{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_76101/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_76101","id":"gutenberg_76101","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76101","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","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\n\n\n                    THE SACRED THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n\n                      Containing an ACCOUNT of the\n                        Original _of the_ Earth,\n\n                             And of all the\n\n                            GENERAL CHANGES\n\n               Which it hath already undergone, or is to\n                     undergo, till the CONSUMMATION\n                             of all Things.\n\n\n                          The TWO LAST BOOKS,\n\n                 _Concerning the Burning of the WORLD,\n                                  AND\n              Concerning the New Heavens, and New Earth._\n\n                                VOL. II.\n\n                               _LONDON_:\n\n      Printed for J. HOOKE, at the _Flower-de-luce_, over-against\n            St. _Dunstan\u2019s Church_, in _Fleetstreet_, 1726.\n\n\n\n\n                                 TO THE\n                                QUEEN\u2019S\n                             Most EXCELLENT\n                                MAJESTY.\n\n\n_MADAM_,\n\nHaving had the Honour to present the first Part of this Theory to your\nROYAL UNCLE, I presume to offer the Second to Your Majesty. This Part of\nthe Subject, I hope, will be no less acceptable, for certainly \u2019tis of\nno less Importance. They both indeed agree in this, that there is a\nWORLD made and destroy\u2019d in either Treatise. But we are more concern\u2019d\nin what is to come, than what is past. And as the former Books\nrepresented to us the Rise and Fall of the first World; so these give an\nAccount of the present Frame of Nature labouring under the last Flames,\nand of the Resurrection of it in the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_;\nwhich, according to the Divine Promises, we are to expect.\n\nCities that are burnt, are commonly rebuilt more beautiful and regular\nthan they were before. And when this World is demolish\u2019d by the last\nFire, He that undertakes to rear it up again, will supply the Defects,\nif there were any, of the former Fabrick. This Theory supposes the\npresent Earth to be little better than an Heap of Ruins; where yet there\nis Room enough for Sea and Land, for Islands and Continents, for several\nCountries and Dominions: But when these are all melted down, and refin\u2019d\nin the general Fire, they will be cast into a better Mould, and the Form\nand Qualities of the Earth will become _Paradisaical_.\n\nBut, I fear, it may be thought no very proper Address, to shew Your\nMajesty a World laid in Ashes, where You have so great an Interest Your\nSelf, and such fair Dominions; and then, to recompense the Loss, by\ngiving a Reversion in a future Earth. But if that future Earth be a\nsecond _Paradise_, to be enjoyed for a Thousand Years; with Peace,\nInnocency, and constant Health; An Inheritance there will be, an happy\nExchange for the best Crown in this World.\n\nI confess, I could never persuade myself that the Kingdom of Christ, and\nof his Saints, which the Scripture speaks of so frequently, was designed\nto be upon this present Earth. But however, upon all Suppositions, they\nthat have done some Good in this Life, will be Sharers in the Happiness\nof that State. To humble the Oppressors, and rescue the Oppressed, is a\nWork of Generosity and Charity, that cannot want its Reward; Yet, MADAM,\nthey are the greatest Benefactors to Mankind, that dispose the World to\nbecome Virtuous; and by their Example, Influence, and Authority,\nretrieve that TRUTH and JUSTICE, that have been lost, amongst Men, for\nmany Ages. The School-Divines, tell us, those that act or suffer great\nThings for the Publick Good, are distinguish\u2019d in Heaven, by a Circle of\nGold about their Heads. One would not willingly vouch for that: But one\nmay safely for what the Prophet says, which is far greater: Namely, that\nThey shall shine like Stars in the Firmament, _that turn many to\nRighteousness_. Which is not to be understood, so much, of the\nConversion of single Souls, as of the turning of Nations and People; the\nturning of the World to Righteousness. They that lead on that great and\nhappy Work, shall be distinguish\u2019d in Glory from the rest of Mankind.\n\nWe are sensible, MADAM, from Your Great Example, that Piety and Vertue\nseated upon a Throne, draw many to Imitation, whom ill Principles, or\nthe Course of the World, might have led another Way. These are the best,\nas well as easiest Victories, that are gain\u2019d without Contest. And as\nPrinces are the Vicegerents of God upon Earth, so when their Majesty is\nin Conjunction with Goodness, it hath a double Character of Divinity\nupon it: And we owe them a double Tribute of Fear and Love. Which, with\nconstant Prayers for Your MAJESTY\u2019s present and future Happiness, shall\nbe always Dutifully paid, by\n\n                          _Your MAJESTY\u2019s\n                          Most Humble and\n                          Most Obedient Subject_,\n\n                          T. BURNET.\n\n\n\n\n                         PREFACE TO THE READER.\n\n\nI have not much to say to the Reader in this Preface to the Third Part\nof the Theory; seeing it treats upon a Subject own\u2019d by all, and out of\nDispute: _The Conflagration of the World_. The Question will be only\nabout the Bounds and Limits of the Conflagration, the Causes and the\nManner of it. These I have fixed, according to the truest Measures I\ncould take from Scripture, and from Nature. I differ, I believe, from\nthe common Sentiment in this, that, in following St. _Peter_\u2019s\nPhilosophy, I suppose, that the burning of the Earth, will be a true\nLiquefaction or Dissolution of it, as to the exterior Region. And that\nthis lays a Foundation for _new Heavens_ and a _new Earth_; which seems\nto me as plain a Doctrine in Christian Religion, as the Conflagration\nitself.\n\nI have endeavour\u2019d to propose an intelligible Way, whereby the Earth may\nbe consum\u2019d by Fire. But if any one can propose another, more probable,\nand more consistent, I will be the first Man that shall give him Thanks\nfor this Discovery. He that loves Truth for its own sake, is willing to\nreceive it from any Hand; as he that truly loves his Country, is glad of\na Victory over the Enemy, whether himself, or any other, has the Glory\nof it. I need not repeat here, what I have already said upon several\nOccasions, that \u2019tis the Substance of this Theory, whether in this Part,\nor in other Parts, that I mainly regard and depend upon: Being willing\nto suppose, that many single Explications and Particularities may be\nrectified, upon farther Thoughts, and clearer Light. I know our best\nWritings, in this Life, are but _Essays_, which we leave to Posterity to\nreview and correct.\n\nAs to the Style, I always endeavour to express myself in a plain and\nperspicuous manner; that the Reader may not lose Time, nor wait too\nlong, to know my Meaning. To give an Attendant quick Dispatch, is a\nCivility, whether you do his Business or no. I would not willingly give\nany one the Trouble of reading a Period twice over, to know the Sense of\nit; lest, when he comes to know it, he should not think it a Recompence\nfor his Pains. Whereas, on the contrary, if you are easy to your Reader,\nhe will certainly make you an Allowance for it, in his Censure.\n\nYou must not think it strange however, that the Author sometimes, in\nmeditating upon this Subject, is warm in his Thoughts and Expressions.\nFor to see a World perishing in Flames, Rocks melting, the Earth\ntrembling, and an Host of Angels in the Clouds, one must be very much a\nStoick, to be a cold and unconcerned Spectator of all this. And when we\nare mov\u2019d ourselves, our Words will have a Tincture of those Passions\nwhich we feel. Besides, in moral Reflections which are design\u2019d for Use,\nthere must be some Heat, as well as dry Reason, to inspire this cold\nClod of Clay, this dull Body of Earth, which we carry about with us; and\nyou must soften and pierce that Crust, before you can come at the Soul.\nBut especially when Things future are to be represented, you cannot use\ntoo strong Colours, if you would give them Life, and make them appear\npresent to the Mind. Farewel.\n\n\n\n\n                       CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS.\n\nThe THIRD BOOK.\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n_The Introduction; with the Contents and Order of this Treatise_ ... 1\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n_The true State of the Question is propos\u2019d. \u2019Tis the general Doctrine\nof the Antients, That the present World, or the present Frame of Nature,\nis mutable and perishable; to which the sacred Books agree: And natural\nReason can alledge nothing against it_ ... 7\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n_That the World will be destroyed by Fire, is the Doctrine of the\nAntients; especially of the Stoicks. That the same Doctrine is more\nantient than the Greeks, and deriv\u2019d from the Barbarick Philosophy; and\nthat probably from Noah, the Father of all traditionary Learning. The\nsame Doctrine expresly authorized by Revelation, and inrolled into the\nSacred Canon_ ... 19\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\n_Concerning the time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World.\nWhat the Astronomers say upon this Subject, and upon what they ground\ntheir Calculations. The true Notion of the Great Year, or of the\nPlatonick Year, stated and explain\u2019d_ ... 35\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n_Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World; Of what\nOrder soever, Prophane or Sacred, Jewish or Christian. That no certain\nJudgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we are from the\nConflagration_ ... 45\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n_Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration. The Difficulty of\nconceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire. With a general Answer to\nthat Difficulty. Two suppos\u2019d Causes of the Conflagration, by the Sun\u2019s\ndrawing nearer to the Earth, or the Earth\u2019s throwing out the central\nFire, examin\u2019d and rejected_ ... 60\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n_The true Bounds of the last Fire, and how far it is Fatal. The natural\nCauses and Materials of it, cast into three Ranks. First, Such as are\nexterior and visible upon Earth, where the Volcano\u2019s of this Earth, and\ntheir Effects, are consider\u2019d. Secondly, Such Materials as are within\nthe Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air_ ... 73\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n_Some new Dispositions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter,\nForm, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Causes, and how\nfar the Ministry of Angels may be engaged in this Work_ ... 92\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n_How the Sea will be diminish\u2019d and consum\u2019d. How the Rocks and\nMountains will be thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior Frame\nof the Earth dissolv\u2019d into a Deluge of Fire_ ... 104\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n_Concerning the Beginning and Progress of the Conflagration, what Part\nof the Earth will first be burnt. The Manner of the future Destruction\nof Rome, according to the Prophetical Indications. The last State and\nConsummation of the general Fire_ ... 117\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\n_An Account of these extraordinary Ph\u00e6nomena and Wonders in Nature,\nthat, according to Scripture, will precede the Coming of Christ, and the\nConflagration of the World_ ... 130\n\nCHAP. XII.\n\n_An imperfect Description of the Coming of our Saviour, and of the World\non Fire_ ... 143\n\n_The Conclusion_ ... 160\n\n\nThe FOURTH BOOK.\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n_The Introduction; that the World will not be annihilated in the last\nFire. That we are to expect, according to Scripture, and the Christian\nDoctrine, new Heavens and a new Earth, when these are dissolved or burnt\nup_ ... 184\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n_The Birth of the new Heavens and the new Earth, from the second Chaos,\nor the Remains of the old World. The Form, Order, and Qualities of the\nnew Earth, according to Reason and Scripture_ ... 191\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n_Concerning the Inhabitants of the new Earth. That natural Reason cannot\ndetermine this Point. That, according to Scripture, the Sons of the\nfirst Resurrection, or the Heirs of the Millennium, are to be the\nInhabitants of the new Earth: The Testimony of the Philosophers, and of\nthe Christian Fathers, for the Renovation of the World. The first\nProposition laid down_ ... 201\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\n_The Proof of a Millennium, or of a blessed Age to come, from Scripture.\nA View of the Apocalypse, and of the Prophecies of Daniel, in reference\nto this Kingdom of Christ, and of his Saints_ ... 213\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n_A View of other Places of Scripture, concerning the Millennium, or\nfuture Kingdom of Christ. In what Sense all the Prophets have born\nTestimony concerning it_ ... 229\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n_The Sense and Testimony of the Primitive Church, concerning the\nMillennium, or future Kingdom of Christ; from the Times of the Apostles,\nto the Nicene Council. The second Proposition laid down, when, by what\nMeans, and for what Reasons, that Doctrine was afterwards neglected or\ndiscountenanc\u2019d_ ... 246\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n_The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken from\nScripture. Some Mistakes concerning it rectified_ ... 260\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n_The third Proposition laid down, concerning the Time and Place of the\nMillennium. Several Arguments us\u2019d to prove, that it cannot be till\nafter the Conflagration; and that the new Heavens and new Earth, are the\ntrue Seat of the blessed Millennium_ ... 269\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n_The chief Employment of the Millennium DEVOTION and CONTEMPLATION_ ...\n287\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n_Objections against the Millennium answer\u2019d. With some Conjectures\nconcerning the State of Things after the Millennium: And what will be\nthe final Consummation of this World_ ... 305\n\n\n\n\n                        THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n\n\n                               BOOK III.\n                     Concerning the CONFLAGRATION.\n\n\n                                CHAP. I.\n                           The INTRODUCTION:\n              _With the Contents and Order of this Work._\n\n\nSeeing Providence hath planted in all Men a natural Desire and Curiosity\nof knowing Things to come; and such Things especially, as concern our\nparticular Happiness, or the general Fate of Mankind; This Treatise may,\nin both respects, hope for a favourable Reception amongst inquisitive\nPersons; seeing the Design of it is, to give an Account of the greatest\nRevolutions of Nature that are expected in future Ages: and in the first\nPlace, of the _Conflagration of the World_. In which universal Calamity,\nwhen all Nature suffers, every Man\u2019s particular Concern must needs be\ninvolved.\n\nWe see with what Eagerness Men pry into the Stars, to see if they can\nread there the Death of a King, or the Fall of an Empire: \u2019Tis not the\nfate of any single Prince or Potentate, that we calculate, but of all\nMankind: Nor of this or that particular Kingdom or Empire, but of the\nwhole Earth. Our Enquiries must reach to that great Period of Nature,\nwhen all Things are to be dissolv\u2019d; both Human Affairs, and the Stage\nwhereon they are acted; when the Heavens and the Earth will pass away,\nand the Elements melt with fervent Heat. We desire, if possible, to know\nwhat will be the Face of that Day, that great and terrible Day! when the\nRegions of the Air will be nothing but mingled Flame and Smoke, and the\nhabitable Earth turn\u2019d into a Sea of molten Fire.\n\nBut we must not leave the World in this Disorder and Confusion, without\nexamining what will be the Issue and Consequences of it. Whether this\nwill be the End of all Things, and Nature, by a sad Fate, lie eternally\ndissolv\u2019d and desolate in this manner? or, Whether we may hope for a\nRestoration: _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, which the Holy Writings\nmake mention of, more pure and perfect than the former? As if this was\nbut as a _Refiner\u2019s Fire_, to purge out the Dross and coarser Parts, and\nthen cast the Mass again into a new and better Mould. These Things, with\nGod\u2019s Assistance, shall be matter of our present Enquiry: These make the\ngeneral Subject of this Treatise, and of the remaining Parts of this\n_Theory_ of the Earth. Which now, you see, begins to be a kind of\nProphecy or Prognostication of Things to come, as it hath been hitherto\nan History of Things past; of such States and Changes as Nature hath\nalready undergone. And if that Account which we have given of the Origin\nof the Earth, its first and Paradisaical Form, and the Dissolution of it\nat the universal Deluge, appear fair and reasonable; the second\nDissolution by Fire, and the Renovation of it out of a second Chaos, I\nhope, will be deduc\u2019d from as clear Grounds and Suppositions. And\nScripture it self will be a more visible Guide to us in these following\nParts of the Theory, than it was in the former. In the mean Time, I take\noccasion to declare here again, as I have done heretofore, That neither\nthis, nor any other great Revolutions of Nature, are brought to pass, by\nCauses purely natural, without the Conduct of a particular Providence.\nAnd \u2019tis the sacred Books of Scripture that are the Records of this\nProvidence, both as to Times past, and Times to come; as to all the\nsignal Changes, either of the natural World, or of Mankind, and the\ndifferent Oeconomies of Religion. In which respects, these Books, tho\u2019\nthey did not contain a moral Law, would, notwithstanding, be, as the\nmost mystical, so also the most valuable Books in the World.\n\nThis Treatise, you see, will consist of Two Parts: The former whereof is\nto give an Account of the _Conflagration_; and the latter, of the _New\nHeavens_, and _New Earth_ following upon it; together with the State of\nMankind in those new Habitations. As to the Conflagration, we _first_\nenquire, What the Antients thought concerning the present Frame of this\nWorld: Whether it was to perish or no: Whether to be destroyed, or to\nstand eternally in this Posture. Then, in what Manner they thought it\nwould be destroy\u2019d: By what Force or Violence: Whether by Fire or other\nways. And with these Opinions of the Antients we will compare the\nDoctrine of the Prophets and Apostles, to discover and confirm the Truth\nof them. In the _second Place_, We will examine, What Calculations or\nConjectures have been made concerning the Time of this great\nCatastrophe, or of the End of this World: Whether that Period be\ndefinable or no; and whether by natural Arguments, or by Prophecies.\n_Thirdly_, We will consider the Signs of the approaching Conflagration:\nWhether such as will be in Nature, or in the State of human Affairs; but\nespecially such as are taken notice of, and recorded, in Scripture.\n_Fourthly_, Which is the principal Point, and yet that wherein the\nAntients have been most silent, _What Causes_ there are in Nature, what\nPreparations, for this Conflagration: Where are the Seeds of this\nuniversal Fire, or Fuel sufficient for the Nourishing of it? _Lastly_,\nIn what Order, and by what Degrees, the Conflagration will proceed: In\nwhat Manner the Frame of the Earth will be dissolv\u2019d; and what will be\nthe dreadful Countenance of a _burning World_.\n\nThese Heads are set down more fully in the Arguments of each Chapter;\nand seem to be sufficient for the Explication of this whole Matter:\nTaking in some additional Discourses, which, in pursuing these Heads,\nenter of their own accord, and make the Work more even and intire. In\nthe Second Part, we restore the World that we had destroy\u2019d: Build New\nHeavens and a New Earth, _wherein Righteousness shall dwell_. Establish\nthat new Order of Things, which is so often celebrated by the Prophets:\nA Kingdom of Peace and of Justice, where the Enemy of Mankind shall be\nbound, and the Prince of Peace shall rule. A Paradise without a Serpent,\nand a Tree of Knowledge, not to wound, but to heal the Nations: Where\nwill be neither _Curse_, nor _Pain_, nor _Death_, nor _Disease_: Where\nall Things are new, all Things are more perfect, both the World it self,\nand its Inhabitants: Where the First-born from the Dead, have the\nFirst-fruits of Glory.\n\nWe dote upon this present World, and the Enjoyments of it: And \u2019tis not\nwithout Pain, and Fear, and Reluctancy, that we are torn from them; as\nif our Hopes lay all within the Compass of this Life. Yet, I know not by\nwhat good Fate, my Thoughts have been always fix\u2019d upon Things to come,\nmore than upon Things present. These I know, by certain Experience, to\nbe but Trifles; and if there be nothing more considerable to come, the\nwhole Being of Man is no better than a Trifle. But there is Room enough\nbefore us in that we call _Eternity_, for great and noble Scenes; and\nthe Mind of Man feels itself lessen\u2019d and straiten\u2019d in this low and\nnarrow State; wishes and waits to see something greater. And if it could\ndiscern another World a coming, on this side Eternal Life: a beginning\nGlory, the best that Earth can bear, it would be a kind of Immortality\nto enjoy that Prospect before-hand. To see, when this Theatre is\ndissolv\u2019d, where we shall act next, and what Parts; what Saints and\nHeroes, if I may so say, will appear upon that Stage; and with what\nLustre and Excellency: How easy would it be, under a View of these\nFuturities, to despise the little Pomps and Honours, and the Momentary\nPleasures of a mortal Life? But I proceed to our Subject.\n\n\n\n\n                                CHAP. II\n             _The true State of the Question is propos\u2019d._\n\n\n    _\u2019Tis the general Doctrine of the Antients, that the present World,\n    or the present Frame of Nature, is mutable and perishable: To which\n    the Sacred Books agree; and natural Reason can alledge nothing\n    against it._\n\n\nWhen we speak of the End or Destruction of the World, whether by Fire or\notherwise, \u2019tis not to be imagin\u2019d that we understand this of the _Great\nUniverse_; Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the highest Heavens; as if these\nwere to perish or be destroy\u2019d some few Years hence, whether by Fire or\nany other Way. This Question is only to be understood of the _sublunary\nWorld_, of this Earth and its Furniture; which had its Original about\nSix thousand Years ago, according to the History of _Moses_; and hath\nonce already been destroyed, when the Exterior Region of it broke, and\nthe Abyss, issuing forth, as out of a Womb, overflow\u2019d all the habitable\nEarth, _Gen. vii. 17._ _Job xxxviii. 8._ The next Deluge is that of\nFire; which will have the same Bounds, and overflow the Surface of the\nEarth, much what in the same Manner. But the C\u0153lestial Regions, where\nthe Stars and Angels inhabit, are not concerned in this Fate: Those are\nnot made of combustible Matter; nor, if they were, could our Flames\nreach them. Possibly those Bodies may have Changes and Revolutions\npeculiar to themselves, but in Ways unknown to us, and after long and\nunknown Periods of Time. Therefore, when we speak of the Conflagration\nof the World, these have no Concern in the Question; nor any other Part\nof the Universe, than the Earth and its Dependances. As will evidently\nappear when we come to explain the Manner and Causes of the\nConflagration.\n\nAnd as this Conflagration can extend no farther than to the Earth and\nits Elements, so neither can it destroy the Matter of the Earth; but\nonly the Form and Fashion of it, as it is an habitable World. Neither\nFire, nor any natural Agent, can destroy Matter, that is, reduce it to\nnothing: It may alter the Modes and Qualities of it, but the Substance\nwill always remain. And accordingly the Apostle, when he speaks of the\nMutability of this World, says only, _The Figure_ or Fashion of _this\nWorld passes away_, _1 Cor. vii. 31._ This Structure of the Earth and\nDisposition of the Elements; and all the _Works_ of the Earth, as St.\n_Peter_ says, _2 Epist. iii._ all its natural Productions, and all the\nWorks of Art or human Industry; these will perish, be melted or torn in\nPieces by the Fire; but without an Annihilation of the Matter, any more\nthan in the former Deluge. And this will be farther prov\u2019d and\nillustrated in the Beginning of the following Books.\n\nThe Question being thus stated, we are next to consider the Sense of\nAntiquity upon these two Points: First, Whether this sublunary World is\nmutable and perishable: Secondly, By the Force and Action of what\nCauses, and in what Manner, it will perish; whether by Fire, or\notherwise. _Aristotle_ is very irregular in his Sentiments about the\nState of the World; he allows it neither Beginning nor Ending, Rise nor\nFall; but wou\u2019d have it eternal and immutable. And this he understands,\nnot only of the great Universe, but of this sublunary World, this Earth\nwhich we inhabit; wherein he will not admit there ever have been, or\never will be, either general Deluges or Conflagrations. And, as if he\nwas ambitious to be thought singular in his Opinion about the Eternity\nof the World, he says, _All_ the _Antients_ before him, gave some\nBeginning or Origin to the World; but were not, indeed, so unanimous as\nto its future Fate: Some believing it immutable, or, as the Philosophers\ncall it, incorruptible; others, That it had its fatal Times and Periods,\nas lesser Bodies have; and a Term of Age prefix\u2019d to it by Providence.\n\nBut before we examine this Point any farther, it will be necessary to\nreflect upon that which we noted before, an Ambiguity in the Use of the\nWord _World_, which gives frequent Occasion of Mistakes in reading the\nAncients: When that which they speak of the _great Universe_, we apply\nto the _sublunary World_: Or, on the contrary, what they speak of this\nEarth, we extend to the whole Universe. And if some of them, besides\n_Aristotle_, made the World incorruptible, they might mean that of the\n_great Universe_, which they thought would never be dissolv\u2019d or perish\nas to its Mass and Bulk: But single Parts and Points of it (and our\nEarth is no more) may be variously transform\u2019d, and made habitable and\nunhabitable, according to certain Periods of Time, without any Prejudice\nto their Philosophy. So _Plato_, for Instance, thinks this World will\nhave no Dissolution: For, being a Work so beautiful and noble, the\nGoodness of God, he says, will always preserve it. It is most reasonable\nto understand this of the great Universe; For, in our Earth, _Plato_\nhimself admits such Dissolutions as are made by general Deluges and\nConflagrations; and we contend for no other. So likewise in other\nAuthors, if they speak of the Immortality of the World, you must observe\nwhat World they apply it to; and whether to the Matter or the Form of\nit: And if you remember that our Discourse proceeds only upon the\nsublunary World, and the Dissolution of its Form, you will find little\nin Antiquity contrary to this Doctrine. I always except _Aristotle_ (who\nallow\u2019d of no Providence in this inferior World) and some _Pythagoreans_\nfalsly so call\u2019d, being either fictitious Authors, or Apostates from the\nDoctrine of their Master. These being excepted, upon a View of the rest,\nyou will find very few Dissenters from this general Doctrine.\n\n_Plato_\u2019s Argument against the Dissolution of the World, from the\nGoodness and Wisdom of God, would not be altogether unreasonable, tho\u2019\napply\u2019d to this Earth, if it was so to be dissolv\u2019d, as never to be\nrestor\u2019d again. But we expect _New Heavens_ and a _New Earth_, upon the\nDissolution of these; better in all Respects, more commodious, and more\nbeautiful. And the several Perfections of the Divine Nature, Wisdom,\nPower, Goodness, Justice, Sanctity, cannot be so well display\u2019d and\nexemplify\u2019d in any one single State of Nature, as in a Succession of\nStates, fitted to receive one another according to the Dispositions of\nthe moral World, and the Order of Divine Providence. Wherefore,\n_Plato_\u2019s Argument from the Divine Attributes, all Things consider\u2019d,\ndoth rather prove a Succession of Worlds, than that one single World\nshould remain the same throughout all Ages, without Change or Variation.\nNext to the _Platonists_, the _Stoicks_ were most considerable in\nMatters relating to Morality and Providence: And their Opinion, in this\nCase, is well known; they being look\u2019d upon by the Moderns, as the\nprincipal Authors of the Doctrine of the _Conflagration_. Nor is it less\nknown that the School of _Democritus_ and _Epicurus_, made all their\nWorlds subject to Dissolution; and by a new Concourse of Atoms restor\u2019d\nthem again. Lastly, The _Ionick_ philosophers, who had _Thales_ for\ntheir Master, and were the first Naturalists amongst the _Greeks_,\ntaught the same Doctrine. We have, indeed, but an imperfect Account left\nus of this Sect, and \u2019tis great Pity; for as it was one of the most\nantient, so it seems to have been one of the most considerable amongst\nthe _Greeks_ for Natural Philosophy. In those Remains which _Diogenes\nLaertius_ hath preserv\u2019d, of _Anaxagoras_, _Anaximenes_, _Archelaus_,\n&c. all great Men in their Time; we find that they treated much of the\nOrigin of the World, and had many extraordinary Notions about it, which\ncome lame and defective to us. The Doctrine of their Founder, _Thales_,\nwhich made all Things to consist of Water, seems to have a great\nResemblance to the Doctrine of _Moses_ and St. _Peter_ about the\nConstitution of the first Heavens and Earth, _Gen. i._ _2 Pet. ii. 5._\nBut there is little in _Laertius_, what their Opinion was about the\nDissolution of the World; other Authors inform us more of that.\n_Stob\u00e6us_, _Ecl. Phys. l. 1. c. 24_, joins them with _Leucippus_ and the\n_Epicureans_: _Simplicius_ with _Heraclitus_, and the _Stoicks_, in this\nDoctrine about the Corruptibility of the World. So that all the Schools\nof the _Greek_ Philosophers, as we noted before, were unanimous in this\nPoint, excepting the _Peripateticks_; whose Master, _Aristotle_, had\nneither Modesty enough to follow the Doctrine of his Predecessors, nor\nWit enough to invent any Thing better.\n\nBesides these Sects of Philosophers, there were Theologers amongst the\n_Greeks_, more Antient than these Sects, and more Mystical. _Aristotle_\noften distinguisheth the _Naturalists_, and the _Theologues_, \u039f\u1f31\n\u03c6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u1f76, \u03bf\u1f31 \u03b8\u03b5\u03cc\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9. Such were _Orpheus_ and his Followers, who had\nmore of the antient Oriental Learning, than the succeeding Philosophers.\nBut they writ their Philosophy, or Theology rather, Mythologically and\nPoetically, in Parables and Allegories, that needed an Interpretation.\nAll these Theologers supposed the Earth to rise from a Chaos; and as\nthey said that _Love_ was the Principle at first, that united the loose\nand severed Elements, and formed them into an habitable World; so they\nsupposed that if _Strife_ or _Contention_ prevail\u2019d, that would again\ndissolve and disunite them, and reduce Things into a Chaos; such as the\nEarth will be in, upon the Conflagration. And it farther appears, that\nboth these Orders of the Learned in _Greece_, suppos\u2019d this present\nFrame of Nature might perish, by their Doctrine of _Periodical\nRevolutions_, or of the Renovation of the World after certain Periods of\nTime; which was a Doctrine common amongst the Learned _Greeks_, and\nreceived by them from the ancient Barbarick Nations: As will appear more\nat large in the following Book, _Ch. 3._ In the mean Time we may\nobserve, that _Origen_ in answering _Celsus_, _Lib. 9._ about the Point\nof the Resurrection, tells him, That Doctrine ought not to appear so\nstrange or ridiculous to him, seeing their own Authors did believe and\nteach the _Renovation of the World_, after certain Ages or Periods. And\nthe Truth is, this Renovation of the World, rightly stated, is the same\nThing with the _First Resurrection_ of the Christians. And as to the\nsecond and general Resurrection, when the Righteous shall have C\u0153lestial\nBodies; \u2019tis well known, that the _Platonists_ and _Pythagoreans_\ncloathed the Soul with a C\u0153lestial Body, or, in their Language, an\n\u00c6thereal Vehicle, as her last Beatitude or Glorification. So that\n_Origen_ might very justly tell his Adversary, he had no Reason to\nridicule the Christian Doctrine of the Resurrection, seeing their own\nAuthors had the main Strokes of it in their Traditionary Learning.\n\nI will only add one Remark more, before we leave this Subject, to\nprevent a Mistake in the Word _Immortal_ or _Immortality_, when applied\nto the World. As I told you before, the Equivocation that was in that\nTerm _World_, it being us\u2019d sometimes for the whole Universe, sometimes\nfor this inferior Part of it where we live; so likewise we must observe,\nthat when this inferior World is said to be _Immortal_, by the\nPhilosophers, as sometimes it is, that commonly is not meant of any\nsingle State of Nature, or any single World, but of a Succession of\nWorlds, consequent one upon another. As a Family may be said Immortal,\nnot in any single Person, but in a Succession of Heirs. So as, many\nTimes, when the Ancients mention the Immortality of the World, they do\nnot thereby exclude the Dissolution or Renovation of it; but suppose a\nVicissitude, or Series of Worlds succeeding one another. This\nObservation is not mine, but was long since made by _Simplicius_,\n_Stob\u00e6us_, and others, who tell us in what Sense some of those\nPhilosophers who allowed the World to be perishable, did yet affirm it\nto be immortal: Namely, by successive Renovations.\n\nThus much is sufficient to shew the Sense and Judgment of Antiquity, as\nto the Changeableness or Perpetuity of the World. But ancient Learning\nis like ancient Medals, more esteem\u2019d for their Rarity, than their real\nUse; unless the Authority of a Prince make them currant: So neither will\nthese Testimonies be of any great Effect, unless they be made good and\nvaluable by the Authority of Scripture. We must therefore add the\nTestimonies of the Prophets and Apostles, to these of the _Greeks_ and\n_Barbarians_, that the Evidence may be full and undeniable. That the\nHeavens and the Earth will perish, or be chang\u2019d into another Form, is,\nsometimes, plainly express\u2019d, sometimes suppos\u2019d and alluded to in\nScripture. The Prophet _David_\u2019s Testimony is express, both for the\nBeginning and Ending of the World: In _Psal. cii. ver. 25, 26, 27_. _Of\nold hast thou laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the\nWork of thy Hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of\nthem shall wax old like a Garment; as a Vesture shalt thou change them,\nand they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy Years shall\nhave no End._ The Prophet _Isaiah_\u2019s Testimony is no less express, to\nthe same Purpose, _ch. li. 6._ _Lift up your Eyes to the Heavens, and\nlook upon the Earth beneath: For the Heavens shall vanish away like\nSmoke, and the Earth shall wax old like a Garment, and they that dwell\ntherein shall die in like Manner._ These Texts are plain and explicit;\nand in Allusion to this Day of the Lord, and this Destruction of the\nWorld, the same Prophet often useth Phrases that relate to it: As the\n_Concussion of the Heavens and the Earth, Isa. xiii. 13._ The _shaking\nof the Foundations of the World, ch. xxiv. 18, 19._ The _Dissolution of\nthe Host of Heaven, ch. xxxiv. 4._ And our Sacred Writers have\nExpressions of the like Force, and relating to the same Effect: As the\n_Hills melting like Wax, at the Presence of the Lord, Psal. xcvii. 5._\nShattering _once more_ all the Parts of the Creation, _Hagg. ii. 6._\n_Overturning the Mountains, and making the Pillars of the Earth to\ntremble, Job ix. 5, 6._ If you reflect upon the Explication given of the\nDeluge, in the first Part of this Theory, and attend to the Manner of\nthe Conflagration, as it will be explain\u2019d in the Sequel of this\nDiscourse, you will see the Justness and Fitness of these Expressions:\nThat they are not Poetical Hyperboles, or random Expressions of great\nand terrible Things in general, but a true Account of what hath been, or\nwill be, at that great Day of the Lord. \u2019Tis true, the Prophets\nsometimes use such like Expressions figuratively, for Commotion in\nStates and Kingdoms, but that is only by way of Metaphor and\nAccommodation; the true Basis they stand upon, is, That Ruin, Overthrow,\nand Dissolution of the Natural World, which was once at the Deluge, and\nwill be again, after another Manner, at the general Conflagration.\n\nAs to the New Testament, our Saviour says, _Heaven and Earth shall pass\naway, but his Words shall not pass away, Mat. xxiv. 35._ St. _Paul_\nsays, the _Scheme of this World_; the Fashion, Form, and Composition of\nit, _passeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 31._ And when mention is made of _New\nHeavens_ and a _New Earth_, which both the Prophet _Isaiah_, _Isa. lxv.\n17. & lxvi. 22._ and the Apostles St. _Peter_ and St. _John_, _Rev. xxi.\n1._ _2 Pet._ _iii. 13._ mention, \u2019tis plainly imply\u2019d, that the Old ones\nwill be dissolv\u2019d. The same Thing is also imply\u2019d, when our Saviour\nspeaks of a _Renascency_, or _Regeneration_, _Mat. xix. 28._ and St.\n_Peter_, of a _Restitution_ of all Things, _Acts iii. 21._ For what is\nnow, must be abolish\u2019d, before any former Order of Things can be\nrestor\u2019d or reduced. In a Word, If there was nothing in Scripture\nconcerning this Subject, but that Discourse of St. _Peter_\u2019s, in his\nSecond Epistle, and Third Chapter, concerning the triple Order and\nSuccessions of the Heavens and the Earth, past, present, and to come;\nthat alone would be a Conviction, and Demonstration to me, that this\npresent World will be dissolv\u2019d.\n\nYou will say, it may be, in the last Place, we want still the Testimony\nof Natural Reason and Philosophy, to make the Evidence complete. I\nanswer, \u2019tis enough if they be silent, and have nothing to say to the\ncontrary. Here are Witnesses, Human and Divine, and if none appear\nagainst them, we have no reason to refuse their Testimony, or to\ndistrust it. Philosophy will very readily yield to this Doctrine, that\nall material Compositions are dissolvable; and she will not wonder to\nsee that die, which she had seen born: I mean this terrestrial World.\nShe stood upon the Chaos, and saw it roll itself, with Difficulty, and\nafter many Strugglings, into the form of an habitable Earth: And that\nForm she saw broken down again at the Deluge; and can as little hope or\nexpect, now, as then, that it should be everlasting and immutable. There\nwould be nothing great or considerable in this inferior World, if there\nwere not such Revolutions of Nature. The Seasons of the Year, and the\nfresh Productions of the Spring, are pretty in their Way; but when the\n(_Annus Magnus_) _Great Year_ comes about, with a new Order of all\nThings, in the Heavens, and on the Earth; and a new Dress of Nature\nthroughout all her Regions, far more goodly and beautiful than the\nfairest Spring; this gives a new Life to the Creation, and shews the\nGreatness of its Author. Besides, these fatal Catastrophes are always a\nPunishment to degenerate Mankind, that are overwhelm\u2019d in the Ruins of\nthese perishing Worlds. And to make Nature herself execute the Divine\nVengeance against rebellious Creatures, argues both the Power and Wisdom\nof that Providence that governs all Things here below. These Things\nReason and Philosophy approve of; but if you further require, that they\nshould shew a _Necessity_ of this future Destruction of the World, from\n_natural Causes_, with the Time, and all other Circumstances of this\nEffect; your Demands are unreasonable, seeing these Things do not depend\nsolely upon Nature. But if you will content yourself to know what\nDispositions there are in Nature towards such a Change; how it may\nbegin, proceed, and be consummate, under the Conduct of Providence, be\npleased to read the following Discourse, for your further Satisfaction.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. III.\n\n\n    _That the World will be destroy\u2019d by Fire, is the Doctrine of the\n    Ancients, especially of the Stoicks. That the same Doctrine is more\n    ancient than the Greeks, and deriv\u2019d from the Barbarick Philosophy;\n    and That probably from Noah, the Father of all Traditionary\n    Learning. The same Doctrine expressly authorized by Revelation, and\n    inroll\u2019d into the Sacred Canon._\n\n\nThat the present World, or the present Frame of Nature, will be\ndestroy\u2019d, we have already shewn. In what Manner this Destruction will\nbe, by what Force, or what kind of Fate, must be our next Enquiry. The\nPhilosophers have always spoken of _Fire_ and _Water_, those Two unruly\nElements, as the only Causes that can destroy the World, and work our\nRuin; and accordingly, they say, all the great and fatal Revolutions of\nNature, either past, or to come, depend upon the Violence of these Two;\nwhen they get the Mastery, and overwhelm all the rest, and the whole\nEarth, in a Deluge, or Conflagration. But, as they make these Two the\ndestroying Elements, so they also make them the purifying Elements. And,\naccordingly in their Lustrations, or their Rites and Ceremonies for\npurging Sin; Fire and Water were chiefly made use of, both amongst the\n_Romans_, _Greeks_, and _Barbarians_. And when these Elements over-run\nthe World, it is not, they say, for a final Destruction of it, but to\npurge Mankind, and Nature from their Impurities. As for Purgation by\nFire and Water, the Stile of our Sacred Writings does very much\naccommodate itself to that Sense; and the Holy Ghost, who is the great\nPurifier of Souls, is compared in his Operation upon us, and in our\nRegeneration, to Fire or Water. And as for the external World, S.\n_Peter_, _1 Ep. iii. 21._ makes the Flood to have been a kind of\n_Baptizing_ or Renovation of the World. And S. _Paul_, _1 Cor. iii. 13._\nand the Prophet _Malachi_, _c. iii. 2, 3._ makes the last Fire, to be a\npurging and refining Fire. But to return to the Ancients.\n\nThe _Stoicks_ especially, of all other Sects amongst the _Greeks_, have\npreserved the Doctrine of the Conflagration; and made it a considerable\nPart of their Philosophy, and almost a Character of their Order. This is\na Thing so well known, that I need not use any Citations to prove it.\nBut they cannot pretend to have been the first Authors of it neither.\nFor, besides that amongst the _Greeks_ themselves, _Heraclitus_ and\n_Empedocles_, more ancient than _Zeno_, the Master of the _Stoicks_,\ntaught this Doctrine; \u2019tis plainly a Branch of the Barbarick Philosophy,\nand taken from thence by the _Greeks_. For it is well known, that the\nmost ancient and mystick Learning amongst the _Greeks_, was not\noriginally their own, but borrowed of the more Eastern Nations, by\n_Orpheus_, _Pythagoras_, _Plato_, and many more, who travell\u2019d thither,\nand traded with the Priests for Knowledge and Philosophy; and when they\ngot a competent Stock, returned home, and set up a School, or a Sect, to\ninstruct their Countrymen. But before we pass to the Eastern Nations,\nlet us, if you please, compare the _Roman_ Philosophy upon this Subject,\nwith that of the _Greeks_.\n\nThe _Romans_ were a great People, that made a Shew of Learning, but had\nlittle, in reality, more than Words and Rhetorick. Their Curiosity or\nEmulation in Philosophical Studies was so little, that it did not make\ndifferent Sects and Schools amongst them, as amongst the _Greeks_. I\nremember no Philosophers they had, but such as _Tully_, _Seneca_, and\nsome of their Poets. And of these _Lucretius_, _Lucan_, and _Ovid_, have\nspoken openly of the Conflagration. _Ovid_\u2019s Verses are well known,\n\n         _Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus,\n         Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia C\u0153li\n         Ardeat, & mundi moles operosa laboret._\n\n         _A Time decreed by Fate, at length will come,\n         When Heavens, and Earth, and Seas, shall have their Doom;\n         A fiery Doom: And Nature\u2019s mighty Frame,\n         Shall break, and be dissolv\u2019d into a Flame._\n\nWe see _Tully_\u2019s Sense upon this Matter, in _Scipio_\u2019s _Dream_. When the\nold Man speaks to his Nephew _Africanus_, and shews him from the Clouds,\nthis Spot of Earth, where we live; he tells him, tho\u2019 our Actions should\nbe great, and Fortune favour them with Success, yet there wou\u2019d be no\nRoom for any lasting Glory in this World; for the World itself, is\ntransient and fugitive. And a Deluge, or a Conflagration, which\nnecessarily happen after certain Periods of Time, will sweep away all\nRecords of human Actions. As for _Seneca_, he being a profess\u2019d\n_Stoick_, we need not doubt of his Opinion in this Point. We may add\nhere, if you please, the _Sybelline Verses_, which were kept, with great\nReligion, in the Capitol at _Rome_, and consulted with much Ceremony\nupon solemn Occasions. These _Sybils_, were the Prophetesses of the\n_Gentiles_; and tho\u2019 their Writings now have many spurious Additions,\nyet none doubt but that the Conflagration of the World, was one of their\noriginal Prophecies.\n\nLet us now proceed to the Eastern Nations. As the _Romans_ received the\nsmall Skill they had in the Sciences, from the _Greeks_; so the\n_Greeks_, receiv\u2019d their chief Mystick Learning from the _Barbarians_:\nThat is, from the _\u00c6gyptians_, _Persians_, _Ph\u0153nicians_, and other\nEastern Nations; for \u2019tis not only the Western, or Northern People, that\nthey called _Barbarians_, but indeed, all Nations besides themselves.\nFor that is commonly the Vanity of great Empires, to uncivilize, in a\nManner, all the rest of the World; and to account all those People\n_barbarous_, that are not subject to their Dominion. These however, whom\nthey called so, were the most ancient People, and had the first Learning\nthat was ever heard of after the Flood. And amongst these, the\n_\u00c6gyptians_ were as famous as any; whose Sentiments in this particular\nof the Conflagration, are well known. For _Plato_, who liv\u2019d amongst\nthem several Years, tells us in his _Tim\u00e6us_, that it was the Doctrine\nof their Priests, that the fatal Catastrophes of the World, were by\n_Fire_ and _Water_. In like manner, the _Persians_ made their beloved\nGod, _Fire_, at length to consume all Things that are capable of being\nconsum\u2019d: For that is said to have been the Doctrine of _Hydaspes_, one\nof their great _Magi_, or Wise Men. As to the _Ph\u0153nicians_, I suspect\nvery much, that the _Stoicks_ had their Philosophy from them (_Just.\nMar. Apol. 2._) and amongst other Things the Conflagration. We shall\ntake Notice of that hereafter.\n\nBut to comprehend the _Arabians_ also, and _Indians_, give me leave to\nreflect a little upon the Story of the _Ph\u0153nix_. A Story well known, and\nrelated by some ancient Authors, and is in short this: The _Ph\u0153nix_,\nthey say, is a Bird in _Arabia_, _India_, and those Eastern Parts,\nsingle in her Kind, never more than one at a Time, and very long-lived;\nappearing only at the Expiration of the _Great Year_, as they call it:\nAnd when she makes herself a Nest of Spices, which being set on fire by\nthe Sun, or some other secret Power, she hovers upon it, and consumes\nherself in the Flames. But, which is most wonderful, out of these Ashes\nriseth a second _Ph\u0153nix_, so that it is not so much a Death, as a\nRenovation. I do not doubt but the Story is a Fable, as to any such kind\nof Bird, single in her Species, living, and dying, and reviving in that\nManner: But \u2019tis an Apologue, or a Fable with an Interpretation, and was\nintended as an _Emblem_ of the World; which, after a long Age, will be\nconsum\u2019d in the last Fire: And from its Ashes or Remains, will arise\nanother World, or a new-form\u2019d Heavens and Earth. This, I think, is the\ntrue Mystery of the _Ph\u0153nix_, under which Symbol the Eastern Nations\npreserv\u2019d the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and Renovation of the\nWorld. They tell somewhat a like Story of the Eagle, soaring aloft so\nnear the Sun, that by his Warmth and enlivening Rays, she renews her\nAge, and becomes young again. To this the _Psalmist_ is thought to\nallude, Psal. ciii. 5. _Thy Youth shall be renewed like the Eagles_:\nWhich the _Chaldee_ Paraphrast renders, _In mundo venturo renovabis,\nsicut Aquil\u00e6, juventutem tuam_. These Things to me seem plainly to be\nSymbolical, representing that World to come, which the Paraphrast\nmentions, and the firing of this. And this is after the Manner of the\nEastern Wisdom; which always lov\u2019d to go fine, cloath\u2019d in Figures and\nFancies.\n\nAnd not only the Eastern _Barbarians_, but the Northern and Western\nalso, had this Doctrine of the Conflagration amongst them. The\n_Scythians_, in their Dispute with the _\u00c6gyptians_ about Antiquity,\nargue upon both Suppositions, of Fire or Water, destroying the last\nWorld, or beginning This. And in the West, the _Celts_, the most ancient\nPeople there, had the same Tradition; for the _Druids_, who were their\nPriests and Philosophers, derived not from the _Greeks_, but of the old\nRace of Wise Men, that had their Learning traditionally, and, as it\nwere, hereditary from the first Ages: These, as _Strabo_ tells us, _lib.\n4._ gave the World a kind of Immortality, by repeated Renovations; and\nthe Principle that destroy\u2019d it, according to them, was always Fire or\nWater. I had forgot to mention in this List, the _Chaldeans_, whose\nOpinion we have from _Berosus_, in _Seneca_, _Nat. Qu\u00e6st. 3._ _c. 29_.\nThey did not only teach the Conflagration, but also fix\u2019d it to a\ncertain Period of Time, when there should happen a great Conjunction of\nthe Planets in _Cancer_. Lastly, we may add, to close the Account, the\nmodern _Indian_ Philosophers, the Reliques of the old _Bragmans_: These,\nas _Maffeus_ tells us, _lib._ 16. _Hist. Ind._ declare, That the World\nwill be renewed after an universal Conflagration.\n\nYou see of what Extent and Universality throughout all Nations, this\nDoctrine of the Conflagration hath been. Let us now consider, what\nDefects or Excesses there are, in these ancient Opinions, concerning\nthis Fate of the World, and how they may be rectified: That we may admit\nthem no further into our Belief, than they are warranted by Reason, or\nby the Authority of the Christian Religion. The first Fault they seem to\nhave committed about this Point, is this, That they made these\nRevolutions and Renovations of Nature, indefinite or endless: As if\nthere would be such a Succession of Deluges and Conflagrations to all\nEternity. This the _Stoicks_ seem plainly to have asserted, as appears\nfrom _Numenius_, _Philo_, _Simplicius_, and others. S. _Jerome_, _Ep.\n60._ imputes this Opinion also to _Origen_; but he does not always hit\nthe true Sense of that Father, or is not fair and just in the\nRepresentation of it. Whosoever held this Opinion, \u2019tis a manifest\nError, and may be easily rectified by the Christian Revelation; which\nteaches us plainly, that there is a final Period and Consummation of all\nThings that belong to this Sublunary or Terrestrial World; When the\n_Kingdom shall be delivered up to the Father_; and Time shall be no\nmore.\n\nAnother Error they committed in this Doctrine, is, the Identity, or\nSameness, if I may so say, of the World\u2019s succeeding one another. They\nare made, indeed, of the same Lump of Matter, but they supposed them to\nreturn also in the same Form. And, which is worse, that there would be\nthe same Face of human Affairs; the same Persons and the same Actions\nover again; so as the second World would be but a bare Repetition of the\nformer, without any Variety or Diversity. Such a Revolution is commonly\ncall\u2019d the _Platonick Year_: A Period when all Things return to the same\nPosture they had been some Thousand of Years before; as a Play acted\nover again, upon the same Stage, and to the same Auditory: This is a\ngroundless and injudicious Supposition. For, whether we consider the\nNature of Things, the Earth, after a Dissolution by Fire, or by Water,\ncould not return into the same Form and Fashion it had before; Or\nwhether we consider Providence, it would no way suit with the Divine\nWisdom and Justice, to bring upon the Stage again, those very Scenes,\nand that very Course of human Affairs, which it had so lately condemn\u2019d\nand destroy\u2019d. We may be assur\u2019d therefore, that, upon the Dissolution\nof a World, a new Order of Things, both as to Nature and Providence,\nalways appears. And what that new Order will be, in both respects, after\nthe _Conflagration_, I hope we shall, in the following Book, give a\nsatisfactory Account.\n\nThese are the Opinions, true or false, of the Ancients; and chiefly of\nthe _Stoicks_, concerning the Mystery of the Conflagration. It will not\nbe improper to enquire, in the last Place, how the _Stoicks_ came by\nthis Doctrine: Whether it was their Discovery and Invention, or from\nwhom they learned it. That it was not their own Invention, we have given\nsufficient ground to believe, by shewing the Antiquity of it beyond the\nTimes of the _Stoicks_. Besides, what a Man invents himself, he can give\nthe Reasons and Causes of it, as Things upon which he founded his\nInvention: But the _Stoicks_ do not this, but, according to the ancient\ntraditional Way, deliver the Conclusion without Proof or Premises. We\nnamed _Heraclitus_ and _Empedocles_, amongst the _Greeks_, to have\ntaught this Doctrine before the _Stoicks_; And, according to _Plutarch_\n(_de Defec. Orac._) _Hesiod_ and _Orpheus_, Authors of the highest\nAntiquity, sung of this last Fire in their Philosophick Poetry. But I\nsuspect the _Stoicks_ had this Doctrine from the _Ph\u0153nicians_; for if we\ninquire into the Original of that Sect, we shall find that their Founder\n_Zeno_, was a Barbarian, or Semi-barbarian, deriv\u2019d from the\n_Ph\u0153nicians_, as _Laertius_ and _Cicero_ give an Account of him. And the\n_Ph\u0153nicians_ had a great Share in the Oriental Knowledge, as we see by\n_Sanchoniathion\u2019s_ Remains in _Eusebius_. And by their mystical Books\nwhich _Suidas_ mentions, from whence _Pherecydes_, _Pythagoras_\u2019s\nMaster, had his Learning. We may therefore, reasonably presume, that it\nmight be from his Countrymen, the _Ph\u0153nicians_, that _Zeno_ had the\nDoctrine of the _Conflagration_. Not that he brought it first into\n_Greece_, but strongly reviv\u2019d it, and made it almost peculiar to his\nSect.\n\nSo much for the _Stoicks_ in particular, and the _Greeks_ in general. We\nhave also, you see, trac\u2019d these Opinions higher, to the first Barbarick\nPhilosophers; who were the first Race of Philosophers after the Flood.\nBut _Josephus_ tells a formal Story, of Pillars set up by _Seth_, before\nthe Flood; implying the Foreknowledge of this fiery Destruction of the\nWorld, even from the Beginning of it. His Words, _lib. 1. c. 3._ are to\nthis Effect, give what Credit to them you think fit: _Seth and his\nFellow Students, having found out the Knowledge of the C\u0153lestial Bodies,\nand the Order and Disposition of the Universe; and having also receiv\u2019d\nfrom Adam, a Prophecy, that the World should have a double Destruction,\none by Water, another by Fire: To preserve and transmit their Knowledge,\nin either Case, to Posterity, they raised two Pillars, one of Brick,\nanother of Stone, and ingrav\u2019d upon them their Philosophy and\nInventions. And one of these Pillars_, the Author says (\u039a\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\n\u03a3\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03b4\u03b1) _was standing in_ Syria, _even to his Time_. I do not press the\nBelief of this Story; there being nothing, that I know of, in Antiquity,\nSacred or Prophane, that gives a joint Testimony with it. And those that\nset up these Pillars, do not seem to me, to have understood the Nature\nof the _Deluge_ or _Conflagration_; if they thought a Pillar, either of\nBrick or Stone, would be secure, in those great Dissolutions of the\nEarth. But we have pursued this Doctrine high enough, without the Help\nof these ante-diluvian Antiquities: Namely, to the earliest People, and\nthe first Appearances of Wisdom after the Flood. So that, I think, we\nmay justly look upon it as the Doctrine of _Noah_, and of his immediate\nPosterity. And, as that is the highest Source of Learning to the present\nWorld; so we should endeavour to carry our Philosophical Traditions to\nthat Original: For I cannot persuade myself, but that they had amongst\nthem, even in those early Days, the main Strokes, or Conclusions of the\nbest Philosophy: Or, if I may so say, a Form of sound Doctrine\nconcerning Nature and Providence. Of which Matter, if you will allow me\na short Digression, I will speak my Thoughts in a few Words.\n\nIn those first Ages of the World, after the Flood, when _Noah_ and his\nChildren peopled the Earth again, as he gave them Precepts of Morality\nand Piety, for the Conduct of their Manners; which are usually call\u2019d\n_Pr\u00e6cepta Noachidarum_, the _Precepts_ of _Noah_, frequently mention\u2019d\nboth by the _Jews_ and _Christians_: So also he deliver\u2019d to them, at\nleast, if we judge aright, certain Maxims, or Conclusions about\nProvidence, the State of Nature, and the Fate of the World: And these,\nin Proportion, may be call\u2019d _Dogmata Noachidarum_, the _Doctrines_ of\n_Noah_, and _his Children_. Which made a System of Philosophy, or secret\nKnowledge amongst them, delivered by Tradition from Father to Son; but\nespecially preserv\u2019d amongst their Priests and Sacred Persons, or such\nothers as were addicted to Contemplation. This I take to be more ancient\nthan _Moses_ himself, or the _Jewish_ Nation. But it would lead me too\nfar out of my Way, to set down, in this Place, the Reasons of my\nJudgment. Let it be sufficient to have pointed only at this\nFountain-head of Knowledge, and so return to our Argument.\n\nWe have heard, as it were, a Cry of Fire, throughout all Antiquity, and\nthroughout all the People of the Earth. But those Alarums are sometimes\nfalse, or make a greater Noise than the Thing deserves. For my Part, I\nnever trust Antiquity barely upon its own Account, but always require a\nsecond Witness, either from Nature, or from Scripture: What the Voice of\nNature is, we shall hear all along in the following Treatise. Let us\nthen examine at present, what Testimony the Prophets and Apostles give\nto this ancient Doctrine of the Conflagration of the World. The Prophets\nsee the World a Fire at a Distance, and more imperfectly, as a\nBrightness in the Heavens, rather than a burning Flame: But S. _Peter_\ndescribes it, as if he had been standing by, and seen the Heavens and\nEarth in a red Fire; heard the cracking Flames, and the tumbling\nMountains, 2 _Pet._ iii. 10. In the Day of the Lord, _The Heavens shall\npass away with a great Noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent\nHeat: The Earth also, and the Works that are therein, shall be burnt\nup_. Then, after a pious Ejaculation, he adds, _Ver._ 12. _Looking for,\nand hastening the coming of the Day of God, wherein the Heavens being on\nFire, shall be dissolv\u2019d; and the Elements shall melt with fervent\nHeat._ This is as lively as a Man could express it, if he had the\ndreadful Spectacle before his Eyes. S. _Peter_ had before taught the\nsame Doctrine (_ver._ 5, 6, 7.) but in a more Philosophick Way;\ndescribing the double Fate of the World, by Water and Fire, with\nrelation to the Nature and Constitution of either World, past or\npresent. _The Heavens and the Earth were of old, consisting of Water,\nand by Water: Whereby, the World that then was, being overflowed with\nWater, perished. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the\nsame Word are kept in Store, reserved unto Fire, against the Day of\nJudgment, and Perdition of Ungodly, or Atheistical Men._ This Testimony\nof S. _Peter_ being full, direct, and explicit, will give Light and\nStrength to several other Passages of Scripture, where the same Thing is\nexprest obscurely, or by Allusion. As when S. _Paul_ says, _The Fire\nshall try every Man\u2019s Work in that Day_, 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13. And our\nSaviour says, _The Tares shall be burnt in the Fire, at the End of the\nWorld_, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, 42. Accordingly it is said, both by the\nApostles and Prophets, that _God_ will come to Judgment _in Fire_. St.\n_Paul_ to the _Thessalonians_, 2 _Thess._ ii. 7, 8. promiseth the\npersecuted Righteous Rest and Ease, _When the Lord shall be revealed\nfrom Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire; taking Vengeance\non them that know not God_, &c. And so to the _Hebrews_, St. _Paul_\nsays, _ch._ x. 27. that for wilful Apostates, there remaineth no more\nSacrifice for Sin, _but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and\nfiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries_, or Enemies of\nGod. And in _ch._ xii. _ver._ 26, 27, 28, 29. he alludes to the same\nThing, when, after he had spoken of _shaking the Heavens_, and the\n_Earth_ once more, he exhorteth, as St. _Peter_ does upon the same\nOccasion, to _Reverence and godly Fear; for our God is a consuming\nFire_.\n\nIn like manner the Prophets, when they speak of destroying the Wicked,\nand the Enemies of God and Christ, at the End of the World, represent it\nas a Destruction _by Fire_. Psal. xi. 6. _Upon the Wicked the Lord shall\nrain Coals, Fire, and Brimstone, and a burning Tempest: This shall be\nthe Portion of their Cup._ And Psal. l. 3. _Our God shall come, and will\nnot be slow: A Fire shall devour before him_, and it _shall be very\ntempestuous round about him_. And in the Beginning of those two\ntriumphal Psalms, the lxviiith, and xcviith, we see plain Allusions to\nthis coming of the Lord in Fire. The other Prophets speak in the same\nStyle, of a fiery Indignation against the Wicked, in the Day of the\nLord: As in _Isaiah_ lxvi. 15. _For behold the Lord will come with Fire,\nand with his Chariots like a Whirlwind, to render his Anger with Fury,\nand his Rebuke with Flames of Fire_ (and _ch._ xxxiv. 8, 9, 10) And in\n_Daniel_, _c._ vii. 9, 10. The Ancient of Days is placed upon his Seat\nof Judgment, covered in Flames. _I beheld till the Thrones were set, and\nthe Ancient of Days did sit, whose Garment was white as Snow, and the\nHair of his Head like the pure Wool: His Throne was like the fiery\nFlame, his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream issued and came forth\nfrom before him: thousand thousands ministred unto him, and ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand stood before him: The Judgment was set, and the Books\nwere opened._ The Prophet _Malachi_, c. iv. 1. describes the Day of the\nLord to the same Effect, and in like Colours; _Behold the Day cometh,\nthat shall burn as an Oven: and all the Proud, yea, and all that do\nwickedly, shall be as Stubble; and the Day that cometh shall burn them\nup, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither Root nor\nBranch._ And that Nature herself, and the Earth shall suffer in that\nFire, the Prophet _Zephany_ tells us, _c._ iii. 8. _All the Earth shall\nbe devoured with the Fire of my Jealousy._ Lastly, this Consumption of\nthe Earth by Fire, even to the Foundations of it, is exprest livelily by\n_Moses_ in his Song, _Deut._ xxxii. 22. _A Fire is kindled in my Anger,\nand shall burn unto the lowest Hell: and shall consume the Earth with\nher Increase, and set on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains._\n\nIf we reflect upon these Witnesses; and especially the first and last,\n_Moses_ and Saint _Peter_; at what a great Distance of Time they writ\ntheir Prophecies, and yet how well they agree, we must needs conclude\nthey were acted by the same Spirit; and a Spirit that saw thorough all\nthe Ages of the World, from the Beginning to the End. These Sacred\nWriters were so remote in Time from one another, that they could not\nconfer together, nor conspire either in a false Testimony, or to make\nthe same Prediction. But being under one common Influence and\nInspiration, which is always consistent with itself, they have dictated\nthe same Things, tho\u2019 at two thousand Years Distance sometimes from one\nanother. This, besides many other Considerations, makes their Authority\nincontestable. And upon the whole Account, you see, that the Doctrine of\nthe future _Conflagration of the World_, having run thro\u2019 all Ages and\nNations, is, by the joint Consent of the Prophets and Apostles, adopted\ninto the Christian Faith.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. IV.\n\n\n    _Concerning the Time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World.\n    What the Astronomers say upon this Subject, and upon what they\n    ground their Calculations: The true Notion of the Great Year, or of\n    the Platonick Year, stated and explained._\n\n\nHaving, in this first Section, laid a sure Foundation, as to the Subject\nof our Discourse; the Truth and Certainty of the _Conflagration_ whereof\nwe are to treat; we will now proceed to enquire after the _Time_,\n_Causes_, and _Manner_ of it. We are naturally more inquisitive after\nthe End of the World, and the Time of that fatal Revolution, than after\nthe Causes of it: For these, we know, are irresistible, whensoever they\ncome, and therefore we are only solicitous that they should not overtake\nus, or our near Posterity. The _Romans_ thought they had the Fates of\ntheir Empire in the Books of the Sibyls, which were kept by the\nMagistrates as a Sacred Treasure. We have also our Prophetical Books,\nmore sacred and more infallible than theirs, which contain the Fate of\nall the Kingdoms of the Earth, and of that glorious Kingdom that is to\nsucceed. And of all Futurities, there is none can be of such Importance\nto be enquired after, as this last Scene and Close of all human Affairs.\n\nIf I thought it possible to determine the Time of the _Conflagration_\nfrom the bare Intuition of natural Causes, I would not treat of it in\nthis Place, but reserve it to the last; after we had brought into View\nall those Causes, weigh\u2019d their Force, and examin\u2019d how and when they\nwould concur to produce this great Effect. But I am satisfied, that the\nExcitation and Concourse of those Causes does not depend upon Nature\nonly; and tho\u2019 the Causes may be sufficient, when all united, yet the\nUnion of them at such a Time, and in such a Manner, I look upon as the\nEffect of a particular Providence; and therefore no Fore-sight of ours,\nor Inspection into Nature, can discover to us the Time of this\nConjuncture. This Method, therefore, of Prediction from natural Causes\nbeing laid aside as impracticable, all other Methods may be treated of\nin this Place, as being independent upon any Thing that is to follow in\nthe Treatise; and it will be an Ease to the Argument to discharge it of\nthis Part, and clear the Way by Degrees to the principal Point, which\nis, The _Causes_ and _Manner_ of the Conflagration.\n\nSome have thought it a Kind of Impiety in a Christian, to enquire after\nthe End of the World; because of that Check which our Saviour gave his\nDisciples, when, after his Resurrection, enquiring of him about the Time\nof his Kingdom, he answer\u2019d, _It is not for you to know the Times or the\nSeasons, which the Father hath put in his own Power, Acts i. 7._ And\nbefore his Death, when he was discoursing of the Consummation of all\nThings, He told them expresly, that though there should be such and such\nprevious Signs as he had mention\u2019d, yet, _Of that Day and Hour knoweth\nno Man; no, not the Angels that are in Heaven, but my Father only, Matt.\nxxiv. 36._ Be it so, that the Disciples deserv\u2019d a Reprimand, for\ndesiring to know, by a particular Revelation from our Saviour, the State\nof future Times; when many other Things were more necessary for their\nInstruction, and for their Ministry. Be it also admitted, that the\nAngels, at that Distance of Time, could not see thorow all Events to the\nEnd of the World; it does not at all follow from thence, that they do\nnot know it now; when, in the Course of 1600 Years, many Things are come\nto pass, that may be Marks and Directions to them to make a Judgment of\nwhat remains, and of the last Period of all Things. However, there will\nbe no Danger in our Enquiries about this Matter, seeing they are not so\nmuch to discover the Certainty, as the Uncertainty of that Period, as to\nhuman Knowledge. Let us therefore consider what Methods have been used,\nby those that have been curious and busy to measure the Duration of the\nWorld.\n\nThe _Stoicks_ tell us, _When_ the Sun and the Stars have drunk up the\nSea, then the Earth shall be burnt. A very fair Prophecy! But, how long\nwill they be a drinking? For unless we can determine that, we cannot\ndetermine when this Combustion will begin. Many of the Antients thought\nthat the Stars were nourish\u2019d by the Vapours of the Ocean and of the\nmoist Earth, (_Cicer. de Nat. D. lib. 2._) and when that Nourishment was\nspent, being of a fiery Nature, they would prey upon the Body of the\nEarth it self, and consume that, after they had consum\u2019d the Water. This\nis old-fashion\u2019d Philosophy, and now, that the Nature of those Bodies is\nbetter known, will scarce pass for current. \u2019Tis true, we must expect\nsome Dispositions towards the Combustion of the World, from a great\nDrought and Desiccation of the Earth: But this helps us nothing on our\nWay; for the Question still returns, _When_ will this immoderate Drought\nor Dryness happen? and that\u2019s as ill to resolve as the former.\nTherefore, as I said before, I have no Hopes of deciding the Question by\nPhysiology or Natural Causes; let us then look up from the Earth to the\nHeavens, to the Astronomers and the Prophets: These think they can\ndefine the Age and Duration of the World; the one by their Art, and the\nother by Inspiration.\n\nWe begin with the Astronomers; whose Calculations are founded either\nupon the Aspects and Configurations of the Planets, or upon the\nRevolutions of the fixed Stars: or, lastly, upon that which they call\n_Annus Magnus_, or the _Great Year_, whatsoever that Notion proves to be\nwhen it is rightly interpreted. As to the Planets, _Berosus_ tells us,\nthe _Chaldeans_ suppose Deluges to proceed from a great Conjunction of\nthe Planets in _Capricorn_, (_Sen. Nat. qu. l. 3. c. 29._) And from a\nlike Conjunction in the opposite Sign of _Cancer_, the Conflagration\nwill ensue. So that if we compute by the Astronomical Tables how long it\nwill be to such a Conjunction, we find at the same Time how long it will\nbe to the _Conflagration_. This Doctrine of the _Chaldeans_ some\nChristian Authors have owned, and followed the same Principles and\nMethod.\n\nIf these Authors would deal fairly with Mankind, they should shew us\nsome Connexion betwixt these Causes and the Effects which they make\nconsequent upon them. For \u2019tis an unreasonable Thing to require a Man\u2019s\nAssent to a Proposition, where he sees no Dependance or Connexion of\nTerms; unless it come by Revelation, or from an infallible Authority. If\nyou say, the Conflagration will be at the first great Conjunction of the\nPlanets in _Cancer_, and I say it will be at the next Eclipse of the\nMoon, if you shew no more Reason for your Assertion than I for mine, and\nneither of us pretend to Revelation or Infallibility, we may justly\nexpect to be equally credited. Pray what Reason can you give why the\nPlanets, when they meet, should plot together to set on Fire their\nFellow-Planet, the Earth, who never did them any Harm? But now there is\na plausible Reason for my Opinion; for the Moon, when eclips\u2019d, may\nthink herself affronted by the Earth interposing rudely betwixt her and\nthe Sun, and leaving her to grope her Way in the Dark: She therefore may\njustly take her Revenge as she can. But you\u2019ll say, \u2019tis not in the\nPower of the Moon to set the Earth on Fire, if she had Malice enough to\ndo it. No, nor say I, is it in the Power of the other Planets that are\nfar more distant from the Earth than the Moon, and as stark dull Lumps\nof Earth as she is. The plain Truth is, the Planets are so many Earths;\nand our Earth is as much a Planet as the brightest of them. \u2019Tis carried\nabout the Sun with the same common Stream, and shines with as much\nLustre to them, as they do to us: Neither can they do any more Harm to\nit, than it can do to them. \u2019Tis now well known, that the Planets are\ndark opake Bodies, generally made up of Earth and Water, as our Globe\nis; and have no Force or Action, but that of reverberating the Light\nwhich the Sun casts upon them. This blind superstitious Fear or\nReverence for the Stars, had its Original from the antient Idolaters:\nThey thought them Gods, and that they had Domination over human Affairs.\nWe do not indeed worship them, as they did; but some Men retain still\nthe same Opinion of their Vertues, of their Rule and Influence upon us\nand our Affairs, which was the Ground of their Worship. \u2019Tis full Time\nnow to sweep away these Cobwebs of Superstition, these Relicks of\nPaganism. I do not see how we are any more concern\u2019d in the Postures of\nthe Planets, than in the Postures of the Clouds; and you may as well\nbuild an Art of Prediction and Divination, upon the one, as the other.\nThey must not know much of the Philosophy of the Heavens, or little\nconsider it, that think the Fate, either of single Persons, or of the\nwhole Earth, can depend upon the Aspects, or figur\u2019d Dances of those\nBodies.\n\nBut you\u2019ll say, it may be, Tho\u2019 no Reason can be given for such Effects,\nyet Experience does attest the Truth of them. In the first Place, I\nanswer, no Experience can be produced for this Effect we are speaking\nof, the Conflagration of the World. Secondly, Experience fallaciously\nrecorded, or wholly in favour of one side, is no Proof. If a publick\nRegister was kept of all Astrological Predictions, and of all the Events\nthat followed upon them, right or wrong, agreeing or disagreeing, I\ncould willingly refer the Cause to the Determination of such a Register,\nand such Experience: But that which they call Experience, is so stated,\nthat if one Prediction of ten hits right, or near right, it shall make\nmore Noise, and be more taken Notice of, than all the Nine that are\nfalse. Just as in a Lottery, where many Blanks are drawn for one Prize,\nyet these make all the Noise, and those are forgotten. If any one be so\nlucky as to draw a good Lot, then the Trumpet sounds, and his Name is\nregister\u2019d, and he tells his good Fortune to every Body he meets;\nwhereas those that lose, go silently away with empty Pockets, and are\nasham\u2019d to tell their Losses. Such a Thing is the Register of\nAstrological Experiences; they record what makes for their Credit, but\ndrop all blank Instances, that would discover the Vanity or Cheat of\ntheir Art.\n\nSo much for the Planets. They have also a pretended Calculation of the\nEnd of the World, from the fix\u2019d Stars and the Firmament. Which, in\nshort, is this: They suppose these Bodies, besides the Hurry of their\nDiurnal Motion from East to West, quite round the Earth in 24 Hours, to\nhave another retrograde Motion from West to East, which is more slow and\nleisurely: And when they have finished the Circle of this\nRetrogradation, and come up again to the same Place from whence they\nstarted at the Beginning of the World, then this Course of Nature will\nbe at an End; and either the Heavens will cease from all Motion, or a\nnew Set of Motions will be put a-foot, and the World begin again. This\nis a Bundle of Fictions tied up in a pretty Knot. In the first Place,\nthere is no such Thing as a solid Firmament, in which the Stars are\nfix\u2019d, as Nails in a Board. The Heavens are as fluid as our Air, and the\nhigher we go, the more thin and subtle is the ethereal Matter. Then, the\nfix\u2019d Stars are not all in one Surface, as they seem to us, not at an\nequal Distance from the Earth, but are placed in several Orbs higher and\nhigher; there being infinite Room in the great Deep of the Heavens,\nevery Way, for innumerable Stars and Spheres behind one another, to fill\nand beautify the immense Spaces of the Universe. Lastly, the fix\u2019d Stars\nhave no Motion common to them all, nor any Motion singly, unless upon\ntheir own Centres; and therefore, never leaving their Stations, they can\nnever return to any common Station, which they would suppose them to\nhave had at the Beginning of the World. So as this Period they speak of,\nwhereby they would measure the Duration of the World, is merely\nimaginary, and hath no Foundation in the true Nature or Motion of the\nc\u0153lestial Bodies.\n\nBut in the third Place, they speak of an ANNUS MAGNUS, a _Great Year_: A\nRevolution so call\u2019d, whatsoever it is, that is of the same Extent with\nthe Length of the World. This Notion, I confess, is more antient and\nuniversal, and therefore I am the more apt to believe that it is not\naltogether groundless. But the Difficulty is, to find out the Notion of\nthis _Great Year_, what is to be understood by it, and then of what\nLength it is. They all agree that it is a Time of some grand\nInstauration of all Things, or a Restitution of the Heavens and the\nEarth to their former State; that is, to the State and Posture they had\nat the Beginning of the World; such therefore as will restore the Golden\nAge, and that happy State of Nature wherein Things were at first. If so,\nif these be the Marks and Properties of this Revolution, which is called\nthe _Great Year_, we need not go so far to find the true Notion and\nInterpretation of it. Those that have read the _first Part_ of this\n_Theory_, may remember, that in the _2d Book, Chap. 3._ we gave an\nAccount what the Posture of the Earth was at the Beginning of the World,\nand what were the Consequences of that Posture, _a perpetual Spring_ and\nEquinox throughout all the Earth: And if the Earth was restor\u2019d again to\nthat Posture and Situation, all that is imputed to the _Great Year_,\nwould immediately follow upon it, without ever disturbing or moving the\nfix\u2019d Stars, Firmament, or Planets; and yet at the same Time all these\nthree would return, or be restored to the same Posture they had at the\nBeginning of the World; so as the whole Character of the _Great Year_\nwould be truly fulfill\u2019d, tho\u2019 not in that Way which they imagin\u2019d; but\nin another, more compendious, and of easier Conception. My Meaning is\nthis, If the Axis of the Earth was rectified and set parallel with the\nAxis of the Ecliptick, upon which the Planets, Firmament, and fix\u2019d\nStars are suppos\u2019d to move, all Things would be as they were at first; a\ngeneral Harmony and Conformity of all the Motions of the Universe would\npresently appear, such as they say, was in the Golden Age, before any\nDisorder came into the Natural or Moral World.\n\nAs this is an easy, so I do not doubt, but it is a true Account of that\nwhich was originally call\u2019d the _Great Year_, or the Great Instauration;\nwhich Nature will bring to pass in this simple Method, by rectifying the\nAxis of the Earth, without those operose Revolutions, which some\nAstronomers have fancied. But however, this Account being admitted, how\nwill it help us to define what the Age and Duration of the World will\nbe? \u2019Tis true, many have undertaken to tell us the Length of this _Great\nYear_, and consequently of the World; but, besides that their Accounts\nare very different, and generally of an extravagant Length, if we had\nthe true Account, it would not assure us when the World would end;\nbecause we do not know when it did begin, or what Progress we have\nalready made in the Line of Time. For I am satisfied, the Chronology of\nthe World, whether Sacred or Profane, is lost; till Providence shall\nplease to retrieve it by some new Discovery. As to profane Chronology,\nor that of the _Heathens_, the _Greeks_, and the _Romans_ knew nothing\nabove the _Olympiads_; which fell short many Ages of the Deluge, much\nmore of the Beginning of the World. And the Eastern barbarous Nations,\nas they disagreed amongst themselves, so generally they run the Origin\nof the World to such a prodigious Height, as is neither agreeable to\nFaith, nor Reason. As to sacred Chronology, \u2019tis well known, that the\nDifference there is betwixt the _Greek_, _Hebrew_, and _Samaritan_\nCopies of the Bible, make the Age of the World altogether undetermin\u2019d:\nAnd there is no Way yet found out, how we may certainly discover which\nof the three Copies is most Authentick; and consequently, what the Age\nof the World is, upon a true Computation. Seeing therefore we have no\nAssurance how long the World hath stood already, neither could we be\nassur\u2019d how long it hath to stand, tho\u2019 by this _Annus Magnus_, or any\nother Way, the total Sum, or whole Term of its Duration was truly known;\nI am sorry to see the little Success we have had in our first Search\nafter the End of the World, from Astronomical Calculations. But \u2019tis an\nuseful Piece of Knowledge to know the Bounds of our Knowledge; that so\nwe may not spend our Time and Thoughts about Things that lie out of our\nReach. I have little or no Hopes of resolving this Point by the Light of\nNature, and therefore it only remains now to enquire, whether Providence\nhath made it known by any Sort of Prophecy or Revelation. Which shall be\nthe Subject of the following Chapter.\n\n\n\n\n                                CHAP. V.\n\n\n    _Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World: Of what\n    Order soever, Profane or Sacred; Jewish or Christian. That no\n    certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we\n    are now from the Conflagration._\n\n\nThe Bounds of human Knowledge are so narrow, and the Desire of knowing\nso vast and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods\nof inlarging their Knowledge. This hath made them find out Arts of\nCommerce with evil Spirits, to be instructed by them in such Events as\nthey could not of themselves discover. We meddle not with those\nMysteries of Iniquity: But what hath appear\u2019d under the Notion of divine\nProphecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving either the\nwhole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration; These we purpose\nto examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be\nconcluded from them, as to the Resolution of our Problem, _How long the\nWorld will last_.\n\nAmongst the Heathens, I do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature,\nexcept the _Sibylline Oracles_, as they are usually called. The antient\nEastern Philosophers have left us no Account that I can call to mind,\nabout the Time of this Fatality. They say, when the _Ph\u0153nix_ returns, we\nmust expect the Conflagration to follow; but the Age of the _Ph\u0153nix_\nthey make as various and uncertain, as they do the Computation of their\n_Great Year_, _Symbolum_ \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03be\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03c7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03bf\u03c5, _Ph\u0153nix. Hor. Apol.\nl. 2. c. 57._ which two Things are indeed, one and the same in Effect.\nSome of them, I confess, mention 6000 Years for the whole Age of the\nWorld: Which being the famous Prophecy of the _Jews_, we shall speak to\nit largely hereafter; and reduce to that Head, what broken Traditions\nremain amongst the Heathens of the same thing. As to the _Sibylline\nOracles_, which were so much in Reputation amongst the _Greeks_ and\n_Romans_, they have been tamper\u2019d with so much, and chang\u2019d so often,\nthat they are become now of little Authority. They seem to have divided\nthe Duration of the World into ten Ages, and the last of these they make\na Golden Age, a State of Peace, Righteousness, and Perfection: But\nseeing they have not determin\u2019d, in any definite Numbers, what the\nLength of every Age will be, nor given us the Sum of all, we cannot draw\nany Conclusion from this Account, as to the Point in question before us:\nBut must proceed to the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Oracles.\n\nThe _Jews_ have a remarkable Prophecy, which expresseth both the Whole,\nand the Parts of the World\u2019s Duration. The World, they say, will stand\nSix thousand Years: _Two thousand before the Law, Two thousand under the\nLaw, and Two thousand under the Messiah_. This Prophecy they derive from\n_Elias_; but there were two of the Name, _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and\n_Elias_ the _Rabbin_, or _Cabbalist_; and \u2019tis suppos\u2019d to belong\nimmediately to the latter of these. Yet this does not hinder, in my\nOpinion, but that it might come originally from the former _Elias_, and\nwas preserv\u2019d in the School of this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_, and first made\npublick by him. Or he added, it may be, that Division of the Time into\nthree Parts, and so got a Title to the whole. I cannot easily imagine,\nthat a Doctor that lived Two hundred Years, or thereabouts, before\nChrist, when Prophecy had ceas\u2019d for some Ages amongst the _Jews_,\nshould take upon him to dictate a Prophecy about the Duration of the\nWorld, unless he had been supported by some antecedent Cabbalistical\nTradition: Which being kept more secret before, he took the Liberty to\nmake Publick, and so was reputed the Author of the Prophecy: As many\nPhilosophers amongst the _Greeks_, were the reputed Authors of such\nDoctrines as were much more antient than themselves: But they were the\nPublishers of them in their Country, or the Revivers of them after a\nlong Silence; and so, by forgetful Posterity, got the Honour of the\nfirst Invention.\n\nYou will think, it may be, the Time is too long, and the Distance too\ngreat, betwixt _Elias_ the _Thesbite_, and this _Elias_ the _Rabbin_,\nfor a Tradition to subsist all the while, or be preserv\u2019d with any\ncompetent Integrity. But it appears from St. _Jude_\u2019s Epistle, that the\n_Prophecies of Enoch_, (who liv\u2019d before the Flood) relating to the Day\nof Judgment and the End of the World, were extant in his Time, either in\nWriting or by Tradition: And the Distance between _Enoch_ and St. _Jude_\nwas vastly greater than betwixt the two _Elias_\u2019s. Nor was any fitter to\nbe inspir\u2019d with that Knowledge, or to tell the first News of that fatal\nPeriod, than the old Prophet _Elias_, who is to come again and bring the\nAlarum of the approaching Conflagration. But however this Conjecture may\nprove as to the original Author of this Prophecy, the Prophecy itself\nconcerning the _Sexmillennial_ Duration of the World, is very much\ninsisted upon by the Christian Fathers. Which yet I believe is not so\nmuch for the bare Authority of the Tradition, as because they thought it\nwas founded in the History of the _six Days Creation_, and the _Sabbath_\nsucceeding: As also in some other typical Precepts and Usages in the Law\nof _Moses_. But before we speak of that, give me Leave to name some of\nthose Fathers to you, that were of this Judgment, and supposed the great\nSabbatism would succeed after the World had stood Six thousand Years. Of\nthis Opinion was St. _Barnabas_ in his Catholick Epistle, _ch._ xv.\nWhere he argues, that the Creation will be ended in Six thousand Years,\nas it was finish\u2019d in six Days: Every Day according to the sacred and\nmystical Account, being a Thousand Years. Of the same Judgment is St.\n_Iren\u00e6us_, both as to the Conclusion, and the Reason of it, _l. 5. c.\n28, 29, 30_. He saith, the History of the Creation in six Days, _is a\nNarration as to what it past, and a Prophecy of what is to come_. As the\nWork was said to be consummated in 6 Days, and the Sabbath to be the\nSeventh: So the Consummation of all Things will be in 6000 Years, and\nthen the great Sabbatism to come on in the blessed Reign of Christ.\n_Hippolytus_ Martyr, Disciple of _Iren\u00e6us_, is of the same Judgment, as\nyou may see in _Photius_, _c. 202._ _Lactantius_ in his _Divine\nInstitutions_, _l. 7. c. 14._ gives the very same Account of the State\nand Condition of the World, and the same Proofs for it, and so does St.\n_Cyprian_, in his _Exhortation to Martyrdom, c. 18_. St. _Jerome_ more\nthan once declares himself of the same Opinion; and St. _Austin_, _C. D.\nl. 20. c. 7._ tho\u2019 he wavers, and was doubtful as to the _Millennium_,\nor Reign of Christ upon Earth, yet he receives this Computation without\nHesitancy, and upon the foremention\u2019d Grounds. So _Johannes Damascenus\nde Fide Orthodox\u00e2_, takes seven Millennaries for the intire Space of the\nWorld, from the Creation, to the general Resurrection, the Sabbatism\nbeing included. And that this was a receiv\u2019d and approv\u2019d Opinion in\nearly Times, we may collect from the Author of the _Questions and\nAnswers, ad Orthodoxos_, in _Justin Martyr_. Who, giving an Answer to\nthat Enquiry about the six thousand Years Term of the World, says, _We\nmay conjecture from many Places of Scripture, that those are in the\nright, that say, six thousand Years is the Time prefix\u2019d, for the\nDuration of this present Frame of the World_. These Authors I have\nexamin\u2019d my self: But there are many others brought in Confirmation of\nthis Opinion: As St. _Hilary_, _Anastasius Sinaita_, Sanctus\n_Gaudentius_, _Q. Julius Hilarion_, _Junilius Africanus_, _Isidorus\nHispalensis_, _Cassiodorus_, _Gregorius Magnus_, and others, which I\nleave to be examin\u2019d by those that have Curiosity and Leisure to do it.\n\nIn the mean time, it must be confess\u2019d, that many of these Fathers were\nunder a Mistake, in one respect, in that they generally thought the\nWorld was near an End in their Time. An Error, which we need not take\nPains to confute now; seeing we, who live twelve hundred or fourteen\nhundred Years after them, find the World still in being, and likely to\ncontinue so for some considerable Time. But it is easy to discern whence\ntheir Mistake proceeded: Not from this Prophecy alone, but because they\nreckon\u2019d this Prophecy according to the Chronology of the _Septuagint_:\nWhich setting back the Beginning of the World many Ages beyond the\n_Hebrew_, these six thousand Years were very near expir\u2019d in the Time of\nthose Fathers; and that made them conclude, that the World was very near\nan End. We will make no Reflections, in this Place, upon that Chronology\nof the _Septuagint_, lest it should too much interrupt the Thread of our\nDiscourse. But it is necessary to shew how the Fathers grounded this\nComputation of six thousand Years, upon Scripture. \u2019Twas chiefly, as we\nsuggested before, upon the _Hexameron_, or the Creation finish\u2019d in _six\nDays_, and the _Sabbath_ ensuing. The Sabbath, they said, was a Type of\nthe Sabbatism, that was to follow at the End of the World, according to\nSt. _Paul_, _ch. v._ to the _Hebrews_; and then by Analogy and\nConsequence, the six Days preceding the Sabbath, must note the Space and\nDuration of the World. If therefore they could discover how much a Day\nis reckon\u2019d for, in this mystical Computation, the Sum of the six Days\nwould be easily found out. And they think, that, according to the\nPsalmist (_Psal. xc. 4._) and St. _Peter_, (_2 Epist. iii. 8._) _a Day_\nmay be estimated _a thousand Years_, and consequently six Days must be\ncounted six thousand Years, for the Duration of the World. This is their\nInterpretation, and their Inference: But it must be acknowledged, that\nthere is an essential Weakness in all typical and allegorical\nArgumentations, in comparison of literal. And this being allow\u2019d in\nDiminution of the Proof, we may be bold to say, that nothing yet\nappears, either in Nature, or Scripture, or human Affairs, repugnant to\nthis Supposition of six thousand Years: Which hath Antiquity and the\nAuthority of the Fathers, on its Side.\n\nWe proceed now to the Christian Prophecies concerning the End of the\nWorld. I do not mention those in _Daniel_, because I am not satisfied\nthat any there (excepting that of the fifth Kingdom itself) extend so\nfar. But in the _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_, which is the last Revelation\nwe are to expect, there are several Prophecies that reach to the\nConsummation of this World, and the first Resurrection. The _seven\nSeals_, the _seven Trumpets_, the _seven Vials_, do all terminate upon\nthat great Period. But they are rather Historical Prophecies than\nChronological; they tell us, in their Language, the Events, but do not\nmeasure or express the Time wherein they come to pass. Others there are\nthat may be call\u2019d Chronological, as the _treading under Foot the Holy\nCity, Forty and two months, Apoc. xi. 2._ The _Witnesses_ opposing\nAntichrist _One thousand Two hundred and sixty Days, Apoc. xi. 3._ The\nFlight of the _Woman into the Wilderness_, for the same Number of Days,\nor for a _Time, Times, and half a Time, Apoc. xii. 6 & 14._ And lastly,\nThe War of the Beasts against the Saints, _Forty-two Months, Apoc. xiii.\n5._ These all, you see, express a Time for their Completion; and all the\nsame Time, if I be not mistaken: But they do not reach to the End of the\nWorld. Or if some of them did reach so far, yet because we do not\ncertainly know where to fix their Beginning, we must still be at a Loss,\nwhen, or in what Year they will expire. As for Instance, if the Reign of\nthe Beast, or the Preaching of the Witnesses be 1260 Years, as is\nreasonably suppos\u2019d; yet if we do not know certainly when this Reign, or\nthis Preaching begun, neither can we tell when it will end. And the\n_Epocha_\u2019s, or Beginnings of these Prophecies are so differently\ncalculated, and are Things of so long Debate, as to make the Discussion\nof them altogether improper for this Place. Yet it must be confest, that\nthe best Conjectures that can be made concerning the approaching End of\nthe World, must be taken from a judicious Examination of these Points:\nAnd accordingly as we gather up the Prophecies of the _Apocalypse_, in a\nsuccessive Completion, we see how by degrees we draw nearer and nearer\nto the Conclusion of all. But till some of these enlightening Prophecies\nbe accomplish\u2019d, we are as a Man that awakes in the Night, all is dark\nabout him, and he knows not how far the Night is spent; but if he watch\ntill the Light appears, the first Glimpses of that will resolve his\nDoubts. We must have a little Patience, and, I think, but a little;\nstill eyeing those Prophecies of the _Resurrection_ of the _Witnesses_,\nand the _Depression_ of _Antichrist_: \u2019Till by their Accomplishment, the\nDay dawn, and the Clouds begin to change their Colour. Then we shall be\nable to make a near Guess, when the Sun of Righteousness will arise.\n\nSo much for Prophecies. There are also _Signs_, which are look\u2019d upon as\nForerunners of the Coming of our Saviour; and, therefore, may give us\nsome Direction how to judge of the Distance or Approach of that great\nDay. Thus many of the Fathers thought the _coming of Antichrist_ would\nbe a Sign to give the World Notice of its approaching End. But we may\neasily see, by what hath been noted before, what it was that led the\nFathers into that Mistake. They thought their six thousand Years were\nnear an End, as they truly were, according to that Chronology they\nfollowed: and therefore they concluded the Reign of Antichrist must be\nvery short, whensoever he came, and that he could not come long before\nthe End of the World. But we are very well assur\u2019d, from the Revelation\nof Saint _John_, that the Reign of Antichrist is not to be so short and\ntransient; and from the Prospect and History of _Christendom_, that he\nhath been already upon his Throne many hundreds of Years. Therefore this\nSign wholly falls to the Ground; unless you will take it from the Fall\nof Antichrist, rather than from his first Entrance. Others expect the\n_coming_ of _Elias_, to give Warning of that Day, and prepare the Way of\nthe Lord. I am very willing to admit that _Elias_ will come, according\nto the Sense of the Prophet _Malachi_, _Chap. iv. 5, 6._ but he will not\ncome _with Observation_, no more than he did in the Person of _John_ the\nBaptist; He will not bear the Name of _Elias_, nor tell us he is the Man\nthat went to Heaven in a fiery Chariot, and is now come down again to\ngive us Warning of the last Fire. But some divine Person may appear\nbefore the second coming of our Saviour, as there did before his first\ncoming, and by giving a new Light and Life to the Christian Doctrine,\nmay dissipate the Mists of Error, and abolish all those little\nControversies amongst good Men, and the Divisions and Animosities that\nspring from them: Enlarging their Spirits by greater Discoveries, and\nuniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common\nStudy of Truth and Perfection. Such an _Elias_ the Prophet seems to\npoint at; and may he come, and be the great Peace-maker and Preparer of\nthe Ways of the Lord! But at present, we cannot from this Sign make any\nJudgment when the World will end.\n\nAnother Sign preceding the End of the World, is, _The Conversion of the\nJews_; and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. _Paul_ seems expresly to\naffirm it, _Rom. xi. 25, 26._ But it is differently understood, either\nof their Conversion only, or of their Restoration to their own Country,\nLiberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Sense\nsometimes, as you may see in _Isaiah_, _Ezekiel_, _Hosea_, _Amos_. And\nto the same purpose the antient Promise of _Moses_ is interpreted,\n_Deut. xxx._ Yet this seems to be a thing very unconceivable: Unless we\nsuppose the ten Tribes to be still in some hidden Corner of the World,\nfrom whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once\nout of _\u00c6gypt_, by a miraculous Providence, and establish\u2019d there:\nWhich, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other _Jews_, in the\nWorld, and make an universal Confluence to their old Home. Then our\nSaviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St. _Paul_,\n_John xix. 37._ and by Prophets, _Apoc. i. 7._ _Mat. xxiii. 39._ rais\u2019d\nup amongst them for that purpose, may convince them that he is the true\n_Messiah_, and convert them to the Christian Faith; which will be no\nmore strange, than was the first Conversion of the _Gentile_ World. But\nif we be content with a Conversion of the _Jews_, without their\nRestoration; and of those two Tribes only, which are now dispersed\nthroughout the Christian World, and other known Parts of the Earth: That\nthese should be converted to the Christian Faith, and incorporated into\nthe Christian Commonwealth, losing their National Character and\nDistinction: If this, I say, will satisfy the Prophecies, it is not a\nThing very difficult to be conceived. For when the World is reduc\u2019d to a\nbetter and purer State of Christianity, and that Idolatry, in a great\nmeasure remov\u2019d, which gave the greatest Scandal to the _Jews_, they\nwill begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be dispos\u2019d to a\nmore ingenuous and unprejudic\u2019d Examination of their Prophecies\nconcerning the _Messiah_: God raising up Men amongst them of divine and\nenlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sect or\nOpinion; with Light to discern it, and Courage to profess it. Lastly, It\nwill be a cogent Argument upon them, to see the Age of the World so far\nspent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected _Messiah_. So far\nspent, I say, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation\nwhatsoever, for the Oeconomy of a _Messiah_ yet to come. This will make\nthem reflect more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Christians\npropose, _Jesus of Nazareth_, whom their Fathers Crucified at\n_Jerusalem_: Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his\nDeath; and upon the wonderful Propagation of his Doctrine throughout the\nWorld, after his Ascension. And lastly, upon the Desolation of\n_Jerusalem_, upon their own scattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by\nthat Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an ungrateful and wicked People.\n\nThis I have said to state the Case of the Conversion of the _Jews_,\nwhich will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Christ. But, alas! what\nAppearance is there of this Conversion in our Days? or what Judgment can\nwe make from a Sign that is not come to pass? \u2019Tis ineffectual as to us,\nbut may be of Use to Posterity. Yet even to them it will not determine,\nat what Distance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only\nthat they are not far from it. There will be Signs also, in those last\nDays, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of\nthe _Conflagration_; as the Obscuration of the Sun and Moon,\nEarthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and such like Disorders in\nthe natural World, \u2019tis true; but these are the very Pangs of Death, and\nthe Strugglings of Nature just before her Dissolution, and it will be\ntoo late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet these\nbeing Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God\nwilling, after we have explained the Causes and Manner of the\n_Conflagration_, to give an Account also whence these unnatural\nCommotions will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate\nIntroductions to the last Fire.\n\nThus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the last\nDay and the last Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from\nthem as to the Time of that great Revolution? Prophecies rise sometimes\nwith an even gradual Light, as the Day riseth upon the Horizon: and\nsometimes break out suddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their\nApproach \u2019till we see them accomplish\u2019d. Those that concern the End of\nthe World, are of this latter Sort, to unobserving Men; but even to the\nmost observing, there will still be a Latitude; we must not expect to\ncalculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipse, to Minutes and\nhalf Minutes. There are _Times and Seasons which the Father hath put in\nhis own Power_. If it was design\u2019d to keep these Things secret, we must\nnot think to out-wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given\nus, pick out a Discovery that was not intended we should ever make. It\nis determin\u2019d in the Councils of Heaven just how far we shall know these\nEvents beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty: And with this we\nmust be content, whatsoever it is. The _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_ is the\nlast Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate\nof the Christian Religion to the End of the World, its Purity,\nDegeneracy, and Reviviscency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call\u2019d _The\nBeast, the false Prophet, the Whore of Babylon_, in Prophetical Terms:\nAnd in an Ecclesiastical Term is commonly call\u2019d _Antichrist_. Those\nthat bear Testimony against this Degeneracy, are call\u2019d the _Witnesses_:\nWho, after they have been a long Time in a mean and persecuted\nCondition, are to have their Resurrection and Ascension; that is, be\nadvanc\u2019d to Power and Authority. And this Resurrection of the\n_Witnesses_, and Depression of _Antichrist_, is that which will make the\ngreat Turn of the World to Righteousness, and the great Crisis, whereby\nwe may judge of its drawing to an End. \u2019Tis true, there are other Marks,\nas the passing away of the _second Woe_, _Apoc. c. ix._ which is\ncommonly thought to be the _Ottoman_ Empire; and the Effusion of the\n_Vials_, _Apoc. c. xvi._ The first of these will be indeed a very\nconspicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Resurrection of the Witnesses,\nas by the Prophecy it seems to do, _ch. xi. 14._ But as to the Vials,\ntho\u2019 they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not\nsatisfied with any Exposition I have yet met with, concerning their\nprecise Time or Contents.\n\nIn a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very\nintelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Persons may be very\nlubricous. There must be Obscurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a\nPicture. All its Lines must not stand in a full Light. For if Prophecies\nwere open and barefac\u2019d as to all their Parts and Circumstances, they\nwould check and obstruct the Course of human Affairs; and hinder, if it\nwas possible, their own Accomplishment. Modesty and Sobriety are in all\nThings commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of these\nsacred Mysteries; and we have seen so many miscarry by a too close and\nparticular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about\nwhich we see so many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Century,\nin calculating the last Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at\npresent, hath, in my Opinion, cast up his Accounts very well. But the\nScenes will change fast towards the Evening of this long Day, and when\nthe Sun is near setting, they will more easily compute how far he hath\nto run.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. VI.\n             _Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration._\n\n\n    _The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire.\n    With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos\u2019d Causes of the\n    Conflagration, by the Sun\u2019s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the\n    Earth\u2019s throwing out the central Fire, examin\u2019d and rejected._\n\n\nWe have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, _The Causes of\nthe Conflagration_: How the Heavens and the Earth will be set on Fire,\nwhat Materials are prepared, or what Train of Causes, for that purpose.\nThe Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite\ndesert us: they deal more in Conclusions than Causes, as is usual in all\nTraditional Learning. And the _Stoicks_ themselves, who inculcate so\nmuch the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it\nsuch, as to dissolve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very short\nand superficial in their Explications, how this shall come to pass. The\nlatent Seeds of Fire, they say, shall every where be let loose, and that\nElement will prevail over all the rest, and transform every Thing into\nits own Nature. But these are general Things, that give little\nSatisfaction to inquisitive Persons. Neither do the modern Authors, that\ntreat of the same Subject, relieve us in this Particular: They are\nwilling to suppose the Conflagration a superficial Effect, that so they\nmay excuse themselves the Trouble of enquiring after Causes. \u2019Tis no\ndoubt, in a Sort supernatural; and so the Deluge was: Yet _Moses_ sets\ndown the Causes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and the Disruption\nof the Abyss. So there must be Treasures of Fire provided against that\nDay, by whose Eruption this second Deluge will be brought upon the\nEarth.\n\nTo state the Case fairly, we must first represent the Difficulty of\nsetting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loose it; that so we\nmay the better judge whether the Causes that shall be brought into View,\nmay be sufficient to overcome so great Opposition. The Difficulty, no\ndoubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about\nour Globe; whereby Nature seems to have made Provision against any\nInvasion by Fire, and secur\u2019d us from that Enemy more than any other. We\nsee half of the Surface of the Earth cover\u2019d with the Seas, whose\nChannel is of a vast Depth and Capacity: Besides innumerable Rivers,\ngreat and small, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with\nperpetual Moisture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are\nStore-Houses of subterraneous Waters; which are as a Reserve, in case\nthe Ocean and the Rivers should be overcome. Neither is Water our only\nSecurity, for the hard Rocks, and stony Mountains, which no Fire can\nbide upon, are set in long Ranges upon the Continents and Islands; and\nmust needs give a Stop to the Progress of that furious Enemy, in case he\nshould attack us. Lastly, the Earth itself is not combustible in all its\nParts. \u2019Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and\nMire, and such like Soils, will rather choak and stifle it, than help it\non its Way. By these Means one would think the Body of the Earth\nsecur\u2019d; and though there may be partial Fires, or Inundations of Fire,\nhere and there, in particular Regions, yet there cannot be an universal\nFire throughout the Earth. At least, one would hope for a safe Retreat\ntowards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter\nCold. These Regions sure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatsoever\nbecomes of the other Climates of the Earth.\n\nThis being the State and Condition of the present Earth, one would not\nimagine by these Preparations, \u2019twas ever intended that it should perish\nby an universal Fire. But such is often the Method of Providence, that\nthe exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Design lies another;\n\u2019till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all\nthose Affairs change Posture and Aspect, and shew us which way\nProvidence inclines. We must therefore suppose, before the Conflagration\nbegins, there will be Dispositions and Preparatives suitable to so great\na Work: and all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, does so far concur with\nus, as to admit and suppose that a great Drought will precede, and an\nextraordinary Heat and Dryness of the Air, to usher in this fiery Doom.\nAnd these being Things which often happen in a Course of Nature, we\ncannot disallow such easy Preparations, when Providence intends so great\na Consequence. The Heavens will be shut up, and the Clouds yield no\nRain; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of\nWater will become dry, the Earth chapp\u2019d and parch\u2019d, and the Woods and\nTrees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have Instances, in History, that\nthere have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that Degree, that\nthe Woods and Forests have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface\nof the Earth, without any other Cause than the Dryness of the Season,\nand the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more considerable, the\nSprings and Fountains being dry\u2019d up, the greater Rivers have been\nsensibly lessen\u2019d, and the lesser quite empty\u2019d, and exhal\u2019d. These\nThings, which happen frequently, in particular Countries and Climates,\nmay, at an appointed Time, by the Disposition of Providence, be more\nuniversal throughout the Earth; and have the same Effects every where,\nthat we see by Experience they have had in certain Places: And by this\nMeans, we may conceive it as feasible to set the whole Earth on Fire in\nsome little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a\ngreat Drought. But I mean this, with Exception still to the main Body of\nthe Sea; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from these\nCauses, than we easily imagine; but the final Consumption of it will\ndepend upon other Reasons, whereof we must give an Account in the\nfollowing Chapters.\n\nAs to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will sink when the\nEarthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration; as we\nshall see hereafter. And as to the Earth itself, \u2019tis true there are\nseveral Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire; but those\nSoils that are not so immediately, as clayey Soils, and such like, may,\nby the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen\nMetal, and so melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclusion, there is no\nterrestrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and\nmay either be converted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor\nmore ardent than either of them. Lastly, As to the Polar Regions, which\nyou think will be a safe Retreat and inaccessible to the Fire; \u2019tis\ntrue, unless Providence hath laid subterraneous Treasures of Fire there\nunknown to us, those Parts of the Earth will be the last consum\u2019d. But\nit is to be observ\u2019d, that the Cold of those Regions proceeds from the\nLength of their Winter, and their Distance from the Sun when he is\nbeyond the \u00c6quator; and both these Causes will be removed at the\nConflagration. For we suppose the Earth will then return to its\nprimitive Situation, which we have explain\u2019d in the second Book of this\n_Theory_, _chap. iii._ and will have the Sun always in its \u00c6quator;\nwhereby the several Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox,\nand those under the Poles a perpetual Day: And therefore all the Excess\nof Cold, and all the Consequences of it, will soon be abated. However,\nthe Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and those Parts of the Earth\nbeing uninhabited, there is no Inconvenience that they should be more\nslowly consum\u2019d than the rest.\n\nThis is a general Answer to the Difficulty propos\u2019d about the\nPossibility of the Conflagration; and being general only, the Parts of\nit must be more fully explain\u2019d and confirm\u2019d in the Sequel of this\nDiscourse. We should now proceed directly to the Causes of the\nConflagration, and shew in what manner they do this great Execution upon\nNature: But to be just and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought first to\nseparate the spurious and pretended Causes from those that are real and\ngenuine; to make no false Musters, nor any shew of being stronger than\nwe are; and if we can do our Work with less Force, it will be more to\nour Credit; as a Victory is more honourable that is gain\u2019d with fewer\nMen.\n\nThere are two grand capital Causes which some Authors make use of, as\nthe chief Agents in this Work, the _Sun_, and the _Central Fire_. These\ntwo great Incendiaries, they say, will be let loose upon us at the\nConflagration; the one drawing nearer to the Earth, and the other\nbreaking out of its Bowels into these upper Regions. These are potent\nCauses indeed, more than enough to destroy this Earth, if it was a\nthousand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reason, I suspect\nthey are not the true Causes; for God and Nature do not use to employ\nunnecessary Means to bring about their Designs. Disproportion and\nOver-sufficiency is one sort of false Measures, and \u2019tis a Sign we do\nnot thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than\nthe Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to\nrid their Hands of a troublesome Argument, and so make a short Dispatch\nto save themselves the Pains of further Enquiries; but as such Methods\nas these commonly have no Proof, so they give little Satisfaction to an\nInquisitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun\ndrawing nearer and nearer to it, seems to be made in Imitation of the\nStory of _Phaeton_, who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unsteady\nHand, came so near the Earth, that he set it on Fire. But however, we\nwill not reject any Pretensions without a fair Trial: Let us examine\ntherefore what Grounds they can have for either of these Suppositions,\nof the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the\nCentral Fire.\n\nAs to the Sun, I desire first to be satisfied in present Matter of Fact:\nWhether by any Instrument or Observation it hath or can be discover\u2019d,\nthat the Sun is nearer to the Earth now, than he was in former Ages? Or,\nIf by any Reasoning or comparing Calculations, such a Conclusion can be\nmade? If not, this is but an imaginary Cause, and as easily deny\u2019d as\npropos\u2019d. Astronomers do very little agree in their Opinions about the\nDistance of the Sun: _Ptolemy_, _Albategnius_, _Copernicus_, _Tycho_,\n_Kepler_, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations; but\nnot in such a Manner or Proportion, as should make us believe that the\nSun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the\nmore modern of them make the Distance greater than the more ancient do.\n_Kepler_ says, the Distance of the Sun from the Earth lies betwixt 700\nand 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth: But _Ricciolus_ makes it betwixt\n700 and 7000: And _Gottefred Wendelme_ hath taken 14656 Semidiameters,\nfor a middle Proportion of the Sun\u2019s Distance; to which _Kepler_ himself\ncame very near in his later Years. So that you see how groundless our\nFears are from the Approaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if\nhe change Postures at all. And we have more Reason to believe the Report\nof the modern Astronomers, than of the antient, in this Matter; both\nbecause the Nature of the Heavens and of the celestial Bodies is now\nbetter known, and also because they have found out better Instruments\nand better Methods to make their Observations.\n\nIf the Sun and Earth were come nearer to one another, either the Circle\nof the Sun\u2019s diurnal Arch would be less, and so the Day shorter; or the\nOrbit of the Earth\u2019s annual Course would be less, and so the Year\nshorter: Neither of which we have any Experience of. And those that\nsuppose us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid \u2019till they see\n_Mercury_ and _Venus_ in a Combustion, for they lie betwixt us and\nDanger; and the Sun cannot come so readily at us with his fiery Darts,\nas at them who stand in his Way. Lastly, this languishing Death, by the\ngradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Earth,\nwhich at last must follow from it, do neither of them agree with that\nIdea of the _Conflagration_, which the Scripture hath given us; for it\nis to come suddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent\nFever, not as a lingring Consumption. And the Earth is also to be\ndestroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Resurrection, or\nRenovation: For we are assur\u2019d by Scripture, that there will be new\nHeavens and a new Earth after these are burnt up. But if the Sun should\ncome so near us, as to make the _Heavens pass away with a Noise, and\nmelt the Elements with fervent Heat_, and destroy the Form, and all the\nWorks of the Earth, what Hopes or Possibility would there be of a\nRenovation, while the Sun continu\u2019d in this Posture? He would more and\nmore consume and prey upon the Carcass of the Earth, and convert it at\nlength either into an Heap of Ashes, or a Lump of vitrified Metal.\n\nSo much for the Sun. As to the _Central Fire_, I am very well satisfied\nit is no imaginary Thing: All Antiquity hath preserv\u2019d some sacred\nMonument of it: The _Vestal_ Fire of the _Romans_, which was so\nreligiously attended: The _Prytoneia_ of the _Greeks_ were to the same\npurpose, and dedicated to _Vesta_: And the _Pyretheia_ of the\n_Persians_, where Fire was kept continually by the _Magi_. These all, in\nmy Opinion, had the same Origin, and the same Signification. And tho\u2019 I\ndo not know any particular Observation, that does directly prove or\ndemonstrate that there is such a Mass of Fire in the middle of the\nEarth; yet the best Accounts we have of the Generation of a Planet do\nsuppose it; and \u2019tis agreeable to the whole Oeconomy of Nature: As a\nFire in the Heart, which gives Life to her Motions and Productions. But,\nhowever, the Question is not at present, about the Existence of this\nFire, but the Eruption of it, and the Effect of that Eruption; which\ncannot be, in my Judgment, such a _Conflagration_ as describ\u2019d in\nScripture.\n\nThis Central Fire must be enclos\u2019d in a Shell of great Strength and\nFirmness; for being of itself the lightest, and most active of all\nBodies, it would not be detained in the lowest Prison without a strong\nGuard upon it. \u2019Tis true, we can make no certain Judgment of what\nThickness this Shell is; but if we suppose this Fire to have a twentieth\nPart of the Semidiameter of the Earth, on either side the Centre, for\nits Sphere, which seems to be a fair Allowance; there would still remain\nnineteen Parts for our Safeguard and Security: And these nineteen Parts\nof the Semidiameter of the Earth will make 3268 Miles, for a\nPartition-Wall betwixt us and this Central Fire. Who would be afraid of\nan Enemy lock\u2019d up in so strong a Prison? But you\u2019ll say, it may be,\ntho\u2019 the Central Fire, at the Beginning of the World, might have no more\nRoom or Space than what is mention\u2019d; yet being of that Activity that it\nis, and corrosive Nature, it may, in the Space of some thousands of\nYears, have eaten deep into the Sides of its Prison; and so come nearer\nto the Surface of the Earth by some hundreds or thousands of Miles, than\nit was at first. This would be a material Exception, if it could be made\nout. But what Ph\u00e6nomenon is there in Nature that proves this? How does\nit appear by an Observation, that the Central Fire gains Ground upon us?\nOr is increased in Quantity, or come nearer to the Surface of the Earth?\nI know nothing that can be offer\u2019d in Proof of this: and if there be no\nAppearance of a Change, nor any sensible Effect of it, \u2019tis an Argument\nthere is none, or none considerable. If the Quantity of that Fire was\nconsiderably increas\u2019d, it must needs, besides other Effects, have made\nthe Body of the Earth considerably lighter. The Earth having, by this\nConversion of its own Substance into Fire, lost so much of its heaviest\nMatter, and got so much of the lightest and most active Element instead\nof it: and in both these respects, its Gravity would be manifestly\nlessen\u2019d. Which if it really was in any considerable Degree, it would\ndiscover it self by some Change, either as to the Motion of the Earth,\nor as to its Place or Station in the Heavens. But there being no\nexternal Change observable, in this or any other respect, \u2019tis\nreasonable to presume that there is no considerable inward Change, or no\ngreat Consumption of its inward Parts and Substance; and consequently no\ngreat Increase of the central Fire.\n\nBut if we should admit both an Increase and Eruption of this Fire, it\nwould not have that Effect which is pretended. It might cause some\nConfusion and Disorder in those Parts of the Earth where it broke out,\nbut it would not make an universal Conflagration, such as is represented\nto us in Scripture. Let us suppose the Earth to be open, or burst in any\nPlace; under the Pole, for Instance, or under the _\u00c6quator_; and let it\ngape as low as the Central Fire: At this Chasm or Rupture we suppose the\nFire would gush out; and what then would be the Consequence of this when\nit came to the Surface of the Earth? It would either be dissipated and\nlost in the Air, or fly still higher towards the Heavens in a Mass of\nFlame. But what Execution in the mean time would it do upon the Body of\nthe Earth? \u2019Tis but like a Flash of Lightning, or a Flame issuing out of\na Pit, that dies presently. Besides, this Central Fire is of that\nSubtilty and Tenuity, that it is not able to inflame gross Bodies: no\nmore than those Meteors we call _Lambent Fires_, inflame the Bodies to\nwhich they stick. Lastly, in explaining the Manner of the Conflagration,\nwe must have regard principally to Scripture; for the Explications given\nthere are more to the purpose, than all that the Philosophers have said\nupon that Subject. Now, as we noted before, \u2019tis manifest in Scripture,\nthat after the _Conflagration_, there will be a _Restauration_, _new\nHeavens_, and a _new Earth_. \u2019Tis the express Doctrine of St. _Peter_,\nbesides other Prophets: We must therefore suppose the Earth reduc\u2019d to\nsuch a Chaos by this last Fire, as will lay the Foundation of a new\nWorld, _2 Pet. iii. 12, 13._ Which can never be, if the inward Frame of\nit be broke, the Central Fire exhausted, and the exterior Region suck\u2019d\ninto those central Vacuities. This must needs make it lose its former\nPoise and Libration, and it will thereupon be thrown into some other\nPart of the Universe, as the useless Shell of a broken Granado, or as a\ndead Carcass, and unprofitable Matter.\n\nThese Reasons may be sufficient why we should not depend upon those\npretended Causes of the _Conflagration_, the Sun\u2019s Advance towards the\nEarth, or such a Rupture of the Earth as will let out the Central Fire.\nThese Causes, I hope, will appear superfluous, when we shall have given\nan Account of the _Conflagration_ without them. But young Philosophers,\nlike young Soldiers, think they are never sufficiently armed; and often\ntake more Weapons, than they can make use of, when they come to fight.\nNot that we altogether reject the Influence of the Sun, or of the\nCentral Fire; especially the latter: For in that great Estuation of\nNature, the Body of the Earth will be much open\u2019d and relaxated; and\nwhen the Pores are enlarg\u2019d, the Steams of that Fire will sweat out more\nplentifully into all its Parts; but still without any Rupture in the\nVessels, or in the Skin. And whereas these Authors suppose the very\nVeins to burst, and the vital Blood to gush out, as at open Flood-Gates,\nwe only allow a more copious Perspiration, and think that sufficient for\nall Purposes in this Case.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. VII.\n\n\n    _The true Bounds of the last Fire, and how far it is fatal. The\n    natural Causes and Materials of it, cast into three Ranks: First,\n    Such as are exterior and visible upon the Earth; where the Vulcano\u2019s\n    of the Earth, and their Effects, are consider\u2019d. Secondly, Such\n    Materials as are within the Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air._\n\n\nAs we have, in the preceding Chapter, laid aside those Causes of the\nConflagration which we thought too great and cumbersome; so now we must,\nin like manner, examine the Effect, and reduce that to its just Measures\nand Proportions, that there may be nothing left superfluous on either\nside; then, by comparing the real Powers with the Work they are to do,\nboth being stated within their due Bounds, we may the better judge how\nthey are proportion\u2019d to one another.\n\nWe noted before, that the Conflagration had nothing to do with the\nStars, and superior Heavens, but was wholly confin\u2019d to this sublunary\nWorld. And this Deluge of Fire will have much what the same Bounds, that\nthe Deluge of Water had formerly. This is according to St. _Peter_\u2019s\nDoctrine, for he makes the same Parts of the Universe to be the Subject\nof both: Namely, the inferior Heavens and the Earth, _2 Pet. iii. 5, 6._\n_The Heavens and the Earth which were then, perish\u2019d in a Deluge of\nWater_: ver. 7. _But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, are\nreserv\u2019d to Fire._ The present Heavens and Earth are substituted in the\nPlace of those that perish\u2019d at the Deluge, and these are to be over-run\nand destroy\u2019d by Fire, as those were by Water. So that the Apostle takes\nthe same Regions, and the same Space and Compass for the one, as for the\nother, and makes their Fate different according to their different\nConstitution, and the different Order of Providence. This is the Sense\nSt. _Austin_ gives us of the Apostle\u2019s Words, and these are the Bounds\nhe sets to the last Fire; whereof a modern Commentator is so well\nassur\u2019d, that he says, _Estius in loc. They neither understand Divinity,\nnor Philosophy, that would make the Conflagration reach above the\nelementary Heavens_.\n\nLet these be then its Limits upwards, the Clouds, Air, and Atmosphere of\nthe Earth. But the Question seems more doubtful, _How_ far it will\nextend downwards, into the Bowels of the Earth? I answer still, to the\nsame Depth that the Waters of the Deluge reach\u2019d: To the lowest Abysses,\nand the deepest Caverns within the Ground. And seeing no Caverns are\ndeeper or lower, at least according to our Theory, than the Bottom of\nthe great Ocean, to that Depth, I suppose, the Rage of this Fire will\npenetrate, and devour all before it. And therefore we must not imagine,\nthat only the outward Turf and habitable Surface of the Earth will be\nput into a Flame and laid waste: the whole exterior Region of the Earth,\nto the Depth of the deepest Part of the Sea, will suffer in this Fire;\nand suffer to that Degree, as to be melted down, and the Frame of it\ndissolv\u2019d. For we are not to conceive that the Earth will be only\nscorcht or charkt in the last Fire, there will be a Sort of Liquefaction\nand Dissolution; _Rev. xv. 2._ _2 Pet. iii. 10._ _Psal. xcvii. 5._ it\nwill become a _molten Sea mingled with Fire_, according to the\nExpression of Scripture. And this Dissolution may reasonably be suppos\u2019d\nto reach as low as the Earth hath any Hollownesses, or can give vent to\nSmoak and Flame.\n\nWherefore, taking these for the Bounds and Limits of the last great\nFire, the next Thing to be enquired into, are the _Natural Causes_ of\nit: How this strange Fate will seize upon the sublunary World, and with\nan irresistible Fury subdue all Things to it self. But when I say\n_Natural Causes_, I would not be so understood, as if I thought the\nConflagration was a pure _Natural Fatality_, as the _Stoicks_ seem to\ndo. No, \u2019tis a _mix\u2019d Fatality_; the Causes indeed are Natural, but the\nAdministration of them is from an higher Hand. Fire is the Instrument,\nor the executive Power, and hath no more Force given it than what it\nhath naturally; but the Concurrence of these Causes, or of these fiery\nPowers, at such a Time, and in such a Manner, and the Conduct of them to\ncarry on and complete the whole Work without Cessation or Interruption,\nthat I look upon as more than what material Nature could effect of\nitself, or than could be brought to pass by such a Government of Matter,\nas is the bare Result of its own Laws and Determinations. When a Ship\nfalls gently before the Wind, the Mariners may stand idle; but to guide\nher in a Storm, all Hands must be at Work. There are Rules and Measures\nto be observ\u2019d, even in these Tumults and Desolations of Nature, in\ndestroying a World, as well as in making one, and, therefore, in both it\nis reasonable to suppose a more than ordinary Providence to superintend\nthe Work. Let us not, therefore, be too positive or presumptuous in our\nConjectures about these Things; for if there be an invisible Hand,\nDivine or Angelical, that touches the Springs and Wheels; it will not be\neasy for us to determine, with Certainty, the Order of their Motions.\nHowever, \u2019tis our Duty to search into the Ways and Works of God, as far\nas we can: And we may, without Offence, look into the Magazines of\nNature; see what Provisions are made, and what Preparations for this\ngreat Day; and in what Method \u2019tis most likely the Design will be\nexecuted.\n\nBut before we proceed to mark out Materials for this Fire, give me leave\nto observe one Condition or Property in the Form of this present Earth,\nthat makes it capable of Inflammation. \u2019Tis the Manner of its\nConstruction, in an hollow cavernous Form: By reason whereof, containing\nmuch Air in its Cavities, and having many Inlets and Outlets, \u2019tis in\nmost Places capable of Ventilation, pervious and passable to the Winds,\nand consequently to the Fire. Those that have read the former Part of\nthis Theory, _Book 1. ch. 6, 7._ know how the Earth came into this\nhollow and broken Form; from what Causes and at what Time; namely, at\nthe universal Deluge; when there was a Disruption of the exterior Earth\nthat fell into the Abyss, and so, for a Time was overflow\u2019d with Water.\nThese Ruins, recover\u2019d from the Water, we inhabit, and these Ruins, only\nwill be burnt up; for being not only unequal in their Surface, but also\nhollow, loose, and incompact within, as Ruins use to be, they are made\nthereby capable of a second Fate, by Inflammation. _Thereby_, I say,\nthey are made combustible; for if the exterior Regions of this Earth\nwere as close and compact in all their Parts, as we have Reason to\nbelieve the interior Regions of it to be, the Fire could have little\nPower over it, nor ever reduce it to such a State as is requir\u2019d in a\ncompleat Conflagration, such as ours is to be.\n\nThis being admitted, that the exterior Region of the Earth stands\nhollow, as a well set Fire, to receive Air freely into its Parts, and\nhath Issues for Smoke and Flame: It remains to enquire, what Fuel or\nMaterials Nature hath fitted to kindle this Pile, and to continue it on\nFire \u2019till it be consum\u2019d; or, in plain Words, what are the _natural\nCauses and Preparatives for a Conflagration_. The first and most obvious\nPreparations that we see in Nature for this Effect, are the _burning\nMountains_, or Volcano\u2019s of the Earth. These are lesser Essays or\nPreludes to the general Fire: set on purpose by Providence to keep us\nawake, and to mind us continually, and forewarn us of what we are to\nexpect at last. The Earth, you see, is already kindled, blow but the\nCoal, and propagate the Fire, and the Work will go on, _Isa._ xxx. 33.\n_Tophet is prepared of old_; and when the Day of Doom is come, and the\nDate of the World expir\u2019d, _the Breath of the Lord_ shall make it burn.\n\nBut besides these burning Mountains, there are Lakes of Pitch and\nBrimstone, and oily Liquors dispers\u2019d in several Parts of the Earth.\nThese are to enrage the Fire as it goes, and to fortify it against any\nResistance or Opposition. Then all the vegetable Productions upon the\nSurface of the Earth, as Trees, Shrubs, Grass, Corn, and such like;\nevery thing that grows out of the Ground, is Fewel for the Fire; and\ntho\u2019 they are now accommodated to our Use and Service, they will then\nturn all against us; and with a mighty Blaze, and rapid Course, make a\nDevastation of the outward Furniture of the Earth, whether natural or\nartificial. But these Things deserve some further Consideration,\nespecially that strange Ph\u00e6nomenon of the _Volcano_\u2019s or _burning\nMountains_, which we will now consider more particularly.\n\nThere is nothing certainly more terrible in all Nature than fiery\nMountains to those that live within the View or Noise of them; but it is\nnot easy for us, who never see them, nor heard them, to represent them\nto ourselves with such just and lively Imaginations as shall excite in\nus the same Passions, and the same Horror as they would excite, if\npresent to our Senses. The Time of their Eruption, and of their Raging,\nis, of all others, the most dreadful; but, many times, before their\nEruption, the Symptoms of an approaching Fit are very frightful to the\nPeople. The Mountain begins to roar and bellow in its hollow Caverns;\ncries out, as it were, in Pain to be deliver\u2019d of some Burthen too heavy\nto be born, and too big to be easily discharged. The Earth shakes and\ntrembles, in Apprehension of the Pangs and Convulsions that are coming\nupon her; and the Sun often hides his Head, or appears with a\ndiscolour\u2019d Face, pale, or dusky, or bloody, as if all Nature was to\nsuffer in this Agony. After these Forerunners or Symptoms of an\nEruption, the wide Jaws of the Mountain open: And first, Clouds of Smoke\nissue out, then Flames of Fire, and after that a Mixture of all Sorts of\nburning Matter; red hot Stones, Lumps of Metal, half-dissolv\u2019d Minerals,\nwith Coals and fiery Ashes. These fall in thick Showers round about the\nMountain, and in all adjacent Parts; and not only so, but are carried,\npartly by the Force of the Expulsion, and partly by the Winds when they\nare aloft in the Air, into far distant Countries. As from _Italy_ to\n_Constantinople_, and cross the _Mediterranean_ Sea into _Africk_; as\nthe best Historians, _Procopius_, _Ammianus Marcellinus_, and _Dion\nCassius_, have attested.\n\nThese Vulcano\u2019s are planted in several Regions of the Earth, and in both\nContinents, this of ours, and the other of _America_. For by Report of\nthose that have view\u2019d that new-found World, there are many Mountains in\nit that belch out Smoke and Fire; some constantly, and others by Fits,\nand Intervals. In our Continent, Providence hath variously dispers\u2019d\nthem, without any Rule known to us; but they are generally in Islands,\nor near the Sea. In the _Asiatick_ Oriental Islands they are in great\nAbundance, and Historians tell us of a Mountain in the Island _Java_,\nthat in the Year 1586, at one Eruption, kill\u2019d ten thousand People in\nthe neighbouring Cities and Country: But we do not know so well the\nHistory of those remote Vulcano\u2019s, as of such as are in _Europe_ and\nnearer Home. In _Iseland_, tho\u2019 it lie within the polar Circle, and is\nscarce habitable by reason of the Extremity of Cold, and abundance of\nIce and Snow, yet there are three burning Mountains in that Island;\nwhereof the chief and most remarkable is _Hecla_. This hath its Head\nalways cover\u2019d with Snow, and its Belly always fill\u2019d with Fire; and\nthese are both so strong in their kind, and equally powerful, that they\ncannot destroy one another. It is said to cast out, when it rages,\nbesides Earth, Stones, and Ashes, a Sort of flaming Water; as if all\nContrarieties were to meet in this Mountain, to make it the more perfect\nResemblance of Hell, as the credulous Inhabitants fancy it to be.\n\nBut there are no Vulcano\u2019s, in my Opinion, that deserve our Observation\nso much, as those that are in and about the _Mediterranean Sea_; There\nis a Knot of them, called the _Vulcanian Islands_, from their fiery\nEruptions, as if they were the Forges of _Vulcan_; as _Strombolo_,\n_Lapara_, and others, which are not so remarkable now, as they have been\nformerly. However, without dispute, there are none in the Christian\nWorld to be compared with _\u00c6tna_ and _Vesuvius_; one in the Island of\n_Sicily_, and the other in _Campania_, overlooking the Port and City of\n_Naples_. These two, from all Memory of Man, and the most antient\nRecords of History, have been fam\u2019d for the Treasures of subterraneous\nFires, which are not yet exhausted, nor diminsh\u2019d, so far as is\nperceivable; for they rage still, upon Occasion, with as much Fierceness\nand Violence, as they ever did in former Ages; as if they had a\ncontinual Supply to answer their Expences, and were to stand till the\nlast Fire, as a Type and Prefiguration of it, throughout all\nGenerations.\n\nLet us therefore take these two Volcano\u2019s as a Pattern for the rest;\nseeing they are well known, and stand in the Heart of the Christian\nWorld, where, \u2019tis likely, the last Fire will make its first Assault.\n_\u00c6tna_, of the two, is more spoken of by the Antients, both Poets and\nHistorians; and we should scarce give Credit to their Relations\nconcerning it, if some later Eruptions did not equal, or exceed the Fame\nof all that have been reported from former Ages: That it heated the\nWaters of the Sea, and cover\u2019d them over with Ashes; crack\u2019d, or\ndissolv\u2019d the neighbouring Rocks; darken\u2019d the Sun and the Air; and cast\nout, not only mighty Streams of Flame, but a Flood of melted Ore, and\nother Materials: These Things we can now believe, having had Experience\nof greater, or and Account of them from such, as have been Eye-Witnesses\nof these Fires, or of the fresh Ruins and sad Effects of them.\n\nThere are two Things especially, in these Eruptions of _\u00c6tna_, that are\nmost prodigious in themselves, and most remarkable for our Purpose: The\nRivers of fiery Matter that break out of its Bowels, or are spew\u2019d out\nof its Mouth; and the vast burning Stones which it flings into the Air,\nat a strange Height and Distance. As to these fiery Rivers, or Torrents,\nand the Matter whereof they are compounded, we have a full Account of\nthem by _Alphonsus Borellus_, a learned Mathematician at _Pisa_; who,\nafter the last great Eruption on the Year 1669, went into _Sicily_,\nwhile the Fact was fresh, to view and survey what _\u00c6tna_ had done or\nsuffer\u2019d; and he says, the Quantity of Matter thrown out of the Mountain\nat that Time, upon Survey, amounted to ninety three Millions, eight\nHundred thirty eight Thousand, seven Hundred and fifty cubical Paces. So\nthat if it had been extended in Length upon the Surface of the Earth, it\nwould reach further than ninety three Millions of Paces; which is more\nthan four times the Circumference of the whole Earth, taking a thousand\nPaces to a Mile. This is strange to our Imagination, and almost\nincredible, that one Mountain should throw out so much fiery Matter,\nbesides all the Ashes that were disperst through the Air, far and near,\nand could be brought to no Account.\n\n\u2019Tis true, all this Matter was not actually inflam\u2019d or liquid Fire; but\nthe rest, that was Sand, Stone, and Gravel, might have run into Glass,\nor some melted Liquor like to it, if it had not been thrown out before\nthe Heat fully reach\u2019d it: However, sixty Million Paces of this Matter,\nas the same Author computes, were liquid Fire, or came out of the Mouth\nof the Pit in that Form; this made a River of Fire, sometimes two Miles\nbroad, according to his Computation; but, according to the Observation\nof others who also viewed it, the Torrent of Fire was six or seven Miles\nbroad, and sometimes ten or fifteen Fathoms deep; and forc\u2019d its Way\ninto the Sea near a Mile, preserving it self alive in the midst of the\nWaters.\n\nThis is beyond all the infernal Lakes and Rivers _Acheron_, _Phlegeton_,\n_Cocytus_; all that the Poets have talk\u2019d of: Their greatest Fictions\nabout Hell have not come up to the Reality of one of our burning\nMountains upon Earth. Imagine then, all our _Volcano_\u2019s raging at once\nin this manner\u2014\u2014But I will not pursue that Supposition yet: Give me\nleave only to add here, what I mentioned in the second Place, the vast\n_Burning Stones_ which this Mountain, in the time of its Rage and\n\u00c6stuation, threw into the Air with an incredible Force. This same Author\ntells us of a Stone fifteen Foot long, that was flung out of the Mouth\nof the Pit, to a Mile\u2019s Distance; and when it fell, it came from such an\nHeight, and with such a Violence, that it buried it self in the Ground\neight Foot deep. What Trifles are our Mortar-Pieces and Bombs, when\ncompared with these Engines of Nature? When she flings, out of the wide\nThroat of a _Volcano_, a broken Rock, and twirls it in the Air like a\nlittle Bullet; then lets it fall, to do Execution here below, as\nProvidence shall point and direct it! It would be hard to give an\nAccount, how so great an Impulse can be given to a Body so ponderous:\nBut there\u2019s no disputing against Matter of Fact; and as the Thoughts of\nGod are not like our Thoughts, so neither are his Works like our Works.\n\nThus much for _\u00c6tna_. Let us now give an Instance in _Vesuvius_, another\nburning Mountain upon the Coast of the _Mediterranean_, which hath as\nfrequent Eruptions, and some as terrible as those of _\u00c6tna_. _Lib. 66.\nDion. Cassius_ (one of the best Writers of the _Roman_ History) hath\ngiven us an Account of one that happened in the Time of _Titus\nVespasian_; and tho\u2019 he hath not set down Particulars, as the former\nAuthor did, of the Quantity of fiery Matter thrown out at that Time: yet\nsupposing that proportionable to its Fierceness in other Respects, this\nseems to me as dreadful an Eruption as any we read of; and was\naccompanied with such Prodigies and Commotions in the Heavens and the\nEarth, as made it look like the Beginning of the last Conflagration. As\na Prelude to this Tragedy, he says, there were strange Sights in the\nAir, and after that followed an extraordinary Drought: _Then the Earth\nbegun to tremble and quake; and the Concussions were so great, that the\nGround seem\u2019d to rise and boil up in some Places, and in others the Tops\nof the Mountains sunk in, or tumbled down: At the same Time were great\nNoises and Sounds heard; some were subterraneous, like Thunder within\nthe Earth; others above Ground, like Groans or Bellowings. The Sea\nroared, the Heavens ratled with a fearful Noise, and then came a sudden\nand mighty Crack, as if the Frame of Nature had broke, or all the\nMountains of the Earth had fallen down at once. At length Vesuvius\nburst, and threw out of its Womb, first, huge Stones, then a vast\nQuantity of Fire and Smoke, so as the Air was all darkned, and the Sun\nwas hid, as if he had been under a great Eclipse. The Day was turn\u2019d\ninto Night, and Light into Darkness; and the frighted People thought the\nGiants were making War against Heaven, and fansied they saw the Shapes\nand Images of Giants in the Smoke, and heard the Sound of their\nTrumpets: Others thought, the World was returning to its first Chaos, or\ngoing to be all consumed with Fire. In this general Confusion and\nConsternation, they knew not where to be safe; some run out of the\nFields into the Houses, others out of the Houses into the Fields; those\nthat were at Sea hastened to Land, and those that were at Land\nendeavoured to get to Sea; still thinking every Place safer than that\nwhere they were. Besides grosser Lumps of Matter, there was thrown out\nof the Mountain such a prodigious Quantity of Ashes, as cover\u2019d the Land\nand Sea, and filled the Air, so as besides other Damages, the Birds,\nBeasts and Fishes, with Men, Women, and Children were destroy\u2019d, within\nsuch a Compass; and two entire Cities, Herculanium and Pompeios, were\noverwhelm\u2019d with a Shower of Ashes, as the People were sitting in the\nTheatre. Nay, these Ashes were carried, by the Winds, over the\nMediterranean into Africk, and into \u00c6gypt and Syria. And at Rome they\nchoak\u2019d the Air on a sudden, so as to hide the Face of the Sun;\nWhereupon the People not knowing the Cause, as not having yet got the\nNews from Campania, of the Eruption of Vesuvius, could not imagine what\nthe Reason should be; but thought the Heavens and the Earth were coming\ntogether, the Sun coming down, and the Earth going to take its Place\nabove._ Thus far the Historian.\n\nYou see what Disorders in Nature, and what an Alarum, the Eruption of\none fiery Mountain is capable to make. These Things, no doubt, would\nhave made strong Impressions upon us, if we had been Eye-Witnesses of\nthem; but I know, Representations made from dead History, and at a\nDistance, though the Testimony be never so credible, have a much less\nEffect upon us, than what we see ourselves, and what our Senses\nimmediately inform us of. I have only given you an Account of two\n_Volcano\u2019s_, and of a single Eruption in either of them: These Mountains\nare not very far distant from one another; let us suppose two such\nEruptions, as I have mentioned, to happen at the same Time, and both\nthese Mountains to be raging at once in this Manner; by that Violence\nyou have seen in each of them singly, you will easily imagine what\nTerror and Desolation they would carry round about, by a Conjunction of\ntheir Fury, and all their Effects, in the Air, and on the Earth. Then,\nif to these two you should join two more, the Sphere of their Activity\nwould still be enlarged, and the Scenes become more dreadful. But to\ncompleat the Supposition, let us imagine all the Volcano\u2019s of the whole\nEarth to be prepar\u2019d, and set to a certain Time; which Time being come,\nand a Signal given by Providence, all these Mines begin to play at once;\nI mean, all these fiery Mountains burst out, and discharge themselves in\nFlames of Fire, tear up the Roots of the Earth, throw hot burning\nStones, send out Streams of flowing Metals and Minerals, and all other\nSorts of ardent Matter, which Nature hath lodg\u2019d in those Treasuries: If\nall these Engines, I say, were to play at once, the Heavens and the\nEarth would seem to be in a Flame, and the World in an universal\nCombustion. But we may reasonably presume, that against that great Day\nof Vengeance and Execution, not only all these will be employ\u2019d, but\nalso new Volcano\u2019s will be opened, and new Mountains in every Region\nwill break out into Smoke and Flame; just as at the Deluge, the Abyss\nbroke out from the Womb of the Earth, and from those hidden Stores sent\nan immense Quantity of Water, which, it may be the Inhabitants of that\nWorld never thought of before: So we must expect new Eruptions, and also\nnew sulphureous Lakes, and Fountains of Oyl, to boyl out of the Ground:\nand these, all united with that Fewel that naturally grows upon the\nSurface of the Earth, will be sufficient to give the first Onset, and to\nlay waste all the habitable World, and the Furniture of it.\n\nBut we suppose the Conflagration will go lower, pierce under Ground, and\ndissolve the Substance of the Earth to some considerable Depth:\nTherefore, besides these outward and visible Preparations, we must\nconsider all the hidden invisible Materials within the Veins of the\nEarth; Such are all Minerals, or mineral Juices and Concretions that are\nigniferous, or capable of Inflammation; and these cannot easily be\nreckoned up, or estimated; some of the most common are Sulphur, and all\nsulphureous Bodies, and Earths impregnated with Sulphur, Bitumen, and\nbituminous Concretions; inflammable Salts, Coal and other Fossils that\nare ardent; with innumerable Mixtures and Compositions of these Kinds,\nwhich, being open\u2019d by Heat, are unctuous and inflammable, or by\nAttrition discover the latent Seeds of Fire. But besides consistent\nBodies, there is also much volatile Fire within the Earth, in Fumes,\nSteams, and Exudations, which will all contribute to this Effect. From\nthese Stores under Ground, all Plants and Vegetables are fed and\nsupplied, as to their oily and sulphureous Parts, and all hot Waters in\nBaths or Fountains, must have their Original from some of these, some\nMixture or Participation of them; and as to the _British_ Soil, there is\nso much Coal incorporated with it, that when the Earth shall burn, we\nhave Reason to apprehend no small Danger from that subterraneous Enemy.\n\nThese Dispositions, and this Fewel we find, in and upon the Earth,\ntowards the last Fire. The third Sort of Provision is in the Air; all\nfiery Meteors and Exhalations engender\u2019d and form\u2019d in those Regions\nabove, and discharg\u2019d upon the Earth in several Ways. I believe there\nwere no fiery Meteors in the antedeluvian Heavens; which therefore Saint\n_Peter_ says, _were constituted of Water_, had nothing in them but what\nwas watery; but he says _the Heavens that are now_, have Treasures of\nFire, or are reserv\u2019d for Fire, as Things laid up in a Store-House for\nthat Purpose. We have Thunder and Lightning, and fiery Tempests, and\nthere is nothing more vehement, impetuous, and irresistible, where their\nForce is directed. It seems to me very remarkable, that the Holy Writers\ndescribe the _Coming of the Lord_, and the Destruction of the Wicked, in\nthe Nature of a Tempest, or a Storm of Fire, _Psalm xi. 6._ _Upon the\nWicked the Lord shall rain Coals, Fire and Brimstone, and a burning\nTempest; this shall be the Portion of their Cup_. And in the lofty Song\nof _David_, _Psal. xviii._ (which, in my Judgment, respects both the\npast Deluge and the future Conflagration) \u2019tis said, _Ver. 13, 14, 15_.\n_The Lord also thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest gave his Voice,\nHail-stones and Coals of Fire. Yea, he sent forth his Arrows and\nscattered them, and he shot out Lightnings and discomfited them. Then\nthe Channels of Waters were seen, and the Foundations of the World were\ndiscover\u2019d; at thy Rebuke, O Lord, at the Blast of the Breath of thy\nNostrils_. And a like fiery Coming is described in the _97th Psalm_, as\nalso by _Isaiah_, _Isa. lxvi. 15._ _Daniel_, _Dan. vii. 9, 10._ and St.\n_Paul_, _2 Thess. i. 8._ And lastly, in the _Apocalypse_, when the World\ndraws to a Conclusion, as in the seventh Trumpet (_Chap. xi. 19._) and\nthe seventh Vial (_Chap. xvi. 18._) we have still mention made of this\nfiery Tempest of Lightnings and Thunderings.\n\nWe may therefore reasonably suppose, that, before the Conflagration, the\nAir will be surcharg\u2019d every where (by a precedent Drought) with hot and\nfiery Exhalations: And as against the Deluge those Regions were\nburthen\u2019d with Water and moist Vapours, which were pour\u2019d upon the\nEarth, not in gentle Showers, but like Rivers and Cataracts from Heaven;\nso they will now be filled with hot Fumes and sulphureous Clouds, which\nwill sometimes flow in Streams and fiery Impressions through the Air,\nsometimes make Thunder and Lightnings, and sometimes fall down upon the\nEarth in Floods of Fire. In general, there is a great Analogy to be\nobserved betwixt the two Deluges of Water and of Fire, not only as to\nthe Bounds of them, which were noted before; but as to the general\nCauses and Sources upon which they depend, from above and from below. At\nthe Flood, the Windows of Heaven were open\u2019d above, and the Abyss was\nopen\u2019d below; and the Waters of these two join\u2019d together to overflow\nthe World: In like manner, at the Conflagration, God will rain down Fire\nfrom Heaven, as he did once upon _Sodom_; and at the same time the\nsubterraneous Store-houses of Fire will be broken open; which answers to\nthe Disruption of the Abyss: And these two meeting and mingling\ntogether, will involve all the Heaven and Earth in Flames.\n\nThis is a short Account of the ordinary Stores of Nature, and the\nordinary Preparations for a general Fire; and, in Contemplation of\nthese, _Pliny_ the Naturalist said boldly, _It was one of the greatest\nWonders of the World, that the World was not every Day set on Fire_. We\nwill conclude this Chapter with his Words, in the second Book of his\n_Natural Hist._ ch. 106, 107. Having given an Account of some fiery\nMountains and other Parts of the Earth that are the Seats and Sources of\nFire, he makes this Reflection: _Seeing this Element is so fruitful,\nthat it brings forth it self, and multiplies and encreases from the\nleast Sparks; what art we to expect from so many Fires already kindled\non the Earth? How does Nature feed and satisfy so devouring an Element,\nand such a great Voracity throughout all the World, without Loss or\nDiminution of herself? Add to these Fires we have mentioned, the Stars\nand the great Sun; then all the Fires made for human Uses; Fire in\nStones, in Wood, in the Clouds, and in Thunder; IT EXCEEDS ALL MIRACLES,\nIN MY OPINION, THAT ONE DAY SHOULD PASS WITHOUT SETTING THE WORLD ALL ON\nFIRE._\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAP. VIII.\n\n\n    _Some new Dispositions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter,\n    Form, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Causes, and\n    how far the Ministry of Angels may be engaged in this Work._\n\n\nWe have given an Account, in the preceding Chapter, of the ordinary\nPreparations of Nature for a general Fire; we now are to give an Account\nof the extraordinary, or of any new Dispositions, which, towards the End\nof the World, may be super-added to the ordinary State of Nature. I do\nnot, by these, mean Things openly miraculous and supernatural; but such\na Change wrought in Nature, as shall still have the Face of natural\nCauses, and yet have a greater Tendency to the Conflagration. As, for\nExample, suppose a great Drought, as we noted before, to precede this\nFate, or a general Heat and Dryness of the Air, and of the Earth;\nbecause this happens sometimes in a Course of Nature, it will not be\nlook\u2019d upon as prodigious. \u2019Tis true, some of the Antients speak of a\nDrought of forty Years, that will be a Fore-runner of the Conflagration;\nso that there will not be a watery Cloud, nor Rainbow seen in the\nHeavens, for so long a Time. And this they impute to _Elias_, who at his\nComing, will stop the Rain, and shut up the Heavens to make way for the\nlast Fire. But these are excessive and ill-grounded Suppositions; for\nhalf forty Years Drought will bring an universal Sterility upon the\nEarth, and thereupon an universal Famine, with innumerable Diseases; so\nthat all Mankind would be destroyed, before the Conflagration could\novertake them.\n\nBut we will readily admit an extraordinary Drought and Desiccation of\nall Bodies to usher in this great Fatality. And therefore, whatsoever we\nread in natural History, concerning former Droughts, of their drying up\nFountains and Rivers, parching the Earth, and making the outward Turf\ntake Fire in several Places; filling the Air with fiery Impressions,\nmaking the Woods and Forests ready Fewel, and sometimes to kindle by the\nHeat of the Sun, or a Flash of Lightning: These and what other Effects\nhave come to pass in former Droughts, may come to pass again; and that\nin an higher Measure, and so as to be of more general Extent. And we\nmust also allow, that by this means, a great degree of Inflammability,\nor Easiness to be set on Fire, will be super-induc\u2019d, both into the Body\nof the Earth, and of all Things that grow upon it. The Heat of the Sun\nwill pierce deeper into its Bowels, when it gapes to receive his Beams,\nand by Chinks and widened Pores makes way for their Passage to its very\nHeart. And, on the other Hand, it is not improbable, but that upon this\ngeneral Relaxation, and Incalescency of the Body of the Earth, the\n_Central Fire_ may have a freer Efflux, and diffuse itself in greater\nabundance every Way; so as to affect even these exterior Regions of the\nEarth, so far as to make them still more catching, and more combustible.\n\nFrom this external and internal Heat acting upon the Body of the Earth,\nall Minerals, that have the Seeds of Fire in them, will be open\u2019d, and\nexhale their Effluviums more copiously. As Spices, when warm\u2019d are more\nodoriferous, and fill the Air with their Perfumes; so the Particles of\nFire that are shut up in several Bodies, will easily fly abroad, when,\nby a further degree of Relaxation, you shake off their Chains, and open\nthe Prison Doors. We cannot doubt, but there are many Sorts of Minerals,\nand many Sorts of Fire-stones, and of Trees and Vegetables of this\nNature, which will sweat out their oily and sulphureous Atoms, when by a\ngeneral Heat and Dryness their Parts are loosen\u2019d and agitated.\n\nWe have no Experience that will reach so far, as to give us a full\nAccount what the State of Nature will be at that Time; I mean, after\nthis Drought, towards the End of the World; but we may help our\nImagination, by comparing it with other Seasons and Temperaments of the\nAir. As therefore in the Spring the Earth is fragrant, and the Fields\nand Gardens are fill\u2019d with the sweet Breathings of Herbs and Flowers;\nespecially after a gentle Rain; when their Bodies are softened, and the\nWarmth of the Sun makes them evaporate more freely: So a greater degree\nof Heat acting upon all the Bodies of the Earth, like a stronger Fire in\nthe Alembick, will extract another sort of Parts or Particles, more\ndeeply incorporated, and more difficult to be disintangled; I mean oily\nParts, and such undiscover\u2019d Parcels of Fire, as lie fix\u2019d and\nimprison\u2019d in hard Bodies: These, I imagine, will be in a great measure\nset afloat, or drawn out into the Air, which will abound with hot and\ndry Exhalations, more than with Vapours and Moisture in a wet Season;\nand by this Means, all Elements and elementary Bodies will stand ready,\nand in a proximate Disposition to be inflamed.\n\nThus much concerning the last Drought, and the general Effects of it. In\nthe next Place, we must consider the Earthquakes that will precede the\nConflagration, and the Consequences of them. I noted before, that the\ncavernous and broken Construction of the present Earth, was that which\nmade it obnoxious to be destroy\u2019d by Fire; as its former Construction\nover the Abyss, made it obnoxious to be destroy\u2019d with Water. This\nHollowness of the Earth is most sensible in mountainous and hilly\nCountries, which therefore I look upon as most subject to burning; but\nthe plain Countries may also be made hollow and hilly by Earthquakes,\nwhen the Vapours, not finding an easy Vent, raise the Ground, and make a\nforcible Eruption, as at the springing of a Mine. And tho\u2019 plain\nCountries are not so subject to Earthquakes as mountainous, because they\nhave not so many Cavities, and subterraneous Vaults, to lodge the\nVapours in; yet every Region hath more or less of them: And after this\nDrought, the Vacuities of the Earth being every where enlarg\u2019d, the\nQuantity of Exhalations much increas\u2019d, and the Motion of them more\nstrong and violent, they will have their Effects in many Places where\nthey never had any before. Yet I do not suppose that this will raise new\nRidges of Mountains, like the _Alps_, or _Pyreneans_, in those Countries\nthat are now plain, but that they will break and loosen the Ground, make\ngreater Inequalities in the Surface, and greater Cavities within, than\nwhat are at present in those Places: and by this means the Fire will\ncreep under them, and find a Passage thorough them, with more Ease than\nif they were compact, and every where continu\u2019d and unbroken.\n\nBut you will say, it may be, How does it appear that there will be more\nfrequent Earthquakes towards the End of the World? If this precedent\nDrought be admitted, \u2019tis plain that fiery Exhalation will abound every\nwhere within the Earth, and will have a greater Agitation than ordinary;\nand these being the Causes of Earthquakes, when they are rarified and\ninflamed, \u2019tis reasonable to suppose, that in such a State of Nature,\nthey will more frequently happen, than at other Times. Besides,\nEarthquakes are taken Notice of in Scripture, as Signs and Fore-runners\nof the last Day, as they usually are of all great Changes and\nCalamities. The Destruction of _Jerusalem_ was a Type of the Destruction\nof the World, and the Evangelists always mention Earthquakes amongst the\nominous Prodigies that were to attend it. But these Earthquakes we are\nspeaking of at present are but the Beginnings of Sorrow, and not to be\ncompar\u2019d with those that will follow afterwards, when Nature is\nconvuls\u2019d in her last Agony, just as the Flames are seizing on her. Of\nwhich we shall have Occasion to speak hereafter.\n\nThese Changes will happen as to the _Matter_ and _Form_ of the Earth,\nbefore it is attack\u2019d by the last Fire: There will be also another\nChange as to the _Situation_ of it; for that will be rectified, and the\nEarth restor\u2019d to the Posture it had at first, namely, of a right\nAspect, and Conversion to the Sun. But because I cannot determine at\nwhat Time this Restitution will be, whether at the Beginning, Middle, or\nEnd of the Conflagration, I will not presume to lay any Stress upon it.\n_Plato_ seems to have imputed the Conflagration to this only; which is\nso far true, that the Revolution, call\u2019d _the Great Year_, is this very\nRevolution, or the Return of the Earth, and the Heavens to their first\nPosture. But tho\u2019 this may be contemporary with the last Fire, or some\nway concomitant; yet it does not follow that it is the Cause of it, much\nless the only Cause. It may be an Occasion of making the Fire reach more\neasily towards the Poles, when by this Change of Situation their long\nNights, and long Winters shall be taken away.\n\nThe new Dispositions in our Earth which we expect before that great Day,\nmay be look\u2019d upon as extraordinary, but not as miraculous, because they\nmay proceed from natural Causes. But now in the last Place, we are to\nconsider _miraculous Causes_: What Influence they may have, or what Part\nthey may bear, in this great Revolution of Nature. By _miraculous\nCauses_ we understand either God\u2019s immediate Omnipotency, or the\nMinistry of Angels; and what may be perform\u2019d by the latter, is very\nimproperly and undecently thrown upon the former. \u2019Tis a great Step to\nOmnipotency: and \u2019tis hard to define what Miracles, on this side\nCreation, require an infinite Power. We are sure that the Angels are\nMinistring Spirits, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand about the\nThrone of the Almighty, to receive his Commands and execute his\nJudgments. That perfect Knowledge they have of the Powers of Nature, and\nof conducting those Powers to the best Advantage, by adjusting Causes in\na fit Subordination one to another, makes them capable of performing,\nnot only things far above our Force, but even above our Imagination:\nBesides, they have a radical inherent Power, belonging to the Excellency\nof their Nature, of determining the Motions of Matter, within a far\ngreater Sphere than human Souls can pretend to. We can only command our\nSpirits, and determine their Motions within the Compass of our own\nBodies; but their Activity and Empire is of far greater Extent, and the\noutward World is much more subject to their Dominion than to ours. From\nthese Considerations it is reasonable to conclude, that the generality\nof Miracles may be, and are perform\u2019d by Angels; it being less decorous\nto employ a sovereign Power, where a subaltern is sufficient; and when\nwe hastily cast Things upon God, for quick Dispatch, we consult our own\nEase more than the Honour of our Maker.\n\nI take it for granted here, that what is done by an angelical Hand, is\ntruly providential, and of divine Administration; and also justly bears\nthe Character of a Miracle. Whatsoever may be done by pure material\nCauses, or human Strength, we account natural; and whatsoever is above\nthese, we call supernatural and miraculous. Now what is supernatural and\nmiraculous, is either the Effect of an angelical Power, or of a\nsovereign and infinite Power; and we ought not to confound these two, no\nmore than natural and supernatural; for there is a greater Difference\nbetwixt the highest angelical Power and Omnipotency, than betwixt an\nhuman Power, and angelical. Therefore, as the first Rule concerning\nMiracles is this, that we must not fly to Miracles, where Man and Nature\nare sufficient; so the second Rule is this, that we must not fly to a\nsovereign infinite Power, where an angelical is sufficient. And the\nReason in both Rules is the same, namely, because it argues a Defect of\nWisdom in all Oeconomies to employ more and greater Means than are\nsufficient.\n\nNow to make Application of this to our present Purpose, I think it\nreasonable, and also sufficient, to admit the Ministry of Angels in the\nfuture Conflagration of the World. If Nature will not lay violent Hands\nupon her self, or is not sufficient to work her own Destruction, let us\nallow _Destroying Angels_ to interest themselves in the Work, as the\nExecutioners of the Divine Justice and Vengeance upon a degenerate\nWorld. We have Examples of this so frequently in sacred History, how the\nAngels have executed God\u2019s Judgments upon a Nation or a People, that it\ncannot seem new or strange, that in this last Judgment, which by all the\nProphets is represented as the _Great Day of the Lord_, the Day of his\nWrath, and of his Fury, the same Angels should bear their Parts, and\nconclude the last Scene of that Tragedy which they had acted in all\nalong. We read of the _Destroying Angel in \u00c6gypt_, _Gen._ xii. 23. of\nAngels that presided at the Destruction of _Sodom_, _Gen. xix. 13._\nwhich was a Type of the future Destruction of the World, (_Jude vii._)\n_2. Thess. i. 7, 8._ and of Angels that will accompany our Saviour when\nhe comes in Flames of Fire; not, we suppose, to be Spectators only, but\nActors and Superintendants in this great Catastrophe.\n\nThis Ministry of Angels may be either in ordering and conducting such\nnatural Causes as we have already given an Account of, or in adding new\nones, if Occasion be; I mean, increasing the Quantity of Fire, or of\nfiery Materials, in and about the Earth; so as that Element shall be\nmore abundant and more predominant, and overbear all Opposition that\neither Water, or any other Body, can make against it. It is not material\nwhether of these two Suppositions we follow, provided we allow that the\nConflagration is a Work of Providence, and not a pure natural Fatality.\nIf it be necessary that there should be an Augmentation made of fiery\nMatter, \u2019tis not hard to conceive how that may be done, either from the\nHeavens, or from the Earth, _Isa. xxx. 26._ The Prophets sometimes speak\nof multiplying or strengthening the Light of the Sun, and it may as\neasily be conceiv\u2019d of his Heat as of his Light; as if the Vial that was\nto be pour\u2019d upon it, _Rev. xxvi. 8._ and _gave it a Power to scorch Men\nwith Fire_, had something of a natural Sense as well as moral. But there\nis another Stream of ethereal Matter that flows from the Heavens, and\nrecruits the _Central Fire_ with continual Supplies; this may be\nencreas\u2019d and strengthened, and its Effects convey\u2019d throughout the\nwhole Body of the Earth.\n\nBut if an Augmentation is to be made of terrestrial Fire, or of such\nterrestrial Principles as contain it most, as Sulphur, Oyl, and such\nlike, I am apt to believe, these will encrease of their own accord, upon\na general Drought and Desiccation of the Earth. For I am far from the\nOpinion of some Chymists, that think these Principles immutable, and\nincapable of Diminution or Augmentation. I willingly admit that all such\nParticles may be broken and disfigur\u2019d, and thereby lose their proper\nand specifick Virtue, and new ones may be generated to supply the Places\nof the former: Which Supplies, or new Productions being made in a less,\nor greater Measure, according to the general Dispositions of Nature;\nwhen Nature is heightened into a kind of Fever and Ebullition of all her\nJuices and Humours, as she will be at that Time, we must expect, that\nmore Parts than ordinary, should be made inflammable, and those that are\ninflam\u2019d should become more violent. Under these Circumstances, when all\nCauses lean that Way, a little Help from a superior Power will have a\ngreat Effect, and make a great Change in the State of the World. And as\nto the Power of Angels, I am of Opinion, that it is very great as to the\nChanges and Modifications of natural Bodies; that they can dissolve a\nMarble as easily as we can crumble Earth and Moulds, or fix any Liquor\nin a Moment, into a Substance as hard as Crystal: That they can either\nmake Flames more vehement and irresistible to all Sorts of Bodies; or as\nharmless as lambent Fires, and as soft as Oyl. We see an Instance of\nthis last, in _Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s_ fiery Furnace, _Daniel iii. 28._ where\nthe three Children walk\u2019d unconcern\u2019d in the midst of the Flames, under\nthe Charge and Protection of an Angel: And the same Angel, if he had\npleas\u2019d, could have made the same Furnace seven times hotter than the\nWrath of the Tyrant had made it.\n\nWe will therefore leave it to their Ministry to manage this great\nFurnace, when the Heavens and the Earth are on Fire: To conserve,\nincrease, direct, or temper the Flames, according to Instructions given\nthem, as they are to be _tutelary_ or _destroying_. Neither let any Body\nthink it a Diminution of Providence, to put Things into the Hands of\nAngels; \u2019tis the true Rule and Method of it: For to imploy an Almighty\nPower where it is not necessary, is to debase it, and give it a Task fit\nfor lower Beings. Some think it Devotion and Piety to have recourse\nimmediately to the Arm of God to salve all things; this may be done\nsometimes with a good Intention, but commonly with little Judgment. God\nis as jealous of the Glory of his Wisdom, as of his Power; and Wisdom\nconsists in the Conduct and Subordination of several Causes, to bring\nour Purposes to Effect; but what is dispatched by an immediate supreme\nPower, leaves no room for the Exercise of Wisdom. To conclude this\nPoint, which I have touch\u2019d upon more than once; We must not be partial\nto any of God\u2019s Attributes, and Providence being a Complexion of many,\nPower, Wisdom, Justice, and Goodness, when we give due Place and Honour\nto all these, then we must honour DIVINE PROVIDENCE.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. IX.\n\n\n    _How the Sea will be diminish\u2019d and consum\u2019d. How the Rocks and\n    Mountains will be thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior\n    Frame of the Earth dissolv\u2019d into a Deluge of Fire._\n\n\nWe have now taken a View of the Causes of the Conflagration, both\nordinary and extraordinary: It remains to consider the Manner of it; how\nthese Causes will operate, and bring to pass an Effect so great and so\nprodigious. We took Notice before, that the grand Obstruction would be\nfrom the Sea, and from the Mountains; we must therefore take these to\nTask in the first Place: and if we can remove them out of our Way, or\novercome what Resistance and Opposition they are capable to make, the\nrest of the Work will not be uneasy to us.\n\nThe Ocean indeed is a vast Body of Waters; and we must use all our Art\nand Skill to dry it up, or consume it in a good measure, before we can\npass our Design. I remember the Advice a Philosopher gave _Amasis_ King\nof _\u00c6gypt_, when he had a Command sent him from the King of _\u00c6thiopia_,\n_that he should drink up the Sea_. _Amasis_ being very anxious and\nsolicitous what Answer he should make to this strange Command, the\nPhilosopher _Bias_ advis\u2019d him to make this round Answer to the King,\n_That he was ready to perform his Command, and to drink up the Sea,\nprovided he would stop the Rivers from flowing into his Cup while he was\ndrinking_. This Answer baffled the King, for he could not stop the\nRivers; but this we must do, or we shall never be able to drink up the\nSea, or burn up the Earth.\n\nNeither will this be so impossible as it seems at first Sight, if we\nreflect upon those Preparations we have made towards it, by a general\nDrought all over the Earth. This, we suppose, will precede the\nConflagration, and by drying up the Fountains and Rivers which daily\nfeed the Sea, will by degrees starve that Monster, or reduce it to such\na degree of Weakness, that it shall not be able to make any great\nResistance. More than half an Ocean of Water flows into the Sea every\nDay, from the Rivers of the Earth, if you take them altogether. This I\nspeak upon a moderate Computation. _Aristotle_ says, the Rivers carry\nmore Water into the Sea in the Space of a Year, than would equal in Bulk\nthe whole Globe of the Earth. Nay some have ventur\u2019d to affirm this of\none single River, the _Volga_, that runs into the _Caspian_ Sea. \u2019Tis a\ngreat River indeed, and hath seventy Mouths; and so it had need have, to\ndisgorge a Mass of Water equal to the Body of the Earth, in a Year\u2019s\nTime. But we need not take such high Measures; there are at least an\nhundred great Rivers that flow into the Sea from several Parts of the\nEarth, Islands and Continents, besides several thousands of lesser ones;\nlet us suppose these, all together, to pour as much Water into the\nSea-Channel every Day, as is equal to half the Ocean: And we shall be\neasily convinc\u2019d of the Reasonableness of this Supposition, if we do but\nexamine the daily Expence of one River, and by that make an Estimate of\nthe rest. This we find calculated to our Hands in the River _Po_, in\n_Italy_; a River of much what the same Bigness with our _Thames_, and\ndisburthens it self into the Gulpp of _Venice_. _Baptista Riccioli_ hath\ncomputed how much Water this River discharges in an Hour, _viz._\n18000000 cubical Paces of Water, and consequently 432000000 in a Day;\nwhich is scarce credible to those that do not distinctly compute it.\nSuppose then an hundred Rivers as great as this, or greater, to fall\ninto the Sea from the Land; besides thousands of lesser, that pay their\nTribute at the same Time into the great Receipt of the Ocean: These all\ntaken together, are capable to renew the Sea twice every four and twenty\nHours. Which Suppositions being admitted, if by a great and lasting\nDrought these Rivers were dried up, or the Fountains from whence they\nflow, what would then become of that vast Ocean, that before was so\nformidable to us?\n\n\u2019Tis likely, you will say, these great Rivers cannot be dried up, tho\u2019\nthe little ones may; and therefore we must not suppose such an universal\nStop of Waters, or that they will all fail, by any Drought whatsoever.\nBut great Rivers being made up of little ones, if these fail, those must\nbe diminished, if not quit drain\u2019d and exhausted. It may be, all\nFountains and Springs do not proceed from the same Causes, or the same\nOriginal; and some are much more copious than others: For such\nDifferences, we will allow what is due; but still the Dryness of the Air\nand of the Earth continuing, and all the Sources and Supplies of\nMoisture, both from above and from below, being lessen\u2019d, or wholly\ndiscontinued, a general Decay of all Fountains and Rivers must\nnecessarily follow, and consequently of the Sea, and of its Fulness,\nthat depends upon them; and that\u2019s enough for our present Purpose.\n\nThe first Step towards the Consumption of the Ocean, will be the\nDiminution or Suspension of the Rivers that run into it; the next will\nbe an Evacuation by subterraneous Passages; and the last, by Eruptions\nof Fires in the very Channel of it, and in the midst of the Waters. As\nfor subterraneous Evacuations, we cannot doubt but that the Sea hath\nOutlets at the Bottom of it, whereby it discharges that vast Quantity of\nWater that flows into it every Day; and that could not be discharg\u2019d so\nfast as it comes from the wide Mouths of the Rivers, by Percolation, or\nStraining through the Sands. Seas also communicate with one another by\nthese internal Passages; as is manifest from those particular Seas that\nhave no external Outlet, or Issue, though they receive into them many\ngreat Rivers, and sometimes the Influx of other Seas. So the _Caspian_\nSea receives not only _Volga_, which we mentioned before, but several\nother Rivers, and yet hath no visible Issue for its Waters. The\n_Mediterranean_ Sea, besides all the Rivers it receives, hath a Current\nflowing into it, at either End, from other Seas; from the _Atlantick_\nOcean at the Streights of _Gibraltar_, and from the _Black Sea_ above\n_Constantinople_; and yet there is no Passage above Ground, or visible\nDerivation of the _Mediterranean_ Waters out of their Channel; which\nseeing they do not overfill, nor overflow the Banks, \u2019tis certain they\nmust have some secret Conveyances into the Bowels of the Earth, or\nsubterraneous Communication with other Seas. Lastly, from the Whirlpools\nof the Sea, that suck in Bodies that come within their Reach, it seems\nplainly to appear, by that Attraction and Absorption, that there is a\nDescent of Waters in those Places.\n\nWherefore when the Current of the Rivers into the Sea is stopp\u2019d, or in\na great Measure diminished; the Sea continuing to empty it self by these\nsubterraneous Passages, and having little or none of those Supplies that\nit used to have from the Land, it must needs be sensibly lessen\u2019d and\nboth contract its Channel into a narrower Compass, and also have less\nDepth in the Waters that remain. And in the last Place, we must expect\nfiery Eruptions in several Parts of the Sea Channel, which will help to\nsuck up, or evaporate the remaining Waters. In the present State of\nNature there have been several Instances of such Eruptions of Fire from\nthe Bottom of the Sea; and in that last State of Nature, when all Things\nare in a Tendency to Inflammation, and when Earthquakes and Eruptions\nwill be more frequent every where, we must expect them also more\nfrequently by Sea, as well as by Land. \u2019Tis true, neither Earthquakes\nnor Eruptions can happen in the middle of the great Ocean, or in the\ndeepest Abyss, because there are no Cavities, or Mines below it, for the\nVapours and Exhalations to lodge in: But it is not so much of the\nSea-Chanel that is so deep; and in other Parts, especially in Streights,\nand near Islands, such Eruptions, like Sea-Vulcano\u2019s, have frequently\nhappened, and new Islands have been made by such fiery Matter thrown up\nfrom the Bottom of the Sea. Thus, they say, those Islands in the\n_Mediterranean_, call\u2019d the _Vulcanian Islands_, had their Original,\nbeing Matter cast up from the Bottom of the Sea, by the Force of Fire,\nas new Mountains sometimes are raised upon the Earth. Another Island in\nthe _Archipelago_ had the same Original; whereof _Strabo_ gives an\nAccount, _Lib. 1._ _The Flames, he says, sprung up through the Waters\nfour Days together, so as the whole Sea was hot and burning; and they\nrais\u2019d by degrees, as with Engines, a Mass of Earth, which made a new\nIsland, twelve Furlongs in Compass._ And in the same _Archipelago_,\nFlames and Smoke have several times, (particularly in the Year 1650)\nrisen out of the Sea, and fill\u2019d the Air with sulphureous Scents and\nVapours. In like manner in the Island of St. _Michael_, one of the\n_Tercera\u2019s_, there have been, of later Years, such Eructations of Fire\nand Flames, so strong and violent, that, at the Depth of a hundred and\nsixty Fathoms, they forc\u2019d their Way through the midst of the Waters,\nfrom the Bottom of the Sea into the open Air, as has been related by\nthose that were Eyewitnesses.\n\nIn these three Ways, I conceive, the great Force of the Sea will be\nbroken, and the mighty Ocean reduced to a standing Pool of putrid\nWaters, without Vent, and without Recruits. But there will still remain,\nin the midst of the Channel, a great Mass of troubled Liquors, like\nDregs in the Bottom of the Vessel; which will not be drunk up, \u2019till the\nEarth be all on Fire, and Torrents of melted and sulphureous Matter flow\nfrom the Land, and mingle with this dead Sea. But let us now leave the\nSea in this humble Posture, and go on to attack the Rocks and Mountains,\nwhich stand next in our Way.\n\nSee how scornfully they look down upon us, and bid Defiance to all the\nElements; they have born the Thunder and Lightning of Heaven, and all\nthe Artillery of the Skies, for innumerable Ages; and do not fear the\ncrackling of Thorns and of Shrubs that burn at their Feet: Let the Towns\nand Cities of the Earth, say they, be laid in Ashes; let the Woods and\nForests blaze away, and the fat Soil of the Earth fry in its own Grease;\nthese Things will not affect us; we can stand naked in the midst of a\nSea of Fire, with our Roots as deep as the Foundations of the Earth, and\nour Heads above the Clouds of the Air. Thus they proudly defy Nature;\nand it must be confess\u2019d, that these, being, as it were, the Bones of\nthe Earth, when the Body is burning, will be the last consum\u2019d; and I am\napt to think, if they could keep in the same Posture they stand in now,\nand preserve themselves from falling, the Fire could never get an entire\nPower over them. But Mountains are generally hollow, and that makes them\nsubject to a double Casualty; first, of Earthquakes; secondly, of having\ntheir Roots eaten away by Water or by Fire; but by Fire especially in\nthis Case; For we suppose there will be innumerable subterraneous Fires\nsmothering under Ground, before the general Fire breaks out; and these\nby corroding the Bowels of the Earth, will make it more hollow, and more\nruinous; and when the Earth is so far dissolv\u2019d, that the Cavities\nwithin the Mountains are fill\u2019d with Lakes of Fire, then the Mountains\nwill sink, and fall into those boiling Cauldrons, which in Time will\ndissolve them, though they were as hard as Adamant.\n\nThere is another Engine that will tear the Earth with great Violence,\nand rend in pieces whatsoever is above or about those Parts of it; and\nthat is the Element of Water, so gentle in it self when undisturb\u2019d: But\n\u2019tis found by Experience, that when Water falls into liquid Metals, it\nflies about with an incredible Impetuosity, and breaks or bears down\nevery Thing that would stop its Motion and Expansion. This Force I take\nto come from the sudden and strong Rarefaction of its Parts, which make\na kind of Explosion, when it is sudden and vehement; and this is one of\nthe greatest Forces we know in Nature: Accordingly I am apt to think,\nthat the marvellous Force of Vulcano\u2019s, when they throw out Lumps of\nRocks, great Fragments of the Earth, and other heavy Bodies, to such a\nvast Height and Distance, that it is done by this way of Explosion: And\nthat Explosion made by the sudden Rarefaction of Sea Waters, that fall\ninto Pans or Receptacles of molten Ore and ardent Liquors, within the\nCavities of the Mountain; and thereupon follow the Noises, Roarings, and\nEruptions of those Places. \u2019Tis observ\u2019d, that Vulcano\u2019s are in\nMountains, and generally, if not always, near the Sea; and when its\nWaters, by subterraneous Passages, are driven under the Mountain, either\nby a particular Wind, or by a great Agitation of the Waves, they meet\nthere with Metals and fiery Minerals, dissolv\u2019d; and are immediately,\naccording to our Supposition, rarified, and, by way of Explosion, fly\nout at the Mouth or Funnel of the Mountain, bearing before them\nwhatsoever stands in their Way. Whether this be a true Account, or no,\nof the present Vulcano\u2019s and their Eruptions, \u2019tis manifest, that such\nCases as we have mention\u2019d, will happen in the Conflagration of the\nEarth, and that such Eruptions or Disruptions of the Earth will follow\nthereupon: and that these will contribute very much to the sinking of\nMountains, the splitting of Rocks, and the bringing of all strong Holds\nof Nature under the Power of the general Fire.\n\nTo conclude this Point: The Mountains will all be brought low, in that\nState of Nature either by Earthquakes, or subterraneous Fires; _Every\nValley shall be exalted, and every Mountain and Hill shall be made low_,\n_Isa. xl. 4._ Which will be literally true at the second coming of our\nSaviour, as it was figuratively apply\u2019d to his first coming, _Luke iii.\n5._ Now, being once levell\u2019d with the rest of the Earth, the Question\nwill only be, how they shall be dissolv\u2019d? But there is no terrestrial\nBody indissolvable to Fire, if it have a due Strength and Continuance;\nand this last Fire will have both, in the highest degrees; so that it\ncannot but be capable of dissolving all elementary Compositions, how\nhard or solid soever they be.\n\n\u2019Tis true, these Mountains and Rocks, as I said before, will have the\nPrivilege to be the last destroy\u2019d. These, with the deep Parts of the\nSea, and the polar Regions of the Earth, will undergo a slower Fate, and\nbe consum\u2019d more leisurely. The Action of the last Fire may be\ndistinguish\u2019d into two Times, or two Assaults; the first Assault will\ncarry off all Mankind, and all the Works of the Earth that are easily\ncombustible; and this will be done with a quick and sudden Motion. But\nthe second Assault, being employ\u2019d about the Consumption of such Bodies,\nor such Materials, as are not so easily subjected to Fire, will be of\nlong Continuance, and the Work of some Years. And \u2019tis fit it should be\nso; that this flaming World may be view\u2019d and consider\u2019d by the\nneighbouring Worlds about it, as a dreadful Spectacle, and Monument of\nGod\u2019s Wrath against disloyal, and disobedient Creatures. That by this\nExample, now before their Eyes, they may think of their own Fate, and\nwhat may befal them, as well as another Planet of the same Elements and\nComposition.\n\nThus much for the Rocks and Mountains; which, you see, according to our\nHypothesis, will be levell\u2019d, and the whole Face of the Earth reduc\u2019d to\nPlainness and Equality; nay, which is more, melted and dissolv\u2019d into a\nSea of liquid Fire. And because this may seem a Paradox, being more than\nis usually supposed, or taken notice of, in the Doctrine of the\nConflagration, it will not be improper, in this Place, to give an\nAccount, wherein our Idea of the Conflagration, and its Effects, differs\nfrom the common Opinion, and the usual Representation of it. \u2019Tis\ncommonly supposed, that the Conflagration of the World is like the\nburning of a City, where the Walls and Materials of the Houses are not\nmelted down, but scorch\u2019d, inflam\u2019d, demolish\u2019d, and made uninhabitable:\nSo they think in the burning of the World, such Bodies, or such Parts of\nNature, as are fit Fewel for the Fire, will be inflam\u2019d, and, it may be,\nconsum\u2019d, or reduc\u2019d to Smoke and Ashes; but other Bodies, that are not\ncapable of Inflammation, will only be scorch\u2019d and defac\u2019d, the Beauty\nand Furniture of the Earth spoil\u2019d, and by that means, say they, it will\nbe laid waste and become uninhabitable. This seems to me a very short\nand imperfect Idea of the Conflagration; neither agreeable to Scripture,\nnor to the Deductions that may be made from Scripture. We therefore\nsuppose that this is but half the Work; this destroying of the outward\nGarniture of the Earth, is but the first Onset, and that the\nConflagration will end in a Dissolution and Liquefaction of the Elements\nand all the exterior Region of the Earth; so as to become a true Deluge\nof Fire, or a Sea of Fire overspreading the whole Globe of the Earth.\nThis State of the Conflagration, I think, may be plainly prov\u2019d; partly\nby the Expressions of Scripture concerning it, and partly from the\n_Renovation_ of the Earth that is to follow upon it. Saint _Peter_, who\nis our chief Guide in the Doctrine of the Conflagration, says, _2 Pet.\niii. 10, 11._ _The Elements will be melted with fervent Heat_; besides\nburning up the Works of the Earth. Then adds, _Seeing all these Things\nshall be dissolv\u2019d_, &c. These Terms of _Liquefaction_ and _Dissolution_\ncannot, without Violence, be restrained to simple Devastation, and\nsuperficial Scorching. Such Expressions carry the Work a great deal\nfurther, even to that full Sense which we propose. Besides, the Prophets\noften speak of the melting of the Earth, or of the Hills and Mountains,\nat the Presence of the Lord, in the Day of his Wrath, _Isa. xxxiv. 3, 4.\n& xliv. 1, 2._ _Nah. i. 5._ _Psal. xcvii. 5._ And Saint _John_ (_Apoc.\nxv. 2._) tells us of a _Sea of Glass, mingled with Fire_; where the\nSaints stood, singing the Song of _Moses_, and triumphing over their\nEnemies, the Spiritual _Pharaoh_ and his Host, that were swallowed up in\nit. The _Sea of Glass_, must be a Sea of _molten_ Glass; it must be\nfluid, not solid, if a Sea; neither can a solid Substance be said to be\n_mingled with Fire_, as this was. And to this answers the _Lake of Fire\nand Brimstone_, which the Beast and false Prophet were thrown into\nalive, _Apoc. xix. 20._ These all refer to the End of the World, and the\nlast Fire, and also plainly imply, or express rather, that State of\nLiquefaction which we suppose and assert.\n\nFurthermore, the _Renovation_ of the World, or the _New Heaven_ and _New\nEarth_, which St. _Peter_, out of the Prophets, tells us shall spring\nout of these that are burnt and dissolved, do suppose this Earth reduc\u2019d\ninto a fluid Chaos, that it may lay a Foundation for a second World. If\nyou take such a Skeleton of an Earth, as your scorching Fire would leave\nbehind it; where the Flesh is torn from the Bones, and the Rocks and\nMountains stand naked, and staring upon you; the Sea, half empty, gaping\nat the Sun, and the Cities all in Ruins, and in Rubbish; how would you\nraise a new World from this? And a World fit to be an _Habitation for\nthe Righteous_? For so St. _Peter_ makes that to be, which is to succeed\nafter the Conflagration, _2 Pet. iii. 13._ And a World also _without a\nSea_? So St. _John_ describes the new Earth he saw, _Apoc. xxi. 1._ As\nthese Characters do not agree to the present Earth, so neither would\nthey agree to _your_ future one; for if that dead Lump could revive and\nbecome habitable again, it would however retain all the Imperfections of\nthe former Earth, besides some Scars, and Deformities of its own.\nWherefore, if you would cast the Earth into a new, and better Mould, you\nmust first melt it down; and the last Fire, being as a _Refiner_\u2019s Fire,\nwill make an Improvement in it, both as to Matter and Form. To conclude,\nit must be reduc\u2019d into a fluid Mass, in the Nature of a Chaos, as it\nwas at first; but this last will be a fiery Chaos, as that was watery;\nand from this State it will emerge again into a Paradisaical World. But\nthis being the Subject of the following Book, we will discourse no more\nof it in this Place.\n\n\n\n\n                                CHAP. X.\n\n\n    _Concerning the Beginning and Progress of the Conflagration, what\n    Part of the Earth will first be burnt. The Manner of the future\n    Destruction of Rome, according to prophetical Indications. The last\n    State and Consummation of the general Fire._\n\n\nHaving remov\u2019d the chief Obstructions to our Design, and shew\u2019d a Method\nfor weakning the Strength of Nature, by draining the Trench, and beating\ndown those Bulwarks, wherein she seems to place her greatest Confidence:\nWe must now go to Work; making Choice of the weakest Part of Nature for\nour first Attack, where the Fire may be the easiest admitted, and the\nbest maintain\u2019d, and preserv\u2019d.\n\nAnd for our better Direction, it will be of Use to consider what we\nnoted before, _viz._ That the Conflagration is not a pure _natural\nFatality_, but a _mix\u2019d Fatality_; or a divine Judgment supported by\nnatural Causes. And if we can find some Part of the Earth, or of the\nChristian World, that hath more of these natural Dispositions to\nInflammation than the rest; and is also represented by Scripture as a\nmore peculiar Object of God\u2019s Judgments at the coming of our Saviour, we\nmay justly pitch upon that Part of the World, as first to be destroy\u2019d:\nNature and Providence conspiring to make that the first Sacrifice to\nthis fiery Vengeance.\n\nNow as to natural Dispositions, in any Country or Region of the Earth,\nto be set on Fire, they seem to be chiefly these two; Sulphureousness of\nthe Soil, and, an hollow mountainous Construction of the Ground. Where\nthese two Dispositions meet in the same Tract or Territory, (the one as\nto the Quality of the Matter, and the other as to the Form) it stands\nlike a Pile of fit Materials, ready set to have the Fire put to it. And\nas to divine Indications where this general Fire will begin, the\nScripture points to the Seat of Antichrist, wheresoever that is, for the\nBeginning of it. The Scripture, I say, points at this two Ways: First,\nIn telling us that our Saviour at his coming _in Flames of Fire shall\nconsume the wicked One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, with the\nSpirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his\nPresence, 2 Thess. i. 7. chap. ii. 8._ Secondly, under the Name of\n_Mystical Babylon_; which is allowed by all to be the Seat of\nAntichrist, and by Scripture always condemn\u2019d to the Fire. This we find\nin plain Words asserted by Saint _John_, in the xviiith _Chapter_ of his\n_Revelations_ (_Verses 8, 19._) and in the xixth (_Verse 3_) under the\nName of the _Great Whore_; which is the same City, and the same Seat,\naccording to the Interpretation of Scripture it self, (_Ch. xvii,\nxviii._) And the Prophet _Daniel_, when he had set the _Antient of Days_\nupon his fiery Throne, says, _The Body of the Beast was given to the\nburning Flame, Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11._ Which I take to be the same Thing\nwith what St. _John_ says afterwards, (_Apoc. xix. 20._) _The Beast and\nthe false Prophet, were cast alive into a Lake of Fire, burning with\nBrimstone._ By these Places of Scripture it seems manifest, that\nAntichrist, and the Seat of Antichrist will be consum\u2019d with Fire, at\nthe coming of our Saviour. And \u2019tis very reasonable and decorous, that\nthe grand Traytor and Head of the Apostacy, should be made the first\nExample of the divine Vengeance.\n\nThus much being allow\u2019d from Scripture, let us now return to Nature\nagain; to seek out that Part of the Christian World, that from its own\nConstitution is most subject to burning; by the Sulphureousness of its\nSoil, and its fiery Mountains and Caverns. This we shall easily find to\nbe the _Roman Territory_, or the Country of _Italy_: Which, by all\nAccounts, antient and modern, is a Store-house of Fire; as if it was\ncondemn\u2019d to that Fate by God and Nature, and to be an Incendiary, as it\nwere, to the rest of the World. And seeing _Mystical Babylon_, the Seat\nof Antichrist, is the same _Rome_, and its Territory, as it is\nunderstood by most Interpreters of former, and latter Ages; you see both\nour Lines meet in this Point; and, that there is Fairness, on both\nHands, to conclude, that at the glorious Appearance of our Saviour, the\nConflagration will begin at the City of _Rome_, and the _Roman_\nTerritory.\n\nNature hath sav\u2019d us the Pains of kindling a Fire in those Parts of the\nEarth; for, since the Memory of Man, there have always been\nsubterraneous Fires in _Italy_. And the _Romans_ did not preserve their\n_Vestal_ Fire with more Constancy, than Nature hath done her fiery\nMountains in some Part or other of that Territory. Let us then suppose,\nwhen the fatal Time draws near, all these burning Mountains to be fill\u2019d\nand replenish\u2019d with fit Materials for such a Design; and when our\nSaviour appears in the Clouds, with an Host of Angels, that they all\nbegin to play, as Fireworks, at the triumphal Entry of a Prince. Let\n_Vesuvius_, _\u00c6tna_, _Strongyle_, and all the _Vulcanian_ Islands, break\nout into Flames; and by the Earthquakes, which then will rage, let us\nsuppose new Eruptions, or new Mountains open\u2019d in the _Apennines_, and\nnear to _Rome_; and to vomit out Fire in the same Manner as the old\n_Vulcano_\u2019s. Then let the sulphureous Ground take Fire; and seeing the\nSoil of that Country, in several Places, is so full of Brimstone, that\nthe Steams and Smoke of it visibly rise out of the Earth; we may\nreasonably suppose, that it will burn openly, and be inflam\u2019d, at that\nTime. Lastly, the Lightenings of the Air, and the flaming Streams of the\nmelting Skies, will mingle and join with these Burnings of the Earth;\nand these three Causes meeting together, as they cannot but make a\ndreadful Scene, so they will easily destroy and consume whatsoever lies\nwithin the Compass of their Fury.\n\nThus you may suppose the Beginning of the general Fire: And it will be\ncarried on by like Causes, though in lesser Degrees, in other Parts of\nthe Earth: But as to _Rome_, there is still, in my Opinion, a more\ndreadful Fate that will attend it; namely, to absorp\u2019d, or swallow\u2019d up,\nin a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, after the Manner of _Sodom_ and\n_Gomorrah_. This, in my Judgment, will be the Fate and final Conclusion\nof _Mystical Babylon_, to sink as a great Mill-stone into the Sea, and\nnever to appear more. Hear what the Prophet says, _A mighty Angel took\nup a Stone, like a great Mill stone, and cast it into the Sea, saying,\nThus with Violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down, and\nshall be found no more at all, Apoc. xviii. 21._ Simply to be burnt,\ndoes not at all answer to this Description of its perishing, by _sinking\nlike a Mill-stone into the Sea, and never appearing more_, nor of _not\nhaving its Place ever more found_; that is, leaving no Remains or Marks\nof it. A City that is only burnt, cannot be said to _fall like a\nMill-stone into the Sea_; or, that it can _never more be found_; for\nafter the Burning of a City, the Ruins stand, and its Place is well\nknown: Wherefore, in both Respects, besides this exterior Burning, there\nmust be an Absorption of this _Mystical Babylon_, the Seat of the Beast,\nand thereupon a total Disappearance of it. This also agrees with the\nSuddenness of the Judgment, which is a repeated Character of it, _Chap.\nxviii. 8, 10, 17, 19._ Now what kind of Absorption this will be, into\nwhat, and in what Manner, we may learn from what Saint _John_ says\nafterwards, _Chap. xix. 20._ _The Beast and the false Prophet were cast\nalive into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone._ You must not imagine, that\nthey were bound Hand and Foot, and so thrown headlong into this Lake;\nbut they were swallow\u2019d up alive, they and theirs, as _Corah_ and his\nCompany; or, to use a plainer Example, after the manner of _Sodom_ and\n_Gomorrah_, which perish\u2019d by Fire, and at the same Time sunk into the\n_Dead Sea_, or a Lake of Brimstone.\n\nThis was a lively Type of the Fate of _Rome_, or _Mystical Babylon: _And\n\u2019tis fit it should resemble _Sodom_, as well in its Punishment, as in\nits Crimes. Neither is it a hard Thing to conceive how such an\nAbsorption may come to pass, that being a Thing so usual in Earthquakes,\nand Earthquakes being so frequent in that Region. And lastly, That this\nshould be, after the Manner of _Sodom_, turn\u2019d into a Lake of Fire, will\nnot be at all strange, if we consider, that there will be many\nsubterraneous Lakes of Fire at that Time, when the Bowels of the Earth\nbegin to melt, and the Mountains spew out Streams of liquid Fire. The\nGround therefore being hollow and rotten in those Parts, when it comes\nto be shaken with a mighty Earthquake, the Foundations will sink, and\nthe whole Frame fall into an Abyss of Fire below, as a Mill-stone into\nthe Sea. And this will give Occasion to that Cry, _Babylon the great is\nfallen, is fallen_, and shall never more be found.\n\nThis seems to be a probable Account, according to Scripture and Reason,\nof the Beginning of the general Fire, and of the particular Fate of\n_Rome_. But it may be propos\u2019d here, as an Objection against this\nHypothesis, that the _Mediterranean_ Sea, lying all along the Coast of\n_Italy_, must needs be a sufficient Guard to that Country against the\nInvasion of Fire, or at least must needs extinguish it, before it can do\nmuch Mischief there, or propagate itself into other Countries. I thought\nwe had in a good measure prevented this Objection before, by shewing how\nthe Ocean would be diminished before the Conflagration, and especially\nthe Arms and _Sinus_\u2019s of the Ocean; and of these none would be more\nsubject to this Diminution, than the _Mediterranean_; for, receiving its\nSupplies from the _Ocean_ and the _Black Sea_, if these came to sink in\ntheir Channels they would not rise so high, as to be capable to flow\ninto the _Mediterranean_ at either End; and these Supplies being cut\noff, it would soon empty itself so far, partly by Evaporation; and\npartly by subterraneous Passages, as to shrink from all its Shores, and\nbecome only a standing Pool of Water in the Middle of the Channel: Nay,\n\u2019tis possible, by Floods of Fire descending from the many Vulcano\u2019s upon\nits Shores, it might itself be converted into a Lake of Fire, and rather\nhelp than obstruct the Progress of the Conflagration.\n\nIt may indeed be made a Question, Whether this fiery Vengeance upon the\nSeat of Antichrist will not precede the general Conflagration, at some\nDistance of Time, as a Fore-runner and Fore-warner to the World, that\nthe rest of the People may have Space to repent; and particularly the\n_Jews_, being Spectators of this Tragedy, and of the miraculous\nAppearance of our Saviour, may see the Hand of God in it, and be\nconvinc\u2019d of the Truth and divine Authority of the Christian Religion: I\nsay, this Supposition would leave Room for these and some other\nProphetick Scenes, which we know not well where to place; but seeing\n_The Day of the Lord_ is represented in Scripture, as one entire Thing,\nwithout Interruption or Discontinuation, and that it is to begin with\nthe Destruction of Antichrist, we have Warrant enough to pursue the rest\nof the Conflagration from this Beginning and Introduction.\n\nLet us then suppose the same Preparations made in the other Parts of the\nEarth to continue the Fire; for the Conflagration of the World being a\nWork of Providence, we may be sure such Measures are taken, as will\neffectually carry it on, when once begun. The Body of the Earth will be\nloosen\u2019d and broken by Earthquakes, the more solid Parts impregnated\nwith Sulphur, and the Cavities fill\u2019d with unctuous Fumes and\nExhalations, so as the whole Mass will be but as one great Funeral-Pile,\nready built, and wanting nothing but the Hand of a destroying Angel to\ngive it Fire. I will not take upon me to determine which Way this\ndevouring Enemy would steer his Course from _Italy_, or in what Order he\nwill advance and enter the several Regions of our Continent; that would\nbe an Undertaking as uncertain as useless: But we cannot doubt of his\nSuccess, which Way soever he goes; unless where the Channel of the Ocean\nmay chance to stop him: But as to that, we allow, that different\nContinents may have different Fires: not propagated from one to another,\nbut of distinct Sources and Originals; and so likewise in remote\nIslands; and therefore no long Passage, or Trajection, will be requir\u2019d\nfrom Shore to Shore: And even the Ocean it self will, at length, be as\nfiery as any Part of the Land; but that, with its Rocks, like Death,\nwill be the last Thing subdued.\n\nAs to the animate World, the Fire will over-run it with a swift and\nrapid Course, and all living Creatures will be suffocated, or consumed,\nat the first Assault; and at the same Time all the Beauty of the Fields,\nand the External Decorations of Nature will be defac\u2019d: Then the Cities\nand the Towns, and all the Works of Man\u2019s Hands, will burn like Stubble\nbefore the Wind. These will soon be dispatched; but the great Burthen of\nthe Work still remains; which is, that _Liquefaction_ we mention\u2019d\nbefore, or a _melting Fire_, much more strong and vehement than these\ntransient Blazes, which do but sweep the Surface of the Earth: This\nLiquefaction, I say, we prov\u2019d before out of Scripture, as the last\nState of the fiery Deluge, _Chap. IX._ And \u2019tis this which, at length\nwill make the Sea itself a _Lake of Fire and Brimstone_; when, instead\nof Rivers of Waters which used to flow into it from the Land, there come\nStreams and Rivulets of sulphureous Liquors, and purulent melted Matter,\nwhich following the Tract of their natural Gravity, will fall into this\ngreat Drain of this Earth; upon which Mixture, the remaining Parts of\nsweet Water will soon evaporate, and the Salt mingling with the Sulphur,\nwill make a Dead Sea, an _Asphaltites_, a Lake of _Sodom_, a Cup of the\nDregs of the Wine of the Fierceness of God\u2019s Wrath.\n\nWe noted before two remarkable Effects of the _burning Mountains_, which\nwould contribute to the Conflagration of the World, and gave Instances\nof both in former Eruptions of _\u00c6tna_ and _Vesuvius_; one was, of those\nBalls, or Lumps of Fire, which they throw about in the Time of their\nRage; and the other, of those Torrents of liquid Fire, which rowl down\ntheir Sides to the next Seas or Valleys. In the first Respect, these\nMountains are as so many Batteries, planted, by Providence, in several\nParts of the Earth, to fling those fiery Bombs into such Places, or such\nCities, as are marked out for Destruction; and, in the second Respect,\nthey are to dry up the Waters, and the Rivers, and the Sea it self, when\nthey fall into its Channel, _Annal. Sic. dec. 1. l. 2. c. 4._ _T.\nFazellas_, a _Sicilian_, who writ the History of that Island, tells us\nof such a River of Fire (upon an Eruption of _\u00c6tna_) near twenty eight\nMiles long, reaching from the Mountain to Port _Longina_; and might have\nbeen much longer, if it had not been stopt by the Sea. Many such as\nthese, and far greater, we ought in Reason to imagine, when all the\nEarth begins to melt, and to ripen towards a Dissolution: It will then\nbe full of these sulphureous Juices, as Grapes with Wine; and these will\nbe squeez\u2019d out of the Earth into the Sea, as out of a Wine-press into\nthe Receiver, to fill up that Cup, as we said before, _with the Wine of\nthe Fierceness of God\u2019s Wrath_.\n\nIf we may be allowed to bring prophetical Passages of Scripture to a\nnatural Sense, as doubtless some of those must that respect the End of\nthe World; these Phrases which we have now suggested, of the _Wine-press\nof the Wrath of God, Apoc. xiv. 10, 19._ _Ch. xvi. 19._ _Ch. xix. 15._\n_Drinking the Fierceness of his Wine, poured, without Mixture, into the\nCup of his Indignation_; with Expressions of the like Nature, that occur\nsometimes in the old Prophets, but especially in the _Apocalypse_:\nThese, I say, might receive a full and emphatical Explication from this\nState of Things which now lies before us. I would not exclude any other\nExplication of less Force, as that of alluding to the _bitter Cup_, or\n_mixt Potion_, that us\u2019d to be given to Malefactors: But that, methinks,\nis a low Sense, when applied to these Places in the _Apocalypse_. That\nthese Phrases signify God\u2019s remarkable Judgments, all allow; and here\nthey plainly relate to the End of the World, to the last Plagues, and\nthe last of the last Plagues, _Chap. xvi. 19._ Besides, the Angel that\npresided over this Judgment, is said to be an Angel that _had Power over\nFire_; and those who are to drink this Potion are said to be _tormented\nwith Fire and Brimstone, Chap. xiv. 10._ This presiding Angel seems to\nbe our Saviour himself (_Chap. xix. 15._) who, when he comes to execute\nDivine Vengeance upon the Earth, gives his Orders in these Words,\n_Gather the Clusters of the Vine of the Earth, for her Grapes are fully\nripe, Ch. xiv. 18, 19._ And thereupon the destroying Angel _thrust in\nhis Sickle into the Earth, and gather\u2019d the Vine of the Earth, and cast\nit into the great Wine-press of the Wrath of God_. And this made a\nPotion _compounded of several Ingredients, but not diluted with Water_;\n\u03a4\u1f78 \u03ba\u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f00\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, (Ch. xiv. 10.) and was indeed a Potion of Fire\nand Brimstone, and all burning Materials mixt together. The Similitudes\nof Scripture are seldom nice and exact, but rather bold, noble and\ngreat; and according to the Circumstances which we have observed, this\n_Vineyard_ seems to be the _Earth_, and this _Vintage_ the End of the\nWorld; the pressing of the _Grapes_ into the Cup or Vessel that receives\nthem, the Distillation of burning Liquors from all Parts of the Earth\ninto the Trough of the Sea; and that Lake of red Fire, the Blood of\nthose Grapes so flowing into it.\n\n\u2019Tis true, this Judgment of the Vintage and Wine-press, and the Effects\nof it, seem to aim more especially at some particular Region of the\nEarth, _Chap. xiv. 20._ And I am not against that, provided the\nSubstance of the Explication be still retained, and the universal Sea of\nFire be that which follows in the next Chapter, under the Name of a _Sea\nof Glass, mingled with Fire_, _Ch. xvi. 2._ This, I think, expresses the\nhighest and complete State of the Conflagration; when the Mountains are\nfled away, and not only so, but the exterior Region of the Earth quite\ndissolv\u2019d, like Wax before the Sun: The Channel of the Sea fill\u2019d with a\nMass of fluid Fire, and the same Fire overflowing all the Globe, and\ncovering the whole Earth, as the Deluge, or the first Abyss. Then will\nthe triumphal Songs and Hallelujahs be sung for the Victories of the\nLamb over all his Enemies, and over Nature it self, _Apoc. xv. 3, 4._\n_Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty: Just and true\nare thy Ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and\nglorify thy Name? for thou only art holy: for all Nations shall come and\nworship before thee; for thy Judgments are made manifest._\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. XI.\n\n\n    _An Account of those extraordinary Ph\u0153nomena and Wonders in Nature,\n    that, according to Scripture, will precede the coming of Christ, and\n    the Conflagration of the World._\n\n\nIf we reflect upon the History of burning Mountains, we cannot but\nobserve, that, before their Eruptions, there are usually some Changes in\nthe Earth, or in the Air, in the Sea, or in the Sun it self, as Signs\nand Forerunners of the ensuing Storm. We may then easily conclude that\nwhen the last great Storm is a coming, and all the Vulcano\u2019s of the\nEarth ready to burst, and the Frame of the World to be dissolv\u2019d, there\nwill be previous Signs, in the Heavens, and on the Earth, to introduce\nthis tragical Fate: Nature cannot come to that Extremity, without some\nSymptoms of her Illness, nor die silently without Pangs or Complaint.\nBut we are naturally heavy of Belief, as to Futurities, and can scarce\nfancy any other Scenes, or other State of Nature, than what is present,\nand continually before our Eyes: We will therefore, to cure our\nUnbelief, take Scripture for our Guide, and keep within the Limits of\nits Predictions.\n\nThe Scripture plainly tells us of Signs, of Prodigies, that will precede\nthe Coming of our Saviour, and the End of the World: both in the\nHeavens, and on the Earth. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, will be disturb\u2019d\nin their Motion, or Aspect; the Earth and the Sea will roar and tremble,\nand the Mountains fall at his Presence. These things both the Prophets\nand Evangelists have told us; but what we do not understand, we are slow\nto believe; and therefore those that cannot apprehend how such Changes\nshould come to pass in the natural World, chuse rather to allegorize all\nthese Expressions of Scripture, and to make them signify no more than\npolitical Changes of Governments, and Empires, and the great Confusions\nthat will be amongst the People and Princes of the Earth, towards the\nEnd of the World. So that _darkening of the Sun_, _shaking of the\nEarth_, and such like Phrases of Scripture, according to these\nInterpreters, are to be understood only in a moral Sense.\n\nAnd they think they have a Warrant for this Interpretation, from the\nprophetick Style of the Old Testament, where the Destruction of Cities,\nand Empires, and great Princes, is often describ\u2019d by such Figures,\ntaken from the natural World. So much is true indeed as to the Phrase of\nthe old Prophets in some Places; but I take the true Reason and Design\nof that, to be a typical Adumbration of what was intended should\nliterally come to pass in the great and universal Destruction of the\nWorld; whereof these partial Destructions were only Shadows and\nPrefigurations. But to determine this Case, let us take the known and\napproved Rule for interpreting Scripture, _Not to recede from the\nliteral Sense without Necessity_, or where the Nature of the Subject\nwill admit of a literal Interpretation. Now, as to those Cases in the\n_Old Testament_, History and Matter of Fact do shew, that they did not\ncome to pass literally, therefore must not be so understood; but as for\nthose that concern the End of the World, as they cannot be determin\u2019d in\nthat way, seeing they are yet _future_; so neither is there any natural\nRepugnancy or Improbability that they should come literally to pass: On\nthe contrary, from the Intuition of that State of Nature, one would\nrather conclude the Probability or Necessity of them; that there may,\nand must be such Disorders in the external World, before the general\nDissolution. Besides, if we admit Prodigies in any Case, or providential\nIndications of God\u2019s Judgments to come there can be no Case suppos\u2019d,\nwherein it will be more reasonable or proper to admit them, than when\nthey are to be the Messengers of an universal Vengeance and Destruction.\n\nLet us therefore consider what Signs Scripture hath taken notice of, as\ndestin\u2019d to appear at that Time, to publish, as it were, and proclaim\nthe approaching End of the World; and how far they will admit of a\nnatural Explication, according to those Grounds we have already given,\nin explaining the Causes and Manner of the Conflagration. These Signs\nare chiefly Earthquakes, and extraordinary Commotions of the Seas. Then\nthe Darkness or bloody Colour of the Sun and Moon; the shaking of the\nPowers of Heaven, the Fulgurations of the Air, and the falling of Stars.\nAs to Earthquakes, we have upon several Occasions shewn, that these will\nnecessarily be multiplied towards the End of the World; when, by an\nExcess of Drought and Heat, Exhalations will more abound within the\nEarth; and, from the same Causes, their Inflammation also will be more\nfrequent, than in the ordinary State of Nature. And as all Bodies, when\ndried, become more porous and full of Vacuities; so the Body of the\nEarth will be at that Time: And the Mines or Cavities wherein the Fumes\nand Exhalations lodge, will accordingly be of greater Extent, open into\none another, and continued thro\u2019 long Tracts and Regions; by which\nmeans, when an Earthquake comes, as the Shock will be more strong and\nviolent, so it may reach to a vast Compass of Ground, and whole Islands\nor Continents be shaken at once, when these Trains have taken Fire. The\nEffects also of such Concussions, will not only affect Mankind, but all\nthe Elements, and the Inhabitants of them.\n\nI do not wonder that frequent and great Earthquakes should be made a\nSign of an approaching Conflagration; and the highest Expressions of the\nProphets concerning the _Day of the Lord_, may be understood in a\nliteral Sense, if they be finally referr\u2019d to the general Destruction of\nthe World, and not terminated solely upon those particular Countries or\nPeople, to whom they are at first directed. Hear what _Ezekiel_ says\nupon this Subject, _Chap. xxxviii. 19, 20, 22._ _For in my Jealousy and\nin the Fire of my Wrath have I spoken; surely in that Day there shall be\na great shaking in the Land of Israel: So that the Fishes of the Sea,\nand the Fowls of the Heaven, and the Beasts of the Field, and all\ncreeping Things that creep upon the Earth; and all the Men that are upon\nthe Face of the Earth, shall shake at my Presence; and the Mountains\nshall be thrown down, and the steep Places shall fall, and every Wall\nshall fall to the Ground.\u2014\u2014And I will rain an overflowing Rain, and\ngreat Hail-stones, Fire and Brimstone._ The Prophet _Isaias_, (_Chap.\nxxiv. 18, 19, 20._) describes these Judgments in Terms as high, and\nrelating to the natural World; _The Windows from on high are open, and\nthe Foundations of the Earth do shake. The Earth is utterly broken down,\nthe Earth is clean dissolved, the Earth is moved exceedingly. The Earth\nshall reel to and fro like a Drunkard, and shall be removed like a\nCottage, and the Transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it\nshall fall, and not rise again._\n\nTo restrain all these things to _Judea_, as their adequate and final\nObject, is to force both the Words and the Sense. Here are manifest\nAllusions and Footsteps of the Destruction of the World, and the\nDissolution of the Earth; partly as it was in the Deluge, and partly as\nit will be in its last Ruin, torn, broken, and shatter\u2019d. But most Men\nhave fallen into that Error, to fancy both the Destructions of the World\nby Water and Fire, quiet, noiseless Things; executed without any Ruins\nor Ruptures in Nature: That the Deluge was but a great Pool of still\nWaters made by the Rains, and Inundation of the Sea; and the\nConflagration will be only a superficial Scorching of the Earth, with a\nrunning Fire. These are false Ideas, and unsuitable to Scripture: For as\nthe Deluge is there represented a Disruption of the Abyss, and\nconsequently of the then habitable Earth; so the future Combustion of\nit, according to the Representations of Scripture, is to be usher\u2019d in\nand accompanied with all sorts of violent Impressions upon Nature; and\nthe chief Instrument of these Violences will be Earthquakes. These will\ntear the Body of the Earth, and shake its Foundations; rend the Rocks,\nand pull down the tall Mountains; sometimes overturn, and sometimes\nswallow up Towns and Cities; disturb and disorder the Elements, and make\na general Confusion in Nature.\n\nNext to Earthquakes, we may consider the _Roarings of a troubled Sea_.\nThis is another Sign of a dying World. St. _Luke_, (_Chap. xxi. 25, 26,\n27._) hath set down a great many of them together: Let us hear his\nWords: _And there shall be Signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, and in the\nStars; and upon the Earth Distress of Nations, with Perplexity; the Sea\nand the Waves roaring. Mens Hearts failing them for fear, and for\nlooking after those things which are coming on the Earth; for the Powers\nof Heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming\nin a Cloud, with Power and great Glory, &c._ As some would allegorize\nthese Signs, which we noted before; so others would confine them to the\nDestruction of _Jerusalem_. But \u2019tis plain, by this _coming of the Son\nof Man in the Clouds_, and the _Redemption of the Faithful_, (Verse 28.)\nand at the same Time the _Sound of the last Trumpet_, (Matt. xxiv. 31)\nwhich all relate to the End of the World, that something further is\nintended than the Destruction of _Jerusalem_. And though there were\nProdigies at the Destruction of that City and State, yet not of this\nForce, nor with these Circumstances. \u2019Tis true, those partial\nDestructions and Calamities, as we observ\u2019d before, of _Babylon_,\n_Jerusalem_, and the _Roman_ Empire, being Types of an universal and\nfinal Destruction of all God\u2019s Enemies, have, in the Pictures of them,\nsome of the same Strokes, to shew they are all from the same Hand,\ndecreed by the same Wisdom, foretold by the same Spirit; and the same\nPower and Providence that have already wrought the one, will also work\nthe other, in due Time, the former being still Pledges, as well as\nPrefigurations, of the latter.\n\nLet us then proceed in our Explication of this Sign, _the Roaring of the\nSea, and the Waves_, applying it to the End of the World. I do not look\nupon this ominous Noise of the Sea, as the Effect of a Tempest, for then\nit would not strike such a Terror into the Inhabitants of the Earth, nor\nmake them apprehensive of some great Evil coming upon the World, as this\nwill do; what proceeds from visible Causes, and such as may happen in a\ncommon Course of Nature, does not so much amaze us, nor affright us:\nTherefore \u2019tis more likely these Disturbances of the Sea proceed from\nbelow, partly by Sympathy and Revulsions from the Land; by Earthquakes\nthere, and exhausting the subterraneous Cavities of Waters, which will\ndraw again from the Seas what Supplies they can; and partly by\nEarthquakes in the very Sea it self, with Exhalations and fiery\nEruptions from the Bottom of it: Things indeed that happen at other\nTimes, more or less; but at this Conjuncture, all Causes conspiring,\nthey will break out with more Violence, and put the whole Body of the\nWaters into a tumultuary Motion. I do not see any Occasion, at this\nTime, for high Winds; neither can I think a superficial Agitation of the\nWaves would answer this Ph\u00e6nomenon; but \u2019tis rather from Contorsions in\nthe Bowels of the Ocean, which make it roar, as it were, for Pain. Some\nCauses impelling the Waters one Way, and some another, make intestine\nStrugglings, and contrary Motions; from whence proceed unusual Noises,\nand such a troubled State of the Waters, as does not only make the Sea\ninnavigable, but also strikes Terror into all the maritime Inhabitants,\nthat live within the View or Sound of it.\n\nSo much for the Earth and Sea. The Face of the Heavens also will be\nchanged in divers Respects; the Sun and the Moon darken\u2019d, or of a\nbloody or pale Countenance; the celestial Powers shaken, and the Stars\nunsettled in their Orbs. As to the Sun and Moon, their Obscuration or\nChange of Colour is no more than what happens commonly before the\nEruption of a fiery Mountain. _Dion Cassius_, you see, hath taken notice\nof it in that Eruption of _\u00c6tna_ which he describes; and others upon the\nlike Occasions in _Vesuvius_. And \u2019tis a Thing of easy Explication; for,\naccording as the Atmosphere is more or less clear or turbid, the\nLuminaries are more or less conspicuous; and, according to the Nature of\nthose Fumes, or Exhalations that swim in the Air, the Face of the Sun is\ndiscolour\u2019d sometimes one Way, sometimes another. You see, in an\nordinary Experiment, when we look upon one another through the Fumes of\nSulphur, we appear pale like so many Ghosts; and in some foggy Days, the\nSun hangs in the Firmament as a Lump of Blood: And both the Sun and\nMoon, at their Rising, when their Light comes to us through the thick\nVapours of the Earth, are red and fiery. These are not Changes wrought\nin the Substance of the Luminaries, but in the Modifications of their\nLight, as it flows to us: For Colours are but Light in a Sort of\nDisguise; as it passes through Mediums of different Qualities, it takes\ndifferent Forms, but the Matter is still the same, and returns to its\nSimplicity, when it comes again into a pure Air.\n\nNow the Air may be changed and corrupted to a great Degree, tho\u2019 there\nappear no visible Change to our Eye. This is manifest from infectious\nAirs, and the Changes of the Air before Storms and Rains, which we feel\ncommonly sooner than we see, and some other Creatures perceive much\nsooner than we do. \u2019Tis no Wonder then, if, before this mighty Storm,\nthe Dispositions of the Air be quite alter\u2019d; especially if we consider,\nwhat we have so often noted before, that there will be a great Abundance\nof Fumes and Exhalations, thro\u2019 the whole Atmosphere of the Earth,\nbefore the last Fire breaks out, whereby the Light of the Sun may be\ntinctur\u2019d in several Ways: And lastly, it may be so order\u2019d\nprovidentially that the Body of the Sun may contract at that Time some\nSpots, or _Macul\u00e6_, far greater than usual, and by that means be really\ndarkened, not to us only, but to all the neighbouring Planets: And this\nwill have a proportionable Effect upon the Moon too, for the Diminution\nof her Light: So that upon all Suppositions, these Ph\u00e6nomena are very\nintelligible, if not necessary Forerunners of the Conflagration.\n\nThe next Sign given us, is, that the _Powers of Heaven will be shaken_.\nBy the _Heavens_ in this Place is either understood the Planetary\nHeavens, or that of the _fix\u2019d Stars_; but this latter being vastly\ndistant from the Earth, cannot be really affected by the Conflagration;\nnor the Powers of it, that is, its Motion, or the Bodies contained in\nit, any ways shaken or disorder\u2019d. But, in Appearance, these celestial\nBodies may seem to be shaken, and their Motions disorder\u2019d; as in a\nTempest by Night, when the Ship is toss\u2019d with contrary and uncertain\nMotions, the Heavens seem to fluctuate over our Heads, and the Stars to\nreel to and fro, when the Motion is only in our own Vessel: So possibly\nthe uncertain Motions of the Atmosphere, and sometimes of the Earth it\nself, may so vary the Sight and Aspect of this starry Canopy, that it\nmay seem to shake and tremble.\n\nBut if we understand this of the _planetary Heavens_, they may really be\nshaken; Providence either ordering some great Changes in the other\nPlanets, previously to the Conflagration of our Planet; as, \u2019tis\nprobable, there was a great Change in _Venus_ at the Time of our\n_Deluge_: Or the great Shakings and Concussions of our Globe at that\nTime, affecting some of the neighbouring Orbs, or at least that of the\nMoon, may cause Anomalies and Irregularities in their Motions. But the\nSense that I should pitch upon chiefly for explaining this Phrase of\n_Shaking the Powers of Heaven_, comprehends, in a good measure, both\nthese Heavens of the fix\u2019d Stars and of the Planets: \u2019Tis that Change of\nSituation in the Axis of the Earth, which we have formerly mention\u2019d,\nwhereby the Stars will seem to change their Places, and the whole\nUniverse to take another Posture. This is sufficiently known to those\nthat know the different Consequences of a strait or oblique Posture of\nthe Earth. And as the Heavens and the Earth were, in this Sense, once\nshaken, before, namely, at the Deluge, when they lost their first\nSituation; so now they will be shaken again, and thereby return to the\nPosture they had before that first Concussion. And this I take to be the\ntrue literal Sense of the Prophet _Haggai_, repeated by St. _Paul_,\n(_Ch. ii. 6._, and _Heb. xii. 26._) _Yet once more I shake not the Earth\nonly, but also Heaven._\n\nThe last Sign we shall take Notice of, is that of _falling Stars_. _And\nthe Stars shall fall from Heaven_, says our Saviour, _Matt. xxiv. 29._\nWe are sure, from the Nature of the Thing, that this cannot be\nunderstood either of fix\u2019d Stars, or Planets; for if either of these\nshould tumble from the Skies, and reach the Earth, they would break it\nall in Pieces or swallow it up, as the Sea does a sinking Ship; and at\nthe same Time would put all the inferior Universe into Confusion. It is\nnecessary therefore, by these Stars, to understand either fiery Meteors\nfalling from the Middle Region of the Air, or Comets and Blazing Stars.\nNo doubt, there will be all sorts of fiery Meteors at that Time; and,\namongst others, those that are call\u2019d _falling Stars_; which, tho\u2019 they\nare not considerable singly, yet if they were multiplied in great\nNumbers, _falling_ (as the Prophet says, _Isa. xxxiv. 4._) _as Leafs\nfrom the Vine, or Figs from the Fig-tree_, they would make an\nastonishing Sight. But, I think, this Expression does chiefly refer to\nComets, which are dead Stars, and may truly be said to fall from Heaven,\nwhen they leave their Seats above, and those \u00e6thereal Regions wherein\nthey were fix\u2019d, and sink into this lower World; where they wander about\nwith a Blaze in their Tail, or a Flame about their Head, as if they came\non purpose to be the Messengers of some fiery Vengeance. If Numbers of\nthese blazing Stars should fall into our Heaven together, they would\nmake a dreadful and formidable Appearance; and, I am apt to think, that\nProvidence hath so contriv\u2019d the Periods of their Motion, that there\nwill be an unusual Concourse of them at that Time, within the View of\nthe Earth, to be a Prelude to this last and most tragical Scene of the\nsublunary World.\n\nI do not know any more in Scripture relating to the last Fire, that,\nupon the Grounds laid down in this Discourse, may not receive a\nsatisfactory Explication. It reaches beyond the Signs before-mention\u2019d\nto the highest Expressions of Scripture: as, _Lakes of Fire and\nBrimstone_, _a molten Sea mingled with Fire_, _the Liquefaction of\nMountains_, and of the Earth it self. We need not now look upon these\nThings as hyperbolical, and poetical Strains, but as barefac\u2019d\nProphesies, and Things that will literally come to pass as they are\npredicted. One thing more will be expected in a just Hypothesis, or\nTheory of the Conflagration; namely, that it should answer, not only all\nthe Conditions and Characters belonging to the last Fire, but should\nalso make Way, and lay the Foundation of another World to succeed this,\nor of _new Heavens_ and a _new Earth_: For St. _Peter_ hath taught this\nDoctrine of the _Renovation_ of the World, as positively and expresly as\nthat of its _Conflagration_; and therefore they that so explain the\nDestruction of the present World, as to leave it afterwards in an\neternal Rubbish, without any Hopes of Restoration, do not answer the\nChristian Doctrine concerning it. But as to our Hypothesis, we are\nwilling to stand this farther Trial, and be accountable for the\nConsequences of the Conflagration, as well as the Antecedents and Manner\nof it. And we have accordingly, in the following Book, from the Ashes of\nthis, raised a New Earth, which we leave to the Enjoyment of the\nReaders. In the mean time, to close our Discourse, we will bid farewell\nto the present World, in a short Review of its last Flames.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. XII.\n\n\n    _An imperfect Description of the Coming of our Saviour; and of the\n    World on Fire._\n\n\nCertainly there is nothing in the whole Course of Nature, or of Human\nAffairs, so great and so extraordinary, as the two last Scenes of them,\nTHE COMING OF OUR SAVIOUR, and the BURNING OF THE WORLD. If we could\ndraw in our Minds the Pictures of these, in true and lively Colours, we\nshould scarce be able to attend to any thing else, or ever divert our\nImagination from these two Objects: For what can more affect us, than\nthe greatest Glory that ever was visible upon Earth, and at the same\nTime the greatest Terror; a God descending at the Head of an Army of\nAngels, and a burning World under his Feet?\n\nThese Things are truly above Expression; and not only so, but so\ndifferent and remote from our ordinary Thoughts and Conceptions, that he\nthat comes nearest to a true Description of them, shall be look\u2019d upon\nas the most extravagant. \u2019Tis our Unhappiness to be so much used to\nlittle trifling Things in this Life, that when any Thing great is\nrepresented to us, it appears fantastical, an Idea made by some\ncontemplative or melancholy Person: I will not venture therefrom,\nwithout premising Grounds out of Scripture, to say any thing concerning\nthis glorious Appearance. As to the Burning of the World, I think we\nhave already laid a Foundation sufficient to support the highest\nDescription that can be made of it; but the Coming of our Saviour being\nwholly out of the way of natural Causes, it is reasonable we should take\nall Directions we can from Scripture, that we may give a more fitting\nand just Account of that sacred Pomp.\n\nI need not mention those Places of Scripture that prove the second\nComing of our Saviour in general, or his Return again to the Earth at\nthe End of the World, (_Matt. xxiv. 30, 31._ _Acts i. 11._ and _iii. 20,\n21._ _Apoc. i. 7._ _Heb. ix. 28._) No Christian can doubt of this, \u2019tis\nso often repeated in those sacred Writings; but the Manner and\nCircumstances of this Coming, or of this Appearance, are the Things we\nnow enquire into. And, in the first Place, we may observe, that the\nScripture tells us, our Saviour will come in _flaming_ Fire, and with an\n_Host of mighty Angels_; so says St. _Paul_ to the _Thessalonians_, _The\nLord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with mighty Angels, in flaming\nFire, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the\nGospel of our Lord Jesus Christ_. In the second Place, our Saviour says\nhimself, (_Mat. xvi. 27._) _The Son of Man shall come in the Glory of\nhis Father, with his Angels._ From which two Places we may learn; First,\nthat the Appearance of our Saviour will be with Flames of Fire.\nSecondly, with an Host of Angels. Thirdly, in the Glory of his Father:\nBy which Glory of the Father, I think, is understood that Throne of\nGlory represented by _Daniel_ for the _Antient of Days_. For our Saviour\nspeaks here to the _Jews_, and probably in a Way intelligible to them;\nand the Glory of the Father, which they were most likely to understand,\nwould be either the Glory wherein God appeared at Mount _Sinai_, upon\nthe giving of the Law, whereof the Apostle speaks largely to the\n_Hebrews_; or that which _Daniel_ represents Him in at the Day of\nJudgment, (_Chap. xii. 18, 19, 20, 21._) And this latter being more\nproper to the Subject of our Saviour\u2019s Discourse, \u2019tis more likely this\nExpression refers to it. Give me leave therefore to set down that\nDescription of the Glory of the Father upon his Throne, from the Prophet\n_Daniel_, ch. vii. 9. _And I beheld \u2019till the Thrones were set,\u2014and the\nAntient of Days did sit, whose Garment was white as Snow, and the Hair\nof his Head like the pure Wooll: His Throne was like the fiery Flame,\nand his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream issued and came forth\nfrom before him, thousand thousands ministred unto him, and ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand stood before Him_. With this Throne of the Glory of\nthe Father, let us, if you please, compare the Throne of the Son of God,\nas it was seen by St. _John_ in the _Apocalypse, Chap. iv. 2, &c. And\nimmediately I was in the Spirit: and behold a Throne was set in Heaven,\nand one sat on the Throne. And he that sat, was to look upon like a\nJasper, and a Sardine Stone: And there was a Rainbow round about the\nThrone, in Appearance like unto an Emerald. And out of the Throne\nproceeded Lightnings, and Thunderings, and Voices, &c. and before the\nThrone was a Sea of Glass like unto Crystal._\n\nIn these Representations you have some Beams of the Glory of the Father,\nand of the Son; which may be partly a Direction to us, in conceiving the\nLustre of our Saviour\u2019s Appearance. Let us further observe, if you\nplease, how external Nature will be affected at the Sight of God, or of\nthis approaching Glory. The Scripture often takes Notice of this, and in\nTerms very high and eloquent. The _Psalmist_ seems to have lov\u2019d that\nSubject above others; to set out the Greatness of the Day of the Lord,\nand the Consternation of all Nature, at that Time. He throws about his\nThunder and Lightning, makes the Hills to melt like Wax, at the Presence\nof the Lord, and the very Foundations of the Earth to tremble, as you\nmay see in the xviiith _Psalm_, and the xcviith, and the civth, and\nseveral others which are too long to be here inserted. So the Prophet\n_Habakkuk_, in his prophetick Prayer, _Chap. iii._ hath many\nEjaculations to the like Purpose. And the Prophet _Nahum says, The\nMountains quake at him, and the Hills melt, and the Earth is burnt at\nhis Presence: yea, the World, and all that dwell therein._\n\nBut more particularly, as to the Face of Nature, just before the coming\nof our Saviour, that may be best collected from the Signs of his coming,\nmention\u2019d in the precedent Chapter. Those all meeting together, help to\nprepare and make ready a Theatre, fit for an angry God to come down\nupon. The Countenance of the Heavens will be dark and gloomy; and a Veil\ndrawn over the Face of the Sun. The Earth in a Disposition every where\nto break into open Flames. The Tops of the Mountains smoaking; the\nRivers dry, Earthquakes in several Places; the Sea sunk and retir\u2019d into\nits deepest Channel, and roaring, as against some mighty Storm. These\nThings will make the Day dead and melancholy; but the Night-Scenes will\nhave more of Horror in them, when the _blazing Stars_ appear, like so\nmany Furies, with their lighted Torches, threatning to set all on Fire.\nFor I do not doubt but the Comets will bear a Part in this Tragedy, and\nhave something extraordinary in them, at that Time; either as to Number,\nor Bigness, or Nearness to the Earth. Besides, the Air will be full of\nflaming Meteors, of unusual Forms and Magnitudes; Balls of Fire rowling\nin the Sky, and pointed Lightnings darted against the Earth; mix\u2019d with\nClaps of Thunder, and unusual Noises from the Clouds. The Moon and the\nStars will be confus\u2019d and irregular, both in their Light and Motions;\nas if the whole Frame of the Heavens was out of Order, and all the Laws\nof Nature were broken or expir\u2019d.\n\nWhen all Things are in this languishing or dying Posture, and the\nInhabitants of the Earth under the Fears of their last End; the Heavens\nwill open on a sudden, and the Glory of God will appear. A Glory\nsurpassing the Sun in its greatest Radiancy; which, tho\u2019 we cannot\ndescribe, we may suppose it will bear some Resemblance, or Proportion,\nwith those Representations that are made in Scripture, of _God upon his\nThrone_. This Wonder in the Heavens, whatsoever its Form may be, will\npresently attract the Eyes of all the Christian World. Nothing can more\naffect them than an Object so unusual, and so illustrious; and, that\n(probably) brings along with it their last Destiny, and will put a\nPeriod to all human Affairs.\n\nSome of the Antients have thought, that this coming of our Saviour would\nbe in the dead of the Night, and his first glorious Appearance in the\nmidst of Darkness, _2 Pet. iii. 10._ God is often describ\u2019d in Scripture\nas Light, or Fire, with Darkness round about him. _He bowed the Heavens,\nand came down; and Darkness was under his Feet. He made Darkness his\nsecret Place, Psal. xviii. 9, 11, 12. His Pavilion round about him were\ndark Waters, and thick Clouds of the Skies. At the Brightness that was\nbefore him, the thick Clouds passed, Psal. xcvii._ And when God appeared\nupon Mount _Sinai_, the _Mountain burnt with Fire unto the midst of\nHeaven, with Darkness, Clouds and thick Darkness, Deut. iv. 11._ Or, as\nthe Apostle expresses it, with _Blackness_, and _Darkness_, and\n_Tempest, Heb. xii. 18._ Light is never more glorious than when\nsurrounded with Darkness; and, it may be, the Sun, at that Time, will be\nso obscure, as to make little Distinction of Day and Night. But however,\nthis Divine Light over-bears, and distinguishes itself from common\nLight, tho\u2019 it be at Mid-day. \u2019Twas about Noon that the Light shin\u2019d\nfrom Heaven, and surrounded St. _Paul_, _Acts xxii. 6._ And \u2019twas in the\nDay-time that St. _Stephen_ saw the _Heavens opened; Acts vii. 55, 56.\nSaw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing at the Right Hand of God_. This\nLight, which flows from a more vital Source, be it Day or Night, will\nalways be predominant.\n\nThat Appearance of God upon Mount _Sinai_, which we mention\u2019d, if we\nreflect upon it, will help us a little to form an Idea of this last\nAppearance. When God had declar\u2019d, that he would come down in the Sight\nof the People, the Text says, _There were Thunders and Lightnings, and a\nthick Cloud upon the Mount, and the Voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud;\nso that all the People that was in the Camp trembled. And Mount Sinai\nwas altogether on a Smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in Fire.\nAnd the Smoke thereof ascended as the Smoke of a Furnace, and the whole\nMount quaked greatly._ If we look upon this Mount as an Epitome of the\nEarth, this Appearance gives us an imperfect Resemblance of that which\nis to come. Here are the several Parts, or main Strokes of it; first,\nthe Heavens and the Earth in Smoke and Fire; then the Appearance of a\nDivine Glory, and the Sound of a Trumpet in the Presence of Angels. But\nas the second Coming of our Saviour, is a Triumph over his Enemies, and\nan Entrance into his Kingdom, and is acted upon the Theatre of the whole\nEarth; so we are to suppose, in proportion, all the Parts and\nCircumstances of it, more great and magnificent.\n\nWhen, therefore, this mighty God returns again to that Earth, where he\nhad once been ill treated, not Mount _Sinai_ only, but all the Mountains\nof the Earth, and all the Inhabitants of the World, will tremble at his\nPresence. At the the opening of the Heavens, the Brightness of his\nPerson will scatter the dark Clouds, and shoot Streams of Light\nthroughout all the Air. But that first Appearance, being far from the\nEarth, will seem to be only a great Mass of Light, without any distinct\nForm; till, by nearer Approaches, this bright Body shews it self to be\nan Army of Angels, with this King of Kings for their Leader. Then you\nmay imagine how guilty Mankind will tremble and be astonished; and while\nthey are gazing at this heavenly Host, the Voice of the _Archangel is\nheard_, the shrill Sound of the Trumpet reaches their Ears, and this\ngives the general Alarum to all the World: _For he cometh, for he\ncometh, they cry, to judge the Earth_. The crucify\u2019d God is return\u2019d in\nGlory, to take Vengeance upon his Enemies: Not only upon those that\npierced his sacred Body, with Nails, and with a Spear, as _Jerusalem_;\nbut those that also pierce him every Day by their Profaneness, and hard\nSpeeches, concerning his Person, and his Religion. Now they see that\nGod, whom they have mock\u2019d, or blasphem\u2019d, laugh\u2019d at his Meanness, or\nat his vain Threats; they see Him, and are confounded with Shame and\nFear; and in the Bitterness of their Anguish and Despair, call for the\nMountains to fall upon them, _Isa. ii. 29._ _Fly into the Clefts of the\nRocks, and into the Caves of the Earth, for fear of the Lord, Rev. vi.\n16, 17. and the Glory of His Majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly\nthe Earth_.\n\nAs it is not possible for us to express, or conceive the Dread, and\nMajesty of this Appearance; so neither can we, on the other Hand,\nexpress the Passions and Consternation of the People that behold it.\nThese Things exceed the Measures of Human Affairs, and of Human\nThoughts; we have neither Words, nor Comparisons, to make them known by.\nThe greatest Pomp and Magnificence of the Emperors of the _East_, in\ntheir Armies, in their Triumphs, in their Inaugurations, is but like the\nSport and Entertainment of Children, if compar\u2019d with this Solemnity.\nWhen God condescends to an external Glory, with a visible Train and\nEquipage; when, from all the Provinces of his vast and boundless Empire,\nhe summons his Nobles, as I may so say, the several Orders of Angels,\nand Archangels, to attend his Person; tho\u2019 we cannot tell the Form or\nManner of this Appearance, we know there is nothing in our Experience,\nor in the whole History of this World, that can be a just Representation\nof the least Part of it. No Armies so numerous as the Host of Heaven;\nand in the midst of those bright Legions, in a flaming Chariot, will sit\nthe Son of Man, when he comes to be glorified in his Saints, and triumph\nover his Enemies: And instead of the wild Noises of the Rabble, which\nmakes a great Part of our Worldly State, this blessed Company will\nbreathe their _Hallelujahs_ into the open Air, and repeated Acclamations\nof _Salvation to God, which sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, Apoc.\nvii. 10. Now is come Salvation and Strength, and the Kingdom of our God,\nand the Power of his Christ, ch. xii. 10._\n\nBut I leave the rest to our silent Devotion and Admiration. Only give me\nleave, whilst this Object is before our Eyes, to make a short Reflection\nupon the wonderful History of our Saviour; and the different States\nwhich that sacred Person, within the Compass of our Knowledge, hath\nundergone. We now see him coming in the Clouds, in Glory and Triumph,\nsurrounded with innumerable Angels: This is the same Person, who, so\nmany Hundred Years ago, enter\u2019d _Jerusalem_, with another sort of\nEquipage, mounted upon an Ass\u2019s Colt, while the little People, and the\nMultitude cry\u2019d, _Hosanna to the Son of David_. Nay, this is the same\nPerson, that, at his first Coming into this World, was laid in a Manger,\ninstead of a Cradle; a naked Babe dropt in a Crib at _Bethlehem_ (_Luke\nii. 12._) his poor Mother not having wherewithal to get her a better\nLodging, when she was to be delivered of this sacred Burthen. This\nhelpless Infant, that often wanted a little Milk to refresh it, and\nsupport its Weakness; that hath often cry\u2019d for the Breast with Hunger\nand Tears, now appears to be the Lord of Heaven and Earth. If this\nDivine Person had fallen from the Clouds in a Mortal Body, cloath\u2019d with\nFlesh and Blood, and spent his Life here amongst Sinners, that alone had\nbeen an infinite Condescension: But, as if it had not been enough to\ntake upon him human Nature, he was content, for many Months, to live the\nLife of an Animal, or of a Plant, in the dark Cell of a Woman\u2019s Womb.\n_This is the Lord\u2019s Doing, it is marvellous in our Eyes!_\n\nNeither is this all that is wonderful in the Story of our Saviour. If\nthe Manner of his Death, be compar\u2019d with his present Glory, we shall\nthink either the one or the other incredible. Look up first into the\nHeavens; see how they bow under him, and receive a new Light from the\nGlory of his Presence; then look down upon the Earth, and see a naked\nBody, hanging upon a cursed Tree in _Golgotha_, crucified between two\nThieves, wounded, spit upon, mock\u2019d, abus\u2019d. Is it possible to believe,\nthat one, and the same Person can act or suffer such different Parts?\nThat he that is now Lord and Master of all Nature, not only of Death and\nHell, and the Powers of Darkness, but of all Principalities in heavenly\nPlaces, is the same Infant _Jesus_, the same crucified _Jesus_, of whose\nLife and Death the Christian Records give us an Account? The History of\nthis Person is the Wonder of this World; and not of this World only, but\nof the Angels above, that _desire to look into it_ (1 Pet. i. 11, 12.)\n\nLet us now return to our Subject. We left the Earth in a languishing\nCondition, ready to be made a Burnt Offering, to appease the Wrath of\nits offended Lord. When _Sodom_ was to be destroy\u2019d (_Gen._ xviii.)\n_Abraham_ interceded with God, that he would spare it for the Righteous\nSake; and _David_ (2 _Sam._ xxiv. 17.) interceded to save his guiltless\nPeople, from God\u2019s Judgments, and the destroying Angel: But here is no\nIntercessor for Mankind in this last Extremity; none to interpose, where\nthe Mediator of our Peace, is the Party offended. Shall then, _the\nRighteous perish with the Wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the Earth\ndo right?_ Or, if the Righteous be translated and deliver\u2019d from this\nFire, what shall become of innocent Children and Infants? Must these all\nbe given up to the merciless Flames, as a Sacrifice to _Moloch_? And\ntheir tender Flesh, like burnt Incense, send up Fumes to feed the\nNostrils of Evil Spirits? Can the God of _Israel_ smell a sweet Savour\nfrom such Sacrifices? The greater half of Mankind is made up of Infants\nand Children; and if the Wicked be destroy\u2019d; _yet these Lambs, what\nhave they done?_ Are there no Bowels of Compassion for such an harmless\nMultitude? But we leave them to their Guardian Angels, and to that\nProvidence which watches over all Things (_Mat._ xviii. 10.)\n\nIt only remains, therefore, to let fall that Fire from Heaven, which is\nto consume this Holocaust. Imagine all Nature now standing in a silent\nExpectation to receive its last Doom; the tutelary and destroying Angels\nto have their Instructions; every Thing to be ready for the fatal Hour;\nand then, after a little Silence, all the Host of Heaven to raise their\nVoice, and sing aloud, _LET GOD ARISE, let his Enemies be scattered: As\nSmoke is driven away, so drive them away; as Wax melteth before the\nFire, so LET the Wicked perish at the Presence of God._ And upon this,\nas upon a Signal given, all the sublunary World breaks into Flames, and\nall the Treasuries or Fire are open\u2019d in Heaven, and in Earth.\n\nThus the Conflagration begins. If one should now go about to represent\n_the World on Fire_, with all the Confusions that necessarily must be in\nNature, and in Mankind upon that Occasion, it would seem to most Men a\nRomantick Scene: Yet we are sure there must be such a Scene; _The\nHeavens will pass away with a Noise, and the Elements will melt with\nfervent Heat, and all the Works of the Earth will be burnt up_: And\nthese Things cannot come to pass without the greatest Disorders\nimaginable, both in the Minds of Men, and in external Nature, and the\nsaddest Spectacles that Eye can behold. We think it a great Matter to\nsee a single Person burnt alive; here are Millions shrieking in the\nFlames at once. \u2019Tis frightful to us to look upon a great City in\nFlames, and to see the Distractions and Misery of the People; here is an\nuniversal Fire through all the Cities of the Earth, and an universal\nMassacre of their Inhabitants. Whatsoever the Prophets foretold of the\nDesolations of _Judea_, _Jerusalem_, or _Babylon_ (_Isa. xxiv._ _Jer.\nli._ _Lament._) in the highest Strains, is more than literally\naccomplish\u2019d in this last and general Calamity; and those only that are\nSpectators of it, can make its History.\n\nThe Disorders in Nature, and the inanimate World, will be no less, nor\nless strange and unaccountable, than those in Mankind. Every Element,\nand every Region, so far as the Bounds of this Fire extend, will be in a\nTumult and a Fury, and the whole habitable World running into Confusion.\nA World is sooner destroyed than made; and Nature relapses hastily into\nthat Chaos-State, out of which she came by slow and leisurely Motions:\nAs an Army advances into the Field by just and regular Marches; but when\nit is broken and routed, it flies with Precipitation, and one cannot\ndescribe its Posture. Fire is a barbarous Enemy, it gives no Mercy;\nthere is nothing but Fury, and Rage, and Ruin, and Destruction,\nwheresoever it prevails. A Storm, or _Hurricano_, tho\u2019 it be but the\nForce of Air, makes a strange Havock where it comes; but devouring\nFlames, or Exhalations set on Fire, have still a far greater Violence,\nand carry more Terror along with them. Thunder and Earthquakes are the\nSons of Fire; and we know nothing in all Nature more impetuous, or more\nirresistibly destructive than these two. And accordingly in this last\nWar of the Elements, we may be sure, they will bear their Parts, and do\ngreat Execution in the several Regions of the World. Earthquakes and\nsubterraneous Eruptions will tear the Body and Bowels of the Earth; and\nThunders and convulsive Motions of the Air rend the Skies. The Waters of\nthe Sea will boil and struggle with Streams of Sulphur that run into\nthem; which will make them fume, and smoke, and roar, beyond all Storms\nand Tempests; and these Noises of the Sea will be answer\u2019d again from\nthe Land, by falling Rocks and Mountains. This is a small Part of the\nDisorders of that Day.\n\nBut \u2019tis not possible, from any Station, to have a full Prospect of this\nlast Scene of the Earth; for \u2019tis a Mixture of Fire and Darkness. This\nnew Temple is fill\u2019d with Smoke, while it is consecrating, and none can\nenter into it. But I am apt to think, if we could look down upon this\nburning World from above the Clouds, and have a full View of it, in all\nits Parts, we should think it a lively Representation of _Hell_ it self.\nFor Fire and Darkness are the two chief Things by which that State, or\nthat Place, uses to be described; and they are both here mingled\ntogether, with all other Ingredients that make that _Tophet_ that is\nprepared of old, (_Isa. xxx._) Here are Lakes of Fire and Brimstone;\nRivers of melted glowing Matter; ten thousand _Vulcano\u2019s_ vomiting\nFlames all at once; thick Darkness, and Pillars of Smoke twisted about\nwith Wreaths of Flame, like fiery Snakes; Mountains of Earth thrown up\ninto the Air, and the Heavens dropping down in Lumps of Fire. These\nThings will all be literally true, concerning that Day, and that State\nof the Earth. And if we suppose _Beelzebub_, and his apostate Crew, in\nthe midst of this fiery Furnace (and I know not where they can be else;)\nit will be hard to find any Part of the Universe, or any State of\nThings, that answers to so many of the Properties and Characters of\n_Hell_, as this which is now before us.\n\nBut if we suppose the Storm over, and that the Fire hath got an entire\nVictory over all other Bodies, and subdued every Thing to itself; the\nConflagration will end in a Deluge of Fire, or in a Sea of Fire,\ncovering the whole Globe of the Earth: For, when the exterior Region of\nthe Earth is melted into a Fluor, like molten Glass, or running Metal,\nit will, according to the Nature of other Fluids, fill all Vacuities and\nDepressions, and fall into a regular Surface, at an equal Distance every\nwhere, from its Center. This Sea of Fire, like the first Abyss, will\ncover the Face of the whole Earth, make a kind of second Chaos, and\nleave a Capacity for another World to rise from it. But that is not our\npresent Business. Let us only, if you please, to take Leave of this\nSubject, reflect, upon this Occasion, on the Vanity and transient Glory\nof all this habitable World; how, by the Force of one Element breaking\nloose upon the rest, all the Varieties of Nature, all the Works of Art,\nall the Labours of Men, are reduc\u2019d to nothing; all that we admir\u2019d and\nador\u2019d before, as great and magnificent, is obliterated or vanish\u2019d; and\nanother Form and Face of Things, plain, simple, and every where the\nsame, overspreads the whole Earth. Where are now the great Empires of\nthe World, and their great Imperial Cities? Their Pillars, Trophies, and\nMonuments of Glory? Shew me where they stood, read the Inscription, tell\nme the Victor\u2019s Name. What Remains, what Impressions, what Difference or\nDistinction do you see in this Mass of Fire? _Rome_ itself, _eternal\nRome_, the great City, the Empress of the World, whole Domination and\nSuperstition, _antient_ and _modern_, make a great Part of the History\nof this Earth; what is become of her now? She laid her Foundations deep,\nand her Palaces were strong and sumptuous: _She glorified herself, and\nliv\u2019d deliciously; and said in her Heart, I sit a Queen, and shall see\nno Sorrow_. But her Hour is come, she is wip\u2019d away from the Face of the\nEarth, and buried in perpetual Oblivion. But \u2019tis not Cities only, and\nWorks of Mens Hands, but the everlasting Hills, the Mountains and Rocks\nof the Earth, are melted as Wax before the Sun; and _their Place is no\nwhere found_. Here stood the _Alps_, a prodigious Range of Stone, the\nLoad of the Earth, that covered many Countries, and reach\u2019d their Arms\nfrom the _Ocean_ to the _Black Sea_; this huge Mass of Stone is soften\u2019d\nand dissolv\u2019d, as a tender Cloud, into Rain. Here stood the _African_\nMountains, and _Atlas_ with his Top above the Clouds. There was frozen\n_Caucasus_, and _Taurus_, and _Imaus_, and the Mountains of _Asia_. And\nyonder, towards the North, stood the _Riph\u00e6an_ Hills, cloath\u2019d in Ice\nand Snow. All these are vanish\u2019d, dropt away as the Snow upon their\nHeads, and swallow\u2019d up in a red Sea of Fire, (_Revel. xv. 3._) _Great\nand marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy\nWays, thou King of Saints._ Hallelujah.\n\n\n\n\n                           _The CONCLUSION._\n\n\nIf the Conflagration of the World be a Reality, as, both by Scripture\nand Antiquity we are assur\u2019d it is; if we be fully persuaded and\nconvinc\u2019d of this; \u2019Tis a Thing of that Nature, that we cannot keep it\nlong in our Thoughts, without making some moral Reflections upon it.\n\u2019Tis both great in itself, and of universal Concern to all Mankind. Who\ncan look upon such an Object, _a World in Flames_, without thinking with\nhimself, Whether shall I be in the midst of these Flames, or no? What is\nmy Security that I shall not fall under this fiery Vengeance, which is\nthe Wrath of an angry God? St. _Peter_, when he had delivered the\nDoctrine of the Conflagration, makes this pious Reflection upon it: _2\nEp. iii. 11._ _Seeing then, that all these Things shall be dissolved,\nwhat manner of Persons ought you to be, in all holy Conversation and\nGodliness?_ The Strength of his Argument depends chiefly upon what he\nhad said before in _ver. 7._ where he told us, that the _present Heavens\nand Earth were reserved unto Fire against the Day of Judgment, and the\nPerdition of irreligious Men_. We must avoid the Crime then, if we would\nescape the Punishment. But this Expression of _irreligious_ or _ungodly\nMen_, is still very general. St. _Paul_, when he speaks of this fiery\nIndignation, and the Persons it is to fall upon, is more distinct in\ntheir Characters. He seems to mark out for this Destruction, three Sorts\nof Men chiefly; _The Atheists, Infidels, and the Tribe of Antichrist_:\nThese are his Words, _2 Thess. i. 7, 8._ _When the Lord Jesus shall be\nrevealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, taking\nVengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our\nLord Jesus Christ._ Then as for Antichrist and his Adherents, he says in\nthe 2d Chapter, and viiith Verse, _The Lord shall consume that wicked\nOne, with the Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the\nBrightness of his Coming_, or of his Presence. These, you see, all refer\nto the same Time with St. _Peter_: Namely, to the Coming of our Saviour,\nat the Conflagration; and three Sorts of Persons are characteriz\u2019d as\nhis Enemies, and set out for Destruction at that Time. _First_, Those\nthat know not God; that is, that acknowledge not God, that will not own\nthe Deity. _Secondly_, Those that hearken not to the Gospel; that is,\nthat reject the Gospel, and Christian Religion, when they are preach\u2019d\nand made known to them: For you must not think, that it is the poor\nbarbarous and ignorant Heathens, that scarce ever heard of God, or the\nGospel, that are threatned with this fiery Vengeance; no, \u2019tis the\nHeathens that live amongst Christians; those that are Infidels, as to\nthe Existence of God, or the Truth of Christian Religion, tho they have\nhad a full Manifestation of both: These are properly the Adversaries of\nGod and Christ. And such Adversaries, St. _Paul_ says in another Place,\n_A fearful Judgment, and fiery Indignation shall devour_: (_Heb. x.\n27._) Which still refers to the same Time, and the same Persons we are\nspeaking of. Then as to the third Sort of Men, Antichrist, and his\nFollowers; besides, this Text of St. _Paul_ to the _Thessalonians_, \u2019tis\nplain to me in the _Apocalypse_, that _Mystical Babylon_ is to be\nconsum\u2019d by Fire; and the _Beast_ and _False Prophet_, to be thrown into\nthe _Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone_. Which Lake is no where to\nbe found till the Conflagration.\n\nYou see then, for whom _Tophet_ is prepar\u2019d of Old; for Atheists,\nInfidels, and Antichristian Persecutors: And they will have for their\nCompanions, the Devil and his Angels, the Heads of the Apostasy. These\nare all in open Rebellion against God and Christ, and at Defiance, as it\nwere, with Heaven; excepting Antichrist, who is rather in a secret\nConspiracy, than an open Rebellion: For, under a pretended Commission\nfrom Jesus Christ, he persecutes his Servants, dishonours his Person,\ncorrupts his Laws and his Government, and makes War against his Saints.\nAnd this is a greater Affront and Provocation, if possible, than a\nbarefac\u2019d Opposition would be.\n\nThere are other Men, besides these, that are unacceptable to God, all\nSorts of Sinners and wicked Persons; but they are not so properly the\nEnemies of God, as these we have mentioned. An intemperate Man is an\nEnemy to himself; and an unjust Man is an Enemy to his Neighbour; but\nthose that deny God, or Christ, or persecute their Servants, are\ndirectly, and immediately Enemies to God: And, therefore, when the Lord\ncomes in Flames of Fire, to triumph over his Enemies, to take Vengeance\nupon all that are Rebels or Conspirators against Him, and his Christ;\nthese Monsters of Men will be the first, and most exemplary Objects of\nthe Divine Wrath and Indignation.\n\nTo undertake to speak to these three Orders of Men, and convince them of\ntheir Error, and the Danger of it, would be too much for the Conclusion\nof a short Treatise. And as for the third Sort, the Subjects of\nAntichrist, none but the Learned amongst them are allow\u2019d to be\ninquisitive, or to read such Things as condemn their Church, or the\nGovernors of it; therefore, I do not not expect that this _English_\nTranslation should fall into many of their Hands. But those of them,\nthat are pleas\u2019d to look into the _Latin_, will find, in the Conclusion\nof it, a full and fair Warning to come out of _Babylon_; which is there\nproved to be the Church of _Rome_. Then as to those that are\nAtheistically inclin\u2019d, which I am willing to believe are not many; I\ndesire them to consider, how mean a Thing it is, to have Hopes only in\nthis Life; and how uneasy a Thing, to have nothing but Fears, as to the\nFuture. Those, sure, must be little, narrow Souls, that can make\nthemselves a Portion, and a Sufficiency, out of what they enjoy here;\nthat think of no more; that desire no more: For, what is this Life, but\na Circulation of little, mean Actions? We lie down and rise again; dress\nand undress; feed and wax hungry; work, or play, and are weary; and then\nwe lie down again, and the Circle returns. We spend the Day in Trifles,\nand when the Night comes, we throw our selves into the Bed of Folly,\namong Dreams, and broken Thoughts, and wild Imaginations. Our Reason\nlies asleep by us; and we are, for the Time, as arrant Brutes, as those\nthat sleep in the Stalls, or in the Field. Are not the Capacities of Man\nhigher than these? And ought not his Ambition and Expectations to be\ngreater? Let us be Adventurers for another World; \u2019tis, at least, a fair\nand noble Chance; and there is nothing in this, worth our Thoughts, or\nour Passions. If we should be disappointed, we are still no worse than\nthe rest of our Fellow-Mortals; and if we succeed in our Expectations,\nwe are eternally happy.\n\nFor my Part, I cannot be persuaded, that any Man, of atheistical\nInclinations, can have a great and generous Soul; for there is nothing\ngreat in the World, if you take God out of it: Therefore, such a Person\ncan have no great Thought, can have no great Aims, or Expectations, or\nDesigns: For all must lie within the Compass of this Life, and of this\ndull Body. Neither can he have any great Instincts or noble Passions;\nfor if he had, they would naturally excite in him greater Ideas, inspire\nhim with higher Notions, and open the Scenes of the intellectual World.\nLastly, he cannot have any great Sense of Order, Wisdom, Goodness,\nProvidence, or any of the divine Perfections: And these are the greatest\nThings that can enter into the Thoughts of Man, and that do most enlarge\nand ennoble his Mind. And therefore I say again, that he that is\nnaturally inclined to Atheism, being also naturally destitute of all\nthese, must have a little and narrow Soul.\n\nBut you\u2019ll say, it may be, this is to expostulate, rather than to prove:\nor to upbraid us with our Make and Temper, rather than to convince us of\nan Error in Speculation. \u2019Tis an Error, it may be, in Practice, or in\nPoint of Prudence; but we seek Truth, whether it make for us, or against\nus: Convince us therefore by just Reasoning and direct Arguments, that\nthere is a God, and then we\u2019ll endeavour to correct these Defects in our\nnatural Complexion. You say well, and therefore I have endeavour\u2019d to do\nthis before, in another Part of this Theory, in the _Second Book_, _ch.\nII._ concerning the _Author of Nature_: Where you may see, that the\nPowers of Nature, or of the material World, cannot answer all the\nPh\u00e6nomena of the Universe, which are there represented. This you may\nconsult at Leisure: But in the mean Time, \u2019tis a good Persuasive why we\nshould not easily give our selves up to such Inclinations or Opinions,\nas have neither Generosity nor Prudence on their Side. And it cannot be\namiss, that these Persons should often take into their Thoughts this\nlast Scene of Things, the _Conflagration_ of the World: Seeing if there\nbe a God, they will certainly be found in the Number of his Enemies, and\nof those that will have their Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire\nand Brimstone.\n\nThe third Sort of Persons that we are to speak to, are the Incredulous,\nor such as do not believe the Truth of _Christian Religion_, though they\nbelieve there is a God. There are commonly Men of Wit and Pleasure, that\nhave not Patience enough to consider, cooly and in due Order, the\nGrounds upon which it appears that Christian Religion is from Heaven,\nand of divine Authority. They ought, in the first Place, to examine\n_Matter of Fact_, and the History of our Saviour: That there was such a\nPerson, in the Reigns of _Augustus_ and _Tiberius_, that wrought such\nand such Miracles in _Judea_; taught such a Doctrine; was crucified at\n_Jerusalem_; rose from the Dead the third Day, and visibly ascended into\nHeaven. If these Matters of Fact be denied, then the Controversy turns\nonly to an historical Question, _Whether_ the Evangelical History be a\nfabulous, or true History? which it would not be proper to examine in\nthis Place. But if Matter of Fact recorded there, and in the Acts of the\nApostles, and the first Ages of Christianity, be acknowledged, as I\nsuppose it is, then the Question that remains is this, _Whether_ such\nMatter of Fact does not sufficiently prove the divine Authority of Jesus\nChrist and of his Doctrine? We suppose it possible, for a Person to have\nsuch Testimonials of divine Authority, as may be sufficient to convince\nMankind, or the more reasonable Part of Mankind; and if that be\npossible, what, pray, is wanting in the Testimonies of Jesus Christ? The\nProphecies of the old Testament bear Witness to him: His Birth was a\nMiracle, and his Life a Train of Miracles; not wrought out of Levity and\nvain Ostentation, but for useful and charitable Purposes: His Doctrine\nand Morality not only blameless, but noble; designed to remove out of\nthe World the imperfect Religion of the _Jews_, and the false Religion\nof the _Gentiles_; all Idolatry and Superstition, and thereby improve\nMankind, under a better and more perfect Dispensation. He gave an\nExample of a spotless Innocency in all his Conversation, free from Vice\nor any Evil; and liv\u2019d in a Neglect of all the Pomp or Pleasures of this\nLife, referring his Happiness wholly to another World. He prophesied\nconcerning his own Death, and his Resurrection; and concerning the\nDestruction of _Jerusalem_; which all came to pass in a signal Manner:\nHe also prophesied of the Success of his Gospel; which, after his Death,\nimmediately took Root, and spread itself every Way throughout the World,\nmaugre all Opposition or Persecution from _Jews_ or _Heathens_. It was\nnot supported by any temporal Power for above three hundred Years: nor\nwere any Arts used, or Measures taken, according to human Prudence, for\nthe Conservation of it. But, to omit other Things, that grand Article of\nhis rising from the Dead, ascending visibly into Heaven, and pouring\ndown the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost, (according as he had\npromis\u2019d) upon his Apostles and their Followers; this alone is to me a\nDemonstration of his divine Authority. To conquer Death, to mount, like\nan Eagle, into the Skies, and to inspire his Followers with inimitable\nGifts and Faculties, are Things, without Controversy, beyond all human\nPower; and may and ought to be esteem\u2019d sure Credentials of a Person\nsent from Heaven.\n\nFrom these Matters of Fact we have all possible Assurance, that Jesus\nChrist was no Impostor or deluded Person; (one of which two Characters\nall Unbelievers must fix upon him) but commission\u2019d by Heaven to\nintroduce a new Religion; to reform the World, to remove _Judaism_ and\nIdolatry; the beloved Son of God, the great Prophet of the later Ages,\nthe true Messiah that was to come.\n\nIt may be, you will confess, that these are great Arguments, that the\nAuthor of our Religion was a divine Person, and had supernatural Powers:\nBut withal, that there are so many Difficulties in Christian Religion,\nand so many Things unintelligible, that a rational Man knows not how to\nbelieve it, though he be inclined to admire the Person of Jesus Christ.\nI answer, if they be such Difficulties as are made only by the Schools\nand disputacious Doctors, you are not to trouble your self about them,\nfor they are of no Authority: But if they be in the very Words of\nScripture, then \u2019tis either in Things practical, or in Things merely\nspeculative. As to the Rules of Practice in Christian Religion, I do not\nknow any Thing in Scripture obscure or unintelligible; and as to\nSpeculations, great Discretion and Moderation is to be used in the\nConduct of them. If these Matters of Fact, which we have alledged, prove\nthe Divinity of the Revelation, keep close to the Words of that\nRevelation, asserting no more than it asserts, and you cannot err: But\nif you will expatiate, and determine Modes, and Forms, and Consequences,\nyou may easily be puzled by your own Forwardness. For besides some\nThings that are in their own Nature infinite and incomprehensible, there\nare many other Things in Christian Religion, that are incompleatly\nrevealed; the full Knowledge whereof, it has pleased God to reserve to\nanother Life, and to give us only a summary Account of them at present.\nWe have so much Deference for any Government, as not to expect that all\ntheir Counsels and Secrets should be made known to us, nor to censure\nevery Action, whose Reasons we do not fully comprehend; much more in the\nprovidential Administration of a World, we must be content to know so\nmuch of the Counsels of Heaven and of supernatural Truths, as God has\nthought fit to reveal to us. And if these Truths be no otherwise than in\na general Manner, summarily and incompletely revealed in this Life, as\ncommonly they are, we must not therefore throw off the Government, or\nreject the whole Dispensation; of whose divine Authority we have\notherways full Proof, and satisfactory Evidence: For this would be, to\nlose the Substance in catching at a Shadow.\n\nBut Men that live continually in the Noise of the World, amidst\nBusiness, and Pleasures, their Time is commonly shar\u2019d betwixt those\ntwo, so that little or nothing is left for Meditation; at least, not\nenough for such Meditations as require Length, Justness, and Order. They\nshould retire from the Crowd for one Month or two, to study the Truth of\nChristian Religion, if they have any Doubt of it. They retire sometimes\nto cure a Gout, or other Disease, and diet themselves according to Rule;\nbut they will not be at that Pains, to cure a Disease of the Mind, which\nis of far greater, and more fatal Consequence. If they perish by their\nown Negligence or Obstinacy, the Physician is not to blame. Burning is\nthe last Remedy in some Distempers; and they would do well to remember,\nthat the World will flame about their Heads one of these Days; and\nwhether they be amongst the Living, or amongst the Dead, at that Time,\nthe Apostle makes them a Part of the Fewel, which that fiery Vengeance\nwill prey upon. Our Saviour hath been true to his Word hitherto; whether\nin his Promises, or in his Threatnings. He promis\u2019d the Apostles to send\ndown the Holy Ghost upon them after his Ascension, and that was fully\naccomplish\u2019d: He foretold, and threaten\u2019d the Destruction of\n_Jerusalem_; and that came to pass accordingly, soon after he had left\nthe World: And he hath told us also, that he will come again in _the\nClouds of Heaven, Matt. xxiv. 30. with Power and great Glory_; and,\n_xxv. 32._ _&c._ and that will be to judge the World. _When the Son of\nMan shall come in his Glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then\nshall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory: and before him shall be\ngathered all Nations_; and he will separate the Good from the Bad; and\nto the Wicked and Unbelievers he will say, _Ver. 41._ _Depart from me,\nye Cursed, into everlasting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his\nAngels._ This is the same Coming, and the same Fire, with that which we\nmention\u2019d before out of St. _Paul_, _2 Thess. i. 7, 8, 9_; as you will\nplainly see, if you compare Saint _Matthew_\u2019s Words with Saint _Paul\u2019s_,\nwhich are these, _When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven,\nwith his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, taking Vengeance on them that\nknow not God, and that hearken not to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus\nChrist: Who shall be punish\u2019d with everlasting Destruction, from, or by,\nthe Presence of the Lord, and the Glory of his Power_. This, methinks,\nshould be an awakening Thought, that there is such a Threatning upon\nRecord (by one who never yet failed in his Word) against those that do\nnot believe his Testimony. Those that reject him now as a Dupe, or an\nImpostor, run a Hazard of seeing him hereafter coming in the Clouds to\nbe their Judge. And it will be too late then to correct their Error,\nwhen the bright Armies of Angels fill the Air, and the Earth begins to\nmelt at the Presence of the Lord.\n\nThus much concerning those three Ranks of Men, whom the Apostle Saint\n_Paul_ seems to point at principally, and condemn to the Flames. But, as\nI said before, the rest of Sinners, and vicious Persons, amongst the\nProfessors of Christianity, though they are not so directly the Enemies\nof God, as these are; yet being Transgressors of his Law, they must\nexpect to be brought to Justice. In every well-govern\u2019d State, not only\nTraitors and Rebels that offend more immediately against the Person of\nthe Prince; but all others, that notoriously violate the Laws, are\nbrought to condign Punishment, according to the Nature and Degree of\ntheir Crime: So in this Case, _The Fire shall try every Man\u2019s Work, of\nwhat Sort it is_. \u2019Tis therefore the Concern of every Man, to reflect\noften upon that Day, and to consider what his Fate and Sentence is\nlikely to be, at that last Trial. The _Jews_ have a Tradition, that\n_Elias_ sits in Heaven, and keeps a Register of all Mens Actions, good\nor bad. He hath his Under-Secretaries for the several Nations of the\nWorld, that take Minutes of all that passes; and so hath the History of\nevery Man\u2019s Life before him, ready to be produc\u2019d at the Day of\nJudgment. I will not vouch for the literal Truth of this, but it is true\nin Effect: Every Man\u2019s Fate shall be determined that Day, according to\nthe History of his Life; according to the Works done in the Flesh,\nwhether good or bad. And, therefore, it ought to have as much Influence\nupon us, as if every single Action was formally register\u2019d in Heaven.\n\nIf Men would learn to contemn this World, it would cure a great many\nVices at once. And, methinks, St. _Peter_\u2019s Argument, from the\napproaching Dissolution of all Things, should put us out of Conceit with\nsuch perishing Vanities. Lust and Ambition are the two reigning Vices of\ngreat Men; and those little Fires might be soon extinguished, if they\nwould frequently and seriously meditate on this last and universal Fire,\nwhich will put an End to all Passions, and all Contentions. As to\nAmbition, the Heathens themselves made use of this Argument, to abate\nand repress the vain Affectation of Glory and Greatness in this World. I\ntold you before, the Lesson that was given to _Scipio Africanus_, by his\nUncle\u2019s Ghost, upon this Subject: And upon a like Occasion and\nConsideration, _C\u00e6sar_ hath a Lesson given him by _Lucan_, after the\nBattle of _Pharsalia_; where _Pompey_ lost the Day, and _Rome_ its\nLiberty. The Poet says, _C\u00e6sar_ took Pleasure in looking upon the dead\nBodies, and would not suffer them to be buried, or, which was their\nManner of burying, to be burnt: Whereupon he speaks to him in these\nWords.\n\n            _Hos, C\u00c6SAR, populos si nunc non usserit Ignis,\n            Uret cum Terris, uret com gurgite Ponti.\n            Communis mundo superest rogus, Ossibus astra\n            Misturus. Quocunque Tuam Fortuna vocabit,\n            H\u00e6 quoque eunt Anim\u00e6; non altius ibis in auras,\n            Non meliore loco Stygia sub nocte jacebis.\n            Libera fortuna Mors est: Capit omnia Tellus\n            Qu\u00e6 genuit; C\u0153lo tegitur qui non habet urnam._\n\n            C\u00c6SAR,\n            _If now these Bodies want their Pile and Urn,\n            At last, with the whole Globe, they\u2019re sure to burn.\n            The World expects one general Fire: And Thou\n            Must go, where these poor Souls are wand\u2019ring now.\n            Thou\u2019lt reach no higher, in the ethereal Plain,\n            Nor \u2019mongst the Shades a better Place obtain.\n            Death levels all: And he that has not Room\n            To make a Grave, Heaven\u2019s Vault shall be his Tomb._\n\nThese are mortifying Thoughts to ambitious Spirits. And surely our own\nMortality, and the Mortality of the World itself, may be enough to\nconvince all considering Men, that _Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity\nunder the Sun_; any otherwise than as they relate to a better Life.\n\n_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\n                        THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n\n          Containing an Account of the Original of the Earth,\n\n                             And of all the\n\n                            GENERAL CHANGES\n\n               Which it hath already undergone, or is to\n                     undergo, till the CONSUMMATION\n                             of all Things.\n\n                            The FOURTH BOOK,\n\n              _Concerning the New Heavens, and New Earth,\n                                  AND\n              Concerning the Consummation of all Things._\n\n                               _LONDON_:\n                Printed for J. HOOKE, in _Fleet-Street_.\n\n\n\n\n                         PREFACE TO THE READER.\n\n\nYou see it is still my Lot to travel into new Worlds, having never found\nany great Satisfaction in this: As an active People leaves their\nHabitations in a barren Soil, to try if they can make their Fortune\nbetter elsewhere. I first look\u2019d backwards, and waded through the\nDeluge, into the prim\u00e6val World, to see how they lived there, and how\nNature stood in that original Constitution. Now I am going forwards, to\nview the new Heavens and new Earth, that will be after the\nConflagration. But, gentle Reader, let me not take you any farther, if\nyou be weary; I do not love a querulous Companion: Unless your Genius\ntherefore press you forwards, chuse rather to rest here, and be content\nwith that Part of the Theory which you have seen already. Is it not fair\nto have followed Nature so far, as to have seen her twice in her Ruins?\nWhy should we still pursue her, even after Death and Dissolution, into\ndark and remote Futurities? To whom therefore such Disquisitions seem\nneedless, or over-curious, let them rest here; and leave the Remainder\nof this Work, which is a kind of PROPHECY concerning the STATE of things\nafter the Conflagration, to those that are of a Disposition suited to\nsuch Studies and Enquiries.\n\nNot that any part of this Theory requires much Learning, Art, or\nScience, to be Master of it; but a Love and Thirst after Truth, Freedom\nof Judgment, and a Resignation of our Understandings to clear Evidence.\nLet it carry us which way it will, an honest English Reader, that looks\nonly at the Sense as it lies before him, and neither considers nor cares\nwhether it be new or old, so it be true, may be a more competent Judge\nthan a great Scholar full of his own Notions, and puffed up with the\nOpinion of his mighty Knowledge; for such Men think they cannot in\nHonour own any thing to be true, which they did not know before. To be\ntaught any new Knowledge, is to confess their former Ignorance; and that\nlessens them in their own Opinion, and, as they think, in the Opinion of\nthe World, which are both uneasy Reflections to them. Neither must we\ndepend upon Age only for Soundness of Judgment: Men in discovering and\nowning Truth seldom change their Opinions after threescore, especially\nif they be leading Opinions: It is then too late, we think, to begin the\nWorld again, and as we grow old, the Heart contracts, and cannot open\nwide enough to take in a great Thought.\n\nThe Spheres of Mens Understandings are as different, as Prospects upon\nthe Earth: Some stand upon a Rock or a Mountain, and see far round\nabout; others are in an Hollow, or in a Cave, and have no Prospect at\nall. Some Men consider nothing but what is present to their Senses;\nothers extend their Thoughts both to what is past, and what is future:\nAnd yet the fairest Prospect in this Life is not to be compar\u2019d to the\nleast we shall have in another. Our dearest Day here is misty and hazy;\nwe see not far, and what we do see, is in a bad Light: But when we have\ngot better Bodies in the first Resurrection, whereof we are going to\ntreat; better Senses and a better Understanding, a clearer Light and an\nhigher Station, our Horizon will be enlarged every Way, both as to the\nnatural World, and as to the intellectual.\n\nTwo of the greatest Speculations that we are capable of in this Life,\nare, in my Opinion, The REVOLUTION OF WORLDS, and the REVOLUTION OF\nSOULS; one for the material World, and the other for the intellectual.\nToward the former of these, our Theory is an Essay; and in this our\nPlanet, (which I hope to conduct into a fixed Star, before I have done\nwith it) we give an Instance of what may be in other Planets. \u2019Tis true,\nwe took our Rise no higher than the Chaos, because that was a known\nPrinciple, and we were not willing to amuse the Reader with too many\nstrange Stories; as that, I am sure would have been thought one, TO HAVE\nbrought this Earth from a fixed Star, and then carried it up again into\nthe same Sphere; which yet, I believe, is the true Circle of natural\nProvidence.\n\nAs to the Revolution of Souls, the Footsteps of that Speculation are\nmore obscure than of the former; for though we are assur\u2019d by Scripture,\nthat all good Souls will at length have c\u0153lestial Bodies; yet, that this\nis a returning to a primitive State, or to what they had at their first\nCreation, that Scripture has not acquainted us with: It tells us indeed,\nthat Angels fell from their primitive c\u0153lestial Glory; and consequently\nwe might be capable of a Lapse as well as they, if we had been in that\nhigh Condition with them; but that we ever were there, is not declared\nto us by any Revelation. Reason and Morality would indeed suggest to us,\nthat an innocent Soul, fresh and pure from the Hands of its Maker, could\nnot be immediately cast into Prison, before it had, by any Act of its\nown Will, or any Use of its own Understanding, committed either Error or\nSin. I call this Body a Prison, both because it is a Confinement and\nRestraint upon our best Faculties and Capacities, and is also the Seat\nof Diseases and Loathsomness; and, as Prisons use to do, commonly tends\nmore to debauch Mens Natures, than to improve them.\n\nBut though we cannot certainly tell under what Circumstances human Souls\nwere plac\u2019d at first, yet all Antiquity agrees, Oriental and Occidental,\nconcerning their Pr\u00e6-existence in general, in Respect of these mortal\nBodies: And our Saviour never reproaches or corrects the Jews, when they\nspeak upon that Supposition, Luke ix. 18, 19. John ix. 2. Besides, it\nseems to me beyond all Controversy, that the Soul of the Messiah did\nexist before the Incarnation, and voluntarily descended from Heaven to\ntake upon it a mortal Body. And though it does not appear that all human\nSouls were at first placed in Glory, yet, from the Example of our\nSaviour, we see something greater in them; namely, a Capacity to be\nunited to the Godhead, John iii. 13. and vi. 38. and 62. and xvii. 5.\nAnd what is possible to one, is possible to more. But these Thoughts are\ntoo high for us, while we find our selves united to nothing but diseased\nBodies and Houses of Clay.\n\nThe greatest Fault we can commit, in such speculations, is to be over\npositive and dogmatical: To be inquisitive into the Ways of Providence\nand the Works of God, is so far from being a Fault that it is our\ngreatest Perfection: We cultivate the highest Principles and best\nInclinations of our Nature, while we are thus employ\u2019d; and \u2019tis\nLittleness or Secularity of Spirit, that is the greatest Enemy to\nContemplation. Those that would have a true Contempt of this World, must\nsuffer the Soul to be sometimes upon the Wing, and, to raise herself\nabove the Sight of this little dark Point, which we now inhabit. Give\nher a large and free Prospect of the Immensity of Gods Works, and of his\ninexhausted Wisdom and Goodness, if you would make her great and good;\nas the warm Philosopher says,\n\n               Give me a Soul so great, so high,\n               Let her Dimensions stretch the Sky;\n               That comprehends within a Thought,\n               The whole Extent, \u2019twixt God and Nought;\n               And from the World\u2019s first Birth and Date,\n               Its Life and Death can calculate,\n               With all th\u2019 Adventures that shall pass,\n               To ev\u2019ry Atom of the Mass.\n\n               But let her be as GOOD as GREAT,\n               Her highest Throne a Mercy-Seat;\n               Soft and dissolving like a Cloud,\n               Losing herself in doing Good;\n               A Cloud that leaves its Place Above,\n               Rather than dry and useless move,\n               Falls in a Shower upon the Earth,\n               And gives ten thousand Seeds a Birth;\n               Hangs on the Flow\u2019rs, and infant Plants,\n               Sucks not their Sweets, but feeds their Wants:\n               So let this mighty Mind diffuse,\n               All that\u2019s her own to others Use;\n               And, free from private Ends, retain\n               Nothing of SELF, but a bare Name.\n\n\n\n\n                                BOOK IV.\n     _Concerning the New Heavens and New Earth, AND Concerning the\n                      Consummation of all Things._\n\n\n                                CHAP. I.\n\n\n    _The Introduction; That the World will not be annihilated in the\n    last Fire: That we are to expect, according to Scripture and the\n    Christian Doctrine, new Heavens and a new Earth, when these are\n    dissolv\u2019d or burnt up._\n\n\nWe are now so far advanc\u2019d in the Theory of the Earth, as to have seen\nthe End of two Worlds; one destroy\u2019d by Water, and another by Fire. It\nremains only to consider, whether we be yet come to the final Period of\nNature; the last Scene of all Things, and consequently the utmost Bound\nof our Enquires: Or, whether Providence, which is inexhausted in Wisdom\nand Goodness, will raise up, from this dead Mass, new Heavens and a new\nEarth; another habitable World, better and more perfect than that which\nwas destroyed: That, as the first World began with a Paradise, and a\nState of Innocency; so the last may be a kind of Renovation of that\nhappy State, whose Inhabitants shall not die, but be translated to a\nblessed Immortality.\n\nI know \u2019tis the Opinion of some, that this World will be annihilated, or\nreduc\u2019d to nothing, at the Conflagration, and that would put an End to\nall farther Enquiries. But whence do they learn this? From Scripture or\nReason, or their own Imagination? What Instance or Example can they give\nus of this they call _Annihilation_? Or what Place of Scripture can they\nproduce, that says, the World, in the last Fire, shall be reduc\u2019d to\nnothing? If they have neither Instance nor Proof of what they affirm,\n\u2019tis an empty Imagination of their own, neither agreeable to Philosophy,\nnor Divinity: Fire does not consume any Substance; it changes the Form\nand Qualities of it, but the Matter remains. And if the Design had been\n_Annihilation_, the employing of Fire would have been of no Use or\nEffect: For Smoke and Ashes are at as great a Distance from _Nothing_,\nas the Bodies themselves out of which they are made. But these Authors\nseem to have but a small Tincture of Philosophy, and therefore it will\nbe more proper to confute their Opinion from the Words of Scripture,\nwhich hath left us sufficient Evidence, that another World will succeed\nafter the Conflagration of that we now inhabit.\n\nThe Prophets, both of the Old and New Testament, have left us their\nPredictions concerning _new Heavens and a new Earth_. So says the\nProphet _Isaiah_, ch. lxv. 17. _Behold I create new Heavens and a new\nEarth, and the former shall not be remembered, or come into Mind_; as\nnot worthy our Thoughts, in comparison of those that will arise when\nthese pass away. So the Prophet St. _John_ in his _Apocalypse_, when he\nwas come to the End of this World, says, _And I saw a new Heaven and a\nnew Earth: For the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away,\nand there was no more Sea, Apoc. xxi. 1._ Where he does not only give us\nan Account of a new Heaven and a new Earth in general; but also gives a\ndistinctive Character of the _new Earth_, that it shall have _no Sea_.\nAnd in the _5th Verse_, he that sate upon the Throne says, _Behold I\nmake all_ Things _new_: which, consider\u2019d with the Antecedents and\nConsequents, cannot be otherwise understood than of a new World.\n\nBut some Men make Evasions here, as to the Words of the Prophets, and\nsay, they are to be understood in a figurative and allegorical Sense;\nand to be apply\u2019d to the Times of the Gospel, either at first or towards\nthe latter End of the World; so as this _new Heaven and new Earth_,\nsignify only a great Change in the moral World. But how can that be,\nseeing St. _John_ places them after the End of the World? And the\nProphet _Isaiah_ connects such Things with his new Heavens and new\nEarth, as are not compatible to the present State of Nature, _ch. lxv._\nHowever, to avoid all Shuffling and Tergiversation in this Point, let us\nappeal to St. _Peter_, who uses a plain literal Style, and discourses\ndownright concerning the natural World. In his _2d Epist._ and _3d\nChap._ when he had foretold and explain\u2019d the future Conflagration, he\nadds, But we expect _new Heavens and a new Earth, according to his\nPromises_. These Promises were made by the Prophets; and this gives us\nfull Authority to interpret their _new Heavens and new Earth_ to be\nafter the _Conflagration_. St. _Peter_, when he had describ\u2019d the\nDissolution of the World in the last Fire, in full and emphatical Terms,\nas _the passing away the Heavens with a Noise; the melting of the\nElements, and burning up all the Works of the Earth_; he subjoins,\n_Nevertheless_ (notwithstanding this total Dissolution of the present\nWorld) _we, according to his Promises, look for new Heavens and a new\nEarth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness_. As if the Apostle should have\nsaid, Notwithstanding this strange and violent Dissolution of the\npresent Heavens and Earth, which I have describ\u2019d to you, we do not at\nall distrust God\u2019s Promises, concerning new Heavens and a new Earth,\nthat are to succeed these, and to be the Seat of the Righteous.\n\nHere\u2019s no room for Allegories, or allegorical Expositions, unless you\nwill make the Conflagration of the World an Allegory: For, as Heavens\nand Earth were destroyed, so Heavens and Earth are restored; and if, in\nthe first Place, you understand the natural material World, you must\nalso understand it in the second Place; they are both Allegories, or\nneither. But to make the Conflagration an Allegory, is not only to\ncontradict St. _Peter_, but all Antiquity, sacred or prophane. And I\ndesire no more Assurance, that we shall have new Heavens and a new\nEarth, in a literal Sense, than we have that the present Heavens and\nEarth shall be destroyed in a literal Sense, and by material Fire: Let\nit therefore rest upon that Issue, as to the first Evidence and Argument\nfrom Scripture.\n\nSome will fancy, it may be, that we shall have new Heavens and Earth,\nand yet that these shall be annihilated: They would have these first\nreduc\u2019d to nothing, and then others created, spick and span new, out of\nnothing. But why so, pray, what\u2019s the Humour of that? Lest Omnipotency\nshould want Employment, you would have it to do, and undo, and do again;\nas if new-made Matter, like new Cloaths, or new Furniture, had a better\nGloss, and was more credible. Matter never wears; as fine Gold, melt it\ndown never so often, it loses nothing of its Quantity: The Substance of\nthe World is the same, burnt or unburnt, and is of the same Value and\nVirtue, new or old; and we must not multiply the Actions of Omnipotency\nwithout Necessity. God does not make, or unmake things, to try\nExperiments: He knows beforehand the utmost Capacities of every thing,\nand does no vain or superfluous Work. Such Imaginations as these,\nproceed only from want of true Philosophy, or the true Knowledge of the\nNature of God and of his Works, which should always be carefully\nattended to in such Speculations as concern the natural World. But to\nproceed in our Subject.\n\nIf they suppose Part of the World to be annihilated, and to continue so,\nthey philosophize still worse and worse: How high shall the Annihilation\nreach? Shall the Sun, Moon, and Stars be reduc\u2019d to nothing? But what\nhave they done, that they should undergo so hard a Fate? Must they be\nturn\u2019d out of Being for our Faults? The whole material Universe will not\nbe annihilated at this Bout, for we are to have Bodies after the\nResurrection, and to live in Heaven. How much of the Universe then will\nyou leave standing? or how shall it subsist with this great _Vacuum_ in\nthe Heart of it? This Shell of a World is but the Fiction of an empty\nBrain; for God and Nature, in their Works, never admit of such gaping\nVacuities and Emptinesses.\n\nIf we consult Scripture again, we shall find that that makes mention of\na _Restitution_ and _Reviviscency_ of all Things, at the End of the\nWorld, or at the Coming of our Saviour. St. _Peter_, whose Doctrine we\nhave hitherto follow\u2019d, in his Sermon to the _Jews_, after our Saviour\u2019s\nAscension, tells them, that he will come again, and that there will be\nthen a _Restitution of all Things_, such as was promised by the\nProphets. _The Heavens_, says he, _must receive him until the Time of\nRestitution of all Things; which God hath spoken by the Mouth of his\nholy Prophets, since the World began, Acts iii. 21._ If we compare this\nPassage of Saint _Peter\u2019s_, with that which we alledged before, out of\nhis Second Epistle, it can scarce be doubted but that he refers to the\nsame Promises in both Places; and what he there calls a _new Heaven_,\nand a _new Earth_, he calls here a _Restitution of all Things_: For the\nHeavens and the Earth comprehend all, and both these are but different\nPhrases for the Renovation of the World. This gives us also Light how to\nunderstand what our Saviour calls the _Regeneration_ or _Reviviscency_,\nwhen he shall sit upon his Throne of Glory, and will reward his\nFollowers an hundred-fold, for all their Losses in this World, besides\neverlasting Life, as the Crown of all, _Mat. xix. 28, 29._ I know, in\nour _English_ Translation, we separate _the Regeneration_ from _sitting\nupon his Throne_, but without any Warrant from the Original. And seeing\nour Saviour speaks here of bodily Goods, and seems to distinguish them\nfrom _everlasting Life_, which is to be the final Reward of his\nFollowers; this _Regeneration_ seems to belong to his Second Coming,\nwhen the World shall be renew\u2019d or regenerated, and the Righteous shall\npossess the Earth.\n\nOther Places of Scripture that foretel the Fate of this material World,\nrepresent it always as a _Change_, not as an _Annihilation_. St. _Paul_\nsays, _The Figure of this World passeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 31._ The Form,\nFashion, and Disposition of its Parts, but the Substance still remains:\nAs a Body that is melted down and dissolv\u2019d, the Form perishes, but the\nMatter is not destroyed. And the Psalmist says, the Heavens and the\nEarth shall be _chang\u2019d_, _Psal. cii. 26._ which answers to this\nTransformation we speak of. The same Apostle, in the eighth Chapter to\nthe _Romans_, ver. 21, 22, 23, 24. shews also, that this _Change_ shall\nbe, and shall be for the better, and calls it a _Deliverance of the\nCreation from Vanity and Corruption_, and a Participation of the\n_glorious Liberty of the Children of God_; being a sort of _Redemption_,\nas they have a _Redemption of their Bodies_.\n\nBut seeing the _Renovation_ of the World is a Doctrine generally\nreceiv\u2019d, both by antient and modern Authors, as we shall have Occasion\nto shew hereafter, we need add no more, in this Place, for Confirmation\nof it. Some Men are willing to throw all Things into a State of\n_Nothing_ at the Conflagration, and bury them there, that they may not\nbe oblig\u2019d to give an Account of that State of things that is to succeed\nit. Those who think themselves bound in Honour to know every thing in\nTheology that is knowable, and find it uneasy to answer such Questions\nand Speculations as would arise upon their admitting a new World, think\nit more advisable to stifle it in the Birth, and so to bound all\nKnowledge at the Conflagration. But surely so far as Reason or Scripture\nlead us, we may and ought to follow, otherwise we should be ungrateful\nto Providence, that sent us those Guides, provided we be always duly\nsensible of our own Weakness: And, according to the Difficulty of the\nSubject, and the Measure of Light that falls upon it, proceed with that\nModesty and Ingenuity, that becomes such fallible Enquirers after Truth,\nas we are. And this Rule I desire to prescribe to my self, as in all\nother Writings, so especially in this; where, though I look upon the\nprincipal Conclusions as fully prov\u2019d, there are several Particulars,\nthat are rather propos\u2019d to Examination, than positively asserted.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. II.\n\n\n    _The Birth of the new Heavens and the new Earth, from the second\n    Chaos, or the Remains of the old World: The Form, Order, and\n    Qualities of the new Earth, according to Reason and Scripture._\n\n\nHaving prov\u2019d from Scripture, that we are to expect _new Heavens_, and a\n_new Earth_, after the Conflagration; it would be some Pleasure and\nSatisfaction to see how this new Frame will arise, and what Foundation\nthere is in Nature for the Accomplishment of these Promises. For, though\nthe Divine Power be not bound to all the Laws of Nature, but may\ndispense with them when there is a Necessity; yet it is an Ease to us in\nour Belief, when we see them both conspire in the same Effect. And in\norder to this, we must consider in what Posture we left the demolish\u2019d\nWorld, what Hopes there are of a Restauration. And we are not to be\ndiscourag\u2019d, because we see Things at present wrapt up in a confus\u2019d\nMass; for, according to the Methods of Nature and Providence, in that\ndark Womb usually are the Seeds and Rudiments of an Embryo-World.\n\nNeither is there, possibly, so great a Confusion, in this Mass, as we\nimagine: The Heart, an interior Body of the Earth, is still entire; and\nthat Part of it that is consum\u2019d by the Fire, will be divided, of its\nown accord, into two Regions. What is dissolv\u2019d and melted, being the\nheaviest, will descend as low as it can, and cover and inclose the\nKernel of the Earth round about, as a molten Sea or Abyss; according as\nit is explain\u2019d and set down in the precedent Book. But what is more\nlight and volatile, will float in the Air; as Fumes, Smoke, Exhalations,\nVapours of Water, and whatsoever terrestrial Parts can be elevated and\nsupported by the Strength of Fire. These, all mingled together, of\ndifferent Sizes, Figures, and Motions, will constitute an opake Cloud,\nor thick Region of Darkness round the Earth; so as the Globe of the\nEarth, with its Atmosphere, after the Conflagration is finished, will\nstand much-what in the Form represented in this Scheme.\n\n[Illustration: The regions of the Earth, a series of concentric Circles,\nwith A. A. denoting the Lower Region.]\n\nNow as to the lower of these two Regions, the Region of melted Matter,\nA. A. we shall have little Occasion to take Notice of it; seeing it will\ncontribute nothing to the Formation of the new World. But the upper\nRegion, or all above that Orb of Fire, is the true Draught of a Chaos;\nor a Mixture and Confusion of all the Elements, without Order or\nDistinction. Here are Particles of Earth, and of Air, and of Water, all\npromiscuously jumbled together by the Force and Agitation of the Fire.\nBut when that Force ceases, and every one is left to its own\nInclination, they will, according to their different degrees of Gravity,\nseparate and sort themselves after this manner: First, the heaviest and\ngrossest Parts of the Earth will subside, then the watery Parts will\nfollow; then a lighter sort of Earth, which will stop, and rest upon the\nSurface of the Water, and compose there a thin Film or Membrane. This\nMembrane or tender Orb is the first Rudiment, or Foundation of a new\nhabitable Earth: For, according as terrestrial Parts fall upon it, from\nall the Regions and Heights of the Atmosphere, or of the Chaos, this Orb\nwill grow more firm, strong, and immoveable, able to support it self and\nInhabitants too. And having in it all the Principles of a fruitful Soil,\nwhether for the Production of Plants, or of Animals, it will want no\nProperty or Character of an habitable Earth. And particularly, will\nbecome such an Earth, and of such a Form, as the first paradisaical\nEarth was, which hath been fully describ\u2019d, in the first and second\nBooks of this Theory.\n\nThere is no occasion of examining more accurately the Formation of this\nsecond Earth, seeing it is so much the same with that of the first;\nwhich, is set down fully and distinctly, in the fifth Chapter of the\nfirst Book of this Theory. Nature here repeats the same Work, and in the\nsame Method; only the Materials are now a little more refin\u2019d, and\npurg\u2019d by the Fire: They both rise out of a Chaos, and that, in effect,\nthe same in both Cases; for though in forming the first Earth, I\nsuppos\u2019d the Chaos or confus\u2019d Mass, to reach down to the Center, I did\nthat only for the Ease of our Imagination; that so the whole Mass might\nappear more simple and uniform. But in reality, that Chaos had a solid\nKernel of Earth within, as this hath; and that Matter which fluctuated\nabove in the Regions of the Air, was the true Chaos, whose Parts, when\nthey came to a Separation, made the several Elements, and the Form of an\nhabitable Earth, betwixt the Air and Water. This Chaos, upon Separation,\nwill fall into the same Form and Elements; and so, in like manner,\ncreate or constitute a second _Paradisaical_ World.\n\nI say, a _Paradisaical_ World; for it appears plainly, that this\nnew-form\u2019d Earth must agree with that primigenial Earth, in the two\nprincipal and fundamental Properties. First, it is of an even, entire,\nuniform, and regular Surface, without Mountains or Sea. Secondly, that\nit hath a straight and regular Situation to the Sun, and the _Axis_ of\nthe _Ecliptick_. From the Manner of its Formation, it appears\nmanifestly, that it must be of an even and regular Surface. For the Orb\nof liquid Fire, upon which the first Descent was made, being smooth and\nuniform every where, the Matter that fell upon it would take the same\nForm and Mould: And so the second or third Region, that were\nsuperinduc\u2019d, would still imitate the Fashion of the first; there being\nno Cause or Occasion of any Inequality. Then as to the Situation of its\n_Axis_, this Uniformity of Figure would determine the Center of its\nGravity to be exactly in the Middle, and consequently there would be no\nInclination of one Pole, more than another, to the general Center of its\nMotion; but, upon a free Libration in the liquid Air, its _Axis_ would\nlie parallel with the _Axis_ of the Ecliptick where it moves. But these\nThings having been deduc\u2019d more fully in the second Book about\n_Paradise_ and the _primigenial Earth_, they need no further Explication\nin this Place.\n\nIf Scripture had left us several distinct Characters of the _New\nHeavens_, and the _New Earth_, we might, by comparing with those, have\nmade a full Proof of our Hypothesis. One indeed St. _John_ hath left us\nin very express Terms; _There was no Sea there_, he says: His Words are\nthese: _And I saw a New Heaven, and a New Earth; for the first Heaven\nand the first Earth were passed away; AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA_. This\nCharacter is very particular, and you see it exactly answers to our\nHypothesis; for in the new form\u2019d Earth, the Sea is cover\u2019d and\ninconspicuous, being an Abyss; not a Sea; and wholly lodg\u2019d in the Womb\nof the Earth. And this one Character, being inexplicable upon any other\nSupposition, and very different from the present Earth, makes it a\nstrong Presumption that we have hit upon the true Model of the _new\nHeavens_ and _new Earth_ which St. _John_ saw.\n\nTo this Sight of the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_, St. _John_\nimmediately subjoins the Sight of the _new Jerusalem_, _ver._ 2. as\nbeing contemporary, and, in some respects, the same Thing. \u2019Tis true,\nthe Characters of the _new Jerusalem_, in these two last Chapters of the\n_Apocalypse_, are very hard to be understood; some of them being\nincompatible to a _terrestrial_ State, and some of \u2019em to a _celestial_;\nso as it seems to me very reasonable to suppose, that the _new\nJerusalem_, spoken of by St. _John_, is two-fold: That which he saw\nhimself, _ver._ 2. and that which the Angel shewed him afterwards,\n_ver._ 9. For I do not see what need there was of an _Angel_, and of\n_taking him up into a great and high Mountain_, only to shew him that\nwhich he had seen before, at the Foot of the Mountain: But however that\nbe, we are to consider, in this Place, the terrestrial new _Jerusalem_\nonly, or that which is the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_. And as St.\n_John_ hath joined these two together, so the Prophet _Isaiah_ hath done\nthe same thing before, _Chap._ lxv. 17, 18. when he had promised _new\nHeavens and a new Earth_, he calls them under another Name, _Jerusalem_;\nand they both use the same Character in Effect, in the Description of\ntheir _Jerusalem_. _Ver._ 19. _Isaiah_ says, _And I will rejoice in_\nJerusalem, _and joy in my People, and the Voice of weeping shall be no\nmore heard in her_, _nor the Voice of crying_, _Apoc._ xxi. 3, 4. St.\n_John_ says also in his _Jerusalem_, _God shall dwell with them, and\nthey shall be his People: And he shall wipe away all Tears from their\nEyes; and there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor Crying,\nneither shall there be any more Pain._ Now in both these Prophets, when\nthey treat upon this Subject, we find they make frequent Allusions to\n_Paradise_ and a _paradisaical_ State; so as they may be justly taken as\na Scripture Character of the _new Heavens_ and the _new Earth_. The\nProphet _Isaiah_ seems plainly to point at a _paradisaical_ State,\nthroughout that Chapter, by an universal Innocency, and Harmlesness of\nAnimals; and Peace, Plenty, Health, Longevity or Immortality of the\nInhabitants. St. _John_ also hath several Allusions to _Paradise_, in\nthose two Chapters where he describes the new _Jerusalem_, Ch. xxi. and\nCh. xxii. And in his Discourse to the seven Churches, in one Place (Ch.\nii. 7.) _To him that overcometh_ is promised, _to eat of the Tree of\nLife, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God_. And in another\nPlace (Ch. iii. 12.) _To him that overcometh_ is promised, _to have the\nName of the new_ Jerusalem _writ upon him_. These I take to be the same\nThing, and the same Reward of Christian Victors; the _new Jerusalem_, or\nthe _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_, and the _Paradise of God_. Now this\nbeing the general Character of the _new Earth_, that it is\n_paradisaical_; and the particular Character that it _hath no Sea_; and\nboth these agreeing with our Hypothesis, as apparently deducible from\nthose Principles, and that Manner of its Formation which we have set\ndown; we cannot but allow, that the Holy Scriptures, and the natural\nTheory agree in their Testimony, as to the Conditions and Properties of\nthe _New Heavens_ and _New Earth_.\n\nFrom what hath been said in this and the precedent Chapter, it will not\nbe hard to interpret what St. _Paul_ meant by his _habitable Earth to\ncome_; \u03a4\u1f74\u03bd \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd; \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u1f74\u03c1 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f30\u1ff6\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, _Isai.\nix. 6._ which is to be subjected to our Saviour, and not to the Angels.\nIn the second Chapter to the _Hebrews_, ver. 5. he says, _For unto the\nAngels hath he not put in Subjection the WORLD TO COME_; so we read it,\nbut, according to the strictest and plainest Translation, it should be\n_the habitable Earth to come_. Now, what Earth is this, where our\nSaviour is absolute Sovereign; and where the Government is neither\nHuman, nor Angelical, but peculiarly Theocratical? In the first Place,\nthis cannot be the present World, or the present Earth, because the\nApostle calls it _future_, or the _Earth to come_. Nor can it be\nunderstood of the Days of the Gospel; seeing the Apostle acknowledges,\n_ver._ 8. that this Subjection, whereof he speaks, is not yet made. And\nseeing Antichrist will not finally be destroyed till the Appearance of\nour Saviour, (_2 Thess. ii. 8._) nor Satan bound, while Antichrist is in\nPower; during the Reign of these two (who are the Rulers of the Darkness\nof the World) our Saviour cannot properly be said to begin his Reign\nhere, _Ephes. vi. 12._ \u2019Tis true, he exercises his Providence over his\nChurch, and secures it from being destroyed: He can, by a Power\nparamount, stop the Rage either of Satan or Antichrist; _Hitherto ye\nshall go, and no farther_. As sometimes when he was upon Earth, he\nexerted a Divine Power, which yet did not destroy his State of\nHumiliation; so he interposes now when he thinks fit, but he does not\nfinally take the Power out of the Hands of his Enemies, nor out of the\nHands of the Kings of the Earth. The _Kingdom is not deliver\u2019d up to\nhim_, and all _Dominion and Power_; Ch. vii. 13, 25, 26. That _all\nTongues and Nations should serve him_. For St. _Paul_ can mean no less\nin this Place than that Kingdom in _Daniel_, _Heb. ii. 8._ seeing he\ncalls it _putting all Things in Subjection under his Feet_, and says\nthat it is not yet done. Upon this account also, as well as others, our\nSaviour might truly say to _Pilate_, _Joh. xviii. 36._ _My Kingdom is\nnot of this World_. And to his Disciples, _The Son of Man came not to be\nministred unto, but to minister_, _Matt. xx. 28._ When he comes to\nreceive his Kingdom, he comes in the Clouds of Heaven (_Dan. vii. 13,\n14._) not in the Womb of a Virgin. He comes with the Equipage of a King\nand Conqueror: with Thousands and Ten Thousands of Angels; not in the\nForm of a Servant, or of a weak Infant, as he did at his first coming.\n\nI allow the Phrase \u03b1\u1f30\u1f7c\u03bd \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd, or in the _Hebrew_ \u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d4\u05d1\u05d0, _the World\nto come_, is sometimes used in a large Sense, as comprehending all the\nDays of the Messiah, whether at his first or second coming, (for these\ntwo comings are often undistinguished in Scripture) and respect the\nmoral World, as well as the natural. But the Word \u03bf\u1f30\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7, _Orbis\nhabitabilis_, which St. _Paul_ here uses, does primarily signify the\nnatural World, or the habitable Earth, in the proper use of the Word\namongst the _Greeks_, and frequently in Scripture, _Luke iv. 5._ and\n_xxi. 26._ _Rom. x. 18._ _Heb. i. 6._ _Apoc. iii. 10._ Neither do we\nhere exclude the moral World, or the Inhabitants of the Earth, but\nrather necessarily include them: Both the natural and moral _World to\ncome_, will be the Seat and Subject of our Saviour\u2019s Kingdom and Empire,\nin a peculiar Manner. But when you understand nothing by this Phrase but\nthe _present moral World_, it neither answers the proper Signification\nof \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1, nor of \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7, of the first or second Part of the\nExpression; and tho\u2019 such like Phrases may be used for the Dispensation\nof the Messiah in Opposition to that of the Law, yet the height of that\nDistinction or Opposition, and the fulfilling of the Expression, depends\nupon the second coming of our Saviour, and upon the _future Earth_ or\nhabitable World, where he shall reign, and which does peculiarly belong\nto him and his Saints.\n\nNeither can this _World to come_, or this _Earth to come_, be understood\nof the Kingdom of Heaven. For the _Greek_ Word will not bear that Sense,\nnor is it ever us\u2019d in Scripture for _Heaven_. Besides, the Kingdom of\nHeaven, when spoken of as _future_, is not properly till the last\nResurrection and final Judgment. Whereas _this World to come_, which our\nSaviour is to govern, must be therefore that Time, and will then expire.\nFor all his Government as to this World, expires at the Day of Judgment,\n_1 Cor. xv. 24_, _&c._ and _he will then deliver up the Kingdom into the\nHands of his Father, that he may be all in all_: Having reigned first\nhimself, _and put down all Rule and all Authority and Power_. So that\nSt. _Paul_, in these two Places of his Epistles, refers plainly to the\nsame Time, and the same Reign of Christ; which must be in a _future\nWorld_, and before the _last Day of Judgment_, and therefore, according,\nto our Deductions, in the _new Heavens_ and the _new Earth_.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. III.\n\n\n    _Concerning the Inhabitants of the new Earth. That natural Reason\n    cannot determine this Point. That according to Scripture, the Sons\n    of the first Resurrection, or the Heirs of the Millennium, are to be\n    the Inhabitants of the new Earth. The Testimony of the Philosophers,\n    and of the Christian Fathers, for the Renovation of the World. The\n    first Proposition laid down._\n\n\nThus we have settled the true Notion, according to Reason and Scripture,\nof the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_: But where are the Inhabitants,\nyou\u2019ll say? You have taken the Pains to make us a new World, and now\nthat it is made, it must stand empty. When the first World was\ndestroyed, there were eight Persons preserv\u2019d, with a Set of living\nCreatures of every Kind, as a Seminary or Foundation of another World;\nbut the Fire, it seems, is more merciless than the Water; for in this\nDestruction of the World, it does not appear that there is one living\nSoul left, of any sort, upon the Face of the Earth. No Hopes of\nPosterity, nor of any Continuation of Mankind, in the usual Way of\nPropagation; and Fire is a barren Element, that breeds no living\nCreatures in it, nor hath any Nourishment proper for their Food or\nSustenance.\n\nWe are perfectly at a Loss therefore, so far as I see, for a new Race of\nMankind, or how to People this new-form\u2019d World. The inhabitants, if\never there be any, must either come from Heaven, or spring from the\nEarth; there are but these two Ways. But _natural Reason_ can determine\nneither of these, sees no Track to follow in these unbeaten Paths, nor\ncan advance one Step farther. Farewell then, dear Friend; I must take\nanother Guide, and leave you here, as _Moses_ upon Mount _Pisgah_, only\nto look into that Land, which you cannot enter. I acknowledge the good\nService you have done, and what a faithful Companion you have been, in a\nlong Journey; from the Beginning of the World to this Hour, in a Tract\nof Time of six thousand Years. We have travelled together thro\u2019 the dark\nRegions of a first and second _Chaos_; seen the World twice shipwreck\u2019d:\nNeither Water, nor Fire, could separate us; but now you must give place\nto other Guides.\n\nWelcome, _Holy Scriptures_, the Oracles of God, a Light shining in\nDarkness, a Treasury of hidden Knowledge; and where _Human Faculties_\ncannot reach, a seasonable Help and Supply to their Defects. We are now\ncome to the utmost Bounds of their Dominion; they have made us a New\nWorld, but, how it shall be inhabited, they cannot tell; know nothing of\nthe History or Affairs of it. This we must learn from other Masters,\ninspir\u2019d with the Knowledge of Things to come: And such Masters we know\nnone, but the holy Prophets and Apostles. We must therefore now put our\nselves wholly under their Conduct and Instruction, and from them only\nreceive our Information concerning the moral State of the future\nhabitable Earth.\n\nIn the first place therefore, the Prophet _Isaiah_ tells us, as a\nPreparation to our farther Enquiries, _The Lord God created the Heavens,\nGod himself that formed the Earth, he created it not in vain, he formed\nit to be inhabited, Isa. xlv. 18._ This is true, both of the present\nEarth and the _future_, and of every habitable World whatsoever. For to\nwhat purpose is it made habitable, if not to be inhabited? That would\nbe, as if a Man should manure, and plough, and every Way prepare his\nGround for Seed, but never sow it. We do not build Houses, that they\nshould stand empty, but look out for Tenants as fast as we can; as soon\nas they are made ready and become tenantable. But if Man could do things\nin vain, and without Use or Design, yet God and Nature never do any\nthing _in vain_; much less so great a Work as the making of a World;\nwhich if it were in vain, would comprehend ten thousand Vanities or\nuseless Preparations in it. _We_ may therefore, in the first place,\nsafely conclude, _that the new Earth will be inhabited_.\n\nBut _by whom will it be inhabited_? This makes the second Enquiry. St.\n_Peter_ answers this Question for us, and with a particular Application\nto this very Subject of the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_: They shall be\ninhabited, he says, by the _Just_ or the _Righteous_. His Words which we\ncited before, are these; when he had described the Conflagration of the\nWorld, he adds, But we _expect new Heavens and a new Earth, WHEREIN\nDWELLETH RIGHTEOUSNESS_. By _Righteousness_ here, it is generally\nagreed, must be understood righteous Persons; for Righteousness cannot\nbe without righteous Persons. It cannot hang upon Trees, or grow out of\nthe Ground; \u2019tis the Endowment of reasonable Creatures. And these\nrighteous Persons are eminently such, and therefore call\u2019d Righteousness\nin the Abstract, or purely righteous without Mixture of Vice.\n\nSo we have found Inhabitants for the _new Earth_, Persons of an high and\nnoble Character; like those describ\u2019d by St. _Peter_, (_1 Eph. ii. 9._)\n_A chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar\nPeople._ As if into that World, as into St. _John\u2019s_ _new Jerusalem,_\nnothing impure or unrighteous was to be admitted, _Apoc. xxi. 27._ These\nbeing then the happy and holy Inhabitants; the next Enquiry is, _Whence\ndo they come?_ From what Off-spring, or from what Original? We noted\nbefore, that there was no Remnant of Mankind left at the Conflagration,\nas there was at the Deluge; nor any Hopes of a Restauration that Way.\nShall we then imagine that these new Inhabitants are a Colony wafted\nover from some neigbouring World; as from the Moon, or Mercury, or some\nof the higher Planets? You may imagine what you please, but that seems\nto me not imaginary only, but impracticable: And that the Inhabitants of\nthose Planets are Persons of so great Accomplishments, is more than I\nknow; but I am sure they are not the Persons here understood; for these\nmust be such as inhabited this Earth before. We look for _new Heavens_\nand _new Earth_, says the Apostle: Surely to have some Share and\nInterest in them, otherwise there would be no Comfort in that\nExpectation. And the Prophet _Isaiah_ said before, I create _new\nHeavens_ and a _new Earth_, and the former shall come no more in\nRemembrance; but be _YOU glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I\ncreate_. The Truth is, none can have so good Pretensions to this Spot of\nGround we call the Earth, as the Sons of Men, seeing they once possessed\nit; and if it be restor\u2019d again, \u2019tis their Propriety and Inheritance.\nBut \u2019tis not Mankind in general that must possess this new World, but\nthe _Israel of God_, according to the Prophet _Isaiah_; or the _Just_,\naccording to St. _Peter_; and especially those that have suffer\u2019d for\nthe Sake of their Religion. For this is that _Palingenesia_, as we noted\nbefore, that _Renovation_, or _Regeneration_ of all Things, where our\nSaviour says, those that suffer Loss for his Sake, shall be recompensed,\n_Matth._ xix. 28, 29.\n\nBut they must be then raised from the Dead. For all Mankind was\ndestroyed at the Conflagration: and there is no Resource for them any\nother way, than by a Resurrection. \u2019Tis true: and St. _John_ (_Apoc._\nxx.) gives us a fair Occasion to make this Supposition, _that_ there\nwill be some raised from the Dead, before the general Day of Judgment.\nFor he plainly distinguisheth of a _first_ and _second_ Resurrection,\nand makes the first to be a thousand Years before the second, and before\nthe general Day of Judgment. Now, if there be truly and really a\ntwo-fold Resurrection, as St. _John_ tells us; and that a Thousand Years\nDistance from one another: It may be very rationally be presum\u2019d, that\nthose that are raised in the first Resurrection, are those _Just_ that\nwill inhabit the _New Heavens_ and _New Earth_; or whom our Saviour\npromis\u2019d to reward in the Renovation of the World.\n\nFor otherwise, who are those _Just_ that shall inhabit the _New Earth_,\nand whence do they come? Or when is that Restauration which our Saviour\nspeaks of, wherein those that suffer\u2019d for the Sake of the Gospel shall\nbe rewarded? St. _John_ says, the _Martyrs_, at this first Resurrection,\nshall live again, and reign with Christ: Which seems to be the Reward\npromis\u2019d by our Saviour, to those that suffer\u2019d for his sake, and the\nsame Persons in both Places. _And I saw the Souls of them_ (says St.\n_John_) _that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word\nof God; and which had not worshipped the Beast, &c. and they lived and\nreigned with Christ a Thousand Years_, Apoc. xx. 4. These, I say, seem\nto be the same Persons, to whom Christ had before promis\u2019d and\nappropriated a particular Reward. And this Reward of theirs, or this\nReign of theirs, is upon _Earth_; upon some Earth, new or old, not in\nHeaven. For, besides that we read nothing of their Ascension into Heaven\nafter their Resurrection; there are several Marks that shew, it must\nnecessarily be understood of a State upon Earth. For _Gog_ and _Magog_\ncame from the _four Quarters of the Earth_, and besieged the _Camp of\nthe Saints, and the beloved City_, ver. 9. That Camp and that City\ntherefore were upon the Earth. And _Fire came down from Heaven, and\ndevoured them._ If it came down from Heaven, it came upon the Earth.\nFarthermore, those Persons that are raised from the _Dead_, are said to\nbe _Priests of God and of Christ, and to reign with him a thousand\nYears_, ver. 6. Now these must be the same Persons with the _Priests_\nand _Kings_, mention\u2019d in the fifth Chapter, ver. 10. which are there\nsaid expressly _to reign upon Earth_, or that they should _reign upon\nEarth_. It remains therefore only to determine, _what Earth_ this is,\nwhere the _Sons of the first Resurrection_ will live and reign. It\ncannot be the present Earth, in the same State, and under the same\nCircumstances it is now: For what Happiness or Privilege would that be,\nto be called back into a mortal Life, under the Necessities and\nInconveniencies of sickly Bodies, and an incommodious World; such as the\npresent State of Mortality is, and must continue to be, till some Change\nbe made in Nature. We may be sure therefore, that a Change will be made\nin Nature, before that Time, and that the State they are rais\u2019d into,\nand the Earth they are to inhabit, will be, at least, _Paradisaical_;\nand consequently can be no other than the _New Heavens_ and _New Earth_,\nwhich we are to expect after the Conflagration.\n\nFrom these Considerations, there is a great Fairness to conclude, both\nas to the Characters of the Persons, and of the Place or State, that\n_the Sons of the first Resurrection_ will be Inhabitants of the _New\nEarth_, and reign there with Christ a Thousand Years. But seeing this is\none of the principal and peculiar Conclusions of this Discourse, and\nbears a great Part in this last Book of the Theory of the Earth, it will\ndeserve a more full Explication, and a more ample Proof, to make it out.\nWe must therefore take a greater Compass in our Discourse, and give a\nfull Account of that State which is usually call\u2019d the _Millennium_; the\nReign of the Saints a Thousand Years, or the Kingdom of Christ upon\nEarth. But before we enter upon this new Subject, give me leave to close\nour present Argument, about the _Renovation of the World_, with some\nTestimonies of the antient Philosophers, to that purpose. \u2019Tis plain to\nme, that there were among the Antients several Traditions, or\ntraditionary Conclusions, which they did not raise themselves, by Reason\nand Observation, but received them from an unknown Antiquity. An\nInstance of this is the _Conflagration of the World_; a Doctrine as\nantient, for any Thing I know, as the World it self; at least as antient\nas we have any Records, and yet none of those Antients that tell us of\nit, give any Argument to prove it. Neither is it any Wonder, for they\ndid not invent it themselves, but receiv\u2019d it from others without Proof,\nby the sole Authority of Tradition. In like manner the _Renovation of\nthe World_, which we are now speaking of, is an antient Doctrine, both\namongst the _Greeks_ and _Eastern_ Philosophers: But they shew us no\nMethod _how_ the World may be _renew\u2019d_, nor make any Proof of its\nfuture Renovation; for it was not a Discovery which they first made, but\nreceiv\u2019d it with an implicit Faith, from their Masters and Ancestors:\nAnd these traditionary Doctrines were all Fore-runners of that Light\nwhich was to shine more clearly at the Opening of the Christian\nDispensation; to give a more full Account of the Fate and Revolutions of\nthe natural World, as well as of the moral.\n\nThe _Jews_, \u2019tis well known, held the _Renovation_ of the World, and a\n_Sabbath_ after Six Thousand Years; according to the Prophecy that was\ncurrent among them; whereof we have given a larger Account in the\nprecedent Book, _Chap._ v. And that future State they called \u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05dd \u05d4\u05d1\u05d0,\n_Olam Hava_, or the _World to come_, which is the very same with Saint\n_Paul\u2019s habitable Earth to come_, \u1f21 \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7 \u1f25 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1, _Heb. ii. 6._\nNeither can I easily believe, that those Constitutions of _Moses_ that\nproceed so much upon a _septenary_, or the Number _seven_, and have no\nGround or Reason, in the Nature of the Thing, for that particular\nNumber. I cannot easily believe, I say, that they are either accidental\nor humoursome, without Design or Signification; but that they are\ntypical, or representative of some _Septenary_ State, that does\neminently deserve and bear that Character. _Moses_, in the History of\nthe Creation, makes six Days Work, and then a Sabbath: Then, after six\nYears, he makes a _Sabbath-Year_; and after a Sabbath of Years, a Year\nof Jubilee, _Levit. xxv._ All these lesser Revolutions seem to me to\npoint at the grand Revolution, the great _Sabbath_ or _Jubilee_, after\nsix Millenaries; which, as it answers the Type in point of Time, so\nlikewise in the Nature and Contents of it; being a State of Rest from\nall Labour, and Trouble, and Servitude; a State of Joy and Triumph, and\na State of _Renovation_, when Things are to return to their first\nCondition and pristine Order. So much for the _Jews_.\n\nThe Heathen Philosophers, both _Greeks_ and _Barbarians_, had the same\nDoctrine of the _Renovation_ of the _World_ current amongst them, and\nthat under several Names and Phrases; as of the _Great Year_, the\n_Restauration_, the _Mundane Periods_, and such-like. They suppos\u2019d\nstated and fix\u2019d Periods of Time, upon Expiration whereof there would\nalways follow some great Revolution of the World, and the Face of Nature\nwould be renewed: particularly after the Conflagration, the _Stoicks_\nalways suppos\u2019d a new World to succeed, or another Frame of Nature to be\nerected in the Room of that which was destroyed. And they use the same\nWords and Phrases upon this Occasion that Scripture useth. _Chrysippis_\ncalls it _Apocatastasis_ (_Lact._ l. 7. c. 23.) as St. _Peter_ does,\n_Acts_ iii. 21. _Marcus Antonius_ in his _Meditations_, several times\ncalls it _Palingenesia_, as our Saviour does, _Matt._ xix. 28. And\n_Numenius_ hath two Scripture words, _Resurrection_ and _Restitution_,\n(_Euseb. pr\u00e6p. Ev._ l. 7. c. 23.) to express this Renovation of the\nWorld. Then as to the _Platonicks_, that Revolution of all Things hath\ncommonly been call\u2019d the _Platonick_ Year, as if _Plato_ had been the\nfirst Author of that Opinion; but that\u2019s a great Mistake; he receiv\u2019d it\nfrom the _Barbarick_ Philosophers, and particularly from the _\u00c6gyptian_\nPriests, amongst whom he liv\u2019d several Years, to be instructed in their\nLearning. But I do not take _Plato_ neither to be the first that brought\nthis Doctrine into _Greece_: For, besides that the _Sibylls_, whose\nAntiquity we do not well know, sung this Song of old, as we see it\ncopy\u2019d from them by _Virgil_ in his fourth Eclogue; _Pythagoras_ taught\nit before _Plato_, and _Orpheus_ before them both; and that\u2019s as high as\nthe _Greek_ Philosophy reaches.\n\nThe _Barbarick_ Philosophers were more antient; namely, the _\u00c6gyptians_,\n_Persians_, _Chaldeans_, _Indian Brackmans_, and other Eastern Nations.\nTheir Monuments indeed are in a great measure lost; yet from the Remains\nof them which the _Greeks_ have transcribed, and so preserv\u2019d in their\nWritings, we see plainly they all had this Doctrine of the _future\nRenovation_. And to this Day the Posterity of the _Brackmans_ in the\n_East-Indies_ retain the same Notion, _that_ the World will be renew\u2019d\nafter the last Fire. You may see the Citations, if you please, for all\nthese _Notions_, in the _Latin_ Treatise, _Ch._ v. which I thought would\nbe too dry and tedious to be render\u2019d into _English_.\n\nTo these Testimonies of the Philosophers of all Ages, for the future\nRenovation of the World, we might add the Testimonies of the Christian\nFathers, _Greek_ and _Latin_, antient and modern. I will only give you a\nbare List of them, and refer you to the _Latin_ Treatise (_Chap._ ix.)\nfor the Words or the Places. Amongst the _Greek_ Fathers, _Justin\nMartyr_, _Iren\u00e6us_, _Origen_: The Fathers of the _Council of Nice_,\n_Eusebius_; _Basil_; the two _Cyrils_, of _Jerusalem_ and _Alexandria_:\nThe two _Gregories_, _Nazianzen_ and _Nyssen_; St. _Chrysostom_,\n_Zacharias Mitylenensis_; and of later Date, _Damascen_, _Oecumenius_,\n_Euthymius_, and others. These have all set their Hands and Seals to\nthis Doctrine. Of the _Latin_ Fathers, _Tertullian_, _Lactantius_, St.\n_Hillary_, St. _Ambrose_, St. _Austin_, St. _Jerome_; and many later\nEcclesiastical Authors. These, with the Philosophers before-mention\u2019d, I\ncount good Authority, sacred and prophane; which I place here as an\nOut-guard upon Scripture, where our principal Force lies. These three\nunited, and acting in Conjunction, will be sufficient to prove this\nfirst Post, and to prove our first Proposition, which is this; _That\nafter the Conflagration of this World,_ _there will be new Heavens and a\nnew Earth; and that Earth will be inhabited._ (Propos. I.)\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. IV.\n\n\n    _The Proof of a_ Millennium, _or of a blessed Age to come, from\n    Scripture. A View of the_ Apocalypse, _and of the Prophecies of_\n    Daniel, _in reference to this Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints._\n\n\nWe have given fair Presumptions, if not Proofs, in the precedent\nChapter, that the Sons of the first Resurrection will be the Persons\nthat shall inhabit the _new Earth_, or the World to come. But to make\nthat Proof complete and unexceptionable, I told you, it would be\nnecessary to take a larger Compass in our Discourse, and to examine what\nis meant by _that Reign with Christ a thousand Years_, which is promis\u2019d\nto the Sons of the _first Resurrection_, by St. _John_ in the\n_Apocalypse_; and in other places of Scripture is usually call\u2019d the\n_Kingdom of Christ_, and the Reign of the Saints: And by Ecclesiastical\nAuthors, in Imitation of St. _John_, it is commonly styled, the\n_Millennium_. We shall indifferently use any of these Words or Phrases;\nand examine, first, the Truth of the Notion and Opinion, whether, in\nScripture, there be any such an happy State promised to the Saints under\nthe Conduct of Christ; and then we will proceed to examine the Nature,\nCharacters, Place and Time of it. And I am in hopes when these Things\nare duly discuss\u2019d and stated, you will be satisfied that we have found\nout the true Inhabitants of the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_; and the\ntrue Mystery of that State which is called the _Millennium_, or the\nReign of Christ and of his Saints.\n\nWe begin with St. _John_, whose Words in the xxth Chapter of the\n_Apocalypse_, ver. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6. are express, both as to the first\nResurrection, and as to the Reign of those Saints that rise with Christ\nfor a Thousand Years; Satan in the mean Time being bound, or disabled\nfrom doing Mischief, and seducing Mankind. The Words of the Prophet are\nthese; _And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the\nbottomless Pit, and a great Chain in his Hand. And he laid hold on the\nDragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a\nThousand Years. And I saw Thrones, and they sat upon them, and Judgment\nwas given unto them; And I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for\nthe Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not\nworshipped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark\nupon their Foreheads, or in their Hands; and they lived and reigned with\nChrist a thousand Years. But the rest of the Dead lived not again until\nthe thousand Years were finished. This is the first Resurrection.\nBlessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection; on such\nthe second Death hath no Power, but they shall be Priests of God, and of\nChrist, and shall reign with him a thousand Years_. These Words do fully\nexpress a Resurrection, and a Reign with Christ a thousand Years. As for\nthat particular Space of Time, of a _Thousand Years_, it is not much\nmaterial to our present Purpose: but the Resurrection here spoken of,\nand the Reign with Christ, make the Substance of the Controversy, and in\neffect prove all that we enquire after at present. This Resurrection,\nyou see, is call\u2019d the _first Resurrection_, by way of Distinction from\nthe second and general Resurrection; which is to be placed a Thousand\nYears after the first. And both this first Resurrection, and the Reign\nof Christ, seem to be appropriated to the Martyrs in this Place: For the\nProphet says, _The Souls of those that were beheaded for the Witness of\nJesus, &c. they lived and reigned with Christ a Thousand Years_. From\nwhich Words, if you please, we will raise this Doctrine; that _those\nthat have suffer\u2019d for the Sake of Christ, and a good Conscience, shall\nbe raised from the Dead a Thousand Years before the general\nResurrection, and reign with Christ in an happy State_. This Proposition\nseems to be plainly included in the Words of St. _John_, and to be the\nintended Sense of this Vision; but you must have Patience a little as to\nyour Enquiry into Particulars, till, in the Progress of our Discourse,\nwe have brought all the Parts of this Conclusion into a fuller Light.\n\nIn the mean time there is but one Way, that I know of, to evade the\nForce of these Words, and of the Conclusion drawn from them; and that\nis, by supposing that the _first Resurrection_ here mention\u2019d, is not to\nbe understood in a literal Sense, but is allegorical and mystical,\nsignifying only a Resurrection from Sin to a spiritual Life: As we are\nsaid to be _dead in Sin_, and to be _risen with Christ_, by Faith and\nRegeneration. This is a manner of Speech which St. _Paul_ does sometimes\nuse, as _Eph._ ii. 6. and ver. 14, and _Col._ 3. 1. But how can this be\napplied to the present Case? Were the Martyrs dead in Sin? \u2019Tis they\nthat are here rais\u2019d from the Dead: Or, after they were beheaded for the\nWitness of Jesus, naturally dead and laid in their Graves, were they\nthen regenerate by Faith? There is no Congruity in Allegories so\napply\u2019d. Besides, why should they be said to be regenerate a Thousand\nYears before the Day of Judgment? or to reign with Christ, after this\nSpiritual Resurrection, such a limited Time, a Thousand Years? Why not\nso to Eternity? For in this allegorical Sense of _rising_ and\n_reigning_, they will reign with him for everlasting. Then, after a\nThousand Years, must all the Wicked be regenerate, and rise into a\nSpiritual Life? \u2019Tis said here, _the rest of the Dead lived not again,\nuntil the Thousand Years were finished, ver._ 5. That implies, that at\nthe End of these Thousand Years, the rest of the Dead did live again;\nwhich, according to the Allegory, must be, that, after a Thousand Years,\nall the Wicked will be regenerate, and rais\u2019d into Spiritual Life. These\nAbsurdities arise upon an allegorical Exposition of this Resurrection,\nif apply\u2019d to single Persons.\n\nBut Dr. _Hammond_, a learned and worthy Divine, (but one that loves to\ncontract and cramp the Sense of Prophecies) making this first\nResurrection allegorical, applies it not to single Persons, but to the\nState of the Church in general: The Christian Church, he says, shall\nhave a Resurrection for a Thousand Years; that is, shall rise out of\nPersecution, be in a prosperous Condition, and an undisturbed Profession\nof the true Religion, for so long a Time. But this agrees with the\nProphecy as little as the former; if it be a State of the Church in\ngeneral, and of the Church then in being, why is this Resurrection\napply\u2019d to the Martyrs? Why are they said to rise; seeing the State they\nliv\u2019d in, was a troublesome State of the Church, and it would be no\nHappiness to have that reviv\u2019d again? Then as to the Time of this\nResurrection of the Church, where will you fix it? The Prophet _Daniel_\nplaces this Reign of Christ, at, or after the Dissolution of the fourth\nMonarchy; and Saint _John_ places it a Thousand Years before the last\nDay of Judgment. How will you adjust the allegorical Resurrection of the\nChurch to these Limits? Or if, in point of Time, you was free, as to\nProphecy, yet how would you adjust it to History? Where will you take\nthese Thousand Years of Happiness and Prosperity to the Church? These\nAuthors suppose them past, and therefore must begin them either from the\nfirst Times of the Gospel, or from the Time of _Constantine_. Under the\nfirst Ages of the Gospel, were, you know, the great Persecutions by the\n_Heathen_ Emperors; could those be call\u2019d the Reign of Christ and of his\nSaints? Was Satan then bound? Or was this _Epocha_ but a thousand Years\nbefore the Day of Judgment? And if you begin this Resurrection of the\nChurch from the Days of _Constantine_, when the Empire became Christian,\nhow will you reckon a thousand Years from that Time, for the Continuance\nof the Church in _Peace_ and _Purity_? For the Reign of Christ and of\nhis Saints must necessarily imply both those Characters. Besides, who\nare the _rest of the Dead_, (ver. 5.) that lived after the Expiration of\nthose thousand Years, if they began at _Constantine_? And why is not the\nsecond Resurrection and the Day of Judgment yet come? Lastly, you ought\nto be tender of interpreting the first Resurrection in an allegorical\nSense, lest you expose the second Resurrection to be made an Allegory\nalso.\n\nTo conclude; The Words of the Text are plain and express for a literal\nResurrection, as to the first, as well as the second; and there is no\nallegorical Interpretation that I know of, that will hold through all\nthe Particulars of the Text, consistently with it self and with History.\nAnd when we shall have proved this future Kingdom of Christ from other\nPlaces of the _Apocalypse_, and of Holy Writ, you will the more easily\nadmit the literal Sense of this Place; which, you know, according to the\nreceiv\u2019d Rule of Interpreters, is never to be quitted or forsaken,\nwithout Necessity: But when I speak of confirming this Doctrine from\nother Passages of Scripture, I do not mean as to that definite Time of a\n_Thousand Years_, for that is no where else mention\u2019d in the\n_Apocalypse_, or in Scripture, that I know of; and seems to be mention\u2019d\nhere, in this Close of all Things, to mind us of that Type that was\npropos\u2019d in the Beginning of all Things, _of six Days and a Sabbath_;\nwhereof each Day comprehends a Thousand Years, and the _Sabbath_, which\nis the _Millennial State_, hath its Thousand; according to the known\nProphecy of _Elias_, Book III. Ch. v. which, as I told you before, was\nnot only receiv\u2019d among the _Jews_, but also own\u2019d by very many of the\nChristian Fathers.\n\nTo proceed therefore to other Parts of St. _John\u2019s_ Prophecies, that set\nforth this Kingdom of Christ; the Vision of the _Seven Trumpets_ is one\nof the most remarkable in the _Apocalypse_; and the Seventh Trumpet,\nwhich plainly reaches to the End of the World, and the Resurrection of\nthe Dead, opens the Scene to the _Millennium_; hear the Sound of it, Ch.\nxi. 15, 16, 17, 18. _The seventh Angel sounded, and there were great\nVoices in Heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this World are become the\nKingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and\never. And the four and twenty Elders, which sat before God on their\nSeats, fell upon their Faces, and worshipped God; saying, we give thee\nThanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come;\nbecause thou hast taken to thee thy great Power, and hast reigned. And\nthe Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is come, and the Time of the Dead,\nthat they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give Reward unto thy\nServants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name,\nsmall and great, and shouldest destroy them that destroy the Earth_, &c.\nThis is manifestly the Kingdom of Christ; and with this is joined the\nResurrection of the Dead, and the rewarding of the suffering Prophets\nand Saints, as in the xxth _Chapter_. This is that _Mystery of God that\nwas to be finished in the Days of the Voice of the seventh Angel_, as is\nsaid in the xxth Chap. ver. 7. _As he hath declared to his Servants the\nProphets_; namely, the Mystery of this Kingdom, which was foretold by\nthe Prophets of the _Old Testament_, and more especially by _Daniel_, as\nwe shall see hereafter.\n\nThe _new Jerusalem_ (as it is set down, _Apoc._ xxi. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.)\nis another Instance or Image of this Kingdom of Christ. And the\n_Palm-bearing Company_, Chap. vii. 9, _&c._ are some of the Martyrs that\nshall enjoy it. They are plainly describ\u2019d there as Christian Martyrs;\n(_ver._ 14.) and their Reward, or the State of Happiness they are to\nenjoy, (ver. 15, 16, 17.) is the same with that of the Inhabitants of\nthe _new Jerusalem_, Ch. xxi. 2, 3, 4, _&c._ as, upon comparing those\ntwo Places, will easily appear. Farthermore, at the Opening of the\n_Seals_, Chap. v. which is another principal Vision, and reaches to the\nEnd of the World, there is a Prospect given us of this Kingdom of\nChrist, and of that Reward of his Saints. For when they sing the new\nSong to the Lamb, (_ver._ 9, 10.) they say, _Thou art worthy to take the\nBook, and to open the Seals thereof; for thou wast slain and hast\nredeemed us to God, by thy Blood; and hast made us into our God Kings\nand Priests, and we shall reign on the Earth._ This must be the same\nState, and the same Thousand-Years-Reign mention\u2019d in the xxth _Chap._\nwhere \u2019tis said, (_Ver._ 6.) the Partakers of it _shall be Priests of\nGod, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a Thousand Years_.\n\nAnother completory Vision, that extends it self to the End of the World,\nis that of the _Seven Vials_, Chap. xv. and xvi. And as at the Opening\nof the Seals, so at the pouring out the Vials, a triumphal Song is sung,\nand \u2019tis call\u2019d the _Song of Moses and of the Lamb_, Ch. xv. 3. \u2019Tis\nplainly a Song of Thanksgiving for a Deliverance, but I do not look upon\nthis Deliverance as already wrought, before the pouring out of the\nVials, tho\u2019 it be plac\u2019d before them; as often the grand Design and\nIssue of a Vision is plac\u2019d at the Beginning: It is wrought by the Vials\nthemselves, and by their Effusion, and therefore upon the pouring out of\nthe last Vial, the Voice came out of the Temple of Heaven, from the\nThrone, saying, _Consummatum est_; _It is done_, Ch. xvi. 17. Now the\nDeliverance is wrought, now the Work is at an End; or, _the Mystery of\nGod is finished_, as the Phrase was before, concerning the 7th Trumpet,\n_Chap._ x. 7. You see therefore this terminates upon the same Time, and\nconsequently upon the same State, of the _Millennium_; and that they are\nthe same Persons that triumph here, and reign there, _Chap._ xx. you may\nsee by the same Characters given to both of them, _Ch._ xv. 2. Here,\nthose that triumph, are said _to have gotten the Victory_ over the\nBeast, and over his Image, _and over his Mark, and over the Number of\nhis Name_, Ch. xx. 4. And there, those that reign with Christ, are said\nto be those _that had not worshiped the Beast, neither his Image,\nneither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads, or in their Hands_.\nThese are the same Persons therefore, triumphing over the same Enemies,\nand enjoying the same Reward.\n\nAnd you shall seldom find any _Doxology_ or _Hallelujah_ in the\n_Apocalypse_, but \u2019tis in Prospect of the Kingdom of Christ, and the\nMillennial State: This is still the Burthen of the sacred Song, the\nComplement of every grand Vision, and the Life and Strength of the whole\nSystem of Prophecies in that Book: Even those _Hallelujahs_ that are\nsung at the Destruction of _Babylon_, in the xixth Chapter, _ver._ 6, 7.\nare rais\u2019d upon the succeeding State, _the Reign of Christ_. For the\nText says, _And I heard as it were a Voice of a great Multitude, and as\nthe Voice of many Waters, and as the Voice of mighty Thunders, saying,\nHallelujah_: FOR THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNETH. _Let us be glad and\nrejoyce, and give Honour to him_: FOR THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB IS COME,\nAND HIS WIFE HATH MADE HER SELF READY. This appears plainly to be the\n_new Jerusalem_, if you consult the 21st _Ch. ver. 2. And I _John_ saw\nthe Holy City, new _Jerusalem,_ coming down from God out of Heaven_,\nPREPARED AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND. \u2019Tis, no doubt, the same\nBride and Bridegroom, in both Places; the same Marriage or Preparations\nfor Marriage, which are compleated in the Millennial Bliss, in the\nKingdom of Christ and of his Saints.\n\nI must beg your patience a little longer, in pursuing this Argument\nthroughout the _Apocalypse_; As towards the latter End of St. _John_\u2019s\nRevelation, this Kingdom of Christ shines out in a more full Glory; so\nthere are the Dawnings of it in the very Beginning and Entrance into his\nProphecies. As at the Beginning of a Poem, we have commonly, in a few\nWords, the Design of the Work, in like Manner Ch. i. 5, 6. St. _John_\nmakes this Preface to his Prophecies, _From Jesus Christ, who is the\nfaithful Witness, the first begotten of the Dead, and the Prince of the\nKings of the Earth; unto him that loved us, and washed us from our Sins\nin his own Blood; and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his\nFather; to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever, Amen. Behold, he\ncometh in the Clouds, &c._ In this Prologue the grand Argument is\npointed at, and that happy Catastrophe and last Scene, which is to crown\nthe Work, the Reign of Christ and of his Saints at his second Coming. He\nhath _made us Kings and Priests unto God_; this is always the\nCharacteristick of those that are to enjoy the Millennial Happiness, as\nyou may see at the Opening of the Seals, Ch. v. 10. and in the Sons of\nthe _first Resurrection_, Ch. xx. 6. And this being joined to the Coming\nof our Saviour, puts it still more out of Doubt. That Expression also,\nof being _washed from our Sins in his Blood_, is repeated again both at\nthe Opening of the Seals, _chap. v. 9._ and in the _Palm-bearing_\nCompany, _chap. vii. 14._ both which Places we have cited before, as\nreferring to the Millennial State.\n\nGive me Leave to add farther, that as in this general Preface, so also\nin the introductory Visions of the _seven Churches_, there are, covertly\nor expresly, in the Conclusion of each, glances upon the _Millennium_;\nas in the first to _Ephesus_, the Prophet concludes, _chap. ii. 7._ _He\nthat hath an Ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the Churches_:\nTO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH, WILL I GIVE TO EAT OF THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS\nIN THE MIDST OF THE PARADISE OF GOD. This is the Millennial Happiness\nwhich is promised to the Conqueror; as we noted before concerning that\nPhrase. In like manner in the second to _Smyrna_, he concludes, _chap.\nii. 11._ _He that overcometh, shall not be hurt of the second Death._\nThis implies, he shall be Partaker of the _first Resurrection_, for\nthat\u2019s the Thing understood; as you may see plainly by their being\njoyn\u2019d in the _xxth Chapter ver. 6._ _Blessed and holy is he that hath\nPart in the first Resurrection; on such the second Death hath no Power,\nbut they shall be Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him\na thousand Years._ In the third to _Pergamus_, the Promise is, _chap.\nii. 7._ _To eat of the hidden Manna, to have a white Stone, and a new\nName written in it_: But seeing the Prophet adds, _which no Man knoweth,\nsaving he that receiveth it_, we will not presume to interpret that new\nState, whatsoever it is, _chap. ii. 26, 27._ In _Thyatira_, the Reward\nis, _To have Power over the Nations_, and to have the Morning Star;\nwhich is to reign with Christ, who is the Morning Star, in his\nMillennial Empire: Both these Phrases being us\u2019d in that Sense in the\nClose of this Book, Ch. iii. 5. In Sardis the Promise is, _To be\ncloathed in white Raiment, and not to be blotted out of the Book of\nLife_. And you see afterwards the _Palme bearing_ Company are cloathed\nin _white Robes_, Ch. vii. 9, 14. and those that are admitted into the\n_new Jerusalem_, Chap. iii. 12. are such as are _written in the Lamb\u2019s\nBook of Life_, Ch. xxi. 27. Then as to Philadelphia, the Reward promised\nthere does openly mark the Millennial State, by the _City of God_; _new\nJerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from God_, compar\u2019d with Ch.\nxxi. 2. Lastly, to the Church of _Laodicea_ is said, Ch. iii. 21. _To\nhim that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne._ And that\nis the usual Phrase to express the Dignity of those that reign with\nChrist, in his Millennial Kingdom; as you may see, _Apoc. xx. 4._ _Matt.\nxix. 28._ _Dan. vii. 9, 13, 14._ So all these Promises to the Churches\naim at one and the same thing, and terminate upon the same Point: \u2019Tis\nthe same Reward express\u2019d in different Ways; and seeing it is still\nfix\u2019d upon a Victory, and appropriated to those that overcome, it does\nthe more easily carry our Thoughts to the _Millennium_, which is the\nproper Reward of Victors, that is, of Martyrs and Confessors.\n\nThus you see how this Notion and Mystery of the Millennial Kingdom of\nChrist, does both begin and End the _Apocalypse_, and run thorough all\nits Parts, as the Soul of that Body of Prophecies; a Spirit or Ferment\nthat actuates the whole Mass. And if we could thoroughly understand that\nillustrious Scene, at the Opening of this Apocalyptical Theatre in the\nivth and vth _Chapter_, I do not doubt but we should find it a\nRepresentation of the Majesty of our Saviour in the Glory of his future\nKingdom; but I dare not venture upon the Explication of it, there are so\nmany Things of Difficulty, and dubious Interpretation, coucht under\nthose Schemes. Wherefore having made these Observations upon the\nProphecies of St. _John_, we will now add to them some Reflections upon\nthe Prophecies of _Daniel_: that by the Agreement and Concurrence of\nthese two great Witnesses, the Conclusion we pretend to prove, may be\nfully established.\n\nIn the Prophecies of _Daniel_ there are two grand Visions, that of the\n_Statue_ or Image, _Chap. ii._ and that of the four Beasts, _Chap. vii._\nand both these Visions terminate upon the _Millennium_, or the Kingdom\nof Christ. In the Vision of the Statue, representing to us the four\ngreat Monarchies of the World successively, whereof by the general\nConsent of Interpreters, the _Roman_ is the fourth and last, after the\nDissolution of the last of them, a fifth Monarchy, the Kingdom of\nChrist, is openly introduc\u2019d, in these Words: _And in the Days of these\nKingdoms, shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be\ndestroyed; and the Kingdom shall not be left to other People, but it\nshall break in Pieces, and consume all those Kingdoms, and it shall\nstand for ever, Ch. ii. ver. 44._ This may be verified, in some measure,\nby the first coming of our Saviour in the Days of the fourth Kingdom,\nwhen his Religion, from small Beginnings, in a short Time over-spread\nthe greatest Part of the known World. As the _Stone cut out without\nHands_, became a great _Mountain, and filled the whole Earth, ver. 34,\n35._ but the full and final Accomplishment of this Prophecy cannot be\ntill the second coming of our Saviour. For not till then will he, _Ver.\n35_, _break in pieces and consume all those Kingdoms; and that in such a\nmanner, that they shall become like the Chaff of the Summer-threshing\nFloor, carried away by the Wind; so as no Place shall be found for\nthem_. This, I say, will not be done, nor an everlasting Kingdom erected\nin their place, over all the Nations of the Earth, till his second\ncoming, and his Millennial Reign.\n\nBut this Reign is declared more expresly, in the Vision of the four\nBeasts, _Ch. vii. ver. 13._ For after the Destruction of the fourth\nBeast, the Prophet says, _I saw in the Night Visions, and behold one\nlike the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the\nAntient of Days, and they brought him near before him: And there was\ngiven him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations\nand Languages should serve him; his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion,\nwhich shall not pass away; and his Kingdom that which shall not be\ndestroyed_. Accordingly, he says, _Ver. 21, 22._ _The last Beast, and\nthe little Horn, made war against the Saints, until the Antient of Days\ncame, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the most High; and the\nTime came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom_. And lastly, in Pursuit\nstill of the same Argument, he concludes to the same Effect in fuller\nWords, ver. 26, 27. _But the Judgment shall sit, and they shall take\naway his Dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the End. And the\nKingdom and Dominion, and the Greatness of the Kingdom under the whole\nHeaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High;\nwhose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve\nand obey him._\n\n_Here is the End of the Matter_, says the Prophet, Chap. vii. ver. 28.\nChap. xii. ver. 13. Here is the Upshot and Result of all; here terminate\nboth the Prophecies of _Daniel_ and St. _John_, and all the Affairs of\nthe terrestrial World. _Daniel_ brings in this Kingdom of Christ, in the\nConclusion of two or three Visions; but St. _John_ hath interwoven it\nevery where with his Prophecies, from first to last: And you may as well\nopen a Lock without a Key, as interpret the _Apocalypse_ without the\n_Millennium_. But after these two great Witnesses, the one for the _Old\nTestament_, the other for the _New_, we must look into the rest of the\nsacred Writers; for tho\u2019 every single Author there, is an Oracle, yet\nthe Concurrence of Oracles is still a farther Demonstration, and takes\naway all Remains of Doubt or Incredulity.\n\n\n\n\n                                CHAP. V.\n\n\n    _A View of other Places of Scripture concerning the_ Millennium _or\n    future Kingdom of Christ. In what Sense all the Prophets have borne\n    Testimony concerning it._\n\n\nThe Wife of _Zebedee_ came to our Saviour, and begg\u2019d of him, like a\nfond Mother, that her two Sons might sit, one at his Right Hand, the\nother at his Left, when he came into his Kingdom, _Matt._ xx. 21. Our\nSaviour does not deny the Supposition, or general Ground of her Request,\nthat _he was to have a Kingdom_; but tells her, the Honours of that\nKingdom were not then in his Disposal. He had not drunk his Cup, nor\nbeen baptiz\u2019d with his last Baptism; which were Conditions, both to him\nand others, of entring into that Kingdom. Yet, in another place,\n(_Matt._ xix. 28.) our Saviour is so well assur\u2019d of his Interest and\nAuthority there, by the Good-will of his Father, that he promises to his\nDisciples and Followers, that for the Losses they should sustain here,\nupon his Account, and for the Sake of his Gospel, they should receive\nthere an hundred-fold, and sit upon Thrones with him, judging the Tribes\nof _Israel_. The Words are these: _And Jesus said unto them, Verily I\nsay unto you, that ye which have followed me_, in the Regeneration or\nRenovation, _when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of his Glory,\nye also shall sit upon twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of_\nIsrael. These Thrones, in all Reason, must be understood to be the same\nwith those, which we mention\u2019d in the foregoing Chapter out of _Daniel_\nvii. 9. and _Apocal._ xx. 4. and therefore mark the same Time, and the\nsame State. And seeing, in those Places, they plainly signify the\nMillennial State, or the Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints, they must\nhere signify the same, in this Promise of our Saviour to his suffering\nFollowers. And as to the Word _Palingenesia_, which is here translated\n_Regeneration_, \u2019tis very well known, that both the _Greek_\nPhilosophers, and _Greek_ Fathers, use that very Word for the\n_Renovation of the World_; which is to be, as we shall hereafter make\nappear, at or before the Millennial State.\n\nOur Saviour also, in his Divine Sermon upon the Mount, makes this one of\nhis _Beatitudes_, _Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the\nEarth_: But _how_, I pray, or _where_, or _when_, do the Meek inherit\nthe Earth? Neither at present, I am sure, nor in any past Ages. \u2019Tis the\ngreat ones of the World, ambitious Princes and Tyrants, that slice the\nEarth amongst them; and those that can flatter them best, or serve them\nin their Interests or Pleasures, have the next best Shares: But a meek,\nmodest and humble Spirit, is the most unqualified Person that can be,\nfor a Court, or a Camp; to scramble for Preferment, or Plunder. Both he,\nand his self denying Notions, are ridicul\u2019d, as Things of no Use, and\nproceeding from Meanness and Poorness of Spirit. _David_, who was a\nPerson of an admirable Devotion, but of an unequal Spirit; subject to\ngreat Dejections, as well as Elevations of Mind; was so much affected\nwith the Prosperity of the Wicked in this World, that he could scarce\nforbear charging Providence with Injustice. You may see several Touches\nof a repining Spirit in his _Psalms_, and in the lxxiiid _Psalm_,\ncompos\u2019d upon that Subject, you have both the Wound and the Cure. Now\nthis Beatitude pronounc\u2019d here by our Saviour, was spoken before by\n_David_, _Psal._ xxxvii. 11. the same _David_, that was always so\nsensible of the hard Usage of the Just in this Life. Our Saviour also,\nand his Apostles, preach\u2019d the Doctrine of the Cross every where, and\nforetell the Sufferings that shall attend the Righteous in this World.\nTherefore neither _David_, nor our Saviour, could understand this\n_Inheritance of the Earth_, otherwise than of some future State, or of a\nState yet to come. But as it must be a future State, so it must be a\nterrestrial State; for it could not be call\u2019d the _Inheritance of the\nEarth_, if it was not so. And \u2019tis to be a State of _Peace_, as well as\n_Plenty_, according to the Words of the _Psalmist_, _But the Meek shall\ninherit the Earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of\nPeace_. It follows therefore from these Premisses, that both our\nSaviour, and _David_, must understand some future State of the Earth,\nwherein the _Meek_ will enjoy both Peace and Plenty; and this will\nappear to be the future Kingdom of Christ, when, upon a fuller\nDescription, we shall have given you the Marks and Characters of it.\n\nIn the mean time, why should we not suppose this Earth, which the Meek\nare to inherit, to be that _habitable Earth to come_, which St. _Paul_\nmentions (_Heb._ ii. 6.) and represents as subject to our Saviour in a\npeculiar Manner, at his Disposal, and under his Government, as his\nKingdom? Why should not that Earth be the Subject of this Beatitude, the\npromis\u2019d Land, the Lot of the Righteous? This I am sure of, that both\nthis Text and the former deserve our serious Thoughts; and tho\u2019 they do\nnot expresly, and in Terms, prove the future Kingdom of our Saviour, yet\nupon the fairest Interpretations they imply such a State. And it would\nbe very uneasy to give a satisfactory Account, either of the\n_Regeneration_ or _Renovation_, when our Saviour and his Disciples shall\nsit upon Thrones; or of that _Earth_ which the _Meek shall inherit_: Or,\nlastly, of that _habitable World_, which is peculiarly subject to the\nDominion of Jesus Christ, without supposing, on this side Heaven, some\nother Reign of Christ and his Saints, than what we see, or what they\nenjoy, at present.\n\nBut to proceed in this Argument, it will be necessary, as I told you, to\nset down some Notes and Characters of the Reign of Christ and of his\nSaints, whereby it may be distinguish\u2019d from the present State and\npresent Kingdoms of the World: And these Characters are chiefly three,\n_Justice_, _Peace_, and _Divine Presence_ or Conduct, which uses to be\ncalled _Theocracy_. By these Characters it is sufficiently distinguish\u2019d\nfrom the Kingdoms of this World; which are generally unjust in their\nTitles or Exercise, stain\u2019d with Blood, and so far from being under a\nparticular Divine Conduct, that Human Passions and Human Vices are the\nSprings that commonly give Motion to their greatest Designs: But more\nparticularly and restrainedly, the Government of Christ is oppos\u2019d to\nthe Kingdom and Government of Antichrist, whose Characters arc\ndiametrically opposite to these, being _Injustice_, _Cruelty_, and\n_human or diabolical Artifices_.\n\nUpon this short View of the Kingdom of Christ, let us make Enquiry after\nit amongst the Prophets of the _Old Testament_; and we shall find, upon\nExamination, that there is scarce any of them, greater or lesser, but\ntake notice of this mystical Kingdom, either expresly, or under the\nTypes of _Israel_, _Sion_, _Jerusalem_, and such-like. And therefore I\nam apt to think, that when St. _Peter_, in his Sermon to the _Jews_,\n_Acts_ iii. says, all the holy Prophets spoke of _the Restitution of all\nThings_, he does not mean the Renovation of the World separately from\nthe Kingdom of Christ, but complexly, as it may imply both. For there\nare not many of the old Prophets that have spoken of the Renovation of\nthe _natural_ World, but a great many have spoken of the Renovation of\nthe _moral_, in the Kingdom of Christ. These are St. _Peter_\u2019s Words,\n_Acts_ iii. 19, 20, 21. _Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that\nyour Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of refreshing shall come\nfrom the Presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ which\nbefore was preached unto you; whom the Heavens must receive until the\nTimes of RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS._ The Apostle here mentions three\nThings, the _Times of refreshing_, the _second coming_ of our Saviour,\nand the _Times of Restitution of all Things_: And to the last of these\nhe immediately subjoins, _which God hath spoken by the Mouth of all his\nholy Prophets, since the World began_. This _Restitution of all Things_,\nI say, must not be understood abstractly from the Reign of Christ, but\nas in Conjunction with it; and in that Sense, and no other, it is the\ngeneral Subject of the Prophets.\n\nTo enter therefore into the Schools of the Prophets, and enquire their\nSense concerning this Mystery, let us first address our selves to the\nProphet _Isaiah_, and the royal Prophet _David_; who seem to have had\nmany noble Thoughts or Inspirations upon this Subject. _Isaiah_, in the\nlxvth Chapter, from the xviith Verse to the End, treats upon this\nArgument; and joins together the Renovation of the natural and moral\nWorld, as St. _Peter_, in the Place fore-mentioned, seems to do: And\naccordingly the Prophet, having set down several natural Characters of\nthat State, as Indolency and Joy, Longevity, Ease, and Plenty, from\n_ver._ 18. to the 24th, he there begins the moral Characters of Divine\nFavour, and such a particular Protection, that they are heard and\nanswer\u2019d before they pray. And lastly, he represents it as a State of\nuniversal Peace and Innocency, _ver._ 23. _The Wolf and the Lamb shall\nfeed together_, &c.\n\nThis last Character, which comprehends _Peace_, _Justice_ and\n_Innocency_, is more fully display\u2019d by the same Prophet, in the xith\nChapter, where he treats also of the Kingdom of Christ. Give me leave to\nset down his Words, ver. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. _But with Righteousness shall\nhe judge the Poor, and reprove with Equity, for the Meek of the Earth:\nand he shall smite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouth, and with the\nBreath of his Lips shall he slay the Wicked. And Righteousness shall be\nthe Girdle of his Loins, and Faithfulness the Girdle of his Reins. The\nWolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down with\nthe Kid; and the Calf and the young Lyon, and the Fatling together, and\na little Child shall lead them. And the Cow and the Bear shall feed, and\ntheir young Ones shall lie down together; and the Lyon shall eat Straw\nlike the Ox. And the sucking Child shall play on the Hole of the Asp,\nand the weaned Child shall put his Hand on the Cockatrice-Den. They\nshall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountain; for the Earth shall\nbe full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea._ Thus\nfar the Prophet. Now if we join this to what we noted before, from his\nlxvth Chapter, concerning the same State, \u2019twill be impossible to\nunderstand it of any Order of Things, that is now, or hath been hitherto\nin the World; And consequently it must be the Idea of some State to\ncome, and particularly of that which we call the future Kingdom of\nChrist.\n\nThe same pacifick Temper, Innocency and Justice, are celebrated by this\nProphet, when the _Mountain of the Lord shall be established in the Top\nof the Mountains_, Chap. ii. 2, 4. _And he shall judge amongst the\nNations, and shall rebuke many People; and they shall beat their Swords\ninto Plow-shares, and their Spears into Pruning-hooks. Nation shall not\nlift up Sword against Nation, neither shall they learn War any more._\nAnd as to Righteousness, he says, in the xxiiid Chapter, _Behold a King\nshall reign in Righteousness, and Princes shall rule in Judgment_, &c.\nThese Places, I know, usually are apply\u2019d to the first coming of our\nSaviour; the Peaceableness of his Doctrine, and the Propagation of it\nthro\u2019 all the World. I willingly allow this to be a true Sense, so far\nas it will go: But \u2019tis one thing to be a true Sense to such a Degree,\nand another thing to be the final Sense and Accomplishment of a\nProphecy. The Affairs of the first and second coming of our Saviour are\noften mingled together in the Prophecies of the _Old Testament_; but in\nthat Mixture there are some Characters whereby you may distinguish what\nbelongs to his first, and what to his second coming; what to the Time\nwhen he came to suffer, and what to the Time when he shall come to\nreign. For Instance, in these Prophecies recited, though there are many\nThings very applicable to his first coming, yet that _Regality_ which is\noften spoken of, and that universal Peace and Innocency that will\naccompany it, cannot be verified of his coming in the Flesh, seeing it\nis plain, that in his State of Humiliation he did not come as a King, to\nrule over the Nations of the Earth, (_Matt._ xx. 21. _Luke_ xxiii. 42.)\nAnd he says himself expresly, _That his Kingdom is not of this World_,\nJohn xviii. 36. And the Prayer of _Salome_, and of the good Thief upon\nthe Cross, suppose it not then present, but to come. Then as to the\nEstablishment of _Peace_ in his Kingdom, it does not at all appear to me\nthat there is more Peace in the World now, than there was before our\nSaviour came into it; or that the Christian Parts of the World are more\npeaceable than the Unchristian. Therefore these great Promises of a\n_pacifick Kingdom_, which are express\u2019d in Terms as high and emphatical\nas can be imagin\u2019d, must belong to some other Days, and some other Ages,\nthan what we have seen hitherto.\n\nYou\u2019ll say, it may be, \u2019Tis not the Fault of the Gospel that the World\nis not peaceable, but of those that profess it, and do not practice it.\nThis is true, but it does not answer the Prophecy; for that makes no\nException, and by such a Reserve as this, you may elude any Prophecy. So\nthe _Jews_ say, their _Messiah_ defers his coming beyond the Time\nappointed by Prophecy, because of their Sins; but we do not allow this\nfor a good Reason. The _Israelites_ had their promised _Canaan_, tho\u2019\nthey had render\u2019d themselves unworthy of it; and by this Method of\ninterpreting Prophecies, all the Happiness and Glory promised in the\nMillennial Kingdom of Christ may come to nothing, upon a pretended\nForfeiture. Threatnings indeed may have a tacit Condition; God may be\nbetter than his Word, and, upon Repentance, divert his Judgments; but he\ncannot be worse than his Word, or fail of Performance, when, without any\nCondition express\u2019d, he promises or prophecies good Things to come: This\nwould destroy all Assurance of Hope or Faith. Lastly, this Prophecy\nconcerning pacifick Times or a _pacifick Kingdom_, is in the lxvth\nChapter of _Isaiah_, subjoin\u2019d to the _Renovation of the Heavens and the\nEarth_, and several Marks of a Change in the natural World; which Things\nwe know did not come to pass at the first coming of our Saviour; there\nwas no Change of Nature then, nor has been ever since: And therefore\nthis happy Change, both in the natural and moral World, is yet to come.\n\nBut, as we said before, we do not speak this exclusively of the first\ncoming of our Saviour, as to other Parts of these Prophecies; for no\ndoubt that was one great Design of them. And in the Prophecies of the\nOld Testament, there are often three Gradations, or gradual\nAccomplishments; the first, in some King of _Israel_, or some Person or\nAffair relating to _Israel_, as National only: The second, in the\nMessiah at his first coming: And the last, in the Messiah, and his\nKingdom at his second coming. And that which we affirm and contend for,\nis, that the Prophecies fore-mentioned have not a final and total\nAccomplishment, either in the Nation of the _Jews_, or at the first\ncoming of our Saviour; and this we abide by.\n\nThe next Prophet that we mention\u2019d as a Witness of the future Kingdom of\nChrist, is _David_; who, in his _Psalms_, seems to be pleas\u2019d with this\nSubject above all others: And when he is most exalted in his Thoughts\nand prophetical Raptures, the Spirit carries him into the Kingdom of the\nMessiah, to contemplate its Glory, to sing Praises to its King, and\ntriumph over his Enemies, _Psal._ lxviii. _Let God arise, let his\nEnemies be scattered; Let them also that hate him flee before him: As\nSmoak is driven away, so drive them away; at Wax melteth before the\nFire, so let the Wicked perish at the Presence of God: But let the\nRighteous be glad_, &c. The plain Ground he goes upon in this _Psalm_,\nis the Deliverance out of _\u00c6gypt_, and bringing the _Israelites_ into\nthe Land of _Canaan_; but when he is once upon the Wing, he soars to an\nhigher Pitch (_ver._ 18.) from the Type to the Antitype; to the Days of\nthe Messiah, the Ascension of our Saviour; and, at length, to his\nKingdom and Dominion over all the Earth, _ver._ 32, _&c._ The xlvth\n_Psalm_ is an _Epithalamium_ to Christ and the Church, or to the _Lamb_\nand his _Spouse_. And when that will be, and in what State, we may learn\nfrom St. _John_, _Apoc._, xix. 7, 8. and _chap._ xix. 2, 9. Namely,\nafter the Destruction of _Babylon_, in the _New Jerusalem_\u2019s Glory. The\nWords and Matter of the two Prophets, answer to one another. Here, in\nthis _Psalm_, there is a Fight and Victory celebrated as well as a\nMarriage; and so there is in that xixth Chapter of Saint _John_. Here\nthe Prophet says, _Gird thy Sword upon thy Thigh, O most Mighty, with\nthy Glory and thy Majesty. And in thy Majesty ride prosperously because\nof Truth and Meekness and Righteousness; and thy right Hand shall teach\nthee terrible Things. Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: The\nScepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter_, &c. _Psal._ xlv. 3, 4, 6.\nThere St. _John_ says, having describ\u2019d a Conqueror on a white Horse,\n_Out of his Mouth goeth a sharp Sword, that with it he should smite the\nNations, and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron; and he treadeth the\nWine-press of the Fierceness and Wrath of Almighty God: And he hath on\nhis Vesture, and on his Thigh a Name written, KING of KINGS, and LORD of\nLORDS_, Apoc. xix. 15, 16. This is the same glorious Conqueror and\nBridegroom in both Places; and this Victory is not gain\u2019d, nor these\nNuptials compleated, till the second Coming of our Saviour.\n\nIn many other _Psalms_ there are Reflections upon this happy Kingdom,\nand the Triumph of Christ over his Enemies, as _Psal._ ii. _Psal._ ix.\n_Psal._ xxi. and xxiv. and xlvii. and lxxxv. and cx. and others. In\nthese, and such-like _Psalms_, there are Lineaments and Colours of a\nfairer State than any we have yet seen upon Earth. Not but that in their\nfirst Instances and Grounds they may sometimes respect the State of\n_Israel_, or the Evangelical State; but the Eye of the Prophet goes\nfarther; this does not terminate his Sight: His Divine Enthusiasm\nreaches into another World; a World of _Peace_, and _Justice_, and\n_Holiness_; of Joy, and Victory, and Triumph over all the Wicked; and\nconsequently such a World, as neither we nor our Fathers, have yet seen.\nThis is an Account of two Prophets _David_, and _Isaiah_; and of what\nthey have more openly declar\u2019d concerning the future Kingdom of Christ.\nBut to verify St. _Peter_\u2019s Words, in that fore-mention\u2019d Place, _Acts_\niii. 21. _viz._ That all of the _Holy Prophets since the World began_,\nhave spoken of the Restauration of all Things at the second coming of\nChrist. I say, to verify this Assertion of St. _Peter_, we must suppose,\nthat, where the Prophets speak of the Restauration and future Glory of\n_Judah_ and _Jerusalem_, they do, under those Types, represent to us the\nGlory and Happiness of the Church in the future Kingdom of Christ: And\nmost of the Prophets, in this Sense, and under these Forms, have spoken\nof this Kingdom; in foretelling the Restauration of _Jerusalem_ and\n_Sion_; and happy Days, Peace, Plenty, and Prosperity to the People of\n_Israel_.\n\nMost of the Prophets, I say, from _Moses_ to _Malachi_, have spoken of\nthis _Restauration_. _Moses_, in the xxxth of _Deut._ ver. 4, 5, 9.\n_David_ also in many of those _Psalms_ we have cited: _Isaiah_, besides\nthe Places fore-mentioned, treats amply of this Subject, _chap._ li. and\nin several other Places. So likewise the Prophets _Ezekiel_, _Daniel_,\n_Hosea_, _Joel_, _Amos_, _Obadiah_, _Micah_, _Zephaniah_, _Haggai_,\n_Zachary_, _Malachi_: All these have, either expresly, or under the\nTypes of _Jerusalem_ and _Sion_, foretold happy Days, and a glorious\nTriumph to the Church of God. And seeing in the New Testament, and in\nthe Prophecies of St. _John_, the Christian Church is still represented,\nas under Persecution and Distress, till the Fall of Anti-christ, and the\nmillennial Kingdom; \u2019tis then, and not till then, that we must expect\nthe full Accomplishment of these Prophecies; the _Restauration_ that St.\n_Peter_ says was spoken of, by _all the Prophets_; and the _Mystery_,\nwhich St. _John_ says (_Apoc._ x. 7.) was _declared by his Servants the\nProphets, and_ would be finish\u2019d under the _seventh Trumpet_, which\nushers in the Kingdom of Christ.\n\nIt would be too long to examine all these Places in the Prophets, which\nyou may consult at Leisure. However, it cannot seem strange that\n_Jerusalem_ should be us\u2019d in a typical or allegorical Sense, seeing we\noften find such Applications of it in the New Testament; as _Gal._ iv.\n26. _Heb._ xii. 22. _Apoc._ iii. 12. And \u2019tis very natural that\n_Jerusalem restor\u2019d_, should signify the same thing as _new Jerusalem_;\nand therefore that St. _John_, by his _new Jerusalem_, intended the same\nthing, or the same State, that the antient Prophets did by their\nRestauration of _Jerusalem_. And it neither can be understood in a\nliteral Sense, which, I believe, you will not contend for, they must\nboth be interpreted of the future Happiness and Glory of the Church in\nthe Kingdom of Christ.\n\nBut to conclude this Point wholly as to Scripture; if we make Reflection\nupon all the Passages alledged in this and the foregoing Chapter,\nwhether out of the Old or New Testament, we must at least acknowledge\nthus much, that there are happy Days, at one time or other: Days of\nPeace and Righteousness; of Joy and Triumph, of external Prosperity, and\ninternal Sanctity; when Virtue and Innocency shall be in the Throne, and\nVice and vicious Men out of Power or Credit. That there are such happy\nDays prophesied of in Scripture, and promised to the Church of God.\nWhether you call this the _Reign of Christ_ and of his Saints or by any\nother Name, it is not material at present to determine; let the Title be\nwhat you will, as to the Substance it cannot be denied to be a general\nDoctrine of prophetical Scripture. And we must not imagine, that the\nProphets wrote like the Poets; feigned an Idea of a romantick State,\nthat never was, nor ever will be, only to please their own Fancies, or\nthe credulous People. Neither is it the State of Heaven and eternal Life\nthat is here meant or intended: For, besides that they had little or no\nLight concerning those Notions, in the Old Testament, the Prophets\ngenerally, in their Description of this Happiness, either express the\nEarth, or at least give plain Marks of a terrestrial State. Wherefore,\nthe only Question that remains, is this, _Whether_ these happy Days are\npast already, or to come? Whether this blessed State of the Church is\nbehind us, or before us? Whether our Predecessors have enjoyed it, or\nour Posterity is to expect it? For we are very sure that it is not\npresent. The World is full of Wars, and Rumours of Wars; of Vice and\nKnavery, of Oppression and Persecution: and these are things directly\ncontrary to the Genius and Characters of the State which we look after.\n\nAnd if we look for it in Times past, we can go no farther back than the\nbeginning of Christianity. For St. _John_, the last of the Apostles,\nprophesied of these Times, as to come; and plac\u2019d them at the End of his\nSystem of Prophecies; whereby one might conclude, that they are not only\nwithin the Compass of the Christian Ages, but far advanc\u2019d into them.\nBut however, not to insist upon that at present, where will you find a\nthousand Years, from the Birth of Christianity to this present Age, that\ndeserves the Name, or answers to the Characters of this _pure_ and\n_pacifick_ State of the Church? The first Ages of Christianity, as they\nwere the most pure, so likewise were they the least peaceable;\ncontinually, more or less, under the Persecution of the Heathen\nEmperors; and so far from being the Reign and Empire of Christ and his\nSaints over the Nations, that Christians were then, every where, in\nSubjection or Slavery; a poor, feeble, helpless People, thrust into\nPrisons, or thrown to the Lions, at the Pleasure of their Princes or\nRulers. \u2019Tis true, when the Empire became Christian under _Constantine_,\nin the fourth Century, there was, for a time, Peace and Prosperity in\nthe Church, and a good Degree of Purity and Piety; but that Peace was\nsoon disturb\u2019d, and that Piety soon corrupted. The growing Pride and\nAmbition of the Ecclesiasticks, and their easiness to admit or introduce\nsuperstitious Practices, destroy\u2019d the Purity of the Church. And as to\nthe Peace of it, their Contests about Opinions and Doctrines, tore the\nChristians themselves into Pieces; and, soon after, an Inundation of\nbarbarous People fell into Christendom, and put it all into Flames and\nConfusion. After this Eruption of the _Northern_ Nations, _Mahometanism_\nrose in the _East_; and swarms of _Saracens_, like Armies of Locusts,\ninvaded, conquer\u2019d, and planted their Religion in several Parts of the\n_Roman_ Empire, and of the Christianiz\u2019d World. And can we call such\nTimes the Reign of Christ, or the Imprisonment of Satan? In the\nfollowing Ages, the _Turks_ overran the _Eastern_ Empire and the _Greek_\nChurch, and still hold that miserable People in Slavery. Providence\nseems to have so order\u2019d Affairs, that the Christian World should be\nnever without a WOE upon it, lest it should fancy it self already in\nthose happy Days of Peace and Prosperity, which are reserv\u2019d for future\nTimes. Lastly, whosoever is sensible of the Corruptions and Persecutions\nof the Church of _Rome_, since she came to her Greatness; whosoever\nallows her to be _Mystical Babylon_, which must fall before the Kingdom\nof Christ comes on, will think that Kingdom duly plac\u2019d by St. _John_ at\nthe End of his Prophecies, concerning the Christian Church; and that\nthere still _remains, according_ to the Words of St. _Paul_, (Heb. iv.\n9.) _a Sabbatism to the People of God_.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. IV.\n\n\n    _The Sense and Testimony of the Primitive Church concerning the_\n    Millennium, _or future Kingdom of Christ; from the Times of the\n    Apostles to the_ Nicene _Council. The second Proposition laid down.\n    When, by what Means, and for what Reasons, that Doctrine was\n    afterwards neglected or discountenanc\u2019d._\n\n\nYou have heard the Voice of the _Prophets_ and _Apostles_, declaring the\nfuture Kingdom of Christ: Next to these, the _Primitive Fathers_ are\naccounted of good Authority; let us therefore now enquire into their\nSense concerning this Doctrine, that we may give Satisfaction to all\nParties; and both those that are guided by Scripture alone, and those\nthat have a Veneration for Antiquity, may find Proofs suitable to their\nInclinations and Judgment.\n\nAnd to make few Words of it, we will lay down this Conclusion; _That the\nmillennial Kingdom of Christ was the general Doctrine of the Primitive\nChurch, from the Times of the Apostles to the_ Nicene _Council_,\ninclusively. St. _John_ out-liv\u2019d all the rest of the Apostles, and\ntowards the latter end of his Life, being banish\u2019d into the Isle of\n_Pathmos_, he wrote his _Apocalypse_; wherein he hath given us a more\nfull and distinct Account of the millennial Kingdom of Christ, than any\nof the Prophets or Apostles before him. _Papias_, Bishop of\n_Hierapolis_, and Martyr, one of St. _John_\u2019s Auditors, as _Ireneus_\ntestifies, _Iren. Lib 5. c. 33._ taught the same Doctrine after St.\n_John_. He was the familiar Friend of _Polycarp_, another of St.\n_John_\u2019s Disciples; and either from him, or immediately from St.\n_John_\u2019s Mouth, he might receive this Doctrine. That he taught it in the\nChurch, is agreed on by all Hands; both by those that are his Followers,\nas _Iren\u00e6us_; and those that are not Well-wishers to this Doctrine, as\n_Eusebius_ and _Jerome_.\n\nThere is also another Channel wherein this Doctrine is traditionally\nderiv\u2019d from St. _John_, namely, by the Clergy of _Asia_; as _Iren\u00e6us_\ntells us in the same Chapter. For, arguing the Point, he shews that the\nBlessing promis\u2019d to _Jacob_ from his Father _Isaac_, was not made good\nto him in this Life, and therefore he says, _without doubt those Words\nhad a farther Aim and Prospect upon the Times of the Kingdom:_ (so they\nus\u2019d to call the millennial State) _when the Just rising from the Dead,\nshall reign; and when Nature renew\u2019d and set at Liberty, shall yield\nPlenty and Abundance of all things; being blest with the Dew of Heaven,\nand a great Fertility of the Earth according as has been related by\nthose Ecclesiaticks or Clergy, who saw S._ John, _the Disciple of\nChrist; and heard of him WHAT OUR LORD HAD TAUGHT CONCERNING THOSE\nTIMES_. This you see, goes to the Fountain Head: The Christian Clergy\nreceive it from St. _John_, and St. _John_ relates it from the Mouth of\nour Saviour.\n\nSo much for the original Authority of this Doctrine, as a Tradition;\nthat it was from St. _John_, and by him from Christ. And as to the\nPropagation and prevailing of it in the Primitive Church, we can bring a\nWitness beyond all exception, _Justin Martyr_, cotemporary with\n_Iren\u00e6us_, and his Senior. He says, _that himself, and all the Orthodox\nChristians of his Time, did acknowledge the Resurrection of the Flesh_\n(suppose the first Resurrection) _and a thousand Years reign in_\nJerusalem _restor\u2019d_, or in the new Jerusalem, _Dial. with_ Tryphon _the\nJew_. _According as the Prophets_ Ezekiel, _and_ Isaiah, _and others,\nattest with common Consent_. As St. _Peter_ had said before, _Acts_ iii.\n21. _That all the Prophets had spoken of it._ Then he quotes the lxvth\n_Chapter_ of _Isaiah_, which is a Bulwark for this Doctrine, that never\ncan be broken. And to shew the _Jew_, with whom he had this Discourse,\nthat it was the Sense of our Prophets, as well as of theirs, he tells\nhim, that _a certain Man amongst us Christians, by Name_ John, _one of\nthe Apostles of Christ, in a Revelation made to him did prophesy, that\nthe faithful Believers in Christ should live a thousand Years in the_\nNew Jerusalem; _and after that should be the general Resurrection and\nDay of Judgment_. Thus you have the Thoughts and Sentiments of _Justin\nMartyr_, as to himself; as to all the reputed Orthodox of his Time; as\nto the Sense of the Prophets in the Old Testament, and as to the Sense\nof St. _John_ in the _Apocalypse_; all conspiring in Confirmation of the\nmillennary Doctrine.\n\nTo these three Witnesses, _Papias_, _Iren\u00e6us_ and _Justin Martyr_, we\nmay add two more within the second Age of the Church; _Melito_, Bishop\nof _Sardis_, and St. _Barnabas_, or whosoever was the Author of the\nEpistle under his Name. This _Melito_, by some, is thought to be the\nAngel of the Church of _Sardis_, to whom St. _John_ directs the Epistle\nto that Church, _Apoc._ iii. 1. but I do not take him to be so ancient;\nhowever, he was Bishop of that Place, at least in the second Century,\nand a Person of great Sanctity and Learning: He wrote many Books, as you\nmay see in St. _Jerome_; and, as he notes out of _Tertullian_, _was by\nmost Christians reputed a Prophet_ (_De Script. Eccles. Dogm. Eccl._ c.\nlv.) He was also a declar\u2019d _Millennary_, and is recorded as such, both\nby _Jerome_ and _Gennadius_. As to the Epistle of _Barnabas_, which we\nmention\u2019d, it must be very ancient, whosoever is the Author of it, and\nbefore the third Century; seeing it is often cited by _Clemens\nAlexandrinus_, who was himself within the second Century: The Genius of\nit is very much _Millennarian_, in the Interpretation of the _Sabbath_,\nthe _promis\u2019d Land_, a _Day_ for a _thousand Years_, and concerning the\n_Renovation of the World_. In all which, he follows the Footsteps of the\nOrthodox of those Times; that is, of the _Millennarians_.\n\nSo much for the first and second Centuries of the Church. By which short\nAccount it appears, that the millennary Doctrine was _Orthodox_ and\n_Catholick_ in those early Days; for these Authors do not set it down as\na private Opinion of their own, but as a _Christian Doctrine_, or an\n_Apostolical Tradition_. \u2019Tis remarkable what _Papias_ says of himself,\nand his way of Learning, in his Book call\u2019d, _The Explanation of the\nWords of the Lord_, as St. _Jerome_ gives an Account of it: (_De Script.\nEccles._) He says in his Preface, _He did not follow various Opinions,\nbut had the Apostles for his Authors: And that he consider\u2019d what_\nAndrew, _and what_ Peter _said; what_ Philip, _what_ Thomas, _and other\nDisciples of the Lord; as also what_ Aristion, _and_ John _the Senior,\nDisciples of the Lord, what they spoke. And that he did not profit so\nmuch by reading Books, as by the living Voice of these Persons, which\nresounded from them to that Day._ This hath very much the Air of Truth\nand Sincerity, and of a Man that, in good earnest, sought after the\nChristian Doctrine, from those that were the most authentick Teachers of\nit. I know _Eusebius_, in his _Ecclesiastical History_, gives a double\nCharacter of this _Papias_; in one Place he calls him, _A very eloquent\nMan in all Things, and skilful in Scripture_; and in another, he makes\nhim a Man of a _small Understanding_, (_Vid._ Hieron. _Epist._ 28. _ad_\nLucinium.) But what Reason there is to suspect _Eusebius_ of Partiality\nin this Point of the _Millennium_, we shall make appear hereafter.\nHowever, we do not depend upon the Learning of _Papias_, or the Depth of\nhis Understanding; allow him but to be an honest Man and a fair Witness,\nand \u2019tis all we desire. And we have little reason to question his\nTestimony in this Point, seeing it is back\u2019d by others of good Credit;\nand all because there is no Counter-Evidence, nor any Witness that\nappears against him: For there is not extant, either the Writing, Name,\nor Memory, of any Person that contested this Doctrine in the first or\nsecond Century: I say, that call\u2019d in question this millennary Doctrine,\npropos\u2019d after a Christian Manner, unless such Hereticks as denied the\nResurrection wholly, or such Christians as deny\u2019d the Divine Authority\nof the _Apocalypse_.\n\nWe proceed now to the third Century; where you find _Tertullian_,\n_Origen_, _Victorinus_, Bishop and Martyr; _Nepos \u00c6gyptius_, _Cyprian_,\nand, at the End of it, _Lactantius_; all openly professing, or\nimplicitly favouring, the millennary Doctrine. We do not mention\n_Clemens Alexandrinus_, contemporary with _Tertullian_, because he hath\nnot any thing, that I know of, expresly either for, or against the\n_Millennium_: But he takes notice that the _Seventh Day_ hath been\naccounted _Sacred_, both by the _Hebrews_ and _Greeks_, because of the\n_Revolution_ of the _World_, and the _Renovation of all Things_. And\ngiving this as a Reason why they kept that Day _holy_, seeing there is\nnot a Revolution of the World, every seven Days, it can be in no other\nSense than as the _Seventh Day_ represents the _seventh Millennary_, in\nwhich the Renovation of the World and the Kingdom of Christ, is to be.\nAs to _Tertullian_, St. _Jerome_ reckons him, in the first place,\namongst the _Latin Millennaries_. And tho\u2019 his Book, about the _Hope_ of\nthe _Faithful_, as also that about _Paradise_, which should have given\nus the greatest Light in this Affair, be both lost or suppress\u2019d; yet\nthere are sufficient Indications of his millennary Opinion in his Tracts\nagainst _Marcion_, and against _Hermogenes_. St. _Cyprian_ was\n_Tertullian_\u2019s Admirer, and inclines to the same Opinion, so far as one\ncan judge, in this particular; for his Period of _six thousand Years_,\nand making the _seventh Millennary_ the consummation of all, is wholly\naccording to the Analogy of the millennary Doctrine. As to the two\nBishops, _Victorinus_ and _Nepos_, St. _Jerome_ vouches for them: The\nWritings of the one are lost, and of the other so chang\u2019d, that the\nSense of the Author does not appear there now. But _Lactantius_, whom we\nnam\u2019d in the last Place, does openly and profusely teach this Doctrine,\nin his _Divine Institutions_, (Book vii.) and with the same Assurance\nthat he does other Parts of the Christian Doctrine; for he concludes\nthus, speaking of the _Millennium_, _This is the Doctrine of the holy\nProphets, which we Christians follow; this is our Wisdom_, &c. Yet he\nacknowledges there, that it was kept as a Mystery or Secret amongst the\nChristians, lest the Heathens should make any perverse or odious\nInterpretation of it. And for the same or like Reason, I believe, the\nBook of the _Apocalypse_ was kept out of the Hands of the Vulgar for\nsome time, and not read publickly, lest it should be found to have\nspoken too openly of the Fate of the _Roman_ Empire, or of this\nmillennial State.\n\nSo much for the first, second, and third Centuries of the Church: But by\nour Conclusion, we engag\u2019d to make out this Proof as far as the _Nicene\nCouncil_, inclusively. The _Nicene Council_ was about the Year of Christ\n325. and we may reasonably suppose _Lactantius_ was then living; at\nleast he came within the Time of _Constantine_\u2019s Empire. But however,\nthe Fathers of that Council are themselves our Witnesses in this Point;\nfor in their _Ecclesiastical Forms_ or _Constitutions_, in the Chapter\n_about the Providence of God_, and _about the World_, they speak thus:\n_The World was made meaner, or less perfect, providentially; for God\nforesaw that Man would Sin: Wherefore we expect new Heavens and a new\nEarth, according to the holy Scriptures, at the Appearance and Kingdom\nof the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ._ And then, as _Daniel_\nsays (chap. vii. 18.) _The Saints of the most High shall take the\nKingdom, and the Earth shall be pure, holy, the Land of the Living, not\nof the Dead._ _Which_ David _foreseeing by the Eye of Faith_, cries out,\n(_Psal._ xxvii. 13.) _I believe to see the good Things of the Lord, in\nthe Land of the Living. Our Saviour says, happy are the Meek, for they\nshall inherit the Earth_, Mat. v. 5. _And the Prophet_ Isaiah _says_,\n(Chap. xxvi. 6.) _the Feet of the meek and lowly shall tread upon it_.\nSo you see, according to the Judgment of these Fathers, there will be a\nKingdom of Christ upon Earth; and moreover, that it will be in the _new\nHeavens_ and the _new Earth_: And, in both these Points, they cite the\nProphets, and our Saviour in Confirmation of them.\n\nThus we have discharg\u2019d our Promise, and given you an account of the\nDoctrine of the _Millennium_, or future Kingdom of Christ, throughout\nthe three first Ages of the Church, before any considerable Corruptions\nwere crept into the Christian Religion. And those Authorities of single\nand successive Fathers, we have seal\u2019d up all together, with the\nDeclaration of the _Nicene_ Fathers, in a Body. Those that think\nTradition a Rule of Faith, or a considerable Motive to it, will find it\nhard to turn off the Force of these Testimonies: And those that do not\ngo so far, but yet have a Reverence for Antiquity and the Primitive\nChurch, will not easily produce better Authorities, more early, more\nnumerous, or more uncontradicted, for any Article that is not\nfundamental: Yet these are but Seconds to the Prophets and Apostles, who\nare truly the Principals in this Cause. I will leave them all together,\nto be examin\u2019d and weigh\u2019d by the impartial Reader. And because they\nseem to me to make a full and undeniable Proof, I will now, at the Foot\nof the Account, set down our second Proposition, which is this, _That\nthere is a millennial State, or a future Kingdom of Christ and his\nSaints, prophesied of and promised, in the Old and New Testament; and\nreceiv\u2019d by the Primitive Church as a Christian and Catholick Doctrin._\n(Propos. I.)\n\nHaving dispatch\u2019d this main Point; to conclude the Chapter and this Head\nof our Discourse, it will be some Satisfaction possibly to see, _How_ a\nDoctrine so generally receiv\u2019d and approv\u2019d came to decay, and almost\nwear out of the Church, in following Ages. The Christian millennary\nDoctrine was not call\u2019d into Question, so far as appears from History,\nbefore the middle of the third Century; when _Dionysius Alexandrinus_\nwrote against _Nepos_, an _\u00c6gyptian_ Bishop, who had declar\u2019d himself\nupon that Subject. But we do not find that this Book had any great\nEffect; for the Declaration or Constitution of the _Nicene Fathers_ was\nafter; and in St. _Jerome_\u2019s Time, who wrote towards the End of the\nfourth Century, this Doctrine had so much Credit, that he, who was its\ngreatest Adversary, yet durst not condemn it, as he says himself; _Qu\u00e6\nlicet non sequamur, tamen damnare non possumus; quia multi\nEcclesiasticorum virorum & martyres ista dixerunt: Which Things or\nDoctrines_, speaking of the Millennium, _tho\u2019 we do not follow, yet we\ncannot condemn; because many of our Churchmen, and Martyrs have affirmed\nthese things_. And when _Apollinarius_ reply\u2019d to that Book of\n_Dionysius_, St. _Jerome_ says, that, _not only those of his own Sect,\nbut a great Multitude of other Christians did agree with_ Apollinarius\n_in that particular: Ut presag\u00e2 mente jam cernam, quantorum in me rabies\nconcitanda sit; That now I foresee, how many will be enrag\u2019d against me,\nfor what I have spoken against the millennary Doctrine_.\n\nWe may therefore conclude that in St. _Jerome_\u2019s Time the Millennaries\nmade the greater Party in the Church; for a little Matter would not have\nfrighted him from censuring their Opinions. St. _Jerome_ was a rough and\nrugged Saint, and an unfair Adversary, that usually run down with Heat\nand Violence, what stood in his Way. As to his Unfairness, he shews it\nsufficiently in this very Cause, for he generally represents the\nmillennary Doctrine after a _Judaical_, rather than a _Christian_\nManner. And in reckoning up the chief Patrons of it, he always skips\n_Justin Martyr_; who was not a Man so obscure as to be over-look\u2019d: And\nhe was a Man that had declar\u2019d himself sufficiently upon this Point; for\nhe says, _Both himself and all the Orthodox of his time, were of that\nJudgment_, and applies both the _Apocalypse_ of St. _John_, and the\nlxvth Chapter of _Isaiah_, for the Proof of it; as we noted before.\n\nAs St. _Jerome_ was an open Enemy to this Doctrine, so _Eusebius_ was a\nback Friend to it; and represented every thing to its Disadvantage, so\nfar as was tolerably consistent with the Fairness of an Historian. He\ngives a slight Character of _Papias_, without any Authority for it; and\nbrings in one _Gaius_, that makes _Cerinthus_ to be the Author of the\n_Apocalypse_ and of the _Millennium_ (_Eccles. Hist._ _l._ iii. _c._\n32.) and calls the Visions there, \u03a4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2, _monstrous Stories_. He\nhimself is willing to shuffle off that Book from _John_ the _Evangelist_\nto another _John_ a _Presbyter_; and to shew his Skill in the\nInterpretation of it, (_l._ 3. _c._ 32. _de vit. Constan._) he makes the\n_new Jerusalem_ in the xxith Chapter to be _Constantine\u2019s Jerusalem_,\nwhen he turn\u2019d the Heathen Temples there into Christian: A wonderful\nInvention. As St. _Jerome_ by his Flouts, so _Eusebius_, by sinister\nInsinuations, endeavour\u2019d to lessen the Reputation of this Doctrine; and\nthe Art they both us\u2019d was, to misrepresent it as _Judaical_. But we\nmust not cast off every Doctrine which the _Jews_ believ\u2019d, only for\nthat Reason; for we have the same Oracles which they had, and the same\nProphets; and they have collected from them the same general Doctrine\nthat we have, namely, that _there will be an happy and pacifick State of\nthe Church, in future Times_. But as to the Circumstances of this State\nwe differ very much: They suppose the _Mosaical_ Law will be restor\u2019d,\nwith all its Pomp, Rites, and Ceremonies: whereas we suppose the\nChristian Worship, or something more perfect, will then take Place. Yet\nSt. _Jerome_ has the Confidence, even there where he speaks of the many\nChristian Clergy and Martyrs that held this Doctrine; has the\nConfidence, I say, to represent it, as if they held that _Circumcision_,\n_Sacrifices_, and all the _Judaical_ Rites, should then be restor\u2019d.\nWhich seems to me to be a great Slander, and a great Instance how far\nMens Passions will carry them, in misrepresenting an Opinion, which they\nhave a Mind to disgrace.\n\nBut as we have Reason to blame the Partiality of those that opposed this\nDoctrine; so, on the other Hand, we cannot excuse the Patrons of it from\nall Indiscretions. I believe they might partly themselves make it\nobnoxious; by mixing some things with it, from pretended Traditions, or\nthe Books of the _Sybills_, or other private Authorities, that had so\nsufficient warrant from Scripture; and things, sometimes, that Nature\nwould not easily bear. Besides, in latter Ages, they seem to have dropt\none half of the Doctrine, namely, the _Renovation of Nature_, which\n_Iren\u00e6us_, _Justin Martyr_, and the Antients, join inseparably with the\n_Millennium_: And by this Omission, the Doctrine hath been made less\nintelligible, and one Part of it inconsistent with another. And when\ntheir Pretensions were to reign upon this present Earth, and in this\npresent State of Nature, it gave a Jealousy to temporal Princes, and\ngave occasion likewise to many of Fanatical Spirits, under the Notion of\nSaints, to aspire to Dominion, after a violent and tumultuary Manner.\nThis I reckon as one great Cause that brought the Doctrine into\nDiscredit. But I hope by reducing of it to the true State, we shall cure\nthis and other Abuses for the future.\n\nLastly, It never pleas\u2019d the Church of _Rome_; and so far as the\nInfluence and Authority of that would go, you may be sure it would be\ndepress\u2019d and discountenanced. I never yet met with a Popish Doctor that\nheld the _Millennium_; and _Baronius_ would have it to pass for an\nHeresy, and _Papias_ for the Inventor of it; whereas, if _Iren\u00e6us_ may\nbe credited, it was receiv\u2019d from St. _John_, and by him from the Mouth\nof our Saviour. And neither St. _Jerome_, nor his friend Pope _Damasus_,\ndurst ever condemn it for an _Heresy_. It was always indeed uneasy, and\ngave Offence to the Church of _Rome_; because it does not suit to that\nScheme of Christianity, which they have drawn. They suppose Christ\nreigns already, by his Vicar, the Pope; and treads upon the Necks of\nEmperors and Kings: And if they could but suppress the _Northern\nHeresy_, as they call it, they do not know what a _Millennium_ would\nsignify, or how the Church could be in an happier Condition than she is.\nThe _Apocalyse_ of St. _John_ does suppose the true Church under\nhardship and Persecution, more or less, for the greatest Part of the\nChristian Ages; namely, for 1260 Years, while the Witnesses are in\nsack-cloth. But the Church of _Rome_ hath been in prosperity and\nGreatness, and the commanding Church in Christendom, for so long, or\nlonger, and hath rul\u2019d the Nations with a Rod of Iron; so as that Mark\nof the true Church does not favour her at all. And the _Millennium_\nbeing properly a Reward and Triumph for those that come out of\nPersecution, such as have liv\u2019d always in Pomp and Prosperity, can\npretend to no Share in it, or Benefit by it. This has made the Church of\n_Rome_ have always an ill Eye upon this Doctrine, because it seem\u2019d to\nhave an ill Eye upon her; And as she grew in Splendor and Greatness, she\neclips\u2019d and obscur\u2019d it more and more; so that it would have been lost\nout of the World as an obsolete Error, it it had not been revived by\nsome of the Reformation.\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. VII.\n\n\n    _The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken\n    from Scripture; some Mistakes concerning it examin\u2019d._\n\n\nWe have made sufficient Proof of a millennial State, from Scripture and\nAntiquity; and upon that firm Basis have settled our second Proposition.\nWe should now determine the _Time_ and _Place_ of this future Kingdom of\nChrist: not whether it is to be in Heaven, or upon Earth; for that we\nsuppose determin\u2019d already; but whether it is to be in the present\nEarth, and under the present Constitution of Nature, or in the _new\nHeavens_, and _new Earth_, which are promis\u2019d after the _Conflagration_:\nThis is to make our _third Proposition_: And I should have proceeded\nimmediately to the Examination of it, but that I imagine it will give us\nsome Light in this Affair, if we enquire farther into the true State of\nthe _Millennium_, before we determine its Time and Place.\n\nWe have already noted some _moral_ Characters of the millennial State;\nand the great _natural_ Character of it is this in general, that it will\nbe _Paradisaical_; free from all Inconveniencies, either of external\nNature, or of our own Bodies. For my part, I do not understand, how\nthere can be any considerable Degree of Happiness without _Indolency_;\nnor how there can be _Indolency_, while we have such Bodies as we have\nnow, and such an external Constitution of Nature. And as there must be\n_Indolency_, where there is Happiness; so there must not be _Indigency_,\nor want of any due Comforts of Life: For where there is _Indigency_,\nthere is Solicitude, and Distraction, and Uneasiness, and Fear; Passions\nthat do as naturally disquiet the Soul, as Pain does the Body. Therefore\nIndolency and Plenty seem to be two essential Ingredients of every happy\nState; and these two, in Conjunction, make that State we call\n_Paradisaical_.\n\nNow the Scripture seems plainly to exempt the Sons of the _new\nJerusalem_, or of the _Millennium_, from all _Pain_ or _Want_, in those\nWords, _Apoc._ xxi. 4. _And God shall wipe away all Tears from their\nEyes: And there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor crying;\nneither shall there be any more Pain: For the former Things are passed\naway._ And the Lord of that Kingdom, _He that sat upon the Throne_,\nsaid, _Behold I make all Things new_, ver. 5. This Renovation is a\nRestauration to some former State; and I hope, not that State of\nIndigency and Misery, and Diseasedness, which we languish under at\npresent; but to that pristine _Paradisaical_ State, which was the\nBlessing of the first Heavens and the first Earth.\n\nAs Health and Plenty are the Blessings of Nature; so, in Civil Affairs,\n_Peace_ is the greatest Blessing: And this is inseparably annex\u2019d to the\n_Millennium_; an indelible Character of the Kingdom of Christ. And by\n_Peace_, we understand not only Freedom from Persecution upon religious\nAccounts, but that _Nation shall not rise up against Nation_, upon any\nAccount whatsoever. That bloody Monster, _War_, that hath devoured so\nmany Millions of the Sons of _Adam_, is now at length to be chain\u2019d up;\nand the Furies, that run throughout the Earth, with their Snakes and\nTorches, shall be thrown into the Abyss, to sting and prey upon one\nanother: All evil and mischievous Passions shall be extinguished; and\nthat not in Men only, but even in brute Creatures, according to the\nProphets. _The Lamb and the Lion shall lie down together, and the\nsucking Child shall play with the Basilisk._ Happy Days, when not only\nthe Temple of _Janus_ shall be shut up for a thousand Years, and the\n_Nations shall beat their Swords into Plowshares_; but all Enmities and\nAntipathies shall cease, all Acts of Hostility, throughout all Nature.\nAnd this universal Peace is a Demonstration also of the former\nCharacter, _universal Plenty_; for where there is a Want and\nNecessitousness, there will be quarrelling.\n\nFourthly, \u2019Tis a Kingdom of Righteousness, as well as of Peace: these\nalso must go together: For unrighteous Persons will not live long in\nPeace, no more than indigent Persons. The _Psalmist_ therefore joins\nthem together; and _Plenty_, also, as their necessary Preservative, in\nhis Description of the Kingdom of Christ, _Psal._ lxxxv. 10, 11, 12.\n_Mercy and Truth are met together: Righteousness and Peace have kissed\neach other. Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and Righteousness shall\nlook down from Heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give good, and our Land shall\nyield her Increase._ This will not be a Medley-State, as the present\nWorld is, good and bad mingled together; but _a chosen Generation_, _a\nroyal Priesthood_, _an holy Nation_, _a peculiar People_. Those that\nhave a Part in the first Resurrection, the Scripture pronounceth them\n_Holy_ and _Blessed_; and says, _The second Death shall have no Power\nover them._ Satan is also bound and shut up in the bottomless Pit, and\nhas no Liberty of tempting or seducing this People, for a thousand\nYears: but at the End of that Time, he will meet with a degenerate Crew,\nseparate and Aliens to the holy City, that will make War against it, and\nperish in the Attempt. In a word, those that are to enjoy this State,\nare always distinguish\u2019d from the Multitude, as People redeemed from the\nEarth, (_Apoc._ v. 9.) that have wash\u2019d their Robes, and made them white\nin the Blood of the Lamb; and are represented as Victors over the World;\nwith such other Characters as are incompatible to any but the Righteous,\n_ch._ vii. 14. _ch._ xiv. 3, 4. _ch._ xxi. 27.\n\nFifthly, This will be a State under a peculiar divine Presence and\nConduct. It is not easy indeed to determine the Manner of this Presence;\nbut the Scripture plainly implies some extraordinary divine Presence to\nenlighten and enliven that State. When the _new Jerusalem_ was come\ndown, St. _John_ says, _Apoc._ xxi. 3. _And I heard a great voice out of\nHeaven, saying, behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men; and he will\ndwell with them, and they shall be his People; and God himself shall be\nwith them, and be their God._ And the like is promis\u2019d to the\nPalm-bearing Company, _ch._ vii. 19. where they are admitted to the\nPrivileges of the _new Jerusalem_. When our Saviour was incarnate, and\nvouchsafed to dwell amongst the Children of Men, the same Phrase is us\u2019d\nby this same Author, \u1f10\u03c3\u03c7\u03ae\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5. _Joh._ i. 14. _The Word was made Flesh,\nand tabernacled amongst us; and we beheld his Glory_, &c. We read it,\n_He dwelt amongst us_, but render\u2019d more closely, it is, _He_ set his\n_Tabernacle amongst us_. And that which the _Hebrews_ call the \u05e9\u05db\u05d9\u05e0\u05d4\n_Shekinah_, or _divine Presence_, _Maimon. Mor. Nev. par._ 1. _c._ 25\ncomes from a Word of the like Signification and Sound with the _Greek_\nWord here us\u2019d. Therefore there will be a _Shekinah_ in that Kingdom of\nChrist; but as to the Mode of it, I am very willing to confess my\nIgnorance.\n\nThe last Character that belongs to this State, or rather to those that\nenjoy it, is, that they are _Kings and Priests unto God_. This is a\nCharacter often repeated in Scripture, and therefore the more to be\nregarded. It occurs thrice in the _Apocalypse_ in formal Terms, _ch._ i.\n6. _ch._ v. 10. _ch._ xx. 6. And as to the Regal Dignity apart, that is\nfarther exprest, either by the _Donation of a Kingdom_, as in _Daniel_\u2019s\nPhrase, _chap._ vii. 18, 22, 27. Or by _placing upon Thrones_, with a\njudicial Power; which is the New Testament Style, _Mat._ xix. 28. _Luke_\nxxii. 29, 30. _Rev._ xx. 4. These two Titles, no doubt, are intended to\ncomprehend the highest Honours that we are capable of; these being the\nhighest Dignities in every Kingdom; and such as were by the Antients,\nboth in the _East_ and in the _West_, commonly united in one and the\nsame Person; Their Kings being Priests, like _Melchisedeck_, or, as the\n_Roman_ Emperor was, _Pontifex Maximus_. But as to the sacerdotal\nCharacter, that seems chiefly to respect the Temper of the Mind; to\nsignify a People dedicated to God and his Service, separate from the\nWorld, and from secular Affairs, spending their time in Devotion and\nContemplation, which will be the great Employments of that happy State.\nFor where there is Ease, Peace, and Plenty of all Things, refin\u2019d\nBodies, and purified Minds, there will be more Inclination to\nintellectual Exercises and Entertainments; which they may attend upon,\nwithout any Distraction, having neither Want, Pain, nor worldly\nBusiness.\n\nThe Title of _King_ implies a Confluence of all Things that constitute\ntemporal Happiness. \u2019Tis the highest thing we can wish any in this\nWorld, to be a King; So as the _Regal_ Dignity seems to comprehend all\nthe Goods of Fortune, or external Felicity, and the _Sacerdotal_, the\nGoods of the Mind, or internal; both which concur in the Constitution of\ntrue Happiness. There is also a further Force and Emphasis in this\nNotion _of the Saints being made Kings_, if we consider it\n_comparatively_, with respect to what they were before in this World;\nwhere they were not only mean and despicable, in Subjection and\nServility, but often under Persecution, abus\u2019d and trampled upon by the\nSecular and Ecclesiastical Powers. But now the Scene is chang\u2019d, and you\nsee the reverse of Providence, according as _Abraham_ said to the\nRich-Man; _Son, remember that thou in thy Life time receivedst thy good\nthings, and likewise_ Lazarus _evil things: But now he is comforted, and\nthou art tormented._ Now they are set upon Thrones and Tribunals, who\nwere before arraigned as Criminals, and brought before tyrannical\nJudicatures: They are now Laws and Law-givers to themselves, in a true\nState of Royal Liberty, neither under the Domination of evil Men, nor of\ntheir own evil Passions.\n\nSome possibly may think, that this high Character of _being made\nPriests_ and _Kings to God_, is not general to all that enjoy the\n_Millennium_; but a Prerogative belonging to the Apostles and some of\nthe chief Martyrs, who are eminently rewarded for their eminent\nServices. But Scripture as far as I perceive, applies it to all that\ninherit that Kingdom. _The redeemed out of every Kindred, and Tongue,\nand People, and Nation_, are made _Kings and Priests to God, and shall\nreign on the Earth_, Apoc. v. 9, 10, And in the xxth _chap. ver._ 6. all\nthe Sons of the first Resurrection are made _Priests of God, and shall\nreign with him a thousand Years_. Here is no Distinction or\nDiscrimination thus far: Not that we suppose an unversal Equality of\nConditions in the millennial State; but as to all these Characters which\nwe have given of it, I do not perceive that they are restrain\u2019d or\nconfin\u2019d by Scripture to single Persons, but make the general Happiness\nof that State, and are the Portion of every one that is admitted into\nthe _new Jerusalem_.\n\nOthers possibly may think that this Privilege of the _first\nResurrection_ is not common to all that enjoy the millennial State. For\ntho\u2019 St. _John_, who is the only Person that hath made express mention\nof the _first Resurrection_, and of the _thousand Years Reign of_\nChrist, does join these two as the same thing, and common to the same\nPersons; yet I know there are some that would distinguish them as things\nof a different Extent, and also of a different Nature. They suppose the\nMartyrs only will rise from the Dead, and will be immediately translated\ninto Heaven, and there pass their _Millennium_ in celestial Glory; while\nthe Church is still here below, in her _Millennium_, such as it is: A\nState indeed better than ordinary, and free from Persecution, but\nobnoxious to all the Inconveniences of our present mortal Life, and a\nMedley of good and bad People, without Separation. This is such an Idea\nof the _Millennium_, as, to my Eye, hath neither Beauty in it, nor\nFoundation in Scripture. That the Citizens of the _new Jerusalem_ are\nnot a miscellaneous Company, but a Community of righteous Persons, we\nhave noted before, and that the State of Nature will be better than it\nis at present. But, besides this, what Warrant have they for this\nAscension of the Martyrs into Heaven at that Time? Where do we read of\nthat in Scripture? And in those things that are not Matters of natural\nOrder, but of divine Oeconomy, we ought to be very careful how we add to\nScripture.\n\nThe Scripture speaks only of the Resurrection of the Martyrs, _Apoc._\nxx. 45. but not a Word concerning their Ascension into Heaven. Will that\nbe visible? We read of our Saviour\u2019s Resurrection and Ascension, and\ntherefore we have Reason to affirm them both. We read also of the\nResurrection and Ascension of the _Witnesses_, (_Apoc._ xi.) in a\nfigurative Sense; and in that Sense we may assert them upon good\nGrounds. But as to the Martyrs, we read of their Resurrection only,\nwithout any thing exprest or imply\u2019d about their Ascension. By what\nAuthority then shall we add this new Notion to the History or Scheme of\nthe _Millennium_? The Scripture, on the contrary, makes mention of the\nDescent of the _new Jerusalem_, _Apoc._ xxi. 2. making the Earth the\nTheatre of all that Affair: And the Camp of the Saints is upon the\nEarth, _ver._ 9. and these Saints are the same Persons, so far as can be\ncollected from the Text, that rose _from the Dead, and reign\u2019d with\nChrist_, and were _Priests to God_, _ver._ 4, 5, 6. Neither is there any\nDistinction made, that I find, by St. _John_, of two sorts of Saints in\nthe _Millennium_, the one in Heaven, and the other upon Earth. Lastly,\nthe four and twenty Elders, _chap._ v. 10. tho\u2019 they were _Kings_ and\n_Priests unto God_, were content to reign upon Earth. Now who can you\nsuppose of a superior Order to these four and twenty Elders? Whether\nthey represent the twelve Patriarchs and twelve Apostles, or whomsoever\nthey represent, they are plac\u2019d next to him that sits upon the Throne,\nand they have Crowns of Gold upon their Heads, _chap._ iv. 4. _ch._ xi.\n16. There can be no Marks of Honour and Dignity greater than these are;\nand therefore seeing these highest Dignitaries in the Millennium or\nfuture Kingdom of Christ, are to reign upon Earth, there is no Ground to\nsuppose the Assumption of any other into Heaven, upon that Account, or\nupon that Occasion.\n\nThis is a short and general Draught of the millennial State, or future\nReign of the Saints, according to Scripture. Wherein I have endeavour\u2019d\nto rectify some Mistakes or Misconceptions about it; that viewing it in\nits true Nature, we may be the better able to judge, when and where it\nwill obtain: which is the next Thing to be consider\u2019d.\n\n\n\n\n                              CHAP. VIII.\n\n\n    _The third Proposition laid down, concerning the Time and Place of\n    the_ Millennium: _Several Arguments us\u2019d, to prove, that it cannot\n    be till after the Conflagration; and that the new Heavens and the\n    new Earth are the true Seat of the blessed_ Millennium.\n\n\nWe now come to the third and last Head of our Discourse; to determine\nthe _Time_ and _Place_ of the _Millennium_. And seeing it is\nindifferent, whether the Proofs lead or follow the Conclusion, we will\nlay down the Conclusion in the first Place, that our Business may be\nmore in View; and back it with Proofs in the following Part of the\nChapter. Our third and last Proposition therefore is this, _That the\nblessed Millennium, Propos. 3._ (properly so called) _according as it is\ndescrib\u2019d in Scripture, cannot obtain in the present Earth, nor under\nthe present Constitution of Nature and Providence; but it is to be\ncelebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the Conflagration._\nThis Proposition it may be, will seem a Paradox or Singularity to many,\neven of those that believe a _Millennium_: We will therefore make it the\nBusiness of this Chapter, to state it, and prove it, by such Arguments\nas are manifestly founded in Scripture and in Reason.\n\nAnd to prevent Mistakes, we must premise this in the first Place; that\ntho\u2019 the blessed _Millennium_ will not be in this Earth; yet we allow\nthat the State of the Church here, will grow much better than it is at\npresent. There will be a better Idea of Christianity, and according to\nthe Prophecies, a full _Resurrection of the Witnesses_, and an\n_Ascension_ into Power, and the tenth Part of the City will fall; which\nthings imply ease from Persecution, the Conversion of some Part of the\nChristian World to the reformed Faith, and a considerable Diminution of\nthe Power of Antichrist. But this still comes short of the Happiness and\nGlory wherein the future Kingdom of Christ is represented; which cannot\ncome to pass till the _Man of Sin_ be destroyed, with a total\nDestruction. After the Resurrection of the Witnesses, there is a third\n_WOE_ yet to come; and how long that will last, does not appear. If it\nbear proportion with the preceeding _WOES_, it may last some hundreds of\nYears. And we cannot imagine the _Millennium_ to begin till that _WOE_\nbe finished: As neither till the _Vials_ be pour\u2019d out, in the xvth\n_chap._ which cannot be all pour\u2019d out till after the Resurrection of\nthe Witnesses; those _Vials_ being the last Plagues that compleat the\nDestruction of Antichrist. Wherefore allowing that the Church, upon the\nResurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses, will be advanc\u2019d into a\nbetter Condition, yet that Condition cannot be the millennial State;\nwhere the Beast is utterly destroy\u2019d, and Satan bound, and cast into the\nbottomless Pit.\n\nThis being premis\u2019d, let us now examine what Grounds there are for the\nTranslation of that blessed State into the _new Heavens_ and _new\nEarth_; seeing that Thought, it may be, to many Persons, will appear new\nand extraordinary. In the first Place, we suppose it out of Dispute,\nthat there will be _new Heavens_ and a _new Earth_ after the\nConflagration. This was our first Proposition, and we depend upon it, as\nsufficiently prov\u2019d both from Scripture and Antiquity. This being\nadmitted, how will you flock this _new Earth_? What use will you put it\nto? \u2019Twill be a much nobler Earth, and better built than the present;\nand \u2019tis a pity it should only float about, empty and useless in the\nwild Air. If you will not make it the Seat and Habitation of the Just in\nthe blessed _Millennium_, what will you make it? How will it turn to\nAccount? What hath Providence design\u2019d it for? We must not suppose new\nWorlds made without Counsel or Design. And as, on the one Hand, you\ncannot tell what to do with this new Creation, if it be not thus\nemploy\u2019d; so, on the other Hand, it is every way fitted and suited to be\nan happy and _paradisaical_ Habitation, and answers all the natural\nCharacters of the millennial State; which is a great Presumption that it\nis design\u2019d for it.\n\nBut to argue this more closely upon Scripture-grounds: St. _Peter_ says,\nthe Righteous shall inhabit the new Heavens and the new Earth: 2 _Pet._\niii. 13. _Nevertheless, according to his Promise, we look for new\nHeavens and new Earth_, WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOUSNESS: that is, a\nrighteous People, as we have shewn before. But who are these righteous\nPeople? That\u2019s the great Question. If you compare St. _Peter_\u2019s new\nHeavens and new Earth with St. _John_\u2019s _Apoc._ xxi. 1, 2. it will go\nfar towards the Resolution of this Question: For St. _John_ seems\nplainly to make the Inhabitants of the _new Jerusalem_ to be in this\n_new Earth_. _I saw_, says he, _new Heavens and a new Earth_, and the\n_new Jerusalem descending from God out of Heaven_; therefore descending\ninto this _new Earth_, which he had mention\u2019d immediately before. And\nthere _the Tabernacle of God was with Men_, _ver._ 3. and there he that\nsat upon the Throne, said, _Behold I make all Things new._ Referring\nstill to the new Heavens and new Earth, as the Theatre where all these\nThings are acted, or all these Scenes exhibited; from the first Verse to\nthe eighth: Now the _new Jerusalem_ State being the same with the\nMillennial, if the one be in the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_, the\nother is there also. And this Interpretation of St. _John_\u2019s Word is\nconfirm\u2019d and fully assur\u2019d to us by the Prophet _Isaiah_; who also\nplaceth the Joy and Rejoicing of the _new Jerusalem_ in the new Heavens\nand new Earth, Chap. lxv. 17, 18. _For behold I create new Heavens and a\nnew Earth; and the former shall not be remembred: but be you glad and\nrejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create_ Jerusalem\n_a Rejoicing, and her People a Joy_: Namely, in that new Heavens and new\nEarth; which answers to St. _John_\u2019s Vision of the new _Jerusalem_ being\nlet down upon the new Earth.\n\nTo these Reasons, and Deductions from Scripture, we might add the\nTestimony of several of the Fathers; I mean of those that were\nMillennaries: For we are speaking now to such as believe the\n_Millennium_, but place it in the present Earth before the Renovation;\nwhereas the antient _Millennaries_ suppos\u2019d the Regeneration and\nRenovation of the World before the Kingdom of Christ came: As you may\nsee in [1]_Iren\u00e6us_, [2]_Justin Martyr_, [3]_Tertullian_,\n[4]_Lactantius_, and [5]the Author _ad Orthodoxos_. And the Neglect of\nthis, I look upon as one Reason, as we noted before, that brought that\nDoctrine into Discredit and Decay. For when they plac\u2019d the Kingdom of\nthe Saints upon this Earth, it became more capable of being abus\u2019d, by\nfanatical Spirits, to the Disturbance of the World, and the Invasion of\nthe Rights of the Magistrates, Civil or Ecclesiastical, under that\nNotion of Saints; and made them also dream of sensual Pleasures, such as\nthey see in this Life: Or at least gave an Occasion and Opportunity to\nthose, that had a Mind to make the Doctrine odious, of charging it with\nthese Consequences. All these Abuses are cut off, and these Scandals\nprevented, by placing the Millennium aright: Namely, not in this present\nLife, or on this present Earth, but in the new Creation, where Peace and\nRighteousness will dwell. And this is our first Argument why we place\nthe Millennium in the new Heavens and new Earth; and \u2019tis taken partly,\nyou see, from the Reason of the Thing itself, the Difficulty of\nassigning any other use of the new Earth, and its fitness for this; and\npartly from Scripture-evidence, and partly from Antiquity.\n\nThe second Argument for our Opinion, is this; the present Constitution\nof Nature will not bear that Happiness, that is promis\u2019d in the\nMillennium, or is not consistent with it. The Diseases of our Bodies,\nthe Disorders of our Passions, the Incommodiousness of external Nature;\nIndigency, Servility, and the Unpeaceableness of the World; these are\nthings inconsistent with the Happiness that is promis\u2019d in the Kingdom\nof Christ. But these are constant Attendants upon this Life, and\ninseparable from the present State of Nature. Suppose the Millennium was\nto begin nine or ten Years hence, as some pretend it will; how shall\nthis World, all of a sudden, be metamorphos\u2019d into that happy State?\n_Apoc._ xxi. 4. No more _Sorrow, nor crying, nor Pain, nor Death_, says\nSt. _John_: _All former Things are past away._ But how past away? Shall\nwe not have the same Bodies; and the same external Nature; and the same\nCorruptions of the Air; and the same Excesses and Intemperature of\nSeasons? Will there not be the same Barrenness of the Ground, the same\nNumber of People to be fed; and must they not get their living by the\nSweat of their Brows, with servile Labour and Drudgery? How then are all\nformer Evils past away? And as to publick Affairs, while there are the\nsame Necessities of human Life, and a Distinction of Nations, those\nNations sometimes will have contrary Interests, will clash and interfere\none with another; whence Differences, and Contests, and Wars will arise,\nand the _thousand Years Truce_, I am afraid, will be often broken. We\nmight add also, that if our Bodies be not chang\u2019d, we shall be subject\nto the same Appetites, and the same Passions; and upon those Vices will\ngrow, as bad Fruit upon a bad Tree: To conclude, so long as our Bodies\nare the same, external Nature the same, the Necessities of human Life\nthe same; which things are the Roots of Evil; you may call it a\n_Millennium_, or what you please, but there will be still Diseases,\nVices, Wars, Tears and Cries, Pain and Sorrow in this _Millennium_; and\nif so, \u2019tis a _Millennium_ of your own making, for that which the\nProphets describe, is quite another thing.\n\nFarthermore, if you suppose the Millennium will be upon this Earth, and\nbegin, it may be, ten or twenty Years hence, how will it be introduc\u2019d?\nHow shall we know when we are in it, or when we enter upon it? If we\ncontinue the same, and all Nature continue the same, we shall not\ndiscern when we slip into the Millennium. And as to the moral State of\nit, shall we all, on a sudden, _become Kings and Priests to God_?\nWherein will that Change consist, and how will it be wrought? St. _John_\nmakes the _first Resurrection_ introduce the Millennium; and that\u2019s a\nconspicuous Mark and Boundary: But as to the modern or vulgar\nMillennium, I know not how \u2019tis usher\u2019d in. Whether they suppose a\nvisible Resurrection of the Martyrs, and a visible Ascension; and that\nto be a Signal to all the World that the Jubilee is beginning; or\nwhether \u2019tis gradual, and creeps upon us insensibly; or the Fall of the\nBeast marks it: These things need both Explication and Proof: for to me\nthey seem either arbitrary or unintelligible.\n\nBut to pursue our Design and Subject: That which gives me the greatest\nScandal in this Doctrine of the vulgar Millennium, is their joining\nThings together that are really inconsistent; a natural World of one\nColour, and a moral World of another. They will make us happy in spight\nof Nature; as the _Stoicks_ would make a Man happy in _Phalaris his\nBull_; so must the Saints be in full Bliss in the Millennium, tho\u2019 they\nbe under a Fit of the Gout, or the Stone. For my part, I could never\nreconcile Pain to Happiness; it seems to me to destroy and drown all\nPleasure, as a loud Noise does a still Voice: It affects the Nerves with\nViolence, and over-bears all other Motions. But if, according to this\nmodern Supposition, they have the same Bodies, and breath the same Air\nin the Millennium, as we do now, there will be both private and\nepidemical Distempers, in the same Manner as now. Suppose then a Plague\ncomes and sweeps away half an hundred thousand Saints in the Millennium,\nis this no Prejudice or Dishonour to the State? Or a War makes a Nation\ndesolate; or, in single Persons, a lingring Disease makes Life a\nBurthen; or a burning Fever, or a violent Cholick tortures them to\nDeath; where such Evils as these reign, christen the thing what you\nwill, it can be no better than a Mock-Millennium. Nor shall I ever be\npersuaded that such a State as our present Life, where an aking Tooth,\nor an aking Head, does so discompose the Soul, as to make her unfit for\nBusiness, Study, Devotion, or any useful Employment; and that all the\nPowers of the Mind, all its Virtue, and all its Wisdom, are not able to\nstop these little Motions, or to support them with Tranquillity: I can\nnever persuade my self, I say, that such a State was design\u2019d by God or\nNature, for a State of Happiness.\n\nOur third Argument is this; the future Kingdom of Christ will not take\nplace, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy\u2019d: But that will\nnot be wholly destroy\u2019d till the End of the World, and the appearing of\nour Saviour; therefore the Millennium will not be till then. Christ and\nAntichrist cannot reign upon Earth together; their Kingdoms are\nopposite, as Light and Darkness: Besides, the Kingdom of Christ is\nuniversal, extends to all the Nations, and leaves no room for other\nKingdoms at that time. Thus it is describ\u2019d in _Daniel_, in the Place\nmention\u2019d before, _chap._ vii. 13, 14. _I saw in the Night Visions, and\nbehold, one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and\ncame to the Ancient of Days; and there was given him Dominion and Glory,\nand a Kingdom; that all People, Nations, and Languages, should serve\nhim._ And again ver. 27. _And the Kingdom and Dominion, and the\nGreatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the\nPeople of the Saints of the most High; whose Kingdom is an everlasting\nKingdom, and all Dominion shall serve and obey him._ The same Character\nof Universality is given to the Kingdom of Christ by _David_, _Psal._\nii. and _Psal._ lxxii. _Isaiah_ ii. 2. and other Prophets. But the most\ndirect Proof of this, is from the _Apocalypse_, where the _Beast_ and\n_false Prophet_ are thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, (_chap._\nxix. 20.) before the Millennium comes on, _chap._ xx. This, _being cast\ninto a Lake of Fire burning with Brimstone_, must needs signify utter\nDestruction: Not a Diminution of Power only, but a total Perdition and\nConsumption. And that this was before the Millennium, of the Beast and\nfalse Prophets being in the Lake of Fire, as of a Thing past, and\nformerly transacted. For when Satan, at length, is thrown into the same\nLake \u2019tis said, he is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, _where\nthe Beast and the false Prophets are_, Apoc. xx. 10. They were there\nbefore, it seems; namely, at the beginning of the Millennium; and now at\nthe Conclusion of it, the Devil is thrown in to them: Besides, the\nLigation of Satan proves this Point effectually; for so long as\nAntichrist reigns, Satan cannot be said to be bound; but he is bound at\nthe Beginning of the Millennium, therefore Antichrist\u2019s Reign was then\ntotally expir\u2019d. Lastly, the Destruction of _Babylon_, and the\nDestruction of Antichrist go together; but you see _Babylon_ utterly and\nfinally destroy\u2019d, (_Apoc._ xviii. and xix.) before the Millennium comes\non: I say, _utterly and finally destroy\u2019d_. For she is not only said to\nbe made an utter Desolation, but to be consum\u2019d by Fire; and absorpt as\na Millstone thrown into the Sea; and that he shall be found no more at\nall, _chap._ xviii. 21. Nothing can express a total and universal\nDestruction more effectually, or more emphatically. And this is before\nthe Millennium begins; as you may see both by the Order of the\nProphesies, and particularly, in that upon this Destruction, the\n_Hallelujah_\u2019s are sung, _ch._ xix. and concluded thus, _ver._ 6, 7.\n_Hallelujah, for the God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and\nrejoice, and give Honour to him; for the Marriage of the Lamb is come,\nand his Wife hath made her self ready._ This, I suppose, every one\nallows to be the millennial State, which now approaches, and is making\nready, upon the Destruction of _Babylon_.\n\nThus much for the first Part of our Argument, that the Kingdom of Christ\nwill not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy\u2019d.\nWe are now to prove the second Part, that the Kingdom of Antichrist will\nnot be wholly destroy\u2019d till the End of the World, and the coming of our\nSaviour. This, one would think, is sufficiently prov\u2019d from St. _Paul_\u2019s\nWords alone, _2 Thess._ ii. 8. _The Lord shall consume the Man of Sin_,\nwho is suppos\u2019d the same with Antichrist, _with the Spirit of his Mouth,\nand shall destroy him with the Brightness of his coming_. He will not\nthen be destroyed before the coming of our Saviour; and that will not be\ntill the End of the World. For St. _Peter_ says, _Acts_ iii. 21. _The\nHeaven must receive him_, speaking of Christ, _until the Times of\nRestitution of all things_; that is, the Renovation of the World. And if\nwe consider that our Saviour\u2019s coming will be in _Flames of Fire_, as\nthe same Apostle St. _Paul_ tells us, _2 Thess._ i. 7, 8. \u2019tis plain,\nthat his coming will not be till the Conflagration; in which last Flames\nAntichrist will be universally destroy\u2019d. This Manner of Destruction\nagrees also with the _Apocalypse_ and with _Daniel_, and the Prophets of\nthe Old Testament. As to the _Apocalypse_, _Babylon_, the Seat of\nAntichrist, is represented there as destroy\u2019d by Fire, _ch._ xviii. 8,\n18. _ch._ xiv. 11. _ch._ xix. 3, 20. And in _Daniel_, when the Beast is\ndestroy\u2019d, _ch._ vii. 11. _His Body was given to the burning Flame._\nThen as to the other Prophets, they do not, you know, speak of\nAntichrist or the Beast in Terms, but under the Types of _Babylon_,\n_Tyre_, and such-like; and these Places or Princes are represented by\nthem as to be destroy\u2019d by Fire, _Isa._ xiii. 19. _Jer._ ii. 25. _Ezek._\nxxviii. 18.\n\nSo much for this third Argument; the fourth Argument is this; the future\nKingdom of Christ will not be till the Day of Judgment and the\nResurrection; but that will not be till the End of the World: Therefore,\nneither the Kingdom of Christ. By the Day of Judgment here, I do not\nmean the final and universal Judgment; nor by the Resurrection, the\nfinal and universal Resurrection; for these will not be till after the\nMillennium. But we understand here the first Day of Judgment and the\nfirst Resurrection, which will be at the End of this present World;\naccording as St. _John_ does distinguish them, in the xxth _chap._ of\nthe _Apocalypse_. Now that the Millennium will not be till the Day of\nJudgment in this Sense, we have both the Testimonies of _Daniel_ and of\nSt. _John_. _Daniel_, in _chap._ vii. _ver._ 9, _&c._ _ver._ 26, _&c._\nsupposes the Beast to rule _till Judgment shall sit_, and then _they\nshall take away his Dominion_, and it shall be given to the People of\nthe Saints of the most High. St. _John_ makes an explicit Declaration of\nboth these, in his xxth _chap._ of the _Apocalypse_, which is the great\nDirectory in this point of the Millennium; he says there were Thrones\nset, as for a Judicature, _ver._ 4. Then there was a Resurrection from\nthe Dead, and those that rise, reigned with Christ a thousand Years:\nHere\u2019s a judicial Session, a Resurrection, and the Reign of Christ\njoined together. There is also another Passage in St. _John_ that joins\nthe Judgment of the Dead with the Kingdom of Christ; \u2019tis in the xith\nChapter, under the seventh Trumpet; the Words are these, ver. 15. _And\nthe seventh Angel sounded, and there were great Voices in Heaven,\nsaying, the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord\nand of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever, And the four\nand twenty Elders, &c. And the Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is\ncome, and the time of the Dead, that they should be judged, and that\nthou shouldst give Reward unto thy Servants the Prophets, and to the\nSaints, and them that fear thy Name._ Here are two things plainly\nexpress\u2019d and link\u2019d together, _The judging of the Dead_, and the\n_Kingdom of Christ_; wherein the Prophets and Saints are rewarded. Now\nas the _judging of the Dead_ is not in this Life, so neither is the\nReward of the Prophets and Saints in this Life; as we are taught\nsufficiently in the Gospel, and by the Apostles, _Mat._ xix. 28. _1\nThess._ i. 7. 2 _Tim._ iv. 8. 1 _Pet._ i. 7. and _ch._ v. 4. Therefore\nthe Reign and Kingdom of Christ, which is joined with these two, cannot\nbe in this Life, or before the End of the World: And as a farther\nTestimony and Confirmation of this, we may observe that St. _Paul_ to\n_Timothy_ hath joined together these three things; the _Appearance of\nChrist_, the _Reign of Christ_, and the _judging of the Dead. I charge\nthee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the\nquick and the dead, at his appearing, and his Kingdom_, 2 Tim. iv. 1.\n\nThis might also be prov\u2019d from the Order, Extent and Progress of the\nProphesies of the _Apocalypse_; whereof some are such as reach to the\nEnd of the World, and yet must be accomplish\u2019d before the Millennium\nbegins, as the Vials. Others are so far already advanc\u2019d towards the End\nof the World, as to leave no room for a thousand Years Reign; as the\nTrumpets. But because every one hath his own Interpretation of these\nProphesies, and it would be tedious here to prove any single Hypothesis\nin Contradistinction to all the rest, we will therefore leave this\nRemark, to have more or less Effect, according to the Minds it falls\nupon; and proceed to our fifth Argument.\n\nFifthly, The _new Jerusalem_ State is the same with the millennial\nState; but the _new Jerusalem_ State will not be till the End of the\nWorld, or till after the Conflagration; therefore neither the\nMillennium: That the _new Jerusalem_ State is the same with the\nMillennium, is agreed upon, I think, by all Millennaries, ancient and\nmodern: _Justin Martyr_, _Iren\u00e6us_ and _Tertullian_, speak of it in that\nSense; and so do the latter Authors, so far as I have observed. And St.\n_John_ seems to give them good Authority for it; in the xxth _chap._ of\nthe _Apocalypse_, he says, the _Camp of the Saints_, and _the beloved\nCity_ were besieg\u2019d by Satan and his gigantick Crew at the End of the\nMillennium: That _beloved City_ is the _new Jerusalem_, and you see it\nis the same with the Camp of the Saints, or, at least, contemporary with\nit. Besides, the Marriage of the Lamb was in, or at the Appearance of\nthe _new Jerusalem_, for that was the _Spouse of the Lamb_, Apoc. xxi.\n2. Now this Spouse was ready, and this Marriage was said to be come, at\nthe Destruction of _Babylon_, which was the Beginning of the Millennium,\n_chap._ xviii. 7. Therefore the _new Jerusalem_ run all along with the\nMillennium, and was indeed the same thing under another Name. Lastly,\nwhat is this _new Jerusalem_, if it be not the same with the millennial\nState? It is promis\u2019d a Reward to the Sufferers for Christ _Apoc._ iii.\n12. and you see its wonderful Privileges, _chap._ xxi. 3, 4. and yet it\nis not Heaven and eternal Life; for it is said to come down from God out\nof Heaven, _ch._ xxi. 2. and _ch._ iii. 12. It can therefore be nothing\nbut the glorious Kingdom of Christ upon Earth, where the Saints shall\nreign with him a thousand Years.\n\nNow as to the second Part of our Argument, that the _new Jerusalem_ will\nnot come down from Heaven till the End of the World; of this St. _John_\nseems to give us a plain Proof or Demonstration; for he places the _new\nJerusalem_ in the _new Heaven_ and _new Earth_, which cannot be till\nafter the Conflagration. Let us hear his Words, _Apoc._ xxi. 1, 2. _And\nI saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the first Heaven and the first\nEarth were passed away, and there was no more Sea. And I John saw the\nholy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven; prepared\nas a Bride adorned for her Husband._ When the new Earth was made, he\nsees the _new Jerusalem_ coming down upon it; and this Renovation of the\nEarth not being till the Conflagration, the _new Jerusalem_ could not be\ntill then neither. The Prophet _Isaiah_ had long before said the same\nthing, though not in terms so express; he first says, _Behold I create\nnew Heavens and a new Earth, wherein you shall rejoice_: Then subjoins\nimmediately, _Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing_, Isa. lxv. 17, 18.\nThis rejoicing is still in the same Place; in the _new Heavens_ and _new\nEarth_, or in the _new Jerusalem_. And St. _John_, in a like Method,\nfirst sets down the _new Earth_, then the _new Jerusalem_; and expresses\nthe Mind of the Prophet _Isaiah_ more distinctly.\n\nThis leads me to a sixth Argument to confirm our Conclusion: The Time of\nthe _Restitution_ or _Restauration of all Things_, spoken of by St.\n_Peter_ and the Prophets, is the same with the Millennium; but that\nRestauration will not be till the coming of Christ, and the End of the\nWorld; therefore neither the Millennium. That this Restitution of all\nthings will not be till the coming of our Saviour, St. _Peter_ declares\nin his Sermon, _Acts_ iii. 21. and that the coming of our Saviour will\nnot be till the End of the World, or till the Conflagration, both St.\n_Paul_ and St. _Peter_ signify to us, _1 Thess._ i. 7, 8. _2 Pet._ iii.\n10. therefore it remains only to prove, that this Restitution of all\nThings spoken of here by the Apostle, is the same with the Millennium. I\nknow that which it does directly and immediately signify, is the\nRenovation of the World: but it must include the moral World as well as\nthe Natural; otherwise it cannot be truly said, as St. _Peter_ does\nthere, that all the Prophets have spoken of it. And what is the\nRenovation of the natural and moral World, but the _new Jerusalem_ or\nthe _Millennium_?\n\nThese Arguments, taken together, have, to me, an irresistible Evidence\nfor the Proof of our Conclusion; that the blessed Millennium cannot\nobtain in the present Earth, or before the Conflagration; but when\nNature is renew\u2019d, and the Saints and Martyrs rais\u2019d from the Dead, then\nthey shall reign together with Christ, in the _new Heavens_ and _new\nEarth_, or in the _new Jerusalem_; Satan being bound for a thousand\nYears.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  _Lib. 5. ch. 32, &c._\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  Dial. _cum_ Tryph.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  _Contra Marc._\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  _Lib. 7._\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  _Quest. & respon. 93._\n\n\n\n\n                               CHAP. IX.\n\n\n    _The chief Employment of the Millennium, DEVOTION and\n    CONTEMPLATION._\n\n\nWe have now done with the Substance of our Discourse; which is\ncomprehended in these three Propositions:\n\n    I. _After the Conflagration of this World, there will be new Heavens\n    and a new Earth, and that Earth will be inhabited._\n\n    II. _That there is an happy millennial-State, or a future Kingdom of\n    Christ and his Saints, prophesied of and promis\u2019d in the Old and New\n    Testament; and receiv\u2019d by the Primitive Church, as a Christian and\n    Catholick Doctrine._\n\n    III. _That this blessed millennial-State, according as it is\n    describ\u2019d in Scripture, cannot take place in the present Earth, nor\n    under the present Constitution of Nature and Providence; But is to\n    be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the\n    Conflagration._\n\nThese three Propositions support this Work, and if any of them be\nbroken, I confess my Design is broken, and this Treatise is of no\nEffect: But what remains to be spoken to in these last Chapters, is more\ncircumstantial or modal; and an Error or Mistake in such things, does\nnot wound any vital Part of the Argument. You must not therefore lay\naside your Severity and rigorous Censures; we are very happy, if, in\nthis Life, we can attain to the Substance of Truth; and make rational\nConjectures concerning Modes and Circumstances, where every one hath\nRight to offer his Sense, with Modesty and Submission. Revelations made\nto us from Heaven in this present State, are often incompleat, and do\nnot tell us all; as if it was on purpose to set our Thoughts a-work to\nsupply the rest; which we may lawfully do, provided it be according to\nthe Analogy of Scripture and Reason.\n\nTo proceed therefore; we suppose, as you see, the _new Heavens_ and the\n_new Earth_ to be the Seat of the _Millennium_, and that new Creation to\nbe _Paradisiacal_: Its Inhabitants also to be righteous Persons, the\nSaints of the most High. And seeing the ordinary Employments of our\npresent Life will then be needless and superseded, as Military-Affairs,\nSea-Affairs, most Trades and Manufactures, Law, Physick, and the\nlaborious part of Agriculture; it may be wonder\u2019d, how this happy People\nwill bestow their Time; what Entertainment they will find in a State of\nso much Ease, and so little Action. To this one might answer in short,\nby another Question, _How_ would they have entertain\u2019d themselves in\nParadise, if Man had continued in Innocency? This is a Revolution of the\nsame State, and therefore they may pass Time as well now as they could\nhave done then. But to answer more particularly, besides all innocent\nDiversions, ingenuous Conversations, and Entertainments of Friendship,\nthe greatest part of their Time will be spent in _Devotion_ and\n_Contemplation_. O happy Employment, and next to that of Heaven it self!\nWhat do the Saints Above, but sing Praises unto God, and contemplate his\nPerfections! And how mean and despicable, for the most part, are the\nEmployments of this present Life, if compar\u2019d with those intellectual\nActions! If Mankind was divided into ten Parts, nine of those ten employ\ntheir Time to get Bread to their Belly, and Cloaths to their Back; and\nwhat Impertinences are these to a reasonable Soul, if she was free from\nthe Clog of a mortal Body, or if that could be provided for, without\nTrouble or lots of Time? Corporeal Labour is from Need and Necessity,\nbut intellectual Exercises are matter of Choice, that please and perfect\nat the same Time.\n\nDevotion warms and opens the Soul, and disposes it to receive divine\nInfluences. It sometimes raises the Mind into an heavenly Ecstasy, and\nfills it with a Joy that is not to be express\u2019d. When it is pure, it\nleaves a strong Impression upon the Heart, of Love to God; and inspires\nus with a Contempt of this World, having tasted the Pleasures of the\nWorld to come. In the State which we speak of, seeing the _Tabernacle of\nGod will be with Men_, _Apoc. xxi. 3_. we may reasonably suppose that\nthere will be greater Effusions and Irradiations of the Holy Spirit,\nthan we have or can expect in this Region of Darkness; and consequently,\nall the Strength and Comfort that can arise from private Devotion.\n\nAnd as to their publick Devotions, all Beauties of Holiness, all\nPerfection of divine Worship, will shine in their Assemblies. Whatsoever\n_David_ says of _Sion_ and _Jerusalem_, _Psal. lxxxiv._ are but Shadows\nof this _New Jerusalem_, and of the Glory that will be in those\nSolemnities, _Psal. lxxxvii._ Imagine what a Congregation will be there\nof Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Christian Martyrs, and Saints of the\nfirst Rank, throughout all Ages: And these all known to one another by\ntheir Names and History. This very meeting together of such Persons,\nmust needs create a Joy unspeakable: But when they unite in their\nPraises to God and to the Lamb, with pure Hearts full of divine Love;\nwhen they sing their Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the Throne, that\nhath wash\u2019d them in his Blood, and redeem\u2019d them out of every Kingdom,\nand Tongue, and People, and Nation: When, with their Palms in their\nHands, they triumph over Sin and Death, and Hell, and all the Powers of\nDarkness; can there be any thing, on this side Heaven, and a Choir of\nAngels, more glorious or more joyful?\n\nBut why did I except Angels? Why may not they be thought to be present\nat these Assemblies? In a Society of Saints and purified Spirits, why\nshould we think their Converse impossible? In the Golden Age, the Gods\nwere always represented, as having freer Intercourse with Men; and\nbefore the Flood, we may reasonably believe it so. I cannot think,\n_Enoch_ was translated into Heaven without any Converse with its\nInhabitants before he went thither: And seeing the Angels vouchsafed\noften, in former Ages, to visit the Patriarchs upon Earth, we may with\nReason judge, that they will much more converse with the same Patriarchs\nand holy Prophets, now they are risen from the Dead, and cleans\u2019d from\ntheir Sins, and seated in the _New Jerusalem_. I cannot but call to\nmind, upon this Occasion, that Representation which St. _Paul_ makes to\nus, of a glorious State and a glorious Assembly, too high for this\npresent Earth: \u2019Tis, (_Hebr. xii. 22_, _&c._) in these Words: _But you\nare come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the\nheavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable Company of Angels; to the\ngeneral Assembly and Church of the First-born, which are written in\nHeaven; and to God the Judge of all, and to the Spirits of just Men made\nperfect._ This, I know, several apply to the Times and State of the\nGospel, in Opposition to that of the Law; and it is introduc\u2019d in that\nmanner; but here are several Expressions too high for any present State\nof Things; they must respect a future State, either of Heaven, or of the\nMillennial Kingdom of Christ: And to the latter of these Expressions\nagree, and have a peculiar Fitness and Applicability to it. And what\nfollows in the Context, _ver. 26, 27, 28_. _About shaking the Heavens\nand the Earth once more_; removing the former Scenes, and bringing on a\nnew Kingdom that cannot be shaken: All this, I say, answers to the\nKingdom of Christ, which is to be establish\u2019d in the new Heavens and new\nEarth.\n\nBut to proceed in their publick Devotions; Suppose this August Assembly,\ninflam\u2019d with all divine Passions, met together to celebrate the Name of\nGod, with Angels intermixt, to bear a Part in this holy Exercise: And\nlet this Concourse be, not in any Temple made with Hands, but under the\ngreat Roof Heaven, (the true Temple of the most High,) so as all the Air\nmay be fill\u2019d with the chearful Harmony of their Hymns and Hallelujahs:\nThen, in the height of their Devotion, as they sing Praises to the Lamb,\nand to him that sits upon the Throne, suppose the Heavens to open, and\nthe Son of God to appear in his Glory, _Apoc. v. 11._ with thousands and\nten thousands of Angels round about him; that their Eyes may see him,\nwho, for their Sakes was crucified upon Earth, now encircled with Light\nand Majesty. This will raise them into as great Transports as human\nNature can bear: They will wish to be dissolv\u2019d, they will strive to fly\nup to him in the Clouds, or to breathe out their Souls in repeated\nDoxologies of _Blessing, Ch. v. 13. and Honour, and Glory, and Power, to\nhim that sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever_.\n\nBut we cannot live always in the Flames of Devotion; the Weakness of our\nNature will not suffer us to continue long under such strong Passions,\nand such Intenseness of Mind. The Question is therefore, What will be\nthe ordinary Employment of that Life? How will they entertain their\nThoughts, or spend their Time? For we suppose they will not have that\nmultiplicity of frivolous Business that we have now; about our Bodies,\nabout our Children; in Trades and Mechanicks; in Traffick and\nNavigation; or Wars by Sea or Land. These things being swept away\nwholly, or in a great Measure, what will come in their Place? How will\nthey find Work or Entertainment for a long Life? If we consider, who\nthey are that will have a Part in this first Resurrection, and be\nInhabitants of that World that is to come, we may easily believe that\nthe most constant Employment of their Life will be CONTEMPLATION. Not\nthat I exclude any innocent Diversions, as I said before; the\nEntertainments of Friendship, or ingenuous Conversation; but the great\nBusiness and Design of that Life is Contemplation, as preparatory to\nHeaven and eternal Glory. _Ut paulatim assueseant capere Deum, L. 5. c.\n32._ as _Iren\u00e6us_ says, that they may, by Degrees, enlarge their\nCapacities, fit and _accustom themselves to receive God_. Or, as he says\nin another Place, _That they may become capable of the Glory of the\nFather_; that is, capable of bearing the Glory and Presence of God;\ncapable of the highest Enjoyment of him, which is usually call\u2019d the\n_Beatifical Vision_; and is the Condition of the Blessed in Heaven.\n\nIt cannot be deny\u2019d, that in such a Millennial State, where we shall be\nfreed from all the Incumbrances of this Life, and provided of better\nBodies and greater Light of Mind: It cannot be doubted, I say, but that\nwe shall then be in a Disposition to make greater Proficiency in the\nKnowledge of all Things, divine and intellectual; and consequently of\nmaking happy Preparations for our entring upon a further State of Glory:\nFor there is nothing certainly does more prepare the Mind of Man for the\nhighest Perfections, than Contemplation, with that Devotion which\nnaturally flows from it, as Heat follows Light. And this Contemplation\nhath always a greater or less Effect upon the Mind according to the\nPerfection of its Object; so as the Contemplation of the divine Nature\nis, of all others, the most perfective in it self, and to us, according\nto our Capacities and Decree of Abstraction. An _immense Being_ does\nstrangely fill the Soul; and Omnipotency, Omnisciency, and infinite\nGoodness, do enlarge and dilate the Spirit, while it fixily looks upon\nthem. They raise strong Passions of Love and Admiration, which melt our\nNature, and transform it into the Mould and Image of that which we\ncontemplate: What the Scripture says of our _Transformation_ into the\ndivine Likeness; what St. _John_ and the _Platonists_ say of our _Union_\nwith God; and whatever is not cant in the _mystical Theology_, when they\ntell us of being deified; all this must spring from these Sources of\nDevotion and Contemplation: They will change and raise us from\nPerfection to Perfection, as from Glory to Glory, into a greater\nSimilitude and nearer Station to the divine Nature.\n\nThe Contemplation of God and his Works comprehends all Things; for the\none makes the uncreated World, and the other the created: And as the\ndivine Essence and Attributes are the greatest Objects that the Mind of\nMan can set before it self; so next to that are the Effects and\nEmanations of the Divinity, or the Works of the divine Goodness, Wisdom\nand Power in the created World. This hath a vast Extent and Variety, and\nwould be sufficient to entertain their Time, in that happy State, much\nlonger than a thousand Years; as you will easily grant, if you allow me\nbut to point at the several Heads of those Speculations.\n\nThe Contemplation of the _created World_ divides it self into three\nParts; that of the _intellectual_ World; that of the _corporeal_; and\nthe Government and Administration of both, which is usually call\u2019d\n_Providence_. These three, drawn into one Thought, with the Reasons and\nProportions that result from them, compose that GRAND IDEA, which is the\nTreasury and Comprehension of all Knowledge; whereof we have spoken more\nlargely in the last Chapter of the second Book of this _Theory_, under\nthe Name of the _Mundane Idea_. But at present we shall only mention\nsuch Particulars, as may be thought proper Subjects for the Meditations\nand Enquiries of those who shall enjoy that happy State which we now\ntreat of.\n\nAs to the intellectual World, excepting our own Souls, we know little,\nin this Region of Darkness where we are at present, more than bare\nNames: We hear of Angels and Archangels, of Cherubins and Seraphins, of\nPrincipalities and Powers, and Thrones, and Dominions: We hear the Sound\nof these Words with Admiration, but we know little of their Natures;\nwherein their general Notion, and wherein their Distinction consists;\nwhat peculiar Excellencies they have, what Offices and Employments, of\nall this we are ignorant; only in general, we cannot but suppose that\nthere are more Orders and Degrees of intellectual Beings, betwixt us and\nthe Almighty, than there are Kinds or Species of living Creatures upon\nthe Face of the Earth; betwixt Man their Lord and Master, and the least\nWorm that creeps upon the Ground; nay, than there are Stars in Heaven,\nor Sands upon the Sea-shore. For there is an infinite Distance and\nInterval betwixt us and God Almighty, and all that is fill\u2019d with\ncreated Beings of different Degrees of Perfection, still approaching\nnearer and nearer to their Maker. And when this invisible World shall be\nopen\u2019d to us, when the Curtain is drawn, and the Celestial Hierarchy set\nin order before our Eyes, we shall despise our selves, and all the petty\nGlories of a mortal Life, as the Dirt under our Feet.\n\nAs to the corporeal Universe, we have some Share already in the\nContemplation and Knowledge of that; though little in Comparison of what\nwill be then discover\u2019d. The Doctrine of the Heavens, fixed Stars,\nPlanets and Comets, both as to their Matter, Motion and Form, will be\nthen clearly demonstrated; and what are Mysteries to us now, will become\nmatter of ordinary Conversation: We shall be better acquainted with our\nneighbouring Worlds, and make new Discoveries as to the State of their\nAffairs. The Sun especially, the great Monarch of the planetary Worlds;\nwhose Dominion reaches from Pole to Pole, and the Greatness of his\nKingdom is under the whole Heaven: Who sends his bright Messengers every\nDay through all the Regions of his vast Empire; throwing his Beams of\nLight round about him, swifter and farther than a Thought can follow:\nThis noble Creature, I say, will make a good part of their Study in the\nsucceeding World. _Eudoxus_, the Philosopher, wish\u2019d he might dye like\n_Phaeton_, in approaching too near to the Sun, provided he could fly so\nnear it, and endure it so long, till he had discover\u2019d its Beauty and\nPerfection. Who can blame his Curiosity? Who would not venture far to\nsee the Court of so great a Prince, who hath more Worlds under his\nCommand than the Emperors of the Earth have Provinces or Principalities?\nNeither does he make his Subjects Slaves to his Pleasure, or Tributaries\nto serve and supply his Wants: On the contrary, they live upon him, he\nnourishes and preserves them; gives them Fruits every Year, Corn, and\nWine, and all the Comforts of Life: This glorious Body, which now we can\nonly gaze upon and admire, will be then better understood. A Mass of\nLight and Flame, and ethereal Matter, ten thousand times bigger than\nthis Earth; enlightning and enlivening an Orb that exceeds the Bulk of\nour Globe, as much as that does the least Sand upon the Sea-shore, may\nreasonably be presum\u2019d to have some great Being at the Centre of it; but\nwhat that is we must leave to the Enquiries of another Life.\n\nThe _Theory of the Earth_ will be a common Lesson there; carried through\nall its Vicissitudes and Periods from first to last, till its entire\nRevolution be accomplish\u2019d. I told you in the Preface, the _Revolution\nof the World_ was one of the greatest Speculations that we are capable\nof in this Life; and this little World where we are, will be the first\nand easiest Instance of it, seeing we have Records, Historical, or\nProphetical, that reach from the Chaos to the End of the new Heavens and\nnew Earth; which course of Time makes up the greatest part of the Circle\nor Revolution. And as what was before the Chaos, was but, in my Opinion,\nthe first Remove from a fixed Star, so what is after the thousand Years\nRenovation, is but the last Step to it again.\n\nThe _Theory of human Nature_ is also an useful and necessary\nSpeculation, and will be carried on to Perfection in that State. Having\nfix\u2019d the true Distinction betwixt Matter and Spirit, betwixt the Soul\nand the Body, and the true Nature and Laws of their Union, the original\nContract, and the Terms ratified by Providence at their first\nConjunction, it will not be hard to discover the Springs of Action and\nPassion; how the Thoughts of our Mind and the Motions of our Body act in\ndependance one upon another. What are the primary Differences of\nGenius\u2019s and Complexions, and how our Intellectuals or Morals depend\nupon them? What is the Root of Fatality, and how far it extends? By\nthese Lights they will see into their own and every Man\u2019s Breast, and\ntrace the Foot-steps of the divine Wisdom in that strange Composition of\nSoul and Body.\n\nThis indeed is a mix\u2019d Speculation, as most others are, and takes in\nsomething of both Worlds, intellectual and corporeal; and may also\nbelong in part to the third Head we mention\u2019d, _Providence_: But there\nis no need of distinguishing these Heads so nicely, provided we take in,\nunder some or other of them, what may be thought best to deserve our\nKnowledge now, or in another World. As to _Providence_, what we intend\nchiefly by it here, is the general Oeconomy of our Religion, and what is\nreveal\u2019d to us in Scripture, concerning God, Angels, and Mankind. These\nRevelations, as most in Sacred Writ, are short and incompleat; as being\ndesign\u2019d for Practice more than for Speculation, or to awaken and excite\nour Thoughts rather than to satisfy them. Accordingly, we read in\nScripture of a Triune Deity; of God made Flesh in the Womb of a Virgin;\nbarbarously crucified by the _Jews_; descending into Hell; rising again\nfrom the Dead; visibly ascending into Heaven; and sitting at the Right\nHand of God the Father, above Angels and Archangels. These great things\nare imperfectly revealed to us in this Life; which we are to believe so\nfar as they are revealed, in hopes these Mysteries will be made more\nintelligible in that happy State to come, where Prophets, Apostles and\nAngels, will meet in Conversation together.\n\nIn like manner, how little is it we understand concerning the _Holy\nGhost_? that he descended like a _Dove_ upon our Saviour, _Mat. iii.\n16._ Like cloven Tongues of Fire upon the Apostles the Place being\nfill\u2019d with a rushing mighty Wind, _Acts ii._ That he over shadow\u2019d the\nblessed Virgin, and begot the Holy Infant, _Mat. i. 18._ That he made\nthe Apostles speak all sorts of Tongues and Languages _ex tempore_, and\npour\u2019d out strange Virtues and miraculous Gifts upon the Primitive\nChristians, _Luke i. 35._ These things we know as bare Matter of Fact,\nbut the Method of these Operations we do not at all understand. Who can\ntell us now, what that is which we call INSPIRATION? What Change is\nwrought in the Brain, and what in the Soul, and how the Effect follows?\nWho will give us the just Definition of a _Miracle_? What the proximate\nAgent is above Man, and whether they are all from the same Power? How\nthe Manner and Process of those miraculous Changes in Matter may be\nconceiv\u2019d? These Things we see darkly, and hope they will be set in a\nclearer Light, and the Doctrines of our Religion more fully expounded to\nus, in that future World. For as several things obscurely express\u2019d in\nthe Old Testament, are more clearly reveal\u2019d in the New; so the same\nMysteries, in a succeeding State, may still receive a farther\nExplication.\n\nThe History of the Angels, good or bad, makes another Part of this\nprovidential System. Christian Religion gives us some Notices of both\nKinds, but very imperfect; what Interest the good Angels have in the\nGovernment of the World, and in ordering the Affairs of this Earth and\nMankind? What Subjection they have to our Saviour? And what Part in his\nMinistry? Whether they are Guardians to particular Persons, to Kingdoms,\nto Empires? All that we know at present, concerning these Things, is but\nconjectural. And as to the bad Angels, who will give us an Account of\ntheir Fall and of their former Condition? I had rather know the History\nof _Lucifer_, than of all the _Babylonian_ and _Persian_ Kings; nay,\nthan of all the Kings of the Earth. What the Birth-right was of that\nmighty Prince? What his Dominions? Where his Imperial Court and\nResidence? How he was depos\u2019d? For what Crime, and by what Power? How he\nstill wages War against Heaven, in his Exile? What Confederates he hath?\nWhat is his Power over Mankind, and how limited? What Change or Damage\nhe suffer\u2019d by the Coming of Christ, and how it alter\u2019d the Posture of\nhis Affairs? Where he will be imprison\u2019d in the _Millennium_; and what\nwill be his last Fate and final Doom? whether he may ever hope for a\nRevolution or Restauration? These things lie hid in the secret Records\nof Providence, which then, I hope, will be open\u2019d to us.\n\nWith the Revolution of _Worlds_, we mention\u2019d before the Revolution of\n_Souls_; which is another great Circle of Providence, to be studied\nhereafter: We know little here, either of the Pre-existence or\nPost-existence of our Souls. We know not what they will be, till the\nloud Trump awakes us, and calls us again into the corporeal World. Who\nknows how many Turns he shall take upon this Stage of the Earth, and how\nmany Trials he shall have, before his Doom will be finally concluded?\nWho knows where, or what, is the State of Hell? Where the Souls of the\nWicked are said to be for ever? What is the true State of Heaven? What\nour celestial Bodies? and, what that sovereign Happiness that is call\u2019d\nthe _Beatifical Vision_? Our Knowledge and Conceptions of these things\nare, at present, very general and superficial; but in the future Kingdom\nof Christ, which is introductory to Heaven it self, these Imperfections,\nin a great measure, will be done away; and such Preparations wrought,\nboth in the Will and Understanding, as may fit us for the Life of\nAngels, and the Enjoyment of God in eternal Glory.\n\nThus you see in general, what will be the Employment of the Saints in\nthe blessed _Millennium_: And tho\u2019 they have few of the trifling\nBusinesses of this Life, they will not want the best and noblest of\nDiversions. \u2019Tis an happy thing when a Man\u2019s Pleasure is also his\nPerfection; for most Men\u2019s Pleasures are such as debase their Nature. We\ncommonly gratify our lower Faculties, our Passions, and our Appetites;\nand these do not improve, but depress the Mind; and besides they are so\ngross that the finest Tempers are surfeited in a little time. There is\nno lasting Pleasure but _Contemplation_; all others grow flat and\ninsipid upon frequent Use; and when a Man hath run thorow a Set of\nVanities, in the Declension of his Age he knows not what to do with\nhimself, if he cannot Think; he saunters about, from one dull Business\nto another to wear out time; and hath no Reason to value Life, but\nbecause he is afraid of Death: But Contemplation is a continual Spring\nof fresh Pleasures. Truth is inexhausted, and when once you are in the\nright Way, the farther you go, the greater Discoveries you make, and\nwith the greater Joy. We are sometimes highly pleased, and even\ntransported, with little inventions in Mathematicks, or Mechanicks, or\nnatural Philosophy; all these things will make part of their Diversion\nand Entertainment in that State, all the Doctrine of Sounds and Harmony,\nof Light, Colours, and Perspective, will be known in Perfection: But\nthese I call Diversions, in comparison of their higher and more serious\nSpeculations, which will be the Business and Happiness of that Life.\n\nDo but imagine, that they will have the Scheme of all humane Affairs\nlying before them, from the Chaos to the last Period; the universal\nHistory and Order of Times; the whole Oeconomy of the Christian\nReligion, and of all the Religions in the World; the Plan of the\nUndertaking of the Messiah, with all other Parts and Ingredients of the\nProvidence of this Earth: Do but imagine this, I say, and you will\neasily allow, that when they contemplate the Beauty, Wisdom and Goodness\nof the whole Design, it must needs raise great and noble Passions, and a\nfar richer Joy than either the Pleasures or Speculations of this Life\ncan exite in us; and this being the last Act and Close of all human\nAffairs, it ought to be the more exquisite and elaborate, that it may\ncrown the Work, satisfy the Spectators, and end in a general Applause;\nthe whole Theatre resounding with the Praises of the great Dramatist,\nand the wonderful Art and Order of the Composition.\n\n\n\n\n                                CHAP. X.\n\n\n    _Objections against the Millennium, answer\u2019d. With some Conjectures\n    concerning the State of Things after the Millennium; and what will\n    be the final Consummation of this World._\n\n\nYou see how Nature and Providence have conspir\u2019d, to make the\n_Millennium_ as happy a State, as any terrestrial State can be: For,\nbesides Health and Plenty, Peace, Truth, and Righteousness will flourish\nthere, and all the Evils of this Life stand excluded. There will be no\nambitious Princes, studying Mischief one against another, or contriving\nMethods to bring their own Subjects into Slavery; no mercenary Statesmen\nto assist and intrigue with them, no Oppression from the Powerful, no\nSnares or Traps laid for the Innocent, no treacherous Friends, no\nmalicious Enemies, no Knaves, Cheats, Hypocrites; the Vermin of this\nEarth, that swarm every where. There will be nothing but Truth, Candor,\nSincerity and Ingenuity; as in a Society or Commonwealth of Saints and\nPhilosophers: In a Word, \u2019twill be _Paradise restor\u2019d_, both as to\nInnocency of Temper, and the Beauties of Nature.\n\nI believe you will be apt to say, if this be not true, \u2019tis pity but it\nshould be true: For \u2019tis a very desirable State, where all good People\nwould find themselves mightily at ease. What is it that hinders it then?\nIt must be some ill _Genius_; for Nature tends to such a Renovation, as\nwe suppose; and Scripture speaks loudly of an happy State to be some\ntime or other on this side Heaven: And what is there, pray, in this\npresent World, Natural and Moral, if I may ask with Reverence, that\ncould make it worth the while for God to create it, if it never was\nbetter, nor ever will be better? Is there not more Misery than\nHappiness? Is there not more Vice than Virtue in this World? As if it\nhad been made by a _Manichean_ God. The Earth barren, the Heavens\ninconstant; Men wicked and God offended: This is the Posture of our\nAffairs, such hath our World been hitherto, with Wars and Bloodshed,\nSickness, and Diseases, Poverty, Servitude and perpetual Drudgery for\nthe Necessaries of a mortal Life. We may therefore reasonably hope, from\na God infinitely good and powerful, for better Times and a better State,\nbefore the last Period and Consummation of all Things.\n\nBut it will be objected, it may be, that, according to Scripture, the\nVices and Wickedness of Men will continue to the End of the World; and\nso there will be no room for such an happy State, as we hope for, _Luk.\nxviii. 8_. Our Saviour says, _When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find\nFaith upon the Earth?_ They shall _eat and drink and play_, as before\nthe Destruction of the _old World_, or of _Sodom_, (_Luke xvii. 26_,\n_&c._) and the Wickedness of those Men, you know, continued to the last.\nThis Objection may pinch those that suppose the Millennium to be in the\npresent Earth, and a thousand Years before the coming of our Saviour;\nfor his Words seem to imply that the World will be in a State of\nWickedness even till his coming. Accordingly Antichrist or the _Man of\nSin_, is not said to be destroy\u2019d till the coming of our Saviour, _2\nThess. ii. 8_. and till he be destroy\u2019d, we cannot hope for a\nMillennium. Lastly, The coming of our Saviour is always represented in\nScripture as sudden, surprizing and unexpected; as _Lightning_ breaking\nsuddenly out of the Clouds, (_Luke xvii. 24._ and _ch. xxi. 34, 35_.) or\nas a _Thief in the Night_, _1 Thess. v. 2, 3, 4._ _2 Pet. iii. 10._\n_Apoc. xvi. 15._ But if there be such a Fore-runner of it as the\nmillennial State, whose Bounds we know, according as that expires and\ndraws to an End, Men will be certainly advertis\u2019d of the approaching of\nour Saviour: But this Objection, as I told you, does not affect our\nHypothesis, for we suppose the Millennium will not be till after the\ncoming of our Saviour, and the Conflagration. And also that his coming\nwill be sudden and surprising; and that Antichrist will continue in\nbeing, tho\u2019 not in the same degree of Power, till that time: So that\nthey that place the Millennium in the present Earth, are chiefly\nconcern\u2019d to answer this first Objection.\n\nBut you will object, it may be, in the second Place, that this\nMillennium, wheresoever it is, would degenerate at length into\nSensuality, and a _Mahometan Paradise:_ For where there are earthly\nPleasures and earthly Appetites, they will not be kept always in order\nwithout any Excess or Luxuriancy; especially as to the Senses to Touch\nand Taste. I am apt to think this is true, if the Soul have no more\nPower over the Body than she hath at present, and our Senses, Passions,\nand Appetites be as strong as they are now: But according to our\nExplication of the Millennium, we have great Reason to hope, that the\nSoul will have a greater Dominion over the Resurrection-Body, than she\nhath over this; and you know we suppose that none will truly inherit the\nMillennium, but those that rise from the Dead: Nor do we admit any\nPropagation there, nor the Trouble or Weakness of Infants. But that all\nrise in a perfect Age, and never die; being translated, at the final\nJudgment, to meet our Saviour in the Clouds, and to be with him for\never: Thus we easily avoid the Force of this Objection. But those that\nplace the Millennium in this Life, and to be enjoy\u2019d in these Bodies,\nmust find out some new Preservatives against Vice, otherwise they will\nbe continually subject to Degeneracy.\n\nAnother Objection may be taken from the personal Reign of Christ upon\nEarth, which is a thing incongruous, and yet asserted by many modern\nMillennaries; that Christ should leave that Right-Hand of his Father, to\ncome and pass a thousand Years here below, living upon Earth in an\nheavenly Body: This, I confess, is a thing I never could digest, and\ntherefore I am not concern\u2019d in this Objection; not thinking it\nnecessary that Christ should be personally present and resident upon\nEarth in the Millennium. I am apt to believe that there will be then a\ncelestial Presence of Christ, or a _Shekinah_, as we noted before; as\nthe Sun is present to the Earth, yet never leaves its Place in the\nFirmament; so Christ may be visibly conspicuous in his heavenly Throne,\nas he was to St. _Stephen_, _Acts vii. 55, 56_. and yet never leave the\nRight Hand of his Father. And this would be a more glorious and\nillustrious Presence, than if he should descend, and converse amongst\nMen in a personal Shape: But these things not being distinctly reveal\u2019d\nto us, we ought not to determine any thing concerning them, but with\nModesty and Submission.\n\nWe have thus far pretty well escap\u2019d, and kept our selves out of the\nreach of the ordinary Objections against the Millennium: But there\nremains one, concerning a _double Resurrection_, which must fall upon\nevery Hypothesis, and \u2019tis this. The Scripture, they say, speaks but of\none Resurrection; whereas the Doctrine of the Millennium supposes two;\none at the Beginning of the Millennium, for the Martyrs, and those that\nenjoy that happy State, and the other at the End of it; which is\nuniversal and final, in the last Day of Judgment. \u2019Tis true, Scripture\ngenerally speaks of the Resurrection in gross; without distinguishing\nfirst and second; and so it speaks of the _Coming_ of our Saviour,\nwithout Distinction of first or second yet it does not follow from that,\nthat there is but one coming of our Saviour, so neither that there is\nbut one Resurrection. And seeing there is one place of Scripture that\nspeaks distinctly of two Resurrections, namely, the _xxth chap._ of the\n_Apocalypse_, that is to us a sufficient Warrant for asserting two; as\nthere are some things in one Evangelist that are not in another, yet we\nthink them authentick if they be but in one: There are also some things\nin _Daniel_, concerning the _Messiah_, and concerning the\n_Resurrection_, that are not in the rest of the Prophets; yet we look\nupon his single Testimony as good Authority. St. _John_ wrote the last\nof all the Apostles, and as the whole Series of his Prophecies is new,\nreaching through the latter Times to the Consummation of all Things; so\nwe cannot wonder if he had something more particular reveal\u2019d to him\nconcerning the Resurrection: That which was spoken of before in general,\nbeing distinguish\u2019d now into _first_ and _second_, or particular and\nuniversal, in this last Prophet. _See Mr. Mede._ Some think St. _Paul_\nmeans no less, when he makes an _Order_ in the Resurrection; some rising\nsooner, some later, _1 Cor. xv. 23, 24_, _1 Thess.. iv. 14, 15_, _&c._\nbut whether that be so or no, St. _John_ might have a more distinct\nRevelation concerning it, than St. _Paul_ had, or any one before him.\n\nAfter these Objections, a great many Queries and Difficulties might be\npropos\u2019d relating to the Millennium: But that\u2019s no more than what is\nfound in all other Matters, remote from our Knowledge. Who can answer\nall the Queries that may be made concerning _Heaven_, or _Hell_, or\n_Paradise_? When we know a Thing as to the Substance, we are not to let\ngo our Hold, tho\u2019 there remain some Difficulties unresolv\u2019d; otherwise\nwe should be eternally sceptical in most Matters of Knowledge.\nTherefore, tho\u2019 we cannot, for Example, give a full Account of the\nDistinction of Habitations and Inhabitants in the _future Earth_; or, of\nthe Order of the _first Resurrection_, whether it be perform\u2019d by\ndegrees and successively, or all the Inhabitants of the _new Jerusalem_\nrise at once, and continue throughout the whole Millennium: I say, tho\u2019\nwe cannot give a distinct Account of these, or such like Particulars, we\nought not therefore to deny or doubt whether there will be a _new\nEarth_, or a _first Resurrection_. For the Revelation goes clearly so\nfar, and the Obscurity is only in the Consequences and Dependences of\nit; which Providence thought fit, without farther Light, to leave to our\nSearch and Disquisition.\n\nScripture mentions one Thing, at the End of the Millennium, which is a\ncommon Difficulty to all; and every one must contribute their best\nThoughts and Conjectures towards the Solution of it: \u2019Tis the strange\nDoctrine of _Gog_ and _Magog_, _Apoc. xx. 8, 9_. which are to rise up in\nRebellion against the Saints, and besiege the holy City, and the holy\nCamp: And this is to be upon the Expiration of the thousand Years, when\nSatan is loosen\u2019d; for no sooner will his Chains be knock\u2019d off, but he\nwill put himself in the Head of this Army of Giants, or Sons of the\nEarth, and attack Heaven, and the Saints of the most High: But with ill\nSuccess, for there will come down Fire and Lightning from Heaven, and\nconsume them. This, methinks, hath a great Affinity with the History of\nthe Giants, rebelling and assaulting Heaven, and struck down by\nThunder-Bolts: But that of setting Mountains upon Mountains, or tossing\nthem into the Sky, that\u2019s the poetical Part, and we must not expect to\nfind it in the Prophecy. The Poets told their Fable, as of a thing past,\nand so it was a Fable; but the Prophets speak of it, as of a Thing to\ncome, and so it will be a Reality: But how and in what Sense it is to be\nunderstood and explain\u2019d, every one has the Liberty to make the best\nJudgment he can.\n\n_Ezekiel_ mentions _Gog_ and _Magog_, _ch._ xxxviii. and xxxix. which I\ntake to be only Types and Shadows of these which we are now speaking of,\nand not yet exemplify\u2019d, no more than his Temple. And seeing this People\nis to be at the End of the _Millennium_, and in the same Earth with it,\nwe must, according to our Hypothesis, plant them in the future Earth,\nand therefore all former Conjectures about the _Turks_, or _Scythians_,\nor other _Barbarians_, are out of Doors with us, seeing the Scene of\nthis Action does not lie in the present Earth: They are also represented\nby the Prophet, as a People distinct and separate from the Saints, not\nin their Manners only, but also in their Seats and Habitations; for\n(_Apoc. xx. 8, 9._) they are said to come up from the four Corners of\nthe Earth, upon the Breadth of the Earth, and there to besiege the _Camp\nof the Saints and the beloved City_: This makes it seem probable to me,\nthat there will be a double Race of Mankind in that _future Earth_; very\ndifferent one from another, both as to their Temper and Disposition, and\nas to their Origin: The one born from Heaven, Sons of God, and of the\nResurrection, who are the true Saints and Heirs of the _Millennium_. The\nother born of the Earth, Sons of the Earth, generated from the Slime of\nthe Ground, and the Heat of the Sun, as brute Creatures were at first:\nThis second Progeny or Generation of Men in the future Earth, I\nunderstand to be signified by the Prophet under these borrowed or\nfeigned Names of _Gog_ and _Magog_: And this Earth-born Race, increasing\nand multiplying after the Manner of Men, by carnal Propagation, after a\nthousand Years, grew numerous, as the Sand by the Sea; and thereupon\nmade an Irruption or Inundation upon the Face of the Earth, and upon the\nHabitations of the Saints; as the barbarous Nations did formerly upon\nChristendom; or as the Giants are said to have made War against the\nGods: But they were soon confounded in their impious and sacrilegious\nDesign, being struck and consum\u2019d by Fire from Heaven.\n\nSome will think, it may be, that there was such a double Race of Mankind\nin the first World also: _The Sons of Adam, and the Sons of God_;\nbecause it is said, _Gen. vi._ _When Men began to multiply upon the Face\nof the Earth_, that _the SONS OF GOD SAW THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, that they\nwere fair, and they took them Wives of all that they lik\u2019d._ And it is\nadded, presently, _ver. 4._ _There were Giants in the Earth in those\nDays; and also after that, when the Sons of God came in unto the\nDaughters of Men, and they bare Children to them; the same became mighty\nMen, which were of old, Men of Renown._ Here seem to be two or three\nOrders or Races in this Ante-diluvian World. _The Sons of God; the Sons\nand Daughters of Adam_; and a third Sort arising from the Mixture and\nCopulation of these, which are call\u2019d _Mighty Men of old_, or Heroes.\nBesides, here are Giants mention\u2019d, and to which they are to be reduc\u2019d,\nit does not certainly appear.\n\nThis Mixture of these two Races, whatsoever they were, gave, it seems,\nso great Offence to God, that he destroy\u2019d that World upon it, in a\nDeluge of Water. It hath been matter of great Difficulty to determine,\nwho these _Sons of God_ were, that fell in Love with and married the\nDaughters of Men. There are two Conjectures that prevail most; one, that\nthey were Angels; and another, that they were of the Posterity of\n_Seth_, and distinguished from the rest, by their Piety, and the Worship\nof the true God; so that it was a great Crime for them to mingle with\nthe rest of Mankind, who are suppos\u2019d to have been Idolaters: Neither of\nthese Opinions is to me satisfactory. For as to Angels, good Angels\nneither _marry, nor are given in Marriage_, _Mat. xxii. 30._ and bad\nAngels are not called the _Sons of God_. Besides, if Angels were capable\nof those mean Pleasures, we ought in Reason to suppose, that there are\nFemale Angels, as well as Male; for surely those Capacities are not in\nvain through a whole _Species_ of Beings. And if there be Female Angels,\nwe cannot imagine, but that they must be of a far more charming Beauty\nthan the dowdy Daughters of Men. Then as to the Line of _Seth_, it does\nnot appear that there was any such Distinction of Idolaters and true\nWorshipers before the Flood, or that there was any such thing as\nIdolatry at that time, nor for some Ages after. Besides, it is not said,\nthat the Sons of God fell in Love with the Daughters of _Cain_, or of\nany degenerate Race, but with the Daughters of _Adam_; which may be the\nDaughters of _Seth_, as well as of any other: These Conjectures\ntherefore seem to be shallow and ill-grounded. But what the Distinction\nwas of those two Orders, remains yet very uncertain.\n\nSt. _Paul_ to the _Galatians_, (_chap. iv. 21, 22_, _&c._) makes a\nDistinction also of a double Progeny; that of _Sarah_, and that of\n_Hagar_: One was born according to the Flesh, after a natural Manner;\nand the other by the divine Power, or in virtue of the divine Promise.\nThis Distinction of a natural and supernatural Origin, and of a double\nProgeny; the one born to Servitude, the other to Liberty, represents\nvery well either the Manner of our present Birth, and of our future, at\nthe Resurrection; or that double Progeny and double manner of Birth,\nwhich we suppose in the _future Earth_. \u2019Tis true, St. _Paul_ applies\nthis to the Law and the Gospel; but typical Things, you know, have\ndifferent Aspects and Complexions, which are not exclusive of one\nanother; and so it may be here. But however, this double Race of Mankind\nin the future Earth, to explain the Doctrine of _Gog_ and _Magog_, is\nbut a Conjecture; and does not pretend to be otherwise considered.\n\nThe last Thing that remains to be considered and accounted for, is the\nUpshot and Conclusion of all; namely, what will become of the Earth\nafter the thousand Years expir\u2019d? Or after the Day of Judgment past, and\nthe Saints translated into Heaven, what will be the Face of Things here\nbelow? There being nothing expresly reveal\u2019d concerning this, we must\nnot expect a positive Resolution of it: And the Difficulty is not\npeculiar to our Hypothesis; for though the _Millennium_, and the final\nJudgment, were concluded in the present Earth, the Qu\u00e6re would still\nremain, _What_ would become of this Earth after the last Day? So that\nall Parties are equally concern\u2019d, and equally free, to give their\nOpinion, _What_ will be the _last State and Consummation_ of this Earth:\nScripture, I told you, hath not defin\u2019d this Point; and the Philosophers\nsay very little concerning it. The Stoicks indeed speak of the final\nResolution of all things into _Fire_, or into _Ether_: which is the\npurest and subtlest sort of Fire: So that the whole Globe or Mass of the\nEarth, and all particular Bodies, will, according to them, be at last\ndissolv\u2019d into a liquid Flame. Neither was this Doctrine first invented\nby the Stoicks; _Heraclitus_ taught it long before them, and I take it\nto be as ancient as _Orpheus_ himself; who was the first Philosopher\namongst the _Greeks_: And he deriving his Notions from the _Barbarick_\nPhilosophers, or the Sages of the _East_, that School of Wisdom may be\nlook\u2019d upon as the true Seminary of this Doctrine, as it was of most\nother natural Knowledge.\n\nBut this Dissolution of the Earth into Fire, may be understood two Ways;\neither that it will be dissolv\u2019d into a loose Flame, and so dissipated\nand lost as Lightning in the Air, and vanish into nothing; or that it\nwill be dissolv\u2019d into a fix\u2019d Flame, such as the Sun is, or a fix\u2019d\nStar. And I am of Opinion, that the Earth after the last Day of\nJudgment, will be chang\u2019d into the Nature of a Sun, or of a fix\u2019d Star,\nand shine like them in the Firmament: Being all melted down into a Mass\nof \u00e6thereal Matter, and enlightning a Sphere or Orb round about it. I\nhave no direct and demonstrative Proof of this I confess, but if Planets\nwere once fixed Stars, as I believe they were, their Revolution to the\nsame State again, in a great Circle of Time, seems to be according to\nthe Methods of Providence, which loves to recover what was lost or\ndecay\u2019d, after certain Periods, and what was originally good and happy,\nto make it so again, all Nature, at last, being transform\u2019d into a like\nGlory with the Sons of God, (_Rom._ viii. 21.)\n\nI will not tell you what Foundation there is in Nature, for this Change\nor Transformation from the interiour Constitution of the Earth, and the\nInstances we have seen of new Stars appearing in the Heavens. I should\nlead the _English_ Reader too far out of his Way, to discourse of these\nthings: But if there be any Passages or Expressions in Scripture, that\ncountenance such a State of things after the Day of Judgment, it will\nnot be improper to take Notice of them. That radiant and illustrious\n_Jerusalem_, describ\u2019d by St. _John Apoc._ xxi. _ver._ 10, 11, 12, &c.\ncompos\u2019d all of Gemms and bright Materials, clear and sparkling, as a\nStar in the Firmament: Who can give an Account what that is? Its\nFoundations, Walls, Gates, Streets, all the Body of it, resplendent as\nLight or Fire? What is there in Nature, or in this Universe, that bears\nany Resemblance with such a Ph\u00e6nomenon as this, unless it be a Sun or a\nfix\u2019d Star? Especially if we add and consider what follows, _ver._ 23.\nThat _the City had no need of the Sun, nor of the Moon to shine in it_,\n_ver. 25_. And that _there was no Night there_. This can be no\nterrestrial Body; it must be a Substance luminous in it self, and a\nFountain of Light, as a fix\u2019d Star: And upon such a Change of the Earth,\nor Transformation, as this, would _be brought to pass the Saying that is\nwritten_, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. Which indeed St. _Paul_\nseems to apply to our Bodies in particular, _1 Cor. xv. 54_. But in the\neighth Chap. to the _Romans_ he extends it to all Nature, _ver. 21_.\n_The Creation it self also shall be deliver\u2019d from the Bondage of\nCorruption, into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God._ And\naccordingly St. _John_, speaking of the same Time with St. _Paul_ in\nthat Place to the _Corinthians_, namely, of the general Resurrection and\nDay of Judgement, says, _Death_ and _Hades_, which we render Hell, _were\ncast into the Lake of Fire, Apoc. xx. 14._ This is their being\n_swallowed up in Victory_, which St. _Paul_ speaks of; when _Death_ and\n_Hades_, that is, all the Region of Mortality, the Earth and all its\nDependences, are absorpt into a Mass of Fire; and converted, by a\nglorious Victory over the Powers of Darkness, into a luminous Body and a\nRegion of Light.\n\nThis great Issue and Period of the Earth, and of all human Affairs, tho\u2019\nit seem to be founded in Nature, and supported by several Expressions of\nScripture; yet we cannot, for want of full Instruction, propose it\notherwise than as a fair Conjecture: The Heavens and the Earth shall\nflie away at the Day of Judgment, says the Text, _Apoc. xx. 11_. _And\ntheir Place shall not be found._ This must be understood of our Heavens\nand our Earth; and their _flying away_ must be their removing to some\nother Part of the Universe, so as their Place or Residence shall not be\nfound any more here below. This is the easy and natural Sense of the\nWords; and this Translation of the Earth will not be without some Change\npreceeding, that makes it leave its Place, and, with a lofty Flight,\ntakes its Seat amongst the Stars.\u2014\u2014There we leave it; having conducted\nit for the Space of seven thousand Years thro\u2019 various Changes, from a\n_dark Chaos to a bright Star_.\n\n_FINIS._\n\n\n\n\n              A REVIEW Of the SACRED Theory of the Earth,\n\n                               And of its\n\n                                PROOFS:\n\n                       Especially in Reference to\n\n                               SCRIPTURE.\n\n                               _LONDON_:\n                Printed for J. HOOKE in _Fleet-street_.\n\n                               A Review.\n\n\n\n\nTo take a _Review_ of this _Theory_ of the _Earth_, which we have now\nfinish\u2019d, we must consider, first, the Extent of it, and then the\nprincipal Parts whereof it consists: It reaches, as you see, from one\nEnd of the World to the other; from the first Chaos to the last Day, and\nthe Consummation of all Things. This probably, will run the length of\nseven thousand Years; which is a good competent Space of Time to\nexercise our Thoughts upon, and to observe the several Scenes which\nNature and Providence bring into View within the Compass of so many\nAges.\n\nThe Matter and principal Parts of this _Theory_ are such things as are\nrecorded in Scripture: We do not feign a Subject, and then discant upon\nit, for Diversion; but endeavour to give an intelligible and rational\nAccount of such Matters of Fact, past or future, as are there specified\nand declared. What it hath seem\u2019d good to the Holy Ghost to communicate\nto us, by History or Prophecy, concerning the several States and general\nChanges of this Earth, makes the Argument of our Discourse: Therefore\nthe Things themselves must be taken for granted, in one Sense or other,\nseeing, besides all other Proofs, they have the Authority of a\nRevelation; and our Business is only to give such an Explication of\nthem, as shall approve it self to the Faculties of Man, and be\nconformable to Scripture.\n\nWe will therefore first set down the Things themselves, that make the\nsubject Matter of this _Theory_; and remind you of our Explication of\nthem: Then recollect the general Proofs of that Explication, from Reason\nand Nature; but more fully and particularly shew how it is grounded upon\nScripture. The primary _Ph\u00e6nomena_ whereof we are to give an Account,\nare these five or six.\n\n    I. _The Original of the Earth from a Chaos._\n\n    II. _The State of Paradise, and the antediluvian World._\n\n    III. _The universal Deluge._\n\n    IV. _The universal Conflagration._\n\n    V. _The Renovation of the World, or the new Heavens and new Earth._\n\n    VI. _The Consummation of all Things._\n\nThese are unquestionably in Scripture; and these all relate, as you see,\nto the several Forms, States and Revolutions of this Earth. We are\ntherefore oblig\u2019d to give a clear and coherent Account of these\n_Ph\u00e6nomena_, in that Order and Consecution wherein they stand to one\nanother.\n\nThere are also in Scripture some other Things, relating to the same\nSubjects, that may be call\u2019d the secondary Ingredients of this _Theory_,\nand are to be referr\u2019d to their respective primary Heads. Such are, for\nInstance,\n\n    I. _The Longevity of the Ante-diluvians._\n\n    II. _The Rupture of the great Abyss, at the Deluge._\n\n    III. _The appearing of the Rainbow after the Deluge, as a Sign that\n    there never should be a second Flood._\n\nThese things Scripture hath also left upon Record, as Directions and\nIndications how to understand the ante-diluvian State, and the Deluge it\nself. Whosoever therefore shall undertake to write the _Theory_ of the\n_Earth_, must think himself bound to give us a just Explication of these\nsecondary _Ph\u00e6nomena_, as well as of the primary; and that in such a\nDependance and Connexion, as to make them give and receive Light from\none another.\n\nThe former Part of the Task is concerning the World behind us, Times and\nThings past, that are already come to Light: The latter is concerning\nthe World before us, Times and Things to come; that lie yet in the Bosom\nof Providence, and in the Seeds of Nature. And these are chiefly the\n_Conflagration_ of the World, and the _Renovation_ of it. When these are\nover and expir\u2019d, then _comes the End_, as St. _Paul_ says, _1 Cor. xv._\nThen the _Heavens and the Earth fly away_, as St. _John_ says, _Apoc.\nxx._ Then is the _Consummation_ of all Things, and the last Period of\nthis sublunary World, whatsoever it is: Thus far the Theorist must go,\nand pursue the Motions of Nature, till all Things are brought to Rest\nand Silence: And in this latter Part of the _Theory_, there is also a\ncollateral Ph\u00e6nomenon, the _Millennium_, or thousand Years Reign of\nChrist and his Saints upon Earth, to be consider\u2019d. For this, according\nas it is reported in Scripture, does imply a Change in the natural\nWorld, as well as in the Morals and therefore must be accounted for in\nthe _Theory_ of the _Earth_: At least it must be there determin\u2019d,\nwhether that State of the World, which is singular and extraordinary,\nwill be before or after the Conflagration.\n\nThese are the Principals and Incidents of this _Theory_ of the _Earth_,\nas to the Matter and Subject of it; which, you see, is both important,\nand wholly taken out of Scripture: As to our Explication of these\nPoints, that is sufficiently known, being set down at large in four\nBooks of this Theory; Therefore it remains only, having seen the Matter\nof the Theory, to examine the Form of it, and the Proofs of it; for from\nthese two things it must receive its Censure. As to the Form, the\nCharacters of a regular Theory seem to be these three; _Few and easy\nPostulatums; Union of Parts_; and _a Fitness to answer, fully and\nclearly, all the Ph\u00e6nomena to which it is to be apply\u2019d_.\n\nWe think our Hypothesis does not want any of these Characters: As to the\nfirst, we take but one single _Postulatum_ for the whole Theory, and\nthat an easy one, warranted both by Scripture and Antiquity; namely,\n_That this Earth rise, at first, from a Chaos_: As to the second, _Union\nof Parts_, the whole Theory is but one Series of Causes and Effects from\nthat first Chaos. Besides, you can scarce admit any one Part of it,\nfirst, last, or intermediate, but you must, in Consequence of that,\nadmit all the rest. Grant me but that the Deluge is truly explain\u2019d, and\nI\u2019ll desire no more Proof for all the Theory: Or, if you begin at the\nother End, and grant the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_ after the\nConflagration, you will be led back again to the first Heavens and first\nEarth that were before the Flood. For St. _John_ says, that _new Earth_\nwas without a _Sea_, _Apoc. xxi. 1_. And it was a _Renovation_, or\n_Restitution_ to some former State of Things: There was therefore some\nformer Earth without a Sea; which not being the present Earth, it must\nbe the ante-diluvian. Besides, both St. _John_, and the Prophet\n_Esaias_, have represented the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_, as\n_paradisiacal_, according as it proved, _Book IV. Chap. 2_. And having\ntold us the Form of the new-future-Earth, that it will have _no Sea_, it\nis a reasonable Inference that there was no Sea in the _paradisiacal\nEarth_. However, from the Form of this future Earth, which St. _John_\nrepresents to us, we may at least conclude, that an _Earth without a\nSea_ is no Chim\u00e6ra, or Impossibility; but rather a fit Seat and\nHabitation for the Just and the Innocent.\n\nThus you see the Parts of the Theory link and hold fast one another,\naccording to the Second Character: And as to the third, of being _suited\nto the Ph\u00e6nomena_, we must refer that to the next Head of _Proofs_. It\nmay be truly said, that bare Coherence and Union of Parts is not a\nsufficient Proof; the Parts of a Fable or Romance may hang aptly\ntogether, and yet have no Truth in them: This is enough indeed to give\nthe Title of a just Composition to any Work, but not of a true one; till\nit appear that the Conclusions and Explications are grounded upon good\nnatural Evidence, or upon good Divine Authority. We must therefore\nproceed now to the third thing to be consider\u2019d in a Theory, _What_ its\nProofs are? Or the Grounds upon which it stands, whether Sacred or\nNatural?\n\nAccording to natural Evidence, things are proved from their Causes or\ntheir Effects; and we think we have this double Order of Proofs for the\nTruth of our Hypothesis: As to the Method of Causes, we proceed from\nwhat is more simple, to what is more compound, and build all upon one\nFoundation. Go but to the Head of the Theory, and you will see the\nCauses lying in a Train before you, from first to last; and tho\u2019 you did\nnot know the natural History of the World, past or future, you might, by\nIntuition, foretel it, as to the grand Revolutions and successive Faces\nof Nature, through a long Series of Ages. If we have given a true\nAccount of the Motions of the Chaos, we have also truly form\u2019d the first\nhabitable Earth; and if that be truly form\u2019d we have thereby given a\ntrue Account of the State of _Paradise_, and of all that depends upon\nit; and not of that only, but also of the universal Deluge. Both these\nwe have shewn in their Causes; The one from the Form of that Earth, and\nthe other from the Fall of it into the Abyss: And tho\u2019 we had not been\nmade acquainted with these things by Antiquity, we might, in\nContemplation of the Causes, have truly conceiv\u2019d them as Properties or\nIncidents to the first Earth. But as to the Deluge, I do not say, that\nwe might have calculated the Time, Manner, and other Circumstances of\nit: These things were regulated by Providence, in subordination to the\nmoral World; but that there would be, at one Time or other, a Disruption\nof that Earth, or of the great Abyss, and in Consequence of it, an\nuniversal Deluge; so far, I think, the Light of a Theory might carry us.\n\nFarthermore, in Consequence of this Disruption of the prim\u00e6val Earth, at\nthe Deluge, the present Earth was made hollow and cavernous, [_Theor.\nBook iii. chap. 7, and 8._] and by that means, (due Preparations being\nused) capable of _Combustion_, or of perishing by an universal Fire:\nYet, to speak ingenuously, this is as hard a Step to be made, in virtue\nof natural Causes, as any in the whole _Theory_. But in Recompence of\nthat Defect, the Conflagration is so plainly and literally taught us in\nScripture, and avow\u2019d by Antiquity, that it can fall under no dispute,\nas to the Thing it self; and as to a Capacity or Disposition to it in\nthe present Earth, that I think is sufficiently made out.\n\nThen, the Conflagration admitted, in that way it is explain\u2019d in the\nthird Book; the Earth, you see, is, by that Fire, reduc\u2019d to a second\nChaos. A Chaos truly so call\u2019d; and from that, as from the first, arises\nanother Creation, or _new Heavens_ and a _new Earth_; by the same\nCauses, and in the same Form, with the _paradisiacal_. This is the\n_Renovation_ of the World; the _Restitution_ of all Things mention\u2019d\nboth by Scripture and Antiquity; and by the Prophet _Isaiah_, St.\n_Peter_ and St. _John_, call\u2019d the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_: With\nthis, as the last Period, and most glorious Scene of all human Affairs,\nour _Theory_ concludes, as to this Method of Causes, whereof we are now\nspeaking.\n\nI say, here it Ends as to the _Method of Causes_: For tho\u2019 we pursue the\nEarth still farther, even to its last Dissolution, which is call\u2019d the\nConsummation of all Things; yet all that we have superadded upon that\nOccasion, is but problematical, and may, without Prejudice to the\n_Theory_, be argued and disputed on either Hand. I do not know, but that\nour Conjectures there may be well grounded; but however, not springing\nso directly from the same Root, or, at least, not by Ways so clear and\nvisible, I leave that Part undecided: Especially seeing we pretend to\nwrite no more than the _Theory of the Earth_, and therefore as we begin\nno higher than the _Chaos_, so we are not oblig\u2019d to go any farther than\nto the last State of a terrestrial Consistency; which is that of the new\nHeavens and the new Earth.\n\nThis is the first natural Proof, from the Order of Causes: The second is\nfrom the Consideration of Effects; namely, of such Effects as are\nalready in being: And therefore this Proof can extend only to that Part\nof the _Theory_, that explains the present and past Form and Ph\u00e6nomena\nof the Earth. What is future, must be left to a farther Trial, when the\nThing comes to pass, and present themselves to be examin\u2019d and compar\u2019d\nwith the Hypothesis. As to the present Form of the Earth, we call all\nNature to Witness for us; the Rocks and the Mountains, the Hills and the\nValleys, the deep and wide Sea, and the Caverns of the Ground: Let these\nspeak, and tell their Origin: How the Body of the Earth came to be thus\ntorn and mangled? If this strange and irregular Structure was not the\nEffect of a Ruin; and of such a Ruin as was universal over the Face of\nthe whole Globe. But we have given such a full Explication of this, in\nthe first Part of the Theory, from _chap. ix._ to the End of that\nTreatise, that we dare stand to the Judgment of any that reads those\nfour Chapters to determine if the Hypothesis does not answer to all\nthose Ph\u00e6nomena, easy and adequately.\n\nThe next Ph\u00e6nomenon to be consider\u2019d, is the _Deluge_, with its\nAdjuncts: This also is fully explain\u2019d by our Hypothesis, in the iid,\niiid, and vith Chapters of the first Book: Where it is shewn, that the\n_Mosaical Deluge_, that is, an universal Inundation of the whole Earth,\nabove the Tops of the highest Mountains, made by a breaking open of the\ngreat Abyss, (for thus far _Moses_ leads us) is fully explain\u2019d by this\nHypothesis, and cannot be conceiv\u2019d in any other Method hitherto\npropos\u2019d. There are no Sources or Stores of Water sufficient for such an\nEffect, that may be drawn upon the Earth, and drawn off again, but by\nsupposing such an Abyss, and such a Disruption of it, as the Theory\nrepresents.\n\nLastly, As to the Ph\u00e6nomena of _Paradise_, and the ante-diluvian World,\nwe have set them down in Order in the second Book; and apply\u2019d to each\nof them its proper Explication, from the same Hypothesis. We have also\ngiven an Account of that Character which Antiquity always assign\u2019d to\nthe first Age of the World, or the Golden Age, as they call\u2019d it;\nnamely, _Equality of Seasons_ throughout the Year, or a perpetual\nEquinox. We have also taken in all the Adjuncts or Concomitants of these\nStates, as they are mention\u2019d in Scripture. _The Longevity_ of the\nAnte-diluvians, and the Declension or their Age by degrees, after the\nFlood: As also that wonderful Ph\u00e6nomenon, the _Rainbow_; which appear\u2019d\nto _Noah_ for a Sign, that the Earth should never undergo a second\nDeluge. And we have shewn [_Theor._ _Book ii. ch. 5._] wherein the Force\nand Propriety of that Sign consisted, for confirming _Noah_\u2019s Faith in\nthe Promise and in the Divine Veracity.\n\nThus far we have explain\u2019d the past Ph\u00e6nomena of the natural World: The\nrest are Futurities, which still lie hid in their Causes; and we cannot\nproperly prove a Theory from Effects that are not yet in Being: But so\nfar as they are foretold in Scripture, both as to Substance and\nCircumstance, in Prosecution of the same Principles we have ante-dated\ntheir Birth, and shew\u2019d how they will come to pass. We may therefore, I\nthink, reasonably conclude, that this Theory has perform\u2019d its Task and\nanswer\u2019d its Title; having given an Account of all the general Changes\nof the natural World as far as either Sacred History looks backwards, or\nSacred Prophecy looks forwards; so far as the one tells us what is past\nin Nature, and the other what is to come; And if all this be nothing but\nan Appearance of Truth, \u2019tis a kind of Fatality upon us to be deceiv\u2019d.\n\nSo much for natural Evidence, from the Causes or Effects: We now proceed\nto Scripture, which will make the greatest Part of this Review. The\nSacred Basis upon which the whole Theory stands, is the Doctrine of St.\n_Peter_, deliver\u2019d in his _second Epistle_ and _third Chapter_,\nconcerning the _triple Order_ and Succession of the Heavens and the\nEarth; that comprehends the whole Extent of our Theory; which indeed is\nbut a large Commentary upon St. _Peter_\u2019s Text. The Apostle sets out a\nthree-fold State of the Heavens and Earth, with some general Properties\nof each, taken from their different Constitution and different Fate. The\nTheory takes the same three-fold State of the Heavens and the Earth; and\nexplains more particularly, wherein their different Constitution\nconsists; and how, under the Conduct of Providence, their different Fate\ndepends upon it. Let us set down the Apostle\u2019s Words, with the Occasion\nof them; and their plain Sense, according to the most easy and natural\nExplication.\n\n    _2 Pet. iii. ver. 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in\n    the last Days Scoffers, walking after their own Lusts._\n\n    4. _And saying, where is the Promise of his coming? For since the\n    Fathers fell asleep, all Things continue as they were from the\n    Beginning of the Creation._\n\n    5. _For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of\n    God, the Heavens were of old, and the Earth consisting of Water and\n    by Water._\n\n    6. _Whereby the World that then was, being overflowed with Water,\n    perished._\n\n    7. _But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, by the same Word,\n    are kept in Store, reserved unto Fire against the Day of Judgment,\n    and Perdition of ungodly Men._\u2014\n\n    10. _The Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night, in which\n    the Heavens shall pass away with a great Noise, and the Elements\n    shall melt with fervent Heat; the Earth also and the Works that are\n    therein shall be burnt up._\n\n    13. _Nevertheless we, according to his Promise, look for new Heavens\n    and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness._\n\nThis is the whole Discourse so far as relates to our Subject: St.\n_Peter_, you see, had met with some that scoff\u2019d at the future\nDestruction of the World, and the coming of our Saviour; and they were\nMen, it seems, that pretended to Philosophy and Argument; and they use\nthis Argument for their Opinion, _Seeing there has been no Change in\nNature, or in the World, from the Beginning to this Time, why should we\nthink there will be any Change for the future?_\n\nThe Apostle answers to this, that they willingly forget, or are\nignorant, that there were Heavens of old, and an Earth, so and so\nconstituted; consisting of Water and by Water; by reason whereof that\nWorld, or those Heavens and that Earth, perish\u2019d in a Deluge of Water.\nBut, saith he, the Heavens and the Earth, that are now, are of another\nConstitution, fitted and reserved to another Fate; namely to perish by\nFire: And after these are perish\u2019d, there will be new Heavens and a new\nEarth, according to God\u2019s Promise.\n\nThis is an easy Paraphrase, and the plain and genuine Sense of the\nApostle\u2019s Discourse; and no Body, I think, would ever look after any\nother Sense, if this did not carry them out of their usual Road, and\npoint to Conclusions which they did not fancy. The Sense, you see, hits\nthe Objection directly, or the Cavil which these Scoffers made; and\ntells them, that they vainly pretend that there hath been no change in\nthe World since the Beginning; for there was one sort of Heavens and\nEarth before the Flood, and another Sort now, the first having been\ndestroy\u2019d at the Deluge. So that the Apostle\u2019s Argument stands upon this\nFoundation, that there is a Diversity betwixt the present Heavens and\nEarth, and the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth; take away that, and you\ntake away all the Force of his Answer.\n\nThen as to his _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_ after the Conflagration,\nthey must be material and natural, in the same Sense and Signification\nwith the former Heavens and Earth; unless you will offer open Violence\nto the Text. So that this Triplicity of the Heavens and the Earth, is\nthe first, obvious, plain Sense of the Apostle\u2019s Discourse; which every\none would readily accept, if it did not draw after it a long Train of\nConsequences, and lead them into other Worlds than they ever thought of\nbefore, or are willing to enter upon now.\n\nBut we shall have Occasion by and by, to examine this Text more fully in\nall its Circumstances: Give me leave in the mean time to observe, that\nSt. _Paul_ also implies that _triple Creation_ which St. _Peter_\nexpresses. St. _Paul_, I say, in the viiith Chapter to the _Romans_,\nver. 20, 21. tells us of a _Creation_ that will be _redeem\u2019d from\nVanity_, which are the new Heavens and new Earth to come. A _Creation in\nSubjection to Vanity_; which is the present State of the World; and a\n_Creation_ that was subjected to Vanity, in hopes of being restored,\nwhich was the first _Paradisiacal_ Creation: And these are the three\nStates of the natural World, which make the Subject of our Theory.\n\nTo these two Places of St. _Peter_ and St. _Paul_, I might add that\nthird in St. _John_, concerning the new Heavens and new Earth, with that\ndistinguishing Character, that the Earth was _without a Sea_: As this\ndistinguisheth it from the present Earth, so, being a _Restitution_ or\n_Restauration_, as we noted before, it must be the same with some former\nEarth; and consequently it implies, that there was another precedent\nState of the natural World, to which this is a Restitution. These three\nPlaces I alledge, as comprehending and confirming the Theory in its full\nExtent; But we do not suppose them all of the same Force and Clearness;\nSt. _Peter_ leads the Way, and gives Light and Strength to the other\ntwo: When a Point is prov\u2019d by one clear Text, we allow others, as\nAuxiliaries, that are not of the same Clearness; but being open\u2019d,\nreceive Light from the primary Text, and reflect it upon the Argument.\n\nSo much for the Theory in general: We will now take one or two principal\nHeads of it, which virtually contain all the rest, and examine them more\nstrictly and particularly, in reference to their Agreement with\nScripture. The two Heads we pitch upon, shall be our Explication of the\nDeluge, and our Explication of the new Heavens and new Earth: We told\nyou before, these two were as the Hinges, upon which all the Theory\nmoves, and which hold the Parts of it in firm Union one with another. As\nto the Deluge, if I have explain\u2019d that aright, by the Disruption of the\ngreat Abyss, and the Dissolution of the Earth that cover\u2019d it, all the\nrest follows in such a Chain of Consequences as cannot be broken.\nWherefore, in order to the Proof of that Explication, and of all that\ndepends upon it, I will make bold to lay down this Proposition, _That\nour Hypothesis concerning the universal Deluge, is not only more\nagreeable to Reason and Philosophy, than any other yet propos\u2019d to the\nWorld, but is also more agreeable to Scripture_: Namely, to such Places\nof Scripture as reflect upon the _Deluge_, the _Abyss_, and the Form of\nthe _first Earth_: And particularly to the _History of Noah\u2019s Flood, as\nrecorded by Moses_. If I can make this good, it will, doubtless, give\nSatisfaction to all that are free and intelligent; and I desire their\nPatience, if I proceed slowly and by several Steps. We will divide our\nTask into Parts, and examine them separately; first, by Scripture in\ngeneral, and then by _Moses_ his History and Description of the Flood.\n\nOur Hypothesis of the Deluge consists of three principal Heads, or\ndiffers remarkably in three Things from the common Explication. First,\nin that we suppose the ante-diluvian Earth to have been of another Form\nand Constitution from the present Earth; with the Abyss placed under it.\n\nSecondly, In that we suppose the Deluge to have been made, not by any\nInundation of the Sea, or overflowing of Fountains and Rivers; nor\n(principally) by an Excess of Rains; but by a real Dissolution of the\nexteriour Earth, and Disruption of the Abyss which it cover\u2019d: These are\nthe two principal Points; to which may be added, as a Corollary,\n\nThirdly, That the Deluge was not in the nature of a standing Pool; the\nWaters lying every where level, of an equal Depth, and with an uniform\nSurface; but was made by a Fluctuation and Commotion of the Abyss upon\nthe Disruption: Which Commotion being over, the Waters retired into\ntheir Channels, and let the dry Land appear.\n\nThese are the most material and fundamental Parts of our Hypothesis; and\nthese being prov\u2019d consonant to Scripture, there can be no doubt of the\nrest.\n\nWe begin with the first: That the ante-diluvian Earth was of another\nForm and Constitution from the present Earth, with the Abyss placed\nunder it: This is confirm\u2019d in Scripture, both by such Places as assert\na Diversity in general; and by other Places that intimate to us, wherein\nthat Diversity consisted, and what was the form of the first Earth. That\nDiscourse of St. _Peter_\u2019s, which we have set before you concerning the\npast, present and future Heavens and Earth, is so full a Proof of this\nDiversity in general, that you must either allow it, or make the\nApostle\u2019s Argumentation of no Effect: He speaks plainly of the natural\nWorld, _The Heavens and the Earth_; and he makes a plain Distinction, or\nrather Opposition, betwixt those before and after the Flood. So that the\nleast we can conclude from his Words, is a Diversity betwixt them; in\nanswer to that Identity or Immutability of Nature, which the Scoffers\npretended to have been ever since the Beginning.\n\nBut tho\u2019 the Apostle, to me, speaks plainly of the _natural World_,\nand distinguishes that which was before the Flood, from the present;\nyet there are some that will allow neither of these to be contain\u2019d in\nSt. _Peter_\u2019s Words; and by that means would make this whole Discourse\nof little or no Effect, as to our Purpose: And seeing we, on the\ncontrary, have made it the chief Scripture-Basis of the whole Theory\nof the Earth, we are oblig\u2019d to free it from those false Glosses or\nMis-interpretations, that lessen the Force of its Testimony, or make\nit wholly ineffectual.\n\nThese Interpreters say, that St. _Peter_ meant no more than to mind\nthese Scoffers, that the World was once destroy\u2019d by a Deluge of Water;\nmeaning the _Animate World_, Mankind and living Creatures: And that it\nshall be destroyed again by another Element, namely, by Fire. So as\nthere is no Opposition or Diversity betwixt the two natural Worlds,\ntaught or intended by the Apostle; but only in reference to their\ndifferent Fate or Manner of perishing, and not of their different Nature\nor Constitution.\n\nHere are two main Points, you see, wherein our Interpretations of this\nDiscourse of the Apostle\u2019s differ. First, in that they make the Apostle\n(in that _sixth verse_) to understand only the World _Animate_, or Men\nin brute Creatures: That these were indeed destroy\u2019d, but not the\nnatural World, or the Form and Constitution of the then Earth and\nHeavens. Secondly, that there is no Diversity or Opposition made by St.\n_Peter_ betwixt the antient Heavens and Earth, and the present, as to\ntheir Form and Constitution. We pretend that these are Mis-apprehensions\nor Mis-representations of the Sense of the Apostle in both respects, and\noffer these Reasons to prove them to be so.\n\nFor the first Point; That the Apostle speaks here of the natural World,\nparticularly in the 6th verse; and that it perished, as well as the\nanimate, these Considerations seem to prove.\n\nFirst, because the Argument or Ground these Scoffers went upon, was\ntaken from the natural World, its Constancy and Permanency in the same\nState from the Beginning; therefore if the Apostle answers _ad idem_,\nand takes away their Argument, he must understand the same natural\nWorld, and shew that it hath been chang\u2019d, or hath perish\u2019d.\n\nYou will say, it may be, the Apostle doth not deny, nor take away the\nGround they went upon, but denies the Consequence they made from it;\nthat _therefore there would be no Change because there had been none_.\nNo, neither doth he do this, if by the _World_ in the 6th verse, he\nunderstands Mankind only; for their Ground was this, _There hath been no\nChange in the natural World_; their Consequence this, _Therefore there\nwill be none_, nor any Conflagration. Now the Apostle\u2019s Answer according\nto you, is this, _You forget that Mankind hath been destroy\u2019d in a\nDeluge._ And what then? What\u2019s this to the natural World, whereof they\nwere speaking? This takes away neither Antecedent nor Consequent,\nneither Ground nor Inference nor any way toucheth their Argument, which\nproceeded from the natural World, to the natural World. Therefore you\nmust either suppose that the Apostle takes away their Ground, or he\ntakes away nothing.\n\nSecondly, What is it that the Apostle tells these Scoffers they were\nignorant of? That there was a Deluge that destroy\u2019d Mankind? They could\nnot be ignorant of that, nor pretend to be so: It was therefore the\nConstitution of those old Heavens and Earth, and the Change or\nDestruction of them at the Deluge, that they were ignorant of, or did\nnot attend to; and of this the Apostle minds them. These Scoffers appear\nto have been _Jews_ by the Phrase they use, _Since the Fathers fell\nasleep_, which in both Parts of it is a _Judaical_ Expression; and does\nSt. _Peter_ tell the _Jews_ that had _Moses_ read to them every Sabbath,\nthat _they were ignorant that Mankind was once destroyed with a Deluge\nin the Days of Noah_? Or could they pretend to be ignorant of that\nwithout making themselves ridiculous both to _Jews_ and Christians[6]?\nBesides, these do not seem to have been of the Vulgar amongst them, for\nthey bring a Philosophical Argument for their Opinion; and also in their\nvery Argument they refer to the History of the Old Testament, in saying,\n_Since the Fathers fell asleep_, amongst which Fathers, _Noah_ was one\nof the most remarkable.\n\n_Thirdly_, The Design of the Apostle is to prove to them, or to dispose\nthem to the Belief of the Conflagration, or future destruction of the\nWorld; which I suppose you will not deny to be a Destruction of the\nnatural World; therefore to prove or persuade this, he must use an\nArgument taken from a precedent Destruction of the natural World; for to\ngive an instance of the perishing of Mankind only, would not reach home\nto his Purpose. And you are to observe here, that the Apostle does not\nproceed against them barely by Authority; for what would that have\nbooted? If these Scoffers would have submitted to Authority, they had\nalready the Authority of the Prophets and Apostles in this Point: but he\ndeals with them at their own Weapon, and opposes Reasons to Reasons;\nWhat hath been done may be done, and if the natural World hath been once\ndestroyed, \u2019tis not hard, nor unreasonable to suppose those Prophecies\nto be true, that say, it shall be destroyed again.\n\n_Fourthly_, Unless we understand here the natural World, we make the\nApostle both redundant in his Discourse, and also very obscure in an\neasy Argument: If his Design was only to tell them that Mankind was once\ndestroy\u2019d in a Deluge, what\u2019s that to the Heavens and the Earth? The 5th\nverse would be superfluous; which yet he seems to make the foundation of\nhis Discourse. He might have told them how Mankind had perished before\nwith a Deluge, and aggravated that Destruction as much as he pleas\u2019d,\nwithout telling them how the Heavens and the Earth were constituted\nthen; what was that to the Purpose, if it had no Dependence or\nConnection with the other? In the precedent Chapter, _ver. 5._ when he\nspeaks only of the Floods destroying Mankind, he mentions nothing of the\nHeavens or the Earth; and if you make him to intend no more here, what\nhe says more is superfluous.\n\nI also add, that you make the Apostle very obscure and operose in a very\neasy Argument: How easy had it been for him, without this _Apparatus_,\nto have told them, as he did before, that God brought a Flood upon the\nWorld of the ungodly; and not given us so much Difficulty to understand\nhis Sense, or such a Suspicion and Appearance, that he intended\nsomething more? For that there is at least a great Appearance and\nTendency to a farther Sense, I think none can deny; And St. _Austin_,\n_Didymus Alex. Bede_, as we shall see hereafter, understood it plainly\nof the natural World; also modern Expositors and Criticks; as _Cajetan_,\n_Estius_, _Drusius_, _Heinsius_, have extended it to the natural World,\nmore or less, tho\u2019 they had no Theory to mislead them, nor so much as an\nHypothesis to support them; but attended only to the Tenor of the\nApostle\u2019s Discourse, which constrained them to that Sense, in whole or\nin Part.\n\nFifthly, The Opposition carries it upon the natural World: The\nOpposition lies betwixt the \u03bf\u1f31 \u1f14\u03ba\u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1f76 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b3\u1fc6 and \u03bf\u1f31 \u03bd\u1fe6\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1f76\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b3\u1fc6 the Heavens that were of old, and the Earth, and the present\nHeavens and Earth, or the two natural Worlds: And if they will not allow\nthem to be oppos\u2019d in their Natures (which yet we shall prove by and by)\nat least they must be oppos\u2019d in their Fate; and as this is to perish by\nFire, so that perished by Water; and if it perish\u2019d by Water, it\nperish\u2019d; which is all we contend for at present.\n\nLastly, If we would be as easily govern\u2019d in the Exposition of this\nPlace, as we are of other Places of Scripture, it would be enough to\nsuggest, that in Reason and Fairness of Interpretation, the same World\nis destroy\u2019d in the 6th _verse_, that was describ\u2019d in the foregoing\n_verse_; but it is the natural World that is describ\u2019d there, the\nHeavens and the Earth, so and so constituted; and therefore in Fairness\nof Interpretation they ought to be understood here; that World being the\nSubject that went immediately before, and there being nothing in the\nWords that restrains them to the animate World or to Mankind. In the iid\n_ch. ver. 5._ the Apostle does restrain the Word \u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 by adding\n\u1f00\u03c3\u03b5\u03b2\u1ff6\u03bd, _the World of the ungodly_; but here \u2019tis not only illimited,\nbut, according to the Context, both preceding and following, to be\nextended to the natural World. I say by the following Context too; for\nso it answers to the World that is to perish by Fire; which will reach\nthe Frame of Nature as well as Mankind.\n\nFor a Conclusion of this first Point, I will set down St. _Austin_\u2019s\nJudgment in this Case; who in several Parts of his Works hath\ninterpreted this Place of St. _Peter_, _of the natural World_. As to the\nHeavens, he hath these Words in his Expositian upon _Genesis_, _Hos\netiam a\u00ebrios c\u0153los quondam periisse Diluvio, in qu\u00e2dam earum, qu\u00e6\nCanonica appellantur, Epistol\u00e2 legimus. We read in one of the Epistles\ncalled Canonical_, meaning this of St. _Peter_\u2019s, _that the a\u00ebrial\nHeavens perished in the Deluge_. And he concerns himself there to let\nyou know that it was not the starry Heavens that were destroy\u2019d; the\nWaters could not reach so high, but the Regions of our Air. Then\nafterwards he hath these Words, _Facili\u00f9s eos (c\u0153los) secundum illius\nEpistol\u00e6 authoritatem credimus periisse, & alios, sicut ibi scribitur\nrepositos. We do more easily believe, according to the Authority of that\nEpistle, those Heavens to have perished; and others, as it is there\nwritten, substituted in their Place_. In like manner, and to the same\nSense, he hath these Words upon _Psal. ci._ _Aerii utique c\u0153li perierunt\nut propinqui Terris, secundum quod dicuntur volucres c\u0153li; sunt autem &\nc\u0153li c\u0153lorum, superiores in Firmamento, sed utr\u00f9m & ipsi perituri sint\nigne, an hi soli, qui etiam diluvio perierunt, disceptatio est aliquanto\nscrupulosior inter doctos._ And in his Book _de Civ. Dei_, he hath\nseveral Passages to the same purpose, _Quemadmodum in Apostolic\u00e2 ill\u00e2\nEpistol\u00e2 \u00e0 toto Pars accipitur, quod diluvio periisse dictus est mundus,\nquamvis sola ejus cum suis c\u0153lis pars ima perierit._ These being to the\nsame Effect with the first Citation, I need not make them English; and\nthis last Place refers to the Earth as well as the Heavens, as several\nother places in St. _Austin_ do, whereof we shall give you an Account,\nwhen we come to shew his Judgment concerning the second Point, _the\ndiversity of the ante-diluvian and post-diluvian World_: This being but\na Foretaste of his good Will and Inclinations towards this Doctrine.\n\nThese Considerations alledg\u2019d, so far as I can judge, are full and\nunanswerable Proofs, that this Discourse of the Apostle\u2019s comprehends\nand refers to the natural World; and consequently they warrant our\nInterpretation in this Particular, and destroy the contrary. We have but\none Step more to make good, _That there was a Change made in this\nnatural World at the Deluge_, according to the Apostle; and this is to\nconfute the second Part of their Interpretation, which supposeth that\nSt. _Peter_ makes no Distinction or Opposition betwixt the ante-diluvian\nHeavens and Earth, and the present Heavens and Earth, in that respect.\n\nThis second Difference betwixt us, methinks is still harsher than the\nfirst; and contrary to the very Form, as well as to the Matter of the\nApostle\u2019s Discourse. For there is a plain Antithesis, or Opposition made\nbetwixt the Heavens and the Earth of old (_ver. the 5th_) and the\nHeavens and the Earth that are now (_ver. the 7th_) \u03bf\u1f31 \u1f14\u03ba\u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u1fe6\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1f76\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6, and \u03bf\u1f31 \u03bd\u1fe6\u03bd \u03bf\u1fe6\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1f76 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6, and the adversitive Particle, \u03b4\u1f72\n_but_, you see marks the Opposition; so that it is full and plain\naccording to Grammar and Logick. And that the Parts or Members of this\nOpposition differ in Nature from one another, is certain from this,\nbecause otherwise the Apostle\u2019s Argument or Discourse is of no Effect,\nconcludes nothing to the Purpose; he makes no Answer to the Objection,\nnor proves any thing against the Scoffers, unless you admit that\nDiversity. For they said, _All Things had been the same from the\nBeginning in the natural World_; and unless he say, as he manifestly\ndoes, that there hath been a Change in Nature, and that the Heavens and\nEarth that are now, are different from the ancient Heavens and Earth\nwhich perish\u2019d at the Flood, he says nothing to destroy their Argument,\nnor to confirm the prophetical Doctrine of the future Destruction of the\nnatural World.\n\nThis, I think, would be enough to satisfy any clear and free Mind\nconcerning the Meaning of the Apostle; but because I desire to give as\nfull a Light to this Place as I can, and to put the Sense of it out of\nControversy, if possible, for the future, I will make some farther\nRemarks to confirm this Exposition.\n\nAnd we may observe that several of those Reasons which we have given to\nprove, that the _natural World_ is understood by St. _Peter_, are double\nReasons; and do also prove the other Point in Question, a _Diversity\nbetwixt the two natural Worlds_, the ante-diluvian and the present. As\nfor Instance, unless you admit this Diversity betwixt the two natural\nWorlds, you make the 5th _verse_ in this _Chapter_ superfluous and\nuseless; and you must suppose the Apostle to make an Inference here\nwithout Premises. In the _vith verse_ he makes an Inference,\n[7]_Whereby_ the World, that then was perish\u2019d in a Deluge; What does\nthis _whereby_ relate to? _by Reason_ of what? Sure of the particular\nConstitution of the Heavens and the Earth immediately before describ\u2019d.\nNeither would it have signified any thing to the Scoffers, for the\nApostle to have told them how the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth were\nconstituted, if they were constituted just in the same Manner as the\npresent.\n\nBesides, what is it, as I ask\u2019d before, that the Apostle tells these\nScoffers they were ignorant of? does he not say formally and expresly\n(_ver. 5._) that they were ignorant that the Heavens and the Earth were\nconstituted so and so, before the Flood? But if they were constituted as\nthese present Heavens and Earth are, they were not ignorant of their\nConstitution? Nor did pretend to be ignorant, for their own (mistaken)\nArgument supposeth it.\n\nBut before we proceed any further, give me leave to note the Impropriety\nof our Translation, in the _5th verse_, or latter Part of it; \u1f18\u03be \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd (vel \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f54\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2) \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u1ff6\u03c4\u03b1. This we translate _standing in\nthe Water, and out of the Water_, which is done manifestly in compliance\nwith the present Form of the Earth, and the Notions of the Translators,\nand not according to the natural Force and Sense of the _Greek_ Words.\nIf one met with this Sentence[8] in a _Greek_ Author, who would ever\nrender it _standing in the Water, and out of the Water_? Nor do I know\nany _Latin_ Translator that hath ventur\u2019d to render them in that Sense,\nnor any _Latin_ Father; St. _Austin_ and St. _Jerome_ I\u2019m sure do not,\nbut _Consistens ex aqu\u00e2_, or _de aqu\u00e2, & per aquam_; for that later\nPhrase also \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, does not with so good Propriety signify\n_to stand in the Water_, as to consist or subsist by Water, or by the\nHelp of Water, _Tanquam per causam sustinentem_, as St. _Austin_ and\n_Jerome_ render it. Neither does that Instance they give from _1 Pet.\niii. 20._ prove any thing to the contrary, for the Ark was sustain\u2019d by\nthe Waters, and the _English_ does render it accordingly.\n\nThe Translation being thus rectified, you see the ante-diluvian Heavens\nand Earth consisted of Water, and by Water; which makes Way for a second\nObservation to prove our Sense of the Text; for if you admit no\nDiversity betwixt those Heavens and Earth, and the present, shew us\npray, how the present Heavens and Earth consist of Water, and by Water?\nWhat watry Constitution have they? The Apostle implies rather, that _the\nnew Heavens and Earth_ have a fiery Constitution. We have now Meteors of\nall Sorts in the Air, Winds, Hail, Snow, Lightning, Thunder, and all\nThings engender\u2019d of fiery Exhalations, as well as we have Rain; but\naccording to our Theory, _Book ii. c. 5._ the ante-diluvian Heavens, of\nall these Meteors had none but Dews and Vapours, or watry Meteors only;\nand therefore might very aptly be said by the Apostle to be _constituted\nof Water_, or to have a watry \u03c3\u03af\u03b6\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2. Then the Earth was said to\n_consist by Water_, because it was built upon it, and at first was\nsustain\u2019d by it. And when such a Key as this is put into our Hands, that\ndoes so easily unlock this hard Passage, and makes it intelligible,\naccording to the just Force of the Words, why should we pertinaciously\nadhere to an[9] Interpretation, that neither agrees with the Words, nor\nmakes any Sense that is considerable.\n\nThirdly, If the Apostle had made the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth the\nsame with the present, his Apodosis in the 7th verse, should not have\nbeen \u03bf\u1f31 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bd\u1fe6\u03bd \u03bf\u1fe6\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, but \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03bf\u1f31 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1f76 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6 \u03c4\u03b5\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c3\u03af,\n&c. I say, it would not have been by way of Antithesis, but of Identity\nor Continuation; _And the same Heavens and Earth are kept in store\nreserv\u2019d unto Fire_, &c. Accordingly we see the Apostle speaks thus, as\nto the _Logos_, or the _Word of God, ver. 7._ \u03c4\u1ff7 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7 \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u1ff3, _by the same\nWord of God_; where the Thing is the same, he expresseth it as the same;\nand if it had been the same Heavens and Earth, as well as the same Word\nof God, why should he use a Mark of Opposition for the one, and of\nIdentity for the other? To this I do not see what can be fairly\nanswer\u2019d.\n\nFourthly, The ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth were different from the\npresent, because, as the Apostle intimates, they were such, and so\nconstituted, as made them obnoxious to a Deluge; whereas ours are of\nsuch a Form, as makes them incapable of a Deluge, and obnoxious to a\nConflagration; the just contrary Fate, _Theor._ _Book i. c. 2._\n\nIf you say there was nothing of natural Tendency or Disposition in\neither World to their respective Fate, but the first might as well have\nperished by Fire as Water, and this by Water as by Fire, you unhinge all\nNature and natural Providence in that Method, and contradict one main\nScope of the Apostle in this Discourse. His first Scope is to assert,\nand mind them of that Diversity there was betwixt the antient Heavens\nand Earth, and the present; and from that, to prove against those\nScoffers, that there had been a Change and Revolution in Nature: And his\nsecond Scope seems to be this, to shew that Diversity to be such, as,\nunder the divine Conduct, leads to a different Fate, and expos\u2019d that\nWorld to a Deluge; for when he had describ\u2019d the Constitution of the\nfirst Heavens and Earth, he subjoins, \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f67\u03bd \u1f45 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\n\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03ba\u03bb\u03c5\u03bf\u03b8\u03b5\u1f76\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf. _Quia talis erat_, saith _Grotius_, _qualem\ndiximus, constitutio & Terr\u00e6 & C\u0153li._ _WHEREBY the then World perish\u2019d\nin a Flood of Water._ This _whereby_ notes some kind of casual\nDependance, and must relate to some Means or Conditions precedent. It\ncannot relate to _Logos_, or _the Word of God_, Grammar will not permit\nthat; therefore it must relate to the State of the ante-diluvian Heavens\nand Earth immediately premis\u2019d: And to what purpose indeed should he\npremise the Description of those Heavens and Earth, if it was not to lay\na Ground for this Inference?\n\nHaving given these Reasons for the Necessity of this interpretation: in\nthe last place, let us consider St. _Austin_\u2019s Judgment and his Sense\nupon this Place, as to the Point in Question; as also the Reflections\nthat some other of the Ancients have made upon this Doctrine of St.\n_Peter_\u2019s. _Didymus Alexandrinus_, who was for some time St. _Jerome_\u2019s\nMaster, made such a severe Reflection upon it, that he said this Epistle\nwas corrupted, and should not be admitted into the Canon, because it\ntaught the Doctrine of a _triple_ or _triform World_ in this third\nChapter; as you may see in his _Enarr. in Epist. Canonicas_. Now this\nthree-fold World is first that in the _6th_ verse, _The World that then\nwas_. In the _7th_ verse, _The Heavens and the Earth that are now_. And\nin the _13th_ verse, _We expect new Heavens and a new Earth, according\nto his Promise._ This seems to be a fair Account that St. _Peter_ taught\nthe Doctrine of a triple World; and I quote this Testimony, to shew what\nSt. _Peter_\u2019s Words do naturally import, even in the Judgment of one\nthat was not of his Mind; and a Man is not prone to make an Exposition\nagainst his own Opinion, unless he thinks the Words very pregnant and\nexpress.\n\nBut St. _Austin_ owns the Authority of this Epistle, and of this\nDoctrine, as deriv\u2019d from it, taking notice of this Text of St.\n_Peter_\u2019s in several Parts of his Works. We have noted three or four\nPlaces already to this purpose, and we may further take notice of\nseveral Passages in his Treatise, _de Civ. Dei_, which confirm our\nExposition. In his xxth Book, _ch._ xxiv. he Disputes against\n_Porphyry_, who had the same Principles with these Eternalists in the\nText; or, if I may so call them Incorruptarians; and thought the World\nnever had, nor ever would undergo any Change, especially, as to the\nHeavens. St. _Austin_ could not urge _Porphyry_ with the Authority of\nSt. _Peter_, for he had no Veneration for the Christian Oracles, but it\nseems he had some for the _Jewish_; and arguing against him, upon that\nText in the Psalms, _C\u0153li peribunt_, he shews, upon Occasion, how he\nunderstands St. _Peter_\u2019s Destruction of the old World. _Legitur C\u0153lum &\nTerra transibunt, Mundus transit, sed puto quod pr\u00e6terit transit,\ntransibunt aliquant\u00f2 mitius dicta sunt quam peribunt. In Epistol\u00e0 quoque\nPetri Apostoli, ubi aqu\u00e2 inundatus, qui tum erat, periisse dictus est\nMundus, satis clarum est qu\u00e6 pars mundi a toto significata est, &\nquatenus periisse dicta sit, & qui C\u0153li repositi igni reservandi._ This\nhe explains more fully afterwards by subjoining a Caution (which we\ncited before) that we must not understand this Passion of St. _Peter_\u2019s\nconcerning the Destruction of the ante-diluvian World, to take in the\nwhole Universe, and the highest Heavens, but only the aerial Heavens,\nand the sublunary World. _In Apostolic\u00e2 ill\u00e2 Epistola a toto pars\naccipitur, quod Diluvio periisse dictus est Mundus quamvis sola ejus,\ncum suis C\u0153lis pars ima perierit. In that Apostolical Epistle, a part is\nsignified by the whole, when the World is said to have perished in the\nDeluge, although the lower part of it only, with the Heavens belonging\nto it, perished_; that is, the Earth with the Regions of the Air that\nbelong to it. And consonant to this, in his Exposition of that ci.\n_Psalm_, upon those Words, _The Heavens are the work of thy Hands; they\nshall perish, but thou shalt endure._ This perishing of the Heavens, he\nsays, St. _Peter_ tells us, hath been once done already, namely, at the\nDeluge: _Apert\u00e8 dixit hoc Apostolus Petrus, C\u0153li erant olim & Terra, de\naqu\u00e2 & per aquam constituti, Dei verbo; per quod qui factus est mundus,\naqu\u00e2 inundatus deperiit; Terra autem & C\u0153li qui nunc sunt, igni\nreservantur. Jam ergo dixit periisse C\u0153los per Diluvium._\n\nThese Places shew us, that St. _Austin_ understood St. _Peter_\u2019s\nDiscourse to aim at the natural World, and his _periit_ or _periisse_\n(ver. 6) to be of the same Force as _peribunt_ in the _Psalms_, when\n\u2019tis said the Heavens _shall perish_; and consequently that the Heavens\nand the Earth, in this Father\u2019s Opinion, were as really changed and\ntransformed at the Time of the Flood, as they will be at the\nConflagration. But we must not expect from St. _Austin_, or any of the\nAntients, a distinct Account of this Apostolical Doctrine, as if they\nknew and acknowledg\u2019d the Theory of the first World; that does not at\nall appear, but what they said was either from broken Tradition, or\nextorted from them by the Force of the Apostle\u2019s Words and their own\nSincerity.\n\nThere are yet other Places in St. _Austin_ worthy our Consideration upon\nthis Subject; especially his Exposition of this iiid Chapter of St.\n_Peter_, as we find it in the same Treatise, _de Civ. Dei_, _cap._\nxviii. There he compares again, the Destruction of that World at the\nDeluge, with that which shall be at the Conflagration, and supposeth\nboth the Heavens and Earth to have perish\u2019d: _Apostolus commemorans\nfactum ante Diluvium, videtur admonuisse quodammodo quaten\u00f9s in fine\nhujus seculi mundum istum periturum esse credamus. Nam & illo tempore\nperiisse dixit, qui tunc erat, mundum; nec solum orbem terr\u00e6, verum\netiam c\u0153los._ Then giving his usual Caution, that the Stars and starry\nHeavens should not be comprehended in that mundane Destruction, he goes\non, _Atque hoc modo_ (pen\u00e8 totus a\u00ebr) _cum terra perierat; cujus Terr\u00e6\nutique prior facies_ (nempe ante-diluviana) _fuerat deleta Diluvia. Qui\nautem nunc sunt c\u0153li & terra eodem verba repositi sunt igni reservandi;\nProinde qui C\u0153li & qu\u00e6 Terra id est, qui mundus, pro eo mundo qui\nDiluvio periit, ex e\u00e1dem aqu\u00e2 repositus est, ipse igni novissimo\nreservatur._ Here you see St. _Austin_\u2019s Sense upon the whole Matter;\nwhich is this, that the natural World, the Earth with the Heavens about\nit, was destroyed and chang\u2019d at the Deluge into the present Heavens and\nEarth; which shall again, in like Manner, be destroyed and chang\u2019d by\nthe last Fire. Accordingly, in another place, to add no more, he saith,\nthe Figure of the (sublunary) World shall be changed at the\nConflagration, as it was chang\u2019d at the Deluge: _Tunc figura hujus\nmundi_, &c. _cap._ xvi.\n\nThus you see, we have St. _Austin_ on our side, in both Parts of our\nInterpretation; that St. _Peter_\u2019s Discourse is to be referr\u2019d to the\nnatural inanimate World, and that the present natural World is distinct\nand different from that which was before the Deluge. And St. _Austin_\nhaving applied this expresly to St. _Peter_\u2019s Doctrine by way of\nCommentary, it will free us from any Crime or Affectation of Singularity\nin the Exposition we have given of that Place.\n\nVenerable _Bede_ hath followed St. _Austin_\u2019s Footsteps in this\nDoctrine; for, interpreting St. _Peter_\u2019s _original World_ (\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03c2\n\u039a\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2) 2 _Pet._ ii. 5. he refers both that and this (_chap._ iii. 6.)\nto the natural inanimate World, which he supposeth to have undergone a\nChange at the Deluge. His Words are these, _Idem ipse mundus est_ (nempe\nquoad materiam) _in quo nunc humanum genus habitat, quem inhabitaverunt\nhi qui ante diluvium fuerunt, sed tamen rect\u00e8 Originalis Mundus, quasi\nalius dicitur; quia sicut in consequentibus hujus Epistol\u00e6 scriptum\ncontinetur, Ille tunc mundus aqu\u00e2 inundatus periit. C\u00e6lis videlicet qui\nerant prius, id est, cunctis a\u00ebris hujus turbulenti spatiis, aquarum\naccrescentiun altitudine consumptis, ac Terr\u00e2 in alteram faciem,\nexcedentibus aquis, immutat\u00e2. Nam etsi montes aliqui atque convalles ab\ninitio facti creduntur, non tamen tanti quanti nunc in orbe cernuntur\nuniverso. \u2019Tis the same World_ (namely, as to the Matter and Substance\nof it) _which Mankind lives in now, and did live in before the Flood,\nbut yet that is truly called the ORIGINAL WORLD, being as it were\nanother from the present. For it is said in the Sequel of this Epistle,\nthat the World that was then, perished in the Deluge; namely, the\nRegions of the Air were consumed by the Height and Excess of the Water;\nand by the same Waters the Earth was changed into another Form or Face.\nFor although some Mountains and Valleys are thought to have been made\nfrom the Beginning, yet not such great ones as now we see throughout the\nwhole Earth._\n\nYou see this Author does not only own a Change made at the Deluge, but\noffers at a farther Explication wherein that Change consisted, _viz._\nThat the Mountains and Inequalities of the Earth were made greater than\nthey were before the Flood; and so he makes the Change, or the\nDifference betwixt the two Worlds gradual, rather than specifical, if I\nmay so term it. But we cannot wonder at that, if he had no Principles to\ncarry it farther, or to make any other Sort of Change intelligible to\nhim. _Bede_ [_De 6 dier. creat._] also pursues the same Sense and Notion\nin his Interpretation of that _Fountain_, _Gen._ ii. 5. that watered the\nFace of the Earth before the Flood. And many other Transcribers of\nAntiquity have recorded this Tradition concerning a Difference, gradual\nor specifical, both in the ante-diluvian Heavens (_Gloss. Ordin. Gen._\nix. _de Iride. Lyran. ibid. Hist. Scholast._ _c. 35. Rab. Maurus &\nGloss. Inter. Gen._ ii. 5, 6. _Alcuin. Qu\u00e6st. in Gen. inter._ 135.) and\nin the ante-diluvian Earth, as the same Authors witness in other Places:\nAs _Hist. Schol. c. 34. Gloss. Ord. in Gen._ vii. _Alcuin. Inter. 118,\n&c._ Not to Instance those that tell us the Properties of the\nante-diluvian World under the Name and Notion of _Paradise_.\n\nThus much concerning this remarkable Place in St. _Peter_, and the true\nExposition of it; which I have the more largely insisted upon, because I\nlook upon this Place as the chief Repository of that great natural\nMystery, which in Scripture is communicated to us concerning the triple\nState or Revolution of the World. And of those Men that are so\nscrupulous to admit the Theory we have propos\u2019d, I would willingly know,\nwhether they believe the Apostle in what he says concerning the _new\nHeavens_ and the _new Earth to come_? ver. 13. and if they do, why they\nshould not believe him as much concerning the _old Heavens_ and the _old\nEarth_ past? _ver._ 5, and 6. which he mentions as formally, and\ndescribes more distinctly than the other. But if they believe neither\npast nor to come, in a natural Sense, but an unchangeable State of\nNature from the Creation to its Annihilation, I leave them then to their\nFellow-Eternalists in the Text, and to the Character or Censure the\nApostle gives them, \u039a\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u1f70\u03c2 \u1f34\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, Men that\ngo by their own private Humour and Passions, and prefer that to all\nother Evidence.\n\nThey deserve this Censure, I am sure, if they do not only disbelieve,\nbut also scoff, at this Prophetick and Apostolick Doctrine concerning\nthe Vicissitudes of Nature and a triple World. The Apostle in this\nDiscourse does formally distinguish three Worlds (for \u2019tis well known\nthat the _Hebrews_ have no Word to signify the natural World, but use\nthat Periphrasis, _the Heavens_ and _the Earth_) and upon each of them\nengraves a Name and Title that bears a Note of Distinction in it: He\ncalls them the _old Heavens and Earth_, the _present Heavens and Earth_,\nand the _new Heavens and Earth_. \u2019Tis true, these three are one, as to\nMatter and Substance; but they must differ as to Form and Properties;\notherwise what is the Ground of this Distinction and of these three\ndifferent Appellations? Suppose the _Jews_ had expected _Ezekiel_\u2019s\nTemple for the third, and last, and most perfect; and that in the Time\nof the second Temple they had spoke of them with this Distinction, or\nunder these different Names, the _old Temple_, the _present Temple_, and\nthe _new Temple_ we expect; would any have understood those three of one\nand the same Temple; never demolish\u2019d, never chang\u2019d, never rebuilt;\nalways the same, both as to Materials and Form? No, doubtless, but of\nthree several Temples succeeding one another. And have we not the same\nReason to understand this Temple of the World, whereof St. _Peter_\nspeaks, to be three-fold in Succession; seeing he does as plainly\ndistinguish it into the _old_ Heavens and Earth, the _present_ Heavens\nand Earth? and the _new_ Heavens and Earth. And I do the more willingly\nuse this Comparison of the Temple, because it hath been thought an\nEmblem of the outward World.\n\nI know we are naturally averse to entertain any Thing that is\ninconsistent with the general Frame and Texture of our own Thoughts;\nthat\u2019s to begin the World again; and we often reject such things without\nExamination. Neither do I wonder that the generality of Interpreters\nbeat down the Apostle\u2019s Words and Sense to their own Notions; they had\nno other Grounds to go upon, and Men are not willing, especially in\nnatural and comprehensible things, to put such a Meaning upon Scripture,\nas is unintelligible to themselves; they rather venture to offer a\nlittle Violence to the Words, that they may pitch the Sense at such a\nconvenient Height, as their Principles will reach to: And therefore\nthough some of our modern Interpreters, whom I mention\u2019d before, have\nbeen sensible of the natural Tendency of this Discourse of St.\n_Peter_\u2019s, and have much ado to bear off the Force of the Words, so as\nnot to acknowledge that they import a real Diversity betwixt the two\nWorlds spoken of; yet having no Principles to guide or support them in\nfollowing that Tract, they are forc\u2019d to stop or divert another way.\n\u2019Tis like entring into the Mouth of a Cave, we are not willing to\nventure farther than the Light goes: Nor are they much to blame for\nthis, the Fault is only in those Persons that continue wilfully in their\nDarkness; and when they cannot otherwise resist the Light, shut their\nEyes against it, or turn their Head another Way.\u2014But I am afraid I have\nstaid too long upon this Argument; not for my own sake, but to satisfy\nothers.\n\nYou may please to remember that all that I have said hitherto, belongs\nonly to the first Head: To prove a _Diversity in general_ betwixt the\nante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the present; not expressing what\ntheir particular Form was. And this general Diversity may be argued also\nby Observations taken from _Moses_ his History of the World, before and\nafter the Flood: From the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians; the Rainbow\nappearing after the Deluge; and the breaking open an Abyss capable to\noverflow the Earth. The Heavens that had no Rain-bow, and under whose\nbenign and steady Influence, Men liv\u2019d seven, eight, nine hundred Years\nand upwards, [See _Theor. Book_ ii. _ch._ 5.] must have been of a\ndifferent Aspect and Constitution from the present Heavens: And that\nEarth that had such an Abyss, that the Disruption of it made an\nuniversal Deluge, must have been of another Form than the present Earth;\nand those that will not admit a Diversity in the two Worlds, are bound\nto give us an intelligible Account of these Ph\u00e6nomena: How they could\npossibly be in Heavens and Earth, like the present? Or if they were\nthere once, why they do not continue so still, if Nature be the same?\n\nWe need say no more, as to the ante-diluvian Heavens; but as to the\nEarth, we must now, according to the second part of the first Head,\nenquire, if that _particular Form_, which we have assign\u2019d it before the\nFlood, be agreeable to Scripture. You know how we have described the\nForm and Situation of that Earth; namely, that it was built over the\nAbyss, as a regular Orb, covering and incompassing the Waters round\nabout, and founded, as it were, upon them. There are many Passages of\nScripture that favour this Description; some more expresly, others upon\na due Explication. To this purpose there are two express Texts in the\n_Psalms_; as _Psal._ xxiv. 1, 2. _The Earth is the Lord\u2019s, and the\nFulness thereof; the habitable World, and they that dwell therein. FOR\nhe has founded it upon the[10] Sea, and established it upon the Floods_.\nAn Earth founded upon the Seas, and establish\u2019d upon the Waters, is not\nthis Earth we have describ\u2019d? The first Earth, as it came from the Hands\nof its Maker? Where can we now find in Nature such an Earth, as the Seas\nand the Water for its Foundation? Neither is this Text without a second,\nas a Fellow Witness to confirm the same Truth; for in _Psal._ cxxxvi.\n_ver._ 4, 5, 6. we read to the same Effect, in these Words, _To him who\nalone does great Wonders; to him that by Wisdom made the Heavens; to him\nthat stretched out the Earth above the Waters_. We can hardly express\nthat Form of the ante-diluvian Earth, in Words more determinate than\nthese are: Let us then, in the same Simplicity of Heart, follow the\nWords of Scripture; seeing this literal Sense is not repugnant to\nNature, but, on the contrary, agreeable to it upon the strictest\nExamination. And we cannot, without some Violence, turn the Words to any\nother Sense. What tolerable Interpretation can these admit of, if we do\nnot allow the Earth once to have encompass\u2019d and over-spread the Face of\nthe Waters? To be _founded_ upon the Waters, to be _establish\u2019d_ upon\nthe Waters, to be _extended_ upon the Waters, what rational or\nsatisfactory Account can be given of these Phrases and Expressions from\nany thing we find in the present Situation of the Earth? Or how can they\nbe verified concerning it? Consult Interpreters, antient or modern, upon\nthese two Places; see if they answer your Expectation, or answer the\nnatural Importance of the Words, unless they acknowledge another Form of\nthe Earth, than the present. Because a Rock hangs its Nose over the Sea,\nmust the Body of the Earth be said to be _stretched over the Waters_?\nOr, because there are Waters in some subterraneous Cavities, is the\nEarth therefore _founded upon the Seas_? Yet such lame Explications as\nthese you will meet with; and while we have no better Light, we must\ncontent our selves with them; but when an Explication is offer\u2019d, that\nanswers the Propriety, Force and Extent of the Words, to reject it, only\nbecause it is not fitted to our former Opinions, or because we did not\nfirst think of it, is to take an ill Method in expounding Scripture.\nThis _Foundation_ or _Establishment_ of the Earth upon the Seas, this\n_Extention_ of it above the Waters, relates plainly to the Body, or\nwhole Circuit of the Earth, not to Parcels and Particles of it; as\nappears from the Occasion, and its being join\u2019d with the Heavens, the\nother Part of the World. Besides, _David_ is speaking of the Origin of\nthe World, and of the divine Power and Wisdom in the Constitution and\nSituation of our Earth; and these Attributes do not appear from the\nHoles of the Earth, and broken Rocks, which have rather the Face of a\nRuin, than of Wisdom; but in that wonderful Libration and Expansion of\nthe first Earth over the Face of the Waters, sustained by its own\nProportions, and the Hand of his Providence.\n\nThese two Places in the _Psalms_ being duly consider\u2019d, we shall more\neasily understand a third Place, to the same effect, in the _Proverbs_;\ndelivered by _WISDOM_, concerning the Origin of the World, and the Form\nof the first Earth, in these Words, _Chapter_ viii. 27. _When he\nprepared the Heavens I was there, when HE SET an Orb or Sphere upon the\nFace of the Abyss._ We render it, when we set a Compass upon the Face of\nthe Abyss; but if we have rightly interpreted the Prophet _David_, \u2019tis\nplain enough what Compass is here to be understood; not an imaginary\nCircle, (for why should that be thought one of the wonderful Works of\nGod?) but that exterior Orb of the Earth that was set upon the Waters:\nThat was the Master-piece of the divine Art in framing of the first\nEarth, and therefore very fit to be taken Notice of by _Wisdom_. And\nupon this Occasion, I desire you to reflect upon St. _Peter_\u2019s\nExpression, concerning the first Earth, and to compare it with\n_Solomon_\u2019s, to see if they do not answer one another. St. _Peter_ calls\nit, \u03b3\u1fc6 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b1 \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f55\u03b4\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd, _an Earth consisting, standing_, or\n_sustained by the Waters_. And _Solomon_ calls it \u05d7\u05d5\u05e0 \u05e2\u05dc \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05ea\u05d4\u05d5\u05dd _An\nOrb drawn upon the Face of the Abyss._ And St. _Peter_ says, that was\ndone \u03c4\u1ff7 \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u1ff3 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6, by the _Wisdom of God_; which is the same \u039b\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2\nor _Wisdom_, that here declares her self to have been present at this\nWork. Add now to these two Places, the two foremention\u2019d out of the\n_Psalmist_; _An Earth founded upon the Sea_, (Psal. xxiv. 2.) and an\n_Earth stretched out above the Waters_; (_Psal._ cxxxvi. 6.) Can any\nBody doubt or question; but all these four Texts refer to the same\nThing? And seeing St. _Peter_\u2019s Description refers certainly to the\nante-diluvian Earth, they must all refer to it; and do all as certainly\nand evidently agree with our Theory concerning the Form and Situation of\nit.\n\nThe pendulous Form and Posture of that first Earth being prov\u2019d from\nthese four Places, \u2019tis more easy and emphatical to interpret in this\nSense that Passage in _Job ch._ xxvi. 7. _He stretcheth out the North\nover the Tohu_, (for so it is in the Original) _and hangeth the Earth\nupon nothing._ And this strange Foundation or no Foundation of the\nexterior Earth seems to be the Ground of those noble Questions propos\u2019d\nto _Job_ by God Almighty, _chap._ xxxviii. _Where wast thou, when I laid\nthe Foundations of the Earth? Declare if thou hast understanding,\nwhereupon are the Foundations thereof fastned, and who laid the\nCorner-Stone?_ There was neither Foundation, nor Corner-Stone, in that\npiece of Architecture; and that was it which made the Art and Wonder of\nit. But I have spoken more largely to these Places in the Theory it\nself, _Book_ i. _p._ 119. And if the four Texts before mention\u2019d be\nconsider\u2019d without Prejudice, I think there are few Matters of natural\nSpeculation that can be so well prov\u2019d out of Scripture, as the Form\nwhich we have given to the ante-diluvian Earth.\n\nBut yet it may be thought a just, if not a necessary Appendix to this\nDiscourse, concerning the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth, to give an\nAccount also of the _ante-diluvian Abyss_, and the Situation of it\naccording to Scripture; for the Relation which these two have to one\nanother, will be a farther Means to discover, if we have rightly\ndetermined the Form of that Earth. The _Abyss_ or _Tehom Rabbah_ is a\nScripture Notion, and the Word is not us\u2019d, that I know of, in that\ndistinct and peculiar Sense in Heathen Authors. \u2019Tis plain that in\nScripture it is not always taken for the Sea (as _Gen._ i. 2. and vii.\n11. and xlix. 25. _Deut._ xxxiii. 13. _Job_ xxviii. 14. and xxxviii. 16.\n_Psal._ xxxiii. 7. and lxxi. 20. and lxxviii. 15. and cxxxv. 6. _Apoc_.\nxx. 1, 3.) but for some other Mass of Waters, or subterraneous\nStore-house. And this being observ\u2019d, we may easily discover the Nature,\nand set down the History of the Scripture-Abyss.\n\nThe Mother-Abyss is no doubt that in the Beginning of _Genesis_, _v._ 2.\nwhich had nothing but Darkness upon the Face of it, or a thick\ncaliginous Air. The next News we hear of this Abyss is at the Deluge,\n(_Gen._ vii. 11.) where \u2019tis said to be broke open, and the Waters of it\nto have drowned the World. It seems then, this Abyss was clos\u2019d up some\nTime betwixt the Creation and the Deluge, and had got another Cover than\nthat of Darkness. And if we will believe _Wisdom_, (_Prov._ viii. 27.)\nwho was there present at the Formation of the Earth, an _Orb was set\nupon the Face of the Abyss_, at the Beginning of the World.\n\nThat these three Places refer to the same Abyss, I think, cannot be\nquestioned by any that will compare them and consider them. That of the\nDeluge, _Moses_ calls there _Tehom-Rabbah_, the great _Abyss_; and can\nthere be any greater than the forementioned Mother-Abyss? And _WISDOM_,\nin that Place in the _Proverbs_, useth the same Phrase and Words with\n_Moses_, _Gen._ i. 2. \u05e2\u05dc \u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05ea\u05d4\u05d5\u05dd _upon the Face of the Deep_, or of the\n_Abyss_; changing _Darkness_ for that _Orb_ of the exterior Earth, which\nwas made afterwards to inclose it. And in this Sort it lay, and under\nthis Cover, when the _Psalmist_ speaks of it in these Words, _Psal._\nxxxiii. 7. _He gathereth the Waters of the Sea, as in a[11] Bag; he\nlayeth up the Abyss in Store-houses._ Lastly, we may observe, that \u2019twas\nthis Mother-Abyss, whose Womb was burst at the Deluge, when the Sea was\nborn, and broke forth as if it had issued out of a Womb; as God\nexpresseth it to _Job_, _ch._ xxxviii. 8. in which Place the _Chaldee_\nParaphrase reads it, when it broke forth, _coming out of the Abyss_.\nWhich Disruption at the Deluge seems also to be alluded to _Job_ xii.\n14, 15. and more plainly, _Prov._ iii. 20. _by his Knowledge the Abysses\nare broken up_.\n\nThus you have already a three-fold State of the Abyss, which makes a\nshort History of it; first, _open_, at the Beginning; then _covered_\ntill the Deluge; then _broke open_ again, as it is at present. And we\npursue the History of it no farther; but we are told, _Apoc._ xx. 3.\nThat it shall be shut up again, and the great Dragon in it, for a\nthousand Years. In the mean time we may observe from this Form and\nPosture of the ante-diluvian Abyss, how suitable it is and coherent with\nthat Form of the ante-diluvian Earth which St. _Peter_ and the\n_Psalmist_ had described, _sustained by the Waters_; _founded upon the\nWaters_; _stretched above the Waters_; for if it was the Cover of this\nAbyss (and it had some Cover that was broke at the Deluge) it was spread\nas a Crust of Ice upon the Face of those Waters, and so made an _Orbis\nTerrarum_, an habitable Sphere of Earth about the Abyss.\n\nSo much for the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth and Abyss; which as they\naptly correspond to one another, so, you see, our Theory answers, and is\nadjusted to both; and, I think, so fitly, that we have no reason\nhitherto to be displeased with the Success we have had in the\nExamination of it, according to Scripture. We have dispatch\u2019d the two\nmain Points in Question, first, to prove a Diversity in general betwixt\nthe two natural Worlds, or betwixt the Heavens and the Earth before and\nafter the Flood. Secondly, to prove wherein this Diversity consisted; or\nthat the particular Form of the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth was such\naccording to Scripture, as we have describ\u2019d it in the Theory. You\u2019ll\nsay, then the Work is done; what needs more, all the rest follows of\nCourse? For if the ante-diluvian Earth had such a Form as we have\npropos\u2019d and prov\u2019d it to have had, there could be no Deluge in it but\nby a Dissolution of its Parts and exterior Frame: And a Deluge so made,\nwould not be in the Nature of a Standing-Pool, but of a violent\nAgitation and Commotion of the Waters. This is true; these Parts of the\nTheory are so cemented, that you must grant all, if you grant any.\nHowever we will try, if even these two Particulars also may be prov\u2019d\nout of Scripture; that is, if there be any Marks or Memorandums left\nthere by the Spirit of God, of such a Fraction or Dissolution of the\nEarth at the Deluge; and also such Characters of the Deluge it self, as\nshew it to have been by a Fluctuation and impetuous Commotion of the\nWaters.\n\nTo proceed then; that there was a Fraction or Dissolution of the Earth\nat the Deluge, the History of it by _Moses_ gives us the first Account,\nseeing he tells us, as the principal Cause of the Flood, that the\nFountains of the _great Abyss_ were _cloven_ or _burst asunder_; and\nupon this Disruption the Waters gush\u2019d out from the Bowels of the Earth,\nas from the widen\u2019d Mouths of so many Fountains. I do not take\n_Fountains_ there to signify any more than Sources or Stores of Water;\nnoting also this Manner of their Eruption from below, or out of the\nGround, as Fountains do. Accordingly in the _Proverbs_, (_chap._ iii.\n20.) \u2019tis only said, the _Abysses were broken open_. I do not doubt, but\nthis refers to the Deluge, as _Bede_, and others understand it; the very\nWord being us\u2019d here, both in the _Hebrew_ and Septuagint, \u05e0\u05d1\u05e7\u05e2\u05d5\n\u1f10\u1fe4\u1fe4\u03ac\u03b3\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd that express the Disruption of the Abyss at the Deluge.\n\nAnd this breaking up of the Earth at that Time, is elegantly exprest in\n_Job_, by the bursting of the Womb of Nature, when the Sea was first\nbrought to Light; _ch._ xxxviii. when after many Pangs and Throws and\nDilacerations of her Body, Nature was delivered of a Burthen, which she\nhad born in her Womb sixteen hundred Years.\n\nThese three Places I take to be Memorials and Proofs of the Disruption\nof the Earth, or of the Abyss, at the universal Deluge. And to these we\nmay add more out of the Prophets, _Job_, and the _Psalms_, by Way of\nAllusion commonly to the State of Nature at that Time. The Prophet\n_Isaiah_, in describing the future Destruction of the World, _chap._\nxxiv. 18, 19. seems plainly to allude and have respect to the past\nDestruction of it at the Deluge; as appears by that leading Expression,\n_the Windows from on high are open_, \u05d0\u05e8\u05d1\u05d5\u05ea \u05e1\u05de\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd \u05e0\u05e4\u05ea\u05d7\u05d5 \u03b8\u03c5\u03c1\u03af\u03b4\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u1ff7\n\u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u1ff6 \u1f20\u03bd\u03b5\u03ce\u03c7\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd, taken manifestly from _Gen._ vii. 11. Then see how\nthe Description goes on; _the Windows from on high are open, and the\nFoundations of the Earth do shake, the Earth is utterly broken down, the\nEarth is quite dissolved, the Earth is exceedingly moved_. Here are\nConcussions, and Fractions, and Dissolutions, as there were in the\nmundane Earthquake and Deluge; which we had exprest before only by\n_breaking open the Abyss_. By the Foundations of the Earth here and\nelsewhere, I perceive many understand the Center; so by _moving_ or\n_shaking_ the Foundations, or putting them out of Course, must be\nunderstood a displacing of the Center; which was really done at the\ndeluge, as we have shewn in its proper Place, _Theor._ _Book_ ii.\n_Chap._ 3. If we therefore remember, that there was both a Dislocation,\nas I may so say, and a Fraction in the Body of the Earth, by that great\nFall; a Dislocation as to the Center, and a Fraction as to the Surface\nand exterior Region, it will truly answer to all those Expressions in\nthe Prophet, that seem so strange and extraordinary. \u2019Tis true, this\nPlace of the Prophet respects also and foretels the future Destruction\nof the World; but that being by Fire, when the _Elements shall melt with\nfervent Heat, and the Earth with the Works therein shall be burnt up_,\nthese Expressions of _Fractions and Concussions_, seem to be taken\noriginally from the Manner of the World\u2019s first distruction, and to be\ntransferr\u2019d, by way of Application, to represent and signify the second\nDestruction of it, though, it may be, not with the same Exactness and\nPropriety.\n\nThere are several other Places that refer to the Dissolution and\nSubversion of the Earth at the Deluge, _Amos_ ix. 5, 6. _The Lord of\nHosts is he, that toucheth the Earth, and it shall melt, or be\ndissolv\u2019d.\u2014\u2014and it shall rise up wholly like a Flood, and shall be\ndrowned as by the Flood of \u00c6gypt._ By _this_ and by _the next verse_ the\nProphet seems to allude to the Deluge, and to the Dissolution of the\nEarth that was then. This in _Job_ seems to be called _breaking down the\nEarth, and overturning the Earth_, chap. xii. 14, 15. _Behold he\nbreaketh down and it cannot be built again, He shutteth upon Man, and\nthere can be no opening. Behold, he with-holdeth the Waters, and they\ndry up; also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the Earth:_ Which\nPlace you may see paraphras\u2019d, _Theo._ _Book_ i. _p._ 124, 125. We have\nalready cited, and shall hereafter cite, other Places out of _Job_; and\nas that ancient Author (who is thought to have liv\u2019d before the\n_Judaical_ Oeconomy, and nearer to _Noah_ than _Moses_) seems to have\nhad the _Pr\u00e6cepta Noachidarum_, so also he seems to have had the\n_Dogmata Noachidarum_; which were deliver\u2019d by _Noah_ to his Children\nand Posterity, concerning the Mysteries of natural Providence, the\nOrigin and Fate of the World, the Deluge and ante-diluvian State, _&c._\nand accordingly we find many Strictures of these Doctrines in the Book\nof _Job_. Lastly, In the _Psalms_ there are Texts that mention the\n_shaking of the Earth_, and the _Foundations_ of the World, in reference\nto the Flood, if we judge aright; whereof we will speak under the next\nHead, _concerning_ the raging of the Waters in the Deluge.\n\nThese Places of Scripture may be noted, as left us to be Remembrancers\nof that general Ruin and Disruption of the Earth at the Time of the\nDeluge. But I know it will be said of them, that they are not strict\nProofs, but Allusions only: Be it so; yet what is the Ground of those\nAllusions? Something must be alluded, and something that hath past in\nNature, and that is recorded in Sacred History; and what is that, unless\nit be the universal Deluge, and that Change and Disturbance that was\nthen in all Nature? If others say, that these and such like Places are\nto be understood morally and allegorically, I do not envy them their\nInterpretation; but when Nature and Reason will bear a literal Sense,\nthe Rule is, that we should not recede from the Letter. But I leave\nthese Things to every one\u2019s Thoughts; which the more calm they are, and\nthe more impartial, the more easily they will feel the Impressions of\nTruth: In the mean Time, I proceed to the last particular mention\u2019d,\n_The Form of the Deluge it self_.\n\nThis we suppose to have been, not in the Way of a standing Pool, the\nWaters making an equal Surface, and an equal Height every where; but\nthat the extream Height of the Waters was made by the extream Agitation\nof them; caus\u2019d by the Weight and Force of great Masses or Regions of\nEarth falling at once into the Abyss; by which Means, as the Waters in\nsome Places were press\u2019d out, and thrown at an excessive Height into the\nAir, so they would also in certain Places gape, and lay bare even the\nBottom of the Abyss; which would look as an open Grave ready to swallow\nup the Earth, and all it bore. Whilst the Ark, in the mean time, falling\nand rising by these Gulphs and Precipices, sometimes above Water, and\nsometimes under, was a true Type of the State of the Church in this\nWorld: And to this Time and State _David_ alludes in the Name of the\nChurch, _Psalm._ xlii. 7. _Abyss calls unto Abyss at the Noise of thy\nCataracts or Water-Spouts; all thy Water and Billows have gone over me._\nAnd again, _Psal._ xlvi. 2, 3. in the Name of the Church, _Therefore\nwill not we fear tho\u2019 the Earth be removed, and tho\u2019 the Mountains be\ncarried into the midst of the Seas. The Waters thereof roar and are\ntroubled, the Mountains shake with the swelling thereof._\n\nBut there is no Description more remarkable or more eloquent, than of\nthat Scene of Things represented, _Psalm._ xviii. 7, 8, 9, _&c._ which\nstill alludes, in my Opinion, to the Deluge-Scene, and in the Name of\nthe Church. We will set down the Words at large.\n\n    Ver. 6. _In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cryed unto my\n    God; He heard my Voice out of his Temple, and my Cry came before him\n    into his Ears._\n\n    7. _Then the Earth shook and trembled, the Foundations also of the\n    Hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth._\n\n    8. _There went up a Smoak from his Nostrils, and Fire out of his\n    Mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it._\n\n    9. _He bowed the Heavens also and came down, and Darkness was under\n    his Feet._\n\n    10. _And he rode upon a Cherub and did fly, he did fly upon the\n    Wings of the Wind._\n\n    11. _He made Darkness his secret Place; his Pavilion round about him\n    was dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Sky._\n\n    12. _At the Brightness before him the thick Clouds passed, Hail and\n    Coals of Fire._\n\n    13. _The Lord also thunder\u2019d in the Heavens, and the Highest gave\n    his Voice, Hail and Coals of Fire._\n\n    14. _Yea, he sent out his Arrows, and scattered them; and he shot\n    out Lightnings and discomfited them._\n\n    15. _Then the Channels of Waters were seen, and the Foundations of\n    the World were discovered; at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of\n    the Breath of thy Nostrils._\n\n    _He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of great Waters._\n    \u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05dd\n\nThis is a rough, I think, Draught of the Face of the Heavens and the\nEarth at the Deluge, as the last Verses do intimate; and \u2019tis apply\u2019d to\nexpress the Dangers and Deliverances of the Church: The Expressions are\nso far too high to be apply\u2019d to _David_ in his Person, and to his\nDeliverance from _Saul_; no such Agonies or Disorders of Nature as are\nhere instanc\u2019d, were made in _David_\u2019s Time, or upon his Account; but\n\u2019tis a Scheme of the Church, and of her Fate, particularly, as\nrepresented by the Ark, in that dismal Distress, when all Nature was in\nConfusion. And though there may be some Things here intermixt to make up\nthe Scene, that are not so close to the Subject as the rest, or that\nthey may be refer\u2019d to the future Destruction of the World; yet that is\nnot unusual, nor amiss, in such Descriptions, if the great Strokes be\nfit and rightly placed. That there was Smoak, and Fire, and Water, and\nThunder, and Darkness, and Winds, and Earthquakes, at the Deluge, we\ncannot doubt, if we consider the Circumstances of it: Waters dash\u2019d and\nbroken made a Smoak and Darkness, and no Hurricane could be so violent\nas the Motions of the Air at that Time: Then the Earth was torn in\npieces, and its Foundations shaken. And as to Thunder and Lightning, the\nEncounters and Collisions of the mighty Waves, and the Cracks of a\nfalling World, would make Flashes and Noises, far greater and more\nterrible, than any that can come from Vapours and Clouds. There was an\nuniversal[12] Tempest, a Conflict and Clashing of all the Elements; and\n_David_ seems to have represented it so; with God Almighty in the midst\nof it, ruling them all.\n\nBut I am apt to think, some will say, all this is Poetical in the\nProphet, and these are hyperbolical and figurative Expressions, from\nwhich we cannot make any Inference, as to the Deluge and the natural\nWorld: \u2019Tis true, those that have no Idea of the Deluge, that will\nanswer to such a Scene of things, as is here represented, must give such\na slight Account of this _Psalm_. But on the other hand, if we have\nalready an Idea of the Deluge, that is rational, and also consonant to\nScripture upon other Proofs, and the Description here made by the\nProphet answer to that Idea, whether then is it not more reasonable to\nthink, that it stands upon that Ground, than to think it a mere Fancy\nand poetical Scene of Things? This is the true State of the Case, and\nthat which we must judge of. Methinks \u2019tis very harsh to suppose all\nthis a bare Fiction, grounded upon no matter of Fact, upon no sacred\nStory, upon no Appearance of God in Nature. If you say it hath a moral\nSignification, so let it have, we do not destroy that: It hath\nreference, no doubt, to the Dangers and Deliverances of the Church; but\nthe Question is, whether the Words and natural Sense be a Fancy only, a\nBundle of random Hyperboles? or, whether they relate to the History of\nthe Deluge, and the State of the Ark there representing the Church? This\nmakes the Sense doubly rich, Historically and Morally; and grounds it\nupon Scripture and Reason, as well as upon Fancy.\n\nThat violent Eruption of the Sea out of the Womb of the Earth, which\n_Job_ speaks of, is, in my Judgment, another Description of the Deluge;\n\u2019tis _ch._ xxxviii. 8, 9, 10, 11. _Who shut up the Sea with Doors, when\nit broke forth, as if it had issued out of a womb; when I made the Cloud\nthe Garment thereof, and thick Darkness a swadling Band for it. And\nbroke up for it my decreed Place.\u2014\u2014Hitherto shalt thou come_, &c. Here\nyou may see the Birth and Nativity of the Sea, or of _Oceanus_,\ndescrib\u2019d[13], how he broke out of the Womb, and what his first Garment\nand Swadling-Cloaths were; namely, Clouds and thick Darkness. This\ncannot refer to any thing, that I know of, but to the Face of Nature at\nthe Deluge; when the Sea was born, and wrapt up in Clouds and broken\nWaves, and a dark impenetrable Mist round the Body of the Earth. And\nthis seems to be the very same, that _David_ had express\u2019d in his\nDescription of the Deluge, _Psal._ xviii. 11. _He made Darkness his\nsecret Place, his Pavilion round about him were dark Waters and thick\nClouds of the Skies._ For this was truly the Face of the World in the\nTime of the Flood, tho\u2019 we little reflect upon it. And this dark\nConfusion every where, above and below, arose from the violent and\nconfus\u2019d Motion of the Abyss; which was dash\u2019d in pieces by the falling\nEarth; and flew into the Air in misty Drops, as Dust flies up in a great\nRuin. [See _Theor._ _Book_ i. _p._ 136.]\n\nBut I am afraid, we have stay\u2019d too long upon this Particular, _The Form\nof the Deluge_; seeing \u2019tis but a Corollary from the precedent Article\nabout the Dissolution of the Earth. However, Time is not ill spent about\nany thing that relates to natural Providence, whereof the two most\nsignal Instances in our sacred Writings, are, the _Deluge_ and the\n_Conflagration_. And seeing _Job_ and _David_ do often reflect upon the\nWorks of God in the external Creation, and upon the Administrations of\nProvidence, it cannot be imagin\u2019d, that they should never reflect upon\nthe Deluge; the most remarkable Change of Nature that ever hath been,\nand the most remarkable Judgment upon Mankind. And if they have\nreflected upon it any where, \u2019tis, I think, in those Places and those\nInstances, which I have noted; and if those Places do relate to the\nDeluge, they are not capable, in my Judgment, of any fairer or more\nnatural Interpretation, than that which we have given them; which you\nsee, how much it favours and confirms our Theory.\n\nI have now finished the Heads I undertook to prove, that I might shew\nour Theory to agree with Scripture in these three principal Points;\nfirst, in that it supposeth a Diversity and Difference betwixt the\nante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the present Heavens and Earth:\nSecondly, in assigning the particular Form of the ante-diluvian Earth\nand Abyss; Thirdly, in explaining the Deluge by a Dissolution of that\nEarth, and an Eruption of the Abyss. How far I have succeeded in this\nAttempt, as to others, I cannot tell; but I am sure I have convinced my\nself, and am satisfied that my Thoughts, in that Theory, have run in the\nsame Tract with the Holy Writings, with the true Intent and Spirit of\nthem. There are some Persons that are wilfully ignorant in certain\nthings, and others that are willing to be ignorant, as the Apostle\nphraseth it; speaking of those Eternalists that denied the Doctrine of\nthe Change and Revolutions of the natural World: And \u2019tis not to be\nexpected but there are many still of the same Humour, and therefore may\nbe called _willingly ignorant_; that is, they will not use that Pains\nand Attention that is necessary for the Examination of such a Doctrine,\nnor Impartiality in judging after Examination; they greedily lay hold on\nall Evidence on one side, and willingly forget, or slightly pass over,\nall Evidence for the other. This, I think, is the Character of those\nthat are _willingly ignorant_; for I do not take it to be so deep as a\ndownright wilful Ignorance, where they are plainly conscious to\nthemselves of that Wilfulness: but where an insensible Mixture of human\nPassions inclines them one Way, and makes them averse to the other; and\nin that Method draws on all the Consequences of a willing _Ignorance_.\n\nThere remains still, as I remember, one Proposition that I am bound to\nmake good; I said, at first, that our Hypothesis concerning the Deluge\nwas more agreeable not only to Scripture in general, but also to the\nparticular History of the Flood left us by _Moses_; I say, more\nagreeable to it than any other Hypothesis, that hath yet been propos\u2019d.\nThis may be made good in a few Words; for in _Moses_\u2019s History of the\nDeluge, there are two principal Points, the Extent of the Deluge, and\nthe Causes of it; and in both these we do fully agree with that sacred\nAuthor. _As to the Extent of it_, he makes the Deluge universal; _All\nthe high Hills under the whole Heaven were cover\u2019d fifteen Cubits\nupwards._ We also make it universal, over the Face of the whole Earth;\nand in such a Manner as must needs raise the Waters above the Top of the\nhighest Hills every where. As _to the Causes of it_, _Moses_ makes them\nto be the Disruption of the _Abyss_, and the _Rains_, and no more; and\nin this also we exactly agree with him; we know no other Causes, nor\npretend to any other but those two. Distinguishing therefore _Moses_ his\nNarration as to the Substance and Circumstances of it, it must be\nallowed that these two Points make the Substance of it, and that an\nHypothesis that differs from it in either of these two, differs from it\nmore than ours; which, at the worst, can but differ in Matter of\nCircumstance. Now seeing the great Difficulty about the Deluge is the\nQuantity of Water required for it, there have been two Explications\nproposed, besides ours, to remove or satisfy this Difficulty; one\nwhereof makes the Deluge not to have been universal, or to have reach\u2019d\nonly _Judea_ and some neighbouring Countries, and therefore less Water\nwould suffice; the other owning the Deluge to be universal, supplies it\nself with Water from the divine Omnipotency, and says _new_ Waters were\ncreated then for the nonce, and again annihilated, when the Deluge was\nto cease. Both these Explications, you see, (and I know no more of Note\nthat are not obnoxious to the same Exceptions) differ from _Moses_ in\nthe Substance, or in one of the two substantial Points, and consequently\nmore than ours doth. The first changeth the Flood into a kind of\nNational Inundation; and the second assigns other Causes of it than\n_Moses_ had assign\u2019d; And as they both differ apparently from the\n_Mosaical_ History, so you may see them refuted upon other Grounds also,\nin the third Chapter of the first Book of the _Theory_.\n\nThis may be sufficient as to the History of the Flood by _Moses_: But\npossibly it may be said, the principal Objection will arise from _Moses_\nhis six Days Creation in the first Chapter of _Genesis_; where another\nsort of Earth, than what we have form\u2019d from the Chaos, is represented\nto us; namely, a terraqueous Globe such as our Earth is at present. \u2019Tis\nindeed very apparent, that _Moses_ hath accommodated his six Days\nCreation to the present Form of the Earth, or to that which was before\nthe Eyes of the People, when he wrote. But it is a great Question\nwhether that was ever intended for a true Physical Account of the Origin\nof the Earth; or whether _Moses_ did either Philosophize or Astronomize\nin that Description. The antient fathers, when they answer the Heathens,\nand the Adversaries of Christianity, do generally deny it; as I am ready\nto make good upon another Occasion. And the Thing it self bears in it\nevident Marks of an Accommodation and Condescension to the vulgar\nNotions concerning the Form of the World: Those that think otherwise,\nand would make it literally and physically true in all the Parts of it,\nI desire them, without entring upon the strict Merits of the Cause, to\ndetermine these Preliminaries. First, whether the whole Universe rise\nfrom a terrestrial Chaos? Secondly, what System of a World this six Days\nCreation proceeds upon; whether it supposes the Earth, or the Sun, for\nthe Center? Thirdly, whether the Sun and fix\u2019d Stars are of a later\nDate, and a later Birth, than this Globe of Earth? And lastly, where is\nthe Region of the Super-celestial Waters? When they have determin\u2019d\nthese Fundamentals, we will proceed to other Observations upon the six\nDays Work, which will farther assure us, that \u2019tis a Narration suited to\nthe Capacity of the People, and not to the strict and physical Nature of\nThings. Besides, we are to remember, that _Moses_ must be so interpreted\nin the first Chapter of _Genesis_, as not to interfere with himself in\nother Parts of his History; nor to interfere with St. _Peter_, or the\nProphet _David_, or any other sacred Authors, when they treat of the\nsame Matter. Nor lastly, so, as to be repugnant to clear and uncontested\nScience. For, in things that concern the natural World, that must always\nbe consulted.\n\nWith these Precautions, let them try if they can reduce that Narrative\nof the Origin of the World, to physical Truth; so as to be consistent,\nboth with Nature, and with Divine Revelation every where. It is easily\nreconcileable to both, if we suppose it wrote in a vulgar Style, and to\nthe Conceptions of the People; and we cannot deny that a vulgar Style is\noften made use of in the holy Writings. How freely and unconcernedly\ndoes Scripture speak of God Almighty, according to the Opinions of the\nVulgar? Of his _Passions_, _local Motions_, _Parts and Members of his\nBody_: Which all are things that do not belong, or are not compatible\nwith the Divine Nature, according to Truth and Science. And if this\nLiberty be taken, as to God himself, much more may it be taken as to his\nWorks. And accordingly we see, what Motion the Scripture gives to the\nSun; what Figure to the Earth; what Figure to the Heavens: All according\nto the Appearance of Sense and popular Credulity without any Remorse for\nhaving transgressed the Rules of intellectual Truth.\n\nThis vulgar Style of Scripture, in describing the Nature of Things, hath\nbeen often mistaken for the real Sense, and so become a Stumbling-Block\nin the Way of Truth. Thus the _Anthropomorphites_ of old contended for\nthe human Shape of God, from the Letter of Scripture, and brought many\nexpress Texts for their purpose; but sound Reason, at length, got the\nupper hand of literal Authority. Then several of the Christian Fathers\ncontended, that there were no _Antipodes_; and made that Doctrine\nirreconcilable to Scripture; But this also, after a while, went off, and\nyeilded to Reason and Experience. Then, the Motion of the Earth must by\nno means be allow\u2019d, as being contrary to Scripture; for so it is\nindeed, according to the Letter and vulgar Style. But all intelligent\nPersons see thorough this Argument, and depend upon it no more in this\nCase, than in the former. Lastly, the Original of the Earth from a\nChaos, drawn according to the Rules of Phisiology, will not be admitted;\nbecause it does not agree with the Scheme of the six Days Creation. But\nwhy may not this be wrote in a vulgar Style, as well as the rest?\nCertainly there can be nothing more like a vulgar Style, than to set God\nto _work by the Day_, and in six Days to finish his Task; as he is there\nrepresented. We may therefore probably hope that all these Disguises of\nTruth will at length fall off, and that we shall see God and his Works\nin a pure and naked Light.\n\nThus I have finished what I had to say in Confirmation of this Theory\nfrom Scripture; I mean of the former Part of it, which depends chiefly\nupon the Deluge, and the ante-diluvian Earth. When you have collated the\nPlaces of Scripture, on either side, and laid them in the Balance, to be\nweigh\u2019d one against another; if you do but find them equal, or near to\nan equal Poise, you know in whether Scale the natural Reasons are to be\nlaid; and of what Weight they ought to be in an Argument of this kind.\nThere is a great Difference betwixt Scripture with Philosophy on its\nside, and Scripture with Philosophy against it, when the Question is\nconcerning the natural World: And this is our Case; which I now leave to\nthe Consideration of the unprejudic\u2019d Reader, and proceed to the Proof\nof the second Part of the Theory.\n\nThe latter Part consists of the _Conflagration of the World_, and the\n_new Heavens_ and _new Earth_; and seeing there is no Dispute concerning\nthe former of these two, our Task will now lie in a little Compass;\nbeing only this, to prove that there will be new Heavens, and a new\nEarth, after the Conflagration. This, to my Mind, is sufficiently done\nalready, in the first, second and third Chapters of the ivth book, both\nfrom Scripture and Antiquity, whether Sacred or Prophane; and therefore,\nat present, we will only make a short and easy Review of\nScripture-Testimonies, with design chiefly to obviate and disappoint the\nEvasions of such, as would beat down solid Texts into thin Metaphors and\nAllegories.\n\nThe Testimonies of Scripture concerning the _Renovation of the World_,\nare either express, or implicit: Those I call express, that mention the\nnew Heavens and new Earth; and those implicit, that signify the same\nThing, but not in express Terms. So when our Saviour speaks of a\n_Palingenesia_, or Regeneration; (_Matt._ xix. 28, 29.) or St _Peter_,\nof an _Apocatastasis_ or Restitution; (_Acts_ iii. 21.) these being\nWords used by all Authors, Prophane or Ecclesiastical, for the\n_Renovation_ of the World, ought, in reason, to be interpreted in the\nsame Sense in the Holy Writings. And in like Manner, when St. _Paul_\nspeaks of his _future Earth_, or an _habitable World to come_, Hebr. ii.\n5. \u1f21 \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1 or of a _Redemption_ or Melioration of the\npresent State of Nature, _Rom._ iii. 21, 22. these lead us again, in\nother Terms, to the same _Renovation_ of the World. But there are also\nsome Places of Scripture, that set the _new Heavens_ and _new Earth_ in\nsuch a full and open View, that we must shut our Eyes not to see them.\nSt. _John_ says, he saw them, and observed the Form of the new Earth,\n_Apoc._ xxi. 1. _Isa._ lxv. 17. The Seer _Isaiah_ spoke of them in\nexpress Words, many hundred Years before. And St. _Peter_ marks the Time\nwhen they are to be introduc\u2019d, namely, after the Conflagration, or\nafter the Dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth, 2 _Pet._ iii.\n12, 13.\n\nThese later Texts of Scripture being so express, there is but one Way\nleft to elude the Force of them; and that is, by turning the _Renovation\nof the World_ into an Allegory; and making the new Heavens and new Earth\nto be allegorical Heavens and Earth, not real and material, as ours are.\nThis is a bold Attempt of some modern Authors, who chuse rather to\nstrain the Word of God, than their own Notions. There are Allegories, no\ndoubt, in Scripture, but we are not to allegorize Scripture without some\nWarrant; either from an Apostolical Interpretation, or from the\nNecessity of the Matter; and I do not know how they can pretend to\neither of these, in this Case. However, that they may have all fair\nPlay, we will lay aside, at present, all the other Texts of Scripture,\nand confine our selves wholly to St. _Peter_\u2019s Words; to see and examine\nwhether they are, or can be turn\u2019d into an Allegory, according to the\nbest Rules of Interpretation.\n\nSt. _Peter_\u2019s Words are these, 2 _Pet._ iii. 11, 12, 13. _Seeing then\nall these Things shall be dissolved, what manner of Persons ought ye to\nbe in all holy Conversation and Godliness? Looking for, and hasting the\nComing of the Day of God; wherein the Heavens being on Fire shall be\ndissolved, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat. Nevertheless\nwe, according to his Promise, look for new Heavens and a new Earth;\nwherein Righteousness shall dwell._ The Question is concerning this last\nVerse, _Whether the new Heavens and Earth_ here promis\u2019d, are to be real\nand material Heavens and Earth, or only figurative and allegorical. The\nWords, you see, are clear; and the general Rule of Interpretation is\nthis, _That_ we are not to recede from the Letter, or the literal Sense,\nunless there be a Necessity from the Subject-matter; such a Necessity,\nas makes a literal Interpretation absurd. But where is that Necessity in\nthis Case? Cannot God make new Heavens and a new Earth, as easily as he\nmade the old ones? Is his Strength decayed since that Time, or is Matter\ngrown more disobedient? Nay, does not Nature offer her self voluntarily\nto raise a new World from the second Chaos, as well as from the first;\nand, under the Conduct of Providence, to make it as convenient an\nHabitation as the prim\u00e6val Earth? Therefore no Necessity can be\npretended of leaving the litteral Sense, upon an Incapacity of the\nSubject-matter.\n\nThe second Rule to determine an Interpretation to be literal or\nallegorical, is the use of the same Words or Phrase in the Context, and\nthe Signification of them there: Let\u2019s then examine our Case according\nto this Rule. St. _Peter_ had us\u2019d the same Phrase of _Heavens and\nEarth_ twice before in the same Chapter. The _old Heavens and Earth_,\n_ver._ 5. The _present Heavens and Earth_, _ver._ 7. and now he uses it\nagain, _ver._ 13. the _new Heavens and Earth._ Have we not then Reason\nto suppose, that he takes it here in the same Sense, that he had done\ntwice before, for real and material Heavens and Earth? There is no Mark\nset of a new Signification, nor why we should alter the Sense of the\nWords. That he used them always before for the material Heavens and\nEarth, I think none will question; and therefore, unless they can give\nus a sufficient Reason, why we should change the Signification of the\nWords, we are bound by this second Rule also, to understand them in a\nlitteral Sense.\n\nLastly, The very Form of the Words, and the Manner of their Dependence\nupon the Context, leads us to a litteral Sense, and to material Heavens\nand Earth. _Nevertheless_, says the Apostle, _we expect new Heavens,\n&c._ Why _Nevertheless!_ that is, notwithstanding the Dissolution of the\npresent Heavens and Earth. The Apostle foresaw, what he had said might\nraise a Doubt in their Minds, whether all Things would not be at an End;\nnothing more of Heavens and Earth, or of any habitable World, after the\nConflagration: And to obviate this, he tells them, _Notwithstanding_\nthat wonderful Desolation that I have describ\u2019d, we do, accordding to\nGod\u2019s Promises, expect new Heavens and a new Earth, to be an Habitation\nfor the Righteous.\n\nYou see then the new Heavens and new Earth, which the Apostle speaks of,\nare substituted in the Place of those that were destroyed at the\nConflagration; and would you substitute allegorical Heavens and Earth in\nthe Place of Material? Shadow for a Substance? What an Equivocation\nwould it be in the Apostle, when the Doubt was about the material\nHeavens and Earth, to make an Answer about allegorical. Lastly, The\ntiming of the Thing determines the Sense: When shall this new World\nappear? after the Conflagration, the Apostle says: Therefore it cannot\nbe understood of any moral Renovation, to be made at, or in the Times of\nthe Gospel, as these Allegorists pretend. We must therefore, upon all\nAccounts, conclude that the Apostle intended a literal Sense; real and\nmaterial Heavens, to succeed these after the Conflagration; which was\nthe Thing to be prov\u2019d. And I know not what Bars the Spirit of God can\nset, to keep us within the Compass of a literal Sense, if these be not\nsufficient.\n\nThus much for the Explication of St. _Peter_\u2019s Doctrine concerning the\nnew Heavens and new Earth; which secures the second Part of our Theory:\nFor the Theory stands upon two Pillars, or two Pedestals, the\nante-diluvian Earth and the future Earth; or in St. _Peter_\u2019s Phrase,\nthe old Heavens and Earth, and the new Heavens and Earth; and it cannot\nbe shaken, so long as these two continue firm and immoveable. We might\nnow put an End to this Review, but it may be expected possibly that we\nshould say something concerning the _Millennium_? which we have,\ncontrary to the general Sentiment of the modern _Millennaries_, plac\u2019d\nin the _future_ Earth. Our Opinion hath this Advantage above others,\nthat all fanatical Pretensions to Power and Empire in this World, are,\nby these Means, blown away, as Chaff before the Wind. Princes need not\nfear to be dethroned, to make way to the Saints; nor Governments\nunhinged, that they may rule the World with a Rod of Iron. These are the\nEffects of the wild Enthusiasm; seeing the very State which they aim at,\nis not to be upon this Earth.\n\nBut that our Sense may not be mistaken or misapprehended in this\nParticular, as if we thought the Christian Church would never, upon this\nEarth, be in a better and happier Posture than it is in at present: We\nmust distinguish betwixt a _Melioration_ of the World, if you will allow\nthat Word; and a _Millennium_. We do not deny a Reformation and\nImprovement of the Church, both as to Peace, Purity, and Piety: That\nKnowledge may increase, Mens Minds be enlarged, and Christian Religion\nbetter understood: That the Power of Antichrist shall be diminish\u2019d,\nPersecution cease, Liberty of Conscience allow\u2019d amongst the Reformed;\nand a greater Union and Harmony established: That Princes will mind the\npublick Good, more than they do now; and be themselves better Examples\nof Virtue and true Piety. All this may be, and I hope will be e\u2019er long.\nBut the _apocalyptical Millennium_, or the _new Jerusalem_, is still\nanother Matter: It differs not in Degree only from the present State,\nbut in a new Order of Things; both in the moral World and in the\nnatural; and that cannot be till we come into the _new Heavens_ and _new\nEarth_. Suppose what Reformation you can in this World, there will still\nremain many Things inconsistent with the true millennial State;\nAntichrist, tho\u2019 weakned, will not be finally destroyed till the coming\nof our Saviour, nor Satan bound. And there will be always Poverty, Wars,\nDiseases, Knaves and Hypocrites, in this World, which are not consistent\nwith the _new Jerusalem_, as St. _John_ describes it, _Apoc._ xxi. 2, 3,\n4, _&c._\n\nYou see now what our Notion is of the Millennium, as we deny this Earth\nto be the Seat of it: \u2019Tis the State that succeeds the first\nResurrection, when Satan is lock\u2019d up in the bottomless Pit: The State\nwhen the Martyrs are to return into Life, and wherein they are to have\nthe first Lot and chief Share: A State which is to last a thousand\nYears. _And Blessed and Holy is he, that hath a Part in it; on such the\nsecond Death hath no Power; but they shall be Priests of God and Christ,\nand shall reign with him a thousand Years._ If you would see more\nparticular Reasons of our Judgment in this Case, why such a Millennium\nis not to be expected in this World; they are set down in the _8th_\nChap. of the _4th_ Book, and we do not think it necessary that they\nshould be here repeated.\n\nAs to that Dissertion that follows the Millennium, and reaches to the\nConsummation of all Things seeing it is but problematical, we leave it\nto stand or fall by the Evidence already given; and should be very glad\nto see the Conjectures of others more learned, in Speculations so\nabstruse and remote from common Knowledge. They cannot surely be thought\nunworthy or unfit for our Meditations, seeing they are suggested to us\nby Scripture it self: And to what end were they propos\u2019d to us there, if\nit was not intended, that they should be understood, sooner or later?\n\nI have done with this Review; and shall only add one or two Reflections\nupon the whole Discourse, and so conclude. You have seen the State of\nthe Theory of the Earth, as to the _Matters_, _Form_, and _Proofs_ of\nit, both natural and sacred: If any one will substitute a better in its\nPlace, I shall think my self more obliged to him, than if he had shewed\nme the Quadrature of the Circle. But it is not enough to pick Quarrels\nhere and there; that may be done by any Writing, especially when it is\nof so great Extent and Comprehension: They must build up, as well as\npull down; and give us another Theory instead of this, fitted to the\nsame natural History of the Earth, according as it is set down in\nScripture; and then let the World take their Choice. He that cuts down a\nTree, is bound in Reason to plant two; because there is an Hazard in\ntheir Growth and Thriving.\n\nThen as to those that are such rigorous Scripturists, as to require\nplainly demonstrative and irresistible Texts for every thing they\nentertain or believe; they would do well to reflect and consider,\nwhether, for every Article in the three Creeds (which have no Support\nfrom natural Reason) they can bring such Texts of Scripture as they\nrequire of others; or a fairer and juster Evidence, all things\nconsider\u2019d, than we have done for the Substance of this Theory. We have\nnot indeed said all that might be said, as to Antiquity; that making no\npart in this Review, and being capable still of great Additions. But as\nto Scripture and Reason I have no more to add: Those that are not\nsatisfied with the Proofs already produc\u2019d upon these two Heads, are\nunder a Fate, good or bad, which is not in my Power to overcome.\n_FINIS._\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n  There was a Sect amongst the _Jews_ that held this Perpetuity and\n  Immutability of Nature; and _Maimonides_ himself was of this\n  Principle, and gives the same Reason for it with the Scoffers here in\n  the Text, _Quod mundus retinet & sequitur Consuetudinem suam._ And as\n  to those of the _Jews_ that were _Aristoteleans_, it was very suitable\n  to their principles to hold the Incorruptibility of the World, as\n  their Master did. _Vid. Med. in loc._\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  \u03b4\u1f76 \u1fc0\u1f60\u03bd, _per que_. Vulgat. _Quamobrem_, Beza. _Qu\u00e2 de caus\u00e2_, Grot.\n  _Nemo interpretum reddidit_ \u03b4\u1f76 \u1fc0\u1f60\u03bd, per quas; _subintelligendo_ aquas.\n  _Hoc enim argumentationem Apostolicana tolleret, supponeretque\n  illusores illos ignor\u00e2sse quod olim fuerit Diluvium; Quod supponi non\n  posse supra ostendimus._\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  This Phrase or manner of Speech \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f10\u03ba vel \u1f10\u03be is not usual in\n  _Greek_ Authors; and upon a like Subject, _Plato_ saith, \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03b4\u1f72 \u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\n  \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f10\u03ba \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f00\u03ad\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b3\u1fc6\u03c2, but he that should translate\n  _Plato_, _the World stands out of Fire, Water_, _&c._ would be thought\n  neither _Grecian_, nor Philosopher. The same Phrase is us\u2019d in\n  reciting _Heraclitus_ his Opinion, \u03c4\u1f70 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 \u1f10\u03ba \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\n  \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03bb\u03b9\u03ad\u03c9\u03c2. And also in _Thales_ his which is still nearer to\n  the Subject, \u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2, \u03c6\u03b7\u03bf\u03b9, \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1, which _Cicero_\n  renders, _ex aqu\u00e2, dixit, constare omnia_. So that it is easy to know\n  the true Importance of this Phrase, and how it is ill render\u2019d in the\n  English, _standing out of the Water_.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  Whether you refer the Words \u1f10\u03be \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4. \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4 separately to the\n  Heavens and the Earth, or both to the Earth, or both to both, it will\n  make no great Difference as to our Interpretation.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  I know some would make this Place of no effect by rendering the\n  _Hebrew_ Particle \u05e2\u05dc _juxta, by_ or _near_ to; so they would read it\n  thus, _he had founded the Earth by the Sea-side_, and establish\u2019d it\n  by the Floods. What is there wonderful in this, that the Shores should\n  lie by the Sea-side? Where could they lie else? What Reason or\n  Argument is this, why the Earth should be the Lord\u2019s? The Earth is the\n  Lord\u2019s, _for_ he hath founded it _near_ the Seas. Where is the\n  Consequence of this? But if he founded it upon the Seas, which could\n  not be done by any other Hand but his, it shews both the Workman and\n  the Master. And accordingly in that other, _Psal._ cxxxvi. 6, if you\n  render it, He _stretched_ out the Earth _near_ the Waters, How is that\n  one of God\u2019s great Wonders, as it is there represented to be? Because\n  in some few Places this Particle is rendered otherwise, where the\n  Sense will bear it, must we therefore render it so when we please, and\n  where the Sense will not bear it? This being the most usual\n  Signification of it, and there being no other Word that signifies\n  _above_ more frequently or determinately than this does, why must it\n  signify otherwise in this Place? Men will wriggle any way to get from\n  under the Force of a Text, that does not suit to their own Notions.\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n  This reading or translating is generally followed, (_Theor. Book_ i.\n  _p._ 86.) though the _English_ Translation read _on a heap_,\n  unsuitably to the Matter and to the Sense.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n  See _Philo Jud\u00e6us_ his Description of the Deluge, both as to the\n  Commotions of the Heavens, and the Fractions of the Earth. In his\n  first Treatise _de Abrahamo_, _mih_, _p._ 279.\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n  _Uti comparatio pr\u00e6cedens_, ver. 4, 5, 6. _de ortu Telluris, sumitur\n  ab \u00e6dificio, ita h\u00e6c altera de orsu maris, sumitur \u00e0 partu; &\n  exhibetur Oceanus, prim\u00f9m, ut f\u0153tus inclusus in utero, dein ut\n  erumpens & prodeuns, denique ut fasciis & primus suis panniis\n  involvutus. Atque ex aperto Terr\u00e6 utero prorupit aquarum moles, ut\n  proluties ill\u00e6, quam simul cum f\u0153tu profundere solet puerpera_.\n\n\n\n\n       AN ANSWER TO THE EXCEPTIONS MADE BY _Mr._ ERASMUS WARREN,\n                Against the SACRED THEORY OF THE EARTH.\n\n                          THE FOURTH EDITION.\n\n                               _LONDON_:\n\n            Printed for J. HOOKE, at the _Flower de Luce_ in\n                        _Fleetstreet_, MDCCXXVI.\n\n\n\n\n AN ANSWER TO THE EXCEPTIONS MADE BY _Mr._ ERASMUS WARREN, AGAINST THE\n                        _THEORY_ of the _EARTH_.\n\n\nIf it be Civility to return a speedy Answer to a Demand or Message, I\nwill not fail to pay that Respect to the late Author of the _Exceptions\nagainst the Theory of the Earth_. I know, short Follies, and short\nQuarrels, are the best: And to offer Satisfaction at the first\nOpportunity, is the fairest Way to put an End to Controversies. Besides,\nsuch personal Altercations as these, are but _Res peritur\u00e6_, which do\nnot deserve much Time or Study; but, like Repartees, are best made off\nhand, and never thought on more. I only desire that Friendliness, that\nsome Allowance may be made as to Unaccuracy of Style: Which is always\nallow\u2019d in hasty Dispatches.\n\nI shall make no Excursions from the Subject, nor use any other Method\nthan to follow the learned _Exceptor_ from Chapter to Chapter, and\nobserve his Steps and Motions, so far as they are contrary to the\nTheory. But if he divert out of his Way, for his Pleasure, or other\nReasons best known to himself, I may take notice of it perhaps, but\nshall not follow him any farther than my Business leads me; having no\ndesign to abridge his Liberty, but to defend my own Writings where they\nare attack\u2019d. Give me leave therefore, without any other Preface or\nCeremony, to fall to our Work.\n\n\n                                CHAP. I.\n\n\nThis Chapter is only an Introduction, and treats of other Things,\nwithout any particular Opposition to the Theory. And therefore I shall\nonly give you the Conclusion of it, in the Author\u2019s own Words: _So much\nfor the first Chapter; which may be reckoned as an Introduction to the\nfollowing Discourse. Which if any shall look upon as a Collection of\nNotes, somewhat confusedly put together, rather than a formal, well\ndigested Treatise, they will entertain the best or truest Idea of it._ A\nsevere Censure: But every Man best understands his own Works.\n\n\n                               CHAP. II.\n\n\nHere he begins to enter upon particular Exceptions: And his first Head\nis against the _Formation of the Earth_, _pag._ 45. as explained by the\nTheory. To this he gives but one Exception in this Chapter: Namely, That\n_it would have taken up too much Time; the World being made in six\nDays_. Whereas many Separations of the Chaos, and of the Elements, were\nto be made, according to the Theory, which could not be dispatch\u2019d in so\nshort a Time. To this Exception, the general Answer may be this; either\nyou take the Hypothesis of an ordinary Providence, or of an\nextraordinary, as to the Time allowed for the Formation of the Earth: If\nyou proceed according to an ordinary Providence, the Formation of the\nEarth would require much more Time than six Days: But if according to an\nextraordinary, you may suppose it made in six Minutes, if you please.\n\u2019Twas plain Work, and a simple Process, according to the Theory;\nconsisting only of such and such Separations, and a Concretion: And\neither of these might be accelerated, and dispatch\u2019d in a longer or\nshorter Time, as Providence thought fit.\n\nHowever, this Objection does not come well from the Hands of this\nAuthor, who makes all the Mountains of the Earth (the most operose Part\nof it, as one would think) to be rais\u2019d in a small Parcel of a Day by\nthe Heat and Action of the Sun; as we shall find in the tenth Chapter,\nhereafter. He seems to proceed by natural Causes; for such are the Heat\nand Action of the Sun: And if so, he will find himself as much\nstraiten\u2019d for Time, as the Theorist can be. But if he say, the Work of\nNature and of the Sun was accelerated by an extra-ordinary Power, he\nmust allow us to say the same Thing of the Separations of the Chaos, and\nthe first Concretion of the Earth. For he cannot reasonably debar us\nthat Liberty which he takes himself, unless we have debarr\u2019d and\nexcluded our selves. Now \u2019tis plain, the Theorist never excluded an\nextraordinary Providence in the Formation and Construction of the Earth;\nas appears, and is openly express\u2019d in many Parts of the Theory, _Eng.\nTheor. p._ 88. See, if you please, the Conclusion of the _fifth\nChapter_, which treats about the Formation of the Earth. The last\nParagraph is this: _Give me leave only, before we proceed any farther,\nto annex here a short Advertisement, concerning the Causes of this\nwonderful Structure of the first Earth: \u2019Tis true, we have propos\u2019d the\nnatural Causes of it, and I do not know wherein our Explication is false\nor defective; but in Things of this Kind we may easily be too credulous:\nAnd this Structure is so marvellous, that it ought rather to be\nconsider\u2019d as a particular Effect of the Divine Art, than as the Work of\nNature. The whole Globe of the Water vaulted over, and the exterior\nEarth hanging above the Deep, sustain\u2019d by nothing but its own Measures\nand Manner of Construction: A Building without Foundation or\nCorner-stone. This seems to be a Piece of Divine Geometry or\nArchitecture; and to this, I think, is to be referr\u2019d that magnificent\nChallenge which God Almighty made to_ Job; Where wast thou, when I laid\nthe Foundations of the Earth? Declare, _&c._ Moses _also, when be had\ndescrib\u2019d the Chaos, saith_, The Spirit of God mov\u2019d upon, _or sat\nbrooding upon_, the Face of the Waters; _without all doubt, to produce\nsome Effects there_. _And St._ Peter, _when he speaks of the Form of the\nAnti-deluvian Earth, how it stood, in reference to the Waters, adds_, By\nthe Word of God, _or by the Wisdom of God_, it was made so. _And this\nsame Wisdom of God, in the_ Proverbs, _as we observed before, takes\nnotice of this very Piece of Work in the Formation of the Earth_: When\nhe set an Orb over the Face of the Deep, I was there. _Wherefore to the\ngreat Architect, who made the boundless Universe out of nothing, and\nform\u2019d the Earth out of a Chaos, let the Praise of the whole Work, and\nparticularly, of this Master-piece, for ever, with all Honour, be\ngiven._ In like Manner, there is a larger Account of Providence, both\nordinary and extraordinary, as to the Revolutions of the natural World,\nin the last Paragraph of the eighth Chapter; and like Reflections are\nmade in other Places, when Occasion is offer\u2019d.\n\nWe have not, therefore, any where excluded the Influence and Benefit of\nsuperior Causes, where the Case requires it: Especially, when \u2019tis only\nto modify the Effect, as to Time and Dispatch. And in that Case, none\nwill have more need of it than himself; as we shall find in the\nExamination of his tenth Chapter, about the Origin of Mountains.\n\nThe rest of this second Chapter is spent in three Excursions. One in\njustifying the _Cartesian_ Way of forming Light and the Sun, as\nagreeable to _Moses_. The second about the _Jewish Cabala_, and\n_Cabalistical Interpretations_. And the third about _mystical Numbers_.\nBut the Theory not being concern\u2019d in these Things, I leave them to the\nAuthor, and his Readers, to enjoy the Pleasure and Profit of them. And\nproceed to the third Chapter.\n\n\n                               CHAP. III.\n\n\nIn this Chapter a second Exception against the Formation of the Earth,\nas propos\u2019d in the Theory, is alledg\u2019d: And \u2019tis this; The Fluctuation\nof the Chaos, or of that first watery Globe, would hinder, he says, any\nConcretion of Earth upon its Surface. Not that there were Winds or\nStorms then, to agitate those Waters; neither would the Motion of the\nEarth, or the Rotation of that Globe, disturb them, as he allows there;\nbut the Disturbance would have Rise from Tides, _p._ 74. _lin._ 18, 19.\nor the Ebbings and Flowings of that great Ocean, which, he says, must\nhave been then, as well as now; And the Reason he gives, is this;\nbecause the Flux and Reflux of the Sea depend upon the Moon; and the\nMoon was then present, as he says, in our Heavens, or in our Vortex: And\ntherefore, would have the same Effect then, upon that Body of Waters\nwhich lay under it, that it hath now upon the Sea.\n\nThat the Moon was in the Heavens, and in our Neighbourhood, when the\nEarth was form\u2019d, he proves from the six Days Creation: and spends two\nor three Pages in Wit and Scolding upon this Subject, _p._ 77, 78, 79.\nBut, with his leave, when all is done, his Argument will be of no Force,\nunless he can prove, that the _fourth Day\u2019s Creation was before the\nthird_. I confess, I have heard of a Wager that was lost upon a like\nCase, namely, Whether _Henry_ VIII. was before _Henry_ VII? But that was\ndone by Complot in the Company, to whom it was referr\u2019d to decide the\nQuestion. We have no Plot here, but appeal fairly to that Judge the\nExceptor hath chosen, namely, to Scripture, which tells us, that the\nMoon was made the fourth Day, and the Earth was form\u2019d the third.\nTherefore, unless the fourth Day was before the third, the Moon could\nnot hinder the Formation of the Earth.\n\nBut I hope, say you, this is a Misrepresentation. The Animadverter sure\nwould not put the Matter upon this Issue. Yes, he does. For when he had\noppos\u2019d to our Formation of the Earth, the Fluctuation of the Waters,\ncaus\u2019d, as he phrases it, by the _bulky Presence_ of the Moon, he\nconcludes with these Words, (_p._ 77. _Parag._ 3.) _But in reference to\nthis Matter, there is a Doubt made by the Theorist, which must be\nconsider\u2019d and removed; otherwise most of what hath been said, touching\nthe Instability and Fluctuation of these Waters, will be vain and\ngroundless: The Doubt is, Whether the Moon were then in our\nNeighbourhood._ You see that Matter is put upon this Issue, Whether the\nMoon was in the Neighbourhood of the Earth, at the Time of its\nFormation. We say she was not; and prove it by this plain Argument, If\nshe was not in Being at that Time, she was not in our Neighbourhood: But\nunless the _fourth_ Day was before the _third_, she was not in Being.\n_Ergo._\n\nBut after all, if the Moon had been present then, and there had been\nTides, or any other Fluctuation towards the Poles, we have no Reason to\nbelieve, according to the Experiences we have now, that that would have\nhinder\u2019d the Formation of the Earth, upon the Surface of the Chaos. For\nwhy should they have hinder\u2019d that more, than they do the Formation of\nIce upon the Surface of the Sea? We know, in cold Regions, the Seas are\nfrozen, notwithstanding their Tides; and in the Mouths of Rivers, where\nthere is both the Current and Stream of the River on one hand, and the\nCounter-Current of the Tides on the other; these, together, cannot\nhinder the Concretion that is made on the Surface of the Water: And our\nWater is a Substance more thin, and easily broken, than that tenacious\nFilm was, that cover\u2019d the Chaos. WHEREFORE, upon all Suppositions, we\nhave Reason to conclude, that no Fluctuations of the Chaos could hinder\nthe Formation of the first Earth.\n\nLastly, The Observator opposes the Reasons that are given by the\nTheorist, _why the Presence of the Moon_ was less needful in the first\nWorld. Namely, _because there were no long Winter Nights; nor the great\nPool of the Sea to move or govern_. As to the second Reason, \u2019tis only\nhypothetical; and if the Hypothesis be true, _That_ there was no open\nSea at that Time, (which must be elsewhere examin\u2019d,) the Consequence is\ncertainly true. But as to the first Reason, he will not allow the\nConsequence, tho\u2019 the Hypothesis be admitted. For he says, _p._ 79. _As\nthere were no long Winter Nights then, so there were no short Summer\nones neither: So that set but the one against the other, and the\nPresence of the Moon may seem to have been as needful then, in regard of\nthe Length of Nights, as she is now._ This looks like a witty\nObservation, but it does not reach the Point. Is there as much need of\nthe Moon in _Spain_, as in _Lapland_, or the Northern Countries? There\nis as much Night in one Place as another, within the Compass of a Year,\nbut the great Inconvenience is, when the Night falls upon the Hours of\nTravel, or the Hours of Work and Business; for if it fall only upon\nHours of Sleep, or of Rest and Retirement, as it does certainly more in\n_Spain_, and in those Climates that approach nearer to an Equinox; the\nMoon is there less necessary in that Respect: We can sleep without\nMoonshine, or without Light, but we cannot travel, or do Business\nabroad, without Hazard and great Inconvenience, if there be no Light. So\nthat the Reason of the Theorist holds good, _viz._ That there would be\nmore Necessity of Moon-shine in long Winter Nights, than in a perpetual\nEquinox.\n\nWe proceed now to the rest of this Chapter, which is made up of some\nsecondary Charges against this Part of the Theory, concerning the Chaos\nand the Formation of the first Earth. As, First, That it is, _p._ 80,\n81. _Precarious:_ Secondly, _p._ 83. _Unphilosophical_: And, Thirdly,\n_Antiscriptural_; which we shall answer in order. He seems to offer at\nthree or four Instances of _Precariousness_, as to the Ingredients of\nthe Chaos, their Proportions and Separations; but his Quarrel is chiefly\nwith the oily Particles: These he will scarce allow at all; nor that\nthey could separate themselves in due Time to receive the terrestrial,\nat least in due Proportions.\n\nFirst, He would have no oily Particles in the Chaos. But why so, I pray?\nWhat Proof or just Exception is there against them? Why may not there be\noriginal oily Particles, as well as original salt Particles? Such as\nyour great Master _Des Cartes_ supposes, _Prin. ph._ _l._ 4. \u00a7. 84.\n_Meteor._ _c._ 1. \u00a7. 8. He who considers that vast Quantity of\noleaginous Matter that is dispers\u2019d every where, in Vegetables, in\nAnimals, and in many sorts of Earths, and that this must have been from\nthe Beginning, or as soon as the Earth had any Furniture; will see\nReason to believe that such Particles must be thought original and\nprimeval; not forg\u2019d below the Abyss, and extracted from the inferior\nRegions of the Earth: For that would require a Process of many Ages;\nwhereas, these being the Principles of Fertility, it is reasonable to\nsuppose, that a new World abounds with them more than an old one.\nLastly, If we suppose oily Particles to be tenuious and branchy, as your\nPhilosopher does, too gross to be Air, and too light for Water; why\nshould we imagine that in that vast Mass and Variety of Particles,\nwhereof the Chaos consisted, there should not be any of this Figure, as\nwell as of others? Or, what Reason is there to suppose, that there are\nnone of that Figure, but what are brought from the inferior Regions of\nthe Earth? For, of all others, these seem to be the most unlikely, if\nnot incapable, of being extracted from thence. And if there be only a\ngradual Difference, in Magnitude and Mobility, betwixt the Particles of\nAir and Oil, as that Philosopher seems to suppose, _Prin. phil._ _l._ 4.\n\u00a7. 76. why must we exclude these Degrees, and yet admit the higher and\nlower?\n\nThe second Thing which he charges with _Precariousness_, is the\nSeparation of this oily Matter, in due time, so as to make a Mixture and\nConcretion with the terrestrial Particles that fell from above. This\nObjection was both made and answered by the Theorist; _Eng. Theor._ _p._\n79. which the Observator might have vouchsaf\u2019d to have taken notice of;\nand either confuted the Answer, or spar\u2019d himself the Pains of repeating\nthe Objection.\n\nThe third _Precariousness_ is, concerning the Quantity and Proportion of\nthese Particles: And the fourth, concerning the Quantity and Proportion\nof the Water. The Exceptor, it seems, would have had the Theorist to\nhave gauged these Liquors, and told him the just Measure and Proportion\nof each; but, in what Theory or Hypothesis is that done? Has his great\nPhilosopher, in his Hypothesis of _Three Elements_, (which the Exceptor\nmakes use of, _p._ 52.) or in his several Regions of the unform\u2019d Earth,\nthe _Fourth Book of his Principles_, defin\u2019d the Quantity and Dimensions\nof each? Or in the mineral Particles and Juices, which he draws from the\nlower Regions, does he determine the Quantity of them? And yet these, by\ntheir Excess, or Defect, might be of great Inconvenience to the World:\nNeither do I censure him for these Things, as _precarious_. For, when\nthe Nature of a Thing admits a Latitude, the original Quantity of it is\nleft to be determin\u2019d by the Effects; and the Hypothesis stands good, if\nneither any Thing antecedent, nor any present _Ph\u00e6nomena_, can be\nalledged against it.\n\nBut if these Examples, from his great Philosopher be not sufficient, I\nwill give him one from an Author beyond all Exceptions; And that is from\nhimself. Does the Animadverter, in his new Hypothesis concerning the\nDeluge, _Ch._ 15. give us the just Proportions of his Rock-Water, and\nthe just Proportions of his Rain-Water, that concurred to make the\nDeluge? I find no Calculations there, but general Expressions, that the\none was far greater than the other; and that may be easily presumed,\nconcerning the oily Substance, and the watery Chaos: What Scruples\ntherefore, _p._ 80, 81. he raises, in reference to the Chaos, against\nthe Theorist, for not having demonstrated the Proportions of the Liquors\nof the Abyss, fall upon his own Hypothesis; for the same or greater\nReasons. And you know what the old Verse says,\n\n              _Turpe est Doctori, cum culpa redurguit ipsum._\n\nBut, however, he will have such Exceptions, _p._ 81. to stand good\nagainst the Theorist, though they are not good against other Persons;\nbecause the Theorist stands upon Terms[14] of Certainty, and in one\nPlace of his Book, has this Sentence, _Ego quidem_, &c. These Words, I\nthink, are very exceptionable, if they be taken with the Context: For\nthis Evidence and Certainty, which the Theorist speaks of, is brought in\nthere in Opposition to such uncertain Arguments, as are taken from the\nInterpretation of _Fables_ and _Symbols_; or from _Etymologies_ and\n_Grammatical Criticisms_, which are expresly mention\u2019d in the preceding\nDiscourse: And yet this Sentence, because it might be taken in too great\nan Extent, is left out in the second Edition of the Theory, and\ntherefore, none had Reason to insist upon it. But I see the Exceptor\nputs himself into a State of War, and thinks there is no foul Play\nagainst an Enemy.\n\nSo much for his Charge of _Precariousness_. We now come to the second,\nwhich is call\u2019d _Unphilosophicalness_. And, why is the Theorist, in this\nCase, unphilosophical? Because, says the Exceptor, he supposes\nterrestrial Particles to be dispers\u2019d through the whole Sphere of the\nChaos, as high as the Moon: And why not, pray, if it be a mere Chaos?\nWhere, antecedently to Separations, all Things are mix\u2019d and blended\nwithout Distinction of Gravity or Levity; otherwise it is not a mere\nChaos: And when Separations begin to be made, and Distinction of Parts\nand Regions, so far it is ceasing to be a mere Chaos. But then, says the\nObservator, why did not the Moon come down, as well as these terrestrial\nParticles? I answer by another Question, Why does not the Moon come down\nnow? Seeing she is still in our Vortex, and at the same Distance; and so\nthe same Reason which keeps her up now, kept her up then: Which Reason\nhe will not be at a loss to understand, if he understand the Principles\nof his great Philosopher.\n\nWe come now to the last Charge: That the Theory, in this Part of it, is\n_antiscriptural_. And why so? Because it supposes the Chaos _dark_,\nwhereas the Scripture says, there was Light the first Day. Well, but\ndoes the Scripture say, that the Chaos was throughly illuminated the\nfirst Day? The Exceptor, _p._ 52. as I remember, makes the primigenial\nLight to have been the Rudiment of a Sun; and calls it there, _lin._ 17.\na _faint Light_, and a _feeble Light_; and in this Place, _lin._ 27. a\n_faint Glimmering_. If then the Sun, in all its Strength and Glory,\ncannot sometimes dispel a Mist out of the Air, what could this _faint,\nfeeble Glimmering_ do, towards the Dissipation of such a gross\ncaliginous Opacity, as that was? This Light might be sufficient to make\nsome Distinction of Day and Night in the Skies; and we do not find any\nother Mark of its Strength in Scripture, nor any other Use made of it.\n\nSo we have done with this Chapter. Give me leave only, without Offence,\nto observe the Style of the Exceptor, in reference to Scripture, and the\nTheory. He is apt to call every Thing _antiscriptural_, that suits not\nhis Sense; neither is that enough, but he must also call it, _p._ 78. a\n_bold Affront_ to Scripture. He confesses, he hath made, _p._ 299.\n_pen._ a _little bold_ with Scripture himself, in his new Hypothesis;\nhow much that _little_ will prove, we shall see hereafter. But however,\nas to that hard Word, _Affront_, a discreet Man, as he is not apt to\ngive an Affront, so neither is he forward to call every cross Word, an\nAffront: Both those Humours are Extreams, and breed Quarrels. Suppose a\nMan should say boldly, God Almighty _hath no Right Hand_. Oh, might the\nAnimadverter cry, _That\u2019s a bold Affront to Scripture_: For I can shew\nyou many and plain Texts of Scripture, both in the _Old Testament_, and\nin the _New Testament_, where express Mention is made of God\u2019s _Right\nHand_. And will you offer to oppose _Reason_ and _Philosophy_ to express\nWords of Scripture, often repeated, and in both Testaments? _O Tempora,\nO Mores!_ So far as my Observation reaches, weak Reasons commonly\nproduce strong Passions. When a Man hath clear Reasons, they satisfy and\nquiet the Mind; and he is not much concern\u2019d, whether others receive his\nNotions, or no: But when we have a strong Aversion to an Opinion, from\nother Motives and Considerations, and find our Reasons doubtful or\ninsufficient; then, according to the Course of human Nature, the\nPassions rise for a farther Assistance; and what is wanting, in point of\nArgument, is made up by Invectives and Aggravations.\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n  _Eg: quidem i et sum sententis, so in barum resum de quibus agnt\n  regnitienem, a alarum qunque, quo mements snt, sum s Des aut Natur ut\n  pat estes perviniendi, ratio i ce est, aliq claris invi: Non\n  eujecturatis, v, Quetras nimpe i, que opesmi sui, qui meimi sicavent\n  ab, quam amcteren._\n\n\n                               CHAP. IV.\n\n\nThis Chapter is chiefly concerning the _Central Fire_, and the _Origin_\nof the _Chaos_; of both which, the Theorist had declared he would not\ntreat: And \u2019tis an unreasonable Violence to force an Author to treat of\nwhat Things we please, and not allow him to prescribe Bounds to his own\nDiscourse. As to the first of these, see what the Theorist hath said,\n_Engl. Theor._ _p._ 451, and 86, 67. By which Passages it is evident,\nthat he did not meddle with the central Parts of the Earth; nor thought\nit necessary for his Hypothesis: As is also more fully express\u2019d in the\n_Latin Theory_, _p._ 45. For, do but allow him a Chaos from the Bottom\nof the Abyss, upwards to the Moon, and he desires no more for the\nFormation of an habitable Earth: Neither is it the Part of Wisdom, to\nload a new Subject with unnecessary Curiosities.\n\nThen as to the Origin of the Chaos, see how the Theorist bounds his\nDiscourse as to that, [15]_Engl. Theor._ _p._ 451. _I did not think it\nnecessary to carry the Story and Original of the Earth, higher than the\nChaos, as_ Zoroaster _and_ Orpheus _seem to have done; but taking that\nfor our Foundation which Antiquity, sacred and profane, does suppose,\nand natural Reason approve and confirm, we have form\u2019d the Earth from\nit_. To form an habitable Earth from a Chaos given, and to shew all the\ngreat Periods and general Changes of that Earth, throughout the whole\nCourse of its Duration, or while it remain\u2019d an Earth, was the adequate\nDesign of the Theorist. And was this Design so short or shallow, that it\ncould not satisfy the great Soul of the Exceptor, _p._ 88. but it must\nbe a _Flaw_ in the Hypothesis, that it did go higher than the Chaos? We\ncontent our selves with these Bounds at present. And when a Man\ndeclares, that he will write only the _Roman_ History, will you say his\nWork\u2019s imperfect, because it does not take in the _Persian_ and\n_Assyrian_?\n\nThese Things consider\u2019d, to speak freely of this Chapter, it seems to\nme, in a great Measure, impertinent; unless it was design\u2019d to shew the\nLearning of the Observator, who loves, I perceive, to dabble in\nPhilosophy, though little to the Purpose: For, as far as I see, his\nDisquistions generally end in Scepticism; he disputes first one way,\nthen another; and, at last determines nothing. He rambles betwixt _Des\nCartes_ and _Moses_, the _Rabbies_, the _Septuagint_, the _Platonists_,\n_Magnetisme_, _striate Particles_, and _Pr\u00e6-existence of Souls_: And\nends in nothing, as to the Formation of the Earth, which was to be the\nSubject of the Chapter. We proceed therefore to the next, in hopes to\nmeet with closer Reasoning.\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n  _Si admittamus insupor Ignam Centratem, sive Maisom ignir in centra\n  Terra, quod quidem ain est basus argumenti. Neque partem intimam\n  Chaos, niji ibiter & pro formo, conjiaeravi, cum ad um, nesram non\n  spestet._ _Vid. etiam_ p. 186.\n\n\n                                CHAP. V.\n\n\nFrom the manner of the Earth\u2019s Formation, the Exceptor, _p._ 106. now\nproceeds to the _Form_ of it, if compleated. And his first Exception is,\nThat it would want _Waters_, or Rivers to water it. He says, there would\neither be no Rivers at all, or none, at least, in due time.\n\nThe Theorist hath replenish\u2019d that Earth with Rivers, flowing from the\nextreme Parts of it, towards the middle, in continual Streams; and\nwatering, as a Garden, all the intermediate Climates. And this constant\nSupply of Water was made from the Heavens, by an uninterrupted Stream of\nVapours, which had their Course through the Air, from the middle Parts\nof the Earth towards the extreme; and falling in Rains, return\u2019d again\nupon the Surface of the Earth, from the extreme Parts to the middle: For\nthat Earth being of an oval or something oblong Figure, there would be a\nDeclivity all along, or Descent, from the Polar Parts towards the\nEquinoctial; which gave Course and Motion to these Waters. And the\nVapours above never falling in their Course, the Rivers would never fail\nbelow; but a perpetual Circulation would be establish\u2019d, betwixt the\nWaters of the Heavens and of the Earth.\n\nThis is a short Account of the State of the Waters in the primeval\nEarth. Which you may see represented and explain\u2019d more at large, in the\n_second Book of the Theory_, _Chap._ 5. And this, I believe, is an Idea\nmore easily conceiv\u2019d, than any we could form concerning the Waters and\nRivers of the present Earth, if we had not Experience of them. Suppose a\nStranger, that had never seen this terraqueous Globe, where we live at\npresent, but was told the general Form of it; how the Sea lies, how the\nLand, and what was the Constitution of the Heavens: If this Stranger was\nasked his Opinion, whether such an Earth was habitable; and\nparticularly, whether they could have Waters commodiously in such an\nEarth, and how the inland Countries would be supplied? I am apt to\nthink, he would find it more difficult (upon an Idea only, without\nExperience) to provide Waters for such an Earth, as ours is at present,\nthan for such an one as the primeval Earth was. \u2019Tis true, he would\neasily find Rains, possible and natural, but with no Constancy or\nRegularity; and these, he might imagine, would only make transient\nTorrents, not any fix\u2019d and permanent Rivers. But as for Fountains\nderiv\u2019d from the Sea, and breaking out in higher Grounds, I am apt to\nbelieve, all his Philosophy would not be able to make a clear Discovery\nof them: But Things that are familiar to us by Experience, we think easy\nin Speculation, or never enquire into the Causes of them. Whereas, other\nThings, that never fall under our Experience, though more simple and\nintelligible in themselves, we reject often as Paradoxes or Romances.\nLet this be applied to the present Case, and we proceed to answer the\nExceptions.\n\nLet us take that Exception first, as most material, _p._ 114. that\npretends there would have been no Rivers at all in the primeval Earth,\nif it was of such a Form as the Theorist had describ\u2019d. And for this, he\ngives one grand Reason, Because the Regions towards the Poles, where the\nRains are suppos\u2019d to fall, and the Rivers to rise, would have been all\nfrozen and congeal\u2019d; and consequently, no fit Sources of Water for the\nrest of the Earth. Why we should think those Regions would be frozen,\nand the Rains that fell in them, he gives two Reasons, the Distance, and\nthe Obliquity of the Sun. As also the Experience we have now, of the\nColdness and Frozenness of those Parts of the Earth. But as to the\nDistance of the Sun, He confesses, _p._ 118. that is not the Thing _that\ndoes only or chiefly_ make a Climate cold. He might have added,\n_particularly in that Earth, where the Sun was never at a greater\nDistance than the Equator_. Then, as to the Obliquity of the Sun,\nneither was that so great, nor so considerable, in the first Earth, as\nin the present. Because the Body of that lay in a direct Position to the\nSun; whereas the present Earth lies in an oblique. And though the Polar\nCircles or Circumpolar Parts of that Earth, did not lie so perpendicular\nto the Sun as the Equinoctial, and consequently were cooler, yet there\nwas no Danger of their being frozen or congeal\u2019d. It was more the\nMoisture and excessive Rains of those Parts that made them\nuninhabitable, than the extreme Coldness of the Climate, of it self. And\nif the Exceptor had well consider\u2019d the Differences betwixt the present\nand primitive Earth, as to Obliquity of Position, and that which follows\nfrom it, the Length of Nights, he would have found no Reason to have\ncharg\u2019d that Earth with _nipping and freezing Cold_; where there was\nnot, I believe, one Morsel of Ice, from one Pole to another: But that\nwill better appear, if we consider the Causes of Cold.\n\nThere are three general Causes of Cold: The Distance of the Sun, his\nObliquity, and his total Absence; I mean in the Nights. As to Distance,\nthat alone must be of little Effect, seeing there are many Planets\n(which must not be look\u2019d upon as mere Lumps of Ice) at a far greater\nDistance from the Sun, than ours: And as to Obliquity, you see it was\nmuch less considerable in the respective Parts of the Primitive Earth,\nthan of the present. Wherefore, these are to be consider\u2019d but as\nsecondary Causes of Cold, in respect of the third, the total Absence of\nthe Sun in the Night Time: And where this happens to be long and\ntedious, there you must expect Excess of Cold. Now, in the primitive\nEarth there was no such Thing as long Winter Nights, but every where a\nperpetual Equinox, or a perpetual Day. And consequently, there was no\nRoom or Cause of excessive Cold in any Part of it. But on the contrary,\nthe Case is very different in the present Earth; for in our Climate, we\nhave not the Presence of the Sun, in the Depth of Winter, half as long\nas he is absent; and towards the Poles they have Nights that last\nseveral Weeks or Months together: And then \u2019tis that the Cold rages,\nbinds up the Ground, freezes the Ocean, and makes those Parts more or\nless uninhabitable. But where no such Causes are, you need not fear any\nsuch Effects.\n\nThus much to shew that there might be Rains, Waters, and Rivers, in the\nprimigenial Earth, and towards the extreme Parts of it, without any\nDanger of freezing. But however, says the other Part of the Exception,\n_These Rivers would not be made in due Time._ That\u2019s wholly according to\nthe Process you take; if you take a mere natural Process, the Rivers\ncould not flow throughout the Earth, all on a sudden; but you may\naccelerate that Process, as much as you please, by a Divine Hand. As to\nthis Particular indeed of the Rivers, one would think there should be no\nOccasion for their sudden flowing through the Earth, because Mankind\ncould not be suddenly propagated throughout the Earth: And if they did\nbut lead the Way, and prepare the Ground in every Country, before\nMankind arrived there, that seems to be all that would be necessary upon\ntheir Account: Neither can it be imagined, but that the Rivers would\nflow faster than Mankind could follow; for it is probable, in the first\nhundred Years, Men did not reach an hundred Miles from Home, or from\ntheir first Habitations: And we cannot suppose the Defluxion of Water,\nupon any Declivity, to be half so slow. As to the Channels of these\nRivers, the Manner of their Progress, and other Circumstances, those\nThings are set down fully enough in the fifth Chapter of the second\n_Book_ of the _English Theory_, and it would be needless to repeat them\nhere.\n\nBut the Anti-Theorist says, this slow Production and Propagation of\nRivers is contrary to Scripture; both because of the Rivers of Paradise,\nand also, because Fishes were made the sixth Day. As to that of the\nFishes, he must first prove that those were River-Fishes; for the\nScripture, _Gen._ i. 21. and 22. makes them Sea-Fish, and instances in\ngreat Whales. But he says (_p._ 113, 114.) it will _appear in the Sequel\nof his Discourse_, that the Abyss could be no Receptacle of Fishes. To\nthat Sequel of his Discourse therefore we must refer the Examination of\nthis Particular. Then as to Paradise, that was but one single Spot of\nGround, _ch._ xiii. according to the ordinary Hypothesis; which he seems\nto adhere to: And Rivers might be there as soon as he pleases, seeing\nits Seat is not yet determin\u2019d. But as for the Lands which they are said\nto traverse or encompass, that they might be the Work of Time, when\ntheir Channels and Courses were extended and settled; as they would be,\ndoubtless, long before the Time that _Moses_ writ that Description: But\nas to the _Rivers of Paradise_, it would be a long Story to handle that\nDispute here. And \u2019tis fit the Authors should first agree amongst\nthemselves, before we determine the Original of its River, or Rivers.\n\n\n                               CHAP. VI.\n\n\nWe come now to the Deluge, where the great Exception is this, _p._ 121.\nThat according to the Theory, the Deluge would have come to pass,\nwhether Mankind had been degenerate, or no.\n\nWe know Mankind did degenerate, and \u2019tis a dangerous Thing to argue upon\nfalse Suppositions; and to tell what would have come to pass, in case\nsuch a Thing had not come to pass: Suppose _Adam_ had not sinn\u2019d, what\nwould have become of the _Messiah_? _Eph._ i. 4. 1 _Pet._ i. 20. _Apoc._\nxiii. 8. and the Dispensation of the Gospel, which yet is said to have\nbeen determin\u2019d more early than the Deluge? Let the Anti-Theorist answer\nhimself this Question, and he may answer his own.\n\nBut to take a gentler Instance, suppose _Adam_ had not eaten the\nforbidden Fruit, how could he and all his Posterity have liv\u2019d in\nParadise? A few Generations would have fill\u2019d that Place; and should the\nrest have been turn\u2019d out into the wide World, without any sin or Fault\nof theirs? You suppose the Ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth to have been\nthe same with the present, and, consequently, subject to the same\nAccidents and Inconveniences. The Action of the Sun would have been the\nsame then as now, according to your Hypothesis: The same Excesses of\nHeat and Cold, in the several Regions and Climates; the same Vapours and\nExhalations extracted out of the Earth; the same Impurities and\nCorruptions in the Air: And in Consequence of these, the same external\nDisposition to epidemical Distempers. Besides, there would be the same\nStorms and Tempests at Sea, the same Earthquakes, and other Desolations\nat Land. So that _had all the Sons and Daughters of Men_, to use the\nExceptor\u2019s elegant Style, _p._ 122. _been as pure and bright as they\ncould possibly have dropt out of the Mint of Creation, they should\nstill_ have been subject to all these Inconveniences and Calamities. If\nMankind had continued spotless and undegenerate \u2019till the Deluge, or for\nsixteen hundred Years, they might as well have continued so for sixteen\nhundred more. And in a far less Time, according to their Fruitfulness\nand Multiplication, the whole Face of the Earth would have been thick\ncovered with Inhabitants: Every Continent and every Island, every\nMountain and every Desert, and all the Climates from Pole to Pole. But\ncould naked Innocency have liv\u2019d happy in the frozen Zones, where Bears\nand Foxes can scarce subsist? in the midst of Snows and Ice, thick Fogs,\nand more than _\u00c6gyptian_ Darkness, for some Months together? Would all\nthis have been a _Paradise_, or a paradisaical State, to these virtuous\nCreatures? I think it would be more advisable for the Exceptor, not to\nenter into such Disputes, grounded only upon Suppositions. God\u2019s\nPrescience is infallible, as his Counsels are immutable.\n\nBut the Exceptor further suggests, _p._ 121. that the Theory does not\nallow a judicial and extraordinary Providence in bringing on the Deluge,\nas a Punishment upon Mankind. Which, I must needs say, is an untrue and\nuncharitable Suggestion, as any one may see, both in the _Latin_ Theory\n[16] _Chap._ 6. and in the _English_, in several Places. So at the\nEntrance upon the Explication of the Deluge (_Theor._ _p._ 92.) are\nthese Words, _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, and the Frame of the Earth\nbroke,_ &c. And accordingly in the Conclusion of that Discourse about\nthe Deluge, are these Words, (Theor. p. 144.) _In the mean time I do not\nknow any more to be added in this Part, unless it be to conclude with an\nAdvertisement to prevent any Mistake or Misconstruction, as if this\nTheory, by explaining the Deluge in a natural Way, or by natural Causes,\ndid detract from the Power of God, by which that GREAT JUDGMENT WAS\nBROUGHT UPON THE WORLD, IN A PROVIDENTIAL AND MIRACULOUS MANNER._ And in\nthe three following Paragraphs (_Theor._ _p._ 144, 145, 146.) which\nconclude that Chapter, there is a full Account given both of an ordinary\nand extraordinary Providence, in reference to the Deluge, and other\ngreat Revolutions of the natural World.\n\nBut it is a Weakness however to think, that, when a Train is laid in\nNature, and Methods concerted, for the execution of a Divine Judgment,\ntherefore it is not _providential_. God is the Author and Governor of\nthe natural World, as well as of the Moral: And he sees thorough the\nFuturitions of both, and hath so dispos\u2019d the one, as to serve him in\nhis just Judgments upon the other. Which Method, as it is more to the\nHonour of his Wisdom, so it is in no way to the Prejudice of his Power\nor Justice. And what the Exceptor suggests concerning Atheists, and\ntheir presum\u2019d Cavils at such an Explication of the Deluge, is a Thing\nonly said at random and without Grounds. On the contrary, so to\nrepresent the Sense of Scripture, in natural Things, as to make it\nunintelligible, and inconsistent with Science and Philosophick Truth, is\none great Cause, in my Opinion, that breeds and nourishes Atheism.\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n  _Notandum ver\u00f2, quamvis mundi veteris dissolutionem & rationes Diluvii\n  secundum ordinem causarum naturalium, explicemus, qu\u00f2d eo modo magis\n  clar\u00e8 & distinct\u00e8 intelligantur; non ide\u00f2 in p\u0153nam humani generis\n  ordinatum suisse diluvium, singulisque ipsius motibus pr\u00e6fuisse\n  providentiam, inficiamur: im\u00f2 in eo elucet maxim\u00e8 Sapientia divina,\n  qu\u00f2d mundum naturalem morali ita coaptet & attemperet, ut hujus\n  ingenio, illius ordo & dispositio semper respondeat: & amberum\n  libratis momentis, simul concurrant & un\u00e0 compleantur utriusque\n  tempora & vicissitudines; ipse etiam Apostolus Petrus diluvii &\n  excidii mundani causas naturales assignat, c\u00f9m ait_, \u03b4\u1f76 \u1f67\u03bd, &c.\n\n\n                               CHAP. VII.\n\n\nThis Chapter is about the Places of Scripture, alledg\u2019d in Confirmation\nof the Theory: And chiefly concerning that remarkable Discourse in St.\n_Peter_, 2 _Epist._ iii. which treats of the Difference of the\nAnte-diluvian World, and the present World. That Discourse is so fully\nexplain\u2019d in the _Review of the Theory_, that I think it is plac\u2019d\nbeyond all Exception. And the Animadverter here makes his Exception only\nagainst the first Words, _ver._ 5. \u039b\u03b1\u03bd\u03c3\u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b3\u1f70\u03c1 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf \u03b8\u03ad\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2,\nwhich we thus render, _For this they willingly are ignorant of._ But he\ngenerally renders it, _wilfully ignorant of_, and lays a great Stress\nupon that word _wilfully_. But if he quarrel with the _English_\nTranslation, in this particular, he must also fault the _Vulgate_, and\n_Beza_, and all others that I have yet met withal. And it had been very\nproper for him, in this Case, to have given us some Instances or Proofs,\nout of Scripture or _Greek_ Authors, where this Phrase signifies a\n_wilful and obstinate Ignorance_. He says it must have been a wilful\nIgnorance, otherwise it was not blameable: Whereas St. _Peter_ gives it\na sharp Reproof. I answer, There are many Kinds and Degrees of blameable\nIgnorance; a contented Ignorance, an Ignorance from Prejudices, from\nNon-attendance, and want of due Examination. These are all blameable in\nsome Degree, and all deserve some Reproof; but it was not their\nIgnorance that St. _Peter_ chiefly reproves, but their deriding and\n_scoffing_ at the Doctrine of the coming of our Saviour, and the\nConflagration of the World. And therefore he calls them, _Scoffers,\nwalking after their own Lusts_.\n\nBut the Exceptor seems at length inclinable to render the forementioned\nWords thus, _p._ 137. _They are willingly mindless or forgetful._ And I\nbelieve the Translation would be proper enough. And what gentler Reproof\ncan one give, than to say, you are _willing to forget_ such an Argument,\nor such a Consideration; which implies little more than Non-attention,\nor an Inclination of the Will towards the contrary Opinion? We cannot\ntell what Evidence, or what Traditions they might have then concerning\nthe Deluge, but we know they had the History of it by _Moses_, and all\nthe Marks in Nature, that we have now, of such a Dissolution. And they,\nthat pretended to philosophize upon the Works of Nature, and the\nImmutability of them, might very well deserve that modest Rebuke, that\nthey were _willing to forget_ the first Heavens and first Earth, and the\nDestruction of them at the Deluge, when they talk\u2019d of an immutable\nState of Nature.\n\nNeither is there any Thing in all this, contrary to what the Theorist\nhad said, _Theor._ _c._ 1. concerning the ancient Philosophers: That\nnone of them ever invented or demonstrated from the Causes, the true\nState of the first Earth. This must be granted; but it is one Thing to\ndemonstrate from the Causes, or by way of Theory, and another Thing to\nknow at large: Whether by Scripture, Tradition, or Collection from\nEffects. The Mutability and Changes of the World, which these\nPseudo-Christians would not allow of, was a knowable Thing, taking all\nthe Means which they might and ought to have attended to: At least,\nbefore they should have proceeded so far as to reject the Christian\nDoctrine concerning the future Changes of the World, with Scorn and\nDerision. Which is the very Thing the Apostle so much censor\u2019d them for.\n\nSo much for what is said by the Exceptor concerning this place of St.\n_Peter_. To all the rest he gives an easy Answer, (in the Contents of\nthis Chapter) _viz._, That they are _figurative, and so not\nargumentative_. The Places of Scripture upon which the Theory depends,\nare fixed distinctly and in order, in the REVIEW: And, to avoid\nRepetitions, we must sometimes refer to that, _Review_, p. 371, 372.\nparticularly, as to two remarkable Places, _Psal._ xxiv. 2. and _Psal._\ncxxxvi. 6. concerning the _Foundation and Extension of the Earth upon\nthe Seas_. Which the Exceptor quickly dispatches by the Help of a\n_Particle_ and a _Figure_. \u05e2\u05dc.\n\nThe next he proceeds to, is, _Psal._ xxxiii. 7. _He gathereth the Waters\nof the Sea, as in a Bag: He layeth up the Abyss in Store-Houses._ But,\nhe says, it should be render\u2019d, as _on an Heap_: Which is the _English_\nTranslation. Whether the Authorities produced, in this case, by the\nTheorist, _Eng. Theor._ p. 117. or by the Exceptor, are more\nconsiderable, I leave the Reader to judge. But, however, he cites\nanother place, _Psal._ lxxviii. 13. where the same Word is us\u2019d and\napply\u2019d to the Red Sea, which could not be enclos\u2019d as in a Bag. Take\nwhether Translation you please for this second place; it is no Prejudice\nto the Theory, if you render it _on an Heap_: For it was a Thing done by\nMiracle. But the other Place speaks of the ordinary Posture and\nConstitution of the Waters, which is not _on an Heap_, but in a Level or\nspherical Convexity with the rest of the Earth. This Reason the\nAnimadverter was not pleas\u2019d to take notice of, tho\u2019 it be intimated in\nthat same Place of the Theory which he quotes, _p._ 86. But that which I\nmight complain of most, is his unfair Citation of the next Paragraph of\nthe Theory, _Excep._ _p._ 140. which he applies peculiarly to this Text\nof _Psal._ xxxiii. 7. whereas it belongs to all the Texts alledg\u2019d out\nof the _Psalms_, and is a modest Reflection upon the Explication of\nthem, as the Reader may plainly see, if he please to look the Theory,\nand compare it with his Citation.\n\nThe next Place he attacks, is, _Job_ xxvi. 7. _He stretches the North\nover the Tohu_, or, as we render it, _over the empty Places: And hangeth\nthe Earth upon nothing_. Here he says, _p._ 141. _Job_ did either\naccommodate himself to the Vulgar, or else was a perfect _Platonist._\nMethinks _Plato_ should rather be a _Jobist_, if you would have them to\nimitate one another. Then he makes an Objection, and answers it himself:\nconcluding, however, that _Job_ could not but mean this of the present\nEarth, because in the next Verse he mentions _Clouds_. But how does it\nappear, that every Thing that _Job_ mentions in that Chapter, refers to\nthe same time?\n\nThe next Place, is, _Job_ xxxviii. 4, 5, 6. _Where wast thou when I laid\nthe Foundations of the Earth?_ &c. These eloquent Expostulations of the\nAlmighty, he applies all to the present Form of the Earth: Where he\nsays, there are the _Embossings of Mountains, the Enamelling of lesser\nSeas, the open Work of the vast Ocean, and the fret Work of Rocks_, &c.\nThese make a great Noise, but they might all be apply\u2019d to the Ruins of\nan old Bridge, fallen into the Water. Then he makes a large Harangue in\nCommendation of Mountains, and of the present Form of the Earth: Which,\nif you please, you may compare with the tenth _Chapter_ of the _Latin\nTheory_, and then make your Judgment upon both.\n\nBut it is not enough for the Exceptor to admire the Beauty of Mountains,\nbut he, _p._ 146. will make the Theorist to do so too, because he hath\nexprest himself much pleas\u2019d with the Sight of them. Can we be pleas\u2019d\nwith nothing in an Object but the Beauty of it? Does not the Theorist\nsay there, in the very Words cited by the Exceptor, _S\u00e6pe loci ipsius\ninsolentia & spectaculorum novitas delectat magis quam venustas in rebus\nnotis & communibus._ We are pleas\u2019d in looking upon the Ruins of a\n_Roman_ Amphitheatre, or a triumphal Arch, tho\u2019 time have defac\u2019d its\nBeauty. A Man may be pleas\u2019d in looking upon a Monster, will you\nconclude therefore that he takes it for a Beauty? There are many Things\nin Objects, besides Beauty, that may please; but he that hath not Sense\nand Judgment enough to see the Difference of those Cases, and whence the\nPleasures arise, it would be very tedious to beat it into him by\nMultitude of Words.\n\nAfter his Commendation of Mountains, he falls upon the Commendation of\nRain: Making those Countries, that enjoy it, to be better water\u2019d than\nby Rivers; and consequently the present Earth better than that\nparadisaical Earth describ\u2019d by the Theorist. And in this he says, he\nfollows the Rule of Scripture, for these are his Words, p. 148, _And\nthat these Rules, whereby we measure the Usefulness of this Earth, and\nshew it to be more excellent than that of the Theory, are the most true\nand proper Rules, is manifest from God\u2019s making use of the same, in a\nCase not unlike: For he, comparing_ \u00c6gypt _and_ Palestine, _prefers the\nlatter before the former; because in_ \u00c6gypt _the Seed sown was_ watered\nwith the Foot, as a Garden of Herbs; _but Palestine was_ a Land of Hills\nand Valleys, and drank Water of the Rain of Heaven, _Deut._ xi. 10, 11.\n\nLet this rest a while: In the mean time let us take notice how unluckily\nit falls out for the Observator, that a Country that had no Rain, should\nbe compared in Scripture, or join\u2019d in Privilege, with Paradise it self,\nand the Garden of God. For so is this very _\u00c6gypt_, _Gen._ xiii. 10,\ntho\u2019 it had no Rain, but was water\u2019d by Rivers. The Words of Scripture\nare these. _And Lot lifted up his Eyes, and beheld all the Plain of\nJordan, that it was well-watered every where (before the Lord destroyed\nSodom and Gomorrah) even as the Garden of the Lord, like the Land of\n\u00c6gypt._ The Plain of _Jordan_ you see is commended for its Fruitfulness,\nand being well watered: And as the height of its Commendation, it is\ncompar\u2019d with _\u00c6gypt_, and with the _Paradise of God_. Now in _\u00c6gypt_ we\nknow there was little or no Rain: And we read of none in Paradise: But\nthey were both water\u2019d by Rivers. Therefore the greatest Commendation of\na Land, for Pleasure and Fertility, according to Scripture, is its being\nwell water\u2019d with Rivers: Which makes it like a Paradise. Surely then\nyou cannot blame the Theorist, having this Authority besides all other\nReasons, for making the _paradisaical Earth_ to have been thus water\u2019d.\n\nNow let the Exceptor consider how he will interpret and apply his place\nin _Deuteronomy_, and make it consistent with this _Genesis_. Till I see\na better Interpretation, I like this very well, tho\u2019 quite contrary to\nhis: Namely, _That_ they were not to expect such a Land as _\u00c6gypt_, that\nwas a Plain naturally fruitful, as being well water\u2019d; but the Land they\nwere to possess, depended upon the Benediction of Heaven: And therefore\nthey might expect more or less Fertility, according as they kept God\u2019s\nCommandments. And so much for those two Texts of Scripture.\n\nLastly, The Exceptor, _p._ 149. in the Conclusion of his Discourse about\nthat place in _Job_, makes a Reflection upon the Impropriety of those\nExpressions made in _Job_, about _Foundations_ and _Corner-stones_, if\nthey be apply\u2019d to the first Earth describ\u2019d by the Theorist. But this\nseems to me an Elegancy in that Discourse, which he makes a Fault:\nWhether it be understood as an Allusion only to our manner of Building,\nby deep Foundations, and strong Corner-stones: Or an ironical\nInterrogation, as it seems to me; implying, that there was no Foundation\n(strictly so call\u2019d) nor Corner-stone, in that great Work, tho\u2019 we\ncannot build a Cottage or little Bridge, without such Preparations.\n\nHe proceeds then to the following Verses in that thirty-eighth Chapter.\n_Who shut up the Sea with Doors, when it broke forth as if it had issued\nout of a Womb?_ This the Theorist understands of the _Disruption_ of the\n_Abyss_ at the Deluge, when the Sea broke forth out of the Womb of the\nEarth: Or out of that subterraneous Cavity, where it was enclosed as in\na Womb. \u2019Tis plainly imply\u2019d in the Words of the Text, that the Sea was\nshut up in some _Womb_, before it broke forth. I desire therefore to\nknow in what _Womb_ that was. You will find Interpreters much at a loss\nto give a fair Answer to that Question: What was that enclos\u2019d State of\nthe Sea? And what Place, or Part of Nature, was that Receptacle where it\nlay? But the Exceptor hath found out a new Answer. He says, it was that\n_Womb_ of Non-entity. These are his Words, _It just then_ (at its\nCreation) _gushed out of the Womb of Nothing, into Existence_. This is a\nsubtle and far-fetch\u2019d Notion. Methinks the _Womb of Nothing_, is\nmuch-what the same as _no Womb_. And so this is no Answer. But however\nlet us consider how far it would suit this Case, if it was admitted. If\nyou understand the _Womb of Non-entity_, _Gen._ i. 2. the Sea broke out\nof that Womb the first Day, and had no Bars or Doors set to it, but\nflow\u2019d over all the Earth without Check or Control. Therefore that could\nnot be the Time or State here spoken of. And to refer that Restraint, or\nthose Bars and Doors, to another Time, which are spoken of here in the\nsame Verse, would be very inexcusable in the Exceptor: _p._ 150. seeing\nhe will not allow the Theorist to suppose those Things that are spoken\nof in different Verses, to be understood of different Times. To\nconclude, this metaphysical Notion of the _Womb of Nothing_, is\naltogether impertinent, at least in this Case: For the Text is plainly\nspeaking of Things local and corporeal, and this Prison of the Sea must\nbe understood as such.\n\nHe proceeds now to the last Place alleg\u2019d, _Prov._ viii. 27, 28. _When\nhe prepared the Heavens, I was there: When he set a Compass upon the\nFace of the Deep._ The word \u05d7\u05d5\u05d2 which we tender _Compass_, he says,\nsignifies no more than the Rotundity or spherical Figure of the Abyss.\nAnd so the Sense will run thus, _When God set a Rotundity_, or\n_spherical Figure, upon the Face of the Abyss_. But whereas the Word may\nas well signify a _Sphere_ or _Orb_, the Theorist thinks it more\nreasonable that it should be so translated: And so the Sentence would\nrun thus, _When God set an Orb upon the Face of the Deep._ And this\nDiscourse of _Solomon_\u2019s, referring to the Beginning of the World, he\nthinks it rational to understand it of the _first habitable Earth_:\nWhich is really an _Orb set over the Face of the Deep_.\n\nOne cannot swear for the Signification of a Word in every particular\nPlace, where it occurs: But when there are two Senses whereof it is\ncapable, and the one is much more important than the other, it is a fair\nPresumption to take it in the more important Sense; especially in such a\nPlace, and upon such an Occasion, where the great Works of the Divine\nWisdom and Power are celebrated: As they are here by _Solomon_. And it\ncannot be deny\u2019d, that our Sense of the Words is more important than the\nother: For of what Consequence is it to say, _God made the Body of the\nAbyss_ round. Every one knows, that Fluids of their own accord run into\nthat Figure. So as that would be a small Remark upon a great Occasion.\n\nThe Construction of this Orb we speak of, minds me of an Injustice which\nthe Exceptor hath done the Theory, in the precedent Part of this\nChapter, by a false Accusation. For he says, the Theory makes the\nConstruction of the first Earth to have been _merely mechanical_. At\nleast, his Words seem to signify as much, which are these, _p._ 143.\n_And so its Formation_, speaking of the first Earth, _had been merely\nmechanical, as the Theory makes it_. That the Construction was not\nmerely mechanical, in the Opinion of the Theorist, you may see, _Eng.\nTheor._ _p._ 88. which, because we have cited it before, we will not\nhere repeat. The Theorist might also complain, that the Exceptor cites\nthe first Edition of the Theory for such Things as are left out in the\nsecond: Which yet was printed a Twelvemonth before his Animadversions.\nAnd therefore in Fairness he ought always to have consulted the last\nEdition, and last Sense of the Author, before he had censured him, or\nhis Work. But this unfair Method, it seems, pleas\u2019d his Humour better:\n_p._ 81. _p._ 100, last Part, as you may see in this Chapter, _p._ 154.\n_p._ 227, 228. _p._ 244. and in several other Places; where Passages are\ncited and insisted upon, that are no where to be found in the second\nEdition. Not to mention his defective Citations, omitting that Part that\nqualifies the Sentence, as _p._ 99. last Citation, and elsewhere, _p._\n279, 280. _p._ 288. I make this Note, that the Reader may judge, how\nwell this answers that _Sincerity_, with which he profest he would\nexamine this Work: _Only as a Friend and Servant to Truth. And therefore\nwith such Candor, Meekness, and Modesty, as becomes one who assumes and\nglories in so fair a Character_, _p._ 43.\n\nThe rest of this Chapter is a general Censure of Citations out of\nScripture, that are only tropical or figurative Schemes of Speech. These\nmust be made so indeed, if our Sense of them be not allow\u2019d. But what\nNecessity is there of a figurative interpretation of all these Texts?\nThe Rule we go by, and I think all good Interpreters, is this, that we\nare not to leave the literal Sense, unless there be a Necessity, from\nthe Subject-Matter. And there is no such Necessity in this Case, upon\nour Hypothesis: For it suits with the literal Sense. And \u2019tis to beg the\nQuestion, to say, the literal Sense is not to be admitted, because it\ncomplies too much with the Theory. But as for that Text of his own,\nwhich he instances in, _The Pillars of the Earth tremble_, that cannot\nbe understood (by the same Rule) of Pillars _literally_; because there\nare no such Pillars of the Earth, upon any Hypothesis.\n\n\n                              CHAP. VIII.\n\n\nThis Chapter is concerning that grand Property of the ante-diluvian\nEarth, _a perpetual Equinox_, or a right Position to the Sun. This\nperpetual Equinox the Exceptor will by no means admit. But I\u2019m afraid he\nmistakes the Notion: For as he explains it in the two first Sections of\nthis Chapter, he seems to have a false Idea of the whole Matter. He\nthinks, I perceive, that when the Earth chang\u2019d its Situation, it was\ntranslated from the Equator into the Ecliptick: And that before that\nChange in the ante-diluvian State, it moved directly under the Equator.\nFor these are his Words, _p._ 158. So _that in her annual Motion about\nthe Sun_, namely, the Earth, before that Change, _she was carried\ndirectly under the Equinoctial, without any Manner of Obliquity in her\nSite, or Declination towards either of the Tropicks in her Course; and\ntherefore could never cut the Equinoctial, by passing (as now she is\npresumed to do) from one Tropick to the other_. By which Words, you see,\nhe imagines that the Earth mov\u2019d perpetually under the Equator, when it\nhad a perpetual Equinox. And when it came out of that State, into this\nwherein it is now, it did not only change its Position, and the Posture\nof its Axis, but was also really translated from one Part of the Heavens\ninto another, namely, from under the Equator to the Ecliptick, and so\ntook another Road in its annual Course about the Sun. This is a great\nMistake: And I cannot blame him, if he was so averse to admit this\nChange, seeing it lay so cross in his Imagination. For what Pullies or\nLeavers should we employ to remove the Earth out of the Equator into the\nEcliptick? _Archimedes_ pretended, if he had Ground to plant his Engines\nupon, that he would move the Earth out of its Place; but that it was\ndone before, I never knew, nor heard of: And if the Exceptor had\nconsider\u2019d what is said in the Theory upon that Occasion, _Lat. Theor.\nli._ 2. _c._ 4. he might easily have prevented his Mistake. But we shall\nmeet with the same Error again in another Place. Let us consider now,\nwhat Arguments he uses against this Change.\n\nHe says, _p._ 159. _If there had been such a Change_, either Providence,\nor Mankind, would have preserv\u2019d the Memory of it. How far the Memory of\nit hath been preserv\u2019d, we shall see hereafter. In the mean Time, we\nwill give him Instances of other Things to reflect upon, that are lost\nout of Memory, unless he be the happy Man that shall retrieve them. The\n_Age of the World_ hath been preserv\u2019d, either by the Memory of Man, or\nby the Care of Providence. And was not that both a Thing of Importance,\nand of easy Preservation? _Noah_ could not but know the Age of the\nWorld, for he was contemporary with five or six Generations, that were\ncontemporary with _Adam_. And knowing the Age of the World himself, he\ncould not easily forbear, one would think, to tell it to his Sons and\nPosterity. But, to this Day, we do not know what the true Age of the\nWorld is. There are three Bibles, if I may so say, or three\n_Pentateuchs_, the _Hebrew_, _Samaritan_, and _Greek:_ Which do all\ndiffer very considerably in their Accounts, concerning the Age of the\nWorld: And the most learned Men are not yet able to determine with\nCertainty, which of the three Accounts is most authentick. Then, what\nthink you of the Place of _Paradise_? How well is the Memory or\nKnowledge of that preserv\u2019d? Could _Noah_ be ignorant of it? And was it\nnot a fit Subject to discourse of, and entertain his Sons and Nephews,\nand by them to communicate it to Posterity? Yet we seek it still in\nvain. The _Jews_ were as much at a Loss as we are: _p._ 263, 264, 265.\nand the Christian Fathers, you think, were out in their Opinions, both\nabout the Place and Conditions of it: Neither do you venture to\ndetermine them your self: So that Paradise is lost in a Manner out of\nthe World. What Wonder then if this single Property of it be lost? If\nthe Exceptor had well consider\u2019d (_Eng. Theor._ _p._ 400, 401.) what the\nTheorist has said concerning the providential Conduct of Knowledge in\nthe World, this Doubt or Objection might have been spar\u2019d.\n\nAfter a long Excursion, little to the Purpose, but to shew his Reading,\n_p._ 166. he tells us next, that Scripture does not favour this Notion\nof a perpetual Equinox before the Flood: And cites _Gen._ viii. 22.\nwhich the Theorist had cited as a Place that did suggest to us that\nVicissitude of Seasons that was established after the Flood. The Words\nindeed are not so determinate in themselves, but that they may be\nunderstood, either of the Restoration of a former Order in the Seasons\nof the Year, or of the Establishment of a new one. And in whether Sense\nthey are to be taken, is to be determin\u2019d by collateral Reasons and\nConsiderations. Such the Theorist had set down, to make it probable,\nthat they ought to be understood as a Declaration of such an Order of\nthe Seasons of the Year, as was brought in at that Time, and was to\ncontinue to the End of the World. The Exceptor hath not thought fit to\ntake notice of, or refute those Reasons, and therefore they stand good,\nas formerly. Besides, the Exceptor must remember, that this Text stands\nbetwixt two remarkable Ph\u00e6nomena, the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians in\nthe old World, and the Appearance of the Rainbow in the new. Both which\nwere Marks of a different State of Nature in the two Worlds.\n\nHe further excepts, _p._ 168. against that perpetual Equinox before the\nFlood, for another Scripture-reason: _viz._ Because the Earth was curst\nbefore that Time, and consequently, he says, had not a perpetual\nEquinox. But if that Curse was supernatural, it might have its Effect in\nany Position of the Earth. For God can make a Land barren, if he think\nfit, in spite of the Course of Nature. And so he also must suppose it to\nhave been in this Case. For, upon all Suppositions, whether of a\nperpetual Equinox, or no, the Earth is granted to have been very\nfruitful at first: And so would have continued, if that Curse had not\ninterven\u2019d.\n\nLastly, He makes that an Argument, _p._ 169. that the Air was cold and\nintemperate in Paradise, and consequently no constant Equinox, _because_\nAdam _and_ Eve _made themselves Aprons to cover their Nakedness_. So, he\nconfesses, Interpreters generally understand, that it was to _cover\ntheir Nakedness_. But he will not allow that to be the true Sense, but\nsays those Fig-Leaves were to keep them warm. And the other\nInterpretation of _covering their Nakedness_, he will not admit, for\nthree Reasons: First, because the Scripture, as he pretends, does not\ndeclare it so. See, pray, _Gen._ iii. 7. Secondly, _What Shame_, says\nhe, _need there have been betwixt Husband and Wife_? Thirdly, _If it was\nModesty; when they were innocent, they should have been more modest._\nSome Arguments answer themselves, and I do not think these deserve a\nConfutation. But, he says, _p._ 170. however God made them _Coats of\nSkins_ afterwards, and that was to be a _Defence against Cold._ He must\ntell us in what Climate he supposes Paradise to have stood: And which\nway, and how far _Adam_ and _Eve_ were banish\u2019d from it. When those\nThings are determin\u2019d, we shall know what to judge of this Argument, and\nof _Coats of Skins_.\n\nAfter _Lastly_, I expected no more: But he hath two or three Reasons\nafter the _Last_. As first, he says, _p._ 171. upon our Hypothesis, one\nHemisphere of the Globe must have been unpeopled: Because the torrid\nZone was unpassable. And was not the Ocean as unpassable, upon your\nHypothesis? How got they into _America_? And not only into _America_,\nbut into all the Islands of the Earth, that are remote from Continents?\nWill you not allow us one Miracle, for your many? I\u2019m sure the Theorist\nnever excluded the Ministry of Angels; and they could as easily carry\nthem thorough the torrid Zone, as over the Ocean. But secondly, he says,\nThere could be no Rains to make the Flood, if there was a perpetual\nEquinox. Were not those Rains, that made the Flood, extraordinary, and\nout of the Course of Nature? You would give one angry Words that should\ndeny it. Besides, the _Flood-Gates of Heaven_ were open\u2019d when the\n_great Deep_ was broken up, (_Gen._ vii. 11.) and no Wonder the\nDisruption of the Earth should cause some extraordinary Commotions in\nthe Air, _Eng. Theor._ _p._ 135. and either compress the Vapours, or\nstop their usual Course towards the Poles, and draw them down in Streams\nupon several Parts of the Earth. But the Exceptor says, this could not\nbe, because the Theorist makes the Rains fall before the Disruption of\nthe Abyss. But he does not suppose the _Cataracts of Heaven_ to have\nbeen open\u2019d before, which made the grand Rains. And how unfairly that\nPassage of the Theory is represented, we shall see hereafter in the\nfourteenth Chapter.\n\nLastly, He concludes all with this Remark, _p._ 176. That all sorts of\nAuthors have disputed in what Season of the Year the Deluge came, and in\nwhat Season of the Year the World began: Therefore they thought there\nwere then different Seasons of the Year. These Disputes, he confesses,\ndid _manifestly proceed from Inadvertency_, or something worse: Because\nthere could not be any one Season throughout all the Earth at once. He\nmight have added, unless upon the Supposition of the Theory, which makes\nan universal Equinox at that Time. And why may not that have given\nOccasion to the general Belief, _That the World begun in the Spring_?\nAnd when the true Reason of the Tradition was lost, they fell into those\nimpertinent Questions, _In what Season of the Year the World began_. But\nhowever, we do not depend upon the Belief, either of the Antients or the\nModerns, as to the Generality: For we know they had other Notions of\nthese Things than what the Theory proposes; otherwise it would have been\na needless Work. But notwithstanding the general Error, that Providence\ndid preserve some Traditions and Testimonies, concerning that ancient\nTruth, we shall see in the next following Discourse.\n\nSo much for Scripture and Reasons. He now comes to examine Authorities:\nNamely, such Testimonies as are alledg\u2019d by the Theorist, to shew that\nthere was a Tradition among the Antients, of _a Change that had been, as\nto the Position of the Earth_: And consequently, as to the Form and\nSeasons of the Year. The first Testimony that he excepts against, is,\nthat of _Diogenes_ and _Anaxagoras_; who witness plainly, _p._ 177. That\nthere had been an _Inclination_ of the Earth, or a Change of Posture,\nsince it was form\u2019d and inhabited. But the Exceptor says, they have not\nassign\u2019d a true _final Cause_, nor such as agrees with the Theory. The\nsecond Testimony, is, that of _Empedocles_, p. 178. which he excepts\nagainst, because he hath not given a good _efficient Cause_ of that\nChange. The third Witness is _Leucippus_; against whom he makes the same\nException, _p._ 179. that he doth not assign the Causes a-right. The\nfourth Witness, is _Democritus_; whom he, _p._ 180. quarrels with upon\nthe same Account. But is this a fair hearing of Witnesses? Or are these\njust and legal Grounds of rejecting their Testimony, as to matter of\nFact, because they are unskilful in giving the Causes and Reasons of\nthat matter of Fact? That is not requir\u2019d in Witnesses: And they are\noften impertinent when they attempt to do it. The Theorist does not cite\nthese Authors to learn of them the Causes, either efficient or final, of\nthat _Inclination_, or Change of Posture in the Earth, but only matter\nof Fact: To let you see, that according to their Testimony, there was a\nTradition in that Time, which they took for true, concerning a Change\nmade in the Posture of the Earth. And this is all we require from them.\nIf you pretend to invalidate their Testimony, because they do not\nphilosophize well about that Change; that\u2019s as if you should deny that\nthere was such a War as the _Peloponnesian_ War, because the Historian\nhath not assigned the true Causes and Reasons of it: Or as if a Man\nshould give you the History of a Comet, that appear\u2019d in such a Year,\nwas of such a Form, and took such a Course in the Heavens; and you\nshould deny there was any such Comet, because the same Author had not\ngiven a good Account of the Generation of that Comet, nor of the Causes\nof its Form and Motion. The Exceptions made against the Testimonies of\nthese Philosophers, seem to me to be no less injudicious.\n\nAfter these Testimonies, he _p._ 181. makes three or four Remarks or\nReflections upon them. But they all concern, either the Time of this\nChange, or the Causes of it. Neither of which the Theorist either\nengag\u2019d or intended to prove from these Witnesses.\n\nThere is still one Testimony behind, which the Exceptor hath separated\nfrom the rest, that he might encounter it singly. \u2019Tis another Passage\nfrom _Anaxagoras_, which both notes this _Inclination_, and the Posture\nof the Heavens and Earth before that Inclination. But here the Exceptor\nquarrels, first, with the word \u03b8\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u1ff6\u03c2: Because _Ambrosius_ the Monk,\nwould have it to be \u03b8\u03bf\u03bb\u03b5\u03c1\u03c0\u1ff6\u03c2, but without the Authority of any\nManuscript: And, as _Casaubon_ says, _mal\u00e8_. Then, he says,\n_Aldobrandinus_ translates it _turbulent\u00e8_, but gives no Reason for that\nTranslation, in his Notes. Therefore he cannot rest in this, but in the\nthird Place, he gives another Sense to \u03a6\u03bf\u03c1\u1f70 \u0398\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03ae\u03c2. And if that will\nnot please you, he hath still a fourth Answer in reserve. I do not like\nwhen a Man shifts Answer so often; \u2019tis a sign he has no great\nConfidence in any one. But let us have his fourth Answer. \u2019Tis this,\nThat _Anaxagoras_ was a kind of heterodox Philosopher, and what he says\nis not much to be heeded. These are the Words of the Exceptor, p. 184.\n_If this will not satisfy, I have one Thing more to offer. Grant that_\nAnaxagoras _should mean that very Declination, which the Theory would\nhave him, yet this truly would contribute little towards the Proof of\nthe Thing. For he was a Man as like to be heterodox; as like to broach\nand maintain false and groundless Opinions, as any of the learned\nAntients._ Had he made this Exception against this Witness at first, it\nmight have sav\u2019d both himself and us a great deal of Pains. For we do\nallow, if you can prove a Witness to be _persona infamis_, or _non\ncompos mentis_, \u2019tis sufficient to invalidate his Testimony.\n\nBut this is a rude and groundless Censure; shall that famous\n_Anaxagoras_, that was call\u2019d _MENS_, \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f76 \u1f10\u03bf\u03c7\u1f74\u03bd, not be thought so much\nas _mentis compos_; nor have Credit enough for an honest Witness? I am\napt to think, from those Sentences, and those Remains we have left of\nhim, that there was not a more considerable Man amongst the Antients,\nfor Nobleness of Mind and natural Knowledge. I could bring the\nTestimonies of many antient Authors, and of many Christian Fathers, to\nclear his Reputation, and place it above Envy. \u2019Tis generally\nacknowledg\u2019d, that he first introduc\u2019d an intellectual Principle, in the\nFormation of the Universe, to dispose and order confus\u2019d Matter. And\naccordingly _Eusebius_ gives him this fair Character, _Pr\u00e6p. Evan. l._\n10. _c. ult. p._ 504. _Col._ \u03b4\u1f74 \u03c0\u03c1\u1ff6\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b9\u03ae\u03c1\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5, &c. _He first\nrectified the Doctrine of Principles: For he did not only discourse\nabout the Matter or Substance of the Universe, as other Philosophers:\nBut also of the Cause and Principle of its Motion._ And the same Author,\nin his fourteenth Book, _ch._ 14. _p._ 750. repeats and enlarges this\nCharacter.\n\nI wonder the Exceptor, of all Men, should lessen the Name of\n_Anaxagoras_. For, besides his Orthodoxy as to the intellectual World;\nhe was one that establish\u2019d the Notion of _Vortices_, in the Corporeal.\nAs you may see in _Clem. Alexandrinus_, _Strom._ 2. _p._ 364. and in\n_Plato\u2019s Ph\u00e6do Ph\u00e6d._ _p._ 99. And tho\u2019 the _Father_, and _Socrates_,\n(who never was a Friend to natural Philosophy) both blame him for it,\nyet the Exceptor, who is deservedly pleas\u2019d with that system of\n_Vortices_, ought to have shew\u2019d him some Favour and Esteem, for the\nSake of this Doctrine. Lastly, as to his moral Temper, his Contempt of\nthe World, and his Love of Contemplation; you may have many Instances of\nit in the short Story of his Life in _Laertius_. And I shall always\nremember that excellent Saying of his in _Clemens Alexandrinus_, _Strom.\np._ 416. \u03a4\u1f74\u03bd \u03b8\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03b2\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f36\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c4\u03b1\u03cd\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2\n\u1f10\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03b8\u03b5\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03bd. _That the End of Life is Contemplation; and that Liberty,\nthat accompanies it, or flows from it._\n\nBut we are not to imagine, that all the Opinions of the ancient\nPhilosophers, are truly convey\u2019d or represented to us. Neither can we,\nin Reason or Justice, believe that they could be guilty of such absurd\nNotions, as are sometimes fathered upon them. The Exceptor instances in\nan extravagant Assertion, (as the Story is told to us) ascrib\u2019d to\n_Anaxagoras_, of a _Stone that fell from the Sun_. This cannot be\nliterally true, nor literally the Opinion of _Anaxagoras_, if he\nbelieved _Vortice_; therefore methinks so witty a Man as the Exceptor,\nand so well versed in the modern Philosophy, should rather interpret\nthis of the Incrustation of a fix\u2019d Star, and its Descent into the lower\nWorld: That a Star fell from the etherial Regions, and became an opake\nand terrestrial Body: Especially seeing _Diogenes_, as he says, supposes\nit a Star. Some Things were \u00e6nigmatically spoken at first: And some\nThings afterwards so much corrupted, in passing through unskilful Hands,\nthat we should be very injurious to the Memory of those great Men, if we\nshould suppose every Thing to have come so crudely from them, as it is\nnow delivered to us. And as to this Philosopher in particular; as the\n_Ionick_ Physiology, in my Opinion, was the most considerable amongst\nthe Antients; so there was none, of that Order, more considerable than\n_Anaxagoras_. Whom, tho\u2019 you should suppose extravagant, _quoad hoc_,\nthat it would not invalidate his Testimony in other Things.\n\nUpon the whole Matter, let us now sum up the Evidence, and see what it\nwill amount to. Here are five or six Testimonies of considerable\nPhilosophers: _Anaxagoras_, _Diogenes_, _Empedocles_, _Leucippus_ and\n_Democritus_. To which he might have added _Plato_, both in his\n_Politicus_ and _Ph\u00e6do_, _Li._ 2. _c._ 10. _p._ 274. if he had pleased\nto have look\u2019d into the second Edition of the _Latin_ Theory. These\nPhilosophers do all make mention of a Change that hath been in the\nPosture of the Earth and the Heavens. And tho\u2019 they differ in assigning\nCauses, or other Circumstances, yet they all agree as to Matter of Fact;\nthat there was such a Thing, or, at least, a Tradition of such a Thing.\nAnd this is all that the Defendant desir\u2019d or intended to prove from\nthem, as Witnesses in this Cause.\n\nTo these _Philosophers_, he might have added the Testimonies of the\n_Poets_, who may be admitted as Witnesses of a Tradition, though it be\nfurther questioned, whether that Tradition be true or false. These\nPoets, when they speak of a _Golden Age_, or the _Reign of Saturn_, tell\nus of a _perpetual Spring_, or a Year without Change of Seasons. This is\nexpresly said by _Ovid_, _Ver erat \u00e6ternum_, &c. And upon the Expiration\nof the Golden Age, he says;\n\n               _Jupiter Antiqui contraxit tempora Veris,\n               Perque Hyemes, \u00c6stusque, & in\u00e6quales Autumnos,\n               Et breve Ver, spatiis exegit quatuer annum._\n\n_Ovid_ liv\u2019d in the Time of our Saviour. And the Tradition, it seems,\nwas then a-foot, and very express too. _Plato_, who was much more\nantient, hath said the same Thing in his _Politicus_, concerning the\n_Reign of Saturn_. And if we may have any Regard to _Mythology_, (vid.\n_Theor. Lat._ _li._ 2. _c._ 10. _in fine_.) and make _Janus_ the same\nwith _Noah_, which is now an Opinion generally received, that Power,\nthat is given him by the Antients, of _changing Times and Seasons_,\ncannot be better expounded, than by that great Change of Time, and of\nthe Seasons of the Year, that happened in the Days of _Noah_. Neither\nmust we count it a mere Fable, what is said by the Antients, concerning\nthe Inhabitability of the _Torrid Zone_: And yet that never was, if the\nEarth was never in any other Posture, than what it is in now.\n\nLastly, as the Philosophers and Poets are Witnesses of this Tradition,\nso many of the Christian Fathers have given such a Character of\n_Paradice_, as cannot be understood upon any other Supposition, than of\na _perpetual Equinox_. This _Card. Bellarmine_[17] hath noted to our\nHands; and also observ\u2019d, that there could not be a perpetual Equinox in\nthe Countries of _Asia_, nor indeed in any topical Paradise, (unless it\nstood in the middle of the Torrid Zone) _nisi alius tunc fuerit cursus\nsolis, quam nunc est_; _unless the Course of the Sun_, or, which is all\none, the Posture of the Earth, _was otherwise at that Time than what it\nis now_: Which is a true Observation. The _Jewish_ Doctors also, as well\nas the Christian, seem to go upon the same Supposition, when they place\nParadise under the Equinoctial; see _Eng. Theor._ p. 351. Because they\nsuppos\u2019d it certain, as _Eben Ezra_ tells us, that the Days and Nights\nwere always equal in Paradise.\n\nWe have now done with the Examination of Witnesses: _Philosophers_,\n_Poets_, _Jews_, and _Christians_. From all these we collect, that there\nwas an Opinion, or Tradition, amongst the Antients, of a Change made in\nthe State of the natural World, as to the Diversity of Seasons in the\nYear: And that this did arise from the Change of the Posture of the\nEarth. Whether this Opinion, or this Tradition, was _de jure_, as well\nas _de facto_, is a Question of another Nature, that did not lie before\nus at present. But the Thing that was only in Debate in this Chapter,\nwas matter of Fact, which I think we have sufficiently prov\u2019d.\n\nIn the Close of this Chapter, the Exceptor makes two Queries: Still by\nway of Objection to the ante-diluvian Equinox. The first is this, p.\n185. _Supposing an Equinox in the Beginning of the World, would it (in\nLikelyhood) have continued to the Flood._ If you grant the first Part, I\nbelieve few will scruple the second. For why should we suppose a Change\nbefore there appear any Cause for it? He says, the Waters might possibly\nhave weigh\u2019d more towards one Pole, than towards another. But why the\nWaters more than the Air? The Waters were not more rarified towards one\nPole than towards another, no more than the Air was: For which the\nExceptor, _p._ 180. had justly blam\u2019d _Leucippus_ before. But however,\n_says he_, that Earth would be very unstable, because, in Process of\nTime, there would be an empty Space betwixt the exterior Region of the\nEarth, and the Abyss below. But that empty Space would be fill\u2019d with\nsuch gross Vapours, that it would be little purer than Water: And would\nstick to the Earth much closer than its Atmosphere that is carried about\nwith it. We have no Reason to change the Posture of the Earth, till we\nsee some antecedent Change that may be a Cause of it. And we see not any\ntill the Earth broke. But then indeed, whether its Posture depended\nbarely upon its _\u00c6quilibrium_, or upon its _Magnetism_, either, or both\nof them, when its Parts were thrown into another Situation, might be\nchanged. For the Parts of a Ruin seldom lie in the same Libration the\nFabrick stood in. And as to the Magnetism of the Earth, that would\nchange, according as the Parts and Regions of the Earth changed their\nSituation.\n\nThe second Query is this, granting there was such an Equinox in the\nfirst World, _p._ 187. _Would not the natural World, towards the latter\nEnd of that World, have been longer, than in the former Periods of the\nsame?_ Suppose this was true, which yet we have no Reason to believe,\nthat the Days were longer towards the Flood, than towards the beginning\nof the World; why is this contrary to Scripture? He tells you how, in\nthese Words, _p._ 188. _That the Days just before the Flood were of no\nunusual Length, is evident in the very Story of the Flood; the Duration\nof which we find computed by Months, consisting of thirty Days a-piece._\nWhereas _had Days been grown longer, fewer of them would have made a\nMonth_. This is a mere Paralogism, or a mere Blunder. For if thirty Days\nwere to go to a Month, whether the Days were longer or shorter, there\nmust be thirty of them; and the Scripture does not determine the Length\nof the Days. If thirty Circumgyrations of the Earth makes a Month,\nwhether these Circumgyrations are slow or swift, thirty are still\nthirty. But I suppose that which he would have said and which he had\nconfusedly in his Mind, was this, that the _Month_ would have been\nlonger at the Flood than it was before. _Longer_, I say, as to extent of\nTime, or Duration in general, but not as to number of Days. And you\ncould not cut off a slip of one Day, and tack it to the next, through\nthe intermediate Night, to make an Abridgment for the Whole. Therefore\nthis Objection is grounded upon a Mistake, and ill Reasoning, which is\nnow sufficiently detected.\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n  _De Grat. prim. tm. c. 12._\n\n  _Accedit adbat, quad Paradisus ita deferiditus \u00e0 Sinsto_ Basilio_, in\n  I. \u2019to de Paradiso; \u00e0_ Joan. Damasceno,_ Libre secundo, de fide,\n  capit; \u00e0 Sano_ Augustino _Libre decim: quarto et cevit ete Dei, capit.\n  10. Ab A, A & Claud. Ma._\n\n\n                               CHAP. IX.\n\n\nThis Chapter is against the _oval Figure of the first Earth_, p. 189.\nwhich the Theorist had asserted, and grounded upon a general Motion of\nthe Waters, forc\u2019d from the Equinoctial Parts towards the Polar. But\nbefore we proceed to his Objections against this Explication, we must\nrectify one Principle. The Exceptor seems to suppose, _p._ 190. that\nterrestrial Bodies have a _Nitency inwards or downwards, towards their\ncentral Point_. Whereas the Theorist supposes, that all Bodies moving\nround, have, more or less, a Nitency from the Centre of their Motion:\nAnd that \u2019tis by an external Force that they are prest down, against\ntheir first Inclination or Nitency.\n\nThis being premised, we proceed to his Exceptions: Where his first and\ngrand Quarrel is about the Use of a Word; whether the Motion of the\nWater from the middle of the Earth towards the Poles, can be call\u2019d\n_defluxus_; seeing those polar Parts, in this supposed Case, were as\nhigh, or higher than the Equinoctial. I think we do not scruple to say\n_und\u00e6 defluunt ad littora_: Tho\u2019 the Shores be as high, or higher than\nthe Surface of the Sea. For we often respect, as the Theorist did, the\n_middle_ and the _sides_, in the use of that Word; And so, _defluere \u00e8\nmedio ad latera_, is no more than _prolabi ad latera_. But \u2019tis not\nworth the while to contest about a Word; especially seeing \u2019tis\nexplained in the second Edition of the Theory, _p._ 186, by adding\n_detrusione_: But it would have spoil\u2019d all this Pedantry, and all his\nlittle Triumphs, if he had taken notice of that Explication.\n\nWherefore setting aside the _Word_, let us consider his _Reasons_\nagainst this Motion of the Waters towards the Poles; which, he says,\ncould not be, because it would have been an Ascent, not a Descent. We\nallow and suppose that. But may not Waters ascend by Force and\nDetrusion; when it is the easiest way they can take to free themselves\nfrom that Force, and persevere in their Motion? And this is the Case we\nare speaking to. They were impell\u2019d to ascend, or recede from the\nCentre, and it was easier for them to ascend laterally, than to ascend\ndirectly: Upon an inclined Plain, than upon a perpendicular one. Why\nthen should we not suppose that they took that Course? Methinks the\nObservator, who seems to be much conversant in the _Cartesian_\nPhilosophy, might have conceived this Detrusion of the Waters towards\nthe Poles by the Resistance of the superambient Air, as well as their\nflowing towards, and upon the Shores, by the Pressure of the Air under\nthe Moon. And if the Moon continued always in the same Place, or over\nthe middle of the Sea, that Posture of the Waters would be always the\nsame: Though it be an Ascent, both upon the Land and into the Rivers.\nAnd this, methinks, is neither Contradiction, nor Absurdity. But an\nEnemy, that is little us\u2019d to Victory, makes a great Noise upon a small\nAdvantage.\n\nHe proceeds now to shew, _p._ 195. that it was improbable that the\nFigure of the first Earth should be oval, upon other Considerations. As\nfirst, because of its Position; which would be cross to the Stream of\nthe Air, that turns it round, or carries it about the Sun: As a Ship, he\nsays, that stands side-ways against a Stream, cannot sail. But if that\nShip was to turn round upon her Axis, as a Mill-Wheel, and as the Earth\ndoes, what Posture more likely to have such an Effect, than to stand\ncross to the Stream that turns it? And the Stream would take more hold\nof an oblong Body, than of a round. Then, as to its annual Course, which\nhe mentions, that\u2019s nothing, but so many Circumvolutions: For in turning\nround it is also progressive, as a Cylinder in rowling a Garden: And\nthree hundred sixty five Circumgyrations compleat its annual Course. So\nthat this Argument turns wholly against him, and does rather confirm the\noval Figure of the Earth.\n\nHis second Argument against the oval Figure of the first Earth, is the\nspherical Figure of the present Earth. And how does he prove that? First\nfrom Authorities, _Anaximander_, _Pythagoras_, and _Perminedes_ thought\nso. But how does he prove that their asserting the Earth to be _round_,\nwas not meant in Opposition to its being _plain_; as the _Epicureans_\nand the Vulgar would have it? That was the Question _Socrates_ promis\u2019d\nhimself to be resolv\u2019d in by _Anaxagoras_, _Plat. in Ph\u00e6d._ \u03c0\u03cc\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6\n\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03b1 \u1f14\u03c0\u03b9\u03c2, \u1f22 \u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03b3\u03b3\u03cd\u03bb\u03b7. _Whether the Earth was flat or round._ And\n\u2019tis likely the Dispute was generally understood in that Sense. However\nthe Theorist hath alledg\u2019d many more Authorities than these, in favour\nof the oval Figure of the Earth. For besides _Empedocles_ in particular,\nand those whom _Plutarch_ mentions in general, the Philosophy of\n_Orpheus_, the _Ph\u0153nician_, _\u00c6gyptian_, and _Persian Philosophers_, did\nall compare the Earth to an Egg; with respect to its oval external Form,\nas well as internal Composition. These you may see fully set down in the\n_Theory: Lat. Theor. li. 2. c. 10_. And it had been fair in the Exceptor\nto have taken some notice of them, if he would contend in that way of\nAuthorities. But he has thought fit rather to pass them over wholly in\nSilence.\n\nHis Reasons, _p._ 197. to prove the Figure of the present Earth to be\nspherical, and not oval, are taken first from the Conical Figure of the\nShadow of the Earth, cast upon the Moon. But that cannot make a\nDifference sensible to us at this Distance, whether the Body that cast\nthe Shadow was exactly spherical or oval. His second Reason is _from the\nPlace of the Waters_; which, he says, would all retire from the Poles to\nthe Equator, if the polar Parts were higher. But this has been answer\u2019d\nbefore. The same Cause that drives the Waters thither, would make them\nkeep there: As we should have a perpetual Flood, if the Moon was always\nin our Meridian: And whereas he suggests, that by this Means the Sea\nshould be shallowest under the Poles; which, he says, is against\nExperience: We tell him just the contrary, That, according to our\nHypothesis, the Sea should be deepest towards the Poles; which agrees\nwith Experience. That the Sea should be deepest under the Poles, if it\nwas of an oval Form, _p._ 186. he may see plainly by his own Scheme, or\nby the Theory Scheme: _Theor. Lat. li. 2. c. 5_. So that if his\nObservation be true, of an extraordinary Depth of the Ocean in those\nParts, it confirms our Suspicion, that the Sea continues still oval.\nLastly, he urges, _p._ 198. If this Earth was oval, Navigation towards\nthe Poles would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, because upon\nan Ascent. But if there be a continual Draught of Waters from the\nEquator towards the Poles, this will ballance the Difficulty, and be\nequivalent to a gentle Tide, that carries Ships into the Mouth of a\nRiver, though upon a gradual Ascent.\n\nThus much we have said in Complacency to the Exceptor. For the Theorist\nwas not oblig\u2019d to say any Thing in Defence of the oval Form of the\npresent Earth, seeing he had no where asserted it: It not being\npossible, as to what Evidence we have yet, to determine in what Order\nthe Earth fell, and in what Posture the Ruins lay after their Fall. But\nhowever, to speak my Mind freely upon this Occasion, I am inclinable to\nbelieve, that the Earth is still oval or oblong. What Things the\nAnti-theorist hath suggested, will not decide the Controversy; nor, it\nmay be, any natural History, nor any of those Observations that we have\nalready. The Surface of the Sea lies more regular than that of the Land,\nand therefore I should think that Observations made there would have the\nbest Effect. I should particularly recommend these two: First, That they\nwould observe toward the Poles, whether the Sun rise and set, according\nto the Rules of a true Globe, or of a Body exactly spherical. Secondly,\nThat they would observe whether the Degrees of Latitude are of equal\nExtent in all the Parts of a Meridian; that is, if the Quantity of Sea\nor Land that answers to a Degree in the Heavens, be of equal Extent\ntowards the Equator as towards the Poles. These two Observations would\ngo the nearest of any I know, to determine whether the Figure of the\nEarth be truly spherical or oblong.\n\n\n                                CHAP. X.\n\n\nThis Chapter is concerning the _original Mountains_, and that they were\nbefore the Flood, or from the Beginning; which the Exceptor endeavours\nto prove from Scripture; not directly, but because Mention is made of\nthem in the same Places where the Beginning of the Earth is mentioned,\n_p._ 291. as _Psal._ xc. 1, 2. and _Prov._ viii. 25. therefore they must\nbe co-eval and contemporary. We have, I think, noted before, that Things\nare not always Synchronal that are mentioned together in Scripture. The\nStyle of Scripture is not so accurate, as not to speak of Things in the\nsame Place, that are to be referr\u2019d to different Times. Otherwise we\nmust suppose the Destruction of _Jerusalem_, and of the _World_, to have\nbeen intended for the same Time; seeing our Saviour joins them in the\nsame Discourse, (_Mat._ xxiv.) without any Distinction of Time; or with\nsuch a Distinction, as rather signifies an immediate Succession, (_ver._\n29.) than so great a Distance as we now find to be betwixt the\nDestruction of _Jerusalem_ and the End of the World. Greater than that,\nbetwixt the Beginning and the Flood: So in the Prophets sometimes, in\nthe same Discourse, one Part is to be referr\u2019d to the first Coming of\nour Saviour, and another Part to the second. _Isa._ ix. 6, 7. _Isa._ ix.\n1. &c. _Luke_ i. 31, 32, 33. without making any Distinction of Time, but\nwhat is to be gather\u2019d from the Sense. Neither is there any Incongruity\nin the Sense, or in the Tenor of the Words, if those Expressions in the\nPsalmist be referr\u2019d to different Times. God existed _before the\nMountains were brought forth, and the Earth and the World were made_.\nThis is certainly true, whether you take it of the same or different\nTimes. And if you take it of different Times, \u2019tis a way of Speaking we\noften use. As suppose a Man should say, concerning the Antiquity of\n_Troy_, that it existed before _Rome_ and _Carthage_; that does not\nnecessarily imply, that _Rome_ and _Carthage_ were built at the same\nTime; but only that _Troy_ was before them both. And so this of the\nPsalmist may be very well thus exprest, by a Gradation from a lower\nEpocha to an higher. Then as for that Place, _Prov._ _ch._ viii. it\nwould be very hard to reduce all those Things that are mentioned there,\n(from _ver._ 22. to 30.) to the same Time of Existence; and there is no\nNecessity from the Words that they should be so understood. The Design\nand Intention of the Holy Ghost is plain in both these Places: In the\none to set out the Eternity of God, and in the other, of the _Logos_ in\nparticular. And this is done by shewing their Pr\u00e6-existence to this\nEarth, and to all its greatest and most remarkable Parts.\n\nHe mentions also, _p._ 202. _Deut._ xxxiii. 15. where the Hills are\ncall\u2019d _Lasting_, and the Mountains _Antient_. And _therefore they were\nbefore the Flood_. This is a hard Consequence. The River _Kishon_ is\ncall\u2019d the _antient_ River, _Judg._ v. 21. but I do not therefore think\nit necessary, that that Brook should have been before the Flood. Things\nmay very well deserve that Character of _lasting_ or _antient_, though\nthey be of less Antiquity than the Deluge. If one should say the\n_lasting Pyramids_, and _antient Babylon_, none could blame the\nExpression, nor yet think that they were therefore from the Beginning of\nthe World.\n\nAfter these Allegations from Scripture, _p._ 205. he descends to a\nnatural Argument taken from the _Mountains in the Moon_; which, he says,\nare much higher than the Mountains upon the Earth: And therefore, seeing\nher Body is less, they could not be made by a Dissolution of that\nPlanet, as these of the Earth are said to have been. Though we are not\nbound to answer for the Mountains in the Moon, yet however, \u2019tis easy to\nsee that this is no good Argument: For, besides that the Orb there might\nbe more thick, all Ruins do not fall alike. They may fall double, or in\nRidges and Arches, or in steep Piles, some more than others, and so\nstand at a greater Height. And we have Reason to believe that those in\nthe Moon fell otherwise than those of the Earth; because we do not see\nher turn round: Nor can we ever get a Sight of her Backside, that we\nmight better judge of the Shapes of her whole Body.\n\nFrom this natural Argument, _p._ 206. he proceeds to an historical\nArgument, taken from the _Talmudists_ and _Josephus_. The _Talmudists_\nsay, that _many Giants sav\u2019d themselves from the Flood upon Mount Sion_.\nBut this, the Exceptor confesses, _is wholly fabulous_. What need it\nthen be mentioned as an Argument? Then he says, _Josephus_ reports, that\n_many sav\u2019d themselves from the Flood upon the Mountain_ Baris _in_\nArmenia. But this also, _p._ 207. he says, is _false in the Gross_, and\na _formal Fiction_. Why then, say I, is it brought in as an Argument?\nLastly, he quotes a Passage out of _Plato_, who says, when the _Gods\nshall drown the Earth, the Herdsmen and Shepherds shall save themselves\nupon Mountains_. And this (_ibid._) the Exceptor calls a _Piece of\nconfus\u2019d Forgery_. Why then, say I still, is it alledged as an Argument\nagainst the Theory? But however, says the Exceptor, these Things argue\nthat many thought there were Mountains before the Flood. But did the\nTheorist ever deny, that it was the vulgar and common Opinion? Therefore\nsuch Allegations as these may be of some Use to shew Reading, but of no\nEffect at all to confute the Theory.\n\nYet the Exceptor is not content with these Stories, but he must needs\nadd a Fourth; which, he says, _p._ 208. is a _plain Intimation that\nthere were Mountains in the Beginning of the World_. Take his own Words\nfor the Story, and the Application of it. _I will only add that\ntraditional Story which is told of_ Adam; _namely, how that after his\nFall, and when he repented of his Sin, he bewailed it for several\nhundred of Years, upon the Mountains of_ India. _Another plain\nIntimation that THERE WERE MOUNTAINS_ in the Beginning of the World.\nThis is a plain Intimation indeed, that those that made this Fable,\nthought there were Mountains then: But is it a Proof that there really\nwas so? As you seem to infer. Does the Exceptor really believe, that\n_Adam_ wander\u2019d an hundred Years upon the Mountains of _India_? If the\nMatter of Fact be false, the Supposition it proceeds upon may as well be\nfalse. And he does not so much as cite an Author here, for the one or\nthe other.\n\nWe are now come to the main Point, a new Hypothesis concerning the\n_Original of Mountains_, which the Exceptor, _p._ 208, 209, _&c._ hath\nvouchsafed to make for us: And, in short, it is this. When the Waters\nwere drain\u2019d off the Land on the third Day, while it was moist and full\nof Vapours, the _Sun_, by his Heat, made the Earth heave and rise up in\nmany Places, which thereupon became Mountains. But lest we mistake or\nmisrepresent the Author\u2019s Sense, _p._ 209. we will give it in his own\nWords. _Now the Earth, by this Collection of the Waters into one Place,\nbeing freed from the Load and Pressure of them, and laid open to the\nSun, the Moisture within, by the Heat of his Beams, might quickly be\nturn\u2019d into Vapours. And these Vapours being still increased by the\ncontinued rarifying Warmth from above, at length they wanted Space\nwherein to expand or dilate themselves. And at last, not enduring the\nConfinement they felt, by Degrees heaved up the Earth above; somewhat\nafter the Manner that Leaven does Dough, when it is laid by a Fire; but\nmuch more forcibly and unevenly. And lifting it up thus in numberless\nPlaces, and in several Quantities, and in various Figures, Mountains\nwere made of all Shapes and Sizes_; whose Origin and Properties, he\nsays, upon this Hypothesis, _will be obvious, or at least intelligible,\nto thinking and philosophick Minds_.\n\nI must confess I am none of those _thinking and philosophick Minds_, to\nwhom this is either obvious or intelligible: For there seem to me to be\na great many palpable Defects or Oversights in this new Hypothesis:\nWhereof this is one of the grossest, that he supposes the Sun, by his\nHeat, the third Day to have raised these Mountains upon the Earth;\nwhereas the Sun was not created till the fourth Day, p. 51. _the fourth\nDay was the first Day of the Sun\u2019s Existence_: So that it had this\npowerful Effect, it seems, one Day before it came into Being.\n\nBut suppose the Sun had then existed: This is a prodigious Effect for\nthe Sun to perform, in so short a Time, and with so little Force. The\ngreatest Part of that Day was spent in draining the Waters from off the\nLand; which had a long Way to go, from some inland Countries, to reach\nthe Sea, or their common Receptacle. And he says, _p._ 209, without an\nextraordinary Power, _perhaps they could not have been drained off the\nEarth in one Day_. Let us then allow, at least, half a Day for clearing\nthe Ground; for the Sun might begin his Work about Noon; and before\nNight he had rais\u2019d all the Mountains of one Hemisphere. It will require\na strong philosophick Faith, to believe this could be all done by the\nAction of the Sun, an in so short a Time. Besides, we must consider,\nthat the Sun, by Noon, had past all the Eastern Countries, yet covered\nwith Water, or not well drain\u2019d: So that after they were dried, he could\nonly look back upon them with faint and declining Rays. Yet the\nMountains of the East are as great and considerable as elsewhere. But\nthere is still another great Difficulty in the Case, as to the Northern\nand Southern Mountains of the Earth; for they lie quite out of the Road\nof the Sun; being far remov\u2019d towards either Pole; where, by reason of\nhis Distance and Obliquity, his Beams have little Force. How would he\nheave up the _Riph\u00e6an_ Mountains, those vast Heaps of Stone and Earth,\nthat lie so far to the North? You see what Observations the Exceptor\nhath made(_p._ 119, 120.) concerning the Cold of those Countries: And it\nfalls out very untowardly for this new Hypothesis, that the Northern\nParts of the Earth, as _Norway_, _Swedeland_, _Iseland_, _Scythia_,\n_Sarmatia_, &c. should be such mountainous and rocky Countries; where he\nhad before declar\u2019d the Sun had so little Force. And, indeed, according\nto his Scheme, all the great Mountains of the Earth should have been\nunder the Equator, or, at least, betwixt the Tropicks.\n\nBut to examine a little the Manner and Method of this great Action, and\nwhat kind of Bodies these new Mountains would be; either the Sun drew up\nonly the Surface and outward Skin of the Earth, as Cupping-Glasses raise\nBlisters; or his Beams penetrated deep into the Earth, and heaved up the\nSubstance of it, as Moles cast up Mole-Hills. If you take the first\nMethod, these superficial Mountains would be nothing but so many Bags of\nWind; and not at all answerable to those huge Masses of Earth and Stone,\nwhereof our Mountains consist. And if you take the second Method, and\nsuppose them push\u2019d out of the solid Earth, and thrown up into the Air,\nimagine then how deep these Rays of the Sun must have penetrated in a\nfew Hours Time, and what Strength they must have had, to agitate the\nVapours to that Degree, that they should be able to do such Prodigies as\nthese. Several Mountains, upon a moderate Computation, are a Mile high\nfrom the Level of the Earth. So that it was necessary that the Beams of\nthe Sun should penetrate at least a Mile deep, in so short a Time; and\nthere loosen and rarify the Vapours, and then tear up by the Roots vast\nLoads and Extents of Ground, and heave them a Mile high into the open\nAir: And all this in less than half a Day. Such Things surely are beyond\nall imagination, and so extravagant, that one cannot, in Conscience,\noffer them to the Belief of a Man. Can we think that the Sun, who is two\nor three Hours in licking up the Dew from the Grass in a _May_ Morning,\nshould be able, in as many more Hours, to suck the _Alps_ and\n_Pyreneans_ out of the Bowels of the Earth; and not to spend all his\nForce upon them neither? For he would have as much Work in other\nCountries. To raise up _Taurus_, for instance, and _Imaus_, and frozen\n_Caucasus_ in _Asia_; and the mighty _Atlas_, and the _Mountains_ of the\n_Moon_ in _Africk_; besides the _Andes_ in _America_, which, they say,\nfar exceed all the Mountains of our Continent. One would be apt to\nthink, that this Gentleman never saw the Face of a mountainous Country;\nfor he writes of them, as if he had taken his Idea of Mountains, and the\ngreat Ridges of Mountains, upon the Earth, from the _Devil\u2019s Ditch_, and\n_Hogmagog Hills_: And he raises them faster than Mushrooms out of the\nGround. If the newborn Sun, at his first Appearance, could make such\ngreat Havock, and so great Changes upon the Face of the Earth, what hath\nhe been doing ever since? We never heard nor read of a Mountain, since\nthe Memory of Man, rais\u2019d by the Heat of the Sun. We may therefore\nenquire, in the last Place,\n\nWhy have we no Mountains made now by the same Causes? We have no Reason\nto believe that the Heat or Strength of the Sun is lessen\u2019d since that\nTime; why then does it not produce like Effects? But I imagine he hath\nan Answer for this: Namely, that the Moisture of the first Earth, when\nit was new drain\u2019d and marshy, contributed much to this Effect; which\nnow its Dryness hinders. But besides, that the Dryness of the Earth\nshould rather give an Advantage, by the Collection of Vapours within its\nCavities: However, we might expect, according to this Reason, that all\nour drain\u2019d Fens and marshy Grounds, should presently be rais\u2019d into\nMountains; whereas we see them all to continue arrand Plains, as they\nwere before. But if you think these are too little Spots of Ground to\nreceive a strong Influence from the Sun, take _\u00c6gypt_ for an Instance:\nThat\u2019s capacious enough, and \u2019tis overflow\u2019d every Year, and by that\nMeans made soft and moist to your Mind, as the new Earth when it rises\nfrom under the Abyss. Why then is not _\u00c6gypt_ converted into Mountains,\nafter the Inundation and Retirement of _Nile_? I do not see any\nQualification wanting, according to the Exceptor\u2019s Hypothesis: _\u00c6gypt_\nhath a moist Soil, and a strong Sun, much stronger than the _Alps_ or\n_Pyreneans_ have; and yet it continues one of the plainest Countries\nupon the Earth. But there is still a greater Instance behind against\nthis Hypothesis, than any of the former; and that is, of the whole Earth\nafter the Deluge: When it had been overflow\u2019d a second Time by the\nAbyss, upon the Retirement of those Waters it would be much what in the\nsame Condition, as to Moisture, that it was in the third Day, when it\nfirst became dry Land. Why then should not the same Effect follow again,\nby the Heat of the Sun; and as many new Mountains be rais\u2019d upon this\nsecond Draining of the Earth, as upon the first? These are plain and\nobvious Instances, and as plainly unanswerable. And the whole Hypothesis\nwhich this Virtuoso hath propos\u2019d concerning the _Origin_ of Mountains,\nis such an Heap of Incredibilities, and Things inconsistent one with\nanother, that I\u2019m afraid I shall be thought to have spent too much Time\nin Confutation of it.\n\nIn the Conclusion of this Chapter, _p._ 215. he hath an Attempt to prove\nthat there were Mountains before the Flood, _because there were Metals_;\nwhich are commonly found about the Roots of Mountains. But the Theorist,\nhe says, _to shun this great Inconvenience, fairly consents to the\nabolishing of Metals out of the first State of Nature_. Yet he is hard\nput to it, to prove that the Theorist hath any where asserted,\nwhatsoever he thought, that there were no Metals then. The first\nCitation he produces, only recites the Opinion of others, and says, _p._\n216. he _thinks they do not want their Reasons_. Of the two other\nCitations out of the Preface, the first does not reach home, making no\nmention of Metals. And the second is wholly misconstrued, and perverted\nto a Sense quite contrary to what the Author intended, or the Context\nwill bear. But however the Theorist appears doubtful, whether there were\nMetals or no in in the first World: And, upon this Doubt, the Exceptor\nlays this heavy Charge, _p._ 215. _li._ 24. _Thus the Fidelity of_\nMoses_ is assaulted, and another intolerable Affront put upon the HOLY\nGHOST: For do not both inform us, that the City_ Enoch _was built, and\nthe Ark prepared, before the Flood? But how could either be done without\nIron-Tools?_ But does either _Moses_, or the Holy Ghost tell us, that\nthere were Iron-Tools in building that City, or the Ark? If they do not,\nwe only affront the Consequence, which the Exceptor draws from the\nWords, and not the Authors of them. By what divine Authority does the\nAnimadverter assert, that there was Iron, or Iron-Tools, in Building\nthis City, or that Ark? I\u2019m sure Scripture does not mention either, upon\nthose Occasions. And seeing it mentions only _Gopher Wood_ and _Pitch_\nfor the Building of the Ark, _Gen._ vi. 14. \u2019tis a Presumption rather,\nthat there were no other Materials us\u2019d. And as to the City, \u2019tis true,\nif he fancy the City which _Enoch_ built, to have been like _Paris_, or\n_London_, he has Reason to imagine, that they had Iron-Tools to make it.\nBut suppose it was a Number of Cottages, made of Branches of Trees, of\nOsiers and Bulrushes, (and what needed they any other House, when the\nAir was so temperate?) or, if you will, of Mud-Walls, and a Roof of\nStraw, with a Fence about it to keep out Beasts, there would be no such\nNecessity of Iron-Tools. Consider, pray, how long the World was without\nknowing the Use of Iron, in several Parts of it, as in the North, and in\n_America_: And yet they had Houses and Cities after their Fashion. For\nthe Northern Countries you may see _Olaus Magnus_, _li._ 12. _c._ 13.\nFor _America_, _Pet. Martyr. Dec. 1._ But the Exceptor will save you\nyour Pains, as to the _Indians_, for he says himself, _p._ 250. in\nanother Place, that they had no Instruments of Iron, when the\n_Spaniards_ came amongst them. And if in those late Ages of the World,\nthey were still without the Use of Iron, or Iron-Tools, we have less\nReason to believe that the Children of _Cain_ had them four or five\nthousand Years before.\n\nIt is also worthy our Consideration, how many Things must have been\ndone, before they could come at these Iron-Tools. How came the Children\nof _Cain_ to dig into the Earth, I know not to what Depth, to seek for a\nThing they had never heard of before, when it was so difficult to dig\ninto the Earth without such Tools? More difficult, methinks, than to\nbuild an House without them. But suppose they did this, we know not how;\nand, amongst many other Stones, or Earths, found that which we call\nIron-Ore: How did they know the Nature and Use of it? Or, if they\nguess\u2019d at that, how did they know the Way and Manner of preparing it,\nby Furnaces, Wind-Forges, and Smelting-mills? These would be as hard to\nmake or build, without Iron Tools, as dwelling Houses. And when they had\ngot a Lump of Iron, till they knew how to temper it, they could not make\nTools of it still. Unless _Cain_\u2019s Children had an Inspiration from\nHeaven, I do not see how they could discover all these Things, in so\nshort a Time. And this is only to make good what the Theorist said, that\nsuch an Hypothesis _does not want its Reasons_. And as to _Tubal-Cain_,\nlet those that positively assert that there was no Iron in the first\nWorld, tell us in what Sense that Place is to be understood. For, I\nbelieve, Iron or Brass is not once mention\u2019d in all the Theory.\n\n\n                               CHAP. XI.\n\n\nThis Chapter is to prove that the _Sea was open_ before the Deluge. \u2019Tis\nsomething barren of philosophical Arguments, but we will begin with such\nas it has, which are taken from this Topick, _That the Fishes could not\nlive in our Abyss_: _p._ 224. and that for three Reasons. First, because\nit was too dark. Secondly, too close; and thirdly, too cold. As for\nColdness, methinks he might have left that out, unless he suppose that\nthere are no Fish in the frozen Seas, towards the North and South; which\nis against all Sense and Experience: For cold Countries abound most in\nFish. And according to Reason, there would be more Danger of too much\nWarmth, in those subterraneous Waters, than of too much Cold, in respect\nof the Fishes.\n\nThen as to Darkness and Closeness, this minds me of the Saying of\n_Maimonides_: _That no Man_ ever would believe, that a Child could live\nso many Months, shut up in its Mother\u2019s Belly, if he had never seen the\nExperience of it. There\u2019s Closeness and Darkness, in the Highest Degree.\nAnd in Animals, that, as soon as born, cannot live without Respiration.\nWhereas Fishes, of all Creatures, have the least need of Respiration, if\nthey have any. And as for _Darkness_, how many subterraneous Lakes have\nwe still, wherein Fishes live? And we can scarce suppose the main and\nfathomless Ocean to have Light to the Bottom; at least when it is\ntroubled or tempestuous. How the Eyes of Fish are, or might be, form\u2019d\nor conform\u2019d, we cannot tell, but we see they feed and prey on the Night\nTime, and take Baits as greedily as on the Day. But it is likely they\nwere less active and agile in that Abyss, than they are now; their Life\nwas more sluggish then, and their Motions more slow, _Job_ xxxviii. 8.\nas being still in that _Womb_ of Nature that was broke up at the Deluge.\nAnd as to Air, they would have enough for their imperfect way of\nbreathing in that State. But if they have a more perfect now, which is\nstill a Question, they might have some Passages in their Body open\u2019d,\n(at the Disruption of the Abyss) when they were born into the Light and\nfree Air, which were not open\u2019d before. As we see in Infants, upon their\nBirth, a new Passage is made into their Lungs, and a new Circulation of\nthe Blood, which before took another Course.\n\nSo much for pretended Reasons and Philosophy. The rest of this long\nChapter is spent either in Consequences made from Scripture, or in a\nprolix Discourse about Rain. As to Scripture, _p._ 219, 220. he makes\nthis the first Objection, that, whereas _Adam_ had a Dominion given him\nover the Fish of the Sea, it could have no Effect, if they were inclosed\nin the Abyss. _Adam_ had no more Dominion given him over the Fish of the\nSea, than over the Fowls of the Air; which he could not come at, or\nseize at his Pleasure, unless he could fly into the Air after them.\n_Adam_ was made Lord of all Animals upon this Earth, and had a Right to\nuse them for his Conveniency, when they came into his Power: But I do\nnot believe that _Adam_ was made stronger than a Lyon, nor could master\nthe Leviathan, or command him to the Shore. He had a Right, however, and\nhis Posterity, to dispose of all Creatures for their Use and Service,\nwhensoever, upon Occasion offered, they fell into their Power.\n\nNext he says, _p._ 225, 226. The Waters were gather\u2019d into one Place,\nand a Firmament was made to divide the Waters from the Waters. Well,\nallow this, tell us then what was that Firmament? For it is said there,\n_Gen._ i. 17. that God set the Sun, Moon, and Stars, in the Firmament.\nTherefore you can argue nothing from this, unless you suppose\nsupercelestial Waters: Which, when you have prov\u2019d, we will give you an\nAccount of the subcelestial, and of the subterraneous. And here the\nExceptor cites some Things from the Theory, that are not in the second\nEdition, and therefore the Theorist is not concern\u2019d to answer them.\n\nLastly, The Exceptor comes to his long Harangue in Commendation of the\n_Clouds_ and of _Rain_: Which takes up a great Part of this Chapter. In\nhis _Exordium_ he makes this Compliment to the Clouds, p. 234.\n_Sometimes they mount up and fly aloft, as if they forgat, or disdain\u2019d\nthe Meanness of their Origin. Sometimes again they sink and stoop so\nlow, as if they repented of their former proud Aspirings, and did\nremorseful humble Penance for their high Presumption. And though I may\nnot say they weep to expiate their Arrogance, or kiss the Earth with\nbedewed Cheeks, in Token of their Penitence, yet they often prostrate in\nthe Dust, and sweep the lowest Grounds of all, with their misty foggy\nTrains. One while they_, &c. This Harangue about the Clouds and Rain, is\npursued for fourteen or fifteen Pages, and, with Submission to better\nJudgments, I take it to be a Country Sermon, about the _Usefulness of\nRain_: And, I believe, whosoever reads it, will, both from its Matter\nand Form, be of the same Opinion. I do not speak this in Derogation to\nhis Sermon, but he would have done better, methinks, to have printed it\nin a Pamphlet by it self; there being no Occasion for it in this Theory.\n\nTowards the Conclusion of the Chapter, _p._ 246. he answers an Objection\nmade by the Theorist against the supposed Islands and Continents in the\nfirst Earth. Namely, _That it would render the Propagation of Mankind\ndifficult, into those broken Parts of the World_. And the many imperfect\nshifting Answers which the Exceptor gives, or conjectures without\nAuthority, do but confirm the Objection of the Theorist, or make his\nWords true, _quod Res esset difficilis explicatu_. Which is all that the\nTheorist said upon that Subject.\n\n\n                               CHAP. XII.\n\n\nThis is a short Chapter, and will be soon dispatch\u2019d. \u2019Tis to prove that\nthe _Rainbow was before the Flood_. And notwithstanding that, a good\nSign that there should never be a Flood again. This is to me a Paradox,\nbut he confirms it by a greater Paradox: For he says, God might as well\n(as to Significancy, or Authenticalness) _have appointed the Sun, as the\nRainbow, for a Sign that there never should have been another Flood_. So\nthat if God had said to _Noah_, I do assure thee there shall never be a\nsecond Deluge, and for a Sign of this, _Behold I set the Sun in the\nFirmament_: This would have done as well, he says, as the Rainbow. That\nis, in my Judgment, it would have done nothing at all more than the bare\nPromise. And if it had done no more than the bare Promise, it was\nsuperfluous. Therefore if the Rainbow was no more than the Sun would\nhave been, it was a superfluous Sign. They to whom these two Signs are\nof equal Significancy and Effect, lie without the Reach of all\nConviction, and I am very willing to indulge them in their own Opinions.\n\nBut he says, _p._ 257. _God sometimes has made things to be Signs, that\nare common and usual. Thus the Fruit of a Tree growing in Paradise, was\nmade a Sign of Man\u2019s Immortality._ But how does it appear that this was\na common Tree; or that it was given to _Adam_ as a Sign that he should\nbe immortal? Neither of these appear from Scripture. Secondly, he says,\n2 _Kings_ xiii. 17. _Shooting with Bow and Arrows upon the Ground, was\nmade a Sign to_ Joash _of his prevailing against the_ Syrians. This was\nonly a Command to make war against _Syria_, and a Prophecy of Success;\nboth deliver\u2019d in a symbolical or hieroglyphical Way. The Command was\nsignify\u2019d by bidding the King shoot an Arrow, which was the Sign of War.\nAnd the Sign of Victory or of divine Assistance, was the Prophet\u2019s\nstrengthening the King\u2019s Hands to draw the Bow. This is nothing as to a\nSign given in Nature, or from the natural World, in Confirmation of a\ndivine Promise: Which is the thing we are only to consider.\n\nAll the rest of this Chapter is lax Discourse without Proof. And as to\nthe Significancy of the Rainbow, upon Supposition that it was a new\nAppearance; and its Insignificancy upon Supposition that it was an old\nAppearance, we have spoken so fully in the Theory it self, _Eng. Theor._\n_Book_ 2. _ch._ 5. that it would be needless here to make any longer\nStay upon this Argument.\n\n\n                              CHAP. XIII.\n\n\nThis Chapter is concerning _Paradise_; but our Author fairly baulks all\nthe Difficulties in that Doctrine, and contents himself with a few\nGenerals, which every body knows. The Doctrine of Paradise consists\nchiefly of two Parts; the Site or Place of it; and the State or\nProperties of it. As to the first, if the Exceptor would have confuted\nthe Theory, he should have let down the Conclusions that are advanc\u2019d by\nthe Theory, (_Eng. Theor._ _Book._ 2. _c._ 7.) concerning the Place of\nParadise, which are these; first, the Place of Paradise cannot be\ndetermin\u2019d by Scripture only. Neither the Word _Mekeddem_, (_Gen._ ii.\n8.) nor the four Rivers mentioned there, make the Place of it\ndefineable. Secondly, The Place of Paradise cannot be determin\u2019d by the\nTheory. Seeing then neither Scripture, nor Reason determine the Place of\nParadise, if we will determine it, it must be by Antiquity. And if we\nappeal to Antiquity in this Case, we shall find, First, That it was not\nin _Mesopotamia_. Secondly, That according to the Plurality of Votes,\nboth amongst the Heathen and Christian Authors, it was plac\u2019d in the\nother Hemisphere. And this is all the Theory says upon that Point. As\nyou may see, _Eng. Theor_ _Book_ 2. _ch._ 7. and _Lat. Theor._ _Edit._\n2. _p._ 194. and _p._ 214, 215. Wherefore if the Animadverter would\nundertake to confute the Theory in this Point, he should have confuted\nthose four Particulars. But he slips over these, _p._ 265. and gives us\nonly a Paraphrase upon Verses in the second and third _Chapters_ of\n_Genesis_, which says little to this Purpose, and yet more than it\nproves.\n\nIn the second Place, as to the State and Properties of Paradise, or the\nante-diluvian World; _the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians_ is the Thing\nhe insists upon. But this he handles so loosely, _p._ 273. that in the\nConclusion of his Discourse, one cannot tell whether he affirms it, or\ndenies it. This sceptical Humour of the Exceptor hath been taken notice\nof before, and \u2019tis continued in this Chapter, where there is little or\nnothing positively determin\u2019d. The Theorist, on the contrary, expressly\naffirms the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians, and gives these Reasons for\nhis Assertion. First, Because all the Lives, and all the Generations\nrecorded in Scripture, before the Flood, from Father to Son, in a Line\nof sixteen hundred Years, are longeval: Of six, seven, eight, nine\nhundred Years a-piece. Secondly, Antiquity, both _Greek_ and _Barbarian_\nhave attested the same thing, and recorded the Tradition; see the Table\nof both. Thirdly, The Generations recorded in Scripture after the Flood,\nas they exceed the Term of succeeding Ages, _Eng. Theor._ _p._ 204. so\nthey decline by degrees from the ante-diluvian Longevity. Lastly,\n_Jacob_ complains of the Shortness of his Life, and lowness of his Days,\nin Comparison of his Forefathers, when he had liv\u2019d one hundred and\nthirty Years; _Gen._ xlvii. 9. which had been a groundless Complaint, if\nhis Ancestors had not lived much longer.\n\nThese two last Reasons the Exceptor has not thought fit to take notice\nof. And, in Answer to the two former, he hath only the usual\nSubterfuges: As, that the long Lives of the ante-diluvian Patriarchs was\na Thing extraordinary and providential, confin\u2019d to their Persons; not\nof a general Extent, nor according to the Course of Nature. But how does\nthis appear? It must be made out, either by Scripture or Reason.\nScripture makes no Distinction, nor Exception of Persons in this Case;\nall, whereof it hath left any Account, as to Term of Life, are declar\u2019d\nto have liv\u2019d several hundred of Years. And why should we not conclude\nthe same Thing concerning the rest? Then as to Reason, you cannot\nsuppose Longevity, in that World, against Reason or Nature, unless you\nfirst suppose the Form and Constitution of that World to have been the\nsame with the present: Which is to beg the Question. Admitting that Form\nand Constitution of the first Heavens and Earth, which the Theory hath\ngiven, Longevity will be a natural Consequence of it. _Theor._ _Book_ 2.\n_ch._ 3, _&_ 4. And having such a Course of Nature laid before us, as\nagrees with the Reports of Scripture, and with general Tradition, why\nshould we quit that, to comply with an imaginary Presumption; that these\nwere miraculously preserv\u2019d, and all the rest were short-liv\u2019d? I know\nhe pretends, p. 277. we may as well conclude all Men were Giants in\nthose Days, because _Moses_ says, _There were Giants upon the Earth in\nthose Days_, Gen. vi. 4. as conclude that all Men were long liv\u2019d in\nthose Days, because _Moses_ mentions some that were so. There had been\nsome Pretence for this, if _Moses_ had made a Distinction of two Races\nof Men in the first World, long Livers and short Livers; as he hath\ndistinguish\u2019d the Giant from the common Race of Mankind: Or, as he hath\nsaid in one Case, _There were Giants on the Earth in those Days_; so if\nhe had said in the other, _There were long Livers upon the Earth in\nthose Days_, and upon that, had given us a List of the long-liv\u2019d\nPatriarchs: This indeed would have made the Cases pretty parallel. But,\non the contrary, _Moses_ makes no such Distinction of long-living and\nshort-living Races, before the Flood; nor yet notes it as a Mark of\ndivine Favour, or extraordinary Benediction upon those Persons that\nliv\u2019d so long. Therefore, not to suppose it general to Mankind at that\nTime, is a groundless Restriction, which is neither founded upon\nScripture nor Reason.\n\nAs to the second Argument for ante-diluvian Longevity, taken from\nTradition and the Testimony of the Antients, he objects, _p._ 276, 277.\nthat _Josephus_ does not seem to be firm in that Opinion himself. But\nwhat then? The Theorist lays no Stress upon _Josephus_\u2019s single Opinion,\nbut refers to the Testimonies of those Authors, whether _Greeks_, or\nsuch as have given on Account of the _\u00c6gyptian_, _Chaldean_, and\n_Ph\u0153nician_ Antiquities: Which are call\u2019d in by _Josephus_, as Witnesses\nof this Truth or Tradition, concerning the long Lives of the first Men.\nAnd at last, the Exceptor seems content, this Tradition should be\nadmitted, _p._ 278. seeing the _Authors are too many, or too\nconsiderable, to have their Testimonies question\u2019d or rejected_. But\nthen he will make a further Question, _Why_ there should not also be a\nTradition concerning the _perpetual Equinox_, or _perpetual Spring_,\nupon which this Longevity depended? But this Question is fully answer\u2019d,\nand the Tradition fully made out before, in the eighth Chapter, which I\nneed not here repeat. In like manner, all the secondary Questions, which\nhe then mentions, depending upon, and being included in this first,\nreceive their Resolution from it. For when a perpetual Equinox is once\ntruly stated, there is no Difficulty concerning the rest.\n\nAfter these Contests about Traditions, he hath one or two _Reasons_\nagainst this _ante-diluvian Longevity_, p. 279, 280. First, because the\nEarth, by this Means, would have been over-stock\u2019d with People before\nthe Time of the Deluge. Secondly, They should all have been of the same\nLongevity before the Flood. Neither of these, me-thinks, have any\nStrength in them. As to the first, That Earth was much more capacious\nthan this is, where the Sea takes away half of its Surface, and renders\nit uninhabitable. And whereas he suggests, as a Recompence, _ibid._\n_That Mountains_ have more Surface and Capacity than Plains; that\u2019s\ntrue, but they are also less habitable, by Reason of their Barrenness\nand Ruggedness. Who can believe that there are as many People in\n_Wales_, as in other Parts of _England_, upon the same Compass of level\nGround? Or no more in _Holland_, than upon a like Number of Acres upon\nthe _Alps_ or _Pyreneans_? There would be room enough for twice as many\nPeople as there are in the World, and twice as many Animals, if there\nwas Food enough to nourish them. But here I have two things to complain\nof, as foul Play: First, the Exceptor cites the Theory partially.\nSecondly, he does not mark the Place whence he takes that Citation; as\nif it was on purpose to hide his Partiality. The Words he cites are\nthese: _If we allow the first Couple, at the end of one hundred Years,\nor of the first Century, to have left ten Pair of Breeders, which is an\neasy Supposition, there would arise from these in fifteen hundred Years,\na greater Number than the Earth was capable of; allowing every Pair to\nmultiply in the same decuple Proportion the first Pair did_, Eng. Theor.\np. 32. Here the Exceptor stops, and makes this Inference; that upon an\n_easy Supposition_, which the Theorist makes and allows, the Earth would\nhave been over-stock\u2019d in fifteen hundred Years. This is an _easy\nSupposition_ for the _first Century_, as the Theorist put it; but it\nwould be a very uneasy one for the following Centuries, when they came\nto be at any considerable Distance from the Beginning. And therefore the\nTheorist tells you, in that very Page, _The same Measure cannot run\nequally through all the Ages._ And in his Calculation you see, after the\nfirst Century, he hath taken only a _quadruple Proportion for the\nIncrease of Mankind_. As judging that a _moderate and reasonable Measure\nbetwixt the highest and the lowest_. This the Exceptor might easily have\nobserv\u2019d, _ibid._ and as easily avoided this Misapplication of the Words\nof the Theorist.\n\nHis second Reason against the ante-diluvian Longevity is slighter than\nthe first, _p._ 280. For he pretends that all Ante-diluvians, upon that\nSupposition, should have been equally long-liv\u2019d. You may as well say,\nthat all the Children of the same Parents, and that live in the same\nPlace, should now be equally long-liv\u2019d; the external World being the\nsame to them all. But, besides Accidents, their _Stamina_ and\nConstitutions might then be of a different Strength, as well as now;\ntho\u2019 they were born of the same Parents, and liv\u2019d in the same Air.\nLastly, he moves a Difficulty about the Multiplication of Animals in the\nfirst World, _p._ 281. that they would have been too numerous before the\nFlood. I can say nothing to that, nor he neither, upon good Grounds:\nUnless we knew what Species of Animals were then made, and in what\nDegrees they multiplied. The Theorist always supposes a divine\nProvidence to superintend, proportion, and determine, both the Number\nand Food of Animals upon the Earth; suitably to the Constitution and\nCircumstances of every World. And seeing that Earth was no less under\nthe Care and Direction of Providence, than the present, we may conclude\nthat due Measures were taken for adjusting the Numbers and Food of\nAnimals in such manner, as neither to be a Burden to one another, nor to\nMan.\n\n\n                               CHAP. XIV.\n\n\nThis Chapter is against the Explication of the Deluge by the\n_Dissolution of the Earth_. That Dissolution, as is pretended, being\nunfit or insufficient to produce such an Effect. And to prove this, the\nAnte-theorist gives us five Arguments, whereof the first is this; _p._\n285. _Moses_ having left us an accurate Description of Paradise,\n_according to the proper Rules of Topography_, such a Description would\nhave been improper and insufficient to determine the Place of Paradise,\nand consequently useless, if the Earth had been dissolv\u2019d; and by that\nmeans the Bounds of those Countries, and the Channels of those Rivers,\nbroken and chang\u2019d. This Objection, I\u2019m afraid, will fall heavier upon\n_Moses_, or upon the Exceptor himself, than upon the Theorist. However,\none would have expected that the Exceptor should have determin\u2019d here\nthe Place of Paradise in virtue of that Description. So learned and\nsagacious a Person, having before him an exact Draught of Paradise,\n_according to the proper Rules of Topography_, could not fail to lay his\nFinger upon the very Spot of Ground where it stood. Yet I do not find\nthat he has ventur\u2019d to determine the Place of Paradise, either in this\nChapter, or in the preceding: Which gives me a great Suspicion, that he\nwas not satisfy\u2019d where it stood, notwithstanding the _Mosaical_\nTopography. Now if it cannot be understood or determin\u2019d by that\nTopography, one of these two things must be allow\u2019d, either that the\nDescription was insufficient and ineffectual; or that there has been\nsome great Change in the Earth, whereby the Marks of it are destroy\u2019d;\nnamely, the Bounds of Countries, and the Courses of the the Rivers. If\nhe take the second of these Answers, he joins with the Theorist. If the\nfirst, he reflects, according to his way of arguing, upon the Honour of\n_Moses_, or confutes himself.\n\nBut here is still a further Charge, _p._ 286. _Moses_\u2019s Description of\nParadise would have been _told_ (which he notes for _horrid Blasphemy_)\nif the Earth was broken at the Deluge: For then those Rivers, by which\n_Moses_ describes Paradise, could not have been before the Flood. But\nwhy so, I pray? The Theorist supposes Rivers before the Flood, in great\nPlenty; and why not like to these? And if their Channels were very much\nchang\u2019d by the Flood, that\u2019s no more than what good Interpreters\nsuppose. Being unable, upon any other Submission, to give an Account why\nit is so hard (notwithstanding _Moses_\u2019s Description) to determine the\nPlace of Paradise. Now where is the _Blasphemy_ of this? _Ibid._ _Horrid\nBlasphemy against the Holy Ghost?_ A rude and injudicious Defence of\nScripture, by Railing and ill Language, is the true Way to lessen and\ndisparage it: Especially when we make our own Consequences to be of the\nsame Authority with the Word of God; and whatsoever is against them,\nmust be charg\u2019d with Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Is it not a\nstrange Thing, that the Dissolution of the Earth should be made\nBlasphemy, when the Prophets and inspir\u2019d Authors speak so often of the\n_Disruptions_, _Fractions_, _Concussions_, and _Subversions_ of the\nEarth? See _Review_, _p._ 380, _&c._ And that very Expression, that the\n_Earth is dissolv\u2019d_, is a Scripture Expression, (_Psal._ lxxv. 3.\n_Isai._ xxiv. 19. _Amos_ ix. 5) which, methinks, might have been enough\nto have protected it from the Imputation of Blasphemy. But there is\nnothing safe against blind Zeal, and opinionative Ignorance; which, by\nhow much they find themselves weaker in Reasons, by so much they become\nmore violent in Passions.\n\nBut to return to the Objection; upon the whole Matter, he casts the\nBurden of the Charge upon _Moses_ himself, as we noted before: For take\nwhether Hypothesis you will, that the Earth was, or was not broken, the\nQuestion still returns, if the Mosaical Topography was exact and\nsufficient, why can we not yet find out the Situation of Paradise? \u2019Tis\nnow above three thousand Years since _Moses_ died, and Men have been\ncurious and very inquisitive in all Ages, to find out the Place of\nParadise; but it is not found out to this Day to any Satisfaction: So\nthat, methinks, upon the whole, the Theory, which supposeth the Earth\nvery much chang\u2019d, makes the fairest Apology both for _Moses_ and\nMankind, in this Particular. But to proceed to his second Argument.\n\nSecondly, says the Exceptor, p. 288. _The Dissolution of the Earth could\nnot be the Cause of the general Flood, because it would have utterly\ndestroy\u2019d_ Noah_\u2019s Ark, and all that were in it_. I thought the Theorist\nhad effectually prevented this Objection, by putting the Ark under the\nConduct of its Guardian Angels, and of a miraculous Providence; _Eng.\nTheor._ _p._ 147. These are his Words: _I think it had been impossible\nfor the Ark to have liv\u2019d upon the raging Abyss, or for_ Noah _and his\nFamily to have been preserv\u2019d, if there had not been a miraculous Hand\nof Providence to take Care of them._ Now, either the Exceptor did not\ntake notice of this Passage in the Theory, or he does not allow that a\nmiraculous Hand was sufficient to preserve the Ark; or thirdly, he made\nan Objection, which he knew himself to be impertinent. And, I confess, I\nam inclinable to think the last is true: For as to the first, he\nconfesses (_p._ 354.) that the _Theory represents the Ark, with its\nGuardian Angels about it, in the Extremity of the Flood_. And as to the\nsecond, he himself makes use of a miraculous Power to preserve the Ark\nupon his Hypothesis; in Answer to the eighth Objection, _p._ 351, 352,\n_&c._ Why then may not we make use of the same Power, and with the same\nEffect? It remains therefore, that he was conscious to himself that he\nmade this Objection to no purpose.\n\nBut that is not all: He has also us\u2019d foul Play in his Citation: For\nwhereas the great Danger of the Ark would be at the first Fall of the\nEarth, or the Disruption of the Abyss; the Theorist, he says, to prevent\nthis, makes the Ark to be a-float by the Rains, before the Abyss was\nbroken. But is that all the Theorist says in that Place? Does he not\nassign another Way how the Ark might be a-float? Namely, in a River, or\nin a Dock. These are the Words of the Theory, _p._ 133, 134. _So as the\nArk, if it could not float upon these Rain-Waters, at least taking the\nAdvantage of a River, or of a Dock or Cistern made to receive them, it\nmight be a-float before the Abyss was broken open._ And these Words\nbeing in the same Place whence he makes his Citation, it must be a\nwilful Dissimulation not to take notice of them. But he saw they would\nhave taken off the Edge of his Objection, and therefore thought fit not\nto touch upon them. But after all, there is no Necessity that the Ark\nshould be a-float before the Earth broke: Those Things, were premis\u2019d in\nthe Theory, only to soften the Way to Men that are of hard Belief in\nsuch extraordinary Matters: For the Angels (whose Ministry we openly\nown, upon these grand Occasions) could as easily have held the Ark\na-float, in the Air, as on the Water. And the Ark, being an Emblem of\nthe Church, God certainly did _give his Angels Charge over it; that they\nshould bear it up in their Hands, that it might not be dash\u2019d against a\nStone_. And this having been more than once profess\u2019d by the Theorist,\nwe must again conclude this Objection superfluous and useless.\n\nThe third Objection is this. If the Earth had been thus dissolv\u2019d, _p._\n289. _The present Earth would have been, in likelihood of another\nFigure, than what now it bears._ These are his Words; but I suppose he\nmeans, that it would have been of another Form, as to Sea and Land. And\nthe Reason he gives is this: Because, says he, it would have broke first\nin the Equator, and consequently that Part falling down first, would\nhave been swallowed up by the Waters, and become all Sea. Whereas we\nfind, that under the Equator that then was (which he supposeth (_ibid._)\nthe present Ecliptick) _the dry Ground is of most spacious Extent and\nContinuity_. We need not examine his Account of Sea and Land, because it\nproceeds upon a false Supposition, (_See_ p. 27. _before_.) He relapses\nhere into his former astronomical Error, or to his first adds a second;\n_viz._ That the Earth, when it chang\u2019d its Situation, chang\u2019d its Poles\nand Circles. This is a great Mistake; the Change of Position in Respect\nof the Heavens, did not change the Places of its Circles in Respect to\nits own Globe. As when you change a Sphere or a Globe out of a _right\nSituation_ into an _oblique_, the Circles do not change their Places, as\nto that Sphere or Globe; but have only another Position to the Heavens.\nThe Earth\u2019s Ecliptick runs thorough the same Places it did before; and\nthe equinoctial Regions of that Earth were the same with the equinoctial\nRegions of this, only bear another Posture to the Heavens and the Sun.\nThese Circles have not chang\u2019d Places with one another, as he imagines;\nand which is worse, would father this imagination upon the Theory, in\nthese Words, _Under the Ecliptick (which, in the present Situation of\nthe Earth, (ACCORDING TO THE THEORY) was its Equinoctial, and divided\nthe Globe into two Hemispheres, as the Equator does now) the dry\nGround_, &c. He that affirms this, with Respect to the Earth, neither\nunderstands the _Theory, nor the Doctrine of the Sphere_. But let\u2019s\npress no further upon a Mistake.\n\nThe fourth Objection is this; _p._ 290. That such a Dissolution of the\nEarth, would have caus\u2019d great Barrenness after the Flood: Partly by\nturning up some dry and unfruitful Parts of the Earth; and partly by the\nSoil and Filth that would be left upon its Surface. As to the first, I\nwillingly allow, that some of the interior and barren Parts of the Earth\nmight be turn\u2019d up; as we now see in mountainous and wild Countries; but\nthis rather confirms the Theory, than weakens it. But as to the second,\nthat the Filth and Soil would have made the Earth more barren, I cannot\nallow that. For good Husbandmen overflow their Grounds, to make their\nCrop more rich. And \u2019tis generally suppos\u2019d, that the Inundation of\n_Nile_, and the Mud it leaves behind it, makes _\u00c6gypt_ more fruitful.\nBesides, this Part of the Objection lies against the common Explication\nof the Deluge, as well as against that which is given by the Theory. For\nif you suppose an universal Deluge, let it come from what Causes you\nplease, it must overflow all the Earth, and leave Mud and Slime and\nFilth upon the Surface of it: And consequently cause Barrenness,\naccording to this Argumentation.\n\nHe adds another Consideration under this Head, _p._ 292. namely, that if\nthe Earth had been dissolv\u2019d in this manner, _All the Buildings erected\nbefore the Flood, would have been shaken down, or else overwhelm\u2019d. Yet\nwe read of some that outstood the Flood, and were not demolish\u2019d. Such\nwere the Pillars of_ Seth, _and the Cities_ Henochia _and_ Joppa. As to\n_Seth_\u2019s Pillars, they are generally accounted fabulous; and I perceive\nthe Exceptor will not vouch for them: For he concludes, (_p._ 295) _I\nknow the very Being is question\u2019d of_ Seth_\u2019s Pillars_, &c. If he will\nnot defend them, why should I take the Pains to confute them? I do not\nlove to play with a Man, that will put nothing to the Stake; that will\nhave his Chance to win, but can lose nothing, because he stakes nothing.\nThen as to the City _Henochia_, it hath no Authority, but that of\n_Annius Viterbiensis_, and his _Berosus_: A Book generally exploded, as\nfictitious. Lastly, As to _Joppa_, the Authority indeed is better, tho\u2019\nstill uncertain. But however, suppose the Ruins of one Town remain\u2019d\nafter the Flood, does this prove that the Earth was not dissolv\u2019d? I do\nnot doubt, but there were several Tracts of the Earth, much greater than\nthat Town, that were not broken all to Pieces by their Fall. But you and\nyour _English_ Historian, are mistaken, if you suppose the Altars and\nInscriptions mention\u2019d by _Mela_, to have been ante-diluvian Altars and\nInscriptions: Unless you will make the Fable of _Perseus_ and\n_Andromeda_, and the _Sea-Monster_, to have been an ante-diluvian Fable.\nNeither hath your Historian been lucky in translating those Words of\n_Mela_, _cum religione plurima, with the Grounds and Principles of their\nReligion_, which signify only, _with a religious Care of Superstition_.\nBut to leave Fables, and proceed:\n\nHis last Argument against the Dissolution is this, _p._ 296. Had the\nDissolution of the Earth been the Cause of the Deluge, _It would have\nmade God\u2019s Covenant with_ Noah, _a very vain and trifling Thing_. So\nmuch is true, That the Deluge, in the course of Nature, will not return\nagain in the same Way. But unless God prevent it, it both may, and will\nreturn in another Way. That is, if the World continue long enough, the\nMountains will wear and sink, and the Waters in Proportion rise, and\noverflow the whole Earth; as is plainly shewn, by a parallel Case, in\nthe _first Book_ of the _Theory_, _ch._ iv. Besides, God might, when he\npleas\u2019d, by an extraordinary Power, and for the Sins of Men, bring\nanother Deluge upon the World. And that is the Thing which _Noah_ seems\nto have fear\u2019d, and which God, by his Covenant, secur\u2019d him against.\nFor, as the Exceptor hath said himself, in answering an harder\nObjection, (p. 152.) _When God assigned to the Waters the Place of their\nAbode, he did not intend to fortify them in it against his own\nOmnipotence, or to divest himself of his Soveraign Prerogative of\ncalling them forth when he pleased._ This being allowed, with what we\nsaid before, that Covenant was not vain nor trifling, either in Respect\nof an ordinary or extraordinary Providence.\n\nThus we have done with all the Exceptions against the Theory: For the\ntwo next Chapters are concerning a new Hypothesis of his own; and the\nlast of all excepts not against the Truth of the Theory, but the\nCertainty of it. In Reflection upon this whole Matter, give me leave to\ndeclare two Things: First, That I have not knowingly omitted any\nObjection that I thought of moment: Secondly, That I have not, from\nthese Exceptions, found Reason to change any Part of the Theory, nor to\nalter my Opinion, as to any Particular in it. No doubt there are several\nTexts of Scripture, which, understood according to the Letter in a\nvulgar Way, stand cross, both to this, and other natural Theories. And a\nChild, that had read the first Chapters of _Genesis_, might have\nobserv\u2019d this as well as the Exceptor; but could not have loaded his\nCharge with so much Bitterness. Some Men, they say, though of no great\nValour, yet will fight excellently well behind a Wall. The Exceptor,\nbehind a Text of Scripture, is very fierce and rugged: But in the open\nField of Reason and Philosophy, he\u2019s gentle and tractable. _Eng. Theor._\n_Book_ 2. _c._ 9. _at the End._ The Theorist had declar\u2019d his\nIntentions, and oblig\u2019d himself, to give a full Account of _Moses_ his\n_Cosmop\u0153ia_, or _six Day\u2019s Creation_; but did not think it proper to be\ndone in the vulgar Language, nor before the whole Theory was compleated.\nThis might have spared much of the Exceptor\u2019s Pains; but till that\nAccount be given, if the Exceptor thinks fit to continue his\nAnimadversions, and go through the two last Books, as he hath done the\ntwo first, it will not be unacceptable to the Theorist; provided it be\ndone with Sincerity, in reciting the Words, and representing the Sense\nof the Author.\n\n\n                               CHAP. XV.\n\n\nIn this Chapter the Ante-theorist lays down a new Hypothesis for the\nExplication of the Deluge, _p._ 299. And the War is chang\u2019d, on his\nSide, from offensive, to defensive. \u2019Tis but fair that he should lie\ndown in his Turn; and if some Blows smart a little, he must not\ncomplain, because he begun the Sport. But let\u2019s try his Hypothesis,\nwithout any further Ceremony, _p._ 299, 300. The first Proposition laid\ndown for the establishing of it, is this: _That the Flood was but\nfifteen Cubits high, above the ordinary Level of the Earth._ This is an\nunmerciful Paradox, and a very unlucky Beginning; for under what Notion\nmust this Proportion be received? As a _Postulatum_, or as a\n_Conclusion_? If it be a _Postulatum_, it must be clear from its own\nLight, or acknowledg\u2019d by general Consent. It cannot pretend to be clear\nfrom its own Light, because it is matter of Fact, which is not known,\nbut by Testimony. Neither is it generally acknowleg\u2019d; for the general\nOpinion is, that the Waters covered the Tops of the Mountains; nay, that\nthey were fifteen Cubits higher than the Tops of the Mountains. And this\nhe confesses himself, in these Words, p. 300. _We shall find there is a\ngreat Mistake in the common Hypothesis, touching their Depth_: Namely,\nof the Waters. _For whereas they have been supposed to be fifteen Cubits\nhigher than the highest Mountains: They were indeed but fifteen Cubits\nhigh in all, above the Surface of the Earth._ And this Opinion, or\nDoctrine, he calls, _p._ 329. _lin._ 19. _c._ 31. _The general standing\nHypothesis: The usual Hypothesis_: _p._ 339. _lin._ 18. _The usual Sense\nthey have put upon the Sacred Story._ It must not therefore be made a\n_Postulatum_, that such an Hypothesis is false, but the Falsity of it\nmust be demonstrated by good Proofs. Now I do not find that this new\nHypothesis, of a _fifteen Cubit Deluge_, offers at any more than one\nsingle Proof, namely, from _Gen._ vii. 20. But before we proceed to the\nExamination of that, give me leave to note one or two Things, wherein\nthe new Theorist seems to be inconsistent with himself, or with good\nSense.\n\nAt his Entrance upon this new Hypothesis, he hath these Words, (_p._\n300.) _Not that I will be bound to defend what I say, as true and real_,\n&c. But why then does he trouble himself or the World, with an\nHypothesis, which he does not believe to be _true_ and _real_? Or, if he\ndoes believe it to be so, why will he not defend it? For we ought to\ndefend Truth. But he says moreover, (_p._ 302. _lin._ 19.) _Our\nSupposition stands supported by Divine Authority; as being founded upon\nScripture. Which tells us, as plainly as it can speak, that the Waters\nprevailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth._ If his Hypothesis be\nfounded upon Scripture; and upon Scripture, _as plainly as it can\nspeak_, why will not he defend it as _true_ and _real_? For to be\nsupported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture, is as much as we can\nalledge for the Articles of our Faith; which every one surely is bound\nto defend.\n\nBut this is not all the Difficulty we meet with. The whole Period which\nwe quoted, runs thus: _Not that I will be bound to defend what I say, as\ntrue or real; any more than to believe (what I cannot well endure to\nspeak) that the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational way of\nexplaining the Deluge: Which yet the must needs have done, if there be\nno other rational Method of explaining it, and no other intelligible\nCauses of it, than what the Theory has propos\u2019d._ Now for the Word\n_Theory_, put the Word _Exceptor_, or _Exceptor\u2019s Hypothesis_, and see\nif this Charge, _that the Church of God has ever gone on in an\nirrational way of explaining the Deluge_, does not fall as much upon the\nExceptor\u2019s new Hypothesis, as upon the Theory. If the Church Hypothesis\nwas rational, what need he have invented a new one? Why does he not\npropose that Hypothesis, and defend it? I\u2019m afraid it will be found that\nhe does not only contradict the Church Hypothesis, but reject it as\nmistaken and irrational. For what is the Church Hypothesis, but the\n_common Hypothesis_? (_p._ 300. _l._ 24.) The _general standing_\nHypothesis; the _usual_ Hypothesis; the _usual Sense they put upon the\nsacred Story_; all these he rejects and disputes against, as you may see\nin the Places fore-cited: And also he calls them, _p._ 312. _ult._ such\n_Inventions_, as _have been_, and _justly may be disgustful, not only to\nnice and squeamish, but to the best and soundest philosophick\nJudgments_. And _p._ 319. he says, by his Hypothesis, _We are excused\nfrom running to those Causes or Methods, which seem unreasonable to\nsome, and unintelligible to others, and unsatisfactory to most._ And to\nname no more, he says, _p._ 330. the ordinary Supposition, that the\nMountains were cover\u2019d with Water in the Deluge, brings on a _Necessity\nof setting up a new Hypothesis for explaining the Flood_. Now, whose\nMethods, Inventions, and Suppositions are these, which he reflects upon?\nAre they not the commonly receiv\u2019d Methods and Suppositions? \u2019Tis plain,\nmost of those which he mentions, (_p._ 310, 311, 313, 314, 318.) are not\nthe Theorist\u2019s: For the Theorist had rejected before, (_Eng. Theor._\n_ch._ 2, and 3.) those very Methods and Inventions, which the Exceptor\nrejects now; and so far he justifies the Theory[18]: These Reflections\ntherefore must fall upon some other Hypothesis; and what Hypothesis is\nthat, if it be not the Church Hypothesis? To conclude, I argue thus, in\nshort, to shew the Exceptor inconsistent with himself in this\nParticular. The Church Way of explaining the Deluge, is either\n_rational_, or _irrational_. If he say it is _rational_, why does he\ndesert it, and invent a new one? And if he says it is _irrational_, then\nthat dreadful Thing, which _he cannot well endure to speak, that the\nChurch of God has ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the\nDeluge_, falls flat upon himself.\n\nThus much in general, for his Introduction. We proceed now to examine\nparticularly his new Hypothesis: Which, as we told you before, consists\nchiefly in this, _That the Waters of the Deluge were but fifteen Cubits\nhigher than the common unmountainous Surface of the Earth._ _This_,\nwhich seems so odd and extravagant, he says, _p._ 301. is the\n_Foundation_ of the Hypothesis. And, which is still more surprizing, he\nsays this Depth, or rather Shallowness of the Waters of the Deluge, is\ntold us by Scripture, _as plainly as it can speak_, p. 302. l. 23. This\nmust needs raise our Curiosity, to see that Place of Scripture, which\nhas been overlook\u2019d by all the Learned hitherto. Well, \u2019tis _Gen._ vii.\n20. in these words, _Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail._\nThis, methinks, is somewhat general; for the Basis of these _fifteen\nCubits_ not express\u2019d in these Words. But why does our Author stop in\nthe middle of a Verse? Why does he not transcribe the whole Verse; for\nthe last Part of it is as good Scripture as the first? And that says\nplainly, that the _Mountains were cover\u2019d with the Waters_. The whole\nVerse runs thus: _Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail; AND THE\nMOUNTAINS WERE COVERED._ Now, if the Basis of these fifteen Cubits was\nthe common Surface, or plain Level of the Earth, as this new Hypothesis\nwill have it; how could fifteen Cubits, from that Basis, reach to the\nTops of the Mountains? Are the highest Mountains but fifteen Cubits\nhigher than the common Surface of the Earth? 1 _Sam._ xvii. 4. _Goliah_\nwas six Cubits and a Span high; so _Pic Tenariff_ would not be thrice as\nhigh as _Goliah_: Yet _David_ flung a Stone up to his Forehead. Take\nwhat Cubit you please, sacred or common, it does not amount to two Foot.\nSo the Height of the greatest Mountains, from Bottom to Top, must not be\nthirty Foot, or ten Paces, according to this new Hypothesis. Who ever\nmeasured Mountains at this Rate? The modern Mathematicians allow for\ntheir Height a Mile perpendicular, upon a moderate Computation; and that\nmakes three thousand Foot: How then could Waters that were not thirty\nFoot high, cover Mountains that were three thousand Foot high? That the\nhighest Mountains of the Earth were cover\u2019d with the Waters, you may see\nexpress\u2019d more fully in the precedent Verse, _Gen._ vii. 19. _And the\nWaters prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth. And all the high Hills that\nwere under the whole Heavens were cover\u2019d._ There can scarce be Words\nmore plain and comprehensive. The Exceptor says, the Scripture tells us,\nas _plainly as it can speak_, that the Waters were but fifteen Cubits\nhigh from the common Surface of the Earth: And I say, the Scripture\ntells us as _plainly as it can speak_, That _all the high Hills under\nthe whole Heaven were covered with Water_. And it must be a strange sort\nof Geometry, that makes fifteen Cubits of Water reach to the Top of the\nhighest Hills. Lastly, the same History of _Moses_ says, the Tops of the\nMountains were discover\u2019d, when the Waters begun to decrease, _Gen._\nviii. 5. Is not that a plain Demonstration that they were cover\u2019d\nbefore, and cover\u2019d with those Waters?\n\nWe may therefore safely conclude two Things: First, that this new\nHypothesis, besides all other Faults, is contrary to the general\nExposition of the Text of _Moses_[19]. Secondly, that it is contrary to\nthe general receiv\u2019d Doctrine of the Deluge. And if he has deliver\u2019d a\nDoctrine, contrary to the two, methinks it should be hard for him to\nmaintain his Ground, and not pronounce, at the same Time, what he dreads\nso much to speak, _That the Church of God has ever gone on in an\nirrational Way of explaining the Deluge_. But let\u2019s reflect a little\nupon this fifteen-cubit Deluge; to see what Figure it would make, or\nwhat Execution it would do upon Mankind, and upon other Creatures. If\nyou will not believe _Moses_ as to the overflowing of the Mountains, at\nleast I hope you will believe him, as to the universal Destruction made\nby the Deluge. Hear his Words, _Gen._ vii. 21, 22, 23. we\u2019ll take only\nthe last Verse, which is this, _And every living Substance was\ndestroyed, which was upon the Face of the Ground, both Man and Cattle,\nand creeping Things, and the Fowl of the Heavens; and they were\ndestroyed from the Earth; and_ Noah _only remained alive, and they that\nwere with him in the Ark_. Now I would gladly know, how this could be\nverified in a fifteen-cubit Deluge? The Birds would naturally fly to the\nTops of Trees, when the Ground was wet; and the Beasts would retire, by\nDegrees, to the Mountains and higher Parts of the Earth, as the lower\nbegun to be overflow\u2019d: And if no Waters could reach them there, how\nwere they all destroy\u2019d, while they had so many Sanctuaries and Places\nof Refuge?\n\nOr if you suppose some of these Creatures had not Wit enough to save\nthemselves, (though their Wit and Instincts lie chiefly in that) at\nleast Mankind would not be so stupid; when Men see the Waters begin to\nrise, they could not fail to retire into Mountains: And tho\u2019 the upper\nStories of their Houses might be sufficient to save them from fifteen\nCubits of Water; yet if Fear made them think themselves not secure\nthere, whither could it drive them, but still into higher Places? And an\nHouse seated upon an Eminency, or a Castle upon a Rock, would be always\na safe Retreat from this diminutive Deluge. I speak all this upon the\nSuppositions of the Exceptor, _p._ 215, 216, 292, _&c._ who allows, not\nonly Mountains and Rocks, but also Castles and Cities before the Deluge,\nbuilt of good Timber, and Stone, and Iron, and such substantial\nMaterials. But how, in such a Case, and in such a State of Things, all\nMankind (except _Noah_ and his Family) should be destroy\u2019d by fifteen\nCubits of Water, is a Lump of Incredibilities, too hard and big for me\nto swallow.\n\nBut there is still another Difficulty, that we have not mention\u2019d: As\nthose that were upon the Land might easily save themselves from Ruin, so\nthose that were upon the Sea in Ships, would never come in Danger. For\nwhat would it signify to them, if the Sea was made a few Fathoms deeper,\nby these new Waters? It would bear their Vessels as well as it did\nbefore, and would be no more to them than a Spring-Tide. And lastly, how\nshall we justify the Divine Wisdom, which gave such punctual Orders, for\nthe Building of an Ark, to save _Noah_, and a Set of Creatures for a new\nWorld, when there were so many more easy and obvious Ways to preserve\nthem without that Trouble?\n\nThese Objections, in my Opinion, are so plain and full, that it is not\nneedful to add any more: Nor to answer such Evasions as the new Theorist\nattempts to make to some of them. As, for Instance, to that plain\nObjection from _Moses_\u2019s Words, _p._ 330. that _the Mountains were\ncovered with the Waters_; he says, first, that it is a _Synecdoche_,\nwhere the Whole is put for a Part: Or, secondly, \u2019tis an _Hyperbole_,\nwhere more is said than understood: Or, thirdly, \u2019tis a _poetical\nHistory:_ Or, lastly, if none of these will do, by the _Tops_ of the\nMountains is to be understood the _Bottoms_ of the Mountains, _p._ 331,\n333. and that cures all. The Truth is, he has taken a great deal of\nPains in the next Chapter, to cure an incurable Hypothesis. We will give\nyou but one Instance more: \u2019Tis about the _Appearance of the Tops of the\nMountains at the Decrease of the Deluge_; which argue strongly that they\nwere cover\u2019d in the Deluge. But take it in his own Words, with the\nAnswer, _p._ 337. _It is recorded_, Gen. viii. 5. _that the Waters\ndecreased continually until the tenth Month, and on the first Day of the\nMonth WERE THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS SEEN. Now if the Mountains had not\nbeen quite under Water, and so invisible for the Time they were\noverwhelmed, how could they be said to become visible again, or to be\nseen upon the Floods going off?_ This is a plain and bold Objection: And\nafter two Answers to it, which he seems to distrust, his third and last\nis this, _p._ 339. _If these two Considerations will not satisfy, we\nmust carry on the Enquiry a little farther, and seek for a third. And\ntruly some one or other must needs be found out.\u2014Thirdly, therefore we\nconsider, that the Tops of the Mountains may be said to be seen at the\nTime mentioned, upon account of their EMERGENCY OUT OF DARKNESS, NOT OUT\nOF WATERS._ This is his final Answer. The Tops of the Mountains, at the\nDecrease of the Deluge, were seen; not that they were covered before\nwith Water, says he, but with Darkness. Where finds he this Account:\n\u2019Tis neither in the Text, nor in Reason. If it was always so dark, and\nthe Tops of the Mountains and Rocks naked and prominent every where, how\ncould the Ark avoid them in that Darkness? Moreover, if the Deluge was\nmade in that gentle way that he supposes, I see no Reason to imagine\nthat there would be Darkness, after the forty Days Rain. For these Rains\nbeing fallen, and all the Vapours and Clouds of the Air discharg\u2019d,\nmethinks there should have ensued an extraordinary Clearness of the Air,\nas we often see after rainy Seasons. Well, \u2019tis true: But the Rains he\nsupposes were no sooner fallen, but the Sun retracted them again in\nVapours, with that Force and Swiftness, that it kept the Air in\nperpetual Darkness. Thus he says afterwards, _p._ 341. He\u2019s mightily\nbeholden to the Sun, upon many Accounts; and the Sun is no less beholden\nto him; for he gave him a miraculous Power to raise Mountains, and draw\nup Waters. \u2019Tis well the Sun did not presently fall to his old Work\nagain, of raising Mountains out of this moist Earth, as the Exceptor\nsays he did, when the Earth was first drain\u2019d. _See Chap._ 10. That he\ncontented himself to suck up the Waters only, and let the Earth alone:\nWe are not a little beholden to him for this. For he seems to have had\nthe same Power and Opportunity, at the Decrease of the Deluge, of making\nnew Ravages upon the Earth, that he had before when it was first\ndrain\u2019d. But let\u2019s see _how_, or _when_, these Waters were suck\u2019d up, or\nresolv\u2019d into Vapours.\n\nUpon the Expiration of the forty Days Rain, whether was the Air purg\u2019d\nof Vapours and clear, or no? Yes, it was purg\u2019d, he says, (p. 343.) _The\nAtmosphere was never so exhausted of Vapours, and never so thin, as when\nthe Waters were newly come down._ Then, in that clear Air the Tops of\nthe Mountains might have been seen, if they lay above Water. But _Moses_\nsays, _Gen._ viii. 5. it was in the _tenth Month_ that they begun to be\nseen, when the Waters were decreas\u2019d; \u2019twas therefore the Waters, not\nthe gross Air, that hinder\u2019d the Sight of them before. And according to\nthis Method of the Exceptor, after the first forty Days, the Deluge\nbegun to decrease. For the Sun forthwith set his Engines a-work, and\nresolv\u2019d the Waters into Vapours and Exhalations at such a Rate, _p._\n341. that he presently made the Atmosphere dark with thick Mists and\nClouds; and, in Proportion, lessen\u2019d the Waters of the Deluge. But we do\nnot read in _Moses_, of any Abatement in the Deluge, till the End of one\nhundred and fifty Days; (_Gen._ viii. 3.) which is four Months after\nthis Term. The Truth is, the whole Notion of _spending the Waters of the\nDeluge by Evaporation_, is no better than what the Exceptor suspected it\nwould be thought, p. 343. _A mere Fancy, a whimsical groundless\nFigment._ For what could the Sun do, in the Northern and Southern Parts\nof the World, towards the exhaling of these Waters? And in the temperate\nClimates, why should they not fall again in Rains, (if he had a Power to\nexhale them) as they do now? Was not the Earth in the same Position, and\nthe Sun of the same force? Besides, where does he find this Notion in\nScripture, that the Waters of the Deluge were consum\u2019d by Evaporation?\n_Moses_ says, the _Waters returned from off the Earth, in going and\nreturning_, Gen. viii. 3, 5. That is, after frequent Reciprocations,\nthey settled at length in their Channels; where _Bounds were set them,\nthat they might not pass over; that they return not again to cover the\nEarth_. Seeing therefore this Notion hath no Foundation, either in\nScripture or Reason, \u2019tis rightly enough stil\u2019d, in the Exceptor\u2019s\nWords, a _mere Fancy_, and _groundless Figment_.\n\nBut I think we have had enough of these Shifts and Evasions. Let us now\nproceed to the second Part of his new Hypothesis, which is this, _p._\n303. That the _Abyss_, or _Tehom-Rabbah_, which was broken open at the\nDeluge, and (together with the Rains) made the Flood, was nothing but\nthe Holes and Caverns of Rocks and Mountains; which open\u2019d their Mouths\nat that Time, and pour\u2019d out a great Quantity of Water. To support this\nnew Notion of _Tehom-Rabbah_, he alledgeth but one single Text of\nScripture, _Psal._ lxxviii. 15. _He clave the Rocks in the Wilderness,\nand gave them Drink, as out of the great Depths_; that is, copiously and\nabundantly, as if it were out of the great Deep. So the next Verse\nimplies, and so it is generally understood: As you may see both by\nInterpreters, and also by the _Septuagint_ and _Vulgate_ Translations,\nand those of the _Chaldee Paraphrase_, and the _Syriack_. But the\nExceptor, by all Means, will have these Holes in the Rocks to be the\nsame with the _Mosaical Abyss_, or great Deep, that was broken open at\nthe Deluge: So the _great Deep_ was not one Thing, or one continued\nCavity, as _Moses_ represents it, but ten thousand Holes, separate and\ndistant one from another. Neither must the great Deep, according to him,\nsignify a _low Place_, but an _high Place_: For he confesses these\nCaverns were higher than the common Level of the Earth[20]. But I do not\nsee how, with any tolerable Propriety, or good Sense, that which is\nhigher than the Surface of the Earth can be called the _great Deep_. An\nAbyss in the Earth, or in the Water, is certainly _downwards_, in\nrespect of their common Surface, as much as a Pit is _downwards_; and\nwhat is downwards from us, we cannot suppose to be above us, without\nconfounding all Dimensions, and all Names of Things; calling that low\nwhich is high, a Mountain a Valley, or a Garret a Cellar.\n\nNeither is there any Thing in this Text, _Psal._ lxxviii. 15. that can\njustly induce us to believe the _great Abyss_ to be the same Thing with\nCaverns in Rocks. For whether you suppose it to be noted here as a\nmiraculous Thing, that God should give them Water _out of a Rock, or out\nof a Flint_[21], as plentifully as if it had been out of the great\nAbyss; or whether you understand the Original of Fountains to be noted\nhere, which are said in Scripture to come from the Sea, or the great\nAbyss; neither of these Senses make any Thing to the Purpose of the new\nHypothesis, and yet they are the fairest and easiest Sense that can be\nput upon the Words; and that which agrees best with other Places of\nScripture, where the same Matter of Fact, or the same History is\nrelated: And therefore there can be no Necessity, from this Text, of\nchanging the general Notion and Signification of _Deep_, or _Abyss_;\nboth from that which it hath in common Use, and that which it hath in\nScripture Use.\n\nI say, as in the common Use of Words, _Deep_, or _Abyss_, signifies some\nlow or inferior Place; so the general Use of it in Scripture is, in the\nsame Sense, either to signify the Sea, or some subterraneous Place. _Who\nshall descend into the_ (Abyss, or) _Deep_? says the Apostle, _Rom._ x.\n7. Is that as much as if he had said, Who shall _ascend_ into the Holes\nof the Rocks? And when _Jacob_ speaks of the Blessings of the Abyss, or\nof the Deep, he calls them the Blessings of the _Deep that lyeth under_,\n_Gen._ xix. 25. In like Manner, _Moses_ himself calls it the _Deep that\ncouched beneath_, _Deut._ xxxiii. 13. And I know no Reason why we should\nnot understand the same _Deep_ there, that he mentioned before in the\nHistory of the Deluge; which therefore was subterraneous, as this is.\nThen, as for the other Use of the Word, namely, for the Sea, or any Part\nof the Sea, (whose Bottom is always lower than the Level of the Earth,)\nthat is the most common Use of it in Scripture. And I need not give you\nInstances which are every where obvious.\n\nOne must needs think it strange, therefore, that any Man of Judgement\nshould break thorough both the common Use of a Word, and so many plain\nTexts of Scripture, that show the Signification of it, for the sake of\none Text, which, at most, is but dubious; and then lay such Stress upon\nthat new Signification, as to found a new Doctrine upon it: And a\nDoctrine that is neither supported by Reason, nor agrees with the\nHistory of the Deluge. For, as we noted before, at the Decrease of the\nDeluge, the Waters are said to _return from off the Earth, Gen. viii.\n3_. Did they not return to the Places from whence they came? But if\nthose Places were the Caverns in the Rocks, whose Mouths lay higher than\nthe Surface of the Deluge, as he says they did, _p. 303, 305_. I see no\nPossibility of the Waters returning into them. But the Exceptor hath\nfound out a marvellous Invention to invade this Argument. He will have\nthe _returning_ of the Waters to be understood of their returning into\ntheir Principles, (that is, into Vapours,) not to their Places: In good\nTime: So the Dove\u2019s _returning_ was her returning into her Principles;\nthat is, into an Egg, not into the Ark. Subtleties ill-founded, argue\ntwo Things, Wit and Want of Judgment. _Moses_ speaks as plainly of the\nlocal Return of the Waters, _in going and returning_; as of the local\ngoing and returning of the Raven and Dove. See _Gen. viii. 3, and 5_.\ncompar\u2019d with Verse seventh and ninth.\n\nLastly, That we end this Discourse; the whole Notion of these Water-Pots\nin the Tops of Mountains, and of the broaching of them at the Deluge, is\na groundless Imagination. What Reason have we to believe, that there\nwere such Vessels then, more than now, if there was no Fraction of the\nEarth at the Deluge, to destroy them? And he ought to have gag\u2019d these\nCasks, (according to his own Rule, _Ch. 3._) and told us the Number and\nCapacity of them, that we might have made some Judgment of the Effect.\nBesides, if the opening the Abyss at the Deluge had been the opening of\nRocks, why did not _Moses_ express it so; and tell us, that the _Rocks\nwere cloven, and the Waters gushed out_, and so made the Deluge? This\nwould have been as intelligible, if it had been true, as to tell us that\nthe _Tehom-Rabbah_ was broken open. But there is not one Word of\n_Rocks_, or the _cleaving of Rocks_, in the History of the Flood. Upon\nall Accounts, therefore, we must conclude, that this Virtuoso might have\nas well suspected, that his whole Theory of the Deluge, as one Part of\nit, _p. 343._ would be accounted _a mere Fancy_, and _groundless\nFigment_.\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n  The Exceptor rejects, first the _Waters of the Sea_: Then the _Waters\n  in the Bowels of the Earth_: Then the _supercelestial Waters_: Then a\n  _new Creation of Waters_: Then the _Mass of Air_ chang\u2019d into Water:\n  And lastly, a _partial Deluge_. And therefore he puts Men fatally,\n  either upon the Theory, or upon his new Hypothesis.\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n  This he acknowledges, _p._ 325. (_We expound a Text or two of\n  Scripture so as none ever did; and deferring the common received\n  Sense, put an unusual Gloss upon them_, not to say, \u1f30\u03b4\u03af\u03b1\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u03af\u03bb\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, _a\n  private Interpretation_,) and p. 359.\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n  P. 303. _But though these Caverns be called Deeps, we must not take\n  them for profound Places, that went down into the Earth, below the\n  common Surface of it: On the contrary, they were situate above it._\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n  Psal. cxiv. 7, 8. _Tremble, then Earth, at the Presence of the Lord,\n  at the Presence of the God of_ Jacob: _Which turned the Rock into a\n  standing Water, the Flint into a Fountain of Waters_.\n\n  Numb. xx. 10, 11. _And_ Moses _and_ Aaron _gathered the Congregation\n  together before the Rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, you Rebels;\n  must we fetch you Water out of this Rock? And_ Moses _lift up his\n  Hand, and with his Rod he smite the Rock twice, and the Water came out\n  abundantly_.\n\n\n                               CHAP. XVI.\n\n\nThis Chapter is made up of eight Objections, against his own Hypothesis.\nAnd those that have a mind to see them, may read them in the Author. I\nhave taken as much Notice of them as I thought necessary, in the\nprecedent Chapter; and therefore leave the Exceptor now to deal with\nthem all together. I omitted one Objection (_p._ 311.) concerning the\nshutting up of the Abyss, and the Fountains of the Abyss, because it was\nanswer`d before in the _English_ Theory, _p._ 143. namely, there were\nFountains in the Abyss, as much as Windows in Heaven; and those were\nshut up, as well as these; that is, ceas\u2019d to act, and were put into a\nCondition to continue the Deluge no longer.\n\n\n                              CHAP. XVII.\n\n\nThere is nothing in this Chapter against the Truth of the Theory; but\nthe Author is blam\u2019d for believing it to be true: I think it had been\nmore blame-worthy, if he had troubled the World with a Theory which he\ndid not believe to be true, and taken so much Pains to compose what he\nthought himself no better than a Romance. As to what the Theorist has\nsaid in Reference to his Assurance or Belief of the Theory, which the\nExceptor calls _Positiveness_, upon Examination, I cannot find any Thing\namiss in his Conduct, as to that Particular. For, first, he imposes his\nSentiments upon no Man; he leaves every one their full Liberty of\ndissenting. _Preface to the Reader_ at the End. _Lastly, in Things\npurely speculative, as these are, and no Ingredients of our Faith, it is\nfree to differ from one another in our Opinions and Sentiments; and so I\nremember St._ Austin _hath observed upon this very Subject of Paradise.\nWherefore, as we desire to give no Offence our selves, so neither shall\nwe take any at the Difference of Judgment in others; provided this\nLiberty be mutual, and that we all agree to study PEACE, TRUTH, and a\nGOOD LIFE._ And as the Theorist imposes his Sentiments upon no Man; so,\nas to Matter of Certainty, he distinguisheth always betwixt the\n_Substance_ of the Theory, and _Particularities_. So, at the latter End\nof the _first Book_, this Profession is made, _Eng. Theor._ _p._ 207. _I\nmean this only_, speaking about Certainty, _as to the general Parts of\nthe Theory. For as to Particularities, I look upon them only as\nproblematical; and accordingly I affirm nothing therein, but with a\nPower of Revocation, and a Liberty to change my Opinion when I shall be\nbetter inform\u2019d._ And accordingly he says in another Place, _Eng.\nTheor._ _p._ 12. _I know how subject we are to Mistakes, in these great\nand remote Things, when we descend to Particularities. But I am willing\nto expose the Theory to a full Trial, and to shew the Way for any to\nexamine it, provided they do it with Equity and Sincerity. I have no\nother Design than to contribute my Endeavours to find out Truth_, &c.\nLastly, to cite no more Places, he says, _Eng. Theor._ _p._ 402. _There\nare many particular Explications that are to be consider\u2019d with more\nLiberty and Latitude; and may, perhaps, upon better Thoughts, and better\nObservations, be corrected_, &c. The Theorist having thus stated and\nbounded his Belief or Assurance, and given Liberty of dissenting to all\nothers, according to their particular Judgments or Inclinations, I see\nnothing unfair or undecent in this Conduct. How could the Observator\nhave made it more unexceptionable? Would he have had the Theorist to\nhave profess\u2019d Scepticism, and declar\u2019d that he believ\u2019d his own\nTheorist no more than a Romance or fantastical Idea? that had been both\nto bely his own Conscience, and to mock the World. I remember I have\nheard a good Author once with, that there were an _Act of Parliament_,\nthat whoever printed a Book, should, when he took a License, swear, that\nhe thought the _Contents of his Book to be true_, as to Substance: And I\nthink such a Method would keep off a great many Impertinencies. We ought\nnot to trouble the World with our roving Thoughts, merely out of an Itch\nof Scripturiency, when we do not believe our selves what we write. I\nmust always profess my Assent to the Substance of that Theory; and am\nthe more confirm\u2019d in it by the Weakness and Inefficacy of these\nExceptions.\n\nWe need not take Notice of the particular Citations he makes use of, to\nprove this _Positiveness_ of the Theorist; for they only affirm what we\nstill own: That the Theory is more than an _Idea_, or that it is not an\n_imaginary Idea_, or that it is a _Reality_: And, together with its\nProofs from Scripture, especially from St. _Peter_, hath more than the\nCertainty of a _bare Hypothesis_, or a _moral Certainty_. These are the\nExpressions he cites, and we own all, that, in fair Construction, they\namount to; and find no Reason, either from the Nature of the Thing, or\nfrom his Objections, to change our Opinion, or make any Apology for too\nmuch Positiveness.\n\nI wish the Exceptor had not more to answer for, as to his _Partiality_,\nthan the Theorist hath, for his _Positiveness_. And now, that we draw to\na Conclusion, it will not be amiss to observe, how well the Exceptor\nhath answered that Character, which he gave himself at the Beginning of\nhis Work. These are his Words, _p._ 43. _This I will endeavour to do_,\nnamely, To examine the Theory, _with all Sincerity; and that only as a\nFriend and Servant to Truth: And therefore, with such Candor, Meekness,\nand Modesty, as becomes one who assumes and glories in so fair a\nCharacter: And also with such Respect to the Virtuoso who wrote the\nTheory, as may testify to the World, that I esteem his Learning, while I\nquestion his Opinion._ \u2019Tis of little Consequence what Opinion he has of\nthe _Virtuoso_, as he calls him: But let us see with what _Sincerity_\nand _Meekness_, he has examin\u2019d his Work. As to his Sincerity, we have\ngiven you some Proofs of it before, (_p._ 26.) both in his defective and\npartial Citations; and also, in his never taking Notice of the last\nEdition of the Theory; where several Citations he has made use of, are\nnot extant. Now, by his own Rule, he ought to have had regard to this;\nfor he says, (_p._ 356.) he will there take Notice only of the _English_\nEdition, _as coming out after the other; and so with more Deliberation\nand mature Thoughts of Things_. By the same Reason, say I, he ought to\nhave taken Notice of the last Edition of the Theory, as being the last\nProduct, and the most _deliberate and mature Thoughts_ of the Author.\nBut this, it seems, was not for his Purpose.\n\nSo much for his Sincerity: Now for his _Meekness_. So impatient he is to\nfall upon his Adversary, that he begins his Charge in the Preface, and a\nvery fierce one it is, (_p._ 3.) _The Theorist hath assaulted Religion,\nand that in the very Foundation of it._ Here I expected to have found\ntwo or three Articles of the Creed assaulted or knock\u2019d down by the\nTheory. But that is not the Case, it seems, he understands something\nmore general, namely, our contradicting Scripture: For so he explains\nhimself in the next Page. _In several Things (as will appear by our\nDiscourse) it contradicts Scripture; and by too positive asserting the\nTruth of its Theorems, makes that to be false, upon which our Religion\nis founded._ Let us remember, that this contracting Scripture here\npretended, is only in natural Things; and also observe, how far the\nExceptor himself, in such Things, hath contradicted Scripture. As for\nother Reproofs which he gives us, those that are more gentle, I easily\npass over; but somewhere he makes our Assertions, _p._ 78. _too bold an\nAffront to Scripture_. And in another Place represents them, as (either\ndirectly, or consequentially) _p._ 286. _Blasphemy against the Holy\nGhost_, which is the unpardonable Sin, _Matt._ xii. 31.\n\nThere is no Pleasure in repeating such Expressions, and dreadful\nSentences. Let us rather observe, if the Exceptor hath not made himself\nobnoxious to them. But first, we must state the Case truly, that so the\nBlame may not fall upon the Innocent. The Case therefore is this,\n_Whether_, to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture, in Things that\nrelate to the natural World, be _destroying the Foundations of\nReligion_, _affronting Scripture_, and _blaspheming the Holy Ghost_? In\nthe Case propos\u2019d, _We_ take the _Negative_, and stand upon that Plea.\nBut the Exceptor hath taken the _Affirmative_; and therefore, all those\nheavy Charges must fall upon himself, if he go contrary to the literal\nSense of Scripture, in his philosophical Opinions or Assertions. And\nthat he hath done so, we will give you some Instances, out of this\nTreatise of his; _p._ 314. He says, _It it most absurd to think, that\nthe Earth is the Center of the World._ Then the Sun stands still, and\nthe Earth moves, according to his Doctrine. But this is expressly\ncontrary to Scripture, in many Places. The _Sun rejoices, as a strong\nMan, to run his Race_, says _David_ Ps. xix. 5, 6. _His going forth is\nfrom the End of the Heaven, and his Circuit unto the Ends of it_,\n_Josh._ x. 12, 13. 2 _Kings_ xx. 10, 11. _Isa._ xxxviii. 8. No such\nThing, says the Exceptor; the Sun hath no Race to run; he is fix\u2019d in\nhis Seat, without any progressive Motion. He hath no Course from one End\nof the Heavens to the other. In like manner, _Sun, stand thou still\nupon_ Gibeon, says the sacred Author, _and the Sun stood still_. No,\nsays the Exceptor, \u2019twas the Earth stood still, upon that Miracle; for\nthe Sun always stood still. And \u2019tis _absurd_, yea, _most absurd_, to\nthink otherwise, _p._ 157. And he blames _Tycho Brahe_ for following\nScripture in this Particular. Now, is not this, in the Language of the\nExceptor, to _destroy the Foundations of Religion_, to _affront\nScripture_, and _blaspheme against the Holy Ghost_? But this is not all:\nThe Exceptor says, (_Chap._ 10.) the Sun rais\u2019d up the Mountains on the\nthird Day; and the Sun was not in being till the fourth Day, according\nto Scripture, _Gen._ i. 14. The Moon also, which, according to\nScripture, was not created till the fourth Day, he says, would hinder\nthe Formation of the Earth, which was done the third Day. Lastly, in\nthis new Hypothesis, _p._74. he makes the Waters of the Deluge to be but\nfifteen Cubits higher than the Plain, or common Surface of the Earth;\nwhich Scripture affirms expressly to have cover\u2019d the Tops of the\nhighest Hills, or Mountains, under Heaven, _Gen._ vii. 19, 20. These two\nThings are manifestly inconsistent. The Scripture says, _Gen._ viii. 5.\nthey cover\u2019d the Tops of the highest Mountains: And the Exceptor says\nthey reached but fifteen Cubits about, or upon the Skirts of them. This,\nI think, is truly to contradict Scripture; or, according to his Talent\nof loading Things with great Words, _p._ 216. _This is not only flatly,\nbut loudly contradictory to the most express Word of the infallible\nGod._\n\nThese Observations, I know, are of small Use, unless, perhaps, to the\nExceptor himself. But, if you please, upon this Occasion, let us reflect\na little upon the literal Style of Scripture; and the different\nAuthority of that Style, according to the Matter that it treats of. The\nSubject Matter of Scripture is either such as lies without the\nCognizance and Comprehension of human Reason, or such as lies within it:\nIf it be the former of these, \u2019tis what we call properly and purely\n_Revelation_; and there we must adhere to the literal Style, because we\nhave nothing to guide us but that. Such is the Doctrine of the Trinity,\nand the Incarnation; wherein we have nothing to authorize our Deviation\nfrom the Letter and Words of Scripture: And therefore the\nSchool-Divines, who have spun those Doctrines into a Multitude of\nNiceties and Subtleties, had no Warrant for what they did, and their\nConclusions are of no Authority.\n\nThe second Matter or Subject of Scripture is such as falls under the\nView and Comprehension of Reason, more or less; and, in the same\nProportion, gives us a Liberty to examine the literal Sense; how far it\nis consistent with Reason. and the Faculties of our Mind. Of this Nature\nthere are several Things in the holy Writings, both moral, theological,\nand natural, wherein we recede from the Letter, when it is manifestly\ncontrary to the Dictates of Reason. I will give some Instances in every\nkind: First, as to moral Things. Our Saviour says, _Mat._ v. 29, 30. _If\nthy right Eye offend thee, pluck it out: If thy Right Hand offend thee,\ncut it off._ There is no Man that thinks himself obliged to the literal\nPractice of this Doctrine; and yet it is plainly delivered, you see, in\nthese Terms in the Gospel. Nay, which is more, our Saviour backs and\nenforces the Letter of this Doctrine with a _Reason_: _For it is\nprofitable for thee that one of thy Members should perish, and not that\nthy whole Body should be cast into Hell_: As if he had intended, that\nhis Precept should have been really executed according to the Letter. In\nlike manner our Saviour says, _If any Man wilt sue thee at Law, and take\naway thy Coat, let him have thy Cloak also._ And yet there is no\nChristian so good-natur\u2019d as to practice this, nor any Casuist so rigid\nas to enjoy it, according to the Letter. Other Instances you may see in\nour Saviour\u2019s Sermon upon the Mount, where we do not scruple to lay\naside the Letter, when it is judg\u2019d contrary to the Light of Nature, or\nimpracticable in human Society.\n\nIn all other Things also, that lie within the Sphere of human Reason, we\nare allowed to examine their _Practicability_, or their _Credibility_.\nTo instance in something theological, the Words of _Consecration_ in the\nSacrament. Our Saviour, when he instituted the last Supper, us\u2019d these\nWords: _This is my Body_, taking the Bread into his Hand; which Words,\njoin\u2019d with that Action, are very formal and expressive; yet we do not\nscruple to forsake the literal Sense, and take the Words in another Way:\nBut upon what Warrant do we this? because the literal Sense contains an\nAbsurdity; because it contradicts the Light of Nature; because it is\ninconsistent with the Idea of a Body, and so destroys it self. In like\nManner, upon the Idea of the Divine Nature, we dispute absolute\nReprobation, and Eternity of Torments, against the Letter of Scripture.\nAnd, lastly, whether the Resurrection Body consists of the same\nindividual Parcels and Particles, whereof the mortal Body consisted,\nbefore it was putrefied or dispers\u2019d? And, _Phil._ iv. 3. _Apoc._ iii. 5\nand xx. 12. whether the _Books of Life_ are to be understood in a\nliteral Sense?\n\nThe last Head is of such Things as belong to the natural World. And to\nthis may be reduced innumerable Instances, where we leave the literal\nSense, if inconsistent with Science or Experience. And the Truth is, if\nwe should follow the vulgar Style and literal Sense of Scripture, we\nshould all be _Anthropomorphites_, as to the Nature of God: And as to\nthe Nature of his Works in the external Creation, we must renounce\nPhilosophy and natural Experience, if the Descriptions and Accounts\ngiven in Scripture, concerning the _Heavens_, the _Earth_, the _Sea_,\nand other Parts of the World, be received as accurate and just\nRepresentations of the State and Properties of those Bodies. Neither is\nthere any Danger, lest this should affect or impeach the Divine\nVeracity; for Scripture never undertook, nor was ever designed to teach\nus Philosophy, or the Arts and Sciences: And whatsoever the Light of\nNature can reach and comprehend, is improperly the Subject of\nRevelation. But some Men, out of Love to their own Ease, and in Defence\nof their Ignorance, are not only for a Scripture Divinity, but also for\na Scripture Philosophy. \u2019Tis a cheap and compendious Way, and saves them\nthe Trouble of farther Study or Examination.\n\nUpon the whole, you see, it is no Fault to recede from the literal Sense\nof Scripture; but the Fault is, when we leave it without a just Cause:\nAs it is no Fault for a Man to separate from a Church, or for a Prince\nto make War against his Neighbour, but to do the one or the other,\nwithout a just Cause, is a real Fault. We all leave the literal Sense in\ncertain Cases, and therefore that alone is no sufficient Charge against\nany Man. But he that makes a Separation, if I may so call it, without\ngood Reasons, he is truly obnoxious to Censure. The great Result of all,\ntherefore, is this, to have some common Rule to direct us, when every\none ought to follow, and when to leave, the literal Sense. And that Rule\nwhich is generally agreed upon by good Interpreters, is this, _Not_ to\nleave the literal Sense, when the Subject-Matter will bear it, without\nAbsurdity or Incongruity. This Rule I have always proposed to my self,\nand always endeavoured to keep close to it. But some inconsiderate Minds\nmake every Departure from the Letter, let the Matter or Cause be what it\nwill, to be an Affront to Scripture: And there, where we have the\ngreatest Liberty, I mean in Things that relate to the natural World,\nthey have no more Indulgence or Moderation, than if it was an\nIntrenchment upon the Articles of Faith. In this Particular I cannot\nexcuse the present Animadverter; yet, I must needs say, he is a very\nSaint in Comparison of another Animadverter, who hath writ upon the same\nSubject; but neither like a Gentleman, nor like a Christian, nor like a\nScholar. And such Writings answer themselves.\n\n\n\n\n     A SHORT CONSIDERATION OF _Mr._ ERASMUS WARREN\u2019S DEFENCE OF HIS\n            EXCEPTIONS AGAINST THE _THEORY_ of the _EARTH_.\n\n\n_In a_ LETTER _to a Friend_.\n\n\n_SIR_,\n\n\nI have read over Mr. _Erasmus Warren\u2019s_ Defence of his Exceptions\nagainst _the Theory of the Earth_; which, it may be, few will do after\nme; as not having Curiosity or Patience enough to read such a long\nPamphlet, of private or little Use. Such Altercations as these, are to\nyou, I believe, as they are to me, a sort of Folly; but the Aggressor\nmust answer for that, who makes the Trouble unavoidable to the\nDefendant. And \u2019tis an unpleasant Exercise, a kind of Wild-goose-chase;\nwhere he that leads must be followed, through all his Extravagancies.\n\nThe Author of this Defence must pardon me, if I have less Apprehensions\nboth of his Judgment and Temper, than I had before: For, as he is too\nverbose and long-winded ever so make a close Reasoner; so it was\nunexpected to me to find his Style so captious and angry, as it is in\nthis last Paper. And the same Strain continuing to the End, I was sorry\nto see that his Blood had been kept upon the Fret, for so many Months\ntogether, as the Pamphlet was a making.\n\nHe might have made his Work much shorter, without any Loss to the Sense.\nIf he had left out his popular Enlargements, juvenile Excursions,\nStories and Strains of Country-Rhetorick, (whereof we shall give you\nsome Instances hereafter) his Book would have been reduc\u2019d to half the\nCompass: And if from that reduc\u2019d half, you takeaway again trifling\nAltercations and pedantick Repartees, the Remainder would fall into the\nCompass of a few Pages. For my part, I am always apt to suspect a Man\nthat makes me a long Answer; for the precise Point to be spoken to, in a\nmultitude of Words, is easily lost, and Words are often multiplied for\nthat very Purpose.\n\nHowever, if his Humour be verbose, it might have been, at least, more\neasy and inoffensive; there having been no Provocation given him in that\nkind. But let us guess, if you please, as well as we can, what it was in\nthe late Answer, that so much discomposed the Exceptor and altered his\nStyle: Either it must be the Words and Language of that Answer, or the\nSense of it, without Respect to the Language. As to the Words, \u2019tis\ntrue, he gives some instances of Expressions offensive to him; yet they\nare but three or four, and those, methinks, not very high, _p._ 31. tho\u2019\nhe calls them the _Brats of Passion_; they are these, _indiscreet_,\n_rude_, _injudicious_ and _uncharitable_. These Characters, it seems,\nare applied to the Exceptor, in some part of the Answer, upon Occasion\noffer\u2019d; and whether those Occasions were just or no, I dare appeal to\nyour Judgment. As to the Word _rude_, which seems the most harsh, I had\nsaid indeed, that he was _rude_ to _Anaxagoras_; and so he was, not to\nallow him to be a competent Witness in matter of Fact, whom all\nAntiquity, sacred and prophane, hath represented to us as one of the\ngreatest Men amongst the Antients. I had also said in another Place,\nthat _a rude_, and _injudicious Defence of Scripture_, by _Railing and\nill Language_, is the _true way to lessen and disparage it_. This I\nstill justify as true; and if he apply it to himself, much good may it\ndo him. I do not remember that it is any where said, that he was _rude_\nto the Theorist; if it be, \u2019tis possibly upon his charging him with\n_Blasphemy, horrid Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost_, for saying, _the\nEarth was dissolv\u2019d at the Deluge_. And I appeal to any Man, whether\nthis is not an _uncharitable_, and a _rude_ Charge. If a Man had cursed\nGod, or call\u2019d our Saviour an Impostor, what could he have been charg\u2019d\nwith more, than _Blasphemy, horrid Blasphemy_? And if the same things be\ncharg\u2019d upon a Man, for saying, the Earth was dissolv\u2019d at the Deluge,\neither all Crimes and Errors must be equal, or the Charge must be rude.\nBut however it must be rude in the Opinion of the Theorist, who thinks\nthis neither Crime nor Error.\n\nWhat says the _Defence_ of the Exceptions to this; _p._ 153. it makes\nuse of Distinctions for Mitigation of the Censure; and says, it will\n_indirectly_, _consequentially_, or _reductively be of blasphemous\nImportance_. Here Blasphemy is changed into _blasphemous Importance_,\nand _horrid Blasphemy_ into _consequential_, _&c._ But taking all these\nMitigations, it seems however, according to his Theology, all Errors in\nReligion are _Blasphemy_ or of _blasphemous Importance_. For all Errors\nin Religion must be against Scripture one way or other; at least\nconsequentially, indirectly, or reductively; and all that are so,\naccording to the Doctrine of this Author, must be _Blasphemy_, or of\n_blasphemous Importance_. This is crude Divinity, and the Answerer had\nReason to subjoin what he cited before, that a rude and injudicious\nDefence of Scripture, is the true way to lessen and disparage it.\n\nThus much for _rude_ and _uncharitable_; as for the other two Words,\n_indiscreet_ and _injudicious_, I cannot easily be induc\u2019d to make any\nApology for them. On the contrary, I\u2019m afraid I shall have Occasion to\nrepeat these Characters again, especially the latter of them, in the\nPerusal of this Pamphlet. However, they do not look like _Brats of\nPassion_, as he calls them; but rather as cool and quiet Judgments, made\nupon Reasons and Premisses. I had forgot one Expression more: The\nAnswer, it seems, somewhere calls the Exceptor a _Dabler_ in\n_Philosophy_, which he takes ill: But that he is a Dabler, both in\nPhilosophy and Astronomy, I believe will evidently appear upon this\nsecond Examination of the same Passages upon which that Character was\ngrounded. We will therefore leave that to the Trial, when we come to\nthose Passages again, in the following Discourse.\n\nThese, _Sir_, as far as I remember, are the Words and Expressions which\nhe hath taken Notice of, as offensive to him, and Effects of Passion.\nBut, methinks, these cannot be of Force sufficient to put him so much\nout of Humour, and change his Style so much, as we find it to be in this\nlast Pamphlet: And therefore I am inclinable to believe, that \u2019tis the\nSense, rather than the Words, or Language of the Answer, that hath had\nthis Effect upon him; and that some unhappy Passages, that have expos\u2019d\nhis Mistakes, were the true Causes of these Resentments. Such Passages I\nwill guess at, as well as I can, and note them to you as they occur to\nmy Memory.\n\nBut give me leave, first, upon this occasion of his new way of Writing,\nto distinguish and mind you of three sorts of arguing, which you may\ncall _reasoning_, _wrangling_, and _scolding_. In fair reasoning, Regard\nis had to Truth only, not to Victory, let it fall on whether side it\nwill. But in wrangling and scolding, \u2019tis Victory that is pursued and\naim\u2019d at in the first Place, with little Regard to Truth. And if the\nContention be managed in civil terms, \u2019tis but wrangling; if in uncivil,\n\u2019tis scolding. I will not so far anticipate your Judgment, as to rank\nthis Arguer in any of the three Orders: It you have Patience to read\nover his Pamphlet, you will best see how and where to set him in his\nproper Place.\n\nWe now proceed to those Passages in the Answer, which probably have most\nexasperated the Author of the Exceptions and the Defence, _Exc._ _p._\n77, _&c._ In his Exceptions he had said, the Moon being present, or in\nher present Place in the Firmament, at the time of the Chaos, she would\ncertainly trouble and discompose it, as she does now the Waters of the\nSea; and, by that Means, hinder the Formation of the Earth. To this we\nanswer\u2019d, that the _Moon that was made the fourth Day, could not hinder\nthe formation of the Earth, which was made the third Day_. This was a\nplain intelligible Answer, and at the same time discover\u2019d such a\nmanifest Blunder in the Objection, as could not but give an uneasy\nThought to him that made it.\n\nHowever we must not deny, but that he makes some Attempt to silence it\noff in his Reply; for he says, _Def._ _p._ 12. _The Earth formed the\nthird Day was_ Moses\u2019s _Earth, which the Exceptor contends for; but the\nEarth he disputes against is the Theorist\u2019s, which could not be formed\nthe third Day_. He should have added, and therefore _would be hinder\u2019d\nby the Moon_, otherwise this takes off nothing. And now the Question\ncomes to a clear State; for when the Exceptor says, the Moon would have\nhinder\u2019d the Formation of the Earth, either he speaks upon _Moses_\u2019s\nHypothesis, or upon the Theorist\u2019s Hypothesis. Not upon the Theorist\u2019s\nHypothesis, for the Theorist does not suppose the Moon present then;\n_Eccl._ _p._ 77, 78. _Def._ _p._ 73. _l._ 12, 13. And if he speaks upon\n_Moses_\u2019s Hypothesis, the Moon that was made the fourth Day, must have\nhinder\u2019d the Formation of the Earth the third Day. So that the Objection\nis a Blunder upon either Hypothesis.\n\nFurthermore, whereas he suggests that the Answerer makes use of\n_Moses_\u2019s Hypothesis to confute his Adversary, but does not follow it\nhimself: \u2019Tis so far true, that the Theorist never said that _Moses_\u2019s\nsix Days Creation was to be understood literally; but however it is\njustly urged against those that understand it literally, and they must\nnot contradict that Interpretation, which they own and defend.\n\nSo much for the Moon, and this first Passage, which I suppose was\ntroublesome to our Author. But he makes the same Blunder in another\nPlace, as to the _Sun_: Both the Luminaries, it seems, stood in his Way.\nIn the tenth Chapter of his Exceptions, he gives us a new Hypothesis\nabout the _Origin of Mountains_, which, in short, is this; that they\nwere drawn or suck\u2019d out of the Earth by the Influence and\nInstrumentality of the Sun: Whereas the Sun was not made, according to\n_Moses_, till the fourth Day, and the Earth was form\u2019d the third Day.\n\u2019Tis an unhappy Thing to split twice upon the same Rock, and upon a Rock\nso visible. He that can but reckon to four, can tell whether the third\nDay, or fourth Day came sooner.\n\nTo cure this Hypothesis about the _Origin of Mountains_, he takes great\npains in his _Defence_, _pag._ 97, 98, 99, 100, 101. and attempts to do\nit by help of a Distinction, dividing Mountains into _Maritime_ and\n_Inland_. Now \u2019tis true, says he, _These maritime Mountains, and such as\nwere made with the Hollow of the Sea, must rise when that was sunk or\ndeprest_; namely, the third Day. Yet inland ones, he says, might be\nraised some earlier, and some later, and by the Influence of the Sun.\nThis is a weak and vain Attempt to defend his Notion; for, betides that\nthis Distinction of _maritime_ and _inland Mountains_, as arising from\ndifferent Causes, and at different Times, is without any Ground, either\nin Scripture or Reason, if their different Origin was admitted, the\nSun\u2019s extracting these inland Mountains out of the Earth, would still be\nabsurd and incongruous upon other Accounts.\n\nScripture, I say, makes no such Distinction of Mountains, made at\ndifferent Times, and from different Causes. This is plain, seeing\n_Moses_ does not mention Mountains at all in his six Days Creation, nor\nany where else, till the Deluge: What Authority have we then to make\nthis Distinction; or to suppose that all the great Mountains of the\nEarth were not made together? Besides, what length of Time would you\nrequire, for the Production of these inland Mountains? Were they not all\nmade within the six Days Creation? Hear what _Moses_ says at the end of\nthe sixth Day. _Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished, and all\nthe Host of them_, Gen. c. xxi. _And on the seventh Day, God ended his\nWork which he had made._ Now if the Exceptor says, that the Mountains\nwere all made within these six Days, we will not stand with him for a\nDay or two; for that would make little Difference as to the Action of\nthe Sun. But if he will not confine their Production to _Moses_\u2019s six\nDays, how does he keep to the _Mosaical_ Hypothesis? Or how shall we\nknow where he will stop in his own Way? For if they were not made within\nthe six Days, for any thing he knows, they might not be made till the\nDeluge; seeing Scripture no where mentions Mountains before the Flood.\n\nAnd as Scripture makes no Distinction of _maritime and inland Mountain_,\nso neither hath this Distinction any Foundation in Nature or Reason: For\nthere is no apparent or discernable Difference betwixt maritime and\ninland Mountains, nor any Reason why they should be thought to proceed\nfrom different Causes, or to be rais\u2019d at different Times. The maritime\nMountains are as rocky, as ruderous, and as irregular and various in\ntheir Shape and Posture, as the inland Mountains. They have no\ndistinctive Characters, nor any different Properties, internal or\nexternal, in their Matter, Form, or Composition, that can give us any\nGround to believe, that they came from a different Original. So that\nthis Distinction is merely precarious, neither founded in Scripture nor\nReason, but made for the nonce to serve a Turn.\n\nBesides, what Bounds will you give to these maritime Mountains? Are they\ndistinguished from inland Mountains barely by their Distance from the\nSea, or by some other Character? If barely by Distance, tell us then how\nfar from the Sea do the maritime Mountains reach, and where do the\ninland begin, and how shall we know the _Terminalis Lapis_? Especially\nin a continued Chain of Mountains, that reach from the Sea many hundreds\nof Miles, inland; as the _Alps_ from the Ocean to _Pontus Euxinus_, and\n_Taurus_, as he says, _Def._ _p._ 143. fifteen hundred Miles in length,\nfrom the _Chinese_ Ocean to the Sea of _Pamphylia_. In such an\nuninterrupted Ridge of Mountains, where do the Land-Mountains end, and\nSea-Mountains begin? Or what Mark is there, whereby we may know that\nthey are not all of the same Race, or do not all spring from the same\nOriginal? Such obvious Enquiries as these, shew sufficiently, that the\nDistinction is merely arbitrary and ficticious.\n\nBut suppose this Distinction was admitted, and the maritime Mountains\nmade the third Day, but inland Mountains I know not when: The great\nDifficulty still remains, _How_ the Sun rear\u2019d up these inland\nMountain\u2019s afterward? Or if his Power be sufficient for such Effects,\nwhy have we not Mountains made still to this Day? Seeing our\nMountain-maker, the Sun, is still in the Firmament, and seems to be as\nbusy at Work as ever. The _Defender_ hath made some Answer to this\nQuestion, in these Words, _Def. p._ 99. _The Question is put, why have\nwe no Mountains made now? It might as well have been ask\u2019d_, says he,\n_Why does not the Fire make a Dough-bak\u2019d Loaf swell and puff up?_ And,\nhe says, _this Answer must be satisfactory to the Question propounded_.\nIt must be, that is, for want of a better; for otherwise this\nDough-comparison is unsatisfactory upon many Accounts. First, there was\nno Ferment in the Earth, as in this Dough-cake: at least it is not\nprov\u2019d, or made appear, that there was any. Nay, when this Hypothesis\nwas propos\u2019d, there was no Mention at all made of any Ferment or Leaven\nin the Earth; but the Effect was wholly imputed to _Venus_ and the\n_Sun_. But to supply their Defects, he now ventures to add the Word,\n_fermentive_, as he calls it. A _fermentive, flatulent Principle_, which\nheav\u2019d up the Earth, as Leaven does Dough. But, besides, that this is a\nmere groundless and gross _Postulatum_, to suppose any such Leaven in\nthe Earth; if there had been such a Principle, it would have swollen the\nwhole Mass uniformly, heav\u2019d up the exterior Region of the Earth every\nwhere, and so not made Mountains, but a swollen bloated Globe.\n\nThis, Sir, is a second Passage, which I thought might make the Defender\nuneasy. We proceed now to a third and fourth in his Geography and\nAstronomy. In the 14th Chapter of his Exceptions, _p._ 289. speaking of\nthe Change of the Situation of the Earth, from a right Posture to an\noblique, he says, _according to the Theory, the Ecliptick in the\nprimitive Earth, was its Equinoctial now_. This, he is told by the\nAnswer, is a great Mistake; namely, to think that the _Earth, when it\nchang\u2019d its Situation, chang\u2019d its Poles and Circles_. What is now\nreply\u2019d to this? _He speaks against a Change_, says the Defence, _in the\nPoles and Circles of the Earth; a needless Trouble, and occasioned by\nhis own Oversight. For had he but looked into the Errata\u2019s, he might\nhave seen there, that these Parentheses, upon which he grounded what he\nsays, should have been left out._ So this is acknowledg\u2019d an _Erratum_\nit seems, but an _Erratum Typographicum_; not in the Sense, but only in\nthe _Parentheses_, which, he says, should have been left out. Let us\nthen lay aside the Parentheses, and the Sentence stands thus: _For under\nthe Ecliptick, which in the primitive Situation of the Earth, according\nto the Theory_, was its _Equinoctial, and divided the Globe into two\nHemispheres, as the Equator does now. The dry Ground, &c._ How does this\nalter or mend the Sense? Is it not still as plainly affirm\u2019d, as before,\nthat according to the Theory, the Ecliptick in the primitive Earth was\nequinoctial? And the same thing is suppos\u2019d throughout all this\nParagraph, _Exc._ p. 289, 290. And if he will own the Truth, and give\nThings their proper Name, \u2019tis downright Ignorance, or gross Mistake in\nthe _Doctrine of the Sphere_, which he would first father upon the\n_Theory_, and then upon the _Parentheses_.\n\nAnd this leads me to a fourth Passage, much-what of the same Nature,\nwhere he would have the Earth to have been translated out of the \u00c6quator\ninto the Ecliptick, and to have chang\u2019d the Line of its Motion about the\nSun, when it chang\u2019d its Situation. His Words are these, _Exc._ p. 158,\n159. _So that in her annual Motion about the Sun, she_, namely the\nEarth, before her Change of Situation, _was carried directly under the\nEquinoctial_. This is his Mistake; the Earth mov\u2019d in the Ecliptick,\nboth before and after her Change of Situation; for the Change was not\nmade in the Circle of her Motion about the Sun, but in her Posture or\nInclination in the same Circle: Whereas he supposes that she _shifted\nboth Posture, and also her Circuit about the Sun_, Ibid. _p._ 159. as\nhis Words are in the next Paragraph. But we shall have Occasion to\nreflect upon this again in its proper Place. We proceed now to another\nastronomical Mistake.\n\nA fifth Passage, which probably might disquiet him, is his false\nArgumentation at the end of the eighth Chapter concerning _Days_ and\n_Months_, _Exc._ p. 187. He says there, if the natural Days were longer\ntowards the Flood than at first, (which no body however affirms) fewer\nthan thirty would have made a Month; whereas the Duration of the Flood\nis computed by Months, consisting of thirty Days a-piece; _Therefore_,\nsays he, _they were no longer than ordinary_. This Argumentation the\n_Answer_ told him, _was a mere Paralogism, or a mere Blunder_: For\nthirty Days are thirty Days, whether they are longer or shorter; and\nScripture does not determine the Length of the Days. There are several\nPages spent in the _Defence_, to get off the Blunder: Let\u2019s hear how he\nbegins, _p._ 78, 79, 80, 81. _Tho\u2019 Scripture does not limit or account\nfor the Length of Days expresly, yet it does it implicitly, and withal\nvery plainly and intelligibly._ This is deny\u2019d: And if he makes this\nout, that Scripture does very _plainly_ and _intelligibly_ determine the\nLength of Days at the Deluge, and makes them equal with ours at present,\nthen, I acknowledge, he hath remov\u2019d the Blunder; otherwise it stands\nthe same, unmov\u2019d and unmended. Now observe how he makes this out:\n_For_, says he, _Scripture gives us to understand, that Days before the\nFlood, were of the same Length, that they are of now, BY INFORMING US,\nthat Months and Years, which were of the same Length then that they are\nof at present, were made up of the same Number of Days_. Here the\nBlunder is still continued, or, at best, it is but transferr\u2019d from Days\nto Months, or from Months to Years. He says, _Scripture informs us that\nMonths and Years were of the same Length then, that they are of at\npresent_. If he mean by the _same Length_, the same _Number of_ Days, he\nrelapses into the old Blunder, and we still require the Length of those\nDays. But if Scripture informs us that the Months and Years at the\nFlood, were of the same Length that they are of now, according to any\nabsolute and known Measure, distinct from the _Number of Days_, then the\nBlunder is sav\u2019d. Let\u2019s see therefore by whether of these two Ways he\nproves it in the next Words, which are these: _For how could there be\njust twelve Months in the Year, at the time of the Deluge; and thirty\nDays in each of those Months, if the Days then had not consisted, as\nthey do now, of twenty four Hours a-piece?_ We allow a Day might then\nconsist of twenty four Hours, if the Distinction of Hours was so\nancient. But what then? the Question returns concerning the Length of\nthose _Hours_, as it was before concerning the Length of the _Days_; and\nthis is either _idem per idem_, or the same Error in another Instance.\nIf you put but _Hours_ in the place of _Days_, the Words of the _Answer_\nhave still the same Force: _Twenty four Hours were to go to a Day,\nwhether the Hours were longer or shorter, and Scripture does not\ndetermine the Length of the Hours._ This, you see, is still the same\nCase, and the same Paralogism hangs upon both Instances.\n\nBut he goes on still in this false Tract, in these Words: _And as\nProvidence hath so ordered Nature, that Days (that depend upon its\ndiurnal Motion) should be measur\u2019d by Circumgyrations of the Earth\u2014\u2014So\nit hath taken Care that each of these Circumrotations should be\nperformed in twenty four Hours; and consequently that every Day should\nbe just so long, that thirty of them (in way of round reckoning) might\ncomplete a Month._ Admit all this, that thirty Days complete a Month;\nstill if Scripture hath not determin\u2019d the Length of those Days, nor the\nSlowness or Swiftness of the Circumgyrations that make them, it hath not\ndetermin\u2019d the Length of those Months, nor of the Years that depend upon\nthem. This one would take to be very intelligible; yet he goes on in the\nsame Maze, thus: _But now had the Circumgyrations of the Earth grown\nmore slow towards the Deluge (by such Causes as the Exceptor suggested)\nso as every Day had consisted of thirty Hours_, &c. But how so, I pray?\nThis is a wild Step; why thirty Hours? Where does Scripture say so, or\nwhere does the _Theorist_ say so? We say the Day consisted then, as now,\nof twenty four Hours, whether the Hours were longer or shorter; and that\nScripture hath not determin\u2019d the Length of those Hours, nor\nconsequently of those Months, nor consequently of those Years. So after\nall this ado, we are just where we were at first, namely, that Scripture\nnot having determin\u2019d the absolute Length of any one, you cannot by that\ndetermine the Length of any other. And by his shifting and multiplying\nInstances, he does but _absurda absurdis accumulare, ne perpluant_.\n\nWe offer\u2019d before, in our Answer, to give the Exceptor some Light into\nhis Mistake, by distinguishing in these Things, what is _absolute_ from\nwhat is _relative_: The former whereof cannot, under these or any such\nlike Circumstances, be determin\u2019d by the latter. For Instance: A Man\nhath ten Children, and he will not say absolutely and determinatively\nwhat Portion he will give with any one of them; but he says, I will give\nmy eldest Child a tenth Part more than my second; and my second a ninth\nPart more than my third; and my third an eighth Part more than my\nfourth; and so downwards, in proportion to the youngest: Not telling\nyou, in any absolute Sum, what Money he will give the youngest, or any\nother; you cannot, by this, tell what Portion the Man will give with any\nof his Children. I leave you to apply this, and proceed to a nearer\nInstance, by comparing the Measures of _Time_ and _Longitude_. If you\nknow how many Inches make a Foot, how many Feet a Pace, how many Paces a\nMile, _&c._ you cannot by these Numbers determine the absolute Quantity\nof any one of the aforesaid Measures, but only their relative Quantity\nas to one another. So if Scripture had determin\u2019d, of how many Hours a\nDay consisted; of how many Days a Month; of how many Months a Year; you\ncould not by this alone determine the absolute Duration or Quantity of\nany one of these, nor whether they were longer or shorter than our\npresent Hours, Days, Months, or Years. And therefore, I say still, as I\nsaid at first, thirty Days are thirty Days, whether they are longer or\nshorter; and thirty Circumgyrations of the Earth are thirty, whether\nthey be slower or swifter: And that no Scripture-Proof can be made from\nthis, either directly or consequentially, that the Days before the Flood\nwere, or were not, longer than they are at present. But we have been too\nlong upon this Head.\n\nWe proceed now from his Astronomy to his Philosophy. \u2019Twas observ\u2019d in\nthe _Answer_, p. 38. that the Exceptor in the Beginning of the ninth\nChapter, suppos\u2019d terrestrial Bodies to have _Nitency inwards, or\ndownwards, towards the Center_. This was noted as a false Principle in\nPhilosophy, and to rectify his Mistake, he now replies, _Def._ p. 82.\nThat he understood that Expression only of _self-central_ and _quiescent\nBodies_: Whereas, in truth, the Question he was speaking to, was about a\nfluid Body turning upon its Axis. But however, let us admit his new\nSense, his Principle, I\u2019m afraid, will still need Rectification; namely,\nhe affirms now, that _quiescent earthly Bodies_ are _impregnated with a\nNitency inward, or downward towards the Center_. I deny also this\nreform\u2019d Principle; if Bodies be turn\u2019d round, they have a Nitency\nupwards, or from the Center of their Motion. If they be not turn\u2019d\nround, nor mov\u2019d, but quiescent, they have no Nitency at all, neither\nupwards nor downwards, but are indifferent to all Lines of Motion,\naccording as an external Impulse shall carry them, this Way or that Way.\nSo that his _Impregnation with a Nitency downwards_, is an occult and\nfictitious Quality, which is not in the Nature of Bodies, whether in\nMotion or in Rest. The Truth is, the Author of the Exceptions makes a\ngreat Flutter about the _Cartesian Philosophy_, and the _Copernican\nSystem_, but the frequent Mistakes he commits in both, give a just\nSuspicion that he understands neither.\n\nLastly, we come to the grand Discovery of a _fifteen-cubit Deluge_,\nwhich, it may be, was as uneasy to him upon second Thoughts, as any of\nthe rest; at least one would guess so, by the Changes he hath made in\nhis Hypothesis. For he hath now, in this _Defence_, p. 181, 182. reduc\u2019d\nthe Deluge to a Destruction of the World by _Famine_, rather than by\n_Drowning_. I do not remember in Scripture any Mention made of _Famine_\nin that great Judgment of Water brought upon Mankind; but he thinks he\nhath found out something that favours his Opinion; namely, _that a good\nPart of Mankind at the Deluge, were not drown\u2019d, but starv\u2019d for want of\nVictuals_. And the Argument is this, because in the Story of the Deluge,\nMen are not said to be _drown\u2019d_, but to _perish_, _die_, or be\n_destroy\u2019d_. But are they said any where in the Story of the Deluge, to\nhave been _famish\u2019d_? And when God says to _Noah_, Gen. vi. 17. _I will\nbring a Flood of Waters upon the Earth, to destroy all Flesh_; does it\nnot plainly signify, that that Destruction should be by _drowning_? But\nhowever, let us hear our Author; when he had been making use of this new\nHypothesis of _starving_, to take off some Arguments urged against his\nfifteen-cubit Deluge, (particularly, that it would not be sufficient to\ndestroy all Mankind) he adds these Words by way of Proof: _Def._ p. 182.\n_And methinks there is one Thing which seems to insinuate, that a good\nPart of the animal World might perhaps came to an End thus; by being\ndriven to such Straights by the overflowing Waters, as to be FAMISH\u2019D or\nSTARV\u2019D to Death. The Thing is this, in the Story of the Deluge, it is\nno where said of Men and living Creatures, that they were drown\u2019d, but\nthey died, or were destroyed._ Those that are _drown\u2019d_ are _destroy\u2019d_,\nI imagine, as well as those that are _starv\u2019d_; so this proves nothing.\nBut that the Destruction here spoken of, was by drowning, seems plain\nenough, both from God\u2019s Word to _Noah_ before the Flood, and by his\nWords after the Flood, when he makes his Covenant with _Noah_, in this\nManner: _I will establish my Covenant with you, neither shall all Flesh\nbe cut off any more by the Waters of a Flood_, Gen. ix. 11. Now, to be\ncut off, or destroy\u2019d by the Waters of a Flood, is, methinks, to be\ndrown\u2019d; And I take _all Flesh_ to comprehend the animal World, or, at\nleast, all Mankind. Accordingly our Saviour says, _Matth._ xxiv. 39. in\n_Noah_\u2019s Time, _the Flood came and took them all away_; namely, all\nMankind.\n\nThis is one Expedient our Author hath found out, to help to bear off the\nInconveniencies that attend his fifteen-cubit Deluge; namely, by\nconverting a good Part of it into a _Famine_. But he hath another\nExpedient to join to this, by increasing the Waters; and that is done by\nmaking the _common Surface_ of the Earth, or the _highest Parts_ of it,\nas he calls them, _Def._ 165 and 180, to signify ambiguously, or any\nHeight that pleases him; and consequently fifteen Cubits above that,\nsignifies also what Height he thinks fit. But in reality, there is no\nSurface common to the Earth, but either the _exterior Surface_, whether\nit be high or low; or the _ordinary Level_ of the Earth, as it is a\nGlobe or Convex Body. If by his _common Surface_ he mean the _exterior\nSurface_, that takes in Mountains as well as Lowlands, or any other\nsuperficial Parts of the Earth. And therefore, if the Deluge was fifteen\nCubits above this common Surface, it was fifteen Cubits above the\nhighest Mountains, as we say it was. But, if by the common Surface he\nmean the common Level of the Earth, as it is a Globular or Convex Body,\nthen we gave it a right Name, when we call\u2019d it the _ordinary Level_ of\nthe Earth; namely, that Level or Surface that lies in an equal Convexity\nwith the Surface of the Sea: And his fifteen Cubits of Water from that\nLevel, would never drown the World. Lastly, if by the common Surface of\nthe Earth, he understand a third Surface, different from both these, he\nmust define it, and define the Height of it; that we may know how far\nthis fifteen-cubit Deluge rise, from some known Basis. One known Basis\nis the Surface of the Sea, and that Surface of the Land that ties in an\nequal Convexity with it: Tell us then, if the Waters of the Deluge were\nbut fifteen Cubits higher than the Surface of the Sea, that we may know\ntheir Height by some certain and determinate Measure; and upon that\nexamine the Hypothesis: But tell us they were fifteen Cubits above, not\nthe Mountains or the Hills, but the Highlands, or the _highest Parts of\nthe common Surface of the Earth_, and not to tell us the Height of these\nhighest Parts from any known Basis; nor how they are distinguish\u2019d from\nHills and Mountains, which incur our Senses, and are the Measures given\nus by _Moses_: This, I say, is but to cover his Hypothesis with\nAmbiguities, when he had made it without Grounds, and to leave room to\nset his Water-Mark higher or lower, as he should see Occasion or\nNecessity. And of this indeed we have an Instance in his last Pamphlet;\nfor he has rais\u2019d his Water-Mark there, more than an hundred Cubits\nhigher than it was before. In his _Exceptions_, he said, _p._ 300. _not\nthat the Waters were no where higher than just fifteen Cubits_ above the\nGround, they might in most Places be _thirty_, _forty_, or _fifty Cubits\nhigher_. But, in his _Defence_, he says, _p._ 180. the Waters might be\nan _hundred_ or _two hundred Cubits higher_ than the _general ordinary\nPlain_ of the Earth. Now what Security have we, but that, in the next\nPamphlet they may be five hundred or a thousand Cubits higher than the\nordinary Surface of the Earth?\n\nThis is his second Expedient, raising his Water-Mark indefinitely. But\nif these two Methods be not sufficient to destroy Mankind, and the\nanimate World, he hath yet a third, which cannot fail; and that is,\n_destroying them by evil Angels_, Def. p. 90. _Flectere si nequeo_\u2014This\nis his last Refuge; to which Purpose he hath these Words, _When Heaven\nwas pleas\u2019d to give Satan leave, he caus\u2019d the Fire to consume_ Job_\u2019s\nSheep, and caused the Wind to destroy his Children. And how easily could\nthese Spirits, that are Ministers of God\u2019s Vengeance, have made the\nWaters of the Flood fatal to those Creatures that might have escaped\nthem, if any could have done it?_ As suppose an Eagle, or a Faulcon; the\nDevil and his Crew catch them all, and held their Noses under Water:\nHowever, methinks, this is not fair Play to deny the Theorist the\nLiberty to make use of the Ministry of _good Angels_, when he himself\nmakes use of _evil Spirits_.\n\nThese, Sir, and such like Passages, where the Notions of the Exceptor\nhave been exposed, were the Causes, I imagine, of his angry Reply. Some\nCreatures, you know, are more fierce after they are wounded; and some,\nupon a gentle Chase, will fly from you; but if you press them, and put\nthem to Extremities, they turn, and fly in your face. I see, by our\nAuthor\u2019s Example, how easily, in these personal Altercations, Reasoning\ndegenerates into Wrangling, and Wrangling into Scolding. However, if I\nmay judge from these two Hypotheses which he hath made, about the _Rise\nof Mountains_, and a _fifteen-Cubit Deluge_, of all Trades, I should\nnever advise him to turn _Hypothesis-Maker_. It does not seem at all to\nlie to his Hand; and Things never thrive that are undertaken, _Diis\niratis, Genioque sinistro_.\n\nBut as we have given you some Account of this Author\u2019s philosophical\nNotions, so it may be you will expect that we should entertain you with\nsome Pieces of his Wit and Eloquence. The Truth is, he seems to delight\nand value himself upon a certain kind of Country-Wit and popular\nEloquence, and I will not grudge you the Pleasure of enjoying them both,\nin such Instances as I remember. Speaking in Contempt of the Theory and\nthe Answer, (which is one great Subject of his Wit) he expresses himself\nthus, _Def._ p. 48. _But if Arguments be so weak, that they will fall\nwith a Phillip, why should greater Force be used to beat them down? To\ndraw a Rapier to stab a Fly, or to charge a Pistol to kill a Spider, I\nthink would be preposterous._ I think so too; in this we are agreed. In\nanother Place, being angry with the Theorist, that he would not\nacknowledge his Errors to him, he hath these Words, p. 128. _\u2019Tis\nunlucky for one to rest his Head against a Post; but when he hath done,\nif he will say he did not do it, and stand in, and defend what he says,\n\u2019tis a Sign he is as senseless as he was unfortunate, and is fitter to\nbe pitied than confuted._ This Wit, it may be, you\u2019ll say is downright\nClownery. The Truth is, when I observ\u2019d, in reading his Pamphlet, the\nCoarseness of his Repartees, and of that sort of Wit wherein he deals\nmost, and pleases himself, it often rais\u2019d in my Mind, whether I would\nor no, the Idea of a _Pedant_, of one that had seen little of the World,\nand thought himself much wittier and wiser than others would take him to\nbe: I will give you but one Instance more of his rustical Wit. Telling\nthe Theorist of an Itch of Writing, _p._ 214. _Methinks_, says he, _he\nmight have laid that prurient Humour, by scratching himself with the\nBriars of a more innocent Controversy, or by SCRUBBING SOUNDLY against\nsomething else than the Holy Scripture._ He speaks very sensibly, as if\nhe understood the Disease, and the Way of dealing with it: But I think\n_Holy Scripture_ does not come in well upon that Occasion.\n\nAll this is nothing, Sir, in comparison of his popular Eloquence: See\nwith what Alacrity he runs it off-hand, in a Similitude betwixt _Adam_\nand a Lord Lieutenant of a County, _p._ 113. _When the King makes a\nGentleman Lord Lieutenant of a County, by virtue of his Commission is he\npresently the strongest Man that is in it? Does it enable him to\nencounter whole Regiments of Soldiers in his single Person? Does it\nimpower him to carry a Cannon upon his Neck? Or when the great Gun is\nfired off, to catch the Bullet as it flies, and put it up in his Pocket?\nSo when God gave_ Adam _Dominion over the Fowls, did he mean that he\nshould dive like a Duck, or soar like a Falcon? That he should swim as\nnaturally as the Swan, and hunt the Kite or Hobby, as Boys do the Wren?\nDid he mean that he should hang up Ostriches in a Cage, as People do\nLinnets, or fetch down the Eagles to feed with his Pullen, and make them\nperch with his Chickens in the Henroost?_\n\nSo much for the Fowls; now for the Fish. _Ibid._ When God _gave_ Adam\n_Dominion over the Sea, was he to be able to dwell at the Bottom, or to\nwalk on the Top of it? To drain it as a Ditch, or to take all its Fry at\nonce in a Drag-Net? Was he to snare the Shark, as we do young Pickarels;\nor to bridle the Sea-Horse, and ride him for a Pad; or to put a Slip\nupon the Crocodile\u2019s Neck, and play with him as with a Dog?_ &c. Sir, I\nleave it to you, as a more competent Judge, to set a just Value upon his\nGifts and Elocution. For my Part, to speak freely, dull Sense, in a\nphantastick Style, is to me doubly nauseous.\n\nBut lest I should cloy you with these luscious Harangues, I will give\nyou but one more; and \u2019tis a Miscellany of several Pieces of Wit\ntogether. _Def._ p. 68. _Should twenty Mariners_, says he, _confidently\naffirm that they sailed in a Ship from_ Dover _to_ Calais, _by a brisk\nGale out of a Pair of Bellows? Or if forty Engineers should positively\nswear, that the Powder-Mill near_ London _was late blown up, by a Mine\nthen sprung at_ Great Waradin _in_ Hungary, _must they not be grievously\nperjur\u2019d Persons?\u2014\u2014Or if the Historian that writes the_ Peloponnesian\n_War, had told that the Soldiers who fell in it, fought only with\nSun-beams, and single Currants which grew thereabouts, and that hundreds\nand thousands were stabb\u2019d with the one, and knocked on the Head with\nthe other; who would believe that ever there were such Weapons in that\nWar, that ever there was such a fatal War in that Country? Even so_, &c.\nThese, Sir, are Flights and Reaches of his Pen, which I dare not\ncensure, but leave them to your Judgment.\n\nThus much is to give you a Taste only of his Wit and Eloquence; and if\nyou like it, you may find more of the same Strain, here and there, in\nhis Writings. I have only one Thing to mind him of, _that_ he was\ndesired by the Theorist, _Eng. Theor._ p. 401. to _write in Latin (if he\nwas a Scholar) as being more proper for a Subject of this Nature_. If he\nhad own\u2019d and follow\u2019d that Character, I\u2019m apt to think it would have\nprevented a great many Impertinences: His Tongue, probably, would not\nhave been so flippant in popular Excursions and Declamations, as we now\nfind it. Neither is this any great Presumption or Rashness of Judgment,\nif we may guess at his Skill in that Language by his Translations here\nand there: _Except,_ _p._ 293. _Cum plurima Religione_ is rendered _with\nthe Principle of their Religion_. And if he say he followed Sir _W.\nRawleigh_ in his Translation, he that follows a bad Translator, without\nCorrection or Notice, is suppos\u2019d to know no better himself: And this\nwill appear the more probable, if we consider another of his\nTranslations, in this present Work. _Rei Personam_ he translates _the\nRepresentation of the Thing_, instead of the _Person of the Guilty_, or\nthe Person of him that is _Reus_ not _Actor_: And in this, I dare say,\nhe was seduc\u2019d by no Example. But lest we should be thought to\nmisrepresent him, take his own Words, such as they are, _Def._ 168, 169.\n_Yea, tho\u2019 it was spoken never so positively, it was but to set forth\nREI PERSONAM, to make the more full and lively Representation of the\nsupposed Thing._ Here, you see, he hath made a double Blunder; first, in\njumbling together _Person_ and _Thing_; then, if they could be jumbled\ntogether, _Rei Persona_ would not signify the _full and lively\nRepresentation of the Thing_, but rather a Disguise or personated\nRepresentation of the Thing. However, I am satisfied from these\nInstances, that he had good Reason, notwithstanding the Caution or\nDesire of the Theorist to the contrary, to write his Books in his\nMother\u2019s Tongue.\n\nThus we have done with the first Part, which was to mark out such\nPassages, as we thought might probably have enflam\u2019d the Author\u2019s Style\nin this Reply: When Men are resolved not to own their Faults, you know\nthere is nothing more uneasy and vexatious to them, than to see them\nplainly discovered and expos\u2019d. We must now give you some Account of the\nContents of his Chapters, so far as they relate to our Subject. _Chap._\ni. _Nothing._ _Chap._ II. is against _extraordinary Providence_; or that\nthe Theorist should not be permitted to have Recourse to it upon any\nOccasion. This Recourse to extraordinary Providence being frequently\nobjected in other Places, and of use to be distinctly understood; we\nwill speak of it apart at the latter end of the Letter. _Chap._ III. is\nabout the _Moon\u2019s hindring the Formation of the Earth before she was\nformed herself, or in our Neighbourhood_, as we have noted before.\nAnother Thing in this Chapter, is, his urging _oily_ or _oleaginous_\nParticles not to have been in the _Chaos_, but made since: I\u2019ll give a\nshort Answer to this; either there was or was not _oleaginous_ Matter in\nthe new-made Earth, (I mean in its superficial Region,) when it came\nfirst out of a _Chaos_? If there was, there was also in the _Chaos_, out\nof which that Earth was immediately made: And if there was no oleaginous\nMatter in the new-made Earth, how came the Soil to be so fertile, so\nfat, so unctuous? I say not only _fertile_, but particularly _fat_ and\n_unctuous_: For he uses these very Words frequently in the Description\nof that Soil, _Exc._ p. 211. _Def._ p. 69, and p. 98. And all fat and\nunctuous Liquors are _oleaginous_; and accordingly we have used those\nWords promiscuously, in the Description of that Region: (_Eng. Theor._\n_Chap._ V.) understanding only such unctuous Liquors as are lighter than\nWater, and swim above it, and consequently would stop and entangle the\nterrestrial Particles in their Fall or Descent: And seeing such unctuous\nand oleaginous Particles were in the new-made Earth, they must certainly\nhave been in the Matter out of which it was immediately formed, namely,\nin the _Chaos_. All the rest of this Chapter we are willing to leave in\nits full Force; apprehending the Theory, or the Answer, to be in no\nDanger from such Argumentations or Reflections.\n\nThe fourth Chapter is very short, and hath nothing argumentative. The\nfifth Chapter is concerning the Cold in the circumpolar Parts, which was\nspoken to in the Answer sufficiently, and we stand to that: What is\nadded about extraordinary Providence, will be treated of in its proper\nPlace. The sixth Chapter is also short, against this Particular, _that\nit is not safe to argue upon Suppositions actually false_. And I think\nthere needs no more to prove it, than what was said in the Answer. Chap.\nVII. is chiefly about Texts of Scripture, concerning which I see no\nOccasion of saying any more than what is said in the _Review of the\nTheory_. He says, (_p._ 49.) that the Theorist catches himself in a\nTrap, by allowing that _Ps._ xxxiii. 7. is to be understood of the\nordinary Posture of the Waters, and yet applying it to their\nextraordinary Posture under the Vault of the Earth: But that was not an\nextraordinary Posture according to the Theorist, but their natural\nPosture in the first Earth: Yet I allow the Expression might have been\nbetter thus, in _a level or spherical Convexity, as the Earth_. He\ninterprets \u05d2\u05df \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4 (_p._ 53.) which we render _the Garden of the Lord_,\nGen. xiii. x. not to be Paradise, but any pleasant Garden; yet gives us\nno Authority either of ancient Commentator or Version, for this novel\nand paradoxical Interpretation. The Septuagint render it \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\n\u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6: The _Vulgate_, _Paradisus Domini_, and all ancient Versions that I\nhave seen, render it to the same Sense. Does he expect then that his\nsingle Word and Authority should countervail all the ancient Translators\nand Interpreters? To the last Place alledged by the Theorist, _Prov._\nviii. 28. he says, the Answerer charges him unjustly, that he\nunderstands by that Word \u05d7\u05d5\u05df no more than the _Rotundity_ or _spherical\nFigure_ of the Abyss; which, he says, is a _Point of Nonsense_: I did\nnot think the Charge had been so high however, seeing some Interpreters\nunderstand in so: But if he understand by \u05ea\u05d5\u05e0 the _Banks_ or _Shores_ of\nthe sea, then he should have told us how those Banks or Shores are \u05e2\u05dc\n\u05e4\u05d1\u05d9 \u05ea\u05d4\u05d5\u05dd _super faciem Abissi_, as it is in the Text.\n\n_Page_ 59. He says the Exceptor does not misrepresent the Theorist when\nhe makes him to affirm the Construction of the first Earth to have been\nmerely mechanical; and he cites to this purpose two Places, which only\nprove, that the Theorist made use of no other Causes, nor see any Defect\nin them; but never affirm\u2019d that these were the only Causes. You may see\nhis Words to this purpose expressly, _Eng. Theor. p._ 88. whereof the\nExceptor was minded in the _Answer_, p. 3. In the last Paragraph of this\nChapter, _p._ 60. if he affirms any Thing, he will have _the Pillars of\nthe Earth_ to be understood _literally_. Where then, pray, do these\nPillars stand that bear up the Earth? Or if they bear up the Earth, what\nbears them up? What are their Pedestals, or their Foundations? But he\nsays Hypotheses must not regulate Scripture, though in natural Things,\nbut be regulated by it, and the by the Letter of it: I would gladly know\nthen, how his Hypothesis of the Motion of the Earth, is regulated by\nScripture, and by the Letter of it? And he unhappily gives an Instance,\njust contrary to himself, namely, of the Anthropomorphites; for they\nregulate natural Reason and Philosophy, by the Letter or literal Sense\nof Scripture, and therein fall into a gross Error: Yet we must not call\nthe Author _injudicious_, for fear of giving Offence.\n\nThe eighth Chapter, _ibid._ begins with the Earth\u2019s _being carried\ndirectly under the Equinoctial_, before its Change of Situation;\n_without any manner of Obliquity in her Site, or Declination towards\neither of the Tropicks in HER COURSE._ Here you see, when the Earth\nchanged its Situation, it chang\u2019d according to his Astronomy, two\nThings; its _Site_, and its _Course_; its Site upon its Axis, and its\nCourse in the Heavens: and so he says again in the next Paragraph, _Put\nthe Case the Earth shift her Posture, and also her Circuit about the\nSun, in which the persisted till the Deluge_. Here is plainly the same\nNotion repeated; that the Earth changed not only its _Site_, but also\nits _Road_ or _Course_ about the Sun: And in consequence of this, he\nsupposes its Course formerly to have been under the Equinoctial, and now\nunder the Ecliptick; it being translated out of the one into the other,\nat its Change. Yet he seems now to be sensible of the Absurdity of this\nDoctrine, and therefore will not own it to have been his Sense; and as\nan Argument that he meant otherwise, he alledges, that he declared\nbefore, that by the Earth\u2019s right Situation to the Sun, _is meant that\nthe Axis of the Earth was always kept in a Parallelism to that of the\nEcliptick_, p. 61. But what\u2019s this to the Purpose? This speaks only of\nthe _Site_ of the Earth, whereas his Error was is supposing its _Course_\nor _Annual Orbit_ about the Sun, as well as its Site upon its own Axis,\nto have been different, and changed at the Deluge; as his Words already\nproduced against him, plainly testify.\n\nWhat follows in this Chapter, is concerning the perpetual Equinox: And\nas to the reasoning Part of what he says in Defence of his Exceptions,\nwe do not grudge him the Benefit of it, let it do him what Service it\ncan. And as to the historical Part, he will not allow a Witness to be a\ngood Witness, as to Matter of Fact, if he did not assign true Causes of\nthat Matter of Fact. To which I only reply, tho\u2019 _Tiverton_ Steeple was\nnot the Cause of _Goodwin Sands_, as the _Kentish_ Men thought, yet\ntheir Testimony was so far good, that there were such Sands, and such a\nSteeple. He also commits an Error as to the Nature of _Tradition:_ When\na Tradition is to be made out, it is not expected that it should be made\nappear that none were ignorant of that Tradition in former Ages; or that\nall that mentioned it, understood the true Grounds and Extent of it; but\nis is enough to shew the plain Footsteps of it in Antiquity, as a\nConclusion, tho\u2019 they did not know the Reasons and Premisses upon which\nit depended. For Instance, the Conflagration of the World is a Doctrine\nof Antiquity, traditionally deliver\u2019d from Age to Age; but the _Causes_\nand _Manner_ of the Conflagration, they either did not know, or have nor\ndeliver\u2019d to us. In like manner, the first Age and State of the World\nwas without Change of Seasons, or under a perpetual Equinox: Of this we\nsee many Footsteps in _Antiquity_, amongst the Jews, Christians,\nHeathens, Poets, Philosophers; but the Theory of this perpetual Equinox,\nthe Causes and Manner of it, we neither find, nor can reasonably expect,\nfrom the Antients: So much for the Equinox.\n\nThis Chapter, as it begun with an Error, so it unhappily ends with a\nParalogism; namely, that, _because thirty Days made a Month at the\nDeluge, therefore those Days were neither longer nor shorter than ours\nare at present_. Tho\u2019 we have sufficiently exposed this before, yet one\nthing more may be added, in answer to his confident Conclusion, in these\nWords: But to talk, _as the Answerer does, that the Month should be\nlengthened by the Days being so, is a fearful Blunder indeed: For let\nthe Days (by slackening the Earth\u2019s diurnal Motion) have been never so\nlong, yet (its Annual Motion continuing the same) the Month must needs\nhave kept its usual Length, only fewer Days would have made it up_. \u2019Tis\nnot usual for a Man to persevere so confidently in the same Error, as if\nthe Intervals of Time, Hours, Days, Months, Years, could not be\nproportionably increas\u2019d, so as to contain one another in the same\nProportion they did before, and yet be every one increas\u2019d as to\nabsolute Duration. Take a Clock, for Instance, that goes too slow; the\nCircuit of the Dial-plate is twelve Hours, let these represent the\ntwelve Signs in his Zodiack, and the Hand to be the Earth that goes\nthrough them all; and consequently, the whole Circuit of the Dial-plate\nrepresents the Year. Suppose, as we said, this Clock to go too slow,\nthis will not hinder, but still fifteen Minutes make a Quarter in this\nClock, four Quarters make an Hour, and twelve Hours the whole Circuit of\nthe Dial-plate: But every one of these Intervals will contain more Time\nthan it did before, according to absolute Duration, or according to the\nMeasures of another Clock that does not go too slow: This is the very\nCase which he cannot or will not comprehend, but concludes thus in\nEffect, that because the Hour consists still of four Quarters in this\nClock, therefore it is no longer than ordinary.\n\nThe ninth Chapter also begins with a false Notion, that _Bodies\nquiescent_ (as he hath now alter\u2019d the Case) _have a Nitency downwards:_\nWhich Mistake we rectified before, if he please. Then he proceeds to the\n_oval_ Figure of the Earth, and many Flourishes and Harangues are made\nhere to little purpose; for he goes on upon a false Supposition, that\nthe Waters of the Chaos were made oval by the Weight or Gravitation of\nthe Air; a Thing that never came into the Words or Thoughts of the\nTheorist. Yet upon this Supposition he runs into the _Deserts of\nBilebulgerid_, Def. _p. 85, 86._ and the Waters of _Mare del Zur_; Words\nthat make a great Noise, but to no Effect. If he had pleas\u2019d he might\nhave seen the Theorist made no Use of the Weight of the Air upon this\nOccasion, by the Instance he gave of the Pressure of the Moon, and the\nFlux of the Waters by that Pressure: Which is no more done by the\nGravitation of the Air, than the Banks are prest in a swift Current and\nnarrow Channel, by the Gravitation of the Water. But he says, rarified\nAir makes less Resistance than gross Air; and rarified Water in an\n\u00c6olipile, it may be he thinks, presses with less Force than unrarified.\nAir possibly may be rarified to that Degree as to lessen its Resistance;\nbut we speak of Air moderately agitated, so as to be made only more\nbrisk and active. Moreover, he says, the Waters that lay under the Poles\nmust have risen perpendicularly, and why might they not, as well have\ndone so under the Equator? The Waters that lay naturally and originally\nunder the Poles, did not rise at all; but the Waters became more deep\nthere, by those that were thrust thither from the middle Parts of the\nGlobe. Upon the whole, I do not perceive that he hath weaken\u2019d any one\nof the Propositions upon which the Formation of an oval Earth depended;\nwhich were these: _First_, That the Tendency of the Waters from the\nCentre of this Motion, would be greater and stronger in the Equinoctial\nParts, than in the Polar, or in those Parts where they moved in greater\nCircles; and consequently swifter, than in those where they were moved\nin lesser Circles and slower. _Secondly_, Agitated Air hath more Force\nto repel what presses against it than stagnant Air; and that the Air was\nmore agitated and rarified under the Equinoctial Parts, than under the\nPoles. _Thirdly_, Waters hinder\u2019d and repell\u2019d in their primary\nTendency, take the easiest way they can to free themselves from that\nForce, so as to persevere in their Motion. _Lastly_, To flow laterally\nupon a Plain, or to ascend upon an inclin\u2019d Plain, is easier than to\nrise perpendicularly. These are the Propositions upon which that\nDiscourse depended, and I do not find that he hath disprov\u2019d any one of\nthem. And this, Sir, is a short Account of a long Chapter, Impertinences\nomitted.\n\n_Chapter_ X. Is concerning the Original and Causes of Mountains, which\nthe Exceptor unhappily imputes to the Heat and Influence of the Sun.\nWhether his Hypothesis be effectually confuted or not, I am very willing\nto stand to the Judgment of any unconcern\u2019d Person, that will have the\nPatience to compare the _Exceptions_ and the _Answer_, in this Chapter.\nThen, as to his _Historical_ Arguments, as he calls them, to prove there\nwere Mountains before the Flood, from _Giants that saved themselves from\nthe Flood upon Mount Sion, and Adam\u2019s wandering several hundred of Years\nupon the Mountains of India_: These, and such like, which he brought to\nprove that there were Mountains before the Flood, he now thinks fit to\nrenounce, _Def. p. 97._ and says he had done so before by an\n_anticipative_ Sentence: But if they were condemn\u2019d before by an\n_anticipative_ Sentence, as Fables and Forgeries, why were they stuff\u2019d\ninto his Book, and us\u2019d as traditional Evidence against the Theory?\n\n_Lastly_, He contends in this Chapter for _Iron_ and _Iron Tools_ before\nthe Flood, and as early as the Time of _Cain_; because he _built a\nCity_, which, he says, could not be built without Iron and Iron-Tools:\nTo which it was answer\u2019d, _Ans. p. 49, 50._ that, _if he fancied that\nCity of Cain_\u2019s, like _Paris_ or _London_, _he_ had Reason to believe\nthat they had _Iron-tools_ to make it: But suppose it was a Number of\nCottages, made of Branches of Trees, of Osiers and Bulrushes; or, if you\nwill, of Mud-Walls, and a Roof of Straw, with a Fence about it to keep\nout Beasts, there would be no such Necessity of Iron-Tools.\n\nConsider, pray, how long the World was without knowing the Use of Iron,\nin several Parts of it, as in the Northern Countries and _America_, and\nyet they had Houses and Cities after their Fashion. And to come nearer\nHome, consider what Towns and Cities our Ancestors, the _Britains_, had\nin _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s Time, more than two thousand Years after the Time of _Cain:\nCom. li. 5. Oppidum Britanni vacant, cum Sylvam impeditam vallo atque\nfossa munierant; quo incarsionis hostium nitand\u00e6 causa, convenire\nconsueverunt_: Why might not _Henochia_, _Cain_\u2019s City, be such a City\nas this?\n\nAnd as to the Ark, which he also would make a Proof that there were Iron\nand Iron-Tools before the Flood, _Ibid._ \u2019twas answer\u2019d, that Scripture\ndoes not mention Iron or Iron-Tools in building of the Ark; but only\n_Gopher-Wood_ and Pitch: To which re replies, _Def._ p. 103. _If\nScripture\u2019s Silence concerning Things be a Ground of Presumption that\nthey were not, what then shall we think of an oval and unmountainous\nEarth, an inclosed Abyss, a paradisaical World, and the like, which the\nScripture makes no mention of?_ I cannot easily forbear calling this an\n_injudicious_ Reflection, tho\u2019 I know he hath been angry with that Word,\nand makes it a _Brat of Passion\u2019s_. But I do assure him, I call it so\ncoolly and calmly. When a Thing is deduc\u2019d by natural Arguments and\nReason, the Silence of Scripture is enough: if he can prove the _Motion\nof the Earth_ by natural Arguments, and that Scripture is silent in that\nPoint, we desire no better Proof. Now in all those Things which he\nmentions, an oval and unmountainous Earth, an inclosed Abyss, a\nparadisaical World, Scripture is at least silent; and therefore \u2019tis\nnatural Arguments must determine these Cases: And this ill reasoning he\nis often guilty of, in making no Distinction betwixt Things that are, or\nthat are not prov\u2019d by natural Arguments, when he appeals to the\nInterpretation of Scripture.\n\n_Chap. XI._ Is to prove an open Sea (such as we have now) before the\nFlood: All his Exceptions were answered before, _Answ. c._ 11. and I am\ncontent to stand to that Answer, reserving only what is to be said\nhereafter concerning the literal Sense of Scripture. However, he is too\nlavish in some Expressions here, as when he says, (_p. 115._) That\n_Adam_ died _before so much as one Fish appeared in the World:_ And a\nlittle before he had said, _p. 114._ _For Fishes, if his Hypothesis be\nbelieved, were never upon this Earth in Adam\u2019s Time._ These Expressions,\nI say, cannot be justified upon any Hypothesis: For why might not the\nRivers of that Earth have Fish in them, as well as the Rivers of this\nEarth, or as our Rivers now? I\u2019m sure the _Theory_, or the _Hypothesis_\nhe mentions, never said any Thing to the contrary, but rather suppos\u2019d\nthe Waters fruitful, as the Ground was. But as to an _open Sea_, whether\nSide soever you take, that there was, or was not any before the Flood; I\nbelieve, however, _Adam_, to his dying Day, never saw either Sea or\nSea-fish, nor ever exercis\u2019d any Dominion over either.\n\n_Chap. XII._ Is concerning the Rainbow, and hath no new Argument in it,\nnor Reinforcement: But a Question is moved, whether _as well_\nnecessarily signifies _as much_. The real Question to be consider\u2019d\nhere, setting aside Pedantry, is this _whether_ that Thing (Sun or\nRainbow, or any other) could have any Significancy as a Sign, which\nsignified no more than the bare Promise would have done without a Sign:\nThis is more material to be consider\u2019d and resolved, than whether _as\nwell_ and _as much_ signify the same.\n\n_Chap. XIII._ Is concerning Paradise, and to justify or excuse himself\nwhy he baulked all the Difficulties, and said nothing new or instructive\nupon that Subject: But he would make the Theorist inconsistent with\nhimself in that he had said, _Def. p. 125._ that _neither Scripture nor\nReason determine the Place of Paradise; and yet determines it by the\nJudgment of Christian Fathers_. Where\u2019s the Inconsistency of this? The\nTheory, as a Theory, is not concerned in a _Topical_ Paradise; and says\nmoreover that neither Scripture, nor Reason, have determin\u2019d the Place\nof it; but if we refer our selves to the Judgment and Tradition of the\nFathers, and stand to the Majority of their Votes, (when Scripture and\nReason are silent,) they have so far detetmin\u2019d it, as to place it in\nthe other Hemisphere, rather than in this, and so exclude that shallow\nOpinion of some Moderns, that would place it in _Mesopotamia_: And to\nbaffle that Opinion was the Design of the Theorist, (as) this Author\nalso seems to take notice, _p. 131._\n\nAfter this, and an undervaluing of the Testimonies of the Fathers, he\nundertakes to determine the Place of Paradise by Scripture, and\nparticularly that it was in _Mesopotamia_, or some Region thereabouts.\nAnd his Argument is this, because in the last Verse of the third Chapter\nof _Genesis_, the _Cherubims_ and _flaming Sword_ are said to be plac\u2019d\n\u05de\u05e7\u05d3\u05dd \u05dc\u05d2\u05df \u05e2\u05d3\u05df, which he says is, _to the East of the Garden of Eden_. But\nthe Septuagint (upon whom he must chiefly depend for the Interpretation\nof the Word \u05de\u05e7\u05d3\u05dd in the first Place, _Chap. ii. 8._) read it here\n\u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03c4\u03c1\u03c5\u03c6\u1fc6\u03c2; And the _Vulgate_ renders it, _Ante\nParadisum voluptatis_; and according to the _Samaritan_ Pentateuch, \u2019tis\nrender\u2019d _ex adverso_. Now, what better Authorities can he bring us for\nhis Translation? I do not find that he gives any, as his usual Way is,\nbut his own Authority. And as for the Word \u05de\u05e7\u05d3\u05dd in the second _Chapter_\nand eighth _Verse_, which is the principal Place, \u2019tis well known, that\nexcept the _Septuagint_, all the antient Versions, _Greek_ and _Latin_,\n(besides others) render it to another Sense: And there is a like\nUncertainty of Translation in the Word \u05e2\u05d3\u05df as we have noted elsewhere.\nLastly, the Rivers of Paradise, and the Countries that are said to run\nthrough or encompass, are differently understood by different Authors,\nwithout any Agreement or certain Conclusion: But these are all beaten\nSubjects, which you may find in every Treatise of Paradise, and\ntherefore \u2019tis not worth the Time to pursue them here.\n\nThen he proceeds to the _Longevity of the Ante-Deluvians_, which, so far\nas I can understand him to affirm any Thing, he says, _p. 139._ was not\n_general_; but the Lives of some few were _extraordinary, lengthen\u2019d by\na special Blessing; the Elongation being a Work of Providence, not of\nNature_. This is a cheap and vulgar Account, (and so are all the\nContents of this Chapter) prov\u2019d neither by Scripture, nor Reason, and\ncalculated for the Humour and Capacity of those that love their Ease\nmore than a diligent Enquiry after Truth. He hath indeed a bold\nAssertion afterwards, that _Moses_ does distinguish as much, or more,\nbetwixt _two Races of Men before the Flood_; the one _Long-Livers_, and\nthe other _Short-Livers_; as he hath distinguish\u2019d the Giants before the\nFlood, from the common Race of Mankind. These are his Words, _p. 141._\n_Is not his Distinction equally plain in both Cases?_ Speaking of this\nfore-mentioned Distinction: Or, _if there be any Difference, does he not\ndistinguish better betwixt Long-Livers, and Short-Livers, than he does\nbetwixt Men of gigantick and of usual Proportion?_ Let\u2019s see the Truth\nof this; _Moses_ plainly made mention, _Gen. vi. 4._ of two Races of\nMankind: The ordinary Race, and those of a gigantick Race, or _Giants_.\nNow, tell me where he plainly makes mention of _Short-Livers_ before the\nFlood: And if he no where makes mention of _Short-Livers_, but of\n_Long-Livers_ only, how does he distinguish as plainly of these two\nRaces, as he did of the other two; for in the other he mentioned plainly\nand severally both the Parts or Members of the Distinction, and here he\nmentions but one, and makes no Distinction.\n\nThen he comes to the Testimonies cited by _Josephus_ for the Longevity\nof the _Ante-Diluvians_, or first Inhabitants of the Earth: And these he\nroundly pronounces to be _utterly false_. This Gentleman does not seem\nto be much skill\u2019d in Antiquity, either sacred or prophane; and yet he\nboldly rejects these Testimonies (as he did those of the Fathers before)\nas _utterly false_, _p. 142._ which _Josephus_ had alledged in\nVindication of the History of _Moses_. The only Reason he gives is,\nbecause these Testimonies say, they liv\u2019d a _thousand Years_; whereas\n_Moses_ does not raise them altogether so high. But the Question was not\nso much concerning the precise Number of their Years, as about the\nExcess of them beyond the present Lives of Men, and a round Number in\nsuch Cases is often taken instead of a broken Number. Besides, seeing,\naccording to the Account of _Moses_, the greater Part of them liv\u2019d\nabove nine hundred Years, at least he should not have said these\nTestimonies in _Josephus_ were _utterly false_, but false in part, or\nnot precisely true.\n\nNow, he comes to his Reasons against the ante-diluvian Longevity, which\nhave all had their Answers before, and those we stand to. But I wonder\nhe should think it reasonable, _p. 144, 145._ that Mankind throughout\nall Ages, should increase in the same Proportion as in the first Age:\nAnd, if a decuple Proportion of Increase was reasonable at first, the\nsame should be continued all along; and the Product of Mankind, after\nsixteen hundred Years, should be taken upon that Supposition. I should\nnot grudge to admit that the first Pair of Breeders might leave ten\nPair; but that every Pair of these ten should also leave ten Pair,\nwithout any Failure: and every Pair in their Children should again leave\nten Pair; and this to be continued, without Diminution or Interruption,\nfor sixteen hundred Years, is not only a hard Supposition, but utterly\nincredible. For still the greater the Number was, the more Room there\nwould be for Accidents of all Sorts; and every Failure towards the\nBeginning, and proportionably in other Parts, would cut off Thousands in\nthe last Product.\n\n_Chap._ XIV. Is against the Dissolution of the Earth, and the Disruption\nof the Abyss at the Deluge, such as the Theory represents. Here is\nnothing of new Argument, but some Strokes of railing Wit, after his Way:\nHe had said in his _Exceptions_, that the _Dissolution of the Earth was\nhorrid Blasphemy_: Now he makes it _reductive Blasphemy_, as being\n_indirectly_, _consequentially_, or _reductively_, p. 153, 154. contrary\nto Scripture. By this Rule, we told him, all Errors in Religion would be\nBlasphemy; and if he extend this to Errors in Philosophy also, \u2019tis\nstill more harsh and injudicious. I wonder how he thinks the Doctrine\nwhich he owns, about the Motion of the Earth, should escape the Charge\nof _Blasphemy_; that being not only indirectly, but directly and plainly\ncontrary to Scripture. We thought that Expression, _the Earth is\ndissolved_, being a Scripture Expression, would thereby have been\nprotected from the Imputation of _Blasphemy_, and we alledged to that\nPurpose, (besides _Psal._ lxxv. 3.) _Isa._ xxiv. 19. _Amos_ ix. 5. He\nwould have done well to have proved these Places in the Prophets\n_Isaiah_ and _Amos_, to have been _figurative_ and _tropological_, as he\ncalls it; for we take them both to relate to the Dissolution of the\nEarth, which literally came to pass at the Deluge: And he not having\nproved the contrary, we are in Hopes still that the _Dissolution of the\nEarth_ may not be _horrid Blasphemy_, nor of _blasphemous Importance_.\n\nThen having quarrell\u2019d with the Guard of Angels, which the _Theorist_\nhad assign\u2019d for the Preservation of the Ark, in the Time of the Deluge,\nhe falls next into his Blunder, that the _Equator_ and _Ecliptick_ of\nthe Earth were interchang\u2019d, when the Situation of the Earth was\nchang\u2019d. This Error in the Earth is _Cousin-German_ to his former Error\nin the Heavens, _viz._ that the Earth chang\u2019d its Tract about the Sun,\nand leap\u2019d out of the _Equator_ into the _Ecliptick_, when it chang\u2019d\nits Situation. The Truth is, this _Copernican System_ seems to lie cross\nin his Imagination: I think he would do better to let it alone. However,\ntho\u2019 at other Times he is generally verbose and long-winded, he hath the\nSense to pass this by in a few Words; laying the Blame upon certain\n_Parentheses_ or _Semicircles_, whose Innocency not withstanding we have\nfully clear\u2019d, and shew\u2019d the Poison to be spread throughout the whole\nParagraph, which is too great to be made an _Erratum Typographicum_.\n\nThen after, _p. 160, 161._ _Hermus, Caister, Menander and Caius; Nile\nand its Mud, Piscenius Niger, who contended with Septimus Severus for\nthe Empire, and reprimanded his Soldiers for hankering after Wine; Du\nVal, an ingenious French Writer, and Cleopatra and her admired Anthony_:\nHe concludes, that the Waters of the Deluge raged amongst the Fragments,\nwith _lasting_, _incessant_, and _unimaginable Turbulence_.\n\nAnd so he comes to an Argument against the Dissolution of the Earth, _p.\n162._ That, _all the Buildings erected before the Flood, would have been\nshaken down at that Time, or else overwhelmed_. He instanc\u2019d in his\n_Exceptions_ in _Seth\u2019s Pillars; Henochia, Cain\u2019s City; and Joppa_:\nThese he suppos\u2019d such Buildings as were made before, and stood after\nthe Flood. But now, _Seth_\u2019s Pillars and _Henochia_ being dismiss\u2019d, he\ninsists upon _Joppa_ only, and says, this must have consisted of _such\nMaterials, as could never be prepared, formed and set up, without\nIron-Tools_. Tho\u2019 I do not much believe that _Joppa_ was an\nante-diluvian Town, yet whatever they had in _Cain_\u2019s Time, they might,\nbefore the Deluge, have Mortar and Brick, which, as they are the first\nstony Materials, that we read of, for Building; so the Ruins of them\nmight stand after the Deluge. And that they had no other Materials is\nthe more probable, because after the Flood, at the Building of _Babel_,\n_Moses_ plainly intimates that they had no other Materials than those.\nFor the Text says, _Gen._ xi. 3. _They said one to another, Go to, let\nus make Brick and burn them thoroughly; and they made Brick for Stone,\nand Slime had they for Mortar._ But now this Argument, methinks, may be\nretorted upon the Exceptor with Advantage: For, if there were no\nDissolutions, Concussions, or Absorptions, at the Deluge, instead of the\nRuins of _Joppa_, methinks we might have had the Ruins of an hundred\nante-diluvian Cities; especially, if, according to his Hypothesis, they\nhad good Stone, and good Iron, and all other Materials, fit for strong\nand lasting Building: And, which is also to be consider\u2019d, that it was\nbut a fifteen-cubit Deluge; so that Towns built upon Eminences or high\nLands, would be in little Danger of being ruin\u2019d, much less of being\nabolish\u2019d.\n\nHis last Argument, (_p. 163._) proves, if it prove any Thing, that God\u2019s\nPromise, that _the World_ should not be _drown\u2019d_ again, was a _vain and\ntrifling Thing_ to us, who know it must be burn\u2019d: And consequently, if\n_Noah_ understood the Conflagration of the World, he makes it a _vain\nand trifling Thing_ to _Noah_ also. If the Exceptor delight in such\nConclusions, let him enjoy them, but they are not at all to the Mind of\nthe Theorist.\n\n_Chapter_ XV. Now we come to his new Hypothesis of a _fifteen-cubit\nDeluge_; and what Shifts he hath made to destroy the World with such a\ndiminutive Flood, we have noted before: First, by raising his\nWater-Mark, and making it uncertain: Then by converting the Deluge, in a\ngreat Measure into a _Famine_: And, Lastly, by destroying Mankind and\nother Animals, with _evil Angels_. We shall now take notice of some\nother Incongruities in his Hypothesis. When he made _Moses_\u2019s Deluge but\n_fifteen Cubits deep_, we said that was an _unmerciful Paradox_, and\nask\u2019d whether he would have it receiv\u2019d as a _Postulatum_, or as a\n_Conclusion_. All he answers to this, is, that the same Question may be\nask\u2019d concerning several Parts of the Theory; _p. 166._ Particularly,\nthat the primitive Earth had no _open Sea_. Whether is that, says he, to\nbe receiv\u2019d as a _Postulatum_, or as a _Conclusion_? The Answer is\nready, as a _Conclusion_, deduced from Premisses, and a Series of\nantecedent Reasons. Now, can he make this Answer for his fifteen-cubit\nDeluge? Must not that still be a _Postulatum_, and an unmerciful one? As\nto the Theory, there is but one _Postulatum_ in all, _viz._ that the\n_Earth rise from a Chaos_. All the other Propositions are deduc\u2019d from\nPremisses, and that one _Postulatum_ also is prov\u2019d by Scripture and\nAntiquity. We had noted further in the Answer, that the Author had said\nin his Exceptions, that he would not defend his Hypotheses as _true_ and\n_real_; and we demanded thereupon, _Why_ then did he trouble himself or\nthe World with what he did not think _true_ and _real_? To this he\nreplies, _Many have written ingenious and useful Things, which they\nnever believ\u2019d to be true and real_. Romances suppose, and poetical\nFictions: Will you have your fifteen-cubit Deluge pass for such? But\nthen the Mischief is, where there is neither Truth of Fact, nor\nIngenuity of Invention, such a Composition will hardly pass for a\nRomance, or a good Fiction. But there is still a greater Difficulty\nbehind. The Exceptor hath unhappily said, _Exc. p. 302. Our Supposition\nstands supported by Divine Authority, as being founded upon Scripture;\nwhich tells us as plainly as it can speak, that the Waters prevailed but\nfifteen Cubits upon the Earth_. Upon which Words the Answerer made this\nRemark, _Ans. p. 67. If his Hypothesis be founded upon Scripture, and\nupon Scripture as plainly as it can speak, why will he not defend it as\nTRUE and REAL? For to be supported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture,\nis as much as we can alledge for the Articles of our Faith_. To this he\nreplies now, _Def. p. 168._ that he _begg\u2019d Allowance at first, to make\nbold with Scripture a little_: This is a bold Excuse, and he especially,\none would think, should take heed how he makes bold with Scripture,\nlest, according to his own Notion, he fall into _Blasphemy_, or\nsomething of _blasphemous Importance, indirectly, consequentially,_ or\n_reductively_, at least: However, this Excuse, if it was a good one,\nwould take no Place here; for to understand and apply Scripture, in that\nSense that it speaks _as plainly as it can speak_, is not to make bold\nwith it, but modestly to follow its Dictates and plain Sense.\n\nHe feels this Load to lie heavy upon him, and struggles again to shake\nit off with a Distinction. When he said his fifteen-cubit Deluge was\n_supported by Divine Authority_, &c. this, he says, _ibid._ was spoken\n_by him, in an hypothetick or suppositious Way, and that it cannot\npossibly be understood otherwise by Men of Sense_. Here are two hard\nWords: Let us first understand what they signify, and then we shall\nbetter judge how Men of Sense would understand his Words. His\n_hypothetick_ or _suppositious Way_, so far as I understand it, is the\nsame Thing as by _way of Supposition_: Then his Meaning is, he\n_supposes_ his fifteen-cubit Deluge is _supported by Divine Authority_;\nand he _supposes_ it is _founded upon Scripture, as plainly as it can\nspeak_: But this is to suppose the Question, and no Man of Sense would\nmake or grant such a Supposition; so that I do not see what he gains by\nthis _hypothetick_ and _suppositious Way_. But to draw him out of this\nMist of Words, either he affirms this, that his _Hypothesis is supported\nby Divine Authority, and founded upon Scripture as plainly as it can\nspeak_, or he denies it, or he doubts of it: If he affirm it, then all\nhis Excuses and Diminutions are to no purpose, he must stand to his\nCause, and shew us those plain Texts of Scripture; if he deny it, he\ngives up his Cause, and all that Divine Authority he pretended to; if he\ndoubt of it, then he should have express\u2019d himself doubtfully: As,\n_Scripture may admit of that Sense, or may be thought to intimate such a\nthing_, but he says with a Plerophory, _Scripture speaks it as plainly\nas it can speak_: And to mend the Matter, he unluckily subjoins in the\nfollowing Words, _p._ 168, 169. _Yea, tho\u2019 it was spoken never so\npositively, it was but to set forth REI PERSONAM: To make a more full\nand lively Representation of the supposed thing._ He does well to tell\nus what he means by _Rei Personam_; for otherwise no Man of Sense, as\nhis Phrase is, would ever have made that Translation of those Words. But\nthe Truth is, he is so perfectly at a Loss how to bring himself off, as\nto this Particular, that in his Confusion, he neither makes good Sense\nnor good _Latin_.\n\nNow he comes to another Inconsistency which was charg\u2019d upon him by the\n_Answerer_: Namely, that he rejects the _Church Hypothesis_ concerning\nthe Deluge, and yet had said before, _Exc._ _p._ 300. _I cannot believe\n(which I cannot well endure to speak) that the Church hath ever gone on\nin an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge_: That he does reject this\nChurch Hypothesis, was plainly made out from his own Words, because he\nrejects the _common Hypothesis_; (_see the Citation in the Answer_, _p._\n68.) the _general standing Hypothesis_; the _usual Hypothesis_; the\n_usual Sense they put upon Sacred Story_, &c. These Citations he does\nnot think fit to take Notice of in his Reply; but puts all upon this\ngeneral Issue, which the _Answerer_ concludes with: _The Church Way of\nexplaining the Deluge, is either rational or irrational: If he say it is\nrational, why does he desert it, and invent a new one: And if he say it\nis irrational, then that dreadful thing, which he cannot well endure to\nspeak, that the Church of God hath ever gone on in an irrational Way of\nexplaining the Deluge, falls flat upon himself._ Let\u2019s hear his Answer\nto this Dilemma. _Def._ p. 170. _We say_, says he, _that the Church Way\nof explaining the Deluge_, (by creating and annihilating Waters for the\nNonce) _is very rational_. Then say I still, why do you desert it, or\nwhy do you trouble us with a new one? Either his Hypothesis is more\nrational than the Church Hypothesis, or less rational: If less rational,\nwhy does he take us off from a better, to amuse us with a worse? But if\nhe say, his Hypothesis is more rational than that of the Church: Then\nWoe be to him, in his own Words, _p._ 171. that so _black a Blemish\nshould be fasten\u2019d upon the wisest and noblest Society in the World_, as\nto make himself more wise than they, and his Hypothesis more rational\nthan theirs. The Truth is, this Gentleman hath a mind to appear a\n_Virtuoso_, for the new Philosophy, and the _Copernican_ System; and yet\nwould be a Zealot for Orthodoxy, and the Church-Way of explaining\nThings: Which two Designs do not well agree, as to the natural World;\nand betwixt two Stools he falls to the Ground, and proves neither good\nChurchman, nor good Philosopher.\n\nBut he will not still be convinc\u2019d that he deserts the Church\nHypothesis, and continues to deny the Desertion in these Words. _Ibid._\n_We say we do not desert or reject the Church-Way of explaining the\nDeluge._ Now, to discover whether these Words are true or false; let us\nobserve, _First_, What he acknowledges to have said against the Church\nHypothesis: _Secondly_, What he hath said more than what he acknowledges\nhere. He acknowledges, that he said, the Church Hypothesis _might be\ndisgustful to the best and soundest philosophick Judgments_; and this is\nno good Character. Yet this is not all, for he hath fairly dropp\u2019d a\nprincipal Word in his Sentence, namely, _justly_, _Exc._ p. 312. His\nWords in his _Exceptions_, were these, _such Inventions_ (which he\napplies to the Church Hypothesis) _as have been, and JUSTLY may be\ndisgustful, not only to nice and squeamish, but to the best and soundest\nphilosophick Judgments_. Now judge, whether he cited this Sentence\nbefore, truly and fairly, and whether in these Words, truly cited, he\ndoes not disparage the Church Hypothesis, and justify those that are\ndisgusted at it.\n\nHe farthermore acknowledges, that the usual Ways of explaining the\nDeluge _seem unreasonable to some, and unintelligible to others, and\nunsatisfactory to the most_: But, it seems, he will neither be of these,\n_some_, _others_, or _most_. Lastly, He acknowledges that he said,\n_Def._ p. 171. _The ordinary Supposition, that the Mountains were\ncovered with Waters in the Deluge, brings on a Necessity of setting up a\nnew Hypothesis for explaining the Flood._ If so, what was this _ordinary\nSupposition_? was it not the Supposition of the Church? And was that\nsuch, as made it necessary to set up a new Hypothesis for explaining the\nFlood? then the old Hypothesis was insufficient or irrational.\n\nThus much he acknowledges; but he omits what we noted before, his\nrejecting or disapproving the _common Hypothesis_, the _general standing\nHypothesis_, the _usual Sense they put upon the Sacred Story_, &c. And\ndo not all these Phrases denote the Church Hypothesis? He farther omits,\nthat he confess\u2019d, (_Excep._ _p._ 325.) _he had expounded a Text or two\nof Scripture about the Deluge, so as none ever did; and, deserting the\ncommon receiv\u2019d Sense, puts an unusual Gloss upon them_. And is not that\n_common receiv\u2019d Sense_ the Sense of the Church, and his _unusual Gloss_\ncontrary to it? Lastly, he says, by his Hypothesis, we need not fly to a\n_new Creation of Waters_, and gives his Reasons at large against that\nOpinion; which you may see, _Except._ _p._ 313. Now, those Reasons he\nthought either to be _good_ Reasons or _bad_ Reasons; if _bad_, why did\nhe set them down, or why did he not confuse them? If good, they stand\ngood against the Hypothesis of the Church; for he makes that _new\nCreation_ and _Annihilation_ of Waters at the Deluge to be the\nHypothesis of the Church, _Def._ _p._ 170. I fear I have spent too much\nTime in shewing him utterly inconsistent with himself in this\nParticular. And I wonder he should be so sollicitous to justify the\nHypothesis of the Church in this Point, seeing he openly dissents from\nit in a greater; I mean in that of the _System of the World_. Hear his\nWords, if you please, to this Purpose, _Def._ _p._ 136. _And what does\nthe famous_ Aristotelian _Hypothesis seem to be now, but a Mass of\nErrors; where such a System was contriv\u2019d for the Heavens, and such a\nSituation assign\u2019d to the Earth, as neither Reason can approve, nor\nNature allow. Yet so prosperous and prevailing was this Hypothesis, that\nit was generally receiv\u2019d, and successfully propagated for many Ages._\nThis prosperous prevailing Error, or Mass of Errors, was it not espoused\nand supported by the Church? And to break from the Church in greater\nPoints, and scruple it in less, is not this to strain at Gnats, and\nswallow Camels?\n\nSo much for his Inconsistency with himself: The rest of this Chapter in\nthe _Answer_, shews his Inconsistency with _Moses_, both as to the\nWaters covering the Tops of the Mountains, which _Moses_ affirms, and\nthe Exceptor denies; and as to the Decrease of the Deluge, which _Moses_\nmakes to be by the Waters retiring into their Chanels, after frequent\nReciprocations, _going_ and _coming_. But the Exceptor says, the Sun\nsuck\u2019d up the Waters from the Earth, just as he had before suck\u2019d the\nMountains out of the Earth: These Things are so groundless, or so gross,\nthat it would be tedious to insist longer upon them. And whereas it is\nnot reasonable to expect that any others should be idle enough, as we\nmust be, to collate three or four Tracts, to discern where the Advantage\nlies in these small Altercations; I desire only, if they be so dispos\u2019d,\nthat they would collate the _Exceptions_, _Answer_, and _Defence_ in\nthis one Chapter, which is our Author\u2019s Master-Piece: And from this I am\nwilling they should take their Measures, and make a Judgment of his good\nor bad Success in other Parts.\n\nWhat Shifts he hath us\u2019d to make his _fifteen-cubit Deluge_ sufficient\nto destroy all Mankind, and all Animals, we have noted before; and here\nit is (_p._ 181, 182.) that he reduces them to _Famine_. And after that\nhe comes to a long Excursion of seven or eight Pages, about the\nImperfection of _Shipping_ after the Flood, _Def._ _p._ 183, 185, _&c._\na good Argument for the Theorist, that they had not an open Sea,\nIron-Tools, and Materials for Shipping before the Flood: For what should\nmake them so inexpert in Navigation for many Years and Ages after the\nFlood, if they had the Practice and Experience of it before the Flood:\nAnd what could hinder their having that Practice and Experience, if they\nhad an open Sea, and all Iron and other Materials, for that Use and\nPurpose?\n\nLastly, he comes to his Notion of the _great Deep_, or _Tehom-Rabbah_,\n_Def._ _p._ 191. which he had made before, in express Words, to be the\nHoles and Caverns in the Rocks; I say, in express Words, such as these,\n_Exc._ _p._ 312. _Now supposing that the Caverns in the Mountains were\nthis great Deep_, speaking of _Moses\u2019s great Deep_, according to this\nnew Hypothesis. He says farther, (_p._ 105.) _In case it be urg\u2019d, that\nCaverns, especially Caverns so high situate, cannot properly he called\nthe great Deep._ Where you see his own Objection supposes that he made\nthose Caverns the _great Deep_. And in the same Page, speaking of the\nPsalmist\u2019s _great Deeps_, (in his own Sense of making them Holes in\nRocks,) and _Moses_\u2019s _great Deep_, he says, _the same Thing might be\nmeant by both_. By all these Expressions one would think it plain, that\nby his _great Deep_ he meant his _Caverns_ in Rocks; yet now, upon\nObjections urged against it, he seems desirous to fly off from that\nNotion, but does not yet tell us plainly what must be meant by _Moses_\u2019s\n_great Deep_: If he, upon second Thoughts, would have the Sea to be\nunderstood by it, why does he not answer the Objections that are made by\nthe Theorist against that Interpretation? _Engl. Theor._ p. 110, _&c._\nNay, why does he not answer what he himself had objected before\n(_Except._ p. 310.) against that Supposition? He seems to unsay now,\nwhat he said before, and yet substitutes nothing in the Place of it, to\nbe understood by _Moses\u2019s Tehom. Rabbah_.\n\n_Chap._ XVI. is a few Words concerning these Expressions of _shutting\nthe Windows of Heaven_, and the _Fountains of the Abyss_, after the\nDeluge: And these were both shut alike, and both of them no less than\nthe _Caverns_ in the Mountains.\n\n_Chap._ XVII. hath nothing of Argumentation or Philosophy, but runs on\nin a popular declamatory Way, and (if I may use that forbidden Word)\ninjudicious. All amounts to this, _whether_ we may not go contrary to\nthe Letter of Scripture, in natural Things, when that goes contrary to\nplain Reason. This we affirm, and this every one must affirm, that\nbelieves the _Motion of the Earth_, as our Virtuoso pretends to do: Then\nhe concludes all with an harmonious Close, that he follows the great\nExample of a Reverend Prelate, _Def._ p. 215. and _militates under that\nEpiscopal Banner_. I am willing to believe that he wrote at first, in\nhopes to curry Favour with certain Persons, by his great Zeal for\nOrthodoxy; but he hath made such an Hotch-potch of new Philosophy and\nDivinity, that I believe it will scarce please the Party he would\ncajole; nor so much as his Reverend Patron. I was so civil to him in the\nAnswer, as to make him a Saint in comparison of the former Animadverter;\nbut, by the Stile and Spirit of this last Pamphlet, he hath forfeited\nwith me all his Saint-ship, both absolute and comparative.\n\nThus much for his Chapters; and as to his Reflections upon the _Review\nof the Theory_, they are so superficial and inconsiderable, that I\nbelieve he never expected that they should be regarded: I wonder\nhowever, that he should decline an Examination of the second Part of the\n_Theory_: It cannot be for want of good Will to confute it; he hath\nshewn that to the Height, whatsoever his Power was: Neither can it be\nfor want of Difference or Disagreement in Opinion, as to the Contents of\nthis latter Part; for he hath reckon\u2019d the _Millennium_ amongst the\nErrors of the antient _Fathers_, (_Def._ p. 136) and the _Renovation of\nthe World_ he makes _Allegorical_, (p. 214, _&c._) It must therefore be\nfor want of some third Thing, which he best knows.\n\nBut before we conclude, Sir, we must remember that we promised to speak\napart to two Things, which are often objected to the Theorist by this\nWriter, and to little Purpose; namely, his flying to _extraordinary\nProvidence_, and his flying from the _literal Sense_ of Scripture. As to\nextraordinary Providence, is the Theorist alone debarr\u2019d from recourse\nto it, or would he have all Men debarr\u2019d, as well as the Theorist? If\nso, why doth he use it so much himself? And if it be allow\u2019d to others,\nthere is no Reason it should be deny\u2019d the Theorist, unless he have\ndisown\u2019d it, and so debarr\u2019d himself that common Privilege: But the\ncontrary is manifest, in a multitude of Places, both of the first and\nsecond Part of the _Theory_, Eng. Theor. _p._ 144, _&c._ For, besides a\nDiscourse on Purpose upon that Subject, in the eighth _Chapter_ of the\nfirst Book, in the last Chapter, and last Words of the same Book\n(_Latin_) he does openly avow, both Providence (Natural and Moral) and\nMiracles; in these Words, _Denique cum certissimum sit \u00e0 divina\nProvidentia pendere res omnes, cujuscunque ordinis, & ab e\u00e2dem vera\nmiracula edita esse_, &c. And as to the second Part of the _Theory_, the\nMinistry of Angels is there acknowledg\u2019d frequently, both as to natural\nand moral Administrations. From all which Instances it is manifest, that\nthe Theorist did not debar himself, by denying either _Miracles_,\n_angelical Ministry_, or _extraordinary Providence_: But, if the\nExceptor be so injudicious (pardon me that bold Word) as to confound all\nextraordinary Providence with the _Acts of Omnipotency_, he must blame\nhimself for that, not the Theorist. The _Creation_ and _Annihilation_ of\nWaters is an Act of pure Omnipotency: This the Theorist did not admit of\nat the Deluge; and if this be his Fault, as it is frequently objected to\nhim, (_Def._ p. 9, 66, 170, _&c._) he perseveres in it still, and in the\nReasons he gave for his Opinion, which are no where confuted: _Eng.\nTheor._ p. 25, 26. But as for Acts of angelical Power, he does every\nwhere acknowledge them in the great Revolutions, even of the natural\nWorld: _Theor. Lat._ p. 73. _Engl._ p. 146, 147. If the Exceptor would\nmake the Divine Omnipotency as cheap as the Ministry of Angels, and have\nrecourse as freely and as frequently to that, as to this; if he would\nmake all extraordinary Providence the same, and all Miracles, and set\nall at the Pitch of infinite Power, this may be an Effect of his\nIgnorance or Inadvertency, but is no way imputable to the Theorist.\n\nIn the next Place it may be observ\u2019d, that the Theorist hath no where\nasserted, that _Moses_\u2019s _Cosmop\u0153ia_ (which does not proceed according\nto ordinary Providence) is to be literally understood; and therefore\nwhat is urg\u2019d against him from the Letter of that _Cosmop\u0153ia_, is\nimproperly urg\u2019d and without Ground. There are as good Reasons, and\nbetter Authorities, that _Moses_\u2019s _six Days Creation_ should not be\nliterally understood, than there are, why those Texts of Scripture that\nspeak about the _Motion of the Sun_, should not be literally understood:\nAnd as to the Theorist, he had often intimated his Sense of that\n_Cosmop\u0153ia_, that it was express\u2019d _more humano, & ad captum populi_, as\nappears in several Passages in the _Latin_ Theory: Speaking of the\n_Mosaical Cosmogonia_, he hath these Words, _Theor._ _lib._ 2. _c._ 8.\n_Constat h\u00e6c Cosmop\u0153ia duabus parcibus quarum prima, massas generales\natque rerum inconditarum statum exbibet; seqniturque eadem principia, &\neundem ordinem, quem Antiqui usque retinuerunt. Atque in hoc nobiscium\nconveniunt omnes fere interpretes Christiani; nempe_, Tohu Bohu\n_Mosaicum idem esse ac Chaos Antiquorum_. _Tenebras Mosaicas_, &c.\n_bucusque convenit Mosi cum anfiquis Philosophis,\u2014\u2014methodium autem illam\nPhilosophicam hic abrumpit, aliamque orditur, bumanam, aut, si mavis,\nTheologicam; quo, motibus Chaos, secundum leges natura, & divini amoris\nactionem, plane neglectis, & successivis ipsius mutationibus in varias\nregiones, & elementa: His inquam posthabitis, popularem narrationem de\nortu rerum hoc modo instituit: Res omnes visibiles in sex classes_, &c.\nThis is a plain Indication how the Theorist understood that _Cosmop\u0153ia_:\nAnd accordingly in the _English Theory_ the Author says, _p._402. &c. _I\nhave not mention\u2019d_ Moses_\u2019s_ Cosmop\u0153ia, _because I thought it deliver\u2019d\nby him as a Law-giver, not as a Philosopher; which I intend to shew at\nlarge in another Treatise, not thinking that Discussion proper for the\nvulgar Tongue_. The Exceptor was also minded of this in the Answer, _p._\n66. Now, \u2019tis much that he, who hath search\u2019d all the Corners, both of\nthe _English_ and _Latin_ Theory, to pick Quarrels, should never observe\nsuch obvious Passages as these, but still make Objections from the\nLetter of the _Mosaical Cosmop\u0153ia_, which affect the Theorist no more\nthan those Places of Scripture that speak of the Motion of the Sun, or\nthe Pillars of the Earth.\n\nIn the last Place, the Theorist distinguish\u2019d two Methods for explaining\nthe natural World, that of an _ordinary_, and that of an _extraordinary\nProvidence_: And those that take the second Way, he said, might dispatch\ntheir Task as soon as they pleas\u2019d, if they engag\u2019d Omnipotency in the\nWork. But the other Method would require Time, it must proceed by\ndistinct Steps, and leisurely Motions, such as Nature can admit; and, in\nthat Respect, it might not suit with the busy Lives, or impatient\nStudies of most Men, whom he left notwithstanding to their Liberty, to\ntake what Method they pleas\u2019d, provided they were not troublesome in\nforcing their hasty Thoughts upon all others. Thus the Theorist hath\nexpress\u2019d himself at the End of the first Book, _c._ 12. _Interea cum\nnon omnes a natura ita compositi simus, ut Philosophia studiis\ndelectemur: Neque etiam liceat multis, propter occupationes vit\u00e6, iisdem\nvacare, quibus per ingenium licuisset; iis jure permittendum est,\ncompendiario sapere, & relictis viis natur\u00e6 & causarum secundarum, qu\u00e6\ns\u00e6pe longiuscul\u00e6 sunt, per cansas superiores philosophari; idque\npotissimum, cum ex piis affectivus hoc quandoque fieri possit; quibus,\nvel male fundatis, aliquid dandum esse existimo, modo non sint\nturbulenti._ Thus the Theorist, you see, sets two Ways before them; and\n\u2019tis indifferent to him whether they take, if they will go on their Way\npeaceably. And he does now, moreover, particularly declare, That he hath\nno Ambition, either to make the _Exceptor_, or any other of the same\nDispositions of Will, and the same Elevation of Understanding,\nProselytes to his Theory.\n\nThus much for _Providence_: As to the _literal Sense_ of Scripture, I\nfind, if what was noted before in the _Answer_, _p._ 82, 83, _&c._ had\nbeen duly consider\u2019d, there would be little need of Additions upon that\nSubject. The Matter was stated freely and distinctly, and the Remarks or\nReflections which the Exceptor hath made in his _Defence_ upon this\nDoctrine, are both shallow and partial. I say _partial_, in perverting\nthe Sense, and separating such Things as manifestly depend upon one\nanother. Thus the Exceptor falls upon that Expression in the _Answer_,\n_Def._ _p._ 202. _Let us remember that this contradicting Scripture,\nhere pretended, is only in natural Things_, where he should have added\nthe other Part of the Sentence, _and also observe how for the Exceptor\nhimself, in such Things, hath contradicted Scripture_. Here he makes an\nodious Declamation, as if the Answerer had confess\u2019d that he\n_contradicted Scripture in natural Things_; whereas the Words are\ncontradicting Scripture, _here pretended_; and \u2019tis plain by all the\nDiscourse, that \u2019tis the literal Sense of Scripture that is here spoken\nof, which the Exceptor is also said to contradict. Such an unmanly\nCaptiousness shews the Temper and Measure of that Spirit, which, rather\nthan say nothing, will misrepresent the plain Sense of an Author. In\nlike manner, when he comes to those Words in the Answer, The Case\ntherefore is this, whether _to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture in\nThings that relate to the natural World, be destroying the Foundation of\nReligion, affronting Scripture, and blaspheming the Holy Ghost. Def. p._\n206. He says, This is not to state the Case truly, for it is not, says\nhe, _going contrary to the Letter of Scripture that draws such evil\nConsequences after it, but going contrary to the Letter of Scripture,\nwhere it is understood_: And _this the Theorist does_, he says, and the\n_Exceptor does not_. But who says so besides himself? This is fairly to\nbeg the Question; and can he suppose the Theorist so easy as to grant\nthis without Proof? It must be the Subject Matter that determines, what\nis, and what is not, to be literally understood. However, he goes on,\nbegging still the Question in his own behalf, and says, Those Texts of\nScripture, that speak of the Motion and Course of the Sun, are not to be\nunderstood literally. But why not? Because the literal Sense is not to\nhis Mind? Of four Texts of Scripture which the Theorist alledg\u2019d against\nhim, for the Motion of the Sun, he answers but one, and that very\nsuperficially, to say no worse. \u2019Tis _Psal._ xix. where the Sun at his\nrising is said to be as a _Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber, and to\nrejoice as a strong Man to run his Race: And his going forth is from the\nend of the Heaven, and his Circuit to the end of it_, p. 207. which he\nanswers with this vain Flourish: _Then the Sun must be a Man, and must\nbe upon his Marriage, and must be dress\u2019d in fine Clothes, as a\nBridegroom is: Then he must come out of a Chamber, and must give no more\nLight, and cast no more Heat, than a Bridegroom does_, &c. If a Man\nshould ridicule at this rate, the Discourse of our Saviour concerning\n_Lazarus_ in _Abraham_\u2019s Bosom, and _Dives_ in Hell, with a great Gulph\nbetwixt them, yet talking audibly to one another; _Luk._ xvi. and that\n_Lazarus_ should be sent so far, as from Heaven to Hell, only to _dip\nthe Tip of his Finger in Water_, and cool _Dives_\u2019s Tongue. He that\nshould go about thus to expose our Saviour\u2019s Parable, would have a\nthankless Office, and effect nothing: For the Substance of it would\nstand good still; namely, that Mens Souls live after Death, and that\ngood Souls are in a State of Ease and Comfort, and bad Souls in a State\nof Misery. In like manner, his ridiculing some Circumstances in the\nComparison made by the Psalmist, does not at all destroy the Substance\nof that Discourse; namely, that the Sun moves in the Firmament, with\ngreat Swiftness and Lustre, and hath the Circuit of its Motion round the\nEarth. This is the Substance of what the Psalmist declares, and the rest\nis but a Similitude, which need not be literally just in all\nParticulars.\n\nAfter this, he would fain persuade the Theorist, that he hath excused\nthe Exceptor for his receding from the literal Sense, as to the Motion\nof the Earth; _Def._ p. 208. Because he hath granted, that in certain\nCases, we may and must recede from the literal Sense. But where, pray,\nhath he granted, that the Motion of the Earth was one of those Cases?\nYet suppose it be so, may not the Theorist then enjoy this Privilege of\nreceding from the literal Sense upon occasion, as well as the Exceptor?\nIf he will give, as well as take this Liberty, let us mutually enjoy it;\nbut he can have no Pretence to deny it to others, and take it himself.\nIt uses to be a Rule in Writing, that a Man must not _stultum fingere\nLectorem_. You must suppose your Reader to have common Sense. But he\nthat accuses another of _Blasphemy_ for receding from the literal Sense\nof Scripture in natural Things, and does himself at the same Time,\nrecede from the literal Sense of Scripture, in natural Things; one would\nthink, _quo ad hoc_, either had not, or would not exercise common Sense,\nin a literal Way.\n\nLastly, he comes to the common known Rule, assign\u2019d to direct us, when\nevery one ought to follow, or leave the literal Sense; which is, _p.\n215. not to leave the literal Sense, when the Subject Matter will bear\nit, without Absurdity or Incongruity_. This he repeats in the next Page\nthus. The Rule is, _when no kind of Absurdities or Incongruities accrue\nto any Texts, from the literal Sense_. If this be _his_ Rule, to what\nText does there accrue any Absurdity or Incongruity, by supposing the\nSun to move? For Scripture always speaks upon that Supposition, and not\none Word for the Motion of the Earth. Thus he states the Rule; but the\n_Answerer_ supposed, that the Absurdity or Incongruity might arise from\nthe _Subject Matter_. And accordingly he still maintains, that there are\nas just Reasons, (from the Subject Matter,) and better Authorities, for\nreceding from the literal Sense in the Narrative of the six Days\nCreation, than in those Texts of Scripture, that speak of the Motions\nand Course of the Sun: And to affirm the _Earth to be mov\u2019d_, is as much\n_Blasphemy_, and more contrary to Scripture, than to affirm it to have\nbeen _dissolv\u2019d_, as the Theorist hath done.\n\nSir, I beg your Excuse for this long letter, and leave it to you to\njudge whether the Occasion was just or no. I know such Jarrings as these\nmust needs make bad Musick to your Ears: \u2019Tis like hearing two\nInstruments play, that are not in Tune, in Concert with one another: But\nyou know Self-Defence, and to repel an Assailant, is always allow\u2019d; and\nhe that begins the Quarrel, must answer for the Consequences. However,\nSir, to make amends for this I trouble, I am ready to receive your\nCommands upon more acceptable Subjects.\n\n_Your most humble Servant_, &c.\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n\n\n                REFLECTIONS UPON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH\n\n\n               REFLECTIONS UPON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH,\n\n                            Occasion\u2019d by a\n\n                      _Late_ EXAMINATION _of it_.\n\n                      _In a_ LETTER _to a_ FRIEND.\n\n                               _LONDON:_\n\n            Printed for J. HOOKE, at the _Flower-de-Luce_ in\n                      _Fleet-Street_. M.DCC.XXVI.\n\n\n\n\n                    Advertisement of the Bookseller.\n\n\n_The following Tract hath been much enquired after by some curious\nPersons, but was so scarce, that a Copy could not be procured at the\nTime of the Printing the former Edition of the Theory. Since that, an\nintimate Friend of Dr. Burnet\u2019s hath favoured me with a Copy; so that\nthe Reader may be assured, it it genuine, and was wrote by Dr. Burnet;\nand it is apprehended, it may very well deserve a Place in his Works._\n\n\n                           REFLECTIONS, _&c._\n\n\nSir,\n\n\nI Receiv\u2019d the Honour of your Letter, with the Book you was pleas\u2019d to\nsend me, containing an Examination of _the Theory of the Earth:_ And,\naccording as you desire, I shall give you my Thoughts of it, in as\nnarrow a Compass as I can. The Author of the _Theory_, you know, hath\nset down in three Propositions, the Foundation of the whole Work; and so\nlong as those Propositions stand firm, the Substance of the _Theory_ is\nsafe, whatsoever becomes of particular Modes of Explication in some\nParts; which are as Problems, and may be explained several Ways, without\nprejudice to the Principles upon which the _Theory_ stands.\n\nThe Theorist takes but one single Postulatum, _viz._ That the _Earth\nrose from a Chaos:_ This is not call\u2019d into Question; and this being\ngranted, he lays down three Propositions consecutively. First, _That the\nprimitive or ante-diluvian Earth was of a different Form and\nConstruction from the present Earth_. Secondly, _That the Face of that\nEarth, as it rose from a Chaos, was smooth, regular and uniform; without\nMountains or Rocks, and without an open Sea_. Thirdly, _That the\nDisruption of the Abyss, or Dissolution of that primeval Earth, and its\nFall into the Abyss, was the Cause of the universal Deluge, and of the\nDestruction of the old World_: As also of the irregular Form of the\npresent Earth.\n\nThese are the three Fundamental Propositions laid down in the fourth,\nfifth and sixth Chapters of the _Theory_. And for a farther Proof and\nConfirmation of them, especially of the last, another Proposition is\nadded (_Chap._ VII.) in these Words, _The present Form and Structure of\nthe Earth, both as to the Surface, and as to the interior Parts of it,\nso far as they are accessible and known to us, do exactly answer to the\nforegoing Theory, concerning the Form and Dissolution of the first\nEarth, and is not so justly explained to any other Hypothesis yet\nknown._ This is offer\u2019d as a Proof _\u00e0 Posteriori_, as they call it, or\nfrom the Effects; to shew the Consent and Agreement of the Parts and\nConstruction of the present Earth, to that Supposition of its being a\nsort of Ruin, or the Effect and Remains of a Disruption or Dissolution.\nAnd to make this good, the Theorist draws a short Scheme of the general\nForm of the present Earth, and its Irregularity: Then shews more\nparticularly the Marks or Signatures of Ruin or Disruption in several\nParts of it; as in Mountains and Rocks, in the great Chanel of the Sea,\nand in subterraneous Cavities, and other broken and disfigur\u2019d Parts of\nthe Earth.\n\nThese Conclusions, with their Arguments, are the Sum and principal\nContents of the first Book; but I must also mind you of a Corollary in\nthe second Book, drawn from these primary Propositions, which concerns\nthe Situation of the primitive Earth: For the Theorist supposes, that\nthe Posture of that Earth, or of its Axis, was not oblique to to the\nAxis of the Sun, or of the Ecliptick, as it is now, but lay parallel\nwith the Axis of the Sun, and perpendicular to the Plane of the\nEcliptick; by reason of which Position, there was a perpetual Spring, or\nperpetual Equinox, in that primitive Earth. This, tho\u2019 a Consequence\nonly from the first Propositions, I thought fit to mind you of, as being\none of the peculiar and distinguishing Characters of this _Theory_.\n\nThis being the State of the _Theory_, or of those Parts of it that\nsupport the rest, and wherein its Strength consists, he that will attack\nit to purpose, must throw down, in the first Place, these leading\nPropositions. If the Examiner had taken this Method, and confuted the\nProofs that are brought in Confirmation of each of them, he needed have\ndone no more; for the Foundation being destroyed, the Superstructure\nwould fall of its own accord. But if, instead of this, you only pick out\na loose Stone here or there, or strike off a Pinacle, this will not\nweaken the Foundation, nor have any considerable Effect upon the whole\nBuilding. Let us therefore consider, in the first Place, what this\nExaminer hath said against these fundamental Propositions, and\naccordingly you will better judge of the rest of his Work.\n\nHis first Chapter is to shew, that the Deluge might be made by a\nMiracle: But whoever denied that? No doubt God by his Omnipotency may do\nwhatsoever he pleases, to the utmost Extent of Possibilities. But he\ndoes not tell us wherein this Miracle consisted? Doth he suppose that\nthe Deluge could be made without any Increase of Waters upon the Earth?\nIf there was an Increase of Waters, either they were created a-new, or\nbrought thither from some other Part of the Universe: So far is plain;\nand if he supposes a new Creation of Waters for this Purpose, and an\nAnnihilation of them again at the end of the Flood, it had been fair to\nhave answered the Arguments that are given against that Hypothesis, in\nthe third Chapter of the _English Theory_. And seeing there is no\nmention made of any such thing in the sacred History, if he asserts it,\nhe must bring some Proof of his Assertion; for we are not upon such\nTerms, as to trust upon bare Word. On the other Hand, if he proceed upon\nsuch Waters as were already in being, and for his purpose either bring\ndown supercelestial Water, or bring subterraneous, he must tell us what\nthose Waters are, and must answer such Objections as are brought against\neither sort in the second and third Chapters of the _Theory_; we must\nhave some fix\u2019d Point, some Mark to aim at, if the Case be argued. Upon\nthe whole, I think this his first Chapter might have been spar\u2019d, as\neither affirming nothing particularly, or giving no Proof of what is\naffirm\u2019d.\n\nIn his next Chapter about the _Chaos_, I was in hopes to have found\nsomething more considerable, but (besides his long _excerpta_ out of the\n_Theory_, both here and elsewhere, which make a good part of his Book) I\nfind nothing but two small Objections against the Formation of the first\nEarth, as it is describ\u2019d by the Theorist. This Examiner says, _p. 37,\n38._ That the little earthy Particles of the Chaos would not swim upon\nthe Surface of Oil, or any such unctuous Liquor; for how little soever,\nyet being earthy, and Earth being heavier than Oil, they must descend\nthrough it. But he grants that Dust will swim upon Oil; and I willingly\nallow, if these descending Parts were _huge Lumps of solid Matter_, such\nas we shall meet with in his next Chapter, they would easily break\nthrough both the Oil and the Water under it; but that little tenuious\nParticles or small Dust should swim upon Oil, I think is no wonder: And\nhe is so kind as to note an Instance of this himself; and to subjoin his\nReasons for it. We see Dust, saith he, _p. 38, 39._ though specifically\nheavier than Oil, yet not to sink when cast upon it. And the Reason is,\nbecause all terrestrial Bodies, tho\u2019 fluid in their kind yet in some\ndegree resist Separation; and consequently, I add, viscous Liquors which\nhave some sort of Entanglement amongst themselves, resist Separation\nmore than others. Then he remarks farther, that according as Bodies are\nless, they have more Surface in Proportion to their Bulk, and\nconsequently, that _small Bodies, whose Weight or Force to separate the\nParts of the Fluid is but very little, may have a Surface so large, that\nthey cannot overcome the Resistance of the Fluid: That is, they cannot\nmake Way for their Descent through the Fluid, and therefore must swim\nupon the Surface of it_. Be it so, then the Particles here mentioned by\nthe Theorist, being little, and of large Surfaces in Proportion to their\nBulk, would swim upon the Surface of the Fluid, or mix with it, which is\nall the Theorist affirms or supposes: And as this tender Film grew into\na Crust, and that into a solid Arch, the Parts of it would mutually\nsupport one another; the Concave Superficies of the Orb overspreading\nand leaning upon the Waters: And this also shews that his Instance of a\nsolid Globe sinking in a Fluid, is little to the Purpose in this Case.\n\nBut he hath a second objection behind, _p._ 40. or another Consideration\nto prove that those little Particles would pierce and pass through this\noily Liquid. This Consideration is, the great Height of the Place from\nwhich they descended; whereby, he thinks, they would acquire such a\nCelerity and Force in their Descent, that they must needs break through\nthis Orb of oily Liquors when they came at it. But this is to suppose\nthat they descended without Interruption, or without having their Course\nstopp\u2019d, and their Force broken in several Parts of their journey. This\nis an arbitrary and groundless Supposition: For these floating Particles\ndid not fall like a Stone, or a ponderous Body, in one continued Line,\nbut rather like Fleaks of Snow, hovering and playing in the Air, their\nCourse being often interrupted and diverted, and their force broken\nagain and again, before they came to the end of their Journey; so that\nthis Suggestion can be of no Force or Effect in the present Case.\nHowever, if that will gratify him, we can allow that thousands and\nmillions of these little Particles might slip or creep through this\nclammy Liquor, yet there would enough of them entangled there to make\nit, first, a gross Liquid, then a sort of Concretion, so as to stop the\nsucceeding Particles from passing through it.\n\nI have done with all that is argumentative in this Chapter: But this\nWriter is pleased to go sometimes out of his way of Philosophising, to\nmake Reflections of another kind. Accordingly, here and elsewhere he\nmakes Insinuations and Suggestions, as if the Theorist did not own the\nHand of Providence, or of a particular and extraordinary Providence in\nthe Formation of the Earth; or as if all Things in the great Revolutions\nof the natural World were carried on solely by material and mechanical\nCauses. This Suggestion ought to be taken Notice of, as being contrary\nto the Sense of the Theorist, as it is express\u2019d in several Places. In\nspeaking of the Motions of the Chaos, the Theorist makes the _steady\nHand of Providence which keeps all Things in Weight and Measure, to be\nthe invisible Guide of all its Motions_, p. 45. And in concluding his\nDiscourse about the Formation of the Earth (_Chap._ V. _p._ 45.) the\nTheorist says, _This Structure is so marvellous, that it ought rather to\nbe consider\u2019d, as a particular Effect of the Divine Art, than as the\nWork of Nature_; with many other Remarks there to the same purpose. Then\nas to the Dissolution of the Earth, and the Conduct of the Deluge, \u2019tis\nmade miraculous also by the Theorist[22]: And upon that Occasion an\nAccount is given of Providence, both ordinary and extraordinary, in\nreference to the Government of Nature; and that not only as to the\nformation and Dissolution of the Earth, but also as to its Conflagration\nand Renovation: For the Theorist always puts those great Revolutions\nunder the particular Conduct and Moderation of Providence. Lastly, As to\nthe whole Universe, he is far from making that the Product either of\n_Chance_ or _Necessity_, or of any purely material or mechanical Causes;\nas you may see at large in the two last Chapters of the _Theory_, _Book_\nII. So that what this Author hath said (rudely enough, according to his\nWay) of _Mr. Wotton_, _Introd._ _p._ 15. that _he either understands no\nGeometry, or else that he never read_ D.C. _his Principles_, may with a\nlittle Change be apply\u2019d to himself in this Case, that either he never\nread over, or does not remember, or, which is still worse, does wilfully\nmisrepresent what the Theorist hath wrote upon this Subject. The Sum of\nall is this, _Deus non deficit in necessariis, nec redundat in\nsuperfluis_: God is the God of Nature; and the Laws of Nature are his\nLaws: These we are to follow so far as they will go, and where they fall\nshort, we must rise to higher Principles; but we ought not to introduce\na needless Exercise of the divine Power, for a Cover to our Ignorance.\n\nTo conclude this Chapter, I will leave one Advertisement with the\nExaminer concerning the Chaos. When he speaks of the World\u2019s rising from\nthe _Mosaick_ Chaos, if by _World_ he understand the whole Universe, as\nhe seems to do; not this inferior World only, but the fix\u2019d Stars also,\nand all the Heavens: If that, I say, be his Meaning and Opinion, he will\nmeet with other Opponents besides the Theorist, that will contest that\nPoint with him.\n\nWe come now to the third Chapter, concerning the _Mountains_ of the\nEarth, which is a subject indeed that deserves Consideration, seeing it\nreaches to the three fundamental Propositions before mentioned, and the\nForm of the ante-diluvian Earth; which Form the Examiner would have to\nbe the same with that of the present Earth, to have had Mountains and\nRocks, an open Chanel of the Sea, with all the Cavities and\nIrregularities within or without the Surface of it, as at present. If he\ncan prove this, he needs go no farther; he may spare his Pains for the\nrest: I\u2019ll undertake that the Theorist shall make no farther Defence of\nhis Theory, if the Examiner can make good Proof of this one Conclusion.\nBut, on the other Hand, the Examiner ought to be so ingenuous as to\nacknowledge that all that he hath said besides, till this be prov\u2019d, can\nbe of little or no Effect, as to the Substance of the Theory. Let us\nthen consider how he raises Mountains and Rocks, and gives us an Account\nof all the other Inequalities that we find in the present Form of the\nEarth, by an immediate Formation or Deduction from the Chaos.\n\nTo shew this, he supposes, _p._ 49, 51. that the Chaos had Mountains and\nRocks swimming in it, or, according to his Expression, _huge Lumps of\nsolid Matter_. These are Things, I confess, which I never heard of\nbefore in a Chaos; which hath been always describ\u2019d and suppos\u2019d a Mass\nof fluid Matter all over. But this Author confidently says, p. 48. _We\nmust conclude THEREFORE, that the Chaos was not so fluid a Mass, &c._\nThis _therefore_ refers us to an antecedent Reason, which is this; he\nsays, _ibid._ to make the Chaos an entirely fluid Mass is hard to be\ngranted, _since the greatest Parts of Bodies we have in the Earth, at\nleast so far as we can discern, are hard and solid, and there is not\nsuch a Quantity of Water in the Earth, as would be requisite to soften\nand liquify them all; besides a great part of them, as Stones and\nMetals, are uncapable of being liquified by Water_. Very good, what is\nthis to the _Theory_? Does the Theorist any where affirm or suppose that\nthere were Stones or Metals in the Chaos; or that they were liquified by\nWater? This must refer to some Hypothesis of his own, or to some other\nAuthor\u2019s Hypothesis that ran in his Mind: The Theorist owns no such\nDoctrine or Supposition.\n\nHowever, let\u2019s consider how this new Idea of a Chaos is consistent with\nthe Laws of Nature: What made these _huge Lumps of solid Matter_,\nwhether Stone or Metal, to swim in the fluid Mass? This is against all\nRules of Gravity, and of Staticks, as he seems to acknowledge, and urged\nit when he thought it to his Purpose. In the precedent Chapter (_p._\n42.) when he speaks of Stones and Minerals, he says, _\u2019Tis certain that\nthese great heavy Bodies must have sunk to the Bottom, if they were left\nto themselves_: And he that will not allow Dust or little earthy\nParticles, to float upon an oily Liquor, I wonder how he will make, not\nlittle Particles, but these huge solid Lumps of Stone, Metals, or\nMinerals, to float in the Chaos.\n\nHe seems to own and be sensible of this Inconvenience, (_p._ 50) and\nthereupon finds an Expedient or Evasion which a lesser Wit would not\nhave thought on. He supposes, _p._ 51 that these _huge_ firm solid Lumps\nwere hollow, like empty Bottles, and that would keep them from sinking.\nBut who told him they were hollow? Is not this precarious? Or, if one\nwould use such Terms as he does, is not this _chymerical and\nridiculous_? What made those solid firm Lumps hollow? When, or where, or\nhow were their inward Parts scrap\u2019d out of them? Nor would this\nHollowness, however they came by it, make them swim, unless there was a\nmere Vacuum in each of them. If they were filled with the liquid Matter\nof the Chaos, they would indeed be lighter than if wholly solid; but\nthey would still be heavier than any equal Bulk of the fluid Chaos, and\nconsequently would sink in it; the Preponderancy that would arise from\nthe Shell or solid Part still remaining.\n\nNow let\u2019s consider how such Mountains, or long Ridges of Mountains as we\nhave upon the Earth, were formed and settled by these floating Lumps. He\nsays, _p._ 50, 51. _Part of these Lumps or Masses standing out, or being\nhigher than the Fluid, would compose a Mountain_, as there are\n_Mountains of Ice that float upon the Northern Seas_. But are not\nMountains of Rock and Stone, such as ours commonly are, heavier than\nMountains of Ice, that is specifically lighter than Water? This might\nhave been consider\u2019d by the Examiner in drawing the Parallel: And still\nI\u2019m at a Loss what _Fluid_ it is he means, when he says, These Lumps or\nMasses _standing out, or being higher than the Fluid_. Does he mean by\nthis Fluid the Whole Chaos? Did these Mountains stand at the Top of the\nChaos, partly within, and partly above it? Then what drew them down\nbelow, if they stood equally pois\u2019d there in their Fluid, and as high as\nthe Moon, if the Chaos reach\u2019d so high. This, one would think, could not\nbe his Meaning, \u2019tis so extravagant; and yet there was no other Fluid\nthan the general Chaos, till that was divided and distinguish\u2019d into\nseveral Masses. Then, indeed, there was an Abyss, or Region of Waters\nthat covered the interior Earth, and was separate from the Air above.\nLet us then suppose this Abyss to be the Waters or Fluid this Author\nmeans, upon which his Mountains stood; then the rest of the Earth, as it\ncame to be form\u2019d, must be continu\u2019d and join\u2019d with these Mountains,\nand in like Manner laid over the Waters; so as in this Method, you see,\nwe should have an Orb of Earth built over the Abyss. This is a very\nfavourable Stroke for the Theorist, and grants him in Effect his\nprincipal Conclusion, _viz._ That the _first ante diluvian Earth was\nbuilt over the Abyss_: This being admitted, there could be no universal\nDeluge without a Disruption of that Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyss,\nwhich is a main Point gain\u2019d. And \u2019tis plain we make no false Logick in\ncollecting this from his Principles and Concessions: For, as we said\nbefore, if these Mountains were founded upon the Abyss, they must have a\nContinuity and Conjunction with the rest of the Surface of the Earth, if\nthey were such as our Mountains are now, and so all the habitable Earth\nmust be spread upon the Abyss.\n\nBut still he hath another Difficulty to encounter, how the great Chanel\nof the Sea was made upon this Supposition: Why was not that Part of the\nGlobe fill\u2019d up by the Descent of the earthy Particles of the Chaos as\nwell as the rest? The Chanel of the Ocean is commonly suppos\u2019d to take\nup half of the Globe, how came this gaping Gulph to remain unfill\u2019d,\nseeing it was encompass\u2019d with the Chaos as well as any other Parts? Was\nthe Motion of the Particles suspended from descending upon that Part of\nthe Globe; or were they fill\u2019d up at first, and afterwards thrown out\nagain to make room for the Sea? This may deserve his Consideration, as\nwell as the Mountains: And how dextrous soever this Author may be in\nother Things I know not, but, in my Mind, he hath no good Hand in making\nMountains; and I\u2019m afraid he would have no better Success in forming the\nChanel of the Sea, which he is wisely pleased to take no Notice of.\n\nAnd indeed the Examiner seems to be sensible himself that he hath no\ngood Luck in assigning the _efficient Causes_ of Mountains from the\nChaos, and therefore he is willing to bear off from that Point, and to\nlay the whole Stress upon their _final Causes_, without any regard to\ntheir Origin, or how they came first into being. His Words are these,\n_p._ 52. _But supposing the efficient Causes of Mountains unknown, or\nimpossible to be assign\u2019d, yet still there remain the final Causes to be\nenquir\u2019d into, which will do as well for our Purpose_, with what follows\nthere concerning those Authors that exclude final Causes. If there be\nsuch Authors, let them answer for themselves, the Theorist is not\nconcern\u2019d. Grant the first Point, that Mountains could not arise from\nany known efficient Causes in the first Concretion of the Chaos, or in\nthe first habitable Earth that rose from it, the Theorist readily allows\n(as appears fully in the two last Chapters of the second Book of the\n_Eng. Theor._) the Use of final Causes in the Contemplation of Nature,\nas being great Arguments of the Wisdom and Goodness of God. But this\nought not to exclude the efficient Causes in a _Theory_, otherwise it\nwould be no _Theory_, but a Work of another Nature. Though a Man knew\nthe final Cause of a Watch or Clock, namely, to tell him the Hour of the\nDay, yet, if he did not know the Construction of its Parts, what was the\nSpring of Motion, what the Order of the Wheels, and how they mov\u2019d the\nHand of the Dial, he could not be said to understand that little\nMachine; or at least not to understand it so well as he that knew the\nConstruction and Dependence of all its Parts, in virtue whereof that\nEffect was brought to pass. In many Cases we do not understand the final\nCauses, and in many we do not understand the efficient; but,\nnotwithstanding, we must endeavour, so far as we are able, to join and\nunderstand them both; the End and the Means to it: For by the one, as\nwell as the other, the divine Power and Wisdom are illustrated; and\nseeing every Effect hath its efficient Cause, if we cannot reach it, we\nmust acknowledge our Speculations to be so far imperfect.\n\nAfter this Excursion about final Causes, he concludes, _p._ 54. _That it\nis impossible to subsist or live without Rocks or Mountains_;\nconsequently no Earth is habitable without Rocks and Mountains. But how\ncan he tell this? Hath he been all over the Universe to make his\nObservations? or hath he had a Revelation to tell him that there is no\none habitable Planet throughout all the Works of God, but what is of the\nsame Form with our Earth as to Rocks and Mountains. Who hath ever\nobserv\u2019d Mountains and Rocks in _Jupiter_, or in the Remains of\n_Saturn_? I should think such a general Assertion as he makes, a bold\nand unwarrantable Limitation of the divine Omniscience and Omnipotency.\nWho dares conclude that the infinite Wisdom and Power of God is confin\u2019d\nto one single Mode or Fabrick of an habitable World? We know there are\nmany Planets about our Sun besides this Earth, and of different\nPositions and Constructions: Neither do we know but there may be as many\nabout other Suns, or fix\u2019d Stars: Must we suppose that they are all cast\nin the same Mold? that they are all formed after the Model of our Earth,\nwith Mountains and Rocks, and Gulphs and Caverns?\n\n                 _Urbem, quam dicunt Romam, Melib\u0153e, putavi\n                 Stultus ego, huic nostr\u00e6 similem._\n\nThis was the Judgment of the Shepherd, who could imagine nothing\ndifferent, or nothing better than his own Town or Village; those may\nimitate him that please. \u2019Tis true, _Suum cuique pulchrum_, is an usual\nSaying, but we think that to proceed from Fondness rather, and\nSelf-Conceit, than from a true and impartial Judgment of Things. In\ncontemplating the Works of God, we ought to have Respect to his Almighty\nand Infinite Wisdom, \u03c4\u1fc6\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03c0\u03b1\u03af\u03ba\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u03c3\u03bf\u03c6\u03af\u03b1\u03bd, _multiformem sapientiam\nDei_, rather than to the Measures of our own Experience and\nUnderstanding. We may remember how an[23] Heathen hath upbraided and\nderided that Narrowness of Spirit, _Qu\u00e6 tant\u00e6 sunt animi angusti\u00e6, ut si\nSeryphi natus esses, nec unquam egrossus ex Insul\u00e1, in qu\u00e2 Lepusculos\nVulpeculasque s\u00e6pe vidisses, non crederes Leones & Pantheras esse, c\u00fam\ntibi quales essent diceretur: Si ver\u00f2 de Elephanto quis diceret, etiam\nrideri te putares._ We may as well say, that there can be no Animals of\nanother Form from those we have upon this Earth, as that there can be no\nWorlds, or habitable Earths of another Form and Structure from the\npresent Earth. _An quicquam tam puerile dici potest_, says the same\nAuthor, _qu\u00e1m si ea genera belluarum qu\u00e6 in Rubro mari, Indi\u00e2ve\ngignantur, nulla esse dicamus? Atqui ne curiosissimi quidem homines\nexquirendo andire tam multa possunt, quam sunt multa qu\u00e6 Terr\u00e6, Mari,\nPaludibus, Fluminibus existunt; qu\u00e6 negemus esse quia nunquam vidimus?_\nI mention such Instances to shew, that \u2019tis Rashness or Folly, to\nconfine the Varieties of Providence and Nature, to the narrow Compass of\nwhat we have seen, or of what falls under our Imagination. This is a\nmore _strange and assuming Boldness_, as he terms it, _p._ 54 than what\nhe ascribes to the Theorist for saying, We can observe no Order in the\nSituation of Mountains, nor Regularity in their Form and Shape. If the\nExaminer knows any, why does he not tell us what it is, and wherein it\nconsists? Is it necessary that Mountains should be exact Pyramids or\nCones, or any of the regular Bodies? or rang\u2019d upon the Earth in Rank\nand File, or in a quincuncial Order, or like pretty Garden-Knots? If\nthey had been design\u2019d for Beauty, this might have done well; but\nProvidence seems on Purpose to have left these Irregularities in their\nFigure and Site, as Marks and Signatures to us, that they are the\nEffects of a Ruin.\n\nBut to shew farther and more particularly the Necessity of Mountains,\nthe Examiner says, _p._ 55. and 61. Without them \u2019tis impossible there\nshould be Rivers, or without Rivers an habitable World. Neither of these\nPropositions seems to me to be sure; they run still upon\nImpossibilities, which is a nice Topick, and lies much out of our Reach.\nI think Vapours may be condens\u2019d other Ways than by Mountains, and an\nEarth might be so fram\u2019d, as to give a Course to Rivers, though there\nwere no particular Mountains, if the general Figure of it was higher in\none Part than another. Then as to the absolute Necessity of Rivers, to\nmake an Earth habitable, that is questionable too. We are told by good\nAuthors, of some Countries or Islands that have no Rivers or Springs,\nand yet are habitable and fruitful, being water\u2019d by Dews. This may give\nus an Advertisement, from a Part to the Whole, that an Earth may be made\nhabitable without Rivers. If at first Vapours ascended, and fell down in\nDews, so as to _water the whole Face of the Earth_, _Gen._ ii. 6. God\nmight, if he had pleas\u2019d, have continued the same Course of Nature. And\nit is the Opinion of many Interpreters, and seems to have been an\nantient Tradition, that there was no Rain till the Deluge. If there was\nno Rainbow in the first Earth, (which I think the Theorist hath\nundeniably prov\u2019d, _Theor._ _Book_ II. _c._ 5.) it will be hard to prove\nthat there were then any watery Clouds in the habitable Parts of the\nEarth. And our best[24] Observators will allow no Clouds or Rains in the\nMoon, (and some of them no Rivers,) yet will not suppose the Moon\nunhabitable. To conclude, \u2019tis a great Vanity to say no worse, for\nshort-sighted Creatures, and of narrow Understandings, to prescribe to\nProvidence what is necessary and indispensable to the Frame and Order of\nan habitable World.\n\nWe proceed to his fourth Chapter; which is to shew the Inconveniencies\nthat would fall upon the Inhabitants of the Earth, in case it had such a\nPosture as the Theorist hath assign\u2019d to the ante-diluvian Earth:\nNamely, that its Axis was parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick, or\nperpendicular to its Plane, and not oblique as it stands now. But will\nthis Author vouch, that there are no habitable Planets in the Universe,\nor even about our Sun, that have this Posture which he blames so much?\n_Jupiter_ is known to have a perpetual Equinox, and his Axis parallel to\nthe Axis of the Ecliptick; and _Mars_ hath little or no Obliquity that\nis observable. And must this be a Reflection upon Providence? Or must we\nsuppose, that these Planets have no Inhabitants, or that their\nHabitations are very bad and incommodious? _Jupiter_ is the noblest\nPlanet we have in our Heaven, whether you consider its Magnitude, or the\nNumber of its Attendants. If then a Planet of that Order and Dignity,\nhave such a Position and Aspect to the Sun, why might not our Earth have\nhad the same, proper to that State, and agreeable to the Divine Wisdom?\nYet he is so bold as to say, or suppose, _p._ 66. That _this cannot well\nagree with the infinite Wisdom of its Maker_; as if he was able to make\na Measure or Standard for all the Works of God. \u2019Tis a crude and\ninjudicious Thing, from a few Particulars, the rest unknown, to make an\nuniversal Conclution, which forward Wits are apt to do. \u03a0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u1f40\u03bb\u03af\u03b3\u03b1\n\u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03bb\u03b5\u03c8\u03ac\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4.\u2014_Ad pauca respiciens, facile pronuncias_, was\n_Aristotle_\u2019s Observation of old, and it holds in all Ages.\n\nThis Examiner, _p._ 76. censures the Theorist very rudely, for making\nuse of _physical Causes_, and not arguing from _final Causes_, which, he\nsays, _are the true Principles of natural Philosophy_. But, if this be\nthe Use he makes of final Causes, to tell God Almighty what is best to\nbe done, in this or that World, I had rather content myself with\n_physical Causes_, to know what God hath done, and conclude it to be the\nbest, and that we should judge it so, if we had the same Extent of\nThought and Prospect its Maker had. There are indeed some _final Causes_\nthat are so manifest, that I should think it Sottishness or Obstinacy\nfor a Man to deny them; but I should also think that Man presumptuous,\nthat should pretend to draw the Scheme and Plan of every World, from his\nIdea of _final Causes_. There are some Men that mightily cry out against\n_Reason_, yet none more fond of it than they are, when they can get it\non their Side: So some Men inveigh against _physical Causes_, when\nothers make use of them, and yet as gladly as any make use of them\nthemselves, when they can make them serve their Purpose; and when they\ncannot reach them, then they despise them, and are all for _final\nCauses_. This Author says, _p._ 63. God always _chuses such\nConstitutions and Positions of Things, as bring with them the greatest\nGood and Utility to the Universe_. Very true, to the _Universe_? but who\nmade him judge what is best to the Universe? Does he look upon this\nEarth as the Universe, whereof it is but a small Particle, or an Atom in\ncomparison? Must there be no Variety in the numberless Worlds which God\nhath made? Must they all be one and the same Thing repeated again and\nagain? That I\u2019m sure does not _well agree with the infinite Wisdom and\nPower of God_.\n\nBut suppose we did confine our Thoughts to this Earth, we may be assur\u2019d\nthat it hath undergone and will undergo, within the Compass of its\nDuration, very different States, and yet all accommodate to Providence.\nThose that suppose the Heavens and the Earth never to have had any other\nConstitution and Construction than what they have now, or that there\nhath never been any great Change and Revolution in our natural World,\nfollow the very Doctrine which St. _Peter_ opposes and confutes in his\n_second Epistle_, Chap. 3. I mean the Doctrine of those _Scoffers_, as\nhe calls them, who said, _All Things_, the Heavens and the Earth, _have\nremained in the same State they are in now, from the Beginning_, or from\nthe Creation, and are to continue so. In Confutation of this Opinion,\nSt. _Peter_ there minds them of the Change made at the Deluge, and of\nthe different Constitution and Construction of the Heavens and the\nEarth, before and after the Deluge, whereby they were dispos\u2019d to\nundergo a different Fate, one by Water, and the other by Fire. And he\ntells us in the same Place, that after the Conflagration, there will be\n_new Heaven_; and a _new Earth_: So that there is no one fix\u2019d and\npermanent State even of this Earth, according to the Will and Wisdom of\nProvidence. But enough hath been said by the Theorist upon this Subject\n(_Theor. Lat._ _l._ 1. _c._ 1 & 2. _Review_, p. 160. _&c._ _Arch\u00e6ol._\n_l._ 2. _c._ 3, 5, 6.) And if they will not consider the Arguments\npropos\u2019d there, \u2019twould be in vain to repeat them here.\n\nThese Things premis\u2019d, let\u2019s consider what Inconveniencies are alledged,\nor what Arguments against that Equality of Seasons, or the grand Cause\nof them, the Parallelism of the Axis of the Earth, with the Axis of the\nSun. He says, upon this Supposition, there is more Heat now in the\nClimates of the Earth, than could have been then. And what if there be?\nWhether his Computation (which is aim\u2019d against another Author) be true\nor false, \u2019tis little to the _Theory_: If the Heat was equal and\nmoderate in the temperate and habitable Climates, who would desire the\nextreme Heats of Summer? But he says, _p._ 66. That Heat would not be\nsufficient for the Generation of Vegetables. How does that appear?\nsupposing that Heat constant throughout the whole Year. Does he think\nthere are no Vegetables in _Jupiter_, which hath still the same Position\nthe Theorist gave to the ante-diluvian Earth. And as to Heat, that\nPlanet is at vastly a greater Distance from the Sun than our Earth, and\nconsequently hath so much less Heat; yet I cannot believe that great\nPlanet to be only a huge Lump of bald and barren Earth. As to our\nante-diluvian Earth, \u2019tis probable that the Constitution of Plants and\nAnimals, was different then from what it is now, as their Longevity was\ndifferent, to which any Excesses of Heat or Cold are noxious; and the\nFrequency and Multiplicity of Generations and Corruptions in the present\nEarth, is Part of that Vanity to which it was subjected. But this\nExaminer says moreover, If the first Earth had that Position, the\ngreatest Part of it would not be habitable. But how much less habitable\nwould it be than the present Earth? where the open Sea, which was not\nthen, takes up half of its Surface, and makes it unhabitable. \u2019Tis\nlikely the torrid Zone was unhabitable in that Earth; but \u2019tis probable\nthe Poles or Polar Parts were more habitable than they are now, seeing\nthey would have the Sun, or rather Half-Sun perpetually in their\nHorizon: And as to the temperate Climates, as we call them, they would\nbe under such a gentle and constant Warmth, as would be more grateful to\nthe Inhabitants, and more proper and effectual for a continual Verdure\nand Vegetation, than any Region of the present Earth is now.\n\nBut this Objector does not consider, on the other hand, what an hard\nLife they would lead in those Days, at least in many Parts of the Earth,\nif the Seasons of the Year were the same they are now, and they confin\u2019d\nto Herbs, Fruits, and Water; for that was the Diet of Mankind till the\nDeluge. Should we not think it an unmerciful Imposition now, to be\ninterdicted the Use of Flesh-Meat all the Year long? Or rather is it\npossible that the Life of Man could be supported by Herbs and Fruits,\nand Water in the colder Climates, where the Winters are so long and\nbarren, and the Cold so vehement? But, if you suppose a perpetual Spring\nthroughout the Earth, the Heavens mild, and the Juices of Fruits and\nPlants more nutritive, that Objection would cease, and their Longevity\nbe more intelligible.\n\nWe come now to the Causes of the Change in the Posture of the Earth,\nwhere the Theorist hath set down his Conjectures, what he thought the\nmost probable to be the Occasion of it: Namely, either some Inequality\nin the Libration of the Earth, after it was dissolved and broken; or a\nChange in the Magnetism of its Body, consequent upon its Dissolution,\nand the different Situation of its Parts. But this Examiner will neither\nallow any Change to have been made in the Position of the Earth since\nthe Beginning of the World; nor, if there was a Change, that it could be\nmade from such Causes. The first of these Points you see is Matter of\nFact; and so it must be prov\u2019d, partly by History, and partly by Reason.\nSome Things are noted before, which argue that the ante-diluvian Earth\nwas different from the present, in its Frame and Constitution, as also\nin reference to the Heavens; and the Places are referred to, where the\nMatter is treated more largely by the Theorist. If it be granted, that\nthere was a permanent Change made in the State of Nature at the Deluge,\nor any other Time, but deny\u2019d that it was made by a Change of the\nSituation of the Earth, and the Consequences of it, then this Writer\nmust assign some other Change made, which would have the same Effects;\nthat is, which will answer and agree with the Ph\u00e6nomena of the first\nEarth, and also of the present. When this is done, if it be clear and\nconvictive, we must acquiesce in it: But I do not see that it is so much\nas attempted by this Author.\n\nThis suppos\u2019d Change, I say, is Matter of Fact, and therefore we must\nconsult History and Reason for the Proof or Disproof of it. As to\nHistory, the Theorist hath cited to this Purpose _Leucippus_,\n_Anaxagoras_, _Democritus_, _Empedocles_, _Plato_ and _Diogenes_. These\nwere the most renowned Philosophers amongst the Antients; and all these\nspeak of an Inclination of the Earth or the Poles, which hath been made\nin former Ages. These, one would think, might be allow\u2019d as good\nWitnesses of a former Tradition concerning a Change in the Situation of\nthe Earth, when nothing is brought against them. And this Change is\nparticularly call\u2019d by _Plato_ \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03c3\u03af\u03b1 or \u1f00\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1\u03bb\u03af\u03b1, a Disharmony or\nDisconcerting of the Motions of the Heavens, which he makes the Source\nand Origin of the present Evils and Inconveniencies of Nature. Besides,\nhe dates this Change from the Expiration of the Reign of _Saturn_, or\nwhen _Jupiter_ came to take the Government upon him: And this, you know,\nin the Style of those Times, signifies the End of the Golden Age. Thus\nfar _Plato_ carries the Tradition: Now, the Poets tell us expressly that\nthere was a _perpetual Spring_, or a perpetual Equinox in the Time of\n_Saturn_, and that the Inequality of the Year, or the Diversity of\nSeasons was first introduc\u2019d by _Jupiter_. The Authors and Places are\nknown and noted by the Theorist; I need not repeat them here. You see\nwhat this Evidence amounts to, both that there hath been a Change, and\nsuch a Change, as alter\u2019d the Course of the Year, and brought in a\nVicissitude of Seasons; and this according to the Doctrines or\nTraditions remaining amongst the Heathens. The _Jews_ and _Christians_\nsay the same Thing, but in another Manner: They do not speak of the\nGolden Age, nor of the Reign of _Saturn_ or _Jupiter_, but of the State\nof Paradise, or _Gan-Eden_; and concerning that, they say the same\nThings, which the Heathen Authors say, in different Words. The _Jews_\nmake a perpetual Equinox in Paradise, the _Christians_ a perpetual\nSerenity, a perpetual Spring; and this cannot be without a different\nSituation of the Earth from what it hath now. He may see the Citations\nif he please, in the _Theory_, or _Arch\u00e6ologia_.\n\nIt were to be wish\u2019d, that this Examiner would look a little into\nAntiquity, when he hath Time: It may be, that would awaken him into new\nThoughts, and a more favourable Opinion of the Theory as to this\nParticular. Give me leave to mind him in his own Way, what some antient\nAstronomers have said relating to this Subject. _Baptista Mantuanus_,\nspeaking of the Longevity of the Ante-Diluvians, says, _Erant illis, ut\nAstronomia & Experimento constat, C\u0153li propitiores; volunt namque\nAstronomi_, _&c._ This he explains by an uniform and concentrical Motion\nof the Heavens and the Earth, at that Time; to which he imputes the\ngreat Virtue of their Herbs and Fruit, and the long Lives of their\nAnimals. _Petrus Aponensis_, who liv\u2019d above an Age before _Mantuan_,\ngive us much what the same Account: For making an Answer to this\nQuestion, _utrum natura humania sit debilitata ab eo quod antiquitus,\nnecne?_ He says, _Cum capita Zodiaci mobilis & immobilis ordinati &\ndirect\u00e8 concurrebant, tunc virtus perfectiori mod\u00f2 \u00e0 primo principio per\nmedias causastaliter ordinatas fortiori modo imprimebatur in ista\ninferiora, cum caus\u00e6 tunc sib invicem correspondeant\u2014\u2014Propter quod\nconcludendum est, tunc naturam humanam illo tempore, ut sic fortiorem &\nlong\u00e6viorem extitisse._ I give it in his own Words as they are in his\n_Conciliator. Differ. 9._\n\n_Georgius Pictorius_, or an Author under his Name, unto the same\nQuestion about the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians, gives a like Answer\nfrom the same Astronomer, in these Words: _Petrus Aponensis adsert\nrationem, & pro vario cursu & dispositione coelorum modo vitam humanam\nbreviari, modo produci seribit. Ex Astronomi\u00e1 argumentum colligens, c\u00f9m\nait duos Zodiacos, unum in non\u00e1 sph\u00e6r\u00e2, alterum in octava (quam\nFirmamentum vocani) in initio rerum & temporum, sic \u00e0 Deo fuisse\ndispositos, ut Aries Arieti, Taurus Tauro, Geminis Gemini jungerentur: &\namborum cocuntibus in unum viribus fortior in Terras fieret fluxus. Unde\nherbas tunc salubriores & fructus terr\u00e6 meliores, & longiores vitas\nanimantium fuisse affirmat. Sed denn\u00f2 ill\u00e1 syderali dissolut\u00e1 ab invicem\nper motum societate, totum ait inferiorem mundum \u00e6grotare, atque per\ndecrementum claudicare c\u00e6pisse._ This, you see, is Astronomy in an\nold-fashion\u2019d Dress; but you can easily take off the Disguise, and apply\nit to the true System of the Heavens. The same Author refers you, for a\nmore full Explication of that Matter, to his _Lectiones succisiv\u00e6, Dial.\nprim._ which Book I have not yet had an Opportunity to see. I believe it\nis in his _Opera Philologica_, printed in _Octavo_ at _Basil_.\n\nBut since the first writing of the Theory, there have been _\u00c6thiopick_\nAntiquities produc\u2019d from an Abyssine Philosopher, and transmitted to us\nby _Francisco Patricio_ in his Dialogues. If that Account he gives of\nthe _\u00c6thiopian Arch\u00e6ologia_ be true and genuine, they exceed all other\nupon this Subject: for they do not only mention this Particular, of the\nUnity of Seasons in the primitive Earth, but the other principal Parts\nof the Theory: As the Concussion and Fraction of the Earth; that the\nFace of it before was smooth and uniform, and upon that Disruption it\ncame into another Form, with Mountains, Rocks, Sea and Islands. These\nand other such Characters are mentioned there, whereof the Examiner may\nsee an Account, if he please, in the last Edition of the _English\nTheory_, p. 189. The Story indeed is surprizing, which way soever you\ntake it, whether it was the Invention of that Abyssine Philosopher, or a\nreal Tradition deriv\u2019d from the _\u00c6thiopian_ Gymnosophists. However that\nbe, there are otherwise such conspicuous Footsteps in philosophick\nHistory, and in what may be call\u2019d Ecclesiastick, amongst the _Jews_ and\n_Christians_, of some Revolution in the System of the World, as must\ngive occasion to any thinking Man to suppose, that there hath been a\nChange made in the Situation of the Earth. This, by some of the\nforementioned Authors, is ascrib\u2019d expresly to the Earth; and what by\nothers (according to their Hypothesis) is ascrib\u2019d to the higher\nHeavens, we know upon a just Interpretation belongs to the Earth. Those\nalso that ascribe such Ph\u00e6nomena to Paradise, or the Golden Age, as are\nnot intelligible upon any other Supposition, must also be referr\u2019d to\nthis Change of the Site or Posture of the Earth: So that upon all\nAccounts (mediately or immediately) the Matter of Fact, that the Earth\nhath undergone such a Change, is testified by History, Antiquity and\nTradition. It deserves also to be observ\u2019d, that there was a general\nTradition amongst the Antients, concerning the Inhabitability of the\nTorrid Zone; which may be an Argument or Confirmation, that there was a\nState of Nature at one time or other, when this was true, and that such\na general Opinion could not arise, and be continued so long without some\nFoundation.\n\nSo much for History to determine Matter of Fact: Now as to Reason (which\nwe mentioned as the other Head, to prove or disprove this Conclusion.)\nThat the Form of the primitive Earth which is assign\u2019d by the Theorist,\nbeing suppos\u2019d, namely, that it was regular, uniform, and had an equal\nLibration, it would naturally take an even and parallel Position with\nthe Axis of its Orbit, or of the Ecliptick, as is set down more at large\nin the Theory: Nor can any Reason be alledg\u2019d to the contrary. \u2019Tis\ntrue, this Examiner, _p. 83._ notwithstanding any Uniformity and\nEquilibration of that Earth, pretends it would be indifferent to any\nPosition, or _retain any Position given, as a Sphere will do, put in a\nFluid_. This might be, if that Sphere or Globe was resting; but if it\nwas turn\u2019d about its Axis, and the Axis of the Fluid (which is the\npresent Case) it would certainly take a Position parallel to the Axis of\nits Fluid, if there was no other Impediment.\n\nThe Matter of Fact being settled with the Cause of it, what the Causes\nof the Change were, is more problematical. The Philosophers forecited\ngave their Reason; _Aristarchus Samius_ gives another, and a _Comet_ by\nsome is made the occasion of it: The Theorist thinks that the\nDissolution of the Earth was the fundamental Cause, and that the Change\ncame to pass at that time, as many Indications and Arguments shew. And\nas to the immediate Cause or Causes of it, I know none more probable\nthan what the Theorist hath proposed; _Eng. Theor._ _p. 267._ Either the\nChange of its Center of Gravity, or of its Magnetism; the Line of\nDirection to those magnetick Particles, and their passing through the\nEarth being so alter\u2019d, as to turn the Earth into another Posture, and\nhold it there. As to those Expressions that he seems to quarrel with, of\nthe Inclination of the Earth, or the Pole, towards the Sun, \u2019tis the\nExpression of the antient Philosophers, tho\u2019 I think it might more\nproperly be called an Obliquation. Then that the former State is called\n_situs rectus_, is another Expression which he finds fault with; though\nevery one sees that a _right Situation_ in such Places, is opposed to an\n_oblique_, or inclined Position to the Axis of the Sun or Ecliptick, and\nhad been called _parallel_ in several other Places; and which he\nhimself, _p. 71._ sometimes, as well as other Authors, call a right\nPosition. This is but trifling about Words: If he grants that the\nprimitive Earth being uniform, and consequently equally pois\u2019d, its Axis\nwould be parallel (which for shortness, is sometimes call\u2019d _right_) to\nthe Axis of its Orbit, and is now in a different and oblique Posture,\nthis is all the Theorist desires, as to Matter of Fact. I conceive the\nwhole Matter thus: When the Earth was in that even and parallel Posture\nwith the Axis of the Sun, it had a perpetual Equinox and Unity of\nSeasons, the Equator and Ecliptick being coincident: And as to the\nHeavens, they with the fix\u2019d Stars mov\u2019d or seem\u2019d to move uniformly and\nconcentrically with the Earth. But when the Earth chang\u2019d its Posture to\nthat which it hath now, the Year became unequal, and the Equator and\nEcliptick became distinct Circles, or, if you will, a new Circle arose\nfrom the Distinction. The Earth in the mean time continuing its annual\nCourse in the Ecliptick, had the Position of its Axis chang\u2019d to a\nParallelism with the Axis of the Equator, which it holds throughout the\nwhole Year. As to the Heavens, they seem\u2019d to turn upon another Axis, or\nother Poles than they did before, and different from those of the Sun or\nthe Earth: And this fundamental Change in the Site of the Earth, had a\nfarther Chain of Consequences, as is noted by the Theorist, in reference\nto the State both of the animate and inanimate World, This is, in short,\nthe State of the Case, which is sometimes express\u2019d in different Terms,\nespecially by the Antients, who generally followed another System of the\nHeavens and the Earth, and were not always accurate in their\nExpressions.\n\nThis Author would square and conform all the Planets to the Model of the\npresent Earth: Whereas there is _Diversity of Administrations_ in the\nnatural World, as well as spiritual, yet the same Providence every\nwhere. The Axes of the Planets are not all parallel to that of the Sun,\nnor all oblique; and those that are so, have not all the same Degrees of\nObliquity, yet we have Reason to think them all habitable. In some there\nare no different Seasons of the Year, and in some they differ in another\nmanner than ours; and the Periods of their Years are very different. In\nlike manner, as to the Days, in some they are longer, in others shorter:\nIn the _Moon_ a Day lasts fourteen or fifteen of our Days, and their\nNights are proportionably longer than our Nights. In _Jupiter_, the Days\nare but of five Hours, and so the Nights; that Planet being turned in\nten Hours about his Axis. In _Mercury_ we know little what the Seasons\nor Days are, but its Year must be much shorter than ours; as also is\nthat of _Venus_; and their Heat from the Sun, must be much greater.\n_Jupiter_ and _Saturn_ are at vast Distances from the Sun, and must\nproportionably have less Heat; and _Saturn_ must have a greater\nDifference of Summer and Winter than we have, by reason of his greater\nObliquity to the Sun. These and such like Observations, show what Vanity\nit is to make an universal Standard from the State of our Earth: Or to\nsay, this is best, and to make Things otherwise, would be inconsistent\nwith the _infinite Wisdom of their Maker_, as this Examiner, _p. 66._\npretends to do.\n\nBut to return to his Objections: This he suggests, _ibid._ as one, that\nin case of a perpetual Equinox, the annual Motion of the Earth about the\nSun would be to no Purpose. Of this we are no competent Judges, no more\nthan of the other Differences foremention\u2019d in the Conditions of the\nPlanets. Yet, in that Case, a Distinction and Computation of Time might\nbe made, by their Aspect to the different Signs of the Zodiack. There\nmay be, (for any Thing we know,) in the Extent of the Universe, Planets,\nor great opaque Bodies, that have no Course about their Suns, for\nReasons best known to their Maker; and others that have no diurnal\nMotion about their Axes: Nor ought such States, tho\u2019 very different from\nours, to be concluded incongruous. If this Objection of his were of any\nForce, it would lie against _Jupiter_ as well as against the\nante-diluvian Earth. And this minds me of his Objection taken from\n_Saturn_ and _Jupiter_, whose Axes, he says, are Inclined to the Axis of\nthe Ecliptick; and yet, according to the Theorist, they have suffer\u2019d no\nDeluge. This is an unhappy Argument, for I think it hath two Errors in\nit: But let us set down his Words, that there may be no Mistake or\nMisrepresentation, _p. 76._ _Another Argument which may be brought to\nconvince the Theorist that the Axis of the Earth was at first inclined\nto the Plane of the Ecliptick is, that it is certain by Observation,\nthat Saturn and Jupiter (whom the Theorist will allow to have suffered\nno Deluge as yet) have their Axes not perpendicular, but inclined to the\nPlanets of their Orbits; and the Position is true of all the other\nPlanets, as far as they can be observ\u2019d. And therefore, &c._ First, as\nto _Saturn_, I\u2019m sure the Theorist never thought that Planet to be now\nin its original Form, but to be broken, and to have already suffer\u2019d a\nDissolution, as you may see in both Theories, _English_ and _Latin_[25].\nThen as to the Position of _Jupiter_, I know not whence he has this\n_certain_ Observation, that its Axis is oblique to the Plane of its\nOrbit: For[26] _Hugenius_ tells us just the contrary, and that it hath a\nperpetual Equinox. Let these Things be examin\u2019d, and hereafter let us be\ncautious how we take Things upon the Examiner\u2019s Word, if he be found to\nhave committed two Faults in one Objection.\n\nFarthermore, he intimates, (_p. 94._) that the Theorist hath no Mind to\nthe Notion of _Attraction_; I believe so too, nor in Philosophy to any\nother Notion that is unconceivable. He must tell us how this\n_Attraction_ differs from an _occult Quality_, whether it is a\nmechanical Principle or no; and if not, from what Principle it arises.\nWhen he hath told us this, we shall be better able to judge of it.\n\nAfter all, to conclude this Chapter, the one grand Question with the\nTheorist (whatsoever there may be with other Authors) is this, _whether_\nthe Earth has chang\u2019d its Situation since the Beginning of the World:\nAnd that it has done so, the Theorist does still positively maintain.\n\nHaving insisted more largely upon these four first Chapters, as being\nmost fundamental in the Controversy, we shall dispatch more readily this\nfifth and the seventh, leaving the sixth Chapter to a more particular\nDisquisition in the last Place.\n\nThis fifth Chapter is designed against the Rivers of the primitive\nEarth, according to that Origin and Derivation that is given them by the\nTheorist. But it is to be noted in the first Place, that supposing they\nhad any other Origin or Course than what is there assign\u2019d (excepting\nonly an Origin from Mountains,) the _Theory_ continues still in Force.\nFor this Point about the Waters of the first Earth, and the Explication\nof them, is one of those Explications that admit of Latitude and\nVariety; and therefore as to the _Theory_, the Question is only this,\n_Whether_ an habitable Earth may have Rivers without Mountains. For if\nany Earth may have them without Mountains, why not the primitive Earth?\nNow it will be hard for the Examiner, or any other, to prove, that in\nevery World, where there are Waters and Rivers, there are Mountains. We\nintimated before, that the general Frame of an Earth might be such as\nwould give a Course to Waters without particular Mountains. But we will\nleave that at present to a farther Consideration, and observe now what\nhis Proofs are, that there could be no Rivers in the primitive Earth.\n\nFirst he says, _p. 87._ _According to the Theorist\u2019s Own Hypothesis,\nthere could be no Rivers for a long Time after the Formation of the\nEarth_. Where is this said by the Theorist? His Hypothesis supposes,\nthat the soft and moist Earth could not but afford Store of Vapours at\nfirst, as this Author in another Place hath noted for the Sense of the\nTheorist, (_p. 86._) and now he says the quite contrary: The Chanels of\nthe Rivers indeed would not be so deep and hollow at first as they are\nnow, their Cavities being wrought by Degrees; but still there would not\nwant Vapours to supply them.\n\nThen he says, _p. 88._ when that first Moisture of the Earth was\nlessened, there could be no Supply of Vapours from the Abyss; seeing the\nHeat of the Sun could not reach so far, nor raise Vapours from it, or at\nleast not in a sufficient Quantity, as he pretends to prove hereafter:\nBut in the mean Time he speaks of great Cracks or Pits, whose Dimensions\nand Capacities he examines at Pleasure, and by these he makes the\nTheorist to suppose the Vapours to ascend. Now I do not find that the\nTheorist makes any Mention of these Pits, nor any Use of those Cracks\nfor that Purpose. The only Question is, whether the Heat of the Sun in\nthat Earth would reach so low as the Abyss, when the Earth was more\ndried, a\u00bbd its Pores enlarg\u2019d: So that this Objection, as he states it,\nseems to refer to some other Author.\n\nBut now supposing the Vapours rais\u2019d, he considers what Course they\nwould take, or which Way they would move in the open Air. But before\nthat be examin\u2019d, we must take Notice how unfairly he deals with the\nTheorist, when he seems to make him suppose, _p. 94, 95._ that Mountains\n_make way for the Motion and Dilatation of the Vapours_; which he never\nsuppos\u2019d, nor is it possible he should suppose it in the first Earth,\nwhere there were no Mountains. Neither does the Theorist suppose, as\nthis Author would insinuate, that Mountains or Cold dilate Vapours, but\non the contrary, that they _stop_ and _compress them_, as the Words are\ncited, even by the Examiner a little before, _p. 86._\n\nThen as to the Course of the Vapours, when they are rais\u2019d, the Theorist\nsupposes that would be towards the Poles and the coldest Climates. But\nthis Author says, _p. 97._ they would all move Westward, or from East to\nWest; _there being a continual Wind blowing from the East to West,\naccording to the Motion of the Sun_. Whether that Wind come from the\nMotion of the Sun, or of the Earth, (which is contrary,) is another\nQuestion; but however, let them move at first to the West, the Question\nhere is, _Where they would be condens\u2019d_, or where they would fall. And\nthere is little Probability that their Condensation would be under the\nEquator, where they are most agitated, but rather by an Impulse of new\nVapours, they would soon divert towards the Poles, and losing their\nAgitation there, would fall in Dews or Rains. Which Condensation being\nmade, and a Passage open\u2019d that Way for new ones to supply their Places,\nthere would be a continual Draught of Vapours, from the hotter to the\ncolder Parts of the Earth.\n\nWe proceed now to the seventh Chapter, which is in a good Measure upon\nthe same or a like Subject with this, namely, concerning the Penetration\nof the Heat of the Sun into the Body of the Earth. This, he says, _p.\n148._ cannot be to any considerable Depth; nor could it pass the\nexterior Orb of the first Earth, and affect the Abyss, or raise Vapours\nfrom it. To prove this, he supposes that exterior Earth divided into so\nmany Surfaces as he pleases, then supposing the Heat diminished in every\nSurface, he concludes it could not possibly pass through so many. Thus\nyou may divide an Inch into an hundred or a thousand Surfaces, and prove\nfrom thence, that no Heat of the Sun could pierce through an Inch of\nEarth. We must rather consider Pores than Surfaces in this Case; and\nwhether those Pores were straight or oblique, the Motion would pass\nhowever, though not the Light: And the Heat of the Sun might have its\nEffect, by a direct or indirect Motion, to a great Depth within the\nEarth, notwithstanding the Multitude of Surfaces that he imagines. Those\nthat think a Comet, upon its nearer Approach to the Sun, would be\npierc\u2019d with its Heat through and through; and to such a Degree, as to\nbecome much hotter than red hot Iron, will not think it strange, that at\nour Distance from the Sun, its Heat should have some proportionable\nEffect upon the inward Parts of the Earth. And all those imaginary solid\nSurfaces do not hinder, you see, the magnetick Particles from running\nthrough the Body of the Earth, and making the Globe one great Magnet.\n\nBut let those Considerations have what Effect they can, this Supposition\nhowever is nothing peculiar to the Theorist. I know some learned Men\nthink the Heat of the Sun does penetrate deep into the Bowels of the\nEarth; others think it does not, and either of them have their\nArguments. These alledge the equal Temper of Vaults and Mines at\ndifferent Seasons of the Year: The other say, \u2019tis true, subterraneous\nPlaces keep their Equality of Temper much better than the external Air,\nand those Differences that appear to us, are in a great Measure by\ncomparison with the Temper of our Bodies. Then for their own Opinion,\nthey take an Argument from the Generation of Metals and Minerals in the\nBowels of the Earth, and other subterraneous Fossiles. These, we see,\nare ripen\u2019d by degrees in several Ages, and cannot, as they think, be\nbrought to Maturity, and raised into the exterior Earth, without the\nHeat and Influence of the Sun: Of the same Sun that actuates all the\nvegetable World, that quickens Seeds, and raises Juices into the Roots\nof our deepest, and Tops of our highest Oaks and Cedars.\n\nBut let this remain a Problem; I will instance in another remarkable\nPh\u00e6nomenon, which is most for the present Purpose, I mean Earthquakes.\nLet us consider the Causes of them, and the Depths of them: I think all\nagree, that Earthquakes arise from the Rarefaction of Vapours and\nExhalations, and that this Rarefaction must be made by some Heat; and no\nother is yet proved to us by this Author than that of the Sun. Then as\nto the Depth of Earthquakes, we find they are deeper than the Bottom of\nthe Sea: For, besides that they communicate with different Countries\ndivided by the Sea, they are found sometimes to arise within the Sea,\nand from the Bottom of it, at great Depths. This seems to prove, that\nthere may be a strong Rarefaction of Vapours and Exhalations far within\nthe Bowels of the Earth; and the Theorist desires no more. If in the\npresent Constitution of the Earth, there may be such Concussions and\nSubversions for a great Extent, we have no Reason to believe, but there\nmight be (at a Time appointed by Providence) an universal Disruption, as\nthat Earth was constituted. Finally, whatsoever the Causes of this\nDisruption and Dissolution were, \u2019tis certain there was a _Disruption of\nthe Abyss_, and that Disruption universal as the Deluge was; which\nanswers sufficiently the Design of the _Theory_. However, if he have a\nmind to see, how this agrees with History, both sacred and prophane, he\nmay consult, if he pleases, what the Theorist hath noted upon that\nArgument, _Arch\u00e6ol. l. 2. c. 4._ besides other Places.\n\nBut this Author says farther, That supposing such a Disruption of the\nAbyss, and Dissolution of the exterior Earth, no universal Deluge\nhowever could follow upon it; because there could not be Water enough\nleft in the Abyss to make or occasion such a Deluge: For the Rivers of\nthe Earth being then supply\u2019d from the Abyss, by such a Time, or before\nthe Time of the Deluge, he says, there would be no Water left in it.\nThus he goes from one Extreme to another: Before he said, the Power of\nthe Sun could not reach or affect the Abyss to draw out any Vapours from\nit; now he would make the Evaporation so excessive, that it would have\nemptied the great Abyss before the Deluge. This is a great Undertaking,\nand to make it good he takes a great Compass: He pretends to shew us,\nwhat Quantity of Water all the Rivers of the Earth throw into the Sea\nevery Day; and beginning with the River _Po_, and taking his Measure\nfrom that, he supposes there are such a certain Number of equivalent\nRivers upon the Face of the whole Earth; and if the _Po_ casts so much\nWater into the Sea, the rest will cast so much more, and in Conclusion\nso much as would empty the Abyss.\n\nYou will easily believe, _Sir_, there must be great Uncertainties in\nthis Computation: But, if that was certain, as it is far from it, still\nhe goes upon Suppositions that are not allow\u2019d by the Theorist. For,\nfirst, he supposes the Waters of the present Sea to be equal to the\nWaters of the great Abyss: Whereas, supposing them of the same Depth,\nthere would be near twice as much Water in the _great Deep_, as is now\nin the Ocean; seeing the Abyss was extended under the whole Earth, and\nthe Sea reaches but to half of it. Secondly, He should prove that the\nRivers of the ante-diluvian Earth were as many, and as great, as we have\nnow. The Torrid Zone then had none, and much less would serve the\ntemperate Climates than is requisite now for the Earth. Besides, the\nRivers of that Earth were not supplied by Vapours only from the Abyss,\nbut also from all the Earth, and all the Waters upon the Earth: And when\nthe Rivers were partly lost and spent in the Torrid Zone, they were in a\ngreat Measure exhal\u2019d there, and drawn into the Air by the Heat of the\nSun, and would fall again in another Place, to make new Rains and a new\nSupply to the Rivers. So, in like manner, when he supposes, _p. 158._\nthe Rivers that were upon the Earth, at the Time of the Disruption or\nthe great Deep, to have thrown themselves off the Land, as if they were\nlost; and makes a Computation how much Water all the Rivers of the Earth\namount to: This, I say, is a needless Computation as to the present\nPurpose. For whatsoever Mass of Waters they amounted to, it would not be\nlost: If they fell down and joined with the Abyss, they would increase\nits Store, and be thrown up again by the Fall of the Fragments, making\nso much a greater Mass to overflow the Earth; So that nothing is gain\u2019d\nby this Supposition. The Effect would be the same as to the Deluge:\nWhether the Waters above the Earth, and those under the Earth met\ntogether sooner or later, when their Forces were joined, they would\nstill have the same Effect, as we said before of the Vapours. And to\nconclude that Point, the whole Sum of Waters, or Vapours convertible\ninto Waters, that were from the Beginning, or at any Time, would still\nbe preserv\u2019d above Ground, or under Ground: And that would turn to the\nsame Account, as to the Flood.\n\nThese Waters and Vapours all collected, the Theorist supposes\nsufficient, upon a Dissolution of the Earth, to make the Deluge: Not\nindeed in the Nature of a Standing Pool, as it is usually conceiv\u2019d; a\nquiet Pool, I say, overtopping and standing calm over the Heads of the\nhighest Mountains; but as a rushing Sea, overflowing and sweeping them\nwith its raging Waves and impetuous Fluctuations, when it was violently\nforc\u2019d out of all its Chanels, and the Vapours condensed into Rain. Such\nan Inundation as this, would be sufficient to destroy both Man and\nBeast, and other Creatures, those few excepted, that were miraculously\npreserv\u2019d in the Ark. This is the Theorist\u2019s Explication of the Deluge,\nand I see nothing in this Argument, that will destroy or weaken it.\n\nNow, this being the State of the Deluge, according to the Theorist, what\nthis Author says in the next Paragraph (_p. 167._) is either a\nMisrepresentation, or an Equivocation. For the eight Oceans requir\u2019d by\nthe Theorist, is the Quantity of Water necessary for a Deluge in the Way\nof a Standing Pool: Whereas this Author represents it, as if the\nTheorist required so much Water to make a Deluge upon his Hypothesis.\nThis, I suppose, upon Reflection, the Author cannot but see to be a\nMistake, or a wilful Misrepresentation.\n\nThis is the Sum of his seventh Chapter: There are besides some\nSuggestions made, which it may be were intended for Objections by the\nAuthor: As when he says, (_p. 151._) that the Heat of the Sun would be\nintolerable upon the Surface of the Earth, if it could pierce and\noperate upon the Abyss. We allow, that its Heat was intolerable in the\nTorrid Zone, which thereby became unhabitable; and there only the Sun\nwas in its full Strength, and had its greatest Effect upon the Abyss.\nBut in the other Climates, the Heat would be moderate enough; nay, so\nmoderate, that this Author says in another Place, _p. 66, 69_, _&c._ it\nwould not be sufficient to ripen Fruits, and in the Whole, of less Force\nthan it is now in the present Constitution of the Earth. So apt is\nContention to carry one out of one Extreme into another.\n\nHis last Objection is about the Duration of the Flood, that it could not\nlast in its Force a hundred and fifty Days, if it had been made by a\nDissolution of the Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyss. But as this is\naffirm\u2019d by him without Proof, so the contrary is sufficiently explain\u2019d\nand made out, both in the _Latin_ and _English_ Theory, p. 52, 56.\n\nI had forgot to tell him, that he ought not to suppose, as he seems to\ndo, when he is emptying the Abyss, (_p. 165._) that after the Torrid\nZone was soak\u2019d with Waters by the Issues of the Rivers, no more Waters\nor Vapours were drawn from it then, than were before, or consequently no\nless from the Abyss. For when the middle Parts of the Earth had drunk in\nthose Waters, the Force of the Sun would be less upon the Abyss through\nthose Parts, and the Vapours would be more and greater from them, than\nbefore when they were drier, and in the same Proportion they needed less\nSupplies from the Abyss.\n\n\n                               CHAP. VI.\n                 _Concerning the Figure of the Earth._\n\n\nI Deferr\u2019d the Consideration of this Chapter to the last, because I\nthought it of a more general Concern, and might deserve a fuller\nDisquisition. \u2019Tis now, you know, become a common Controversy or\nEnquiry, _what the Figure of the Earth is_. Many think it not truly\nSpherical, as it was imagin\u2019d formerly, but a Spheroid, either oblong or\noblate; that is, either extended in Length toward the Poles, like an\noval; or, on the contrary, swelling in Breadth under the Equator, and so\nshorter than a just Sphere betwixt Pole and Pole, and broader in the\nmiddle Parts. \u2019Tis true, the Theorist is not directly concern\u2019d in this\nControversy, because he does not in the _Theory_ affirm the present\nEarth to be oblong or oval, not knowing what Change might be made at its\nDissolution. However, it may be worth the while to enquire what\nArguments are bought, either from Causes or Effects, to determine the\nFigure of the Earth, whether past or present.\n\n\u2019Tis easy indeed by Observation to determine, that the Earth is a convex\nBody, not plain, as the _Epicureans_ fansied; and convex on all Sides,\nand therefore in some sort orbicular; but whether it be truly spherical,\nthose common Observations will not determine. The Theorist nam\u2019d and\npointed at such Observations, as he thought would be most likely to\ndiscover the precise Figure of the Earth: As to observe, for Instance,\nwhether the Extent of a Degree was the same all the Earth over, in\ndifferent Latitudes, or at different Distances from the Equator. Then to\nobserve whether the Shade of the Earth in a total Eclipse of the Moon be\ntruly round, or any other ways irregular. And also to observe, if\ntowards the Poles, the Return of the Sun into their Horizon, be\naccording to the Rules of a spherical Surface of the Earth. Let us\nconsider these separately, as to the present Earth.\n\nAs to the Measure of a Degree in different Latitudes, we find that\nAuthors are not all of the same Mind. Some will have them unequal, and\nin such a manner, according to their Distance from the Equator, as from\nthat to infer, that the Earth is oblong. This Examiner takes Notice of\nDr. _Eisensmidius_, as one that hath made that Observation, and that\nInference from it, and gives him very rude Words upon that occasion,\nmaking him a Man of _prodigious Stupidity, and Crackpot_, _p. 140_, and\none that did _not understand the first six Elements of Euclid, or indeed\nthose of common Sense, p. 143._ Whatsoever this Professor was, he was\nnot the first that made that Observation and Inference. For another\nMathematician, better known, had made the same, some time before him: I\nmean _Milliet Deschales_, in his _general Principles of Geography_, _Fr.\nl. 1. propos. 29._ But, \u2019tis true, he says, this Conjecture of his, that\nthe Figure of the Earth is oval or ecliptick, would not be well\ngrounded, if the Shade of the Earth in Lunar Eclipses was found to be\nalways perfectly round; of which we shall have occasion to speak\nhereafter. For this, which he makes a Scruple against his own Opinion,\nis by others made an Occasion of suspecting that the Earth is really\nOval. But we must also acknowledge, that the same _Deschales_ in his\n_Latin_ Works does not own the Observation, but owns the Inference,\nwhich is that the Examiner quarrels with. He owns it, I say, in these\nWords,[27] _Si figura terr\u00e6 esset ovalis, plura milliaria decurren\u00faa\nessent versus \u00c6quinoctialem ad inveniendum in elevatione poli mutationem\nunius grad\u00fbs qu\u00e0m versus polos._ And he gives this Reason, _Qui\u00e0 ovalis\nfigura prope vertices minorem sph\u00e6ram imitatur: versus \u00c6quinoctialem\nautem in majorem sph\u00e6ram degenerat._ And again, having taken Notice of\nthe various Computations of a Degree upon the Earth, he subjoins[28],\n_H\u00e6c observationum discrepantia nonnullis suspicionem fecit, Tellurem\nnon omnin\u00f2 sph\u00e6ricam esse, sed sph\u00e6roidem ellipticam, ita ut versus\npolos in minorem circulum abiret. Sed opus est pluribus observationibus\nadid persuadendum._ The Theorist did not assert either the Observation\nto be true or the Inference, but mark\u2019d it as an Observation that\ndeserv\u2019d to be enquir\u2019d into, in order to determine the Figure of the\nEarth. For it seems apparent, that if the Body of the Earth be oblong or\noblate, the Extent of a Degree will not be really the same as if it was\ntruly spherical. Neither do I know any single Observation that would\ngive us more Light, or better help us to discover what the Configuration\nof the Earth is, than the Measure of a Degree exactly taken in different\nLatitudes.\n\nI happened lately to be in Company with a learned Gentleman, and amongst\nother Things that fell into Discourse, I ask\u2019d his Opinion, what\nInequality there would be in the Degrees of the Earth, in case it was\noval, and where it would fall; whether they would be greater towards the\nPoles, or towards the Equator. We were suddenly interrupted by the\ncoming in of new Company, but he said he would send me his Thoughts upon\na little Reflection; and accordingly, after a few Days he was pleased to\nsend me this Letter.\n\n    _SIR_,\n\n    [Illustration: A Circle, with various Points marked.]\n\n    Having now some Leisure (the Elections for Parliament, wherein I had\n    any Concern, being over) I have here sent you my Thoughts on a\n    Subject we lately discours\u2019d of at _Kensington_. Whether in case the\n    Earth is a long Spheroid, the Degrees of Latitude would be greater\n    near the Equator, or near the Poles. I conceive they would be\n    greater near the Equator. Let the Ellipsis _BDCF._ represent the\n    Earth, draw the Line _gp._ which may be a Tangent to the Ellipsis,\n    and likewise meeting with the Axis _BC_, and its Transverse _FD_\n    (after they are produc\u2019d) make the Triangle _gAp_ an Isosceles, and\n    consequently the Angles at the Base _Agp_, _Apg_ each 45 Degrees. I\n    say _HC_ will measure the 45 Degrees of Latitude near the Pole, and\n    _DH_ (which by Inspection without farther Demonstration is evidently\n    bigger) those near the Equator. (I ought to have premis\u2019d that _B_\n    and _C_ represent the Poles.) It is plain the Inhabitants at _H_\n    will be in the Latitude of 45 Degrees, by reason their horizontal\n    Plane _gp_ is by Construction 45 Degrees distant to the Horizon of\n    the Inhabitants under the Line at _D_, which lies parallel to the\n    Axis _BC_.\n\n    If the Earth be a broad Spheroid, _D_ and _F_ representing the\n    Poles, then by the same Method of Reasoning, the Degrees of Latitude\n    will be greatest near the Poles: But as the longest and shortest\n    Diameter of the Earth has in no wise so great a Disproportion as in\n    their Figure (their Difference not exceeding the two hundredth Part\n    at most) the Inequality of the Degrees of Latitude will be\n    proportionally less; but in all Cases, the long Spheroid makes the\n    Degrees greatest near the Equator; and the broad Spheroid those\n    greatest near the Poles. I hope in a Fortnight to have the\n    Satisfaction of seeing you in _London_, and remain,\n\n    _Sir, Your most Humble Servant._\n\nThe Examiner would do well to consider this, lest all the reproachful\nCharacters he casts upon _Eisensmidius_, should recoil upon himself.\n\u2019Tis Prudence, as well as good Manners not to be fierce and vehement in\nCensures, for fear of a Mistake, and a Blackblow. However, the pretended\nDemonstration which this Examiner brings to prove, that, in case the\nEarth was oblong, the Degrees would be greater toward the Poles, does\nnot affect _Eisensmidius_, for it proceeds upon a Supposition which that\nAuthor does not allow; namely, that the Vertical Lines, or the Lines of\nGravity are to be drawn directly to the Center of the Earth: Whereas\n_Eisensmidius_ supposes they ought to be drawn at right Angles, to the\nTangent of each respective Horizon, and would not in all Figures lead\ndirectly to the Center. However, we do not wonder that he is so rude to\nStrangers, seeing he bears so hard in other places, upon some of our own\nlearned Countrymen.\n\nWe proceed now to the Theorist\u2019s second Observation, about Lunar\nEclipses and the Shade of the Earth. This Shade is generally presumed to\nbe exactly round, as the Section of a Cone: And yet the best Astronomers\nhave doubted of it, and some upon that Occasion have doubted of the\nFigure of the Earth. _Kepler_[29] in an Observation of a Lunar total\nEclipse, not finding the Shade of the Earth perfectly round, but rather\noblong, _ut ejus dimetiens \u00e0 Zona Torrida consurgentis sit minor\ndimetiente ejus \u00e0 Polis Terr\u00e6 surgentis_, suspects that the Figure of\nthe Earth was so too. And that we must conclude it to be so from this\nObservation, if there was not some Obliquity in the Rays of the Sun,\nwhereof he shews no Cause or Occasion. _Si retinenda esset, inquit,\nrectitudo radiorum, Globus ipse Terr\u00e6 fiet oviformis, diametro per Polos\nlongiore._ And a like Observation to this he cites from _Tycho Brah\u00e9_,\nin a central, or next to central Eclipse of the Moon. These two great\nAstronomers, it seems, did not find the Shade of the Earth to be justly\nconical; and thereby take away the Reason or lessen the Doubt, which\nhindered M. _Deschales_ from concluding (upon another Observation) the\nFigure of the Earth to be oval.\n\nThe third Observation of the Theorist remains, which is about the Return\nof the Sun unto the polar Parts of the Earth, whether that be according\nto the Rules of a spherical Surface. The Observations that have been\nmade hitherto in the Northern Climates about the Return of the Sun to\nthem, make it quicker than will easily consist with a spherical Figure\nof the Earth; much less are they favourable to a gibbous Form: For that\nGibbosity under the Equator must needs hinder the Appearance and\nDiscovery of the Sun in the respective polar Parts, more than a\nspherical Figure would do. Now it hath been observ\u2019d in _Nova Zembla_,\nthat the returning Sun appear\u2019d to them seventeen Days sooner than they\nexpected, according to the Rules of Astronomy, the Earth being supposed\ntruly spherical; and this may be thought an Argument that the Earth is\nrather depress\u2019d in its middle Parts. I leave the Matter to farther\nExamination. I know \u2019tis usually imputed to Refractions, but that is\nupon the Presumption that the Earth is justly spherical; and a better\nAnswer (upon that Supposition) I think cannot be found. Though, I think,\nit will not be easy in that Way, and upon that Solution to make all the\nPh\u00e6nomena agree, or to shew that the Refractions could make so great a\nDifference. However, this is no improper Topick to be consider\u2019d in\nreference to the Determination of the Figure of the Earth, and for that\npurpose it was noted by the Theorist.\n\nWe have now done with that side of the Question, that respects the\noblong Figure of the Earth, and it remains to consider the other Part; I\nmean the Opinion of those that make the Earth protuberant about the\nEquator, or an oblate Spheroid. This the learned Monsieur _Hugens_[30]\nthinks may be prov\u2019d by Experiments made about the different Vibrations\nof _Pendulums_ in different Latitudes of the Earth. \u2019Tis found, he says,\nby Experience that a _Pendulum_ near the Equator, makes its Vibrations\nslower than another of the same Length, farther from the Equator; and\ngives an Instance of it from an Experiment made at _Caiene_ in _America_\n(which is four or five Degrees from the Equator) compar\u2019d with another\nmade at _Paris_. From this Trial he concludes, first, that the\nGravitation is less under and near the Equator than towards the Poles,\naccording to their several Degrees of Latitude. Then he infers, by\nConsequence, that the Land and the Sea are higher towards the Equator,\nthan towards the Poles. And in Conclusion, that the Figure of the Earth\nis protuberant and gibbous in the Middle, and more flatted, or of a\nshorter Diameter betwixt Pole and Pole.\n\nIn this Conclusion, you see, there are several Things to be considered\naccording to the Premisses. First, Matter of Fact, concerning the\nInequality of Vibrations in equal Pendulums, according to their\ndifferent Latitudes; then the following Inferences made from that\nInequality. As to the Matter of Fact, Monsieur _Hugens_ seems to be\ndoubtful himself: He does not vouch it from his own Experience, but he\ntakes it from the Report of Monsieur _Richer_; whose Person or Character\nI do not know, nor whether his Relation be extant in Print. However,\nMonsieur _Hugens_ speaks dubiously of the Experiment, as such an one\nwhereof we ought to expect farther Confirmation. For he says[31], _we\ncannot trust entirely to this first Observation, whereof we have not any\nCircumstance noted to us; and still less to those that are said to be\nmade at Guadeloupe, (at a greater Latitude,) where the Pendule is said\nto be shorter by two Lines than that at Paris.[32] We must expect to be\nmore justly inform\u2019d of these different Lengths of Pendules, as well\nunder the Line as in other Climates._ And he refers us to a farther\nTrial by his Clocks, rectified for a second Voyage, whereof I have yet\nheard no Report. If Matter of Fact be dubious, or Experiments\ndiscordant, we cannot be assur\u2019d of the Conclusion. It were to be\nwish\u2019d, that this different Gravitation in different Latitudes, might be\nprov\u2019d by other Experiments than that of the Pendulum. Methinks, in\nponderous Bodies, this Difference might become sensible: Not indeed by a\nBalance or Scales, for the supposed Decrease of Gravity would have the\nsame Effect upon the Counterpoise as upon the Body weighed; but by other\nPowers that do not depend immediately upon Gravity, as _Springs_, or any\nother Engines, or by Rarefactions, or whatsoever hath the Force to\nraise, sustain, or remove ponderous Bodies. For such Powers have a less\nEffect with us than near the Equator, where the Gravitation of Bodies\nthat make the Counterpoise, is supposed to be much lessen\u2019d. Neither do\nI know if they have try\u2019d the Barometer, whether that will discover any\nsuch Elevation, at, or near the Equator; the Mercury sinking there much\nlower than with us, or indeed to nothing, if the Height be comparatively\nso great as is supposed. It seems strange, that the Difference of\nseventeen Miles (call it little, or call it great, compar\u2019d with the\nSemidiameter of the Earth) should have a sensible Effect upon Pendulums\nand upon nothing else.\n\nMethinks, that Height of the Equator should make a different Horizon (as\nto the Heavens, or the Earth, and Sea) East and West, from North and\nSouth; the Figure of the Earth being a Sphere one way and a Spheroid in\nthe other. The Sea also must be a prodigious Depth at the Equator;\ndeeper by seventeen Miles, than at or near the Poles. I would gladly\nknow what Experience there is of this. Then in reference to our\n_Rivers_, how swift and rapid, upon this Hypothesis, must the _Rivers_\nbe that rise at or near the Equator, or how slow the Motion of those\nthat ascend towards it, if at all they can be supposed to climb so great\nan Hill. The great River of the _Amazons_, in Southern _America_, is in\nsome Parts of it four or five Degrees from the Equator, others say much\nmore; yet runs up to the Equator with that vast load of Water, and\nthrows it self there into the Ocean. In the Northern _America_, _Rio\nNegro_ is represented to us, as having a longer Course against the bent\nof the Earth, and crossing the Equator, falls down Southward several\nDegrees: So the _Nile_ in _Africa_ crosses the Line, and hath a long\nCourse on this side of it. _Rivers_ do not rise higher by a natural\nCourse than their Fountain\u2019s Head, and Hydrographers usually assign two\nFoot, or two Foot and an half in a Mile for the Descent of _Rivers_, but\nupon this Hypothesis there will be fourteen or fifteen Foot (in respect\nof the Center of the Earth) for every Mile, in Rivers descending from\nthe Equator; which is a Precipitation rather than a navigable Stream.\nSuppose a Canal cut from the Equator to the Pole, \u2019twould be a Paradox\nto say the Water would not flow in this Chanel, nor descend towards the\nPole, having fourteen or fifteen Foot Descent for every Mile, according\nto your Figure of the Earth: And also it would be as great or a greater\nParadox, to suppose that Rivers would rise to the Equator, and with the\nsame Celerity (as we see they do) upon an Ascent of so many Feet. And\nafter all, to conclude the Argument, if this Difference of Pendulums be\nfound, it will still bear a Dispute from what physical Causes that\nDifference proceeds.\n\nThus far we have considered what Arguments have been brought for the\noblate Figure of the Earth from Effects; and have noted such\nObservations to be made, as we thought might be useful for Discovery of\nTruth, on what side soever it may fall. We are now to consider an\nArgument taken from the Causes, and brought by these Authors to prove\nthe same spheroidical Figure of the Globe. To this purpose they observe,\nas is obvious and reasonable, that in the diurnal Motion of the Earth,\nthe middle Parts about the Equator (where the Circles are greatest, and\nconsequently the Motion swiftest) would fly off with a greater Force,\nand so rise higher than the other Parts that were mov\u2019d in lesser\nCircles in the same time, and would have less Force to remove themselves\nfrom the Center of their Motion. This is agreed on all Hands, and was\nown\u2019d by the Theorist in a fluid Globe turn\u2019d about its Axis, in case\nthere was no Impediment to hinder the rising or recession of those\nmiddle Parts. But before we speak to that, on both sides you see it must\nbe suppos\u2019d and granted, that the Globe of the Earth was once fluid, or\nthe exterior Orb of it; and we ought to consider when, or at what Time\nthis was. It must have been surely at the first Formation of the Earth,\nwhen it rose from a Chaos, and before its Parts were consolidated and\ngrown hard. Supposing then that the interior Orb of the Earth was once\ncover\u2019d over with an Orb of Water, the Question will be, how this Orb of\nWater came to be cover\u2019d with dry Land, or came to be divided into Land\nand Water, as it is now.\n\n[Illustration: A: The Earth, covered with Water.]\n\n[Illustration: B: The Earth, as it is now.]\n\nLet (A) represent an Hemisphere of the Earth, in its first State, when\ncovered with Water; and (B) the same Hemisphere as it is now. This\nAuthor must tell us, consistently with his Hypothesis, how the Earth\ncould pass out of one of these States into the other, without passing\nthrough some intermediate State; or how this Change was made in its\nSurface, from what Causes, and in what manner. If the first Earth was a\nConcretion upon the Face of the Waters, then indeed it would have the\nsame Figure with the watery Globe under it; but if it was from the\nBeginning in this present Form firm and solid, as it is now rocky and\nmountainous, then the Question is, _how_ the Parts or Regions of the\nEarth about the Equator could be raised above a spherical Figure, or\ninto an oblate Spheroid, as they say the Earth is now. I take it for\ngranted, that they suppose the Land raised as well as the Water; for\notherwise the Ocean would overflow at those Parts of the Earth. Suppose\nthen the Waters raised by the Circumvolution of the Earth, how was the\n_Terra firma_ rais\u2019d, or how could it be rais\u2019d by that or any such\nCause?\n\nThese Questions are no matter of Difficulty to the Theorist, who\nsupposes the first Earth to have covered the Waters, and to have taken\ntheir Shape, whatsoever it was, as upon a Mold: Then upon its\nDissolution and Disruption at the Deluge, to have fallen into that\nuneven and uninterrupted Form it hath now. But feeling this Method does\nnot please the Examiner, he must tell us how, upon his Hypothesis, the\nLand or solid Parts of the Earth could be rais\u2019d above a spherical\nConvexity into such a gibbous Figure, as he supposes them now to have\nunder the Equator.\n\nMonsieur _Hugens_[33] makes this broad Spheroid of the Earth to have\nbeen the Effect of Gravity in the Formation of the Earth; the Matter\nwhereof being then turned round, it would, as he thinks, be brought to\nsettle in this oblate Figure. Very well! But this must be in its very\nfirst Concretion from a Chaos, before it was fix\u2019d and compact as it is\nnow; for the Rotation of the Earth could have no such effect upon it\nafter it was hard. Now if you admit the exterior Globe of the Earth, to\nhave been in such a State betwixt Fixtness and Fluidity, it will lead us\ndirectly to the Theorist\u2019s Hypothesis, which supposes a soft and tender\nConcretion at first, over all the Face of the Waters. I say, _over all\nthe Face of the Waters_: For it must be universal; both because there is\nno Reason why these earthy Particles that made the Concretion, should\nnot fall upon one Part of the Globe, as well as upon another; and also\nif they did not fall upon the Equinoctial Parts, how came there to be\nLand in that part, or that Land rais\u2019d higher than the rest, as this\nHypothesis will have it?\n\nIn these Remarks upon the protuberant Figure of the Earth, you see it is\nallow\u2019d, that there would be a greater Tendency from the Center in the\nmiddle Parts of the Globe, and the Waters would rise there, if there was\nno Impediment. But the Theorist did believe that the Vortex, or\ncircumfluent Orb was streighter, or of a shorter Diameter there than\nthrough the Poles; and consequently the Waters having less room to\ndilate, would be press\u2019d and detruded towards the Poles. These Authors,\nit may be, will allow no Vortices to the Planets; but then they must\nassign some other sufficient Cause to carry the Planets in their\nperiodical Motions (and with the same Velocity for innumerable Ages)\nabout their common Center; and the Secondary about their Primary: As\nalso what gives them their diurnal Rotation, and the different Position\nof their Axes. Neither would it be easy to conceive, how a great Mass of\nfluid and volatile Matter, having no Current, or Determination any one\nway, and being often check\u2019d in its progressive Motion, should not fall\ninto circular Motions, or into Vortices of one sort or other; especially\nif you place in this Mass some great solid Bodies turned about their\nAxes.\n\nThese are more general Problems; and when they are determin\u2019d with\nCertainty, we shall better judge of the Particulars that depend upon\nthem. But I say still, that neither Figure of the Earth, oblong or\noblate, can be prov\u2019d from the Rotation of the Earth and its Gravity,\nwithout supposing the Globe form\u2019d into that Shape before it came to be\nharden\u2019d, before it came to be loaded and stiffen\u2019d by Rocks and stony\nMountains. Therefore upon both Hypotheses it must be allow\u2019d, that there\nwas such a Time, such a State of the Earth, when its tender Orb was\ncapable of those Impressions and Modifications; and that Orb must have\nlain above the Waters, not under them, nor radicated to the Bottom of\nthem, for then such Cause could not have had such an Effect upon it. And\nin the last place, this Concretion upon the Waters must have been\nthroughout all the Parts of the Earth, or all the Parts of the Land\nwhich are now rais\u2019d above a spherical Surface; and no reason can be\ngiven, as we noted before, why the rest should not be cover\u2019d as well as\nthose. So that in effect both the Hypotheses suppose that all the watery\nGlobe was at first cover\u2019d with an earthy Concretion.\n\nNow this being admitted, you have confirm\u2019d the main Point of the\n_Theory_: Namely, that the Abyss was once, or at first cover\u2019d with a\nterrestrial Concretion, or an Orb of Earth. Grant this, and we\u2019ll\ncompound for the rest, let the Earth at present be of what Figure it\nwill: If there was such an original Earth that cover\u2019d the Waters, both\nthe Form and Equilibration of the Earth may easily appear, and how by a\nDissolution of it a Deluge might arise. But as to the present Earth, the\nTheorist never affirm\u2019d that its Figure was oval, but he[34] noted such\nObservations made or to be made, as he thought might be proper to\ndetermine its Figure, and still desires that they may be pursued. He\nadded also, that he would be glad to receive any new ones, that would\ndemonstrate the precise Figure of the Earth. And accordingly, he is\nwilling to consider in this Particular and all others, the Arguments and\nRemarks of such eminent Authors, as have lately given a new Light to the\nSystem of the World.\n\nThis may suffice to have spoken in general concerning these two\nspheroidical Figures of the Earth. We must now consider what particular\nObjections are made by the Examiner against its oval Figure. He says,\n_p. 103, 104_, _&c._ admitting the oval Figure of that first Earth, it\nwould not be capable however, to give a Course to the Rivers from the\npolar Parts, towards the Equinoctial. And his Reason is this; because\nthe same Causes which cast the Abyss or the Ocean towards the Poles,\nwould also keep the Rivers from descending from the Poles: But there is\nno Parity of Reason betwixt the Abyss or the Ocean, and the Rivers. We\nsee in the Flux and Reflux of the Ocean, let the Cause of it be what it\nwill, it hath not that Effect upon Rivers, nor upon Lakes, nor upon\nlesser Seas; yet the Circum-rotation of the Earth continues the same.\nAnd his confounding the Ocean and Rivers in the ante-diluvian Earth is\nso much the worse, seeing there never was an Ocean and Rivers together\nin that Earth. While there was an open Ocean, there were no Rivers, and\nwhen there were Rivers, there was no open Ocean, but an inclos\u2019d Abyss:\nSo though he makes large Transcripts there and elsewhere out of the\nTheory, he does not seem always to have well digested the Method of it.\n\nAfter this Objection, the Examiner charges the Theorist with want of\nSkill in Logick; but his Charge is grounded upon another\nMisunderstanding or Misrepresentation. He pretends there, _p. 107._ that\nthe Theorist hath made such a Ratiocination as this. _All Bodies by\nreason of the Earth\u2019s diurnal Rotation, do endeavour to recede from the\nAxis of their Motion; but by reason of the Pressure of the Air, and the\nStreightness of the Orb, they cannot recede from the Axis of their\nMotion, therefore they will move towards the Poles, where they will come\nnearer to the Axis of their Motion._ These are the Examiner\u2019s Words in\nthat Place, where he says he will put the Theorist\u2019s Reasoning in other\nWords: But I do not like that Method, unless the Examiner were a more\njudicious or faithful Paraphrast than he seems to be: Let every one be\ntried by their own Words, and if there be any false Logick or Nonsense\nin the forecited Words of the Examiner, let it fall upon their Author.\nThe Theorist said[35], that Bodies, by reason of the Earth\u2019s Motion did,\n_conari \u00e0 centro sur mot\u00fbs receder\u00e8_: These Words this Translator\nrenders, _endeavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion_; and by\nchanging the Word _Center_ into _Axis_ (whether carelesly or wilfully I\nknow not) of plain Sense he hath made Nonsense; and then makes this\nConclusion, _p. 108._ (which follows indeed from his own Words, but not\nfrom those of the Theorist) _because all Bodies do endeavour to recede\nfrom the Axis of their Motion, therefore they will endeavour to go to\nthe Axis of their Motion_.\n\nThe Theorist\u2019s Argumentation was plainly this: Seeing in the Rotation of\nthe Earth, Bodies tend from the Center of their Motion, if they meet\nwith an Impediment there, they will move laterally in the next easiest\nand openest way; and therefore the Waters under the Equator being\nstopp\u2019d in their first Tendency, would divert towards the Poles;\nwherein, I think, there is no false Logick. That there was no Impediment\nthere, he must prove by other Arguments than his own Dictates or bare\nAssertion, which will not pass for a Proof.\n\nHe proceeds now to discourse of the centrifugal Force and the Effects of\nit, together with Gravity: But he should have given us a better Notion\nof the centrifugal Force, than what he sets down there; for he says (_p.\n110. l. 24._) _A centrifugal Force, is that Force by which a Body is\ndrawn towards the Center_: This is a strange Signification of that Word.\nAnd in the next Page (_p. 111. l. 22._) he says, by this centrifugal\nForce, Bodies _endeavour to recede from the Center of their Motion_;\nwhich is true, but contrary to what he said just before. I think \u2019tis\nGravity, not centrifugal Force, that brings Bodies towards the Center.\n\nBut to pass by this Contradiction, and to proceed: What he says, from\nothers, about the Proportions of the centrifugal Force and Gravity in\nBodies turn\u2019d round, and particularly in Fluids, how they would fly off\nmore or less, according to the Circles of their Motion, was always (as\nhath been mention\u2019d before) suppos\u2019d and allow\u2019d by the Theorist, if\nthere was no Restraint or Pressure upon one Part more than another of\nthe fluid Globe: So that he might have spared here six or seven Pages.\n\nIn like manner, he might have spar\u2019d what he hath transcrib\u2019d in his\nfollowing Pages from those excellent Authors we referr\u2019d to before,\nabout calculating the Diminutions of Gravity made by the centrifugal\nForce, in different Latitudes; with other such Excursions. These, I say,\nmight have been spar\u2019d, as needless upon this Occasion, or to the\nConfutation of the _Theory_, till the principal Point, upon which they\ndepend, be better prov\u2019d. I made bold to say, they were transcrib\u2019d from\nthose Authors, as any one may see that pleases to consult the Originals,\n_Newt. Philos. Nat. Princ. Math. l. 3. prop. 18, 19, 20._ _Hugens\nDiscour. de la cause de la Pesanteur, p._ 147, 148, _&c._ And this\n_French_ Discourse of Monsieur Hugens, he hath not so much as once\nnam\u2019d, though he hath taken so much from it. And after all, when these\nThings are determin\u2019d in Speculation, it will still be a Question what\nthe true physical Causes of them are.\n\nAt last, for a farther Confirmation of the broad spheroidical Figure of\nthe Earth, he adds an Observation from the Planet _Jupiter_, which is\nfound to be of such a Figure. And _therefore_, he says, _p. 137, 138._\n_We need not doubt, but that the Earth, which is a Planet like the rest,\nand turns round its Axis, as they do, is of the same Figure_. He might\nas well conclude, that every Planet, as well as the Earth, is of the\nsame Figure. And what Reason can he give, why all the Planets that have\na Rotation upon their Axis, are not broad Spheroids, as well as those\ntwo which he supposes to be so? If that be a sufficient Cause, and be\nfound in other Planets as well as those, why hath it not the same\nEffect? Or he might as well conclude, that the Earth hath a perpetual\nEquinox, because _Jupiter_ hath so. This is the same Fault which he hath\nso often committed, of measuring all the Works of God by one or two. If\na Man was transported into the Moon, the nearest Planet; or into\n_Mercury_ that is so near the Sun, or into _Saturn_, (or any of his\n_Satellites_) that is so remote from it; would he not find, think you, a\nmuch different Face and State of those Planets, from what we have upon\nthis Earth? Inhabitants of a different Constitution, the Furniture of\nevery World different, Animals, Plants, Waters, and other inanimate\nThings: As also different Vicissitudes of Days and Nights, and the\nSeasons of the Year; according to their different Positions, Revolutions\nand Forms? Therefore not without Reason we noted before, how much the\nNarrowness of some Mens Spirits, Thoughts and Observations, confine them\nto a particular Pattern and Model, nor considering the infinite Variety\nof the divine Works, whereof we are not competent Judges.\n\nNow comes in his rude Censure of Dr. _Eisensmidius_, both for his\nMathematicks and bad Logick, or want of _common Sense_; but to this we\nhave spoken before. He also, in the same Paragraph, _p. 142._ wonders at\nthe Theorist\u2019s strange Logick, to make the centrifugal Force of Bodies\nupon the Earth, to be the Cause of its oblong Figure. That indeed would\nbe strange Logick if it was made the proximate Cause of it. But that is\nnot the Theorists\u2019s Logick but the Examiner\u2019s, as it is distorted and\nmisrepresented by him. The Theorist suppos\u2019d the Pressure of that Tumour\nof the Waters, occasion\u2019d by the centrifugal Force (as its original\nCause) to be the immediate Cause of the oblong Figure of the Earth; and\nthat Pressure suppos\u2019d, there is nothing illogical in the Inference. He\nhad formerly taken Notice, _p. 101, 103._ of this Reason, from the\nStreightness of the Orb in that Part, when he gave the Theorist\u2019s\nAccount of that Figure; but he thought fit to forget it now, that his\nCharge might not appear lame.\n\nThis, Sir, is a short Account of this Author\u2019s Objections; but there are\nsome Things so often repeated by him, that we are forc\u2019d to take Notice\nof them more than once; as that about Miracles and final Causes. He\ntruly notes, _p. 31._ that to be _a much easier and shorter Way of\ngiving an account of the Deluge_, or other Revolutions of Nature: But\nthe Question is not, which is the shortest and easiest Way, but which is\nthe truest. No Man in his Senses can question the divine Omnipotency,\nGod could do these Things purely miraculously, if he pleas\u2019d; but the\nThing to be consider\u2019d is, whether, according to the Methods of\nProvidence, in the Changes and Revolutions of the natural World, the\nCourse of Nature and of natural Causes is not made use of so far as they\nwill go. Both _Moses_ and St. _Peter_ mention material Causes, but\nalways including the divine Word and Superintendency. The Theorist does\nnot think (as is sufficiently testified in several Places) that purely\nmaterial and mechanical Causes, guided only by the Laws of Motion, could\nform this Earth, and the Furniture of it; and does readily believe all\nMiracles recorded in Holy Writ, or elsewhere, well grounded: But\nMiracles of our own making or imagining, want Authority to support them.\nSome Men when they are at a loss in the Progress of their Work, call in\na Miracle to relieve them in their Distress. You know what hath been\nnoted both by [36]Philosophers and others to that purpose.\n\nAs to final Causes, the Contemplation of them is very useful to moral\nPurposes, and of great Satisfaction to the Mind, where we can attain to\nthem. But we must not pretend to prove a thing to be so or so in Nature,\nbecause we fancy it would be better so; nor deny it to be in such a\nmanner, because to our Mind it would be better otherwise. Almighty Power\nand Wisdom, that have the whole Complex and Composition of the Universe\nin View, take other Measures than we can comprehend or account for. Even\nin this small Earth that we inhabit, there are several Plants and\nAnimals, which to us appear useless or noxious, and yet no doubt would\nbe found proper for this State, if we had the whole Prospect and Scheme\nof Providence. As to efficient Causes, they must be either material or\nimmaterial, and whatsoever is prov\u2019d to be the immediate Effect of an\nimmaterial Cause, is so much the more acceptable to the Theorist, as it\nargues a Power above Matter. But as to purely material Causes, they must\nbe mechanical; there being no other Modes, or Powers of Matter (at least\nin the Opinion of the Theorist) but what are mechanical: And to explain\nEffects by such Causes, is properly natural Science.\n\nWe have taken Notice before of this Author\u2019s ambiguous use of Words,\nwithout declaring in what Sense he uses them: And he is no less\nambiguous as to his Opinions. When he speaks of the Origin and Formation\nof the WORLD, he does not tell us what he means by that Word; whether\nthe great Compound of the Universe, or that small Part only where we\nreside. His _centrifugal_ Force he interprets in contrary Senses, or in\ncontrary Words, and reserves the Sense to himself. Sometimes he speaks\nof the Motion of the Sun, and sometimes of the Motion of the Earth, and\nsticks to no System: Neither does he tell us what he means by the\n_Mosaical_ Abyss, or _Tehom Rabbah_, which the Theorist supposes to have\nbeen broken up at the Deluge. We ought to know in what Sense and\nSignification he uses Words or Phrases: at least if he use them in a\ndifferent Sense from that of the Theorist\u2019s.\n\nI know, _Sir_, you will also take Notice of his hard Words and coarse\nLanguage, as, _that\u2019s false, that\u2019s absurd, that\u2019s ridiculous_. This,\nyou will say, is not the usual Language amongst Gentlemen; but we find\nit too usual with some Writers, according to their particular Temper and\nExperience in the World. For my part, I think Rudeness or Disingenuity\nin examining the Writings of another Person, fall more heavy (in the\nConstruction of fair Readers) upon him that uses them, than upon him\nthat suffers them. I am,\n\n_SIR_,\n\n_Your most humble Servant_,\n\n_FINIS_.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n  _Engl. Theor._ _Chap._ VIII. p. 112, _&c._\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n  _Cic. de Nat. Dict. l. 1._\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n  _Galil. Syst. Cos._ _p._ 133. _Hugen. Cosmet\u00f4._ _c._ 2. _p._ 115.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n  _Engl. p. 230, &c. Lat. p. 107._\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n  _Cosmoth. p. 135._\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n  _l. s. Prop. 4._\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n  _Ibid._ Prop. 56.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n  _Ephames. par. 2. ad An. 1624._\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n  P. 145.\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n  _Disc. de la Pesant. p. 149._\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n  _Ibid. p. 165._\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n  _M. Hugens de la Pesant, p. 152. Il est a croire, que la Terre a pris\n  cette figure, lors qu\u2019 elli a est\u00e9 assemblee par l\u2019effect de la\n  Pesanteux: sa matiere sient des mouvement circulatoire de 24 heures._\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n  _Lat. Theor. lib. 2. p. 185._\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n  _Theor. l. 2. 5. p. 186._\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n  _Plat. Cratyl. m. p. 425. \u1f18\u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03ac\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9 \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f10\u03c4\u1f76 \u03c4\u03ac\u03c2 \u03bc\u03b7\u03c7\u03b1\u03bd\u1f70\u03c2\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b8\u03b5\u03cd\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9, \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f34\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c3. Cum rei alicujus engusios, ad machines\n  consugiunt & D inducunt._ This is also remark\u2019d and render\u2019d in other\n  Words by _Tully_ in _Nat. Dor. l. 1._ Cum _explicare argumenti exitum\n  non pet, confugitis ad Deum_. St. _Austin_ also speaking about the\n  supercelestial Waters, hath noted this Method, and reprov\u2019d it, in\n  these Words, _Nec quisquam echos refellere, ut decat secundum\n  omnpotentism Dei sunt possibatis nos credere equas etiam am era quam\n  novimus atque sentimus, corpori in que sunt sydera, super sufas: Nunc\n  enim quam Deus rerum secundum Scripturam ejus, nec qu convenit, non\n  solus quad in vel ad misacutum omnipotent._ You see Discretion and\n  Moderation is to be used in these and such like Matters.\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 2 (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":175773}