Difference between a Motion of a part of the Earth as in the usual Shakings of it and of the whole as in the present Case Yes I grant a Difference but it makes against them for the the moving of the whole Terrestrial Mass is a more sensible thing than the Motion of a part of it only Therefore if we feel this latter we may feel the former i. e. we may feel it if there be any such thing But it is evident there is no such thing because we have no Sense at all of it For this and other Reasons I take the Immobility of the Earth to be an unshaken Verity I hold it a consistent and rational System that the Earth is the Steady Center of the Material World and that the Sun and Fixed Stars with their innate Light and the Planets with their borrow'd one wheel about this Beloved Spot and as it were dance round the Lord and Owner of it who is the Glory of this Visible World and the Image of the Supream Deity To conclude having thus offered my Own Thoughts on this Controverted Point I commend the Reader to that Accomplished Mathematician and Astronomer Ricciolus who hath in his Almagestum Novum several Demonstrative Arguments against the Copernican Hypothesis which if they be well weigh'd will be found to have great Force in them However this must be said that there is no certain Proof there is no Demonstration of the Contrary For tho there is a Great and Celebrated Experimenter in Philosophy one whose profound Insight into all Mathematical Secrets is well known to the World and whose Integrity and Faithfulness in discovering what he hath found out are not to be question'd in the least though there is I say such an Excellent Person who hath offer'd something to demonstrate the Earth's Diurnal Circuit for he found that there was a sensible Parallax of the Earth's Orb among the Fixed Stars and particularly that Fixed Star which is in the Dragon's Head yet no Man knows better than himself that Demonstrations that depend upon Eye-sight are fallible and uncertain witness the Disputes that have been between the Learnedst Mathematicians about Parallaxes and several other matters which are to be judged by Sense And this Gentleman himself declares that he was not fully satisfied with the Observation which he made because by reason of inconvenient Weather and some other Causes he could not make it exactly Therefore with all Deference and Respect paid to this Learned Gentleman and other Great Philosophers of our own Nation I look upon the Motion of the Earth as an Ingenious Conjecture only And so some of the most Judicious Writers have granted it to be But since several Persons of Eminency have appear'd in its behalf and have espous'd it as a true Hypothesis it hath been taken up for a modish piece of Philosophy for there is a Mode in Philosophy as well as in Clothes or any thing else and it hâ—th been thought ridiculous by some not to conform to it He is not reckon'd a Virtuoso who makes not this one of the Articles of his Philosophick Creed I am verily perswaded that most become tame Proselytes to this Opinion merely in Compliment to some considerable Persons who vouch it This is one of the chiefest Reasons why the Copernican Notion is so prevalent The other Doctrine held by the Old Peripatetick Gentlemen and others heretofore is grown out of Fashion and therefore is rejected I speak not this as if I were against any Ingenious Discovery or Invention be it never so New as I have already declared or against any Philosophick Liberty justly so called but then I would have it bottomed on some good Foundation something that a Man can have some Notice of by Sense or some other plain way But such is not the Doctrine of the Earth's Circumrotation Therefore it is so far as I have hitherto discern'd a precarious and groundless Opinion and is the vain result of Copernicus's Gigantick Attempt to raise up the Earth into the place of the Heavens I will only add this one thing more That seeing Copernicus's System begins to be Vulgar and Common I thence expect its Declination for very few Opinions of this Nature are long-lived when they come to be generally received For the Great and Ambitious Wits disdain what is Common and much more that which is Old and accordingly will bethink themselves of some New System or perhaps will retrieve the Old One which will seem New and Fresh at first especially from those Colours which they may give it Thus the Opinions concerning the Earth go round when That stands still For my part I keep my Ground and presume to proceed upon the Antient Hypothesis Which yet is not altogether so neither for that Great Soul of Astronomy Tycho Brahe hath maintain'd it making the Earth the Moveless Center of the World About this moves the vast Machin of the Heavens being set into Motion by the Almighty Architect and Framer of them But especially the Motion of the Sun in so constant and regular a Course is to be taken notice of by us with Religious Admiration If its Revolution were stopt in any one part of Heaven that side of the Earth which is next to it would be scorch'd and burnt up and the opposite side would be all frozen and by that means the whole Earth become useless which may give us some account of the great Blessing which we enjoy by the Circular Progress of the Sun CHAP. III. The Oblique Course of the Sun being the cause of the Vicissitudes of Day and Night of Winter and Summer which are so beneficial to Mankind is an Argument of the Divine Care and Providence The Powerful Influence of the Moon evidences the same So do the Planetary Stars and Fixed Ones Which latter are eminent for their Magnitude Number Beauty and Order Regular Course Vse and Influence all which set forth the Wisdom and Goodness of the Beneficent Creator The Study of the Stars leads us to God Astronomy Vseful BUT more particularly and signally the Course of it in that Oblique Line which it mâ—kâ—s is most remarkable and is a Proof of a Wise Being who order'd it so at first for the Good of the World For I listen not here to what a Modern Author suggests that the Heavens before the Deluge in Noah's time had not the same Course they now have As if the Eruption of the Flood had reach'd to the Celestial Orbs and had wash'd the Sun Moon and Stars We read that God threatned to send a floud of Waters on the face of the Earth Gen. 6.7 13 17. but there is not a word of the Heavens being concern'd in the Inundation But this Learned Writer tells us that not only the Earth but the Heavens are not the same that they were at first but that they have another Form and State and particularly he saith that the Situation of the Earth in respect of the Heavens
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
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.
the other Places before-mention'd where there are long and cold Winters there is reason to believe that they are most sutable to the Constitutions and Tempers of the Persons who inhabit them The great Disposer of all things placed such Inhabitants there as were fit for that Region and no other For they could not dwell in these Countries where we inhabit as we could not dwell there So that the placing of those People in that dark cold and frozen part of the World is so far from being a Detraction to Divine Providence that it is a singular Proof of it and shews the Wisdom of the World's Maker in a sutable choosing of Places for Persons according to their particular Temperament and Exigencies And both with relation to these and the Polar Regions we may truly say that the excessive Coldness of these Parts is useful and serviceable for the good of others that are near to the Sun and have need sometimes of cooling From these remote Treasuries the Winds are fetch'd for the rebuking of the scorching Heats of Summer of which we can give no Natural and Philosophical Account unless we derive them from these great Store-Houses This acquaints us with the true cause of that excessive Sharpness and Rigour of the Air which we feel sometimes and that of a sudden This solves the unexpected change of Weather yea sometimes the sudden and unlook'd for checking of Pestilential Diseases and Infections which is known to happen Inconsiderate Minds are apt to think that the Regions that are seated under the Poles are altogether useless and thence perhaps may be tempted to question the Divine Conduct But if we will consider those Places we shall find that they are as Necessary as any parts of the World It is true they are for the most part Unhabitable but their being so makes others Habitable for these are the common Receptacles of Cold whence it is dispersed by Divine Providence to those Parts where it is wanting at any time that is when the Sun's Fierceness calls for a Check And several other ways those Polar Receptacles and Nurseries of Cold are serviceable yea necessary for the welfare of the World Lastly The wise framing and ordering of the Sun's Motion and Progress of which I have spoken before necessarily infer this Difference of Places on the Earth as to Heat and Cold. Unless we will remove this Luminary from its Ecliptick and thereby disorder the whole Course of the World and destroy the various Succession of Times and Seasons which upholds Mankind as well as all other Creatures whatsoever we must be forced to confess that the several Zones and Climates tho differing so much in Heat and Cold are useful in the Creation and that the Position of the Globe of the Earth is most wisely and discreetly ordered The late Theorist boldly contradicts this and tells us that the Situation of the Earth is not the same now that it was before the Deluge It did not stand Oblique to the Sun as it doth at present whereby we have a great Difference of Seasons as Spring Summer c. but it had a right or parallel Situation insomuch that there was a Continual Equinox And yet this Person who is so curious about the Idea of his First Earth hath given it us with a very great Blemish yea much worse Fault than any that he pretends to find in this present Earth for they are his express Words The Paradisiacal Earth had a Torrid Zone which was Vninhabitable All this great Portion of Earth was burnt up and wither'd and had no Grass Tree or Plant upon it and so no Creature could find any Sustenance there This is his fine Paradisiacal Earth as he calls it And yet it is worth our observing that he saith in another Place in express Terms All the Earth is green and a Perpetual Spring is over it all meaning his Paradisiacal Earth When he hath thus confuted himself there is no need of any Body else to do it But we may grant him his Theory that there was a Primitive Earth of a different Form from the present It is partly true that the Earth is not what it was for there are the Marks of Sin and of the Fall even on the Earth and we read of a Curse denounced against it Gen. 3.17 though he is pleas'd to turn that Chapter into mere Allegory and thereby to null the main Points of our Religion and afterwards by the violent Irruptions of the Flood it is most probable that the Earth underwent some Alteration But what is this to the changing the very Situation and Posture of the Earth How is it proved hence that the First Earth had another Situation to the Sun and had a perpetual Equinox and Spring These things are asserted by him but no where proved Wherefore I look upon it as a precarious and groundless Opinion The Variety of Seasons before the Flood may be gather'd from Gen. 8.22 I will not again curse the Ground nor smite any more every living thing as I have done While the Earth remaineth Seed-time and Harvest and Cold and Heat and Summer and Winter and Day and Night shall not cease As much as to say Though during the time of the Deluge these Alterations of the Seasons were interrupted and the Sun's Heat and Light were as if they were not because they could have no Effect upon the Earth as long as it lay under Water yet now having restored things to their pristine Course and Order I assure you they shall continue so to the end of the World Thus it is included in these Words that there were the same Vicissitudes of the Year before the Flood that there are now And this appears to be a Truth from what I have already shew'd viz. that the present Position and Situation of the Earth are very convenient useful and in some Respects necessary for there is a necessity of a Vicissitude of Seasons and a Variety or Exchange of Heat and Cold because the Fruitfulness of the Earth depends upon these and Heat and Cold generated in the Air are the two Hands of Nature as my Lord Bacon rightly saith by which she doth all her Work It is unreasonable to conceive an Equality of these and consequently an Equal and Unvariable Temperature of the Year before the Deluge Which is thus lately represented by an Admirable Pen A Man can hardly at first imagine what a Train of ill Consequences would follow from such a Condition and Posture of things of which it would not be the least that such a Mediocrity of Heat would deprive the World of the most beautiful and the most useful Parts of all the whole Creation and would be so far from exalting the Earth to a more happy and Paradisiacal State that it would turn it to a general Desolation and a mere barren Wilderness to say no worse Such an Heat would be too little for some sorts of Vegetables and too great for others The
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
the Idols of the Gentiles that can cause Rain or can the Heavens of themselves give Showers Art not thou he O Lord God The Old Jews express'd their Sentiment concerning it thus One of the Keys proper to God and kept in his own Hand is that of Rain thereby reckoning it a singular and immediate Gift of the Almighty And they used to join it with two other Keys viz. of giving Life and of Raising from the Dead which shews that they thought it peculiar to God alone And then the known Vsefulness of this Blessing is an Argument of its Author This is with great Elegancy set forth by the Inspired Poet Psal. 65.9 Thou visitest the Earth and waterest it thou greatly enrichest it with the River of God i. e. the Clouds or Rain which is full of Water thou preparest them Corn when thou hast so provided for it by vouchsafing seasonable Showers thou waterest the Ridges thereof abundantly thou settlest the Furrows thereof thou makest it soft with Showers thou blessest the Springing thereof thou crownest the Year with thy Goodness and thy Paths the Clouds wherein God is Poetically said to walk Psal. 18.9 drop Fatness They drop upon the Pastures of the Wilderness and the little Hills rejoice on every side The Pastures are clothed with Flocks the Valleys also are cover'd over with Corn they shout for Ioy they also sing This they do thus they behave themselves being as it were drunk with the Bottles of Heaven as the Clouds are call'd Iob 38.37 being abundantly satisfied with Ioresh and Malkosh the former and the latter Rain the first of which is necessary after the Seed is sown the second before Harvest to set it forward to fill the Ears Wherefore St. Paul proves a God from the Clouds Acts 14.17 He left not himself without Witness i. e. of his Divine Power and Providence in that he gave us Rain from Heaven and as the Consequent of that fruitful Seasons For it is this Celestial Water that makes the Ground fruitful it hath a peculiar Faculty to do it and no other Water doth the like Thence that Talmudick Saying Rain is the Husband of the Earth because it impregnates it and makes it fructify Therefore Showers are rightly call'd by Pliny the Food of Plants the Meat as well as the Drink of all Vegetables But this is effected by the Divine Blessing and is a singular Testimony of God's Care of the World Thus from the Earth we prove there is a God in Heaven even from the Grounds and Fields refresh'd with Rain and thereby made fertile we argue a Divine Benefactor And now when I am speaking of the Clouds I must not forget the Rain-bow which is a Party-colour'd Cloud whose fine and gay Paintings are the various Reflection and Refraction of the Sun's Beams in that watry Substance This gaudy Mixture of Light and Shade arises naturally from the Difference of the Superficies of those Parts that constitute the Cloud and therefore without doubt it appear'd before the Deluge though we find it not mention'd till afterwards when it was appointed to be set in the Skies as a Sign of a Covenant between God and Man and ever since it hath continued and shall so to the last Period of all things a visible Token and Assurance of God's good Will to Mankind Wherefore as often as we view this Cloud made so remarkable by the Diversity of its Colours the Variety of its Tinctures let us thence be confirm'd in our Belief of a God and look upon this Beautiful Spectacle as an illustrious Symbol of the Divine Mercy and Beneficence Or to speak in the Words of the Wise Son of Sirach Look upon the Rainbow and praise Him that made it Very beautiful it is in the Brightness thereof It compasseth the Heaven with a glorious Circle and the hands of the most High have bended it Ecclus. 43.12 To the Clouds belong Thunder and Lightning and therefore may pertinently be spoken of here for when a Cloud breaks asunder by reason of hot and dry sulphureous and nitrous Vapours enclos'd and compass'd about with cold ones and so set on Fire and consequently extending themselves and violently making their way the Noise caus'd by this Rupture is that which we call Thunder and the flashing out of the Fire is Lightning Both which are comprehended in those Words Psal. 29.7 The Voice of the Lord divides the Flames of Fire And the former of them is call'd the Voice of the Lord upon the Waters ver 3. This is no other than his Thundring in the Clouds which usually turn into Rain when they are broken and scattered And perhaps to this may refer ver 10. The Lord sitteth upon the Floods i. e. upon the Clouds which are justly stiled Floods because of the abundance of Water contain'd in them And as Thunder is bred by Fire and Water in the Clouds so the Effects of it are of the like Nature for Lightning and Rain generally accompany the Thunder Wherefore we find this particularly taken notice of by the Pious Observers of Providence He maketh Lightnings for the Rain Psal. 135.7 He maketh Lightnings with Rain Jer. 10.13 And this is mentioned in Iob 37.2 5. 38.25 26. and not without great Reason for herein the Goodness and Mercy of God are seen because Rain is serviceable to connect and qualify the Thunder and by its Moisture to prevent the Hurt which otherwise might be done by the scorching Flashes which attend it Who is not sensible that Thunder is the more signal Operation of a Divine Cause and therefore is so frequently call'd God's Voice as in Exod. 20.18 Psal. 18.13 77.18 Ier. 10.13 Yea no less than seven times in the 29 th Psalm it is call'd the Voice of the Lord Which may not only signify a Great and Loud Voice for the Voice or Noise of Thunder is such especially in some Regions of the World as in some Parts of Africa and in the Southern Countries of Asia and America where it is much more Terrible than it is among us yea as a Learned Gentleman observes it as much exceeds the Thunder of these Northern Climes as the Heat there exceeds that of these but it more particularly denotes the Wonderful Author of it viz. the Almighty Being Which was the very Apprehension of some Men of the deepest Philosophy among the Gentiles Even they acknowledg'd this Fierce Meteor to be the Effect of no less than an Extraordinary and Divine Power Plutarch informs us that some of the Best Philosophers made it the Matter of their Wonder and Astonishment that Flames should proceed from watry Clouds and that such a Harsh Noise should be the Product of that Soft Matter I find a Great Natural Philosopher taking notice of the falling down of the Lightning from Heaven as a Wonderful thing because Fire naturally ascends It seems he did not think that the Motion of it downwards is sufficiently solved by the Violence of the
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
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-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
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
changes the Nature of that Water which is salt and makes it fresh for the Water that is by the Heat of the Sun exhaled from the Sea and turn'd into Showers as was intimated before is not Salt Therefore the Heat of the Sun is not the Cause of the Salsitude of the Waters I am then of Varenius's mind in this that these salt Particles are coetaneous with the Ocean it self and therefore we ought no more to inquire into the Original of them than into the Original and Generation of the Sea it self or of the whole Earth But we may with some Satisfaction rest in the Final Cause of this Property which is that it may be serviceable to the same end that the Motion of this Element is viz. to preserve it from Putrefaction If the Ocean were either stagnated or had lost its saline Quality we should soon feel the dire Effects of it Fishes would die Navigation would be impossible because of the Corruption of that Element and the Inhabitants of the whole Earth would in a short time be infected and stifled with the noxious Steams of it Here then we cannot but own and with Reverence admire the Power Goodness and Wisdom of the Great Founder of the World that he was pleas'd thus to contrive the Ocean for the Good of Mankind and the Service of the Inhabitants of this lower World And these Divine Attributes are no less observable in the Bounding of this Vast Element For though it is true it is lodg'd in the more depress'd Parts of the Earth yet by its rapid and vehement Motion it is naturally apt to fly out of its proper Receptacles and Channels and in many Places it hath advanced it self and gained ground and is now in a Tendency to spread it self yet further and to enlarge its Dominions But the Overruling Arm of Heaven puts a stop to its Career and checks its enraged Waves and permits them to pass no further This that Pious Sufferer acknowledg'd when he was describing the infinite and unsearchable Power of God He hath compass'd the Waters with Bounds The Hebrew Verb here used is by Buxtorf rendred Circinavit and then the Elegancy of the Expression is very considerable He hath as with a pair of Compasses exactly described the Bounds of the Sea he hath with Divine Art and the most Accurate Skill and Wisdom terminated the boisterous Waves and raging Billows of the Ocean he has shut it in with Mountains Rocks and Commodious Shores This is taken notice of by another Inspired Author Thou hast set a Bound that they may not pass over that they turn not again to cover the Earth and to overwhelm the Inhabitants of it Especially those of the Islands of which We are a Part are concern'd to mention this with most thankful and hearty Resentments The Lord reigneth therefore as the same Devout Man saith let the Multitude of the Isles be glad thereof If He were not Lord and King if he did not rule and govern the World and particularly this Impetuous Element if he did not mercifully restrain and confine it it would unavoidably break in upon us and devour us It was unsufferable Presumption in Xerxes to attempt to fetter the Hellespont it was saucy Arrogance in King Canuâ—e to charge the Sea not to come in upon him And it is but a fond Superstition in the Venetian to think to espouse the Sea and marry the Adriatick on Holy Thursdays It is the Almighty Providence of Heaven only that can give Laws and Rules to the Roaring Waves It is this only that can allay and moderate the Deep when it boils like a Pot it is this alone that can curb and master its Fury So the Almighty himself informs us He hath shut up the Sea with Doors and again He brake up for it his decreed Place and set Bars and Doors and said Hitherto shalt thou come but no further and here shall thy proud Waves be stayed And farther Proofs of this Divine Power we may take notice of in the Deep if we consider that God hath made this both the Source or Origine and also the Common Receptacle of Waters Fountains and Springs arise not only from the Great Abyss of Waters in the Center of the Earth as a late Worthy Writer hath rendred very probable but from the Ocean i. e. from condens'd Vapours or Waters themselves sent up from the Sea through the Earth and by the Subterraneous Fires exhaled up to Hills and Mountains and thereby the Cold condens'd into Waters which supply Rivers and are at last carried back to the Sea This admirable Contrivance is as I conceive meant in Psal. 104.8 They i. e. the Waters go up by the Mountains by advantage of Rise they climb up through secret Passages of the Earth they go down by the Valleys they thence fall by their natural Weight into those Places where they are most profitable for the Use of Men and so at last into the Place which thou hast founded for them they return to the Ocean their Great Repository There is a Continual Circulation of Water in the Earth as of Blood in the Bodies of Animals it constantly flows from Place to Place and never stands still From the Sea it passes to Spring-heads through Subterraneous Channels and sometimes Fish as well as Water is convey'd in these Passages if they be of any considerable largeness whence by the way I think may be given an account of Shell-fish and Bones of other Fish which are sometimes found in digging deep in the Ground it is probable they came from the Sea in these Pipes under ground from those Spring-heads the Water is derived to Rivers tho I grant these are partly supplied by Rains and Snows as when sudden Inundations happen and from the Rivers there is a Passage into the Sea again and thus the Waters run round as Blood in the Veins and Arteries of Living Creatures And the circular Motion of one is as necessary for the Good of the World in general as the other is for that of Animals in particular There is indeed a Late Ingenious Writer that fancies the Sea is a Blemish to the World and therefore he tells us that the First Earth was without any such thing But it is no wonder that he that dreams of an Earth without Clouds makes it wholly void of Seas Yet this is to be wondred at that any Man should aver with Confidence that the Antediluvian Earth was without Sea when we read in Gen. 1.21 that God created great Whales they must be Whales on the dry Land according to this Author for he allows no Sea for them nay when we expresly read that God gave Adam Dominion over the Fish of the Sea Gen. 1.26 28. Only here again our wonder must cease when we remember what the Author hath since divulged to the World viz. that the first Chapters of Genesis are not to be understood in a Literal but an
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-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
Sun and Moon v. 19. which were made on the fourth day and the Fishes of the Sea which are the fifth day's Production v. 25 26. with which he concludes having supposed the Creatures of the Last day's Work in what he had said before The Sum of all his Philosophical and Religious Contemplations in this Excellent Hymn is comprised in those words O Lord how manifold are thy Works In Wisdom hast thou made them all He first acknowledges and at the same time admires the Wonderful Variety of the Works of the Creation and thence he rationally infers and declares that an Understanding and Wise Being was the Author of them From the serious Consideration of the Visible World his Mind devoutly but naturally rises to a sense of the First and Supreme Cause of it In the 148 th Psalm the same devout Poet extols God from the particular Consideration of the Creatures of all ranks and sorts first those in Heaven the Angels the Sun Moon Stars and Light v. 2 3. 2dly those that beâ—ong to the Waters Dragons which is a word â—hat here denotes all great Fishes and all deeps wherein they dwell v. 7. 3dly those in â—he Air as the Meteors viz. Fire i. e. Thunâ—er and Lightning Hail Snow Vapour stormy Winds v. 8. 4thly on the Earth viz. 1. Those â—hat are Inanimate as Mountains Hills â—ruitful Trees and Timber-trees among which the Cedar is chief and doth here represent all the rest v. 9.2 Living Creatures and first those that are Irrational wild Beasts and all Cattle creeping things and flying Fowl v. 10. Secondly Rational Mankind of what degree soever Kings and all People i. e. their Subjects Princes Iudges young and old of both Sexes In the 135 th Psalm v. 5 6 7. the same Subject but more briefly is treated of and in Psal. 136. v. 5 6 7 8 9. he gives a compendious but excellent Description of this Mundane System and of the Universal Furniture of it and thence excites Men to adore and magnify the Wise Creator of all And interspersedly in several other Psalms some of which I have had occasion to mention before he falls upon this Excellent Theme and admirably improves it to the purpose aforesaid If we pass to the New Testament we shall there also find this Argument used From the Fabrick of the World St. Paul proves to the Men of Lystra that there is a God a Living God in Contra distinction to the Gentile Gods or Idols rather From the making of Heaven and Earth the Sea and all things that are therein he argues the Existence of an All-sufficient and Self-subsistent Being Acts 14.15 And again Rom. 1.20 The invisible things of God from i. e. ever since the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead even those Invisible things are clearly manifested by those Visible Works that he hath wrought Or perhaps the meaning of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be from the Consideration of the Creation from this alone the invisible things of the Deity viz. his Power Wisdom and Bounty are seen and proved This way of proving the Divinity by the Works that are seen is used by Fathers and Philosophers by Christians and Gentiles by Sacred and Prophane Writers This World saith a Greek Father is the School of Rational Minds and the Nursery of that Knowledg which we have of a God Our own Make and that of the World wherein we live are Testimonies of a Deity saith Tertullian Basil the Great Gregory Nazianzen and Ambrose have written on the Six Days Works and have with a mighty Fluency of Stile pursued this Argument Athanasius in his Book against the Gentiles very closely and solidly manges this sensible Proof of a Deity Cyprian discourses after this rate that the Times and Seasons of the Year and the several Elements are obsequious and serviceable to Mankind that the Winds blow the Springs and Fountains flow the Corn and the Vines come to maturity and there is a Plenty of all other Fruits on the Earth from the disposal of God wherefore his Existence is not to be doubted of by any rational Person yea by any one that hath the use of his Senses Theodoret hath well demonstrated the Providence of God from the Consideration of the several Parts of the World Octavius in Minutius Felix hath a short but a very Witty and Elegant Oration to prove a God and Providence from the Make and Order of the upper and lower World Among the Moderns I will mention only our Divine Mr. Herbert in his Poem to which he gives the Title of Providence where he excellently displayeth the Wisdom of God in the Works of the Creation in the several particular Beings which are the Product of it It is an Admirable and Choice Piece of Divine Rapture The wisest Heads among the Gentiles as well as among Christians have prosecuted this Theme and have thought it to be of great force Much after the rate of the Great Apostle who tells us God left not himself without witness you may hear an Antient Philosopher speak It was fit saith he that God's Works should witness concerning him thus the Sun Night and Day the Air the whole Earth are Witnesses yea all the World bears Testimony to Him And a Noble Platonist hath in most select and excellent Words thus charactered the Divine Being He who hath disposed the Heavens into their admirable Order and Harmony who guides the Chariots of the Sun and Moon who is the Master of the Celestial Quire and by his Voice and Beck keeps time that the Musick of the Stars be true and those swift Bodies keep their Rounds exactly he who is the great Arbiter and Disposer of the Seasons of the Year who is the prudent Dispenser of the Winds and brings them out of their Treasures when he pleaseth he who shaped the vast Sea and formed the Spatious Earth and furnish'd it with Rivers he who nourishes and ripens the Fruits and stocks the World with living Creatures Tully in his Second Book of Divination proves a Soveraign Cause of all things from the admirable and exquisite Composure of the World The Beauty of this saith he and the Order of the Heavenly Bodies do even force us to acknowledg that there is an Excellent and Eternal Nature and that this is to be admired and adored by Mankind Whence comes it to pass saith Seneca that there is such a Multitude of Grateful Objects in the Universe which ravish our Ears Eyes and Minds Whence is there such an Abundance of things made as 't were to support our Luxury for 't is evident that there is Provision made not only for our Necessities but we are indulged even to Delight and Pleasures This is from the Riches of the Divine Being and the overflowing Bounty of his Excellent Nature I will conclude with that of the Poet Cùm dispositi quaesissem
they to be any Great Philosophers to do this There is not much curious Knowledg and Observation required in the more General Discharge of this Duty Do but look abroad and see what is before you and if you have honest and sincere Minds and affectionate Thoughts you will make a good use of what you see because you will presently behold God in the Creatures For the whole World is God's Image and therefore in its beautiful Proportions in its admirable Composure you will soon discern his Resemblance You will behold the invisible things of God in the visible and outward Shape of the World You will with ease find that there is that in the Creation which could proceed from none but an Eternal and Infinite Spirit from one that is Omnipotent and Omniscient Be conversant then in this Great Library be Students in this Book of Nature which even he that runs may read for the Character is very plain and legible and the Contents of this Large Volume are easily undestood Read the Godhead in the Sun Moon and Stars in the Air Earth and Sea but especially in the Creatures of the Animal Kingdom which are endued with Sense and Life these are all written in Capital Letters The Devout St. Anthony in Ecclesiastical Story was well vers'd in this Great Volume though he was never guilty of any other Learning he used to say to the Philosophers This is my Book and Body of Philosophy which I read viz. the Works which God hath made here I can read the Will of God and the Words of Heaven Such Scholars you may all be and that without any great Labour and Study for the Book is always before you and wide open and you may be always reading in it And though these things are neglected and despised because they are Common as Philo observ'd yet know that they are of themselves Admirable and worthy of your continual Thoughts and they will be of great use to you Be convinced of this that 't is not below a Christian Man to observe and meditate upon the Works of Nature The New Creature doth not destroy the Old or make it useless Whilest you search into the Works of God you will find God himself and you will acknowledg the infinite Understanding and Wisdom of the Maker of all things For he hath made the Earth by his Power he hath establish'd the World by his Wisdom and hath stretched out the Heavens by his Discretion Jer. 10.12 3. and lastly By acknowledging this Substantial Truth which I have been treating of and by contemplating the upper and the lower World let us be brought to glorify the Omnipotent Architect to praise and worship him to fear and serve him and to dedicate our whole Lives to him If the Heavens declare the Glory of God if those Celestial Lamps shew by their Light their Maker's Beauty and set forth his more Resplendent Glory of which the Sun and Brightest Stars are but Shadows yea if the meanest and most obscure Creatures do in their Kind and Measure celebrate his Praises if a Gnat or a Fly declare the Power and Wisdom of their Maker if even inamimate Creatures sing Te Deum to him then how much more are We obliged to praise and glorify him who have this Example before us and for whose sake all these things were made If all things every where be full of the Deity let not our Mouths be empty of his Praises That the World is a Temple was the Acknowledgment of the Pagans Mundi magnum versatile templum was Lucretius's Language though he was an Atheist But Plutarch goes further and tells us that this World is a most Holy and Divine Temple Let us then dedicate it to God's Service and let us sing Praises to him in his own Temple Let us worship him in his Own House as Philo calls this World Let us perpetually extol the Builder of it for the regular Frame excellent Beauty and wise Ordering of it And let us not only with our Tongues which are our Glory laud and magnify this Divine Founder but let us with all Reverence Serve and Obey him and be zealous of performing all Homage to him in our Lives All Creatures in their kind render some Service to him every thing pays him Tribute the Sun with its officious Heat and Light the Moon and Stars with their proper Influences the teeming Earth with all its Plants Flowers Fruits and Animals with all the Treasures that lie lock'd up in its Bowels the Water the Air the Fire Heat and Cold Summer and Winter do all obey him Let not Man then only be defective in his Duty Man who hath Skill to use all these things unto rational and artificial Ends which no other Creature can do Let him be brought by his Contemplation of the Visible World to a most Affectionate Devotion and all the Acts of a Sincere Religion Let him be led by the Consideration of those Divine Perfections which the wondrous Fabrick of the World discovers to be in God unto an entire Love of him and an ardent Desire to have intimate Communion with him and thereby to be rendred like unto him Who made these Beautiful Objects in the World but Beauty it self All the Glories of the Universe are but the Rays of that infinitely Glorious Light which is above Wherefore let us climb up by these Sun-beams to the Father of Lights let us by these glorious Manifestations of God in the Creatures make our Access to the Creator the Framer and Maker the Father of all things as Plato often calls him But let us rise higher than this Philosopher who yet was far exalted above all his Brethren-Philosophers let the Creatures lead us to the Blessed Author of the New Creation Christ Iesus our only Redeemer and Saviour the Essential Eternal Incomprehensible Wisdom by whom God made the Worlds as the Apostle expresly testifies Hebr. 1.2 Wherefore in God the Father and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord the same undivided and Eternal Godhead let all our Knowledg and all our Practice be terminated for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be Glory for ever Amen The End of the First Part. THE Second Part Wherein the Existence and Providence of God Are Proved from the Admirable Fabrick and Contexture OF MAN'S BODY CHAP. I. The Body of Man is more excellent and perfect than those of other Creatures as to its Stature and several of its Organs and Vessels This singular and peculiar Workmanship is elegantly express'd in Psal. Cxxxix 14 15 16. which Words are Commented upon In the first Noble Cavity viz. the Head are observable the Skull with its Sutures and its Membranes with which it is lined the Brain the Face with its Forehead Nostrils Cheeks Lips Chin Mouth to which latter belong the Palate Uvula Tongue Teeth The wonderful Contexture particular Vse and Design of all which Parts are distinctly set forth and shew'd