the Chapter wherein this Passage occurs is a plain Narrative of what was done at the Creation and therefore we are to understand it in a Literal and Historical Sense And we are told by One who was as great a Judg in this Case as any that can be named That although Moses in this Chapter treating of the Creation of the World doth not unlock the Secrets of Astronomy because he writes to a People that understood not those things yet he delivers nothing here but what may be granted by Astronomers themselves This was the Determination of that Noble Dane that Wise Philosopher and Mathematician and it is a smart Rebuke to our New Antiquary in Philosophy We may then notwithstanding what he hath vainly suggested admire the Divine Providence in placing those Waters above the Firmament and we may reckon them as a singular Contrivance of the Omnipotent and Merciful Creator To supply which constantly he causeth the Vapours to ascend from the ends of the Earth Psal. 135.7 to be drawn up from all the farthest parts of the World for this purpose And when they are mounted up into the Skies he admirably poizeth them so that they fall when and where he pleaseth A late Ingenious Philosopher tells us of an Instrument whereby we may know the Weight i. e. the degrees of Gravity and Levity of the Air Clouds and Winds But we are certainly informed from the Infallible Writings that this is effectually done by an Almighty Hand He not only makes the Weight for the Winds but he weigheth the Waters i. e. the Clouds by measure Job 28.25 Accordingly you read of the Ballancing of the Clouds Job 37.16 which is reckoned as the wondrous Work of Him that is perfect in Knowledg Whence some of the Hebrew Doctors have thought the Word Shamajim the Heavens was derived from Shaab obstupuit and majim aquae to express that particular Region Above where these Waters hang in that stupendous manner Though I do not take this to be the genuine Etymology of the Hebrew Word for it is most probable it had its Name only from the Waters i. e. the Clouds being there yet this Derivation rightly suggests to us that if we duly consider this Wonderful Ballancing of these moving Bodies we cannot but stand astonished at these Divine Staticks and admire the Hand which gives them that exact Libration A great Naturalist takes special Notice of this and cries out What is more Wonderful than the Waters standing in the Air He might have said so many Seas hanging in the Air These he thought to be an Extraordinary Work and this we know to be a Divine one The Clouds therefore are in a Poetick way stiled God's Paths Psal. 65.11 his Chariots Psal. 104.3 his Chambers ver 13. because he acts and converses and shews himself here because his Presence and Providence are signally discover'd in them and by them These are emphatically call'd the Water-spouts of Heaven Psal. 42.7 because they pour out Water like Pipes or Spouts for when those condensed Vapours being now turn'd into Clouds become too ponderous for the Air to bear them they fall down in Rain These Clouds therefore are fitly and elegantly call'd dark Waters Psal. 18.11 because being thick and full of Water they become black and besides from the gathering together and condensing of these Clouds the Earth is shadowed and darkned But this proves generally a Comfortable Darkness being in order to Rain which soon restores Light again But this also is produced by the singular and extraordinary Direction of God for tho we grant that these vast Heaps of Water fall by their own Weight or by the Violence of Winds which thrust them downwards yet it is from the particular Care and Guidance of the Almighty that this is done Which we find taken notice of by Iob a Great and Skilful Observer of God's Works Iob 26.8 He bindeth up the Waters in his thick Clouds and the Cloud is not rent under them That the thick and heavy Clouds so loaded with Waters do not break presently but hang and hover between Heaven and Earth a considerable time as frequently we see them do is very wonderful and is to be ascribed to the Divine Power and Wisdom To which it is to be attributed also that they fall so lightly and not all together It is from this most wonderful Disposal that these vast heavy Bodies do not fall down upon us at once and all in a Heap and so crush us with their Load This very thing Iob's Friend who by his Discourse we may perceive was a Man of some Philosophy as well as great Piety particularly insists upon with the highest Admiration Iob 36.27 He maketh small the Drops of Water which the LXX not minding so much the very Words as the Sense as is common with them render very finely the Drops of Rain are numbred by him he is so careful in distributing them that he divides them out by Tale so exact is he in measuring out the Rain that he uses as it were an Arithmetical Proportion These Waters are with great Accuracy dispens'd to Mankind they as it immediately follows pour down Rain according to the Vapour thereof according to God's disposing and parcelling out of the Vapours which are the Matter of the Clouds for here he doth as it were use an Arithmetick Whence it is that they dissolve into Showers by degrees and gently distil upon the Ground in Drops as a Gardiner waters his Garden Not but that in some Places as in the Southern Regions of the World as Guinea Brasil Egypt the Country of the Abyssines the Rains fall in greater Quantity which is a great Argument of the Divine Providence for those Parts of the World want more Rain and therefore the Drops are bigger and more ponderous and the Showers fall faster and thicker and with much more Force but still they descend orderly and by degrees And that we may be the more apprehensive of this Benefit God sometimes permits Examples of the contrary as those Fallings of Waters in the Indies which they call Spouts The Clouds fall down altogether and like a violent Torrent They are not Showers but Floods of Rain that come down from the Skies But this is rare and extraordinary and serves only to commend the constant Goodness of God in the ordinary dispensing of Rain Therefore it is said He made a Decree for the Rain Job 28.26 It was a peculiar Appointment and Ordinance of Heaven that there should be this Admirable Filtration of the Clouds which is a thing very amazing and stupendous It is no wonder then that it is reckon'd among the Great Vnsearchable and Marvelous things which God doth Job 5.9 10. and that He himself calls upon us to admire him as the sole Author and Father of Rain Job 38.25 26 27 28. and that this is owned to be the peculiar Work of the Almighty Iehovah Jer. 14.22 Are there any among the Vanities i. e.
hitherto Thou hast done To this End be pleased to affect our Hearts with the Consideration of this late Wonderful Dispensation of thy Providence towards us Add this to this Great Mercy and Deliverance that we may lay it to Heart that we may be made Better by it that we may really improve it for thy Glory and our own Welfare both here and hereafter Grant this O Heavenly Father for the Merits of Christ Jesus our Lord to whom be Glory to eternal Ages None I think but Atheists will refuse to say Amen to these Oraisons for they resolving all things into mere Natural Principles and by these they mean no other than Chance or a Casual Hit of Matter and Motion will allow of no Religious Reflections on the Events that are in the World And I wish there were none that notwithstanding their disavowing the Name of Atheists as reproachful imitate them too much in this Then we should have a happy Mixture and Conjunction of Natural Philosophy and Religion then in all the Works of Nature we should acknowledg an Intelligent and Wise Being that is the Author and Disposer of them So much concerning the Earth CHAP. VIII The Sea with all its Treasures and Riches is another Evidence of an Omnipotent and All-Wise Being The several Sentiments of Writers concerning its Ebbing and Flowing are examined The Phaenomenon is resolv'd into a Supernatural Efficiency and why The Saltness of the Sea-waters is in order to the Preserving them from Putrefaction The Sea is kept within its Bounds by an Almighty Arm. God's Providence seen in making it both the Source and Receptacle of all Waters The Theorist's Conceit of the Primitive Earth's being without Sea refuted by Scripture and Reason The great Vsefulness of the Sea in several respects AGain the Sea furnishes us with abundant Arguments for an Invisible and Almighty Being For what is the Sea but that great Heap of Waters which was gather'd together by God's Omnipotent Fiat at the Creation of the World For he was pleased to depress some Parts of the Earth and make them lower than the others and so the Waters fell down thither by their own Weight and have ever since been contained within those hollow Parts of the Earth These are call'd the Waters under the Earth in the Second Commandment because they are in those Receptacles that are below the Surface of the Earth and which were made on purpose to receive and hold that Element for the Use and Advantage of Mankind and other Animals But from those Discoveries that have been made concerning that Vast Element we may conclude that it encompasses the greatest Part of the Earth Africa is an Island or a Peninsula at least Asia and Europe make one Peninsula America consists of two vast Islands Or take it according to Varenius's Geography who tells us that the four spatious Continents of Europe Asia Africa and America are four Great Isles and so is Greenland and that Part of the World which is termed the Southern or Magellanick Land So that indeed this Terrestrial Globe is made up of Islands some greater and others less Or speaking more generally we may say that the whole Earth seems to be but One Great Island In this great and wide Sea as the Psalmist rightly stiles it are things creeping innumerable for the Fishes of the Sea are reckon'd among Creeping Animals because they move on their Bellies in the Water and because they are without Legs and Feet and they are said to be innumerable because the Water is the most prolifick of all the Elements It is emphatically said by the same Religious Observer that here are not only small but Great Beasts for there are generally Greater Animals in this watry Element than on the Earth because of the abundant Humidity which is procreative of a more than ordinary Magnitude But of these I am to treat distinctly afterwards when I come to speak particularly of Animate Creatures In the Sea are not only Fishes but Plants proper to that Salt Element of which sort is Coral which is a stony Concretion in form of a Shrub growing in the Sea and therefore is called by Paracelsus the Sea-Tree Here is Amber a Sulphureous Rosin of the Earth cast into the Sea and there concreted There are Pearls of a vast and almost incredible value taken out of the Deep so that what our Saviour said of a Merchant-man Mat. 13.46 might be literally true viz. that he sold all he had his whole Estate to buy one Pearl for here God hath treasur'd up Great Riches in a small Compass But the Sea it self is the Richest Mart in the World God hath made the Traffick on the Ocean to be the greatest Procurer of Wealth and Abundance Who admires not the singular Hand of the Almighty in the Ebbing and Flowing of this huge Mass of Waters Twice in somewhat more than four and twenty Hours there is a Reciprocation of Tides Six Hours the Sea flows and as many Hours it ordinarily ebbs The Cause of which strange and astonishing Phaenomenon is differently assigned Not to attend to the Stoicks who holding the World to be an Animal fancied the breathing or sucking in of the Sea-water and letting it out as Fishes do through their Gills made this rising and falling of it it is generally ascribed to the Moon because it is known by Experience that the Sea swells when the Moon is above the Horizon and so by degrees swells yet more till it comes to the very Vertical Point and then when it declines the Sea Flags Now if it be thus if the Sea swells when the Moon passes over the Meridian and presses the Air and Water and if the greatest Swellings and Flowings are at the Equinoxes because the Moon then more directly and perpendicularly presses the Earth and withal if in full and new Moons the Motion of the Sea towards the West be more vehement and impetuous than ordinary because the Moon is at such times nearer the Earth and so more forcibly presses the Water and thence causes a greater Flux than usually if it be thus as we are told who can doubt whether the Phaenomenon be not to be solv'd by this Planet Yes there is some Place for doubting because as Varenius assures us it is not attested by the Observation and Experience of the World that when the Moon is Vertical the Tides are always highest and on the contrary that when she is at the Opposite Point it is always lowest Water which yet would necessarily happen if the Moon were the Total Cause of the Flux of the Sea And further as there is not the Greatest Flux in some Places when the Moon is in its Meridian or at the time of its Newness or Fulness so it is true that in most Parts of the Mediterranean and in the Baltick Sea and on the Northern Shores of the Pacifick Sea there is little or no swelling or flagging of the Waters It is true these Seas do not
Allegorical Sense So that according to this Gentleman it was an Allegorical Sea and Allegorical Fishes too are spoken of by Moses or rather by God himself and then there is as much reason to believe that the Earth and the Air with the Cattel and Fowl in them which are mentioned in the same Place are Allegorical and he may as well say the whole World is so too But it was Unphilosophically done of him as well as against Scripture to make the Earth destitute of Sea for if we rightly scan the Nature of things we must acknowledg that these two cannot be separated because the great Mass of Earth cannot subsist without a proportionable Measure of Moisture nor can the Water be contain'd in a Place unless the Earth holds it The Water pervades all the Parts to be a kind of Bond to them that the Earth may not crack fall asunder and crumble into pieces Again the Water was made to give Drink to every Beast of the Field Psal. 104.11 and even to Man himself whose primitive Refreshment it was This must be derived mostly from the Sea by the Channels in the Earth â—or the Rains and Mists which this Author supposes before the Flood were not sufficient for this and all other Purposes of this Element Besides it is an unintelligible Mystery that there should be no Clouds and yet Rain Likewise the Sea-water percolated by its passing through the Earth and at the same time mixing with it was appointed by the Great Operator of the World to be serviceable to the Fruitfulness of the Earth for without this as well as Rain no Plants and consequently no Fruits and as the Consequence of that scarcely any Animals could be nourish'd The World then must have been in a very miserable Condition according to this Learned Author's Theory which locks up all the Water of the World in the Abyss so that no Body was the better for it According to him it was well that the Frame of the Earth broke and fell down into the Great Deep and how could it do otherwise when it was made so slight for from that Dissolution the Earth hath been eveâ— since universally water'd So it seems the Deluge was not so much a Curse as a Blessing for though the Inhabitants that then were perished by it yet ever after we have found the Benefit of it Indeed this Author hath well husbanded the Matter by his Hypothesis for it would have requir'd he saith Eight Oceans though several good Mathematicians have not been of his mind to bring that Universal Flood on the World but he hath done it with a far less Quantity of this Element So that it is plain he is a good Provident Philosopher and hath saved a great deal of Water by his Theory But where God and Nature are not sparing why should we be And why doth the Theorist imprison the whole Element within the Earth So that according to him there was no Sea for above sixteen hundred Years or if there was any it was a Sea shut up and of no use I have endeavoured to set it free and that by Good Authority even the Divine Law of the Creation mention'd once and again in Genesis 1. I have shew'd the Necessity and Usefulness of this Great Blessing to the World and I will proceed to do so yet further It cannot be denied that though the Sea seems to be very bleak and chill yet the Influence of it is Refreshing yea Warming Which Minutius Felix was sensible of when speaking of the Providence of God which is so careful of the Good of the Universe he tells us that our Britain is deficient as to the Sun but in way of Recompence is recreated and comforted by the warmth of the Sea which surrounds it This tempers the Cold and Austerity of the Winter and gently warms those Countries whose Shores it washes This Secret was not unknown to Tully as is clear from that Passage in his Writings The Seas being stirr'd with the Winds are so warm that a Man may thence easily perceive that there is a certain Heat contain'd in so great Moisture for that Warmth is not to be reckon'd as external and adventitious but as rais'd from the inmost Parts of the Ocean by Agitation It was also designed by God that it should be useful for Navigation and consequently for Travelling for though the vast Seas which are between Countries seem to stop the Traveller yet by the help of Ships a speedier Passage is made than if he went on dry Land Especially since the Invention of the Sea-map and Compass we can visit the remotest Parts of the World in a far shorter time than we could have done if there had been no Seas This the famous Americus Vespatius Columbus Magellan and our own Drake and Cavendish could witness In the next place I might adjoin this that the Sea is of great use for setting Limits and Boundaries to several Kingdoms and Nations in the World For by reason of the Interposition of this they have an intire and separated Dominion because those Parts of the Sea which is next to them do as it were terminate and confine their Jurisdiction and those neighbouring Waves are themselves part of it For though the Sea be in perpetual Flux and is not strictly and physically the same yet it is so in respect of its Channel and the Shores it washes A Man may have a Propriety in those things which are Variable and Transient he hath a right to the Air and Light and accordingly an Action lieth in case of Nusance i. e. annoying the one and obstructing the other So it is with the Waters of Rivers or of the Sea tho they are Variable yet they are subject to Propriety For as the Learned in the Law rightly tell us things may be Common as to their Use unto All and yet they may be Proper by Right to one Nation or Person Thus such and such Seas are appropriated to one certain Kingdom or Country and so become the peculiar and distinct Bounds of those Places And withal they are a very good Guard and Fence they are a strong and secure Wall especially if they surround the Region Thus the Sea is of singular Use. Moreover let us call to mind what the Pious Psalmist saith They that go down to the Sea in Ships that do Business in great Waters these see the Works of the Lord and his Wonders in the Deep They are entertain'd with variety of Wonderful Occurrences which those at Land are Strangers to on these prodigious Mountains of Waters they have a Prospect of those Admirable Things which others cannot reach the Sight of And after all they are filled with Admiration and Astonishment and must confess they cannot sufficiently enter into the Springs of the Sea and walk in the search of the Depths as God himself speaketh Lastly notwithstanding what some fantastick Men have conceited these Waters are a Great Ornament to the World The
are mention'd in Habieuticks especially in those Curious Remarks on Fishes made by the Ingenious and Inquisitive Mr. Willoughby it is evident that an Intellectual Spirit is the Author and Contriver for there can be no other of these Animals Having thus spoken of those Creatures that live on the Earth and in the Waters let us now in the next place take a Survey of those whose Habitation is in the Air or who have Wings and so I take in even those whose abode is on Land as Cocks Hens tame Geese c. or generally on the Water as Ducks and great Numbers of Wild-Fowl for the original Matter of Fish and Fowl being the same for we read that they were both made out of the Waters Gen. 1.20 it is no wonder that some of these latter affect this Element Particularly concerning Water-fowl it may be observ'd that they are generally Whole-footed which Structure of that part was designedly such that their Feet might be a kind of Oars in the Water and thereby promote their swimming Not only as to these but all other Feather'd Animals we may observe with Mr. Ray that the particular Make of their Bodies the peculiar Configuration of those Parts which distinguish them from all other Creatures is adapted to the use of Flying which is a Property bestow'd on this Rank of Creatures and none besides In order to this they are very Light and in order to their Lightness they are of a Hot Temper and very Spirituous they have large Lungs to let in good Quantities of Air when they fly long and far They have little Sharp Heads to cut the Air and make way for them they have Small and Slender Legs of an inconsiderable Weight and their Feet are made with a convenient Breadth to shove the Air. On all these Accounts they are framed for their Work and are by their very Make agile brisk and full of Expedition It seems to be a Design of Providence that they propagate by laying of Eggs because if they had brought forth their young ones alive especially in considerable Numbers they must first have born them in their Wombs which would have been burdensom and would have hindred their Flying And 't is particularly observable that the Wing which is their proper Glory is of a most astonishing Fabrick and that the Strength of all Fowls lies in this part chiefly whence perhaps eber ala is from abar potens robustus fuit or abir fortis robustus The Reader may consult that Industrious and Curious Author before-mention'd who hath reduced all the Feather'd Tribe to their proper Classes He exactly describes both the outward and inward parts of Birds and shews the peculiar use and end of their Structure as 't is different from that of other Animals and he shews that they are furnish'd with Parts according to the end they were made for and that the Frame of them is above the Art of finite Creatures The Eyes of Birds generally excel those of other Animals for they flying at a good distance from the Earth it was requisite that they should be Quick-sighted that they might espy their Food Because 't was not fitting for them to have Teeth to chew their Food they have therefore a Double Stomach or their Meat is prepared both in their Crops and in their Gizards It is first taken into the former and there softned and macerated and then it is sent to be perfectly digested in the latter which to that end is of a strong Muscular Substance And that the Meat may be throughly concocted they take down Pebbles and little Stones to grind it so in the Ostrich's Stomach are sometimes found Stones yea and Iron Albertus Magnus and Aldrovandus testify on their Knowledg that they have seen this Animal swallow these but either by vomition or excretion they ejected them The Provision which is made by the Wise Maker of all things for this sort of Creatures especially in the extremity of Winter when the ground is fast lock'd up with Frost or when all things are cover'd with Snow a long time is very wonderful To which our Saviour who was acquainted with the Nature and Condition of all Beings refers when he saith Behold the Fowls of the Air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into Barns yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them He in an extraordinary and sometimes inconceivable way provides Food for them without their taking any care about it This one Consideration if it were pursued by the Helps which we have from Natural History wherein the strange ways of furnishing these Creatures with Food are mention'd would lead us to a firm Belief of God's Providence When our Great Instructor bids us consider the Ravens Luke 12.24 he acquaints us that there is something extraordinary in the Provision made for those greedy devouring Creatures And he that was an Eminent Type of our Lord had long before observ'd that God feedeth the Young Ravens Psal. 147.9 the Emphasis and Force of which Words may be learnt from Mr. Willoughby in his Ornithologia where he tells us that Ravens newly hatch'd are not fed by the old ones as the young ones of other Birds are but are abandon'd by them for a time and by the special Provision of Heaven are nourish'd with the Yolk of the Egg remaining in the Belly after exclusion for a good part of the Yolk is received into the Cavity of the Belly in these Birds when they are newly hatch'd which being by degrees convey'd into the Guts by a certain Passage serves to nourish the young ones newly excluded And we shall be further perswaded of Divine Providence when we consider that many of the Winged Nation are maintain'd and supported a long time without Food Swallows feed upon Gnats and Flies and other Insects in the Air which when the Weather begins to be cold disappear and therefore go away because there are no more of these Insects to feed on But how they fare in their Travels is hard to tell viz. whether they meet with some kind of Food in those Places to which they repair or whether they subsist without any which is most probable For it hath been found that they immure themselves in holes and lie there till the Summer comes for 't is certain that several Animals as well as these live some Months without taking any Food And Sennertus and other Physicians give some Examples of the like among Men and Women This sort of Creatures which I am now speaking of I mean Birds in general are hot and dry yet they drink but little which goes into the Habit of their Bodies for they as Fishes have no Bladder to hold any Urine that their Bodies may be the lighter and be fitter to move in a fluid Element i. e. to fly or swim in the Air. But these small Drinkers are great Singers which that Divine and Inspired Poet who is so diligent an Observer of all the Works of the Creation takes notice
their Dens and Nests avoiding things noxious and hurtful and consulting their Safety and Welfare c. are palpable Indications of that Over-ruling Wisdom which they are acted by Some have lash'd out too far here and have from this Consideration viz. the great Sagacity of Brutes attempted to prove that they are Rational Plutarch hath a whole Treatise in favour of this The Pythagoreans held the same and it was grounded on the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Democritus Empedocles and other Philosophers were of this Opinion as Stobaeus relates And we learn from Sextus Empiricus that it was asserted of old that no Animal is Irrational but that they are all capable of Understanding and Science Porphyrius is very warm on the same Argument and makes it the grand Foundation of his Discourse concerning Abstinence for therefore he saith we ought to refrain from feeding on any sort of Animals because they are like our selves Rational Beings Justice extends to them as well as to those of our own kind or rather they are of our own kind and therefore we must be just to them and consequently we must not take away their Lives for killing them is Injuring them And several other things he offers to prove this Opinion Indeed to give this Author his due he saith as much for the Rationality of Brutes as can possibly be suggested Nothing can be more Ingenious and Plausible than what he hath deliver'd so that Brutes are for ever oblig'd to him for his Endeavours of this sort Nay he and some others go further telling us that they have not only Reason but Speech and that as there are different Species of Brutes so there are of Languages too in which they understand one another And some Philosophers of old as Melampus Tiresias Thales Apollonius Tyanaeus and Pliny if A. Gellius saith true of him pretended that they understood them and Porphyrius was so foolish as to believe it and Sextus the Emperick had the same Thoughts It is true some Brutes have a way of communicating with one another i. e. by the Noise they make they signify to one another their natural Propensions and Desires thus Hens hold some vocal Correspondence with their young ones c. If this be all they mean by using a Language we acknowledg it but we cannot but add that it is improper and absurd to call an Inarticulate Sound a Language or Speech Nor can Brutes in general be said to have or use this when it is found but in few of them and especially when it is only an Expression of their natural Instincts and not of any internal Reason that they are owners of Had there been any such thing as the Language of Brutes wer should have heard of it from the Inquisitive Augurs among the old Romans If there had been any such Notion among the wisest of the Pagans most certainly they would have made Divinations from this But it appears that they had no such apprehension and among all their ways of Augury which was from what they could possibly observe in Animals we have not a Word of this we never read that any of their Soothsayers pretended to prognosticate from the Language of brute Beasts Which plainly shews that this was a groundless odd Fancy of a few Men and is no Proof of the Rationality of Beasts which is the thing they aim at There were some Iews likewise as well as Pagans that held there is Reason and Understanding properly so call'd in Beasts Philo was so deluded as to be of this Number and Maimonides and some other Rabbies follow'd him Yea one of the Christian Writers who was a Novice in Philosophy as well as Divinity maintains the Reasonableness of Brutes and holds that they use a Language And there are some Moderns who almost forfeit their Rational Nature by pleading for that of Brutes But all Persons void of Prejudice and vain Conceit exclude these Creatures from partaking of Reason strictly so call'd and only acknowledg a bare Semblance or Shew of it in them Which is the very thing that the Old Stagirite long since asserted There is saith he another kind of Prudence Art and Wisdom in Brutes and in the same Place he calls it an Image or Resemblance of Prudence As specious as it is it is founded in these two Memory and Sense The quickness of both these produceth those Actions in them which have some appearance of Reason some faint Glimmerings of Intellectual Light And let me add this which gives the true account of this matter and is a great Argument of the Divine Prudence and Management these Creatures are endued with this wonderful excellency of Memory and Acuteness of their Senses insomuch that they surpass Man because they are destitute of Reason which is Man's Prerogative For Reason is principally in order to Religion to the knowing and enjoying of God and understanding the Means in order to that end The Maker and Governour of the Universe hath wisely compensated the want of this in Brutes by bestowing on them a transcendent Sharpeness as to the other especially the Corporeal Senses which are more quick and apprehensive in them than in those of Humane Race Eagles and some other Fowls are more quick-sighted than Men. Some sorts of Dogs are note for their excellent Smelling though any Considerate Man may see that this excellent Quality is not so much for themselves as for their Masters for the Benefit and Advantage of their Owners yea most Beasts have a wonderful Acuteness and Dexterity as to their Outward Senses above Men and that because God hath bestowed some better thing upon Man viz. a Rational Soul In which respect it is said He teacheth us more than the Beasts of the Earth and maketh us wiser than the Fowls of Heaven Job 35.11 Therefore Pliny and Plutarch who blame the Conduct of Nature because all Creatures are armed but Man who comes helpless into the World talk very unphilosophically for they seem to forget that Man hath Reason which is better than Horns Shells c. They speak as if they were unacquainted with the Excellent and Noble Nature of this Faculty which is far superiour to all that is in Brutes and shews the great and singular Felicity of Man viz. that it consists not in the Operations of the lower Faculties but in the Perfections of the Rational Endowments It remains now that I answer an Objection and then put a Period to this Part of my Undertaking It may be said Are there not many Useless and Superfluous Animals in the World Yea is there not a great Number of Hurtful and Mischievous Creatures on the Earth and in the Air and 't is likely in the Waters too How can a Wise Providence be proved from the Existence of such Creatures as Foxes Otters Weesels Pole-Cats Rats and Mice To what purpose could Spiders Flies Fleas Lice Wasps Hornets Caterpillars or Owls Kites Valtures or Frogs Toads Serpents Vipers Scorpions be made Doth
more fine and tender Plants those which will not bear a Degree of Heat beyond that of April would be all burnt up and destroy'd by it whilest it could never reach the more lofty and robust nor would there be near Heat enough to ripen their Fruits and bring them to Perfection Nothing would sute and hit all and answer every End of Nature but such a Gradual Increase and Decrease of Heat as now there is He adds that if he should descend to the Animal World the Inconveniences there would be as many and as great as in the Vegetable and such a Situation of the Sun and Earth as that which the Theorist supposes is so far from being preferrable to this which at present obtains that this hath infinitely the Advantage of it in all Respects Thus the Learned Dr. Woodward Therefore the Perpetual Equinox of the Theorist is but a Fancy and we have ground to assert that the Situation of the Earth is the same that it was at first and that the Year had the same Seasons Changes and Revolutions that it hath now and that all these are Attestations of the Divine Wisdom in making the World The said Theorist tells us also that the Earth had no Inequalities on its Surface at first but was as smooth and plain as a Die only this is square and that was round And as for the Earth which we now have he declares that there is no Shape nor Beauty in it yea it is Rude Indigested Irregular Monstrous It is but the Rubbish of what was before In short he saith 't is nothing but Ugliness and Deformity It seems according to this Gentleman it is a Chaos again But all the Wise Heads in the World have had other Apprehensions of it The most accurate and nice Judges of Beauty never thought it was a Deformed Mishapen Lump They never dreamt that Sea and Rocks and Mountains rendred it Ugly and Monstrous as this Author positively avers They rather thought that the Variety of Mountains Plains and Valleys c. makes it more grateful and comely than if it were all even they thought that this Diversity of its Parts was Ornamental And so without doubt it is and consequently the Form of this present Earth whatever this Theorist suggests to the contrary is Proportionable and Comely He shews that he is no Judg of Beauty for according to him a Flat Face without a Nose Forehead Cheeks Eyebrows or any other Protuberancies would be handsom So in the Face of the Earth he requires a Perfect Equality which indeed would be a Deformity I deny not but by Length of Time some Parts of the Earth may be worn away or broken in and sunk down c. and so may look ragged and disorder'd but he is very effeminate and nice if he will not bear with these reverend Wrinkles these lesser Defects of Pulchritude in our Mother Earth which she hath contracted by her Old Age. But as to the main she bears her Years well and keeps her pristine Beauty That Mixture of Risings and Plains of Hills and Dales c. which we discover in her is an Ornament and renders her in the whole Uniform and Regular and therefore 't is not to be question'd but that she was not without these at first And particularly as for Mountains which he reckons among the Monstrosities of this Earth and as the Effect of the Desolating Flood it is as evident as a plain Place of Scripture can make it that the Earth before the Flood was not destitute of these for it it said Gen. 7.19 The Waters prevail'd exceedingly on the Earth and all the high Hills that were under the whole Heaven were covered And further yet ver 20. to make it yet plainer fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail and the Mountains were covered Therefore it is undeniable that the Antediluvian Earth had high Hills and Mountains unless he will say that they were covered before they were And if they were before the Flood it is not to be question'd that they were the Product of the First Creation and were made by God himself It is probable this is intimated from that Epithet which is given them in Gen. 49.26 the everlasting Hills Gnolam here signifies the Antiquity of them viz. that they were made at first when the Earth was created and so are as it were perpetual or everlasting However if this be not meant it is rashly said by a very Learned Writer that it is an Idle Adjection Which appears further from Psal. 90.2 Before the Mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the Earth and the World even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God Where we see that the Production of the Mountains and the forming of the Earth and the World are synchronical which this Writer denies by saying they were produced a long time afterwards This is a Psalm of Moses which makes it the more remarkable for he that writ of the Creation and afterwards of the Flood and tells us the Waters of it cover'd the highest Hills and Mountains positively asserts here that these Hills and Mountains were created at the same time with the Earth and the World which confirms what he had said before And that Passage in Prov. 8.25 is very much to this purpose Before the Mountains were settled before the Hills was I brought forth for Solomon is there describing the Eternity of Wisdom and shewing that it existed before the Creation of the World and accordingly enumerates the principal Works of the Creation as the Depths the Sea the Fountains of Water the Heavens the Clouds the Earth and its Foundations and among these mentions the Mountains and Hills and asserts that before these and the other Parts of the Creation were produced Wisdom had an Existence Whence any Man of consistent Thoughts would infer that the Mountains as well as the Sea the Heavens the Fountains of Water c. were part of the first Creation for else they would not have been reckon'd up together with the rest as Parts of it We may conclude then that those Vast Swelling Protuberancies of the Earth were of the same Date with the World Though when I say this I do not deny but there might be some Hills rais'd afterwards by the Waters of the Deluge in Noah's time which as they threw down some Hills so they made some others by casting up great Heaps of Earth This I am not unwilling to grant as a thing Probable but what I have said before is Certain As to the manner of the Production of the First Hills and Mountains no Man can be positive It is likely they were rais'd by Subterraneous Fires and Flatus's saith Mr. Ray but I rather think that the Primitive Elevation of the Mountains was another thing and that those Fires were scarcely kindled or set on work so easily Some have guessed they were thus caus'd viz. whereas at first the Waters and Earth were both mix'd together God soon
after made a Separation between them and in order to the parting of them there were Cavities and Channels made in the Earth to receive and convey the Water whence the Earth which subsided and was depress'd in one Place rose up in another and caus'd the Mountains This is thought to be a rational Account of the Formation of these Vast Bodies but whether it be exact or no no Man can certainly tell But this we are sure of that they existed at the first forming of all things and were constituent Parts of the Primitive Earth which this Writer's Theory utterly denies and saith it was all Champain plain and level So that whilest he avoids speaking like an Orator concerning the Earth which he is set against he saith he cannot afford to speak Truth i. e. to acknowledg what the Holy Scripture it self attests in plain and intelligent Terms concerning the Original of Mountains viz. that they were a part of the first Creation of the World And being so they are questionless of Vse for the Great Creator made nothing in vain Because we cannot possibly see how Great the whole Body of the Earth is therefore there are some Parts of it purposely lifted up above the rest to give us some Intimation and Knowledg of this Huge Globe whereon we stand That Body which is 7000 Miles in Diameter and above 20000 in Circumference is as it were abbreviated by this means into lesser ones some of three or four some of ten or twelve others of twenty or near thirty Miles in Height By beholding these Eminent and Exalted Parts we may guess at the Gigantick Proportions of the Whole Extended Mass it self and admire the Divine Providence which supports its Weight and Bulk Thus because the Earth it self was hid from us excepting what is to be seen within the Compass of our scant Horizon by reason of its Convex Figure and the Shortness of our Sight it was fitting that some Remembrances and Representations as 't were some Maps of the whole should be before our Eyes and these are the High Hills and Mountainous Eminencies which we see as Caucasus Olympus Atlas Athos Aetna Hecla Teneriff which are as 't were Epitomes of the Whole Earth Again these were design'd to be Boundaries and Limits of certain Regions and Countries Thus Taurus the biggest Mountain in the World divides all Asia into two Parts the one Northward the other Southward The Pyrenean Hills separate the Kingdoms of France and Spain the Alpes part Italy from France And several other Mountains are the Natural Barriers which God hath set between Countries and Nations though daring and ambitious Minds take no notice of it and impatiently long to have such a Miraculous Power as to be able to remove these Mountains to take away these Great Land-Marks and Distinguishing Limits Moreover these Parts of the Earth which as to outward View are generally fruitless and barren and therefore may seem useless and unprofitable contain great Riches in them Some of the Rabbins derive Har the Hebrew Word for a Mountain from Harah gravidam esse and they give this Reason because they are big with Metals and swell'd with the precious Treasures that are lodg'd in their Womb. These Places are the proper Receptacle of Minerals and all sorts of Fossiles that are useful to Mankind These Bulky Substances do not take up room to no purpose these Big-bellied Bodies are pregnant with things of the greatest Value and Worth within them are laid up the Wealth of the World But of this I shall say more when I come to speak of the Subterraneous World Again these Places are fittest for the nourishing and producing of Vegetables There is no where else as hath been observed by Botanists such Variety of Plants and Herbs Further these Elevations of the Earth are necessary for conveying Water to us for from hence by Channels under Ground are derived the Springs of this Element They serve as Alembicks to distil fresh Water for the Use of Man and Beasts and their Heights are serviceable to the more facile Descent of the Streams Nay these Streams could not flow unless the Heads of them were thus mounted above the ordinary Level of the Earth There was an absolute Necessity therefore of these Hills that there might be a Descent of these Waters If the Earth were every where level and plain there could be no running Streams or Rivers More especially in very Hot Countries these elevated Parts of the Earth are necessary to supply these Springs for on the Sides of them those abundant Vapours that are exhaled out of the Earth are condensed and turn'd into Water as is proved by a very Ingenious Gentleman And another famous Virtuoso who hath written since hath exceedingly confirm'd this Truth having with great Perspicuity shew'd that Mountains are the Heads and Sources of Springs and Rivers and that there would have been no Running Streams on the Face of the Earth if there had not been these Exaltations of the Ground for here the Waters are condensed and discharged Accordingly he observes that those Countries that are in the Torrid Zone or near or under the Line where the Heat is greatest and consequently where there is the greatest need of Water are furnish'd with Mountains answerable i. e. such as for Bigness and Number surpass those of colder Countries This he therefore concludes to be the Providential Contrivance of Heaven and to be an Argument of the Divine Conduct and Wisdom As for the Highest Mountains in the Southern Parts of the World an Ingenious Naturalist tells us that there is very great Use of them for repelling the Vapours exhaled by the Sun 's powerful Beams in those hot Regions and for hindring their Evagations Northward which he thinks is of great Advantage It might be added that the High Hills render the Earth more convenient and useful for Habitation for if it were all even and level the Houses would lie open to the Winds and to the Sun whereas by this Mixture there is a Shelter from both Furthermore this Inequality of the Earth is suted to the Difference of those Animals that live upon it to some of whom the higher and mountainous Places which are hot and dry are most agreeable yea it is observ'd that they cannot live any where else and to others those Regions that are depressed and are more cool moist and shady are most wholesom and delightful And lastly a Worthy Writer is designing to prove that even the Vulcano's or Burning Mountains as Aetna Hecla Vesuvius c. which seem to be very noxious are of Use to the Places where they are and to the Earth it self and to Mankind insomuch that they could not subsist without these or without the Agents whereby these firy Eruptions are effected Thus from what hath been said it is abundantly evident that the Mountains are a very considerable Part of the Creation and are signal Testimonies of God's Bounty as well as of his Power
several Antient Natural Philosophers viz. That the outward Signature or Impression which is on some Plants shews their inward Virtue and that from the Resemblance which they have to the parts of a Man's Body we may gather their secret Power and know to what particular part they are appropriated Thus the Squill and Poppy are good against the Head-ach they themselves resembling a Head The Walnut hath upon its Fruit the Signature of the Head and Brain and accordingly it is beneficial to them Which is taken notice of and thus represented by the Excellent Cowley in his Fifth Book of Plants Nor can this Head-like Nut shap'd like the Brain Within be said that Form by chance to gain Or Caryon call'd by Learned Greeks in vain For Membranes soft as Silk her Kernel bind Whereof the inmost is of tenderest kind Like those which on the Brain of Man we find All which are in a Seam-join'd Shell enclos'd Which of this Brain the Scull may be suppos'd This very Scull envelop'd is again In a Green Coat his Pericranion Lastly that no Objection may remain To thwart her near Alliance to the Brain She nourishes the Hair remembring how Her self deform'd without her Leaves doth show On barren Scalps she makes fresh Honours grow This Natural Stamp is observable on other Vegetables Thus the Leaves of Balm resemble a Heart which Signature shews it to be Cordial and a great Refresher of that part Eye-bright hath the plain impress of the Eye and 't is with Success made use of against the Maladies of that part Kidney-Beans call'd so because they represent the Kidnies particularly affect those Vessels The Multiplicity of Joints and Knots in the Root of the Herb call'd Solomon's Seal which is denoted by its Greek Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shews that it is available against Ruptures and that it joins and knits green Wounds it doth close and seal them up as 't were whence perhaps it hath its Denomination And Liver-wort and other Simples might be mentioned which are Medical for that part whose Signature and Resemblance they bear Some think this to be fanciful but upon due consideration it will be found to be very serious and solid For these Marks and Impressions are real things and go along with the whole Species and are never alter'd Two very Eminent Persons to mention no more at present who were not guilty of indulging their Fancy and Imagination and who were great Enemies to Vulgar Errors and Prepossessions freely own the significancy of these External Resemblances on the Bodies of the Plants The one is the Learned Hugh Grotius who among his Arguments for a God and Providence assigns this as one The other is the Famous Dr. Willis who hath I remember these Words in his Pharmaceut Some things are found good against the Iaundice by a similitude of Substance and as it were by a Signature viz. as being endowed with a yellow Iuice as Rhubarb Yellow Sanders Saffron c. These visible Characteristicks of Plants were impressed upon them by the singular Favour and Goodness of Heaven to let us understand by the bare looking upon them what they are useful for to let us read in the Colour Figure and Proportion of them what their intrinsick Nature is In short there is not the least Plant though never so contemptible and trodden under our Feet but was made for some use and purpose as our late Improvements in this Study partly have discover'd and as succeeding Ages if they be not over-run with Sloth and Ignorance will further manifest to the World and therein display the abundant Goodness and Benevolence of God to it CHAP. VII God is to be found in the Subterraneous World Where are Waters Fires Metals Minerals to which latter belong Earths Salts Sulphurs Stones both common and Precious The Loadstone particularly considered and the Author's Opinion concerning it He disapproves of the Total Dissolution of the Earth at the Deluge and gives his Reason for it His Iudgment touching Earth-quakes and Trepidations of the Earth He invites the Reader to reflect with great seriousness upon the late Instance of this kind and to that purpose offers some Remarks upon it Which he closes with a Devout Address to Heaven to supplicate the averting of the manifestation of the Divine Displeasure in this kind for the future IF we descend into the Subterraneous World as Kircher stiles it the deep places of the Earth as they are called by the Psalmist these also will supply us with Arguments to the same excellent purpose Here we shall be transported with the Contemplation of the strange Make and Composure of those various Caverns that are hid from common Eyes those Unseen Rarities of the Under-ground World for what is unseen of this Earth is most astonishing Here is a vast Receptacle of Waters called by Moses the Fountains of the great Deep Gen. 7.11 This great Collection or Abyss of them is placed in the Central parts of the Earth as Dr. Woodward hath probably asserted Here are Millions of Aqueducts to convey Water from the Sea Here are Springs and Fountains that supply the Land with Brooks and Rivers Here are Medical Waters and Baths for the relief of the Diseased Here are also the vast Treasures of Fire that is that Combustible Matter wherein those subtile Particles are shut up that engender Fire and likewise here are Magazines of Actual Fire as appears from those Volcano's those firy Eruptions which are taken notice of in several Places And that there is Fire in the Earth may be proved from this that the Bottoms of the deeper Mines are very sultry and the Stone and Ores there are very sensibly hot even in Winter Here are lodged Metals the 7 Terrestrial Planets as the Chymists are pleas'd to call them Gold the Sovereign and Chief of all because of its transcendent Purity Brightness Solidity and Weight Silver Steel which is but the harder Part of Iron Copper Quicksilver Tin Lead As for Brass Orichalcum aes it is a mixt Metal viz. of Copper and Lapis Calaminaris Pewter is a Compound of Tin and Lead The Property of Metals whereby they are distinguish'd from other Terestrial Bodies is that they may be melted and are malleable Especially Pure Gold is ductile above all other Metals for an Ounce of it may be so extended by Malleation that it will take up ten Acres if Dr. Charleton may be credited As for the use of Metals none is wholly ignorant of it they were made for Defence and War for Instruments to work with for Medicine for Ornament for Vessels to be used in eating and drinking and all other Services whatsoever for Money and Coin and in a word they are some way or other useful to all the necessary Ends of a Man's Life and consequently are Testimonies of God's Care and Concern for the Good of Mankind Accordingly you will find that these Metals are particularly taken notice of and mentioned by Iob to prove
and Happiness of the whole Race of Mankind that were to come after And which is yet more he proves that this Change this Dissolution of the Primitive Earth and the framing of another out of it is a great and singular Work and Argument of Providence of Counsel and Sagacity and he demonstrates in several Particulars that it is the Product of a Reasoning and Designing Agent We are come then at length to the Grand Matter which I was all along aiming at viz. the Proof of a Deity from the Make and Disposal of the Earth Thus that of the Psalmist is evinced to be true The Earth is full of thy Riches which he saith to convince us of the Wisdom of God in the Works of the Creation And now to close this part of my Discourse viz. concerning the Earth I will add a few Words concerning Earthquakes which are occasioned by those Spatious Cavities and Vaults which I have asserted before to be within the Bowels of the Earth Some of the old Philosophers imputed this Motion to Winds and Vapours bred in these hollow Places Others ascribe it to excessive Waters got into the Channels of the Earth by reason of excessive Rains and agitated there in those vast Caverns It was the Opinion of some of the Antients that this Motion was the Effect of the Sea 's beating on the Earth and powerfully moving and shaking it whence Neptune had the Title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Earth-shaker and he was call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Words are of the same import Others think it is caused wholly by the Subterraneous Fires and Sulphureous Matter in those Cavities Thus that Admirable Observer of the Works of Nature whom I have frequently cited attributes this Phaenomenon to the Elevation of the Water out of the Great Abyss which he supposes to be in the central Part of the Earth by the Virtue of this under-ground Fire He hath a Particular Notion of this Heat causing this Commotion and Disorder in the Earth But I conceive that All these are the Causes at one time or other nay it may be at the same time of Earthquakes strictly so call'd and Tremblings of the Earth which are Tendencies to them The Winds generated in the Entrails of the Earth may by extending the Parts in some Places cause a Tremour or by a sudden violent Eruption occasion a Greater Motion So by the immoderate Rains or by Inundations of the Sea the Meatus of the Earth may be washed and worn away and other adjacent Parts may give way and sink downwards and thereby cause a Motion above if with a subsiding in some of the extream Parts Also the Subterraneous Sulphury Matter of which there is great Quantity being inflamed may produce these Concussions by extraordinary Rarefaction which making more room must needs produce an unwonted Motion and sometimes a horrid Noise So that an Earthquake may be said to be a kind of a Subterranean Thunder This was Pliny's Notion of old Non aliud est in terrâ tremor quà m in nube tonitru Thus he speaks because of the Resemblance between the breaking of the Earth and of the Clouds and the Dreadful Shock that accompanies both But though Earthquakes are thus resolved into Physical Causes yet they are to be look'd upon as remarkable Testimonies of the Divine Power and Greatness We cannot but own and reverence these when we consider the Dreadful Effects of these Concussions Nay it is hardly to be solved by any of the forementioned Causes how there can be a trembling of the Earth at the same moment in Places that are so vastly distant from one another There was an Universal Shock almost all the World over in the Emperor Valentinian's time about the Year of our Lord 369. In the Year 1601 there was a shaking of the Earth in Asia Hungary Germany Italy France at the same time In Peru as Acosta relates this Tremor oftentimes reaches near six hundred Miles from North to South This must have an Extraordinary Cause and that Man must strain his Philosophy who undertakes to give a Satisfactory Account of it from Common Principles and the Natural Efficacy of Things This unusual Exertment of Divine Providence we of this Nation as well as others have lately felt with Surprise and Astonishment And I hope it will be thought no Digression if I here remind the Reader to reflect upon it with great Thoughtfulness and Seriousness and to consider and weigh the true Nature and Design of this amazing Event I know there are some Persons that slight all such Occurrences and tell us that they are from Natural Causes and therefore it is Weakness and Vanity to trouble our selves about them Men of Philosophy say they are acquainted with the Spring and Source of these Accidents and therefore are not possess'd with Fear and Dread and cannot be perswaded that Nature acting in its own way and according to its due Laws intends us any Mischief But the Reply to these Men is easy for though I most willingly grant that Earthquakes and the lesser Tendencies to them as Tremblings of the Earth are the Product of Natural Causes yet it is as true that the God of Nature when he is provoked by the Sinful Enormities of a People may and oftentimes doth turn these Natural Effects into Punishments and Iudgments So that both Philosophy and Divinity are concern'd here and they are very well consistent We may as Naturalists search into the physical Reasons of these Events but then as we are Students in Religion we are bound to make a farther Enquiry and to take notice of the Design of Heaven in these great and wonderful Effects that happen in the World With Philosophers and Physitians we are ready to grant that Scarcity and Famine Plague and Pestilence are naturally produced and yet we are ascertain'd from the Sacred and Infallible Records of Scripture that these were oftentimes inflicted by God on purpose as the Recompence of Mens heinous Sins So it is in the present Case which makes it very plain the Motion and Shaking of the Earth are to be attributed to Causes in Nature and I have before assigned what they are yet we must likewise acknowledg that there is a more than Ordinary Hand to be taken notice of in this Matter and as Understanding and Devout Christians we are to observe what the Purpose of Divine Providence is at such a Time Pursuant to this I offer these brief Remarks on that Signal and Stupendous Dispensation 1. The Antients have thought that this was ever attended with something that was Boding and Ominous Thus Socrates the Ecclesiastical Historian pronounces concerning the Earthquake which happen'd in the Days of the Emperors Valentinian and Valens that it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a certain Sign of the Shakings and Convulsions which afterwards were in the Christian Churches And I could produce other very Grave Writers who speak to
call'd in a signal manner the Living God To conclude as Solomon saith of the Ants so we may say of all Insects they are a People not strong Prov. 30.25 they are puny and feeble Creatures and some of them may seem to be altogether Useless and might very well be spared in the Great Heap of Beings if they where wholly destroy'd and all the Brood of them annihilated it may seem a Courtesy to Mankind who are often pester'd with them But this is the reasoning of Ignorance and Presumption for it becomes us not to dislike the Workmanship of Heaven be it never so little and weak and we must remember that what it wants in Bulk and Strength is recompensed some other way An Insect is an Argument of the Divine Wisdom as well as an Animal of the first Magnitude Even the pettiest Creatures in some respect far surpass these CHAP. XI It is from a Divine Author that all Animals are fashion'd and contrived in their Parts and Organs in their Senses and Faculties according to the Employment Use and End for which they are serviceable The Natural Propension in them to propagate their Kind is from God So is their Sagacity This latter is voted for Reason by some Writers who also attribute Speech to them It is proved that this is groundlesly asserted and that Reason is the Sole Prerogative of those Beings that are capable of Religion To those who object the Uselesness nay Hurtfulness of several Animals as if this were an Argument against Providence it is answered 1. Though we are not able to assign the Vse of some Creatures yet it doth not follow thence that they are Vseless 2. The Creatures which seem most Vile are a Foil to the rest 3. There is something worthy of our Observation in every one of them 4. Some of these are Food for others 5. Most of them are useful to Mankind in a Medical way The Author's Conjecture concerning the benefit of Gnats Fleas Lice Flies Spiders Venomous Creatures carry an Antidote with them 6. The most hurtful Animals may be beneficial to Man as Crosses and Afflictions are which are welcome to the Vertuous 7. That they generally do so little harm when they are able to do so much is a Manifestation of the Divine Care and Providence 8. The Enjoyment of their Essence is from the Divine Bounty which none ought to repine at 9. They are made use of by God sometimes to plague notorious Offenders Lastly That any Creatures are Noxious proceeds from the Sin of Man and the Curse which followed it wherefore we have no reason to complain of them or to question the Goodness and Providence of God The Vast Numbers and Various Kinds of Insects are some Proof of their Vsefulness All Creatures are someways Good and made for some Vse Though we do not see their Vsefulness at present afterâ— Ages may discover it THUS I have particularly instanced in the Works of the Creation and have shew'd that the Existence and Providence of God are to be seen in them all Especially as to Animals this grand Truth appears to be undeniable viz. that they are all fram'd and shap'd exactly according to the several Ends and Uses they were designed for which is an irrefragable Evidence of an infinitely Wise Contriver and Disposer The Hare and Hart that are very fearful have swift Feet to fly away and the timorous Dove hath swift Wings So the most fearful Animals have the quickest hearing as the Hart and Hare the Coney c. by this means Nature takes care for their Safety that they may secure themselves by flight To the Boar that is fierce and pugnacious are given prominent Tusks to the Lion Teeth and Paws of a peculiar make Beasts that have no other way to defend themselves are supplied with Horns Those Creatures which are for working or travelling as Oxen Horses Mules Asses Camels Dromedaries have such Hoofs as are capable of being shod that they may thereby be the more serviceable To Birds are given Feathers for the Lightness of their flying and also Claws and Beak as proper Instruments in order to the Fooâ— they live upon And briefly all Animals aâ—â— furnish'd with proper Organs Fowls are fitted by the frame of their Bodies to the Element they converse in So Fishes are shaped purposely for the Water and Beasts for the Earth and all the Parts of these several Animals are accommodated to their peculiar Uses and Purposes God hath given them particular Figures and Operations as to their Bodies according to the Indoles of their sensitive Souls as Aristotle well said if he be rightly quoted by one of the Antients Their outward Texture is fitted to their inward Faculty and Nature There are certain Reasons to be assign'd of every distinct frame of Bodies in Brutes It is not without cause that they are thus and thus shap'd and not otherwise and whence is this but from a Divine Author Also the Natural Instinct which is in these Creatures to propagate their Kind shews that it was from a Higher Power and Principle that is such a one that is Intelligent and intends the Good and Preservation of the World And Providence is particularly seen in this that Animals that are shorter liv'd have a great many little ones and produce them often as Dogs Swine all Birds and Fishes the frequent Production reparing the short living But those Creatures that live longer breed seldomer and one at a time generally as Elephants Deers Horses c. And here 't is observable also that the less perfect Animals are soonest set up because they decline and make an end apace therefore they begin sooner And that Sagacity which we have so often observ'd to be in Brutes yea in the very Insects is an Evidence that they are the Workmanship of a Wise Maker and are guided by a Wise Director Besides what hath been said already we might mention how the angry Porcupine knows when it is his time to dart sorth his Bristles to wound his Adversary the Ichneumon the Rat of Nilus takes the opportunity of the Crocodile's gaping and leaps into his Mouth and thence descends into his Belly and so dispatches him the Iackal hunts always with the Lion for part of his Prey and withal it is observable that this latter cannot be without the assistance of the former for he is neither swift nor quick-scented and therefore is happily befriended by the Iackal who hath both these Properties and so he is a fit Caterer for the other Therefore this may be the meaning of the Psalmist Psal. 104.21 The young Lions roar after their Prey and seek their Meat from God they seek it and procure it in this notable way which is by the singular Providence of God This their natural way of getting their Food is call'd seeking it from God because he hath given them this particular Instinct and Sagacity And several other strange Expedients and Methods which Animals use in providing their Food making
unhappy King he was dethron'd by his own Son and died of Grief and Melancholy But though he thus impiously blasphemed the Creation yet he was not so sottish as to deny a God the Artificer of all these Works that we behold Which yet our Atomical and Chance-Philosophers will not be induced to assert or believe CHAP. IV. The Things which are remarkable in the Space between the Heavens and the Earth administer clear Proofs of a Deity as the Air the Winds the Clouds where the late Archaeologist is rebuked the wonderful Ballancing of these latter Their gentle falling down in Rain by degrees the Vsefulness of these Showers The Rain-bow Thunder and Lightning Snow Hail Frost and Ice NOW let us go down from these Lofty Battlements of Heaven to behold the things that are between this and the Earth Let us descend from the Etherial to the Aerial Region where still we shall find every thing declaring a Divine and Omnipotent Creator The Air the Clouds the Winds and all the Meteors preach a Deity The Air is the necessary but noble Instrument of Man's Subsistence in the World We breathe by it and so it is the most necessary of all the Elements because without Respiration there is no Life The Greek word which signifies to breathe hath but two Letters and those are the first and last of the Greek Alphabet The Air or Breath by which we breath is our Alpha and Omega we began our Life with it and we end it without it For this is that whereby the Fuel of Life is at first kindled and afterward maintained This also was made to transmit to us the Light Heat and Influences of the Sun and Stars and is the Medium and Conveyer of Colours to the Eye and of Sounds to the Ear and is the Vehicle of all wholesom Smells of all fragrant and delightful Odours for the Refreshment of our Spirits This is of perpetuall use to all Creatures whether Vegetative or Animal And if we would be Curious we might observe here the Elastick Power or Spring of this Element the native Self-Expansion of this vast Body whereby it flies out and seeks to be at Liberty upon the removal of all Circumambient Obstacles Which a Noble Philosopher of our Age hath improved to very good purpose and therein discover'd the Wonders of the Creation The Winds are the Stream and Current of this Element and are caused by the Condensation and Rarefaction of it which are procured by a lesser or greater degree of the Sun's Heat But sometimes this Boisterous Meteor is bred by Vapours and Exhalations rising out of the Earth or Waters and then generally it is most vehement and loud it is most swift and rapid on which latter account we have mention of the Wings of the Wind Psal. 18.10 But both the gentle Gales and stormy Blasts are useful at their several Seasons viz. to fan clear and purge the Air and to prevent the stagnating of it to dispel unwholesom and noxious Vapours especially at Sea and in very wet Soils to dry up excessive Moisture after great Rains to qualify the scorching Heat of the Summer to cool those Regions which are most liable to the Sun 's perpendicular Rays and accordingly it is well known that there are Briezes i. e. fresh Eastern Winds which constantly blow about Noon in the hottest Countries even under the Equator and mitigate the excessive Heat They are welcome and refreshing to Trees and Plants and Fruit both as they bring Rain to water them and fair Weather to ripen them They are serviceable at Sea for Ships yea of such necessity that Navigation could not be performed without them And they are useful for several considerable Purposes at Land for the Needs of Man's Life The Winds therefore may be reckon'd as no contemptible Instances of God's Care and Providence toward Mankind Whence these are attributed to Him alone by the Inspired Prophet He bringeth forth the Wind out of his Treasures the Treasures of Sea and Land that afford a plentiful stock of Exhalations which being either rarified by Heat or condens'd by Cold stir and move in that manner which we either feel or hear He makes the Weight for the Winds as it is elegantly said of him Iob 28.25 There is such a certain Order and Appointment concerning every one of them whether they be the Cardinal Ones from the Four Quarters of the World or those that are Intermediate and Collateral that they may be said to be weighed and poized They are always in such a Posture as he pleaseth and their Place and Motion together with the Effects of them are exactly determined Let us behold the Clouds the visible and constant Witnesses of an Almighty Power and Wisdom They are moist Vapours drawn up and thickned into Water in the middle Region of the Air therefore they are call'd the Waters above the Firmament Gen. 1.7 i. e. above the great Expansum of the Lower Region of the Air for there is another Firmament mentioned Gen. 1.17 the Firmament of the Heaven or Aether where God placed the Stars So that if we distinguish between the Aerial and Aethereal Firmament which we ought to do we shall reconcile the Controversy which hath been among Writers concerning the Rakiang the Expansum mentioned by Moses which divided the Waters that are under it i. e. the Sea from the Waters that are above it i. e. the Clouds The not observing of this hath occasioned that vile Notion which we find vented by the Archaeologist who tells us That Moses makes Waters above the Heavens or Firmament to comply with the vulgar Conceit of the People that God Almighty hath a Store-house of Rain there and so sends it down thence to them on the Earth I am heartily sorry to see such ill Words fall from the Pen of a Christian Writer They not only import that Moses willingly and designedly fosters the People in their erroneous and false Apprehensions concerning God's Works but they make a Mock of a plain Truth viz. that the Heavens or Clouds are the Receptacles or Store-houses of Rain and were appointed by the All-wise God to be so The Heaven is expresly call'd God's good Treasure or rather Treasury whence he gives Rain Deut. 28.12 And we read of the Treasures of Snow and Hail Job 38.22 We should rather translate it Treasuries as the same Hebrew word is render'd in Psal. 135.7 where also it is apply'd to a Meteor as it is here And what are these Treasuries and Store-houses of Rain Snow and Hail but the Clouds from whence these Meteors descend And these Clouds as any impartial and considerate Man must needs grant are the Waters that are above the Firmament or Aerial Heaven So little reason had the foresaid Writer to look upon these as the mere Imagination of the Vulgar and to think that the Inspired Pen-man makes mention of them in mere Compliance with the conceited People Whereas it is rational to believe that
Rupture for else he would not have imputed it to a Divine Virtue as he doth And more fully and expresly in another place he declares his Mind thus The Effects of Thunder if you consider them well are of that Wonderful Nature that we cannot possibly doubt but that there is a Divine Subtile Power in them And then he proceeds particularly to reckon up the Strange Phaenomena of this sort of Meteor which indeed are very Surprizing and Amazing and would be thought altogether incredible if several Other Writers of good note had not attested the same and if at this very day we had not Instances of the Truth and Reality of them This Naturalist adds further that Thunder is made partly to Scare and Affright the World This Terrible Noise saith he was for this purpose viz. That we might stand in awe of something above us Horace confesses that he felt this in himself he acknowledges that this Voice from Heaven made him disown Epicurus's Notions and repent of all his Atheistical Principles and Practices See Lib. 1. Ode 34. It is a very Remarkable Example and I heartily wish that the Wild Sparks of this Age who are very well pleas'd with other Parts of this Author's Writings and are ambitious to imitate him would seriously read and consider of this and thence with their Brother Poet and Pagan be induced to assert a God and Providence in the World It is not to be denied that sometimes by this Dreadful Sound God is pleased to rouze and alarm the careless Part of Mankind and sometimes to give Proof of his Judicial and Avenging Power Moreover by this is discovered his Goodness to Mankind for this Violent Shaking of the Air is of great Use to us because it corrects or dispels its noxious Qualities and renders it pure and wholesom By means of this are convey'd to us Showers of Rain which most seasonably cool that Element as fast as the Fulgurations heat and inflame it Then as for the Colder Meteors they have their proper Use for which they are generated Snow is a dissolved Cloud that is somewhat condens'd in its coming down and therefore falls in light Flakes like the scatter'd Pieces of a Fleece whence it is said He giveth Snow like Wool Psal. 147.16 To which it is compared because of the Configuration of its Parts and because of its Whiteness and Softness nay I must add because of its Warmth This last is thus express'd in few words by Theophrastus The Snow produces a Fermentation in the Earth by shutting in the Heat upon it which the Earth takes into it self and is thereby made strong and hearty The Husband-man who inters his Seed in hopes of its rising again delights to behold this Winding-Sheet upon it he rejoices to see it thus buried in Woollen because he knows that this is a Safeguard to it and shelters it from the Winter-Winds and Storms This keeps both the Earth and the Grain warm and preserves the Blade fresh and verdant and afterwards when it dissolves it kindly moistens them and is a Preparative to a farther Fermentation Hail is such another dissolved Cloud as Snow but much more thickned and hardned by the lower Region of the Air as it comes down through it The Treasures of this Congealed Rain for so I may call it are mention'd by God himself Iob 38.22 which he saith he hath reserved against the time of Trouble against the day of Battel and War ver 23. Then this Weapon is brought forth and is of singular Use to punish Offenders and accordingly we read that Armies have been defeated by it Iosh. 10.11 Isa. 30.30 Frost and Ice are other Cold and Watry Impressions which God owns himself the Author of Iob 37.10 By the Breath of God i. e. by a Cold Sharp Wind which He sendeth Frost is given and the Breadth of the Waters is straitned is so contracted and congeal'd that they flow not they spread not themselves as usually In very significant and apposite Terms but very briefly this is described in ch 38.30 The Waters are hid as with a Stone i. e. the Waters in Ponds and Rivers and in some Parts of the Sea are covered with Ice which is hard and as 't were Stony and may be call'd a Pavement of Ice That this and the like Operations of the most High are of considerable Use in the World beside what hath been mention'd before we gather from chap. 37. ver 12. They are turned round about by his Counsels that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the Face of the World in all the Earth i. e. all the World over they are made use of in their several Vicissitudes to effect the wise Designs and Purposes of God And ver 13. He causeth it to come whether for Correction i. e. the Punishment of Men or for his Land i. e. more universally for all Creatures particularly the Ground or Earth or for Mercy i. e. in a way of Blessing It were easy to give Instances of all these for Histories readily furnish us with them So in another Place of this Book ch 36. v. 31. where the foregoing Discourse had been concerning the Clouds Rain Lightning c. it is said By them he judgeth the People i. e. to some they are made use of for Punishment and he giveth Meat in abundance i. e. to others they are sent for Good for their real Benefit and Advantage and more particularly they are someways instrumental towards the procuring of Fruitfulness and Plenty call'd here Meat I had almost forgot to mention Dew which is of great Advantage especially in the Eastern Countries which are hot and where little Rain falls It is by the singular Care of the Divine Providence that they have very Great Dews which are hugely beneficial to the Earth Therefore you find these taken notice of as a particular Largess of the Divine Goodness Iob 38.28 Mic. 5.7 and in several other Places Thus much concerning the Lower Heavens or Atmosphere that is the Space between the Ethereal Heavens and the Earth and the several things which are Observable in it as the Air Winds Clouds c. all which proclaim a Wise Powerful Just and Merciful Deity CHAP. V. The Frame of the Earth argues a Godhead A particular Account of the Torrid Zone and of the two Temperate and two Frigid Zones especially the two latter are shew'd to be Testimonies of Divine Providence The present Position of the Earth is the same that it was at first whatever the Theorist who confutes himself suggests to the contrary Against him it is proved that the Shape of the Earth at this day is not Irregular and Deformed and that the Primitive Earth was not destitute of Hills and Mountains These are of considerable Vse The particular Advantages of them are recounted and thence the Wise Disposal of the Creator is inferr'd NOW let us pass to the Earth that Part of the World where we are placed where the
visible Footsteps of a Godhead are easily to be traced The Frame of this Spatious Round for this Figure of it is proved from its Shadow cast upon the Moon in an Eclipse which shews that the Earth and Sea make one round Body for the Shadow renders the true Form of the Body which causeth it the Frame I say of this Spatious Globe is excellent and astonishing if we contemplate the Hills Valleys Lakes Rivers Rocks Promontories Woods Islands Peninsula's Continents of which 't is composed the Mixture of which renders it not only useful but beautiful Nature proceeds not always in the same Track and Path but as Philo observes delights in the Variety and Diversity of its Artificial Works And the wonderful Skill and Art of the Author who framed them thus are to be admired But more especially the Diversity of the Situation and Position of the Earth is remarkable It was the Wise Contrivance of the Creator to place it in that Oblique Posture that it is now in it being most convenient for the Good of Mankind He that made of one Blood all Nations of Men to dwell on all the Face of the Earth hath determined the Bounds of their Habitation Acts 17.26 Hence there are Different Zones as they are call'd into which the Earth is divided There is first that which is call'd the Torrid Zone because the Influence of the Sun is very vehement and active in this Part of the World but this is no Hindrance to its being Inhabited as some of old vainly fancied This is all that Space of Earth which is between the two Tropicks But there is a great Latitude as to the Inhabitants of this Zone for some of them live directly under the Equator And these only of all the Dwellers on the Earth have a Right Sphere and always have an Equinox i. e. their Days are exactly 12 Hours in length and so are their Nights neither more nor less They have the peculiar Privilege to see both the Poles at the same time And all the Fixed Stars rise and set to them They have 2 Summers and 2 Winters in a Year the Sun going directly over their Heads twice a Year i. e. when he is in Aries and when he is in Libra so that their 2 Summers are then and their Winters are when the Sun is in Cancer and Capricorn Thus are situated some parts of the East Indies and some part of America and the Islands of Sumatra And though they are so liable to the Perpendicular Rays of the Sun yet by the special Providence of Heaven it happens that the Inhabitants of these Hot Countries have Cool Briezes that constantly fan and refresh them in the Afternoons and their Nights are both long and cool which makes amends for the excessive heat of the Day Other Inhabitants of this Zone are seated between the Equinoctial and the Tropicks and these likewise have a double Summer and Winter only their Days and Nights are more unequal than those under the Equinoctial Line Thus are situated the Philippine and Molucca Islands part of East India in Asia Ethiopia in Africk Mexico in the North of America and Peru Brasil Guinea in the South of it And it is well known that there is not a more temperate Region than Peru in the World the Nights cold tempering the Days heat and Rains being frequent and cool Winds blowing constantly Again there are others of this Zone that live right under the Tropicks These have but one Summer and one Winter in a Year and their Situation is very convenient and upon several accounts desirable Before I leave the Torrid Zone I will take notice of a very Remarkable Thing which Travellers of good Credit inform us of viz. That in most Places belonging to it there are vast Exhalations constantly from the Earth which are condens'd into moist Vapours and though they seldom fall in Rain-Showers yet they affect the Region of the Air which is under them and render it very moist in the Day-time and in the Night very cool and fresh And this abundant Mass of Vapours caus'd by the excessive heat of those Countries affords matter for Dews which are exceeding plentiful and copious so that they serve instead of rain-Rain-Waters and are of great use for the Fertility of the Ground and Plants But Secondly There are 2 Temperate Zones which lie between the Tropicks and the Polar Circles the one between the Tropick of Cancer and the Artick Circle the other between the Tropick of Capricorn and the Antartick It is the peculiar Lot of the People that dwell in these parts of the World to have 2 Solstices and 2 Equinoxes in a Year but one Summer and one Winter and the Sun is never vertical over their Heads They have an Oblique Sphere as all have besides those that live under the Equator We in England are situate in this Parallel so is all Europe yea the greatest part of the habitable World is in the Northern Temperate Zone It was the pleasure of the Great Founder of the World that this part of the Earth should be the Principal Stage of Action It was his Will and Appointment that this should be the Seat of the greater and better part of Mankind There are also two Frigid Zones the one between the Artick Circle and the North Pole the other between the Antartick Circle and the South Pole The Inhabitants are of three sorts 1. Those who live under either of the Polar Circles Those that inhabit under the Artick Circle have one Summer and one Winter in a Year When the Sun is in Cancer their Day is 24 Hours long and they have no Night And when the Sun is in Capricorn their Night is 24 Hours long Under this Parallel are Lapland Finmark part of Russia Iseland c. And here it might be observ'd as a Testimony of a singular Providence that these Countries which are extreme Cold are furnish'd with the largest Wood and the most and best Furs 2. Those that dwell between the Polar Circles and the Poles have sometimes continual Day and no Night From the Sun's being in Cancer their Day is in some places a Month long in others two and the farther they live toward the North the longer are their Days till you come under the North Pole where it is half a Year long without Night In the other half of the Year beginning when the Sun is in Capricorn the Nights exceed proportionably and last a Month two Months c. In this part of the World is Nova Zembla Green-land c. 3. Those that live right under the Poles and these only of all the Dwellers on the Earth enjoy a Day that continues six Months compleat which is succeeded with a Night that lasts as long So that they may be said to have but one Day and one Night in a Year By reason of this latter the Countrey is so cold and dark that it is not inhabited in this part of the Year But as for
lie so open to the Moon as the Ocean yet notwithstanding this they should have some considerable Degrees of Flux and Reflux but they have not The same is observable in the Euxine Sea and in the Dead Sea in Asia nor is there any regular and due Motion in the Archipelago Yea in the Northern Ocean beyond Scotland toward Norway and Green-land the Exaltation and Depression of the Waters are scarcely sensible From which Instances we may gather that the Moon is not the compleat Efficient of the Agitation of the Sea for then all Seas would be affected with its Influence more or less The most that we can say is that where this Reciprocal Motion is it depends only in part on the Regency of the Moon Kepler attributes it to a Magnetick Virtue in the Moon but he hath not had the Fortune to gain any to his Opinion Others therefore attempt to solve it another way if the Moon can't effect this Reciprocation of the Sea's Motion the Sun shall Accordingly some imputed it to the Sun 's raising of Vapours and Exhalations from the Sea This was an old Opinion for Plutarch tells us that it was held by Aristotle and by Heraclitus but there seems to be little Foundation for it because Exhalations are rais'd in all Seas Lakes and great Waters but there is not a Flux and Reflux in them all as hath been already observ'd The Younger Vossius holds that this Motion is caus'd by that of the Sun which is from East to West and such is the Flux of the Sea And this seems to have been the Opinion of Pliny and Ptolomy long before But there is no ground at all for it for the Tides may as well be imputed to the Stars as the Sun seeing they as well as this move from the East Again 't is to be remembred that the Sea moves from West to East in the Ebbing and yet the Sun at the same time hath no such Motion But there are so many and easy Objections and those unanswerable against this Hypothesis that it would be lost time to insist on this any further But if neither Sun nor Moon can do the Work the Earth must according to Galilaeus and Dr. Wallis who make the Motion of the Earth the sole Cause of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea But first they must prove that the Earth moves which will be a hard Task though 't is so Modish a Piece of Philosophy among the Moderns and then they must render a Reason why Lakes Meres and Rivers do not flow and ebb as well as the Sea at least why they do not move in some small measure seeing they cannot but be affected somewhat with the Agitation of the Earth as well as the Broader Waters The Learned Lydiat and some others search lower for the Original of the Sea's Motion and impute it to Subterraneous Fires But this is very weak for if those Fires were able to give it Motion it would certainly give it Heat also and the lower Men dive the warmer they would feel the Waters to be but I never heard of any Man that pretended to prove this Wherefore the Insufficiency and Weakness of these several Accounts given by Learned Men concerning the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea encline me to resolve this Phaenomenon wholly into a Supernatural Cause viz. the Power of God Lest this should be thought to be a Piece of Philosophical Phanaticism I will give the Reader an Account of what I say I grant it is noble and worthy of our rational Faculties to search into the Natural Causes of things and Philosophically to unravel the Secrets of the most abstruse Effects But when we find our selves puzzled and non-pluss'd and are not able to trace the Effects to their Physical Causes we ought to look up higher and own the more Signal Finger of God And this is our present Case we can't apprehend any Second Causes wholly interested in the Matter that is before us after all our Searches we find that this Wonderful Phaenomenon is above the Efficiency of Natural Agents and 't is certain that it is worthy of the Almighty Creator that some should be so and that for an excellent Purpose viz. that we should have some Check to our Inquisitions that we should be sensible of the Weakness and Shallowness of our Conceptions that we should adore the Creator himself and that we might throughly be convinced that the Divine Power infinitely surpasses that of Natural Efficients For these and other Reasons which we know not of nor is it fit we should God sometimes acts absolutely and entirely without making use of the Natural Agency of Second Causes he manages and performs the whole Work himself without any Concurrence of theirs Thus by an immediate Act of his Power he every Day puts this vast Abyss of Waters into a vehement Motion all the World over And this Exertment of Power is accompanied with infinite Goodness for it is for the real Advantage and Welfare of the Universe that this Heap of Waters is thus forcibly shaken by him The alternate Motion of the Sea which is caused by this violent Concussion is for the Preservation of that Element and the hindrance of its being corrupted And I impute the Saltness of these Waters to this for as for the Reasons which some give of this particular Property of the Sea-water as that it proceeds from the Rocks of fossile Salt which are at the Bottom of the Sea and sometimes upon its Shores as some would make us believe or that it is the Effect of the Subterraneous Bituminous Fires as Lydiat conceits or that it is caused by the Adustion of its Particles by the Sun as Aristotle thought and the like I look upon them as very imperfect and unsatisfactory Accounts It is true it hath been observ'd that the Ocean is salter in those Places which belong to the Torrid Zone than in those that are near the Poles or under them but this seems not to proceed from the Sun's Heat but from other Causes There is from the Ocean near the Equinoctial a greater Quantity of Water evaporated than from the more remote Seas and this is dissolv'd into Showers of fresh Water which fall generally in those Places which are at a great distance from the Equinoctial and qualify the Saltness of those Seas Besides fewer Rivers whose Water is void of Saltness discharge themselves into that Part of the Ocean which is near the Equinoctial than into that which is near the Poles and thence the former exceeds in this saline Quality These may be the Reasons why the Ocean between the Tropicks is salter than in the Temperate or Frigid Zones I say further if Saltness were produced by Heat then there might be an Experiment of turning fresh Water into that which is salt at least brackish by Fire but this was never yet done Yea I prove that Saltness is not from the Solar Heat because this on the contrary
Poets who are Good Judges in this Case and are own'd to have Skill in determining what is Beautiful and Adorning give their Suffrage here for 't is well known that in their Descriptions of Places they make use of this as an Embelishment To conclude the Earth and Sea make one Beautiful Globe and are a convincing Demonstration of the Wisdom of God in making and contriving the World and that in such excellent Variety CHAP. IX The Wisdom and Power of God are discern'd in the Formation of Living Creatures that are Four-footed which are distinguish'd accordding to their Hoofs or their having or not having Horns or their Chewing or not Chewing the Cud. Their Serviceableness in respect of Food and Work or Labour Instances of the latter Sort. Even Creeping and Groveling Animals exalt their Creator Fishes some of which are of a Vaster Magnitude than any other kinds of Animals shew the distinguishing Providence of God in the peculiar Structure of their Bodies in order to the Element they live in Fowls are purposely shaped and contrived for the particular use they were designed for Their Food is sometimes extraordâ—narily provided for them and sometimes they are supported without it They are observable for their being Musical for their imitating Man's Voice for their Beautiful Colours Birds of Prey are generally solitary The several Incubations of these Creatures afford Matter of singular Remark The wonderful Make and Contrivance of their Nests speaks a Divine Architect WE have spoken of the Inanimate World now I proceed to that which is Animate viz. those Creatures which belong to the Sensitive and Animal Kingdom And in these because they have Organiz'd Bodies the more signal Contrivance of Divinity is seen Here chiefly the Hand of an Intelligent and Divine Author is discernable Especially if we consider the wonderful Variety and Diversity of this sort of Beings for they are either Terrestrial Aquatile or Aerial The first are those living Creatures which have their abode upon the Earth and they are either Fourfooted or Reptile The former which we generally call Beasts are either Whole-hooft i. e. such whose Hoofs are whole and entire and have no division at all as the Elephant Horse Ass Mule or that have divided Hoofs and they are of two Sorts First Such as are cloven into two Parts only and they are either 1. Horned Beasts and Chewing the Cud as the Ox Cow Sheep Goat Stag Rhinoceros Concerning whom we may observe that the Meat which is rudely and in hast eaten by them is convey'd back to the Mouth again there chew'd and then swallow'd a second time For these Creatures want an upper set of Teeth and therefore Rumination is given them to supply that defect and they are furnish'd as it were with a double Stomach for they fetch back the Meat which was before eaten and let down into one part of the Stomach and they eat it again and then send it more prepared to the other part or side of it Or 2. they are without Horns and yet Chew the Cud as the Camel and Dromedary But as to Teeth there is this difference between this sort of Animals and the other that though they chew the Cud yet they have Fore-teeth in the upper Mandible Or 3. they neither have Horns nor chew the Cud as the Swine or Hippotamus Secondly There is another sort of Four-footed Animals with divided Hoofs viz. those that are Claw-footed i. e. whose Hoofs are divided into more parts than two as the Lion Bear Wolf Fox Tigre Leopard or Panther Dog Cat Mouse Hare Coney Ape Tho we cannot give an exact Account or Reason of this Difference in Animals yet it is reasonable to believe that the Diversity of their Nature and Shape is according to the Different Uses and Ends for which they were made Particularly as to the difference of these Beasts relating to their Chewing or not Chewing the Excellent Dr. Glisson hath most divinely penetrated into this Secret of Nature and hath discover'd the particular Reasons of it and therein manifested the Wise Design of the Author of Nature And here I may be excused from saying any thing concerning the Fabrick of Animals because that will be included in my Discourse of the Body of Man which as to the main and substantial Parts differs not from those of other Creatures Likewise the Great Vsefulness of these Animals is so well known that I need not much enlarge upon it Not to mention how serviceable they are for Clothing several of them are for Food whereby our Lives are upheld and this was a very merciful Indulgence to Mankind especially after that great Primitive Malediction Gen. 3.17 18. which had so great Influence on their Bodies and therefore these stood in need of some more than ordinary Recruits viz. the active and generous Spirits which are produced by that Nutriment which is caus'd by feeding on Animals Others are for the Service of Man in those Laborious Works which are above his Strength and which could not possibly be performed without the assistance of these robust Creatures Thus Oxen and Horses are of indispensable Use in Ploughing and other Employments in Husbandry without which there could be no prospect of a Harvest and consequently the whole Staff of Bread would be broken The former of these two Creatures were heretofore i. e. before the Invention or frequent Use of the stirring Flail helpful in threshing or treading out the Corn and the latter were of old most eminently useful in Baâ—tel as they are also at this Day to which purpose we have that Excellent Rhetorical Description of this Animal in Iob 39. made by God himself And besides it is unspeakably serviceable in Journeying and Travelling and in bearing and carrying those Burdens which are too heavy for humane Shoulders This was antiently the Work of Mules and Asses and is so now in Foreign Countries Where also Camels which have a Natural Pack-saddle on their Backs shewing them to be Beasts of Burden are very frequent and are employ'd in those Parts of the World in the like Service Dromedaries well known in India Arabia Africa can travel a hundred Miles a Day with great Burdens on their Backs And both these and Camels are particularly prepared for it by the Wise Disposer and Moderator of all things for they can live without Drink 4 or 5 Days and thereby are fitted for their long Journeys in the Deserts where there is no Water The Elks in Swedeland and Livonia and the adjacent Parts are very swift Beasts and are used to draw or carry they are much swifter than Horses and of that bigness The Laplanders Rain-Deers serve them for all Uses they are Animals proper to that Country only The Great and Mighty Elephant was heretofore extreamly useful in War as we read in Q. Curtius and other Historians and did Wonders However if we respect only his Vast Bulk and Proportions he is a visible and standing Monument of the Divine Power Which is the meaning
of what is said Iob 40.19 He is the chief of the Ways of God he is Reshith the Beginning the Top the Head the Principal of all the living Creatures made by God Here is as 't were a Complication of Animals here are many Beasts in one and thence he hath his Name or Behemoth i. e. as it were a Plurality of Beasts for such his extraordinary Greatness seems to include in it and thereby sets forth the Infinite Power of his Maker And in the all other Four-footed Animals of which we are speaking there are some Emanations of the Celestial Power and Virtue to be discern'd The fecundity of the Divine Goodness is seen in the Various Exertments of the Animal Life in these Creatures as the Strength of the Horse the Ox c. the Fierceness of the Lion Wolf Tigre Leopard the Greediness of the Swine the Mildness of the Ass and the Sheep the Salacity of the Goat the Swiftness of the Camel and Dromedary of the Horse the Hound the Hare c. the Sagacity of the Fox and Ape the docible Nature of the Elephant the domestick Faithfulness of the Dog and his Love to his Master and all the other different displayings of the Sensitive Nature in these Beasts For the Indulgent Creator would have all the various Species of Brutes enjoy their Essence in the way which is most agreeable to them The other Sort of Terrestrial Animals are those that are call'd Creeping Things as the groveling Serpent of which there are several kinds the slow-paced Snail Adders and Snakes and particularly the Rattle-snake which makes a Noise before it is seen and so gives warning of its being near and abundance of other Reptile Animals which proceed from the same Infinite Source and Author For 't is certain that these despis'd Creatures are as beautiful in their kind in the Universe as Angels and Cherubims and they according to their Make and Nature extol their Creator as well as these Though we need not believe the Mahometans when they tell us that at the time when Abraham was cast into the Fire by the Chaldeans the Frogs came and spurted Water out of their Mouths upon him for which Reason these Animals are in great Esteem with them and must not be kill'd yet we may join with them when they say that The Coaxation of Frogs is Lauding of God The meanest Creature that creeps upon Earth speaks a God praises his Name and celebrates his Honour for besides that its very Being and Life are the Sole Gift of an Infinite and Omnipotent Author it is someways useful and profitable in the World and thereby conduces to the Divine Glory The next Rank of Animals are those which live wholly in the Waters viz. in the Sea or in Rivers as Fishes Of Living Creatures these were the first that were made then Birds and afterwards Four-footed Beasts because they exceed one another in their Make and Qualities for the Creation was Gradual and proceeded from what was less perfect to that which was more But though these Aquatiles be inferiour to other Animals as being destitute of several Bodily Parts which the others have yet in some respects they are equal to them and as to their Fruitfulness they exceed the greatest Part of all other Creatures These and Birds being Oviâ—arous have many young Ones at a time which is the Effect of that Blessing Be fruitful and multiply Gen. 1.22 which as we may observe was particularly and peculiarly spoken to Fish and Fowl though not exclusively of other Creatures Indeed it was congruous to Divine Providence that there should be a very great Number and Plenty of Fishes because this sort of Creatures above all the rest feed one upon another Of all Animals these are of the vastest Magnitude as the Whale and all Cetaceous Fish But especially Whales those Mountanous Fishes those Living Islands those Hyperboles of Nature exceed all other watry Animals in greatness Therefore the singular Power and Providence of God are set forth in the Description of the Leviathan Job 41. as well as in that of its Brother at Land the Elephant in the foregoing Chapter And there are other Fishes of a very large Size as the Crocodile which is so great that Bochart fancies it to be meant by the Leviathan and a late French Author attempts to prove that there are no other Dragons in Nature but Crocodiles the Dolphin a great lover of Men and Musick the Tuny the Saw-fish and several others which together with the lesser Inhabitants of this briny Element give Testimony to a Deity Even these Mute Animals proclaim the Divine Power and Wisdom It is to be observ'd to this purpose that though Fishes have some Parts common to them with other Animals yet they have several that are proper and peculiar to their kind which shews the distinguishing Providence of God in the Structure of their Bodies and making them serviceable to those ends which they were intended for None of them except the Cetaceous kind have any Ears or Ear-holes yet they hear if several credible Writers are to be believed nay it is plain from this that those who go about to take them do it Silently for they find that Noise affrights them from coming to the Bait or Net Fishes of the greater and more perfect kind have Lungs and Breath But to those of the ordinary kind and size their Gills serve instead of Lungs and with them they let in and out the Water which is to them in lieu of Air. Others who have been very Curious in their Enquieries are of opinion that they take in and emit the Air with their Gills and so these are of the same use to them that Lungs are to Quadrupeds and the Blood passes in its Circulation through the Gills as in Beasts through the Lungs For that Fishes have a kind of Respiration and breathe thrô these Organs is not to be doubted they say whatever the Aristotelians have said to the contrary Fishes have no Eye-lids as other Animals have and the reason is because they have no use of them Mr. Ray hath shew'd that their Bodies are purposely shaped for their more easy Swimming Their Fins answer to the Wings of Birds and cause their quick Motion Yea some of them have such long and large Fins that they serve them to fly with Not only Pliny mentions the Sea-swallow and other sorts of Fishes that fly above the Water and hover in the Air a considerable time but Rondeletius and our Purchas make mention of them and I do not see any reason to question their Credit This these Fishes are able to do by the extraordinary Strength of their Fins And the same Parts though not so strong in others are the necessary Instruments of their moving so nimbly And so are their Tails which are as 't were the Rudder to these Vessels And in most Fishes there is an Air-bladder which helps them to swim And from other Particulars which
the several Plates of which they consist lying one over another their superficial Cavities their Blood-Vessels c. all which have their special Uses and Ends. That which is most obvious and which none can doubt of is that the Bones were made by the all-wise Being to sustain and support to fasten and corroborate the whole Body And that they might do this the more effectually their Number is very great There are in Human Bodies if we reckon great and little moveable and immoveable Bones no fewer of them than 248 according to Hippocrates and Galen's Arithmetick And it seems this very Number was receiv'd among the Iews for their Rabins aver that there are 248 affirmative Precepts in the Law just so many say they as there are Bones in the Body of Man Riolanus will have us bate one of this Number but Albertus magnus adds considerably to it and reckons 276. some have fancifully reduced them to the Number of the Days in the Year But I find that the most skillful Anatomists of late count above three hundred Leaving others to compute the precise Number of them we are certain of this that it is very considerable and that they were all designed to render the Body more stable firm and steady These are the Posts and Studs or rather these are the Pillars of this House of our Bodies These are Props and Supports of our fleshly Tabernacle These are the Upholders and Sustainers of this Corporeal Building And that this was the main End of them appears from this that most Fishes because they live in another sort of Element which is soft and liquid and hath no Resistances made to it at any time have no Parts of such hard Substance as Bones properly so called but rather Cartilages or Gristles which are more convenient and proper for the Use of that sort of Animals which still convinces us of the universal Wisdom and Providence of God towards all his Creatures And further as to this Cartilagineous Substance which I last mentioned we may take notice how fitly it is made use of in Human Bodies that is in those Parts where it is most useful Thus because it is serviceable for shaping and fashioning those Places which are hollow or which have a Prominency above the rest we see that the Ears the Nose the Larynx Epiglottis c. are made of it For this is not so stiff and hard as Bone but gives way and therefore is not easily broken or hurt Because it is an useful Medium for uniting of hard and soft Parts together it being it self of a middle Nature between them we continually find it among the Ioints and the Articulations of the Members and Limbs We may observe that the Ribs are at both Ends of them tipp'd with this And the Breast-bone it self to which the greatest Part of the Ribs are joyned hath a Mixture of this Substance Yea the lower Part of it which reaches to the Diaphragm and the Mouth of the Stomach and defends them is a perfect Cartilage of a Sword-fashion whence it hath its Name i. e. it is sharp and pointed at the End like that Weapon If some great Coward should chance to read this perhaps it will make him tremble to think that there is a Sword or Dagger so near his Heart To proceed it was necessary that the Body which is daily contracting superfluous and noxious Humours should have some Vessels and Chanels on purpose to drain them away And accordingly the divine Wisdom when it erected this House of Flesh made several Sinks and Drains to carry these off and thereby to purge and clear the Body And yet this must be said that some of them serve not chiefly to this End but only by the by as may be gathered from what was said when I had occasion to speak of them before The Nostrils are for the Evacuation of a particular pituitous Excrement that flows from the Brain The Palate and Mouth are for receiving and ejecting the Spittle Though here I make a Difference between the insipid Spittle I mean that superfluous and viscid Humour which troubles the Mouth and is useless and proceeds from Catarrhs and Corruption of the Saliva and the Saliva it self which properly is not an Excrement for 't is of great Use. It moistens the Jaws and Oesophagus and the Organs of Speech and makes them slippery and thereby serviceable It is useful to quench the Thirst it mixes it self with the Food when it is masticated and by its Moisture fetches out the Sapor of it This Salival Humour promotes and facilitates the swallowing down of the Meat and it is a necessary Preparation and an initial Fermentation in Order to Concoction In the Eyes the Carunculae lachrymales are for the serous Defluxion of Tears which come from the Arteries of the Head into these Places And as Weeping is contrary to Laughter so it is produced in a contrary way for it is caused by the Compression and contracting of the Vessels as the other by the Dilatation of them The Ears are the Evacuators of the bilious Excrement that flows thither That learned Person whom I have so often mentioned is of opinion that the Lungs are the grand Emunctory of the Body And he promises to prove by several Experiments that there passes out of the Body a greater Quantity of fluid matter this way i. e. upwards and through the Lungs than there doth of Urine by the Kidneys downwards The Gall-Bladder in the hollow Part of the Liver is the Dreiner for Choler and the Spleen is the proper Sink for Melancholy or black Choler The Reins or Kidnies are for the Reception and Excretion of the Vrine the watry Part of the Meat and Drink which is conveyed to them together with the Blood from the emulgent Arteries but is here separated from the Blood and then conveyed from these Parts to the Vreters and thence to the Bladder which is of singular Use to receive contain and hold it till it be replenished and then it dischargeth it by the Vrinary Passage Though truly there may be some doubt whether all the Vrine be an Excrement of the Blood For it may be conceived improbable that all the Liquor a Man drinks goes through his Heart If he takes down Mineral Waters in great abundance he evacuates them so speedily that one can scarcely imagine that they went about that way And when he drinks vast Quantities of the strongest and hottest Wines one would think there should be a greater Inflammation and Commotion in that Part viz. by a mighty Increase of the Quantity of the Blood than is usually felt This may prompt us to believe that Liquor hath some other way to the Reins that some of it goes into the Blood and that other Parts of it go more directly to the Reins by some Passage which is not yet discovered The Use also of the Glandules or Kernels which are dispersed up and down the Body is to separate and strain