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OK    'IIIK 

Theological     Seminary, 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 

OiSC.  «Z^  C — • ' 

Booh 


Division , 

Section. 
No, 


■pi^mtp^ 


'^■w^:^ 


■<''i*. 


1 


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L 


Three  Phyfico-Theologtcal 

DISC  OURSES, 

CONCERNING 

I.  The  Primitive  CHAOS,  and  Cre- 
ation  of  the  World. 

II.  The  General  DELUGE,  its 
Caufes  and  Effeds. 

III.  The  Diffolution  of  the  W  O  R  LD, 
and  Future  Conflagration. 

Wherein  are  largely  difculTed, 

The  Production  i^d  Ufe  of  Mountains  ,•  the 
Original  of  FouiS^ins,  of  Formed  Stones,  and 
Sea-Fifhes  Bones  |hd  Shells  found  in  the  E:irth  \ 
the  EfFeds  of  particular  Floods,  and  Inundations 
of  the  Sea  ^  the  Eruptions  olVukanos-^  the  Na- 
ture and  Caufes  of  Earthquakes. 

Alfo  an  Hiftorical  Account  of  thofe  Two  late 
remarkable  Ones  in  "Jamaica  and  England. 

With  Practical  Inferences. 

By  JOHN  RAT,  late  Fel 
low  of  the  Royal  Society. 

The  Third  Edition^  Illuflrated  with  Coffer- Plates^  and 
much  mere  Enlarged  than  the  former  Editions^  ffom 
the  Author^ i  own  AfSS. 


London  :    Printed  for  William   Innys,    at  the 
Princess  Arms  in  S-FanCs  Chureh  yard,  1 7 1 3. 


TO    THE 
Moft  Reverend  Father  in  GOD^ 

JO   H   N, 

Lord  Arch-Bifhop  of  Cafu 
terbury,   Primate    of  all 
England,    and   Metropoli 
tan. 


My    L  o  r  d> 

T  was  no  tntefejl 

or   ExpeBation   of 

mine,  that  induced 

me  to  Dedicate  this 

Difcourfe  to  Tour  Grace.    / 

am  not  fo  "well  conceited  of 

K  %  my 


iv        DEDICATION. 

my  o^von  Performances,  as  to 
think  it  merits  to  he  inferi- 
hed  to  fo   Great  a  Name^ 
much  lejs  that  I  Jbould  Ob- 
lige Tour  Lordjhipy  or  indeed 
a  far  meaner  Perfon,  by  fuch 
Infcription.     My     principal 
Motive  was,  that  it   would 
give  me  Opportunity  of  Con- 
gratulating  mth    the  Sober 
Part  of   this  Nation,  Tour 
Advancement  to  the  Archie 
episcopal  Dignity ;    and   of 
acknowledging  His  Majeflys 
Wifdom   in    making    Choice 
of  fo  fit  a  P  erf  on  to  fill  that 
Chair,  endued  mth  all  Qua- 
lifications requifite  for  fo  high 
a  Calling)  Jo  able  and  skil- 
ful a    Pilot  to  govern   the 

Church, 


DE  DICATION. 

Church,  and  [o  prudent  and 
faithful  a  Counfellor  to  ferve 
Himfelf     But  I  mil  not  en- 
large in  juji  PraifeSj   left  I 
jhould  incurr  the  unjuji  Cen- 
fare  or  Sufpicion  of  Flatte- 
ry.    Gi'ue    me  lea^ve  only  to 
addy  "what  I  may  mthout  In- 
jury of  Truth,   and  I  think 
mthout    Violation   of  Mode- 
fly ,  that  Tour   GraceV  Ele- 
Bion  hath  the  concurrent  Ap- 
probation and  Applaufe    of 
all  good  Men  that  knov)  ToUy 
or  ha'ue  had  a  true  CharaBer 
of  Ton  ;  which  may  ferve  to 
firengthen  Tour  Hands  in  the 
Management  andAdminiftra- 
tion  of  fo  difficult  a  Province, 
thoTouneednofuch  Support, 

A3  as 


vi        DEDICATION. 

as  being  fufficiently  in'vohed 
and  armed  by  Tour  V^ertueSy 
and proteEied  by  the  Almigh- 
ty Power  and  Providenee. 
Thofe  that  are  Good  and 
Wije  are  pleafed  and  fatif- 
fled  "vohen  Great  Men  are 
preferred  to  Great  Places ; 
and  think  it  Pity  that  Per- 
sons of  large  and  publick  Spi- 
rits Jhould  be  confined  to  nar- 
row Spheres  of  ABion^  and 
want  Field  to  exercife  and 
employ  thofe  rich  Talents  and 
Abilities  wherewith  they  are 
endowed,  in  doing  all  the  Good 
they  are  thereby  qualified  and 
inclined  to  do\ 

My 


DEDICATION.       vii 

My  Lord, 

/  am  fenfible  that  the  Pre- 
fent  /  make  Ton,  is  neither 
for  Bulk  7ior  Worth  fuitable 
to  Tour  Perfon  and  Great- 
nefs ;  Tet  I  hope  Ton  mil 
fa'vourably  accept  it,  being 
the  befl  I  have  to  offer: 
/Incl  my  Boldnefs  may  pre- 
tend fome  Excufe  from  an- 
cient Acquaintance,  and  from 
my  Forvoardnefs  to  embrace 
this  Opportunity  of  profejjing 
my  Name  among  thofe  that 
Honour  ToUy  and  of  publifi- 
ing  my f elf 

My    Lord, 
Your  Grace's  moft  devoted  Servant^' 
and  humble^  Orator, 

JOHN  RAT. 

A  4  THE 


THE 


PREFACE, 

Shewing  what  Alterations  were  made 
in  the  Second  Edition. 


Aving  altered  the  Method  oF 
this  Treatife,  and  made  con- 
fiderable  Additions  to  it,  it 
may  juftly  be  expedled  that 
I  fhould  give  fome  Account 
thereof  to  the  Reader.  In  the  Preface  to 
the  former  Edition,  I  acquainted  him,  that 
I  had  taken  notice  of  five  Matters  of  An- 
cient Tradition,  i.  That  the  World  was 
formed  out  of  a  Chaos^  by  the  Divine  Wif- 
dom  and  Power.  2.  That  there  was  ati 
univerfal  Flood  of  Watery,  in  which  all 
Mankind  perlflied,  excepting  fome  few, 
which  were  faved  in  an  Ark  or  Ship. 
3.  That  the  World  lliall  one  day  be  de- 
ftroyed  by  Fire.  4.  That  there  is  a  Hea- 
ven 


X  The  Preface. 

ven  and  a  Hell,  an  Ebfium  and  a  Thrtaruf, 
the  one  to  reward  good  Men,  and  the  other 
to  puni:Ti  wicked ;  and  both  eternal.  5.  That 
bloody  Sacrifices  were  to  be  offered  for  the 
Expiation  of  Sin.  And  that  of  four  of  them 
I  had  occafion  to  treat  in  rhis  Book  ;  of 
two,  that  is  to  Ly,  of  the  Dilfolution  of  the 
World  by  Fire,  and  the  Eternal  State  that 
was  to  lucceed  (in  reference  to  Man)  ei- 
ther in  Heaven  or  Hdl,  more  dirediy  :  Of 
the  other  two,  viz.  The  Primitive  Chaof 
and  Creation,  and  the  General  Deluge,  oc- 
cafionally  and  by  way  of  digrelfion,  at  the 
Requeft  qF fome  Friends.  But  now  this  Trea- 
|:ifeicoming  toa  fecond  Impreflfion,  I  thought 
it  more  convenient  to  make  thefe  feveral 
Difcourfes  upon  thefe  Particulars,  fubftan- 
tial  Parts  of  my  Work,  and  to  difpofe  them 
according  to  the  Priority  and  Pofteriority  of 
their  Subjed:s,  in  Order  of  Time,  beginning 
with  the  Primitive  Chaos. 

Concerning  thefe  Traditions,  it  may 
be  enquired  what  the  Original  of  them 
was  i  Whether  they  were  of  Divine  Revela- 
tion, or  Humane  Invention?  In  anfwer 
whereto, 

A  s  to  the  Second,  That  there  was  once 
a  General  Deluge,  whereby  this  whole  fub^ 
iunary  World  was  drown'd,  and  all  Ani- 
mals, both  Man  and  Beaft,  deftroyed,  ex- 
cepting only  fuch  as  were  preferved  in  an 

Ark; 


The  Preface. 

Ark  ;  it  being  Matter  of  Fadt,  and  feen  and 
felt  by  Noah^  and  his  Sons,  there  can  be 
no  Doubt  of  the  Original  of  that. 

The  Firft,  concerning  the  Chaos  and 
Creation  of  the  World,  if  it  were  not  an- 
cienter  than  the  Scripture,  it  is  likely  it  had 
its  Original  from  the  firft  Chapter  of  Gene^ 
fis^  and  the  Chaos  from  the  fecond  Verfe; 
And  the  Earth  was  without  Forin^  and  Void^ 
and  Varknefs  was  upon  the  Face  of  the  Deep. 
But  if  it  were  more  ancient,  it  muft  ftill,  in 
all  likelihood,  be  Divinely  revealed,  be- 
caufe  Man  being  created  laft,  and  brought 
into  a  World  already  filled  and  furniflied : 
And  God  being  an  Omnipotent,  and  alfo 
a  Free  Agent,  who  could  as  well  have  cre- 
ated the  World  in  a  Moment,  or  all  together, 
as  fucceflively,  it  was  impoflible  for  Man 
by  Reafon  to  determine,  which  way  He 
made  choice  of. 

The  Third,  concerning  the  future  Dif- 
folution  and  Deftru(5tion  of  the  World  by  a 
General  Conflagration^  there  being  nothing 
in  Nature  that  can  demonftrate  the  Necclli- 
ty  of  it :  And  a  fecond  Inundation  and  Sub- 
merfion  by  Water,  being  in  the  Courfe  of 
Nature  a  hundred  times  more  probable,  as 
I  have  fliewn  in  the  enfuing  Difcourfes. 
And,  therefore,  we  fee  God  Almighty,  to 
fecure  Man  againft  the  Apprchenlion  and 
Dread  of  a  fecond  Deluge,  made  a  Cove- 
nant 


xii  The  Preface. 

nant  with  him,  to  give  him  a  vifible  Sign 
in  Confirmation  of  it,  never  to  deftroy  the 
World  fo  again.  And  the  Ancients,  who 
relate  this  Tradition,  delivering  it  as  an 
Oracle  or  Decree  of  Fate,  O'vid  Meta- 
morph,  I.  EJJe  quoque  in  fatis  reminifcitur 
aff'ore  tefnpuf^  &c*  was  likewife  probable  of 
Divine  Revelation. 

The  Fourth,  That  there  fhall  be  a  fu- 
ture State,  wherein  Men  fhall  be  punifhed 
or  rewarded  accordingly,  as  they  have  done 
ill  or  well  in  this  Life,  and  that  State  Eter- 
nal :  Tho'  the  Firft  Part  may  be  demon- 
ftrated  from  the  Juftice  and  Goodnefs  of  God,' 
becaufe  there  being  an  unequal  Diftribution 
of  Good  and  Evil  in  this  Life,  there  muft  be 
a  Time  to  fet  things  ftreight  in  another 
World  j  yet  it  being  (b  difficult  to  Humane 
Reafon,  to  reconcile  the  Eternity  of  Puniih- 
ments  with  the  Juftice  and  Goodnefs  of 
God,  this  Second  Part  of  the  Tradition  had 
need  be  well  back'd  by  Divine  Authority, 
to  make  it  credible  and  current  among 
Men. 

A  s  for  the  Laft,  tho'  I  meddle  not  with 
it  in  this  Treatife,  yet  I  will  take  Leave 
to  fay  To  much  concerning  it.  That,  I  think, 
thofe  who  held  Sacrificing  to  have  been  a 
politive  Command  of  God,  and  to  have 
had  its  Original  from  Divine  Inftitutipn, 
have  the  better  Reafon  on  their  fide.    For 

that 


The  Preface.  xiii 

that  k  is  no  eternal  and  indifpen  fable  Law  q1 
Nature,  is  clear,  in  that  our  Saviour  abo- 
lifhed  it.     And  many  of  the  ancient  Fathers 
look  upon  Sacrificing  as  fo  unreafonable  a 
Service,   that  therefore   they  thought  God 
commanded   it  not    to  the   Primitive   Pa-^ 
triarchs  i  and  though  He  did  command  it  to 
the  Jews^  yet  He  did  it  only  in  condefcen- 
(ion  to  their  Weaknefs,   becaufe  they  had 
been  ufed  to  fuch  Services,  and  alfo  the  Na- 
tions round  about  them,   to  reftrain  them 
from  Idolatry,    and   Sacrificing   to  ftrange 
Gods.     Origen,  Ho?niL  ij.  in  Numer.    Dem 
ficutfer  alium  Frophetam  dicit^  non  manducat 
carries  taurorum^  nee  fanguinetn  hircorum  po- 
tat,     Et  etiam^  ut  alibi  fcriptu?n  eft^  Quia  non 
inanda'vi  tibi  de  Sacrificiis  "Vel  vicfijms  in  die 
qua  deduxi  te  de  terra  jEg^pti,    Sed  Moyfes 
h^c  ad  duritiem  cordis  eorum^  fro  confuetu- 
dine  fejjinia  qua  imbuti  fuerant  in  ^gypto^ 
??mndavit  eis^  ut  qui  abftinere  fe  non  poffent 
ab  ijn?nolando^  Deo  [altem  &  non  Diemoniis 
immolarent.    Other  Quotations  to  this  pur- 
pofe  may  be  feen  in  Dr.  Outram  De  Sacri^ 
ficiis.     Indeed^  it  feems  abliird  to  think  or 
believe,  that  God  ihould  take  any  Pleafure 
in  the  Slaughter  of  innocent  Beafts,  or  in  the 
Fume  and   Nidor  of  burnt  Flefli  or   Fat. 
Nor  doth  the  Rcafon  thefe  Fathers  alledg€, 
of  the  Inftitution  of  Sacrifices,  or  Enjoining 
them  to  the  Jews^  fatisty,    vvliatever  Trutti 

there 


xiv  The  Preface. 

there  may  be  in  it :  For  it  is  clear,  that  the 
main  End  and  Defign  of  Go  d  in  inftituting 
of  them,  was  for  Types  and  Adumbra- 
tions of  the  great  Sacrifice  of  Christ  to  be 
offered  upon  the  Crofs  for  the  Expiation  of 
Sin  :  And,  confequently,  it  is  probable,  that 
thofe  alfo  that  were  offered  by  the  Ancient 
Patriarchs  before  the  Law,  had  their  Origi- 
nal from  fome  Divine  Command  or  Revela-i 
tion,  and  the  like  Reafon  of  their  Inftitution, 
in  reference  to  Christ. 

B  u  T  to  leave  that,  I  have  in  this  'Edition 
removed  one  Subjed  of  Apology,  and  ad- 
ded another  ^  fo  that  there  ftill  remain  as 
many  things  to  be  excufed  or  pleaded  for. 
,They  are. 

First,  Writing  fo  much;  for  which 
fome  perchance  may  cenfure  me*  I  am  not 
ignorant,  that  Men  as  they  are  mutable,  fo 
they  love  Change,  and  affed  Variety  of  Au- 
thors as  well  as  Books*  Satiety  even  of  the 
beft  things  is  apt  to  creep  upon  us.  He 
that  writes  much,  let  him  write  never  (o 
well,  fliall  experience,  that  his  laft  Books, 
though  nothing  inferiour  to  his  firft,  will  not 
find  equal  Acceptance.  But  for  mine  own 
part,  tho'  in  general  I  may  be  thought  to 
have  written  too  much,  yet  is  it  but  little 
that  I  have  written  relating  to  Divinity.  It 
were  a  good  Rule  to  be  obferved  both  by 
Writer  and  Reader,  Not  how  miich^  but  how 
t  welU 


The  Preface.  XV 

well.  He  that  cannot  write  well,  had  bet- 
ter fpare  his  Pains,  and  not  write  at  all. 
Neither  is  he  to  be  thought  to  write  well, 
who  though  he  hath  fome  good  things  thin 
fet  and  difperfed,  yet  encumbers  and  accloys 
the  Reader  with  a  deal  of  ufelefs  and  im- 
pertinent Stuff.  On  the  contrary,  he  that 
writes  well,  cannot  write  too  much.  For^ 
as  Fliny  the  Younger  faith  weil,  Ut  alls 
hon£  res^  ita  bonus  Liber  eb  mellor  efi  quifque^ 
mo  mapr  :  As  other  good  Thingf^  fo  a  good, 
jBooh  ',  the  bigger  it  /x,  the  better  is  it :  Which 
holds  as  well  of  the  Number  as  Magnitude 
of  Books. 

Secondly,  Being  too  hafty  in  huddling  up^ 
and  tumbling  out  of  Booh  ^  wherein,  I  con- 
fefs,  I  cannot  wholly  acquit  myfelf  of  Blame, 
I  know  well,  that  the  longer  a  Book  lies  by 
me,  the  perfe(5ter    it  becomes*     Something 
occurrs  every  Day  in  Reading  or  Thinking, 
either  to  add,  or  to  corred  and  alter  for  the 
better.     But  lliould  I  deferr  the  Edition  till 
the  Work  were  abfolutely  perfed,  I  might 
wait  all  my  Life-time,  and  leave  it  to  be 
publiftied  by  my  Executors.     Now  my  Age 
minding  me  of  the  Approach  of  Death  i  and 
pofthumous  Pieces   generally  proving  infe- 
riour  to  thofe  put   out   by  the  Authors  in 
their  Life-time,  I  need  no  other  Excufe  for 
my  Hafte  in  publifhing  what  I  write.     Yet  I 
fhaii  farther  add^  in  Extenuation  of  the  Fault, 

if 


The  Preface. 


if  it  be  one,  that  however  hafty  and  precipi- 
tate I  am  in  writing,  my  Books  are  but  fmall^ 
fo  that  if  they  be  worthlefs,  the  Purchafe  is 
not  great,  nor  the  Expence  of  Time,  wafted 
in  the  Perufal  of  them,  very  confiderable. 
Yet,  is  not  the  Worth  of  a  Book  always  an- 
fwerable  to  its  Bulk.  But  on  the  contrary, 
Me'y^  i3//3A/bv  is  ufually  efteemed  hov  tw 
[uifyi;tXw  jc^Kw  j  for,  b'jt  iv  to!  |afy(XAw  to  f u,  ^AA' 
h  Tw  fu  TO   ixeycL* 

Thirdly,  The  laft  thing  for  which  I 
had  need  to  apologize,  is  the  Rendring  the 
former  Edition  of  this  Treatife  worthlels,  by 
making  large  Additions  to  this  latter  :  In 
Excufe  whereof  I  have  no  more  to  fay,  than  1 
have,  already  written  in  an  Jdverufe?ftent  to 
the  Reader^  premifed  to  my  Difcourfe  con- 
cerning the  JVifdom  of  God  ;  to  which, 
therefore,  I  referr  thofe  who  defire  Satisfaf 
6tion  in  this  Particular. 


T  O 


T  0    T  H  E 


reader: 


EST  the  Additions  made  to 
this  Third  Edition  ofthefe 
Difiourfes  Jhould  lie  under 
any  Sufpicion  of  being  fpu^ 
rious^  by  reajon  they  have 
lain  above  fiven  Tears  unpublijhed  after 
their  jujily  celebrated  Author  s  Death ;  I 
think  it  necejfary  to  affure  the  Reader^  that 
they  were  written  in  Mr.  RayV  own  Hand^ 
and  {as  I  find  by  his  Papers)  towards  the 
latter  End  of  the  Tear  170^^  or  Begin* 
ning of  ijo^:  And  in  April^  '7^4i 
they  were  tranfmitted  to  his  Bookfellers^ 
who  had  been  very  importunate  for  them^ 
and  hafiy  for  a  Third  Edition  ;  the  for ^ 
mer  Imprejfion  being  fold  of^  and  the  Book 

b  nmch 


xviii         To  the  Reader. 

much  called  for^  as  they  fay  in  their  Let- 
ters,    But  ammgfi  other  Hindrances^  that 
which  chiefly  retarded  the  intended  Impref- 
Jicn  of  the  Book^  was  an  ill  State  of  Health 
befalling  the  principal  Bookfeller^  which  ne- 
cejfitated  him  to  retire  often  into  the  Coun^ 
tr\  from  his  Bujinep^  which  was  fucceeded 
hy  his  Death^  and  fome  time  after  by  the 
J)eath  of  the  other  Partner  afo.     By  which 
means  the  Afairs  of  the  Bookfelkrs^  who 
had  the  Right  of  the  Copy^  being  in  fome 
Confujion^  this  rhird  Edition  could  not 
he  attended  unto  till   of  late^    when  the 
Right  of  this  and  other  of  Mr,  RayV  Co- 
ties  came  into  another  s  Hands. 

As  for  the  Reafons  inducing  our  excel- 
lent Author  to  make  Additions  to  this,^  and 
other  of  his  jufily  admired  Pieces,,  he  had 
{hejides  the  Solicitations  of  the  BookfeUers) 
the  earnefi  Requefls  of  fome  of  his  moji  ju^ 
dicious  and  beji  Friends,  And  conjidering 
that  his  Additions  tended  to  the  greater 
PerfeBion  of  his  Books,,  there  is  no  great 
Reafon  for  the  Purchafers  of  the  former 
Editions  to  complain  of  Injury,^    efpecially 

where 


To  the  Reader. 

where  the  Tur chafe  was  hut  fmalL  But 
for  a  farther  Anfxver^  I  fhall  referr  the 
Reader  (as  our  Author  in  his  Preface  doth) 
to  the  Advertifement  in  his  Wiidom  of 
God.  jpid  that  I  might  do  what  lies 
in  me  to  obviate  Complaints^  and  be  fer^ 
njiceable^  as  far  as  I  could^  to  the  Purcha^ 
fers  Profit^  I  have  noted  the  Additions 
made  to  this  Third  Impreffion,  that  they 
that  bought  the  former  Edition  may  tran^ 
fcribe  them^  ij  they  think  it  worth  their 
while, 

William  Derham. 


XIX 


b  1 


THE 


Qpqpqpqpqpqpiqpiqpiqpiqpiqpqpqpqpqp 


THE         ^ 

ADDITIONS 

IN    THIS 

Ufird  Imprejfion. 


PAG,  lo.  From  In  this  manner,  f<>  illuftrate 
it, 

Pag.  1 2.  From  When  I  fay,  ro  Mountain  that 
way,  /).  13. 

P<2^.  41.  As  for  the  Wells,  to  iriiprobable. 

Tag,  58.  But  notwithftanding,  to  infift  upon 
it,  p.  59. 

Pag,  59.  I  think  I  have,  to  I  am  Icfs  inclinable. 

Pag,  62,    The  firfl:  in,  to  in  the  5th  Chap. 

Pag.  6^,  Confonant  to  the  preceding  Words  of 
[/ihyiienus, 

Pag,  67.  Plifiy  faith  of  the  City  oijoppay  that  it 
was  built  before  the  Flood. 

Pag. 'JO*  To  this  may  be  replied,  to  the  light- 
eft,  f  •  7 1 . 

Pag.  73.  Natural  j  and  that  no  ordinary,  to  Hea- 
vens were  opened. 

Pag,  74.  After  no  inconfiderablc  thirg,  feven 
Lines  oftkt  former  Editim  are  left  out* 

f 

Ibtd. 


Addittom,  &c.  xxi 

Ibid.  Fro»»  Cloud,  who  knows?  the  flowing  Tart 
efthe  Paragraph  is  left  oHt^  and  in  its  room  is  fet^  That 
the  Ocean,  to  Scriptures,  f.  75. 

Pag,  79.  Madidis  Notm  atis.     Ovid.  Metam. 

Pag.   84.   But  to  put,  to  p.  1 01,  102. 

Pag.  89.  Dr.  Hook\  to  believe  there  are  not.' 

Pag.  1 1 4.  That  Rains,  to  the  Bottom  of  the  Page, 

Pag.  115.   The  Fruitfulnefs,  to  of  Nile. 

Q.  Whether  this  Paragraph  he  not  mifplaced  ? 

Pag.  116.  But  becaufe  (as  I  faid  before)  to  touch 
the  Ground,  ^fter  which^  three  Paragraphs  in 
p.  117,  118,  119,  120.  of  the  former  Edition.^  are  left 
out' 

Pag.  118.  /  ^all  leofve  the  Header  to  compete  the  AU 
teration  made^  from  This  Hypothefis,  to  highelt 
Mountains,  with  p.  122.  of  the  former  Edition^  If 
any  objed. 

Jhid.  (as  credibly  Authors,  to  thofe  oi  Mexico) 
f.  119. 

Pag.  120.  But  becaufe,  to  former  Account. 

Pag.  126,  Dr.  Woodward^  to  Deluge. 

Pag.  129.  Another  the  like  Bed,  to  fo  far  Mr.' 
Brewery  p.  132. 

Pag.  138.  This  Argument  is>  to  living  Shark, 

p.  139. 

Pag.  1 40.  as  Signor  Agofiino^  to  from  them  both.' 

Pag.  143.  Two  farther  Arguments,  to  out  of 
jigofiino  ScilUy  p.  145. 

Pag.  145.  and  1 3  days,  to  the  Bottom  of  the  Page. 

Pag,  1 49.  This  to  me,  I  confefs,  is  at  prefent 
unaccountable. 

Pag,  155.  Upon  farther  Confideration,  to  Spe- 
cies under  it. 

Pag,  155.  To  this  may  be  anfwered,  to  Iflands 

of  Scotland^  p.  157. 

Pag.  1^5.  Dr.  IVoodwardy  to  Bed  or  Stratum^ 
f.  167. 

b  3  P^X* 


xxii  Additions  y  &;c. 


Pag'  111..  This  Conjedure,  to  thence  might. 

Tag.  174-  According  to  ray  Hope,  to  with  their 
Fellows,  p.  204. 

Pag.  208.  To  which  may  be  added,  to  Work- 
ing of  the  Sea,  p.  209. 

Pap.  211.  Notwithftanding  thefe,  to  felves  be- 
holding it,  p.  211. 

Pag.  215.  Moreover,  to  thereabout. 

Pag.  218.  Notwithftanding  all  thefe,  to  the  End 
of  the  Page  126. 

Pag.  228.  Here  1  might  take,  to  I  have  digref- 
fed,  p.  241 . 

Pag  276.  For,  I .  It  could,  to  a  Flame. 

Pag.  291.  In  this  Conjedure,  to  difcourfed  at 
large,  p  294. 

Pag.  443.  Now  that  it  is  unjuft,  to  enforce  Obe- 
dience to  his  Laws,  p.  446. 

And  in  the  fame  Place^  in  the  former  Edition^ 
p.  395.  from  How  can  it  be  juft,  to  the  End  of  the 
Paragraph^  ii  left  out. 

Pag.  450.  hfiead  of  punilhing  an  Offender,  it 
is  having  an  Offender  puniflied  by  the  Magiftrate, 
or  by  G  o  D. 

Jbid.  He  hath  not  permitted,  to  1  will  repay. 

Jbid.  After  Veracity  ?  compare  the  Alterations^ 
viz.  what  is  left  out  tn  the  former^  and  added  in  this 
Edition^  from  Veracity,  fo  digrelfed,  p.  452. 

P^^.452.  I  ftiall  add  farther,  to  groundleHy  ima- 
gine, f-  453.  Compare  alfo  the  f^ariation  from  the 
former  Edition. 

Pag.  453.  After  go  on  in  Sin,  fee  what  is  left 
9Ht  of  what  is  in  the  former  Edition'^  p.  402,  403. 


-9^IP" 


THE 


THE 

CONTENTS. 

Discourse    I. 

Of  the  Primitive  CHAOS,  and  Creation 
of  the  W  O  R  LP. 

CH  A  P.  I.    Teftimonies  of  the  Ancient  Heathen  Writers, 
Hefiod,    Ovid,    Ariftophanes,    Lucan,    Euripides, 
concerning  the  Chaos,  and  ffhat  they  meant  by  it,  pag.  2, 

3,4. 

Chap.  II.  That  the  Creation  of  the  World  out  of  a  Chaos, 
is  not  repugnant  to  the  Holy  Scripture,  if  Joherly  under- 
ftood,  p.  5,  6,  7,  8. 

Chap.  III.  Of  the  feparating  the  Land  and  Water,  and  rai- 
fing  up  the  Mountains,  p.  8,  &c.  By  nhat  Means  the 
Waters  rver'e  gathered  together  into  one  Place,  and  the  dry 
Land  )nade  to  appear,  p.  9.  That  fuhterraneous  Fires  and 
Flatus V,  might  be  of  Power  fufjicient  to  produce  juch  an 
EjfeU,  proved  from  the  Force  and  Eff'e^s  of  Gunpowder, 
and  the  Rai/ing  up  of  new  Mountains,,-^.  lO,  il,  12,  13. 
The  Shaking  of  the  nhole  known  World  by  an  Earthquake, 
p.  13,  14.  That  the  Mountains,  IJlands,  and  whole  Con- 
tinents were  probably  at  jirfi  raijed  up  by  fubterraneous 

b  4  Fires, 


xxiv  The  Contents, 

FireSy  proved  by  the  Authority  of  Lydiate  and  Strabo^ 
p.  15',  1 6,  17.  Of  ffibterraneous  Caverns  puffing  under 
the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  p.  19,  20,  21,  &c.  A  Commtini" 
cation  hetmtn  jEtna,Stromboli,  &c.  p.  22,  &c.  ABif- 
courfe  concerning  the  Equality  of  the  Sea  and  Land,  both 
as  to  the  Extent  of  each,  and  the  Height  of  one,  to  the 
Depth  of  the  Other,  talen  from  the  Shores,  p.  25,  26,  27, 
31,  32,  33.  That  the  Motion  of  the  Waters  levels  the 
Bottom  of  the  Sea,  p.  28,  29,  30.  A  Difcourje  concerning 
fhe  Ufe  of  the  Mountains,  p.  34,  35,' 36,  37,  &c.  Tne 
Way  of  digging  Wells  in  the  Lower  Auftria,  &c\  p.  35, 
40,  41.  The  Sum  ofvfhat  hath  been  /aid  of  the  Divi/ion 
and  Difpo/ition  of  the  Water  and  Earth,  p.  43, 44. 
Chap,  IV,  Of  the  Creation  of  Animals  :  Some  Quefiions 
concerning  them  refolved,  p.  45.  7 hat  God  Almighty  did 
at  fir/i-  create  either  the  Seeds  of  all  Animate  Bodies,  and 
difpcrfed  them  all  the  Earth  over  :  Or  elfe,  the  firfi  Sett 
of  Animals  themfelves,  in  their  full  State  and  Perfection, 
giving  each  Species  a  Power  by  Generation  to  propagate 
fheir  Like,  p.  45,  46.  Whether  God  at  firfi  created  agreap 
JMunsber  of  each  Species,  or  only  trvo,  a  Male  and  a  Fe- 
male, p.  46,  47,  Whether  all  individual  Animals  vphich 
already  have  been,  and  hereafter  /hall  be,  were  at  firfi 
a^ually  created  by  God,  or  only  the  firfi  Setts  of  each  Spe- 
cies, the  refi  proceeding  from  them  by  may  of  Generation, 
and  being  anew  produced,  p.  48)  49,  &c.     ObjeElions  a^ 

faii^fi  the  Firfi  Part  anjwered.  I.  That  it  feems  impoffl^ 
le,  that  the  Ovaries  of  the  firfi  Animals  fhould  aUuallj 
include  the  innumerable  Myriads  of  thofe  that  may  pro- 
ceed  from  them  in  Jo  many  Generations  as  have  been,  and 
ppallbe  to  the  End  of  the  World.  This  fhevon  not  to  be  fo 
incredible  from  the  A/ultitude  of  Parts,  into  rohich  Mat- 
ter may  be,  and  is  divided,  in  many  Experiments,  p.  ^o, 
51,  52,  53,  54.  2.  //  all  the  Members  of  Animals  al- 
ready formed,  do  pre-exifi  in  the  Egg,  hop.  can  the 
Imagination  of  the  Mother  change  the  Shape,  and  that 
fo  notftrioufiy  fometimes,  as  to  produce  a  Calf's  Heady 
0*-  Dog's  Face,  or  the  like  monfirons  Adembers  i  Several 
^pjivers  to  this  ObjeUion  offered,  p.  55,  56,  57,  &:c. 


Dis. 


The  Contents.  xxv 


Discourse    II, 

Of  the  Geiferal  DELUGE,  in  the  Days  pf 

Noah  ,•  its  Caufes  and  Effci^s.  Pag,6i. 

CHAP.  I.  Teftimonies  of  Ancient  Heathen  Writers^ 
and  fome  ancient  Coins  or  Medals,  verifying  the  Scri" 
pture-Hifiory  of  the  Deluge,  p.  6%,  62,  64,  65.  That 
the  ancient  Poets  and  Mythologifis,  by  Deucalion  under- 
ftood  Noah,  and  by  DeucalionV  Flood  the  General  De- 
luge, proved,  p.  65,  66,  67,  68. 
Chap.  II.  Of  the  Caufes  of  the  General  Deluge,  p.  6p^ 
■  \.  A  miraculous  Tranf mutation  of  Air  into  Vi^ater  re- 
jeSled,  p.  6p,  70,  71,  72.  That  Noah'j  Flood  was  not 
Topical,  p.  72,73,  2,  and  3.  The  Emotion  of  the  Cen- 
ter of  the  Earth,  or  a  violent  Deprejfion  of  the  Surface  of 
the  Ocean,  the  mofi  probable  partial  Caufes  of  the  De- 
luge ;  But  the  immediate  Caufes  afjjgned  by  the  Scripture^ 
are  the  Breaking  up  of  the  Fountains  of  the  Great 
Deep,  and  the  Opening  of  the  Windows  of  Hea- 
ven, p.  73.  That  thofe  Caufes  are  Efficient  to  produce  4 
Deluge,  granting  a  Change  of  the  Center  of  the  Earth,  to 
prevent  the  Waters  running  off,  p.  73,  74,  75.  That  all 
the  Vapours  fufpended  in  the  Air,  might  contribute  much 
towards  a  Flood,  ibid,  Concerning  the  Expence  of  the 
Sea  by  Vapour,  p.  76,  77,  78,  &c.  Of  the  Waters  heping 
its  Level.  An  ObjeSlion  concerning  an  Under- current  at 
the  Propontis,  the  Streights  of  Gibraltar,  and  the  Ealtick 
Sound,  propofed  and  replied  to,  p.  81,  82,  83,  84.  Con- 
cerning the  Breaking  up  of  the  Fountains  of  the  Great 
Deep,  and  how  the  Waters  might  be  made  to  afcend, 
p.  84,  85.  The  inferiour  Circulation,  and  perpetual  Mo- 
tion of  the  Water  difapproved,  p.  86,  &c.  That  the  Conti- 
nents •  and  Iflands  are  fo  equally  difpcrfed  all  the  World 
over,  as  to  counterbalance  one  another,  jo  that  the  Ccnterf 
of  Motion^  Gravity  and  Magnitude,  cweurr  in  one 3  p.  86, 

Atf 


xxviii        The  Contents. 

lar  Account  oj  the  late  rentarhihle  and  jar- extended  Earth' 
qnahe  which  happened  here  with  us  in  England,  and  in 
other  Parts  of  Europe,  ftpon  Sept.  8.  i6p2.  p.  272,  &c. 
to  281.    Of  Vulcanos,  p.  282. 

Of  extraordinary  Floods  catifed  hy  long- continuing 
Showers,  or  violent  Storms  and  Shots  of  Rain,  p.  283  to 

287. 

Of  hoijieroHs  and  violent  Winds  and  Hurricanes,  -what 
Intereji  they  have  in  the  Changes  wrought  in  the  Earthy 
p.  287,  288,  28p. 

That  the  Earth  doth  not  proceed  fo  faji  towards  a  gene- 
ral Inundation  and  Suhmerfion  hy  iVater,  as  the  Force  and 
Agemy  of  all  thefe  Caufesfeem  to  require,  p.  2pi.  The 
Earthquakes  in  Sicily  and  Naples,  p.  2pi,  2p2,  2^3, 
2p4. 


Discourse    III. 

Of  the  Future  Dififolution  of  the  World,  and 
the  General  Conflagration. 

'T^HE  JntroduSlion,  being  a  Difcourfe  concerning  Pro^ 
*-    phecy,  p.  Z96,  &c. 

Chap.  I.  The  Divifion  of  the  Words  [2  Pet.  iii.  i.l  and 
the  DoElrine  contained  in  them^  with  the  Heads  of  the  fol- 
lowing Dijcourfe,  viz.  I.  Tefiimonies  concerning  the  Dif- 
folution.  I.  Of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  2.  Of  ancient  Chri- 
ftian  Writers.  3.  Of  Heathen  Philofophcrs  and  Sages^ 
II.  Seven  Que fi ions  concerning  the  DiJJolution  of  the 
World y  propojed,  p.  300,  &c. 

Chap.  II.  The  Tefiimonies  of  Scripture  concerning  the  Dijfo- 
lution  of  the  World.  And  Dr.  Hamraond'j  Expofitions, 
referring  the  mofi  of  them  to  the  Definition  of  the  City  and 
Temple  of  jerufalem,  and  the  Period  of  the  Jewifh  State 
And  Polity  conjtdercdj,  and  pleaded  fer,  p.  303  to  320. 

Chap. 


The  Contents.  xxix 

Chap.  in.  Teftimonies  of  the  j4ncient  Fathers  and  Dolors 
of  the  Church,  cencerning  the  Dijfolution  of  the  World^ 

.  p.  320  to  335. 

Chap.  IV.  The  Te^intonies  of  fome  Heathen  Philofophers, 
and  other  Writers,  concerning  the  Dijfoltition  ;  the  Epi- 
cureans, p.  326.  the  Stoicks,  p.  327,  &c.  nho  held  cer- 
tain Periods  of  Inundations  And  Conflaprations.  p.  328,  &c.' 
That  this  Opinion  of  a  Future  Conjiagration  Teas  of  far 
greater  Antiquity  than  that  Seti,  proved,  p.  333,  &:c. 

Chap.  V.  The  firfi  Quefiion  concerning  the  World's  Dijfolu-- 
tion  ;  Whether  there  be  any  thing  in  Nature  that  may  pro- 
hahly  caufe  or  argue  a  Future  Dijfolution  i  Four  probable 
Means  propounded  and  difcujfed,  p.  338. 

Se£l.  I.  The  frfi  is  the  Probability  of  the  Waters  natU' 
rally  returning  to  overflow  and  cover  the  Earthy  ibid. 

The  old  Argument  from  the  World's  Diffolution,  taken 
from  its  daily  Confenefcency  and  Decay,  rejetted,  p.  3  3  p. 

The  Neceffity  of  fuch  a  Prevailing  of  the  Waters  daily 
npon  the  dry  Land,  till  at  lafi  it  proceed  to  a  total  Sub" 
merfton  of  it,  in  the  Courfe  of  Nature,  as  things  mvp  fiand, 
finlefsfome  Stop  be  put,  proved,  from  the  continual  Jlreiiht- 
ning  of  the  Sea,  and  lomring  the  Mountains  and  high 
Grounds  by  Rains,  Floods  and  Rivers  majhing  array,  and 
carrying  down  the  Earth,  and  from  the  Seas  ericroaching 
upon  the  Shores,  p.  :^^  to  ^^6. 

The  Reafon  vphy  there  are  no  Rains  nor  Springs  in 

Egypt,  P'  34P- 

A  large  Quotation  out  of  Jofephus  Blancanus,  de- 
vtonjlrating  J  owe  of  the  former  Matters,  p.  356  (p 
365. 

Of  the  Sinking  of  ancient  Buildings,  p.  368. 

Seft.  2.  The  fecond  probable  Means  or  Caufe  of  the 
\%rld's  DrfiruUion  in  a  Natural  way,  viz.  the  Extinfiion 
of  the  Sunj  p.  373. 

Sea.  3.  The  third  pcjjible  Caufe  of  the  World's  Define 
^jon,  the  Eruption  of  the  Central  Fire,  p.  375.  That 
the  Being  of  fuch  a  Ftre  is  no  way  repugnant  either  to  Scri- 
pture.or  Reafon,  p.  377.  Mines  rm  gcneral'y  Eaji  and 
Wcjl^  p.  378,  &c. 


XXX  The  Contents. 

SeCt.  4.  The  fourth  poffihle  Caufe  of  the  World's  Difo-^ 
littion,  the  Earth's  Drynefs  and  Inftammahility  in  the 
Torrid  Zone^  and  the  concurrent  Eruptions  of  Volcano's, 
p.  381,  &c.        '  "  ' 

That  the   Inclination   of  the  Ecliptick  to  the  ^qua- 
-  tor  doth  not  diminify^  p.  381.     That  tho'  there  vpere  fuch 
a  Drying  and  Parching  of  the  Earth  in  theTorrid  Zone,  it 
vrotild  not  probably  inferr   a  Conflagration,  p.  382,  383. 
That  there  hath  not  yet  been,  nor  in  the  ordinary  Courje  of 
Nature  can  be,  any  fnch  Drying  or  Parching  of  the  Earth 
in  the  Torrid  Zone,  p.  384.     The  Pojfthility  of  the  Defe- 
cation of  the  Sea  by  Natural  Means,  denied,  p.  385,  &c. 
The  Fixednejs  and  Jntranfmutabiliiy  of  Principles  Jecures 
the  Univerfe  from  Dijfolution,  DefirnUion  of  any  prefent . 
Species,  or  Produl^ion  of  any  new,  p.  387. 
Chap.  VI.    Containing  an  Anfiver  to   the  fccond   Ouefiion, 
Whether  (hall   this   Dijfolution  he  effected  by  Natural  or 
Extraordinary  Means  f  and  mhat  they  fh all  he  i  p.  388. 
Chap.  VII.    The  third    Ouefiion   anfwered,    fVhether  /hall 
the  Dijfolution  he  gradual  and  fmceffive,  or  montentanous 
andfuddeni  p.  391. 
Chap.  VIII.    The  fourth   Oueftion  refolved.    Whether  /hall 
there  be  any  Signs  or  Fore-runners  of  the  Dijfolution  of 
the  Worlds  p.  393. 
Chap.  IX.  The  fifth    Ouejlion  debated.  At  rvhat  Period  of 
Time  fhall  the  World  be  diffolved  i  and  particularly,  Whe- 
ther at  the  End  of  Six  tboufand  Tears  i  p.  397. 
Chap.  X.   How   far  fhall  this  Dijfolution   or  Conflagration 
extend  ^     Whether    to    the  zy^therial  Heavens,   and  all 
the  Hoji  of  them,  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars,  or  to  the  Aerial 
only  i  p.  403, 
Chap.  XI.  The  fcventh  and  lafl  Oue/^ion,  Whether  fhall  the 
whole  World  be  confamed  and  dejiroyed,  or  annihilated^ 
er  only  refined  and  purified,  p,  406. 

The  Refiiiution  and  Continuance  of  the  World,  proved 
hy  the  Tejiimmiics  of  Scripture  and  Antiquity,  and  alfo 
hy  Reafon,  p.  41 1,  &:c. 

The  Arguments  for   the  Abolition  and  Anmhilation, 


anfwerd,  p.  41 2,  &c. 


Chap, 


The  Contents.        xxxi 


Chap.  XII.  7ije  Inference  the  Jpofik  males  from  the  pre- 
cedent DeUrine  :  Of  fnture  Rewards  and  Pmijhments, 
The  Eternity  of  fmnre  Pmijlments  proved  '  from  tU 
Amhority  of  Scripture  and  Antiquity.  Hoa  the  Eterni- 
niiy  of  Vunifhments  can  confijt  with  the  Jpfflice  ani 
Cooodnefs  of  God,  from  p.  416.  to  the  fcnd  of  the 
Book. 

The  great  Ufefdnefs  of  Shame,    p.  42^.     The  Blot- 
ting out  of  Sins^  p.  430,  &c. 


A  C AT A-LOGVt  of  the  Author's  WorkSj 
[old  by  William   Innys. 

Hlftoria  Plancarum,  Species  hadenus  editas  aliafque  infu- 
per  multas  noviter  inveritas  &  defcriptas  comple(^ens. 
Tomi  duo.    Fol.  i6'i6. 

Ejufd.  Tomus  tertius,.qui  eft  ^upplemcncum  duorum  pra:- 
cedentium  •,  cum  icceSwnihws  Camelli  8c  Toumef or tiiy  1704, 

Catalogus  Plantarum  circa  Cantabrigiam  nafcentium. 
On^itve,  Cantub.  i66o.  cum  Appendice. 

Catalogus  Plantarutn  Angliae,  tS^*^.  8vo.  1670.  Sc  1677^ 

Fafciculus  Stirp.  Britann.  poft  editum  Catal.  prsed.  i(583. 

Catalogus  Stirpium  in  ext.  region,  obfervat.  \6t^. 

Methodus  Plantarum  nova  cum  Tabulis,  i($825  1703. 

Synopfis  Methodica  Stirp.  Britann.  in  qua  turn  Not«  Gene- 
rum  Cnaracterifticae  traduntur,  turn  Species  fingulx  brcviteit 
defcribitur,  &c.  1690. 

Ead.  Synop.  multis  Stirpibus  &  Obfervationibus  Curiofis 
paflim  infcrtis,  cum  Mufcorum  Methodo  &  Hiftoria  pleniore, 
&:c,  \6y6. 

Epiftola  ad  D.  RiVt«»>»»  de  Methodo  Plantaruin  in  (Ju*  E^e- 
tnenta  Botanica  D.  Tournefort  tanguntur,  1696. 

Difl'ertatio  de  variis  Plantarum  Method  is,  1^91^. 

Stirp.  Europ.  extra  Britannias  nafcentium  Sylloge,  169^ 

Synopfis  Methodica  Avium  &  Pifcium,  8vo.  171 3, 

Synopf.  Methodica  Animalium  Quadrupedum  &  Serpentinl 
Generis,  1(^93. 

Francifci  Willughbeii  Hiftoria  Pifcium  cum  "Pig.  Recognd- 
vit,  digeflit,  fupjplevit  Jo.  Raiuj,  Oxon.  foU  16^6. 

Ejufd.  Ornithologia  cum  Tig.  edente  eod.  i67^> 

"the  fame  much  enlarged^  in  Englifli.       167S, 

Obfervations  Topograpbicul^  Moral,  and  Fhyfiological,  made  in  a  your-- 
ney  thro'  fevei  at  Parts  of  Eutopi-,  8vb.   i(<73. 

CoUe^ion  of  uitufuA  or  local  Englifh  Woris^  with  an  oiccount  of 
freparing  Engiifli  Metals,  &C.   I(<74,  and  1691. 

Colle^ion  of  En^Viih.  and  other  FroVcrhs.   Camb.  I<<78. 
,  Methodus  Infe<ftorum  :  feu  tnfeAa  in  Methodum  aliqualem 
Digefta.      1705. 

Hiftoria  Infe(florum.  Lond.  1710.  ^to.      Optjs  Pdfthumum. 

^  Ferfuaftve  to  a  Holy  -Life,   1700. 

The  Wifdom  of  God  manifefted  in  the  Worths  of  the  Creation,  In 
Two  Parts.  To  which  are  addedy  tAnfwers  to  fame  Objeftions.  Svo* 
Sixth  Edition.  1713. 

Three  Phylico-Theological  Difcourfes^  Sec,  W.th  FraBical  Infe- 
rences.    1713. 

Didionariolum   Trilingue,    fee.    Locos     Commun.    1672^ 

i^^i  1696. 

bis- 


^£^'^i2^  '^2^^j#'  ^^v^3^  \;^'^2^%S:i^''^l^^i^^^2d  


DISCOURSE    I. 

Of  the  Primitive  Chaos  and 
Creation  of  the  World. 


N  the  Firft  Edition  of  this 
Treatife,  this  Difcourfe  con- 
cerning the  Pri?mtive  Chaos 
and  Creation  of  the  World, 
and  that  other  concerning  the 
Veftru^fion  thereof  by  the  Waters  of  the  Ge- 
neral  Deluge ^  in  the  Days  of  Noah^  were 
brought  in  by  way  of  Digreflfion  ;  becaufe  I 
defigned  not  at  firil  to  treat  of  them,  but  only 
of  the  Conflagration  or  DiJJolution  of  the  World 
by  Fire;  but  was  afterwards,  when  I  had 
made  a  confiderable  Progrefs  in  the  Diffoluy 
tion^  at  the  Inftance  of  iome  Friends,  becaufe 
of  their  Relation  to  my  Subje(5t,  prevailed 
upon  to  fay  fomething  of  them.  But  now 
that  I  am  at  Liberty  fo  to  do,  I  iliall  not 
handle  them  any  more  by  the  by,  but  make 

B  them 


Of  the  Chaos ' 

them  fubftantial  Parts  of  my  Book,  and  dif- 
pofe  them,  as  is  mod  natural,  according  to 
their  Priority  and  Pofleriority  in  Order  of 
Time,  beginning  with  the  Chaos  and  Creation, 


HAP. 


I. 


Tefitmonks  of  the  Ancient  Heathen  Wru 
ters  concerning  the  Chaos,  and  what 
they  meant  by  it, 

T  was  an  ancient  Tradition  a- 
mong  the  Heathen ,  that  the 
World  was  created  out  of  a 
Chaos, 

First  of  all  the  ancient  Gree'k  Poet  Hefiod^ 
who  may  contend  for  Antiquity  with  Homer 
himfelf,  makes  mention  of  it  in  his  T'heo- 
gonia^  not  far  from  the  Beginning,  in  thefe 
Words  : 

Firft  of  all  there  was  a  Chaos.  And  a  few 
Verfes  after,  fpeaking  of  the  immediate  Pro- 
du(ftionor  Offspring  of  tlie  Chaos^  he  faith. 

From  Chaos  proceeded  Hell,  and  Night,  [or 
Darknefs].  which  feems  to  have  its  Founda- 
tion or  Occafion  from  the  fecond  Verfe  of 

the 


and  Creation,  3 


the  firft  Chapter  of  Genefu  \  And  the  Earth 
zmy  without Forin^and  void i  and  Darkneff  was 
upon  the  Face  of  the  Deep,  Of  this  Teftimo- 
ny  of  Hefiod^  La^tantius  takes  notice,  and 
cenfures  it,  in  the  firft  Book  of  his  Inftitu- 
tiom^  cap.  5 .  Hefiodm  non  a  Deo  conditore  fu- 
mem  exordium^  fed  a  Chao^  quod  efi  rudis  inor- 
di?iataque  materi^e  confuf^e  congeries*  Hefiod 
not  taking  his  Beginning  frojn  God  the  Crea- 
tor  of  all  Things^  but  from  the  Chaos,  -which 
is  a  rude  and  inordinate  Heap  of  confufed 
Matter,  And  fo  Ovid  defcribes  it  in  the  Be- 
ginning of  his  Metamorphofis ; 

£uem  dixere  Chaos,  rudis  indigefta'que  moles^ 
Nee  quicquam  nifi  pondus  iners  congeftdque 
■    eodem 
Non  bene  jun^farum  difcordia  femina  rerum. 

'  That  is. 

One  Face  had  Nature ^which  they  Chaos  narnd^ 
An  undigefied  Lump^  a  barren  T^oad^ 
Where  jarring  Seeds  of  things  ill-join  d  abode, 

Oth-ers  of  the  Ancients  have  alfo  made  men- 
tion of  the  ChaoSy  as  Arijiophanes  in  Avibus^ 

And  Lucian  in  the  Beginning  of  his  firft:  Book, 

Antiquum  repetent  iterum  Chaos  omnia^  &c. 

Of  the  Formation  of  all  the  Parts   of  the 

World  out  of  thisCtor,  Ovid^  in  the  place 

B  2  fore- 


Of  the  Chaos 

fore-quoted,  gives  us  a  full  and  particular 
Defcription  ;  and  'Eurifides  before  him  a 
brief  one, 

T^he  Heaven  and  Earth  were  at  firfi  of  one 
Fowl;  but  after  they  were  feparated ^  the 
Earth  brought  forth  Trees^  Birds^  Beaftx^ 
Fifljes^  and  Mankind. 

The  like  Account  alfo  the  ancient  Philofo- 
pher  Anaxagoras  gives  of  the  Creation  of 
the  World,  beginning  his  Philofophy  thus  j 
IlcLvra.  ^p'/jiiccTCi  v^'j  hp.Q'  sitol  N^^c  f'AOwv  olvtx 
^isaofffxviaE '  that  is.  All  things  (at  firft)  were 
together^  or  mingled  and  confufed,  then 
Mind  fuperveni?tg  difpofed  them  in  a  beautiful 
Order, 

That  v^hich  I  chiefly  diflike  in  this  Opi- 
nion of  theirs,  is,  that  they  make  no  men- 
tion of  the  Creation  of  this  Chaos ^  but  feem 
to  look  upon  it  as  felf-exillent  and  impro- 
duced. 


Chap. 


Chap.     II. 

That  the  Creation    of  the  World  out  of 
a  Chaos,  is  not  repugnant  to  the  Holy 
Scripture, 

HIS  Opinion  o^ 2l Chaos ^  if  (o- 
berly  iinderftood,  not  as  felF- 
exiftent  and  improduced,  but  in 
the  flrft  place  created  by  God, 
and  preceding  other  Beings, 
which  were  made  out  of  it,  is  not,  fo  far  as  I 
can  difcern,  any  way  repugnant  to  the  Holy 
Scripture,  but  on  the  contrary  rather  confo- 
nant  and  agreeable  thereto.  For  Mofer^  in 
theHiftory  and  Defcription  of  the  Creation, 
in  the  firft  Chapter  of  Genefis^  faith,  not  that 
God  created  all  things  in  an  inftant  in  their 
full  State  and  Perfedion,  but  that  He  pro- 
ceeded gradually  and  in  Order,  from  more 
imperfed  to  more  perfect  Beings,  firft  be- 
ginning with  the  Earth,  that  is,  the  Terra- 
queous Globe,  which  was  made  tohu  vabohu^ 
without  Form,  and  void,  the  Waters  cover- 
ing the  Face  of  the  Land,  which  were  after- 
wards feparated  from  the  Land,  and  gather- 
ed together  into  one  place.  Then  He  crea- 
ted out  of  the  Land  and  Water,  firft  Plants, 
and  then  Animals,  Fifties,  Birds,  Beafts,  in 
Order,  and  laft  of  all  formed  the  Body  of 
Man  of  the  Duft  of  theEarth. 

B  3  /     And 


Of  the  Chaos 


And  whereas  there  is  no  particular  men- 
tion made  of  the  Creation  of  Metals,  Mine- 
rals, and  other  Follils,  they  muft  be  compre- 
hended in  the  Word  Earthy  as  the  Water  it- 
felf  alfo  is  in  the  fecond  Verfe  of  this  firft 
Chapter. 

It  feems,therefore,tome  confonantto  the 
Scripture,  That  God  Almighty  did  at  firft 
create  the  Earth  or  Terraqueous  Giobe,  con- 
taining in  itfelf  the  Principles  of  all  fimple 
inanimate  Bodies,  or  the  minute  and  natu- 
rally indivifible  Particles  of  which  they  were 
compounded,  of  various  but  a  determinate 
Number  of  Figures,  and  perchance  of  diffe- 
rent Magnitudes,  and  thefe  varioufly  and 
confufedly  commixed,  as  though  they  had 
been  carelefly  fliaken  and  fhufflcd  together  ; 
yet  not  fo,  but  that  there  was  Order  obfer- 
ved  by  the  moft  Wife  Creator  in  the  Difpofi- 
tion  of  them.  And  not  only  fo,  but  that  the 
fame  Omnipotent  Deity  did  create  alfo  the 
Seeds  or  Seminal  Principles  of  all  Animate 
Bodies,  both  Vegetative  and  Senfitive  j  and 
difpers'd  them,  at  leaft  the  Vegetative,  all  o- 
ver  the  fuperficial  Part  of  the  Earth  and  Wa- 
ter. And  the  Notion  of  fuch  an  Earth  as  this 
is,  the  Primitive  Patriarchs  •  of  the  Worl,d 
delivered  to  their  Pofterity,  who,  by  Degrees 
annexing  fomething  of  Fabulous  to  it,  im- 
pofed  upon  it  the  Name  ofChaof, 

The  next  Work  of  the  Divine  Power  and 
Wifdom,  was  the  Separation  of  the  Water 

from 


and  Creation. 

from  the  dry  Land,  and  Raifing  up  of  the 
Mountains,  of  which  I  fhall  treat  more  par- 
ticularly in  the  next  Chapter. 

To  which  follows  the  Giving  to  both  Ele- 
ments a  Power  of  hatching,  as  I  may  fo  fay, 
or  quickening  and  bringing  to  Perfection  the 
Seeds  they  contained  \  firft  the  more  imper- 
fe(5t,  as  Herbs  and  Trees  ^  then  the  more 
perfe(5t,  Fifh,  Fowl,  Four-footed  Beafts,  and 
creeping  Things  or  Infeds.  Which  may  be 
the  Meaning  of  thofe  Commands  of  God, 
which  were  operative  and  effe(5tual,  com- 
municating to  the  Earth  and  Water  a  Power 
to  produce  what  He  commanded  them.  Gen, 
i.  II.  Ijet  the  Earth  bring  forth  Grafy^  &c. 
and  'U.  2  0.  Let  the  Waters  bring  forth  abun- 
dantly the  ?noving  Creature  that  hath  Life^  and 
Fowl  that  may  fly  above  the  Earthy  &c.  And 
V.  24.  Let  the  Earth  bring  forth  the  living 
Creature  after  his  Kind^  Cattle  and  creeping 
things  andBeaftofthe  Earth  after  his  Kind, 

S  o  the  Earth  was  at  firft  cloathed  with  all 
Sorts  of  Herbs  and  Trees  i  and  both  Earth 
and  Water  furniflied  with  Inhabitants.  And 
this  the  Ancients  underftood  by  their  ^/ixjtoa"- 

But  whether  out  of  prse-exifting  Seeds,  as 
1  fuppofe,  or  not,  certain  it  is,  that  G  o  d  at 
that  time  did  give  an  extraordinary  and  mi- 
raculous Power  to  the  Land  and  Water,  of 
producing  Vegetables  and  Animals  i  and  af- 
ter there  were  as  many  of  every  kind  brought 

B  4  forth. 


8  Of  the  Chaos 

forth,  as  there  were  Seeds  created  at  firft  j  or 
as  many  as  it  feemed  good  to  the  Divine 
Creator  to  produce  without  Seed  ,•  there  re- 
mained no  farther  Ability  in  thofe  Elements 
to  bring  forth  anymore;  but  all  thefucceed- 
ing  owe  their  Original  to  Seed  j  Go  d  having 
given  to  every  %c/>x  a  Power  to  generate  or 
propagate  its  Like. 


Chap.     III. 

0/  the  Separating  the  Land  and  Water^ 

and  Raijing  up  the  Mountains. 

|Upposing  that  God  Almighty  did  at 
firft  create  the  Terreftrial  Globe,  part- 
ly of  foiid  and  more  ponderous,  part- 
ly of  fluid  and  lighter  Parts  i  the  (olid  and 
ponderous  muft  needs  naturally  fubfide,  the 
fluid  and  lighter  get  above.  Now,  that  there 
were  fuch  different  Parts  created,  is  clear, 
and  therefore  it  is  reafonable  to  think,  that 
the  Waters  at  firft  fliould  ftand  above  and  co- 
ver the  Earth  :  And  that  they  did  fo,  feems 
evident  to  me  from  the  Teftimeny  of  the 
Scripture.  For,  in  the  Hiftory  of  the  Crea- 
tion, in  the  firft  Chapter  of  Genefu^  ver.  2.  it 
is  faid.  That  the  Spirit  of  God  ?noved  upon  the 
Face  of  the  Watery^  intimating  that  the  Wa- 
ters were  uppermoft.  And  God  faid^  ver.  9. 
let  the  Waters  under  the  Heaven  be  gathered 

together 


and  Creation. 

together  into  one  flace^  and  let  the  dry  hand 
appear.  Whence,  I  think,  it  is  manifeft  to 
any  unprejudiced  Reader,  That  before  that 
time  the  Land  was  covered  with  Water  r 
Efpecially,  if  we  add  the  Teftimony  of  the 
Holy  Pfalmift,  Pfalm  civ.  ver.  6,  and  9. 
which  is  as  it  were  a  Comment  upon  this 
Place  of  Genefif,  where,  fpeaking  of  the 
Earth  at  the  Creation,  he  faith,  Thou  cover- 
edft  it  with  the  Deep  as  with  a  Garment  -,  the 
Waters  flood  above  the  Mountains  ....  and, 
ver.  9.  T^hat  they  turn  not  again  to  cover  the 
Earth.  And  that  this  Gathering  together  of 
Waters  was  not  into  any  fubterraneous 
Abyfs,  feems  likewife  clear  from  the  Text  : 
For  it  is  faid.  That  God  called  this  Col- 
ledion  of  Waters  Seas^  as  if  it  had  been  on 
purpofe  to  prevent  fuch  a  Miftake. 

Whether  this  Separation  of  the  Land  and 
Water,  and  Gathering  the  Waters  together 
into  one  Place,  were  done  by  the  immediate 
Application  and  Agency  of  God's  Almighty 
Power,  or  by  the  Intervention  and  Inftru- 
mentalityof  Second  Caufes,  I  cannot  deter- 
mine. It  might  poiTibly  be  effected  by  the 
fame  Caufes  that  Earthquakes  are,  viz.  fub- 
terraneous Fires  and  Flatus's,  We  fee  what 
incredible  Effcds  the  Accenfion  of  Gunpow- 
der hath:  It  rends  Rocks,  and  blows  up  the 
moft-  ponderous  and  folid Walls,  Towers,  and 
Edifices,  fo  that  its  Force  is  almoft  irrefifti- 
ble.  Why  then  might  not  fuch  a  propor- 
tionable 


lO  Of  the  Chaos 

tionable  Qiiantity  of  fuch  Materials  fet  on 
fire  together,  raife  up  the  Mountains  them- 
felves,  how  great  and  ponderous  foever  they 
be,  yea  the  whole  Superficies  of  the  dry  Land 
(for  it  muft  all  be  elevated)  above  the  Wa- 
ters ?  And  truly  to  me  the  Pfalmift  feems  to 
intimate  this  Caufe,  f^ahn  civ,  7.  For,  after 
he  had  faid.  The  Waters  flood  above  the  Moun- 
tains ;  he  adds,  At  Thy  Rebuke  they  fled^  at 
,  the  Voice  of  Thy  Thunder  they  hafted  away. 
Now,  we  know  that  an  Earthquake  is  but  a 
fubterraneous  Thunder,  and  then  immedi- 
ately follows.  The  Mountains  afcend,  the  Val- 
leys defcend,  &c.  In  this  Manner  of  railing 
up  the  dry  Land  at  firft,  and  calling  off  the 
Waters,  I  was  well  pleafed  to  find  the  Right 
Reverend  Father  in  God,  Simon^  Lord  Biiliop 
of  £fy,  to  agree  with  me  in  his  excellent 
Commentary  upon  Genefis^  cap.  i.  ver.  9. 
'  This,  faith  he,  we  may  conceive  to  have 
'  been  done  by  fuch  Particles  of  Fire  as  were 
'  left  in  the  Bowels  of  the  Earth,  whereby  fuch 
'  Nitrofulphureous  Vapours  were  kindled,  as 
'  made  an  Earthquake,  which  both  lifted  up 
^  the  Earth,  and  made  Receptacles  for  the  Wa- 
'  ters  to  run  into  ;  as  the  Pfalmift  (otherwife 
*  I  fliould  not  venture  to  mention  this)  feems 
'  in  the  forementioned  Place  to  illuftrate  it. 
If  there  might  be  a  high  Hill  raifed  up  near 
the  City  Troczen^  out  of  a  plain  Field,  by  the 
Force  of  a  fubterraneous  Fire  or  Flatus^  as 
Ovid  tells  us : 


and  Creation.  1 1 

E/i^  pYofe  ?itth(£ain  tumulus  Troezenafine  ulUs    Ov.  Me- 
•  Arduus  arboribm^  quondam  planijjtma  campi     ^^^^l^^' 
Area^  nunc  tumulus ;  nam  {res  horrenda  relatu) 
Vis  fera  ^entorum^  c£cis  imlufa  cavernis^ 
Expirare  aliqua  cupiens^  lu6tatdque  fniftra 
Liieriore  jnii  coclo^  cum  carcere  rima    • 
Nulla  fuit  toto^  nee  pervia  flatibus  effet^ 
*Extentam  tumefecit  humum^  ceu  fpiritus  oris 
Tender e  vefica?n  folet^  aut  derepta  bicornis 
Terga  capri ;  tumor  ilk  loci  permanfit^  &  alti  , 

Collis  habet  fpeciem^  longoque  induruit  d-vo : 

A  Hill  by  Pitthc^an  Troezen  mounts ^  uncrowned 
With  Sylvan  Shades^  which   once  was  level 

Ground^ 
For  furious  Winds  (a  Story  to  admire) 
Pent  in  blind  Caverns^  ft^^^EJ^^g  ^o  expire ; 
And  vainly  feeling  to  enjoy  th'  Extent 
Of  freer  Air^  the  Frifon  wanting  Vent^ 
Puff's  up  the  hollow  Earth  extended  fo^ 
As  when  with  fwelling  Breath  we  Bladders 

blow : 
The  Tumour  of  the  Place  re?nained  ftill^ 
In  time  grown  folid^  like  a  lofty  Hill  ; 

A  parallel  Inftance  hereto  we  have  of  later 
Date,  of  a  Hill  not  far  from  Puzzuolo  \_Puteoli~\ 
befide  the  Gulf  of  Bai^e^  which  I  myfelf 
have  view'd  and  been  upon.  It  is  by  the 
Natives  call'd  Monte  di  cenere^  and  was  raifed 
by  an, Earthquake,  Sept,  29.  1538.  of  about 
one  hundred  Foot  perpendicular  Altitude, 

though 


12  Of  the  Chaos 

though  fome  make  it  much  higher :  Accor- 
ding to  Stephanus  Pighim^  it  is  a  Mile  Afcent 
to  the  Top,  and  four  Miles  round  at  the  Foot : 
We  indeed  judged  it  not  near  fo  great.  The 
People  fay  it  bears  nothing  ;  nothing  of  a- 
ny  Ufeor  Profit,  I  fuppofe,  they  mean  :  Elfe  I 
am  fure,  there  grows  Heathy  Myrtle^  Maftick- 
TreCy  and  other  Shrubs  upon  it.  It  is  a" 
fpungy  kind  of  Earth,  and  makes  a  great 
Sound  under  a  Man's  Feet  that  (lamps  upon 
it.  The  fame  Earthquake  threw  up  fo  much 
Earth,  Stones  and  Aflies,  as  quite  filled  up  the 
lacm  hucrinm^  fo  that  there  is  nothing  left 
of  it  now,  but  a  fenny  Meadow.  When  I 
fay,  that  this  Mountain  was  raifed  by  an 
Earthquake,  I  do  not  mean,  that  the  meer 
SuccuUion,  or  Shaking  of  the  Earth,  raifed 
up  the  Mountain  ^  but  that  the  fame  Caufe 
which  fhookthe  Earth,  that  is,  fubterrane- 
ous  Fire,  call:  up  the  Materials  which  raifed 
the  Mountain,  and  of  which  it  doth  confift, 
that  is.  Scones,  Cinders,  Earth,  and  Alhes. 
Indeed,  under  the  Word  Earthquake^  in  this 
Work,  I  comprehend  the  Concomitants  and 
Confequents  of  an  Earthquake,  and  the  effi- 
cient Caufe  of  it  5  which  is  a  fubterraneous 
Fire,  as  I  have  expreffed  myfelf,  fag,  10. 
line  8.  of  the  Firft  Edition. 

Neither,  by  the  Elevation  of  Mountains, 
do  I  mean,  that  they  were  all  heaved  up,  as 
it  were  by  a  Flatus^  but  only  fuch,  where 
the  enclofed  Fire  was  not  of  Force  fufficient 

to 


and  Creation.  13 


to  make  its  way  out,  or  found  not  Spiracula 
to  vent  itfelf.  Otherwhere,  where  it  was 
ftrong  enough  to  rend  the  fuperincumbent 
Mafs  of  Earth,  or  found  fome  Rifts  or  Sft- 
racula  to  break  out  by,  there  it  iffued  out 
with  great  Force,  and  threw  up  abundance 
of  Stones,  Allies,  and  Earth,  and  fo  raifed 
up  a  Mountain  that  way. 

I F  fuch  Hills,  I  fay,  as  thefe,  may  be,  and 
have  been  elevated  by  fubterraneousWild-fire, 
Flatus^  or  Earthquakes,  Ji pawls'  liceat  compo- 
nere  magna^  if  we  may  compare  great  things 
with  fmall,  why  might  not  the  greateft  and 
higheft  Mountains  in  the  World  be  raifed  up 
in  like  manner  by  a  fubterraneous  Flatus  or 
Wild-fire,  of  Quantity  and  Force  fufficient 
to  work  fuch  an  Effe(5V ;  that  is,  that  bears  as 
great  a  Proportion  to  the  fuperincumbent 
Weight  and  Bulk  to  be  elevated,  as  thofe 
under  thefe  fmaller  Hills  did  to  theirs  ? 

But  we  cannot  doubt  this  may  be  done, 
when  we  are  well  alfured  that  the  like  hath 
been  done.  For  the  greateft  and  higheft 
Ridge  of  Mountains  in  the  World,  x\\q  Andes 
o£  PerUy  have  been,  for  fome  hundreds  of 
Leagues  in  Length,  violently  fhaken,  and  ma- 
ny Alterations  made  therein  by  an  Earth- 
quake that  happened  in  the  Year  16^6,  men- 
tioned by  Kircher  in  his  Area  No^e^  from  the 
Letters  of  the  Jefuites.  And  ?liny  tells  us,  of 
his  own  knowledge,  that  the  Alps  and  Ap- 
pennine  have  often  been  iliaken  with  Earth- 
quakes : 


Of  the  Chaos 

quakes :  Exfloratum  efl  niihi  Alpes  Appenni^ 
numqiie  fd^pim  tremuiffe^  lib.  2.  cap.  80.  Nay^ 
more  than  all  this,  we  read,  that  in  the  time 
of  the  Emperor  Valentinian  the  Firft,  there 
was  an  Earthquake  that  lliook  all  the  known 
World.  Whilft  this  Inno'vator  [that  is,  Pro- 
copius']  was  yet  alive^  (faith  A?nfn,  Marcelli- 
nus^  lib.  26.  cap.  14.)  norrendi  trejnores  per 
omnem  orhis  ambitum  graffati  [unt  fubito^  qua- 
les  nee  fabuU^  7iec  "veridide  nobis  antiquitates 
exponunt.  Faulo  enim  pofi  lucis  exortum^ 
denfitate  previa  fulgurum  acrius  vibrator  urn 
trerftefa^ia  conciititur  omnis  terreni  ftabilitas 
ponderis^  viareque  difpulftan  retro  fluHibiis  e-vo^ 
lutis  abfcejjitj  tit  reteda  voragine  profundo- 
rum  [pedes  nata?itimn  midtiforines  limo  cer- 
nerentiir  hdrentes^  valUumqtie  'vajiitates  & 
vtontiu7n^  iit  opi?tari  dabatur^  fufpicere?it  ra- 
dios folis  quos  primigenia  rerum  fub  immenfis 
gurgitibus  atnandavit^  &c.  That  is,  Horrid 
Earthquakes  fuddenly  raged  all  the  World 
over  ;  the  like  whereto^  neither  Fables  nor 
true  Antiquities  ever  (Acquaint  us  with^  or 
vtake  inc?ition  of.  For  Joon  after  Break  of 
Day^  redoubled^  fmart^  and  violent  Flafies  of 
Lightning  preceding^  the  ftable  and  ponde- 
rous Mafs  of  the  whole  Earth  was  jhaken^  and 
made  to  tremble  \  and  the  Sea^  with  revolved 
Waves^  was  driven  backwards^  and  forced  fo 
far  to  recede^  that  the  Bottom  of  the  great 
Deeps  and  Gulfs  being  difcovered^  multiform 
Species  of  Fifies^  forfaken  by  the  JVater^  were 

feen 


and  Creation.  1 5; 

{em  lying  on  the  Mud  ;  and  thofe  vafi  VaU 
Up  and  Mountains^  which  the  primigenial 
Nature  had  fun\  deep^  and  concealed  under 
immenfe  Waters^  {as  we  had  reafon  to  think) 
faw  the  Sun-beams.  Wherefore^  many  Ships 
refting  upon  the  dry  Ground^  the  Mariners 
wandring-  carelejly  up  and  down  through 
the  finall  Reliques  of  the  Waters ,  that  they 
might  gather  up  Fifljes^  and  other  things^ 
with  their  Hands-,  the  Sea-Waves  beings  as 
it  were^  grieved  with  their  Repulfe^  rife  up 
again ,  and  mahng  their  way  backward 
through  the  fervid  Shallows^  violently  daflj- 
ing  againft  the  Jflands  and  extended  Shores 
of  the  Continents^  threw  down^  and  levelled 
in?imnerable  Edifices  in  Cities^  and  where 
elfe  they  were  found.  Where,  fee  more  of 
the  Effeds  of  it.  Of  this  Earthquake  we  find 
mention  alfo  in  Zofimus  and  Orofius. 

I F  this  Story  be  true,  as  certainly  it  is,  we 
have  no  reafon  to  doubt  of  the  Pofifibiiity  of 
the  dry  Land  being  thus  raifed  at  firft  by 
fubterraneous  Fire.  And  with  us  agrees 
the  learned  Tho?nas  Lydyat^  in  his  Fhilofo" 
phical  Difquifition  concerning  the  Origine  of 
Fountains^  &c.  being  of  Opinion  not  only 
that  it  might  be  fo,  but  that  it  was  fo.  I 
ftiall  give  you  his  own  Words,  Ubi  aliud 
quoque  fwnmie  admirationis  plenum  TerramO" 
tus  atque  Ignis  fubterranei  effe^ium  notandujn 
venity  inontium  fci.  generatio.  And  then  ha-, 
ving  mentioned  the  railing  up  Ilknds  in  the 

Sea 


t6  Of  the  Chaos 

Sea  by  fubterraneous  Fires,  he  proceeds 
thus,  Quomodo  etiam  omnes  rnontes  qui  ufpi- 
am  funtj  una  cum  ipfis-  terris  Continentibm 
(^qu^  nihil  aliud  funt  qudfti  fparfi  in  Oceano 
inajores  inontes  [we  infula)  in  mundi  pwiwr- 
diif^  (quando  nimiYum  Ignis  de  quo  loquimur^ 
in  terra  vifceribus  d  fotentijjimo  mundi  Con^ 
ditore  accenfus  eft)  extitiffe  mamne  fit  veri^ 
fimile  i  mari  in  cava  loca  recedente^  &  terre^ 
ftribus  Animalibus  {ejufdem  Di'vini  numinis 
fapientijjimo  confilio)  habitandi  locum  relin- 
quente.  That  is.  After  which  Manner  alfo 
all  the  Mountains  in  the  Worlds  together  with 
the  Continents  themfehes^  (which  are  nothing 
elfe  but  great  Mountains  or  IJlands  fcattered 
in  the  Ocean)  in  the  beginning  of  the  Wdrld^ 
when  the  Fire  of  which  we  fpeak  was  firft  kin- 
dled in  the  Bowels  of  the  Earth  by  the  Ahnighty 
Creator^  were  (as  it  is  moft  highly  probable)  ori- 
ginally  raifed  up  ;  the  Sea  receding  into  the 
Cavities  and  depreffed  Places^  and  by  the  moft 
wife  Counfelofthe  Supreme  Deity ^  leaving  Room 
for  Terreftrial  Anitnals  to  inhabit.  Than 
which  nothing  can  be  faid  more  confonant  to 
what  we  have  written ;  And  I  was  highly 
pleafed  and  fatisfied  to  find  fuch  Philofophy 
in  fo  learned  and  judicious  a  Writer. 

And  in  Confirmation  of  this  Doctrine, 
Strabo  himfelf,  though  he  had  not,  nor  could 
have  any  Knowledge  at  all  of  the  prodigious 
Effects  of  Gunpowder,  yet  makes  no  Diffi- 
culty to  affirm  the  Pombility  of  raifing  up 

as 


and  Creation.  ly 


as  well  the  Continents  and  Mountains,  as  the 
Iflands,  by  Earthquakes  and  fubterraneous 
Fires  j  toward  the  latter  end  of  the  firft 
Book  of  his  Geography,   difcourling  thus  : 

Ov  yxp  iiv^(yi  (jlsv  dvsvEx^^vxi  ^vVai/Tdi^  aOLt 
fxiKpO,}  vi](TOi^  fisydKcLi  ^'  «•  «^f  viicroi  (jlev^  vittsi-^ 
CSi  J'  a.  And  a  little  after,  }Lou  tvjv  EihsKiolv 
ǤfV  Ti   ixcOkKov  dyroppodyoc   t^q  'Irci'hicf.Q    ehcLtfit 

T/V,    iXV,     ^    OLVX^7\Vik7(TCLV    VTTO     TS  AlTVXia    -TTV^C 

f.K  (iv^a  (Tv^fxelvai.  That  is.  For  'Earthquakes 
andEruftiom  0/ Flatus  \Blafti\  or  fudden  Tic* 
7norsofthe  Submarine  Earthy  or  Bottom  of  the 
Sea  J  ?nay  [well  andek'vate  the  Sea  i  fo  that  not 
only  fmall  Lumps  or  Maffes  of  Matter^  but  even 
I  [lands  ?nay  be  raifed  up  in  the  midji  of  it. 
Neither  if  fmall  Iflands  can  he  raifed^  may  not 
great  ones  too  \  neither  may  Iflands  be  hea^ved 
up^  and  not  Continents  as  well.  And  Sicily 
?nayaswell  be  thought  to  have  been  thrown  up 
out  of  the  Deep  by  the  Force  of  the  ^tnsean 
Fire^  and  ftich?tg  together  to  have  continued 
above  Water ^  as  to  have  been  a  Piece  brohn 
off  from  Italy.  And  the  like  may  be  faid  of 
the  Iflands  of  Lipara  and  Fithecuftc. 

Of  the  Poffibility  of  doing  it  we  need  not 
doubt,  when  we  have  fufficient  Proof  of  the 
thing  done  in  lelTer  Iflands  thus  heaved  up 
in  the  midft  of  the  Sea^  by.fubmarine  Fires. 
Strabo^  lib.  i.    'Kvk  (xeaov  ycip  (dvipcig  kcH  Qvipci' 

C  f5tf 


1 8  Of  the  Chaos 


wc  ciLv  Ofydvmodg  ncii  (rvvTS^eifxevviv  in  fjiu^pwv  vviaoVy 
dt^^s^ici  g^^/cvv  Tviv  TrEpi'fxsTpov.  That  is.  Be- 
tween Thera  and  Therafia  Flames  iffuing  out 
of  the  Sea  for  four  Days^  (fo  that  the  whole 
Sea  boiled  and  burned  )  blew  up  by  little  and 
little^  as  if  it  had  been  raifed  by  Machines^ 
and  cotnpofed  of  great  humps  or  Maffes^  an 
IJland  of  Tzvehe  Furlongs  Circumference. 

And  Fliny  tells  us,  that  the  Ifland  Hiera^ 
near  Italy ^  in  the  Time  of  the  Social  War, 
together  with  the  Sea  itfelf,  did  burn  for 
feveral  Days.  His  Words  are.  In  medio  Mari 
Hiera  infida  juxta  Italian!  cu?n  ipfo  Mari  ar- 
fit  per  aliquot  dies, 

AiiT>Strabo^  lib.  i.  reports.  That  about 
Methane^  in  the  Bay  of  Hermione^  there  was 
Earth  raifed,  and  as  it  were  blown  up  to  the 
Height  of  feven  Furlongs  by  a  fiery  Breath  or 
Exhalation,  which  by  Day-time  was  unac- 
ceflfible  by  reafon  of  Heat  and  fulphureous 
Stench,  but  fmelling  fweet  by  Night,  and 
ihining  fo  as  to  be  feen  afar  off,  likewife  cart- 
ing fuch  a  Heat,  as  to  caufe  the  Sea  to  boil 
for  five  Furlongs,  and  to  render  it  troubled 
for  the  Space  of  twenty  i  raifing  up  therein 
a  Baich  or  Bank  of  Stones  as  big  as  Towers. 

These  Inftances  I  alledge,  principally  be- 
caufe  they  fecm  to  demon ftrate  a  Poffibility 
of  the  Accenfion  of  Fire  in  the  Earth  when 
it  was  wholly  covered  with  Water,  and  had 

no 


and  Creation. 

no  Entercourft  or  Communion  with  the  fu- 
periour  or  external  Air  j  which  is  the  main 
and  mod  material  Objedion  againft  the  Ele- 
vation of  the  dry  Land  at  the  beginning  by 
fubterraneous  Fires. 

You  will  fay.  If  the  Mountains  be  thus 
heaved,  or  elfe  caft  up,  by  fubterraneous 
Fires,  the  Earth  muft  needs  be  hollow  all 
underneath  them,  and  there  muft  be  vaftDens 
and  Caverns  difpersM  throughout  them. 

I  ANSWER,  'Tis  true  indeed,  fo  there  are; 
as  may  undeniably  be  proved  by  Inftances. 
For  the  new  Mountain  we  mentioned  at  fu- 
teoli^  that  was  thus  raifed,  being  of  a  Mile 
fteep  Afcent,and  four  Miles  round  at  the  Foot, 
a  proportionable  Cavity  muft  be  left  in  the 
Earth  underneath :  And  the  Mountain  jEtna^ 
at  the  laft  Erudation  alone,  having  difgorged 
out  of  its  Bowels  fo  great  a  Flood  of  melted 
Materials,  as  if  fpread  at  the  Depth  and 
Breadth  of  three  Foot,  might  reach  four  times 
round  the  whole  Circuit  of  the  Terraqueous 
Globe^  there  muft  likewife  an  anfwerable 
Vault  be  left  within.  You  will  demand. 
How  then  comes  it  to  pafs,  that  they  ftand 
fo  firm,  and  do  not  founder  and  fall  in,  after 
fo  many  Ages?  I  anfwer,  that  they  may 
ftand,  appears  by  the  forefaid  new -raifed 
Mountain.  For  notwithftanding  the  Cavity 
under  it,  it  hath  ftood  firm  and  ftaunch, 
without  the  leaft  Sinking  or  Subfidency,  for 
above  an  hundred  and  fifty  Years  -,  neither  is 

C  2  there 


20  Of  the  Chaos 

there  any  great  Sinking  or  Falling  in  at  Mtna 
itfelf  j  at  leaft  in  no  degree  anfwerable  to  its 
ejected  Matter.  This  AflTertion  is  confirmed 
by  the  unanimous  Vote  and  Teftimony  of  all 
Writers,  Ancient  and  Modern,  who  have 
handled  this  Subjei5t.  But  Alfhonfus  Borellus 
fuppofes  them  not  to  have  duly  confidered 
the  Matter,  and  calculated  the  Quantity  of 
the  ejedted  Materials,  and  the  Bulk  of  the 
Mountain,  and  compared  them  together ;  but 
to  have  been  carried  away  by  the  Prejudices 
and  Perfuafions  of  the  People,  who  looking 
upon  the  Top  of  the  Mountain  at  a  Diftance, 
think  it  but  a  fmall  thing  in  Comparifon  of 
the  ejededSand  and  Aflies  that  cover'd  whole 
Countries ;  and  thofe  vaft  Rivers  of  liquid 
Stones,  and  other  Ingredients,  that  ran  down 
fo  many  Miles,  whereas  he,  by  a  moderate 
Computation,  found  out  that  the  Total  of 
what  the  Mountain  difgorged  at  the  la|t 
Eruption,  amounted  not  (as  I  remember)  to 
the  fourteen  thoufandth  Part  of  the  Solidity 
of  the  whole  Mountain.  The  reafon  is  the 
Strength  and  Firmnefs  of  their  Vaulture  and 
Pillars,  fufficient  to  fupport  the  fuperincum- 
bent  Weight.  And  yet  in  fome  Places  there 
are  Sinkings  and  Fallings  in,  which  have  af- 
terwards become  Valleys,  or  Pools  of  Water. 
But  as  for  the  Cavities  that  are  lower  than  the 
Superficies  of  the  Ocean,  the  Water,  where  it 
could  iniinuate  and  make  its  Way,  hath  filled 
them  up  to  that  Height.     I  fay,   where  it 

could 


and  Creation. 

could  make  its  Way,  for  that  there  are  many 
empty  Cavities  even  under  the  Sea  itfelf,  ap- 
pears by  the  fhaking  and  heating  too  of  the 
very  Water  of  the  Sea  in  fome  Places  in  Earth- 
quakes, and  raifing  up  the  Borders  or  Skirts 
of  ix^  fo  as  to  drive  the  Water  a  great  way 
back,  and  the  raifing  up  new  Iflands  in  the 
middle  of  the  Sea ;  as  D^/oj-and  Khodes^  and 
Anaphe^  and  Nea^  and  Alone,  and  Hiera,  and 
Thera,  mentioned  by  Pliny,  Hift.  lib.  2.  c.87. 
and  Thia  in  his  own  time  ,•  and  T'herafia  in 
the  JEgean  in  Seneca's  time,  which  was  heaved 
up  in  the  Sight  of  many  Mariners  then  pre- 
fent  and  looking  on. 

I  AM  not  ignorant,  that  the  learned  Man 
I  lately  quoted,  I  mean  Alfh.  Borellm,  in  his 
Book  De  Incendiis  jEtn^,  is  of  Opinion,  that 
^he  middle  Part,  or,  as  he  calls  it,the  Kernel  of 
that  Mountain,  is  firm  and  folid,  without  any 
great  Caverns  or  Vacuities,  and  that  all  thofe 
Vaults  and  Cavities  in  which  the  Fire  rages, 
are  near  the  Superficial  or  Cortical  Part :  And 
derides  thofe  who  fancy  that  jEtna,  the  jEo- 
lian  Iflands^  Lipara,  Strongyle,  &c.  and  Ve- 
fwvim,  do  communicate  by  fubterraneous 
Channels  and  PalTages  running  under  the. 
Bottom  of  the  Sea,  But  faving  the  Refpe(3: 
due  to  him  for  his  Learning  and  Ingenuity, 
there  is  good  Authority  on  their  Side ;  and 
our  Ratiocinations  againft  the  Poflfibility  of 
fuch  a  thing  muft  give  place  to  the  clear 
Proof  of  Matter  of  Fa6t.    Julii^s  Ethnicur, 

C  3  an 


Of  the  Chaos 

an  ancient  Writer^  quoted  by  Ludo-vicus  Vi- 
wx,  in  his  Annotations  upon  S.  Augujlin^  Be 
Civitate  Dei^  gives  us  this  Relation ;  Marco 
jE?niliOj  Lucio  AureUo  Confulibuy  ^  JEtna 
mons  terY<£inotu  Ignes  fuper  uertkein  late  dif-* 
fudit^  &  ad  Infulam  JLifaram  mare  efferbuit^ 
&  quibufdam  aduftis  na^vibus  vapore  plerofque 
navaleis  exanima^vit:  Fifciwn  vim  7?iagnam 
exanimem  differfit^  quos  Liparenfes  avidiks 
epulis  adpetenteis  contaminatione  ventris  con^ 
fumpti  funty  ita  ut  novd  peftilentid  vaflaren- 
tur  infuU,  That  is,  Marcus  iEmilius,  and 
Lucius  Aurelius,  being  Confuls^  Mount  ^tna 
being  jhalen  by  an  Earthquake^  caft  forth  and 
fcattered  Fire  from  its  Top  far  and  wide.  At 
which  time^  the  Sea,  at  the  IJland  of  Lipara, 
was  boiling  hot^  and  fome  Ships  being  burnt ^ 
viofi  of  the  Seamen  were  flifled  with  the  Va- 
pour :  Befides^  it  difperfed  abroad  a  power  of 
deadFiflj^  which  theLiparenCnns  greedily  ga- 
thering up  and  eatings  were  confmied  with  a 
contagious  Difeafe  in  their  Bellies  ,•  fo  that  the 
JJlands  were  wafted  with  a  new  fort  of  Fefti^ 
lence.  And  Father  Kircher  the  Jefuite,  in  the 
Preface  to  hisMundus  Subterraneus^  giving  a 
Relation  of  an  Earthquake  wliich  Ihook  a 
great  Part  of  Calabria^  and  made  notable 
Devaftations  there,  which  himfelf  faw,  and 
was,  in  Anno  163  8.  clearly  demonftrates,  that 
^tna^  Stro?nbolt^  and  the  Mountains  of  Ca- 
labria^ do  communicate  by  Vaults  and  Ca- 
verns paffing  under  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea. 

LfliaU 


and  Creation. 

I  lliall  infert  but  one  Paflage  out  of  him,  re- 
ferring the  Reader  to  the  fore-quoted  Pre^ 
face  for  the  reft.  Wi^ce  calamitatlbus  (faith 
he)  duvi  ja^famur  ^  ego  curiofm  intuitus 
Strongylum,  60  fere  inilliarimt  intenaped'me 
dijjitujn^  ilium  infolito  modo  furere  notavi,  &c. 
u  e.  TThile  we  were  toft  with  thefe  Calami- 
ties^ I  beholding  curioujly  the  IJland  Strom- 
boli,  about  60  Miles  diftant^  obfiwed  it  to 
rage  after  an  unufual  manner^  for  it  appeared 
all  filled  with  Fire  infuch  Plenty^  that  it  feem- 
ed  to  caft  forth  Mountains  of  Flame  i  a  Speiiacle 
horrid  to  behold^  and  formidable  to  the  moft 
undamited  Spirit.  In  the  mean  time^  there 
was  a  certain  Sound  percei'ved  as  it  were  of 
Thunder^  but  by  reafon  of  the  great  Diftance 
from  whence  it  catne^fo?newhat  obfcure^  which 
by  degrees  proceeding  forward  in  the  fubterra- 
neous  Conduits^  grew  greater  and  greater^ 
till  it  came  to  the  Place  juft  underneath  us^ 
[they  were  at  Lopez  by  the  Sea]  where  it 
Jhooli  the  Earth  with  fuch  a  Roaring^  or  Mur- 
mur and  Fury^  that  being  not  able  to  ftand  a- 
ny  longer  upon  our  Legs^  we  were  forced.^  to 
fupport  ourfeheSj  to  catch  hold  upon  any 
Shrub  or  Twig  that  was  near  m^  left  our  Li?nbf 
fhould  be  put  out  of  Joint  by  too  much  Shahng 
and  Concuffion,  At  which  time  happened  a 
thing  worthy  of  i?mnortal  and  eternal  Memo- 
ry^ viz.  the  Subverfion  of  the  famous  Town  of 
S,  Eufemia  i  which  he  goes  about  to  relate.  As 
for  Vefunjius^  if  that  be  not  hollow  down  to 

C  4  the 


Of  the  Chaos 

the  very  Roots  and  Foundations  of  ^t,  how 
comes  it  to  pafs,  that  at  the  Times  of  its  De- 
flagrations it  fhould  vomit  out  fuch  Floods  of 
boiling  Waters  ?  as,  if  we  had  not  read  of 
them  in  Hiftories,  and  been  told  fo  by  our 
Guide  when  w^  afcended  that  Mountain, 
we  muft  needs  have  perceived  ourfelves,  by 
the  mighty  Gulls  and  Channels  in  the  Sides 
thereof,  it  being  of  itfelf  near  the  Top  fo 
fpungy  and  dry,  that  it  is  more  likely  to  im- 
bibe than  to  caft  off  much  Rain  in  the  Win- 
ter-time. And  again,  what  caufes  the  Sea  to 
recede  at  thofe  Times,  and  that  to  fo  great  a 
Diftance,  that  the  Galleys  have  been  laid  dry 
in  the  very  Haven  of  Naples  ? 

H  o  w  B  E I T,  I  cannot  pofitively  affert  the 
Mountains  thus  to  have  been  raifed.  But 
yet,  whether  without  Means,  or  by  whatfo- 
ever  Means  it  were,  a  Receptacle  for  the  Wa- 
ters was  prepared,  and  the  dry  Land  and 
Mountains  elevated,  fo  as  to  caft  off  the 
Waters,  on  the  third  Day,  and  which  is  won- 
derful, the  Cavities  made  to  receive  the 
Waters,  and  the  whole  terra  firma^  or  dry 
Land,  with  its  Mountains,  were  fo  propor- 
tioned one  to  the  other,  as  that  the  one  was 
as  much  depreffed  below  the  Shores,  as  the 
other  was  elevated  above  them.  And,  as  if 
the  one  had  been  taken  out  of  the  other, 
the  Sea,  with  all  its  Creeks,  and  Bays,  and 
Inlets,  and  other  Appendants,  was  made,  and 
is  very  near  equal  to  the  whole  dry  Land, 

with 


and  Creation.  Z^ 

with  its  Promontories  and  Mountains,  if  not 
in  Superficies ^  yet  in  Bulk  or  Dimenfions, 
though  lome  think  in  both.  Which  Equali- 
ty is  ftill  conftantly  maintained,  notwith- 
ftanding  all  Inundations  of  Land,  and  Atte- 
rations  of  Sea  j  hecaufe  one  of  thefe  doth  al- 
ways nearly  balance  the  other,  according  to 
the  vulgar  Proverb  we  have  before-men- 
tion'd.  What  the  Sea  lofes  in  one  PJace^  it 
gaim  in  another.  If  anyfhall  demand,  How 
the  Sea  comes  to  be  gradually  deprelTed,  and 
deepeft  about  the  Middle  Part  j  whereas  the 
Bottom  of  it  was  in  all  likelihood  equal 
while  the  Waters  covered  the  whole  Earth  ? 
I  anfwer,  the  fame  Caufe  that  raifed  up  the 
Earth,  whether  a  fubterraneous  Fire  or  FlatUf^ 
raifed  up  alfo  the  Skirts  of  the  Sea,  the  Afcent 
gradually  decreafing  to  the  Middle  Part, 
where,  by  reafon  of  the  Solidity  of  the  Earth, 
or  Gravity  of  the  incumbent  Water,  the  Bot- 
tom was  not  elevated  at  all.  For  the  en- 
clofed  Fire  in  thofe  Parts  where  its  firft  Ac- 
cenfion  or  greateft  Strength  was,  raifed  up 
the  Earth  firft,  and  caft  otf  the  Waters,  and 
thence  fpreading  by  degrees,  ftill  elevated 
the  Land,  and  drove  the  Waters  farther  and 
farther  i  till  at  length  the  Weight  of  them 
was  too  great  to  be  raifed,  and  then  the  Fire 
brake  forth  at  the  Tops  of  the  Mountains, 
where  it  found  leaft  Refiftance,  and  difpers'd 
itfelf  in  the  open  Air.  The  Waters  alfo, 
where  they  found  the  Bottom  fandy,  or  yield- 


l6  Of  the  Chaos 

ing,  made  their  way  into  all  thofe  Cavities 
the  Fire  had  made  and  left,  filling  them  up  as 
high  as  the  Level  of  the  Ocean.  Neither  let 
any  Man  imagine,  that  the  Earth  under  the 
Water  was  too  foft  and  muddy  to  be  in  this 
manner  raifed  by  fubterraneous  Fire  i  for  I 
have  fliewn  before^  that  the  Bottom  of  the 
Sea  is  fo  faddened  and  hardened  by  the 
Weight  of  the  incumbent  Water,  that  the 
High-ways,  beaten  continually  by  Horfes  and 
Carriages,  are  not  more  firm  and  folid.  But 
omitting  this  (which  is  only  a  Conjedure) 
I  fhall  difcourfe  a  little  more  concerning  the 
Equality  of  Sea  and  Land. 

It  hath  been  obferved  by  fome,  that  where 
there  are  high  Cliffs  or  Downs  along  the 
Shore,  there  the  Sea  adjoining  is  deep  j  and 
where  there  are  low  and  level  Grounds,  it  is 
Ihallowj  the  Depth  of  the  Sea  anfwering  to 
the  Elevation  of  the  Earth  above  it :  And  as  the 
Earth  from  the  Shores  '\s  gradually  higher 
and  higher,  to  the  Middle  and  Parts  mofl  re- 
mote from  the  Sea,  as  is  evident  by  the  De- 
fcents  of  the  Rivers,  they  requiring  a  con- 
ftant  Declivity  to  carry  them  down  ;  fo  the 
Sea  likewife  is  proportionably  deeper  and 
deeper  from  the  Shores  to  the  Middle.  So 
that  the  Rifing  of  the  Earth  from  the  Shores 
to  the  Mid-Land,  is  anfwerable  totheDefcent 
or  Declivity  of  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  from  the 
fame  Shores  to  the  Mid-Sea.  This  Rifing  of 
the  Earth  from  the  Shores  gradually  to  the 

Mid- 


and  Creation.  27 


Mid-land,  is  fo  conjliderable,  that  it  is  very 
likely  the  Altitiid(6  •  of  the  Earth  in  thofe 
Mid-land  Parts  above  the  Superficies-  of  the 
Sea,  is  greater  than  that  of  .the  Mountains 
above  the  Level  of  the  adjacent  Lands.  To 
the  Height  of  the  Hills,  above  the  common 
Superficies  of  the  Earth,  do  anfwer,  in  Brere- 
wood's  Opinion,  the  extraordinary  Depths  or 
Whirl-pools  that  are  found  in  the  Sea,  de- 
fcending  beneath  the  ordinary  Bottom  of  the 
Sea,  as  the  Hills  afcend  above  the  ordinary 
Face  of  the  Land.  But  this  is  but  a  Conje- 
^ure  of  his  -,  and  to  me  it  feems  not  very 
probable,  becaufe  it  is  not  likely  there  lliould 
be,  in  the  Sea,  extraordinary  Depths  of  that 
vaft  Length  and  Extenfion,  as  thofe  huge 
Ridges  of  Mountains  that  run  almoft  quite 
through  the  Continents  ;  And  becaufe  I  have 
obferved  the  Waters  of  Rivers  that  flow  gent- 
ly, but  efpecially  of  the  Sea,  to  level  the 
Bottoms  of  their  Channels  and  Receptacles, 
as  may  be  feen  in  thofe  Parts  of  the  Sea  whofe 
Bottoms  are  uncovered  at  Low-water ;  and 
in  dry  Lands  that  have  been  dcferted  by  the 
Sea,  as  the  Fens  in  the  Ifle  of  £/y,  and  the 
Craux  in  Provence  in  France^  &c.  which  ap- 
pear to  be  a  perfect  Level,  as  far  as  one  can 
ken.  Though  poflibly  the  Motion  of  the 
Sea  may  not  defcend  down  fo  low  as  thofe 
Depths,  and  fo  may  not  level  the  Bottoms 
of  them. 

But 


28  Of  the  Chaos 


But  againft  what  I  have  faid  concernmg 
the  Leveling  of  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  it 
may  be  obje<5teclj  That  Mariners  and  Divers 
find  no  fuch  thing,  but  the  quite  contrary, 
*Diz,  That  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea.  is  as  une- 
qual as  the  Land,  fometimes  ten  or  twelve 
Fathoms  on  one  Side  of  the  Ship,  and  one 
hundred  on  the  other,  as  Mr.  Boyle  tells  us 
in  his  Relationf  about  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea^ 
confonant  whereto  are  the  Accounts  of  Di- 
vers. And  I  have  (faith  my  worthy  Friend 
Dr.Tanc.  Robinfon^  in  one  of  his  Letters  to 
me)  read  in  Voyages^  of  vaft  Roch  of  Salt 
obferv'd  in  fome  Places  under  the  Sea. 

T  o  which  I  anfwer,  That  I  fliould  indeed 
have  excepted  fuch  Places  as  are  rocky,  which 
bear  a  very  little  Proportion  to  the  Latitude 
and  Extent  of  the  Sea,  and  are  for  the  moft 
part  not  far  off  the  Land.  I  niyfelf  have  feen 
lo  much  of  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  round  a- 
bout  the  Coafts  of  England^  and  a  good  Part 
of  the  Low-Countreys,  of  Italy  and  Sicily, 
that,  I  think,  I  may  boldly  pronounce  in  ge- 
neral. That  where  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  is 
not  rocky,  but  Earth,  Owze,  or  Sand,  (and 
that  is  incomparably  the  greateft  Part  of  it) 
it  is  by  the  Motion  of  the  Waters,  fo  far  as 
the  Reciprocration  of  the  Sea  extends  to  the 
Bottom,  brought  to  a  Level  ,•  and  if  it  ftiould 
be  now  unequal,  would  in  time  be  lev^l'd 
again.  By  Level,  I  do  not  mean  fo  as  to  have 
no  Declivity,  (for  the  Reciprocration  preferves 

that. 


and  Creation.  2p 


tliat,  the  Flood  hindring,  in  good  meafurCj  the 
conftant  Carrying  down  of  the  Bottom)  but 
only  to  have  an  equal,  uniform,  and  eafie  De- 
fcent  from  the  Shores  to  the  Deeps.  Now, 
all  thofe  Reports  of  Divers  and  Navigators 
referr,  for  the  moft  part  to  rocky  Places.  For 
Mariners  feldom  found  but  in  fuch  Places, 
and  in  Shallows ;  and  Urinators  have  no  rea- 
fon  to  dive  where  the  Bottom  is  level  and 
fandy.  And  that  the  Motion  of  the  Waters 
defcends  to  a  good  Depth,  I  prove  frofti  thofe 
Plants  that  grow  deepeft  in  the  Sea,  becaufe 
they  all  generally  grow  flat  in  manner  of  a 
Fan,  and  not  with  Branches  on  all  (ides,  like 
Trees  j  which  is  fo  contrived  by  the  Provi- 
dence of  Nature,  becaufe  the  Edges  of  them 
do,  in  that  Pofture,  with  moft  eafe,  cut  the. 
Water  flowing  to  and  fro:  And  fliould  the 
fiat  Side  be  objeiSted  to  the  Stream,  it  would 
be  turned  Edgewife  by  the  Force  of  it  j  be- 
caufe, in  that  Site  it  doth  leaft  refift  the  Mo- 
tion of  the  Water :  Whereas,  did  the  Branches 
of  thofe  Plants  grow  round,  as  in  Trees, 
they  would  be  thrown  down  backward  and 
forward  every  Tide.  Nay,  not  only  the  her- 
baceous and  woody  fubmarine  Plants,  but 
even  the  Lithophyta  themfelves  afl^ed  this 
manner  of  Growing,  if  they  be  any  thing 
Ramofe,  and  rife  to  a  confiderable  Height,  as 
I  have  obferved  in  various  Kinds  of  Corak 
and  Fori.  Hence  I  fufped:  thofe  Relations 
of  Trees  growing  at  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea, 

and 


30  Of  the  Chaos 


and  bringing  forth  Fruit  there.  As  for  the 
Maldiva  Nut^  till  better  Information,  I  ad- 
here to  Garcias  his  Opinfon,  That  the  Trees 
that  bare  thofe  Nuts  were,  of  old  time,  toge- 
ther with  the  Land  on  which  they  grew,  over- 
whelmed by  the  Inundations  of  the  Sea,  and 
there  hardned  in  the  Earth,  and  afterwards 
caft  up  by  the  Working  of  the  Sea  again. 
Which  thing  is  very  probable  ;  for  to  this 
day,  fome  of  thofe  Maldha  Iflands  are  now 
and  then  drowned,  and  fwallowed  up  by  the 
Sea.  Farther,  I  do  believe,  that  in  the  great 
Depths  of  the  Sea  there  grow  no  Plants  at 
all,  the  Bottom  being  too  remote  from  the 
external  Air ;  which,  though  it  may  pierce 
the  Water  fo  low,  yet  I  doubt,  whether  in 
Quantity  fufficient  for  the  Vegetation  of 
Plants.  Nay,  we  are  told,  that  in  thofe 
deep  and  bottomlefs  Seas,  there  are  no  Fifli 
neither  :  Yet,  not  becaufe  there  are  no  Plants 
or  Infers  to  feed  them  -,  for  that  they  can 
live  upon  Water  alone,  Rondeletim  his  Expe- 
riment about  keeping  them  in  a  Glafs,  doth 
undeniably  prove  ^  but  becaufe  their  Spawn 
would  be  loft  in  thofe  Seas,  the  Bottom  be- 
ing too  cold  for  it  to  quicken  there.  This 
Anfwer  and  Difcourfe,  though  it  be  inferted 
into  another  Treatife,  yet  properly  belongs 
to  this  place,  to  which  I  have,  therefore,  re- 
ftored  it ;  begging  the  Reader's  Excufe  for 
this  Repetition.    I  now  proceed. 

That 


and  Creation.  3 1 

Th  AT  it  is  confonant  to  the  beft  Obferva- 
tions  of  the  Height  of  the  Earth  and  its 
Mountains  above  the  Superficies  of  the  Sea  ; 
and  of  the  Depth  of  the  Sea  -,  that  the  one  is 
anfwerable  to  the  other.    Varenim^    in  his 
Geogr,  witnelfeth,  p,  152.  Cxtemm  ex  obfer^ 
'vata  haHenus  in  plerifque  locis  profunditate 
Oceania  manifefltim  efi^  earn  fere  aqualem  Alti^ 
tudi?ii  fi've  Elevationi  montiurn  &  locormnMe^ 
diterraneorum  fupra  littora^  nimirum  quantum 
htec  elevantur  &  extant  fupra  littorum  hori- 
zontein^  tantum  ahei  maris  infra  eum  depri- 
muntur  j  fiiie  quantum  affurgit  terra  d  littori" 
bus  "versus  mediterranea  toca^   tantundem  pau- 
latim  magis  magifque  deprimitur  ufque  ad  me- 
da   Oceani  loca^   ubi  flerumque  maxima  efl 
profunditas.    That  is,  Fro?n  the  Depth  of  the 
Ocean ^  as  far  as.  hath  been  hitherto  ohferved 
in  ?noft  Places^  it  is  manifejl^  that  that  [Pro- 
fundity'^ is  near  equal  to  the  Altitude  or  Ele- 
vation of  the  MediterraneoHs  Places  above  the 
Shores ;   that  is  to  fay^  as  much  as  thefe  are 
elevated^  and  fland  up  above  the  Horizon  of 
the  Shores^  fo  much  are  the  Channels  of  the 
Seas  depreffed  below  it :   Or^  as  much  as  the 
Earth  rifeth  from  the  Shores  towards  the  Me- 
diterraneous  Places  ^  fo  much  it  is  by  little  atid 
little^  more  and  more^  depreffed  to  the  middle 
Parts  of  the  Ocean^  where  the  greateft  Depth 
for  the  moji  part  is. 

And  Brerewood^  in  his  Enquiries,  perti- 
nently to  our  Purpofe,  fuppofeth  the  Depth 

of 


^2  Of  the  Chaos 


of  the  Sea  to  be  a  great  deal  more  than  the 
Height  of  the  Hills  above  the  common  Sur- 
face of  the  Earth.  -—For  that  in  making  Efti^ 
mation  of  the  Depth  of  the  Sea^  we  are  not  to 
rjechn  and  confider  only  the  Height  of  the  Hills 
abo-ve  the  cojn7non  Sup^vRcks  of  the  Earthy  but 
the  Advantage  or  Height  of  all  the  dry  hand 
above  the  Superficies  of  the  Sea :  Becaufe  the 
whole  Ma[s  of  the  Earthy  that  now  appeareth 
above  the  Waters^  being  taken^  as  it  were^ 
out  of  the  Place  which  the  Waters  now  poffefs^ 
mufi  be  equal  to  the  Place  out  of  which  it  was 
taken ;  and  confequently  it  feemeth^  that  the 
Height  or  Elevation  of  the  one  Jhould  anfwer 
to  the  Depth  or  Defcending  of  the  other.  And, 
therefore,  as  I  faid,  in  eftimating  the  Deep- 
nefs  of  the  Sea,  we  are  not  to  confider  only 
the  Eredion  of  the  Hills  above  the  ordinary 
Land,  but  the  Advantage  of  all  the  dry  Land 
above  the  Sea.  Which  latter,  I  mean  the 
Height  of  the  ordinary  Main  Land,  is  in  my 
Opinion  more  in  large  Continents  above  the 
Sea,  than  that  of  the  Hills  is  above  the  Land. 
For,  that  the  plain  and  common  Face  of  the 
dry  Land,  is  not  level  or  equally  diftant 
from  the  Center,  but  hath  great  Declivity 
and  Defcent  towards  the  Sea,  and  Acclivity 
or  Rifing  toward  the  Mid-Land  Part,  al- 
though it  appear  not  fo  to  the  common  View 
of  the  Eye,  is  to  Reafon  notwithftandiog  ma- 
nifeft.  Becaufe,  as  it  is  found  in  that  Part  of 
the  Earth  which  the  Sea  covereth,   that  it 

defcendeth 


2.tMO. 


and  Creation.  53 

defcendeth  lower  and  lower  toward  the  midft 
of  the  Sea  j  (for  the  Sea  which  touching  the 
upj^er  Face  of  it  is  known  to  be  level  by  Na- 
ture, and  evenly  diilant  from  the  Center,  is 
withall  obferved  to  wax  deeper  and  deeper 
the  farther  one  faileth  from  the  Shore  to- 
wards the  Main)  even  fo,  in  that  Part  which 
is  uncovered,  the  Courfings  and  Streamings 
of  Rivers  on  all  Sides,  from  the  Mid-Land 
Parts  towards  the  Sea,  (whofe  Property  we 
know  is  to  Hide  from  the  higher  to  the  low- 
er) evidently  declare  fo  much.  "^  This  Au-  *  vefiia 
thor^  with  Datnafcen^  fuppofes,  thatthe  Un-^''^^^^^;^'- 
evennefs  and  Irregularity,  which  is  now  feen 
in  the  Superficies  of  the  Earth,  was  caufed 
either  by  taking  fome  Parts  out  of  the  upper 
Face  of  the  Earth  in  fundry  Places  to  make 
it  more  Hollow,  and  laying  them  in  other 
Places  to  make  it  more  Convex:  Or  elfe 
(which  in  effe^ft  is  equivalent  to  that)  by 
railing  up  fome,  and  deprefling  others,  to 
make  Room  and  Receipt  for  the  Sea ,  that 
Mutation  being  wrought  by  the  Power  of 
that  Word,  het  the  Waters  be  gathered  into 
one  Place  J  that  the  dry  hand  may  appear.  This 
Proportioning  of  the  Cavities  appointed  to 
receive  the  Seas,  to  the  Protuberancy  of  the 
dry  Land  above  the  common  Superficies  of 
the  Ocean,  is  to  me  a  fufficient  Argument, 
to  prove,  that  the  Gathering  together  of  the 
Waters  into  one  Place,  was  a  Work  of  Coun- 
fel  and  Defign  j  and  if  not  effe(^ed  by  the  im- 

D  mediate 


34  Of  the  Chaos 


mediate  Finger  of  G  o  d,  yet  at  leaft  govern'd 
and  direded  by  Him.  So  the  Scripture  af- 
firms the  Place  to  receive  the  Sea,  to  have 
been  prepared  by  G  o  d,  PfaL  civ.  8.  Now 
in  things  of  this  Nature,  to  the  giving  an  Ac- 
count whereof  whatever  Hypothefis  we  can 
poflibly  invent,  can  be  but  meerly  conjeftu- 
ral  i  thofe  are  to  be  moft  approved  that  come 
neareft  to  the  Letter  of  Scripture,  and  thofe 
that  clafli  with  it  to  be  rejeded,  how  trim  or 
confiftent  foever  with  themfelves  they  may 
feem  to  be  :  This  being  as  much,  as  when 
God  tells  us  how  He  did  make  the  World, 
for  us  to  tell  Him  how  He  Ihould  have 
made  it. 

But  here  it  may  be  objeded.  That  the 
prefent  Earth  looks  like  a  Heap  of  Rubbilh 
and  Ruins  i  And  that  there  are  no  greater 
Examples  of  Confufion  in  Nature,  than  Moun- 
tains fingly  or  jointly  conlidered ;  and  that 
there  appear  not  the  leaft  Footfteps  of  anyArt 
or  Counfel,  either  in  the  Figure  and  Shape, 
or  Order  and  Difpofition  of  Mountains  and 
Rocks.  Wherefore  it  is  not  likely  they  came 
fo  out  of  G  o  d's  Hands ;  who  by  the  Ancient 
Philofophers  is  faid  ahi  ysoiixsTpnTv^  and  to 
make  all  things  in  Number,  Weight,  and 
Meafure. 

T  o  which  I  anfwer.  That  the  prefent  Face 
of  the  Earth,  with  all  its  Mountains  and  Hills, 
its  Promontories  and  Rocks,  as  rude  and 
deformed  as  they  appear,  fcems  to  me  a  ve- 
ry 


and  Creation.  3  ^ 


ry  beautiful  and  pleafant  Objed,  and  with  all 
that  Variety  of  Hiils^  and  Valleys,  and  Ine- 
qualitieSj  far  more  grateful  to  behold,  than  a 
perfe(5tly  level  Country,  without  any  Riling 
or  Protuberancy,  to  terminate  the  Sight :  As 
any  one,  that  hath  on  the  one  hand  feen  the 
Ifle  of  £/y,  or  any  the  like  Country  exadi- 
ly  level,  and  extending  on  all  Sides  farther 
than  one  can  ken,  or  that  hath  been  far  out 
at  Sea,  where  nothing  is  to  be  feen  but  Sky 
and  Water :  And  on  the  other,  from  the 
Downs  of  Suffev^  enjoyed  that  fpacious  and 
ravifhing  Profped:  of  the  Country  on  one 
handj  and  the  Sea  on  the  other,  comparing 
both  Obje«5ls,  muft  necelfarily  confefs. 

2.  T  H  E  Y  are  ufeful  to  Mankind  in  afford- 
ing them  convenient  Places  for  Habitation, 
and  Situations  of  Houfes  and  Villages ;  fer- 
ving  as  Skreens  to  keep  off  the  cold  and  nip- 
ping Blafts  of  the  Northern  and  Eafterly 
Winds,  and  refleding  the  benign  and  che- 
rifliing  Sun-Beams,  and  fo  rendring  their  Ha- 
bitations both  more  comfortable  and  chear- 
iy  in  Winter;  and  promoting  the  Growth  of 
Herbs  and  Fruit-Trees,  and  the  Maturation  of 
their  Fruits  in  Summer.  Beiides,  calling  off 
the  Waters,  they  lay  the  Gardens,  Yards  and 
Avenues  to  the  Houfes  dry  and  clean,  and  fo 
as  well  more  falutary  as  more  elegant.  Where- 
as Houfes  built  in  Plains,  unlefs  lliaded  with 
Trees,  ftand  bleak  and  expofed  to  Wind  and 
D  2  Weather  j 


5^  Of  the  Chaos 


Weather ;  and  all  Winter  are  apt  to  be  grie- 
voufly  annoyed  with  Mire  and  Dirt. 

3 .  A  Land  fo  diftinguifhed  into  Moun- 
tains, Valleys  and  Plains,  is  alfo  moft  conve- 
nient for  the  Entertainment  of  the  various 
Sorts  of  Animals,  which  God  hath  created, 
fome  whereof  delight  in  cold,  fome  in  hot, 
fome  moift  and  watery,  fome  in  dry  and 
upland  Places,  and  fome  of  them  could  nei- 
ther find  nor  gather  their  proper  Food  in  dif- 
ferent Regions.  Some  Beafts  and  Birds  we 
find  live  upon  the  higheft  Tops  of  the  Alps^ 
and  that  all  the  Winter  too,  while  they  arc 
conftantly  covered  with  Snow,  as  the  Ibe:c 
and  Rupicapra^  or  Chamois  among  Quadru- 
peds, and  Lagopus  among  Birds. 

4.  The  Mountains  are  moft  proper  for  the 
putting  forth  of  Plants  j  yielding  the  greateft 
Variety,  and  the  moft  luxuriant  Sorts  of  Ve- 
getables, for  the  Maintenance  of  the  Ani- 
mals proper  to  thofe  Places,  and  for  medi- 
cinal Ufes,  partly  alfo  for  the  Exercife  and 
Delight  of  fuch  ingenious  Perfons  as  are  ad- 
di(5ted  to  fearch  out  and  colled:  thofe  Rari- 
ties, to  contemplate  and  confider  their  Forms 
and  Natures,  and  to  admire  and  celebrate 
the  Wifdom  of  their  Creator. 

5.  All  manner  of  Metals,  Minerals  and 
Foflfils,  if  they  could  be  generated  in  a  level 
Earth,  of  which  there  is  fomeQueftion,  yet 
iliould  they  be  dug  or  mined  for,  the  Delfs 
muft  niccffarily  be  fo  flown  with  Water, 

(which 


and  Creation. 

(which  to  derive  and  rid  away,  no  Adits  or 
Soughs  could  be  made,  and  I  much  doubt 
whether  Gins  would  fuffice)  that  it  would 
be  extremely  difficult  and  chargeable,  if  pof-r 
fible  to  work  them  at  all. 

6.  N  E I T  H  E  R  are  the  very  Tops  of  the 
higheft  Mountains  barren  of  Grafs  for  the 
feeding  and  fattening  of  Beafts.  For  on  the 
Ridges  of  the  high  Mountains  of  Jura  and 
Saleve  near  Geneva^  and  thofe  of  Rhxtia^  or 
the  Grifons  Country,  which  are  the  higheft 
of  all  the  Alps^  excepting  the  Vallefian  and 
Sabaudian^  there  are  Multitudes  of  Kine  fed 
in  Summer-time,  as  I  myfelf  can  witnefs, 
having  in  my  Simpling  Voyages  on  thofe  of 
Jura  and  Saleve  obferved  Herds  of  Cattle 
there,  and  many  Dairy-Houfes  built,  where  I 
have  been  more  than  once  refreflied  by  their 
Milk^  and  Milk-Meats.  Nay,  there  are  but 
very  few,  and  thofe  of  the  higheft  Summits 
of  the  AlpSj  that  keep  Snow  all  Summer  : 
And  I  was  told  by  the  Inhabitants,  that  one 
time  or  other,  in  fevenor  eight  Years  Space, 
for  the  moft  part  there  came  a  Summer 
that  melted  all  the  Snow  that  lay  on  them 
too. 

7.  Another  great  Ufe  and  Necellity  of 
the  Mountains  and  Hills,is  for  the  Generation 
and  Maintenance  of  Rivers  and  Fountains, 
which  (in  our  Hypothefis^  that  all  proceed 
from  Rain-water)  could  not  be  without  them, 
or  but   rarely.     So  we  ftioyld   have   only 

D  3  Tor- 


37 


38  Of  the  Chaos 

Torrents,  which  would  fail  in  Summer-time, 
or  any  dry  Seafon,  and  nothing  to  truft  to, 
but  ftagnating  Water  referved  in  Pools  and 
Cifterns.  Which  how  great  an  Inconveni- 
ence it  would  be,  I  need  not  take  Pains  to 
Ihew.  I  fay,  that  Fountains  and  Rivers 
would  be  but  rare,  were  there  no  Moun- 
tains :  For,  upon  ferious  Confideration,  I  find 
*  ohfer^  that  I  was  too  hafty  in  "^  concluding,  becaufe 
"^^I'^yfi-  I  had  obferved  no  Fountains  fpringing  up  in 
'  *  Plains,  therefore  there  were,  or  could  be,  ab- 
folutely  none,-  and  do  now  grant,  that  there 
is  Reafon  to  believe  the  Relations  made  of 
fuch.  For  the  whole  dry  Land  being  but 
one  continued  Mountain  ,  and  afcending 
all  along  from  the  Sea  to  the  Mid-Land,  as 
is  undeniably  proved  by  the  Defcent  of  Ri- 
vers even  in  plain  Countries  ;  the  Water 
finking  into  the  Earth,  may  run  under 
Ground,  and  according  as  the  Vein  leads  it, 
break  out  in  the  Side  of  this  Mountain,  tho' 
the  Place,  as  to  outward  Appearance,  be  a 
Plain. 

I  SHALL  now  add.  That  tho'  it  be  pofifi- 
ble  that  without  Mountains  there  may  be 
Springs,  if  there  fiiould  be  Rains,  (which 
it  is  fomething  queftionable  were  there  no 
Mountains,  whether  there  could  be  or  no,  at 
leaft  in  hot  Countries)  yet  it  is  probable, 
that  moft  of  thofe  Springs  we  find  in  Plains, 
or  depreffcd  Places  diftant  from  Mountains, 
may  come  along  in  fubterraneous  Channels 

from 


and  Creatmt.  3p 


from  the  next  Mountains,  and  there  break 
out.  Monfieur  Blundel  related  to  the  P^r/- 
fian  Academy,  what  Device  the  Inhabitants 
of  the  Lower  Aujina^  which  is  encompaf- 
fed  with  the  Mountains  oF  St'ma^  are  wont 
to  ufe  to  fill  their  Wells  with  Water  :  They 
dig  in  the  Earth  to  the  Depth  of  twenty  or 
five  and  twenty  Foot,  -till  they  come  to  an 
Argilla  [clammy  Earth]  then  they  bore  a  Hole 
in  the  midft  of  a  Stone  about  five  or  fix  In- 
ches broad,  and  through  it  bore  the  Argilla 
{o  deep,  till  the  Water  breaks  forcibly  out ; 
which  Water,  it's  probable,  comes  from  the 
neighbouring  Mountains  in  fubterraneous 
Channels.  And  Cafflnuf  obferved.  That  in 
many  Places  of  the  Territory  of  Modena  and 
Bologna  in  Itah}^  they  make  themfelves  Weils 
of  fpringing  Water  by  the  like  Artifice.  They 
dig  in  the  Earth  till  they  come  to  the  Water 
(which  ftagnates  in  common  Wells)  which 
they  draw  quite  out.  Then  within  this  nevv' 
digged  Well  they  make  two  cylindrical  Walls, 
concentrical  one  to  another  ;  the  Space 
or  Interftice  between  them  they  fill  and 
ram  clofe  with  well-wrought  Argilla^  or 
Clay,  to  keep  out  the  ambient  Water ; 
which  done,  they  fink  the  Well  deeper  into 
the  Ground,  and  continue  the  inner  Wall  fo 
low,  till  the  Earth  underneath  feems  to  fwell 
by  the  Force  of  the  Water  rifing  up :  And 
laftly,  they-  bore  this  Earth  or  Soil  with  a 
long  Wimble  ;  whereupon  the  Water  breaks 

D  4  forth 


40  Of  the  Chaos 


forth  through  the  Hole  with  a  great  Force, 
fo  that  it  doth  not  only  fill  the  Well,  but  o- 
verfiows  and  waters  the  neighbouring  Fields 
with  a  conftant  Stream :  By  this  means  the 
fame    Signor   CaJJini   made    a  Fountain   at 
the  Caftle  of  Urbin^  that  caft  up  the  Water 
five  Foot  high  above  the  Level  of  the  Ground. 
It  is  very  probable  that  thefe  Waters  defcend 
by  fubterraneous  Paffages  from  the  Appen^ 
^//^^  Mountains,  which  are  about  ten  Miles 
diftant.     If  fuch  things  may  be  done  by  Art, 
why  may  they  not  alfo  by  Nature  ?    Nay, 
that  the  like  are  done,  we  find  by  Experi- 
ence, in  the  Lacm  Lugeus^  or  Zirchnitzer^ 
Sea  in  Camiola^  which  after  it  is  empty  of 
Water  running   out  at  Holes  or  Pits  in  the 
Bottom,  (which  it  doth  yearly  in  the  Sum- 
mer-time, in  the  Months  of  May^  June^  and 
^uly)  in  the  Autumn,  when  it  rains  mode-r 
rately,   the  Water  fpouts  out  of  fome  of  the 
forementioned  Pits  two  or  three  Fathoms 
perpendicularly ;  but  when  it  rains  very  hard 
and  long  together,  efpecially  with  Thunder, 
then  the  Water  breaks  forth  with  great  Force, 
not  only  from  the  forefaid  Pits,  but  likewife 
at  a  thoufand  other  Caves  and  Holes,  fpirt- 
ing  feveral  Fathoms  high,  from  fome  perpen- 
dicularly^ from   others  obliquely,    fo  that 
there  is  not  a  pleafanter  Sight  than  this,  and 
in  a  fhort  time  fills  the  Lake.    A  full  Defcri- 
ption,  and  an  Account  of  all  the  Fhicmmena  of 
this  admirable  Lake^  fee  in  Philofoph.Tt'anfad, 

Numb. 


^Lkm^m 


and  Creation,  41 


Numb.  191.  p.  41 1,  &c.  So  we  fee.  Water 
may  be  brought  down  from  the  Mountains, 
and  raifed  up  naturally  in  ftrait  Channels, 
with  that  Force,  and  to  that  Height,  as  to 
exceed  all  the  artificial  Jets  in  the  World,  if 
not  in  the  Altitude  of  the  Spout,  yet  in  the 
Bignefs  of  the  Stream  abundantly. 

A  s  for  the  Wells  about  Modena^  becaufe 
wherefoeyer  you  dig  about  that  City  for 
fome  Miles,  ?it  the  Depth  of  63  Foot  you 
meet  with  Water  under  fuch  a  Bed  of  Ar- 
gilla^  which  fpouts  up,  and  riles  as  high, 
and  higher  than  the  adjacent  Country  j  I 
guefs  there  \s  a  fubterraneous  Lake,  whofe 
Waters  are  comprelfed  between,  perhaps, 
the  Sea  or  frelli  Water  on  one  hand,  which 
forces  them  upward,  and  the  Bed  of  Ar^ 
gilla  on  the  other,  which  keeps  them  down ; 
which  Bed,  when  it  is  bored  through,  they 
rufti  upwards,  qua  data  porta^  with  great 
Force,  and  fill  the  new  digged  Well.  This 
I  propofe  as  Conjedlure  not  altogether  im- 
probable. 

This  End  and  Ufe  of  Mountains,  I  find 
aflfigned  by  Mr.  Halley^  in  his  Difcourfe  con- 
cerning the  Original  of  Springs  and  Rivers, 
in  thefe  Words :  This^  if  we  may  allow  final 
Caufe^  (and  why  may  we  not  ?  what  needs 
this  Heiitancy  and  Dubitation  in  a  thing  that 
is  clear  ?  )  fee??ts  to  be  the  Defign  of  the  Hilh^ 
that  their  Ridges  being  placed  through  the  midft 
of  the  Continents^  might  feriie^  as  it  were  A- 

leinbich^ 


42  Of  the  Chaos 


leffibidf,  to  difiill  freffj  Water  for  the  Ufe  of 
Man  and  Beaft^  and  their  Heights  to  give  a 
Defcent  to  thofe  Streams  to  run  gently^  Me  fo 
many  Veins  of  the  Macrocofm^  to  be  the  more 
beneficial  to  the  Creation, 

But  fome  may  fay.  Granting  there  be  fome 
Ufe  and  Benefit  of  moderate  Hills  and  Ri- 
fings  ;  what  neceffity  is  there  of  fuch  ex- 
tended Ridges  of  vaft  and  tow'ring  Moun- 
tains, hiding  their  Heads  among  the  Clouds, 
and  feeming  for  Altitude  to  contend  with  the 
Skies  ?  I  anfwer.  There  is  very  great  Ufe  of 
them,  for  repelling  the  Vapours  exhaled  by 
the  Sun-beams  in  the  hot  Regions,  and  hin- 
dring  their  Evagations  Northward,  as  we  have 
already  fhewn,  and  iliall  not  repeat.  I  might 
add  hereto, 

8.  Those  long  Series  and  Chains  of 
Mountains  arc  of  great  Ufe  for  Boundaries 
and  Limits  to  the  Territories  of  Princes  or 
Commonwealths,  to  fecure  them  on  thofe 
Parts  from  fudden  Incurfions  of  Enemies.  As 
for  the  Rudenefs  and  Confufion  of  Mountains, 
their  cragged  and  broken  Rocks  and  Cliffs, 
and  whatever  other  Diforder  there  may  be 
among  them,  it  may  be  accounted  for,  from 
the  Manner  of  their  firft  Generation,  and 
thofe  other  Mutations  they  have  bea^  fince 
obnoxious  to,  by  Earthquakes,  Eruptions  of 
Vulcano's^  foundering  and  falling  in  of  their 
Props  and  Foundations,  and  by  Time  and 
Weather  too,  by  which  not  only  the  Earth 

is 


and  Creation.  .    43 


is  waffled  away,  or  blown  off  from  the 
Stones,  but  the  very  Stones  and  Rocks  them- 
felves  corroded  and  diflfolved,  as  might  ea- 
fily  be  proved  by  Inftances,  could  I  fpare 
time  to  do  it. 

T  o  fum  up  all,  relating  to  the  Divifion 
and  Difpoiition  of  the  Water  and  Earth,  in 
brief. 

1.  I  s  A  Y,  the  Water  being  the  lighter  Ele- 
ment, doth  naturally  occupy  the  upper  Place, 
and  ftand  above  the  Earth,  and  fo  at  firft  it 
did.  But  now,  we  fee,  it  doth  not  fo ;  the 
Earth  being,  contrary  to  its  Nature,  forcibly 
elevated  above  it  ,•  being  (as  the  Pfahniji 
phrafeth  it)  founded  above  the  Seas,  and  e- 
ftabliihed  above  the  Floods ;  and  this,  becaufe 
it  was  beft  it  fhould  be  fo,  as  I  fliall  clearly 
prove  and  deduce  in  Particulars  in  another 
Difcourfe. 

2.  The  dry  Land  is  not  elevated  only 
upon  one  Side  of  the  Globe  ^  for  then,  had 
it  had  high  Mountains  in  the  middle  of  it, 
with  fuch  vaft  empty  Cavities  within,  as 
muft  be  equal  to  the  whole  Bulk  raifed  up, 
the  Center  of  Magnitude  muft  needs  have 
been  confiderably  diftant  from  the  Center 
of  Gravity  ;  which  would  have  caufed  a 
very  great  and  inconvenient  Inequality  in  the 
Motion  of  the  Parts  of  the  Earth  :  But  the 
Continents  and  Iflands  are  fo  equally  difpers'd 
all  the  Globe  over,  as  to  counterb.  1  mce  one 

another ; 


44  Of  the  Chaos 

another  j  fo  that  the  Centers  of  Magnitude 
and  Gravity  concurr  in  one. 

3.  T  HE  Continents  are  not  of  exactly  e- 
qual  and  level  Supoficief  or  Convexity.  For 
then,  the  Parts  lubje6t  to  the  Courfe  of  the 
Sun,  called  the  Torrid  Zone^  would  have 
been,  as  the  Ancients  fancied  them,  unha- 
bitable for  Heat  and  Drought.  But  there  are 
huge  Ridges  and  extended  Chains  of  lofty 
Mountains  dire(5ted,  for  the  moft  part,  to 
run  Eaft  and  Weft ;  by  which  means,  they 
give  free  Admittance  and  Pa0age  to  the  Va- 
pours, brought  in  by  the  Winds  from  the 
Atkntki  and  Pactfich  Oceans ;  but  flop  and 
inhibit  their  Excurfions  to  the  North  and 
South,  either  condenfing  them  upon  their 
Sides  into  Water,  by  a  kind  of  external  De- 
ftillation ;  or  by  ftreightning  and  conftipa- 
ting  of  them,  compelling  them  to  gather  into 
Drops,  and  defcend  down  in  Rain. 

These  are  great  things,  and  worthy  the 
Care,  Diredion,  and  Difpofal  of  the  Great 
and  Wife  Creator,  and  Governor  of  all 
things :  And,  we  fee,  they  are  accordingly 
excellently  ordered  and  provided  by  Him. 


Chap. 


Ch 


A   P. 


IV. 


Of  the   Creation  of  Animals ;   fome 
Queflions  refohed. 

S  to  the  firft  Creation  of  Ani- 
mals, I  have  already  propofed 
two  Opinions,  both  confonant 
or  reconcileable  to  the  Scri- 
ptures. 

I.  That  God  Almighty  did  at  firft  create 
the  Seeds  of  all  Animals,  (that  is,  the  Ani- 
mals themfelves  in  little)  and  difpers'd  them 
over  the  fuperficial  Part  of  the  Land  and 
Power  to  thofe  Elements  to 


Water, 


givmg 


hatch  and  bring  them  forth ,  which  when 
they  had  done,  and  all  the  Animals  of  thefe 
created  Seeds  were  produced  and  perfected, 
there  remained  no  more  Ability  in  them  to 
bring  forth  any  more  ,•  but  all  the  fucceeding 
owe  their  Original  to  Generation. 

3.  Because  fome  will  not  admit  that 
G  o  D  at  firft  created  any  thing  imperfed,  we 
did  propofe  that  He  might,  by  His  Almighty 
Power,  out  of  the  Water  and  Earth,  make 
the  firft  Sett  of  Animals  in  their  full  State  and 
Perfection,  (as  it  is  generally  believed  He  did 
Adam)  and  give  to  each  Species  a  Power  by 
Generation  to  propagate  their  Like.  For,  His 
commanding  the  Waters  aqd  Earth  to  pro- 
duce 


4^  Of  the  Chaos 


ducc  fuch  and  fuch  living  Creatures,  (igni- 
fies  that  He  did  Himfelf  efficacioufly  form 
them  out  of  the  Earth  and  Water ,  as  when 
He  faith,  Let  there  be  Light^  &c.  the  Mean- 
ing is  not,  that  He  did  permit  or  command 
fomething  elfe  befides  Himfelf,  to  produce 
Light ;  but  that  He  did,  by  His  own  Almigh- 
ty Power,  effedually  create  it.  Indeed,  the 
Scripture  doth  in  this  manner  interpret  it- 
felf :  For,  whereas  it  is  faid,  verfes  2  o,  and  24* 
Let  the  Waters  bring  forth^  &c.  and.  Let  the 
Earth  bring  forth  the  living  Creature^  Sec,  In 
the  next  Verfes  it  follows.  And  God  created 
great  Whales^  and  every  living  Creature  that 
7ftovethy3cc,  And  God  made  the  Beafl  of  the 
Earthy  &c.  But  now  there  may  a  farther 
Queftion  or  two  be  moved,  concerning  the 
Creation  of  Animals. 

I.  Whether  God  created,  at  firft,  a 
great  Number  of  every  Kind  of  Animal  all 
the  Earth  over,  in  their  proper  Places  and 
Climates  ^  or  only  of  two  of  each  Species^  a 
.  Male  and  a  Female,  from  which  all  the  reft 
proceeded  by  Generation  ?  This  latter  Opi- 
nion I  find  embraced  by  fome  modern  Phi- 
lofophers,  and  it  may  be  made  probable  by 
feveral  Arguments. 

Firfiy  From  the  Analogy  to  Mankind. 
There  beings  at  firft,  only  one  Man  and  one 
Woman  created  ;  it  is  very  likely,  there 
were  no  more  of  any  other  Creatures,  two 

being 


and  Creation.  4^ 

being  fufficient,  in  a  Ihort  time,  to  (lock  the 
World. 

Secondly^  Becaufe,  at  the  time  of  the  Ge- 
neral Deluge,  there  were  only  two  of  each 
Kind  (of  unclean  Beafts)  preferved  in  the 
Ark :  And  if  two  might  thence  fuffice,  why 
not  as  well  at  the  firft  Creation  ?  And  if 
there  were  no  need  of  creating  more,  what 
likelihood  that  there  were  more  created  ? 

But  the  firft  Opinion,  That  there  were 
many  at  firft  created,  feems  more  confonant 
to  Scripture ;  which,  in  the  Mention  of  the 
Creation  of  Aquatic   Creatures,  ufeth  the 
Word  Abundantly^  Gen.  i.  20.  AndGovtfaidy 
Let  the  Waters  bring  forth  abundantly  the  mo- 
ving Creature  that  hath  Life^  and  Fowl  that 
mayfly  above  the  Earth  Jn  the  of  en  Firmament 
of  Heaven.    And,  in  the  next  Verfc  it  is  faid. 
That  the  Waters  did  bring  them  forth  abun- 
dantly.    So  that,  at  leaft,  of  Birds  and  Fiflies, 
there  were  many  Individuals  at  firft  created. 
As  for  Plants,  certain  it  is,  that  they  were 
created  difperfedly  all  the  World  over ;  they 
having  no  locomotive  Power,  but  being  fix'd 
to  a  place,  and  the  Seeds  of  many  of  them 
being  ponderous,  and  not  portable  by  Wihds, 
or  any  other  Means,  and  yet  thofe  of  the 
fame  Species  to  be  found  in  far  diftant  Places, 
and  on  the  Tops  of  high  Mountains,  as  re- 
mote from  each  other,  as  the  Hehetick  and 
Auftrian  Alps, 

2.  Con- 


48  Of  the  Chaos 

i.  Concerning  the  Creation  of  Ani- 
mals, there  may  yet  a  farther  Queftion  be 
moved,  'viz.  Whether  all  Animals  that  alrea- 
dy have  been,  or  hereafter  (hall  be,  were  ^t 
firft  actually  created  by  G  o  d  ?  or,  Whether 
hath  He  given  to  each  Kind  of  Animal  fuch 
a  Power  of  Generation,  as  to  prepare  Matter, 
and  produce  new  Individuals  in  their  own 
Bodies  ?  Some  are  of  Opinion,  that  God 
did  Hinifelf,  at  firft,  actually  create  all  the  in- 
dividual Animals  that  ever  werc^  or  ever  Ihali 
be  ;  and  that  there  is  no  fuch  thing  as  any 
Produdions  of  new  ones.  For,  fay  they. 
What  were  that,  but  a  Creation  of  fuch  Indi- 
viduals ?  Atid,  what  did  G  o  d  at  the  firft 
Creation,  more  than,  if  this  be  true,  we  fee 
every  day  done,  that  is,  produce  a  new  Ani- 
mal out  of  Matter,  which  itfelf  prepares  ? 
All  the  Difference  is,  the  doing  that  in  an  In- 
ftant  which  the  Creature  muft  take  Time  to 
do.  For,  as  for  the  Preparation  of  Matter, 
that  muft  be  made  fit,  be  the  Agent  never 
fo  Omnipotent. 

B E s I D Es,  the  Animal-Parent  cannot  be 
the  Agent  or  Efficient  in  the  Generation,  or 
Forming  and  Nouriihing  of  the  FoctUf.  Be- 
caufe  that  is  a  Work  of  Art  and  Reafon, 
which  brute  Creatures  are  not  endued  with^ 
all ;  nor,  indeed,  doth  Man  himfelf  under- 
ftand  any  thing  of  the  Procefs  of  Genera- 
tion in  himfelf,  neither  is  confcious  of  what 

is 


and  Creation. 

is  done  in  the  Womb  j  fo  far  is  he  from  be- 
ing the  Doer  of  it. 

Again,  it  is  moft  probable,  if  not  cer- 
tain, that  jnoft  Animals  have  in  them,  from 
the  Beginning,  the  Seeds  or  Eggs  of  all  the 
Young  they  mail  afterward  bring  forth,  which 
when  they  are  fpent  and  exhauft,  the  Crea- 
ture becomes  barren,  or  effete.  So  we  fee 
all  the  Female  Tortus  of  viviparous  Quadru- 
peds are  brought  forth  with  their  Teftes^  or 
O'Varia  in  them,  which  are  efteemed  Parts 
of  their  Bodies ;  and  all  Birds  have  in  them, 
from  their  firft  Formation,  their  Ovary  or 
Egg-clufter,  containing  the  Seeds  of  all  the 
Eggs  they  fliall  ever  lay.  Now,  had  the 
Creature  a  Power  of  producing  new  ones, 
what  need  was  there  that  there  fkould  be 
fo  many  at  firft  formed  in  them  ?  And,  why 
might  they  not  breed  them  as  well  after- 
wards, as  at  the  beginning  ? 

Hereupon  thefe  Philofophers  argue  thus  : 
Suppofe  we,  that  God  did  at  firft  create  two 
Animals,  a  Male  and  a  Female :  The  Female 
muft  be  created  with  its  OvarieF  or  Teftes, 
which  ( as  we  faid )  contained  fo  many 
Seeds  or  Eggs  as  the  Creature  lliould  ever 
bring  forth  Young.  So  it  is  clear,  that  not 
only  the  firft  Pair,  but  the  firft  Generation  of 
Animals,  were  a(5tually  created.  Again,  this 
firft  Generation,  from  their  firft  Appearance, 
had  each  of  them  (the  Females  I  mean)  its 
OvariUy  or  Qtifters  of  Eggs,  every  one  where- 
r  £  of 


49 


^o  Of  the  Chaos 


of  hadj  in  like  manner,  its  Animalcule  in  it  j 
fo  that  this  fecond  Generation  was  alfo  crea- 
ted in  the  firft.  The  fame  may  be  demon- 
ftrated  of  the  third  and  fourth ;  and  fo  on,  of 
all  the  Generations  that  lliall  be  as  long  as 
the  World  lafts. 

Against  this  Dodrine  it  may  be  obje- 
i^ted,  Firji^  That  it  feems  impoffible  that  the 
Ovaries  of  one  Female  ihould  actually  include 
and  contain  the  innumerable  Myriads  of  Ani- 
mals that  may  proceed  from  it  in  fo  many 
Generations,  as  have  been  and  Ihall  be  du- 
ring the  Continuance  of  the  World.  Who 
can  conceive  fuch  a  fmall  Portion  of  Matter 
to  be  capable  of  fuch  Divifion,  and  to  con- 
tain fuch  an  Infinity  of  Parts  ? 

But  to  this  it  may  be  anfwered.  That  our 
Sight  doth  not  give  us  the  juft  Magnitude 
of  Things,  tut  only  their  Proportion  ^  and 
what  appears  tq.  the  Eye  as  a  Point,  may  be 
magnified  fo,  even  by  GlafTes,  as  to  difco- 
ver  an  incredible  Multitude  of  Parts  i  nay, 
fome  Animals  there  are,  fo  fmall,  that  if  a 
Grain  of  Sand  were  broken  into  80.00000 
of  equal  Parts,  one  of  thefe  would  not  ex- 
ceed the  bisnefs  of  one  of  thofe  Creatures, 
as  Mr.  Lewenhoek  affirms.  And  Dr.  Hook 
proceeds  farther,  and  fays,  that  he  had  dif- 
.  covered  fome  fo  exceeding  fmall,  that  Mil- 
lions of  Millions  might  be  contained  in  one 
Drop  of  Water.  If  thefe  whole  Creatures 
be  fo  incredibly  little,  what  fhall  we  think 

of 


and  Creation.  ^i 


of  their  Parts  containing  and  contained,  their 
Entrails  and  Mulcies,  their  Ovaries  and  Eggs  ? 
But  for  a  fenfible  Demonftration  of  the  Un- 
conceivable, I  had  almoft  faid  Infinite,  Divi- 
fibility  of  Matter,  I  might  referr  the  Reader 
to  the  Honourable  Mr.  B(rjle^  of  famous  Me- 
mory, his  Difcourfe  concerning  the  ftrange 
Subtilty  of  Effuviutm.    I  Ihall  mention  one 
or  two   Experiments.    '  He   dilTolved  one 
Grain  of  filed  Copper  in  Spirit  of  SaluAr^ 
moniack^  and,  upon  this  Solution,  he  poured 
fo  much  diftilled  Water  by  degrees,  as  till 
the  fair  and  deep  blue  Colour  grew  fome- 
what  pale,  without  being  too  dilute  to  be 
manifeft :    And  then  careFuUy  weighing  the 
VelTel  and  the  Water,  and  fubduding  the 
Weight  of  that  out  of  this,  he  found  the 
Weight  of  the  Liquor  alone,  when  reduced 
to  Grains,  to  amount  to  28534 j  fo  that  a 
Gxun  of  Copper  communicated  a  Tindture 
to  28534  times  its  Weight.  Now,confider- 
ing   that   the  Weight  of  Copper  to  the 
Weight  of  Water  of  the  fame  Bulk,  is  pro- 
xime  as  9  to  i,  a  Grain-weight  of  Copper 
is  in  bignefs  but  the  ninth  part  of  as  much 
Water  as  weighs  a  Grain  ,•   and  fo  the  for- 
merly mentioned  Number  of  Grains  of  Wa- 
ter muft  be  multiplied  by  9,  to  give  us  the 
Proportion  between  the  tinging  Body  and 
tinged  Liquor ;  whence  it  will  follow,  that 
a  fingle  Grain  of  Copper  gave  a  Bluenefs 
to  above  256806  Parts  of  limpid  Water, 
E  2  !  each 


^Z  Of  the  Chaos 

'  each  of  them  as  big  as  it.  And  to  profe- 
'  cute  this  Experiment  farther,  he  mixt  to- 
'  gether  equal  Parts  of  diftilled  colourlefs 
'  Water,  and  of  the  faid  tinded  Liquor,  and 
'  found,  that  though  the  Colour  was  very 
'  £iint  and  dilute,  yet  an  attentive  Eye  could 
'  eafily  difcern  it  to  be  bluifh  j  whereby  it 
^  appears,  that  one  Grain  of  Copper  was  able 
*  to  impart  a  Colour  to  double  the  Quanti- 
'  ty  of  Water  above-mentioned,  that  is,  to 
'  5 13  612  Grains  of  Water. 

Other  Experiments  there  are,  in  the 
fame  Difcourfe,  made  in  odorate  Bodies  : 
Having,  faith  he^  for  Curiofity-fake,  fu- 
fpended  in  a  Pair  of  exa<5t  Scales,  that 
would  turn  with  a  very  fmall  Part  of 
of  a  Grain,  a  Piece  of  Ambergreece  bigger 
than  a  Walnut,  and  weighing  betwixt  a 
hundred  and  (ixfcore  Grains,  I  could  not 
in  three  days  and  a  half,  that  I  had  Oppor- 
tunity to  make  the  Trial,  difcover,  even  up- 
on that  Balance,  any  Decrement  of  Weight 
in  the  Ambergreece^  though  fo  rich  a  Per- 
fume lying  in  the  open  Air  was  like,  in 
that  time,  to  have  parted  with  good  ftore  of 
odoriferous  Steams :  And,  a  while  after, 
fufpending  a  Lump  of  Afafatida  five  days 
and  a  half,  I  found  it  not  to  have  fuftained 
any  difcerniblc  Lofs  of  Weight,  though,  in 
fpight  of  the  unfavourable  cold  Weather, 
ii  had  about  it  a  neighbouring  Atmofphere, 
'  repienillied  with  foetid  Exhalations,  &c. 

But 


and  Creation.  ^^ 

But  what  can  be  imagined  more  fmali 
and  fubtiJ,   than  the  minute  Parts  of  the 
Steams  of  Animals  ?     The  fame  Author,  in 
the  fame  Trad,  tells  us,  ''  That  a  good  Set- 
ting Dog,  by  his  way  of  Ranging  the  Fields, 
and   his  other  Motions,    efpecially  of  his 
Head,  would  not  only  intimate  the  Kinds 
of  Game,  whofe  Scent  he  chanced  to  light 
upon,  but  would  difcover  where  Partridges 
had  been  (though,  perhaps,  without  (laying 
in  that  Place)  feveral  hours  before. "     He 
farther  tells  us,  *  That  a  very  fober  Gentle- 
'  man  of  his  Acquaintance, who  had  often  oc- 
cafion  to  employ    Blood-hounds,  affured 
him,  that  if  a  Man  had  but  palfed  over  the 
Field,  the  Scent  would  lie,  fo  as  to  be  per- 
ceptible enough  to  a  good  Dog  of  that  fort, 
for  feveral  hours  after. "   And  an  ingenious 
Hunter  likewife  alTured  him,  '  That  he  had 
obferved,  that  the  Scent  of  a  flying  and 
hunted  Deer,  will  fometimes  continue  up- 
on the  Ground  from  one  Day  to  the  next 
following."    He  proceeds  farther ;   '  And 
now  we  may  coniider  thefe  three  things  j 
Ytr^^  That  the  Subftance  left  upon   the 
Ground  Ly  the  tranlient  Tread  of  a  Par- . 
tridge.  Hare,  or  other  Animal,  that  doth 
but  pafs  along  his  Way,  does  probably  com- 
municate to  the  Grafs  or  Ground  but  fome 
of  thofe  Effluxions  that  tranfpire  out  of  his 
Feet,  which  being  fmall  enough  to  efcape 
\  the  Eye,  may  probably  not  amount  to  one 
E  3  '  Grain 


Of  the  Chaos 


^  Grain  in  Weight,  or  perhaps  not  to  the 

*  Tenth  Part  of  it.  Next^  That  the  Parts 
I  of  fluid  Bodies,  as  fuch,  are  perpetually  in 
'  Motion,  and  fo  are  the  invifible  Particles 

*  that  fwim  in  them,  as  may  appear  by  the 
'  Diffolution  of  Salt  or  Sugar  in  AJ^ater,  and 
'  the  Wandring  of  aqueous  Vapours  through 
^  the  Air,  even  when  the  Eye  perceives  them 
^  not.    And,  Thirdly^  That  though  the  At- 

*  mofphere  of  one  of  thefe  fmall  Parcels  of 
^  the  exhaling  Matter  we  are  fpeaking  of, 
^  may  oftentimes  be  exceeding  vaft  in  com-^ 
'  parifon  of  the  emittent  Body,  as  may  be 
^  guefTed  by  the  Diftance,  at  which  fome  Set^ 
^  ters  or  Bloodhounds  will  find  the  Scent  of 

*  a  Partridge  or  Deer ;  yet,  in  Places  expofed 
'  to  the  free  Air  or  Wind,  'tis  very  likely 

*  that  thefe  Steams  are  afliduoufly  carried  a- 
^  way  from  their  Fountain,  to  maintain  the 

*  forementioned  Atmofphere,  for  fix,  eight, 

*  or  more  hours  -,  that  is,  as  long  as  the  Scent 

*  hath  been  obferved  to  lie,  there  will  be  re- 
^  quifite  a  continual  Recruit  of  Steams  fuc- 
'  ceeding  one  another.  And  that  fo  very  fmall 

*  aPv/rtion  of  Matter,  as  that  which,  we  were 

*  faying,  the  Tomes  <^  thefe  Steams  may  be 
'  judged  to  be,  being  fenfibly  to  impregnate 
'  an  Atmofphere  incomparably  greater  than 

*  itfelf,  and  fupply  it  with  almofl  continual 

*  Recruits,  we  cannot   but  think,  that  the 

*  Steams  it  parts  with,  muft  be  of  extreme 
'  and  fcarce  conceivable  Minutenefs.  "   So  far 


and  Creation,  ^^ 


the  Author.  To  which  I  fhall  add.  That  by 
the  Steams,  I  fuppofe,  he  means  the  minute 
Particles  of  which  the  Steams  are  compoun- 
ded. Now  thefe  minute  Particles  themfelves 
muft  be  compound  Bodies,  becaufe  they  af- 
fe(5t  the  Senfe  in  a  particular  manner,  fo  that 
a  fagacious  Creature  can  diftinguifh  by  them, 
not  only  Species  but  Individuals ;  as  a  good 
Dog,  by  the  Foot,  will  find  out  his  Mafter, 
though  not  only  feveral  other  Creatures,  but 
feveral  Men  have  paffed  that  way  :  Unlefs 
we  will  groundlefly  affirm,  that  thofe  Par- 
ticles are  the  jninima  Naturalia^  and  that  the 
Creature  difcerns  them  by  their  Figure,  or 
their  different  manner  of  Motion. 

A  SECOND  Obje(5tion  of  Brunnerus  (as  I 
find  him  quoted  in  Peyerus  his  Mei-ycologia) 
is  this ;  Si  cun6ia  Animaliuin  inembra  jam 
formata  exiftant  in  ovo^  &c,  '  If  all  the 
'  Members  of  Animals,  already  formed,  do 

*  exift  in  the  Egg,  though  for  their  Smalnefs 

*  they  efcape  our  fight ;    I  cannot  conceive, 

*  how  by  the  Force  of  Imagination  alone,  in 

*  a  pregnant    Woman,    can    be  produced 

*  fometimes  Calves-heads,   or  Feet,   fome- 

*  times  a  Dog's  Face,  or  other  monftrous 
'  Members  j  thefe  Productions  being  a  cer- 

*  tain  and  experimental  Proof,  that  the  Parts 
^  and  Members  of  Animals  are  formed  and 
^  delineated  originally  in   the  Womb,    or 

E  A  To 


Of  the  Chaos 


T  o  this,  Peyerus  replies :    ^  Who  then 
forms  ?   who    delineates  fuch  Monfters  ? 
Shall  we  accufe  God  the  Creator  ?    But 
He  is  juft,  and  doth  not  make  enormous 
things :    Or,  Will  you  blame  Nature  ?  that 
is,  the  conftant  Order  and  Will  of  God, 
which  never  is  deficient  ?     Will  you  lay 
the    fault  upon    the    plaftick  Vertue  or 
Power  refidin^  in  the  Womb  or  Seed,  and 
ading  thole  things  ?     But  that  is  a  Chitna^ 
ra ;  it  is  nothing,  it  is  an  Idol.     There  re^ 
main  Two  Things   to  which   the  Caufe 
may  juftly  be  imputed  ,  the  Imagination  of 
the  Mother^  which  may  and  doth  often- 
times effedt  wonderful  things  in  the  Body 
oHhc  tender  Einbry on  i  2ind  the  Devil.    If 
you  refufe  to  admit  the  former,  you  are 
obliged  to  accept  the  latter.     And,  truly, 
the  Devil  may,  God  fo  permitting,  many 
ways  abufe  Men,  and  transfigure  the  Young 
in  the  Womb,  to  punilh  the  wicked  and 
nefarious  Adions  of  degenerate  Mankind, 
indulging  themfelves  in  obfcene  Imagina- 
tions, or  prepofterous  and  unnatural  Im- 
purities and  Pollutions.    But  do  thefe  Er- 
rors and  Enormities  take  away  the  Order 
of  Nature?     By  no  means:     For,  from 
what  is  rare  and  extraordinary,  and  fel- 
dom  happens,  there  is  no  Confequence  to 
be  drawn.     For  though  Monfters  are  fome- 
times  born,  nothing  hinders  but  that  we 
may  ftill  think,  that  the  Ideas  of  the  feve- 

5ral 


and  Creation.  ^7 

^  ral  Tortus  may  be  prseexiftent  and  latent 
^  in  the  Eggs  j  and  the  Event  may  teach  us, 
^  that  thofe  Ideas  or  Efnbryor  may,  by  a  vio- 
^  lent  Caufe,  be  marred  and  deformed  in 
^  the  Womb  ,  as  Wax,  though  it  be  alrea- 
'  dy  figured,  while  it  is  foft,  is  eafily  aj- 
^  tered,  and  capable  of  receiving  new  Im- 
^  preflions. 

But  againft  this.Anfwer  we  mays  thus 
plead  in  Defence  of  Brunnerm :  As  to  what 
is  faid  of  the  Devil,  it  feems  to  be  but  a 
Shift  or  Refuge  to  have  recourfe  to,  when  we 
are  at  a  Lofs,  and  pinch'd  with  an  Argument ; 
as  in  the  ancient  Stage-plays,  when  they 
were  put  to  a  plunge,  they  were  forced  to 
bring  in  fome  Ofo?  ^ttq  fxvixoivviQ  to  help 
them  out.  And  as  for  the  Imagination  of 
the  Mother,  ftrange  it  is,  that  that  fliould 
have  any  Influence  at  all  upon  the  Formation 
of  the  Fcetuf ;  the  Mother  not  knowing  a- 
^ny  thing  that's  done  in  the  Womb  ,•  nor  be- 
ing confcious  to  herfelf  of  any  Power  to 
form  or  ad  any  thing  there:  The Fof^^x be- 
ing an  external  thing  to  her,  and  no  more  a 
Part  of  her,  than  an  Egg  is  of  the  Hen  that 
fits  upon  it,  affording  nothing  to  it  but 
Warmth  and  Nourifhment.  And  we  fee. 
Eggs  may  be  hatched  by  the  artificial  Heat  of 
an  Oven,  without  the  Incubation  of  a  Hen. 
But  granting,  that  the  Imagination  of  the 
Mother  may  transform  the  Foetus^  why  may 
it  not  as  well  originally  form  it  out  of  pre- 
pared 


Of  the  Chaos 


pared  Matter  ?  and  then,  what  need  of  an 
Idea  or  minute  Aniinalcu  Je  in  the  Seed  ?  But 
whatever  may  be  faid  of  Men,  how  come 
Monfters  in  Brutes,  which,  according  to 
Peyeruf^  are  meer  Machines,  and  have  no 
Imagination  or  Perception  at  all  ? 

But  not  to  lead  the  Reader  into  a  Maze 
or  Labyrinth,  and  leave  him  there  ;  for  my 
own  part,  I  muft  confefs,  that  the  Argument 
for  the  Prseexiftence  of  the  Fcctm's^  or  their 
Creation  from  the  Beginning,  taken  from 
the  due  Number  of  Eggs  that  are  in  every 
Female  from  her  firft  Formation,  and  her 
being  effete  after  they  are  fpent,  weighs  ve- 
ry much  with  me,  as  I  know  not  how  to 
quit  myfelf  of  it.  And  on  the  other  hand, 
if  thofe  Stories  concerning  Dogs  and  Ser- 
pents, &c,  found  in  the  Wombs  of  Women 
be  true  (which  are  well  attefled)  I  acknow- 
ledge it  very  difficult  to  give  an  Account, 
how  thofe  Animals  came  to  be  bred  or  form- 
ed there.  But  I  had  rather  confefs  my  Ig- 
norance of  the  Manner  of  the  Produdion  of 
fuch  praeternatural  and  extraordinary  things, 
than  to  permit  it  to  have  fuch  Influence  up- 
on me,  as  to  remove  me  from  fo  well- 
grounded  an  Opinion  concerning  the  ordi- 
nary Production  of  Animals  in  a  natural 
Way. 

But  notwithftanding  all  I  have  faid,  in 
Defence  of  the  Creation  of  the  Individuals 
of  all  Animals  at  firft,  becaufe  the  inconcei- 
vable 


and  Creation.  ^p 

vable  Smalnefs  of  the  laft  Races  of  Animals 
make  it  incredible,  I  fhall  be  content  to  let 
it  pafs  for  a  Conjedure,  and  not  iniift  far- 
ther upon  it. 

The  Being  of  a  Plaftick  Nature,  fubordi- 
nate  to  G  o  D,  notwithftanding  Peyeruf  makes 
an  Idol  of  it,  and  charges  thofe  with  Idola- 
try who  do  believe  it,  I  am  not  afraid  to 
admit :  My  Reafons  for  which,  I  have  given 
in  another  "^  Difcourfe,  and  mall  not  here  *if^ifdom 

The  new  Opmion  or  Mr.  Lewenhoek\  that  tion. 
all  Animals  proceed  from  an  Infcd:  or  Ani- 
malcule in  the  Male-fperm,  I  think  I  have 
fufficiently  confuted  in  my  Book,  Entituled, 
Synopfis  methodica  Anmalium  Qmdrupedu?ny 
pag.  37.  &feqq,  to  which  Ireferr  the  Reader : 
Only  I  fliall  repeat,  that  I  am  lefs  inclinable 
to  it,  becaufe  of  the  necelTary  Lofs  of  an  in- 
credible Multitude  of  them,  which  feems 
not  agreeable  to  the  Wifdom  and  Provi- 
dence of  Nature.  For,  fuppofing  every  Male 
hath  in  him  all  the  Animalcules  that  he  fhall 
or  may  eje<5t ;  they  may,  for  ought  I  know, 
amount  to  Millions  of  Millions,  and  fo  the 
greateft  part  of  them  muft  needs  be  loft. 
Nay,  if  we  take  but  one  Coi't^  there  muft, 
in  uniparous  Creatures  at  leaft,  abundance 
be  loft.  But  if  we  fuppofe  the  Foetus  to  be 
originally  in  the  Egg,  it  is  not  fo.  For  the 
Eggs  of  all  forts  of  Creatures  are  fo  propor- 
tioned to  the  Nature  of  the  Animals,  the 

Time 


6o  Of  the  Chaos,  &c. 

Time  that  they  live,  the  Time  and  Number 
of  their  Geftations,  and  the  Number  they 
bring  forth  at  all  times,  that  they  will  much 
about  fuffice  for  the  Time  the  Creatures  are 
fit  to  breed  and  nourifh  their  Young :  So 
that  they  may,  if  need  be,  be  all  brought 
forth,  and  come  to  Perfection. 

The  End  of  the  Firfi  Difcotirfe, 


DISr 


DISCOURSE  11. 


•^•ft$.%'%^'KiK7:;^v$$i:<;{.:iK-K>fc\%-«K-K,^-:-»f;e;-K%^^ 


Of  the  general  Deluge  in  the 
Days  of  Noah  y  its  Caufes 
and  EffeBs. 


Proceed  now  to  fay  fome- 
thing  concerning  the  General 
Deluge  in  the  Days  o£ Noah; 
which  was  alfo  a  Matter  of  an- 
J  cient  Tradition.  I  fliall  not 
enlarge  much  upon  it,  fo  as  to  take  in  all 
that  might  be  faid,  but  confine  myfelf  to 
Three  Heads,  i.  I  fliall  confirm  the  Truth 
of  the  Hiftory  of  the  Deluge  recorded  in  the 
Scripture,  by  the  Teftimonies  of  fome  an- 
cient Heathen  Writers.  2.  I  fliall  confider 
the  Natural  Caufes  or  Means  whereby  it  was 
cffei^ed.  3.  I  fliall  enquire  concerning  the 
Confequences  of  it,  what  confiderable  Ef- 
fei^ts  it  had  upon  the  Earth. 

Chap. 


Chap.    I. 

Tejiimonies  of  Ancient  Heathen  Writers 
concerning  the  Deluge, 

I R  S  T  theiij  I  Ihall  produce  fome 
Teftimonies  of  Ancient  Hea- 
then Writers  concerning  the  De- 
luge. 

The  firft  fhall  be  thofe  of  Berofm^  record- 
ed by  Jofephus,  The  firft,  in  his  firft  Book 
againft  Appion^  where  he  tells  us,  ^  That 
Berofm^  following  the  moft  ancient  Wri- 
tings, relates  the  fame  things  with  Mofes 
concerning  the  great  Deluge,  and  the  De- 
ftrudion  of  Men  by  it  i  and  of  the  Ark,  in 
which  Nochm^  the  Author  of  our  Stock, 
was  preferved,  after  it  refted  on  the  Tops 
of  the  Armenian  Mountains. "  And  the  fe- 
cond,  in  the  fifth  Chapter  of  his  firft  Book 
o(  Jewifi  Antiquities;   Bvjpwo-o-oi-  b  XoLy^'^oLioQ 

d/1fyfcfXfJ/0?     7X    TTSpl    TOV    KOLTXnT^VO-flOVy     8T00     TTH 

5/f^/5/(j-/,  &c.  That  is,  ^  Berofm  thzChald^an^ 

*  relating  the  Story  of  the  Deluge,  writes  thus : 

*  It  is  reported,  that  there  is  fome  part  of 
*^  the  Veffel  [the  Ark]  ftill  remaining  at  the 

*  Mountain  of  the  Gordydam;  and  thatcer- 

*  tain  Perfons  fcraping  off  the  Bitumen^  or 
!  Pitch,  carry  it  away  i  and  that  Men  make 

'  ufe 


Of  the  Deluge.  6^ 


^  ufe  of  it  for  Amulets,  to  drive  away  Dif- 
.'  cafes. 

.  A  SECOND  Teftimony  the  hmc^ofephus 
affords  us  in  the  fame  Place,  and  that  is,  of 
Nkolaus  Vamafcenm  ,•    ^  who,  faith  he^  gives 

*  us  the  Hiftory  [of  the  Ark  and  Deluge]  in 
^  thefe  Words :  About  Mi?tyaf  in  Armenia^ 
'  there  is  a  great  Mountain  called  Barh^  to 

*  which  it  is  reported,  that  many  flying,  in 

*  the  time  of  the  Deluge,  were  faved  ,•  and 
^  that  a  certain  Perfon  was  carried  thither  in 

*  an  Ark,  which  refted  on  the  Top  of  it;  the 
^  Reliques  of  the  Timber  whereof  were  pre- 

*  ferved  there  a  long  time. "  Befides  thefe, 
Jofephm  tells  us  in  the  fame  Place,  that  H/>- 
ronymus  the  Egyptian^  who  wrote  the  Phoeni- 
cian Antiquities,  and  Mnafeas^  and  many  o- 
tbers,  whofe  Words  he  aliedges  not,  make 
mention  of  the  Flood. 

EusEBius  fuperadds  two  Teftimonies 
morei  the  one  of  Melon  ^  to  this  Effe<^: 
There  departed  from  Armenia^  at  the  time 
of  the  Deluge,  a  certain  Man,  who  together 
with  his  Sons  had  been  faved  >  who  being 
caft  out  of  his  Houfe  and  Poffeflions^  was 
driven  away  by  the  Natives.  This  Man 
pafling  over  the  intermediate  ilegion,  came 
into  the  mountainous  Part  of  Syria^  that 
was  then  defolate."  This  Teftimony  makes 
the  Deluge  Topical^  and  not  to  have  reached 
Armenia* 

The 


64  Confequences  of 

The  other  is  of  Abydenus  an  ancient  Wri-i 
ter,  fet  down  by  Eufebiuf^  Pr^par,  Evangel, 
lib,  9.  cap.  4.    MfO^  h  ^kKoi  ts  v\pi,(iv^  nai  ^si'di'^ 

CjUl/JpCCV     Affl-/«    TTEIXTTTU}    fV/     ^SKOLy    &C.       ^  AftCt 

*  whom  others  reigned,  and  then  Sifithrm^  (fo 

*  he  calls  Noah,)    To  whom  Saturn  foretold, 

*  that  there  fliould  be  a  great  Flood  of  Waters 
'  upon  the  fifteenth  Day  of  the  Month  Defius  ; 
^  and  commanded  him  to  hide  all  Writings 
^  [or  whatever  was  committed  to  writing]  in 
'  Heliopolif  of  the  Syparians :  Which  fo  foon  as 
^  Sifithrm  had  performed,  he  prefently  failed 
'  away  to  Armenia^  where  what  God  had  pre- 

*  dided  to  him,  immediately  came  to  plafs,  [or 

*  came  upon  him.]  The  third  Day  after  the 
'  Waters  ceafed,  he  fent  forth  Birds,  that  he 
'  might  try  whether  they  could  efpy  any  Laild 

*  uncovered  of  Water  :  But  they  finding  no* 
'  thing  but  Sea,  and  not  knowing  whither  to 

*  betake  themfelves,  returned  back  to  Sifithruf, 

*  In  like  manner,  after  fome  Days,  he  fent  out 

*  others,  with  like  Succefs.  But  being  fent 
'  out  the  third  time,  they  returned  with  their 
'  Feet  fouled  with  Mud.  Then  the  Gods 
'  caught  up  Sifithrm  from  among  Men  ;  but 
'  the  Ship  remained  in  Armenia^  and  its  Wood 
'  afforded  the  Inhabitants  Amulets  to  chafe  a- 
^  way  many  Difeafes."  Thefe  Hiftories  accord 
with  the  Scripture  as  to  the  main,  of  the  Be- 
ing of  a  Flood,  and  Noah  efcaping  out  of  it; 

only 


^ 


the  Deluge.  .     6^ 

only  they  adulterate  the  Truth,  by  the  Ad-    ^ 
mixture  of  a  deal  of  fabulous  Stuff. 

Cyril,  in  his  firft  Book  againft  Julian^  to 
prove  the  Deluge,  alledges  a  Paffage  out  of 
Alexander  Polyhiftor^  confonant  to  the  pre- 
ceding Words  o(  Abydenuf,  '  P/^f^  himfelf 
'  (faith  he)  gives  us  an  obfcure  Intimation  of 
'  the  Deluge,  in  his  Timdm^  bringing  in  a 
'  certain  Egyptian  Prieft,  who  related  to  Solon 

*  out  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  Egyftiam^ 
^  that  before  the  particular  Deluges  known 
^  and  celebrated  by  the  Grecians^  there  was 

*  of  old  an  exceeding  great  Inundation  of 

*  Waters ,    and  Devaftation  of  the  Earth, 

*  which  feems  to  be  no  other  than  NoaFs 
'  Flood. 

Plutarch,  in  his  Book  De  Solertia  Animal 
lium^  tells  us,  'That  thofe  who  have  written 
of  Deucalion's  flood,  report,  that  there  was 
a  Dove  fent  out  of  the  Ark  by  Deucalion^ 
which  returning  again  into  the  Ark,  was  a 
Sign  of  the  Continuance  of  the  Flood,  but 
flying  quite  away,  and  not  returning  any 
more,  was  a  Sign  of  Serenity,  and  that  the 
Earth  was  drained. 
Indeed,  OW,  and  other  Mythologifts,' 
make  Deucalion  s  Flood  to  have  been  univer- 
fal:  And  it's  clear,  by  the  Defcription  Ow'i 
gives  of  it,  that  he  meant  the  general  De- 
luge in  the  Days  of  Noah^  And  that  by  Deu- 
calion^ the  Ancients,  together  with  Ovid^  un- 
derftood  Noah^  Kircher^  in  his  *  Area  Noa^  *l.2.(.6. 

F  doth 


6^      ,        Confequences  of 

w  doth  well  make  out.  Firft,  For  that  the 
Votx.  Afollonius  makes  him  the  Son  of  Fro^ 
mcthem^  in  his  third  Book, 


where  Frojnetheus^  the  Son  of  JapetUf^  begat 
the  renowned  Deucalion,  2.  Berofus  affirms 
Noah  to  have  been  a  Scythian :  And  Lucian^ 
in  his  Book  De  Dca  Syria^  tells  us,  that  ma- 
py  make  Deucalion  to  have  been  fo  too. 
3 .  The  Scripture  teftifies,  that  Men  were  ge- 
nerally very  corrupt  and  wicked  in  the  Days 
of  Noah  And  Andvo  Teius^  a  very  ancient 
Writer,  teftifies,  that  in  Deucalion's  time 
there  was  a  gjeat  abundance  of  wicked  Men, 
which  made  it  neceffary  for  God  to  de- 
ftroy  Mankind.  4.  The  Scripture  faith. 
That  Noah  was  a  juft  Man  and  perfe^f  in  his 
Gemration.  And  Ovid  faith  of  Deucalion^ 
that, 

Non  illo  meiior  quifquam^  nee  ajnantior  dqui 
Virfuit^  autilld  [^Pyrrhd  uxorc  Qjus]  reve- 
rentior  ulla  Deorum, 

And  a  little  after, 

Innocuos  ambos^  cultores  nwninis  ambos. 

■  >  Y  <  It    " 
5.    Afollonius  faith  of  Deucalion^    IlpuTc; 

ivOpwxocv  ifjciL(j/?^6V(TSj  He  firft  ruled  over  Men, 

Which  may  very  well  be  attributed  to  Noah^ 

the  Father  and  Reflorer  of  Mankind;  whofe 

Right 


the  Deluge.  6"] 

Right  the  Kingdom  was.  6.  The  fending  out 
of  a  Dove,  to  try  whether  the  Waters  were 
abated,  and  the  Flood  gone  off,  is  (we  have 
feen)  by  Plutarch  attributed  to  Deucalion. 
7.  Lucian^  in  his  Timon^  and  in  his  Book  De 
T)ea  Syria^  fets  forth  the  Particulars  of  Deu- 
calion's^ after  the  Example  of  Noah's  Flood. 
AfUKtftA/cov  Q  [xk^^og   avO/3WCTcol/  eX-Ittsto   eh  yevsviv 

^SUTs'pCCV  iv)>}^X/viC   TS  KClI  tQ  iV(T6(ieOC  SVEKCL  ,     &c. 

Deucalion  was  the  only  Man  that  was  left  for 
a  fecond  Generation^  for  his  Prudence  and 
Pitty  fake  -,  and  he  was  faved  in  this  manner : 
He  made  a  great  Arh^  and  got  aboard  it^  with 
his  Wife  and  Children:  And  to  him  came 
Swine  J  and  Horfes^  and  Lions^  and  Serpents^ 
and  all  other  living  Creatures^  which  the 
Earth  fnaintains^  ^cording  to  their  Kinds ^  by 
Pairs  'y  and  he  received  them  all^  and  they  hurt 
him  not  i  for  there  was^  by  Divine  Infiin6t^  a 
great  Friendjhip  among  them  -,  and  they  failed 
together  in  the  Ark^  fo  long  as  the  Waters 
prevailed.  And,  in  his  Timon^  he  faith.  That 
Noah  laid  up  in  the  Arl  Plenty  of  all  Provi-  ' 
fions  for  their  Suftenance, 

Pliny  faith  of  the  City  of  Jopfa^  that  it 
was  built  before  the  Flood. 

B  Y  all  this  it  appears,  that  the  Notion  of 
a  general  Flood  was  every  where  current  a- 
mong  the  People,  efpecially  in  thofe  Coun- 
tries where  the  Ark  refted,  and  where  Noah 
afterwards  lived.  And  hence  it  was,  that  the 
ApameanSy  v^h^rhzx  oi  Mefopotamia^  01  Syria^ 

F  2  or 


68  Confequences  ofy  &c. 

or  Bythinia^  (for  there  were  three  Cities  of 
that  Name)  coined  Moneys  in  Honour  of 
the  Emperors  Septimius  Severn f^  and  Phi- 
lippHf  Arabs ^  having  on  the  Reverfe  the  Fi- 
gure of  an  Ark,  with  a  Man  and  a  Woman 
{landing  before  itj  and  two  Doves  above  it, 
*pne  flying  with  a  Branch  of  a  Tree  in  its 
Mouth,  another  refting  upon  it.  The  Figures 
whereof,  and  a  learned  Difcourfe  thereupon 
out  of  Falconerim^  may  be  feen  in  Kirchers 
*L,2.c.6.  "^  Area  Noie,  Which  Moneys,  though  they 
were  coined  long  after  our  Saviour's  Time, 
and  the  Divulgation  of  the  Scriptures  j  yet 
being  done  by  Ethnicks,  do  fhew  that  the 
Story  of  the  Deluge  was  known,  and  famous, 
and  generally  credited  among  them,  as  being 
near  the  Place  where  Noah  lived  and  con- 
verfed  after  the  Flood. 

HoWBEixIdo  not  deny,  that  there  was 
fuch  a  particular  Flood  in  Thejfaly^  as  they 
call  DeucalioriSj  which  happened  feven  hun- 
dred and  feventy  Years,  or  thereabouts,  after 
-  the  general  Deluge.  I  acknowledge  alfo  a 
more  ancient  Flood  in  Attica^  in  the  Time  of 
Ogyges^  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  Years 
before  Deucalion's^  by  which  the  Country 
was  fo  marred,  that  it  lay  wafte  and  uncul- 
tivated, without  Inhabitants,  for  almoft  two 
hundred  Years. 

Chap. 


TAB   I 


pajid 


-.68 


I  Jlic  twv  ancUnt^ipa^mian  C^nfns  taken  cnit  of 
Octuv-  Talumievl  it  nurtxmoiApcunt^fuilieuUL- 


Bif  tht  Grttk  infcrt^tiaTis  t/u^t/  rve^^  fhunp 


C    H    A    P.       II. 

Of  the  Caufes  of  the  Deluge^ 

HAT  were  the  inftrumental 
Caufes  or  Means  of  the  Flood  ? 
Whether  was  it  effeded  by  na- 
tural or  fupernatural  Means 
only  ?  Whether  was  Gx>  d  no 
farther  concerned  in  it,  than 
in-  fo  ordering  Second  Caufes  at  firft,  as  of 
themfelves  neceffarily  to  bring  it  in  atfuch  a 
tinie  ? 

First,  Thofe  that  hold  this  Deluge  was 
altogether  miraculous,  and  that  God  Al- 
mighty created  Waters  on  purpofe  to  ferve 
this  Occafion,  and,  when  they  had  done  their 
Work,  deftroy'd  them  again,  difpatch'd  the 
Bufinefs,  and  loofe  or  cut  the  Knot  in  a  few 
Words.  And  yet  this  Hypothejif  is  not  fo 
abfurd  and  precarious,  as  at  firft  Sight  it  may 
feem  to  be  :  For  the  World  being  akeady 
full,  there  needed  not,  nor  indeed  could  be 
any  Creation  of  Water  out  of  nothing,  but 
only  a  Tranfmutation  of  fome  other  Body 
into  Water.  Now,  if  we  grant  all  Natural 
Bodies,  even  the  Elements  themfelves,  to  be 
mutually  tranfmutable,  as  few  Men  doubt, 
and  fome  think  they  can  demonftrate ,  why 
might  not  the  Divine  Power  and  Providence 
F  3  bring 


Confequenc.es  df 

bring  together  at  that  time  fuch  nasnral  A- 
gents,  as  might  change  the  Air,  or  Mther\ 
or  both  together,  into  Water  -,  and  fo  fupply 
what  was  wanting  in  Rains,  and  extraordi- 
nary Eruptions  of  Springs.     To  them  that 
argue  the  Improbability  of  fuch  a  Change, 
from  the  great  Quantity  of  Air  requifite  to 
the  making  of  a  little  Water  i  it  may  be  an- 
fwered.  That  if  Air' and  all  Bodies  commixt 
with  it,  were  together  changed  into  Water, 
they  muft  needs  make  a  Bulk  of  Water  of 
equal  Quantity  with  themfelves,  unlefs  we 
will  grant  a  Peripatetical  Condenfation  and 
Rarefaaion  ;  and  hold  that  the  fame  Matter 
may  have  fometimes  a  greater,  fometimcS  a 
leffer  Quantity  or  Extenfion. 

T  o  this  may  be  replied  ;  If,  indeed,  th^ 
whole  World  were  foil  of  Body  or, Matter^ 
a  Deluge  might  eafily  be  effeded  this  way  : 
It  were  but  converting  the  Air  and  other  Bo- 
dies mixt  with  it  round  the  Terraqueous 
Globe,  to  the  Height  of  1 5  Cubits  above  the 
higheft  Mountains  into  Water,  and  the  Bufl- 
nefs  were  difpatch'd. 

But  there  is  another  Being  in  Nature  be- 
fides  Matter  or  Body,  ^iz.  a  Vacuum^  or 
empty  Space,  which  is  intermix'd  with  the 
minute  Parts  of  all  Bodies.  Thofe  that  have 
•more  of  it  interfpers'd  among  their  Parts,  are 
more  rare  or  thin  ;  and  thofe  that  have  lefs, 
more  denfe  or  thick  j  the  rarer  Bodies  are 
alfo  lighter,  the  more  denfe  heavier^  accor- 
ding 


the  Deluge,  71 


according  to  the  Proportion  of  Matter  they 
contain.  Hence  perchance  a  cubical  Foot  of 
Air  may  not  be  equal  in  Weight  to  the  hun- 
dredth Part  of  a  cubical  Foot  of  Water ;  and 
confequently,  an  hundred  cubical  Feet  of 
Air  will  be  requifite  to  make,  by  Converfion, 
one  cubicd  Foot  of  Water.  I  take  it  for 
granted  here,  that  the  different  Weight  of 
Bodies  depends  upon  the  Difference  of  Mat- 
ter they  contain,  -fo  that  thofe  which  have 
feweft  empty  Pores  are  the  heavieft,  thofe 
that  have  moft,  the  iighteft. 

This  Caufe  [the  Converfion  of  Air  into 
Water]  the  Learned  Jefuite  Athanafius  Kir- 
cher^  in  his  Book  De  Area  Nc<£^  alledges  as 
the  undoubted  inftrumental  Cauie  or  Means 
of  the  Deluge,  in  thefe  Words ;  Dico  totmtt  /7- 
lud  ae'reu?n  Jpathim  ufque  ad  fupre?natn  regio- 
nem  aerfs^  pncfotentis  Dei  virtutCj  in  aquay^ 
per  inexplicabile?fi  nubium  coacervatarum  mul- 
titudinem^  qua  replebatur  ^  converfaf?i  ^Jf^jjf 
cujus  ubertas  tanta  fuit^  ut  Aer  fuprejr^s 
cum  infenori  in  Oceanum  comniutatus  'videri 
potueritj  ?ion  naturae  viribus^  fed  illius.  cujus 
voluntati  &  imperio  cun^ta  fubfunt.  That  is, 
I affir?n^that  all  that  Aereal  Space  that  reaches 
up  to  the  fupreme  Region  of  the  Air^  Was^  by 
the  Power  of  the  Omnipotefit  God,  and  In- 
ftrwnentality  of  an  inexplicable  Multitude  of 
Clouds  amaffed  together  ^  wherewith  it  was 
filled^  changed  into  Water ^  fo  that  the  upper 
and  lower  Air  might  f&em  to  be  tranfmuted 
..  F  4  into 


•yZ  Confequences  of 

into  a?t  Ocean^  not  by  the  Strength  of  Nature, 

but  of  Bhn  to  whofe  Will  and  Power  all  things 

*  Ana,     are  fubje^f.    And  he  is  fo  confident  *  that 

isTo^,  1. 2.  this  Deluge^  in  which  the  Water  was  raifed 

^'  **       fifteen  Cubits  above  the  htgheft  Mountains, 

was  not,  nor  could  be  effeded  by  natural 

Caufes,  but  by  the  Right  Hand  of  the  moft 

High  God  only  j  that  he  faith,  '  No  Man  can 

'  deny  it,  but  he  who  doth  not  penetrate . 

*  how  far  the  Power  of  Nature  can  extend, 

*  and  where  it  is  limited."  To  conclude,  this 
tiypothejis  hath  the  Suffrages  of  moft  learned 
Men.  But,  becaufe  the  Scripture,  aifigning 
theCaufes  or  Means  of  the  Inundation,  makes 
no  Mention  of  any  Converfion  of  Air  into 
Water,  but  only  of  the  Breaking  up  the 
Fountains  of  the  Great  Deep,  and  the  Open- 
ing of  the  Windows  of  Heaven,  I  fuppofe 
thofe  Caufes  may  be  fufficient  to  work  the 
Effect,  and  that  we  need  not  have  recourfe 
to  fuch  an  Afliftance. 

A  s  for  thofe  that  make  the  Deluge  Topi- 
cal, and  reftrain  it  to  a  narrow  Conipafs  of 
Land,  their  Opinion  is,  I  think,  fufficiently 
*z?r.Bur-  confuted  by  a  late  ingenious  "*"  Author,  to 
net.        whom,  therefore,  I  referr  the  Reader. 

I  SHALL  not  undertake  the  Defence  or 
Confutation  of  thofe,  or  any  other  Hypothefis ; 
only  tell  you  which,  at  prefent,  feems  to  me 
moft  probable  j  and  that  is  theirs,  who  for  a 
Partial  Caufe  of  the  Deluge,  alTign  either  a 
Change  of  the  Center  of  theJEarth,  or  a  yio- 

lent 


the  Deluge.  73 


lent  DepreiHon  pf  the  Surface  of  the  Ocean, 
and  a  Fo^iftg-tlie  Waters  up  from  the  fubter- 
raneous  Abyfs  through  the  Channels  of  the 
Fountains  that  were  then  broken  up  and  o- 
pened. 

First  then,  let  us  confider  what  Caufes 
the  Scripture  ailigns  of  the  Flood  i   and  they 
are  two.     i.  The  Breaking  up  the  Fountains 
of  the  great  Deep.     2.  The  Opening  of  the 
Windows  of  Heaven.     I  Ihall  firft  treat  of 
this  laft.     By  the  Opening  of  the  Windows 
of  Heaven,  is  (I  fuppofe)  to  be  underftood 
the  Caufing  of  all  the  Water  that  was  fu- 
fpended  in  the  Air  to  defcend  down  in  Rain 
upon  the  Earth  ^  the  Effect  hereof  here  men- 
tioned being  a  long  continuing  Rain  of  for%y 
Natural  Days  ;  and  that  no  ordinary  one  nei- 
ther, but  Catarrads  or  Spouts  of  Water ;  for 
fo  the  Septiiagint  interpret  the  Windows  of 
Heaven  were  opened,   Kai  olI  nciTappoLiiTOLi  tQ 
BpoLvs  vivs(hx^m<^v,  The  Catarra^ts  or  Spouts  of 
Heaven  were  opened.    And  that  thefe  Trea- 
furies  of  the  Air  will  afford  no  fmall  Quan- 
tity of  Water,  may  be  made  appear,  both  by 
Scripture    and  Reafon.      i.    By    Scripture, 
which  oppofes  the  Waters  that  are  above  the 
Heavens  or  Firmament,  to  thofethat  are  un- 
der them ;  which  if  they  were  not  I'crop'poToCy 
and  in  fome  Meafure  equal,  it  would  never 
do.     Gen,  i.  6,  God  //  [aid  to  make  a  Fir- 
mament in  the  midft  of  the  Wate^-s^  and  to  di- 
vide the  Waters  which  were  und.r  the  Firma- 
ment^ 


74  Confequences  of 


mentj  frotn  the  Waters  which  were  abcyve  the 
Firmament.  And  this  was  the  Work  of  a 
whole  Day,  and  confequcntly  no  inconfide- 
rable  thing.  2.  The  fame  may  be  made  ap- 
pear, by  Reafon  grounded  upon  Experience. 
I  myfelf  have  obferved  a  Thunder-Cloud  in 
Paffage,  to  have  in  lefs  than  two  Hours  Space 
poured  down  fo  much  Water  upon  the. 
Earth,  as,  befides  what  funk  into  the  parch- 
ed and  thirfty  Ground,  and  filled  all  Ditches 
and  Ponds,  caufed  a  confiderable  Flood  in 
the  Rivers,  fetting  all  the  Meadows  on  £oat. 
[And  Dr.  Wittie^  in  his  Scarborough  Spaw, 
tells  us  of  great  Spouts  of  Rain  that  ordina- 
rily fall  every  Year,  fome  time  or  other,  in 
S«mmer,  that  fet  the  whole  Country  in  a 
Flood.]  Now  had  this  Cloud,  which  might, 
for  ought  I  know,  have  moved  forty  Miles 
forward,  flood  ftill  and  emptied  all  its  Wa- 
ter upon  the  fame  Spot  of  Ground  it  firft 
hung  over,  what  a  fudden  and  incredible 
Deluge  would  it  have  made  there  ?  and  yet 
what  Depth  or  Thicknefs  of  Vapours  might 
remain  uncondenfed  in  the  Air  above  this 
Cloud,  who  knows?  That  the  Ocean  af- 
forded but  little,  appears  in  that  the  Vapours 
raifed  out  of  it,  and  brought  up  in  Clouds, 
and  poured  down  upon  the  Earth  in  Rain, 
are  fliortly  carried  off  by  the  Ffivers,  and  re- 
affumed  into  the  Sea:  But  if  the  Waters  of 
the  Flood  encompaffed  the  whole  Terraque- 
ous Globe,  (as  is  moft  probable)  then  the 

Ocean 


the  Deluge.  75" 


Ocean  contributed  nothing ;  for  the  Water 
muft  be  railed  higher  above  the  Superficies  of 
the  Ocean,  than  that  of  the  dry  Land  ,•  upon 
which  yet,  at  the  end  of  the  forty  Days  Rain, 
the  Waters  were  (o  high  as  to  bear  up  the 
Ark,  that  it  touched  not  the  Ground. 

Moreover,  after  this  forty  Days  vio- 
lent and  impetuous  Rain,  it  is  probable,  that 
it  rained,  though  more  gently  and  inter- 
ruptedly, till  the  150th  Day,  becaufc  till 
that  time  the  Waters  prevailed  and  encreafed 
upon  the  Earth.  All  this  Water  that  fell  in 
Rain,  muft  be  contained  in  the  vaft  Treafu- 
ries  of  the  Middle  and  Superior  Air,  or  elfe 
immediately  created  by  G  o  d. 

Ip  the  whole  Ocean  indeed  \yere  railed  up 
in  Vapour,  and  that  Vapour  condenfed  into 
Rain,  and  poured  forth  upon  the  dry  Land, 
and  there  fufpended  and  miraculoufly  flop-* 
ped  from  going  off  by  the  Almighty  Power 
of  God,  then  might  it,  together  with  an 
equal  Quantity  of  Water  raifed  up  from  the 
great  Deep,  have  a  confiderable  Intereft  in  the 
Deluge.  But  of  this  there  cannot  be  any 
Proof  gathered  from  the  Scriptures. 

I  RETURN  now  to  the  firft  Caufe  or  Means 
of  the  Deluge  afifigned  by  the  Scripture,,  and 
that  is,  the  Breahng  up  of  all  the  Fountains 
of  the  great  Deep.  By  the  great  Deep^  in  this 
Place,  I  fuppofe,  is  to  be  under ftood  the  fub^ 
terraneous  Waters,  which  do  and  muft  ne-^ 
celTarily  communicate  with  the  Sea.    For  we 

fee. 


7^  Confequences  of 

fee,  that  the  Cafpian^  and  fome  other  Seas, 
receive  into  themfelves  many  great  Rivers, 
and  yet  have  no  vifibie  Outlets  j  and  there- 
fore, by  fubterraneous  PafTages,  muft  needs 
difcharge  their  Waters  into  the  Abyfs  of  Wa-» 
ters  under  the  Earth,  and  by  its  Intervention 
into  the  Ocean  again. 

That  the  Mediterranean  Sea  doth  not  (as 
I  fometimes  thought)  comriiunicate  with  the 
Ocean  by  any  fubterraneous  PalTages,  nor 
thereby  impart  any  Water  to  it,  or  receive 
any  from  it,  may  be  demonftrated,  from 
that  the  Superficies  of  it  is  lower  than  the 
Superficies  of  the  Ocean,  as  appears  from 
the  Waters  running  in  at  the  Streights  of 
Gibrattar ,  for  if  there  were  any  fuch  Com- 
munications, the  Water  keeping  its  Level, 
the  Mediterranean^  being  the  loweft,  muft 
by  thofe  PafTages  receive  Waters  from  the 
Ocean  i  and  not  the  Ocean^  which  is  (as  we 
have  proved)  the  higheft  from  the  Medi- 
terranean, But  that  it  doth  not  receive  any 
by  fubterraneous  PafTages,  is  moft  likely, 
becaufie  it  receives  fo  much  above  Ground. 
Hence  it  neceffarily  follows,  that  the  Medi^ 
terranean  fpends  more  in  Vapour  than  it  re- 
ceives from  the  Rivers,  which  is  Mr.  Hal- 
ley's  Conclulion ;  though  in  fome  of  his  Pre- 
mifes,  or  Hypothefes^  he  is,  I  think,  miftaken : 
As,  I.  In  that  he  numbers  the  Tiber  amongft 
his  nine  great  Rivers,  each  of  which  may 
yield  ten  times  as  much  Water  as  the  Thames^ 

whereas 


the  Deluge.  77 


whereas  I  queftion  whether  that  yields  once 
fo  much  :  And  whereas  he  paffes  by  all  the 
reft  of  the  Rivers  as  fmaller  than  it,   there 
are  two  that  I  have  feen  in  Italy  itfelf,  where- 
of the  one,  'u/2.   the  Arnus^  on  which  Flo^ 
rence  and  Pifa  ftand,  feemed  to  me  not  in- 
ferior in  Bignefs  to  the  Tiber  ;  and  the  o- 
ther,  i)iz,    the  Athefu  ^    on  which  Verona 
ftands,  I  could  not  guefs  to  be  lefs  than  twice 
as  big.     2.  In  that  he  thinks  himfelf  too  li- 
beral in  allowing  thefe  nine  Rivers  to  carry 
down  each  of  them  ten  times  fo  much  Wa- 
ter as  the  Thames  doth.    Whereas  one  of 
thofe'nindj-.and  that  none  of  the  biggeft  nei- 
ther, 'viz,  the  River  Po^  if  Ricciolm  his  Hy^ 
fothefes  and  Calculations  be  good,  affords 
more  Water  in  an  Hour,  than  Mr.  Halley  fup- 
pofes  th&Tha7nes  to  do  in  aDay  ,*  the  hour- 
ly Effufions  of  the  Po  being  rated  at  eigh- 
teen Millions  of  Cubical  Paces,  by  Ricciolm ; 
whereas  the  daily  ones  of  the  Thames  are 
computed  to  be  no  more  than  twenty  five 
Millions,  three  hundred  forty  four  thoufand 
Cubical  Yards  of  Water,  by  Mr.  Plalley  j  but 
a  Geometrical  Pace  contains  five  Feet,  /.  e, 
1 1  of  a  Yard.   Now  if  the  Po  pours  fo  much 
Water  hourly  into  the  Sea,  what  then  muft 
the  Danow  and  the  Nile  do  ?  each  of  which 
cannot  (I  guefs)  be  lefs  than  treble  of  the 
Po,    Tanais^  Boryfthenes^  and  Rhodanus^  may 
equal,  if  not  exceed  it.     Howbeit,  I  cannot 
approve  Ricciolus   his  Hypothefes^   judging 

them 


^^8  Confequences  'of 

them  to  be  too  exceffive,  but  do  believe  that 
as  to  the  whole,  Mr.  Halley  comes  nearer  the 
Truth.  Sure  enough  it  is,  that  in  the  Me- 
diterranean^ the  Receipts  from  the  Rivers 
fall  fhort  of  the  Expence  in  Vapour  j  though 
in  Part  of  it,  that  is,  the  Euxine^  the  Receipts 
exceed,  as  appears  from  that  there  is  a  con- 
ftant  Current  fets  outward  from  thence 
through  the  Thracian  Bofphorus^  and  Helle- 
fpont. 

But  though  the  Mediterranean  doth  in- 
deed evaporate  more  than  it  receives  from 
the  Rivers",  yet,  I  believe,  the  Cafe  is  npt  the 
fame  with  the  Cafpian  Sea^  the  Superficies 
whereof  feems  to  me  not  to  bear  any  great* 
er  Proportion  to  the  Waters  of  the  Rivers 
that  run  into  it,  than  that  of  the  Euxine 
doth  to  its ;  which  we  have  obferved  not  to 
fpend  the  whole  Receipt  in  Vapour. 

You  will  fay.  Why  then  do  not  great  Floods 
raife  the  Seas  ?  I  anfwer,  as  to  the  Cafpian^ 
if  it  communicates  with  the  Ocean,  whether 
the  Rivers  bring  down  more  or  lefs,  it's  all 
one  ;  if  more,  then  the  Water  keeping  its 
Level,  the  Cafpian  raifeth  the  Ocean ;  if  lefs, 
then  the  Ocean  communicates  to  the  Cafpian^ 
and  raifes  that.  But  as  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean^  we  may  fay,  that  wt\en  it  receives 
more  on  the  one  Side,  it  receives  lefs  on  the 
other,  the  Floods  and  Ebbs  of  the  Nilus^  and 
the  other  Rivers,  counterbalancing  one  ano- 
ther: Befides,  by  reafon  of  the  Snows  lying 

upon 


the  Deluge.  7p 


upon.the  Mountains  all  Winter,  the  greateft 
Floods  of  thofe  great  Rivers  in  Europe  do 
not  happen  when  the  Mediterranean  evapo- 
rates leaft  in  the  Winter-time,  but  in  the 
Spring. 

You  will  demand  farther,  if  the  Meditev" 
ranean  evaporates  fo  much,  what  becomes  of 
all  this  Vapour  ?  I  anfwer.  It  is  caft  off  upoa 
the  Mountains,  and  on  their  Sides  and  Tops 
is  condenfed  into  Water,  and  fo  returned  a- 
gain  by  the  Rivers  unto  the  Sea. 

I F  you  proceed  to  ask  what  becomes  of 
the  Surplufage  of  the  Water,  which  the  Me^ 
diterranean  receives  from  the  Ocean^  and 
fpends  in  Vapour  5  I  anfwer.  It  feems  tome 
that  it  mufl:  be  caft  farther  off  over  the  Tops 
of  the  Mountains,  and  fupply  in  part  Rain 
to  thefe  Northern  Countries  ,•  for  we  know 
that  the  South  Wind  brings  Rain  with  us,  and 
all  Europe  over. 

Madidis  Notus  C'volat  allr,    Ovid.  Metam. 

A  s  to  the  great  Ocean,  I  do  not  believe 
that  it  evaporates  fo  much  as  the  Mediterra- 
nean :  Both,  I .  Becaufe  the  \vhole  Mediter- 
ranean^ excepting  the  Euxine^  lies  in  a  hot 
Climate,  and  a  great  Part  of  it  as  it  were  in 
a  Valley,  Ridges  of  high  Mountains,  Atlas 
on  one  Side,  and  the  Alp  and  Afpennme^  &c. 
on  the  other  running  along  it.  And,  2.  Be- 
caufe the  Surface  of  the  whole  Ocean  bears  a 
greater  Proportion  to  the  Waters  it  receives 

from 


8d  Confequences  of 

from  the  Rivers  of  at  leaft  this  Continent, 
•  than  that  of  the  Mediterranean  doth  to  its. 
And  therefore  I  think  alfo  that  Mr.Halley 
exceeds  in  his  Eftimate  of  the  Heat  of  the  Sti^ 
perficies  of  the  Sea  Water.  I  cannot  perfuade 
niyfelf,  that  were  it  all  commixt,  I  mean  the 
hotter  Part  with  the  cooler,  all  the  Surface 
over  to  fuch  a  Thicknefs,  it  would  equal  the 
Heat  of  our  Air  in  the  hotteft  time  of  Sum- 
mer. But  I  leave  that  to  farther  Tryal  and 
Enquiry. 

Here  give  me  leave  to  fuggeft,  that  wc 
ar€  not  to  think,  that  all  the  Vapours  that 
fupply  our  Rains  and  Dews  proceed  from  the 
Sea  i  no,  a  great  Part  of  them,  'viz.  all  that, 
when  condenfed,  waters  the  Earth,  and  ferves 
for  the  Nutrition  of  Plants  and  Animals,  (if 
not  the  fame  individual  Water,  at  leaft  lb 
much)  was  exhaled  out  of  the  Earth  before, 
and  returned  again  in  Showers  and  Dews  upp- 
on  it:  So  that  we  receive  no  more  from 
the  Sea,  than  what  the  Rivers  carry  back,  and 
pour  into  it  again.  But  fuppoiing  Mr.  Hal^ 
lefs  Hypothefes  to  be  good,  and  that  the  Ocean 
doth  evaporate,  and  caft  oif  to  the  dry 
Land  ^^  of  an  Inch  Thicknefs  daily,  and  this 
fuffices  for  the  Supply  of  all  the  Rivers ;  how 
intolerably  extravagant  muft  their  Hypothec 
fcf  be,  who  fuppofe  the  Rivers  of  all  the  World 
together  to  yield  half  an  Ocean  of  Water 
daily  ?  Though  I  muft  confefs  myfelf  to  be 
at  a  Lofs,  as  to  thofe  vaft  Rivers  of  America 

of 


the  Deluge.  8 1 


of  ninety  Miles  broad  ;  for  if  they  Ihould 
run  with  any  thing  a  fwift  Current,  it  is  in- 
deed ineftimable  what  a  Quantity  of  Water 
they  may  pour  forth.  All,  therefore,  that  I 
have  to  f:iy  to  them,  is,  That  we  want  a  true 
Hiftory  and  Account  of  their  Fhtenomenafvovci 
their  Fountains  to  their  Outlets. 

But  in  contradiction  to  what  I  have  faid, 
concerning  the  Water  keeping  its  Level,  and 
flowing  in  only  at  the  Straits -Mouthy  I  un- 
derhand, that  it  is  the  concurrent  and  unani- 
mous Vote  and  Suffrage  of  Mariners,  Voya- 
gers, and  Philofophers,that  there  is  an  Under- 
Current  at  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar^  the  Thra-^ 
clan  Bofphoruf^  and  the  Balticl  Sound,  Par- 
ticularly, M,  Marjilly  affirms.  That  the  low- 
er Water  in  the  Channel  of  the  Thracian 
Bofphorus  is  driven  Northward  into  the  E«- 
xine  Sea,  whiift  the  upper  flows  conftant- 
ly  from  the  Euxine  Southward  :  And,  That 
that  which  flows  from  the  South  is  falter 
and  heavier  i  which  he  found  by  letting 
down  a  Veffel  clofe  fhut  up,  fitted  with  a 
Valve  to  open  at  pleafure,  and  let  in  the  low- 
eft  Water,  which  being  brought  up  and  weigh- 
ed, was  obferved  to  be  ten  Grains  heavier 
than  the  upper.  That  the  upper  and  lower 
flows  contrary  ways,  he  found  by  the  Filher- 
mens  Nets,  which  being  let  down  deep  from 
Veflels  that  were  fixed,  were  always,  by  the 
Obfervation  of  the  Filliermen,  by  the  Force 
of  the  Current  driven  towards  the  Blacl  Sea^ 

G  and 


82  Confeqiiences  of 

and  by  the  letting  down  of  a  Plummet  ,  for 
if  it  were  ftopp'd  and  detained  at  about  five 
or  fix  Foot  depth,  it  did  always  decline  to- 
wards the  Marmora  or  PropoJitif ;  but  if  it 
defcended  lower,  it  was  driven  to  the  con- 
trary part,  that  is,  the  Euxine.  But,  I  think, 
thefe  Experiments  are  not  fufficient  to  efta- 
blilh  and  demonftrate  fuch  anUnder-Currenr, 
becaufe,  poflfibly  there  might  be  feme  Miftake 
in  them :  And  Mr.  Smith  mentions  no  fuch 
thing  as  any  Under-Current  tliere.  But  yet 
the  fame  Mr.  Smith  endeavours  to  prove  an 
Under- Current,  by  two  Experiments:  The 
firft  is,  the  Running-Tide  and  Half-Tide  ici 
the  Offing^  between  the  North-Foreland  and 
South-Foreland,  Now  where  it  flows  Tide 
and  Half-Tide,  though  the  Tide  of  Flood 
runs  aloft,  yet  the  Tide  of  Ebb  runs  under^ 
foot,  that  is,  clofe  by  the  Ground.  SeQ 
Philofophical  Tranfatiiom  ^  Numb.  158. 
p.  564. 

The  fecond  is,  an  Experiment  made  in 
the  Baltic^  Sound:  In  one  of  the  King's 
Fregats  they  went  with  their  Pinnace  into 
the  middle  Stream,  and  were  carried  vio- 
lently by  the  Current :  Soon  after,  they 
funk  a  Bucket  with  a  large  Cannon  Bullet, 
to  a  certain  Depth  of  Water,  which  gave 
check  to  the  Boat's  Motion ,  and  finking  it 
ftill  lower  and  lower,  the  Boat  was  driven  a- 
head  to  Windward  againft  the  Upper-Cur- 
rent, the  Current  aloft  being  not  above  four 

or 


the  Deluge.  83 

or  five  Fathom  deep  j  and  the  lower  the  Buc- 
ket was  let  fall,  they  found  the  Under-Cur- 
rent the  ftronger. 

To  all  this  I  reply ;  That  I  do  not  under- 
ftand  how  Waters  can  run  backward  and  for- 
ward in  the  fame  Channel,  at  the  fame  time. 
For  there  being  but  one  Declivity  ,•  this  is  as 
much  to  affirm,  as  that  a  heavy  Body  lliould 
afcend.  It  is  a  CrofTmg  of  Proverbs,  ''Avw 
TTorcifjMv^  making  Rivers  afcend  to  their 
Fountains,  affirming  that  to  be  done,  which 
all  the  World  hitherto  hath  lookM  upon  as 
abfurd  and  impoffible.  And,  therefore,  the 
Matter  of  Fad  had  need  be  well  attefted  : 
Which,  when  to  me  it  (hall  be,  I  rauft  then, 
7nanus  dare^  yield  up  the  Bucklers,  and  ftu- 
dy  fome  Means  to  folve  the  Ph^no?nena, 

Suppose  we,  that  the  Mediterranean  em- 
pties itfelf  into  the  Ocean  by  an  Under-Cur- 
rent ,•  there  muft  be  a  Declivity  to  carry  it 
down,  and,  confequently,  the  upper  Super- 
ficies of  this  Under-Current  muft  have  its  De- 
clivity too,  and  like  wife  the  contiguous  Su- 
perficies of  the  Upper-Current ;  and  fo,  the 
Upper-Current  muft  needs  afcend  in  its 
Courfe  inwards.  If  you  fay,  it's  forc'd  in  by 
the  Motion  of  the  Ocean,  that  feems  unlike- 
ly, becaufe  it  runs  in  conftantly,  as  well  Ebb 
as  Flood.  And,  therefore,  there  feems  to  be 
no  better  Account  of  it  than  the  Superficies 
of  the  Ocean  being  higher  than  that  of  the 
Mediterranean* 

G  z  But 


84  Confequences  of 


B  u  T  to  put  this  Matter  out  of  all  doubt, 
that  learned  and  curious  Obferver  of  all  Na- 
tural and  Artificial  Rarities  that  came  in  his 
way,  Mr.  '/j-ohn  Greu'ves^  in  whofe  time  there 
was  no  talk  of  anUnder-Current  at  th^Straits- 
Mouthy  but  of  contrary-lide  ones,  affirms  of 
his  own  Knowledge  and  Obfervation,  T'hat 
it  was  a  great  Miftah^  and  that  there  was  no 
fuch  thing  as  a  contrary  Current^  but  that  the 
Water  flowed  equally  inward^  as  well  on  the 
one  fide  of  the  Channel  as  on  the  other.  Pyra- 
midograph.  f.  10I5I02. 

By  the  Breaking  up  of  the  Fountains  of 
the  Great  Veep^  is,  I  conceive,  meant,  the 
making  great  Kfues  and  Apertures  for  thefe 
fubterraneous  Waters  to  rufh  out.  You  will 
fay,  how  could  that  be,  fith  the  Water  keeps 
its  Level,  and  cannot  afcend  to  a  greater 
Height  above  the  common  Center,  than  the 
Superficies  of  the  Sea  is,  much  lefs  force  its 
Way,  remove  Obftacles,  and  break  open  Paf- 
fages  ? 

I  AN  sw  E  R,  According  to  them  that  hold 
that  all  Rivers  come  from  the  Sea  by  fub- 
terraneous PafTages,  it  is  no  more  than  daily 
happens.  For  they  muft  needs  grant,  that 
the  Water  in  fubterraneous  Channels,  is  rai- 
fed  as  far  above  the  Level  of  the  Ocean, 
as  are  the  Heads  and  Fountains  of  great  Ri- 
vers. Which,  confidering  the  Height  of  their 
firft  Springs  up  the  Mountains,  the  Length 
of  their  Courfcs,  and  the  Swiftnefs  of  their 

Streams 


the  Deluge.  8^ 

Streams  for  a  great  part  of  the  Way,  \s  very 
confiderablc,  a  conftant  Declivity  being  ne- 
ceffary  to  their  Defcent.     And,  therefore,  I 
can  by  no  means  affent  to  the  Learned  Do- 
dor  Flot^  (if  I  underftand  him  aright)  ""  T^hat  *  Hiji. 
the  Valleys  are  as-  much  below  the  Surface  of  ^-it-stj/- 
the  Sea^   as  Mountains  are  abo've  it.     For,  ■|,^'^^' . 
how  then  could  Rivers  defccnd  down  to  the 
Sea  through  thofe  Valleys  ?    The  Sea  would 
rather  run  into  them,  and  make  Sinus's ;  or 
elfe,  if  they  were  enclofed,  the  Water  would 
ftagnate  there,  and  make  Pools. 

I F  this  be  done  by  way  of  Filtration  (which 
feems  to  be  the  moft  likely  Means  of  raifing 
the  Water)  I  do  not  fee,  but  thefe  Filters  may 
fuck  up  the  whole  Ocean  ;  and  if  Apertures 
and  Outlets  large  enough  were  made,  pour 
it  out  upon  the  Earth  in  no  long  time.  But 
I  cannot  be  fully  reconciled  to  this  Opinion, 
though  it  hath  great  Advocates,  efpecially 
the  fore-mentioned  very  learned  and  inge- 
nious Perfon,  Dr.  Robert  Plot,  I  acknow- 
ledge fubterraneous  Waters  :  I  grant  a  Con- 
fluence and  Communication  of  Seas  by  Un- 
der-ground Channels  and  Paffages :  I  believe, 
that  wherever  one  Ihall  dig  as  deep  as  the 
Level  of  the  Sea,  he  ihall  feldom  fail  of  Wa- 
ter j  the  Water  making  its  wuy  through  Sand, 
and  Gravel,  and  Stones.  In  like  manner,  as  it 
is  obferved  of  the  River  Seine^  that  in  Flood- 
times  all  the  neighbouring  Wells  and  Cellars 
are  filled  with  Water,  and  when  the  River 

G  3  decreases 


S6  Confequences  of 

decreafes  and  finks  again,  thofe  Waters  alfo 
of  the  Wells  and  Cellars  diminilli,  and  by  de- 
grees fall  back  into  the  River,  fo  that  there 
are  fcarce  any  Wells  or  Fountains  in  the 
Plains  near  the  River,  but  their  Waters  keep 
the  Level  of  the  Rivers,  rifing  and  falling 
with  it. 

But  this  inferior  conftant Circulation  and 
perpetual  Motion  of  Water^  feems  to  me  not 
yet  fufficiently  proved  and  made  out.  I  think 
that  the  Patrons  and  Abettors  of  this  Opi- 
nion,' have  not  fatisfai^torily  demonftrated, 
how  it  is,  or  can  be  performed.  To  what 
is  offered  concerning  the  Center  of  Gravity 
being  nearer  to  our  Continent,  by  reafon  of 
the  Preponderancy  of  the  Earth,  and  the 
Waters  lying,  as  it  were,  on  an  Heap  in  the 
other  Hemiiphere,  I  anfwer,  i.  That  in  the 
prefent  terraqueous  Globe,  the  New  Wbrld^ 
which  lies  between  the  two  great  Seas,  and 
almoft  oppolite  to  our  Continent,  doth  in* 
fome  meafure  counterpoife  the  0/^,  and  take 
off  a  great  part  of  the  Advantage,  which,  by 
reafon  of  its  Preponderancy,  it  might  other- 
wife  have.  Moreover,  1  am  of  Mr.  Brier- 
wood's  Opinion,  that  there  may  be,  and  is  a 
vaft  Continent  toward  the  Southern  Pole, 
oppofite  to  Europe  and  Afia^  to  counterpoife 
them  on  that  fide  ,  nay,  I  do  verily  believe, 
that  the  Continents  and  Iflands  are  fo  pro- 
portionabJy  fcattered  and  difpofed  all  the 
World  over,. as  if  not  perfedly  and  exadly, 

yet 


the  Deluge^  87 

yet  very  nearly  to  counter-balance  one  ano- 
ther;   fo  that  the  Globe  cannot  waiter  or 
reel  towards  any  Side :   And  that  the  Center 
of  the  Convex  Superficies  of  the  5  zi^  is  the 
true  Center  of  the  whole  Terre{<:r:al  Sphere, 
both  of  Motion,  and  of  Gravity.    I  add  alfo 
of  Magnitude,   which  is   exceedingly  con- 
venient, as  well  for  the  Facility  as  the  Equa- 
bility of  the  Earth's  Diurnal  Motion.     This 
Hypothefis  of  the  Continent's  being  difpers'cl 
equally  on  all  Sides  of  the  Globe,  makes  thefe 
Centers  concurr  in  one  Point,  whatever  Caufe 
we  aflign  of  the  railing  up  the  dry  Land  at 
firft.     Whereas  if  we  Hiould  fuppofe  the  dry 
Land  to  have  been  raifed  up  by  Earthquakes 
only  on  one  Side  of  the  Globe,  and  to  have 
caft  off  the  Water  to.  the  other,  and  alfo  that 
the  Waters  could  find  no  Way  into  the  Ca- 
verns that  were  left  within  j  then  the  watery 
Side  muft  needs  preponderate  the  Land  Side, 
and  bring  the  Center  of  Gravity  nearer  to 
its  own  Superficies^   and  fo  raife  the  Land 
ftill  a  great  deal  higher,  and  make  a  confide- 
rable  Diftance  between  the  Centers  of  Mag- 
nitude, and  of  Gravity.     In  our  Hypothefis 
of  the  equal  Difperfion  of  the  Continents 
and  Iflands,  no  fuch  thing  would  happen,  but 
each  Continent,  taking  it  with  all  its  internal 
Caverns,  whether  lighter  or  heavier  than  its 
Bulk  in  Water,  that  is,  whether  the  Water 
did  make  its  way  into  the  Caverns  thereof, 
or  did  not,  ffor  in  the  firft  Cafe  it  would  be 

G  4  heavier. 


5      \ 


88  Conjequences  of 

heavier,  in  the  fecond  lighter)  would  have 
its  Counterpoife  on  the  oppofite  Side,  fo  that 
the  Centers  would  ftill  concurr.     The  Cafe 
would  be  the  fame,  if  the  dry  Land  were 
difcovered,  and  the  Mountains  raifed  by  the 
immediate  Application  of  the  Divine  Power. 
2.  The  Sea  being  no  where  above  a  Gerrnan 
Mile  deep,  (for  which  we  have  good  Au- 
thority) in   mod  Places  not  half  fo  much, 
taking  then,  as  a  Middle  Term,  half  a  Mile. 
Suppofe  it  every  where  half  a  Mile  deep, 
(the  Earth  below  the  Sea,  we  have  no  rea- 
lon  to  fuppofe  of  different  Gravity)    what 
Proportion  hath  this  half  Mile's  Thicknefs  of 
Water   to  the  whole  Terraqueous    Globe, 
whofe  Semidiameter  is,  by  the  Account  of  Ma- 
thematicians, Three  thoufand  four  hundred 
and  forty  ItalianMilts^  What  little  Advan- 
tage then  can  it  have  of  the  Earth  oppoEte  to 
it,  in  Point  of  Preponderancy  ?    3 .  Granting 
the  Center  of  Gravity  Ihould  be  nearer  our 
Continent:    The  Center  being   the  loweft 
Place,  and  the  Water  a  fluid  Body,   unlefs 
flopped,  (which  it  might  indeed  be,  if  it  were 
encompalTcd  round  with  high  Shores,  as  high 
as  the  Mountains,  without  any  Breaks  or 
Outlets  in  them)  where  it  found  Declivity, 
it  would  defcend  as  near  as  it  could  to  it, 
without  any  Regard  of  the  Earth's  Preponde- 
rani:y.     And  though  we  fhould  grant,  that 
the  Drynefs  of  the  Shores  might  ftop  it,  and 
caufe  it  to  lie  on  a  Heap,  yet  would  it  run  up 

the 


the  Deluge.  89 

the  Channels  of  Rivers,  till  it  come  as  near 
as  poflible  to  tW  Center  of  Gravity.  Indeed 
the  Rivers  themfelves  could  not  dcfcend,  but 
muft  run  towards  the  Middle  of  the  Conti- 
nent! All  this,  1  think,  will  follow  from  this 
Hypothefif  by  as  good  Confequence,  as  the 
Waters  being  forced  through  the  Subterra- 
neous Channels  out  at  the  Springs.  Dr.HooFs 
Opinion,  That  the  Preponderancy  of  the 
fait  Water  above  the  frelh,  raifes  up  the  frefli 
Water  above  the  Level  of  the  fait,  as  high  as 
the  Springs  and  Fountain-Heads,  and  forces 
it  out  there,  would  have  a  great  Probability 
in  it,  were  there  continued  ftrait  Channels 
or  Conduits  from  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  to 
the  Eruption  of  Springs,  which  I  believe 
there  are  not.  I  do  not  peremptorily  affirm, 
that  all  Fountains  do  proceed  from  Rain; 
only  I  contend,  that  Rain  may  fuffice  to  feed 
them,  and  that  probably  it  doth  feed  ordi- 
nary Springs.  This  the  ingenious  French 
Author  doth  well  demonftrate  in  the  River 
Seine^  and  I  believe  it  is  demonftrable  in 
moft  other  Rivers. 

The  little  Brook  that  runs  near  my  Dwel- 
ling, and  hath  its  Head  or  Source  not  above 
four  or  five  Miles  off,  where  there  is  no  ex- 
traordinary Eruption  of  Water,  all  along  its 
Courfe  receives  fmall  Rivulets  on  both  Sides  ; 
which  though  they  make  a  confiderable 
Stream  at  five  Miles  Diftance  from  the  Foun- 
tain-FIead,  yet  fingly  are  fo  fmall,  that  they 

may 


po       ,      Confequences  of 


may  very  well  be  conceived  to  drain  down 
from  the    higher  Grounds  that  lie  about 
them.    And  taking  the  whole  together,  it  is 
a  very  confiderable  Length  and  Breadth  of 
Land,  that  contributes  to  the  Maintenance 
of  this  little  River  :    So  that  it  may  eafily  be 
believed,  that  all  its  Water  owes  its  Original 
to  Rain  :   Efpecially,  if  it  be  confidered  far- 
ther, that  in  Winter-time,  after  the  Rains  are 
fallen,  the  Ground  fated,  and  the  Ditches 
full,  the  Stream  of  this  River,    during  the 
whole  Winter  following,    is  for  the  moft 
part,  unlefs  in  Frofts,  double  of  what  it  was 
in   Summer.     Which  Excefs    can    proceed 
from  nothing  but  Rain  and  Mifts ;  at  leaft 
it  would  be  Rafhnefs  to  affign  any  other 
Caufe,  when  there  is  fo  obvious  and  mani- 
feft  an  one.     Moreover,  that  Rain  affords  no 
fhiall  Quantity  of  Water,  is  clear  alfo  from 
great  Floods,  wherein  it  might  be  proved, 
that  in  few  Days  there  defcends  more  Wa- 
ter than  would  fupply  the  ordinary  Stream 
for  a  good  part  of  Summer.     Now,  to  com- 
pare great  Things  with  fmallj  I  have  fcen 
many  of  the  biggeft  Rivers  in  Europe^  the 
DanoWj  Rhine,  Rhofne^  and  Po;  and  when 
I  confider  the  Length  of  their  Courfes,  the 
Multitude  of  confiderable  Rivers  and  Brooks 
they  receive  ,•  and  all  thefe  from  their  firft 
Rife,  made  up  by  Degrees  of  little  Rivulets 
and  Gills,  like  my  neighbouring  Brook ;  the 
huge  Mountains  and  vaft  Extent  of  higher 

Grounds 


the  Deluge.  91 


Grounds  they  drain  :  Tome  it  feems  (and 
I  have  feen  all  dicir  Streams  near  their  Out- 
lets, except  the  Vanow'Sy  and  its  after  four 
hundred  Miles  Dcfcent)  that  they  do  not 
bear  any  greater  Proportion  to  the  Rivers  and 
Rivulets  they  receive,  and  the  immenfe 
Tra<5t5  of  Land  that  feed  them,  than  my 
Brook  doth  to  its^mall  Rills  and  Compafs  of 
Ground. 

But  in  this,  I  confefs,  I  do  not  defcend  to 
the  Nicenefs  of  Meafuring  and  Calculation, 
but  fatisfy  myfelf  with  rude  Conjedures^ 
taking  my  Meafures,  as  the  Ceftriam  fiiy,  by 
the  Scale  of  the  Eye. 

It  will  here  be  objedcd,  That  the  Rain 
never  finh  above  ten  Toot  deep  at  ?noft  into 
the  Earthy  and  therefore  cannot  fupply  the 
Spings, 

Anfw,  This  indeed,  i^  it  were  true, 
would  much  enervate,  nay,  quite  overthrow 
our  Opinion  :  And  therefore  we  muft  forti- 
fy this  Point,  and  effedually  demonftrate, 
beyond  all  PoiTibiiity  of  Denial  or  Contra- 
didion.  That  Rain-water  doth  fink  down, 
and  make  its  Way  into  the  Earth;  I  do  not 
lay,  ten,  or  twenty,  nor  forty,  but  an  hun- 
dred, nay,  two  or  three  hundred  Foot,  or 
more. 

First  then,  in  Pool-Hole^  in  the  Peal  of 
Derbyjhire^  there  are  in  fome  Places  conftant 
Droppings  and  Deftillations  of  Water  from 
the  Roof:  Under  each  of  which  (to  note  that 

by 


5)2  Confequences  of 

by  the  by)  rifes  up  a  Stone  Pillar,  the  Water 
precipitating  fonie  of  thofe  ftony  Particles, 
which  it  had  waflicd  off  the  Rocks  in  paflfing 
through  their  Chinks.  Thefe  Droppings 
continue  all  the  Summer  long.  Now  it 
feems  clear  to  me,  that  the  Rain-water  ma- 
king its  Way  through  the  Veins  and  Chinks 
of  the  Rocks  above  it,  and  yet  but  (lowly, 
by  reafon  of  the  Thicknefs  of  the  Mountain, 
and  Straitnefs  of  the  PafTages,  fupplies  that 
Dropping  all  the  Year  round  i  at  leaft,  this  is 
much  more  rational  than  any  different  H}'- 
potbefis.  If  the  Water  diftills  down  fafter  in 
Winter-time  and  wet  Weather,  than  it  doth 
in  Summer  (which  I  forgot  to  ask)  the  Ex- 
periment would  infallibly  prove  our  Alfer- 
tion.  In  Confirmation  of  this  Argument, 
Alkrtuf  Magnus  (as  I  find  him  quoted  in 
Dr.  Wittie's  Scarborough  Spaw)  tells  us,  That 
at  the  Bottom  of  a  [olid  Rock  one  hundred  and 
thirty  Fathoms  deep^  he  [aw  Drops  of  Water 
dijiilling  from  it  in  a  rainy  Seafon, 

Secondly,  It  is  well  known,  and  attefted 
to  me  by  the  People  at  Buxton  when  I  was 
there.  That  out  of  the  Mouth  of  the  fame 
Fool-Hole^  after  great  and  long  continuing 
Rains,  a  great  Stream  of  Water  did  ufually 
iffue  forth :  And  I  am  fure  it  muft  make  its 
Way  through  a  good  Thicknefs  of  Earth,  or 
Rocks,  before  it  could  come  in  there. 

Thirdly,  What  becomes  of  all  the  Water 
that  falls  on  Newmarket-Heath^znd  Gog?nagog 

Hills, 


the  Deluge.  p^ 


Hills.,  I  prefume  alfo  Salisbm-^-Plain^  and 
the  like  fpungy  Grounds  all  Winter  long, 
wh:rc  we  fee  very  little  run  off  any  way  ? 
It  niuft  needs  fink  into  the  Ground  more 
tlian  ten  Foot  deep. 

Fourthly^  Many  Wells,  w^hofe  Springs 
lie  at  leaft  twenty  Foot  deep,  we  find  by 
Experience,  do  often  fail  in  great  Droughts 
in  Summer-time. 

F I F  T  H  L  Y,  In  Coal  Delfs,  and  other  Mines, 
in  wet  Weather  the  Miners  are  many  times 
drown'd  out,  (as  they  phrafe  it)  though  no 
Water  runs  down  into  the  Mouths  of  their 
Pits  or  Shafts.  Nay,  Dr.  Wittie  tells  us,  in 
his  Defcription  of  the  Vertues  of  the  Scarbo- 
row  Spaw^  pag.  105.  That  after  great  Imin- 
dations  of  Rain^  the  Minerr  find  the  Water 
freque?itly  diftlllmg  through  the  folid  Earth 
upon  their  Heads  j  whereas  in  Summer^  or  dry 
SeafonSj  they  find  no  Interruption  fro?n  thence 
at  all. 

Farther,  to  confirm  this  Particular,  I 
wrote  to  my  Honoured  Friend  Sir  Thomas 
Williighby^  Bar.  deliring  him  to  examine 
his  Colliers  concerning  it,  and  fend  me  Word 
what  Report  they  make  i  and  from  him  re- 
ceived this  Account :  If  there  be  Springs  lie 
before  you  come  at  the  Coal^  they  carry  the 
Water  away  i  but  if  there  be  none^  it  falls  in- 
to the  Works  in  greater  or  lefs  Quantity^  ac- 
cording as  the  Rains  fall.  Which  Anfwer  is 
fo  much  the  ijiore  confiderable,   in  that  it 

gives 


^4  Confequences  of 

gives  me  a  farther  clear  Proof,  that  Springs 
are  fed  by  Rain-water,  and  not  by  any  Com- 
munications from  the  Sea  i  their  Original  be- 
ing above  the  Beds  of  Coal,  they  receiving 
the  Rain-water  into  their  Veins,  and  deriving 
it  all  along  to  their  Fountains  or  Eruptions, 
above  the  Coals. 

1  MIGHT  add  out  of  him,  [Dr.  Wittie]  Fifth- 
ly, p.  85.  T^hat  the  Scarborough  Spaw,  not- 
withftanding  it  breah  out  of  Ground  within 
three  or  four  Tards  off  the  Foot  of  the  Cliffy 
which  is  near  forty  Tardy  high^  arid  within  a 
Quarter  of  a  Mile  there  /;  another  Hill^  that  is 
ifiore  than  as  high  again  as  the  Cliffy  arid  a 
Defcent  all  the  way  to  the  Cliffy  fo  as  the  Rain- 
water ca?mot  lie  long  upon  the  Ground ;  yet  it 
is  obfervable^  that  after  a  long  Rain^  the  Wa- 
ter  of  the  Spaw  is  altered  in  its  T'afte^  and 
leffened  in  its  Operation  j  whereas  a  rainy  Day 
or  two  will  not  fenfibly  hurt  it.  And  now  I 
am  tranfcribing  out  of  this  Author,  give  me 
Leave  to  add  an  Obfervation  or  two  in  Con- 
firmation of  Rains  being  the  Original  of 
Springs.     Thefirftis  (pag.^j,)  this: 

In  England,  in  theTears  1654,  55,  and 5^. 
when  our  Climate  was  drier  than  ever  it  had 
been  inentioned  to  be  in  any  Stories^  fo  as  we 
had  very  little  Rain  in  Summer^  or  Snow  in 
Winter^  mofl  of  our  Springs  were  dried  up^ 
fitch  as  in  the  Memory  of  the  eldeft  Men  li- 
ving had  never  wanted  Water ^  but  were  of 
thofe  Springs  we  call  Fonces  Perennes,  or  at 

leaft 


:M:- 


the  Deluge.  ^^ 

leafl  were  ejleevied  fo.  He  inftances  alfo  a 
parallel  Story  out  of  Heylin's  Geography^  in 
the  Defcription  of  Cyprm^  where  the  Au- 
thor relates ;  'that  in  the  Days  o/Conftantine 
the  Great ^  there  was  an  exceeding  long  Drought 
there^  fo  as  ir}  thirty  fix  Tears  they  had  w 
Rain^  infoiniich  as  all  the  Springs  and  Tor- 
rents^  or  Ri'vers^  were  dried  up ;  fo  that  the 
Inhabitants  were  forced  to  forfake  the  Ifland^ 
and  to  feek  for  7iew  Habitations  for  want  of 
freJJj  Water, 

The  fecond  is,  p,  84.  That  in  the  Wolds 
or  Downs  0/ Yorkfhire  they  have?nany  Springs 
break  out  after  great  Rains ,  which  they 
call  Gypiies,  which  jet  a?id  fpout  up  a  great 
Height. 

Neither  is  this  Eruption  of  Springs  after 
long  Rains,   proper  and  peculiar  only  to  the 
Wolds  of  Torkfljire^  but  common  to  other 
Countries  alfo,  as  Dr.'^CMJr^^witnelfeth,  in  *Briun- 
thefe  Words  :    Sometimes    there   breaks   out  nU  ba- 
Water  in  the  manner  of  a  fudden  Land  Floods  ^^^^^^ 
out   of  certain  Stones^    that  are  like  Rocks 
ftanding  aloft  in  open  Fields^  near  the  Rifing 
of  the  River  Kynet  [/«  Kent]  which  is  repu- 
ted by  the  common  People  a  Fore-runner  of 
Dearth.    That  the  fudden  Eruption  of  Springs 
in  Places  where  they  ufe  not  always  to  run^ 
JJjould  be  a  Sign  of  Dearth ^  is  no  Wonder.   For 
thefe  unufual  Eruptions^  {which  in  Kent  we  call 
Nailbourns)  are  caufed  by  extreme  Gluts  of 
Rain^  or  lajting  wet  Weather^  and  never  hap- 
pen 


^6  Confequences  of 

pen  but  in  wet  Tears -^  witnefs  the  Tear  154S. 

when  there  were  many  of  them ; and  to  our 

Purpofe  "Very  remarkable  it  was^  that  in  the 
Tear  165  4.  fe-veral  Springs  and  Rivulets  were 
quite  dried  up^    by  reafon   of  the  precedent 
Droughty  which  raged  moji  in  1651,  16^2^ 
and  1653.    As  the  Head  oj  the  Stour,  that 
rifes  ^f^rEltham  in  Kent^  and  runs  through 
Canterbury,  was  dry  jor  fome  Miles  Space '': 
And  the  like  happened  to  the  Stream  that  crof- 
feth  the  Road-way  between  Sittingburn  a?id 
Canterbury,    at  Ofpring  near  Feverfliam, 
which  at  other  times  ran  with  a  plentiful  Cur- 
rent^ but  then  wholly  failed.    So  we  fee  that 
it  is  not  infrequent  for  new  Springs  to  break 
out  in  wet  Years  -,  and  for  old  ones  to  fail  in 
great  D  roughts.    And  Strabo^  in  his  firft  Book 
out  of  Xanthus  the  Lydian^  tells  us,  'That  in 
the  Time  0/ Artaxerxes,  there  was  fo  great  a 
Droughty  that  Rivers^  and  Lahs^  and  Wells 
of  Witter  failed^  and  were  dried  up, 

I  CANNOT  here  alfo  forbear  to  add,  the  pro- 
bable Account  he  [Dr.  Wittie']  gives  of  the 
Supply  of  the  Spring-Well  on  the  Caftle-Hili 
at  Scarborough  i  at  which,  I  confefs,  I  was 
fomewhat  puzzled.  This  Well^  faith  he,  though 
it  be  upon  the  Top  of  the  Rocky  ?iot  many  Tards 
deep^  and  alfo  upon  the  Edge  of  the  Cliffy  is^ 
doubtlefsy  fupplied  by  fecret  Channels  within 
the  Ground^  that  convey  the  Rain  and  Showers 
into  it^  being  placed  on  a  dependent  Fart  of 
the  Rock  ;  near  unto  which^  there  are  alfo  CeU 

lars 


the  Deluge.  py 

lars  under  an  old  ruinated  Cbappel^  which^  after 
a  great  Rain^  are  full  of  Water ^  but  are  dried 
up  in  a  long  Drought, 

A  s  for  what  is  faid  concerning  the  River 
IVogla's  pouring  out  fo  much  Water  into  the 
Cafpian  Sea^  as  in  a  Year's  time  would  make 
lip  a  Mafs  of  Water  equal  to  the  Globe  of 
the  Earth ;  and  of  the  hourly  Effufions  of 
the  River  Po  in  Italy^  which  Ricciolus  hath 
computed  to  amount  to  18000000  cubical 
Paces  of  Water  ,•  whence  a  late  learned  Wri- 
ter hath  probably  inferred,  that  all  the  Ri- 
vers in  the  World  together,  do  daily  dif- 
charge  half  an  Ocean  of  Waters  into  the  Sea ; 
I  muft  confefs  myfelf  to  be  unfatisfied  there- 
with. I  will  not  queftion  their  Calculations, 
but  I  fufped  they  are  out  in  their  Hypothe^ 
fey. 

The  Opinion  of  Mr.  Edmund  Halley^  that 
Springs  and  Rivers  owe  their  Original  to 
Vapours  condenfed  on  the  Sides  of  Moun- 
tains, rather  than  unto  Rains,  I  acknowledge 
to  be  very  ingenious,  grounded  upon  good 
Obfervations,  and  worthy  of  its  Author ;  and 
I  will  not  deny  it  to  be  in  part  true,  in  thofe 
hot  Countreys  in  the  Torrid  Zone,  and  near 
it ;  where,  by  reafon  of  the  great  Heats,  the 
Vapours  are  more  copioufly  exhaled  out  of 
the  Earth,  and,  it's  likely,  carried  up  high  in 
the  Form  of  Vapours.  The  inferiour  Air,  at 
leaft,  is  fo  charged  with  them,  and  by  that 
means  fo  very  moift,  that,  in  fome  Places, 

H  their 


^8  Confeqiiences  of 

their  Knives  ruft  even  in  their  Pockets ;  and 
in  the  Night,  fo  very  freih  and  cold,  partly 
alfo  by  reafon  of  the  Length  of  the  Nights ; 
that  expofing  the  Body  to  it,  caufes  Colds  and 
Catarrhs,  and  is  very  dangerous :  Whence 
alfo  their  Dews  are  fo  great,  as  in  good  mea- 
fure  to  recompenfe  the  Want  of  Rain,  and 
ferve  for  the  Nourilhment  of  Plants  i  as  they 
do  even  in  Spain  itfelf. 

I  SHALL  firft  of  all  propofe  this  Opinion  in 
the  Words  of  the  Author,  and  then  difcourfe 
a  little  upon  it.     After  he  had  enumerated 
many  of  the   high  Ridges  and  Tracts  of 
Mountains  in  the  four  Quarters  of  the  World, 
he  thus  proceeds :    Each  of  which  far  furpafs 
the  ufual  Height  to  which  the  aqueous  Vapours 
of  the??ifehes  afcend^  and  on  the  Tops  of  which 
the  Air  is  fo  cold  and  rarified^  as  to  retain 
but  a  fmall  Fart  of  thofe  Vapours  that  fljall  be 
brought  thither  by  the  Winds,    Thofe  Vapours^ 
therefore^  that  are  raifed  copioufly  in  the  Sea^ 
and  by  the  Winds^  are  carried  o^er  the  low 
Land's  to  thofe  Ridges  of  Mountains^  and  are 
there  compelled Jjy  the  Stream  of  the  Air^to  mount 
up  with  it  to  the  Tops  of  the  Mountains^  where 
the  Water  prefently  precipitates  gleeting  down 
by  the  Crannies  of  the  Stone ;    and  part  of  the 
Vapour  entring  into  the  Ca'vities  of  the  Hills^ 
the  Water  thereof  gathers  ^  as  in  an  Ale?nbicJi, 
into  the  Bafons  of  Stone  it  finds  y   which  be- 
ing o?ice  filled^  all  the  O'verplus  of  Water  that 
comes  thither^  runs  over  by  the  lowefi  Place^ 

and 


the  Deluge.  pp 


and  brealing  out  by  the  Sides  of  the  HilU^ 
forms  fingle  Springs.     Many  of  thefe  running 
down  by  the  Valleys^  or  Guts  ^between  the  Ridges 
of  the  Hills ^  and  coming  to  unite ^  form  little 
Ri'vulets  or  Brooh.    Many  of  thefe^  again^ 
meeting  in  one  common  Valley ^  and  gaining 
the  plain  Ground^  being  grown  lefs  rapid^  be- 
come  a  River :   And  many  of  thefe  being  united 
in  one  common  Channel^  juake  fuch  Streams^ 
as  the  Rhine,  and  RhofnCj  and  the  Danube  j 
which  latter  one  would  hardly  think  the  Col- 
Mtion  of  Water  condenfed  out  of  Vapour^  un- 
lefs  we  confider  how  vaji  a  Tra^f  of  Ground 
that  River  dMns^  and  that  it  is  the  Sum  of 
all  thofe  Springs^  which  break  out  on  the  South-- 
Jide  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains ^  and  on  the 
North-fide  of  the  i?n?ftenfe  Ridge  of  the  Alps^ 
which  is  one  contained  Chain  of  Mountains 
from  Switzerland  to  the  Black  Sea.    And  it 
may  almofl  pafs  for  a  Rule^  that  the  Magni- 
tude of  a  River ^  or  the  ^lantity  of  Water  it 
evacuates^  is  proportionable  to  the  Length  and 
Height  of  the  Ridges^  from  whence  its  Foun- 
tains arife.    Now  this  Theory  of  Springs  is 
not  a  bare  Hypothefis,  but  founded  on  Expe- 
rience^ which  it  was  my  Luck  to  gain  in  my 
Abode  at  S,  Helena  i  where ^  in  the  Night-time^ 
on  the  Tops  of  the  Hills ^  about  Eight  hundred 
Tards  above  the  Sea^  there  was  fo  firange  a 
Condenfation^  or  rather  Precipitation  of  the 
Vapours^  that  it  was  a  great  Impediment  to 
my  Celeftial  Obfervations  i    for^  in  the  clear 
H  2  Sky^ 


lOO  Confequences  of 


Sk%  the  Dew  would  fall  fo  faft^  as  to  conjetr 
each  half-quarter  of  an  'Hour  ;//y  Glaffes  with 
little  Drops ^  fo  that  I  was  necejjitated  to  wife 
them  off  fo  often  j  a7td  my  Paper ^  on  which  I 
wrote  ?ny  OSfervationSj  would  immediately  be 
fo  wet  with  the  Dew^  that  it  would  not  bear 
hiTi :  By  which  it  may  be  fuppofed^  how  faft 
the  Witter  gathers  in  thofe  mighty  high  Ridges 

I  but  now  named. At  laft  he  concludes : 

And  I  doubt  not  but  this  Hypothefis  is  more 
reafonable^  than  that  of  thofe  who  derive  all 
Springs  from  the  Rain-waters^  which  yet  are 
perpetual^  and  without  Diminution^  even  when 
no  Rain  falls  for  a  long  fpace  of  Time, 

This  may,  for  ought  I  as  yet  fee  or  know,' 
be  a  good  Account  of  the  Original  of 
Springs  in  thofe  fervid  Regions,  though  even 
there,  I  doubt,  but  partial  i  but  in  Europe^ 
and  the  more  temperate  Countries,  I  believe 
the  Vapours  in  this  manner  condenfed,  have 
but  little  Intercft  in  the  Produ(5tion  of  them, 
though  I  will  not  wholly  exclude  them. 
For, 

•  Firfl^  The  Tops  of  the  Alps  above  the 
Fountains  of  four  of  the  greateft  Rivers  in 
Europe^  the  Rhine^  the  Rhofne^  the  Danow^ 
and  the  Fo^  arCj  for  about  fix  Months  in  the 
Year,  conftantly  covered  with  Snow,  to  a 
great  thicknefs  ^  fo  that  there  are  no  Va- 
pours all  that  while  that  can  touch  thofe 
Mountains,  and  be  by  them  condenfed  into 
Water  i  there  falls  nothing  there  but  Snow, 

and 


the  "Deluge .  loi 


and  that  continuing  all   that  while  on  the 
Ground  without  Diifolution,  hinders  all  Ac- 
cefs  of  Vapours  to  the  Earth  j    if  any  rofe,  or 
were  by  Winds  carried  fo  high  in  that  Form, 
as  I  am  confident  there  are  not.    And  yet,  for 
all  that,  do  not  thofe  Springs  fail,  but  con- 
tinue to  run  all  Winter  ^  and  it  is  likely  too, 
without  Diminution  i  which  is  a  longer  time 
than  Droughts  ufually  laft  j  efpecially,  if  we 
confider  that  this  Want  of  Supply  is  con- 
ftant  and  annual  -,  whereas.  Droughts  are  but 
rare  and  accidental.     So  that  we  need  not 
wonder  any  more,  that  Springs  Ihould  con- 
tinue to  run,  and  without  Diminution  too, 
in  times  of  Drought.     True  it  is,  that  thofe 
Rivers  run  low  all  Winter,  fo  far  as  the  Snow 
extends,  and  to  a  good  diftance  from  their 
Heads  j  but  that  is  for  want  of  their  acciden- 
tal Supplies  from  Showers.     Nay,  I  believe, 
that  even  in  Summer,  the  Vapours  are  but 
rarely  raifed  fo  high  in  a  liquid   Form  in 
the  free  Air,   remote  from  the  Mountains, 
but  are  frozen  into  Snow,  before  they  arrive 
at  the  Height.    For  the  Middle  Region  of  the 
Ai}\  where  the  Walk  of  the  Clouds  is^  at 
leaft  thefuperiour  part  of  it,  isfo  cold,  as  to 
freeze  the  Vapours  that  afcend  fo  high,  even 
in  Summer-time.     For  we  fee,   that  in  the 
Height  and  Heat  of  Summer,  in  great  Thun- 
der-ftorms,  for  the  moft  part  it  hails :   Nay, 
in  fuch  Tempefts  I  have  feen  mighty  Show- 
ers of  great  Hail-ftones  fall,  fome  as  bi^  as 

H  3  Nut- 


I02  Confequences  of 

Nutmegs  or  Pigeons  Eggs  j  and  in  fome  pla- 
ces, fuch  Heaps  of  them,  as  would  load  Dung- 
Carts,  and  have  not  been  difTolved  in  a  day 
or  two.  At  the  fame  Seafons,  I  have  obfer- 
ved,  in  fome  Showers,  Hail-ftones  fall  of  ir- 
regular Figures,  and  throughout  pellucid, 
like  great  Pieces  of  Ice,  with  feveral  Snags 
or  Fangs  iffued  out  of  them  :  Which,  how 
they  could  be  fupportedin  the  Air  till  tbey  a- 
mounted  to  that  Bulk  and  Weight,  is  a  thing 
worthy  to  be  more  curioufly  confidered. 
For  either  they  muft  fall  from  an  incredible 
Height,  the  Vapours  they  encountred  by  the 
Way,  condenfing,  and,  as  it  were,  cryftallizing 
upon  them  into  Ice,  and  in  time  augmenting 
them  to  that  Bulk ;  or  elfe,  there  muft  be 
fome  ftrange  and  unknown  Faculty  in  the 
Air  to  fuftain  them.  That  the  fuperiour  Air 
doth  fupport  heavy  Bodies  better  than  the 
inferiour,  the  Flight  of  Birds  feems  to  be  a 
clear  Demonftration.  For,  when  they  are 
mounted  up  on  High,  they  fly  with  lets  Fa- 
tigue, and  move  forward,  with  greater  Faci- 
lity, and  are  able  to  continue  longer  upon 
the  Wing  without  DelafTation,  than  in  the 
lower  Air  they  could  polTibly  do.  And^there- 
fore,  when  they  are  to  make  great  Flights, 
they  foar  aloft  in  the  Air,  at  a  great  Height 
above  the  Earth.  So  have  I  often  feen  a 
a  Flock  of  Wild-geefe  mounted  fo  high,  that 
though  their  Flight  be  fwift,  they  feemed  to 
make  but  little  Way  in  a  long  time,  and  to 

pro- 


the  Deluge.  lo 


proceed  on  their  Journey  with  eafe,  and  very 
leifurely,  by  reafon  of  their  Diftance.     And 
yet  one  would  think,  this  were  contrary  to 
Reafon,   that  the  lighter  Air,  fuch  as  is  the 
fuperiour,  fhould  better  fupport  a  weighty 
Body  than  the  heavier,  that  is,  the  inferiour. 
Some  imagine,  that  this  comes  to  pafs  by 
reafon  of  the  Wind,  which  is  conftantly  mo- 
ving in  the  upper  Air,  which  fupports  any 
Body  that  moves  contrary  to  it.     So  we  fee 
that  thofe  Paper-kites  which  Boys  make,  are 
raifed  in  the  Air,  by  running  with  them  con- 
trary to  the  Wind  :     And  when  they  are  ad- 
vanced to  a  great  Height,  do  but  flick  down 
the  nether  End  of  the  Line,  to  which  they  are 
faftned,  into  the  Ground,  they  will  be  conti- 
nued by  the  Wind  at  the  fame  Height  they 
were,  fo  long  as  it  lafts  and  abides  in  the 
fame  Quarter.     In  like  manner,  the  Birds  fly- 
ing contrary  to  the  Wind,  it  fupports  and 
keeps  them  up.     But  if  this  were  the  only 
Reafon,  methinks  it  lliould  not  be  fo  ealie, 
but  rather  very  laborious  for  Birds  to  fly 
againft  the  Wind,  fo  as  to  make  any  confide- 
rable  Progrefs  in  the  fuperiour  Air,  as  we 
fee  they  do.     And,  therefore,  poiTibly  they 
may  be  nearer  the  Right,  who  fuppofe,  that 
the  Gravity  of  Bodies  decreafes  proportion- 
ably  to  their  Diftance  from  the  Earth ;  and 
that  a  Body  may  be  advanced  fo  high,   as 
quite  to  lofe  its  Gravity  and  Inclination,  or 
Tendency  to  the  Center :     Of  which  I  do  not 

H  4  fee 


I04  Confequences  of 


fee  how  it  is  poflible  to  make  Experiment; 
For,  to  what  is  faid  by  fome,  to  have  been 
tried,  that  a  Bullet  fhot  perpendicularly  up- 
ward out  of  a  great  Gun,  never  defcended 
again,  I  give  no  credit  at  all. 

But  to  leave  that,  it  is  certain,  that  the 
Vapours,  after  they  are  mounted  up  to  a 
confiderable  Height  in  the  Air,  are  congeal- 
ed and  turned  into  the  immediate  component 
Principles  of  Snow,  in  which  Form  I  con- 
ceive they  acquire  a  Lightnefs,  and  are  apt 
to  afcend  higher  than  they  could  do,  Ihould 
they  retain  the  Form  of  a  humid  Vapour  j 
as,  we  fee.  Ice  is  lighter  than  Water,  out  of 
which  it  is  frozen.     But  whether  this  be  the 
reafon  of  their  Afcent,  or  not^  I  am  fure  of 
the  Matter  of  Fadt,  that  thefe  Snow-Clouds 
do  afcend  far   above  the   higheft  Tops  of 
the  Alps  i    For,  palling  over  a  Mountain  in 
the  Grifons  Country,  on  the  very  Ridge  of 
them,  in  the  beginning  of  the    Spring,   it 
fnowed  very  faft  during  my  whole  Paffage 
for  fix  hours ;  and  yet  the  Clouds  feemed  to 
be  as  far  above  my  Head,  as  they  do  here  in 
England ;   and  a  great  Height  they  muft  be, 
for  the  Snow  to  gather  into  fo  great  Flakes, 
and  to  continue  fo  long  falling ;  nay,  it  may 
be  three  times  fo  long.     Moreover,  we  fee, 
that  the  higheft  Pil^|^nd  Summits  of  thofe 
Mountains  are  covered  with  Snow.     And  I 
am  affured,  that  all  the  Winter  long,  at  inter- 
valSj  it  inows  upon  the  Tops  of  the  Alps, 

.      "  2.  In 


the  Deluge.  lo^ 

2.  In  the  Spring-time,  when  the  Snow  dif-^ 
{blves,  fome  of  thefe  Rivers  that  flow  down 
from  the  Alpine  Mountains,  run  with  a  full 
Stream,  and  overflow  their  Banks,  in  clear 
Sun-lliine  Weather,  though  no  Rain  falls,  as 
I  myfelf  can  witnefs  ,•  and,  therefore,  I  pre- 
fume,  that  all  the  reft  do  fo  too,  as  the  Inha- 
bitants affirmed.  But,  in  the  Summer-time, 
after  the  Snow  hath  been  fome  time  melted, 
their  Streams  decay  again,  notwithftanding 
any  Vapours  condenfed  upon  them,  propor- 
tionable to  the  Droughts  ^  neither  are  there 
any  Floods,  but  upon  Falls  of  Rain. 

3 .  T  H  A  T  the  Snow  diffolved,  and  foaking 
into  the  Earth,  is  the  Original  of  the  Alpine 
Springs ;  a  probable  Argument  may  be  taken 
from  the  Colour  of  the  Water  of  thofe  Ri- 
vers which  defcend  from  the  Alp^^  at  leaft  on 
this  Northern-fide,  which  I  obferved  to  be  of 
of  a  Sea-green,  even  to  a  great  diftance  from 
their  Heads  j  which,  whence  can  it  proceed, 
unlefs  from  the  nitrous  Particles  of  the  Snow- 
water, of  which  they  confift  ?  Another  alfo 
from  the  Bronchocele^  or  "^  guttitrine  Tumour^  *  Swoin 
an  Endemial  Difeafe  of  the  Natives  of  thofe  Throats. 
Parts,  which  Phyficians  and  Naturalifts  at- 
tribute to  the  Water  they  drink,  not  without 
good  Reafon  ^    becaufe,  fay  they,  it  confifts 

of  melted  Snow,  whi^i^ives  it  that  malig- 
nant Quality,     f  Scaliger  fpeaking  of  this  \DeSuh. 
Difeafe,  faith,  Jd  ab  aqua  fit  e  jiivibus  lique-  t'^'«- ^'^• 
fastis ^  qUi£  multum  terreflris  &  cmdi  continent,  sei.  2.* 

But 


Io6  Confeqtiences  of 

But  becaufe  Julius  Palmarms  may  poffibly 
be  in  the  right,  who  imputes  this  Difeafe  to 
the  Steams  of  the  Minerals,  efpecially  Mer- 
curial, wherewith  thefe  Mountains  abound, 
which  infed  the  Waters,  and  render  them 
noxious  to  the  nervous  Parts ,  I  fliall  not  in- 
(ift  upon  this  Particular. 

In  confirmation  of  what  I  have  faid  con- 
cerning the  Original  of  the  Alpine  Springs, 
I  fhall  add  the  Opinion  of  the  Learned  Al- 
phonfus  Borellus^  concerning  the  Fountains 
fpringing  up,  or  iffuing  out  of  the  Sides  of 
Mount  j/Etna  in  Sicily..  They  are  probably 
(faith  he)  either  generated^  or  at  leaft  en~ 
creafed^  frotn  the  melting  of  the  Snow^  which 
doth  perpetually  occupy  the  Top  of  the  Moun- 
tain, And  this  is  ?nanifeft^  in  that  they  are 
not  diminijhed,  nor  decreafe  in  Summer^  as  elfe- 
where  it  happens^  but  often  flow  more  plenti- 
fully.    Lib.  De  incendiis  JEtnx, 

What  Mr.  Halley  faith  of  Springs,  That 
they  are  perpetual,  and  without  Diminution, 
even  when  no  Rain  falls,  for  a  long  Space  of 
Time.  If  he  underftands  it  generally  of  all 
Springs,  I  add,  that  are  accounted  quick 
ones  too,  I  deny  his  Affertion :  That  fome 
there  may  be  of  that  Nature,  I  grant.  A  Rea- 
fon  whereof  may  be  given,  "viz,  that  the 
Outlet  is  too  fmall  10  empty  the  Water  of 
all  the  Veins  and  Earth  that  lie  above  it  in  a 
long  time.  In  our  Native  Country  of  Eng- 
land^ there  are  living  and  lafting  Springs  ri- 

fmg 


the  Deluge.  107 


fing  at  the  Feet  of  our  fmall  Hills  and  Hil- 
locks, to  which,  I  am  fure,  the  Vapours  con- 
tribute very  little  \  which  is  fo  obvious  to 
every  Man,  that,  I  think,  I  need  not  fpend 
time  to  prove  it. 

Yet  muft  I  not  diflemble  or  deny,  that  in 
the  Summer-time  the  Vapours  do  afcend,  or 
are  carried  up  in  that  Form,  by  the  Sides  of 
the  Mountains  to  their  higheft  Tops,  and  a- 
bove  them  ^  for  there  falls  no  Snow  there,  in 
the  Heat  of  Summer  ,•  and  that  which  lies 
there,  is,  for  the  moft  part,  diffolved.  But 
that  Rain  falls,  plentifully  there,  I  myfelf 
can  witnefs  ;  having  been  on  the  two  higheft 
Tops  of  the  Mount  Juva^  (which  keeps  the 
Snow  all  Winter)  on  the  one  called  Thuiri 
in  a  Thunder-fliower ;  and  on  the  other,  cal- 
led la  DolaZj  in  a  fmart  and  continuing  Rain : 
So  that  I  will  not  deny,  but  in  Summer-time 
the  Vapours  may  contribute  fomewhat  to  the 
Springs ;  as  I  have  elfewhere  intimated  : 
Clouds  almoft  continually  hanging  upon  the 
Tops  of  the  Mountains,  and  the  Sun  having 
there  but  little  Power. 

And  now  that  I  am  difcourfing  of  thefc 
things,  give  me  leave  to  fet  down  an  Obfer- 
vation  I  made  in  the  lalt  great  Froft,  the 
lliarpeft  that  was  ever  known  in  the  Memo- 
ry of  Man,  which  I  had  before  met  with  in 
Books,  but  did  not  give  firm  credit  to,  that 
is,  that  notwithftanding  the  Violence  of  the 
Froft,  all  the  Springs  about  us  brake  out,  and 

ran 


lo8  Confequences  of 

ran  more  plentifully  than  ufually  they  did  at 
any  other  time  :  Which  I  knew  not  what  to 
impute  to,  unlefs  perchance  the  clofe  Stop- 
ping the  Pores  of  the  Earth,  and  keeping 
in  that  Part,  which,  at  other  times,  was  wont 
to  vapour  away  \  which  Account  I  neither 
then  could,  nor  can  yet  fully  acquiefce  in. 

To  this  I  will  here  add  an  Abftrad  of  a 
Letter,  written  by  my  honoured  Friend  Dr. 

Tancred  Robinfon, 

c  V  O  U  may,  peradventure,  meet  with  fome 
■*■  ^  Oppofition  againft  your  Hypothefis  of 
Fountains,  though,  indeed,  I  am  more  and 
more  confirm'd  in  your  Opinion  of  them,  and 
the  Ufe  of  the  Mountains.  Father  Tachart^ 
in  his  fecond  Voyage  to  Siam^  fays,  When 
he  went  up  to  the  Top  of  the  Table  Moun- 
tain at  the  Cafe  of  Good  Hope^  the  Rocks  and 
Shrubs  were  perpetually  dropping,  and  feed- 
ing the  Springs  and  Rills  below,  there  be- 
ing generally  Clouds  hanging  on  the  Sides, 
near  the  Top,  This  conftant  Diftillation  of 
Vapours  from  the  Ocean,  on  many  high 
Ridges  of  that  great  Promontory,  may,  per- 
adventure, be  one  Caufe  of  the  wonderful 
Fertility  and  Luxury  of  the  Soil,  which  pro- 
duces more  rare  Plants  andAnimals  than  any 
known  Spot  of  Ground  in  the  World  i  the 
Difcovery  whereof  is  owing  to  the  Curiofity 
and  Wifdom  of  the  Dutch,  The  fame  Ob- 
fcrvation  hath  been  frequently  made  by  our 

[  Englijh 


the  Deluge.  109 


*  EngliJIj  Merchants  in  the  Madera  and  Cana^ 

*  r)  Iflands,  (the  firft  of  which  is  near  in  the 
'  fame  Latitude  on  the. North  of  the  jEquator^ 
'  that  the  aforementioned  Cape  is  in  the  South) 

*  e{pecially,in  their  Journeys  up  to  thcPike  of 

*  leneriff^  in  which,  at  fuch  and  fuch  Heights, 
'  they  were  always  wet  to  the  Skin,  by  the 

*  Droppings  of  the  great  Stones,  yet  no  Rain 
'  over-head ;  the  fame  I  have  felt  in  paflfmg 
^  over  fome  of  the  Alpf,    The  Trees,  which  in 

*  the  Iflandsof  FerrOj  St.  T'hofnas^  and  in  Gut- 
^  nea^  are  faid  to  furnilli  the  Inhabitants  with 
^  mod  of  their  Water,  ftand  on  the  Sides  of 
'  vaft  Mountains :    Voffim^  in  his  Notes  on 

*  Fomponim  Mela^  affirms  them  to  be  Arbore- 
'  [cent  Ferula's ;  though  indeed,  according  to 
'  Paludamis  his  dry'd  Sample  fent  to  the  Duke 
'  of  Wirtenberg^  they  feem  rather  to  be  of  the 
'  Laurel  Kind  j  perhaps  there  are  many  dif- 
'  ferent  Sorts  of  them.  I  believe  there  is  iome- 
'  thing  in  the  many  Relations  of  Travellers 

*  and  Voyagers  concerning  thefe  Trees ;  but 
'  then  I  fancy  they  are  all  miftaken,  when  they 

*  fay,  the  Water  ilfues  out  of  the  Trees :  The 
'  Vapours  ftop'd  by  the  Mountains,  condenfe 

*  and  diftill  down  by  the  Boughs.  There  be- 
'  ing  no  Mountains  in  Egjpt^  may  be  one  Rea- 
^  fon  why  there  is  little  or  no  Rain  in  that 
'  Country,  and  confequently  no  frefh  Springs  i 

*  therefore  in  their  Cara^vans  they  carry  all  their 

*  Water  with  them  in  greatBorr/^c/oV^and  they 
!  owe  the  Inundation  of  their  River  Nile  to  the 

[  ftationary 


no  Confequences  of 

ftationary  or  periodical  Rains  on  the  high 
V'lvts  o^  jEthiopia,  This  may  be  theCaufe 
that  the  vaft  Ridge  and  Chain  of  Mountains 
in  Peru  are  continually  watered,  when  the 
great  Plains  in  that  Country  are  all  dry'd  up 
and  parch'd.  This  Hypothefis  concerning  the 
Original  of  Springs  from  Vapours,  may  hold 
better  in  thofe  hot  Regions,  within  and  near 
theTropicks(where  the  Exhalations  from  the 
Sea  are  moft  plentiful,  moft  rarify'd,and  Rain 
fcarce)  than  in  the  temperate  and  frigid  ones 
(where  it  rains  and  fnows  generally  on  the 
Vertices  of  the  Mountains)  yet  even  in  our 
European  Climates  I  have  often  obferv'd  the 
Firs,  Pines,  and  other  Vegetables  near  the 
Summits  of  the  Alps  and  Appennines^  to  drop 
and  run  with  Water,  when  it  did  not  rain  a- 
bove ;  fome  Trees  more  than  others,  accor- 
ding to  theDenfity  and  Smoothnefs  of  their 
Leaves  and  Superficies,  whereby  they  ftop 
and  condenfe  Vapours  more  or  lefs.  The 
Beams  of  the  Sun  having  little  Force  on  the 
high  Parts  of  Mountains,  the  interrupted  Va- 
pours muft  continually  moiftenthem,  and  (as 
in  the  Head  of  an  Alembick)  condenfe  and 
trickle  down ;  fo  that  we  owe  part  of  our 
Rain,  Springs,  Rivers,  and  GonveniencieS  of 
Life,  to  the  Operation  of  Diftillation  and  Cir- 
culation by  the  Sun,  the  Sea,  and  the  Hills, 
without  even  the  laft  of  which,  the  Earth 
would  fcarce  be  habitable.  This  prefent  Year, 
in  Ke?n^  they  have  had  no  Rain  fince  March 

Maft, 


the  Deluge.  Ill 

*  laft,  therefore  moft  of  their  Springs  are  dry 
^  at  this  very  Day,  as  I  am  aflured  from  good 
'  Hands.  The  high  Spouting  of  Water,  even 
'  to  three  Fathoms  perpendicular  out  of  innu- 
'  merable  Holes,  on  the  Lake  Zirknitz  in  Car- 
'  niola,  after  Rains  on  the  adjacent  Hills,  ex- 

*  ceeds  the  Spirting  Gips,  or  Natural  Jet 
'  d'Eaus  we  have  in  England, 

Nov.  12. 1 69 1.  Tancred  Kobinfml 

Since  the  Receipt  of  this  Letter,  an  Expe- 
riment (give  me  leave  fo  to  call  it)  occur- 
red to  me,  which  much  confirmed  me  in  the 
Belief  and  Perfuafion  of  the  Truth  of  thofe 
Hiftories  and  Relations  which  Writers  and 
Travellers  have  delivered  to  us  concerning 
droppingTrees  in  FerroJSfTho7nefiiiinea^&<:* 
of  which  before  I  was  fomewhat  diffident ; 
and  likewife  in  the  Approbation  of  the  Hypo- 
thefu  of  my  Learned  Friend  Dr.  Tancred  Ro- 
binfon^  for  the  folving  of  that  Ph^nojnenon. 
The  fame  alfo  induces  me  to  believe,  that  Va- 
pours may  have  a  greater  Intereft  in  the 
Production  of  Springs,  even  in  temperate 
and  cold  Regions,  than  I  had  before  thought. 
The  Experiment  or  Obfervation  is  this : 

A.B  o  u  T  the  Beginning  of  December^  1 5p  i, 
there  happened  to  be  a  Mift,  and  that  no 
very  thick  one,  which  continued  all  Day  ; 
the  Vapour  whereof,  notwithftanding  the 
Trees  were  wholly  devefted  of  Leaves,  con- 
denfed  fo  faft  upon  their  naked  Branches  and 

Twigs, 


/-J5k 


1 12  Confequences  of 

Twigs,  that  they  dropped  all  Day  at  fuch  a 
rate,  that  I  believe  the  Water  diftilling  from 
a  large  Tree  in  twenty  four  Hours,  had  it 
been  all  received  and  referved  in  a  Velfel, 
might  have  amounted  to  a  Hogfhead.  What 
then  may  we  rationally  conjed:ure,  would 
have  dropped  from  fuch  a  Tree  j  had  it  been 
covered  with  Leaves  of  a  denfe  Texture,  and 
fmooth  Supeijicies^  apt  to  collect  the  Parti- 
cles of  the  Vapour,  and  unite  them  into 
Drops  ? 

It  is  clear  by  this  Effed,  that  Trees  do 
diftill  Water  apace,  when  Clouds  or  Mifts 
hang  about  them  ,•  which  they  are  reported 
by  Bcnzo  conilantly  to  do  about  the  Foun- 
tain-Tree in  Ferro^  except  when  the  Sun 
fliines  hot  upon  it.  And  others  tell  us,  that 
that  Tree  grows  upon  a  Mountain  too :  So 
that  it  is  no  wonder,  that  it  ihould  drop  a- 
bundance  of  Water.  What  do  I  fpeak  of 
that  Tree?  all  the  Trees  of  that  Kind  grow 
on  the  Sides  of  vaft  Mountains,  as  Dr.  Robin- 
fon  hath  noted,  yet  he  thinks  that  now  and 
then  many  Trees  may  run  and  diftill  in 
Plains  and  Valleys,  when  the  Weather  has 
been  fair,  but  then  this  Phenomenon  happens 
very  rarely,  whereas  in  the  other  'tis  regu- 
lar and  conftant.  Befides,  that  in  hot  Regi- 
ons Trees  may  in  the  Night-time  diftill  Wa- 
ter, though  the  Air  be  clear,  and  there  be 
no  Mift  about  them,  feems  neceftarily  to  fol- 
low, from  Mr.  Hallefs  Experiment. 

Now, 


the  Deluge.  II5 

N  o  w,  if  there  be  in  Mifts  thus  much  Va- 
pour condenfed  upon  Trees,  doubtlefs  alfo 
there  is  in  Proportion  as  much  upon  the  Sur- 
face of  the  Earth  and  the  Grafs  ^  an4  confe- 
quently,  upon  the  Tops  and  Ridges  of  high 
Mountains,  which  are  frequently  covered 
with  Clouds,  or  Mifts,  much  more ;  fo  much 
as  muft  needs  have  a  great  Intereft  in  the 
Produdion  and  Supply  of  Springs,  even  in 
temperate  Countries. 

But  that  invifible  Vapours,  when  the  Sky 
is  clear,  do  at  any  time  condenfe  fo  faft  up- 
on the  Trees,  as  to  make  them  drop,  I  never 
obferved  in  England^  or  elfewhere,  no  not 
in  the  Night  Seafon,  though  I  do  not  deny, 
but  upon  the  Appennine  and  Southern  Side  of 
the  Alpfj  and  elfewhere  in  the  hotter  Parts 
of  Europe^  in  Summer  Nights,  they  may. 
However,  confidering  the  Penetrancy  of  fuch 
Vapours,  that  in  moift  Weather  they  will 
infinuate  themfelves  deeply  into  the  Pores  of 
dry  Wood,  fo  that  Doors  will  then  hardly 
Hiut,  and  Chinks  and  Crannies  in  Boards  and 
Floors  be  clofed  up,  I  know  not  but  that 
they  may  likewife  ftrike  deep  into  the 
Ground,  and  together  with  Mifts  contribute 
tO'the  Feeding  and  Maintenance  of  Springs, 
in  Winter-time,  when  the  Sun  exhales  but 
little  ;  it  being  an  Obfervation  of  the  learn- 
ed *  Froinon^m^  £udd  hyeme  nee  n'roali^  nee  *  Meteor, 
imhrifera^  fontes  tamen  aquam  largius  qudm  ^^'V^'^- 
dftate  (jnfi  njalde  pluvia  fit)  vojnant :   That    ^  '^'  ^' 

I  in 


I    -.ML.. I 


1 14  Confequences  of 

in  Winters  neither  fnowy  nor  rainy ^  yet  Foun^ 
tains  pour  forth  more  Water  than  in  Simmer^ 
unlefs  it  happendo  be  a  'very  wet  Seafon,  Yet 
are  their  Contributions  inconfiderable  ^  if 
compared  with  the  Supplies  that  are  afforded 
by  Rains.  And  one  Reafon  why  in  Winter 
Fountains  flow  more  plentifully,  may  be,  be- 
caufe  then  the  Sun  defrauds  them  not,  nor 
exhales  any  thing  out  of  the  Earth,  as  in  Sum- 
mer-time he  doth. 

Therefore,  whenever  in  this  Work  I  have 
affigned  Rain  to  be  a  fufficient  or  only  Caufe 
of  Springs  and  Rivers,  I  would  not  be  under- 
flood  to  exclude,  but  to  comprehend  there- 
in Mifts  and  Vapours,  which  I  grant  to  have 
fome  Intereft  in  the  Production  of  them, 
even  in  temperate  and  cold  Regions,  and  a 
very  confiderable  one  in  hot.  Though  I 
cannot  be  perfuaded,  that  even  there  they 
are  the  principal  Caufe  of  Springs,  for  that 
there  fall  fucn  plentiful  and  long  continuing 
Rains,  both  in  the  Eaft  and  Weft-Indies^  in 
the  Summer  Months :  That  Rains  are  the  on- 
ly Caufe  of  the  Fertility  of  the  Earth,  I  am 
convinced  by  what  was  lately  fuggefted  to 
me  by  my  honoured  Friend  Dr.  Tancred  Ro- 
binfon^  that  all  Dearths  proceed  from  Droughts 
as  well  in  hot  Countries  as  in  temperate  and 
cold,  be  the  Vapours  what  they  will.  The 
Scripture  confirms  this,  by  joining  Rain  and 
fruitful  Seafons  together. 

But 


the  Deluge.  ii^ 


But  to  return  from  whence  we  digrefTed, 

that  iSj  to  the  Confideration  of  that  Hypothec 

fiy,  or  Opinion,  That  all  the  Rivers  of  the 

Earth  difcharge  into  the  Sea  half  an  Ocean 

of  Waters  daily. 

The  Fruitfulnefs  of  the  Earth  is  alfo  in  a 
great  Meafure  owing  to  Floods,  which  pro- 
ceed from  Rain  falling  upon  the  Mountains, 
aiid  wafliing  down  thence  a  great  deal  of 
Earth ,  and  fpreading  it  upon  the  lower 
Grounds  and  Meadows,  which  renders  thefe 
fo  fruitful,  that  they  bear  plentiful  Crops  of 
Grafs  yearly,  without  any  Culture  or  Ma- 
nuring. An  eminent  Inflance  of  this  is  the 
Land  of  Egypt^  which  owes  its  great  Luxu- 
riancy  to  the  annual  Overflowings  of  the  Ri- 
ver of  Nile, 

I  H  A  V  E  read  of  fome  Philofophers,  who 
Imagined  the  Earth  to  be  a  great  Animal,  and 
that  the  Ebbing  and  Flowing  of  the  Sea  was 
the  Refpiration  of  it.  And  now,  methinks,  if 
this  Dodrine  be  true,  we  have  a  farther  Ar- 
gument to  confirm  their  Opinion  :  For  this 
perpetual  Motion  of  the  Water  anfwers  ve- 
ry well  to  the  Circulation  or  the  Blood,  the 
Water  moving  fafter,  in  Proportion  to  its 
Bulk,  through  the  Veins  of  this  round  Animal, 
than  the  Blood  doth  through  thofe  of  other 
living  Creatures.  To  which  we  may  add 
farther,  that  to  maintain  this  conftant  Cii-- 
culation,  there  is  alfo,  probably,  abq^t  the 
Center  of  the  Earth  a  perpetual  Fire,   an- 

I  2  fwering 


11^  Confequences  of 


fwering  to  the  Biohjchnium  in  the  Heart;  but 
if  not  about  the  Center,  yet  certainly  in  pro- 
found Caverns,  and  even  under  the  very  Bot- 
toms of  the  Seas;  to  which  fome,  and  no 
mean  Philofophers,  have  attributed  the  Eb- 
bing and  Flowing  of  its  Waters. 

But  becaufe  (as  I  faid  before)  this  Opi- 
nion feems  to  me  intolerably  extravagant,  I 
Ihall  let  it  pafs  without  any  ferious  Confide- 
ration  ;  and  alfo  omit  the  Inferences  I  made 
from  it  in  the  former  Edition  of  this  Work. 

For  (as  I  have  noted  before)  this  forty 
Days  Rain,  at  the  Time  of  the  Deluge,  was 
no  ordinary  one,  fuch  as  thofe  that  ufually 
diftill  down  leifurely  and  gently  in  Winter- 
time, but  like  our  Thunder-Storms  and  vio/- 
lent  Showers,  Catarra(5i:s,  and  Spouts,  which 
pour  forth  more  Water  in  an  Hour  than  they 
do  in  four  and  twenty  :  So  that  in  forty  Na- 
tural Days  the  Clouds  might  well  empty  out 
more  than  eight  Oceans  of  Water  upon  the 
Earth.  And  ib  we  need  not  be  to  feek  for 
Water  for  a  Flood ;  for  the  Rain  faUing  at 
that  rate  we  have  mentioned,  would,  with 
the  Addition  of  as  much  Water  from  the 
fubterraneous  Abyfs,  or  great  Deep,  in  the 
Space  of  forty  natural  Days,  afford  Water 
enough  to  cover  the  Earth,  lb  far  as  to  fet 
the  Ark  afloat,  or  raife  it  up  fo  high,  as  that 
its  Bottom  IKould  not  touch  the  Ground. 

I  H  A  V  E  but  one  thing  more  to  add  upon 
this  Subject ;  that  is,  that  I  do  not  fee  how 

their 


the  Deluge.  117 


their  Opinion  can  be  true,  who  hold  that 
fome  Seas  are  lower  than  others;  as  for  Ex- 
ample, the  Red-Sea  than  the  Mediterranean. 
For  it  being  true  that  the  Water  keeps  its 
Level,  that  is,  holds  its  Superficies  every 
where  equidiftant  from  the  Center  of  Gra- 
vity,- or  if  by  Accident  one  Part  be  lower, 
the  reft,  by  reafon  of  their  Fluidity,  will  fpee- 
dily  reduce  the  Superficies  again  to  an  E- 
quality  ;  the  Waters  of  all  Seas  communi- 
cating either  above,  or  under  Ground,  or  both 
ways,  one  Sea  cannot  be  higher  or  lower  than 
another:  But  fuppofing  any  Accident  fliould 
elevate  or  dcprefs  any,  by  reafon  of  this  Con- 
fluence or  Communication  it  would  foon  be 
reduced  to  a  Level  again,  as  might  demon- 
ftratively  be  proved. 

But  I  return,  to  tell  the  Reader  what  I 
think  the  moft  probable  of  all  the  Caufes  I 
have  heard  alligned  of  the  Deluge,  which 
is,  the  Center  of  the  Earth  being  at  that 
time  changed,  and  fet  nearer  to  the  Center 
or  Middle  of  our  Continent,  whereupon  the 
Atlantic^  and  Pacifick  Oceans  muft  needs 
prefs  upon  the  fubterraneous  Abyfs,  and  fo 
by  Mediation  thereof,  force  the  Water  up- 
ward, and  at  laft  compell  it  to  run  out  at 
thofe  wide  Mouths  and  Apertures  made  by 
the  Divine  Power  breaking  up  the  Foun- 
tains of  the  great  Deep.  And  we  may  fup- 
pofe  this  to  have  been  only  a  gentle  and 
gradual  Emotion,    no  fafter  than  that  the 

I  3  Waters 


1 1 8  Consequences  of 

Waters  running  out  at  the  Bottom  of  the 
Sea,  might  accordingly  lower  the  Superfi- 
cies thereof  fufficiently,  fo  that  none  needed 
run  over  the  Shores.  Thefe  Waters  thus 
poured  out  from  the  Orifices  of  the  Foun- 
tains upon  the  Earth,  the  Declivity  being 
changed  by  the  Removal  of  the  Center, 
could  not  flow  down  to  the  Sea  again,  but 
muft  needs  ftagnate  upon  the  Earth,  and 
overflow  it^  "and  afterwards  the  Earth  re- 
turning to  its  old  Center,  return  alfo  to  their 
former  Receptacles. 

This  Hypothejif  gives  us  a  fair  and  eafy 
Solution  of  all  the  Phdnoinena  of  the  Deluge, 
fave  only  the  Generality  of  it,  (making  it  to- 
pical^ and  confining  it  to  our  Continent) 
"and  delivers  us  from  that  great  and  infupera- 
ble  Difficulty  of  finding  eight,  nay,  twenty 
two  Oceans  of  Water  to  effect  it  :  For  no 
Ids  is  requifite  to  cover  the  whole  Terraque- 
ous Globe  with  Water,  to  the  Height  of  fif- 
teen Cubits  above  the  Tops  of  the  higheft 
Mountains.  But  becaufe  the  Scripture  ufeth 
general Expreflions  concerning  the  Extent  of 
the  Flood,  faying.  Gen.  i.  19.  And  all  the  high 
Hills  that  were  under  the  whole  Hea'ven  were  co- 
'vered;  and  again, "ver.  12.  All  in  whofe  Noflrils 
was  the  Breath  of  Life ^  of  all  that  was  in  the 
dry  Land^  died.  And,  becaufe  the  Ainericans 
aifo  are  faid  to  have  fome  ancient  Memorial 
Tradition  of  a  Deluge,  (as  credible  Authors, 
Acofia^  Herrera^  and  others  inform  us)  which 

faith. 


the  Deluge.  1 1^ 


faith,  That  the  whole  Race  of  Manhnd  was- 
dejiroyed  h)  the  Deluge^  except  fojne  few  that 
efcaped:  (They  are  the  Words  of  Auguftine 
Corata^  concerning  the  Penroian  Tradition  j 
and  Lupuf  Gomara  faith  the  fanie^  from 
thofe  of  Mexico)  And  the  ingenious  Author 
of  the  T'heory  of  the  Earthy  hath,  by  a  mo- 
derate Computation,  demonftrated.  That 
there  muft  be  then  more  People  upon  the 
Earth  than  now  :  I  will  propofe  another- 
way  of  folving  this  Ph^eno?nenon^  and  that  is, 
by  fuppofing  that  the  Divine  Power  might 
at  that  time,  by  the  Inftrumentality  of  fome 
natural  Agent,  to  us  at  prefent  unknown,  fo 
deprefs  the  Surface  of  the  Ocean,  as  to  force 
the  Waters  of  the  Abyfs  through  the  fore- 
mentioned  Channels  and  Apertures,  and  fo 
make  them  a  partial  and  concurrent  Caufe  of 
the  Deluge. 

That  there  are,  at  fome  times,  in  the 
Courfe  of  Nature,  extraordinary  PrefTures  up- 
on the  Surface  of  the  Sea,  which  force  the 
Water  outwards  upon  the  Shores  to  a  great 
Height,  is  evident.  We  had  upon  our  Coafts, 
few  Years  ago,  an  extraordinary  Tide,  where- 
in the  Water  rofe  fo  high,  as  to  overflow  all 
the  Sea-Banks,  drown  Multitudes  of  Cattle, 
and  fill  the  lower  Rooms  of  the  Houfes  of 
many  Villages  that  flood  near  the  Sea,  fo 
that  the  Inhabitants,  to  (live  themfelves,  were 
forced  to  get  up  into  the  upper  Rooms  and 
Garrets  of  their  Houfes.    Now,  how  this 

1  4  could 


I ZO  Confequences,  6cc. 


could  be  effeded,  but  by  an  unufual  Pref- 
fure  upon  the  Superficies  of  the  Ocean,  lean- 
not  well  conceive.  In  like  manner.  That  the 
Divine   Providence   might,  at  the   time  of 
the  Deluge,  fo  order  and  difpofe  fecond  Cau- 
fes,  as  to  make  fo  ftrong  a  Preffure  upon  the 
Face  of  the  Waters,  as  to  force  them  up  to  a 
Height  fufficient  to  overflow  the  Earth,  is  no 
way  unreafonable  to  beUeve.     But  becaufe 
there  muft  be  another  Miracle  required,  to 
fufpend  the  Waters  upon  the  Land,  and  to 
hinder  them  from  running  off  again  into  the 
Sea  5  this  is  far  more  unlikely  than  the  for- 
mer Account. 

These  Hypotbefe^  I  propofe,  as  feeming 
to  me,  at  prefent,  moft  facile  and  confonant  to 
Scripture,  without  any  Concern  for  either 
of  them  5  and,  therefore,  am  not  felicitous  to 
gather  together,  and  heap  up  Arguments  to 
confirm  them,  or  to  anfwer  Objedions  that 
may  be  made  againft  them,  being  as  ready 
to  relinquifh  them  upon  better  Information, 
as  I  was  to  admit  and  entertain  them. 


G  H  A  p. 


Chap.     III. 
Of  the  Effe&s  of  the  Deluge. 

Come  now  to  the  Third  Par- 
ticular propofed  ;  that  is.  To 
Enquire  concerning  the  Con- 
lequents  of  the  Deluge ;  What 
confiderable  Effects  it  had  up- 
on the  Earth,  and  its  Inhabitants. 

I T  had,  doubtlefs,  very  great,  in  changing 
the  Superficies  of  the  dry  Land.     In  fome 
Places,  adding  to  the  Sea,    in  fome,  taking 
from  it ;   making  Iflands  of  PeninfuU^  and 
joining  others  to  the  Continent ;  altering  the 
Beds  of  Rivers,  throwing  up  lelTcr  Hills,  and 
walking  away  others,  (jc.     The   moft  re- 
markable Effc(5ts,  it's  likely,  were  in  the  Skirts 
of  the  Continents ;   becaufe  the  Motion  of 
the  Water  was  there  moft  j^iolent.  "^  Athana^  *De  Ar- 
fitly  Kircher  gives  us  a  Map  and   Defcrip-  '^'^  ^^^ 
tion  of  the  World  after  the  Flood,  {hewing 
vx^hat  Changes  were  made  therein  by  it,  or 
upon  occalion  of  it  afterward,  as  he  fanlies 
or  conjedures.     But  becaufe  I  do  not  love  to 
trouble  the  Reader  with  uncertain  Conje- 
ctures, I  Ihall  content  myfelf  to  have  faid  in 
genera],  that  it  may  rationally  be  fuppoicd, 
there  were  then  great  Mutations  and  Altera- 
tions made   in  the  fuperficiai  Part  of   the 

Earth  : 


p.  192. 


122  Confequences,  &c. 

Earth ;  but  what  they  were,  though  we  may 
guefs,  yet  can  we  have  no  certain  Know- 
ledge of :  And  for  Particulars,  referr  the  Cu- 
rious to  him. 

One  mah'gnant  Efifed  it  had  upon  Man- 
kind, and  probably  upon  other  Animals  too, 
in  fliortning  their  Age,  or  the  Duration  of 
their  Lives ;  which  I  have  touched  before, 
and  (hewn,  that  this  Diminution  of  Age  is 
to  be  attributed  either  to  the  Change  of  the 
Temperature  of  the  Air,  as  to  Salubrity,  or 
Equality,  (fudden  aftd  frequent  Changes  of 
Weather  having  a  very  bad  Influence  upon 
the  Age  of  Man  in  ai3breviating  of  it,  as  I 
could  eafily  prove)  or  elfe  to  the  Deteriority 
of  the  Diet  ,•  or  to  both  thefe  Caufes.  But 
,  how  the  Flood  fliould  induce  or  occafion 
fuch  a  Change  in  the  Air,  and  Productions 
of  the  Earth,  I  do  not  comprehend. 


Chap. 


i'i  iM  ;ji  iji  iji ;;.  ij. ;;;  iji  i%i  ij;  ij;  .j;  w  ijj  ij-  jji  ij-  ij;  rli  rK  •}•  -I-  •;•  •!•  •;•  •;•  <•  -Ir  f>  •!•  -I-  ■£•  •;•  S-  •>  •{• 


Chap.     IV. 

Of  formed  Stones^    Sea-Jhelh^   and  other 
Marine-like  Bodies  found  at  great  Di^ 
fiances  from  the  Shores^  Jiippofed  to  have 
been  brought  in  by  the  Deluge, 

Not  HER  fuppofed  Effed  of  the 
Flood,  was  a  bringing  up  out 
of  the  Sea,  and  fcattering  all  the 
Earth  over,  an  innumerable  Mul- 
titude of  Shells  and  Shell-fifh  ,• 
there  being  of  thefe  Shell-like  Bodies,  not 
only  on  lower  Grounds  and  Hillocks,  but 
upon  the  higheft  Mountains,  the  Appennine 
and  Alpf  themfelves.  A  fuppofed  Effed,  I 
fay,  becaufe  it  is  not  yet  agreed  among  the 
Learned,  whether  thefe  Bodies,  formerly  cal- 
led petrified  Shelby  but  now-a-days  paflfmg  by 
the  Name  of  formed  Stones^  be  original  Pro- 
dudions  of  Nature,  formed  in  Imitation  of 
the  Shells  of  Fiihes  j  or  the  real  Shells  them- 
felves, either  remaining  ftill  entire  and  un- 
corrupt,  or  petrified  and  turned  into  Stone, 
or,  at  leaft.  Stones  call  in  fome  Animal  Mold. 
Both  Parts  have  ftrong  Arguments  and  Pa- 
trons. I  fhall  not  balance  Authorities,  but 
only  confider  and  weigh  Arguments. 

Those  for  the  latter  Part,  wherewith  I 
fiiall  be^in    are. 


124  Confequences  of 

Firjl^  Becaufe  it  feems  contrary  to  that 
great  Wifdom  of  Nature,  which  is  obferva- 
ble,  in  all  its  Works  and  Productions,  to  de- 
fign  every  thing  to  a  determinate  End,  and, 
for  the  attaining  that  End,  make  ufe  of  fuch 
Ways,  as  are  moft  agreeable  to  Man's  Reafon, 
that  thefe  prettily  fhaped  Bodies  Ihould  have 
all  thofe  curious  Figures  and  Contrivances 
(which  many  of  them  are  formed  and  a- 
domed  with)  generated  or  wrought  by  a 
Plajiick  Vertue^  for  no  higher  End,  than  only 
to  exhibite  fuch  a  Form.  This  is  Dr.  HoolCs 
Argumentation.  To  which  Dr.  Plot  an- 
fwers,  T^hat  the  End  of  fuch  Produdiom  />, 
to  beautify  the  World  with  thofe  Varieties; 
and  that  this  is  no  more  repugnant  to  the  Fru- 
dence  0/ Nature,  than  is  the  Production  ofmofi 
Flowers,  Tulips,  Anemones,  &C,  of  which 
we  know  as  little  ufe  of  as  of  formed  Stones^ 
But  hereto  we  may  reply,  That  Flowers  are 
for  the  Ornament  of  a  Body,  that  hath  fome 
Degree  of  Life  in  it:,  A  Vegetative  Soul, 
whereby  it  performs  the  Adions  of  Nutri- 
tion, Audion  and  Generation  j  which  it  i§ 
reafonable  lliould  be  fo  beautified.  And, 
Secondly y  Flowers  ferve  to  embrace  and  che- 
rilh  the  Fruit,  while  it  is  yet  tender  i  and 
^  to  defend  it  from  the  Injuries  of  Sun  and 

Weather  ;  efpecially,  for  the  Protedion  and 
Security  of  the  Apices^  which  are  no  idle 
or  ufelefs  Part,  but  contain  the  Mafculine 
Sperm,  and  ferve  to  give  Fecundity  to  the 

Seed, 


the  Deluge.  12^ 


Seed.  Thirdly^  Though  formed  Stones  may 
be  ufeful  to  Man  in  Medicine,  yet  Flowers 
afford  us  abundantly  more  Ufes,  both  in 
Meat  and  Medicine. 

Y  E  T  I  muft  not  dilfemble^  that  there  is  a 
Fhtenomenon  in  Nature,  which  doth  fome- 
what  puzzle  me  to  reconcile  with  the  Pru- 
dence obfervable  in  all  its  Works,  and  feems 
ftrongly  to  prove,  that  Nature  doth  fome- 
times  ludere^  and  delineate  Figures,  for  no 
other  End,  but  for  the  Ornament  of  fome 
Stones,  and  to  entertain  and  gratify  our  Cu- 
riofity,  or  exercife  our  Wits  :    That  is^  thofe 
elegant  ImprefTions  of  the  Leaves  of  Plants 
upon  Cole-jlate^  the  Knowledge  whereof^  I 
muft  confefs  myfelf  to  owe  to  my  learned 
and  ingenious  Friend,  Mr.  Edward  Lhwyd 
of  Oxford^  who  obferved  of  it  in  fome  Cole- 
pits  in  the  Way  from  Wychefter  in  Glocefler- 
Jhire,  to  Briftoli   and  afterwards  communi- 
cated to  me  a  Sample  of  it.     That  which  he 
found,  was  marked  with  the  Leaves  of  two 
or  three  Kinds  of  Perm  and  of  Harts-tongue^ 
He  told  me  alfo,  that  Mr.  Woodward^  a  Lon- 
doner  J  ftiewed  him  very  good  Draughts  of 
the  common  Female  Fern^  naturally  formed 
in  Cole,which  himfelf  found  inMendip  Hills  i 
and  added.  That  he  had  found  in  the  fame 
Pits,  Draughts  of  the  common  Cmquefoil^ 
Clover-graf^  and  Strawberries.    But  thefe  Fi- 
gures are  more  diligently  to  be  obferved  and 
confidered. 

Dr. 


iz6  Confequences  of 

Dr.  Woodward  will  have  thefe  to  be  the 
Imprellions  of  the  Leaves  of  Plants^  which 
were  there  lodged  at  the  Time  of  the  gene- 
ral Deluge. 

Secondly^  There  are  found  in  the  Earth 
at  great  Diftance  from  the  Sea,  real  Shells 
unpetrified  and  uncorrupted,  of  the  exad 
Figure  and  Confiftency  of  the  prefent  natu- 
ral Sea-fhells,  and  in  all  their  Parts  like  them, 
and  that  not  only  in  the  lower  Grounds  and 
Hillocks  near  the  Sea,  but  in  Mountains  of 
a  confiderable  Height,  and  diftant  from  the 
Sea.  Chrifiianus  mentzelm^  in  his  Difcourfe 
concerning  the  Bononian  Phofphorus^  gives  us 
a  Relation  of  many  Beds  of  them  found 
mingled  with  Sand  in  the  upper  Part  of  a 
high  Mountain  not  far  from  Bologna  in  Italy. 
His  Words  are  thefe,  Non  procul  monte  Pater- 
no  di^to^  lapidis  Bonomenfis  patria^  unico  forte 
?nilliari  Italico  dtftanti  ( loci  nomen  excidit 
me?norid)  ingem  mens  i?ft?ninet  prteruptuf  a 
"vhkntia  torrent hwi  aqitarum^  quay  imbres  fre- 
qiientcs  ex  "vicinis  montibus  confluentes  effici- 
urit^  atque  infignes  terrarum  jnoles  ab  ifto  monte 
froftermmt  ac  dcjiciunt.  In  hac  niontis  ruina^ 
fuperiore  in  parte  vifuntur  midtts  ftrages  fe- 
riefve^  ex  teftis  conchylionim  omnis  generis^ 
plurimd  arena  interje^d^  inftar  ftrati  fuper 
ftratum  (tit  chymkorum  'vulgm  loquitur,)  Et 
enim  inter  hafce  tejlarum  conchyliorum  ftrages 
ferief've  arena  ad  crajjitiem  id?u  &  ultra  in- 
terpofita.    Erant  autein  tefta  ^variorum  conchy- 

liorumy 


the  Deluge.  IZ7 

liorum^  omnes  ah  invicem  dijiintia^  nee  cui^ 
qua?n  lapidi  impact <e^  adeb  ut  feparatim  omnia 
manibus  tra^iari  &  dignofci  potuerint.    Effe^ 
cerat  hoc  arena  pura^  nullo  Ihno  lutdve  inter- 
viixta^  qute  conchyliorwn  teftas  confer-vaverat 
per  multa  fecula  integral,    Interea  Dero  diu- 
turnitate  temporis  omnes  ifta  tefla  erant  in  aU 
bijjimam  calcein  facile  refoliibiles.    Not  far  from 
the  Mountain  called  Paterno,  where  the  Bono- 
nian  Stone  is  gotten^  about  an  Itaihrv  Mile  di- 
ft  ant  ^  (the  Name  ofth^  Place  is  jlipt  out  of  my 
Memory)  is  a  huge  hanging  Mountain^  broken 
by  the  Violence  of  the  Torrents^  caufea  by  the 
Confluence   of  Waters   defcending  from    the 
neighbouring  Mountains  after  frequent  Show- 
ers^ throwing  down  great  Heaps  of  Earth  from 
it.    In  this  upper  Fart  of  this  broken  Moun- 
tain  J  are  feen  many  Beds  or  Floors  of  all  kind 
of  Sea-JJjellsj  much  Sand  interpofing  between 
Bed  and  Bed^  after  the  manner  of  ftratum  fu- 
per  ftratum,   or  Layer  upon  hayer^   as  the 
Chymifts  phrafe  it.     l^he  Beds  of  Sand  inter- 
ceding between  thefe  Rows  of  Shells ,  were  a 
Tard  thick^  or  inore.    'Thefe  Shells  were  all 
'difiin6i  orfeparate  one  from  another^  and  not 
fiuck  in  any  Stone^  or  cemented  together^  fo 
that  they  might  be  fingly  and  feparatebj  -viewed 
and  handled  with  one's  Hands.    The  Caufe 
whereof  was   their  being  lodged   in  a  pure 
Sand^  not  intermiat  wiifj  any  Mud  or  Clay^ 
^  which  kept  the  Shells  entire  for  many  Ages. 
Tet  were   all  thefe  Shells^   by  rcafon  of  the 

Length 


128  Consequences  of 

Length  of  Time  they  had  lahi  there^  eafibj 
refoluble  into  a  purely  white  Calx  or  AJh. 
Tabius  Columna  alfo  obferves,  That  in  the 
tophaceous  Hills  and  Cliffs  about  Aniria  in 
Apulia^  there  are  found  various  forts  of  Sea- 
fiieils,  both  broken  and  whole,  uncorrupt, 
and  that  have  undergone  no  Change.  And 
O'vid  inMetam.  lib,  1^, 

Etproaul  a  pelago  Concha  jacuere  inarincc. 

I  am  alfo  informed,  bynny  learned  and  wor- 
thy Friend,  Dr.  Tancred  Robinfon^  That  Si- 
gnor  Settali  fhewed  him,  in  his  Miifeum  at 
Milan ^  many  Turbem^  Echini^  Fearl-Jloelb^ 
(one  with  a  Pearl  in  it)  Fe6iunculi^  and  fc- 
''  veral  other  perfcd  Shells,  which  he  himfclf 
found  in  the  Mountains  near  Genoa ,  and  af- 
terwards, my  faid  Friend  took  notice  alfo  of 
feveral  Beds  of  them  himfclf,  as  he  paffed 
over  Mount  Cenu^  above  fifcy  Leagues  di- 
ftant  from  the  Sea  -,  he  affures  me,  That 
many  of  the  great  Stones  about  the  Build- 
ings of  London^  are  full  of  Shells,  and  Pie- 
ces of  them.  Moreover,  my  forementioned . 
Friend,  Mr.  Lhwyd^  lent  me  perfect  Efcallop 
and  Sea-Urchin  Shells,  exadly  refembling 
the  like  Sea-fneils,  both  for  Figure,  Colour, 
Weight,  and  Coniiftency ;  which  he  himfelf 
gathered  up  near  Oxford:  And  hath  lately 
lent  me  word.  That  he  found  at  a  Place  cal- 
led Rungew ell-Hill  in  Surrey^  at  a  Village 
called  Hcdley^  three  Miles  South  of  Et^?am^ 

at 


the  Deluge.  12^ 


at  leaft  twenty  Miles  diftant  from  the  Sea, 
fome  FoflTil  Oyfters,  which,  by  the  Confeflion 
of  Dr.  "Li^er  himfelf,  were  indeed  true  Oy- 
fter-fliells,  not  petrified,  nor  much  decayed : 
Nay,  fo  like  they  were  to  Oyfters  newly 
taken  out  of  the  Sea,  that  a  certain  Perfon 
feeing  them,  miftook  them  for  fuch,  and 
opened  one  of  them,  expe(5ting  to  find  a  liv- 
ing Filli  therein. 

Another  the  like  Bed  of  Oyfter-lhells 
found  in  his  own  Ground,  my  worthy  and 
ingenious  Friend  Mr.  FeteY  Burrell,  Merchant 
in  London^  gave  me  an  Account  of:  Which 
take  in  his  own  Words. 

'  I  HAVE  a  Pit,  wherein  is  a  Bed  or  Ye'm 
of  Oyfter-lhells  :  About  two  Foot  under 
the  Surface  of  the  Earth  they  begin ;  and 
are  from  about  a  Yard  to  one  Half-yard 
deep  ,•  and  then  fucceeds  a  harlli  Sand,  that 
goes  down  two  or  three  Yards  deep,  or 
more.  In  a  Rivulet  that  runs  through  my 
Garden,  half  a  Furlong  from  the  forefaid 
Pit,  there  are  of  the  fame  Shells  great  and. 
fmall,  not  lying  fingly,  but  in  great  Clu- 
fters  of  great  and  fmall  together,  with  the 
upper  and  lower  Valves  entire.  When  you 
open  them,  thofe  that  have  not  been  ex- 
pofed  to  the  Air,  or  impair'd  by  the  Wa- 
ter, have  a  Concavity  within,  and  a  hard 
Moilinefs  flicking  to  the  Inlide  of  each 
Shell.  Thofe  of  the  Pit  are  amafled  as 
hard  as  a  Rock;    and  where  there   are 

K  '  not 


1 30  Confeqtiences  of 

not  little  Veins  of  Sand  mixt  with  them, 
they  break  into  Pieces  as  big  as  a  Half- 
Peck  :    But,  when  expos'd  to  the  Weather, 
crumble  like  Murle,  and  are  good  to  ma- 
;iure  Land,   efpecially,  thofe  which  have 
leift  Sand  mixed  with  them.     It's  excel- 
lent to  bind  Walls  j   only,  upon  Thaws 
in  the  Winter-time,  it  rj^laxes  a  little. 
'  I  FIND,  by  digging,  in  feveral  Places, 
that  there  is  a  Layer  or  Bed  of  thefe  Shells, 
which  runs  from -North-Weft  to   South- 
Eaft,  two  or  three  Furlongs  in  mine  and. 
my  Neighbour's  Grounds,     We  are  60 
Miles  diftant  from  the  Sea,  though  but  5 
Miles,  from  the  River  of  Thames^  on  the 
Edgfe  oTSurrey^  and  lie  high  ot»  the  fame 
Level  with  Croyden, "    So  far  Mr,  BmrelL 
The  Place  where  this  Gentleman  lives,  is 
at  Bechnham^   near  Bro?n-ey  ii^~  Kent^   ten 
Miles  diftant   from  London,      He  fent  me 
Samples  of  the  Oyfter-fhells,  exadly  agree- 
ing  with    the  Account  he   gives  of  them. 
They  feem  to  have  been  the  Shells  of  real 
and  living  Oyfters,  and  to  have  ftiffvied  no 
greater  Change  than   they  muft   needs  do 
from  the  Nature  of  the  Earth  and  Sand  they 
were  lodged  in,  and  from  the  Water  com- 
mixt  therewith.     And  the  Lying  of  them  in 
iuch  a  Bed,  is  a  ftrong  Argument  to  prove, 
that  this  Place  was  fome  time  the  Bottom  of 
the  Sea,  which  is  a  thing  hard  to  be  be- 
lieved. 

Another 


the  Deluge.  131 

Another  Inftance  of  fuch  a  Bed  of 
Foffil  Oyfter-lliells,  I  find  in  the  Philofophical 
^anfa^lions^  N.  261.  p.  485*-  communica- 
ted by  Mr.  'Raines  Brewer, 

'  These  Oyfter-fhells  were  found  and 
digged  up  near  Reading^  in  Berkfhire, 
The  Circumference  of  the  Place  wher6 
they  have  been  digged  up,  contains  (as  is 
judged)  between  five  and  fix  Acres  of 
Land.  The  Foundation  of  thefe  Shells  is 
a  hardj-rocky  Chalk.  The  Shells  lie  in  a 
Bed  of  green  Sand,  upon  a  Level  through 
the  whole  Circumference,  as  nigh  as  can 
poflibly  be  judged.  This  Stm^^w  of  greeii 
Sand  and  Oyfter-fliells,  is  (as  I  meaiured 
it)  nigh  a  Foot  deep.  Now,  immediately 
above  this  Layer  or  Stratum  of  green  Sand 
and  Shells,  is,a  Bed  of  bluifh  fort  of  Clay, 
very  hard,  brittle  and  rugged  ;  They  call 
it  a  pinny  Clay,  and  is  of  no  Ufe :  This 
Bed  or  Layer  of  Clay,  I  found  to  be  nigh 
a  Yard  deep  ,•  and  immediately  above  it,  is 
a  Stratum  of  Fullers-Earth,  which  is  nigh 
two  Foot  and  a  half  deep.  This  Earth  is 
often  made  ufe  of  by  our  Clothiers.  And 
above  this  Earth,  is  a  Bed  or  Layer  of  a 
clear,  fine,  white  Sand,  without  the  leaft 
Mixture  of  any  Ea>th,  Clay,  &€,  which 
is  nigh  feven  Foot  deep.  Then,  im- 
-  mediately  above  this,  is  a  ftiff  red  Clay, 
( which  is  the  uppermoft  Stratum  )  of 
which  we  make  our  Tiles.  The  Depth 
K  2  'of 


132.  Confequences  of 

of  this  cannot  conveniently  be  taken,  it  be- 
ing fo  high  a  Hill  j  upon  the  Top  of  which, 
is,  and  hath   been  dug,    a  little  common 
Earth,  about  two  Foot  deep  ^    and  imme- 
diately under,  appears  this  red  Clay  that 
they  make  Tiles  withal.     I  dug  {faith  he) 
feveral  whole   Oyfters,   with   both   their 
Valves  or  Shells  lying  together,  as  Oyfters 
before  opened  ;  in  their  Cavity  was  got  in 
fome  of  the   forementioned  green  Sand. 
Thefe  Shells  are  fo  very  brittle,  that  in 
digging  them  up,  one  of  the  Valves  will 
frequently  drop  from  its  Fellow  ,•   but  'tis 
plainly  to  be  feen,  that  they  were  united 
together,  by  placing  the  Shell  that  drops 
off  to  his  Fellow  Valve,  which  exadly  cor- 
refponds ;   but  I  dug  up  feveral  that  were 
entire,  nay,  fome  double  Oyfters,  with  all 
their  Valves  united.  "     So  far  Mr.  Brewer. 
For,  that  Nature  Ihould form  real  Shells, 
without  any  Defign  of  covering  an  Animal, 
is  indeed  fo  contrary  to  that  innate  Proiepji; 
we  have  of  the  Prudence  of  Nature,  (that  is, 
the  Author  of  Nature)  that  without  doing 
fome  Violence  to  our  Faculties,  we  can  hard- 
ly prevail  with  ourfeives  to  believe  it  ^  and 
gives  great  Countenance  to  the  Atheifts  Af- 
fertion,  That  Things  were  made  or  did  exift 
by  Chance,  without  Counfel  or  Direction  to 
any  end. 

Ac>D  hereto,*T'^/Vi/y,  That  there  are  other 
Bodies  befides  Shells  found  in  the  Earth,  re- 

fembling 


the  Deluge.  I55 

fembling  the  Teeth  and  Bones  of  fome  Fiflies, 
which  are  fo  manifeftly  the  very  Things 
they  are  thought  only  to  refemble,  that  it 
might  be  efteemed  Obftinacy  in  any  Man 
that  hath  viewed  and  confidered  them^  to  de- 
ny it.  Such  are  the  Glojfopetra  dug  up  in 
Malta  in  fuch  abundance,  that  you  may  buy, 
them  by  Meafure,  and  not  by  Tale :  And  alfo 
the  Vertebres  of  Thornbacks,  and  other  car- 
tilagineous  Fifhes  there  found,  and  fold  for 
Stones  among  the  GloJJopetr^^  which  have 
no  greater  Diflimiiitiide  to  the  Teeth  of  a 
living  Shar^j  and  Vertebres  of  a  Thornbac'k^ 
than  lying  fo  long  in  the  Earth,  as  they  muft 
needs  have  done,  will  neceifarily  induce. 
Mr.  Doody  has  in  his  Cuftody  a  petrify'd 
Lump  of  Fillies,  on  fome  of  which  the  Scales 
themfelves  ftill  remain.  And  if  the  very  In- 
fpedion  of  thefe  Bodies  is  not  enough  to 
convince  any  Man  that  they  are  no  Stones, 
but  real  Teeth  and  Bones,  Fabius  Colutnna 
proves  it  by  feveral  ftrong  Arguments. 
I.  Thofe  Things  w^hich  have  a  woody,  bony, 
or  flefhy  Nature,  by  burning  are  changed 
firft  into  a  Coal,  before  they  go  into  a  Calx 
or  Afhes  :  But  thofe  v^'hich  are  of  a  topha- 
ceous or  ftony  Subftance,  go  not  firft  into  a 
Coal,  but  burn  immediately  into  a  Calx  or 
Lime,  unlefs  by  fome  Vitreous  or  Metallick 
Mixture  they  be  melted.  Now  thefe  Teeth 
being  burnt,  pafs  prefently  into  a  Coal,  but 
thetophousSubl^ance  adhering  to  them,  doth 

K  3  not 


134  Confequences  of 

not  fo  j  whence  it  is  dear,  that  they  are  of 
an  olTeous,  and  no  ftony  Nature. 

Next  he  fliews.  That  they  do  not  fiioot 
into  this  Form  after  the  Manner  of  Salts  or 
Cryftal,  which  1  fhall  have  Occafion  farther 
to  treat  of  by  and  by.  Then  he  proves  it 
from  the  Axiom,  Natura  nihil  facit  fruftra  ; 
Nature  makes  nothing  in  vain.  But  thefe 
Teeth,  were  they  thus  formed  in  the  Earth, 
would  be  in  vain  ;  for  they  could  not  have 
any  Ufe  of  Teeth ;  as  neither  the  Bones  of 
fupporting  any  Animal.  Nature  never  made 
Teeth  without  a  Jaw,  nor  Shells  without  an 
Animal  Inhabitant,  nor  fingle  Bones,  no  not 
in  their  own  proper  Element,  much  lefs  in 
a  ftrange  one.  Farther  he  argues,  from  the 
Difficulty  Or  Impoffibility  of  the  Generation 
of  Gloffopetr^e  in  fuch  Places  ,•  becaufe,  among 
Tophi  and  Stones  in  thofe  dry  Places,  there 
could  not  be  found  Matter  fit  to  make 
them  of.  But  granting  that ,  he  queries 
whether  they  were  generated  at  firft  all  of  a 
fudden,  or  grew  by  little  and  little  from 
fmall  to  great,  as  Animals  Teeth,  whofeForm 
they  imitate,  do.  If  the  firft  be  faid,  he  de- 
mands, Whether  the  Tophus^  out  of  which 
they  were  extracted,  were  generated  before, 
or  after  the  Teeth  were  perfected  ?  If  it  be 
faid  before,  he  asks,  Whether  there  were  a 
Place  in  it  of  the  Figure  and  Magnitude  of  the 
Tooth,  or  did  the  Tooth  make  itfelf  aPlace  ? 
If  the  Tophus  were  concrete  before,  and  with- 
out 


the  Dehige,  13^ 


Qut  a  Cavity,  the  vegetative  Power  of  the 
Stone  now  in  Birth,  could  not  by  Force  make 
itfelf  a  Place  in  the  hard  and  iolid  Tophus  ; 
or  if  it  could,  and  did,  the  Tophus  muft  needs 
be  rent.     Againft  the  Produd:ion   of  thefe 
Bodies  in  a  conipad:  Earth   or  Stone,  Nic. 
Stcno  argues  thus :    Things   that  grow,  ex- 
panding themfelvcs  ieiiurely  or  (lowly,  may 
indeed  lilt  up  great  Weights,  and  dilate  the 
Chinks  and  Veins  of  Stones,  as  we  fee  the 
Roots    of  Trees   lometimes    do  ,•    but  yet 
while  they  do  thus  make  room  for  them- 
felves,  they  cannot  but  be  often  hindred  by 
the  Refiftance  of  fome  hard  Obftacle  they 
meet  with,  as  it  happens  to  the  Roots  'of 
Plants,  which  in  hard  Earth,  being  a  thou- 
fand  ways  writhen  and  comprelTed,  recede 
from  the  Figure,  which  otherwife  in  foftLand 
they  are  wont  to  retain  ;  whereas  thefe  Bo- 
dies, whereof  we  are  now  difcourfing,  are 
all  like  one  another,  whether  they  be  dug 
out  of  foft  Earth,  oc  cut  out  of  Stones,  or 
pluck'd  off  Animals.     Wherefore  they  feem 
not  to  be  at  this  Day  produced  in  thofe  Pla- 
ces where  they  are  found,  becaufe  (as  we 
have  faid)  thole  things  which  grow  in  com- 
pad  Places  are  found  ftrangely  milhapen  and 
irregular,  which  thefe  are  not :  Nor  was  the 
Earrh  compacted  when  they  were  there  pro- 
duced for  the  fame  reafon.     Columna  pro- 
ceeds.  If  there  were  a  Place  before  ready 
made  in  the  Tophus^  then  was  not  that  Fi- 

K  4  gure 


13^  Confequences  of 

gure  excavated  in  the  Tophus  by  the  vegeta- 
tive Nature  of  the  Tooth  itfelf;  but  the  To- 
phu;^  by  its  own  Nature  and  precedent  Cavity, 
gave  the  Form  to  the  Tooth.    If  the  latter 
Part  be  chofen,  and  it  be  faid,  that  the  Stone 
by  its  vegetative  Power  grew  by  Degrees  ^ 
it  may  be  anfwered  as  before,  that  could  not 
be,  becaufe  the  Hardncfs  of  the  Tophus  could 
not  have  yielded  to  the  vegetative  Force  of 
the  Tooth,  but  would  rather  have  been  rent 
or  divided  by  it ;  or  rather  the  Tophus  it- 
felf muft  have  vegetated,  containing  a  Cavi- 
ty or  Uterus  of  the  Shape  of  the  Tooth,  into 
which    an    offeous    Humour ,    penetrating 
through  the  Pores,  and  filling  the  Cavity  of 
the  Uterus^  muft  there  have  coagulated,  and 
taken  the  Form  thereof,  as  is  obferved  in 
Stones  that  have  their  Original  from  a  Fluor, 
That  both  Tooth  and  Cafe  might  vegetate 
together,  he  denies,  becaufe  in  ali  the  Teeth 
which  he  had  feen,  the  Bafis  or  Root  was 
found  broken,  and  that  smi  with  an  uniform 
Fracture,  but  different  in  every  one.    Which 
Argument  is  not  to  be  flighted,  for  that  it 
ihews  or  proves,  that  there  was  no  Vegeta- 
tion in  the  cafe ;  becaufe  in  all  other  figured 
Foflils  it  is  obferved,    that  they  are  never 
found  mutilous,  broken,  or  imperfed^.  Nei- 
ther can  it  reafonably  be  faid  or  believed, 
that  thefe  Roots  or  Teeth  were  by  fome 
chance  broken  within  the  Tophi ^  but  rather, 
that  when  they  were  cafually  overwhelmed 

and 


the  Deluge.  137 


and  buried  in  that  tophous  Earthy  they  were 
broken  otf  from  the  Jaws  of  the  Animal  in 
thofe  Volutations,  and  fo  in  that  manner  mu- 
tilated. Againft  the  Generation  of  thefe  and 
the  'like  Bodies  in  any  hard  Earth  or  Stone, 
N,  Stem  argues  thus.  That  they  are  not  at 
prefent  produced  in  hard  Earth,  one  may 
thence  conjcdure,  that  in  all  the  Parts  of 
fuch  Earth  or  Stone  throughout,  they  are  all 
found  of  the  fame  Confiftence,  and  encom- 
paffed  round  on  all  Sides  with  that  hard  Mat- 
ter ;  For  if  there  were  fome  of  them  pro- 
duced anew  at  this  prefent  Day,  the  con- 
taining or  ambient  Bodies  ought  to  give  way 
to  them  while  they  are  growing,  which  they 
cannot  ^  and  the  Bodies  themfelves  that  are 
now  produced,  would,  without  doubt,  difco- 
ver  fomething  wherein  they  differed  from 
thofe  that  were  generated  of  old.  Another 
Argument  to  prove  them  to  be  true  Teeth, 
and  no  Stones,  he  brings  from  their  various 
Parts  and  Figures,  jwhich  muO:  elfe  have  been 
fo  wrought  and  formed  in  vain.  The  Tooth 
being  not  one  homogeneous  Body,  but  com- 
pounded of  Parts  of  a  different  Conftitution, 
there  muft  in  the  Formation  of  it  be  made  a 
various  Election  of  Humours,  one  for  the 
Root,  one  for  the  inner  Parr,  one  for  the 
Superficies  of  it.  Then  for  the  Figures,  Mag- 
nitude, Situation  or  Pofture,  and  Fitting  of 
them  5  fome  are  great,  and  broad,  and  al- 
moft  triangular  i  others  narrower  and  Imal- 

ler. 


138  Consequences  of 

ler,  others  very  fmall  and  narrow,  of  a  py- 
ramidal Figure  j  fome  ftreight,  fome  crook- 
ed, bending  downwards,  or  toward  the  ne- 
ther Side ;  fome  inclining:  toward  the  Left, 
others  toward  the  Right  Side  ;  fome  ferrate 
with  fmall  Teeth,  others  with  great  Inden- 
tures, (which  is  obferved  in  the  lelTcr  trian- 
gular ones)  fome  fmooth  without  any  Teeth, 
as  the  narrow  pyramidal  ones.  All  which 
Things  are  obferved  in  Sharks  Teeth,  not 
only  by  the  learned  Naturalifts,  but  alfo  by 
Fifhermen  and  Mariners.  The  firft  Row  of 
Teeth  in  thefe  Animals  hanging  out  of  the 
Mouth,  bend  forward  and  downward  ;  the 
fecond  Row  are  ftreight,  efpecially  toward 
the  Sides  of  the  Mouth,  where  they  are  tri- 
angular and  broad,  the  other  Rows  bend 
downward  toward  the  inner  Part  of  the 
*Dijfert.  Mouth.  Thus  fsiv  "^  Columna. 
Vt  Ghf-  This  Argument  is  alfo  made  ufe  of  by 
fopetr^'  jgoftino  Scilla  :  '  The  Apopbyfes  alfo,  ( faith 
'  he)  or  Proceffes,  in  the  Gloffopetra^  de- 
'  monftrate  their  Original,  were  there  no- 
'  thing  elfe  ;    fince  they  exadly  anfwer  to 

*  thofe  in  Sharks  Teeth,  whereby  every 
'  Tooth  is  inferted  into  its  Neighbour  in  the 
'  living  Animal,   with  thofe   Parts  porous, 

*  and  thofe  fpongious,  that  are  fo  in  the  Tooth 

*  of  the  Filli.     Nay,  whereas  Sharks  Teeth 

*  are  mortiffed  into  one  another,  in  fuch  a 

*  mann  r,  that  a  Man  may  eafiiy  tell,  which 
[  belongs  to  which  Side,  which  lie  near  the 

!  TlM-oat, 


the  Deluge.  i^p 


*  Throat,  which  near  the  Snout,  which  lie 

*  to  the  Right,  which  to  the  Left.  And 
'  whereas,  in  a  Shark's  Jaw,  the  Teeth  on  the 

*  Left  Side  will  »ot  fit  on  the  Right,  nor  thofe 

*  above  fcrve  below ;  fo  that  upon  feeing  a 
^  Tooth,  one  may  know  which  Side  and 

*  what  Jaw  it  belongs  to.  "  He  hath  obfer- 
ved  every  one  of  thefe  things,  in  his  GloJJc^ 
fetra^  which  pundually  anfwer  in  every  Pare 
to  the  feveral  Ranks  of  the  Teeth  in  a  living 
Shark. 

Fourthly^  If  thefe  formed  Stones  be  in- 
deed original  Produdions  of  Nature,  in  Imi- 
tation of  Shells  and  Bones,  how  comes  it  to 
pafs,  that  there  fiiould  be  none  found  that 
refemble  any  other  natural  Body,  but  the 
Shells  and  Bones  of  Fillies  only  ?  Why  fiiould 
not  Nature  as  well  imitate  the  Horns,  Kocfs, 
Teeth,  or  Bones  of  Land  Animals,  or  the 
Fruits,  Nuts,  and  Seed  of  Plants?  Now,  my 
learned  Friend,  Mr.  Edward  Lhwyd^  above 
mentioned,  who  hath  been  moft  diligent  in 
colle(5ting,  and  curious  in  obferving  thefe  Bo- 
dies, of  any  Man  I  know,  or  ever  heard  of, 
tells  me.  That  he  never  found  himfelf,  or 
had  feen  in  any  Cabinet,  or  Colledion,  any 
one  Stone  that  he  could  compare  to  any  part 
of  a  Land  Animal.  As  for  iuch  that  do  not 
refemble  aTny  part  of  a  Fifh,  they  are  either 
Rock  Plants,  as  the  Aftroites^  Ajlerite  tro- 
chites^  &c,  or  do  llioot  into  that  Form,  after 

the 


140  Confequeuces  of 

the  manner  of  Salts  and  Fluorf^  as  the  Ee- 
levinites  and  Selenites, 

Fifthly^  Thofe  that  deny  thefe  Bodies  to 
have  been  the  Shells  and  Bones  of  Fiihes, 
have  given  us  no  fatisfadory  Account  of  the 
manner  of  their  Produdion.  For  that  they 
do  not  flioot  into  that  Form  after  the  man- 
ner of  Salts,  may  be  proved  by  many  Ar- 
guments. Firft^  All  Salts  that  fhoot,  their 
Cryftais  or  Concretions  are  of  one  uniform 
Subftanccj  as  Signor  Agoftino  .S'ci//^  clearly 
demonftrates.  '  Salt  {faith  he)  is  Salt  as  well 
'  within  as  without  ^  A  Granate  and  a  To- 
'  paz  is  a  Granate  and  a  Topaz  throughout ; 
'  Diamonds  and  Rubies  are  Diamonds  and 

*  Rubies  all  over  j  they  are  Agregates  of  fi- 
'  milar  Particles  which  compofe  the  whole 
^  Mafs,  be  it  greater,  or  be  it  lefs  :  Where- 
'  as,  Glojfopetr^^  for  Example,  like  all  other 
'  vegetating  Subflances,  are  made  up  of  va- 

*  rious  and  diflimilar  Corpufcles,  put  toge- 
'  ther  in  fuch  a  manner,  as  is  peculiarly  fub- 
^  fervient  to  the  End  for  which  they  were 
'  made  :  Accordingly,  the  Cortex  is  of  one 
'  Subftance,  the  Medulla  of  another,  and 
'  that  lodged  in  proper  Cells,  the  Root  di- 
'  ftind  from  them  both. "  In  other  Bodies 
that  Ihoot,  as  the  Pyrites  and  Belemnites^  one 
may  obferve  ftreight  Radii  or  Fibres  pro- 
ceeding from  one  Center.  Semtdly-^  Did 
thofe  Bodies  flioot  into  thefe  Figures,  after 
the    manner  of  Salts^    it  feems  flrange  to 

me. 


the  Deluge.  14 1 

me    that  two  Shells  fliould  be  fo  adapted 
together  at  the  Heel,  as  to  (hoot  out  to  the 
fame  Exteniion  round,  and  the  upper  and  ne- 
ther Valve  be  of  different  Figure,  as  in  natu- 
ral Shells.    Thirdly^  Were  thefe  Bodies  pro- 
duced in  the  manner  of  faline  Concretions, 
it's  ftrange  there  fhould  be  fuch  Varieties  of 
them,  and  their  Shapes  fo  regular,  and  ex- 
adlly  circumfcribcd  :    So  great  a  Diverfity  of 
Figures,  arguing  a  greater  Variety  of  Salts, 
or  of  their  Modifications  and  Mixtures,  than 
are  likely  to  be  found  in  Nature  i    and  the 
Concretions  of  Salts  never,  that  I  have  yet 
feen,  appearing  in  that  Regularity  of  Figure, 
and  due  Circumfcription,  as  in  thefe  Bodies. 
This  Argument,  Steno^  in  his  Difcourfe  con- 
cerning thefe   Bodies,  improves  and  urges 
thus  ;   '  Who  can  deny,  that  the  hexaedrical 
'  Figure  of  Cryftal,  the  Cubes  of  Marcalites, 
'  and  the  Cryftals  of  Salts  in  Chymical  Opc- 
'  rations,  and  infinite  other  Bodies  coagu- 
^  lating  and  cryftallizing  in  a  Fluid,   have 
'  Figures   much    more    ordinate    than   are 
'  thole  of  Scallops ^CocUes^  and  other  Bivalves, 
'  and  alfo  Periwi?icMef  and  Turbens  ?     Yet 
*  we  fee,  in  thefe  iimple  Bodies,  fometimcs 
'■  the  Top  of  a  folid  Angle  cut  off  j  fome- 
'  times  many  of  them,  without  any  Order, 
'  flicking  one  to  another  j    fometimes  their 
^  Planes  differing  among  themfelvcs,  in  Mag- 
'  nitude  and   Situation  ^   and .  many  other 
f  Ways  receding  from  their  ufual  Figure  : 

'  Which 


142  Consequences  of 

Which  being  fo,  how  much  greater  and 
more  notable  Defe(5ts  muft  there  needs 
have  been  in  Bodies  that  have  a  far  more 
compound  Figure,  fuch  as  are  thofe  which 
imitate  the  Forms  of  Animals,  if  they  were 
in  like  manner  generated  ?  Seeing,  there- 
fore^ in  thefe  Bodies,  which  are  very  much 
compounded,  thefe  Defeds  do  feldom  oc- 
curr,  which  in  thofe  other  moft  fimple  Bo- 
dies, are  very  frequent ;  feeing  there  are 
no  Defe6ts  obferved  in  thefe  compound  Bo- 
dies, the  like  whereto  are  not  in  like  man- 
ner feen  in  the  Bodies  of  Animals  :  And 
feeing  that  wherefoever  th-y  are  found, 
they  are  exceeding  like  both  among  them- 
felves,  and  to  the  Parts  of  Animals^  it  is 
very  unlikely  they  Ihould  fhoot  into  thofe 
Figures  after  the  manner  of  Salts  i  but  on 
the  contrary,  highly  probable  that  they 
were  originally  the  Parts  of  Animals  \  the 
Similitude  of  Conformation  in  their  Pores, 
i'friif  3  Hinges,  Teeth,  Prominences,Threds, 
&c,  almoft  neceffarily  inferring  a  Simili- 
tude of  Original ;  which  is  an  Argument 
of  the  Government  of  fome  Principle,  fu- 
periour  to  Matter  figured  and  moved,  in 
their  Formations. " 

Fourthly^  Were  thefe  Bodies  nothing  but 
Concretions  of  Salts,  or  faline  Mixtures,  it 
feems  no  lefs  ftrange,  that  fo  many  Liquors 
impregnated  with  all  forts  of  Salts  and  Mi- 
neral Juices,  in  all  Proportions,  having  been 

at 


the  Deluge.  147 


at  one  time  or  other  induftrioufly  or  acci- 
dentally expofed  to  cryftallize,  and  let  ftand 
long  in  VefTels,  there  fhould  never  have 
been  found  in  them  any  fuch  Concretions. 
For  if  any  had  happened,  we  fhould,  doubt- 
lefs,  have  heard  of  them,  and  the  Obfervers 
would  have  improved  fuch  an  Experiment 
to  the  Produdion  of  the  like  Bodies,  at  their 
Pleafure. 

Two  farther  Arguments,  to  prove  that 
thefe  Bodies  were  not  primary  Produ<^ions 
of  Nature,  the  forementioned  Signor  Scilla 
affords  us.  '  Nature  {fays  he)  fometimes 
produced  monftrous  and  defedive  Things. 
An  Animal  "ibmetimes  wants  a  Limb  i  A 
Tree  is  without  fomc  principal  Branches ; 
A  Fruit  may  want  fome  of  its  chiefeft 
Parts.  Yet  ftill  we  may  obferve,  that  Na- 
ture covers  that  Defe(5i:  with  a  Skin,  or 
Bark,  or  Rind,  fo  that  it  never  appears 
torn  off,  or  rent,  to  the  naked  Eye,  as  it 
would,  if  it  were  torn  off  by  a  Hand,  oi* 
cut  off  with  a  Knife.  This  is  Nature's  con- 
flant  Courfe  -,  which  evidently  fhews,  that 
lufm  Nature  (as  thefe  are  erroneoufly 
called)  were  never  produced  in  the  Earth  ; 
fince  all  the  Bruifes  and  Erasures  which 
they  have  met  with,  are  apparent,  without 
any  Difguife  to  hide  them  j  fuch  as  Na- 
ture always  employs  to  hide  the  De- 
feds  of  her  own  irregular  Produ*5li'- 
ons.  " 

But 


144  Consequences  of 

But  this  may  be  folved,  by  faying,  that 
thefe  Fractures  and  Bruifes  happened  to  them, 
after  they  were  perfedly  formed,  and,  as  I 
may  fo  fay,  out  of  Nature's  Hands  ^  and  fo. 
Nature  not  concerned  to  cover  their  De- 
feds. 

Secondly^  All  the  Echini^  or  other  Land- 
Shells,  which  he  found  upon  the  Calabrian 
or  Mejjineze  Hills,  or  had  been  brought  him 
from  Malta^  were  bruifed  by  a  perpendicu- 
lar Preffure,  which  he  explains  thus  :  ^  The 
Cruft  of  all  Echini  has  two  Centers,  one 
directly  oppofite  to  the  other  j    fo  that  if 
they  happened  to  lie  in  the  liquid  Mud,  in 
fuch  a  manner  as  that  the  loweft  Center 
was  perpendicular  to  the  Horizon^  they 
were  bruifed  fo  as  not  to  lofe  their  circu- 
lar Figure,  only  they  were  much  compref- 
fed.     If  they  lay  on  one  Side,  they  were 
fqueezed  out  of  that  Shape,  and  the  Mem- 
branes of  the  Ligatures  parted  from  each 
other  varioufly,  according  to  the  Situation 
of  thefe  Shells  in  the  Mud,  at  that  Time, 
All  which  plainly  fhews,  that  as  the  Mud 
dried,  the  fuperincumbent  Weight  preffed 
perpendicularly  upon  the  enclofed  Bodies, 
which  were   then  compreffed  together  in 
that  Pofture  they  happened  to  be  in  ;   and 
were  more  or  lefs  comprelTed,  according 
as  the  Mud  got  into  their  Cavities,  in  greater 
or  leffer  Quantities^  and,  as  it  dried,  prop- 
ped them  up  on  the  Infide,  againft  the 

'  Pref- 


the  Deiuge.  14^ 


'  PiefTurc  of  the  Matter  in  which  they  lay^  '* 
So  far  Scilla.  By  all  which  it  appears.  That 
thefe  Shells  were  not  formed  in  the  Mud 
where  they  lay,  but  precedently  in  the  Sea; 
and  were,  by  extraordinary  Tides  or  Inun- 
dations of  the  Sea,  thrown  up  together  with 
the  Mud ;  which  elfe  would  noc  have  had 
thofe  Effe<5ts  upon  them. 

A  s  for  what  may  be  objcded  out  of  Sir 
'^ohn  Narborough' sY oy ^%Q ;  '  That  the  Hills 
'  round  about  Port  S.  Julian^  are  full  of 
'  Beds  of  great  Oyfter-lliells,  which  could 
^  not  come  {^faith  he)  from  the  Sea  or  Flood, 
'  becaufe  there  is  no  fuch  ShelUFifli  in 
*  thofe  Seas  or  Shores.  "  I  anfwer^  That 
there  might  be  fuch  in  the  Seas  thereabout^ 
although  it  was  not  Sir  Johri's  Hap  to  meet 
with  them,  or  elfe  they  might  be  brought^ 
by  tempeftuous  Wind,  from  a  great  way  off, 
as  were  thofe  Shells  brought  into  Calabria^ 
which  we  have  before  mentioned  out  of  Ago-^ 
ft'mo  Scilla. 

Sol  have  finiihed  what  I  have  to  ailed  ge, 
in  Defence  of  the  latter  Part,  That  thefe  for- 
med Stones  were  fometimes  the  real  Shells 
or  Bones  of  Filhes,  I  mean  the  figured  Part 
of  them. 

I  PROCEED  now  to  fet  down^  what  may 
be  objected  againft  this  Opinion^  of  offered 
in  Affcrtion.  of  the  contrary,  -d/s.  That  thefe 
Bodies  are  Pirimitive  Produ<?iions  of  Na- 

L  ture. 


146  Confeqtiences  of 

tiire,  in  Imitation  of  the  Shells  and  Bones  of 
Fiihes. 

Against  the  former  Opinion  we  have 
been  pleading  for,  it  may  be  obie6:ed.  That 
there  follow  fuch  flrange  and  feemingly  ab- 
furd  Confequences  froni  it,  as  are  hardly  re- 
concilcable  to  Scripture,  ov  indeed  to  fober 
Reafon*     As, 

Firft^  That  the  Waters  muft  have  covered 
the  whole  Earth,  even  the  higheft  Moun- 
tains, and  that  for  a  long  time,  there  being 
found  of  thefe  Shells,  not  only  in  the  molt 
mountainous  Parts  of  our  Country,  but  in 
the  higheft  Mountains  in  Europe^  the  Affen- 
nine  and  Alfs  thcmfelves,  and  that  not  only 
fcattered,  but  amafled  in  great  Lumps,  and 
lying  thick  in  Beds  of  Sand,  as  we  have  be- 
fore Ihcwn.  Now,  this  could  hardly  be  the 
Effcd  of  a  fliort  Deluge,  which  if  it  had 
carried  any  Shell-Filli  fo  high,  would  in  all 
Likehhood  have  fcattered  them  very  thin. 
Thefe  Beds  and  Lumps  of  them  neceffarily 
inferring,  that  they  muft  have  bred  there, 
which  is  a  Work  of  Time.  Whereas  the 
general  Deluge,  from  the  Beginning  to  the 
End,  lafted  but  ten  Months  and  thirteen 
Days :  That  is,  from  the  fevcnteenth  Day  of 
the  fecond  Month  of  the  fix  hundredth  Year 
of  Noah's  Life,  when  the  forty  Days  Rain 
began,  till  the  firft  Day  of  the  h'rft  Month  of 
the  iix  hundred  and  firft  Year  thereof,  when 
the  Waters  were  dried  up  from  oif  the  Earth. 

Neither 


the  Deluge.  147 

l^cithcr  is  it  Icfs  repugnant  to  Rcafon  than 
Scripture  ;  for  if  the  Waters  ftood  fo  high 
ai)ove  the  Earth,  for  fo  long  a  time,  they 
muft,  by  reafon  of  their  Confluence,  be  raifed' 
as  high  above  the  Sea  too.  But  what  is  now  ' 
become  of  this  huge  Mafs  of  Waters,  equal 
to  fix  or  feven  Oceans  ,•  nay,  to  twenty  or 
more  ?  May  not  the  Stoicks  here  fct  in,  and 
help  us  out  at  a  dead  Lift  ?  The  Sun  and 
Moon,  fay  they,  might  pofifibly  fup  it  all  up. 
Yea,  but  we  cannot  allow  Time  enough  for 
that  \  for  according  to  the  modcra^te  Draughts 
they  take  now-a-  days,  one  Ocean  would  fuf- 
fice  to  water  them  many  Ages,  unlefs  per- 
chance, when  they  were  young  and  hot,  they 
might  need  more  Drink.  But  to  be  ferious, 
I  have  no  Way  to  anfwer  this  Obje(^ion,  but 
by  denying  that  there  are  any  Beds  or  great 
Lumps  and  MalTes  of  thefe  formed  Stones  to 
be  found  near  the  Tops  of  the  y^/j?/,  or  other 
high  Mountains ;  but  yet  there  might  be 
fome  particular  Shells  fcattered  there  by  the 
general  Deluge.  Unlefs  we  Ihould  fay,  that 
thofe  Mountains,  where  fuch  Shells  are  found, 
were  anciently  depreffed  Places,  and  after- 
ward raifed  up  by  Earthquakes,  or  fubterra-r- 
neous  Fires.  Another  thing  there  is  as  diffi- 
cult to  give  an  Account  of,  as  of  the  Shells 
getting  up  to  the  Tops  of  Mountains  ,•  that 
is,  of  thofe  feveral  Beds  or  Floors  of  Earth 
and  Sand,  frc,  one  above  another,  which 
are  obferved  in  broken  Mountains :  For  one 
'  L  %  can- 


148  Confequences  of 


cannot  cafily  imagine,  whence  thefe  Floors 
or  Beds,  in  the  Manner  o^  firata  fiiper  Jlrata 
(as  the  Chymifts  fpeak)  fliould  come,  but 
from  the  Sediments  of  great  Floods,  which 
how  or  whence  they  could  bring  fo  great  a 
Quantity  of  Earth  down,  when  there  was  but 
little  Land   above   the  Sea,   I   cannot  fee. 
And  one  would  likewife  be  apt  to  think,  that 
fuch  a  Bed  of  Sands,  with  plenty  of  Cockle- 
Shells  intermixt,  as  we  mentioned  before  in 
the  Mountain  near  Bononia  in  Ital%  muft 
have  been  fometimes  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea. 
But  before  6ne  can  give  a  right  Judgment  of 
thefe  Things,  one  muft  view  the  Mountains 
where  fuch  Layers  and  Beds  of  Earth  and 
Shells  are  found  -,  for  perchance  they  may 
not  be  elevated  fo  high  above  the  prefent 
Surface  of  the  Sea,  as  one  would  judge  by 
the  Defoi-iptions  of  them.    '7~/>  true  (fays 
my  worthy  Friend   Dr.  Tancrsd  Robinfon) 
that  fo?ne  Shells  might  have  been  fcatter'd  up 
and  down  the  Earth  by  Incajnpjfients  of  Ar- 
mies^  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Cities  and  Towns^ 
whereof  there  are  now  no  Reinaifis.    Monfie'ur 
Loubere,  the  late  French  Envoy  to  Siam,  af- 
firjns^  That  the  Monleys  and  Afes^  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  are  almoji  continually 
carrying  Shells  and  other  Marine  Bodies  from 
the  Sea-Side  up  to  the  Mountains  j  yet  this  will 
mtfohe  the  Matter^  nor  give  a?iy  fat  is  factory 
Account^  why  thefe  perfect  Shells  ^are  difpers  d 
!tp  and  down  the  Earthy  in  nil  Climates  and 

Regions^ 


*^  the  Deluge,  145^ 


Region^^  in  the  deep  Bowels  of  vajl  Moun- 
tains^ where  they  lie  as  regularly  in  Beds^  as 
they  do  at  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  This  to 
me,  I  confcfs,  is  at  prefent  unaccountable. 

Secondly^  It  would  hence  follow.  That 
many  Species  of  Shell-Fiih  are  loft  out  of  the 
World,  which  Philofophers  hitherto  have 
been  unwilling  to  admit,  efteeming  the  De- 
ftru(ftion  of  any  one  Species  a  difmembring 
of  the  Univerfe,  and  rendring  it  imperfc<St  i 
whereas  they  think  the  Divine  Providence  is 
efpecially  concerned  to  fecure  and  preferve 
the  Works  of  the  Creation :  And  that  it  is  fo, 
appears,  in  that  it  was  fo  careful  to  lodge 
all  Land-Animals  in  the  Ark  at  thje  Time  of 
the  general  Deluge.  The  Confequence  is 
proved,  in  that,among  thefe  petrified  Shells, 
there  are  many  Sorts  obferved,  which  are  not 
at  this  Day,  that  we  know  of,  any  where  to 
be  found.  Such  are  a  whole  Genus  o^Cornua 
Ammonis^  which  fome  have  fuppofed  to  be 
Nautili  (to  which  indeed  they  are  nearly  a- 
kin,  bur  yet  differ  from  them  fo  much^  that 
they  ought  to  be  accounted  a  diftind  fubal- 
tern  Genus^  as  I  Ihall  fhew  out  of  Dr.  ?lot 
by  and  by)  which  there  have  not  any  been 
feen  either  caft  afhore,  or  raked  out  of  the 
Sea,  at  any  time,  that  ever  I  heard  of.  Nay, 
my  very  learned  and  honoured  Friend 
Dr.  Lijier  proceeds  farther,  and  faith.  That 
when  he  particularly  .examined  lomc  of  our 
EngliJJj  Shores  for  Shells,    and  aifo  the  frelh 

L  3  '        Waters 


1 5*0  Confequences  of 

Waters  and  the  Fields,  that  he  did  never  meet 
with  any  one  of  thofe  Species  of  SheMs  found 
at  Addcrton  in  Torljldre^  Wamford-B ridge  in 
NorthamptonflAre^  and  about  Gtmthorp  and 
Beavoir-Caftle^  &c.  any  where  elfe,  but  in. 
their  refpe(^ive  Quarries.  What  can  we  fay 
•to  this  ?  Why,  it  is  pofTible  that  many  Sorts 
of  Shell-Fiih  may  be  lodged  fo  deep  in  the 
Seas^  or  on  Rocks  fo  remote  from  the  Shores, 
that  they  may  never  come  to  our  Sight. 

Thirdly^  It  follows  alfo,  that  there  have 
been  Shell-Filli  in  thefe  cold  Northern  Seas, 
of  greater  Bulk  and  Dimenfions  than  any 
.ndw^  living  ^  I  do  not  fay  in  thefe,  but  in  the 
moft  Southernly  and  Indian ^  viz.  Cornua  Avt^ 
inonis^  of  two  Foot  Diameter,  and  oi.  Thick- 
nefs  anfwerable.  ^  -  ■'*  r.-\  J 

To  this  I  anfwer.  That  there  are  no  pe- 
trified Shells  that  do  in  Bignefs  much  exceed 
thofe  of  the  natural  Shell-Fiili  found  in  our 
Seas,  fave  the  Cornua  Aminonis  only,  which 
I  fufpe6t  to  have  never  been,  nor  had  any 
Relation  to  any  Shells  of  Fiflies ;  or  to  imi- 
tate or  refemble  them,  at  leaft  fome  of  them. 
Againft  this  Alfertion  it  may  be  objeded. 
That  there  are  found  in  England  many  Pe5(i^ 
nius  bigger  than  any  Shell-Fifli  of  that  Kind 
which  our  Seas  now  afford.  And  that  there 
are  no  Nautili^  or  other  teftaceous  Fiflies 
with  us,  comparable  in  Bignefs  to  that  NaU' 
tflus  Stone  of  twenty  eight  Pound  found  by 
Mr.  Waller  at  KeinJJoajn.  To  which  I  an- 
fwer. 


the  Deluge,  1 91 

Tvvcr,  That  there  may  be  Siiell-Fiili  in  our 
Seas,  that  do  not  at  all,  or  very  feldom  ap- 
pear, greater  than  we  are  aware  of.     I  my- 
fclf,  in  Company  with  Mr.  Wilhighby^  in  the 
Strciglit  between  the  Ifle  and  Calf  of  Man^ 
took  up  among  the  tall  Fuel  growing  thick 
upon  the  Rocks  there,  two  or  tjiree  of  thofe 
large  Echini  Marifii^  or  Sea-Urchins^   as  big  as 
a  Man's  twoFifts,  the  Shells  whereof  we  ne- 
ver found  caft  up  upon  the  Shores  of  England^ 
nor  ever  heard  that  any  Man  clfe  did.    So 
that  I  queflion  not,  but  there  are  lodged  a- 
mong  the  Rocks,  and  in  the  deeper  Places 
of  the  Sea,  remote  from  the  Shores,   many 
different  Sorts  of  Shell-Fifh,  and  excelling  in 
Magnitude  thofe  that  arc  commonly   found 
or  known.     And  like  enough  it  is,  that  af- 
ter the  Flood  there  were  many  Places  de- 
ferted,  and  thrown  up  by  the  Sea,  and  be- 
come dry  Land,  which  had  been  Sea  before  ; 
which  muft  needs  be  replete  with  thcfe  Bo- 
dies.   As  for  the  Nautili^    diey  are  much 
different  from  thefe  Cornua  Anwionis :    For 
the  Nautili^  at  leaft  all  the  Species  of  them 
known  to  us,  are  (as  Dr.  Flot  well  obfcrves) 
extravagantly  broad  at  the  Mouth,  and  have 
not  more  than  two  other  fmall  Turns  at  the 
moft,  whereas  the  Turns  of  the  Ophiomor- 
phites   are  proportionable  one  to  another  ; 
and  in  Number  many  times  four  or  five,  and 
fometimes4ix,  if  we  may  hQlicvc  Aldro'vand, 
And  there  arc  Nautili  Lnpidci^  which  do  as 

L  4  nearly- 


1^2,  Confequences  of 


nearly  refcmble  the  Nautilus  Shells,  as  any 
other  Cochlites    do    their  refpedive  Proto- 
types,  as  Mr.  Lhzvyd  affures  me  he  had  ob- 
ferved  many  in  Mufeu?ns,    And  the  learned 
and  ingenious  Mr.  Richard  Waller^  then  Se- 
cretary to  the  Royal  Society^  in  a  Letter  to 
me  dated  Febr,  4. — 87.  writes,  That  he  had 
been  lately  at  Keinjha?n  in  Somerfetjloire^  and 
making  a  Search  after  the  Cornua  Avtmonis^ 
found  one  of  the  true  Nautilus  Shape,  cover- 
ed in  fome  Places  with  a  flielly  Incruftation, 
with  the  Diaphragms  to  be  feen  to  the  Cen- 
ter of  the  Volut(£^  and  in  each  Diaphragm,  the 
Hole  by  which  they  communicate  one  with 
another,  by  a  String  or  Gut  in   the  Filh. 
This  was  of  a  very  hard  Stone  and  large 
Size,  weighing  at  leaft  twenty  eight  Pound, 
though  fome  part  was  broken  off.    Another 
Argument  that  they  have  no  Relation  to  the 
common  Nautili^  is,  that  they  break  into 
Pieces  fomewhat  refembling  Vertebres,  as  1 
was  fir  ft   advifed   by  the   fore-remembred 
Mr.  Lhzvyd^  and  have  fince  noted  myfelf.     I 
aifo  received  from  that  very  ingenious  and  in- 
quifitive  Gentleman,  happy  in  making  natu- 
^  ral  Difcoveries,  Mr.  William  CM  of  Bnftol^ 
fuch  an  Account  of  a  Sort  or  two  of  thefe 
Ophiomorphous  Bodies,  as  is  enough  to  ftagger 
'  any  Man's  Belief,  if  not  utterly  to  overthrow 
his  Opinion  of  their  owing  their  Original  to 
any  Sea  Shell,  which  take  in  his  AVords  :  A- 
incng  others  of  this  Kind  of  Bodies  which  I 

ha'Ve 


the  Deluge.  1^3 


haiie  obfernjed^  I  jJoall  inftance  in  onc^  Mich 
can  be  reduced  to  none  but  the  Ophiomor- 
phites,  which  I  found  growing  between  the 
thin  Platey  of  a  ki?2d  of  brittle  blue  Slate  in 
large  Rocks^  fome  a  Furlong  within  the  full 
Sea-Mark  J  and  in  fame  where  the  Water  comes 
not  at  higheft  Tides^  only  in  great  Stor?nr^ 
when  the  JVa'ves  break ^  it  is  dafjo'd  fo??tetimes 
againfi  them^  being  forced  up  by  the  Winds  ; 
which  being  broken  with  a  convenmn  Tool^ 
will  flji'ver  all  into  'very  thin  Plates  ;  between 
which  I  have  found  in  abundance  ofthofe  Stones  ^ 
but  as  brittle  as  the  Slate  in  which  they-  grew^ 
and  of  the  fame  Confiftence  i  but  fo  rhin^  that 
the  broadefl^  being  about  four  Inches^  a^-e  riot 
fo  thick  as  a  Half-Crown  Piece^  fovie  not  half 
an  Inch  broad^  were  as  thin  as  a  Groat ^  and  fo 
froportionably  up  to  the  largeft^  covered  with 
a  Superficies  as  thin^  and  exactly  of  the  Colour 
of  Silver-pil :  And  where  the  Sea-water  waJJj^ 
eth  them^  and  they  are  expofed  to  the  Sun  and 
Wind  when  the  Tide  is  gone^  they  are  tarniflj- 
edj  and  appear  of  a  Gold^  Purple^  Blue  and 
Red',  as  any  thing  on  which  Silver-foil  islaid^ 
being  expofed  a  confiderable  time  to  the  Sun^ 
Wind^  and  Weather^  will  do,  Thefe  have  the 
fame  Spiral  Figures^  and  as  regular  as  the  o- 
ther  Serpent-Stones^  and  being  taken  off  with 
a  Knife ^  leave  the  fame  ImpreJJions  on  both 
Sides  of  the  Slate, 

In  fome  fuch  Rocks  of  Slate ^  but  ?nuch  har- 
der^ I  found  fome  of  thofe  Stones  of  another 

Kind^ 


I  ^  4  Confequences  of 

Kind^  thid  in  Proportion  to  their  Breadth^ 
from  an  Inch  to  twenty  eight  Inches  broad  ^ 
the  broadeft  one  war  at  the  great  End  {on 
which  foine  Authors  have  fabuloufly  reported 
the  Head  to  grow)  fix  Inches  thick ;  all  of 
them  covered  over  with  a  white  Scale ^  which 
will  be  taken  off^  one  Coat  under  another^  as 
Pearls^  or  the  Shells  of  fome  Fifloes.  I  faw 
fome  Imprejflons  as  big  as  the  Fore-Wheel  of  a 
Chariot^  &c.  What  fliall  we  fay  to  this  ? 
Were  there  ever  any  Shell-Fifh  in  ours,  or 
other  SeaSj  as  broad  as  a  Coach-Wheel  ?  o- 
thers  as  thin  as  a  Groat  ?  What  is  become 
of  all  this  kind  of  Ophioinorphite  Shell-Fifli  ? 
And  yet  (which  is  ftrange)  both  thefe  Kinds, 
by  Mr.  Cole's  Defcription,  feem  to  have  been 
covered  with  Shells. 

By  what  I  have  faid  concerning  thefe  0- 
phiofnorphous  Stones  not  to  have  been  Nau- 
tili^ I  would  not  be  thought  to  reflcd  upon, 
or  detradt  from  the  Veracity  or  Exadnefs  of 
the  Obfervations  of  Dr.  Robert  Hook^  whom 
for  his  Learning  and  deep  Infight  into  the 
Myfteries  of  Nature,  I  defervedly  honour.  I 
queftion  not,  but  he  found  in  the  KeinJJjam 
Ophiomorphites^  perfe6:  Diaphragms  of  a  ve- 
ry diftind  Subftance  from  that  which  filled 
the  Cavities,  and  exadly  of  that  kind  which 
covered  the  Outfide,  being  for  the  moft 
part  whitilh,  or  Mother  of  Pearl  coloured. 
Mr.  Waller  fore-mentioned,  attefts  the  fame, 
writing  in  his  Letter  to  Qie  of  Ff^r.  4. 1687. 

that 


the  Deluge.  l^^ 


that  in  the  ordinary  Snake-Stones  tliere,  the 
•flieliy  Diaphragms  were  very  viiiilDle.  In  tliis 
refpctfl  they  do  rcfemble  Nautili  i  though 
for  their  Figure  they  are  much  ditferenr,  and 
of  a  diftind  Genm.  I  never  broke  any  of 
the  Keinfiam  Stones,  but  of  thofe  found  about 
JVhitby  in  Torljhire  manyj  but  could  not 
obfcrve  in  them  any  Shell-like  Diaphragms, 
only  they  broke  into  fuch  Pieces  as  I  men- 
tioned before.  And  my  dear  and  much  ho- 
noured Friend,  Dr.  Tancred  Robinfon^  writes 
me,  That  he  had  broken  feveral  Cornua  Am- 
rnonif^  but  could  never  find  any  Diaphragms 
or  Valves  in  them,  though  he  confelfeth 
Mr.  Woodward  fliew'd  him  one  with  fuch,  in 
bis  curious  Colle(ftion  of  Petrifadions.  So  that 
thefe  Diaphragms  are  not  to  be  found  in  all 
the  Sorts  of  them.  But  if  they  be  found  in 
fome,  it  is  a  ftrong  Prefumption,  that  they 
were  at  firft  in  all,  however  they  came  to 
difappear. 

Upon  farther  Confideration,  I  find  Rea- 
fon  to  agree  with  Dr.  Hoo'k^  and  other  Natu- 
ralifts,  That  thefe  Cornua  Ammonis  are  of  the 
fame  Genm  with  Nautili^  and  differ  only  in 
Species.  But  yet  thefe  Species  are  fubaltern 
Genera^  each  having  divers  Species  under  it. 

In  fine,  thefq  Ophiomorphom  Stones  do 
more  puzzle  and  confound  me,  than  any 
other  of  the  formed  Stones  whatfoever,  be- 
caufe,  by  Dr.  Hook's  Defcription  of  thofe  of 
Keinjham,    they  feem  to  have  been,  or  to 

owe 


1^6  Confequences  of 

owe  their  Original  to  Shells  ^  and  yet  there 
is  nothing  like  them  appears  at  this  Day  in 
our  or  any  other  Seas^  as  far  as  I  have  Teen, 
heard,  or  read. 

T  o  this  may  be  anfwered,  as  Scilla  doth 
to  the  like  Objedion  againft  the  Maltefe 
Shells,  &c.  '  And  whereas  it  is  objeded, 
,'  (faith  he)  that  great  Quantities  of  Shells 
^  are  found  in  Malta  which  are  foreign  to 
^  thofe  Seas,  that  is  of  no  Force,  fince  it  is 
^  well  known,  that  every  Eafterly  arid  South- 
^  Eafterly  Wind  throws  whole  Beds  of  beau- 
^  tiful  Shells  upon  the  Calabrian  Coaft,  none 
^  of  which  Kind  of  Shell-Fifh  are  taken  by 
*  Fifliermen  in  thofe  Seas. "  The  fameAn- 
fwer  he  returns  to  the  Objedion  of  the  Echini 
Spatagi^  being  very  rarely  feen  about  Malta^ 
and  yet  that  great  Numbers  of  the  Shells  of 
that  Species  of  Echinita  have  been  found 
there,  'viz.  That  he  himfelf,  in  lefs  than  an 
Hour's  time,  hath  taken  them  up  by  hun- 
dreds in  the  Port  of  MeJJina^  where  that  fort 
-of  Shell-Filh  is  as  rarely  to  be  found  as  at 
Malta, 

In  like  manner,  thefe  Cornm  Avitnonis^ 
though  altogether  Strangers  to  our  Seas, 
might  as  well  be  brought  higher  by  Force  of 
Winds  or  Strefs  of  Weat^fier,  much  more 
than  by  the  general  Deluge,  in  which  the 
Fountains  of  the  great  Deep  were  broken 
up.  Efpecially  if  we  confider,  that  feveral 
Eaji-India  Fruits  have  been  brought  over  the 

vaft 


the  Deluge,  1^7 

vaft  Ocean,  and  caft  upon  the  Weftern  Illands 
o^  Scotland, 

Thirdly,  A  fecond  Argument  to  prove 
thefe  formed   Stones  never    to  have   been- 
Shells,  Dr.*  Plot  affords  us, '  Becaufe  that  e-  * Bifi.- 
'  venthofe  Shells,  which  fo  exactly  reprefent  ^'^^'  ^^f' 
'  fome  forts  of  Shell- Fifh,  that  there  can  be  no         * 
'  Exception  upon  the  account  of  Figure,  but 

*  that  they  might  formerly  have  been  Shells 
'  indeed,  at  fome  Places  are  found  only  with 

*  one  Shell  and  not  the  other.  Thus  in'Cowky 
'  Conimofi  [in  OxfordJJoire]  we  meet  only  with 
'  the  gibbous^  nofthe  flat  Shell  of  the  petri- 
'  fied  Oyfier,  and  fo  of  the  Efcallop-Stones  in 

*  the  Quarries  near  Shotaver^   which  if  they 

*  had  once  been  the  Shells  oiOyfters  and  Efcal- 
'  lops,  had  fcarce  been  thus  parted."  To  this 
I  anfwer.  That  this  Argument  is  not  necef- 
farily  conclufxve,  becaufe  there  may  poCS- 
bly  be  fome  reafon  of  it,  though  we  know 
it  not,  nor  can  ealiiy  imagine  any.  The 
like  Anfwer  may  be  returned  to  his  next 
Argument. 

Thirdly,   ^  Becaufe   (faith  the  Doctor)  I 

*  can  by  no  means  fatisfy  myfelf,  how  it 
'  fhouid  conie  to  pafs,  that  in  cafe  thefe  Bo- 
'  dies  had   once  been  moulded   in  Shells, 

*  fome  of  the  fame  Kind  Ihouid  be  found  in 
'  Beds,  as  the  Conchites  at  Langley,  Charl- 

*  ton,  Adderbury^  and  others  fcattered,  as  at 
'  Glypton^  and  Teynton,  and  fo  the  Oftra- 
'  cites  at  Shotover  and  Cowhy.    Nor  how  it 

'  ihouid 


1^8  Consequences  of 

*  ffiould  ^^  out, ' that  fome  of  thefe  B'l* 
'  'vahes  ihould  always  be  found  with  their 
^  Shells  feparate,  as  the  Oftracites  and  Pe-f 

*  ^fines  :  And  others  always  clofed  toge- 
^  ther,  as  the  Comhites  in  all  Places  I  have 
^  yet  feen. 

Fourthly^  ^  Becaufe  many  of  thefe  formed 

*  Stones  feem   now  to  be  in  ficri^  (which 

*  is  the  Doctor's  next  Argument)    as  the 

*  Selenites  at  Shoto-ver  and  Hampton-gay ^  the 

*  Conchites  of  Gly?npton  and  Cornwall^   ma- 

*  ny  of  which  were  of  a  perfect  Clay,  and 

*  others  of  Stone,  6'c."  '  As  for  the  Sele- 
nitef^  I  grant  them  to  have  been  in  fieri ^ 
becaufe  they  are  formed  after  the  manner 
of  Salts  by  Shooting  or  Cryftallization  i  but 
concerning  the  Clay  Cockles,  I  fay  with 
the  Civilians,  ampUandim.  Since  the  pub- 
lifliing  of  this  Treatife,  happening  to  read 
Dr.  Nicol.  Steno's  Difcourfe  concerning  thefc 
Bodies,  in  his  Defcription  of  a  Shark's  Heady 
I  met  with  a  very  plaufible  Solution  of 
this  Argument  or  Objection.  Firfl^  he  gives 
ustheHiftoryof  thefe  Bodies,  or  his  Obfer- 
vations  concerning  them,-  of  which  thefe 
following  are  two :  i.That  in  Argilla^  which 
fome  Englijh^  F otters  Earthy  and  we  may  ren- 
der a  fat  Clay,  he  had  taken  Notice  that 
there  were  Plenty  of  them  on  the  Superficies 
of  the  Earth,  but  within  the  Earth  but  a  few. 
2.  That  in  the  (dme  Argilla^  the  deeper  you 
defcend  downward,  the  more  tender  thofe 

Bodies 


the  Deluge.  i^p 


Bodies  arc,  fo  that  fomc  of  them  at  any  the 
leaft  Touch  fall  into  Powder :  And  they  alfo 
that  were  on  the  Supcrficier^   almoft  all  of 
them  were  without  much  ado  reduced  into  a 
white  Powder.  Now  (faith  he)  feeing  in  fuch 
kind  of  Earth,  by  how  much  deeper  thofe 
Bodies  lie,  by  fo  much  the  fofter  they  are, 
and  do  lefs  bear  the  Touch,  the  Earth  is  fo 
far  from  producing  them,  that  it  doth  ra- 
ther   dellroy  them.     Neither  is  there  any 
reafon  to  think,  that  they  are  therefore  foft- 
er, becaufe  they  are  not  yet  arrived  at  their 
Perfedion,  or  come  to  Maturity :   For  thofe 
Things  that  are  foft  upon  that  account,  while 
they  are  in  generating,  have  their  Parts  uni- 
ted to  one  another,  as  it  were  by  akindof  Glue 
(as  is  feen  in  the  tender  Shells  of  Pine-Nuts 
or  Almonds)  but  thefe  Bodies,  being  depri- 
ved and  deftitute  of  all  Glue,  eafily  moulder 
toDuft.     Nor  is  it  any  Objection  againft  our 
Opinion,   that  on  the  Surface  of  the  Earth 
their  Number  feems  to  increafe,for  that  is  ow- 
ing to  Rains  walhing  away  the  intermediate 
Earth  i  but  rather  their  Confidence  when  they 
are  on  the  ^wj)^r^c/>j-,  being  tender  and  eafily 
crumbled  into  Duft,  doth  demonflrate,  that 
their  Deftrudtion,  begun  in  the  Earth,  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  Intervention  of  the  Rain. 
But  to  give  thefe  Arguments  their  Due,  tho' 
they  be  not  demonftrative  Proofs,  yet  they 
inferr  a  great  Degree  of  Probability,   and 
Ihrcwdly  urge  and  ihakc  the  contrary  Opinion. 

The 


l6o  Confeqtiences  of 

The  other  Arguments  the  Dodor  al- 
ledgcs,  admit  a  plaulible  Solution,  excepting 
fuch  as  we  have  already  touched,  and  given  as 
'  good  an  Anfwer  to,  as  either  the  Matter  v^^ill 
admit,  or  we  were  able  to  give. 
--To  the  firft,  That  there  are  found  Stones 
rcfcmbling  Shell-Fiili  that  flick  to  Rocks  :  I 
anfwer,  That  many  of  them  might,  by  Acci- 
dent, be  rubb'd  off  the  Rocks  they  ftick  to, 
or  thruft  off  by  Birds  inlinuating  their  Bills 
between  the  Shell  and  Rock,  to  feed  upon 
their  Meat  j  but  by  what  means  foever  it  be, 
that  they  are  fometimes  broken  off,  the  Mat- 
ter of  Fad  is  certain  j  for  we  find  many  Pa^ 
telU  call  upon  the  Shores  by  the  working  of 
the  Sea ;  Why  then  might  they  not  be  brought 
up  by  the  Flood  ? 

T  o  the  fecond.  Why  might  not  the  Bones 
of  Whales,  Sea-Horles,  all  fquamofe  Fifhes, 
the  great  Shells  of  the  Buccina^  Mimces^  Con^ 
ch^  Vener'n^  and  Solenes^  and  almoft  all  the 
cruftaccous  kind,  as  Crabf  and  Lobftery^  &c* 
as  well  have  been  brought  up  and  left  be- 
hind by  the  Flood,  and  afterward  petrified^ 
as  any  of  the  teflaceous  kind?  1  anfwer^  Of 
the  great  B//cdM,  Mur ices  and  Concha  Vene-^' 
riSj  there  are  very  few  or  none  found  in  our 
Seas :  It  may  be  there  are  of  them  in  the 
Mountains  and  Quarries  of  the  Indies^  were 
any  Man  fo  curious  as'to  fearch  them  out  : 
Though  it's  likely  but  few,  becaufe  being 
great  Things^  eafy  to  be  i'ctn^  and  that  Part 

of 


the  Deluge.  i6l 

of  the  World  having  been  fully  peopled  foon 
after  the  Flood,  their  Beauty  might  invite 
the  Inhabitants  to  fearch  them  out,  and  ga- 
ther them  up.  But,  Secondly^  Thofe  other 
Kinds  may  poffibly  be  lefs  durable,  and  more 
apt  to  be  wrought  upon,  to  moulder,  decay, 
and  be  dilTolvcd  in  time  by  the  Weather, 
Rains  and  Moifture  of  the  Earth,  or  were 
not  fo  fufceptive  of  petrifying  Juices. 

The  Third  Argument  is  already  anfwered 
in  the  precedent  Difcourfe. 

T  o  the  Fourth  Argument,  as  to  what  con- 
cerns the  Selemter^  Aftrohes  and  Belemnitef^ 
we  have  anfwered  already.  That  the  Spe- 
cies of  BrontU  cannot  be  the  petrified  Shells 
of  Echini  Spatagi^  the  Arguments  the  Dodor 
alledges  out  of  Ariftotle  and  Rondeletim  do 
not  evince.  For  though  in  fome  Seas  they 
may  be  Trsxiyoi  kcu  ffTxmi,  yet  in  others  are 
they  plentiful  enough.  In  our  own  Seas,  at 
Llandwyn  in  the  Ijle  of  Anglefey^  we  may 
reafonably  conje(5ture,  they  are  more  plen- 
tiful than  the  common  Echini  any  where 
with  us  J  becaufe  we  found  more  of  their 
Shells  caft  up  there  on  the  Shore,  than  of  the 
Echini  in  any  Shore  about  England:  Nay,  fo 
common  are  they  there,  tfaat  even  the  Vul- 
gar have  taken  Notice  of  them,  and  impofed 
a  Name  upon  them,  calling  them  Mermaids 
Headf.  And  tho'  their  Briftles  or  Prickles 
were  but  fmall,  yet  were  they  not  few  or  thin 
fet,  as  Rondeletim  faith. 

M  How 


l6z  Cojtfequences  of 

Ho  w  the  Snake-Stones  about  Huntly^Nab 
in  Whitlrj  in  Torljhire  came  to  be  included 
in  Globular  or  Lenticular  Stones,  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  make  out  j  for  the  Cliffs  thereabout 
being  Allom-Stone  or  Mine,  wherein  thefe 
Snake-Stones  lie,  the  Sea  in  Spring-Tides 
and  tempeftuous  Weather  undermines  and 
throws  down  Part  of  the  Shore  or  Cliffs, 
which  by  the  Fall  break  in  Pieces,  and  the 
Ophiomorfhoiis  Ston^e  being  harder  than  the 
reft  of  the  Cliff,  is  broken  off  from  it  by  the 
Fall,  or  its  Volutation  in  the  Sea  afterward, 
with  Tome  Part  of  the  Cliff  or  Allom-Stone 
flicking  to  each  Side  of  it  where  it  is  concave, 
and  by  reafon  of  its  Figure  and  Stritc^  cannot 
eafily  part  from  it. 

Laftl%  To  diffemble  nothing,  I  have  my- 
felf  obferved  fome  Cockle-Stones  to  have 
feemingly  different  Impreflions  or  StrU  up- 
on the  fame  Superficies  i  which  Phenomenon  it 
is  very  hard  to  give  an  Account  of.  I  have 
alfo  obferved  a  large  Stone  almoft  as  hard  as 
Marble,  that  was  fo  marked  every  where 
throughout  with  the  Impreilions  of  Cockles 
and  their  Stri^e^  fo  crolling  one  another  in 
every  Part  of  it,  that  if  it  were  nothing  but 
Shells  amaifed  together  by  a  ftony  Cement, 
thofe  Shells  muftnave,  before  their  Concre- 
tion, been  broken  into  infinite  fmall  Pieces  or 
Fragments,  fcarce  any  remaining  entire ; 
which  I  do  not  fee  how  any  Floods,  or  Work- 
ing of  the  Sea,  could  poffibly  ^&^, 

So 


the  Deluge.  \S^ 


Sol  have  finilhcd  what  I  had  to  fay  con- 
cerning this  fuppofed  Effed:  of  the  Deluge^ 
the  Bringing  in  of  Shells,  and  Scattering  them 
all  over  the  dry  Land.  But  yet  I  muft  not 
difmifs  this  Particular,  till  I  have  faid  fome- 
thing  to  an  Objection  that  prefently  occurrs 
to  any  one  who  confiders  this  Matter.  The 
Waters  of  the  Flood  having  been  fupplied, 
partly  by  Rains,  partly  by  the  Breaking  up 
of  the  Fountains  of  the  great  Deep,  and  not 
by  an  Irruption  or  Inundation  of  the  Sea, 
how  could  any  Sea-Shells  at  all  be  brought 
in  by  it  ? 

To  this  I  anfwer.  That  the  great  Deep 
communicates  with  the  Sea ;  and  the  Waters 
rifing  up  out  of  the  fubterraneous  Abyfs,  the 
Sea  muft  needs  fucceed,  elfe  would  there  have 
been  an  empty  Space  left  in  the  Middle  of  the 
Earth,  fo  that  the  Shell-Fiili  might  as  well 
come  in  this  Way  from  the  Bottom  of  the 
Sea, as  by  an  Inundation;  In  like  manner, as 
the  Fifli  in  the  Lake  of  Carniola^  called  the 
Zirchnitzer  Sea^  do  defcend  annually  under 
Ground  through  many  great  Holes  in  the  Bot- 
tom, and  return  again  by  the  fame  Holes.  To 
all  this  I  might  add,  that  into  the  Lands  near 
the  Skirts  of  the  Sea,  and  lower  .Hills,  thefe 
Shells  might  in  part  be  brought  by  particular 
Floods,  of  which  many  we  read  of,  and  more  . 
poflibly  than  are  recorded  in  any  Hiftory, 
may  have  happened  fince  the  general  Deluge. 
Hence  the  chief  Champions  of  the  Opinion 

Ma  of 


1 64  Confeqiiences  of 

of  Mocl'Shelh  are  not  difficult  to  grant,  that 
in  fome  Countries,  and  particularly  along  the 
Shore  of  the  Mediterranean-Sea^  there  may 
all  manner  of  Shells  be  found  promifcuoufly 
included  in  the  Rocks  or  Earth,  and  at  good 
Diftances  too  from  the  Sea.  Which  are  the 
Words  of  Dr.  Lifter^  repeated  and  approved 
by  Dr.  Plot,  But  this  will  not  ferve  their 
Turn  ',  for  we  have  before  proved,  that  in  the 
middle  Part,  and  near  the  Center  of  our  own 
Country,  at  a  great  Diftance  from  the  Sea^ 
'VIZ,  in  Oxfordjloire^  there  are  found  not  only 
Shell-like  Stones,  but  real  Shells,  or  Mock- 
Shells,  (as  fome  efteem  them)  for  figure.  Co- 
lour, Weight,  Confiftency,  or  any  other  Ac- 
cident, not  to  be  diftinguillied  from  true 
Shells ;  and  that  not  fuch  as  have  been  acci- 
dentally Scattered  there,  but  digg'd  out  of 
the  Ground  in  Plenty,  and  of  Fimes  that  are 
rarely  found  in  our  Seas  :  Patterns  whereof 
were  fent  me  by  my  ingenious  Friend  Mr. 
Lhzvyd^  who,  I  hope,  will,  e'er  long,  gratify 
the  Curious,  by  publiihing  a  general  Cata- 
logue of  all  the  formed  Stones  found  in  Eng" 
landy  and  his  Remarks  upon  them. 

A  N  D  I  have  likewife  proved  by  good  Au- 
thority, that  beyond  the  Seas,  in  high  Moun- 
tains, and  many  Leagues  diftant  from  the 
Sea  too,  there  have  been  Beds  of  real  Shells. 
I  might  have  added  Sharh  Teeth,  or  Glojfo^ 
petr^^  as  both  Goropius  Becanus^  and  Geor^ 
gius  Agricola^  teftify  i  if  not  in  Beds^  yet  plen- 
tifully 


the  Dehige.  i6^ 


tifully  difpersM  in  the  Earth.  There  are  fe- 
veral  Medical  Hiftories  extant  (as  Dr.  Tancred 
Robi?2fon  informs  me)  of  perfect  Shells  found 
in  Animal  Bodies,  in  whofe  Glands  they  were 
originally  formed,  which  is  a  coniiderable 
Objection,  not  cafily  to  be  removed. 

Dk,  Woodward^  and  others,  fuppofe  thefe 
Shells,  and  other  Bodies,  to  be  difpofed  and 
ranged  in  the  Earth  according  to  their  fpeci- 
fick  Gravity ;  and  for  the  folving  or  giving 
an  Account  of  this  fhdnovienon^  hath  advan- 
ced a  ftrange  and  bold  Hypothefis, 

'During    the  Time    of   the   Deluge, 
(faith  he)  whilft  the  Water  was  out  upon, 
and  covered  the  terreftrial  Globe,  all  the 
Stone    and   Marble  of   the  Antediluvian 
Earth,  all  the  Metals  of  it,  all  Mineral  Con- 
cretions, and,  in  a  word,  all  FofiTils  what- 
foever,    that  had  obtained   any  Solidity, 
were  totally  diflblved,  and  their  conftiruent 
Corpufcles   all  disjoined,  their  Cohsefion 
perfedly  ceafing.    That  the  faid  Corpufcles 
of  thefe  folid  FoiTiIs,  together  with  the  Cor- 
pufcles of  thofe  which  were  not  before  fo- 
lid, fuch  as  Sand,  Earth,  and  the  like  ,•   as 
alio  Animal  Bodies,  and  Parts  of  Animal 
Bones,  Teeth,    Shells  j    Vegetables,  and 
Parts  of  Vegetables,  Trees,  Shrubs, Herbs; 
and  to  be  lliort,  all  Bodies  whatfoever,  that 
were  either  upon  the  Earth,  or  that  confti- 
tuted  the  Mafs  of  it,  if  not  quite  down  to 
the  Abyfs,  yet,  at  leaft,  to  the  great'eft 
M  3  !  Depth 


Confeqiiences  of 

Depth  we  ever  dig  :  I  fay,  all  thefe  were 
alTumed  up  promifcuoully  into  the  Water, 
and  fuftained  in  it  in  fuch  manner,  that  the 
Water  and  Bodies  in  it  together,  made  up 
one  common  confufed  Mafs. 
''  That,  at  length,  all  the  Mafs  that  was 
thus  borne  up  in  the  Water,  was  again  pre- 
cipitated, and  fubfided  towards  the  Bot- 
tom :  That  this  Subfidence  happened  ge- 
nerally, and  as  near  as  poflibly  could  be 
expeded  in  fo  great  a  Confufion,  according 
to  the  Laws  of  Gravity :  That  Matter,  Bo- 
dy, or  Bodies,  which  had  the  greateft  Quan- 
tity, or  Degree  of  Gravity,  fubfiding  firft 
in  Order,  and  falling  loweft :  That  which 
had  the  next,  or  a  ftill  leffer  Degree  of 
Gravity,  fubfiding  next  after,  and  iettling 
upon  the  precedent,  and  fo  on  in  their  fe- 
veral  Courfes  :  That  which  had  the  leaft 
Gravity  not  finking  down  till  lall  of  all, 
fettling  at  the  Surface  of  the  Sediment,  and 
covering  all  the  reft :  That  the  Matter 
fubfiding  thus,  formed  the  Strata  of  Stone, 
of  Marble,  of  Cole,  and  the  reft;  of  which 
Strata  lying  one  upon  another,  the  terre- 
ftrial  Globe,  or  at  leaft  as  much  of  it  as  is 
ever  difplayed  to  View,  doth  mainly  con- 
fift  :  The  Strata  being  arranged  in  this 
Order,  meerly  by  the  Difparity  of  the  Mat- 
ter of  which  they  confifted,  as  to  Gravity, 
and  there  being  Bodies  of  quite  dif- 
ferent Kinds^  Natures  and  Conftitutions, 

'  that 


the  Deluge.  16^-7 


^  that  are  nearly  of  the  fame  fpecifick  Gra- 

*  vity,  it  thence  happened,  that  Bodies  of 
'  quite  different  Kinds  fubfided  at  the  fame 

*  inftant,  and  fell  together  into,  and  compo- 

*  fed  the  fame  Stratum :    That,  for  this  Rea- 

*  fon,  the  Shells  of  Cockles,  Efcallops,  Peri- 
'  winkles,  and  the  reft,  which  have  a  greater 
^  Degree   of  Gravity,    were   enclofed  and 

*  lodged  in  the  Strata  of  Stone,  Marble,  and 
^  the  heavier  Kinds  of  terreftrial  Matter ;  the 

*  lighter  Shells  not  finking  down  till  after- 
'  wards,  and  fo  falling  among  the  lighter 

*  Matter,  as  Chalk,  and  the  like,  &c, "  This 
being  the  Main  of  his  Hypothejis;  for  the 
reft  I  referr  to  the  Book. 

I  SHALL  not  at  prefent  examine  it,  but  re- 
fpite  that  Task  till  the  Publication  of  his  lar- 
ger Work,  wherein  we  exped  it  will  be  cbrl- 
firmed,  and  all  Difficulties  cleared  up.  I 
ihall  only  add,  that  we  have  fufficient  Autho- 
rities to  prove.  That  that  Phanomenon^  for 
the  folving  whereof,  I  fufped  he  invented 
this  Hypothefis^  ^iz.  That  thefe  Bodies  are 
arranged  and  lodged  in  the  Beds,  according 
to  their  fpecifick  Gravity,  is  not  generally 
true  ;  but  that  they  are  often  mingled  heavy 
with  Light  in  the  lame  Bed  or  Stratum. 

Reflecting  upon  the  Length  of  this 

Difcourfe  concerning  the  Original  of  thefe 

»^dies,  I  am  fufpicious  that  the  vulgar  and 

inconfiderate  Reader  will  be  ready  to  de- 

M  4  mand. 


1 68  Confequences  of 

mand,  What  needs  all  this  ado  ?  To  what 
purpofe  fo  many  Words  about  fo  trivial  a  Sub- 
je^i  ?  What  Reference  hath  the  Confideration 
of  Shells  and  Bones  ofFiJhes  petrified  to  Divi' 
nity  ?  Wherefore  I  fliall,  in  a  few  Word^, 
fhew  the  great  Importance  of  this  Difquifi- 
tion,  concerning  formed  Stones^  and  the  De- 
termination of  their  Original. 

For,  F/V/?,  If  we  adhere  to  their  Opinion, 
who  hold  them  to  have  been  original  Pro- 
dudions  of  Nature,  in  imitation  only  of  the 
Shells  and  Bones  of  Fillies  -,  we  put  a  Wea- 
pon into  the  Atheijls  Hands,  affording  Jiim 
a  ftrong  Argument,  to  prove,  that  even  Ani- 
mals themfelves  are  cafual  Produ(^ions,  and 
not  the  Fffeds  of  Counfel  or  Defign.  For, 
?  to  what  End  are  thefe  Bodies  curioufly  figu- 

red and  adorned  ?  If  for  no  other,  but  to 
exhibit  fuch  a  Form,  for  the  Ornament  of 
the  Univerfe,  'or  to  gratify  the  Curiofity  of 
Man  i  thefe  are  biit  general  Ends :  Whereas 
the  Parts  of  every  Species  of  Body  are  formed 
and  fitted  to  the  particular  Ufes  and  Conve- 
niences of  that  Body.  And  if  Nature  would 
delineate  or  imprint  Figures  upon  Bodies, 
only  to  be  Spe^^lacles  to  Man,  one  would 
think  it  fhould  not  have  made  choice  of  thofe 
of  the  Shells  and  Bones  of  Fillies,  but  rather 
of  fuch  as  were  abfolutely  new  and  different 
from  any  frequently  feen,  or  belonging  to 
Animals ;  which  ferve  rather  to  amufe  than 
delight  him*    Butj  Secondly^  W^  find  in  tlie 


the  Deluge.  l6p 


Earth,  not  only  Stones  formed  in  Imitation 
of  Shells,  but  real  Shells,  Teeth  and  Bones 
of  Filhes,  or  Bodies  fo  like  them,  that  they 
are  not  to  be  diftinguifhed  by  Figure,  Tex- 
ture, Colour,  Weight,  or  any  other  Acci- 
dent. Now,  what  greater  Argument  can  the 
Atheift  defire,  to  prove,  that  the  Shells  of 
Filhes  were  never  defigned  by  any  provident 
Efficient  for  their  Defence,  or  their  Bones  for 
the  fuftaining  of  their  Bodies,  but  that  the 
Fifli  and  Shell  containing  it,  and  the  Bones 
fuftaining  it,  did  cafually  concurr  j  than  that 
there,  fhould  be  real  Shells  produced  without 
any  Fifli  in  them,  and  that  in  dry  Places, 
where  no  Fifli  evsr  did  or  could  breed,  or 
indeed  live,  and  real  Filh-Bones,  where 
there  never  was  nor  could  be  any  Filh  ? 

D  o  T  H  it  not  then  concern  a  Divine  to  be 
acquainted  with  this  Objc(5tion  againft  the 
Bodies  of  Animals  being  the  Hffe<5ts  of 
Counfel  and  Defign,  and  provided  with  an 
Anfwer  to  it.  For  my  part,  1  muft  needs 
confefs,  that  this  Argument  weighs  fo  with 
me,  whether  from  that  innate  Prolepfis  my- 
felf,  and  I  think  moft  other  Men,  have  of  the 
Prudence  of  Nature  in  all  its  Operations,  or 
from  mine  own  obferving  that  in  all  other 
things,  it  ads  for  Ends,  that  it  is  alone  fuffi- 
cient  to  preponderate  all  the  Arguments  for 
the  contrary  Opinions,  tho'  1  acknowledge 
them  to  be  of  great  Force,  and  hard  to  be 
gijfwered  i  and  to  incline,  or  rather  conftrain 

me 


I '70  Confequences  of 

me  to  allow,  that  thefe  Bodies  were  either 
real  Bones  and  Shells  of  Fiflies,  or  owe  their 
Figure  to  them.  I  cannot  (to  ufe  the  Words 
of  F.  Columnd)  prevail  with  myfelf  to  be- 
lieve, that  Nature  ever  made  Teeth  without 
a  Jaw,  or  Shells  without  an  Animal  Inhabi- 
tant, or  {ingle  Bones,  no  not  in  their  own 
proper  Element,  much  lefs  in  a  ftrange  one. 
"Who  even  of  the  Vulgar,  beholding  any 
confiderable  Part  of  an  Animal  which  he 
fees  not  the  Ufe  of,  is  not  apt  prefently  to 
ask  what  it  ferves  for,  as  by  that  innate  FrO' 
kpfis  I  mentioned  before,  prefuming  it  was 
not  made  in  vain,  but  for  fome  End  and 
Ufe.  Suppofe  any  of  us  fliould  find  in  the 
Earth  the  complete  Skeleton  of  a  Man,  he  muft 
be  as  credulous  as  the  Atheift,  if  he  could 
believe  that  it  grew  there  of  itfeif,  and  never 
had  Relation  to  any  Man's  Body.  Why  then 
Ihould  we  think  that  the  entire  Shletons  of 
Fifties,  found  fometimes  in  the  Earth,  had 
no  other  Original  ?  nor  ever  were  any  Part 
of  living  Fiflies. 

Secondly^  If  we  choofe  and  embrace  the 
contrary  Opinion,  'viz.  That  thefe  Bodies 
were  the  real  Shells  and  Bones  of  Fifhes,  or 
owe  their  Figures  to  them,  we  ftiall  find  that 
this  alfo  is  urged  with  many  and  almoft  in- 
fuperable  Difficulties,  the  Principal  of  which 
I  have  already  produced,  and  Ihall  here  omit, 
repeating  only  two  that  refcrr  to  Divinity. 

I.  These 


the  'Deluge.  171 

I".  These  Bodies  being  found  difperfcd 
all  over  the  Earth,  they  of  the  contrary  Opi- 
nion demand  how  they  come  there  ?  If  it  be 
anfwered.  That  they  were  brought  in  by 
the  general  Deluge,  in  Contradiction  there- 
to they  argue  thus :  If  thefe  Stones  were 
found  fcattcred  fmgly  and  indiflPerently  all 
the  Earth  over,  there  might  be  indeed  lome 
reafon  to  imagine  that  they  were  brought  in 
by  the  Flood  ;  but  being  found  in  fome  par- 
ticular Places  only,  either  lying  thick  in  great 
Beds  of  Sand  and  Gravel,  or  amaflfed  toge- 
ther in  huge  Lumps,  by  a  ftony  Cement, 
fuch  Beds  muft  in  all  Likelihood  have  been 
the  Effect  of  thofe  Animals  breeding  there  • 
for  a  confiderable  time  j  whereas  the  Flood 
continued  upon  the  Earth  but  ten  Months  and 
thirteen  Days,  as  I  have  before  Ihewn  j  and 
yet  there  are  found  of  thefe  Bodies  upon  ve- 
ry high  Mountains,  not  excepting  the  Af^ 
Pennine  and  Alps  themfelves.  Whence  they 
conclude,  that  they  were  neither  brought  in 
by  the  Flood,  nor  bred  during  the  Flood, 
but  fome  other  way  produced.  For  if  they 
were  the  Shells  of  Fillies,  or  their  Bones, 
the  Water  muft  needs  have  covered  the 
whole  Earth,  even  the  Mountains  themfelves, 
for  a  much  longer  Time  than  is  confiftent 
with  the  Scripture  Hiftory  of  the  Flood,  and 
therefore  we  muft  feek  fome  other  Original 
of  thefe  Bodies. 

If 


172.  Consequences  of 

If  wc  ftick  to  the  Letter  of  the  Scripture 
Hiftory  of  the  Creation,  that  the  Creation 
of  Filhes  fucceeded  the  Separation  of  Land 
and  Sea,  and  that  the  fix  Days  wherein  the 
World  was  created,  were  fix  Natural  Days, 
and  no  more ;  it  is  very  difficult  to  return  a 
fatisfadory  Anfwer  to  this  Objedion :  I  fliali 
therefore  only  add  a  Conje(5ture  of  my  own, 
and  that  is.  That  poflibly,  at  the  firft  Crea- 
tion, the  whole  Earth  was  not  all  at  once 
uncovered,  but  only  thofe  Parts  whereabout 
Aiam  and  the  other  Animals  were  created, 
and  the  reft  gradually  afterwards,  perchance 
not  in  many  Years ;  during  which  time  th:fe 
Shell-Filh  might  breed  abundantly  all  the 
^  ^  Sea  over,  the  Bottom  whereof  being  eleva- 
\  ted  and  made  dry  Land,  the  Beds  of  Shell- 

Filh  muft  neceffarily  be  raifed  together  with  it. 
This  Conjetore  hath  no  fufficient  Ground 
^  to  fupport  it,  and  therefore  1  do  not  infift 

!  upon  it.    But,  truly,  if  it  had,  I  fee  not  any 

better  Account  could  be  given  of  all  the  ?hiC~ 
nomna  of  them,  than  from  thence  might. 

2.  It  will  hence  follow,  that  many  Spe- 
cies of  Animals  have  been  loft  out  of  the 
World,  which  Philofophers  and  Divines  are 
unwilling  to  admit,  efteeming  the  Deftru- 
ftion  of  any  one  Specie!  a  Difmembring  of 
the  Univerfe,  and  rendring  the  World  im- 
perfed  -,  whereas  they  think  the  Divine  Pro- 
vidence is  efpecially  concerned,  and  folici- 
tous  to  fecure  and  preferve  the  Works  of 


the  Deluge.  175 


the  Creation.  And  truly  fo  it  is,  as  appears^ 
in  that  it  was  fo  caretul  to  lodge  all  Land 
Animals  in  the  Ark  at  the  Time  of  the  ge- 
neral Deluge  j  and  in  that,  of  all  Animals  re- 
corded in  Natural  Hiftories,  we  cannot  fay 
that  there  hath  been  any  one  Species  loft,  no 
not  of  the  moft  infirm,  and  moft  expofed  to 
Injury  and  Ravine.  Moreover,  it  is  likely, 
that  as  there  neither  is  nor  can  be  any  new 
Species  of  Animals  produced,  all  proceeding 
from  Seeds  at  firft  created  j  fo  Providence, 
without  which  one  individual  Sparrow  falls 
not  to  the  Ground,  doth  in  that  manner 
watch  over  all  that  are  created,  that  an  en- 
tire Species  fhall  not  be  loft  gr  deftroyed  by 
any  Accident.  Now,  I  fay,  if  thefe  Bodies 
were  fometimes  the  Shells  and  Bones  of 
Fiih,  it  will  thence  follow,  that  many  Specief 
have  been  loft  out  of  the  World :  As  for 
Example,  thofe  Ophiomorfhom  ones,  whofe 
Shells  are  now  called  Corniia  A/mnonif^  of 
which  there  are  many  Species,  none  where- 
of, at  this  Day,  appear  in  our  or  other  Seas, 
fo  far  as  I  have  hitherto  feen,  heard  or  read. 
To  which  I  have  nothing  to  reply,  but  that 
there  may  be  fome  of  them  remaining  fome 
where  or  other  in  the  Seas,  though  as  yet 
they  have  not  come  to  my  Knowledge.  For 
though  they  may  have  periihed,  or  by  fome 
Accident  been  deftroyed  out  of  our  Seas,  yet 
the  Race  of  them  may  be  prcferved  and  con- 
tinued ftill  in  others.    So  though  Wolves 

and 


174  Confequences  of 

and  Bevers,  which  we  are  well  afTured  were 
fometimes  native  of  England ^  have  been  here 
utterly  deftroyed  and  extirpated  out  of  this 
Eland,  yet  there  remain  Plenty  of  them  ftill 
in  other  Countries. 

By  what  hath  been  faid  concerning  the 
Nature  and  Original  of  Stones,  I  'hope  it 
may  appear,  that  this  is  no  idle  and  unnecef- 
fary  Difcourfe,  but  very  momentous  and  im- 
portant: And  this  Subje(5t,  as  mean  as  it 
feems,  worthy  the  moft  ferious  Confidera- 
tion  of  Chriftian  Philofophers  and  Divines  > 
concerning  which,  though  I  have  fpent  ma- 
ny Thoughts,  yet  can  I  not  fully  fatisfy  my- 
felf,  much  kls  then  am  I  likely  to  fatisfy  o- 
thers. 

But  I  promife  myfelf  and  them  more 
full  Satisfaction  fliortly,  from  the  Labours  of 
thofe  who  are  more  converfant  and  better 
acquainted  with  thefe  Bodies  than  I,  who 
have  been  more  induftriousin  fearching  them 
out,  and  happy  in  difcovering  them^  who 
have  been  more  curious  and  diligent  in  con- 
(idering  and  comparing  them,  more  critical 
and  exad  in  obferving  and  noting  their  Na- 
ture, Texture,  Figure,  Parts,  Places,  Dif- 
ferences, and  other  Accidents,  than  myfelf, 
and  particularly  that  learned  and  ingenious 
Perfon  before  remembred. 

According  to  my  Hope  and  Expedlation^' 
fince  the  Publifhing  of  this  Work,  my  learned 
and  ingenious  Friend,  Mr.  Edward  Lhwyd^ 

hath 


the  Deluge.  179 


hath  gratified  the  curious  and  inquifitive  Na- 
turalifts,  with  the  Edition  of  his  excellent 
Lithophilacium  Britannicmn^  or  Claffical  Di- 
ftribution  of  Stones  and  other  Britijh  Foflils, 
remarkable  for  their  Angular  Figure^  as  ma- 
ny as  either  himfelf  hath  hitherto  found  out^ 
or  received  from  Friends.  To  which  he  hath 
fubjoined  feveral  Epiftles  relating  to  this 
Subjed  ,•  the  laft  of  which,  concerning  the 
Original  and  Produ(5tion  of  thefe  Bodies^  he 
hatli  done  me  the  Honour  to  infcribe  to  me ; 
which  at  my  Requeft  he  hath  tranflated  into 
BngliJIj^  and  enlarged  with  many  Additions, 
which  I  fliall  here  give  the  Reader. 

The  Sixth  LETTER: 

Of  the  Origine  of  Marine  Fojjils^  Shelby  and 
Mineral  Leaves^  &c. 

To  Mr.  Ray. 

Honoured  Sir^ 

^  XT' O  U  are  pleafed  to  ask,  whether,  af- 
'    jL    ^^^  ^^^^  Years  Obfervations,  I  have 

*  been  at  length  able  to  fatisfy  myfelf,  as  to 
'  the  Origine  of  what  we  call  Marine  Fojjils^ 

*  and  thofe  other  Bodies  no  lefs  furprizing, 
'  which  (to  diftinguilh  them  from  other 
'  Plants)  I  have  taken  the  Liberty  to  call 
^  Mineral  Leavesy  viz.  Whether  I  conclude, 

'  with 


I'j6  Confequences  of 


with  the  general  Opinion,  that  they  have 
been  repofited  in  the  Places  we  find  them^ 
at  the  univerfal  Deluge,  and  fo  prefervM  to 
our  Time  ,•  or  that  they  are  original  Pro- 
du6:ions  of  Nature,  there  form'd  from  fome 
Plaftick  Power  of  Salts,  or  other  Minerals, 
which  was  the  Conjedure  of  the  late 
Dr.  Flot  "*",  and  other  experienced  Natura- 
lifts.  To  this  I  muft  needs  anfwer.  That 
the  frequent  Obfervations  I  have  made  on 
fuch  Bodies,  have  hitherto  afforded  little 
better  Satisfadion,  than  repeated  Occafions 
of  Wonder  and  Amazement ;  for  as  much 
as  I  have  often  (I  may  almoft  fay  continu- 
ally) experienc'd,  that  what  one  Day's 
Obfervations  fuggefted,  was  the  next  cal- 
led in  Queftion,  if  not  totally  contradi^- 
ed  and  overthrown.  Ncverthelefs,  fo  in- 
defatigable is  the  Curioiity,  and  indeed  fo 
fuccefsful  have  been  the  Difcoveries  of  this 
prefent  Age,  that  we  are  daily  encouraged 
to  hope,  this  fo  important  a  Queftion  will 
not  much  longer  want  its  final  Determi- 
nation, to  the  great  Advancement  of  that 
Kind  of  real  Knowledge  which  relates  to 
Minerals :  A  Part  of  Natural  Hiftory  which, 
you  well  know,  hath  been  hitherto  much 
more  negkded,  than  that  of  Plants  and 
Animals i  only,  as  I  prefume,  becaufe 
thefc  Bodies  are  h(s  obvious  to  our  View,  '* 
and  much  moreabftrufe  and  unaccountable 
as  to  their  Origine.  I  therefore,  at  fpare 
^  I  Hours, 


the  Deiuge.  t 


Hours,  continue  to  improve  my  Collediion, 
in  regard  it  may  be  hoped,  that  from  an 
accurate  Infped:ion  of  it,  fome  others  here- 
after may  frame  feveral ,  ufeful  Inductions,' 
which  I  myfelf  never  had  the  leaft  Thoughts 
of.  And  in  the  mean  time,  becaufe  the 
Communicating  to  our  Friends^  what  car- 
ries but  fome  Shadow  of  Probability,  does 
often  contribute  fomewhat  towards  the 
fpeedier  Difcovery  of  the  Truth,  I  fliali 
here  fubmit  to  your  Examination,  a  Con- 
jed:ure  relating  to  the  Origine  of  thefe  Bo- 
dies, which  I  know  not  whether  any  other 
have  as  yet  thought  of:-  But  in  regard  it  is 
neceffary,  that  before  any  new  Opinion  be 
propofed,  Reafons  be  otfer'd  againft  thofe 
already  received,  give  me  leave  here  to  lay 
before  you  fome  Objedions  againft  both 
the  above-mentioned  Accounts  of  the  Ori--' 
gine  of  thefe  Bodies.  To  begin,  thereforCj' 
with  that  which  referrs  all  thefe  Marine 
Foflfils  and  Mineral  Leaves,  Stalks,  and 
Branches^  &c,  to  the  Deluge,  I  have  fe- 
vepal  Reafons  to  offer  againft  it,  whereof 
(becaufe  I  w"ould  not  prefume  too  much 
on  your  Tinle  and  Patience)  I  Ihall  at  pre- 
fent  only  propofe  thefe  few  : 
*^  Firji^  Therefore,  as  to  the  Marine  Fof- 
fils,  had  thefe  Bodies  been  Spoils  of  the 
Sea,  brought  on  the  dry  Land  by  art  Inun- 
dation, they  would  (for  the  Generality  of 
them  at  Icaft)  either  have  been  left  on  the 

N  ■  ^  Sur-^ 


•178 


Confequences  of 


Surface  of  the  Earth,  or  have  been  lodg'd 
at  no  very  great  Depth  under  it ;  but  I 
have  found  them  buried  (or  inclosM)  with- 
in folid  Marble  on  the  Tace  of  broken  Sea 
Cliffs,  of  the  Heidit  of  200  Fathoms  and 
more,  from  the  Tops  thereof  to  the  Bot- 
tom, and  obferv'd  them  to  be  fo  continu'd 
under  the  Sea  -  Water  ;  nor  was  that 
only  upon  the  Face  of  thefe  Rocks,  but 
even,  more  Or  lefs,  throughout  the  whole 
Mafs  of  them.  And  this  is  manifeft  from 
divers  Rocks  hewn  down  by  Workmen  for 
making  of  Lime,  and  other  Pieces  cafually 
fallen  from  the  Cliffs  in  the  Ifle  of  Caldey^ 
and  elfe where  about  Tenby  in  Pembrole^ 
jhire  j  as  alio  in  feveral  other  Rocks  and 
Mountains  that  coniift  of  fuch  Baftard  Mar- 
ble, or  Lime-ftone,  throughout  Walea^  Ire- 
land^ and  Other  Countries.  Now,  altho' 
we  fliould  grant,  that  at  the  Time  of  the 
Deluge  thefe  Rocks  were  no  other  than 
Clay  or  Earth  -,  and  that,  therefore,  Sea- 
Shells,  Corals,  and  other  Marine  Bodies, 
might  by  the  Violence  of  the  Inundation 
have  been  lodg'd  therein  ,•  and  that  in  Tra«5t 
of  Time,  this  fuppos'd  Clay  or  Earth  con- 
folidated  into  Lime-ftone  :  I  fay,  though 
we  Hiould  grant  all  this,  yet  I  cannot  per- 
ceive by  what  Force  fuch  Bodies  could  be 
funk  into  Clay  or  Earth  to  fo  great  a  Depth. 
If  indeed  thefe  Bodies  conftituted  one  con- 
l  tinued  Mafs,  fo  as  that  one  iliould  bear 

'  hard 


the  Deluge.  17^? 


hard  on  the  other,  fomcthing  perhaps 
might  be  rcply*d  ;  but  the  Matter  is  clear- 
ly othcrwiie,  for  they  are  fcnrid.  fo  con- 
hifedly  difpcrs'd  throughout  the  Mai's  of 
Lime-ftone,  fometimes  at  the  Diftance  (for 
Example)  of  three  Foot  from  each  others  j 
fometimes  two,  fometimes  within  half  an 
Inch,  and  not  feldom  two  or  three  or  more 
of  them  contiguous. 

'  ,Secondly^  Such  Marine  FoJJib  have  been 
obferv'd  on  the  Sides  or  Walls  within  our 
Lime-ftone  Caves,  and  are  even  fometimes 
found  fticking  to  the  Roofs  of  them  ^  for  I 
have  gather'd  Cuthbert-Beadsj  or  Entrochi^ 
which  arc  Vertebrae  of  Sea-Stars,   from  the 
Roof  .of  a  Cave  call'd  Lhygad  Lhychwr^ 
near  KerrigKennen  Caftle,  in  the  County 
oi  Ca'^rmarthen  ;  and  on  the  Sides  (as  well 
as  Bottom)  of  a  noted  Cave,  calfd  Porth- 
Gogo  at  Tflrad-Velhte  in  Erecbiockfiire^  I 
have  obferv'd  feveral  Remains  of  Cockles^ 
half  worn  by  the  Swift  Current  of  the  Ri- 
ver Melhte  which  runs  through  this  Cave, 
and  poliOies  its  Lime-ftone.     Now,   al- 
though I  can  readily  grant,  that  the  Deluge 
might  have  caft  Marine  Bodies  into  thefe 
and  any  other  Caves,  yet  can  I  not  allow 
that  it  could  ever  fallen  them  to  their  po- 
lite Roofs  and  Sides  j  and  that  they  fhould 
be  funk  fo  deep  from  the  Top,  is  the  Dif- 
ficulty of  the  former  Obje(^ion.     To  this 
I  m^^  be  added,  that  fuch  Lime-ftone  Caves 

N  2  ■  '  are 


i8o 


Confeqiiences  of 


are  for  the  moft  part  (as  it  were)  wain- 
footed  with  a  ftony  Cruft  of  Stalagmites, 
which  is  of  no  very  old  Date,  but  owing 
to  the  continued  Dropping  or  Diftillation  of 
the  Caves,  in  which  if  any  Marine-like 
Bodies  are  found,  as  I  can  affure  you  the 
Entrochi  "^  are,  I  leave  it  to  yourfelf,  and  o- 
ther  unprejudiced  Obfervers,  to  confider  of 
their  Origine. 

^  Thirdly,  The  third  Reafon  for  my  que- 
ftionifig  whether  all  thefe  Things  be  the 
Effe^s  of  the  Deluge,  is,  for  that  the  Bones, 
Horns  and  Hoofs  of  Land-Animals,  arc 
very  feldom,  i^  at  all,  found  inclos'd  in  fo- 
lid  Marble,  or  other  Stone  -,  whereas  fee- 
ing all  periilied  in  the  Deluge,  the  Spoils 
of  the  Land  might  be  expe«^ed  (in  Propor- 
tion) as  well  as  thofe  of  the  Sea. 
Fourthly,  '  Some  Foflil-Shells  are  entirely 
compos'd  of  a  Spar  or  Cryftal,  infomuch 
that  there  is  no  l3iftin«5lion  of  a  containing 
and  contain'd  Matter,  but  only  a  Cryftal- 
line  Body,  of  the  Figure  of  a  Shell,  as  is 
by  Stem  himfelf  acknowledg'd  j  and  as 
may  be  feen  in  mine,  and  other  Cabinets 
of  Form'd  Stones.  How  fo  great  a  Change 
fliould  happen  to  Sea-Shells,  and  yet  their 
Shape  or  outward  Form  not  violated,  feems 
to  me  too  difficult  to  explain.  The  like 
may  be  faid  of  the  FoiTil  Fiih-Teeth,  for 
thefe  are  not  always  of  the  fame  Matter, 
"     ^   ^  '  #  '  as 


the  Deluge .  l8i 


as  may  be  obferv'd  froQi  divers  Specimens 
in  my  Collccftion. 

Fifthly^  '  Living  Animals  arc  fometimcs 
found  in  thefe  Foflfil-Shells  -,  for  in  M/p 
fo7is  Travels  to  Italy ^  we  read  of  a  Lobfter 
found  alive  in  the  midft  of  a  Marble 
near  Tivoli  "^ ;  and  the  late  Defcription  of 
Orlney^  &c.  gives  us  the  like  Account  of 
Cockles  f.  Moreover,  as  I  am' credibly 
informed,  fome  Workmen  very  lately  dig- 
ging for  the  Foundation  of  a  Building, 
near  the  Town  of  Mold  in  FlmtJIoire^  met 
with  feveral  Mufcles  at  about  three  Foot 
Depth  in  the  Gravel,  which  had  living  Filli 
in  them.  Now  as  it  would  be  abfurd  to 
imagine  thefe  Animals  could  live  fmce  the 
Flood,  fo  neither  can  we  fuppofe  that  fuch 
Creatures  being  left  there  by  the  Deluge, 
fliould  propagate  their  Kind  ever  fmce  ; 
for  in  this  cafe,  there  muft  have  been  left 
in  that  Place  a  Heap  of  their  Shells. 
'  Sixthly^  Had  thefe  Marine  Bodies  been 
repofited  in  the  Earth  at  the  univerfal  De^ 
luge,  fuch  of  them  as  adhere  to  each  others, 
nay  all  of  the  fmie  Pits  or  Quarries,  un^ 
^  lefs  their  Beds  be  of  a  different  Matter, 

*  MiffonV  Nero  Voyage  to  Italy,  Vol  2.  />.  44.  Engl.  Edit. 

'\-  A  Gemlirnan  in  the  ra'rijb  t»/ Dunrefnefs  ;w  Zetland,  told 
cne  of  the  Miniflen  of  this  Coumry^  that  about  five  7eArs  f.nce,  a 
Plough  in  this  Parijh  did  cafi  up  frejl)  Cockles,  though  the  Place 
Tchere  the  Plough  was  going  was  three  quarters  of  a  Mils  from  the 
Sea,  rvbich  Cockles  the  Gemleman  faw  made  ready  a'dd  eaten* 
BrandVi?<f/fr//)M?/' Orkney,  Zetland,  ^c,  p.  115. 

N  3  I  mull 


l8i'  Confeqiwnccs  of 

'  muft  ncceflarily  have  undergone  the  fame 

^  Change  i  whereas^'^^/zo  acknowledges,  that 

'  he  has  found  Teft^ceous  Shells,  adhering 

A^sun.     '  to  one  perfectly  Cryftallincf  :  And  I  have 

p;o^.;.    c  j;i-jyfe[f  often  gathcrM  fome  Cryflalline  Spe- 

*  cimens,  and  others  Teftaceoiis  of  the  fame 
'  Sort  of  Shell,  in  the  fame  Quarry,  and  in 
'  the  fame  Stratum  or  Layer. 

'  Seventhly ,  The  immenfe  Quantity  we 
^  have  of  Marine  Foffils,  feerns  no  ways  to 
•  ^  plead  for  the  Origine  from  the  Deluge : 
'  For  we  may  obfcrve  many  thoufands  of 
^  great  Stones,  and  even  broken  Pieces  of 
'  Lime-ftonc  Rocks  throughout  Wales^   and 

*  the  North  of  England^  almoft  wholly  com- 
'  pos'd  of  thofe  Vcrtebr^e^  or  broken  Pieces 
'  of  the  Radii  of  Sea-Stars,  which  are  com- 

*  monly  calfd  Fairy-Stoney,  and  Cuthbert- 
'  Beadsj  whereas  'tis  very  rare  to  find  on 

*  our  Shores,  three  broken  Radii^  or  Frag- 
'  ments  of  any  Sort  of  Sea-Stars  clofe  toge- 

*  ther.  Likewife  one  Ihall  rarely  find  in  the 
'  fame  Place,  two  ^lingle  Teeth  of  any  FiHl 
'^  on  all  our  Goafts  j  whereas  thoufands  of 
'■  thcfe  Foifil  Teeth,  exadly  anfwering  thofe 
'  of  divers  Sorts  of  Sca-FiHi,  have  been  of 
''  late  Years  found  in  Quarries  and  Gravel- 
'  Pits  about  Oxford ;  nor  is  their  Quantity  at 
^  all  diminillied  upon  breaking  new  Ground. 

^  Eighthly^  Some  of  thefe  Marine  Foilils 
^  are  \io  other  than  as  it  were  Shadovi^s  or 
,:  fuDcrficial  Reprefcntations  of  Sea  Bodies : 

'  Nor 


the  Deluge.  1 83 

Nor  do  they  feem  to  have  much  more  of 
the  Matter  or  Confiftence  of  thofe  Bodies 
they  moftly  refemblc,  than  a  Picture  hath 
of  the  Perfon  or  Thing  it  rcprefents.  And 
of  this  Kind  is  Dr.  Lifter's  Pe^finites  Mevi* 
branaceus  out  of  Cole-pits ;  "^  The  Mod-  *  yipper^d. 
plaice^  or  Buglojja  curta  ftrigofa  oi  Caer^t^^im. 
marthenjlme^  and  f  the  I/lebian  Fiili -Stones  ^wg/.^ 
in  Gennany^  of  which  Olaus  Wormhis  gives  ^""'p^f/ 
us  this  following  Account.     In  the Illebian  ai'u 
Slat  (faith  he)    are  f ecu  fometmes  a  fmall,^.^ 
T>uft  of  the  Golden  Pyrites,  which  reprefents  Brh!p. 
variouy  Figures  of  Ani?nals,     I  ha-ve  a  large  9^-  T^^- 
Piece  of,  this  Stone ^  which  fo  lively  expreffes  ^^*  ^'  ^' 
all  the  Lineatnentr  of  a  Barbel  /;;  golden 
Colour^  that  the  Scales^  the  Fim^  the  Tail^ 
the  Head^  dec,  could  not  pojffibly^  by  any  Ar^ 
tifty  be  ever  better  painted.    "The  Bodies  of 
thefe  FiJJj  are  not  converted  into  Pyrites ;  fo 
that  we  have  but  juji  the  outward  Linea^ 
inents  of  the?n,  and  not  the  leaft  hnprejfian 
left  of  any  Bones ^  or  other  Parts.    We  find 
ourfelves  therefore  obliged  to  confefs^    tha\ , 
Nature  referves  many  things  from  our  Know-'' 
ledge y  the  true  Reajons  whereof  no  Man  will 
ever  fo  far  di [cover ^  as  to  be  enabled  to  ren- 
der us  a  due  Account  of  them.    Now  as  thefe 
Reprefentations  are  neither  Animals  them- 
feives,  nor  the  Exuviae  of  Animals,  fo  nei- 
ther can  they  be  their  Imprefifions,  foraf- 
much  as  thefe  Lineaments  aix  prominent, 
not  imprefs'd ;    And  as  for  the  Imprefifioqi 
N  4  ^they 


J  84  Consequences  of 

*  they  make  on  one  Side  in  the  incumbent 
^  Stone,  or  other  Matter,  it  feems  not  fatif- 
^  fadory,  becaufe  I  cannot  well  conceive 
^  hovv  all  the  Vertebra  of  a  Fifh,  whereof 
^  many  are  frequently  found  in  our  Midland 
f  Quarries  and  Gravel-pits,  lliould  here  be 

*  totally  confum'd,  and  the  Surface  only  of 

*  one  Side  be  converted  into  this  Pyritey^  or 
i  Marchafite, 

'  Ninthly  J  Another  Obftacle  of  my  AlTent 
^  to  their  being  all  of  Diluvian  Origine,  is 
^  the  vaft  Number  of  unknown  Marine  Fof- 
^  fils,  fo  commonly  met  with  throughout 
^  moft  Counties  of  England;  fuch  as  we 

*  have   nothing  like,    neither  in    our  Sea 

*  Shores,  nor  rak'd  by  Dredges  out  of  the 

*  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  by  the  Oyfter  Fifhermcn, 
^  and  others  who  have  been  employed  by  cu- 

*  rious  Perfons  on  fet  Purpofe.     I  have  in  my 

*  Colle(5tion  above  forty  different  Species  of 

*  the  Foffil  Nautili^  or  thofe  Shell-Stones,  a 

*  great  many  Sorts  whereof  are  commonly 
iv.  Ink  «  caird  Cor?2im  Ammonis  "^  -,  and  have  obferv'd 
^r.n.K,.  c  pieni;y  of  mpft  of  thefe  Species  (broken  or 

'  whole)  in  the  Fields,  Quarries,  and  Clay- 

*  Pits  of  the  Midland  Counties  of  Engla?id  : 

*  Nor  do  I  queftion,  but  in  that  excellent 
,  *  Collei5tion  of  Dr.  Woodward' s^  and  in  thofe 

*  of  fome  others  of  our  curious  Naturalifts, 
^  feveral  Species  may  be  found  that  are  no; 
^  in  mine  :  And  yet  I  cannot  underftand 
I  that  all  our  BritiJJj  Seas  afford  one  Sort  of 

'  this 


►< ,." 


the  Deluge.  1 85 

this  Shell.  The  like  may  be  faid  as  to  fe- 
veral  other  Kinds  ;  particularly  the  Sea- 
Stars^  of  the  broken  Radii  whereof  we 
find  no  lefs  a  Variety :  "^  And  the  Echhii^  as  ^ih.cuf^ 
to  the  Prickles  or  Radioli  of  which,  as  ^-  ^'  '^^■ 
weH  as  to  thofe  of  Sea-Stars,  all  Sorts  of 
Lapides  Judaici  (as  many  Years  fince  I 
hinted  to  you)  muft  be  referred  j  notwith- 
ftanding  the  exceflive  Thicknefs  of  fome 
of  them,  and  that  they  have  that  very  rough 
or  Grafer-like  Superficiesf,  fo  as  to  be  no-  \'^'^f 


^  thing  like  the  Spines  of  any  of  the  Echini^  mfl.Mau 
I  or  Star-Fiili  of  our  Seas.  ox.  ^ 

*^  Tenthly^  I  add  only  one  other  Argument,  ^^^\^2? 

*  which  though  many  have  already  objeded,  n.  1002, 

*  yet  hath  not^  that  I  know  of,  been  hitherto  ^oo^0c. 

*  anfwer'd  toSatisfadtion  :   And  that  is,  that 

*  fuch  Marine  Subftances  are  fometimes  ge- 
^  Derated  in  Humane  Bodies :   For  to  me  it 

^  appears  a  far  lefs  Wonder,  that  Shells  and   ■ 
'  other  Marine  Bodies  Ihould  be  produc'd  in 

*  the  Bowels  of  the  Earth,  than  their  Pro- 

*  du(5tion  in  the  Bodies  of  Men  or  Animals 

*  at  Land.  And  that  they  have  been  fo 
'  found,  is  fufficiently  attefted,  both  by  An- 
'  cient  and  Modern  Authors,  of  a  Credit 
'  and  Charader  beyond  all  Exception.    You 

*  know  many  Inftances  of  this  Kind  are  pro- 
'  duced  by  Dr.  Lifler^  in  the  Second  Part  of 
^  his  Anatomy  of  Shells  ;  amongft  which  I 
'  remember  very  well  to  have  feenthat  fmall 
I  Turben  ^  or    Periwinkle ,    difcovered    by 

'Dr. 


/J 


Confequences  of 

^  Dr.  Vkrce  of  Bath^  and  fent  to  Dr.  Mii^- 
^  gra've^  then  Secretary  to  the  Oxford  Philo- 

*  Ibphical  Society  ;  and  it  was  fuch,  as  I  be- 

*  lieve  none  could  have  poflibly  diftinguilliM 
'  from  a  Sea-Shell.     Thcfe,  Sir,  are  the  Ob- 

*  jedions  I  had  to  offer  againft  their  Opinion, 
^  who  attribute  the  Origine  of  all  thefe  Ma- 
^  rine  FolTils  to  the  univerfal  Deluge  :  For 

*  whatever  their  true  Origine  is,  Mar'me  Tof- 

*  fib  they  ought  to  be  tern^'d,  in  order  to 

*  their  better  DiftinCtion  from  all  others.. 
^  'Tis  alfo  for  the  like  Conveniency  of  Di- 
'  ftindion,  that  I  ufe  the  Term  of  Mineral 
^  Plants  for  thofe  FofTil  Leaves  and  Branches 

*  we  find  fo  commonly  inclos'd  in  Stone  and 
*-  blue  Marble  at  our  Cole-pits,  and  fom^ 
^  Iron  Mines.  And  now  to  proceed  to  thefe, 
^  wc  iliall  find  much  the  like  Difficulties  with 
^  what  occurred  when  we  confider'd  the  Ma- 
f  rineFoJJlb, 

'  Firfi^  For  in  the  firft  place,  thefe  fubter- 
^  raneyus  Leaves  frequently  (indeed  moft 
^  commonly)  are  found  at  the  Depth  of  at 
^  leaft  twenty  or  thirty  Foot.  And  how  they 
^  fhould  be  laid  fo  deep  by  an  Inundation, 
^  feems  to  me  not  fo  eafily  accountable ;  it 
^  being  natural  to  fuppofe,  that  all  Plants 
^  were  left,  by  the  Deluge,  on  the  Surface  of 
^  the  Earth,  in  the  manner  we  daily  find  fe- 
^  veral  America  Seeds  of  Leguminous  Trees 
'  caft  up  on  the  Shores  of  Ireland^  Scotland^ 
I  and  Wales -y   and  that  confequently,  in  a 

'  ihort 


the  Deluge.  187 

lliort Space,  there  would-be  no  irrore  Re- 
mains of  them,  than  we  find  of  thofe  Sea 
Plants  we  commonly  dung  our  Land  with- 
all. 

/  Secondly^  Allowing  they  might  be,  by 
fome  Accident  we  cannot  think  of,  buri- 
ed fo  deep,  I  can  difcovcr  no  Reafon  for 
their  being  thus  lodgM  lo  plentifully  in 
Cole-Slat,  and  Iron-Stone ,'  and  never,  that 
I  know  of,  in  the  Mafs  of  our  Flint,  Linie- 
ftone,  and  common  Rock,  though. there  be 
infinitely  tlie  greater  Quantity  of  thefe  lat- 
ter. And  this  Note  feems  to  deferve  our 
Confideration,  unlefs  it  can  be  made  out^ 
that  though  the  Matter  of  Flint  and  Limc- 
ftone  h^s  very  entirely  preferv'd  the  Ante- 
diluvian Shells,  yet  it  could  not  Leaves,  or 
other  Parts  of  Vegetables. 
'  Thirdly^  Had  they  been  owing  to  the 
Deluge,  we  fliould  find  the  Leaves  and 
Branches  of  fuch  Plants  as  are  Natives  of 
our  own  Ifland,  much  more  plentifully  than 
fuch  unknown  Plants  as  we  cannot  paral- 
lel: Whereas  on  the  contrary,  as  far  as 
Dr.  R/c^^r ^ow'sObfervations,  and  my  own, 
have  been  able  to  diftinguilh,  the  Genera- 
lity of  thefe  Mineral  Leaves,  arc  clearly 
diftind  from  thofe  of  our  Britijh  Plants. 
'  Fourthly ^\{x6.  they  been  thus .  repofited 
'  at  the  Deluge,  fome  Specimens  of  moft,  if 
I  not  of  each  Clafs  of  Plants,  would  be  found 

'  amonglt 


1 8  8  Confequences  of 

^  amongft  them  ^  and  efpecially  of  Trees, 
^  in  regard  fuch  Leaves  are  not  only  the 
'  moft  numerous,  but  alfo  commonly  the 
^  dryeft  and  moft  durable.  But  we  have  not 
^  hitherto  difcover'd,  that  any  of  thefe  Mi- 

*  ncral  Leaves  anfwcr  to  thofe  of  Trees  or 

*  Shrubs  i  nor  are  we  alTur'd  that  any  have 
^  been  yet  found,  but  what  may  be  reduced 
I  to  three  or  tour  ClalTes. 

'  Fifthly  The  fame  curious  and  ingenious 
^  Gentleman  hath  obferved,  that  thefe  Mi- 
'  neral  Leaves  are,  generally  fpeaking,  lefs 
^  than  thofe  they  feem  moft  to  refemble; 
'  which  is  what,  in  divers  Specimens,  I  have 
t  "fince  taken  Notice  qf  myfelf. 

*  Sixthly^  Although  fometimes  meer  flexi- 

*  ble  Leaves  are  found  amongft  thefe  Mine- 
'  ral  Plants,  yet  the  Generality  of  them  (as 

*  I  have  before  obferved  of  fome  of  the  Ma- 
^  rine  Foffils)  are  but  meer  Delineations,  or 
'  fuperficial  Refemblances:    Nor  yet  could 

*  fuch  Reprefentations  be  owing  to  the  Im- 

*  preifions  of  Plants,   fince  confum'd ;    be- 

*  caufe,  as  I  have  faid  before  of  the  Mock- 
^  FiJIo^  they  are  a  little  raifed  above  the  Sur- 
f  face  of  the  Stone,  and  not  imprefs'd. 

^  Seventhly^  It  feems  nothing  more  ftrange 
^  or  unaccountable,  that  Delineations  of 
'  Leaves  ftiould  be  naturally  produced   in 

*  this  Coal-Slat,  &c.  than  that  Reprcfenta- 

*  tions  of  Gnats  fkould  be  fometimes  found 


the  Deluge.  189 

in  the  Foflfil  Amber  of  Prujfm'^j  and  of  Spl-  *  Hartm. 
ders  in  the  Coal-Slat  in  England  f.     But  ^f p"J"? 
if  any  affert,  that  thefe  were  once  living  ^'/sV' 
Animals,  they  are  to  explain  how  they  came  +  f  «^- 
fo  deep  under  Ground ;  and  afterwards,  f^l\  ^' 
how  they  got  into  thefe  entirely  clofe  Pri- 
fons  of  Stone  and  Amber.     I  meet  with 
feveral   more  Difficulties,   but  perha'ps  of 
lefs  Moment,  which  I  fhall  not  therefore 
trouble  you  withali,  till  fome  other  Occa- 
(ion. 

*  A  s  to  the  other  Opinion,  which  main- 
tains, that  all  thefe  Bodies  are  form'd  in  the 
Earth  ,•  the  greateft  Difficulty  it  labours  un- 
der, is,  that  we  find  ourfelves  incapable  of 
giving  any  fatisfadory  Account  oftheCau- 
fes  and  Manner  of  fuch  a  Production.  For 
if  any  have  Recourfe,  with  Dr.  Plot^  to  the 
Plaftick  Power  of  Salts,  1  fee  not  (to  go  no 
farther)  what  they  can  anfwer  to  that  Ob- 
jedion  propos'd  by  yourfelf  long  fince,  in 
your  Phy/ico-Theological  Vifcourfes,  For 
who  can  reafonably  imagine,  that  any  Mi- 
neral Salts  ihould  fo  conlpire,  as  that  fome 
of  them  fliould  fo  exadly  frame  the  Points 
of  jhe  GloJJopetrie  *^ ,  which  are  Fiih-Teeth,  *^  lith. 
of  one  Matter,  and  fome  their  Roots  (ad-  -^''''*- 
ding  now  and  then  a  Piece  of  a  Jaw)  which  ^J.  1270. 
are  of  another  :  That  fome  ihould  form 
the  polite  Convex  Side  of  a  Sihqmftnim^ 
and  others  its  Appendix  fj:  That  io\nt\\ibid. 
Ihould  make  the  Sccket  or  Calix  of  the  t^'^-^^- 


1^)0 

*  Ibid 

Tab.  21. 

N.  167^, 
&  1740. 
&Scheuch. 
Lith.  h'd- 
vet.  tab, 
I  .Fig.  n. 


Confequences  of 

Belemnites^  and  others  its  "^  Aheolm^  &c. 
I  therefore  humbly  offer  to  your  Confide- 
ration,  fome  Conjedures  I  have  of  late  Years 
entertain'd  cpncerning  the-Caufes,  Origine, 
and  Ufe  of  thefe  furprizing  Ph^enojitena.  I 
have,  inihort,  imaginMthcy  might  be  part- 
ly owing  to  Fiih-Spawn  received  into  the 
Chinks  and  other  Meatus' f  of  the  Earth  in 
the  Water  of  the  Deluge,  and  fo  be  derived 
(as  the  Water  could  make  way)  amonsft 
the  Shelves  or  Layers  of  Stone,  Earth,  (jc. 
and  have  farther  thought  it  worth  our  En- 
quiry, whether  the  Exhalations  which  are 
raifed  out  of  the  Sea,  and  fiilling  down  in 
Rains,  Fogs,  &c.  do  water  the  Earth  to 
the  Depth  here  required,  may  not  from  the 
Seminium.,  or  Spawn  of  Marine  Animals,  be 
fo  far  impregnated  with,  as  to  the  naked 
Eye  invifible,  animalcula^  (and  alfo  with 
feparate  or  diftindt  Parts  of  them)  as  to 
produce  thefe  Marine  Bodies,  which  have 
fo  much  excited  our  Admiration,  and  in- 
deed baffled  our  Reafoning,  throughout  the 
Globe  of  the  Earth  f.  I  imagind  farther, 
that  the  like  Origine  might  be  afcribed  to 

.'the 


^  In  thofe  accurate  Microfcopical  Obfervations  commu- 
nicated to  the  Royal  Society  by  Sir  C.  H.  we  find  this  Note : 

Some  of  them  alfo  may  probably  be  on^irjally  iVater  Infeils^  or 

Fijh,  fui  generis,  and  arejmll  enough  to  be  ruis'd  in  Subjiance  or 
in  Spawn  with  the  Vapours,  and  again  to  fall  with  the  i^in^  and 
waj groT9  and  bred  again  in  Water  when  Upt:  And  this  wjUfeem 

ie/s 


the  Deluge.  ipi 


the  Mineral  Leaves  and  Branches,  feeing  we 
find  that  they  arc  for  the  moft  part  the 
Leaves  of  Ferns,  and  other  Capillaries  j  and 
of  Moffes  and  fuch  like  Plants,  as  are  called 
Icfs  perfect ,  whole  Seeds  may  be  eafily  al-  * 
low'd  to  be  waiVd  down  by  the  Rain  into 
the  Depth  here  required,  feeing  they  arc  fo 
minute,  as  not  at  all  to  be  diftinguifli'd  b^ 
the  naked  Eye.  And  as  to  fuch  of  them  as 
are  not  reducible  to  thefe  ClalTes  of  Minute 
Seeds,  they  are  fuch  as  I  know  not  at  all 
whither  to  referr. 

'  I  A  M  not  fo  fond  of  this  Hypothefif^  as 
not  to  be  fenfible  myfelf,  that  it  lies  open 
to  a  great  many  Objedionsi  and,  in  all 
probability,  you  will  foon  dilcover  more 
Difficulties  than  I  fliall  be  able  to  remove : 
However,  thofe  Arguments  that  firft  led 
me  to  it,  Ihall  be  here  laid  before  you. 
'  Firfi^  Becaufe  I  obferv'd,  that  of  all 
thefe  extraneous  Figures  or  Reprefenta- 
tions  dug  out  of  the  Earth,  there  is  fcarce 
one  in  a  thoufand  but  is  reducible  to  fucb 
natural  Bodies  as  expofe  their  Seeds  either 
to  the  open  Air  or  the  Water  :  Name- 
ly, Plants,  Infers,  or  Fiili,    For  (as  I  have 

iefsflrange  to  you,  -when  1  ajfureyou  that  I  havefeen^  and  roksn  J 
amfo  happy  as  to  wait  on  you  ner.t,  willjherv  Fijhes^  form  as  pmall 
4LsChcefe- Nines  ofdiffaem  Sorts, very  roGnderfuHy  made, which  are 
oj  the  cruftaceous  i^tnd,  fieU'd  with  rnxny  ^oims^  with  very  Uytg 
Horns,  fringed  Tmis,  and  have  many  Legs  like  Shrimps^  &c. 
Vh'ii.  J nn.  ib:  Nlanh  aad  JprH,  ijoo.  ^,  1-^6^.         * 

!  before- 


Ijpl  Consequences  of 

before  hinted)  had  the  Spoils  of  the  De^ 
luge  been  entirely  (or,  for  the  moft  part) 
preferv'd  to  our  Time,  we  might  reafon- 
ably  expedl  Plenty  of  the  Skeletons,  and 
of  the  Horns  iwA  Hoofs  of  Quadrupeds  i 
And,  why  ihould  not  either  entire  or  bro-* 
ken  Skeletons  of  Birds,  be  found  preferv'd 
likewife  in  the  fame  manner  and  in  the 
fame  places  we  find  the  Leaves  of  Plants  ? 
How  happens  it,  at  leaft,that  \vt  find  none 
at  all  of  their  Pen-feathers,  which  lliould 
feem  of  a  Conftitution  more  durable,   if 
once  inclos'd  in  fine  Stone,  than  that  of 
Plants  ?     I  am  not  ignorant,  that  fome  ve^ 
ry  learned  Writers,  and  thofe  even  emi- 
nent  Naturalifls,  have  inform'd  us,^  that 
not  only  Bones   of  Land- Animals,  have 
been  frequently  found  inclos'd  on  all  Sides 
in  folid  Stone,  but  likewife  the  Reprefen- 
tations  or  Lineaments  of  Birds  and  Beafts, 
and  of  Men  and  their  Parts  :    Nay,  even 
that  Monhj  Hermits^  and  Saints^  have  been 
exactly   pourtray'd  in  the  midft  of  folid 
Marble.     To  thefe  I  muft  take  leave  to 
reply  -,   Firfi^  That  fome  of  thefe  Infor- 
mations are  manifeftly  erroneous ;  for  that 
they  tell  us,  that   thefe  Delineations  ap- 
peared upon  polilHing  the  Marbles  ^  where- 
as all^Figures  naturally  delineated  within 
Stones,  muft,  upon  polifliing  thefe  Stones, 
be  defac'd.     Secondly^  When  we  difcover 
any  unknown  Foflfils^  we  are  very  fubjedt 

'  to 


the  Deluge.  -  1^5 

to  make  wrong  Comparifons  ;  aflimila- 
ting  many  of  them  to  the  Parts  of  Land- 
Animals,  which,  indeed,  ought  to  be  re- 
duc'd  to  Sea-Shells,  or  other  Marine  Bo- 
dies j  as  may  be  obferv'd  in  thofe  Stones, 
caird  Hippocepaloidef^  Otitef^  Bucardites^ 
and  divers  others.  Thirdly^  Although  it 
be  granted,  that  fometimes  the  Bones, 
Horns,  and  Hoofs  of  viviparous  Animals, 
are  dug  out  of  the  Earth  ;  yet,  feeing 
they  are  fo  very  few,  it  feems  much  like- 
lier that  they  might  have  been  bury'd  by 
fome  other  Accidents,  than  that  they  have 
been  there  preferv'd  ever  fince  the  Deluge. 
For  in  the  Deluge,  all  Land-Creatures 
whatever  perifh'd  ;  nor  fhould  we  fo  much 
exped  to  find  their  iingle  Bones  as  whole 
Skeletons,  thus  interred.  Fourthly ^  When- 
ever I  find  any  Confirmation,  by  competent 
and  credible  Authors,  of  fuch  Delineations 
of  any  fort  of  viviparous  Animals,  or 
Birds,  as  the  Iflebian  Stones  exhibit  of 
Filh,  I  fliall  then  readily  grant,  thefe  Things 
may  be  alfo  as  well  produc'd  without 
previous  Seeds  ^  and  offer  no  farther  Ar- 
guments for  this  Hypothefif. 
Secondly  J  ^  I  am,  as  to  my  own  part,  a- 
bundantly  fatisfy'd ;  and  others  will,  I 
prefume,  upon  Sight,  and  accurate  Obfer- 
vation  of  fome  Folfils  I  have  collected,  be 
no  lefs,  that  thefe  Bodies  do^  in  Trad  of 
Time,  quite  lofe  their  Forms  and  become 
^  O  '  fuch 


Ip4  Confequences  of 

fuch  ihapekfs  Lumps,    as  to   be  diftin-i 
guilliM  for  Marine,  by  none  but  fuch  as 
are  very  converfant  in  Obfervations  of  this 
Kind,  nor  even,  at  laft,  by  them  neither. 
I  fay,  I  am  fully  fatisfy'd  thereof  j   becaufe 
I  have  colleded  fparry  or  cryftalline  Bo- 
dies, whofe  Surface   do  only  partly  re- 
femble  Entrochi  j    likewife  Shells,  Gloffo- 
fetra  and  SUiqiiaftra^  confiding  of  a  flinty 
fort  of  Pebble,and  receding  from  their  pro- 
per   or  common  Figures.     And,  Lajily^ 
Ichthyofpondylli^   or  Vi^-Vertebr^ ;    fome- 
times  more,   fometimes  lefs,   deform'd  y 
exhibiting  on  their  Surface,  fuch  fmall  ftel- 
lated  Figures  as.  we  find  on  a  fort  of  the 
"^  Aftroites,     Now  feeing  that,  in  Trad  of 
Time,  fome  of  them  lofe  their  Subftance 
and  Form,    degenerating  into  other  Bo* 
dies,    may  we  not    fufped    that  others 
(confidering  the  Intirenefs  of   many   of 
them,  and  their  vafl:  Plenty)  might  be,  in 
the  interim,  produc'd  ? 
Thirdly  J  '  If  this  Hypothejis  may  be  ad- 
mitted, fome  Account  might  probably  be 
given  of  the    FoiTil  Nautili^    and  other 
ftrange  Shells,  by  fuppofing,   Firft^  That? 
many  of  thofe  Clouds,  which  fall  here  in 
Rains,  &c,  have  been  exhal'd  in  very  re- 
mote Parts :     And,  Secondly ^  That  fuch  a 
Generation,  as  is  here  fuppos'd,  muft  be 
much  more   liable  to  monftrous  Produ- 
dions  than  the  common.    For,  as  Agri^ 

I  cola 


»  r.piot'j 

Oxon. 
p.  87.  & 
Litb.Brit. 
lab.  20. 
Num. 
1658. 


the  Deluge.  Ip^ 

*  cola  fays,  appofitely  to  this  Purpofe,  ^txn- 
^  to  crajjior  eft  terra  qua?n  aqua^  tanto  i?nper'' 

*  fe^iioref  gignit  formas^  &  ^qiu  animalibui 
^  careant. 

Fourthly^  ^  I  have  often,  in  one  and  the 

*  fame  Quarry,  gather'd  20  or  30  different 

*  Magnitudes  of  the  fame  Species  of  Shell- 
'  Stones  j  whence  I  began  to  fufped:,  that 

*  they    might    have    a    certain    vegetative 

'  Growth  t  j    and  that  they  had,  therefore^  ^seeths 
'  their  Generation  and  Corruption  inthe  ve-  ^'orks  of 

*  ry  Place  we  find  them  :    And  that  hence  it  ^ll^^^^x 
^  is,   that  we  find  fome  Nautili^  Lafider  for  the 

'  Judaici^  Gloffofetra,    and  Afiropodia,  of  ^'^'^  'f 
^  inch  monftrous  Largenefs,  that  no  Seas,  as  1703. 

*  far  as  our  curious  Naturalifts  have  difco- 
^  ver'd,  afford  any  thing  comparable  to 
^^  them. 

Fifthly^  ^  To  comprize  the  reft  in  few 

*  Words:  The  burying  of  thefe  Leaves  of 
'  Plants    fo    deepi    the  vaft   Quantity   of 

*  thefe  Marine  Bodies ;  the  incredible  Va- 
'  riety  of  exotick  or  unknown  Shells,  Sea^ 
'  Stars,  &c.  in  fo  narrow  a  Compafs  as  this" 
Vlflandj  their  fo  frequently  diftorted  and 
'  uneven  Surfaces  j  that  they  fliould  be  found 
'  at  all  Depths,  from  the  Top  of  the  higheft 
'  Rocks  to  the  Bottom  ,•  that  they  fliould  be 
^  not  rarely  found  adhering  to  the  Roofs, 
'  and  to  the  Walls,  or  Sides  of  Caves,  as 

*  well  as  perpendicular  Clefts  of  Rocks  j 
'  and  be  alfo  fometimes  difcover'd  in  Ani- 

O  z         "         '  mal 


I  ^6  Confeqiiences  of 

^  mal  Bodies  at  Land ;  and  that  there  fliould 
'  be  Sea-Shells  dug  at  Land  containing  living 
'  Animals.  I  fay,  all  thefe  confidered  toge- 
'  ther,  feem  inconfiftcnt  with  the  Effeds  of 
'  a  Deluge  ^  and  if  this  Hypothefis  may  be 
'  admitted,  not  very  difficult. 

'  But  before  it  be,  I  ought  not  to  doubt, 

'  but  that  yourfelf  and  others  will  find  many 

^  more  Objcdions  than  I  can  forefee.    In  the 

-  f  mean  time,fuch  as  occurr  to  my  Thoughts, 

*  I  lliall  here,  however  deftrudive  they  may 
'  prove  to  it,  fairly  lay  down  ,•  for  they  who 
'  have  no  other  Aim  than  the  Search  of 
'  Truth,  are  no  ways  concern' d  for  the  Ho- 
*^^  nour  of  their  Opinions :  And  for  my  part, 
'  I  have  been  always,  being  led  thereunto 
'  by  your  Example,  fo  much  the  lefs  Admi- 

*  rer  of  Hypothefes^  as  I  have  been  a  Lover  of 
^  Natural  Hiftory. 

'The  main  Difficulties  that  I  can  at  pre- 
l  fent  think  of,  are  thefe  : 

Firft^  '  It  will  be  queftionM,  whether  the 
^  fuppos'd  Semmum  can  penetrate  the  Pores 
'  of  Stones. 

Secondly^   ^  It  will  fcarce  feem  credible, 

*  that  fuch  Bodies,  having  no  Life,  fliould 

*  grow,  efpecially  when  confined  in  fo  feem- 
l  ingly  unnatural  a  Place  as  the  Earth,  &c. 

Thirdly^  '  According  to   this  Uypothefu^ 
^  thefe  Bodies  fliould  be  found  in  much  the 
'^  fame  manner,  lodg'd  in  all  kind  of  Stone, 
[  &c,  and  throughout  all  Countries, 
r  -      -^  Fourth' 


the  Deluge.  1^7 


Fourthly  J  ^  We  fliould  not  find  Plenty  of 
^  Shells,  &c.  adhering  to  each  others,  in  the 
^  fame  manner  as  they  are  found  at  Sea. 

Fifthly^  '  Some  Folfil  Shells  Ihould  then  be 
'  found  fo  minute,  as  to  be  fcarce  vilible,  and 
'  others  of  the  fame  Kind  in  their  complete 
^  Magnitude. 

Sixthly^  ^  It  may  be  well  queftion'd,  whe- 
^  ther  the  elTential  Parts  of  this  fuppos'd 
^  Spawn  of  any  FiOi,  iliould,  being  fepara- 
'  ted,  (as  muft  be  here  often  fuppos'd)  ever 
'  effed  the  End  by  Nature  defigned  them,  e- 
'  fpecially  when  brought  out  of  their  proper 

*  Element. 

Seventhly^  ^  It  will  be  faid,  that  the  re- 
^  maining  Tracks  of  Shells  that  once  adhc- 
'  red  on  the  Surface  of  fome  of  thefe  Foffils, 
'  and  the  Pearls,  which  (as  has  been  related) 

*  have  been  found  (ticking  to  others,  are  a 
'  plain  Proof  that  they  are  the  Spoils  of  once 
'  living  Animals  ;  alfo  the  Change  of  die 
'  Colour  near  the  Roots  of  fome  Foffd  Filh 
^  Teeth,  as  namely  of  fome  Fle^tronit^^  (hew 
'  how  far  they  were  faften'd  in  the  Jaws  of 
^  once  living  Filh ;  and  that  the  worn  Extre- 
'  mities  of  fome  others,  do  plainly  diicover 
I  that  they  have  been  once  employ'd. 

Eighthly^  ^  Many  of  thefe  fubterraneous 
'Filh,  as  particularly  feveral  of  the  Glojjo- 
^  petra^  are  taken  for  the  Teeth  of  Viviparous 
[  f  ifh  ;  which  being  granted,  it  is  impofTible 

P  3  they 


1^8  Confequences  of 

^  they  fliould  be  produced  in  the  Manner 
'  here  propofed. 

Ninthly^  and  Laftly^  ^  Such  a  Produ(Stion 
'  feems  clearly  belide  the  ordinary  Courfe 

*  of  Nature  ;  nor  can  we  perceive  any  End 
5  or  Ufe  of  fo  preternatural  a  Generation. 

'  To  the  Firft  I  anfwer.  That  it's  mani- 

*  feft  from  Experience,  upon  which  all  folid 
^  Philofophy  muft  be  grounded,  that  the 
'  Spawn  of  Animals  may  infinuate  itfelf  in- 
'  to  the  Mafs  of  Stone. 

^And  this   plainly   appears    from  Live 
'  Toads,  found  fometimes  in  the  midft  of 

*  Stones  at  Land,  and  thofe  Shell-Fiili  called 

*  Pholades  at  Sea.  If  it  be  replied.  That  the 
'Stones,  wherein  the  Pholades  are  lodgM, 

*  are  full  of  large  Holes,  &c,  I  anfwer.  That 

*  tho'  they  generally  are  fo,  yet,  upon  break- 
'  ing  and  examining  a  great  many  of  thefe 

*  Stones,  I  have  fometimes  found  of  their 
'  Shells  (though  without  Animals)  fo  lodg'd, 
^  as  that  there  were  not  any  viiible  Meatuses 
^  from  their  Holes,  neither  diredly  to  the 
^  Surface  of  the  Stones,  nor  to  thofe  other 
'  Holes  in  them.  * 

^  T  o  the  Second,  That  that's  not  fo  great 
f  a  Wonder,  as  that  Shells  Ihould  be  fome- 

*  Mijfum  efl  ad.  me  alio  ex  litore  Saxum^  in  quo  nulla  rmiSy 
fiuUa  cavert?^^  fed  foramina  tantum  apparebam  tarn  exigua,  ut  vix 
dciera  admitterem :  Eo  ighur  jdibus  multis  confraSOy  cavitates 
interna  nultix  eranty  vario  fitu  ^  diver fx  magnitttiinis  in  quibus 
tombai  ijtas  re^eri,    Rondel,  de  A^uatilib. 

J  times 


the  De/iige.  ipp 


times  generated,  and  even  grow,  tho'  they 
contain  no  Animals  within  humane  Bo- 
dies ',  and  within  the  Mafs  of  thofe  thick 
Shells  of  our  large  Tenb-j  Oyfters,  which 
I  formerly  mentioned  to  you,  as  firft  fliewn 
me  by  Mr.  William  Cole  of  Briftol^  and  have 
fince  obferv'd  myfelf.  For  we  muft  grant, 
that  the  Earth,  even  in  any  Part  of  the  In- 
land Country,  is  much  fitter  for  their  Re- 
ception and  Augmentation  than  humane 
Bodies  ;  efpecially,  if  we  reflect,  that  when 
the  Spat  or  Setniniimi  here  fuppos'd,  meets 
with  faline  Moifture  in  the  Earth,  living 
Animals  are  fometimes  produced,  as  is 
before  attefted. 

'The  Third  is  likewife  anfwer'd  from 
Experience :  For  we  know,  that  Sea-Shells, 
and  fome  Stones,  yield  to  the  Growth  of 
Plants  :  Alfo,  that  the  hardeft  Stones  are 
imprefs'd  by  the  Li?npetf^  tho'  they  do  but 
adhere  to  their  Surface,  and  that  our  Lime- 
ftone  yields  to  the  Growth  of  fome  Echini^ 
or  Sea-Urchins,  as  well  as  the  Fholades  : 
For,  we  find  fome  of  their  Cells  much  lefs 
than  others  -,  and  that  'tis  certain,  that  all 
the  Holes  wherein  they  lurk,  in  what  Stones 
foever  they  are  found,  are  owing  to  their 
Growth. 

'  T  o  the  Fourth  I  anfwer.  That  this  Hy- 
pothefis  does  not  require,  that  thefe  Marine 
Bodies   ftiould  be  produced  in  all  Coun- 
tries alike.    For^  as  in  Vegetables,  we  find, 
'         .  O  4  *  that 


200  Consequences  of 

that  all  Seeds  will  not  be  received  by  all  Soils  i 
fo  neither  can  we  expe(5t5  that  all  Earths  and 
Minerals  fhould  be  equally  proper  for  fuch 
Produdlions.  And,  truly,  I  thought  it  well 
worth  Obfervation,  that,  as  in  all  thefe 
Countries,  fcarce  any  Stones  at  Land,  ex- 
cepting the  Lime-ftone,  afford  Marine  Fof- 
fils  J  fo  I  never  found  the  Pholades  at  Sea 
in  any  other,  tho'  in  that  very  common  j 
and  in  divers  Counties  of  Wales, 
*^  A  s  to  the  Fifth,  I  pretend  not  to  deter- 
mine, how  long  fuch  Bodies  may  continue 
before  their  Diffolution^  but  doubt  not^ 
but  that,  according  to  the  Nature  of  the  Mi- 
nerals wherein  they  are  bedded,  they  may 
laft  much  longer  in  fome  Places  than  o- 
thers  ;  and,  therefore,  we  are  not  to  won- 
der 

Plenty  of  them  than  elfewhere. 
*^  T  o  the  Sixth,  I  anfwer.  That  at  the  Ba- 
fy's  Leigh  Quarry,  near  Oxford^  large  Spe- 
cimens of   the  Tiirbinites  Major^  figured 
Table  the  yth.  Numb,  341.  may  be  often 
met  with  ;  and,  likewife,  in  the  fame  Place, 
concreted  Lumps  of  others  of  the  fame 
Species,  very  minute.     I  have  alfo,  in  my 
Colk(ftion,  divers  other  Examples  of  the 
fame  Kind  :     And  Steno  informs  us.  That 
he  has  difcover'd  amongft  FoflTils,  fome  fo 
^  fmall,  as  to  be  fcarce  dilcernible  without  a 
^  Microfcope,    and    even    minute  Eggs   of 
f  Shells. 

.^Thb 


if  in  fuch  Places  we  find  a  far  greater 


the  Deluge.  201 

*^  Th  E  Seventh  may  be,  in  a  great  meafure, 
anfwer'd  from  the  numerous  Hiftories  we 
have  of  monftrous  Produ(5lions  :  And , 
as  to  the  Impropriety  of  the  Place,  the 
fame  may  be  anfwer'd  here,  in  reference 
to  Parts  of  Animals,  as  was  to  the  Second 
Objection,  in  refpei^  of  Whole  ones. 
^  Eighth,  As  to  the  Adhcfion  of  one  Shell 
to  another,  that  may  altogether  as  well 
happen  by  this  Way  of  Generation  as  at 
Sea:  And,  for  the  Signs  or  Impreflions 
made  by  fome,  that  formerly  adher'd  to 
them,  thofe  might  have  been  disjoined  by 
the  Workmen  in  digging,  or  by  the  Sink- 
ing of  the  Ground  where  they  are  found, 
or  fome  other  Accident.  But,  as  to  the 
Change  of  the  Colour  of  the  Fle^honites 
towards  the  Root,  and  fome  of  them  being 
fharpen'd  at  the  Point,  I  muft  conFefs  I 
have  little  to  fay  ;  but  that  we  do  not  yet 
know,  the  Teeth  of  what  Fiih  thefe  Pk^ 
^tronitiC  are ;  and,  confequently,  cannot  tell^ 
but  they  may  be  naturally  fo  colotir'd,  and 
pointed :  Or  elfe,  that  thefe  and  many 
more  have  been  thus  prefervM  in  the  Place 
we  find  them,  ever  fince  the  Deluge,  which 
was  formerly  my  Opinion  of  all  thefe  Ma- 
rine "^  FofTils  j  though,  for  the  Reafon  I  have  *  phii. 
'  here  given,  I  cannot  now  maintain  it.  P^J^* 

'  Ninth,  To  the  Ninth  may  be  anfwer'd,  ■'X„*j^ 
^  That  we   have  as  yet    but    an  imperfect  of  May, 
i  Knowledge  of  the  Generation  of  particular  ^^^^* 

[  Species 


202 


»  Plot's 
Hift. 
Oxm, 
p.  85. 
CS^  Litb. 
Brit. 

P-57, 
112. 


Confequences  of 

Species  of  Fifli.  For  whereas  you  have 
obfervM,  that  fomc  of  the  Cartilagineous 
are  viviparous,  I  have  noted  others  to  be 
oviparous  i  having  obferv'd  Embryo's  in 
the  Eggs  of  a  fort  of  Dog-Fifli,  (which 
were  open  at  the  one  End)  caft  aftiore  in 
Anglefey^  Carnarvonjhire^  and  other  Coun- 
tries. 

'  Tenth,  As.  to  the  laft,  tho'  we  acknow- 
ledge that  there  is  an  End  in  all  the  Pro- 
dudions  of  Nature  ;  yet  it  is  no  lefs  cer- 
tain,  that  we  are  often  but  very  improper 
Judges  of  fuch  Final  Caufes.     Who,  there- 
fore, can  be  alfur'd,  but  that  the  Fertility  of 
the  Earth  may,  in  a  great  meafure,  be  ow- 
ing to  thefe  Marine  Fofifils  ?     Thus  much, 
at  leaft,  I  have  obferv'd,  that  in  Wales  they 
are  found,  for  the  moft  part,  in  the  beft 
Countries,  and  that  in   vaft  Quantities: 
And  on  the  other  hand,  in  thofe  Hun- 
dreds  which  are  moft  barren,  as  the  moun- 
tainous Parts  of  Cardigan^   Montgomery^ 
Meirionydhj  and  Caernarvon^  I  could  never 
find  one  of  them.     There  is,  -at  Cleydon^ 
Field^  near  Banbury  in  Oxfordfhire^  a  Place 
caird  Hore^Furlo?ig^   which  is  noted  for 
Plenty  of  the  Affleri^^  or  (as  there  call'd) 
"^  Hore-fiones  i  and  no  lefs,  as  the  Farmers 
alfur'd  me,  for  its   Fertility.     Moreover, 
we  cannot  be  fo   pofitive,  but  that  fome 
Minerals  may  from   hence    derive    their 
Origine,  to  lay  nothing  of  their  Phyfical 

'  Ufe  ,• 


the  Deluge.  20  3 

*  Ufe  ;  the  Ldfii  Judaicm  and  Lyncurius 
^  having  been  long  lince  well  known  in  our 
^  Shops,  as  perhaps  fome  others  are   elfe- 

*  where,  and  more  may  be  hereafter.  And 
^  thefe.  Sir,  are  the  Notions  I  had  to  offer  to 
'  your  Confideration,  concerning  the  Ori- 
'  gine  of  Marine  Foflils  and  Mineral  Leaves. 
^  You  will  foon  judge  how  frivolous  they 

*  may  be,  or  how  probable  :  And  as  you 
'  find  them,  pafs  your  free  Cenfure ;    for^ 

*  'tis  the  Truth  of  fo  important  a  Queftion 
'  that's  the  only  Aim  of, 

SIR, 
Raiadar  G.vy,  Tour  Humble  Servant^ 

Mar.  10.  i6c?8.  £^   £^ 

For  my  part,  (if  my  Opinion  be  confi- 
derable)  I  think  that  my  learned  Friend  hath 
fuflficiently  proved,  that  thefe  FoiTil-Shells 
were  not  brought  in  by  the  univerial  Deluge. 
He  hath  made  it  alfo  highly  probable,  that 
they  might  be  originally  formed  in  the  Places 
where  they  are  now  found  by  a  fpermatick 
Principle,  in  like  Manner  as  he  fuppofes. 
Why  do  I  fay  probable  ?  It  is  neceffary  that 
at  leaft  thofc  which  are  found  in  the  Vifcera 
and  Glands  of  Animals,  be  thus  formed  ; 
and  if  thefe,  why  not  thofe  found  in  the 
Earth  c*  I  ihall  fiy  no  more,  but  that  thofe 
who  are  not  fatisfied  with  his  Proofs,  I  wiOi 
they  would  but  anfwer  them.  One  thing,  I 
confefs,  there  is,  which  chiefly  brought  me 

over 


204  Confequences,  &cc. 

over  to  the  contrary  Opinion,  uiz.  That 
thefe  Bodies  owe  their  Original  to  the  Sea^  and 
were  fometimes  the  Shelh  or  Bones  of  Fijhes : 
That  is,  the  Beds  of  Oyfter-Shells  found  in 
feveral  Parts  of  this  Kingdom ,  fome  of 
which  I  have  before-mention'd  and  defcrib'd; 
which  Shells,  all  Circumftanees  confidered, 
one  can  hardly  be  induced  to  believe  to  have 
been  any  other  originally  than  the  Covers  of 
living  Oyflers,  and  the  Places  where  they 
lie,  than  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea.  But  becaufe 
this  feems  to  inferr  the  like  Original  of  thofc 
Beds  of  Cornua  Ammonis^  or  Nautili^  found 
at  Keinflmn  in  SomerfetJIoire^  and  elfewhere, 
of  which  Sort  of  Shell-Filh  (as  I  have  before 
noted)  there  were  never  any  found  in  our 
own  Seas,  nor  indeed  in  any  other,  fo  far 
as  I  have  heard  of,  I  fliall  allow  them  to 
have  been  the  Effe^^ts  of  the  like  Principle 
with  their  Fellows, 

The  following  Tables,  containing  fome 
Species  of  the  moft  ditferent  Genera  of  thefe 
Bodies,  'U/jS.  Shares  Teeth^  Wolf-Fiflif  Teeth^ 
Cockles  or  Concha^  Feriwinlles  or  Tiirhem^ 
Cornua  Ammonis  or  Serpent-Stones^  Sea-Ur^ 
chins  and  their  Prickles^  Vertebres  and  other 
Bones  of  Fijloes^  entire  Fifloes  petrify' d^  and  of 
thofe  fome  fingly,  fome  reprefented  as  they 
lie  in  Beds  and  Quarries  under  Ground,  for 
the  Information  of  thofe  who  are  lefs  ac- 
quainted with  fuch  Bodies,  were  thought  fit 
to  be  added  to  this  Edition. 

Tab. 


Tab.  II.    Pag.  204^ 

pfG.  I,  z.  Several  Fragments  and  Lumps  of  petrify'd  Sheik, 
''^  as  they  lie  in  Quarries  and  Beds  under  Ground  ;  on  many 
of  theie  Petrifaftions  there  fiill  remain  Ibme  Laminae,  or 
Plates  of  the  Original  Shells,  which  prove  them  not  to  be 
Stones  primarily  lo  figured. 

Fi^.  5.    The  Cornua  Aniraonls  lying  in  Rocks  with  other 
petrify'd  Bodies. 


Tab.  III.    Pag.  204. 

T7/G.  ij  i-    Two  petrify'd  Fifhes  lying  in  Stone,  with  their 
"*    Scales  and  Bones. 

Fig.  5.  A  Sea-Urchin  petrify'd  with  its  Prickles  broken  off, 
which  are  a  Sort  of  Lapis  fudaicMS,  or  J-ewStones  ',  their  In- 
fertions  on  the  Studs  or  Protuberances  of  the  Shell  are  here 
ihewn.  See  their  Hiftory  and  Manner  of  Lying  in  Stone  and 
Beds,  in  Agojimo  Scilla,  4*0.  Nafvli. 


Tab.  IV.     Pag.  204. 

■pIG'  I,  2,  3,  4,  5,  (?,  7s,  8,  9,  10,  II,  iz,  1 3,  14.  Seve- 
■*  ral  petrify'd  Teeth  of  Dog-Fillies,  Sharks,  and  other 
Fifhes. 

Fig.  I  $5  i^.  The  fame  lying  in  a  Tophaceous  Bed,  and  al- 
fo  in  a  Jaw-Bone. 

Fig,  17.  The  petrify'd  Teeth  of  a  Wolf-Fifh,  in  a  Piece 
of  the  Jaw  j  the  round  ones,  or  Grinders,  are  fold  in  Mal- 
tha for  petrify'd  Eyes  of  Serpents  ;  and  by  our  Jewellers  and 
Goldfmiths  for  Toad-ftones,  commonly  put  in  Rings. 

Fig.  18,  19,  zo.  Other  petrify'd  Bones  of  FiSies,  efpe- 
cially  Jouits,  or  Vertebra's  of  Back-Bones,  one  with  two 
llony  Spines  iffuing  out,  f.  20.  See  them  more  at  large  in  the 
Draughts  of  that  cunous  Sicilian  Painter,  Agofiim  Scilla. 


Chap. 


Chap.     V. 
That  there  have  been  great  Changes  made 
in  the  Superficial  Part  of  the  Earth  Jince 
the  General  Delugeyand  by  what  Means, 

Shall  now  difcourfe  a  lit- 
tle concerning  fuch  Changes 
as  have  been  made  in  the  Su- 
perficial Part  of  the  Earth  fince 
the  univerfal  Deluge,  and  of 
their  Caufes. 
That  there  have  been  fuch,  I  think  no  fo- 
ber  and  intelligent  Perfon  can  deny^  there  be- 
ing fo  good  Authority  and  Reafon  to  prove 
it.  FlatOj  in  his  Thfi^us^  tells  us.  That  the 
Egyptian  Priefts  related  to  Solon  the  Atheni- 
an Law-giver,  who  lived  about  600  Years 
before  our  Saviour,that  there  was  of  old  Time, 
without  the  Streights  of  Gibfaltaryi  vaft  Ifland,, 
bigger  than  Africa  and  Afia  together,  called 
Atlantis^  which  was  afterward  by  a  violent 
Earthquake  and  mighty  Flood,  and  Inunda- 
tion of  Water,  in  one  Day  and  Night  wholly 
overwhelmed  and  drown'd  in  the  Sea. 
Whence  it  may  be  conjed:ured,  that  the  Old 
and  New  World  were  at  firft  continuous,  or 
by  the  Intervention  of  that  Ifland,  not  very 
far  remote  from  each  other. 

T  H  A  T  the  Ifland  of  Sicily  was  of  old  bro- 
ken off  from  Italy  by  the  Irruption  or  Infinu- 

ation 


Of  the  Deluge.  207 

ation  of  the  Sea,  is  generally  believed,  and 
there  is  fome  Memorial  thereof  retained  in 
the  very  Name  of  the  City  Rhegium^  ftand- 
\n^  upon  the  Fretwn  that  feparates  Italy  and 
Sicily^  which  fignifies  breaking  off. 

"^  Zancle  quoqiie  ]un6la  fuiJTe*  o-m. 

Vicitur  Italidy  donee  confinia  pontus  j^'^^'^'f* 

Abftulit^  &  media  tellurem  reppuUt  undd.     '  *  ^^* 

In  like  manner,  the  Ifland  call'd  Eiiboea^  now 
Negroponte^  was  of  old  joined  to  Greece^  and 
broken  off  by  the  Working  of  the  Sea. 

Moreover,  the  Inhabitants  of  Ceylon  re- 
port, that  their  Ulan d  was  anciently  joined  to 
the  Main-Land  of  India^  and  feparated  from 
it  by  the  Force  of  the  Sea. 

It  is  alfo  thought,  and  there  is  good 
Ground  for  it,  that  the  Ifland  of  Sumatra 
was  anciently  continuous  with  Malacca^  and 
called  the  Golden  Cherfonefe ;  for  being  be- 
held from  afar,  it  feems  to  be  united  to  Ma- 
lacca. 

A  N  D  to  come  nearer  Home,  Verflegan  af- 
firms, and  not  without  good  Reafon,  that  our 
Ifland  of  Great  Britain^was  anciently  Conti- 
nent to  Gaule^  and  fo  no  Ifland  but  a  Fenin^ 
fula^  and  to  have  been  broken  off  from  the 
Continent,  but  by  what  Means,  it  is  in  his 
Judgment  altogether  uncertain :  Whether  by 
fome  great  Earthquake,  whereby  the  Sea 
firft  breaking  through,  might  afterward  by 
little  and  little  enlarge  her  Paffage  i  or  whe- 
ther 


Zo8  Confequences  of 

ther  it  were  cut  by  the  Labour  of  Man  in  re- 
gard of  Commodity  by  that  PalTage ;  or  whe- 
ther the  Inhabitants  of  one  Side,  or  the  other, 
byOccauonof  War,  did  cut  it,  thereby  to  be 
fequellred  and  freed  from  their  Enemies. 

H I  s  Arguments  to  prove  that  it  was  for- 
merly united  to  France^  are,  i .  The  Cliffs 
on  either  Side  the  Sea,  lying  juft  oppofite  the 
one  to  the  other;  that  is,  thofe  of  Dover  to 
thofe  lying  between  Callais  and  Boulogne^  (for 
from  Dover  to  Callais  is  not  the  neareft  Land) 
being  both  of  one  Subftance,   that  is,   of 
Chalk  and  Flint.     2.  The  Sides  of  both  to- 
wards the  Sea   plainly   appearing  to  have 
been  broken  off  from  fome  more  of  the  fame 
Stuff  or  Matter,  that  it  hath  fometime  by 
Nature  been  faftned  to.     3 .  The  Length  of 
the  faid  Cliffs  along  the  Sea-Shore  being  on 
one  Side  anfwerable  in  effed  to  the  Length  of 
the  very  like  on  the  other  Side,  that  is^  about 
fix  Miles.     And,  4.  The  Nearnefs  of  Land 
between  England  and  France  in  that  Place  j 
the  Diftance  between  both,  as  fome  skilful 
Sailors  report,  not  exceeding  i^EngliJh  Miles. 
To  which  may  be  added,  5.  The  Shallow- 
nefs  of  the  Channel  all  along  the  Streight,  in 
refpe^t  of  the  Sea  at  both  Ends  of  it,  which 
is  much   deeper.     And,    6.  The   Being  of 
Wolves  and  Foxes,  yea,  and  Bears  too,  an- 
ciently in  this  Ifland  ,•  for  it  is  not  likely  that 
they  of  themfelves  Ihould  venture  to  fwim 
over  a  Channel  24  Miles  broad  5  or  if  they 

were 


the  Deluge.  lop 


were  fo  hardy  as  to  venture  in,  fliould  be 
able  to  hold  out  till  they  had  paffed  it  quite 
over :  Neither  is  it  probable  that  Men  fliould 
tranfport  fuch  noifome  and  mifchievous  Crea- 
tures by  Shipping.  To  fpeak  in  general, 
the  Being  of  thefe  wild  Beafts  on  many 
Iflands  near  the  Continent,  and  not  upon 
thofe  that  are  far  remote  from  it,  though  of 
fufficient  Bignefs  to  receive  and  maintain 
them^  as  the  Spaniards  found  when  they  firft 
failed  to  America^  is  to  me  little  iefs  than  a 
demonftrative  Proof,  that  thofe  lilands  were 
-anciently  joined  to  the  Continent  by  fome 
Neck  of  Land  which  fcrved  as  a  Bridge  for 
thefe  Creatures  to  pafs  over,  and  was  after- 
ward worn  through  and  walke€  away  by 
the  conftant  Working  of  the  Sea. 

Some  of  the  Ancients,  as  Strata^  quoted 
by  Strabo  in  the  Firft  Book  of  his  Geography ^ 
fay,  That  the  Fretu?n  Gaditanmn^  orStreight 
of  Gibraltar^  was  forcibly  broken  open 
by  the  Sea.  The  fame  they  affirm  of  the 
T^hracian  Bofphorus  and  Hellefpont^  That  the 
Rivers  filling  up  the  Euxine  Sea,  forced  a 
Paffage  that  way,  where  there  was  none 
before.  And  in  Confirmation  hereof,  D/(?- 
dwm  Siculus^  in  his  Fifth  Book,  gives  us 
an  ancient  Story  current  among  the  Samo^ 
thracianSj  'viz.    ^  That  before  any  other 

*  Floods  recorded  in  Hiftories,  there  was  a 

*  very  great  Deluge  that  overflowed  a  good 
t  Part  of  the  Coaft  of  Afia^  and  the  lower 

P  '  Grounds 


ZIO  Confequencesof, 

'Grounds  of  their  Ifland,  when  the  Euxine 
*  Sea  firft  brake  open  the  nracian  Bofpho^ 
^  rus  and  Hellefpont^  and  drowned  all  the 
*l  adjacent  Countries. 

This  Traditional  Story  I  look  upon  as 
very  confiderable  for  its  Antiquity  and  Pro- 
bability,  it  feeming  to  contain  fomething  of 
Truth :  For  it's  not  unlikely  that  the  Euyine 
Sea,  being  over-charged  with  Waters  by  ex- 
traordinary Floods,  or  driven  with  violent 
Storms  of  Wind,  might  make  itsW«y  through 
the  Bofphoruy  and  Hellefpont.  But  it  will 
be  obje^ed,  that  the  Euxine  Sea  doth  emp- 
ty itfelf  continually  by  the  Bofphoruy  zni 
Hellefpont  into  the  Mediterranean^  and  that 
if  it  had  no*  this  Way  of  Difcharge  (the  Ri- 
vers bringing  in  more  than  is  fpent  by  Va- 
pour) it  would  foon  overflow  all  its  Shores, 
and  drown  the  circumjacent  Countries  ,•  and 
fo  it  muft  have  done  foon  after  the  Flood  ,• 
and  therefore  it  is  not  probable  that  Sajno- 
thrace  fliould  have  been  inhabited  before  that 
Irruption,  if  any  fuch  there  were. 

To  which  I  anfwer,  i.  That  Monfieur 
Marfilly  thinks  he  hath  demonftrated  an  Un- 
der-Current, in  the  Thracian  Bofphoruy^  by 
means  of  which  the  Euxine  may  receive  as 
much  Water  from  the  Mediterranean  as  it 
pours  forth  into  it.  But  becaufe  I  have  al- 
ready declared  myfelf  not  to  be  fatisfied 
of  the  Being  and  Poifibility  of  thefe  Under- 
currents, I  anfwer,  2.  The  Annual  Receipts 

from 


the  Deluge.  211 

from  the  Rivers  running  into  the  Euxine^ 
not  very  much  exceeding  what  is  fpent  in 
Vapour,  who  knows  but  that  from  the  Time 
of  the  general  Deluge,  till  the  Irruption 
whereof  we  are  difcourfing ,  the  Euxine 
might  yearly  enlarge  its  Bafon,  and  encroach 
upon  the  Neighbouring  Countries  ? 

Natural  Hiftorians  give  us  an  Account  of 
new  Iflands  raifed  up  in  the  Sea :   Plin,  Hift, 
Nat,  lib,  2.  cap,  87.    enumerates  Delos  and 
Rhodes^  Iflands  of  Note;  and  of  lefs  Account 
and  later  Emerfion,  Anaphe  beyond  Melos^ 
^ndNea  between  Le7nms  and  the  Hdlefpont: 
Alone  between  Lebedos  and  Teos^  and  among 
the  CycladeSj  Thera  and  Therafia,  Olyt?tp,  135. 
An,  4.     Among  the  fame,  after  130  Years, 
Hiera^  and  two  Furlongs  diftant,  in  his  own 
Time,  when  Junius  Syllanuf^  and  L.  Balbus 
were  Confuls,  Thia.    Notwithftanding  thefe 
Authorities  of  Seneca^  PH^y^  and  Strabo^  be- 
fore-mentioned. Dr.  Woodward^  in  his  Na- 
tural Hiftory  of  the  Earthy  confidently  affirms. 
That  there  is  no  authentick  Inftance  of 
any  confiderable  Trad  of  Land  that  was 
thrown  up  from  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  by 
an  Earthquake,  or  other  fubterraneous  Ex- 
plofion,  fo  as  to  become  an  Iflahd,  and  be 
render'd  habitable.     That  Rhodm^  Thera^ 
Therafia^  and  feveral  other  Iflands,  which 
were  fuppefed  by  the  Ancients,  and  upon 
their  Authority  by  later  Authors,   to  have 
been  thus  raifed,  had  really  no  fuch  Ori- 
P  2  ^ginal. 


Z12  Confequences  of 


*  ginal,  but  have  ftood  out  above  Water  as 
'  long  as   their  Fellow-Iflands ,   and  {land 
^  now  juft  as  the  univerfal  Deluge  left  them. 
I  CANNOT  but  v/onder  at  the  Confidence 
of  this  Author,  in  affirming  this  of  all  Iflands, 
not  excepting  any,  whenas  Seneca^    a  grave 
and  fober  Writer,  and  of  undoubted  Fide- 
lity, tells  us,  Natural,  pudsjl,  lib.  6.  cap.  2 1 . 
Theram  &  Therafiam^  &  banc  noftra  dtatis 
infula?n  [fe^iantibm  ftobis  in  JEgteo  ?nari  ena- 
tarn :    And  this  IJland  of  our  own  Age^  which 
way  raifed  up  in  the  iEgasan  Sea^  ourfehes 
beholding  it.    But  the  moft  confiderable  and 
remarkable  Mutations  that  have  been  made 
in  the  Earth  have  been  on  the  Sea-Coafts, 
either  by  carrying  on  the  Land  into  the  Sea, 
and  atterrating  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  ;  or  by 
drowning  the  Lands  near  the  Sea,  by  Ir- 
ruptions and  Inundations  thereof,  or  under- 
mining or  waftiing  away  the  Shores. 

O  F  the  fir  ft  Sort  of  Change  by  Atterration, 
or  making  the  Sea  dry  Land,  we  have  an 
eminent  Inftance  in  the  Dutch  Netherlands^ 
which,  I  eafiiy  cohfent  with  Verftegan^  fo 
far  as  they  .are  eaven  and  plain  without  any 
Hills,  havp  undoubtedly  heretofore,  in  Time 
long  paft,  been  Sea  ,•  as  appears,  i .  From  the 
Lownefs  of  their  Situation,  fome  of  the  more 
Maritime  Parts  of  them,  as  Zealand  and 
Holland^  and  Part  of  Flanders^  being  fo  low, 
that  by  Breach  or  Cutting  of  the  Sand  Banks 
or  Downs,  which  the  Sea  by  little  and  little 

hath 


the  Deluge.  21 5 


hath  caft  up,  and  the  Labour  of  Man  here 
and  there  fupplicd,  might  eafily  be  drown- 
ed and  converted  into  Sea  again;  and  of 
the  great  Harms  that  thefe  Parts  have  hereto- 
fore, by  the  Irruption  of  the  Sea,  fuftained. 
But  now  not  only  tliofe  low  Places  that  ad- 
join upon  the  Sea,  as  Holland  and  Zealand^ 
but  the  greater  Part  of  Flanderf  and  Bra- 
bant ^  though  they  lie  not  fo  low  as  th^ey, 
but  of  fuch  Height  as  no  Inundation  of  the 
Sea  can  any  whit  annoy  them,  though  the 
Sand-Banks  and  Downs  on  the  Sea-Side  were 
never  fo  much  broken  or  cut  through,  yet 
are  they  as  eaven  and  level  as  even  Holland 
and  Zealand  themfelves,  which  is  a  fuffi- 
cientDemonftration,  that  they  were  once  co- 
vered with  Water :  For  that  Water  will  thus 
level  Ground  it  often  runs  over,  is  clear 
from  Meadows,  and  from  the  Bottom  of  the 
Sea  difcovered  at  low  Water  j  and  we  have 
Experience  of  no  other  Caufe  that  doth  or 
can  eiTed  it.  And  therefore  Z^iy/xGw/ccmr- 
///«^  erronepufly  argues  Hubert  Thomas^  Se- 
cretary to  Count  Frederid^  Palatine  of  the 
Rhine^  of  a  Millake,  for  faying,*  in  his  De- 
fcription  of  the  Country  of  Liege^  that  the 
Sea  hath  come  up  even  to  "Tongres  Walls, 
now  well  nigh  a  hundred  Englijh  Miles 
from  the  Sea :  Among  other  good  Reafons^ 
alledging  for  tiie  Proof  thereof,  that  the 
great  Iron  Rings  are  there  yet  remaining,  un- 
to which  the  Ships  that  there  fometimes  arri- 

P  3  ved 


214  Confeqiiences  of 

ved  were  faftned.  I  fay  erroneoufly,  feeing 
all  the  Countries  between  that  and  the  Sea 
are  level^  and  of  an  equal  Superficies^  with- 
out any  Hills  or  Rifings.  2.  This  appears, 
not  only  from  the  great  Plainnefs  andEaven- 
nefs  of  the  Ground,  but  in  that  the  Soil  ge- 
nerally, both  in  Flanders  and  Brabant^  is  fan- 
dy;  whence  it  feems  naturally  to'  follow, 
that  thofe  Countries  were  anciently  the 
Flats,  Sands,  or  Shores  of  the  Sea.  3 .  In  that 
digging  about  two  Fathom  more  or  lefs  deep 
in  the  Earth,  innumerable  Shells  of  Sea-Filh 
are  found,  and  that  commonly  in  all  Places, 
both  of  Field  and  Town  ;  and  in  many  Pla- 
ces the  great  Bones  of  Fiihes. 

Farther  (faith  Verfiegan)  it  is  to  be  no- 
ted, that  albeit  digging  deep  in  the  Earth  in 
Brabant  and  F/^;/(i^r/,!  great  Abundance  of 
Shells  and  Bones  of  Fiilies  are  to  be  founds 
yet  digging  in  the  Earth  in  Holland  and  Zea- 
land^ none  at  all  are  perceived,  howbeit  on 
the  Sands  on  the  Sea-Shore  there  are  very 
many.  The  Reafon  whereof  may  be,  becaule 
thofe  Parts  have  been  in  Time  long  paft  part 
of  the  De{)th  of  the  Sea  j  and  the  Parts  a- 
forefaid  of  Brabant  and  Flanders^  the  Flats  or 
Shore;  and  on  the  Flats,  and  not  in  the 
Depths,  fuch  kind  of  Shell-Filh  are  naturally 
nouriihed.  This  is  a  very  plaufible  Account. 
But  yet  it  hath  been  by  Experience  found, 
that  if  you  dig  deep  enough,  even  in  thU 
land  itfclfj  after  many  Floors  of  feveral  Sorts 

of 


the  I) e luge.  2 1 5* 

of  Earth,  you  will  at  laft  come  to  Beds  of 
Shells.  For  Varenius  tells  us,  that  Sinking  a 
Well  in  Amfterda??i^  after  many  Beds  ol:  Lay- 
ers of  Earth,  Sand,  Turf,  &c,  at  a  hun- 
dred Foot  Depth  they  came  to  a  Bed  of  Sea- 
Sand  mix'd  with  Cockle-Shells  of  four  Foot 
Thicknefs,  which  doubtlefs  was  of  old  Time 
the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  and  all  the  other 
Beds  above  it  were  brought  down  partly  by 
Floods  fubfiding  and  fettling  there,  partly  by 
the  Working  of  the  Sea  fprCviding  Beds  of 
Sand  upon  the  Layers  of  the  Earth,  and  fo 
interchangeably.  But  from  this  Experiment 
it  doth  appear,  that  however  deep  the  Sea 
were  thereabouts,  yet  it  was  nor  too  deep  to 
breed  or  harbour  Shell-Fiih.  Moreover, 
from  this  Inftance  it  appears,  that  altho'  now 
the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  about  Holland  be  not 
much  below  the  Surface  of  the  Land,  yet 
anciently  it  <^vas  fuppofed  fifty  Foot ;  whence 
it  will  follow,  that  the  Sea  did  then  cover 
all  the  Land  above  Holland^  which  was  not 
more  than  fifty  Foot  higher  than  it.  This 
to  me  is  a  demonftrative  Proof  of  the  Atter- 
ration  of  the  Sea  thereabout. 

A  N  o  T  H  E  R  great  Inftance  of  Change  made 
in  the  Superficies  of  the  Earth  by  Atterration 
is  in  our  own  Country,  the  great  Level  of 
the  Fens  running  through  HrAland  in  Lin- 
colnfljire^  the  Ijle  of  Ely  in  CambridgeJIoire^ 
and  Marjhland  in  Norfolk,  Which  that  it 
was  fometime  part  of  the  Sea,  and  atterra- 

P4  ted 


Zi6  Confequences  of 

ted  by  Land  brought  down  by  Floods  from 
the  upper  Grounds,  feems  to  me  evident,  in 
that  it  is  near  the  Sea,  and  in  that  there  is 
thereabout  a  Concurrence  of  many  great  Ri- 
vers,\vhich  in  Flood-times,  by  the  Abundance 
of  Mud  and  Silt  they  ^ring  down,  there  fub- 
Tiding,  have  by  Degrees-Traifed  it  up.     And 
thirdly,  in  that  the  whole  Country  is  exa(ftly 
level,  like  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  j   it  being 
(as  I  havjs  already  faid)  the  Nature  of  the  Wa- 
ter flowing  over  the  Earth  in  time  to  level 
and  bring  to  a  Plain  all  Places  that  are  foft 
and  yielding,  and  not  rocky,  as  is  feen  in 
.Meadows,   and  in  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea 
difcovered  at  low  Water. 
.  A  T  H I R  D  Inftance  is  the  Craux  in  Provence 
in  France^  anciently  called  Ca?npus  Lapideufy 
of  which  Pliny  faith  it  was  Herculis  prdio- 
rum  memoYta ;  and  Strabo^  out  of  Mfchylus^ 
gives  us  a  Poetical  Fable,   '  That  the  Stones 
'  were  rained  down  by  Jupiter  in  Favour  of 
*  Hercules  when  he  wanted  Darts,  that  he 
^  might  caft  them  at  the  Ligurian  Army,  and 
^  thereby  break  and  fcatter  it.'*    PoJJidoniu! 
thinks  it  was  once  a  Lake,  which  by  Fluctu- 
ation dried  up,  and  fo  the  Stones  came  to 
be  equally  difperfed  over  the  Bottom  of  it. 
That  it  was  a  very  ancient  thing,  is  clear, 
having  its  Original  in  the  fabulous  Times  be- 
fore any  Memoirs  of  true  Hiftory  -,  it  con- 
tinues to  this  Day  fuch  a  kind  of  Place  as  it 
W^s  in  Str^k's  Time,    It  appears  fo  evident- 


the  Deluge.  217 


ly  to  any  one  who  hath  viewed  and  confi- 
dercd  it,  to  have  been  once  Part  of  the  Sea, 
from  its  being  exactly  level,  and  ftrowed  all 
over  with  Stones,  as  I  have  obferved  the  Bot- 
tom of  the  Sea  in  many  Places  to  be,  that 
there  is  not  the  lead  Reafon  to  doubt  of  it. 

The  River  Arnus^  in  Thfca?iy^  now  fal- 
leth  into  the  Sea,  fix  Miles  below  Pifa  : 
Whereby  it  appeareth,  (faith  Dr.  Hakewil) 
that  the  Land  hath  gained  much  upon  the 
Sea  in  that  Coaft  j  for  that  Strabo^  in  his 
Time,  reporteth,  it  was  but  twenty  Fur- 
longs (that  is,  but  two  Miles  and  an  half) 
diftant  from  the  Sea. 

I  MIGHT,  to  thefe,  add  many  other  In- 
ftan ces  of  Atterrations  out  of  Strabo^  in  his 
firft  Book  i  as  about  the  Outlets  of  Ifter^  the 
Places  called  Stethe^  and  the  Deferts  oLScy- 
thia  :  About  thofe  of  Phafif^  the  /Sea-coaft 
of  Colchis^  which  is  fandy,  and  low,  and  (oft : 
About  Thermodon  and  /v/V,  all  Themifcyra^ 
the  Plain  of  the  Amazons^  and  the  moft  part 
of  Sidene, 

T  o  omit  the  whole  Land  of  Egypt ^  which 
probably  was  covered  originally  with  the 
Sea,  and  raifed  up  by  the  Mud  and  Silt, 
brought  down  by  the  Nile  in  its  annual 
Floods,  fubfiding  there,  as  I  fhall  have  occa- 
sion to  Ihew  afterwards. 

Moreover,  Varenim  rationally  conje- 
ctures, that  all  China^  or  a  great  Part  of  it, 
was  originally  thus  raifed- up  and  at'terrated, 

having 


2l8  Conjequences  of 

having  been  anckntly  covered  with  the  Sea : 
For  that,  that  great  and  impetuous  River,  cal- 
led the  Yellow  or  Saffron  River,  coming  out 
of  T^artary^  and  very  often,  though  not  at 
anniverfary  Seafons,  overflowing  the  Coun- 
try of  China^  is  faid  to  contain  in  it  fo  much 
Earth  and  Sand,  as  make  up  a  third  Part  of 
its  Waters.  TheEavennefs,  and  htvt\  Super- 
ficies of  this  whole  Country  of  China  render 
this  Conjedure  the  more  probable. 

In  fine,  the  like  Atterrations  appear  to 
have  been  made  about  the  Mouths  of  Indus 
and  Ganges  in  the  Eafl-Indies^  and  the  River 
de  la  Plata  m  America^  and  tht  ■  Rhodanus 
in  France^  and,  doubtlefs,  moft  other  great 
Rivers  throughout  the  whole  World. 

T  o  all  which,  if  we  add  the  fpacious  Plains 
that  are  on  each  fide  moft  great  Rivers,  from 
their  Mouths,  many  Miles  up  their  Channels, 
as  may  be  obferved  in  the  Thames  and  T^rent 
in  England^  which,  probably,  were  at  firft  Si- 
'  nus^s  of  the  Sea,  landed  up  by  Earth  brought 
down  from  the  Mountains  and  upper  Grounds 
in  Times  of  Floods ;  it  will  appear,  that  in 
this  refped  there  hath  been  a  very  great 
Change  made  in  the  terraqueous  Globe,  the 
dry  Land  much  enlarged,  and  the  Sea  ftrait- 
ned  and  cut  ftiort. 

Notwithstanding  all  thefe  Authorities 
•and  Arguments,  Dr. Woodward,  in  his  Natu- 
ral Hiftory  of  the  Earthy  confidently  affirms, 
I  That  there  were  never  any  Iflands,  or  other 

'  con- 


the  Delude,  2ip 

confiderablc  Parcels  of  Land  amalfed  or 
heaped  up,  nor  any  Enlargement  or  Addi- 
tion of  Earth  made  to  the  Continent,  by 
the  Mud  that  is  carried  down  into  the  Sea 
by  Rivers.  Thar  although  the  Ancients 
were  almoft  unanimoufly  of  Opinion,  that 
thofe  Parts,  where  Eg^pt  now  is,  were 
formerly  Sea,  and  that  a  very  confiderable 
Portion  of  the  Country  was  recent,  and 
formed  out  of  the  Mud  difcharged  into  the 
neighbouring  Sea  by  tl^e  Nile^  that  yet  this 
Tradt  of  Land  had  no  fuch  Rife,  but  is  as 
old,  and  of  as  long  Handing,  as  any  upon 
the  w^hole  Continent  of  Africa^  and  hath 
been  much  in  the  fame  natural  Condition 
that  it  is  at  this  day,  ever  lince  the  Time  of 
the  Deluge  :  Its  Shores  being  not  advan- 
ced one  jot  farther  into  the  Sea  for  this 
Three  or  Four  thoufand  Years,  nor  its  Sur- 
face raifed  by  additional  Mud,  depofed  up- 
on it  by  the  yearly  Inundations  of  the 
Nile,  That  neither  the  Falus  Micotir^  nor 
the  Euxine^  nor  any  other  Seas,  fill  up,  or 
by  degrees  grow  Ihallower.  That  Salmy- 
deffus^  T^hemifcyra^  Sidene^  and  the  adja- 
cent Countries  upon  the  Coafts  of  the  Eu- 
xine  Sea,  were  not  formed  out  of  the  Mud 
brought  down  by  the  Jfter^  T^hermodon^  Irif^ 
and  the  other  Rivers,  which  difcharge  them- 
felves  into  that  Sea.  That  T'hejfaly  was 
not  raifed  by  the  Mud,  borne  down  by  the 
I  River  Feneus  j  the  Illands  Echinades  or  Cur- 

'  zolari^ 


220  Confequences  of 

'  zolaYi^  out  of  that  brought  by  the  Rivfr 
^  Achehaf ;  Celicia  by  the  River  Pyra?mts' ;  A^- 
'  y?^,  Lydiajonia^  and  other  Countries  of  y^w^- 

*  ?<?//^5  by  the  Caycm^  Herfnef^  Cayfter^  and  the 
'  other  Rivers  which  pafs  through  them.    To 

*  be  fliort,  thar  no  Country  or  liland  in  the 
'  whole  World,  was    ever    raifed   by    this 

*  means."     Thus  far  Dr.  Woodward, 

All  thefe  Particulars  he  ought  not  only 
to  have  confidently  alTerted,  but  alfo  fuffi- 
ciently  proved  ;  which  till  he  can  do,  I  muft 
crave  Leave  to  fufpend  my  Aflfent. 

For  my  part,  I  am  of  Opinion,  that  tho' 
the  Ancients  might  be  miftaken  in  the  full 
Latitude  of  what  they  have  delivered,  con- 
cerning the  Atterration  of  the  Skirts  of  the 
Sea  in  the  Places  forementioned,  about  the 
Outlets  of  great  Rivers  ;  yet,  that  they  had 
very  good  Reafon  far   what  they  wrote  : 

Firft^  The  Nature  of  thofe  great  Levels 
being  apt  to  fuggeft  fuch  a  Thought  to  any 
confiderate  and  unprejudiced  Perfon. 

Secondly^  There  being-  undeniable  Inftan- 
ces  of  fuch  Atterrations,  though  in  lefs  Quan- 
tities; as,  I.  Thatof  R^T;^«7irtin7r^/;y,  which 
City  anciently  flood  upon  the  Brink  of  the 
Sea-Shore,  when  it  was  the  Head  of  an  Emr- 
chate  ;  whereas  now,  by  the  landing  up  of 
the  Shallows,  it  is  far  diftant  from  it.  2.  That 
at  the  Mouth  of  the  River  Arnus  in  Tufcany^ 
juft  now  mentioned.  3.  That  in  the  Cajnarg 
or  Ifland  which  the  River  Rhodanus  near 

Aries 


the  Deluge.  22 1 


Arks  inProvence  makes,where  there  hath  been 
fo  much  lately  gained  from  the  Sea,  that  the 
Watch-Tower  had  been,  in  the  Memory  of 
fome  Men  living,  when  I  was  there  [1665] 
removed  forward  three  times,  as  I  was  there 
credibly  informed. 

Moreover,  fome  Confirmation  it  is  of  this 
Opinion,  that  the  Earth  in  the  Levels,  about 
the  Mouths  of  great  Rivers,  is  continually 
raifed  up  higher  and  higher,  which  is  done 
by  the  Mud  and  Silt  brought  down  by  the 
Rivers,  efpecially  in  Times  of  Floods,  and 
partly  alfo  by  Sand  and  Ouze  thrown  up  by 
the  Sea ;  which,  by  this  means,  contributes  tQ 
its  own  ftraitening. 

A  RELATION  of  this  Kind  of  Atterration,  I 
find  in  the  Philofophkal  Tra?ifa^fions.  Numb. 
277.  pag.  1256.  communicated  by  an  inno- 
minate Perfon  to  the  learned  and  ingenious 
Mr.  Ralph  Thoresby^  and  by  him  to  the 
Royal  Society^  in  thefe  Words : 

'  Near  the  River  Welland^  which  runs 
^  through  the  Town  of  Spalding  in  Lincoln- 
'  fljire^  at  the  depth  of  about  8  or  i  o  Foot, 

*  there  were  found  Jettys  (as  they  call  them) 

*  to  keep  up  the  old  River-Bank,  and  the 
'  Head  of  a  Tunnel  that  emptied  the  Land- 
'  Water  into  the  old  River  :  And,  at  a  con- 
'  fiderable  Diftance  from  the  prefent  River, 
'  Iguefs,  about  20  or  30  Yards,  there  were 
^  dug  up,  about  the  like  Depth,  ieveral  old 
'  Boats ;   Which  things  fhew,  that  anciently 

•  '  the 


222  Confequences  of 

*  the  River  was  much  wider   than  now  it 

*  is,  or  ran  in  another  Place.     On  the  o- 

*  ther,  'VIZ.  the  North-Weft  fide  of  the  River, 

*  and  more  upward,  in  the  Town,  were  dig- 
^  ged  up  (at  about  the  forementioned  Depth) 
^  the  Remains  of  old  Tan-Vats,  or  Pits,  a 

*  great  Quantity  of  Ox-horns,  Sliooe-Soles, 
^  and,  I  think,  the  very  Tanners  Knebs,  &c. " 
Which  things  Ihew,  that  the  Surface  of  the 
Country  lay  anciently  much  lower  than 
now  it  does. 

One  thing  farther  I  will  add,  that  lately, 
at  the  laying  of  the  prefent  new  Sluice  or 
Goat  (as  they  call  it)  at  the  End  of  Hamore^ 
Beck,  as  it  falls  into  Bofton-H^xvcn  ;  taking 
up  the  Foundation  of  the  old  Goat,  they 
met  with  the  Roots  of  Trees,  many  of 
them  ilTuing  from  their  feveral  Boles  or 
Trunks  fpread  in  the  Ground ;  which,  when 
they  had  Liken  up,  (Roots  and  Earih  they 
grew  in)  they  met  with  a  folid,  gravely, 
and  ftrong  Soil,  of  the  high  Country  kind, 
which  was  certainly  the  Surface  of  the  old 
Country ;  the  certain  Depth  whereof  I  can- 
not tell  you,  but  that  it  was  much  deeper 
than  that  at  Spalding,  What  elfe  could  raife 
up  this  Ten  Foot  Thidnefs  of  Earthy  but  the 
Mud  and  Silt  brought  down  by  great  Rivers^ 
fubjiding  here?  and  partly^  alfo^  Sand  and 
Ouze  thrown  up  by  the  Sea^  and  depofited 
here  in  Spring-Tides  ? 

■   '  '  A 


Of  the  Deluge.  223 


W  A  PARALLEL  Inftancc  of  the  raifing  up  of 
the  Earth,  the  learned  Signor  Ramazzini 
affords  us  in  and  about  Modena  in  Italy. 

'  I N  the  whole  City  ofModena^  and  round 
^  about  for  fome  Miles  diftance,  in  whatever 
'  Place  they  dig,   when  they  come  to  the 

*  Depth  of  about  63  Foot,  they  pierce  the 
'  Ground  with  a  T^r^^m^about  5  Foot  deeper, 
'  and  then  Water  fprings  up  with  fo  great 
'  Force,  that,  in  a  moment,  xhe  Well  is  filled 
^  up  to  the  Brim.  This  Water  is  perpetual, 
^  doth  not  increafe  by  Rain,  nor  decreafe  by 

*  Draught. "  Of  this  Springing  up  of  the 
Water  about  Modena^  we  have  already  made 
mention,  and  given  an  Account  out  of  Si- 
gnor CaJJini,  '  And  what  is  yet  more  remar- 
'  kable,  from  the  Surface  of  the  Ground  to 
'  the  Depth  of  14  Foot,  they  meet  with  no- 
'  thing  but  Rubbilli  and  Ruins  of  an  ancient 

*  City.  Being  come  to  that  Depth,they  find 
^  paved  Streets,  Artificers  Shops,  Floors  of 
'  Houfes,  and  feveral  Pieces  of  Inlaid-Work. 
'  It's  very  hard  to  conceive,  how  the  Ground 
'  of  this  City  was  raifed  thus  5  we  can  attri- 
'  bute  it  to  nothing  elfe,  but  that  it  hath 
'  been  ruined,  and  then  rebuilt  upon  its 
'  Ruins ,   fince   it's  not  higher ,   but  rather 

*  lower  ftill  than  all  the  adjacent  Country. 

'After  thefe  Ruins,  they  find  a  very 
^  folid  Earth,  which,  one  would  think,  had 
'  never  been  removed  i  but  a  little  lower, 
J  they  find  it  black,  mariby,and  full  of  Briars. 

!  Signor 


224  Confequencef  of 

Signer  Ramazzini  went  down  one  of  tllefc 
Wells,  and  J  at  the  Depth  of  24  Foot,  he 
found  a  Heap  of  Wheat  entire :  In  another^ 
of  26  Foot,  he  found  Filberd-Trees  with 
their  Nuts.  They  find,  likewife,  every  fix 
Foot  alternatively,  a  Change  of  Earth,  fome- 
times  white, fometimes  black,  with  Branches 
and  Leaves  of  Trees  of  different  Sorts.  At 
the  Depth  of  28  Foot,  or  thereabout,  they 
find  a  Chalk  th^t  cuts  very  eafy.  It  is  mixt 
with  Shells  of  feveral  forts,  and  makes  a 
Bed  of  about  1 1  Foot.  After  this,  they  find 
a  Bed  of  marlhy  Earth,  of  about  two  Foot, 
mixt  with  Ruines,  Leaves  and  Branches. 
After  this  Bed,  comes  another  Chalk-Bed, 
of  near  the  fame  Thicknefs  with  the  for- 
mer, which  ends  at  the  Depth  of  42  Foot. 
That  is  followed  by  another  Bed  of  marlhy 
Earth  like  the  former.  After  which  comes 
a  new  Chalk-Bed,  but  thinner,  which  hath 
alfo  another  marfliy  Bed  underneath  it. 
This  ends  at  the  Place  which  the  Workmen 
pierce  with  their  Terebra,  The  Bottom  is 
fandy,  mingled  with  a  fmall  Gravel,  in 
which  they  find  feveral  Shells,  fuch  as  are 
on  the  Sea-Shores.  Thefe  fuccefifive  Beds 
of  marlhy  Earth  and  Chalk,  are  to  be  found 
in  the  fame  Order,  in  whatever  Part  of  the 
Earth  you  dig.  The  Terebra  fometimes 
finds  great  Trees,  which  give  the  Work- 
men much  Trouble.  They  fee  alfo,  at 
fome  times,  at  the  Bottom  of  the  Wells, 

!  great 


the  Delude.  22^ 

*  great  Bones,  Coal,  Flints,  and  Pieces  of 
'  Iron. 

Ra?nazzini  thinks     that  before  the  De- 
lug^,  the  Gulph  of  Venice  reach'd  as   far  as 
Modena^  and  beyond  it  ^  but  that  the  Waters 
decreafing,  the  Earth  was  raifed  by  the  Slime 
and  Sand  which  they  left  behind  them,  and 
that  the  Rivers  and  Brooks    did,    in  pro- 
cefs  of  Time,   make  the   abovementioned 
Beds.      Indeed ,    /    cannot    imagine    what 
could  ?nale  thofe  Beds  we  find  in  Maritime 
Places^  (  as  thofe  we  mentioned^  which  were 
found  in  finhng  a  Well  at  Amfterdam)   and 
thofe  we  fee  in  broken  Mountains  j   but  the 
Sediments  of  the  Inundations  of  the  Sea^  or  of 
Land-Floods. 

TTo  fay^  that  the  Earth  about  Modena  /x 
«o  higher  now  than  when  the  Flood  left  it^ 
fie?ns  to  me  a  very  unreafonable  Affertion. 
For  though  we  floould  grant ^  that  the  Earth 
was  dijfolved  at  the  general  Deluge^  and 
that  the  different  Parts  thereof  did  fub- 
fide^  according  to  their  dijferent  Gravities 
and  Form^  feveral  Strata,  or  Beds ;  yet^  how 
comes  it^  to  pafs^  that  there  fhould  be  fo  ma^ 
ny  alternate  Beds  of  Chalky  and  moorifb 
Ground^  one  above  another^  in  the  Earth 
about  Modena?  'And^  how  co?nes  the  Coun- 
try round  about  to  be  as  high  as  the  frefent 
City^  which  is  14  Foot  higher  than  the  Streets 
of  the  City^  upon  whofe  Ruins  it  feems  to 
have  been  built  ? 


zz6  Confeqiiences  of 

N.  B,  This  Relation  I  tranfcribcd  out  of 
the  Hiftory  of  the  Works  of  the  Learned, 

That  the  Rivers  do  bring  down  a  great 
deal  of  Earth  from  the  Mountains,  upon 
Shots  of  Rain,  is  demonftratively  proved  by 
the  lowering  of  the  Mountains,  becaufe  it 
can  proceed  from  no  other  Caufe  imaginable. 
But  that  the  Mountains  are  continually  lower- 
ed or  depreffed,  I  Ihall  hereafter,  by  two  In- 
ftanccs,  undeniably  prove.  And,  the  learned 
Jefuite  Jofephus  Blancenm  mentions  the 
Lowering  of  Mountains,  as  a  thing  well 
known  to  the  Mountaineers  :  For  that,  for- 
merly, fome  intermediate  Mountain  inter- 
cepted the  Sight  of  a  Caftle,  or  Tower,  (i- 
tuate  in  a  more  remote  Mountain,  which,  af- 
ter many  Years,  the  intermediate  Mountain 
being  deprelTed,  came  clearly  into  View. 

I  SHALL  add  hereto  the  Judgment  of  the 
moft  curious  Obferver  of  thefe  things,  Ni- 
colam  Steno^  in  his  Frodromm^&c.  p.  io5, 
107,  of  the  EngUJh  Tranflation;  T'^/x  iscer- 
tairij  ( faith  he )  that  a  great  Parcel  of  the 
Earth  is  e'very  Tear  carried  into  the  Sea^  (as  is 
obvious  to  him  thatfljall  confider  the  Largenefs 
of  the  Rivers^  and  the  long  PaJJage  through 
the  Mid-land  Countries^  and  the  iiinmnerabk 
Number  of  Torrents ;  in  a  Word^  all  the  De- 
clivities  of  the  Earth  :  )  And^  confequently^ 
that  the  Earthy  carried  away  by  the  Rivers^ 
and  joined  to  the  Sea-Shores^  does  every  day 
leave  new  Lands  fit  for  mw  Inhabitants, 

But 


the  Deluge. 


But  you  will  fay,  Hath  there  been  no 
Compenfation  made  for  all  this  ?  Hath  not 
the  Sea  otherwhere  gained  as  much  as  it  hath 
loft  about  the  Mouths  of  the  Rivers?  If  not, 
then  the  Sea  will  in  time  be  fo  far  landed 
up,  or  ftraitned,  till  it  be  compelled  to  re- 
turn again,  and  overflow  the  whole  Earth. 

T  o  which  I  anfwer.  That  where  the  Shores 
are  earthy,  or  argillaceous,  or  gravely,  or 
made  of  any  crumbling  and  friable  Matter, 
the  Sea  doth  undermine  and  fubvert  them, 
and  gain  upon  the  Land  j  which  I  could 
prove  by  many  Inftances,  fome  of  which  I 
ihall  afterward  touch.  But  whether  the  Sea 
doth,  in  thefe  Places,  gain  proportionably  to 
what  it  lofes  in  the  forementioned,  accord- 
ing to  the  vulgar  Proverb,  is  to  me  fome- 
what  queftionable. 

To  proceed  now  to  difcourfe  a  little  con- 
cerning the  Changes  that  have  been  made 
by  the  Irruptions  and  Inundations  of  the  Sea, 
or  by  its  undermining  and  waftiing  away  the 
Shores. 

That  there  have  been  of  old  great  Floods, 
and  much  Land  laid  under  Water  by  Inun- 
dations of  the  Sea,  is  clear,  many  fuch  be- 
ing recorded  in  Hiftory. 

The  moft  ancient  of  all,  next  to  the  ge- 
neral Deluge  in  the  Days  of  Noah^  viz,  that 
of  Ogjges  King  of  Bosotia^  or  rather  Attica^ 
feems  to  have  been  of  this  Nature :  So  doth 
that  of  a  great  Part  of  Achaia  in  Feloponnefus^ 
0^2  whereia 


228  Confequences  of 

wherein  the  Cities  of  Bura  and  Helke  were 
overwhelmed  and  laid  under  Water. 
,  Cambden  out  o[  Gyraldus  reports,  ^  That 
'  anciently  a  great  Part  of  Pembrolejljire  ran 
'  out,  in  the  Form  of  a  Promontory,  towards 
'  Ireland  j  as  appears  by  that  Speech  of  King 
'  William  Rufus^  That  he  could  eafily,  with 
'  his  Ships,  make  a  Bridge  over,  the  Sea,  fo 
\  that  he  might  pafs  on  foot  from  thence  to 
'  Ireland. "  This  Trad  of  Ground  being  all 
buried  in  deep  Sands,  during  the  Reign  of 
Kmg  Henry  the  Second,  was,  by  the  violence 
of  a  mighty  Storm,  fo  far  uncovered,  that  ma- 
ny Stumps  of  great  Trees  appeared  faftned 
in  tlie  Earth  ;  Mufyue  fecurium  tanquam  he^ 
fierni,  (faith  Gyraldus)  and  the  Strokes  of  the 
Asces  in  them^  as  if  they  had  been  cut  but  ye^ 
fterday  ,•  ut  non  littus  jam^  fed  lucus  effe  vide- 
retur^  mirandis  rerum  mutationibus !  So  that 
now  it  made  Shew  of  a  Wood  rather  than  of  a 
Strand  -,  fuch  is  the  wonderful  Change  of  all 
things/ 

Here  I  might  take  occafion  to  difcourfe  of 
fubterraneous  Woods  and  Foflil  Trees,  and 
RQ|  impertinently  j  becaufe  fome  have  fuppo- 
kd  them  to  have  been  thrown  down  by  the 
univerfal  Deluge,  and  to  have  lain  buried  in 
the  Earth  ever  iince,  tho'  erroneoufly.  I  fliall, 
therefore,give  a  twofold  Account  of  their  Ori- 
ginal: The  Firfl,  From  Inundations  of  the 
Seay  or  the  Force  of  violent  and  tempeftu- 
ous  Winds  :  The  Seco?id^  By  the  Labour  of 

Men, 


the  Deluge.  zip 


Men,  who  felled  them  down  in  the  Places 
where  they  now  lie. 

P/Vy^,  By  Inundations  of  the  Sea.  '  Near 
^  Bruges^  in  Flanders^  (ay  Boetius  de  Boor, 
'  who  wra  Nat  he  of  that  City^  relates)  dig- 
ging lo  or  2  0  Ells  deep  ill  the  Earth,  they 
find  whole  Woods  of  Trees,  in  which  the 
Trunks,  Boughs,  and  Leaves,  do  fo  exaifl- 
iy  appear,  that  one  may  eafily  diftinguifh 
the  fcveral  Kinds  of  them,  and  very  plainly 
difcern  the  Series  of  Leaves  which  have 
fallen  yearly.  Thefe  fubterraneous  Woods 
are  found  in  thole  Places,  which,  500  Years 
ago,  were  Sea,  and  afterwards  either  left 
or  thrown  up  by  the  Sea,  or  gained  from 
it ;  the  Tides  being  kept  off  by  Walls  and 
Fences.  But  before  the  forementioned 
Term  of  500  Years,  there  is  no  Memory 
that  thefe  Places  were  Part  of  the  Conti- 
nent. And  yet,  feeing  the  Tops  of  thefe 
Trees  do,  for  the  moft  part,  lie  Eaftward, 
becaufe,  as  it  is  probable,  they  were  thrown 
down  by  the  Eafterly  Winds,  (which,  on 
this  Coaft,  are  moft  boifterous  and  vio- 
lent) it  will  neceffarily  follow,  that  in  the 
moft  ancient  Times,  and  before  all  Memo- 
ry of  Man,  thefe  Places  were  firm  Land, 
and  without  the  Limits  of  the  Sea. "  So 
far  he.  Afterwards,  this  Land,  with  the 
Trees  upon  it,  being  undermined  and  over- 
whelmed by  the  Violence  of  the  Sea,  the 
Land  and  Trees  continued  fo  long  under 
CL3  Water, 


Z30  Confequences  of 

Water,  till  the  Sea,  either  by  its  own  Work- 
ing, bringing  up  Sand  and  Stones,  ^c,  or 
by  Earth  brought  down  by  the  Land-Floods, 
ftillfubfiding  to  the  Bottom,  or  by  the  Tide's 
being  kept  off  by  Walls  and  Fences,  was  fil- 
led up,  and  the  Tops  of  the  Trees  covered  j 
and  fo  this  Space  again  added  to  the  firm 
Land. 

On  the  Coaft  of  Stiffolk^  about  Dunewich^ 
the  Sea  hath,  for  many  Years  paft,  very  much 
encroached  upon  the  Land,  undermining 
^nd  overwhelming,  by  degrees,  a  great  deal 
of  high  Ground,  infomuch  that  ancient  Wri- 
tings make  mention  of  a  Wood  a  Mile  and 
a  half  to  the  Eaft  of  Dmewich  j  which  is,  at 
prefent,  fo  far  within  the  Sea.  Now,  if  in 
lucceeding  Ages  (as  likely  enough  it  is)  the 
Sea  fliall,  by  degrees,  be  filled  up  by  the 
Means  beforementioned,  and  this  Space  be 
added  again  to  the  firm  Land,  thefe  Trees 
will  be  found  under  Ground,  in  like  man- 
ner as  thofe  about  Bruges  were. 

I  FiNDj  in  a  Letter  from  that  learned 
and  ingenious  Naturalifl,  Dr.  Richardfon^ 
regiftred  in  the  Philofophical  Tranfatiiom^ 
Numb.  228.   'An  Account  of  fome  fubter- 

*  raneous  Trees,  dug  up  at  Toule  in  Tori- 

*  Jhire^  about  1 2  Miles  below  Tork^  upon  the 

*  River  Humber :     Some  are  fo  large,  that 

*  they  are  ufed  for  Timber  in  building  Hou- 
^  (es  ;  which  are  faid  to  be  more  durable 
J  than  Oak  itfelf :   Others  are  cut  into  long 

!  Chips, 


the  Deluge.  23  r 

Chips,  and  tied  up  in  Bundles,  and  fent 
to  the  Market  Towns  fcveral  Miles  off,  to 
light  Tobacco.     Thofe  that  I  have  viewed, 
were  all  broken  off  from  the  Roots,  I  fup- 
pofc,  by  Violence  of  Storm,  or  Water,  or 
bothi    and,  upon  Enquiry,  do  find,  that 
they  are  all  after  the  fame  manner.    They 
affirmed  to  me,  that  their  Tops  lay  all 
one  way,  viz,  with  the  Current  of  Wa- 
ter.    So  it  feems,  that  thefe  are  of  this  firft 
Kind,  that  were  thrown  down  by  Floods, 
and  the  Force  of  Water,  and  not  cut  down 
by  the  Hand  of  Man. 
*  Upon  the  firft  Sight  of  thefe  {faith  the 
Doctor)    1  was  induced  to  believe,   that 
they  are  really  Fir-Trees.    The  Bate  or 
Texture  of  the  Wood  is  the  fame  with 
Fir,   eafily  fplitting.     If  burnt,   it   fends 
out  the  fame  refinous  Smell  j  and  it  af- 
fords the  fame  Coal.     The  Branches  gene- 
rally grow  in  Circles,  as  the  Knots  do  yet 
teftify.     The  Knots  do  eafily  part  from 
the  Wood ,   as  is   ufual    in    Fir-Wood. 
The    Straitnefs    and    Length    of   thefe 
Trees,  are  alfo  a  Prefumption  that  they 
muft  be  fuch.  " 
I N  the  Ijle  of  Man  are  alfo  found  of  thefe 
fubterraneous  Trees,  whereof  we  have  an 
Account  in  a  late  Description  of  that  Ifland. 
In  a  Bog  of  6  Miles  long,  and  3  Miles  over, 
called  the  Curragh  in  Kirl-Chrifl  Lezayre^ 
are    Fir-Trees   frequently  found,    which 

0^4  tho* 


232  Confequences  of 

tho'  they  lie  18  or  20  Foot  deep,  yet  their 
Roots  are  ftill  growing  upright  in  the 
Ground,  and  all  firm  and  entire,  but  the 
Bodies  broken  off,  with  their  Heads  lying 
to  the  N.  E. 

These  Trees  (as  it  feems  tome)  were 
broken  down,  and  proftrated  by  the  Force 
of  violent  and  tempeftuous  Winds,  and  the 
boggy  Earth  raifed  above  them,  in  the  man- 
ner we  have  before  fliewn.  Hence  the  Head 
of  them  lie  to  the  N.  E.  becaufe  the  moft 
violent  Winds  blow  froai  the  Atlantick 
Ocean  which  Ues  to  the  S.  W.  of  this  Ifland. 
The  Manner  of  the  Difcovery  of  thefe  Trees 
is  very  remarkable,  lince  there  are  no  Dews 
ever  feen  upon  thofe  Parts  of  the  Surface  of 
the  Bog  where  they  are  found,  though  they 
lie  20  Foot  interred. 

Secondly^  Some,, and  that  the  greatefl  Num* 
ber  of  rhofe  fubterraneous  Trees,  were  burnt 
or  cut  down  by  the  Labour  of  Man^  in  the 
Places  where  they  now  lie. 

Ijn  Englaizd^  there  are  found  of  them  in 
mofl  of  the  great  Moraffes,  MolTes,  Fens, 
and  Bogs,  in  Somerfetfloire^  Chepire,  Lanca- 
jloire^  Weflmorland^  Torlfiire^  StaifordjJoire^ 
LincolnJIjire,  and  other  Counties.  The  Wood 
of  them  is  ufually  called  Mofs-Wood,  and 
is  black  as  Ebony. 

These  Trees,  I  fay,  were  anciently  burnt 
or  cut  down  by  the  Labour  of  Man,  as  Mr. 
Ve  la  Prjme  does  clearly  make  out,   in  a 

Letter 


the  Deluge.  233 


Letter  to  Dr.  Sloane^  regiftred  in  the  Fhilo^ 
fophical  Tranfa^flons^  Numb.  275.  'In  that 
many  of  thefe  Trees  have  been  burnt, 
fome  quite  through,  fome  all  on  one  fide ; 
fome  have  been  tound  chopt  and  fquared, 
fome  bored  through,  others  half  riven  with 
great  wooden  Wedges  and  Stones  in  them, 

and  broken  Ax-Heads And   it  is 

very  obfervable,  that  upon  the  Confines  of 
the  Low  Country,  between  Btirnhigham 
and  Brumley  in  Lincolnfloire^  are  feveral 
great  Hills  of  loofe  Sand,  which,  as  they 
are  yearly  worn,  and  blown  away  with 
the  Wind,  there  are  difcovered  under  them 
many  Roots  of  great  Firs,  with  the  Im- 
prelTes  of  the  Ax,  as  freih  upon  them  as  if 
they  had  been  cut  down  but  a  few  Weeks ; 
which  I  have  feveral  times,  with  Pleafure, 
taken  notice  of,  as  I  rode  that  way.  " 
You  will  ask.  Who  felled  thefe  Trees? 
and  for  what  Reafon  did  they  fell  them  ? 
Mr.  De  la  Pryme  tells  us,  and  proves  it  by 
fufficient  Authorities,  '  That  the  Roviam  did 
it,  to  take  away  thefe  Sheltcis  from  the 
Britamj  and  to  fecure  their  Conquefts. 
For  {faith  he)  the  ancient  Roman  Wri- 
ters and  Hiftorians  firequently  tell  us,  That 
when  their  Armies  and  Generals  purfued 
the  wild  Britaris^  they  always  fled  into 
the  FaftnelTes  of  miry  Woods,  and  low 
watry  Forefts.  Cefar  himfelf  confefTes  the 
fame,  and  fays,   '  That  CaJJlbelane  and  his 

'  Britans^ 


234  Confequences  of 

Britanf^    after    their  Defeat,    pafTed   the 
Tha?nes^  and  fled  into  fuch  low  MorafTes 
and  Woods,  that  there  was  no  poiTibility 
of  following  them.    We  find  alfo,  that  the 
flout  Nation  of  the  Siluref  did  the  fame, 
when  they  were  fet  upon  by  Ofiorim  and 
Agricola,     The  like  did  Venutiur^  King  of 
the  Brigantes.    And  Herodian  plainly  tells 
us,  That  it  was  the  Cuftom  of  the  wild 
Britam^  to  keep  in  the  fenny  Bogs,  and 
thick  marfhy  Woods  j    and  when  Oppor- 
tunity offered,  to  iffue  out,  and  fall  upon 
the  Romans ;    who    were    at    length  fo 
plagued  with  them,  that  they  were  forced 
to  iffue  out  Orders  for  the  deflroying  and 
cutting  down  all  the  Woods  and  Forefts 
in  Britain^  efpecially  all  thofe  that  grew 
on  low  Grounds   and    Moraifes.      This 
Order  was  executed,  and  they  were  ac- 
cordingly cut  down,  as  is  evident  in  ma- 
ny Writers,  who  tell  us,  That  when  te- 
tofiiuf  PauUnuf  conquered  Anglefey^  he  cut 
down  all  the  Woods  there.    Galen  the 
Phyficiaii  cells  us.  That  the  Romans  kept 
their  Soldiers    continually    employed    in 
cutting  down  of  Woods,  draining  Mar- 
fiies  and  Fens,  and  in  paving  of  Bogs.     It 
is  manifeft  alfo,  they  did  not  only  do  this 
themfelves,  but  impofed  the  fame  heavy 
Task   upon    the    Captive    Britans.    For 
Galgi£CuSy  in  his  Speech  to  his  Soldiers, 
tells  them.  That  the  Roifiam  made  Slaves 

'  of 


the  Deluge.  235' 

of  them,  and  wore  out  their  Bodies  in 
cutting  down  of  Woods,  and  in  cleanfing 
of  Bogs,  amidft  a  thoufand  Stripes  and 
Indignities.  But  that  which  is  moft  ob- 
fervable,  is,  what  Dion  CaJJtus  tells  us, 
n)iz.  That  the  "Em^tvor  SevermXo^  50000 
of  his  Men,  in  a  few  Years  time,  in  cut- 
ting down  the  Woods,  and  cleanfing  the 
Fens  and  MoralTcs  of  this  Nation.  "  Thus 
far  Mr.  De  la  Pry?ne  ;  who  adds  much 
more  of  the  famous  Levels  of  Hatfield 
Chace,  and  the  adjoining  Countries,  which 
may  be  feen  in  the  Letter  quoted  be- 
fore. Moreover,  not  only  the  Romans  have 
taken  this  Courfe  of  cutting  down  theWoods, 
for  the  Reafons  alledged,  but  other  great  Ge- 
nerals and  Conquerors  of  Countries.  So 
our  Henry  IL  when  he  conquered  Ireland^ 
cut  down  all  the  Woods  that  grew  upon  the 
low  Countries  thereof,  the  better  to  fecure 
his  Conqueft  and  Poffellion  of  the  fame,  to 
keep  the  Country  in  a  fettled  Peace,  and  to 
difarm  the  Enemy,  who  commonly  trufting 
to  fuch  Advantages,  are  apt  to  rebell.  For, 
fafe  Retreats  are  often  obferved  not  to  make 
more  Thieves  than  they  do  Rebels  i  as  Mr. 
De  la  Pryrne  well  writes.  The  like  did  Ed^ 
ward  L  (as  Hollinjhed  and  other  Hiftorians 
tell  us)  when  he  conquered  Wales ,-  for  be- 
ing not  able  to  get  near  the  Weljh  to  fight 
them,  by  reafon  of  their  Skulking  and  Con- 
tinuance in  boggy  Woods,  he  commanded 

them 


236^:  Confequences  of 

them  all  to  be  deftroyed^  and  cut  down  by 
the  Fire  and  Ax. 

The  like  Original,  no  doubt,  had  thofe 
great  Numbers  of  fubterraneousTrees,  which 
the  Defcriber  ofAmfterdam  tells  us,  are  found 
and  digged  up  in  MofTes  and  Fenny  Grounds, 
where  they  dig  for  Turves  in  Friejland  and 
Grofiingland, 

If  it  be  demanded,  how  thefe  Trees  came 
to  be  funk  fo  deep  in  the  Mofles,  1  anfwer^ 
partly  by  the  Rotting  of  their  fmaller  Branches 
and  Leaves,  partly  by  the  Earth  and  Silt 
brought  down  by  Rivers,  efpecially  in  Times 
of  Floods,  fubfiding  and  fpreading  itfelf 
over  thefe  Trees  ,-  partly  by  Rain-water  pre- 
cipitating a  copious  Sediment,  for  the  Nou- 
riftiment  of  Mofs  growing  abundantly,  with 
other  Plants  on  the  Morafs,  and  fliooting 
down  innumerable  Roots,  and  thofe  amaf- 
fed  together  to  a  great  Depth ;  as  we  fee  in 
Turf-Pits,  that  which  is  the  moft  firm  Part 
of  the  Turfs,  and  holds  them  together,  be- 
ing thefe  Roots.  Indeed  it  feems  to  me, 
that  the  lower  Part  of  the  Superficies  of  the 
Mofs  is  changed  continually  into  Roots,  and 
raifes  up  the  Moor. 

I T  may  be  objeded,  that  the  greateft  Part 
of  the  Mofs-Wood  feems  to  have  been  Fir  ; 
but  Fir-Trees  are  not  Native  of  England. 
To  which  I  anfwer.  That  this  is  a  great 
Miftake.  For  that  anciently  there  were  a- 
bundance  of  Firs  growing,  even  in  the  great 

Level 


the  Deluge.  237 


Level  about  Hatfield-Chace^  or  in  other  the 
like  Places,  Mr.  De  la  Fryme  hath  fufficiently 
proved,,  in  a  Letter  to  Dr.  Sloane^  regifter'd 
Philofoph.  Tranfaci,  Numb.  277.  And  I  my- 
felf  have  feen  a  Remnant  of  thefe  Fir-Trees 
growing  on  a  Hill  near  Wareton^  a  Village 
in  Staffordjhire^  about  2  Miles  diftant  from 
Newport  in  Shropjloire. 

S  o,  I  think,  I  have  given  a  fufficient  and 
fatisfadory  Account  of  all  the  Phenomena  of 
thefe  fubterraneous  or  FofTil  Trees,  or  on 
Mofs-Wood. 

SiNC  E  the  Writing  of  this,  happening  to 
read  Part  of  the  Learned  Dr.  Leigh's  Natu- 
ral Hiftory  of  CheJJoire^  Lancaflme^  and  the 
Peak  of  Derby ^  I  find  that  the  Dodtor  adheres 
to  the  ancient  Opinion  concerning  the  Ori- 
ginal of  thefe  Foflil-Trees,  'viz.   That  they 
were  brought  in  by  the  general  Deluge,  and 
depofited  in  the  Places  where  they  now  lie, 
and  rejeds  that  of  Dr.  P/ot,  which  we  em- 
brace j  -That  thefe  Moralfes  were  the  Pro- 
dud  of  the  Woods  that  grew  upon  them, 
which  by  Putrefadion  of  the  Leaves,  Rains 
and  Dews,  may  (as  we  daily  fee)  be  con- 
verted into  Bogs  and  Moralfes  j  and  that  the 
Firs  found  there,  were  not  brought  thither 
by  any  Deluge,  but  were  the  Produds  of 
the  Soil,  and  in  Probability  ruined  by  the 
Britans  in  Revenge  to  the  Dancfy   the  Pine 
being  their  Darling  Tree. 

That 


238  Confequences  of 

That  thefe- Trees  grew  originally  in  the 
Places  where  they  are  now  found,  I  am  of 
Accord  with  Dr.  Plot^  but  cannot  agree  with 
him  that  they  were  thrown  down  by  the 
Britam  for  the  Reafon  he  alledges.  I  ra- 
ther think  them  to  have  been  proftrated  and 
overwhelmed  by  the  Force  of  the  Waters  in 
fome  Inundation  of  the  Sea,  (not  in  the  uni- 
verfal  Deluge  in  the  Days  of  Noah)  and  af- 
terwards the  Sea  by  Degrees  receding,  to 
have  been  covered  with  the  Sediment  of  the 
Waters,  and  their  own  Branches  and  Leaves, 
with  Mofs  and  other  Plants  rotting  upon 
them.  This  Hypothefis  anfwers  Dr.  Leigh's 
fecond  and  third  Arguments  againft  Dr.Plofs 
Opinion,  viz.  2.  That  he  had  feen  feven  or 
eight  Fir-Trees  of  a  vaft  Thicknefs  conti- 
guous to  each  other,  fo  that  whofoever  con- 
iiders  the  Circumference  of  them,  muft  ne- 
cefTarily  conclude,  they  could  not  grow  there 
in  that  Order,  it  being  impoflible  there 
Ihould  be  a  Diftance  between  each  Tree  for 
their  afcending  Boughs.  3 .  Under  thefe  arc 
frequently  found  the  Exwvia  of  Animals,  as 
Shells  and  Bones  of  Fiflies,  &c,  which  could 
not  come  from  any  other  Caufe  but  a  De- 
luge. If  he  had  faid,  fome  particular  Inun- 
dation of  the  Sea,  I  could  eafily  have  agreed 
with  him.  For  that  there  have  been  fuch 
particular  Inundations  of  the  Sea  is  manifeft 
from  feveral  Hiftories,  and  particularly  that 
tranfcribed  out  of  Cambden  a  little  before,  to 

which 


the  Deluge.  235; 


which  I  rcferr  the  Reader.  As  to  his  Opi- 
nion, that  Firs  are  not,  nor  ever  were.  Na- 
tive of  England^  I  have  already  faid,  that  I 
think  it  a  great  Miftake  j  Mr.  De  la  Pryms 
producing  many  Teftimonies  that  they  were, 
particularly  in  the  great  Levels  about  Hat- 
field-Chace^  and  in  Lincolnfiire^  &c.  For  the 
Readers  Satisfadtion,  I  fliall  here  relate  his 
Words. 

'Being  the  other  Day  at  Hatfield,  I  was 
told  by  feveral  Gentlemen,  that  about  20 
Years  ago  died  one  Sanderfon  of  that  Town, 
aged  near  80  Years^  whofe  Father,  much 
of  the  fame  Age,  did  frequently  afTure 
him,  and  other  Gentlemen  that  were  curi- 
ous in  the  Matter,  that  he  could  very  well 
remember  many  hundreds  of  great  Fir- 
Trees,  ftanding  one  here  and  another  there, 
in  a  languilhing  decaying  Condition,  half 
as  high  as  Houfes,  and  fome  higher,  whofe 
Tops  were  all  dead,  yet  their  Boughs  and 
Branches  always  green  and  flourilhing^ 
growing  all  of  them  in  thefe  Levels.   And 
John  Hatfield,  of  Hatfield,  Efqj  Counfellor 
at  Law,  who  is  not  above  40  Years  of 
Age,  has  by  him  a  large  Twig  that  his  Fa- 
ther plucked  off  from  the  Sprout  of  a  green 
and  flourilhing  Shrub  of  Fir,   that  grew 
at  the  Root  of  one  of  the  fame  Kind  in 
thefe  Commons.   And  an  old  Man  o^Croul 
tells  me,  that  he  has  heard  his  Father  fay, 
that  he  could  remember  Multitudes   of 

^  Shrubs 


240  Confequences  of 

Shrubs  and  fmall  Fir-Trees  growing  hcre^ 
while  this  Country  was   a   Chace,   and 
while  the  Vert  was  preferved  before  the 
Drainage.     And  laftly,  in  many  old  Char- 
ters that  I  have  feen  of  the  pious  Roger 
de  Mowbray^  Lord  of  Axholm^  who  lived 
in  the  Year  11 00,  relating  to  Hz^r/?,  BeU 
wood^  Roffj  Santoftj  &c.  that  then  all  thefe 
Places  were  covered  with  a  great  old  de- 
caying Foreft  or  Wood,  and  not  them  on- 
ly, but  alfo  all  that  low  Common  between 
Croul'CauJJey  ^    and  Authrop  upon  Trent, 
And  tho'  there  be  not  one  Stick  of  any  fuch 
thing  now  to  be  found,  yet  it  is  not  only 
plainly  manifeft,  that  the  fame  was  true 
from  the  Roots  there  found,  but  alfo  from 
the  faid  Roots  that  moft  of  the  Trees  that 
then  grew  there  were  Firs."     Thus  far 
Mr.  De  la  Pry?ne.     To  which,   if  we  add 
what  Dr.  Richardfon  obferved  of  the  fubter- 
raneous  Trees  found  at  Toule  in  Torlfiire^ 
together  with  the  Remnant  of  thefe  Trees  at 
this  Day  growing  near  Wareton^  which  we 
before-mentioned,  all  together  make  up  a  de- 
monftrative  Proof  that  Fir-Trees  were  not 
only  Native  of  England^  but  grew  abun- 
dantly in  the  great  Levels  in  many  Coun- 
ties thereof. 

A  s  for  the  Authority  of  Julius  C<efar  to 
the  contrary,  I  make  little  Account  there- 
of. 

f  OR, 


the  Deluge.  241 

For,  I.  It's  likely  he  never  march'd  fo 
far  up  the  Country,  as  to  come  to  the  Le- 
vels in  which  thcfe  Fir-Woods  grew. 

2..  He  denies  the  Fagm  to  this  Ifland, 
whereas  the  Beech-Tree,  which  is  moft  cer- 
tainly by  the  Authority  of  all  Botanifts  the 
true  Fagui  of  the  Lcitim^  grows  plentifully 
here  in  many  Places  ;  and  not  a  diftind  Sort 
of  Faguf^  as  Dr.  Leigh  fancies,  from  no  bet- 
ter Proof  than  the  Epithet  Patula^  or  Spread- 
ing, (which  Virgil  attributes  to  the  Fagtts^ 
which  our  Beech  is  not.  But  by  his  Leave, 
I  myfelf  have  feen  Beech-Trees  with  Heads 
fufficiently  fpread,  to  denominate  them  P^- 
tula. 

To  conclude:  It's  a  vain  thing  to  difpute 
by  Argument  againft  clear  Matter  of  Fact  ,• 
or  to  go  about  to  prove,  that  all  thefe  Fofifil- 
Trees  were  brought  in  by  the  univerfal  De- 
luge, when  we  have  fufficient  Teftimony, 
that  the  greateft  Part  of  them  that  are  found 
with  us  were  cut  or  burnt  down  by  the 
Hand  of  Man ;  the  very  Stroaks  of  the  Axes 
appearing  in  them,  as  if  they  had  been  fell'd 
but  Yefterday.  So  I  lliall  leave  this  Sub- 
jed,  and  return  from  whence  I  have  digref- 
fed. 

In  the  Time  of  King  Henry  the  firft  of 
England^  there  happen'3  a  mighty  Inunda- 
tion in  Flanderf^  whereby  a  great  Part  of  the 
Country  was  irrecoverably  loft,  and  many 
of  the  poor  diftreffed  People,  being  bereft  of 

R  their 


242  Confequences  of 

$  their  Habitation,  came  into  England^  where 
the  King,  in  Compaflion  of  their  Condition, 
and  alfo  confidering  that  they  might  be  be- 
neficial to  his  Subje(5ts,  by  inftruiSii^ig  them 
in  the  Art  of  Cloathing,  firft  placed  them  a- 
bout  Carlifle  in  the  North,  and  after  removed 
them  into  South-Wales^  where  their  Poftert- 
ty  hath  ever  (ince  remained. 

In  the  Year  144^,  there  periihed  loooo 
People  by  the  Breaking  in  of  the  Sea  at  Dof- 
drecbt  in  Holland^  and  thereabouts ;  and  about 
Vullart  in  Friejland^  and  in  Zealand^  above 
1 00000  were  loft,  and  two  or  three  hundred 
Villages  drowned,  fome  of  their  Steeples 
and  Towers,  when  the  Tide  is  out,  ftill  ap- 
pearing above  Water. 

Mr.  Carew  of  Antony ,  in  his  Suwey  of 
Cornwall,  affirmeth,  That  the  Sea  hath  ra- 
vened from  that  Shire  the  whole  County  of 
Lionefi.  And  that  fuch  a  County  there  was, 
,he  very  fifficiently  proves  by  many  ftrong 
'Reafons.  Cambden^  in  his  Britannia^  reports 
out  of  ancientRecords,  '  That  upon  the  Ken- 
^  tiflj  Coaft,  not  far  from  T^hanet^  is  a  fandy 

*  dangerous  Place  (which  the  Inhabitants  call 

*  Gooawym  Sands)  where  an  Ifland  ("being  the 

*  Patrimony  of  Earl  Goodwyn)  was  fwallow- 

*  ed  up  in  the  Year  1097. 

But  the  greateft Change  of  this  Kind  that 
ever  was  made  (if  it  be  true)  was  the  Sub- 
merfion  of  the  vaft  Ifland  of  ^^to^/V^  wliere^ 
of  we  have  already  fpoken. 

As 


the  Deluge.  245 


As  for  the  Changes  that  have  been  made 
by  undermining   and    wafliing   away    the 
Shores,  they  have  been  partly  the  diminiih- 
ing  of  the  Land,  and  partly  the  raifing  up  of 
feveral  Iflands  not  far  from  the  Shores.    So 
the  Baltic^  Sea  hath  invaded  the  Shores  of 
Pomerania^  and  deftroyed  a  famous  Mart- 
Town,  called  Vineta.  So  the  ancient  Borough 
of  Donewlchj  in  Suffolk^  is  almoft  quite  eaten 
away  and  ruined  by  the  Encroachments  of 
the  Sea.    And  it  is  faid,  that  the  Ocean  hath 
cut  off  twenty  Miles  from  the  North  Part 
of  the  Ifland  of  Ceylan  in  India^  fo  that  it  is 
much'  lefs  at  this  Day  than  formerly  it  was. 
And  many  the  like  Examples  there  are.    And 
for  the  Raifing  up  of  Iflands  near  the  Shore, 
very  likely  it  is,    that  the  Sea  continually 
preying  upon  the  Shore,  and  wafliing  away 
abundance  of  Earth  from  thence,  cannot  car- 
ry it  far  to  any  great  Diflance  from  the 
Shores,  but  lets  it  fall  by  little  and  little  m 
their  Neighbourhood  ,•    which  fubfiding  or 
fettling  continually  for  fome  Ages,  at  lafl 
the  Heaps  afcend  up  to  the  very  Superficies 
of  the  Water,  and  become  Iflands.    Hence, 
in  the  Middle  of  the  OceaUj   there  are  no 
Iflands,   or  but  a  very  few,   becaufe  thof^ 
Parts  are  too  remote  from  the  Shores  for  any 
Earth  wafhed  from  thence  to  be  carried  thi- 
ther j  and  if  it  were,  yet  the  Sea  thereabout 
is  too  deep  to  have  any  Heap  raifed  in  it  fo 
high :  Befides,  the  Motions  of  the  Water  in 

K  2  thofe 


244  Conft'quences  of 

thofe  Depths,  vver-  z  there  Earth  enough, would 
overthrow  any  H;  ;ap  before  it  could  be  ad- 
vanced any  thing  near  the  Top.  But  all  I- 
flands  in  general,  a  very  few  excepted,  are 
about  the  Shores,  or  not  far  from  the  Shores 
of  the  great  Continents.  Which  Thing  is 
efpecialiy  to  be  remarked  in  all  the  great 
Heaps  or  Swarms  of  numerous  Iflands,  they 
being  all  near  to  the  Continents ;  thofe  of 
the  yEgean  Sea  to  Europe  and  Afia-,  the  He- 
fperides  to  Africa;  and  the  Maldi-v^^  (which 
are  thought  to  amcuint  to  eleven  thoufand) 
to  India  j  only  the  '.Flandric^  or  Azores  feeni 
to  be  fituate  in  the  Middle  of  the  Ocean,  be- 
tween the  Old  and  New  World. 

Besides  thefe  Changes  about  the  Sea- 
Coafts,  by  the  prevailing  of  the  Land  upon 
the  Sea,  in  fome  Places,  and  the  Sea  upon 
the  Land  in  others,  the  whole  Continents 
feem  to  futfer  a  confiderable  Mutation  by 
the  Diminution,  and  Deprellion  or  Sinking  of 
the  Mountains,  as  I  fhall  have  Occafion  to 
fhew  afterward  in  the  Third  Difcourfe. 

jElian^  in  his  eighth  Book,  cap,  1 1.  telleth 
us.  That  not  only  the  Mountain  JEtna^  but 
FarnajJ/is  and  Olyfnpus^  did  appear  to  be  lefs 
and  lefs  to  fuch  as  failed  at  Sea,  the  Height 
thereof  finking.  Of  this  Lowering  and  Dimi- 
nution of  the  Mountains,  I  Hiall  not  fay  much 
in  this  Place,  but  taking  it  for  granted  at 
prcfent,  only  in  brief  intimate  the  Caufes 
of  it,  alfigned  by  that  learned  Mathematician 
"' '  Jo[ephus 


the  Deluge.  245* 

^ofephus  Blancanufj  whichs  are  partly  Rain- 
Water,  and  partly  Rivers,   which  by  conti- 
nual Fretting  by  little  and  little,  wafli  away 
and  eat  out  both  the  T'ops  and  Sides  and  Feet 
of  Mountains,  and  fill  up  the  low.cr  Places  of 
the  Valleys,  making  the  one  to  encreafe,  and 
the  other  to  decreafc  j    whereby  it  appears 
(faith  Dr.  Hahwil)    that  wliat  the  Mountain 
lofeth,  the  Valley  ^^ains;   and  confequently, 
that  in  the  whole  G  lobe  of  the  Earth  noihing 
is  loft,  but  only  removed  from  one  Place  to 
another  ,•  fo  that  in  Procefs  of  Time  the  high- 
eft  Mountains   may  be  humbled  into  Val- 
leys :    And  again   (which  yet  I  will  not  al- 
low him)    the  loweft  Valleys  exalted  into 
Mountains.     He  proceeds,   Anaxagoras   (as 
Diogenes  Laertius  reports  in  his  Life)  being 
demanded   what  he  thought.  Whether  the 
Mountains  called  LapjQicenl  would  in  time 
be  covered  with  Sea  ?   anfwered,  Tes^  unlefs 
'Time  itfelffaili  which  Anfwer  of  his  fecms 
to  confirm  the  Opinion  oiBlajicanm  De  Mmir- 
di  Fabrica^  cap.  4.  where  he  maintains,  That 
if  the  World  fhould  laft  long  enough,  by 
reafon  of  this  continual  Decreafe  of  the  Moun- 
tains, and  the  Levelling  of  the  Valleys,  the 
Earth  would  again  be  overflown  with  Wa- 
ters, as  at  firft  it  was. 

Beside  thefe  more  eminent  and  remark- 
able Changes,  which  in  Procefs  of  time,  after 
a  long  SuccelTion  of  many  Ages,  threat<.ni: 
fome  great  Eifed  i  indeed,  no  lefs  than  a  Re- 

R  3  du«ftion 


Z^6  Consequences  of 

dudion  of  the  World  to  its  primitive  State 
before  the  Separation  of  the  Land  and  Water ; 
there  have  been  many  other  leffer  Mutations 
made  either  by  Earthquakes  and  Eructa- 
tions of  Burning  Mountains,  or  by  great 
Floods  and  Shots  of  Rain,  or  by  violent  or 
tempeftuous  Winds  and  Hurricanes,  fome 
whereof  are  mentioned  by  Naturalifts  and 
Hiftorians,  Straho^  Flinj^  Seneca^  O'vid^  and 
others. 

For  Earthquakes,  Pojftdonm^  quoted  by 
StrabOj  in  his  firft  Book,  writes,  '  That  there 
,*  was  a  City  in  Phocnida^  (ituate  above  Si- 

*  don,  fwallowed  up  by  an  Earthquake,  and 
^  that  almoft  two  Thirds  of  Sidon  itfelf  fell 
'  therein,  though  not  fuddenly,  and  all  at 
'  once,  fo  that  there  was  no  great  Deftru- 

*  (Stion  or  Slaughter  of  Men  happened.  The 

*  fame  extended  almoft  over  all  Syria^  tho' 

*  not  violently,  and  reached  as  far  as  fome 
'  of  the  Cydades  Iflands,  and  Euhm^  where 
^  the  Fountains  of  Arethufa  in  Chalcis  were 

*  flopped  up  by  it,  and  after  many  Days 

*  broke  forth  again  at  another  Source  ;  neir 
^  ther  did  it  ceafe  to  fhake  the  Ifland  by  Parts, 

*  till  the  Earth  opening  in  the  Field  Lelantus 
t  vomited  out  of  a  River  of  fiery  Clay. 

The  fame  Strabo  tells  us,  '  That  Beviocles 

*  mentions  huge  Earthquakes  of  old  in  Ly- 
dia  and  lonia^  extending  as  far  as  Troas^ 

t  by  which  many  Villages  were  fwallowed 


the  Deluge.  247 

;  Up,  and  Sifylm  overthrown  when  Tantalus 
^  reigned,  and  great  Lakes  made  of  Fens. 

And  that Dwm faith,  ' That  the Rhagadey 
^  Iflands  by  Media  were  fo  called  from  the 
'  Lands  about  the  Cafpi^e  Fort(e  being  torn 
^  and  broken  by  Earthquakes,  fo  that  many 
^  Cities  and  Villages  were  overthrown,  and 
t  feveral  Rivers  received  Alterations. 

And  Demetrim  Calatiamis ^  relating  the 
Earthquakes  that  happen'd  throughoutGrf fc^, 
writes,  '  That  a  great  Part  of  the  Lichades 
^  Iflands  and  CenMis  had  been  drowned 
^  thereby  j  and  that  the  hot  Baths  at  jEdep- 

*  fus^  and  in  ThermcphyU^  having  been  ftopt 
'  for  three  Days,  flowed  again,  and  thofeof 

*  Mdepfm  from  new  Sources.  That  the 
^  Wall  of  Oreus  on  the  Sea-Side,  and  feven 
^  hundred  Houfes,  were  thrown  down;  and 
^  a  great  part  of  Echinus  and  Heraclea  Tra- 
'  chinia;  but  the  whole  Building  of  Fhalar- 
^  ?ms  was  overturned  from  the  very  Soil  or 
^  Plain  of  it ;  the  like  happened  to  the  La- 
'  riam  and  Lariffatans ;  and  that  Scarphia 
'  was  utterly  demolifhed  and  fubverted  from 
'  the  very  Foundations,  and  not  fewer  than 
'  1700  Perfons  overwhelmed  and  buried  j 

*  and  more  than  half  that  Number  of  the 
I  Thronii. 

Pliny  J  in  his  firfl  Book,  cap.  84.  tells  us, 
^  That  in  the  Reign  of  Tiberius  C<sfar^  there 
^  happened  an  Earthquake  (the  greateft  that 
t  ever  was  in  the  Memory  01  Man)  wherein 

R  4  I  twelve 


248  Confequences  of 

^  twelve  Cities  of  Afia  were  proftrated  in 
I  one  Night. 

But  what  is  that  to  what  S.  Augufline 
writes,  \JLib»  2.  De  Miraculis  SS.  cap,'^.']  if 
that  Book  be  his,  ^  In  famofo  qiiodavi  terr^- 
tnotu  centum  Liby^c  Urbes  corruifje  :  T'hat  in 
a  famous  Earthquale  a  hundred  Cities  of  Li- 
bya were  demoUJhed, 

The  City  of  Antiocl\  where  the  Difciples 
of  Christ  were  firft  called  Chriftians^  with  a 
great  part  of  Afia  bordering  upon  it,  was 
almoft  wholly  fubverted  and  fwallowed  up 
by  an  Earthquake  in  %'a]an's  time,  as  Dion 
CaJJius  writes ;  Trajan  himfelf  then  winter- 
ing there. 

The  (amc  Ciiy  o(  Ant iochj  in  the  Time 
of  ^uftinian^  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  528, 
was  again  Ihaken  with  a  terrible  Earthquake, 
wherein  were  overwhelmed  and  buried  in 
the  Ruins  of  the  Houfes  above  40000  of  the 
Citizens. 

And  laftly,  in  the  5i  ft  Year  after  the  laft 
mentioned  Earthquake,  'being  again  iliaken 
by  a  new  one,  it  loft  60000  of  its  Inhabi- 
tants :  Gregory^  the  then  Bifhop,  being  by  the 
Divine  Favour,  and  in  a  manner  miraculouf- 
ly  preferved,  the  Houfe  wherein  he  abode 
fcUling  down  prefcntly  after  his  going  out 
of  it. 

Eufeblus  and  Spartanus  make  Mention  of 
an  Earthquake  in  the  Emperor  Adrian's 
TimCj  wherein  Nicomedia  and  Nict£a  of  Bi- 

thynia^ 


the  Deluge.  24^ 


thynia^  and  Nicopoli^  and  dcfarea^  Cities  of 
PaUflina^  were  thrown  down  and  ruined. 

In  the  Year  1182,  when  Saladin  fet  him- 
fclf  to  overthrow  the  Kingdom  of  Jerufa- 
lem^  there  happened  an  Earthquake,  in  which 
Antiochia^  Laodicea^  Alapia^  dcfarea^  Emif- 
fa^  Tripolis^  and  other  famous  Cities,  were 
almoft  wholly  thrown  down  and  dcftroyed. 
^To  omit  many  that  are  recorded  in  an- 
cient Hiftories,  and  to  come  near  to  our 
Times  ; 

JEnca^  Syl'vm^   afterwards  Pope  by  the 

Name  of  Pius  the  Second,  in  a  Letter  of  his 

to   the    Emperor  Frederick  ^   thus    pitifully 

defcribes  an  Earthquake  that  fell  out  in  his 

time ;    Audies  ex  latore  prj:fentimn  qudm  mi- 

rahilia  &  ijicredibilia  damna  fecertt  Terra^ 

?fiotus  in  Regno  Apulia:,   nam  ?nulta  oppida 

funditiis  corruerunt^  alia  magna  ex  parte  col- 

lapfa  [lint,     Neapoli  omnes  fere  Ecclefi^  & 

maxima  Palatia  ceciderunt^  plufquam  trigin- 

ta  millia  corpora  opprejjd   minis  traduntur  ^ 

populus  omnis  habitat  in  Tentoriis^  i.e.    Tou 

jhall  imderftand  by  the  Bearer  of  theje  Prefents^ 

what   wonderful    and    incredible   Loffes   an 

Earthquake  hath  Wrought  in  the  Kingdom  of 

Apulia  i  for  many  Towns  are  utterly  ruined^ 

others  for  the  greateft  part  fallen.     In  Naples^ 

almoft  all  their  Churches  and  fair  Palaces  are 

overthrown ;  more  than  30000  Perfojts  are  faid 

to  have  been  flain  j  all  the  Inhabitants  dwell  in 

Te?its, 

This 


lit 

2,^0  Confequences  of 

This  Kingdom  of  Naples^  efpecially  Apu^ 
lia  and  Calabria^  hath,  I  think,  been  oftner 
ihaken,  and  fuffered  more  by  Earthquakes 
•  than  any  other  Part  of  Europe.  For  Cluve^ 
rim  tells  us.  That  in  the  Year  i52p,  there 
were  dreadful  Earthquakes  in  Apulia,  by 
which  17000  Men  are  faid  to  have  periihed|. 

And  Athanafius  Kircher  the  Jefuite,  in  the 
Preface  to  his  Mundtis  Subterraneus,  gi^s 
us  a  fad  Narrative  of  'i  difmal  Earthquake% 
Calabria^  in  the  Year  1638,  wherein  him- 
felf  was,  and  out  of  which  he  hardly  efcaped 
with  his  Life :  Nothing  to  be  feen  in  the 
whole  Country  he  palTed  by  for  two  hun^ 
dred  Miles  in  Length,  but  the  Carcaffes  of 
Cities,  and  the  horrible  Ruins  of  Villages, 
the  Inhabitants  wandring  about  in  the  open 
Fields,  being  half  dead  with  Fear  and  Expe- 
dation  of  what  might  follow.  But  moft  re- 
markable was  the  Subverfion  of  the  noted 
Town  of  S.  Eufamia,  which  was  quite  loft 
out  of  their  Sight,  and  abforpt,  and  inftead 
thereof,  nothing  left  but  a  ftinking  Lake. 
]But  for  a  full  Account  thereof,  I  referr  the 
Reader  to  the  faid  Preface. 

Not  many  Years  ago,  the  famous  City  of 
Ragufa  was  almoft  wholly  fubverted  and  de- 
ftroyed  by  a  terrible  Earthquake  i  and  Sfiiyr^ 
pa  has  lately  been  demolilhed  by  one.  From 
|he  JVefi'Indies  we  hear  frequently  of  great 
^Damages  done  in  our  Plantations  by  Earthr 
quakes.  The  printed  Tranfadions  and  Jour- 
nals 


the  Deluge.  z^l 

nals  are  full  of  thefe  great  ConculTions  and 
Subverfions. 

In  the  Year  1^92,  on  the  Seventh  Day 
of  ^une^  there  happened  a  dreadful  Earths 
quake  in  the  Ifland  of  Jamaica^  which  made 
great  Ruins  and  Devaftations  throughout 
the  whole  Country,  but  efpecially  in  the 
Capital  Town  of  Port-Royal^  which  was  al- 
moft  fwallow'd  up  and  overflowed  by  the 
Sinking  of  the  Earth,  and  Irruption  of  the 
Sea :  A  fuU  Account  whereof  contained  in 
two  Letters  fent  from  the  Minifter  of  the 
Place,  the  one  dated  5^«^  the  2 2d,  the  other 
the  28th  of  the  fame  Month,  1692,  from  A-^ 
board  the  Granada  in  PoruRoyal  Harbour,  to 
a  Friend  of  his  in  England^  and  publifhed  by 
Authority,  I  fliall  give  the  Reader,  with 
fome  Remarks. 

1.  He  tells  us  in  general.  That  this  Earth- 
quake threw  down  almoft  all  the  Houfes, 
Churches,  Sugar-Works,  Mills  and  Bridges 
throughout  the  whole  Ifland  :  That  it  tore 
the  Rocks  and  Mountains  [others  tell  us, 
that  it  leveled  fome  Mountains,  and  reduced 
them  to  Plains]  that  it  deftroy'd  fome  whole 
Plantations,  and  threw  them  into  the  Sea ; 
but  that  Port-Royal  had  much  the  greateft 
Share  in  this  terrible  Judgment. 

2.  Then  he  acquaints  us,  what  for  to 
fave  the  Reputation  of  the  People,  and  to 
avoid  the  laying  a  perpetual  Blot  upon  them, 
I  iliould  rather  lupprefs  and  conceal^  but  for 

the 


Z^*!  CoJtfequences  of 

the  Vindication  of  the  Divine  Providence  and 
Juftice,  and  to  deterr  others  from  the  like 
Enormities,  I  think  ncceffary  to  publifh. 
That  the  Inhabitants  of  that  Place  were  a 
mod  ungodly  and  debauched  People,  and  fo 
defperately  wicked,  that  he  was  even  afraid 
to  continue  among  them  ;  for  that  very  Day 
this  terrible  Earthquake  was,  as  foon  as  Nighi. 
came  on,  a  Company  of  lewd  Rogues,  whom 
they  call  Privateers,  fell  to  Breaking  open 
Warehoufes  and  Houfes  deferted,  to  rob  and 
rifle  their  Neighbours,  whilft  the  Earth  trem- 
bled under  thgm,  and  fome  of  the  Houfes 
fell  upon  them  in  the  Ad:.  [The  like  Rob- 
bers and  Plunderers  we  were  told  wander'd 
up  and  down  the  Country,  even  in  the  very 
Smoke,  during  the  laft  great  Burnnig  and 
Eruption  of  Mtna  in  Sicily^  And  thofe  au- 
dacious Whores  that  remained  ftili  upon  the 
Place,  were  as  impudent  and  drunken  as 
ever  -,  and  that  fmce  the  Earthquake,  when 
he  was  on  Shore  to  pray  with  the  bruiled  and 
dying  People,  and  to  Chriften  Children,  he 
met  with  too  many  Drunk  and  Swearing. 
And  in  his  fecond  Letter,  he  faith  pofitively, 
That  there  was  not  a  more  ungodly  People 
on  the  Face  of  the  Earth. 
-  3.  The  Account  he  gives  of  the  Motions 
and  Etfedts  of  the  Earthquake  is  as  follow- 
eth :  The  Day  when  this  Calamity  befell,  the 
Town  and  liland  was  very  clear,  affording 
not  any  Sufpicion  of  the  leaft  Evil.     [This 

is 


the  lye  luge.  2^3 


is  obferved  of  moft  Earthquakes,  and  parti- 
cularly of  our  laft  here  'mE?igla?idj  the  Morn- 
ing before  it,  being  clear  and  calm.]  But 
in  the  Space  of  three  Minutes,  about  half  an 
Hour  after  Eleven  in  the  Morning,  Port- 
Royal^  the  fairefl  Town  in  all  the  EngliJJj 
Plantations,  [and  well  might  he  call  it  fo, 
if,  as  he  writes  in  another  Place  of  his  Letter, 
moft  of  the  Houfes  upon  the  Wharf  were 
built  of  Brick,  and  as  tair  as  thofe  in  Cheap- 
fide  J  London']  the  bcft  Emporium  and  Mart  of 
this  Part  of  the  World,  exceeding  in  Riches 
and  abounding  in  all  good  Things,  was  Iha- 
ken  and  fhattered  to  Pieces,  and  covered  for 
the  greateft  part  by  the  Sea.  The  Wharf 
was  entirely  fwallowed  by  the  Sea,  and  two 
whole  Streets  beyond  it.  Himfelf,  with  the 
Prefident  of  the  Council,  being  in  a  Houfe 
near  where  the  Merchants  meet,  hearing  the 
Church  and  Tower  fall,  ran  to  fave  them- 
felves :  He  having  loft  the  Prefident,  made 
toward  Morgans  Fort,  becaufe  being  a  wide 
open  Place,  he  thought  to  be  there  fecureft 
from  the  falling  Houfes,  but  as  he  was  go- 
ing he  faw  the  Earth  open,  and  fwallow  up. 
a  Multitude  of  People,  and  the  Sea  mount- 
ing in  upon  them  over  the  Fortifications « 
Moreover  he  tells  us.  That  their  large  and 
famous  Burying-Place,  called  the  Palifado'y^ 
was  dcftroyed  by  the  Earthquake,  and  that 
the  Sea  waftied  away  the  Carcalfes  of  thoie 
that  were  buried  out  of  thv::ir  Graves,  ihdr 

lonibs 


1^4  Confeqtiences  of 

Tombs  being  daihed  to  Pieces  by  the  Mo- 
tion and  Concuflion.  That  the  whole  Har- 
bour, one  of  the  faireft  and  goodlieft  that 
ever  he  faw,  was  covered  with  the  dead  Bo- 
dies of  People  of  all  Conditions  floating  up 
and  down  without  Burial.  That  in  the  O- 
peningof  the  Earth,  the  Houfes  and  Inhabi- 
tants linking  down  together,  fome  of  thefe 
were  driven  up  again  by  the  Sea  which  a- 
rofe  in  thofe  Breaches,  and  wonderfully  efca- 
ped :  Some  were  fwallowed  up  to  the  Neck, 
and  then  the  Earth  {hut  upon  them,  and 
fqueezed  them  to  Death ;  and  in  that  Man- 
lier feveral  were  left  buried  with  their  Heads 
above  Ground,  only  fome  Heads  the  Dogs 
have  eaten,  others  are  covered  with  Duft  and 
Earth  by  the  People  which  yet  remain  in  the 
Place,  to  avoid  the  Stench.  So  that  they  con- 
jed:ure,  that  by  the  Falling  of  the  Houfes, 
the  Opening  of  the  Earth,  and  the  Inundation 
of  the  Waters,  there  are  loft  Fifteen  hundred 
Perfons,  and  many  of  good  Note,  as  Attor- 
ney General  Mufgrove ,  Provoft  Marlhal 
Ree-ves^  Lord  Secretary  Reevef^  &c. 

Farther  he  tells  us.  That  after  he  was  e- 
fcaped  into  a  Ship,  he  could  not  fleep  all 
Night  for  the  Returns  of  the  Earthquake  al- 
moft  every  Hour,  which  made  all  the  Guns 
in  the  Ship  to  jar  and  rattle.  And  he  fuppo- 
fes  that  the  whole  Town  of  Port-Royal  will 
in  a  Ihort  time  be  wholly  fwallowed  by  the 
Sea  i  for  few  of  thofe  Houfes  that  yet  ftand 

arq 


the  Deluge.  i^*^ 


are  left  whole,  and  that  they  heard  them 
fall  every  Day,  and  that  the  Sea  daily  en- 
croached upon  them.  That  they  had  Ac- 
counts from  feveral  Parts  of  thofe  Iflands  of 
Mifchiefs  done  by  the  Earthquake.  From 
St.  Anne's  they  heard  of  above  looo  Acres  of 
Wood-Land  changed  into  Sea,  carrying  with 
it  whole  Plantations.  And,  laftly.  That  he 
was  told  by  fome,  that  they  ftill  heard  Bel- 
lowings  and  Noifes  in  the  Mountains,  which 
made  them  very  apprehenfive  of  an  Eruption 
«f  Fire  ,•  which  if  fo,  he  feared  might  be 
•more  deftru<Slive  than  the  Earthquake.  [But 
i  think  cauflefly,  for  I  never  heard  or  read 
'of  any  great  Deftrudtion  of  Men  made  by 
-any  Eruptions  of  Fire,  even  out  of  burning 
Mountains.] 

4.  T  H  E  Account  he  gives  of  his  own  uri- 
'expe(5ted  and  ftrange  Prefervation,  take  in 
'his  own  Words :    After  I  had  been  at  Church 
reading  Prayer ^^  (which  I  did  every  day  fi?tce 
I  was  Redor  of  the  Place^  to  hep  up  fo?ne 
Shew  of  Religion)  and  was  gone  to  a  Place 
-hard  by  the    Churchy  where   the  Merchants 
7ndet^  and  where  the  Prefident  of  the  Council 
waSy   who  came  into  my  Company^  and  en- 
gaged me  to  take  a  Glafs  of  Wormwood  Wine, 
as  a  Whet  before  Dinners   he  being  my  very 
great  Friend^  Iftaid  with  him :     Upon  which 
he  lighted  a  Pipe  of  Tobacco^  which  he  wa£ 
pretty  long  in  tahng  i  and  not  being  willing 
to  leave  him  before  it  was  out^  this  detained 

me 


Z^6  Confequences  of 

me  from  going  to  Dinner  to  one  Captain  Ru- 
denV,  whither  I  way  invited :  JVhofe  Houfe^ 
upon  the  firft  ConcuJJion^  funk  firji  into  the 
Earthy  and  then  into  the  Sea^  with  his  Wife 
and  Fajnily^  a?id  fome  that  were  come  to  dine 
with  him.  Had  I  hem  there^  I  had  been 
loji.  But  to  return  to  the  Prefident^  and 
his  Fife  of  Tobacco :  Before  that  was  out^ 
I  found  the  Ground  rolling  and  moving  un- 
der ?ny  Feet ;  upon  which^  I  faid  to  him^ 
Lord !  Sir,  what  is  this  ?  He  replied  ve- 
ry compofedly^  being  a  very  grave  Man^  It 
is  an  Earthquake ;  be  not  afraid,  it  will  foon 
be  over  :  But  it  increafed^  &c.  Then  he  re- 
lates, how  he  went  to  his  own  Lodging,  and 
found  all  thinss  in  Order  there,  nothing;  ftir- 
red  out  of  its  place ;  and,  going  into  his  Bal- 
cony to  view  the  Street,  he  faw  never  a 
Houfe  down  there,  nor  the  Ground  fo  much 
as  crack' d :  And  that,  after  he  had  prayed 
with  the  People,  at  their  earned  Requeft,  and 
given  them  fome  ferious  Exhortations  to  Re- 
pentance, in  which  Exercifes  he  fpent  near 
an  hour  and  half,  there  came  fome  Mer- 
chants of  the  Place  to  him,  defiring  him  to 
go  aboard  fome  Ship  in  the  Harbour,  and  re- 
frelh  himfelf,  telling  him,  that  they  had  got- 
ten a  Boat  to  carry  him  off;  whom  he  ac- 
companied :  And  palfing  over  the  Tops  of 
fome  Houfes,  which  lay  leveled  with  the 
Surface  of  the  Water,  got  firft  into  a  Canoe, 

and 


the  'Deluge.  25*7 


and  then  into  a  Long-Boat,  which  put  him 
on  board  a  Ship* 

5.  The  laftthingl  fhall  take  notice  of  in 
thefe  Letters^  (hall  be  the  Influence  and  Effect 
this  Judgment  had  upon  the  Remainder  of 
the  People,  to  bring  them  to  a  Senfe  of  their 
Sins,  and  Repentance  for  them,  and  to  re- 
folve  upon,  and  begin  a  Reformation  and  A- 
mendment  of  their  Lives.     It  is  a  true  Say- 
ing, Vexatio  dat  intelle5fuin  :    In  their  Affii^ 
6Uon  they  will  feek  me  early.    The  pious  In- 
clination of  the  People  appeared,  in  that  they 
were  fo  glad  to.  fee  their  Minifter  in  the 
midft  of  this  Difafter,  and  fo  earneft  with 
him  to  come  down  and  pray   with  them, 
when  they  faw  him  in  the  Balcony  before- 
mentioned  y   and  that  when  he  came  down 
into  the  Street,  every  one  laid  hold  on  his 
Cloaths,  and  embraced  him,   fo  that  with 
their  Fear  and  Kindnefs  he  was  almoft  ftifled. 
And  that  not  only  at  the  inftant  of  the  Di- 
ftrefs,  but  afterwards  when  he  went  afhore 
to  bury  the  Dead,  and  pray  with  the  Sick, 
and  baptize  the  Children,  and  preach  among 
them,   the    People  were   overjoy'd  to   fee 
him,  and  wept  bitterly  when  he  preached 
to  them.    Fear  is  a  more  powerful  PafTion 
than  Love :   And  whatever  creates  Terror,  is 
a  more  effcdual  Curb  to  reftrain  and  rule 
Men  as  well  as  Children,  than  any  Favours 
or  Benefits,  the  mod  powerful  Motives  of 
Love  and  Affe(5tion  :    For  though  the  Bonds 


l^S  Confequences  of 

of  Love  are  called  the  Cords  of  a  Man^  and 
are  indeed  Very  ftrong  ones  tu  rational  and 
ingenuous  Perfons,  yet  the'greateft  part  of 
Mankind  are  fo  far  degenerated,  that  they 
have  broken  thefe  Bonds ^  and  cafl  thefe  Cords 
from  them  ;  and  upon  Trial,  one  fhall  find 
little  of  Gratitude  or  Ingenuity  among 
them. 

I  Shall  add  one  or  two  Remarks  upon 
the  precedent  Paper. 

tirft^  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  the  Day, 
when  all  this hddlPort^Royal  and  the  whole 
Ifland  of  Jamaica^  was  very  clear,  not  af- 
fording the  lead  Sufpicion"  of  any  Evil  j  fo 
that  the  Inhabitants  had  no  Warning  at  all 
of  it,  but  were  furprized  of  a  fudden,  without 
time  fufficient  to  efcape  and  fave  themfelves. 
For,  in  the  fliort  Space  of  three  Minutes,  the 
Town  was  Ihaken  and  fliattered  to  pieces, 
and  funk  into,  and  covered,  for  the  greateft 
part,  by  the  Sea.  In  which  refpcd,  this  Judg- 
ment refemblcd  thofe  on  the  Old  World  and 
on  Sodo?n^  which,  the  Scripture  tells  us,  were, 
to  the  People  involved  in  them,  fudden  and 
unexpected  i  as  alfo  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ,  and  future  DiiTolution  of  the  World 
by  Fire,  is  predided  to  be. 

That  the  Caufe  of  Earthquakes  is  the 
fame  with  that  of  Thunder,  I  doubt  not,  and 
moft  learned  Men  are  agreed  ^  that  is.  Exha- 
lations or  Steams  fet  on  fire,  the  one  in  the 
Clouds,  the  other  in  the  Caverns  of  the  Earth ; 

which 


the  Deluge.  l^p 

which  is  fufficiently  proved  from  the  great 
Deflagrations  and  Eruptions  of  Vulcano's  or 
burning  Mountains ,    they  being  always  ei- 
ther preceded  or  attended  by  Earthquakes  : 
And  Earthquakes,  even  here  in  England^  be- 
ing, as  far  as  1  can  underftand,  for  the  moft 
part,  accompanied  with  a  Noife.    But  now 
of  what  Nature  this  Steam  is,  that  is  thus  in- 
flamed, and  what  caufes  the  Accenfion,  I 
jnuft  confefs  niyfelf  not  to  be  yet  fully  fa- 
tisfied.     That  it  is  at  leaft  partly  Sulphure- 
ous is  certain,  and  well  proved  by  Dr.  "*-  Li-  *  mioj. 
fier^  from  the  Sulphureous  Stink  of  Waters.  ]J'^^''^' 
fmelt  before,  and  of  the  very  Air  itfelf  after     '  *^^* 
them :   That  it  conceives  Fire  of  itfelf,   and 
is  not  kindled  after  the  Manner  of  Gun-pow- 
der by  the  Touch  of  Fire,  is  as  clear,  there 
being  no  Fire  prxexifting  in  the  Clouds  ; 
but  how  it  Ihould  kindle,  unlefs  by  a  Col- 
ludation  of  Parts  after  the  manner  of  Fermen- 
tations, I  cannot  conceive.    And  if  fo,  then 
the  Steam  muft  be  a  diffimilar  Body  com- 
pofed  of  Parts  of  different  Natures  j    elfe 
would  there  be  no  Colludlation,  and  confe- 
quently  no  Accenfion,  the  Parts  friendly  con- 
fpiring  and  agreeing  in  the  fame  Motion. 

I  A  M  not  ignorant,  that  Water,  either  in 
the  grofs  Body,  or  in  Vapour,  may  and  doth 
fo  far  work  upon  fome  lolid  Bodies,  as  for 
Example,  Quick-Lime,  Hay  in  a  Mow,  the 
Pyrites  or  Fire-ftone,  &c,  as .  to  caufe  an  In- 
calefcency,  and  even  an  Accenfion ;  but  ftill 

S  2  this 


l6o  Confeqtiences  of 

this  is  by  the  Difcord  or  Contrariety  of  the 
Parrs  of  Water  or  Vapour,  and  thofe  of  the 
forementioned  Bodies  meeting  and  ftruggling 
together.  So  in  Tempefts  of  Thunder  and 
Lightning,  the  Fume  contain'd  in  the  Clouds^ 
which  my  honoured  Friend  Dr.  Martin  Zi- 
fter  fuppofcs  and  proves  to  be  no  other  than 
the  Breath  of  the  Pyrites  encountring  with 
the  Vapour  of  Water,  there  may  very  likely, 
by  the  Concourfe  and  Conflid  of  thefe  two, ' 
be  produced  firft  a  great  Heat,  and  after- 
wards an  adual  Fire. 

A  s  for  Thunder,  after  the  Steams  inclofed 
in  the  Cloud  are  once  inflamed,  I  conceive 
the  Fire  goes  not  out  till  the  End  of  the  Tem- 
ped,- but  when  the  inflamed  Matter  is  fo 
much  dilated,  that  the  Cavity  of  the  Cloud 
cannot  contain  it,  it  rends  the  Cloud,  and 
forces  its  Way  through  where  it  is  moft 
yielding,  fo  much  of  the  Fire  efcaping  at  the 
Breach,  till  the  Cloud  overcomes  the  Refi- 
flance  of  the  Remainder,  and  clofes  itfelf  a- 
gainj  and  continues  fhut,  till  there  be  fo 
much  of  the  fulphureous  Steam  anew  infla- 
med, as  to  have  Strength  enough  to  tear  it, 
and  break  out  the  fecond  time,  which  Pro- 
cefs  is  repeated,  till  the  whole  Steam  be  burnt 
^:  and  coniumed,  and  the  Fire  go  out;   or  till 

f;  the  Cloud  be   quite  condenfed  and  fallen 

down  in  Rain.  That  this  Vapour,  or  Steani 
in  the  Clouds,heats  gradually  before  it  comes 
to  Accenfion^  I  ihSfk  probable,  becaufe  before 


the  Deluge.  l6l 


iany  confiderable  Tempeft  the  Air  beneath  is 
fultry,  (as  we  call  it)  that  is,  futfocatingly 
hot. 

S  o  likevvife  in  the  Caverns  of  the  Earth, 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Steams  or  Damps 
that  camfe  Earthquakes  before  Ignition,  may 
be  gradually  heated  by  a  Colluftation  of 
Parts  ^  but  their  Accenfion  feems  to  be  very 
fudden,  and  in  manner  of  ^plofion,  like 
that  of  Gun-powder  ,•  the  Succuflion  coming 
unexpe^edly  without  any  Notice-giving,  and 
being  alfo  very  tranfient,  and  of  lliort  Conti- 
nuance, I  mean  Earthquakes  where  there 
are  no  Eructations  of  Fire,  fuch  as  6urs  in 
England  are. 

T  H  B  R  E  is  a  Sort  of  Damp  which  fome 
call  a  Fire-Damp  or  Fulminating-Damp,  of 
which  I  had  die  firft  Notice  horn  my  ho- 
noured Friend  Francis  JeJJop  Efq;  An.i66S» 
whereof  I  find  a  Relation  fince  communica- 
ted by  him  in  a  Letter  to  Dr.  Lifter^  pub- 
liHied  in  the  Philofophical  Tranfa6Uom^  Num. 
1 17.  and  a  farther  Account  from  him  in  An- 
fwer  to  fome  Queries  propofed  by  the  Ho- 
nourable Mr.  Boyle ^  in  the  Philofophicanranf- 
tf(^/o«i",Numb.  119.  wherein  he  writes.  That 
this  Sort  of  Damp  prefently  takes  Fire  at  the 
Touch  of  a  lighted  Candle,  or  pther  flaming 
Matter,  and  flies  out  of  the  Mouth  of  the  Bink 
or  Shaft,with  a  Crack  like  a  Gun.  He  inftances 
in  three  Perfons  that  had  been  hurt  by  it  j 
pne  ijn  the  Coal-Mines  in  Hajleberg  Hills, 
S3  who 


z6z  Confequences  of 

who  had  his  Arms  and  Legs  broken,  and  his 
Body  ftrangely  diftorted  by  it:  A  fecond 
in  thofe  at  Wingerfworth^  who  going  into  a 
Bink,  where  this  Kind  of  Damp  was,  to  fetch 
fome  of  his  Tools  with  a  Candle  in  his 
Hand,  found  himfelf  on  a  fudden  environ'd 
with  Flames,  fo  that  his  Face,Hands,  Hair,  and 
a  great  part  of  his  Cloaths  were  very  much 
burnt.  He  heard  very  little  Noife,  but  one 
who  was  woncing  at  the  fame  time  in  ano- 
ther Bink,  and  thofe  that  were  above  Ground, 
heard  a  very  great  one,  like  a  Clap  of  Thun- 
der, wherewith  the  Earth  fhook  i  which  hear- 
ing, they  ran  in  a  great  Amazement  to  fee 
w^hat  the  Matter  was,  with  their  Candles  in 
their  Hands,  which  were  twice  extinguilliM, 
but  held  upon  the  third  Lighting.  They 
faw  nothing,  but  met  with  an  intolerable 
Stench  of  Brimftone,  and  a  Heat  as  fcald- 
ing  as  an  Oven  half  heated,  which  made  them 
^lad  fpeedily  to  quit  the  Place.  A  third  at 
the  fame  Place  met  with  the  fame  Accident  : 
'And  the  fore-mentioned  Perfon  happening 
then  to  ftand  at  the  Mouth  of  the  fired  Bink, 
was  fliot  forth  about  two  or  three  Yards,-  and 
had  his  Head  broken  and  Body  bruifed  againft 
the  farther  Side ,-  the  fame  alfo  a  third  time 
incurred  the  like  Difafter.  That  it  fhot  off 
the  Turn  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Pit  to  a  confi- 
derable  Heiglit :  That  they  could  perceiv'e 
no  Smell  before  the  Fire,  but  afterv^ards  a 
very  {Iron g  one  of  Brimftone.    That  the 

Danip 


the  Deluge.  25  J 

t)amp  hung  about  the  Top  of  the  Bink,  and 
therefore  they  were  forc'd  to  go  with  their 
Candles  very  low,  elfe  it  would  have  taken 
Fire.  That  the  Flame  would  continue  in  the 
Vault  two  or  three  Minutes,  fometimes  more 
after  the  Crack.  That  he  could  never  hear 
of  any  Damps  that  kindled  of  themfelves. 
That  from  the  Breaking  of  thefe  Fulmina- 
ting-Damps  proceeded  a  black  Smoak  of  the 
Smell  and  Colour  of  that  from  Gun-powder 
fired. 

This  Sort  of  Fire-Damp,  Mr.  Beamnont 
tells  us,  they  havealfo  in  fome  Coal-Works 
bordering  on  Mendip  Hills.  See  Philofoph, 
Colled,  I .  And  Mr.  George  Sinclair ^  in  a  Land 
called  Werd%  Weft  of  JLeith^  which  even  in 
the  Day-time  is  fometimes  feen  inCoal-works 
in  little  Holes,  fliining  like  kindled  Sulphur. 
But  the  moft  ftrange  Fire-Damp  was  that 
which  happenM  at  Moftyn  in  Flintfljire^  at  the 
fame  time  with  that  sx  Winger [w§rth  [1675.] 
which  as  foon  as  the  Colliers  were  fcanted 
of  Air,  appeared  in  the  Crevilfes  or  Slits  of 
the  Coal,  where  Water  had  been  before,  in  a 
fmall  b]uifh  Flame,  flaftiing  and  darting  like 
Sword-Blades  from  Side  to  Side  of  the  Pit  ,• 
and  being  kindled,  had  the  fame  and  more 
violent  Effeds  than  thofe  of  Hadeberg  or  JVin^ 
gerfmiorth^  leaving  a  foul  ill-fcented  Smoak 
behind  it.  In  the  laft  there  mention'd  (Phi^ 
lofoph.  Tianfad,  Numb.  136.)  firing  of  it  by 
one  who  ran  indifcrcetly  with  his  Candle 

S  /.I.  over 


2^4  Confequences  of 

over  the  Eye  of  the  damp  Pit,  it  flew  to  and 
fro  over  all  the  Hollows  of  the  Work  with 
a  great  Wind  and  mighty  Roaring,  tore  the 
Mens  Cloaths  from  their  Backs,  fmdging  and 
burning  them,  as  alfo  their  Hair  and  Skins, 
carrying  fome  of  them  15  or  16  Yards  fronn 
their  firft  Station,  beating  them  againft  the 
Roof  of  the  Coal  and  thePofts.  As  it  drevv 
up  to  the  Day-Pit,  it  caught  one  that  wa§ 
next  the  Eye  along  with  it,  and  up  it  comes 
and  was  difcharged  out  of  the  Mouth  of  the 
Shaft  with  a  terrible  Crack,  not  unlike,  but 
more  fhrill  than  a  Cannon,  fo  that  it  was 
heard  fifteen  Miles  off.  The  Man's  Body, 
and  other  things  from  the  Pit,  were  feen  in 
the  Air  above  the  Tops  of  the  higheft  Trees 
that  grew  on  the  Brow  of  the  Hill  (eigh- 
teen Yards  above  the  Pit)  more  than  100 
Yards.  The  Barrel  of  an  Horfe  Engine  for 
winding  up  the  Rope  of  above  1000  Pound 
Weight,  though  faften'd  to  the  Frame  with 
Locks  and  Bolts  of  Iron,  together  with  the 
Buckets  and  Rope  were  thrown  up,  and  car- 
ried a  good  way  from  the  Pit,  and  Pieces 
torn  off  from  it  fcattered  about  the  Woods. 
And  laflly,  the  whole  Frame  of  the  Engine 
moved  out  of  its  Place.  The  whole  Rela^ 
tion  deferves  well  to  be  read. 

That  which  fecms  to  me  mofl  flrange  and 
Romantick,  is  the  Motion  of  the  Damp,  that 
as  if  it  had  been  a  living  thing,  it  fhould  fly 
up  with  a  long  fliarp  Flame  to  lighted  Can-. 

dies 


the  DQluge.  z6^ 


dies  fet  over  the  Eye  of  the  Pit,  and  put 
tJiem  out.  And  yet  Mr.  '^effof  alfo  mentions 
a  J  ike  Motion  in  that  o^  Win'gerfworth  y  For 
if^  fays  he,  in  the  Bink  where  it  was^  they 
held  their  Candles  any  higher  than  ordinary^ 
they  could  fee  the  Damp^  which  lay  near  the 
Roof^  to  defcend  like  a  black  Mift^  and  catch 
hold  of  the  Flame  J  lengthening  it  to  two  or 
three  nandfuh, 

B  Y  thefe  Defcriptions,  this  Damp  fliould 
feem  to  be  but  Gun-powder  in  a  Vapour,  and 
to  partake  the  Sulphur,  Nitre,  and  Bitumen^ 
as  the  learned  Dr,Plot  well  proves  in  his 
Natural  Hiftory  of  Staffordjloire^  c.  3 .  fed.  47, 
to  which  I  referr  the  Reader.  But  for  the 
Accenfion  of  it,  whether  it  ever  takes  Fire  of 
itfelf,  I  am  in  fome  Doubt.  Mr.  Jeffop  de- 
nies it  of  thofe  of  Hafleberg  and  Wingerp 
worth  5  and  how  far  thofe  Relators  that  af- 
firm it  are  to  be  credited,  I  know  not. 

I F  in  this  Particular  I  were  fatisfied,!  fliould 
readily  accord  with  the  Do(^or,  That  our 
Earthquakes  in  Ffigland^  and  any  others  that 
have  but  one  fingle  Pulfe,  owe  there  Original 
to  the  Kindling  and  Explofion  of  Fire-Damps, 

You  will  fay^  That  Fire  is  the  Caufe  of 
Thunder  we  readily  grant,  becaufe  we  fee  it 
plentifully  difcharged  out  of  the  Clouds ; 
but  what  Reafon  have  we  to  think  fo  of  this 
Sort  of  Earthquakes,  where  we  fee  no 
Lightning  or  Eruption  of  Fire  at  all?  What 
becomes  0/  the  inclofed  Flame  ? 

In 


z66  Confequences  of 

In  Anfwer  hereto,  I  demand.  What  be- 
comes of  it  in  the  open  Air  ?   It  dififufes  it- 
felf  through  the  Caverns  of  the  Earth,  till  the 
Deflagration  be  made,  and  is  there  dillipated 
and  diffolved  into  Fume  and  Aflies.   It  breaks 
not  forth,  I  conceive,  becaufe  by  rcafon  of 
the  Depth  of  the  Caverns  wherein  it  is  lodg- 
ed, it  is  not  able  to  overcome  the  Refiftance 
of  the  incumbent  Earth,  but  is  forced  qua 
data  porta  ruere^  to  make  its  Way  where  it 
finds  cafieft  Paltage  through  the  ftrait  Cum-- 
cull  of  the  Earth :   As  in  a  Gun  the  inflamed 
Powder,  though  if  it  were  at  Liberty^  and 
found  equal  Refiftance  on  every  Side,  it  would 
fpread  equally  every  Way  ;  yet  by  reafon  of 
the  Strength  and  Firmnefs  of  the  Metal,  it 
cannot  tear  the  Barrel  in  Pieces,  and  fo  break 
out  j  but  is  compelled  to  fly  out  at  the  Muz- 
zle, where  it  finds  an  open,   tho'  ftrait  Paf- 
fage.    For  the  Force  of  Flame,  though  very 
great,  is  not  infinite. 

It  may  be  farther  obje(5i:ed.  We  hear  not 
of  any  Eruption  of  Fire  at  Port-Royal^  or  elfe- 
where  in  this  Ifland,  and  yet  the  Earth  open- 
ed^ and  the  Roofs  of  the  Caverns  fell  in, 
therefore  Fire  could  not  be  the  Caufe  of  this 
Earthquake ;  for  if  it  had,  at  thofe  Aperture^ 
and  Rifts  of  the  Ground,  it  mull  needs  have 
iffu'd  forth  and  appear'd  abroad. 

To  which  I  anfwer,  that  .the  Vaults  and 
Cavities  wherein  the  inflamed  Matter  was 
imprifon'd,  and  the  Explofion  made,  lay  deep 

in 


the  Deluge.  2^7 


in  the  Earth,  and  were  cover'd  with  a  thick 
and  impenetrable  Coat  of  hard  Stone,  or  o- 
ther  folid  Matter  which  the  Fire  could  not 
tear  i  but  that  above  this  Coat  there  were  o- 
ther  fuperficial  Hollows  in  a  more  loofe  and 
crumbling  Earth,  which  being  not  able  to 
fuftain  the  Shock,  and  hold  out  againft  the 
impetuous  Agitations  of  the  Earthquake,  the 
Roofs  might  yield,  open,  and  fublide,  as  we 
hear  they  did,  and  give  Way  to  the  Sea  to 
rulli  in  and  furmount  them. 

You  will  reply.  This  may  be  a  tolerable 
Account  of  our  EngliJJo  Earthquakes;  which 
are  finifhed  at  one  Explofion,  but  what  fhall 
we  fay  to  thofe  oi  "^amaka^  which  like  a 
Tempeft  of  Thunder  and  Lightning  in  the 
Clouds,  have  (as  we  learn  by  this  Relation) 
feveral  Paroxyfms  or  Explofions,  and  yet  no 
Difcharging  of  Fire  ? 

T  o  which  I  anfwerj  That  I  conceive  the 
Caverns  of  the  Earth  wherein  the  inflamed 
Damps  are  contained,  are  much  larger  there 
than  ours  in  England  i  and  the  Force  of  the 
Fire,  joined  with  the  Elatery  of  the  Air,  be- 
ing exceeding  great,  may  of  a  fudden  heave 
up  the  Earth,  yet  not  fo  far  as  to  rend  it  in 
funder,  and  make  its  Way  out,  but  is  forced 
to  feck  Paflage  w^here  it  finds  leaft  ReGftance 
through  the  lateral  CunicuU.  So  the  main 
Cavern  beftig  in  a  great  Meafure  emptied,  and 
the  Exterior  Parts  of  the  extended  Matter 
within  cooling  and  fhrinking,    the  Earth 

may 


2^8  Consequences  of 

may  fubfide  again,  and  reduce  the  Cavern 
jto  its  former  Dimenfions.  Yet  poflibly  there 
may  not  be  a  perfeft  Deflagration  and  Extin.- 
idion  of  the  Fire,  and  fo  new  Damps  afcend^ 
ing  out  of  the  Earth,  and  by  Degrees  filling 
the  Cavern,  there  may  fucceed  a  fecond  In* 
fiamation  and  Explofion,  and  fo  a  third  and 
fourth  till  the.  Steams  be  quite  burnt  up  and 
confumed.  But  in  this,  I  confefs,  I  do  ncjt 
fatisfy  myfelf.  They  who  have  a  more  com^ 
prehenfive  Knowledge  of  all  the  Fhtsnovienay 
may  give  a  better  Account. 

But  as  for  thofe  Earthquakes  that  areoc- 
cafion'd  by  the  Burning  oi  Fulcano'f^  they 
are,  I  conceive,  of  a  different  Nature.  For 
in  them  the  Fire  burns  continually,  and  is 
never  totally  extinct,  only  after  the  great  E^ 
ruptions,  in  which,  befides  Smoak  and  Fire, 
there  is  an  Ejection  of  abundance  of  Allies, 
Sand,  Earthy  Stones,  and  in  fome  Floods  of 
melted  Materials,  the  Raging  is  for  a  time 
qualified;  but  the  Fire  (till  continuing,  and 
by  Degrees  increafing  in  the  combuftible 
Matter  it  finds  in  the  Hollows  of  the  Moun^ 
tains,  at  laft  f\yeils  to  that  Excefs,  that  it 
pielts  down  Metals  and  Minerals  where  ic 
meets  with  them,  caufing  them  to  boil  with 
great  Fury,  and  extending  itfelf  beyond  the 
Dimenfions  of  the  Cavities  wherein  it  is  con- 
tained, caufes  great  Succuifions  and  Trem- 
blings of  the  Earth,  and  huge  Eruptions  of 
Smoak,   and  cafts  out  fuch  Quantities  of 

Allies, 


the  Deluge.  z6^ 

Aflf cs,  Sand,  and  Stones,  as  we  jiift  now  men- 
tion'd  j  and  after  much  Thunder  and  Roar- 
ing by  the  Allilion  and  E^^ercufiTion  of  the 
Flame  againft  and  from  the  Sides  of  the  Ca- 
verns, and  the  Ebullition  and  Volutation  oF 
the  melted  Materials,  it  forces  out  that  boil- 
ing Matter  either  at  the  old  Mouths,  or  at 
new  ones,  which  it  opens  where  the  incum- 
bent Earth  is  more  thin  and  yielding.  And 
if  any  Water  enters  thofe  Caverns,  it  mighti- 
ly encreafeth  the  Raging  of  the  Mountain. 
For  the  Fire  fuddenly  diflfolving  the  Water  in- 
to Vapour,  expands  it  to  a  vaft  Dimenfion,' 
and  by  the  Help  thereof  throws  up  Earth, 
Sand,  Stones,  and  whatever  it  meets  with4 
How  great  the  Force  of  Water  converted  in- 
to Vapour  is,  I  have  fometimes  experiment- 
ed by  inadvertently,cafting  a  Bullet  in  a  wee 
Mold,  the  melted  Lead  being  no  fooner 
poured  in,  but  it  was  caft  out  again  with 
Violence  by  the  Particles  of  Water  adhering 
to  the  Mold,  fuddenly  converted  into  Va-i 
pour  by  the  Heat  of  the  Metal. 

Secondly^  The  People  of  this  Plantation 
being  generally  fo  ungodly  and  debauched 
in  their  Lives,  this  Earthquake  may  well 
be  efteemed  by  this  Gentleman,  the  Minifter 
of  Port'Royalj  a  Judgment  of  God  upon 
them. 

For  tho'  it  may  be  a  fenile  Complaint, 
and  popular  Miftake,  that  the;  former  Times 
were  better  than  thefe,  and  that  the  World 

doth 


270  Confeqtlences  of 

doth  daily  degenerate,  and  grow  worfe  and 
worfe.  jEtas  fcf^entum  pejor  avis  tulit  hos 
nequiores^  innxdaturos  Frogeniem  liitiofiorenu 
For  had  this  been  true,  Vice  would  long  be- 
fore this  Time  have  come  to  the  Height  and 
greateft  poflfible  Excefs  j  and  this  Complaint 
hath  been  made  as  well  in  the  beft  as  worfl: 
of  Times.  Though,  I  fay,  this  be  partly  an 
Error,  yet  I  do  verily  believe,  that  there  are 
certainTimes  when  Iniquity  doth  abound,and 
Wickednefs  overflow  in  a  Nation  or  City  j 
and  that  long  Peace  and  Profjperity,  and 
great  Riches,  are  apt  to  create  Pride  and 
Luxury,  and  introduce  a  general  Corruption 
of  Manners :  And  that  at  fuch  Times  God  u- 
fually  fends  fome  fweeping  Judgment,  either 
utterly  deftroying  fuch  a  People  who  have 
filled  up  the  Meafure  of  their  Iniquity,  or  at 
leaft  grievoufly  afflids  and  dimiailhes  them. 
So  when  in  the  old  World  the  Wicledfiefs  of 
Man  was  great  upon  the  Earthy  and  every  I- 
magination  of  the  Thoughts  of  his  Heart  was 
only  Evil  continually  Gen.  vi.  5.  And  the 
Earth  was  corrupt  before  God^  and  filled  rvith 
'  Violence  J  all  Elejh  having  corrupted  their  Ways^ 
verf.  II,  and  12.  God  brought  in  the 
Flood,  and  drowned  them  all.  The  like  Ven- 
geance we  find  executed  on  the  Cities  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha^  after  fuch  a  monftrous 
Height  of  Wickednefs  as  the  Inhabitants  were 
generally  arrived  at.  And  we  fhall  find  it 
noted  by  Hiftorians,  That  before  any  great 

pubjick 


the  Deluge.  271 


publick  Calamity,  or  utter  Excifion  of  a  Na- 
tion, the  People  were  become  univerfally  vi- 
cious and  corrupt  in  their  Manners,  and  with- 
out all  Fear  of  G  o  d,  or  Senfe  of  Goodnefs. 
For  God  doth  not  ftand  by  as  an  idleaftd 
unconcerned  Spectator,  and  fuffer  Things  to 
run  at  Random,  but  his  Providence  many 
times  interpofes,  and  flops  the  ufual  Courfe 
and  Current  of  Natural  Caufes  :  Nay,  I  be- 
lieve and^iffirm.  That  in  all  great  and  nota- 
ble Revolutions  and  Mutations,  He  hath  the 
greateft  Hand  and  Intereft  j  Himfelf  ordering 
and  governing  them  by  His  fpecial  Super- 
intendence and  Influence.    So,  though  the 
Inftruments  and  Materials  wherewith  this  De- 
vaftation  in  Jamaica  was  made,  as  a  fubier- 
raneous  Fire  and  inflamable  Materials,  were 
before  in  the  Earth,  yet  that  they  fhould  at 
this  time  break  forth  and  work,  when  there 
was  fuch  an  Inundation  of  Wickednefs  there^ 
and  particularly  and  efpecially  at  Fort-Royal^ 
this  we  may  confidently  fay,  was  the  Finger 
of  G  o  D,  and  effected  perchance  by  the  Mi-r 
niftery  of  an  Angel. 

Moreover,  this  Relator's  being  called  a- 
fide,  and  (lopped  from  going  to  a  Place,  whi- 
ther if  he  had  then  gone  he  had  certainly 
perillied,  we  have  good  Reafon  to  think  an 
Effcd.  of  Providence,  defigning  thereby  his 
Prefervation  i  as  Gregory  the  Bifhop  of  An- 
tioch  his  going  out  of  the  Houfe  wherein 
he  abode  immediately  before  it  fell  down, 

was 


272  Confequences  of 

was  rationally'  thought  to  be  in  refped  of 
him. 

But  to  proceed  j  I  fliould  now  have  done 
concerning  Earthquakes,  it  being  my  defign 
only  to  take  notice  of  fuch  as  have  made 
confiderable  Mutations  in  the  fuperficial  Part 
of  the  Earth,  pafTing  by  thofe,  which  after 
a  fliort  Trembling  and  Succuffion,  have  left 
the  Earth  as  they  found  it,  making  no  Altera- 
tion at  all  therein.  But  at  the  very  time  this 
Sheet  of  Earthquakes  was  Compofing,  there 
happening  a  notable  one,  though  of  this  lat- 
ter Kind,  in  our  own  Country  j  I  was,  part- 
ly by  the  Coincidence  of  it  with  theCompo- 
fure  before-mentioned,  partly  at  the  Requeft 
of.  the  Bookfeller,  induced  to  make  iome 
Mention  of  it,  and  add  what  I  knew  or  could 
learn  of  its  Hiftory  -,  which  is,  indeed,  very 
little  and  inconfiderable,  we  having  as  yet 
but  a  very  lame  and  imperfe(5t  Account  of 
the  Accidents  of  it,  ^ 

A  s  for  the  Time  when  it  happened,  it  was 
the  8th  o^  September^  1691,  about  4  Minutes 
paft  Two  of  the  Clock  in  the  Afternoon,  as 
was  obferved  at  London :  Hereabouts  I  can 
hear  of  no  body  that  was  fo  critical  in  no- 
ting the  Time,  only  they  agree  that  it  was  a- 
bout  Two  of  the  Clock.  Had  we  a  pund^u- 
al  and  exad  Notice  of  the  very  Minute  that 
it  happened  in  far  diftant  Places,  we  might 
thence  gather  fomething  concerning  the  Mo- 
tion and  Progrefs  of  it.  However,  it  is  re- 
2-  ~      ciarkable. 


the  Deluge.  273 


ftiarkable,  that  it  happened,  in  the  Autumn^ 
one  of  the  Seafons,  in  which,  Ariftotle  tells 
us,  fuch  Effects  are  moft  frequent,  the  .other 
being  the  Spring  ,•  and  likewifein  the  Month 
o£  Septefnber ;  in  the  which,  that  about  Ox- 
ford  in  the. Year  1683.  fell  out ;  and,  more- 
over,  in  a  wet  Seafon,   as  that  alfo   did: 
Though  the  Forenoon  of  the  Day  was  clear 
and  fair,  yet,  in  the  Afternoon,  when  the 
Earthquake  was  paft,  it  rained  hard  till  Night ; 
the  whole  precedent  Summer  (to  this  I  mean) 
having  beert .  cold  and  wet  :     Which,  what 
Influence  it  can  have  toward  the  Produd:ion 
of  an  Earthquake,  unlefs  by  flopping  the 
Pores  of  the  Earth,  and  hindring  the  Eva- 
poration of  thofe  fulphureous  Steams,  which 
are  the  Efficients  of  it,  I  know  not.   The  fame 
•  Night  fucceeded  fome  Strokes  of  Thunder 
and  Flalhes  of  Lightning,  both  here  and  at 
London  ;  and  fince  then,  we  have  had  great 
Storms  of  Wind.     I  might  have  taken  No- 
tice, that,  for  fome  Mornings  before,  we  had 
fmart  Frofts  for  the  time  of  the  Year. 

Since  this  was  written,  and  fent  away  in 
order  to  printing,  I  am  advis'd,by  Letter  from 
my  honoured  Friend  Dr.  Tancred  Robinfon^ 
that  this  Earthquake  was  not  confin'd  to  fome 
Counties  of  England^  as  Middlefex^  Effex^ 
Kent,  Suffex^  HatnpJIme^  &c.  but  fpread  far 
-into  Foreign  Parts  ,•  an  Account  whereof  I 
.'(hall  give  you  in  the  Dolor's  own  Words. 
The  Comujjion  or  Vibration  of  our  late  Earths 

T  quake 


Z74  Confeqiiences  of 

quake  was  felt  in  jncfi  Farts  of  the  Dutch  and 
Spaniih  Netherlands,  as  alfo  in  Germany  and 
France :  Jt  affected  Places  moft  upon  the  Sea^ 
Coaftsj  and  near  the  great  Rivers^  as  Zealand, 
Gologn,  Mentz,  and  the  Bridge  of  London. 
It  went  not  beyond  $2  Degrees  and  40  M/- 
ntites  of  Northern  Latitude  ;  how  far  it 
reached  to  the  South  and  Eafl,  is  not  yet  cer- 
tainly  hiown^for  Want  of  good  Intelligence  -,  we 
ha've  already  traced  it  beyond  Paris,  to  the  48 
Degree  of  N,  Latitude^  and  beyond  the  Rhine^ 
.  en  the  Eajl  to  Francfort  ,•  fo  that  welnow^ 
at prefent^  of  i6o  Miles  fquarefljaken  by  it» 

'  The  Motions  of  fome  Machinerwere  ^eryfen- 
fibly  ftop'd  or  retarded  by  the  Ciioc,  efpecially 
Pendulums :  And  there  were  fome  Alterations 
in  the  Air^  (as  to  its  Smelly  ^p^if^gy  ci^^d  Gra- 
vity) both  before  and  after.  The 'Time  of  its 
happening  here  in  England,  and  beyond  the 
Seas^  feems  to  'vary  fome  Minutes  j  but  that 
way  eafily  be  accounted  for  by  the  Difference 
c/ Meridians.  Thus  far  the  Doctor.  Dat. 
Septemb,  22. 

The  Duration  or  Continuance  of  it  (as  I 
am  informed  by  fome  curious  and  attentive 
Obfervers)  about  London^  was  about  two 
Minutes ;  here  not  fo  long. 

The  Manner  of  the  Motion,  as  J  am  af- 
fured  by  my  learned  and  ingenious  Friend 
and  Neighbour  Mr.  Allen^  Phyfician  in  Brain- 

'tree,  who  had  it  from  feveral  intelligent  and 
oblervant  Perfons  hereabouts,  and  that  lived 

in 


the  Deluge.  27^ 

in  diftant  Places^  was  firft  a  manifeft  Hea- 
ving upwards^  and  after  that  a  Trembling,  of 
Vibration,  or  Agitation  to  and  fro.  So  tiiac 
in  the  firft  refpeCt,  its  Motion  feemcd  to  re- 
femble  that  of  the  Blood  in  an  Artery, 
ftretching  the  Channel  as  it  paifed. 

The  Motion  of  it  was  moft  confiderable 
upon  the  Hills,  and  in  Valleys. 

Th£  Effect  it  had  upon  thofe  who  werefen- 
fible  of  it,  was  a  Swimming  or  Dizzinefs  in 
their  Heads  j  and  this  was  general  upon  all. 
In  fome  it  affeded  their  Stomachs,  and  crea- 
ted' a  Loathing,' and  Inclination  to  Vomit  : 
Some  of  the  tenderer  Sex  found  in  them- 
felves  fuch  a  Difpofition  as  they  have  had  be- 
fore a  fwooning  Fitt.  All  which  muft  be  the 
Effects,  either  of  the  Heaving,  or  tremulous 
Motion,  or  both  -,  and  yet,  no  Motion  of  Boat  *• 

br  Coach  doth  fo  fuddenly  affe(5l  and  difturb 
the  Head  or  Stomach. 

fjiftly^  It  was  attended  with  a  Noife,  as  our 
Earthquakes  generally  in  England  are,  'as  is 
obferved  by  Mr.  Tigot  in  that  of  Oxford  iii 
the  Year  1^83.  and  by  myfelf  when  I  lived 
in  Sutton^Cofieldy  in  one  that  happen'd  there 
in  the  Winter-time,  as  I  remember,  in  the 
Year  1577.  and  extended  at  leaft  40  Miles 
in  Length,  into  Worcefterjhire.  The  Noife  I 
heard,  feem'd  to  be  in  the  Air.  This  Noife, 
hereabouts,  was  heard  but  in  few  Places,  and 
by  few  Pcrlbns  j  but  yet  I  am  well  affured  by 
foqie,  and  thofe  of  the  Vulgar  and  l2;norant 
'  T  $  "     fort. 


Z'^6  .  Confequences  of 


fort,  who  reported  it  of  themfelves,  having 
no  reafon  to  feign  it,  and  who  had  never 
heard  that  any  fuch  thing  accompanied 
Earthquakes: 

From  many  of  the  afore-mentioned  Par- 
tirulars,  it  may  be  colled :d,  That  the  Ca- 
verns, in  which  the  inflamed  Damp,  caufing 
this  Earthquake,  was  contained,  lie  deep  in 
the  Earth. 

For,  I .  It  could  not  elfe  have fiiook fuqh 
a  vaft  Extent  of  Ground,  both  Hills  an4 
Valleys  in  England^  and  beyond  Seas,  (the 
Motion  not  being  ftopt  by  the  Channels  of 
great  Rivers  or  even  Greeks  of  the  Sea)  un- 
lefs,  I  fay,  the  containing  CunicuU  or  Con- 
duits had  paffed  under  the  very  Bottom  of 
the  narrow  Seas :  Which  is  a  great  Con- 
firmation of  what  we  have  before  delivered 
concerning  the  Mountains  of  jEtna^  Strom- 
boU^  and  Vefuviiis^  communicating  by  fubf 
marine  Vaults. 

2.  I  F  the  Caverns  had  not  Iain  deep,  the 
ehclofed  Damp  would,  in  all  likelihood, 
fomewhere  or  other,  have  rent  the  fuper- 
incumbent  Earth,  and  broken  forth  in  the 
Form  of  a  Flame. 

And  yet,  notwithftanding  the  Depth,  it 
fliould  feem,  it  found  fo  much  Vent  as  to 
affed  the  external  Air,  and  create'  a  Sound  : 
For  if  the  Caverns,'  wherein  the  Damp  was, 
had  been  ciofe  Ihut  up  with  fuch  a  thick 
Coat  of  Earth,  I  doubt  whether  the  Trem- 
bling 


the  Delude.  277 


l>ling  ^nd  Vibration  of  the  foft  Earth  5 lone, 
would  have  produced  fuch  a  Noife  abroad  in 
the  Air  j  and  the  Vapour  of  it  alio  made  a 
fhift  to  ftruggle  through  the  Pores  of  the 
Earth  into  the  open  Air,  in  fuch  Quantity  as 
to  affedl  the  Senfe,  a  fulphurous  Scent  hav- 
ing been  obferved  in  the  Air,  both  before 
and  after  the  Concuflfion. 

It  \s^  moreover,  very  remarkable.  That 
there  were  fome  particular  Spots  which  were 
not  at  all  flirted  in  thofe  Countries  where 
the  Places,  not  far  diftant  round  about,  were 
Ihaken;  as  Sturbridge-Fair  bcfore-remem- 
bred,  and  that  where  my  Dwelling  is,-  nei- 
ther myfelf,  nor  any  of  my  Family,  though 
they  were  Above-ftairs,  nor  any  of  our  near 
Neighbours,  being  fenfible  of  the  leaft  Mo- 
tion or  Impreffion  of  it,  and  yet  thofe  living 
within  lefs  than  half  a  Mile,  had  their  Houfes 
cohfiderably  fliaken  by  it. 

It  is  alio  worth  the  noting,  That  both 
this,  and  all  other  Earthquakes  I  have  heard 
or  read  of  in  England^  have  been  very  Ihort, 
and  finifhed  at  one  Exploiion  ^  which  is  an 
Argumejnt  that  the  Cavities  and  Cuniculi^ 
wherein  the  inflamed  Matter  is  contained 
and  moves,  are  yery  ftrait,  and  of  fmall  Di- 
menfions.  Exploiion  I  call  it,  becaufe  by  the 
Quicknefs  of  the  Motion,  it  feems  rather  to 
refemble  that  of  Powder  in  a  Gun,  than  that 
of  a  Squib  running  in  a  Train  of  Powder. 
Though  others  I  have  read  of,  wliofe  Motion 

T  3  was 


Z78  Confequences  of 

was  very  (low ;  as  that  obferved  by  the  Ho- 
nourable Mr.  J5(5y/^,and  defcribed  in  the  Fhi- 
lofophicalTranfacfionSy  Numb.  11.  Had  we 
certain  Knowledge  where  the  greateft  Force 
of  this  Earthquake  was,  we  might  thence  * 
learn  where  its  firfl  Accenfion  was,  and 
which  way  it  fpread  itfelf.  But  I  have  not 
time  to  enlarge  farther  ccpxerning  it,  or  to 
give  an  Account  of  all  its  Fh^nomena^  left  I 
injure  the  Printer  by  flopping  the  Prefs ; 
Neither,  indeed,  would  it  be  Prudence  to  at- 
tempt it,  till  we  have  a  more  particular  and 
perfcd  Hiftory  of  it. 

» -  Since  this  was  written  and  fent  away  to 
the  Printer,  Intelligence  is  come  from  be- 
yond the  Seas,  that  Flanders^  arid  all  HoU 
land^  Part  of  France  and  Germany^  were 
fliaken  by  this  Earthquake,  and,  confequent- 
iy,  the  interjacent-  Provinces  j  which  is  a 
clear  Demonftration  of  our  Opinion,  l^at 
the  inflamed  Damp,  which  caufed  it,  was 
lodged  deep  in  the  Earth,  the  CunicuU  or 
Caverns,  which  contained  it,  pafiSng  under  the 
Very  Bottom  of  the  Sea.  .  It  is  alfo  a  great 
Confirmation  of  what  we  have  delivered  con- 
cerning the  Mountains  of  JEtna^  Stromboll^ 
and  Vejuroius^  communicating  by  fubmarine 
PaiTages.  Add  hereto,  that  Gaffendm^  in  the 
Life  of  Feireslm^  reports,  That  at  the  Moun-» 
tain  Semo  in  jEthwpiaj  there  happened  a 
Burning  at  the  fame  time  with  that  of 
Vefuvius  in  Campania^  'viz.  ia   the   Year 


the  Deluge, 

1^33.  So  that  not  only  Vefuvim  commw' 
nicates  with  Mtna  by  fubterraneous  Vaults, 
but  alfo  (as  he  rationally  inferrs)  j^tna  with 
the  Mountains  of  Syrici^  the  Tunnels  run- 
ning under  the  Depths  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  and  thofe  with  the  Arabian  i  and,  h^- 
ly,  the  Arabian  with  Mount  Seino  in  j^tlm-t- 
pia.  -,•    -:  i> 

That  an  inflamed  Damp  or  fubterraneous 
Fire  is  the  Caufe  of  all  Earthquakes  in  gene- 
ral, and  not  only  fuch  as  precede  the  Erup- 
tions of  Vukand's^  may  be  proved  by  an  e- 
fHiinent  Inftance  of  .an  Earthquake  happen- 
ing May  1 2.  .1682.  which  fliook  the  greatdl 
Part  of  France  and  Switzerland^  and  reach*d 
as  far  as  Collen  in  Germany :  An  Account 
whereof  we  have  in  i\it  Journal  des  Scavam^ 
fet  forth  June  i.  i68i.  inferted  in  the  Week- 
ly Memorials  printed  for  Mr.  Faithor^e^ 
Numb.  23.  In  which  they  write.  That  it 
was  perceived  in  Lionnois^  (which  was  wont 
to  pafs  for  a  Place  exempt  from  fuch  Acci- 
dents) in  Dauphiny  and  Beaujolois^  though 
very  little,  and  without  any  ill  Confequence. 
That  at  Mets  in  Lorrain^  the  Watch-place  of 
a  Bulwark  was  thrown  down  into  the 
Ditch,  with  the  Soldier  that  flood  Centiael 
there.  ^ 

That  at  Tonnerre^ihc  Houfes  and  Churches 
were  fo  terribly  fhaken,  as  if  feveral  Coaches 
with  fix  Horfes  had  driven  along  full  fpeed 
through  the  Streets  j    and  that  it  threw 

T  4  down 


z8o  Confequences  of 

down  feveral  Rocks  on  the  fide  of  Bourbi- 
rant.  They  tell  alfo,  that  it  ftopt  a  Foun- 
tain at  Karoiere^  hard  by,  (which  at  fifty  Pa- 
ces from  its  Head,  turns  a  Mill)  for  half  an 
Hour. 

That  it  was  perceived  in  Provence^  by  the 
Shaking  of  Windows  and  Beds,  and  Opening 
of  Doors  i  and  that  it  had  two  feveral  Moti- 
ons or  Pulfes,  as  ours  alfo  was,  by  fome,  ob- 
served to  have :   And  that  the  Domefl:ick  A- 
nimals,  as  Sheep,  Cows,  Horfes,  and  Poul- 
try,^ did  difcover  their  Fear  by  unufual  Mo- 
tions and  Cries.    And  the  Sheep  at  Dijon  in 
Burgundy y  could  not  be  fi:op'd  from  getting 
into  their  Stalls  at  Four  of  the  Clock  in  the 
Afternoon,  which  were  not  then  wont  to 
betake  themfelves  thither  till  Sun-fet. 

That  the  Cities  of  Orleans^  Troyef^  Sens^ 
Chalons^  Joinvilky  Reims^  SoiJJons^  Laon^ 
Mafcon^  Dok^  Strasbourg^  &c\  felt  the  Ef- 
fe(^s  of  it. 

But  at  Kemiremont  upon  the  Mojelle^ 
where  it  exerted  its  greateft  Force,  throw- 
ing down  feveral  Houfes,  infomuch  that 
the  Inhabitants  were  forced  to  betake  them- 
felves into  the  Fields  for  fix  Weeks  time  j 
there  was  a  Noife  heard  like  Thunder,  and 
Flames  frequently  broke  Qut  of  the  Earth  of 
a  noifome  Scent,  but  not  fulphureous,  and 
which  burnt  nothing,-  yet  was  there  no  Rift 
or  Chap  in  tne  Ground,  fave  only  in  one 
Place  i    the  Depth   whereof   w;is  in  vain 

fearch'dj 


the  Deluge:  281 


fearch'd,  and  which  afterwards  clofcd  up. 
And  before  this  Earthquake  alfo,  Flames  ap- 
peared for  four  Days  upon  a  Mountain  near 
Geneva, 

It  is  very  ftrange  and  remarkable,  that  the 
Flames  that  ilfued  out,  were  of  the  Nature  of 
an  Jgnis  fatuus^  and  burnt  nothing  i  and 
that  the  Earthquake  raged  every  Night,  and 
never  in  the  Day-time. 

Concerning  Earthquakes,  I  fhall  only  add 
two  Obfervations. 

1.  That  it  is  not  likely  that  they  fpend  all 
their  Strength  upon  Cities,  but  do  indilferent- 
ly  ihake,  break  in  funder,  and  throw  down 
Mountains  and  Rocks  j  and  feeing  few  Ci- 
ties there  are  but  have  been  fhaken,  and 
many  ruined  and  fubverted  by  them,  and 
leveled  with  the  Ground  ;  there  is  good 
Reafpn  to  think,  that  few  Rocks  or  Moun- 
tains have  efcaped  their  Fury,  but  have  fuf- 
fered  the  like  Concufifions  and  Alterations. 

2.  That  the  Changes  that  have  hitherto 
happened  in  the  Earth  by  Earthquakes,  have 
not  been  fo  confiderable  as  to  threaten  a  Dif- 
folution  of  the  prefent  Syftem  of  the  Ter- 
raqueous Globe,  fhould  there  be  a  like  Suc- 
ceflion  of  them  to  Eternity.  Unlcfs  we  will 
except  that  unparallel'd  univerfal  One,  which 
happened  inth^  D^ys  of  Valentini an  the  Firft, 
(which  we  have  already  mentioned)  by  which 
the  whole  known  World,  both  Land  and 
Sca^  and  it's  like  the  then  unknown  too, were 

violently 


28x  Confequences  of 

violently  lliaken  ,•  which  might  feem  to  be 
a  Prelude  to  the  future  Conflagration,  or 
Deftrudion  of  the  whole,  by  fuch  a  Confu- 
fion  and  Dafliing  in  Pieces  of  all  the  Parts  of 
it,  one  againft  another,  as  the  Stoicks  fpeak 
of. 

Of  the  Effe(5ts  of  burning  Mountains  or 
Vulcano's^  I  have  already  faid  fomething,  and 
Ihall,  afterwards,  have  occafion  to  fay  more. 
In  brief,  i.  They  caft  forth  out  of  their 
Mouths,  and  fcatter  all  over  the  Country, 
fometimes  to  a  very  great  Diftance,  .abun- 
dance of  Sand  and  Alhes.  .  Dio7i  Caffius  re- 
ports, That  in  the  noted  Deflagration  of  Ve- 
ftivim^  in  the  Time  of  TvYwx  the  Emperor, 
there  was  fo  much  Cinders  and  Aflies  vomi- 
ted out  of  its  flaming  Tunnel,  and  with  that 
Fury  and  Violence,  that  they  werq  tranf- 
ported  over  Sea,  into  Africa^  Syria^  andE^j^ti 
and,  on  the  other  fide,  were  carried  as  far  as 
Rome^  where  they  darknedthe  very  Air,  and 

.  intercepted  the  Sun-beams.  At  which  time, 
by  the  Fury  of  this  Burning  and  Tempeft, 

.  the  whole  Mountain  and  Earth  thereabouts 
was  fo  lliaken,  that  two  adjoining  Cities, 
Herculanium  and  Pompeii^  were  deftroyed 
with  the  People  fitting  in  the  Theater,  And 
the  famous  Natural  Hiftorian  Pliny  the  Elder, 
then  Admiral  of  the  Roman  Navy,  out  of  a 
Curiofity  of  fearching  out  the  Caufes  and 
Nature  of  the  Deflagration,  approaching  too 
near  the  Mountain,  and  flaying  too  long 

there. 


the  Deluge.  -i^S^ 


there,  was  fuffocated  with  the  fulphnreous 
Smoke  and  Stench  thereof. 

Of  another  Eruption  of  the  {imtVeftwiuf^ 
we  read,  in  the  Time  of  heo  the  Emperor; 
wherein  the  Aflies  thereof,  tranfportcd  m  the 
Air,  obfcured  all  Europe^  being  carried  as  far 
as  Co7ifinntinofle  ,•  and  that  the  Cojtfiantim^ 
politans  being  wonderfully  affrighted  there- 
with, (infomuch  as  the  Emperor  forfook  the 
City)  in  memory  of  the  fame  did  yearly,  ce- 
lebrate the  Twelfth  of  Non)ember, 

2,  THEYalfo  pour  out  huge  Floods  of 
melted  Minerals,  Stones,  and  other  Materials, 
running  down  like  Rivers  for  many  Miles 
together  ,  as  did  the  Mountain  jEtna  in  that 
laft  and  moft  famous  Erudion,  difgorging 
fuch  mighty  Streams  of  fiery  running  Matter, 
as  flowed  down  to  Catana^  above  twenty 
Miles  diftant,  and  advanced  a  confiderablc 
way  into  the  very  Sea  itfelf. 

2.  The  next  thing  I  fhall  mention,  is 
.the  extraordinary  Floods  caufed  by  ion^ 
continuing  Showers,  or  violent  and  tempe^ 
ftuous  Storms  and  Shots  of  Rain.  > 

The  moft  ancient  and  memorable  of  this 
Kind  is  that  of  Deucalion^  of  which  we  have 
-already  difcourfed  fufficiently.  S.  Hierome^ 
in  the  Life  of  Hilarion^  (as  I  find  him  quo* 
ted  by  Dr.  Hakewill)  fpeaks  of  a  Flood  and 
Inundation  after  the  Death  of  Julian^  in 
which  Naues  ad  pr^rupta  montium  delatdi 
fependerunt^    the  Ships  being  landed  upon 

the 


Confequences  of 

the  Tops  of  the  Mountains^  there  fluckl 
Which,  whether  it  proceeded  from  Rain,  or 
from  an  Irruption  of  the  Sea,  or  from  both 
Caufes  together,  he  doth  not  fay :  But  if  it 
were  literally  true,  and  not  hyperbolically 
exaggerated,  then  may  fome  Credit  be  given 
to  what  Sahin^  in  his  Commentaries  upon 
O'vid's  Metamorphofi!:^  reports.  Ex  Annalium 
mommejitis  conftat  Anno  1460.  in  Alfibus  in- 
*ventavi  effe  Na'vim  cmn  anchor  is  in  cuniculo 
per  quern  metalla  effodiuntur :  It  appears  bj 
by  the  Monuments  of  Hiftory^  that  in  the  Tear 
1460.  in  a  Mine  of  the  Alps,  was  found  a 
Ship  With  its  Anchors;  in  Confirmation  of 
what  that  Poet  writes  : 

Et  'vetus  inventa  eji  in  montibus  anchora 
fujnmis. 

In  the  Year  of  our  Redemption  590.  in 
the  Month  of  O^ober^  Gregory  being  then 
Bilhop  of  Rome^  there  happened  a  marvel- 
lous Overflowing  in  Italy ^  and  efpecially  in 
the  Venetian  Territory,  and  in  Liguria,  ac- 
companied with  a  moft  fearful  Storm  of 
Thunder  and  Lightning  ;  after  which  fol- 
lowed the  great  Plague  at  Ro?fte^  by  reafon 
of  many  dead  Serpents  caft  up,  and  left  up- 
on the  Land,  after  the  Waters  decreafed  and 
returned. 

S  T  R  o  z  I  u  s  S I G  o  G,  in  his  Magia  omni^ 
faria^  telleth  of  an  Inundation  in  Italy ^  in  the 
Time  of  Pope  Vamafus^  in  which  alifo  many 

Cities 


the  Deluge.  z8<) 

Cities  of  Sicily  were  fwallovved  :  Another  in 
tjie  Time  oiAlexajider  the  Sixth.  Alfo,  in 
the  Year  15 1 5.  Maxiinilian  being  Emperor, 
he  alfo  remembers  a  perilous  Overflowing 
in  Polonia  about  Cracovia^  by  which  many 
People  perilled.  \ /j 

Likewise  Vignier^  a  French  Hiftorian^' 
fpeaketh  of  a  great  Flood  in  the  South  Part 
e(  Languedoc^  which  fell  in  the  Year  of  our 
Lord  1557.  with  fo  dreadful  aTempeft^that 
all  the  People  attended  therein  the  very  End 
of  the  World  and  Judgment-Day,  faying, 
'That  by  the  violent  Delcent  of  the  Waters 
about  Nifines,  there  were  removed  divers  old 
Heaps  and  Mountures  of  Ground,  and  many 
;other  Places,  torn  up  and  rent;  by  which 
Accident,  there  was  found  both  Coin  of  Sil- 
ver and  Gold,  anddiversPieces  of  Plate,  and 
Veifels  of  other  Metal,  fuppofed  to  be  hid- 
den at  fuch  time  as  tht  Goths  invaded  that 
Province.  Thefe  Stories  related  in  the  three 
laft  Paragraphs,  I  have  borrowed  of  Sir  Wal- 
ter Raleigh  his  Hiftcry  of  the  World. 

To  which  I  Ihall  add  one  of  late  Date 
happening  in  Sicily  ^  a 'Narrative  whereof 
communicated  in  a  Letter  from  Falermo^ 
dated  June  the  25  th,  1682.  I  met  with  in 
the  London  Gazette^  Numb.  1742.  in  the 
following  Words :  JVe  hwve  an  Account  from 
the  Town  of  Tortorica,  That  on  the  Sixth 
Jnflant^  about  Se-ven  a  Clod  in  the  Evening^ 
after  fo  great  a  Darlnefs  that  no  Object  could 

he 


lS6  Confequences  of 

he  dijl'mguijhed  at  the  Diftance  of  four  Pa^ 
tes^  there  arofe  fuch  a  great  Stonn  of  Rain^ 
JJghtn'mg^  and  Thunder^  which  lafted  Six  and 
thirty  HourSj    that  about    One  a   Clod   the 
next    Mornings    great   Torrents'    of  Water], 
caufed  by  thefe  Rains ^   fell  down  from  the 
neighbouring  Mount  aim  with  fo  great  Rapi- 
dity-^ that  they  carried  with  them   Trees  of 
an  €xtraordi?iary  Bignefs^  which  threw  down 
the  Walls  and  Houjes  of  the  Town  they  hap- 
femd  to  beat  againft.    The  Waters  were  fo 
fvi&lent  that  they  overthrew  the  Church   of 
S,  Nicholas ;    and  the  Arch-Deacon   of  the 
Town^    who  retired  thither ^    perijhed   there 
with  vtany  other  Perfons :   There  remaining 
-only  one  Abby^  and  about  fifty  Houfes,  and 
■thofe  fo  Jhattered^   that   they  fell  one  aper 
another.    There  were  about  Six  hundred  of 
the  Inhabitants  drown'd^  the   reft  being  a- 
broad  in  the  Field  gathering  their  Silk^  fled 
'to  the  Mountains^  where  they  fuffsred  'very 
much  for  Want  of  Provifions.    'The  Goods ^ 
-  Trees^  Stone^  Sand^  and  other  Rubbijh^  which 
'the  Waterr  carried  away^  were  in  fo  great 
'Abundance^  that  they  ?nade  a  Banh  above  the 
Water ^  two  Miles  in  Lengthy  near  the  Mouth 
of  the  River ^  where ^  before^  the  Sea  was  very 
deep.    This  Town  is  fituate  in  that  Part 
of  Sicily  called  the  Valley  of  Demona,  on 
the  fide  of  the  River  Tortorica,  about  Five 
and  twenty    Miles  fro?n  the   Tufcan   Sea* 
The  Towns  of  Randazzo  and  Francavilk-^ 

and 


the  Deluge.  287 


and  fever  at  others,  have  likezvlfe  been  de- 
Jkoyed  by  this  great  Flood.  It  is  added, 
that  Mount  Mtm  cafis  out  fuch  abundance  of 
Water,  that  all  the  neighbouring  Country  is 
drowned.  Which  if  it  be  true,  .(as  I  fee  no 
Reafon  to  doubt  it)  this  is  a  farther  Proof 
againft  Borellius,  that  the  Caverns  of  jEt- 
na  are  more  than  fuperficial,  and  reach 
down  to  the  very  Roots  and  Foundations  of 
that  Mountain,  communicating  with  the  fub- 
terraneous  Abyfs,  and  the  Sea  itfelf,  from 
whence,  in  all  likelihood,  thefe  Waters  were 
derived,  as  is  evident  in  thofe  poured  out  by; 
Vefuvius, 

•  Many  other  Floods  we  read  of  in  Hifto- 
.ries,  whether  caufed  by  Rains  or  Inundati- 
ons of  the  Sea,  is  uncertain  ,•  and,  therefore, 
I  fhall  not  fpend  time  in  fetting  them  down* 
The  Eflfcd:  of  all  which,  relatingto  the  Earth 
in  general,  is,  the  Wafting  and  Wafhing  a- 
way  of  Mountains  and  high  Grounds,  the 
Railing  of  the  Valleys  and  Bottoms,  and,  con- 
fequently,  Leveling  of  the  Earthy  and  Land- 
ing up  of  the  Sea. 

3.  The  laft  thing  I  fiiall  mention,  which 
hath  effected  coniiderable  Changes  in  the 
Earth,  is  boifterous  and  outrageous  Winds 
and  Hurricanes,  of  which  I  need  not  give 
Inftanccs,  they  every  Year  «ihnoft  happening. 
Thefe,  I  conceive,  have  a  great  Intercft  in  the 
Inundations  of  the  Sea  we  have  before  men- 
tioned.   Thefe  raife  up  thofe  great  Hills  or 

Downs 


z88  CoJtfeqtienc^s  of 

Downs  of  Sand  we  fee  all  along  the  Coafts 
of  the  Low-Countreyf^  and  the  Weftern-Shores 
o(  England  J  and  the  like  Places.  Thefe  fome- 
times  blow  up  fo  much  Sand,  and  drive  it  fo 
far  as  to  cover  the  adjacent  Countrys,  and 
to  mar  whole  Fields,  yea,  to  bury  Towns 
and  Villages.  They  are  alfo  a  concurrent 
Caufe  of  thofe  huge  Banks  and  Shelves  of 
Sand,  that  are  fo  dangerous  to  Mariners,  and 
bar  up  Havens,  and  ruin  Port-Towns  ^  qf 
which  many  Inftances  might  be  given. 

I  F I N  D  in  Dr.  HakewiWs  Apology,  a  Story 
or  two,  lliewing  the  great  Force  and  Strcngtb 
of  Winds  ,•  the  one  taken  out  of  Bellarntine's 
Book,  De  afcenfu  mentis  in  Demn  per  fed, 
creat.  grad,  2.  Vidi  ego  (faith  the  Cardinal) 
(juod  nifi  'vidiffem  non  crederem^  a  "vehementif- 
fimo  vento  ejfojjain  ingentevi  terrte  molem^  earn" 
que  ddatam  fuper  pagmn  quendam  ut  fovea 
altiffima  confviceretiir^  unde  terra  enita  fuerat^ 
&fagm  totus  coopertus^&  quafi  fepidtus  ?nan- 
ferit^  ad  quern  terra  ilia  de-venerat :  1.  e.  / 
inyfelf  have  feen,  which  if  I  had  not  fcen^ 
I  fhould  not  have  believed^  a  very  great 
J^antity  of  Earthy  digged  out  and  tahn  up 
by  the  Force  of  a  ftrong  Wind^  and  carried 
up  a  Village  thereby^  fo  that  there  remain- 
ed  to  be  feen  a  great  empty  Hollowncfs  in 
the  Place  from  whence  it  was  lifted^  and  the 
Village  upon  which  it  lighted  was  in  a  man- 
ner all  covered  over  and  buried  in  it. 

The 


the  Deluge.  zSp 

5  T  H  E  Other  out  of  Stow^  who  reports^ 
That  in  the  Year  1095.  during  the  Reign 
of  King  WilUfim  Rufus^  there  happened  in. 
London  an  outrageous Wind,which  iDoredovvn 
in  that  City  alone  Six  hundred  Houfes,  and 
blew  off  the  Kooi  of  EGW-Churchj  with  which 
the  Beams  were  borne  into  the  Air  a  great 
Height,  fix  whereof  being  27  Foot  long,  with 
their  Fall  were  driven  23  Foot  deep  into  the 
Ground,  the  Streets  of  the  City  lying  then 
unpaved. 

Now  then  to  fum  up  what  we  have  faid  i 
The  Changes  and  Alterations  that  have  been 
made  in  the  fuperficial  Part  of  the   terra- 
.queous  Globe,  have  been  effeded  chiefly  by 
]Vate}\  Fire^  and  Wind*     Thofe  by  Water 
have  been  either  by  the  Motions  of  the  Sea^ 
Of  by  Rains  ;  and  both  either  ordinary  or  ex- . 
traordinary :  The  ordinary  Tides  and  Spring- 
Tides  of  the  Sea  do  walh  away  the  Shores, 
and  change  Sand-Banks,  and  the  like.     The 
extraordinary  and  tempeftuous  Motions  of 
the   Sea,  raifed  by  raging   and  impetuous 
Winds,  fubterraneous  Fires,  or  fome  other 
hidden  Caufes,  overwhelm  Iflands,  open  Fre- 
tu??ts^    throw  up  huge  Beds  and  Banks  of 
Sand,  nay,  vaft  Baiches  of  Stone,  extending 
lome  Miles,    and  drown  whole  Countrys. 
The  ordinary  Rai?ts  contribute  fomething  to 
the  daily  Diminution  of  the  Mountains,  fil- 
ling up  of  the  Valleys,  and  atterrating  ths 
Skirts  of  the  Seas.     The  extraordinary  Raim 

y  cauling 


i^O  Confequences  of 


camfing  great  Floods  and  Deluges,  have  more 
vifible  and  remarkable  Influences  upon  fuch 
Mutations,  doing  that  in  a  few  Days  which 
the  ordinary  Weather  could  not  effe^,  it  may 
be,  in  a  hundred  Years. 

In  all  thefe  Changes  the  Winds  have  a 
great  Intereft  ;  the  Motion  of  the  Clouds 
being  wholly  owing  to  them,  and,  in  a  great 
mealure  alfo,  the  Overflowings  and  Inunda- 
tions of  the  Sea. 

Whatever  Changes  have  been  wrought 
by  Earthquakes,  Thunders,  and  Eruptions  of 
Vulcand's^  are  the  Effects  of  Fire. 

All  thefe  Caufes  co-operate  toward  the 
lowering  of  the  Mountains,  leveling  of  the 
Earth,  ftraitnir^  and  landing  up  of  the  StdL^ 
and,  in  fine,  compelling  the  Waters  to  return 
upon  the  dry  Land,  and  cover  the  whole 
Surface  of  it,  as  at  the  firft.  How  to  ob- 
viate this  in  a  natural  way,  I  know  not,  un- 
lefs  by  a  Tranfmutation  of  the  two  Elements 
of  Water  and  Earth  one  into  another,  which 
I  can  by  no  means  grant.  'Tis  true  indeed, 
the  rocky  Parts  of  the  Mountains  may  be 
fo  hard  and  impenetrable,  as  to  refill  and 
hold  out  againft  all  the  Affaults  of  the  W  ater, 
and  utmoft  Rage  of  the  Sea  j  but  then  all  the 
Earth  and  Sand  being  walked  from  them, 
nothi  ig,  but  as  it  were  their  Skeletom^  will  re- 
main extant  above  the  Waters,  and  the  Earth 
be  in  effe(^  drowned. 

But 


the  Deluge.  2^1 

But  tho'  I  cannot  imagine  or  think  up- 
on any  natural  Means  to  prevent  and  put  a 
Stop  to  this  Effei^t,  yet  I  do  not  deny  that 
there  may  be  fome^  and  I  am  the  rather  in- 
clinable fo  to  think,  becatife  the  World  doth 
not  in  any  Degree  proceed  fo  fift  towards 
this  Period,  as  the  Force  and  Agency  of  all 
thefeCaufcs  together  feem  to  require.  For, 
as  I  faid  before,  the  Oracle  prediding  the 
Carrying  on  the  Shore  oiC'dicia  as  far  as  Q- 
/>m/,  by  the  Earth  and  Mud  that  the  turbid 
River  P^ramm  fhould  bring  down,  and  let 
fall  in  the  interjacent  Strait,  is  fo  far  from 
being  filled  up,  that  there  hath  not  ^nyconfi- 
derable  Progrefs  been  made  towards  it,  fo 
far  as  I  have  heard  or  read,  in  thefe  2000 
Years.  And  we  find  by  Experience,  that  the 
longer  the  World  lafts,  the  fewer  Concuffi- 
ons  and  Mutations  are  made  in  the  upper  or 
fuperficial  Region  of  the  Earthy  the  Parts 
thereof  feeming  to  tend  to  a  greater  Quiet 
and  Settlement.  1 

In  this  Conjedure  I  find  myfelf  miflaken* 
For  fince  the  Writing  hereof  there  have  hap- 
pened as  terrible  and  deftruftive  Earthquakes 
as  any  we  read  of  in  Hiftory,  particularly 
thofe  of  Sicilj  in  the  Year  169^-3 .  ^^^^  ^^^  ^" 
5^^«.  9.  about  four  Hours  and  a  half  after 
Sun-feti  the  fecond  on  the  nth  of  the  fame 
Month,  about  the  2  ift  Hour  of  the  Day,  ac- 
cording to  the  Italian  Reckoning,  that  is, 
three  Howrs  before  Sun-fet.     In  both  which 

U  %  there 


2^)2  Consequences  of 

there .periHied  93000  Souls  i  Were  deftroyed 
and   much  damnified    2  Bilhopricks ,    700 
Churches,  of  which  2  2  Collegiate  ones,  250 
Monafteries,  49  Cities  and  Villages,  where- 
of the  moft  remarkable  was  the  City  of  Ca- 
tania^ one  of  the  faireft  and  largeft  in  the 
Ifland,  which  was  wholly  overthrown  and 
buried  in  its  Ruins,  fcarce  any  Footftep  of  it 
remaining,  wherein  perilhed  above  15000 
Souls  :    Of  which  the  learned  and  ingenious 
Signor  faulo  Bonone  gives  a  particular  Ac- 
count, in  his  Book  entituled,  Mufduin  Phy^ 
fictim  &  Experimentale -y  and  befides  affords 
us  many  curious  Remarks  and  Obfervations^ 
concerning  the  Signs,  Concomitants  and  Ef- 
feds  of  thefe  Earthquakes,  which  being  too 
long  to  tranfcribe,  it  not  being  my  Detign  to 
write  a  complete  Treatife  of  Earthquakes, 
but  only  to  difcourfe  a  little  of  them  occa- 
iionally,   as  they,   or   rather  the  Caufe  of 
them,  might  poftibly  have  been  the  Means  or 
Inftruments  the  Almighty  made  ufe  of  at  firft 
to  raife  up  the  dry  Land,  and  caft  off  the 
Waters  ;   I  referr  the  Reader  to  the  Book  it- 
felf. 

2.  Those  of  Naples^  or  Terra  di  La^ 
'VorOj  anciently  called  Campania  Felix^  hap- 
pening on  tlie  fifth  of  June  1688.  of  which 
Mr.  Miffon  gives  us  an  Account  at  the  End  of 
his  New  Voyage  to  Italy,  Vol,  i.  fent  in  a 
Letter  from  an  EngUJJj  Merchant  then  living 

in 


the  Deluge.  zp^ 


in  Naples  to  his  Friend,  in  thefe  Words ;  Sh\ 

About  eight  Dap  a;^o  zve  all  believed  the  World 
was  at  a7i  End.  tVe  felt  amoft  terrible  Earth- 
quale  in  this  'Town  of  Naples  :  It'lafted  but 
three  Minutes^  but  in  that  little  time  fiich 
Things  hafpened^  as  without  all  Doubt  were 
done  by  the  Ha?id  of  the  Almighty.  About  a 
quarter  of  a?t  Hour  after  four  in  the  After- 
noon^  a  terrible  Earthquake  pook  the  whole 
City  all  of  a  fudden^  and  pit  the  People  into 
fuch  a  Confufion  as  cannot  be  exprejfed.  Mount 
Vefuviiis  being  quiet ^  no  Body  miftrufled  any 
fuch  Thing :  And  though  they  perceived  the 
Houfes  to  floop^  and  to  recover  again^  to  part 
from  cne  another^  to  move  every  where^  and 
in  fome  Places  to  fall^  their  Aflonifmnent  wof 
fo  greaty  and  their  Eyes  fo  dazzled^  that  (oine 
cried  out  Fire^  others  fancied  to  themfelves 
fome  popular  Sedition^  and  very  few  guef- 
fed  what  it  really  was.  But  another  more 
violent  Earthquake  fucceeding  the  firfi  ^  a 
fubtcrraneous  Noife^  furpajfing  that  of  Thun- 
der^ was  heard  and  accompanied  by  a  Dome- 
flick  Noife  of  all  the  HouJJjold  Goods ^  which 
were  overturned^  and  a  good  Part  of  them  ei- 
ther  broken  or  bruifed,  The  Bells  rang  in  all 
the  Steeples^  the  Cifierns  vomited  up  their  Wa- 
ters^ feveral  Houfes  parted  from  each  other^ 
fome  rejoined^  others  fell^  and  fome  flood  as 
if  they  were  ftooping  and  ready  to  fall.  Then 
every  one  was  fenjible  that  it  was  an  Earth-^ 

U  3  quake ^ 


2p4  Consequences  of 

quake ^  &c.  T^  this  fucceeded  a  third  Trem^ 
lling^  which  the  Writer  only  mentions.  Not 
many  People  were  loft  in  this  Earthquake  at 
Naples ;  hut  the  Damage  [uftained  by  it  was 
reckoned  by  knowing  Perfons  to  amount  to  Ten 
Millions  of  Crowns.  At  the  Town  of  Bene- 
vento  there  were  1567  Perfons  crufhed  to 
Pieces^  and  buried  under  Ruins ;  fo  that  that 
Town  is  nothing  now  but  a  Heap  of  Stones. 
We  have  here  a  Lift  0/800  Perfons  more  kil- 
led in  twelve  or  thirteen  Villages  about  the 
faid  City  of  Benevent.  The  Town  of  Ceret- 
to,  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Mattalone,  was 
entirely  overturned^  and  4000  Perfons  perijh- 
ed  therein,  five  Hundred  were  alfo  loft  at  Mira- 
bella,  1000  at  S.  Lupo,  300  <it  S.  Lawrence 
Major^  400  at  Pierra  Roya,  and  every  Soul^ 
without  any  ones  efcaping^  at  the  Boroughs  of 
CiviteUa,  S.  Lawrence  Minor,  and  Guardia 
S.  Framondi. 

3.  To  thefe  may  be  added  the  terrible 
Earthquake  in  the  Ifland  of  Jamaica^  where- 
of we  have  already  difcourfed  at  large. 

Besides, the  Superficies  of  the  Sea,  not- 
withftanding  the  Overwhelming  and  Sub- 
merfion  of  Iflands,  and  the  Straitning  of 
it  about  the  Outlets  of  Rivers,  and  the 
Earth  it  waflies  from  the  Shores  fubfi- 
ding,  and  elevating  the  Bottom,  feems  not 
to  be  raifcd  higher,  nor  fpread  farther,  or 
bear   any    greater    Proportion   to  that    of 

the 


the  Deluge.  299 

the  Land  than  it  did   a  Thoufand  Years 

So  have  I  finiftied  my  fecond  Difcourfe 
concerning  the  Deluge. and  its  Effects  j  and 
the  Mutations  that  have  been  fince  made  in 
tlie  Eartii,  and  their  Caufes* 


U  4 


D  I  S- 


DISCOURSE  III. 

O  F    T  H  E 

DISSOLUTION 

O  F    T  H  E 

WORLD. 

THE 

INTRODUCTION 

T  O    T  H  E 

Third  Difcourfe. 

HERE  is  implanted  in  the 
Nature  of  Man  a  great  Defire 
and  Curiolity  of  fore-know- 
ing future  Events,  and  what 

ihall  beflill  themfelves,    their 

Relations  and  Dependents  in  time  to  come  ; 
the  Fates  of  Kingdoms  and  Commonwealths,^ 

efpccially 


m 

^M 

m 

m 

• 

T 

^ 

m 

m 

Of  the  Dijfolution.  25)7 

Specially  the  Periodical  Mutations,  and  final 
'Catajlrophe  of  the  World.  Hence,  in  ancient 
•  Times,  Divination  was  made  a  Science  or 
Myftery,  and  many  Nations  had  their  Col- 
leges or  Societies  of  Wife-Men,  Magicians, 
Aitrologcrs  and  Sooth-fayers ;  as  for  Exam- 
pie,  the  Egyptians^  Babyloniam  and  Romans. 
Hence  the  Vulgar  are  very  prone  to  confult 
Diviners  andFortune-Teflers. 

To  gratify  in  fome  Meafure  this  Curiofi- 
ty,  and  that  his  People  might  not  in  any. 
Privilege  be  inferiour  to  the  Nations  about 
them,  it  pleafed  God,  belides  the  Handing 
Oracle  of  Urim^  not  only  upon  fpecial  Oc- 
cafions  to  raife  up  among  the  Jews  extraordi- 
nary Prophets,  by  immediate  Million  i  but 
alfo  to  fettle  a  conftant  Order  and  Succef- 
fion  of  them,  for  the  Maintenance  and  Up- 
holding whereof,   there  were  Colleges  and 
Seminaries  inftituted  for  the  educating  and 
fitting  young  Men  for  the  Prophetick  Fun- 
ction.    Thefe  were  the  Sons  of  the  Pro- 
phets, of  whom  we  find  fo  frequent  Men- 
tion in  Scripture. 

Moreover,  it  pleafed  God  fo  far  to  conde- 
fcend  to  the  Weaknefs  of  the  Jews^  that  in  the 
Infancy  of  their  State,  He  permitted  them 
to  confult  His  Prophets  concerning  ordinary 
Accidents  of  Life,  and  Affairs  of  fmall  Mo- 
ment :  As  we  fee  Saul  did  Samuel  about  the 
Lofs  of  his  Father's  Affes,  which  it's  not  like- 
ly he  would  have  done,  had  ic  not  been  u- 

fual 


Z5>8  Of  the  Dijfolution 

fual  and  cuftomary  fo  to  do.  In  the  latter 
Times  of  that  State,  we  read  of  no  Confulting 
of  Prophets  upon  fuch  Occafions.  At  laft 
alfo  by  their  own  Confeflion,  the  Spirit  of 
Prophecy  was  quite  taken  away,  and  nothing 
left  them  but  a  Vocal  Oracle,  which  they 
called  Bath  col^  u  e.  the  Daughter  of  a  Voice, 
or  the  Daughter  of  Thunder,  a  Voice  out  of 
*  Hora  a  Voice.  This  Dr.  "^  Light  foot  thinks  to  have 
iJebr.  in  \)qqii  a  meer  Fancy  or  Impofture.  Q^^e  de 
e^,  3!  V.  Bath  Kol  referunt  Judai^  ignofcant  illi  tnihi 
i7«  fi  ego  partitn  pro  Fabulis  habeam  ^udaicis^  par- 
tim  pro  prafligiis  Diabolk'u*  What  the  Jews 
report  concerning  Bath  Kol,  I  beg  their  Par- 
don^  if  I  efteem  them  no  ether  than  either 
Jewijh  Fable f^  or  Diabolical  Illufions.  It  is  a 
Tradition  among  them,  that  after  the  Death 
of  the  laft  Prophets,  Haggai^  Zachary^  and 
Malachiy  the  Holy  Spirit  departed  from  If- 
rael.  But  why,  I  befeech  you,  was  Prophecy 
withdrawn,  if  Celeftial  Oracles  were  to  be 
continued  ?  Why  was  Urifn  and  nummim 
taken  away,  or  rather  not  rcftored,  by  their 
own  Confeflion,  after  the  Babylonilh  Capti- 
vity ?  It  were  ftrange  indeed,  that  G  o  d  ta- 
king away  His  ordinary  Oracles  from  a 
People,  lliould  beftow  upon  them  one  more 
or  eqiially  noble ;  and  that,  after  they  were 
extremely  degenerated  and  fallen  into  all 
manner  of  Impiety,  Superftition  and  Here- 
fy,  &c.  And  a  little  after,  if  I  may  free- 
fy  fpeak  what  I  think,  thofe  innumerable 

Stories, 


of  the  World.  Ipp 


Stories,  which  every  where  occurr  [in  the 
Jewifli  Writings]  concerning  Bath  Kol^  are 
to  be  reduced  to  two  Heads,  "viz,  i.  The 
nioft  of  them  are  meer  Fables,  invented  in 
Honour  of  this  or  that  Rabbin,  or  to  gain 
Credit  to  fome  Hiftory.  2.  The  reft  meer 
Magical  and  Diabolical  Illufions,  &c. 

In  the  Primitive  Churches  of  Chriftians 
planted  by  the  Apoftles,  there  was  alfo  an 
Order  of  Prophets,  i  Cor,  xii.  28.  God 
hath  fet  fome  in  the  Church ,  jirft  Apoftles^ 
fecondarily  Prophets^  &c.  This  Spirit  of  Pro- 
phecy was  an  extraordinary  and  temporary 
Gift,  as  were  the  Gifts  of  Healing  and  Speak- 
ing with  Tongues,  continuing  not  long  after 
the  Death  of  the  Apoftles,  and  Confignation 
of  the  Canon  of  Scripture.  So  that  now  wc 
have  no  Means  left  us  of  Coming  to  the 
Knowledge  of  future  Events,  but  the  Pro- 
phecies contained  in  the  Writings  of  the  Ho- 
ly Penmen  of  Scripture,  which  we  muft 
fearch  diligently,  confider  attentively,  and 
compare  together,  if  we  defire  to  underftand 
any  thing  of  what  fhall  befall  the  Chriftian 
Church  or  State  in  Time  to  come. 

This  Text  which  I  have  made  Choice  of 
for  my  Subjed,  is  Part  of  a  Prophecy  con- 
cerning the  greatcft  of  all  Events,  the  Diffo- 
lution  of  the  World. 


f' 


2  PiTCK 


mmmmm^ 


Z  Peter  iii.  II. 

Seeing  then  all  thefe  Things 
jhall  he  di[fohed/ujhat  man- 
ner of  Per fons\  ought  ive  to 
he  in  all  holy  Converfation 
and  Godlinefs  ? 

Chap.     I. 

The  "Drnjion  of  the  Words  and  Do&rine 
contained  in  them^  with  the  Heads  oj 
the  following  Dijcourje, 

«^^^HESE  Words  contain   in  them 

J^  T^  ^^^^  ^^^^^  *  ^*  ^"  Antecedent, 
^^P^^  or  Doctrine,  All  thefe  thinis  flmll 
^SM^M  he  diffohed.  2.  A  Confequent, 
or  Inference  thereupon,  JVhat 
manner  of  Perfom  ought  we  to  be? 

Tnt  Doctrine,  here  only  briefly  hinted, 
or  fummariiy  propofed,  is  laid  down  more 
fully  in  the  precedent  Verfe ,  But  the  Day  of 
the  Lord  zvill  come  as  a  Thief  in  the  Nighty 
in  which  the  Heavens  pall  pafs  away  with  a 

great 


Of  the  Di(folutton.  301 

great  Noife,  and  the  Elements  Jhall  fnelt  with 
ferve?it  Ueat^  the' Earth  alfo^  and  theJVorh 
that  are  therein  JJjall  be  burnt  up. 

These  Words  are,  by  the  Generality  of 
Interpreters,  Ancient  and  Modern,  under- 
ftood  of  the  final  Deftrudion  or  Diffolution 
of  Heaven  and  Earth ;  in  which  Senfe  I  IhaU 
choofe  rather  to  accept  them  at  prefent,  than 
with  the  Reverend  and  Learned  Dr.  Hcz;//-, 
7?wndj  and  fonie  few  others,  to  ftem  the  Tide 
ofExpofitors,  and  apply  them  to  the  Deftru- 
dtion  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewifh  Polity.  I 
fay  then, 

IThat  this  IVorld,.  and  all  things  therein  Doar. 
contained^  JJjall  one  Day  be  dijfolved  and 
deftroyed  by  Fire. 

B  Y  Wbrld^  in  this  Propofition,  We^  and  by 
Heaven  and  Earth  in  this  Place,  the  moft 
rational  Interpreters  of  Scripture,  do  under- 
ftand  only  the  whole  Co?npages  of  this  Sub- 
lunary World,  and  all  the  Creatures  that  are 
in  it ;  all  that  was  deftroyed  by  the  Flood  in 
the  Days  of  Noah^  and  is  now  fecured  from 
perifhing  fo  again  ^  that  I  may  borrow  Dr. 
Hammond's  Words,  in  his  Annotations  on 
this  Place.    '  And  again,  the  Word  Heavem 

*  (  faith  he  )  being  an  Equivocal  Word,  is  ufed 

*  either  for  the  fupcriour  Heavens,  whether 
'  Empyreal  or  Ethereal,  -or  for  the  fublunary 
'  Heavens,  the  Air,  (as  the  Word  World  is  ei- 
'  ther  the  whole  Compass  of  the  fuperiour 

'and 


302  Of  the  Dijfolution 

*  and  inferiour  World,  as  the  Author  of  the 

*  Book  De  MundOy  afcribed  falfly  to  Ariflotle^ 

*  defines    Koflrfjiof,    (Tvgvjfxx  e^   dvpavs  vloa   yvi<; 

*  y?^w  or  Compages  of  Heaven  and  Earthy  and 

*  the  Beings  therein  contained :  Or  elfe  only  of 

*  the  fublunary  Lower  World)  we  may  here 

*  refolve,  that  the  'Ovpavol  and  goix^Ta^  Hea- 
.'  ven  and  Hoft,  or  Elements  thereof,  are  li- 

'  terally  the  fublunary  Aereal  Heavens,  and  all 

*  that  is  therein,  Clouds  and  Meteors,  &c. 

*  Fowls  and  flying  Creatures,  and  fo,  fit  to 

*  join  with  the  Earth  and  Works  that  are 

*  therein. 

In  Profecution  of  this Propofition,  and  in 
Order  to  the  Proof  and  Confirmation,  and 
likewife  the  Clearing  and  lUuftration  of  it,  I 
fliall,  (i .)  Give  you  what  I  find  concerning 
the  Diflolution  of  the  World :  i .  In  the  Ho- 
ly Scripture.  2.  In  ancient  Chriftian  Wri- 
ters. 3.  In  the  Heathen  Philofophers  and 
Sages.  (2.)  I  fhall  endeavour  to  give  fome 
Anfwer  to  thefe  feven  Queftions,  which  are 
obvious  and  ufually  made  concerning  it. 

1.  Whether  there  be  any  thing  in  Na* 
ture,  which  might  prove  and  demonftrate,  or 
argue  and  inferr  a  future  DifTolution  of  the 
World  ? 

2.  Whether  fhall  this  DifTolution  be 
brought  about  and  effe(Sted  by  Natural,  or 
by  extraordinary  Means   and  Inftruments  ,* 

and 


of  the  World.  503 


and  what  thofe  Means  and  Inftruments  fiiall 
be? 

3.  Whether  fhall  the  DilTolution  be 
gradual  or  fudden  ? 

4.  Whether  fliall  there  be  any  Signs 
and  Fore-Runners  of  it  ? 

5.  At  what  Period  of  Time  fhall  the 
World  be  diffolved  ? 

6.  H  o  w  far  Ihall  this  Conflagration  ex- 
tend ?  Whether  to  the  Ethereal  Heavens,  and 
all  the  Hoft  of  them.  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars, 
or  to  the  Aereal  only. 

7.  Whether  fhall  the  Heavens  and 
Earth  be  wholly  diffipated  and  deftroyed,  or 
only  refined  and  purified  ? 

Chap.    II. 

The  Tefiimonies  of  Scripture  concerning  the 
Dijfolution  of  the  World, 

HEN,  let  us  confider  what  wc 
find  delivered  in  the  Holy  Scri- 
ptures, concerning  the  Diflb- 
lution  of  the  World.  And  firft 
of  all.  This  Place,  which  I  have  made 
Choice  of  for  my  Text,  is  in  my  Opinion 
the  moft  clear  and  full,  as  to  this  Particu- 
lar, in  the  whole  Scripture  j  and  will  give 
Light  for  the.  Solution  of  moft  of  the  pro- 

poied 


304  Of  the  hljfotution 

pofed  Qiieftions.     Verf.  i  o.  The  Dayofth^ 
Lord  jjjall  come  as  a  T^hief^  Sec.    This'  ah- 
fwers  the  third  Queftion^  Whether  the  Dif- 
folution  lliall  be  gradual  or  fuddt:n  ?  W^here- 
in  the  Hcai)en.f  (hall  pafs  azvay  with  a  great 
Noife^  and  the  Ehnenty  Jloall  visit  zmh  fer- 
vent Heat^  the  Earth  alfo^  and  all  the  JVorh 
that  are  therein^   (hall  be  burnt  tip.     And  a^ 
gain,  Ver.  12.    tFherein  the  Heavem  being 
on  Fire  /hall  be  dijfohed^  and  the  Ehnentf 
JJoall  melt  with  fervent  Heat,     This  anfwers 
the  fecond  Queftion,  What  the  Means  and 
Inftruments   of  this  Diffolution  ihall   be  ? 
Ver.   13.  Neverthelefi  we^  ai:cording  to  his 
Pro?nife^   look  for  a  new  Heaven  and  a  new 
Earthy  wherein  dwelleth  Right eoufnefs.    This 
gives  fome  Light  toward  the  anfwering  of  the 
laft  Queftion,   Whether  fliall   the  Heavens 
and  the  Earth  be  wholly  burnt  up  and  de- 
ftroyed ,    or   only  renewed    and   purified  ? 
ThefeWords,  as  clearly  as  they  feem  to  re- 
ferr  to  the  DilTolution  of  the  World,    yet 
Dr.  Hamjnond  doubts  not  to  be  understood 
of  the  remarkable  Deftrudtion  of  Jerujale?n^ 
and  the  Jewiili  State,  he  thus  paraphrafing 
them. 

Verfe  i  o.    But  the  Day  of  the  Lord  will 

come  as  a  Thief  in  the  Nighty  in  which 

the  Heavens  (Izall  pafs  away  with  a  great 

Noife^  and  the  Eleinents  fjjall  melt  with 

■       fervent  Heat^  and  the  Earth  alfo^  and 

thi 


■y,df  the  World.  505* 

the  Worh  that  are  therein  JJjall  be  burnt 
up. 

But  this  Judgmcni  of  Christ,  fo  remark- 
able on  the  Jewf^  lliall  now  fliortly  come, 
and  that  very  difcernably  ;  and  the  Temple 
fliall  fuddenly  be  deftroyed,  the  greater  Part 
of  it  burnt,  and  the  City  and  People  utterly 
confumed. 

Verfe  ii.  Seeing  then  all  thefe  Things JJoall 
be  dijjclvedj  what  Manner  of  Ferfons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  Converfation 
and  Godlinefs  ^ 

Seeing  then  thiis  Deftrudlion  fliall  thus 
involve  all,  and  now  approacheth  fo  near^ 
what  ^n  Engagement  doth  this  lay  upon  us 
to  live  the  moft  pure  ftri(^  Lives  that  evet 
Men  lived  ? 

Verfe  12.  ILooling  for  and  haflning  tmti) 
the  Comi?ig  of  the  Day  of  G  o  d,  wherein 
the  Heavens^  being. on  Fire^  Jhall  be  dif^ 
fohed^  and  the  Elements  JJjall  melt  with 
fervent  Heat* 

Looking  for  theConiingof  Christ  ?ox 
our  Deliverance,'  and  by  our  Chriftian  Lives 
quickning  and  haftning  God  to  delay  it  no 
longer;  that  Coming  of  His,  I  fay,  which 
as  it  fignifics  great  Mercy  to  us,  fo  it  figni- 
fies  very  fliarp  Dcftru.dipn  to  the  whole 
jf^(/'7^  State*  '■^'".'■^.  ':'"'■ 

X  Vd-f^ 


306  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Verfe  13 .  Meverthetefs  we^  according  to  His 
Protnifej  look  for  new  Heavens  and  a 
new  Earthy  wherein  dwelleth  Right eouf-^ 
nefs, 

!n STEAD  of  whidi  \irc  look  for  anew 
Chriftiah  State,  wherein  all  Proviiion  is  made 
by  Christ  tot  Righteoufaefs  to  inhabit, 
according  to  the  Promife  of  C  h  r  i  s  t  con- 
cerning the  Purity  that  He  fliould  plant  in 
the  Evangelical  State. 

How  he  makes  out  and  confirms  thisPa^ 
raphrafc,  fee  in  hiis  Annotations  upon  this 
Place.  So  confident  is  he  of  the  Truth  of 
this  his  Interpretation,  that  he  cenfures  the 
ufual  one  as  a  great  Miftake,  in  his  Annotd:- 
tion  on  ver,  i  o.  where  he  thus  writes  i  '  What 
'  is  here  thus  expreffed  by  S.  Feter^  is  ordina- 

*  rily  conceived  to  belong  to  the  End  of  the 

*  World,  and  by  others  applied  to  the  End  of 
^  this  World,  and  the  Beginning  of  the  Millen" 

*  niurn^  or  Thoufand*  Years.  And  fo,  as  S.  Feter 
*here  faith,  wr.  16.    many  other  Places  in 

*  S.  Paul's  Epiftles,  and  in  the  Gofpel,  efpeci- 

*  aWy  Matth.  xxiv.  are  miftakcn  and  wrefted.. 

*  That  it  doth  not  belong  to  either  of  thofc, 

*  but  to  this  fatal  Day  o(  the  Jews ^  fufficiently 
'  appears  by  the  Purport  of  this  whole  Epiftle, 

*  which  is^  to  arm  them  with  Conftancy  and 

*  Perfeverance  till  that  Day  come ;  and  par- 

*  ticularly  in  this  Chapter,  to  confute  them 
t  who  objeft  againft  the  Truth  of  C  h  r  i  s  t's 


of  the  World.  307 

^  Prcdidions,  and  refolve  it  lliould  not  come 
'  at  all ;  Againft  whom  he  here  oppofes  the 
'  Certainty^  the  Spcedinefs,  and  the  Terrible- 

*  nefsof  its  Coming.  That  which  hath  given 

*  Occafion  to  thofe  other  common  Miftakes,  h 
'  efpecially  the  Hideoufncfs  of  thofe  Jiidg- 
^  ments  which  fell  upon  the  People  of  the 
'  Jews^  beyond  all  that  ever  before  are  rela- 

*  ted  to  have  fallen  upon  them,  or  indeed  a- 

*  ny  other  People,  which  made  it  necelfary 
'  for  the  ProphetSj  which  were  to  defcribe  it, 

*  (and  who  ufe  Tropes  and  Figures,  and  not 

*  plain  Expreflions,  to  fet  down  their  Predi- 

*  Ctions)  to  expr^fs  it  by  thefe  high  Phrafes,  of 
'  the  pafmg  away  and  diffohing  o^ Heaven  and 
'  Earthy  and  Ekfnents:^  &c,  which  founding 
'  very  tragically,  are  miftaken  for  the  great 
'  and  final  DifTolution  of  the  World.'*  So  far 
the  Doftor.  Two  Things  there  are  in  this 
Chapter,  which  feem  to  contradid  this  In- 
terpretation :  Firft ,  That  the  Deftruif^ion 
here  fpoken  of,  is  compared  with  Noah's 
Flood  ,•  and  the  Heaven  and  Earth  to  be  dif- 
folved  by  this,  made  parallel,  and  of  equal 
Extent  to  the  World  deftroyed  by  that.  Of 
this  the  Dodor  was  well  aware,  and  there- 
fore grants,  that  the  feventh  Verfe,  But  the 
Heaven f  and  the  Earth  which  are  now^  by  the 
fame  Word  are  kept  in  Store ^  referved  unto  Fire 
againft  the  Day  of  Judgment^  and  Perdition  of 
ungodly  Men^  is  to  be  underftood  of  the  gene- 
ral and  final  Deftrudion  of  the  World  by 

X  2       /  Fire, 


T 

308  Of  the  Di[fohitwn 

Fil'Cji  but  the  following  Verfes  to  be  an  An- 
fw-cr  to  the  firft  Part  of  the  Atheifts  Obje- 
aiohjViz.  J f here  is  the  Fromife of  Hts  Coming? 
To  me  it  feems,  that  all  referr  to  the  fame 
•Matter.  The  fecond  Thing  which  feems  to 
contradi(5t  the  Doctors  Interpretation,  is,  the 
Apoftle's  citing  for  the  Inftruaioh  and  Con- 
firmation of  the  Believers,  and  in  Anfwer  to 
the  Atheifts  Obje6lion^(/T4^r^  ifthePromife  of 
H/j  Coming?)  that  Place  of  the  Pfahnifi^ 
Pfal.  xc.  4.  That  one  Day  is  with  the  Lord  as 
a  thoufand  Tears,  and  a  thoufand  Tears  as  one 
Day,  For  the  Apoftle  feems  to  fuppofe,  that 
the  Time  of  Christ's  Coming  might  pofTibly 
be  a  thoufand  Years  oif  s  and  that  they  were 
not  to  think  much,  or  diftruft  the  Promife, 
if  it  were  fo  :  For  though  it  were  predided 
as  a  thing  fhortly  to.  come,  yet  they  were 
to  confider,  that  a  thoufand  Years  in  God's 
Sight  is  but  a  very  iliort  Time  i  fo  that  it 
'might  be  foretold  as  Ihortly  to  come,  tho' 
it  were  a  thoufand  Years  otf.  Whereas  it 
might  feem  improper  to  mention  a  thou- 
fand Years  to  fupport  them  in  Expectation 
of  an  Event  that  was  hot  twenty  Years  to 
come. 

Another  Place,  where  Mention  is  made  of 
Christ's  coming  to  Judgment,  and  the  Diffo- 
lution  of  the  World,  is  Matth,  xxiv.  to  which 
may  be  addedas  Parallel, MirHiii.  2.i\dl,uh 
xxi.  In  wliich  Places  you  have  conlidcrable, 
1.  The  Suddcnnefs  of  Christ's  Coming,  T^r. 

^7- 


of  the  World.  ^op 


If,  Ai  the  Lightning  comes  out  of  the  Eaft^ 
and  Jloineth  even  unto  the  Weft^  fo  fiall  the 
Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be.  2.  The  Signs 
of  His  Coming,  v,  29.  Immediately  after 
the  Tiibulation  of  thofe  Days  (J: all  the  Sim  bs 
darkned^  and  the  Moon  Jhall  not  give  her 
Light ^  and  the  Stars  Jhall  fall  from  Heaven^ 
and  the  Powers  of  Heaven  flmll  be  Jhaken, 
5.  The  Manner  of  His  Coming,  1?.  30.  And 
then  jJo all  appear  the  Sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in 
Heaven  i  and  then  JJmII  all  the  Tribes  of  the 
Earth  ?noiirn^  when  they  Jhall  fee  the  Son  of 
Man  coming  in  the.  Clouds  of  Heaven  with 
Power  and  great  Glory,  And  He  Jhall  fend 
His  Angels  with  a  great  S.und  of  a  Trumpet ^ 
and  they  floall  gather  together  His  Eled  from 
the  four  Winds ^  from  one  End  of  Heaven  to 
the  other,  4.  The  Uncertainty  of  the  Time 
of  His  Coming,  and  this  DilTolution  as  to  us. 
But  of  that  Day  and  Hour  knoweth  no  Man^  no 
not  {he  Angels  in  Heaven :  And  Mark  adds, 
neither  the  Son^  but  the  Father  only, 
^;  All  this  Vvo'phQ.cy  T>v,  Hammond  under- 
ftan^s  of  the  Deftrudion  of  the  City  and 
Temple  of  ^erufalejn,  and  whole  Nation  of 
the  Jews ;  as  may  be  feen  in  his  Paraphrafe 
and  Anmtations  upon  this  Place.  And  in- 
deed, our  Saviour  Himfeif  feems  to  limit 
it  to  this,  flying,  "verfe  24.  Verily  I  fay  un^ 
to  you^  this  Generation  Jhall  not  pais  away^  till 
all  thefe  things  be  fulfilled.  For  if  thefe  Pro- 
phecies look  farther  than  the  Dcftrudtion  of 

^  3  Joii^^ 


5 10  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Jerufalem^  even  to  Christ's  coming  to  Judg- 
ment, how  could  it  be  true,  that  that  Genera- 
tion Ihould  not  pafs  away  till  all  thofe  Things 
were  fulfilled?  Whereas  we  fee  that  that  Ge- 
neration is  long  (ince  paffed  away,  and  yet 
the  End  is  not  come.  And  indeed,  Expofi- 
tors  that  underftand  them  of  the  End  of  the 
"yVorld,  and  Chri3T*s  fecond  coming  to  Judg- 
ment, are  hard  put  to  it  to  anfwer  this  Ob- 
jection. S.  Chryfoftom  will  have  this  Word 
'ysvEOL  to  be  underftood  not  of  the  Genera- 
tion of  Men  then  living,  but  of  the  Genera- 
tion of  the  Faithful,  which  Ihould  not  fail  till 
the  End  of  the  World.     Ol^s  yoLp  (faith  he) 

d'^o  TpoTTH  ^p'/iay.sia?  mclI  Tro'KiTSiciCy  c^i/oTciv  Ke-* 
yv\j  Amvi  h  y^vsci  ^vit^vtccv  o-f,  Sec."  lie  d^ 
nominates  a  Generation  not  only  -from  Having 
together  in  the  fa?ne  ti?ne^  but  frofn  halving 
the  fame  Form  and  Mariner  of  religious  JVhr^ 
fljip  and  Polity ;  as  in  that  Flace^  T^his  is  the 
Generation  of  them  that  feek  thee^  that  feek 
thy  Face^  0  Jacob.  Beza  underftands  ysvex 
of  the  prefent  Age,  and  will  have  it  to  be 
of  the  fame  Valour  with  "in  in  Hebrew^  and 
TTXvTci  TcLvTciy  to  rcfcrr  not  to  all  Particulars 
mentioned  in  this  Chapter,  but  only  to  thofe 
which  are  fpoken  of  the  Deftru<^ion  of  the 
City  and  Nation  of  the  Jews :  But  (faith 
he)  if  any  one  urgeth  the  univerfal  Particle, 
Vertere  licebit^  Fiant  omnia^  'viz,  qiu  ultimam 
illam  diem  paceffma  dixit.     Nam  ab  illo 

tempore 


■^; 


of  the  World.  31 1 

tern  fore  eccfcrunt  fieri  ^  &  adhuc  per  fever  ant 
iila  figna^  fuo  demum  tempore  F'tlio  hofnims 
ve?ituro. 

But  on  the  other  Side,   i.  Some  Paflagcs 
there  are  in  this  Chapter,  which  are  hardly 
•applicable  to  the  Deftriidlion  of  Jerufalem^ 
and  the  Diirolution  of  the  JewiJJj  Common- 
wealth ;  as  the  Appearing  of  the  Sign  of  the 
Son  of  Man  in  Heaven^  and  the  Tribes  feeing 
the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  Clouds  of  Hea- 
ven^withPower  and  great  Glory.  And  His  fend- 
ing His  Angels  with  a  great  Sound  of  a  Ti-H?n^ 
pet.     2.  The  Coming  of  C  h  r  i  s  t  is  in  like 
manner  defcribed  in  Places  which  undoubt- 
edly fpeakof  His  coming  to  Judgment  at  the 
End  of  the  World.     As  in  i  Cor,  XV..5  2.  Men-r 
tion  is  made  of  the  Trumpets  founding  at  the 
Time  of  CwRist's  Coming  :  And  r  Theff.  iv* 
1 6.  it  is  faid,  The  Lord  Himfelf  fhall  defcend 
from  Heaven  with  the  Voice  of  the  Archangel^ 
and  with  the  Trump  of  God  ^  and.  v.  17.  We 
that  are  alive  Jloall  be  caught  up  together  with 
them  [that  are  rifen]  in  the  Clouds  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  the  Air.    All  which  Places  are 
perfcdly  parallel,  and  feem  manifeftly  to  air 
lude  to  the  fore-mentioned  Words,  Matth. 
xxiv.  30, 31.     I  am  apt  to  think  that  thefe 
Prophecies  may  have  a  double  Refpe(3: ;  one  to 
the  City,  Temple,  and  Nation  of  the  Jews  ; 
another  to  the  whole  World  at  the  great 
Day  of  Doom :    And  that  the  former  is  in- 
deed typical  of  the  latter  :  And  fo  they  have 

X  4  a  dou- 


3 12  Of  the  Dijfohition 

a  double  Completion ;  the  firft  in  the  Deftruri 
^ion  of  Jemfcdem  and  the  Jewi/Jo  Polity :  In 
Reference  to  which  it  is  truly  i'did^  This  Ge- 
neration fhall  not  fafs  away  till  all  thefe 
things  be  fulfilled.  -The  fecond  in  the  final 
Diilblution  of  the  World,  which  is  yet  to  • 
come.  : 

B  u  T  to  proceed  ;  Another  Place  which  is 
ufually  underftood  of  the  DifTolution  of  the 
World  by  Fire,  is  2  Theff,  i.  7,  S,  When  the 
Lord  Jesus  fiall  be  revealed  frojn  Heaven 
with  His  mighty  Angels  in  flaming  Fire^  &c. 
Other  parallel  Places  may  be  feen^  R^u  vi. 
12,  13,  14.  Rev.x,  6.  Rev,  xxiv  r;  And  I 
faw  a  new  Heaven  and  a  new  Earthy  for  the 
firft  Heaven  and  the  firji  Earth  were  faffed 
away^  and  there  was  720  more  Sea^  Hebr.  xii. 
26^1-],  Thefe  Places  fpeak  more  direaiy 
of  the  DifTolution  of  the  World,  and  the  Co- 
ming of  Christ  to  Judgment.  Others  there 
are,  that  fpeak'  only  concerning  the  Time  of 
it,  i  Pet.  iv.  7.  But  the  End  of  all  Things  if  at 
hand.  James  v.  9.  Behold  the  Judge  Jiandeth 
before  the  Door,  i  John  iu  18.  Little  Chil- 
dren^ it  is  the  laji  time-,  or  as  fome  tranflate 
It,  the  laft  Hour,  fVj;t;^lT>j  w/:^.^  Hebr.  x.  37. 
Tela  -little  while^  and  He  that  jMl  come-  will 
cmi&^  and  will  not  tarry ^■'p.i'k.fcy  qgov'c(tcv. 
Luke  xviii.  ij.  I  tell  you  hewill  avenge  the?n 
fpeedily.  AH  thefe  Places  the  for ementioned 
Dr.  Hammond  frill  applies  to  that  famous  Pe- 
riod of  the  Deftruclion  of  the  City,  Temple 

and 


of  the  World.         '      313 


and  Polity  of  the  Jews ;  only  in  his  Note 
upon  oXe^poQ  ocK^vio^y  that  everlafting  Dcftru-  . 
dion  mentioned  2  Thejf.  i.  9.  he  hath  fomc 
Qualification  ,  faying  thus :  Mean  while^ 
not  excluding  the  eternal  Torments  of  HelU 
fire^  which  expect  all  impenitent  Sinners  that 
thus  fall,  but  loohng  particularly  on  the  vi- 
fihle  t>eftru6Hon  and  Vengeance  which  feizeth 
on  whole  Nations  or  Multitudes  at  once  in  this 
Life,  And  in  Conclufion  hath  left  us  but 
one  Place  in  the  New  Teftament,  to  prove 
the  general  Conflagration  of  the  World,  t/^. 
2  Pet,  vii.  7.       •  • 

Now,  bccaufe  fome  have  been  offended  at 
thefe  Interpretations  of  his,  others  have  fpo- 
ken  very  flightingly  of  them  :  I  Hiall  briefly 
funi  up  what  hath  been  alledged  in  Defence 
of  them  by  this  great  Man. 

I .  That  the  Prophets  ufe  to  fet  down  their 
Predictions  in  Tropes  and  Figures,  and  not  in 
plain  Expreflions,  (their  Style  being  Poetical.) 
And  therefore,  in  defcribing  thofe  hideous 
Judgments  which  fell  upon  that  People  of 
the  Jews^  beyond  all  that  ever  before  fell 
upon  them,  or  indeed  any  other  People,  they 
found  it  necelfary  to  employ  thofe  High  and 
Tragical  Phrafes  of  the  palling  away  and 
diffolving  Heaven,  and  Earth,  and  Elements. 
And  that  this  was  the  Manner  of  the  Pro- 
phets, may  be  proved  ;  becaufe  we  find  the 
Dcftrudion  of  other  Places  dcfcribed  in  as 
high  Strains,  as  lofty  and  tragical  Expref- 

ftons 


3 14  Of  the  Dijfolution 

fioiis  as  this  of  Jemfale?n.    For  Example/ 
•  that  o{  Idumica^  Ifa.  xxxiv.  9.   The  Streams 
thereof  (hall  be  turjied  into  Pitchy  and  the  Duft 
thereof  into  Brimjtone^  and  the  Land  thereof 
jball  become   burning  Pitch.    It  Jhall  not  be 
quenched   Night  nor  Day^  the  Snwh  thereof 
fijall  go  up  for  ever.     And  la  the  4th  Verfc 
he  feems   but   to    prefate   to  this  Deftru- 
dlion,  in  thefe  Words  ;    And  all  the  Hoji  of 
Heaven  floall  be  diffolved^   and  the  Heavens 
JJ.iall  be  rolled  together  as  a  Scroll ;  and  all  their 
Hojis  Jhall  fall  down  as  the  Leaf  falleth  off 
from  the  Vine^  and  as  a  falling  Fig  from  the 
Fig-Tree  ;   for  inj  Sword  Jhall  be  bathed  in 
Heaven  :  Behold  it  Jloall  come  down  upon  I- 
dumaea.    'And  in  the  Burden  of   Babylon^ 
cap.  xiii.  8,9.  we  have  thefe  Words,  Behold' 
the  Day  of  the  Lord  cometh^  cruel  both  with 
Wrath  and  fierce  Anger  to  lay  the  Land  defo- 
laie :  For  the  Stars  of  Heaven^  and  the  Con- 
ffellations  thereof  Jloall  not  give  their  Light  ; 
"The  Sun  JImU  be  darkened  in  his  going  forth ^ 
and  the  Moon  JJmU  not  caufe  her  Light  to 
ftfine, 

-,  2.  All  the  Predidions  in  that  famous  Place, 
^atth,  xxiv.  to  which  all  other  Places  in  the 
New  Teftament  relating  to  this  Matter  are 
|)arallel,  are  by  our  Saviour  Himfclf  reftrain- 
-ed  to  the  Deftrudion  of  Jerufalem^  and  the 
full  Completion  of  them  limited  to  the  Dura- 
tion of  that' Age  ;  Verfe  34.  Verily  I  fay 
*       unto  you^  This  Generation  Jhall  not  pafs  till 

all 


of  the  World.  31^^ 

(til  thefe  Things  be  fnljilled.    What  Rcafon 
*  then  can  wc  hav^  to  extend  them  flirthcr? 

3.  In  moft  of  the. Places  where  this  Co- 
ming of  Christ  is 'mentioned,  it  is  fpokcn  of 
as  near,  and  at  hand ;  as  in  the  Places  laft 
cited.  Now,  (faith  the  learned  Doctor)  in 
his  Note  upon  Luh  xviii.  7.  /  tell  )ou  he  will 
{t-vengethe?n  fpeedily,    '  All  which,  if  (when 

*  it  is  faid  to  approach  and  to  be  at  the  door) 
'it  belonged  to  the  Day  of  Judgment  (now 

*  after  fo  many  hundred  Years  not  yet  come) 

*  what  a  (j.ci-/.pck'ixicc  were  this  ?  What  a  Delay- 

*  ing  of  His  Coming  ?   And  confeqxiently^ 

*  What  anObjedion  againft  the  Truth  of  the 

*  Chriftian  Religion  ?  As  Mahomet^    having- 
*promifed  after  his  Death  he  would  prcfciitly^ 

*  return  to  Life,  and  having  not  performed  his 

*  Promifc  in  a  thoufand  Years,  is  by  us  jiiftly 
.'•condemned  as  an  Impoflor. 

4.  That  this  Place  o^S,  Peter ^  out  of 
which  I  have  taken  my  Text,  doth  not  be- 
long to  the  Endof  the  World,  fufificiently  ap- 
pears (faith  he)  by  the  Purport  of  this 
whole  Epiftic,  which  is  to  arm  them  with 
Conftancy  and  Perfevcrance  till  that  Day 
come,  and  particularly  in  this  Chapter  to 
confute  them  who  objc<5t  againft  the  Truth 
ol  Christ's  Predictions,  and  rcfolvc  itihculd 
not  come  at  all  i  againft  whom  he  here  op- 
pofes  the  Certainty,  the  Speedinefs,  and  the 
Terriblenefs  of  its  Coming.  And  for  that 
other  famous  Place^  ^  Thejf.  i.  S,  9-  that  it       * 

belongs 


3 16  Of  the  Dijfoliition 

belongs  to  the  fame  Period.     See  how  he 
makes  it  out  in  his  Annotations. 

I  SHALL  now  fuperadd  fome  Places  out  of 
the  Old  Teftament,  which  feem  to  fpeak  of 
the  Diffolution  of  the  World,  'Job  xiv.  12.  Man 
lieth  down  and  rifeth  not  till  the  Heavens  be 
no  more,  Pfal.  cii.  5,  6.  quoted  Hebr.  i. 
10,  II.  Of  old  haft  thou  laid  the  Foundations, 
of  the  Earthy  and  the  Heavens  are  the  Works 
of  Thy  Hands.  TheyJIoall  perijjj^  but  Thou  re^ 
mainejii  and  they  all  Jhall  wax  old  as  doth 
a  Garment^  and  as  a  Vefture  Jhalt  Thou  change 
tjjcfn^  and  they  jhall  be  changed^  Ifai.  xxxiv.'4. 
And  all  the  Hoft  of  Heaven  fhall  be  diffohed^- 
and  the  Heavens  JJjall  be  rolled  together  as  a 
Scroll^  and  all  their  Hoft  f}:all  faH  down  as  <t 
Leaffalleth  from  the  Vme^^c,  Ifai.  li.  6.  The 
Heavens  Jhall  vanifh  away  like  Smoke^  and  tke 
Earth  Jhall  wax  old  like  a  Garment  Aotl  ii.3 1, 
The  Sun  fhall  be  turndinto  Darknefs^  and  the 
Moon  into  Bloody  before  that  great  and  terri- 
ble Day  of  the  LoKD  comes,  Malachi  iv.  i.  Be- 
hold the  Day  cometh  that  JIj all  burn  like  an 
Oven^  &c.  Deut.  xxxii.  22.  For  a  Fire  is  kindr- 
kd  in  my  Anger ^  and  fhall  burn  to  the  lowcft 
Hell^  and  fiall  confume  the  Earth  with  her 
Increafe^  and  fet  on  Fire  the  Foundations  of 
the  Mountains.  I  muft  confefs,  that  the  Pro- 
phetick  Books  are  full  of  Figurative  Ex- 
prefifions,  being  written  in  a  Poetick  Style, 
and  according  to  the  Strain  of  the  Oriental 
•      Rhetor ick  5    which  is  much  different  from 

the 


of  the  World.  317 

tlie  European^  affe(5ting  lofty  and  tumid  Me- 
taphors,  and  exceflfivc  Hyperbola's  and  Ag- 
gravations, which  would  either  found  harm 
to  our  Ears,   or  import  a  great  deal  more 
to  us  than  they  did  to  them.     This  is  obvi- 
ous to  any  one  that  reads  their  Books  j  and 
may  clearly  be  demonftrated  from  the  Ti- 
tles that  their  Kings  afllimed  to  themfelves, 
as  well  anciently  as  lately,  viz.  Sons  of  the 
Stm^  Brethren  of  the  Sun  and  Moon^  Part* 
ners  of  the  Stars^  Lions  crowned  in  the  Throne 
of  the  Worldy  endued  with  the  Strength  of  the 
whole  Heaven^  and  Virtue  of  the  Fir?na?nent. 
Now,  we  cannot  pofifibly  imagine  them  fo 
vain,  as  to  think  themfelves  literally  to  be 
fuch :  No  fure,  all  they  meant  by  thcfe  Ex- 
preflions,  was,  that  they  were  great,  and  ho- 
nourable, and  powerful.     Now,  the  Prophe- 
tick  Books  of  the  Old  Teftament  being  writ- 
ten in  a  Style  fomewhat  conformable  to  the 
Oratory  of  thofe  Countries,  are  not  (I  hum- 
bly conceive)  in  every  Tittle  to  be  fo  exadly 
fcanned  and  literally  expounded j  but  fo  to 
be  interpreted,  as  a  Jew  or  an  Afiatick  would 
then  have  underftood  them.     And  this  1,  ra- 
ther think,  becaufe  there  be  divers  Paffages 
in  the  Prophets,  which  cannot  be  verified  in 
aftric^  literal  Senfe;  as  in  the  Place  before 
quoted, //ij.  xxxiv.  9.  it  is  faid  of  the  Streams  of 
lduma:a,  that  they  JJjould  be  turned  into  Pitchl 
and  the  Dtifi  thereof  into  Brunjione ;  and  the 
Land  thereof  JJmdd  become  burning  Pitchy 

and 


5l8  Of  the  Difolution 

and  jloould  not  be  quenched  Night  nor  Day  ? 
but  the  Smoh  thereof  fl:ould  go  up  for  ever. 
And  of  the  City  oF  Tyre  it  is  faid,  Ezeh  xxvi. 
14.  It  fiall  be  built  no  ?nore»  Andver.ig. 
When  I  JJjall  make  thee  a  de folate  City, 
iike  the  Cities  that  are  not  inhabited^  when 
I  fljall  bring  up  the  Deep  upon  thee^  and 
great  Waters  Jhall  cover  thee.  And  Verfe  2 1 . 
which  is  thrice  repeated,  I  will  make  thee 
a  Terror^  and  thou  Jloalt  be  no  more  j  though 
thou  be  fought  for,  thou  fialt  never  be  found 
again,  faith  the  Lord  God.  And  yet  we  fee 
that  the  City  of  Tyre ,  tho'  it  was  indeed 
wholly  dilp copied  at  that  T'ime,  the  Inhabi- 
tants transferring  themfelves  into  Africa, 
when  it  was  beiieged  by  Nebuchadnezzar  ; 
yet  was  it  afterward  peopled  again,  and 
continues  a  City  inhabited  to  this  Day.  And 
oi  Babylon,  it  is  faid,  ihu  there  fhould  none 
remain  in  it,  neither  Man  nor  Beafl,  but  that 
it  jJjould  be  defolate  for  ever,  Jer.  ii.  62.  Ifai. 
xiii.  20.  and  of  the  Land  of  Babylon,  v.  29. 
that  it  JJjould  be  a  Defolation  without  an  In- 
habita?it.  And  though  indeed  this  Prophecy 
.  •  was,  I  think,  as  to  the  City,  ^t  laft  verified  in 
the  Letter;  yet  did  Babylon  \on^  continue  a 
great  City  after  this  Prophecy  :  And  the 
Land  of  Babylon  is  now  inhabited,  there  be^ 
ing  at  this  Day  a  great  City  not  far  from  the 
Place  where  Babylon  ftood.  So  that  thefe 
Places  import  no  more,  than  that  there  fhould 
be  a  very  great  Dcftruwiion  and  Devaftation 

^  of 


of  the  World.  ^ip 


of  thofc  Cities  and  Countries.  As  for  thofe 
Places  in  the  Old  and  New  Teftament^where- 
in  Mention  is  made  of  the  laft  Days  and  the 
laft  Times,  it  is  clear  that  they  are  to  be 
underftood  of  the  Age  of  the  MefTiah,  all 
the  time  from  the  Exhibition  of  the  Meifiali 
to  the  End  of  the  AVorld.  Ifaiah  ii.  i.  And 
it  JJjall  come  to  pafs  i?i  the  laft  Dayi\  that  the 
Mountain  of  the  Lord's  Hotife  Jhall  be  efta- 
blijhed  in  the  Top  of  th<^  Mountain fy  andpMll 
be  exalted  above  the  Hilh^  and  all  Nation^ 
fiall  flow  to  it ;  which  very  Words  we  have 
repeated  Micah  iv.  i .  So  in  that  Prophe- 
cy ofjoel  ii.  28.  quoted  ^^(fif J-  ii.  17.  And  it 
fljall  come  to  fafs  in  the  la'fi  Day:^  faith  G  o  d,  - 
/  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flejh^  &c, 
it  is  clear  the  laft  Days  are  to  be  underftood* 
The  Apoftle  Peter  interpreting  the  Prophe- 
cy^  (jver.  16,)  of  the  Gift  of  Tongues  beftow- 
ed  upon  the  Difciplcs  at  that  time.  Hence 
the  laft  Days  have  among  the  '[}ews  plover-.. 
bially  fignified  the  Days  of  the  Mcfliah,  -as 
Dodor  Hammond  in  his  Annotations  upon 
this  Place  tells  us;  who  alfo  notes,  that  in 
that  Place  of  Joel^  the  laft  Days  do  literally 
lignify  the  laft  Days  of  the  Jews^  immedi- 
ately preceding  their  Deftrudion,  called 
there  the  great  and  terrible  Day  of  the  Lord. 
Sq  Hebr,  i.  2.  by  fV  fV^^.roov  jCiv  vjiuf^wv 
TfcTwv,  in  thefe  laft  Days^  is  meant  the  Days  of 
the  Meilias.  So  i  Pet.  i.  20.  2  Pet,  iii.  3. 
X  Tim,  iv,  I.  2  Tim,  iii.  i.  Mention  is  made 

of 


320  Of  the  hiffolutton 

<)£the  laft  Days  in  thisSenfe.  In  likemanncr^ 
the  End  of  the  World,  (rvvTsXeia,  tQ  a<wi/o<r, 
Hcb.  ix.  2  5.  But  now  once  in  the  End  of  the 
World  hath  He  appeared  to  put  away  Sin  by  the 
Sacrifice  oflrlimfelf.  And  ra.  tsM  t(^v  a/ai>wv,  the 
Ends  of  the  Worlds  in  i  Cor,  x.  ii.  upoti 
whojn  the-  Ends  of  the  World  are  come^  fig- 
nify  the  Age  of  the  MefTias,  though  indeed 
the  former  feems  more  peculiarly  to  denote 
the  Shutting  up  of  the  Jewifi  Age  or  OEco- 
noniy. 


HAP. 


III. 


The  Teflimonies  of  the  Ancient  Fathers 
and  Doctors  of  the  Churchy  concern* 
ing  the  Dijfolution  of  the  World, 

iM  §|^^|^  PROCEED  now  to  what  the 
g,^r -.-  .^-g  Ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church 

ri       «^a  ^^^   Chriftian  Writers  have 
^*«*|2g  delivered  concerning  the  Dif- 
folution  of  the  World. 
That  there  fliould  be  a  Diffolution  of  this 
World,  and  that  it  Ihall  be  by  Fire^  is  fo  cer- 
tain and  clear  among  them,  that  it  would 
be  fuperfluous  to  cite  Particulars  to  prove  it : 
Nay,  fo  general  and  unanimous  is  the  Confent 
of  ail  Chriftians  in  this  Pointy  that,  as  Qr/- 

gen 


of  the  World.  32 1 

gen  obferves  in  his  third  itsp)  '-^PZ^^i  ^nd 
the    learned    Doctor   Hahwill   after  him, 
whereas  there  can  hardly  be  named  any  Ar- 
ticle of  our  Faith,   which  fome  Hereticks 
have  not  prefumed  to  impugn    or  call  in 
Queftion,  yet  not  any  to  be  met  with  who 
queftion  this;  but  herein  all  agree,   being 
compelled  (faith  Origen)  by  the  Authority  of 
the  Scriptures.     As  for  the  Time  of  this  Dif- 
folution,  the  ancient  Chriftians  held  it  to  be 
at  hand,  as  might  eafily  be  proved  by  many, 
Teftimonies,   were  it  not  granted  on   all 
Hands.     And  here  it  may  be  worth  the  ob-^ 
ferving,  that  the  longer  the  World  flood,  the 
farther  oif  generally  have  Chriftians  fet  the 
Day  of  Judgment,  and  End  of  it.     Many  of 
the  Ancients  did  conceive,  that  the  Diflfolu- 
tion  lliould  be  at  the  End  of  fix  thoufand 
Years.    As  for  Example,  'Juftin  Martyr^  m 
^idft,  &  Reff,  ad  Orthodoxos^  if  he  be  the 
Author  of  that  Piece,   where  this  Queftion 
(JVhen  the  End  of  the  World  fljould  he  ?  )  be- 
ing  put,   the  Anfwer  is,   "Evsgi  ^lol  ttoK^^c^'j 
yp:tcf)r/63v  fxocpTvpiCiv^   &c.    JVe  may  rationally 
conjecture  and  conclude  from  many  Scripture 
Exprejfjiom^  that  they  are  in  the  right ^  who  fay 
that  the  World  will  laft  fix  thoufand  Tearr. 
For  in  one  Place  it  faith ^  In  thefe  laft  Days  ; 
and  in  another^  Upon  whom  the  Ends  of  the 
World  are  come  -,  and  in  a  third^  When  the 
Fulnefs  of  Time  was  come.    Now  it  is  e^vi^ 

Y  denty 


321  Of  the  Dijfolution 

dent  that  thefe  things  werefpohn  in  the  fixth 
Millenary. 

Ir E  N  ^ us  ad'V,  haref,  lit.  5.  cap.  ttlto  who 
gathers  fo  much  from  the  Similitude  of  the 
fix  Days  Creation,  after  whieh  fix  Days  was 
the  Sabbath,  that  is,  the  Day  of  Reft ;  Hoc 
autein  (faith  he)  eft  &  frateritorum  nana- 
tio^  &  futuroru?n  prophetia.  Dies  eni?n  unus 
jnille  annos  fignificabat^  ficut  Siriptura  tefta^ 
*2Pet:i\ltur;  *  Mille  anni  ante  Doininum  ficut  Vies 
unus :  ergo  ficut  confmnmatus  fuit  mundus  in 
fui  creatione  intra  fex  dierum  (patium^  &  po^ 
ftea  quies  ;  fie  in  fui  fine  confuminabitur  intra 
fpatium  fex  millium  annorum^  deinde  'vera  & 
perpetua  quies  fubfequetur.  This  is  both  a 
Narration  or  Hiftory  of  what  is  paft^  and  a 
Prophecy  of  Things  to  cojne.  For  one  Day 
fignified  a  thoufand  Tears^  as  the  Scriptures 
teftify^  A  thoufand  Years  in  the  Sight  of  God 
are  but  as  one  Day.  Therefore^  as  the  World 
at  the  firft  Creation  was  confummated  in  the 
Space  of  fix  Days^  and  afterwards  followed  the 
Sabbath  or  Reft;  fo^  in  the  end^  its  Duration 
flmll  he  confummated  within  the  Space  of  Six 
thoufand  Tears  ;  and  then  JJodl  follow  the  true 
and  perpetual  Reft. 

To  thefe  I  might  add  La^lantius^  in  his 
Seventh  Book  of  Inftitut.  cap.  14.  who  ufeth 
the  fame  Argument  with  Iren^us^  Ergo  quo^ 
niam  fex  diebus  cun^ia  Dei  opera  perfet'ta 
funt :  per  fecula  fex^  id  eft^  fex  annorum  mil- 
lia  manere  in  hoc  ftatu  inunditm  neceffe  eft. 

Dies 


of  the  World.  523 

D/Vr  enim  viagnus  Vet  jnille  dnnorujn  circtild 
terininattir^  ficut  indicat  Propheta,  qui  dicit^ 
Ante  oculof  tuos,  Domine^  mille  anni  tanquaitt 
dies  iinm^  &c.    "Therefore^  becdufe  all  the  Works 
of  God  were  perfected  {or  finijjjed)  in  fix  Days^ 
it  is  necejfary  (or  necejfanly  follows)  that  the 
World  JImU  continue  in  this  State  fix  Agcs^ 
that  is  J  Six  thoufand  Tears,    For^  the  great  Day 
of  G  OD  is  terminated  in  a  Circle  of  Six  thou-- 
/and  Tears;    as  the  Prophet  intimates^  who 
faith  J  A  thoujand  Tears  in  Thy  Sight  ^  0  Lordj 
are  but  as  one  Day.    S.  Auguftin^  l.io.de  Ci- 
'vitate  Dei,    S,  Hieronyntus  Conunent.  in  Mich 
cap,  4.     Moft  clear  and  full  to  this  purpofe 
is  Euftath,  in  his  Comment,  in  Hexaeniernn^ 
AoyiZ^oixE^cL  yxp  ^lOLfxemi  tvjv  XwTwv,  See,      We 
reclon  (faith  he)   thdt  the  Creation  fiall  con-- 
tinue  till  the  End  of  the  fiixth  Chiliad^  becaufe 
God  alfo  confimmnated  the  Univerfe  in  fix 
Days ;  and^  I  fuppofe^  that  the  Deity  doth  ac- 
count Days  of  a  thoufand  Tears  long ;  for  that 
it  isfaidj  A  thoufand  Years  are  in  the  Sight 
of  the  Lord  as  one  Day.     Hdwbeit,  the  moft 
of  them  did  not  propofe  this  Opinion  as  an 
undoubted  Truth,  but  only  as  a  modeft  Con- 
jedure*     Arid  S.  Auftin  is  very  angry  with 
them,  who  would    peremptorily   conclude 
from  fo  flight  an  Argumentation. 

This  Conceit  is  already  confuted,  and  the 
World  hath  long  outlafted  this  Term,  accor- 
ding to  their  Comfjutation  who  followed  the 
SeptuUgint  or  Greek  Account,  and  reekoricd 


3^ 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

that  Phaleg  lived  about  the  Three  thovr^ 
fandth  Year  of  the  World,  and  had  his  Name 
from  his  living  in  the  Divifion  of  Time,  there 
being  to  come  after  him  Three  thoufand 
Years,  that  is,  juft  fo  many  as  were  pail  be- 
fore him. 

As  concerning  the  future  Condition  of  the 
World  after  the  Conflagration,  I  find  it  the 
general  and  received  Opinion  of  the  ancient 
Chriftians,  that  this  World  ftiall  not  be  an- 
nihilated or  deftroyed,  but  only  renewed  and 
purified.  So  Eufebiiis^  Ov  xecvTfAcof  Trpoc 
CP^opciv  b  KO(TixoQ  x^P'^^^^y  d,7\Xci  Trpog  OLva." 
KOf^ivKTixov,  The  World  jhall  not  be  wholly  de- 
Jiroyedy  but  renewed.  Divers  other  Pafiages 
I  might  produce  out  of  him  to  the  fame 
purpofe  :^    Cyril  of  Jerufalem^  Catech.  15. 

otToC  i'vcL  v.dCh'kiovciQ  iy£ip^»  He  folds-  up  the 
Heu'venfy  not  that  he  might  deftray  them^ 
but  that  he  might  rear  them  up  again  more 
beautiful    Again,   Cyril  upon   this  Place, 

GlkvCLTOV     ^f     TWV    qOlX^l^V     £VC()VC^C    6v.Q[J.(k'C^Sl    TVJV 

eIq  ik  dfxei'm  ixsra.lio'hviv^  &c.  He  acutely  or  in^ 
genioujly  calU  the  Death  of  the  Elements  their 
Change  i?ito  better.  So  that  this  Renovation 
in  refped  of  the  Creation,  lliall  be  fuch  a 
kind  of  thing  as  the  Refurredion  in  reference 
to  Man's  Body.  OEamieni us ^upon  this  Place, 
He  faith,  new  Heavens^  and  a  new  Earthy  8k 
aTspoLv  ^e  Tyj  C'avj,  yet  not  different  in  Matter, 
And  again,  b'jt  fi;  ^$tftw(r/JLov  olKk'  sk  nd^otpaiv. 

They 


of  the  World.  325* 


Tide)  fljall  not  be  deftroyed   or  annihilated^ 
but  only  renewed  and  purified.    And  upon 
Rev.  xx,i.  2 .    TsTO  «  Tvjv  dvvTrap^iciv  ^vjAwv  Ti^c 
y.Ti(T£(ji^y  tftAA^i  Tov  dva.Kxivi(T(x6v,     This  he  faith, 
«o^  denoting  the  Non-exiftence  of  the  Creation^ 
but  the  Renewing,     In  this  manner  he  ex- 
pounds Pfabn  cii.  5, 6.  and  proceeding,  faith. 
We  ?nay  here  take  Notice^  that  the  Apoftle  doth 
not  ufe   the  Word  ccTfjAOfi/,  as  if  the  Hea- 
ven and  Earth  were  annihilated  and  brought 
to  nothing ;  but  (me Tf/3vj,  they  fajfed  away^  or 
removed^  or  changed  State,    S.  Hierojne  upon 
the  Pfalms,  Ffabn  cii.  faith.  Ex  quo  ofien- 
ditur  perditioneni  ccclorum  non  interitwn  fa- 
nare^ '  fed  ?HUtatione?n  in  ??teUus,    Fro?n  which 
Words    [as  a  Vefture   Ihalt  thou    change 
them]  may  be  fhewn  and  made  out^  that  the 
Diffolution  of  the  Heavens  doth  not  fignify 
their  utter  Deftru&ion  or  Annihilation^  but  on- 
ly their  Change  into  a  better  State,    I  might 
add  abundance  more  Teftimonies^  but  thefe, 
I  tbinjc,  may  fuffice. 


Y  31  Chap 


HAP. 


IV. 


The  Opinions  of  the  Ancient  Heathen  Phi^ 
lofephers^  and  other  Writers  concerning 
the  Dijfolution, 

3 .  ^5^^  T  follows  now  that  I  give  you 
p^x  T  '^^'  an  Account  what  the  ancient 
^^P^.^  Philofophers  and  Sages  among 
^5^5^  the  Heathens  thought  and  deli- 
vered concerning  this  Point.     Two  of  the 
four  principal  Se6ls  of  Philofophers  held  a 
fliture  DilTolution  of  the  World,  'viz.  The 
Epicuream  and  Stokh, 

A  s  for  the  Epicureans^  they  held,  that  as 
the  World  was  at  firft  compofed  by  the  for-^ 
tuitous  Concourfe  of  Atoms,  fo  it  fliould  at 
laft  fall  in  Pieces  again  by  their  fortuitous 
Separation,  as  Lucretius  hath  it,  lib,  5. 

Principio  maria  ac  terras  coelumqtie  tuere] 
Tlorujujjaturam  triplicem^  tria  corpora^  Memmiy 
jTres  [pedes  tain  dijjimiles^  tria  talia  texta 
Una  dies  dabit  cxitio^  7nultdfque  per  annos 
Suftentaxci  met  ?noles  &  machina  vmndi. 

But  now  to  prove  all  this  j  firft  caft  an  Eye^ 
And  look  on  all  below^  on  all  on  high^ 
The  folid  Earthy  the  Seas^  and  arched  Sky  : 
One  fatal  hour  at  laft  miift  ruin  all^ 
T  his  glorious  Fr^me^  that  flood  fo  long^  niuftfall. 

This 


Of  the  Dijfolution.  327 

This  Opinion  of  theirs  is  confonant  enough 
to  their  wild  Principles,  fave  only  in  that 
Point  of  its  Suddennefs,  Una  dies  dabtt  exi~ 
tiOy  &c.  One  day  pall  deftroy  or  male  an  end 
of  it. 

The  Stoich  were  alfo  of  Opinion,  that 
the  World  muft  be  dilfolved,  as  we  may 
learn  from  the  Seventh  Book  of  Laertius^  in 
the  Life  of  ZI?«^,  'Apfo-Kei  §'  avm^^&c.  They 
hold,  that  the  World  is  corruptible  for  thefe 
Reafons  i  i.  Becaufe  it  was  generated,  and 
had  a  Beginning.  2.  Becaufe  That  is  cor- 
ruptible in  the  whole,  whofe  Parts  are  cor- 
ruptible :  But  the  Parts  of  the  World  are 
corruptible,  being  daily  tranfmuted  one  in- 
to another.  3.  That  which  is  capable  of 
Mutation,  from  better  to  worfe,  is  corrup- 
tible. But  fuch  is  the  World ;  fometimes 
being  afflided  with  long  Heats  and  Droughts, 
fometimes  with  continued  Showers  and  In- 
undations. To  thefe  we  may  add,  4.  ac- 
cording to  fonie  of  their  Opinions,  Becaufe 
the  Sun  and  Stars  being  fed  with  Vapours  ex- 
haled from  the  Earthy  all  the  Moifture  will  at  . 
length  be  drawn  out,  and  the  World  fly  on 
fire.  They  were  afraid,  "^  Ne  hinnore  omni*  Minute 
confmnpto  totm  mundm  ignefceret*  The  poet^^^'^* 
Tjucan^  who  feems  to  be  of  the  Stoick  Secft,  in 
the  Beginning  of  his  Firft  Book,  defcribing 
the  Diflblution  of  the  World,  makes  it  no  be 
a  falling  in  Pieces  of  the  whole  frame  of 

Y  ^  Heaven 


3  Z8  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Heaven  and  Earth,  and  a  Jumbling  and  Con* 
founding  of  all  their  Parts  together. 

-— — ^  Sic  cum  cofnpage  folutd 
Secula  tot  mundi  fuprema  coegerit  hora  ; 
Antiquutnrepetent  iteruin  Chaos  omnia  imiftis 
Sydera  fyderibuf  concurrent;  igneaPontu?it 
Aftra  petent^  tellus  extendere  littora  nolet, 
Bxcutietquefretum ;  fratri  contraria  Phoebe 
Jbit^  &  obliquum  higas  agitare  per  orbem 
Indignata  diem  pofcet  fibi ;   totdque  difcors 
Machina  divulfi  turbabit  fccdera  mundi, 

,.  So  when  the  laft  Hour  Jhall 

So  many  Ages  end^  and  this  disjointed^  All 
To  Chaos  bad  return  i  then  all  the  Stars  Jhall  be 
Blended  together  j  then  thofe  burning  Lights 

on  high 
Jn  Sea  jJoall  drench;  Earth  then  her  Shores 

fijall  not  extend^ 
But  to  the  Waives  gi^e  Way  i   the  Moon  her 

Courfe  Jhall   bend 
Crofs  ^  to  her  Brothers^  and  dijdaining  Jlill  to 

drive 
Her  Chariot  Wheel  athwart  the  heavenly  Orb^ 

JJoall  Jirive 
To  rule  the  Day ;  this  Frame  to  Difcord  bent'^ 
The  World's  Peace  Jhall  dijiurb^  and  all  in 

fimder  rent,    , 

This  DilTolution  of  the  World,  they  held, 
fliould  be  by  Water  and  by  Fire  alternately 
at  certain  Periods^  but  efpecially  by  Fire, 

wfeich 


of  the  World,  ^2p 

which  they  call  f  ;tTupcc<r/v.    Thilo^  O/  ^l  Stw/- 

XO^^v  ixc(,y.pciT^'  TEpio^oig  dvciKv^^cciv  ra  ttclv- 
TOL  sh  kcf.-jTov,  The  Stoicks  fay^  that  the 
Caufe  of  the  Dcjlnittion  of  the  World  />  the 
irrejiftible  Force  of  Fire  that  is  in  things ^  which^ 
in  long  Periods  of  Tifne^  confumes  and  dif- 
fohes  alljhings  into  itfelf     Eureb.Prirp.l.15. 

'Ap£(TKSl  i)  TOTC  Tp6(TpyjT(i'T0l?  TWV  CCTTO  TV^C  gLipe" 
(7£0C;^  El,0LE^'6G^Cil    TCLVTCi  KCLTCL  TTEpli^HQ  TlVCig  fXEyi- 

<;oLQ^  eU  TTvp  ai^Epu^Ec  civa'KvoijJv'^v  jukviu^v.  The 
7noft  ancient  of  that  Se6t  held^  That  at  certain 
"vaft  Periods  of  Time  all  things  zvere  rarified 
into  Air^  being  refohed  into  an  Ethereal  Fire, 
This  'E/.Tupcocr/?  of  the  Stoich  we  find  men- 
tioned by  many,  both  Chriftian  and  Heathen 
Writers,  as  befides  the  fore-quoted  Minutius 
FeliXy  Jtijiin  Martyr^  Clemens  Alexandiinus 
in  5 .  Strom.  Plutarch^  Seneca^  and  others.  The 
Time  of  this  Conflagration  Seneca  determines 
not,  but  faith  only,  it  fhall  be  when  God 
pleafes.  3  £ic^ft.  Nat,  cap,  20.  8.  Qm  Deo 
'vifmn^  Vetera  finire^  ordiri  ??ieliora ;  When  it 
floall  feem  good  to  God  to  put  an  End  to  old 
things^  and  to  begin  better.  Some  there  be 
who  tell  us  of  the  Annus  Platonicus  or  Mag- 
nus^ by  which  they  underfland  fuch  a  Period 
of  Time,  as  in  which  all  the  heavenly  Bo- 
dies Ihall  be  reftored  to  the  fame  Site  and  Di- 
ftance  they  were  once  in,  in  refpedt  of  one 
another ;  As  fuppofing  that  all  the  Seven  Pla- 
■  '         "  .         nets 


330  Of  the  Dijfolutlon 

nets  were  at  the  Moment  of  Creation  in  the 
firft  Degree  of  Aries ^  till  they  come  all  to  be 
m  the  fame  Degree  again  ,•   all  that  Space  of 
Time  IS  called  the  Great  Year,  Annus  Ma^r 
nus.    In  this  Year  they  tell  us,  that  the  Height 
of  Summer  is  the  Conflagration,    and  the 
Pepth  of  Winter  the  Inundation  ^  and  fome 
Aftrologers  have  been  fo  vain  as  to  aflign  the 
Time  both  of  the  Inundation  and  Confla- 
gration.   Seneca^  3  Qu^ft.  Nat,  cap.  2  o.  Bero^ 
ft^J.m  Belmn  interfretatus  efl^  dicit^  curfu 
tfiafydemm  fieri ^  &  aded  quidem  affirmat^  ut 
conflagrationi  atque  dilwvio   temfus  afignet. 
Arfura  enim  terrena  conte?tdit^  quando  omnia  fy- 
dera  in  Cancro  convener int:  inundationem  fu- 
turam^  quando  eadem  fyderum  tmba  in  Capri^ 
corno   conveneriu    Berofus,  who  interpreted 
Belus   faith.  That  thofe  things  come  to  pafs 
according  to  the  Courfe  of  the  Stars :  and  he  Jo 
confidently  affirms  it,  that  he  ajjigns  the  Time 
both  for  the  Conflagration  and  Inundation.    For 
that  all  earthly  Bodies  will  be  burnt  up,  when 
all  the  Stars  Jloall  meet  /'//Cancer ;  and\he  In^ 
undation  will  fall  out,  when  the  fame  fiall  be 
m  Conjundion  in  Capricorn,    Concerning  the 
Manner  of  thi§  Conflagration,   they  held  it 
fhould  be  fudden.    Se?tec.  Natura  fubito  ad 
minam,  &  toto  impetu  ruit ;  licet  ad  origine?n. 
farce  utatur  viribus,  difpenfetque  fe  increment 
Us  fallactbuf,    Momento  fit  cinis,  diu  fyha,Scc. 
Nature  doth  fuddenly,  and  with  all  its  Force 
rujlo  on  to  Ruin  ;   though,  to  the  Rife  and  Fori 

mation 


's 


of  the  World.  331 

mation  of  Thing!,  it  ufeth  its  Strength  fpa- 
ringly,  difpenfing  its  Influence,  and  caufing 
them  to  grow  by  infenfible  Degrees;  a  Wood  is 
long  in  growing  up,  but  reduced  to  Afljes  ahnofl 
in  a  Moment,  And  fome  of  them  were  fo 
abfurd  as  to  think,  that  the  Stars  iliould 
juftle  and  be  dallied  one  againft  another. 
Senec.  lib,  de  confolatione  ad  Marciam :  Ciim 
tempus  ad'venerit,  quo  fe  mundus  revocaturus 
extinguat,  ^viribus  ifiafe  fuis  credent ;  &fyde^ 
ra  fyderibus  incurrent ;  &  oinni  flagrante  ma~ 
teria,  uno  igne,  micquid  nunc  ex  difpojito  lu- 
cet,  ardebit.  When  the  Timejhall  come,  that 
the  World,  again  to  reftore  and  renew  itfelf, 
JJjall  perijh,  thefe  things  fiall  batter  and  mall 
themjeHes  by  their  own  Strength,  the  Stars 
Jljall  run  or  fall  foul  upon  one  another,  and  all 
the  Matter  flaming,  whatfoever  now,  according 
to  its  fettled  Order  and  Difpofition,fiines,  Jhall 
then  burn  in  one  Fire,  Here,  by  the  way,  wc 
may,  with  t)r.  More,  \Sou?s  Immortality,  lib,  3 , 
cap,  18.]  take  notice,  how  coarfly,  not  to 
fay    ridiculoufly,    the  Stoich  philofophize, 

*  when  they  are  turned  out  of  their  Road- 
'  way  of  Moral  Sentences,  and  pretend  to 

*  give  an  Account  of  the  Nature  of  Things, 
'  For,  what  Errors  can  be  more  grofs  than 

*  they  entertain  of  God,  of  the  Soul,  and  of 

*  the  Stars?  they  making  the  two  former 
^  corporeal  Subftances,  and  feeding  the  lat- 
'  ter  with  the  Vapours  of  the  Earth  i  affirm- 
l  ing  that  the  Sun  fups  the  Water  of  the 

•  '  "         I  grea? 


352-        ,     Of  the  mjfolution 

'  great  Ocean  to  quench  his  Thirft,  but  that 
^  the  Moon  drinks  off  the  lelTer  Rivers  and 
^  Brooks  i  which  \s  as  true  as  that  the  ACt 
^'  drank  up  the  Moon.  Such  Conceits  are 
^  more  fit  for  Anacreon  in  a  drunken  Fitt  to 
^  ftumble  upon,  who,  to  invite  his  Compa- 
w  nions  to  tipple,  compofed  that  Catch, 

The  Sea  drinh  up  the  Vapour  si 
•     And  the  Sun  the  Sea. 

*  than  to  be  either  found  out  or  owned  by  a 
'  •  ferious  Philofopher.    And  yet  Seneca  migh- 

^  tily  triumphs  in  this  Notion,  of  foddering 
^  the  Stars  with  the  thick  Fogs  of  the  Earth, 

*  and  declares  his  Opinion  with  no  mean 
t  Strains  of  Eloquence,  (^c 

As  for  the  Extent  of  this  Conflagration^ 
they  held,  that-  not  only  the  Heavens  fhould 
be  burnt,    but   that   the  Gods  themfelves 
fhould  not  efcape  Scot-free.    So  Seneca,  Re^ 
foluto  ?nundo^  &  Diis  in  unum  confufu.    When 
the  World  fhall  be  dijjhhed,  and  the  Godt 
confounded  and  blended  together  into  one.  And 
again,  ^r^^^  ojnnes  par  iter  Deos  perdet  nox 
aliqua  &  Chaos.    And^  in  like  manner^  a  certain 
Night  and  Chaos  Jhall  deftroy  all  the  Gods. 
Is  not  this  wife  Philofophy  ?   If  their  Morali- 
ty were  no  better  than  their  Phyficks,  their 
Wtje  Man  they  boaft  of,  might  be  fo  deno- 
minated, mr  oivTi(ppoi<nv^  as  they  of  Gotham. 

But 


of  the  World. 


333 


But  let  us  look  a  little  farther,  and  we 
fhall  find,  that  the  Stokh  were  not  the  firft 
Authors  of  this  Opinion  of  the  Conflagra- 
tion ,'  but  that  it  was  of  far  greater  Antiquity^ 
than  that  Sed,  Others  of  the  more  ancient 
Philofophers  having  entertained  it,  ^viz.  Eni^ 
pedockf,  as  Clemens  Alexandrinm  teftifies  in 
his  5  Strom*  '12?  fVofjifVj^f  ttote  sk  tvjv  th  Trvpot; 
i(sicLv  fjif T^/ioAvjc  •  That  there  JJoall  [orne  tme  be 
a  Change  of  the  World  into  the  Nature  or  Sub- 
fiance  of  Fire,  2.  Heraclitus^  as  tlie  fame 
Clemens  fhews  at^  large  out  of  him  in  the 
fame  place,  oVcoc  3  wxhiv  civcf.'Kci[xfi<kv£JOii  kolI  ea- 
TTvp^ToLiy  &c.  And  Laertiuf^  in  the  Life  of 
HeraclituSy  he  taught,  "Eva  eivai  tov  Koa-fxov^  yfv- 

TidTOL  TivciQ  TTspio^a;  evcLk'Kcd,  rev  (rvfJiTravTCi  a/c3- 
vcL'  That  there  is  but  one  Worlds  and  that  it 
was  generated  out  of  Fir e^  and  again  burnt  up 
or  tur7ied  into  Fire^  at  certain  Periods  alter-* 
nately  throughout  all  Ages.  I  might  add  to 
thefe  the  Ancient  Greek  Poets,  Sophocles  and 
DiphiluSy  as  we  find  them  quoted  by  Juftin 
Martyr^  and  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  Neither 
yet  were  thefe  the  firft  Inventers  and  Broach- 
ers  of  this  Opinion,  but  they  received  it  by 
Tradition  from  their  Forefathers,  and  look'd 
upon  it  as  an  Oracle  and  Decree  of  Fate. 
O^'oid  fpeaks  of  it  as  fuch,  in  the  Firft  of  his 
Meta?nofphofis : 


334  Of  the  hiffotmion 

Ejfe  quoque  in  fath  reminifcitur,  dffore  tempur ' 
Puo  mare  quo  tdlm,  correptdq^rem  cT' 
■drdeat,  &  mundi  moles  operofa  labor et 

/>,/•         .     ^ Befides  liyDoom 

When  ha.  Earth,  raviJh'dHeav\  the  curi. 
ous  rrame  ' 

^^BamT'"'^^'  ^'^y>>o«Wji&r/«y&  in  purging 
* tih. 7.  And  Lucan*i 

Hot  Csfar,  populoffi  nunc  non  ulferit  isnii 
Uret  cum  term,  uret  cum  gmgite  tonti       ' 

^Xru!""""'^"^"^^''"^  "''^"^  "^'''"^  "^fi'" 

If  now  thefe  Bodies  want  their  Fire  and  Urn 

4-uV',f  ^^'^^ol'^^iobethefllfurely  burn; 
Ihefhrld  expels  one  general  Fire:  And  thou 

now'  ^       ^  ^^^  ^""^  ^""^^  "^^  wandring 

Now   though  fome  are  of  Opinion^  that  by 
rata  here  are  to  be  underftood  the  Sibylline 
Oracles,  and  to  thatPurpofe  do  alledee  fome 
Verfes  out  of  thofe  extant  under  that  Title 
as  Laaantms,  in  his  Book  De  ira  Dei,  cap.  23  / 

Kk/ttoti  Thv  dpyiiv  Qih  ixhi  Tpuvmra 
AAA  eisiJ.[if!iUTX,  m',  iicAvovTxrs  yivvM 
mtairw  cyrMm  vtt'  enTfv,<sij.g  Trspkyrx. 

And 


of  the  World.  ^^^^ 

'And  It  JJjali  fome  time  he^  that  God  not  any 
inore  mitigating  Hir  Anger^  but  aggravating 
it^  fljall  deftroy  the  whole  Race  of  Mankind, 
conpming  it  by  a  Conflagration. 

And  in  another  Place  there  is  Mention  made' 
of  a  River  of  Fire  that  fliall  defcend  froni 
Heaven,  and  burn  up  both  Earth  and  Sea. 

Tunc  ardem  fluvius  cdo  ?nanabitab  alto 
Igneuf^  atque  locos  confumet  funditm  omne^l 
Terramque^  Oceanumque  ingentem^  &  carula 

pontiy 
Stagndque^  tumfluvios^  fontes^  Vitemque  fe^ 

verum^ 
Cdeftmque  polmn^  cccli  quoque  lumina  in  u-^ 

num 
Fluxa  ruenty  for?nd  deletd  prorfus  eorum^ 
Aftra  cade?ity  eteni?n  de  calo  cun^ia  revulfa^ 

Then  Jhall  a  burning  Flood  flow  from  the 

Heavens  on  high^ 
And  with  its  fiery  Streams  all  Places  utterly 
Deftroy^  Earthy  Ocean^  Lakes^  Rivers^  Foun^ 

tainsy  Hell^ 
And  heav'nly  Poles^  the  Lights  in  Firmament 

that  dwel\ 
Lofing  their  beauteous  Form  Jljall  be  obfcur''d, 

and  all 
Raughtfro?n  their  Places^  down  from  Heav*A 

to  Earth  fflmll  fall. 

Now 


33^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Now  becaufe  the  Verfes  now  extant  undei' 
the  Name  of  Sibylline  Oracles  are  all  fufpeft- 
ed  to  be  falfe  and  Pfeudepigrapha ;  and  many 
of  them  may  be  demonftrated  to  be  of  no 
greater  Antiquity  than  the  Emperor  Anto- 
ninus Pius  his  Reign  j  and  becaufe  it  cannot 
be  proved,  that  there  was  any  fuch  thing  in 
the  Ancient  genuine  Sibylline  Oracles  ;  1  ra- 
ther think,  (as  1  faid  before)  that  it  was  a 
Dodrine  of  ancient  Tradition,  handed  down 
from  the  firft  Fathers  and  Patriarchs  of  the 
World,  ^ofephus^  in  his  Antiquities^  runs  it 
up  as  high  as  Adatn^  from  whom  Seth  his  Son 
received  itj  his  Father,  faith  he,  foretelling 
him,  ii(^OLVL(j[x.(jv  v2v  oAocv  e(js(j^cfj^  tov  (jJv  vLdT 

That  there  JJjould  be  a  Deftru^iion  of  the  (7- 
ni'verfe^  cnce  by  the  Violence  of  FirCy  and  a- 
gain  by  the  Force  and  Abundance  of  Water  j 
in  Confequ^nce  whereof  he  ereded  two  Pil- 
lars, one  of  Brick,  which  might  endure  the 
Fire,  and  another  of  Stone,  which  would 
refift  the  Watery  and  upon  them  engraved 
his  Aftronomical  Obfervations,  that  fo  they 
might  remain  to  Pofterity :  And  one  of  thefe 
Pillars,  he  faith,  continued  in  Syria  until  his 
Days.  Whether  this  Relation  be  true  or  nor^ 
it  may  be  thence  colleded,  that  this  was  an 
univerfal  Opinion,  received  by  Tradition, 
both  among  Jews  and  Gentiles,  That  the 
World  fiiouid  one  Day  be  confumed  by  Fire. 
It  may  be  proved  by  good  Authority,  that 

the 


of  the  World. 


the  ancient  Gauls^  Chald^anf^  and  Indians-^ 
had  this  Tradition  among  them  ;  which 
they  could  not  receive  from  the  Greel  Phi- 
loibphers  or  Poets,  with  whom  they  had  no 
Intercourfe  j  but  it  muft,  in  all  Probability, 
be  derived  down  to  both  from  the  fame 
Fountain  and  Original  ;  that  is,  from  the 
firft  Reftorers  of  Mankind,  Noah^  and  his 
Sons. 

I  N  o  w  proceed  to  the  Third  Particular 
propofed  in  the  Beginning  ,•  that  is,  to  give 
Anfwcr  to  the  fcveral  Qucftions  concerning 
the  Dilfolution  of  the  World. 


337 


Ch 


A  P. 


Chap,    V. 

The  fir  ft  Quejiion  concerning  the  World  s 
Diffolution^  Whether  there  he  any  thing 
in  Nature  that  way  probably  cauje 
or  argue  a  future  Diffolution  ?  Three 
probable  M^ans  propounded  and  dif- 
cuffed, 

S   E   C  T»      I. 

The  Waters  again  naturally  o'verfloWing  and 
covering  the  Earth* 

^^mUE  firft  Queflion  is.  Whether 
^&  rp  PSS?  ^here  be  any  thing  in  Nature, 
^^^j^^  which  may  prove  and  demon* 
§^^5^  (Irate,  or  probably  argue  and  in- 
ferr  a  future  Diffolution  ?  To  which  I  an- 
fwer.  That  I  think  there  is  nothing  in  Na- 
ture which  doth  necelfarily  demonftrate  a  fu- 
ture Diffolution :  But  that  Pofition  of  the 
Peripatetick  Schools  may,  for  ought  I  know^ 
be  true  Philofophyj  Pofito  ordinario  Dei  con^ 
curfu  mundm  pojjet  durare  in  teternmn,  Sup^ 
pofing  the  ordinary  Concourfe  of  God  [with  fe- 
cond  Caufes]  the  World  might  endure  for  e- 
yer.  But  though  a  future  Diffolution  by 
'Natural  Caufes,  be  not  demgnftrablcj   yet 

£ame 


of  the  World.  55^^ 

fome  polTible,  \^  iiot  probable.  Accidents 
there  are,  which,  if  they  fhould  happen, 
might  inferr  fuch  a  Diflblution.  Thofe  are 
Four :  The  Pofifibility  of 

1 .  T  H  E  Waters  again  overflowing  and  co-' 
yering  the  Earth. 

2.  The  Extin(5tion  of  the  Sun. 

3 .  T  H  E  Eruption  of  the  Central  Fire  en- 
clofed  in  the  Earth. 

4.  The  Drinefs  and  Inflammability  of 
the  Earth  under  the  Torrid  Zone,  and  the 
Eruption  of  all  the  Vulcand's  at  once. 

But  before  I  treat  of  thefe,  it  will  not  be 
amifs,  a  little  to  confider  the  old  Argument 
for  the  World's  Diffolution,  and  that  is,  its  . 
daily  Gonfenefcence  and  Decay ;  which,  if  it 
can  be  proved,  will  in  Procefs  of  time  riecef- 
(arily  inferr  a  DifTolution.    For  as  the  Apbftle, 
faith  in  another  Cafe,  That  which  decayeth  and 
waxeih  old  is  riady  to  'vanijh  away^  Heb;  viii; 
13.  That  which  continually  waftes,  will  at  laft 
be  quite  confumed  j  that  which  daily  grows 
weaker  and  weaker,  will  in  time  lofe  all  its 
ForcCi .  So  the  Age,  and  Stature,  and  Strength 
of  Man^  and  all  other  Animals,  every  Gene« 
ration  decreafing^  they  will  in  the  End  come 
to  nothingi    And  that  all  thefe  and  all  other 
things  do  fucceflively  diminifh  and  decay  iri 
all  Natural  Perfedions  and  Qualities,  as  well 
as  Moral,  hatfa  been  the  received  Opitliori^ 
not  only  of  the  Vulgar.^  but  even  of  Philofo- 
phers  themfelves  from  Aiitiquity  down  to  duf 

1;  t  Timesi 


340  Of  the  Diffolution 

Times.  Plht,  Nat.  Hift,  L  7.  c,  16,  In  plenum 
autem  cun6to  mortalmm  gcneri  minorevi  indies 
inenfuram  ftatu rd  p ropemoduin  obfervatur  :  ra- 
rofque  patrihus  proceriores  conftimente  uher^ 
tatem  [ejninum  exujlione ;  in  cujm  ^ices  nunc 
vergat  ^e'^um.  In  jum  i  It  is  obferved^  that 
the  Meafure  of  the  Stature  of  all  Manlind  de^ 
creafes  and  grows  lefs  daily :  And  ihat  there 
are  few  taller  than  their  Parents  j  the  Burning 
(to  which  the  Age  inclines)  confiming  the 
Luxury  of  the  Seeds, 

Terra  inalos  hoitiines  nunc  educat  atquefufillos. 

Juvenal  Sat. 

•  The  Earth  now  breeds  Men  bad  and  [mail. 

And GelliuSy  No&,Att.  lib,  3.  c.  10.  Et  nunc 
quafi  jam  mundo  fenefcente  rerum  atque  ho7ni~ 
num  decrementa  funt.  And  noWj  as  if  the 
World  Waxed  old^  there  is  a  Decrement  or  De- 
cay both  of  Things  and  Men,  I  might  accu- 
mulate Places  out  of  the  Ancients  and  Mo- 
derns to  this  Purpofe,  but  that  hath  been  al- 
ready done  by  others. 

But  this  Opinion,  how  general  focver  it 
was  formerly,  was  inconfiderately,  and  with- 
out fufficient  Ground,  taken  up  at  tirft  ;  and 
afterwards  without  due  Examination  embra- 
ced and  followed,  as  appears  by  Dr.  Hah- 
will's  Apology^  wherein  it  is  fo  fundamentally 
confuted,  that  it  hath  fince  been  rejed:ed  by 
all  confiderate  Perfons.    For  that  Author  hath 

at 


of  the  V/orld.  341 


at  large  demonftrated,  that  neither  the  pre- 
tended Decay  of  the  Heavenly  Bodies  in  re- 
gard of  Motion,  Light,  Heat,  or  Influence, 
or  of  any  of  the  Elements ,-  neither  the  pre- 
tended Decay  of  Animals,  and  particularly 
and  efpecially  of  Mankind,  in  regard  of  Age 
and  Duration,  of  Strength  and  Stature,  of 
Arts  and  Wits,  of  Manners  and  Converfa- 
tion,  do  necerfarily  inferr  any  Decay  in  the 
World,  or  any  Tendency  to  a  Diilolution. 
For  tho'  there  be  at  Times  great  Changes  of 
Weather,  as  long  continuing  Droughts,  and 
no  lefs  lading  Rains,-   excelfive  Floods  and 
Inundations  of  the  Sea ;  prodigious  Tempefts 
and  Storms  of  Thunder,  Lightning  and  Hail  y 
which  feem  to  threaten  the  Ruin  oFthe  World, 
violent  and  raging  Winds,  Spouts  and  Hurri- 
canes, which  turn  up  the  Sea  to  the  very 
Bottom,  and  fpread  it  over  the  Land  -,  formida- 
ble and  deftrudive  Earthquakes,  and  furious 
Eruptions  oiViikano^s  or  Burning  Mountains, 
which  wafte  the  Country  fir  and  wide,  over- 
whelming or  fubverting  great  Cities,  and 
burying  their  Inhabitants  in  their  Ruins,  or  as 
the  Scripture  fpeaks,  Making  cfa  City  a  Heap^ 
ofadefenced  City  a  Ruin,    Though  thefe  and 
many  other  Changes  do  frequently  happen, 
at  uncertain  Seafons  as  to  us,  yet  are  they  fo 
ordered  by  the  wife  Providence  of  the  Al- 
mighty   Creator    and   Governour    of   the 
World,  as  nearly  to  balance  one  another, 

Z  3  and 


34^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

and  to  keep  all  things  in  an  jEquilibrium ;  To" 
riiat  as  It  IS  faid  of  the  Sea,  that  what  it 
gams  in  one  Place,  it  lofes  in  another^  it  may 
be  faid  proportioaably  of  the  other  Elements 
^d  Meteors  J  That,  for  Example,  a  long 
Drought  in  one  Place  is  compenfated  proba- 
bly at  the  fame  time  by  as  long  a  Rain  in 
another  ,•  and  at  another  time,  the  Sctr;^^ 
bemg  changed,  by  as  durable  a  Drought  in 
this,  as  lafting  a  Rain  in  that.  The  fame 
may  be  faid  of  violent  and  continuing  Heats 
and  Colds  in  feveral  Places,  that  they  have 
the  like  Viciifitudes  and  Changes,  whereby  in 
the  whole  they  fo  balance  and  counterpoife 
one  another,  that  neither  prevails  over  other 
but  continue  and  carry  on  the  World  as  furely 
and  fteddily,  as  if  there  were  no  fuch  Con- 
trarieties and  Fights,  no  fuch  Tumults  and 
Commotions  among  them.  The  only  Ob- 
jedion  againft  this  Opinion,  is  the  Longevity 
of  iht  Antedilwvian  Patriarchs,  and  of  fome 
alfo  (I  mean  the  firft)  of  the  Poftdilwvian. 
For  immediately  after  the  Flood,  the  Age  of 
Man  did  gradually  decreafe  every  Genera- 
tion in  great  Proportions  j  fothat  had  it  con- 
tinued lo  to  do  at  that  Rate,  the  Life  of  Man' 
had  foon  come  to  nothing.  Why  it  Ihould 
at  ufk  f  ttle  atThreefcore  and  ten  Years,  as 
ameanT^rmi  and  there  continue  fo  many 
Ages,  without  any  farther  Ciiange  and  Di- 
minution,  is,  I  confefs,  a  Myftery  too  hard 
tor  me  to  reveal :  However,  there  muft  be 

a  great 


of  the  World.  343 


> 


a  great  and  extraordinary  Change  at  the 
Time  of  the  Flood,  either  in  the  Tempera- 
ture of  the  Air,  or  Quality  of  the  Flood,  or 
in  the  Temper  and  Conftitution  of  the  Bo- 
dy of  Man,  which  induced  this  Decrement 
of  Age.    That  the  Temper  and  Conftitution 
of  the  Bodies  of  the  Antediluvianf  was  more 
firm  and  durable  than  that  of  their  Pofterity 
after  the  Flood :   And  that  this  Change  of 
Term  of  Life  was  not  wholly  to  be  attri- 
buted to  Miracle,  may  both  be  demonftra- 
ted  from  the  gradual  Decreafe  of  the  Age  of 
the  Pofldiluvians,    For  had  it  been  miracu- 
lous, why  Ihould  not  the  Age  of  the  very 
firft  Generation  after  the  Flood  have  been 
reduced  to  that  Term  ?   And  what  Account 
can  we  give  of  their  holding  out  for  fome 
Generations  againft  the  Inconveniencies  of 
the  Air,    or  Deteriority  of  Diet,  but  the 
Strength  and  Firmnefs  of  their  Conftitutions  ? 
which  yet  was  originally  owing  to  the  Tem- 
perature of  the  Air,  or  Quality  of  their  Di- 
et, or  both ;   feeing  a  Change  in  thefe  (for 
there    was    no    other    vifible  Caufe)    did 
by  Degrees  prevail  againft,  and  impair  it. 
What  Influence  the  lying  fo  long  of  the  Wa- 
ter  upon  the  Earth  might  have  upon  the 
Air  and  Earth,  in  changing  them  for  the 
worfe,  and  rendring  them  more  unfit  for  the 
Maintenance  and  Continuance  of  Humane 
Life,  I  will  not  now  difputc.     But  whatever 
might  be  tht  Caufe  of  the  Longxvity  of  the  . 

Z  4  AnU'  ' 


3  44  ^f  ^^^  Dijfohition 

Antediltmam-^  and  the  Contraaing  of  the 
Age  of  the  Poftdiltmam^  it  is  manifeft,  that 
the  Age  of  thefe  did  at  the  laft  fettle,  as  I 
(Iiid,  at  or  about  the  Term  of  Threefcore 
and  ten,  and  hath  there  continued  for  Three 
thoufand  Years  without  any  Diminution. 

I  PROCEED  now  to  the  Accidents  which 
might  poflfibly,  in  Procefs  of  Time,  inferr  a 
Diflblution  of  the  World. 

I.  T  H  E  PoiTibility  of  the  Water,  in  Procefs 
of  Time,  again  overflowing  and  covering  of 
the  Earth. 

For,  firft  of  all,   the  Rains   continually 
wafhing  down  and  carrying  away  Earth  from 
the  Mountains,  it  is  neceifary,  that  as  well 
the  Height  as  the  Bulk  of  them  that  are  not 
wholly  rocky,  ihould  anfwerably  decreafe ; 
and  that  they  do  fo,  is  evident  in  Experience. 
For,  as  I  have  elfewhere  noted,  I  have  been 
ihformed  by  a  Gentleman  of  good  Credit, 
that  whereas  the  Steeple  of  Craich^  in  the 
Peai  of  DerbyJJoire^  in  the  Memory  of  fome 
old  Men  then  living  [1672.]  could  not  have 
been  feen  from  a  certain  Hill  lying  between 
Hoptonmd.JVirkfworthj  now  not  only  the 
Steeple,  but  a  great  Part  of  the  Body  of  the 
Church  may  from  thence  be  feen^    which 
comes  to  pafs  by  the  Sinking  of  a  Hill  be- 
tween the  Church  and  the  Place  of  View  : 
A  parallel  Example  .whereto   the    learned 
Dr.  Plot  gives  us,  in  a  Hill  between  Sibbertoft 
•  and  Halleby  in  Northamptonfiire^  Uift-  Nat. 

Stafford^ 


of  the  TVorld.  54^5; 


Stafford,  p,  113.  And  thus  will  they  conti- 
nue to  do  (o  long  as  there  falls  any  Rains, 
and  as  they  retain  any  Declivity,  that  is,  till 
they  be  leveled  with  the  Plains. 

I N  Confirmation  of  this  Particular,  I  have 
received  from  my  ingenious  Friend  Mr, Ed^ 
ward  Lhuyd^  fome  notable  Obfervations  of 
his  own  making  concerning  the  Mountains 
of  JVakf ;  which  do  demonftrate  that  no^ 
only  the  loofer  and  the  lighter  Parts  of  the 
Mountains,  as  Earth,  Sand,  Gravel,  and 
fmall  Stones,  may  be  wallied  down  by  the 
Rains:  But  the  moft  folid  and  bulky  Rocks 
themfelves,  by  the  violent  Dcfccnt  of  the 
Waters  down  tlieir  Chinks  and  Precipices, 
be  in  time  undermined  and  fubvertcd.  Take 
them  in  his  own  Words  : 

'Upon  the  reading  of  your  Difcourfeof 
the  Rains  continually  waJliing  away,  and 
carrying  down  Earth  from  the  Mountains, 
I  was  put  in  mind  of  fomething  pertinent 
thereto,  which  I  haveoblerved  in  the  Moun- 
tains of  CaernarvonJJjire^  viz. 
I .  First,  '  That  generally  the  higher  the 
Hills  are,  the  more  fleep  are  their  Preci- 
pices and  Declivities,  (  I  except  the  Sea 
Rocks)  thusMoely  Wydhrha^  y  Grtb  gStch^ 
and  twenty  others  that  might  be  named, 
reputed  the  higheft  Hills  in  Wales^  have  the 
fteepeft  Rocks  of  any  Mountains  I  have 
feen  ^  and  that  not  only  in  their  higheft 
Cliffs    but  alfo  ia  moft  of  their  other  Crags, 

'  till 


'54^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

till  you  defcend  to  the  lower  Valleys :  This 
I  can  afcribe  to  nothing  clfe  but  the  Rains 
and  Snow  which  fall  on  thofe  high  Moun- 
tains, I  think,  in  ten  times  the  Quantity 
they  do  on  the  lower  Hills  and  Valleys. 
2.  ^  I  HAVE  obferved  a  confiderable  Quan- 
tity of  the  Chips  or  Parings  (if  I  may  fo 
call  them)  of  thefe  Cliffs  to  lie  in  vaft 
Heaps  at  the  Roots  of  them  j .  and  thefe 
are  of  feveral  Sorts  and  Materials  ^  being 
in  fome  Places  covered  with  Grafs,  and  in 
others  as  bare  as  the  Sea  Shore :  And  thofe 
bare  Places  do  confift  fometimes  of  Gra- 
vel, and  an  innumerable  Number  of  Rock 
Fragments,  from  a  Pound  Weight  to  twen- 
ty, dye,  and  are  fometimes  compofed  of 
huge  Stones,  from  an  hundred  Pound 
Weight  to  feveral  Tuns. 
3. '  In  the  Valleys  o^Lhanberys  and  Nant-^ 
fhrancon^  the  People  find  it  neceffary  to 
rid  their  Grounds  often  of  the  Stones 
which  the  Mountain  Floods  bring  down  ,- 
and  yet  notwithftanding  this  Care,  they  of- 
ten lofe  confiderable  Parcels  of  Land. 
4.  *  I  AFFIRM,  That  by  this  means  not 
only  fuch  Mountains  as  conCfl  of  much 
Earth  and  fmall  Stones,  or  of  fofter  Rocks, 
and  fuch  as  are  more  eafily  diffoluble,  are 
thus  wafled,  but  alfo  the  hardefl  Rocks  in 
Wales  J  and  they  feem  to  be  as  weighty,. 
and  of  as  firm  and  clofe  a  Texture  as  Mar- 
ble itfelf.    It  happen  d  in  the  Valley  of 

I  Nant^ 


of  the  World.  347 

Nant-Phrancon^  Anno  1685.  that  Part  of 
a  Rock  of  one  of  the  impendent  Cliffs, 
caird  yr  Hyfvae^  became  fo  undermined, 
(doubtlefs  by  the  continual  Rains  and  fub- 
terraneous  Veins  of  Water  occafioned  by 
them)  that  lofing  its  Hold  it  fell  down  in 
feveral  Pieces,  and  in  its  PafTage  down  a 
fteep  and  craggy  Cliff,  diflodged  thoufands 
of  other  Stones,  whereof  many  were  in- 
tercepted e'er  they  came  down  to  the  Val- 
ley, but  as  much  came  down  as  ruin'd  a 
fmall  Piece  of  Ground  j  and  feveral  Stones 
were  fcatter'd  at  leaft  200  Yards  afunder. 
In  this  Accident  one  great  Stone,  the  big- 
geft  remaining  Piece  of  the  broken  Rock,' 
made  fuch  a  Trench  in  its  Defcent,  as  the 
fmall  Mountain  Rills  commonly  run  in  5 
and  when   it  came  down  to  the   plain 
Ground,  it  continued  its  PafTage  through 
a  fmall  Meadow,  and  a  confiderable  Brook, 
and  lodged  itfelf  on  the  other  fide   it. 
From  hence  I  gather,  that  all  the  other  vaft 
Stones  that  lie  in  our  mountanous  Val- 
leys, have  by  fuch  Accidents  as  this  fallen 
down.    Unlets  perhaps  we  may  do  better 
to  referr  the  greateft  Part  of  them  to  the 
univerfal  Deluge.    For  confidering  there 
are  feme  thoufands  of  them  in  thefe  two 
Valleys   [of  Lhanherys  and  Nant-Phran- 
con~\  whereof  (for  what  I  can  learn)  there 
are  but  two  or  three  that  have  fallen  in  the 
Memory  of  any  Man  now  living  ;   in  the 

'  ordina- 


348  Of  the  Dijfohition 

^  ordinary  Courfe  of  Nature  we  fhall  be' 
^  compelled  to  allow  the  reft  many  thou- 
'  fands  of  Years  more  than  the  Age  of  the 
'  World."    So  far  Mr.  Lhuyd, 

T  o  this  laft  Particular,  and  for  a  fartner 
Account  of  it,  may  be  added,  That  fometimes 
there  happen  ftrange  and  violent  Storms  and 
Hurricanes,  wherein  the  Rain  is  driven  with 
that  Force  upon  the  Tops  and  Sides  of  the 
Mountains  by  furious  and  tempeftuousWinds, 
as  to  do  more  Execution  upon  them  by  break- 
ing in  Pieces,  tearing  and  throwing  down 
Rocks  and  Stones,  in  a  few  Days,  than  in  the 
ordinary  Courle  of  Naturc,by  the  ufual  Wea- 
ther is  efiPcded  in  many  hundred  Years. 

2.  By  reafon  of  the  Abundance  of  Earth 
thus  walhed  off  the  Mountains  by  Shots  of 
Rain,  and  carried  down  with  the  Floods  to 
the  Sea ;  about  the  Out-lets  of  the  Rivers, 
where  the  violent  Motion  of  the  Water  cea- 
fes,  fettling  to  the  Bottom,  and  raifing  it  up 
by  Degrees  above  the  Surface  of  the  Water, 
the  Land  continually  gains  upon,  and  drives 
back  the  Sea  :  The  Egyptian  Pharof^  or  Light- 
Houfe,  of  old  Time  flood  m  an  Ifland  a  good 
Diftance  from  Land,  which  is  now  joined  to 
the  Continent,  the  interjacent  Fretwn  having 
been  filled  up  by  the  Silt  brought  down  by 
the  River  Nilus  in  the  Time  of  the  Flood 
fubfiding  there.  Indeed,  the  ancient  Hifto- 
'  rians  do  truly  make  the  whole  Land  of  £- 
gypt  to  have  been  ^wpov  ttotoliih^  the  Gift  of 

the 


of  the  World.  54^ 


the  Rher^  and  by  this  means  gained  from 
the  Sea.    Seneca^   in  the  Sixth  13ook  of  his 
Nat.  Qiieft.  chap.  26.    gives   this  Account, 
yEgyptns  ex  limo  tota  concrevit.  Tantum  enhti 
(fi  Homero  fide!:)  aberat  a  contine?iti  Pharor^ 
quantum  navh  diurno  curfu  vietiri  flenis  lata 
velis  poteft.     Sed  continenti  admota  eft.     Tiir^ 
bidus   enim   defluem  Nilm^    multumque  fe- 
cum  limum  trahem^  &  eum  fubinde  apponcm 
prioribus  terrify  JEgyptu?n  annuo  increjnento 
femper  ultra  tulit.     Inde  pinguh  Q;  I'unofi  foli 
eft^  nee  ulla  intewnlla  in  fe  habet ;  fed  cre- 
"vit  in  folidum  arefcente  limo^  quo  preffa  erat 
&  cedens  ftrudura^  &c.   tliat  is,  all  Egypt  is 
hut  a  Concretion  of  Mud.    For   (if  Homer 
jnay  be  believed)    the  Pharos  was  as  far  di- 
ftajit  fro?n  the  Continent^  as  a  Ship  with  full 
Sail  could  run  in  a  Day's  time :   but  now  it  is 
joined  to  it.     For  Niius  flowing  with  troubled 
Waters  brings  down  a  great  deal  of  Mud  and 
Silt^  and  adding  it  to  the  old  Land ^  carries 
on  Egypt  farther  and  farther  ftill  by  an  annu- 
al Increafe.    Hence  it  /V  of  a  fat  and  muddy 
Soil^  and  hath  no  Fores  or  Cavities  in  it.    And 
this  Reafon  he  gives  why  it  is  not  troubled  with 
Earthquakes.    Which  alfo  may  be  the  Rea- 
fon why  it  hath  no  frelli  Springs  and  Foun- 
tains :   For  though  indeed  Dr.  Kobinfon  doth 
very  probably  impute  its  Want  of  Rain  and 
Springs  to  the  Want  of  Mountains  ;  yet  be- 
caufe  (as  we  fhall  afterwards  prove)  Springs 
may  he  derived  from  Mountains  at  a  good 

Diftance. 


3  5*0  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Diftance,  I  know  not  whether  all  Mountains 
are  fo  far  remote  from  Egypt^  as  that  there 
may  be  no  fubterraneous  Channels  of  that 
Length,  as  to  derive  the  Water  even  thither 
from  them ;  and,  therefore,  probably  one 
Reafon  of  their  Wanting  of  Springs  may  be 
the  Denfity  and  Thicknefs  of  the  Soil,  where- 
by it  becomes  impenetrable  to  the  Water ; 
and  it  may  be,  mould  they  ufe  the  fame 
Artifices  there,  which  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Lower  Auftria^  and  of  the  Territory  of 
Modena  and  Bologna  in  Italy  do,  that  is,  dig 
and  bore  quite  through  this  Coat  of  Mud 
till  they  come  to  a  Sand,  or  loofer  Earth  j 
they  might,  in  like  manner^  procure  thcm- 
felves  Fountains  of  fpringing  Water.  Thus, 
by  Reafon  of  the  great  RiverSj  ?<?,  Athefis^ 
Brenta^  and  others,  which  empty  themfelves 
into  the  Lagune^  or  Shallows  about  Ve^ 
-nice  in  Italy^  and  in  Times  of  Floods  bring 
down  thither  great  (lore  of  Earth  -,  thofe  La- 
gum  are  in  danger  to  be  in  time  atterrated* 
and  with  the  City  fituate  in  the  midft  of 
them,  added  to  the  firm  Land,  they  being 
already  bare  at  every  Ebb,  only  Channels 
maintain'd  from  all  the  neighbouring  Pla- 
ces to  the  City,  not  without  confiderable 
Charge  to  the  State  in  Engines  and  Labour* 
crs  in  fome  Places  to  clear  them  of  the  Mud, 
wherewith  otherwife  they  would  indanger 
to  be  obftru^ed  and  choaked  up  ,•  which 
Engines  they  call  Cava-fango's.    Thus  in  the 

Camarg^ 


of  the  World.  5  5*  I 

Camarg^  or  Ifle  that  the  River  Rhofne  makes 
near  Aries  in  Pro'vence^  there  hath  been  fo 
much  lately  gained  from  the  Sea,  that  the 
Watch-Tower  had,  in  the  Memory  of  fomc 
Men  living  1665,  been  removed  forward 
three  times,  as  we  were  there  informed; 
which  I  have  already  entred  in  this  Work*' 
And  it  feems  to  me  probable,  that  the  whole 
LoW'Countryf  were  thus  gained  firom  the 
Sea  :  For,  Varenim  in  his  Geography  tells 
us,  *  That  finking  a  Well  at  Amfterdajny  at 

*  near  a  hundred  Foot  depth,  they  met  witb 

*  a  Bed  or  Floor  of  Sand  and  Cockle-Shells  ; 
'  whence  it  is  evident,  one  would  think,  that 

*  of  Old  Time  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  lay  fo 

*  deep,  and  that  that  hundred  Foot  Thicknef* 

*  of  Earth  above  the  Sand  arofe  from  the  Se- 
'  diments  of  the  Waters  of  thofe  great  Rivers, 

*  the  Rhine^  Scheldt  Maef^  &c.  which  there* 

*  abouts  emptied  themfelves  into  the  Sea,  and, 

*  in  Times  of  Floods,  brought  down  with 

*  them  abundance  of  Earth  from  the  upper 

*  Grounds. "  The  fame  Original,  doubtiefs, 
had  that  great  Level  of  the  Fens,  running 
through  the  Ifle  of  E/y,  Holland  in  Lincoln- 
Jhire^  and  Marjhland  in  Norfolk  That  there 
hath  been  no  fmall  Quantity  of  Earth  thus 
brought  down,  appears  alfo  in  that  along  the 
Channels  of  moft  great  Rivers,-  as  for  Ex- 
ample, the  Thames  and  Trent  in  England^ 
efpecially  near  their  Mouths  or  Out-lets, 
between  the  Mountains  and  higher  Grounds 

on 


3S'2.  Of  the  Dijfolution 

on  each  Side,  there  are  large  Levels  and 
Plains,  which  ieem  to  have  been  originally 
Part  of  the  Sea,  raifed  up,  and  atterrated  by 
Earth  and  Silt  brovight  down  by  thofe  Ri- 
vers in  great  Floods. 

Straho^  in  the  Firft  Book  of  his  Geography, 
hath  much  to  this  purpofe :  'H  yci^  Ter'^%^0"'^ 

TTsfl  (XUm  (TVvlqOLTCLl  TCi  i^O^OlTCL  TWV  TTOT^f^WV  ' 
Oiov  TTSpl  IXEV  1CL  T8  ''l?'/;^  TCL  'hSyi[J.eVCL  SrvJOi^,   JtiJC/ 

v\  SjtuO/oov  spViiiicL '   Trepi  'J  tcl  ih  <I)i(r;^oc  v\  KoA- 

,     JtV]  H(TCL  •     TTsfl   3  TCV  QeplXO^OVTCi  KCil  TOV  'IpiV  OAl^ 

>)  Geixi(TKvpcij.To  Twv  'AiJ-oi^ov'jCV  Trehcv^  kcu  tj^c 
S/^uvi^c  TO  ttAeov.     Outgo  i;)  koCi  stti  twv  f^AAwv, 

CtTT^VTf ^  7'^p  IXllxSyTdl  TOV  Nf/AOV,  £^V)Xf /p^l/'Tf^'  TCV 
TT^  CXUTWV  X0C5'V,  0/  jUlfV  (J.GLKXOV^  ot  ^'  ^TTOV  * 
^TTOV  |V.£V  0/  fXV)^  TTCAA'^V  TS  HO.}  ^cihoLiioyeiov  x^" 
pav  sTriovTes  tcli  x^'l^-^Ph^  ^f;^cV^£Vo/  ttgKK^;  ' 
cov  igi  KCil  b  Hvpdfxo?^  b  t/\   KiXmici  ttoXv  {jJpo^ 

TT^ahi;  •   f  4*'  8  V^Cl}  'hOyiOV  BKTTETTTijivJ  Ti  TOlbTOVy 
'E(T(TSTCil  iaCTOlklvDlQ   0T6  HvfOillCC  EV pVc'^ i'vVlC 

'Hi  ova  'TtQ^xi^v  isp^v  fV  Kv7r(^y  h'/frc/ii* 

And  after  a  while,  he  adds,  Outw  y.b  h 
iv^ex^Tdi  7r(^(TX^(T^vivcii  to  TsMycs  7ra.v  dTO  twv 
tt;y^(XAwv  ap^^Xjuifvov,  i^v  (twex^^^  ^'%y  "^^^  f'jt  twv 
TTOTC-iJMv  iyrippvasig.  That  is.  For  this  Landing 
Up  and  Alteration  of  the  Skirts  of  the  Sea^  isjcr 
the  mojl  part^  about  the  Mouths  of  Ri'vers^  as 
about  the  Out-lets  of  Ifter,  the  Places  'called 
2T;iO>),  and  the  Deferts  of  Scythia, ;  about  thofe 
of  Phafis^  the  Sea-coaji  of  Colchis,  which  is 

fandy^ 


of  the  World.  55*5 

fcindy^and  loW;^andfofti   about  Thermodon 
and  Iris,  all  Thcmifcyra,    the  Plain  of  the 
Amazons,  and  the  moft  Part  c>/Sidene.    And 
the  like  ?nay  be  [aid  of  other   Rivers.    For 
all  of  thejn  i?nitate  the  Nile,  adding  to  the_ 
Continent  or  Main  Land  the  Part  lying  before 
their  Mouths^  fojne  7?torejfo??ie  lef  j    thofe  lefy^ 
that  bring  not  down  jnuch  Mud  ^    and  thofe 
more^  that  run  a  great  way  over  Joft  and  loofe 
Ground^  and  receive  many  Torrents :    Of  which 
Kind  is  the  River  Py ramus,  which  hath  ad^ 
ded  a  great  Part  of  its  Land  to  Cilicia.    Con- 
cerning which  there  is  an  Oracle  come  abroad^ 
ijnporting^  That  there  will  a  Tiine  come  in 
future  Ages^  when  the  River  Pyramus  JJjall 
carry  on  the  Shore  and  Land  up  the  Sea  as  far 
as  Cyprus.  .....*.     So  it  might  in  Time 

happen^  that  the  whole  Sea  JJjould  gradually 
be  landed  up^  beginning  from  the  Shores^  if 
the  Effufions  of  the  River s^  that  is,  the  Earth 
and  Mud  they  bring  down^  did  fpread  fo  wide 
as  to  be  continuous.  Thus  far  Strabo,  But 
the  Oracle  he  mentions,  prediding  the  Car- 
rying on  and  Continuation  of  Cilicia  as  far 
as  Cyprus^  and  the  joining  that  Kland  to  the 
Continent,  proves  falle  i  there  having  not 
been  as  yet,  that  we  hear  or  read  of,  any 
coniiderable  Advance  made  towards  it,  in 
almoft  2000  Years. 

N  o  w,  the  Rain  thus  continually  wafhing 
away,  and  carrying  down  Earth  from  the 
Mountains  and  higher  Grounds,  and  raifing 

A  a  up 


3  5*4  Of  the  Diffolution 

up  the  Valleys  near  the  Sea,  as  long  as  there 
is  any  Defcent  for  the  Rivers,  fo  long  will 
they  continue  to  run,  carry  forward  the  low 
Ground,  and  ftreighten  the  Sea ;  which  al- 
fo  by  its  Working,  by  reafon  of  the  Decli- 
vity, eafily  carries  down  the  Earth  towards 
the  lower  and  middle  Part  of  its  Channel 
\_AheusJ]  and  by  Degrees  may  fill  it  up, 
Monfieur  Loubere^  in  his  late  Voyage  to  Si^ 
am^  takes  Notice  of  the  Increafe  of  the  Banks 
and  Sands  in  and  near  the  Mouths  of  the 
great  Rivers  of  the  Oriental  Kingdoms, 
occafion'd  by  the  Sediments  brought  down 
from  the  Countries  by  the  feveral  Streams ; 
fo  that,  fays  he^  the  Navigation  into  and  up 
thofe  Rivers  grows  more  and  more  difficult, 
and  may  in  Procefs  of  Time  be  quite  inter- 
rupted. The  fame  Obfervation,  I  believe, 
may  be  made  in  moft  of  our  great  Euro^ 
fean  Rivers,  wherein  new  Beds  are  raisM, 
and  old  ones  enlarged.  Moreover, the  Clouds 
ftili  pouring  down  Rain  upon  the  Earth,  it 
will  defcend  as  far  as  there  is  any  Declivity  / 
and  where  that  fails,  it  will  ftagnate,  and, 
joining  with  the  Sea,  cover  firft  the  Skirts  of 
the  Earth,  and  fo,  by  Degrees,  higher  and 
higher,  till  the  whole  be  covered. 

To  this  we  may  add,  that  fome  Affiftancc 
toward  the  leveling  of  the  Mountains,  may 
be  contributed  by  the  Courfes  and  Catar- 
rads  of  fubterrancous  Rivers  wafliing  away 
the  Earth  continually,  and  weakning  their 

foun- 


of  the  World.  '^^^ 

pDundatlons,  fo  by  Degrees  caufing  them  to 
founder,  fublide,  and  fall  in.  That  the  Moun- 
tains do  daily  diminiih,  and  many  of  them 
fink ;  that  the  Valleys  are  raifed ;  that  the 
Skirts  of  the  Sea  are  atterrated,  no  Man  can 
deny.  That  thefe  things  miift  needs^  in  Pro- 
cefs  of  Time,  have  a  very  confidcrable  and 
great  Effect,  is  as  evident,*  which  what  elfe 
can  it  be,  than  that  we  have  mentioned  ? 

Moreover,  towards  this  levelling  of  the 
Mountains,  and  filling  up  of  the  Sea,  the  Fire 
alfo  contributes  its  Mite.     For  the  burning 
Mountains  or  Vukanos^  as  for  Example,  J^t- 
Ha  and  P^efuvius^  vomit  at  Times  out  of  their 
Bowels,  fuch  prodigious  Quantities  of  San<i 
and  Afhes,  and  with  that  Force,  that  they 
are  by  the  Winds  carried  and  difperfed  all 
over    the  Country,    nay,   tranfported  over 
Seas  into  foreign  and  remote  Regions ;  but 
let  fall  fo  copioufly  in  the  circumjacent  Pla- 
ces, as  to  cover  the  Earth  to  a  confiderable 
*rhicknefs  -,  and  not  only  fo,  but  they  alfo 
pour  forth  Floods  of  melted  Stones,  Minerals^ 
and  other  Materials,  that  run  down  as  low  as 
the  Sea,  and  fill  up  the  Heavens,  as  of  old  one 
hear  Catana  j  and  make  Moles,  and  Promon- 
tories, or  Points,  as  in  the  laft  Eruptions  both 
of  jEtna  and  Vefimus ;  the  Tops  of  thefe 
Mountains  falling  in,  and  fubfiding  propor- 
tionably  to  the  Quantity  of  the  ejected  Mat-* 
ter^  as   Borellm  proves*     Meeting   with   a 
C^otation  in  Dr*  HahvDiirs  Apology  out  of 

Aa  a  ^0- 


3  ^6  Of  the  Dijfoliition 

Jofephm  Blancanus  his  Book  T)e  Mundi  Fa^ 
hicd^  I  earneftly  deiired  to  get  a  Sight  of 
that  Book,  but  could  not  procure  k  till  the 
Copy  of  this  Difcourfe  was  out  of  my  Hands, 
and  lent  up  to  London^  in  order  to  its  Printing. 
But  then  obtaining  it,  I  found  it  fo  exactly 
confonant  to  my  own  Thoughts,  and  ta  what 
1  have  here  written  concerning  that  Subjedj 
and  ibme  Particulars  occurring  therein  by 
me  omitted,  that  I  could  not  forbear  tranlla- 
ting  the  whole  Difcourfe  into  EngUjh^  and 
annexing  it  to  this  Chapter,  efpecially  becaufe 
the  Book  is  not  commonly  to  be  met  with. 
The  Difcourfe  is  firft  fet  down  in  his  Book 
Ve  locis  Mathematicis  Ariftoteliy  more  at  large, 
and  afterward  repeated  in  his  Book  De  Mun- 
di Fabricd  more  briefly. 

Pergratum  Le^fori  fore  e^ifti?na'vi]  fi  rem 
fcitu  dignijjimam  expojuero^  &c.  I  thought 
it  might  be  very  acceptable  to  the  Reader, 
if  I  lliould  drfcover  to  him  a  thing  moft  wor- 
thy to  be  known  ^  which  1  have  long  ago^ 
and  for  a  long  time  obferved,  and  am  daily 
more  confirmed  in ;  efpecially,  feeing  no  for- 
mer Writer  that  I  know  of  hath  publiihed 
any  thing  concerning  it.  It  is  this,  That  the 
Superficies  of  the  whole  Earth,  which  is  now 
rough  and  uneaven  by  reafon  of  Mountains 
and  Valleys,  and  fo  only  rudely  Spherical, 
is  daily  from  the  very  Beginning  of  the 
World  reducing  tp  a  perfed  Roundnefs, 
infomuch  that  it  will  neceflarily  come  to 

pafs 


of  the  World.  ^^'y 


pafs  in  a  Natural  way,  that  it  be  one  Day 
overflown  by  the  Sea,  and  rendred  unhabi- 
table. 

First  then,  that  we  may  clearly  appre- 
hend theCaufes  of  this  Thing,  we  muft  lay 
down  as   a  Foundation  from   Holy  Writ, 
That  the  Terraqueous  Globe  was,  in  the  Be- 
ginning, endued  with  a  more  perfc<ft  fphe- 
rical  Figure,  that  is,  without  any  Inequali- 
ties of  Mountains  and  Valleys  j    and  that  it 
•was  wholly  covered  with  the  Sea,  and  fp 
altogether  unfit  for  terreftrial  Animals  to 
inhabit :    But  it  was  then  rendred  habitable, 
when  by  the  Beck  or  Command  of  its  Crea- 
tor, the  greatell  Part  of  the  Land  was  tranf- 
lated  from  one  Place  to  another ;  whereupon 
here  appeared  the  Hollows  of  the  Seas,  there 
the  Heights  of  the  Mountains :    And  all  the 
Waters,  which  before  covered  the  Face  of 
the  whole  Earth,  receded,  and  flowing  down, 
filled  thofe  deprelfed  and  hollow  Places ,  and 
this  Congregation  of  Waters  was  called  the 
Sta,    Hence  fome  grave  Authors  doubt  not 
to  affert.  That  the  Mountains  were   made 
up  of  that  very  Earth  which  before  filled 
the  Cavities  of  the  Sea,    Whence  it  follows, 
that  the  Earth,  as  now  it  is,  is  mountainous 
and  elevated  above   the  Waters,    hath    not 
its  natural  Figure,  but  is  in  a  violent  State : 
but  Nullum  'violentum  eft  perpetumn.    Befides, 
the  Earth   being  heavier   than   the   Water, 
none  of  its  Darts  ought  to  be  extant,  and  ap- 
A  a  3  pear 


3  S'S  Of  the  Diffolution 

pear  above  its  Superficies ;  and  yet  we  fee 
that  the  Earth  is  really  higher  than  the  Sea, 
efpecially  the  mountainous  Parts  of  it :  In 
which  refped  alfo,  both  Land  and  Water 
are  in  a  violent  State.  Wherefore,  it  is  very 
convenient  to  the  Nature  of  both,  that  they 
Ihould  daily  return  towards  their  ancient 
and  primigenial  State  and  Figure  j  and,  ac- 
cordingly, we  affirm  that  they  do  fo. 

Moreover,  we  fay,  that  the  Waters,  both 
of  Rains  and  Rivers,  are  the  Caufe  of  thi-s 
Rcftitution,  as  will  appear  by  the  following 
Obfervations. 

I.  W  E  fee  that  Rivers  do  daily  fret,  and 
undermine  the  Roots  of  the  Mountains  j  fo 
that  here  and  there,  from  moft  Mountains, 
they  caufe  great  Ruins  and  Precipices,  whence 
the  Mountains  appear  broken  j  and  the  Earth, 
fo  fallen  from  the  Mountains,  the  Rivers  car- 
ry down  to  the  lower  Places. 

From  thefe  Corrofions  of  the  Rivers,' 
proceed  thofe  flow,  but  great  Ruins,  cal- 
led, hahind^  a  lahendo ;  in  which  fome  Streets 
and  whole  Villages  are  precipitated  into  the 
Rivers. 

2.  We  daily  fee,  that  the  Rain-Waters 
waih  away  the  Superficies  of  the  Mountains, 
and  carry  them  down  to  the  lower  Places. 
Hence  ic  comes  to  pafs,  that  the  higher 
Mountains  are  alfo  harder  and  more  ftony 
than  the  reft,  by  means  whereof  they  better 
fefift  the  Water.    Hence  alfo  it  comes  to  pafs, 

that 


of  the  World.  ^^^ 

that  ancient  Buildings  in  Mountains,  their 
Foundations  being  by   Degrees  difcovered, 
prove  not  very  durable.     For  which  Reafon, 
the  Foundations  of  the  Roman  Capitol  are 
now  wholly  extant  above-ground,  which  of 
old,  at  its  firft  Erection,  were  funk  very  deep 
into  it.     This  fame  thing  all  the  Inhabitants 
of  the  Mountains  do  confirm  i  all  faying,  that 
this  Lowering  of  Mountains  was  long  fince 
known  to  them  ;    for  that,  formerly,  fome 
intermediate  Mountains  intercepted  the  Sight 
of  a  Caftle,  or  Tower,  (ituate  in  a  more  re- 
mote Mountain  ,*   which,  after  many  Years, 
the  intervenient  Mountain  being  dcpreffed, 
came  clearly  into  View.  And  George  Agrkola 
is  of  Opinion  (which  I  very  much  approve 
of)  that  the  Rivers  produced  the  Mountains 
and  Hills  in  this  manner.     In  the  Beginning 
of  the  World,  there  were  not  fo  many  parti- 
cular divided  Mountains,  but  only  perpetual 
eminent  Ridges  of  Land,  not  dilfe^led  into 
fo  many  Valleys  as  we  now  fee.     So,  for  Ex- 
ample, our  Apfennine  was  at  firft  one  conti- 
nued, eaven,  eminent  Ridge  of  Land,  not  divir» 
ded  into  any  particular  Mountains  and  Hills 
by  intervening  Valleys,  as  now  it  is ;  but  that 
after  the  Rivers  began  to  flow  down  froni 
the  Top  of  it,  by  little  and  little  fretting  and 
corroding  the  Ground,  they  made  Valley s^ 
and  daily  more  and  more  ,•  and  by  this  means 
the  whole  Apfennine  came  to  be  divided  into, 
many  Hills  and  Mountains. 

A  a  4  3.  In 


3^o  Of  the  Di[fohition 

3."  In  Plains  we  fee  the  diredly  Contrary 
happens  ;  for  the  Plains  arc  daily  more  and 
more  elevated,  becaufe  the  Waters  do  let  fall, 
'  in  the  plain  and  hollow  Places,  the  Earth  they 
brought  down  with  them  from  the  Moun- 
tains. Hence  we  fee  that  ancient  Buildings 
in  fuch  Places,  are  almoft  wholly  buried  in 
the  Ground.  So  in  Ro??ie,  at  the  Foot  of  the 
Capitoline  Mountain,  we  fee  -the  Ti'iu?nphal 
Arch  of  Septhnim  almoft  wholly  overwhelm- 
ed in  the  Earth;  and  every  where  in  ancient 
Cities,  many  Gates  and  Doors  of  Houfes  al- 
moft landed  up,  little  thereof  being  extant 
above  Ground. 

From  which  it  appears,  that  this  Sinking 
and  Demerfion  of  Buildings  into  the  Earth  is 
a  manifeft  Sign  of  their  Antiquity,  which  is 
fo  much  the  greater,  by  how  much  the  deep- 
er they  are  funk.  So,  for  Example,  at  Bono- 
nia  in  Italy ^  many  of  the  ancient  Gates  of  the 
City,  which  the  Bolognefe  call  Tbrrefotti^ 
are  very  deeply  funk:,  which  is  a  certain  Ar- 
gument of  their  Antiquity  ;  and  thence  it  ap- 
pears to  be  true  that  Hiftories  relate,  that 
they  were  built  in  the  Time  of  S.  Petroniur^ 
about  1200  Years  ago.  But  here  it  is  to  be 
noted-  that  other  things  agreeing,  thofe  are 
deeper  depreflfed  that  are  built  in  lower  Pla- 
ces, than  thofe  in  higher,  for  the  Reafon  a- 
bovefaid.  So  at  Bononia^  that  old  Port,  cal- 
led II  Torrefotto  di  S.  Georgio^  is  deeplier 
buried,  or  landed  up,  than  that  which  is  cal- 
:    •  •  -  led 


of  the  World,  3(^1 

led  11  Torrefotto  di  Stra  Caftilione^  becaufe 
that  is  fituated  in  a  lower  Place,  and  there- 
fore the  Earth  is  more  eafily  raifed  up  about 
it. 

4.  The  (lime  is  affirmed  by  Architects, 
who,  when  they  dig  their  Foundations,  do 
everywhere,  in  plain  Places,firft  of  all  remove 
the  Earth,  which  they  call  Co7mnota^  [loofe  or 
fhaken]  which  is  mixt  with  Fragments  of 
Wood,  Iron,  Rubbifli,  Coins,  ancient  Urns, 
and  other  things  ^  which  when  it  is  thrown 
out,  they  come  to  another  fort  of  Earth  that 
hath  never  been  ftirred,  but  is  {olid^  com- 
paft,  and  not  mixt  with  any  heterogeneous 
thing,  efpecially  artificial.  That  moved 
\Commota\  and  impure  Earth,  is  it  which 
the  Waters  have  by  little  and  little  brought 
down  from  the  higher  to  the  more  depreffed 
Places,  which  is  not  every  where  of  equal 
Depth.  But  now,  becaufe  in  the  Mountains 
there  is  no  where  found  fuch  moved  or  new 
Earth,  as  is  plain  from  the  Experience  of 
Architects,  it  is  manifeft  that  the  Mountains 
do  by  no  means  grow  or  increafe,  as  fome 
dream. 

5.  Our  Obfcrvation  is  proved  from  that 
Art,  which  is  now  much  pravlilifed,  of  eleva- 
ting and  landing  up  depreircd  Places  by  the 
Waters  of  Rivers,  and-  depreifing  the  higher 
by  running  the  Water  over  them. 

The  fame  things  happen  about  the  Sea  ; 
for,  whereas  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  is  more 

de- 


^6z  Of  the  Dijfolution 

depreffed  than  the  Superficies  of  the  Earth  ; 
and  all  the  great  Rivers  empty  themfelves 
into  the  Sea,  and  bring  in  with  them  a  great 
Quantity  of  Earth  and  Sand^  there  muft  needs 
be  great  Banks  or  Floors  of  Earth  raifed  up 
about  the  Sea  Shores,  near  the  Mouths  of  Ri- 
vers ^  whereby  the  Shores  muft  neceffarily 
be  much  promoted  and  carried  forward  in- 
to the  Sea,  and  fo  gain  upon  it,  and  compell 
it  to  recede. 

This  may  be  proved,  firft  by  the  Authority 
o£  AriftotleyliLi.  Meteor,  cap,  De  perviuta- 
tione  terr^e  ac  maris ;  and  that  of  the  ancient 
Geographers  a*nd  Hiftorians.  To  omit  that 
Proof  from  Egypt ;  Ariftotle's  fecond  Exam- 
ple of  this  Landmg  up  of  the  Sea,  is  the  Re- 
gion of  Ammonia^  whofe  Lower  and  Mari- 
time Places  (faith  he)  it's  clear,  were  by 
this  Landing  up  firft  made  Pools  and  Fens, 
and  in  Procefs  of  time  thefe  Pools  were  dry- 
ed  up,  and  raifed  to  be  firm  Land,  by  Earth 
brought  down.  A  third  Example  is  that  of 
the  Mceotis  Palus^  whofe  Skirts  are  fo  grown 
up  by  what  the  Rivers  bring  down,  that  the 
Waters  will  not  carry  any  thing  fo  great 
as  Ships,  as  they  would  have  done  lixty  Years 
ago.  A  fourth  is  the  Thracian  BojphorHSj^ 
which  for  Brevity 's-fake  may -be  feen  in  him, 
Add  hereto,  in  the  fifth  Place,  theTeftimony 
of  Pliny ^  who  tells  us,  that  much  new  Land 
hath  been  added  to   the  Earthy    not  only 

brought 


of  the  JVorld.  3^3 

brought  in  by  the  Rivers,  but  deferted  by 
the  Sea. 

S  o  the  Sea  hath  receded  ten  Miles  from 
the  Port  of  Arnhracia^  and  five  from  that  of 
Athens  J  and  in  fcveral  other  Places  more  or 
lefs.  What  he  adds  out  of  Strabo^  concern- 
ing the  River  Pyramm^  is  already  enterM. 

(5.  N  E  IT  H  E  R  are  later  and  nearer  Experi- 
ments wanting.  Of  old  time  Ravenna  ftood 
upon  the  Brink  of  the  Sea  Shore,  which  is 
now  by  reafon  of  the  Landing  up  the  Shallows 
far  diftant  from  it.  The  Sea  walhed  the  Walls 
of  Padua^  which  is  now  Twenty  five  Miles 
remote  therefrom.  In  fine,  our  RheneoiBo^ 
logna^  though  it  be  but  a  fmall  Torrent,  yet 
in  a  few  Years,  fince  it  hath  been  by  an  ar- 
tificial Cut  let  into  the  Po,  it  hath  fo  filled  it 
up,  and  obftrudted  its  Channel  with  Sand 
and  Mud,  that  it  hath  much  endamaged  the 
neighbouring  Fields.  Seeing  then  by  thefe 
various  Aggerations  of  Sand  and  Silt,  the  Sea 
is  daily  cut  fliort,  and  driven  back,  and  its 
Bafin  or  Receptacle  ftraitned,  and  the  Bot- 
tom thereof  raifed,  it  will  neceffarily  come 
to  pafs  in  time,  that  it  will  begin  to  over- 
flow j  as  now  it  happens  in  many  Places,  for 
Example,  in  the  Baltick^  Vanich^  and  Holland 
Shores,  in  which  Places  they  arc  forced  to 
ered  and  maintain  long  and  liigh  Banks  and 
Fences  againft  the  Inundations  of  the  Sea. 

Therefore,  after  this  manner,  that  Earth 
which  now  makes  up  the  Mountains,  being 

by 


^6 4  Of  the  Dijfolution 

by  the  Water  little  by  little  brought  down 
into  the  Cavities  of  the  Sea,  is  the  Caufe  why 
the  Sea  gradually  here  and  there  overflows 
tht  Superficies  oi thcEd.v\.h;  and  fo  the  Globe 
of  the  Earth,  by  the  Affufion  of  the  Waters, 
will  be  again  render'd  unhabitable,  as  at  firft 
!  it  was  in  the  Beginning  of  the  World  i  and 

the  Earth  and  Water  will  return  to  their 
primitive  State  and  Figure,  in  which  they 
ought  naturally  to  reft. 

Hence  we  may  deduce  fome  Confectaries 
worthy  to  be  known,  n:iz.  That  the  World, 
or  at  leaft  the  Earth,  was  not  endued  with 
that  Figure  which  we  now  fee  ;  neither  can 
the  World  endure  for  ever.  For  if  this 
mountainous  Figure  had  been  in  it  from  E- 
ternity ,  all  thofe  Protuberancies  of  the 
Mountains  had  been  long  (ince  eaten  away 
and  wafted,  or  confumed  by  the  Waters, 
Nor  can  this  World  be  Eternal  ,■  becaufe,  as 
we  have  proved,  in  Procefs  of  time  it  will 
be  reduced  to  a  perfect  Rotundity,  and  be 
overflown  by  the  Sea  i  whereupon  it  will 
become  unhabitable,  and  Mankind  muft 
necelfarily  perifh.  Wherefore,  unlefs  that 
Deluge  were  prevented  by  the  Fire  which 
the  Holy  Scriptures  mention ,  the  Worl4 
would  neverthelefs  be  deftroyed  by  Water. 
Long  after  I  had  committed  thefe  things  to 
writing,  I  met  with  Philo  Jud^ur  his  Book 
De  Mtindo^  wherein  he  touches  this  Matter 
but  obfcurely,  and  in  a  very  few  Words. 

Thus 


of  the  World,  3^^ 


Thus  far  Blancanm^  whofe  Sentiments 
iand  Obfervations  concerning  this  Matter 
thus  pun<5tually  concurring,  and  according 
i  with  mine,  to  my  great  Wonder  and  Satif- 
fa(Stion,  I  could  not  but  think  that  the  Con- 
clufion  hath  a  high  Degree  of  Probability. 
Only  he  takes  no  Notice,  that  in  Compenfa* 
tion  of  what  the  Rivers  gain  from  the  Sea 
about  their  Outlets,  the  Sea  may  gain  from 
the  Land  by  undermining  and  wafliing  a- 
way  the  Shores  that  are  not  rocky,  (as  we 
fee  it  doth  in  our  own  Country)  perhaps  as 
much  as  it  lofes,  according  to  the  vulgar 
Proverb  before  remember'd.  However,  all 
contributes  towards  the  filling  up  of  the  Stz^ 
and  bringing  on  an  Inundation^  as  I  fliall 
afterwards  fliew. 

But  it  may  beobjeded.  That  if  the  Wa- 
ters will  thus  naturally  and  necelTarily  in 
Procefs  of  time  again  overflow  and  cover  the 
Earth,  how  can  G  o  d's  Promife  and  Cove- 
nant be  made  good.  Gen,  ix.  ii.  That  there 
JJjould  ?2ot  any  more  be  a  Flood  to  deftroy  the 
Earth, 

To  which  I  anfwer,  i.  That  though  this 
would  follow  in  a  natural  way,  yetthe  Pow- 
er of  G  o  d  may  interpofe  to  prevent  it,  and 
fo  make  good  His  Promife.  2,  Though  it 
might  come  to  pafs  in  the  Courfe  of  Nature, 
yet  would  it  be  after  fo  many  Ages,  that  ic 
is  not  at  all  likely  the  World  lliould  laft  fo 
long  i  but  the  Conflagration  or  Deftru<^ion 

of 


^66  Of  the  Dijfolutlon 

of  it  by  Fire,  predided  by  the  Scriptures^ 
will  certainly  prevent  it.  3.  Poffibly  there 
may  be  fomething  in  Nature  which  may  ob- 
viate this  Event,  though  to  us  at  prefent* 
Unknown,  which  I  am  the  more  inclinable 
to  believe,  becaufe  the  Earth  doth  not  haften 
fo  faft  towards  it,  as  fome  of  the  Ancients 
imagined,  and  as  the  Activity  of  fuch  Cau- 
fes  might  feem  to  require,  as  I  have  already 
intimated. 

Varenim^  in  his  Geography,  putting  the 
Queftion^  Whether  the  Ocean  may  again 
come  to  cover  all  the  Earth,  and  make  an 
univerfal  Deluge?  anfwers.  That  we  may 
conceive  a  way  how  this  may  naturally  come 
to  pafs.  The  Manner  thus;  Suppofing  that 
the  Sea  by  its  continual  Working  doth  un- 
dermine and  wafh  away  the  Shores  and 
Cliffs  that  are  not  rocky,  and  carry  the 
Earth  thereof  down  towards  the  Middle,  or 
deepeft  Parts  of  its  Channel^  and  fo  by  De- 
grees fill  it  up.  By  doing  this  perpetually^ 
it  may,  in  a  long  Succefifion  of  Time^  carry 
all  away,  and  itfelf  cover  the  whole  Earths 
That  it  doth  thus  fubvert  and  wafti  away 
the  Shores  in  many  Places,  is  in  Experience 
true.  About  Dort  in  Holland^  and  Dullart 
in  Frlejland^  and  in  Zealand  many  Villages^  j 
fome  fay  Three  hundred,  have  been  drown'd 
by  the  Encroachments  of  the  Sea,  as  fome  of 
their  Towers  and  Steeples  ftill  extant  above 
the  Waters  do  teftify.    On  the  Tu[can  Shore^ 


of  the  World.  -^6^ 

ICircher  tells  us.  That  not  far  from  Ligom^ 
hfe  himfelf  had  obferved  a  whole  City  under 
Water,  that  had  been  in  former  Times 
drown'd  by  the  Inundation  of  the  Sea.  And 
overagainft  Futeoli^  in  the  Sinus  of  Baia^  he 
tells  us.  That  in  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea,  there 
are  not  only  Houfes  but  the  Traces  and 
Footfteps  of  the  Streets  of  fome  City  ma- 
nifeftly  difcernible.  And  in  the  County  of 
Suffolk^  almoft  the  whole  Town  of  Done^ 
wich^  with  the  adjacent  Lands,  hath  been 
undermined  and  devoured  by  the  Sea. 

This  Wafliing  away  of  the  Shores  is,  X 
conceive,  in  great  Meafure  to  be  attributed 
to  the  forementioned  ftreightning  and  cut- 
ting lliort  of  the  Sea,  by  the  Earth  and  Silc 
that  in  the  Times  of  Floods  are  brought 
down  into  it  by  the  Rivers.  For  the  Vulgar 
have  a  Proverbial  Tradition,  IThat  what  the 
Sea  lofes  in  one  Place^  it  gains  in  another* 
And  both  together  do  very  handfomly  make 
out  and  explain,  how  the  Earth  in  a  Natural 
way,  may  be  reduced  to  its  primitive  State 
in  the  Creation,  when  the  Waters  covered 
the  Land.  But  this^  according  to  the  lei- 
furely  Proceedings  of  Nature ,  would  noc 
come  to  pafs  in  many  Ages,  1  might  fay,  ia 
Ages  of  Ages :  Nay,  fome  think,  that  thofe 
vail  Ridges  and  Chains  of  Mountains,  which 
run  through  the  Middle  of  the  Continents, 
are  by  reaibn  of  their  great  Height,  Weight 
and  Solidity,  too  great  a  Morfei  ever  to  be 


5(^8  Of  the  Diffohitmt 

devoured  by  the  Jaws  of  the  Sea.  But  whe- 
ther they  be  or  not,  I  need  not  diipute, 
thoueh  I  incline  to  the  Nc2:ative.  becaufe 
this  is  not  the  Diflolution  the  Apoftle  here 
fpeaks  of,  which  muft  be  by  Fire. 

But  I  muft  not  here  diffemble  an  Obje- 
€lion  I  fee  may  be  made,  and  that  is.  That 
the  Superficies  of  the  Earth  is  fo  far  from  be- 
ing deprelTed,  that  it  is  continually  elevated. 
For  in  ancient  Buildings,  we  fee  the  Earth 
raifed  high  above  the  Foot  of  them.  So  the 
Pantheon  at  Ro?fie^  which  was  at  firft  afcen- 
ded  up  to  by  many  [eight]  Steps,  is  now 
defcended  down  to  by  as  many.  The  Bafis 
and  whole  Pedeftal  of  T^rajan's  Pillar  there 
was  buried  in  the  Earth. 

Dr.  Tancred  Kobinfon^  in  the  Year  k^Sj,' 
obferved  in  fome  Places  the  Walls  of  old 
Kojne  to  lie  Thirty  and  Forty  Foot  under 
Ground  -,  fo  that  he  thinks  the  greater  Part 
of  the  Remains  of  that  famous  ancient  Ci- 
ty is  ftill  buried,  and  undifcovered  ,•  the 
prodigious  Heaps  of  Ruins  and  Rubbiih  in- 
clofed  within  the  Vineyards  and  Gardens, 
being  not  half  digged  up  or  fearched,  as 
they  might  be,  the  Tops  of  Pillars  peep- 
ing up  and  down.  And  in  our  own  Coun- 
try we  find  many  ancient  Roman  Pave- 
ments at  fome  Depth  under  Ground.  My 
learned  and  ingenious  Friend  Mr.  Edward 
JLhwjd^  not  long  fince  inform'd  of  one,  that 
himfelf  had  feen  buried  deep  in  the  Church- 

*  "      yard 


of  the  World.  ^6$ 

yard  at  Wychejler  in  Glocefterjhire,  Nay, 
the  Earth  in  time  will  grow  over  and  bury 
the  Bodies  of  great  Timber  Trees,  that  have 
been  fallen,  and  lie  long  upon  it  -,  which  is 
made  one  great  Reafon,  that  fuch  great  Num- 
bers (even  whole  Woods)  of  fubterraneous 
Trees  are  frequently  met  with,  and  dug  up 
at  vaft  Depths  in  th^  Spaniflo  2ind  Dutch  Ne- 
therlands^ as  well  as  in  many  Places  of  this 
Illand  of  Gredt  Britain, 

T  o  which  I  anfwer,as  to  Buildings,  i .  The 
Ruins  and  Rubbiili  of  the-  Cities  wherein 
they  flood,  might  be  conceived  to  bury 
them  as  deep  as  they  now  lie  under  Ground. 
And  by  this  means  it's  likely  the  Ro?nan 
Pavements  we  find,  might  come  to  be  co- 
vered to  that;  Height  we  mentioned.  For 
that  the  Places  where  they  occurr,  were  an- 
ciently Rd?nan  Towns  fubverted  and  ruined, 
may  eaiily  be  proved  5  as  particularly  in 
this  we  mentioned,  from  the  Termination 
Chefier  ,•  whatever  Town  or  Village  hath 
that  Addition  to  its  Name,  having  been  an- 
ciently a  RomaH  Town  or  Camp,  Chefter 
feeming  to  be  nothing  but  Caflra, 

2.  It  is  to  be  confider'd.  That  weighty 
Buildings  do  in  time  overcome  the  Refiftance 
of  the  Foundation,  unlefs  it  be  a  folid  Rock  i 
and  fink  into  the  Ground. 

Nay,  the  very  foft  Water,  lying  long  up« 
On  the  Bottoms  of  the  Sea  or  Pools,  doth  fo  - 
coniprefs  and  fadden  them  by  its:  Weight, 

B  b  '         that 


370  Of  the  Dijfoiution 

that  the  very  Roads  that  are  continually 
beaten  with  Horfes  and  Carriages,  are  not 
fo  firm  and  fad  :    And  in  the  Sea,  the  nearer 
you  dig  to  the  low  Water-Mark5  ftilt  the 
ladder  and  firmer  it  is :  And  it's  probable,  ftill 
the  farther  the  fadder ;  which  fcems  to  be 
confirmed  by  the  ftrong  fixing  of  Anchors. 
[This  Firmnefs  of  the  Sand,  by  the  Weight 
of  the  incumbent  Water,  the  People  inliabi- 
ting  near  the  Sea  are  fo  fenfible  of,  that  I 
have  feen   them  boldly  ride  through  the 
Water  crofs  a  Channel  three  Miles  broad, 
before  the  Tide  was  out,  when  in  fome 
Places  it  reach'd  to  the  Horfes  Belly.]    A 
Refemblance  whereof  we  have   in  Ponds, 
which  being  newly  digg'd,  the  Water  that 
runs  into  them,  finks  foon  into  the  Earth, 
and  they  become  dry  again ;  till  after  fome 
time,  by  often  filling,  the  Earth  becomes 
fo  folid,   through  the  Weight  of  the  Wa- 
ter, that  they  leak  no  more^  but  hold  Water 
up  to  the  Brink.    Wittie  Scarborough  Sfaw^ 
p.  85. 

What  Force  a  gentle,  if  continual  Pref- 
fure  hath,  we  may  underftand  alfo  by  the 
Roots  of  Trees,  which  we  fee  will  fometimes 
pierce  through  the  Chinks  of  Stone  Walls, 
and  in  time  make  great  Cracks  and  Rifts  in 
them ;  nay,  will  get  under  their  very  Foun- 
dations. The  tender  Roots  of  Herbs  over- 
come the  Refinance  of  the  Ground,  and  make 
their  .way  through  Clay  or  Gravej.    By  the 

by. 


of  the  World.  57! 

by,  we  may  here  take  Notice,  that  one  i*e^- 
fon  why  PlowingjHarrowing, Sifting,  or  any 
Comminution  of  the  Earth,  renders  it  vaovt 
fruitful,  is,  becaufe  the  Roots  bf  Grafs,  Corn, 
and  other  Hetbs  can,  with  more  Facility, 
creep  abroad,  and  multiply  their  Fibres  iii 
the  light  and  loofe  Earth* 

Th  A  T  the  Rotting  of  the  Grafs,  and  othet" 
Herbs  upon  the  Ground,  may  in  fome  Places 
raife  the  Superficies  of  it,  t  will  not  deny ;  that 
is,   in  Gardens  and  Enclofures,  where  the 
Cround  is  l-ank,  and  no  Cattel  are  admitted 
,  to  eat  oflf  the  Fog  oi:  long  Grafs  j  but  elfe- 
where,  the  Railing  ()f  the  Superficies  of  the 
Earth  is  Vety  Itttk  and  inconfiderable  ;  and 
none  at  all,  unlefs  in  level  Grounds,  which 
have  but  little  Declivity  :  For  otherwlfe  the 
Soil  would  by  this  time  have  come  to  be  of 
a  very  great  Depth,  which  we  find  to  be  but 
ihallow.    Nor  do  I  think,  that  fo  much  as 
the  Trunks  of  fallen  Trees  are  by  this  means 
cover'd ;  but  rather,  that  they  fink  by  their 
own  Weight,  in  time  overcoming  the  Refi- 
nance of  the  Earth,  which  without  much  Dif- 
ficulty yields,  being  ibakcd  and  foftned  by 
the  Rains  Infinuating  into  it,  and  keeping  it 
continually  moift   in  Winter-time.     But  if 
thefe  Buildings  be  fituate  in  Valleys,  it  is 
clear,  that  the  Earth  brought  down  from  the 
Mountains  by  Rain,  may  ferve  to  land  them 
up.     Again,  the  Superficies  of  the  Earth 
may  be  raifed  near  the  Sea  Coaft,  by  the 

B  b  a  con- 


372^  Of  the  Diffolution 

continual  Blowing  up  of  Sand  by  the  Winds^ 
This  happens  often  in  Norfolk,  and  in  Corn- 
zya/l,  where  I  obferved  a  fair  Church,  ^iz,  that 
of  the  Parifli  called  Lalant,  which  is  the 
Mother  Church  to  S.Ives,  and  above  two 
Miles  diftant  from  the  Sea,  almoft  covered 
with  the  Sandj  little  being  extant  above  it, 
but  the  Steeple  and  Ridge  of  the  Roof.  Nay, 
a  great  Part  of  S.  Ives  itfelf  lies  buried  in 
the  Sand :  And  I  was  told  there,  that  in  one 
Night  there  had  been  a  whole  Street  of  Hou- 
fes  fo  covered  with  Sand,  that  in  the  Morn- 
ing they  were  fain  to  dig  their  way  out,  of 
their  Houfes  through  it.  All  along  the  We- 
ft ern  Shore  of  Wales,  there  are  great  Hills  of 
Sand  thus  blown  up  by  the  Wind.  We  ob- 
ferved alfo  upon  the  Coaft  of  Flanders, find 
Holland,  the  like  fandy  Hills,  or  Downs, 
from  which  Wefterly  Winds  drive  the  Sand 
a  great  way  into  the  Country.  But  there 
are, not  many  Places  liable  to  this  Accident, 
*viz,  where  the  Bottom  of  the  Sea  is  fandy^ 
and  where  the  Wind  moft  frequently  blows 
from  off  the  Sea  i  where  the  Wind  fets 
from  the  Land  toward  the  Sea  this  happens 
not ;  where  it  is  indifferent,  it  muft  in  rea- 
fon  carry  off  as  much  as  it  brings  on,  unlefs 
other  Ciiufes  hinder. 


Sic  TV 


of  the  World. 


37? 


Sect.    II. 

The  Second  pfjihle  Caufe  of  the  World' ^  De^ 
ftnSion  in  a  Natural  Waj^  the  Extinction 
of  the  Sun, 


"•^ 


?^  H  E  PofiTibility  of  the  Sun's  Ex- 
%o^  tindioii  :    Of  which  Accident 


I  fhail  give  an  Account  of  Dr. 


M?r^'s  Words^in  the  laft  Chap- 
ter of  his  Treatife  of  the  hnmortality  of  the 
SouL    '  This  (^faith  he)  though  it  may  feem 
'  a  Panicl  Fear  at  firft  Sight ,  yet  if  the  Mat- 
^  ter  be  throughly  examined,  there  will  ap- 
^  pear  no  contemptible  Reafons  that  may  in- 
*■  duce  Men  to  fufped,  that  it  may  at  laft  £ill 
^  out,  there  having  been  at  certain  Times 
^  fuch  near   Offers  in  Nature  towards  this 
^  fad  Accident  already. "     Fliny  fpeaks  of  it 
as  a  thing  not  unfrequent,  that  there  (hould 
be  Prodigiofi  &  longiores  Solis  defeCiuA^  qua^ 
lis  occifo  Diiiatore  Caefare,  &  Anton iano  ki- 
lo^ totius   ajtni  pallore  continuo.^    Hift.  Nat. 
lib.  2.  cap.  3  o,'  Prodigious  and  lafting  Defeats 
of  the  Sun^  fuch  as  happened  when  C^far  the 
Didator  was  jlain^  and   in  the  War  with 
Anthony,  when  it  was  continually  pale  a?id 
gloomy  for  a  whole  Tear.     The  like  happened 
in  Juftinian's  Time,  as   Cedrenus   writes  ^ 
when  for  a  whole  Year  together,  the  Sun 
was  of  a  very  dim  and  duskilh  Hue,  as  if 
B  b  3  he 


374  ^/  ^^^  Dijfolution  i 

he  had  been  in  a  perpetual  Eclipfe  :    And,   1 
in  the  Time  of  Irene  the  Emprefs,  it  was  fo 
dark  for  Seventeen  Days  together,  that  the 
Ships  loft  their  Way  in  the  Sea,  and  were 
ready  to  run  one  againft  another,  as  Theo- 
fhanes  reports.    But  the  late  accurate  Dif- 
covery  of  the  Spots  of  the  Sun  by  Scheiner^ 
and  the  Appearing  and  EHfappearing  ofFixt 
Stars  and  Comets,  and  the  Exeuriions  of  thefe 
Jaft,  do  argue  it  more  than  poflible,  that  after 
fonie  vaft  Periods  of  Time,  the  Sun  may  be 
fo  inextricably  inveloped  by  the  MamU^  that 
he  may  quite  lofe  his  Light ;   and  then  you 
may  eafily  guefs  what  would  become  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Earth  :     For  without  his 
vivifick  Heat,  neither  could  the  Earth  put 
forth  any  Vegetables  for  their  Suftenance; 
neither  if  it  could,  would  they  be  able  to  bear 
the  Extremity  of  the  Cold,  which  muft  needs 
be  more  rigorous,  and  that  perpetually,  than 
it  is  now  under  the  Poles  in  Winter-time, 
But  this  Accident,  tho'  it  would  indeed  cxtiur 
guifli  all  Life,  yet  being  quite  contrary  to  a 
Diffolution  by  Fire,  ot  which  the  Apoftlc 
fpeaks,  I  fhall  pafs  it  over  without  farthcf 
jConfideratipn,  and  proceed  to  ^  Third, 


;iii 


of  the  World.  575" 


Sect.     III. 

The  Third  pofible  Caiife  of  the  World'i 
Deftrudion^  the  Kmftion  of  the  Central 
Fire, 

H  E  PofTibility  oF  the  Erup-.^ 
tion  of  the  Central  Fire,  if 
any  fuch  there  be,  inclofed  ia 
the  Earth.  It  is  the  Hypother* 
fis  of  Monlieur  des  Carte f^  that  the  Earth  was 
originally  a  Star,  or  Globe  of  Fire,  like 
the  Sun,  or  one  of  the  Fixt  Stars,  (ituate  in 
the  Center  of  a  Vortex  continually  whirling 
round  with  it.  That  by  Degrees  it  was  co- 
vered QW^x^  or  incruftatcd  with  MacuU^ 
arifing  on  its  Surface  like  the  Scum  on  a  boil- 
ing Pojt,  which  ftill  increafing  and  growing 
thicker  and  thicker,  the  Star  lofing  its  Light 
and  Activity,  and,  confequently,  tlie  Motion 
of  the  celeftial  Vortex  about  it  growing  more 
weak,  languid,  and  unable  to  refift  the  vi- 
gorous Incroachments  of  the  neighbouring 
Vortex  of  the  Sun  j  it  was  at  laft  drawn  in, 
and  wholly  abforpt  by  it,  and  forced  to  com- 
ply with  its  Motion,  and  make  one  in  the 
Quire  of  the  Sun's  Satellites  This  v^U^Iq 
Jiypothefu  I  do  utterly  difallpw  *  and  reje^. 
Neithei^id  the  Author  himfelf  (if  we  may 
believe  nim)  think  it  true,  that  the  Earth 
was  thus  generated.    For  he  faith,  J^ninimo 

B  b  4  ad 


■ML 


57^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

ad'  res  naturales  melius  explicandas^  earmn 
caufas  altius  hie  repeta?n  qudjtt  if  fas  unquam 
extitiffe  exiftimem,  Non  enijti  'dubium  eft^ 
quin  inimdus  ab  initio  fuerit  creatus  cum 
omni  Jua  ferfetHone^  itd  ut  in  eo  &  SqI^  & 
Terra,  &  Luna,  &  StelU  extiterint, ,,!.,. 
Hoc  fides  Chriftiana  nos  docet ;  hdcque  etiam 
ratio  natiiralis  plane  perfuadet.  Attendendo 
enim  ad  immenfam  Dei  potentiam,  non  poffu- 
mus  exiftitnare  illmn  unquam  quidquam  fecijje^ 
quod  non  omnibus  fuis '  numeris  fuerit  abfolu- 
Um  :  That  is.  Moreover,  for  the  better  expli- 
cating of  Natural  Things,  IJhall  bring  them 
from  higher  or  more  remote  Caufes  than  I  think 
they  ever  had.  For  there  is  no  doubt,  but  the 
World  was  criginally  created  in  -its  full  Per- 
fe5iion,  fo  that  in  it  were  contained  both  Sun, 
and  Moon,  and  Earth,  and  Stars,  &c.  For  this 
the  Chriftian  Faith  teacheth  us,  and  this  alfo 
Natural  Reafon  doth  plainly  perfunde  ^  for  at~ 
te?tding  to  the  immenfe  Power  of  GoT^,we  can- 
nm  think  that  He  ever  made  any  thing  that 
was  not  complete  in  all  Points.  But  tho'  he 
did  not  believe  that  the  Earth  was  generated, 
or  formed  according  to  his  Hypothefis,  yet 
furely  he  was  of  Opinion,  that  it  is  at'pre- 
fent  fiich  a  Body  as  he  reprefentcd  it  after  its 
perfed  Formation,  viz.  with  a  Fire  in  the 
•middle,'and  fo  many  feveral  Crpfts  or  Coats 
incloiing'it  ,•  elfe  would  he  have  g^en  us  a 
meer  Figment  or  Romance  inftead  of  aBo^y 
of  Philoiopliy. 

But 


of  the  World.  577 

B  u  T  tho*  I  do  rcjcd  the  Hypothefis ;  yet 
the  Being  of  a  Central  Fire  in  the  Earth  is  not^ 
ib  far  as  I  underftand,  any  way  repugnant 
to  Reafon  or  Scripture.  For  firft  of  all,  the 
Scriftur£  reprefents  Hell  as  a  Lake  of  Fire,' 
Mark  ix.  43,  44,  drc.  Rev.  xx.  10,  14,  15. 
and,  likewife,  as  a  low  Place  beneath  the 
Earth.  So  Pfal.  Ixxxvi.  13.  and  Df^^^.xxxii. 
22.  it  is  called  the  nethcnnoft  Hell^  Prov.  xv, 
24.  T'he  Way  of  Life  is  above  to  the  Wife^  that 
he  may  depart  from  Hell  beneath.  1.  Many  of 
the  Ancients  underftand  that  Article  of  the 
Creed,  He  defcended  into  Hell^  of  our  Sa- 
viour's Defcent  into  that  local  Hell  beneath 
the  Earth,  where  He  triumphed  over  the  De- 
vil, and  all  the  Powers  of  Darknefs.  And, 
particularly,  Iren^eus  interprets  that  Saying 
of  our  Saviour,  That  the  Son  of  Man  fljould 
be  three  Days  in  the  Heart  of  the  Earthy  of  his 
being  three  Days  in  the  Middle  of  the  Earth, 
which  could  not  be  meant  (^  faith  he  )  of  the 
Sepulchre,  becaufe  that  was  hewn  out  of  a 
Rock  in  its  Superficief.  3.  It  is  a  received 
Opinion  among  the  Divines  of  the  Church 
of  Rome^  that  Hell  is  about  the  Center  of  the 
Earth  J  infomuch  as  fome  of  them  have  been 
folicitous  to  demonftrate,  that  there  is  room 
enough  to  receive  all  the  Damned,  by  giving 
us  the  Dimenfions  thereof. 

Neither  is  it  repugnant  to  the  Hiftory  of 

the  Creation  in  Genefif.    For  tho'  indeed  Mo- 

yjej  doth  mention  only  Water  and  Earth,  as 

V  the 


378  Of  the  Dijfolution 

the  Gomponcnt  Parts  of  this  Body  ^  yet  doth 
he  not  affert^  that  the  Earth  is  a  iimple,  uni- 
form, homogeneous  Body ,-  as  neither  do  we, 
when  we  fay,  Up07i  the  Face  of  the  Earthy 
or  the  like.  For  the  Earth,  we  fee,  is  a  Mafs 
made  up  of  a  Multitude  of  different  Species  of 
Bodies,  Metab^  Minerals^  Stones^  and  other 
Foflils,  Sand^  Clay^  Marl^  Chalky  &c.  which 
do  all  agree^  in  that  they  are  confident  and 
folid  more  or  lefs,  and  are  in  that  refped 
coBtradiftinguilhed  to  Water ;  and  together 
compound  one  Mafs,  which  we  call  Earth- 
Whether  the  interior  Parts  of  the  Earth  be 
made  up  of  fo  great  a  Variety  of  different 
Bodies,  is  to  us  altogether  unknown.  For 
tho'  it  be  obferved  by  Colliers,  that  the  Beds 
of  Coals  lie  one  way,  and  do  always  dip 
towards  the  Eaft,  let  them  go  never  fo  deep  ; 
fo  that,  would  it  quit  Coft,  and  were  it  not 
for  the  Water,  they  fay,  they  might  purfue 
the  Bed  of  Coals  to  the  very  Center  of 
the  Earth,  the  Coals  never  failing  or  coming , 
to  an  End  that  way  ;  yet  that  is  but  a  ralii 
and  ungrounded  Conjedure,  For,  what  is 
the  Depth  of  the  profoundeft  Mines,  were 
they  a  Mile  deep,  to  the  Semidiameter  of  the 
Earth  ?  not  as  One  to  Four  thoufand.  Com- 
paring this  Obfervation  of  Dipping  with  my 
Notes  about  other  Mines,  I  find  that  the 
Veins  or  Beds  of  all  generally  run  Eaft  and 
Weft,  and  dip  towards  the  Eaft.  Of  which, 
what  Account  or  tleafon  can  we  give,  but^ 

the 


of  the  World.  37^ 


the  Motion  of  the  Earth  from  Weft  to  Eaft  ? 
I  know  fome  fay,  that  the  Veins,  for  Exam- 
ple, of  Tin  and  Silver,  dip  to  the  North, 
rho'  they  confcfs  they  run  Eaft  and  Weft, 
which  is  a  thing  I  cannot  underftand,  the 
Veins  of  thofe  Metals  being  narrow  things. 
Sir  Tho.  Willoughby^  in  his  forementioned 

J-etter,  writes  thus  ;    '  I  have  talked 

with  fome  of  my  Colliers  about  the  Lying 
of  the  Coal,  and  find,  that  generally  the  Baf- 
fet-End  (as  they  call  it)  lies  Weft,  and  runs 
deeper  toward  the  Eaft,  allowing  about 
twenty  Yards  in  Length  to  gain  one  in 
Depth  i  but  fometimes  they  decline  a  little 
from  this  Pofture  j  for  mine  lie  almoft  South- 
Weft,  and  North-Eaft.  They  always  (ink  to 
the  Eaft  more  or  lefs.  There  may,  therefore, 
for  ought  we  know,  be  Fire  about  the  Cen- 
ter of  the  Earth,  as  well  as  any  other  Body, 
if  it  can  find  a  Pabulum^  or  Few  el  there  to 
maintain  it.  And  why  may  it  not  ?  fince  the 
Fires  in  thofe  fubtcrraneous  Caverns  of  ^r- 
na^  Vefuvim^  Strojnboli^  Hecla^  and  other 
burning  Mountains  or  Vulcanoi^  have  found 
wherewith  to  feed  them  for  Thoufands  of 
Years,  And  as  there  are  at  fome,  tho*  un- 
certain Periods  of  Time,  violent  Eruptions 
of  Fire  from  the  Craters  of  thofe  Mountains, 
and  mighty  Streams  of  melted  Materials 
poured  forth  from  thence :  So,  why  may 
not  this  Central  Fire  in  the  Earth,  (if  any 
fush  there  be)  receiving  accidentally  extra- 

I  ordinary 


380  Of  the  Dijfolution 

^  ordinary  Supplies  of  convenient  Fuel,  eithei^ 

*  from  fome  inflamable  Matter  within  or  from 
'  without,  rend  the  thick  exterior  Corte:^ 
^  which  imprifons  it,  or  finding  fome  Vents 

*  and  Iffues,  break  forth  and  overflow  the 
^  whole  Superficies  of  the  Earth,  and  burn  up 

*  all  Things."  This  is  not  impoffiblei  and 
we  have  Teen  fome  Phtcnomena  in  Nature 
which  bid  fair  towards  a  Probability  of  it. 
For,  what  Ihould  be  the  Reafon  of  new  Stars 
appearing  and  difappearing  again  ?  as  that  no- 
ted one  in  CaJJtopeia^  which  atfirft  flione  with 
as  great  a  Luftre  as  Venm^  and  then  by  De- 
grees diminifhing,  after  fome  two  Years  va- 
nifli'd  quite  away  ?  But  that  by  great  Sup- 
plies of  combuftible  Matter,  the  internal  Fire 
fuddenly  increafing  in  Quantity  and  Force, 
either  found,  or  made  its  Way  through  the 
Cracks  or  Vents  of  the  MacuU  which  in- 
clofed  it,  and  in  an  inftant,  as  it  were,  over-, 
flowed  the  whole  Surface  of  the  Star,  whence 
proceeded  that  illuftrious  Light  j  which  af- 
terwards again  gradually  decayed,  its  Supply 
failing.  Whereas  other  newly  appearing  Stars, 
which  either  have  a  conftant  Supply  of  Mat- 

.  ter,  or  where  the  Fire  hath  quite  diifolved 
the  MacuU^  and  made  them  comply  with 
its  Motion,  have  endured  for  a  long  time, 
as  that  which  now  lliines  in  the  Neck  of 
Cygnm^  which  appears  and  difappears  at  cef- 
tain  Intervals. 

But 


of  the  World.  581 

But  bccaiife  it  is  not  demonftrable  that 
there  is  any  fuch  Central  Fire  in  the  Earth, 
I  propofe  the  Eruption  thereof  rather  as  a 
poflible  than  probable  Means  of  a  Conflagra- 
tion :  And  proceed  to  the  laft  Means  whereby^ 
it  may  naturally  be  effeded  j  and  that  is : 

Sect.    IV. 

'The  fourth  Natural  Caufeofthe  World's  Dif* 
[olution^  the  Earths  Drynefs  and  Inflarri-^ 
mability* 

IV.  ^^^  H  E  Drynefs  and  Inflammabi- 
^'  rp  3X  lity  of  the  Earth  under  the 
^^P^jP,^^^  Torrid  Zone,  with  the  Erup- 
,  ^S^S^^  tion  of  the  Vulcano's  to  fet  it 
on  fire.   Thofe  that  hold  the  Inclination  of  the 
Equator  to  the  Ecliptich  daily  to  diminilh,  fo 
"that  after  the  Revolutions  of  fome  Ages  they 
\vill  jump  and  confent,  tell  us,  that  the  Sun- 
Beams  lying  perpendicularly  and  conftantly 
on  the  Parts  under  the  Equator^  the  Ground 
thereabout  muft  needs  be  extremely  parch'd 
and  rendred  apt  for  Inflammation.    But  for 
my  part,  I  own  no  fuch  Decrement  of  Incli- 
nation.    And  the  beft  Mathematicians  of  our 
Age  deny,  that  there  hath  been  any  fince  the 
eldefl  Obfervations  that  are  come  down  to 
us.     For  tho',  indeed,  Ptolenrf  and  Hipparchus 
do  make  it^  more  than  we  find  it  by  above 
twenty  Minuter,  yet  that  Difference  is  not 

fa 


382  Of  the  hiffolutkn 

fo  confiderable,  but  that  it  may  well  be  im-^ 
puted  to  the  Difference  of  Inftruments,  or 
Obfervatiotis  in  Point  of  Exadtnefs.     So  that 
not  having  decreafed  for  Eighteen  hundfed 
Years  paft,  there  1%  not  the  leaft  ground  for 
Conje&ure,  that  it  will    alter   in  Eighteen 
hundred  Years  to  come,  ftiould  the  World 
laft  fo  long.     And  yet  if  there  were  fuch  a 
Diminution,  it  would  not  conduce  much  (Co 
far  as  I  can  fee)  to  the  bringing  on  of  a  Con- 
flagration.   For  tho'  the  Earth  would  be  ex- 
tremely dried,  and  perchance  thereby  ren- 
<lred  more  inflammable  j  yet  the  Air  being 
by  the  fame  Heat  as  much  rarified,  would 
contain  but  few  nitrous  Particles,  and  fo  be 
inept  to  maintain  the  Fire,  which,  we  fee, 
cannot  live  without  them:    It  being  much 
deadcd  by  the  Stm^lhining  upon  it ;  and  burn- 
ing very  remifly  in  Summer-time,  and  hot 
Weather.  For  this  ReafoHjiri  Southern  Coun- 
tries, in  extraordinary  hot  Seafons,  the  Air 
fcarce  fufficcth  for  Refpiration.    To  the  clear- 
ing up  of  this,  let  us  a  little  confider  what 
Fire  is.    It  feems  to  confift  of  three  different 
Sorts  of  Parts,     i.  An  extremely  thin  and 
fubtil  Body,  whofe  Particles  are  in  a  veiy 
vehement  and  rapid  Motion.     2.  A  (fuppo- 
fed)  Nitrous  Pabulum,  or  Fewel,  which  it 
receives  from  the  Air.     3.  A  fulphureous  or 
unduous  Pabulum,  which  it  a^s  and  preys 
upon,  pafling  generally   by   the  Name  of 
FeweL     This  forementioned    fobtil  Body 

*  agita- 


of  the  World.  383 

agitating  the  (fuppofed)  Nitrous  Particles  it 
receives  from  the  Air,  doth  by  their  Help, 
as  by  Wedges,  to  ufe  that  rude  Similitude, 
penetrate  the  undtuous  Bodies,  upon  which 
it  aifts,  and  divide  them  into  their  immediate 
component  Particles,  and  at  length,  perchance 
into  their  firft  Principles ;  which  Operation 
is  called  the  Chymical  Anatomy  of  mix'd 
Bodies.  So  we  lee  Wood,  for  Example,  di- 
vided by  Fire  into  Spirit,  Oil,  Water,  Salt, 
and  Earth. 

That  Fire  cannot  live  without  thofe  Par-  | 
tides  it  receives  from  the  Air,  is  manifeft,  in 
that,  if  you  preclude  the  Accefs  of  all  Air,  it 
is  extinguillied  immediately  :  And  in  that, 
where  and  when  the  Air  is  more  charged 
with  them,  as  in  cold  Countries,  and  cold 
Weather,  the  Fire  rages  moft  :  That  likewife 
it  cannot  be  continued  without  an  unctuous 
Fabulum^  or  Few  el,  I  appeal  to  the  Expe- 
rience of  all  Men. 

Now  then,  in  the  rarified  Air  in  the  Tor- 
rid Zone,  the  nitrous  Particles  being  propor- 
tionably  fcattcred  and  thin  fet,  the  Fire  that 
might  be  kindled  there  would  burn  but  very 
languidly  and  rcmifly,  as  we  faid  juft  now : 
And  fo  the  Eruptions  of  F«/c^«<?V,if  any  fuch 
happened,  would  not  be  like  to  do  half  the 
Execution  there  that  they  would  do  in  cold 
Countries.  And  yet  1  never  read  of  any 
fpreading  Conflagration  caufed  by  the  Eru- 
ptions of  any  Vukanos^  cither  in  hot  Coun- 
tries. 


384  Of  the  Dijfolution 

tries,  or  in  cold.  They  ufually  caft  out  a*  I 
bundance  of  thick  Smoak,  like  Clouds  dark-  1 
hing  the  Air  j  and  likewife  Afhes  and  Stones, 
fometimes  of  a  vaff  Bignefs  j  and  fome  of 
them,  as  Vefuvius^  Floods  of  Water ,  others^ 
(as  Atna)  Rivers  of  melted  Materials,  run- 
ning down  many  Miles :  As  for  the  Flames 
that  iifue  out  of  their  Mouths  at  fuch  Times, 
they  are  but  tranfient,  and  mounting  up- 
wards, feldom  fet  any  thing  on  fire. 

But  not  to  infift  upon  this,  I  do  affirm,^ 
that  there  hath  not  as  yet  been,  nor  for  the 
future  can  be,  any  fuch  Drying  or  Parching 
of  the  Earth  under  the  Torrid  Zone^  as  fome 
may  imagine.  That  there  hath  not  yet  been, 
I  appear  to  Experience,  the  Countries  lying 
under  the  Courfc  of  the  Sun,  being  at  this 
Day  as  fertile  as  ever  they  were,  and  wanting 
ho  more  Moifture  now  than  of  old  they  did  ^ 
having  as  conflant  and  plentiful  Rains  in  their 
Seafons  as  they  then  had.  That  they  fhall 
for  the  future  fuffer  any  more  Drought  than 
they  have  heretofore  done,  there  is  no  Rea- 
fon  to  believe  or  imagine  j  the  Face  of  the 
Earth  being  not  altered,  nor  naturally  alter- 
able, as  to  the  main,  more  at  prefent  than  it 
was  heretofore.  I  Ihall  now  add  the  Rea- 
fon,  why,  I  think,  there  can  be  no  fuch  Ex- 
(iccation  of  the  Earth  in  thofe  Parts;  It's: 
true  indeed,  were  there  nothing  to  hinder 
them,  the  Vapours  exhaled  by  the  Sun- 
Beams   in    tliofe  hot  Regions^  would   be 


of  the  World.  585* 

ca{^  off  to  the  North,  and  to  the  Solith^  a 
great  way,  and  not  fall  down  in  Rain  there, 
but  towards  the  Poles  :  But  the  long  and  con- 
tinued Ridges  or  Chains  of  exceeding  high 
Mountains  are  (o  difpofed  by  the  great  and 
wife  Creator  of  the  World,  as,  at  leaft  in  our 
Continent,  to  run  Eaft  and  Weft,  as  Gajferi- 
dm  in  the  Life  of  Feireshm  well  obferves, 
fjjch  are  Atlas^  Taurus^    and  the  Alps^    to 
name  no  more :  They  are,  Ifay^  thusdifpcK- 
fed,  as  if  it  were  on  purpofe  to  obviate  and 
ftop  the  Evagation  of  the  Vapours  North- 
ward, and  reflect  them  back  again,  fo  that 
they  muft  needs  be  condenfed,  and  fall  uport 
the  Countries  out  of  which  they  were  eleva- 
ted.    And  on  the  South  Side,  being  near  the 
Sea,  it  is  likely  that  the  Wind,  blowing  fot 
the  moft  part  from  thence,  hinders  their  Exi 
curfion  that  way*     This  I  fpeak  by  Prefuni- 
ption,  becaiife  in  our  Country,  tor  at  leaft 
three  Quarters  of  the  Year,  the  Wind  blows 
from  the  great  Atlantick  Ocean  j  which  was 
taken  Notice  of  by  Julius  Ctcfar  in  the  Fifth 
of  his  Commentaries,  De  Bello  Gallico.    Co- 
rut  ventuf^  qui  magndin  partem  ojnnis  teinpO"^ 
rif  in  his  locis  flare  confuevit. 

A  s  for  any  Deficcation  of  the  Sea,  I  hold 
that  by  meer  natural  Caufes  to  be  impofifible^ 
unlefs  we  could  fuppofe  a  Tranfmutation  of 
Principles  or  Simple  Bodies^  which  for  Rea- 
fons  ailedged  in  a  former  Difcourfe  I  cannot 
allow*    I  was  then,  and  am  ftill  of  Opinion^ 

G  €  ihai 


38(^  Oj  the  Dijfolution 

that  God  Almighty  did  at  firft  create  a  cer-' 
tain  and  determinate  Number  of  Principles, 
or  varioufly  figured  Corpufcles,  intranlmu- 
table  by  the  Force  of  any  natural  Agent, 
even  Eire  itfelf,  (which  can  only  feparate 
the  Parts  of  heterogeneous  Bodies)  yet  not 
an  equal  Number  of  each  Kind  of  theie  Prm- 
ciples,  but  of  fome  abundantly  more,,  as  of 
Water ^  Earthy  Air^  jEther  j  and  of  others 
fewer,  as  of  Oy/,  Salt^  Metah,,  Minerah^  &c. 
Now,  that  there  may  be  fome  Bodies  indi- 
.vifible  by  Fire,  is^  I  think,  demonftrable. 
For  how  doth  or  can  Fire  be  conceived  to  di- 
vide, one  can  hardly  imagine  any  other  way 
than  by  its  fmall  Parts,  by  reafon  of  their 
violent  Agitation  infinuating  themfeives  in- 
to Compound  Bodies,  and  feparating  their 
Parts  i  which  allowing,  yet  ftill  there  is  a 
Term  of  Magnitude,  below  v^-hich  it  cannot 
divide,  'viz,  it  cannot  divide  a  Body  into 
fmaller  Parts  than  thofe  whereof  itielf  is 
compounded.  For  taking,  fuppofe,  one  leaft 
Part  of  Fire,  'tis  clear  that  it  cannot  infmuate 
itfelf  into  a  Body  as  little  or  lefs  than  itfelf  i 
and  what  is  true  oFone,  is  true  of  all ;  I  fay, 
we  can  imagine  no  other  way  than  this,unlefs 
perchance,  by  a  violent  Stroke  or  Shock,  the 
Parts  of  the  Body  to  be  divided,  may  be  put 
into  fo  impetuous  a  Motion,  as  to  fall  in  fun- 
der  of  themfeives  into  lelTer  Particles  than 
^hofeof  the  impellent  Body  are,  which  I  will 
not  fuppofe  at  prefent.    Now,  it  h  poifible, 

that 


of  the  World.  387 

that  the  Principles  of  fome  other  Simple  Bo- 
dies may  be  as  i'mali  as  the  Particles  oF  Fire. 
But  however  that  be,  it  is  enough,  if  the  Prin- 
ciples ot  Simple  Bodies  be,  by  reafon  of  their 
perfect  Solidity,  naturally  indivifible.  Such  a 
limple  Body,  I  fuppofe,  Water  feparated  from 
all  heterogeneous  Mixtures  to  be  t  And  con- 
fequently  the  fame  Quantity  thereof  that  was 
at  firft  created,  doth  ftill  remain,  and  will 
continue  always  in  Defpight  of  all  natural  A- 
gents,  unlefs  it  pleafes  the  Omnipotent  Crea- 
tor to  diifolve it.  And  therefore  there  can 
be  no  Deficcation  of  the  Seas,  unlefs  by  turn- 
ing all  its  Water  into  Vapour,  and  fufpending 
it  in  the  Air,  which  to  do,  what  an  immenfe 
and  long-continuing  Fire  would  be  requiiite? 
to  the  Maintenance  whereof  all  the  inflam- 
mable Materials  near  the  Superficies  of  the 
Earth  would  not  afford  Fewel  enough.  The 
Sun,  we  fee,  is  fo  far  from  doing  it,  that  it: 
hath  not  made  one  Step  towards  it  thefe  four 
thoufand  Years,  there  being  in  all  Likelihood 
as  great  a  Quantity  of  Water  in  the  Ocean 
now,as  was  immediately  after  the  Flood  :  And 
confequently  there  would  probably  remain 
as  much  in  it,  fhould  the  World  laft  four 
thoufand  Years  longer. 

This  Fixednefs  and  Intranfmutability'of 
Principles  fecures  the  Univerfe  from  Dilfolu- 
tion  by  the  prevailing  of  one  Element  over 
another,  and  turning  it  into  its  own  Nature  j 
which  otherwife  it  would  be  in  continual 

C  c  2  Danger . 


388  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Danger  of.  It  fecures  likewife  tbcPerpetuN 
ty  oi  all  the  Species  in  the  Worlds  many  of 
which,  if  their  Principles  were  tranfmutable, 
might  by  fuch  a  Change  be  quite  loft  :  And 
laftly,  bars  the  Produdiori  or  Creation  of  any 
new  Species,  as  in  the  formentioned  Trea- 
tife  I  have  fliewn. 


at*«»*ffi*««**«««3-«S-3'«ffia««'KJ««ft«!K«!K«««**«3? 


HAP. 


VI. 


Containing  an  Anfwer  to  %e  Second  Que- 
Jiion^   Whether  Jhall  this  Dijfolution  be 
effected  by  natural  or  by  extraordinary 
Msans^  and  what  they  Jhall  be  ? 

S  to  the  Second  Queftion, 
Whether  fliall  this  Diffolu- 
tion  be  brought  about  and 
effected  by  natural  or  by 
extraordinary  Means  and 
Inftruments,  and  what  thofe  Means  and  In- 
ftruments  Jliall  be  ?  I  anfwer  in  brief,  That 
the  Inftrumental  Efficient  of  tliis  DilTolution 
liiall  be  natural.  For  it  is  clear,  bx)th  by 
Scripture  and  Tradition,  and  agreed  on  all 
hands,  that  it  fhall  be  that  Catholick  DilToU 
vent,  Fire.  Now,  to  the  Being  and  Mainte- 
nance of  Fire,  there  are  four  Things  requi- 
fite.  I.  The  a(^ive Principle  of  ^rkr.  2.4/^, 

or 


of  the  World.  385 

or  a  Nitrous  Fabulum  received  from  it  : 
Thefe  two  being  commixt  together,  are  eve- 
ry where  at  hand.  3 .  Fewel^  which,  confi- 
dering  the  Abundance  of  combuftible  Mate- 
rials, which  are  to  be  found  in  all  Places  up- 
on or  under  the  Surface  of  the  Earth,  can  lio 
where  be  wanting.  4.  The  Accenfion,  and 
the  fuddcn  and  equal  Diffufion  of  this  Fire 
all  the  World  over.  And  this  muft  be  the 
Work  of  God,  extraordinary  and  miracu- 
lous. « 

Such  a  DifTolution  of  the  World  might 
indeed  be  effected  by  that  natural  Accident 
mentioned  in  the  Anfwer  to  the  precedent 
Queftion,  foiz.  The  Eruption  of  the  Central 
Fire.  But  becaufe  it  is  doubtful,  whether 
there  be  any  fuch  Fire  in  the  Middle  of  the 
Earth  or  no ;  and  if  there  ever  were,  it  is 
hard  to  givf  an  Account,  how  it  could  be 
maintained  in  that  infernal  Dungeon  for  want 
of  Air  and  Fewel.  And,  becaufe,  if  it  fhould 
break  forth  into  the  Gonfiftency  of  a  thin 
Flame,  it  would  in  all  Likelihood  fpeedily 
like  Lightning  mount  up  to  Heaven,  and 
quite  vanifh.  away  i  unlefs  we  could  fuppofe 
Floods,  nay  Seas  of  melted  Materials,  or 
liquijd  Fire,  enough  to  overflow  the  w^hole 
Earth,  to  be  poured  forth  of  thofe  Gaverns. 
For  thefe  Reafons  I  rejed  that  Opinion,  and 
do  rather  think  that  tfie  Gonflagration  ihall 
be  effeded  by  a  fuperficial  Fire.  Tho'  I  muft 
confefsvve  read  in  Tacitus^  AnnaL  13.  at  the 

C  c  3  *  End, 


3po  Of  the  Dijfolution. 

End,  of  a  Sort  of  Fire  that  was  not  fo  apt  to 

difperfe  and  vanifli.     ' The  City  of 

the  Jnhonia'fis  in  Ger?nany  (faith  he)  confe- 
derate with  us  was'affliile^  with  a  fudden 
Difafter ;  for  Fires  iffuing  out  of  the  Earth, 
burned  Towns,  Fields,  Villages  every 
where,  arid  fpread  even  to  the  Walls  of  a 
Colony  newly  built,  and  could  not  be  ex- 
tinguilhed,  neither  by  Rain  nor  River-Wa- 
ter, nor  any  other  Liquor  that  couid  be 
employed,  until  for  \\^nt  of  Remedy,  of 
Anger  of  fuch  a  Diftradion,  certain  Pea- 
fants  caft  Stones  afar  off  into  it^  then  the 
Flame  fomewhat  flackning,  drawing  near, 
they  put  it  out  with  Blows  of  C^lubs,  and 
other  like,  as  if  it  had  been  a  wild  Beaft  : 
Laft  of  all,  they  threw  in  Cloaths  from 
their  Backs,  which  the  more  worn  and 
fouler  they  were,  the  better  they  quenched 

«  the  Fire  "    I  ufe  Dr.  Hahwitl's  Tranfla- 

tion. 


C  W  A  P, 


C    H    A    P.       VII. 

The  Third  Queftion  anfwered^  Whether 
Jhdll  this  Dijfolut'wn  be  gradual  and 
faccejjive^  or  momentamous  andfiidden  ? 

3.^^^^HEThirdQLieftion  is,  TThether 
M  tM  fi(ill  this  Diffolution  he  gradual 
^^"^^  ^«i  fucceffive^   or  mojnentaneous 

and  fudden  ? 
I  ANSWER,  The  Scripture  refolves  for  the 
latter,  The  Day  of  theLoKDjJjall  come  as  a 
Thief  in  the  Night:  A  Similitude  we  have 
often  repeated  in  Scripture,  as  in  the  tenth 
Verfe  of  this  Chapter,  in  i  Thejf,  xv.  2. 
Rev.  iii.  3.  and  xvi.  15.  And  the  Refur- 
redion  and  Change  of  Things,  it  is  faid, 
Ihall  be  in  a  Motnent^  in  the  Twinkling  of  an 
Eye^  I  Cor.  xv.  52.  Confonant  whereto  both 
the  Epicureans  and  Stoich  held  their  DifToIu- 
tions  of  the  World  Ihould  be  fudden  and 
brief,  as  Lucretius  and  Seneca,  in  the  Place 
forementioned,  tell  us.  And  it  is  fuita- 
ble  to  the  Nature  of  Fire  to  make  a  quick 
Difpatch  of  Things,  fuddenly  to  confume 
and  deftroy. 

A  N  D  as  it  lliall  be  fudden,  fo  alfo  fiiall  it 
be  unexpe(fted,  being  compared  to  the  Co- 
ming of  the  Flood  in  the  Days  of  Noah,  Mat. 
xxiv.  3  7,3  8,3  9.  But  as  the  Days  of  N^ah  were^ 

C  c  4  fo 


3^2  Of  the  Diffolution 

fo  Jhall  alfo  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  he. 
For  at  in  the  Dap  that  were  before  the  Flood^ 
they  were  eating  and  drinhng,  7narrying  and 
giving  in  Marriage^  until  the  Dcfi/  that  Noah 
entred  into  the  Ark ;  And  hnew  not  until  the 
Flood  came  and  took  them  all  away ;  fofljall  aU 
fo  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  be.  And  the 
raining  of  Fire  and  Brimftone  upon  Sodom, 
I-uke  xyii.  ThefTal.  v.  3 .  For  when  they  Jhall 
fay  Peace  and  Safety^  then  fudden  Deftru6iion 
(^ometh  upon  them  as  Tmvail  ufon  a  Woman 
with  Child,  Now,  if  it  toll  be  thus  fudden 
and  unexpeded,  it  is  not  likely  there  fhould 
\>t  in  Nature  any  manifeft  Tendency  to  it,  ojp 
remarkable  Signs  and  Fore-runners  of  it :  For 
fuch  muft  needs  ftartle  and  awaken  the 
World  into  an  Expectation  and  Dread  of  it. 
That  there  i's  at  prefen^  no  fuch  Tendency 
to  Corruption,  but  that  the  World  conti-r 
nues  flill  in  as  good  State  and  Condition  as 
it  was  two  thoufand  Years  ago,  without  the 
leaft  Impairment  of  Decay,  hath  been,  as  we 
before  noted,  without  any  Pofifibility  of 
Contradidion,  clearly  made  out  and  demon- 
ftrated,  by  Dr.  Hakemll  in  his  Apology  : 
•  And  therefore,  arguing  from  the  paft  to  the 
future,  it  will  in  all  Likelihood  fo  continue 
^wo  tiioufand  Years  more,  if  it  be  fo  long  tQ 
the  Day  of  Doom  ^  and  confequently  that 
Day  (as  the  Scripture  predids)  wiltfudden- 
ly  and  unexpectedly  come  upon  the  World. 
But  if  all  thefe  Propiiecies  (^s  Dr.  Hammnd 

affirn^) 


of  the  World.  35>3 

affirms)  be  to  be  reftrained  only  to  the  De- 
ftmaion  o^  Jerufale?n,  and  the  Je.wij}j  PolU 
ty,  without  any  farther  Refpe(5t  to  the  End  of 
the  World,  then  indeed  from  thence  we  can 
make  no  Inferences  or  Dedu^ions  in  refe- 
rence to  that  final  Period. 


HAP. 


VIII. 


The  Fourth  Queftion  Refohed^  Whether 
Jhall  there  be  any  Signs  or  Fore-runners 
of  the  Dijfolutwn  of  the  World  ? 

4.^^^ HE  Fourth  Queftion  is,  Whe- 
^^^  ther  fhall  there  be  any  Signs 
^P^^  or  Fore-runners  of  the  Diflb-^ 
&!3S^^  lution  of  the  World  ? 
In  order  to  the  Anfwering  of  this  Que^ 
{lion,  we  fhall  diftinguifh  Signs  into  Natural 
and  Arbitrarious. 

I.  Natural  Signs ^  fo  the  Aurora^  or 
Dawning  of  the  Day,  is  a  Sign  of  the  Sun- 
Rifing.  ^  Now,  if  the  Diffolution  be  effeaed 
in  the  Courfe  of  Nature,  and  by  Natural 
Means,  there  will  be  fome  previous  natural 
Signs  of  it.  An  old  Houfe  will  threaten 
Ruin  before  it  falls.  The  natural  Death  of 
Men,  and  all  Animals,  hath  its  Harbingers, 
and  old  Mep  before  their  Djffolution  feel  the 

Impref- 


5P4  ^f  f^^  T>ijfolution 

Imprefifions  of  Age,-  and  proclaim  to  the 
World  their  approaching  Fate,  by  Wrinkles, 
Gray  Hairs,  and  Dimnefs  of  Sight.  But  we 
have  formerly  fliewn,  That  there  is  no  Con- 
fenefcency  or  Declenfion  in  Nature  j  but  that 
the  World  continues  ftill  as  firm  and  ftaunch 
as  it  was  three  thoufand  Years  ago  ,•  and 
why  hereafter  it  fliould  founder  and  decay 
more  than  it  hath  done  for  fo  many  Ages 
heretofore,  what  Reafon  can  be  given  ?  It 
is  not  therefore  likely  there  filouid  be  any 
natural  Signs  of  the  DilTolution  of  the  World^" 
and  confequently  that  it  fhail  be  effeded  by 
natural  Means. 

2.  There  are  Arbitrafj  Sigm^  as  a  Gar- 
land hung  out  is  a  Sign  of  Wine  to  be  fold. 
Now,  if  the  DilTolution  of  the  •  World  be 
dfeded  by  Supernatural  and  Extraordma- 
ry  Means,  (as  is  moft  likely)  the  Signs  of  it 
muft  be  arbitrarious.  For  though  they  may 
be  natural  Effe(5ts  and  Productions,  yet  would 
they  not  fignify  the  Deftrudion  of  the  World, 
if  they  were  not  ordered  by  Providence  to 
happen  at  that  time,  and  preditSted  ^s  Fore- 
runners of  it ;  with  which  otherwife  they 
have  no  natural  Connexion.  Such  Signs  are 
Matth,  xxiv.  the  Sun  being  darkcn'd,  and 
the  Moon  not  giving  her  Light,  and  the  Stars 
falling  from  Heaven,  and  the  Shaking  of  the 
Powers  of  Heaven.  Thefe,  and  many  other 
Signs  of  His  Coming,  we  find  mentioned  in 
Scripture  j   but  what  the  Meaning  of  thefe 

Ex- 


of  the  World.  39^ 


Expreflions  may  be,  is  not  fo  clear.  For 
though  feme  ot  them  may  be  taken  in  a  li- 
teral Scnfe,  yet  it  is  manifeft  that -others  can- 
not. The  Sun  may  indeed  be  fo  covered- 
with  a  Macula^  as  to  be  quite  obfcured; 
and  thereupon  the  Moon  neceffariiy  lofe  her 
Light,  which  Ihe  borrows  only  from  the 
Sun-Beams :  But  how  the  Stars  fhould  in  a 
literal  Senfe  fall  down  from  Heaven,  is  in- 
conceivable ;  it  being  almoft  demonftratively 
certain,  that  moft  of  them  are  bigger  than 
the  whole  Earth.  We  may  therefore,  keep- 
ing as  near  as  we  can  to  the  Letter,  thus  in- 
terpret them.  There  fiiall  be  great  Signs  hx 
Heaven,  difmal  Eclipfes  and  Obfcurations  of 
the  Sun  and  Moon  i  new  Stars  and  Comets 
fliall  appear,  and  others  difappear,  and  ma- 
ny fiery  Meteors  be  fufpended  in  the  Air. 
The  very  Foundations  of  the  Earth  Ihall  be 
fhaken,  and  the  Sea  fliall  roar  and  make  a 
Noife.  But  I  muft  not  here  dilTenible  a  great 
Difficulty:  Hqw  can  fuch  illuftrious  Signs 
and  Fore-runners  be  reconciled  to  the  Sud- 
dennefs  and  Unexpe«5tednefs  of  Christ's 
Coming,  and  the  End  of  the  World?  huke 
xxi.  25.  After  the  Evangelift  had  told  us, 
That  there  fljall  be  Signs  in  the  Sun^  and  in 
the  Moon^  and  in  the  Stars^  — -  the  Sea  and 
the  Waves  roaring  j  he  adds,  as  a  Confe- 
quent  thereof,  Ver.  26.  Mens  Hearts  failing 
them  for  Fear^  and  for  looking  after  thoje 
Things  that  are  coming  on  the  EartL    And, 

indeed, 


39^  0//^^  Dijfolution 

indeed,  how  could  any  Man  poflibly  be  bu- 
ried in  fo  profound  a  Lethargy  of  Senflefs* 
nefs  and  Security,    as  by  fuch  ftupendous 
Prodigies  not  to  be  rowzed.  and  awakened 
to  an  Expedation  of  fome  difmal  and  tre- 
mendous Event  ?  How  could  he  fmg  a  Re- 
quiem to  his  Soul,  and  fay  Peace  and  Safe- 
ty, when  the  World  fo  manifeftly  threa- 
tens Ruin  about  his  Ears  ?  For  the  recon- 
ciling of  thefe  E"xpre(fions  to   this  fudden 
Coming  of  our  Saviour  to  Judgment,    it 
were  moft  convenient  to  accept  them    in 
the  Figurative  and  Metaphorical  Senfe.    For 
if  we  underftand  them  of  the  Ruin  and  De- 
vaftations  of   Cities   and  Countries ,    and 
Changes  of  Governments,  the  Subverfions 
of  Kingdoms  and  Commonwealths,  the  Falls 
and  Depolings  of  Princes,  Nobles,  and  gre*at 
Men  J  thefe  happening  more  or  lefs  in  every 
Age,  tho'  the  ferious  and  inquifitive  Chri- 
ftian,  who  fe^rches  and  underftands  the  Scri- 
ptures, niay  drfcern  tbem  to  bf  the  Signs  of 
the  World's  Cataftrophe ;  yet  the  carelefs  and 
inconfiderate,  the  vicious  and  voluptuous  are 
not  like  to  be  a&all  ftartled  or  moved  at  them, 
but  may  notwithftanding,  looking  upoixthem' 
as  ordinary  and  infignificant  Accidents,  dvr^' 
mire  in  utramque  mrem^  deep  fecurely  till  the 
laft  Trump  awaken  them.    Or  it  may  be  an- 
fwered.  That  thefe  Prophecies  do  belong 
to  the  Deftrudipn  of  J emfajem  only j^  and 

fo 


of  the  JVorld. 


391 


fo  we  are  not  concerned  to  anfwi^r  that  Ob* 
je(5tion. 


HAP. 


IX. 


The  Fifth  Queftion  anftpered;  At  what 
Period  of  Time  Jhall  the  World  he  dif" 
fohed  ? 

H  E  Fifth  Queftiort  is.  At 
what  Period  of  Time  ihall 
the  World  be  diifolved  ?  I 
anfwer.  This  is  abfolutely 
uncertain  and  undetermina- 
ble. For,  fince  this  Diffolution  Ihall  be  ef- 
fe^ed  by  the  extraordinary  Interpofition  of 
Providence,  it  cannot  be  to  any  Man  known, 
unlefs  extraordinarily  revealed.  And  our  Sa- 
viour telb  us.  That  of  that  Day  and  Hour 
knoweth  no  Man^  no  not  the  Angels  of  Hea^ 
T;e«,  &c.  Matth,  xxiv.  3  6.  •  And  again,  A^f 
i,  17.  It  if  not  for  us  to  Inow  the  Times  and 
the  SeafonSy  which  the  Father  hath  placed  in 
his  own  Powe^',  And  this  Dr.  Hahwill  brings 
as  an  Argument,  that  the  World  decays  nor, 
neither  tends  to  Corruption  j  becaufe,  if  it 
did,  the  Time  of  its  a(5tual  Dilfolution  might 
be  colki^ed  and  foretold  ;  which,  faith  he^ 
the  Scripture  d.cnips.     Wc  may  invert  this 

Ar§u- 


5p§  Of  the  Dijfolution 

Argumentation,and  inferr,Becaufe  the  World 
doth  not  decay,  therefore  the  Time  of  itis 
DifTolution  cannot  be  known. 

But  yet,  not withftanding  this,  many  have 
ventured  to  foretell  the  Time  of  the  End  of 
the  World,  of  whom  fome  are  already  con- 
futed, the  Term  prefixt  being  paft,  and  the 
World  ftill  {landing.  La^tantm^'m  his  Time, 
faid,  Inftit.  lib,  7.  cap.  25.     0?nnh  expe5ia- 
tio  non  amplius  qudm  ducentorum  videtur  an^ 
novum  y   T^he  longefl  Expectation  extends  not 
farther  than  Two  hundred  Tearr,  .  The  Con- 
tinuance of  the  World  more  than  a  Thou- 
fand  Years  fince,  convinces  him  of  a  grofs 
Miftake.     Paulm  Grebnerm^  a  high  Preten- 
der to  a  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  fets  it  in  the  Year 
1613,  induced  thereto  by  a  fond  Conceit  of 
the  Numeral  Letters  in  the    hatin  Word 
'judicium.    Other  Enthufiaftical  Perfons  of 
our  own  Country  have    placed   if  in  the 
Years  1645,  and  1656.     The  Event  lhev\^s 
how  ungrounded ly  and  erroneoufly.    Others 
there  are,  whofe  Term  is  not  yet  expired, 
and  fo  they  remain  ftill  to  be  confuted.     As 
Du  Mou'  thofe  who  conceit,  that  the  End  of  the  World 
i'f'        Ihall  be  when  the  Pole-Star  Ihall  come  to 
touch  the  Pole  of  the  Equator ^  which  (  fay 
they  )    ever   fmce  the  Time  of  HipparchUf^ 
hath  approached  nearer   and   nearer  to  it. 
That  it  doth  fo,  I  am  not  fatisfied  ,•  but  if  it 
doth,  ic  is  meerly  Accidental,  and  hath  no 
Connexion  with  the  End  of  the  World.    But 

the 


of  the  World.  39p 

the  moft  famous  Opinion,  and  which  hath 
found  moft  Patrons  and  Followers,  even  a- 
niongft  the  Learned  and  Pious,  is  that  of  the 
World's  Duration  for  Six  thoufand  Years. 
For  the  ftrengthening  of  which  Conceit,  they 
tell  us.  That  as  the  World  was  created  in 
fix  Days,  and  then  followed  the  Sabbath,  fo 
ihall  it  remain  Six  thoufand  Years,  and  then 
fliail  fuccecd  the  Eternal  Sabbath,    Heb,  iv.  9, 
!'Apa  oLTTQ'kd'Ki'Tu.i  2a/3/3^T/o-fAcc,  &c.    Inhere  re- 
inains^  therefore^  a  Reft  or  Sabbath  to  the  Feo* 
fie  of  Go  D.     Here  we  fee,  that  the  Apoftle 
inftitutes  a  Comparifon  between  the  heaven- 
ly Reft  and  the  Sabbath.     Therefore,  as  God 
refted  upon  the  Seventh  Day,  fo  ihall  all  the 
World  of  the  Godly  reft  after  the  Six  Thou- 
fandth  Year.     For  he  that  hath  entred  into 
his  Reft^  ceafeth  from  all  his  Worh^  as  Go i> 
did  from  His*    Of  this  Opinion  were  many 
of  the  Ancient  Fathers,  as  1  Ihewed  before^ 
grounding  themfelvesupon  this  Analogy  be* 
tween  the  Six  Days  of  the  Creation  and  the 
Sabbath  j  and  the  Six  Thoufand  Years  of  the 
World's   Duration,  and   the  Eternal  Reft  : 
For,  faith  Iren^us  in  the   Place  before  quo- 
ted. Hoc  aiitem^  (that  is,  the  Hiftory  of  the 
Six  Days  Creation,  and  fucceeding  Sabbath) 
eft  &  frdteritorum  narratio^  &  fulUYorumpro^         \ 
phetia.    Dies  enim  tmiis  milk  anno s  fignijic at ^ 
ficut  Scriptura  teftatur  :     2  Pet. /lii.  S.    PfaL 
xc.  4.     The  Scriptures  reckoning  Days  of 
One  thoufand  Years  long,  as  in  Verfe  8.  of 


I 


400  Of  the  Diffolution 

this  Chapter,  and  in    T^al  xc.  4.    This  is 
likewife  a  received  Tradition  of  the  Jewijh 
Rrt^^mr,regiftred  in  the  Tahntd,  in  the  Trea- 
tife  Sanhedrim,  delivered  (as  they  pretend) 
by  the  Prophet  Elias  the  TijloUte  to  the  SOn 
of  the  Woman  of  Sarepa^  whom  he  railed 
from  the  Dead,  and  by  him  handed  down  to 
Pofterity.     I  rather  thmk  with  Reuterm,  that 
the  Authot  of  it  was  fome  Rabbi  of  that 
Name*     The  Tradition  is.  Sex  millia  anno^ 
mn  Brit  inmdus :  &  una  inillenano  'vaftatw^ 
I 'e,  SabbathU?ft  Dei :    Duo  millia  inane :    Dm 
'        jfiillia  Lex:    Duo  viillia  dies  MeJJla.    Two 
thoufand  Tears  Vacuity :    Two  thouland  Tears 
of  the  Law  ;    Two  thoufand  Tears  the  Days  of 
theMeffiah.   ■  But  they  ihoot  fat  wide  :   For 
according  to  the  lead  Account,  there  pafled 
a  far  greater  Number  of  Years  before  the 
>     Law  was  given,  2513,  faith  R^?/tem;   and^ 
on  die  contrary,  lefs  Time  from  the  Law  to 
^        the  Exhibition   of  the  Meftah.    All  thefe 
• .     Proofs  laid  together,  do  fearer  fuffice  to  make 
'  -   up  a  Probability.  Neither  do  thofe  Rabbmical 
Colleaions  from  the  fix  Letters  m  n>©«-i3 
the  firft  Word  of  Genefis,  or  from  the  fix 
Alephs  in  the  firft  Vcrfe  of  that  Book,  each  , 
fignifying  a  Thouflmd  Years  j    or  from  the 
Six  firft  Patriarchs  in  the  Order  of  the  Ge- 
nealogy to  E?ioch,  who  was  caught  up  to 
Heaven,    ami  found   no  more,   add  much 
Weight'to  this  Opiniot).     S.  Auftin  very  mo- 
deftly  concludes,  after  a  Difcuflfion  of  thi^ 
'  Point 


of  the  World.  40 1 


l?oint  concerning   the   World's   Duration  ; 

l£.go  tempora  dinumerare  non  audeo  :  Nee  all- 
quern  Prophetam  de  hac  re  numemm  annarum 
txiftimo  fYiCJini-vilfe,  Nof  ergo^  quod  fcire  not 
Dominus  noluit^  libenier  nefciairius,  I  dare  not 
calculate  and  deter jnine  T'ijner  :  Neither  do  I 
thinly  that  concerning  this  Matter^  any  Fro- 
phet  hath  predicted  and  defined  the  Number  of 
Tears*  What  therefore  the  Lord  would  not 
have  us  to  hnoz0^  let  us  willingly  be  ignorant 

of- 

But  though  none  but  prefumptuous  Per- 

fons  have  undertaken  peremptorily  to  deter- 
mine that  Time,  yet  was  it  the  common  and 
received  Opinion  and  Perfuafioh  of  the  An- 
cient Ghriftians,  that  that  Day  was  not  far 
off :  And  had  they  been  to  limit  it,  they 
would  hardly  have  been  induced  to  fet  the 
Term  fo  forward  atid  remote  from  their 
own  Age,  as  by  Experience  we  find  it  proves 
to  be,  but  in  their  oWn  Times,  or  fliortly  af- 
ter :  And  many  Places  of  Scripture  feem  to 
favour  that  Opinion  ;  fo  that  fome  have  pre- 
fumed  to  fay,  That  the  Apoftles  themfelves 
were  at  firft  miftaken  in  this  Particular,  till 
after  farther  Illumination  they  were  better 
informed.  But  though  this  be  too  bold  a 
Conceit^  yet  that  the  Churches,  at  leaft  fome 
of  them,  did  at  firft  miftake  the  Apoftles 
Meaning,  in  their  Sermons  and  Epiftles  con- 
cerning this  Point,  and  fo  underftand  them, 
as  to  think  that  the  End  of  the  World  and 
D  d  Final 


402  Of  the  htjfolution. 

Final  Judgment  was  at  hand,  appears  from 
2  T^hejJ.  ii.  2.  I  befeech  you^  Brethren^  that  ye 
be  not  foon  Jhaken  in  Mtndy  or  be  troubled^  nei-^ 
ther  by  Spiritj  nor  by  Word^  nor  by  Letter^  as 
from  tis^  as  that  the  Day  0/  C  h  r  i  s  x  is  at 
hand.  We  fee  the  Apoftle  labours  to  re(^i-. 
fy,  and  for  the  future  to  prevent  this  Mi- 
ftake  i  So,  likevvife,  the  Apoftle  Peter^  in 
the  8th  and  9th  Verfes  of  this  Chapter. 
And  yet  this  Opinion  had  taken  fuch  deep 
Root  in  them,  that  it  was  not  eafy  to  be 
extirpated  j  but  continued  for  fome  Ages  in 
the  Church.  Indeed,  there  are  fo  manyPla-* 
ces  in  the  New  Teftament  which  fpeak  of 
the  Coming  of  C  h  r  i  s  t  as  very  near,  that 
if  we  fliould  have  lived  in  their  Time,  and 
underftood  them  all  as  they  did,  of  His  Co- 
ming to  judge  the  World,  we  could  hardly 
have  avoided  being  of  the  fame  Opinion. 
But  if  we  apply  them  (  as  Dr.  Hajnmond 
doth)  to  His  Coming  to  take  Vengeance  on 
His  Enemies^  then  they  do  not  hinder,  but 
that  the  Day  of  Judgment,  I  mean  the  Gene- 
ral Judgment,  may  be  far  enough  off.  So  I 
leave  this  Queftion  unrefolved,  concluding,, 
that  when  that  Day  will  come  God  onljj 
knows. 


Chap* 


Chap,     X. 
How  fat  this  Conflagration  Jhall  extend. 

6.  ^J^^  Sixth  Queftion  is^  How  far 


iliall    this    Conflagration    ex- 


^:$A 


P^P^^.^  tend  ?  Whether  to  the  Ethereal 

o?*Scxfe^  Heavens,  and  all  the  Hoft  of 
them.  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars^  or  to  the  Aereal 
bnly  ? 

I  ANSWER,  If  we  follow*  ancient  Traditioil^' 
hot  only  the  Earth,  but  alfo  the  Heavens 
and  heavenly  Bodies  will  be  involved  in  one 
Common  Fate,  as  appears  by  thofe  Verfes 
quoted  out  of  L?^cm/«j,  O'vid^  hncdn^  &c. 

Of  Chriftians  fome  exempt  the  Ethereal 
Region  from  this  Deftru^ionj  for  the  twd 
following  Rcafons^  which  I  jQiall  fet  down  irl 
Reuterm's  Words :  i .  ^  Becaufe  in  this  Chap* 

*  ter  the  Conflagration  is  compared  to  thd 
^  Deluge  in  the  Time  of  Noah.  But  the  De- 

*  luge  extended  not  to  the  upper  Regions  of 

*  the  Air,  much  lefs  to  the  Heavens,  the  Wa- 

*  ters  arifing  only  fifteen  Cubits  above  the 

*  Tops  of  the  Mountains,  if  fo  much.  There- 

*  fore  neither  fhall  the  Conflagration  tran- 

*  fcend  that  Term.'*  So  Beza^  upon  2  Fet^ 
liu  6,  Taritu?nafcendet  ilk  ignis  quantum  aqua 
altior  fupra  otnnes  montes.  That  Fire  fiall 
afcend  as  high  as  the  Waters  flood  dboiie  the 

D  d  a  Mourn 


404  Of  the  Diffolution 

Mountains.  This  PafTage  I  do  not  find  in 
the  laft  Edition  of  his  Notes.  The  ordinary 
Giofs  alfo  upon  thefe  Words,  2  Theff.  i.  2. 
In  jiaming  Fire  rendring  Vengeance^  faith, 
Chriftum  venturum  prdcedet  ignis  in  inundo^ 
qui  tantum  afcendet  quantum  aqua  in  dilunjio, 
There  Jhall  a  Fire  go  before  Christ  when 
He  comes ^  which  fiall  reach  as  high  as  did  the 
Water  in  the  Deluge.  And  S.  Augufiin  De 
Ci^it.  Dei  lib,  20.  cap,  18.  Petrus  etiam  covi^ 
mejnorans  fattuin  ante  diluvium^  videtur  ad^ 
vtonuiffe  quodammodo^  quatenus  in  fine  hujus 
feculi  iftum  mundum  feriturum  effe  credamus, 
Peter  alfo  ?nentioning  the  ancient  Deluge^ 
feems  in  a  ?nanner  to  have  advifed  us  how  far^ 
at  the  Confuimnation  of  Time ^  we  are  to  believe 
this  World  JJjall  perijh. 

But  this  Argument  is  of  no  Force,  be- 
caufe  it  is  not  the  Apoftle's  Defign  in  that 
Place  to  defcribe  the  Limits  of  the  Confla- 
gration, but  only  againft  Scoffers,  to  ftiew, 
that  the  World  lliould  one  Day  psriili  by  Fire, 
as  it  had  of  old  been  deftroyed  by  Water. 

2.  The  fecond  Reafon  is,  '  Becaufe  the 

*  heavenly  Bodies  are  not  fubjed  to  Palfion, 

*  Alteration,  or  Corruption.  They  can  con- 
'  trad:  no  Filth,  and  fo  need  no  Expurgation 
!  by  Fire. 

To  this  we  anfwer,  not  in  the  Words  of 
Reuter^  but  our  own ;  That  it  is  an  idle  and 
ill-grounded  Conceit  of  the  Peripateticks^ 
That  the  Heavenly  Bodies  are  of  their  own 

■    ^      Nature 


of  the  World.  405* 


Nat-ure  incorruptible  and  unalterable :  For  on 
the  contrary  it  is  demonftrable,  that  many 
of  them  are  of  the  fame  Nature  with  the 
Earth  we  live  upon,  and  the  moft  pure,  as 
the  Sun,  and  probably  too  the  fix'd  Stars, 
fuffer  Alterations  -,  jnacuU^  or  opaque  Con- 
cretions being  commonly  generated  and  dif- 
folved  in  them.  And  Comets  frequently, 
and  fometimes  New  Stars^  appear  in  the  E- 
thereal  Regions.  So  that  thefe  Arguments 
are  infufficient  to  exempt  the  Heavens  from 
Diffolution  5  and  on  the  other  (ide,  many 
Places  there  are  in  Scripture  which  feem  to 
fubjed:  them  thereto:  As  Pfal.  cii.  25,  26^ 
recited  Hebr.  i.  10.  which  hath  already  often 
been  quoted.  The  Heavem  are  the  Worh 
of  Thy  Hands  ;  They  jhall  ferifi,  Matth. 
xxiv.  3  5.  Heaven  and  Earth  ftjall  pafs  away, 
Ifa.  Ixv.  17.  and  li.  6.  The  Heavens  fiall  va-^ 
nijh  away  like  S?noke,  Yet  am  I  not  of  Opi- 
nion, that  the  laft  Fire  lliali  reach  tlic  Hea- 
vens 5  they  are  too  far  diftant  from  us  to 
fuffer  by  it :  Nor  indeed  doth  the  Scripture 
affirm  it^  but  where  it  mentions  the  Diffolu- 
tion of  the  Heavens,  it  expreffeth  it  by  fuch 
Phrafes  as  feem  rather  to  intirnate,  that  it 
fliall  come  to  pafs  by  a  Confenefcency  and 
Decay,  than  be  effe<&ed  by  any  fudden  and 
violent  Means.  P/^/.  cii.  25,  26.  They  all 
fhall  wax  old  as  doth  a  Garment^  dec.  Though 
I  confefs  nothing  of  Certainty  can  be  gather- 
ed from  fuch  Expreifions :  For  we  find  the 
D  d  3  (ame 


4o6  Of  the  Difolution 

fame  ufed  concerning  the  Earth,  Ifa.  li.  6^ 
The  Heavens  Jhc^ll  'vanijh  away  lih  S?noh^ 
and  the  Earth  jhall  wax  old  as  doth  a  Gar-, 
ment.  The  Heavenly  Bodies  are  none  of 
them  uncorruptible  and  eternal;  but  may 
in  like  manner  as  the  Earth  be  confumed  and 
deftroyed,  at  what  Times,  and  by  what 
Means,  whether  Fire,  or  fome  other  Element^, 
the  Almighty  hath  decreed  and  ordered. 


C    H    A    P,       XI. 

Whether  Jhall  the  whole  World  he  con- 
fumed  and  annihilated^  or  only  refined 
and  purified  ? 

|Slg|HERE  remains  now  only  the  Se- 
SS  T  S  ^^"^f^  Queftion  to  be  refolved, 
|««««|«  Whether  ihall  the  World  be  whol- 
V. ..  ;rj.,..».,v     jy  confumed,  burnt  up  and  de- 

flroyed,  or  annihilated  j  or  only  refined,  pu- 
rified, or  renewed  ?  To  this  I  anfwer.  That 
the  latter  Part  feems  to  me  more  probable^ 
'viz.  That  it  fliall  not  be  deftroyed  and  an- 
nihilated, but  only  refined  and  purified.  I 
linow  "wk^t  potent  Adverfaries  I  have  in 
this  Cafe.  I  need  name  no  more  than  Ge^ 
Yard  in  his  Common  Places,  and  Dr.  Hale" 
ill  in  bis  Apology^  apd  the  Defence  of  it, 
■ '  '  who 


\ 


of  the  World.  407 


wl)0  contend  carneftly  for  the  Abolition  or 
Annihilation.  But  yet  upon  the  whole  Mat- 
ter,  the  Renovation  or  Reftitution  feems  to 
me  moft  probable,  as  being  moft  confonant 
to  Scripture^  Reafon^  and  Antiquity.  The 
Scripture  fpeaks.of  an  aTOK^CTtx^^co-zc,  or  Refti- 
tution^  Atis  iii.  21.  Whom  the  Heavens  mufl 
contain  until  the  Time  of  the  Reftitution  of  all 
Things ;  fpeaking  of  our  Saviour :  and  ttol- 
hiyysvvEffioL^  or  Regeneration  of  the  World,  the 
very  Word  the  Stoich  and  Pythagoreans  ufc 
in  this  Cafe,  M^rr.  xix.  28,  29.  Verily^  I  fay 
unto  you^  That  ye  which  ha-ve  followed  me^ 
in  the  Regeneration^  when  the  Son  ofManfhall 
fit  on  the  Throne  of  His  Glory ^  ye  afojhallfit 
upon  twelve  Thrones^  &c.  Pfal.  cii.  26,  As 
c  Vefiure  fialt  thou  change  them^  and  they 
Jhall  be  changed.  Which  Words  are  again  ta- 
fccn  up  and  repeated,  HeL  i.  12.  Now  it 
is  one  thing  to  be  changed,  another  to  be 
annihilated  and  deftroyed.  i  Cor.  vii.  3  i.  toi;- 
poiysi  TO  axw-'^'  "^^  ko(J"|U.«  rsTa ,  The  Fafldion 
vf  this  World  paffeth  away.  As  if  he  had 
faid.  It  fhall  be  transfigured,  or  its  outward 
Form  changed,  not  its  Matter  or  Subftance 
deftroyed.  Ifa.lxv.  17.  Behold  I  create  new 
Heavens  and  a  ?tew  Earthy  and  the  former 
jhall  not  be  remembred^  nor  come  into  Mind. 
Ifa.  Ixvi.  22.  As  the  new  Heavens  and  new 
Earthy  which  I  fljall  mah'^  floall  remain  be- 
fore  jne.  To  which  Places  the  Apoftle  Peter 
feems  to  rcferr  in  thofe  Words^  2*  Pet.  iii.  13. 
r-         '      '  D  d  4  '       Ncver-^ 


4o8       1     Of  the  Dijfohition 

Ne^erthelefs  we^  according  to  His  Pro?mfe^  loo'k 
for  new  Hewvens^  and  a  new  Earthy  wherein 
dwelleth  Right eoufneff.  This  new  Heaven 
and  new  Earth  we  have  alfo  mentioned,  Rev. 
xii.  I.  And  I  Jaw  a  new  Heaven  and  a  new 
'Earth  J  for  the  fir  ft  Heaven  and  the  fir  ft  Earth 
werepafjed  away,  and  there  was  no  more  Sea. 
Thefe  Places,  I  confefs,  may  admit  of  an 
Anfwer  or  Solution  by  thole  who  are  of  a 
contrary  Opinion,  and  are  anfwered  byDo^ 
dor  Hakewill:  yet  all  together,  efpecially 
being  back'd  by  ancient  Tradition,  amount 
to  a  high  Degree  of  Probability.  1  omit  that 
Place,  Ro?ft,\m.  21,  22.  The  Creature  itfelf 
alfo  JJpall  be  delivered  from  the  Bondage  of 
Corruption^  into  the  glorious  Liberty  of  the  Sons 
cf  God:  Tho'  it  be  accounted  the  ftrongeft 
Proof  of  our  Opinion,  becaufe  of  the  Obicu- 
rity  and  Ambiguity  thereof. 

2.  For  Antiquity,  I  have  already  given 
many  Teftimonies  of  the  ancient  Fathers 
and  Do(5tors  of  the  Church,  and  could,  if 
Need  were,  produce  many  more,  the  whole 
Stream  of  them  running  this  way.  And  tho* 
Dr.Hahwill  faith.  That  if  we  look  back  to 
higher  Times  before  S.  Hierotn^  we  fhall  not 
eafily  find  any  one  who  maintained  the 
World's  Renovation  j  yet  he  hath  but  two 
Teftimonies  to  allcdge  for  its  Abolition ;  the 
one  out  of  Hihi)^  upon  the  Pfalms,  and  the 
other  out  of  Cle??iens  his  Recognitions.  To 
this  Reftitution  of  theWorld^  "after  the  Con? 

flagration, 


of  the  World.  409 

fiagration,  many  alfo  of  the  Heathen  Phf- 
lofophers  bear  Witnefs,  whofe  Teftimonies 
Mr.  Burnet  hath  exhibited  in  his  Theory  of 
the  Earthy  lib.  4.  cap.  5.  Of  the  Stoicks, 
^Chryfippiif  de  Pro'videntid^  fpeaking  of  the 
Renovation  of  the  World,  faith,  'H/xaf,  ixstol  ^P^^ 

TO     TEASVTVllTCil^    TTOtXlV    TTSfHObijiV    TlVij^V    ^^^J^^-^M-^^^l^  /.7,  ^.j- 

We^  after  Death^  certain  Periods  of  Time  be- 
ing come  about ^  JJjall  be  reftored  to  the  Form 
we  now  have.  To  Chryjippus  Stobdus  adds 
Zeno  and  Cleanthes^  and  comprehends  toge- 
ther with  Men  all  natural  Things,  Zvjvuvi^kxi 

/5<JtAAf;v,  oiov  ek  (TTTEpixa^    to  Trvp  acii  TrcCkiv  ek 

T8T8    TOlOiVTVlV    OLTTOTE'ksJa^CLi   T/^V    ^iCiKG(Ttiyj(TlV    oiot, 

TT^TE^v  viv.  Zeno,  and  Cleanthes,  and  Chry- 
(ippus,  were  of  Opinion^  That  the  Nature  or 
Subftance  of  Things  changes  into  Fire^  as  it 
were  into  a  Seed ;  and  out  of  this  again^ 
fiich  a  World  or  Frame  of  Things  is  effected 
as  was  before.  This  Revolution  of  Nature, 
Antoninus^  in  his  Meditations,  often  calls 
Tv]V  7rEpio^iKv,v  TTOLKiyyEVVEdicLv  Twv  oAcov,  The  PeriO" 
dical  Regeneration  of  all  Things.  And  "^  Origen^  *  Lib.,  y. 
againft  Celfus^  faith  of  the  Stoicks  in  general, 
O^xcr/  i)  ol  d-JTO  Tv^Q  'EToa.g  koltoc  Trspiclov  EUTrvpxaiU 

T8  TTCLVTQQ  y/vEd^Xl^  li<X,l  E%V[i  (ivTUJ  ^lOLiiO(SfXVl(TiV 
WOLVT     dTXpXKKCiHTX    EXii(SCLV   WC    TT^yf    TVjV  ETEpOLV 

^ixyLoaixviaiv.  The  Stoicks  fay^  That  at  certain 
Periods  of  Ti?ne  there  is  a  Conflagration  of  the 
Unlverfe  j  and  after  that  a  Refiitution  thereof 

hd-iiin^ 


4Ip^  Of  the  Dtjfolution 

having  exafily  the  fame  Difpofition  and  Furnif 
ture  the  former  World  had.  More  to  the  like 
Purpofe  concerning  the  Stoich^  we  have  ii> 
*  vrxp.  *  Eufebius  out  of  Numenim.  Nature^  faith 
iis!^*  he,  returns  sk  tviv  dvx<;oL(Tiv  sKslvvfj  tv^v  ttoiht 
crav  ivioLVTov  rov  fxeyigov^  hcl^'  ov  ^t'  aiiTvjc  julovvj^ 
eh  dvTViV  TOiXiv  yi'vsTXi  v\  XTroKcx^TocgGia-iQ'  ettccvsK^Q" 

vipldTo^  MC/LTCL  Koyov  TTOLXiv  TVjv  dvTyjV  ^/f^(?cywyv)V 

TOietTaiy    TWV   TOl^TOdV  TTSplQ^OiV  £^   dth's  yfVCjULfVCOV 

dKCLTOLTTCivgc^^^  to-  the  Refuvre^fion  which  males 
\        the  great  Tear^  wherein  there  is  again  a  Refti- 
tution  made  frotn  itfelf  alone  to  itfelf.     For  re- 
turning according  to  the  Order  wherein  it  be- 
\        gdn  firfl  to  frame  and  difpofe  IThings^  {as  Rea- 
fon  would)  it  again  obferves  the  fame  OEcono?ny 
or  Adminifiration  ;  the  like  Periods  returning 
eternally  without  ceafing.  He  that  deiires  more 
Authorities  of  the  Heathen  Philofophers  and 
Poets,  in  Confirmation  of  the  World's  Refti- 
tution  after  the  Conflagration,  may  confult 
the  fame  Hr.Bur?iet  in  the  Place  forequoted  ; 
where  he  alfo  fhews,  that  this  Do(5trine  of 
the  Mundane  Periods  was  received  by  the 
Grecians  from  the  Nations  they  call  Barba- 
rous.   Pythagoras  J  faith  Porphyry  ^  brought  it 
firft  into  Greece:  And  Origen  witneffeth  of 
the  Egyptian  Wife  Men,  that  it  was  delivered 
by  them.    Laertius  out  of  iTheopompus  re- 
lates. That  the  Perfian  Magi  had  the  fame 
Tradition  j  and  Berofus  faith,  that  the  Chal- 
deans alfo.    In  fine^  among  all  the  barbarous 

"^  ^"^      Na- 


of  the  World.  41I 

Nations,  who  had  among  them  any  Perfon 
or  Sea,' and  Order  of  Men,  noted  for  Wif- 
dom  or  Philofophy,  this  Tradition  was  cur- 
rent. The  Reader  may  confult  the  Book  we 
referr  to,  where  is  a  notable  Palfage  taken 
out  of  Plutarch'' s  Tradate,  De  Ifede  &  Ofiride^ 
concerning  a  War  between  Oromazes  and 
Ar'manius^  fomewhat  parallel  to  that  men- 
tioned in  the  Revelation  between  Michael 
and  the  Dragon, 

3 .  T  H  E  Reftitution  of  the  World  feems 
jnore  confonant  to  Reafon  than  its  Abolition. 
For  if  the  World  were  to  be  annihilated,  what 
needed  a  Conflagration  ?  Fire  doth  not  de- 
ftroy  or  bring  things  to  nothing,  but  only  fe- 
parate  their  Parts,  The  World  cannot  be  a- 
bolillied  by  it,  and  therefore  had  better  been 
annihilated  without  it.  Wherefore  the  Scri- 
pture mentioning  no  other  DifTolution  than 
{s  to  be  effe(^ed  by  the  Inftrumentality  of 
Fire,  it's  clear,  we  are  not  to  underftand  anjr 
Utter  Abolition  or  Annihilation  of  the  World, 
but  only  a  Mutation  and  Renovation,  by  thofe 
Phrafes  ofperifhing^  puffing  away^  diffohing^' 
being  no  viore^  &c.  They  are  to  be  no  more 
in  that  State  and  Condition  they  are  now  in. 

2.  There  muft  be  a  material  Heaven, 
and  a  material  Hell  left.  A  Place  for  the 
glorified  Bodies  of  the  BlefTed  to  inhabit  and 
converfe  in  i  and  a  Place  for  the  Bodies  of  the 
Damned,  a  KoXa^vipwv,  or  Prifon  for  them  to 
be  Ihut  up  in.    Now,  if  the  Place  of  the 


412  Of  the  Diffolution 

Bleffed  be  an  Empyreal  Heaven  far  above 
thefe  vifible  Heavens,  as  Divines  generally 
hold ;  and  the  Place  of  the  Damned  be  be- 
neath, about  the  Middle  of  the  Earth  5  as  is 
the  Opinion  of  the  School-Men,  and  the 
Church  of  Rom".,  and  as  the  Name  Inferi  im- 
ports, and  as  the  ancient  Heathen  defcribed 
their  Tartarus^ 

Horn.  II.  "  f^'^  TXpTXpXV  VjS^SVTSL 

Tocrcov  svspQ'  'Ai^fw  cxrov  npcLvoQ  ig'  dyro  yai'vi;* 

Then  when  all  the  intermediate  Bodies  fhall 
be  annihilated,  what  a  ftrange  Univerfe  fhall 
we  have  ?  confifting  of  an  immenfe  Ring  of 
Matter,  having  in  the  Middle  a  vaft  Vacuity, 
or  Space  void  of  all  Body,  fave  only  one 
fmall  Point  for  an  infernal  Dungeon.  Thofe 
that  are  of  this  Opinion  have  too  narrow 
and  mean  Thoughts  of  the  Greatnefs,  I  had 
almofl  faid  Immenfity  of  the  Univerfe,  the 
glorious  and  magnifick  Produ(^s  of  the  Crea- 
tor's Almighty  Power  j  and  are  too  partial  to 
themfelves,  to  think  the  whole  World  was 
created  for  no  other  End  but  to  be  ferviceable 
to  Mankind :  But  of  this  I  have  faid  fome- 
what  in  a  former  Difcourfe,  and  therefore 
fliall  not  at  prefent  enlarge  upon  it. 

But  let  us  hear  what  they  have  to  fay  for 
the  Abolition, 
mhmFs     Their  firft  and  moft  weighty  Argunient  is 
ffif.j'.^l  taken  from  the  End  of  the  World's  Creation^ 

whiQh 


of  the  World.  413 


which  was  partly  and  chiefly  the  Glory  of 
the  Creator^  and  partly  the  Ufe  oF  Man,  the 
Lord  Deputy,  as  it  were,  or  Viceroy  thereof. 
Now  for  the  Glory  of  the  Creator^  it  being  by 
the  admirable  Frame  of  the  World  manifeft- 
ed  unto  Man,  Man  being  removed  out  of  the 
World,  and  no  Creature  being  capable  of 
fiich  a  Manifeftation  be(ide$  him,  we  ciannot 
imagine  to  what  Purpofe  the  Frame  itfelf 
Ihould  be  left,  and  reftored  to  a  more  per- 
fect Eftate.  The  other  End^  being  for  Man^s 
UJe^  either  to  fupply  his  NeceiTity  in  Matter 
of  Diet,  of  Phylick,  of  Building,  of  Appa- 
rel,- or  for  his  Inftru6tion,  Dire(^ion,  Re- 
creation, Comfort  and  Delight ;  or  laftly, 
that  therein,  as  in  a  Looking-glafs,  he  might 
contemplate  the  Wifdoni,  the  Goodnefs  and 
Power  of  G  o  D  i  when  he  fhall  attain  that 
bleffed  Eftate,  as  he  fhall  have  no  farther 
Ufe  of  any  of  thefe,  enjoying  perfed  Happi- 
nefs,  and  feeing  G  o  d  as  He  is.  Face  to  Face, 
the  fecond  or  fubordinate  End  of  the  World's 
Being  muft  needs  be  likewife  fruftrate.  And 
what  other  End  can  be  given  or  conceived 
for  the  remaining  or  rcftoring  thereof?  dye. 

T  o  this  I  anfwer,  there  may  be  an  End  of 
the  reftoring  of  the  World,  tho'  we  are  not 
able  to  find  out  or  determine  what.  We 
are  too  Ihort-fighted  to  penetrate  the  Ends  of 
God.  There  may  be  a  new  Race  of  rational 
Animals  brought  forth  to  a6t  their  Parts 
upon  this  Stage,  which  may  give  the  Crea- 
tor 


414  Of  the  hijfotution 

tor  as  much  Glory  as  Man  ever  did  or  couldi- 
And  yet  if  there  ihould  be  no  material  and 
vifible  rational  Creature  made  to  inhabit  the 
Earth,  there  are  fpiritual  and  intellectual  Be- 
ings, which  may  be  as  bufy,  and  as  mucli 
delighted  in  fearching  out,  and  Gontempla- 
ting  the  Works  of  God  in  this  new  Earthy 
and  rendring  Him  the  Praife  of  His  Wifdoni 
and  Power  as  Man  could  be.  Thefe  Things 
vve  may  conje«5turej  but  we  muii  leave  it 
to  the  only  wife  G  od  to  determine  what  Ufe 
fliall  be  made  of  it.  It  feems  to  me  to  be  too 
great  Prefumptiori,  and  over-valuing  our- 
ielves,  to  think  that  all  this  World  was  fo 
Hiade  for  us,  as  to  have  no  other  End  of  its 
Creation,  or  thiit  God  could  not  be  glorified 
but  by  us. 

This  firft  and  principal  Argument  being 
anfweredj  the  fecond  admits  of  an  eafy  So- 
lution. They  enquire  whether  the  Vegeta- 
bles, and  Creatures  etidued  with  Senfe,  Ihall 
all  be  reftored,  or  fome  only  ?  namely  fuch 
as  fhall  be  found  in  Being  at  the  Day  of 
Judgment*  If  all,  where '  fliall  we  find 
Stowage  for  them  ?  Surely  we  may  in  this 
cafe  properly  apply  that  which  the  Evangelift 
in  another  ufeth  figuratively^  if  they  fhould 
all  be  reftored,  even  the  World  itfelf  could 
not  contain  the  Things  which  fliould  be  re- 
ftored. If  fome  only,  then  would  I  gladly 
know,  why  thofe  fome  fhould  be  vouchfafect 
ihis  great  Honour,  and  not  all,  or  how  thofe 

Creatures 


of  the  World.  415' 


Creatures  without  a  Miracle  lliall  be  re- 
ftrain'd  from  propagating  and  multiplying, 
and  that  infinitely  in  their  Kinds  by  a  perpe- 
tual Generation.  Or  laflly,  How  the  feve* 
ral  Individuals  of  thefe  Kinds,  Ihall,  contrary 
to  their  Primitive  Natures^  live  and  dure 
immortally  ? 

T  o  all  this  I  anfwer,  That  not  only  all 
Animals^  but  all  Vegetables  too,  yea,  and 
their  Seeds  alfo^  will  doubtlefs  be  mortified 
and  dcftroyed  by  the  Violence  of  the  Confla- 
gration ;  but  that  the  fame  Ihould  be  refto- 
red,  and  endued  with  eternal  Life^  I  know 
no  Reafon  we  have  to  believe  ;  but  rather 
that  there  fhould  be  new  ones  produced,  ei- 
ther of  the  fame  with  the  former,  or  of  diffe- 
rent Kinds,  at  the  W  ill,  and  by  the  Power  of 
the  Almighty  Creator,  and  for  thofe  Ends 
and  Ufes  for  which  He  fhall  defign  them. 
This  Queftion  being  anfwered  in  this  Man- 
ner, all  that  follows  concerning  the  Earth 
remaining  without  any  Furniture  or  Inhabi- 
tants, &c,  falls  to  the  Ground.  So  I  have 
difpatch'd  thefe  Seven  Queftions  concerning 
the  Diflblution  of  the  World,  there  remains 
now  only  the  Inference  or  Ufe  of  the  prece- 
dent Do&rine. 


C  H  A  P« 


Chap.     XII. 

The   A^ofllis   Inference  from   the  prece^ 
dent  Do&rine. 

^'??^.?^  Come  now  to  the  Inference  the 
gI  *(^  Apollle  makes  rrom  the  prece^ 
ri       ^  ^^"^  Dodrine^  What  manner  of 

Converfation  and  Godlinefs  ?  One 
Word  here  needs  a  little  Explication,  and 
that  is  Hobj,  What  is  meant  by  a  holy  Gon* 
verfation  ? 

Holiness  is  an  Equivocal  Term.  It  is 
attributed  either  to  G  o  d,  or  to  the  Crea- 
ture. When  it  is  attributed  to  God,  it  fig- 
nifies  either^ 

1 .  T  H  E  unfpottecl  Purity  of  Hts  Nature, 
and  the  conftant  and  immutable  Rectitude 
of  His  Will.  So  it  is  taken,  i  John  iii.  3. 
And  e'very  Man  that  hath  this  Hope  in  him^ 
furifieth  hi?nfelf  as  He  is  pure  :  And,  i  Pet* 
i,  15.  As  He  J  which  called  you  ^  is  Holy^  fd  be 
ye  Holy  in  all  manner  of  Con'verfation ;  becaufe 
it  is  Written^  Be  ye  Holy^  for  I  a?n  Holy.  Pfal. 
cxlv.  17.  fhe  LoKD  is  Righteous  in  all  His 
Ways  J  and  Holy  in  all  His  Jvorh, 

2.  His  Sovereign  Majefty  and  Greatnefs 
appearing  in  His  tranfcendent  Wifdom  and 
Power,  in  His  Supreme  and  Abfoiute  Domi* 

nioq 


of  the  World.  417 

nion  over  all  things :  In  refpe^t  whereof.  He 
is  called  the  Holy  One  of  Ifrael^  and  His  Na?ne 
is  faid  to  be  Holy  :  That  is^  to  be  invoked 
with  the  greateft  Reverence.  Holy  and  Re^ 
'Verend  if  His  Name*  Becaufe  of  this  His 
Greatnefs  and  Excellency,  He  is  to  be  wor- 
Ihipped,  and  adored  with  the  moft  fubmiffive 
Humility  and  Veneration,  with  a  tranfcendent 
dnd  incommunicable  Worfhip  and  Devo^ 
tion. 

When  Holinefs  Is  attributed  to  Crea^^ 
tures,  it  fignifies  either  an  Inherent  and  Ini 
ward,  or  a  Relative  or  Outward,  Holinefs. 

1*  Inherent  or  Inward  Holinefs  is  a  Con- 
formity of  Heart  and  Life  to  the  Will  of 
God:    Or,  as  '^  others  define  it,  An  habitual  *  nijkep 
Frame  of  Mind  :    Whereby  we  are  fitted  for  wukins'i 
Vertuous  Adions,  but  more  efpecially  for^^^S^ 
the  Duties  of  Religion.    Indeed,  Holinefs 
doth  always  include  a  Reference  to  G  o  d. 

2.  Relative  or  Outward  Holinefs  refults 
from    a  Separation  and  Setting  apart  any 
thing  from  a  prophane  and  common,  and 
applying  it  to  a.  facred  or  religious  Uk.  For^ 
the  Majefty  of  God,  who  at  firft  created,  and 
continually  fuftains  and  governs  all  things,) 
Deing  fo  great  and  inviolable,  all  Perfons^ 
Things,  and  Times,and  Places,  and  Ceremo- 
nies, feparated  and  appropriated  to  His  Ser- 
vice and  Worfhip,  are  by  all  Nations  efteem- 
cd  Sacred,  and  to  have  a  Chara^er  of  Holi» 
9cfs  iniprintcd  on  them^ 

E  e  3i 


4 1 8  Of  the  Dijfolution 

B  Y  Holinefs,  in  this  Place,  is  to  be  undcr- 

ftoodan  inherent  Holincfs,  which  is  well  de- 

X)e  sx-    fined  by^  Dr.  Outrain^  A  Conformity  of  Heart 

'^"/-i- 1'  and  Life  to  the  Will  of  God.     I  iliall  not 

^'  *'       difcourk  at  large  concerning  a  holy  Conver- 

fation,  nor  inftance  Particulars  wherein  it 

confifts.     That  would  be  to  write  a  Body  of 

Pradical  Divinity.     I  iliall,  therefore,  at  pre- 

fent,  fuppofe  the  Reader  fufficiently  inftru- 

fted  in  that.     My  Bufinefs  ihall  be  to  lliew 

the  Strength  of  the  Apoftle's  Inference. 

It  may  be  faid.  How  doth  this  DilToIutioa 
Concern  us,  who  may,  perchance,  be  dead  and 
rotten  a  Thoufand  Years  before  it  comes  ? 
^What  have  we  to  do  with  it  ? 

I  ANSWER,  It  concerns  us,  i.  Becaufe,  it's 
poflible,  it  may  happen  in  our  Times  i  it  may 
liirprizc  us  before  we  are  aware.  The  pre- 
cife  Time  thereof  is  uncertain.  And  it  ihall 
be  fudden  and  unexpected,  coining  as  a  'Thief 
in  the  Nighty  as  we  have  before  fhewn ; 
Therefore,  we  ought  always  to  be  upon  our 
Guard,  to  have  our  Loins  girt  about^  and 
our  Lights  burning.  This  Ule  the  Scripture, 
in  many  Places,  makes  of  the  Uncertainty 
of  the  Time  of  Christ's  Coming,  Luke 
xii..  40.  Be  ye  therefore  ready  :  For  the  Son  of 
Man  cofneth  at  an  Hour  when  ye  think  not* 
Luke  xxi.  34,  35.  And  tale  heed  to  your^" 
fehes^  kjl  at  any  time  your  Hearts  be  over- 
charged with  Surfeiting  and  Drunlennefs^  and 
Cares  of  this  Life,  and  fo  that  Day  coine  upon 

yon 


of  the  World.  4ip 

)'</«  unawares.    For  as  a  Snare  fiall  it  come 
oji  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  whole  Earth, 
Parallel  whereto  are  Matth.  xxiv.  42.  and 
Mark  xiii.  3  3 , 3  5 .     That  it  fhall  come  is  cer- 
tain, when  it  ihall  come  is  uncertain,  and  it 
every  day  draws  nearer  and  nearer;  therefore, 
it  is  not  Wifdom  to  remove  the  Evil  Day  far 
from  us :     And  as  in  reference  to  the  Day  of 
Death,  it  is  an  ufual  and  prudent  Advice,  fo 
to  live  every  Day,  as  if  it  were  our  laft  Day ; 
or  at  lead,  as  we  would  not  be  afraid  to  do 
lliould  it  be  fo  :    Becaufe,  we  are  fure,  that 
one  Day  will  be  our  laft,  and,  for  ought  we  ^ 
know,  the  prefent  may  be  it.     So,  likewife,* 
it  is  rational  Counfel,  in  refpedt  of  the  End 
of  the  World,  fo  to  prepare  ourfelves  for  it 
by  a  holy  Converfation,  that  we  may  get  a- 
bove  the  Terror  and  Dread,  which  will  o- 
therwife  attend  the  Appreheniion  of  the  Ap- 
proach of  it  j  and  that  we  may  be  provided 
againft  the  Vs^orft  that  may  follow,  and  be  fe- 
cure  come  what  can  come. 

Secondly^  It  concerns  us, '  Ihould  it  be  a 
Thoufand  Years  to  cdme.  Becaufe  then  is 
the  general  Refurredion  both  of  the  Juft  and 
Unjuft,  A^fyKKiv,  15.  and  the  general  Judg- 
ment, When  we  inufi  all  appear  before  the 
dreadful  Tribunal  c/Ch  r  i  st,  that  every  one 
may  receive  the  Things  done  in  his  Body^  ac- 
cordifig  to  that  he  hath  done^  whether  it  be  good 
or  bad^  2  Cor.  v.  ic.  which,  Kom,  ii.  5.  is 
called  the  Revelation  of  the  righteous  Judg- 
E  e  2  ment 


420  Of  the  Dijfohition 

ment  of  God.    Who  will  render  to  everf 
Man  according  to  his  Deeds ^  &c.    Upon  this 
'     Account,  I  fay,  it  concerns  us  much  how 
we  have  our  Converfation  here. 

L  Firft^  As^  we  hope  to  be  acquitted  at  that 
Day,  and  to  enter  into  thofe  new  Heavens, 
in  which  dwells  Righteoufnefs.  Holinefs  is 
a  neceffary  Condition,  and  antecedent  to 
Happinefsi     Neceflfary,  I  fay, 

I.  By  God's  Appointment,  H^^. xii.  14." 
Follow  Peace  with  all  Men^  and  Holinefs^ 
without  which  no  Man  JJjall  fee  the  Lord. 
.Rom.  vi.  22.  Have  your  Fruit  unto  Holinefs^ 
and  the  F.nd  Eternal  Life.  Pfal.  50.  ult.  To 
him  that  ordereth  his  Con'verfatlon  aright^  will 
I  pew  the  Sahation  of  God*  Eternal  Life 
is  the  Gift  of  God.  He  is  not  obliged  to 
beftow  it  upon  any  Man.  He  may  make 
what  Condition  he  pleafes  for  the  obtaining 
of  it.  No  Man  hath  any  Right  to  it :  No 
Man  can  lay  any  Claim  to  it,  but  from  this 
Donation,  and  from  the  Performance  of  thefe 
Conditions.  Rev.  xxii.  14.  Blejfed  are  they 
that  do  His  Cotnmandments^  that  they  may  ha^ve 
Right  to  the  Tree  of  Life^  and  may  enter  in 
through  the  Gates  into  the  City.  For  without 
are  Dogs^  and  Whoremongers^  and  Sorce^ 
rers^  &c.  All  the  Right  they  have  depends 
Upon  G  o  d's  Promife,  which  is  Conditionate-, 
and  accrues  to  them  by  the  Perforrpance  of 

she 

t 


of  the  World.  421 


the  Condition,  which  is  the  Doing  of  His 
Commandments. 

2.  Necessary,  not  only  by  G o d's  Ap- 
pointment,  but  in  the  very  Nature  of  the 
Thing.    Holinefs  is  the  very  Quality  and 
Complexion  of  Heaven.    *No  Man  without 
it  is  qualified  to  be  a  Subjed  of  that  King- 
dom;   For,  thereinto  nothing  that  is   im- 
pure or   unclean  can  enter.    Rev.  xxi.  27. 
And  there  jhall  in  no  wife  enter  into  it  [the 
New  Jertifalem']  any  thing  that  defileth^  ?iei^ 
ther  whatjoever  worleth  Abomination,   In  this 
new  Hea'ven  dwelleth  Righteoufnefs^  2  Pet. 
iii.  15.     Therefore,   i  John  iii.  3.    Every 
Man  that  hath  this  Hope  in  Him^  purifieth 
himfelf  as  He  is  pure.    Heaven  would  natu- 
rally fpue  out  and  qcOi  a  wicked  Perfon, 
as  one  heterogeneous   to  it.    Heaven  and 
Hell  are  not  more  diftant  in  Place,  than  they 
are  in  Nature.    There  is  not  more  Antipar 
thy  between  Fire  and  Water,  between  Light 
and  Darknefs,  between  Streight  and  Crook* 
ed,  neither  are  they  more  incompatible,  or 
do  more  naturally  refift  and  expell  one  ano- 
ther, than  Holinefs,  which  is  the  Quality  of 
Heaven,  or  Wickedncfs,  which  is  the  Difpo- 
(ition  and  Temper  of  Hell.     Some  do  think 
Heaven  to  be  rather  a  State  than  a  Place  j 
and  that  he  that  is  Partaker  of  the  Divine 
Nature  hath  Heaven  within  him.    This  is 
true,  but  this  is  not  all.     The  whole  Notion 
of  Heaven  comprehends  both  a  State  and  a 

E  e  3  Place, 


422  Of  the  Difohition 

Place.  A  Man  muft  be  in  a  heavenly  State, 
before  the  local  Heaven  can  receive  him,  or 
lie  brook  it.  Heaven  without  him  would 
be  no  Heaven,  to  the  Man  who  hath  not 
Heaven  within  him.  A  wicked  Perfon  could 
find  no  Bufinefs  or  Employment  in  Heaven  ; 
nothing  to  fatisfy  his  corrupt  and  depraved 
Affedions,  Inclinations,  and  Appetit-^s.  He 
would  there  meet  with  no  fuicabi.c  Compa- 
ny ;  no  Perfons,  whofe  Converration  he  could 
take  any  Delight  and  Complacency  in,  but 
rather  hate  and  abhor.  For^  zvhat  Fellowjlnp 
hath  Righteoiifneff  zvith  Unrigbteoufnep  f'  Or^ 
what  Co?n??ni?uon.hcith  Light  with  Varbiefy? 
2  Cor.vi.  14.  Like  naturally  loves  Like,  and 
unites  with  it,  and  doth  refufe,  rcfift,  and 
hate  that  which  is  Unlike  it.  For  every  thing 
is  made  to  love  itfelf,  and,  coniequently, 
whatfoever  refcmbles  and  comes  near  it,  and 
is  as  it  were  a  Replication  of  it ,  and  to  hate 
the  contrary.  As,  therefore,  we  would  be 
glad  to  be  Partakers  of  the  Bleffednefs  of  the 
local  Heaven,  fo  let  us  endeavour  to  get  into 
our  Minds  and  Spirits  the  Qualities  and  Con- 
ditions of  Heaven,-  that  fo  we  may  be  fit 
5ubjed:s  for  that  Kingdom,  fit  Companions 
for  that  Society.  This  is  the  Time  allotted 
us  to  purify  oitrfehes  from  all  Filthinefs  both  of 
Fleflj  and  Spirit^  and  to  perfet't  Hdinefs  i?i 
the  Fear  of  Gob.  There  is  no  Invention  in 
the  Grave,  whither  we  are  going,  EccL  ix.  10. 
Upon  this  Moment  depends  Eternity,    As  the 

Tree 


of  the  V/orkl  42  j 

T^Yce  fallf^  fo  it  Uei\  Ec.clef.  And  as  Death 
leaves,  fp  will  Judgment  find  us.  ^lando 
ifthinc  exceffwn  fuerit^  nHllus  jam  locus  focni* 
tentid;  eft.  Hie  "uita  ant  amittitiir^  ant  tenet ur : 
Hie  faluti  atema  cultu  Dei  & .  fri0u  fij.ei 
frovidetUY,  'Cyprian.  $erm.  de  Immortal.  Af- 
ter we  ffjall  depart  henes^  there  rem  aim  no  more 
Piace  for  Repenta?ice,  Eternal  Life  is  here, 
either  loft  or  won.  Here  Provifion  is  made 
for  everlafting  Salvation^  by  the  Worffjip  of 
G0D3  and  Fruit  of  Faith.  We  mnft  work 
while  it  is  Da^^  the  Night  [of  Death]  cometh 
wherein  no  Man  can  worl^]ohn  ix.  4.  And, 
therefore,  the  Time  our  Bodies  lliall  reft  in 
the  Grave,  Ihould  it  be  a  Thoufand  Years, 
will  little  avail  us  :  For,  if  the  Soul  be  mean 
while  awake,  the  certain  and  dreadful  Expe- 
<5tation  of  the  Sentence  of  Condemnation  to 
an  eternal  Hell  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  will 
be  little  lefs  afflid;ive  than  the  Torments 
thereof  themfelvcs.  I  might  add,  by  way  of 
DigrefTion^  that  Sin  and  Wickednefs  is  natu- 
rally productive  of  Hell  in .  the  Soul.  A 
wicked  Man  carries  Hell  in  his  Breaft.  Sin 
neceffarily  inferrs  Mifery  ;  It  is  contrary 
to  the  Nature  of  the  Soul  j  and  whatfoever 
is  fo,  muft  needs  be  grievous.  Diverlion  and 
Non-Attention  to  his  Condition,  is  the  wick- 
ed Man's  only  Security :  I  have  heard  it 
often  from  a  "^  great  Divine  in  his  Sermons,  *  poaor. 
*That  there  is  but  a  Thought's  Diftance  between  ^^^^'^'^°^' 
a  wicled  Man  and  Hell.  For,  do  but  fix  and 
E  e  4  bind 


424         ^r  ^^^  Dijfolufwn 

bind  his  Thoughts  to  the  Confideration  of  his 
Life  and  Actions,  and  he  will  anticipate  Hell 
himfelfj  he  iliall  need  no  infernal  Furies  to 
lafli  him,  he  will  be  his  own  Tormeptor  : 
Such  a  Man's  Prelfures  will  be  heavy  enough, 
fliould  the  Divine  Ne?nejis  fuperadd  no  mor4 
The  Reafon  of  this  I  have  given  in  a  former 
Difcourfe,  and  therefore  fliall  now  omit  what 
elfe  might  hayebeen  added  oq  xhis  Particular, 

II.  Secondly^  It  much  concerns  us,  upon  ac*^ 
count  of  the  future  Judgment  which  Ihall  be 
at  the  Diflfolution  of  the  World^  to  have  our 
Converfation  in  all  Holinefs,  as  we  defire  to 
^void  that  Shame  and  Mifery  which  will  then 
ptherwife  certainly  befall  us. 

I.  As  we  defire  to  avoid  that  Shame 
which  will  cover  our  Faces  at  that  Day,  If 
J^ere  Shame  and  Difgrace  be  more  grievous 
and  infupportable  than  Death  icfelf,  what 
will  It  be  then,  when  the  Soul  fliall  be  ren- 
dred  more  quick,  and  apprehenfive,  and  fen- 
lible  of  fuch  ImprelTions  ?  There  is  nothing 
ihameful  but  Sin,  nothing  elfe  hath  any  na- 
tural Turpitude  in  it.  Shame  follows  Sin 
as  the  Shadow  doth  the  Body.  He  that  will 
commit  the  one,  cannot  avoid  the  other. 
Therefore,  fuch  wicked  Perfons  as  have  no? 
quite  renounced  Modefty,  and  loft  all  Senfe 
of  Shame,  efpeciaily,  if  guilty  of  fecret 
Crmies,  the  Confideration  of  a  future  Judg« 
nient  would  be  a  powerful  Curb  to  rcftrain 

them 


of  the  World.  425; 

them  from  Sin  for  the  future  :  Becaufe  then 
God  will  produce  and  bring  to  light  the  hidden 
Thingi  ojDarknefs^  anddifclofe  and  vtakerna^ 
nifefi  the  Counfeb  of  all  Hearts^  i  Cor.  iv.  5; 
Then  He  will  judge  the  Secrets  of  Men  hyj^'i 
svs  Christ,  Ro?n,iui6,  Then  will  He 
bring  e'very  Work  into  Judgment^  with  e^i 
^ery  fecret  things  EccleC  xii.  14.  For,' 
would  they  but  eonfider  and  ponder, 
what  Confuiton  will  overwhelm  them  when 
this  Ihall  be  done  in  the  Face  of  the  whole 
World,  and  before  all  that  knew  them,  and 
they  not  able  to  make  any  Denial,  or  Excufe : 
This,  I  fay,  if  any  thing,  would  be  a  power- 
ful Curb  to  withhold  them  from  thofe  Enor^' 
mities  to  which  this  Shame  is  appendent. 
It  may  be  thou  madeft  a  great  Figure  in  the 
World  for  Piety  and  Religion,  wouldft  feem 
to  be  Some-body  in  the  Eyes  of  Men,  when 
thou  wert  falfe  and  unfound,  didft  harbour 
and  nourilh  fome  Viper  in  thyBofom; 

Introrfum  turpis^  fpeciosd  felle  decorm: 

When  thy  fecret  Faults  fiiali  be  expofed  be- 
fore thy  Neighbours,  and  Friends,  and  Chil- 
dren y  And  the  Shame  of  thy  Nakednefs  fiall 
be  made  appsar^  Rev.  iii.  i8r.  How  wilt  thou 
then  be  confounded  and  aftoniflied,  and  un- 
able to  Hft  up  thy  Head?  What  Horror 
will  then  feize  thee,  when  thy  Confufion  (hall 
be  continually  before  thee^  and  the  Shame  of  thy 
Face  Jfjall  cover  thee  ?  pfal.  xiiv.  15.  It  con- 
cerns 


4l6  Of  the  Dijfolution 

.cerns  thee,  therefore,  to  look  about  thee  in 
time,  and  fearch  thy  Confcience  to  the  Bot^ 
torn,  to  remove  whatever  grates,  to  caft  out 
whatever  offends,  though  never  fo  cuftomary, 
never  fo  pleaiing  to  Flelh  and  Blood  :  To 
apply  thyfelf  to  the  Merits  and  Satisfaftion 
of  Christ  Jesus,  for  the  Expiation  of 
,what  is  pad  -,  and,  for  the  future,  to  refolve 
and  endeavour  the  Amendment  of  whatfo- 
ever.hath  heretofore  been  amifs  in  theej 
and  to  beg  the  Afliftance  of  the  Bivine 
Grace  to  flrengthen  in  thee  every  good 
Purpofe  and  Refolution  of  Heart,  and  to 
enable  thee  to  bring  it  to  Iffue  and  Effeft. 
And  for  thy  Security,  I  think  it  good  Advice, 
to  refolve  fo  to  behave  thyfelf  in  thy  Retire- 
ments, fo  to  live  in  the  Secret  of  thy  Cham- 
ber and  Clofet,  as  though  the  Doors  were 
thrown  open  upon  thee,  and  all  the  Eyes  of 
the  World  beheld  thee  j  as  though  thou 
were't  in  the  Arena  of  a  Publick  Theatre, 
expofed  to  the  View  of  Men  and  Angels.  I 
remember  the  ingenious  Writer  of  Politick 
Difcourfes,  BoccaUni^  doth  often  divert  him- 
felf  and  his  Reader,  with  facetious  Refleai- 
Qns  upon  the  Contrivance  of  a  Window  into 
the  Breaft ;  which,  if  I  miftake  not,  he  fa- 
thers upon  Lipfitif.  However  he  may  deride 
it,  I  think  it  would  be  prudent  Counfel  to 
give  and  take,  for  every  Chriftian,  fo  to 
live  and  carry  it  in  the  Secret  of  his  Heart,  as 
if  there  were  a  Window  into  his  Breaft,  that 

every 


of  the  World.  427 

every  one  that  pafTed  by,  might  look  in 
thereat,  and  fee  all  the  Thoughts  and  imagi- 
nations that  palled  there,  that  found  any  Hn- 
tertainment  or  Acceotance  with  him.  For 
though,  indeed,  Gowfeaychey  the  Hearts  and 
Reins ^  and  underftandeih  our  Thoughts  afar  ojf\^ 
Pfal.cxxxix.  2.  Yet  fuch  is  the  Hypocrify  of 
Mankind,  that  they  do,  for  the  moft  part, 
more  reverence  the  Eyes  of  Men  than  of 
Go  D ;  and  will  venture  to  do  that  in  His  Pre- 
fence,  which  they  would  be  afhamed  the  Eyes 
of  Man  fiiould  fee  them  doing.  You  will 
fay,  Is  it  not  better  to  be  modeft,  than  to  be 
impudent  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  conceal,  than 
to  publiili  one's  Shame  ?  Is  it  not  better  to 
reverence  Man,  than  neither  God  nor  Man? 
Doth  not  the  Scripture  condemn  a  Whore's 
Fore-head  ?  Is  it  not  a  true  Proverb,  Faft 
Shame^  paft  Gracey  Was  it  not  good  Advice 
of  a  Cardinal  (as  I  remember)  Si  non  cafte^ 
tamen  caute  ?  He  that  hath  devoured  Shame, 
what  Bridle  is  there  left  to  reftrain  him  from 
the  worft  of  Evils  ?  1  anfwer.  That  it  feems 
indeed  to  me,  that  publick  Sins  of  the  fame 
Nature,  are  more  heinous  than  fecret  j  and 
that  Impudence  in  fmning,  is  an  Aggravation 
of  Sin.  For  open  Sins  dare  God,  and  bid  De- 
fiance to  Heaven,  and  leave  the  Sinner  unre- 
claimable,  and  are  of  more  pernicious  In- 
fluence. I  do  not  now  fpeak  of  the  Hypocri- 
fy of  feigning  Holinefs  to  ferve  our  own  Ends, 
which  is  rightly  efteemed  dif^lex  miquitas^ 

buc 


42.8  Of  the  Dijfolution    . 

but  that  of  concealing  and  hiding  vicious 
A<Stions,  to  avoid  the  Shame  of  Men.  And 
yet,  there  is  a  great  Obliquity  in  this  too. 
Becaufe,  even  this  is  a  flighting  and  underva- 
luing of  GoD,a  preferri%  of  Man  before  Him, 
fetting  a  greater  Price  and  Efteem  upon  the 
Praife  and  Commendation  of  Men,  than  the 
Praife  and  Approbation  of  God,  Johnxiu/^}. 
God  fees  the  jfecreteft  Anions,  yea,  the  mod 
retired  Thoughts,  They  that  believe  this, 
ind  yet  make  bold  to  do  in  His  Prefence' 
what  the  Fear  of  Man's  Eye  would  reftrain 
them  from,  it  is  clear  that  they  reverence 
Man  more  than  God;  a  poor,  frail,  impotent 
Creature  like  themfelves,  more  than  the 
moft  Pure  and  ever  BlefTed  Creator.  Nay, 
let  the  Temptation  to  any  Sin  be  never  fo 
ftrong,  and  the  natural  Inclination  never  fo 
vehement,  if  the  Knowledge  and  Confcience 
of  Men  be  a'  Motive  and  Conlideration  power- 
ful enough  to  enable  us  to  refift  and  repell 
them,  had  we  but  as  firm  a  Belief  of  the 
Prefence  andlnfpeiftionof  God,  and  as  great 
a  Reverence  and  Dread  of  Him,  why  ihould 
not  thefe  have  the  fame  Influence  and  Effed: 
upon  us  ?  Let  us  then  avoid  the  Hypocrify 
of  defiring  to  be  thought  better  than  we  are, 
by  endeavouring,  to  our  utmoft,  to  be  as  goo  J 
^s  we  would  be  thought  to  be,  and,  if  poffi- 
ble,  better.  So  Ihall  we  fatisfy  ourfelves  that 
we  feck  the  Praife  of  God,  more  than  the 
Praife  of  Men, 

H  E  R  E^ 


of  the  World.  42p 

H  £ Rb,  before  I  proceed,  I  cannot  but  ad^ 
mire  theWifdomandGoodnefs  of  Almighty 
G  o  D5  in  implanting  fuch  a  Pallion  in  the  Na- 
ture of  Man,  as  Shame,  to  no  other  Ufe  or 
Purpofc,  that  I  can  imagine,  than  to  reftrain 
him  from  vicious  and  4hameful  Adions,     A 
Paflion  I  call  it,  becaufe  the  Body,  as  in  other 
Paflions,  fuffers  from  it,  and  that  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner  ,-  it  caufing  a  fudden  Motion  of 
the  Blood  to  the  outward  Parts,  efpecially 
to  the  Face,  which  is  called  Blulliing,  and 
a  Dejedion  of  the  Eyes.     If  you  ask  me  what 
Shame  is,  I  anfwer,  It  is  an  ungrateful  and 
afflidive  Senfe  of  Soul,  proceeding  from  Dif- 
honour.     Now  Difhonour  is  nothing   elfe 
but  Mens  ill  Opinion  of  me,  or  Diflike  and 
Condemnation  of  my  A(^ions,fomeway  de- 
clared and  manifefted  to  me ,-  which,  why  I 
fliould  have  fuch  an  Abhorrence  of,  and  why 
it  fhould  be  fo  grievous  and  tormenting  to 
me,  there  feems  not  to  be  a  fufficient  Ground 
and  Foundation  in  the  Nature  of  the  Thing, 
fuppofing  fuch  as  have  this  Opinion  have  nei- 
ther Power  nor  Will  to  hurt  my  Body,  but 
only  in  the  Ordination  of  God,  who  hath 
fo  made  our  Natures,  to  fecure  our  Innocen- 
cy,  and  withhold  us  from  the  CommilTion  of 
what  is  difgraceful  and  ignominious,  as  all 
finful  Actions,  and  none  elfe,  are. 

And  as  for  fecret  Sins,  I  think  Shame  may 
take  Place  there  too.  It  was  a  Precept  of  the 
Fphagoreans^  IlijlvTwv  5  yA'hi:;  dhx'^i^o  ff^vTcv  • 

0/ 


430  Of  the  Dijfolution 

of  all  Men  reverence  pUrfelf  jfioft  :    Be  aflia- 
med  to  do  that  before  yourfelf,  which  before 
others  you  would  abhorr  or  blulh  to  do  y  o- 
therwile  you   muft  fuffer   Dillionour  from 
yourfelf^  and  condemn  your  own  Adions, 
which  will,  in  all  reaft)n,   be  more  grievous 
and  afflidive  than  the  ill  Opinion  and  Word 
of  other  Men.     Hence,  Confcience  of  Sin  is 
efteemed   a   mod   painful    and  tormenting 
riling,  by  the  generahty  of  all  Mankind,  tho* 
no  other  Man  be  privy  to  it. 
.   But  to  return  from  whence  we  digrefled, 
*paniei  though"^  Shame  and  e'VerlaflingContempt  fiiall, 
^"•^'     at  the  general  Refurredion,  be  the  Portion  of 
them  who  perfift  and  die  in  their  Sinsj  yet 
a  ferious  and  unfeigned  Repentance,  attcfted 
by  a  holy  Converfation  for  the  future,  is  an 
eftedual  Means  to  deliver  us  from  this  Shame, 
whatever  our  forepaft  Sins  have  been.     For, 
they  fliall  not  be  produced  againft  us,  they 
fliall  not  be  objeded  to  us  at  that  Day;  they 
fliall  be  buried  in  eternal  Silence  and  Oblivion, 
and  be  as  tho'  they  had  not  been.     And  this 
Opinion  I  hold,  i.  More  agreeable  to  the 
Scripture,  w^hich  in  this  Matter  makes  ufe 
of  the  Terms  of  liiding,  and  covering,  and 
blotting  out,  and  forgetting.  FfaL  xxxji.  i. 
Bleffed  if  the  Man  whofe  Tranfgrejjion  is  for* 
ghen^  and  whofe  Sin  is  covered,  Ifa.  xliii.  25. 
ly  even  I  am  H^,  that  blotteth  out  thy  Trajy- 
greffiom^  and  will  not  remember  thy  Sim,    So 
Pfal,  ii.  ^■.  Hide  Thy  Face  from  my  Sim^  and 

M.  blot 


of  the  World,  431 


Iht  out  all  m'nie  Iniquities  Jerem.  xlviii.  34. 
1  will  forgive  their  hriqiiity^  and  remember 
their  Sin  710  more.  Ezek.xxviii.  22.  All  hif 
TranfgreJJioiis  that  he  hath  committed^  they 
jJoallnot  be  mentioned imto  him,  Mic.  vii.  19. 
Thou  wilt  caft  all  their  Sins  into  the  Depths 
of  the  Sea»  And  as  it  is  more  confonant  to 
the  Scripture,  fo  is  it,  2.  More  grateful  and 
confolatory  to  the  Penitents.  For,  the  meer 
Mentioning  and  Reciting  of  their  Sins  before 
fuch  an  A&mbly,  muft  needs  refrelh  their- 
Shame  and  Sorrow,  and  fo  diminiih  their 
Happinefs  and  Joy.  To  which  I  might  add, 
that  it  is  written,  our  Saviour  at  the  laftjudg^ 
ment,  in  pronouncing  the  Sentence,  fhall  e- 
numerate  the  Good  Works  of  the  Godly  to 
their  Praife  -,  but  not  a  Word  faid  of  produ- 
cing their  Sins.  I  fay,  I  hold  this  Opinion 
more  probable  upon  thefe  Accounts,  thart 
theirs,  who  affirm  they  fhall  then  be  publifhed, 
for  the  magnifying  and  and  advancing,  the  de- 
claring and  illuftrating  the  Mercy  and  Grace 
of  God,  in  pardoning  fo  great  and  heinous 
Offences. 

And  truly,  I  do  not  know,  but  that  the  Sins 
of  the  Bleffed  may  be  blotted  out,  even  of 
their  own  Memories.  Some  Phiioiophers,who 
were  of  Opinion,  that  Souls  prae-exift  before 
their  Bodies,  thought  they  were  dipt  in  Lethe^ 
which  is  a  Fountain  cauiing  Oblivion,  by 
means  whereof  they  forgot  whatever  they  had 
done  before.    This  I  look  upon  as  a  Dream, 

Of 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

or  Fancy :     But,  truly,  I  am  inclinable  fome-i 
times  to  imagine,  that  the  Soul  of  Man  can 
hardly  be  entirely  happy,  unlefs  it  be  as  it 
were  thus  dipt  in  Lethe:     For  every  finful 
A<aion    having  a   natural  Turpitude  in  it, 
and  being  diHionourable,  how  can  the  Memo- 
ry and  Thought  of  it  but  beget  fuch  an  un- 
grateful Pafifion  as  Shame,  even  to  Eternity  ? 
And,  what  do  Divines  mean  by  faying,  That 
the  Adion  [of  finning]  fuddenly  paffesaway^ 
but  the  Stain  and  Blot  of  it  remains  j  but 
that  a  vicious  Action,  even  by  them  to  whom 
it  is  pardoned,  can  never  be  thought  of  with- 
out Grief  and  Difturbance ,  it  leaves  an  inde- 
lible Scar  in  the  Soul,  which  can  never  be 
perfeded,  healed,  and  obliterated. 
.    2.  It  concerns  us  much  to  live  in  all  holy 
Converfation  in  this  World,  as  we  defire  to 
avoid  that  Pain  and  Mifery,  which  we  fliall 
otherwife  moft  certainly  be  adjudged  to  at 
that  Day  :  That  Indignation  and  Wrath^  Tri- 
bulation  and  Anguifi^  which  God  fliall  render 
to  them  that  do  not  obey  the  Truths  but  obey 
Unrighteaufneff^  Rom.  ii.  8.   That  JVorm  that 
dieth  noty  and  that  Fire  that  is  not  quenched^ 
Mark  ix.  44.  and  45,  and  48.     That  outer 
Darlnefsy  where  is  Weeping  and  Wailing^  and 
Gnafmng  ofTeeth^  Matt.  viii.  12,  and  xxii.  1 3 ^ 
and  XXV.  30.  Thn  Furnace  0/ F/>'£^Matt.xiii* 
42, 50.    That  Lake  of  Fire  anaBrimftone^ 
Rev.  XX.  I  o.  or  oiFire  burning  with  Bri?nftone^ 
Rfu.xix.  20.    Which  Pkces,  tho'  they  b* 

•    not 


of  the  World.  4^5 


riot  literally  to  be  expounded,  yet  do  they 
import  at  leaft  a  very  fad  and  deplorable 
Eftate,  a  high  Degree  of  Torment  and  An- 
guiih :  And  all  this  Eternal,  and  without  In- 
termiflfion,  Night  and  Day.  Thefe  fioall  go 
into  everldfting  PuniJJjjnent^  Matth.  xxv.  ^6. 
The  State  of  the  Damned  is  fuppofed  to  be 
a  State  of  abfolute  and  complete  Mifery, 
made  up  of  the  Lofs  of  the  greateft  Good, 
and  a  conftant,  freih,  and  lively  Apprehen- 
fion  of  it,  which  Divines  call  Pcena  Da?nnL 
And,  2.  Excefs  of  bodily  Pain  and  Suffer-* 
ings,  and  fad  Diftrefs  and  Trouble  of  Mind, 
occafioned  by  all  manner  of  frightful  Ap- 
prehenfions,  and  vexatious  Perturbations  and 
ReHeftions,  which  they  call  Pcsna  Semus ; 
and  this  without  any  Intermiilion  or  Hope  of 
Deliverance  eternally.  Jude  vii.  it  is  called 
the  Vengeance  of  eternal  Fire.  Rev.  xiv.  1 1. 
The  Smoke  of  their  Torment  is  faid  to  afcend 
up  for  e-ver  and  ever.  And  Rev,  xx.  i  o.  it 
is  laid  of  the  Beaft  and  falfe  Prophet,  that 
theyfhall  be  tormented  Night  and  Day  for  ever 
and  ever.  If  this  be  fo,  is  it  not  our  great- 
eft  Wifdom  to  ufe  our  utmoft  Diligence  and 
Endeavour  to  avoid  fo  deplorable  a  Condi- 
tion, and  to  fecure  to  ourfelves  an  Intereft 
in  a  future  Eftate  of  everlafting  Bliis  and 
Happinefsj  when  this  Life  lliall  be  ended? 

But  here  the  Epicureans  and  fenfual  Per- 
jfons  will  be  ready  to  object  and  argue,  Here 
are  Pleafures  and  Delights  in  this  World, 

F  f  which 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

which  are  very  inviting  and  taking,  and  do 
highly  gratify  my  Senfes  and  Appetites.    I 
hear  Hkewife  of  future  Rewards  and  Punifli- 
nients  for  thofe  that  deny  or  fulfill  their  Car- 
nal Lufts  and  Defires.  Thefe  fenfual  Pleafures 
I  fee  and  tafte,  and  feel,  and  am  fure  of,  the 
other  I  do  but  only  hear  of,  and  therefore 
they  do  not,  they  cannot  fo  ftrongly  affed 
me  :  Were  Heaven,  and  the  Happinefs  there- 
of, fet  before  my  Eyes,  and  did  I  fee  it  as 
plainly  and  clearly  as  I  do  thefe  Things  be- 
low, then  indeed  I  fliould  not  need  many 
Motives  to  provoke  me  to  endeavour  the  Ob- 
taining of  it.    But,  alas  1  that  is  far  above 
out  of  our  Sight,  the  Joys  of  Heaven  are  by 
the  Apoftle  termed  Things  not  feen,    Agair^, 
thefe  outward  and  temporal  Enjoyments  are 
prefent  and  eafily  obtainable  ;  the  other  at  a 
great   Diftance,   future^    and  befides,    very 
hard  to  come  by ;  and  I  love  my  Eafe,  Ut 
efl  ingenium  hominum  a  labore  prodive  ad  //- 
hidinem.    Should  I  deny  myfelf  Good  in 
this  Life,  and  then  perchance  ceafe  to  be, 
and  fo  have  no  Reward  for  my  Pains ;  nay^ 
on  the  contrary,  expofe  myfelf  to  the  Ha- 
zard of  many  Afflictions   and  Sufferings, 
which  are  the  Portion  of  the  Godly  in  this. 
Life,  how  unneceffariiy  fliall  I  make  my- 
felf miferable  ?   Miferable  I  fay,  becaufe  by 
the  Apoftle's  own  ConfelTion,  Chriftians,  if 
in  this  Life  only  they  had  Hcpe^  would  beofdtl 
Men  the  moft  fniferaUe^  i  Gor.  xv.  i^.  Had  I 

not 


of  the  World.  43  ^ 

hot  better  make  fnre  of  what  is  before  me  ? 
Why  have  I  thefe  Appetites  within  me,  and 
fuch  Objects  about  me,  the  one  being  fo  fuit- 
able  to  the  other,  is  it  not  more  natural  and 
reafonable  to  fulfill,  than  deny  them  ?  Surely 
it  cannot  be  Wifdom  to  lofe  a  certain  Good,' 
for  an  uncertain  Hope ;  and  for  an  unground- 
ed Fear  of  Hell  hereafter,  to  undergo  a  Pur- 
gatory here. 

To  this  Argumentation  upon  the  falfe 
Foundation  of  the  Uncertainty  of  a  future 
Eftate  of  endlefs  Happinefs  or  Mifery,  accor- 
dingly as  we  have  behaved  ourfelves  in  this 
Life,  I  anfwer, 

T  H  A  T  for  the  Futurity  of  fuch  an  Eftate, 
we  have  the  beft  Authority  in  the  World,  to 
wit,  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  univcrfal  Tra- 
dition. 

I .  T  H  E  Holy  Scriptures,  whofe  Authority 
to  be  more  than  humane,  hath  been  by  ma- 
ny fo  clearly  and  convincingly  demonftrated, 
hat  I  fhall  take  it  for  granted,  and  not  wafte 
Time  to  prove  it.     The  Teftimonies  herein 
contained,  concerning  eternal  Happinefs  and 
Mifery,  are  fo  clear  and  full,  that  it  feems  to 
me  impoffible,  without  manifeft  Diftortion, 
to  elude  or  evade  the  Force  of  them.    Some 
we  have  already  recited,  and  might  produce 
many  more,  Ila.  xxxiii.  14.   Who  among  us 
JJ:all  dwell  with  the  devouring  Fire  ?  Who  a- 
mong  usJJjall  dwell  with  everlafti?ig  Burnings  ? 
pan.  xii.  2.  And  many^  of  them  that  Jleep  in 
F  f  2  the 


9" 
7^ 


43^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

the  Thift  of  the  Earth  Jhall  awake^  fome  to 
everlafiing  Life^  and  fome  to  Shame  and  ever^ 
lafting  Contempt,  2  ThefT.  i.  9.  WhoJJmllbe 
f  unified  with  everlafting  Deflru6lion  from  the 
Prefence  of  the  Lord,  &c,  fpeaking  of  them 
who  know  not  G  o  d,  and  obey  not  the  Gof- 
pel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Ifai, 
Ixvi.  24.  For  their  Wormfiall  not  die^.  neither 
Jlmll  their  Fire  be  quenched. 

The  Origenifi^^  and  others,  that  cannot  be 
reconciled  to  the  Catholick  Dodrine  of  the 
Eternity  of  the  PuniHiments  of  the  Damned, 
make  the  Word  ct/ wv,  from  which  the  Latin 
dijum  is  derived,  to  fignify  fometimes  a  de- 
terminate Time,  as  might  (fay  they)  eafily 
be  proved  by  many  Examples^  and  fo  dc 
cfMvoL^  or  aii^vc/s^  which  we  tranflate  for  ever^ 
{ignifies,  w^hen  applied  to  this  Matter,  a  long 
indeed,  but  yet  a  finite  Time;  and  sic  ths 
aiava^  T60V'  ^/wvccv,  which  we  render  for  ever 
and  evcvy  may  likewife  (ignify  not  an  eter- 
nal Duration,  but  a  Time  to  which  for^a 
Term  may  be  fet  by  God,  though  to  usual 
known.  In  the  fame  Senfe  they  accept  the 
Adje<^ive  aic^^viog  for  a  long,  but  finite  Time. 
But  I  am  of  S.Auguftins  Opinion,  that  ct/w- 
viog  doth  in  the  New  Teftament  fignify  the 
fame  wath  dter?ius  in  Latin^  and  is  appropri- 
ated to  Things  that  have  no  End ;  and  that 
£ic  THf  aic^vccg  twv  <x/Gofwi^,  for  ever  and  ever^ 
doth  in  like  manner  always  denote  eternal 
pr  endlefs  Duration.    That  iIk  Word  ci(b:vic;y 

when 


of  the  World.  437 


when  applied  to  the  State  of  the  Damned, 
<doth  fignify  eternal,  S.  Auguftin  well  de- 
mon ftrates  from  the  Antithefis  in  that  Place 
of  Matth.  XXV.  4<5.  And  thefe  fiall  go  away 
into  everlafling  Punifljment^  but  the  Righteous 
into  Life  eternal.  Where  it  is  in  the  fame 
Senfe  attributed  tc^that  Life  which  is  the  Re- 
ward of  the  Righteous,  and  that  Fire  which 
is  the  Punifhment  of  the  Damned  -,  there  be- 
ing noReafon  to  believe  that  the  fame  Word 
in  the  fame  Verfe,  when  applied  to  Oppo- 
fites,  lliould  be  taken  in  a  different  Senfe. 
But  by  the  Confent  of  all  ChriHians  it  is 
granted,  that  the  Life  of  the  Bleffed  fhall  be 
eternal,  therefore  fo  mud  the  Punilliment  of 
the  Damned  be  too. 

This  Acception  of  the  Word  c(?wwcf  for 
eternal  ov.endleff,  when  it  referrs  to  the  State 
of  thofe  nvferabie  Perfons,  receives  a  farther 
and  ftrong  Confirmation  from  the 

Second  Particular  we  propofed,  that  is,' 
Uni'verfal  T)'adition :  It  being  a  received  Opi- 
nion among  the  Heathen,  which  muft  need?? 
defcend  down  to  them  by  Tradition  from 
the  Ancients,  that  Eternal  Punilhments  a* 
waited  the  Wicked  after  Death. 

What  more  common  Notion  among  the 
Grecians  and  Romans^  than  of  an  Elyfium^ 
and  Tartarus?  the  former  to  reward  good 
Men ,  the  latter  to  puniHi  wicked.  And 
thofe  too  efteemed  to  be  Eternal  States,  Of 
this  the  Epicurean  Poet  Lucretius  is  a  futfi- 

F  f  3  cienc 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

cient  and  unexceptionable  Witnefs :  For  he 
makes  the  Fear  of  thefe  Punifliments  to  be 
the  Caufe  of  all  the  Miferies  of  Humane 
Life,  and  the  Foundation  of  all  Religion, 

^^ternas  quoniam  pcenas  in  morte  timendum^ 

'Ho'W^  that  he  could  ^rive  this  from  no 
other  Source  but  Tradition,  is  clear  j  becaufe 
he  lived  a  good  while  before  our  Saviour's 
Time,  and  the  Divulgation  of  the  Scripture 
among  the  Heathen.  And  becaufe  it  may 
be  objedied,  that  Mternas  may  fignify  only 
of  long  Continuance,  to  put  the  Matter  out 
of  all  Doubt,  in  another  Place  he  faith, 

«- Natn  fi  nullum  finem  ejje  putarent 

'jEru?nnaru?n  homines^  nulla  ratione  'valerent 
Kelligionibus  atque  minis  obfiftere  ^vatwn. 

And  that  this  Opinion  and  Belief  gene- 
rally prevailed  among  the  People  before  £/)/- 
curus  his  Time,  the  (amc  Lucretius  teftifies 
in  the  Beginning  of  his  firft  Book, 

Jlumana  ante  oculos  fccde  cum  'vita  jaceret 
In  terrif  opprejja  gra^vi  [ub  Relligione^  &c. 
Frimiijn  Graius  homo^  &c. 

hong  time  Men  lay  opprefs'd  with  Jlavifi  Fear^ 

Religion's  Tyranny  did  domineer^ 

Which  being  placed  in  Hea'v'n^  looFd  proudly 

down^ 
4^4  frig,bted  abject  Spirits  ({t  her  Frown. 

At 


of  the  World.  43^ 


^At  lafl  a  mighty  One  cf  Greece  began 
T^'affert  the  Natural  Liberty  of  Man^ 
By  fe?ijlefy  Terror;^  and  'vain  Fancy  led 
^0  Slavery ;  ftr eight  the  coitqi-ierd  Fantmsfled: 

for  he  makes  (as  we  faw  before)  the  Fear  of 
eternal  Pain  and  Mifery,  to  be  the  Founda- 
tion of  all  Religion. 

I.  Now,  becaufe  thefe  Objedors  do  repre- 
fent  Religion  to  themfelves  and  others  as  a 
melancholick  and  difconfolate  Things  and 
fhink  and  fay,  that  thofe  that  enter  into  this 
State,  muft  bid  adieu  to  all  the  Pleafures  of 
Senfe,  and  tafte-no  Sweetnefs  in  any  worldly 
Obje(i  ;   I  fhall  endeavour  to  remove  this 
Prejudice.     I  fay  therefore.  That  our  graci- 
ous God  doth  not  envy  us  any  real  Good 
that  the  Creatures  can  afford  us,  and  there- 
fore hath  not  denied  us  a  moderate  Ufe  and 
Fruition  of  any  of  them*  And  feeing  He  hath 
annexed  Pieafure  to  thofe  Adions  that  are 
neceffary  for  the  Support  of  Life,  and  Conti- 
nuation of  Kind,  as  a  Bait  to  invite  us  to  the 
Performance  of  them,  it  feems  to  me  highly 
abfurd  and  contradictious  to  affirm,  that  He 
hath  forbidden  us  to  partake  or  tafte  thofe 
Enjoyments  which  Himfelf  has  appointed  as 
effectual  Means  for  the  Security  of  thofe  great 
Ends,-    and  which  are  fo  neceffary  Confe- 
quents  of  thofe  A<ftions,  that  we  cannot  but 
partake  them.    Where  the  Appetite  is  eager, 
Gop  hath  indulge dg  I  might  fay,  commanded 

F  f  ^  a  mo«- 


440  Of  the  Dijfolution 

a  moderate  and  regular  Satisfaction.  And  wc 
know,  nay,  the  Blindnefs  of  Atheifm  cannot 
deny,  that  the  greateft  Pleafure  refults  from 
a  moderate  and  well  circumftantiated  Ufe  of 
Pleafures.  Voluftates  commendat  rarior  ufuf. 
Now  a  religious  Man  enjoys  all  the  Pleafures 
of  thefe  worldly  and  fenfible  Goods,  without 
any  of  the  Pain  which  is  annexed  to  the  ex- 
ceffive  and  irregular  Ufe,  or  indeed  Abufe  of 
them  t  And  befides,  his  Pleafure  is  enhanced, 
in  that  he  beholds  and  receives  them  as  Blef-. 
fings  of  God,  and  Tokens  of  His  Favour  and 
Affedion,  and  is  without  all  Fear  of  a  future 
fad  Reckoning  for  his  Participation  of  them, 
Howbeit  a  Denial  of  ourfelves  for  G  o  ds 
Sake  and  Caufe,  in  any  thing  which  we 
might  otherwife  lawfully  enjoy,  though  it 
be  not  commanded,  yet  is  accepted,  and  fliall 
be  rewarded  by  Him. 

Others  there  are  who  grant.  That  thefe 
Words  grammatically  fignify  as  we  contend, 
and  that  eternal  Punilhments  are  indeed 
threatned  to  the  Wicked  ^  but  fay  they,  thefe 
Threatnings  are  intended  only  as  Terricula- 
menta^  or  Bug-bears  to  Children,  to  terrify 
find  keep  People  in  Awe,  and  to  preferve 
the  World  in  fome  tolerable  Condition  of 
Quietncfs,  And  Origen  himfelf,  tho'  he  be  of 
Opinion,  that  thefe  Threatnings  fignify  only 
temporary  Pains;  yet  he  faith,  that  fuch 
Myfteries  are  to  be  fealed  up  and  concealed 
from  the  Vulgar,  left  wicked  Men  fhould 

ruin 


of  the  World.  441 


rufli  into  Sin  with  all  Fury  and  Licentiouf- 
neis,  if  this  Bridle  were  taken  off,  who  by  the 
Opinion  and  Fear  of  eternal  and  tndlds  Pu- 
nilliments  can  fcaree  be  deterred  and  re- 
trained from  it. 

T  o  this  I  anfwer,  i .  That  it  feems  to  me 
indecorous  and  unfuitable  to  the  Perfon  and 
Majeftyof  G0D5  to  make  ufe  of  fuch  forry 
and  weak  Means  to  bring  about  his  Ends,  as 
grave  Men  can  hardly  condefcend  to.  2.  I 
do  not  fee  how  it  can  confift  with  his  Veraci- 
ty, in  plain  Terms  abfolutely  to  threaten  and 
affirm  what  he  never  intends  to  do. 

In  D  E  E  D  it  is  queftionable.  Whether  it  be 
allowable  in  Man  ^  it  being  at  beft  but  an 
officious  Lye  ,•  for  it  is  a  fpeaking  what  we 
do  not  think,  and  that  with  an  Intention  to 
deceive. 

Secondly,  I  proceed  now  to  a  fecondOb-^ 
je6tion  againft  the  Eternity  of  the  Pains  and 
Sufferings  of  the  Damned,  and  that  is^  its  In- 
eonfiftency  with  the Juftice  of  God.  What 
Proportion  can  there  be  between  a  tranfienc 
and  temporary  Ad,  and  an  eternal  Punifh- 
ment?  The  moft  rigid  Juftice  can  exad  no 
more  than  a  Talio^  to  fu&r  as  I  have  done. 

*'E;x.f  TTiiMi  Toc  K  e^e^s  ^Uvi  ^'  l^sTcn  ysvolro. 

If  I  have  hurt,  or  grieved,  or  injured  any 
lylan,  to  be  punifhed  with  the  fmie,  or  an 
equivalent  Suffering :   If  I  have  taken  any 

unrea- 


442^  Of  the  Dijfolution 

unreafonable  Pleafure,  to  compenfate  it  with 
an  anfwcrable  Pain.  Indeed,  the  Enormities 
of  my  Life  cannot  well  deferve  fo  much,  if 
it  be  confidcred,  that  I  have  been  ftrongly  in- 
fligated  and  inclined,  and  as  it  were  fatally 
driven  upon  all  the  Evils  which  1  have  com- 
mitted, by  thofe  Affedions  and  Appetites, 
which  I  made  not  for  myfelf,  but  found  in 
myfelf  i  and  have  been  expofed  to  ftrong 
and  almoft  inexpugnable  Temptations  from 
without  -y  befet  with  Snares,  encompaffed  a-« 
bout  with  innumerable  Evils. 

To  this  I  anfwer,  Firft,  that  every  Sin,  In- 
jury, or  Offence,  is  aggravated  and  enhanced 
by  the  Dignity  or  Merit  of  the  Perfon  againft 
-whom  it  is  committed.  So  Parricide  is  e- 
fteemed  a  greater  Crime  than  ordinary  Mur- 
der, and  by  the  Laws  of  all  Nations  aven- 
ged with  a  forer  Punilliment.  The  like  may 
be  faid  of  L^sfa  Majeftas^  or  Treafon.  Now 
God  is  an  infinite  Perfon,  and  Sin  being  an 
Injury  and  Affront  to  Him,  as  being  a  Viola- 
tion of  His  Law,  an  infinite  Punilhment  mufl 
be  due  to  it. 

This  Anfwer  Dr.  Hammond  in  his  Pra^fi- 
cat  Catechifffij  lib.  5.  fe6t.4.  accounts  a  Nice- 
ty, and  Unfatisfadory,  as  alfo  that  other  com- 
mon Anfwer,  That  if  we  fhould  live  infi- 
nitely, we  would  fin  infinitely ;  and  there- 
fore gives  us  another,  which  in  his  Difcourfe 
of  the  Reafonablenefs  of  Chriftian  Religion, 
he  thus  briefly  fums  up. 

'    '  2.  That 


of  the  World.  4^^^ 

2.  T'hat  the  Choice  being  referred  to  m  to 
take  of  the  two  which  we  heft  lih^  eternal 
Death  fet  before  us  on  the  one  hand,  to  ?nake 
eternal  Life  the  more  infinjtely  reafonable  for  us 
to  choofe  on  the  other  hand,  and  the  eternal 
Hell  (whenfoever  we  fall  i?tto  it)  being  per-- 
fetty  our  own  A6f,  neither  forced  on  uf  by  any 
abfolute  Decree  of  God,  nor  irrefiftible  Tem^ 
ptation  of  the  De-vil  or  our  own  Flefi ;  but  as 
truly  our  Wijlo  and  Choice,  and  mad  Furchafe^ 
7iay,  much  more  truly  and  properly,  than  eter- 
nal Heaven  is,  (when  our  Obedience  is  firji 
Wrought  by  Gods  Grace,  and  yet  after  that  fo 
abundantly  rewarded  by  the  Doner)  it  is  cer* 
tain,  if  there  be  any  thing  irrational,  it  is  in 
us  unkind  and  po-^erfe  Creatures  (fo  obflinate 
to  choofe  what  God  fb  pajfionately  warns  us  to 
take  heed  of  ^  fo  wilfully  to  die,  when  God 
fwcars  He  wills  not  our  Death)  and  not  in  Him, 
who  hath  done  all  that  is  imaginable  to  be 
done  to  reafonable  Creatures  (here  in  their 
Way  or  Courfe)  to  the  Refcuing  or  Sa-ving  of 
us. 

But  to  this  may  be  replied,  If  the  Thing 
itfelf  be  unjuft,  how  can  our  Choofing  of  it 
make  it  juft?  Now,  that  it  is  unjuft,  ap- 
pears, in  that  there  is  no  Proportion  between 
the  Offence  and  the  Penalty,  that  is,  between 
a  fhort  and  tranfient  AcT:,  and  an  eternal 
Punilhment. 

To  which  I  anfwer,  That  God  deals 
with  us  as  with  intelligent  Creatures,  and 


hat 


444  Of  the  Dijfolution 

that  have  Liberty  of  Will ;  and  fo  are  to  be 
led  by  Motives  to  choofe  that  vv^hich  is  good, 
and  refufe  that  which  is  evil :  And  there- 
fore, though  there  fliould  be  no  Proportion 
between  them,  (as  in  the  firft  Anfwer  we 
have  fliewn  there  is)  yet  the  Annexing  fuch  a 
Punifliment  to  the  Violation  of  His  Laws 
may  be  juft,  becaufe  a  leffer  would  not  be  a 
fufficient  Motive  to  determine  our  Choice, 
and  fecure  Obedience  to  them.  As  we  fee 
Lawgivers,  in  the  Sandion  of  their  Laws,  are 
not  (o  folicitous  to  make  the  Penalty  com- 
menfurate  to  the  Offence  in  Point  of  Dura- 
tion, as  that  it  be  fufficient  to  enforce  Obe- 
dience to  the  Law;  not  thinking  it  unjuft  to 
annex  a  Punifliment  much  longer  than  the 
Offence,  if  a  leffer  will  not  ferve  to  fecure 
Obedience.  So  feveral  other  Crimes  befides 
Murder  are  puniflied  with  Death,  which  is  a 
kind  of  eternal  Punifliment,  there  being  no 
Return  to  Life  again  :  And  thofe  Laws  only 
are  unjuft  upon  account  of  difproportionate 
Punifliments,  where  leffer  would  ferve  the 
Turn. 

Now,  that  leffer  than  eternal  Punifliments 
would  not  fuffice  to  enforce  Obedience  to 
God's  Commandments,  is  clear  in  Expe- 
rience: And  Origen  himfelf,  the  firft  Broacher 
of  the  Opinion  of  the  Determination  of  the 
Damneds  Punifliments,  could  not  but  con- 
fefs  it,  in  that  he  faith,  It  is  to  be  held  as  a 
^reat  Secret,  and  carefully  concealed  from 

the 


of  the  World.  '44^ 


the  Knowledge  of  the  Common  People,  who, 
if  you  take  off  this  Bridle,  would  be  apt  to 
ruJh  into  Sin,  as  a  Horfe  rulheth  into  the 
Battle.  Indeed  Eternity  is  the  very  Sting  of 
Hell.  Bate  him  but  that,  and  the  Sinner 
will  not  think  it  very  terrible  or  infupporta- 
ble.  But  the  Thought  of  an  eternal  Hell 
intervening,  (and  it  will  often  intrude  it- 
felf )  ftrikes  a  cold  Damp  to  his  very  Heart, 
in  the  midft  of  all  his  Jollities,  and  will 
much  quahfy  and  allay  all  his  Pleafures  and 
Enjoyments.  Rid  him  of  this  Fear,  and  he 
will  be  apt  to  defpife  Hell  and  all  his  Tor- 
ments, be  they  never  fo  grievous  or  lading. 
He  will  be  ready  thereupon  thus  to  argue 
with  himfelf :  What  need  I  take  fo  much 
Pains  to  drive  againft  Sin?  What  need  I 
fwim  againft  the  Stream,  ftem  the  Tide  of 
my  Pallions,  my  natural  Appetites  and  In- 
clinations, and  rehft  the  Importunities  of 
Company  ?  What  need  I  keep  fuch  a  con- 
ftant  Watch  and  Ward  againft  my  fpiritual 
Enemies  the  Devil,  the  World,  and  the  Fleih  ? 
If  I  fall  into  Hell  at  laft,  that's  no  eternal 
State,  it  lafteth  but  for  a  time,  and  will 
come  to  an  End.  Til  venture  it,  I  hope  I 
fhall  make  a  Shift  to  rub  through  as  well  as 
others. 

This,  therefore,  I  think  is  the  moft  folid 
and  fatisfad:ory  Anfwer  to  that  grand  Ob- 
jection againft  the  Juftice  of  God  in  pu- 
luihing  a  fliort  and  temporary  Offence  with 

eternal 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

eternal  Pains  and  Sufferings,  becaufe  lefTer 
are  not  fufficient  to  enforce  Obedience  to  His 
Laws. 

If  any  Man  be  diffatisfied  with  the  prece- 
dent Anfwers,  all  that  I  have  to  add  farther, 
is,  that  before  this  Sentence  adjudging  to 
eternal  Death  be  pronounced  againft  him,  and 
executed  upon  him,  there  Ihall  be  fuch  a  Re- 
velation made,  as  ihall  convince  and  fatisfy 
him  of  the  Rightcoufnefs  thereof.  And  this 
the  Apoftle  feems  to  intimate,  Ro7n,  ii.  5. 
when  he  calls  the  Great  Day  of  Doom,  the 
Day  of  the  Revelation  of  the  righteous  Judg- 
ment of  God.  Then  lliall be  made  appear 
what  now  to  our  dim-lighted  Reafon  is  not 
penetrable  ;  how  the  Juftice  of  G  o  d  can 
confift  with  the  eternal  Damnation  of  the 
Wicked. 

A  s  for  Man's  being  as  it  were  fatally  de- 
termined to  Evil  by  the  Strength  of  Tempta- 
tion, and  the  Violence  of  unruly  and  head- 
ftrong  Pallions  and  Appetites  :  I  anfwer. 
That  there  are  Motives  and  Confiderations 
fufficient  to  enable  a  Man  to  refift  and  repell, 
to  conquer  and  overcome  the  moft  alluring 
and'  fafcinating  Temptations,  the  moft  urg- 
ing and  importunate  Appetites  or  Affe- 
c^tions ;  fuch  are,  certain  Shame  and  Difgrace, 
and  chat  not  long  to  come,  eternal  Infamy 
and  Dilhonour  j  prefent  Death,  ftrong  Fear 
and  Dread  of  approaching  Death ,  or  iad 
and  intolerable  Pains  or  Calamities,    Now 

the 


of  the  World.  447 

the  Divine  Threatnings  are  of  the  greatefl: 
and  moft  formidable  Evils  and  Miferics  that 
humane  Nature  is  capable  of  fuffering ;  and 
therefore  were  they  but  firmly  believed  and 
apprehended,  they  would  be  of  Force  fuffi- 
cient  to  ftir  up  in  us  fuch  ftrong  Paffions  of 
Fear  and  Terror,  as  would  eafily  chafe  away 
all  Temptations,  and  embitter  all  the  Baits 
of  fenfual  Pleafure. 

3.  There  remains  yet  a  third  Objedion 
againft  an  eternal  Hell,  and  that  is^  that  it  is 
inconfiftent  with  the  Divine  Goodnefs.    For 
the  Unbeliever  will  fay.  It's  contrary  to  all  the 
Notions  and  Ideas  I  have  of  God,  to  conceive 
Him  to  be  fo  angry  and  furious  a  Being, 
How  can  it  ftand  with  Infinite  Goodnefs,  to 
make  a  Creature  that  he  fore-knew  would  be 
eternally  miferable?   We  Men  account  it  a 
Piece  of  Goodnefs  to  pardon  Offences :  And 
all  Punifhments  are  intended  either  for  the 
Reformation  and  Amendment  of  the  Offen- 
der, or,  iFhe  be  unreclaimable,  to  prevent  the 
Mifchief  which  he  might  otherwife  do,   or 
for  an  Example  to  others  to  deterr  them  from 
the  like  Enormities  ;   but  I  do  not  fee  for 
what  fuch  End  any  Man  can  be  eternally  tor- 
mented.    So  that  of  fuch  Inflidions  one  may 
rationally  demand,  Cui  bono?   What  Good 
comes  of  them  ?    How  then  can  they  come 
from  God,  who  by  all  Mens  Conf  elfion  is 
infinitely. Good  i* 

To 


448  Of  the  Dijfolution 

To  which  I  anfwer  :  Firfl^  That  God  Is 
juft  as  well  as  good.  You  will  fay,  What  is 
Juftice  ?  It  is  an  equal  Weighing  of  Adions, 
and  Rendring  to  every  one  his  Right  or  Due: 
A  Setting  ftreight  again  what  was  perverted 
by  the  Sins  and  Extravagancies  of  Men. 
Now,  that  the  Breaking  of  Order  and  Equa- 
lity in  thcWorldjthis  Ufurping  and  Encroach- 
ing, upon  others  Rights,  is  a  great  Evil,  and 
ought  to  be  redified ,  fome  may  take  an  Ar- 
gument from  the  ftrong  Inclination  and  De- 
lire  to  revenge  Injuries,  that  is  implanted  in 
the  Nature  of  Man,  and  of  all  Creatures. 
You'll  fay,  all  Defire  of  Revenge  is  abfolute-^ 
ly  (inful  and  unlawful.  I  anfwer,  I  am  no 
Patron  of  Revenge.  I  know,  the  very  Hea^ 
then^  by  the  Light  of  Nature,  condemned  it. 

Infirmi  eft  anmi  exiguique  'voluptas^ 

Ultio 

Revenge  is  the  Pleafure  of  a  poor  and  weal 
Spirit.  Yet,  let  us  hear  what  they  have  to 
fay.  I.  It  is  hard  to  affirm,  that  any  innate 
Appetite  or  Defire  is  in  itfelf  (imply  and  ab- 
folutely,  and  in  all  Circumftances  whatfo- 
ever,  unlawful ;  for  this  feems  to  refled  upon 
the  Author  of  Nature. 

T  o  which  may  be  anfwered,  that  a  well 
circumftantiated  Defire  of  Revenge  may  not 
be  in  itfelf  unlawful,  yet  for  the  evil  Con- 
fequents  of  it,  it  may  be,  and  is  prohibited 
by  a  pofitive  Law.     2.  Divine  Perfons  have 

prayed 


of  the  World.  44^ 


prayed  to  God  to  avenge  them,  as  D^iJ/iand 
the  Prophets.  And  S.  ?aul  himfelf,  2  TV///. 
iv.  1 4.  prays  G  o  d  to  reward,  Alexander  the 
Copperf?nith  according  to  his  Works,  To 
which  may  be  anfwered.  That  thofe  Expref- 
fions  are  rather  Predi(5tions  of  what  fliould 
befall  their  Enemies,  than  Defires  that  they 
might.  Again,  whereas  it  is  faid.  Rev.  vi. 
9,10.  T^hat  the  Souls  of  thein^  under  the  Altar^ 
that  were  Jlain  for  the  Word  of  Go  d^  and  the 
Tefiimony  which  they  held^  cried  with  a  loud 
Voice^  faying^  How  long^  0  Lord,  Holy  and 
True^  doft  'Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our 
Blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  Earth  ?  Dr. 
Hammond  faith.  It  (ignifies  no  more,  than 
that  their  Blood  cries  to  God  for  Vengeance, 
as  Abel's  is  faid  to  do.  3 .  The  Nature  of 
Forgivenefs  feems  to  imply  the  Lawfulnefs 
of  fome  Delire  of  Revenge.  For  what  is 
Forgivenefs,  but  a  Parting  with,  and  a  Re- 
nouncing the  Right  I  have  to  be  Avenged ; 
and,  therefore,  before  I  Forgive,  I  do  retain 
at  leaft  fome  Will  to  be  Revenged.  And, 
I  am  not  obliged  by  our  Saviour,  to  For- 
give abfolutely,  but  upon  Condition  of  Re- 
pentance. Luke  xvii.  3,4.  //  thy  Brother 
fin  againfi  thee^  rebuke  him;  and  if  he  re- 
pent  J  forgive  him^  &c.  And  in  the  Lor  d's 
Prayer,  one  Petition  is.  Forgive  us  our  Tref-^ 
fajfes^  as  we  forgive  them  that  trefpafs  againjl 
us.  But  God  forgives  not  without  Repen- 
tance.   To  which  may  be  anfwered.  That 

G  g  '       before 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

before  his  Repentance,  I  may  retain  a  Will  of 
having  an  Offender  punilhed  by  the  Magi- 
ftrate,  or  by  G  o  d,  for  his  own  Good  and 
Reformation,  but  with  no  refped  of  avenge- 
ing  what  is  paft.    And  if  his  Repentance 
prevents  his  Punilliment,  then  I  am  to  for- 
give him,  that  is,  ceaie  to  defire  his  Punifli- 
nient.    But  all  allow  Vengeance  to  be  juft 
in  G  o  D,  whofe  Adions  are  not  to  be  fcan- 
ned  by  our  Meafures.     He  h^th  not  permit- 
ted Vengeance  to  us,   but  hath  referved  it 
to  Himfelf.    Vengeance  is  Mine^  (faith  the 
Lord)  and  I  will  repay. 
.    2.  If  it  be  juft  with  God  to  propofe  to  us 
fuch  a  Choice  as  Heaven,  upon  Condition  of 
our  Obedience  to  His  Law,  or  Hell  in  cafe 
of  Difobedience,  as,  we  fee,  fome  wife  Men 
make  no  Scruple  to  grant ;  then  it  cannot  be 
Injuftice  in  Him  to  infli(^  the  Punifliments  of 
Hell  upon  them  that  make  it  their  Choice. 
Nay,  I  cannot  fee  how  it   can  confift  with 
His  Veracity  not  to  do  it ;    Why  then  fhould 
any  Argument  from  His  Goodnefs  move  us 
to  diftruft  His  Veracity  ?   as  I  have   before 
intimated.     It  may  aifo  be  anfwered  to  the 
Demand,  Cui  bono  1     That  thefe  eternal  Pu- 
nifliments were  threatned  for  a  very  great 
Good,  '-oiz,  to  fecure  Obedience  to  the  Di- 
vine Laws,  and  to  reftrain  Men  from  lin» 


nnig. 


I T  may  be  objeded  againft  the  Goodnefs 
of  G  o  Dj  and  His  Fhilanthropy^  or  Love  to 

Man- 


of  the  World.  4^1 


Mankind,  How  can  it  confift  therewitf»;  to 
permit  Sin  to  enter  into  the  World  ?  Why 
did  He  not  prevent  it,  and  make  it  impof- 
fible  it'lhould  enter,  lince  He  hath  Wifdoin 
enough,  and  Power  enough,  to  prevent  it  > 
that  I  may  ufe  Dr.  Whiehcofs  Words,  [Ser- 
mom^  Vol.  II.  Serm,  V.] 

T  o  which  I  anfwer  ,•  Why  might  not  God 
make  a  Creature,  endued  with  a  Faculty  of 
Underftanding,  to  difcern  that  which  is  Good,' 
and  Freedom  of  Will  to  make  Choice  of  it, 
and  under  no  Neceflity  of  Sinning  ?     If  He 
may,  and  hath   made  fuch  an  one,  it  doth 
neceffariiy  follow,  unlefs  He  fruftrates  His 
own  Workmanlliip,  that  He  muft   fuffer  it 
to  a6i:  according  to  its  own  Will.     Indeed, 
without  this  Freedom  of  Choice,  there  can 
be  no  fuch  thing  as  Vertue  or  Vicq.    For, 
how  can  that  be  a  vertuous  Adion  to  whioh 
the  Agent  is  as  neceffariiy  determined,  as  z 
Stone  to  fall  downward. 

But  farther  to  vindicate  the  Honour  of 
our  Maker,  (^  faith  the  forementioned  Dn 
Whichcot )  and  to  put  all  out  of  Doubt,  all 
thofe  things  confidered  which  are  the  Pro- 
vilion  of  G  o  d,  Man  is  more  fufficient  to  His 
Effe(5t,  and  the  Purpofes  of  His  Creation, 
than  any  other  Creature  whatfoever.  For  as 
that  to  which  a  Man  is  called  and  required, 
is  of  a  higher  Nature  than  that  of  any  other 
Creature  below  him  ;  fo  alfo  are  his  Prin- 
ciples higher  and  nobler ;  and  there  is  over 

G  g  2  and 


45*^  Of  the  Diffolution 

and  above  thefe,  the  Afliftance  of  Grace,' 
which  is  (upernatural,  and  more  than  is  due 
to  him.  This  is  fuch  an  Afliftance  as  is  able 
to  raife  a  Man  to  that  which  is  fupernatural, 
and  to  fit  him  for  the  State  of  Glory.  You 
fee,  inferiour  Nature  is  fufficient  to  its  End, 
and  hath  not  failed,  and  we  are  confident 
that  it  will  not  fail.  Now,  why  a  Man  that 
is  inverted  with  nobler  Principles  Ihould  not 
ad  at  a  higher  rate,  according  to  thofe  Prin- 
ciples and  Endowments,  is  a  thing  not  to  be 
anfwered.  But  to  return  from  whence  I 
have  digrefled. 

I  A  M  as  unwilling  as  any  Man  to  limit  the 
Mercies  of  God,  becaufe  I  have  as  much 
need  of  them  as  any  Man  :  Yet  I  muft  re- 
ferr  it  to  Him,  whether  He  will  be  more 
favourable  than  He  hath  threatned,  or  no, 
whether  He  will  remit  fomething  of  the  Se- 
verity of  His  Comminations.  I  am  alfo  wil- 
ling to  reftrain  and  confine  the  Senfe  of  thefe 
Words,  cc/wvff,  and  cumEQ  0Li(}iV(*^v^  ias  far  as 
the  Context  will  permit.  But  let  our  Opi- 
nions and  Hopes  of  the  Mercies  of  God,  and 
temporary  Hell,  be  what  they  will  j  a  tem- 
porary Hell,  I  fay,  or  rather  a  Purgatory^  in-* 
(lead  of  Hell :  For  the  Word  Hell^  accor- 
ding to  the  ufual  Acception  of  it,  includes 
Eternity* 

I  SHALL  add  farther.  That  fince  God 
hath  threatned  eternal  Punifiimcnts,  and  it 
is  no  Injuftice  in  Him  to  infli(^.them  upon 

the 


of  the  World.  4^3 


the  Breakers  of  His  Laws  i  and,  fince  we 
can  fcarce  reconcile  it  with  His  Veracity  not 
to  do  fo,  it  is  our  wifeft  and  fafeft  Courfe  to 
believe  them.  For,  though  He  fhould  not 
intend  to  execute  the  Severity  of  them  up- 
on us,  as  we  riiay  groundlefly  imagine ;  yet 
it  is  clear,  that  He  would  have  them  be  be- 
lieved by  us,  elfe  they  cannot  have  that  End 
and  EffeiSt  He  defigned  them  to  :  And,  there- 
fore, it  muft  be  Unbelief  and.  Prefumption 
in  us  to  deny  or  diftruft  them,  tho'  upon 
Suppofition,  that  they  are  irreconcilable  with 
His  Goodnefs  ^  with  which,  yet,  perhaps, 
they  may  accord  well  enough,  tho'  we  can- 
not at  prefent  difcern  it.  All  Divine  Reve- 
lations are  to  be  believed  and  accepted  by  us, 
as  well  Threatnings  as  Promifes  ,•  and,  if 
we  may  diftruft  the  Veracity  of  God  in  Them, 
I  know  not  but  we  may  as  well  do  it  m 
Thefe  :  If  we  deny  the  Eternity  of  the  Tor- 
ments of  Hell,  I  do  not  fee  but  that  we  may, 
upon  as  good  grounds,  with  Origen^  deny 
the  Eternity  of  the  Joys  of  Heaven. 

Let  not  then  the  Prefumption  of  a  tem- 
porary Hell  encourage  thee  to  go  on  in  Sin  5 
For,  how  if  thou  Ihouldft  find  thyfelf  mi- 
flaken  ?  If  the  Event  fruftrate  thy  Hopes, 
and  fall  out  contrary  to  thy  Expectation,  as 
it  is  moft  likely  it  will.  What  a  fad  Cafe 
wilt  thou  be  in  then  ?  How  wall  the  Uncx- 
pc^ednefs  thereof  double  thy  Mifery  c^    /;//- 

.  t  po-vifa 


Of  the  Dijfolution 

pYOvlfa  gravius  feriunt.  How  wilt  thou  be 
ftricken,  as  it  were,  witli  a  Thunderbolt^ 
when  the  Almighty  Judge  fliall  fulminate 
againft  thee  a  dreadful  indeed,  but  by  thee 
formerly  undreaded.  Sentence,  adjudging 
thee  to  endlefs  Puniihments  ?  How  wilt 
thou  damn  thine  own  Credulity,  who  by  a 
groundlcfs  Belief  of  a  temporary  Hell,  haft 
precipitated  thyfelf  into  an  eternal,  which 
(Dtherwife  thou  mighteft  poiTibly  have  avoi- 
ded ? 

Well,  but  fuppofe  there  be  fome  Sha- 
dow of  Hope  of  the  Determination  of  the 
Puniihments  of  the  Damned  ,•  it  is  by  all 
acknowledged  to  be  a  great  Piece  of  Folly, 
to  leave  Matters  of  the  higheft  Moment,  and 
which  moft  nearly  concern  us,  at  Uncer- 
tainties ;  and  a  Point  of  Wiidom,  to  fecure 
the  Main  Chance,  and  to  be  provided  againft 
the  worft  that  can  come.  An  eternal  Hea- 
ven, or  State  of  complete  Happinefs,  is  the 
Main  Chance,  and  is  not  to  come  into  any 
Competition,  or  fo  much  as  to  be  put  in- 
to the  Balance  againft- a  few  fhort,  tranlient, 
fordid,  loathed,  and,  for  the  moft  part,  up- 
on their  own  account,  repented  Pleafures : 
To  fecure  to  ourfelves  an  Intereft  in  fuch 
a  State,  is  our  greateft  Wifdom.  And  as 
for  being  provided  againft  the  worft  that 
may  or  can  come  ,♦  What  can  be  worfe  thani 
an  eternal  Hell  ?    Which  there  is,  I  do  not 

fay 


of  the  World.  4^^ 

fay  a  PoOfibility,  but  the  greatcft  Probability- 
imaginable,  that  it  will  be  our  Portion,  if- 
we  perfift  in  Impenitency,   and  die  in  our 
Sins.     But  fuppofe  the  beft  iliould  happen 
that  we   can   hope   or   conceive,  that  Hell 
fhould  laft  only  eJq  cl'1(^vclq  (x/ojvgov,  for  Ages 
of  Agsf,  .and   at  laft  determine  :     Do  we 
think  this  a  fmall  Matter  ?     If  we  do,  it  is 
for  Want  of  Confideration  and  Experience 
of  Acute  Pains.     Should  any  of  us  be  .under 
the  Senfe  and  Suffering  of  a  raging  Paro-       ; 
xyfm  of  the  Stone,   or  Gout,    or   Colick, 
I  doubt  not  but  rather  than  endure  it  for 
Ten  thoufand  Years,    he  would  willingly 
part  with  all   his  Expectation  of  a  Bleiied 
Eftate  after  that  Term  were  expired,  yea, 
and  his  Being  to  boot.     But,  what  are  any 
of  thefe  Pains  to  the  Torments  and  Perpef- 
fions  of  Hell  ?    or,  the  Duration   of  Ten 
thoufand  Years  to  thofe  Ages  of  Ages  ?     If 
thou  makeft  light  of  all  this,  and  nothing 
can  reftrain  thee  from  Sin,  but  the  Eternity 
of  Punifliment,   thou  art  bound    to  thank 
God,   who  hath    ufed   this  only  eflxdiual 
Means,  threatning  an  eternal  Hell,     A.nd  it 
ill  becomes  thee  to  complain  of  His  Ri- 
gour and  Severity,  who  wouldft  have  made 
fo  pernicious  an    Ufe  of  His  Lenity   and 
Goodnefs.     But  thou  who  haft  entertained 
fuch  an  Opinion,  and  abufcd  it,    to  encou- 
rage thyfelf  to  go  on  in  thy  Sins,  though 

others 


Of  the  Dijfolution. 

others  fiiould  efcape  with  a  temporary  Pu- 
niflimentj  furely  thou  haft  no  Reafon  to  ex- 
ped  any  milder  Doom  than  to  be  fentenced 
to  an  eternal. 


FINIS. 


ADVERTISEMENT, 

PHyftco-Ttheohgy :  Or,  a  Demonftration  of  the  Being  an*! 
Attributes  of  God,  from  His  Works  of  Creation.  Be- 
ing the  Subftanee  of  Sixteen  Sermons,  preached  in  S.Mary 
ie  Bovo,  London,  at  the  Honourable  Mr.  Boyle's  Leftures,  in 
the  Year  171 1  and  1712.  With  large  Notes,  and  many 
curious  Obfervations.  Never  before  Publiflied.  By  ^*^. 
Verbm,  Reftor  of  Vpminfter  in  Ejfex,  and  F.  R.  S.  Printed 
kit  IV^JmySf  at  the  Prinesi  jitm  in  S.  Paufi  Chuj^cB^rd. 


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