Products of Fancy or meer Conjecture yet if Seriously and Impartially enquir'd into will be fouâ—d Grounded upon such Reason as cannot without a prejudic'd Opinion be easily deny'd For it cannot be imagin'd by any who have made it their business to understand the Structure of the Earth those â—everal Classes of Solid and Dense Matter on which it consists the windings and turnings of those Dikes and Partitions which divide them and are the Subterranean Water Courses that there shou'd be Magazines of Subterranean Gunpowder lodg'd in Infernal Cavities round the whole Globe and that there shou'd be Trains laid from one Collection to another and that all these Trains shou'd take Fire through all the Subterranean Rivers in one instant of Time Neither can it reasonably be suppos'd that there shou'd be a Concussion of the whole or half or any considerable part of the Globe by one Subterranean Flatus but what is from the Central Vault Again The Consistences of the greatest part of the Earth being rather of a Gold Terrene and Mercurial than of a Bituminous Nitrous and Sulphureous Quality it cannot be suppos'd that those parts of the Earth which afford no quantities of this Natural Gunpowder shou'd suffer a Concussion or Earthquake but from these Central Damps Besides those Miners who have sunk deepest into these Occult Regions do from their own Experience assure us that there are no Grotto's or Cavities above an Hundred Fathoms deep unless in those Mountainous Countries where the Consistences are of a Sulphurous and Nitrous Quality affording plenty of Natural Gun-powder which being Fir'd cause all those Vulcano's we Read of in History CHAP. XIX Of Terrene Damps and their Dreadful Effects upon this Globe c. TErrene Damps have their Original either from Heat or Cold and are either Fiery or Waterish Those which have their Original from Fire are of the same Nature with those Central Damps we have given Account of As all Local Earth-quakes do more frequently happen in the Mountainous Countries than in the Plains and Valleys because all the greater Dikes Joints and Veins of the Earth contract and meet there And the Flatus which is the occasion of the Shock makes its way by what passage soever it can get Vent But these Mountainous Couâ—tries especially which yield great store of Sulphur Bitumen and chiefly Nitre these Minerals affording the greatest plenty of Natural Gun-powder are most injur'd by those dreadful Shocks because those Mountains whose Natural Consistences are of so Hot and Fiery a Quality are commonly very Cavernous and their greater Joints and Fissures as well as strong Strata having by frequent Concussions and Earthquakes lost their Natural Feeders are become the most proper Receptacles for those Fiery Stores to be lodg'd in until either the Central Fire or their own Natural Heat being contracted into a Point Discharge first the lowest Damp and the rest by Trains like so many Subalterns discharge in Course and sometimes for several Months together till the Subterranean Gun-powder be all spent And these Burning Mountains such as Aetna Vesuvius Hecla and others are only so many Spiracles or Vulcano's serving for the discharge of these Subterranean Damps which disgorgeth Flames of Fire and Stones of great Weight and Substance Showers of Sand and Rivers of melted Minerals and yet these Mountains by those Vulcano's lose nothing of their Height or Magâ—itude all these Eruptions being Recruited out of the great Magazine of Natural Gun-powder contain'd in the Infernal Vault Besides these Damps of a Fiery Natore contain'd in the Interior parts of the Earth there are others which sometimes happens in the Exterior parts of it such as those Fiery Damps in Colleries are only the Perspirations of Sulphur and Nitre out of the Cole Wall or Mine Collected into a Body and these either take Fire at a Candle or like so many dry Exhalations receiv'd into the Body of a Cloud and discharge like Thunder shakes the Earth about the Collery kills the Miners and have other Dreadful â—ffects To these we may add those Preter-natural Ebullitions and Eruptions of Subterranean Waters which Moses calls the Breaking up of the Fountains of the great Deep And these whenever they happen upon the Earth as at Noah's Flood are occasion'd by an Universal Fermentation and Dilation of the Central Fire which gaining ground upon their Fluid Neighbours force them into a most Rapid Motion through all the Subterranean Veins and consequently causeth those vâ—olent Eruptions of Water in all the Springs Rivers Joints and Fissures of the Earth Sometimes the Circulation of the Subterranean Waters stagnates and sinks down into the Interior parts of the Earth the Springs and Rivers dry up as in the days of Elisha and this is occasion'd by the stifling and damping of the Central Heat the Circumambient Waters prevailing upon it Sometimes the Circumbient Air which Circulates in the Exterior parts of the Earth especially the Caverns Joints and Concavities of Rocky Stones and other Metals and is the only cause of the Eruption and Motion of Springs Rivers c. Damps and Stagnates which forceth the Springs and Eruptions of Waters to stand back and fill those Caverns and Joints from whence they flow until the weight of the Waters break the Damp or rather Damm of Stagnated Air and then follows Eruptions and Overflowings of Springs Rivers c. This kind of Damps I have met with sometimes in Colleries where the Water made way for it self in such Joints and open Closers as it met with in the under Cills especially Lime-stone which is of all Stone the most Jointy and Open. And when the Air in these open Joints and Cavities was dampt the Waters stood back in the Working and forc'd the Mines out of the Pit until the weight broke the Damp and then the Waters Drain'd This Damp most frequently happens in the Summer Months when the Ambient Air is Thick with Hot and Piery Exhalations and the Effluvia of sweet Blossoms especially of Peas and Beans And this the Miners call the sweet Damp. This Stagnation and Damping of the Subterranean Air is in all probability the cause of the Annual Over-flowing of the River Nilus the Horary Overflowing of the Spring at Gigleswick in York-shire the Drumming in the Well at Bautry c. And these being by Men of Learning reckon'd among the Magnalia Naturae we shall enquire more particularly into the Causes of them And first of the Over-flowing of Nilus Nilus is one of the Noblest Rivers in the World and is famous not only for the long Course it takes through Ethiopia and Egypt which is suppos'd to be Three thousand Miles before it empty's it self into the Miditerranean Sea but also for its Over â—lowing and Fertilizing that Low and Level Country supplying in it the want of Rain 'T is believ'd by Men of great Learning that this Yearly Over-flowing of that Country is ocâ—â—sâ—on'd by the great quantities of Snow dissolv'd
drops of Rain into Hail-Stones I have observ'd a Shower of Rain upon the Mountains the same a Shower of Hail upon the Skirts of the Mountains the same dissolved again into a Shower of Rain in the Vallies I have observ'd also a Shower of Hail at one end of the Town the same a Shower of Rain at the other end the contracted Body of Cold that caused the Hail being not a Quarter of a Mile in Circumference Of Snow When the Lower Cold riseth and the Upper Cold falleth and so straitens the Sphere of Rarefaction that the Wind blows thin as out of a contracted Mouth the Vapours are frozen in-Snow before they be condensed into a Cloud and the shower of Snow only at first covers the Tops of the Mountains but as soon as the Lower Cold riseth Mountain height and joyns with the Upper Cold the Snow falls down into the Vallies and covers the Earth OBSERVATIONS When the Wind has blown for some time S. E. or full S. or S. W. we must expect a great and general Rain for these Winds blowing from such Regions where the Atmosphere rises high bring over with them the greatest Quantity of Vapours which our Mountanous Country condenseth into Clouds which fall down in great and general Rains And this is the reason why those Countries where most of the Vapours rise have the least of Rain which want is supplied by great Dews which the Evening and Morning Cold condenseth upon the Ground For where the Atmosphere riseth high the Lower and Higher Cold never meet which is the cause of their want of Rain When the Wind blows N. or N. E. or full E. we have seldom Rain but great Flights of Snow For the Atmosphere in those Parts being very low especially in Winter and the Mouth of the Sphere of Rarefaction very strait the Wind that blows from these Quarters is so very thin and freezing that those few Vapours which are brought from those places for the most part fall down in Snow CHAP. XI Of Frost and Thaw c. FRost and Thaw are the Effects of quite diâ—ferent Causes the one being occasion'd by the Influence of Heat the other of Cold and these two contrary Qualities do not give ground one to another without great struggle and contest The first beginning of Freezing is at the Waters and this we call a Water Frost it s the Effect or Operation of the Morning Cold which drawing down to the Waters in the Morning Twilight and carrying the Vapours along with it leaves a Waterish Hoar Frost upon the Ground behind it These Vapours lie upon the Waters until Nine a Clock for by that time the Influence of Heat having warm'd the Waters forceth them to remove their Quarters first to the cold Tops of the Mountains and thence to the cooler Regions of the Air from whence they fall down in Showers of Rain about Twelve a Clock this Frost only gains the Waters Vallies and Plains The Second Morning the Cold doubles its Force and Glaceates the Waters congeals the Earth and riseth to the middle of the Mountains their Tops still continuing in the possession of Heat This degree of Cold is over-powered by the Influence of Heat about Two a Clock and falls down in Rain in the Evening Twilight The Third Morning the Cold trebles its force and gains the Tops of the Mountains And the Influence of Heat commonly recovers this lost Ground a little before the Sun set and in the Morning Twilight it falls down in a shower of Snow covering only the Tops of the Highest Mountains The Upper and Lower Cold being now united the Frost keeps its possession of the Earth and Waters sometimes for a Month or more together and in some Countries lying at a distance from the Sea the whole Winter Quarter the Wind all the time blowing Cold and Thin the Mouth of the Sphere of Rarefaction being straitned by the joyning of the Higher and Lower Cold. During the Time that the Earth and Waters continue in the possession of Frost and Snow the Subterranean Heat breaks out of the Springs and Mineral Feeders and joyning with the Heart of the Sun Regeâ—es the Spring-heads and part of the Rivers gaining them intirely into its possession But the general Frost continues until the Vapours rising from the Southern or Western Ocean recover the Wind into some of the Solar Quarters which opening the Sphere of Rarefaction the Wind blows warm and moist For as the same Breath from an open Mouth warms ones Fingers so from a contracted Mouth it will cool his Porridge The general Frost in the Northern Countries near the Pole and in Countries at a distance from the Sea seldom Regeles until the Subterranean Heat break forth and joyn with the Heat of the approaching Sun and then the Frost and Snow is dissolved in a very short time and the Spring comes on much sooner than in those Countries where the Regelation is more gradual Thus as a constant Intercourse of Day and Night gives the Active Animals liberty by Rest and Sleep to recover their wasted Strength and Spirits so an Annual return of Frost and Snow recovers and repairs the Strength and Spirits of the Earth which had been spent in the preceeding Summers Productions For in this Natural World all things are repair'd by corrupting preserv'd by perishing and reviv'd by dying As the Operation of Cold did gradually gain ground upon the Influence of Heat so by the same methods and degrees Heat recovers its lost ground the Fresh or Thaw beginning first at the Waters and from thence riseth up to the Plains and Vallies and last of all the Tops of the Mountains which are for sometime kept in the possession of Frost and Cold after the lower parts of the Earth be regeled are gained CHAP. XII Of the Sphere of Rarefaction THE Sphere of Rarefaction is a Sphere of Heat wherein the Suns Reflections meet and unite themselves in their own defence against the Upper and Lower Cold. And being placed in a middle between them it riseth or falleth openeth or closeth as it prevails upon them or as they open or close rise or fall This Sphere of Heat by Rarefying of Vapours and Exhalations causeth Wind. That Heat is the cause of Wind is apparent from the Experience of such People who to cause Wind usually set Chaff Seeds or Straw on Fire And when Houses or Towns are accidentally thus set on Fire the Heat of the Flame by Rarefying of the Vapours and Exhalations round about will raise the Wind to so great a height as will make it a matter of great difficulty to quench the Flame CHAP. XIII Of Wind Helms and Arches WInd is the Nitrous part of Vapour and Exhalation Rarified and Dilated by the Sphere of Rarefaction The Winds are either higher or lower as the Sphere of Rarefaction riseth or falleth they are thicker or thinner as it openeth or closeth they are Moist Hot or Dry as they have more or less of Vapour or
General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the County of Surrey holden at Darking on Tuesday the Fifth day of April 1692 and in the Fourth Year of Their Majesties Reign By the Honourable Hugh Hare Esq One of Their Majesties Justices of the Peace for that County The Second Edition Corrected An Historical Relation of the Conspiracy of Iohn Lowis Count Deffieschi against the City of Genoua in the Year 1547. Written in Italian by Augustin Mascardi Gentleman of the Bed Chamber to Pope Urban the Eighth Done into English by the Honourable Hugh Hare Esq An Account of the Isle of Iersey the Gâ—eatest of the Islands that are now the only remainder of the English Doâ—inions in France with a New and Accurate Mapp of the said Island By Ph. Falle M. A. Rector of St. Saviour in the said Island and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty Mr Falle's Sermon before the English Gâ—â—â—ison in Iersey April the 10th 1692. One Sermon at Whitehall Decemb. the 30th 1694. One Sermon before the Lord Mayor April the 21th 1695. A Discourse of Natural and Reveal'd Religion in several Essays By Mr. T. Nourse The Anatomy of 〈◊〉 Earth Dedicated to all Miners By Tho. Robinson Rector of Outby in Cumberland The History of the Campagne in Flanders for the Years 1692 1693 1694 and 1695. All Written by Edward â— Auergne M. A. Rector of St. Brelade in the Isle of Iersey and Chaplain to His Majesties Regiment of Scots Guards * Note that Steno proves the Earth to have been twice fluid twice plain and dry twice scabrous and craggy the first was at the original Chaos the second at the Flood This says he is manifest from some Beds of the higher Hills containing no Heterogeneous Bodies because form'd before there wâ—re any Animals or Plants or other mix'd Solids and so presâ—rv'd in their simple antediluvian Stâ—â—e by the Heighth of their Siâ—uation which might secure them against the Load of many adventitious or factitious Bâ—ds falling for the most part on the Vallies and low Places where they make up all the compound Strata which inâ—rust tâ—â— presâ—nt Earth and separate it from the primitive oâ—e whose Beds are more simple not stuffed up with such diâ—â—â—â—ent Bodies as make up the postdiluvian Strata or Sediments This agrees with what Mr. Whiston delivers in mâ—ny Places of his New Theory To which we may add that the simple antediluvian Beds on the high Mountains destitute of Heterogeneous Solids may be lâ—id open by the washings away of the incumbent Diluvian Sediments or compound Beds by the Torrents of Rains which carry down those Câ—usts and Bodies along with them Dr. â—urnetâ— inconsistences The Cause of this Globes Atmosphere Dr. Woodard's contradiction of himself â— Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. Vse 5. Vse 1. Vse 2. Vse The cause of Hills 1. The Cause of different Soils and Natures of Vegetables 2. The different Qualities of the Air. 3. The occasion of Springâ— c. 4. Of the breaking out of Mâ—nes c. 5. Of the productâ—on of Trees c. The Cause of Mountainâ— 1. Vse Their Consistences 2. Vse Their Natural Uses 3. Vse 4. Vse 5. Vse 6. Vse 7. Vse The position of Mountains The Cause of Gills Dales and Vallieâ— The Ingredâ—ents of Coal Lesser Mountains The Cause of the Chanel of the Sea The Nature and Quality oâ— the Sea 〈…〉 〈…〉 The Cause of the Seas Gibbosity The Cause of the Flux The Cause of its Reflux The Cause of Spring-tides and Dead-tides The Cause of the Seas Fermenâ—ation The effectâ— and Uses of the Seas Fermentation The Cause of the Saltness of the Sea Itâ— Uses The proportion which the Subterranean Water bears to the Sea Of the greater Veins of the Earth c. To raise new Riverâ— upon dry Ground A Subterranean contest between Fire and Water A Concussion of the whole Globe A Concussion of half the Globe A Local Earthquake New Mountains and Pondâ— Of Hurricains and their Effects Dr. Woodwards notion of perpendicular Fissures is a mistake in observation Of Burning Mountains Vulcano's Her damps in Colleries Their Effects Violent Eruptions of Water Of water Damps An Air Damp. A sweet Daâ—â— The over-flowing of Nilus The over-flowing of the Gigleswick Spring The drumming Wâ—ll aâ— Bautâ—y Mineral Spirits Foul. Air. The meaning of these words the Fountains of the great Deep were broken up The Cause of the Aerial Damp and its Effects What is meant by the opening of the Windows of Heaven The meaning of the Wind which God caused to pass over the Earth and its effects What the Rain-bows appearing in the Clouds did signifie A Refutation of Dr. Woodward's Hypothesis c. The time when the Deluge commenced Dr. Woodwaâ—d'â— Hypothesiâ— concerning the effects of the Dâ—lâ—ge Refuted The Alterations which thâ— Deluge made upon the Eaâ—â—h The time when these alterations were made Gen. 4. Verse 22. Part the 4th Page 188. Fabius Columna Dr. Hook Steno Scylla Boccâ—â—e Raâ— and many others Gen. 2.6 First Secondly First Secondly Thirdly Secondly Thirdly Secondly Thirdly Fourthly Fourthly The Laws of Divine Impression The Laws of natural Instinct The Laws of external Sense
violent an Ebullition and Commotion in it as to raise the Cover and overturn it yet it cannot be suppos'd that either that uniform and constant Fire or Heat disseminated through the Body of the Earth or the external Heat of the Sun 's warm Influence can produce any such Effects because Fire and Nitre do Naturally exert their power upwards and side-way but never downward but when it is so pent up that it can get no other Vent And when even Gun-powder is forc'd to make its Effort upon the Waters the strength of its Flatus does little Execution being presently stiâ—l'd We shall therefore suspend further Enquiry about this matter until Dr. Woodward's larger Volume be made publick and endeavour to find out some other Causes by which that Universal Deluge which happen'd in Noah's time might be effected in an other way and grounded upon fair probabilities of Reason and Certainty First then no doubt but God Almighty was the Principal Cause the Sins of Mankind the provoking Cause and the Subterranean Superterranean and Nubiferous Waters were the immediate Instruments of it But how all these divided Waters shou'd be re-united and gather'd into such a Body as was sufficient to cover all the Tops of the Mountains Fifteen Cubits high as Moses gives Account is the only matter of difficulty to be â—ncounter'd In Order to which I shall not Entertain you with a long Story of the Opinions of Learn'd Men about it not undertake to shew you upon what improbable Grounds and inconsistences the Theorist and Dr. Woodward have establish'd their Hypothesis of it but having discover'd a Vast and Porâ—entous Body of Water Circulating in the Veins of the Earth bearing Proportion as I have observ'd to Seventy-two Oceans and several Oceans of Water more floating in the Clouds and rarisied into thin Air thaâ— it might be a sit Medium for Respiration c. my Adventure shall be â—irst to shew how and by what Cause the Subterranean VVater was rais'd above Ground and the thin Air was condens'd into VVater how both join'd with the Sea and caus'd the Deluge And then Secondly I shall give Account how the Waters again divided how all things return'd to their Natural Course and by what Gradations the dry Land appear'd And more than this is not necessary to make and establish a clear Hypothesis of the Universal Deluge First then we may conclude from Arguments of the greatest probability imaginable that the collection and reuniting of such a quantity of Water as was sufficient to Drown the World was caus'd by an Universal Damp that happen'd at that time in the whole Course of Nature For First all the Central Fire by a Preternatural Fermentation and Dilation of those angry Volatiles on which it consists gain'd ground upon its Fluid Neighbours those Subterranean Waters which circulate in the Body of the Earth and forcing them into a most rapid Ebullition and Commotion caus'd most violent Eruptions in all the Veins Joints Fissures and Hyatus's as well under the Channel of the Sea as in all the parts of the Earth's Surface These violent Eruptions of the Submarine and Subterranean Waters which Moses calls the breaking up of the Fountains of the great Deep swell'd up the Sea into such a height of Gibbosity that it forc'd the Rivers to stand back and rise as high as their Fountain Heads which covering all the dry Land excepting the Tops of the highest Mountains the Aerial Damp caus'd by the Moon 's waterish Vertex pressing down the Vortex or Atmosphere of this Terraqueous Globe did not only interrupt the Communication of the Subterranean and Aerial Waters by causing the raising and circulation of Vapours to cease but also by condensing the moist Air into waterish Clouds which falling down in continual Spouts for Forty Days and Nights together the Air being without Motion consequently neither able to break nor support them the Tops of the highest Mountains were cover'd Fifteen Cubits as Moses gives Account Gen. 7.15 and these portentous Rains which fell in Spouts Moses expresseth by the opening of the Windows of Heaven Gen. 7.11 Thus the divided Waters being reuniâ—â—d as they were in the Creation and the circulation of Vapours broken by the stagnation and damping of the Aerial Regions the whole Surface of the Earth was cover'd until God caus'd a Wind to pass over the Earth which breaking the Aerial Damp the Rain ceased the Subterranean Waters sunk down into their Veins recover'd the Ground which the Central Fire had gain'd from them The Rivers forc'd the Sea to retreat back to her own Channel and returning to her regular Flux and Reflux the Vapours arose and repair'd the Air again wiâ—h Clouds and Moisture and all things return'd to their Natural Course Iâ— cannot be imagin'd how the Heart of Noah and his Family was reviv'd when the Sun began to shew its Face again and the Rain-Bow appear'd in a broken Cloud For Noah being undoubtedly as well a Natural Philosopher as a Priest in his Family the appearance of a Rain-Bow which after a long Storm is an infallible sign of Fair-weather cou'd not but encourage him with hopes that the Damp was broken and the Storm over God therefore made a Covenant with Noah and his Posterity that there shou'd never be an Universal Deluge upon the Earth Gen. 9.23 and to establish this Covenant withâ—him he made the Rain-Bow being a Waterish Meteor and after a Storm a sign of Fair-weather a most proper and significant Sign and Seal of that Covenant viz. a Sign commemorative of the past Deluge and a Seal confirmative that there shou'd never be any more Flood to destroy the Earth And no more than this seems to be meant by the appearance of the Rain-Bow in the Cloud CHAP. XXI Of the Season of the Year when the Deluge happen'd DR Woodward declares his Opinion that the Deluge comâ—enc'd in the Spring Season in the Month we call May but upon what Reason he grounds this Conceit I cannot easily apprehend For the Fruits of the Earth being then but Growing and the former Autuâ—n Seeds being destroy'd by the by past Winter Nature wou'd have been forc'd to a Spontaneous Production of the several kinds of Vegetables as had lost their Seeds And wheâ— the several Species of Animals which were preserv'd from the Flood had liberty to go abroad and seek Food they wou'd not easily have found it in November and December which Months according to his Hypothesis were the Season when the Waters abâ—ted and the Beasts ordeâ—'d to leave the Ark and seek their own Food where â—hey cou'd find it It seems then most probable that the Universal Deluge commenc'd in that Month we call August when the Seeds of all Vegetables were full Ripe and ready to Sow themselves in the Fertile Soil that when the Deluge was over and the dry Land had for some time appear'd and had receiv'd Heat and Incrustation from the warm Influence
Complexions were occasion'd by the mixture and temperament of the Mineral Spirits so were their different Natures and qualities for a cunning Chymist will Extract out of Herbs and Plants the several Kinds of Mineral Spirits as well as out of the Mineral it self The Virgin Matter being thus Modifi'd and prepar'd by the warm Influence and Enlivening Vegetations of the Aetherial Flame and its naked Skin Adorn'd and Beautifi'd with her great variety of Natural Paints Those Seminal Forms or Plastick Souls which were disseminated in her warm and moist Womb and Sympathetically united to their belov'd Matter began to exert their Plastick Powers and put forth spungy Strings and Roots not only to fasten them to the Earth but to suck in such Juices as were most proper for their Food and Nourishment which by their Seminal Vertues being digested into the Substance of a Plant Herb or Tree of such an Order Figure and Temperament it became an Individual of that numerous Species of Vegetables which began first to peep out of the Earth as Corn out of the Furrows and afterwards gradually increas'd to the highest Degree of Perfection and Maturity its Nature was capable of Thus the naked Skin of the Earth was cover'd with a Coat or Green Livery Beautifi'd and Adorn'd with Flowers of several kinds of Colours and as the Passive Matter increas'd in Degrees of Heat and Modification it produc'd Vegetables of higher Degrees of Life and Perfection as all kinds of Trees from the lowest Shrub to the tallest Cedar or most robust Oak That these Productions were not brought forth all at once but gradually as the Passive Matter receiv'd higher Degrees of Heat and Modification is apparent from our observing of those Annual Productions which every Season bringeth forth For there are some Vegetables of a Cold and Waterish Quality whose Natural Spirits are more Fine Light and Active which require only a smaller Degree of Heat to raise them and these are the Productions of those Early Months Ianuary February and March And these come to their Perfection and Maturity before April and May which present us with an other Crop and order of Vegetables and for this same reason Iune Iuly and August go further and presents us still with different shows of Plants Herbs and Flowers And thus as the Sun increaseth in Heat and the passive Matter in degrees of Modification we are presented with higher and more noble Productions The Seminal Forms of Vegetables being now united to their material Vehicles and being grown up to their several Degrees of Perfection and Maturity they retain'd Seed in themselves and did Propagate their several Kinds by scattering of their ripe Seed upon the Fertile Soil which like the warm and moist Womb of a fruitful Mother dissolves them first into a Liquid Jelly and then divides their parts into their several uses That the Seminal Forms of Vegetables were Originally disseminated in the Earth as in an Universal Fund or Promptuary will be yet further evident by those Ocular Observations which has been frequently made of Productions without Seed for take some quantity of Earth digg'd several Fathoms under Ground and expose it to the Sun and Rain and it will Spontaneously without any Seed bring forth common Grass and several Herbs and Plants Again we observe that particular Soils will produce without Propagation by Seed Herbs and Plants peculiar to that kind of Soil and Earth as Pavements do Naturally produce Knot-Grass c. If it be object'd that the smaller Seeds are disseminated over all by the Winds and the greater Seeds scatter'd by Birds that feed upon them I answer that its commonly observ'd when Earth is brought out of the Indies or other Remote Countries for Ballast to Ships and cast forth upon some Ground in Italy or other Countries at a great distance it will put forth Foreign Herbs to us unknown And it cannot be imagin'd that the Winds shou'd blow the Seeds of these Plants from the Indies or that the Birds shou'd cross the Seas and scatter them at so great a distance To these I might farther add those try'd Experiments of Transmutation Transmigration and Degeneration of Herbs and Plants Having describ'd the Original of Vegetables the first and lowest Degree of Life and shewn that tho' the manneâ— of their Propagation be now by Seed yet when Seed is wanting the Fertile Soil will bring forth common Grass and other Plants in the Natural way by a Spontaneouâ— Generation Thus the Evening and the Morning or the Sympathetical union of the Active Form and Passive Matter produc'd the first and lowest Degree of Life which made the Third Production CHAP. III. Of reducing the Confus'd Mass or Light of the Aetherial Flame into a Body which made the Sun of reducing those higher Fogs and waterish Mists into a Body which made the Moon how by clearing of the Superlunary Firmament or the Planetary Spheres the Stars appear'd And what the Sun Moon and Stars contribute towards the Production of Sensitive or Locomotive Animals and why the Creation of these Second Causes made the Fourth Production Tho' the Earth was now Gay and Trim with a new Green Livery of Grass Adorn'd with Painted Flowers and pleasant Copices or Thickets of Young Trees the Passive Matter was yet too Cold and Waterish to draw down out of the Second Degree of Life any of the Sensitive Forms to Actuate and Inform it The Almighty Power did therefore contract this dilated Aetherial Flame of Light into a Body which Moses calls the Sun that those Enlivening Heats and Vital Incubations which flow from it might be more Strong and Vigorous and Penetrate deeper into the Cold Matter And God plac'd this Coelestial Fire at such a convenient distance from the Earth that it might neither be too much scorch'd by being too near it nor frozen by being at too great a distance from it but that it might receive such a temperate Heat from it as to excite its Seminal Vertues and draw up its Juices into them and thereby Ripen its Natural Fruits God gave to the Earth also a Diurnal Motion that by a just and regular turning about upon its own Cenâ—re it might have the benefit of Day and Night every Four and twenty Hours so that no part of the Earth might be too much heated by theSun's presence upon it or too long benighted by his absence from it because as one side is Warm'd and Cherish'd by its Rays it withdraws and turns to it its other side and so by this just and regular turning about of the Earth and an equal distribution of Day and Night the active Animals get leave to rest the over-heated Air to cool and the gasping Earth to recover its fainting Vertues which a continu'd Day wou'd soon Exhaust and Extinguish God gave also the Sun an Annual Motion and has directed it into such a commodious Course that it sheds forth its Enlivening Light Heat and Influence over all the parts of the Earth and by turns
were produc'd the Air and Water being Transmutable Elements Thirdly From the likeness of their Actions and Qualities the one Kind having Fins by which they Swim in the Water the other having Wings by which they Fly or Swim in the Air. As these were the Productions of the first Spring Months viz. Ianuary February and March so in these Months they do always Propagate their Kinds by laying of Eggs every Species according to its Kind some on Mountains others in Valleys some by Water-sides others in the Woods c. the warm Wing of the Dam now supplying the Want of a warm Sun-beam For as the Wing Hatcheth them out of their Shells so it strengthens and nourishes them by Vital Incubations till their Pinions be able to bear them up to seek their own Food Thus the Wing is both the Midwife that brings them out and the Nurse that brings them up CHAP. VI. Of the Terrene or Viviparous Animals AFter the Production of these Animals of a lower Degree of Life and Perfection and the Sun was advanc'd higher in his Annual Motion which Darting down his warm Beams upon the Earth in a more direct Line they did penetrate deeper into the Cold Matter and by drawing forth its Fertile Spirits towards the Skin or Surface of it they set the Plastick power on working and modifying the Passive Matter into more noble Forms which by their Sympathetical Charms drew down the Specifick Forms of the most perfect Animals within the Second Sphere of Life For in every little Pit or Hollow of the Earth which being fill'd with Luxuriant and Prolifick Slime was kindl'd by the Vivifick Vertue of the Seminal Form a little bubble of Life which the Plastick power began to shape into the Form or Figure of an Animal And thus was the numerous Brood of Quadrupedes being Animals of the most perfect Kind first Conceiv'd in the warm and moist womb of Modified Matter nourish'd by sucking in the Luxuriant and Prolifick Slime which by their Vital Heat they digested and distributed into the several Parts and Members of their Bodies increasing of them by an equal assimulation of Parts and as soon as these young Embrio's had got strength they Crawl'd out of their warm Nests of Matter and began to suck in those Honey Dews and lick up that sweet Manna which laid upon the Grass and Herbs and this supply'd to them the want of Maternal Milk and Nourishment For during the time of these Productions God neither suffer'd it to Rain upon the Earth nor the Winds to blow lest this Infant Brood of Young Animals shou'd have been destroy'd before the Birds got Wing or â—he Beasts Foot and strength to defend themselves against a Storm but there went up only a Mist from the Earth which water'd the whole Face of the Ground And this Mist was only a warm and moist Smother which arose from the Earth as we observe it to rise from the Furrows in the Spring Months occasion'd by the Morning Sun-Beams and these Clouds which did Swim in the Air only serv'd for Umbrello's and Parasoli to screen those Infant Animals from being scorch'd by the Heat of the Sun and from drying up their Food and Nourishment The Earth being now Stock'd with the several Kinds of Animals contain'd under the Sensitive Genus they did Propagate their Kinds by Univocal Generation For which end Nature and Providence hath form'd several Vessels of Slime-Pits in every Female for preserving something Analogous to that Original Slime which was then the Passive Principle of Generation and likewise in every Male such Vessels as are most fit and commodious for preserving a Beam or Spark of the Aetherial Flame which being the material Vehicle wherein the Specifick Form is preserv'd kindles the first buble of Life in the Passive Matter And we observe that as soon as Age and Maturity hath fill'd these Seminal Vessels with this Prolifick Slime and digest'd it into a right Degree of Heat and Temperature the Females of every Kind or Species of Animals begin to Prune Dress and Trim themselves by which modest way of Courtship the Male is drawn and Charm'd to within their Sympathetical Spheres Thus the Evening and the Morning or the Sympathetical Union of the Active Form and Passive Matter made the Fifth Production CHAP. VII Of the Creation of Man the Sixth Production THE Earth being now cover'd with the great variety of Species contain'd under the Genus of Vegetation the Waters replenish'd with all Kinds of Fish the Mountains Plains and Valleys Stock'd with Herds and Flocks of all Kinds of Cattle God did once more Modifie the Passive Matter into a more noble and excellent Form not only capacitated to receivâ— the lower Degrees of the Animal Life but also fitted with Organs to entertain an Intellectual Soul which Moses â—ells us God Breath'd into it It being impossible for Matter tho' never so curiously Modifi'd by the Plastick Spirit of Nature and the joint Concurrence of the Coelestial Influences to draw down by the power of any Material Sympathy a Soul out of the Immaterial and Intellectual Spheres of Life to Animate and Enform it And this Noble Creature God call'd Man being made not only after his own Image Spiritual and Immortal but also after his Similitude viz Endow'd with all the Affections and Communicable Attributes of the Divine Nature by which he became capable not only of disclosing the Secret Mysteries of Nature and of diving into its Deep Philosophy but also of Knowing and Adoring his Creator by which Perogatives of his Birth and Noble Extraction he became Qualifi'd for being his Creator's Vicegerent upon Earth The Conclusion Wherein is shewn the meaning and significancy of these Words And God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good THat God who is Infinite in Goodness and all Perfections cannot be the Author or Producer of any thing but what is Good and Perfect in its Kind hath been always assum'd as a granted Principle not only by the best of Divines but even the generality of Pagan Philosophers Yet Moses notwithstanding this foreseeing that this excellent Frame of the World which was design'd on purpose to bring all reasonable Creatures to the Knowledge and Veneration of their Creator wou'd be perverted to contrary Ends and Effects and that the Production of all the Creatures might be ascrib'd wholly to Second Causes or to no Cause at all but to Chance and to the casual Motion of Mattâ—r for the prevention of which he here brings in the Almighty more Humano taking an exact View and Survey of the whole Creation both as to its Structure and Furniture and giving it his Divine Approbation in these words and he saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good The Goodness of the Creatures do Principally consist in these Four Particulars In their Correspondency and Agreement with those Patterns and Ideas preconceiv'd in the Divine Understanding In their Fitness and
strikes down these fiery Globuli with greater force upon the Earth and Waters and consequently they rise higher and èlevate the Vapours with them So that the Atmosphere is higher or lower in several parts of the Earth as the Sun riseth higher or lower in the Meridian and its Beams are darted down in a more direct or oblique Line And as the lowness of our Northern Atmosphere causeth the Sterility and Barrenness of the Northern Mountains so the height of the Southern Atmosphere causeth those Mountains in the Aequinoctial and Southern Regions to be more Fertile and Productive CHAP. II. Of the â—fficient Causes of all Metors and first of Heat BY Heat is not to be understood the Element of Fire which Aristotle and his Followers conceited to be under the Concave of the Moon there being no such Element there but by Heat is meant that Internal Heat and Fermentation which is in the Body of the Earth and that Natural Fire which is originally and essentially in the Body of the Sun the Vehicle of External Heat which Streams out from every part of that Fiery Globe giving Heat Light and enlivening Vegetations to the whole Material World being within the Compass of its Fiery and Luminous Atmosphere These Streams of Heat and Light which is only the shadow of Heat being Darted through the Regions of the Air in Strait Lines and single Rayes are not perceivably Hot or Cold no more than the Light of a Candle without the Sphere of its Heat but being doubled by multiplyed Reflections and Reboundings from the solid Surface of the Earth does increase its Heat as the Reflections are multiplyed and rebounded which makes it hotter against a Wall than upon the plane Ground and in the Vallies than upon the Mountains We must therefore distinguish between those single Rayes of Heat which dart through the Air in instants which are neither perceivably hot or cold and the Heat upon the Superficies of the Earth which being contracted by an Artificial Glass is Râ—al Fire The Essential Qualities of Heat are Calefaction Elevation Rarefaction Liquefaction and Consolidation as it meets with Matter Predisposed to receive its Effects CHAP. III. Of Cold the other efficient Cause of Meteors BY Cold is not meant a bare privation of Heat as former Philosophers did conceit but a real Body of a Subtile Sublimated and Homogenous Nature and of a cold and frigid Quality It s proper place of Existence is between this Earths Atmosphere and the Atmosphere of the Moon which is our next Neighbouring Globe and by the rising and falling of this main Body of Cold are caused the several Changes and Alterations of the Weather with us The Cause of its Rising and Falling is the pressures of these two Atmospheres between which it is plac'd When the waterish Atmosphere of the Moon presseth it down it causeth Storms and Tempests here upon this Globe And when it Rises it causes the same in the Moon The Rising and Falling of this Main Body of Cold is sometimes also occasion'd by its Dilating and Contracting of it self Now as the Suns Beams are hotter in their Reflections upon the Earth than in the Sun it self so these Cold Rays which are darted from this Main Body of Cold being increas'd and multiply'd by Reflection from the Mountains and Rivers are much colder than the Main Body of Cold in its own Sphere These Reflected Globuli of Cold may be term'd the Lower or Ground-cold because in Summer it penetrates the Earth and in Winter it seldom rises higher than the Tops of the highest Mountains unless when it joins with the Main Body and then it causeth great Storms of Frost and Snow c. This Lower or Ground-cold is commonly the Rear-guard and Van-guard of the Sun always going before and following it and it s most perceivable in the Evening and Morning Twilights especially by Birds and Aerial Animals whose Bodies do so sympathize with the Air that they can more quickly perceive the Change of Weather especially the rising of a Storm or Rain or Snow than any of the Terrene Animals and this they commonly discover by their Flying high or low or Flocking together or sometimes by different Notes or Voices This occasion'd the Ancient Augurs to conceit them prophets c. The Essential Qualities and Effects of Cold in general are Frigefaction Congelation and sometimes Petreâ—action and when the lower Cold is Contracted either by Art or Proprio motu it Starves and Freezes as the Fire Burns and Scorcheth This lower Cold contracts and dilates it self as it meets with Opposition from the contrary Quality of Heat and Fire The Effects of the lower Cold when it enters the Earth By Antiperistasis it Fires Damps in Collieries Mines burning Mountains and Vulcano's When it lyes upon the Earth it causeth Dews and hoar Frosts it sucks out Damps and corrupted Air out of Under-ground Works c. CHAP. IV. Of the Air or Medium wherein all Meteors are Generated THE Air is a Vast Medium or Expansion fill'd with Rarify'd Vapours and Exhalations which like Water would Stagnate unless by a Daily addition of Rarify'd Vapours or Wind it were put into a Flux and Reflux as the Sea is the addition of Rivers continually flowing into it from all sides When the Air is Calm then are the Meteors Generated when by the Wind the Air is put into a violent Flux and Reflux they are Broken and Dispapear CHAP. V. Of Fiery Meteors c. THE Lower Cold which follows the Sun in the Evening Twilight continues its Operation for some Hours after its Beams are out of sight and no longer the middle of the Night being for the most part a Calm as well in Winter as Summer during which time of its Operation it causeth all those Fiery Meteors which the former Philosophers gave several Names to as falling Stars Rods Beams Ignes Fatui or Will with Wisp c. according as they differ'd in Matter Magnitude and manner of Appearance some Consisting of a hot and dry Exhalation others of an Exhalation mix'd with a Viscous and Unctious Matter a Third of a simple and unmix'd Exhalation All these are Generated in the Lower Regions of the Air the Matter of them being drawn up out of the Earth Waters and Bituminous Boggs and Mosses by the Sun's Influence upon them especially in the Spring Months For then the Subâ—erranean Heat draws out to communicate with its Main Body for as at this time all Animals renew their Hair clear their Blood from gross Humours so doth this great Animal the Earth purge her self of gross Humours by Mushrooms and other Pinguid Evaporations for then the Subâ—erranean Heat drawing out to communicate with the External Heat brings forth of the Earth these Mineral Spirits and Pinguid Perspirations in so plentiful a measure which being taken up into the Air are Condens'd into Clouds and fall down again upon the Earth in such Fertilizing Showers that the Psalmist tells us the Clouds at this Season
random Shots flie about kill both Men and Beasts fire and throw down Houses split great Trees and Rocks and tear the veâ—y Earth For it is no more impossible for the more Earthy Part of an Exhalation to be on a sudden Petresied into Stone which we call the Thunder-bolâ— in the Body of a Cloud than that Laxâ— Matter should be Petrefied into a Stone in the Body of the Earth the Antiperistatical Cause being the same in both â—â—ese tâ—o Irreconcilâ—ble Enemies still keep the Field until one of them be utterly destroy'd If the fiery Exhalations keep the Field the East Wind blows still hot and sulphurous If the Vapours get the Victory the West Wind blows cold and moist the Sky is clear the Air is cold the Battel is over and the Earth Buâ—ies the Dead and gets the Spoil If any should think this Account of Thunder to be rather Figment and Romance than true Natural Philosophy I advise him when ever he sees the Thunder Packs rising White and Translucent in a South-east Point when he feels the Air hot â—nd Sulphurous with some contrary Blasts of Wind coming whistling from the West that he haste make on to the Top of Crossfelt or some other high Mountain that gives a Prospect to both East and West and he may be inform'd both as to the truth and manner of this Aerial Battle CHAP. VIII Of Vaporous Meteors and first of Dews and Hoar Frosts DEws are Vapours Condens'd upon the Surface of the Earth by the Evening and Morning Cold these being the times of the Dews falling I have observ'd that sometimes about Mid afternoon the under-ground Cold being impatient of a long Summers Days Confinement has broke out and condens'd the Vapours into a Dâ—w which by the first Reflection of the Sun was taken up into the Air and a viscous Matter left upon the Grass like Cobwebs or fine Threds which we call Tela Beatae Mariae and these Vapours being condens'd into a Cloud will fall down again in a Shower of Rain about Sun-setting But the usual time whâ—n the Evening Dews fall is immediately after the Sun is Set for then the Lower Cold lyeth upon the Ground and as the Sun goes down it riseth The Morning Dews begin to fall about break of Day For about that time the Waters being colder than the Mountains draw down the Lower Cold from the Mountains to them And it bringing the Vapours along with it sits Regent upon the Waters in thick Foggs and waterish Mists until the Influence of the Sun by warming of the Waters either scattereth and disperseth the Vapours or forceth them to rise up to the Mountains or the cool Regions of the Air leaving only Dews upon the Ground behind them These Dews when the Cold is contracted and freezing become Hoar Froâ—ts for a dilated Cold causeth Dews and a contracted Cold Frosts In the Spring Months when the Subterranean Heat draws out from its Winter Quarters to join with the external Heat of the Atmosphere it brings out of the Earth with it some of the finer Mineral Spirits and the Sun-beams being then Powerful and Attractive do suck up these Mineral Spirits with the sweet Efluvia and Perspirations of Herbs and Flowers which the Evening and Morning Cold condenseth into Honey-dews or Manna In these Months the Sun's Beams are so strong and vigorous that they will draw up Frog-spawn which being receiv'd into the Body of a warm â—loud will presently be Form'd into little Frogs which will fall down upon the Earth in these Fertilizing Spring Showers Sometimes they will suck up Blood which will fall down in Showers of Rain especially after Bloody Battels fought at great distances So Corn c. will fall down in Rain But these are Magnalia Naturae CHAP. IX Of Rain Hail and Snow RAin Hail and Snow are the same as to their Matter The difference among them is only Accidental Hail being only Drops of Rain frozen in their falling down from a broken Cloud by a contract'd Body of the Lower Cold Snow being Vapours frozen before they be Condens'd into a Cloud Of Rain Rain is either general or particular higher or lower Observations concerning Rain When the Evening Dew falls before Sun-set and the Sun draws it up again the Evening Cold condenseth it into a Cloud and it falls down in a Shower of Rain in the Evening Twilight When the Evening Cold condenseth not the Vapours into Dews but draws them up to the Tops of the Mountains and thence into the Cold Regions of the Air they fall down in Rain about break of Day When the Morning Cold condenseth not the Dews but draws up the Vapours to the Tops of the Mountains and thence into the Cold Regions of the Air they fall down in Rain about Ten a Clock or sooner and so continues a general Rain for some Hours together the Evening and Morning Vapours being join'd When the Air is Calm and the Waters colder than the Mountains the Vapours draw down to the Waters and there they lie in a thick Fogg or Mist until the Sun by warming of the Waters causeth them to rise about Nine or Ten a Clock if the Morning Cold dilate it self it raiseth the Vapours to the middle of the Mountains where they continue in a thick Fogg the Mountain Tops being clear until the Vapours be all spent in a mizling kind of Rain When the Morning Cold divides it self into many little contracted Bodies these lesser Bodies of contracted Cold condense the Vapours and they fall down in particular Showers some not Mountain height so that one may sometimes go through a Shower of Rain if he please which will fall upon the Skirts of the Mountains when at the same time 't is clear both above and below the Shower Thus a Man may be above the Clouds and the Rain When the Morning Cold draws the Mists and the Foggs â—rom the Waters gradatim or in Sops as we call it to the Tops of the Mountains and they Trall there too and fro sometimes rising and then falling again the Dispute being between the Water-cold and the Mountain cold whether should get the Prize If at the last these Tralling Mists or Vapours be lifted up into the Cold Regions of the Air and be there Condens'd by some of those lesser Bodies of Cold which are flying about they fall down in particular Showers within an Hour or less after they be taken up so quiâ—k is the return of Vapours into Showers of Rain CHAP. X. Of Hail and Snow OBSERVATIONS WHen these lesser Bodies of contracted Cold are so placed one above another having distances of warm Air betwixt them as oftentimes it happens in very hot Weather for the greater the Heat is the more narrowly do these lesser Bodies of Cold contract themselves if any of the higher Bodies of Cold condense the Vapours into a Cloud and it break and fall down in drops of Rain through a Body of more contracted Cold it freezeth these