence, where we should first\nemploy our Thoughts, to understand the Works of God and Nature. We have\naccordingly therefore design\u2019d in this Work to give an Account of the\nOriginal of the Earth, and of all the great and general Changes that it\nhath already undergone, or is hence forwards to undergo, till the\nConsummation of all things. For if from those Principles we have here\ntaken, and that Theory we have begun in these two first Books, we can\ndeduce with Success and Clearness the Origin of the Earth, and those\nStates of it that are already past; following the same Thread, and by\nthe Conduct of the same Theory, we will pursue its Fate and History\nthro\u2019 future Ages, and mark all the great Changes and Conversions that\nattend it _while Day and Night shall last_; that is, so long as it\ncontinues an Earth.\n\nBy the States of the Earth that are already past, we understand chiefly\n_Paradise_ and the _Deluge_; Names well known, and as little known in\ntheir Nature. By the future States we understand the _Conflagration_,\nand what new Order of Nature may follow upon that, \u2019till the whole\nCircle of Time and Providence be compleated. As to the first and past\nStates of the Earth, we shall have little help from the Ancients, or\nfrom any of the Philosophers, for the Discovery or Description of them:\nWe must often tread unbeaten Paths, and make a Way where we do not find\none; but it shall be always with a Light in our Hand, that we may see\nour Steps, and that those that follow us may not follow us blindly.\nThere is no Sect of Philosophers that I know of, that ever gave an\nAccount of the Universal Deluge, or discover\u2019d, from the Contemplation\nof the Earth, that there had been such a Thing already in Nature. \u2019Tis\ntrue, they often talk of an Alternation of _Deluges_ and\n_Conflagrations_ in this Earth, but they speak of them as Things to\ncome; at least, they give no Proof or Argument of any that hath already\ndestroyed the World. As to _Paradise_, it seems to be represented to us\nby the _Golden Age_; whereof the Ancients tell many Stories, sometimes\nvery luxuriant, and sometimes very defective: For they did not so well\nunderstand the Difference betwixt the new-made Earth and the present, as\nto see what were the just Grounds of the _Golden Age_, or of _Paradise_;\nthough they had many broken Notions concerning those Things, as to the\n_Conflagration_ in particular. This hath always been reckon\u2019d one\namongst the Opinions, or Dogmata of the Stoicks, _That the World was to\nbe destroyed by Fire_, and their Books are full of this Notion; but yet\nthey do not tell us the Causes of the Conflagration, nor what\nPreparations there are in Nature, or will be, towards that great Change.\nAnd we may generally observe this of the _Ancients_, that their Learning\nor Philosophy consisted more in Conclusions, than in Demonstrations;\nthey had many Truths among them, whereof they did not know themselves\nthe Premises or the Proofs: Which is an Argument to me, that the\nKnowledge they had, was not a Thing of their own Invention, or which\nthey came to by fair Reasoning and Observations upon Nature, but was\ndelivered to them from others by Tradition and ancient Fame, sometimes\nmore publick, sometimes more secret: These Conclusions they kept in\nMind, and communicated to those of their School, or Sect, or Posterity,\nwithout knowing, for the most part, the just Grounds and Reasons of\nthem.\n\n\u2019TIS the Sacred Writings of Scripture that are the best Monuments of\nAntiquity, and to those we are chiefly beholden for the History of the\nfirst Ages, whether Natural History or Civil. \u2019Tis true, the Poets, who\nwere the most ancient Writers among the _Greeks_, and serv\u2019d them both\nfor Historians, Divines, and Philosophers, have delivered some Things\nconcerning the first Ages of the World, that have a fair resemblance of\nTruth, and some Affinity with those Accounts that are given of the same\nThings by Sacred Authors, and these may be of Use in due Time and Place;\nbut yet, lest any thing fabulous should be mix\u2019d with them, as commonly\nthere is, we will never depend wholly upon their Credit, nor assert any\nThing upon the Authority of the Ancients which is not first prov\u2019d by\nnatural Reason, or warranted by Scripture.\n\nIT seems to me very reasonable to believe that besides the Precepts of\nReligion, which are the principal Subject and Design of the Books of\nHoly Scripture, there may be providentially conserved in them the Memory\nof Things and Times so remote, as could not be retrieved, either by\nHistory, or by the Light of Nature; and yet were of great Importance to\nbe known, both for their own Excellency, and also to rectify the\nKnowledge of Men in other Things consequential to them: Such Points may\nbe, _Our great Epocha_, or the Age of the Earth, The Origination of\nMankind, The First and Paradisiacal State, The Destruction of the old\nWorld by an Universal Deluge, The Longevity of its Inhabitants, The\nmanner of their Preservation, and of their Peopling the second Earth;\nand lastly, The Fate and Changes it is to undergo. These I always look\u2019d\nupon as the Seeds of great Knowledge, or Heads of Theories fix\u2019d on\nPurpose to give us Aim and Direction how to pursue the rest that depend\nupon them. But these Heads, you see, are of a mix\u2019d Order, and we\npropose to our selves in this Work only such as belong to the natural\nWorld, upon which I believe the Trains of Providence are generally laid;\nand we must first consider, how God hath order\u2019d Nature, and then, how\nthe Occonomy of the Intellectual World is adapted to it; for of these\ntwo Parts consist the full System of Providence. In the mean Time, what\nSubject can be more worthy the Thoughts of any serious Person, than to\nview and consider the Rise and Fall, and all the Revolutions, not of a\nMonarchy or an Empire, of the _Grecian_ or _Roman_ State, but of an\nentire World?\n\nTHE Obscurity of these Things, and their Remoteness from common\nKnowledge, will be made an Argument by some, why we should not undertake\nthem; and by others, it may be, the very same Thing will be made an\nArgument why we should. For my Part I think _There is nothing so secret\nthat shall not be brought to Light_, within the Compass of _our World_;\nfor we are not to understand that of the whole Universe, nor of all\nEternity, our Capacities do not extend so far; but whatsoever concerns\nthis Sublunary World in the whole Extent of its Duration, from the Chaos\nto the last Period, this I believe Providence hath made us capable to\nunderstand, and will in its due Time make it known. All I say, betwixt\nthe first Chaos and the last Completion of Time and all Things\ntemporary, this was given to the Disquisitions of Men: On either Hand is\nEternity, before the World and after, which is without our reach: But\nthat little spot of Ground that lies betwixt those two great Oceans,\nthis we are to cultivate, this we are Masters of, herein we are to\nexercise our Thoughts, to understand and lay open the Treasures of the\nDivine Wisdom and Goodness hid in this part of Nature and of Providence.\n\nAS for the Difficulty or Obscurity of an Argument, that does but add to\nthe Pleasure of contesting with it, when there are Hopes of Victory; and\nSuccess does more than recompense all the Pains. For there is no sort of\nJoy more grateful to the Mind of Man, than that which ariseth from the\nInvention of Truth; especially when \u2019tis hard to come by. Every Man hath\na Delight suited to his Genius, and as there is Pleasure in the right\nExercise of any Faculty, so especially in that of Right-Reasoning; which\nis still the greater, by how much the Consequences are more clear, and\nthe Chains of them more long: There is no Chace so pleasant, methinks,\nas to drive a Thought, by good Conduct, from one end of the World to the\nother; and never to lose Sight of it till it fall into Eternity, where\nall things are lost, as to our Knowledge.\n\nTHIS Theory being chiefly Philosophical, Reason is to be our first\nGuide; and where that falls short, or any other just Occasion offers it\nself, we may receive further Light and Confirmation from the Sacred\nWritings. Both these are to be look\u2019d upon as of Divine Original, God is\nthe Author of both; he that made the Scripture made also our Faculties,\nand \u2019twere a Reflection upon the Divine Veracity for the one or the\nother to be false when rightly used. We must therefore be careful and\ntender of opposing these to one another, because that is, in effect, to\noppose God to himself. As for Antiquity and the Testimonies of the\nAncients, we only make general Reflections upon them, for Illustration\nrather than Proof of what we propose; not thinking it proper for an\n_English_ Treatise to multiply Citations out of _Greek_ or _Latin_\nAuthors.\n\nI am very sensible it will be much our Interest, that the Reader of this\nTheory should be of an ingenuous and unprejudiced Temper, neither does\nit so much require Book-learning and Scholarship, as good natural Sense\nto distinguish _True_ and _False_, and to discern what is well prov\u2019d,\nand what is not. It often happens that Scholastick Education, like a\nTrade, does so fix a Man in a particular Way, that he is not fit to\njudge of any thing that lies out of that Way; and so his Learning\nbecomes a Clog to his natural Parts, and makes him more indocile, and\nmore incapable of new Thoughts and new Improvements, than those that\nhave only the Talents of Nature. As Matters of Exercise had rather take\na Scholar that never learn\u2019d before, than one that hath had a bad\nMaster; so generally one would rather chuse a Reader without Art, than\none ill instructed with Learning, but opinionative, and without\nJudgment; yet it is not necessary they should want either, and Learning\nwell plac\u2019d strengthens all the Powers of the Mind. To conclude, just\nReasoning and a generous Love of Truth, whether with or without\nErudition, is that which makes us most competent Judges what is true.\nAnd further than this, in the Perusal and Examination of this Work, as\nto the Author, as much Candor as you please; but as to the Theory, we\nrequire nothing but Attention and Impartiality.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n\n _A general Account of NOAH\u2019s Flood; a Computation what Quantity of\n Water would be necessary for the making of it; that the common\n Opinion and Explication of that Flood is not intelligible._\n\n\n\u2019TIS now more than five Thousand Years since our World was made, and\ntho\u2019 it would be a great Pleasure to the Mind, to recollect and view at\nthis Distance those first Scenes of Nature; what the Face of the Earth\nwas, when fresh and new, and how Things differ\u2019d from the State we now\nfind them in, the Speculation is so remote, that it seems to be\nhopeless, and beyond the reach of human Wit. We are almost the last\nPosterity of the first Men, and fallen into the dying Age of the Worlds;\nby what Footsteps, or by what Guide can we trace back our Way to those\nfirst Ages, and the first Order of Things? And yet, methinks, it is\nreasonable to believe, that Divine Providence, which sees at once\nthroughout all the Ages and Orders of the World, should not be willing\nto keep Mankind finally and fatally ignorant of that part of Nature, and\nof the Universe, which is properly their Task and Province to manage and\nunderstand. We are the Inhabitants of the Earth, the Lords and Masters\nof it; and we are endow\u2019d with Reason and Understanding; doth it not\nthen properly belong to us to examine and unfold the Works of God in\nthis part of the Universe, which is fallen to our Lot, which is our\nHeritage and Habitation? And it will be found, it may be, upon a\nstricter Enquiry, that in the present Form and Constitution of the\nEarth, there are certain Marks and Indications of its first State; with\nwhich if we compare those Things that are recorded in Sacred History,\nconcerning the first Chaos, Paradise, and an Universal Deluge, we may\ndiscover, by the help of those Lights, what the Earth was in its first\nOriginal, and what Changes have since succeeded in it.\n\nAND tho\u2019 we shall give a full Account of the Origin of the Earth in this\nTreatise, yet that which we have propos\u2019d particularly for the Title and\nSubject of it, is to give an Account of the prim\u00e6val _Paradise_, and of\nthe Universal _Deluge_, those being the two most important things that\nare explained by the Theory we propose. And I must beg leave in treating\nof these two, to change the Order, and treat first of the _Deluge_, and\nthen of _Paradise:_ For though the State of Paradise doth precede that\nof the Flood in Sacred History, and in the Nature of the Thing, yet the\nExplication of both will be more sensible and more effectual, if we\nbegin with the Deluge; there being more Observations and Effects, and\nthose better known to us that may be referr\u2019d to this, than to the\nother; and the Deluge being once truly explain\u2019d, we shall from thence\nknow the Form and Quality of the Ante-diluvian Earth. Let us then\nproceed to the Explication of that great and fatal Inundation, whose\nHistory is well known; and according to _Moses_, the best of Historians,\nin a few Words is this\u2014\u2014\n\nSIXTEEN Hundred and odd Years after the Earth was made, and inhabited,\nit was over-flowed and destroyed in a Deluge of Water. Not a Deluge that\nwas National only, or over-run some particular Country or Region, as\n_Judea_ or _Greece_, or any other, but it over-spread the Face of the\nWhole Earth, from Pole to Pole, and from _East_ to _West_, and that in\nsuch Excess, that the Floods over-reacht the tops of the highest\nMountains; the Rains descending after an unusual Manner, and the\nFountains of the _Great Deep_ being broke open; so as a general\nDestruction and Devastation was brought upon the Earth, and all Things\nin it, Mankind and other living Creatures; excepting only _Noah_ and his\nFamily, who by a special Providence of God was preserved in a certain\nArk, or Vessel made like a Ship, and such kinds of living Creatures as\nhe took in to him. After these Waters had rag\u2019d for some time on the\nEarth, they began to lessen and shrink, and the great Waves and\nFluctuations of this _Deep_ or _Abyss_ being quieted by degrees, the\nWaters retir\u2019d into their Channels and Caverns within the Earth; and the\nMountains and Fields began to appear, and the whole habitable Earth in\nthat Form and Shape wherein we now see it. Then the World began again,\nand from that little Remnant preserv\u2019d in the Ark, the present Race of\nMankind, and of Animals, in the known Parts of the Earth, were\npropagated. Thus perish\u2019d the Old World, and the present arose from the\nRuins and Remains of it.\n\nTHIS is a short Story of the greatest Thing that ever yet hap\u2019ned in the\nWorld, the greatest Revolution and the greatest Change in Nature; and if\nwe come to reflect seriously upon it, we shall find it extreamly\ndifficult, if not impossible, to give an Account of the Waters that\ncompos\u2019d this Deluge, whence they came, or whither they went. If it had\nbeen only the Inundation of a Country, or of a Province, or of the\ngreatest part of a Continent, some proportionable Causes perhaps might\nhave been found out; but a Deluge overflowing the whole Earth, the whole\nCircuit and whole Extent of it, burying all in Water, even the greatest\nMountains in any known Parts of the Universe, to find Water sufficient\nfor this Effect, as it is generally explained and understood, I think is\nimpossible. And that we may the better judge of the whole matter, let us\nfirst compute, how much Water would be requisite for such a Deluge; or\nto lay the Earth, consider\u2019d in its present Form, and the highest\nMountains, under Water. Then let us consider whether such a Quantity of\nWater can be had out of all the Stores that we know in Nature: And from\nthese two, we will take our Ground and Rise, and begin to reflect,\nwhether the World hath not been hitherto mistaken in the common Opinion\nand Explication of the general Deluge.\n\nTO discover how much Water would be requisite to make this Deluge, we\nmust first suppose enough to cover the plain Surface of the Earth, the\nFields and lower Grounds; then we must heap up so much more upon this,\nas will reach above the tops of the highest Mountains; so as drawing a\nCircle over the tops of the highest Mountains quite round the Earth,\nsuppose from Pole to Pole, and another to meet it round the middle of\nthe Earth, all that Space, or Capacity, contain\u2019d within these Circles,\nis to be fill\u2019d up with Water. This I confess will make a prodigious\nMass of Water, and it looks frightfully to the Imagination; \u2019tis huge\nand great, but \u2019tis extravagantly so, as a great Monster: It doth not\nlook like the Work of God or Nature: However let\u2019s compute a little more\nparticularly how much this will amount to, or how many Oceans of Water\nwould be necessary to compose this great Ocean rowling in the Air,\nwithout Bounds or Banks.\n\nIF all the Mountains were pared off the Earth, and so the Surface of it\nlay even, or in an equal Convexity every where, with the Surface of the\nSea, from this Surface of the Sea, let us suppose that the height of the\nMountains may be a Mile and a half; or that we may not seem at all to\nfavour our own Opinion or Calculation, let us take a Mile only for the\nperpendicular height of the Mountains. Let us on the other side suppose\nthe Sea to cover half the Earth, as \u2019tis generally believ\u2019d to do; and\nthe common Depth of it, taking one Place with another, to be about a\nquarter of a Mile, or 250 Paces. I say, taking one Place with another,\nfor though the middle Channel of the great Ocean be far deeper, we may\nobserve, that there is commonly a Descent or Declivity from the Shore to\nthe middle Part of the Channel, so that one comes by Degrees into the\nDepth of it; and those shory Parts are generally but some Fathoms deep.\nBesides, in Arms of the Sea, in Straits and among Islands, there is\ncommonly no great Depth, and some Places are plain Shallows. So as upon\na moderate Computation, one Place compar\u2019d with another, we may take a\nquarter of a Mile, or about an hundred Fathoms, for the common Measure\nof the Depth of the Sea, if we were cast into a Channel of an equal\nDepth every where. This being suppos\u2019d, there would need four Oceans to\nlie upon this Ocean, to raise it up to the top of the Mountains, or so\nhigh as the Waters of the Deluge rise; then four Oceans more to lie upon\nthe Land, that the Water there might swell to the same height; which\ntogether make eight Oceans for the Proportion of the Water requir\u2019d in\nthe Deluge.\n\n\u2019TIS true, there would not be altogether so much Water required for the\nLand as for the Sea, to raise them to an equal height; because Mountains\nand Hills would fill up part of that Space upon the Land, and so make\nless Water requisite. But to compensate this, and confirm our\nComputation, we must consider in the first Place, that we have taken a\nmuch less height of the Mountains than is requisite, if we respect the\nMediterraneous Mountains, or those that are at a great distance from the\nSea; for their Height above the Surface of the Sea, computing the\nDeclivity of the Land all along from the Mountains to the Sea-side (and\nthat there is such a Declivity is manifest from the Course and Descent\nof the Rivers) is far greater than the Proportion we have taken: The\nheight of Mountains is usually taken from the Foot of them, or from the\nnext Plain, which if it be far from the Sea, we may reasonably allow as\nmuch for the Declension of the Land from that place to the Sea, as for\nthe immediate Height of the Mountain: So, for Instance, the Mountains of\nthe Moon in _Africa_, whence the _Nile_ flows, and after a long Course\nfalls into the Mediterranean Sea by _Egypt_, are so much higher than the\nSurface of that Sea, first, as the Ascent of the Land is from the Sea to\nthe Foot of the Mountains, and then as the Height of the Mountains is\nfrom the bottom to the top: For both these are to be computed when you\nmeasure the Height of a Mountain, or of a mountainous Land, in respect\nof the Sea: And the Height of Mountains to the Sea being thus computed,\nthere would be need of six or eight Oceans to raise the Sea alone as\nhigh as the highest Inland Mountains: And this is more than enough to\ncompensate the less Quantity of Water that would be requisite upon the\nLand. Besides, we must consider the Regions of the Air upwards to be\nmore capacious than a Region of the same Thickness in or near the Earth,\nso as if an Ocean pour\u2019d upon the Surface of the dry Land, supposing it\nwere all smooth, would rise to the Height of half a quarter of a Mile\nevery where; the like Quantity of Water pour\u2019d again at the Height of\nthe Mountains would not have altogether the same effect, or would not\nthere raise the Mass half a quarter of a Mile higher; for the Surfaces\nof a Globe, the farther they are from their Center, are the greater; and\nso accordingly the Regions that belong to them. And, lastly, we must\nconsider, that there are some Countries or Valleys very low, and also\nmany Caverns or Cavities within the Earth, all which in this Case were\nto be first fill\u2019d with Water. These Things being compar\u2019d and\nestimated, we shall find, that notwithstanding the Room that Hills and\nMountains take up on the dry Land, there would be at least eight Oceans\nrequired, or a Quantity of Water eight times as great as the Ocean, to\nbring an Universal Deluge upon the Earth, as that Deluge is ordinarily\nunderstood and explained.\n\nTHE Proportion of Water for the Deluge being thus stated, the next thing\nto be done, is to enquire where this Water is to be found; if any part\nof the Sublunary World will afford us so much: Eight Oceans floating in\nthe Air make a great Bulk of Water, I do not know what possible Sources\nto draw it from. There are the Clouds above and the Deeps below, and in\nthe Bowels of the Earth; and these are all the Stores we have for Water;\nand _Moses_ directs us to no other for the Causes of the Deluge. _The\nFountains (he saith) of the great Abyss were broken up, or burst\nasunder_, and the Rain descended for Forty Days, the _Cataracts_, or\n_Floodgates_ of Heaven being opened. And in these two, no doubt, are\ncontain\u2019d the Causes of the great Deluge, as according to _Moses_, so\nalso according to Reason and Necessity; for our World affords no other\nTreasures of Water. Let us therefore consider, how much this Rain of\nForty Days might amount to, and how much might flow out of the Abyss,\nthat so we may judge whether these two in conjunction would make up the\neight Oceans which we want.\n\nAS for the Rains, they would not afford us one Ocean, nor half an Ocean,\nnor the tenth part of an Ocean, if we may trust to the Observations made\nby others concerning the Quantity of Water that falls in Rain.\n_Mersennus_ gives us this Account of it, _Cog. Phys. Mech._ p. 221. \u201cIt\nappears by our Observations, that a Cubical Vessel of Brass, whereof we\nmade use, is fill\u2019d an Inch and an half in half an Hour\u2019s Time; but\nbecause that sucks up nothing of the Moisture as the Earth doth, let us\ntake an Inch for half an Hour\u2019s Rain; whence it follows, that in the\nSpace of Forty Days and Nights Rain, the Waters in the Deluge wou\u2019d\nrise, at four Feet in 24 Hours, 160 Feet, if the Rains were constant and\nequal to ours, and that it rain\u2019d at once throughout the Face of the\nwhole Earth.\u201d But the Rain of the Deluge, saith he, should have been 90\ntimes greater than this, to cover, for Instance, the Mountains of\n_Armenia_, or to reach 15 Cubits above them. So that according to his\nComputation, the Forty Days Rain would supply little more than the\nhundredth Part of the Water requisite to make the Deluge. \u2019Tis true, he\nmakes the Height of the Mountains higher than we do; but, however, if\nyou temper the Calculation on all Sides as much as you please, the Water\nthat came by this Rain would be a very inconsiderable part of what was\nnecessary for a Deluge. If it rain\u2019d Forty Days and Forty Nights\nthroughout the Face of the whole Earth, in the Northern and Southern\nHemisphere all at once, it might be sufficient to lay all the lower\nGrounds under Water, but it would signify very little as to the\noverflowing of the Mountains. Whence another Author upon the same\nOccasion hath this Passage, _Auct. cat. in_ Gen. 7. 4. \u201cIf the Deluge\nhad been made by Rains only, there would not have needed Forty Days, but\nForty Years Rain to have brought it to pass.\u201d And if we should suppose\nthe whole middle Region condens\u2019d into Water, it would not at all have\nbeen sufficient for this Effect, according to that Proportion some make\nbetwixt Air and Water; for they say, Air turn\u2019d into Water takes up a\nhundred times less Room than it did before. The Truth is, we may\nreasonably suppose, that all the Vapours of the middle Region were\nturn\u2019d into Water in this Forty Days and Forty Nights Rain, if we admit,\nthat this Rain was throughout the whole Earth at once, in either\nHemisphere, in every Zone, in every Climate, in every Country, in every\nProvince, in every Field; and yet we see what a small Proportion all\nthis would amount to.\n\nHAVING done then with these superior Regions, we are next to examine the\ninferior, and the Treasures of Water that may be had there. _Moses_\ntells us, that the Fountains of the great Abyss were broke open, or\n_clove asunder_, as the Word there us\u2019d doth imply; and no doubt in this\nlay the great Mystery of the Deluge, as will appear when it comes to be\nrightly understood and explained; but we are here to consider what is\ngenerally understood by the great _Abyss_, in the common Explication of\nthe Deluge; and \u2019tis commonly interpreted either to be the Sea, or\nsubterraneous Waters hid in the Bowels of the Earth: These, they say,\nbroke forth and rais\u2019d the Waters, caus\u2019d by the Rain, to such an\nHeight, that together they over-flowed the highest Mountains. But\nwhether, or how this could be deserves to be a little examined.\n\nAND in the first Place, the Sea is not higher than the Land, as some\nhave formerly imagin\u2019d, fancying the Sea stood, as it were, upon a heap,\nhigher than the Shore; and at the Deluge a Relaxation being made, it\noverflow\u2019d the Land. But this Conceit is so gross, and so much against\nReason and Experience, that none I think of late have ventured to make\nuse of it. And yet on the other Hand, if the Sea lie in an equal\nConvexity with the Land, or lower generally than the Shore, and much\nmore than the Midland, as it is certainly known to do, what could the\nSea contribute to the Deluge? It would keep its Channel, as it doth now,\nand take up the same Place: And so also the subterraneous Waters would\nlie quiet in their Cells. Whatsoever Fountains or Passages you suppose,\nthese would not issue out upon the Earth, for Water doth not ascend,\nunless by Force. But let\u2019s imagine then that Force us\u2019d and apply\u2019d, and\nthe Waters both of the Sea and Caverns under Ground drawn out upon the\nSurface of the Earth, we shall not be any whit the nearer for this; for\nif you take these Waters out of their Places, those Places must be\nfill\u2019d again with other Waters in the Deluge; so as this turns to no\nAccount upon the whole. If you have two Vessels to fill, and you empty\none to fill the other, you gain nothing by that, there still remains one\nVessel empty, you cannot have these Waters both in the Sea and on the\nLand, both above Ground and under; nor can you suppose the Channel of\nthe Sea would stand gaping without Water, when all the Earth was\noverflow\u2019d, and the tops of the Mountains cover\u2019d. And so for\nsubterraneous Cavities, if you suppose the Water pumpt out, they would\nsuck it in again when the Earth came to be laid under Water; so that\nupon the whole, if you thus understand the _Abyss_, or _great Deep_, and\nthe breaking open its _Fountains_ in this manner, it doth us no Service\nas to the Deluge, and where we expected greatest Supply, there we find\nnone at all.\n\nWHAT shall we do then? Whither shall we go to find more than seven\nOceans of Water that we still want? We have been above and below; we\nhave drained the whole middle Region, and we have examined the Deeps of\nthe Earth; they must want for themselves, they say, if they give us any;\nand, besides, if the Earth should disgorge all the Water that it hath in\nits Bowels, it would not amount to above half an Ocean, which would not\nat all answer our Occasions. Must we not then conclude, that the common\nExplication of the Deluge makes it impossible? There being no such\nQuantity of Water in Nature as they make requisite for an universal\nDeluge. Yet to give them all fair Play, having examined the Waters above\nthe Earth or in the Air, the Waters upon the Earth, and the Waters under\nthe Earth; let us also consider if there be not Waters above the\nHeavens, and if those might not be drawn down for the Deluge. _Moses_\nspeaks of Waters _above the Firmament_, which though it be generally\nunderstood of the middle Region of the Air, yet some have thought those\nto be Waters plac\u2019d above the highest Heavens, or _Super-celestial_\nWaters; and have been willing to make use of them for a Supply, when\nthey could not find Materials enough under the Heavens to make up the\ngreat Mass of the Deluge. But the Heavens, above, where these Waters\nlay, are either solid or fluid; if solid, as Glass or Crystal, how could\nthe Waters get through them to descend upon the Earth? If fluid, as the\nAir or \u00c6ther, how could the Waters rest upon them, for Water is heavier\nthan Air or \u00c6ther? So that I am afraid, those pure Regions will prove no\nfit Place for that Element, upon any Account. But supposing these Waters\nthere, how imaginary soever, and that they were brought down to drown\nthe World in that vast Quantity that would be necessary, what became of\nthem, when the Deluge ceased? Seven or eight Oceans of Water, with the\nEarth wrapt up in the middle of them, how did it ever get quit of them?\nHow could they be dispos\u2019d of when the Earth was to be dry\u2019d, and the\nWorld renew\u2019d? It would be a hard Task to lift them up again among the\nSpheres, and we have no Room for them here below. The Truth is, I\nmention this Opinion of the Heavenly Waters, because I would omit none\nthat had ever been made use of, to make good the common Explication of\nthe Deluge; but otherwise, I think, since the System of the World hath\nbeen better known, and the Nature of the Heavens, there are none that\nwould seriously assert these _Super-celestial_ Waters, or, at least,\nmake use of them so extravagantly, as to bring them down hither for\nCauses of the Deluge.\n\nWE have now employ\u2019d our last and utmost Endeavours to find out Waters\nfor the vulgar Deluge, or for the Deluge as commonly understood; and you\nsee with how little Success; we have left no Corner unsought, where\nthere was any Appearance or Report of Water to be found, and yet we have\nnot been able to collect the eighth part of what was necessary upon a\nmoderate Account. May we not then with Assurance conclude, that the\nWorld hath taken wrong Measures hitherto, in their Notion and\nExplication of the general Deluge? They make it impossible and\nunintelligible upon a double Account, both in requiring more Water than\ncan be found, and more than can be dispos\u2019d of if it was found; or could\nany way be withdrawn from the Earth when the Deluge should cease. For if\nthe Earth was encompass\u2019d with eight Oceans of Water heapt one upon\nanother, how these should retire into any Channels, or be drain\u2019d off,\nor the Earth any way disengag\u2019d from them, is not intelligible; and that\nin so short a time as some Months: For the Violence of the Deluge lasted\nbut four or five Months, and in as many Months after the Earth was dry\nand habitable. So as upon the whole Enquiry, we can neither find Source\nnor Issue, Beginning nor Ending, for such an excessive Mass of Waters as\nthe vulgar Deluge required; neither where to have them, nor if we had\nthem, how to get quit of them. And I think Men cannot do a greater\nInjury or Injustice to Sacred History, than to give such Representations\nof things recorded there, as make them unintelligible and incredible;\nand on the other Hand, we cannot deserve better of Religion and\nProvidence, than by giving such fair Accounts of all things proposed by\nthem, or belonging to them, as may silence the Cavils of Atheists,\nsatisfy the Inquisitive, and recommend them to the Belief and Acceptance\nof all reasonable Persons.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n\n _All Evasions answered; That there was no new Creation of Waters at\n the Deluge: And that it was not Particular or National, but extended\n throughout the whole Earth. A Prelude and Preparation to the true\n Account and Explication of it: The Method of the first Book._\n\n\nTHOUGH in the preceding Chapter we may seem to have given a fair Trial\nto the common Opinion concerning the State of the Deluge, and might now\nproceed to Sentence of Condemnation: Yet having heard of another Plea,\nwhich some have us\u2019d in its Behalf, and another way found out by\nrecourse to the Supream Power, to supply all Defects, and to make the\nwhole matter intelligible, we will proceed no farther \u2019till that be\nconsider\u2019d; being very willing to examine whatsoever may be offer\u2019d, in\nthat or any other way, for resolving that great Difficulty which we have\nproposed, concerning _the Quantity of Water requisite for such a\nDeluge_. And to this they say in short, that _God Almighty created\nWaters on purpose to make the Deluge, and then annihilated them again\nwhen the Deluge was to cease_; and this, in a few Words, is the whole\naccount of the Business. This is to cut the Knot when we cannot loose\nit; they shew us the naked Arm of Omnipotency; such Arguments as these\ncome like Lightning, one doth not know what Armour to put on against\nthem, for they pierce the more, the more they are resisted: We will not\ntherefore oppose any thing to them that is hard and stubborn, but by a\nsoft Answer deaden their Force by degrees.\n\nAnd I desire to mind those Persons, in the first Place, of what St.\n_Austin_ hath said upon a like Occasion, speaking concerning those that\ndisproved the Opinion of Waters above the Heavens (which we mention\u2019d\nbefore) by natural Reasons. \u201cWe are not, saith he, to refute those\nPersons, by saying, that according to the Omnipotence of God, to whom\nall things, are possible, we ought to believe there are Waters there, as\nheavy as we know and feel them here below; for our Business is now to\nenquire according to his Scripture, how God hath constituted the Nature\nof Things, and not what he could do or work in these Things by a Miracle\nof Omnipotency.\u201d I desire them to apply this to the present Argument for\nthe first Answer.\n\n_Secondly_, LET them consider, that _Moses_ hath assign\u2019d Causes of the\nDeluge; _Forty Days Rain, and the Disruption of the Abyss_; and speaks\nnothing of a new Creation of Water upon that Occasion. Those were Causes\nin Nature which Providence had then dispos\u2019d for this extraordinary\nEffect, and those the Divine Historian refers us to, and not to any\nProductions out of nothing. Besides, _Moses_ makes the Deluge increase\nby degrees with the Rain, and accordingly makes it cease by degrees, and\nthat the Waters _going and returning_ as the Waves and great Commotions\nof the Sea use to do, retir\u2019d leisurely from the Face of the Earth, and\nsettled at length in their Channels. Now this manner of the Beginning or\nCeasing of the Deluge doth not at all agree with the instantaneous\nActions of Creation and Annihilation.\n\n_Thirdly_, LET them consider, that Saint _Peter_ hath also assign\u2019d\n_Causes_ of the Deluge, _2 Pet. 3. 6._ namely the particular\nConstitution of the Earth and Heavens before the Flood; by _reason\nwhereof_, he saith, _the World that was then perish\u2019d in a Deluge of\nWater_; and not by reason of a new Creation of Water. His Words are\nthese: \u201cThe Heavens and the Earth were of old, consisting of Water, and\nby Water; whereby, or by reason whereof, the World that then was, being\noverflowed with Water, perished.\u201d\n\n_Fourthly_, They are to consider, that as we are not rashly to have\nrecourse to the Divine Omnipotence upon any Account, so especially not\nfor new Creations; and least of all for the Creation of new Matter. The\nMatter of the Universe was created many Ages before the Flood, and the\nUniverse being full, if any more was created, then there must be as much\nannihilated at the same time to make Room for it; for Bodies cannot\npenetrate one another\u2019s Dimensions, nor be two or more within one and\nthe same Space. Then, on the other Hand, when the Deluge ceas\u2019d, and\nthese Waters were annihilated, so much other Matter must be created\nagain to take up their Places. And methinks they make very bold with the\nDeity, when they make him do and undo, go forward and backwards by such\ncountermarches and retractions, as we do not willingly impute to the\nWisdom of God Almighty.\n\nLASTLY, I shall not think my Labour lost, if it be but acknowledg\u2019d,\nthat we have so far clear\u2019d the Way in this Controversy, as to have\nbrought it to this Issue; that either there must be new Waters created\non purpose to make a Deluge, or there could be no Deluge as it is\nvulgarly explained; there not being Water sufficient in Nature to make a\nDeluge of that kind. This, I say, is a great step, and, I think, will\nsatisfy all Parties, at least, all that are considerable; for those that\nhave recourse to a new Creation of Waters, are of two sorts, either such\nas do it out of Laziness, and Ignorance, or such as do it out of\nNecessity, seeing they cannot be had otherwise; as for the first, they\nare not to be valued or gratified; and as for the second, I shall do a\nthing very acceptable to them, if I free them and the Argument from that\nNecessity; and shew a way of making the Deluge fairly intelligible, and\naccountable without the Creation of new Waters; which is the Design of\nthis Treatise. For we do not tie this Knot with an Intention to puzzle\nand perplex the Argument finally with it; but the harder it is ty\u2019d, we\nshall feel the Pleasure more sensibly when we come to loose it.\n\nIT may be, when they are beaten from this new Creation of Water, they\nwill say, the Element of Air was chang\u2019d into Water, and that was the\ngreat Store-house for the Deluge. Forty Days Rain we allow, as _Moses_\ndoes, but if they suppose any other Transelementation, it neither agrees\nwith _Moses_\u2019s Philosophy, nor St. _Peter_\u2019s; for then the _Opening of\nthe Abyss_ was needless, and the Form and Constitution of the\nAntediluvian _Heavens_ and _Earth_, which St. _Peter_ refers the Deluge\nto, bore no part in the Work; it might have been made, in that way,\nindifferently under any Heavens, or Earth. Besides, they offend against\nSt. _Austin_\u2019s Rule in this Method too; for I look upon it as no less a\nMiracle to turn Air into Water, than to turn Water into Wine. _Air_, I\nsay: For Vapours indeed are but Water made volatile; but pure Air is a\nBody of another Species, and cannot by any Compression or Condensation,\nso far as is yet known, be chang\u2019d into Water. And lastly, if the whole\nAtmosphere was turn\u2019d into Water, \u2019tis very probable it would make no\nmore than 34 Foot or thereabouts; for so much Air or Vapours as is of\nthe same weight with any certain Quantity of Water, \u2019tis likely, if it\nwas chang\u2019d into Water, would also be of the same Bulk with it, or not\nmuch more: Now according to the Doctrine of the Gravitation of the\nAtmosphere, \u2019tis found, that 34 Foot of Water does counterballance a\nproportionable Cylinder of Air reaching to the top of the Atmosphere;\nand consequently, if the whole Atmosphere was converted into Water, it\nwould make no more than eleven or twelve Yards Water about the Earth;\nwhich the Cavities of the Earth would be able in a good measure to suck\nup, at least this is very inconsiderable as to our eight Oceans. And if\nyou would change the higher Regions into Water too, what must supply the\nPlace of that Air which you transform into Water, and bring down upon\nthe Earth? There would be little left but Fire and \u00c6ther betwixt us and\nthe Moon, and I am afraid it would endanger to suck down the Moon too\nafter it. In a Word, such an Explication as this is both purely\nimaginary, and also very operose, and would affect a great part of the\nUniverse; and after all, they would be as hard put to it to get rid of\nthis Water, when the Deluge was to cease, as they were at first to\nprocure it.\n\nHAVING now examin\u2019d and answered all the Pleas, from first to last, for\nthe vulgar Deluge, or the old way of explaining it, we should proceed\nimmediately to propose another Method, and another Ground for an\nuniversal Deluge, were it not that an Opinion hath been started by some\nof late, that would in effect supplant both these Methods, old and new,\nand take away in a great measure the Subject of the Question. Some\nModern Authors observing what straits they have been put to in all Ages,\nto find out Water enough for _Noah_\u2019s Flood, have ventur\u2019d upon an\nExpedient more brisk and bold than any of the Ancients durst venture\nupon: They say, _Noah_\u2019s Flood was not Universal, but a National\nInundation, confin\u2019d to _Judea_, and those Countries thereabouts; and\nconsequently, there would not be so much Water necessary for the Cause\nof it, as we have prov\u2019d to be necessary for an Universal Deluge of that\nkind. Their Inference is very true, they have avoided that Rock, but\nthey run upon another no less dangerous; to avoid an Objection from\nReason, they deny matter of Fact, and such matter of Fact as is well\nattested by History, both Sacred and Prophane. I believe the Authors\nthat set up this Opinion were not themselves satisfy\u2019d with it; but\nseeing insuperable Difficulties in the old Way, they are the more\nexcusable in chusing, as they thought, of two Evils the less.\n\nBUT the Choice, methinks, is as bad on this Hand, if all things be\nconsidered; _Moses_ represents the Flood of _Noah_ as an Overthrow and\nDestruction of the whole Earth; and who can imagine, that in sixteen or\nseventeen hundred Years time, (taking the lower Chronology) that the\nEarth had then stood, Mankind should be propagated no farther than\n_Judea_, or some neighbouring Countries thereabouts? After the Flood,\nwhen the World was renew\u2019d again by eight Persons, they had made a far\ngreater Progress in _Asia_, _Europe_, and _Africa_, within the same\nspace of Years, and yet \u2019tis likely they were more fruitful in the first\nAges of the World, than after the Flood; and they liv\u2019d six, seven,\neight, nine hundred Years a Piece, getting Sons and Daughters. Which\nLongevity of the first Inhabitants of the Earth seems to have been\nprovidentially design\u2019d for the quicker Multiplication and Propagation\nof Mankind; and Mankind thereby would become so numerous within sixteen\nhundred Years, that there seems to me to be a greater Difficulty from\nthe Multitude of the People that would be before the Flood, than from\nthe want of People: For if we allow the first Couple at the End of one\nhundred Years, or of the first Century, to have left ten Pair of\nBreeders, which is no hard Supposition, there would arise from these, in\nfifteen hundred Years, a greater Number than the Earth was capable of;\nallowing every Pair to multiply in the same decuple Proportion the first\nPair did. But because this would rise far beyond the Capacities of this\nEarth, let us suppose them to increase, in the following Centuries, in a\nquintuple Proportion only, or, if you will, only in a quadruple; and\nthen the Table of the Multiplication of Mankind, from the Creation to\nthe Flood, would stand thus;\n\n _Century_\n\n 1\u2014 10\n 2\u2014 40\n 3\u2014 160\n 4\u2014 640\n 5\u2014 2560\n 6\u2014 10240\n 7\u2014 40960\n 8\u2014 163840\n 9\u2014 655360\n 10\u2014 2621440\n 11\u2014 10485760\n 12\u2014 41943040\n 13\u2014 167772160\n 14\u2014 671088640\n 15\u2014 2684354560\n 16\u2014 10737418240\n\nThis Product is too excessive high, if compar\u2019d with the present number\nof Men upon the Face of the Earth, which, I think, is commonly estimated\nto be betwixt three and four hundred Millions; and yet this Proportion\nof their Increase seems to be low enough, if we take one Proportion for\nall the Centuries; for, in reality, the same Measure cannot run equally\nthrough all the Ages, but we have taken this as moderate and reasonable\nbetwixt the highest and the lowest; but if we had taken only a tripple\nProportion, it would have been sufficient (all things consider\u2019d) for\nthe Purpose. There are several other ways of computing this Number, and\nsome more particular and exact than this is, but which way soever you\ntry, you shall find the Product great enough for the Extent of this\nEarth; and if you follow the Septuagint Chronology, it will still be far\nhigher. I have met with three or four different Calculations, in several\nAuthors, of the Number of Mankind before the Flood, and never met with\nany yet, but what exceeded the Number of the People that are at present\nupon the Face of the Earth. So as it seems to me a very groundless and\nforc\u2019d Conceit to imagine, that _Judea_ only, and some Parts about it in\n_Asia_, were stor\u2019d with People when the Deluge was brought upon the old\nWorld. Besides, if the Deluge was confin\u2019d to those Countries, I do not\nsee but the Borderers might have escap\u2019d, shifting a little into the\nadjoining Places where the Deluge did not reach. But especially what\nneeded so much ado to build an Ark to save _Noah_ and his Family, if he\nmight have sav\u2019d himself and them, only by retiring into some\nneighbouring Country; as _Lot_ and his Family sav\u2019d themselves, by\nwithdrawing from _Sodom_, when the City was to be destroyed? Had not\nthis been a far easier thing, and more compendious, than the great\nPreparations he made of a large Vessel, with Rooms, for the Reception\nand Accommodation of Beasts and Birds? And now I mention Birds, why\ncould not they at least have flown into the next dry Country? They might\nhave pearch\u2019d upon the Trees, and the tops of the Mountains by the way\nto have rested themselves if they were weary, for the Waters did not all\nof a sudden rise to the Mountains tops.\n\nI cannot but look upon the Deluge as a much more considerable thing than\nthese Authors wou\u2019d represent it, and as a kind of Dissolution of\nNature; _Moses_ calls it a destroying of the _Earth_, as well as of\nMankind, _Gen. 6. 13._ And the Bow was set in the Cloud to seal the\nCovenant, _that he would destroy the Earth no more_, _Gen. 9. 11._ or\nthat there would be no more a Flood _to destroy the Earth_. And \u2019tis\nsaid, _Verse 13._ That the Covenant was made between God and the Earth,\nor this Frame of Nature, that it should perish no more by Water. And the\nRain-Bow, which was a Token and Pledge of this Covenant, appears not\nonly in _Judea_, or some other _Asiatick_ Provinces, but to all the\nRegions of the Earth, who had an equal Share and Concern in it. _Moses_\nsaith also, the Fountains of the great _Abyss_ were burst asunder to\nmake the Deluge; and what means this _Abyss_, and the bursting of it, if\nrestrain\u2019d to _Judea_, or some adjacent Countries? What Appearance is\nthere of this Disruption _there_, more than in other Places?\nFurthermore, St. _Peter_ plainly implies, _2 Epist. c. 5. 6._ That the\nAntediluvian Heavens and Earth perished in the Deluge; and opposeth the\npresent Earth and Heavens to them, as different and of another\nConstitution; and saith, that these shall perish by Fire, as the other\nperished by Water. So he compares the conflagration with the Deluge, as\ntwo general Dissolutions of Nature, and one may as well say, that the\nConflagration shall be only National, and but two or three Countries\nburnt in that last Fire, as to say, that the Deluge was so. I confess\nthat Discourse of St. _Peter_, concerning the several States of the\nWorld, would sufficiently convince me, if there was nothing else, That\nthe Deluge was not a particular, or national Inundation, but a _mundane_\nChange, that extended to the whole Earth, and both to the (lower)\nHeavens and Earth.\n\nALL Antiquity, we know, hath spoke of these mundane Revolutions or\nPeriods, that the World should be successively destroyed by Water and\nFire; and I do not doubt, but that this Deluge of _Noah_\u2019s, which\n_Moses_ describes, was the first and leading Instance of this kind; and\naccordingly we see that after this Period, and after the Flood, the\nBlessing for Multiplication, and for replenishing the Earth with\nInhabitants, was as solemnly pronounc\u2019d by God Almighty, as at the first\nCreation of Man, _Gen. 9. 1._ with _Gen. 1. 28._ These Considerations, I\nthink, might be sufficient to give us Assurance from Divine Writ of the\nUniversality of the Deluge; and yet _Moses_ affords us another Argument\nas demonstrative as any, when in the History of the Deluge, he saith,\n_Gen. 7. 19._ _The Waters exceedingly prevail\u2019d upon the Earth, and all\nthe high Hills that were under the whole Heavens were covered._ All the\nhigh Hills, he saith, _under the whole Heavens_, then quite round the\nEarth; and if the Mountains were covered quite round the Earth, sure the\nPlains could not scape. But to argue with them upon their own Grounds:\nLet us suppose only the _Asiatick_ and _Armenian_ Mountains covered with\nthese Waters, this they cannot deny; then unless there was a Miracle to\nkeep these Waters upon Heaps, they would flow throughout the Earth; for\nthese Mountains are high enough to make them fall every way, and make\nthem join with our Seas that environ the Continent. We cannot imagine\nHills and Mountains of Water to have hung about _Judea_, as if they were\ncongeal\u2019d, or a Mass of Water to have stood upon the middle of the Earth\nlike one great Drop, or a trembling Jelly, and all the Places about it\ndry and untouch\u2019d. All liquid Bodies are diffusive; for their Parts\nbeing in Motion have no Tie or Connexion one with another, but glide and\nfall off any way, as Gravity and the Air presseth them; so the Surface\nof Water doth always conform into a Spherical Convexity with the rest of\nthe Globe of the Earth, and every part of it falls as near to the Center\nas it can; wherefore when these Waters began to rise at first, long\nbefore they cou\u2019d swell to the height of the Mountains, they would\ndiffuse themselves every way, and thereupon all the Valleys and Plains,\nand lower Parts of the Earth would be filled throughout the whole Earth,\nbefore they cou\u2019d rise to the Tops of the Mountains in any Part of it:\nAnd the Sea would be all raised to a considerable height before the\nMountains could be covered. For let us suppose, as they do, that this\nWater fell not throughout the whole Earth, but in some particular\nCountry, and there made first a great Lake; this Lake when it begun to\nswell would every way discharge it self by any Descents or Declivities\nof the Ground, and these Issues and Derivations being once made and\nsupply\u2019d with new Waters pushing them forwards, would continue their\nCourse \u2019till they arrived at the Sea, just as other Rivers do; for these\nwould be but so many Rivers rising out of this Lake, and would not be\nconsiderably deeper and higher at the Fountain than in their Progress or\nat the Sea, We may as well then expect that the _Leman_ Lake, for\ninstance, out of which the _Rhone_ runs, should swell to the Tops of the\n_Alps_ on the one Hand, and the Mountains of _Switzerland_ and\n_Burgundy_ on the other, and then stop, without overflowing the plainer\nCountries that lie beyond them; as to suppose that this Diluvian Lake\nshould rise to the Mountains Tops in one Place, and not diffuse it self\nequally into all Countries about, and upon the Surface of the Sea; in\nProportion to its Height and Depth in the Place where it first fell or\nstood.\n\nTHUS much for Sacred History. The Universality of the Deluge is also\nattested by Profane History; for the Fame of it is gone thro\u2019 the Earth,\nand there are Records or Traditions concerning it, in all Parts of this\nand the new-found World. The _Americans_ do acknowledge and speak of it\nin their Continent, as _Acosta_ witnesseth, and _Laet_ in their\nHistories of them. _Mart._ The _Chineses_ have the Tradition of it,\nwhich is the farthest part of our Continent; and the nearer and Western\npart of _Asia_ is acknowledg\u2019d the proper Seat of it. Not to mention\n_Deucalion_\u2019s Deluge in the _European_ Parts, which seems to be the same\nunder a disguise: So as you may trace the Deluge quite round the Globe\nin profane History; and, which is remarkable, every one of these People\nhave a Tale to tell, some one way, some another, concerning the\nRestauration of Mankind; which is an Argument that they thought all\nMankind destroy\u2019d by that Deluge. In the old Dispute between the\n_Scythians_ and the _\u00c6gyptians_ for Antiquity, which _Justin_ mentions,\nthey refer to a former Destruction of the World by Water or Fire, and\nargue, whether Nation first rose again, and was original to the other.\nSo the _Babylonians_, _Assyrians_, _Ph\u0153nicians_ and others, mention the\nDeluge in their Stories. And we cannot without offering Violence to all\nRecords and Authority, Divine and Human, deny, that there hath been an\nuniversal Deluge upon the Earth; and if there was an universal Deluge,\nno question it was that of _Noah_\u2019s, and that which _Moses_ describ\u2019d,\nand that which we treat of at present.\n\nTHESE Considerations, I think, are abundantly sufficient to silence that\nOpinion, concerning the Limitation and Restriction of the Deluge to a\nparticular Country or Countries. It ought rather to be look\u2019d upon as an\nEvasion indeed, than Opinion, seeing the Authors do not offer any\npositive Argument for the Proof of it, but depend only upon that\nnegative Argument, That an universal Deluge is a Thing unintelligible.\nThis Stumbling-stone we hope to take away for the future, and that Men\nshall not be put to that unhappy Choice, either to deny Matter of Fact\nwell attested, or admit an Effect, whereof they cannot see any possible\nCauses. And so having stated and proposed the whole Difficulty, and\ntry\u2019d all ways offered by others, and found them ineffectual, let us now\napply our selves by degrees, to untie the Knot.\n\nTHE excessive Quantity of Water is the great Difficulty, and the Removal\nof it afterwards. Those eight Oceans lay heavy upon my thoughts, and I\ncast about every way, to find an Expedient, or to find some way, whereby\nthe same Effect might be brought to pass with less Water, and in such a\nmanner that that Water might afterwards conveniently be discharg\u2019d. The\nfirst Thought that came into my Mind upon that Occasion, was concerning\nthe Form of the Earth, which I imagin\u2019d might possibly at that Time be\ndifferent from what it is at present, and come nearer to Plainness and\nEquallity in the Surface of it, and so might the more easily be\noverflow\u2019d, and the Deluge perform\u2019d with less Water. This Opinion\nconcerning the Plainness of the first Earth, I also found in Antiquity,\nmention\u2019d and refer\u2019d to by several Interpreters in their Commentaries\nupon _Genesis_, either upon Occasion of the Deluge, or of that Fountain\nwhich is said, _Gen. 2. 6._ to have watered the Face of the whole Earth:\nAnd a late eminent Person, the Honour of his Profession for Integrity\nand Learning, in his Discourse concerning the _Origination of Mankind_,\nhath made a like Judgment of the State of the Earth before the Deluge,\nthat the Face of it was more smooth and regular than it is now. But yet\nupon second Thoughts, I easily see that this alone wou\u2019d not be\nsufficient to explain the Deluge, nor to give an Account of the present\nForm of the Earth, unequal and mountainous as it is. \u2019Tis true this\nwould give a great Advantage to the Waters, and the Rains that fell for\nForty Days together would have a great Power over the Earth, being plain\nand smooth; but how would these Waters be dispos\u2019d of when the Deluge\nceas\u2019d? Or how could it ever cease? Besides, what means the Disruption\nof the great _Deep_, or the great _Abyss_, or what answers to it upon\nthis Supposition? This was assuredly of no less Consideration than the\nRains; nay, I believe, the Rains were but preparatory in some measure,\nand that the Violence and Consummation of the Deluge depended upon the\nDisruption of the great Abyss. Therefore I saw it necessary, to my first\nThought, concerning the Smoothness and Plainness of the Antediluvian\nEarth, to add a second, concerning the Disruption and Dissolution of it;\nfor, as it often happens in Earthquakes, when the exterior Earth is\nburst asunder, and a great Flood of Waters issues out, according to the\nQuantity and Force of them, an Inundation is made in those Parts, more\nor less; so I thought, if that _Abyss_ lay under Ground and round the\nEarth, and we should suppose the Earth in this manner to be broken in\nseveral Places at once, and as it were a general Dissolution made, we\nmight suppose that to make a general Deluge, as well as a particular\nDissolution often makes a particular. But I will not anticipate here the\nExplication we intend to give of the Universal Deluge in the following\nChapters; only by this previous Intimation we may gather some Hopes, it\nmay be, that the Matter is not so desperate as the former Representation\nmight possibly make us fancy it.\n\nGIVE me leave to add farther in this Place, that it hath been observ\u2019d\nby several, from the Contemplation of Mountains and Rocks and\nPrecipices, of the Channel of the Sea, and of Islands, and of\nSubterraneous Caverns, that the Surface of the Earth, or the exterior\nRegion which we inhabit, hath been broke, and the parts of it\ndislocated: And one might instance more particularly in several Parcels\nof Nature, that retain still the evident Marks of Fraction and Ruin, and\nby their present Form and Posture shew, that they have been once in\nanother State and Situation one to another. We shall have occasion\nhereafter to give an Account of these _Ph\u00e6nomena_, from which several\nhave rightly argu\u2019d, and concluded some general Rupture or Ruin in the\nsuperficial Parts of the Earth. But this Ruin, it is true, they have\nimagin\u2019d and explain\u2019d several ways, some thinking that it was made the\n_third Day_ after the Foundation of the Earth; when they suppose the\nChannel of the Sea to have been form\u2019d, and Mountains and Caverns at the\nsame time, by a violent Depression of some Parts of the Earth, and an\nExtrusion and Elevation of others to make them Room. Others suppose it\nto have come not all at once, but by Degrees, at several Times, and in\nseveral Ages, from particular and accidental Causes, as the Earth\nfalling in upon Fires under Ground, or Water eating away the lower\nparts, or Vapours and Exhalations breaking out and tearing the Earth.\n\u2019Tis true, I am not of their Opinion in either of these Explications;\nand we shall shew at large hereafter, when we have propos\u2019d and stated\nour own Theory, how incompetent such Causes are, to bring the Earth into\nthat Form and Condition we now find it in. But in the mean time, we may\nso far make use of these Opinions in general, as not to be startled at\nthis Doctrine, concerning the Breaking or Dissolution of the Exterior\nEarth; for in all Ages the Face of Nature hath provok\u2019d Men to think of\nand observe such a Thing. And who can do otherwise, to see the Elements\ndisplac\u2019d and disorder\u2019d, as they seem to lie at present; the heaviest\nand grossest Bodies in the highest Places, and the liquid and volatile\nkept below; an huge Mass of Stone or Rock rear\u2019d into the Air, and the\nWater creeping at its Feet; whereas this is the more light and active\nBody, and by the Law of Nature should take Place of Rocks and Stones? So\nwe see, by the like Disorder, the Air thrown down into Dungeons of the\nEarth, and the Earth got up among the Clouds; for there are the tops of\nthe Mountains, and under their Roots in Holes and Caverns the Air is\noften detained. By what regular Action of Nature can we suppose things\nfirst produc\u2019d in this Posture and Form? Not to mention how broke and\ntorn the inward Substance of the Earth is, which of it self is an\nuniform Mass, close and compact; but in the Condition we see it, it lies\nhollow in many places, with great Vacuities intercepted betwixt the\nPortions of it; a Thing which we see happens in all Ruins more or less,\nespecially when the Parts of the Ruins are great and inflexible. Then\nwhat can have more the Figure and Mien of a Ruin, than Crags, and Rocks,\nand Cliffs, whether upon the Sea-shore, or upon the Sides of Mountains?\nWhat can be more apparently broke, than they are? And those lesser\nRocks, or great bulky Stones that lie often scatter\u2019d near the Feet of\nthe other, whether in the Sea, or upon the Land, are they not manifest\nFragments and pieces of these greater Masses? Besides, the Posture of\nthese Rocks, which is often leaning or recumbent, or prostrate, shews to\nthe Eye, that they have had a Fall, or some kind of Dislocation from\ntheir natural Site. And the same thing may be observed in the Tracks and\nRegions of the Earth, which very seldom for ten Miles together have any\nregular Surface or Continuity one with another, but lie high and low,\nand are variously inclin\u2019d sometimes one way, sometimes another, without\nany Rule or Order. Whereas I see no Reason but the Surface of the Land\nshould be as regular as that of the Water in the first Production of it;\nand the Strata or Beds within lie as even. This I am sure of, that this\nDisposition of the Elements, and the Parts of the Earth, outward and\ninward, hath something irregular and unnatural in it, and manifestly\nshews us the Marks, or Footsteps of some kind of Ruin and Dissolution;\nwhich we shall shew you, in its due Place, happen\u2019d in such a way, that\nat the same time a general Flood of Waters wou\u2019d necessarily over-run\nthe Face of the whole Earth. And by the same fatal Blow, the Earth fell\nout of that regular Form, wherein it was produc\u2019d at first, into all\nthese Irregularities which we see in its present Form and Composition;\nso that we shall give thereby a double Satisfaction to the Mind, both to\nshew it a fair and intelligible Account of the general Deluge, how the\nWaters came upon the Earth, and how they return\u2019d into their Channels\nagain, and left the Earth habitable; and likewise to shew it how the\nMountains were brought forth, and the Channel of the Sea discover\u2019d: How\nall those Inequalities came in the Body or Face of the Earth, and those\nempty Vaults and Caverns in its Bowels; which things are no less matter\nof Admiration than the Flood it self.\n\nBUT I must beg leave to draw a Curtain before the Work for a while, and\nto keep your Patience a little in suspence, till Materials are prepar\u2019d,\nand all things ready to represent and explain what we have propos\u2019d. Yet\nI hope, in the mean time, to entertain the Mind with Scenes no less\npleasing, tho\u2019 of quite another Face and Order; for we must now return\nto the Beginning of the World, and look upon the first Rudiments of\nNature, and that dark but fruitful Womb, out of which all things sprang,\nI mean the _Chaos_: For this is the Matter which we must next work upon,\nand it will be no unpleasing thing to observe, how that rude Mass will\nshoot it self into several Forms one after another, \u2019till it comes at\nlength to make an habitable World. The steady Hand of Providence, which\nkeeps all things in Weight and Measure, being the invisible Guide of all\nits Motions. These Motions we must examine from first to last, to find\nout what was the Form of the Earth, and what was the Place or Situation\nof the Ocean, or the great Abyss, in that first State of Nature: Which\ntwo things being determined, we shall be able to make a certain\nJudgment, what kind of Dissolution that Earth was capable of, and\nwhether from that Dissolution an Universal Deluge would follow, with all\nthe Consequences of it.\n\nIN the mean time, for the Ease and Satisfaction of the Reader, we will\nhere mark the Order and Distribution of the first Book, which we divide\ninto three Sections; whereof the first is these three Chapters past: In\nthe second Section we will shew, that the Earth before the Deluge was of\na different Frame and Form from the present Earth; and particularly of\nsuch a form as made it subject to a Dissolution and to such a\nDissolution, as did necessarily expose it to an Universal Deluge. And in\nthis Place we shall apply our Discourse particularly to the Explication\nof _Noah_\u2019s Flood, and that under all its Conditions, of the Height of\nthe Waters, of their Universality, of the Destruction of the World by\nthem, and of their retiring afterwards from the Earth; and this Section\nwill consist of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Chapters.\nIn the Third Section we prove the same Dissolution from the Effects and\nConsequences of it, or from the Contemplation of the present Face of the\nEarth: And here an Account is given of the Origin of Mountains, of\nsubterraneous Waters and Caverns, of the great Channel of the Sea, and\nof the first Production of Islands; and those things are the Contents of\nthe Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Chapters. Then, in the last Chapter, we\nmake a general Review of the whole Work, and a general Review of Nature;\nthat by comparing them together, their full Agreement and Correspondency\nmay appear. Here several collateral Arguments are given for Confirmation\nof the preceding Theory, and some Reflections are made upon the State of\nthe other Planets compar\u2019d with the Earth. And lastly, what Accounts\nsoever have been given by others of the present Form and Irregularities\nof the Earth, are examin\u2019d and shew\u2019d insufficient. And this seemeth to\nbe all that is requisite upon this Subject.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n\n _That the Earth and Mankind had an Original, and were not from\n Eternity: Prov\u2019d against Aristotle. The first Proposition of our\n Theory laid down, viz. That the Antediluvian Earth was of a\n different Form and Construction from the present. This is prov\u2019d by\n Divine Authority, and from the Nature and Form of the Chaos, out of\n which the Earth was made._\n\n\nWE are now to enquire into the Original of the Earth, and in what Form\nit was built at first, that we may lay our Foundation for the following\nTheory deep and sure. It hath been the general Opinion and Content of\nthe Learned of all Nations, that the Earth arose from a Chaos. This is\nattested by History, both Sacred and Profane; only _Aristotle_, whom so\ngreat a Part of the Christian World have made their Oracle or Idol, hath\nmaintain\u2019d the Eternity of the Earth, and the Eternity of Mankind; that\nthe Earth and the World were from Everlasting, and in that very Form\nthey are in now, with Men and Women and all living Creatures, Trees and\nFruit, Metals and Minerals, and whatsoever is of natural Production. We\nsay all these Things arose and had their first Existence or Production\nnot six thousand Years ago: He saith, they have subsisted thus for ever,\nthrough an infinite Series of past Generations, and shall continue as\nlong, without first or last: And if so, there was neither Chaos, nor any\nother Beginning to the Earth. This takes away the Subject of our\nDiscourse, and therefore we must first remove this Stone out of the way,\nand prove that the Earth had an Original, and that from a Chaos, before\nwe shew how it arose from a Chaos, and what was the first habitable Form\nthat it settled into.\n\nWE are assur\u2019d by Divine Authority, that the Earth and Mankind had a\nbeginning: _Moses_ saith, _In the Beginning God made the Heavens and the\nEarth_. Speaking it as of a certain Period or Term, from whence he\ncounts the Age of the World. And the same _Moses_ tells us, that _Adam_\nwas the first Man, and _Eve_ the first Woman, from whom sprung the Race\nof Mankind; and this within the Compass of Six Thousand Years. We are\nalso assur\u2019d from the Prophets, and our Christian Records, that the\nWorld shall have an End, and that by a general Conflagration, when all\nMankind shall be destroyed, with the Form, and all the Furniture of the\nEarth. And as this proves the second Part of _Aristotle_\u2019s Doctrine to\nbe false immediately, so doth it the first, by a true Consequence; for\nwhat hath an End had a Beginning, what is not Immortal, was not Eternal:\nThat which exists by the Strength of its own Nature at first, the same\nNature will enable to exist for ever; and indeed what exists of it self,\nexists necessarily; and what exists necessarily, exists eternally.\n\nHAVING this infallible Assurance of the Origin of the Earth and of\nMankind from Scripture, we proceed to refute the same Doctrine of\n_Aristotle_\u2019s by natural Reason. And we will first consider the Form of\nthe Earth, and then Mankind; and shew, from plain Evidence and\nObservation, neither of them to have been Eternal. \u2019Tis natural to the\nMind of Man to consider that which is compound, as having been once more\nsimple; whether that Composition be a Mixture of many Ingredients, as\nmost Terrestrial Bodies are, or whether it be Organical; but especially\nif it be Organical: For a Thing that consists of a multitude of Pieces\naptly join\u2019d, we cannot but conceive to have had those Pieces, at one\ntime or another, put together. \u2019Twere hard to conceive an eternal Watch,\nwhose Pieces were never separate one from another, nor ever in any other\nForm than that of a Watch. Or an eternal House, whose Materials were\nnever asunder, but always in the Form of an House. And \u2019tis as hard to\nconceive an _Eternal Earth_, or an _Eternal World_: These are made up of\nmore various Substances, more Ingredients, and into a far greater\nComposition; and the living Part of the World, Plants and Animals, have\nmuch more Variety of Parts and multifarious Construction, than any\nHouse, or any other artificial Thing: So that we are led as much by\nNature and Necessity, to conceive this great Machine of the World, or of\nthe Earth, to have been once in a State of greater Simplicity than now\nit is, as to conceive a Watch, an House, or any other Structure, to have\nbeen once in its first and simple Materials. This I speak without\nReference to immediate Creation, for _Aristotle_ did not own any such\nthing, and therefore the Argument stands good against him, upon those\nGrounds and Notions that he goes; yet I guess what Answer would be made\nby him or his Followers to this Argumentation: They would say, there is\nnot the same Reason for Natural things, as for Artificial, though\nequally compounded. Artificial Things could not be from Eternity,\nbecause they suppose Man, by whose Art they were made, pre-existent to\nthem; the Workman must be before the Work, and whatsoever hath any thing\nbefore it, is not Eternal. But may not the same thing be said of Natural\nthings? Do not most of them require the Action of the Sun, and the\nInfluence of the Heavens for their Production, and longer Preparations\nthan any Artificial things do? Some Years or Ages would be necessary for\nthe Concoction and Maturation of Metals and Minerals; Stones themselves,\nat least some sorts of them, were once Liquors, or fluid Masses; and all\nVegetable Productions require the Heat of the Sun, to predispose and\nexcite the Earth and the Seeds. Nay, according to _Aristotle_, \u2019tis not\nMan by himself that begets a Man, but the Sun is his Coadjutor. You see\nthen \u2019twas as necessary that the Sun, that great Workman of Nature,\nshould pre-exist to Natural things, produc\u2019d in, or upon the Earth, as\nthat Man should pre-exist to Artificial. So that the Earth, under that\nForm and Constitution it now hath, could no more be Eternal, than a\nStatue or Temple, or any Work of Art.\n\nBESIDES, that Form, which the Earth is under at present, is in some sort\npreternatural, like a Statue made and broken again; and so hath still\nthe less Appearance or Pretence of being Eternal. If the Elements had\nlain in that Order to one another, as _Aristotle_ hath dispos\u2019d them,\nand as seems to be their first Disposition; the Earth altogether in a\nMass in the middle, or towards the Centre; then the Water in a Spherical\nMass about that; the Air above the Water, and then a Sphere of Fire, as\nhe fancied, in the highest Circle of the Air: If they had lain, I say,\nin this Posture, there might have been some Pretence that they had been\nEternally so; because that might seem to be their Original Posture, in\nwhich Nature had first plac\u2019d them. But the Form and Posture we find\nthem in at present is very different, and according to his Doctrine must\nbe look\u2019d upon as unnatural and violent; and no violent State, by his\nown Maxim, can be perpetual, or can have been so.\n\nBUT there is still a more pressing Consideration against this Opinion.\nIf this present State and Form of the Earth had been from Eternity, it\nwould have long ere this destroy\u2019d itself, and chang\u2019d itself: The\nMountains sinking by degrees into the Valleys, and into the Sea, and the\nWaters rising above the Earth; which Form it would certainly have come\ninto, sooner or later, and in it continu\u2019d drowned and uninhabitable,\nfor all succeeding Generations. For \u2019tis certain, that the Mountains and\nhigher Parts of the Earth grow lesser and lesser from Age to Age; and\nthat from many Causes, sometimes the Roots of them are weaken\u2019d, and\neaten by subterraneous Fires, and sometimes they are torn and tumbled\ndown by Earthquakes, and fall into those Caverns that are under them;\nand tho\u2019 those violent Causes are not constant, or universal, yet if the\nEarth had stood from Eternity, there is not a Mountain would have\nescaped this Fate in one Age or other. The Course of these Exhalations\nor Fires would have reach\u2019d them all sooner or later, if thro\u2019 infinite\nAges they had stood exposed to them. But there are also other causes\nthat consume them insensibly, and make them sink by degrees; and those\nare chiefly the Winds, Rains, and Storms, and Heat of the Sun without;\nand within, the soaking of Water and Springs, with Streams and Currents\nin their Veins and Crannies. These two sorts of Causes would certainly\nreduce all the Mountains of the Earth, in tract of Time, to Equality; or\nrather lay them all under Water: For whatsoever moulders, or is wash\u2019d\naway from them, is carried down into the lower Grounds, and into the\nSea, and nothing is ever brought back again by any Circulation: Their\nLosses are not repair\u2019d, nor any proportionable Recruits made from any\nother parts of Nature. So as the higher parts of the Earth being\ncontinually spending, and the lower continually gaining, they must of\nnecessity at length come to an Equality; and the Waters that lie in the\nlower parts and in the Channels, those Channels and Valleys being fill\u2019d\nup with Earth, would be thrust out and rise every where upon the Surface\nof the Earth; which new Post, when they had once seiz\u2019d on it, they\nwould never quit nor would any thing be able to dispossess them; for\n\u2019tis their natural Place and Situation which they always tend to, and\nfrom which there is no Progress nor Regress in a Course of Nature. So\nthat the Earth would have been, both now, and from innumerable\nGenerations before this, all under Water and uninhabitable; if it had\nstood from Everlasting, and this Form of it had been its first Original\nForm.\n\nNOR can he doubt of this Argumentation, that considers the Coherence of\nit, and will allow time enough for the Effect. I do not say the Earth\nwould be reduc\u2019d to this uninhabitable Form in ten thousand Years time,\ntho\u2019 I believe it would: But take twenty, if you please, take an hundred\nthousand, take a million, \u2019tis all one, for you may take the one as\neasily as the other out of Eternity; and they make both equally against\ntheir Supposition. Nor is it any matter how little you suppose the\nmountains to decrease \u2019tis but taking more time, and the same Effect\nstill follows. Let them but waste as much as a Grain of Mustard-Seed\nevery Day, or a Foot in an Age, this would be more than enough in ten\nthousand Ages to consume the tallest Mountain upon Earth. The Air alone,\nand the little drops of Rain have defac\u2019d the strongest and the proudest\nMonuments of the _Greeks_ and _Romans_; and allow them but time enough,\nand they will of themselves beat down the Rocks into the Sea, and the\nHills into the Valleys. But if we add to these all those other\nforemention\u2019d Causes that work with more Violence, and the Weight of the\nMountains themselves, which, upon any occasion offer\u2019d, is ready to sink\nthem lower, we shall shorten the Time and make the Effect more sure.\n\nWE need add no more here in particular against this _Aristotelian_\nDoctrine, that makes the present Form of the Earth to have been from\nEternity; for the Truth is, this whole Book is one continued Argument\nagainst that opinion; shewing that it hath _de facto_ chang\u2019d its Form;\nboth in that we have prov\u2019d that it was not capable of an universal\nDeluge in this Form, and consequently was once under another; and also\nin that we shall prove at large hereafter throughout the Third and\nFourth Sections, that it hath been broken and dissolv\u2019d. We might also\nadd one Consideration more, that if it had stood always under this Form,\nit would have been under Fire, if it had not been under Water; and the\nConflagration, which it is to undergo, would have overtaken it long ere\nthis. For St. _Peter_ saith, The Heavens and the Earth that are now, as\noppos\u2019d to the Antediluvian, and consider\u2019d in their present Form and\nConstitution, are fitted to be consumed by Fire. And whosoever\nunderstands the Progress and Revolutions of Nature, will see that\nneither the present Form of the Earth, nor its first Form, were\npermanent and immutable Forms, but transient and temporary by their own\nFrame and Constitution; which the Author of Nature, after certain\nPeriods of Time, had design\u2019d for Change and for Destruction.\n\nTHUS much for the Body of the Earth, that it could not have been from\nEternity, as _Aristotle_ pretended, in the Form it hath. Now let\u2019s\nconsider the Origination of Mankind; and that we shall find could much\nless be Eternal than the other; for whatsoever destroy\u2019d the Form of the\nEarth, would also destroy Mankind; and besides, there are many\nparticular Marks and Arguments, that the Generations of Men have not\nbeen from Everlasting. All History, and all Monuments of Antiquity, of\nwhat kind soever, are but of a few Thousand of Years date; we have still\nthe Memory of the Golden Age, of the first State of Nature, and how\nMortals liv\u2019d then in Innocency and Simplicity. The Invention of Arts,\neven those that are necessary or useful to Human Life, hath been within\nthe Knowledge of Men: How imperfect was the Geography of the Ancients,\nhow imperfect their Knowledge of the Earth, how imperfect their\nNavigation? Can we imagine, if there had been Men from Everlasting, a\nSea as now, and all materials for shipping as much as we have, that Men\ncould have been so ignorant, both of the Land and of the Sea, as \u2019tis\nmanifest they have been till of late Ages? They had very different\nFancies concerning the Figure of the Earth. They knew no Land beyond our\nContinent, and that very imperfectly too; and the Torrid Zone they\nthought utterly uninhabitable. We think it strange, taking that short\nDate of the World, which we give it, that Men should not have made more\nProgress in the Knowledge of these Things; but how impossible is it\nthen, if you suppose them to have been from Everlasting? They had the\nsame Wit and Passions that we have, the same Motives that we have, can\nwe then imagine, that neither the Ambition of Princes, nor Interest or\nGain in private Persons, nor Curiosity and the Desire of Knowledge, nor\nthe Glory of Discoveries, nor any other Passion or Consideration could\never move them in that endless time, to try their Fortunes upon the Sea,\nand know something more of the World they inhabited? Though you should\nsuppose them generally stupid, which there is no Reason to do, yet in a\nCourse of infinite Generations, there would be some great Genii, some\nextraordinary Persons that would attempt things above the rest. We have\ndone more within the compass of our little World, which we can but count\n(as to this) from the general Deluge, than those Eternal Men had done in\ntheir innumerable Ages foregoing.\n\nYOU will say it may be, they had not the Advantages and Opportunities\nfor Navigation as we have, and for Discoveries; because the use of the\nLoadstone, and the Mariners needle was not then known. But that\u2019s the\nWonder, that either that Invention, or any other should not be brought\nto light till t\u2019other Day, if the World had stood from Eternity. I say\nthis or any other practical Invention; for such Things, when they are\nonce found out and known, are not easily lost again, because they are of\ndaily use. And \u2019tis in most other practical arts, as in Navigation, we\ngenerally know their original and History; who the Inventors, and by\nwhat degrees improv\u2019d, and how few of them brought to any Perfection\ntill of late Ages. All the Artificial and Mechanical World is in a\nmanner new; and what you may call the _Civil_ World too is in a great\nmeasure so. What relates to Government, and Laws; to Wars and\nDiscipline; we can trace these things to their Origin, or very near it.\nThe use of Money and of Coins, nay the Use of the very Elements; for\nthey tell us of the first Invention of fire by _Prometheus_, and the\nemploying of Wind or Water to turn the Mills, and grind their Corn was\nscarce known before the _Romans_, _Plin. l. 7. c. 56._ And that we may\nthink nothing eternal here, they tell us the Ages and Genealogies of\ntheir very Gods. The measures of Time for the common uses of Life, the\ndividing it into Hours, with the Instruments for those Purposes, are not\nof an unknown Date: Even the Arts for preparing Food and Cloathing,\nMedicines and Medicaments, Building, Civil and Military, Letters and\nWriting, which are the Foundations of the World Civil: These, with all\ntheir Retinue of lesser Arts and Trades that belong to them, History and\nTradition tell us when they had their Beginning, or were very imperfect;\nand how many of their Inventors and Inventresses were deify\u2019d. The World\nhath not stood so long but we can still run it up to those artless Ages,\nwhen Mortals liv\u2019d by plain Nature; when there was but one Trade in the\nWorld, one Calling, to look to their Flocks; and afterwards to till the\nGround, when Nature grew less liberal: And may we not reasonably think\nthis the Beginning of Mankind, or very near it? If Man be a Creature,\nboth naturally sagacious to find out its own Conveniencies, and\nnaturally sociable and inclin\u2019d to live in a Community, a little Time\nwould make them find out and furnish themselves with what was necessary\nin these two kinds, for the Conveniencies of single Life, and the\nConveniencies of Societies; they would not have liv\u2019d infinite Ages,\nunprovided of them. If you say _Necessity_ is the Mother of Arts and\nInventions, and there was no Necessity before, and therefore these\nthings were so slowly invented; this is a good Answer upon our\nSupposition, that the World began but some Ages before these were found\nout, and was abundant with all Things at first; and Men not very\nnumerous, and therefore were not put so much to the use of their Wits,\nto find out Ways for living commodiously. But this is no Answer upon\ntheir Supposition; for if the World was eternal and Men too, there were\nno first Ages, no new and fresh Earth; Men were never less numerous, nor\nthe Earth more fruitful; and consequently there was never less Necessity\nat any time than is now. This also brings to Mind another Argument\nagainst this Opinion, (_viz._) from the gradual Increase of Mankind.\n\u2019Tis certain the World was not so populous one or two thousand Years\nsince, as it is now, seeing \u2019tis observ\u2019d in particular Nations, that\nwithin the Space of two or three hundred Years, notwithstanding all\nCasualties, the Number of Men doubles. If then the Earth had stood from\nEverlasting, it had been overstock\u2019d long ere this, and would not have\nbeen capable to contain its Inhabitants many Ages and Millions of Ages\nago. Whereas we find the Earth is not yet sufficiently inhabited, and\nthere is still Room for some Millions. And we must not fly to universal\nDeluges and Conflagrations to destroy Mankind; for besides that the\nEarth was not capable of a Deluge in this present Form, nor would have\nbeen in this Form after a Conflagration, _Aristotle_ doth not admit of\nthese universal Changes, nor any that hold the Form of the Earth to be\neternal. But to return to our Arts and Inventions.\n\nWE have spoken of practical Arts and Inventions useful in human Life;\nthen for Theoretical Learning and Sciences, there is nothing yet\nfinish\u2019d or compleat in these; and what is known hath been chiefly the\nProduction of latter Ages. How little hath been discover\u2019d till of late,\neither of our own Bodies, or of the Body of the Earth, and of the\nFunctions or Motions of Nature in either? What more obvious, one would\nthink, than the Circulation of the Blood? What can more excite our\nCuriosity than the flowing and ebbing of the Sea? Than the Nature of\nMetals and Minerals? These are either yet unknown, or were so at least\ntill this last Age; which seems to me, to have made a greater Progress\nthan all Ages before put together, since the beginning of the World. How\nunlikely is it then that these Ages were Eternal? That the Eternal\nStudies of our Fore-fathers could not effect so much as a few Years have\ndone of late? And the whole Mass of Knowledge in this Earth doth not\nseem to be so great, but that a few Ages more, with two or three happy\nGenius\u2019s in them, may bring to light all that we are capable to\nunderstand in this State of Mortality.\n\nTO these Arguments concerning the Novelty of the Earth, and the Origin\nof Mankind, I know there are some shuffling Excuses made, but they can\nhave little Effect upon those Instances we have chosen. And I would ask\nthose Eternalists one fair Question, What Mark is there that they could\nexpect or desire of the Novelty of a World, that is not found in this?\nOr what Mark is there of Eternity that is found in this? If then their\nOpinion be without any positive Argument, and against all Appearances in\nNature, it may be justly rejected as unreasonable upon all Accounts.\n\u2019Tis not the bold asserting of a Thing that makes it true, or that makes\nit credible against Evidence. If one should assert that such an one had\nliv\u2019d from all Eternity, and I could bring Witnesses that knew him a\nSucking-child, and others that remembred him a School-boy, I think it\nwould be a fair Proof, that the Man was not Eternal. So if there be\nEvidence, either in Reason or History, that it is not very many Ages\nsince Nature was in her Minority, as appears by all those Instances we\nhave given above; some whereof trace her down to her very Infancy: This,\nI think, may be taken for a good Proof that she is not Eternal. And I do\nnot doubt, but if the History of the World was writ Philosophically,\ngiving an Account of the several States of Mankind in several Ages, and\nby what Steps or Degrees they came from their first Rudeness or\nSimplicity to that Order of Things, both Intellectual and Civil, which\nthe World is advanc\u2019d to at present, That alone would be a full\nConviction, that the Earth and Mankind had a Beginning. As the Story of\n_Rome_, how it rose from a mean Original, by what degrees it increas\u2019d,\nand how it chang\u2019d its Form and Government till it came to its\nGreatness, doth satisfy us very well, that the _Roman_ Empire was not\nEternal.\n\nTHUS much concerning the Temporal Original of the Earth. We are now to\nconsider the manner of it, and to shew how it rose from a Chaos. I do\nnot remember that any of the Ancients that acknowledge the Earth to have\nhad an Original, did deny that Original to have been from a Chaos. We\nare assur\u2019d of both from the Authority of _Moses_, who saith, that in\nthe Beginning the Earth was _Tohu Bohu_, without Form and Void; a fluid,\ndark, confus\u2019d Mass, without Distinction of Elements; and made up of all\nVariety of Parts, but without Order, or any determinate Form; which is\nthe true Description of a Chaos: And so it is understood by the general\nConsent of Interpreters both Hebrew and Christian. We need not therefore\nspend any time here to prove, that the Origin of the Earth was from a\nChaos, seeing that it is agreed on by all that give it any Origin. But\nwe will proceed immediately to examine into what Form it first rose when\nit came out of that Chaos; or what was the prim\u00e6val Form of the Earth,\nthat continued till the Deluge, and how the Deluge depended upon it, and\nupon its Dissolution.\n\nAnd, that we may proceed in this Enquiry by such easy steps as any one\nmay readily follow, we will divide it into Three Propositions, whereof\nthe first is this in general; _that the Form of the Antediluvian Earth,\nor of the Earth that rose first from the Chaos, was different from the\nForm of the present Earth_. I say, _different in general_, without\nspecifying yet what its particular Form was, which shall be exprest in\nthe following Proposition.\n\nTHIS first Proposition we have in effect prov\u2019d in the second Chapter;\nwhere we have shewn, that if the Earth had been always in this Form, it\nwould not have been capable of a Deluge; seeing that could not have been\neffected without such an infinite Mass of Water as could neither be\nbrought upon the Earth, nor afterward any way removed from it. But we\nwill not content our selves with that Proof only, but will prove it also\nfrom the Nature of the Chaos, and the manifest Consequences of it. And\nbecause this is a leading Proposition, we think it not improper to prove\nit also from Divine Authority, there being a pregnant Passage to this\nPurpose in the Writings of St. _Peter_. Where treating of this very\nSubject, the Deluge, he manifestly puts a difference between the\nAntediluvian Earth and the present Earth, as to their Form and\nConstitution. The Discourse is in the second Epistle of St. _Peter_, the\nthird Chapter, where certain Deists, as they seem to have been, laught\nat the Prophecy of the Day of Judgment, and of the Conflagration of the\nWorld, using this Argument against it, _That since the Fathers fell\nasleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning_. All\nExternal Nature hath continued the same without any remarkable Change or\nAlteration, and why should we believe, say they, there will be any? What\nAppearance, or what Foundation is there of such a Revolution, that all\nNature will be dissolved, and the Heavens and the Earth consum\u2019d with\nFire, as your Prophecies pretend? So from the Permanency and\nImmutability of Nature hitherto, they argu\u2019d its Permanency and\nImmutability for the future. To this the _Apostle_ answers, that they\nare willing to forget, that the Heavens and the Earth of old had a\nparticular Form and Constitution as to Water, by reason whereof the\nWorld, that then was, perish\u2019d by a Deluge. And the Heavens and the\nEarth that are now, or since the Deluge, have a particular Constitution\nin reference to Fire, by reason whereof they are expos\u2019d to another sort\nof Destruction or Dissolution, namely by Fire, or by an universal\nConflagration. The Words of the Apostle, _Chap. iii. v. 5, 6, 7._ are\nthese; _For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the Word of God\nthe Heavens were of old, and the Earth, consisting of Water, and by\nWater_; or (as we render it) _standing out of the Water, and in the\nWater; wherein the World that then was, being overflow\u2019d with Water,\nperish\u2019d. But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, by the same Word\nare kept in store, reserv\u2019d unto Fire against the Day of Judgment_. We\nshall have occasion, it may be, hereafter to give a full Illustration of\nthese Words; but at present we shall only take notice of this in\ngeneral, that the Apostle here doth plainly intimate some difference\nthat was between the old World and the present World, in their Form and\nConstitution; or betwixt the Antediluvian and the present Earth, by\nreason of which difference, that was subject to perish by a Deluge, as\nthis is subject to perish by Conflagration. And as this is the general\nAir and Importance of this Discourse of the Apostle\u2019s, which every one\nat first sight would discover; so we may in several particular ways\nprove from it our first Proposition, which now we must return to;\n(_viz._) _That the Form and Constitution of the Antediluvian Earth was\ndifferent from that of the present Earth._ This may be inferr\u2019d from the\nApostle\u2019s Discourse, first, because he makes an opposition betwixt these\ntwo Earths, or these two natural Worlds; and that not only in respect of\ntheir Fate, the one perishing by Water, as the other will perish by\nFire, but also in respect of their different Disposition and\nConstitution leading to this different Fate; for otherwise his _fifth\nVerse_ is superfluous, and his Inference in the _sixth_ ungrounded; you\nsee he premiseth in the _fifth Verse_ as the Ground of his Discourse,\nwhat the Constitution of the antediluvian Heavens and Earth was, and\nthen infers from it in the _sixth Verse_, that they therefore perish\u2019d\nin a Deluge of Water. Now if they had been the same with ours, there had\nneither been any Ground for making an Opposition betwixt them, nor any\nGround of making a contrary Inference as to their Fate. Besides, in that\nhe implies that the Constitution of the antediluvian Earth was such, as\nmade it subject to a Deluge; he shews that it was different from the\nConstitution of the present Earth; for the Form of that is such, as\nmakes it rather incapable of a Deluge, as we have shewn in the second\nChapter. Then we are to observe further, that when he saith (_v. 6._)\nthat the first World perish\u2019d in a Deluge, or was destroy\u2019d by it; this\nis not to be understood of the animate World only, Men and living\nCreatures, but of the natural world, and the Frame of it; for he had\ndescrib\u2019d it before by the Heavens and the Earth, which make the natural\nWorld. And the Objection of the Atheists, or Deists rather, which he was\nto answer, proceeded upon the natural World. And lastly, this perishing\nof the world in a Deluge is set against, or compar\u2019d with the perishing\nof the World in the Conflagration, when the Frame of Nature will be\ndissolv\u2019d. We must therefore, according to the Tenor of the Apostle\u2019s\narguing, suppose, that the natural World was destroy\u2019d or perish\u2019d in\nthe Deluge; and seeing it did not perish as to Matter and Substance, it\nmust be as to the Form, Frame and Composition of it, that it perish\u2019d;\nand consequently, the present Earth is of another Form and Frame from\nwhat it had before the Deluge; which was the thing to be proved.\n\nLASTLY, Let us consider what it is the Apostle tells these Scoffers that\nthey were ignorant of: Not that there was a Deluge, they could not be\nignorant of that; nor doth he tell them that they were. But he tells\nthem that they were ignorant that the Heavens and the Earth of old were\nso and so constituted, after a different manner than they are now, and\nthat the State of Nature was chang\u2019d at the Deluge; if they had known or\nattended to this, they had made no such Objection, nor us\u2019d any such\nArgument as they did against the future Conflagration of the World. They\npretended that there had been no Change in Nature since the beginning,\nand the Apostle in answer tells them, that they are willingly ignorant\nof the first Constitution of the Heavens, and the Earth, and of that\nChange and Dissolution that happen\u2019d to them in the Deluge; and how the\npresent Heavens and Earth have another Constitution, whereby in like\nmanner they are expos\u2019d, in God\u2019s due time, to be consum\u2019d or dissolv\u2019d\nby Fire. This is the plain, easy and natural Import of the Apostle\u2019s\nDiscourse; thus all the Parts of it are coherent, and the Sense genuine\nand apposite, and this is a full Confirmation of our first and general\nAssertion, That _the antediluvian Earth was of another Form from the\npresent Earth_. This hath been observ\u2019d formerly by some of the Ancients\nfrom this Text, but that it hath not been generally observ\u2019d, was partly\nbecause they had no Theory to back such an Interpretation, and make it\nintelligible; and partly because they did not observe, that the\nApostle\u2019s Discourse here was an Argumentation, and not a bare\nAffirmation, or simple Contradiction to those that rais\u2019d the Scruple;\n\u2019tis an Answer upon a Ground taken, he premiseth, and then infers, in\nthe _fifth_ and _sixth_ Verses, concerning the Deluge; and in the\n_seventh_, concerning the Conflagration. And when I had discover\u2019d in my\nThoughts from the Consideration of the Deluge, and other natural\nReasons, that the Earth was certainly once in another Form, it was a\ngreat Assurance and Confirmation to me, when I reflected on this place\nof St. _Peter_\u2019s; which seems to be so much directed and intended for\nthe same purpose, or to teach us the same Conclusion, that though I\ndesign\u2019d chiefly a Philosophical Theory of these Things, yet I should\nnot have thought we had been just to Providence, if we had neglected to\ntake Notice of this Passage and Sacred Evidence; which seems to have\nbeen left us on purpose to excite our Enquiries, and strengthen our\nReasonings, concerning the first State of Things. Thus much from Divine\nAuthority: We proceed now to prove the same Proposition from Reason and\nPhilosophy, and the Contemplation of the Chaos, from whence the first\nEarth arose.\n\nWE need not upon this Occasion make a particular Description of the\nChaos, but only consider it as a fluid Mass, or a Mass of all sorts of\nlittle Parts and Particles of Matter mix\u2019d together, and floating in\nConfusion, one with another. \u2019Tis impossible that the Surface of this\nMass should be of such a Form and Figure, as the Surface of our present\nEarth is: Or that any Concretion or consistent State which this Mass\ncould flow into immediately, or first settle in, could be of such a Form\nand Figure as our present Earth. The first of these Assertions is of\neasy proof; for a fluid Body, we know, whether it be Water or any other\nLiquor, always casts it self into a smooth and spherical Surface; and if\nany Parts, by Chance, or by some Agitation, become higher than the rest,\nthey do not continue so, but glide down again every way into the lower\nPlaces, till they all come to make a Surface of the same height, and of\nthe same distance every where from the Center of their Gravity. A\nMountain of Water is a thing impossible in Nature, and where there are\nno Mountains there are no Valleys. So also a Den or Cave within the\nWater, that hath no Walls but the liquid Element, is a Structure unknown\nto Art or Nature; all things there must be full within, and even and\nlevel without, unless some external Force keep them by Violence in\nanother Posture. But is this the Form of our Earth, which is neither\nregularly made within nor without? The Surface and exterior Parts are\nbroken into all sorts of Inequalities, Hills and Dales, Mountains and\nValleys; and the plainer Tracts of it lie generally inclin\u2019d or bending\none way or other, sometimes upon an easy Descent, and other times with a\nmore sensible and uneasy Steepness; and though the great Mountains of\nthe Earth were taken all away, the remaining parts would be more unequal\nthan the roughest Sea; whereas the Face of the Earth should resemble the\nFace of the calmest Sea, if it was still in the Form of its first Mass.\nBut what shall we say then to the huge Mountains of the Earth, which lie\nsometimes in Lumps or Clusters heapt up by one another, sometimes\nextended in long Ridges or Chains, for many hundred Miles in length? And\n\u2019tis remarkable, that in every Continent, and in every ancient and\noriginal Island, there is either such a Cluster, or such a Chain of\nMountains. And can there be any more palpable Demonstrations than these\nare, that the Surface of the Earth is not in the same Form that the\nSurface of the Chaos was, or that any fluid Mass can stand or hold it\nself in?\n\nTHEN for the Form of the Earth within or under its Surface, \u2019tis no less\nimpossible for the Chaos to imitate that; for \u2019tis full of Cavities and\nempty Places, of Dens and broken Holes, whereof some are open to the\nAir, and others cover\u2019d and enclos\u2019d wholly within the Ground. These are\nboth of them unimitable in any liquid Substance, whose Parts will\nnecessarily flow together into one continued Mass, and cannot be divided\ninto Apartments and separate Rooms, nor have Vaults or Caverns made\nwithin it; the Walls would sink, and the Roof fall in: For liquid Bodies\nhave nothing to sustain their Parts, nor any thing to cement them; they\nare all loose and incoherent, and in a perpetual Flux: Even an heap of\nSand or fine Powder will suffer no Hollowness within them, though they\nbe dry Substances, and though the Parts of them being rough will hang\ntogether a little and stand a little upon an Heap; but the Parts of\nLiquors being glib, and continually in motion, they fall off from one\nanother, which way soever Gravity inclines them, and can neither have\nany Hills or Eminencies on their Surface, nor any Hollowness within\ntheir Substance.\n\nYOU will acknowledge, it may be, that this is true, and that a liquid\nMass or Chaos, while it was liquid, was incapable of either the outward\nor inward Form of the Earth; but when it came to a Concretion, to a\nState of Consistency and Firmness, then it might go, you\u2019ll say, into\nany Form. No, not in its first Concretion, nor in its first State of\nConsistence; for that would be of the same Form that the Surface of it\nwas when it was liquid, as Water when it congeals, the Surface of the\nIce is smooth and level, as the Surface of the Water was before; so\nMetals, or any other Substances melted, or Liquors that of themselves\ngrow stiff and harden, always settle into the same Form which they had\nwhen they were last liquid, and are always solid within, and smooth\nwithout, unless they be cast in a Mould, that hinders the Motion and\nFlux of the Parts. So that the first concrete State or consistent\nSurface of the Chaos must be of the same Form or Figure with the last\nliquid State it was in; for that is the Mould, as it were, upon which it\nis cast; as the Shell of an Egg is of a like Form with the Surface of\nthe Liquor it lies upon. And therefore by Analogy with all other Liquors\nand Concretions, the Form of the Chaos, whether liquid or concrete,\ncould not be the same with that of the present Earth, or like it: And\nconsequently, that Form of the first or primogenial Earth which rose\nimmediately out of the Chaos, was not the same, nor like to that of the\npresent Earth; which was the first and preparatory Proposition we laid\ndown to be prov\u2019d. And this being prov\u2019d by the Authority both of our\nReason and our Religion, we will now proceed to the second which is more\nparticular.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. V.\n\n\n _The Second Proposition is laid down, viz. That the Face of the\n Earth before the Deluge was smooth, regular, and uniform; without\n Mountains, and without a Sea. The Chaos out of which the World rose\n is fully examin\u2019d, and all its Motions observ\u2019d, and by what Steps\n it wrought it self into an habitable World. Some Things in Antiquity\n relating to the first State of the Earth are interpreted, and some\n Things in the Sacred Writings. The Divine Art and Geometry in the\n Construction of the first Earth is observ\u2019d and celebrated._\n\n\nWE have seen it prov\u2019d, in the foregoing Chapter, That the Form of the\nfirst or antediluvian Earth was not the same, nor like the Form of the\npresent Earth. This is our first Discovery at a distance, but \u2019tis only\ngeneral and negative, tells us what the Form of that Earth was not, but\ntells us not expresly what it was; that must be our next Enquiry, and\nadvancing one step farther in our Theory, we lay down this second\nProposition: _That the Face of the Earth before the Deluge was smooth,\nregular, and uniform; without Mountains, and without a Sea_. This is a\nbold Step, and carries us into another World, which we have never seen,\nnor ever yet heard any relation of; and a World, it seems, of very\ndifferent Scenes and Prospects from ours, or from any thing we have yet\nknown. An Earth without a Sea, and plain as the _Elysian_ Fields; if you\ntravel it all over, you will not meet with a Mountain or a Rock, yet\nwell provided of all requisite things for an habitable World; and the\nsame indeed with the Earth we still inhabit, only under another Form.\nAnd this is the great Thing that now comes into debate, the great\nParadox which we offer to be examined, and which we affirm, That the\nEarth, in its first Rise and Formation from a Chaos, was of the Form\nhere described, and so continued for many hundreds of Years.\n\nTO examine and prove this, we must return to the beginning of the World,\nand to that Chaos out of which the Earth and all sublunary things arose:\n\u2019Tis the Motions and Progress of this, which we must now consider, and\nwhat Form it settled into when it first became an habitable World.\n\nNEITHER is it perhaps such an intricate Thing as we imagine at first\nSight, to trace a Chaos into an habitable World; at least there is a\nparticular Pleasure to see things in their Origin, and by what Degrees\nand successive Changes they rise into that Order and State we see them\nin afterwards, when compleated. I am sure, if ever we would view the\nPaths of Divine Wisdom, in the Works and in the Conduct of Nature, we\nmust not only consider how Things are, but how they came to be so. \u2019Tis\npleasant to look upon a Tree in the Summer, cover\u2019d with its green\nLeaves, deckt with Blossoms, or laden with Fruit, and casting a pleasing\nShade under its spreading Boughs; but to consider how this Tree with all\nits Furniture sprang from a little Seed; how Nature shap\u2019d it, and fed\nit, in its Infancy and Growth; added new Parts, and still advanc\u2019d it by\nlittle and little, \u2019till it came to this Greatness and Perfection: This,\nmethinks, is another sort of Pleasure, more rational, less common, and\nwhich is properly the Contemplation of Divine Wisdom in the Works of\nNature. So to view this Earth, and this sublunary World, as it is now\ncomplete, distinguish\u2019d into the several Orders of Bodies of which it\nconsists, every one perfect and admirable in its kind; this is truly\ndelightful, and a very good Entertainment of the Mind: But to see all\nthese in their first Seeds, as I may so say; to take in Pieces this\nFrame of Nature, and melt it down into its first Principles; and then to\nobserve how the Divine Wisdom wrought all these Things out of Confusion\ninto Order, and out of Simplicity into that beautiful Composition we now\nsee them in; this, methinks, is another kind of Joy, which pierceth the\nMind more deep, and is more satisfactory. And to give our selves and\nothers this Satisfaction, we will first make a short Representation of\nthe Chaos, and then shew, how, according to Laws establish\u2019d in Nature\nby the Divine Power and Wisdom, it was wrought by degrees from one Form\ninto another, \u2019till it settled at length into an habitable Earth; and\nthat of such a Frame and Structure, as we have described in this second\nProposition.\n\nBY the Chaos I understand the Matter of the Earth and Heavens, without\nForm or Order; reduc\u2019d into a fluid Mass, wherein are the Materials and\nIngredients of all Bodies, but mingled in Confusion one with another. As\nif you should suppose all sorts of Metals, Gold, Silver, Lead, _&c._\nmelted down together in a common Mass, and so mingled, that the Parts of\nno one Metal could be discern\u2019d as distinct from the rest, this would be\na little Metallick Chaos: Suppose then, the Elements thus mingled, Air,\nWater and Earth, which are the Principles of all Terrestrial Bodies;\nmingled, I say, without any Order of higher or lower, heavier or\nlighter, solid or volatile, in such a kind of confus\u2019d Mass as is here\nrepresented in the first Scheme.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 1. A confused spherical Mass of matter.]\n\nLET this then represent to us the Chaos; in which the first Change that\nwe should imagine to happen would be this, that the heaviest and\ngrossest Parts would sink down towards the middle of it, (for there we\nsuppose the Center of its Gravity) and the rest would float above. These\ngrosser Parts thus sunk down and compress\u2019d more and more, would harden\nby degrees, and constitute the interiour Parts of the Earth: The rest of\nthe Mass, which swims above, would be also divided by the same Principle\nof Gravity into two Orders of Bodies, the one liquid like Water, the\nother volatile like Air. For the more fine and active Parts\ndisentangling themselves by degrees from the rest would mount above\nthem; and having Motion enough to keep them upon the Wing, would play in\nthose open Places where they constitute that Body we call AIR. The other\nParts being grosser than these, and having a more languid Motion, could\nnot fly up separate from one another, as these did, but settled in a\nMass together, under the Air, upon the Body of the Earth, composing not\nonly Water strictly so called, but the whole Mass of Liquors, or liquid\nBodies, belonging to the Earth. And these first Separations being thus\nmade, the Body of the Chaos would stand in that Form which it is here\nrepresented in by the second Scheme.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 2. Concentric spheres of Matter, the\nheaviest nearest the center.]\n\nTHE liquid Mass which encircled the Earth was not, as I noted before,\nthe mere Element of Water, but a Collection of all Liquors that belong\nto the Earth: I mean of all that do originally belong to it. Now seeing\nthere are two chief kinds of Terrestrial Liquors, those that are fat,\noily and light; and those that are lean and more earthy, like common\nWater; which two are generally found in compound Liquors; we cannot\ndoubt but there were of both sorts in this common Mass of Liquids. And\nit being well known, that these two kinds mix\u2019d together, if left to\nthemselves and the general Action of Nature, separate one from another\nwhen they come to settle, as in Cream and thin Milk, Oil and Water, and\nsuch like; we cannot but conclude, that the same Effect would follow\nhere, and the more oily and light Part of this Mass would get above the\nother, and swim upon it. The whole Mass being divided into two lesser\nMasses, and so the Globe would stand as we see it in the third Figure.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 3. The concentric spheres with heavy matter\ninner-most, with heavier and the lighter liquids in spheres above.]\n\nHITHERTO the Changes of the Chaos are easy and unquestionable, and would\nbe dispatcht in a short time; we must now look over again these two\ngreat Masses of the _Air_ and _Water_, and consider how their Impurities\nor grosser Parts would be dispos\u2019d of; for we cannot imagine but they\nwere both at first very muddy and impure: And as the Water would have\nits Sediment, which we are not here concern\u2019d to look after, so the\ngreat Regions of the Air would certainly have their Sediment too; for\nthe Air was as yet thick, gross and dark, there being an abundance of\nlittle Terrestrial Particles swimming in it still, after the grossest\nwere sunk down; which, by their Heaviness and lumpish Figure, made their\nway more easily and speedily. The lesser and lighter which remain\u2019d\nwould sink too, but more slowly, and in a longer time; so as in their\nDescent they would meet with that oily Liquor upon the Face of the Deep,\nor upon the watery Mass, which would entangle and stop them from passing\nany further; whereupon mixing there with that unctuous Substance, they\ncompos\u2019d a certain Slime, or fat, soft, and light Earth, spread upon the\nFace of the Waters; as \u2019tis represented in the fourth Figure.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 4. The liquid layers have rearranged by\nheaviness and oilyness.]\n\nTHIS thin and tender Orb of Earth increas\u2019d still more and more, as the\nlittle earthy Parts that were detain\u2019d in the Air could make their way\nto it. Some having a long Journey from the upper Regions, and others\nbeing very light would float up and down a good while, before they could\nwholly disengage themselves and descend. But this was the general\nRendezvous, which sooner or later they all got to, and mingling more and\nmore with that oily Liquor, they suckt it all up at length, and were\nwholly incorporate together, and so began to grow more stiff and firm,\nmaking both but one Substance, which was the first Concretion, or firm\nand consistent Substance that rose upon the Face of the Chaos. And the\nwhole Globe stood in this Posture, as in Figure the fifth.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 5. The tiny Earthy parts from above have\nsettled down out of the Air, the rings marked 1, 2, and 3 from outside\nto in.]\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 6. Another view of the Rings.]\n\nIT may be, you will say, we take our Liberty, and our own time for the\nSeparation of these two Liquors, the oily and the earthy, the lighter\nand the heavier; and suppose that done before the Air was clear\u2019d of\nearthy Particles, that so they might be catcht and stopt there in their\nDescent. Whereas if all these Particles were fallen out of the Air\nbefore that Separation was made in the liquid Mass, they would fall down\nthrough the Water, as the first did, and so no Concretion would be made,\nnor any earthy Crust form\u2019d upon the Face of the Waters, as we here\nsuppose there was. \u2019Tis true, there could be no such Orb of Earth form\u2019d\nthere, if the Air was wholly purg\u2019d of all its earthy Parts before the\nMass of Liquids began to purify it self, and to separate the oily Parts\nfrom the more heavy: But this is an unreasonable and incredible\nSupposition, if we consider, the Mass of the Air was many thousand Times\ngreater than the Water, and would in Proportion require a greater Time\nto be purify\u2019d; the Particles that were in the Regions of the Air having\na long way to come before they reach\u2019d the watery Mass, and far longer\nthan the oily Particles had to rise from any Part of that Mass to the\nSurface of it. Besides, we may suppose a great many degrees of\nLittleness and Lightness in these earthy Particles, so as many of them\nmight float in the Air a good while, like Exhalations before they fell\ndown. And lastly, We do not suppose the Separation of these two Liquors\nwholly made and finish\u2019d before the Purgation of the Air began, tho\u2019 we\nrepresent them so for Distinction sake: Let them begin to purify at the\nsame time, if you please, these Parts rising upwards, and those falling\ndownwards, they will meet in the middle, and unite and grow into one\nBody, as we have describ\u2019d. And this Body or new Concretion would be\nincreas\u2019d daily, being fed and supply\u2019d both from above and below; and\nhaving done growing, it would become more dry by degrees, and of a\nTemper of greater Consistency and Firmness, so as truly to resemble and\nbe fit to make an habitable Earth, such as Nature intended it for.\n\nBUT you will further object, it may be, that such an Effect as this\nwould indeed be necessary in some Degree and Proportion, but not in such\na Proportion, and in such Quantity, as would be sufficient to make this\nCrust or concrete Orb an habitable Earth. This I confess appear\u2019d to me\nat first a real Difficulty, till I consider\u2019d better the great\ndisproportion there is betwixt the Regions of the Air and the\nCircumference of the Earth, or of that exterior Orb of the Earth, we are\nnow a making; which being many thousand times less in Depth and Extent\nthan the Regions of the Air, taken as high as the Moon, tho\u2019 these\nearthy Particles we speak of were very thinly dispers\u2019d thro\u2019 those vast\nTracks of the Air, when they came to be collected and amass\u2019d together\nupon the Surface of a far lesser Sphere, they would constitute a Body of\na very considerable Thickness and Solidity. We see the Earth sometimes\ncover\u2019d with Snow two or three Feet deep, made up only of little Flakes\nor Pieces of Ice, which falling from the middle Region of the Air, and\nmeeting with the Earth in their Descent, are there stop\u2019d and heap\u2019d up\none upon another. But if we should suppose little Particles of Earth to\nshower down, not only from the middle Region, but from the whole\nCapacity and Extent of those vast Spaces that are betwixt us and the\nMoon, we could not imagine but these would constitute an Orb of Earth\nsome thousands of times deeper than the greatest Snow; which being\nincreas\u2019d and swoln by that oily Liquor it fell into, and incorporated\nwith, it would be thick, strong, and great enough in all respects to\nrender it an habitable Earth.\n\nWE cannot doubt therefore but such a Body as this would be form\u2019d, and\nwould be sufficient in Quantity for an habitable Earth. Then for the\nQuality of it, it will answer all the Purposes of a _Rising World_. What\ncan be a more proper Seminary for Plants and Animals, than a Soil of\nthis Temper and Composition? A finer and lighter sort of Earth, mix\u2019d\nwith a benign Juice, easy and obedient to the Action of the Sun, or of\nwhat other Causes were employ\u2019d by the Author of Nature, for the\nProduction of Things in the new made Earth. What sort or disposition of\nmatter could be more fit and ready to catch Life from Heaven, and to be\ndrawn into all Forms than the Rudiments of Life, or the Bodies of living\nCreatures would require? What Soil more proper for Vegetation than this\nwarm Moisture, which could have no Fault, unless it was too fertile and\nluxuriant? And that is no Fault neither at the beginning of a World.\nThis I am sure of, that the Learned amongst the Ancients, both _Greeks_,\n_\u00c6gyptians_, _Ph\u0153nicians_, and others, have described the primogenial\nSoil, \u1f38\u03bb\u1f7a\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u1f74\u03c2, or the Temper of the Earth, that was the first\nSubject for the Generation and Origin of Plants and Animals, after such\na manner, as is truly express\u2019d, and I think with Advantage, by this\nDraught of the primogenial Earth.\n\nTHUS much concerning the Matter of the first Earth. Let us reflect a\nlittle upon the Form of it also, whether external or internal; both\nwhereof do manifestly shew themselves from the manner of its Production\nor Formation. As to the external Form, you see it is according to the\nProposition we were to prove, _smooth, regular and uniform, without\nMountains; and without a Sea_. And the Proof we have given of it is very\neasy: The Globe of the Earth could not possibly rise immediately from a\nChaos into the irregular Form in which it is at present. The Chaos being\na fluid Mass, which we know doth necessarily fall into a Spherical\nSurface, whose Parts are equi-distant from the Center, and consequently\nin an equal and even Convexity one with another. And seeing upon the\nDistinction of a Chaos and Separation into several Elementary Masses,\nthe Water would naturally have a superiour Place to the Earth, \u2019tis\nmanifest, that there could be no habitable Earth form\u2019d out of the\nChaos, unless by some Concretion upon the Face of the Water. Then\nlastly, seeing this concrete Orb of Earth upon the Face of the Water\nwould be of the same Form with the Surface of the Water it was spread\nupon, there being no Causes, that we know of, to make any Inequality in\nit, we must conclude it equal and uniform, and without Mountains, as\nalso without a Sea; for the Sea and all the Mass of Waters was enclos\u2019d\nwithin this exterior Earth which had no other Basis or Foundation to\nrest upon.\n\nTHE Contemplation of these things, and of this Posture of the Earth upon\nthe Waters, doth so strongly bring to Mind certain Passages of\nScripture, (which will recur in another Place) that we cannot, without\nInjury to Truth, pass them by here in silence. Passages that have such a\nmanifest Resemblance and Agreement to this Form and Situation of the\nEarth, that they seem visibly to point at it: Such are those Expressions\nof the Psalmist, _God hath founded the Earth upon the Seas_. And in\nanother Psalm, speaking of the Wisdom and Power of God in the Creation,\nhe saith, _To him who alone doth great wonders; to him that by Wisdom\nmade the Heavens; to him that extended or stretched out the Earth above\nthe Waters_. What can be more plain or proper to denote that Form of the\nEarth that we have describ\u2019d, and to express particularly the Inclosure\nof the Waters within the Earth, as we have represented them? He saith in\nanother Place, _By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made; he shut\nup the Waters of the Sea as in Bags_, (for so the Word is to be\nrender\u2019d, and is render\u2019d by all, except the _English_) _and laid up the\nAbyss as in Store-houses._ This, you see, is very conformable to that\nSystem of the Earth and Sea, which we have propos\u2019d here. Yet there is\nsomething more express than all this, in that remarkable place in the\n_Proverbs_ of _Solomon_, where _Wisdom_ declaring her Antiquity and\nExistence before the Foundation of the Earth, amongst other things\nsaith, _Prov. viii. 27._ _When he prepared the Heavens, I was there:\nWhen he drew an Orb over the Surface of the Abyss_; or when he set an\nOrb upon the Face of the Abyss. We render it in the _English_, a\n_Compass_, or _Circle_, but \u2019tis more truly render\u2019d an Orb or Sphere;\nand what Orb or Spherical Body was this, which at the Formation of the\nEarth was built and plac\u2019d round about the Abyss, but that wonderful\nArch, whose Form and Production we have describ\u2019d, encompassing the Mass\nof Waters, which in Scripture is often call\u2019d the Abyss or Deep? [_See\nFig. 5. p. 78._ This Orb is represented by the Circle 1. and the Abyss\nby the Region 2.] Lastly, This Scheme of the first Earth gives Light to\nthat Place we mention\u2019d before of St. _Peter_\u2019s, where the first Earth\nis said to _consist of Water, and by Water_; and by reason thereof was\nobnoxious to a Deluge. The first Part of this Character is plain from\nthe Description now given; and the second will appear in the following\nChapter. In the mean time, concerning these Passages of Scripture, which\nwe have cited, we may truly and modestly say, that though they would\nnot, it may be, without a Theory premis\u2019d, have been taken or\ninterpreted in this Sense; yet this Theory being premis\u2019d, I dare appeal\nto any unprejudic\u2019d Person, if they have not a fairer and easier, a more\nfull and more emphatical Sense, when apply\u2019d to that Form of the Earth\nand Sea we are now speaking of, than to their present Form, or to any\nother we can imagine.\n\nTHUS much concerning the external Form of the first Earth. Let us now\nreflect a little upon the internal Form of it, which consists of several\nRegions, involving one another like Orbs about the same Center, or of\nthe several Elements cast circularly about each other; as it appears in\nthe fourth and fifth Figure. And as we have noted the external Form of\nthis prim\u00e6val Earth, to have been mark\u2019d and celebrated in the Sacred\nWritings; so likewise in the Philosophy and Learning of the Ancients,\nthere are several Remains and Indications of this internal Form and\nComposition of it. For \u2019tis observable, that the Ancients in treating of\nthe Chaos, and in raising the World out of it, rang\u2019d it into several\nRegions or Masses, as we have done; and in that Order successively,\nrising one from another, as if it was a Pedigree or Genealogy. And those\nParts and Regions of Nature, into which the Chaos was by degrees\ndivided, they signified commonly by dark and obscure Names; as the\n_Night_, _Tartarus_, _Oceanus_, and such like, which we have express\u2019d\nin their plain and proper Terms. And whereas the Chaos, when it was\nfirst set on Work, ran all into Divisions and Separations of one Element\nfrom another, which afterwards were all in some Measure united and\nassociated in this primogenial Earth; the Ancients accordingly made\n_Contention_ the Principle that reign\u2019d in the Chaos at first, and then\n_Love:_ The one to express the Divisions, and the other the Union of all\nParties in this middle and common Bond. These, and such like Notions,\nwhich we find in the Writings of the Ancients figuratively and darkly\ndelivered, receive a clearer Light, when compar\u2019d with this Theory of\nthe Chaos; which representing every thing plainly, and in its natural\nColours, is a Key to their Thoughts, and an Illustration of their\nobscurer Philosophy, concerning the original of the world; as we have\nshewn at large in the _Latin_ Treatise, _Lib. 2. chap. 7._\n\nTHERE is another Thing in Antiquity, relating to the Form and\nConstruction of the Earth, which is very remarkable, and hath obtain\u2019d\nthroughout all learned Nations and Ages. And that is the Comparison or\nResemblance of the Earth to an _Egg_. And this is not so much for its\nexternal Figure, tho\u2019 that be true too, as for the inward Composition of\nit; consisting of several Orbs, one including another, and in that\nOrder, as to answer the several Elementary Regions of which the new made\nEarth was constituted. For if we admit for the _Yolk_ a Central Fire\n(which tho\u2019 very reasonable, we had no occasion to take Notice of in our\nTheory of the Chaos) and suppose the Figure of the Earth _Oval_, and a\nlittle extended towards the Poles, (as probably it was, seeing the\nVortex that contains it is so) those two Bodies do very naturally\nrepresent one another, as in this Scheme, which represents the interior\nFaces of both, a divided _Egg_, or Earth. Where, as the two inmost\nRegions (A, B,) represent the Yolk and the Membrane that lies next above\nit; so the exterior Region of the Earth (D) is as the Shell of the Egg,\nand the Abyss (C) under it as the White that lies under the Shell. And\nconsidering that this Notion of the _Mundane Egg_, or that the World was\n_Oviform_, hath been the Sense and Language of all Antiquity, _Latins_,\n_Greeks_, _Persians_, _\u00c6gyptians_, and others, as we have shew\u2019d\nelsewhere, [_Tell. Theor. Sac. lib. 2. c. 10._] I thought it worthy our\nNotice in this Place; seeing it receives such a clear and easy\nExplication from that Origin and Fabrick we have given to the first\nEarth, and also reflects Light upon the Theory it self, and confirms it\nto be no Fiction: This Notion, which is a kind of Epitome, or Image of\nit, having been conserv\u2019d in the most Ancient Learning.\n\nTHUS much concerning the first Earth, its Production and Form; and\nconcerning our second Proposition relating to it; which being prov\u2019d by\nReason, the Laws of Nature, and the Motions of the Chaos; then attested\nby Antiquity, both as to the Matter and Form of it; and confirm\u2019d by\nSacred Writers, we may take it now for a well establish\u2019d Truth, and\nproceed upon this Supposition, _That the antediluvian Earth was smooth\nand uniform, without Mountains or Sea_, to the Explication of the\nUniversal Deluge.\n\nGIVE me leave only, before we proceed any further, to annex here a short\nAdvertisement, concerning the Causes of this wonderful Structure of the\nfirst Earth. \u2019Tis true, we have propos\u2019d the natural Causes of it, and I\ndo not know wherein our Explication is false or defective; but in Things\nof this kind we may easily be too credulous. And this Structure is so\nmarvellous, that it ought rather to be consider\u2019d as a particular Effect\nof the Divine Art, than as the Work of Nature. The whole Globe of the\nWater vaulted over, and the exterior Earth hanging above the Deep,\nsustain\u2019d by nothing but its own Measures and Manner of Construction: A\nBuilding without Foundation or Corner-stone. This seems to be a Piece of\nDivine Geometry or Architecture; and to this, I think, is to be referr\u2019d\nthat magnificent Challenge which God Almighty made to _Job_, _Job\nxxxviii. 4, 5, 6, 7,_ &c. _Where wast thou when I laid the Foundations\nof the Earth? Declare if thou hast Understanding. Who hath laid the\nMeasures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the Line upon\nit? Whereupon are the Foundations thereof fastned? Or who laid the\nCorner-stone thereof? When the Morning Stars sang together, and all the\nSons of God shouted for Joy._ _Moses_ also, when he had describ\u2019d the\nChaos, saith, _The Spirit of God mov\u2019d upon_, or sat brooding upon, _the\nFace of the Waters_; without all doubt to produce some Effects there.\nAnd St. _Peter_, when he speaks of the Form of the antediluvian Earth,\nhow it stood in reference to the Waters, adds, _By the Word of God_, \u03a4\u1ff7\n\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u1ff3 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6, or by the Wisdom of God it was made so. And this same\n_Wisdom_ of God, in the _Proverbs_, as we observed before, takes Notice\nof this very piece of Work in the Formation of the Earth. _When he set\nan Orb over the Face of the Deep, I was there_. And lastly, the ancient\nPhilosophers, or at least the best of them, to give them their due,\nalways brought in _Mens_ or _Amor_, \u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 & \u1f1c\u03c1\u03c9\u03c2, as a Supernatural\nPrinciple to unite and consociate the parts of the Chaos; which was\nfirst done in the Composition of this wonderful Arch of the Earth.\n_Wherefore_ to the great Architect, who made the boundless Universe out\nof nothing, and form\u2019d the Earth out of a Chaos, let the Praise of the\nwhole Work, and particularly of this Masterpiece, for ever with all\nHonour be given.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VI.\n\n\n _The Dissolution of the first Earth: The Deluge ensuing thereupon.\n And the Form of the present Earth rising from the Ruins of the\n first._\n\n\nWE have now brought to light the antediluvian Earth out of the dark Mass\nof the Chaos; and not only described the Surface of it, [_See Fig. 5, &\n6. pag. 78, & 87._] but laid open the inward parts, to shew in what\nOrder its Regions lay. Let us now close it up, and represent the Earth\nentire, and in larger Propositions, more like an habitable World; as in\nthis Figure, where you see the smooth Convex of the Earth, and may\nimagine the great Abyss spread under it; _as at the Aperture_, which two\nare to be the only Subject of our further Contemplation.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 7. The smooth Sphere of the Earth, with an\nAperture into it.]\n\nIN this smooth Earth were the first Scenes of the World, and the first\nGenerations of Mankind; it had the Beauty of Youth and blooming Nature,\nfresh and fruitful, and not a Wrinkle, Scar or Fracture in all its Body;\nno Rocks nor Mountains, no hollow Caves, nor gaping Channels, but even\nand uniform all over. And the Smoothness of the Earth made the Face of\nthe Heavens so too; the Air was calm and serene; none of those\ntumultuary Motions and Conflicts of Vapours, which the Mountains and the\nWinds cause in ours: \u2019Twas suited to a golden Age, and to the first\nInnocency of Nature.\n\nALL this you\u2019ll say is well, we are got into a pleasant World indeed,\nbut what\u2019s this to the Purpose? What Appearance of a Deluge here, where\nthere is not so much as a Sea, nor half so much Water as we have in this\nEarth? Or what Appearance of Mountains or Caverns, or other\nIrregularities of the Earth, where all is level and united: So that\ninstead of loosing the Knot, this ties it the harder. You pretend to\nshew us how the Deluge was made, and you lock up all the Waters within\nthe Womb of the Earth, and set Bars and Doors, and a Wall of\nimpenetrable Strength and Thickness to keep them there. And you pretend\nto shew us the Original of Rocks and Mountains, and Caverns of the\nEarth, and bring us to a wide and endless Plain, smooth as the calm Sea.\n\nTHIS is all true, and yet we are not so far from the Sight and Discovery\nof those Things as you imagine; draw but the Curtain, and these Scenes\nwill appear, or something very like \u2019em. We must remember that St.\n_Peter_ told us, that the antediluvian Earth perished, or was\ndemolished; and _Moses_ saith, the _great Abyss_ was broken open at the\nDeluge. Let us then suppose, that at a Time appointed by Divine\nProvidence, and from Causes made ready to do that great Execution upon a\nsinful World, that this _Abyss_ was open\u2019d, or that the Frame of the\nEarth broke and fell down into the _great Abyss_. At this one stroke all\nNature would be chang\u2019d, and this single Action would have two great and\nvisible Effects: The one Transient, and the other Permanent. First, an\nUniversal Deluge would overflow all the Parts and Regions of the broken\nEarth during the great Commotion and Agitation of the Abyss, by the\nviolent Fall of the Earth into it. This would be the first and\nunquestionable Effect of this Dissolution, and all that World would be\ndestroy\u2019d. Then when the Agitation of the Abyss was asswag\u2019d, and the\nWaters by degrees were retir\u2019d into their Channels, and the dry Land\nappear\u2019d, you would see the true Image of the present Earth in the Ruins\nof the first. The Surface of the Globe would be divided into Land and\nSea; the Land would consist of Plains and Valleys and Mountains,\naccording as the Pieces of this Ruin were plac\u2019d and dispos\u2019d: Upon the\nBanks of the Sea would stand the Rocks, and near the Shore would be\nIslands, or lesser Fragments of Earth compass\u2019d round by Water. Then as\nto subterraneous Waters, and all subterraneous Caverns and Hollownesses,\nupon this Supposition those things cou\u2019d not be otherwise; for the Parts\nwould fall hollow in many Places in this, as in all other Ruins: And\nseeing the Earth fell into this Abyss, the Waters at a certain Height\nwould flow into all those hollow Places and Cavities; and wou\u2019d also\nsink and insinuate into many Parts of the solid Earth. And though these\nsubterraneous Vaults or Holes, whether dry or full of Water, would be\nmore or less in all Places, where the Parts fell hollow; yet they would\nbe found especially about the Roots of the Mountains, and the higher\nParts of the Earth; for there the Sides bearing up one against the\nother, they could not lie so close at the Bottoms, but many Vacuities\nwould be intercepted. Nor are there any other Inequalities or\nIrregularities observable in the present Form of the Earth; whether in\nthe Surface of it, or interior Construction, whereof this _Hypothesis_\ndoth give a ready, fair, and intelligible Account; and doth at one view\nrepresent them all to us, with their Causes, as in a Glass: And whether\nthat Glass be true, and the Image answer to the Original, if you doubt\nof it, we will hereafter examine them Piece by Piece. But in the first\nPlace, we must consider the general Deluge, how easily and truly this\nSupposition represents and explains it, and answers all the Properties\nand Conditions of it.\n\nI THINK it will be easily allow\u2019d, that such a Dissolution of the Earth\nas we have propos\u2019d, and Fall of it into the Abyss, would certainly make\nan Universal Deluge; and effectually destroy the old World, which\nperish\u2019d in it. But we have not yet particularly prov\u2019d this\nDissolution, and in what manner the Deluge follow\u2019d upon it: And to\nassert things in gross never makes that firm Impression upon our\nUnderstandings, and upon our Belief, as to see them deduc\u2019d with their\nCauses and Circumstances; and therefore we must endeavour to shew what\nPreparations there were in Nature for this great Dissolution, and after\nwhat manner it came to pass, and the Deluge in Consequence of it.\n\nWE have noted before, that _Moses_ imputed the Deluge to the Disruption\nof the Abyss; and St. _Peter_, to the particular Constitution of that\nEarth, which made it obnoxious to be absorpt in Water, so that our\nExplication so far is justified. But it was below the Dignity of those\nSacred Pen-Men, or the Spirit of God that directed them, to shew us the\nCauses of this Disruption, or of this Absorption; this is left to the\nEnquiries of Men. For it was never the Design of Providence, to give\nsuch particular Explications of natural Things, as should make us idle,\nor the Use of Reason unnecessary; but on the contrary, by delivering\ngreat Conclusions to us to excite our Curiosity and Inquisitiveness\nafter the Methods, by which such things were brought to pass: And it may\nbe there is no greater Trial or Instance of natural Wisdom, than to find\nout the Channel, in which these great Revolutions of Nature, which we\ntreat on, flow and succeed one another.\n\nLET us therefore resume that System of the antediluvian Earth, which we\nhave deduc\u2019d from the Chaos, and which we find to answer St. _Peter_\u2019s\nDescription, and _Moses_\u2019s Account of the Deluge. This Earth could not\nbe obnoxious to a Deluge, as the Apostle supposeth it to have been, but\nby a Dissolution; for the Abyss was enclos\u2019d within its Bowels. And\n_Moses_ doth in effect tell us, there was such a Dissolution; when he\nsaith, _The Fountains of the great Abyss were broken open_. For\nFountains are broken open no otherwise than by breaking up the Ground\nthat covers them. We must therefore here enquire in what Order, and from\nwhat Causes the Frame of this exterior Earth was dissolved, and then we\nshall soon see how, upon that Dissolution, the Deluge immediately\nprevail\u2019d and overflow\u2019d all the Parts of it.\n\nI DO not think it in the power of human Wit to determine how long this\nFrame would stand, how many Years, or how many Ages; but one would soon\nimagine, that this kind of Structure would not be perpetual, nor last\nindeed many thousands of Years, if one consider the Effect that the Heat\nof the Sun would have upon it, and the Waters under it; drying and\nparching the one, and rarefying the other into Vapours. For we must\nconsider, that the Course of the Sun at that time, or the Posture of the\nEarth to the Sun, was such, that there was no Diversity or Alternation\nof Seasons in the Year, as there is now; by reason of which Alternation,\nour Earth is kept in an Equality of Temper, the contrary Seasons\nbalancing one another; so as what Moisture the Heat of the Summer sucks\nout of the Earth, \u2019tis repaid in the Rains of the next Winter; and what\nChaps were made in it, are fill\u2019d up again, and the Earth reduc\u2019d to its\nformer Constitution. But if we should imagine a continual Summer, the\nEarth would proceed in Driness still more and more, and the Cracks would\nbe wider, and pierce deeper into the Substance of it: And such a\ncontinual Summer there was, at least an Equality of Seasons in the\nantediluvian Earth, as shall be prov\u2019d in the following Book, concerning\n_Paradise_. In the mean time, this being suppos\u2019d, let us consider what\nEffect it would have upon this Arch of the exterior Earth, and the\nWaters under it.\n\nWE cannot believe, but that the Heat of the Sun, within the Space of\nsome hundreds of Years, would have reduc\u2019d this Earth to a considerable\ndegree of Driness in certain Parts; and also have much rarefied and\nexhal\u2019d the Waters beneath it: And considering the Structure of that\nGlobe, the exterior Crust, and the Waters lying round under it, both\nexpos\u2019d to the Sun, we may fitly compare it to an _\u00c6olipile_, or an\nhollow Sphere with Water in it, which the Heat of the Fire rarefies and\nturns into Vapours and Wind. The Sun here is as the Fire, and the\nexterior Earth is as the Shell of the _\u00c6olipile_, and the Abyss as the\nwater within it; now when the Heat of the Sun had pierced thro\u2019 the\nShell and reach\u2019d the Waters, it began to rarefy them, and raise them\ninto Vapours, which Rarefaction made them require more Space and Room\nthan they needed before, while they lay close and quiet. And finding\nthemselves pent in by the exterior Earth, they press\u2019d with Violence\nagainst that Arch, to make it yield and give way to their Dilatation and\nEruption. So we see all Vapours and Exhalations inclos\u2019d within the\nEarth, and agitated there, strive to break out, and often shake the\nGround with their Attempts to get loose. And in the Comparison we us\u2019d\nof an _\u00c6olipile_, if the Mouth of it be stop\u2019d that gives the Vent, the\nWater rarefied will burst the Vessel with its Force: And the Resemblance\nof the Earth to an Egg, which we us\u2019d before, holds also in this\nRespect; for when it heats before the Fire, the Moisture and Air within\nbeing rarefied, makes it often burst the Shell. And I do the more\nwillingly mention this last Comparison, because I observe that some of\nthe Ancients, when they speak of the Doctrine of the _Mundane Egg_, say,\nthat after a certain Period of Time it was broken.\n\nBUT there is yet another Thing to be considered in this Case; for as the\nHeat of the Sun gave Force to these Vapours more and more, and made them\nmore strong and violent; so on the other Hand, it also weaken\u2019d more and\nmore the Arch of the Earth, that was to resist them; sucking out the\nMoisture that was the Cement of its parts, drying it immoderately, and\nchapping it in sundry Places. And there being no Winter then to close up\nand unite its Parts, and restore the Earth to its former Strength and\nCompactness, yet grew more and more dispos\u2019d to a Dissolution. And at\nlength, these Preparations in Nature being made on either side, the\nForce of the Vapours increas\u2019d, and the Walls weaken\u2019d which should have\nkept them in, when the appointed time was come, that All-wise Providence\nhad design\u2019d for the Punishment of a sinful World, the whole Fabrick\nbrake, and the Frame of the Earth was torn in Pieces, as by an\nEarthquake; and those great Portions or Fragments, into which it was\ndivided, fell down into the Abyss, some in one Posture, and some in\nanother.\n\nTHIS is a short and general Account how we may conceive the Dissolution\nof the first Earth, and an Universal Deluge arising upon it. And this\nmanner of Dissolution hath so many Examples in Nature every Age, that we\nneed not insist farther upon the Explication of it. The generality of\nEarthquakes arise from like Causes, and often end in a like Effect, a\npartial Deluge or Inundation of the Place or Country where they happen;\nand of these we have seen some Instances even in our own Times: But\nwhensoever it so happens that the Vapours and Exhalations shut up in the\nCaverns of the Earth by Rarefaction or Compression come to be straitned,\nthey strive every way to set themselves at Liberty, and often break\ntheir Prison, or the Cover of the Earth that kept them in; which Earth\nupon that Disruption falls into the subterraneous Caverns that lie under\nit: And if it so happens that those Caverns are full of Water, as\ngenerally they are, if they be great or deep, that City or Tract of Land\nis drown\u2019d. And also the Fall of such a Mass of Earth, with its Weight\nand Bulk, doth often force out the Water so impetuously, as to throw it\nupon all the Country round about. There are innumerable Examples in\nHistory (whereof we shall mention some hereafter) of Cities and\nCountries thus swallowed up, or overflow\u2019d, by an Earthquake, and an\nInundation arising upon it. And according to the manner of their Fall or\nRuin, they either remain\u2019d wholly under Water, and perpetually drown\u2019d\nas _Sodom_ and _Gomorrha_, _Plato_\u2019s _Atlantis_, _Bura_ and _Helice_,\nand other Cities and Regions in _Greece_ and _Asia_; or they partly\nemerg\u2019d, and became dry Land again; when (their Situation being pretty\nhigh) the Waters, after their violent Agitation was abated, retir\u2019d into\nthe lower Places, and into their Channels.\n\nNOW if we compare these Partial Dissolutions of the Earth with an\nUniversal Dissolution, we may as easily conceive an Universal Deluge\nfrom an Universal Dissolution, as a Partial Deluge from a Partial. If we\ncan conceive a City, a Country, an Island, a Continent thus absorpt and\noverflown; if we do but enlarge our Thought and Imagination a little, we\nmay conceive it as well of the whole Earth. And it seems strange to me,\nthat none of the Ancients should hit upon this way of explaining the\nUniversal Deluge; there being such frequent Instances in all Ages and\nCountries of Inundations made in this manner, and never of any great\nInundation made otherwise, unless in maritime Countries, by the\nIrruption of the Sea into Grounds that lie low. \u2019Tis true, they would\nnot so easily imagine this Dissolution, because they did not understand\nthe true Form of the antediluvian Earth; but, methinks, the Examination\nof the Deluge should have led them to the Discovery of that: For\nobserving the Difficulty, or Impossibility of an Universal Deluge,\nwithout the Dissolution of the Earth; as also frequent Instances of\nthese Dissolutions accompanied with Deluges, where the Ground was\nhollow, and had subterraneous Waters; this, methinks, should have\nprompted them to imagine, that those subterraneous Waters were universal\nat that time, or extended quite round the Earth; so as a Dissolution of\nthe exterior Earth could not be made any where but it would fall into\nWaters, and be more or less overflow\u2019d. And when they had once reach\u2019d\nthis Thought, they might conclude, both what the Form of the\nantediluvian Earth was, and that the Deluge came to pass by the\nDissolution of it. But we reason with Ease about the finding out of\nThings, when they are once found out; and there is but a thin Paper-wall\nsometimes between the great Discoveries, and a perfect Ignorance of\nthem. Let us proceed now to consider, whether this Supposition will\nanswer all the Conditions of an Universal Deluge, and supply all the\nDefects which we found in other Explications.\n\nTHE great Difficulty propos\u2019d, was to find Water sufficient to make an\nUniversal Deluge, reaching to the Tops of the Mountains; and yet that\nthis Water should be transient, and after some time should so return\ninto its Channels, that the dry Land would appear, and the Earth become\nagain habitable. There was that double Impossibility in the common\nOpinion, that the Quantity of Water necessary for such a Deluge was no\nwhere to be found, or could no way be brought upon the Earth; and then\nif it was brought, cou\u2019d no way be remov\u2019d again. Our Explication quite\ntakes off the Edge of this Objection; for, performing the same Effect\nwith a far less Quantity of Water, \u2019tis both easy to be found, and\neasily remov\u2019d when the Work is done. When the exterior Earth was broke,\nand fell into the Abyss, a good part of it was cover\u2019d with Water, by\nthe meer Depth of the Abyss it fell into, and those Parts of it that\nwere higher than the Abyss was deep, and consequently would stand above\nit in a calm Water, were notwithstanding reach\u2019d and overtop\u2019d by the\nWaves, during the Agitation and violent Commotion of the Abyss. For it\nis not imaginable what the Commotion of the Abyss would be upon this\nDissolution of the Earth, nor to what Height its Waves would be thrown,\nwhen those prodigious Fragments were tumbled down into it. Suppose a\nStone of ten thousand Weight taken up into the Air a Mile or two, and\nthen let fall into the middle of the Ocean, I do not believe but that\nthe dashing of the Water upon that Impression would rise as high as a\nMountain. But suppose a mighty Rock, or heap of Rocks to fall from that\nHeight, or a great Island, or a Continent; these would expel the Waters\nout of their Places with such a Force and Violence, as to fling them\namong the highest Clouds.\n\n\u2019TIS incredible to what Height sometimes great Stones and Cinders will\nbe thrown, at the Eruptions of fiery Mountains; and the Pressure of a\ngreat Mass of Earth falling into the Abyss, though it be a Force of\nanother kind, could not but impel the Water with so much Strength, as\nwould carry it up to a great Height in the Air; and to the top of any\nthing that lay in its way, any Eminency, high Fragment, or new Mountain:\nAnd then rolling back again, it would sweep down with it whatsoever it\nrush\u2019d upon, Woods, Buildings, living Creatures, and carry them all\nheadlong into the great Gulph. Sometimes a Mass of Water would be quite\nstruck off and separate from the rest, and toss\u2019d through the Air like a\nflying River; but the common Motion of the Waves was to climb up the\nHills or inclin\u2019d Fragments; and then return into the Valleys and Deeps\nagain, with a perpetual Fluctuation going and coming, ascending and\ndescending, \u2019till the Violence of them being spent by degrees, they\nsettled at last in the Places allotted for them; where _Bounds are set\nthat they cannot pass over, that they return not again to cover the\nEarth, Psalm. civ. 6, 7, 8, 9._\n\nNEITHER is it to be wondred, that the great Tumult of the Waters, and\nthe Extremity of the Deluge lasted for some Months; for besides, that\nthe first Shock and Commotion of the Abyss was extreamly violent, from\nthe general Fall of the Earth, there were ever and anon some secondary\nRuins; or some Parts of the great Ruin, that were not well settled,\nbroke again, and made new Commotions: And \u2019twas a considerable Time\nbefore the great Fragments that fell, and their lesser Dependencies\ncould be so adjusted and fitted, as to rest in a firm and immoveable\nPosture: For the Props and Stays whereby they lean\u2019d one upon another,\nor upon the Bottom of the Abyss, often fail\u2019d, either by the incumbent\nWeight, or the violent Impulses of the Water against them; and so\nrenewed, or continued the Disorder and Confusion of the Abyss. Besides,\nwe are to observe, that these great Fragments falling hollow, they\ninclos\u2019d and bore down with them under their concave Surface a great\ndeal of Air; and while the Water compass\u2019d these Fragments, and\noverflow\u2019d them, the Air could not readily get out of those Prisons, but\nby degrees, as the Earth and Water above would give way; so as this\nwould also hinder the Settlement of the Abyss, and the retiring of the\nWater into those subterraneous Channels, for some Time. But at length,\nwhen this Air had found a vent, and left its place to the Water, and the\nRuins both primary and secondary were settled and fix\u2019d then the Waters\nof the Abyss began to settle too, and the dry Land to appear; first the\ntops of the Mountains, then the high Grounds, then the Plains and the\nrest of the Earth. And this gradual Subsidency of the Abyss (which\n_Moses_ also hath particularly noted) and Discovery of the several Parts\nof the Earth would also take up a considerable Time.\n\nTHUS a new World appear\u2019d, or the Earth put on its new Form, and became\ndivided into Sea and Land; and the Abyss, which from several Ages, even\nfrom the beginning of the World, had lain hid in the Womb of the Earth,\nwas brought to light and discover\u2019d; the greatest part of it\nconstituting our present Ocean, and the rest filling the lower Cavities\nof the Earth: Upon the Land appear\u2019d the Mountains and the Hills, and\nthe Islands in the Sea, and the Rocks upon the Shore. And so the Divine\nProvidence, having prepar\u2019d Nature for so great a Change, at one stroke\ndissolv\u2019d the Frame of the old World, and made us a new one out of its\nRuins, which we now inhabit since the Deluge. All which Things being\nthus explain\u2019d, deduc\u2019d, and stated, we now add and pronounce our Third\nand last Proposition; _That the Disruption of the Abyss, or Dissolution\nof the prim\u00e6val Earth, and its Fall into the Abyss, was the Cause of the\nUniversal Deluge, and of the Destruction of the old World_.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VII.\n\n\n _That the Explication we have given of an Universal Deluge is not an\n Idea only, but an Account of what really came to pass in this Earth,\n and the true Explication of Noah\u2019s Flood; as is prov\u2019d by Argument\n and from History. An Examination of Tehom Rabba, or the great Abyss,\n and that by it the Sea cannot be understood, nor the subterraneous\n Waters, as they are at present. What the true Notion and Form of it\n was, collected from Moses and other Sacred Writers; The frequent\n Allusions in Scripture to the opening and shutting the Abyss, and\n the particular Stile of Scripture in its Reflections on the Origin.\n And the Formation of the Earth. Observations on Deucalion\u2019s Deluge._\n\n\nWE have now given an Account of the first great Revolution of Nature,\nand of the Universal Deluge, in a way that is intelligible, and from\nCauses that answer the Greatness of the Effect: We have suppos\u2019d nothing\nbut what is also prov\u2019d, both as to the first Form of the Earth, and as\nto the manner of its Dissolution; and how far from that would evidently\nand necessarily arise a general Deluge; which was that, which put a\nPeriod to the old World, and the first state of Things. And tho\u2019 all\nthis hath been deduc\u2019d in due Order, and with Connexion and Consequence\nof one thing upon another, so far as I know, which is the true Evidence\nof a Theory; yet it may not be sufficient to command the Assent and\nBelief of some Persons, who will allow, it may be, and acknowledge, that\nthis is a fair _Idea_ of a possible Deluge in general, and of the\nDestruction of a World by it; but this may be only an _Idea_, they\u2019ll\nsay; we desire it may be prov\u2019d from some collateral Arguments, taken\neither from Sacred History, or from Observation, that this hath really\nbeen exemplified upon the Earth, and that _Noah_\u2019s Flood came to pass\nthis way. And seeing we have design\u2019d this first Book chiefly for the\nExplication of _Noah_\u2019s Deluge, I am willing to add here a Chapter or\ntwo extraordinary upon this occasion; to shew, that what we have\ndelivered is more than an _Idea_, and that it was in this very way that\n_Noah_\u2019s Deluge came to pass. But they who have not this Doubt, and have\na Mind to see the Issue of the Theory, may skip these two Chapters, if\nthey please, and proceed to the following, where the Order is continued.\n\nTO satisfy then the Doubtful in this Particular, let us lay down in the\nfirst place that Conclusion which they seem to admit, _viz._ That this\nis a possible and consistent Explication of an Universal Deluge; and\nlet\u2019s see how far this would go, if well consider\u2019d, towards the Proof\nof what they desire, or towards the Demonstration of _Noah_\u2019s Deluge in\nparticular. It is granted on both Hands, that there hath been an\nUniversal Deluge upon the Earth, which was _Noah_\u2019s Deluge; and it is\nalso granted, that we have given a possible and consistent _Idea_ of an\nUniversal Deluge: Now we have prov\u2019d _Chap. II._ and _III._ that all\nother ways hitherto assign\u2019d for the Explication of _Noah_\u2019s Flood are\nincongruous or impossible; therefore it came to pass in that possible\nand competent way which we have propos\u2019d. And if we have truly prov\u2019d,\nin the foremention\u2019d Chapters, the Impossibility or Unintelligibility of\nit in all other ways, this Argumentation is undeniable. Besides, we may\nargue thus, as it is granted that there hath been an Universal Deluge\nupon the Earth; so I suppose it will be granted that there hath been but\none: Now the Dissolution of the Earth, whensoever it happen\u2019d, would\nmake one Universal Deluge, and therefore the only one, and the same with\n_Noah_\u2019s. That such a Dissolution as we have describ\u2019d would make an\nUniversal Deluge, I think, cannot be question\u2019d; and that there hath\nbeen such a Dissolution, besides what we have already alledg\u2019d, shall be\nprov\u2019d at large from natural Observations upon the Form and Figure of\nthe present Earth, in the _Third_ Section and last _Chapter_ of this\nBook; In the mean time we will proceed to History, both Sacred and\nProphane, and by comparing our Explication with those, give further\nAssurance of its Truth and Reality.\n\nIN the first Place, it agrees, which is most considerable, with\n_Moses_\u2019s Narration of the Deluge; both as to the Matter and Manner of\nit. The Matter of the Deluge _Moses_ makes to be the Waters from above,\nand the Waters from below; or he distinguishes the Causes of the Deluge,\nas we do, into Superior and Inferior, _Gen. vii. 11._ and the Inferior\nCauses he makes to be the Disruption of the Abyss, which is the\nprincipal Part, and the great Hinge of our Explication. Then as to the\nmanner of the Deluge, the Beginning and the Ending, the Increase and\nDecrease, he saith, _Verse 17, 18, 19, 20. Chap. viii. 3, 5._ it\nincreas\u2019d gradually, and decreas\u2019d gradually, by _going_ and _coming_;\nthat is, after many repeated Fluctuations and Reciprocations of the\nWaves, the Waters of the Abyss began to be more compos\u2019d, and to retire\ninto their Channels, whence they shall never return to cover the Earth\nagain. This agrees wholly with our Theory; we suppose the Abyss to have\nbeen under an extream Commotion and Agitation by the Fall of the Earth\ninto it, and this at first encreas\u2019d more and more, till the whole Earth\nwas fallen; then continuing for some time at the height of its Rage,\noverwhelming the greatest Mountains, it afterwards decreas\u2019d by the like\ndegrees, leaving first the Tops of the Mountains, then the Hills and the\nFields, \u2019till the Waters came to be wholly drawn off the Earth into\ntheir Channels.\n\nIT was no doubt a great Oversight in the Ancients, to fancy the Deluge\nlike a great standing Pool of Water, reaching from the Bottom of the\nValleys to the Tops of the Mountains, every where alike, with a level\nand uniform Surface; by reason of which mistaken Notion of the Deluge,\nthey made more Water necessary to it than was possible to be had, or\nbeing had, than it was possible to get quit of again; for there are no\nChannels in the Earth that could hold so much Water, either to give it,\nor to receive it. And the _Psalmist_, [_vid._ _St. Austin in loc._]\nspeaking of the Deluge, as it seems to me, notes this violent Commotion\nof the Abyss, _Psal. civ. 8, 9._ _The Waters went up by the Mountains,\ncame down by the Valleys unto the Place which thou hast founded for\nthem_. I know some interpret that Passage of the State of the Waters in\nthe Beginning, when they cover\u2019d the Face of the whole Earth, _Gen. i.\n2._ but that cannot be, because of what follows in the next Verse; _Thou\nhast set a Bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again\nto cover the Earth_. Which is not true, if the preceding Words be\nunderstood of the State of the Waters at the Beginning of the World; for\nthey did pass those Bounds, and did return since that time to cover the\nEarth, namely at the Deluge: But if these Words be referr\u2019d to the Time\nof the Deluge, and the State of the Waters then, \u2019tis both a just\nDescription of the Motion of the Abyss, and certainly true, that the\nWaters since that time are so settled in their Channels, that they shall\nnever overflow the Earth again. As we are assur\u2019d by the Promise made to\n_Noah_, and that illustrious Pledge and Confirmation of it, the\n_Rainbow_, that the Heavens also shall never pour out so much Waters\nagain; their State being chang\u2019d as well as that of the Earth, or Sea,\nfrom what they were before the Deluge.\n\nBUT before we leave _Moses_\u2019s Narration of the Deluge, we must examine\nfurther, what is, or can be understood by his _Tehom-Rabba_, or _great\nAbyss_, which, he saith, was broken up at the Deluge, _Gen. vii. 11._\nfor this will help us to discover, whether our Explication be the same\nwith his, and of the same Flood. And first we must consider, whether by\nthe _Tehom-Rabba_, or Mosaical Abyss, can be understood the Sea or\nOcean, under that Form we see it in at present; and \u2019tis plain,\nmethinks, that the Sea cannot be understood by this great Abyss, both\nbecause the Sea is not capable upon any Disruption to make such an\nUniversal Deluge; and because the Narration of _Moses_, and his\nExpressions concerning this Abyss, do not agree to the Sea. Some of the\nAncients indeed did imagine, that the Waters of the Sea were much higher\nthan the Land, and stood, as it were, on a heap; so as when these Waters\nwere let loose, they overflow\u2019d the Earth, and made a Deluge. But this\nis known to be a gross Mistake; the Sea and the Land make one Globe, and\nthe Waters couch themselves, as close as may be, to the Center of this\nGlobe in a Spherical Convexity; so that if all the Mountains and Hills\nwere scal\u2019d, and the Earth made even, the Waters would not overflow its\nsmooth Surface; much less could they overflow it in the Form that it is\nnow, where the Shores are higher than the Sea, the Inland Parts than the\nShores, and the Mountains still far above all: So as no Disruption of\nthe Sea could make an Universal Deluge, by reason of its Situation. But\nbesides that, the Quantity of Water contain\u2019d in the Sea is no way\nsufficient to make a Deluge in the present Form of the Earth; for we\nhave shewn before, _Chap. ii._ that eight such Oceans as ours would be\nlittle enough for that Purpose. Then as to the Expressions of _Moses_\nconcerning this Abyss, if he had meant the Sea by it, and that the\nDeluge was made by the Disruption of the Sea, why did he not say so?\nThere is no mention of the Sea in all the History of the Deluge: _Moses_\nhad mention\u2019d the Sea before, _Gen. i. 10._ and us\u2019d a Word that was\ncommon, and known to signify the Sea; and if he had a Mind to express\nthe same thing here, why should he not use the same Word and the same\nTerm? In an Historical Relation we use Terms that are most proper and\nbest known; but instead of that he useth the same Term here that he did,\n_Gen. i. 2._ when he saith, _Darkness was upon the Face of the Abyss, or\nof the Deep_, as we render it; there the Abyss was open, or cover\u2019d with\nDarkness only, namely, before the exterior Earth was form\u2019d; Here the\nsame Abyss is mention\u2019d again, but cover\u2019d, by the Formation of the\nEarth upon it; and the covering of this Abyss was broken or _cloven\nasunder_, and the Waters gush\u2019d out that made the Deluge. This I am sure\nis the most natural Interpretation or Signification of this Word,\naccording as it is us\u2019d in _Moses_\u2019s Writings. Furthermore, we must\nobserve what _Moses_ saith concerning this Abyss, and whether that will\nagree with the Sea or no; he saith the _Fountains of the great Abyss\nwere broken open_; now if by the great Abyss you understand the Sea, how\nare its Fountains broken open? To break open a Fountain, is to break\nopen the Ground that covers it, and what Ground covers the Sea? So that\nupon all Considerations, either of the Word that _Moses_ here useth,\n_Tehom-Rabba_, or of the thing affirmed concerning it, _breaking open\nits Fountains_; or of the Effect following the breaking open its\nFountains, _drowning of the Earth_; from all these Heads it is manifest,\nthat the Sea cannot be understood by the great _Abyss_, whose Disruption\nwas the Cause of the Deluge.\n\nAND as the _Mosaical_ Abyss cannot be the Sea, so neither can it be\nthose subterraneous Waters that are dispers\u2019d in the Cells and Caverns\nof the Earth; for as they are now lodg\u2019d within the Earth, they are not\none _Abyss_, but several Cisterns and Receptacles of Water in several\nPlaces, especially under the roots of Mountains and Hills, separate one\nfrom another, sometimes by whole Regions and Countries interpos\u2019d.\nBesides, what Fountains, if they were broken up, could let out this\nWater, or bring it upon the Face of the Earth? When we sink a Mine, or\ndig a Well, the Waters, when uncover\u2019d, do not leap out of their Places\nout of those Cavities, or at least, do not flow upon the Earth; \u2019Tis not\nas if you open\u2019d a Vein, where the Blood spirts out, and riseth higher\nthan its Source; but as when you take off the Cover of a Vessel, the\nWater doth not fly out for that: So if we should imagine all the\nsubterraneous Caverns of the Earth uncover\u2019d, and the Waters laid bare,\nthere they would lie unmov\u2019d in their Beds, if the Earth did not fall\ninto them to force them up. Furthermore, if these Waters were any way\nextracted and laid upon the Surface of the Ground, nothing would be\ngain\u2019d, as to the Deluge, by that, for as much Water would run into\nthese Holes again when the Deluge begun to rise; so that this would be\nbut an useless Labour, and turn to no Account. And lastly, These Waters\nare no way sufficient for Quantity to answer to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, or\nto be the principal Cause of the Deluge, as that was.\n\nNOW, seeing neither the Sea, as it is at present, nor the subterraneous\nWaters, as they are at present, can answer to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, we\nare sure there is nothing in this present Earth that can answer to it.\nLet us then on the other Hand compare it with that subterraneous Abyss,\nwhich we have found in the antediluvian Earth, represented; _Fig. 2. p.\n77._ and examine their Characters and Correspondency: First, _Moses_\u2019s\nAbyss was cover\u2019d, and subterraneous, for the Fountains of it are said\nto have been cloven or burst open; then, it was vast and capacious; and\nthirdly, it was so dispos\u2019d, as to be capable of a Disruption, that\nwould cause an universal Deluge to the Earth. Our antediluvian Abyss\nanswers truly to all these Characters; it was in the Womb of the Earth;\nthe Earth was founded upon those Waters, as the _Psalmist_ saith; or\nthey were inclos\u2019d within the Earth as in a Bag. Then for the Capacity\nof it, it contained both all the Waters now in the Ocean, and all those\nthat are dispers\u2019d in the Caverns of the Earth: And lastly, it is\nmanifest its Situation was such, that upon a Disruption or Dissolution\nof the Earth which cover\u2019d it, an universal Deluge would arise. Seeing\nthen this answers the Description, and all the Properties of the\n_Mosaical_ Abyss, and nothing else will, how can we in Reason judge it\notherwise than the same, and the very Thing intended and propos\u2019d in the\nHistory of _Noah_\u2019s Deluge under the Name of _Tehom-Rabba_, or the great\nAbyss, at whose Disruption the World was over-flow\u2019d? And as we do not\nthink it an unhappy Discovery to have found out, (with a moral\nCertainty) the Seat of the _Mosaical_ Abyss, which hath been almost as\nmuch sought for, and as much in vain, as the Seat of _Paradise_; so this\ngives us a great Assurance, that the Theory we have given of a general\nDeluge is not a mere Idea, but is to be appropriated to the Deluge of\n_Noah_, as a true Explication of it.\n\nAND to proceed now from _Moses_ to other divine Writers; That our\nDescription is a Reality, both as to the antediluvian Earth, and as to\nthe Deluge, we may further be convinc\u2019d from St. _Peter_\u2019s Discourse\nconcerning those two Things, _2 Epist. iii. 6._ St. _Peter_ saith, that\nthe Constitution of the antediluvian Earth was such, in reference to the\nWaters, that by reason of that it was obnoxious to a Deluge; we say\nthese Waters were the great Abyss it stood upon, by reason whereof that\nWorld was really expos\u2019d to a Deluge, and overwhelm\u2019d in it upon the\nDisruption of this Abyss, as _Moses_ witnesses. \u2019Tis true, St. _Peter_\ndoth not specify what those Waters were, nor mention either the Sea or\nthe Abyss; but seeing _Moses_ tells us, that it was by the Waters of the\nAbyss that the Earth was overwhelmed, St. _Peter_\u2019s Waters must be\nunderstood of the same Abyss, because he supposeth them the Cause of the\nsame Deluge. And, I think, the Apostle\u2019s Discourse there cannot receive\na better Illustration, than from _Moses_\u2019s History of the Deluge.\n_Moses_ distinguishes the Causes of the Flood into those that belong to\nthe Heavens, and those that belong to the Earth; the Rains and the\nAbyss: St. _Peter_ also distinguisheth the Causes of the Deluge into the\nConstitution of the Heavens, in reference to its Waters; and the\nConstitution of the Earth, in reference to its Waters; and no doubt they\nboth aim at the same Causes, as they refer to the same Effect; only\n_Moses_ mentions the immediate Causes, the Rains and the Waters of the\nAbyss; and St. _Peter_ mentions the more remote and fundamental Causes,\nthat Constitution of the Heavens, and that Constitution of the Earth, in\nreference to their respective Waters, which made that World obnoxious to\na Deluge: And these two, speaking of _Noah_\u2019s Deluge, and agreeing thus\nwith one another, and both with us, or with the Theory which we have\ngiven of a general Deluge, we may safely conclude, that it is no\nimaginary Idea, but a true Account of that ancient Flood, whereof\n_Moses_ hath left us the History.\n\nAND seeing the right understanding of the _Mosaical_ Abyss is sufficient\nalone to prove all we have deliver\u2019d concerning the Deluge, as also\nconcerning the Frame of the antediluvian Earth, give me leave to take\nNotice here of some other Places of Scripture, which we mention\u2019d\nbefore, that seem manifestly to describe this same Form of the Abyss\nwith the Earth above it, _2 Esdr. xvi. 58._ _Psal. xxiv. 2._ _He founded\nthe Earth upon the Seas, and establish\u2019d it upon the Floods._ And _Psal.\ncxxxvi. 6._ _He stretch\u2019d out the Earth above the Waters._ Now this\nFoundation of the Earth upon the Waters, or Extension of it above the\nWaters, _2 Esdr. c. vi._ doth most aptly agree to that Structure and\nSituation of the Abyss and the antediluvian Earth, which we have\nassign\u2019d them, and which we have before describ\u2019d; but very improperly\nand forcedly to the present Form of the Earth and the Waters. In that\nsecond Place of the _Psalmist_, the Word may be render\u2019d either, he\nstretch\u2019d, as we read it, or he fix\u2019d and consolidated the Earth above\nthe Waters, as the Vulgate and Septuagint translate it: For \u2019tis from\nthe same Word with that which is used for the Firmament, _Gen. i._ So\nthat as the Firmament was extended over and around the Earth, so was the\nEarth extended over and about the Waters, in that first Constitution of\nThings; and I remember some of the Ancients use this very Comparison of\nthe Firmament and Earth, to express the Situation of the Paradisiacal\nEarth in reference to the Sea or Abyss.\n\nTHERE is another remarkable Place in the _Psalms_, to shew the\nDisposition of the Waters in the first Earth; _Psal. xxxiii. 7._ _He\ngathereth the Waters of the Sea as in a Bag, he layeth up the Abysses in\nStore-houses._ This answers very fitly and naturally to the Place and\nDisposition of the Abyss which it had before the Deluge, inclos\u2019d within\nthe Vault of the Earth, as in a Bag, or in a Store-house. I know very\nwell what I render here in a Bag, is render\u2019d in the _English_ as _an\nHeap_; but that Translation of the Word seems to be grounded on the old\nError, that the Sea is higher than the Land, and so doth not make a true\nSense. Neither are the two Parts of the Verse so well suited and\nconsequent one to another, if the first express an high Situation of the\nWaters, and the second a low one. And accordingly the Vulgate,\nSeptuagint, and Oriental Versions and Paraphrase, as also _Symmachus_,\nSt. _Jerom_, and _Basil_, render it as we do here, _in a Bag_, or by\nTerms equivalent.\n\nTO these Passages of the _Psalmist_, concerning the Form of the Abyss\nand the first Earth, give me leave to add this general Remark, that they\nare commonly usher\u2019d in, or follow\u2019d, with something of Admiration in\nthe Prophet. We observ\u2019d before, that the Formation of the first Earth,\nafter such a wonderful Manner, being a Piece of divine Architecture,\nwhen it was spoken of in Scripture, it was usually ascrib\u2019d to a\nparticular Providence; and accordingly we see in these Places now\nmentioned, that it is still made the Object of Praise and Admiration: In\nthe _cxxxvi. Palm_ \u2019tis reckon\u2019d among the Wonders of God, _Verses 4, 5,\n6._ _Give Praise to him who alone doth great Wonders: To him that by\nWisdom made the Heavens: To hime that stretched out the Earth above the\nWaters_. And in like manner, in that _xxxiii. Ps._ \u2019tis join\u2019d with the\nForming of the Heavens, and made the Subject of the Divine Power and\nWisdom: _Verses 6, 7, 8, 9._ _By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens\nmade, and all the Host of them by the Breath of his Mouth; He gathereth\nthe Waters of the Sea together, as in a Bag, he layeth up the Abyss in\nStore-houses. Let all the Earth fear the Lord; Let all the Inhabitants\nof the World stand in awe of him; For he spake, and it was; he\ncommanded, and it stood fast_. Namely, all Things stood in that\nwonderful Posture in which the Word of his Power and Wisdom had\nestablish\u2019d them. _David_ often made the Works of Nature, and the\nexternal World, the Matter of his Meditations, and of his Praises and\nPhilosophical Devotions; reflecting sometimes upon the present Form of\nthe World, and sometimes upon the primitive Form of it: And tho\u2019\npoetical Expressions, as the _Psalms_ are, seldom are so determinate and\ndistinct, but that they may be interpreted more than one Way; yet, I\nthink, it cannot but be acknowledg\u2019d, that those Expressions, and\nPassages that we have instanc\u2019d in, are more fairly and aptly understood\nof the ancient Form of the Sea, or the Abyss, as it was inclos\u2019d within\nthe Earth, than of the present Form of it in an open Channel.\n\nTHERE are also in the Book of _Job_ many noble Reflections upon the\nWorks of Nature, and upon the Formation of the Earth and the Abyss;\nwhereof that in _Chap. xxvi. 7._ _He stretcheth out the North over the\nempty Places, and hangeth the Earth upon nothing_, seems to parallel the\nExpression of _David_; _He stretched out the Earth upon the Waters_; for\nthe Word we render the _empty Place_ is TOHU, which is apply\u2019d to the\nChaos and the first Abyss, _Gen. i. 2._ and the _hanging the Earth upon\nnothing_ is much more wonderful, if it be understood of the first\nhabitable Earth, that hung over the Waters, sustain\u2019d by nothing but its\nown peculiar Form, and the Libration of its Parts, than if it be\nunderstood of the present Earth, and the whole Body of it; for if it be\nin its Center or proper Place, whither should it sink further, or\nwhither should it go? But this Passage, together with the foregoing and\nfollowing Verses, requires a more critical Examination than this\nDiscourse will easily bear.\n\nTHERE is another remarkable Discourse in _Job_, that contains many\nThings to our present Purpose, \u2019tis _Chap. xxxviii._ where God\nreproaches _Job_ with his Ignorance of what pass\u2019d at the beginning of\nthe World, and the Formation of the Earth, _Verses 4, 5, 6._ _Where wast\nthou when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? Declare if thou hast\nUnderstanding. Who hath laid the Measures thereof, if thou knowest? or\nwho hath stretched the Line upon it? Whereupon are the Foundations\nthereof fastned? or who laid the Corner-stone?_ All these Questions have\nfar more Force and Emphasis, more Propriety and Elegancy, if they be\nunderstood of the first and antediluvian Form of the Earth, than if they\nbe understood of the present; for in the present Form of the Earth there\nis no Architecture, no Structure, no more than in a Ruin; or at least\nnone comparatively to what was in the first Form of it. And that the\nexterior and superficial Part of the Earth is here spoken of, appears by\nthe Rule and Line applied to it; but what Rule or Regularity is there in\nthe Surface of the present Earth? What Line was us\u2019d to level its Parts?\nBut in its original Construction, when it lay smooth and regular in its\nSurface, as if it had been drawn, by Rule and Line in every Part; and\nwhen it hung pois\u2019d upon the Deep, without Pillar or Foundation-Stone,\nthen just Proportions were taken, and every thing plac\u2019d by Weight and\nMeasure: And this, I doubt not, was that artificial Structure here\nalluded to; and when this Work was finish\u2019d, then _The Morning Stars\nsang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for Joy, Verse 7._\n\nTHUS far the Questions proceed upon the Form and Construction of the\nfirst Earth; in the following _Verses_ (8, 9, 10, 11.) they proceed upon\nthe Demolition of that Earth, the opening the Abyss, and the present\nState of both. _Or who shut up the Sea with Doors when it brake forth,\nas if it had issu\u2019d out of a Womb?_ Who can doubt but this was at the\nbreaking open the _Fountains of the Abyss_? _Gen. vii. 11._ when the\nWaters gush\u2019d out, as out of the great Womb of Nature; and by reason of\nthat Confusion and Perturbation of Air and Water that rose upon it, a\nthick Mist and Darkness was round the Earth, and all Things as in a\nsecond Chaos, _When I made the Cloud the Garment thereof, and thick\nDarkness a Swadling-band for it, and brake up for it my decreed Place,\nand made Bars and Doors_. Namely, (taking the Words as thus usually\nrender\u2019d) the present Channel of the Sea was made when the Abyss was\nbroke up, and at the same Time were made the shory Rocks and Mountains,\nwhich are the Bars and Boundaries of the Sea. _And said hitherto shalt\nthou come, and no further; and here shall thy proud Waves be stay\u2019d._\nWhich last Sentence shews, that this cannot be understood of the first\nDisposition of the Waters, as they were before the Flood, for their\nproud Waves broke those Bounds, whatsoever they were, when they\nover-flow\u2019d the Earth in the Deluge. And that the Womb which they broke\nout of was the great Abyss, the _Chaldee_ Paraphrase in this Place doth\nexpresly mention; and what can be understood by \u05d7\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05de\u05d4 \u05de\u05df _the Womb of\nthe Earth_, but that subterraneous Capacity in which the Abyss lay? Then\nthat which followeth is a Description or Representation of the great\nDeluge that ensued, and of that Disorder in Nature that was then, and\nhow the Waters were settled and bounded afterwards. Not unlike the\nDescription in _Psalm civ. ver. 6, 7, 8, 9._ And thus much for these\nPlaces in the Book of _Job_.\n\nTHERE remains a remarkable Discourse in the _Proverbs of Solomon_,\nrelating to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, and not only to that, but to the\nOrigin of the Earth in general; where _Wisdom_ declares her Antiquity\nand Pre-existence to all the Works of this Earth, _Chap. viii. Verse 23,\n24, 25, 26, 27, 28._ _I was set up from Everlasting, from the Beginning\nere the Earth was. When there were no Deeps or Abysses, I was brought\nforth; when no Fountains abounding with Water._ Then in the _27th\nVerse_, _When he prepared the Heavens, I was there; when he set a\nCompass upon the Face of the Deep or Abyss. When he established the\nClouds above, when he strengthned the Fountains of the Abyss._ Here is\nmention made of the Abyss, and of the Fountains of the Abyss; and who\ncan question, but that the Fountains of the Abyss here are the same with\nthe Fountains of the Abyss which _Moses_ mentions, and were broken open,\nas he tells us, at the Deluge? Let us observe therefore what Form\n_Wisdom_ gives to this Abyss, and consequently to the _Mosaical_; And\nhere seem to be two Expressions that determine the Form of it, _Verse\n28._ _He strengthned the Fountains of the Abyss_, that is, the cover of\nthose Fountains, for the Fountains could be strengthned no other Way\nthan by making a strong Cover or Arch over them. And that Arch is\nexpress\u2019d more fully and distinctly in the foregoing _Verse_, _When he\nprepar\u2019d the Heavens, I was there; when he set a Compass on the Face of\nthe Abyss_; we render it _Compass_, the Word signifies a Circle or\nCircumference, or an Orb or Sphere. So there was in the Beginning of the\nWorld a Sphere, Orb or Arch set round the Abyss, according to the\nTestimony of _Wisdom_, who was then present. And this shews us both the\nForm of the _Mosaical_ Abyss, which was included within this Vault: And\nthe Form of the habitable Earth, which was the outward Surface of this\nVault, or the Cover of the Abyss that was broke up at the Deluge.\n\nAND thus much, I think, is sufficient to have noted out of Scripture,\nconcerning the _Mosaical_ Abyss, to discover the Form, Place, and\nSituation of it; which I have done the more largely, because that being\ndetermin\u2019d, it will draw in easily all the rest of our Theory concerning\nthe Deluge. I will now only add one or two general Observations, and so\nconclude this Discourse: The first Observation is concerning the Abyss;\nnamely, That the _opening and shutting of the Abyss_, is the great Hinge\nupon which Nature turns in this Earth: This brings another Face of\nthings, other Scenes, and a new World upon the Stage: And accordingly it\nis a thing often mention\u2019d and alluded to in Scripture, sometimes in a\nnatural, sometimes in a moral or theological Sense; and in both Senses,\nour Saviour shuts and opens it as he pleaseth. Our Saviour, who is both\nLord of Nature and of Grace, whose Dominion is both in Heaven and in\nEarth, hath a double Key; that of the Abyss, whereby Death and Hell are\nin his Power, and all the Revolutions of Nature are under his Conduct\nand Providence; and the Key of _David_, whereby he admits or excludes\nfrom the City of God, and the Kingdom of Heaven whom he pleaseth. _Job\nxi. 10, 12, 14._ _Apoc. i. 18. xx. 1, 2, 3. xxi. 1._ _Apoc. iii. 7._\n_Isa. xxii. 22._ Of those Places that refer to the shutting and opening\nthe Abyss in a natural Sense, I cannot but particularly take Notice of\nthat in _Job_, _Chap. xii. ver. 14, 15._ and _Chap. xi. 10._ _God\nbreaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up Man, and\nthere can be no opening: Behold, he withholdeth the Waters, and they dry\nup; also he sendeth them out and they overturn the Earth_. Tho\u2019 these\nThings be true of God in lesser and common Instances, yet to me it is\nplain, that they principally refer to the Deluge, the opening and\nshutting the Abyss, with the Dissolution or Subversion of the Earth\nthereupon; and accordingly they are made the great Effects of the divine\nPower and Wisdom in the _13th Verse_ of _Chap. xii._ _With God is Wisdom\nand Strength, he hath Counsel and Understanding; Behold, he breaketh\ndown_, &c. And also in the Conclusion \u2019tis repeated again, _Verse 16._\n_With him is Strength and Wisdom_; which Solemnity would scarce have\nbeen us\u2019d for common Instances of his Power. When God is said to build\nor pull down, and no Body can build again, \u2019tis not to be understood of\nan House or a Town. God builds and unbuilds Worlds; and who shall build\nup that Arch that was broke down at the Deluge? Where shall they lay the\nFoundation, or how shall the Mountains be rear\u2019d up again to make Part\nof the Roof? This is the Fabrick, which when God breaketh down, none can\nbuild up again. _He withholdeth the Waters, and they dry up_: As we\nshew\u2019d the Earth to have been immoderately chap\u2019d and parch\u2019d before its\nDissolution. _He sendeth them forth, and they overturn the Earth_. What\ncan more properly express the breaking out of the Waters at the\nDisruption of the Abyss, and the Subversion or Dissolution of the Earth\nin consequence of it? \u2019Tis true, this last Passage may be applied to the\nbreaking out of Waters in an ordinary Earthquake, and the Subversion of\nsome Part of the Earth, which often follows upon it; but it must be\nacknowledg\u2019d, that the Sense is more weighty, if it be referr\u2019d to the\ngreat Deluge, and the great Earthquake which laid the World in Ruins and\nin Water. And philosophical Descriptions in sacred Writings, like\nProphecies, have often a lesser and a greater Accomplishment and\nInterpretation.\n\nI COULD not pass by this Place without giving this short Explication of\nit. We proceed now to the second Observation, which is concerning the\nStyle of Scripture, in most of those Places we have cited, and others\nupon the same Subject. The Reflections that are made in several Parts of\nthe divine Writings, upon the Origin of the World, and the Formation of\nthe Earth, seem to me to be writ in a Style something approaching to the\nNature of a prophetical Style, and to have more of a divine Enthusiasm\nand Elocution in them, than the ordinary Text of Scripture; the\nExpressions are lofty, and sometimes abrupt, and often figurative and\ndisguis\u2019d, as may be observed in most of those Places we have made use\nof, and particularly in that Speech of _Wisdom_, _Prov. viii._ where the\n_26th Verse_ is so obscure, that no two Versions that I have yet met\nwith, whether ancient or modern, agree in the Translation of that Verse.\nAnd therefore, tho\u2019 I fully believe that the Construction of the first\nEarth is really intended in those Words; yet seeing it could not be made\nout clear without a long and critical Discussion of them, I did not\nthink that proper to be insisted upon here. We may also observe, that\nwhereas there is a double Form or Composition of the Earth, that which\nit had at first, or till the Deluge, and that which it hath since;\nsometimes the one, and sometimes the other may be glanc\u2019d upon in these\nScripture Phrases and Descriptions; and so there may be in the same\nDiscourse an Intermixture of both. And it commonly happens so in an\nenthusiastick or prophetick Style, that by reason of the Eagerness and\nTrembling of the Fancy, it doth not always regularly follow the same\neven Thread of Discourse, but strikes many times upon some other Thing\nthat hath Relation to it, or lies under or near the same view. Of this\nwe have frequent Examples in the _Apocalypse_, and in that Prophecy of\nour Saviour\u2019s, _Matth. xxiv._ concerning the Destruction of _Jerusalem_,\nand of the World. But notwithstanding any such Unevenness or\nIndistinctness in the Style of those Places which we have cited\nconcerning the Origin and Form of the Earth, we may at least make this\nRemark, that if there never was any other Form of the Earth but the\npresent, nor any other State of the Abyss, than what it is in now, \u2019tis\nnot imaginable what should give Occasion to all those Expressions and\nPassages that we have cited; which being so strange in themselves and\nparadoxical, should yet so much favour, and so fairly comply with our\nSuppositions. What I have observ\u2019d in another Place, _Tell. Theor. lib.\n2. c. 6._ in treating of _Paradise_, that the Expressions of the ancient\nFathers were very extravagant, if _Paradise_ was nothing but a little\nPlot of Ground in _Mesopotamia_, as many of late have fancied, may in\nlike Manner be observ\u2019d concerning the ancient Earth and Abyss; if they\nwere in no other Form nor other State than what they are under now, the\nExpressions of the sacred Writers concerning them are very strange and\nunaccountable, without any sufficient Ground, that we know, or any just\nOccasion for such uncouth Representations. If there was nothing intended\nor referr\u2019d to in those Descriptions, but the present Form and State of\nthe Earth, that is so well known, that in describing of it there would\nbe nothing dark or mysterious, nor any occasion for Obscurity in the\nStyle or Expression, whereof we find so much in those. So as, all Things\nconsider\u2019d, what might otherwise be made an Exception to some of these\nTexts alledg\u2019d by us, _viz._ that they are too obscure, becomes an\nArgument for us: As implying that there is something more intended by\nthem than the present and known Form of the Earth. And we having\npropos\u2019d another Form and Structure of the Earth, to which those\nCharacters suit and answer more easily; as this opens and gives Light to\nthose difficult Places, so it may be reasonably concluded to be the very\nSense and Notion intended by the holy Writers.\n\nAND thus much, I think, is sufficient to have observ\u2019d out of Scripture,\nto verify our Explication of the Deluge, and our Application of it to\n_Noah_\u2019s Flood, both according to the _Mosaical_ History of the Flood,\nand according to many occasional Reflections and Discourses dispers\u2019d in\nother Places of Scripture concerning the same Flood, or concerning the\nAbyss and the first Form of the Earth. And though there may be some\nother Passages of a different Aspect, they will be of no Force to\ndisprove our Conclusions, because they respect the present Form of the\nEarth and Sea; and also, because Expressions that deviate more from the\ncommon Opinion, are more remarkable and more proving; in that there is\nnothing could give Occasion to such, but an Intention to express the\nvery Truth. So, for instance, if there was one Place in Scripture that\nsaid _the Earth was mov\u2019d_, and several that seem\u2019d to imply, that the\n_Sun_ was mov\u2019d, we should have more regard to that one Place for the\nMotion of the Earth, than to all the other that made against it; because\nthose others might be spoken and understood according to common Opinion\nand common Belief, but that which affirm\u2019d the Motion of the Earth,\ncould not be spoken upon any other Ground, but only for Truth and\nInstruction-sake. I leave this to be apply\u2019d to the present Subject.\n\nTHUS much for the sacred Writings. As to the History of the ancient\nHeathens, we cannot expect an Account or Narration of _Noah_\u2019s Flood,\nunder that Name and Notion; but it may be of use to observe two Things\nout of that History. First, that the Inundations recorded there came\ngenerally to pass in the Manner we have describ\u2019d the universal Deluge;\nnamely, by Earthquakes and an Eruption of subterraneous Waters, the\nEarth being broken and falling in: And of this we shall elsewhere give a\nfull Account out of their Authors. Secondly, that _Deucalion_\u2019s Deluge\nin particular, which is suppos\u2019d by most of the ancient Fathers to\nrepresent _Noah_\u2019s Flood, is said to have been accompanied with a gaping\nor Disruption of the Earth. _Apollodorus_ said, _Bibl. lib. 1._ that the\nMountains of _Thessaly_ were divided asunder, or separate one from\nanother at that time: And _Lucian_ (_De Dea Syria_) tells a very\nremarkable Story to this purpose, concerning _Deucalion_\u2019s Deluge, and a\nCeremony observ\u2019d in the Temple of _Hieropolis_, in Commemoration of it;\nwhich Ceremony seems to have been of that Nature, as imply\u2019d that there\nwas an opening of the Earth at the Time of the Deluge, and that the\nWaters subsided into that again when the Deluge ceas\u2019d. He saith, that\nthis Temple at _Hieropolis_ was built upon a kind of Abyss, or had a\nbottomless Pit, or gaping of the Earth in one Part of it; and the People\nof _Arabia_ and _Syria_, and the Countries thereabouts, twice a Year\nrepair\u2019d to this Temple, and brought with them every one a Vessel of\nWater, which they pour\u2019d out upon the Floor of the Temple, and made a\nkind of an Inundation there in Memory of _Deucalion_\u2019s Deluge; and this\nWater sunk by Degrees into a Chasm or opening of a Rock, which the\nTemple stood upon, and so left the Floor dry again. And this was a Rite\nsolemnly and religiously perform\u2019d both by the Priests and by the\nPeople. If _Moses_ had left such a religious Rite among the _Jews_, I\nshould not have doubted to have interpreted it concerning his Abyss, and\nthe retiring of the Waters into it; but the actual Disruption of the\nAbyss could not well be represented by any Ceremony. And thus much\nconcerning the present Question, and the true Application of our Theory\nto _Noah_\u2019s Flood.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VIII.\n\n\n _The particular History of Noah\u2019s Flood is explained in all the\n material Parts and Circumstances of it, according to the preceding\n Theory. Any seeming Difficulties remov\u2019d, and the whole Section\n concluded, with a Discourse how far the Deluge may be look\u2019d upon as\n the Effect of an ordinary Providence, and how far of an\n extraordinary._\n\n\nWE have now proved our Explication of the Deluge to be more than an\n_Idea_, or to be a true Piece of natural History; and it may be the\ngreatest and most remarkable that hath yet been since the Beginning of\nthe World. We have shewn it to be the real Account of _Noah_\u2019s Flood,\naccording to Authority both divine and human; and I would willingly\nproceed one step further, and declare my Thoughts concerning the Manner\nand Order wherein _Noah_\u2019s Flood came to pass; in what Method all those\nThings happen\u2019d and succeeded one another, that make up the History of\nit, as Causes or Effects, or other Parts or Circumstances: As how the\nArk was born upon the Waters, what Effect the Rains had, at what Time\nthe Earth broke, and the Abyss was open\u2019d; and what the Condition of the\nEarth was upon the ending of the Flood, and such like. But I desire to\npropose my Thoughts concerning these Things only as Conjectures, which I\nwill ground as near as I can upon Scripture and Reason, and am very\nwilling they should be rectified where they happen to be amiss. I know\nhow subject we are to Mistakes in these great and remote Things, when we\ndescend to Particulars; but I am willing to expose the Theory to a full\nTrial, and to shew the way for any to examine it, provided they do it\nwith Equity and Sincerity. I have no other Design than to contribute my\nEndeavours to find out the Truth in a Subject of so great Importance,\nand wherein the World hath hitherto had so little Satisfaction: And he\nthat in an obscure Argument proposeth an _Hypothesis_ that reacheth from\nEnd to End, tho\u2019 it be not exact in every Particular; \u2019tis not without a\ngood Effect; for it gives Aim to others to take their Measures better,\nand opens their Invention in a matter which otherwise, it may be, would\nhave been impenetrable to them: As he that makes the first way thro\u2019 a\nthick Forest, tho\u2019 it be not the streightest and shortest, deserves\nbetter, and hath done more than he that makes it streighter and smoother\nafterwards.\n\nPROVIDENCE that ruleth all things and all Ages, after the Earth had\nstood above sixteen hundred Years, thought fit to put a Period to that\nWorld; and accordingly it was revealed to _Noah_, that for the\nWickedness and Degeneracy of Men, God would destroy Mankind with the\n_Earth_, (_Gen. vi. 13._) in a Deluge of Water; whereupon he was\ncommanded, in order to the preserving of himself and Family, as a Stock\nfor the new World, to build a great Vessel or Ark, to float upon the\nWaters, and had Instructions given him for the Building of it, both as\nto the Matter, and as to the Form. _Noah_ believed the Word of God, tho\u2019\nagainst his Senses, and all external Appearances, and set himself to\nwork to build an Ark, according to the Directions given, which after\nmany Years Labour was finish\u2019d; whilst the incredulous World, secure\nenough, as they thought, against a Deluge, continued still in their\nExcesses and Insolencies, and laught at the Admonition of _Noah_, and at\nthe Folly of his Design of building an extravagant Machine, a floating\nHouse, to save himself from an imaginary Inundation; for they thought it\nno less, seeing it was to be in an Earth where there was no Sea, nor any\nRain neither in those Parts, according to the ordinary Course of Nature;\nas shall be shewn in the second Book of this Treatise.\n\nBUT when the appointed Time was come, the Heavens began to melt, and the\nRains to fall, and these were the first surprizing Causes and\nPreparatives to the Deluge: They fell, we suppose, (tho\u2019 we do not know\nhow that could proceed from natural Causes) throughout the Face of the\nwhole Earth; which could not but have a considerable Effect on that\nEarth, being even and smooth, without Hills and Eminencies, and might\nlay it all under Water to some Depth; so as the Ark, if it could not\nfloat upon those Rain-Waters, at least taking the Advantage of a River,\nor of a Dock or Cistern made to receive them, it might be afloat before\nthe Abyss was broken open. For I do not suppose the Abyss broken open\nbefore any Rain fell; and when the opening of the Abyss and of the\nFlood-gates of Heaven are mention\u2019d together, I am apt to think those\nFlood-gates were distinct from the common Rain, and were something more\nviolent and impetuous. So that there might be preparatory Rains before\nthe Disruption of the Abyss: And I do not know but those Rains, so\ncovering up and enclosing the Earth on every side, might providentially\ncontribute to the Disruption of it; not only by softning and weakning\nthe Arch of the Earth in the bottom of those Cracks and Chasms which\nwere made by the Sun, and which the Rain would first run into, but\nespecially by stopping on a sudden all the Pores of the Earth, and all\nEvaporation, which would make the Vapours within struggle more\nviolently, as we get a Fever by a Cold; and it may be in that struggle,\nthe Doors and the Bars were broke, and the great Abyss gush\u2019d out, as\nout of a Womb.\n\nHOWEVER, when the Rains were fallen, we may suppose the Face of the\nEarth cover\u2019d over with Water; and whether it was these Waters that St.\n_Peter_ refers to, or that of the Abyss afterwards, I cannot tell, when\nhe saith in his first Epistle, _Chap. iii. 20._ _Noah and his Family\nwere sav\u2019d by Water_; so as the Water which destroyed the rest of the\nWorld was an Instrument of their Conservation, in as much as it bore up\nthe Ark, and kept it from that impetuous Shock, which it would have had,\nif either it had stood upon dry Land when the Earth fell, or if the\nEarth had been dissolv\u2019d without any Water on it or under it. However,\nThings being thus prepar\u2019d, let us suppose the great Frame of the\nexterior Earth to have broke at this time, or the Fountains of the great\nAbyss, as _Moses_ saith, to have been then open\u2019d; from thence would\nissue upon the Fall of the Earth, with an unspeakable Violence, such a\nFlood of Waters as would over-run and overwhelm for a Time all those\nFragments which the Earth broke into, and bury in one common Grave all\nMankind, and all the Inhabitants of the Earth. Besides, if the\n_Flood-gates_ of Heaven were any thing distinct from the Forty Days\nRain, their Effusion, \u2019tis likely, was at this same time when the Abyss\nwas broken open; for the sinking of the Earth would make an\nextraordinary Convulsion of the Regions of the Air, and that Crack and\nNoise that must be in the Falling World, and in the Collision of the\nEarth and the Abyss, would make a great and universal Concussion above,\nwhich things together must needs so shake, or so squeeze the Atmosphere,\nas to bring down all the remaining Vapours; but the Force of these\nMotions not being equal throughout the whole Air, but drawing or\npressing more in some Places than in other, where the Center of the\nConvulsion was, there would be the chiefest collection, and there would\nfall, not Showers of Rain, or single Drops, but great Spouts or Cascades\nof Water; and this is that which _Moses_ seems to call, not improperly,\nthe _Cataracts_ of Heaven, or the _Windows of Heaven being set open_.\n\nTHUS the Flood came to its height; and \u2019tis not easy to represent to our\nselves this strange Scene of Things, when the Deluge was in its Fury and\nExtremity; when the Earth was broken and swallowed up in the Abyss,\nwhose raging Waters rise higher than the Mountains, and fill\u2019d the Air\nwith broken Waves, with an universal Mist, and with thick Darkness, so\nas Nature seem\u2019d to be in a second Chaos; and upon this Chaos rid the\ndistress\u2019d Ark, that bore the small Remains of Mankind. No Sea was ever\nso tumultuous as this, nor is there any thing in present Nature to be\ncompar\u2019d with the Disorder of these Waters; all the Poetry, and all the\nHyperboles that are used in the Description of Storms and raging Seas,\nwere literally true in this, if not beneath it. The Ark was really\ncarried to the Tops of the highest Mountains, and into the Places of the\nClouds, and thrown down again into the deepest Gulphs; and to this very\nState of the Deluge and of the Ark, which was a Type of the Church in\nthis World, _David_ seems to have alluded in the name of the Church,\n_Psal. xiii. 7._ _Abyss calls upon Abyss at the Noise of thy Cataracts\nor Water-spouts; all thy Waves and Billows have gone over me_. It was no\ndoubt an extraordinary and miraculous Providence, that could make a\nVessel so ill mann\u2019d, live upon such a Sea; that kept it from being\ndash\u2019d against the Hills, or overwhelm\u2019d in the Deeps. That Abyss, which\nhad devoured and swallow\u2019d up whole Forests of Woods, Cities and\nProvinces, nay the whole Earth, when it had conquer\u2019d all, and triumph\u2019d\nover all, could not destroy this single Ship. I remember in the Story of\nthe _Argonauticks_, _Dion. Argonaut. l. 1. v. 47._ when _Jason_ set out\nto fetch the Golden Fleece, the Poet saith, all the Gods that Day look\u2019d\ndown from Heaven to view the Ship; and the _Nymphs_ stood upon the\nMountain-tops to see the noble Youth of _Thessaly_ pulling at the Oars;\nwe may with more Reason suppose the Good Angels to have look\u2019d down upon\nthis Ship of _Noah_\u2019s; and that not out of Curiosity, as idle\nSpectators, but with a passionate Concern for its Safety and\nDeliverance. A Ship, whose Cargo was no less than a whole World; that\ncarry\u2019d the Fortune and Hopes of all Posterity, and if this had\nperish\u2019d, the Earth for any thing we know had been nothing but a Desart,\na great Ruin, a dead heap of Rubbish, from the Deluge to the\nConflagration. But Death and Hell, the Grave and Destruction have their\nBounds. We may entertain our selves with the Consideration of the Face\nof the Deluge, and of the broken and drown\u2019d Earth, in this Scheme, with\nthe floating Ark, and the Guardian Angels.\n\n[Illustration: Book 1 Figure 8. The Sphere of the Earth has developed\nmountains and valleys.]\n\nTHUS much for the Beginning and Progress of the Deluge. It now remains\nonly that we consider it in its Decrease, and the State of the Earth\nafter the Waters were retir\u2019d into their Channels, which makes the\npresent State of it. _Moses_ saith, God brought a Wind upon the Waters,\nand the Tops of the Hills became bare, and then the lower Grounds and\nPlains by degrees; the Waters being sunk into the Channels of the Sea,\nand the Hollowness of the Earth, and the whole Globe appearing in the\nForm it is now under. There needs nothing be added for Explication of\nthis, \u2019tis the genuine Consequence of the Theory we have given of the\nDeluge; and whether this Wind was a descending Wind to depress and keep\ndown the Swellings and Inequalities of the Abyss, or whether it was only\nto dry the Land as fast as it appear\u2019d, or might have both Effects, I do\nnot know; but as nothing can be perpetual that is violent, so this\nCommotion of the Abyss abated after a certain time, and the great Force\nthat impell\u2019d the Waters decreasing, their natural Gravity began to take\nEffect, and to reduce them into the lowest Places, at an equal Height,\nand in an even Surface, and level one Part with another: That is, in\nshort, the Abyss became our Sea, fixt within its Channel, and bounded by\nRocks and Mountains: _Then was the decreed Place establish\u2019d for it, and\nBars and Doors were set; then was it said, hitherto shalt thou come, and\nno further, and here shall thy proud Waves be stopt_, _Job xxxviii. 10,\n11._ And the Deluge being thus ended, and the Waters settled in their\nChannels, the Earth took such a broken Figure as is represented in those\nlarger Schemes, _p. 100._ And this will be the Form and State of it till\nits great Change comes in the Conflagration, when we expect _a new\nHeaven and a new Earth_.\n\nBUT to pursue this Prospect of Things a little further; we may easily\nimagine, that for many Years after the Deluge ceas\u2019d, the Face of the\nEarth was very different from what it is now, and the Sea had other\nBounds than it hath at present. I do not doubt but the Sea reach\u2019d much\nfurther in-land, and clim\u2019d higher upon the Sides of the Mountains; and\nI have observ\u2019d in many Places a Ridge of Mountains some Distance from\nthe Sea, and a Plain from their Roots to the Shore; which Plain no doubt\nwas formerly cover\u2019d by the Sea, bounded against those Hills as its\nfirst and natural Ramparts, or as the Ledges or Lips of its Vessel. And\nit seems probable, that the Sea doth still grow narrower from Age to\nAge, and sinks more within its Channel and the Bowels of the Earth,\naccording as it can make its Way into all those subterraneous Cavities,\nand crowd the Air out of them. We see whole Countries of Land gain\u2019d\nfrom it, and by several Indications, as ancient Sea-ports left dry and\nuseless, old Sea-marks far within the Land, Pieces of Ships, Anchors,\n_&c._ left at a great Distance from the present Shores; from these\nSigns, and such like, we may conclude that the Sea reach\u2019d many Places\nformerly that now are dry Land, and at first I believe was generally\nbound in on either Side with a Chain of Mountains. So I should easily\nimagine the Mediterranean Sea, for instance, to have been bounded by the\nContinuation of the _Alps_ through _Dauphine_ and _Languedoc_ to the\n_Pyreneans_, and at the other End by the _Darmatick_ Mountains almost to\nthe Black Sea. Then _Atlas major_, which runs along with the\nMediterranean from _\u00c6gypt_ to the _Atlantick_ Ocean, and now parts\n_Barbary_ and _Numidia_, may possibly have been the ancient Barrier on\nthe _Africk_ Side. And in our own Island I could easily figure to my\nself, in many Parts of it, other Sea-bounds than what it hath at\npresent; and the like may be observ\u2019d in other Countries.\n\nAND as the Sea had much larger Bounds for some Time after the Deluge, so\nthe Land had a different Face in many Respects to what it hath now; for\nwe suppose the Valleys and lower Grounds, where the Descent and\nDerivation of the Water was not so easy, to have been full of Lakes and\nPools for a long Time; and these were often converted into Fens and\nBogs, where the Ground being spungy, suck\u2019d up the Water, and the\nloosen\u2019d Earth swell\u2019d into a soft and pappy Substance; which would\nstill continue so, if there was any Course of Water sensible or\ninsensible, above or within the Ground, that fed this moist Place: But\nif the Water stood in a more firm Basin, or on a Soil, which for its\nHeaviness or any other Reason would not mix with it, it made a Lake or\nclear Pool. And we may easily imagine there were innumerable such Lakes,\nand Bogs, and Fastnesses for many Years after the Deluge, till the World\nbegun to be pretty well stock\u2019d with People, and human Industry cleansed\nand drained those unfruitful and unhabitable Places. And those Countries\nthat have been later cultivated, or by a lazier People, retain still, in\nProportion to their Situation and Soil, a greater Number of them.\n\nNEITHER is it at all incongruous or inconvenient to suppose, that the\nFace of the Earth stood in this Manner for many Years after the Deluge;\nfor while Mankind was small and few, they needed but a little Ground for\ntheir Seats or Sustenance; and as they grew more numerous, the Earth\nproportionally grew more dry, and more Parts of it fit for Habitation. I\neasily believe that _Plato_\u2019s Observation or Tradition [_de Leg. li.\n3._] is true, that Men at first, after the Flood, liv\u2019d in the Up-lands\nand Sides of the Mountains, and by Degrees sunk into the Plains and\nlower Countries, when Nature had prepar\u2019d them for their Use, and their\nNumbers requir\u2019d more Room. The History of _Moses_ _Gen. xi._ tells us,\nthat some Time after the Deluge, _Noah_ and his Posterity, his Sons and\nhis Grand-children, chang\u2019d their Quarters, and fell down into the\nPlains of _Shiner_, from the Sides of the Hills where the Ark had\nrested; and in this Plain was the last general Rendezvous of Mankind; so\nlong they seem to have kept in a Body, and from thence they were divided\nand broken into Companies, and dispers\u2019d, first, into the neighbouring\nCountries, and then by degrees throughout the whole Earth; the several\nsuccessive Generations, like the Waves of the Sea when it flows,\nover-reaching one another, and striking out farther and farther upon the\nFace of the Land. Not that the whole Earth was peopled by an uniform\nPropagation of Mankind every Way, from one Place, as a common Center;\nlike the Swelling of a Lake upon a Plain: For sometimes they shot out in\nlength, like Rivers, and sometimes they flew into remote Countries in\nColonies, like Swarms from the Hive, and settled there, leaving many\nPlaces uninhabited betwixt them and their first Home. Sea-shores and\nIslands were generally the last Places inhabited; for while the Memory\nor Story of the Deluge was fresh amongst them, they did not care for\ncoming so near their late Enemy; or at least, to be inclos\u2019d and\nsurrounded by his Forces.\n\nAND this may be sufficient to have discours\u2019d concerning all the Parts\nof the Deluge, and the Restitution of the Earth to an habitable Form,\nfor the further Union of our Theory with the History of _Moses_; there\nrests only one Thing in that History to be taken notice of, which may be\nthought possibly not to agree so well with our Account of the Deluge;\nnamely, that _Moses_ seems to shut up the Abyss again at the End of the\nDeluge, which our Explication supposeth to continue open. But besides\nthat half the Abyss is still really cover\u2019d, _Moses_ saith the same\nThing of the Windows of Heaven, that they were shut up too; and he\nseemeth in both to express only the Cessation of the Effect which\nproceeded from their opening: For as _Moses_ had ascrib\u2019d the Deluge to\nthe opening of these two, so when it was to cease, he saith, these two\nwere shut up; as they were really put into such a Condition, both of\nthen, that they could not continue the Deluge any longer, nor ever be\nthe Occasion of a second; and therefore in that Sense, and as to that\nEffect were for ever shut up. Some may possibly make that also an\nObjection against us, that _Moses_ mentions and supposes the Mountains\nat the Deluge, for he saith, the Waters reached fifteen Cubits above the\nTops of them; whereas we suppose the antediluvian Earth to have had a\nplain and uniform Surface, without any Inequality of Hills and Valleys.\nBut this is easily answer\u2019d, it was in the Height of the Deluge that\n_Moses_ mention\u2019d the Mountains, and we suppose them to have risen then,\nor more towards the Beginning of it, when the Earth was broke; and these\nMountains continuing still upon the Face of the Earth, _Moses_ might\nvery well take them for a Standard to measure and express to Posterity\nthe Height of the Waters, though they were not upon the Earth when the\nDeluge began. Neither is there any mention made, as is observ\u2019d by some,\nof Mountains in Scripture, or of Rain, till the Time of the Deluge.\n\nWE have now finish\u2019d our Account of _Noah_\u2019s Flood, both generally and\nparticularly; and I have not wittingly omitted or conceal\u2019d any\nDifficulty that occurr\u2019d to me, either from the History, or from\nabstract Reason; our Theory, so far as I know, hath the Consent and\nAuthority of both: And how far it agrees and is demonstrable from\nnatural Observation, or from the Form and _Ph\u00e6nomena_ of this Earth, as\nit lies at present, shall be the Subject of the remaining Part of this\nfirst Book. In the mean time I do not know any Thing more to be added in\nthis Part, unless it be to conclude with an Advertisement to prevent any\nMistake or Misconstruction, as if this Theory, by explaining the Deluge\nin a natural Way, in a great Measure, or, by natural Causes, did detract\nfrom the Power of God, by which that great Judgment was brought upon the\nWorld in a providential and miraculous Manner.\n\nTO satisfy all reasonable and intelligent Persons in this Particular, I\nanswer and declare, first, That we are far from excluding divine\nProvidence, either ordinary or extraordinary, from the Causes and\nConduct of the Deluge. I know a Sparrow doth not fall to the Ground\nwithout the Will of our Heavenly Father, much less doth the great World\nfall in Pieces without his good Pleasure and Superintendency. In him all\nThings live, move, and have their Being; Things that have Life and\nThought have it from him, he is the Fountain of both. Things that have\nMotion only, without Thought, have it also from him: And what hath only\nnaked Being, without Thought or Motion, owe still that Being to him. And\nthese are not only derived from God at first, but every Moment continued\nand conserv\u2019d by him. So intimate and universal is the Dependance of all\nThings upon the Divine Will and Power.\n\nIN the second Place, they are guilty, in my Judgment, of a great Error\nor Indiscretion, that oppose the Course of Nature to Providence. St.\n_Paul_ says, (_Acts xiv. 17._) God hath not left us without Witness, in\nthat he gives us Rain from Heaven; yet Rains proceed from natural\nCauses, and fall upon the Sea as well as upon the Land. In like manner,\nour Saviour, _Mat. vi. 21._ makes those Things Instances of Divine\nProvidence, which yet come to pass in an ordinary Course of Nature; in\nthat Part of his excellent Sermon upon the Mount, _Luke xii. 24._ that\nconcerns Providence, he bids them _consider the Lilies how they grow,\nthey toil not, neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his Glory\nwas not array\u2019d like one of these_: He bids them also _consider the\nRavens, they neither sow nor reap, neither have they Store-house nor\nBarn, and God feedeth them_. The Lilies grow, and the Ravens are fed\naccording to the ordinary Course of Nature, and yet they are justly made\nArguments of Providence by our Saviour; nor are these Things less\nprovidential, because constant and regular; on the contrary, such a\nDisposition or Establishment of second Causes, as will in the best\nOrder, and for a long Succession, produce the most regular Effects,\nassisted only with the ordinary Concourse of the first Cause, is a\ngreater Argument of Wisdom and Contrivance, than such a Disposition of\nCauses as will not in so good an Order, or for so long a Time produce\nregular Effects, without an extraordinary Concourse and Interposition of\nthe first Cause. This I think is clear to every Man\u2019s Judgment. We think\nhim a better Artist that makes a Clock that strikes regularly at every\nHour from the Springs and Wheels which he puts in the Work, than he that\nhath so made his Clock that he must put his Finger to it every Hour to\nmake it strike: And if one should contrive a Piece of Clock-work, so\nthat it should beat all the Hours, and make all its Motions regularly\nfor such a Time, and that Time being come, upon a Signal given, or a\nSpring touch\u2019d, it should of its own accord fall all to Pieces; would\nnot this be look\u2019d upon as a Piece of greater Art than if the Workman\ncame at that Time prefix\u2019d, and with a great Hammer beat it into pieces?\nI use these Comparisons to convince us, that it is no Detraction from\ndivine Providence, that the Course of Nature is exact and regular, and\nthat even in its greatest Changes and Revolutions it should still\nconspire and be prepar\u2019d to answer the Ends and Purposes of the divine\nWill in reference to the moral World. This seems to me to be the great\nArt of divine Providence, so to adjust the two Worlds, human and\nnatural, material and intellectual, as seeing thro\u2019 the Possibilities\nand Futuritions of each, according to the first State and Circumstances\nhe puts them under, they should all along correspond and fit one\nanother, and especially in their great Crises and Periods.\n\nTHIRDLY, Besides the ordinary Providence of God in the ordinary Course\nof Nature, there is doubtless an extraordinary Providence that doth\nattend the greater Scenes and the greater Revolutions of Nature. This,\nmethinks, besides all other Proof from the Effects, is very rational and\nnecessary in itself; for it would be a Limitation of the divine Power\nand Will so to be bound up to second Causes, as never to use, upon\nOccasion, an extraordinary Influence or Direction: And \u2019tis manifest,\ntaking any System of natural Causes, if the best possible, that there\nmay be more and greater Things done, if to this, upon certain Occasions,\nyou join an extraordinary Conduct. And as we have taken Notice before,\nthat there was an extraordinary Providence in the Formation or\nComposition of the first Earth, so I believe there was also in the\nDissolution of it: And I think it had been impossible for the Ark to\nhave liv\u2019d upon the raging Abyss, or for _Noah_ and his Family to have\nbeen preserv\u2019d, if there had not been a miraculous Hand of Providence to\ntake care of them. But \u2019tis hard to separate and distinguish an ordinary\nand extraordinary Providence in all Cases, and to mark just how far one\ngoes, and where the other begins. And writing a Theory of the Deluge\nhere, as we do, we were to exhibit a Series of Causes whereby it might\nbe made intelligible, or to shew the proximate natural Causes of it;\nwherein we follow the Example both of _Moses_ and St. _Peter_; and with\nthe same Veneration of the divine Power and Wisdom in the Government of\nNature, by a constant ordinary Providence, and an occasional\nextraordinary.\n\nSO much for the Theory of the Deluge, and the second Section of this\nDiscourse.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. IX.\n\n\n _The second Part of this Discourse, proving the same Theory from the\n Effects and present Form of the Earth. First, by a general Scheme of\n what is most remarkable in this Globe, and then by a more particular\n Induction; beginning with an Account of subterraneous Cavities and\n subterraneous Waters._\n\n\nWE have now finished our Explication of the universal Deluge, and given\nan Account, not only of the Possibility of it, but (so far as our\nKnowledge can reach) of its Causes; and of that Form and Structure of\nthe Earth, whereby the _Old World_ was subject to that sort of Fate. We\nhave not begged any principles or Suppositions for the Proof of this;\nbut taking that common Ground, which both _Moses_ and all Antiquity\npresent to us, _viz._ _That this Earth rose from a Chaos_: We have from\nthat deduc\u2019d, by an easy Train of Consequences, what the first Form of\nit would be; and from that Form, as from a nearer Ground, we have by a\nsecond Train of Consequences made it appear, that at some Time or other\nthat first Earth would be subject to a Dissolution, and by that\nDissolution to a Deluge. And thus far we have proceeded only by the\nIntuition of Causes, as is most proper to a Theory; but for the\nSatisfaction of those that require more sensible Arguments, and to\ncompleat our Proofs on either hand, we will now argue from the Effects;\nand from the present State of Nature, and the present Form of the Earth,\nprove that it hath been broken, and undergone such a Dissolution as we\nhave already describ\u2019d, and made the immediate Occasion of the Deluge.\nAnd that we may do this more perspicuously and distinctly, we will lay\ndown this Proposition to be prov\u2019d, _viz._ _That the present Form and\nStructure of the Earth, both as to the Surface and as to the interior\nParts of it, so far as they are known and accessible to us, doth exactly\nanswer to our Theory concerning the Form and Dissolution of the first\nEarth, and cannot be explain\u2019d upon any other Hypothesis yet known._\n\nORATORS and Philosophers treat Nature after a very different Manner;\nthose represent her with all her Graces and Ornaments, and if there be\nany Thing that is not capable of that, they dissemble it, or pass it\nover slightly. But Philosophers view Nature with a more impartial Eye,\nand without Favour or Prejudice give a just and free Account, how they\nfind all the Parts of the Universe, some more, some less perfect. And as\nto this Earth in particular, if I was to describe it as an Orator, I\nwould suppose it a beautiful and regular Globe; and not only so, but\nthat the whole Universe was made for its sake; that it was the Darling\nand Favourite of Heaven, that the Sun shin\u2019d only to give it Light, to\nripen its Fruit, and make fresh its Flowers; and that the great Concave\nof the Firmament, and all the Stars in their several Orbs, were design\u2019d\nonly for a spangled Cabinet to keep this Jewel in. This _Idea_ I would\ngive of it as an Orator; but a Philosopher that overheard me would\neither think me in Jest, or very injudicious, if I took the Earth for a\nBody so regular in it self, or so considerable if compar\u2019d with the rest\nof the Universe. This, he would say, is to make the great World like one\nof the Heathen Temples, a beautiful and magnificent Structure, and of\nthe richest Materials, yet built only for a little brute Idol, a Dog, or\na Crocodile, or some deformed Creature placed in a Corner of it.\n\nWE must therefore be impartial where the Truth requires it, and describe\nthe Earth as it is really in it self; and though it be handsome and\nregular enough to the Eye in certain Parts of it, single Tracks and\nsingle Regions; yet if we consider the whole Surface of it, or the whole\nexterior Region, \u2019tis as a broken and confus\u2019d Heap of Bodies, plac\u2019d in\nno Order to one another, nor with any Correspondency or Regularity of\nParts: And such a Body as the Moon appears to us, when \u2019tis look\u2019d upon\nwith a good Glass, rude and ragged; as it is also represented in the\nmodern Maps of the Moon; such a Thing would the Earth appear if it was\nseen from the Moon. They are both in my Judgment the Image or Picture of\na great Ruin, and have the true Aspect of a World lying in its Rubbish.\n_See Fig._ in _Chap. XI._\n\nOUR Earth is first divided into Sea and Land, without any Regularity in\nthe Portions, either of the one or the other; in the Sea lie the\nIslands, scatter\u2019d like Limbs torn from the rest of the Body; great\nRocks stand rear\u2019d up in the Waters; the Promontories and Capes shoot\ninto the Sea, and the Sinus\u2019s and Creeks on the other hand run as much\ninto the Land; and these without any Order or Uniformity. Upon the other\nPart of our Globe stand great Heaps of Earth or Stone, which we call\nMountains; and if these were all plac\u2019d together, they would take up a\nvery considerable part of the dry Land: In the rest of it are lesser\nHills, Valleys, Plains, Lakes and Marshes, Sands and Desarts, _&c._ and\nthese also without any regular Disposition. Then the Inside of the\nEarth, or inward Parts of it, are generally broken or hollow, especially\nabout the Mountains and high Lands, as also towards the Shores of the\nSea, and among the Rocks. How many Holes and Caverns, and strange\nsubterraneous Passages do we see in many Countries? And how many more\nmay we easily imagine, that are unknown and unaccessible to us?\n\nTHIS is the Pourtraicture of our Earth, drawn without Flattery; and as\noddly as it looks, it will not be at all surprizing to one that hath\nconsider\u2019d the foregoing Theory: For \u2019tis manifest enough, that upon the\nDissolution of the first Earth, and its Fall into the Abyss, this very\nFace and Posture of Things, which we have now describ\u2019d, or something\nextreamly like it, would immediately result. The Sea would be open\u2019d,\nand the Face of the Globe would be divided into Land and Water: And\naccording as the Fragments fell, some would make Islands or Rocks in the\nSea, others would make Mountains or Plains upon the Land; and the Earth\nwould generally be full of Caverns and Hollownesses, especially in the\nmountainous Parts of it. And we see the Resemblance and Imitation of\nthis in lesser Ruins, when a Mountain sinks and falls into subterraneous\nWater; or, which is more obvious, when the Arch of a Bridge is broken,\nand falls into the Water, if the Water under it be not so deep as to\noverflow and cover all its Parts, you may see there the Image of all\nthese things in little Continents, and Islands, and Rocks under Water:\nAnd in the Parts that stand above the Water, you see Mountains, and\nPrecipices, and Plains, and most of the Varieties that we see and admire\nin the Parts of the Earth. What need we then seek any further for the\nExplication of these things? Let us suppose this Arch of the Bridge, as\nthe great Arch of the Earth, which once it had, and the Water under it\nas the Abyss, and the Parts of this Ruin to represent the Parts of the\nEarth: There will be scarce any Difference but of lesser and greater,\nthe same things appearing in both. But we have naturally that Weakness\nor Prejudice, that we think great things are not to be explained from\neasy and familiar Instances; we think there must be something difficult\nand operose in the Explication of them, or else we are not satisfied;\nwhether it is that we are ashamed to see our Ignorance and Admiration to\nhave been so groundless, or whether we fancy there must be a Proportion\nbetween the Difficulty of the Explication, and the Greatness of the\nthing explain\u2019d; but that is a very false Judgment, for let Things be\nnever so great, if they be simple, their Explication must be simple and\neasy: And on the contrary, some things that are mean, common, and\nordinary, may depend upon Causes very difficult to find out; for the\nDifficulty of explaining an Effect doth not depend upon its Greatness or\nLittleness, but upon the Simplicity or Composition of its Causes. And\nthe Effects and _Ph\u00e6nomena_ we are here to explain, though great, yet\ndepending upon Causes very simple, you must not wonder if the\nExplication, when found out, be familiar and very intelligible.\n\nAND this is so intelligible, and so easily deducible from the\nforementioned Causes, that a Man born blind, or brought up all his Life\nin a Cave, that had never seen the Face of the Earth, nor ever heard any\nDescription of it, more than that it was a great Globe; having this\nTheory propos\u2019d to him, or being instructed what the Form of the first\nEarth was, how it stood over the Waters, and then how it was broke and\nfell into them, he would easily of his own accord foretel what Changes\nwould arise upon this Dissolution; and what the new Form of the Earth\nwould be. As in the first place he would tell you, that this second\nEarth would be distinguish\u2019d and checker\u2019d into Land and Water; for the\nOrb which fell being greater than the Circumference it fell upon, all\nthe Fragments could not fall flat and lie drown\u2019d under Water; and those\nthat stood above would make the dry Land or habitable part of the Earth.\nThen in the second Place, he would plainly discern that these Fragments\nthat made the dry Land could not lie all plain and smooth and equal, but\nsome would be higher and some lower, some in one Posture and some in\nanother; and consequently would make Mountains, Hills, Valleys and\nPlains, and all other Varieties we have in the Situation of the Parts of\nthe Earth. And lastly, a blind Man would easily divine that such a great\nRuin could not happen but there would be a great many Holes and Cavities\namongst the Parts of it, a great many Intervals and empty Places in the\nRubbish, as I may so say; for this we see happens in all Ruins more or\nless; and where the Fragments are great and hard, \u2019tis not possible they\nshould be so adjusted in their Fall, but that they would lie hollow in\nmany Places, and many unfill\u2019d Spaces would be intercepted amongst them;\nsome gaping in the Surface of the Earth, and others hid within; so as\nthis would give occasion to all sorts of Fractures and Cavities either\nin the Skin of the Earth, or within its Body. And these Cavities, that I\nmay add that in the last Place, would be often fill\u2019d with subterraneous\nWaters, at least at such a Depth; for the Foundations of the Earth\nstanding now within the Waters, so high as those Waters reach\u2019d they\nwould more or less propagate themselves every way.\n\nTHUS far our blind Man could tell us what the new World would be, or the\nForm of the Earth upon the great Dissolution; and we find his Reasonings\nand Inferences very true, these are the chief Lineaments and Features of\nour Earth; which appear indeed very irregular and very unaccountable\nwhen they are look\u2019d upon naked in themselves; but if we look upon them\nthrough this Theory, we see as in a Glass all the Reasons and Causes of\nthem. There are different Genius\u2019s of Men, and different Conceptions,\nand every one is to be allow\u2019d their Liberty as to things of this\nNature; I confess, for my own part, when I observe how easy and\nnaturally this _Hypothesis_ doth apply it self to the general Face of\nthis Earth, hits and falls in so luckily and surprizingly with all the\nodd Postures of its Parts, I cannot, without Violence, bear off my Mind\nfrom fully assenting to it: And the more odd and extravagant, as I may\nso say, and the more diversify\u2019d the Effects and Appearances are, to\nwhich an _Hypothesis_ is to be apply\u2019d, if it answers them all and with\nExactness, it comes the nearer to a moral Certitude and Infallibility.\nAs a Lock that consists of a great deal of Workmanship, many Wards, and\nmany odd Pieces and Contrivances, if you find a Key, that answers to\nthem all, and opens it readily, \u2019tis a thousand to one that \u2019tis the\ntrue Key, and was made for that Purpose.\n\nAN eminent Philosopher of this Age, _Monsier des Cartes_, hath made use\nof the like _Hypothesis_ to explain the irregular Form of the present\nEarth; though he never dream\u2019d of the Deluge, nor thought that first\nOrb, built over the Abyss, to have been any more than a transient Crust,\nand not a real habitable World that lasted for more than sixteen hundred\nYears, as we suppose it to have been. And though he hath, in my Opinion,\nin the Formation of that first Orb, and upon the Dissolution of it,\ncommitted some great Oversights, whereof we have given an Account in the\n_Latin_ Treatise, _C. 7. & lib. 2. c. 4._ however he saw a Necessity of\nsuch a Thing, and of the Disruption of it, to bring the Earth into that\nForm and Posture wherein we now find it.\n\nTHUS far we have spoken in general, concerning the Agreement and\nCongruity of our Supposition with the present Face of the Earth, and the\neasy Account it gives of the Causes of it. And though I believe to\ningenuous Persons, that are not prejudic\u2019d by the Forms and Opinions of\nthe Schools against every thing that looks like a Novelty or Invention,\nthus much might be sufficient; yet for the Satisfaction of all, we will,\nas a farther Proof of our Theory, or that part of it which concerns the\nDissolution of the Earth, descend to a particular Explication of three\nor four of the most considerable and remarkable things that occur in the\nFabrick of this present Earth; namely, _The great Channel of the Ocean;\nsubterraneous Cavities and subterraneous Waters_; and lastly, _Mountains\nand Rocks_. These are the Wonders of the Earth as to the visible Frame\nof it; and who would not be pleas\u2019d to see a rational Account of these,\nof their Origin, and of their Properties? Or who would not approve of an\n_Hypothesis_, when they see that Nature in her greatest and strongest\nWorks may easily be understood by it, and is in no other way, that we\nknow of, intelligible?\n\nWE will speak first of subterraneous Cavities and Waters, because they\nwill be of easier Dispatch, and an Introduction to the rest.\n\nTHAT the Inside of the Earth is hollow and broken in many Places, and is\nnot one firm and united Mass, we have both the Testimony of Sense and of\neasy Observations to prove: How many Caves and Dens and hollow Passages\ninto the Ground do we see in many Countries, especially amongst\nMountains and Rocks; and some of them endless and bottomless so far as\ncan be discover\u2019d? We have many of these in our own Island, in\n_Derbyshire_, _Somersetshire_, _Wales_, and other Counties, and in every\nContinent or Island they abound more or less. These Hollownesses of the\nEarth the Ancients made Prisons, or Store-houses for the Winds, and set\na God over them to confine them, or let them loose at his Pleasure. For\nsome Ages after the Flood, as all Antiquity tells us, these were the\nfirst Houses Men had, at least in some Parts of the Earth; here rude\nMortals shelter\u2019d themselves, as well as they could, from the Injuries\nof the Air, till they were beaten out by wild Beasts that took\nPossession of them. The ancient Oracles also us\u2019d to be given out of\nthese Vaults and Recesses under Ground, the _Sibyls_ had their Caves,\nand the _Delphick_ Oracle, and their Temples sometimes were built upon\nan hollow Rock. Places that are strange and solemn strike an Awe into\nus, and incline us to a kind of superstitious Timidity and Veneration,\nand therefore they thought them fit for the Seats and Residences of\ntheir Deities. They fancied also that Steams rise sometimes, or a sort\nof Vapour in those hollow Places, that gave a kind of a divine Fury or\nInspiration. But all these Uses and Employments are now in a great\nmeasure worn out, we know no Use of them but to make the Places talk\u2019d\non where they are, to be the Wonders of the Country, to please our\nCuriosity to gaze upon and admire; but we know not how they came, nor to\nwhat purpose they were made at first.\n\nIT would be very pleasant to read good Descriptions of these\nsubterraneous Places, and of all the strange Works of Nature there; how\nshe furnisheth these dark neglected Grotto\u2019s; they have often a little\nBrook runs murmuring thro\u2019 them, and the Roof is commonly a kind of\npetrefied Earth, or icy Fret-work, proper enough for such Rooms. But I\nshould be pleas\u2019d especially to view the Sea-caves, or those hollow\nRocks that lie upon the Sea, where the Waves roll a great Way under\nGround, and wear the hard Rock into as many odd Shapes and Figures as we\nsee in the Clouds. \u2019Tis pleasant also to see a River in the Middle of\nits Course throw itself into the Mouth of a Cave, or an Opening of the\nEarth, and run under Ground sometimes many Miles; still pursuing its Way\nthro\u2019 the dark Pipes of the Earth, till at last it find an Out-let.\nThere are many of these Rivers taken Notice of in History in the several\nParts of the Earth, as the _Rhone_ in _France_, _Guadiana_ in _Spain_,\nand several in _Greece_, _Alpheus_, _Lycus_, and _Erasinus_; then\n_Niger_ in _Africa_, _Tygris_ in _Asia_, _&c._ And I believe if we could\nturn _Derwent_, or any other River, into one of the Holes of the Peak,\nit would groap its Way till it found an Issue, it may be, in some other\nCountry. These subterraneous Rivers that emerge again, shew us that the\nHoles of the Earth are longer and reach further than we imagine, and if\nwe could see into the Ground, as we ride, or walk, we should be\naffrighted to see so often Waters or Caverns under us.\n\nBUT to return to our dry Caves; these commonly stand high, and are\nsometimes of a prodigious Greatness: _Strabo_ [_Geo. l. 16._] mentions\nsome in the Mountains towards _Arabia_, that are capable to receive four\nthousand Men at once. The Cave of _Engedi_ [_1 Sam. xxiv. 3, 4._] hid\n_David_ and six hundred Men, so as _Saul_, when he was in the Mouth of\nit, did not perceive them. In the Mountains of the _Traconites_ there\nare many of these vast Dens and Recesses, and the People of that Country\ndefended themselves a long time in those strong Holds against _Herod_\nand his Army: They are plac\u2019d among such craggy Rocks and Precipices,\nthat, as _Josephus_ [_Ant. Jud. l. 14. ch. 27._] tells us, _Herod_ was\nforced to make a sort of open Chests, and in those by Chains of Iron he\nlet down his Soldiers from the Top of the Mountains to go fight them in\ntheir Dens. I need add no more Instances of this Kind: In the natural\nHistory of all Countries, or the geographical Descriptions of them, you\nfind such Places taken notice of, more or less; yet if there was a good\nCollection made of the chief of them in several Parts, it might be of\nuse, and would make us more sensible how broken and torn the Body of the\nEarth is.\n\nTHERE are subterraneous Cavities of another Nature, and more remarkable,\nwhich they call _Volcano_\u2019s, or fiery Mountains; that belch out Flames\nand Smoke and Ashes, and sometimes great Stones and broken Rocks, and\nLumps of Earth, or some metallick Mixture; and throw them to an\nincredible Distance by the Force of the Eruption. These argue great\nVacuities in the Bowels of the Earth, and Magazines of combustible\nMatter treasur\u2019d up in them. And as the Exhalations within these Places\nmust be copious, so they must lie in long Mines or Trains to do so great\nExecution, and to last so long. \u2019Tis scarce credible what is reported\nconcerning some Eruptions of _Vesuvius_ and _\u00c6tna_. The Eruptions of\n_Vesuvius_ seem to be more frequent and less violent of late; the Flame\nand Smoke break out at the Top of the Mountain, where they have eaten\naway the Ground and made a great Hollow, so as it looks at the Top, when\nyou stand upon the Brims of it, like an _Amphitheatre_, or like a great\nCaldron, about a Mile in Circumference, and the burning Furnace lies\nunder it. The Outside of the Mountain is all spread with Ashes, but the\nInside much more; for you wade up to the Mid-leg in Ashes to go down to\nthe Bottom of the Cavity and \u2019tis extremely heavy and troublesome to get\nup again. The Inside lies sloping, and one may safely go down, if it be\nnot in a raging Fit; but the middle Part of it, or Center, which is a\nlittle rais\u2019d like the Bottom of a Platter, is not to be ventur\u2019d upon,\nthe Ground there lies false and hollow, there it always smoaks, and\nthere the Funnel is suppos\u2019d to be; yet there is no visible Hole or\nGaping any where when it doth not rage. _Naples_ stands below in fear of\nthis fiery Mountain, which hath often cover\u2019d its Streets and Palaces\nwith its Ashes; and in Sight of the Sea (which lies by the Side of them\nboth) and as it were in Defiance to it, threatens at one time or other\nto burn that fair City. History tells us, that some Eruptions of\n_Vesuvius_ have carry\u2019d Cinders and Ashes as far as _Constantinople_;\nthis is attested both by _Greek_ and _Latin_ Authors; particularly, that\nthey were so affrighted with these Ashes and Darkness, that the Emperor\nleft the City, and there was a Day observ\u2019d yearly for a Memorial of\nthis Calamity or Prodigy.\n\n_\u00c6TNA_ is of greater Fame than _Vesuvius_, and of greater Fury, all\nAntiquity speaks of it; not only the _Greeks_ and _Romans_, but as far\nas History reacheth, either real or fabulous, there is something\nrecorded of the Fires of _\u00c6tna_: The Figure of the Mountain is\ninconstant, by reason of the great Consumptions and Ruins it is subject\nto; the Fires and \u00c6stuations of it are excellently describ\u2019d by\n_Virgil_, upon Occasion of _\u00c6neas_\u2019s passing by those Coasts.\n\n \u2014\u2014 _Horrificis juxta tonat \u00c6tna ruinis;\n Intendumque atram prorumpit ad \u00e6theranubem,\n Turbine fumantem piceo & candente favilla;\n Attollitque globos flammarum & sydera lambit;\n Interdum scopulos, avulsaque viscera montis\n Erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub auras\n Cum gemitu glomerat, fundoque ex\u00e6stuat imo._\n\n _Fama est Enceladi semustum fulmine corpus\n Urgeri mole hac, ingentemque insuper \u00c6tnam\n Impositam, ruptis flammam expirare caminis.\n Et fessum quoties mutet latus, intremere omnem\n Murmure Trinacriam & c\u0153lum subtexere fumo._\n\n \u2014\u2014_\u00c6tna, whose Ruins make a thunder;\n Sometimes black Clouds of Smoke, that rowl about\n Mingled with Flakes of Fire, it belches out:\n And sometimes Balls of Flame it darts on high,\n Or its torn Bowels flings into the Sky.\n Within deep Cells under the Earth, a Store\n Of Fire-materials, molten Stones, and Ore,\n It gathers, then spews out, and gathers more._\n\n _Enceladus, when Thunder-struck by Jove,\n Was bury\u2019d here, and \u00c6tna thrown above;\n And when, to change his wearied Side, he turns,\n The Island trembles and the Mountain burns._\n\nNOT far from _\u00c6tna_ lies _Strombolo_, and other adjacent Islands, where\nthere are also such Magazines of Fire; and throughout all Regions and\nCountries in the _West-Indies_ and in the _East_, in the northern and\nsouthern Parts of the Earth, there are some of these _Volcano_\u2019s, which\nare sensible Evidences that the Earth is incompact and full of Caverns;\nbesides, the roarings and bellowings that use to be heard before an\nEruption of these _Volcano_\u2019s argue some dreadful Hollowness in the\nBelly, or under the Roots of the Mountain, where the Exhalations\nstruggle before they can break their Prison.\n\nTHE subterraneous Cavities, that we have spoke of hitherto, are such as\nare visible in the Surface of the Earth, and break the Skin by some\ngaping Orifice; but the Miners and those that work under Ground meet\nwith many more in the Bowels of the Earth, that never reach to the Top\nof it; Burrows and Channels, and Clifts and Caverns, that never had the\nComfort of one Beam of Light since the great Fall of the Earth. And\nwhere we think the Ground is firm and solid, as upon Heaths and Downs,\nit often betrays its Hollowness, by sounding under the Horses Feet and\nthe Chariot Wheels that pass over it. We do not know when and where we\nstand upon good Ground, if it was examin\u2019d deep enough; and to make us\nfurther sensible of this, we will instance in two Things that argue the\nUnsoundness and Hollowness of the Earth in the inward Recesses of it,\ntho\u2019 the Surface be intire and unbroken; these are _Earthquakes_ and the\nCommunication of _subterraneous Waters_ and _Seas_: Of which two we will\nspeak a little more particularly.\n\nEARTHQUAKES are too evident Demonstrations of the Hollowness of the\nEarth, being the dreadful Effects or Consequences of it; for if the Body\nof the Earth was sound and compact, there would be no such thing in\nNature as an Earthquake. They are commonly accompanied with an heavy\ndead Sound, like a dull Thunder which ariseth from the Vapours that are\nstriving in the Womb of Nature, when her Throws are coming upon her. And\nthat these Caverns where the Vapours lie are very large and capacious,\nwe are taught sometimes by sad Experience; for whole Cities and\nCountries have been swallow\u2019d up into them, as _Sodom_ and _Gomorrah_,\nand the Region of _Pentapolis_, and several Cities in _Greece_, and in\n_Asia_, and other Parts. Whole Islands also have been thus absorpt in an\nEarthquake; the Pillars and Props they stood upon being broken, they\nhave sunk and fallen in as an House blown up. I am also of Opinion, that\nthose Islands that are made by Divulsion from a Continent, as _Sicily_\nwas broken off from _Italy_, and _Great-Britain_, as some think, from\n_France_, have been made the same way; that is, the Isthmus or Necks of\nLand, that join\u2019d these Islands with their Continents before, have been\nhollow, and being either worn by the Water, or shak\u2019d by an Earthquake,\nhave sunk down, and so made Way for the Sea to overflow them, and of a\nPromontory to make an Island. For it is not at all likely that the Neck\nof Land continued standing, and the Sea overflow\u2019d it, and so made an\nIsland; for then, all those Passages between such Islands, and their\nrespective Continents, would be extremely shallow and unnavigable, which\nwe do not find them to be. Nor is it any more Wonder if such a Neck of\nLand should fall, than that a Mountain should sink, or any other Tract\nof Land, and a Lake rise in its Place, which hath often happened.\n_Plato_ supposeth his _Atlantis_ to have been greater than _Asia_ and\n_Africa_ together, and yet to have sunk all into the Sea; whether that\nbe true or no, I do not think it impossible that some Arms of the Sea,\nor Sinus\u2019s, might have had such an Original as that; and I am very apt\nto think, that for some Years after the Deluge, \u2019till the Fragments were\nwell settled and adjusted, great Alterations would happen as to the Face\nof the Sea and the Land; many of the Fragments would change their\nPosture, and many would sink into the Water, that stood out before, the\nProps failing that bore them up, or the Joints and Corners whereby they\nlean\u2019d upon one another: And thereupon a new Face of Things would arise,\nand a new Deluge for that part of the Earth. Such Removes and\nInterchanges, I believe, would often happen in the first Ages after the\nFlood; as we see in all other Ruins, there happen lesser and secondary\nRuins after the first, \u2019till the Parts be so well pois\u2019d and settled,\nthat without some Violence they scarce change their Posture any more.\n\nBUT to return to our Earthquakes, and to give an Instance or two of\ntheir Extent and Violence: _Pliny_ mentions one in the Reign of\n_Tiberius C\u00e6sar_, that struck down twelve Cities of _Asia_ in one Night.\nAnd _Fournier_ gives us an Account of one in _Peru_, that reach\u2019d three\nhundred Leagues along the Sea-shore, and seventy Leagues In-land; and\nlevel\u2019d the Mountains all along as it went, threw down the Cities,\nturn\u2019d the Rivers out of their Channels, and made an universal Havock\nand Confusion: And all this, he saith, was done within the Space of\nseven or eight Minutes. There must be dreadful Vaults and Mines under\nthat Continent that gave Passage to the Vapours, and Liberty to play for\nNine Hundred Miles in length, and above two Hundred in breadth. _Asia_\nalso hath been very subject to these Desolations by Earthquakes; and\nmany Parts in _Europe_, as _Greece_, _Italy_, and others. The Truth is,\nour Cities are built upon Ruins, and our Fields and Countries stand upon\nbroken Arches and Vaults, and so does the greatest Part of the outward\nFrame of the Earth, and therefore it is no Wonder if it be often shaken;\nthere being Quantities of Exhalations within these Mines, or cavernous\nPassages, that are capable of Rarefaction and Inflammation; and, upon\nsuch Occasions, requiring more Room, they shake or break the Ground that\ncovers them. And thus much concerning Earthquakes.\n\nA second Observation that argues the Hollowness of the Earth, is the\nCommunication of the Seas and Lakes under Ground. The _Caspian_ and\n_Mediterranean_ Seas, and several Lakes, receive into them great Rivers,\nand yet have no visible Out-let: These must have subterraneous Out-lets,\nby which they empty themselves, otherwise they would redound and\noverflow the Brims of their Vessel. The _Mediterranean_ is most\nremarkable in this Kind, because \u2019tis observ\u2019d, that at one End the\ngreat Ocean flows into it through the Straits of _Gibraltar_, with a\nsensible Current, and towards the other End about _Constantinople_ the\n_Pontus_ flows down into it with a Stream so strong, that Vessels have\nmuch ado to stem it; and yet it neither hath any visible Evacuation or\nOut-let, nor overflows its Banks. And besides that it is thus fed at\neither End, it is fed by the Navel too, as I may so say; it sucks in, by\ntheir Channels, several Rivers into its Belly, whereof the _Nile_ is one\nvery great and considerable. These Things have made it a great Problem,\n_What becomes of the Water of the Mediterranean Sea?_ And for my Part, I\nthink the Solution is very easy, namely, that it is discharged by\nsubterraneous Passages, or convey\u2019d by Channels under the Ground into\nthe Ocean. And this manner of Discharge or Conveyance is not peculiar to\nthe _Mediterranean_, but is common to it with the _Caspian_ Sea, and\nother Seas and Lakes, that receive great Rivers into them, and have no\nvisible Issue.\n\nI know there have been propos\u2019d several other Ways to answer this\nDifficulty concerning the Efflux or Consumption of the Waters of the\n_Mediterranean_; some have suppos\u2019d a double Current in the Strait of\n_Gibraltar_, one that carry\u2019d the Water in, and another that brought it\nout; like the Arteries and Veins in our Body, the one exporting our\nBlood from the Heart, and the other re-importing it: So they suppos\u2019d\none Current upon the Surface, which carry\u2019d the Water into the\n_Mediterranean_, and under it at a certain Depth a Counter-Current,\nwhich brought the Water back into the Ocean. But this hath neither Proof\nnor Foundation; for unless it was included in Pipes, as our Blood is, or\nconsisted of Liquors very different, these cross Currents would mingle\nand destroy one another. Others are of Opinion, that all the Water that\nflows into the _Mediterranean_, or a Quantity equal to it, is consumed\nin Exhalations every Day: This seems to be a bolder Supposition than the\nother; for if so much be consumed in Vapours and Exhalations every Day\nas flows into this Sea, what if this Sea had an Out-let and discharg\u2019d\nby that, every Day, as much as it receiv\u2019d? In a few Days the Vapours\nwould have consumed all the rest; and yet we see many Lakes that have as\nfree an Out-let as an In-let, and are not consum\u2019d, or sensibly\ndiminish\u2019d by the Vapours. Besides, this Reason is a Summer Reason, and\nwould pass very ill in Winter, when the Heat of the Sun is much less\npowerful: At least there would be a very sensible Difference betwixt the\nHeight of the Waters in Summer and Winter, if so much was consum\u2019d every\nDay, as this Explication supposeth. And the Truth is, this Want of a\nvisible Out-let is not a Property belonging only to the _Mediterranean_\nSea, as we noted before, but is also in other Seas and great Lakes, some\nlying in one Climate and some in another, where there is no Reason to\nsuppose such excessive Exhalations; and tho\u2019 \u2019tis true some Rivers in\n_Africk_, and in other Parts of the Earth, are thus exhal\u2019d and dry\u2019d\nup, without ever flowing into the Sea (as were all the Rivers in the\nfirst Earth) yet this is where the Sands and parch\u2019d Ground suck up a\ngreat part of them; the heat of the Climate being excessively strong,\nand the Channel of the River growing shallower by degrees, and it may\nbe, divided into lesser Branches and Rivulets; which are Causes that\ntake no Place here. And therefore we must return to our first Reason,\nwhich is universal, for all Seasons of the Year and all Climates; and\nseeing we are assur\u2019d that there are subterraneous Channels and\nPassages, for Rivers often fall into the Ground, and sometimes rise\nagain, and sometimes never return; why should we doubt to ascribe this\nEffect to so obvious a Cause? Nay, I believe, the very Ocean doth\nevacuate it self by subterraneous Out-lets; for considering what a\nprodigious Mass of Water falls into it every Day from the wide Mouths of\nall the Rivers of the Earth, it must have Out-lets proportionable; and\nthose _Syrtes_ or great Whirlpools, that are constant in certain Parts\nor Sinus\u2019s of the Sea, as upon the Coast of _Norway_ and of _Italy_,\narise probably from subterraneous Out-lets in those Places, whereby the\nWater sinks, and turns, and draws into it whatsoever comes within such a\nCompass; and if there was no Issue at the Bottom, tho\u2019 it might by\ncontrary Currents turn Things round within its Sphere, yet there is no\nReason from that, why it should suck them down to the Bottom. Neither\ndoes it seem improbable, that the Currents of the Sea are from these\nIn-draughts, and that there is always a submarine In-let in some part of\nthem, to make a Circulation of the Waters. But thus much for the\nsubterraneous Communication of Seas and Lakes.\n\nAND thus much in general concerning subterraneous Cavities, and\nconcerning the hollow and broken Frame of the Earth. If I had now Magick\nenough to shew you at one View all the Inside of the Earth, which we\nhave imperfectly describ\u2019d; if we could go under the Roots of the\nMountains, and into the Sides of the broken Rocks; or could dive into\nthe Earth with one of those Rivers that sink under Ground, and follow\nits Course and all its Windings till it rise again, or led us to the\nSea, we should have a much stronger and more effectual _Idea_ of the\nbroken Form of the Earth, than any we can excite by these faint\nDescriptions collected from Reason. The Ancients I remember us\u2019d to\nrepresent these hollow Caves and subterraneous Regions in the Nature of\na _World_ under Ground, and suppos\u2019d it inhabited by the _Nymphs_,\nespecially the _Nymphs_ of the Waters and the Sea-Goddesses; so\n_Orpheus_ sung of old; and in Imitation of him _Virgil_ hath made a\nDescription of those Regions; feigning the Nymph _Cyrene_ to send for\nher Son to come down to her, and make her a Visit in those Shades where\nMortals were not admitted.\n\n _Duc age, duc ad nos, fas illi limina Divum\n Tangere, ait: Simul alta jubet discedere late\n Flumina, qua juvenis gressus inferret, at illum\n Curvata in momis faciem circumstitit unda,\n Accepitque sinu vasto, misitque sub amnem.\n Jamq; domum mirans genetricis & humida regna,\n Speluncisque lacos clausos, lucosque sonantes,\n Ibat, & ingenti motu stupefactus aquarum\n Omnia sub magna labentia flumina terra\n Spectabat diversa locis; Phasimque Licumque,\n Et Thalami matris pendentia pumice tecta, &c._\n\n Virgil.\n\n _Come lead the Youth below, bring him to me,\n The Gods are pleas\u2019d our Mansions he should see;\n Straight she commands the Floods to make him Way,\n They open their wide Bosom and obey;\n Soft is the Path, and easy is his Tread,\n A watry Arch bends o\u2019er his dewy Head;\n And as he goes he wonders, and looks round,\n To see this new found Kingdom under Ground.\n The silent Lakes in hollow Caves he sees,\n And on their Banks an ecchoing Grove of Trees;\n The Fall of Waters \u2019mongst the Rocks below\n He hears, and sees the Rivers how they flow:\n All the great Rivers of the Earth are there,\n Prepar\u2019d, as in a Womb, by Nature\u2019s Care.\n Last, to his Mother\u2019s Bed chamber he\u2019s brought,\n Where the high Roof with Pumice-stone is wrought, &c._\n\nIf we now could open the Earth as this _Nymph_ did the Water, and go\ndown into the Bosom of it; see all the dark Chambers and Apartments\nthere, how ill contriv\u2019d, and how ill kept; so many Holes and Corners,\nsome fill\u2019d with Smoak and Fire, some with Water, and some with Vapours\nand mouldy Air; how like a Ruin it lies gaping and torn in the Parts of\nit; We should not easily believe that God created it into this Form\nimmediately out of nothing: It would have cost no more to have made\nThings in better Order; nay, it had been more easy and more simple: And\naccordingly we are assured that all Things were made at first in Beauty\nand Proportion. And if we consider Nature and the Manner of the first\nFormation of the Earth, \u2019tis evident that there could be no such Holes\nand Caverns, nor broken Pieces, made then in the Body of it; for the\ngrosser Parts of the Chaos falling down towards the Center, they would\nthere compose a Mass of Earth uniform and compact, the Water swimming\nabove it; and this first Mass under the Water could have no Caverns or\nVacuities in it; for if it had any, the earthy Parts, while the Mass was\nliquid or semi-liquid, would have sunk into them and fill\u2019d them up,\nexpelling the Air or Water that was there; and when afterwards there\ncame to be a Crust or new Earth form\u2019d upon the Face of the Waters,\nthere could be no Cavities, no Dens, no Fragments in it, no more than in\nthe other; and for the same general Reason, _that is_, passing from a\nliquid Form into a concrete or solid, leisurely and by degrees, it would\nslow and settle together in an entire Mass; there being nothing broken,\nnor any Thing hard, to bear the Parts off from one another, or to\nintercept any empty Spaces between them.\n\n\u2019TIS manifest then, that the Earth could not be in this cavernous Form\noriginally, by any Work of Nature, nor by any immediate Action of God,\nseeing there is neither Use nor Beauty in this kind of Construction. Do\nwe not then, as reasonably, as aptly, ascribe it to that Desolation that\nwas brought upon the Earth in the general Deluge, when its outward Frame\nwas dissolv\u2019d and fell into the great Abyss? How easily doth this answer\nall that we have observ\u2019d concerning the subterraneous Regions? That\nhollow and broken Posture of Things under Ground, all those Caves and\nHoles, and blind Recesses, that are otherwise so unaccountable, say but\nthat they are a _Ruin_, and you have in one Word explain\u2019d them all. For\nthere is no sort of Cavities, interior or exterior, great or little,\nopen or shut, wet or dry, of what Form or Fashion soever, but we might\nreasonably expect them in a Ruin of that Nature. And as for the\nsubterraneous Waters, seeing the Earth fell into the Abyss, the Pillars\nand Foundations of the present (exterior) Earth must stand immers\u2019d in\nWater, and therefore at such a Depth from the Surface every where, there\nmust be Water found, if the Soil be of a Nature to admit it. \u2019Tis true,\nall subterraneous Waters do not proceed from this Original, for many of\nthem are the Effects of Rains and melted Snows sunk into the Earth; but\nthat in digging any where you constantly come to Water at length, even\nin the most solid Ground, this cannot proceed from these Rains or Snows,\nbut must come from below, and from a Cause as general as the Effect is;\nwhich can be no other in my Judgment than this, that the Roots of the\nexterior Earth stand within the old Abyss, whereof, as a great Part lies\nopen in the Sea, so the rest lies hid and cover\u2019d among the Fragments of\nthe Earth; sometimes dispers\u2019d and only moistning the Parts, as our\nBlood lies in the Flesh, and in the Habit of the Body; sometimes in\ngreater or lesser Masses, as the Blood in our Vessels. And this I take\nto be the true Account of subterraneous Waters, as distinguish\u2019d from\nFountains and Rivers, and from the Matter and Causes of them.\n\nTHUS much we have spoke to give a general _Idea_ of the inward Parts of\nthe Earth, and an easy Explication of them by our _Hypothesis_; which\nwhether it be true or no, if you compare it impartially with Nature, you\nwill confess at least, that all these Things are just in such a Form and\nPosture as if it was true.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. X.\n\n\n _Concerning the Channel of the Sea, and the Original of it; The\n Causes of its irregular Form and unequal Depths: As also of the\n Original of Islands, their Situation and other Properties._\n\n\nWe have hitherto given an Account of the subterraneous Regions, and of\ntheir general Form; We now come above Ground to view the Surface of the\nGlobe, which we find _Terraqueous_, or divided into Sea and Land: These\nwe must survey, and what is remarkable in them as to their Frame and\nStructure, we must give an Account of from our _Hypothesis_, and shew to\nbe unaccountable from any other yet known.\n\nAS for the Ocean, there are two things considerable in it, the Water and\nthe Channel that contains it. The Water no doubt is as ancient as the\nEarth, and cotemporary with it, and we suppose it to be part of the\ngreat Abyss wherein the World was drown\u2019d; the rest lying cover\u2019d under\nthe Hollow Fragments of Continents and Islands. But that is not so much\nthe Subject of our present Discourse as the Channel of the Ocean, that\nvast and prodigious Cavity that runs quite round the Globe, and\nreacheth, for ought we know, from Pole to Pole, and in many Places is\nunsearchably deep: When I present this great Gulf to my Imagination,\nemptied of all its Waters, naked and gaping at the Sun, stretching its\nJaws from one End of the Earth to another, it appears to me the most\nghastly thing in Nature. What Hands or Instruments could work a Trench\nin the Body of the Earth of this vastness, and lay Mountains and Rocks\non the side of it, as Ramparts to enclose it?\n\nBUT as we justly admire its Greatness, so we cannot at all admire its\nBeauty or Elegancy, for \u2019tis as deform\u2019d and irregular as it is great.\nAnd there appearing nothing of Order, or any regular Design in its\nParts, it seems reasonable to believe that it was not the Work of\nNature, according to her first Intention, or according to the first\nModel that was drawn in Measure and Proportion by the Line and by the\nPlummet, but a secondary Work, and the best that could be made of broken\nMaterials. And upon this Supposition \u2019tis easy to imagine, how upon the\nDissolution of the Prim\u00e6val Earth, the Channel of the Sea was made, or\nthat huge Cavity that lies between the several Continents of the Earth;\nwhich shall be more particularly explain\u2019d after we have view\u2019d a little\nbetter the Form of it, and the Islands that lie scatter\u2019d by its Shores.\n\nTHERE is no Cavity in the Earth, whether open or subterraneous, that is\ncomparably so great as that of the Ocean, nor would any appear of that\nDeformity if we could see it empty. The Inside of a Cave is rough and\nunsightly; the Beds of great Rivers and great Lakes, when they are laid\ndry, look very raw and rude, the Valleys of the Earth, if they were\nnaked, without Trees and without Grass, nothing but bare Ground and bare\nStones, from the tops of their Mountains, would have a ghastly Aspect;\nbut the Sea-Channel is the Complex of all these; here Caves, empty\nLakes, naked Valleys are represented as in their Original, or rather far\nexceeded and out-done as to all their Irregularities; for the Cavity of\nthe Ocean is universally irregular, both as to the Shores and Borders of\nit; as to the uncertain Breadth and the uncertain Depth of its several\nParts, and as to its Ground and Bottom and the whole Mould: If the Sea\nhad been drawn round the Earth in regular Figures and Borders, it might\nhave been a great Beauty to our Globe, and we should reasonably have\nconcluded it a Work of the first Creation, or of Nature\u2019s first\nProduction; but finding on the contrary all the Marks of Disorder and\nDisproportion in it, we may as reasonably conclude, that it did not\nbelong to the first Order of Things, but was something succedaneous,\nwhen the Degeneracy of Mankind, and the Judgments of God had destroyed\nthe first World, and subjected the Creation to some kind of Vanity.\n\nNOR can it easily be imagin\u2019d, if the Sea had been always, and the\nEarth, in this _Terraqueous_ Form, broke into Continents and Islands,\nhow Mankind could have been propagated at first thro\u2019 the Face of the\nEarth, all from one Head and from one Place. For Navigation was not then\nknown, at least as to the Grand Ocean, or to pass from Continent to\nContinent; and I believe _Noah_\u2019s Ark was the first Ship, or Vessel of\nBulk, that ever was built in the World; how could then the Posterity of\n_Adam_ overflow the Earth, and stock the several Parts of the World, if\nthey had been distant or separate then, as they are now, by the\nInterposal of the great Ocean? But this Consideration we will insist\nupon more largely in another Place; let us reflect upon the\nIrregularities of the Sea-Channel again, and the possible Causes of it.\n\nIF we could imagine the Channel of the Sea to have been made as we may\nimagine the Channel of Rivers to have been, by long and insensible\nAttrition, the Water wearing by degrees the Ground under it, by the\nForce it hath from its Descent and Course, we should not wonder at its\nirregular Form; but \u2019tis not possible this Channel should have had any\nsuch Original; whence should its Water have descended, from what\nMountains, or from what Clouds? Where is the Spring-head of the Sea?\nWhat Force could eat away half the Surface of the Earth; and wear it\nhollow to an immeasurable Depth? This must not be from feeble and\nlingring Causes, such as the Attrition of Waters, but from some great\nViolence offer\u2019d to Nature, such as we suppose to have been in the\ngeneral Deluge, when the Frame of the Earth was broken. And after we\nhave a little survey\u2019d the Sea-Coast, and, so far as we can, the Form of\nthe Sea-Channel, we shall the more easily believe that they could have\nno other Original than what we assign.\n\nTHE Shores and Coasts of the Sea are no way equal or uniform, but go in\na Line uncertainly crooked and broke; indented and jagg\u2019d as a thing\ntorn, as you may see in the Maps of the Coasts and the Sea-charts; and\nyet there are innumerable more Inequalities than are taken Notice of in\nthose Draughts; for they only mark the greater Promontories and Bays;\nbut there are besides those a Multitude of Creeks and Out-lets, Necks of\nLand and Angles, which break the Evenness of the Shore in all manner of\nWays. Then the Height and Level of the Shore is as uncertain as the Line\nof it; \u2019tis sometimes high and sometimes low, sometimes spread in sandy\nPlains, as smooth as the Sea it self, and of such an equal Height with\nit, that the Waves seem to have no Bounds, but the meer Figure and\nConvexity of the Globe; in other Places \u2019tis rais\u2019d into Banks and\nRamparts of Earth, and in others \u2019tis wall\u2019d in with Rocks; and all this\nwithout any Order that we can observe, or any other Reason than that\nthis is what might be expected in a Ruin.\n\nAS to the Depths and Soundings of the Sea, they are under no Rule nor\nEquality, any more than the Figures of the Shores; Shallows in some\nPlaces, and Gulphs in others; Beds of Sands sometimes, and sometimes\nRocks under Water; as Navigators have learn\u2019d by a long and dangerous\nExperience: And tho\u2019 we that are upon dry Land, are not much concern\u2019d\nhow the Rocks and the Shelves lie in the Sea, yet a poor\nShipwreckt-Mariner, when he hath run his Vessel upon a Rock in the\nmiddle of the Channel, expostulates bitterly with Nature, who it was\nthat plac\u2019d that Rock there, and to what purpose? Was there not Room\nenough, saith he, upon the Land, or the Shore, to lay your great Stones,\nbut they must be thrown into the middle of the Sea, as it were in spite\nto Navigation? The best Apology that can be made for Nature in this\nCase, so far as I know, is to confess, that the whole Business of the\nSea-Channel is but a Ruin, and in a Ruin Things tumble uncertainly, and\ncommonly lie in Confusion: Tho\u2019 to speak the Truth, it seldom happens,\nunless in narrow Seas, that Rocks, or Banks, or Islands, lie in the\nmiddle of them, or very far from the Shores.\n\nHAVING view\u2019d the more visible Parts of the Channel of the Sea, we must\nnow descend to the Bottom of it, and see the Form and Contrivance of\nthat; but who shall guide us in our Journey, while we walk, as _Job_\nsaith, _Chap. xxxviii. 16._ in the search of the Deep? Or who can make a\nDescription of that which none hath seen? It is reasonable to believe,\nthat the Bottom of the Sea is much more rugged, broken and irregular\nthan the Face of the Land. There are Mountains, and Valleys, and Rocks,\nand Ridges of Rocks, and all the common Inequalities we see upon Land;\nbeside these, \u2019tis very likely there are Caves under Water, and hollow\nPassages into the Bowels of the Earth, by which the Seas circulate and\ncommunicate one with another, and with subterraneous Waters; those great\n_Eddies_ and infamous _Syrtes_ and Whirpools that are in some Seas, as\nthe _Baltick_ and the _Mediterranean_, that suck into them and overwhelm\nwhatever comes within their reach, shew that there is something below\nthat sucks from them in Proportion, and that drinks up the Sea, as the\nSea drinks up the Rivers. We ought also to imagine the Shores within the\nWater to go inclin\u2019d and sloping, but with great Inequality; there are\nmany Shelves in the way, and Chambers, and sharp Angles; and many broken\nRocks and great Stones lie rolled down to the Bottom.\n\n\u2019TIS true these things affect us little, because they are not expos\u2019d to\nour Senses; and we seldom give our selves the trouble to collect from\nReason what the Form of the invisible and inaccessible Parts of the\nEarth is; or if we do sometimes, those _Ideas_ are faint and weak, and\nmake no lasting Impression upon our Imagination and Passions; but if we\nshould suppose the Ocean dry, and that we look\u2019d down from the Top of\nsome high Cloud upon the empty Shell, how horridly and barbarously would\nit look? And with what Amazement should we see it under us like an open\nHell, or a wide bottomless Pit? So deep, and hollow, and vast; so broken\nand confus\u2019d, so every way deform\u2019d and monstrous. This would\neffectually waken our Imagination, and make us enquire and wonder how\nsuch a thing came in Nature; from what Causes, by what Force or Engines\ncould the Earth be torn in this prodigious manner? Did they dig the Sea\nwith Spades, and carry out the Molds in Hand-baskets? Where are the\nEntrails laid? and how did they cleave the Rocks asunder? If as many\nPioneers as the Army of _Xerxes_ had been at Work ever since the\nBeginning of the World, they could not have made a Ditch of this\nGreatness. Nor is it the Greatness only, but that wild and multifarious\nConfusion which we see in the Parts and Fashion of it, that makes it\nstrange and unaccountable; \u2019tis another Chaos in its kind; who can paint\nthe Scenes of it? Gulphs, and Precipices, and Cataracts; Pits within\nPits, and Rocks under Rocks, broken Mountains and ragged Islands, that\nlook as if they had been Countries pull\u2019d up by the Roots, and planted\nin the Sea.\n\nIF we could make true and full Representations of these things to our\nselves, I think we should not be so bold as to make them the immediate\nProduct of Divine Omnipotence; being destitute of all Appearance of Art\nor Counsel. The first Orders of things are more perfect and regular; and\nthis _Decorum_ seems to be observ\u2019d, that Nature doth not fall into\nDisorder till Mankind be first degenerate and leads the way. Monsters\nhave been often made an Argument against Providence; if a Calf have two\nHeads, or five Legs, straight there must not be a God in Heaven, or at\nleast not upon Earth; and yet this is but a Chance that happens once in\nmany Years, and is of no consequence at all to the rest of the World:\nBut if we make the standing Frame of Nature monstrous, or deform\u2019d and\ndisproportion\u2019d, and to have been so not by Corruption and Degeneracy,\nbut immediately by divine Creation or Formation, it would not be so easy\nto answer that Objection against Providence. Let us therefore prevent\nthis Imputation; and supposing, according to our Theory, that these\nThings were not originally thus, let us now explain more distinctly how\nthey came to pass at the Deluge, or upon the Dissolution of the first\nEarth.\n\nAND we will not content our selves with a general Answer to these\nObservations concerning the Sea-Channel, as if it was a sufficient\nAccount of them to say they were the Effects of a Ruin; there are other\nthings to be consider\u2019d and explain\u2019d beside this Irregularity, as the\nvast Hollowness of this Cavity, bigger incomparably than any other\nbelonging to the Earth; and also the Declivity of the Sides of it, which\nlie shelving from Top to Bottom: For notwithstanding all the\nInequalities we have taken Notice of in the Channel of the Sea, it hath\none general Form, which may, though under many Differences, be observed\nthroughout, and that is, that the Shores and Sides within the Water lie\ninclin\u2019d, and you descend by degrees to the deepest Part which is\ntowards the Middle. This, I know, admits of many Exceptions; for\nsometimes upon a rocky Shore, or among rocky Islands, the Sea is very\ndeep close to the Rocks, and the deeper, commonly the higher and steeper\nthe Rocks are. Also where the Descent is more leisurely, \u2019tis often\nafter a different Manner, in some Coasts more equal and uniform, in\nothers more broken and interrupted; but still there is a Descent to the\nChannel or deepest Part, and this in the deep Ocean is fathomless; and\nsuch a deep Ocean, and such a deep Channel there is always between\nContinents. This, I think, is a Property as determinate as any we can\npitch upon in the Channel of the Sea, and with those other two\nmention\u2019d; its vast Cavity, and universal Irregularity, is all one can\ndesire an Account of, as to the Form of it; we will therefore from this\nGround take our Rise and first Measures for the Explication of the\nSea-Channel.\n\nLET us suppose then in the Dissolution of the Earth, when it began to\nfall, that it was divided only into three or four Fragments, according\nto the Number of our Continents; but those Fragments being vastly great\ncould not descend at their full Breadth and Expansion, or at least could\nnot descend so fast in the Middle, as towards the Extremities; because\nthe Air about the Edges would yield and give Place easily, not having\nfar to go, to get out of the Way; but the Air that was under the Middle\nof the Fragment could not without a very swift Motion get from under the\nConcave of it, and consequently its Descent there would be more resisted\nand suspended; but the Sides in the mean time would continually descend,\nbending the Fragment with their Weight, and so making it of a lesser\nCompass and Expansion than it was before: And by this Means there would\nbe an Interval and Distance made between the two falling Fragments, and\na good Part of the Abyss, after their Descent, would lie uncover\u2019d in\nthe Middle betwixt them; as may be seen in the annex\u2019d Figure, where the\nFragments A. B. bending downwards in their Extremities, separate as they\ngo, and after they are faln, leave a good Space in the Abyss betwixt\nthem altogether uncover\u2019d: This Space is the main Channel of the great\nOcean, lying betwixt two Continents; and the inclining Sides shew the\nDeclivity of the Shores.\n\n[Illustration: Fragments are starting to break into Continents.]\n\n[Illustration: The Fragments have Fallen like double Doors.]\n\nTHIS we have represented here only in a Ring or Circle of the Earth, in\nthe first Figure; but it may be better represented in a broader Surface,\nas in the second Figure, where the two Fragments A. B. that are to make\nthe two opposite Continents, fall in like double Doors, opening\ndownwards, the Hinges being towards the Land on either Side, so as at\nthe Bottom they leave in the Middle betwixt them a deep Channel of\nWater, _a. a. a._ such as is betwixt all Continents; and the Water\nreaching a good Height upon the Land on either Side, makes Sea there\ntoo, but shallower, and by degrees you descend into the deepest Channel.\n\n[Illustration: The great Disorder in the Chasm between the Fragments.]\n\nTHIS gives an Account of two Things that we mention\u2019d to be consider\u2019d\nand explain\u2019d as to the Sea, how the great Cavity of its Channel was\nmade, and how it was made in that general Form of Declivity in its Sides\nfrom the Land: The third Thing was the Irregularities of it, both as to\nits various Depths, and as to the Form of the Shores and of the Bottom.\nAnd this is as easily and naturally explain\u2019d from the same Supposition\nas the former two; for tho\u2019 we have hitherto represented the Fragments\nA. B. as even and regular after their Fall, because that was most\nsimple, and there was no occasion then to represent them otherwise, yet\nwe must suppose, that as soon as in their Fall they hit upon the Top or\nBottom of the Abyss, that great Force and Weight with which they\ndescended broke off all the Edges and Extremities, and so made\ninnumerable Ruptures and Inequalities in the Shores, and as many within\nthe Sea, and at the Bottom; where the broken Rocks and Lumps of Earth\nwould lie in all imaginable Disorder; as you may conceive from the\n_third Figure_. For when the Motion came on a sudden to be obstructed,\nthe Load of the Fragment still pressing it forwards, such a Concussion\narose, as made thousands of lesser Fragments, of all Shapes and\nMagnitudes, and in all Postures and Forms, and most of them irregular.\nAnd by these Fractions and secondary Ruins the Line of the Shores was\nbroken, and the Level of them too: In some Places they would stand high,\nin others low, sometimes rough, and sometimes even, and generally\ncrooked, with Angles and In-lets, and uncertain Windings. The Bottom\nalso by the same Stroke was diversify\u2019d into all Manner of Forms,\nsometimes rocky with Pits and Gulphs, and sometimes spread in plain\nBeds, sometimes shallow, and sometimes deep; for those Differences would\ndepend only upon the Situation of the secondary Fragments; and so it\nmight come to pass, that some Places near the Shore might be excessive\ndeep when a Rock or Rocks stood in a steep Posture, as (_Figure 3._) _b.\nb. b._ and, on the contrary, sometimes Places much more advanc\u2019d into\nthe Ocean might be less deep, where a Fragment of Earth lay under Water,\nor one bore up another, as _c. c. c._ but these Cases would not be very\nfrequent. To conclude, There are no Properties of the Sea-channel, that\nI know of, nor Differences or Irregularities in the Form of it, which\nthis _Hypothesis_ doth not give a fair Account of: And having thus far\nopen\u2019d the Way and laid down the general Grounds for their Explication,\nother things that are more minute, we leave to the Curiosity of\nparticular Genius\u2019s; being unwilling to clog the Theory at first with\nthings that may seem unnecessary. We proceed now to the Consideration of\nIslands.\n\nWE must in the first Place distinguish between _Original_ Islands and\n_Fictitious_ Islands: Those I call fictitious, that are not of the same\nDate and Antiquity with the Sea, but have been made some at one time,\nsome at another, by accidental Causes, as the Aggestion of Sands and\nSand-beds, or the Sea leaving the Tops of some shallow Places that lie\nhigh, and yet flowing about the lower Skirts of them; these make sandy\nand plain Islands, that have no high Land in them, and are but\nMock-Islands in effect. Others are made by Divulsion from some\nContinent, when an Isthmus, or the Neck of a Promontory running into the\nSea, sinks or falls in, by an Earthquake or otherwise, and the Sea\nentring in at the Gap passeth through, and makes that Promontory or\nCountry become an Island. Thus the Island _Sicily_ is suppos\u2019d to have\nbeen made, and all _Africa_ might be an Island, if the Isthmus between\nthe _Mediterranean_ and the red Sea should sink down. And these Islands\nmay have Rocks and Mountains in them, if the Land had so before. Lastly,\nThere are Islands that have been said to rise from the Bottom of the\nSea; History mentions such in both the _Archipelago_\u2019s, _\u00c6g\u00e6an_ and\n_Indian_; and this seems to argue that there are great Fragments or\nTracts of Earth that lie loose at the Bottom of the Sea, or that are not\nincorporated with the Ground; which agrees very well with our\nExplication of the Sea-Channel.\n\nBUT beside these Islands, and the several Sorts of them, there are\nothers which I call _Original_; because they could not be produc\u2019d in\nany of the forementioned Ways, but are of the same Origin and Antiquity\nwith the Channel of the Sea; and such are the Generality of our Islands;\nthey were not made of Heaps of Sands, nor torn from any Continent, but\nare as ancient as the Continents themselves, namely, ever since the\nDeluge, the common Parent of them both. Nor is there any Difficulty to\nunderstand how Islands were made at the Dissolution of the Earth, any\nmore than how Continents were made; for Islands are but lesser\nContinents, or Continents greater Islands; and according as Continents\nwere made of greater Masses of Earth, or greater Fragments standing\nabove the Water, so Islands were made of less, but so big always, and in\nsuch a Posture, as to bear their Tops above the Water. Yet tho\u2019 they\nagree thus far, there is a particular Difference to be taken notice of,\nas to their Origin; for the Continents were made of those three or four\nprimary Masses into which the falling Orb of the Earth was divided, but\nthe Islands were made of the Fractures of these, and broken off by the\nFall, from the Skirts and Extremities of the Continents: We noted\nbefore, that when those great Masses and primary Fragments came to dash\nupon the Abyss in their Fall, the sudden Stop of the Motion, and the\nweighty Bulk of the descending Fragment broke off all the Edges and\nExtremities of it, which Edges and Extremities broken off made the\nIslands; and accordingly we see that they generally lie scatter\u2019d along\nthe Sides of the Continents, and are but Splinters, as it were, of those\ngreater Bodies. \u2019Tis true, beside these, there were an infinite Number\nof other Pieces broke off that do not appear, some making Rocks under\nWater, some Shallows and Banks in the Sea; but the greatest of them when\nthey fell either one upon another, or in such a Posture as to prop up\none another, their Heads and higher Parts would stand out of the Water\nand make Islands.\n\nTHUS I conceive the Islands of the Sea were at first produc\u2019d; we cannot\nwonder therefore that they should be so numerous, or far more numerous\nthan the Continents; these are the Parents, and those are the Children;\nnor can we wonder to see along the Sides of the Continents several\nIslands, or Sets of Islands, sown, as it were, by Handfuls, or laid in\nTrains; for the Manner of their Generation would lead us to think they\nwould be so plac\u2019d. So the _American_ Islands lie scatter\u2019d upon the\nCoast of that Continent; the _Maldivian_ and _Philippine_ upon the\n_East-India_ Shore, and the _Hesperides_ upon the _Africk_; and there\nseldom happen to be any towards the Middle of the Ocean, tho\u2019 by an\nAccident, that also might come to pass. Lastly, It suits very well with\nour Explication, that there should be Mountains and Rocks, sometimes in\nClusters, sometimes in long Chains, in all Islands; (as we find there\nare in all that are true and original) for \u2019tis that makes them high\nenough to appear above the Water, and strong enough to continue and\npreserve themselves in that high Situation.\n\nAND thus much may suffice for a summary Explication of the Causes of the\nSea-Channel and Islands, according to our _Hypothesis_.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. XI.\n\n\n _Concerning the Mountains of the Earth, their Greatness and\n irregular Form, their Situation, Causes, and Origin._\n\n\nWE have been in the Hollows of the Earth, and the Chambers of the Deep,\namongst the Damps and Steams of those lower Regions; let us now go air\nour selves on the Tops of the Mountains, where we shall have a more free\nand large Horizon, and quite another Face of Things will present it self\nto our Observation.\n\nTHE greatest Objects of Nature are, methinks, the most pleasing to\nbehold; and next to the great Concave of the Heavens, and those\nboundless Regions where the Stars inhabit, there is nothing that I look\nupon with more Pleasure than the wide Sea and the Mountains of the\nEarth. There is something august and stately in the Air of these things,\nthat inspires the Mind with great Thoughts and Passions; we do\nnaturally, upon such Occasions, think of God and his Greatness: And\nwhatsoever hath but the Shadow and Appearance of INFINITE, as all Things\nhave that are too big for our Comprehension, they fill and over-bear the\nMind with their Excess, and cast it into a pleasing kind of Stupor and\nAdmiration.\n\nAND yet these Mountains we are speaking of, to confess the Truth, are\nnothing but great Ruins; but such as shew a certain Magnificence in\nNature; as from old Temples and broken Amphitheatres of the _Romans_ we\ncollect the Greatness of that People. But the Grandeur of a Nation is\nless sensible to those that never see the Remains and Monuments they\nhave left; and those who never see the mountainous Parts of the Earth\nscarce ever reflect upon the Causes of them, or what Power in Nature\ncould be sufficient to produce them. The Truth is, the Generality of\nPeople have not Sense and Curiosity enough to raise a Question\nconcerning these things, or concerning the Original of them. You may\ntell them that Mountains grow out of the Earth like Fuzz-balls, or that\nthere are Monsters under Ground, that throw up Mountains as Moles do\nMole-hills; they will scarce raise one Objection against your Doctrine.\nOr if you would appear more Learned, tell them that the Earth is a great\nAnimal, and these are Wens that grow upon its Body; this would pass\ncurrent for Philosophy; so much is the World drown\u2019d in Stupidity and\nsensual Pleasures, and so little inquisitive into the Works of God and\nNature.\n\nTHERE is nothing doth more awaken our Thoughts, or excite our Minds to\nenquire into the Causes of such Things, than the actual View of them; as\nI have had Experience my self, when it was my Fortune to cross the\n_Alps_ and _Apennine_ Mountains; for the Sight of those wild, vast, and\nindigested Heaps of Stones and Earth did so deeply strike my Fancy, that\nI was not easy \u2019till I could give my self some tolerable Account how\nthat Confusion came in Nature, \u2019Tis true, the Height of Mountains\ncompar\u2019d with the Diameter of the Earth is not considerable, but the\nExtent of them and the Ground they stand upon bears a considerable\nProportion to the Surface of the Earth; and if from _Europe_ we may take\nour Measures for the rest, I easily believe, that the Mountains do at\nleast take up the Tenth Part of the dry Land. The Geographers are not\nvery careful to describe or note in their Charts the Multitude or\nSituation of Mountains; They mark the Bounds of Countries, the Site of\nCities and Towns, and the Course of Rivers, because these are Things of\nchief Use to Civil Affairs and Commerce, and that they design to serve,\nand not Philosophy or natural History. But _Cluverius_, in his\nDescription of _Ancient Germany_, _Switzerland_, and _Italy_, hath given\nMaps of those Countries more approaching to the natural Face of them,\nand we have drawn (at the end of this Chapter) such a Map of either\nHemisphere, without marking Countries or Towns, or any such artificial\nThings; distinguishing only Land and Sea, Islands and Continents,\nMountains and not Mountains; and \u2019tis very useful to imagine the Earth\nin this Manner, and to look often upon such bare Draughts, as shew us\n_Nature_ undrest; for then we are best able to judge what her true\nShapes and Proportions are.\n\n\u2019TIS certain that we naturally imagine the Surface of the Earth much\nmore regular than it is; for unless we be in some mountainous Parts,\nthere seldom occur any great Inequalities within so much Compass of\nGround as we can at once reach with our Eye; and to conceive the rest,\nwe multiply the same _Idea_, and extend it to those Parts of the Earth\nthat we do not see, and so fancy the whole Globe much more smooth and\nuniform than it is. But suppose a Man was carried asleep out of a plain\nCountry amongst the _Alps_, and left there upon the Top of one of the\nhighest Mountains, when he wak\u2019d and look\u2019d about him, he wou\u2019d think\nhimself in an inchanted Country, or carried into another World; every\nThing wou\u2019d appear to him so different to what he had ever seen or\nimagin\u2019d before. To see on every Hand of him a Multitude of vast Bodies\nthrown together in Confusion, as those Mountains are; Rocks standing\nnaked round about him; and the hollow Valleys gaping under him; and at\nhis Feet, it may be, an Heap of frozen Snow in the midst of Summer. He\nwould hear the Thunder come from below, and see the black Clouds hanging\nbeneath him; upon such a Prospect it would not be easy to him to\npersuade himself that he was still upon the same Earth; but if he did,\nhe would be convinc\u2019d, at least, that there are some Regions of it\nstrangely rude, and ruin-like, and very different from what he had ever\nthought of before. But the Inhabitants of these wild Places are even\nwith us; for those that live amongst the _Alps_, and the great\nMountains, think that all the rest of the Earth is like their Country,\nall broken into Mountains, and Valleys, and Precipices; they never see\nother, and most People think of nothing but what they have seen at one\ntime or an other.\n\nTHESE _Alps_ we are speaking of are the greatest Range of Mountains in\n_Europe_; and \u2019tis prodigious to see and to consider of what extent\nthese Heaps of Stones and Rubbish are; one way they over-spread _Savoy_\nand _Dauphine_, and reach thro\u2019 _France_ to the _Pyrenean_ Mountains,\nand so to the Ocean. The other way they run along the Skirts of\n_Germany_, thro\u2019 _Styria_, _Pannonia_, and _Dalmatia_, as far as\n_Thrace_ and the Black Sea. Then backwards they cover _Switzerland_ and\nthe Parts adjacent; and that Branch of them which we call the\n_Apennines_ strikes thro\u2019 _Italy_, and is, as it were, the Back-bone of\nthat Country. This must needs be a large Space of Ground which they\nstand upon; yet \u2019tis not this Part of _Europe_ only that is laden with\nMountains, the Northern Part is as rough and rude in the Face of the\nCountry, as in the Manners of the People; _Bohemia_, _Silesia_,\n_Denmark_, _Norway_, _Sweedland_, _Lapland_, and _Iseland_, and all the\nCoasts of the _Baltick Sea_, are full of Clifts, and Rocks, and Crags of\nMountains: Besides the _Riphean_ Mountains in _Muscovy_, which the\nInhabitants there use to call the _Stone-girdle_, and believe that it\ngirds the Earth round about.\n\nNOR are the other Parts of our Continent more free from Mountains than\n_Europe_, nor other Parts of the Earth than our Continent; They are in\nthe New World as well as the Old; and if they could discover two or\nthree New Worlds or Continents more, they would still find them there.\nNeither is there any Original Island upon the Earth, but is either all a\nRock, or hath Rocks of Mountains in it. And all the dry Land, and every\nContinent, is but a kind of Mountain; tho\u2019 that Mountain hath a\nMultitude of lesser ones, and Valleys, and Plains, and Lakes, and\nMarshes, and all Variety of Grounds.\n\nIN _America_, the _Andes_, or a Ridge of Mountains so call\u2019d, are\nreported to be higher than any we have, reaching above a Thousand\nLeagues in Length, and Twenty in Breadth, where they are the narrowest.\nIn _Africk_ the Mountain _Atlas_, that for its height was said to bear\nthe Heavens on its Back, runs all along from the Western Sea to the\nBorders of _\u00c6gypt_, parallel with the _Mediterranean_. There also are\nthe Mountains of the _Moon_, and many more, whereof we have but an\nimperfect Account, as neither indeed of that Country in the remote and\ninner Parts of it. _Asia_ is better known, and the Mountains thereof\nbetter describ\u2019d: _Taurus_, which is the principal, was adjudg\u2019d by the\nAncient Geographers the greatest in the World. It divides _Asia_ into\ntwo Parts, which have their Denomination from it: And there is an\n_Anti-Taurus_ the greater and the less, which accordingly divide\n_Armenia_ into greater and less. Then the _Cruciform_ Mountains of\n_Imaus_, the famous _Caucasus_, the long Chains of _Tartary_ and\n_China_, and the rocky and mountainous _Arabia_. If one could at once\nhave a Prospect of all these together, one would be easily satisfied,\nthat the Globe of the Earth is a more rude and indigested Body than \u2019tis\ncommonly imagin\u2019d; if one could see, I say, all the Kingdoms and Regions\nof the Earth at one view, how they lie in broken Heaps; the Sea hath\noverwhelmed one half of them, and what remains are but the taller Parts\nof a Ruin. Look upon those great Ranges of Mountains in _Europe_ or in\n_Asia_, whereof we have given a short Survey; in what Confusion do they\nlie? They have neither Form nor Beauty, nor Shape, nor Order, no more\nthan the Clouds in the Air. Then how barren, how desolate, how naked are\nthey? How they stand neglected by Nature? Neither the Rains can soften\nthem, nor the Dews from Heaven make them fruitful.\n\nI have given this short Account of the Mountains of the Earth, to help\nto remove that Prejudice we are apt to have, or that Conceit, that the\npresent Earth _is regularly form\u2019d_. And to this Purpose I do not doubt\nbut that it would be of very good Use to have _natural_ Maps of the\nEarth, as we noted before, as well as _civil_; and done with the same\nCare and Judgment.\n\nOur common Maps I call _Civil_, which note the Distinction of Countries\nand of Cities, and represent the Artificial Earth as inhabited and\ncultivated: But Natural Maps leave out all that, and represent the Earth\nas it would be if there was not an Inhabitant upon it, nor ever had\nbeen; the Skeleton of the Earth, as I may so say, with the sight of all\nits Parts. Methinks also every Prince should have such a Draught of his\nown Country and Dominions, to see how the Ground lies in the several\nParts of them, which highest, which lowest; what respect they have to\none another, and to the Sea; how the Rivers flow, and why; how the\nMountains stand; how the Heaths and how the Marshes are plac\u2019d. Such a\nMap or Survey would be useful both in time of War and Peace, and many\ngood Observations might be made by it, not only as to natural History\nand Philosophy, but also in order to the perfect Improvement of a\nCountry. But to return to our Mountains.\n\nAND this View of the Multitude and Greatness of them, may help to\nrectify our Mistakes about the Form of the Earth; so before we proceed\nto examine their Causes it will be good to observe further, that these\nMountains are plac\u2019d in no Order one with another, that can either\nrespect Use or Beauty; and if you consider them singly, they do not\nconsist of any Proportion of Parts that is referable to any Design, or\nthat hath the least Footsteps of Art or Counsel. There is nothing in\nNature more shapeless and ill-figur\u2019d than an old Rock or a Mountain,\nand all that Variety that is among them, is but the various Modes of\nIrregularity; so as you cannot make a better Character of them, in\nshort, than to say they are of all Forms and Figures except regular.\nThen if you would go within these Mountains (for they are generally\nhollow) you would find all things there more rude, if possible, than\nwithout: And lastly, if you look upon an Heap of them together, or a\nmountainous Country, they are the greatest Examples of Confusion that we\nknow in Nature; no Tempest or Earthquake puts Things into more Disorder.\n\u2019Tis true, they cannot look so ill now as they did at first; a Ruin that\nis fresh, looks much worse than afterwards, when the Earth grows\ndiscolour\u2019d and skinn\u2019d over. But I fancy, if we had seen the Mountains\nwhen they were new born and raw, when the Earth was fresh broken, and\nthe Waters of the Deluge newly retir\u2019d, the Fractions and Confusions of\nthem would have appear\u2019d very ghastly and frightful.\n\nAFTER this general Survey of the Mountains of the Earth and their\nProperties, let us now reflect upon the Causes of them. There is a\ndouble Pleasure in Philosophy; first, that of Admiration, whilst we\ncontemplate Things that are great and wonderful, and do not yet\nunderstand their Causes; for tho\u2019 Admiration proceeds from Ignorance,\nyet there is a certain Charm and Sweetness in that Passion. Then the\nsecond Pleasure is greater and more intellectual, which is that of\ndistinct Knowledge and Comprehension, when we come to have the Key that\nunlocks those Secrets, and see the Methods wherein those Things come to\npass that we admir\u2019d before: The Reasons why the World is so or so, and\nfrom what Causes Nature, or any Part of Nature, came into such a State;\nand this we are now to enquire after, as to the Mountains of the Earth,\nwhat their Original was, how and when the Earth came into this strange\nFrame and Structure? In the Beginning of our World, when the Earth rose\nfrom a Chaos, \u2019twas impossible it should come immediately into this\nmountainous Form; because a Mass that is fluid, as a Chaos is, cannot\nlie in any other Figure than what is regular; for the constant Laws of\nNature do certainly bring all Liquors into that Form: And a Chaos is not\ncall\u2019d so from any Confusion or Brokenness in the Form of it, but from a\nConfusion and Mixture of all sorts of Ingredients in the Composition of\nit. So we have already produc\u2019d in the precedent Chapters, a double\nArgument that the Earth was not originally in this Form, both because it\nrose from a Chaos, which could not of it self, or by any immediate\nConcretion, settle into a Form of this Nature, as hath been shewn in the\nfourth and fifth Chapters; as also because if it had been originally\nmade thus, it could never have undergone a Deluge, as hath been prov\u2019d\nin the second and third Chapters. If this be then a secondary and\nsuccedaneous Form, the great Question is, from what Causes it arises.\n\nSOME have thought that Mountains, and all other Irregularities in the\nEarth, have Rise from Earthquakes, and such like Causes; others have\nthought that they came from the universal Deluge; yet not from any\nDissolution of the Earth that was then, but only from the great\nAgitation of the Waters, which broke the Ground into this rude and\nunequal Form. Both these Causes seem to me very incompetent and\ninsufficient. Earthquakes seldom make Mountains, they often take them\naway, and sink them down into the Caverns that lie under them; besides,\nEarthquakes are not in all Countries and Climates as Mountains are; for\nas we have observ\u2019d more than once, there is neither Island that is\nOriginal, nor Continent any where in the Earth, in what Latitude soever,\nbut hath Mountains and Rocks in it. And lastly, what Probability is\nthere, or how is it credible, that those vast Tracks of Land which we\nsee fill\u2019d with Mountains both in _Europe_, _Asia_ and _Africa_, were\nrais\u2019d by Earthquakes, or any Eruptions from below? In what Age of the\nWorld was this done, and why not continu\u2019d? As for the Deluge, which\nthey alledge as another Cause, I doubt not but Mountains were made in\nthe Time of the general Deluge, that great Change and Transformation of\nthe Earth happen\u2019d then, but not from such Causes as are pretended, that\nis, the bare rolling and agitation of the Waters; for if the Earth was\nsmooth and plain before the Flood, as they seem to suppose as well as we\ndo, the Waters could have little or no Power over a smooth Surface to\ntear it any way in Pieces, no more than they do a Meadow or low Ground\nwhen they lie upon it; for that which makes Torrents and Land floods\nviolent, is their Fall from the Mountains and high Lands, which our\nEarth is now full of; but if the Rain fell upon even and level Ground,\nit would only sodden and compress it; there is no possibility how it\nshould raise Mountains in it. And if we could imagine an universal\nDeluge as the Earth is now constituted, it would rather throw down the\nHills and Mountains, than raise new ones; or by beating down their Tops\nand loose Parts, help to fill the Valleys, and bring the Earth nearer to\nEvenness and Plainness.\n\nSEEING then there are no Hopes of explaining the Origin of Mountains,\neither from particular Earthquakes, or from the general Deluge,\naccording to the common Notion and Explication of it; these not being\nCauses answerable to such vast Effects: Let us try our _Hypothesis_\nagain; which hath made us a Channel large enough for the Sea, and Room\nfor all subterraneous Cavities, and I think will find us Materials\nenough to raise all the Mountains of the Earth. We suppose the great\nArch or Circumference of the first Earth to have fallen into the Abyss\nat the Deluge, and seeing that was larger than the Surface it fell upon,\n\u2019tis absolutely certain, that it could not all fall flat, or lie under\nthe Water: Now as all those Parts that stood above the Water made dry\nLand, or the present habitable Earth, so such Parts of the dry Land as\nstood higher than the rest, made Hills and Mountains; and this is the\nfirst and general Account of them, and of all the Inequalities of the\nEarth. But to consider these Things a little more particularly: There is\na double Cause and Necessity of Mountains, first this now mention\u2019d,\nbecause the exterior Orb of the Earth was greater than the interior,\nwhich it fell upon, and therefore it could not all fall flat; and\nsecondly, because this exterior Orb did not fall so flat and large as it\nmight, or did not cover all the Bottom of the Abyss, as it was very\ncapable to do; but as we shew\u2019d before in explaining the Channel of the\nOcean, it left a gaping in the Middle, or an _Abyss-channel_, as I\nshould call it; and the broader this Abyss-channel was, the more\nMountains there would be upon the dry Land; for there would be more\nEarth, or more of the falling Orb left, and less Room to place it in,\nand therefore it must stand more in Heaps.\n\nIN what Parts of the Earth these Heaps would lie, and in what particular\nmanner, it cannot be expected that we should tell; but all that we have\nhitherto observ\u2019d concerning Mountains, how strange soever, and\notherwise unaccountable, may easily be explain\u2019d and deduc\u2019d from this\nOriginal; we shall not wonder at their Greatness and Vastness, seeing\nthey are the Ruins of a broken World; and they would take up more or\nless of the dry Land, according as the Ocean took up more or less Space\nof our Globe: Then as to their Figure and Form, whether external or\ninternal, \u2019tis just such as answers our Expectation, and no more than\nwhat the _Hypothesis_ leads us to; for you would easily believe that\nthese Heaps would be irregular in all manner of ways, whether consider\u2019d\napart, or in their Situation to one another. And they would lie commonly\nin Clusters and in Ridges, for those are two of the most general\nPostures of the Parts of a Ruin, when they fall inwards. Lastly, We\ncannot wonder that Mountains should be generally hollow; for great\nBodies falling together in Confusion, or bearing and leaning against one\nanother, must needs make a great many Hollownesses in them, and by their\nunequal Applications empty Spaces will be intercepted. We see also from\nthe same Reason why mountainous Countries are subject to Earthquakes;\nand why Mountains often sink and fall down into the Caverns that lie\nunder them; their Joints and Props being decayed and worn, they become\nunable to bear their Weight. And all these Properties you see hang upon\none and the same String, and are just Consequences from our Supposition\nconcerning the Dissolution of the first Earth. And there is no surer\nMark of a good _Hypothesis_, than when it doth not only hit luckily in\none or two Particulars, but answers all that it is to be apply\u2019d to, and\nis adequate to Nature in her whole Extent.\n\nBut how fully or easily soever these things may answer Nature, you will\nsay, it may be, that all this is but an _Hypothesis_; that is, a kind of\nFiction or Supposition that Things were so and so at first, and by the\nCoherence and Agreement of the Effects with such a Supposition, you\nwould argue and prove that they were really so. This I confess is true,\nthis is the Method, and if we would know any Thing in Nature further\nthan our Senses go, we can know it no otherwise than by an _Hypothesis_.\nWhen Things are either too little for our Senses, or too remote and\ninaccessible, we have no Way to know the inward Nature, and the Causes\nof their sensible Properties, but by reasoning upon an _Hypothesis_. If\nyou would know, for Example, of what Parts Water, or any other Liquor\nconsists, they are too little to be discern\u2019d by the Eye; you must\ntherefore take a Supposition concerning their invisible Figure and Form,\nand if that agrees and gives the Reason of all their sensible Qualities,\nyou understand the Nature of Water. In like manner, if you would know\nthe Nature of a Comet, or of what Matter the Sun consists, which are\nThings inaccessible to us, you can do this no otherwise than by an\n_Hypothesis_; and if that _Hypothesis_ be easy and intelligible, and\nanswers all the _Ph\u00e6nomena_ of those two Bodies, you have done as much\nas a _Philosopher_ or as _human Reason_ can do. And this is what we have\nattempted concerning the Earth and concerning the Deluge. We have laid\ndown an _Hypothesis_ that is easy and perspicuous, consisting of a few\nthings, and those very intelligible, and from this we have given an\nAccount how the old World was destroy\u2019d by a Deluge of Water, and how\nthe Earth came into this present Form, so distinguish\u2019d and interrupted\nwith Sea and Land, Mountains and Valleys, and so broken in the Surface\nand inward Parts of it.\n\nBUT to speak the Truth, this Theory is something more than a bare\n_Hypothesis_; because we are assured that the general Ground that we go\nupon is true, namely, That the Earth rose at first from a Chaos; for\nbesides Reason and Antiquity, Scripture it self doth assure us of that;\nand that one Point being granted, we have deduc\u2019d from it all the rest\nby a direct Chain of Consequences, which I think cannot be broken easily\nin any Part or Link of it. Besides, the great Hinge of this Theory, upon\nwhich all the rest turns, is the Distinction we make of the antediluvian\nEarth and Heavens from the Postdiluvian, as to their Form and\nConstitution. And it will never be beaten out of my Head, but that St.\n_Peter_, _2 Epist. chap. iii. 5, 6._ hath made the same Distinction\nsixteen hundred Years since, and to the very same purpose; so that we\nhave sure footing here again, and the Theory riseth above the Character\nof a bare _Hypothesis_. And whereas an _Hypothesis_ that is clear and\nproportion\u2019d to Nature in every Respect, is accounted morally certain,\nwe must in Equity give more than a moral Certitude to this Theory. But I\nmean this only as to the general Parts of it; for as to Particularities,\nI look upon them only as problematical, and accordingly I affirm nothing\ntherein but with a Power of Revocation, and a Liberty to change my\nOpinion when I shall be better inform\u2019d. Neither do I know any Author\nthat hath treated a Matter new, remote, and consisting of a Multitude of\nParticulars, who would not have had occasion, if he had liv\u2019d to have\nseen his _Hypothesis_ fully examin\u2019d, to have chang\u2019d his Mind and\nManner of explaining Things in many material Instances.\n\nTO conclude both this Chapter and this Section, we have here added a Map\nor Draught of the Earth, according to the natural Face of it, as it\nwould appear from the Moon, if we were a little nearer to her; or as it\nwas at first after the Deluge, before Cities were built, Distinctions of\nCountries made, or any Alterations by human Industry. \u2019Tis chiefly to\nexpose more to view the Mountains of the Earth, and the Proportions of\nSea and Land; to shew it as it lies in itself, and as a Naturalist ought\nto conceive and consider it. \u2019Tis true, there are far more Mountains\nupon the Earth than what are here represented, for more could not\nconveniently be plac\u2019d in this narrow Scheme; but the best and most\neffectual Way of representing the Body of the Earth as it is by Nature,\nwould be, not in plain Tables, but by a _rough Globe_, expressing all\nthe considerable Inequalities that are upon the Earth. The smooth Globes\nthat we use, do but nourish in us the Conceit of the Earth\u2019s Regularity;\nand tho\u2019 they may be convenient enough for geographical Purposes, they\nare not so proper for natural Science, nothing would be more useful in\nthis Respect, than a rough Globe of the largest Dimensions, wherein the\nChannel of the Sea should be really hollow, as it is in Nature, with all\nits unequal Depths according to the best Soundings, and the Shores\nexpress\u2019d both according to Matter and Form, little Rocks standing where\nthere are Rocks, and Sands and Beaches in the Places where they are\nfound; and all the Islands planted in the Sea-channel in a due Form, and\nin their solid Dimensions. Then upon the Land should stand all the\nRanges of Mountains, in the same Order or Disorder that Nature hath set\nthem there: And the in-land Seas, and great Lakes, or rather the Beds\nthey lie in, should be duly represented; as also the vast Desarts of\nSand as they lie upon the Earth. And this being done with Care and due\nArt, would be a true Epitome, or true Model of our Earth. Where we\nshould see, besides other Instructions, what a rude Lump our World is,\nwhich we are so apt to dote upon.\n\n[Illustration: The Eastern Hemisphere.]\n\n[Illustration: The Western Hemisphere.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. XII.\n\n\n _A short Review of what hath been already treated of, and in what\n Manner. The several Faces and Schemes under which the Earth would\n appear to a Stranger, that should view it first at a Distance, and\n then more closely, and the Application of them to our Subject. All\n Methods, whether Philosophical or Theological, that have been\n offer\u2019d by others for the Explication of the Form of the Earth, are\n examin\u2019d and disprov\u2019d. A Conjecture concerning the other Planets,\n their natural Form and State compared with ours._\n\n\nWE have finish\u2019d the three Sections of this Book, and in this last\nChapter we will make a short Review and Reflexion upon what hath been\nhitherto treated of, and add some further Confirmations of it. The\nExplication of the universal Deluge was the first Proposal and Design of\nthis Discourse, to make that a Thing credible and intelligible to the\nMind of Man: And the full Explication of this drew in the whole Theory\nof the Earth; Whose Original we have deduc\u2019d from its first Source, and\nshew\u2019d both what was its prim\u00e6val Form, and how it came into its present\nForm. The Sum of our _Hypothesis_ concerning the universal Deluge was\nthis; That it came not to pass, as was vulgarly believ\u2019d, by an Excess\nof Rains, or any Inundation of the Sea, nor could ever be effected by a\nmeer Abundance of Waters; unless we suppose some Dissolution of the\nEarth at the same time, namely, when the _Great Abyss_ was broken open.\nAnd accordingly we shewed, that without such a Dissolution, or if the\nEarth had been always in the same Form it is in now, no Mass of Water,\nany where to be found in the World, could have equall\u2019d the Height of\nthe Mountains, or made such an universal Deluge. Secondly, We shewed\nthat the Form of the Earth at first, and till the Deluge, was such as\nmade it capable and subject to a Dissolution: And thirdly, That such a\nDissolution being suppos\u2019d, the Doctrine of the universal Deluge is very\nreasonable and intelligible; and not only the Doctrine of the Deluge,\nbut the same Supposition is a Key to all Nature besides, shewing us how\nour Globe became terraqueous, what was the Original of Mountains, of the\nSea-channel, of Islands, of subterraneous Cavities; things which without\nthis Supposition are as untelligible as the universal Flood itself. And\nthese things reciprocally confirming one another, our _Hypothesis_ of\nthe Deluge is arm\u2019d, both Breast and Back, by the Causes and by the\nEffects.\n\nIT remains now, that, as to confirm our Explication of the Deluge, we\nshew\u2019d all other Accounts that had been given of it to be ineffectual or\nimpossible, to confirm our Doctrine concerning the Dissolution of the\nEarth, and concerning the Original of Mountains, Seas, and all\nInequalities upon it, or within it, we must examine what Causes have\nbeen assign\u2019d by others, or what Accounts given of these things: That\nseeing their Defectiveness, we may have the more Assurance and\nSatisfaction in our own Method.\n\nAND in order to this, let us observe first the general Forms under which\nthe Earth may be consider\u2019d, or under which it doth appear accordingly\nas we view it more nearly or remotely; and the first of these and the\nmost general is that of a _terraqueous Globe_. If a Philosopher should\ncome out of another World out of Curiosity to see our Earth, the first\nDiscovery or Observation he would make would be this, that it was a\nterraqueous Globe: Thus much he might observe at a great Distance, when\nhe came but near the Borders of our World. This we discern in the Moon,\nand most of the Planets, that they are divided into Sea and Land, and\nhow this Division came would be his first Remark and Inquiry concerning\nour Earth; and how also those Subdivisions of Islands, or little Earths\nwhich lie in the Water; how these were form\u2019d, and that great Channel\nthat contains them both.\n\nTHE second Form that the Earth appears under, is that of an uneven and\n_mountainous Globe_. When our Traveller had got below the Circle of the\nMoon, he would discern the bald Tops of our Mountains, and the long\nRanges of them upon our Continents. We cannot from the Earth discern\nMountains and Valleys in the Moon directly, but from the Motion of the\nLight and Shadows which we see there, we easily collect that there are\nsuch Inequalities: And accordingly we suppose that our Mountains would\nappear at a great Distance, and the shady Valleys lying under them; and\nthat this curious Person that came to view our Earth, would make that\nhis second Enquiry, how those Mountains were formed, and how our Globe\ncame to be so rude and irregular? For we may justly demand how any\nIrregularity came into Nature, seeing all her first Motions and her\nfirst Forms are regular, and whatsoever is not so, is but secondary, and\nthe Consequence of some Degeneracy, or of some Decay.\n\nTHE third visible Form of our Earth is that of a _broken Globe_; and\nbroken throughout, but in the outward Parts and Regions of it. This, it\nmay be, you will say, is not a visible Form; it doth not appear to the\nEye, without reasoning, that the Surface of the Earth is so broken.\nSuppose our new Visitant had now pass\u2019d the middle Region of the Air,\nand was alighted upon the Top of _Pic Teneriffe_ for his first resting\nPlace, and that sitting there, he took a View of the great Rocks, the\nwide Sea, and of the Shores of _Africk_ and _Europe_; for we\u2019ll suppose\nhis piercing Eye to reach so far; I will not say that at first Sight he\nwould pronounce that the Surface of this Globe was broken, unless he\nknew it to be so by Comparison with some other Planet like to it; but\nthe broken Form and Figure of many Parts of the Rocks, and the Posture\nin which they lay, or great Portions of them, some inclin\u2019d, some\nprostrate, some erected, would naturally lead him to that Thought, that\nthey were a Ruin; he would see also the Islands tore from the\nContinents, and both the Shores of the Continents and their Inland Parts\nin the same Disorder and irregular Situation. Besides, he had this great\nAdvantage in viewing the Earth at a Distance, that he could see a whole\nHemisphere together, which, as he made his Approaches thro\u2019 the Air,\nwould have much what the same aspect and countenance as \u2019tis represented\nwithin the great Scheme, _p. 203._ And if any Man should accidentally\nhit upon that Scheme, not knowing or thinking that it was the Earth, I\nbelieve his first Thought of it would be, that it was some great broken\nBody, or ruin\u2019d Frame of Matter; and the Original, I am sure, is more\nmanifestly so. But we\u2019ll leave our strange Philosopher to his own\nObservations, and with him good Guides and Interpreters in his Survey of\nthe Earth, and that he would make a favourable Report at his Return\nhome, of our little dirty Planet.\n\nIN the mean time let us pursue, in our own Way, this Third _Idea_ of the\nEarth a little further, as it is _a broken Globe_. Nature I know hath\ndissembled and cover\u2019d this Form as much as may be, and Time hath help\u2019d\nto repair some of the old Breaches, or fill them up; besides, the\nChanges that have been made by Art and human Industry, by Agriculture,\nPlanting, and Building Towns, hath made the Face of the Earth quite\nanother Thing from what it was in its naked Rudeness. As Mankind is much\nalter\u2019d from its pristine State, from what it was four thousand Years\nago, or towards the first Ages after the Flood, when the Nations liv\u2019d\nin Simplicity or Barbarousness; so is the Earth too, and both so\ndisguis\u2019d and transform\u2019d, that if one of those primitive Fathers should\nrise from the Dead, he would scarce know this to be the same World which\nhe liv\u2019d in before. But to discern the true Form of the Earth, whether\nintire or broken, regular or disorder\u2019d, we must in the first Place take\naway all those Ornaments or Additions made by Art or Nature, and view\nthe bare Carcass of the Earth, as it hath nothing on it but Rocks and\nMountains, Deserts and Fields, and hollow Valleys, and a wide Sea. Then\nsecondly, We must in our Imagination empty this Channel of the Sea, take\nout all the Waters that hinder the Sight of it, and look upon the dry\nDitch, measure the Depth and Breadth of it in our Mind, and observe the\nManner of its Construction, and in what a wild Posture all the Parts of\nit lie; according as it hath been formerly represented, _Chap. 10._ And\nlastly, we must take off the Cover of all subterraneous Places and deep\nCaverns, to see the inside of the Earth; and lay bare the Roots of\nMountains, to look into those Holes and Vaults that are under them,\nfill\u2019d sometimes with Fire, sometimes with Water, and sometimes with\nthick Air and Vapours. The Object being thus prepar\u2019d, we are then to\nlook fixedly upon it, and to pronounce what we think of this disfigur\u2019d\nMass, whether this exterior Frame doth not seem to be shatter\u2019d; and\nwhether it doth more aptly resemble a new-made World, or the Ruins of\none broken. I confess when this _Idea_ of the Earth is present to my\nThoughts, I can no more believe that this was the Form wherein it was\nfirst produc\u2019d, than if I had seen the Temple of _Jerusalem_ in its\nRuins, when defac\u2019d and sack\u2019d by the _Babylonians_; I could have\npersuaded my self, that it had never been in any other Posture, and that\n_Solomon_ had given Orders for Building it so.\n\nSO much for the Form of the Earth: It remains now that we examine what\nCauses have been assign\u2019d by others, of these Irregularities in the Form\nof the Earth, which we explain by the Dissolution of it; what Accounts\nany of the Ancients have given, or attempted to give, how the Earth\nswell\u2019d into Mountains in certain Places, and in others was depress\u2019d\ninto low Valleys, how the Body of it was so broken, and how the Channel\nof the Sea was made. The Elements naturally lie in regular Forms one\nabove another, and now we find them mix\u2019d, confounded and transpos\u2019d,\nhow comes this Disturbance and Disordination in Nature? The Explications\nof these Things that have been given by others, may be reduc\u2019d to two\ngeneral Sorts, _Philosophical_ or _Theological_, and we will try them\nboth for our Satisfaction.\n\nOF Philosophers, none was more concern\u2019d to give an Account of such\nThings than _Epicurus_, both because he acknowledged the Origin of the\nEarth to have been from a _Chaos_, and also admitted no Causes to act in\nNature but Matter and Motion: Yet all the Account we have from the\n_Epicureans_ of the Form of the Earth, and the great Inequalities that\nare in it, is so slight and trivial, that methinks it doth not deserve\nthe Name of a Philosophical Explication. They say that the Earth and\nWater were mix\u2019d at first, or rather, the Earth was above the Water, and\nas the Earth was condens\u2019d by the Heat of the Sun and the Winds, the\nWater was squeez\u2019d out in certain Places, which either it found hollow\nor made so; and so was the Channel of the Sea made. Then as for\nMountains, while some Parts of the Earth shrunk and sunk in this Manner,\nothers would not sink; and these standing still while the others fell\nlower, made the Mountains. How the subterraneous Cavities were made\naccording to them, I do not find.\n\nTHIS is all the Account that Monsieur _Gassendi_ (who seems to have made\nit his Business, as well as his Pleasure, to embellish that Philosophy)\ncan help us to, out of the _Epicurean_ Authors how the Earth came into\nthis Form; and he that can content himself with this, is, in my Mind, of\nan Humour very easy to be pleas\u2019d. Do the Sun and the Wind use to\nsqueeze Pools of Water out of the Earth, and that in such a Quantity as\nto make an Ocean? They dry the Earth, and the Waters too, and rarify\nthem into Vapours, but I never knew them to be the Causes of pressing\nWater out of the Earth by Condensation. Could they compress the Earth\nany otherwise, than by drying it and making it hard? And in Proportion,\nas it was more dry, would it not the more imbibe and suck up the Water?\nAnd how were the great Mountains of the Earth made in the North and in\nthe South, where the Influence of the Sun is not great? What sunk the\nEarth there, and made the Flesh start from the Bones? But \u2019tis no Wonder\nthat _Epicurus_ should give such a mean Account of the Origin of the\nEarth, and the Form of its Parts, who did not so much as understand the\ngeneral Figure of the Body of it, that it was in some Manner Spherical,\nor that the Heavens encompass\u2019d it round. One must have a blind Love for\nthat Philosophy, and for the Conclusions it drives at, not to see its\nLameness and Defects in those first and fundamental Parts.\n\n_Aristotle_, though he was not concern\u2019d to give an Account how the\nEarth came into this present Form, as he suppos\u2019d it Eternal; yet upon\nanother Consideration he seems obliged to give some Reason how the\nElements came into this Disorder; seeing he supposeth, that, according\nto the Order of Nature, the Water should lie above the Earth in a\nSphere, as the Air doth above the Water, and his Fire above the Air.\nThis he toucheth upon in his Meteors, but so gently and fearfully, as if\nhe was handling hot Coals. He saith the Sea is to be consider\u2019d as the\nElement, or Body of Waters that belongs to this Earth, and that these\nWaters change Places, and the Sea is some Ages in one Part of the Globe,\nand some Ages in another; but that this is at such great Distances of\nTime, that there can be no Memory or Record of it. And he seems willing\nto suppose that the Water was once all over the Earth, but that it dry\u2019d\nup in certain Places, and continuing in others, it there made the Sea.\n\nWHAT a miserable Account is this? As to his Change or Removal of the\nSea-channel in several Ages, as it is without all Proof or Probability,\nif he mean it of the Channel of the great Ocean, so \u2019tis nothing to the\nPurpose here; for the Question is not why the Channel of the Sea is in\nsuch a Part of the Earth, rather than in another, but why there is any\nsuch prodigious Cavity in or upon the Earth any where. And if we take\nhis Supposition, that the Element of Water was once higher than the\nEarth, and lay in a Sphere about it, then let him tell us in plain Terms\nhow the Earth got above, or how the Cavity of the Ocean was made, and\nhow the Mountains rise; for this Elementary Earth which lay under the\nWater, was, I suppose, equal and smooth when it lay there; and what\nreason was there, that the Waters should be dry\u2019d in one Part of it,\nmore than another, if they were every where of an equal Depth, and the\nGround equal under them? It was not the Climates made any Distinction,\nfor there is Sea towards the Poles, as well as under the \u00c6quator; but\nsuppose they were dry\u2019d up in certain Places, that would make no\nMountains, no more than there are Mountains in our dry\u2019d Marshes: And\nthe Places where they were not dry\u2019d, would not therefore become as deep\nand hollow as the Sea-channel, and tear the Earth and Rocks in pieces.\nIf you would say that this very Elementary Earth, as it lay under the\nWaters, was unequal, and was so originally form\u2019d into Mountains and\nValleys and great Cavities; besides that the Supposition is altogether\nirrational in itself, you must suppose a prodigious Mass of Water to\ncover such an Earth; as much as we found requisite for the vulgar\nDeluge, namely, eight Oceans; and what then is become of the other\nseven? Upon the whole, I do not see that either in _Epicurus_\u2019s way, who\nseems to suppose that the Waters were at first within the Earth; nor in\n_Aristotle_\u2019s way, who seems to suppose them upon the Earth, any\nrational or tolerable Account can be given of the present Form of the\nEarth.\n\nWHEREFORE some Modern Authors, dissatisfied, as very well they might be,\nwith these Explications given us by the Ancients concerning the Form of\nthe Earth, have pitch\u2019d upon other Causes, more true indeed in their\nkind, and in their degree, but that fall as much short of those Effects\nto which they would apply them. They say that all the Irregularities of\nthe Body of the Earth have risen from Earthquakes in particular Places,\nand from Torrents and Inundations, and from Eruptions of Fire, or such\nlike Causes, whereof we see some Instances more or less every Age; and\nthese have made that havock upon the Face of the Earth, and turn\u2019d\nthings upside down, raising the Earth, in some Places, and making great\nCavities or Chasms in others, so as to have brought it at length into\nthat torn, broken, and disorderly Form in which we now see it.\n\nTHESE Authors do so far agree with us, as to acknowledge, That the\npresent irregular Form of the Earth must have proceeded from Ruins and\nDissolutions of one sort or other; but these Ruins they make to have\nbeen partial only, in this or in that Country, by piece-meal, and in\nseveral Ages, and from no other Causes, but such as still continue to\nact in Nature, namely, accidental Earthquakes and Eruptions of Fires and\nWaters. These Causes we acknowledge as readily as they do, but not as\ncapable to produce so great Effects as they would ascribe to them; the\nSurface of the Earth may be a little changed by such Accidents as these,\nbut for the most part, they rather sink the Mountains, than raise new\nOnes: As when Houses are blown up by Mines of Powder, they are not set\nhigher, but generally fall lower and flatter: Or suppose they do\nsometimes raise an Hill, or a little Mount, what\u2019s that to the great\nMountains of our World, to those long and vast Piles of Rocks and\nStones, which the Earth can scarce bear? What\u2019s that to strong-backt\n_Taurus_ or _Atlas_, to the _American Andes_, or to a Mountain that\nreacheth from the _Pyreneans_ to the _Euxine_ Sea? There\u2019s as much\nDifference between these, and those factious Mountains they speak of, as\nbetwixt them and Mole-hills.\n\nAND to answer more distinctly to this Opinion, as before in speaking of\nIslands we distinguish\u2019d betwixt factitious and original Islands, so, if\nyou please, we may distinguish here betwixt factitious and original\nMountains; and allowing some few, and those of the fifth or sixth\nMagnitude, to have risen from such accidental Causes, we enquire\nconcerning the rest and the greatest, what was their Original? If we\nshould suppose that the seven Hills upon which _Rome_ stands, came from\nRuins or Eruptions, or any such Causes, it doth not follow that the\n_Alps_ were made so too. And as for Mountains, so for the Cavities of\nthe Earth, I suppose there may be Disruptions sometimes made by\nEarthquakes, and Holes worn by subterraneous Fires and Waters; but\nwhat\u2019s that to the Channel of the _Atlantick Ocean_, or of the _Pacifick\nOcean_, which is extended an hundred and fifty Degrees under the\n\u00c6quator, and towards the Poles still further? He that should derive such\nmighty Things from no greater Causes, I should think him a very\ncredulous Philosopher. And we are too subject indeed to that Fault of\nCredulity in Matter of Philosophizing: Many when they have found out\nCauses that are proper for certain Effects within such a Compass, they\ncannot keep them there, but they will make them do every Thing for them;\nand extend them often to other Effects of a superior Nature or Degree,\nwhich their Activity can by no Means reach to. _\u00c6tna_ hath been a\nburning Mountain ever since, and above the Memory of Man, yet it hath\nnot destroy\u2019d that Island, nor made any new Channel to the Sea, tho\u2019 it\nstands so near it. Neither is _Vesuvius_ above two or three Miles\ndistant from the Sea-side, to the best of my Remembrance, and yet in so\nmany Ages it hath made no Passage to it, neither open nor subterraneous.\n\u2019Tis true, some _Isthmus\u2019s_ have been thrown down by Earthquakes, and\nsome Lakes have been made in that Manner, but what\u2019s this to a Ditch\nnine thousand Miles broad? Such an one we have upon the Earth, and of a\nDepth that is not measurable; what Proportion have these Causes to such\nan Instance? And how many thousand Ages must be allow\u2019d to them to do\ntheir Work, more than the Chronology of our Earth will bear?\n\nBESIDES, When were these great Earthquakes and Disruptions, that did\nsuch great Execution upon the Body of the Earth? Was this before the\nFlood or since? If before, then the old Difficulty returns, how could\nthere be a Flood, if the Earth was in this mountainous Form before that\nTime? This, I think, is demonstrated impossible in the second and third\nChapters. If since the Flood, where were the Waters of the Earth before\nthese Earthquakes made a Channel for them? Besides, where is the History\nor Tradition, that speaks of these strange Things, and of this great\nChange of the Earth? Hath any writ of the Origins of the _Alps_? In what\nYear of _Rome_, or what _Olympiad_ they were born? Or how they grew from\nlittle ones? How the Earth groan\u2019d when it brought them forth, when its\nBowels were torn by the ragged Rocks? Do the Chronicles of the Nations\nmention these things, or ancient Fame, or ancient Fables? were they made\nall at once, or in successive Ages? These Causes continue still in\nNature, we have still Earthquakes and subterraneous Fires and Waters,\nwhy should they not still operate and have the same Effects? We often\nhear of Cities thrown down by Earthquakes, or Countries swallow\u2019d up;\nbut who ever heard of a new Chain of Mountains made upon the Earth, or a\nnew Channel made for the Ocean? We do not read that there hath been so\nmuch as a new _Sinus_ of the Sea ever since the Memory of Man: Which is\nfar more feasible than what they pretend. And Things of this Nature\nbeing both strange and feasible, excite Admiration and great Attention\nwhen they come to pass, and would certainly have been remembered or\npropagated in some Way or other, if they had ever happen\u2019d since the\nDeluge. They have recorded the Foundation of Cities and Monarchies, the\nAppearance of Blazing Stars, the Eruptions of fiery Mountains, the most\nremarkable Earthquakes and Inundations, the great Eclipses or\nObscurations of the Sun, and any thing that look\u2019d strange or\nProdigy-like, whether in the Heavens or on Earth: And these, which would\nhave been the greatest Prodigies, and greatest Changes that ever\nhappen\u2019d in Nature, would these have escap\u2019d all Observation and Memory\nof Men? That\u2019s as incredible as the Things themselves are.\n\nLASTLY, To comprehend all these Opinions together, both of the Ancient\nand Modern Authors, they seem all to agree with us in this, _That_ the\nEarth was once under another Form; otherwise why do they go about to\nshew the Causes how it came into this Form? I desire then to know what\nForm they suppose the Earth to have been under before the Mountains were\nmade, the Channel of the Sea, or subterraneous Cavities? Either they\nmust take that Form which we have assign\u2019d it before the Deluge, or else\nthey must suppose it cover\u2019d with Water, till the Sea-channels were\nmade, and the Mountains brought forth; as in _Fig. 2. p. 76._ And no\ndoubt it was once in this Form, both Reason and the Authority of _Moses_\nassure us of it; and this is the Test which every Opinion must be\nbrought to, _how_ the Earth emerg\u2019d out of that watry Form? And in\nparticular, as to that Opinion which we are now examining, the Question\nis, _how_ by Earthquakes, and fiery Eruptions, subterraneous Waters, and\nsuch like Causes, the Body of the Earth could be wrought from that Form\nto this present Form? And the Thing is impossible at first Sight; for\nsuch Causes as these could not take place in such an Earth. As for\nsubterraneous Waters, there could be none at that Time, for they were\nall above Ground; and as for subterraneous Exhalations, whether fiery or\naery, there was no Place for them neither; for the Earth, when it lay\nunder the Water, was a solid uniform Mass, compact and close united in\nits Parts, as we have shewn before upon several Occasions; no Mines or\nhollow Vaults for the Vapours to be lodg\u2019d in, no Store-houses of Fire;\nnothing that could make Earthquakes, nor any sort of Ruins or Eruptions:\nThese are Engines that cannot Play but in an Earth already broken,\nhollow and cavernous. Therefore the Authors of this Opinion do in effect\nbeg the Question; they assign such Causes of the present Form of the\nEarth, as could not take Place, nor have any Activity until the Earth\nwas in this Form: These Causes may contribute something to increase the\nRudeness and Inequalities of the Earth in certain Places, but they could\nnot be the original Causes of it. And that not only because of their\nDisproportion to such Effects, but also because of their Incapacity, or\nNon-existence at that time, when these Effects were to be wrought.\n\nTHUS much concerning the Philosophical Opinions or the natural Causes\nthat have been assign\u2019d for the irregular Form of this present Earth.\nLet us now consider the Theological Opinions, how Mountains were made at\nfirst, and the wonderful Channel of the Sea: And these Authors say, God\nAlmighty made them immediately when he made the World; and so dispatch\u2019d\nthe Business in a few Words. This is a short Account indeed, but we must\ntake heed that we do not derogate from the Perfection of God, by\nascribing all Things promiscuously to his immediate Action. I have often\nsuggested that the first Order of Things is regular and simple,\naccording as the Divine Nature is; and continues so till there is some\nDegeneracy in the moral World; I have also noted upon several Occasions,\nespecially in the _Lat. Treat. Chap. 11._ the deformity and\nIncommodiousness of the present Earth; and from these two Considerations\nwe may reasonably infer, that the present State of the Earth was not\nOriginal, but is a State of Subjection to Vanity, wherein it must\ncontinue till the Redemption and Restitution of all Things.\n\nBUT besides this general Consideration, there are many others, both\nNatural and Theological, against this Opinion, which the Authors of it,\nI believe, will find unanswerable. As first, St. _Peter_\u2019s Distinction\nbetwixt the present Earth and the Antediluvian; _2 Ep. Chap. iii. 5, 6._\nand that in Opposition to certain profane Persons, who seem to have been\nof the same Opinion with these Authors, namely, That the Heavens and the\nEarth were the same now that they had been from the beginning, and that\nthere had been no Change in Nature, either of late, or in former Ages;\nThese St. _Peter_ confutes and upbraids them with Ignorance or\nForgetfulness of the Change that was brought upon Nature at the Deluge,\nor that the Antediluvian Heavens and Earth were of a different Form and\nConstitution from the present, whereby that World was obnoxious to a\nDeluge of Water, as the present is to a Deluge of Fire. Let these\nAuthors put themselves in the Place of those Objectors, and see what\nAnswer they can make to the Apostle, whom I leave to dispute the Case\nwith them. I hope they will not treat this Epistle of St. _Peter_\u2019s so\nrudely as _Didymus Alexandrinus_ did, an ancient Christian, and one of\nSt. _Jerome_\u2019s Masters; he was of the same Opinion with these\nTheological Authors, and so fierce in it, that seeing St. _Peter_\u2019s\nDoctrine here to be contrary, he said, this Epistle of St. _Peter_\u2019s was\ncorrupted, and was not to be receiv\u2019d into the Canon. And all this,\nbecause it taught, that the Heavens and the Earth had chang\u2019d their\nForm, and would do so again at the Conflagration; so as the same World\nwould be triform in Success of Time. We acknowledge his Exposition of\nSt. _Peter_\u2019s Words to be very true; but what he makes an Argument of\nthe Corruption of this Epistle, is rather, in my Mind, a peculiar\nArgument of its Divine Inspiration. In the second Place, these Writers\ndash upon the old Rock, the Impossibility of explaining the Deluge; if\nthere were Mountains from the Beginning, and the Earth then in the same\nForm as it is in now. _Thirdly_, They make the State of _Paradise_ as\nunintelligible as that of the Deluge; For those Properties that are\nassign\u2019d to _Paradise_ by the Ancients, are inconsistent with the\npresent Form of the Earth: As will appear in the Second Book. _Lastly_,\nThey must answer, and give an Account of all those Marks which we have\nobserv\u2019d in Nature (both in this Chapter, and the Ninth, Tenth, and\nEleventh), of Fractions, Ruins, and Dissolutions that have been on the\nEarth, and which we have shewn to be inexplicable, unless we admit that\nthe Earth was once in another Form.\n\nTHESE Arguments being premis\u2019d, let us now bring their Opinion close to\nthe Test, and see in what manner these Mountains must have been made\naccording to them, and how the Channel of the Sea, and all other\nCavities of the Earth. Let us to this Purpose consider the Earth again\nin that transient, incompleat Form which it had when the Abyss encompast\nthe whole Body of it, _Fig. 2. p. 77._ we both agree that the Earth was\nonce in this State, and they say, that it came immediately out of this\nState into its present Form, there being made by a supernatural Power a\ngreat Channel or Ditch in one Part of it, which drew off the Waters from\nthe rest, and the Earth which was squeez\u2019d and forc\u2019d out of this Ditch,\nmade the Mountains. So there is the Channel of the Sea made, and the\nMountains of the Earth; how the subterraneous Cavities were made\naccording to these Authors, I do not well know. This I confess seems to\nme a very gross Thought, and a way of working very un-God like; but\nhowever, let\u2019s have Patience to examine it.\n\nAND in the first Place, if the Mountains were taken out of the Channel\nof the Sea, then they are equal to it, and would fill it up if they were\nthrown in again. But these Proportions upon Examination will not agree;\nfor though the Mountains of the Earth be very great, yet they do not\nequal by much the great Ocean. The Ocean extends to half the Surface of\nthe Earth; and if you suppose the greatest Depth of the Ocean to answer\nthe Height of the greatest Mountains and the middle Depth to the middle\nsort of Mountains, the Mountains ought to cover all the dry Land to make\nthem answer to all the Capacity of the Ocean; whereas we suppos\u2019d them\nupon a reasonable Computation to cover but the tenth Part of the dry\nLand; and consequently neither they nor the Sea-Channel could have been\nproduc\u2019d in this manner, because of their great Disproportion to one\nanother. And the same thing appears, if we compare the Mountains with\nthe Abyss which cover\u2019d the Earth before this Channel was made; for this\nChannel being made great enough to contain all the Abyss, the Mountains\ntaken out of it must also be equal to all the Abyss; but the Aggregate\nof the Mountains will not answer this by many Degrees; for suppose the\nAbyss was but half as deep as the deep Ocean, to make this Calculus\nanswer, all the dry Land ought to be cover\u2019d with Mountains, and with\nMountains as high as the Ocean is deep, or double high to the Depth of\nthe Abyss, because they are but upon one half of the Globe. And this is\nthe first Argument against the Reciprocal Production of Mountains and\nthe Sea, their Incongruency or Disproportion.\n\nSECONDLY, we are to consider that a great many Mountains of the Earth\nare far distant from any Seas, as the great In-land Mountains of\n_Asia_ and of _Africk_, and the _Sarmatick_ Mountains, and others in\n_Europe_; how were these great Bodies flung thorough the Air from\ntheir respective Seas, whence they were taken, to those Places where\nthey stand? What Appearance is there in common Reason or Credibility,\nthat these huge Masses of Earth and Stone that stand in the middle of\nContinents were dug out of any Seas? We think it strange, and very\ndeservedly, that a little Chapel should be transported from _Palestine_\nto _Italy_ over Land and Sea, much more the Transportation of Mount\n_Atlas_ or _Taurus_ thorough the Air, or of a Range of Mountains two\nor three thousand Miles long, would surely upon all Accounts appear\nincongruous and incredible: Besides, neither the hollow Form of\nMountains, nor the stony Matter whereof they commonly consist, agrees\nwith that Supposition, that they were press\u2019d or taken out of the\nChannel of the Sea.\n\nLASTLY, we are to consider, that the Mountains are not barely laid upon\nthe Earth, as a Tomb-stone upon a Grave, nor stand as Statues do upon a\nPedestal, as this Opinion seems to suppose; but they are one continued\nSubstance with the Body of the Earth, and their Roots reach into the\nAbyss; as the Rocks by the Sea-side go as deep as the Bottom of the Sea\nin one continued Mass: And \u2019tis a ridiculous Thing to imagine the Earth\nfirst a plain Surface, then all the Mountains set upon it, as Hay-cocks\nin a Field, standing upon their flat Bottoms. There is no such common\nSurface in Nature, nor consequently any such Super-additions: \u2019Tis all\none Frame or Mass, only broken and disjointed in the Parts of it. To\nconclude, \u2019Tis not only the Mountains that make the Inequalities of the\nEarth, or the Irregularity of its Surface, every Country, every\nProvince, every Field, hath an unequal and different Situation, higher\nor lower inclin\u2019d more or less, and sometimes one way sometimes another,\nyou can scarce take a Mile\u2019s Compass in any Place where the Surface of\nthe Ground continues uniform; and can you imagine, that there were\nMoulds or Stones brought from the Sea-channel to make all those\nInequalities? Or that Earthquakes have been in every Country and in\nevery Field? The inner Veins and Lares, the Beds or Strata of the Earth\nare also broken as well as the Surface. These must proceed from\nuniversal Causes; and all those that have been alledg\u2019d, whether from\nPhilosophy or Theology, are but particular or topical. I am fully\nsatisfied, in Contemplation of these Things, and so I think every\nunprejudic\u2019d Person may be, that to such an irregular Variety of\nSituation and Construction, as we see every where in the Parts of the\nEarth, nothing could answer but some universal Concussion or\nDislocation, in the Nature of a general Ruin.\n\nWE have now finish\u2019d this first Part of our Theory, and all that\nconcerns the Deluge or Dissolution of the Earth; and we have not only\nestablish\u2019d our own Hypothesis by positive Arguments, but also produc\u2019d\nand examin\u2019d all Suppositions that have been offer\u2019d by others, whether\nPhilosophical or Theological, for the Explication of the same things; so\nas nothing seems now to remain further upon this Subject. For a\nConclusion of all, we will consider, if you please, the rest of the\nEarths, or of the Planets within our Heavens, that appertain to the same\ncommon Sun; to see, so far as we can go by rational Conjectures, if they\nbe not of the same Fabrick, and have undergone the like Fate, and Forms\nwith our Earth. It is now acknowledged by the generality of learned Men,\nthat the Planets are opake Bodies, and particularly our next Neighbour,\nthe Moon, is known to be a terraqueous Globe, consisting of Mountains\nand Valleys as our Earth does; and we have no Reason to believe, but\nthat she came into that Form by a Dissolution, or from like Causes, as\nour Earth did. _Mercury_ is so near the Sun, that we cannot well discern\nhis Face, whether spotted or no, nor make a Judgment of it. But as for\n_Venus_ and _Mars_, if the Spots that be observ\u2019d in them be their\nWaters or their Sea, as they are in the Moon, \u2019tis likely they are also\nterraqueous Globes, and in much what a like Form with the Moon, and the\nEarth, and, for ought we know, from like Causes. Particularly as to\n_Venus_, \u2019tis a remarkable Passage that St. _Austin_ (_De Civ. Dei, lib.\n21. c. viii._) hath preserv\u2019d out of _Varro_: He saith, That _about the\nTime of the great Deluge there was a wonderful Alteration or Catastrophe\nhappen\u2019d to the Planet Venus, and that she chang\u2019d her Colour, Form,\nFigure, and Magnitude_. This is a great Presumption that she suffer\u2019d\nher Dissolution about the same time that our Earth did. I do not know\nthat any such Thing is recorded concerning any of the other Planets, but\nthe Body of _Mars_ looks very rugged, broken, and much disorder\u2019d.\n\n_Saturn_ and _Jupiter_ deserve a distinct Consideration, as having\nsomething particular and different from the rest of the Planets;\n_Saturn_ is remarkable for his Hoop or Ring, which seems to stand off,\nor higher than his Body, and would strongly induce one to believe, that\nthe exterior Earth of that Planet, at its Dissolution, did not all fall\nin, but the polar Parts sinking into the Abyss, the middle or\nequinoctial Parts still subsisted, and bore themselves up in the Nature\nof an Arch about the Planet, or of a Bridge, as it were, built over the\nSea of _Saturn_. And as some have observ\u2019d concerning the Figure of\n_Jupiter_, that it is not wholly Spherical, but a Spheroid, protuberant\nin the Equator, and depress\u2019d towards the Poles: So I should suspect\n_Saturn_ to have been much more so, before his Disruption: Namely, That\nthe Body of that Planet, in its first State, was more flat and low\ntowards the Poles, and also weaker and thinner; and about the Equator\nhigher, fuller and stronger built: By reason of which Figure and\nConstruction, the Polar Parts did more easily fall in, or were suckt in\n(as Cupping Glasses draw in the Flesh) when the Abyss below grew more\nempty. Whereas the middle Parts about the Equator, being a more just\nArch and strongly built, would not yield or sink, but stood firm and\nunbroken, and continues still in its first Posture. Planets break in\ndifferent ways, according to the Quality of their Matter, the manner of\ntheir Construction, and the Nature of the Causes that act upon them.\nTheir Dissolutions are sometimes total, as in our Earth, sometimes\npartial; and both of these may be under great Variety. In partial\nDissolutions, the middle Parts sometimes stand, and the Polar are broke;\nor the Polar stand and the Middle are broke. Or one Hemisphere, or part\nof an Hemisphere may be sunk, the rest standing. There may be Causes and\nOccasions for all these Varieties and many more, in diversifying the\nPh\u00e6nomena of an immense Universe. But to return to _Saturn_.\n\nTHAT this present uncouth Form of _Saturn_ was not its Original Form, I\nam very well satisfied, if that Planet rose from a Chaos, as ours did.\nAnd if this be an adventitious Form, I know no Account can be given of\nit with more Probability, than by supposing it the Effect of some\nFraction or Disruption in the Polar Parts. Neither do I know any\nPh\u00e6nomenon hitherto observ\u2019d concerning _Saturn_, that does disprove\nthis _Hypothesis_ or Conjecture.\n\nAS to _Jupiter_, that Planet without doubt is also turn\u2019d about its\nAxis, otherwise how should its four Moons be carried round him? And this\nis also collected from the Motion of that permanent Spot (if it be found\nto be so) that is upon its Body. Which Spot I take to be either a Lake\nor a Chasm and _Hiatus_ into the Abyss of the Planet: That is, part of\nthe Abyss open or uncover\u2019d, like the Aperture we made in the Seventh\nFigure, _C. 6. p. 184._ And this might either have been left so by\nProvidence, at first, for some Reasons and Causes fitting that Earth: Or\nit may have fallen in afterwards, as _Plato_\u2019s _Atlantis_, or as _Sodom_\nand _Gomorrah_, for some Judgment upon part of that World.\n\nTO conclude, seeing all the Planets that are plac\u2019d in this Heaven, and\nare the Foster-Children of this Sun, seem to have some Affinity one with\nanother, and have much what the same Countenance, and the same general\n_Ph\u00e6nomena_; it seems probable, that they rise much what the same way,\nand after the like manner as our Earth, each one from its respective\nChaos; and that they had the same Elementary Regions at first, and an\nexteriour Orb form\u2019d over their Abyss: and lastly, That every one of\nthem hath suffer\u2019d, or is to suffer its Deluge, as our Earth hath done.\nThese, I say, are probable Conjectures according to the Analogy of\nReason and Nature, so far as we can judge concerning Things very remote\nand inaccessible.\n\nAND these things being thus, and our Theory of the Deluge, and the\nDissolution which brought it, having such a general Agreement both with\nour Heavens and our Earth, I think there is nothing but the Uncouthness\nof the Thing to some Men\u2019s Understandings, the Custom of thinking\notherwise, and the Uneasiness of entring into a new set of Thoughts,\nthat can be a Bar or Hindrance to its Reception. But it may be improv\u2019d,\nI doubt not, in many Respects, and in some Particularities rectified.\nThe first Attempts in great Things are seldom or never perfect: Such is\nthe Weakness of our Understandings, and the want of a full Natural\nHistory. And in assigning Causes of such great Effects, fair Conjectures\nare to be allow\u2019d, till they be displac\u2019d by others more evident and\nmore certain. Accordingly I readily submit to these Terms, and leave\nthis, and all other Parts of the Theory, to further Examination and\nEnquiries.\n\n\n\n\n THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n BOOK II.\n Concerning the Prim\u00e6val Earth, and concerning _Paradise_.\n\n CHAP. I.\n\n\n _The Introduction and Contents of the Second Book. The general State\n of the Prim\u00e6val Earth, and of Paradise._\n\n\nWe have already seen a World begin and perish; an Earth rais\u2019d from the\nRudiments of a Chaos, and dissolv\u2019d and destroy\u2019d in an Universal\nDeluge. We have given also an imperfect Description of that Prim\u00e6val\nEarth, so far as was necessary to shew the Causes and Manner of its\nDissolution. But we must not content our selves with this; seeing that\nEarth was the first Theatre upon which Mortals appear\u2019d and acted, and\ncontinu\u2019d so for above sixteen hundred Years; and that with Scenes, as\nboth Reason and History tell us, very extraordinary and very different\nfrom these of our present Earth, \u2019tis reasonable we should endeavour to\nmake a more full Discovery and Description of it; especially seeing\n_Paradise_ was there; that Seat of Pleasure which our first Parents\nlost, and which all their Posterity have much ado to find again.\n\nIN the First Book we so far describ\u2019d this new-found World, as to shew\nit very different in Form and Fabrick from the present Earth; there was\nno Sea there, no Mountains, nor Rocks, nor broken Caves, \u2019twas all one\ncontinued and regular Mass, smooth, simple and compleat, as the first\nWorks of Nature use to be. But to know thus much only, doth rather\nexcite our Curiosity than satisfy it; what were the other Properties of\nthis World? How were the Heavens, how the Elements? What Accommodation\nfor Human Life? Why was it more proper to be the Seat of _Paradise_ than\nthe present Earth? Unless we know these Things, you will say, it will\nseem but an easy _Idea_ to us; and \u2019tis certain that the more Properties\nand Particularities that we know concerning any thing, the more real it\nappears to be.\n\nAS it was our Chief Design therefore in the precedent Book, to give an\nAccount of the Universal Deluge, by way of a Theory; so we propose to\nour selves chiefly in this Book, from the same Theory, to give an\nAccount of _Paradise_; and in performing of this, we shall be led into a\nmore full Examination and Display of that first Earth, and of its\nQualities. And if we be so happy, as, by the Conduct of the same\nPrinciples and the same Method, to give as fair an Account, and as\nintelligible of the State of _Paradise_ in that Original Earth, as we\nhave done of the Deluge by the Dissolution of it, and of the Form of\nthis Earth which succeeded, one must be very morose or melancholy to\nimagine, that the Grounds we go upon, all this while, are wholly false\nor fictitious. A Foundation which will bear the Weight of two Worlds\nwithout sinking, must surely stand upon a firm Rock. And I am apt to\npromise my self that this Theory of the Earth will find Acceptance and\nCredit, more or less, with all but those that think it a sufficient\nAnswer to all Arguments, to say, _it is a Novelty_.\n\nBUT to proceed in our Disquisition concerning _Paradise_, we may note in\nthe first Place, two Opinions to be avoided, being both extreams; one\nthat placeth _Paradise_ in the extra-mundane Regions, or in the Air, or\nin the Moon; and the other that makes it so inconsiderable, as to be\nconfin\u2019d to a little Spot of Ground in _Mesopotamia_ or some other\nCountry of _Asia_, the Earth being now as it was then. This offends as\nmuch in the Defect, as the other in the Excess. For it is not any single\nRegion of the Earth that can be _Paradisiacal_, unless all Nature\nconspire, and a certain Order of Things proper and peculiar for that\nState. Nor is it of less Importance to find out this peculiar Order of\nThings, than to find out the particular Seat of _Paradise_, but rather\npre-requisite to it: We will endeavour therefore to discover and\ndetermine both, so far as a Theory can go, beginning with that which is\nmore general.\n\n\u2019TIS certain there were some Qualities and Conditions of _Paradise_ that\nwere not meerly topical, but common to all the rest of the Earth at that\nTime; and these we must consider in the first Place, examine what they\nwere, and upon what they depended. History, both Sacred and Profane,\nmust tell us what they were, and our Theory must shew us upon what\nCauses they depended. I had once, I confess, propos\u2019d to my self another\nMethod, independent upon History or Effects; I thought to have continued\nthe Description of the Primitive or antediluvian Earth from the\nContemplation of its Causes only, and then left it to the Judgment of\nothers to determine, whether that was not the Earth where the Golden Age\nwas past, and where _Paradise_ stood. For I had observ\u2019d three\nConditions or Characters of it, which I thought were sufficient to\nanswer all that we knew concerning that first State of Things, viz. _The\nRegularity of its Surface; The Situation or Posture of its Body to the\nSun; and the Figure of it_: From these three general Causes I thought\nmight be deduc\u2019d all the chief Differences of that Earth from the\npresent, and particularly those that made it more capable of being\n_Paradisiacal_.\n\nBUT upon second Thoughts I judg\u2019d it more useful and expedient to lay\naside the Causes at present, and begin with the Effects, that we night\nhave some sensible Matter to work upon. Bare _Ideas_ of Things are\nlook\u2019d upon as romantick till Effects be propos\u2019d, whereof they are to\ngive an Account; \u2019Tis that makes us value the Causes when Necessity puts\nus upon Enquiry after them; and the Reasons of Things are very\nacceptable, when they ease the Mind, anxious and at a loss how to\nunderstand Nature without their help. We will therefore, without more\nado, premise those Things that have been taken Notice of as\nextraordinary and peculiar to the first Ages of the World, and to\n_Paradise_, and which neither do, nor can, obtain in the present Earth;\nwhereof the first is a _perpetual Spring or Equinox_; the second, the\n_Long\u00e6vity of Animals_; and the third, _their Production out of the\nEarth_, and the great Fertility of the Soil in all other Things.\n\nTHESE Difficulties guard the way to _Paradise_ like the flaming Sword,\nand must be remov\u2019d before we can enter; these are general Preliminaries\nwhich we must explain before we proceed to enquire after the particular\nPlace of this Garden of Pleasure. The Ancients have taken Notice of all\nthose in the first Ages of the World, or in their _golden Age_, as they\ncall it; and I do not doubt but what they ascribe to the golden Age, was\nmore remarkably true of _Paradise_; yet was not so peculiar to it, but\nthat it did in a good measure extend to other Parts of the Earth at that\nTime. And \u2019tis manifest that their golden Age was contemporary with our\n_Paradise_; for they make it begin immediately after the Production and\nInhabitation of the Earth (which they, as well as _Moses_, raise from\nthe Chaos) and to degenerate by degrees till the Deluge; when the World\nended, and begun again.\n\nTHAT this Parallel may the better appear, we may observe, that as we say\nthat the whole Earth was, in some Sense, Paradisiacal in the first Ages\nof the World, and that there was, besides, one Region or Portion of it\nthat was peculiarly so, and bore the Denomination of _Paradise_; So the\nAncients, beside their golden Age, which was common to all the Earth,\nnoted some Parts of it that were more golden, if I may so say, than the\nrest, and which did more particularly answer to _Paradise_; as their\n_Elysian_ Fields, Fortunate Islands, Gardens of _Hesperides_,\n_Alcinous_, _&c._ these had a double Portion of Pleasantness, and,\nbeside the Advantages which they had common with the rest of the Earth\nat that Time, had something proper and singular, which gave them a\ndistinct Consideration and Character from the rest.\n\nHAVING made this Observation, let us proceed, and see what Antiquity\nsaith, concerning that first and Paradisiacal State of Things, upon\nthose three Heads forementioned; First, that there was a perpetual\nSpring, and constant Serenity of the Air. This is often repeated by the\nancient Poets, in their Description of the golden Age.\n\n _Non alios prima crescentis origine mundi\n Iluxisse dies, aliumve habuisse tenorem,\n Crediderim: Ver illud erat, Ver magnus agebat\n Orbis, & hybernis parcebant flatibus Euri._\n\n Virgil.\n\n _Such Days the new-born Earth enjoy\u2019d of old;\n And the calm Heavens in this same Tenor rowl\u2019d:\n All the great World had then one constant Spring;\n No cold East-winds, such as our Winters bring._\n\nFor I interpret this in the same Sense with _Ovid_\u2019s Verses of the\ngolden Age:\n\n _Ver erat \u00c6ternum: Placidiq; tepentibus auris\n Mulcebant Zephyri natos sine semine flores._\n\n _The Spring was constant, and soft Winds that blew,\n Rais\u2019d without Seed, Flow\u2019rs always sweet and new._\n\nAND then upon the Expiration of the golden Age, he says,\n\n _Jupiter antiqui contraxit tempora Veris, &c._\n\n _When Jove begun to reign, he chang\u2019d the Year,\n And for one Spring four Seasons made appear._\n\nTHE Ancients suppos\u2019d, that in the Reign of _Saturn_, who was an\nantediluvian God, as I may so call him, Time flow\u2019d with a more even\nMotion, and there was no Diversity of Seasons in the Year; but\n_Jupiter_, they say, first introduc\u2019d that, when he came to manage\nAffairs. This is exprest after their way, who seldom give any severe and\nphilosophical Accounts of the Changes of Nature. And as they suppos\u2019d\nthis perpetual Spring in the Golden Age, so they did also in their\nparticular _Elysiums_; as I could shew largely from their Authors, if it\nwould not multiply Citations too much. \u2019Tis true, their _Elysiums_\nrespected the new Heavens, and new Earth to come, rather than the past;\nbut they are both fram\u2019d upon the same Model, and have common\nProperties.\n\nTHE Christian Authors have no less celebrated the perpetual Spring and\nSerenity of the Heavens in _Paradise_; such Expressions or Descriptions\nyou will find in _Justin Martyr_, _S. Basil_, _Damascen_, _Isidore\nHispalensis_, _De Grat. prim. hom._ and others, insomuch that\n_Bellarmine_, I remember, reflecting upon those Characters of\n_Paradise_, which many of the Fathers have given in these Respects,\nsaith, Such Things could not be, unless the Sun had then another Course\nfrom what he hath now; or which is more easy, the Earth another\nSituation. Which Conjecture will hereafter appear to have been well\ngrounded. In the mean Time, let us see the Christian Poetry upon this\nSubject, as we have seen the _Roman_ upon the other. _Alcimus Avitus_\nhath thus describ\u2019d _Paradise_ in his Notes upon _Genesis_:\n\n _Non hic alterni succedit temporis unquam\n Bruma, nec \u00e6stivi redeunt post frigora Soles;\n Hic Ver assiduum C\u00e6li clementia servat.\n Turbidus Auster abest, semperque sub aere sudo\n Nubila diffugiunt, jugi cessura sereno.\n Nec poscit Natura loci, quos non habet, imbres,\n Sed contenta suo dotantur gerrmina rore.\n Perpetuo viret omne solum, terr\u00e6que benign\u00e6\n Blanda nitet facies: Stant semper collibus herb\u00e6,\n Arboribusque com\u00e6, &c._\n\n _No Change of Seasons or Excess was there,\n No Winter chill\u2019d, nor Summer scorch\u2019d the Air,\n But with a constant Spring, Nature was fresh and fair.\n Rough Winds or Rains that Region never knew,\n Water\u2019d with Rivers and the Morning Dew;\n The Heav\u2019ns still clear, the Fields still green and gay,\n No Clouds above, nor on the Earth decay;\n Trees kept their Leaves and Verdure all the Year,\n And Fruits were never out of Season there._\n\nAnd as the Christian Authors, so likewise the _Jewish_ have spoken of\n_Paradise_ in the same manner; they tell us also that the Days there\nwere always of the same Length throughout the whole Year; and that made\n\u2019em fancy _Paradise_ to lie under the Equinoctial; as we shall see in\nits due Place. \u2019Tis true, we do not find these Things mention\u2019d expresly\nin the Sacred Writings, but the Effects that flow\u2019d from \u2019em are\nrecorded there, and we may reasonably suppose Providence to have\nforeseen, that when those Effects came to be scan\u2019d and narrowly look\u2019d\ninto, they would lead us to a Discovery of the Causes, and particularly\nof this great and general Cause, that _perpetual Equinox_ and Unity of\nSeasons in the Year, till the Deluge. The Longevity of the Antediluvians\ncannot be explain\u2019d upon any other Supposition, as we shall have\nOccasion to shew hereafter; and that you know is recorded carefully in\nScripture: As also that there was no _Rainbow_ before the Flood; which\ngoes upon the same Ground, that there was no Variety of Seasons, nor any\nRain: And this by many is thought to be understood by _Moses_\u2019s Words,\n_Gen. ii. 5, 6._ which he speaks of the first and Paradisiacal Earth.\nLastly, Seeing the Earth then brought forth the Principles of Life and\nall living Creatures (Man excepted) according to _Moses_, _Gen. i. 24._\nwe must suppose that the State of the Heavens was such as favour\u2019d these\nConceptions and Births, which could not possibly be brought to\nPerfection, as the Seasons of the Year are at present. The first time\nthat we have mention made in Scripture of Summer and Winter, and the\nDifferences of Seasons, is at the ending of the Deluge, _Gen. viii. 22._\n_Henceforward all the Days of the Earth, Seed-time and Harvest, Heat and\nCold, Summer and Winter, Day and Night shall not cease._ \u2019Tis true these\nWords are so lax, that they may be understood either of a new Course of\nNature then instituted, or of an old one restor\u2019d; but seeing it doth\nappear from other Arguments and Considerations, that there was at that\ntime a new Course of Nature constituted, it is more reasonable to\ninterpret the Words in that Sense; which, as it is agreeable to Truth,\naccording to Reason and Antiquity so it renders that Remark of _Moses_\nof far greater Importance, if it be understood as an Indication of a new\nOrder then settled in Nature, which should continue henceforwards so\nlong as the Earth endur\u2019d. Nor do I at all wonder that such things\nshould not be expresly and positively declar\u2019d in Scripture; for Natural\nMysteries in the Holy Writings, as well as Prophetical, are many times,\non set Purpose, incompleatly deliver\u2019d, so as to awaken and excite our\nThoughts rather than fully resolve them: This being often more suitable\nto the Designs of Providence in the Government of the World. But thus\nmuch for this first common or general Character of the Golden Age, and\nof _Paradise_, a _perpetual Serenity and perpetual Equinox_.\n\nTHE second Character is the Longevity of Men, and, as is probable, of\nall other Animals in Proportion. This, methinks, is as strange and\nsurprising as the other, and I know no Difference betwixt the\nAntediluvian World and the present, so apt to affect us, if we reflect\nupon it, as this wonderful Disproportion in the Ages of Men; our\nForefathers and their Posterity: They liv\u2019d seven, eight, nine hundred\nYears and upwards, and \u2019tis a wonder now if a Man live to one hundred.\nOur Oaks do not last so long as their Bodies did; Stone and Iron would\nscarce outwear them. And this Property of the first Ages, or their\nInhabitants, how strange soever, is well attested, and beyond all\nException, having the joint Consent of Sacred and Profane History. The\nScripture sets down the precise Age of a Series of Antediluvian\nPatriarchs, and by that measures the Time from the beginning of the\nWorld to the Deluge; so as all Sacred Chronology stands upon that\nbottom. Yet I know some have thought this so improbable and incongruous\na Thing, that to save the Credit of _Moses_ and the Sacred History, they\ninterpret these Years of _Lunar_ Years or Months; and so the Ages of\nthese Patriarchs are reduc\u2019d to much what the same measure with the\ncommon Life of Man at this Time. It may be observ\u2019d in this, as in many\nother Instances, that for want of a Theory to make Things credible and\nintelligible, Men of Wit and Parts have often deprest the Sense of\nScripture; and that not out of any ill Will to Scripture or Religion,\nbut because they could not otherwise, upon the Stock of their Notions,\ngive themselves a rational Account of Things recorded there. But I hope\nwhen we come to explain the Causes of this Longevity, we shall shew that\nit is altogether as strange a Thing that Men should have such short\nLives as they have now, as that they had such long Lives in the first\nAges of the World. In the mean time there are a great many collateral\nReasons to assure us that _Lunar_ Years cannot be here understood by\n_Moses_, for all Antiquity gives the same Account of those first Ages of\nthe World, and of the first Men, that they were extreamly long-liv\u2019d. We\nmeet with it generally in the Description of the Golden Age; and not\nonly so, but in their Topical _Paradises_ also they always suppos\u2019d a\ngreat Vivacity or Longevity in those that enjoy\u2019d them. And _Josephus_,\nspeaking upon this Subject, _Book I. C. iv. Jew. Ant._ saith, the\nAuthors of all the learned Nations, _Greeks_, or _Barbarians_, bare\nwitness to _Moses_\u2019s Doctrine in this Particular. And in the _Mosaical_\nHistory it self, there are several Circumstances and Marks that discover\nplainly, that the Years of the Patriarchs cannot be understood of\n_Lunar_ Years; as we shall have Occasion to shew in another Place. We\nproceed in the mean time to the third and last Character, The\nextraordinary Fertility of the Soil, and the Production of Animals out\nof the new made Earth.\n\nTHE first part of this Character is unquestionable; All Antiquity speaks\nof the Plenty of the Golden Age, and of their _Paradises_, whether\nChristian or Heathen. The Fruits of the Earth were at first spontaneous,\nand the Ground, without being torn and tormented, satisfied the Wants or\nDesires of Man. When Nature was fresh and full, all things flow\u2019d from\nher more easily and more pure, like the first running of the Grape, or\nthe Honey-comb; but now she must be prest and squeez\u2019d, and her\nProductions taste more of the Earth and of bitterness. The ancient Poets\nhave often pleas\u2019d themselves in making Descriptions of this happy\nState, and in admiring the Riches and Liberality of Nature at that Time;\nbut we need not transcribe their Poetry here, seeing this Point is not,\nI think, contested by any. The second Part of this Character, concerning\nthe spontaneous Origin of living Creatures out of that first Earth, is\nnot so unquestionable; and as to Man, _Moses_ plainly implies, that\nthere was a particular Action or Ministry of Providence in the Formation\nof his Body; but as to other Animals, he seems to suppose that the Earth\nbrought them forth as it did Herbs and Plants. (_Gen. i. 24._ compar\u2019d\nwith the 11th Verse.) And the Truth is, there is no such great\nDifference betwixt Vegetable and Animal Eggs, or betwixt the Seeds out\nof which Plants rise, and the Eggs out of which all Animals rise, but\nthat we may conceive the one as well as the other in the first Earth;\nAnd as some Warmth and Influence from the Sun is required for the\nVegetation of Seeds, so that Influence or Impregnation, which is\nnecessary to make Animal Eggs fruitful, was imputed by the Ancients to\nthe _\u00c6ther_, or to an active and pure Element which had the same Effect\nupon our great Mother the Earth, as the Irradiation of the Male hath\nupon the Female\u2019s Eggs.\n\n _Tum Pater Omnipotens f\u0153cundus imbribus \u00c6ther\n Conjugis in gremium l\u00e6t\u00e6 descendit._\n\n _In fruitful Showers of \u00c6ther Jove did glide\n Into the Bosom of his joyful Bride._\n\n\u2019TIS true, this Opinion of the spontaneous Origin of Animals in the\nfirst Earth hath lain under some _Odium_, because it was commonly\nreckon\u2019d to be _Epicurus_\u2019s Opinion peculiarly; and he extended it not\nonly to all Brute Creatures, but to Mankind also, whom he suppos\u2019d to\ngrow out of the Earth in great Numbers, in several Parts and Countries,\nlike other Animals; which is a Notion contrary to the Sacred Writings;\nfor they declare, that all Mankind, though diffus\u2019d now through the\nseveral Parts and Regions of the Earth, rose at first from one Head or\nsingle Man or Woman; which is a Conclusion of great Importance, and that\ncould not, I think, by the Light of Nature, have ever been discover\u2019d.\nAnd this makes the _Epicurean_ Opinion the more improbable, for why\nshould two rise only, if they sprung from the Earth? Or how could they\nrise in their full Growth and Perfection, as _Adam_ and _Eve_ did? But\nas for the Opinion of Animals rising out of the Earth at first, that was\nnot at all peculiar to _Epicurus_: The _Stoicks_ were of the same Mind,\nand the _Pythagoreans_ and the _Egyptians_, and I think, all that\nsuppos\u2019d the Earth to rise from a Chaos. Neither do I know any harm in\nthat Opinion, if duly limited and stated; for what Inconvenience is it,\nor what Diminution of Providence, that there should be the Principles of\nLife, as well as the Principles of Vegetation, in the new Earth? And\nunless you suppose all the first Animals, as well as the first Man, to\nhave been made at one Stroke, in their full Growth and Perfection, which\nwe have neither Reason nor Authority sufficient to believe; if they were\nmade young, little, and weak, as they come now into the World, there\nseems to be no way for their Production more proper, and decorous, than\nthat they should spring from their great Mother the Earth. Lastly,\nconsidering the innumerable little Creatures that are upon the Earth,\nInsects and creeping Things; and that these were not created out of\nnothing, but form\u2019d out of the Ground; I think that an Office most\nproper for Nature, that can set so many Hands to work at once; and that\nhath Hands fit for all those little Operations or Manufactures, how\nsmall soever, that would less become the Dignity of Superior Agents.\n\nTHUS much for the Preliminaries, or three general Characters of\n_Paradise_, which were common to it with the rest of the Prim\u00e6val Earth;\nand were the chief Ingredients of the Golden Age, so much celebrated by\nthe Ancients. I know there were several other Differences betwixt that\nEarth and this; but these are the Original; and such as are not\nnecessary to be premis\u2019d for the general Explication of _Paradise_, we\nreserve for another Place. We may in the mean time observe, how\npreposterously they go to work, that set themselves immediately to find\nout some pleasant Place of the Earth to fix _Paradise_ in, before they\nhave consider\u2019d, or laid any Grounds, to explain the general Conditions\nof it, wheresoever it was. These must be first known and determin\u2019d, and\nwe must take our Aim and Directions from these, how to proceed further\nin out Enquiries after it; otherwise we sail without a Compass, or seek\na Port and know not which way it lies. And as we should think him a very\nunskilful Pilot that sought a Place in the new World, or _America_, that\nreally was in the old; so they commit no less an Error, that seek\n_Paradise_ in the present Earth, as now constituted, which could only\nbelong to the former, and to the State of the first World: As will\nappear more plainly in the following Chapter.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. II.\n\n\n _The great Change of the World since the Flood from what it was in\n the first Ages. The Earth under its present Form could not be\n Paradisiacal, nor any Part of it._\n\n\n_THE Scheme of this World passeth away_, saith an Holy Author: the Mode\nand Form both of the Natural and Civil World changeth continually more\nor less, but most remarkable at certain Periods, when all Nature puts on\nanother Face; as it will do at the Conflagration, and hath done already\nfrom the Time of the Deluge. We may imagine how different a Prospect the\nfirst World would make from what we see now in the present State of\nThings, if we consider only those Generals, by which we have describ\u2019d\nit in the foregoing Chapter, and what their Influence would be upon\nMankind and the rest of Nature. For every new State of Nature doth\nintroduce a new Civil Order, and a new Face and Oeconomy of Human\nAffairs: And I am apt to think, that some two Planets, that are under\nthe same State or Period, do not so much differ from one another, as the\nsame Planet doth from it self in different Periods of its Duration. We\ndo not seem to inhabit the same World that our first Fore-fathers did,\nnor scarce to be the same Race of Men. Our Life now is so short and\nvain, as if we came into the World only to see it and leave it; by that\nTime we begin to understand our selves a little, and to know where we\nare, and how to act our part, we must leave the Stage, and give Place to\nothers as meer Novices as we were our selves at our first Entrance. And\nthis short Life is employ\u2019d in a great Measure to preserve our selves\nfrom Necessity, or Diseases, or Injuries of the Air, or other\nInconveniences; to make one Man easy, ten must work and do drudgery; The\nBody takes up so much Time, we have little Leisure for Contemplation, or\nto cultivate the Mind. The Earth doth not yield us Food, but with much\nLabour and Industry; and what was her free-will Offering before, or an\neasy Liberality, can scarce now be extorted from her. Neither are the\nHeavens more favourable, sometimes in one Extream, sometimes in another;\nThe Air often impure or infectious, and, for a great Part of the Year,\nNature her self seems to be sick or dead. To this Vanity the external\nCreation is made subject as well as Mankind, and so must continue till\nthe Restitution of all Things.\n\nCAN we imagine, in those happy Times and Places we are treating of, that\nThings stood in this same Posture? Are these the Fruits of the golden\nAge and of _Paradise_, or consistent with their Happiness? And the\nRemedies of these Evils must be so universal, you cannot give them to\none Place or Region of the Earth, but all must participate: For these\nare Things that flow from the Course of the Heavens, or such general\nCauses, as extend at once to all Nature. If there was a perpetual Spring\nand perpetual Equinox in _Paradise_, there was at the same Time a\nperpetual Equinox all the Earth over; unless you place _Paradise_ in the\nmiddle of the Torrid Zone. So also the long Lives of the Antediluvians\nwas an universal Effect, and must have had an universal Cause. \u2019Tis\ntrue, in some single Parts or Regions of the present Earth, the\nInhabitants live generally longer than in others, but do not approach in\nany Measure the Age of their antediluvian Fore-fathers; and that degree\nof Longevity which they have above the rest, they owe to the Calmness\nand Tranquillity of their Heavens and Air; which is but an imperfect\nParticipation of that Cause which was once universal, and had its Effect\nthroughout the whole Earth. And as to the Fertility of this Earth,\nthough in some Spots it be eminently more fruitful than in others, and\nmore delicious; yet that of the first Earth was a Fertility of another\nkind, being spontaneous, and extending to the Production of Animals,\nwhich cannot be without a favourable Concourse from the Heavens also.\n\nTHUS much in general; we will now go over those three fore-mention\u2019d\nCharacters more distinctly, to shew, by their Unsuitableness to the\npresent State of Nature, that neither the whole Earth, as it is now, nor\nany Part of it, could be _Paradisiacal_. The perpetual Spring, which\nbelong\u2019d to the golden Age, and to _Paradise_, is an Happiness this\npresent Earth cannot pretend to, nor is capable of, unless we could\ntransfer the Sun from the Ecliptick to the Equator, or, which is as\neasy, persuade the Earth to change its Posture to the Sun. If\n_Archimedes_ had found a Place to plant his Machines in for removing of\nthe Earth, all that I should have desir\u2019d of him, would have been only\nto have given it an Heave at one End, and set it a little to rights\nagain with the Sun, that we might have enjoy\u2019d the Comfort of a\nperpetual Spring, which we have lost by its Dislocation ever since the\nDeluge. And there being nothing more indispensably necessary to a\n_Paradisiacal_ State than this Unity and equality of Seasons, where that\ncannot be, \u2019tis in vain to seek for the rest of _Paradise_.\n\nTHE spontaneous Fruitfulness of the Ground was a thing peculiar to the\nPrimigenial Soil, which was so temper\u2019d, as made it more Luxuriant at\nthat time than it could ever be afterwards; and as that rich Temperament\nwas spent, so by degrees it grew less fertile. The Origin or Production\nof Animals out of the Earth depended not only upon this vital\nConstitution of the Soil at first, but also upon such a Posture and\nAspect of the Heavens, as favour\u2019d, or at least permitted Nature, to\nmake her best Works out of this prepar\u2019d Matter, and better than could\nbe made in that manner after the Flood. _Noah_, we see, had Orders given\nhim to preserve the Races of living Creatures in his Ark, when the old\nWorld was destroy\u2019d; which is an Argument to me, that Providence foresaw\nthat the Earth would not be capable to produce them under its new Form;\nand that, not only for want of Fitness in the Soil, but because of the\nDiversity of Seasons which were then to take place, whereby Nature would\nbe disturb\u2019d in her Work, and the Subject to be wrought upon would not\ncontinue long enough in the same due Temper. But this Part of the second\nCharacter, concerning the Original of Animals, deserves to be further\nexamin\u2019d and explain\u2019d.\n\nTHE first Principles of Life must be tender and ductile, that they may\nyield to all the Motions and gentle Touches of Nature; otherwise it is\nnot possible, that they should be wrought with that Curiosity, and drawn\ninto all those little fine Threads and Textures, that we see and admire\nin some parts of the Bodies of Animals. And as the Matter must be so\nconstituted at first, so it must be kept in a due Temper till the Work\nbe finish\u2019d, without any Excess of Heat or Cold; and accordingly we see\nthat Nature hath made Provision in all sorts of Creatures whether\nOviparous or Viviparous, that the first Rudiments of Life should be\npreserv\u2019d from all Injuries of the Air, and kept in a moderate Warmth.\nEggs are enclos\u2019d in a Shell, or Film, and must be cherished with an\nequal gentle heat, to begin Formation and continue it, otherwise the\nWork miscarries: And in Viviparous Creatures, the Materials of Life are\nsafely lodg\u2019d in the Female\u2019s Womb, and conserv\u2019d in a fit Temperature\n\u2019twixt heat and cold, while the Causes that Providence hath employ\u2019d are\nbusy at work, fashioning and placing and joining the Parts in that due\nOrder which so wonderful a Fabrick requires.\n\nLET us now compare these Things with the Birth of Animals in the\nnew-made World, when they first rose out of the Earth, to see what\nProvision could be made there for their Safety and Nourishment, while\nthey were a making, and when newly made; and though we take all\nAdvantages we can, and suppose both the Heavens and the Earth\nfavourable, a fit Soil and a warm and constant Temper of the Air, all\nwill be little enough to make this way of Production feasible or\nprobable. But if we suppose there was then the same Inconstancy of the\nHeavens that is now, the same Vicissitude of Seasons, and the same\ninequality of Heat and Cold, I do not think it at all possible that they\ncould be so form\u2019d, or, being new-form\u2019d, preserv\u2019d and nourish\u2019d. \u2019Tis\ntrue, some little Creatures that are of short Dispatch in their\nFormation, and find Nourishment enough wheresoever they are bred, might\nbe produc\u2019d and brought to Perfection in this way, notwithstanding any\nInequality of Seasons; because they are made all at a Heat, as I may so\nsay, begun and ended within the compass of one Season. But the great\nQuestion is, concerning the more perfect kinds of Animals, that require\na long stay in the Womb, to make them capable to sustain and nourish\nthemselves when they first come into the World. Such Animals, being big\nand strong, must have a pretty Hardness in their Bones, and Force and\nFirmness in their Muscles and Joints, before they can bear their own\nweight, and exercise the common Motions of their Body: And accordingly\nwe see Nature hath ordain\u2019d for these a longer Time of Gestation, that\ntheir Limbs and Members might have time to acquire Strength and\nSolidity. Besides, the young ones of these Animals have commonly the\nMilk of the Dam to nourish them after they are brought forth, which is a\nvery proper Nourishment, and like to that which they had before in the\nWomb; and by this means their Stomachs are prepar\u2019d by degrees for\ncoarser Food; Whereas our Terrigenous Animals must have been wean\u2019d as\nsoon as they were born, or as soon as they were separated from their\nMother the Earth, and therefore must be allow\u2019d a longer Time of\nContinuing there.\n\nTHESE Things being consider\u2019d, we cannot in Reason but suppose, that\nthese Terrigenous Animals were as long, or longer, a Perfecting, than\nour Viviparous, and were not separated from the Body of the Earth for\nten, twelve, eighteen, or more Months, according as their Nature was;\nand seeing in this Space of Time they must have suffer\u2019d, upon the\ncommon _Hypothesis_, all Vicissitudes and Variety of Seasons, and great\nExcesses of Heat and Cold, which are Things incompatible with the tender\nPrinciples of Life, and the Formation of living Creatures, as we have\nshewn before; we may reasonably and safely conclude, that Nature had\nnot, when the World began, the same Course she hath now, or that the\nEarth was not then in its present Posture and Constitution: Seeing, I\nsay, these first spontaneous Births, which both the Holy Writ, Reason\nand Antiquity seem to allow, could not be finish\u2019d and brought to\nMaturity, nor afterwards preserv\u2019d and nourish\u2019d, upon any other\nSupposition.\n\nLONGEVITY is the last Character to be consider\u2019d, and as inconsistent\nwith the present State of the Earth as any other. There are many Things\nin the Story of the first Ages that seem strange, but nothing so\nprodigy-like as the long Lives of those Men; that their Houses of Clay\nshould stand eight or nine hundred Years and upwards, and those we build\nof the hardest Stone, or Marble, will not now last so long. This hath\nexcited the Curiosity of ingenious and learned Men in all Ages, to\nenquire after the possible Causes of that Longevity; and if it had been\nalways in Conjunction with Innocency of Life and Manners, and expir\u2019d\nwhen that expir\u2019d, we might have thought it some peculiar Blessing or\nReward attending that; but it was common to good and bad, and lasted\ntill the Deluge, whereas Mankind was degenerate long before. Amongst\nNatural Causes, some have imputed it to the Sobriety and Simplicity of\ntheir Diet and manner of Living in those Days, that they eat no Flesh,\nand had not all those Provocations to Gluttony, which Wit and Vice have\nsince invented. This might have some Effect, but not possibly to that\nDegree and Measure that we speak of. There are many Monastical Persons\nnow, that live Abstemiously all their Lives, and yet they think an\nhundred Years a very great Age amongst them. Others have imputed it to\nthe Excellency of their Fruits, and some unknown Virtue in their Herbs\nand Plants in those Days; but they may as well say nothing, as say that\nwhich can neither be prov\u2019d nor understood. It could not be either the\nQuantity or Quality of their food that was the Cause of their long\nLives, for the Earth was said to be curst long before the Deluge, and\nprobably by that time was more barren and juiceless (for the generality)\nthan ours is now; yet we do not see that their Longevity decreas\u2019d at\nall, from the Beginning of the World to the Flood. _Methusalah_ was\n_Noah_\u2019s Grandfather but one intire Remove from the Deluge, and he liv\u2019d\nlonger than any of his Fore-fathers. That Food that will nourish the\nParts, and keep us in Health, is also capable to keep us in long Life,\nif there be no Impediments otherwise; for to continue Health is to\ncontinue Life; as that Fewel that is fit to raise and nourish a Flame,\nwill preserve it as long as you please, if you add fresh Fewel, and no\nexternal Causes hinder: Neither do we observe that in those Parts of the\npresent Earth, where People live longer than in others, that there is\nany thing extraordinary in their Food; but that the Difference is\nchiefly from the Air and the Temperateness of the Heavens; And if the\nAntediluvians had not enjoy\u2019d that Advantage in a peculiar manner, and\ndifferently from what any Parts of the Earth do now, they would never\nhave seen seven, eight, or nine hundred Years go over their Heads,\nthough they had been nourish\u2019d with _Nectar_ and _Ambrosia_.\n\nOTHERS have thought that the long Lives of those Men of the old World\nproceeded from the Strength of their _Stamina_, or first Principles of\ntheir Bodies; which if they were now as strong in us, they think we\nshould still live as long as they did. This could not be the sole and\nadequate Cause of their Longevity, as will appear both from History and\nReason. _Shem_, who was born before the Flood, and had in his Body all\nthe Virtue of the antediluvian _Stamina_ and Constitution, fell three\nhundred Years short of the Age of his Fore-fathers, because the greatest\npart of his Life was past after the Flood. That their _Stamina_ were\nstronger than ours are, I am very ready to believe, and that their\nBodies were greater; and any Race of strong Men, living long in Health,\nwould have Children of a proportionable strong Constitution with\nthemselves; but then the Question is, how was this interrupted? We that\nare their Posterity, why do not we inherit their long Lives? How was\nthis Constitution broken at the Deluge, and how did the _Stamina_ fail\nso fast when that came? Why was there so great a _Crisis_ then and Turn\nof Life, or why was that the Period of their Strength?\n\nWE see this Longevity sunk half in half immediately after the Flood, and\nafter that it sunk by gentler degrees, but was still in Motion and\nDeclension till it was fixt at length before _David_\u2019s time, _Psal. xc.\n10._ (_call\u2019d a Psalm of Moses_,) in that which hath been the common\nStandard of Man\u2019s Age ever since: As when some excellent Fruit is\ntransplanted into a worse Climate and Soil, it degenerates continually\ntill it comes to such a degree of Meanness as suits that Air and Soil,\nand then it stands. That the Age of Man did not fall all on a sudden\nfrom the Antediluvian Measure to the present, I impute it to the\nremaining _Stamina_ of those first Ages, and the Strength of that\npristine Constitution which could not wear off but by degrees. We see\nthe _Blacks_ do not quit their Complexion immediately, by removing into\nanother Climate, but their Posterity changeth by little and little, and\nafter some Generations they become altogether like the People of the\nCountry where they are. Thus by the Change of Nature that happen\u2019d at\nthe Flood, the unhappy Influence of the Air and unequal Seasons,\nweaken\u2019d by degrees the innate Strength of their Bodies, and the Vigour\nof their Parts, which would have been capable to have lasted several\nmore hundreds of Years, if the Heavens had continued their Course as\nformerly, or the Earth its Position. To conclude this particular, if any\nthink that the Antediluvian Longevity proceeded only from the _Stamina_,\nor the meer Strength of their Bodies, and would have been so under any\nConstitution of the Heavens, let \u2019em resolve themselves these Questions:\nFirst, Why these _Stamina_, or this Strength of Constitution fail\u2019d?\nSecondly, Why did it fail so much and so remarkably at the Deluge?\nThirdly, Why in such Proportions as it hath done since the Deluge? And\nlastly, Why it hath stood so long immovable, and without any further\nDiminution? Within the compass of five hundred Years they sunk from nine\nhundred to ninety; and in the compass of more than three thousand Years\nsince, they have not sunk ten Years, or scarce any thing at all. Who\nconsiders the Reasons of these Things, and the true Resolution of these\nQuestions, will be satisfied, that to understand the Causes of that\nLongevity, something more must be consider\u2019d than the Make and Strength\nof their Bodies; which though they had been made as strong as the\n_Behemoth_ or _Leviathan_, could not have lasted so many Ages, if there\nhad not been a particular Concurrence of external Causes, such as the\npresent State of Nature doth not admit of.\n\nBy this short Review of the three general Characters of _Paradise_ and\nthe Golden Age, we may conclude how little consistent they are with the\npresent Form and Order of the Earth. Who can pretend to assign any Place\nor Region in this terraqueous Globe, Island or Continent, that is\ncapable of these Conditions, or that agrees either with the Descriptions\ngiven by the ancient Heathens of their _Paradises_, or by the Christian\nFathers of Scripture _Paradise_? But where then, will you say, must we\nlook for it, if not upon this Earth? This puts us more into Despair of\nfinding it than ever; \u2019tis not above nor below, in the Air or in the\nsubterraneous Regions; No, doubtless \u2019twas upon the Surface of the\nEarth, but of the Primitive Earth, whose Form and Properties, as they\nwere different from this, so they were such as made it capable of being\ntruly _Paradisiacal_, both according to the forementioned Characters,\nand all other Qualities, and Privileges reasonably ascrib\u2019d to\n_Paradise_.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. III.\n\n\n _The Original Differences of the Primitive Earth from the present or\n post-diluvian. The three Characters of Paradise and the Golden Age\n found in the Primitive Earth. A particular Explication of each\n Character._\n\n\nWE have hitherto only perplex\u2019d the Argument and our selves, by shewing\nhow inexplicable the State of _Paradise_ is, according to the present\nOrder of Things, and the present Condition of the Earth. We must now\ntherefore bring into View that Original and Antediluvian Earth, where we\npretend its Seat was, and shew it capable of all those Privileges which\nwe have deny\u2019d to the present; in virtue of which Privileges, and of the\norder of Nature establish\u2019d there, that Primitive Earth might be truly\n_Paradisiacal_, as in the Golden Age; and some Region of it might be\npeculiarly so, according to the receiv\u2019d _Idea_ of _Paradise_. And this,\nI think, is all the Knowledge and Satisfaction that we can expect, or\nthat Providence hath allow\u2019d us in this Argument.\n\nTHE Primigenial Earth, which in the first Book (_Chap. 5._) we rais\u2019d\nfrom a Chaos, and set up in an habitable Form, we must now survey again\nwith more Care, to observe its principal Differences from the present\nEarth, and what Influence they will have upon the Question in Hand.\nThese Differences, as we have said before, were chiefly three; the Form\nof it, which was smooth, even, and regular; the Posture and Situation of\nit to the Sun, which was direct, and not as it is at present, inclin\u2019d\nand oblique; and the Figure of it, which was more apparently and\nregularly Oval than it is now. From these three Differences flow\u2019d a\ngreat many more, inferior and subordinate; and which had a considerable\nInfluence upon the moral World at that Time, as well as the natural. But\nwe will only observe here, their more immediate Effects, and that in\nreference to those general Characters or Properties of the Golden Age\nand of _Paradise_, which we have instanc\u2019d in, and whereof we are bound\nto give an Account by our _Hypothesis_.\n\nAND in this respect the most Fundamental of those three Differences we\nmentioned, was that of the right Posture and Situation of the Earth to\nthe Sun; for from this immediately follow\u2019d a perpetual \u00c6quinox all the\nEarth over, or, if you will, a perpetual Spring: And that was the great\nThing we found wanting in the present Earth to make it _Paradisiacal_,\nor capable of being so. Wherefore this being now found and establish\u2019d\nin the Primitive Earth, the other two Properties of Longevity, and of\nspontaneous and vital Fertility, will be of more easy Explication. In\nthe mean Time let us view a little the Reasons and Causes of that\nregular Situation in the first Earth.\n\nTHE Truth is, one cannot so well require a Reason of the regular\nSituation the Earth had then, for that was most simple and natural; as\nof the irregular Situation it hath now, standing oblique and inclin\u2019d to\nthe Sun or the Ecliptick: Whereby the Course of the Year is become\nunequal, and we are cast into a great Diversity of Seasons. But however,\nstating the first aright with its Circumstances, we shall have a better\nProspect upon the second, and see from what Causes, and in what Manner,\nit came to pass. Let us therefore suppose the Earth, with the rest of\nits fellow Planets, to be carried about the Sun in the Ecliptick, by the\nMotion of the liquid Heavens; and being at that time perfectly uniform\nand regular, having the same Center of its Magnitude and Gravity, it\nwould by the Equality of its Libration necessarily have its Axis\nparallel to the Axis of the same Ecliptick, both its Poles being equally\ninclin\u2019d to the Sun. And this Posture I call a _right Situation_, as\noppos\u2019d to oblique or inclin\u2019d; or a _parallel_ Situation, if you\nplease. Now this is a Thing that needs no Proof besides its own\nEvidence; for \u2019tis the immediate result and common Effect of Gravity or\nLibration, that a Body, freely left to it self in a fluid _Medium_,\nshould settle in such a Posture as best answers to its Gravitation; and\nthis first Earth whereof we speak, being uniform, and every way equally\nbalanced, there was no Reason why it should incline at one End, more\nthan at the other, towards the Sun. As if you should suppose a Ship to\nstand North and South under the Equator, if it was equally built and\nequally ballasted, it would not incline to one Pole or other, but keep\nits Axis parallel to the Axis of the Earth; but if the Ballast lay more\nat one End, it would dip towards that Pole, and rise proportionably\nhigher towards the other. So those great Ships that sail about the Sun\nonce a Year, or once in so many Years, whilst they are uniformly built\nand equally pois\u2019d, they keep steady and even with the Axis of their\nOrbit; but if they lose that Equality, and the Center of their Gravity\nchange, the heavier End will incline more towards the common Center of\ntheir Motion, and the other End will recede from it. So particularly the\nEarth, which makes one in that A\u00ebry Fleet, when it scap\u2019d so narrowly\nfrom being Shipwreckt in the great Deluge, was however so broken and\ndisorder\u2019d, that it lost its equal Poise, and thereupon the Center of\nits Gravity changing, one Pole became more inclin\u2019d towards the Sun, and\nthe other more remov\u2019d from it, and so its right and parallel Situation\nwhich it had before, to the Axis of the Ecliptick, was chang\u2019d into an\nOblique; in which skew Posture it hath stood ever since, and is likely\nso to do for some Ages to come. I instance in this, as the most obvious\nCause of the Change of the Situation of the Earth, though, it may be,\nupon this followed a Change in its Magnetism, and that might also\ncontribute to the same Effect.\n\nHOWEVER, this Change and Obliquity of the Earth\u2019s Posture had a long\ntrain of Consequences depending upon it; whereof that was the most\nimmediate, that it alter\u2019d the Form of the Year, and brought in that\nInequality of Seasons, which hath since obtain\u2019d: As, on the contrary,\nwhile the Earth was in its first and natural Posture, in a more easy and\nregular Disposition to the Sun, that had also another respective train\nof Consequences, whereof one of the first, and that which we are most\nconcern\u2019d in at present, was, that it made a perpetual Equinox or Spring\nto all the World, all the Parts of the Year had one and the same Tenor,\nFace and Temper; there was no Winter or Summer, Seed-Time or Harvest,\nbut a continual Temperature of the Air and Verdure of the Earth. And\nthis fully answers the first and fundamental Character of the Golden Age\nand of _Paradise_; and what Antiquity, whether Heathen or Christian,\nhath spoken concerning that perpetual Serenity and constant Spring that\nreign\u2019d there, which in the one was accounted Fabulous, and in the other\nHyperbolical, we see to have been really and philosophically true. Nor\nis there any Wonder in the Thing, the wonder is rather on our side, that\nthe Earth should stand and continue in that forc\u2019d Posture wherein it is\nnow, spinning Yearly about an Axis, I mean that of the Equator, that\ndoth not belong to the Orbit of its Motion; This, I say, is more strange\nthan that it once stood in a Posture that was streight and regular; as\nwe more justly admire the Tower at _Pisa_, that stands crook\u2019d, than\ntwenty other streight Towers that are much higher.\n\nHAVING got this Foundation to stand upon, the rest of our Work will go\non more easily; and the two other Characters which we mention\u2019d, will\nnot be of very difficult Explication. The spontaneous Fertility of the\nEarth, and its Production of Animals at that time, we have in some\nmeasure explain\u2019d before, supposing it to proceed partly from the\nRichness of the primigenial Soil, and partly from this constant Spring\nand Benignity of the Heavens, which we have now establish\u2019d: These were\nalways ready to excite Nature, and put her upon Action, and never to\ninterrupt her in any of her Motions or Attempts. We have shew\u2019d in the\nfifth Chapter of the first Book, how this primigenial Soil was made, and\nof what Ingredients; which were such as compose the richest and fattest\nSoil, being a light Earth mix\u2019d with unctuous Juices, and then\nafterwards refresh\u2019d and diluted with the Dews of Heaven all the Year\nlong, and cherish\u2019d with a continual Warmth from the Sun. What more\nhopeful Beginning of a World than this? You will grant, I believe, that\nwhatsoever degree, or whatsoever kind of Fruitfulness could be expected\nfrom a Soil and a Sun, might be reasonably expected there. We see great\nWoods and Forests of Trees rise spontaneously, and that since the Flood\n(for who can imagine that the ancient Forests, whereof some were so\nvastly great, were planted by the Hand of Man?) why should we not then\nbelieve that Fruit-trees and Corn rose as spontaneously in that first\nEarth? That which makes Husbandry and human Arts so necessary now for\nthe Fruits and Productions of the Earth, is partly indeed the Decay of\nthe Soil, but chiefly the Diversity of Seasons, whereby they perish, if\ncare be not taken of them; but when there was neither Heat nor Cold,\nWinter nor Summer, every Season was a Seed-time to Nature, and every\nSeason an Harvest.\n\nTHIS, it may be, you will allow as to the Fruits of the Earth, but that\nthe same Earth should produce Animals also, will not be thought so\nintelligible. Since it hath been discover\u2019d, that the first Materials of\nall Animals are Eggs, as Seeds are of Plants, it doth not seem so hard\nto conceive, that these Eggs might be in the first Earth, as well as\nthose Seeds; for there is a great Analogy and Similitude betwixt them;\nespecially if you compare these Seeds first with the Eggs of Insects or\nFishes, and then with the Eggs of viviparous Animals. And as for those\nJuices which the Eggs of viviparous Animals imbibe thorough their Coats\nfrom the Womb, they might as well imbibe them, or something analogous to\nthem, from a conveniently temper\u2019d Earth, as Plant-Eggs do; and these\nThings being admitted, the Progress is much what the same in Seeds as\nEggs, and in one sort of Eggs as in another.\n\n\u2019TIS true, Animal-Eggs do not seem to be fruitful of themselves, without\nthe Influence of the Male; and this is not necessary in Plant-Eggs or\nvegetable Seeds. But neither doth it seem necessary in all Animal-Eggs,\nif there be any Animals _sponte orta_, as they call them, or bred\nwithout Copulation. And, as we observ\u2019d before, according to the best\nKnowledge that we have of this Male influence, it is reasonable to\nbelieve, that it may be supplied by the Heavens or _\u00c6ther_. The\nAncients, both the _Stoicks_ and _Aristotle_, have suppos\u2019d that there\nwas something of an \u00e6thereal Element in the Malegeniture, from whence\nthe Virtue of it chiefly proceeded; and if so, why may we not suppose,\nat that Time, some general Impression or Irradiation of that purer\nElement to fructify the new made Earth? _Moses_ saith there was an\nIncubation of the Spirit of God upon the Mass, and without all doubt\nthat was either to form or fructify it, and by the Mediation of this\nactive Principle; but the Ancients speak more plainly with express\nmention of this _\u00c6ther_, and of the Impregnation of the Earth by it, as\nbetwixt Male and Female. As in the Place before cited;\n\n _Tum pater omnipotens f\u0153cundis imbribus \u00c6ther\n Conjugis in gremium l\u00e6t\u00e6 descendit; & omnes\n Magnus alit magno commixtus corpore f\u0153tus._\n\nWhich Notion, I remember, St. _Austin_ saith, _De Civ. D. lib. iv. c.\n10._ _Virgil_ did not take from the Fictions of the Poets, but out of\nthe Books of the Philosophers. Some of the gravest Authors amongst the\n_Romans_ have reported, that this Virtue hath been convey\u2019d into the\nWombs of some Animals by the Winds, or the _Zephyri_; and as I easily\nbelieve that the first fresh Air was more impregnated with this \u00e6thereal\nPrinciple than ours is, so I see no reason but those balmy Dews, that\nfell every Night in the Primitive Earth, might be the Vehicle of it as\nwell as the Malegeniture is now; and from them the teeming Earth, and\nthose vital Seeds which it contain\u2019d, were actuated, and receiv\u2019d their\nfirst Fruitfulness.\n\nNOW this Principle, howsoever convey\u2019d to those Rudiments of Life which\nwe call Eggs, is that which gives the first stroke towards Animation;\nand this seems to be, by exciting a Ferment in those little Masses,\nwhereby the Parts are loosen\u2019d, and dispos\u2019d for that Formation which is\nto follow afterwards. And I see nothing that hinders, but that we may\nreasonably suppose that these Animal Productions might proceed thus far\nin the Primigenial Earth. And as to their Progress and the Formation of\nthe Body, by what Agents or Principles soever that great Work is carried\non in the Womb of the Female, it might by the same be carried on there.\nNeither would there be any Danger of miscarrying by Excess of Heat or\nCold, for the Air was always of an equal Temper and moderate Warmth; and\nall other Impediments were remov\u2019d, and all Principles ready, whether\nactive or passive; so as we may justly conclude, that as _Eve_ was the\nMother of all living, as to Mankind, so was the Earth the Great Mother\nof all living Creatures besides.\n\nTHE third Character to be explain\u2019d, and the most extraordinary in\nAppearance, is that of Longevity. This sprung from the same Root in my\nOpinion, with the other; though the Connexion, it may be, is not so\nvisible. We shew\u2019d in the foregoing Chapter, that no Advantage of Diet,\nor of strong Constitutions, could have carried their Lives, before the\nFlood, to that wonderful Length, if they had been exposed to the same\nChanges of Air and of Seasons that our Bodies are: But taking a\nperpetual Equinox, and fixing the Heavens, you fix the Life of Man too;\nwhich was not then in such a rapid Flux as it is now, but seem\u2019d to\nstand still as the Sun did once without Declension. There is no Question\nbut every thing upon Earth, and especially the Animate World, would be\nmuch more permanent, if the general Course of Nature was more steady and\nuniform; a Stability in the Heavens makes a Stability in all Things\nbelow; and that Change and Contrariety of Qualities that we have in\nthese Regions, is the Fountain of Corruption, and suffers nothing to be\nlong in quiet: Either by intestine Motions and Fermentations excited\nwithin, or by outward Impressions, Bodies are no sooner well\nconstituted, but they are tending again to Dissolution. The _\u00c6ther_ in\ntheir little Pores and Chinks is unequally agitated, and differently\nmov\u2019d at different Times, and so is the Air in their greater, and the\nVapours and Atmosphere round about them: All these shake and unsettle\nboth the Texture and Continuity of Bodies. Whereas in a fix\u2019d State of\nNature, where these Principles have always the same constant and uniform\nMotion, when they are once suited to the Forms and Compositions of\nBodies, they give them no further Disturbance; they enjoy a long and\nlasting Peace, without any Commotions or Violence within or without.\n\nWE find our selves sensible Changes in our Bodies upon the Turn of the\nYear, and the Change of Seasons; new Fermentations in the Blood and\nResolutions of the Humours; which if they do not amount to Diseases, at\nleast they disturb Nature, and have a bad Effect, not only upon the\nfluid Parts, but also upon the more solid, upon the Springs and Fibres\nin the Organs of the Body, to weaken them and unfit them by degrees for\ntheir respective Functions. For though the Change is not sensible\nimmediately in these Parts, yet after many repeated Impressions every\nYear, by unequal Heat and Cold, Driness and Moisture, contracting and\nrelaxing the Fibres, their Tone at length is in a great Measure\ndestroy\u2019d, and brought to a manifest Debility; and the great Springs\nfalling, the lesser, that depend upon them, fall in Proportion, and all\nthe Symptoms of Decay and old Age follow. We see by daily Experience,\nthat Bodies are kept better in the same _Medium_, as we call it, than if\nthey often change their _Medium_, as sometimes in Air, sometimes in\nWater, moistned and dry\u2019d, heated and cool\u2019d; these different states\nweaken the Contexture of the Parts: But our Bodies, in the present State\nof Nature, are put into an hundred different _Mediums_ in the Course of\na Year; sometimes we are steep\u2019d in Water, or in a misty foggy Air, for\nseveral Days together; sometimes we are almost frozen with Cold, then\nfainting with Heat at another time of the Year; and the Winds are of a\ndifferent Nature, and the Air of a different Weight and Pressure,\naccording to the Weather and the Seasons: These Things would wear our\nBodies, tho\u2019 they were built of Oak, and that in a very short Time, in\nComparison of what they would last, if they were always encompass\u2019d with\none and the same _Medium_, under one and the same Temper, as it was in\nthe Primitive Earth.\n\nTHE Ancients seem to have been sensible of this, and of the true Causes\nof those long Periods of Life; for wheresoever they assign\u2019d a great\nLongevity, as they did not only to their golden Age, but also to their\nparticular and topical _Paradises_, they also assign\u2019d there a constant\nSerenity and Equality of the Heavens, and sometimes expresly a constant\nEquinox; as might be made appear from their Authors. And some of our\nchristian Authors have gone farther, and connected these two together,\nas Cause and Effect, for they say that the Longevity of the Antediluvian\nPatriarchs proceeded from a favourable Aspect and Influence of the\nHeavens at that Time; which _Aspect_ of the Heavens, being rightly\ninterpreted, is the same thing that we call the position of the Heavens,\nor the right Situation of the Sun and the Earth, from whence came a\nperpetual Equinox. And if we consider the present Earth, I know no Place\nwhere they live longer than in that little Island of the _Bermudas_,\nwhere, according to the Proportion of Time they hold out there, after\nthey are arriv\u2019d from other Parts, one may reasonably suppose, that the\nNatives would live two hundred Years, and there\u2019s nothing appears in\nthat Island that should give long Life above other Places, but the\nextraordinary Steadiness of the Weather, and of the Temper of the Air\nthroughout the whole Year, so as there is scarce any considerable\nDifference of Seasons.\n\nBUT because it would take up too much Time to shew in this Place the\nfull and just Reasons why, and how these long Periods of Life depend\nupon the Stability of the Heavens: And how on the contrary, from their\nInconstancy and Mutability these Periods are shorten\u2019d, as in the\npresent Order of Nature; we will set apart the next Chapter to treat\nupon that Subject; yet by way of Digression only, so as those that have\na mind may pass to the following, where the Thread of this Discourse is\ncontinued. In the mean Time you see, we have prepar\u2019d an Earth for\n_Paradise_, and given a fair and intelligible Account of those three\ngeneral Characters, which, according to the Rules of Method, must be\ndetermin\u2019d before any further Progress can be made in this Argument. For\nin the Doctrine of _Paradise_ there are two things to be consider\u2019d, the\nState of it and the Place of it; And as it is first in Order of Nature,\nso it is much more material, to find out the State of it, than the\nRegion where it stood. We need not follow the Windings of Rivers, and\nthe Interpretation of hard Names, to discover this, we take more\nfaithful Guides: The unanimous Reports of Antiquity, sacred and profane,\nsupported by a regular Theory. Upon these Grounds we go, and have thus\nfar proceeded on our way; which we hope will grow more easy and\npleasant, the nearer we come to our Journey\u2019s End.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. IV.\n\n\n _A Digression concerning the natural Causes of Longevity. That the\n Machine of an Animal consists of Springs, and which are the two\n principal. The Age of the Antediluvians to be computed by Solar, not\n Lunar Years._\n\n\nTO confirm our Opinion concerning the Reasons of Longevity in the first\nInhabitants of the World, it will not be amiss to deduce more at large\nthe natural Causes of _long_, or _short Periods of Life_. And when we\nspeak of _long_ or _short Periods of Life_, we do not mean those little\nDifferences of ten, twenty, or forty Years, which we see amongst Men\nnow-a-days, according as they are of stronger or weaker Constitutions,\nand govern themselves better or worse; but those grand and famous\nDifferences of several hundreds of Years, which we have Examples of in\nthe different Ages of the World, and particularly in those that liv\u2019d\nbefore and since the Flood. Neither do we think it peculiar to this\nEarth to have such an Inequality in the Lives of Men; but the other\nPlanets, if they be inhabited, have the same Property, and the same\nDifference in their different Periods: All Planets that are in their\nAntediluvian State, and in their first and regular Situation to the Sun,\nhave long-liv\u2019d Inhabitants; and those, that are in an oblique\nSituation, have short-liv\u2019d; unless there be some counter Causes that\nhinder this general Rule of Nature from taking Place.\n\nWE are now so us\u2019d to a short Life, and to drop away after threescore or\nfourscore Years, that when we compare our Lives with those of the\nAntediluvians, we think the Wonder lies wholly on their Side, _why_ they\nliv\u2019d so long; And so it doth popularly speaking; but if we speak\nPhilosophically, the Wonder lies rather on our side, _why_ we live so\nlittle, or so short a Time? For seeing our Bodies are such Machines as\nhave a Faculty of nourishing themselves, that is, of repairing their\nlost or decay\u2019d Parts, so long as they have good Nourishment to make Use\nof, why should they not continue in good Plight, and always the same, as\na Flame does, so long as it is supplied with Fewel? And that we may the\nbetter see on whether side the Wonder lies, and from what Causes it\nproceeds, we will propose this Problem to be examin\u2019d, _Why the Frame or\nMachine of an human Body, or of another Animal, having that Constriction\nof Parts, and those Faculties which it hath, lasts so short a Time?_ And\ntho\u2019 it fall into no Disease, nor have any unnatural Accident, within\nthe Space of eighty Years, more or less, fatally and inevitably, decays,\ndies, and perisheth.\n\nTHAT the State and Difficulty of this Question may the better appear,\nlet us consider a Man in the Prime and Vigour of his Life, at the Age of\ntwenty or twenty four Years, of an healthful Constitution, and all his\nVitals sound; let him be nourished with good Food, use due Exercise, and\ngovern himself with Moderation in all other Things; the Question is, Why\nthis Body should not continue in the same Plight, and in the same\nStrength, for some Ages? or at least, why it should decay so soon and so\nfall as we see it does? We do not wonder at Things that happen daily,\nthough the Causes of them be never so hard to find out; we contrast a\ncertain Familiarity with common Events, and fancy we know as much of\nthem as can be known, though in Reality we know nothing of them, but\nMatter of Fact; which the vulgar know as well as the Wise or the\nLearned. We see daily Instances of the shortness of Man\u2019s Life, how soon\nhis Race is run, and we do not wonder at it, because it is common; yet\nif we examine the Composition of the Body, it will be very hard to find\nany good Reasons why the Frame of it should decay so soon.\n\nI know \u2019tis easy to give general and superficial Answers and Accounts of\nthese Things; but they are such, as being strictly examin\u2019d, give no\nSatisfaction to an inquisitive Mind; You would say, it may be, that the\nInteriour Parts and Organs of the Body wear and decay by Degrees, so as\nnot performing so well their several Offices and Functions, for the\nDigestion and Distribution of the Food and its Juices, all the other\nParts suffer by it, and draws on insensibly a Decay upon the whole Frame\nof the Body. This is all true; but why, and how comes this to pass? From\nwhat Causes? Where is the first Failure, and what are the Consequences\nof it? The inward parts do not destroy themselves, and we suppose that\nthere is no want of good Food, nor any Disease, and we take the Body in\nits full Strength and Vigour, why doth it not continue thus, as a Lamp\ndoes, if you supply it with Oil? The Causes being the same, why doth not\nthe same Effect still follow? Why should not the Flame of Life, as well\nas any other Flame, if you give it Fewel, continue in its Force without\nLanguishing or Decay.\n\nYOU will say, it may be, the Case is not the same in a simple Body, such\nas a Lamp or a Fire, and in an organical Body; which being variously\ncompounded of Multiplicity of Parts, and all those Parts put in\nConnexion and Dependance one upon another, if any one fail, it will\ndisorder the whole Frame; and therefore it must needs be more difficult\nfor such a Body to continue long in the same State, than for a simple\nBody, that hath no Variety of Parts or Operations. I acknowledge such a\nBody is much more subject to Diseases and Accidents than a more simple;\nbut barring all Diseases and Accidents, as we do, it might be of as long\na Duration as any other, if it was supply\u2019d with Nourishment adequately\nto all its Parts: As this Lamp we speak of, if it consisted of twenty\nBranches, and each of these Branches was to be fed with a different Oil,\nand these Oils could be all mix\u2019d together in some common Cistern,\nwhence they were to be distributed into the several Branches, either\naccording to their different Degrees of Lightness, one rising higher\nthan another; or according to the Capacity and Figure of the little\nPipes they were to pass thro\u2019; such a compounded Lamp, made up of such\nArtifices, would indeed be more subject to Accidents and to be out of\nOrder, by the Obstruction of some of the little Pipes, or some unfit\nQualities in the Oils; but all these Casualties and Disorders excepted,\nas they are in our Case, if it was supply\u2019d with convenient Liquors, it\nwould burn as long as any other, tho\u2019 more plain and simple.\n\nTO instance yet, for more Plainness, in another sort of Machine; suppose\na Mill, where the Water may represent the Nourishment and Humours in our\nBody, and the Frame of Wood and Stone, the solid Parts; if we could\nsuppose this Mill to have a Power of nourishing itself by the Water it\nreceiv\u2019d, and of repairing all the Parts that were worn away, whether of\nthe Wood-work or of the Stone, feed it but with a constant Stream, and\nit would subsist and grind for ever. And \u2019tis the same Thing for all\nother artificial Machines of this Nature, if they had a Faculty of\nnourishing themselves, and repairing their Parts. And seeing those\nnatural Machines we are speaking of, the Body of Man, and of other\nAnimals, have and enjoy this Faculty, why should they not be able to\npreserve themselves beyond that short Period of Time, which is now the\nMeasure of their Life?\n\nTHUS much we have said, to shew the Difficulty propos\u2019d, and inforce it;\nwe must now consider the true Answer and Resolution of it; and to that\npurpose bring into View again those Causes which we have assign\u2019d, both\nof the long Periods of Life before the Flood, and of the short ones\nsince. That there was a perpetual Equinox and Stability of the Heavens\nbefore the Flood, we have shew\u2019d both from History and Reason; neither\nwas there then any thing of Clouds, Rains, Winds, Storms, or unequal\nWeather, as will appear in the following Chapter; and to this Steadiness\nof Nature, and universal Calmness of the external World, we have imputed\nthose long Periods of Life which Men enjoy\u2019d at that Time: As on the\ncontrary, when that great Change and Revolution happened to Nature at\nthe Deluge, and the Heavens and the Earth were cast in another Mould,\nthen was brought in, besides many other new Scenes, that Shortness and\nVanity in the Life of Man, and a general Instability in all sublunary\nThings, but especially in the animate World.\n\nIT is not necessary to shew more than we have done already, how that\nprimitive State of Nature contributed to long Life; neither is it\nrequir\u2019d that it should actively contribute, but only be permissive, and\nsuffer our Bodies to act their Parts; for if they be not disturb\u2019d, nor\nany Harm done them by external Nature, they are built with Art and\nStrength enough to last many hundreds of Years. And, as we observ\u2019d\nbefore, concerning the Posture of the Earth, that that which it had at\nfirst, being simple and regular, was not so much to be accounted for, as\nits present Posture, which is irregular; so likewise for the Life of\nMan, the Difficulty is not why they liv\u2019d so long in the old World; that\nwas their due and proper Course; but why our Bodies, being made after\nthe same manner, should endure so short a Time now. This is it\ntherefore, which we must now make our Business to give an Account of,\nnamely, how that Vicissitude of Seasons, Inconstancy of the Air, and\nunequal Course of Nature, which came in at the Deluge, do shorten\n_Life_; and indeed hasten the Dissolution of all Bodies, animate or\ninanimate.\n\nIN our Bodies we may consider three several Qualities or Dispositions,\nand according to each whereof they suffer Decay: _First_, Their\nContinuity; _Secondly_, That Disposition whereby they are capable of\nreceiving Nourishment, which we may call Nutribility; and _Thirdly_, The\nTone or tonick Disposition of the Organs, whereby they perform their\nseveral Functions. In all these three respects they would decay in any\nState of Nature, but far sooner and faster in the present State, than in\nthe Prim\u00e6val. As for their Continuity, we have noted before that all\nconsistent Bodies must be less durable now, than under that first Order\nof the World, because of the unequal and contrary Motions of the\nElements, or of the Air and \u00c6ther that penetrate and pervade them; and\n\u2019tis Part of that Vanity which all Things now are subject to, to be more\nperishable than in their first Constitution. If we should consider our\nBodies only as breathing Statues, consisting of those Parts they do, and\nof that Tenderness, the Air which we breathe, and wherewith we are\ncontinually incompast, changing so often \u2019twixt moist and dry, hot and\ncold, a slow and eager Motion, these different Actions and restless\nChanges would sooner weaken and destroy the Union of the Parts, than if\nthey were always in a calm and quiet _Medium_.\n\nBUT it is not the gross and visible Continuity of the Parts of our Body\nthat first decays; there are finer Textures that are spoil\u2019d insensibly,\nand draw on the Decay of the rest; such are those other two we\nmention\u2019d; that Disposition and Temper of the Parts whereby they are fit\nto receive their full Nourishment; and especially that Construction and\nTexture of the Organs that are preparatory to this Nutrition. The\nNutribility of the Body depends upon a certain Temperament in the Parts,\nsoft and yielding, which makes them open to the Blood and Juices in\ntheir Circulation and Passage thro\u2019 them, and mixing intimately and\nuniversally, hold fast and retain many of their Particles; as muddy\nEarth doth the Parts of the Water that runs into it and mixeth with it:\nAnd when these nutritious Particles retain\u2019d are more than the Body\nspends, that Body is in its Growth; as when they are fewer, \u2019tis in its\nDecay. And as we compar\u2019d the Flesh and tender Parts, when they are\nyoung, and in a growing Disposition, to a muddy Soil, that opens to the\nWater, swells and incorporates with it; so when they become hard and\ndry, they are like a sandy Earth, that suffers the Water to glide\nthrough it, without incorporating or retaining many of its Parts; and\nthe sooner they come to this Temper, the sooner follows their Decay: For\nthe same Causes, that set Limits to our Growth, set also Limits to our\nLife; and he that can resolve that Question, _why_ the Time of our\nGrowth is so short, will also be able to resolve the other in a good\nMeasure, _why_ the Time of our _Life_ is so short. In both Cases, that\nwhich stops our Progress is external Nature, whose Course, while it was\neven and steady, and the ambient Air mild and balmy, preserv\u2019d the Body\nmuch longer in a fresh and fit Temper to receive its full Nourishment,\nand consequently gave larger Bounds both to our Growth and Life.\n\nBUT the third thing we mention\u2019d is the most considerable, the Decay of\nthe Organick Parts; and especially of the Organs preparatory to\nNutrition. This is the Point chiefly to be examin\u2019d and explain\u2019d, and\ntherefore we will endeavour to state it fully and distinctly. There are\nseveral Functions in the Body of an Animal, and several Organs for the\nConduct of them; and I am of Opinion, that all the Organs of the Body\nare in the Nature of Springs, and that their Action is tonical. The\nAction of the Muscles is apparently so, and so is that of the Heart and\nthe Stomach; and as for those Parts, that make Secretions only, as the\n_Glandules_ and _Parenchymata_, if they be any more than merely passive,\nas Strainers, \u2019tis the Tone of the Parts, when distended, that performs\nthe Separation: And accordingly in all other active Organs, the Action\nproceeds from a Tone in the Parts. And this seems to be easily prov\u2019d,\nboth as to our Bodies, and all other Bodies; for no Matter that is not\nfluid, hath any Motion or Action in it, but in Virtue of some Tone; if\nMatter be fluid, its Parts are actually in Motion, and consequently may\nimpel or give Motion to other Bodies; but if it be solid or consistent,\nthe Parts are not separate or separately mov\u2019d from one another, and\ntherefore cannot impel or give Motion to any other, but in virtue of\ntheir Tone; they having no other Motion themselves. Accordingly we see\nin Artificial Machines, there are but two general Sorts, those that move\nby some fluid or volatile Matter, as Water, Wind, Air, or some active\nSpirit; and those which move by Springs, or by the Tonick Disposition of\nsome Part that gives Motion to the rest: For as for such Machines as act\nby Weights, \u2019tis not the Weight that is the active Principle, but the\nAir or \u00c6ther that impels it. \u2019Tis true, the Body of an Animal is a kind\nof mix\u2019d Machine, and those Organs that are the primary Parts of it,\npartake of both these Principles; for there are Spirits and Liquors that\ndo assist in the Motions of the Muscles, of the Heart, and of the\nStomach; but we have no occasion to consider them at present, but only\nthe Tone of the solid Organs.\n\nTHIS being observ\u2019d in the first Place, wherein the Force of our Organs\nconsists, we might here immediately subjoin, how this Force is weaken\u2019d\nand destroy\u2019d by the unequal Course of Nature which now obtains, and\nconsequently our Life shorten\u2019d; for the whole State and Oeconomy of the\nBody depends upon the Force and Action of these Organs. But to\nunderstand the Business more distinctly, it will be worth our Time to\nexamine upon which of the Organs of the Body Life depends more\nimmediately, and the Prolongation of it; that so reducing our Inquiries\ninto a narrower Compass, we may manage them with more Ease and more\nCertainty.\n\nIN the Body of Man there are several _Compages_, or Sets of Parts, some\nwhereof need not be consider\u2019d in this Question; there is that System\nthat serves for Sense and local Motion, which is commonly call\u2019d the\nAnimal Compages; and that which serves for Generation, which is call\u2019d\nthe Genital. These have no Influence upon long Life, being Parts\nnourished, not nourishing, and that are fed from others, as Rivers from\ntheir Fountain: Wherefore having laid these aside, there remain two\nCompages more, the Natural and Vital, which consist of the Heart and\nStomach, with their Appendages. These are the Sources of Life, and these\nare all that is absolutely necessary to the Constitution of a living\nCreature; what Parts we find more, few or many of one sort or other,\naccording to the several kinds of Creatures, is accidental to our\nPurpose: The Form of an Animal, as we are to consider it here, lies in\nthis little Compass, and what is superadded is for some new Purposes,\nbesides that of mere Life, as for Sense, Motion, Generation, and such\nlike. As in a Watch, beside the Movement which is made to tell you the\nHour of the Day, which constitutes a Watch; you may have a Fancy to have\nan Alarm added, or a Minute-Motion, or that it should tell you the Day\nof the Month; and this sometimes will require a new Spring, sometimes\nonly new Wheels; however, if you would examine the Nature of a Watch,\nand upon what its Motion, or, if I may so say, its Life depends, you\nmust lay aside those secondary Movements, and observe the main Spring,\nand the Wheels that immediately depend upon that, for all the rest is\naccidental. So for the Life of an Animal, which is a piece of Nature\u2019s\nClock-work, if we would examine upon what the Duration of it depends, we\nmust lay aside those additional Parts or Systems of Parts, which are for\nother Purposes, and consider only the first Principles and Fountains of\nLife, and the Causes of their natural and necessary Decay.\n\nHAVING thus reduc\u2019d our Inquiries to these two Organs, the Stomach and\nthe Heart, as the two Master-Springs in the Mechanism of an Animal, upon\nwhich all the rest depend, let us now see what their Action is, and how\nit will be more or less durable and constant, according to the different\nStates of external Nature. We determin\u2019d before, that the Force and\nAction of all Organs in the Body was tonical, and of none more\nremarkably than of these two, the Heart and Stomach; for though it be\nnot clearly determined what the particular Structure of these Organs, or\nof their Fibres is, that makes them tonical, yet \u2019tis manifest by their\nActions, that they are so. In the Stomach, besides a peculiar Ferment\nthat opens and dissolves the Parts of the Meat, and melts them into a\nFluor or Pulp; the Coats of it, or Fibres whereof they consist, have a\nMotion proper to them, proceeding from their Tone, whereby they close\nthe Stomach, and compress the Meat when it is receiv\u2019d, and when turn\u2019d\ninto Chyle, press it forwards, and squeeze it into the Intestines; and\nthe Intestines also partaking of the same Motion, push and work it still\nforwards into those little Veins that convey it towards the Heart. The\nHeart hath the same general Motions with the Stomach, of opening and\nshutting, and hath also a peculiar Ferment, which rarifies the Blood\nthat enters into it; and that Blood, by the Spring of the Heart, and the\nparticular Texture of its Fibres, is thrown out again to make its\nCirculation thro\u2019 the Body. This is, in short, the Action of both these\nOrgans; and indeed the Mystery of the Body of an Animal, and of its\nOperations and Oeconomy, consists chiefly in Springs and Ferments; the\none for the solid Parts, the other in the fluid.\n\nBUT to apply this Fabrick of the organick Parts to our Purpose, we may\nobserve and conclude, that whatsoever weakens the Tone or Spring of\nthese two Organs, which are the Bases of all Vitality, weaken the\nPrinciple of Life, and shorten the natural Duration of it; and if of two\nOrders or Courses of Nature, the one be favourable and easy to these\ntonick Principles in the Body, and the other uneasy and prejudicial,\nthat Course of Nature will be attended with long Periods of Life, and\nthis with short. And we have shewn, that in the Primitive Earth the\nCourse of Nature was even, steady, and unchangeable, without either\ndifferent Qualities of the Air, or unequal Seasons of the Year, which\nmust needs be more easy to these Principles we speak of, and permit them\nto continue longer in their Strength and Vigor, than they can possibly\ndo under all those Changes of the Air, of the Atmosphere, and of the\nHeavens, which we now suffer yearly, monthly, and daily. And tho\u2019 sacred\nHistory had not acquainted us with the Longevity of the Antediluvian\nPatriarchs, nor profane History with those of the Golden-Age, I should\nhave concluded from the Theory alone, and the Contemplation of that\nState of Nature, that the Forms of all Things were much more permanent\nin that World than in ours, and that the Lives of Men and all other\nAnimals had longer Periods.\n\nI confess, I am of Opinion that \u2019tis this that makes not only these\nliving Springs or tonick Organs of the Body, but all artificial Springs\nalso, tho\u2019 made of the hardest Metal, decay so fast. The different\nPressure of the Atmosphere, sometimes heavier, sometimes lighter, more\nrare or more dense, moist or dry, and agitated with different Degrees of\nMotion, and in different Manners! this must needs operate upon that\nnicer Contexture of Bodies, which make them tonical or elastick;\naltering the Figure or Minuteness of the Pores, and the Strength and\nOrder of the Fibres upon which that Propriety depends; bending and\nunbending, closing and opening the Parts. There is a subtle and \u00e6thereal\nElement that traverseth the Pores of all Bodies, and when \u2019tis\nstraiten\u2019d and pent up there, or stopt in its usual Course and Passage,\nits Motion is more quick and eager, as a Current of Water, when \u2019tis\nobstructed, or runs thro\u2019 a narrower Channel; and that Strife and those\nAttempts which these little active Particles make to get free, and\nfollow the same Tracts they did before, do still press upon the Parts of\nthe Body that are chang\u2019d, to redress and reduce them to their first and\nnatural Posture, and in this consists the Force of a Spring. Accordingly\nwe may observe, that there is no Body that is or will be tonical or\nelastick, if it be left to it self, and to that Posture it would take\nnaturally; for then all the Parts are at ease, and the subtle Matter\nmoves freely and uninterruptedly within its Pores; but if by Distention,\nor by Compression, or by Flexion or any other way, the situation of the\nParts and Pores be so alter\u2019d, that the Air sometimes, but for the most\nPart that subtiler Element, is uneasy and compress\u2019d too much, it\ncauseth that Renitency or Tendency to Restitution, which we call the\nTone, or Spring of a Body. Now as this Disposition of Bodies doth far\nmore easily perish than their Continuity, so I think, there is nothing\nthat contributes more to its perishing (whether in natural or artificial\nSprings) than the unequal Action and different Qualities of the \u00c6ther,\nAir, and Atmosphere.\n\nIT will be objected to us, it may be, that in the beginning of the\nChapter we instanc\u2019d in artificial Things, that would continue for ever,\nif they had but the Power of nourishing themselves, as Lamps, Mills, and\nsuch like; why then may not natural Machines that have that Power last\nfor ever? The Case is not the same as to the Bodies of Animals, and the\nThings there instanc\u2019d in, for those were springless Machines, that act\nonly by some external Cause, and not in Virtue of any Tone or interior\nTemper of the Parts, as our Bodies do; and when that Tone or Temper is\ndestroy\u2019d, no Nourishment can repair it. There is something, I say,\nirreparable in the tonical Disposition of Matter, which when wholly lost\ncannot be restor\u2019d by Nutrition. Nutrition may answer to a bare\nConsumption of Parts; but where the Parts are to be preserv\u2019d in such a\nTemperament, or in such a Degree of Humidity and Driness, Warmth, Rarity\nor Density, to make them capable of that Nourishment, as well as of\ntheir other Operations, as Organs, (which is the Case of our Bodies)\nthere the Heavens, the Air, and external Causes will change the\nQualities of the Matter in spite of all Nutrition; and the Qualities of\nthe Matter being chang\u2019d, (in a Course of Nature, where the Cause cannot\nbe taken away) that is a Fault incorrigible, and irreparable by the\nNourishment that follows, being hindred of its Effect by the\nIndisposition or Incapacity of the Recipient. And as they say, a Fault\nin the first Concoction cannot be corrected in the second; so neither\ncan a Fault in the Prerequisites to all the Concoctions be corrected by\nany of them.\n\nI know the Ancients made the Decay and Term of Life to depend rather\nupon the Humours of the Body, than the solid Parts, and suppos\u2019d an\n_Humidum radicale_ and a _Calidum innatum_, as they call them, a radical\nMoisture and congenit Heat to be in every Body, from its Birth and first\nFormation; and as these decay\u2019d, Life decay\u2019d. But who\u2019s wiser for this\nAccount, what doth this instruct us in? We know there is Heat and\nMoisture in the Body, and you may call the one _Radical_, and the other\n_Innate_ if you please; this is but a sort of Cant, for we know no more\nof the real physical Causes of that Effect we enquir\u2019d into, than we did\nbefore. What makes this Heat and Moisture fail, if the Nourishment be\ngood, and all the Organs in their due Strength and Temper? The first and\noriginal Failure is not in the Fluid, but in the solid Parts, which if\nthey continued the same, the Humours would do so too. Besides, What\nbefel this radical Moisture and Heat at the Deluge, that it should decay\nso fast afterwards, and last so long before? There is a certain Temper,\nno doubt, of the Juices and Humours of the Body, which is more fit than\nany other to conserve the Parts from Driness and Decay; but the Cause of\nthat Driness and Decay, or other Inability in the solid Parts, whence is\nthat, if not from external Nature? \u2019Tis thither we must come at length\nin our Search of the Reasons of the natural Decay of our Bodies, we\nfollow the Fate and Laws of that: And I think, by those Causes, and in\nthat Order, that we have already describ\u2019d and explain\u2019d.\n\nTO conclude this Discourse, we may collect from it what Judgment is to\nbe made of those Projectors of Immortality, or Undertakers to make Men\nlive to the Age of _Methusalah_, if they will use their Methods and\nMedicines: There is but one Method for this, to put the Sun into his old\nCourse, or the Earth into its first Posture; there is no other Secret to\nprolong Life; our Bodies will sympathize with the general Course of\nNature, nothing can guard us from it, no Elixir, no Specific, no\nPhilosopher\u2019s Stone. But there are Enthusiasts in Philosophy, as well as\nin Religion; Men that go by no Principles, but their own Conceit and\nFancy, and by a Light within, which shines very uncertainly, and for the\nmost Part leads them out of the Way of Truth. And so much for this\nDisquisition, concerning the _Causes_ of _Longevity_, or of the long and\nshort Periods of Life in the different Periods of the World.\n\n\n _That the Age of the Antediluvian Patriarchs is to be computed by\n Solar or common Years, not by Lunar or Months._\n\n\nHAVING made this Discourse of the unequal Periods of Life, only in\nreference to the Antediluvians and their fam\u2019d Longevity, lest we should\nseem to have proceeded upon an ill-grounded and mistaken Supposition, we\nare bound to take Notice of, and confute that Opinion which makes the\nYears of the Antediluvian Patriarchs to have been _Lunar_, not _Solar_,\nand so would bear us in Hand, that they liv\u2019d only so many Months, as\nScripture saith they liv\u2019d Years. Seeing there is nothing could drive\nMen to this bold Interpretation but the Incredibility of the Thing, as\nthey fancied; they having no Motions or _Hypothesis_ whereby it could\nappear intelligible or possible to them; and seeing we have taken away\nthat Stumbling-Stone, and shew\u2019d it not only possible but necessary\naccording to the Constitution of that World, that the Periods of Life\nshould be far longer than in this; by removing the Ground or Occasion of\ntheir Misinterpretation, we hope we have undeceiv\u2019d them, and let them\nsee that there is no need of that Subterfuge, either to prevent an\nIncongruity, or save the Credit of the Sacred Historian.\n\nBUT as this Opinion is inconsistent with Nature, truly understood, so is\nit also with common History; for besides, what I have already mention\u2019d\nin the first Chapter of this Book, _Josephus_ tells us, (_Lib. i. Jew.\nAnt. Chap. iv._) that the Historians of all Nations, both _Greeks_ and\n_Barbarians_, give the same account of the first Inhabitants of the\nEarth; Manetho, _who writ the Story of the_ \u00c6gyptians; Berosus, _who\nwrit the Chald\u00e6an History, and those Authors that have given us an\nAccount of the Ph\u0153nician Antiquities, besides Molus and Hesti\u00e6us, and\nHieronymus the \u00c6gyptian; and amongst the Greeks, Hesiodus, Hecateus,\nHellanicus, Acusialus, Ephorus and Nicolaus: We have the Suffrages of\nall these, and their common Consent, that in the first Ages of the World\nMen liv\u2019d a thousand Years._ Now we cannot well suppose that all these\nHistorians meant _Lunar_ Years, or that they all conspir\u2019d together to\nmake and propagate a Fable.\n\nLASTLY, As Nature and profane History do disown and confute this\nOpinion, so much more doth sacred History; not indeed in profess\u2019d\nTerms, for _Moses_ doth not say that he useth _Solar_ Years; but by\nseveral Marks and Observations, or collateral Arguments, it may be\nclearly collected, that he doth not use _Lunar_. As first, because he\ndistinguisheth _Months_ and _Years_ in the History of the Deluge, and of\nthe Life of _Noah_; for _Gen. vii. 11._ he saith in the six hundredth\nYear of _Noah_\u2019s Life, in the second Month, _&c._ It cannot be imagin\u2019d\nthat in the same Verse and Sentence these two Terms of _Year_ and\n_Month_ should be so confounded as to signify the same Thing; and\ntherefore _Noah_\u2019s Years were not the same with Months, nor consequently\nthose of the other Patriarchs, for we have no Reason to make any\nDifference. Besides, what ground was there, or how was it proper or\npertinent to reckon, as _Moses_ does there, first, second, third Month,\nas so many going to a Year, if every one of them was a Year? And seeing\nthe Deluge begun in the six hundredth Year of _Noah_\u2019s Life, and in the\nsecond Month, and ended in the six hundredth and first Year, (_Chap.\nviii. 13._) the first or second Month, all that was betwixt these two\nTerms, or all the Duration of the Deluge, made but one Year in _Noah_\u2019s\nLife, or it may be not so much; and we know _Moses_ reckons a great many\nMonths in the Duration of the Deluge; so as this is a Demonstration,\nthat _Noah_\u2019s Years are not to be understood of _Lunar_. And to imagine\nthat his Years are to be understood one way, and those of his\nfellow-Patriarchs another, would be an unaccountable Fiction. This\nargument therefore extends to all the Antediluvians, and _Noah_\u2019s Life\nwill take in the Postdiluvians too; for you see Part of it runs amongst\nthem, and ties together the two Worlds: So that if we exclude _Lunar_\nYears from his Life, we exclude them from all; those of his Fathers, and\nthose of his Children.\n\nSECONDLY, If _Lunar_ Years were understood in the Ages of the\nAntediluvian Patriarchs, the Interval betwixt the Creation and the\nDeluge would be too short, and in many Respects incongruous. There would\nbe but 1656 Months from the Beginning of the World to the Flood; which\nconverted into common Years, make but 127 Years and five Months for that\nInterval. This perverts all Chronology, and besides, makes the Number of\nPeople so small and inconsiderable at the Time of the Deluge, that\ndestroying of the World then was not so much as destroying of a Country\nTown would be now: For from one Couple you cannot well imagine there\ncould arise above five hundred Persons in so short a Time; but if there\nwere a thousand, \u2019tis not so many as we have sometimes in a good Country\nVillage. And were the Flood-gates of Heaven open\u2019d, and the great Abyss\nbroken up to destroy such an handful of People, and the Waters rais\u2019d\nfifteen Cubits above the highest Mountains throughout the Face of the\nEarth, to drown a Parish or two? Is not this more incredible than our\nAge of the Patriarchs? Besides, This short Interval doth not leave Room\nfor ten Generations, which we find from _Adam_ to the Flood, nor allows\nthe Patriarchs Age enough at the Time when they are said to have got\nChildren. One hundred twenty-seven Years for ten Generations is very\nstrait; and of these you must take off forty-six Years for one\nGeneration only, or for _Noah_, for he liv\u2019d six hundred Years before\nthe Flood, and if they were _Lunar_, they would come however to\nforty-six of our Years; so that for the other nine Generations you would\nhave but eighty one Years, that is, nine Years a-piece; at which Age\nthey must all be suppos\u2019d to have begun to get Children; which you\ncannot but think a very absurd Supposition. Thus it would be, if you\ndivide the whole Time equally amongst the nine Generations; but if you\nconsider some single Instances; as they are set down by _Moses_, \u2019tis\nstill worse; for _Mahaleel_ and his Grandchild _Enoch_ are said to have\ngot Children at sixty five Years of Age, which if you suppose Months,\nthey were but five Years old at that time; now I appeal to any one,\nwhether it is more incredible that Men should live to the Age of nine\nhundred Years, or that they should beget Children at the Age of five\nYears.\n\nYOU will say, it may be, \u2019tis true these Inconveniences follow, if our\n_Hebrew_ Copies of the Old Testament be Authentick: But if the _Greek_\nTranslation by the _Septuagint_ be of better Authority, as some would\nhave it to be, that gives a little Relief in this Case; for the\n_Septuagint_ makes the Distance from the Creation to the Flood six\nhundred Years more than the _Hebrew_ Text does, and so give us a little\nmore Room for our ten Generations: And not only so, but they have so\nconveniently dispos\u2019d those additional Years, as to salve the other\nInconvenience too, of the Patriarchs having Children so young; for what\nPatriarchs are found to have got Children sooner than the rest, and so\nsoon, that, upon a Computation by _Lunar_ Years, they would be but meer\nChildren themselves at that time? to these more Years are added, and\nplac\u2019d opportunely, before the time of their getting Children; so as one\ncan scarce forbear to think, that it was done on purpose to cure that\nInconvenience, and to favour and protect the Computation by _Lunar_\nYears. The thing looks so like an Artifice, and as done to serve a Turn,\nthat one cannot but have a less Opinion of that Chronology for it.\n\nBUT not to enter upon that Dispute at present, methinks they have not\nwrought the Cure effectually enough; for with these six hundred _Lunar_\nYears added, the Sum will be only one hundred seventy three common Years\nand odd Months; and from these deducting, as we did before, for _Noah_,\nforty six Years, and for _Adam_, or the first Generation, about\neighteen, (for he was two hundred and thirty Years old, according to the\n_Septuagint_ when he begot _Seth_) there will remain but one hundred and\nnine Years for eight Generations; which will be thirteen Years a piece\nand odd Months; a low Age to get Children in, and to hold for eight\nGenerations together. Neither is the other Inconvenience, we mention\u2019d,\nwell cur\u2019d by the _Septuagint_ Account, namely, the small Number of\nPeople that would be in the World at the Deluge; for the _Septuagint_\nAccount, if understood of _Lunar_ Years, adds but forty six common Years\nto the _Hebrew_ Account, and to the Age of the World at the Deluge, in\nwhich time there could be but a very small Accesion to the Number of\nMankind. So as both these Incongruities continue, though not in the same\ndegree, and stand good in either Account, if it be understood of _Lunar_\nYears.\n\n_Thirdly_, \u2019TIS manifest from other Texts of Scripture, and from other\nConsiderations, that our first Fathers liv\u2019d very long, and considerably\nlonger than Men have done since, whereas if their Years be interpreted\n_Lunar_, there is not one of them that liv\u2019d to the Age that Men do now;\n_Methusalah_ himself did not reach threescore and fifteen Years, upon\nthat Interpretation; which doth express them not only below those that\nliv\u2019d next to the Flood, but below all following Generations to this\nDay; and those first Ages of the World which were always celebrated for\nStrength and Vivacity, are made as weak and feeble as the last Dregs of\nNature. We may observe, that after the Flood for some Time, \u2019till the\npristine _Crasis_ of the Body was broken by the new Course of Nature,\nthey liv\u2019d five, four, three, two hundred Years, and the Life of Men\nshorten\u2019d by Degrees; but before the Flood, when they liv\u2019d longer,\nthere was no such Decrease or gradual Declension in their Lives. For\n_Noah_, who was the last, liv\u2019d longer than _Adam_; and _Methusalah_,\nwho was last but two, liv\u2019d the longest of all: So that it was not\nsimply their Distance from the beginning of the World that made them\nlive a shorter Time, but some Change which happen\u2019d in Nature after such\na Period of Time; namely at the Deluge, when the Declension begun. Let\u2019s\nset down the Table of both States.\n\n_A TABLE of the Ages of the Antediluvian Fathers._\n\n _Adam_ 930\n _Seth_ 912\n _Enos_ 905\n _Cainan_ 910\n _Mahaleel_ 895\n _Jared_ 962\n _Enoch_ 365\n _Methusalah_ 969\n _Lamech_ 777\n _Noah_ 950\n\n_A TABLE of the Ages of the Postdiluvian Fathers, from Shem to Joseph._\n\n _Shem_ 600\n _Arphaxad_ 438\n _Salah_ 433\n _Eber_ 464\n _Peleg_ 239\n _Reu_ 239\n _Serug_ 230\n _Nahor_ 148\n _Terah_ 205\n _Abraham_ 175\n _Isaac_ 180\n _Jacob_ 147\n _Joseph_ 110\n\nFrom these Tables we see that Mens Lives were much longer before the\nFlood, and next after it, than they are now; which also is confirm\u2019d\nundeniably by _Jacob_\u2019s Complaint of the Shortness of his Life, in\nComparison of his Forefathers, when he had liv\u2019d one hundred and thirty\nYears, _Gen. xlvii. 9._ _The Days of the Years of my Pilgrimage are an\nhundred and thirty Years; few and evil have the Days of the Years of my\nLife been, and have not attained unto the Days of the Years of the Life\nof my Fathers._ There were then, \u2019tis certain, long-liv\u2019d Men in the\nWorld before _Jacob_\u2019s Time; when were they, before the Flood or after?\nWe say both, according as the Tables shew it. But if you count by\n_Lunar_ Years, there never were any, either before or after, and\n_Jacob_\u2019s Complaint was unjust and false; for he was the oldest Man in\nthe World himself, or at least there was none of his Forefathers that\nliv\u2019d so long as he.\n\nTHE Patrons of this Opinion must needs find themselves at a loss, how or\nwhere to break off the Account of _Lunar_ Years in sacred History, if\nthey once admit it. If they say that way of counting must only be\nextended to the Flood, then they make the Postdiluvian Fathers longer\nliv\u2019d than the Antediluvian; did the Flood bring in Longevity? How could\nthat be the Cause of such an Effect? Besides, if they allow the\nPostdiluvians to have lived six hundred (common) Years, that being\nclearly beyond the Standard of our Lives, I should never stick at two or\nthree hundred Years more for the first Ages of the World. If they extend\ntheir _Lunar_ Account to the Postdiluvians too, they will still be\nintangled in worse Absurdities; for they must make their Lives miserably\nshort, and their Age of getting Children altogether incongruous and\nimpossible. _Nahor_, for Example, when he was but two Years and three\nMonths old must have begot _Terah_, _Abraham_\u2019s Father: And all the rest\nbetwixt him and _Shem_ must have had Children before they were three\nYears old: A pretty race of Pigmies. Then their Lives were\nproportionably short, for this _Nahor_ liv\u2019d but eleven Years and six\nMonths at this Rate; and his Grandchild _Abraham_, who is said to have\ndied _in a good old Age, and full of Years_, (_Gen. xxv. 8._) was not\nfourteen Years old. What a ridiculous Account this gives of Scripture\nChronology and Genealogies? But you\u2019ll say, it may be, these _Lunar_\nYears are not to be carried so far as _Abraham_ neither; tell us then\nwhere you\u2019ll stop, and why you stop in such a Place rather than another.\nIf you once take in _Lunar_ Years, what Ground is there in the Text, or\nin the History, that you should change your way of computing at such a\nTime, or in such a Place? All our ancient Chronology is founded upon the\nBooks of _Moses_, where the Terms and Periods of Times are exprest by\nYears, and often by Genealogies and the Lives of Men; Now if these Years\nare sometimes to be interpreted _Lunar_, and sometimes _Solar_, without\nany Distinction made in the Text, what Light or certain Rule have we to\ngo by? Let these Authors name to us the Parts and Places where, and only\nwhere the _Lunar_ Years are to be understood, and I dare undertake to\nshew, that their Method is not only arbitrary, but absurd and\nincoherent.\n\nTO conclude this Discourse, we cannot but repeat what we have partly\nobserv\u2019d before, How necessary it is to understand Nature, if we would\nrightly understand those Things in holy Writ that relate to the natural\nWorld. For without this Knowledge, as we are apt to think some Things\nconsistent and credible, that are really impossible in Nature; so on the\nother hand, we are apt to look upon other Things as incredible and\nimpossible that are really founded in Nature. And seeing every one is\nwilling so to expound Scripture, as it may be to them good Sense, and\nconsistent with their Notions in other Things, they are forc\u2019d many\ntimes to go against the easy and natural Importance of the Words, and to\ninvent other Interpretations more compliant with their Principles, and,\nas they think, with the Nature of Things. We have, I say, a great\nInstance of this before us in the Scripture-History, of the long Lives\nof the Antediluvians, where, without any Ground or Shadow of Ground, in\nthe Narration, only to comply with a mistaken Philosophy, and their\nIgnorance of the primitive World, many Men would beat down the Scripture\nAccount of Years into Months, and sink the Lives of those first Fathers\nbelow the Rate of the worst of Ages. Whereby that great Monument, which\nProvidence hath left us of the first World, and of its Difference from\nthe second, would not only be defac\u2019d, but wholly demolish\u2019d. And all\nthis sprung only from the seeming Incredibility of the Thing; for they\ncannot shew in any Part of Scripture, new or old, that these _Lunar_\nYears are made use of, or that any Computation, literal or prophetical,\nproceeds upon them: Nor that there is any Thing in the Text or Context\nof that Place, that argues or intimates any such Account. We have\nendeavour\u2019d, upon this Occasion, effectully to prevent this\nMisconstruction of sacred History for the future; both by shewing the\nIncongruities that follow upon it, and also that there is no Necessity\nfrom Nature, of any such Shift or Evasion, as that is: But rather on the\ncontrary, that we have just and necessary Reasons to conclude, That as\nthe Forms of all Things would be far more permanent and lasting in that\nprimitive State of the Heavens and the Earth, so particularly the Lives\nof Men, and of other Animals.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. V.\n\n\n _Concerning the Waters of the primitive Earth: What the State of the\n Regions of the Air was then, and how all Waters proceeded from them;\n How the Rivers arose, what was their Course, and how they ended.\n Some Things in sacred Writ that confirms this Hydrography of the\n first Earth; especially the Origin of the Rainbow._\n\n\nHAVING thus far clear\u2019d our Way to _Paradise_, and given a rational\nAccount of its general Properties; before we proceed to discourse of the\nPlace of it, there is one Affair of Moment, concerning this primitive\nEarth, that must first be stated and explain\u2019d; and that is, _How_ it\nwas water\u2019d; from what Causes, and in what Manner? How could Fountains\nrise, or Rivers flow in an Earth of that Form and Nature? We have shut\nup the Sea with thick Walls on every Side, and taken away all\nCommunication that could be \u2019twixt it and the external Earth; and we\nhave remov\u2019d all the Hills and the Mountains where the Springs use to\nrise; and whence the Rivers descend to water the Face of the Ground: And\nlastly, we have left no Issue for these Rivers, no Ocean to receive\nthem, nor any other Place to disburden themselves into. So that our\nnew-found World is like to be a dry and barren Wilderness, and so far\nfrom being _Paradisiacal_, that it would scarce be habitable.\n\nI CONFESS there was nothing in this whole Theory that gave such a Stop\nto my Thoughts, as this Part of it, concerning the Rivers of the first\nEarth; how they rose, how they flow\u2019d, and how they ended. It seem\u2019d at\nfirst, that we had wip\u2019d away at once the Notion and whole Doctrine of\nRivers, we had turn\u2019d the Earth so smooth, that there was not an Hill,\nor Rising, for the Head of a Spring, nor any Fall or Descent for the\nCourse of a River: Besides, I had suck\u2019d in the common Opinion of\nPhilosophers, That all Rivers rise from the Sea, and return to it again,\nand both those Passages, I see, were stopt up in that Earth. This gave\nme occasion to reflect upon the modern and more solid Opinion concerning\nthe Origin of Fountains and Rivers, That they rise chiefly from Rains\nand melted Snows, and not from the Sea alone; and as soon as I had\ndemur\u2019d in that Particular, I saw it was necessary to consider and\nexamine how the Rains fell in that first Earth, to understand what the\nState of their Waters and Rivers would be.\n\nAND I had no sooner apply\u2019d my self to that Inquiry, but I easily\ndiscover\u2019d, that the Order of Nature in the Regions of the Air would be\nthen very different from what it is now, and the Meteorology of the\nWorld was of another sort from that of the present. The Air was always\ncalm and equal, there could be no violent Meteors there, nor any that\nproceeded from Extremity of Cold; as Ice, Snow, or Hail; nor Thunder\nneither; for the Clouds could not be of a Quality and Consistency fit\nfor such an Effect, either by falling one upon another, or by their\nDisruption. And as for Winds, they could not be either impetuous or\nirregular in that Earth; seeing there were neither Mountains nor any\nother Inequalities to obstruct the Course of the Vapours; nor any\nunequal Seasons, or unequal Action of the Sun, nor any contrary and\nstruggling Motions of the Air: Nature was then a Stranger to all those\nDisorders. But as for watry Meteors, or those that rise from watry\nVapours more immediately, as Dews and Rains, there could not but be\nPlenty of these in some Part or other of that Earth; for the Action of\nthe Sun in raising Vapours was very strong and very constant, and the\nEarth was at first moist and soft, and according as it grew more dry,\nthe Rays of the Sun would pierce more deep into it, and reach at length\nthe great Abyss which lay underneath, and was an unexhausted Store-house\nof new Vapours. But, \u2019tis true, the same Heat, which extracted these\nVapours so copiously, would also hinder them from condensing into Clouds\nor Rain in the warmer Parts of the Earth; and there being no Mountains\nat that Time, nor contrary Winds, nor any such Causes to stop them, or\ncompress them, we must consider which way they would tend, and what\ntheir Course would be, and whether they would any where meet with Causes\ncapable to change or condense them; for upon this, \u2019tis manifest, would\ndepend the Meteors of that Air, and the Waters of that Earth.\n\nAND as the Heat of the Sun was chiefly towards the middle Parts of the\nEarth, so the copious Vapours rais\u2019d there, were most rarified and\nagitated; and being once in the open Air, their Course would be that\nWay, where they found least Resistance to their Motion; and that would\ncertainly be towards the Poles, and the colder Regions of the Earth. For\nEast and West they would meet with as warm an Air, and Vapours as much\nagitated as themselves, which therefore would not yield to their\nProgress that Way; but towards the North and the South, they would find\na more easy Passage, the Cold of those Parts attracting them, as we call\nit, that is, making way to their Motion and Dilatation without much\nResistance, as Mountains and cold Places usually draw Vapours from the\nwarmer. So as the regular and constant Course of the Vapours of that\nEarth, which were rais\u2019d chiefly about the Equinoctial and middle Parts\nof it, would be towards the extream Parts of it, or towards the Poles.\n\nAND in consequence of this, when these Vapours were arriv\u2019d in those\ncooler Climates, and cooler Parts of the Air, they would be condens\u2019d\ninto Rain; for wanting there the Cause of their Agitation, namely, the\nHeat of the Sun, their Motion would soon begin to languish, and they\nwould fall closer to one another in the Form of Water. For the\nDifference betwixt Vapours and Water is only gradual, and consists in\nthis, that Vapours are in a flying Motion, separate and distant each\nfrom another; but the Parts of Water are in a creeping Motion, close to\none another; like a Swarm of Bees when they are settled; as Vapours\nresemble the same Bees in the Air, before they settle together. Now\nthere is nothing puts these Vapours upon the Wing, or keeps them so, but\na strong Agitation by Heat; and when that fails, as it must do in all\ncolder Places and Regions, they necessarily return to Water again.\nAccordingly therefore we must suppose they would soon, after they\nreach\u2019d these cold Regions, be condens\u2019d, and fall down in a continual\nRain, or Dew, upon those Parts of the Earth. I say a _continual_ Rain;\nfor seeing the Action of the Sun, which rais\u2019d the Vapours, was (at that\nTime) always the same, and the State of the Air always alike, nor any\ncross Winds, nor any thing else that could hinder the Course of the\nVapours towards the Poles, nor their Condensation when arriv\u2019d there;\n\u2019tis manifest there would be a constant Source or Store-house of Waters\nin those Parts of the Air, and in those Parts of the Earth.\n\nAND this, I think, was the establish\u2019d Order of Nature in that World,\nthis was the State of the Antediluvian Heavens and Earth; all their\nWaters came from above, and that with a constant Supply and Circulation;\nfor when the Croud of Vapours rais\u2019d about the middle Parts of the\nEarth, found Vent and Issue this Way towards the Poles, the Passage\nbeing once open\u2019d, and the Channel made, the Current would be still\ncontinued without Intermission; and as they were dissolv\u2019d and spent\nthere, they would suck in more and more of those which followed, and\ncame in fresh Streams from the hotter Climates. _Aristotle_, I remember,\nin his _Meteors_ speaking of the Course of the Vapours, saith, there is\na River in the Air, constantly flowing betwixt the Heavens and the\nEarth, made by the ascending and descending Vapours: This was more\nremarkably true in the primitive Earth, where the State of Nature was\nmore constant and regular; there was indeed an uninterrupted Flood of\nVapours rising in one Region of the Earth, and flowing to another, and\nthere continually distilling in Dews and Rain, which made this aerial\nRiver. As may be easily apprehended from this Scheme of the Earth and\nAir.\n\n[Illustration: The Earth, with Clouds of Vapour Descending from Above.]\n\nTHUS we have found a Source for Waters in the first Earth, which had no\nCommunication with the Sea; and a Source that would never fail, neither\ndiminish or overflow, but feed the Earth with an equal Supply throughout\nall the Parts of the Year. But there is a second Difficulty that appears\nat the End of this, _how_ these Waters would flow upon the even Surface\nof the Earth, or form themselves into Rivers; there being no Descent or\nDeclivity for their Course. There were no Hills, nor Mountains, nor high\nLands in the first Earth, and if these Rains fell in the Frigid Zones,\nor towards the Poles, there they would stand in Lakes and Pools, having\nno Descent one Way more than another; and so the rest of the Earth would\nbe no better for them. This, I confess, appear\u2019d as great a Difficulty\nas the former, and would be unanswerable for ought I know, if that first\nEarth was not water\u2019d by Dews only (as I believe some Worlds are) or had\nbeen exactly Spherical; but we noted before, that it was Oval or Oblong;\nand in such a Figure \u2019tis manifest the polar Parts are higher than the\nequinoctial, that is, more remote from the Center, as appears to the Eye\nin this Scheme. This affords us a present Remedy, and sets us free of\nthe second Difficulty; for by this Means the Waters, which fell about\nthe extream Parts of the Earth, would have a continual Descent towards\nthe middle Parts of it; this Figure gives them Motion and Distribution;\nand many Rivers and Rivulets would flow from those Mother-Lakes, to\nrefresh the Face of the Earth, bending their Course still towards the\nmiddle Parts of it.\n\n\u2019TIS true, These Derivations of the Waters at first would be very\nirregular and diffuse, till the Channels were a little worn and\nhollow\u2019d; and tho\u2019 that Earth was smooth and uniform, yet \u2019tis\nimpossible, upon an inclining Surface, but that Waters should find a Way\nof creeping downwards, as we see upon a smooth Table, or a flag\u2019d\nPavement; if there be the least Inclination, Water will flow from the\nhigher to the lower Parts of it, either directly, or winding to and fro:\nSo the Smoothness of that Earth would be no Hindrance to the Course of\nthe Rivers, provided there was a general Declivity in the Site and\nLibration of it, as \u2019tis plain there was from the Poles towards the\n\u00c6quator. The Current indeed would be easy and gentle all along, and if\nit chanc\u2019d in some Places to rest, or be stopt, it would spread it self\ninto a pleasant Lake, till by fresh Supplies it had rais\u2019d its Waters so\nhigh as to overflow and break loose again; then it would pursue its Way,\nwith many other Rivers its Companions, thro\u2019 all the temperate Climates\nas far as the Torrid Zone.\n\nBUT you\u2019ll say, When they were got thither, what would become of them\nthen? _How_ would they end or finish their Course? This is the third\nDifficulty _concerning_ the Ending of the Rivers in that Earth; what\nIssue could they have when they were come to the middle Parts of it,\nwhither it seems they all tended? There was no Sea to lose themselves\nin, as our Rivers do; nor any subterraneous Passages to throw themselves\ninto; how would they die, what would be their Fate at last? I answer,\nThe greater Rivers, when they were come towards those Parts of the\nEarth, would be divided into many Branches, or a Multitude of Rivulets;\nand those would be partly exhal\u2019d by the Heat of the Sun, and partly\ndrunk up by the dry and sandy Earth. But how and in what Manner this\ncame to pass, requires a little further Explication.\n\nWE must therefore observe in the first Place, that those Rivers, as they\ndrew nearer to the \u00e6quinoctial Parts, would find a less Declivity or\nDescent of Ground than in the beginning, or former Part of their Course;\nthat is evident from the oval Figure of the Earth, for near the middle\nParts of an Oval, the Semi-diameters, as I may call them, are very\nlittle shorter one than another; and for this Reason the Rivers, when\nthey were advanc\u2019d towards the middle Parts of the Earth, would begin to\nflow more slowly, and, by that Weakness of their Current, suffer\nthemselves easily to be divided and distracted into several lesser\nStreams and Rivulets; or else having no Force to wear a Channel, would\nlie shallow upon the Ground like a Plash of Water; and in both Cases\ntheir Waters would be much more expos\u2019d to the Action of the Sun, than\nif they had kept together in a deeper Channel, as they were before.\n\nSECONDLY, We must observe, that seeing these Waters could not reach to\nthe Middle of the Torrid Zone, for want of Descent; that Part of the\nEarth having the Sun always perpendicular over it, and being refresh\u2019d\nby no Rivers, would become extreamly dry and parch\u2019d, and be converted\nat length into a kind of sandy Desert; so as all the Waters that were\ncarried thus far, and were not exhaled and consum\u2019d by the Sun, would be\nsuck\u2019d up, as in a Spunge, by these Sands of the Torrid Zone. This was\nthe common Grave wherein the Rivers of the first Earth were buried; and\nthis is nothing but what happens still in several Parts of the present\nEarth; especially in _Africk_, where many Rivers never flow into the\nSea, but expire after the same Manner as these did, drunk up by the Sun\nand the Sands. And one Arm of _Euphrates_ dies, as I remember, amongst\nthe Sands of _Arabia_, after the Manner of the Rivers of the first\nEarth.\n\nTHUS we have conquer\u2019d the greatest Difficulty, in my Apprehension, in\nthis whole Theory, _To_ find out the State of the Rivers in the\nprimitive and antediluvian Earth, their Origin, Course, and Period. We\nhave been forc\u2019d to win our Ground by Inches, and have divided the\nDifficulty into Parts, that we might encounter them single with more\nEase. The Rivers of the Earth, you see, were in most respects different,\nand in some, contrary to ours; and if you could turn our Rivers\nbackwards, to run from the Sea towards their Fountain-heads, they would\nmore resemble the Course of those Antediluvian Rivers; for they were\ngreatest at their first setting out, and the Current afterwards, when it\nwas more weak, and the Channel more shallow, was divided into many\nBranches and little Rivers; like the Arteries in our Body, that carry\nthe Blood; they are greatest at first, and the further they go from the\nHeart, their Source, the less they grow, and divided into a Multitude of\nlittle Branches, which lose themselves insensibly in the Habit of the\nFlesh, as these little Floods did in the Sands of the Earth.\n\n[Illustration: The Earth, with Zones near the Poles, and Rivers flowing\nfrom there towards the Equator.]\n\nBECAUSE it pleaseth more and makes a greater Impression upon us, to see\nThings represented to the Eye, than to read their Description in Words,\nwe have ventur\u2019d to give a Model of the Prim\u00e6val Earth, with its Zones\nor greater Climates, and the general Order and Tracts of its Rivers: Not\nthat we believe Things to have been in the very same Form as here\nexhibited; but this may serve as a general _Idea_ of that Earth, which\nmay be wrought into more exactness, according as we are able to enlarge\nor correct our Thoughts hereafter. And as the Zones here represented,\nresemble the _Belts_ or _Fasci\u00e6_ of _Jupiter_, so we suppose them to\nproceed from like Causes, if that Planet be in an Antediluvian State, as\nthe Earth we here represent. As for the Polar Parts in that first Earth,\nI can say very little of them, they would make a Scene by themselves,\nand a very particular one; the Sun would be perpetually in their\nHorizon, which makes me think the Rains would not fall so much there, as\nin the other Parts of the Frigid Zones, where accordingly we have made\ntheir chief Seat and Receptacle. That they flow\u2019d from thence in such\nlike Manner as is here represented, we have already prov\u2019d; and\nsometimes in their Passage swelling into Lakes, and towards the End of\ntheir Course parting into several Streams and Branches, they would water\nthose Parts of the Earth like a Garden.\n\nWE have before compar\u2019d the Branchings of these Rivers towards the End\nof their Course, to the Ramifications of the Arteries in the Body, when\nthey are far from the Heart near the extream Parts; and some, it may be,\nlooking upon this Scheme, would carry the Comparison further, and\nsuppose, that as in the Body the Blood is not lost in the Habit of the\nFlesh, but strain\u2019d through it, and taken up again by the little\nBranches of the Veins; so in that Earth the Waters were not lost in\nthose Sands of the Torrid Zone, but strain\u2019d or percolated thorough\nthem, and receiv\u2019d into the Channels of the other Hemisphere. This\nindeed would in some Measure answer the Notion which several of the\nancient Fathers make use of, that the Rivers of _Paradise_ were\ntrajected out of the other Hemisphere into this, by subterraneous\nPassages. But I confess I could never see it possible how such a\nTrajection could be made, nor how they could have any Motion, being\narriv\u2019d in another Hemisphere; and therefore I am apt to believe that\nDoctrine amongst the Ancients arose from an Entanglement in their\nPrinciples: They suppos\u2019d generally, that _Paradise_ was in the other\nHemisphere, as we shall have occasion to shew hereafter; and yet they\nbeliev\u2019d that _Tygris_, _Euphrates_, _Nile_, and _Ganges_, were the\nRivers of _Paradise_, or came out of it; and these two Opinions they\ncould not reconcile, or make out, but by supposing that these four\nRivers had their Fountain-heads in the other Hemisphere, and by some\nwonderful Trajection broke out again here. This was the Expedient they\nfound out to make their Opinions consistent one with another; but this\nis a Method to me altogether unconceivable; and, for my part, I do not\nlove to be led out of my Depth, leaning only upon Antiquity. How there\ncould be any such Communication, either above Ground, or under Ground,\nbetwixt the two Hemispheres, does not appear; and therefore we must\nstill suppose the Torrid Zone to have been the Barrier betwixt them,\nwhich nothing could pass either Way.\n\nWE have now examin\u2019d and determin\u2019d the State of the Air, and of the\nWaters in the Primitive Earth, by the Light and Consequences of Reason;\nand we must not wonder to find them different from the present Order of\nNature; what things are said of them, or relating to them in Holy Writ,\ndo testify or imply as much; and it will be worth our time to make some\nReflection upon those Passages for our further Confirmation. _Moses_\ntells us, that the _Rainbow_ was set in the Clouds after the Deluge;\nthose Heavens then, that never had a Rainbow before, were certainly of a\nConstitution very different from ours. And St. _Peter_, _2 Epist. chap.\niii. v. 5._ doth formally and expresly tell us, that the _Old Heavens_,\nor the Antediluvian Heavens had a different Constitution from ours, and\nparticularly, that they were compos\u2019d or constituted of Water, which\nPhilosophy of the Apostle\u2019s may be easily understood, if we attend to\ntwo things, first, that the Heavens he speaks of were not the Starry\nHeavens, but the aerial Heavens, or the Regions of our Air, where the\nMeteors are: Secondly, that there were no Meteors in those Regions, or\nin those Heavens, till the Deluge, but watry Meteors, and therefore, he\nsays, they consisted of Water. And this shews the Foundation upon which\nthat Description is made, how coherently the Apostle argues, and answers\nthe Objection there propos\u2019d: How justly also he distinguisheth the\nfirst Heavens from the present Heavens, or rather opposeth them one to\nanother; because as those were constituted of Water, and watry Meteors\nonly, so the present Heavens, he saith, have Treasures of Fire, fiery\nExhalations and Meteors, and a Disposition to become the Executioners of\nthe Divine Wrath and Decrees in the final Conflagration of the Earth.\n\nTHIS minds me also of the _Celestial Waters_, or the Waters above the\nFirmaments, which, Scripture sometimes mentions, and which, methinks,\ncannot be explain\u2019d so fitly and emphatically upon any Supposition as\nthis of ours. Those who place them above the Starry Heavens, seem\nneither to understand Astronomy nor Philosophy; and, on the other hand,\nif nothing be understood by them, but the Clouds and the middle Region\nof the Air, as it is at present, methinks that was no such eminent and\nremarkable Thing, as to deserve a particular Commemoration by _Moses_ in\nhis six Days Work; but if we understand them, not as they are now, but\nas they were then, the only Source of Waters, or the only Source of\nWaters upon that Earth, (for they had not one Drop of Water but what was\nCelestial,) this gives it a new Force and Emphasis: Besides the whole\nmiddle Region having no other sort of Meteors but them, that made it\nstill the greater Singularity, and more worthy Commemoration. As for the\nRivers of _Paradise_, there is nothing said concerning their Source, or\ntheir Issue, that is either contrary to this, or that is not agreeable\nto the general Account we have given of the Waters and Rivers of the\nfirst Earth. They are not said to rise from any Mountain, but from a\ngreat River or a kind of a Lake in _Eden_, according to the Custom of\nthe Rivers of that Earth. And as for their End and Issue, _Moses_ doth\nnot say, that they disburthen themselves into this or that Sea, as they\nusually do in the Description of great Rivers, but rather implies that\nthey spent themselves in compassing and watering certain Countries,\nwhich falls in again very easily with our _Hypothesis_. But I say this\nrather to comply with the Opinions of others, than of my _own_ Judgment:\nFor I think, that Suggestion about the Supercelestial Waters made by\n_Moses_, was not so much according to the strict Nature and Speciality\nof Causes, as for the Ease and Profit of the People, in their Belief and\nAcknowledgment of Providence for so great a Benefit, by what Causes\nsoever it was brought to pass.\n\nBUT to return to the Rainbow which we mentioned before, and is not to be\npast over so slightly. This we say is a Creature of the modern World,\nand was not seen nor known before the Flood. _Moses_ (_Gen. ix. 12,\n13._) plainly intimates as much, or rather directly affirms it; for he\nsays, the Bow was set in the Clouds after the Deluge, as a Confirmation\nof the Promise, or Covenant, which God made with _Noah_, that he would\ndrown the World no more with Water. And how could it be a Sign of this,\nor given as a Pledge and Confirmation of such a Promise, if it was in\nthe Clouds before, and with no Regard to this Promise; and stood there,\nit may be, when the World was going to be drown\u2019d? This would have been\nbut cold Comfort to _Noah_, to have had such a Pledge of the Divine\nVeracity. You\u2019ll say, it may be, that it was not a Sign or Pledge, that\nsignified naturally, but voluntarily only, and by Divine Institution: I\nam of Opinion, I confess, that it signify\u2019d naturally, and by Connexion\nwith the Effect, importing thus much, that the State of Nature was\nchang\u2019d from what it was before, and so chang\u2019d, that the Earth was no\nmore in a Condition to perish by Water. But however, let us grant that\nit signifieth only by Institution, to make it significant in this Sense,\nit must be something new, otherwise it could not signify any new thing,\nor be the Confirmation of a new Promise. If God Almighty had said to\n_Noah_, I make a Promise to you, and to all living Creatures, that the\nWorld shall never be destroy\u2019d by Water again, and for Confirmation of\nthis, Behold, _I set the Sun in the Firmament_: Would this have been any\nstrengthening of _Noah_\u2019s Faith or any Satisfaction to his Mind? Why\nsays _Noah_, the Sun was in the Firmament when the Deluge came, and was\na Spectator of that sad Tragedy; why may it not be so again? What Sign\nor Assurance is this against a second Deluge? When God gives a Sign in\nthe Heavens, or on the Earth, of any Prophecy or Promise to be\nfulfill\u2019d, it must be by something new, or by some Change wrought in\nNature; whereby God doth testify to us, that he is able and willing to\nstand to his Promise. God says to _Ahaz_, Isai. vii. _Ask a Sign of the\nLord; ask it either in the Depth, or in the Height above_: And when\n_Ahaz_ would ask no Sign, God gives one unask\u2019d, _Behold a Virgin shall\nconceive and bear a Son_. So when _Zachary_, _Luke 1._ was promis\u2019d a\nSon, he asketh for a Sign, _Whereby shall I know this? for I am old, and\nmy Wife well stricken in Years_, and the Sign given him was, that he\nbecame dumb, and continued so till the Promise was fulfilled.\nAccordingly, when _Abraham_ ask\u2019d a Sign whereby he might be assured of\nGod\u2019s Promise that his Seed should inherit the Land of _Canaan_, _Gen.\nxv. 8._ \u2019Tis said (_ver. 17._) _When the Sun went down and it was dark,\nbehold a smoaking Furnace and a burning Lamp passed betwixt the Pieces_\nof the Beasts that he had cut asunder. So in other Instances of Signs\ngiven in external Nature, as the Sign given to King _Hezekiah_, _Isai.\nxxxviii._ for his Recovery, and to _Gideon_ for his Victory; to confirm\nthe Promise made to _Hezekiah_, _Judge vii._ the Shadow went back ten\nDegrees in _Ahaz_ Dial. And for _Gideon_, _his Fleece was wet, and all\nthe Ground about it dry_; and then to change the Trial, _it was dry, and\nall the Ground about it wet_. These were all Signs very proper,\nsignificant, and satisfactory, having something surprising and\nextraordinary, yet these were Signs by Institution only; and to be such\nthey must have something new and strange, as a Mark of the Hand of God,\notherwise they can have no Force or Significancy. Accordingly we see,\n_Moses_ himself in another Place, speaks this very Sense, when in the\nMutiny or Rebellion of _Corah_ and _Dathan_, he speaks thus to the\nPeople, _If these Men die the common Death of Men, then the Lord hath\nnot sent me. But if the Lord make a new Thing and the Earth open her\nMouth and swallow them up, &c. then you shall understand that these Men\nhave provoked the Lord, Numb. xxvi. 29, 30._ So in the Case of _Noah_,\nif God _created a new Creature_ (which are _Moses_\u2019s Words in the\nforecited Place) the Sign was effectual: But where every thing continues\nto be as it was before, and the Face of Nature, in all its Parts, the\nvery same, it cannot signify any thing new, nor any new Intention in the\nAuthor of Nature; and consequently, cannot be a Sign or Pledge, a Token\nor Assurance of the Accomplishment of any new Covenant or Promise made\nby him.\n\nTHIS, methinks, is plain to common Sense, and to every Man\u2019s Reason; but\nbecause it is a Thing of Importance, to prove that there was no Rainbow\nbefore the Flood, and will confirm a considerable Part of this Theory,\nby discovering what the state of the Air was in the old World, give me\nleave to argue it a little further, and to remove some Prejudices that\nmay keep others from assenting to clear Reason. I know \u2019tis usually\nsaid, that Signs like Words, signify any Thing by Institution, or may be\napply\u2019d to any Thing by the Will of the Imposer; as hanging out a white\nFlag is calling for Mercy; a Bush at the Door a Sign of Wine to be sold,\nand such like. But these are Instances nothing to our Purpose, these are\nSigns of something present, and that signify only by Use and repeated\nExperience; we are speaking of Signs of another Nature given in\nConfirmation of a Promise, or Threatning, or Prophecy, and given with\nDesign to cure our Unbelief, or to excite and beget in us faith in God,\nin the Prophet, or in the Promiser; such Signs, I say, when they are\nwrought in external Nature, must be some new Appearance, and must\nthereby induce us to believe the Effect, or more to believe it, than if\nthere had been no Sign, but only the Affirmation of the Promiser; for\notherwise the pretended Sign is a mere Cypher and Superfluity. But a\nThing that obtain\u2019d before, and in the same Manner, (even when that came\nto pass, which we are now promis\u2019d shall not come to pass again)\nsignifies no more, than if there had been no Sign at all: It can neither\nsignify another Course in Nature, nor another Purpose in God; and\ntherefore is perfectly insignificant. Some instance in the Sacraments,\nJewish or Christian, and make them Signs in such a Sense as the Rainbow\nis: But those are rather Symbolical Representations or Commemorations;\nand some of them Marks of Distinction and Consecration of our selves to\nGod in such a Religion; they were also new, and very particular when\nfirst instituted; but all such Instances fall short, and do not reach\nthe Case before us; we are speaking of Signs confirmatory of a Promise;\nwhen there is something affirm\u2019d _de futuro_, and to give us a further\nArgument of the Certainty of it, and of the Power and Veracity of the\nPromiser, a Sign is given. This, we say, must indispensably be something\nnew, otherwise it cannot have the Nature, Virtue, and influence of a\nSign.\n\nWE have seen how incongruous it would be to admit, that the Rainbow\nappear\u2019d before the Deluge, and how dead a Sign that would make it, how\nforc\u2019d, fruitless and ineffectual, as to the Promise it was to confirm:\nLet us now on the other hand suppose, that it first appear\u2019d to the\nInhabitants of the Earth after the Deluge, how proper, and how apposite\na Sign would this be for Providence to pitch upon, to confirm the\nPromise made to _Noah_ and his Posterity, _That_ the World should be no\nmore destroy\u2019d by Water? It hath a secret Connexion with the Effect it\nself, and was so far a natural Sign; but however, appearing first after\nthe Deluge, and in a watery Cloud, there was, methinks, a great Easiness\nand Propriety of Application for such a purpose. And if we suppose, that\nwhile God Almighty was declaring his Promise to _Noah_, and the Sign of\nit, there appeared at the same Time in the Clouds a fair Rainbow, that\nmarvellous and beautiful Meteor, which _Noah_ had never seen before; it\ncould not but make a most lively Impression upon him, quickning his\nFaith, and giving him Comfort and Assurance, that God would be stedfast\nto his Promise.\n\nNOR ought we to wonder that Interpreters have commonly gone the other\nWay, and suppos\u2019d that the Rainbow was before the Flood: this, I say,\nwas no wonder in them, for they had no _Hypothesis_ that could answer to\nany other Interpretation: And in the Interpretation of the Texts of\nScripture that concern natural Things, they commonly bring them down to\ntheir own Philosophy and Notions: As we have a great Instance in that\nDiscourse of St. _Peter_\u2019s (_2 Epist. c. iii. 5._) concerning the Deluge\nand the Antediluvian Heavens and Earth, which, for want of a Theory,\nthey have been scarce able to make Sense of; for they have forcedly\napply\u2019d to the present Earth, or the present Form of the Earth, what\nplainly respected another. A like Instance we have in the _Mosaical_\nAbyss, or _Tehom-Rabba_, by whose Disruption the Deluge was made; this\nthey knew not well what to make of, and so have generally interpreted it\nof the Sea, or of our subterraneous Waters; without any Propriety either\nas to the Word, or as to the Sense. A third Instance is this of the\nRainbow, where their Philosophy hath misguided them again; for to give\nthem their due, they do not alledge, nor pretend to alledge any Thing\nfrom the Text, that should make them interpret thus, or think the\nRainbow was before the Flood; but they pretend to go by certain Reasons,\nas that the Clouds were before the Flood, therefore the Rainbow; and if\nthe Rainbow was not before the Flood, then all things were not made\nwithin the six Days Creation: To whom these Reasons are convictive, they\nmust be led into the same Belief with them, but not by any Thing in the\nText, nor in the true Theory, at least if ours be so; for by that you\nsee, that the Vapours were never condens\u2019d into Drops, nor into Rain, in\nthe temperate and inhabited Climates of that Earth, and consequently\nthere could never be the Production or Appearance of this Bow in the\nClouds. Thus much concerning the Rainbow.\n\nTO recollect our selves and conclude this Chapter, and the whole\nDisquisition concerning the Waters of the primitive Earth; we seem to\nhave so well satisfied the Difficulties propos\u2019d in the beginning of the\nChapter, that they have rather given us an Advantage; a better\nDiscovery, and such a new Prospect of that Earth, as makes it not only\nhabitable, but more fit to be _Paradisiacal_. The Pleasantness of the\nSite of _Paradise_ is made to consist chiefly in two Things, its Waters,\nand its Trees, (_Gen. ii._ and _Chap. xiii. 10._ _Ezek. xxxi. 8._) and\nconsidering the Richness of that first Soil in the primitive Earth, it\ncould not but abound in Trees, as it did in Rivers and Rivulets; and be\nwooded like a Grove, as it was water\u2019d like a Garden, in the temperate\nClimates of it; so as it would not be, methinks, so difficult to find\none _Paradise_ there, as not to find more than one.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VI.\n\n\n _A Recollection and Review of what hath been said concerning the\n Primitive Earth: with a more full Survey of the State of the first\n World Natural and Civil, and the Comparison of it with the present\n World._\n\n\nWE have now, in a good Measure, finish\u2019d our Description of the first\nand antediluvian Earth: And as Travellers, when they see strange\nCountries, make it part of their Pleasure and Improvement to compare\nthem with their own, to observe the Differences, and wherein they excel,\nor come short of one another: So it will not be unpleasant, nor\nunuseful, it may be, having made a Discovery, not of a new Country, but\nof a new World, and travell\u2019d it over in our Thoughts and Fancy, now to\nsit down and compare it with our own: And \u2019twill be no hard Task, from\nthe general Differences which we have taken Notice of already, to\nobserve what lesser would arise, and what the whole Face of Nature would\nbe.\n\n\u2019TIS also one Fruit of travelling, that by seeing Variety of Places, and\nPeople, of Humours, Fashions, and Forms of Living, it frees us by\ndegrees, from that Pedantry and Littleness of Spirit, whereby we are apt\nto censure every thing for absurd and ridiculous, that is not according\nto our own Way, and the Mode of our own Country: But if, instead of\ncrossing the Seas, we could waft our selves over to our neighbouring\nPlanets, we should meet with such Varieties there, both in Nature and\nMankind, as would very much enlarge our Thoughts and Souls, and help to\ncure those Diseases of little Minds, that make them troublesome to\nothers, as well as uneasy to themselves.\n\nBUT seeing our heavy Bodies are not made for such Voyages, the best and\ngreatest thing we can do in this kind, is to make a Survey and\nReflection upon the antediluvian Earth, which in some Sense was another\nWorld from this, and, it may be, as different as some two Planets are\nfrom one another. We have declar\u2019d already the general Grounds upon\nwhich we must proceed, and must now trace the Consequences of them, and\ndrive them down into Particulars, which will shew us in most things,\nwherein that Earth, or that World, differed from the present. The Form\nof that Earth, and its Situation to the Sun, were two of its most\nfundamental Differences from ours: As to the Form of it, \u2019twas all one\nsmooth Continent, one continued Surface of Earth, without any Sea, any\nMountains, or Rocks; any Holes, Dens, or Caverns: And the Situation of\nit to the Sun was such as made a perpetual \u00c6quinox. These two join\u2019d\ntogether, lay the Foundation of a new Astronomy, Meteorology,\nHydrography and Geography; such as were proper and peculiar to that\nWorld. The Earth by this means having its Axis parallel to the Axis of\nthe Ecliptick, the Heavens would appear in another Posture; and their\ndiurnal Motion, which is imputed to the _Primum Mobile_, and supposed to\nbe upon the Poles of the \u00c6quator, would then be upon the same Poles with\nthe second and periodical Motions of the Orbs and Planets, namely, upon\nthe Poles of the Ecliptick, by which Means the _Ph\u00e6nomena_ of the\nHeavens would be more simple and regular, and much of that Entangledness\nand Perplexity, which we find now in Astronomy, would be taken away.\nWhether the Sun and Moon would suffer any Eclipses then, cannot well be\ndetermin\u2019d, unless one knew what the Course of the Moon was at that\ntime, or whether she was then come into our Neighbourhood: Her Presence\nseems to have been less needful when there were no long Winter Nights,\nnor the great Pool of the Sea to move or govern.\n\nAS for the Regions of the Air and the Meteors, we have in the preceding\nChapter set down what the State of them would be, and in how much a\nbetter Order, and more peaceable, that Kingdom was, till the Earth was\nbroken and displac\u2019d, and the Course of Nature chang\u2019d: Nothing violent,\nnothing frightful, nothing troublesome or incommodious to Mankind, came\nfrom above, but the Countenance of the Heavens was always smooth and\nserene. I have often thought it a very desirable Piece of Power, if a\nMan could but command a fair Day, when he had occasion for it, for\nhimself, or for his Friends; \u2019tis more than the greatest Prince or\nPotentate upon Earth can do; yet they never wanted one in that World,\nnor ever saw a foul one. Besides they had constant Breezes from the\nMotion of the Earth, and the Course of the Vapours, which cool\u2019d the\nopen Plains, and made the Weather temperate, as well as fair. But we\nhave spoken enough in other Places upon this Subject of the Air and the\nHeavens, let us now descend to the Earth.\n\nTHE Earth was divided into two Hemispheres, separated by the Torrid\nZone, which at that time was uninhabitable, and utterly unpassable; so\nas the two Hemispheres made two distinct Worlds, which, so far as we can\njudge, had no manner of Commerce or Communication one with another. The\nSouthern Hemisphere the Antients call\u2019d _Antichthon_, _the opposite\nEarth_, or the _Other World_. And this Name and Notion remain\u2019d long\nafter the Reason of it had ceas\u2019d. Just as the Torrid Zone was generally\naccounted uninhabitable by the Ancients, even in their Time, because it\nreally had been so once, and the Tradition remain\u2019d uncorrected, when\nthe Causes were taken away; namely, when the Earth had chang\u2019d its\nPosture to the Sun, after the Deluge.\n\nTHIS may be look\u2019d upon as the first Division of that prim\u00e6val Earth,\ninto two Hemispheres, naturally sever\u2019d and disunited: But it was also\ndivided into five Zones, two Frigid, two Temperate, and the Torrid\nbetwixt them. And this Distinction of the Globe into five Zones, I\nthink, did properly belong to that original Earth, and primitive\nGeography, and improperly, and by Translation only, to the present. For\nall the Zones of our Earth are habitable, and their Distinctions are in\na manner but imaginary, not fixed by Nature; whereas in that Earth where\nthe Rivers fail\u2019d, and the Regions became uninhabitable, by reason of\nDriness and Heat, there begun the Torrid Zone; and where the Regions\nbecame uninhabitable by reason of Cold and Moisture, there begun the\nFrigid Zone; and these being determin\u2019d, they became Bounds on either\nside to the Temperate. But all this was alter\u2019d when the Posture of the\nEarth was chang\u2019d, and chang\u2019d for that very purpose, as some of the\nAncients have said, _That the uninhabitable Parts of the Earth might\nbecome habitable._ Yet though there was so much of the first Earth\nuninhabitable, there remain\u2019d as much to be inhabited, as we have now;\nfor the Sea, since the breaking up of the Abyss, hath taken away half of\nthe Earth from us, a great part whereof was to them good Land. Besides,\nwe are not to suppose, that the Torrid Zone was of that Extent we make\nit now, twenty three Degrees and more on either side of the \u00c6quator:\nThese Bounds are set only by the Tropicks, and the Tropicks by the\nObliquity of the Course of the Sun, or of the Posture of the Earth,\nwhich was not in that World. Where the Rivers stop\u2019d, there the Torrid\nZone would begin, but the Sun was directly perpendicular to no part of\nit but the middle.\n\nHOW the Rivers flow\u2019d in the first Earth, we have before explain\u2019d\nsufficiently, and what Parts the Rivers did not reach, were turn\u2019d into\nSands and Deserts by the Heat of the Sun; for I cannot easily imagine,\nthat the sandy Desarts of the Earth were made so at first, immediately\nand from the beginning of the World; from what Causes should that be,\nand to what purpose in that Age? But in those Tracks of the Earth that\nwere not refreshed with Rivers and Moisture, which cement the Parts, the\nGround would moulder and crumble into little Pieces, and then those\nPieces by the Heat of the Sun were bak\u2019d into Stone. And this would come\nto pass chiefly in the hot and scorch\u2019d Regions of the Earth, though it\nmight happen sometimes where there was not that Extremity of Heat, if by\nany Chance a Place wanted Rivers and Water to keep the Earth in due\nTemper; but those Sands would not be so early or ancient as the other.\nAs for greater loose Stones, and rough Pebbles, there were none in that\nEarth; _Deucalion_ and _Pyrrah_, when the Deluge was over, found new\nmade Stones to cast behind their Backs; the Bones of their Mother Earth,\nwhich then were broken in Pieces, in that great Ruine.\n\nAS for Plants and Trees, we cannot imagine but that they must needs\nabound in the Primitive Earth, seeing it was so well water\u2019d, and had a\nSoil so fruitful; a new unlaboured Soil, replenish\u2019d with the Seeds of\nall Vegetables; and a warm Sun that would call upon Nature early for her\nFirst-fruits, to be offer\u2019d up at the beginning of her Course. Nature\nhad a wild Luxuriancy at first, which humane Industry by degrees gave\nForm and Order to: The Waters flow\u2019d with a constant and gentle Current,\nand were easily led which way the Inhabitants had a Mind, for their Use,\nor for their Pleasure; and shady Trees, which grow best in moist and\nwarm Countries, grac\u2019d the Banks of their Rivers or Canals. But that\nwhich was the Beauty and Crown of all, was their perpetual Spring, the\nFields always green, the Flowers always fresh, and the Trees always\ncovered with Leaves and Fruit: But we have occasionally spoken of these\nthings in several Places, and may do again hereafter, and therefore need\nnot enlarge upon them here.\n\nAS for Subterraneous Things, Metals and Minerals, I believe they had\nnone in the first Earth; and the happier they; no Gold, nor Silver, nor\ncoarser Metals. The Use of these is either imaginary, or in such Works,\nas, by the Constitution of their World, they had little Occasion for.\nAnd Minerals are either for Medicine, which they had no need of further\nthan Herbs; or for Materials to certain Arts, which were not then in\nuse, or were supplied by other ways. These subterraneous things, Metals\nand metallick Minerals, are fictitious, not original Bodies, co\u00e6val with\nthe Earth; but are made in Process of Time, after long Preparations and\nConcoctions, by the Action of the Sun within the Bowels of the Earth.\nAnd if the _Stamina_, or Principles of them rise from the lower Regions\nthat lie under the Abyss, as I am apt to think they do, it doth not seem\nprobable that they could be drawn thro\u2019 such a Mass of Waters, or that\nthe Heat of the Sun could on a sudden penetrate so deep, and be able to\nloosen them, and raise them into the exterior Earth. And as the first\nAge of the World was call\u2019d _Golden_, though it knew not what Gold was;\nso the following Ages had their Names from several Metals, which lay\nthen asleep in the dark and deep Womb of Nature, and saw not the Sun\ntill many Years and Ages afterwards.\n\nHAVING run through the several Regions of Nature, from Top to Bottom,\nfrom the Heavens to the lower Parts of the Earth, and made some\nObservations upon their Order in the antediluvian World; let us now look\nupon Man and other living Creatures, that make up the superior and\nanimate Part of Nature. We have observed, and sufficiently spoken to\nthat Difference betwixt the Men of the old World, and those of the\npresent, in Point of Longevity, and given the Reasons of it; but we must\nnot imagine that this long Life was peculiar to Man, all other Animals\nhad their Share of it, and were in their Proportion longer-liv\u2019d than\nthey are now. Nay, not only Animals, but also Vegetables; and the Forms\nof all living Things were far more permanent: The Trees of the Field and\nof the Forest, in all Probability, out-lasted the Lives of Men; and I do\nnot know but the first Groves of Pines and Cedars that grew out of the\nEarth, or that were planted in the Garden of God, might be standing when\nthe Deluge came, (_Ezek. xxxi. 8._) and see from first to last, the\nentire Course and Period of a World.\n\nWe might add here, with St. _Austin_, (_Civ. Dei, lib. 15. c. 9._)\nanother Observation, both concerning Men and other living Creatures in\nthe first World, that they were greater as well as longer-liv\u2019d, than\nthey are at present: This seems to be a very reasonable Conjecture; for\nthe State of every Thing that hath Life is divided into the Time of its\nGrowth, its Consistency and its Decay; and when the whole Duration is\nlonger, every one of these Parts, though not always in like Proportions,\nwill be longer. We must suppose then, that the Growth both in Men and\nother Animals lasted longer in that World than it doth now, and\nconsequently carried their Bodies both to a greater Height and Bulk. And\nin like Manner, their Trees would be both taller, and every Way bigger\nthan ours; neither were they in any Danger there, to be blown down by\nWinds and Storms, or struck with Thunder, tho\u2019 they had been as high as\nthe _\u00c6gyptian_ Pyramids; and whatsoever their Height was, if they had\nRoots and Trunks proportionable, and were streight and well pois\u2019d, they\nwould stand firm, and with a greater Majesty. _The Fowls of Heaven\nmaking their Nests in their Boughs, and under their Shadow the Beasts of\nthe Field bringing forth their Young._ When Things are fairly possible\nin their Causes, and possible in several Degrees, higher or lower, \u2019tis\nWeakness of Spirit in us, to think there is nothing in Nature, but in\nthat one Way, or in that one Degree, that we are us\u2019d to. And whosoever\nbelieves those Accounts given us, both by the Ancients (_Plin. l. 7. c.\n2._ _Strab. l. 17._) and Moderns, (_Hort. Malabar, vol. 3._) of the\n_Indian_ Trees, will not think it strange that those of the first Earth\nshould much exceed any that we now see in this World. That allegorical\nDescription of the Glory of _Assyria_ in _Ezekiel_, _Chap._ xxxi. by\nAllusion to Trees, and particularly to the Trees of _Paradise_, was\nchiefly for the Greatness and Stateliness of them; and there is all\nFairness of Reason to believe, that in that first Earth, both the Birds\nof the Air, and the Beasts of the Field, and the Trees and their Fruit,\nwere all in their several Kinds more large and goodly than Nature\nproduces any now.\n\nSO much in short, concerning the natural World, inanimate or animate; we\nshould now take a Prospect of the moral World of that time, or of the\ncivil and artificial World; what the Order and Oeconomy of these was,\nwhat the Manner of Living, and how the Scenes of humane Life were\ndifferent from ours at present. The Ancients, especially the Poets, in\ntheir Description of the golden Age, exhibit to us an Order of Things,\nand a Form of Life, very remote from any Thing we see in our Days; but\nthey are not to be trusted in all Particulars; many times they\nexaggerate Matters on purpose, that they may seem more strange, or more\ngreat, and by that Means move and please us more. A _Moral_ or\n_Philosophick History_ of the World, well writ, would certainly be a\nvery useful Work, to observe and relate how the Scenes of humane Life\nhave chang\u2019d in several Ages, the Modes and Forms of Living, in what\nSimplicity Men begun at first, and by what Degrees they came out of that\nWay, by Luxury, Ambition, Improvement, or Changes in Nature; then what\nnew Forms and Modifications were superadded by the Invention of Arts,\nwhat by Religion, what by Superstition. This would be a View of Things\nmore instructive, and more satisfactory, than to know what Kings reign\u2019d\nin such an Age, and what Battles were fought, which common History\nteacheth, and teacheth little more. Such Affairs are but the little\nUnder-plots in the Tragi comedy of the World; the main Design is of\nanother Nature, and of far greater Extent and Consequence. But to return\nto the Subject.\n\nAs the animate World depends upon the inanimate, so the civil World\ndepends upon them both, and takes its Measures from them; Nature is the\nFoundation still, and the Affairs of Mankind are a Superstructure that\nwill be always proportion\u2019d to it. Therefore we must look back upon the\nModel, or Picture, of their natural World, which we have drawn before,\nto make our Conjectures, or Judgment, of the civil and artificial, that\nwere to accompany it. We observ\u2019d from their perpetual \u00c6quinox, and the\nSmoothness of the Earth, that the Air would be always calm, and the\nHeavens fair, no cold or violent Winds, Rains, or Storms, no Extremity\nof Weather in any kind, and therefore they would need little Protection\nfrom the Injuries of the Air, in that State; whereas now, one great Part\nof the Affairs of Life is to preserve our selves from those\nInconveniencies, by Building and Cloathing. How many Hands, and how many\nTrades are employ\u2019d about these two Things? Which then were in a manner\nneedless, or at least in such Plainness and Simplicity, that every Man\nmight be his own Workman. Tents and Bowers would keep them from all\nIncommodities of the Air and Weather, better than Stone Walls and strong\nRoofs defend us now; and Men are apt to take the easiest Ways of Living,\ntill Necessity or Vice put them upon others that are more laborious, and\nmore artificial. We also observ\u2019d and prov\u2019d, that they had no Sea in\nthe primitive and antediluvian World, which makes a vast difference\n\u2019twixt us and them. This takes up half of our Globe, and a good part of\nMankind is busied with Sea Affairs and Navigation. They had little need\nof merchandizing then, Nature supply\u2019d them at Home with all\nNecessaries, which were few, and they were not so greedy of\nSuperfluities as we are. We may add to these, what concern\u2019d their Food\nand Diet; Antiquity doth generally suppose, that Men were not\ncarnivorous in those Ages of the World, or did not feed upon Flesh, but\nonly upon Fruit and Herbs. And this seems to be plainly confirm\u2019d by\nScripture; for after the Deluge, God Almighty gives _Noah_ and his\nPosterity a Licence to eat Flesh, (_Gen._ ix. 2, 3.) _Every moving Thing\nthat liveth shall be Meat for you._ Whereas before, in the new-made\nEarth, God had prescrib\u2019d them Herbs and Fruit for their Diet, (_Gen._\ni. 29.) _Behold I have given you every Herb bearing Seed, which is upon\nthe Face of all the Earth; and every Tree, in the which is the Fruit of\na Tree yielding Seed, to you it shall be for Meat._ And of this natural\nDiet they would be provided to their Hands, without further Preparation,\nas the Birds and the Beasts are.\n\nUPON these general Grounds we may infer and conclude, that the civil\nWorld then as well as the natural, had a very different Face and Aspect\nfrom what it hath now; for of these Heads, Food and Cloathing, Building\nand Traffick, with that Train of Arts, Trades and Manufactures that\nattend them, the civil Order of Things is in a great Measure constituted\nand compounded; These make the Business of Life, the several Occupations\nof Men, the Noise and Hurry of the World; these fill our Cities, and our\nFairs, and our Havens and Ports; yet all these fine Things are but the\nEffects of Indigency and Necessitousness, and were, for the most part,\nneedless and unknown in that first State of Nature. The Ancients have\ntold us the same Things in Effect; but telling us them without their\nGrounds, which they themselves did not know, they look\u2019d like poetical\nStories, and pleasant Fictions, and with most Men past for no better. We\nhave shewn them in another Light, with their Reasons and Causes, deduc\u2019d\nfrom the State of the natural World, which is the Basis upon which they\nstand; and this doth not only give them a just and full Credibility, but\nalso lays a Foundation for After-thoughts, and further Deductions, when\nthey meet with Minds dispos\u2019d to pursue Speculations of this Nature.\n\nAS for Laws, Government, natural Religion, Military and Judicial\nAffairs, with all their Equipage, which make an higher Order of Things\nin the civil and moral World, to calculate these upon the Grounds given,\nwould be more difficult, and more uncertain; neither do they at all\nbelong to the present Theory. But from what we have already observ\u2019d, we\nmay be able to make a better Judgment of those traditional Accounts\nwhich the Ancients have left us concerning these Things, in the early\nAges of the World, and the primitive State of Nature. No doubt in these,\nas in all other Particulars, there was a great Easiness and Simplicity,\nin Comparison of what is now; we are in a more pompous, forc\u2019d, and\nartificial Method, which partly the Change of Nature, and partly the\nVices and Vanities of Men have introduc\u2019d and establish\u2019d. But these\nthings, with many more, ought to be the Subject of a _Philosophick\nHistory_ of the World, which we mentioned before.\n\nTHIS is a short and general Scheme of the prim\u00e6val World, compared with\nthe modern; yet these things did not equally run thro\u2019 all the Parts and\nAges of it; there was a Declension and Degeneracy, both natural and\nmoral, by Degrees, and especially towards the latter End; but the\nprincipal Form of Nature remaining till the Deluge and the Dissolution\nof the Heavens and Earth, till then also this civil Frame of Things\nwould stand in a great Measure. And tho\u2019 such a State of Nature, and of\nMankind, when \u2019tis propos\u2019d crudely, and without its Grounds, appear\nfabulous or imaginary, yet \u2019tis really in itself a State, not only\npossible, but more easy and natural, than what the World is in at\npresent. And if one of the old antediluvian Patriarchs should rise from\nthe Dead, he would be more surpriz\u2019d to see our World in that Posture it\nis, than we can be by the Story and Description of his. As an _Indian_\nhath more Reason to wonder at the _European_ Modes, than we have to\nwonder at their plain Manner of Living. \u2019Tis we that have left the Track\nof Nature, that are wrought and screw\u2019d up into Artifices, that have\ndisguis\u2019d ourselves; and \u2019tis in our World that the Scenes are chang\u2019d,\nand become more strange and fantastical.\n\nI WILL conclude this Discourse with an easy Remark, and without any\nparticular Application of it. \u2019Tis a strange Power that Custom hath upon\nweak and little Spirits, whose Thoughts reach no further than their\nSenses; and what they have seen and been us\u2019d to, they make the Standard\nand Measure of Nature, of Reason, and of all _Decorum_. Neither are\nthere any Sort of Men more positive and tenacious of their petty\nOpinions, than they are; nor more censorious, even to Bitterness and\nMalice. And \u2019tis generally so, that those that have the least Evidence\nfor the Truth of their beloved Opinions, are most peevish and impatient\nin the Defence of them. This sort of Men are the last that will be made\nwise Men, if ever they be, for they have the worst of Diseases that\naccompany Ignorance, and do not so much as know themselves to be sick.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VII.\n\n\n _The Place of Paradise cannot be determined from the Theory only,\n nor from Scripture only. What the Sense of Antiquity was concerning\n it, both as to the Jews and Heathens, and especially as to the\n Christian Fathers. That they generally plac\u2019d it out of this\n Continent, in the southern Hemisphere._\n\n\nWE have now prepared our Work for the last finishing Strokes; described\nthe first Earth, and compar\u2019d it with the present; and not only the two\nEarths, but in a good Measure the whole State and Oeconomy of those two\nWorlds. It remains only to determine the Place of _Paradise_ in that\nprim\u00e6val Earth; I say, in that prim\u00e6val Earth, for we have driven the\nPoint so far already, that the Seat of it could not be in the present\nEarth, whose Form, Site, and Air, are so dispos\u2019d, as could not consist\nwith the first and most indispensible Properties of _Paradise_: And\naccordingly, we see with what ill Success our modern Authors have rang\u2019d\nover the Earth, to find a fit Spot of Ground to plant _Paradise_ in;\nsome would set it on the Top of an high Mountain, that it might have\ngood Air and fair Weather, as being above the Clouds, and the middle\nRegion; but then they were at a Loss for Water, which made a great Part\nof the Pleasure and Beauty of that Place. Others therefore would seat it\nin a Plain, or in a River-Island, that they might have Water enough; but\nthen it would be subject to the Injuries of the Air, and foul Weather at\nthe Seasons of the Year; from which, both Reason and all Authority have\nexempted _Paradise_. \u2019Tis like seeking a perfect Beauty in a mortal\nBody, there are so many Things required to it, as to Complexion,\nFeatures, Proportions and Air, that they never meet all together in one\nPerson; neither can all the Properties of a terrestrial _Paradise_ ever\nmeet together in one Place, tho\u2019 never so well chosen, in this present\nEarth.\n\nBUT in the prim\u00e6val Earth, which we have described, \u2019tis easy to find a\nSeat that had all those Beauties and Conveniencies. We have every where\nthro\u2019 the temperate Climates, a clear and constant Air, a fruitful Soil,\npleasant Waters, and all the general Characters of _Paradise_; so that\nthe Trouble will be rather in that Competition, what Part or Region to\npitch upon in particular. But to come as near it as we can, we must\nremember in the first Place, how that Earth was divided into two\nHemispheres, distant and separated from one another, not by an imaginary\nLine, but by a real Boundary that could not be past; so as the first\nInquiry will be, in whether of these Hemispheres was the Seat of\n_Paradise_. To answer this only according to our Theory, I confess, I\nsee no natural Reason or Occasion to place it in one Hemisphere more\nthan in another; I see no Ground of Difference or Pre-eminence, that one\nhad above the other; and I am apt to think, that depended rather upon\nthe Will of God, and the Series of Providence that was to follow in this\nEarth, than upon any natural Incapacity in one of these two Regions more\nthan in the other, for planting in it the Garden of God. Neither doth\nScripture determine, with any Certainty, either Hemisphere for the Place\nof it; for when \u2019tis said to be in _Eden_, or to be the Garden of\n_Eden_, \u2019tis no more than the Garden of _Pleasure_ or _Delight_, as the\nWord signifies: And even the _Septuagint_, who render this Word _Eden_,\nas a proper Name twice, (_Gen._ ii. _ver._ 8, & 10.) do in the same\nStory render it twice as a common Name, signifying \u03c4\u03c1\u03c5\u03c6\u1f74 _Pleasure_,\n(_Chap._ ii. 15. and _Chap._ iii. 24.) and so they do accordingly render\nit in _Ezekiel_, (_Chap._ xxxi. 9, 16, 18.) where this Garden of _Eden_\nis spoken of again. Some have thought that the Word _Mekiddim_, (_Gen._\nii. 8.) was to be render\u2019d _in the East_, or _Eastward_, as we read it,\nand therefore determin\u2019d the Site of _Paradise_; but \u2019tis only the\n_Septuagint_ translate it so; all the other _Greek_ Versions, and St.\n_Jerome_, the _Vulgate_, the _Chaldee_ Paraphrase, and the _Syriack_\nrender it _from the Beginning_, or _in the Beginning_, or to that\nEffect. And we that do not believe the _Septuagint_ to have been\ninfallible, or inspir\u2019d, have no Reason to prefer their single Authority\nabove all the rest. Some also think the Place of _Paradise_ may be\ndetermined by the four Rivers that are named, as belonging to it, and\nthe Countries they ran through; but the Names of those Rivers are to me\nuncertain, and two of them altogether unintelligible. Where are there\nfour Rivers in our Continent that come from one Head, as these are said\nto have done, either at the Entrance or Issue of the Garden? \u2019Tis true,\nif you admit our _Hypothesis_, concerning the Fraction and Disruption of\nthe Earth at the Deluge, then we cannot expect to find Rivers now as\nthey were before; the general Source is chang\u2019d, and their Channels are\nall broke up; but if you do not admit such a Dissolution of the Earth,\nbut suppose the Deluge to have been only like a standing Pool, after it\nhad once cover\u2019d the Surface of the Earth, I do not see why it should\nmake any great Havock or Confusion in it; and they that go that Way, are\ntherefore the more oblig\u2019d to shew us still, the Rivers of _Paradise_.\nSeveral of the Ancients, as we shall shew hereafter, suppos\u2019d these four\nRivers to have their heads in the other Hemisphere; and if so, the Seat\nof _Paradise_ might be there too. But let them first agree among\nthemselves concerning these Rivers, and the Countries they run thro\u2019,\nand we will undertake to shew that there cannot be any such in this\nContinent.\n\nSEEING then neither the Theory doth determine, nor Scripture, where the\nPlace of _Paradise_ was, nor in whether Hemisphere, we must appeal to\nAntiquity, or the Opinions of the Ancients; for I know no other Guide\nbut one of these three, Scripture, Reason, and ancient Tradition; and\nwhere the two former are silent, it seems very reasonable to consult the\nthird. And that our Inquiries may be comprehensive enough, we will\nconsider what the _Jews_, what the _Heathens_, and what the _Christian_\nFathers have said, or determin\u2019d, concerning the Seat of _Paradise_. The\n_Jews_ and _Hebrew_ Doctors place it in neither Hemisphere, but betwixt\nboth, under the \u00c6quinoctial, as you may see plainly in _Abravanel_,\n_Manasses_, _Ben-Israel_, _Maimonides_, _Eben Ezra_, and others. But the\nReason why they carried it no further than the Line, is, because they\nsuppos\u2019d it certain, as _Eben Ezra_ tells us, that the Days and Nights\nwere always equal in _Paradise_, and they did not know how that could\nbe, unless it stood under the \u00c6quinoctial. But we have shewn another\nMethod, wherein that perpetual Equinox came to pass, and how it was\ncommon to all the Parts and Climates of that Earth, which if they had\nbeen aware of, and that the Torrid Zone at that time was utterly\nuninhabitable, having remov\u2019d their _Paradise_ thus far from Home, they\nwould probably have remov\u2019d it a little further into the temperate\nClimates of the other Hemisphere.\n\nTHE ancient Heathens, Poets and Philosophers, had the Notion of\n_Paradise_, or rather of several _Paradises_ in the Earth; and \u2019tis\nremarkable, that they plac\u2019d them generally, if not all of them, out of\nthis Continent; in the Ocean, or beyond it, or in another Orb or\nHemisphere. The Garden of the _Hesperides_, the fortunate _Islands_, the\n_Elysian Fields_, _Ogygia_ and _Toprabane_, as it is describ\u2019d by\n_Diodorus Siculus_, with others such like; which as they were all\ncharacteriz\u2019d like so many _Paradises_, so they were all seated out of\nour Continent, by their Geography and Descriptions of them.\n\nTHUS far Antiquity seems to incline to the other Hemisphere, or to some\nPlace beyond the Bounds of our Continent for the Seat of _Paradise_: But\nthat which we are most to depend upon in this Affair, is Christian\nAntiquity, the Judgment and Tradition of the Fathers upon this Argument.\nAnd we may safely say in the first Place, negatively, that none of the\nChristian Fathers, _Latin_ or _Greek_, ever plac\u2019d _Paradise_ in\n_Mesopotamia_; that is a Conceit and Invention of some modern Authors,\nwhich have been much encourag\u2019d of late, because it gave Men Ease and\nRest, as to further Enquiries, in an Argument they could not well\nmanage. _Secondly_, We may affirm, that none of the Christian Fathers\nhave plac\u2019d _Paradise_ in any determinate Region of our Continent,\n_Asia_, _Africk_, or _Europe_. I have read of one or two Authors, I\nthink, that fancied _Paradise_ to have been at _Jerusalem_; but \u2019twas a\nmere Fancy, that no Body regarded or pursu\u2019d. The Controversy amongst\nthe Fathers concerning _Paradise_ was quite another Thing from what it\nis now of late: They disputed and controverted, whether _Paradise_ was\ncorporeal or intellectual only, and allegorical; this was the grand\nPoint amongst them. Then of those that thought it corporeal, some plac\u2019d\nit high in the Air, some inaccessible, by Desarts or Mountains, and many\nbeyond the Ocean, or in another World; and in these chiefly consisted\nthe Differences and Diversity of Opinions amongst them; nor do we find\nthat they nam\u2019d any particular Place or Country in the known Parts of\nthe Earth for the Seat of _Paradise_, or that one contested for one Spot\nof Ground, and another for another, which is the vain Temerity of modern\nAuthors; as if they could tell to an Acre of Land where _Paradise_\nstood, or could set their Foot upon the Centre of the Garden. These have\ncorrupted and misrepresented the Notion of our _Paradise_, just as some\nModern Poets have the Notion of the _Elysian_ Fields, which _Homer_ and\nthe Ancients plac\u2019d remote, on the Extremities of the Earth, and these\nwould make a little green Meadow in _Campania Felix_ to be the fam\u2019d\n_Elysium_.\n\nThus much concerning the Fathers, negatively; but to discover as far as\nwe can, what their positive Assertions were in this Argument, we may\nobserve, that tho\u2019 their Opinions be differently exprest, they generally\nconcenter in this, that the _Southern Hemisphere_ was the Seat of\n_Paradise_. This, I say, seems manifestly to be the Sense of Christian\nAntiquity and Tradition, so far as there is anything definitive in the\nRemains we have upon that Subject. Some of the Fathers did not believe\n_Paradise_ to be corporeal and local, and those are to be laid aside in\nthe first Place, as to this Point; others that thought it local, did not\ndetermine any thing (as most of them indeed did not) concerning the\nparticular Place of it; but the rest that did, tho\u2019 they have exprest\nthemselves in various Ways, and under various Forms; yet, upon a due\nInterpretation, they all meet in one common and general Conclusion, that\n_Paradise_ was seated beyond the \u00c6quinoctial, or in the other\nHemisphere.\n\nAND to understand this aright, we must reflect in the first Place, upon\nthe Form of the prim\u00e6val Earth, and of the two Hemispheres of which it\nconsisted, altogether incommunicable one with another, by reason of the\nTorrid Zone betwixt them; so as those two Hemispheres were then as two\ndistinct Worlds, or distinct Earths, that had no Commerce with one\nanother. And this Notion, or Tradition, we find among Heathen Authors,\nas well as Christian; this opposite Earth being called by them\n_Antichthon_, and its Inhabitants _Antichthones_: For those Words\ncomprehend both the _Antepodes_ and _An\u0153ci_, or all beyond the Line, as\nis manifest from their best Authors, as _Achilles_, _Tatius_, and _C\u00e6sar\nGermanicus_, upon _Aratus_, _Probus Grammaticus_, _Censorinus_,\n_Pomponius Mela_, and _Pliny_. And these were called another World, and\nlook\u2019d upon as another Stock and Race of Mankind, as appears from\n_Cicero_ and _Macrobius_, (_Somn. Scip._) But as the latter Part was\ntheir Mistake, so the former is acknowledged by Christian Authors, as\nwell as others; and particularly St. _Clement_, in his Epistle to the\n_Corinthians_, mentions a _World_, or _Worlds beyond the Ocean subject\nto divine Providence, and the great Lord of Nature as well as ours_.\nThis Passage of St. _Clement_ is also cited by St. _Jerome_, in his\nCommentary upon _Eph. ii. 2._ and by _Origen Periarchon_, (_Lib. 2. c.\n3._) where the Inhabitants of that other World are call\u2019d\n_Antichthones_.\n\nI MAKE this Remark in the first Place, that we may understand the true\nSense and Importance of those Phrases and Expressions amongst the\nAncients, when they say _Paradise_ was in _another World_. Which are not\nto be so understood, as if they thought _Paradise_ was in the Moon, or\nin _Jupiter_, or hung above like a Cloud or a Meteor, they were not so\nextravagant; but that _Paradise_ was in another Hemisphere, which was\ncall\u2019d _Antichthon_, another _Earth_, or another _World_ from ours; and\njustly reputed so, because of an Impossibility of Commerce or\nIntercourse betwixt their respective Inhabitants. And this Remark being\npremis\u2019d, we will now distribute the Christian Authors and Fathers, that\nhave deliver\u2019d their Opinion concerning the Place of _Paradise_, into\nthree or four Ranks or Orders; and tho\u2019 they express themselves\ndifferently, you will see, when duly examin\u2019d and expounded, they all\nconspire and concur in the foremention\u2019d Conclusion, _That_ the Seat of\n_Paradise_ was in the other Hemisphere.\n\nIN the first Rank then we will place and reckon those that have set\n_Paradise_ in another _World_, or in another _Earth_; seeing, according\nto the foregoing Explication, that is the same thing as to affirm it\nseated beyond the Torrid Zone in the other Hemisphere. In this Number\nare _Ephrem Syrus_, _Moses Bar Cepha_, _Tatianus_, and of latter Date,\n_Jacobus de Valentia_. To these are to be added again such Authors as\nsay, that _Adam_, when he was turn\u2019d out of _Paradise_, was brought into\n_our Earth_, or into our Region of the Earth; for this is tantamount\nwith the former; and this seems to be the Sense of St. _Jerome_ in\nseveral Places against _Joviniam_, as also of _Constantine_, in his\n_Oration_ in _Eusebius_, and is positively asserted by _Sulpitius\nSeverus_. And lastly, Those Authors that represent _Paradise_ as remote\nfrom our World, and inaccessible; so St. _Austin_, _Procopius Gaz\u00e6us_,\n_Beda_, _Strabus Fuldensis_, _Historia Scholiastica_, and others; these,\nI say, pursue the same Notion of Antiquity; for what is remote from our\nWorld, (that is, from our Continent, as we before explain\u2019d it) is to be\nunderstood to be that _Antichthon_, (\u039f\u1f31\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7) or Anti-hemisphere,\nwhich the Ancients oppos\u2019d to ours.\n\nANOTHER Set of Authors, that interpret the _Flaming Sword_ that guarded\n_Paradise_ to be the _Torrid Zone_, do plainly intimate, that _Paradise_\nin their Opinion lay beyond the Torrid Zone, or in the Anti-hemisphere;\nand thus _Tertullian_ interprets the Flaming Sword, and in such Words as\nfully confirm our Sense: _Paradise_, he says, _by the Torrid Zone, as by\na Wall of Fire, was sever\u2019d from the Communication and Knowledge of our\nWorld_. It lay then on the other Side of this Zone. And St. _Cyprian_,\nor the ancient Author that passeth under his Name, in his Comment upon\n_Genesis_, expresseth himself to the same Effect; so also St. _Austin_\nand _Isidore Hispalensis_ are thought to interpret it: And _Aquinas_,\nwho makes _Paradise_ inaccessible, gives this Reason for it, _Propter\nvehementiam \u00e6stus in locis intermediis ex propinquitate Solis, & hoc\nsignificatur per Flammeum Gladium_: _Because of that vehement Heat in\nthe Parts betwixt us and that, arising from the Nearness of the Sun, and\nthis is signified by the Flaming Sword_. And this Interpretation of the\n_Flaming Sword_ receives a remarkable Force and Emphasis from our Theory\nand Description of the prim\u00e6val Earth, for there the Torrid Zone was as\na Wall of Fire indeed, or a Region of Flame, which none could pass or\nsubsist in, no more than in a Furnace.\n\nTHERE is another Form of Expression amongst the Ancients concerning\n_Paradise_, which if decyphered, is of the same Force and Signification\nwith this we have already instanc\u2019d in: They say sometimes, _Paradise_\nwas _beyond the Ocean_, or that the Rivers of _Paradise_ came from\nbeyond the Ocean. This is of the same Import with the former Head, and\npoints still at the other Hemisphere; for, as we noted before, some of\nthem fixt their _Antichthon_ and _Antichthones_ beyond the Ocean; that\nis, since there was an Ocean; since the Form of the Earth was chang\u2019d,\nand the Torrid Zone became habitable, and consequently could not be a\nBoundary or Separation, betwixt the two Worlds. Wherefore, as some run\nstill upon the old Division by the Torrid Zone, others took the new\nDivision by the Ocean. Which Ocean they suppos\u2019d to lie from East to\nWest betwixt the Tropicks; as may be seen in ancient Authors, _Geminus_,\n_Herodotus_, _Cicero de republica_, and _Clemens Romanus_, whom we cited\nbefore. St. _Austin_ (_De Civ. Dei, lib. 16. c. 9._) also speaks upon\nthe same Supposition, when he would confute the Doctrine of the\n_Antipodes_, or _Antichthones_; and _Macrobius_, I remember, makes it an\nArgument of Providence, that the Sun and the Planets, in what Part of\ntheir Course soever they are betwixt the two Tropicks, have still the\nOcean under them, that they may be cool\u2019d and nourish\u2019d by its Moisture.\nThey thought the Sea, like a Girdle, went round the Earth, and the\ntemperate Zones on either Side were the habitable Regions, whereof this\nwas called the _Oicoumene_, and the other _Antichthon_.\n\nTHIS being observ\u2019d, \u2019tis not material whether their Notion was true or\nfalse, it shews us what their Meaning was, and what Part of the Earth\nthey design\u2019d, when they spoke of any Thing beyond the Ocean; namely,\nthat they meant beyond the Line, in the other Hemisphere or in the\n_Antichthon_; and accordingly, when they say _Paradise_, or the\nFountains of its Rivers were beyond the Ocean, they say the same Thing\nin other Terms with the rest of those Authors we have cited. In _Moses\nBar Cepha_ above-mention\u2019d, we find a Chapter upon this Subject,\n_Quomodo trajecerint Mortales inde ex Paradisi terra in hanc terram._\n_How Mankind past out of that Earth or Continent, where Paradise was,\ninto that where we are_. Namely how they past the Ocean, _that lay\nbetwixt them_, as the Answer there given explains it. And so _Ephrem\nSyrus_ is cited often in that Treatise, placing _Paradise_ beyond the\nOcean. The _Essenes_ also, who were the most Philosophick Sect of the\n_Jews_, plac\u2019d _Paradise_, according to _Josephus_, beyond the Ocean,\nunder a perfect Temperature of Air. And that Passage in _Eusebius_, in\nthe Oration of _Constantine_, being corrected and restor\u2019d to the true\nreading, represents _Paradise_, in like manner, as in another Continent,\nfrom whence _Adam_ was brought after his Transgression, into this. And\nlastly, there are some Authors, whose Testimony and Authority may\ndeserve to be consider\u2019d, not for their own Antiquity, but because they\nare professedly Transcribers of Antiquity and Traditions; such as\n_Strabus_, _Comestor_, and the like, who are known to give this Account\nor Report of _Paradise_ from the Ancients, that it was _interposito\nOceano ab Orbe nostro vel a Zona nostra habitabili secretus_, _separated\nfrom our Orb or Hemisphere, by the Interposition of the Ocean_.\n\nIT is also observable, that many of the Ancients that took _Tigris_,\n_Euphrates_, _Nile_ and _Ganges_, for the Rivers of _Paradise_, said\nthat those Heads or Fountains of them, which we have in our Continent,\nare but their _capita secunda_, their second Sources, and that their\nfirst Sources were in another Orb where _Paradise_ was; and thus _Hugo\nde Sancto Victore_ says, _Sanctos communiter sensisse_, That the Holy\nMen of old were generally of that Opinion. To this Sense also _Moses Bar\nCepha_ often expresseth himself; as also _Epiphanius_, _Procopius\nGaz\u00e6us_, and _Severianus_ in _Catena_. Which Notion amongst the\nAncients, concerning the Trajection or Passage of the paradisiacal\nRivers under Ground, or under Sea, from one Continent into another, is\nto me, I confess, unintelligible, either in the first or second Earth;\nbut however it discovers their Sense and Opinion of the Seat of\n_Paradise_, that it was not to be sought for in _Asia_ or in _Africa_,\nwhere those Rivers rise to us; but in some remoter Parts of the World,\nwhere they suppos\u2019d their first Sources to be.\n\nTHIS is a short Account of what the Christian Fathers have left us\nconcerning the Seat of _Paradise_; and the Truth is, \u2019tis but a short\nand broken account; yet \u2019tis no wonder it should be so, if we consider,\nas we noted before, that several of them did not believe _Paradise_ to\nbe local and corporeal; others that did believe it so, yet did not offer\nto determine the Place of it, but left that Matter wholly untouch\u2019d and\nundecided: and the rest that did speak to that Point, did it commonly\nboth in general Terms, and in Expressions that were disguis\u2019d, and\nneeded Interpretation; but all these Differences and Obscurities of\nExpression, you see, when duly stated and expounded, may signify one and\nthe same Thing, and terminate all in this common Conclusion, _That\nParadise_ was without our Continent, according to the general Opinion\nand Tradition of Antiquity. And I do not doubt but the Tradition would\nhave been both more express and more universal, if the Ancients had\nunderstood Geography better; for those of the Ancients that did not\nadmit or believe that there were _Antipodes_ or _Antichthones_, as\n_Lactantius_, St. _Austin_, and some others; these could not join in the\ncommon Opinion about the Place of _Paradise_, because they thought there\nwas no Land, nor any thing habitable \u1f14\u03be\u03c9 \u03c4\u1f74\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f31\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2, or beside this\nContinent. And yet St. _Austin_ was so cautious, that as he was bounded\non the one Hand by his false _Idea_ of the Earth, that he could not join\nwith Antiquity as to the Place of _Paradise_; so on the other Hand, he\nhad that Respect for it, that he would not say any thing to the\ncontrary; therefore being to give his Opinion, he says only, _Terrestrem\nesse Paradisum, & locum ejus ab hominum cognitione esse remotissimum_:\n_That it is somewhere upon the Earth, but the Place of it very remote\nfrom the Knowledge of Men_.\n\nAND as their Ignorance of the Globe of the Earth was one Reason why the\nDoctrine of _Paradise_ was so broken and obscure, so another Reason why\nit is much more so at present is, because the chief ancient Books writ\nupon that Subject are lost. _Ephrem Syrus_ who liv\u2019d in the fourth\nCentury, writ a Commentary _in Genesin sine de Ortu rerum_, concerning\nthe Origin of the Earth; and by those Remains that are cited from it, we\nhave reason to believe that it contained many Things remarkable\nconcerning the first Earth, and concerning _Paradise_. _Tertullian_ also\nwrit a Book _de Paradiso_, which is wholly lost; and we see to what\nEffect it would have been, by his making the Torrid Zone to be the\n_Flaming Sword_, and the Partition betwixt this Earth and _Paradise_,\nwhich two Earths he more than once distinguisheth as very different from\none another, (_Cont. Marc. lib. 2. c. 2. c. 5._) The most ancient Author\nthat I know upon this Subject, at least of those that writ of it\nliterally, is _Moses Bar Cepha_ a _Syrian_ Bishop, who liv\u2019d about 700\nYears since, and his Book is translated into _Latin_ by that learned and\njudicious Man _Andreas Masius_. _Bar Cepha_ writes upon the same Views\nof _Paradise_ that we have here presented, that it was beyond the Ocean,\nin another Track of Land, or another Continent from that which we\ninhabit: As appears from the very Titles of his 8th, 10th, and 14th\nChapters. But we must allow him for his mistaken Notions about the Form\nof the Earth; for he seems to have fancied the Earth plain, (not only as\noppos\u2019d to rough and mountainous, for so it was plain; but as oppos\u2019d to\nspherical) and the Ocean to have divided it in two Parts, an interior,\nand an exterior, and in that exterior Part was _Paradise_. Such\nAllowances must often be made for Geographical Mistakes, in examining\nand understanding the Writings of the Ancients. The rest of the _Syrian_\nFathers, as well as _Ephrem_ and _Bar Cepha_, incline to the same\nDoctrine of _Paradise_, and seem to have retain\u2019d more of the ancient\nnotions concerning it, than the _Greek_ and _Latin_ Fathers have; and\nyet there is in all some Fragments of this Doctrine, and but Fragments\nin the best.\n\nWE might add in the last Place, that as the most ancient Treatises\nconcerning _Paradise_ are lost, so also the ancient _Glosses_ and\n_Catenae_ upon Scripture, where we might have found the Traditions and\nOpinions of the Ancients upon this Subject, are many of them either lost\nor unpublish\u2019d; and upon this Consideration, we did not think it\nimproper to cite some Authors of small Antiquity, but such as have\ntranscrib\u2019d several Things out of ancient Manuscript-glosses into their\nCommentaries. They living however before Printing was invented, or\nLearning well restor\u2019d, and before the Reformation. I add that also,\n_before the Reformation_, for since that Time the Protestant Authors\nhaving lessen\u2019d the Authority of Traditions, the pontifical Doctors\ncontent themselves to insist only upon such as they thought were useful\nor necessary, left by multiplying others that were but Matter of\nCuriosity, they should bring the first into Question, and render the\nwhole Doctrine of Traditions more dubious and exceptionable; and upon\nthis Account, there are some Authors that writ an Age or two before the\nReformation, that have with more Freedom told us the Tenets and\nTraditions of the Ancients in these Speculations, that are but\ncollateral to Religion, than any have done since.\n\nAND I must confess I am apt to think, that what remains concerning the\nDoctrine of _Paradise_, and the prim\u00e6val Earth, is in a good Measure\ntraditional; for one may observe, that those that treat upon these\nSubjects, quote the true Opinions, and tell you some of the Ancients\nheld so and so; as that _Paradise_ was in another Earth, or higher than\nthis Earth; that there were no Mountains before the Flood, nor any Rain,\nand such like; yet they do not name those ancient Authors that held\nthese Opinions; which makes me apt to believe, either that they were\nconvey\u2019d by traditional Communication from one to another, or that there\nwere other Books extant upon those Subjects, or other Glosses, than what\nare now known.\n\nFINALLY, To conclude this Discourse concerning the Seat of _Paradise_,\nwe must mind you again upon what Basis it stands. We declar\u2019d freely,\nthat we could not by our Theory alone determine the particular Place of\nit, only by that we are assur\u2019d, that it was in the prim\u00e6val Earth, and\nnot in the present; but in what Region, or in whether Hemisphere of that\nEarth it was seated, we cannot define from Speculation only. \u2019Tis true,\nif we hold fast to that Scripture-conclusion, That all Mankind rose from\none Head, and from one and the same Stock and Lineage, (which doth not\nseem to be according to the Sentiments of the Heathens) we must suppose\nthey were born in one Hemisphere, and after some Time translated into\nthe other, or a Colony of them: But this still doth not determine in\nwhether of the two they begun, and were first seated before their\nTranslation; and I am apt to think that depended rather, as we noted\nbefore, upon the Divine Pleasure, and the Train of Affairs that was to\nsucceed, than upon natural Causes and Differences. Some of the Ancients,\nI know, made both the Soil and the Stars more noble in the southern\nHemisphere, than in ours; but I do not see any Proof or Warrant for it;\nwherefore, laying aside all natural Topicks, we are willing, in this\nParticular, to refer our selves wholly to the Report and Majority of\nVotes among the Ancients; who yet do not seem to me to lay much Stress\nupon the Notion of a particular and topical Paradise, and therefore use\ngeneral and remote Expressions concerning it. And finding no Place for\nit in this Continent, they are willing to quit their Hands of it, by\nplacing it in a Region somewhere far off, and inaccessible. This,\ntogether with the old Tradition, that Paradise was in another Earth,\nseems to me to give an Account of most of their Opinions concerning the\nSeat of Paradise, and that they were generally very uncertain where to\nfix it.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. VIII.\n\n\n _The Uses of this Theory for the Illustration of Antiquity; The\n ancient Chaos explain\u2019d; The Inhabitability of the Torrid Zone; The\n Change of the Poles of the World; The Doctrine of the Mundane Egg;\n How America was first peopled; How Paradise within the Circle of the\n Moon._\n\n\nWE have now dispatch\u2019d the Theory of the prim\u00e6val Earth, and reviv\u2019d a\nforgotten World. \u2019Tis pity the first and fairest Works of Nature should\nbe lost out of the Memory of Man, and that we should so much dote upon\nthe Ruins, as never to think upon the Original Structure. As the Modern\nArtists, from some broken Pieces of an ancient Statue, make out all the\nother Parts and Proportions; so from the broken and scatter\u2019d Limbs of\nthe first World, we have shewn you how to raise the whole Fabrick again;\nand renew the Prospect of those pleasant Scenes that first saw the\nLight, and first entertain\u2019d Man, when he came to act upon this\nnew-erected Stage.\n\nWE have drawn this Theory chiefly to give an Account of the universal\nDeluge, and of _Paradise_; but as when one lights a Candle to look for\none or two Things which they want, the Light will not confine it self to\nthose two Objects, but shews all the other in the Room; so, methinks, we\nhave unexpectedly cast a Light upon all Antiquity, in seeking after\nthese two Things, or in retrieving the Notion and Doctrine of the\nprim\u00e6val Earth, upon which they depended. For in ancient Learning, there\nare many Discourses, and many Conclusions deliver\u2019d to us, that are so\nobscure and confus\u2019d, and so remote from the present State of Things,\nthat one cannot well distinguish whether they are Fictions or Realities:\nAnd there is no way to distinguish with Certainty, but by a clear Theory\nupon the same Subject; which shewing us the Truth directly and\nindependently upon them, shews us also by Reflection, how far they are\ntrue or false, and in what Sense they are to be interpreted and\nunderstood. And the present Theory being of great extent, we shall find\nit serviceable in many Things, for the Illustration of such dubious and\nobscure Doctrines in Antiquity.\n\nTO begin with their ancient CHAOS, what a dark Story have they made of\nit, both their Philosophers and Poets; and how fabulous in Appearance?\n\u2019Tis deliver\u2019d as confusedly as the Mass it self could be, and hath not\nbeen reduc\u2019d to Order, nor indeed made intelligible by any. They tell us\nof _moral_ Principles in the Chaos, instead of _natural_, of _Strife_\nand _Discord_, and _Division_ on the one Hand, and _Love_, _Friendship_,\nand _Venus_ on the other; and, after a long Contest, Love got the better\nof Discord, and united the disagreeing Principles: This is one Part of\ntheir Story. Then they make the Forming of the World out of the Chaos a\nkind of _Genealogy_ or Pedigree; _Chaos_ was the common Parent of all,\nand from Chaos sprung first _Night_, and _Tartarus_, or _Oceanus_; Night\nwas a teeming Mother, and of her were born _\u00c6ther_ and the _Earth_; The\nEarth conceiv\u2019d by the Influences of \u00c6ther, and brought forth Man and\nall Animals.\n\nTHIS seems to be a poetical Fiction rather than Philosophy; yet when\n\u2019tis set in a true Light, and compar\u2019d with our Theory of the Chaos,\n\u2019twill appear a pretty regular Account, how the World was form\u2019d at\nfirst, or how the Chaos divided it self successively into several\nRegions, rising one after another, and propagated one from another, as\nChildren and Posterity from a common Parent. We shew\u2019d in the first\nBook, _Chap. 5._ how the Chaos, from an uniform Mass, wrought it self\ninto several Regions or Elements; the grossest Part sinking to the\nCenter; upon this lay the Mass of Water, and over the Water was a Region\nof dark, impure, caliginous Air; this impure caliginous Air is that\nwhich the Ancients call _Night_, and the Mass of Water _Oceanus_ or\n_Tartarus_; for those two Terms with them are often of the like Force,\n_Tartarus_ being _Oceanus_ inclos\u2019d and lock\u2019d up: Thus we have the\nfirst Offspring of the Chaos, or its first born Twins, _Nox_ and\n_Oceanus_. Now this turbid Air purifying it self by degrees, as the more\nsubtle Parts flew upwards, and compos\u2019d the \u00c6ther; so the earthy Parts\nthat were mix\u2019d with it drop\u2019d down upon the Surface of the Water, or\nthe liquid Mass; and that Mass on the other Hand sending up its lighter\nand more oily Parts towards its Surface, these two incorporate there,\nand by their Mixture and Union compose a Body of Earth quite round the\nMass of Waters: And this was the first habitable Earth, which, as it\nwas, you see, the Daughter of _Nox_ and _Oceanus_, so it was the Mother\nof all other Things, and all living Creatures, which at the Beginning of\nthe World sprung out of its fruitful Womb.\n\nTHIS Doctrine of the Chaos, for the greater Pomp of the Business, the\nAncients call\u2019d their _Theogonia_, or the Genealogy of the Gods; for\nthey gave their Gods, at least their terrestrial Gods, an Original and\nBeginning; and all the Elements and greater Portions of Nature they made\nGods and Goddesses, or their Deities presided over them in such a\nManner, that the Names were us\u2019d promiscuously for one another. We also\nmention\u2019d before some moral Principles which they plac\u2019d in the Chaos,\n_Eris_ and _Eros_; Strife, Discord, and Dissatisfaction, which prevail\u2019d\nat first; and afterward _Love_, _Kindness_ and _Union_ got the upper\nHand, and in spite of those factious and dividing Principles, gather\u2019d\ntogether the separated Elements, and united them into an habitable\nWorld. This is all easily understood, if we do but look upon the Schemes\nof the rising World, as we have set them down in that fifth Chapter; for\nin the first Commotion of the Chaos, after an intestine Struggle of all\nthe Parts, the Elements separated from one another into so many distinct\nBodies or Masses; and in this State and Posture Things continu\u2019d a good\nwhile, which the Ancients, after their poetick or moral Way, call\u2019d the\nReign of _Eris_ or Contention, of Hatred, Slight, and Disaffection; and\nif Things had always continued in that System, we should never have had\nan habitable World. But Love and good Nature conquer\u2019d at length;\n_Venus_ rose out of the Sea, and receiv\u2019d into her Bosom, and intangled\ninto her Embraces, the falling \u00c6ther, _viz._ the Parts of lighter Earth,\nwhich were mix\u2019d with the Air in that first Separation, and gave it the\nName of _Night_: These, I say, fell down upon the oily Parts of the\nSea-mass, which lay floating upon the Surface of it, and by that Union\nand Conjunction a new Body, and a new World was produc\u2019d, which was the\nfirst habitable Earth. This is the Interpretation of their mystical\nPhilosophy of the Chaos, and the Resolution of it into plain natural\nHistory: Which you may see more fully discuss\u2019d in the _Latin_ Treatise,\n_Lib. 2. c. 7._\n\nIN consequence of this, we have already explain\u2019d, in several Places,\nthe _Golden Age_ of the Ancients, and laid down such Grounds as will\nenable us to discern what is real, and what poetical, in the Reports and\nCharacters that Antiquity hath given of those first Ages of the World.\nAnd if there be any Thing amongst the Ancients that refers to another\nEarth, as _Plato_\u2019s _Atlantis_, which, he says, was absorpt by an\nEarthquake, and an Inundation, as the prim\u00e6val Earth was; or his\n_\u00c6thereal_ Earth, mention\u2019d in his _Ph\u00e6do_, which he opposeth to this\nbroken hollow Earth; makes it to have long-liv\u2019d Inhabitants, and to be\nwithout Rains and Storms, as that first Earth was also; or the pendulous\n_Gardens_ of _Alcinous_, or such like; to which nothing answers in\npresent Nature, by reflecting upon the State of the first Earth, we find\nan easy Explication of them. We have also explain\u2019d what the\n_Antichthon_ and _Antichthones_ of the Ancients were, and what the true\nGround of that Distinction was. But nothing seems more remarkable, than\nthe _Inhabitability of the Torrid Zone_, if we consider what a general\nFame and Belief it had amongst the Ancients, and yet in the present Form\nof the Earth, we find no such Thing, nor any Foundation for it. I cannot\nbelieve that this was so universally receiv\u2019d upon a slight Presumption\nonly, because it lay under the Course of the Sun, if the Sun had then\nthe same Latitude from the \u00c6quator, in his Course and Motion, that he\nhath now, and made the same Variety of Seasons; whereby even the hottest\nParts of the Earth have a Winter, or something equivalent to it. But if\nwe apply this to the prim\u00e6val Earth, whose Posture was direct to the\nSun, standing always fixt in its Equinoctial, we shall easily believe,\nthat the Torrid Zone was then uninhabitable by Extremity of Heat, there\nbeing no Difference of Seasons, nor any Change of Weather, the Sun\nhanging always over Head at the same Distance, and in the same\nDirection. Besides this, the Descent of the Rivers in that first Earth\nwas such, that they could never reach the Equinoctial Parts, as we have\nshewn before; by which Means, and the want of Rain, that Region must\nnecessarily be turn\u2019d into a dry Desart. Now this being really the State\nof the first Earth, the Fame and general Belief that the Torrid Zone was\nuninhabitable had this true Original, and continued still with Posterity\nafter the Deluge, though the Causes then were taken away; for they being\nignorant of the Change that was made in Nature at that Time, kept up\nstill the same Tradition and Opinion current, till Observation and\nExperience taught later Ages to correct it. As the true Miracles that\nwere in the Christian Church at first, occasioned a Fame and Belief of\ntheir Continuance long after they had really ceas\u2019d.\n\nTHIS gives an easy Account, and, I think, the true Cause of that\nOpinion, amongst the Ancients generally receiv\u2019d, _That the Torrid Zone\nwas uninhabitable_. I say, generally receiv\u2019d; for not only the Poets,\nboth _Greek_ and _Latin_, but their Philosophers, Astronomers and\nGeographers, had the same Notion, and deliver\u2019d the same Doctrine; as\n_Aristotle_, _Cleomedes_, _Achilles_, _Tatius_, _Ptolomy_, _Cicero_,\n_Strabo_, _Mela_, _Pliny_, _Macrobius_, _&c._ And to speak Truth, the\nwhole Doctrine of the Zones is calculated more properly for the first\nEarth, than for the present; for the Divisions and Bounds of them now\nare but arbitrary, being habitable all over, and having no visible\nDistinction; whereas they were then determin\u2019d by Nature, and the Globe\nof the Earth was really divided into so many Regions of a very different\nAspect and Quality; which would have appear\u2019d at a Distance, if they had\nbeen look\u2019d upon from the Clouds, or from the Moon, as _Jupiter_\u2019s\nBelts, or as so many Girdles or Swathing-bands about the Body of the\nEarth: And so the Word imports, and so the Ancients use to call them\n_Cinguli_ and _Fasci\u00e6_. But in the present Form of the Earth, if it was\nseen at a Distance, no such Distinction would appear in the Parts of it,\nnor scarce any other but that of Land and Water, and of Mountains and\nValleys, which are nothing to the purpose of Zones. And to add this Note\nfurther, When the Earth lay in this regular Form, divided into Regions\nor Walks, if I may so call them, as this gave Occasion of its\nDistinction by Zones; so if we might consider all that Earth as a\n_Paradise_, and _Paradise_ as a Garden; (for it is always call\u2019d so in\nScripture, and in _Jewish_ Authors.) And, as this Torrid Zone, bare of\nGrass and Trees, made a kind of Gravel-walk in the Middle, so there was\na green Walk on either Hand of it, made by the temperate Zones; and\nbeyond those lay a Canal, which water\u2019d the Garden from either Side.\n(_See Fig. 3. c. 5._)\n\nBUT to return to Antiquity; We may add under this Head another\nObservation or Doctrine amongst the Ancients, strange enough in\nAppearance, which yet receives an easy Explication from the preceding\nTheory; They say, _The Poles_ of the World did once change their\nSituation, and were at first in another Posture from what they are in\nnow, till that Inclination happen\u2019d: This the ancient Philosophers often\nmake mention of, as _Anaxagoras_, _Empedocles_, _Diogenes_, _Leucippus_,\n_Democritus_; (_See the Lat. Treat. 2. lib. 2. c. 10._) as may be seen\nin _Laertius_, and in _Plutarch_; and the Stars, they say, at first were\ncarried about the Earth in a more uniform Manner. This is no more than\nwhat we have observ\u2019d and told you in other Words, namely, That the\nEarth chang\u2019d its Posture at the Deluge, and thereby made these seeming\nChanges in the Heavens; its Poles before pointed to the Poles of the\nEcliptick, which now point to the Poles of the Equator, and its Axis is\nbecome parallel with that Axis; and this is the Mystery and\nInterpretation of what they say in other Terms; this makes the different\nAspect of the Heavens and of its Poles: And I am apt to think, that\nthose Changes in the Course of the Stars, which the Ancients sometimes\nspeak of, and especially the _Egyptians_, if they did not proceed from\nDefects in their Calendar, had no other physical Account than this.\n\nAND as they say the Poles of the World were in another Situation at\nfirst, so at first they say, there was no Variety of Seasons in the\nYear, as in their Golden Age. Which is very coherent with all the rest,\nand still runs along with the Theory. And you may observe, that all\nthese Things we have instanc\u2019d in hitherto, are but Links of the same\nChain, in Connexion and Dependance upon one another. When the prim\u00e6val\nEarth was made out of the Chaos, its Form and Posture was such, as of\nCourse brought on all those Scenes which Antiquity hath kept the\nRemembrance of; tho\u2019 now in another State of Nature they seem very\nstrange; especially being disguis\u2019d, as some of them are, by their odd\nManner of representing them, _That_ the Poles of the World stood once in\nanother Posture; That the Year had no Diversity of Seasons: That the\nTorrid Zone was uninhabitable; That the two Hemispheres had no\npossibility of Intercourse, and such like: These all hang upon the same\nString; or lean one upon another as Stones in the same Building; whereof\nwe have, by this Theory, laid the very Foundation bare, that you may see\nwhat they all stand upon, and in what Order.\n\nTHERE is still one remarkable Notion or Doctrine among the Ancients\nwhich we have not spoken to; \u2019tis partly symbolical, and the Propriety\nof the Symbol, or of the Application of it, hath been little understood;\n\u2019tis their Doctrine of the _Mundane Egg_, or their comparing the World\nto an Egg, and especially in the original Composition of it. This seems\nto be a mean Comparison, the World and an Egg; what Proportion, or what\nResemblance betwixt these two Things? And yet I do not know any\nsymbolical Doctrine, or Conclusion, that hath been so universally\nentertain\u2019d by the _Myst\u00e6_, or wise and learned of all Nations; as hath\nbeen noted before in the fifth Chapter of the first Book, and at large\nin the _Latin_ Treatise. (_Lib. 2. c. 10._) \u2019Tis certain, that by the\nWorld in this Similitude, they do not mean the Great Universe, for that\nhath neither Figure, nor any determinate Form of Composition, and it\nwould be a great Vanity and Rashness in any one to compare this to an\nEgg: The Works of God are immense, as his Nature is infinite, and we\ncannot make any Image or Resemblance of either of them; but this\nComparison is to be understood of the _Sublunary World_, or of the\n_Earth_: And for a general Key to Antiquity upon this Argument, we may\nlay this down as a Maxim or Canon, _That what the Ancients have said\nconcerning the Form and Figure of the World, or concerning the Original\nof it from a Chaos, or about its Periods and Dissolution, are never to\nbe understood of the great Universe, but of our Earth, or of this\nsublunary and terrestrial World_. And this Observation being made, do\nbut reflect upon our Theory of the Earth, the Manner of its Composition\nat first, and the Figure of it, being compleated, and you will need no\nother Interpreter to understand this Mystery. We have shew\u2019d there,\n(_Book 1. c. 5._) that the Figure of it, when finish\u2019d, was Oval, and\nthe inward Form of it was a Frame of four Regions, encompassing one\nanother, where that of Fire lay in the Middle like the Yolk, and a Shell\nof Earth inclos\u2019d them all. This gives a Solution so easy and natural,\nand shews such an Aptness and Elegancy in the Representation, that one\ncannot doubt upon a View and Compare of Circumstances, but that we have\ntruly found out the Riddle of the Mundane Egg.\n\nAMONGST other Difficulties arising from the Form of this present Earth,\nthat is one, How _America_ could be peopled, or any other Continent, or\nIsland remote from all Continents the Sea interposing. This Difficulty\ndoes not hold in our Theory of the first Earth, where there was no Sea.\nAnd after the Flood, when the Earth was broken and the Sea laid open,\nthe same Race of Men might continue there, if settled there before. For\nI do not see any Necessity of deducing all Mankind from _Noah_ after the\nFlood. If _America_ was peopled before, it might continue so; not but\nthat the Flood was universal. But when the great Frame of the Earth\nbroke at the Deluge, Providence foresaw into how many Continents it\nwould be divided after the ceasing of the Flood; and accordingly, as we\nmay reasonably suppose, made Provision to save a Remnant in every\nContinent, that the Race of Mankind might not be quite extinct in any of\nthem. What Provision he made in our Continent we know from sacred\nHistory; but as that takes Notice of no other Continent but ours, so\nneither could it take Notice of any Method that was us\u2019d there for\nsaving of a Remnant of Men; but \u2019twere great Presumption, methinks, to\nimagine, that Providence had a Care of none but us, or could not find\nout Ways of Preservation in other Places, as well as in that where our\nHabitations were to be. _Asia_, _Africa_ and _Europe_, were repeopled by\nthe Sons of _Noah_, _Shem_, _Ham_, and _Japhet_; but we read nothing of\ntheir going over into _America_, or sending any Colonies thither; and\nthat World, which is near as big as ours, must have stood long without\nPeople, or any thing of humane Race in it, after the Flood, if it stood\nso till this was full, or till Men navigated the Ocean, and by chance\ndiscover\u2019d it: It seems more reasonable to suppose, that there was a\nStock providentially reserv\u2019d there, as well as here, out of which they\nsprung again; but we do not pretend in an Argument of this Nature to\ndefine or determine any Thing positively. To conclude, As this is but a\nsecondary Difficulty, and of no great Force, so neither is it any Thing\npeculiar to us, or to our _Hypothesis_, but alike common to both; and if\nthey can propose any reasonable Way whereby the Sons of _Noah_ might be\ntransplanted into _America_, with all my Heart; but all the Ways that I\nhave met with hitherto, have seem\u2019d to me mere Fictions, or mere\nPresumptions. Besides, finding Birds and Beasts there, which are no\nwhere upon our Continent, nor would live in our Countries if brought\nhither; \u2019tis a fair Conjecture that they were not carried from us, but\noriginally bred and preserv\u2019d there.\n\nTHUS much for the Illustration of Antiquity in some Points of human\nLiterature, by our Theory of the prim\u00e6val Earth; there is also in\n_Christian Antiquity_ a Tradition or Doctrine, that appears as obscure\nand as much a Paradox as any of these, and better deserves an\nIllustration, because it relates more closely and expresly to our\npresent Subject: \u2019Tis that Notion or Opinion amongst the Ancients\nconcerning _Paradise_, that it was seated as high as the Sphere of the\nMoon, or _within the lunar Circle_. This looks very strange, and indeed\nextravagantly at first Sight; but the Wonder will cease, if we\nunderstand this not of _Paradise_ taken apart from the rest of the\nEarth, but of the whole prim\u00e6val Earth, wherein the Seat of _Paradise_\nwas; That was really seated much higher than the present Earth, and may\nbe reasonably suppos\u2019d to have been as much elevated as the Tops of our\nMountains are now. And that Phrase of reaching to _the Sphere of the\nMoon_, signifies no more than those other Expressions of _reaching to\nHeaven_, or _reaching above the Clouds_; which are Phrases commonly us\u2019d\nto express the Height of Buildings, or of Mountains, and such like\nThings: So the Builders of _Babel_ said, they would make a Tower should\nreach to Heaven; _Olympus_ and _Parnassus_ are said by the Poets to\nreach to Heaven, or to rise above the Clouds; and _Pliny_ and _Solinus_\nuse this very Expression of the _Lunar Circle_, when they describe the\nHeight of Mount _Atlas_, _Eductus in viciniam Lunaris Circuli_, (_Solin.\nc. 17._) The Ancients, I believe, aim\u2019d particularly by this Phrase, to\nexpress an Height above the middle Region, or above our Atmosphere, that\n_Paradise_ might be serene; and where our Atmosphere ended, they\nreckon\u2019d the Sphere of the Moon begun, and therefore said it reach\u2019d to\nthe Sphere of the Moon. Many of the Christian Fathers exprest their\nOpinion concerning the high Situation of _Paradise_ in plain and formal\nTerms, as St. _Basil_, _Damascen_, _Moses Bar Cepha_, _&c._ but this\nPhrase of reaching to the _Lunar Circle_ is repeated by several of them,\nand said to be of great Antiquity. _Aquinas_, _Albertus_, and others,\nascribe it to _Bede_, but many to St. _Austin_; and therefore _Ambrosius\nCatharinus_, (_Com. in Gen. c. 2._) is angry with their great Schoolman,\nthat he should derive it from _Bede_, seeing St. _Austin_ writing to\n_Orosius_, deliver\u2019d this Doctrine, which surely, says he, St. _Austin_\n_neither feign\u2019d nor dream\u2019d only, but had receiv\u2019d it from Antiquity_:\nAnd from so great Antiquity, that it was no less than Apostolical, if we\ncredit _Albertus Magnus_, and the ancient Books he appeals to; (_Sum.\nTheol. par. 2. tract. 13. q. 79._) for he says this Tradition was\nderiv\u2019d as high as from St. _Thomas_ the Apostle. His Words are these,\nafter he had deliver\u2019d his own Opinion, _Hoc tamen dico, &c._ _But this\nI say without Prejudice to the better Opinion, for I have found it in\nsome most ancient Books, that Thomas the Apostle was the Author of that\nOpinion, which is usually attributed to Bede and Strabus, namely, That\nParadise was so high as to reach to the Lunar Circle._ But thus much\nconcerning this Opinion, and concerning Antiquity.\n\nTO conclude all, we see this Theory, which was drawn only by a Thread of\nReason, and the Laws of Nature, abstractedly from all Antiquity,\nnotwithstanding casts a Light upon many Passages there, which were\notherwise accounted Fictions, or unintelligible Truths; and tho\u2019 we do\nnot alledge these as Proofs of the Theory, for it carries its own Light\nand Proof with it; yet, whether we will or no, they do mutually confirm,\nas well as illustrate one another; and \u2019tis a Pleasure also, when one\nhath wrought out Truth by a meer Dint of thinking, and Examination of\nCauses, and propos\u2019d it plainly and openly, to meet with it again among\nthe Ancients, disguis\u2019d, and in an old fashion\u2019d Dress; scarce to be\nknown or discover\u2019d, but by those that beforehand knew it very well. And\nit would be a further Pleasure and Satisfaction to have render\u2019d those\nDoctrines and Notions for the future, intelligible and useful to others,\nas well as delightful to our selves.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. IX.\n\n\n _A general Objection against this Theory, viz. That if there had\n been such a Primitive Earth, as we pretend, the Fame of it would\n have sounded throughout all Antiquity. The Eastern and Western\n Learning consider\u2019d. The most considerable Records of both are lost.\n What Footsteps remain relating to this Subject. The Jewish and\n Christian Learning consider\u2019d; how far lost as to this Argument, and\n what Notes or Traditions remain. Lastly, how far the sacred Writings\n bear witness to it. The providential Conduct of Knowledge in the\n World. A Recapitulation and State of the Theory._\n\n\nHAVING gone through the two first Parts, and the two first Books of this\nTheory that concern the primitive World, the universal Deluge, and the\nState of _Paradise_, we have leisure now to reflect a little, and\nconsider what may probably be objected against a Theory of this Nature.\nI do not mean single Objections against single Parts, for those may be\nmany, and such as I cannot foresee; but what may be said against the\nBody and Substance of the Theory, and the Credibility of it appearing\nnew and surprizing, and yet of great Extent and Importance. This, I\nfancy, will induce many to say, surely this cannot be a Reality; for if\nthere had been such a primitive Earth, and such a primitive World as is\nhere represented, and so remarkably different from the present, it could\nnot have been so utterly forgotten, or lain hid for so many Ages; all\nAntiquity would have rung of it; the Memory of it would have been kept\nfresh by Books or Traditions. Can we imagine that it should lie buried\nfor some thousands of Years in deep Silence and Oblivion? And now only\nwhen the second World is drawing to an End, we begin to discover that\nthere was a first, and that of another Make and Order from this.\n\nTO satisfy this Objection, or Surmise rather, it will be convenient to\ntake a good large Scope and Compass in our Discourse; we must not\nsuppose that this primitive World hath been wholly lost out of the\nMemory of Man, or out of History, for we have some History and\nChronology of it preserv\u2019d by _Moses_, and likewise in the Monuments of\nthe Ancients, more or less; for they all suppos\u2019d a World before the\nDeluge. But \u2019tis the Philosophy of this primitive World that hath been\nlost in a great Measure; what the State of Nature was then, and wherein\nit differ\u2019d from the present or postdiluvian order of Things. This, I\nconfess, hath been little taken notice of; it hath been generally\nthought or presum\u2019d, that the World before the Flood was of the same\nForm and Constitution with the present World: This we do not deny, but\nrather think it design\u2019d and providential, that there should not remain\na clear and full Knowledge of that first State of Things; and we may\neasily suppose how it might decay and perish, if we consider how little\nof the remote Antiquities of the World have ever been brought down to\nour Knowledge.\n\nTHE _Greeks_ and _Romans_ divided the Ages of the World into three\nPeriods or Intervals, whereof they call\u2019d the first the _Obscure_\nPeriod, the second the _Fabulous_, and the third _Historical_. The dark\nand obscure Period was from the Beginning of the World to the Deluge;\nwhat pass\u2019d then, either in Nature, or amongst Men, they have no\nRecords, no Account, by their own Confession; all that Space of Time was\ncover\u2019d with Darkness and Oblivion; so that we ought rather to wonder at\nthose Remains they have, and those broken Notions of the Golden Age, and\nthe Conditions of it, how they were sav\u2019d out of the common Ship-wrack,\nthan to expect from them the Philosophy of that World, and all its\nDifferences from the present. And as for the other Nations that pretend\nto greater Antiquities, to more ancient History and Chronology, from\nwhat is left of their Monuments, many will allow only this Difference,\nthat their fabulous Age begun more high, or that they had more ancient\nFables.\n\nBUT besides that our Expectations cannot be great from the Learning of\nthe _Gentiles_, we have not the Means or Opportunity to inform our\nselves well what Notions they did leave us concerning the primitive\nWorld; for their Books and Monuments are generally lost, or lie hid\nunknown to us. The Learning of the World may be divided into the Eastern\nLearning and the Western; and I look upon the Eastern as far more\nconsiderable for philosophical Antiquities, and philosophical\nConclusions; I say _Conclusions_, for I do not believe either of them\nhad any considerable Theory, or Contexture of Principles and Conclusions\ntogether: But \u2019tis certain that in the East, from what Source soever it\ncame, humane or divine, they had some extraordinary Doctrines and\nNotions disperst amongst them. Now as by the western Learning we\nunderstand that of the _Greeks_ and _Romans_; so by the eastern that\nwhich was amongst the _Egyptians_, _Ph\u0153nicians_, _Chald\u00e6ans_,\n_Assyrians_, _Indians_, _Ethiopians_, and _Persians_; and of the\nLearning of these Nations, how little have we now left? Except some\nFragments and Citations in _Greek_ Authors, what do we know of them? The\nmodern _Brackmans_, and the _Persees_, or _Pagan Persians_, have some\nbroken Remains of Traditions relating to the Origin and Changes of the\nWorld: But if we had not only those Books entire, whereof we have now\nthe Gleanings and Reversions only; but all that have perish\u2019d besides,\nespecially in that famous Library at _Alexandria_; if these, I say, were\nall restor\u2019d to the World again, we might promise our selves the\nSatisfaction of seeing more of the Antiquities, and natural History of\nthe first World, than we have now left, or can reasonably expect. That\nLibrary we speak of at _Alexandria_, was a Collection, beside _Greek_\nBooks, of _Egyptian_, _Chald\u00e6an_, and all the Eastern Learning; and\n_Cedrenus_ makes it to consist of an hundred thousand Volumes: But\n_Josephus_ saith, when the Translation of the Bible by the _Septuagint_\nwas to be added to it, _Demetrius Phalerius_, (who was Keeper or\nGovernor of it) told the King then, that he had already two hundred\nthousand Volumes, and that he hop\u2019d to make them five hundred thousand;\nand he was better than his Word, or his Successors for him; for\n_Ammianus Marcellinus_, and other Authors, report them to have increas\u2019d\nto seven hundred thousand. This Library was unfortunately burnt in the\nsacking of _Alexandria_ by _C\u00e6sar_, and considering that all these were\nancient Books, and generally of the eastern Wisdom, \u2019twas an inestimable\nand irreparable Loss to the Commonwealth of Learning. In like manner we\nare told of a vast Library of Books of all Arts and Sciences in _China_,\nburnt by the Command or Caprice of one of their Kings. Wherein the\n_Chineses_, according to their Vanity, were us\u2019d to say, greater Riches\nwere lost, than will be in the last Conflagration.\n\nWE are told also of the _Abyssine_, or _Ethiopick_ Library, as something\nvery extraordinary. \u2019Twas formerly in great Reputation, but is now, I\nsuppose, embezzled and lost. But I was extreamly surpriz\u2019d by a Treatise\nbrought to me some few Months since, wherein are mention\u2019d some\n_Ethiopick_ Antiquities relating to the prim\u00e6val Earth and the Deluge:\nTo both which they give such Characters and Properties as are in Effect\nthe very same with those assign\u2019d them in this Theory. They say the\nfirst Earth was much greater than the present, higher and more advanc\u2019d\ninto the Air: That it was smooth and regular in its Surface, without\nMountains or Valleys, but hollow within; and was spontaneously fruitful,\nwithout plowing or sowing. This was its first State: but when Mankind\nbecame degenerate and outragious with Pride and Violence, the angry\nGods, as they say, by Earthquakes and Concussions, broke the habitable\nOrb of the Earth, and thereupon the subterraneous Waters gushing out,\ndrown\u2019d it in a Deluge, and destroy\u2019d Mankind. Upon this Fraction it\ncame into another Form, with a Sea, Lakes and Rivers, as we now have.\nAnd those Parts of the broken Earth that stood above the Waters became\nMountains, Rocks, Islands, and so much of the Land as we now inhabit.\nThis Account is given us by _Barnardinus Ramazzinus_, (in his Treatise\n_De Fontium Mutinensium Scaturigine_.[2]) Taken from a Book writ by\n_Fransisco Patricio_, to whom this wonderful Tradition was deliver\u2019d by\nPersons of Credit, from an _\u00c6thiopian_ Philosoper then in _Spain_. I\nhave not yet had the good Fortune to see that Book of _Francisco\nPatricio_; \u2019twas writ in _Italian_ with this Title, _Della Rhetorica\ndegli Antichi_: Printed at _Venice_, 1562. This Story indeed deserves to\nbe enquired after, for we do not any where amongst the Ancients, meet\nwith such a full and explicit Narration of the State of the first and\nsecond Earth. That which comes nearest to it are those Accounts we find\nin _Plato_, from the _\u00c6gyptian_ Antiquities, in his _Tim\u00e6us_,\n_Politicus_, and _Ph\u0153do_, of another Earth, and another State of Nature\nand Mankind. But none of them are so full and distinct as this\n_\u00c6thiopian_ Doctrine.\n\nAS for the Western Learning, we may remember what the _\u00c6gyptian_ Priest\nsays to _Solon_, in _Plato_\u2019s _Tim\u00e6us_, _You Greeks are always\nChildren_, and know nothing of Antiquity; and if the _Greeks_ were so,\nmuch more the _Romans_, who came after them in time; and for so great a\nPeople, and so much civiliz\u2019d, never any had less Philosophy, and less\nof the Sciences amongst them than the _Romans_ had: They studied only\nthe Art of Speaking, of Governing, and of Fighting; and left the rest to\nthe _Greeks_ and eastern Nations, as unprofitable. Yet we have Reason to\nbelieve, that the best philosophical Antiquities that the _Romans_ had,\nperish\u2019d with the Books of _Varro_, of _Numa Pompilius_, and of the\nancient _Sibyls_, (_De Civ. Dei, lib. 6. Dion. Halic. Ant. Rom. lib.\n4._) _Varro_ writ, as St. _Austin_ tells us, a Multitude of Volumes, and\nof various Sorts, and I had rather retrieve his Works, than the Works of\nany other _Roman_ Author; not his Etymologies and Criticisms, where we\nsee nothing admirable, but his _Theologia Physica_, and his\n_Antiquitates_; which in all Probability would have given us more Light\ninto remote Times, and the natural History of the past World, than all\nthe _Latin_ Authors besides have done. He has left the foremention\u2019d\nDistinction of three Periods of Time; He had the Doctrine of the\n_Mundane Egg_, as we see in _Probus Grammaticus_; and he gave us that\nObservation of the Star _Venus_, concerning the great Change she\nsuffered about the Time of our Deluge.\n\n_Numa Pompilius_ was doubtless a contemplative Man, and \u2019tis thought\nthat he understood the true System of the World, and represented the Sun\nby his _Vestal Fire_; tho\u2019, methinks, _Vesta_ does not so properly refer\nto the Sun, as to the Earth, which hath a sacred Fire too, that is not\nto be extinguish\u2019d. He order\u2019d his Books to be buried with him, which\nwere found in a Stone Chest by him, four hundred Years after his Death:\nThey were in all twenty-four, whereof twelve contain\u2019d sacred Rites and\nCeremonies, and the other twelve the Philosophy and Wisdom of the\n_Greeks_; the _Romans_ gave them to the _Pr\u00e6tor Petilius_ to peruse; and\nto make his Report to the Senate, whether they were fit to be publish\u2019d\nor no: The _Pr\u00e6tor_ made a wise politick Report, that the Contents of\nthem might be of dangerous Consequence to the establish\u2019d Laws and\nReligion; and thereupon they were condemn\u2019d to be burnt, and Posterity\nwas depriv\u2019d of that ancient Treasure, whatsoever it was. What the nine\nBooks of the _Sibyl_ contain\u2019d, that were offer\u2019d to King _Tarquin_, we\nlittle know; she valued them high, and the higher still, the more they\nseem\u2019d to slight or neglect them; which is a Piece of very natural\nIndignation or Contempt, when one is satisfied of the Worth of what they\noffer. \u2019Tis likely they respected, besides the Fate of _Rome_, the Fate\nand several Periods of the World, both past and to come, and the most\nmystical Passages of them. And in these Authors and Monuments are lost\nthe greatest Hopes of natural and philosophick Antiquities, that we\ncould have had from the _Romans_.\n\nAND as to the _Greeks_, their best and sacred Learning was not\noriginally their own; they enrich\u2019d themselves with the Spoils of the\nEast, and the Remains we have of that eastern Learning, is what we pick\nout of the _Greeks_; whose Works, I believe, if they were intirely\nextant, we should not need to go any further for Witnesses to confirm\nall the principal Parts of this Theory. With what Regret does one read\nin _Laertius_, _Suidas_, and others, the promising Titles of Books writ\nby the _Greek_ Philosophers, Hundreds or Thousands, whereof there is not\none now extant; and those that are extant are generally but Fragments?\nThose Authors also that have writ their Lives, or collected their\nOpinions, have done it confusedly and injudiciously. I should hope for\nas much Light and Instruction, as to the Original of the World, from\n_Orpheus_ alone, if his Works had been preserv\u2019d, as from all that is\nextant now of the other _Greek_ Philosophers. We may see from what\nremains of him, that he understood in a good Measure how the Earth rose\nfrom a Chaos, what was its external Figure, and what the Form of its\ninward Structure: The Opinion of the _Oval_ Figure of the Earth is\nascrib\u2019d to _Orpheus_ and his Disciples; and the Doctrine of the\n_Mundane Egg_ is so peculiarly his, that \u2019tis call\u2019d by _Proclus_, the\n_Orphick Egg_; not that he was the first Author of that Doctrine, but\nthe first that brought it into _Greece_.\n\nTHUS much concerning the Heathen Learning, Eastern and Western, and the\nsmall Remains of it in Things Philosophical; \u2019tis no Wonder then if the\nAccount we have left us from them of the primitive Earth, and the\nAntiquities of the natural World be very imperfect. And yet we have\ntrac\u2019d, (in the precedent Chapter, and more largely in our _Latin_\nTreatise) the Footsteps of several Parts of this Theory amongst the\nWritings and Traditions of the Ancients, and even of those Parts that\nseem the most strange and singular, and that are the Basis upon which\nthe rest stand. We have shewn there, that their Account of the Chaos,\ntho\u2019 it seem\u2019d to many but a poetical Rhapsody, contain\u2019d the true\nMystery of the Formation of the primitive Earth, (_Tell. Theor. lib. 2.\nc. 7._) We have also shewn upon the same Occasion, that both the\nexternal Figure and internal Form of that Earth were compriz\u2019d and\nsignified in their ancient Doctrine of the Mundane Egg, which hath been\npropagated through all the learned Nations, (_Ibid._ _cap. 10._) And\nlastly, as to the Situation of that Earth, and the Change of its Posture\nsince, that the Memory of that has been kept up, we have brought several\nTestimonies and Indications from the _Greek_ Philosophers, (_Ibid._) And\nthese were the three great and fundamental Properties of the primitive\nEarth, upon which all the other depend, and all its Differences from the\npresent Order of Nature. You see then, tho\u2019 Providence hath suffer\u2019d the\nancient Heathen Learning and their Monuments, in a great Part, to\nperish, yet we are not left wholly without Witnesses amongst them, in a\nSpeculation of this great Importance.\n\nYOU will say, it may be, tho\u2019 this Account, as to the Books and Learning\nof the Heathen, may be look\u2019d upon as reasonable, yet we might expect\nhowever, from the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Authors, a more full and\nsatisfactory Account of that primitive Earth, and of the old World.\nFirst, as to the _Jews_, \u2019tis well known that they have no ancient\nLearning, unless by Way of Tradition, amongst them. There is not a Book\nextant in their Language excepting the Canon of the Old Testament, that\nhath not been writ since our Saviour\u2019s Time. They are very bad Masters\nof Antiquity, and they may in some Measure be excus\u2019d, because of their\nseveral Captivities, Dispersions, and Desolations. In the _Babylonish_\nCaptivity their Temple was ransack\u2019d, and they did not preserve, as is\nthought, so much as the Autograph, or original Manuscript of the Law,\nnor the Books of those of their Prophets that were then extant, and kept\nin the Temple; and at their Return from the Captivity after seventy\nYears, they seem to have forgot their native Language so much, that the\nLaw was to be interpreted to them in _Chaldee_, after it was read in\n_Hebrew_; for so I understand that Interpretation in _Nehemiah_, (_Chap.\nviii. 7, 8._) \u2019Twas a great Providence, methinks, that they should any\nWay preserve their Law, and other Books of Scripture, in the Captivity,\nfor so long a Time; for \u2019tis likely they had not the Liberty of using\nthem in any publick Worship, seeing they return\u2019d so ignorant of their\nown Language, and, as \u2019tis thought, of their Alphabet and Character too.\nAnd if their sacred Books were hardly preserv\u2019d, we may easily believe\nall others perish\u2019d in that publick Desolation.\n\nYET there was another Destruction of that Nation, and their Temple,\ngreater than this, by the _Romans_; and if there were any Remains of\nLearning preserv\u2019d in the former Ruin, or any Recruits made since that\nTime, this second Desolation would sweep them all away. And accordingly\nwe see they have nothing left in their Tongue, beside the Bible, so\nancient as the Destruction of _Jerusalem_. These and other publick\nCalamities of the _Jewish_ Nation may reasonably be thought to have\nwasted their Records of ancient Learning, _if they had any_; for to\nspeak Truth, the _Jews_ are a People of little Curiosity, as to Sciences\nand philosophical Enquiries: They were very tenacious of their own\nCustoms, and careful of those Traditions that did respect them, but were\nnot remarkable, that I know of, or thought great Proficients in any\nother sort of Learning. There has been a great Fame, \u2019tis true, of the\n_Jewish Cabala_, and of great Mysteries contain\u2019d in it; and, I believe,\nthere was once a traditional Doctrine amongst some of them, that had\nextraordinary Notions and Conclusions: But where is this now to be\nfound? The _Essenes_ were the likeliest Sect, one would think, to retain\nsuch Doctrines; but \u2019tis probable they are now so mixt with Things\nfabulous and fantastical, that what one should alledge from thence would\nbe of little or no Authority. One Head in this _Cabala_ was the Doctrine\nof the _Sephiroth_, (_Vide Men. ben Isr. de Creat. prob. 28._) and tho\u2019\nthe Explication of them be uncertain, the inferior _Sephiroth_ in the\ncorporeal World cannot so well be apply\u2019d to any Thing, as to those\nseveral Orbs and Regions, infolding one another, whereof the primigenial\nEarth was compos\u2019d. Yet such Conjectures and Applications, I know, are\nof no Validity, but in Consort with better Arguments. I have often\nthought also, that their first and second Temple represented the first\nand second Earth or World; and that of _Ezekiel_\u2019s, which is the third,\nis still to be erected, the most beautiful of all, when this second\nTemple of the World shall be burn\u2019d down. If the Prophecies of _Enoch_\nhad been preserv\u2019d, and taken into the Canon by _Ezra_, after their\nReturn from _Babylon_, when the Collection of their sacred Books is\nsuppos\u2019d to have been made, we might probably have had a considerable\nAccount there, both of Times past and to come, of Antiquities and\nFuturitions; for those Prophecies are generally suppos\u2019d to have\ncontain\u2019d both the first and second Fate of this Earth, and all the\nPeriods of it. But as this Book is lost to us, so I look upon all others\nthat pretend to be Ante-mosaical or Patriarchal, as spurious and\nfabulous.\n\nTHUS much concerning the _Jews_. As for _Christian_ Authors, their\nKnowledge must be from some of these foremention\u2019d _Jews_ or _Heathens_;\nor else by Apostolical Tradition: For the _Christian_ Fathers were not\nvery speculative, so as to raise a Theory from their own Thoughts and\nContemplations, concerning the Origin of the Earth. We have instanc\u2019d,\nin the last Chapter, in a _Christian_ Tradition concerning _Paradise_,\nand the high Situation of it, which is fully consonant to the Scite of\nthe Primitive Earth, where _Paradise_ stood, and doth seem plainly to\nrefer to it, being unintelligible upon any other Supposition. And \u2019twas,\nI believe, this Elevation of _Paradise_, and the Pencil Structure of\nthat _Paradisiacal_ Earth, that gave Occasion to _Celsus_, as we see by\n_Origen_\u2019s Answer, to say, that the _Christian Paradise_ was taken from\nthe pensile Gardens of _Alcinous:_ But we may see now what was the\nGround of such Expressions or Traditions amongst the Ancients, which\nProvidence left to keep Men\u2019s Minds awake; not fully to instruct them,\nbut to confirm them in the Truth, when it should come to be made known\nin other Methods. We have noted also above, that the ancient Books and\nAuthors amongst the _Christians_, that were most likely to inform us in\nthis Argument, have perish\u2019d, and are lost out of the World, such as\n_Ephrem Syrus de ortu rerum_, and _Tertullian de Paradiso_; and that\nPiece, which is extant of _Moses Bar Cepha_\u2019s upon this Subject,\nreceives more Light from our _Hypothesis_, than from any other I know;\nfor, correcting some Mistakes about the Figure of the Earth, which the\nAncients were often guilty of, the Obscurity or Confusion of that\nDiscourse in other Things may be easily rectified, if compar\u2019d with this\nTheory.\n\nOF this Nature also is that Tradition that is common both to _Jews_ and\n_Christians_, and which we have often mentioned before, that there was a\nperpetual Serenity, and perpetual Equinox in _Paradise_; which cannot be\nupon this Earth, not so much as under the Equinoctial; for they have a\nSort of Winter and Summer, there, a Course of Rains at certain times of\nthe Year, and great Inequalities of the Air, as to Heat and Cold,\nMoisture and Drought. They had also Traditions amongst them, _That there\nwas no Rain from the Beginning of the World till the Deluge_, and _that\nthere were no Mountains till the Flood_, (Lat. Treat. Lib. 2. c. 10.)\nand such like. These, you see, point directly at such an Earth, as we\nhave describ\u2019d. And I call these _Traditions_, because we cannot find\nthe Original Authors of them; the ancient _ordinary Gloss_ (upon\n_Genesis_) which some make eight hundred Years old, mentions both these\nOpinions; so does _Historia Scholastica_, _Alcuinus_, _Rabanus Maurus_,\n_Lyranus_, and such Collectors of Antiquity. _Bede_ also relates that of\nthe _Plainness_ or Smoothness of the _Antediluvian_ Earth. Yet these are\nreported Traditionally, as it were, naming no Authors or Books from\nwhence they were taken: Nor can it be imagin\u2019d that they feign\u2019d them\nthemselves; to what End or Purpose? It serv\u2019d no Interest; or upon what\nGround? Seeing they had no Theory that could lead them to such Notions\nas these, or that could be strengthen\u2019d and confirm\u2019d by them. Those\nOpinions also of the Fathers, which we recited in the seventh Chapter,\nplacing _Paradise_ beyond the Torrid Zone, and making it therefore\ninaccessible, suit very well to the Form, Qualities, and Bipartition of\nthe Prim\u00e6val Earth, and seem to be grounded upon them.\n\nTHUS much may serve for a short Survey of the ancient Learning, to give\nus a reasonable Account, why the Memory and Knowledge of the Primitive\nEarth should be so much lost out of the World; and what we retain of it\nstill; which would be far more, I do not doubt, if all Manuscripts were\nbrought to light, that are yet extant in publick or private Libraries.\nThe Truth is, one cannot judge with Certainty, neither what things have\nbeen recorded and preserv\u2019d in the Monuments of Learning, nor what are\nstill; nor what have been, because so many of those Monuments are lost:\nThe _Alexandrian_ Library, which we spoke of before, seems to have been\nthe greatest Collection that ever was made before Christianity, and the\n_Constantinopolitan_ (begun by _Constantine_, and destroy\u2019d in the fifth\nCentury, when it was rais\u2019d to the Number, as is said, of one hundred\ntwenty thousand Volumes) the most valuable that was ever since, and both\nthese have been permitted by Providence to perish in the merciless\nFlames. Beside those Devastations of Books and Libraries that have been\nmade in Christendom, by the _Northern_ barbarous Nations overflowing\n_Europe_, and the _Saracens_ and _Turks_, great Parts of _Asia_ and\n_Africk_. It is hard therefore to pronounce what Knowledge hath been in\nthe World, or what Accounts of Antiquity; neither can we well judge what\nremain, or of what things the Memory may be still latently conserv\u2019d:\nFor beside those Manuscripts that are yet unexamin\u2019d in these Parts of\nChristendom, there are many, doubtless, of good Value in other Parts;\nbeside those that be hid in the unchristianiz\u2019d Dominions. The Library\nof _Fez_ is said to contain thirty two thousand Volumes in _Arabick_;\nand though the _Arabick_ Learning was most what _Western_, and therefore\nof less Account, yet they did deal in _Eastern_ Learning too; for\n_Avicenna_ writ a Book with that Title, _Philosophia Orientalis_. There\nmay be also in the _East_, Thousands of Manuscripts unknown to us, of\ngreater Value than most Books we have: And as to those Subjects we are\ntreating of, I should promise my self more Light and Confirmation from\nthe _Syriack_ Authors than from any others. These things being\nconsider\u2019d, we can make but a very imperfect Estimate, what Evidences\nare left us, and what Accounts of the primitive Earth; and if these\nDeductions and Defalcations be made, both for what Books are wholly\nlost, and for what lie asleep or dead, in Libraries, we have Reason to\nbe satisfied in a Theory of this Nature, to find so good Attestations as\nwe have produc\u2019d for the several Parts of it; which we purpose to\nenlarge upon considerably at another time and occasion.\n\nBUT to carry this Objection as far as may be, let us suppose it to be\nurg\u2019d still in the last Place, that though these Humane Writings have\nperish\u2019d or be imperfect, yet in the Divine Writings at least, we might\nexpect that the Memory of the old World, and of the primitive Earth\nshould have been preserv\u2019d. To this I answer in short, that we could not\nexpect in the Scriptures any natural Theory of that Earth, nor any\nAccount of it, but what was general; and this we have, both by the\n_Tehom Rabba_ of _Moses_, and the Description of the same Abyss in other\nPlaces of Scripture, as we have shewn at large in the first Book. _Chap.\nvii._ And also by the Description which St. _Peter_ hath given of the\nantediluvian Heavens and Earth, and their different Constitution from\nthe present; which is also prov\u2019d by the Rainbow, not seen in the first\nWorld. You will say, it may be, that that Place of St. _Peter_, _2 Pet.\niii. 5, 6_, _&c._ is capable of another Interpretation; so are most\nPlaces of Scripture, if you speak of a bare Capacity, they are capable\nof more than one Interpretation: But that which is most natural, proper,\nand congruous, and suitable to the Words, suitable to the Argument, and\nsuitable to the Context, wherein is nothing superfluous or impertinent,\nthat we prefer and accept of as the most reasonable Interpretation.\nBesides, in such Texts as relate to the natural World, if of two\nInterpretations propos\u2019d, one agrees better with the Theory of Nature\nthan the others, _c\u00e6teris paribus_, that ought to be prefer\u2019d. And by\nthese two Rules we are willing to be try\u2019d, in the Exposition of that\nremarkable Discourse of St. _Peter_\u2019s, and to stand to that Sense which\nis found most agreeable to them.\n\nGIVE me leave to conclude the whole Discourse with this general\nConsideration: \u2019Tis reasonable to suppose, that there is a Providence in\nthe Conduct of _Knowledge_, as well as of other Affairs on the Earth;\nand that it was not design\u2019d that all the Mysteries of Nature and\nProvidence should be plainly and clearly understood throughout all the\nAges of the World; but that there is an Order establish\u2019d for this, as\nfor other Things, and certain Periods and Seasons; and what was made\nknown to the Ancients only by broken Conclusions and Traditions will be\nknown (in the latter Ages of the World) in a more perfect way, by\nPrinciples and Theories. The Increase of Knowledge being that which\nchangeth so much the Face of the World, and the State of humane Affairs,\nI do not doubt but there is a particular Care and Superintendency for\nthe Conduct of it; by what Steps and Degrees it should come to light, at\nwhat Seasons and in what Ages; what Evidence should be left, either in\nScripture, Reason, or Tradition, for the Grounds of it; how clear or\nobscure, how dispers\u2019d or united: All these things were weigh\u2019d and\nconsider\u2019d, and such Measures taken as best suit the Designs of\nProvidence, and the general Project and Method propos\u2019d in the\nGovernment of the World. And I make no Question but the State both of\nthe Old World, and of that which is to come, is exhibited to us in\nScripture in such a Measure and Proportion, as is fit for this\nformentioned Purpose; not as the Articles of our Faith, or the Precepts\nof a good Life, which he that runs may read; but to the attentive and\nreflective, to those that are unprejudic\u2019d, and to those who are\ninquisitive, and have their Minds open and prepar\u2019d for the Discernment\nof Mysteries of such a Nature.\n\nTHUS much in Answer to that general Objection which might be made\nagainst this Theory, _That_ it is not founded in Antiquity. I do not\ndoubt but there may be many particular Objections against Parts and\nSections of it, and the exposing it thus in our own Tongue may excite\nsome one or other, it may be, to make them; but if any be so minded, I\ndesire (if they be Scholars) that it may rather be in _Latin_, as being\nmore proper for a Subject of this Nature; and also that they would keep\nthemselves close to the Substance of the Theory, and wound that as much\nas they can: But to make Excursions upon Things accidental or\ncollateral, that do not destroy the _Hypothesis_, is but to trouble the\nWorld with Impertinencies. Now the Substance of the Theory is this, THAT\nthere was a _Primitive Earth_ of another Form from the present, and\ninhabited by Mankind till the Deluge: That it had those Properties and\nConditions that we have ascrib\u2019d to it, namely, a perpetual Equinox or\nSpring, by reason of its _right_ Situation to the Sun; was of an oval\nFigure, and the exterior Face of it smooth and uniform, without\nMountains or a Sea. That in this Earth stood _Paradise_; the Doctrine\nwhereof cannot be understood but upon Supposition of this primitive\nEarth, and its Properties. Then that the Disruption and Fall of this\nEarth into the Abyss, which lay under it, was that which made the\nuniversal Deluge, and the Destruction of the old World; and that neither\n_Noah_\u2019s Flood, nor the present Form of the Earth, can be explain\u2019d in\nany other Method that is rational, nor by any other Causes that are\nintelligible, at least, that have been hitherto propos\u2019d to the World.\nThese are the Vitals of the Theory, and the primary Assertions, whereof\nI do freely profess my full Belief; and whosoever by solid Reasons will\nshew me in an Error, and undeceive me, I shall be very much oblig\u2019d to\nhim. There are other lesser Conclusions which flow from these, and may\nbe call\u2019d Secondary, as that the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians\ndepended upon their perpetual Equinox, and the perpetual Equality and\nSerenity of the Air: That the Torrid Zone in the primitive Earth was\nuninhabitable, and that all their Rivers flow\u2019d from the extream Parts\nof the Earth towards the Equinoctial; there being neither Rain nor\nRainbow in the temperate and habitable Regions of it: And lastly, That\nthe Place of _Paradise_, according to the Opinion of Antiquity, (for I\ndetermine no Place by the Theory) was in the southern Hemisphere. These,\nI think, are all truly deduc\u2019d and prov\u2019d in their several Ways, tho\u2019\nthey be not such essential Parts of the Theory, as the former. There are\nalso besides, many particular Explications that are to be consider\u2019d\nwith more Liberty and Latitude, and may be perhaps upon better Thoughts,\nor better Observations, corrected without any Prejudice to the general\nTheory. Those Places of Scripture, which we have cited, I think, are all\ntruly apply\u2019d; and I have not mention\u2019d _Moses_\u2019s _Cosmop\u0153ia_, because I\nthought it deliver\u2019d by him as a Lawgiver, not as a Philosopher; which I\nintend to shew at large in another Treatise, not thinking that\nDiscussion proper for the vulgar Tongue. Upon the whole, we are to\nremember, that some Allowances are to be made for every _Hypothesis_\nthat is new propos\u2019d and untry\u2019d; and that we ought not, out of Levity\nof Wit, or any private Design, discountenance free and fair Essays; nor\nfrom any other Motive but the only Love and Concern of Truth.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n Page 41. _Franciscus Patricius, Vir eruditione sat clarus, in quodam\n libello suo de Antiquorum Rhetoric\u00e2, Italico idiomate conscripto, ac\n Venetiis impresso per Franciscum Senensem, Dialogo primo satis lepidam\n narrationem habet, quam referi Julium Strozzam \u00e0 Comite Balthasare\n Castilioneo audivisse, Illum ver\u00f2 \u00e0 Philosopho quodam Abyssino in\n Hispani\u00e2 accepisse. Narrabat ergo sapiens ille Abyssinus in\n antiquissimus \u00c6thiopi\u00e6 Annalibus descriptam esse historiam perditionis\n humani generis & disruptionis totius Terr\u00e6. In Mundi scilicet\n primordiis fuisse Terram multo ampliorem quam nunc est, ac C\u0153lo\n proximiorem, perfect\u00e8 rotundam, sine Montibus ac Vallibus, totam tamen\n intras cavernosam ad instar spongi\u00e6, hominesque in ill\u00e2 habitantes, ac\n \u00e6there purissimo gaudentes, jucundum \u00e6vum duxisse, Terr\u00e2 inarat\u00e2\n optimas fruges, & fructus ferente. Cum autem post diuturnum s\u00e6culorum\n fluxum homines superbi\u00e2 elati \u00e0 prisc\u00e2 ill\u00e2 bonitate descivissent,\n Deos irates Terram adeo valid\u00e8 concussisse, ut major illius pars intra\n proprias externas deciderit, atque hoc pacto Aquam in latebr\u00e6sis\n recessibus ante conclusam, expressam violenter fuisse, atque ita\n Fontes, Fiumina, Lacus & Mare ipsium ortum duxisse. Eam vero Terra\n portionem que intra has non deculisset, sed reliqu\u00e2 elatior fluisset.\n Montium formam. Insulas porr\u00f2 & scopulos in medio mari ad aliud esse\n nisi segmenta Terra cavernosa ab illo istius terren\u00e6 milos pr\u00e6cipere\n casu superstitis._\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. X.\n Concerning the Author of Nature.\n\n\nSEEING the Theory which we have propos\u2019d in this Work is of that Extent\nand Comprehension, that it begins with the first Foundation of this\nWorld, and is to reach to the last Period of it, in one continued Series\nor Chain of Nature; it will not be improper, before we conclude, to make\nsome Reflections and Remarks what _Nature_ is, and upon what superior\nCauses she depends in all her Motions and Operations: And this will lead\nus to the Discovery of the _Author_ of Nature, and to the true Notion\nand State of _Natural Providence_, which seems to have been hitherto\nvery much neglected, or little understood in the World. And \u2019tis the\nmore reasonable and fitting that we should explain these Notions before\nwe shut up this Treatise, lest those natural Explications which we have\ngiven of the Deluge, and other Things, should be mistaken or misapply\u2019d;\nseeing some are apt to run away with Pieces of a Discourse, which they\nthink applicable to their Purpose, or which they can maliciously\nrepresent, without attending to the Scope or just Limitations of what is\nspoken.\n\nBY _Nature_ in general is understood all the Powers of finite Beings,\nwith the Laws establish\u2019d for their Action and Conduct according to the\nordinary Course of Things. And this extends both to intellectual Beings\nand corporeal; but seeing \u2019tis only the material World that hath been\nthe Subject of our Discourse, Nature, as to that, may be defin\u2019d, the\nPowers of _Matter_, with the Laws establish\u2019d for their Action and\nConduct. Seeing also Matter hath no Action, whether from it self, or\nimprest upon it, but Motion, as to the corporeal World, Nature is no\nmore than the Powers and Capacities of Matter, with the Laws that govern\nthe Motions of it. And this Definition is so plain and easy, that, I\nbelieve, all Parties will agree in it; there will also be no great\nControversy what these Laws are. As that one Part of Matter cannot\npenetrate another, nor be in several Places at once; That the greater\nBody overcomes the less, and the swifter the slower; That all Motion is\nin a right Line, till something obstruct it or divert it; which are\nPoints little disputed as to the Matter of Fact; but the Points\nconcerning which the Controversy ariseth, and which are to lead us to\nthe Author of Nature, are these; _Who_ or _what_ is the Author of these\n_Laws_ of this _Motion_, and even of _Matter_ it self; and of all those\nModes and Forms of it which we see in Nature?\n\nTHE Question useth chiefly to be put concerning _Motion_, how it came\ninto the World; what the first Source of it is, or how Matter came at\nfirst to be mov\u2019d? For the simple Notion of Matter, not divided into\nParts, nor diversified, doth not imply Motion, but Extension only: \u2019Tis\ntrue, from Extension there necessarily follows _Mobility_, or a Capacity\nof being mov\u2019d by an external Power, but not actual or necessary Motion,\nspringing from it self. For Dimensions, or Length, Breadth, and Depth,\nwhich is the _Idea_ of Matter, or of a Body, do no Way include local\nMotion, or Translation of Parts; on the contrary, we do more easily and\nnaturally conceive simple Extension as a Thing steady and fix\u2019d; and if\nwe conceive Motion in it, or in its Parts, we must superadd something to\nour first Thought, and something that does not flow from Extension. As\nwhen we conceive a Figure, a Triangle, Square, or any other, we\nnaturally conceive it fix\u2019d or quiescent; and if afterwards we imagine\nit in Motion, that is purely accidental to the Figure; in like Manner it\nis accidental to Matter, that there should be Motion in it, it hath no\ninward Principle from whence that can flow, and its Nature is compleat\nwithout it; wherefore, if we find Motion and Action in Matter, which is\nof it self a dead inactive Mass; this should lead us immediately to the\nAuthor of Nature, or to some external Power distinct from Matter, which\nis the Cause of all Motion in the World.\n\nIN single Bodies, and single Parts of Matter, we readily believe and\nconclude, that they do not move, unless something move them, and why\nshould we not conclude the same Thing of the whole Mass? If a Rock or\nMountain cannot move it self, nor divide it self, either into great\nGobbets, or into small Powder, why should it not be as impossible for\nthe whole Mass of Matter to do so? \u2019Tis true, Matter is capable both of\nMotion and Rest; yet to conceive it undivided, undiversified and\nunmoved, is certainly a more simple Notion, than to conceive it divided\nand mov\u2019d; and this being first in Order of Nature, and an adequate\nConception too, we ought to enquire and give our selves an Account how\nit came out of this State, and by what Causes, or, as we said before,\nhow _Motion came first into the World_.\n\nIN the second Place, That Diversity which we see in Nature, both as to\nthe Qualities of Matter, and the Compositions of it, being one Step\nfurther than bare Motion, ought also to be a further Indication of the\nAuthor of Nature, and to put us upon Enquiry into the Causes of this\nDiversity. There is nothing more uniform than simple Extension, nothing\nmore the same throughout, all of a Piece, and all of a Sort, similar,\nand like to itself every where; yet we find the Matter of the Universe\ndiversified a thousand Ways, into Heavens and Earth, Air and Water,\nStars, Meteors, Light, Darkness, Stones, Wood, Animals, and all\nterrestrial Bodies; These Diversifications are still further Removes\nfrom the natural Unity and Identity of Matter, and a further Argument of\nsome external and superior Power that hath given these different Forms\nto the several Portions of Matter, by the Intervention of Motion. For if\nyou exclude the Author of Nature, and suppose nothing but Matter in the\nWorld, take whether _Hypothesis_ you will, either that Matter is without\nMotion of it self, or that it is of it self in Motion, there could not\narise this Diversity, and these Compositions in it. If it was without\nMotion, then the Case is plain, for it would be nothing but an hard\ninflexible Lump of impenetrable Extension, without any Diversity at all.\nAnd if you suppose it mov\u2019d of it self, or to have an innate Motion,\nthat would certainly hinder all Sort of natural Concretions and\nCompositions, and in Effect destroy all Continuity. For Motion, if it be\nessential to Matter, it is essential to every Atom of it, and equally\ndiffus\u2019d throughout all its Parts; and all those Parts or Atoms would be\nequal to one another, and as little as possible; for if Matter was\ndivided into Parts by its own innate Motion, that would melt it down\ninto Parts as little as possible, and consequently all equal to one\nanother, there being no reason why you should stop those Divisions, or\nthe Effect of this innate _Impetus_ in any one Part sooner than in\nanother, or in any Part indeed, till it was divided as much as was\npossible: wherefore upon this Principle, or in this Method, all the\nMatter of the Universe would be one liquid or volatile Mass, smaller\nthan Pin-dust, nay, than Air or \u00c6ther; and there would be no Diversity\nof Forms, only another sort of Identity from the former, when we\nsuppos\u2019d it wholly without Motion. And so, upon the whole, you see, that\nMatter, whether we allow it Motion, or no Motion, could not come into\nthat Variety of Tempers and Compositions in which we find it in the\nWorld, without the Influence and Direction of a superior external Cause,\nwhich we call the Author of Nature.\n\nBUT there is still a further and stronger Argument from this Head, if we\nconsider not only the Diversity of Bodies that the Mass of Matter is cut\ninto, but also that that Diversity is _regular_, and in some Parts of it\nadmirably artful and ingenious. This will not only lead us to an Author\nof Nature, but to such an Author as hath Wisdom as well as Power. Matter\nis a brute Being, stupid and senseless; and tho\u2019 we should suppose it to\nhave a Force to move it self, yet that it should be able to meditate and\nconsult, and take its Measures how to frame a World, a regular and\nbeautiful Structure, consisting of such and such Parts and Regions, and\nadapted to such and such Purposes, this would be too extravagant to\nimagine; to allow it not only Motion from it self, but Wit and Judgment\ntoo; and that before it came into any organical or animate Composition.\n\nYOU\u2019ll say, it may be, the Frame of the World was not the Result of\nCounsel and Consultation, but of _Necessity_; Matter being once in\nMotion under the Conduct of those Laws that are essential to it, it\nwrought it self by Degrees from one State into another, till at length\nit came into the present Form which we call the World. These are Words\nthrown out at Random, without any Pretence of Ground, only to see if\nthey can be confuted; and so they may easily be; for we have shewn\nalready, that if Matter had innate Motion, it would be so far from\nrunning into the orderly and well dispos\u2019d Frame of the World, that it\nwould run into no Frame at all, into no Forms or Compositions, or\nDiversity of Bodies; but would either be all fluid, or all solid; either\nevery single Particle in a separate Motion, or all in one continued\nMass, with an universal Tremor, or Inclination to move without actual\nSeparation; and either of these two States is far from the Form of a\nWorld. Secondly, As to the Laws of Motion, as some of them are essential\nto Matter, so others are not demonstrable, but upon Supposition of an\nAuthor of Nature. And thirdly, Tho\u2019 all the Laws of Motion be admitted,\nthey cannot bring Matter into the Form of a World, unless some Measures\nbe taken at first by an intelligent Being; I say, some Measures be taken\nto determine the primary Motions upon which the rest depend, and to put\nthem in a Way that leads to the Formation of a World. The Mass must be\ndivided into Regions, and Centers fixt, and Motions appropriated to\nthem; and it must be consider\u2019d of what Magnitude the first Bodies, or\nthe first Divisions of Matter should be, and how mov\u2019d: Besides, there\nmust be a determinate Proportion, and certain Degree of Motion imprest\nupon the universal Matter, to qualify it for the Production of a World;\nif the Dose was either too strong or too weak, the Work would miscarry;\nand nothing but infinite Wisdom could see thro\u2019 the Effects of every\nProportion, or every new degree of Motion, and discern which was best\nfor the Beginning, Progress, and Perfection of a World. So you see the\nAuthor of Nature is no Way excluded, or made useless by the Laws of\nMotion; nor if Matter was promiscuously mov\u2019d, would these be sufficient\nCauses of themselves to produce a World, or that regular Diversity of\nBodies that compose it.\n\nBUT \u2019tis hard to satisfy Men against their Inclinations, or their\nInterest: And as their Regularity of the Universe was always a great\nStumbling-stone to the _Epicureans_; so they have endeavour\u2019d to make\nShifts of all Sorts to give an Account and Answer to it, without\nRecourse to an intelligent Principle; and for their last Refuge, they\nsay, that Chance might bring that to pass, which Nature and Necessity\ncould not do; the Atoms might hit upon a lucky Set of Motions, which,\ntho\u2019 it were casual and fortuitous, might happily lead them to the\nforming of a World. A lucky hit indeed, for Chance to frame a World: But\nthis is a mere Shuffle and Collusion; for if there was nothing in Nature\nbut Matter, there could be no such Thing as _Chance_, all would be pure\n_Mechanical Necessity_; and so this Answer, tho\u2019 it seem very different,\nis the same in effect with the former, and _Epicurus_ with his\nanatomists are oblig\u2019d to give a just mechanical Account, how all the\nParts of Nature, the most compound and elaborate Parts not excepted,\nrise from their Atoms by pure Necessity: There could be no accidental\nConcourse or Coalition of them, every step, every motion, every\ncomposition was fatal and necessary, and therefore \u2019tis Nonsense for an\n_Epicurean_ to talk of Chance, as Chance is oppos\u2019d to Necessity; and if\nthey oppose it to _Counsel_ and _Wisdom_, \u2019tis little better than\nNonsense, to say the World and all its Furniture rose by Chance, in that\nNotion of it. But it will deserve our Patience a little, to give a more\nfull and distinct Answer to this, seeing it reacheth all their Pleas and\nEvasions at once.\n\nWHAT Proof or Demonstration of Wisdom and Counsel can be given, or can\nbe desir\u2019d, that is not found in some Part of the World, animate or\ninanimate? We know but a little Portion of the Universe, a mere Point in\nComparison, and a broken Point too; and yet in this broken Point, or\nsome small Parcels of it, there is more of Art, Counsel and Wisdom\nshewn, than in all the Works of Men taken together, or than in all our\n_Artificial_ World. In the Construction of the Body of an Animal, there\nis more of Thought and Contrivance, more of exquisite Invention, and fit\nDisposition of Parts, than is in all the Temples, Palaces, Ships,\nTheatres, or any other Pieces of Architecture the World ever yet saw:\nAnd not Architecture only, but all other Mechanism whatsoever, Engines,\nClock-work, or any other, is not comparable to the Body of a living\nCreature. Seeing then we acknowledge these artificial Works, wheresoever\nwe meet with them, to be the Effects of Wit, Understanding and Reason,\nis it not manifest Partiality, or Stupidity rather, to deny the Works of\nNature, which excel these in all Degrees, to proceed from an intelligent\nPrinciple? Let them take any Piece of humane Art, or any Machine fram\u2019d\nby the Wit of Man, and compare it with the Body of an Animal, either for\nDiversity and Multiplicity of Workmanship, or Curiosity in the minute\nParts, or just Connexion and Dependance of one Thing upon another, or\nfit Subserviency to the Ends propos\u2019d, of Life, Motion, Use and Ornament\nto the Creature; and if in all these Respects they find it superior to\nany Work of humane Production, (as they certainly must do) why should it\nbe thought to proceed from inferior and senseless Causes? Ought we not\nin this, as well as in other Things, to proportion the Causes to the\nEffect, and to speak Truth, and bring in an honest Verdict for Nature as\nwell as Art?\n\nIN the Composition of a perfect Animal, there are four several Frames or\nCompages join\u2019d together, the natural, vital, animal and genital: Let\nthem examine anyone of these apart, and try if they can find any Thing\ndefective or superfluous, or any Way inept for Matter or Form. Let them\nview the whole Compages of the Bones, and especially the admirable\nConstitution, Texture, and Disposition of the Muscles, which are join\u2019d\nwith them for moving the Body, or its Parts. Let them take an Account of\nthe little Pipes and Conduits for the Juices and the Liquors, of their\nForm and Distribution; or let them take any single Organ to examine, as\nthe Eye, or the Ear, the Hand, or the Heart: In each of these they may\ndiscover such Arguments of Wisdom, and of Art, as will either convince\nthem, or confound them; tho\u2019 still they must leave greater undiscover\u2019d.\nWe know little the insensible Form and Contexture of the Parts of the\nBody, nor the just Method of their Action: We know not yet the Manner,\nOrder and Causes of the Motion of the Heart, which is the chief Spring\nof the whole Machine; and with how little Exactness do we understand the\nBrain, and the Parts belonging to it? Why of that Temper and of that\nForm: How Motions are propagated there, and how conserv\u2019d: How they\nanswer the several Operations of the Mind: Why such little Discomposures\nof it disturb our Senses, and upon what little Differences in this the\ngreat Differences of Wits and Genius\u2019s depend. Yet seeing in all these\nOrgans, whose Make and Manner of Action we cannot discover, we see\nhowever by the Effects, that they are truly fitted for those Offices to\nwhich Nature hath design\u2019d them, we ought in Reason to admire that Art\nwhich we cannot penetrate. At least we cannot but judge it a Thing\nabsurd, that what we have not Wit enough to find out or comprehend, we\nshould not allow to be an Argument of Wit and Understanding in the\nAuthor, or Inventor of it. This would be against all Logick, common\nSense, and common _Decorum_. Neither do I think it possible to the Mind\nof Man, while we attend to Evidence, to believe that these, and such\nlike Works of Nature came by _Chance_, as they call it, or without\nProvidence, Forecast and Wisdom, either in the first Causes, or in the\nproximate; in the Design, or in the Execution; in the Preparation to\nthem, or in the finishing of them.\n\nWHEREFORE, in my Judgment, if any be of this Persuasion, it cannot be so\nmuch the Effect of their Understanding, as of their Disposion and\nInclination; and in moral Things, Mens Opinions do as often spring from\nthe one, as from the other. For my Part, I do generally distinguish of\ntwo Sorts of Opinions in all Men, _Inclination-opinions_, and\n_Reason\u2019d-opinions_; Opinions that grow upon Mens Complexions, and\nOpinions that are the Results of their Reason; and I meet with very few\nthat are of a Temperament so equal, or a Constitution so even pois\u2019d,\nbut that they incline to one Set of Opinions rather than another,\nantecedently to all Proofs of Reason: And when they have espous\u2019d their\nOpinions from that secret Sympathy, then they find out as good Reasons\nas they can, to maintain them, and say, nay think sometimes, that \u2019twas\nfor the sake of those Reasons that they first embrac\u2019d them. We may\ncommonly distinguish these Inclination-opinions from the rational,\nbecause we find them accompanied with more Heat than Light, a great deal\nof Eagerness and Impatience in defending of them, and but slender\nArguments. One might give Instances of this, both in Sects of Religion\nand Philosophy, in _Platonists_, _Stoicks,_ and _Epicureans_, that are\nso by their Temper more than their Reason; but to our Purpose it will be\nsufficient to instance in one hearty _Epicurean_, _Lucretius_, who is\nmanifestly such, more from his Inclination, and the Bent of his Spirit,\nthan from the Force of Argument. For tho\u2019 his Suppositions be very\nprecarious, and his Reasonings all along very slight, he will many times\nstrut and triumph, as if he had rested the Thunder out of _Jove_\u2019s right\nHand; and a Mathematician is not more confident of his Demonstration,\nthan he seems to be of the Truth of his shallow Philosophy. From such a\nPrinciple of natural Complexion as this, I allow a Man may be\nAthestical, but never from the calm Dictate of his Reason; yet he may be\nas confident and as tenacious of his Conclusion, as if he had a clear\nand distinct Evidence for it. For I take it to be a true Maxim in humane\nNature, that _a strong Inclination, with a little Evidence, is\nequivalent to a strong Evidence_. And therefore we are not to be\nsurpriz\u2019d if we find Men confident in their Opinions many times far\nbeyond the Degree of their Evidence, seeing there are other Things,\nbesides Evidence, that incline the Will to one Conclusion rather than\nanother. And as I have instanc\u2019d in natural Complexion, so _Interest_\nhath the same Effect upon humane Nature, because it always begets an\nInclination to those Opinions that favour our Interest, and a\nDisinclination to the contrary: And this Principle may be another\nIngredient, and secret Persuasive to Atheism; for when Men have run\nthemselves so deep into Vice and Immorality, that they expect no Benefit\nfrom a God, \u2019tis in a Manner necessary to their Quiet, and the Ease of\ntheir Mind, that they should fancy there is none; for they are afraid,\nif there be a God, that he will not stand neuter, and let them alone in\nanother World. This, I say, is necessary to the Quiet of their Mind,\nunless they can attain that great Art, which many labour after, of\n_Non-reflection_, or an _unthinking Faculty_, as to God and a World to\ncome. But to return to our Argument, after this short Digression\u2014\u2014\n\nAND as that regular Diversity which we see in the Forms of Nature, and\nespecially in the Bodies of Animals, could not be from any blind\nPrinciple, either of Necessity or of Chance; so in the last Place, that\n_Subordination_ which we see in the Parts of Nature, and Subserviency to\none another, the less Noble to the more Noble, the Inanimate to the\nAnimate, and all Things upon Earth unto Man, must needs have been the\nEffect of some Being higher than Matter; that did wisely dispose all\nThings so at first, and doth still conserve them in the same order. If\nMan had been born into the World, and a numerous Host of Creatures,\nwithout any Provision or Accommodation made for their Subsistence and\nConveniences, we might have suspected that they had come by Chance, and\ntherefore were so ill provided for: But which of them can complain?\nThro\u2019 their various kinds and orders, what is there awanting? They are\nall fitted to their several Elements, and their ways of living, Birds,\nBeasts, and Fishes, both by the Form and Shape of their Bodies, the\nmanner of their Covering, and the Quality of their Food. Besides, they\nare instructed in little Arts and Instincts for their Conservation; and\nnot only for their proper Conservation, but also to find a way to make\nand bring up young ones, and leave behind them a Posterity: And all this\nin so fit a Method, and by such a pretty Train of Actions, as is really\nadmirable.\n\nMAN is the Master of all, and of him a double Care is taken; that he\nshould neither want what Nature can afford, nor what Art can supply. He\ncould not be provided of all Conveniences by Nature only, especially to\nsecure him against the Injuries of the Air; but in Recompence, Nature\nhath provided Materials for all those Arts which she saw would be\nneedful in humane Life, as Building, Cloathing, Navigation, Agriculture,\n_&c._ that so Mankind might have both wherewithal to answer their\nOccasions, and also to employ their Time, and exercise their Ingenuity.\nThis Oeconomy of Nature, as I may call it, or well ordering of the great\nFamily of living Creatures, is an Argument both of Goodness and of\nWisdom, and is every way far above the Powers of Brute Matter. All\nregular Administration we ascribe to Conduct and Judgment: If an Army of\nMen be well provided for, in things necessary both for Food, Cloaths,\nArms, Lodging, Security and Defence, so as nothing is awanting in so\ngreat a Multitude, we suppose it the Effect of Care and Forecast in\nthose Persons that had the Charge of it: They took their Measures at\nfirst, computed and proportion\u2019d one thing to another, made good\nRegulations, and gave Orders for convenient Supplies. And can we suppose\nthe great Army of Creatures upon Earth, managed and provided for with\nless Fore-thought and Providence, nay, with none at all, by mere Chance?\nThis is to recede from all Rules and Analogy of Reason, only to serve a\nTurn, and gratify an unreasonable Humour.\n\nTO conclude this Argument; there are two general Heads of things, if I\nrecollect aright, which we make the Marks and Characters of Wisdom and\nReason, Works of Art, and the Conduct of Affairs or Direction of Means\nto an End; and wheresoever we meet, either with regular material Works,\nor a regular Ordination of Affairs, we think we have a good Title and\nWarrant to derive them from an intelligent Author: Now these two being\nfound in the natural World, and that in an eminent Degree, the one in\nthe Frame of it, and the other in the Oeconomy of it, we have all the\nEvidence and Ground that can be, in arguing from Things visible to\nThings invisible, that there is an Author of Nature, superior both to\nhumane Power and humane Wisdom.\n\nBEFORE we proceed to give any further Proofs or Discoveries of the\nAuthor of Nature, let us reflect a little upon those we have already\ninsisted upon; which have been taken wholly from the material World, and\nfrom the common Course of Nature. The very Existence of Matter is a\nProof of a Deity, for the _Idea_ of it hath no Connexion with Existence,\nas we shall shew hereafter; however we will take leave now to set it\ndown with the rest in Order as they follow one another.\n\n 1. _The Existence of Matter._\n\n 2. _The Motion of Matter._\n\n 3. _The just Quantity and Degree of that Motion._\n\n 4. _The first Form of the Universe upon Motion imprest; both as to\n the Divisions of Matter, and the Leading Motions._\n\n 5. _The Laws for Communication and Regulation of that Motion._\n\n 6. _The regular Effects of it, especially in the Animate World._\n\n 7. _The Oeconomy of Nature, and fit Subordination of one part of the\n World to another._\n\n_The_ five first of these Heads are Prerequisites and Preparatives to\nthe Formation of a World, and the two last are as the Image and\nCharacter of its Maker, of his Power, Goodness and Wisdom, imprest upon\nit. Every one of them might well deserve a Chapter to it self, if the\nSubject was to be treated on at large; but this is only an occasional\nDissertation, to state the Powers of Matter, lest they should be thought\nboundless, and the Author of Nature unnecessary, as the _Epicureans_\npretend; but notwithstanding their vain Confidence and Credulity, I defy\nthem, or any Man else, to make Sense of the material World, without\nplacing a God at the Center of it.\n\nTO these Considerations, taken wholly from the corporeal World, give me\nleave to add one of a mix\u2019d Nature, concerning the _Union of our Soul\nand Body_. This strange Effect, if rightly understood, doth as truly\ndiscover the Author of Nature, as many Effects that are accounted more\nsupernatural. The Incarnation, as I may so say, of a spiritual Substance\nis to me a kind of standing Miracle; that there should be such an Union\nand Connexion reciprocally betwixt the Motions of the Body, and the\nActions and Passions of the Soul; betwixt a Substance intellectual, and\na Parcel of organiz\u2019d Matter, can be no Effect of either of those\nSubstances; being wholly distinct in themselves, and remote in their\nNatures from one another. For Instance, when my finger is cut, or when\n\u2019tis burnt, that my Soul thereupon should feel such a smart and violent\nPain, is no Consequence of Nature, or does not follow from any Connexion\nthere is betwixt the Motion or Division of that Piece of Matter, I call\nmy Finger, and the Passion of that Spirit I call my Soul; for these are\ntwo distinct Essences, and in themselves independent upon one another,\nas much as the Sun and my Body are independent; and there is no more\nReason in strict Nature, or in the essential Chain of Causes and\nEffects, that my Soul should suffer, or be affected with this Motion in\nthe Finger, than that the Sun should be affected with it; nay, there is\nless Reason, if less can be, for the Sun being corporeal, as the Finger\nis, there is some remote Possibility that there might be Communication\nof Motion betwixt them; but Motion cannot beget a Thought, or a Passion,\nby its own Force; Motion can beget nothing but Motion, and if it should\nproduce a Thought, the Effect would be more noble than the Cause.\nWherefore this Union is not by any Necessity of Nature, but only from a\npositive institution or Decree, establish\u2019d by the Author of Nature,\nthat there should be such a Communication betwixt these two Substances\nfor a time, _viz._ during the Vitality of the Body.\n\n\u2019TIS true indeed, if Thought, Apprehension, and Reason, was nothing but\ncorporeal Motion, this Argument would be of no Force; but to suppose\nthis, is to admit an Absurdity to cure a Difficulty; to make a Thought\nout of a local Motion is like making a God out of a Stock, or a Stone;\nfor these two are as remote in their Nature, and have as different\n_Idea\u2019s_ in the Mind, as any two desperate Things we can propose or\nconceive; Number and Colour, a Triangle and Virtue, Free-will and a\nPyramid, are not more unlike, more distant, or of more different Forms,\nthan Thought and local Motion. Motion is nothing but a Body\u2019s changing\nits Place and Situation amongst other Bodies, and what Affinity or\nResemblance hath that to a _Thought_? How is that like to Pain, or to a\nDoubt of the Mind? To Hope or to Desire? To the _Idea_ of God? To any\nAct of the Will or Understanding, as judging, consenting, reasoning,\nremembring, or any other? These are Things of several Orders that have\nno Similitude, nor any Mixture of one another. And as this is the Nature\nof Motion, so, on the other Hand, in a _Thought_ there are two Things,\n_Consciousness_ and a _Representation_; Consciousness is in all Thoughts\nindifferently, whether distinct or confus\u2019d, for no Man thinks but he is\nconscious that he thinks, nor perceives any Thing but he is conscious\nthat he perceives it; there is also in a Thought, especially if it be\ndistinct, a Representation; \u2019tis the Image of that we think upon, and\nmakes its Objects present to the Mind. Now what hath local Motion to do\nwith either of these two, Consciousness or Representativeness? How doth\nit include either of them, or hold them any way affix\u2019d to its Nature? I\nthink one may with as good Sense and Reason ask of what Colour a Thought\nis, Green or Scarlet, as what Sort of Motion it is; for Motion of what\nSort soever can never be conscious, nor represent Things as our Thoughts\ndo. I have noted thus much in general, only to shew the different Nature\nof Motion and Cogitation, that we may be the more sensible that they\nhave no mutual Connexion in us, nor in any other Creature, from their\nEssence or essential Properties, but by a supervenient Power from the\nAuthor of Nature, who hath thus united the Soul and the Body in their\nOperations.\n\nWE have hitherto only consider\u2019d the ordinary Course of Nature, and what\nIndications and Proofs of its Author, that affords us: There is another\nremarkable Head of Arguments from Effects, extraordinary and\nsupernatural, such as Miracles, Prophecies, Inspirations, Prodigies,\nApparitions, Witchcraft, Sorceries, _&c._ These, at one Step, lead us to\nsomething above Nature, and this is the shortest way and the most\nPopular; several Arguments are suited to several Tempers, and God hath\nnot left himself without a proper Witness to every Temper that is not\nwillfully blind. Of these Witnesses we now speak of, the most\nconsiderable are Miracles, and the most considerable Records of them are\nthe Books of Scripture; which if we consider only as an History, and as\nhaving nothing sacred in them more than other good Histories, that is,\nTruth in Matter of Fact, we cannot doubt but there have been Miracles in\nthe World: That _Moses_ and the Prophets, our Saviour and his Apostles,\nwrought Miracles, I can no more question, than that _C\u00e6sar_ and\n_Alexander_ fought Battles, and took Cities. So also that there were\ntrue Prophecies and Inspirations, we know from Scripture, only\nconsider\u2019d as a true History. But as for other supernatural Effects that\nare not recorded there, we have Reason to examine them more strictly\nbefore we receive them, at least as to particular Instances; for I am\napt to think they are like Lotteries, where there are ten or twenty\nBlanks for one Prize; but yet if there were no Prizes at all, the\nLottery would not have Credit to subsist, and would be cry\u2019d down as a\nperfect Cheat: So if amongst those many Stories of Prodigies,\nApparitions, and Witchcrafts, there were not some true, the very Fame\nand Thought of them would die from amongst Men, and the first Broachers\nof them would be hooted at as Cheats. As a false Religion, that hath\nnothing true and solid mix\u2019d with it, can scarce be fix\u2019d upon Mankind;\nbut where there is a Mixture of true and false, the Strength of the one\nsupports the Weakness of the other. As for Sorcery, the Instances and\nExamples of it are undeniable; not so much those few scatter\u2019d Instances\nthat happen now and then among us, but such as are more constant, and in\na manner National, in some Countries, and amongst barbarous People.\nBesides, the Oracles, and the Magick that was so frequent amongst the\nAncients, shew us that there have been always some Powers more than\nHumane, tampering with the Affairs of Mankind. But this Topick from\nEffects, extraordinary and supernatural, being in a great measure\nHistorical, and respecting evil Spirits as well as the Author of Nature,\nis not so proper for this Place.\n\nTHERE is a third Set or Head of Arguments, that to some Tempers are more\ncogent and convictive than any of these, namely, Arguments _Abstract_\nand _Metaphysical_; And these do not only lead us to an Author of Nature\nin general, but shew us more of his Properties and Perfections;\nrepresent him to us as a supreme Deity, infinitely perfect, the Fountain\nof all Being, and the steady Center of all Things. But Reasons of this\nOrder being of a finer Thread, require more Attention, and some\nPreparation of Mind to make us discern them well and be duly sensible of\nthem. When a Man hath withdrawn himself from the Noise of this busy\nWorld, lock\u2019d up his Senses and his Passions, and every thing that would\nunite him with it; commanded a general Silence in the Soul, and suffers\nnot a Thought to stir, but what looks inwards; let him then reflect\nseriously, and ask himself, _What am I_, and _How came I into Being_? If\nI was Author and Original to my self, surely I ought to feel that mighty\nPower, and enjoy the Pleasure of it; but, alas, I am conscious of no\nsuch Force or Virtue, nor of any thing in my Nature, that should give me\nnecessary Existence; it hath no Connexion with any part of me, nor any\nFaculty in me, that I can discern. And now that I do exist, from what\nCauses soever, _Can I secure my self in Being_? Now that I am in\nPossession, am I sure to keep it? Am I certain that three Minutes hence\nI shall still exist? I may or I may not, for ought I see; either seems\npossible in it self; and either is contingent as to me; I find nothing\nin my Nature that can warrant my Substance for one Day, for one Hour,\nfor one Moment longer. I am nothing but Thoughts, fleeting Thoughts,\nthat chase and extinguish one another; and my Being, for ought I know,\nis successive, and as dying as they are, and renew\u2019d to me every Moment.\nThis I am sure of, that so far as I know my self, and am conscious what\nI am, there is no Principle of Immutability, or of necessary and\nindefectible Existence in my Nature; and therefore I ought in Reason to\nbelieve, that I stand or fall at the Mercy of other Causes, and not by\nmy own Will, or my own Sufficiency.\n\nBESIDES, I am very sensible, and in this I cannot be mistaken, that my\nNature is in several Respects weak and imperfect, both as to Will and\nUnderstanding. I _Will_ many Things in vain and without effect, and I\nWish often what I have no Ability to execute or obtain. And as to my\nUnderstanding, how defective is it? How little or nothing do I know in\nComparison of what I am ignorant of? Almost all the intellectual World\nis shut up to me, and the far greatest Part of the corporeal; and in\nthose Things that fall under my Cognizance, how often am I mistaken? I\nam confin\u2019d to a narrow Sphere, and yet within that Sphere I often err;\nmy Conceptions of Things are obscure and confus\u2019d, my reason\nshort-sighted; I am forc\u2019d often to correct my self, or to acknowledge\nthat I have judg\u2019d false, and consented to an Error. In sum, all my\nPowers I find are limited, and I can easily conceive the same kind of\nPerfections in higher Degrees than I possess them, and consequently\nthere are Beings, or may be, greater and more excellent than my self,\nand more able to subsist by their own Power, (\u03a4\u1f78 \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03cc\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc7\n\u03a6\u03cd\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2 Arist.) Why should I not therefore believe that my\nOriginal is from those Beings rather than from my self? For every\nNature, the more great and perfect it is, the nearer it approaches to\nNecessity of Existence, and to a Power of producing other Things. Yet,\nthe Truth is, it must be acknowledg\u2019d, that so long as the Perfection of\nthose other Beings are limited and finite, tho\u2019 they be far superior to\nus, there is no Necessity ariseth from their Nature that they should\nexist; and the same Arguments that we have us\u2019d against our selves, they\nmay, in Proportion, use against themselves; and therefore we must still\nadvance higher to find a self-originated Being, whose Existence must\nflow immediately from his Essence, or have a necessary Connexion with\nit.\n\nAND indeed all these different Degrees of higher and higher Perfections,\nlead us directly to an highest, or supreme Degree, which is infinite and\nunlimited Perfection. As subordinate Causes lead to the first, so\nNatures more perfect one than another lead us to a Nature infinitely\nperfect, which is the Fountain of them all. Thither we must go, if we\nwill follow the Course of Reason, which cannot stop at one more than\nanother, till it arrive there; and being arriv\u2019d there at that sovereign\nand original Perfection, it finds a firm and immovable Ground to stand\nupon; the steady Centre of all Being, wherein the Mind rests and is\nsatisfied. All the Scruples or Objections that we mov\u2019d against our\nselves, or other Creatures, take no Place here: This Being is conscious\nof an Allsufficiency in it self, and of Immutability as to any Thing\nelse; including in it all the Causes of Existence, or, to speak more\nproperly, all Necessity of Existence. Besides, that _we exist our\nselves_, notwithstanding the Imperfection and Insufficiency of our\nNature, is a just, collateral Proof of the Existence, of this supreme\nBeing; for such an Effect as this cannot be without its Cause, and it\ncan have no other competent Cause but what we mention. And as this Being\nis its own Origin, so it must needs be capable of producing all\nCreatures; for whatsoever is possible, must be possible to it; and that\nCreatures or finite Beings are possible, we both see by Experience, and\nmay also discern by Reason; for those several Degrees of Perfection or\nLimitations of it, which we mention\u2019d before, are all consistent\nNotions, and consequently make consistent Natures, and such as may\nexist; but contingently indeed, and in Dependance upon the first Cause.\n\nTHUS we are come at length to a fair Resolution of that great Question,\n_Whence we are_, and _how_ we continue in Being? And this hath led us by\nan easy Ascent to the supreme Author of Nature, and the first Cause of\nall things; and presents us also with such a Scheme and Draught of the\nUniverse, as is clear and rational; every thing in its Order, and in its\nPlace, according to the Dignity of its Nature, and the Strength of its\nPrinciples. When the Mind hath rais\u2019d it self into this View of a Being\ninfinitely perfect, \u2019tis in a Region of Light, hath a free Prospect\nevery Way, and sees all Things from Top to Bottom, as pervious and\ntransparent. Whereas without God and a first Cause, there is nothing but\nDarkness and Confusion in the Mind, and in Nature; broken Views of\nThings, short interrupted Glimpses of Light, nothing certain or\ndemonstrative, no Basis of Truth, no Extent of Thought, no Science, no\nContemplation.\n\nYOU will say, it may be, \u2019tis true, something must be _eternal_, and of\n_necessary Existence_, but why may not _Matter_ be this eternal\nnecessary Being? Then our Souls and all other Intellectual Things must\nbe Parts and Parcels of Matter; and what Pretensions can Matter have to\nthose Properties and Perfections that we find in our Souls, how limited\nsoever? Much less to _necessary Existence_, and those Perfections that\nare the Foundation of it? What _exists_ eternally, and from it self, its\nExistence must flow immediately from its Essence, as its Cause, Reason,\nor Ground; for as Existence hath always something antecedent to it in\nOrder of Nature, so that which is antecedent to it, must infer it by a\nnecessary Connexion, and so may be call\u2019d the Cause, Ground, or Reason\nof it. And nothing can be such a Ground, but what is a Perfection; nor\nevery Perfection neither, it must be sovereign and infinite Perfection;\nfor from what else can necessary Existence flow, or be infer\u2019d? Besides,\nif that Being was not infinitely perfect, there might be another Being\nmore powerful than it, and consequently able to oppose and hinder its\nExistence; and what may be hinder\u2019d is contingent and arbitrary. Now\n_Matter_ is so far from being a Nature infinitely perfect, that it hath\nno Perfection at all, but that of bare _Substance_; neither Life, Sense,\nWill or Understanding; nor so much as Motion from it self; as we have\nshew\u2019d before. And therefore this brute inactive Mass, which is but, as\nit were, the Drudge of Nature, can have no Right or Title to that\nsovereign Prerogative of Self-existence.\n\nWE noted before, as a Thing agreed upon, _that something or other must\nneeds be Eternal_. For if ever there was a Time or State when there was\nno being, there never could be any. Seeing _Nothing_ could not produce\n_Something_. Therefore \u2019tis undeniably true on all Hands, that there was\nsome Being from Eternity. Now, according to our Understanding, _Truth_\nis _Eternal_: Therefore, say we, some intellect or intelligent Being. So\nalso the Reasons of _Goodness_ and _Justice_ appear to us Eternal; and\ntherefore some good and just Being is Eternal. Thus much is plain, that\nthese Perfections which bear the Signatures of Eternity upon them, are\nThings that have no Relation to _Matter_, but relate immediately to an\nintellectual Being: Therefore some such Being, to whom they originally\nbelong, must be that _Eternal_. Besides, We cannot possibly but judge\nsuch a Being more perfect than Matter. Now every Nature, the more\nperfect it is, the more remote it is from _Nothing_; and the more remote\nit is from Nothing, the more it approaches to Necessity of Existence,\nand consequently to eternal Existence.\n\nTHUS we have made a short Survey, so far as the Bounds of a Chapter\nwould permit, of those Evidences and Assurances which we have from\nabstract Reason and the external World, that there is an Author of\nNature; and that a Being infinitely perfect, which we call _God_. We may\nadd to these, in the last Place, that universal Consent of Mankind, or\nnatural Instinct of Religion which we see, more or less, throughout all\nNations, barbarous or civil. For tho\u2019 this Argument, \u2019tis true, be more\ndisputable than the rest, yet having set down just Grounds already from\nwhence this natural Judgment or Persuasion might spring, we have more\nReason to impute it to some of those, and their insensible Influence\nupon the Mind, than to the Artifices of Men, or to make it a Weakness,\nPrejudice, or Error of our Nature. That there is such a Propension in\nhumane Nature, seems to be very plain; at least so far as to move us to\nimplore, and have recourse to invisible Powers in our Extremities.\nPrayer is natural in certain Cases, and we do at the mere Motion of our\nnatural Spirit, and indeliberately, invoke God and Heaven, either in\ncase of extream Danger, to help and assist us; or in case of Injustice\nand Oppression, to relieve or avenge us; or in case of false\nAccusations, to vindicate our Innocency; and generally in all cases\ndesperate and remediless as to humane Power, we seem to appeal and\naddress our selves to something higher. And this we do by a sudden\nImpulse of Nature, without Reflexion or Deliberation. Besides, as\nWitnesses of our Faith and Veracity, we use to invoke the Gods, or\nsuperior Powers, by Way of Imprecation upon our selves, if we be false\nand perjur\u2019d; and this hath been us\u2019d in most Nations and Ages, if not\nin all. These Things also argue, that there is a natural Conscience in\nMan, and a Distinction of moral _Good_ and _Evil_; and that we look upon\nthose invisible Powers as the Guardians of Virtue and Honesty. There are\nalso few or no People upon the Earth but have something of external\nReligion, true or false; and either of them is an Argument of this\nnatural Anticipation, or that they have an Opinion that there is\nsomething above them, and above visible Nature; tho\u2019 what that\n_something_ was, they seldom were able to make a good Judgment. But to\npursue this Argument particularly, would require an historical Deduction\nof Times and Places, which is not suitable to our present Design.\n\nTO conclude this Chapter and this Subject; if we set Religion apart, and\nconsider the Deist and Atheist only as two Sects in Philosophy, or their\nDoctrine as two different _Hypotheses_ propos\u2019d for the Explication of\nNature, and in Competition with one another, whether should give the\nmore rational Account of the Universe, of its Origin and _Ph\u00e6nomena_? I\nsay if we consider them only thus, and make an impartial Estimate\nwhether System is more reasonable, more clear, and more satisfactory; to\nme there seems to be no more Comparison than betwixt Light and Darkness.\nThe _Hypothesis_ of the Deist reacheth from Top to Bottom, both through\nthe intellectual and material World, with a clear and distinct Light\nevery where; is genuine, comprehensive, and satisfactory; hath nothing\nforc\u2019d, nothing confus\u2019d, nothing precarious; whereas the _Hypothesis_\nof the Atheist is strain\u2019d and broken, dark and uneasy to the Mind,\ncommonly precarious; often incongruous and irrational, and sometimes\nplainly ridiculous. And this Judgment I should make of them abstractly\nfrom the Interest of Religion, considering them only as Matter of Reason\nand Philosophy. _And_ I dare affirm with Assurance, if the Faculties of\nour Souls be true, that no Man can have a System of Thoughts reaching\nthorough Nature, coherent and confident in every Part, without a Deity\nfor the Basis of it.\n\n\n\n\n CHAP. XI.\n\n\n _Several Incroachments upon natural Providence, or\n Misrepresentations of it, and false Methods of Contemplation. A true\n Method propos\u2019d, and a true Representation of the Universe. The\n Mundane Idea, and the universal System of Providence. Several\n subordinate Systems. That of our Earth and sublunary World. The\n Course and Periods of it. How much of this is already treated of,\n and what remains. The Conclusion._\n\n\nWE have set Bounds to Nature in the foregoing Chapter, and plac\u2019d her\nAuthor and Governor upon his Throne, to give Laws to her Motions, and to\ndirect and limit her Power in such Ways and Methods as are most for his\nHonour. Let us now consider Nature under the Conduct of Providence, or\nconsider _Natural Providence_, and the Extent of it; and as we were\ncautious before not to give too much Power or Greatness to Nature,\nconsider\u2019d apart from Providence; so we must be careful now, under this\nsecond Consideration, not to contract her Bounds too much; lest we\nshould, by too mean and narrow Thoughts of the Creation, eclipse the\nGlory of its Author, whom we have so lately own\u2019d as a Being infinitely\nPerfect.\n\nAND to use no further Introduction, in the _first Place_, we must not by\nany Means admit or imagine, that all Nature, and this great Universe,\nwas made only for the sake of Man, the meanest of all intelligent\nCreatures that we know of; nor that this little Planet, where we sojourn\nfor a few Days, is the only habitable Part of the Universe: These are\nThoughts so groundless and unreasonable in themselves, and also so\nderogatory to the infinite Power, Wisdom and Goodness of the first\nCause, that as they are absurd in Reason, so they deserve far better to\nbe mark\u2019d and censur\u2019d for Heresies in Religion, than many Opinions that\nhave been censur\u2019d for such in former Ages. How is it possible that it\nshould enter into the Thoughts of vain Man to believe himself the\nprincipal Part of God\u2019s Creation, or that all the rest was ordain\u2019d for\nhim, for his Service or Pleasure? Man, whose Follies we laugh at every\nDay, or else complain of them; whose Pleasures are Vanity, and his\nPassions stronger than his Reason? who sees himself every Way weak and\nimpotent, hath no power over external Nature, little over himself;\ncannot execute so much as his own good Resolutions, mutable, irregular,\nprone to Evil. Surely, if we made the least Reflection upon our selves\nwith Impartiality, we should be asham\u2019d of such an arrogant Thought. How\nfew of these Sons of Men, for whom, they say, all Things were made, are\nthe Sons of Wisdom? How few find the Paths of Life? They spend a few\nDays in Folly and Sin, and then go down to the Regions of Death and\nMisery. And is it possible to believe that all Nature, and all\nProvidence, are only or principally for their sake? Is it not a more\nreasonable Character or Conclusion which the Prophet hath made, _Surely\nevery Man is Vanity_? Man that comes into the World at the Pleasure of\nanother, and goes out by an hundred Accidents; his Birth and Education\ngenerally determine his Fate here, and neither of those are in his own\nPower; his Wit also is as uncertain as his Fortune; he hath not the\nmoulding of his own Brain, however a Knock on the Head makes him a Fool,\nstupid as the Beasts of the Field; and a little Excess of Passion or\nMelancholy makes him worse, Mad and Frantick. In his best Senses he is\nshallow, and of little Understanding; and in nothing more blind and\nignorant than in Things sacred and divine; he falls down before a Stock\nor a Stone, and says, Thou art my God; he can believe Nonsense and\nContradictions, and make it his Religion to do so. And is this the great\nCreature which God hath made _by the Might of his Power, and for the\nHonour of his Majesty_? Upon whom all Things must wait, to whom all\nThings must be subservient? Methinks we have noted Weaknesses and\nFollies enough in the Nature of Man; this need not be added as the Top\nand Accomplishment, _That with all these he is so vain as to think that\nall the rest of the World was made for his sake._\n\nAND as due Humility and the Consideration of our own Meanness ought to\nsecure us from any such vain Opinion of our selves, so the Perfection of\nother Beings ought to give us more Respect and Honour for them. With\nwhat Face can we pretend that Creatures far superior to us, and more\nexcellent both in Nature and Condition, should be made for our Sake and\nService? How preposterous would it be to ascribe such a thing to our\nMaker, and how intolerable a Vanity in us to affect it? We that are next\nto the Brutes that perish, by a sacrilegious Attempt would make our\nselves more considerable than the highest Dignities. It is thought to\nhave been the Crime of _Lucifer_, who was thrown down from Heaven to\nHell, that he affected an Equality with the Almighty; and to affect to\nbe next to the Almighty is a Crime next to that. We have no Reason to\nbelieve but that there are, at least, as many Orders of Beings above us,\nas there are Ranks of Creatures below us; there is a greater Distance\nsure betwixt us and God Almighty, than there is betwixt us and the\nmeanest Worm; and yet we should take it very ill, if the Worms of the\nEarth should pretend that we were made for them. But to pass from the\ninvisible World to the visible and corporeal\u2014\u2014\n\nWAS that made only for our sake? King _David_ was more wise, and more\njust both to God and Man, in his viiith _Psalm_, where he says, _He\nwonders, when he considers the Heavens, that the Maker of them could\nthink on Man_. He truly supposes the celestial Bodies, and the\nInhabitants of them, much more considerable than we are, and reckons up\nonly terrestrial Things as put in subjection to Man. Can we then be so\nfond as to imagine all the corporeal Universe made for our Use? \u2019Tis not\nthe millioneth Part of it that is known to us, much less useful; we can\nneither reach with our Eye, nor our Imagination, those Armies of Stars\nthat lie far and deep in the boundless Heavens. If we take a good Glass,\nwe discover innumerable more Stars in the Firmament than we can with our\nsingle Eye; and yet if you take a second Glass, better than the first,\nthat carries the Sight to a greater Distance, you see more still lying\nbeyond the other; and a third Glass that pierceth further, still makes\nnew Discoveries of Stars; and so forwards, indefinitely and\ninexhaustedly for any Thing we know, according to the Immensity of the\ndivine Nature and Power. Who can reckon up the Stars of the Galaxy, or\ndirect us in the Use of them? And can we believe that those and all the\nrest were made for us? Of those few Stars that we enjoy, or that are\nvisible to the Eye, there is not a tenth Part that is really useful to\nMan; and no doubt if the principal End of them had been our Pleasure or\nConveniency, they would have been put in some better Order in respect of\nthe Earth. They lie carelessly scatter\u2019d, as if they had been sown in\nthe Heaven, like seed, by handfuls; and not by a skilful Hand neither.\nWhat a beautiful Hemisphere they would have made, if they had been\nplac\u2019d in Rank and Order; if they had been all dispos\u2019d into regular\nFigures, and the little ones set with due Regard to the greater, then\nall finish\u2019d and made up into one fair Piece or great Composition,\naccording to the Rules of Art and Symmetry; what a surprizing Beauty\nthis would have been to the Inhabitants of the Earth? What a lovely Roof\nto our little World? This indeed might have given one some Temptation to\nhave thought that they had been all made for us; but lest any such vain\nImagination should now enter into our Thoughts, Providence (besides more\nimportant Reasons) seems on Purpose to have left them under that\nNegligence or Disorder, which they appear in to us.\n\nTHE second Part of this Opinion supposeth this Planet, where we live, to\nbe the only habitable Part of the Universe; and this is a natural\nConsequence of the former: If all Things were made to serve us, why\nshould any more be made than what is useful to us? But \u2019tis only our\nIgnorance of the System of the World, and of the Grandeur of the Works\nof God, that betrays us to such narrow Thoughts. (_See the Lat. Treat.\nlib. 1. c. 10. p. 108, 109_, _&c._) If we do but consider what this\nEarth is, both for Littleness and Deformity, and what its Inhabitants\nare, we shall not be apt to think that this miserable Atom hath\nengross\u2019d and exhausted all the divine Favours, and all the Riches of\nhis Goodness, and of his Providence. But we will not enlarge upon this\nPart of the Opinion, lest it should carry us too far from the Subject,\nand it will fall of its own Accord, with the former. Upon the whole we\nmay conclude, that it was only the sublunary World that was made for the\nsake of Man, and not the great Creation, either material or\nintellectual; and we cannot admit or affirm any more without manifest\nInjury, Depression, and Misrepresentation of Providence, as we may be\neasily convinc\u2019d from these four Heads; _The_ Meanness of Man and of\nthis Earth; _The_ Excellency of other Beings; _The_ Immensity of the\nUniverse, and the infinite Perfection of the first Cause. Which I leave\nto your further Meditation, and pass on to the second Rule concerning\nnatural Providence.\n\n_In the second Place_, then, If we would have a fair View and right\nApprehensions of natural Providence, we must not cut the Chains of it\ntoo short, by having recourse without Necessity, either to the first\nCause, in explaining the Origins of Things; or to Miracles, in\nexplaining particular Effects. This, I say, breaks the Chains of natural\nProvidence, when it is done without Necessity; that is, when Things are\notherwise intelligible from second Causes. Neither is any Thing gain\u2019d\nby it to God Almighty; for \u2019tis but as the Proverb says, _To rob Peter\nto pay Paul_; to take so much from his ordinary Providence, and place it\nto his extraordinary. When a new Religion is brought into the World,\n\u2019tis very reasonable and decorous that it should be usher\u2019d in with\nMiracles, as both the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ were, but afterwards\nThings return into their Channel and do not change or overflow again but\nupon extraordinary Occasions or Revolutions. The Power _Extraordinary_\nof God is to be accounted very sacred, not to be touch\u2019d or expos\u2019d for\nour Pleasure or Conveniency; but I am afraid we often make use of it\nonly to conceal our own Ignorance, or to save us the Trouble of\ninquiring into natural Causes. Men are generally unwilling to appear\nignorant, especially those that make Profession of Knowledge; and when\nthey have not Skill enough to explain some particular Effect in a Way of\nReason, they throw it upon the first Cause, as able to bear all; and so\nplacing it to that Account, they excuse themselves, and save their\nCredit; for all Men are equally wise, if you take away second Causes; as\nwe are all of the same Colour, if you take away the Light.\n\nBUT to state this Matter, and see the Ground of this Rule more\ndistinctly, we must observe and consider, That _the Course of Nature is\ntruly the Will of God_; (_See Book 1. c. 8. at the End._) and, as I may\nso say, his first Will; from which we are not to recede, but upon clear\nEvidence and Necessity. And as in Matter of Religion, we are to follow\nthe known reveal\u2019d Will of God, and not to trust to every Impulse or\nMotion of Enthusiasm, as coming from the Divine Spirit, unless there be\nevident Marks that it is supernatural, and cannot come from our own; so\nneither are we, without Necessity, to quit the known and ordinary Will\nand Power of God, establish\u2019d in the Course of Nature, and fly to\nsupernatural Causes, or his extraordinary Will; for this is a kind of\nEnthusiasm or Fanaticism, as well as the other: And no doubt that great\nProdigality and Waste of Miracles which some make, is no way to the\nHonour of God or Religion. \u2019Tis true, the other Extream is worse than\nthis, for to deny all Miracles, is in effect to deny all Reveal\u2019d\nReligion; therefore due Measures are to be taken betwixt these two, so\nas neither to make the Divine Power too mean and cheap, nor the Power of\nNature illimited and all-sufficient.\n\n_In the third Place_, to make the Scenes of natural Providence\nconsiderable, and the Knowledge of them satisfactory to the Mind, we\nmust take a true Philosophy, or the true Principles that govern Nature,\nwhich are Geometrical and Mechanical. By these you discover the\nFootsteps of the Divine Art and Wisdom, and trace the Progress of Nature\nStep by Step, as distinctly as in artificial things, where we see how\nthe Motions depend upon one another, in what Order, and by what\nNecessity. God made all Things in _Number_, _Weight_ and _Measure_,\nwhich are Geometrical and Mechanical Principles; He is not said to have\nmade Things by _Forms_ and _Qualities_, or any Combination of Qualities,\nbut by these three Principles, which may be conceiv\u2019d to express the\nSubject of three Mathematical Sciences, Number, of _Arithmetick_;\nWeight, of _Staticks_; and _Measure_ and Proportion, of _Geometry_: If\nthen all things were made according to these Principles, to understand\nthe Manner of their Construction and Composition, we must proceed in the\nSearch of them by the same Principles, and resolve them into these\nagain. Besides, the Nature of the Subject does direct us sufficiently;\nfor when we contemplate or treat of Bodies, and the material World, we\nmust proceed by the Modes of Bodies, and their real Properties, such as\ncan be represented either to Sense or Imagination, for these Faculties\nare made for corporeal Things; but Logical Notions, when applied to\nparticular Bodies, are meer Shadows of them, without Light or Substance.\nNo Man can raise a Theory upon such Grounds, nor calculate any\nRevolutions of Nature, nor render any Service, or invent any thing\nuseful in human Life. And accordingly we see, that for these many Ages,\nthat this dry Philosophy hath govern\u2019d Christendom, it hath brought\nforth no Fruit, produc\u2019d nothing good to God or Man, to Religion or\nhuman Society.\n\nTO these true Principles of Philosophy, we must join also the true\nSystem of the World. That gives Scope to our Thoughts, and rational\nGrounds to work upon; but the vulgar System, or that which _Aristotle_\nand others have propos\u2019d, affords no Matter of Contemplation. All above\nthe Moon, according to him, is firm as Adamant, and as immutable; no\nChange or Variation in the Universe, but in those little Removes that\nhappen here below, one Quality or Form shifting into another: There\nwould therefore be no great Exercise of Reason or Meditation in such a\nWorld; no long Series of Providence: The Regions above being made of a\nkind of immutable Matter, they would always remain in the same Form,\nStructure, and Qualities: So as we might lock up that part of the\nUniverse as to any further Inquiries, and we should find it ten thousand\nYears hence in the same Form and State wherein we left it. Then in this\nsublunary World there would be but small Doings neither; Things would\nlie in a narrow Compass, no great Revolution of Nature, no new Form of\nthe Earth, but a few Anniversary _Corruptions_ and _Generations_, and\nthat would be the short and the long of Nature, and of Providence,\naccording to _Aristotle_. But if we consider the Earth, as one of those\nmany Planets that move about the Sun, and the Sun as one of those\ninnumerable fix\u2019d Stars that adorn the Universe, and are the Centers of\nits greatest Motions; and all this subject to Fate and Change, to\nCorruptions and Renovations: This opens a large Field for our Thoughts,\nand gives a large Subject for the Exercise and Expansion of the Divine\nWisdom and Power, and for the Glory of his Providence.\n\n_In the last Place_; Having thus prepar\u2019d your Mind, and the Subject,\nfor the Contemplation of _Natural Providence_, do not content your self\nto consider only the present Face of Nature, but look back into the\nfirst _Sources_ of Things, into their more simple and original States;\nand observe the Progress of Nature from one Form to another, through\nvarious Modes and Compositions. For there is no single Effect, nor any\nsingle State of Nature, how perfect soever, that can be such an Argument\nand Demonstration of Providence, as a Period of Nature, or a Revolution\nof several States consequential to one another; and in such an Order and\nDependance, that as they flow and succeed, they shall still be adjusted\nto the Periods of the moral World; so as to be ready always to be\nMinisters of the Divine Justice or Beneficence to Mankind. This shews\nthe manifold Riches of the Wisdom and Power of God in Nature. And this\nmay give us just Occasion to reflect again upon _Aristotle_\u2019s System and\nMethod, which destroys natural Providence in this respect also; for he\ntakes the World as it is now, both for Matter and Form, and supposeth it\nto have been in this Posture from all Eternity, and that it will\ncontinue to Eternity in the same; so as all the great Turns of Nature,\nand the principal Scenes of Providence in the natural World are quite\nstruck out; and we have but this one Scene for all, and a pitiful one\ntoo, if compar\u2019d with the infinite Wisdom of God, and the Depths of\nProvidence. We must take Things in their full Extent, and from their\nOrigins, to comprehend them well, and to discover the Mysteries of\nProvidence, both in the Causes and in the Conduct of them. That Method\nwhich _David_ followed in the Contemplation of the Little World, or in\nthe Body of Man, we should also follow in the Great; take it in its\nfirst Mass, in its tender Principles and Rudiments, and observe the\nProgress of it to a compleat Form; in these first Stroaks of Nature are\nthe Secrets of her Art; the Eye must be plac\u2019d in this Point to have a\nright Prospect, and see her Works in a true Light. _David_ admires the\nWisdom of God in the Origin and Formation of his Body; _My Body_, says\nhe, _was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, curiously wrought\nin the lower Parts of the Earth; thine Eyes did see my Substance being\nyet imperfect, and in thy Book all my Members were written; which in\nContinuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them, or being\nat first in no Form. How precious are thy Thoughts to me, O God! &c._\n_Psal. cxxxix. 15, 16, 17._ This was the Subject of _David_\u2019s,\nMeditations, how his Body was wrought from a shapeless Mass into that\nmarvellous Composition which it had when fully fram\u2019d; and this, he\nsays, was under the Eye of God all along, and the Model of it, as it\nwere, was design\u2019d and delineated in the Book of Providence, according\nto which, it was by Degrees fashion\u2019d and wrought to Perfection. _Thine\nEyes did see my Substance yet being imperfect, in thy Book all my\nMembers were drawn, &c._ _Job_ also hath aptly express\u2019d those first\nRudiments of the Body, or that little Chaos out of which it riseth;\n_Hast thou not poured me out as Milk, and cruddled me like Cheese? Thou\nhast cloathed me with Skin and Flesh, and fenced me with Bones and\nSinews, Job x. 10, 11._ Where he notes the first Matter and the last\nForm of his Body, its compleat and most incompleat State. According to\nthese Examples we must likewise consider the greater Bodies of Nature,\nthe Earth and the sublunary World; we must go to the Origin of them, the\nSeminal Mass, the Chaos out of which they rise; look upon the World\nfirst as an Embryo World, without Form or Shape, and then consider how\nits Members were fashion\u2019d, how by degrees it was brought into that\nDiversity of Parts and Regions which it consists of, with all their\nFurniture, and with all their Ornaments. The _Idea_ of all which was\nbefore-hand, according to _David_\u2019s Expression, written in the Divine\nMind; and we partake of that Wisdom, according to our Capacity, in\nseeing and admiring the Methods of it.\n\nTHESE seem to be necessary Preparatives or Directions to those that\nwould contemplate, with Profit, natural Providence, and the great Works\nof God in the visible Creation. We consider\u2019d Nature in the precedent\nChapter abstractly, and in her self; and now we consider her under the\nConduct of Providence, which we therefore call Natural Providence: And\nas we have endeavour\u2019d to remove those false Notions and Suppositions\nthat lay as Clouds upon her Face, so we must now endeavour to represent\nher in a better Light, and in a fuller Beauty. By _Natural Providence_\ntherefore we understand, _the Form or Course of Universal Nature, as\nactuated by the divine Power; with all the Changes, Periods, and\nVicissitudes that attend it, according to the Method and Establishment\nmade at first by the Author of it_. I said of _Universal Nature_,\nthrough all the Orders of Beings in the intellectual World, and all the\nRegions and Systems of Matter in the corporeal. For, having prov\u2019d in\nthe foregoing Chapter, that there is an Author of Nature, a Being\ninfinitely perfect, by whose Power and Influence alone all finite\nNatures exist and act, we have an assured Ground to conclude, that\nnothing can come to pass, throughout the whole Creation, without the\nPrescience and Permission of its Author; and as it is necessary to\nsuppose that there is an _Idea_ in the Divine Understanding of all the\nMass of Beings produc\u2019d or created, according to the several Ranks and\nOrders wherein they stand; so there is also an _Idea_ there, according\nto which this great Frame moves, and all the Parts of it in Beauty and\nHarmony.\n\nAND these two Things, The _Essences_ of all Beings, and the Series of\ntheir _Motions_, compose the MUNDANE IDEA, as I may so call it; or that\ngreat all comprehensive Thought in the divine Understanding, which\ncontains the System of universal Providence, and the State of all Things\npast, present, or to come. This glorious _Idea_ is the express Image of\nthe whole Creation, of all the Works of God, and the Disposition of\nthem: Here lie the Mysteries of Providence, as in their Original; the\nsuccessive Forms of all Nature; and herein, as in a Glass, may be view\u2019d\nall the Scenes of Time or Eternity. This is an Abyss of sacred Wisdom,\nthe exhausted Treasure of all Science, the Root of Truth, and Fountain\nof intellectual Light; and in the clear and full Contemplation of this\nis perfect Happiness, and a truly beatifick Vision.\n\nBUT what concerns the intellectual World in this _Idea_, and the Orders\nor Natures that compose it, is not our present Business to pursue; we\nare to speak of the corporeal Universe, whereof we will make now a short\nand general Survey, as it lies under Providence. The corporeal Universe,\nhow immense soever it be, and divided into innumerable Regions, may be\nconsider\u2019d all as one System, made up of several subordinate Systems.\nAnd there is also one immense Design of Providence co-extended with it,\nthat contains all the Fate, and all the Revolutions of this great Mass.\nThis, I say, is made up of several subordinate Systems, involving one\nanother, and comprehending one another, in greater and greater Orbs and\nCompositions; and the Aggregate of all these is that which we call the\n_Universe_. But what the Form of these Compositions is, and what the\nDesign of Providence that runs thro\u2019 them all, and comprehends them all,\nthis is unsearchable, not only to humane Understanding, but even to\nAngels and Archangels.\n\nWHEREFORE leaving those greater Systems and Compositions of the\nUniverse, as Matter of our Admiration, rather than of our Knowledge;\nthere are two or three kinds of lesser Systems that are visible to us,\nand bring us nearer to our Subject, and nearer home. _That_ of a fix\u2019d\nStar single; _That_ of a fix\u2019d Star with its Planets, and _that_ of a\nsingle Planet, primary or secondary. These three Systems we see and\nenjoy more or less. No doubt there are fix\u2019d Stars single, or that have\nno Planets about them, as our Sun hath; nay \u2019tis probable, that at first\nthe whole Universe consisted only of such Globes of liquid Fire, with\nSpheres about them, of pure Light and \u00c6ther: Earths are but the Dirt and\nSkum of the Creation, and all Things were pure as they came at first out\nof the Hands of God. But because we have nothing particular taught us,\neither by the Light of Nature or Revelation, concerning the Providence\nthat governs these single Stars, of what Use they are to intellectual\nBeings, how animated by them, what Diversity there is amongst those\n\u00e6thereal Worlds, what Periods they have, what Changes or Vicissitudes\nthey are capable to undergo, because such Inquiries would seem too\nremote, and carry us too far from our Subject, we leave these heavenly\nSystems to the Enjoyment and Contemplation of higher and more noble\nCreatures.\n\nTHE Sun, with all the Planets that move about him, and depend upon him,\nmake a good Sort of System; not considerable indeed, if compar\u2019d with\nthe whole Universe, or some of the greater Compositions in it; but in\nrespect of us, the System of the Sun is of vast Extent: We cannot\nmeasure the Greatness of his Kingdom, and his Dominion is without End.\nThe Distance from the highest Planet to the nearest fixt Star in the\nFirmament is unmeasurable, and all this belongs to the Empire of the\nSun; besides the several Planets and their Orbs, which cast themselves\ncloser about his Body, that they may receive a warmer and stronger\nInfluence from him; for by him they may be said to _live_ and _move_.\nBut those vast Spaces that lie beyond these opaque Bodies, are Regions\nof perpetual Light; one Planet may Eclipse the Sun to another, and one\nHemisphere of a Planet to the other Hemisphere makes Night and Darkness;\nbut nothing can eclipse the Sun, or intercept the Course of his Light to\nthese remote \u00e6thereal Regions; they are always luminous, and always pure\nand serene. And if the worst and planetary Parts of his Dominions be\nreplenished with Inhabitants, we cannot suppose the better to lie as\nDesarts unenjoy\u2019d and uninhabited; his Subjects then must be numerous,\nas well as his Dominions large; and in both respects this System of a\nfixt Star, with its Planets, (of which kind we may imagin innumerable in\nthe Universe, besides this of the Sun, which is near and visible to us)\nis of a noble Character and Order, being the Habitation of Angels and\nglorified Spirits, as well as of mortal Men.\n\nA planetary System is the last and lowest; and of these, no doubt, there\nis great Variety, and great Differences; not only of primary and\nsecondary, or of the principal Planet, and its Moons or Attendants, but\nalso amongst Planets of the same Rank; for they may differ both in their\noriginal Constitution, and according to the Form and State they are\nunder at present; of which sort of Differences we have noted some\namongst our Planets, (_Book. 1. chap. last, p. 113_, _&c._) tho\u2019 they\nseem to be all of much-what the same original Constitution. Besides,\naccording to external Circumstances, their Distance, Manner of Motion,\nand Posture to the Sun, which is the Heart of the whole System, they\nbecome different in many Things. And we may observe, that those leading\nDifferences, tho\u2019 they seem little, draw after them innumerable others,\nand so make a distinct Face of Nature, and a distinct World; which still\nshews the Riches and Fecundity of divine Providence, and gives new\nMatter of Contemplation to those that take Pleasure in studying the\nWorks and Ways of God. But leaving all other Planets, or planetary\nSystems to our Meditations only, we must particularly consider our own.\n\nHAVING therefore made this general Survey of the great Universe, run\nthrough the boundless Regions of it, and with much ado found our Way\nhome to that little Planet where our Concerns lie, this Earth or\nsublunary World, we must rest here at the End of our Course. And having\nundertaken to give the general Theory of this Earth, to conclude the\npresent Treatise, we\u2019ll reflect upon the whole Work, and observe what\nProgress we have hitherto made in this Theory, and what remains to be\ntreated of hereafter. This Earth, tho\u2019 it be a small Part or Particle of\nthe Universe, hath a distinct System of Providence belonging to it, or\nan Order establisht by the Author of Nature for all its _Ph\u00e6nomena_\n(natural or moral) throughout the whole Period of its Duration, and\nevery Interval of it; for, as there is nothing so great as to be above\nthe divine Care, so neither is there any thing so little as to be below\nit. All the Changes of out World are fixt; How, or how often to be\ndestroy\u2019d, and how renew\u2019d; What different Faces of Nature, and what of\nMankind, in every Part of its Course; What new Scenes to adorn the\nStage, and what new Parts to be acted; What the Entrance, and what the\nConsummation of all. Neither is there any sort of Knowledge more proper,\nor of more importance to us that are the Inhabitants of this Earth, than\nto understand this its natural and sacred History, as I may so call it,\nboth as to what is past, and what is to come. And as those greater\nVolumes and Compositions of the Universe are proportion\u2019d to the\nUnderstanding of Angels and superior Beings, so these little Systems are\n_Compendiums_ of the divine Wisdom more fitted to our Capacity and\nComprehension.\n\nTHE Providence of the Earth, as of all other Systems, consists of two\nParts, natural, and sacred or theological. I call that sacred or\ntheological that respects Religion, and the Dispensations of it; the\nGovernment of the rational World, or of Mankind, whether under the Light\nof Nature only, or of a Revelation? the Method and Terms of their\nHappiness and Unhappiness in a future Life: The State, Oeconomy, and\nConduct of this, with all the Mysteries contain\u2019d in it, we call\ntheological Providence; in the Head whereof stands the Soul of the\nblessed _Messiah_, who is Lord of both Worlds, intellectual and\nmaterial. When we call the other Part of Providence _Natural_, we use\nthat Word in a restrain\u2019d Sense, as respecting only the material World;\nand accordingly this Part of Providence orders and superintends the\nState of the Earth, the great Vicissitudes and Mutations of it; for we\nmust not imagin but that these are under the Eye of Providence, as well\nas humane Affairs, or any Revolutions of States and Empires. Now seeing\nboth in the intellectual and corporeal World there are certain Periods,\nFulness of Time, and fixt Seasons, either for some great Catastrophe, or\nsome great Instauration; \u2019tis Providence that makes a due Harmony or\nSynchronism betwixt these two, and measures out the concurrent Fates of\nboth Worlds, so as Nature may be always a faithful Minister of the\ndivine Pleasure, whether for Rewards or Punishments, according as the\nState of Mankind may require. But theological Providence not being the\nSubject of this Work, we shall only observe, as we said before, what\nAccount we have hitherto given of the natural State of the Earth, and\nwhat remains to be handled in another Treatise, and so conclude.\n\nI did not think it necessary to carry the Story and Original of the\nEarth, higher than the Chaos, as _Zoroaster_ and _Orpheus_ seem to have\ndone; but taking that for our Foundation, which Antiquity sacred and\nprophane doth suppose, and natural Reason approve and confirm, we have\nform\u2019d the Earth from it. But when we say the Earth rose from a fluid\nMass, it is not to be so crudely understood, as if a Rock of Marble,\nsuppose, was fluid immediately before it became Marble; no, Things had a\ngradual Progression from one Form to another, and came at length to\nthose more permanent Forms they are now settled in: Stone was once\nEarth, and Earth was once Mud, and Mud was once fluid. And so other\nThings may have another kind of Progression from Fluidity; but all was\nonce Fluid, at least all the exterior Regions of this Earth. And even\nthose Stones and Rocks of Marble which we speak of, seem to confess they\nwere once soft or liquid, by those Mixtures we find in them of\nheterogeneous Bodies, and those Spots and Veins disperst thorough their\nSubstance; for these Things could not happen to them after they were\nhard and impenetrable, in the Form of Stone or Marble. And if we can\nsoften Rocks and Stones, and run them down into their first Liquors, as\nthese Observations seem to do, we may easily believe that other Bodies\nalso that compose the Earth were once in a fluid Mass, which is that we\ncall a Chaos.\n\nWE therefore watch\u2019d the Motions of that Chaos, and the several\nTransformations of it, while it continued Fluid; and we found at length\nwhat its first Concretion would be, and how it settled into the Form of\nan habitable Earth. But that Form was very different from the present\nForm of the Earth, which is not immediately deducible from a Chaos by\nany known Laws of Nature, or by any Wit of Man; as every one, that will\nhave Patience to examine it, may easily be satisfied. That first Earth\nwas of a smooth, regular Surface, as the Concretions of Liquors are,\nbefore they are disturb\u2019d or broken; under that Surface lay the great\nAbyss, which was ready to swallow up the World that hung over it, and\nabout it, whensoever God should give the Command, and the Vault should\nbreak and this Constitution of the prim\u00e6val Earth gave Occasion to the\nfirst Catastrophe of this World, when it perish\u2019d in a Deluge of Water.\nFor that Vault did break, as we have shewn at large, and by the\nDissolution and Fall of it, the great Deep was thrown out of its Bed,\nforc\u2019d upwards into the Air, and overflowed, in that impetuous\nCommotion, the highest Tops of the Fragments of the ruin\u2019d Earth, which\nnow we call its Mountains. And as this was the first great and fatal\nPeriod of Nature; so upon the Issue of this, and the Return of the\nWaters into their Channels, the second Face of Nature appear\u2019d, or the\npresent broken Form of the Earth, as it is _Terraqueous_, _Mountainous_,\nand _Cavernous_. These Things we have explain\u2019d fully in the first Book,\nand I have thereby settled two great Points, given a rational Account of\nthe _Universal Deluge_, and shewn the Causes of the irregular Form of\nthe present or _Postdiluvian Earth_. This being done, we have apply\u2019d\nour selves in the second Book, to the Description of the _Prim\u00e6val\nEarth_, and the Examination of its Properties; and this hath led us by\nan easy Tract to the Discovery of _Paradise_, and of the true Notion and\nMystery of it; which is not so much a Spot of Ground where a fine Garden\nstood, as a Course of Nature, or a peculiar State of the Earth;\n_Paradisiacal_ in many Parts, but especially in one Region of it; which\nPlace or Region we have also endeavour\u2019d to determine, though not so\nmuch from the Theory, as from the Suffrages of Antiquity, if you will\ntake their Judgment.\n\nTHUS much is finish\u2019d, and this contains the natural Theory of the Earth\ntill this present Time; for since the Deluge all Things have continued\nin the same State, or without any remarkable Change. We are next to\nenter upon new Matter and new Thoughts, and not only so, but upon a\nSeries of _Things and Times to come_, which is to make the second Part\nof this Theory. Dividing the Duration of the World into two Parts, past\nand future, we have dispatch\u2019d the first and far greater Part, and come\nbetter half of our Way; And if we make a Stand here, and look both Ways,\nbackwards to the Chaos and the Beginning of the World, and forwards to\nthe End and Consummation of all Things, though the first be a longer\nProspect, yet there are as many general Changes and Revolutions of\nNature in the remaining Part, as have already happen\u2019d; and in the\nEvening of this long Day the Scenes will change faster, and be more\nbright and illustrious. From the Creation to this Age the Earth hath\nundergone but one Catastrophe, and Nature hath had two different Faces.\nThe next Catastrophe is the CONFLAGRATION, to which a new Face of Nature\nwill accordingly succeed, _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, _Paradise_\nrenew\u2019d, and so it is call\u2019d the Restitution of Things, or\n_Regeneration_ of the World, \u1f08\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 \u0393\u03b1\u03bb\u03b9\u03b3 \u1f10\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1. And that Period\nof Nature and Providence being expir\u2019d, then follows the _Consummation\nof all Things_, or the general _Apothesis_; _when Death and Hell shall\nbe swallowed up in Victory_. When the great Circle of Time and Fate is\nrun; or according to the Language of Scripture, _When the Heavens and\nthe Earth shall pass away, and Time shall be no more._\n\n * * * * *\n\n_MAY we, in the mean time, by a true Love of God above all Things, and a\nContempt of this vain World which passeth away; by a careful Use of the\nGifts of God and Nature, the Light of Reason and Revelation, prepare our\nselves, and the State of Things, for the great Coming of our Saviour._\nTo whom be Praise and Honour for evermore.\n\n_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\n \u25cf Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n \u25cb Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).\n \u25cb Footnotes have been moved to follow the sections in which they are\n referenced.","title":"The sacred theory of the Earth, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b Containing an account of the original of the Earth, and of all the general changes which it hath already undergone, or is to undergo, till the consummation of all things.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":124357}