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-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
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
of what is said Iob 40.19 He is the chief of the Ways of God he is Reshith the Beginning the Top the Head the Principal of all the living Creatures made by God Here is as 't were a Complication of Animals here are many Beasts in one and thence he hath his Name or Behemoth i. e. as it were a Plurality of Beasts for such his extraordinary Greatness seems to include in it and thereby sets forth the Infinite Power of his Maker And in the all other Four-footed Animals of which we are speaking there are some Emanations of the Celestial Power and Virtue to be discern'd The fecundity of the Divine Goodness is seen in the Various Exertments of the Animal Life in these Creatures as the Strength of the Horse the Ox c. the Fierceness of the Lion Wolf Tigre Leopard the Greediness of the Swine the Mildness of the Ass and the Sheep the Salacity of the Goat the Swiftness of the Camel and Dromedary of the Horse the Hound the Hare c. the Sagacity of the Fox and Ape the docible Nature of the Elephant the domestick Faithfulness of the Dog and his Love to his Master and all the other different displayings of the Sensitive Nature in these Beasts For the Indulgent Creator would have all the various Species of Brutes enjoy their Essence in the way which is most agreeable to them The other Sort of Terrestrial Animals are those that are call'd Creeping Things as the groveling Serpent of which there are several kinds the slow-paced Snail Adders and Snakes and particularly the Rattle-snake which makes a Noise before it is seen and so gives warning of its being near and abundance of other Reptile Animals which proceed from the same Infinite Source and Author For 't is certain that these despis'd Creatures are as beautiful in their kind in the Universe as Angels and Cherubims and they according to their Make and Nature extol their Creator as well as these Though we need not believe the Mahometans when they tell us that at the time when Abraham was cast into the Fire by the Chaldeans the Frogs came and spurted Water out of their Mouths upon him for which Reason these Animals are in great Esteem with them and must not be kill'd yet we may join with them when they say that The Coaxation of Frogs is Lauding of God The meanest Creature that creeps upon Earth speaks a God praises his Name and celebrates his Honour for besides that its very Being and Life are the Sole Gift of an Infinite and Omnipotent Author it is someways useful and profitable in the World and thereby conduces to the Divine Glory The next Rank of Animals are those which live wholly in the Waters viz. in the Sea or in Rivers as Fishes Of Living Creatures these were the first that were made then Birds and afterwards Four-footed Beasts because they exceed one another in their Make and Qualities for the Creation was Gradual and proceeded from what was less perfect to that which was more But though these Aquatiles be inferiour to other Animals as being destitute of several Bodily Parts which the others have yet in some respects they are equal to them and as to their Fruitfulness they exceed the greatest Part of all other Creatures These and Birds being Oviâ—arous have many young Ones at a time which is the Effect of that Blessing Be fruitful and multiply Gen. 1.22 which as we may observe was particularly and peculiarly spoken to Fish and Fowl though not exclusively of other Creatures Indeed it was congruous to Divine Providence that there should be a very great Number and Plenty of Fishes because this sort of Creatures above all the rest feed one upon another Of all Animals these are of the vastest Magnitude as the Whale and all Cetaceous Fish But especially Whales those Mountanous Fishes those Living Islands those Hyperboles of Nature exceed all other watry Animals in greatness Therefore the singular Power and Providence of God are set forth in the Description of the Leviathan Job 41. as well as in that of its Brother at Land the Elephant in the foregoing Chapter And there are other Fishes of a very large Size as the Crocodile which is so great that Bochart fancies it to be meant by the Leviathan and a late French Author attempts to prove that there are no other Dragons in Nature but Crocodiles the Dolphin a great lover of Men and Musick the Tuny the Saw-fish and several others which together with the lesser Inhabitants of this briny Element give Testimony to a Deity Even these Mute Animals proclaim the Divine Power and Wisdom It is to be observ'd to this purpose that though Fishes have some Parts common to them with other Animals yet they have several that are proper and peculiar to their kind which shews the distinguishing Providence of God in the Structure of their Bodies and making them serviceable to those ends which they were intended for None of them except the Cetaceous kind have any Ears or Ear-holes yet they hear if several credible Writers are to be believed nay it is plain from this that those who go about to take them do it Silently for they find that Noise affrights them from coming to the Bait or Net Fishes of the greater and more perfect kind have Lungs and Breath But to those of the ordinary kind and size their Gills serve instead of Lungs and with them they let in and out the Water which is to them in lieu of Air. Others who have been very Curious in their Enquieries are of opinion that they take in and emit the Air with their Gills and so these are of the same use to them that Lungs are to Quadrupeds and the Blood passes in its Circulation through the Gills as in Beasts through the Lungs For that Fishes have a kind of Respiration and breathe thrô these Organs is not to be doubted they say whatever the Aristotelians have said to the contrary Fishes have no Eye-lids as other Animals have and the reason is because they have no use of them Mr. Ray hath shew'd that their Bodies are purposely shaped for their more easy Swimming Their Fins answer to the Wings of Birds and cause their quick Motion Yea some of them have such long and large Fins that they serve them to fly with Not only Pliny mentions the Sea-swallow and other sorts of Fishes that fly above the Water and hover in the Air a considerable time but Rondeletius and our Purchas make mention of them and I do not see any reason to question their Credit This these Fishes are able to do by the extraordinary Strength of their Fins And the same Parts though not so strong in others are the necessary Instruments of their moving so nimbly And so are their Tails which are as 't were the Rudder to these Vessels And in most Fishes there is an Air-bladder which helps them to swim And from other Particulars which
is baffled by it 2. From their Excellent End and Designs the chief of which is to be serviceable to Man Both Animate and Inanimate Creatures conspire in this being actuated by a Divine Director and Disposer This ruines Monsieur Des Cartes's Opinion whereby he attempts the solving of all things by Mechanick Principles This also confounds his Denial of Final Causes in Natural Philosophy pag. 1. CHAP. II. The Author proceeds to a Particular Proof of the Divine Existence and Providence from the Consideration of the Heavenly Bodies The unrivall'd Beauty of the Sun The Vniversal Vsefulness and Benefit of it It s Vast Dimensions The transcendent Swiftness of its Motion It s Regular Course through the Heavens Where is largely discuss'd the Copernican Hypothesis concerning the Earth's Motion and is proved to be precarious because 1. It is grounded on this Vnphilosophical Notion that it is difficult and troublesom to the vast Heavenly Bodies to be continually journeying and posting and therefore the Copernicans would free them of this great Trouble by laying it upon the Earth which they fancy can bear it better 2. It confronts that Historical part of the Bible Jos. 10.13 Isaiah 38.8 In such a plain Narration of Matter of Fact and that of a Miracle it is not to be supposed that Words are spoken any otherwise than according to the Real Nature of the thing and the Propriety of Speech 3. It proceeds upon an erroneous and mistaken Apprehension concerning the Nature of the Earth and the chief Inhabitant of it Man for both of them are far greater than the Heavens in real worth and value 4. We may as well imbrace the Doctrine of Transubstantiation which is an absolute Defiance to our Senses as this Opinion Objections and Evasions framed from Custom and the moving in a Ship answered 5. If the Trembling of the Earth may be felt as all grant then the Violent Whirling of it about must needs be more sensible Objections against this answered Demonstrations which depend on the Eye-sight are fallible and have been question'd by the best Artists The Modishness of the Copernican Notion tempts most Men to follow it This is no Temptation to the Author who for the Reasons premised holds that the Heavens continually roll about the Earth from that effectual Impulse which they at first receiv'd from the Almighty Hand p. 19. 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 p. 51. 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 p. 74. CHAP. V. The Frame of the Earth argues a Godhead A particular Account of the Torrid Zone and of the two Temperate and two Frigid Zones especially the two latter are shew'd to be Testimonies of Divine Providence The present Position of the Earth is the same that it was at first whatever the Theorist who confutes himself suggests to the contrary Against him it is proved that the Shape of the Earth at this day is not irregular and deformed and that the Primitive Earth was not destitute of Hills and Mountains These are of considerable use The particular Advantages of them are recounted and thence the Wise Disposal of the Creator is inferr'd p. 95. CHAP. VI. Vegetables are next consider'd and their Different Parts enumerated and shew'd to be Arguments of a Divine Contriver Their Fragrancy Delightfulness Beauty Their various Natures Kinds Properties Their Vsefulness in respect of Food Particular Instances of some Foreign Plants viz. the Metla the Cocus-tree They are serviceable for Physick The Signature of some of them declares their Properties and is a Divine Impression p. 117. 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 p. 137. 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 resolved 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 p. 162. CHAP. IX The Wisdom and Power of God are discern'd in the Formation of Living Creatures that are Four-footed which are distinguish'd according to their Hoofs or their having or not having Horns or their Chewing or not Chewing the Cud. Their Serviceableness in respect of Food and Work or Labour Instances of the latter sort Even Creeping and Groveling Animals exalt their Creator Fishes some of which are of a vaster Magnitude than any other kinds of Animals shew the distinguishing Providence of God in the peculiar Structure of their Bodies in order to the Element they live in Fowls are purposely shaped and contrived for the particular use they were designed for Their Food is sometimes extraordinarily provided for them and sometimes they are supported without it They are observable for their being Musical for their imitating Man's Voice for their Beautiful Colours Birds of Prey are generally solitary The several Incubations of these Creatures afford Matter of singular Remark The wonderful Make and Contrivance of their Nests speaks a Divine Architect p. 182. CHAP. X. In the Smallness of Insects is display'd the Skill of the Divine Artificer A Fly is of a wonderful Make. The Omnipotent Deity is discernable in a Bee and in a Silk-worm The Ant is more largely consider'd viz.
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
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-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
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
sure that it is true yet I am certain it is very rational and accountable and I am sure no Man can disprove it No not he that hath so publickly defamed and libell'd our Mother Earth calling it mere Ruines and Rubbish a broken and confused Mass an indigested Pile a monstrous and deformed Lump a little dirty Planet the Dirt and Scum of the Creation for these are his cleanly Expressions in his English Theory This is not the Stile of a Philosopher nor is it the Language of Truth for in respect of the several things before-named the Earth is the most excellent part of the visible and material Creation Fourthly I would argue thus Why do we check and gall and not undeservedly the Romanists with this that they deny their Senses in holding of Transubstantiation And why do we condemn the Doctrine of Transubstantiation for being contradictory to the verdict of our Senses if we hold that the Earth turns round notwithstanding we have no notice of it in the least by our Senses Or can we be wheel'd and hurl'd about every minute as fast as we can imagine and yet have no Apprehension of it not only not feeling the Earth move under us but not perceiving the Air at all moved nor having any intimation of it by our Sight or any other Sense at any time of our whole Lives This is not to be believ'd and why therefore do any take the Confidence to assert the Earth's moving under them when they have no Sense of it For this is certain that if there be any such thing it is the proper Object of Sensation But if we admit this which is so much against our Senses we may as well embrace Transubstantiation which is a defiance to our Senses If any Man satisfactorily answers this I shall be enclined to be a Copernican and I shall have a great Temptation to believe the Doctrine of Transubstantiation I mean upon this account of our Senses though there are other Arguments which are purely Theological that will for ever uphold the contrary belief in me In short it is strange to me that such a considerable piece of Natural Philosophy as this the Object of which is Corporeal and Sensible should have no proof from any of the Senses A Romanist with his Hoc est corpus may solve the matter but I do not see how this can be the Philosophy of one of the Reformed I know it is usually said that the Vertigo of the Earth is not felt or perceived by us because we are used to it Indeed if this Motion were slow and gentle this might pass for a good Solution But when it is very swift and rapid fierce and violent as they suppose it to be we cannot imagine that Custom will wholly take away the Sense of it and that we shall neither discern it with our Eyes nor with our Ears nor with our Touch. That of the Pythagoreans is as plausible that the Heavenly Orbs make an Excellent Melody and Harmonious Sound but Men by their continual being used to it hear it not The Asserters of the Earth's Motion may in time perswade their Disciples that there is such a thing as the Musick of the Earth as well as the Spheres But they tell us that we must not expect to be sensible of this Motion of the Earth for when a Man is in a Ship under Sail suppose he be in a Cabin or in any place under Deck he can't discern whether the Ship moves But this doth not reach our Case for we are not cabin'd or shut up in the Earth Besides to go on strait in a direct Line as a Ship in its general Course and to be violently whirl'd about with the Earth are two different things For I suppose they do not speak of a Ship in a Storm or Tempest for then the Motion of it is sufficiently discern'd though a Man were coop'd up in his Cabin or were lodg'd in the Hold. And then if we suppose a Man upon the Deck and looking about him whilst the Ship is under Sail he can easily satisfy himself that the Vessel moves though there be no other Ships or no Land in view for if he throws out into the Sea a Barrel or any other thing that will swim upon the Waters he will discern by his Eye that the Ship moves because that which he cast into the Sea will speedily be out of his sight and the faster he sails the sooner will he lose the sight of it whereby he certainly knows that the Ship was in Motion Therefore I conceive this Instance which they make use of is not available to the End for which they produce it Again I argue thus the Motion of the Earth can be felt or it cannot If they hold it cannot they are confuted by Earth-quakes I do not mean those that are accompanied with violent Eruptions of the inclosed Vapours and a downfal of some part of the Earth which are more than a simple Motion but I mean the gentler Tremblings of the Earth of which there are abundant Instances in History and we our selves have had one not long since so that by too true an Experiment we are taught that the Earth's Motion may be felt If this were not a thing that had been frequently experienc'd I confess they might have something to say they might put us off with this that it is not possible to perceive the moving of the Earth But now they cannot evade it thus they must be forc'd to acknowledg the Motion of it is sensible If then they hold this I ask why this Motion also which they speak of is not perceived by us Can a Man perswade himself that the light Trepidation of this Element can be felt and yet the rapid Circumvolution of it cannot Are we presently apprehensive of the Earth's shaking never so little under us And yet have we no apprehension at all of our continual capering about the Sun But they will say it is another sort of Motion and they say right But then they must remember that it is a Motion that is much more easily perceived than the other for that is but a Jogging of the Earth whereas this is a fierce and vehement Whirling it round about Who therefore can deny that this is more sensible than that And if it be more sensible what is the reason that according to them we have no perception of it Or is a thing sensible and yet not the Object of Sense Nay truly if the Earth were hurl'd about in a Circle as these Persons assert we should feel it to our sorrow for we should not be able to keep our ground but must necessarily be thrown off and all Houses and other Buildings would be thrown down being forcibly shaked off from the Circumference of the Earth as things that are laid on a Wheel are flung off by it when it turns round This you will find demonstrated by Dr. More It may be they will say there is a
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.
Rupture for else he would not have imputed it to a Divine Virtue as he doth And more fully and expresly in another place he declares his Mind thus The Effects of Thunder if you consider them well are of that Wonderful Nature that we cannot possibly doubt but that there is a Divine Subtile Power in them And then he proceeds particularly to reckon up the Strange Phaenomena of this sort of Meteor which indeed are very Surprizing and Amazing and would be thought altogether incredible if several Other Writers of good note had not attested the same and if at this very day we had not Instances of the Truth and Reality of them This Naturalist adds further that Thunder is made partly to Scare and Affright the World This Terrible Noise saith he was for this purpose viz. That we might stand in awe of something above us Horace confesses that he felt this in himself he acknowledges that this Voice from Heaven made him disown Epicurus's Notions and repent of all his Atheistical Principles and Practices See Lib. 1. Ode 34. It is a very Remarkable Example and I heartily wish that the Wild Sparks of this Age who are very well pleas'd with other Parts of this Author's Writings and are ambitious to imitate him would seriously read and consider of this and thence with their Brother Poet and Pagan be induced to assert a God and Providence in the World It is not to be denied that sometimes by this Dreadful Sound God is pleased to rouze and alarm the careless Part of Mankind and sometimes to give Proof of his Judicial and Avenging Power Moreover by this is discovered his Goodness to Mankind for this Violent Shaking of the Air is of great Use to us because it corrects or dispels its noxious Qualities and renders it pure and wholesom By means of this are convey'd to us Showers of Rain which most seasonably cool that Element as fast as the Fulgurations heat and inflame it Then as for the Colder Meteors they have their proper Use for which they are generated Snow is a dissolved Cloud that is somewhat condens'd in its coming down and therefore falls in light Flakes like the scatter'd Pieces of a Fleece whence it is said He giveth Snow like Wool Psal. 147.16 To which it is compared because of the Configuration of its Parts and because of its Whiteness and Softness nay I must add because of its Warmth This last is thus express'd in few words by Theophrastus The Snow produces a Fermentation in the Earth by shutting in the Heat upon it which the Earth takes into it self and is thereby made strong and hearty The Husband-man who inters his Seed in hopes of its rising again delights to behold this Winding-Sheet upon it he rejoices to see it thus buried in Woollen because he knows that this is a Safeguard to it and shelters it from the Winter-Winds and Storms This keeps both the Earth and the Grain warm and preserves the Blade fresh and verdant and afterwards when it dissolves it kindly moistens them and is a Preparative to a farther Fermentation Hail is such another dissolved Cloud as Snow but much more thickned and hardned by the lower Region of the Air as it comes down through it The Treasures of this Congealed Rain for so I may call it are mention'd by God himself Iob 38.22 which he saith he hath reserved against the time of Trouble against the day of Battel and War ver 23. Then this Weapon is brought forth and is of singular Use to punish Offenders and accordingly we read that Armies have been defeated by it Iosh. 10.11 Isa. 30.30 Frost and Ice are other Cold and Watry Impressions which God owns himself the Author of Iob 37.10 By the Breath of God i. e. by a Cold Sharp Wind which He sendeth Frost is given and the Breadth of the Waters is straitned is so contracted and congeal'd that they flow not they spread not themselves as usually In very significant and apposite Terms but very briefly this is described in ch 38.30 The Waters are hid as with a Stone i. e. the Waters in Ponds and Rivers and in some Parts of the Sea are covered with Ice which is hard and as 't were Stony and may be call'd a Pavement of Ice That this and the like Operations of the most High are of considerable Use in the World beside what hath been mention'd before we gather from chap. 37. ver 12. They are turned round about by his Counsels that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the Face of the World in all the Earth i. e. all the World over they are made use of in their several Vicissitudes to effect the wise Designs and Purposes of God And ver 13. He causeth it to come whether for Correction i. e. the Punishment of Men or for his Land i. e. more universally for all Creatures particularly the Ground or Earth or for Mercy i. e. in a way of Blessing It were easy to give Instances of all these for Histories readily furnish us with them So in another Place of this Book ch 36. v. 31. where the foregoing Discourse had been concerning the Clouds Rain Lightning c. it is said By them he judgeth the People i. e. to some they are made use of for Punishment and he giveth Meat in abundance i. e. to others they are sent for Good for their real Benefit and Advantage and more particularly they are someways instrumental towards the procuring of Fruitfulness and Plenty call'd here Meat I had almost forgot to mention Dew which is of great Advantage especially in the Eastern Countries which are hot and where little Rain falls It is by the singular Care of the Divine Providence that they have very Great Dews which are hugely beneficial to the Earth Therefore you find these taken notice of as a particular Largess of the Divine Goodness Iob 38.28 Mic. 5.7 and in several other Places Thus much concerning the Lower Heavens or Atmosphere that is the Space between the Ethereal Heavens and the Earth and the several things which are Observable in it as the Air Winds Clouds c. all which proclaim a Wise Powerful Just and Merciful Deity CHAP. V. The Frame of the Earth argues a Godhead A particular Account of the Torrid Zone and of the two Temperate and two Frigid Zones especially the two latter are shew'd to be Testimonies of Divine Providence The present Position of the Earth is the same that it was at first whatever the Theorist who confutes himself suggests to the contrary Against him it is proved that the Shape of the Earth at this day is not Irregular and Deformed and that the Primitive Earth was not destitute of Hills and Mountains These are of considerable Vse The particular Advantages of them are recounted and thence the Wise Disposal of the Creator is inferr'd NOW let us pass to the Earth that Part of the World where we are placed where the
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
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
Allegorical Sense So that according to this Gentleman it was an Allegorical Sea and Allegorical Fishes too are spoken of by Moses or rather by God himself and then there is as much reason to believe that the Earth and the Air with the Cattel and Fowl in them which are mentioned in the same Place are Allegorical and he may as well say the whole World is so too But it was Unphilosophically done of him as well as against Scripture to make the Earth destitute of Sea for if we rightly scan the Nature of things we must acknowledg that these two cannot be separated because the great Mass of Earth cannot subsist without a proportionable Measure of Moisture nor can the Water be contain'd in a Place unless the Earth holds it The Water pervades all the Parts to be a kind of Bond to them that the Earth may not crack fall asunder and crumble into pieces Again the Water was made to give Drink to every Beast of the Field Psal. 104.11 and even to Man himself whose primitive Refreshment it was This must be derived mostly from the Sea by the Channels in the Earth â—or the Rains and Mists which this Author supposes before the Flood were not sufficient for this and all other Purposes of this Element Besides it is an unintelligible Mystery that there should be no Clouds and yet Rain Likewise the Sea-water percolated by its passing through the Earth and at the same time mixing with it was appointed by the Great Operator of the World to be serviceable to the Fruitfulness of the Earth for without this as well as Rain no Plants and consequently no Fruits and as the Consequence of that scarcely any Animals could be nourish'd The World then must have been in a very miserable Condition according to this Learned Author's Theory which locks up all the Water of the World in the Abyss so that no Body was the better for it According to him it was well that the Frame of the Earth broke and fell down into the Great Deep and how could it do otherwise when it was made so slight for from that Dissolution the Earth hath been eveâ— since universally water'd So it seems the Deluge was not so much a Curse as a Blessing for though the Inhabitants that then were perished by it yet ever after we have found the Benefit of it Indeed this Author hath well husbanded the Matter by his Hypothesis for it would have requir'd he saith Eight Oceans though several good Mathematicians have not been of his mind to bring that Universal Flood on the World but he hath done it with a far less Quantity of this Element So that it is plain he is a good Provident Philosopher and hath saved a great deal of Water by his Theory But where God and Nature are not sparing why should we be And why doth the Theorist imprison the whole Element within the Earth So that according to him there was no Sea for above sixteen hundred Years or if there was any it was a Sea shut up and of no use I have endeavoured to set it free and that by Good Authority even the Divine Law of the Creation mention'd once and again in Genesis 1. I have shew'd the Necessity and Usefulness of this Great Blessing to the World and I will proceed to do so yet further It cannot be denied that though the Sea seems to be very bleak and chill yet the Influence of it is Refreshing yea Warming Which Minutius Felix was sensible of when speaking of the Providence of God which is so careful of the Good of the Universe he tells us that our Britain is deficient as to the Sun but in way of Recompence is recreated and comforted by the warmth of the Sea which surrounds it This tempers the Cold and Austerity of the Winter and gently warms those Countries whose Shores it washes This Secret was not unknown to Tully as is clear from that Passage in his Writings The Seas being stirr'd with the Winds are so warm that a Man may thence easily perceive that there is a certain Heat contain'd in so great Moisture for that Warmth is not to be reckon'd as external and adventitious but as rais'd from the inmost Parts of the Ocean by Agitation It was also designed by God that it should be useful for Navigation and consequently for Travelling for though the vast Seas which are between Countries seem to stop the Traveller yet by the help of Ships a speedier Passage is made than if he went on dry Land Especially since the Invention of the Sea-map and Compass we can visit the remotest Parts of the World in a far shorter time than we could have done if there had been no Seas This the famous Americus Vespatius Columbus Magellan and our own Drake and Cavendish could witness In the next place I might adjoin this that the Sea is of great use for setting Limits and Boundaries to several Kingdoms and Nations in the World For by reason of the Interposition of this they have an intire and separated Dominion because those Parts of the Sea which is next to them do as it were terminate and confine their Jurisdiction and those neighbouring Waves are themselves part of it For though the Sea be in perpetual Flux and is not strictly and physically the same yet it is so in respect of its Channel and the Shores it washes A Man may have a Propriety in those things which are Variable and Transient he hath a right to the Air and Light and accordingly an Action lieth in case of Nusance i. e. annoying the one and obstructing the other So it is with the Waters of Rivers or of the Sea tho they are Variable yet they are subject to Propriety For as the Learned in the Law rightly tell us things may be Common as to their Use unto All and yet they may be Proper by Right to one Nation or Person Thus such and such Seas are appropriated to one certain Kingdom or Country and so become the peculiar and distinct Bounds of those Places And withal they are a very good Guard and Fence they are a strong and secure Wall especially if they surround the Region Thus the Sea is of singular Use. Moreover let us call to mind what the Pious Psalmist saith They that go down to the Sea in Ships that do Business in great Waters these see the Works of the Lord and his Wonders in the Deep They are entertain'd with variety of Wonderful Occurrences which those at Land are Strangers to on these prodigious Mountains of Waters they have a Prospect of those Admirable Things which others cannot reach the Sight of And after all they are filled with Admiration and Astonishment and must confess they cannot sufficiently enter into the Springs of the Sea and walk in the search of the Depths as God himself speaketh Lastly notwithstanding what some fantastick Men have conceited these Waters are a Great Ornament to the World The
call'd in a signal manner the Living God To conclude as Solomon saith of the Ants so we may say of all Insects they are a People not strong Prov. 30.25 they are puny and feeble Creatures and some of them may seem to be altogether Useless and might very well be spared in the Great Heap of Beings if they where wholly destroy'd and all the Brood of them annihilated it may seem a Courtesy to Mankind who are often pester'd with them But this is the reasoning of Ignorance and Presumption for it becomes us not to dislike the Workmanship of Heaven be it never so little and weak and we must remember that what it wants in Bulk and Strength is recompensed some other way An Insect is an Argument of the Divine Wisdom as well as an Animal of the first Magnitude Even the pettiest Creatures in some respect far surpass these CHAP. XI It is from a Divine Author that all Animals are fashion'd and contrived in their Parts and Organs in their Senses and Faculties according to the Employment Use and End for which they are serviceable The Natural Propension in them to propagate their Kind is from God So is their Sagacity This latter is voted for Reason by some Writers who also attribute Speech to them It is proved that this is groundlesly asserted and that Reason is the Sole Prerogative of those Beings that are capable of Religion To those who object the Uselesness nay Hurtfulness of several Animals as if this were an Argument against Providence it is answered 1. Though we are not able to assign the Vse of some Creatures yet it doth not follow thence that they are Vseless 2. The Creatures which seem most Vile are a Foil to the rest 3. There is something worthy of our Observation in every one of them 4. Some of these are Food for others 5. Most of them are useful to Mankind in a Medical way The Author's Conjecture concerning the benefit of Gnats Fleas Lice Flies Spiders Venomous Creatures carry an Antidote with them 6. The most hurtful Animals may be beneficial to Man as Crosses and Afflictions are which are welcome to the Vertuous 7. That they generally do so little harm when they are able to do so much is a Manifestation of the Divine Care and Providence 8. The Enjoyment of their Essence is from the Divine Bounty which none ought to repine at 9. They are made use of by God sometimes to plague notorious Offenders Lastly That any Creatures are Noxious proceeds from the Sin of Man and the Curse which followed it wherefore we have no reason to complain of them or to question the Goodness and Providence of God The Vast Numbers and Various Kinds of Insects are some Proof of their Vsefulness All Creatures are someways Good and made for some Vse Though we do not see their Vsefulness at present afterâ— Ages may discover it THUS I have particularly instanced in the Works of the Creation and have shew'd that the Existence and Providence of God are to be seen in them all Especially as to Animals this grand Truth appears to be undeniable viz. that they are all fram'd and shap'd exactly according to the several Ends and Uses they were designed for which is an irrefragable Evidence of an infinitely Wise Contriver and Disposer The Hare and Hart that are very fearful have swift Feet to fly away and the timorous Dove hath swift Wings So the most fearful Animals have the quickest hearing as the Hart and Hare the Coney c. by this means Nature takes care for their Safety that they may secure themselves by flight To the Boar that is fierce and pugnacious are given prominent Tusks to the Lion Teeth and Paws of a peculiar make Beasts that have no other way to defend themselves are supplied with Horns Those Creatures which are for working or travelling as Oxen Horses Mules Asses Camels Dromedaries have such Hoofs as are capable of being shod that they may thereby be the more serviceable To Birds are given Feathers for the Lightness of their flying and also Claws and Beak as proper Instruments in order to the Fooâ— they live upon And briefly all Animals aâ—â— furnish'd with proper Organs Fowls are fitted by the frame of their Bodies to the Element they converse in So Fishes are shaped purposely for the Water and Beasts for the Earth and all the Parts of these several Animals are accommodated to their peculiar Uses and Purposes God hath given them particular Figures and Operations as to their Bodies according to the Indoles of their sensitive Souls as Aristotle well said if he be rightly quoted by one of the Antients Their outward Texture is fitted to their inward Faculty and Nature There are certain Reasons to be assign'd of every distinct frame of Bodies in Brutes It is not without cause that they are thus and thus shap'd and not otherwise and whence is this but from a Divine Author Also the Natural Instinct which is in these Creatures to propagate their Kind shews that it was from a Higher Power and Principle that is such a one that is Intelligent and intends the Good and Preservation of the World And Providence is particularly seen in this that Animals that are shorter liv'd have a great many little ones and produce them often as Dogs Swine all Birds and Fishes the frequent Production reparing the short living But those Creatures that live longer breed seldomer and one at a time generally as Elephants Deers Horses c. And here 't is observable also that the less perfect Animals are soonest set up because they decline and make an end apace therefore they begin sooner And that Sagacity which we have so often observ'd to be in Brutes yea in the very Insects is an Evidence that they are the Workmanship of a Wise Maker and are guided by a Wise Director Besides what hath been said already we might mention how the angry Porcupine knows when it is his time to dart sorth his Bristles to wound his Adversary the Ichneumon the Rat of Nilus takes the opportunity of the Crocodile's gaping and leaps into his Mouth and thence descends into his Belly and so dispatches him the Iackal hunts always with the Lion for part of his Prey and withal it is observable that this latter cannot be without the assistance of the former for he is neither swift nor quick-scented and therefore is happily befriended by the Iackal who hath both these Properties and so he is a fit Caterer for the other Therefore this may be the meaning of the Psalmist Psal. 104.21 The young Lions roar after their Prey and seek their Meat from God they seek it and procure it in this notable way which is by the singular Providence of God This their natural way of getting their Food is call'd seeking it from God because he hath given them this particular Instinct and Sagacity And several other strange Expedients and Methods which Animals use in providing their Food making
Impressions of Light and the admirable Tone of the Optick Nerve In brief they are all astonish'd at the Position and Configuration the excellent Texture and Composition of this Organ Let a late expert Anatomist speak for all the rest If the Fabrick of the Eye be narrowly observ'd and consider'd surely there is not a Man living who will not be rapt into Admiration of the infinite Wisdom of the supreme Deity who in the Structure of these Organs was so much the more accurate by how much the Sense of seeing surpasses all the other Senses in Excellency and Worth Though 't is impossible to tell the particular way how the Sight is performed by the Help of these several Humours and Membranes yet we are certain it is done by them Of which we have this Demonstration that if any of these Parts fail if any of these innate Liquors be deficient or any of the Coats vitiated the Sight is impaired or wholly lost as is evident in Suffusions Strabism or Squinting the Pin and Web Cataracts though perhaps the second of these may be caused not only by the misplacing of the Crystalline Humour as 't is generally said but by some Defect in the Muscles And this here might remind me to add something concerning the unparallell'd Structure of the Muscles which belong to the Eye and which are another Argument of its Divine Workmanship Anatomists mention six four of which are direct the first to lift it up the second to move it down a third to move it to the right another to the left side The other two turn the Eye about and serve for oblique Glances I propound this also to be considered that the Eye is made with a round Prominency that we may not only see things which are before us but those which are on either side of us Which latter we could not possibly do if the Eye were flat and if it were not set out a little beyond the Place where it is fixed Both which argue the Providential Care of Heaven towards us And because this Part of the Body is of extraordinary Use and Necessity as well as of Beauty and Comeliness the Omniscient Mind who framed it hath taken especial Care of its Safety and Preservation This is observable in sundry Particulars as first the Eyes are lodged in two safe Sockets two strong Boney Cavities where they are securely enclosed and defended from Hurt And likewise the impendent Brow and the prominent Nose save them from hard Strokes and Blows Moreover there are Eye-lids to be a farther Security and Defence to them which are to be closed at Pleasure to prevent that Danger which may accrue by too much Light or by Dust or Smoke c. Hence if we may credit a good old Grammarian who was well skill'd in the Derivation of Words the Eyes in Latin have their Denomination from this Cover which God hath given them The Vpper Lid especially is most remarkable it being as a Portcullis for to that Anatomists generally compare it clapt down every Night for the Eyes Safety and at all other times when there is occasion for Sleep Or whenever the Eye is assaulted this Part is let down presently to secure it I say presently for its Motion is with great Expedition and thence Gnaphgnaphim is the Word among the Hebrews for Palpebrae from Gnaph celeriter se movere And the doubling of that Word denotes the Quickness of the Agitation the Suddenness of the Vibration of this Part. If Plempius had not been Purblind as to his Mind as well as Eyes he would not have blamed as he doth the Formation of this Part of Man which is so peculiarly contrived This is the true Reason of the Fabrication of the Eye-lids and therefore Fishes are destitute of them because living in the Water they are not so obnoxious to Injuries and Blows or troublesome Flies or any thing that may hurt the Eye and again because these Creatures sleep not or very little Farther observe that these Eye-lids are fortified with stiff Hair as with Palisadoes against the Incursion of Flies and such like small Bodies as I have mentioned before which would molest this Part. Nay 't is to be remark'd that this Hair with which the Eye-lids are edged and bordered never grows longer than it is at first but hath a certain Dimension which it doth not exceed Whereas no other Hair in the Body doth the like Which is a palpable Evidence of the divine Care and particular Disposal in this matter viz. that these Hairs may be a Guard to the Eye and yet not in the least impede the Sight which they would certainly do if they grew long And farther yet we may take notice that these Hairs are set thin that they may not be any Obstruction to the seeing So that considering these wonderful Circumstances which visibly testifie the Wisdom of the Maker we have reason to abhor and condemn that blasphemous Passage of a Physitian of the last Age that if he had had the Formation of the Eye-lids of Man he would have contrived them quite otherwise This is unreasonable and rash as well as impious for we plainly see that this Guard of the Eye could not have been formed with greater Wisdom and Contrivance Moreover above the Eyes there is an Arch of Hairs called the Hairs of the Eye-brows which were placed there for the Ornament of the Face for unless these were a Beauty Mahomet would not have promised his Followers the Converse in Paradise with Women whose Eye-brows shall be as wide as the Rain-bow They were no less made for the Preservation of the Eyes for these do in some measure keep off Sweat from sliding down from the Head or Forehead into the Eyes So admirably fenced and guarded is this curious Piece of Workmanship by the Celestial Operator of it This is the Care he took of this Part which is so noble and so useful and is so valued by us Whence to pluck out the Eye was an antient proverbial saying to express the Loss of those things which were most dear and precious to us Our Saviour hath spoken of this Part in a most expressive and comprehensive Manner The Light of the Body is the Eye Mat. 6.22 This is the Light or Lamp for that is the true rendring of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which directs and guides us in all the Actions of the Body in all the Affairs of Life wherein Corporal Sense and Motion are concerned For as Philo saith well what the Mind is in the Soul that the Eye is in the Body for both of them see the one intelligible the other sensible things Yea it is certain that the Eye is the Mirrour of the Mind there we may as 't were see the Soul there the inward Affections and Propensions of it especially those of Compassion and Kindness discover themselves whence by a good Eye is meant a benign and by an evil one