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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A67686) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 102637) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1079:20) Geologia, or, A discourse concerning the earth before the deluge wherein the form and properties ascribed to it, in a book intitlued The theory of the earth, are excepted against ... / by Erasmus Warren ... Warren, Erasmus. [16], 359 p. : ill. Printed for R. Chiswell ..., London : MDCXC [1690] Imperfect: pages stained. Reproduction of original in the Huntington Library. eng Creation -- Early works to 1800. Earth -- Origin. eebo Geologia: or, A discourse concerning the earth before the deluge. Wherein the form and properties ascribed to it, in a book intituled The theory of th Warren, Erasmus 1690 369 126865 2162 0 0 0 0 0 170.42 F The rate of 170.42 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the F category of texts with 100 or more defects per 10,000 words. 2002-06 Assigned for keying and markup 2002-07 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2002-08 Sampled and proofread 2002-08 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2002-10 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

GEOLOGIA : OR , A DISCOURSE Concerning the EARTH before the DELUGE . WHEREIN The FORM and PROPERTIES ascribed to it , In a Book intituled The Theory of the Earth , Are Excepted against : And it is made appear , That the DISSOLUTION of that Earth was not the Cause of the Universal Flood . ALSO A New Explication of that Flood is attempted .

By ERASMVS WARREN , Rector of Worlington , in Suffolk .

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ECCLESIAST. iii. 11. Et Mundum tradidit Disputationi eorum .

LONDON , Printed for R. Chiswell , at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard . M DC XC .

TO THE READER .

HAving perused the Book called The Theory of the Earth : considering it simply and abstractedly in it self , as a Philosophic Scheme or representation of things ; I found it a Treatise , not unworthy of the ingenious Author of it . Though so it was not without its 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Defects . But then taking it as it relates to the Doctrine of the Bible , and so bears the Title , * * Hanc Theoriam Sacram appello , cùm Telluris Physiologiam communem non respiciat ; sed majores mundi nostri vicissitudines , quarum meminit Sacra Scriptura . Praefat ▪ ad Lectorem . Sacred ; I thought it liable to several Exceptions .

Some of these I determin●d to set down forthwith , and in a Letter transmit them to the learned Theorist . But my Pen growing warm , quite our-run the bounds of my first Intentions ; and forcing me to alter the Method I had begun , carry'd things on to this length , and drew them up in this Form .

My Design is only an humble Proposal of some few Exceptions against the Essentials of the Theory . And I as humbly beg , that they may not be mistaken , as to their Rise ; nor misconst●ued , as to their End . They ●low but from Affection to Truth ; and are directed to her Vindication . Let none therefore think them off-springs of a narrow mind , or issues of a captious disputatious Spirit ; much less of a stingy ●icque against Philosophy , to which , as I owe all becoming veneration , so I shall ever duly pay it .

Nor have I ingaged with the Theory at all because it is New ; but because it is False . For all that is true , must needs be ancient : only the Discovery of some truth may be New . But then every such discovery of important truth , is highly to be valued and applauded : To be welcom'd into the World with thanks and joy ; and entertain'd with reverence and a sweet reception . Yea as every such Discovery of weighty Truth , ought to be receiv'd with great kindness and respect ; so that happy Person , who makes the Discovery , ought to be exceedingly honoured too , and lookt upon as deserving a Coronet and a Monument . And for my own part , I had much rather assist with my hands in ●itting up both ; than write one word or syllable with my Pen , to hinder him of either .

Again therefore I heartily profess my Scope , to be nothing else but a Vindication of Truth ; unless I ●hall add , and of Religion also . For though I am far from that temper , of being * * In the Preface to the Eng. Theory . alarm'd at the proposal of every new Theory , as if all Religion were falling about our ears : yet I am sensible the Theorist has assaulted Religion , and that in the very foundation of it . And therefore he must not blame me , if I have taken the alarm ( to use his own word ) when he was pleased in such a manner to give it . And truly should not some of us have been awakened by it , considering how loud he rings it in our ears ; he might well have concluded , we were too fast asleep .

When the fourteen † † Liv. Hist. Dec. 4. lib. 10. Books of Numa Pompilius , that ancient and famous King of Rome , were found in the Earth in a Chest of Stone ; and being taken out were perused by several : at last , upon the Praetor P●tilius's report , that they contained pleraque dissolvendarum Religionum , many things tending to the undoing of Religion ( at least in some Ceremonies or appendages of it ) they were condemned by the Senate — An Argument of their tenderness and due concern for the Religion they had , though but a mean one . Now allowing our regard for Religion , to exceed that of the Romans ( as in reason it should ) but as much as our Religion exceedeth theirs : and how deeply must we res●nt ( especially those of us in Holy Orders ) even the smallest injuries done unto it ? But then when Books come forth too like to Numa's , the Contents whereof strike at Religion ; the least we can do , is to complain of the abuse , and endeavour meekly to confute them .

And that the Theory of the Earth does strike at Religion , and assault it ( as I said ) in the very Foundation of it ; is but too evident . For in several things ( as will appear in our Discourse ) it contradicts Scripture ; and by * * Read the 17th Chapter of this Discourse . too positive asserting the truth of its own Theorems , makes that to be false ; upon which our Religion is founded . And to assert such things positively , as imply Scripture to be false in any Periods of it ; must be of very pernicious consequence . For if it fails in some instances , it may do so in many : and that which renders it suspected in part , will impeach the credit of the whole .

Let it be noted therefore that the Dispute here , is not meerly whether the World we live in , be the same now , as it was of old before the Flood : or whether there be not as much difference betwixt its primaeval , and its present State ; as betwixt a goodly Structure , when standing in its glory , and groveling in its ruines : but ( which is far more material ) whether some sacred and revealed Truths ; or gay , but groundless Philosophic Phancies ; shall be preferred .

The Book has lain by in Manus●ript a great while . Why it did so , is well known to some good Men ; and I need not trouble all with the Reasons of it . But when none ( as I could learn ) were dispos'd to write better ; I let it come abroad .

In it , I have not ( to speak in the Theorist 's language ) * * In the Preface to the Eng. Theory . made Iudgment or Consure of his Hypothesis , upon general presumptions and prejudices , nor according to the temper and model of my own spirit ; but ( I think ) according to reason . And that I might not impose upon my self or others , have laid aside that lazy and fallacious method of censuring by the lump , and endeavoured to bring things close to the Test of true and false , to explicit proof and evidence . And whosoever , says he , makes such Objections against an Hypothesis , hath a Right to be heard . This Right therefore , so far as it is mine , and I may lawfully do it ; I now challenge .

To conclude . Whereas I have endeavoured to explain the Universal Deluge , in a new and unusual way ; I would by no means be thought to ground upon it , as certainly true : but only to show that another way of opening and unfolding that intricate Phaenomenon , may be found out , as plausible or approvable as that which the Theory goes in . And truly for my own part , I am much of the Opinion of a very learned Friend of mine ( a great ornament both to the University and the Faculty he is of ) who upon perusal of this Book in Manuscript , wrote this to me among other things : Though we have Moses , yet I believe we must stay for Elias , to make out to us , the true Philosophical modus of the Creation , and Deluge .

THE CONTENTS . CHAP. I. 1. THE great Usefulness of Natural Philosophy . 2. In proving there is a God . 3. In acquainting us with His Nature . 4. In asserting a Providence . 5. In excluding Idolatry . 6. In vindicating the Gospel in several Points . 7. As the Immortality of the Soul . 8. The Resurrection of the Body . 9. The Conflagration of the World . 10. And the endless fiery Torments of the Damned . 11. Philosophy is useful also as to Divinity . 12. And like to flourish . 13. Caution against abusing it . 14. Which is done , either by speaking , or thinking slightly of it . 15. Or by setting it too low in its Operati●ns . 16. Or else by Raising it too high . 17. Which is the fault of The Theory of the Earth . 18. A Character of it . 19. The Occasion of this Discourse against it . 20. Together with its Method . 21. This Chapter , an Introduction to the Discourse , Page 1 , 2 CHAP. II. 1. The Hypothesis of the Earth's Formation stated . 2. The first Exception against it , It would have taken up too much time . 3. The World being made in Six Days . 4. How there might be Light and Days , before there was a Sun . 5. A Proof that the Creation was perfected in Six Days time . 6. Numeral Cabbalism cannot overthrow it . 7. The Jews in Cabbalizing , still allowed a Literal meaning to Scripture ; only they superadded a Mystical one , never contrary to it . 8. Though were there a Cabbala , Destructive to the Letter of Moses's Story of the Creation , that would not invalidate the Argument alledged . 9. Moses's Account of the Creation , runs not upon bare Numbers , but upon Time . 10. What Account the Christian Church has made of the Cabbala . 11. How it discovers its own Vanity . 12. The Literal sense to be kept to , in the Story of the Creation . 13. Where Scripture speaks so as not to be understood Literally , it is sometimes for plainness sake . p. 45 CHAP. III. 1. A Second Exception against the Formation of the Earth , viz. the Fluctuation of the Waters of the Chaos , whereon it was to be raised . 2. That Fluctuation caused by the Moon . 3. The Theorist's Doubt , whether she were then in our Neighbourhood , considered . 4. The Precariousness of his Hypothesis in several things relating to the Chaos : Which ought to have been better cleared and confirmed , according to his own declared Iudgment . 5. The Descent of the Earthly Particles out of the Air , not only Precarious , but Vnphilosophical . 6. And also Anti-Scriptural . p. 73 CHAP. IV. 1. A Third Exception against the Formation of the Earth , the Fire at the Center of it . 2. The Theory faulty in not setting ●orth the Beginning of the Chaos , which was necessary to be done . 3. Such a Chaos was not Created . 4. Nor yet produced in Des-Cartes his way . 5. And therefore that Central Fire seems a thing unreasonable . 6. That the Chaos was produced in the Cartesian way , not to be allowed by the Theory . 7. The Word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , also insinuates the contrary . 8. The Septuagint cleared in one Passage . 9. The Story of the Creation not to be restrained to the Terrestrial World . p. 86 CHAP. V. 1. The Form of the Earth excepted against from the want of Rivers . 2. Notwithstanding the way devised to raise them , there would have been none in due time . 3. Whereupon Two great Inconveniences must have ensued . 4. No Rivers could have been before the Flood . p. 106 CHAP. VI. 1. Another Exception against the Hypothesis ; it would have drowned the World , though Man had not sinned : 2. Or though Mankind had been never so penitent . 3. Which would have reflected upon Providence : and imboldened the Atheist . p. 121 CHAP. VII . 1. Saint Peter's words alledged in favour of the Hypothesis ; inapplicable to that Purpose . 2. Wherein the stress of them seems to lie . 3. Seven other Allegations out of Scripture , of no Force . 4. As being Figurative , and so not Argumentative . 5. Which Tycho Brahe not minding , it gave occasion to his Systeme . p. 1●7 CHAP. VIII . 1. A continual Aequinox before the Flood , by vertue of the Earth's Position , improbable . 2. For then that Position would have remained still , or the Change thereof would have been more fully upon Record . 3. Scripture does not favour this Aequinox , but rather discountenance it . 4. It would have kept one half of the Earth unpeopled . 5. And have hindred the Rains at the time of the Flood . 6. The Doctrine of the Aequinox is against the Judgment of the Learned . 7. The Authorities alledged for the Right Situation of the Earth , upon which the Aequinox depends , Insufficient to prove it . 8. Two Queries propounded relating to the Aequinox . p. 158 CHAP. IX . 1. The Oval Figure of the Primitive Earth excepted against , from the nature of that Mass upon which it was founded . 2. And from its Position in its Annual Motion . 3. As also from the Roundness of the Present Earth . 4. Which Roundness could not accrue to the Earth from its Disruption , in regard that would have rendred it more Oval still , in case it had been Oval from the beginning . 5. Or at least would not have made it less Oval than it was . p. 189 CHAP. X. 1. That there were Mountains before the Flood , proved in way of Exception to the Theory , out of Scripture . 2. And that they could not be made by the Falling in of the first Earth , argued from the Mountains in the Moon . 3. And from the Opinion of the Talmudists , and others . 4. How Mountains might arise in the very beginning . 5. There must be Mountains in the first World , because there were Metals in it . p. 201 CHAP. XI . 1. That there were open Seas before the Flood , made evident from Scripture . 2. Such Seas necessary then as Receptacles for Great Fishes . 3. The Abyss being no fit place for them . 4. A farther Confirmation of open Seas . 5. An Objection against them , answered . 6. Another Objection answered . 7. A Third answered . p. 218 CHAP. XII . 1. The Scripture's Silence touching the Rainbow , before the Flood , does not argue its non-appearance till after it . 2. It s appearance from the beginning , no hindrance or diminution of its Federal Significancy . 3. But matter of congruence to GOD's Method of Proceeding in other Cases . 4. Clouds were ext●nt before the Flood , and therefore the Rainbow was so . 5. The Conclusion of this Chapter , relating to the Two foregoing ones also . p. 252 CHAP. XIII . 1. The Doctrine of Paradise , intelligible without the Theory . 2. Where that Doctrine is best taught . 3. What it is , with a brief Paraphrase upon it . 4. It is Clear in it self , though obscured by Writers . 5. Longaevity before the Flood , no property of Paradise ; and might be the Priviledge but of few . 6. It could not be common to all , according to the Theory . p. 262 CHAP. XIV . 1. The Flood could not be caused by the Dissolution of the Earth , and its falling into the Abyss . 2. For it would have been inconsistent with the Description of Paradise . 3. It would have destroy'd the Ark. 4. And have made the Earth of a Form different from what now it is of . 5. It would also have reduced it to a miserable Barrennels . 6. And have overturned the Buildings which outstood the Deluge . 7. And have rendred the Covenant which GOD made with Noah , vain and insignificant . p. 284 CHAP. XV. 1. The Flood explicable , another way , as well as by that in which the Theory goes . 2. What the height of its Waters might be , viz. Fifteen Cubits upon the surface of the Earth . 3. The Probability of the Hypothesis argued from Scripture . 4. What the Fountains of the Great Deep were . 5. A Second Argument for the Hypothesis , from the easie and sufficient Supply of Waters to raise the Flood to such an height . 6. A Third , from its agreeableness with St. Peter's Account of the Deluge . 7. A Fourth , from the Habitableness of the Earth , at the Flood 's going off . 8. A Fifth , from its Consistency with Geography . p. 299 CHAP. XVI . 1. Objections must be answered . 2. Our Exposition of Scripture not to be made an Objection by the Theorist , or any that hold with him . 3. The First Objection from the Hills being covered , answered . 4. The Second , from the Arks resting upon the Mountains of Ararat , answered . 5. The Third , from the appearing of the Tops of the Mountains , upon the decrease of the Waters , answered . 6. The Fourth , from the possibility of Mens being saved from the Flood without the Ark , answered . 7. The Fifth , from the likelihood of other Creatures escaping , answered . 8. The Sixth , from the imaginary excess of Water , answered . 9. The Seventh , from the Raven which Noah sent out of the Ark , answered . 10. The Eighth , from danger of Shipwrack which the Ark would have been in , answered . 11. A General Answer to farther Objections . p 324 CHAP. XVII . 1. The Positiveness of the Theory . 2. Noted in the English Edition of it . 3. It s Author's Intentions laudable . 4 The Conclusion . p. 356

LICENS'D ,

Ian. 29. 1688 / 9. Rob. Midgley .
ERRATA .

PAge 13. Line 10. Read incorruption . p. 48. l. 3. after that , insert were in it . p. 58. l. 3. r. host of . p. 59. l. 31. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 60. l. 26. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 75. l. 13. r. and. p. 95. l. 1. r. professed . p. 98. l. 23. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . p. 109. l. 21. r. canales . p. 116. l. 7. r. Miles . p. 127. l. 9. r. Brahe . p. 129. l. 25. r. descry . p. 145. l. 28. r. inartificial . p. 233. l. 1. r. grow . l. 5. blot out so . p. 255. l. 1. r. just. l. 30. r. it s . p. 282. l. 14. r. Crops . p. 289. l. 21. after land , insert , excepting the Red Sea . p. 306. in the last line of the M●●gent , r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 307. l. 17. blot out a. p. 321. l. 25. r. two hundred . p. 324. l. 17. after in , r. answered . p. 333. l. 2. r. about . p. 345. l. 25. r. hideous . The Parentheses , p. 289. l. 15 , 16 , 17 , 18. and p. 290. l. 2 , 3. should have been left out . Some mispointings also must be noted .

GEOLOGIA : OR , A DISCOURSE Concerning the EARTH Before the Flood .
CHAP. 1. 1. The great Usefulness of Natural Philosophy . 2. In proving there is a God . 3. In acquainting us with His Nature . 4. In asserting a Providence . 5. In excluding Idolatry . 6. In vindicating the Gospel in several Points . 7. As the Immortality of the Soul . 8. The Resurrection of the Body . 9. The Conflagration of the World . 10. And the endless fiery Torments of the Damned . 11. Philosophy is useful also as to Divinity . 12. And like to flourish . 13. Caution against abusing it . 14. Which is done , either by speaking , or thinking slightly of it . 15. Or by Setting it too low in its Operations . 16. Or else by Raising it too high . 17. Which is the fault of The Theory of the Earth . 18. A Character of it . 19. The Occasion of this Discourse against it . 20. Together with its Method . 21. This Chapter , an Introduction to the Discourse .

1. IT is a memorable and worthy Saying ( for a Heathen ) of † † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In Epict. Ench. cap. 29. Simplicius ; Philosophy is the greatest Gift that ever GOD bestowed upon Men. And were it restrained to Natural Philosophy alone , there would be much truth in that Assertion of his . For it serves our interests with a mighty efficacy , and is highly conducive to our benefit ; not only many , but innumerable ways . Thus it exalts our Minds , and inlarges our Understanding , and fills them with rich and invaluable Notions . It elevates our flat and groveling Souls , and make them at once to look up , and look high . It disinthralls our Judgments , inslav'd to Sense , and weak Speculations ; and swells our shrivel'd narrow Thoughts , into wide , and generous , and comprehensive Theories . It wipes the dust of Ignorance , and dimness of Prejudice out of our Eyes ; and inables us not only to see Nature's Beauty , but duely to admire it . Yea , in a short time , it turns our Admiration into studious Industry ; and of passionate Lovers of Nature's Perfections , makes us curious and painful Searchers into her Mysteries . And here new Discoveries bring fresh * * Voluptas quam percipimus ex intuitu rerum quas o●●li cernunt , minime aequi paranda est cum illa quam adsert notitia illarum quas philosophando invenimus . Des Cartes in Praefat. ad Princip. Delights ; and our intellectual Satisfactions , do more than compensate our most tiresom Disquitions . For the Mind being weighed down with the luggage of the Body , and bound fast , as with Chains , in the straitnesses of it ; Philosophy relieves it ( says a great a a Corpus hoc , animi pondus ac poena est : premente illo urgetur : in vinculis est , nisi accessit philosophia : & illum respirare rerum naturae spectaculo jussit , & à terrenis dimisit ad divina . Haec libertas ejus est , haec evagatio ; subducit interim se custodiae qua tenetur , & coelo resicitur . Sen. Ep. 65. Man ) by giving it a fair Prospect of the things of Nature , and lifting it up from Earthly , to Divine Concerns . To take cognoscence of which , while it sallies out , it recovers a kind of liberty ; and breaking loose , in some sense , from the uneasie pressure and confinement it suffers , is refreshed with the survey and study of the Heavens .

The learned b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Clem. Alex. Strom. lib. 1. Father flies higher still , though not in the least above the Mark. For he makes Philosophy profitable for Godliness , to such as fetch Faith from Demonstration . And says , That if it does not comprehend the vastness of Truth , nor is able to perform the Commandments of the LORD ; yet it makes way for the most royal Doctrine . And therefore he would have all ( not excusing very c c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Strom. lib. 4. Women ) to mind Philosophy . And argues , That none who are d d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ibid. young should defer it ; and that none who are old should be weary of it ; because no Man is too young , nor yet too old , to get a found Mind . And then adds . He that says 't is too soon , or too late , to study Philosophy ; is just like him who says , it is too soon , or too late , to be blessed . And that Philosophy should contribute towards Mens Blessedness , we need not wonder ; when ( as he says in a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Strom. lib. 7. another place ) it does before-hand purge and prepare the Soul to receive the Faith , upon which the truth builds Knowledge . And albeit in these Expressions , he might not mean Natural Philosophy only ; yet speaking all along of the Greek Philosophy in general , he cannot be supposed to exclude that neither . Which indeed does very much qualifie and dispose us for true Religion ; and is rarely instrumental to improve and advance it .

To make out this fully , how useful and serviceable Philosophy is , to promote Religion ; would require a whole Volume . Let me only touch upon a few Particulars .

2. First , it is useful , To prove , There is a GOD. Of all the Fundamentals of Religion , this is the chief . Yet if Philosophy did not lend us some Topicks , from whence we might fetch Arguments , to evince and confirm the Existence of a DEITY ; all that we could say , would be too cold and languid to confute the Atheist . But when that discovers an absolute necessity of a First Cause , and of a First Mover ; and of an infinitely Wife and Powerful Creator of the Universe , and of as infinitely Wise and Powerful a Governour of the same : Or else on the other hand , shews a necessity of Deifying the World itself , by bestowing Godlike Attributes upon it ; and of granting Self-movency , Life and Vnderstanding to Matter ; with other most notorious and numberless Absurdities : Then he must either openly confess there is a GOD , or with silence submit to a Belief of his Being .

And what a considerable stroke Philosophy has in proving there is a GOD , Plutarch fairly gives us to understand ; where he declares , b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 De Placit . Philos. lib. 1. cap. 6. That the first Notion Men had of him , they took from the beauty of the aspectable things . And a little after , a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . ibid. They had the knowledge of a GOD , from the Stars which appeared , while they beheld the great harmony they caused , and how orderly they made Day and Night , and Winter and Summer . To which agrees what we read , Wisd. 13. 3 , 4.

3. Secondly , To acquaint us with the Nature of the DEITY . For what to make of his Immatorial or Spiritual Essence ; of his Necessary and Self-existence ; of his Ubiquity or Omnipresence ; of a TRINITY in Unity ; or Three distinct Persons , in one and the same undivided Nature , and common essential Substance , &c. we should be utterly at a loss , were it not for Philosophy . Not that Philosophy can enable us to look to the Centre of God's Perfections neither , and throughly to understand him ; that 's impossible . For he is nothing else but GLORY and GREATNESS . And such is the Brightness of the one , and the Immenseness of the other , yea , the Infiniteness of both , that no created Capacities , with all the helps they can possibly get , shall attain to a clear and full knowledge of him . Yea , much of the felicity of the Eternal State , seems to lye in this ; That as we shall always see more and more of GOD , so we shall never be able to discern all : But shall incessantly be entertained with fresh Perceptions of new Delights , arising from fresh Apprehensions , and new Discoveries of the incomprehensible Goodness and Beauties of the Divinity . Which Apprehensions will be so very clear , and the Oblectations issuing from them so high and strong , in reiterated rapturous Vibrations in the Soul , that we shall be strangely overflowed , and as it were quite swallowed up of endless and most beatifying Satisfactions . And O amazing Bliss and Happiness indeed , where we shall ever be sinking deeper and deeper still in an abyss of intellectual Joy and Sweetness ! This will make our condition a boundless Ocean of transporting Pleasures ; as GOD's Nature is a like Ocean of Divinest Excellencies . But then if GOD be too Glorious and Great to be perfectly understood by us in the Mansions above ( where the dormant Powers and Faculties of our Souls ( which perhaps are many ) shall be all awakened into lively Actings ) how much less can Philosophy help us to understand him compleatly , here in these lower Regions ? Yet as Men may see more with a good Perspective , than they can do without it ; so we may better acquaint our selves with the Nature of GOD , being assisted by Philosophy , than if we had it not . And the truth is , even the very Word and Works of GOD , the two most informing things we have , the most apt and able to lead us into competent knowledge of His MAJESTY , without Philosophy , are neither of them to be rightly or tolerably understood in innumerable Instances .

4. Thirdly , To assert a Providence , and the free use of our Faculties . Astra regunt homines , Stars govern Men , has taken great place in the World : Insomuch that a Mans Stars , and his Destiny , have been Terms equivalent . As free Agents as we are , they have been thought to controll us ; to be Disposers of our Lot , and Dispensers of our Portion , and the Masters of our Fortune . To incline our Minds , and to sway our Wills ; to determin our Motions , and over-rule our Actions ; staking us down as it were in all our Proceedings by irresistible force , or tying us up to fatal necessity . A Persuasion most strange , and also as false . It might come from hence . The Stars were observed to be very numerous , and for their largeness , most considerable Bodies . And therefore for them only to shine in the Night-time , and that with so pitiful a light , as every little Fog or Cloud can obscure , might well be thought too mean a work for them , at least for their whole Employment . Whereupon to intitle them to another Task , more noble and suitable , they were fancied to have Mankind committed to their charge , to be ruled by them with an absolute Regency . But whence sprang this Mistake , of the Stars Superintendency and Sovereign Dominion , save merely from the want of sound Philosophy ? For as many as are tolerably vers'd in that , know they can have no such Influence or Empire ; but are wholly incapable of exercising a Regiment of that Nature over us . And do know as well likewise to what other great Ends or Uses they may serve , most worthy of themselves ; much better than to such an impossible Jurisdiction , as has been wildly and unreasonably attributed to them .

5. Fourthly , To exclude Idolatry . The most general and constant Idol among Men , has been the Sun . And how came he to be so ? Why , from his Motion , he might probably be reputed an Animal : And from his regular Motion , he might as well be thought to have Understanding . And then from these Notions or Persuasions concerning him , Men might easily ascend to an higher yet , and fancy him a Being of Divine Perfections ; as Cardan and Vaninus did . And so it would be natural to honour him as a GOD , by paying Divine Worship to him . Yea , a long and prevailing Doctrine it has been , That the Sun ( though he was not a rational and understanding Creature himself ) was actuated and directed by a Spirit or Intelligence . And this seems an Opinion , but one remove from the other ; and might give too just occasion and encouragement to superstitious Adoration of the Sun ; if not open a wide door whereat it might enter . But then true Philosophy interposing here , makes so full a discovery of his Nature , as may throughly abolish and for ever destroy all grounds and reasons of Idolatrous Practices in reference to him . Though through want of such Philosophy at Athens , Anaxagoras fell under a double misfortune ; being at once both fin'd and banish'd , for calling the Sun a meer Globe of Fire .

The like also is applicable to the Stars , the Moon , and the rest of the Planets ; which too often , and with too many , have been reputed Deities , and treated accordingly . And therefore Philo says , they were a a Lib. de ●und . incor●upt . of old , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the reputed blessed Host of sensible GODS .

6. Fifthly , To vindicate the Gospel . In illustrating , that is , and clearing it up , in some of its most considerable Points or Articles . In it are delivered the most high and important things that can be ; and they seem to be as difficult in their Proof , as they are lofty and momentous in their Nature and Accomplishment . But from Philosophy they receive good Light and Confirmation .

7. Of this kind , in the first place , is , The Immortality of the Soul . The certain truth or reality of which , is abundantly evidencd by plenty of Arguments from the several Places of Philosophy . Thus , it teaches ( for Instance ) that the Soul is a spiritual or immaterial substance : and so , distinct from the Body , and independent upon it . Which Proposition alone , throughly confirmed , is sufficient to establish her Immortality ; and that strongly and impregnably , against all the Cavils and perverse Objections , that wanton Wits of captious Somatists can raise in contempt , or ( as they imagine ) in confutation of it . And that the Soul is a purely spiritual Being , and so , quite different from , and exalted above the Nature of Body ; even then when she animates it , and lives in closest conjunction with it : Philosophy gives us clearly to understand , from her POWERS Or FACULTIES , and from her OPERATIONS . I mean while it inables us to apprehend and judge , that they are too lofty and excellent , too regular and active ( as being vital and intellectual ) to be in any measure compatible to meer corporeity ; though of never so sublimate and refin'd a consistency .

Thus , we know , the Soul can move and perceive , and understand and consider , and reason and conclude , and deliberate and determine , and choose and refuse . That she is capable of framing universal Propositions , and of apprehending spiritual and abstracted Essences , and the Numbers , and Notions , and Ideaes of things . That she is able to correct the seeming representations of Sense and Fantasie ; and when Objects appear in such Distance , or Figure , or Colour , or Magnitude : to think and infer that they must be otherwise . That she has power to strive with the Bodily Appetites ; and after many , and long , and vehement Colluctations , to master and subdue them . She going one way , by vertue of that free and innate Rule , which is founded and deeply radicated in her self : while fly Propensities and Inclinations flowing from inferiour ignoble Passions ; do dispose her to , and would impetuously hurry her on in another . Where though compliance with the motions she feels , would be far more pleasing to her at present , than stout resistance ; yet she bravely stands out , because that in her prospect of future consequents , she is sensible , yielding would turn to her prejudice . Yea , she cannot only encounter and fight against the Body , and maintain both stiff and lasting conflicts with its brutish affections ; but moreover delight in the Combates while they hold , and when they are past , rejoice in the Victory .

Now all these Powers and Workings of the Soul , in the Accounts of Philosophy , are Arguments and indications of her Incorporealness , or distinctness from the Body . And if we look upon them , as supervening to , or falling in with the Evangelical Doctrine of her Immortality ; the Article will thereby be eternally settled , never to be shaken , much less to be ruined , by the most powerful Assaults and furious Batteries , that Atheistical Sophistry can make against it .

We are all mortal , and he that lives longest , must die at last . But when he does so , some are apt to surmise , quòd totus moritur , that he dies wholly and finally , without or beyond all hope and remedy . And truly were the Soul no more than what many would make her ; namely , Crasis , Harmonia , vel Modus corporis ; a Temperament , Harmony , or Modification of the Body ; his fate might well be supposed such , because indeed it could be no other . But sound Philosophy , I say , makes it very evident , that the Soul is a substance distinct from the Body . That there is as real , and as great a difference between them , as there is between the Prisoner and his Chains ; or the House and its Inhabitant . And therefore several Philosophers ( and Socrates for one ) have taught us to call this Body , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the habitation of the Soul ; yea , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 her moveable Prison , and her living Sepulchre . And the Essenes ( followers of Pythagoras ) reckoned , as Iosephus informs us , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 &c. that to go out of the Body , was like an inlargement from Fetters . And this distinctness of the Soul from the Body , does aloud proclaim her independence upon it ; and shows her to have a vital Power in her self , inabling her to subsist when separated from it .

Yet ( to shut up the Point ) none need marvel that the excellent Philosopher now mentioned , I mean Socrates , should leave the World with a seeming mistrust of this great Truth , the Immortality of the Soul , ( with an , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IF SO BE the things spoken be true . ) For the wise Man's condition , at the present , was exceeding black and dark ; and the gloomy lowring circumstances he was in , might well cloud his mind , and dull his thoughts , and so depress and sink his Spirit ; as to hinder his quick apprehension of things . And though he was a very considerable Philosopher in his time , yet the Gospel which brought life and * * 2 Tim , 1. 10. immortality to light , had not then visited the World : nor did Philosophy it self , then shine so bright by much , as now it does . All which rightly weighed , instead of wondring at his diffidence , we may rather be amazed at his Courage and Gallantry . For they who shall read , what Plato relates ( in his Apology ) concerning him , may well be surprized , not to say , astonished at his exemplary fortitude ; and the generous and incomparable greatness of his Spirit , at his dying hour .

8. A second grand Doctrine that Philosophy vindicates , by contributing towards the elucidation of it , is , The Resurrection of the Body , which was never explicitly recommended to the World , till the Gospel was promulgated . And therefore is fitly called by Tertullian , fiducia Christianorum , the proper or peculiar confidence of Christians .

This the Atheist can seldom either read , or hear of , but he is ready to smile , if not to insult . He huggs it as a dear and most useful notion ; As a notion which he thinks he can form unto an Engin , and that of such mighty and irresistible force , as shall be able to batter down the whole Fabrick of the Christian Religion . That Mens Bodies should die , and be buried , and rot in their Graves , and grow up into Grass ; and this Grass be eaten by Beasts , and those Beasts be eaten by Men , and those Men be eaten by Canibals , and those Canibals devoured by Worms , and those Worms turned to Dust , and that Dust quite dissipated and lost ; and yet those Bodies rise again , hundreds or thousands of Years after : How strange and impossible must this be ? How vain and foolish the Religion that teaches it ? How fond and silly the People that believe it ? But Philosophy helps to make out the mystery .

For that teaches , That no MATTER does perish ; that none of it is annihilated or utterly lost . Whereupon it follows , That when our Bodies are interred , and reduced to Earth , or else burned , and for the most part evaporate into the Air , or the like : they suffer but a dissolution and dispersion at worst . And therefore they may still be capable of being gathered up in their widest dissipations , and of being made into living Bodies again . Provided there be but ( as there is ) a Power in the World , that can work them to re-unions , by consigning and adjusting their numberless Particles , into their respective integral Masses .

Philosophy teaches also , That all Matter in being was once the same ; and that it is so still , only it is diversified into several kinds , by various Modifications . ; Whence it follows , That ( according to the account we have of the Resurrection ) a Terrestrial Body , may become a Celestial one ; and a Natural Body , may become a Spiritual one ; this Corruptible , may put on Incorruptible ; and this Mortal , put on Immortality ; and yet be the very identical Body that it formerly was ; the same in Substance , only different in Qualities . As Gold , is the same Gold , when tried and refined ; only more pure than it was before .

Farther , the same Philosophy instructs us , That the most of that Food , which Men take , does not come to Assimilation , or absolute conversion into the substance of their Bodies : yea , that very little of it does so . Whence it follows again , That the Body of a Man by being eaten of Cannibals ( though it should be eaten over and over ) needs not for that , be hindred from rising again . For , excepting some slender portions of it , it slips through the eaters ; and however by Concoction it be turned into Chyle , yet it is not carried on to a full transmutation , and converted into Flesh. So that the greatest part of the devoured Carkass , is only altered in it self , by passing through the Vessels of them that eat it ; but no way appropriate to another individual . And the remains of this macerated changed Carcass ( that never ran into the Composition of others ) after all its mutations , being turned at last ( to use Tertullian's word ) into the Substance of Eternity ; shall thereby be fitted to re-imbody that Soul , which formerly wore it . Yet still it will be the same Body ( in a very good ( let me say ) in a Gospel sense ) that it was when it died ; forasmuch as it must consist of the same matter which did then constitute it . I , and we may still call it Flesh too , because it really is so . Only instead of Corruptible Flesh ( which not only shall not , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , * * 1 Cor. 15. 50. Cannot inherit the kingdom of GOD ; we must allow it to be Glorious ( let it not seem absurd , if I add ) Spiritual Flesh. In a word , it shall be such Flesh , as our BLESSED REDEEMER's is now in Heaven . And therefore we may remember , he has promised , by a famous Apostle ; when he shall appear again , * * Phil. 3. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . to transform the Body of our humiliation ; and to make it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , conform to the Body of his Glory . Where , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . does plainly signifie , That the Bodies of Holy Men , at the Resurrection , are not to be changed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in substance ; but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . in Form only . The matter of them is still to be the same ; only the Modes of them are to be altered , and they must put on new , and better Accidents . The variation the suffer , shall be in the Scheme or Habit ; not in the Essence of their Bodies .

Two lively Specimens , or Pledges of this admirable change , which at last shall happen to the Bodies of the Righteous , to their great improvement in circumstantials ; are given us in the inspired writings . Which , if duly considered , may serve to strengthen our Faith , and make us firm and steady in our Belief of the thing . The first of them occurs , Exod. 34. in the Person of renowned Moses . His Face shined while he was upon Earth ; and at the same time that it was corruptible Flesh , did glitter with so bright a lustre , that his fellow Mortals were not able to behold it . And therefore whenever he talked with them , he was fain to wear a Vail , over the dazeling splendours of his radiant Countenance .

The other St. Mat. 17. in the most adorable JESUS , at his transfiguration . For then his blessed Face did not only shine , but shine as the Sun . And yet at the same time that it was so glorious and wonderful refulgent ; it was but the Flesh that it us'd to be . And therefore , says the Evangelist , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was changed in form only . And Saint Luke giving account of the same thing , does it in these words , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the fashion of his Countenance was altered ; but nothing else . And if the Body of Man , in this state of Mortality and Imperfection , could put on a shining , yea , a Sun-like Glory ; by a change of its form or fashion , its modes or qualities : then how easie will it be for a throughly changing modification , to superinduce such an alteration in all its Properties , at the Resurrection ; as is necessary to make it glorious in its full capacity . Though when all is done , it shall still be but ( * * Tertul. lib. de Resur . as the Father calls it ) caro angelificata , angelified flesh . Flesh as pure , that is , and as spiritual , as those Bodies which the Angels wear .

And truly if Chymists by the force of Fire , can reproduce Flowers ( as we are told they can ) out of their own Ashes : and the Herbs that Beasts have eaten , out of their Excrements , by the Architectonic parts latent in the same : then well may the Philosopher argue and infer ; what may not the last and dreadful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Burning of the World ( which will easily resolve things into their first Seminals ) be able to do , towards the restoration of the dead Bodies of Men , or their happy reflorescence out of their Dust and Ruines ? Especially if he be a Christian , and thinks the DEITY will strike in with this melting Flame , and strengthen and conduct it , in its mighty energy , to that very strange and wonderful effect .

I say , if he considers , That the DEITY will strike in , and ingage in the case . For I would be loth to have a sinister misconstruction made , of what has been spoken . I mean , by being thought to impute the great and miraculous work of the Resurrection , to the force of Nature only ; or the perfect explication of the manner of its accomplishment , to the light of Philosophy . All that I have said , amounts but to thus much , That Philosophy helps us somewhat better to conceive of the fecibleness of the thing : as Nature helps much to illustrate its futurity , and also in some measure to exemplifie or represent it .

That Nature does thus , is clear , in the Judgment of Minutius Felix , an Author of equal elegance and solidity , in what he wrote ; only pity it is that he wrote no more . His words , to this purpose , are these , * * Vide quàm in solatium nostri , resurrectionem sutur am omnis natura meditetur . Sol demergit , & nascitur ; Astra labuntur , & redeunt . Flores occidunt , & revi●iscunt ; post senium , Arbusta frandescunt ; Semina , non nisi corrupta , revirescunt : Ita Corpus in seculo [ Sepulchro ] ut arbo es in hyberno , occultant virorem ariditate mentitâ . Quid festinas , ut crudâ adhuc hyeme reviviscat & red●at ? expectandum nobis etiam corporis ver est . In Octav. pag. 113. See how entire nature for our comfort studies ( to exhibit or typifie ) a Resurrection to come . The Sun sets , and rises again ; the Stars go down , and return again ; the Flowers fade , and revive again ; Shrubs , after the fall , have Leaves again ; Seeds , unless they rot , spring not up again ; so the Body in the Grave conceals a greenness , as Trees in the Winter , under counterfeit driness . Why art thou so hasty , as if it could revive and return , while rawtish Winter lasts ? We must also wait for the Spring time of the Body . Thus far he . And in the same way of setting forth the Resurrection , by ordinary Revolutions and Renovations in Nature , do the pious and learned Fathers go . As Tertullian , Epiphanius , Ruffinus , St. Chrysostom , St. Ambrose , St. Austin , Theodoret , Damascen , and others .

Now just as Nature shews the futurity of the Resurrection , while it prettily adumbrates and prefigures it to us , by various and lively Symbols and Resemblances ; so Philosophy , another way , leads us into quick and clear Apprehensions of its possibility . I mean , while it makes it evident , to such as consider , that a Body dissolved , must still exist in the Minutes or little Particles of it . And that the coarsest matter ( even that of a cadaverous Body it self ) by a meer Physical change of its Modes or Qualities , may be made into a Substance most fine and glorious , and yet be really and essentially the very same it was .

But still I say , as before , that this mighty Work , as to the main of it , is to be done by the Hand of GOD. And if any will maintain , That it cannot be ; it behoves them , as the Christian a a Athenagoras , de 〈◊〉 mort . p. 175 , 176. The 〈◊〉 Treatise is very well 〈◊〉 any Scholar's serious ●eading . Philosopher has said , to shew that it is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , either above GOD's Power , or against his Pleasure , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to gather together the fragments and scattered materials of dead Bodies , and to reunite them , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , for the Constitution or Instauration of Men. To him it solely belongs , to give 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to every one his own Body , 1 Cor. 15. 38. And without his special directing and distinguishing Providence , impossible it must be , that particular Souls should all recover the proper Ingredients of their respective Bodies , out of that unspeakable blend and confusion into which they will be run , before the end of the World . But since GOD will be pleas'd ( to help Nature in the case ) to put his Omnipotent Hand to the Work , we need not doubt but it shall be effected . Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you , that God should raise the Dead ? said St. Paul , Act. 26. 8. If any one else were to raise them , the doing of it might well be thought , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a thing incredible . But since GOD will undertake it , why should it be thought incredible ? yea , even , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , with you ; that is , King Agrippa , and Festus ; to whom the Apostle was making his Defence , in open Court , at Caesarea . Nor truly will the Question seem improper , albeit they were Heathens . For though the Expression , above remembred , be true ; the Resurrection of the dead , is the confidence of Christians ; none ever believed it so fully and firmly as they : yet that the very Ethnicks had a dim knowledge of it ; and yielded a faint kind of assent or credit to it ; we have grounds upon which to conclude . For

First , a a In Ancor . Epiphanius tells us , That certain Nations had a custom , to bring Meat and Drink to the Graves of the Dead , and in token that they expected they should one day rise , to invite them to it thus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ho , rise again , eat , and drink and be glad .

And then Athenagoras informs us , That it was not only the persuasion of Christians , that the Dead shall rise again , but also of b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Legat. pro Christ . sub fine . many Philosophers . And if they believed it , no wonder that Nations should do the same ; as being apt to be led by them , and to receive their Instructions : As they again surely would not fail to recommend a Doctrine of so high a nature , and excellent a use unto those about them , Let me mention but a few of those Philosophers , whose commendation it is , that they inclined to a belief of the Proposition , That the Dead shall rise at last .

Democritus was of this mind , as we learn from Pliny's checking him for it ( Nat. Hist. lib. 7. cap. 55. ) Where he calls Democritus's Opinion of the Body's rising again , a Vanity ; and argues not only against that , but also against the Soul's existing in a state of Separation .

Zoroaster is said to have taught , That there shall be a general Resurrection of the Dead . And Clemens would make him a kind of Earnest of it . For where c c Lib. 10. de Repub. Plato relates of one Herus Armenius , That he was slain in War , and lay ten days among the other dead Bodies ; and being taken away , and carried home to be buried , on the twelfth day , when he was laid upon the Funeral Pile , he rose to life again : d d Strom. l. 5. p. 599. Clemens will have this Herus to be Zoroaster .

Plato , in his Phaedo , concerning departed Souls , pronounceth , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , They come higher again , and are made alive from the dead . And the same thing he affirms in the very next words he writes , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . And a little after he inforceth what he had said , by a more confident Assertion yet ; e e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . These things we acknowledge , not because we are deceived , but because there is indeed a returning to life , and a reviving from the dead . Whereupon Marsilius Ficinus declares , Videtur mortuorum resurrectionem vaticinari . He seems to foretel the Resurrection of the dead . And by and by adds , Tandem ingenii quadam fiduciâ resurrectionem asserit . At length he asserts the Resurrection with a kind of ingenious boldness .

Seneca does not tell Lucilius in plain terms , That the Dead shall rise : Yet he does very little less , when he writes to him in these words ; f f Mors , quam pertimescimus & recasamus , intermittit vitam , non cripit . Veniet iterum qui nos in lucem repon●t dies . — Aequo animo debet rediturus exire . Ep. 36. Death , which we are so much afraid of , and so loth to submit to , does but intercept life , not take it way . The day will come , that shall bring us to light again . — He that shall return to the Body , ought to go out of it with an even mind .

The Stoicks ( how rudely soever some of them disputed against the Resurrection , when St. Paul preached it at Athens , and huff●d and scorn'd both the Teacher and his Doctrine ) did ever implicitly assent to and maintain it . For they held , That the Fire of the General Conflagration , which is to happen , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , at the time appointed ; will be , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a lustrative or purifying Fire : and that the Effect or Consequent of the Purgation it shall make , will be , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a new modelling of the World , a restitution of the Universe to its pristine order , and of all Persons to their quondam conditions . So that herein , as Origen truly notes , g g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Cont. Cels. lib. 5. Though they use not the Name of the Resurrection , they declare the Thing , and allow it .

Nor do the Peripateticks , in this matter , come behind those of the Porch , if we may judge of the Sect , by one of their School ; I mean Theopompus . Concerning whom , h h In Prooem. pag. 3. Diogenes Laertius has recorded , That he said , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , That Men shall return to life , and be immortal . And he farther gives us to understand that one Eudemus Rhodius was of the same mind . And that Theopompus his Opinion in this , was , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , agreeable to the Wise Men. And that any of the Sect we are now speaking of , should assert the Resurrection , may seem less strange , if Clemens of Alexandria his report be true ; who tells the World , i i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Strom. lib 5. pag. 595. That the Peripatetick Philosophy depends upon the Law of Moses , and the rest of the Prophets .

Now when Philosophy bids thus very fair for the Body's Resurrection , is it not great pity that famous Divines should perplex the Article , by insisting upon Niceties ? Yet so some may seem to do ( I mention not their Names in reverence to them ) who will have the Cuttings of the Hair , and the Parings of the Nails , &c. to return to those Bodies ( when they shall rise ) from which they were once separated . But one would be ready to think , that so great abundance of excrementitious Parts would be enough to make even a glorified Body deformed .

It cannot be deny'd indeed , but that the Apostle , discoursing of the Resurrection of the Body , does positively affirm , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , this corruptible must put on incorruption ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and this mortal must put on immortality , 1 Cor. 15. 53. But that does not argue , that every little thing , which at any time was an appurtenance of the Body , is to be restored to it when it riseth . If the rising Body does but wholly spring up out of considerable parts of the former Body ( out of such parts as perhaps for their driness , solidity , &c. could never go to compound any other humane or carnous Body ) this may come up sufficiently to the Apostle's meaning . For so the raised Body may fairly be said , to be this mortal , cloathed with immortality ; and this corruptible , indued with incorruption ; because it will be the same with that Body which was put off at death . The same , I mean , in a lax and Evangelical sense ; and as much the same ( I may venture to say ) as our GREAT REDEEMER's was . For truly concerning His Holy Body , who can make it appear , that some part ( and a good part ) of its most precious Blood , was not left on the Whips , and on the Pavement ; on the Nails , and on the Cross ; on the Soldier 's Spear , and especially on Calvary : after his most Sacred MAJESTY was risen ? And yet if it were so , would it not strongly evince , that the Body raised , need not be the same with the Body dissolved , in a strict and nice , but only in a moderate or looser acception of Identity ? Which if it might be allowed , whether it would not rescue the Doctrine of the Resurrection from some seemingly harsh intanglements and amusing difficulties , I leave to better Judgments to determin , being resolved my self not to be definitive .

The Schools ( as is well known ) are very strict here ; contending that the same Numerical Body , in the rigidest sense , shall rise again . That the Hairs , Nails , Blood and Humours , must all return to the Body , and rise with it . But then let it be noted , in check to this Opinion , that it can ill be reconcil'd to another common one of theirs : That is to say , that the Bodies of Saints shall all arise , a a Aquin. Sam. Theol. sap. Quest. 81. Ar. 1 , 2. in juvenili aetate , as in youthful age , and be ejusdem staturae , of the same stature or proportion . So that Infants and Children shall have their Bodies as large , as if they had died , in termino augmenti ( to use their word ) in the acme or full pitch of their perfect Growth . Now if the self same , or very Numerical Body , shall rise at last ; how is it possible , that Bodies so different in Dimensions and Quantity at their Dissolution , should ever put on an equality of Stature at their Resurrection ? To affirm it , is as much as to say , that the raised Body shall be exactly the same for Bulk and Quantity that it was ; and yet be bigger than it was , as to Size ; and have more in it than it had , as to Substance . Else how can Infant Bodies be improv'd into a parity with those of adult Persons ?

The Orthodox Iews did of old believe there should be a Resurrection . Though some Heretical ones denied and rejected it . And others were short and erroneous in the Faith of it , as not extending it to the latitude we do , while they appropriated it to the Iust. And others again were phansiful or whimsical about it ; possess'd with that vain and odd conceit of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the volutation of Caverns . ( Whereby they fondly imagin'd , that those of them who were buried out of the Land of Isreal , shall be rolled through subterraneous hollownesses , to rise in Canaan , or else could not rise at all . ) Though some , yea , many of them might be thus carried away ; yet the sound and orthodox Iews , I say , did steadily believe a general Resurrection of the Dead . And therefore in serious persuasion and expectancy of the thing , they us'd to call the Grave , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the house of the living . To which ( by the way ) our LORD might allude , when He would prove the Resurrection against the Sadducees , by that Passage out of Moses's Writings ( which they allowed , though they cast off the rest of the Old Testament ) I am the GOD of Abraham , and the GOD of Isaac , and the GOD of Iacob ; GOD is not the GOD of the dead , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but of the Living . Where he could not mean only , that the Souls of those Patriarchs were then alive ( for that would have been no just Proof of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the resurrection of the Dead . ) But he meant , that the Bodies of those famous Men ( considerable pieces of the Individuals ) without which they could never recover the intire Personality they once had , were to be reckoned among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or living ; as being potentially alive , alive in GOD's Purpose or Decree ; and most certainly to be raised up , being actually revived at last .

But that which I mentioned the Iews Belief of the Resurrection for chiefly , is this : It was an Opinion among them , That the Body which riseth at the Resurrection , shall commence and spring up from a Bone ( in the Back ) called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Which Bone the Rabbies will have to be incorruptible ; and alledge the Psalmist's words for it ; He keepeth all his Bones , Unum ex iis non conteretur , One of them shall not be broken , Psal. 34. 20. Now though this be nothing but an empty conceit , yet it gives us the measure of the Iews Thoughts in the case ; and plainly hints , That they were not curious , or much concern'd about the same Numerical Body's rising again ; but deemed it sufficient to have the rising Body , made out of that Body which is laid down at death , or out of any part of it .

9. Another Article of extraordinary consequence , is , The Conflagration of the Earth . Of this the Gospel speaks expresly , The Earth and the Works that are therein shall be burnt up , 2 Pet. 3. 10. A positive Prediction , say the Atheistical and Incredulous : But how shall it be verified ? Where is there Fire enough to do it ? Here Philosophy assists again , by giving in most satisfactory Information . For it well assures us , That there are vast Stores of Fire about the Earth , as well as Treasuries of Fire in it : Yea , that the little Pores of almost every Body , have abundance of this Element lurking in them . So that we may wonder that the fiery Principle does not forthwith break out , and set all on a flame ; rather than that it should take place at last , and seizing upon the World ( I mean this Terrestrial one ) burn it up by a furious and inextinguishable combustion ; it being ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as Epiphanius speaks it ) delug'd with Fire .

10. In the Fifth place : The Gospel gives account of a fiery Punishment prepared for Reprobates , and of the Eternity of that Fire which is to plague and torment them . So we read in the Final Sentence , Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire , prepared , &c. An impossible thing , says the prophane Objector . No Fire can burn for ever ; for where should be a supply of Fuel to continue it ? Indeed a great Pile may make a great Fire ; and durable Fuel may make a lasting one . But that any Fire should be everlasting , is not to be thought ; it would want fit pabulum , or matter to cherish it , and inable it to subsist . Were all Combustibles amassed together , and made into one heap ; were the whole Earth ( as large as it is ) turned into a fomes or aliment for it , it could not hold always . No , it must spend apace , and waste and burn out into Cinders or Ashes ; and so the Fire that dwelt in it , and preyed upon it , must be starved and die . This is a Knot that Philosophy unties with the greatest ease ; and no only allows what our SAVIOUR has said , to be probable and true ; but adds confirmation to what he has authenticated , by casting in the Overplus of its own authority . For it tells us there is a certain matter in the World , that burns of it self , and will burn for ever . It is a Natural and Essential Flame ; Independent and Vital ( I may say ) as being able to support and maintain it self alive , without any kind of Fuel to preserve and feed it : So sixt and permanent , that where it is got together in any good quantities , it may very well challenge the Epithet of Vnquenchable ; which is at once the dreadful Title and Property , whereby the Gospel describes that Infernal Fire that is to be the Instrument of the Damneds torture . Which must needs have strange force and vehemence in it to excruciate them ; as being of a most subtil and active , and so of a most piercing and raging Nature .

11. Once more let us reflect upon the Vsefulness of Philosophy . It is very great in reference to Divinity ; that is , as it attends it in an humble subordination and service of its Interests . Chiefly in helping to clear up its Difficulties , and to keep Absurdities from mingling with its Doctrines . For thô ( as the learned Father truly says ) a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Clem. Alex. Strom. lib. ● . The Doctrine of our SAVIOVR ( which is the Marrow of all Divinity ) be perfect , and stands in need of nothing ( to improve it ) as being the Power and Wisdom of GOD : Yet Philosophy coming over to it , though it makes not the Truth the stronger , it makes sophistical Argumentation against it weak ; and by driving away decitful wiles against Truth , may be called a necessary Fence or Fortification of the Vineyard . But not to be tedious :

Philosophy , we know , has ever been reputed the Handmaid of Divinity ; and its Honour it is , as well as its Excellency , that it really is so . And indeed where true and substantial Philosophy does interest it self in the Affairs of Theology , and serve it with a decent and respectful Ministry , it becomes of singular advantage to it . For the most perplext and intricate Problems it has ( provided they be explicable ) are no where made so clear and intelligible , as where Philosophy is permitted or employed to intepret them , or call'd in to assist in the Exposition of them . Whereas on the contrary , where that is shut out , there is too much cloudiness and darkness within . Even familiar things are made confus'd and abstruse , and wrapt up in a nightsom and remediless obscurity .

This is obvious to any slight notice . For in those Theological Systems or Tractates , where Philosophy has no place ( as the Mahometan , for instance ) People are miserably gull'd , and shamefully imposed upon , by monstrous Assertions ; and that in common and easie matters . Yea , in many things , the grossest Extravagances pass with them for sublime and solid Notions ; and the fulsomest Non-sense , for venerable Mysteries ; they wanting wherewith to distinguish betwixt them . And all because they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , destitute of Philosophy ; which would afford them such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Rules of Judgment , as would inable them to discern what is true , and what is false ; and to take exact measures of a just discrimination .

That the Virgin MARY conceived by smelling to a Rose , and was afterwards delivered of Christ at her Breast . That the Moon once slipt into Mahomet's Sleeve . That in the End of the World all things shall die at the winding of an Horn , even Angels themselves . That the Accursed then following Cain as a Leader , shall carry their Sins in Satchels at their Backs ; the weight of which breaking down the Bridge of Iustice as they go over it , the Delinquents , for their Punishment , shall fall into a River of Fire that runs under it . What prodigiously dull and heavy Figments are these ? Yet by the zealous Proselytes of the Epileptick Impostor , they are embraced not only as Rational and Consistent , but even as Divine and Miraculous Truths . But were the light of Philosophy let into the Alcoran , it would soon chase away these , and all such egregious and nauseous Fooleries . And together with them , it would send blindness and ignorance packing too ( which are their Parents and their Nurses ) making them flee before it , as Chaff before the Wind , or as the Shades of the Night before the Morning Sun .

And here if it might not be thought too unseemly a Transition , to pass from the Turkish to the Christian Divinity ; it would not be impertinent to remark its defectiveness in Philosophy likewise in one particular . How much better might , Hoc est Corpus meum , This is my Body , have been understood ; both as to the credit of the Proposition , and its influence upon Christians , if Philosophy had paraphras'd or expounded it ? For then the true Notion of an Humane Body , should have shut out that numerous train of Absurdities ( besides many , and great , and intolerable Inconveniences ) which have followed the literal acceptation of the words .

12. These are a few slight touches upon the USEFULNESS of Philosophy . They might have been greatly both multiplied and enlarged . But being intent upon Brevity , I say no more of that nature . Only as I go along , give me leave to drop this Note by the way ; What an auspicious Providence is it , that has made some Persons for several years past , so indefatigably studious in Philosophy , and has crown'd their Studies with such happy success ! It looks as if GOD had strange kindness for us , and designed to enrich and honour this Age with a very choice Blessing ; even with a clearer understanding , not only of Nature , but in Divinity it self , than the World has yet had .

Nor need we wonder that Philosophy should advance and flourish even among our selves ; considering what encouragement it has lately met with . For whereas it is recorded by a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Var. Histor. lib. 7. cap. 21. Aelian , as a signal Respect to Philosophers , That Caesar us'd to call at Aristo's Door ; and Pompey , at Cratippus's : we have seen a Renowned MONARCH of our own , shew higher Favour , and give better Countenance , to that honourable and useful Sort of Men. For besides that he erected them into a famous and well-contriv'd Society ; that they might be a ROYAL one too , he was pleased to make HIMSELF Their PATRON and Their HEAD .

13. Now we being in these hopeful thriving Circumstances , it behoves us to be careful , that it may not be with us in this Case , as it frequently and unfortunately falls out in others , That we Abuse not Philosophy , which grows so fast and high in noble Improvements . For such is our loose and unruly temper , that from fulness we commonly run into wantonness , turning our rich Plenty into Riot and Excess . It will be wisdom to restrain or suppress this humour , and to keep our selves free from its evil predominance : else our very Remedy may become our Disease ; and we may surfeit and be sick of that wholsom medicine which the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or great Physician of our Minds , has given us to help their pitiable Infirmities .

14. And upon this account of Abusing Philosophy , they are mightily to blame that Slight it : I mean , by speaking or thinking little and unhandsom things concerning it . Too many there are of the first Stamp , that Speak unbecomingly of Philosophy . They cry it down as needless , and condemn it as superfluous ; and tell us , there 's no cause to trouble our selves about it , we having an higher and better Doctrine among us , which came down from Heaven . These are crooked Reflections , and garishly made , upon no grounds , and without reason . The language ( at best ) but of Prejudice or Ignorance , Mistake or Inadvertency . For though the Word from Heaven be infinitely preferible to Humane Learning ; yet the one is most necessary in conjunction with the other : Else we may believe the Wise GOD would not have given us both : But since he has done so , it concerns us to take heed of slighting either . To reject Philosophy upon the account of Scripture , is just as discreet , as to resolve all Industry into Providence ; and to take no thought in the least for our selves , because GOD careth for us . Just as rational as it would be for a Man to throw away all Candles , because there is a Sun ; or to put one of his Eyes out , because he has two .

Clemens of Alexandria , upon strict Examination , will scarce be found clear of this Oversight . Not that he was for banishing or casting out Philosophy ( he used as much of it as any Father ) but he spake disparaging words concerning it : he diminisht it greatly , and detracted from it , by making it of a Base and Diabolical Extraction . For he fetches its Origin directly from Daemons , and talks as if lewd and lascivious Spirits were the Authors of it ; while they imparted it to Women , and these to Men ( as Sampson's Paramour did his Riddle to the Philistines . ) Thus says he in one place ; a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Strom. lib. 1. Philosophy was not sent from the LORD ; but came into the World , stoln and delivered by a Thief . Whether therefore some Power or Angel having learned somewhat of the truth , and abiding not in it , inspired these things , &c. And in another place ; a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Strom. lib. 5. The Angels , whose lot was above , being fallen down into Pleasures , decl●red Secrets , and such things as they knew , to Women ; while other Angels would rather have conceal'd them , and reserv'd them till the coming of the LORD . And from thence did the Doctrine of Providence slow , together with the discovery of high things . I would fain believe that he relates the fanciful conceits of others , rather than his own Opinion or Judgment . And I meet with a certain Passage , in the b b Pag. 309. First Book of his Stromata , that hints as much . For speaking there of the Greek Philosophy , and saying , All Philosophy was inspired by certain inferiour Powers , he brings it in with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , some have thought so . And saying , that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , it was set a foot by the Devil ; he makes way for it , with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as others will have it . But whether this learned Person spake his own sense , or other Mens , or both at once , we have another as learned as himself , who pronounceth much better , and more truly in the case ; namely , c c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Orig. cont. Celsum , lib. 6. Whatever Philosophers have spoken well , GOD manifested to them . By the light and use of their Reason ; that is , not by immediate supernatural Inspiration : It was the product of Study , not of Revelation . According to which high Derivation of Philosophy from GOD himself , we are obliged at least to speak fairly and honourably of it .

Which that we may do , we must so inwardly esteem and value it , as by no means to slight it in our thoughts . For mean and unworthy thoughts will soon break out into low and disparaging Speeches . Let none therefore depretiate or vilifie Philosophy , so much as in thought . He that does so , deserves to be branded for a Wretch . And accordingly indeed● he is stigmatized by d d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . In Amator . Plato : markt out for a pitiful sneaking Soul , that is sunk below the Dignity of his raised Species ; and in token of his degeneracy should write , MAN , no longer . And most justly . For he that is so silly as to despise Philosophy , does thereby condemn the improvement of Reason ; and consequently sets his mind against Reason it self , the specifick perfection , as well as the Crown and Glory of Humanity . And why should he wear the Title of that Nature for an Ornament , who is an Enemy to its excellency ?

15. But besides such mental and verbal wrongs that are done to Philosophy , which amount to a considerable undervaluing of it : there are also real and actual abuses put upon it , to the unreasonable prejudice of our selves , and that , while we make it minister to vanity and extravagance . And this is done Two ways chiefly .

The First is , When we set it too low , and depress it beneath its generous Worth . When we inslave it to Phansies and ridiculous Whimsies . When we put it upon the Investigation of things that are not ; or if they be , are but Smoke and Shadows ; not worth the thinking of , much less the searching after . And here the Schools are more than a little to blame . For they sometimes contend de lanâ Caprinâ , about great and loud nothings : and debate and wrangle with heat and fierceness , upon the most empty and frothy Questions . Thus ( to instance in the matter of Angels ) they dispute whether an Angel can be moved locally or no. And yet at the same time , their Philosophy will not admit an Angel to be in a place . And yet they still go on to argue , whether it be moved from place to place , pertranseundo media , by passing through the intermediate places . And then they farther Query , Whether ( if an Angel moves through intermediate places ) it be done , in tempore , vel in instanti , in time , or in an instant : and so whether he cannot as soon move from one Pole of the World to the other ; as cross a Room not ten Foot wide . This is to trifle with Philosophy , to put tricks upon it , or to tantalize it . To starve it under the pretence of treating it : or to make it a Chamelion , and to feed it with Air. It is perfectly to ridicule its Gravity : and to turn its Glory into scorn and contempt . To pull it down from its glittering and stately Throne of Reason , and to place it amongst the Vassals or Lacqueys to humor ; by tying it to wait upon empty impertinencies , with uneasie servility . People that do thus affront and abuse Philosophy , by ingaging it ( as I may say ) in lamentable drudgery ; in spinning out thin and Cobweb notions , in cutting up lean and aiery niceties , and in searching into such jejune and sorry Questions ; as afford little or nothing worth its regard ; do thereby lessen and degrade themselves , as well as that . And that so far , that I know not how to call them , nor what sufficient names of Diminution to bestow upon them . They are Sons of Sophistry , Pragmatical Speculators , Promoters of Subtilties , Metaphysical Brokers , Dissectors of Ideas , Factors for Levity , and Problematical Coiners . They are Fanaticks in Philosophy , and Conspirators against it , and Persecutors of it , and Worms and Moths to it ; and if they chance but to get into its rich Wardrobe , are for eating and spoiling all that is good in it . They are Men that seek for Knots in Bulrushes ; and if they cannot find them there , will be sure to make them . That will beat solid Learning , as thin as a Super●icies ; mince it as small as Mathematical Points ; grind it into finest Powder of Atomes ; turn it first into shadows , and then into nothing . In a word , whatever they seem to be , they are but meer Skeletons or Ghosts of Philosophers ; which commonly haunt wise Notions , till they fright them out of their Wits . And whatever they seem to do , they make but a noise and a great pother ; and in the dust that they raise , many times lose what they pursue . So that at best they are but Cyphers , or insignificant Persons ; idle when they are most active ; and useless when they are most studious ; and that I may borrow their full character from * * In Amator . Plato in short , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , they only tittle tattle in Philosophizing .

16. The Second way of abusing Philosophy actually , is by forcing it upon the contrary extreme . By straining it too much , and stretching it too far , and s●rewing it too high . By ascribing such a mighty influence to it , as ( is conceited ) may help Nature over all kind of Difficulties : or put her into a way of solving every Phaenomenon almost , by her own intrinsick force and vertue , by her own establisht Laws and Conducts ; without recourse to any other Principle or Oeconomy . As if because it does many things , it must therefore do all ; and nothing could be wrought without its efficiency . By which means , it is not only arm'd with an energy , far above what it can rightfully claim ; and presumed efficacious beyond all its proper Ability can extend to : but moreover is set up in opposition to Providence , and made to derogate from a Power , that is infinitely superior to its own ; by challenging to its self , what that alone is able to effect . Or if it be not made to arrogate so much to it self , as downright to claim the power of Miracles ; yet th●n it is supposed to intermeddle too far in the working of them : and so to intrench upon Omnipotence , where it does not exclude it .

And therefore that cavilling or captious Objection against the Philosopher , which Plato complains of , applied to him that runs Philosophy too high , and attributes too great a virtue to it ; may pass for an allowable Censure , in some measure at least . * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Apol. Socr. That he searches into things above and below , and minds not the GODS . To which reproof too many are obnoxious ( though it be frequently thrown out at random also , and in its wild projection sometimes hits such as do not deserve it . ) They are so intent upon inferior Causes , as to overlook the Supreme . And that where his hand is not only immediately ingaged , but also in a manner even visibly operative , by way of Divine or supernatural agency .

But they that impute too much to Philosophy , however they may think they befriend and honour it ; they thereby do it very great disservice . For while they cry it up more than they ought ; they make others slight it , and give it less than its due . A curious Statue that is delicately wrought ; finely proportioned , that is , admirably featured , rarely and exquisitely graven or carved : How many does it take , and how mightily does it please them ! But let this pretty Artificial Piece be converted to an Idol , and dress'd out , and set up to be worshipped ; let more be said of it than is really true , and more ascribed to it than it possibly can do : and this turns the value they had for it before , into scorn and hatred ; making nothing more vile and detestable than it . Even so the easiest and readiest way to depress Philosophy beneath its true worth , and to bring it down into disesteem , not to say , into lowest contempt with Men ; is for them to idolize it ( as it were ) and adore it , by applauding it extravagantly , and elevating it beyond its proper merit and capacity . For so they who before had a meet respect and veneration for it , will quickly despise it , and even swell with antipathy and indignation against it . Let all that are too great admirers of it , consider if thus they be not enemies to it , and preter-intentional detractors from it .

Thus some Devotoes and overweening Magnifiers of it , do solve the overthrow of Sodom Philosophically . They will have nothing at all of miracle in it ; but hold , it was consumed by Tempest . Accidental Lightnings , that is , from Thunder-clouds above , kindled subterraneous Fires about it ; the ground whereon that City was built , being of a very bituminous substance . But they who shall peruse the sad Story of the Calamity , and well observe the special hand that GOD is noted to have in it : and also seriously consider the solemn Dialogue betwixt HIM and Abraham about it ; and the wonderful deliverance of righteous Lot from it ; must certainly be of another Judgment , than to think it proceeded from nothing but Lightnings in the Air , and Sulphureousness in the Earth ; and that it was the simple effect of a meer natural Causality . And truly that one expression , * * Gen. 19. 24. The LORD rained upon Sodom Brimstone and Fire from the LORD out of Heaven , does plainly intimate , that it was . Miraculous .

Others bear us in hand , that there was nothing extraordinary in the destruction of Pharaoh and his mighty Army : but that they were drowned by pure oversight , and the common course of those famed Waters . Entring the Bay , that is , when the Flood was withdrawn , and the Waters at an Ebb ; they marched too far , and carelessly continued too long therein : even till the retired Sea , returning upon them in an impetuous Tide , swallowed up the King and his Host in an Instant . A likely supposition ! when we are told expressly from the Mouth of GOD , That he divided the Red Sea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Parts , or Segments , Psal. 136. 13. Where the Iewish Tradition is , That the Sea was divided into Twelve Cuts , according to the number of the Twelve Tribes ; and so every Tribe passed through the Channel in a Lane by it self . But however that be nice and humorous ( as is their other conceit , that seventy two Angels just , assisted in the Miracle ; because the Nineteenth , Twentieth , and One and Twentieth Verses of the Fourteenth of Exodus , do each of them contain so many Letters ) yet that the Red Sea was actually parted asunder , is clear from GOD's Command to Moses , at the Sixteenth Verse of that Chapter ; Lift thou up thy Rod , and st●etch out thine hand ▪ over the Sea , and DIVIDE it . And accordingly it is said at the One and Twentieth Verse , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Waters were DIVIDED . So divided , that as we read in the following Verse , they were a Wall to them on their right hand , and on their left . Which expression , to them that consider the situation of the Red Sea , and the course of journeying the Israelites were then in ; does plainly discover , that the Waters at their passing through them , were perfectly divided . Else they could not have had them on both hands of them at once , at lea●t not as a Wall to them . And that the Waters of that Sea , were as much divided as Waters could be ; is farther manifest from what occurs in the Story of Israels passage over Iordan . Where it is said , That the Waters ( of that River ) which came down from above , stood and rose up upon an heap : and those that came down towards the Sea of the Plain , failed , and were cut off , Josh. 3. 16. So that if the Waters of the Red Sea were but ●erved thus , they could not possibly be more really divided . And that they were thus served , is plain from the Testimony of the HOLY GHOST , Iosh. 4. 23. The LORD your GOD dried up the Waters of Jordan from before you , until ye were passed over , as the LORD your GOD did to the Red Sea .

Nor is it improbable ( by the way ) that proud Chen●res ( that Egyptian Monarch , who at last was overwhelmed with the Waters of this Sea ) might derive his obstinacy ( the occasion of his ruine ) from what we are now speaking of : I mean from his setting Philosophy too high . He might be strongly opinion'd , that Moses's Works were no Wonders at all ; no more than what Nature her self could do , if manag'd by Philosophers . And then Iannes , and Iambres , and the Magical Crew , ( Pharaoh's Philosophers ) pretending imitation of the Man of GOD , by their Juggling Tricks , might confirm the Tyrant in his mistaken thoughts : and convince him that he made a right Judgment of things , when he believed them to be of an ordinary strain , and placed them to the Accounts of Nature and Philosophy . Or if Moses , in some matters , out-did the Philosophers of the haughty King ; yet this he might conclude the result of his Breeding . For knowing he was brought up in his Royal Court , he could not but be sensible he had singular Advantages ; and in case he improved them ( as he had reason to think he did ) might well outstrip his notablest Antagonists , upon the score of his Education . And truly as Philo informs us , That he * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Lib. de Mund. Opif. attain'd to the top of Philosophy : so † † Act. 7. 22. Scripture assures us , That he was Learned in all the Wisdom of the Egyptians . Which Wisdom , the same Philo gives a particular Account of , in his life of Moses . And therefore Pharaoh might justly take him to be mor● skilful than any of his Philosophers ; and yet presume , that the Works wherein he excell'd all his artful Men , were not owing to Divine Power ; but to some knack he had of ordering Nature more dexterously , than they could do . And thus the prejudice once sprung up , might be deeply rooted in the Prince's Mind . And therefore , though he felt as well as saw , the mighty Prodigies ( for they were sorely afflictive , as well as stupendious ) yet he stouted it out a long time against them . Nor would he at last have buckled to release the Hebrews , had not frightful Death shown it self on the Tragical Stage ; and also come up so near him , as to strike his First-born and Heir apparent to the Crown .

And the same thing is attested by Origen of the Egyptians in general thus far , That they did not look upon Moses as doing the strange things he did , by power from above . a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Cont. Cels. Lib. 3. Thô ( says he ) they do not absolutely deny the Wonders wrought by Moses , yet they declare they were done by delusion , and not by Divine strength . And the Sorcerers or Magi taught them as much ; says the learned Iew that wrote Moses his Life . And therefore when his Rod was turned into a Serpent , and the Multitude of Spectators ( among whom was the King himself and his Princes ) were struck at once with amazement ●nd fear , insomuch that they fled : the same Writer brings in the b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Philo in vit. Mos. Sophisters and Magicians , speaking thus , Why are you affrighted ? we are not ignorant of such things , but use the like Art our selves in publick . Intimating , they thought Moses wrought the Miracle by pure Legerdemain , or Magical Craft , wherein they were versed . Which is also farther insinuated by that Proverbial Taunt , wherewith they flouted the renowned Heroe ( as we find it in the Talmud ) Thou bringest Straw into Afra : that being a place in Egypt where Straw abounded . Meaning , it was vain for him to play Hocus-Pocus Tricks , or to practise Inchantment , in a Land so stockt with the same already .

Nor can I pass by those sawcy Reflections , that lewd Celsus makes ( in favour of Philosophy ) upon our SAVIOUR's Miracles ; though it carries me a little farther still out of my way , to take notice of his Baseness . They were much superiour to the Wonders of Moses . Yet that rude Epicurean would fain argue them down into the hateful Rank of Prestigious Impostures , and make the HOLY JESUS no better than a Conjurer . Yea , having gotten the sacred Story by the end , of our LORD's Flight into Egypt , he perverts it most shamefully , to make it countenance that black and hellish Reproa●h which he would have fastned on his GLORIOUS MAJESTY . For he blasphemously affirms , That he was a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Orig. cont. Cel. lib. 1. brought up in an obscure manner , and being Lett for a Servant thither , grew skilful in the strange Feats of that Nation ; and then returning from thence , by the Feats he could do , gain'd himself the Name and Repute of a GOD. And yet still ( says the Wretch in another place ) he was but a b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . id . ib. Iuggler , and as such a one , went up and down dishonourably begging , and getting his livelihood by what he could do by Sleight-of-hand . Now whither tends this ? Why , as it is all but a Cast of Celsus's profound Philosophy ; so the drift of it was but to advance Philosophy , and set it too high : to exalt it , that is , above the Christian Doctrine , and to maintain it in way of Opposition to that .

And thus , ( to come home to our purpose at last ) Some have set Philosophy too high , in reference to the Flood : I mean that great and general Flood , which put a disastrous period to the First World . For they held it proceeded from Second Causes , in such a manner as reflects upon the First : in such a manner , that when , to do the greater honour to Philosophy , they attempt , by the help of it , to explain how ; the Explication grievously impeaches Scripture , and charges it very boldly and unhandsomly ; a thing by no means to be endured . For though Philosophy ( as has been said ) be eminently serviceable to Divinity ; and that in its noblest and most important Articles : unless they be such as are absolute Mysteries ( and so naturally as unintelligible to mee● Reason , as finest Speculations are imperceptible to Sense ) yet it must not be allow'd to clash or interfere with it in the least ; especially in its holy Foundations or Principles , the Inspired Oracles . For so the Hand-maid would pertly usurp over her Mistress ; and forgetting her duty , proudly domineer in her Station of Obedience .

17. And this is too much the Fault of The Theory of the Earth . It pends too hard against the Sacred Scriptures , and advances to an intrenchment upon Divine Revelation . Which will evidently appear , in several Particulars , in the Sequel of our Discourse .

18. It abounds with Philosophy indeed ; and the Philosophy it contains is well delivered . But it is not justly regulated , and kept within due Limits . For it runs so fast , and is driven so far , that it treads unseemly , and unsufferably too , upon the heels of Truth ; even of that most Divine and Infallible Truth which was spoken by GOD ; and therefore to be infinitely reverenc'd of Men.

19. Now this Irregularity I apprehended so great , that the reverence I bear to that Holy Volume , whose Cont●nts are no other than the Doctrines of Heaven , ingaged me in drawing up the ensuing Exceptions , and then in publishing them . Though I must own too , that I was much encouraged in the Undertaking , by the Theorist's ingenuous and frank Invitation : a a Theory , pag. 288. Whosoever , by solid Reasons , will shew me in an Error , and undeceive me , I shall be very much obliged to him . This I shall endeavour to do , with all Sincerity ; and that only as a Friend and Servant to Truth . And therefore with such Candour , Meekness and Modesty , as becomes one who assumes and glories in so fair a Character : And also with such Respect to the Virtuosoe who wrote the Theory ; as may testifie to the World , that I esteem his Learning , while I question his Opinion .

20. And that our Work may be done with the more ease and order , it shall be prosecuted in a Method cut out to our hands ; and shaped according to that Recapitulation of the Theory , which we find set down in the Second Book , and the Ninth Chapter , in these words :

That there was a Primitive Earth , of another Form from the present , and inhabited by Mankind till the Deluge : That it had those Properties and Conditions that we have ascribed to it , namely , a perpetual Equinox and Spring , by reason of its right Situation to the Sun ; was of an Oval Figure , and the exterior face of it smooth and uniform , without Mountains , or a Sea : That in this Earth stood Paradise , the Doctrine whereof cannot be understood , but upon Supposition of this Primitive Earth and its Properties . Then , That the Disruption and Fall of the Earth into the Abyss which lay under it , was that which made the Vniversal Deluge , and the Destruction of the Old World : And , That neither Noah's Flood , nor the present Form of the Earth , can be explained in any other Method that is rational , nor by any other Causes that are intelligible . These are the Vitals of the Theory , and the Primary Assertions , whereof I do freely profess my full Belief .

Against these Assertions , my Exceptions shall be levelled ; and in the same order in which they stand .

21. So much for the First Chapter ; which may be reckoned as an Introduction to the following Discourse . Which if any shall look upon as a Collection of Notes somewhat confusedly put together , rather than a formal , well digested Treatise , they will entertain the best or truest Idea of it .

CHAP. II. 1. The Hypothesis of the Earth's Formation stated . 2. The first Exception against it , It would have taken up too much time . 3. The World being made in Six Days . 4. How there might be Light and Days , before there was a Sun . 5. A Proof that the Creation was perfected in Six Days time ▪ 6. Numeral Cabbalism cannot overthrow it . 7. The Jews in Cabbalizing , still allowed a Literal meaning to Scripture ; only they superadded a Mystical one , never contrary to it . 8. Though were there a Cabbala , destructive to the Letter of Moses's Story of the Creation , that would not invalidate the Argument alledged . 9. Moses's Account of the Creation , runs not upon bare Numbers , but upon Time . 10. What Account the Christian Church has made of the Cabbala . 11. How it discovers its own Vanity . 12. The Literal sense to be kept to , in the Story of the Creation . 13. Where Scripture speaks so as not to be understood Literally , it is sometimes for plainness sake .

1. AS every thing had a Beginning except One ; I mean , that most perfect and glorious ESSENCE , who gave Being to all ; so the Earth , among the rest , had its Origin likewise . This , none but Infidels , or Anti-Scripturists , can doubt ; the Article being founded upon no less than Divine , which is the most firm and unquestionable Evidence . Could any Doubt of this Matter offer to form it self in our Minds , and to settle there , the very first Verse in the Holy Bibl● would not fail to drive it out from thence .

But then as to the Way of the Earth's Formation , we are more at a Loss , as being not so satisfactorily instructed concerning it . Here Providence seems to have left us to our selves ; and for the improvement of both , remits us to the Conduct of Philosophick Learning , in some measure , and to our own Judgments . Only we must be careful that the Idea's we frame , be congruous to the Truths that came down from above ; and are , or should be the Touchstone of all Hypotheses among Christians . Which , because the way of the Earth's Formation , according to the Theory , is not ; it overthrows the first vital Assertion ; which is this , There was a Primitive Earth of another Form from the present , and inhabited by Mankind till the Deluge . The latter Clause of it , touching the Earth's being inhabited till the Deluge , we do not question . The former part of it cannot stand , by reason the Manner of the Earth's Rise , which the Theory ascribes to it , overturns it . It is supposed to have proceeded thus .

Fig: 1 Pag: 47

Where 1 denotes the fiery Centre of the Earth . 2. The Interior Orb of the Earth , composed of the grossest particles of the Chaos . 3. The Element of Water , or the Abyss . 4. The Oyly Liquor upon the surface of the Water . 5. The Mass or Body of the Air.

But this Body of the Air being at first very muddy and impure , through abundance of terrestrial Particles that , as fast as they could free themselves from the Air with which they were mingled , and in which they were intangled , they sunk downward : And meeting , in their descent , with the Oyly Liquor on the face of the Deep , there they stuck ; and incorporating with that unctious Substance , made a certain Slime ; or a fat , soft , light Earth , spread upon the Waters : Which growing thicker and thicker , by a continual accession of more terrestrial Particles , sliding down still out of the Air , as it purify'd it self ; at last it came to its just Dimensions . And then waxing more dry and stiff , and firm and solid , in fine it attained to its due Consistency , and so became the First habitable Earth .

Thus have I briefly , but , I hope , truly represented the Manner of the Primitive Earth's Formation . If there be any thing of Mistake in the Description , it is altogether involuntary . But I think I have spoken the very mind of the Hypothesis , as it is more * * Lib. 1. chap. 5. largely set down by the Theorist .

2. But if the Primitive Earth's being of another Form , does depend upon its rising in such a method as this , as indeed it does ; then it could not be of another Form from the present Earth , because it could not rise in such a manner , for several Reasons . As

First , Because it would have taken too long time in doing it . A longer time by much , than that Divine Account we have of its Origination , does mention , or will allow . For to say nothing how long the Inferior Earth would have been in forming , by the subsiding of the grossest parts of the Chaos to the Centre of it ; till which were sunk , the other Sedimentals could not so well have separated : And to say nothing how considerable a space of time it would have required , for the Aereal Matter to have clarify'd it self , and to have setled in its proper Region : And to say nothing of the Lastingness of that other Purgation , whereby the liquid part of the Chaos would have sent forth its Oyliness to invest the Waters , to receive those Dregs that fell out of the Air : To say nothing of these ; how much time must have been spent , in producing the exterior Orb of the Earth , which was to be made up of those terrestrial Particles which fell from above , and rested upon the Oyly out-side of the Deep ? Should these fine Particles have showred down , as fast as ever we saw small Rain or Snow do ; yet how many Days and Weeks must have passed , before they could have swell'd into so huge a Body as the Earth was at first ? I say , as the Earth was at first . For according to the Hypothesis now before us , the Primitive Earth was bigger than this : So much bigger , as to take all that space into its Ambit , which reacheth up to the tops of the highest Mountains at least . Yea , if the first Earth did not fill a much bigger space than that ( as it might do ; for according to this Hypothesis , we know not how far its Circumference might extend ) yet a space somewhat bigger it must needs occupy , in regard the Mountains are now worn a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Aelian . Var. Hist. lib. 8. cap. 11. lower than they were . And for such inconceivable Quantities of little Particles , to descend out of the Air , as would be sufficient to make such a bulky Globe as the Primitive Earth , must necessarily be a good whiles work . And so it is expresly acknowledged to be ( Theor. p. 58 , 59. ) And then if as fast as they showred down into the Oyly Substance , they did immediately mix and incorporate with it ; yet then it would take up some time again , to dry and harden this new made Earth , and to reduce it to an habitable Consistency . And therefore its Formation this way , could by no means fall in with the real time of its Production . Nay , it could not be compleated in that space of time , in which GOD declares that he began and finisht the whole Creation .

3. For that glorious Work is expresly limited to Six Days . And every Day has its respective Task particularly specified and appropriated to it . And however more might be created on some Days , than is mentioned , as Angels , Hell , &c. yet we may be sure there was no less . Not but that GOD could have done all in one Day , if he had so pleased , or in one Hour , or Minute : As he could also have given Being to the World , many millions of Ages before He did . But it was not his Will that it should exist sooner ; and his Will it was , that the Creation of it should be protracted to an Hexaemeron , or Six Days Work , and therefore he drew it out to that length . But then when Philo Iudaeus , St. Austin , and others , teach that the World was created in an Instant ; we have no reason , jurare in verba , to give up our selves to a Belief of their Doctrine . Nor is the Saying of the Son of Syrach ( sometimes alleged in Proof of the Opinion ) to be at all regarded ; b b Ecclus. 18. 1 He that liveth for ever , creavit omnia simul , created all things together : As if he created them together in the same moment . Whereas ( besides that the Book is Apocryphal ) the Greek Copy reads it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , He created all things in common , as well one as other ; in which sense it relates to no time . And accordingly our English is most proper , he created all things in general . Yet this Apocryphal Text seems to be the chief ground upon which St. Austin built his Opinion of the World 's being made in an instant .

But by that Account which Moses gives in , the Earth brought forth Grass , and Herbs , and Trees , on the c c Gen 1. 12 , 13. Third Day , even before there was a Sun . Which as it proves that GOD's special Hand was in the Work ( and might serve as a Bridle to curb People in their forwardness to idolize the Sun ; while it is made plain to them , that he did not , as a DEITY , give Being to these thing by any plastick influence of his , they existing before himself ) so it argues withal , that the Earth was then grown into a competent Solidity . Yea , the same Moses goes on , and tells the World , That by the end of three days more the Earth was made a Dwelling-place for Mankind , and in part of it , a Paradisiacal one too . And this farther bespeaks it to have arrived at such a Temperament , as it could never have done so soon , in case it had been formed as is above supposed . For besides that the Theory allows it to have become dry by degrees , after it had done growing ; it declares , That the Body or new Concretion of it was encreased daily , being fed and supplied both from above and below ( pag. 59. ) At which rate , Six Days might easily pass , and Six times Six after them ; and the Earth not be fitted for Habitation .

4. And though the Sun was not made as yet ( the Fourth Day being the first of his existence ) yet this does not invalidate Moses's Narrative in the least , by rendring it absurd , or inconsistent with it self , when it tells us that the Earth was brought to such maturity on the Third Day . For though there was no Sun then , yet we are assured there was Light : And Providence might so order this Light , as to have it supply the place of the Sun , in measuring out Time , and making Days , though not so distinctly as he does .

And that there should be Light , before there was a perfect Sun , seems highly agreeable to the Explication of Light by the Cartesian Principles . For according to them , Light consists in pressione materiae coelestis , in a pressure of the celestial matter ; or , in conatu ejus ad motum , in its tendency or nitency to motion . And therefore if our Vortex , or Heaven ( made up of this Matter ) were by the first Mover put into such a Circumgyration at the beginning , as it now has ; by virtue of this Gyration , the subtile Matter would have been impregnated with a strong conatus or propensity to recede from the Centre of the Vortex , according to the Laws of Motion well known in that case . And so a faint Light would have been cast through the Vortex , at least through the Ecliptick parts thereof , though there had been no Sun in the middle of the same . And so while the Matter for the Body of the Sun had been in preparing ( that is , grinding off from the particles of the Matter of the Second Element ; which being made to turn upon their own Axes , by mutual collision , and incessant attrition , rounded one another into Spherical Figures ) and gathering towards the middle Point of the Vortex , and setling there ; a feeble kind of Light must have shat from those Central parts of the Vortex , till the Sun thus a making could have been finisht . Which is it might have been in the space of three Days ( by a great quantity of the purest Matter retiring into the heart of the Vortex , which still grew bigger , as the Particles of the Second Element had their angulosities worn off , and so grew less ) then on the fourth Day , the Sun might shine out in his full strength . While by a new Protrusion , and brisker Propulsion of the Globular Matter , he put a stronger conatus into it than it had before .

And if there could thus have been Light antecedently to the Sun ; then how there should be Days and Nights at the same time , is easie to conceive , admitting the Diurnal Motion of the Earth .

This I have said , not that I belive the Sun was thus produced ( any more than the Great a a Quinimo etiam , ad res naturales melius explicandas , earum causas altius repetam , quàm ipsas unquam extitisse existimem . Non enim dubium est , quin mundus ab initio fuerit creatus cum omni perfectione suâ , ita ut in eo & Sol , & Terra , & Luna , & Stellae extiterint . Des Cart , Princip. par. 3. sect. 45. Philosopher did ) but to make it appear , that the holy Text might be literally true ; and that to hold there were Days before there was a Sun , is so far from being vulgar and ridiculous ( as some would make it ) that it is greatly consonant to that which is counted the best Philosophy . The Noble Des Cartes , so justly admired , speaks the same sense , though in different words ; b b Quodque fortè paradoxum multis videbit●r , haec omnia ita se haberent in materia coelsli , etiamsi nulla planè esset vis in Sole , aliove astro circa quod gyratur ; adeo ut , si corpus Solis nihil aliud esset quàm spatium vacuum , nibilominus ejus lumen , non quidem tam forte , sed quantum ad reliqua non aliter quam nunc c●rneremus , saltem in circ● o secundum quem materia ●oeli movetur . Id. ib. sect. 64. And which peradventure will seem a Paradox to many , all these things ( the Properties of Light ) would be just thus with the celestial Matter , though there were no manner of force in the Sun , or in any Star about which it is wheeled . So that if the Body of the Sun were nothing else but an empty Space , though his Light indeed might not be so strong , yet in other respects we should see it no otherwise than now we do , at least where the Matter of the Heaven circulates .

As many as are not pleased with this , have liberty to imagine , that by the three first ( anticipative ) Days , more early than the Sun , was only meant such certain spaces of time , as were commensurate or equivalent to three Days ; though they were not divided into Diurnal Periods , nor otherwise distinguish't , than by those Acts of Creation which GOD exerted , or the several Creatures which he formed upon each of them . So about the Pole , where the Sun is in the Horison by Months together , and then out of it as long ; Men may reckon the time by Days , though they have them not , without any Solecism in their way of compute . But not to dwell upon this Point ; they who believe and consider , that there was once an universal darkness , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a a St. Mat. 27. 45. Why it should be read , over all the LAND , that is , Palestine , as if the darkness had extended no farther , may well be made a question ; when it is known that it reached into other Countries . Dionysius ( to give one Instance ) observed it in Egypt , being then an Heathen . And is said by Suidas ( upon his observation of it ) thus to express himself ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . over all the Earth , for the space of three Hours , a long time after the Sun was made ; may , I think , be persuaded to believe also , that by some means or other there might be three real and distinct Days in the World , before he was created .

5. But that the whole Creation , and consequently the whole Earth , was consummated in six days may he proved by one very good Argument , the Fourth Precept in the most sacred Decalogue : Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day . Six days shalt thou labour , and do all that thou hast to do ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD. In it thou shalt do no manner of work , thou , and thy son , and thy daughter , thy man-servant , and thy maid-servant , thy cattel , and the stranger that is within thy gates . For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth , the sea , and all that in them is , and rested the seventh day . Wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day , and hallowed it . Now the Seventh day , which by divine Benediction , and special Consecration , was set apart for the Iewish Sabbath , was no other than a Natural Day , consisting of Twenty four Hours . And the six Days in which God allowed Men to work , were of the same quality or duration . But then he permitting labour six Days in the Week , because in six Days he made Heaven and Earth , the Sea , and all that in them is ; and enjoyning a cessation from all manner of work , and a Sanctification of the Seventh Day , because on it he rested from his work of Creation ; from hence it will follow by undeniable consequence , that the seventh Day on which GOD rested , and the six Days on which he wrought , must be of the same nature that the Iewish Sabbath and Week-days were of ; and that in Six such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Natural Days , consisting of Twenty four Hours apiece , the Heaven , the Earth , the Sea , and all that in them is , were made .

And indeed unless the HOLY GHOST had said expresly that they were Natural Days , each of them made up of Twenty four Hours , he could hardly have spoken them to be such , more plainly and properly than he has done . For he tells us seven times over ( in the First of Genesis ) that is , concerning every one of the seven Days , That they had Evening and Morning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whereas if he had made use of the single word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that might have been taken for time indefinitely or at large . But as if he designed to prevent this , or at least to give no occasion for it ; as often as he mentioned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was still pleased to tack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to it ; to evidence that he meant no other than a Natural Day , to which Evening and Morning do belong .

And that which makes it farther evident , that he has tied up 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Day , to signifie a Natural Day , in the Story of the Creation , is , That this Fourth Commandment is partly entred in that Story ; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Seventh Day , which he blessed and sanctified for the Sabbath , is said to be the seventh Day on which he rested from his works . And so both were Natural Days alike , the one as much as the other . And therefore the Seventh Day separated for a Sabbath , and kept so by the Iews ( from the Promulgation of the Law , to the Dissolution of their Polity , yea , to this very Hour , in their Dispersion ) being a true Natural Day , the Seventh Day whereon GOD rested from his works must be the same .

And truly once to pretend that there is any thing of Cloudiness or Ambiguity in the recited Precept ; or that GOD by the Days mentioned therein , did not mean ordinary Natural Days ; would be to raise a mist to darken the Truth ; to offer to tye a knot , where there really is none ; and to put plain words by their common sense , meerly to force a difficulty into them . Suppose a Man should command his Servants or Children to work six Days , because he himself in six Days had done such and such things ; and to rest on the seventh Day , because on that Day he ceased from his labours : Could it ever enter into the thoughts of any , but that the Days in which he wrought , and they are to work ; and the Day in which he rested , and they are to rest , must be of the same nature ? Why , such is the case here , if we put but the Great GOD into the place of that Man , and allow his Precept to be of a plain import and signification , as we have reason to do . For this Great God was now publishing a Law to his People : A Law whereby they were to live , or die for ever : A Law by which he really intended , and heartily desired , that they should not die , but live to Eternity . And He being in hand with a Law of such consequence to their pretious Souls , who can question but it was worded plainly ? For without doubt he would deliver it in such familiar terms , as might be most intelligible to the meanest Capacities amongst that People , to whom he recommended it as a standing Rule . So that the Fourth Commandment being a piece of that Rule , a Branch of that Law , we cannot suppose it to be cloathed with obscurity , either in the substance or reason of it . And truly if so plain a Paragraph as that be not to be taken in its Grammatical sense , 't is impossible we should know the Mind of Scripture , and vain it will be to pretend to understand any Period in it . But then , if where God speaks plainly in his Word , we must understand it Literally ; surely we must do it most of all , in that part of his Word which is the Body of his Law , and so the specifick Rule of our Practice . And if the Moral Law in general was of a Literal Signification ; then so was the Fourth Word of it to the Iews . And if that were Literally to be interpreted , as undoubtedly it was , the World must be created in the time there specified , in just Six Days , that is , neither more nor fewer .

And Moses methinks seems to be mightily concern'd to ground Men in this . For though he had noted already in the First of Genesis , that the work of Creation was compleated in Six Days ; and had fairly accounted for each of them in particular : yet reviewing things in the Second Chapter , he there inculcates the same afresh , that so they might take farther notice of it . Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished , and all the Host of them . That is , in the Days , and according to the order before remembred . But had the Earth been formed after the tenor of this new Hypothesis , it could never have been finisht in Six Days , and brought into a condition sit to entertain its Host Creatures , in that compass of time . Unless at the rate of the Mahometan Miracle , we should yield that the Showers of Earthly Particles , were hardened by instantaneous induration . For so it is storied of a certain Dervich , or monkish Musselman , that strowing Sand upon the Waves , as fast as he sprinkled it , it turn'd to a Causey before him , whereon he might walk to a Mosque , the usual place of his Devotions . Though far more agreeable to this Hypothsis ( as it makes the Formation of the Earth so slow ) is the Phantasie of the Chineses , inhabiting Formosa and other Islands . Who hold that the World , when first created , was without form or shape : but by * * Atlas Chin. part 2. pag. 46. Pankun , one of their Demi-gods , ( the Sixty Second of their Seventy Two Deities ) was brought to its full perfection in Four Years .

6. The only considerable way of eluding this Doctrine of the Worlds being made in Six Days ; is the introducing of Cabbalism into the Story of the Creation . For by That , Numbers , which show the order of time are made Types or Emblems , or secret Notes of the Natures of things . But the force of the Holy Argument alleged , is not to be shifted off by this means . The Iews , without question , had a Cabbala amongst them ; and upon this Cabbala they set an exceeding high value . For they put it in the Scales ( as some Christians now a-days do Tradition ) even against the written Word it self . So that known saying witnesseth , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the words of the Cabbala , and the words of the Law , are alike . Which how well soever it might agree with that true and ancient Cabbala , which they had from Moses , and in part from Adam , as † † Reuchlin . de A●t . Cabbal . p. 9 , &c. some think ; it suits not their present Cabbala at all . Upon that , * * De Rep. Heb. Cunaeus bestows a mean and disgraceful , though ( I suppose ) a most sitting character ; where he declares it to be full of trifles , &c. Though Mirandula on the other side , crys it up as much ( if the same ) in his Apology : where he avers it to have been first committed to writing by Esdras . But that which I would note is this , That the genuine Cabbala of the Iews , cannot overthrow that strength of Argument , in the Fourth Commandment , for the Worlds being made in the space of Six Days . The Reason follows .

7. The Cabbalizing Iews , even after the purity of Oral Tradition was lost amongst them , were still hugely careful to deliver nothing , but what was consistent with the Literal sense of Scripture . So that it treating of any Period of it , they did but orderly proceed from one sense to another : and their Traditional sense was to be so far from being repugnant or destructive to the Verbal one ; that it was to comply with it , and to be subordinate to it .

Thus , though ( as Aben-Ezra says ) the Law , besides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Literal way ; hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seven , or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seventy faces , or ways of Interpretation ; and be capable ( in places ) of Tropological , Allegorical , Anagogical , and C●●balistical meanings and applications : Yet it is a known Rabbinical Rule , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Style of the Scripture falls not in with the Midrash , or Allegorical Exposition . Which is seconded with another of the like import , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Scripture departs not from its simple and literal meaning . It was delivered by that eminent Man for Learning , R. Solomon Iarchi ( Praefat in Cantic . ) Not that he meant Sripture is always to be kept to a literal sense only ; the very words wherewith he ushers in that Rule , sufficiently declare the contrary ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One Scripture may be drawn out into many senses . And therefore he only meant , that the literal sense of Scripture is not to be thrown off , or taken away , by , or for any other . And R. Moses bar Nachman lays down the same Rule . To which several other Rabbies also do consent ; particularly Menasseh ben Israel , who in his First Book concerning the Resurrection of the Dead , says , That Scripture is always to be understood and explained according to the Letter , unless where such an Explication implies a contradiction . According to which Axioms of the Learned , what ever sense might be superinduc'd to the Text , they were still to adhere ( so far as Reason would suffer ) to the literal one . Yet where they were reconcilable , and could fairly be coincident , they were both allowed . And therefore when in Controversie , some have been high for the Letter ; and others hot for the Allegory or Cabbala ; the difference betwixt them has been frequently accommodated , by pronouncing that Talmudic Sentence , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . By which concession of a complicated sense in the word or clause , that ministred occasion of fierce Dispute , the contending Parties have both been quickly and fully satisfied . And well they might ; for by the easie Umpirage of that soft and moderative Saying , they were immediately brought to equal terms , and set , as I may say , upon even ground . For each of them had warranty to maintain their own Opinion , and liberty to acquiesce therein respectively . Though how much , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the common Lection or Sense , was preferred before , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Traditional one ( when they came in competition ) is clear from a Passage in the learned Buxtors's Treatise de Punct. Antiq. pag. 104. where speaking of the Talmudic Axiom now cited , he says , Quando hoc priori contrariatur , & illud evertit , nulla ejus habetur ratio , sed fundamentum manet in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When the Cabbalistic Exposition is contrary to the literal or received sense , no account is made of it , but the foundation rests in the common sense or reading . Quando verò ei subordinatur , &c. But when it is subordinate to it , and consistent with it , and both may be reconciled ; they admit both .

And such a mixt or compound sense of Letter and Cabbala , well consistent with one another , they believed to be in the Mosaic Cosmology , or the Story of the World's Creation . Besides its common , humble , obvious sense , which lies bare to view , and offers it self freely at first sight ; they moreover conceived it big with another more occult and remote , and also more sublime than that ; where the Kernel of Mystery lay close shut up , sub cortice verborum , under the Husk of plain and ordinary words . And for this reason they used to restrain Men from reading it , till they came to maturity both of Years and Judgment , as St. Ierom testifies , in the Preface to his Commentaries on Ezeki●l ; * * Nisi quis apud eos ●etat●● Sacerdotalis ministerii , i. e. tri●●simum annum impleverit , nec principium Geneseos — legere permittit●r . Vnless one has attained to the Age of Priests when they enter on their Ministry , that is , to thirty years , he is not suffered , with them , to read the Beginning of Genesis , &c. But then if the Iews , together with their Mysterious , always held a literal sense in Scripture ( where it can take place ) and also kept this Mysterious sense of theirs from breaking in upon the Literal , and doing violence to it ; according to their own recited Rules : from hence it is manifest , that the World might be Created in just six Days , for all their Cabbala , or the numbers in it . And when they kept the Cabbala within such bounds , Christians have no reason to stretch it farther ; for they have it but from them , or rather ( as to the Numeral part of it ) from one that had it ( or is presumed to have had it ) from them , I mean , Pythagoras .

8. But grant ( what by no means is to be granted ) that there were a Cabbalistic sense in the Story of the Creation , so venerable and excellent , as to be allowed to supersede the literal one quite , or to swallow up the same ; and that the Mosaic Number 's there , were not at all intended to distinguish time , but only to shadow out the Natures of things ; and so no satisfactory Proof could be fetcht from thence , of the World 's being compleated in six Days : Yet still the Holy Argument produced , would hold good ; because in that Divine Precept there can be no Cabbalism exclusive of its literal meaning . And that for these Three Reasons .

First , Because GOD must then have put dark Mystery into the heart of his Law . Into that part of it which ( that it might be sure to be most plain , as well as authentick ) he was pleased to write with his own Finger . Into that part of it which every poor Israelite newly come out of Egyptian Bondage , was to practise . And therefore it was necessary he should understand it , and consequently that there should not be obscurity in it : A thing ever held incongruous to Laws ( as very unsuitable to their Use and End ) and always declined by wise Legislators . For they have still been careful that the Statutes drawn up and enacted by them , should carry a clear sense along with them both in their Injunctions , and the Reasons of them .

Secondly , Because then something of Duty expressed in the Commandment , would have been very improperly and incompetently urged . That Men should work six Days in the Week , because in six Days GOD created the World , upon each of them bringing some considerable Pieces of it into being , is most fit and reasonable : Even as fit and reasonable as it is for mean Persons to imitate their Superior ; for Creatures to follow the great Example of their Maker . But that Men should labour six Days in the Week , because the Number Six is the Character of the Nature of any Creatures , would be altogether empty , trifling and impertinent , as admitting no manner of dependance or connection betwixt the Reason and the Thing .

Thirdly , Because it would shuffle and jumble the Natures of things together , or else bring a strange Confusion into the Numbers of the Cabbala . It would shuffle the Natures of things together , in an intolerable manner . For thus the Heavens and the Earth ( as the Commandment runs ) the Sea , and all that in them is ( which according to the Physical Cabbala of Moses , are thought to have their Orders , and various Natures , distinctly characterized by several Numbers ) must be here referred to one single Number Six . And That , according to other Numbers ( for why should it be of a more dilated My stick significancy than the rest ? ) mysteriously pointing out but one single Nature ; to refer all things to that one Number ( as we must do , if we put Cabbalism into the Fourth Commandment ) would be to reduce them to one single Nature : I mean , to the Animal one ; to signifying of which the Number , Six , is both naturally inclin'd and also determin'd by its Denominations .

First , It is Naturally inclined that way . For it is said by Cabbalists , to be made by drawing a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Philo in lib. de Mund. Opif. the Masculine , Three , into the first Feminine Number , Two . For three times two is six : And then six into six , is thirty six . One way it points out Male and Female , and the other way Procreation , and both ways it clearly relates to Animals .

Secondly , It is determin'd the same way , by its Titles or Denominations . They tye it close and fast to such meanings , as all-along restrain it to the Properties or Operations of the Animal Nature or Condition . Thus it has the Names of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because Animals of the same Species have a sort of love or friendship for one another . Or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they yoke or joyn themselves together in Pairs , Vid. Nicomach . Gerasen . Arithmet . Theolog. lib. 2. &c. It is also called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of their venereal Copulations ; and their continual Productions , by a never-failing constancy of Propagation . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ' because their Bodies are full of Articulations or Joynts . Me●rs . D●●●r . Pythag. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of that comely Structure , true Symmetry , and admirably curious and useful Contexture of their several Parts and Members . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of that sound constitution which Providence endu'd them with , and power sufficient to keep up their respective Kinds in the World . The like may be said of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c.

And when the Senary , by its Nature and Appellatives , is thus particularly appropriate to the Denotation of the Animal part of the World ; if in the Fourth Commandment we take it in a Cabbalistic sense , we must suppose the things there referred to it ; that is to say , the Heaven , and Farth , and Sea , and all that in them is , to be living Creatur●s ; which would intollerably confound the Natures of Beings .

Or else , which would bring strange confusion into the Numbers of the Cabala ; this one , the Senary , must in power be equal to all the rest . That is , it must denote what the Vnite , Binary , Ternary , &c. are supposed to do ; and so signifie Spiritual , and Material Beings ; Terrestrial , and Aquatick Animals ; Animate , and Inanimate things , all at once . But to stretch it out to such a comprehensive Symbolicalness , as to make it an Hieroglyphick of the Universe , and of all things in it : might seem to be a violent straining it , beyond its just Latitude . Especially if we consider , that the rest of the Numbers before it , are all conceived to be fitted and restrained , to the shadowing out such and such single Natures : and none of them allowed to be of so wide a significancy , as to have a Mystical reference to all the Creatures .

Though truly if any witty busie Calbalists , should either out of the Nature or Names of this Number ; extort such meanings , as might make it seem an Emblem of the whole Creation , as to its production , compleatment , or the like : we need not be much surprized at it . For no wonder that they should so vex ( as I may say ) and Wire-draw Numbers , as to force and wind them even to what they please ; when they have power to put any commune word upon the Rack , and to torment it at such a rate , as to make it say what they list . Mirandula proves this by a pregnant Instance . For in his Exposition of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( at the end of his Heptaplus ) which signifies no more than , in the beginning : he does so toss and transpose the several Letters and Syllables of it ; and so ransack , and squeeze , and torture it ; as to make it speak all this long Sentence : Pater in Filio & per Filium principium & finem sive quietem creavit caput ignem & fundamentum magni hominis foedere bono . They that would know the sense of it , let them consult the Author . By it he designs , gustum dare Mosaicae profunditatis , To give a taste of Moses 's profoundness . But should any attempt ( in imitation of him ) to interpret Moses's whole Story of the Creation ; as he has done the first word of it : they would certainly find Moses to be profound indeed ; and themselves to have lanched out into such a deep as would prove to have neither bottom nor bounds in it . And yet the Noble Picus's way , is but one of the three ways of Cabbalizing by Permutation : and Permutation it self , or the Transposing of words , is but one Sort of the Speculative Cabbala neither . For beside 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there are other two kinds of it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . So that according as Cabbalists have been , either for laudable phantasie and ingenuity ; or else for humor and extravagance : they have had as large Fields to expatiate in , as they could desire . But I must not digress too far .

By what has been said , I hope it is evident , that in the Fourth Commandment , there can be no Cabbalistick meaning , at least none destructive to the literal one . Whence it will follow , that the whole Creation was begun , carried on , and consummated , in Six Days : the thing I was to prove . So that if the Theorist's conceit to●ching the Earths Formation be true ; Moses's Account of the Creation must be false . And the History he wrote of it , as the unerring Pen-man of the HOLY GHOST ; instead of being of unsuspected Credit and Authority , we may justly call ( as Celsus did of old ) * * Orig. cont. C●ls . lib. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , an old Womans Fable .

9. It is manifest also that Moses in that sacred Story , did not make use of meer Numbers , but of Time : yea , of time divided into know and common Periods ; namely , into Days . And those Days ( which is especially to be noted ) are expressed ( as was said before , and must always be remembred ) by Evenings and Mornings ; just as the Hebrews speak Natural Days . And therefore not to allow the First , Second , and Third Day , &c. there mentioned ; to be such vesperomatutina , Natural Days having Evenings and Mornings : But to turn them into pure Numbers , One , Two , Three , &c. is highly unwarrantable ; as being a double injury to Scripture , upon no necessary account . For it is a depriving it of its direct and genuine sense ; and a forcing it upon another quite beyond and beside that , only to gratifie the humour of Cabbalists . Which humour or phantasie of theirs , many times is vain and trivi●l , and grounded upon nothing perhaps , but ignorance or mistake .

To evince as much , let me give in one Instance of this nature , most pertinent to the matter we have in hand . Philo ( that mighty Man among the Iews for allegorizing the Story of the Creation , and to whom later Cabbalists are greatly beholden ) positively and aloud pronounceth thus , a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Leg. Allegor . lib. 1. It is a silly thing , to think that the World was made in Six Days , or in any certain time . And why so ? His reason in short is , Because it was made before there was a Sun , and so there could be neither Time , nor Days . But there might be Days , before there was a Sun ( as we have shewed ) and so where 's the strength of that Objection ? In like manner when it is said , In the BEGINNING GOD created the Heavens and the Earth : he will not allow that , BEGINNING , should signifie time ; for a like reason . a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . de Mund. Opif. Because time was not before the World , but was made either with , or after it . Strangely argued , for so Learned a Man . As if the World could not have been made in the beginning of time , because time was made with it . Whereas if it had not been made with it , if it had not began just then ; the World could not have been made in the beginning of it indeed . Nor does he back this reason at a better rate , where he adds ; For b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ib. seeing that time is a space of motion of the Heavens , motion cannot be before the thing moved . Yet let us but suppose , that the World was made , and the Heavens put into motion at once ; and then the World would be created , when time began : as being created together with that motion in which consists the nature or measure of it . And yet he concludes for himself , as if he had argued most cogently ; But c c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. if so be , BEGINNING , be not taken now according to time ; 't is fit it should be taken according to number . And so ( in part ) we have an account , how Numeral Cabbalism crept into the Divine Text of Moses . Even because Men had not Philosophy enough to make out , how time and days might be before the Sun . But is not natural Philosophy then an useful thing , and of great use , according to its Character , in the First Chapter ?

10. Were Enquiry made how the Church of CHRIST hath resented Cabbalism ; or what respect she hath shown to such as used it : and Answer might partly be shaped out thereunto , from her Carriage towards Origen . That Father had a Peculiar Talent ( above others ) at Allegorizing Scripture , and in delivering Doctrines of the Cabbalistic strain . But how did Holy Church receive his Notions of that stamp , and how did she deal with him for their sakes ? This we may learn from * * Epist. ad Mich. Bulg . Princip. Photius , who tells us , That the Fifth Universal Synod , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , condemned Origen , and anathematiz'd him . And for what cause ? Why , for that he attempted to introduce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Greek Mythology , or Pagan Fables , into the Church of GOD. And particularly for that piece of Dotage ( it is the Patriarch's word ) in teaching 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that humane Souls were preexistent to their Bodies . And as all know , preexistence was a principal Branch of the Cabbala .

11. And truly the Cabbala , which makes Numbers emblematize the Natures of things , may well be rejected . For indeed it proclaims its own vannity , in one notable Instance : I mean , in the Coincidence of its Numbers , as to their symbolical significancy . In the whole Story of the Creation , there are but Seven Numbers made use of . Now if GOD , or Moses , had designed these Numbers for a Mysterious use ; we need not question but care would have been taken , that Two of them should not be Symbols of the same thing , when One would have served every whit as well . For so one of the Two Numbers would be superfluous : Yet supposing that there is such a Cabbala as some contend for , in the Story of the Creation ; there must be this vanity or superfluity in it . For then the Number Five , and the Number Six , in their Mystical Property , must refer to one and the same thing , viz. the Animal Nature .

How the Senary is an Emblem of that , both by its Nature and its Names , we have seen already . And truly the Quinary is made a ●ymbol of the same , and that both those ways . First by its Nature . It consists of the Masculine Number , Three ; and of the Feminine , Number , Two : and so it mystically signifies Male and Female . Five , also drawn into Five , brings about Five again ; Five times ●ive , is Twenty five : so it betokens Generation . And Male and Female , and Generation by them , we know , relate directly to Animals . And then for Names , it has Cytherea , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which are Names of the Senary ; and so it must be of the same mystick signification with that still .

Nor can it be pretended ( to diversi●ie the mystick significancy of the Numbers ) that the Quinary refers to Water Animals only . For not only Fishes were made on the Fifth Day ; but Fowls too : and that out of the ground every one of them , Gen. 2. 19. And as no Fowls live altogether in the Water ; so very few kinds of them live upon it , in comparison of those that do not . In all respects therefore the Quinary seems to be a meer supernumerary . It signifies nothing , but what the Senary could have signified as well .

Whence we may conclude , That either Moses was guilty of a notorious bungling Oversight , in inserting an useless number into the Cabbala ; which in so rare a Philosopher as he was , must not be admitted ; especially he being divinely inspired , and studiously contriving so profound and admirable a piece of Mystery , as the Cabbala is reputed : or else ( which is the truth ) that this very thing does betray the vanity of the Cabbala , and shows it to be but an ingenious Phantasie .

12. Now the Cabbala being a thing so improbable ; and the Literal Sense of Scripture so very authentick , as not to be thrown off , or put by for any other , where it can be held to : it remains that the Story of the Creation is to be understood according to that sense . And so where The Theory of the Earth is contrary to that sense , or not agreeing with it ; it is to be look't upon all the way , as contrary to Scripture , and disagreeing with That . Not that I deny there is Mystery in the Story of the Creation ; for undoubtedly there is a great deal , and that so deep , that it is hard to see to the bottom of it . But once again I say , ( to prevent my being mistaken ) That no Mystical or Cabbalistic sense is to be approved of , that overthrows or nulls the Literal one . And the reason is plain ; because if the Literal sense should be taken away , it would cease to be an History : and also could have nothing of fixed or certain meaning in it ; but might be moulded any way , and changed into every thing , according to the various apprehensions of Men and their working Phantasies .

13. Let me here cast in this as an Overplus . Where Scripture delivers it self so as not to be literally interpreted ; it is sometimes done out of greater plainness that it affects , and the better to accommodate it self to our capacity . Thus when it expresseth GOD's power , or his doing any thing ; by Hands . His Knowledge , or Observation of any thing ; by Eyes , &c. It is meerly in way of Condescention to us , and to render what it speaks of , more easie and familiar to our apprehension . Here therefore that Axiome of the Talmudists , remembred by great Maimonides , takes place , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * * Mor. Nevoch . The Law speaks according to the Language of the Children of Men. And for this reason ( I think ) the Book of Canticles is so parabolical and allusive . Not to veil and darken the sense , but the better to illustrate its Divine Argument : and the more fully and fairly to set forth that passionate affection and dearness , which is betwixt the most GLORIOUS JESUS , that great Lover of Souls ; and all zealously religious and devout Persons .

CHAP. III. 1. A Second Exception against the Formation of the Earth , viz. the Fluctuation of the Waters of the Chaos , whereon it was to be raised . 2. That Fluctuation caused by the Moon . 3. The Theorist's Doubt , whether she were then in our Neighbourhood , considered . 4. The Precariousness of his Hypothesis in several things relating to the Chaos : Which ought to have been better cleared and confirmed , according to his own declared Iudgment . 5. The Descent of the Earthly Particles out of the Air , not only Precarious , but Vnphilosophical . 6. And also Anti-Scriptural .

1. AS every Building must have a sutable Foundation , so fit it is that the Earth should have such a one ; It being not only a stately Fabrick in it self , but moreover designed , at the formation of it , to be the Mansion or Dwelling of a World of Creatures . And it being destined to so great and noble an use , what pity had it been that it should have miscarried in the making , and have sunk into Ruines , while it was setting up , for want of a sufficient foundation to support it ? Yet had it been built after the manner aforesaid , perhaps there would have been no less defect in the Architecture of it , than the want of a meet Foundation . For it was to be reared upon the Waters risen out of the Chaos ; and were they fit to bear such a mighty Pile ? I mean in regard of their unsteadiness and constant Fluctuation .

That the Earth might be spread , and by degrees raised upon them ; Was it not requisite that they should be of a quiet and even surface ? Otherwise it may be the unctious Substance could not have gathered upon them , nor the Earthly Particles hav● settled upon that . But the incontinuity of the one ( i● being broken by the motion of the Waters ) leaving many open spaces to the other ; through those spaces they would have sunk right down to the bottom of the Deep , and no Earth would have been produced .

2. Yet that those Waters were quiescent and even , upon due examination will hardly be found . For the Chaos in the beginning was turned about upon its own Center ; else how comes the Earth to be so now ? And if it was carried about by such a Gyration , how could the face of its Waters be still and equable ? Not that I mean they were disturbed by the meer Rotation of the Chaos neither ; but by something else in conjunction with that , namely , The bulky presence of the Moon . For if she was then placed , where now she is , what hindred but she might have the same Motion which now she has ? And if she moved then in an Eliptic Circle about the Chaos , as now she does about the Earth ( as in all reason she should ; the Chaos being then situate , where the Earth is now , betwixt the Heavens of Venus and Mars ; from which situation that Eliptic Circle results ) would not the Waters have been too much discomposed thereby , to have been a fit Foundation for the primitive Earth .

Indeed they being in all places of an equal depth , and flowing freely without resistance ; it is very probable that the Tides then were less fierce and rough , than they are now . And yet they all making but one Sea , and that being open and exposed to the Moon ; it is as probable again , that they swelled extreamly , and went mighty high . Now the Moon squeezing them her self ( by streightning the Heavens ) on one side of the Chaos , whereever she was ( as at her Zenith suppose ) and occasioning a like compression of them on the opposite side ( or at her Nadir : ) and the Chaos still turning round upon its own axis every Four and Twenty hours : from hence it follows that these Waters felt the force of two Tides , in every such space of time . Now where they Ebbed end Flowed so frequently and incessantly ; must not their Aestuation have been so turbulent , as to have hindred the gathering , or dissolved the continuity of the Oily Matter ; and so have prevented the Earth's superstruction upon it ?

In case it be urged , That the Unctious Matter upon the face of the Waters , was so very thick , as that they might heave and sink under it , as there was occasion , and never break it : I answer , When this Oily Substance did first arise , it must needs be thin , and so apt to be broken and divided ; and that being disjoined , the Earthly Particles falling in at the void spaces , would have sunk directly ( as was said even now ) through the Waters , having nothing to support them . And then ( which is farther considerable ) the heaviest Particles of Earth , descending at the same time , in far great●st plenty ( the Air being then fullest of impurity , and purging it self most freely ) they would have come down so fast , and in so great abundance , as easily to have overpowered the thin Oily Scum on which they fell ; and being a little soaked in it , and incorporate with it , have weighed it down in Flakes to the bottom of the Waters ; upon the top of which it could no longer float , as being overloaded with the heaviness of the imbodied Earth . And truly the flowing of the Waters with a strong head now this way ; and their returning by and by with as much force the contrary way : must needs put them into such restless agitations and cross commotions , as would have much promoted the diving of the Flakes aforesaid .

Nor are we to measure the motion of the Chaotic Waters , from the present great Seas . For however they may be less discomposed by Tides , yet nature then , was in other circumstances ( according to the Theory ) than it is now ; and those Waters might be moved at another rate , than these are . For our present Earth was at that time all dispersed in the Air. And the thicker and fuller the Air was , the stronger pressure would the Moon make upon that ; and that again upon the Superficies of the Waters : and consequently the higher must the Tides rise , and the more violent must they be .

And then the Theory makes another motion in the Chaotick Waters necessary , namely , A Defluxion of them from the Aequator towards the Sides or Poles of the liquid Globe ; in order to the forming it ( and consequently the Earth to be raised on it ) into an Oval Figure . And this motion might create a new disturbance in that Element . Yea , not only so , but it might moreover be fatal to the rise of the Earth . For a a Ex illo de●lux● aquarum ad la tera , & exoneratione partium mediarum circa Aequatorem , Globus aque●s deveniret aliquantulum oblongus . Theor. pag. 198. the watry Globe was to grow oblong , by the slowing down of the Waters to the sides ( they are the words of the Theory ) and the disburthening the middle parts about the Aequator . But then when these Waters did thus recede or discharge themselves from about the Aequator or middle of the Globe , and flow down to the sides of it ; how easily might the Oily Matter have followed their course ? Yea , perhaps how necessary was it for it to do so ? While the uppermost Waters thereabouts being most hurried , and most at liberty ; would have fallen back , and carried that away with them . But then if the upper Waters thus drew off , and the Oily substance slid away upon them , what foundation could the Earth have had in those middle parts we speak of ? Especially if these Waters continued their course for any time ; as it was needful they should to bring about the effect mentioned . For so vast a body of Waters , as that of the Abyss , could not by this means , of a perfectly round , be made into an oval or oblong Figure , on a sudden .

3. But in reference to this matter , there is a Dou●t made by the Theorist , which must be considered and removed . Otherwise most of what has been said , touching the instability and fluctuation of these Waters , will be vain and groundless . The Doubt is , a a Theor. pag. 241. Whether the Moon were then in our neighbourhood . And truly I had almost said , he might next have questioned , whether the Sun were then in our Heaven : there being in the Story of the Creation , no better evidence for the one , than for the other . I confess the suggestion ( as wild as it is ) would have done the Arcadians a great kindness . For they used to boast of ( what was always a Riddle and nonsense to the Wife ) their being more ancient than Iupiter and the Moon . So says Ovid : Ante Jovem Genitum Terras habuisse feruntur Arcades ; & Lunâ Gens prior illa fuit . But the service it might have done them , as to this arrogant brag , will by no means countervail that dammage which it does to the person who raises the Doubt . For it involves him in the guilt of unhappy temerity towards the Holy Writings : Yet the Theorist does not only start this Scruple , but argues for it thus , b b Ibid. Her presence seems to have been less needful ; when there were no long Winter-nights , nor the great Pool of the Sea to move or govern . Too bold an affront to Scripture .

That says expresly , That GOD made TWO great Lights ; and both upon the Fourth Day , Gen. 1. 16. The Theorist suspects he made but One. And truly let him but allow Two to be made , and the Moon of necessity must be come into our Neighbourhood ; because she alone could be a Great light in the neighbouring Heaven , to make up the Sun , Two . There is no bringing any Star into the Number . For though the smallest of them be a truer and greater Light than the Moon ; yet no one of them , was ever a great Light in this lower World : and GOD created more than Two such . Besides , Scripture says , That when GOD made two great Lights , he set them ( both of them , both of them then on the same day ) in the Firmament of the Heaven , to give light upon the Earth . And must not both of them then be in our neighbourhood at that time ? And lastly , It says , That as GOD made the greater of these Lights to rule the Day ; so he made the lesser to rule the Night . And when did the lesser begin to rule the Night ? Why , just when the greater began to rule the Day . For as to the Dates of those their respective Offices , we find no difference : Yet the Theorist declares , That the presence of the Moon , and consequently her rule then , was not so needful , because there were no long Winter-nights . Whereas the Moon was no more made to shine only in long Winter-nights , than the Sun was to shine only in long Summer-days . And which is more , as there were no long Winter-nights then , so there were no short Summer ones neither . So that set but the one against the other , and the presence of the Moon may seem to have been as needful then , in regard of the length of Nights , as it is now .

Upon the whole matter therefore there are no good grounds for this piece of Scepticism . And to what has been said concerning it , we need add but this , Whereas it is argued , that there might be no Moon , upon the account that there were no long Winter-nights , nor great Pool of the Sea to move or govern : we being assured that there was a Moon , may much better invert the reason , and retorting the force of the Argument , conclude that there must be long Winter-nights , and the great Pool of the Sea ; because that Planet was present to rule the one , and also to move or govern the other .

Though Possibly the shutting her out of our neighbourhood , might be warily done , and with prospect of her malignant influence in the case before us , namely , That she might not incommode or hinder the rearing of the Earth , upon the Waters of the Chaos . For truly had she been so near a Neighbour at first , as she is now ; she might have been an injurious one as to that Affair . She might have kept those Waters in such Motions , as would have dissipated their Oily Covering ; and so have put by the Primitive Earth , by marring the Basis whereon it should have stood .

Yet when all is said , I would have this Exception lookt upon as propounded in way of Quaery , Whether the unsettledness of the Chaotic Waters , would not have hindred the Production of the first Earth ? rather than as a positively assertory Objection , as if it must necessarily have done it .

4. And here I cannot but remark the exceeding precariousness of the Theorist's Hypothesis , in reference to the Chaos , and the Formation of the Earth out of it . For that that Mass , which consisted of , and was then first dissolved into the simplest elementary Bodies in the World ; should cast forth one Body ( I mean Liquor ) which in its purest na-natural state , could contain so much Oiliness in it . That this Oily matter should rise just when it did , so as to be sit to receive the Earthly Particles in their fall out of the Air ; whereas had they come down sooner , they had been drowned in the Water . That this Oiliness should be of just such a quantity as was sufficient for use ; just enough , that is , to mix with those Particles , and to make them into a good Soil : whereas if it had been more , it would have overflowed them , and made the Earth useless as a greazy clod ; if less , it would not have imbib'd them , but they must have lien loose above , in a fine and dry powder , that would have rendred the Earth barren as an heap of Dust. That the Waters also should be of a due Proportion ; just sufficient , that is , to make a temporary Deluge ; and then to retire into the Deep , and make a durable Sea : whereas had there been much less , the Earth upon its Disruption , could not have been drowned ; and had there been much more , it must have been quite swallowed up for ever . That all these things should be thus , is altogether precarious , and not to be admitted but upon better evidence , than on their behalf is given in . For here any one will be of the Theorist's Judgment , as he has declared it . a a Ego quidem in eâ sum sententiâ , si in harum rerum , de quibus agitur , cognitionem , aut aliarum quarumc●nq●e , quae momenti sunt , visum suerit Deo vel naturae ut pateret hominibus ratio perveniendi , ●atio illa certa est , & in aliquâ clarâ & in●ictâ evidentia âundatâ : non conjecturalis , varia , & dubia , &c. Lat. Theor. pag. 5. That things of moment ( such as he treats of ) are not to stand upon weak and tottering , dubious and conjectural Grounds ; but to be founded upon SOME CLEAR AND INVINCIBLE EVIDENCE . But then he who talks at this rate , ought , when he writes of such momentous things ; to make them out very clearly and evidently . Else ( by what he says more in the same paragraph ) he proclaims himself guilty of a rash attempt ; even of tampering where he ought not to meddle ; and of striving to enter at that Door , where GOD and Nature have both agreed to shut him out . For did they think good to let him in , it should be by such a way as is certain ( he tells us ) and wherein he should walk with the aforesaid evidence on his side . Now this , I say , being his declared Judgment ; the Phaenomena's above-mentioned , should have been more fully explained and made out ; and also more throughly confirmed and made good .

5. But besides those , there is another behind , which if lookt into , will not only be found as Precarious as any of the rest ; but also Vnphilosophical . And that is , The descent of the Terrestrial Particles out of the Air , which constituted the Praediluvian Earth . For of those particles the Theory will have that Earth to be made . Which were a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or kind of excrementitious Sediment , that the Body of the Air threw out , when it purified it self . But that such a prodigious quantity of gross and feculent substance , should then lodge in that part of the Chaos ; which was so light and volatile at the same time , as to * * Theor. pag. 54. mount above other Bodies , and also keep it self upon the wing , and play in open places ; might justly be questioned . For if such a vast deal of drossy stuff , were mixed with the Aereal matter ; then whatever natural disposition ( through levity ) it might have , to mount up ; that , one would think , should have so pinioned its Wings , as to have kept it down , at least from rising very high ; and have been so heavy a clog upon it , as to have spoiled its playing in open places ; at least its playing up so far as the Moon . Yet that the Theory allows it to have done so , is evident . For it supposeth them to † † Theor. Pag. 60. have showred down not only from the middle Regions , but from the whole capacity or extent of those vast spaces betwixt the Moon and us . A supposition that is not only precarious , but also seems ( I say ) to be somewhat Vnphilosophical . For though upon the Theory's account , it was necessary these Particles should fill such vast spaces ; that so the Air might be able to contain enough of them , and also have room enough wherein to move , and by motion to purge it self , and cast them out : yet how will the Phaenomenon fall in with a smooth Philosophic Explication ? For in short , either the Bounds of the Chaos , and the Sphaere of its gravity ( as I may call it ) did extend as high as the Moon , or they did not . If they did not , how came these Particles there ? Especially in such plenty , as to descend from thence in showers ? Yea , how could they come down at all ? Let Philosophy make it out . In case the Bounds of the Chaos and the Sphere of its gravity , did reach so high as the Moon ; then why did not she come tumbling down with those Particles ? or rather sooner than they , as being much heavier ? Let Philosophy give an account of that . For I think we have proved she was then in our neighbourhood : though it seems there might be more reason for that Doubt , than we were at first aware of .

6. And as this Assertion is not very consistent with Philosophy , in it self ; so in the Consequence of it , it is against Scripture . That assures us , That Light was the Product of the first day . And as it was made then , so it was made visible in these inferiour Regions . But this could not be , in case the Earth were formed according to The Theory ; the Air would have been so full of terrestrial Dregs . For it then contained enough of such Dregs , to compose an Earthly Orb , of above one and twenty Thousand Miles in Perimeter ; and of a depth or thickness we know not how great . And such unspeakable measures of Earth in the Air , must needs fill it with darkness ; yea , with such a spissitude and opacity , as would utterly have spoiled the Pellucidness of it , for a considerable height above the Chaos at least . For the coarsest and heaviest of the floating Particles , setling continually towards the Chaos ; and the nearer they approached it , drawing still into a narrower compass ( by reason the spaces out of which they descended , were much larger than those into which they gathered ) the mighty throng of them ( they being crowded together as close as their gravity could squeez them in their fall ) would have made a Ring of such darkness about the Chaos , as would have been like to that which once plagued Egypt . It would have been palpable , that is , as containing a kind of tangible thickness and clamminess in it .

Yet in the first day , upon GOD's most powerful ●iat given , there was light , Gen. 1. 3. Which plainly argues , That the Body of the Air , could not then be of so foul a Constitution . If it had , though GOD , when he pronounced , Let there be light , had made the Sun ( which he did not ) and made him much brighter than he is ; he could not have illightned these lower Regions , as being not only clouded and covered , but even stuffed ( as it were ) with an impenetrable density , or kind of material darkness , so far as the aforesaid Ring of Circle about the Chaos reached . But then how much less could that Light have done it , which was pre-existent to the sun , and was no more than a faint glimmering , in compare with his Glory . Yet on the first day , I say , there was Light in the Chaotic World , even on the very Waters of the Chaos . For when GOD said , Let there be light ; where can that Light be thought to have shined more especially , than where he said before there was darkness ? And where was darkness said to be before , but upon the face of the deep ? Gen. 1. 2. And therefore Light must be shot down thither , in obedience to the Divine Command .

But then here again this Hypothesis seems to be unwarrantable , as grating too much upon Holy Scripture . For whereas that certifies , That there was Light on the first day , and upon the superficies of the Abyss ( as the Context intimates ) this Hypothesis puts nature into such a condition , as made it impossible it should be so , and positively avers , That it was quite contrary . For it tells us , * * Theor. pag. 57. The Air was as yet thick , gross , and dark . And when was it thus ? Why , most certainly after the first day was past . For it was after that the immense Aereal Mass had had time to purifie it self in a great measure ; as appears by what follows : There being abundance of little Particles swimming in it still , after the grossest were sunk down . And if the Air were thick and dark then , after the grossest Particles were sunk down : what was it before , when they were but sinking ? And therefore as the first darkness , at the World's Formation , is acknowledged to proceed , † † Theor. pag. 243. ex ipsius Aeris impuritate & perturbatione ; from the impurity and roil of the Air : so the Theory calls it by the name of , Tenebrae diuturnae ; lasting darkness .

CHAP. IV. 1. A Third Exception against the Formation of the Earth , the Fire at the Center of it . 2. The Theory faulty in not setting forth the Beginning of the Chaos , which was necessary to be done . 3. Such a Chaos was not Created . 4. Nor yet produced in Des-Cartes his way . 5. And therefore that Central Fire seems a thing unreasonable . 6. That the Chaos was produced in the Cartesian way , not to be allowed by the Theory . 7. The Word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 also insinuates the contrary . 8. The Septuagint cleared in one passage . 9. The Story of the Creation not to be restrained to the Terrestrial World .

1. THAT the Earth is not the solidest of the Planets , may well be inferred from its nearness to the Sun . And therefore we see Mars a less Planet by much , advanced above the Earth , upon the account of his solidity . And for the same reason , he may be of such a rutilant or ●iery colour as he is ; which Complexion ( among the Hebrews ) gives him the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the red Planet . But though that degree of Proximity , which the Earth holds to the Sun , shows her to be of a looser substance , of a more porous , and less solid nature ; yet it cannot presently be improved into an Argument , of her having a great quantity of Fire at her Center . This the Theorist admits of as a thing ‖ ‖ Page 64. very reasonable ; that there is a Fire at the Center of the Earth , as there is a Yolk in the middle of an Egg. But how can it be so reasonable according to his Hypothesis ? For , according to that , the Earth was formed out of a Chaos , as we have heard . And that Chaos was nothing but a fluid Mass consisting of earthly Principles , as is intimated in these words , By the Chaos I understand the matter of the Earth and Heavens , without form or order ; reduced into a fluid Mass , wherein are the materials and ingredients of all Bodies . — Suppose then the Elements , Air , Water , and Earth , which are the principles of all terrestrial Bodies , mingled without any order , &c. Now when the Chaos was a confused Mass , in its principles so wholly terrestrial , and in its constitution so wholly fluid ; it is so far from being very reasonble , to allow a Fire at the Center of it , ( and if there were not a Fire at the Center of that , how could there be one at the Center of the Earth ? ) that it would rather be very absurd to do it .

For so , in the First place , very contrary and discordant natures , must have been tied to dwell together in the closest cohabitation , or a perfect contiguity . In which state of conjunction or immediate vicinity ; how could they have subsisted , without preying upon , and destroying one another ? Either the Fire would have dissipated the ambient fluid Bodies that were near it ; or else those fluid humid Bodies , would have suffocated and extinguish'd the Fire they inclosed . Or if they could have dwelt together peaceably for a while , and not have invaded one another . Yet .

Secondly , When the Chaos began to separate , and the grossest parts of it to sink down , those that subsided first ( it being a fluid Mass ) must have met at the very Center of it , and the rest as they followed , would have gathered close about them ; and so constituting a central Globe of Earth , solid throughout , would have left no hollow space within it , for a receptacle of Fire .

Or Lastly , If there had been room left for Fire at the Center of the chaos , yet how should Fire have conveyed it self into that place of reception , or by any means have come to dwell there ?

2. To make this out , it was necessary that the Beginning of the Chaos , or the way of its entring into the World , should have been declared by the Theory . But it is not done : which seems to be a king of flaw in the Hypothesis . It takes no notice of the cause of its Origin , nor of the manner of its Production ; whereby this difficulty might have been prevented or cleared up . And truly the way or manner of its rise or emergency into being , is necessary to be known for the explaining of other difficulties , as well as this . For upon it depends the solution of several Phaenomena's , and very material ones . I name but one , The Magnetism of the Earth , as to the influence it has upon the Index nauticus , or Needle of the Mariner's . Compass ; the pointing or Direction of which , is not so curious and surprizing ; but it is a useful in the affairs of human Life . But then if the Theorist , ( by setting his Chaos , which came from we know not whence , in the room of an Earth of a Planetary Origin , sunk down from its lucid or Sidereous state ) takes away the supposed causes of this notable effect ; it will be incumbent on him to assign others , from whence it may be derived .

In case it be objected , that the Phaenom●non alledged is not satisfactorily accounted for in the Cartesian way neither ; forasmuch as it stumbles in the formation of the Striate Particles , the main instrument of the work ; and that Des-Cartes himself dares not trust his own Hypothesis , but professes the Earth to have been otherwise produced than that determines ( as shall be noted by and by ) then I answer : As this is really nothing to us , so it will not excuse the Theorist in the least , from clearing up the thing , according to those measures he hath taken by himself . It only shows , that the French Philosophy ( of so great fame ) is too short to fathom the deeps of Nature , and by no means quick-sighted enough to see to the bottom of her profound Mysteries . Though that Philosophy may grow up apace , to so happy a perfection , as to be able to make a more full discovery of such secrets ; must needs be the desire of wife and good Men.

And so we return to the Enquiry we were upon , viz. How Fire should come to the Center of the Earth . Which is a Problem the more intricate and perplexed , in regard The Theory takes no notice of the beginning of the Chaos . It tells indeed that there was a Chaos , and what kind of one it was ; but it gives no manner of account how it came into Being . As to that the Reader is left at a loss , and has nothing to guide him but his own Conjectures . I shall guess therefore as fairly at the thing as I can ; And to me it seems probable , that this Chaos should be produced one of these Two ways ; either by Creation , or by Des-Cartes his way for generating Planets . Thought it will not be over easie to make out , That it came into existence by either of them .

3. For first , to affirm that it dropt directly out of the hand of Omnipotence , in way of Creation ; is more than we find warranted . Yea , we are taught something , and that from Heaven , which is very different from it ; Namely , That * * Gen. 1. 1. in the beginning GOD created the EARTH . And if it was and Earth that he created in the beginning , it could not be a Chaos ; I mean Such a Chaos as the Theory makes it : for that was no Earth , nor had it any specific or distinct Earth in it , as being † † Theor. pag. 44. without distinction of Elements . It is said indeed , Gen. 1. 2. That the Earth was , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 desolation and emptiness . Inanis & vacua , as the Vulgar , doubly void . That is , of its designed order and comeliness , which were to beautifie it : and of all those creatures which were to furnish it , and dwell in it . And therefore , says the Targum of Ierusalem , it was empty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Children of Men ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and void of every brute . And the Prophet describing a most fearful destruction to come upon his People by Wars ; through which their fruitful Land was to become a Wilderness , and Men and Birds were to be driven away : tells us in the very Words of Moses , That the Earth was , * * Jer. 4. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 desolation and emptiness . And in this sense I confess , the Earth ( in its original imperfection and nakedness ) was a Chaos : an incultivate and uninhabited lump , rude and confused beyond all imagination , as having neither good from nor furniture in it . But then at the same time it was an Earth too ; and so not such a Chaos as the Theory speaks it . I might also note ( would that be of weight ) that the Praefix , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( Genesis 1. 1. ) is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 notificationis , ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) scientific or demonstrative : and so it points at this Earth , and intimates it was this very same Earth at first , that it is now . The same as to substance and nature , though not as to condition and ornaments . And this Earth , in the state of its primitive disorder and destitution , being the true Mosaic Chaos , created in the beginning ; we have no grounds to belive , that any other besides it was ever brought forth in way of creation . But we have good grounds to believe that no other was so produced ; inasmuch as to assert it , would be to set up Phantasie against Moses's authority ; and to bring presumptuous concei● , into competition with Scripture .

But grant the Chaos to have been such as it is supposed to be , and that it entred into the World at the door of Creation : Yet here will be nothing to make it reasonable , very reasonable to admit Fire at its Center . For if there was a central Fire in it , it must either be placed there supernaturally , by the immediate power of the ALMIGHTY ; and we have no reason to admit it upon that score , because we are no where informed of it . Or else it must be generated there in a Natural way : and to admit that , would be against reason too . For how could a vast quantity of Flame , be bred in the Bowels of an Earthy Mass , consisting of the Principles of all terrestrial Bodies . And whoever shall peruse the first half of the Fifth Chapter of the English Theory , will soon be satisfied that the Chaos could consist of no a a The Schemes of the Ch●os show it terrestrial throughout . Theor. pag. 54 , 55 , 56 , 57. The E●rth also formed out of it , is represented without Fire at the Cen●er , pag. 58. other but terrestrial Principles . For there it appears that it was resolved into nothing but Earth , Air , Water , and an unctious substance ; and so could be made up of nothing else . But Fire is quite another thing ; and as different from those Elements , as motion is from rest ; or the most Celestial , from the most Terrestrial Matter ; and so in a course of Nature could not possibly issue from them , and settle it self in the midst of them .

4. We will pass therefore to the Second Conjecture ; whither indeed the Notion of central Fire in the Earth , does most directly lead us : and that is Des-Cartes's Method , by which he supposeth Planets to be formed . And according to that the Earth was one of those fourteen , or fifteen Stars , which once shined gloriously in their respective Heavens hereabouts . But being all overgrown and incrusted with Maculaes , except one , and losing their native strength and light ; were swallowed up by the Vortex of the surviving Luminary the Sun : and so move round about him as so many Satellites or Waiters of his , to this day . Though some of these Planets also , that is , Secundary ones , are at the same time carried about others of them . As the Moon , about the Earth ; the four Medicean ones , about Iupiter ; and Saturn's three Asseclae or Pages ( according to Cassinus . ) about him .

And here there may seem to be a plausible account given , of the declared Central constitution of the Earth , or of a Region of Fire at the heart of it . For it having been all Flame heretofore ; till it was overspread with Maculaes ( boiled out of it self , and gendred first into a kind of foam or scum ; and afterwards into an harder substance ) it could not but retain much fiery matter in its Central Parts . And thus this Fire would be sufficiently protected too , against dissipation and danger of Extinction , from the moist and lumpish Chaos which surrounded it , and at the time of its separation would have lain heavy upon it . For its Coat of Maculaes worn next it , being nealed by furious heat , and made into a strong arched Vault ; there the inclosed Element might have been secure ( as in a mighty Granado-shell ) never to be annoyed by any manner of violence .

But neither by this way , as quaint as it is , could the Chaos step forth into being . For though it be a spruce and gay invention ; a contrivance rerely ingenious , and prettily coherent ; and withal so laudably instrumental to the trim solution of sundry difficulties , that some are ready to think 't is pity but it should be real : yet the very first dash of Moses's Pen , gives the Philosophic Bubble such a shrewd prick , as flals it into Vanity and Romance . In the beginning GOD created the Heaven and the Earth . So that famous Man told an illiterate People , as a faithful Secretary of the MOST HIGH ; with intention fully to instruct them as to the Origin of the World , so far as comported with his Majestick Office and brevity . And if GOD in the beginning , at the very first , created the Earth , and created it an Earth ; how could it before that , be a Chaos , such a Chaos , as it is represented to have been ? and how could it possibly rise into such a Chaos , out of a Sun or ●ixt Star ? And if GOD created the Heavens at the same time when he created the Earth ( as Moses affirms ) for both , he says , were created in the beginning ) where could it have place to act the part of a fixed Luminary , before it became a Planet ? But therefore to take off this , and the like Arguments , the Story of the Creation is supposed to relate to the Earthly World only . How truly we shall a little consider in the Close of this Chapter .

In the mean time , to go on with what we have in hand ; the illustrious Des-Cartes is on our side . He openly professes ( as was noted * * Chap. 2. § 4. above ) that he did not think the Earth was made of a Star , according to his Principles ; but was brought forth by Creation . And he judged thus , for the same reason , I am now urging . Because , † † Princip. part . 3. Art. 45. hoc ●ides Christians nos docet ; the Christian Faith teacheth us as much . So that he who shall teach otherwise , must ( in the opinion of that renowned Philosopher ) broach a Doctrine against Divine Revelation . And therefore what has been said that way , I hope will relish the better , as falling in with the sentiments of so exceeding worthy and judicious a Person . And herein he acted like a true and noble Christian Philosopher indeed ; in that he made his Hypothesis stoop to the Religion of Heaven , and would retrench his Principles , rather than they should run counter to the sacred Oracles . Yea , the great Man goes farther , and adds , hocque etiam ratio naturalis plane persuadet ; and this also ( that the World was created with all its perfection , so that there was in it a Sun , and an Earth , &c. ) natural reason does plainly perswade . a a Attendendo enim ad immensam Dei potentiam , non possumus exisiimare illum unquam quicquam fecisse , quod non omnibus suis numeris fuerit absolutum . Ubi supra . For if we attend to the mighty power of GOD , we cannot think that he ever made any thing that was not compleat in all points . And therefore he said before ; b b Ac etiam in terr● non tantum ●uerint semina plantarum , sed ipse plantae ; nec Adam & Eva nati sint infantes , sed facti sint homines adulti . Ibid. And likewise in the Earth there were not only the seeds of Plants , but Plants themselves ; nor were Adam and Eve brought forth Infants , but made adult persons . And when it is a thing not only worthy of GOD , to make Creatures perfect at first , but natural reason perswades that he actually did so : we must either conclude that the Earth was made so ( as Des-Cartes does ) or else in our judging otherwise , vary from , or go against the dictate of common reason , as well as Scripture . So that if the Opinion , the professeed and openly avowed Opinion , of the most eminent Christian Philosopher ; yea , of the admired Author of the new Philosophy ( the fittest person amongst Philosophers to judge in the Case ) will cast the Scales for us ; we have it on our side , that the Earth was not produced in his way ; or according to his Hypothesis .

5. But then the premisses considered , to admit there is a Fire at the Center of the Earth ; is so far from being very reasonable , as the Theory holds ; that according to the fairest measures or accounts of things , which Philosophy has given to the World as yet ; it rather appears to be very unreasonable . For however Des-Cartes's Principles lean that way , and countenance the Phaenomenon ; yet he himself , we see , not only doubts of his own Hypothesis as to the Earth's formation ; but has publickly declared that they who sail by his Compass , must swim against the stream of Natural Reason .

6. And truly should the Theory allow this Central Fire in the Earth upon the account of its being produced in Des-Cartes's way ; it would quite overthrow its own Hypothesis , by complying with his . For then the Earth could never have been of an Oval Figure . Nor could it have been without Mountains , and without a Sea . But its motion of inclination would have been from the first , because its Axis would have been perpendicular to the plain of the Ecliptic . And so its Equinoctial position ( to name no more Essentials of the Theory ) would have been impossible . And whereas ( by the way ) the present site of the Earth ( which might seem more convenient , were it placed so , as that its Annual and Diurnal motions might be both performed on parallel Axes ) is made by * * Princip. part . 3. Art . 155. Des-Cartes , to depend upon the influence of the Striate Particles ; and both the formation and motion of them are shewed by a † † Dr. M●re Epist. ad V. C. learned Philosophic Pen , not to fall in with Mechanical Laws : this will be no check or difficulty upon us . For first , Des-Cartes might in that ( as he has done in some other things ) keep too strictly to the Laws of Matter and Motion ; it being necessary in the works of Nature very often to acknowledge the hand of Providence . Or else secondly , if there should be no such particles in being , and nothing of their power to hold the Axis of the Earth , in a parallelism to that of the World's Aequator ; this would be but an advantage on our side . For how can the Earth have a Fire at its Center as being produced in conformity to the Cartesian Principles , when , according to those Principles , it could not be produced at all ? For put by the Formation of these Particles , and ( according to that Philosophy ) there could be no Planets , and so no Earth : the matter of the third Element being not to be made without those particles .

7. Were I dispos'd to follow the Rabbies , I might here go a little farther still . I might venture to lay hold of the Word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he created ; and make it do service upon their authority . For some of them bear us in hand , that it denotes , Creation , in a rigorous sense ; that is , the making of a thing out of nothing . Agreeable to which is the holy Writer's notion of Creation where he says , * * Heb. 11. 3. that things which are seen , were not made of things that do appear . Meaning ( as we read elsewhere ) that they were made , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , † † 2 Ma●. 7. 28. out of nothing . Which apply to the making of the Earth ( as we very well may , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , being the SPIRIT 's word concerning it ) and it could not possibly be made out of a Sun , or Star , as the new philosophy would have it . For then ( say those Doctors ) a more proper word should have express'd its production , viz , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which imports the making of a thing out of praeexistent matter . Some slight ground for this seems to be laid in Scripture ; and that in Moses's Cosmopoeia too . For it is said , Gen. 2. 3. That GOD rested from all his work , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he Created to make . Where unless we allow a distinct signification , to the two words implying that he made some things out of nothing , and others out of prepared matter : we must charge the HOLY GHOST with indecent Tautology . Though if we consider again that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is used promiscuously to express GOD's making of things ex praejacente materia , out of extant matter , as well as out of nothing , and that in the very story of the Creation : we may well suspect that there was too much niceness in the Masters , rather than such respective significations ; to be strictly and continually appropriated to the words . Only as many as did thus criticize , have thereby fairly given their suffrage , for that truth which we contend for . That when GOD created the Earth ( according to Moses's narrative ) he educ'd it directly out of nothing . And so it cannot have a fire at the Center of it , because it issu'd forth into being ; in Des-Cartes's way .

8. Being unawares fallen upon that expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he created to make : in reverence to the Seventy ; I cannot but take one short step out of the way , to vindicate their translation of it . They render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which he began to make . As if the work of Creation had not then been consummate . But that could not be their meaning . For whereas we read in the beginning of the Chapter ; the Heavens and the Earth , and all the Host of them were finished : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , they rendred by , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and they were compleated . They could only mean therefore , that GOD rested from all his work , which at any time , in the six precedent days , He had BEGVN to make . And so their sense is sound and true , though they keep not close to the ●●teral strictness of the Original . And that they thought the Creation was wholly perfected before the seventh day ; is apparent from that liberty they took , in translating the beginning of the second verse of the same Chapter ; which perhaps is more culpable . For whereas the Hebrew says , GOD had ended his work , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 on the seventh day : departing , quite from the proper signification of the word , they render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , on the sixth day . As if they feared they should offend ( by stretching the work of Creation too far ) in case they had turned it , GOD had ended his work on the seventh day . Here was more than abundans cautela , too much caution used . Especially if Aben Ezra's Maxime be authentic , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . * * Ad Exod. cap. 12. v. 16. The finishing of a work or consummation of it , is not the work it self . I have noted this the rather , as containing in it a full consent , with what has been said touching the Creation's being perfected in Six days . For it makes it evident that the LXX . Interpreters were throughly perswaded of this Truth . And not only so , but forward to assert , and resolved to maintain it , even to an over acted care and blameable Scrupulosity .

9. And here it will not be amiss , to reflect a little upon one notion of the Theory 's ; which countenances the late production of the Earth , or its rising long after the World was made ( perhaps out of a Sun or Star , as the Scheme in the English Theory , before the Title Page , plainly insinuates ) And that is , The limiting of Moses's Story of the Creation , to this lower World : to the Earth , that is to say , and the Aereal Heavens , and such things as were formed out of the Chaos . Thus in one place it confines it . * * Illud prim● notandum est , no● id agere Mosen , ut primam materi●e productionem , atque Vniversi Mundi ortum describeret , sed mundi nostri , scilicet telluris nostrae , & Coeli nostri è suo chao sormationem . Theor. lib. 2. cap. 8. First that must be noted , that Moses did not describe the first production of matter , and the rise of the universal World , but the formation of our World , that is of our Earth , and our Heaven , out of their Chaos . And presently after ; † † Subjectum autem Genese●s Mosaicae est Chaos , & con●usi●●imum & terres●re ; & qu●e ex hoc Chao eductasunt , & ad illud tanquam centrum referuntur , ●a propriè spectant ad mundum Mosaicum . ib. But the Subject of Moses's Genesis is the Chaos , and that most confus'd and Earthly ; and the things made out of this Chaos , and related to it as a center ; those properly belong to the Mosaic World . And by and by , * * Ne putemas itaque nobis nascentibus & mundo nostro , necesse esse ut tota natura eodem tempore nas●●retur . ib. We may not surmise therefore that when we and our World was made , entire nature must needs be made at the same time . And then again , † † Pro certo & explorato habeatur — Mundum Mosaicum non omnes V●iversi regiones , neque omnes rerum ordines complecti , s●d illas naturae partes quaeè Chao terrestri educi potuerunt . ib. Certain it is — that Moses's World does not comprehend all the Regions of the Vniverse , nor all the orders of things , but those parts of Nature which could be made of the Earthly Chaos .

But then ( to say nothing of Light , or the Vehicle of it , neither of which were made out of the Chaos ) let me ask ; What did GOD mean , when he said , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 † † Gen. 1. 14. LET THERE BE LIGHTS ? I do not ask , what those Lights were , that 's evident enough . Nor where they were placed : for they were far above the Aiery Heaven , and so in the sense of the Theory , could not belong to the Earthly World . But the question is , What ALMIGHTY GOD intended by , LET THERE BE LIGHTS . The Theory * * Di●i possunt tum nasci & oriri e●e partes coelestes Vniversi , cùm primum conspicue●rant , ●tque diss●patâ caligine Ch●os & nigri aeris , eminusse ostentabant terris , paulatim emicantes è tenebris , quasi ab iisdem & eodem Chao , enatae ●uissent . Neque aliter Cosmogoniam Mosaicam intelligendam esse , si opus esset , m● demonstrare posse existimo . lib. 2. cap 7. hints the meaning and effect thereof to be no more , than that those heavenly parts of the Universe , were then first made conspicuous , or began to illighten the Earth : and declares it demonstrable , That Moses is so to be understood , as he has limited him .

But then I must continue the enquiry , What does , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , LET THERE BE , signify in other places of the same Chapter where it occurrs so often ? why , it infallibly implys the production . of those things , to which it does respectively relate . It imports God's commanding or willing their existence ; and their immediate emergency into being , in obedience to his powerful Will or Mandate . This is obvious even to slightest notice . Thus , when GOD said , Let there be light : it follows immediately , and there was Light . When GOD said , Let there be a firmament : it follows , and GOD made a Firmament . When GOD said , Let the waters be gathered together into one place ( that so there might be dry land , and Seas : ) it follows , It was so . When GOD said , Let the Earth bring forth Grass , &c. it follows , and the Earth brought forth Grass , &c. When GOD said , Let the Waters bring forth abundantly : it follows , the Waters brought forth abundantly . When God said , Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his king , and Cattel , &c. it follows , And GOD made the Beast of the Earth after his kind , and Cattel , &c. And when the Divine and Omnipotent Fiat did all-along carry such energy with it , as thus to produce other things ; as in the series of the Story : can it in reason be thought to do less , when GOD pronounced , LET THERE BE LIGHTS ? To make this one Fiat , differ in sense from the rest ; would be to depart from the Rules of a just Exposition . Yet unless we force such a difference into it , it must signify more than the bare appearance of lights upon the clearing up of the Chaos and the Sky : that is , it must signify those lights were just then created .

And this is farther evident thus ; in that GOD takes notice , express notice of the use of these Luminaries , and therein particularly provides for the conspicuity and Radiancy of them . † † Gen. 1. 15. Let them be FOR lights in the firmament of the Heaven , to GIVE LIGHT VPON THE EARTH . So that when he said , LET THERE BE LIGHTS , if he did not mean more than their becoming conspic●ous and shining out upon the Earth ; the two expressions must be perfectly tautological . And yet if he intended any thing else , what could it be but their Creation at that time ? Especially when it follows hereupon , And GOD made two * * The Moon is really a great light to the Earth , though the light she transmits thither , be borrowed of the Sun . great lights , and the Stars also . And therefore that the work of Creation which Moses treats of , reaches farther than what belongs to the Earthly World , and resulted from the Chaos ; is not to be doubted . For he does not only mention the making of the Lights in the Firmament ( things as different from the terrestrial World , as they are distant from the same ) but describes them as fully , in reation to their uses and ends ; and so seems to handle them as profes●edly , as any piece of the lower Creation whatever .

In case it be objected , that the Stars give little light upon the Earth , which is a thing Moses ascribes to the Luminaries in Heaven ; I answer , If they served not so eminently to that use , yet to the other he mentions , they were very serviceable and indispensibly necessary . For how could time have been measured out and divided into Years and Months , ( as it was in the First World ) without their help ? especially if there were no Moon .

And so I demand in the Second place ; What does Moses mean , by the Host of the Heavens being finished ? Thus † † Gen 2. 1. THE HEAVENS were FINISHED , and all the HOST of them . If he meant only the Host of the Heavens belonging to the Earth ; what was the Host of those Heavens ? As for the Air , it helped to constitute them , to make the very Heavens themselves . As for Clouds , Rain , Hail , Snow , and the like Meteors ; there could be none , says the Theory . As for the Moon , it might not then be in the Earth's Neighbourhood . As for that watry exhalation which abounded in the aereal Heaven , it was but one single thing ; and so answers not the import of the Word , HOST , it being of a plural signification . And what other Host should belong to these Heavens , except the Fowls ? but then though in Scripture they be called , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ; and in the Chaldee * * Dan. 2. 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by the Septuagint and in the New Testament , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Fowls of Heaven : yet I do not remember that they are any where called , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the HOST of Heaven That phrase in Holy Writ , does usually ( I think ) continually referr , either to the Angels , or else to the Lights of Heaven . And of the latter of those at least , it must here be understood . But then none of these Luminaries being formed out of the Chaos ; and all of them but one , placed in remote or superiour Heavens : hence it is evident , that the Story of the Creation , is not to be restrained to the Terrestrial World . For that Moses did not only speak of them , but of their being created then ; is manifest from the words before us . The HEAVENS and the EARTH were FINISHED , and all the HOST of THEM . where , if by the Earth and its Host , being FINISHED ; We are to understand their being CREATED at that time , as we certainly must : then are we bound to understand , that the Heavens and their Host , were so too ; because the same thing is equally predicated of both . It may be worth the while also to remark that Passage in the 148. Psalm . Where the inspired Man desiring that GOD might be glorified by means of the Celestial Luminaries ; crys out , Praise ye him , sun and moon : praise him all ye stars . — For he commanded , and they were created . Whence it is evident , that when GOD commanded , Let there be lights ; this was not a command whereby they appeared only , but whereby they were created : and the Moon with the rest was then commanded into being .

I might also make a Third demand , What is meant by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * * Gen. 2. 7. breath of life , which GOD breathed into Man ? No less than his very Soul . So says † † Lexic. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Buxtorf ( and * * Vsurpatur de homine tantùm , & animam h●jus ratione praeditam denotat . Schind . Lexic. Pentag . Pag. 1177. Dicitur propriè de anima hominis immortali , quam Deus in illum insufflavit . Prophet . in Psal. 18. v. 16. others ) the Hebrews by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 understand the rational and immortal Soul , and therefore they swear by it . And when GOD created man did he not create this Soul of his ? And so did not the work of Creation , which Moses writes of , comprehend more than those parts of Nature , which were made of the Earthly Chaos .

It may be not , will Platonists say ; at least this instance is no good Proof of it . For GOD might not create the Souls of Adam and Eve just then , but send them down from a state of Preexistence . But then ( not to ingage in a new Controversie ) I reply in short ; If the humane Souls came into their Bodies out of a state of Preexistence ; then when they descended , they were either pure from sin ; or they were not . If they were not pure , then how did GOD create Man in his own Image ? Gen. 1. 27. Or how did he make Adam u●right ? Eccles. 7. 29. Where the Rectitude spoken of , must be of a moral nature ; because ( as the Context shows ) it is opposed to moral obliquity or perverseness . If they were pure , how could the infinitely gracious BEING ( whose name ( and so his nature ) is † † Exod. 34. 6. MERCIFUL ; who * * Mic. 7. 18. delighteth in mercy , and whose † † Psal. 145. 9. mercy is over all his works ) deal so unkindly with his own most dear and spotless creatures ; as to thrust them down , or suffer them to fall , out of a state of Aethereal light and happiness , into a state of darkness and stupid silence , out of which ( according to Platonism ) they must come , to be incarnate , and so slide into a condition more forlorn still ? Truly if the goodness and wisdom of Heaven , so decreed and ordered things , as that the Protoplast's ( and so their Childern's ) innocent and immaculate Spirits must be betrayed or precipitated into that state of inactivity ( which might last for millions of years of ages ) and then out of that squalid condition , sink into a worse ; into one full of inexpressible imperfections , miseries , and dangers , where innumerable multitudes lie under almost an inevitable necessity of falling into the torments of everlasting destruction : if this , I say , be the result of Havens wise Councils and Decrees , Preexistence will give no satisfaction to understanding Men ; and do as little honour to the Glorious GOD. It will rather be a Scandal , than a Key to Providence .

Now that the Souls of the first Pair of Mankind did preexist , it being improbable ; and that they should be ex traduce , it being impossible : what remains , but that GOD created the Souls , when he made the Bodies of those Persons ? And so the work of Creation , of which Moses treats , is so far from being limitable to the lower World , or indeed to the higher material one either ; that it stretches out it self beyond them both , even to the Spiritual one . And the Host of the Heavens , just now done with , intimates as much , Expositors conclude , while they make it refer , not only to the Lights , but the Angels above .

And perhaps something of this Truth , That Angels and Humane Souls came into being at the same time that the Earth did ; may be wrapt up in the Doctrine of the Mundane Egg. So Orpheus , that anci●nt and famous Divine amongst the Heathens , who , according to * * Leg at . pro Chris●ian . At henagoras , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is believed to Theologize more truly than the rest : tells how 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a superimmense Egg being brought forth by Hercules , that is , I think , by the Divine Power ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by attrition it brake into two parts : of the upper part of which , was made Heaven ; and of the lower part , the Earth . And then affirms , that Heaven being mingled with Earth , it produced both Women , Men and Gods . By which he might shadow out that the Intellectual or Spiritual World , took its beginning , with the Terrestrial one . But if he meant that Souls or Spirits sprung up out of matter , this will make the ancient Philosophy so very mean and gross , as not to be at all regarded .

CHAP. V. 1. The Form of the Earth Excepted against , from the want of Rivers . 2. Notwithstanding the way devised to raise them , there would have been none in due time . 3. Whereupon Two great Inconveniences must have ensued . 4. No Rivers could have been before the Flood .

1. THE a a Ecclus. 29. 21. chief thing for Life is Water , said the Son of Sirach . It is necessary and useful upon numberless accounts . So that that Hypothesis which implies the Earth was without ●●rings and Rivers for many hundreds of Years , ma● justly be rejected . And for this reason the supposed Form of the Earth cannot be maintained . For according to that , the Element of Water was fast shut up within the Exteriour Orb of the Earth ; and how could it issue forth from thence , through so thick and solid a terrestrial Concretion ? For that being made after the manner abovesaid , there could be no gaping chasms , nor indeed little clefts or chinks in it ; whereat the imprison'd Waters might get out . Or if there had been never such plenty of lesser cracks or larger rists in it ; yet the Water being settled in that place , which was proper to its Nature , there it would have staid by the innate Law or Principle of its Gravity . Unless by Elastie Power , Protrusion , Rarefaction , or the like , it were forced thence ; there it would have made its perpetual aboad , had the Earth been never so open o● pervious , by reason of fissures or holes in the same .

2. But therefore Exhalation is here made use of , and as a proper Engin is set to do this mighty work , of fetching up Rivers from the inaccessible Pit . The operation , in short , was performed thus , The heat of the Sun raising plenty of Vapours , chiefly about the middle parts of the Earth , out of the subterraneous Deep ; they finding most liberty and easiest progress , toward North and South , directed their motion towards the Poles of the Earth . Where , being condensed by the cold of those Regions into Rain , they descended in constant and exuberant distillations . And these Distillations were the Fountains that supplied the first World with Rivers , running continually from the Polar to the 〈◊〉 parts of the Earth . But according to this Hydrography , I shall endeavour , first , to make it out that there could be no Rivers in due time : and secondly , that there could be none at all . And as for Springs , the Hypothesis does not pretend to any .

First , It would have kept Rivers too long , out of being . For according to that Philosophy we have now to do with , the new made Earth was composed of nothing but Dust and an Oily liquor . And it being of such a Composition , and of a vast thickness ; it must needs be a considerable time before the Sun could penetrate into the Abyis under it , and draw up vapours from thence ; if it could do it at all in so copious a manner .

Secondly , The Air being at first quite empty of Vapours , it would take a great quantity of them to make the Atmosphere of the Earth , or to fill up that . To which add that every part of the Earth about its Aequator , being turned from the Sun , every four and twenty hours , as long as it was obverted to it ; many of those Vapours which were lifted up by day , would fall down again by night in the same Latitude where they arose , without being dispersed to the Polar Regions . And thus the production of Rivers would have been something retarded again .

Thirdly , The surface of the Earth being endued with a wonderful feracity it must immediately put forth in an inconceiveable plenty of all sorts of Vegetables : which from luxuriant pullulations , would strangely advance by most speedy and prodigious growths . And this Superfetation of the virginal Soil , proceeding from that extraordinary fruitfulness wherewith it was originally impregnated ; must farther hinder the early rise of Rivers . Not so much by consuming the matter of them , as another way . For the Earth being thick beset with the flourishing apparatus , or goodly Furniture of its own bringing forth ( such perhaps for abundance and excellency , as never crowned the most fertil Country , or fruitful season since ) though Dews or Rains fell without intermission ; yet the Waters would have stuck or hung so much , amongst the rank and matted tufts of Grass , Herbs , Shrubs , &c. as not to have been able in a short space of time , to have gotten into Streams , and constituted Rivers of such a length , as they must have been of .

Fourthly , In case these Waters had met with no checks , but had fallen immediately into such Bodies , as would have forced their passage along in holding Currents : yet then they must ●ave digged their own Chanels too , being sure to find none till they made them . But considering how slowly they must have crept , as having no kind of Precipices or steeper downfals to quicken them ; and how glib they must have been , by gliding gently upon the fat and viscous Glebe ; and what a thick and thrummy and close wrought Mantle the Earth then wore : for them to have furrowed out deep and winding passages in that Earth , must have been a good whiles work again , if fecible at all without the help of Art . For

Lastly , It seems improbable that any Rivers , without the help of that , should have been produced . The reason is this , The Rains descending at all times , and in all places alike , a round the Poles ; and the whole surface of the Earth being more level and even , than any Plain in the World ; the Waters instead of parting into streams , would have spread over all the Earth at once , in a general diffusion ; as any one may find by pouring Water upon a Globe . By which overflow , the Primigenial Soil ( which was a light and soft Mold ) being suppled into a perfect Moor or Quagmire ; must have continued drowned , till by reducing the Water into artificial Canels , it could have been laid dry . But when there would have been hands for this great work ( GOD making Mankind but in one single Pair ) let them that please consider . And they may think also , where Paradise could have been ; and what shift poor Fowls , and Beasts , yea , Men themselves should have made ; till the Earth , like a Fen , thus under Water , could have been cut and drained .

3. Now so slow and late a Production of Rivers , would have drawn two great inconveniences after it . It would have clashed with Scripture ; and charged Providence with Preposterousness .

First , It would have clashed with Scripture . For no sooner was Man created and placed in Paradise , but presently we read , That a River went out of Eden to water the garden , Gen. 2. 10. But had all Rivers come into being , as the Theory teaches , one could never have been there so early . Nor did it go out of Eden , by running through it only , but it arose there , say some , and as much is signified , they would perswade us , by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which denotes its going out ( they tell us ) as a Child goes out of the Womb : and so the River must be born in Eden , or spring up originally there . But the Word is too commonly used , in a larger sense , both in the Sacred and Rabbinical Writings , to have any such stress laid upon it . Though most certain it is , that a River there was in Eden ; and in order of Divine Story ( and so why not in order of time ? ) very early : even before the Fall of Adam , or the Formation of Eve . And which is farther remarkable , it was a large River too ; for it was parted into several Heads , and able to feed most considerable streams . One of which , namely , Euphrates , is reckoned among the biggest Rivers in the World , to this day . But had it come by derivation from the Polar Fountains , it could never have been made so soon ; much less could it have been so large . And then besides , we read at the Sixth Verse of the same Chapter , that GOD had not caused to rain upon the Earth as yet ; and so that River could not possibly proceed from Rains , that fell about the ends or Poles of it .

Though ( by the way ) how that Expression should countenance an Impluvious state before the Flood , as * * Page 206. the Latin Theory would ●ake it , is not so clear and easie to be understood . For , if we consider , there was no Water upon that Earth , but what fell in Rain . And in two Regions of that Earth , there were Rains continually descending : and they seem to have been of little other use , than for those Rains to come down in . And to say , That by the Earth there , was meant only Regiones cult● , or the inhabited Countries of the Earth ; would be an unwarranted restriction of the Scriptures sense . For in the Story of the Creation , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Earth , is still put ( as we may observe ) for the entire Globe of the Earth , or at least for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the whole face of the ground , as Gen. 2. 6. Nor may it be said to be spoken ad captum vulgi , as to the common peoples apprehension . For surely they were not such dull Souls , in the first World , but ( had Nature stood in that order as the Theory sets it ) they would have traced their Rivers to their heads , many hundreds of Years before the Deluge ; and have been generally and throughly acquainted , with those Rains by which they were raised . They would then have known as well , that Rivers came from Rains at the ends of the Earth ; as we do now , that Gold comes from Guinea , or the distant Indies . Yea , the want of room ( they multiplying exceedingly ) would have forced them to find out the rainy Regions , while they must have spread their Colonies to the Borders of them .

Secondly , It would tax the Providence of Heaven with Praeposterousness . That is , in reference to one sort of Animals , the Fishes . For then they must have been brought into being , before there were fit Receptacles for them . I confess , GOD said , Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life , Gen. 1. 20. Which may seem to take off the objected inconvenience . For if so be that the Waters were to bring forth Fishes , before they existed , they could not lack agreeable Mansions upon their first emergency into being : inasmuch as the same Element was to afford them habitation , from whence they derived their production .

But grant that the Waters were to be productive of Fishes . Yet they might not be so prima vice , at the very first . Or if they did then help towards producing them ; it could be only by yielding a rude kind of matter , out of which they might be formed : such as Adam's Rib was for the making of Eve . And therefore though GOD said , at the Twentieth Verse , Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life ; Yet in the next Verse it is said , That GOD CREATED every living creature that moveth , which the waters brought forth abundantly . Where , if , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , created , does not denote GOD's making them out of pure nothing , ( according to the rigid School-notion of Creation ) yet it signifies ( which is the lowest sense of the word ) that he made them ex materia prorsus inhabili , out of matter of it self ( till the Creator chang'd and disposed it ) altogether unfit for such an use . So that albeit the Waters brought forth Fishes , yet they did not do it , by any vis plastica , formative power of their own solely ; but so far as they afforded general ( and naturally inept ) Materials for their composition .

And , in some sense , the Waters ( we know ) have brought forth Fishes ever since . That is , by cherishing their Spermata , or Spawn committed to them . For they receiving those young and tender rudiments of life ( upon their first ejection or exclusion ) into their liquid Wombs ; do nurse up the naked and imperfect Seminals , through the several Stages of an incompleat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Birth ; till they arrive at animation and maturity . But then this implys that the First Fishes came into being by an extraordinary way ; and could not be produced as they are now ; because there were none before them , none to propagate them , by casting forth such spermatic Principles . The aboriginal ones ( as I may call them ) for this very reason , must be made by GOD's immediate hand . Though whether he made them out of nothing , or out of watry Materials ; is all one as to our purpose . For either way it was absolutely necessary , that Rivers should be extant as well as they ; that so they might be in a readiness to receive them .

But now according to the Hypothesis under consideration , the Fishes of the two , must exist first , if the Creation ( as I hope we have proved ) were perfected in Six Days . For they were made upon the Fifth Day , says Moses , and how could there be Rivers so timely according to this new contrivance ? The Sun it self was created but just the day before . And so what a work must here be done , to make Rivers coetaneous with the Fish we speak of ? The beams of the Sun must have pierced into the Earth , and that so deep as to have reached the Abyss . And from thence plenty of Vapours must have been exhal'd into the Air. And these Vapours being upon the wing must have taken their flight as far as the Polar Regions . And there they must have been condensed into Rains . And these Rains must have made Bodies of Waters . And these Bodies of Waters must have been so great , as to have slowed along , through or against all obstacles . And these Floods must have been so violent , as to have hollow'd out Chan●ls for themselves all the way they went . And all this in one days space . Otherwise there must have been no Fishes made . Or they must not have been made , when GOD says they were . Or when they were made , there must have been no sutable Receptacles for them . For as for the Waters of the Abyss , they could by no means serve for this use , as will appear in the Sequel of our Discourse .

4. But we are to pursue this matter farther yet . There could be no Rivers in due time ; that has been evidenced . It is next to be proved that there could be none at all before the Flood .

How Rivers were first made , we have been instructed , by Rains descending from above . But whereabouts were these to fall ? In the Frigid Zones , or towards the Poles , we are told ; and * * Theor. pa● . 227. the Scheme representing them , shows as much . But then , methinks , they should have been in great danger , yea , under inavoidable necessity of Freezing . For the Sun ( according to this Hypothesis ) moving always in the Aequinoctial , before the Flood ; he would constantly have been as remote from those raining Regions , as he is now from us in the depth of Winter , when he runs through Capricorn ; or which is all one , when the Earth traverseth the opposite Sign . And there being then , no such Clouds as now ; nor yet any Seas , by their foggy Vapours to mitigate the keenness of the Air ; nor any Hills or Valleys , to cause a warmth by confused and irregular reflections of the Sun-beams : the Frosts within the Polar Circles , must needs have been exceeding sharp and terrible . And so the Fountains that should have fed the whole World with Water , would have been fast sealed up .

Fig: 2 Pag: 115

Thus , if the Circle c d e f be divided into Eight parts , by the parallel lines 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 : we shall find that the two Arches a and b , forming the Circle into a moderate Oval ; will at the points a and b , include such spaces between themselves and the sides of the Circle c , and e , as shall be equal in breadth , to any two spaces betwixt the equidistant Parallels . According to which proportions allowing the Earth to be 7000. Miles in Diameter ( though the true measure of it makes it more ) and then adding a fourth part to it , to render it Oval , viz. 1750. Mile thickness : the Earth at each Pole , must bear above fourteen Degrees Latitude , or near nine hundred Miles extent , more than if it had been exactly round . And that Hypothesis which removes its Poles so much farther from the Sun ; must also allow the cold thereabouts to be proportionably augmented . And though in the hundred and fourth Degree of Latitude ( as we must call it ) on each side of the Aequator ; that is , at the very Poles , there might have been perpetual day ; the beams of the Sun reaching a and b , the two Poles of the supposed Oval Earth ; and illightning them continually : yet his heat in those places , must needs have been exceeding languid ; forasmuch as his Orb would always have been half above , and half under the Horizon to them . This will be clear from the Scheme , if we do but conceive the line i d f to be the Aequator , and the Sun ever moving directly in it . For then it must divide him into two Semidiameters g and h , at all times conspicuous at the Poles respectively . That is to say , the Semidiameter g , at the Pole a ; and the Semidiameter , h , at the Pole b. But then the Sun 's being thus halved , must of necessity be a mighty diminution of his influence , especially at so extraordinary a distance . It would have rendred his warmth more faint , than it is with us in the Winter Solsti●e , when he is just a Setting , or half set .

But our business is rather to enquire what the temperature of the Air would have been , nearer to the polar Circles ; where these Rains are conceived to have fallen . Now if these Regions were as remote from the Sun , as we are when he is farthest from us ; the Air must have been every whit as freezing there , as it is with us in the very dead of Winter . And that they were some degrees farther from the Sun , I think we need not question . For when the Sun is gone farthest from us , he reaches but to twenty three degrees and an half of Southern Latitude : which added to our fifty two of Northern , the whole amounts but to seventy five and an half . But granting the Earth to have been stretcht out to that length , to which its oval fashion would have extended it ; and the supposed dripping Countries in the first World , might easily have been farther from the Sun ( and consequently colder ) by several Degrees .

In case it be opposed , That nights with us , when the Sun is retired to his utmost point in Capricorn , are some hours longer , than they could be in the prediluvial State ; and that this might so far strengthen the Cold , as to make it superior to what it could be in the wet Regions we speak of : I answer , though our Nights be somewhat longer ; yet we now dwell among Clouds and Seas , which do very much bemist and thicken the Air ; and so make it warmer than it could be in the primitive World , where neither of them were to be ●ound at the rate we have them . And truly the perpetual absence of them , must needs have made the Air more severely nipping in the Frigid Zones then , than it is now . Especially they being shot out so far from the Sun , by virtue of the oblong figure of the first Earth . For even as the Earth is now of a Globular make ; the Rains might have fallen in the Frigid Zones for ten Degrees latitude , or six hundred Miles together , and yet ( on the one side have been five Degrees distant from the Poles themselves ; and on the other side ) have been seventy five Degrees distant from the Sun in the Aequinox ; which is as far ( to half a Degree ) as he is ever remov'd from us . But then if we add better than fourteen Degrees more to each Pole , upon accompt of the Earth's O●iformity ; the Rains must be removed a great way farther from the Sun still ( perhaps the whole fourteen Degrees ) into Climates most horridly cold and freezing . And though there would have been constant Day about the very Poles ; yet in this Oval Earth , there would have been as much Night in the presumed rainy Regions ; as in any other part of it whatever . For so we may observe , that those rays of the Sun , which fell upon that Earth , suppose at k and l ( whereabouts according to the Hydrographic * * Page . 227. Scheme in the Theory , we may imagine the Rainy Regions were ) could not illighten the opposite side of it at m and n , till such time as those points were turned to him , which they could not be sooner than the point f ; where it must have been of the biggest circumference , measuring it in way of Longitude .

Indeed it must be owned that it is not the Sun's distance in Winter , which does only or chiefly make our Climate so cold ; but the oblique falling of his beams on the Earth . So that instead of his retreating Southward forty seven Degrees ( the whole space between the Tropics ) were he at the time of his entring into Cancer ( when he is nearest to us ) but elevated directly as many Degrees , or removed only perpendicularly from us : our Winter ( if any ) would be very moderate , because his beams would be reflected in the same Angles as before . But his recession from us being in way of latitude or declination ; ●is Rays must fall the more obliquely upon the Earth . From which kind of incidence it comes to pass , that they rebound in obtuse Angles , and the heat which should be caused by more direct reverberations , is impaired . As also many of his beams are reflected by the Atmosphaere , another way , and come not at us at all . But then the Sun being farther distant from the rainy Regions in the praediluvian Earth ; his beams must have fallen more obliquely upon them still ; and so the cold must have been greater there , because his influence was less . And therefore what can be thought , but that the Dewy Rains ( if any could have been in those parts ) should either in falling have been turned into Hails ; or if they fell in Water , have been frozen into Ice . And so instead of streaming along and refreshing the Earth , they must have stood congeled into Mountains . Especially if we consider that extremely cold hanging Mists must have always incircled those Regions above ; and so have shut out that sorry kind of influence , which might have been derived from the so remote and feeble Sun .

It may a little inforce what has been said , that all who have held ( with the Theorist ) the Torrid Zone was uninhabitable by reason of heat ; ever believed that the Frigid ones were so , through extremity of cold : as Aristotle , Cicero , Strabo , Mela , Pliny , and others .

To which add , That several Navigators , attempting to find out a nearer course to China , have been frozen to death . Yet they failed nothing so far Northward , as the rainy Regions in the Oval Earth , must have lain . Though without question they chose the most seasonable time for the Enterprize ; I mean when the Sun was on this side of the Aequator : where now he may advance ( though he could not do so ( says the Theory ) before the Flood ) twenty three Degrees and an half ; which on Earth we reckon about fourteen hundred Miles .

Nor is what Mercator remembers touching Nov● Zembla , impertinent to the Case . Here the Air is very sharp , and the Cold most vehement and intolerable . And again ; their Tents are covered with Whales skins , the Cold being continually very sharp in these parts . Their drink ( the Geographer goes on ) is warm blood of wild Beasts , or else Ice water ; there are no Rivers or Springs , because the violence of the Cold does so shut up the Earth , that Springs of waters cannot break forth . And where Rivers cannot flow out of the Earth for Forst ; surely they cannot fall down from Heaven . Yet this Island is extended but form the Seventieth to the Seventy sixth Degree of Northern Latitude , or thereabouts . Speed also informs us , that the Isles of Shetland in the Deucalidonian Sea , are ever covered with Ice and Snow . Yet Ptolomy placeth them but in the Sixty third Degree of Latitude ; which is a good way on this side of the Arctic Circle . Heylin also says of Island , that it is a damnable cold Country . And Blaeu reports of the Frigid Zones , * * Instit. Astron . de 〈◊〉 Glob . c. 4. § 2. Perpetuum istic horridumque est frigus , There is perpetual and horrid Cold. Lastly , the Theorist himself so far agrees with us , as to own that the Frigid Zones in the first Earth were uninhabitable ; and that by reason of † † Pag. 242. Cold , as well as Moisture .

CHAP. VI. 1. Another Exception against the Hypothesis ; it would have drowned the world , though Man had not sinned : 2 Or though Mankind had been never so penitent . 3. Which would have reflected upon Providence : and imboldened the Atheist .

1. WE are taught from above , That * * 2 Pet. 2. 5. GOD brought in the Flood upon the World of the VNGODLY . That is , it was a Judicial act of His , and a just revenge which he took upon the impious . They had grievously offended and provoked His MAJESTY , by very great and epidemical Sins . For as we read in the Sixth of Genesis , the wickedness of Man was great , and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually ; and all flesh had corrupted his way before him . Whereupon the HOLY GHOST speaking of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , after the manner of Men ; declares that he was grieved at the heart to see this . And such was the grief he conceived , that He repented He made Man . And so vehemently did He repent of making him , that He resolved to destroy him again . And not only him , but most of his fellow creatures with him , made in good measure for his use and benefit . And not only them but the Earth it self in some sense , which had been the scene of his vanity and unrighteousness . And at length He decrees and proclaims aloud , that the Instrument of this fearful general destruction , should be a Deluge of water , Gen. 6. 17. So that nothing can be more clear , than that the Flood was a punishment of Man's sins , and was design'd and sent on purpose to be so . The Consequence from which is , that if Man had not transgressed ; the Earth had never been so lamentably drowned .

But here then the truth of the Hypothesis we are upon will come into Question : in that it would have let in the Flood upon the World , though it had not been ungodly ; though Men had been never so innocent or upright . For if the Earth had been formed , as is above supposed ; it must have been of the same structure that is there phansied . It must have held the same situation to the Sun , and the same motio● about it . And the Sun must have had the same power over the Earth , and the same effects upon it . It must have pierced it as deep , and parched it as much , and ripened it as fast for disruption as ever . The time of which being once come , down it must have plunged into the Abyss below ; and all living upon it , must have sunk and drowned together with it self . No Natural Causes could have had the least regard to moral integrity : but on they would have driven in their appointed Courses , till they had come to the Tragical event we speak of . So that had all the Sons and Daughters of Men , been as pure and bright , as they could possibly have dropt out of the Mint of Creation ; they must still have perisht without pity or remedy .

And so what would have become of the first Covenant with Adam , in case he had stood ? For by such a Fatality as this in Nature ( not unlike to absolute Decree in Divinity ) his Posterity must have died , though he had not sinned , nor they neither . Which would have been a strange and unparallel'd severity , and such as did never issue form GOD. Tophet indeed is prepared of old ; and there are endless and intolerable torments beyond this life . But none need suffer them unless they please . For still we must be authors of our own misery if any be●ides us . And if our happiness chance to be blown up at last , the Train that does it , must be laid and fired by our selves . But by this Hypothesis , the Race of Mankind must have been wofully undone , though they never deserv'd it . For the primitive Earth had that in it , which we have ; Frailty in its very Nature or Constitution : And in the ordinary setled Course of things , must necessarily have been dissolv'd and delug'd .

2. And if purest Innocence must have fared thus ill ; Repentance for certain should have sped no better . That I add for this reason . Noah , we know , was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Preacher of righteousness . And that not only in a vocal way ; but by his religious and exemplary life . Yea , more than so , his building the Ark was a Mechanical Sermon to the World ; and perhaps of an hundred and twenty years long . For in the same * * Gen. 6. Chapter where GOD denounc'd the Sentence of Inundation , and commanded Noah to prepare the Ark ; He dete●min●d and declar'd , that the days of Man ( that is , before the Flood was to come ) shall be an hundred and twenty years . And such a way of Preaching , and of such a continuance ; in reason should have wrought with that stubborn Age , beyond the most elaborate and pathetic Discourses . And GOD seems to have expected no less . For because it did not , His Holy SPIRIT has clapt a black Brand upon them , and markt them out for incorrigible and ungracious Wretches . Who were disobedient in the Days of Noah , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , while the Ark was a preparing . Disobedience in that juncture , under such a warning against it , and motive to the contrary : was such a disobedience , as for circumstances of aggravation could hardly be parallell'd in that World . It deserv'd to be recorded as a standing testimony against them that were guilty of it , and as an eternal monument of their base unworthiness . For it was no other than the fruit of contumacious refractoriness , and bespeaks them arrived at the height of obstinacy , and a most consummate vi●iousness .

But put case the Sermons of this mighty Preacher , had wrought so kindly and effectually , as to have turned Mens disobedience into true repentance : would this have altered the State of Nature , or put a stop to its fatal tendencies ? Not in the least measure . Still the World would have stood in its Original frame ; and a change in the minds and manners of people , would have made none in the Physical Course of things . So that unless God had interpos'd and by His immediate hand , given a timely check to Natures Wheels ; they would have run directly into this watry ruine , and what should have kept the sincerest penitents out of it ? For to suppose that GOD ingaged so far , as to support the Earth by strength of miracle , to secure it from the Flood ; would be as great a flaw in the Philosophy of this new Hypothesis ; * * Read 18th , 19th , and 20th , pages of the Theory . as it is thought to be in the Divinity of the Old one , to hold the Deluge was caused by Creation of Waters , and then dried up by annihilation of the same .

3. And yet if Omnipotence had not miraculously upheld the Earth , ) supposing its Inhabitants righteous or penitent ) it would have fallen heavy upon GOD Himself . So heavy , as to have crusht the Reputation of his Providence extremely . For it would have recoiled so rudely and violently upon its Goodness ; and so shamefully Eclipsed and blasted its Justice : as to have brought its very Being into question . And we may certainly conclude , that an Hypothesis of this Nature , which would weigh out the Portion of Men , with so inequal a Ballance , as to make ruine the lot of a righteous or repenting World ; instead of gagging or silencing the pragmatical Atheist , by a more clever Explication of the Deluge : would open his Mouth wider , and but oil his virulent and sawcy tongue , to run more glibly and rantingly on , in his tremendous way of extravagance . For what can m●re encourage so wicked a person , than to disparage and lessen GOD's Goodness and Equity ? And how can those At●ributes be more disgraced and diminished ( in the Judgment of an Atheist ) than by supposing that in the Works of His Providence ( through the whole Series of which he could look with a clear and easy prospect ; and so nothing of oversight could mingle with them ) He laid a cruel Train of inavoidable Death , for Millions of his Innocent or Penitent Creatures .

How little this would have comported with those His illustrious and Cardinal Properties , and how much it would have blemisht and dishonored them ; we may guess from hence : in that when he was minded to overthrow Sodom , and in his Holy Agents was come down from Heaven on purpose to do it ; He would have spar'd it for the sake of Ten righteous Persons . And truly if He had destroyed the righteous with the wicked ; He must have done a thing ( in the sense of A●raham ) not at all agreeable , to the Integrity of the Judge of all the Earth . ( Especially in those Ages , when Spiritual Encouragements to GOD's Service , and recompences of it , being not so frequently dispensed ; and the Eternal ones not so fully revealed : the Divine favour was more commonly measured and expressed to Men , by temporal and outward Blessings and deliverances . ) And therefore that He abhorred such inequitable Dealings , he was pleased to evidence by the contrary Procedure . For when He consumed that accursed Town , he saved just Lot by the Ministery of Angels . Nor could He endure that N●ah should perish , being righteous ; but took particular care for his wonderfull preservation , when the whole World , besides Him , and his Family , was drowned .

But then so much less reason there is , to admit this Hypothesis ; for that it makes the Earth ( at first ) of such a Form ; and puts Nature into such a Frame ; as would have involv'd Mankind in most horrid Destruction . And not only so , but moreover makes Providence accessary to their Perdition ; yea , the principal and sole Contriver of it , by making the place of their Habitation , a perfect Trap to vast multitudes of them : whereby ( without a Miracle ) they must certainly have been taken and quite undone , had they been never so pure , or never so penitent .

Should it be suggested , that GOD foresaw the impiety and incorrigibleness of Men ; and so in way of just judgment , ordered Nature , and timed the Earth's Dissolution accordingly : this would give little satisfaction to the Atheist ( the silencing of whose Cavils the Theory seems to aim at . ) For he would take it at best , but for a smooth Evasion , or a slim Subterfuge ; or for a sorry kind of Fetch to help the Hypothesis at a dead lift . Nor need we doubt but a Lucian or an Hobbs , would raise as considerable Objections against this New way of explaining the Flood , as against the Old one . And would insist as tenaciously upon that Particular now mentioned , and cavil as much , and as justly at it ; as at the difficulty or unsolvableness of any single Phaenomenon , in the way of its usual Explication .

CHAP. VII . 1. Saint Peter's words alledged in favour of the Hypothesis ; inapplicable to that Purpose . 2. Wherein the stress of them seems to lie . 3. Seven other Allegations out of Scripture , of no Force ; 4. As being Figurative , and so not Argumentative . 5. Which Tycho Brache not minding , it gave occasion to his Systeme .

1. TO countenance the Formation and Structure of the Earth aforesaid , the Ingenious Theorist has call'd in several Divine Authorities . And it being attempted to authenticate the Hypothesis , by Allegations of that nature ; it is but necessary that we take notice of them , and show their invalidity .

The first is cited out of the Second Epistle of S. Peter , and runs thus . * * Chap. 3. ●erses 5 , 6 , 7. For this they are willingly ignorant of , that by the Word of GOD , the Heavens were of old , and the Earth standing out of the water , and in the water ; whereby the World that then was , being over●lowed with water , perisht . But the Heavens and the Earth that are now , by the same word are kept in store , reserv'd unto fire against the day of judgment . Where , it is thought , † † Theor. p●g. 46. the Apostle doth plainly intimate some difference , that was between the Old World , and our present World , in their form or constitution ; by reason of which difference that was subject to perish by a deluge , as this is subject to perish by con●lagration . To wind his words into a favourable compliance with this sense , some specious * * Read the L. Bishop of Here●ord's A●ima● . Sect. 1. almost throughout . offers are made . But instead of applying answers to each of them in Particular ; we may shorten our work by obviating them with one general Observation touching the Paragraph , which is this : There is a Clause in it , that will by no means suffer it to be interpreted the Theorist's way . Namely , this they are willingly ignorant of . And of what were they thus ignorant ? Why , of the Nature of the first Heavens and Earth , and of the alterations that befel them at the time of the Flood . So we are assured . † † Theor. p. 47 , 48. The Apostle tells them , that they are willingly ignorant of the first constitution of the Heavens and the Earth , and of that change and dissolution which happen'd to them in the Deluge . But if St. Peter meant these things , I dare boldly say , that his charge was too smart and heavy upon the Men ; yea , false and unreasonable . For though ignorant of the things they might well be ; yet how could they be WILLINGLY ignorant of them ? Must not that be hard to make out ?

Let us try , but as to one of the mentioned heads , the FORM of the Earth . By what means should they have come to the knowledge of that , though they would never so fain have done it ? GOD had not reveled it , nor had Man apprehended it . And how then could their ignorance in the case be wilfull ? In what Books was this Form of the Earth recorded ? Or what lively Tokens or Monuments were there of it ? Whence should they have gathered it ? Or where should they have met with Intelligence concerning it ? To say that Hills and Valleys , and Mountains and Rocks ; that the Clifts of the Sea , and its Deeps and Chanels ; that the rugged and broken Surface of the Ground , or any thing of that nature , might have informed them of it : would be but wild and extravagant talk . For besides that these Scoffers whom the Apostle reproves , had no reason to believe , that the aforesaid Phaenomenaes were marks or Footsteps of a ruinated Earth : so if by chance they had phansied them such , they might still have been far from a right Idaea of its supposed primitive frame . A man may view and review an heap of Rubbish , which was once an house , very long and often ; and yet be never the more able at last , to pronounce what Model the Fabric was of . In like manner , the most curious Surveys and reiterated observations of things , in that confused posture wherein the Earth presents them to the eye ; could never have led those the Apostle disputes against , into a right apprehension of this its Figure , which the Theory makes it of before the Flood .

Had there been fair Indications of such a Form , why did they not direct Men into an earlier Discovery thereof ? For touching it we find not one word in Antiquity . Yet Mountains , and Rocks , and the like Deformities in Nature ( as we are taught to think them ) were altogether as visible ever since the Deluge , as they are now . And when none of the most searching prying minds ; none of the most busy , intelligent Speculators ; were ever so quick-sighted as to decry this Form of the Earth ; from the aforesaid ( imagined ) Irregularities , or any other hints or Characters of it : it was certainly a thing too obscure , to fall under the notice of those Heretical Mockers , deservedly reprehended by the HOLY GHOST . But then how could He rebuke them , for being wilfully ignorant of it , it being so very dark a Mystery ?

Even by the Theorist's own confession , this Doctrine was always abstruse , and such as the Wisest * * Nullus enim Philosophorum , sive veterum , siv● recentiorum , cujuscunque Sectae , unquam ani●advertit , aut ●x causarum contemplatione invenit primam telluris ●aciem ●uisse Paradisiacam . Theor. p. 2. Philosophers did never hit upon . They never knew of a Paradisiacal Earth themselves , nor did they ever speak any thing of it to others . And when it was thus secret , and hidden from all learned Men ; why should the HOLY SPIRIT ( I say ) tax these Scorners , with wilfull ignorance , for not understanding it ? Who , however they might abound with conceited knowledge ( as the name , Gnostics , which they arrogated to themselves , imports ) were but pi●iful Sciolists . † † — Quibus temporis longinquitas , & mutata Naturae facies ; tantum obscuritatis attulisset , ut nisi excitati ab historia , sa●ra de iis forsan nunquam cogitassemus . Pag. 11● . The Theory also affirms , that Paradise and the Vniversal Flood , were by length of time , and the changed face of nature , so much obscured : that if holy Story had not minded us of them , we should not only not have known them , but never have thought of them . And if the Flood had been utterly buried out of mind , and might never have come into the thoughts of Men , if Scripture had not kept it in memory : then what hope of understanding , that it was occasioned by such a form or Fabric of the Earth , as the Theory has invented ; unless the same Scripture minds us of that also ? But because it does not , how could the Persons whom S. Peter reproves , be wilfully ignorant of the Phaenomenon ?

Wilfull Ignorance , is that which GOD blames , and which is really faulty upon our account : which we carelessly rest in when we might come out of . When Men might have means of knowledge , but will not seek them ; or when they actually have them , but will not use them ; but in the midst of proper helps to science , sit down and chuse to acquiesce in Ignorance ; this is wilfull and affected . But these were not the circumstances of those , whom we find to have been Objects of the Apostolical Censure . They were so far from standing fair for acquaintance with this structure of the Earth , or from being in a probable way to the knowledge of it ; that they were next door to an utter impossibility of ever attaining it , supposing it had been real . For their Minds were set ( I may say ) with a contrary Biass , and it was morally necessary that they should be drawn the other way . For the whole World was of that Judgment , it is of now , and which these Mockers were of then : and why should they differ from all people then alive , or that ever lived ? It hath been generally thought or presum'd ( says the * * Page 276. Theory ) that the World before the Flood , was of the same Form or Constitution with the present World . And how could they help swimming with the general Stream ? Yea , which is more , the Opinion was as Strong , as it was general ; and stood very firmly in Mens apprehensions , they thinking it built upon Scripture Grounds . For that speaks of Seas created in the beginning , and of Mountains covered with Water in the Deluge . And all agreeing , that the Seas mentioned by Moses , were no other than those which are now extant ; and that the Mountains so covered , were praeexistent to the Flood : the present face of things , which is † † It will be found , it may be upon a stricter Enquiry , that in the present ●orm a●d constitution of the Earth , there are certain marks or indications of its first State . Theor. p. 8. presumed of good use to evince the Earth was of another Form once ; became a great Argument to perswade these Scorners , that it was always of the Form which it now bears ; and a means to fix them in that Perswasion . And when their condition was such , as to be destitute of the knowledge of the Form of the Earth ; and the most likely means they had to help them to it , would rather have run them upon the contrary belief , and rivetted them fast in it ; there could be no reason why they should be charged with Wilfull ignorance of the thing . And if they could not upon just grounds be charged . with Wilfull ignorance of the Form of the Earth ; then neither with the like ignorance of the Constitution of the Heavens , and of the Change and Dissolution that happened to either : they being things as much in the dark , and as far removed out of the way of their notice . Let us but just point at each of them .

The whole Superficies of the Terrestrial Globe was entire and continued , smooth and even , regular and level . No Lake nor Sea , no Rock nor Island , no Hill nor Dale , was any where upon it . But as the Earth was made of two distinct Orbs ; so betwixt its outward Orb of an Oval figure , and that within ; was the great Body of the Waters lodg'd and shut up so close , as to hold no commerce with the open Air. Such in gross was the Form and constitution of the first Earth .

The Sun piercing through the outward Orb of the Earth , drew up ( chiefly about the Middle parts of it ) great quantities of Vapours , out of the Abyss . Which Vapours directing their Courses in the Air , from the Aequinoctial to the Polar Regions ; they were there condensed into Rains , to furnish the World with Rivers . But these streams of Exhalations flowing continually through the Aereal Regions ; made them exceeding watry . And such in general was the Form or Constitution of the Heavens .

The Sun moving always in the Aequinoctial , the Earth grew extremely dry about the Aequator , and full of Chaps ; which rendred it more weak and brittle in its exterior Orb. Which Orb being fill'd with Vapours within , raised by the penetrating heat of the Sun , was still more apt to be blown up and broken . At length being able to hold no longer , it flew in pieces , and down it fell into the Deep beneath , sinking till it rested on the Orb below . Such in short , was the Earth's Dissolution .

By the fall of that into the Waters under it , they were forced violently to fly up aloft ; and surging and raging in a tumultuous manner , the great and fatal Deluge was caused . Hence also Seas and Lakes arose , while the watry Element abating of its fury , quietly retired into such hollownesses as were ready to receive it . And whereas the external Orb of Earth , was so much bigger than that within , as to contain the whole Mass of Water in its Cavity ; and so could not possibly surround and sit close to the inward lesser one , in an orbicular fashion about it ; but several of its parts in several places , were fain to stand erect inclining , &c. these various Prominencies of different sizes , shapes , and situations ; made Mountains and Rocks of all sorts . But the Outward Earth being thus dissolved , and fallen as low into the Waters as it could ; it was no more liable to a general Flood , but was certainly put past that danger for ever . And thus Its Form and Constitution was altered .

Now the Sun also running a new course about the Earth , by reason she had changed her old Position ; and the Abyss being disordered by the Disruption of the Earth , and its falling into it : Vapours could no longer be drawn out from thence as they used to be , nor fill the Aereal channels with store of Exhalations . And so they growing dry , the watry Complexion of the Heavens perish'd ; and Their Constitution was changed also .

Such in brief ( so far as we are concern'd to note at present ) was the Form and Constitution of the Heavens and the Earth ; and such the changes they both underwent , as the Theory teaches . If therefore the Parties S. Peter reproves , were blamed for not knowing the first constitution of the Heavens and the Earth , and that change and dissolution which happened to them in the Deluge ; their ignorance of those Particulars rehearsed must be the Summ of their Charge . But then all those things being perfectly new ; such as neither Pythagoras , nor Plato , nor Aristotle , nor Zeno , nor any Philosophers of any Sect or Age , did understand and declare : how can it be thought that silly Gnostics or Pseudo-Christians could be acquainted with them ? And yet if they could not , then neither could they be condemned of wilfull ignorance of them ; nor can the Text be applied to the Theory's Hypothesis .

2. But if this were not S. Peter's Drift ; if it were not his intent to rebuke them for their ignorance of these things ; what then could be the scope of his correption ? I answer . Though he could not give them this gird for their being ignorant of the Flood ; yet he might do it properly for their being ignorant of the Chief Cause of it . Ignorant of the Flood they could not be , it was a thing so well known , and so generally received in the Church . That the Heavens were of old , and the Earth standing out of the water and in the water ; and that in their standing thus , the then World was overflowed with water , and perished : they could not be chargeable with ignorance of this . But the stress or Emphasis of the Apostles charge lies here , that they were ignorant of its being done by the Word of GOD. The Heavens were of old , says he , and the Earth standing out of the Water , and in the water , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the word of GOD. And then it follows , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by which ( that is , by which situation , and by which word of GOD causing it ) the World that then was being overflowed with water , perished . So that this seems to have been their fault , that they had not a true notion of the principal Cause of the Deluge . But through their own heedlesness , were much in the dark and mightily to seek as to that particular . They did not know , because they would not ; that GOD brought it in by the word of his power ; or in pursuance of that righteous decretory Sentence , denounced by him , Gen. 6. They were of opinion ( as others have been ) that the Flood was a meer casual thing ; and that the hand of GOD was no otherwise in it , than in the purest contingent Calamities . Or else that it proceeded wholly from Nature and Second Causes ; as from the Conjunction and influence of watry Planets . However they might think it was of larger extent , and longer Duration ; they might ascribe it to no higher Cause , than some do the Flood of Ogyges , that happened in Arcadia ; or that of Deucalion , which drowned Thessaly . Concerning the latter of which , Lucan thus phansied .

Deucalioneos fudisset Aquarius imbres . Aquarius 't was that made those rains pour down , Which in Deucalion's time the Earth did drown .

He plainly imputed it to Astral efficiency , or the force of the heavenly Constellations . Now if these Men thought thus vainly of the general Innundation ; and knew it not to be the Effect of the special Providence of GOD : they were grossly ignorant in the Case , and this their ignorance was grievous wilfull , and deserved the holy reproof they met with . For had they but consulted the Story of it , and considered what Moses says concerning it ; they would soon have perceived , it was the direful issue of divine power and justice , and came not by the influence of the S●ars , but by the appointment of the DEITY .

And that to condemn this very ignorance , was the real meaning of S. Peter seems to be clear from its agreeableness to his aim or intention . Which was to prove the World's Conflagration upon perverse Men who question'd the same , and disputed against it by this Argument , that all things continued as they were from the beginning ( whereby they hardned themselves against the Doctrine of the Conflagration , in which the Apostle threatned them with a dismal Catastrophe . ) Now how does the Apostle answer and take off this ? Why by fetching a compass about in his Discourse , and by telling them ( though not in these words , ) to this purpose : that when the World was to be drowned , all things continued then as they were from the beginning ; and Nature did not signify it beforehand , by any sensible observable Changes , because the work was not to be naturally done , but by the Word of GOD commanding and causing it : which to be ignorant of , was their great fault . And therefore that in their time , all things continued as they were from the beginning , ought to be no reason to them , that the World shall not be Burned ; because it is not to be expected , that Nature should foreshow it by any pr●vious alterations : inas much as this Burning , is no more to be effected in a natural way , than the Deluge was ; but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the same Word which drowned the World , and by which the Heavens and the Earth which are now , are reserved unto fire .

Were it necessary in the least , after what has been said ; it might here be noted , that the words are very capable of , and might properly be expounded to another sense . This they are willingly ignorant of : That is , they are willingly mindless or forgetfull of it . For so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , may signify ( which in the case the Apostle speaks to , must be an hainous fault , and worthy of reprehension ) and therefore a thing forgotten , is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : and Isocrates commending the actions of Hercules and Theseus ; says they were such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. as no time could bring into oblivion , or blot out of remembrance . Tho' still there would be as little reason to charge these Heretics , with wilfull forgetfulness of those things that the Theory would make the Text point at ; as there is to check them for wilfull ignorance of the same .

3. Besides this of S. Peter , * * Theor. p. 86. other places of Scripture seem manifestly to describe this same ( new ) form of the Abyss with the Earth above it ; as we are told . But as all those places may as well or better be applied to the Earth in its present form ; so they can hardly be interpreted in favour of this other , without some kind of violence or absurdity .

The First occurrs Psal. 24. 2. He hath founded it ( the Earth ) upon the Seas , and established it upon the Floods . Where , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred , upon , does as properly signify , by , And so , He founded it by the Seas , and established it by the Floods . Which David might the rather note , because so much of Palestine , ( where he lived ) lay along by the Mediterranean . Though when our Learned Translators turned the word upon ; they made it speak most true English . For where land lies by the Sea , we commonly say , it lies upon it .

But then on the other side , the Earth , according to its first ( imagined ) form , could in strictness be founded neither upon the Seas , nor yet by them ; because no Seas were then in being , but only an Abyss . Should it be answered , that the Abyss is here called Seas , by a Prolepsis ; I rejoin : Those Seas must then be called , Floods , by another Prole●sis . And so the advantage will be cast on our side . For in respect of the present form of the Earth , the words may be expounded most naturally , without a Figure : but in reference to the other form , they must not only be strained up to a Figure , but that Figure must be twice made use of . And which is very considerable , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred , Floods ; does signify Rivers ; and so the LXX , and Vulgar do both render it . And though that sense falls in most properly with the present form of the Earth , as it is every where extended by Rivers ; yet it can by no means hold with its first form , supposing it established upon the Abyss : for in that ( allowing there were Floods ) there could be no Rivers .

As to the next place , Psal. 136. 6. Who stretched out the Earth above the Waters , We need say no more than has been said already . It may as well be read juxta aquas , by the waters , as , super aquas , above the waters .

The Third pla●e is , Psal. 33. 7. He gathered the waters of the Sea as in a Bagg , He layeth up the Abysses in Storehouses . Which , says the Theory , * * Page . 86. answers very fitly and naturally to the place and disposition of the Abyss which it had before the Deluge , inclosed within the Vault of the Earth , as in a Bagg or in a Store-house . But I say it sutes the present form of the Earth as well as it does the first : only this difference . The Bagg and St●re-houses , supposed to be in the first Earth , were shut ; but in this , they are open . Yea , it sutes it much better upon two accounts . For in the Earth as it is now , there are , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , many Treasuries or Storehouses of Waters ( according to the Text ) which has the word in the Plural Number . Whereas in the first Earth , there could be but one , before the disruption . And then the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , rendred , as in a B●g , should be rendred , as on an heap , as it is in the English . The Theory indeed faults that Reddition , as not making a a I●id . a true sense . But in all likelihood , our Translators were in the right ; for , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly is an heap . And though , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a Bag , yet ( as b b Sin● 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pro utre non reperitur . Vind. ver. Heb. Buxtorf notes ) where it is written without Aleph , it is not found in that signification ; but signifies an heap . And so says c c Vter est 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . in Exod. 15. 8. Translat . V. T. Colla● . Fagius ; and the same says d d Ver●m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 utrem significat , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . acer●um . in Iosh. 3. 16. Masius . And therefore e e Lexic. Pent. in Vocab . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Schindler renders , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in this very place , tanquam ●umulum , as an heap . And so does f f Lyr. Prophet . in loc. Bithnor , adding , That whereas the Targum , and LXX . render it , a Bag , it was because they read it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . But 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( coming of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , motion ; and so being quasi rei motae in unum congregatio , the gathering of a thing moved into one ) he will have to signifie an heap .

And whereas the Theory alleges , That the Vulgate , Septuagint , &c. render the word g g Page 86. 87. in a Bag , or by Terms equivalent ; yet granting that to be the only proper Reddition , it would make nothing at all to the Theorist's purpose ; another place of Scripture plainly defeats it . For Psal. 78. 13. we read in the Septuagint , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : And in the Vulgar , statuit aquas quasi in utre . He set the Waters as in a Bag. Which not only makes the forecited Clause of the 33. Psalm , to be no manner of evidence of the Seas being inclosed at first ; but moreover makes it a Proof of the clean contrary . For it speaks of the Red-Sea , and says it was in a Bag , as much as the fore-quoted Text can possibly be made to say , that the Abyss or Proleptic Sea was so : and yet at the same time it was not only open , ( as other Seas are now ) but much more open than ever . For it speaks of it at that very time when Israel passed through it , as the same Verse testifies . And whereas the Theorist notes , that the Oriental Versions and Paraphrase , render the word ( as he does ) in a Bag : I may affirm that the Targum , Syriac , Arabic , &c. render it so in the place I have alleged . But how little their Authorities will countenance his Exposition of the Psalmist's words which he cites ; and how little that Exposition will help his Hypothesis of the form of the Earth ; may appear from the Psalmist's words that I have cited . Which if they had been considered , might have damped that thought , which concludes the Paragraph belonging to that place of Scripture we have now spoken to . The thought is thus expressed by the Theory , * * Page 87. I think it cannot but be acknowledged , that those Passages which we have instanced in , are more fairly and aptly understood of the ancient form of the Sea , or the Abyss , as it was enclosed within the Earth ; than of the present form of it in an open Chanel . But then that Passage in Psal. 78. 13. ( being parallel to Psal. 33. 7. so far as we are concerned in it ) must be acknowledged to be most fairly and aptly understood , of the Red Seas being enclosed within the Earth , when Moses and the Hebrews marched through it : and could that be ?

The next place is Iob 26. 7. He stretcheth out the North over the empty places , and hangeth the Earth upon nothing . The same is as true of the South also ; but the good Man living in this Hemisphere , the North was the nearer and more obvious of the two . And what could be mor● agreeable to the present Earth ? For it having no visible sensible thing under it or about it , to shoar it up or support it ; it may very well seem in common apprehension ; and be said in the vulgar way of speaking , to be stretcht out upon emptiness , and hanged upon nothing . And so the Sun stood still upon Gibeon , and the Moon in the Valley of Ajalon : though the places were without the Tropic . Josh. 10. 12. And however Iob in this Expression , might accommodate himself to the ordinary Phancy and speech of Men , while he represents the Earth as extended and pendent over an immense vacuity ; yet ( to cry quit with the Theory , which makes an illiterate Apostle , a profound Philosopher ; let me say ) in the truth of the Notion he was a perfect Platonist . For in this matter ( whensoever he lived ) he fully agrees with Plato's Doctrine . For he also conceived the Earth to ●e hanged upon nothing , as having no other Prop to sustain it , but it s own figure and equiponderancy ; by which it swims evenly in the Element about it . In testimony of this ( and so of the mutual concent betwixt Iob and him ) let this Passage out of his Phaedo speak . a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . I am perswaded that if the Earth be but in the midst of the Heavens , it needs not the air , nor any other help of the like nature , to keep it from falling . But that a general equality of the Heaven in it self , and an even-poizedness of the Earth , is sufficient . For an Equilibrious thing placed in a sutable ( or similar ) medium , will not sway any way little or much ; but keeping it self evenly ( ballanced ) is free from inclination .

But in this New Hypothesis , Io●'s notion can have no place . For to say , the Earth , according to that , was stretcht out upon emptiness , and hanged upon nothing ; would be notoriously false . For the Theory teaches that it * * Page 58. rise upon the face of the Chaos ; † † Page 61. and could not have been formed unless by a concretion upon the face of the Waters : and that it had the * * Ibid. mass of Waters as a basis or foundation to rest upon . And so the Antediluvian Earth was no more stretcht out upon emptiness , and hang'd upon nothing ; than an Arch is , when it is built upon its Center . And it was but just now that the Theory contended from that Passage in the 24. Psalm , that it was founded upon the Seas , and established upon the Floods . But how then could it be stretched out upon emptiness and hanged upon nothing ? Or how can the two Texts , in the Theory's sense , be reconciled ?

In case it be answered , That though the Earth at the very first was not stretcht out upon emptiness , and hanged upon nothing ; yet in process of time it was so , when the Abyss was sunk in some measure , by reason of the huge quantity of Waters the Sun had drawn out of it ; and so the Earth sat hollow about it : I reply in short , Iob for certain meant no other than this present Earth : For in the very next Verse , he speaks of thick Clouds in which Waters were bound up , and they not rent . And such Clouds ( according to the The●ry ) there could never be , till the first Earth was dissolved .

A Fifth place is Iob 38. 4 , 5 , 6. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the Earth ? declare , if thou hast understanding . Who hath laid the measures . thereof , if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched the line upon it ? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened ? Or who laid the corner stone thereof ? This likewise answers as properly , and perhaps more fully , to the present real form of the Earth ; than to the other fictitious one . For GOD is here said to have laid the foundations of it . Which surely he may as properly be supposed to have done , in case he produced it by immediate Creation ; as if there had been only matter and motion , and the power of gravity and levity in the Architecture of it ; and so its formation had been meerly mechanical , as the ●heory makes it .

And then the measures and the line that are here mentioned , do only imply that the Earth was made with fitting acc●racy ; of necessary and convenient , of regular and comely dimensions and proportions . And may not this Earth , in those regards be allowed to vie with that supposititious one und●r debate ? Yea , does it not in some things excel it ? For though it has not the very same Elegancies , which that Ear●h had ; yet it has other Imbellishments equal to them , if not beyond them . Indeed it has not that smoothness and entireness , which is pretended to have been in the first Earth . But then ( which is more considerable ) it has the raised work , of Hills ; the Embossings , of Mountains ; the Enamellings , of lesser Seas ; the Open-work , of vast Oceans ; and the Fret-work , of Rocks . To say nothing of those stately Curtains over-head ( wanting heretofore ) which are frequently drawn and ●lung open upon occasion ; and sometimes curiously wrought and most richly gilt , even to admiration ; far surpassing the goodliest Landskips , that ever were or can be painted : I mean the Clouds , which though they be things distinct from the Earth , yet having their beginning from the Earth ; and from this Earth too ( according to the Theory ) in opposition to the other ; are no improper instance of its out-vying it .

But , not to run out into endless Particulars , this Earth may compare with , and be thought to out-go that imaginary one , in Two general and chief things , Comelin●ss , and Vsefulness .

First , in Comeliness ; For irregularities many times make a sort of Ornaments ; and those ruggednesses and inequalities that are void of all exactness and order , do often pass for Beauties or a kind of Prettiness . But then more especially may they do so in the Earth , whose natural pulchritude is made up of such things as Art would call rudenesses ; and consists in asymetries and a wild variety . And yet for an Earth , it is most beautiful and comely still . Thus an Urchin may be handsom in his kind , though he has not the beauty of a Dog ; and a Dog , though he has not the beauty of an Horse ; and an Horse , though he has not the beauty of a Man . And so is this Earth , though it has not the beauty of ●iner things in it , but only that which is peculiar to it self . For as the beauty of the Sun , lies in brightness and glory ; and the beauty of the Sky , in clearness and serenity ; so the beauty of the Earth , which is a different thing , does and must needs lie in very different instances , namely , in Seas and Lakes , and Islands and Continents ; in Flats and Prominencies , and Plains and Protuberancies , and Hollownesses and Convexities ; in smooth and spacious Levels in some places , and Hills and Mountainous Roughnesses in others . Whose careless diversifications , and interchangeable mixtures , as they mutually set off one another ; so they all conspire to adorn the Earth : Insomuch that to suppose it of the prediluvian From , would be rather to detract from its measures , than improve them . Yea , it would be in a manner to make it no Earth , or at least not so perfect a one as it is . For as we can have no Camels without Bunches ; nor Mules without Hairs ; nor Fowls without Feathers ; or if we could , they would be but the more imperfect : so were the Earth abstracted from its aforesaid appendages , however it might have the more uniformity in it , yet as an Earth , it would have the less comeliness .

Somewhat to inforce this , Were a Man to contrive a Prospect for himself , we may be sure he would not have it all of a piece , or alike throughout : but would have it cast into Swamps and Hillocks , Bottoms and Gibbosities , Evennesses and Asperities ; yea , into Seas and Ilets , and Rocks , if it could be ; and so it would be an Image , not of the primitive , but present Earth . A petty Argument to prove , that there is something of perfection , or at least of pleasingness , in this Earth's disorder ( if we may call it so ) and that it is fitter to gratifie its principal Inhabitants ( and so far ) better in it self , than if it had been regular and undiversified . And the truth is , several of those appearances , which we are apt to call rude , confused and uncouth ; and to count but Blemishes , Scars and Deformities ; are commonly so well placed and suted to one another , as to become very taking in artificial Draughts , and a kind of natural Landskips .

And however the Theorist does sometimes disparage the Mountainous parts of the Earth at such a rate , as if they had been wholly unworthy of the care of Nature , and she had scorned to put her hand to the work of their ●ormation ( and indeed his Hypothesis makes them nothing but ruines : ) yet another while , when the ingenious Man is pleased to turn the stream of his Eloquence the contrary way ; he represents them ( though certainly the most horrid visible pieces of Nature ) as exceeding a a Et quanquam reverà s●mper horreant loca montana , & tesqua , ●t jam diximus ; non deest tamen in tanta varietate , quod recreet animum : atque saepè loci ipsius insolentia & spectaculorum novita● delectat magis , quam venustas in rebus notis & communibus . Iu●undum est ex pro●undâ valle prominentia montium s●percilia , & impendentes moles suspicere , &c. grateful to Beholders . Yea , he makes this very Earth of ours , and that in the hideously amazing and gastly Cragginess of its Mountains , to afford more delights to contemplative Minds , than ever the Roman or Grecian Theaters did , or those Sports wherewith they entertained Spectators . So he expresseth himself in the Latin Theory ( Pag. b b Si quod v●rò Natura nobis d●dit spectaculum in hâc tellure , vtrè gratum , & philosopho dignum , id semel mihi contigi●●e arbitror , &c. Hoc theatrum ●go facilè praetulerim Romanis cunctis , Graeci●ve , atque id quod natura hic spectandum exhibet , scenicis ludis omnibus , aut amphitheatri cert●minibus . 89 , 90. ) And at the same time we find him transported as it were into a pleasing rapture or pang of Admiration , through the singular content and satisfaction he found , from the prospect and consideration of what we speak of . And truly that roughness , brokenness , and multiform confusion in the surface of the Earth ; which to the inadvertent may seem to be nothing but inelegancies or frightful Disfigurements ; to thinking Men , will appear to be as the Tornings , and Carvings , and ornamental Sculptures ; that make up the Lineaments and Features of Nature , not to say her Braveries . Nor need we wonder that the Theorist should be so mightily pleased and raised , by the sight and contemplation of these things ; for though some would take them for flaws and botches , and the fag ends of Nature ; yet in them , a quick and piercing Eye can easily discern , not only her pretty dexterous Mechanisms ; but the marvellous and adoreable Skill of her Maker , most rarely expressed . And therefore the inspired Psalmist , meditating upon the Earth in its present Form ; and particularly revolving in his Holy Thoughts , the Mountains , the high Hills , the Rocks , and the great and wide Sea ; was so taken with them , that he could not but think they had GOD for the cause or Author of them . And accordingly he declared and proclaimed the worst of them , not only to be produced by him ; but to be the product of his infinite Wisdom . O LORD in wisdom hast thou made them all , Psal. 104. 24. And when the Divine Wisdom brought forth the Earth and these pieces of it , and ordered them into their present places and postures ; and so admirably well , as that the Psalmist , directed by the Heavenly SPIRIT , could not chuse but celebrate the Production and disposition of them : has not this Earth as much to shew for its being made by Rul● and Measure , as another of a pretended different Form , could have had ? especially when it must all over have been but one vast Plain .

And then , in the Second place , this Form of the Earth is most Vseful likewise . It appears to be so in sundry respects , and very considerable ones .

For now a great part of Mankind live by the Seas , either in way of Traffick or Navigation : not to say that all are some way or other the better for them . But in the First World , says the Theory , there was no Sea .

Mountains also now are most eminently serviceable ; That is to say , in Bounding Nations ; in Dividing Kingdoms ; in Deriving Rivers ; in Yielding Minerals ; and in breeding and harbouring innumerable wild Creatures . I might also add , in contributing somewhat towards enlarging the Earth , and inabling it , in some Countries , to sustain its Inhabitants . Thus it is alledged as one Reason why Palestine could maintain so many of old : that the Country was rising and falling into Hills and Vales , whereby ground was g●ined , and so the Land was far roomthier , to use my * * Fuller's Holy War , l. 1. c. 18. Author's Phrase . And indeed that there were store of Hills in Iudea , and very fruitful ones , is insinuated by the Royal Prophet , where he calls upon Men to give praise to GOD , for † † Psal. 147. 8. making Grass to grow upon the Mountains . But in the first Earth there were no Mountains neither .

Lastly , The Earth in its present Form and State , is attended with Rains and seasonable Showres . Whereas in its other Figure and capacity , it must have been all over cut into Rills and Aqueducts , for the Watring of Mens Grounds ; and their trouble in doing it would have been endless and unspeakable , because it must generally have been done by hand . What Tongue can express the toil they must have had , in a manual watring of Fields , Woods , Groves , Orchards , &c. and in slicing a great part of the Earth in pieces , thus to moisten and cultivate the rest ? But now kind Nature saves them that labour , while Clouds do the work effectually for them . For they filling their Buckets by the help of the Sun , and then emptying the same to the best advantage ; excuse them from the drudgery , by taking it upon themselves . And that these Rules whereby we measure the Vsefulness of this Earth , and shew it to be more excellent than that of the Theory ; are the most true and proper Rules : is manifest from GOD's making use of the same in a Case not unlike : For he comparing Egypt and Palestine , prefers the latter before the former ; because in Egypt the Seed sown was watered with the foot as a garden of herbs ; but Palestine was a land of hills and valleys , and drank water of the rain of heaven , Deut. 11. 10 , 11.

So that if an Earth most comely and decent in it self , and also most Vseful and convenient for Men ; may most properly be said , to be laid in measures , and to have had the line stretched upon it , or the Rule applied to it ( as questionless it may ) than the present Form of the Earth , may challenge this Text more justly to it self , than the other could do , had it ever been .

And however the Architecture of that , is presumed to surpass the Architecture of this ; yet one thing may here be remarked concerning it , That the Holy Man's Language does but indifferently sute it . For to talk of Foundations , in such a Circle ; or of a Corner-stone , in such a spherical Arch , as the primitive Earth is conceived to be ; sounds but harshly .

The Sixth Place consists of the 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 th Verses of the same Chapter , where GOD continues his Interrogatories thus , Or who shut up the Sea with Doors , when it brake forth as if it had issued out of a Womb ? When I made the Cloud the garment thereof , and thick darkness a swadling band for it , and brake up for it my decreed plac● , and set bars and doors . And said , Hitherto shalt thou come but no farther , and here shall thy proud waves be staied . Which Period the Theory would have to be understood , of the breaking forth of the Sea , at the opening of the Abyss ; but the Context allows it not . For that plainly signifies , that what the Sea is here said to do , and what is said to be done to that , was transacted in the beginning ; when the Foundations of the Earth were fastened , and the corner-stone thereof was laid , and the morning Stars sang , &c. And therefore when the Theory would put a difference ( in respect of time ) betwixt the foregoing ( 4 , 5 , and 6 th ) Verses , and those last set down ; so as to make the Questions in the former Verses , proceed upon the Form and construction o● the first Earth ; and those in the latter , upon the demolition of that Earth , the opening of the Aby●s , and the present state of both : what it says , is gratis di●tum , and the distinction groundless . Yea , it seems not only to be applied without grounds , but with force and violence ; for the Context intimates no such matter , but rather the contrary . It runs on in a direct series of Queries , without giving the least hint , that any of the Particulars touching which they are made , were of later date than others . And that the first set of them , relate to things as ancient as the Primitive Earth's Production , the Theory owns ; and therefore why should not the other too ?

To which add , when the Sea brake forth at the time of the disruption , it could not be said to issue as out of a Womb , so properly , as out of its House ( where it had dwelt above Sixteen hundred Years ; ) for a Womb is the place where a thing is conceived and brought into being , which before was not . But these Waters were preexistent to the inclosure of the Abyss , the Womb which held them ; yea against the order of Nature , they were contributive to the being of it , as they were the basis whereon the First Earth was built . So that the place of the Abyss falls in but ill with the notion of a Womb , in reference to these Waters ; And consequently they could as ill be said to issue from thence as out of a Womb. And then the Darkness at the Disruption was not so thick , nor so much a garment or swadling band to the Sea , as darkness was at the Creation . Yea , the truth is , it could then be no garment or swadling band at all for the Sea , but only for the Flood . For by that time the tumultuary Waters of the Deluge , were quietly retired into the decreed place , and became a Sea ; the Sky was cleared up , and the darkness gone . Nor could it so properly be said to be shut up with Doors , and to have Bars set upon it then , as to be infranchized or set at liberty . For those Doors and Bars which shut it up , and made it fast in a closer state before the Disruption , were then all broken down and thrown open for ever , and it was put into a condition of far greater freedom than it formerly had ; its present settlement , being perfectly a state of enlargement to it .

But now turn the words to the sense of the Old Hypothesis , and ( besides that they keep time exactly with the Context ) how patly do they fall in with it ? For when on the First Day , GOD ( together with the Earth ) made the Water of the Sea ; as it brake forth into being , as if it had issued out of a Womb indeed , because it just then gushed out of the Womb of nothing , into Existence : and as he then made the Cloud the garment thereof , and thick darkness a swadling band for it in a fuller sense ; for darkness was then upon the face of the deep , Gen. 1. 1. and that darkness for certain most thick , there being then neither Sun nor Light : so on the Third Day , when he brake up Chanels for it , he might well call them His decreed place , and declare that he had beset it with Bars and Doors ; because by his command the Waters were gathered off the surface of the Earth , where was their first and natur●● situation , and shut up in such Receptacles , and with such a confinement , as they would never have withdrawn into of themselves ; but would always have remained in their original diffusion over the whole Terrestrial Globe . And that this shutting up of the Sea in its decreed place , was a thing done in the beginning , and not at the time of the Flood ; is evident , Prov. 8. 29. where GOD's giving his Decree to the Sea that it should not pass his commandment ; and his appointing the foundations of the Earth : are made to be S●nchronals .

But from the last Verse of the Quotation , Hitherto shalt thou come and no farther , and here shall thy proud waves be stayed ; an objection is raised against the usual exposition of the Place . For that sentence shews ( saith * * Page 89. the Theory ) that it cannot be understood of the first disposi●ion of the Waters as they were before the Flood , for their proud waves broke those bounds whatsoever they were , when they over●lowed the Earth in the Deluge . I answer , If they did so , yet that argues not but the words may speak the disposition of the Waters before the Flood , according to the common interpretation of them ; for that Inundation was by GOD's special appointment . And when he assigned to the Waters the place of their abode , he did not intend to fortifie them in it against his own Omnipotence , or to devest himself of his Sovereign Prerogative of calling them forth when he pleased . And when they passed the bounds he set them , so long as they did it not by any force of their own , but meerly by his powerful order or providential act ; this their Eruption and spreading Overflow , cannot be lookt upon as a breach of that Law , or those Limits he prescribed them . It was only the marvellous effect of an extraordinary Cause ; and a particular Exception of GOD's own making , to the general and standing Rule of his Providence . Just as Enoch's or Elijah's Translation was , to the universal and irrevocable Sentence of Death . That may be one answer in defence of the ancient Hypothesis .

But then , to the Theorist , I may give in this for another : The proud Waves of the Sea did never pass their bounds to make the Deluge . The great Deep , or the Fountains then broken up , had no relation to the Sea ; I confess this implies that the Flood is to be explained by a new Hypothesis ; but if we can but bring in such a one , as may be as justifiable as the Theory's is ( which we shall endeavour to do ) we need not concern our selves farther about it .

The last place is Prov. 8. 27 , 28. When he prepared the Heavens , I was there ; when he set a compass upon the face of the Deep : when he established the Clouds above , when he strengthned the fountains of the Abyss . Whence is inferred , * * Theor. p. 90. So there was in the beginning of the World , a Sphere , Orb , or Arch , set round the Abyss , which is presumed to be no other than the first habitable Earth .

But this is a sense far fetcht to serve the turn of an Hypothesis , when there is a nearer at hand will do much better . For by the Compass set upon the face of the Depth , is meant no more than those bounds wherewith GOD encompassed ( not the Theory's Abyss , but ) the open Waters . The HOLY GHOST ( who is the best Interpreter of his own Writings ) expounds it so by a paralled Text in Iob , He hath compassed the waters with bounds , chap. 26. ver. 10. Take it in the Original , and it speaks out Solomon's meaning to the full 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , terminum ci●cinavit super faciem aquarum ; With a pair of Compasses he set a boundary upon the face of the Waters . Not upon the face of the Deep ; so it might have been catcht at , and construed an Arch upon the inclosed Abyss : but upon the face of the Waters . And this Compass was extant in that state of Nature , where were Thunders , and Waters in thick Clouds ( as the Context shews ) neither of which Phaenomena's could be contemporary with that Arch or Orb which the Theory contends for . And then it was to last until day and night come to an end . So that if Solomon's meaning be the same with Iob's ; the Compass he mentions as set upon the face of the Deep , must be standing still . And so it cannot be that Arch which the Theory would perswade it was , because that was down long before Iob's or Solomon's time . And yet that these two great Men ( both Kings , as some think ) did intend the same thing , the Theory * * Idem velle hae● duo loca Solomonis & Jobi , indubium est , p. 256. acknowledgeth . And that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does here signifie a Boundary , may well be inferred from what follows in the next Verse , when he gave to the Sea , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , his decree ; which the Targum renders , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , his boundary . Or if the Phrases used by Solomon and Iob sute not so exactly with the Waters as encompassed with Earthly bounds ; yet they are very applicable to them , as they are encompassed with the firmament of Heaven . For that is set as a Sphere or Orb , as an Arch or Circle upon the face of the Deep ; and shall continue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 until the consumption of light with dar●ness , according to the Holy Man's expression . And this the old Chaldee Translation falls in with , while it says , GOD set the firmament upon the Waters . And so does Eugubinus , who affirms , That the place in Iob , is to be understood de orbe Coelesti , of an heavenly orb , † † Pag. 257. Lat. as the Theory has noted to our hand ; though that he did it , ‖ ‖ Ibid. parùm philosophicè , we have little reason to believe , when we read of , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Orb or Circle , the Sphere , or Compass of Heaven , Job 22. 14.

And then by GOD's strengthening the fountains of the Deep , is meant his making the Earth so compact and solid ; as that the Springs and Rivers derived from the Sea , should not ordinarily wash it down , and so obstruct and dam up themselves . But how on the other side , an Arch built over the Mosaical Abyss , should any way strengthen the Fountains of that , when not so much as one Spring , or River , or fountain in specie , did ever flow out of it during its inclosure ; is not so easie to apprehend .

4. Such are the Scripture-Proofs of the aforesaid Form of the Antediluvian Earth . To take them off , I might oppose them by many other Texts : I mean such as are charged with counter-Metaphors ; with such Allegorical or allusive terms , as carry a sense in them , not only different from what is suggested in the forementioned Allegations ; but inconsistent with it , and repugnant to it . I will instance but in one ; Who shaketh the Earth out of her place , and the Pillars thereof tremble , Job 9. 6. So that the Earth , which is one while said to be founded upon the Seas , and established upon the Floods : and another while to be stretched over empty places , and hanged upon nothing : and anon ( according to the Theory ) to be a Sphere , or Circle , or an independent Orb or Arch ; is said at last to be built upon Pillars . Whence it is manifest that the Citations above , are but Tropical or Figurative Schemes of speech ; and so wide and indeterminate , that nothing of strict and particular signification or certainty , is to be lookt for in them , or concluded from them . To do that ( though I will not say it is to trifle with Scripture ) is to make it speak what it never meant .

It is said of GOD , in the cited Text , That he shaketh the earth out of her place . Which had it been hit upon , and that way applied , would have been as notable an evidence for the Earth's changing her situation in the time of the Flood ( by some terrible concussion happening to her in her Dissolution ) as any the Theory has brought to other purposes . And yet we read in * * Psal. 104. 5. the Psalms that GOD founded the Earth , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon its basis , that it should not be removed for ever . Though at the same time we are told again , The earth is dissolved . Psal. 75. 3. quite down as it were , and all in ruines ( which might have been a Proof of its Dissolution at the Deluge ) even then when it was impossible also that it should be so , because GOD upheld it ; for it follows immediately , I bear up the Pillars of it . Most plain Demonstration how little of Argument , as to the matter in hand , can be drawn from such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Tropological forms of speech as these , which frequently occur in the sacred Volume , especially in the Poetic Books thereof .

5. Had learned Tycho but minded this , and rightly considered how the HOLY GHOST does all-a-long deliver himself in Figurative Expressions touching the Earth ; he needed not to have scrupled the Coperni●an System of the World , and ( falling off from the old Pythagori● . Hypothesis ) have erected a new one of his own , more intricate and less tenable ; in tenderness to the Sacred Writings . For † † Iust. A●tron . lib. 3. cap. 13. Gassendus gives that in , as one of Brahe's Objections against Copernicus's way , ( and as one reason for his inventing and setting up his own ) quod Sacris adversetur Literis aliquoties ipsius Terrae stabilitatem confirmantibus .

CHAP. VIII . 1. A continual Aequinox before the Flood , by virtue of the Earth's Position , improbable . 2. For then that Position would have remained still , or the Change thereof would have been more fully upon Record . 3. Scripture does not favour this Aequinox , but rather discountenance it . 4. It would have kept one half of the Earth unpeopled . 5. And have hindred the Rains at the time of the Flood . 6. The Doctrine of the Aequinox is against the Judgment of the Learned . 7. The Authorities alledged for the Right Situation of the Earth , upon which the Aequinox depends , Insufficient to prove it . 8. Two Queries propounded relating to the Aequinox .

1. WE are now ( from its form ) come to the First Property of the Antediluvian Earth , namely , a Perpetual Aequinox by reason of its right situation to the Sun . By which is meant that the Axis of the Earth was always kept in a Parallelism to that of the Ecliptic ( as now it is to that of the Aequator . ) So that in her Annual motion about the Sun , she was carried directly under the Aequinoctial , without any manner of Obliquity in her site , or declination towards either of the Tropics in her Course ; and therefore could never cut the Aequinoctial , by passing ( as now she is presumed to do ) from one Tropic to the other . The effects of which her regular position and motion , during the continuance of the same ; were an even and unvaried Temperature of the Air ; a constant Spring and unwearied fruitfulness in the Earth ; and an uninterrupted tenour in the interchanging vicissitude of Days and Nights , they being ever of a length . But such a direct situation and course of the Earth , is a thing very unlikely to have been .

2. One reason is this ; because then the same would have remained until now ; or else in the World there would have been found a more full account of the Change thereof . For put case the Earth did shift her posture , and also her Circuit about the Sun , in which she persisted till the Deluge . Is it not odd and monstrous strange , that we should have no more to shew for this ? and that no better footsteps of its remembrance should be seen ?

Whenever this Change befell the Earth , as to its site and yearly progress ; it must needs have been attended with a notable alteration in the Tempestival ( to say nothing of the Astronomical ) face of things . And when they who had escaped the common Shipwrack , came forth of the Ark ; and beheld how the days did lengthen and shorten ; and how the Year ran through such variety of Seasons : and withal felt their Bodies so differently affected , being one while parched with Summers heat , and another while pinched with Winters cold ; contrary to what they had ever been before : they could not surely but relate this surprizing Novelty to after-Generations ( as a thing most wonderful ) and they tell it to others , and they again to others : and so some dark account of it at least , would somewhere have been met with , amongst the broken Records and Monuments of Antiquity , more than now appears . Not to add , That where Providence does make so considerable Changes , and of so near and important concern to Men ; it does usually register them , and give fair notice thereof to Posterity . Thus in a National concern of the Iews , there being but one day made longer than any had been , we find it distinctly recorded in * * Chap. 10. Ver. 13 , 14. Ioshua , and afterwards confirmed by the Prophet † † Chap. 3. Ver. 11. Habakkuk ; And therefore had this Alteration been real , methinks it should have been more fully recorded too ; especially when so fit an occasion of Chronicling it was offered of old , when the Story of the Flood was committed to writing .

There once happened a notable Change in the Planet Venus ( the Theory has remarkt it ) remembred by Castor , and out of him by Varro , and out of him by St. * * D● Civit. D●i , l. 21. c. 8. Austin . And this was said by Adrastus Cyzicenus , and Dion Neapolites , two noble Mathematicians , to fall out in the Reign of Ogyges . By whom if they meant Ogyges Priscus , who was Noah , the Date of the Catastrophe was about the time of the Deluge . But then if a single Change in one of the Heavenly Bodies was thus noted , and the notice of it so plainly transmitted to us at such a distance : then had a general Change at the same time befallen the Heavens , the whole aspectable Heavens , and the Earth at once ; certainly we should have heard something more concerning it than now we do , from the famo●s Ancients .

Though when that Planet did ( according to the Historian ) change her colour , magnitude , figure , and course ; we need not impute this ( as the Theory does ) to her then present dissolution : but rather to the disposition and temperament of the Air , which perhaps will be able to solve all the Phaenomena's . For grant but that to have been full of moist Vapours , and of a constitution so watry , as it never was before nor since ( which it might very well be , and could scarce be otherwise about the time of the Deluge ) Venus , by unusual refraction of her Beams would easily put on a different hue , and larger Phase than she used to wear . The same Air also might alter her shape , while the humid medium , performing the part of a Telescope , truly represented her gibbous , corniculate , or the like . And then it might put her Course into seeming Disorder too . For the Air above being unequally thick , and subject at times to uneven agitations ; as it chanced to be variously driven or moved , might ●ling the Planet into unsteddiness as to appearance , or into a kind of fluctuating or salient Motion in the Eyes of Spectators . And so it might seem to be ( as Ma●cus Varro terms it ) mirabile portentum , a wonderful monstrous thing . But that the whole mutation or disorder which happened to this Planet , is no good Argument of its being just then dissolved ; is evident from this Passage in the Story which speaks it to have been but temporary : Quod factum ita neque ante● , neque postea fit , It was never so before nor after . And therefore still the more probable it is , that the Air which was then so out of order too as it never was before or after , might be the cause of all . And why these effects should be visible only in this Planet , there is more to be said than needs be here inserted . Let me but hint , that if the Moon were then in Conjunction , or near it ; Venus was the brightest Luminary that shone by night , and so the fittest for these Phaenomenas to shew forth themselves in ; especially she being subject to increase and decrease .

But to return , Though Moses did not commemorate this mighty Change , when he had so fair an occasion of doing it , in the Story of the Flood ; yet had it really happened to the World , it could not have slipt so perfectly out of memory , as it has done . For at the time it fell out , there wanted not one at least , who was very well able to remark it ; and to have given occasion ( by passing his Observations concerning it to others ) to a lasting traditional remembrance of it ; I mean Noa● . And that he was qualified for this , we need not doubt , if what * * Euseb ▪ Alex. Poly●ist . some report be true ; namely , That the famous Atlas ( who for his Skill in Astrology is fabled to support the Heavens with his Shoulders ) was Enoch . For if he were so eminent in that sort of Learning , Noah might be rarely versed in the same ; at least he must have been so competently instructed in it , as to have been capable of leaving a most clear account behind him of this marvellous alteration , if it had happened in his time . For Books written by Enoch , are reported to have been preserved in the Ark. And Origen affirms , That part of these Books , containing the course of the Stars , their names , &c. were found in Arabia Felix . And Tertullian avers that he had seen and perused many Pages of them . And Sir Walter Raleigh ( no bad Historian ) is so far from condemning or suspecting the thing , that he rather vindicates it . Though it is not to be doubted , but into them at length many extravagancies might be inserted . Now if these Books treated of Astronomy , as Origen says they did ; Noah could not chuse but derive good Skill in that Science , from them . And so ( by the way ) it will be easie to conceive how Abraham came to such perfection in it , as to impart it to the Chaldeans , Aegyptians , &c. as by * * A●tiq . lib. 1. cap. 8. Iosephus he is said to have done . For he being near Sixty Years old when Noah died , by living and conversing with him so long , he might gain so much knowledge in Astronomical matters , as to be able to instruct those Nations in them . Especially if he addicted himself so much to the study of Astronomy , as that that gave him his name Abram ; as the Knowledge of GOD caused Alpha to be put into it , and turned it into Abraham . For so a Learned * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Al. Strom. l. 5. p. 549. Man has given us to understand ; That he pursuing the high Philosophy of things that happened in the Air , and of those aloft that move in the Heavens , was called Abram , which is interpreted , Sublime Father . But afterwards — he takes Alpha into it , the knowledg● of the one and only GOD , and is called Abraham .

Indeed it is not to be doubted but a great deal of the ancient Learning is lost , as † † Book 2. Chap. 9. the Theory concludes . And he that observes what a multitude of Books are said by Laertius to be written by Xenocrates , Theophrastus , Democritus , and others ; of which so few are now to be found , will easily believe it . But yet this will not satisfie as to the deep silence of Antiquity touching the Aequinox asserted , or the change thereof . For other Theorems or Dogmaes ( even far more remote from notice , and of a nature every whit as obscure or inevident , though of late cleared up ) have been plainly delivered by some Philosophers or other ; and sa●ely handed down to us , either in their , or in other Men's Writings .

Thus Pythagoras , as Laertius relates , taught the Earth to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , inhabited round about : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and that there were Antipodes , to whom , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the things under us , were above to them . A Doctrine heretofore as little approved , as believed ; and so ill thought of , that the asserting it has cost some Men dear . To which add what Plutarch in the Life of Num● remembers ; That the Pythagoreans thought the Earth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be neither immovable , nor placed in the midst of the vortex , or center of the turning Region ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , but to be hung up in a circle running about the fire , that is , the Sun . ( The very Hypothesis revived by Copernicus , and improved by Des-Cartes . ) And to typifie the Sun 's being seated in the center of that Heaven in which he shines ; the same Numa , says Plutarch , built the Temple of Vesta in a circular form , and placed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the fire never to go out , in the middle of it . Leucippus also ( as we find in the aforesaid Laertius ) affirmed , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Earth was carried round , or rolled about upon its own axis . From whom likewise we learn , That Anaxagoras was of opinion , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that Lightnings were caused by collision of Clouds , as also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that the Moon was habitable , and full of Hills and Deles . As if Galileo's Glass had been an old Invention , and this Philosopher had known as much of the Moon above Twenty Centuries ago ; as ●e discovered of late , and has given the World an account of in his Sidereus Nuncius . Heraclides also , as * * D● Placit . Phil. lib. 2. cap. 13. Plutarch reports , believed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that every Star was a World , comprehending in a vast aethereal space , an Earth , &c. And so thought Orpheus .

Now when these and the like pieces of Philosophic Learning , were preserved in the midst of that Shipwrack which it suffered ; it is strange that the Dint of Fate , should fall so heavily on this single Notion of a Perpetual Aequinox , as to sink it down to the bottom of Oblivion , and leave us not so much as one clear Assertion of its existence or expiration . For however the Latine Theory tells us of * * Pag. 291. testimonia satis illustria , testimonies clear enough to evidence the right Position of the Earth , and consequently the Aequinox depending upon it : yet when we come to examine them , we shall find they are but blind and cloudy things , and without all solid reason for their Foundations . So that upon the whole matter , the Assertions concerning the things aforesaid , which are supra nos , more out of the way ( except the Antipodes ) and less subject to Observation , than th● Situation of the Earth , and the Aequinox attending it , and the change of both ; are more express and rational , than any of the Testimonies concerning These : Which is somewhat strange , I say , these being Phaenomenas which of old fell under common notice in way of Experience ; whereas the other were never so obvious and tried . And the more strange will it seem yet , if what was hinted before , be duly considered ; namely , That Noah might be well qualified to observe so great and remarkable things , and to recommend the Observations to his Posterity .

3. As for Scripture , it is so far from favouring this Aequinox , that it does rather discountenance it . And those words , Gen. 8. ult. while the earth remaineth , seed time and harvest , and cold and heat , and summer and winter , and night and day shall not cease : instead of any change in the frame of Nature ( which the Theory would infer from them ) intimate the contrary ; that things still continued in their former State ; and were not out of a more regular and uniform , then put into a new and less orderly course and posture , than they were in before . For ,

First , The words seem to look so directly the other way , that they can scarce be made to cast an eye on such a sense , without violent Distortion of their natural Aspect . Noah was just now come out of the Ark ▪ and having so dismal a prospect before him , so black and horrid and amazing a Spectacle , as the utter Destruction of all Mankind , excepting himself and seven more : this might very well damp him extreamly , and fill him with melancholy and sad Dejection . And then the dreadful apprehensions of what might yet be behind , or happen again afterwards of the like nature ; might startle him exceedingly , and fright him into farther Consternation . Now to support the good Man under the weight of this double terror and solicitude , or to take off its heavy pressure ; GOD here passeth a solemn Promise , that no such ●lood should ever drown the Earth any more . And then in Confirmation of this Promise , adds , That the yearly Seasons should never thenceforward be interrupted ; which they certainly must be , in case of such another universal Deluge . That this was the occasion and full scope of these words , * * A●tiq . l. 1. c. 4. Iosephus attests with advantage on our side ; For he says , That Noah ( upon his coming out of the Ark ) fearing lest the Earth should every year be overflowed , offered burnt sacrifice to GOD , beseeching him that hereafter he would entertain the ancient order , &c. To which request of his , what more gracious or satisfactory answer could be returned , than in the words recited ? Where GOD condescends to give him assurance of what he desired , by ingaging , That while the earth remaineth , seed time and harvest , and cold and heat , and summer and winter , and night and day shall not cease . Where Summer and Winter are mentioned , as things well known to the Patriarch , and he makes no enquiry into the meaning of them , as having been familiarly acquainted with them .

Secondly , GOD here promiseth to Noah , in behalf of Mankind , That there should be Day and Night , as well as Summer and Winter ; yet Day and Night were certainly before the Flood ; and if the promise of their continuance does not hinder but they were before ; so it argues not but that Summer and Winter were so too . Yea , since Summer and Winter are here settled upon the new or recovering World , in conjunction with Day and Night , which had their alternate beings ever since the Creation ; it is a good evidence that these Seasons had the same . And the reason why both were now ensured , is , because both were intermitted ; the Rule of Day and Night , having been broken for a while , by continual darkness ; as well as the Regularity of the Seasons ( for that fatal Year ) by the prevailing Waters . To which add ,

Thirdly , That † † Gen. 1. 14. the Lights in the Firmament of Heaven , at the same time that they were appointed to divide the day from the night , were moreover appointed for the Seasons of the Year ; for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there signifies . And therefore those Birds that come in the Spring and go away in the Autumn ; and are in one place in the Summer , and in another in the Winter ; are said to know their appointed times , or the Seasons of the Year , Ier. 8. 7. and the Prophet expresseth them by the same * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 word that Moses did . But ,

Fourthly , There is annother thing , wherein Scripture checks with this Aequinox ; and that is the effect of the Divine Malediction denounced against the Earth . Upon Man's rebellious defection or Apostasie from GOD , he cursed the Ground for his sake , Gen. 3. 17. Whereupon it became naturally barren of good things necessary to Life ; and fruitful in useless and offensive Products . But in case there were such an Aequinox , it will be hard to conceive how this should be ; for that Aequinox would have kept the Heavens in a standing unvaried posture ; and the stability and unchanged influence of the Heavens , would have continued the Air in the same benign Temperature . And the Air being still , and warm , and balmy ; that rich and fat Earth would have been flourishing and fruitful , pleasant and Paradisiacal ( as the Theory supposes it ) a long time after Adam fell . So that where could be barrenness ? Or how did the Curse of GOD take place ? To say the Earth grew dry and barren at last , for some ages before the Flood , would be no answer , or at least no satisfactory one . For besides that the heavy Curse was presently to fall as a Punishment upon Adam ; so late a barrenness would have been the effect of time and nature ; the unctuous juices of the primigenial Soil , which made it a great while so vital and vegetative , being at length exhausted . And therefore this barrenness could not be imputed to the Curse of GOD , because it would certainly have come on in the meer course of things , though Man had persisted in his original purity , and had kept the Crown of integrity always upon his head .

Lastly , There is a Passage in the Holy Writings , which seems to evince , That the Air in Paradise , had an Intemperature sent into it ( perhaps the fruit of the Curse now mentioned ) about the time that our First Parents sinned . And this again implys , That there was no such Aequinox . The Passage relates to our first Parents , and occurs , Gen. 3. 7. Where it is said of them , That they ●ewed fig-leaves together ( or * * So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies , Ioh 16. 15. and Ezek. 13. 18. For who ever sewed Sackcloth to his own Skin ? or to other Mens Arm-holes ? fitted them together , as the Syriac reads it ) and made themselves , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things to gird about them . Now why did they do this ? It is commonly said , That they might cover their nakedness , whereof they were ashamed . But this seems not to have been the reason , at least not the whole reason of the thing . For first , Scripture says nothing of it expresly ; That does not declare that they did thus to hide their shame . Secondly , What shame need there have been upon account of nakedness betwixt Husband and Wife , when there were no other People in the World ? Thirdly , While they stood , it was said of them , That they were both naked , the man and his wife , and were not ashamed , Gen. 2. ult. And surely when they were innocent , they should have been most modest ; and their modesty should have made them most ashamed of their nakedness then , had there been shame in it . And therefore it is probable that the Perizomata , things to put about them , were made upon another score ; namely , To defend them from the intemperate Air of the Edenical Regions . And this was as much as they at present could do for themselves . But then afterwards ( which helps to confirm our sense ) we find that the LORD GOD made them coats of skins and cloathed them , Gen. 3. 21. Which were to be a better defence still against the aforesaid Inconvenience . So Lyra concludes , That they were cloathed with Skins , a a Quòd indigebant tegum●nto contra intemp●riem a●ris . because they wanted a covering against the Intemperature of the Air. I confess he speaks of the Air in that place ad quem erant ejiciendi , into which they were to be cast forth . But let it be so : still it will fight as much against this Aequinox ; and imply or infer what certainly overthrows it ; that is , an Air intemperate in the habitable Regions of the first Earth .

And ( by the way ) let none wonder , That GOD , by his Angels , should stoop to so mean a work , as the cloathing of Adam and Eve with Skins . Let us but seriously think what disparaging things our REDEEMER JESUS the King of Glory , has done and suffered in his adorable Person , for us forlorn and most unworthy sinners ; and we shall cease to marvel at this lesser condescension of the INFINITE MAJESTY , though it was exceeding great . Yet had it not been more upon the account of warmth , than covering their nakedness ; such Coats need not have been made them : their own Fig-leaves would have been sufficient for that use . And thus Scripture does plainly discountenance this Aequinox , rather than favour it in the least measure .

4. But farther yet . If the Earth always wheeled about the Sun , in a Right Situation to him ; the Terrestrial Globe , in one Hemisphere of it , must have been unpeopled ; because there could have been no easie Passage , no way of possible access to it . For grant Adam to have been planted on either side of the Torrid Zone ; how should he , or his , have gone through it to the other ? It would have been so terribly heated by the roasting Sun , that no Mortal could have travelled over it . Consider but the breadth of this Zone : According to the Ancients ( who stretched it from one Tropic , to the other ) it was about Seven and forty Degrees wide ; that is , near Three thousand Miles . But yield it to have been but half so broad , and what Men could ever have marched over it ? For as under their feet there would have been vehemently hot and scalding Sands : so the scorching fury of the glaring Sun , would have beat intolerably upon their Heads . And then what should have guided them through this burning Tract , where was nothing of Path , or Way-mark to be seen ? Suppose they had the Direction of Stars by night ; yet who , or what should have led their Caravans by day ? And yet had they journied without sure conduct , whither might they have wandred ? and to what length might they have spun out their rangeing Progress , at the shortest too long and tedious to be born ? Especially if we consider , that in those their Travels , they could have met with no manner of shelter or refreshment : No , not so much as with a Grove , or a Tree ; with a Lake , or a River ; with one poor Fountain or Spring of Water , or a single puff of fresh and cooling Air. And say the driest burningest part of this Zone , had not been above Five hundred Miles over ; yet who durst have thought of venturing through it , as not knowing its extent ? And who that had advanced a few Furlongs into it , could have been able to have gone forward , or to return alive ? None will be surprized at this , that have a right Notion of the nature of this Region ; or of the excessive degree of its raging heat . The Theory speaks it in these words , ( which , all circumstances weighed , carry no Hyperbole in them ) * * Pag. 257. It was a wall of fire indeed , or a Region of flame , which none could pass or subsist in , no more than in a Furnace .

Now if Adam were seated at first in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth , as the Theory holds , then how could he , or any of his Off-spring , have removed into this Northern one ? there being such a fiery Partition betwixt them . Yet we are told of Providence's † † Pag. 371. transplanting Adam into this Hemisphere , after he had laid the Foundation of a World in the other . But that Adam in any ordinary Providential way ( and no extraordinary one is mentioned ) should cross a wall of fire or a Region of flame ( we know not how many hundred Miles broad ) which none could pass or subsist in , no more than in a Furnace ; may justly be concluded a thing impossible . And then equally impossible it was , that this Hemisphere of ours , should ever be peopled by Adam or his Progeny before the Flood .

To say that GOD led Adam through this Mediterranean fiery Zone ( the * * Theor. pag. 233. Barrier betwixt the two Hemispheres , which nothing could pass either way ) as soon as he had sinned ; and so very timely , that it was not as yet grown hot and burning ; might be a useful suggestion in the case , were it not perfectly forestalled and quite shut out , by what was said before ; namely , That Adam was not transplanted into this Hemisphere , till he had laid the Foundation of a World in the other . Which suppose to have been done in Twenty Years time ( as it could not well be done in less ) yet in that interval , the fire would have been so kindled in the Torrid Zone , as to have made it too hot a Climate for him to have gone through .

If in this our Land we have no Rain for eight or ten weeks together in a Summer , we see how lamentably the Ground is scorched , and how the surface of it is turned as it were into a meer Turf : and yet all this while the Sun is not perpendicular to us , by two or three thousand Miles . But how inconceivably hot then must the middle circumference of the First Earth have been , supposing it subject to his perpendicular Beams , not only for ten weeks , but twenty years together : and no one Cloud to have overshadowed it , and no drop of Rain to have fallen upon it , all that while ?

It is said to have been the Opinion of Athanasi●s , and Ephrem Syrus , That Paradise , into which Adam was put , lay beyond the Ocean : and that he wading through it , made towards the Country where he was formed ; and at length dying there , was buried in Mount Calvary . Upon what good grounds this conceit was built , I know not : but by no means can it escape the Censure of absurdity . Yet the vast Ocean it self might as well be ●ordable to the first Father of Mankind ; as this glowing Zone , passable . And therefore the difficulty of getting through that Ocean , was one thing that induced St. Austin to follow Lactantius , and the Ancients generally , in denying Antipodes . For in their Judgment an immense Ocean begirt the Earth ( after the manner this Zone is supposed to have done ) and parted our Northern from the Southern Hemisphere . For which reason , the good Father deeming it impossible , that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Inhabitants of that side of the Earth which is opposite to ours , should ever spring from the same Stock with us , and be of Adam's Race ; he fairly concluded that there were no such . * * Nimis absurdum est , ut dicatur aliquos homines ex hac in illam partem Oceani immensitate trajectâ navigare , ac perven●re potuisse . Civi● . l. 16. cap. 9. It is too absurd to say that any Men could out of this , get into that part of the Earth , by sailing over the huge Ocean : as also it would be to say , That Mankind was founded there , of that first Man , Adam . And t●erefore , by the way , how could St. Austin ( if consistent with himself ) place Paradise in the Anti-hemisphere , or Continent opposite to ours ( as † † Pag. 256. the Theory understands he did ) when he thus expresly declare● it to be his Judgment , That Mankind was not propagated there , and could not be transported from hence , thither ?

5. Again , Had the Earth held such a Right Situation to the Sun ; it would have put by the Rains , which helpt to raise the Flood . I confess it is granted , That at that time , * * Theor. pag. 98. the rains fell , forty days and forty nights together , and that throughout the face of the whole Earth . And this is but a certain truth , and so a necessary concession . But then it is more than the Hypothesis can bear ; which makes Rain impossible ( while the first Earth stood ) in any other place but the Frigid Zones . And therefore to admit such general Rains , is to desert or overthrow the Hypothesis ; and to suppose the Situation of the Earth changed , before it was so .

So incompatible were Rains to the first order or constitution of Nature , as fixed by the Theory ; that a Particular Hydrography was calculated by it , to serve the prediluvian Age with Water . But then the same System or Frame of Nature , which rendred that World so impluvious all along , would have done so at the time of the Flood likewise . Yea , in that critical juncture , when Rains were most useful ; it would have taken most place , and made them least plentiful . For then the Earth it self would have been hottest and driest , and the Subterraneous Abyss most exhausted .

Nor can these general Rains be pretended to come from the disruption of the Abyss ; as if the fall of the Earth had caused such extraordinary commotions in the Air , or convulsions of its Regions , as made them every where to pour down Waters . For * * Ibid. the Theory will have the Rains to be antecedent to the disruption . I do not suppose the Abyss broken open till after the forty days rain . But then this is most directly against Scripture again ; for that plainly affirms the contrary ; that the Fountains of the great Deep , and the Windows of Heaven were both opened upon one ▪ day , Gen. 7. 11. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life , in the second month , the seventeenth day of the month , the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up , and the windows of heaven were opened . So that in the same year of Noah's Life , and in the same Month of that Year , and on the same Day of that Month ; the Fountains below , and the Windows above , were both set open ; that the Waters issuing out of both might raise the Deluge .

6. Let me add , in the next place , That it is a known Question , that has been moved by Writers of all sorts , Ancient and Modern , Iewish and Christian , Divines , Historians , Chronologers , &c. at what time of the year the Flood came in . Iosephus ( for instance ) will have it to happen in Autumn ; others in the Spring ; and they give their reasons for it . The Question does manifestly proceed upon inadvertency ; their not minding that when it was Spring in one part of the World , it was Autumn in another . And the like Question is put by Writers , and bandied among them , touching the Creation ; at what time of the year that great Work was done . But somewhat more improperly , there being no Seasons of the year , before the Creation . Now this being the general Judgment of the Learned ; That the year had Tempestival Changes , from the beginning , even the same that it has now ( as these Questions import : ) from hence it may be inserted , that they never dreamt of this Position of the Earth , or a Perpetual Aequinox ; but were all of the contrary perswasion , or common Opinion .

7. As for the Authorities that are made use of to establish the Doctrine we are upon ; if they be examined , they will hardly be found to speak home in the case . For though in the Contents of the Tenth Chapter of the Second Book of the Latin Theory , it be thus declared ; * * Articulus ●ltimus de situ recto telluris prim●e — Philosophorum S●ntentiis — stabili●●r . the last Article concerning the right Situation of the first Earth , is establisht by the sentences of Philosophers : yet if their Sentences alledged in that Chapter be well considered ; they will appear to be too weak and insufficient . I shall set them all down fully , to avoid suspicion of perverting or misrepresenting them .

The first is taken out ( of Plutarch , and delivered by him , as the joint Opinion of two ancient Philosophers . a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . vid. Theor. Lat. pag. 291. Diogenes and Anaxagoras think , that after the World was constituted , and living creatures were brought forth out of th● Earth , the World in a manner was inclined towards its Southern part , of its own accord . And that this perchance was done by providence , that some parts of the World might be inhabited , and others not , by reason of cold , heat , and convenient temperature . But this will do the Theory little service , it rather fights against it ; For the Inclination here , is said to be made by Providence , that some of the Worlds parts might be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , habitable by reason of a good temperature . Which agrees not with the Theory ; for that holds the World to have been of the best temperature , before the Earth was inclined ; insomuch that it knew no Season but Spring And what then could mend its habitableness ? Yet in order to that , the Earth was inclined , as the Citation intimates . And when in the Judgment of these Philosophers , the inclination of the Earth was to conduce to or improve its habitableness ; and according to the Tenor of the Theory , it would rather have been an hindrance or disadvantage to the same : it is apparent that this Allegation does rather cross , than confirm the Hypothesis .

In case it be argued , That this Inclination might promote or mend the habitableness of the Earth , as it quenched the flame in the Torrid Zone , and reduced its intolerable , to a gentle hea● : neither thus can the Passage be drawn to favour the Theory . For ( say the Philosophers ) by vertue of this Inclination , some parts of the Earth were to be rendred , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , uninhabitable , and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 too , upon the account of vehement heat . Whereas this very Inclination , was of necessity to be a qualification , or corrective , or indeed a perfect extinction of all furious burning in the Torrid Zone ; as * * Terrâ autem d●ssolut● , & exinde mutato ipsiu● situ facieque una defiere Zon●e Torridae ●ntolerabiles aestus & 〈◊〉 . Ibid. pag. 213 , 214. the Theory owns . So that the Authority cited , is so far from establishing the Theory's Hypothesis of the Earth's Inclination ; that it will not be easily reconciled to it .

Nor can it excuse the matter with this Pair of Philosophers , to say that they were blinded here with the common Error , and ran , for company , with those that believed there was a Torrid Zone , when there really was none . For allowing they were so sagacious as to discover this Secret of the Earth's Inclination ; we must also grant that by the same quick-sightedness they would clearly have discerned , that the effect thereof could not have been , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a scorching , raging , insufferable heat , about the middle of the Earth ; but a certain mitigation or quenching of the same .

The second Sentence is that of Empedocles , which occurs in the same Chapter of Plutarch : * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Vid. Theor. Lat. pag. 291 , 292. Empedocles teacheth , That the Air giving way to the force of the Sun , the North inclined , the Northern parts being elevated , and the Southern ones depressed , and this happened by that means to the whole World . Here is a mighty effect produced , without a cause assigned ; at least here is non causa , pro causa : the assignation of a cause altogether incompetent and not to be understood . For why should the Air yield to the force of the Sun , more towards the South , than towards the North , when his force was equal upon both the Regions at once ? For he moving at all times exactly in the midst betwixt them , his influence must be exactly alike upon each : and therefore that it should cause the depression of one more than of the other , is a thing in the dark and unintelligible . But say the Sun had had power to displace the Earth , and by sinking one Pole of it , through such a cession of the Air , to have raised the other : yet then that this cession should not be in the Air , nor consequently this dislocation of the Earth till the Flood happened ; is not to be thought . And therefore this Sentence favours not the Theory neither ; for that has positively determined the time of the Deluge to have been the juncture of the Earth's declension or * * Pag. 186 , 195. dislocation : Whereas if the Sun had been the cause thereof , by working a change in the Air conducive thereunto ; it must have been accomplisht very long before .

The next Sentence is Leucippus's , thus delivered by Laerti●s , a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Vid. Theor. Lat. pag. 292. That the Sun and Moon are subj●ct to Eclipses long of the Earth's inclining to the South . And that the Northern Regions are always Snowy , Frosty , and Icy . But by Plutarch thus , b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Leucippus was of the mind , That the Earth verges towards the Southern Regions , because of the thinness or openness of them ; for while the Northern parts are frozen with cold , the opposite are hot . To take off this , we need but reflect on what has been said already ; for how could the Southern Pole of the Earth dip into the Air , by reason the Air at that Pole was hotter and more rarified , than it was at the Northern Pole , when the Sun cut his way most evenly betwixt both the Poles ? Or if it could have been so , yet then the Earth must have lost its regular Position , and the Equinox have been turned out of being , many hundreds of years before the Deluge came ; which is utterly inconsistent with the Theory .

Democritus his Judgment also is brought in , in these words ; a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ Ibid. The Southern part of the ambient Air being the weaker , the bulky Earth did therefore incline that way . For the Northern Regions being evenly , but the Southern unevenly tempered ; thence it was , that accordingly it sagged down , where it abounded with fruits and increase . Here is nothing new , save this , That the ●arth abounding most with fruits towards the South , the weight of those helped to bear it downward ; and so sway'd it out of its Aequinoctial Site ; which in truth is but a vain and unphilosophic Phancy . For first , How could the Earth be more fruitful at one Pole than at the other , when the Soil was alike ; and so , alike fertile ; and both the Poles were equidistant from the Sun ? Secondly , If the Earth had been most loaden with natural Increments , about its South Pole ; yet how could these have overset or poized it down , by making it the heavier ? For they all proceeding out of the Bowels of the Earth ; She must be as heavy before they grew up , as after . Thirdly , If the Earth could have been cast or settled towards the South , by those fruits we speak of ; yet still here would be violence done to the Theory , by shutting its continual praediluvian Aequinox quite out of doors . For the Earth being most fruitful at first , and consequently its Produ●● about the Southern parts , most copious ; That Pole , by their ponderous burthen , must have been overpowered in the beginning , and the Earth sunk into that inclining posture in which now it stands .

Having thus taken account of these Philosophers Opinions , before we go farther , let us make a short stop here ; only so long as to remark these Four Particulars , already hinted .

First , That they of them who are most express for the Inclination of the Earth , do not deny this Inclination to have been from the beginning , or very soon after .

Secondly , That they do not only not deny this , but implicitly affirm it , by their assigning such causes of it . For though they be improper and such as never were ; yet had they been , and could they have produced the effect at all , they would certainly have done it in the beginning of the World .

Thirdly , That none of these Philosophers , do make the least mention of a continual Aequin●x antecedaneous to the Earth's Inclination . And in case it should be urged , that their very asserting the Earth to be inclined does suppose it was once in such a Position , as was attended with a fixed Aequinox . In way of answer it is observable ,

Fourthly , That there is one Notion , which runs through most of their Assertions , and sufficiently proves , that they could never think the Earth held such a Position , as to be capable of a constant and settled Aequinox . For they intimate that the Southern Air was more thin , and weak , and yielding , than the Northern ; as being more temperate or warm than that . But had they believed that the Earth kept a Right Position to the Sun ; and so had both its Poles equidistant from him ; they must withal have believed the Air about both , to have been of the like temperature and consistency .

All which put together , makes it evident , That the cited Testimonies are not satis illustria , clear enough to do the Theory's business : and that the Article of the Right Situation of the Earth ( the cause of the supposed Aequinox ) is not at all established , Philosophorum Sententiis , by the sayings of the aforesaid Philosophers .

But therefore we have not done yet . Anaxagoras comes in with a second Attestation , and witnesseth , That the Stars † † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Vid. Theor. Lat. pag. 293. were moved Tholiformly from the beginning , so as the Pole always appeared about the top of the Earth ; but afterwards it declined . So Di●genes Laertius delivers his mind . And this may seem to be somewhat a better evidence for the Earth's changing her Site . But in way of reply it might be noted ,

First , That Ambrosius the Monk ( a good Philologer ) who translated Laertius into Latin ; instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and so it signifies the Stars to have moved unevenly from the beginning ; that is , as they do now . But let 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , be the true lection . Yet then ,

Secondly , Aldobrandinus renders that , turbulentè , unsteddily . And so makes the Philosopher speak the same sense that Ambrosius does , in a different word . But we will go ●arther still , and suppose ,

Thirdly , That Anaxagoras meant , that the Stars were carried about instar I holi , after the fashion of a Cupulo ( of which kind of Figure was the Pantheon at Rome , and therefore Dio calls that Temple 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Tholiform ) yet then might he not mean withal , that they imitated this Figure in their motion , only so far as the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Pole of the Earth , by being near to a direct Situation under the Pole of the World ( not of the Ecliptic ) would permit it to be done : For the Declination he here speaks of , we cannot understand so well with reference to the Pole of the Ecliptic ; because he calls it the Pole simply , which denotes the Pole of the Aequator . And about this Pole indeed several Stars or Constellations , as the two Bears , the Dragon , Cepheus , Cassiopoea , &c. do move Tholiformly at all times : the Pole still appearing about the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or top of the Earth ; that is to say , about the Pole of it . And that these and other Stars thereabouts , had declined since the beginning , he might well be of Opinion ; inasmuch as the Vertex , top , or Pole of the Earth , might in his time have suffered a considerable declination from the Pole of the World . According to which declination , the Fixt Stars seem to advance in Longitude . Insomuch that Aries hath passed into the Dodecatemorium or place of Taurus , in the Zodiac : and Taurus into that of Gemini , and so on . But then this is such a Declination , as does not at all imply , that the axis of the Earth was ever in a Parallelism with that of the Ecliptic ; but only that it was once in a nearer Parallelism to the axis of the Aequator , than Anaxagoras found it in his days . And so the Declination he meant , might be quite different from that we contend about : which Astronomy imputes to the wallowing of the Earth , in its annual motion .

If this will not satisfie , I have one thing more to offer . Grant that Anaxagoras should mean that very Declination , which the Theory would have him : yet this truly would contribute little towards the Proof of the thing . For he was a Man as like to be heterodox ; as like to broach and maintain false and groundless Opinions , as any of the learned Ancients . This perswasion concerning him , I build upon a wretched Foundation of his own laying : I mean that abominably gross , and shamefully absurd Assertion of his ; That an huge Stone by the River Aegos in Thracia , fell down from the Sun . An extravagance so childish , and ridiculously unreasonable , as might justly give a wound , and a very mortal one , to his Philosophic reputation ; and make the World conclude , that as to Skill in Astronomy he did not exceed . Laertius remembers this ; and tells how Euripides his Scholar did hereupon call the Sun , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , golden Glebe . Plutarch also mentions it in the Life of Lysander : and assures us that as the Stone was shown for a wonder ; so it was venerable and of high esteem . * * N●t . Hist. ● . 2. c. 58. Pliny relates the matter more largely . But in case we should believe it , says he , ( that a Stone could descend from the Sun ) fare●ell the knowledge of Natures Works , and welcome Confusion . A very proper Reflection or Inference .

Nor is this to be lookt upon as a meer ●lip in Anaxagoras , or an unlucky error upon which he stumbled by chance . It must be his settled and approved Judgment : and I make it out thus ; It is very agreeable to other Notions of his , or to the strain or genius of his Philosophy ; Witness that strange way he invented , for generating the Stars . For he thought that the * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ita res●ert Plutarch . de Placit . Phil. l. 2. c. 13. ambient aether being of a fiery nature , did by its rapid circumgyration snatch up Stones from the Earth , and by burning them turn them into Stars . According to the rate of which Philosophy , that Stone of which the Sun was delivered , might possibly be a Star . And to this Diogenes very gravely subscribes . For he roundly pronounces , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : That it was a stony Star which fell like fire at the River Aegos . Which whoever can think , will not stick to credit † † De ●ac . in orb . Lun . Plutarch's Story of a Lion , that in Peloponnesus fell down from the Moon : he being flung off thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by some violent agitation which she suffered . Such was the Philosophy of that Age.

This I have noted , not to disparage Anaxagoras or Diogenes ; but only to signifie , That where they stand alone , or are more positive than others in asserting any dark or doubtful Opinion ; we have no reason presently to run over to them , and to lay the stress of our belief upon their Authorities : especially when in so doing , we must walk contrary to the whole World of the Learned at once . Yet so it happens , that the most likely evidence which the Theory brings in for the Earth's Declination , and so for its Right Position , and Praediluvian Aequinox ; is borrowed of these two Men.

Fig. 3 Page 186

The Second Query is this , Granting there was such an Aequinox in the first World , would not the natural day , towards the latter end of that World , have been longer than in the former periods of the same ? For while the outward shell or sphere of Earth , was contiguous with the Abyss ; it seems very likely that it was carried about with more celerity , than it could be afterwards , when that contiguity ceased , by reason the Waters of the Abyss were exhaled . And in case that external Cortex , the then habitable Earth , did abate of its diurnal Motion , upon losing its contiguousness with the Abyss it inclosed ; and the wider the distance grew betwixt them , the slower was its rotation ; which must follow , if the failure of the contiguity we speak of did at first retard its gyration : then the days just before the Flood , must of necessity be longer than ever they were in the prediluvian World , supposing Day and Night be made by the Earth's turning upon its own axis . Especially if the Moon came late into the Earth's Neighbourhood . For then she being to be carried about in the exterior part of the Earth's Vortex , would have slacked its Motion ; as an heavy Clogg hanged upon the Rim of a Wheel , makes it turn more slowly . Yet that the days just before the Flood were of no unusual length , is evident in the very Story of the Flood ; the duration of which we find computed , by Months consisting of Thirty Days apiece . Whereas had Days been grown longer , fewer of them would have made a Month.

CHAP. IX . 1. The Oval Figure of the Primitive Earth excepted against , from the nature of that Mass upon which it was founded . 2. And from its Position in its Annual Motion . 3. As also from the Roundness of the Present Earth . 4. Which Roundness could not accrue to the Earth from its Disruption , in regard that would have rendred it more Oval still , in case it had been Oval from the beginning . 5. ●r at least would not have made it less Oval than it was .

1. AMong the several Properties of the Prediluvian Earth , there was none more needful than its Oviformity . But as needful as it was , it seems a thing improbable . The necessity of it , is apparent from its Usefulness : and that was as great as can well be imagined : For it was to be as an Aqueduct to the first World ; or a general Instrument of deriving Waters , into all the inhabited Quarters of it . So that without it , according to the Laws of this New Hypothesis , the Earth would have been outwardly but a lump of Sand , and as miserably barren as any piece of Wilderness the worst Arabia has . And yet if we attend to the first Earth's Origination , how could it be of an Oval Shape ?

For a liquid Mass , having its Center in it self , and being of a Sub●tance equally yielding in all its parts , and likewise equally compressed by an ambient body : must of necessity be equally extended in all the lines of its circum●erence ; that is , it must be exactly round or spherical . For why any piece thereof should thrust up higher , or shoot out farther from the common Center , than the rest ; there can be no reason given ; Unless , according to the Hylozoic Philosophy , we should suppose there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a principle of Life or self-movency in matter ; which indeed is to exalt it above its capacity , and to give it a property that destroys its nature .

And were not these the very circumstances of that Mass , whereon the Primitive Earth was founded ? For ,

First , It was self-centred ; and by vertue of its proper Centre , so entirely coherent and united , that no parts of it had the least tendency towards jetting out , or flying off from the whole : but by the Laws of gravity , were all impregnated with the contrary determination , a nitency inward or downward towards the Central Point . And then ,

Secondly , It was Liquid also ; and so of a yielding temper or consistency . Ready to give way to the lightest pressures , and by a forward pliantness , to fall into that Figure , into which the circum●luent Air would fashion it . For that Element alone ( or a thinner than that ) but by moving and gently gliding upon it , might easily smooth it into perfect evenness ; provided it did but encompass it around , and so was capable of slicking it by a general levigation . And therefore ,

Thirdly , It swam in such a fluid Element , as did so environ it , grasping it on all sides with a soft compression . So that during its fluitation in that surrounding and gently constringent Medium , it could not but be of a truly Globular Form . Which admitted ; the Primitive Earth must needs be so too , and not Oval ; as being cast upon this Globous Mould .

But to this it is opposed , That the Liquid Mass whereon the first Earth was built , was not quiescent . So it might , yea , it must have been truly spherical : And the Theory it self owns as much . a a Nihil du●ito — massam aquae se naturaliter conformaturam in figuram sphaericam circa suum centrum ; scilicet si ill● massa seu gl●b●s aqueus immobilis & qui●t●s hereat . P●g. 198. I nothing doubt — but amass of Water will naturally make it self into a spherical Figure , about its own centre ; if so be it rests immovable and quiet . But then it adds ; b b Si v●ro volvatur rapidé circa suum centrum , se oblongabit necessario ex agitatione illa , & defluet in sig●ram praeter-propter ovalem ; ut cùm aquae in vase propelluntur , aut in aliquâ plagâ maris aut lacûs vento agit antur versùs littora , fl●ctus in longum se extendere videmus . Ibid. But in case it be turned swiftly about its Center , by that agitation it will necessarily make it self oblong , and become of a Figure somewhat Oval ; just as when Waters are pusht forward in a Vessel ; or in some part of a Sea or Lake , are driven by a Wind toward the Shores ; we see the Waves stretch themselves out long-ways .

In answer to which , let it be confessed , That the Liquid Mass , on which the Earth was raised , was rolled about ; and that very swiftly upon its own Centre . Yet that by vertue of its gyration it should be shaped into an Oval fashion ; was not at all necessary ; nor will the Instances brought in , prove it was so , there being no parity or just proportion betwixt the several Cases . For , for Waters to be forced an end by the external violence of Winds ( where the impression propelling them is superficial , and their motion progressive ; ) is a different thing from their circumrotation in one entire Moles ; where they turn only with a natural and most even Course , carrying the ambient body ( whereby they are ●ircumscribed and helpt to keep their Figure ) round along with them . For thus we see , that notwithstanding the Earth turns so swiftly , that every point in its circumference under the Aequator , moves at the rate of fifteen Degrees ( nine hundred Miles ) an hour ; yet the finest Sand upon the surface of the Earth , or the lightest Dust upon the tops of the Mountains , is never dissipated or disturbed in the least , by this whisking circumvolution . Whence we may gather ( the case being much the same ) that the whirling Globe of Water , was so far from a necessity of growing oblong , by its rotation ; that that very thing might contribute to preserving it in a Globular For● .

But therefore let us hear what the Theory says further , and more distinctly yet , touching the Cause of the Oval Figure of that Mass of Water , which was the basis of the primitive Earth . It speaks it fully in these words , a a Nequ● ratio hujus ●ig●r●e in Globo aqueo circulariter moto , obscura est : cum enim m●les aquae sub Aequat●re multo magis agitaretur , quàm aqua v●rsus polos , ●bi minor●s circulos perageret ; partes ill●e maximè agitat●e , à c●ntro sui mo● t is recedere co●antes , cùm prorsus exilire & avol●re non potu●ri●t propter incumbentem undique a●rem , neque multùm re●luere si●e ejusdem a●●is re●ixu & resistentia , non aliter se liber●re valerent , quàm deflut●do ad latera : Aqu●e enim impeditae quocunque reperiunt aditum & faciliorem motam , ●o f●●unt ; & ex illo 〈◊〉 aqu●rum ad l●tera ▪ & exoneratione partium midiar●m circa Aequa●orem , globus ●que●s deveniret aliqu●●●tul 〈◊〉 oblongus . Ibid. Nor is the reason of this Figure obscure , in a Globe of Water which is moved circularly ; for the Mass of Water being much more agitated under the Aequator , than the Waters towards the Poles , where it passed through lesser circles ; those parts which were most moved endeavouring to recede from the Centre of their motion , when they could not quite spring up and fly away , because of the Air which lay upon them on every side , nor yet could fall back again as being checked and resisted by that Air : they were unable so free themselves any other way than by flowing down to the sides : for Waters being pent , do flow that way where they find easiest passage ; and from that flowing down of the Waters to the sides , and disburthening of the middle parts about the Aequator , the Globe of Water might become somewhat oblong . So that the Cause of the Oval Figure , in the Chaotic Waters , seems ( in short ) to be this . Their discharging themselves , defluendo ad latera , by flowing down to the sides or Poles of the Globe ; upon their swelling or rising up ( by means of their rapid circular motion ) about the Aequator . But granting the Waters did swell and rise thereabouts ( which yet would admit of dispute ; ) against this piece of the Theory's Hypothesis , it may be thus excepted ; Either the Waters did flow down to the sides or Poles of the Globe , till it became Oval ; or they did not . If they did not flow down so long , the Hypothesis fails , and the watry Mass could never be Oval . If they did flow down so long , then they must flow down , till they flowed down , upwards . ( Pardon the absurdity of the Expression , the absurdity of the thing occasions it . ) For the Polar parts of the watry Mass , as it became Oval , were the highest , being most distant from the Centre . And yet from the Aequator they did defluere ad latera , flow down to the Sides or Poles . Which that they might do , it was absolutely necessary that the parts about the Aequator should be highest : else the Waters in flowing to the Poles , would have been so far from flowing down , that contrary to their natures , they must have risen up above their Source . And yet as absolutely necessary again it was , that the Polar parts should be highest at last ; otherwise the watry Mass could never have been made of an Oval Figure . And yet if it were made into that Figure , by the Waters flowing down ( as the Theory says ) from about the Aequator , to the sides , or Polar parts ; then a third thing will be as necessary as either of the two mentioned ; namely , That the Waters ( as was said before ) should flow down , upwards . So that it is as unlikely , that the Mass of Waters was ever of an Oval Form ; as it is unlikely that a Contradiction should be true ; or that the Element of Water should , of it self , perform a motion , which is beyond its power , by being above or against its nature . I say , of it self ; for however there might be violence ( that of the circular motion ) in making it to swell about the Aequator ; yet when once it was risen there , it was left to it self , as I may say ; all farther force was taken off it , and it might follow the duct of its own Principles of Gravity and Fluidity . And accordingly it is said by the Theory , se liberare , to free it self ( from that force which it suffered in receding from its Center , or rising up under the Aequator ) defluendo , by falling off or flowing down ; a proper expression of the true natural motion of Water . But then if the place it fell or flowed to , was higher than that it fell or flowed from ( as in this case it must prove , before the watry Globe , by Defluxion of its Water , could be made Oval ) it is evident that the Water by a natural motion , or of it self , did perform a course against its nature . For when it flowed down ( or is said to do so ) and according to its own nature ought to have done so ; in reality , and according to the reason of the thing , it flowed up . Nor indeed could it possibly do otherwise , to produce the great effect pretended ; unless it were possible for an Oval body to be highest in its middle parts . And then truly ( but upon no other terms ) the watry Globe might become oblong , ex illo defluxu aquarum ad latera , & exoneratione partium mediarum ; from that flowing down of the Waters to the sides ( which the Theory mentions ) and the disburthening of the middle parts of it .

Now if the watry Mass , upon which the ingenious Theorist founds the first Earth ; could not be made Oval , in the way he has invented : then neither could that Earth be of an Oval Figure , it being bound to put on the same shape which the Water had .

2. Very improbable it is also that the first Earth should be Oval , considering its Position or Direction in its Annual Motion . For that was such as could not well consist with its Oval Figure . In it , its Poles are said to have pointed always to the Poles of the Ecliptic : and so it would have been directed not unlike to Ships swimming side-ways . Now put a Ship , which is an Oval body , into the smoothest stream imaginable , and lay it cross that stream ; and see how long it will keep in that Position . Will it always hold it ? No , nor for any considerable while : but by degrees will quickly wind and fall in to swim long-ways with it ; and continue mostly in that posture , as suiting best with its own shape and the course of the Waters . And truly that an Oviform Earth should lie cross-ways in the a●thereal Chanel , and be carried round the Sun for Sixteen hundred years together ; and not change its site in compliance with the tendency or stream of it ; seems very strange , if not impossible . Especially when that Earth was thin comparatively , and hollow like a Shell ; and so more light , and ready to verge or be drawn aside from its supposed primitive situation .

The Present Earth , though generally allowed to be of a spherical Figure ; and also of a solid composure throughout ( unless at its Centre ; ) and likewise ( according to the French Philosophy ) to be held by a particular hand of Nature , in its inclining posture ( which must be more easie to be kept by a round Earth , in the Medium which carries it ; than a Right Position , by an oblong one : ) is yet subject to wallowings in its Annual Motion . And how then can it be thought , that the First Earth , which was oblong , and had not that hand to hold it steady ; could preserve its axis in a constant parallelism to the axis of the Ecliptic , till the time of the Flood ? It would rather have turned end-ways in the Celestial Stream , and have stood for the most part in that direction ; as best agreeing with its own Form , and the vehicular Current wherein it floated . And so ( its axis , by force of the aethereal matter , being wrought into a coincidence with the Plain of the Ecliptic ; and the Ecliptic like a Colure , passing through its Poles ) while its Poles would have lookt East and West , and its Diurnal revolutions have gone North and South : it would have brought such a confusion into the Heavens and Earth at once , as is not easie to be expressed .

3. And that the First Earth was not Oval , methinks may , in some measure , be gathered from the Roundness or Sphericalness of the Present Earth . For this Terraqueous Body on which we dwell , is of a Spherical Fashion . So Anaximander thought , and also Pythagoras , Parmenides , and others of old , as well as all of later days . And as much is fairly inferrible from several things . As ,

First , From its Conical Shadow . Which Figure , * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Diog. Laert. in vit. Zeno ( almost Two thousand Years since ) noted the Shadow of the Earth to be of . And a common Argument for the Proof of it , is fetcht from the Moon . For in whatever place she has at any time entered into an Eclipse , or emerged out of the same ; and whatever part of the Earth , during any of her Eclipses , has been turned to her , still it has been observed , that the Shadow cast by the Earth upon her Discus , was always Circular ; which argues the Earth it self to be Globular . And that it is so , may be inferred ,

Secondly , From the Place of the Waters . For were it Oval , they would not fail to retire out of the Seas near the Poles ; and running down towards the Aequator of the Earth ( which would be the lowest part of it ) settle themselves around it , in the middle Regions thereof . But instead of this , we see the Waters are so far from drawing off from the Northern Seas about the Pole , that they abound most , and are deepest there ; nor do we know of any thing but vast and deep Waters about the South-Pole neither . Whereas , I say , were the Earth Oval , and so the Poles of it highest , the Waters must necessarily have settled about the midst of the Earth , there being the lowest place , and so the properest for their Situation . And so the Sea in Figure would have resembled an Hoop ; or as a liquid Zone would have encompassed the Earth , and divided it into two Hemispheres , in the same manner that some worthy Ancients conceived it did ; for want of better Skill in Geography .

Thirdly , If the Earth were Oval , Navigation towards the Poles , beyond such a Latitude as bounds the Sphericity of the Earth , would be extreamly difficult , if not impossible . For then in such a course , Ships must steer up hill , and climb , as it were , all the way they swim , as sailing in a perfect ascent . But where would be Winds strong enough to heave them up such watry steepness ? Or in case they had sufficient strength to do it ; yet would not the Vessels rather pitch into , and run under the Waters that bear against them , than drive up upon their rising surface ? And let but the blustring Gales which push them upward , cease ; and would they not forthwith stop ? Yea , immediately tack about , and ( being left to themselves ) settle down towards the Aequator again . But we hearing of no such difficult sailing up the Polar Seas ; nor such retiring of Ships down to the Aequinoctial ones ; have still more reason to believe , that the Earth and Water make a True Globe . And grant that these Arguments will not perfectly demonstrate the Earth to be Spherical ; yet they being of more force to prove it is so , than any ever brought to prove it otherwise ; we have reason to acquiesce in the received Opinion .

4. But to this it may be answered : In case the Earth be Round or Spherical now , this is no good evidence that it was so at first . It might then be Oval or oblong , and its present Roundness may be owing to its Disruption . I reply ; Admit the Earth was oblong before the Disruption , and the falling in of its outward Orb , could hardly reduce it into a Spherical Form ; but would rather have made it more oblong still . For the Orb we speak of must ( in likelihood ) break and fall in first , about the Aequator , or Middle parts of it . For there it was most heated ; and there it was most cracked ; and there it was most hollow underneath ; the Waters of the Abyss being much exhaled . And these parts falling , those whereabouts the Tropics are now , might fall soon after them . Whereas the Poles of this Orb , being turned with a shorter or narrower Arch , were much the stronger . And then being remote from the Sun , and continually wet , were not disposed to break at all , through driness and brittleness , as the Regions about the Aequator were . So that the Poles might remain whole , and keep those very places almost which they held before . For as for their sinking lower , and coming much nearer together , than they were , it was not likely ; because that huge Circle of Ground , which fell in about the Aequator and Tropics , would have intercepted and hindred them . For though the Poles were hollow , they could not slip over the Earth which fell in betwixt them , and clasp it in their cavities ; in regard they were not wide enough . For the Orb being Oval , was narrowest towards the Poles . So that the falling in of the Earth , must have rendred it rather more , than less Oval ; While the Poles of it would have continued at their usual distance almost , and the intermediate Regions , by dropping into the Abyss , would have been contracted into streighter Dimensions of Circumference .

5. Or say the Disruption of the Earth , would not have made it more Oval than it was ; yet surely it would not have made it less . For as the Earth , in all probability , would have broke in first about the Aequator ( for the reasons alledged ) so those Fragments being nearer the inward Earth , than the Polar parts ; would sooner have reached it in their fall , than these could have done . Especially considering these Polar parts ( according to what was said before ) must have fallen entire in two vast Caps as it were . For so they would have contained such abundance of Air , as must have rendred their descent very slow ; much slower than that of the Aequinoctial , and Tropical Fragments . Which being of quite another fashion , that did not inclose the Air so much , would have descended a great deal faster . Insomuch that before the Polar Hemispheres ( let me call them ) could have got down to the interiour Earth ; all the ground that fell in about the Aequator and Tropics , would have been settled there , and fit to receive those mighty Hemispheres , when they should have come and whelmed themselves whole upon it . Or grant they should have broke , by pitching upon that vast heap of Earth , which fell down betwixt them ; yet there they must have laid in a confused posture where they flew in pieces , and so would have helped to make the Earth oblong . In a word , suppose they did sink down as far proportionably towards the common Centre , as the Aequinoctial and Tropical parts did ; yet if they sank no farther ( as indeed why should they , all circumstances considered ? ) the Earth in case it were Oval at first , must of necessity continue so .

CHAP. X. 1. That there were Mountains before the Flood , proved in way of Exception to the Theory , out of Scripture . 2. And that they could not be made by the Falling in of the first Earth , argued from the Mountains in the Moon . 3. And from the Opinion of the Talmudists , and others . 4. How Mountains might arise in the very beginning . 5. There must be Mountains in the first World , because there were Metals in it .

1. TWO Properties of the Prediluvian Earth we have done with ; its Continual Aequinox , and its Oval Figure . We must now proceed to its next Property , or rather to the former Branch of it : The exterior face of it was smooth and uniform , without Mountains . But neither can this be asserted without some violence to the Inspired Writings . LORD , thou hast been our refuge from one Generation to another . Before the Mountains were brought forth , and the Earth and the World were made , Thou art GOD from everlasting . So we read , Psal. 90. 1 , 2. Where the scope of the Psalmist being to set forth GOD's Eternity , and his early Providence over his People ; he declares of him , That as he was always a Shelter and Protection to them from Age to Age ; so he existed before the Creation : even before the Mountains were brought forth , and the Earth and the World were made . Where his ranking the Production of the Mountains , with the Formation of the Earth and the World ; speaks them coaeval with the same . And ( which is not unworthy of remark ) Moses ( says the Title of it ) composed this Psalm ; to whom the Rise of all things , and the Order of their rising into being , was better known , than to any Man born . Yet this Moses , as he illustrates GOD's Eternity à parte ante , by his Preexistence to the Universe ; so he measures his most timely care over his Church , as much by the Mo●ntains duration , as by the duration of the Earth or World . Thereby giving us to understand , That the one is as good a Rule as the other ; as bearing the same date of Existence , and issuing forth into being , not by a far distant Succession , but all together , as fast as nature could permit . And however some Mountains might be produced long after others ; yet that will make nothing against us , if we do but suppose the Psalmist to speak of the Earliest . This , by the way , does sufficiently confute the Peripateti● error touching the Worlds Eternity . For if GOD was , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , before the Earth and habitable World ; 't is certain the World had a beginning , and could not be from everlasting , as h● was .

And the same Moses makes mention not only of lasting Hills , but , of ancient Mountains , Deut. 33. 15. But had there been no Mountains till the Flood , he would scarce have given them that Epithet , as being but few ages older than himself . I confess , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , signifies , the East , as well as ancient . And the Samaritan and Syria● , Pagnin , and Montanus , render , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Mountains of the East . But not so well . For Ephraim and half the Tribe of Manasseh , Ioseph's Posterity ( mentioned ver. 17. ) in whose Land the Blessings of these Mountains are here prophesied of by Moses , were planted in that Division of Palestine called Samaria : which being on this side of Iordan , and upon the Mediterranean Sea , lay towards the West ; and consequently its Mountains could not be called Mountains of the Cast. And as for the other Half of Manasseh , though they were seated beyond Iordan ; yet I do not find that the Mountains in their allotment , were known by the name of Mountains in the East . Or if Basan , and some of the Hills of Gilead , belonging to this half Tribe , might be so denominated : yet the whole Tribe of Ephraim , and the other half of Manasseh , had nothing to do with them ; and so they could not so well be the Mountains here pointed at in the Prediction . Inasmuch as they were possessed but by the smaller part of Ioseph's Off-spring ; whereas in reason the Prophecy should respect the Major part of his Seed , and so refer to those Mountains on the West side of Palestine , where the whole Tribe of Ephraim , and the other half of Manasseh were settled . And therefore when the Arabic , Vulgar , Iunius and Tremelius , and others , render , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , ancient ; they give it its most proper Signification in this place , and such as makes the best or truest sense . For the Mountains of Gilead , and Basan , as well as Mount Ephraim ( a ridge of Hills crossing the Country of that Tribe ; several parts whereof were Gerizzim , and Ebal , and the Hills Tsuphim ; the Hill of Phineas , of Gaash , of Salmon , and of Samron , whereon Samaria stood ) were all of them , though not Eastern , yet ancient Mountains ; such as might take their beginning with the Earth it self , or immediately after . And therefore the Septuagint calls the Mountains here , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Mountains of the beginning . And that most fitly ; for , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies , beginning , as well as antiquity . And accordingly we read , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , from or before the beginnings of the Earth , Prov. 8. 23. And so the ancient Mountains in the Prophecy , are such as were extant à primordiis seculi , from the beginning of the World , in contradistinction to such as were casually raised , or artificially made .

Solomon also , in the same Chapter , speaks a remarkable word to our purpose . For declaring the Antiquity , or Eternity of THE DIVINE WISDOM ; he there sets it out , by its existing before GOD's Works of old , ver. 22. and then particularly , before the Mountains were settled , ver. 25. A most clear evidence , that the settling of the Mountains , was one of the earliest Works that ever GOD did . Else it could not have been sutable to sort it with those that are there recounted , nor would it have been proper to shew forth the Antiquity of WISDOM by it ; and to argue that it was in GOD's Possession , in the beginning of his ways , because it was so , before the Mountains were settled . For if the Mountains were settled long after those other works of old , which Solomon specifies , as long after , as the general Flood was after the Creation ; why should he place this work amongst them , and rank it with them , as one effected at the same time ? And if they were settled , at the time of the Deluge , how could WISDOM's existing before they were settled , be a Proof or Illustration of its being possessed by the LORD in the beginning of his ways ?

So that if we can but think , that Scripture is to be understood like other writings ; that is , according to the common signification of its words , and the manifest drift or scope of its sense : And if we can but believe , that when GOD speaks with design to instruct us ; He does it with the same freeness and sincerity , as a rational and honest Man , as a kind and open hearted friend would do , that means to discover his mind unto us ; we need not desire more pregnant Proofs of the Mountains just coaevity with the Earth .

2. The same Scriptures that prove Mountains coaeval with the Earth , are clear Evidences that they could not arise from the Disruption of the same . Which Opinion being so fairly encountred and overthrown by Divine Authorities ; to pursue it farther may seem unnecessary . But yet that Nature may set its hand to the confutation of it , as well as Scripture ; I will here put down One single Argument which the Moon affords us .

That she hath her Mountains as well as the Earth , is very evident . And also that they are higher than the Earth's Mountains : I mean not only comparatively , in proportion to her Bigness ; but they are so , simply and absolutely in themselves , if w● dar● credit Galileo . Yea , they are not only higher than the Mountains of the Earth , but better than four times as high , as he undertakes to * * Astronom . Nun. pag. 24 , 25 , 26. demonstrate . Whence it must follow , either that the Moon was not formed and dissolved , the same way that the Earth was † † Vid. Lat. Theor. pag. 58. and also the English one , p. 110 , 168 , 170. ; both which the Theorist owns her to have been ; or else that her Abyss was deeper , and her outward Orb thicker by far , than was the Earth's ( to make such prodigiously lofty Hills ) and so that she was very much larger than the Earth : the contrary to which is most true and manifest . Or , lastly , ( which is the case ) that her Mountains were not the effects of her Dissolution ( which she never suffered ; ) but her Native Features , and such as she has worn ever since her Creation . But then why should it not be so with the Earth likewise ? Or how can it be otherwise ? For were it granted , That the Mountains of both did at first arise ( as the Theory would have them ) from the falling in of their respective exterior Orbs ; it would be hard to assign reasons , why Mountains in the Moon , should be four times higher than any on the Earth ; when the Globe of the Earth , is above forty times bigger than that of the Moon .

3. And that Mountains were in being before the Flood , and so could not result from the falling in of the Earth ; we may learn , in some measure , from the Talmudists , even while they teach what is phanciful and extravagant . For they report , That many Giants saved themselves from the Flood upon Mount Sion . And Iosephus intimates such another Tradition out of Nicolaus Damascenus : a a Antiq. lib. 1. cap. 4. There is above Minyada , a great Mountain in Armenia , called Baris , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. to which many flying in the time of the Flood , are said to have escaped .

As for the First of these Reports , it is wholly fabulous ; nor can it be otherwise as being repugnant to Scripture and Reason . The other , though certainly false in the gross , may yet have somewhat of truth in it , as being a broken account of the Preservation of Noah and his Family , and the Story of their Deliverance mangled and disguised . For it being commonly believed , that the Ark rested upon the Mountains of Armenia ; and that the Old World being Drowned , the New one was Peopled by Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ( as Lucian's word is ) of a second stock , that came down from thence : this might give occasion to that formal fiction of a Multitude flying to Baris , and of their being saved there .

Now though one of these Traditions be absolutely false , and the other a Truth perverted and misrepresented ; yet such things being talkt of in times of old , and at last put in writing , they do fairly witness what the Thoughts of Men were in former Ages , as to this matter ; and that it was a current perswasion among them ( who lived much nearer to the first World ) that there were Mountains before the Deluge .

And such another piece of confused Forgery ( out of sacred Story corrupted ) occurs in a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Strom. lib. 5. Clemens Alexandrinus . He took it out of Plato , and it speaks of a Flood to come . But then again when the GODS drown the Earth , purging it with Waters ; the Herdmen and Shepherds shall be saved on the Mountains ; while they that are with us in Cities , are carried by Torrents into the Sea . And that this was a Fragment or lame kind of Excerption out of the Holy Oracles ; the Father himself signifies . For he presently indites the Greek Philosophers of Pilfering , and draws up this smart Charge against them ; That they were a Pack of ingrateful Thieves , who filched , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the chief of their Opinions from Moses and the Prophets . And if this Flood had not been greatly mistaken as to time , and so the Story of it set with its face the wrong way , it would have looked directly upon what we are asserting , and given countenance to it . For then the Flood here mentioned , must have been that of Noah ; and the Mountains of refuge for the Herdmen and Shepherds , must have been extant in the First World .

It is well known also , that many of the Learned Ancients have taught , that Paradise was situate upon high Mountains . And according to that Doctrine , there must be Mountains at the very first . And however some eminent Writers are of Opinion , That the Mountains were neither so many nor great before , as since the Deluge ; yet none , I think , ever excluded them wholly , till then . And I durst appeal to the Theorist himself , if ever he met with any , that held the Earth was without an open Sea . Yet as many as suppose such a Sea in Nature , suppose Mountains too ; and ●tis necessary they should as himself confesseth . The Consequence of which will be , That no Authority is to be brought , or heard , against the being of Mountains before the Flood ; but such as is express against open Seas . And then I presume we may search long enough , before we find one .

I will only add that Traditional Story which is told of Adam ; namely , how that after his Fall , and when he repented of his sin , he bewailed it for several hundreds of Years , upon the Mountains of India . Another plain intimation that there were Mountains in the beginning of the World .

4. Nor is it hard to conceive how they should be made then , as well in-land ones , as others . And that in such a way ( to humour Philosophy ) as Nature might have a considerable stroke in the Work . For though it be not for us exactly to understand the manner of GOD's Proceedings in this Case ( whose ways in forming the Mountains , as well as in other things , are past finding out ; and for Men to offer at a clear and certain Explication of their Rise , would be arrogant presumption ; as if the Nut-shell of their Phancy , could contain the Ocean of the Divine Methods ) yet with humblest Adoration of the ALMIGHTY's Infinite Power and Wisdom , and acknowledgment that he could , and 't is like , did produce them another way ; I will venture to guess he might do it thus . But I only hint , what it would require a large Discourse , to make out and confirm in every Particular .

The Earth , when it was first created , lay under Water ( as the infallible Word informs us ) till the Third Day ; and on that Day , the Waters were gathered into one place . The Alveus , that is , or Hollow of the Sea being prepared , by GOD's pressing down the Ground ( suppose ) lower there , than it was in other places ; the Waters fell violently into that Cavity . And as they were carried thither in a Natural Course , while by the force of their Weight they rolled downward : so they were help'd by a Power supernatural ; 't is like by the Influence of that Blessed SPIRIT , who moved upon them when they were first brought forth . Otherwise perhaps they could not have been so drained off the Earth in one Day , as that the dry Land should have appeared . Now the Earth , by this Collection of the Waters into one place , being freed from the load and pressure of them , and laid open to the Sun ; the Moisture within it , by the heat of his Beams , might quickly be turned into Vapours . And these Vapours being still increased by the continued rarefying warmth from above ; at length they wanted space wherein to expand or dilate themselves . And at last not enduring the con●inements they felt , by degrees heaved up the Earth above ; somewhat after the manner that Leaven does Dough , when it is laid by a Fire ; but much more forcibly and unevenly . And lifting it up thus in numberless places , and in several Quantities , and into various Figures ; Mountains were made of all shapes and sizes .

Thus we may conceive the In-land ones were produced ; which in some Countries were more , and in some fewer ; in some bigger , and in some lesser ; in some higher , and in some lower ; in some again earlier , and in some later : according as the Nature of the Soil , the Vapours under it , and the Sun above it , contributed and concurred to the raising of them . And how a Ridge or Chain of Hills might be blown up at once , as well as one single one ; how Mountains should be hollow at the Roots , and in their higher parts , and full of Caverns ; how in time they might be dried , hardened , and turned into Stone in a great measure ; how some of them , through their weight and hollowness , might break and fall ; and in their hideous Fragments and disorderly Postures , represent the ruines of an Earth sunk into an Abyss : and others might be eaten and worn away by Time and Weather , especially by that Weather in time of the Flood ; and so become rough and craggy , and surprizingly horrid and frightful things will be obvious , or at least intelligible , to thinking and Philosophic Minds .

And that Mountains might be brought forth thus at first , or raised in the way we speak of , will seem more likely still , in case we consider how Hills oftentimes have been thrown up by Earthquakes : where though the Causes were not the same , they were very like them , or analogous to them . The Earth also at first , was most disposed or liable to these Effects ; I mean , to have Mountains made out of it . For then the Soil ( being destin'd and prepar'd to be the common Seminium , Seed-plat and Nursery ●f all sorts of Vegetables , and of some living Creatures ) was soft , and light , and unctuous ; and so of a very yielding Nature . The Pores of it also were then close shut up , as having never been opened by Sun or Winds . By which means the Vapours imprisoned in it having no manner of vent ; when they became strong enough ( by their daily increase ) might easily cast up huge quantities of Ground thereby to free themselves , and get loose from under them .

Nor need we wonder , that sometimes a Valley betwixt two Hills , should be lower than the common surface of the Earth . For the matter of those Hills being spewed up from under that Tract between them ; the ground must there sink down in proportion , to ●ill up the emptied space beneath , and so fall lower down than the rest of the Earth . And for the same reason , or others like it , many places in the Sea may be exceeding deep , and seem to go down into a perfect Abyss as it were , or a bottomless profundity .

And we must note , that though but only part of the Earth be Mountainous , yet little or none of it is exactly level ; as being every where heaved up by the forementioned Causes , more or less . And therefore the smoothest Plains , that appear to the eye to be very even , are not really so . Only this we may observe , concerning them , That when Horse-men travel over them , the Ground being struck with the Feet of the Beasts , yields a kind of Sound . Which shews that the Earth in those Plains , is much in that Posture , into which the Sun and Vapours did at first raise it ; loose , that is , and porous , and somewhat hollow . Whereas amongst Hills and Dales it yields no such noise , when beaten with such Tramplings . And the reason is clear , because it being ●lung up , and fallen down , and altered and transposed by eructations and sinkings ; it has so been driven closer and made more compact .

And then as to Maritime Hills , or those near the Sea , when the Ground was crushed down by the hand of OMNIPOTENCE , to make a Receptacle for the Water ; it is easie to conceive how they should fly up at the sides of Seas , or not far from them . As also how Hills should be highest in those Countries , about which Seas are deepest . For the Ground in the adjacent , or not far distant Seas , being sunk very low , and forced to give way very much ; it might well crowd out and thrust up a great height , about the Shores , or in the adjoyning Regions . Nor is it to be thought , that when so great a part of the surface of the Earth was pressed down , that the Ground should struggle out at the Brinks of the Ocean only , and in some considerable distance from the Shores : much of it would recoil from under the compression in th● Sea it self , and fly up irregularly in innumerable places , where it could best do it . And hence might come Banks in the Sea stretcht out ( as Mountains are on the Land ) to extraordinary lengths . As also Rocks , and Flats , and Shelves without number .

Nor must this be omitted , That all the Mountains of the Earth , if raised according to this Conjecture , will have no reason to hold proportion in bulk to the Cavity of the Ocean . A thing which the common Hypothesis of their Formation implys , and which lies as a main Objection against it . For thus the In-land Mountains would not be made out of the Sea at all . Nor would the whole quantity of Earth , which at first filled up the Cavity of the Sea , be cast out into the Maritime Hills ; but most of it be squeezed and forced down deeper into the bowels of the Earth .

Thus also Islands might be made ( to take a short step out of the way we are in ; ) I mean such as are not of the largest size ; whether they be distant from all Continents , as the Canaries , Azores , Hesperides , and others in the Atlantic Ocean ; or such as lie in whole Fries by the Main-lands-side , as they do in several places of the World . Though many of this latter sort , might be raised out of Mud or Dirt , descending in great plenty out of Rivers . So were the Echinades in the Ionian Sea , just before the mouth of the River Achelous . Or else they might be made by the flowing of the Waters into the Sea , when they were first drawn off the surface of the Earth . For then they running furiously down into the Pit , which Providence had fitted and appointed for them , might wear away the ground about the Verge thereof ; and eating into its Superficies by the violence of their course , might divide it into a multitude of little Apartments : which afterward when the Sea was filled , might be petty Islands about its Coasts ; as the Philippines , for instance , and others in the Oriental Seas , which stand in whole Sholes , even thousands of them together against China and India .

Whirlepools also by the same means might be made in the Sea ( as well as chanels for Rivers underground by land ) for the Earth being pressed down deep in some places , and thereby forced to ascend in others ; kind of arched Vaults might so be formed . Which leading out of one Sea ( or one part of a Sea ) into another ; the waters flowing through them , cause those voragines , or Gulfs at the top where they enter their subterraneous Pipes or Passages . Many of which Gulfs are so strong , that they suck in and swallow up whatever comes into them .

But to return , we need no more wonder at the Greatness or Number of Mountains made ( in this method ) on the Earth ; than at the Gran●●losity or ruggedness in the rind of an Orange . And as the Mountains in truth bear no more proportion to the Earth's Dimensions , than those little pimples do to the fruit we speak of ; so they and In-land Mountains both , may proceed from Causes not altogether unlike . Though now those Causes as to the Earth are so debilitated and wasted , that they are unable to produce the like Effects . Particularly that slatuous Moisture , wherewith at first it did abound , and might be put into it on purpose to make it heave in general into necessary inequalities ; and in places to ascend into mighty Hills ; is spent and gone . And we have no more reason to expect that the Earth should ordinarily send forth Mountains now ; than that a dead ripe Orange pluckt off the Tree , should break out into such Wheals or Wens , as we see upon some .

5. One argument for Mountains in the first World , is yet behind , which shall end this Chapter . There were METALS in the World ; And these , as all know , are now found at the Roots of Mountains . And they being the places whence they are digged now , it is a shrewd presumption they ever lodg'd in the same . Indeed the very generating them in the exterior Region of the Earth , does necessarily suppose cavities in it . And Cavities under-ground , do as necessarily infer inequalities above it . And here * * Totam l●evem & aequalem si●e montibus ; totam solidam ( usque ad Abyss●m ) sine cavernis . Pag. 145. the Theory will receive another wound ( perhaps an incurable one ) in its Hypothesis . I mean where it makes the Antediluvian Earth * * Totam l●evem & aequalem si●e montibus ; totam solidam ( usque ad Abyss●m ) sine cavernis . Pag. 145. all smooth and even without Mountains ; all solid ( to the Abyss ) without caves or holes .

But therefore to shun this great inconvenience , it fairly consents to the abolishing of Metals out of the first state of Nature . † † Dictis praetereà superaddunt non-n●lli , in primâ naturâ nulla ●uisse — Mineralia aut Metalla ; quibus non deesse s●as rationes existimo secundum Hypothesia nostram . Pag. 154. Some moreover add to what has been said , that in the first nature there were no Minerals or Metals : who according to our Hypothesis , I think , want not their Reasons . But this is out of the Frying-Pan , into the Fire . For thus the Fidelity of Moses is assaulted , and another intolerable affront put upon the HOLY GHOST . For do not both inform us , That the City Enoch was built , and the Ark prepared before the Flood ? But how cloud either be done without Iron Tools ? Some Barbarous people , I have been told , do strange Feats in way of Architecture , by sharp stones : But the Theory allows not so much as * * Eng. p. 243. greater loose stones , or rough P●bbles in the primitive Earth . So that if they had not Instruments of Iron , the Men of that Age , could never have compassed the Works aforesaid . Yet all such Instruments are positively excluded by the Theory , in these words , † † Neque essent olim qu●e adbellum spectant — instrumenta — neque quae ad aedificia . In Prasfat . ad Lib. 2. Nor were there of old , Instruments belonging to War or BVILDINGS . Nor need we wonder there should not , when there were no Materials whereof they could be made . Nor could there be such Materials , when the World afforded neither Mines nor Metals . Nor could the World afford either of them , when it was not possible the Earth should yield them . And that it was not possible for the Earth to yield them , the Theory again does implicitly affirm where it says that the first World was * * Totus ille mundus artificialis , & apparatus rerum non natarum sed factarum . lb. wholly artificial , and that the furniture or provision of things which it had , was not of such as were bred , but of such as were made .

But the worst is still behind . Tubal-Cain , as Heaven assures us , was an † † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , acuens , i. e. acutè ●rudiens . Instructer of every Artificer in Brass and Iron , Gen. 4. 22. Yet the Theorist professeth ( and that in the second publication of his Hypothesis , after he had time to consider well ) * * Pag. 244. as for subterraneous things , Metals and Minerals , I believe they had none in the first Earth : and the happier they ; no Gold , nor Silver , nor Courser Metalls . But then how Tubal-Cain could learn his Trade himself , and teach it unto others ; must be a Riddle too hard for Oedipus to untie . Or else , which is the very truth , this Assertion of the Theory must be notoriously false ; and not only ●latly , but loudly contradictory to the most express Word of the Infallible GOD.

This alone ( should all that has been said besides fail ) is enough to blow up , and finally to explode this New Hypothesis of the Earth's Formation : I mean , as it shews its great incongruity not only to Scripture , but also to Philosophy . For had the Earth been originally framed , as that teacheth it was ; then grant there could have been a Metallic Region in that part of it under the Water ; yet that Metals , or Matter for any one of them , should ever have ascended through the Abyss , into the upper Crust of the First Earth ; would have been utterly impossible . And therefore that egregious Philosopher Des-Cartes makes this the reason why Metals are not found in all places of the Earth ; quia per aquas evehi non possunt ; because they cannot be carried or drawn up through the subterraneous Waters . Princ. part . 4. §. 73.

CHAP. XI . 1. That there were open Seas before the Flood , made evident from Scripture . 2. Such Seas necessary then as Receptacles for Great Fishes . 3. The Abyss being no fit place for them . 4. A farther Confirmation of open Seas . 5. An Objection against them , answered . 6. Another Objection answered . 7. A Third answered .

1. HE that from the Clifts about it , or in sailing through it , beholds and contemplates the Watry Ocean : That views it ( so far as eyes and thoughts can reach ) in the stateliness of its Depth and wide Expansion : That considers what vast and numberless Rivers it continually drinks up , and yet is never the fuller for all these Accessions : How far it extends its ceruleous Arms , and how much it disgorges at Millions of Mouths , and yet is never the emptier for all its profusions : That sees its incessant and unwearied Motions , and how it ebbs and flows with haughty and incontrollable Reciprocations : That observes how it surges with every Wind , and surlily swells upon every Storm ; and lifting up tumid scornful Waves , foams as angry at its Disturbance : That marks how it frets and rages in a Tempest , and rolls it self up into liquid Mountains , as if it thr●atned to mingle Floods with the Clouds , or in a pang of Indignation to qu●nch the Stars , or wash down those Lights hanged out by Heaven . He that gazeth on the spatious Seas , or revolves such thoughts as these of it in his mind , would be amazed to think that so immense an Element was once lockt up in a Vault under Ground , and wonder where the Earth should have Cellerage to hold it . He would scarce believe , that so proud , and strong , and furious a Monster , could be kept in Chains ; or was ever so tame as to be coop'd up contentedly in a subterraneous Cave . He would hardly be perswaded , that it could be made to hide its head in an hole beneath ; and to lie quiet and still in a nightsom Dungeon where for many Ages it never saw the Sun .

But how odd and unco●th soever it may seem , yet thus it was , says this Hypothesis . The same Primary Assertion of it , that says , The Exterior face of the first Earth , was smooth and uniform , without Mountains ; says also , it was without a Sea . All that prodigious Mass of Waters , which Imagination ( as comprehensive as it is ) knows not well how to measure , was once shut up in an invisible Cell ; and being clapt under Hatches , lay incognito as long as the first World stood . Not a Drop of it appeared all that while , but what strained forth by evaporation ; or transpired through the Pores of the thick skin'd Earth , when by the heat of the Sun it was put into a sweat . As for the main Body of the Waters , they lurked and hid themselves in a secret Gro●●o ; nor could they be brought to quit their latent Dwellings , or to look forth of their close and dark Retirements ; till the Roof of their Lodgings f●ll in upon them , and justled them out of their Mansions , to make room for it self .

But against this , there lies the usual Exception ; namely , That it fights with the Holy Scripture . For that informs us , That when GOD made Adam , he gave him Dominion over the fish of the Sea . But according to this Assertion of the Theory , Adam never saw the Sea , nor one Fish in it , all his life long , though it lasted well nigh a thousand Years : and so , impossible it was , that he should have or exercise such a Dominion .

And it is farther considerable , That Adam's Dominion over the Sea , was not only granted him by Patent from Heaven : but moreover was part of GOD's Image which was stamped on him . Whereinsoever the whole did consist , this , I say , seems to have been part of the Impress . For GOD said , Let us make Man in our Image , after our likeness , and let him have dominion ●ver the fish of the sea , Gen. 1. 26. And so , to shut up the Sea within the Earth till the Flood , is to deny to Men a part of that Empire , wherewith their Maker was pleased to invest them ; and to deprive them of a piece of his glorious Image which he put upon them . For none could share fully in the one or the other ; but they who lived after the general Deluge .

If it be said , That Men at length were made Lords of the Seas ( as soon , that is , as they were open ) and had power over the Fish therein ; and so the word spoken by their Creator , was sufficiently verified ; and the Prerogative promised , amply conferred : I answer ,

First , The Divine Word was never made good to Adam , nor was that high Prerogative bestowed on him . Yet he being the Head of Mankind , had reason to be instated in all the Privileges of Humane Nature , which GOD annexed to it , or settled upon it , as such .

Secondly , Adam's Off-spring ( as many as lived and died before the ●lood ) did no more partake of this Priviledge , than he himself .

Thirdly , The Rule or Dominion over Seas and Fish , intended for Adam and his Posterity ; was immediately conveyed to them . Even at the same time that Dominion was given to them , over Fowle , and Cattle , and Creeping things . And therefore we find it transferred by the same Act , and in the very same form of Donation . Only Dominion over the Sea was First mentioned ; which is no sign that it was Last to be attained . The Royal Charter , by which they claim and hold the Prerogative , testifies as much : it runs as followeth , And GOD said , Let us make man in our image , after our likeness : and let them have dominion over the fish of the Sea , and over the fowl of the air , and over the cattle , and over all the earth , and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth , Gen. 1. 26. And again ver. 28. have dominion over the fish of the sea , and over the fowl of the air , and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth . So that admit nothing of GOD's Similitude imprinted upon Man , did consist in this Dominion ; yet let any judge , whether GOD did not intend hereby to pass unto Men , as full a Dominion over the Fish ; as over other Creatures . As also whether they were presently to have and exercise this Dominion ; or to be suspended from it for above sixteen hundred Years . That they had Dominion over the Fowl , and over the Cattle , and over the Creeping things ; from the beginning ; I dare say the Theorist himself will not deny . And how then can he bar them from it over the Fish till after the Flood ? especially it being the first thing in order in the Sacred Grant . Which Clause , had they been kept from the benefit of it so long ; would not only have been quite eluded , but miserably inverted . For then ins●ead of Mankind●s having Dominion over the Sea ; that would have had Dominion , and a most Tyrannical one too , over them . Insomuch that the very first time they should have seen it , it would have drowned them all , even a whole World of them , save eight Persons .

2. And that there should be open Seas even from the Creation ; seems very necessary upon the Fishes account . For when GOD gave them the Blessing of Multiplication ( endued them , that is , with Appetite of Generation , and Power of Propagating their kinds respectively ) he commanded them to fill ( not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Deep , or Abyss , but ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Waters in the SEAS . And therefore Seas there must be in the beginning of things ; else Fishes could not have replenish'd them with their Breed . And indeed some kind of Fishes there were , that could be no where conveniently , but in Seas ; as being too big for Rivers . For on the same day that other Fishes were made , GOD created huge Whales also ; passing the same Benediction upon them , as he did upon those . I confess , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , does signifie other Creatures , as well as Whales : but the word , denoting them amongst the rest , that will be enough for our purpose . For Animals they were of so vast Dimensions , that where could they harbour but in spacious Seas ?

* * De Ani●al . l. 9. c. 49. Aelian reckons up several sorts of them : as the Leo , Libella , Pardalis , Physalus , Pristes , and Maltha . Which last he calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a Creature hard to be conquered . To which he adds the Aries , most mischievous and dangerous to be seen . For when he appears a far off , he troubles the Sea , and makes it tempestuous . But then he notes withal , that these Fishes come not near to Shores or Shallows ; but keep constantly in the Deeps . And the same * * Ibid. l. 17. c. 6. Author remembers , that Theocles speaks of Whales 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , bigger than Galleys of three banks of Oars on a side . And that Onesicritus and Orthagoras wrote of Whales about India , half a Furlong long , and of proportionable breadth ; and so very strong , that oftentimes , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , when they puffed with their Snouts , they would spout up the Water at such a rate ; that the unexperienced would take the Seas to be tossed with Whirl-winds . Nor need we wonder at the excessive size of these Whales , when Pliny † † Nat. Hist , l. 32. c. 1. gives account , that King Iuba ( in Books sent to Claudius Caesar , touching the History of Arabia ) makes mention of some that were six hundred Feet long , and three hundred and sixty , broad . And the same Pliny speaks of Balaenae in the Indian Ocean , as long as four Acres of Ground . Mercator also in his Description of Island , besides other huge Fishes , tells of the Royder , and hundred and thirty Ells long . And of a great kind of Whale seldom seen , like an Island , for magnitude , rather than a Fish . As also of the Stantus Valur , which , when it shows it self , seems an Island , for bigness , and overturns Ships with its Fins .

Now where could Fishes of such prodigious greatness , move and multiply , but in vast and open Seas ? * * Job 7. ●2 . Am I a Sea , or a Whale ? said Iob. He put them together , as having special Relation to one another . And truly if in the beginning , there were such monstrous Whales , there must be Seas answerable to them . And that the Whales at first created , were as large as any , we need not question . For as it became the ALMIGHTY to send forth them in their full perfection , as well as other Creatures : so to convince us that he did so , he bestowed the Epithet , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , upon them , calling them , GREAT Whales , Gen. 1. 21. So that could there have been Rivers , or Lakes in the first Earth sutable to other Fishes ; yet these mighty ones would have been too big for them .

3. What remains therefore , but that the only place of aboad which ( according to this new Hypothesis ) can be allowed these Bulky Creatures ( though it does not allot it to them ) must be the subterraneous Abyss ? And then the Waters in that Abyss ( how improperly soever ) must be the Waters in the Seas , wherein they were to live and multiply , according to the Divine Blessing and appointment .

But that Abyss ( though of a meet capaciousness ) could by no means have been a fit Dwelling for them , upon several accounts . For ,

First , It would have been a place exceeding Dark , full of perpetual and blackest Midnight . Neither Sun , nor Moon , nor Stars , could ever have lookt into it ; or darted so much as one bright Beam into the Pitchy Recesses of it . So that besides the loss they would have been at for P●ey , how could they have seen to direct their Motions ? having no manner of Light at any time to guide them ? So that upon occasion , they must have r●n at tilt upon one another ; and being inclosed between two Earths , would have been in danger of stranding themselves both above and below .

Secondly , It would have been a place as close , as it was dark . And therefore what shift should they have made for Air ? I think I may say for Breath . For as for Whales and other Fishes that have Lungs ; † † Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 7. Pliny says , It is fully resolved by all Writers , that they breathe . And his Opinion it is , That all Water-creatures do the same , after their manner . In proof of which , he offers several Arguments not to be despised . As their Panting , Yawning , Hearing , Smelling , &c. To which add their Dying upon being frozen up for any time . Or if they be alive , their greedy flying to any little hole made in the Ice , whereat the Air enters . But in the Abyss they could have had neither Air nor Breath ; and so for lack of the same , must all have been smothered .

Lastly , It would have been a place as Cold , as it was dark and close . For the same Cover of Earth ( of unknown thickness ) that would have hindred Light and Air from piercing into the Abyss ; must have kept out the Suns cherishing and benign Warmth too . So that could they have struggled with , and overcome the two first Inconveniences ; yet here they would have met with a Third , insuperable . Could they have lived without Light and Breath ; yet they could not have multiplied without the Influence of Heaven . The want of that , would have chil'd and quench'd the desires of Procreation in them , and rendered them impotent that way . Thus , Winter , we see , is no season for Production of Fishes ; as being destitute of that quickning power and encouragement , which the Presence of the Sun affords .

4. Farther yet . That there were Seas in the Beginning , even on the Third Day ; we are taught , Gen. 1. 10. GOD called the dry land , Earth ; and the gathering together of the waters , called he , Seas . And why should they not be such Seas as we have now ? For we have no more grounds to think or say , That the Waters there mentioned , were an invisible , potential , or proleptic Sea ; than we have to imagine or affirm , that the dry Land there spoken of , was an invisible , potential , or proleptic Earth .

And that there were open Seas then , may be argued from the Waters we read of under the firmament , Gen. 1. 6 , 7. And GOD said , Let there be a firmament in the midst of the Waters , and let it divide the waters from the waters . And GOD made the firmament , and divided THE WATERS WHICH WERE VNDER THE FIRMAMENT , from the waters which were above the Firmament . But had there been none but River-waters in the first World , and not such an open and huge Collection of Waters , as we now see : the Firmament could not so properly have been said , to divide the waters from the waters . For then it must rather have been in the midst betwixt the Earth and the Waters ; and so must have divided the Earth from the Waters ; the Earth which was under the Firmament , from the Waters above it . For as for the River-waters , they would have been too inconsiderable , to have had the Partition made by the Firmament , predicated of them in exclusion of the Earth , or in preference to it . It would have been as if the KING should have said , Let a Wall be built betwixt the Thames and the Conduits of London , to part them ; without taking any notice at all of the City , which is infinitely more remarkable than the Conduits are .

But therefore the Theory presents us with a new Notion of the Firmament , and makes it to be quite another thing , than what it has always been said to be ; namely , That Cortex or Outward Region of Earth , spread and founded upon the Abyss . And so the Waters of the Abyss under that Earth , must be the Waters under the Firmament . I cite but two Paragraphs to this purpose . a a Primo intuitu facilè quis suspicari posset , hanc compagem exteriorem , quam Deus stabilivit super faciem Abyssi , intelligendam esse per illud Firmamentum , quod Deus dicitur stabiliisse inter aquas inferiores & superiores , Gen. 1. 6. & 7. Theor. p. 124. Any one at the first view might be able to guess , that this exterior frame which GOD establisht upon the Abyss , is to be understood by that Firmament , which GOD is said to have establisht between the Waters below and above , Gen. 1. 6. & 7. And again , b b Et quoad Firmamentum interaqueum insigne erat Phaenomenon telluris primigeniae , ve● potius ipse orbis primus habitabilis , qui gyravit undique & conclusit — Abyssum ; atque ita Aquas superiores ab inferioribus sejunxit . Ibid. pag. 254. As to the Firmament between the waters , it was a remarkable Phaenomenon of the first Earth , or rather the first habitable Orb it self , which every way encompassed and shut up the Abyss ; and so divided the Waters above , from those below .

But this truly is so far from giving any satisfaction , that it will rather bring the whole Hypothesis to confusion : I mean , while thus it runs against Scripture again , and that most directly and shamefully . For the ( Firmamentum interaqueum ) Firmament that divided the Waters ; was so far from being a Frame or an Orb of Earth , or the first habitable Earth , that ( as the DIVINEST SPIRIT tells us ) it was that wherein the Fowls were to fly , which yet were to fly above the Earth , Gen. 1. 20. Yea , in that very Verse it is said to be the Firmament of Heaven . And by GOD himself is stiled , Heaven ; GOD called the Firmament , Heaven , ver. 8. Even that very Firmament which divided the Waters ; as we learn from the two foregoing Verses . And therefore the waters under the Firmament , in the seventh Verse ; are said in the ninth Verse , to be the waters , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , under the Heavens . I confess , the Theorist twits us for understanding by the Firmament what we commonly do ; calling it an a a Ausim enim dicere quantum rerum Natura innotescit adhuc , Firmamentum Mosaicum prout Vulgo intelligitur esse prorsus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Ibid. Vnphilosophic thing . But I forbear to retort . It is enough to shew that the advantage lies so much on our side , and that the ingenious Philosopher is so utterly lost in his Notion .

And since to make the Earth before the Flood , to be this Firmament , is so impossible ; as being manifestly repugnant to the Truth of GOD : what remains but that it should be that diaphanous Expansum stretched out betwixt us and the Clouds ? which as it is constituted of Air chiefly ; so it is the place wherein Fowls do fly , according as Providence was pleased to appoint . And to seal up this for a certain truth , it is known that the Hebrews have no other word whereby to express , Air , but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heaven , or Firmament . Only whereas this Aereous Expansion extends from hence to the cloudy Regions ( where are the Wates above the Firmament ; and therefore are called * * Psal. 148. 4. Waters , above the Heavens ) we must note that there is another Firmament mention'd by Moses . I mean that Expanse of indefinite vastness , wherein the Celestial Lights are fixed : for as we read , Gen. 1. 17. GOD set them in the Firmament of Heaven .

But then this Aereous space we speak of , being the true Firmament ; this proves there were open Seas at first . Else ( as was said before ) this Firmament must have divided the Waters from the Earth ; whose surface ( bating a few Rivulets ) would have been entire under it : but could not so properly have divided the Waters above the Firmament , from the Waters under it ; because the Waters under the Firmament would have been in no united Body , and of no join'd or continuous Superficies ; but ( to grant what the Theory supposeth ) dispersed in Rivers running on the Earth , which would have been one huge unbroken Continent . Yea , and in a considerable Tract of Ground around this Earth , there would not have been so much as one Rill of Water neither ; even according to the Theory it self , allowing its Hydrography .

5. But here we meet with Opposition upon several Accounts . As first , if Open Seas were the Waters under the Firmament , in the primitive State of things ; then the Clouds must be the Waters above the Firmament : But against this it is objected thus : * * Theor. pag. 234. If nothing be understood by the Celestial Waters , or Waters above the Firmament , but the Clouds and the middle Region of the Air as it is at present : methinks that was no such eminent and remarkable thing , as to deserve a particular Commemoration by Moses , in his six days work . To which I take leave to answer , That the Clouds , how contemptible soever they may seem , are no whit unworthy to be specified or remembred by that famous Writer in his Cosmopoeia , or Story of the Worlds Creation . And this will appear if we rightly consider but Two things concerning them ; Their Dimensions , and their Vsefulness .

First , Look to their Dimensions . Who can tell what vast and mighty things they are ? To what length and breadth do they stretch out themselves ? and how do they cover whole Kingdoms at once with their shady Canopies ? And then they are of answerable thickness too . So that interposing betwixt the Sun and us , they oftentimes turn day into night almost , by intercepting his light . Which in the Holy Philosophy , as an act of Providence , is thus ascribed to GOD. With clouds he covereth the light , and commandeth it by that which cometh betwixt , Iob 36. 32. Sometimes they mount up and fly aloft , as if they forgat or disdain'd the meanness of their Origin , and scorn'd to be thought of earthly extraction . Sometimes again they sink and stoop so low , as if they repented of their former proud aspirings , and did remorseful humble Penance for their high presumption . And though I may not say they weep to expiate their arrogance , or kiss the Earth with bedewed Cheeks in token of their Penitence ; yet they often prostrate in the Dust , and sweep the very lowest grounds of all , with their misty foggy trains . One while they are spread thin and single over us ; another while they are doubled , trebled , and strangely pil'd up or whelm'd one upon another : or else built with Stories as it were , and made into several Concamerations . And therefore they are said to be , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His ( that is GOD's ) Chambers , Psal. 104. 3 , 13. Now , they look like Ridges of Hills in our Horizon : anon , like a Row or Chain of Rocks : and by and by they hang like pendulous Mountains , or swim like floating Islands in the Aiery Ocean . Here , they pour down abundance of Rain ; and there , as much Hail : in one place , they scatter Sleet ; in another , deep Snow , and that for many hundreds of Leagues together . To say nothing of those glorious things the Rain-bow , Parelia's , Paraselenes , &c. Thunder also is from the Clouds . And yet it is a thing so very considerable , that GOD himself calls it his VOICE , in the Psalms ; yea , his Mighty VOICE , and also his Glorious or Majestic VOICE . So much Power , and Glory , and Majesty is there in it , that it strikes awe and terror into the hearts of the best , as well as of the greatest . And certainly ( the righteous being bold as a Lion ) it was a greater sign of its Dreadfulness , that a good Man's Heart should tremble and be moved out of its place , at this VOICE of GOD's excellency , Iob 37. than that the Roman Emperor should run under his Bed .

Thus the Clouds appear to be strangely capacious Vessels , or Store-Houses rather of Meteor Provisions . And yet ( which is admirable ) when they are never so large , and never so thick ; never so full , and never so heavy ; and ( as one would think ) should load the Air with inconceivable gravitation : yet they do not fall down and crush us to pieces , or bury us alive under Mountains of Ice . No , they bear up as lightly , and drive on as swiftly through the yielding Sky , as if they had no kind of weightiness in them . And to whatsoever Philosophy may impute this ( as to their being always in Motion ; their being turgid with Vapours ; to the thickconsistency of the Air under them , or the like ) the thing is really and greatly to be wondered at . And therefore Pliny considering it , was struck with Admiration , and cry'd out as in a pang of rapture or surprize ; * * Nat. Hist. l. 31. c. 4. quid mirabilius aquis in coelo stantibus ? What is more wonderful than the Waters standing in the Air ? And well might he think it a marvellous Phaenomenon , when the Ballancings of the Clouds are said by the ALMIGHTY to be his own works ; and not only so , but the wondrous works of him , as he is perfect in knowledge , Job 37. 16. In which regard , the Etymology of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heavens , is not unfitly fetcht from , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to be astonish'd , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ Waters . Quòd stupendo modo aquae illic suspensae haereant : Because Waters hang there in an astonishing manner , says Buxtorf . But why then should they be thought so despicable by the Theorist , as to be unworthy of a particular commemoration by Moses ?

They cannot be so , if , in the Second place , we consider their Vsefulness . They are so far from being wholly Superfluous , or purely Ornamental things ; that they are highly beneficial or Vseful , Three ways . That is to say , For the Earth , For Mercy , and For Correction . The Distinction is * * Chap. 3. 7. 13. Iob's ; and therefore so authentic , that we need not scruple to go upon it .

First , They are Vseful for the Earth . As they contribute greatly to the Preservation of it ; to preserving it in a good and verdant State . If the same Great GOD whose Powerful Goodness brought the World into being , and fixt it in a Regular and Curious Order ; did not by a wise and gracious manutenency ( exerted chiefly in a well contrived Disposition and Concatenation of things , linkt to one another by a continued Chain of just Connexion and dependence ) hold them fast together ; they would soon shatter and dissolve into saddest Confusion . For though the Machin of the Universe , be as august , as it is immense ; yet were it not for the accurate Symmetry of its parts , so skilfully fitted and connected amongst themselves and for the mutual support which one piece derives and affords to another , by means of that necessary and elegant contexture , which runs through the whole habit or Compages thereof ; it would immediately fall asunder , and rush into an heap of irreparable Ruines . Its Motions in some places would flag and faulter ; and in others grown as much too fierce and violent : and so through unhappy deficiencies and redundancies of Motion ( that commonly change and destroy Nature ) post into innumerable Disorders and Intanglements ; and so become a most lamentably hampered thing , eternally devoid of all beauty and harmony .

And the very same would happen to the Earth in its Proportion . It is now a very goodly piece , and incomparably furnisht and adorned . There are few places in it but afford taking Prospects , or present the eye with such pretty Objects ; that if the Beholders be not too incurious , they may well be affected with them . Herbs , Flowers , Trees , Fruits , Springs , Brooks , Rivers , &c. with what variety , and in what abundance does it send forth ? But yet let the Clouds we speak of , with-hold their moisture but a few years ; and what a rueful change would then appear ? The choicest Grounds which now swell with Plenty , and luxuriate with fatness and pleasing Gayeties ; would be miserably exhausted , and their tempting amoenities turned into horridness . They would be quite devested of their florid attire , and of all their rich and gorgeous habiliments . Yea , not only their wanton gawdy Dresses , but even their coarsest and most ordinary Cloaths would be ●indg'd off their Backs : and being stript of their decent necessary Garments , would have nothing le●t to cover their nakedness .

We live in an Island , where ( according to St. Peter's phrase ) the Earth stands in the Waters and out of the Waters , more than in other places . Yet , as much Water as we have about us , should the Clouds be unkind , and deny us their effusio●s ; to what grievous straits should we soon be reduced ? We may justly conclude so , from what has happen'd by some short Droughts amongst us ; the effects of which are found upon Record in our English Chronicles . And if a little dry weather be intolerable to us , who dwell so near the Seas , and have Neptune's Territories round about us ; how extreamly pernicious must lasting Droughts be , to higher or more In-land Situations ?

But therefore the First Vse of the Clouds , is to keep the Earth in a Flourishing Condition . To temper the immoderate heat of the Sun , and to asswage his scorching fury . To moisten the Air , and keep it cool ; and to cool the Earth by keeping it moist . That so once in a year at least it might put on its bravery , and be deckt and array'd in its prideless Gallantry ; the Image of its native finery , and those higher glories , wherewith at first it was better beautified and imbellisht . And therefore when GOD brings the Clouds over it , to perform their work of natural Distillation ; He is said to do it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , for hiz Earth ; in the quoted Text. Because the Earth is His , and because it might continue to be like his ; that is , Comely and Graceful . Whereas if Clouds by their Waters should not refresh it , in a short time it would scarce be fit to be owned for GOD's Earth . It would be so fear and bare , and barren and desolate ; that it would hardly look like a piece of His Workmanship . Yea , so parched would it be , and so dry would it grow , and such heats would it conceive from the inflaming Sun ; that it would be forced to anticipate its final Destiny , by burning , in good measure , before the Conflagration .

Secondly , The Clouds are Vseful for Mercy . They do not keep the Earth from Desolation , and help to maintain it in a Condition good and flourishing , upon its own account only , but upon ours also . That so we may be fed , and cloathed , and furnished , with its valuable Products , and the fruits of its increase . The Psalmist ( if we would read this in Holy Stile ) expresses it thus : † † Psal. 65. 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14. Thou visitest the earth and blessest it , Thou makest it very plenteous . Thou waterest her furrows , Thou sendest rain into the little valleys thereof ; Thou makest it soft with the drops of rain , and blessest the increase of it . thou crownest the year with thy goodness , and thy clouds drop fatness . They shall drop upon the dwellings of the wilderness , and the little hills shall rejoice on every side . The folds shall be full of sheep , the valleys also shall stand so thick with corn , that they shall laugh and sing . And in another place . * * Psal. 104. 13 , 14 , 15. He watereth the hills from above , the earth is filled with the fruit of thy works . He bringeth forth grass for the cattle , and green herb for the service of man . That he may bring food out of the earth , and wine that maketh glad the heart of man , and oyl to make him a chearful countenance , and bread to strengthen man's heart .

But this is not all the mercy which showrs down from the Clouds . They drop an higher mercy on us still . I mean as they are an Argument , and a mighty Argument , against the black and cursed sin of Atheism . For being notable Instruments of Divine Providence , they so bear witness in a powerful manner to the existence of a GOD. And therefore when as great a Disputant as ever entered the Christian Schools ( except the adorable Master of them ) would have reasoned Men into an acknowledgment of the True GOD ; he argued from this very Topic , the Clouds ; or ( which is all one ) from the Rain they afforded . Yea , he told them plainly , That GOD himself made use of it as an Evidence , to prove and attest his own being . He left not himself without witness , in that he gave us Rain , Acts 14. 17. And truly he that shall consider all the Phaenomena's of this Meteor , and trace it along from its Rise or Generation , to its fall and profitable effects upon the Earth ; will find it of singular force to evince a DEITY .

As for the Causes , Nature , and Qualities of Rain ; the way of its Production , the manner of its Distillation , &c. the Apostle urged them not : he knew those things were too high for the Men of Lystra . But then he pressed them with the thing another way , more suitable to their Capacity ; namely , As Rain was a means of the Earth's being fruitful . He gave us Rains and fruitful seasons . Pursue it but on this part , and how powerful an Argument or Testimony will it be , of the Existence of a GOD ? I mean , as it will appear to be a wonderful Instrument , exactly sitted for its appointed work ; and as it manifests a strange Providential Contrivance , in adapting it , in point of congruity and ability , to be the excellent Cause of such signal Effects .

For suppose the most understanding Man , as to that concern , in the whole World ; had Woods and Nurseries , and Orchards and Gardens , and Fields and Pastures , to be watered : how would he chuse to have it done , so as it might be most for their , and consequently for his own advantage ? Why , in the same way we shall find it done by the Clouds , only better and indeed so much better , that it will be very hard , if not impossible , for Art to match it by any Invention . A certain Indication , that a more than ordinary or Humane Wisdom , is interessed in the Affair . That the Clouds were made , that is , and also are managed by a GOD ; whose Infinite Wisdom indu'd them with that Nature , and placed them in that Order , and put them in that capacity of serving us as they do . So incomparably , that is , as no wit of Man can mend their Method . For let the skilfullest , I say , chuse at what rate he would have his Grounds to be watered ; and then see if the Clouds commonly come not up to his Rules , and exceed them too in what is fit to be done .

First , We may be sure he would appoint the best kind of Water to be used . And what Water so fit for all sorts of Plants , as that which descends from the Clouds above ? For considering how it is raised by the exhalative influence of the Sun , it can have nothing of saltness , acrimony , or deadness in it ; nor yet of starving thinness nor coldness neither ; but must be as light , and unctuous and spirituous , as that Element , when simple , can well be ; and by vertue of its sutable qualities and consistency , be most proper for invigorating the Seminals of all things . And then being drawn up from all parts of the Earth almost ; as simple as it seems to be , there must needs be very great mixture in it . I mean , though it be all Water , yet it must be a Compound of all Waters as it were ; as being an extract of all sorts of moisture that the Earth affords in its several Regions . Whence it follows , that all sorts of Plants must find something in it ( it being originally in part derived perhaps from the Countries in which they grow ) highly agreeable to themselves ; as consisting of Particles fit to enter them , and easie to be turned into their substance . Which being suckt up by them , and drained by exquisite percolation through their fine digestive Pores ; immediately becomes Sap ( which is the Plantal Chyle or Blood ) for their nourishment and accretion .

Secondly , Without question he would have these Waterings seasonably performed . And here the Clouds are most kind to Vegetables again ; and by a regular method answer their necessities . For they yield both former and latter Rains . Such as may cherish them while they are young and make them grow ; and strengthen them as they grow , and carry them on to perfection . Whereas if all these Rains should fall at first , the tender Springals would come to nothing ; as being surfeited with too much moisture , and the principle of their Life irrecoverably chill'd , if not extinguisht . And if all should pour down upon them at last , the Showres would be to no purpose . For coming too late , they would be in vain : especially as to all Frugiferous things ; which being shrunk and stunted with immoderate exiccation , would be unable to yield their kindly Products .

Thirdly , We need not doubt but he would have his Grounds watered in a gentle manner . And this , I may say , the Clouds do unimitably . Sometimes with dewy Mists ; sometimes with greater , sometimes with lesser , commonly with soft and moderate Showres . Whereas should they discharge themselves in extravagant quantities ; they would wash up the weaker , and beat down the stronger Plants ; and by their too free and impetuous Defluxions , be extreamly injurious , if not fatal to both .

And can we think that what we have noted already , should be done by meer accident ? That the Regions above , which need them not , but are rather clogged and cumbred with them ; should draw up such plenty of Waters for us , who cannot possibly subsist without them : and then send them down again of so elaborate a nature , at so seasonable times , and in so sutable measures : and all by casual Oeconomy , and the conduct of blind and incertain Chance ?

Fourthly , We may ground upon it that he would have these Waterings to be constant . Not only for two or three Months , or some few years ; but so long as he lives at least , to name no longer period . Nor are the Clouds deficient in this circumstance neither . For as they have watered the Earth through all ages past , so they will do the same indefatigably for the future , even till the final Consummation of all things . And though no one Sett of Clouds can ever be fixed or permanent , they being perpetually flitting and volant ; yet as some fly from us , others arise ; and so from new successions of them , we have supplys of fresh Rain . And therefore albeit they are passant things , they leave very good and lasting effects of their transient fugitive presence with us . And here the hand of Providence is visible again . For put case that things by a fortuitous hit , had fallen luckily at first into that convenient posture for Rain , in which now they stand ( which would be most surprising to think ; ) yet that then they should persist of themselves , so long , and steddily , and inalterably in the same ; is not to be imagined . No , where the Wheel of Order runs on in so even , and withal in so laudable and holding a Course ; 't is a plain case that its Motions were derived from the impulse of Heaven ; and are maintained by the help of a Divine Influence , or Providential Direction and Concurrence .

Fifthly , We may reasonably conclude , that he would appoint things to be watered intermittingly . Lest too much driness together , should injure them on the one side ; or too much moisture prejudice or bane them on the other . Nor are the Clouds faulty in this piece of service , but perform it as it were , with a great deal of care and seeming Officiousness . For when they have poured out their kindness liberally on the Earth , they usually stop up their Bottles again ; and by suspending their effusions promote its fruitfulness ; as well as by sending them down upon it . For as Rains that are new and fresh from above , are most nourishing to Vegetables ; so their intermissive descents make them to be more nutritive still . For then having drunk up and digested those that are past ; they become more receptive of them that succeed . And so sucking in what is fit for their aliment with the more greediness ; they disperse and concoct it with the more ease and speed .

And truly in the alternate vicissitudes of wet and dry weather , there is something , at times , most remarkably Providential . For when we have had sore and tedious Rains , for that very reason they should hold and increase ; because Nature is prepared and inabled thereunto by abundance of Vapours . And when we have had a long and excessive drought , for the same reason it should continue ; because Nature is sitted to carry it on ; the parched ground affording fewer Exhalations , and there being a scarcity of matter out of which Rains should be made . Yet ( as experience proves ) it happens not thus , but on the contrary . For when Nature's Disposition in the case , does sensibly stand one way ; she is turned about , and as it were against her seeming and set Inclinations , led into another . Which whispers and suggests to the thinking Man , that she is certainly directed by an hand from above , and in these preterintentional and undesigned changes ( as we may call them ) is over-ruled by a power superior to her own ; and also joined with such Wisdom , as orders her much better than she could do her self .

Lastly , We may presume that this Person would certainly have all his Grounds to be watered . That the one might be fruitful as well as the other , and all of them recompence the impartial care , with a general Fructification . And here the Clouds are not at all defective , but act their part in this necessary scene , most unexceptionably . For they spread out their melting dripping Wings even far and near ; and oblige the whole Earth where it needs , ( not to say where it has no want ) with their most free and universal Disbursements . And truly were it not for their Waters so copiously shed down on the Earth , how miserable would the Condition of Mankind be ? But then when things are so well and happily ordered ; as that a blessing so needful , is made so general ; and is every where so common and easie to be had : what a bright beam of Conviction , as to the Being of a DEITY , darts forth and shines down from the blackest Clouds ? For who but the Great GOD could have stretcht out such Fountains in the Spatious Skies ; and for the needs of Men throughout the World , have invented so adequate and incomparable Supplies ?

Nor indeed are they Instruments of Common mercy only ; but vehicles oft times of Special secular Blessing and Prosperity , to some Persons . So it appears by Eliphaz's Advertisement ; who tells us , That GOD giveth rain upon the earth , and s●ndeth waters upon the fields ; to set up on high those that be low , Iob 5. 10 , 11.

Thus we have seen how beneficial Rain from the Clouds is , as to the Earth . In which respect when GOD pleases to send it , 't is said to come , for HIS Earth ; as above noted . We have also seen how beneficial it is to Men , in watering their Possessions : and that in so singular a way , as the wisest could never have projected a better . In which regard it is said to come , for mercy . And so it does most signally , not only as it fills Men with Temporal good things for the use of their Bodies : but moreover as it is , or may be , a means of Spiritual Mercy to their Souls ; in ministring an Universal Argument to Mankind , of the greatest Truth , and most necessary to be believed , of any in the World .

But then in the Third place ( to pursue and fill up the Holy Man's Distinction ) it is Vseful , for Correction . As GOD is infinitely Good in Himself ; so He alone is able to bring good out of evil . That 's an Extract which none but the ALMIGHTY by a most Divine . Chymistry peculiar to his MAJESTY , is able to make . And this he frequently does for those , in whose pure Affections he dwells and rules . All things work together for good to them that love GOD , Rom. 8. 28. But then there is another piece of his Character as true ; That * * Isai. 66. 6. He will render recompence to his enemies , and † † Exod. 20. 5. visit iniquities upon them that hate him . And as he has numberless ways of doing this ; so he often effects it by changing things that are of necessary use , into fatal influence . Whereby he makes what is na●urally good for Men ; to be unto them judicially an * * Psal. 69. 23. occasion of falling . Most evident is this in the Instance of Rain . So needful is it , that we cannot subsist without it . Yet this very thing , GOD turns , when he pleases , into an heavy Rod ; and by making it unseasonable or else excessive , chasteneth his People sorely with it . Yea , he imploys it not only as a Rod to chastise his Servants ; but sometimes as a Sword to cut off his Adversaries ; and an Instrument of Vengeance to sweep away the ungodly in whole sholes or multitudes . This was never so tragically apparent , as in Noah's Flood ; when a great part of that generall destructive , but deserved Blow , which fell upon Mankind , was given by this Weapon . For by the Waters of Rain in conjunction with other Waters , a period was put to the first sinful World , by a very just , though lamentable Catastrophe .

And when the Clouds and their Rains , or the waters above the firmament , were so very considerable in themselves ; and withal so very useful in way of Preservation to the Earth ; and in way of Mercy and Iudgment , as reaching out GOD's favour and severity to the World : Why should they not be worthy , and highly worthy , of Moses's notice in his Divine Cosmology ? The Holy Psalmist ( who we are sure spake by the same Spirit that Moses did ) looks upon the Clouds as mighty eminent and remarkable things . For as he makes them to be GOD's Chariot , Psal. 104. 3. So in another place , he makes them notable Evidences of his Magnificence and Power ; † † Psal. 68. 34. His worship and strength is in the clouds .

6. But against the Existence of open Seas at first , it is farther objected , thus , a a Nec aquae congregantur omnes in eundem locum ; nam praeter multos lacus salsos , & aliquos forsan sinus Maris olim impervios , Mare Caspium quod ejusdem est originis & antiquitatis cum magno Oceano , ab eodem longe disjunctum est . Theor. pag. 123. Nor are the Waters gathered all into the same place ; for besides many salt Lakes , and some gulfs of the Sea perhaps heretofore impervious , the Caspian Sea , which is of the same origin and antiquity with the great Ocean , is far separate from it .

To take off which , I answer ; That Moses does not say , Let ALL the Waters be gathered into one place . Though if he had , the word ALL , in Scripture , is usually taken in a restrained sense , to signifie but a Major part : and so here it might have meant but the greater quantity of Waters . To give Proof of this out of the Writings of Moses . He tells us , * * Gen. 50. 7. That ALL the servants of Pharaoh went up with Joseph to bury his Father . Yet we cannot think that the Court was quite empty at that time , and the King left wholly without Attendants . And therefore , ALL , there , must denote but a great many . So he delivered it as a Law to Israel ; † † Deut. 16. 16. Three times in a year shall ALL thy males appear before the LORD thy GOD , in the place which he shall chuse . And yet we know that some of them at those times must be decrepit , and some sick , and some unclean ; and so unable to take such a Journey , and unfit to make such an appearance . And therefore by , ALL , here , can be intended but , many , neither ; even as many as were capable of the performance , or qualified for it . And thus indeed ALL the Waters were gathered into one place . That is , the great quantity or main Body of them was so : as they were incorporate and united in the Ocean . Which whereever it diffuseth and insinuateth it self about the Earth , is but one continued piece of Water , and so fills one continued space with its huge moles . I speak of a partial , and sometimes a secret continuity ; for it is not always open , visible , and entire . And that the Caspian Sea is a part of the great Sea , and holds a secret commerce with it under ground ( as the dead Sea , or Lake Asphaltites , is presumed to do with the Mediterranean ) is clear from hence ; that it receives such an abundance of Waters into it self , and swells not with them . For though the Stream of Volga ( which is thought to afford Waters enough in a Years time to drown the whole Earth ) continually discharges it self into the Caspian Sea ; it is never the fuller . And therefore the Theory need not have instanced in that Sea as a distinct and separate Sea by it self . Especially when it allows it to * * Per ductus subterraneos cum Ocea●● communic ●ar 〈◊〉 . Pag. 62. have communication with the Ocean by Subterraneous passages ; whereby it is really , though not visibly joined to it , and in some sense , but one with it . And then as for other Gulfs and Lakes , that are distinct as to themselves , and divided from the Ocean ; how inconsiderable are they in proportion to it ? But as so many Buckets-full to a large Pool . Yet should the Waters run out of some huge Pool , and settle together elsewhere ; as it might truly be said of them then , that they are gathered together into one place , though many Buckets-full should lodge in Plashes by the way : so the Waters in general , may rightly be affirmed by Mases , to be gathered together into one place ; though a Multitude of small Receptacles , and the Caspian , larger than the rest , remain apart .

7. But a Third Objection is yet to be removed ( for I am willing to encounter all that are Material ) which is this . If the Earth had Open Seas at first , dividing it into Continents and Islands , and interlacing and environing them , as now they do ; how could the several parts thereof , so separate , be peopled with Men and stockt with Beasts ? Or to use the words of the Theory , a a Propagatio & traductio hominum & animalium , in tot mundos separatos , difficilis esset explicatu . Ibid. pag. 123. The propagating or conveying of Men and Animals into so many separate Worlds , would be difficult to explain . I answer ,

First , It is as difficult to make out how the Earth should be peopled before the Flood , though the surface of it had been entire . I mean upon account of that Torrid Zone which the Theory supposeth to have been in it .

Secondly , Islands at first might be nothing so numerous as they are since . But as many of them were founded , as I may say , after the Earth ; so many of them may be of later date than the Deluge . Which factitious or upstart Isles came into being Three ways .

Some were produced of an abundance of Filth , rolling down the Streams of Rivers , and running into the Sea and settling there . So were the Echinades , spoken of before . Concerning whose Production therefore , Ovid makes the River out of which they came , to speak thus , — Fluctus nosterque marisque Continuam deduxit humum , pariterque revellit In totidem mediis ( quòd cernis ) Echinadas , undis .

Others were thrust up in some Seas , and appeared on a sudden . Of this sort was Rhodos in the Carpathian Sea , an hundred and twenty Miles in compass ; one of the ancient Academies of the Roman Monarchy . Delos , in the Archipelago , one of the Fifty three Cy●lades . Remarkable for the Temple of Apollo ; for most excellent Brass ; and for the Fountain Inopus , which ( as * * Nat. Hist. lib. 2. cap. 103. Pliny affirms ) rises and falls as the Nile does , and at the same times with it . Alone , hard by Cyzicum , and betwen Lebedus and Teon , Two Cities of Ionia . Anaphe , one of the Twelve Sporades ( I think ) or at least not far off them , as lying near to Melos , one of the chief of them . Thera , called also Calliste , where Callimachus the Poet was born , and whence they went who built Cyrene . It appeared first , in the fourth year of the hundred and thirty fifth Olympiad , as † † Ibid. l. 2. cap. 87. l. 4. c. 12. Pliny relates ; and from it was the Ilet Therasia broken off . Hiera , the same with Automate , which appeared about an hundred and thirty years after : even in our time ( says the same Pliny ) upon the Eighth day before the Ides of July , when M. Junius Syllanus , and Lucius Balbus were Consuls .

Other Islands again have been made by Disjunction from the Main-land . As some have been joined to Continents and become one with them ; as Aethusa in the Lybian Sea , to Mundus ; Zephyria , to Halicarnassus in Caria ; Narthecusa , to Parthenius , a Promontory of Arcadla ; Hybanda , to Ionia , and the like : so some on the contrary have been ravished or rent away from the firm Land . Thus Prochyta an Island in the Tuscan Sea , was raised not far from P●●●oli : While a great Mountain in Inarime , falling by an Earthquake , poured forth that abundance of Earth of which it was composed . And so it carries the account of its Original in its a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . name ; as b b Quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Delos also above mentioned does . Cyprus , a noted Island in the Mediterranean , was divided from Syria , says Pliny ; whence it is now distant at least an hundred Miles . Sicily , from Italy . Euboea , from Boeotia . Besbycus , from Bithynia . And as some have thought , Britain , from France . And truly if Syria , and Cyprus , which are now so remote from one another , were once united ; this makes it the more probable , that England and France might ( time out of mind ) have been joined by an Isthmus or neck of Land .

Thirdly , It may be answered , That as Islands at first were not so numerous ; so the bigger of them might not lie so far off from Continents as now they do : the Earth being since much eaten away by Waters , and so the distance betwixt them made much wider . Or if they did lie so far from the Main-land , yet the Inhabitants of such Lands , might advance into the distant Isles , by the help of some rude kind of Boats made of hollow Trees , or the like . Or if any were such out-liers , as that they did not designedly make towards them , or accidentally hit upon them ; we may without inconvenience , grant them never to have been inhabited . And so we read of that African Island , St. Thomas , in the A●lantic Ocean , under the Aequinoctial ; that at its first discovery ( though since the Flood ) it was unpeopled , and had nothing in it but Woods .

Lastly , I answer , As to the grand Continents of the Earth ; Europe , Africa , and Asia ( which are three of them ) have known Inlets by Lands , into one another . And for ought we can tell , there may be Inlets out of Asia into America , in the Northern parts of them . But however we are sure it is but a narrow Strait , that separates the Kingdom of Anian from Tartary . And who can say but that before the Flood ( and perhaps for a good while after it ) the●● might be some Neck of Land coupling both together , and affording an easie Passage out of the one into the other ; which may be since washt down or swallowed up ? For as the Earth does sometimes gain strangely upon the Water ( witness the City of Antioch ( to say nothing of Aegypt , the Bay of Ambrasia , the Flats of Teuthrania , and the now Meadowy level where Maeander runs , once belonging to Neptune's Empire ) which at first , says * * Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 27. Pliny , stood upon the Sea coast , but even in his time became an hundred and twenty five Miles distant from it : ) so the Sea otherwhiles prevailes as much against the Land . Thus , the Atlantis , a vast Continent , bigger than Libya and all Asia , ( says † † In Timaeo . Plato ) by a terrible Earthquake , lasting a day and a night , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , sunk down into the Sea and disappeared . And he that would see what the Mediterranean has devoured , let him but read the short Ninetieth Chapter of the Second Book of Pliny's Natural History : where he gives a brief Account of what incroachments it has made in Acarnania , Achaia , in the Propontis , Pontus , &c. And when the Sea has been thus usurping upon the Land , and has made violent breaches in several places ; why might it not make a passage for its Waters between Tartary and Anian , though there was none at first ? or why might not the ground sink there by an Earthquake , or the like ?

But grant the Streight we speak of , to have been ever the same that now it is : yet it will not be over difficult then neither , to conceive how America should come to be inhabited . As for Quivira , which lies right against China , and joines to Anian ; ●hat that was peopled out of Tartary , is not to be doubted . The course of Life which the Americans were found to lead thereabouts , does fairly show it ; as being correspondent to that of the Tartarian Hordes , or Scythian Nomades . Only the Question will be , How the Tartars could swim over this Arm of the Sea ▪ as having no shipping . For the resolving of which , we need but consider ; that when the Spaniards grew acquainted with America , they found that the People upon the Coasts thereof , used little Boats made of the Trunks of Trees , hollowed ( not by Iron Instruments , because they had none ; but ) by fire . Now grant but the Tartars ( who dwelt upon the Coasts opposite to Anian ) to have used the like ; and how easily might they at times be accidentally hurried thither , in those sorry Sciphs , before they were aware ? and so begin the Plantation of the American World . And then do but yeild that the Inhabitants of Tartary before the Flood , were but as ingenious at making these Canoes , and as addicted to the use of them ; and it might then be peopled the same way . Though what better Conveniencies for Transportation , the Antediluvian Tartars ( as I may call them ) might have ; we cannot say . Nor can we hope ever certainly to understand , who were the Aborigines , or first Planters of the Post-diluvian Americans ; or how they came into that spatious Tract of Ground , that half of the World of unknown extent , called the West-Indies . For the Natives being Strangers to Learning , have no History amongst them , or Records of their own Antiquities , that can make any tollerable discovery of this nature . As for their coming to the place where they built Mexico , under the Conduct of Vitzliliputzli their GOD , who went before them in an Ark ( which account we have in the Story of the Mexican Kingdom , related out of their Memorials and Traditions ) it is so general and obscure ; that no clear knowledge of their Beginning can be gathered out of it . I will only note therefore that as to the peopling of America , Torniellus is of our Opinion . For he says , * * America vel nostro orbi Contineus est , aut ab eo non valde disjuncta , ad quam scaphis aut parvis ●avig●●s trajici possit . Anno Mund. 1931. n. 49. America is a Continent with our World , or not very much disjoined from it , to which there might be passages by Sciphs or little Boats .

CHAP. XII . 1. The Scripture's Silence touching the Rain-bow , before the Flood , does not argue its non-appearance till after it . 2. It s appearance from the beginning , no hindrance or diminution of its Federal Significancy . 3. But matter of congruence to GOD's Method of Proceeding in other Cases . 4. Clouds were extant before the Flood , and therefore the Rain-bow was so . 5. The Conclusion of this Chapter , relating to the Two foregoing ones also .

1. I Should now have passed directly to the next vital or primary Assertion of the Theory . But there being no fitter place to do it in , I shall here bestow one short Chapter upon the Rain-bow . For that also is made use of collaterally , to support the Hypothesis we dispute against . Concerning it , GOD expresseth himself thus , * * Gen. 9. 13 , 14. I do set my Bow in the Cloud , and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the Earth . And it shall come to pass , when I bring a cloud over the Earth , that the Bow shall be seen in the cloud . And because we heard nothing of it till now , 't is presumed that it never appeared before . But by the same reason we may as well conclude , That a Cloud was never seen before neither ; because here we find the first mention made of one . Which must needs be false , inasmuch as the Flood proceeded in great measure from violent Rains . And to suppose Rains without a Cloud , is the same absurdity , as to suppose Children without a Mother . And therefore our hearing nothing of the Rainbow , till the Flood was past ; is no good Argument that it was not , but that it was not significant , before . And it is most like that we had not heard of it at last in the Sacred Volume ( no more than we do of Comets , Eclipses , &c. ) i● it had not been turn'd into a Pledge of Mercy to us . And in this sense , as it was made a Symbol of the merciful Covenant ; GOD might say emphatically , I do set my bow in the Cloud , when he struck this Covenant with Noah . It was in the Cloud indeed before , but then it was only of Nature's setting there ; and so it was but a meer Cipher , or at least made no other Figure , but that of a bare Physical Meteor . But afterward when by Divine appointment , it became useful beyond its proper capacity , and never appeared without something in it more taking than its colours ; as being cloathed with a rare additional excellency , the new imposition of a preternatural Signality : then , and ever since it might more justly and peculiarly be said , to be set in the Cloud by GOD. For though it stands there still in a natural and ordinary way ; yet it serves to an extraordinary and supernatural end , and he it is that made it do so .

2. Nor would this significancy which the ALMIGHTY put upon it , be at all impeached by its existing from the Beginning . For though it had ap●●●red as commonly before the Deluge , as ever it did since ; it would not for that have been the less authentick or assuring token of GOD's Covenant , or of his sidelity in keeping the same . For its force that way , depended not upon the Nature of the thing ( applied to this symbolical use ) but upon Heavens Institution . So that if GOD had appointed the Sun to that use , he would have signified the same thing that the Bow does ; though as all must grant , the Bow is the most fit Emblem of the two ; and therefore it was chosen . For that never shows it self but in a Cloud , and with a Rain ; both which were instrumental to the great Inundation : and so serve most properly to mind us of it , and from thence to pass our thoughts to GOD's Promise , of securing the World from such another .

Were it yielded therefore , that there never was a Rainbow , till that Noah saw after the Flood ; what considerable Point would be gained as to GOD's Design in exhibiting of it ? What clearer Token would it have been of his Covenant ? What stronger support of Mens confidence in it ? the two principal Ends whereunto it was appointed . Why should we ( for instance ) that are now alive , be the more firmly perswaded of the Truth of GOD's Compact , or the more fully satisfied that he will surely stand to it ? Indeed if it had been a New Apparition ; by being so very fine and curious , it might have wrought prettily upon Noah's Phancy , and theirs who were with him . Especially it coming with such a Promise of Mercy , and finding them in the midst of such ga●tly ruines . But bating but this , that its Newness might sweetly affect its Beholders , making delightful and somewhat surprizing Impressions on their Minds , and raising in them little transports and wondrings ; what great benefit could result from it ? As to the Persons then in being , it would have been a most valid Ratification of the Divine Covenant , without its novity : as being turned into a Seal of an immutable Promise of Security against general Floods to come , made by that GOD who had justly delivered them , and that most miraculously , from one lately past . And as to after Generations , it must be all one to them , whether the Celestial bow was first exhibited since the Deluge , or before it . For as many as think aright concerning it , that it is an Effect of Natural Causes ; and that the rorid Cloud , the opposite Sun , and the Eye of the Spectator , being rightly disposed , so as to make due Refractions and Reflections of the Sun-beams at requisite Angles , it must as necessarily appear as fire must burn : they cannot discern any shadow of reason , why it should not as well assure them the World should be drowned no more , had it been extant ever since the Creation ; as if it had commenced its appearance at the drying up of the Flood . To be short ; whenever it appears , it is because it cannot do otherwise : but when it does appear , it betokens the Earth's preservation from drowning , meerly upon the account of GOD's Ordinance , that so it should do . And therefore it might be as good a Prognostic or Token of the Worlds indemnity from a second Flood , though it had appeared in all Ages before ; as if it had then shown it self first , when GOD was pleas'd to make it the Sign of his Covenant .

3. And indeed it is the way or method of Providence both in its Penal and Propitious Dispensations , to make known , and common , natural , and familiar things , Marks of his Displeasure , and Significations and Vehicles of its kindness and beneficence .

Thus , as to Punishment , it was a piece of the Serpet's Curse , that he should go upon his belly . Yet it does not appear that this Malediction deprived him of Legs , or that he and his Species ever went erect . So it was made part of the Womans Sentence , that her Husband should rule over her . Yet her Condition before , was a State of Subjection to him , as intimated to proceed from the order of her * * 1 Tim. 2. 13. Creation . So that what stands clearly imputed to her sin , and seems to be the plain Consequent of her Guilt , and the effect of her Doom ; was antecedent to the same , and the Lot of her Innocence . Only Circumstances were altered , and what was sweet and easie as Nature at first ; was unhappily changed into trouble and penance , in the issue of things .

And the like is observable in the Oeconomy of Mercy . I mean , in the very conduct of Religion it self , and that in the sublimest Mysteries thereof . For the Evangelical Sacraments were instituted in Water , Bread , and Wine , for sealing and ratifying a far nobler Covenant , than that betwixt GOD and the Patriarch Noah , extending to his Posterity , and all living Creatures . And yet these were common Elements , and of ordinary use at all times . Only positive Commands and Divine Institution improved them into means of Christian Proselytism , and Communion with the DEITY .

And this makes it the more probable , that the Rainbow was an usual Meteor . Because then GOD in giving it to the World in Confirmation of his Promise or Pact ; would have acted most consonantly to his other proceedings . Yea , even to his proceedings in the highest and holiest Solemnities of Religion ; of nearest intercourse with His MAJESTY , and so of greatest importance to Mankind . For there he has made the most common things , to be Signs and Mystical Deferents of himself , and his Favours , to all worthy Partakers of them .

But all such instances , says the Theory , fall short , and do not reach the case before us . * * Pag. 237. Read also pag. 236. For a sign confirmatory of a Promise , when there is something affirmed de futuro — must indispensably be something New . Otherwise it cannot have the Nature , Vertue , and influence of a Sign . And a little before , Such Signs — must be some new appearance , and must thereby induce us to believe the effect — otherwise the pretended Sign is a meer Cypher and superfluity .

To which I answer , As to Signs given by GOD , to confirm his Promises ; he has taken a Latitude to himself in chusing and appointing them . For ,

Sometimes he has made things new and strange to be Signs of this nature . Thus , his own Deafness and Dumbness , was to be a Sign to Zachariah , of his Promised Son . The Retrogradation of the Shadow on Ahaz's Dial , was to be a Sign to Hezekiah , of his promised Recovery . And the Fleece expos'd to the Dew , first wet , and then dry , was to be a Sign to Gideon , of his promised Victory . But then ,

Sometimes he has made things to be Signs , that on the other side are common and usual . Thus the Fruit of a Tree growing in Paradise , was made a Sign of Man's Immortality , if he continued Obedient : and therefore it was called The Tree of Life , say many of the Learned . And shooting with Bow and Arrows upon the ground ( than which nothing could be more ordinary ) was made a Sign to Ioash of his prevailing against the Syrians . And therefore when he shot , the Arrow was called The Arrow of the LORD's deliverance from Syria , 2 Kings 13. 17. Here was * * Piscat . in loc. sagitta significans & promittens salutem ; or , in the Theory's words , a sign confirmatory of a Promise , wherein there was something affirmed de futuro ; but it had nothing new or extraordinary in it ( the thing being most common and usual ) save only that GOD by his Prophet , intimated its significancy that way . But had it not therefore the nature , vertue , and influence of a Sign , whereby to induce the King to believe the effect ? Was it a pretended sign only , and a meer Cypher and Superfluity ? The like may be said of the Rainbow . It was no new appearance , but a Common Meteor usually seen in the first World . But being stamped by GOD with a signality that way ; it immediately put on the Nature , Virtue , and Influence of a confirmatory Sign ; and became able to induce Noah and his Posterity , to believe that the Promise of the Earth's Preservation from future drowning , shall certainly be performed ; according to the significancy wherewith it was marked , to ratifie that Promise .

And no wonder that things extant and common in the World , should be made confirmatory Signs of GOD's Promises ; when things transient and actually past long before ( and so not to be taken cog●oscence of but by remembrance ) and things that never did or were to exist till long after his Promises should be accomplisht ( and so as yet were no real things , and to be lookt at only with an eye of Faith ) have been made such Signs . Of the first sort was * * ● . Mat. 12. 39 , 40. the Sign of the Prophet Jonas . Whose being vomited up of the Whale , after three days continuance in its Belly ; was made a Sign of our SAVIOUR's rising from the dead , after his triduous abode in the Holy Sepulchre . Though Ionah was swallowed , and cast up by the Fish , near a thousand years before our LORD's interment and Resurrection . Of the latter sort was the miraculous Conception and Birth of the Messiah , which was made a Sign of safety promised to * * Isai. 7. 14. Ahaz , against Rezin and Pekah ; but was not brought to pass till above seven hundred and forty years after . Other instances of the same kind occur , Exod. 3. 12. Isai. 37. 30.

4. But we have a farther proof yet of the existence of the Rainbow before the Flood . And though it be but indirect and consequential , yet it may not want its weight . It is the existence of Clouds then . For if they were before the Deluge , as they are now ; there were all causes needful for the production of the Iris : which could not but frequently conspire or fall in with one another , so as to paint that beautiful thing in the Heavens . And that there were Clouds in the first World , has been proved already by the same Arguments that evince there was a Sea and Mountains : for they imply and necessarily infer the being of Clouds . The Flood also was made of Rains in a great measure ; and those Rains must descend from Clouds . And if Nature could produce Clouds then , she must be supposed to have done it long before ; as being in a better capacity to effect it . For the Earth and Air could never be more hot and dry , than when the Deluge came . Scripture also gives countenance to this , that Clouds were extant from the beginning . When he prepared the Heavens — When he established the Clouds above , — When he appointed the foundations of the Earth , Prov. 8. 27 , 28 , 29. Whence it appears , that GOD's establishing the Clouds , was contemporary with his preparing the Heavens , and appointing the foundations of the Earth . Indeed , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , coming of , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a word of various significations . It may signifie Aether , or Air , or small Dust. But then the Heavens and the Earth being both mentioned besides ; Aether , Air , and fine Dust , must be comprized in them : which determines the word here to that sense in which it is rendred . And very properly ; for besides that Clouds are said to be the Dust of GOD's Feet , Nah. 1. 3. the word in many places of the Holy Volume , does denote , Clouds ; and that so directly and inavoidably , as it can be applied to no other sense . Nor may we forget that clear intimation , or evidence rather of the early existence of Clouds , Gen. 1. 7. Where the Waters above the Firmament , must be Waters in the Clouds , as has been already shewed . Even the Theory it self allows them not to be Supercelestial Waters . For as they are inconsistent with that System of the World which it goes upon ; so it expresly disputes against them and * * Pag. 16. rejects them . And so what Waters else could they be , save those in the Clouds ? Which grant them to have been , and how peculiarly were those Clouds above established ( according to Solomon's word ) by GOD himself ? when as yet there was no Sun to exhale them from the Earth .

Let this be cast in as an Overplus ; the Rabbies believed there were Rains in Paradise . ( Though for some little time there might be none , Gen. 2. 5. ) For when the LORD GOD put Adam into the Garden to dress it ; they understand a kind of spiritual Cultivation of it , as he occasioned it to flourish by his religious Performances . Particularly he presented , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Gifts or Oblations for obtaining Rain and a right Influence of the Heavens upon it . Yet if there were Clouds and Rain , how necessarily must the glorious Bow appear , when Showres fell in a just position to the Sun ?

5. To conclude this Chapter . If any thing in it will prove there was a Rainbow , or Clouds from the beginning ; the same will prove Mountains , and open Seas . And if any thing in the Two precedent Chapters , will prove there were Mountains from the beginning ; the same will prove Seas and Clouds . And if any thing will prove open Seas from the beginning ; the same will prove Clouds and Mountains . For these three do mutually imply and depend on one another . And there being no good account of their later emergency into Being , but much to the contrary ; they must in reason be thought to coexist from the first . And I remember , the learned and ingenious Dr. More , setting down some odd conceits of Philosophical Enthusiasts , puts this amongst the rest ; That there were no Rainbows before Noah's Flood . Discourse of Enthusiasm , §. 44.

CHAP. XIII . 1. The Doctrine of Paradise , intelligible without the Theory . 2. Where that Doctrine is best taught . 3. What it is , with a brief Paraphrase upon it . 4. It is Clear in it self , though obscured by Writers . 5. Long●evity before the Flood , no property of Paradise ; and might be the Priviledge but of few . 6. It could not be common to all , according to the Theory .

1. THUS at length we come to Paradise . A place of greatest Fame , and of equal obscurity . For though touching it we hear very much , yet as to the site of it , we know but little . And to this Paradise the next Vital or primary Assertion of the Theory relates ; which runs thus , The Doctrine thereof cannot be understood , but upon supposition of the aforesaid Primitive Earth and its Properties . But against this Assertion also we except ; and do not doubt , but upon enquiry into the Doctrine of Paradise , to make it out , that it is Intelligible , without the help of the Theory . At least as intelligible without its Hypothesis , as it is with it ; and that will be sufficient to our purpose .

2. Should any demand where the Doctrine of Paradise is best or most truly delivered ; and what Writings contain the most authentic and credible account concerning it : whither could they be directed but to the Sacred Scriptures ? For what there occurs in reference to the Paradisiacal State or Regions ; may be firmly grounded upon as infallibly true . Whereas what we meet with in some other Books , may be incertain , as written by Persons of suspected Credit . Poets , for instance , are by no means to be regarded in this matter . They are Men of wit and licentious fiction ; and when they are struck with their proper Oestrum or Rage , and grow warm in the vein of Romanceing ; their Pens run on at a strange rate , rangeing as far as quaint Phancy can carry them . But as to them , let thus much only be noted : That whereas the Theorist applys what they write of the Golden Age , to the Paradisiacal State before the Flood ; as if what they say , were some dark and imperfect Memoires of that : it might be disputed ( were it worth the while ) whether they set not that Age just after the Flood ; making Noah to be Saturn , and the principal Characters of the Golden Age , to fall in with such things as happen'd in that Period . Several ( of no contemptible learning ) have been of that Opinion , and Bochart for one . As many as are dispos'd to read what he wrote of this nature , may find it in the first and second Chapters of his Phaleg . And if what Poets have delivered of the Golden Age , refers to times and things of a Postdiluvian Date ; we have no manner of reason to regard them in the least , as giving any light either into the Doctrine or State of Paradise .

Nor truly are Fathers ( those infinitely more excellent and solid Men ) to be too much relied on in this case neither . I mean no farther than they are consonant to the Oracles of Heaven , and write fairly after that inspired Copy , which came down from thence . For though they be free from light and Poetic Figments , they are full of Allegories and high Rhetorications ; and too Hyperbolical ( erroneous some of them ) to be followed in all things . Thus when Ephrem Syrus , Moses Bar Cephas , Bede , Strabus , Rabanus Maurus and others , place Paradise near the Circle or Orb of the Moon ; and St. Basil makes it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a place above the whole Creation ; and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , obscur'd with no darkness by reason of height ; and the Hebrew Masters in general , will have it made before the World : how can these things be tolerably reconciled to a Terrestrial Paradise ? And while some again ( supposing the Ocean to incircle the Earth ) place Paradise on the other Hemisphere ; and then to bring Men into this after Adam's Fall , will have the Ocean to be fordable , and People of that talness as to wade through it on foot : who can believe Paradise had such a Situation ? Especially if we add , that other Doctors yet ( of whom * * De Parad. cap. 14. Bar Cephas speaks ) upon account of the Site of Paradise beyond the Ocean , held this Continent of ours was quite unpeopled and a kind of Desart till the Flood . And which still intangles things more and more , they generally concluded that the four Rivers of Paradise , were Tigris , Euphrates , Ganges , and Nilus ; and that having their Spring-heads on the other side of the Sea , by a strange penetration or trajection , struck through the Earth , and brake out on this side of the same . To follow the Fathers here , can neither be safe nor easie . And better it would have been , if the Theorist had not gone so far after them ; but instead of that , had kept to his word ; † † Pag. 4. We will never assert any thing upon the authority of the Ancients , which is not first proved by Reason , or warranted by Scripture .

And therefore while Poets pursue the Golden Age in golden Dreams , and set it off in fine and extravagant strains : and the Fathers expatiate in too large and lofty Encomiums of Paradise , describing such rare and unaccountable Excellencies and Phaenomena's of it , as it never had , but in their mistaken Idea's and Allusions : let us wisely attend to the Voice of GOD's SPIRIT in his unerring Word . So we shall learn what is fit and necessary concerning Paradise ; and by keeping within the bounds of sober truth , shall never be cumbered with superfluous knowledge ; nor be put to the trouble , first , of inventing humorous Notions , and then of defending them .

3. Now as to the Doctrine of Paradise , it is fully comprized ( so far as we need to consider it ) in the following Periods of Scripture . It will not be amiss to bestow a short Paraphrase on them . Gen. 2. 8. And the LORD GOD planted a garden eastward in Eden , and there he put the man whom he had formed . 8. No sooner had GOD the LORD of all , brought Man into being , but in special respect and kindness to him , he assigned him his Dwelling in the sweetest Country of the whole Earth . In a place so ordered by the great care and wise contrivance of his Providence , that it abounded with delights ; and for its exceeding pleasantness , was as the Garden of the World : situate in that Tract of Ground which is called Eden , and lies * * Where M●ses wrote t●e Description of it . Eastward from hence . Ver. 9. And out of the ground made the LORD GOD to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight , and good for food : the tree of life also in the midst of the garden , and the tree of knowledge of good and evil . 9. And this Garden was most rarely furnisht . For besides Floriferous and Fruit-bearing Plants , the products of which respectively , were grateful to the Eye , and gustful to the palate , and useful for nourishment : there were two very extraordinary Trees . One , the tree of life . So called , because its Fruit ( if eaten ) would make a Man live very long upon Earth ; and that without sickness , pain , or decay : or at least was a Symbol of Eternal Life , to be injoyed by him in a better State , upon condition of unsinning Obedience in this . The other , was the tree of knowledge of good and evil . Called by that name , because GOD had ordained that if Adam tasted its Fruit , he should presently know what Evil was , by a quick and sad sense of it ; and the better know what Good was , by the lamentable loss of it . Both these Trees grew within the Garden . Ver. 10. And a River went out of Eden to water the garden , and from thence it was parted , and became into four heads . 10. And to the end that this Garden thus flourishing and fruitful , might so continue ; a River was made to spring up in it , or to flow through it . Which how far soever it might run in one single Stream , and then divide into two or three ; at last it fell into four branches or chanels . Which before they terminated or disburthen'd themselves ; as four several heads , were known by four distinct names , * * Recte igitur Lambertus Danaeus in Antiquitatibus ait , quatuor illa flumina fuisse unius & ejusdem aquae sive fluvii ex Edene nascentis divortia seu brachia . Et addit , fontem istum & fluvium ex eo emanantem in Edene regione , antequam se in divortia illa quatuor diducerct , hortum illum terrestrem irrigasse , & quidem totum adhuc & non divisum ; postquam autem totum hortum irrigaver●t , tunc se infra hortum in ista quatuor flumina divisisse . Alsted , Encyclop . l. 20. Histor. c. 11. after they had passed the Garden in one Current . Ver. 11. The name of the first is Pison : that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah , where is gold . Ver. 11. As for the first of these Heads ( for its fruitfulness in Fish , or the abundance of its Waters ) it is called Pison , and by * * Pasitigrin incolae vocant . Curtius . them that dwell near it , Phasis , or Pasitigris . Which dividing it self from Tigris ( whereof this is the most Southern branch ) about Apamia , runs along by the Land of Havilah : and parting that Land from the Country of Susiana , it directs its course towards Teredon , and thereabouts empties it self into the Persian Gulph . Ver. 12. And the gold of that land is good : there is Bdellium , and the Onyx-stone . 12. Of which Land of Havilah ( whither Saul chased the Amalekites , 1 Sam. 15. 7. ) it is memorable that there is Gold in it , and that Gold of an excellent sort . It has also ( the Tree , or , Gumm , or Pearl , called ) Bdellium , and the Onyx-stone . Ver. 13. And the name of the second river is Gihon : the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Aethiopia . 13. The second River or Branch ( from its falling off or turning another way ) is denominated Gihon . The very same that passing by * * See Mr. Carver's Discourse of the Terrest . Paradise . Adiabene , the most Northern Province of Assyria , compasseth the Land of Chush , or the Country of the As●atic Aethiopians ; that is , it glides along by it . Ver. 14. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel : that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria : and the fourth is Euphrates . 14. The third Arm or River ( from the sharpness of its Waters , or the swiftness of its Current ) is called Tigris ; whose course lies to the East of Assyria . And as for Euphrates , the fourth Head or Stream ; it is so well known , that it need but be named . Ver. 15. And the LORD GOD took the man , and put him into the garden of Eden , to dress it , and to keep it . 15. And GOD directed Adam into the Garden of Eden , and placed him there ; appointing him ( as a piece of his recreation ) to cultivate and order it . Ver. 16. And the LORD GOD commanded the man , saying ▪ Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat . 16. And as to the choice Fruits growing upon the several Trees in the Garden ; GOD grudged him none of them ; but gave him free leave and full power , to take when , and where , and as much as he pleased , even of the best of them . Ver. 17. But of the tree of knowledg of good and evil , thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day thou eatest thereof , thou shalt surely die . 17. Only he charged him very strictly , that he should not eat of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge : assuring him that if he did , it would cost him dear ; for he should certainly lose his Life thereby .

This is the Doctrine of Paradise , so far as at present we are concerned to look into it . What occurs in the Divine Story besides , is rather of Personal , and Moral , than of Local Consideration . It relates to Adam himself , rather than to the Paradisiacal place of his residence . Only what we find in the Close of the Third Chapter , must be taken in ; which runs as followeth : Ver. 22. And the LORD GOD said , Behold , the man is become like one of us , to know good and evil . And now lest he put forth his hand , and take also of the tree of life , and eat , and live for ever : 22. And now , my Angels , that Man has eaten of the forbidden Fruit , ye see how wise he is grown thereby . He has throughly tried the truth of that Promise the Serpent made him ; and lo , how goodlily he has improved himself in GOD-like knowledge , which he aimed at , and thirsted after . Since he has been thus egregiously foolish , 't is a thousand to one , if we let him alone , but he 'll fall into another piece of unreasonable and undoing folly . And if he can but get to the Tree of Life , and taste the Fruit of that , will presently conclude that his Life on Earth shall last for ever ; and so neglect Repentance and Preparation for a better . Ver. 23. Therefore the LORD GOD sent him forth from the Garden of Eden , to till the ground from whence he was taken . 23. To prevent this therefore , GOD immediately turned him out of the Garden , into that place whereabouts he was created . And whereas in his Paradisiacal condition , he might have subsisted deliciously of what Nature yielded of it self ; Now he was to live in a more painful manner , spending his strength in Tilling the Ground , that so it might afford wholsome sustenance for his Body , which was formed out of it . Ver. 24. So he drove out the man : and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden , cherubim , and a flaming sword , which turned every way , to keep the way of the tree of life . 24. And being driven out of this pleasant Garden ; to the intent he might never re-enter it more ; GOD , by the ministery of Spirits , fired the Earth whereabouts his way of return lay into it . Which burning continually ( as it does this day in many places , and as it did in * * Campus e●t in Babylonia interdiu flagrans . Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 106. Babylon of old ) was as effectual a means to keep Adam out ; as if Providence had set a number of Cherubim to guard the passage leading thither , by brandishing flaming Swords .

4. Now what is there in all this so difficult or abstruse , as not to be intelligible ? The Doctrine of Paradise indeed has been ill handled , as well as some others : and has received great injury from such as intended it nothing but kindness . Even eminent Writers , by exalting it too high , and inlargeing it too much ; have unhappily obscured it , and brought a wild Confusion into it . Preposterously striving to imbellish and improve it , they have mightily eclipsed and disparaged it . Just as a true natural Beauty is spoiled by the addition of Artificial ; and a lovely Visage , made worse by painting . But view it in its sacred Pourtraicture , as Scripture has drawn or represented it ; and so we shall have a fair Description , a graphical or exact Delineation of it . So it will appear in its genuine Colours , and just Proportions ; in its proper Features and due Complexion ; and without all manner of disgraceful Blemishes , or monstrous Disfigurements . For ,

First , Here is nothing that turns the whole Story into Mystery or Allegory . That makes Paradise it self , to be the Soul ; Adam , the Mind ; Eve , the Senses ; the Serpent , Pleasures ; the four Rivers , four Cardinal Virtues , &c. Which is the way that Origen , Philo , and St. Ambrose go . Nor ,

Secondly , Is there any thing that intimates , the Garden of Paradise was the whole Earth . That the four Rivers mentioned in the Description of it , had the Ocean for their Fountain . And that two of them , viz. Pison and Gihon ; were Ganges and Nil●s : the one , running through India ; and the other , through Egypt : according to the Manichees , Becanus , and Noviomagus . Nor yet ,

Thirdly , Does it mount Paradise up above the tops of the Hills , or assign it its Situation near the Moon , in an Earth different from ours : where Bar Cephas , Bede , and Rabanus set it .

These , we must confess , are things hard to be understood , and never to be made out . They contain in them unexplicable intricacies , and draw after them innumerable absurdities . Such as quite overthrow the truth of Moses's Narrative , and so the Veracity of GOD himself . But therefore , as we see , they are no parts of the Doctrine of Paradise . That 's entire without them , as Scripture delivers it ; which makes them neither Essentials , nor Appendages of it . They are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , * * Colos. 2. 22. the Doctrines of Men , according to the Apostle . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , fine and noisy words , according to Epiphanius . And they that first spake them , being Persons of Fame , their Reputation gave credit to what they said ; and their great Authority drawing others after them , they were followed by many , though themselves went not in the right way .

Lastly , Here is not the least touch , upon a perpetual Aequinox , or a perpetual Spring ; or the Pullulation , or Growing of Animals out of the Earth ; which the Theory makes † † Pag. 176. Properties of Paradise . Nor is there a Syllable spoken , of Adam's being formed at first on the other side of the World ( that is , in the Southern Hemisphere ) and then of his being transplanted hither . Nor is there any intimation , that the Flaming Sword was the Torrid Zone ( as the Theory * * Pag. 257. allows it to have been ) but rather something that suggests the contrary . For Cherubim could no way be concerned in that ; nor could it well be said to be placed at the East of the Garden of Eden , when it was placed round the Earth in way of Longitude . Nor do we hear a word , of Rivers springing up on one side of the Earth , and then shooting through it to the other side , by deep and unintelligible trajections or transmeations . Thus a multitude of Difficulties would be started ; and such , as before we could run them down , would lead us a weary , yea , an endless Chase. But therefore these are no pieces of the true Doctrine of Paradise . That 's clear , and obvious , and easie to be understood : at least as easie as the Theory's Doctrine concerning it is . For say that Two Branches of the Paradisiacal Stream , be somewhat obscure ; yet we need not fear but they will as soon be set out to all Mens satisfaction ; as the other two so well known , together with Assyria , &c. shall be found in the Southern Hemisphere of the World , where , according to the Theory , Paradise was situate . Especially when the upper Orb or Rim of the Earth fell into the Abyss ; and Rivers and Countries were all jumbled together in unspeakable Confusion .

5. As for the Longaevity of the Antediluvians , that could be no Property of Adjunct of Paradise neither ; inasmuch as the common Parents of Mankind , were soon thrown out of it : and so the length of their , or of their Childrens lives , could not be owing to that State or Place , because none of them lived and died therein . Indeed the Theory will have this Longaevity to be a Character of the First Earth , as Paradisiacal : and * * Pag. 189. holds it was common to good and bad , and lasted till the Deluge , Mens houses of clay standing eight or nine hundred years and upwards . And though I will not positively deny this , That the People of the First World did generally live to so wonderful an age ( it being a received opinion ) yet give me leave to ask ; upon what good authority does it stand ? The sacred Historians will hardly support it . For though he tells of † † Gen. 5. ten Men in a lineal descent that were long livers ; yet this will be no conclusive Argument that all were so . For they were excellent Persons , and admirably useful upon several accounts . Besides founding and improving of Learning and Sciences ; they were to instruct the World in Vertue and Goodness ; to govern both in the Civil ( it may be ) and Ecclesiastical capacity ; To countenance and propagate , as well as to defend the True Religion ; to take care of the Worship , and promote the Kingdom and Interest of GOD ; and to shame the looseness , and reform or restrain the lewdness of Men. And they being thus highly useful and needful ; no wonder they were continued so long upon Earth . And thus we find Noah ( it being requisite still in some measure upon the same accounts ) living † † Gen. 9. 28 , 29. three hundred and fifty years after the Flood , and reaching to nine hundred and fifty in all . And also * * Gen. 11. Shem , Arphaxad , Salah , and Eber , living ( for the same reasons ) much longer just after the Flood ; than others did then , or have done since . Though we may say , of their long life , as Rabbi Levi ( quoted by Genebrard in the first of his Chronology ) did of the Longaevity of the Antediluvian Patriarchs , that it was opus Providentiae , non Naturae ; the work of Providence , not of Nature . Of such a miraculous providence as superintended the Hebrews in the Wilderness , and caused that their Cloaths by forty years wearing did not wax old . And then if we grant some of the prophane stock , ( of the impious Race of Cain ) to have lived as long ( as the Ten Patriarchs before the Flood , and perhaps some few others not mentioned ) by the same kind of Providence ; for that they were exceding eminent in their ways , for very laudable and necessary things : ( as Cain himself , for Husbandry and Architecture ; Iabal , for Pasturage , and the ordering of Cattle ; Iubal , for Musick ; Tubal-Cain , for Mechanics , and the like : ) Grant , I say , but some of the degenerate Seed , of the worser sort of Men , to have lived a great while for perfecting the lower and lesser Arts : as some of the Holy Seed and better sort did , for carrying on things of an higher nature , and bigger concern : and possibly the Prerogative of Longaevity , will be stretcht as far , as by the sacred Records , it can upon certain Grounds , be extended . And though the Theory makes the Longaevity we speak of , common to all the Antediluvians ; yet in the Sequel of this Chapter it will appear , that even according to the Theory it self , it could not be a general thing .

But ( in the mean time ) if Divine Story proves not such Longaevity common to the Antediluvians ; how shall other History do it ? The Theorist cites Iosephus as to this , and he brings in several Authors . What he says of the long life of them before the Deluge , I shall set down more fully than the Theory does . * * Antiq. l. 1. c. 4. They being beloved of GOD , and newly created by him , using also a kind of nourishment agreeable to their nature , and proper to multiply their years ; it is no absurd thing to suppose that their years were of that continuance : considering that GOD gave them long life , to the end they should teach Vertue , and should conveniently practise those things which they had invented in Astronomy , and by Geometry ; the demonstrations whereof they never had attained , except they had lived at least six hundred years . For the great year is accomplished by that number of years : whereof all they bear me witness , who ( either Greeks or Barbarians ) have written ancient Histories . For both Manethon ( who wrote the History of Egypt ) and Berosus ( who registred the Acts and Affairs of the Chaldeans ) together with Molus , Hestiaeus , and Hierom of Egypt ( who give an account of the Phoenician Antiquities ) accord with me in that I have said . Hesiodus also , Heccataeus , Hellanicus , and Acusilaus , Ephorus and Nicholaus do declare , That they of the first World lived a thousand years . But let every Man judge of these things as he best liketh . Where ( to let pass other circumstances ) let it be noted , that Iosephus attributes long life , only to such as were beloved of GOD. and that to such ends as were now specified ; that they might teach Vertue , and use and improve Astronomy and Geometry , wherein they could have attained to no considerable skill , without long life . And then as to the rest of those Authors he remembers ; how could they understand the thing better than himself ? For besides Scripture ( which Iosephus was much better acquainted with than they ) what else could give them information in the case ? And therefore their account , we know , is utterly false : for none of the first Worlds Ancients could ever reckon a thousand years compleat ▪ Only some of them ( in the sacred Register ) came pretty near it ; though most fell short of it by such a Period of time , as very few Lives comparatively now reach to . And that Iosephus himself did not believe that all lived so long , as the Writers cited by him do mention ; is plain from his shutting up the fore-quoted Chapter , with an expression showing diffidence in himself , by allowing it to others . Let every Man judge of these things as he thinks best . Which I desire may be noted the rather , because there are few that write for this Longaevity of the Prediluvians ; but they still quote this place in Iosephus , and back what they say , with the Authorities he brings . Yet we see , he is so far from being positive , in the matter , that he leaves People wholly to their own judgments about it . And as for Scripture , I say , he read and understood it as well as others ; and could he have found good proofs of the Point there , he would doubtless have spoken more definitively of it . And the truth is , Scripture says not one word of Cain's , or his Childrens living eight or nine hundred years . And therefore when we granted they might do so , it was no absolutely necessary Concession . But this is observable , that the Invention of Manual Arts , and such things as might be carried on to good degrees of Perfection in a less of space of time ; fell to their care and management . Whereas ( according to the Iewish Historian ) Astronomy , and Geometry , which could not be learnt but in longer Periods , were studied by those Virtuoso's , who are upon Holy Record for long-livers . Which tacitly intimates that the reason of long life , and so long life it self , was not common to all . And though Moses remembers a few by name that lived so very long ; yet this no more proves that all attained to the like age , before the Flood ; than his saying * * Gen. 6. 4. there were Giants on the Earth in those days , does imply the whole Race of Mankind were such . Yea , as his telling the World , there were some Giants then , does import that the rest were otherwise : so his mentioning some● so very long livers , may insinuate that the rest were not so . Nor do we stand quite alone in this Opinion ; For Rabbi Moses in his Book de directione perplexorum , as Burgensis cites him ( Addit. 1. in Gen. 5. apud Lyr. ) was of the same mind . And as he attributes length of life before the Flood , miraculo divino , to divine miracle ; so he says , diuturnitas fuit solùm in illis qui in sacra Scriptura nominantur , scilicet Adam , Seth , Enos , &c. non autem in aliis contemporaneis , qui non tam diuturnè vivebant ; sed sicut past diluvium . Length of life was only in those , who are named in the Holy Scripture ; that is to say , Adam , Seth , Enos , &c. but not in others their contemporaries ; who did not live so long ; but as Men lived after the Deluge . Burgensis himself also ( first , a most learned Iew of Spain , and then a famous Christian Doctor ) seems to be of the same judgment with the Rabbi , in this matter .

But if at last it be urged , that the Authors aforesaid are too many and considerable , to have their Testimonies questioned or rejected ; and that what they delivered of the Praediluvians Longaevity , must be true of them in general , they receiving the thing by authentic Tradition : let it be yielded . But then I must demand , and may be allowed to do so ; How comes it to pass that Tradition is so partial , and not equally faithful as to other great concerns of the first World ? Particularly , why does it not by the Pen of the same , or of other Writers , tell us explicitly of a constant Aequinox , and a perpetual Spring , as Causes of that Longaevity ? and not leave it to be imputed to nourishment and higher things ; whither Iosephus , we see , ascribes it . Why does it not tell us of a Sky without Clouds ; and an Heaven without Rains ; and an Earth without Seas , and Mountains , &c. Surely if Tradition spake so loud in one case ; and was so dumb or deeply silent in the rest : this seems to evidence , that however there might be somewhat of truth in that one Phaenomenon ; there was none in the other .

6. Though truly that all the Prediluvians were such long livers , cannot well be supposed for this reason . Because then their Multitudes would have everlaid the Earth , and they would have wanted room wherein to subsist . For grant them to have multiplied but as Mankind did just after the Flood , or as the Israelites did in the Land of Egypt , or even as People do now adays ; and where would there have been place convenient for them ? And yet that they did increase at such a rate , and faster too , is but reasonable to think ; in regard humane Nature if ever it were stronger at any time than other , was so at first . To which add , that Digamy was in use before the Flood : and Lamech ( one who was infamous for it ) is said by Iosephus , to have had seventy seven Children by his two Wives . Yea , perhaps Men were not only for two , but many Wives , Genesis 6. 2. and Polygamy must contribute greatly to the encrease of Mankind .

But there needs no farther Prosecution of this . The Theory yields as much as we contend for , or can desire in the Case : Though no more than what may be true , and so inavoidable . * * Pag. 22. 'T is likely they were more fruitful in the first Ages of the World , than after the Flood ; and they lived six , seven , eight , nine hundred years apiece , getting Sons and Daughters . And again ; † † Pag. 23. If we allow the first Couple at the end of one hundred years , or of the first Century , to have left ten pair of Breeders , which is an easie supposition , there would arise from these in fifteen hundred years , a greater number than the Earth was capable of ; allowing every pair to multiply in the● same decuple proportion the first Pair did . ; So that if a Supposition ( which ( in the Theorist's own judgment ) is easie , may be but admitted ( as why should it not ? ) either the Longaevity of the Antediluvians must not be universal , or the Earth was incapable of the number of its Inhabitants . Nor could the Primitive Earth receive greater numbers of People than this . For grant it had no open Seas in it ; yet the Middle Regions of it being uninhabitable in regard of heat ; and the Polar ones upon account of Wet and Cold : both will be reduced to a pretty equal capaciousness . And should it be alleg'd , that the first Earth was bigger in Circumference , than this is ; that will be made good , by casting in on the present Earth's side , the sinking hollownesses and declivities of Valleys ; and the swelling protuberancies and gibbosities of Mountains ; neither of which the first Earth had .

Farther , if People before the Flood , were generally so long-liv'd , and this their Longaevity proceeded from a perpetual Aequinox , and settled benign temperature of the Air , as the Theory holds ; then surely there would not have been that difference as to length of days amongst them , as we find there was . Thus , Lamech's Age ( as appears in the * * Gen. 5. Catalogue of long livers ) was short of Mathuselah's , near two hundred years . Whereas if the Cause of long life had been so uniform and steddy a thing , and so generally and equally influential upon all , as the supposed Aequinox ; the Effect would have answered it : Longaevity it self would have been more regular , and not have admitted of so much disparity . Though the truth is , such an Aequinox , and such an Earth as we have heard of , would rather help to shorten life ( we may think ) than draw it out to such a length . For certain it is , that they must shut all Winds and Storms , and Clouds and Rains , and Thunders and Lightnings , out of the First World . And what are these but Crises of Nature , wherein those malignities and noxious qualities which are lodged in her , and would corrupt her ; suffer a Solution and are discharged ? just as morbific humors in the Body , first ferment , and then are thrown off by proper Evacuations . But when there could be no Storms or Thunders , to put the Air into Motion , and to purge and clarifie it , that so it might continue pure and wholsome : it being always calm and too quiescent ( like stagnant Water ) must needs putrifie , and contract such foulness as would make it unhealthy , and apt to cause grievous Diseases and Death . Egypt is almost in the pretended state of the Primitive Earth . Situate between the second and fifth Climates ; its longest day not above thirteen hours and an half ; has seldom any Rain , but is watered by a River . Yet how subject is Cairo to raging Plagues , and where are greater or oftener Mortalities than there ?

I have only this to add here . If the Aequinox spoken of , were the cause of a general Longaevity in the Prediluvian World ; then other Animals would have lived as long proportionably , as Men. That is to say Lions , Bears , Wolves , Dogs , &c. And these multiplying five or six times ( to say no more ) as fast as Men ; might have soon over-powered and destroyed them . Also Rats , Mice , Fowls , &c. multiplying ( in that World ) all the year round , and in far greater numbers than the Creatures aforesaid ; would have destroyed Mankind another way : not by devouring them , but the Fruits of the Earth which they were to live upon . Especially when Men lived wholly on such Fruits ( without eating Flesh ) and had no such ways and instruments at first , of killing those Vermin , as now they have .

Nor did the Earth yield such plenty of Corn of its own accord , as to satisfie all granivorous Creatures , without preying upon Mens Corps . For upon Man's sin , * * Gen. 3. 17. the ground was cursed . And upon that Malediction , it afforded not Corn without Tillage . For thence forward even Adam himself was to eat of it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in sorrow ( or labour ) all the days of his life ; nor could he have Bread , but● at the price of his † † Gen. 3. 19. Sweat . And if the first Men had no Bread-Corn , but what their industry fetch'd out of the Earth ; how could they defend it against the swarms of devouring Creatures , increasing always upon them by numerous Procreations ? Even barely to name all the sorts of them , that would be hurtful upon the account we speak of , and would unspeakably abound in a World that knows no season but Spring ; is so great a Task , that I am willing to decline it . Yet that other Creatures did live proportionably as long as Mankind , the Theory owns ; * * Sup●rest tertium Paradisi , & primorum seculolorum Phaenomenon , Longaevitas hominum , & , ut par est credere , caterorum animalium . Pag. 160. where it makes the Longaevity of both at once , a Third Phaenomenon of Paradise and the first Ages .

And which is ve●● considerable also , it makes the first Earth the common Mother of all sorts of Animals , which naturally bred them and brought them forth . Whence it must follow , that those Terrigenous Creatures strangely increasing by spontaneous Births , would soon have filled the World , even this way alone ( though they had not propagated their respective Kinds ) with such inconceiveable multitudes ; as would have easily spoiled the Earth , and ruin'd Mankind . Who as they were made in the beginning but in one Pair ; so they were capable comparatively but of a slow Multiplication . And so Beasts , Fowls , Creeping Things , Insects , and all manner of deadly and pernicious Creatures , would have poured in upon them in vast numbers , and with incredible forces ; while they were unable to defend themselves against them .

CHAP. XIV . 1. The Flood could not be caused by the Dissolution of the Earth , and its falling into the Abyss . 2. For it would have been inconsistent with the Description of Paradise . 3. It would have destroy'd the Ark. 4. And have made the Earth of a Form different from what now it is of . 5. It would also have reduced it to a miserable Barrenness . 6. And have overturned the Buildings which outstood the Deluge . 7. And have rendred the Covenant which GOD made with Noah , vain and insignificant .

1. LET us now go on to the next Vital or Primary Assertion of the Theory , which is this . Read the Sixth Chapter of the first Book of the English Theory . The Disruption and Fall of the Earth into the Abyss which lay under it , was that which made the Vniversal Deluge , and the Destruction of the old World . For the vehement and piercing heat of the Sun , having parched and chapped the exterior Orb of Earth , and so greatly weakned it : and also having raised great store of Vapours out of the Deep within this Orb ; their force at length grew to be such , that the Walls inclosing them being unable to hold them , the whole Fabric brake , being torn in pieces as it were with an Earthquake . At which time , the Fragments of that Orb of Earth , of several sizes , plunging into the Abyss in several Postures ; by their weight , and greatness , and violent descent , caused such a rageing Tumult in the Waters , and put them into so fierce Commotions and furious Agitations , as made them boil and flow up above the tops of the new made Mountains ; and so caused the general Deluge . But against this we Except also , and say that the Flood could not be thus effected , for several reasons .

2. First , Because it would be inconsistent with Moses's Description of Paradise . What that Description is , we have seen already ; and 't is done according to the proper Rules of Topography . For first , he marks it out by its Quality ; a Garden . Then by its name ; Eden . Then by its Situation ; Eastward . Then by its Inhabitant ; Man . Then by its Furniture ; every Tree pleasant to the sight , and good for Food . And lastly , by a River to Water it , which ( rising in it , or running through , or by it ) did divide its stream into four Heads or Branches : all which , except one , are made to refer to some Country or other . Thus , Pison is said to compass the Land of Havilah : Gihon , the Land of Cush , or the Asian Aethiopia : Hiddekel , to run towards the East of Assyria . But had the Earth been dissolved to make the Flood ; how could these Rivers , or how could these Countries , or any of either of them , exist in Moses's time ; as being all swallowed up and for ever perisht in the fall of the Earth ? And yet if they were not in being then , how could he describe the Terrestrial Paradise by them , as he does ? And yet that they could have no being then , the Theory acknowledges in these words . * * Pag. 25● . 'T is true , if you admit our Hypothesis , concerning the fraction and disruption of the Earth at the Deluge , then we cannot expect to find Rivers now as they were before — their chanels are all broke up . But then if the Hypothesis of the Theory were true , what meant Moses to put these Rivers , or any part of them , or any Countries near them , into the Topography of Paradise ; when together with the Earth , they were all broke up and dissolved so long before ?

To make the Argument as short as may be . In case these Rivers were not in the first World , it was impossible Paradise should be described by them . And if they were in that World , it was as impossible they should be in this . And so we have good evidence , that the general Flood could not be the Effect of the Earth's Dissolution . For if it were so , Moses's Description of Paradise must be false . Which , to affirm , would be horrid Blasphemy , it being dictated by the HOLY GHOST .

Nor will it mend the matter here , to fall to Cabbalizing , or Expounding things Mystically . So we shall run upon the same Rock , and put hideous affront upon the Truth of GOD , by turning it into meer Figure and Falshood . Two eminent Fathers subscribe expressly to this . The first , Epiphanius , whose words are these . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. * * Ancor . Sect. 57. If Paradise be not sensible , then there was no Fountain ; if no Fountain , no River ; if no River , no four Heads , no Pison , no Gihon , no Tigris , no Euphrates ; no Fruit , no Fig-leaves , nor did Eve eat of the Tree , nor was there an Adam , nor are there Men ; but the truth is a Fable , and all but Allegories . The other Father is St. Ierome , who commenting on the fourth Verse of the first Chapter of Daniel ; infers thus from it . † † Eorum d●liramenta conticescant , qui umbras & imagines in veritate quaerentes , ipsam conantur evertere veritatem , at flumina , & arbores , & Paradisum putent Allegoriae legibus se debere subruere . Let their Dotage be silent , who seeking for shadows and images in the truth , do overthrow the truth it self , while they conceit that Rivers and Trees , and Paradise , ought to submitt themselves to the Rules of Allegory .

And here it may not be amiss , to take notice how empty , and shallow , and extreamly trifling their reasons are , that argue against a Local Paradise , and turn the Holy Story of it into Allegory . Let the Observation run but upon one Writer ( who being as good as any that way , may serve instead of all the rest ) I mean Philo Iudaeus . a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Lib. leg . Allegor . Let no such impiety invade our reason , says he , as to suppose that GOD tills the ground or plants a Paradise ; inasmuch as we might presently doubt why he should do it . For he could never thereby furnish himself with pleasant Mansions , Retirements , or Delights ; nor could such a fabulosity ever enter into our mind . For the whole World could not be a worthy place or habitation for GOD ; who indeed is a place to himself , and is full of , and sufficient for himself . Where the reason why there must be no Material Paradise , and why it is impious for us to think that GOD planted one ; is , because it would not be gratifying to him , and because the whole World is not a fit habitation for him . ( And therefore by the same reason there never was a World made neither . ) As if Paradise had not been planted for Man , but GOD. And * * Lib. de Plant. No. elsewhere we find him harping upon the same string , though it sounds but harshly . To take the Paradise planted by GOD , for a Garden of Vines , and Olives , Apples , Pomgranates , and the like Trees , would be a gross and incurable folly . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. For one might say ; To what end was it ? for a pleasant dwelling place ? But then might not the whole World be thought the most contentful dwelling for GOD the Vniversal King ? And a little after ; Truly as GOD does not at all want other things , so neither ( Fruits for ) nourishment . Where the main reason against a Local Paradise again , is ( that which really is none ) its Vselessness in reference to GOD. As if the design or end of a Paradise , had been to supply the necessities or conveniencies of the DEITY : and because GOD did not need it , and could receive no benefit by it ; therefore it must be folly to think he planted it . But what was it that made so learned a Man to argue thus ?

3. Secondly , The Dissolution of the Earth could not be the Cause of the general Flood ; because it would have utterly destroyed Noah's Ark , and all that were in it . For then that great and heavy Vessel , sinking with the Ground whereon it stood ; must certainly have been staved all to pieces , if not overwhelm'd in the Ruines of the Earth . I know that in favour of this Ark , and for its Preservation ; it is supposed that the * * Theor. pag. 98. Abyss was not broken open till after the forty days Rain ; and that those Rain-waters might set it a-float , and so prevent its ruinous Fall , by keeping it from that impetuous shock , which it would have had if it had stood upon dry land when the Earth fell . But this Supposition was noted above to be false , and must needs be so . For by the infallible Records we are assured , That the Fountains of the great Deep were broke up , and the Windows of Heaven opened in the same day , Gen. 7. 11. Yea , according to the order of the Holy Words ( if there be any Priority in those two Causes of the Deluge ) the Disruption of the Abyss should precede ; the breaking open of the Fountains being first mention'd . And so the Ark having no Water to Float on , must certainly have stood upon dry ground when the Earth fell . And consequently the impetuous shock spoken of , could by no means have been avoided ; but must certainly have destroy'd the Ark , and all Creatures in it .

4. Thirdly , Had the Deluge been caused by the Earth's Dissolution , the Earth ( or dry Land of this Terraqueous Globe ) would in likelihood have been of another Figure than what now it bears . For under the Ecliptic ( which in the Primitive Situation of the Earth ( according to the Theory ) was its Aequinoctial ; and divided the Globe into two Hemispheres , as the Aequator does now ) the dry ground is of most spatious extent and continuity . Even from the South-west parts of Africa , about Guinea ; there is one entire Tract of firm Land , reaching as far as the Persian Gulf , and the Arabian Sea . That is , for the length of Seventy five Degrees , or between four and five thousand Miles . And then Eastward of that Sea , runs the main Land of India ; which from the Western parts of it , to Camboia . in the East , is extended between two and three thousand Miles more . And yet it is all-a-long one continued Tract of Land , bating the Sinus Gangeticus , or Gulf of Bengala ; which North-wards thrusts up but a little beyond the Ecliptic neither . And lastly , the same Ecliptic runs obliquely over almost the widest part of America Peruana ; another piece of Ground three thousand Miles in breadth . So that the Earth seems to be too whole in its Aequinoctial Regions ( I mean those that were so before the Flood ) to have been dissolved to make the Deluge . For had it suffered such a dissolution ; the middle parts of it falling in first ( for some reasions * * Chap. 9. Parag. 4. before suggested ) it seems probable that it should have been more broken and shattered thereabouts than any where else ; if not clean swallowed up : and so the Earth must have been of quite another shape than now it is . But this I speak as a probable , rather than as a certain thing . Where grounds are but presumptive and conjectural ; Assertions built upon them , must not be positive and dogmatical .

5. Fourthly , Had the Earth been dissolved to make the Flood ; its Dissolution would have brought it into a state of most lamentable barrenness . For then the inward parts of it being turned outward ; and the starven Molds , and stony Materials in its Bowels , being made into its surface in a great measure : in all such places , it would not only have been destitute of such things , as should have afforded nourishment both to Men and Beasts ; but moreover indisposed to , and incapable of yielding them , for a long time . The Husbandman when he plows a little deeper than ordinary , and fetches up the dead Soil , as he terms it ; it proves a great hindrance to his Crops . Yet what is that Soil , but part of what ( upon the exterior Orb 's tumbling into the Abyss ) must have been turned up by whole Countries at once ? at least in the Aequinoctial parts of the Earth , as being extreamly dried , and having all the heart or fatness suck'd out of it , by the scorching Sun . And where vast pieces of Earth sank whole as they were , and the ground also was of a richer nature ( as retaining , we 'll suppose , some of its native Oiliness ) yet there it must have been covered with an huge quantity of Mud , which would have made it barren by choking such things as would have grown upon it . For the Waters below , being by the falling in of the Ground , expell'd from their aboad , and forced to fly up with unspeakable violence ; and then by reason of their plenty and gravity , descending with as much rage and force again ; and still as the Earth suffered more fractures , and plung'd into the Waters in more pieces , they feeling new commotions , and being huffed up and put into fresh estuations : by their rising and falling , and working and beating furiously and incessantly ; they must needs wash and wear off a mighty deal of Earth from the fragments that dropped into the Deep . Which Earth being carried into all places , by the tossing , rolling , turbulent Waters , and spread pretty thick upon the face of the Ground ; and also incorporate with much other Filth ; it could not but be occasion of great barrenness to the Earth . For then when the Deluge settled and went off , that Filth could not but harden into a crust or cap upon the Earth's surface , very destructive to the Earth's fruitfulness . Especially if we consider , how long and dismally the Ground was harrass'd by the Flood , before it was incrusted . For , says the Theory , * * Pag. 76. the Tumult of the Waters , and the extremity of the Deluge lasted for some Months . And the fluctuations of the Waters being so boisterous , and withal so lasting , they could not but wash up , or kill most of the tenderer sort of Plants , and many of the hardier and stronger ones too ; yea , and perhaps rinse off the top of the ground it self , leaving it generally bare , and covering it in many places with store of silty , sandy , or gravelly stuff . So that the Earth being first made bare , and then overgrown with the Crust aforesaid ( which with the Sun and Wind would be baked on to it , and wax pretty stiff and hard about it ) how could it at first have afforded sustenance to the living Creatures ? And therefore we read concerning . † † See Sir W. Raleigh's Hist. Book 1. c. 8. §. 11. † 5. Attica , That by reason of Mud and Slime which the Waters lest upon the Earth , it was uninhabited two hundred years after Ogyges's Flood . And that the whole Earth should be in as bad a Condition after the general Flood ; as Attica was after that Inundation which happened to it ; we need not question , if the Theory has hit upon the true Cause of the Deluge . So that however Noah and his Family might have made shift for Food ( supporting themselves by eating some of those Creatures kept alive in the Ark , which GOD ( at their going out of the same ) gave them for meat , with a general Licence to eat Flesh , Gen. 9. 3. ) yet other Animals , for a time , would have been at a very great loss for Nourishment .

6. Again , had the Earth been drowned , by its being dissolved and falling into the Abyss ; all the Buildings erected before the Flood , would have been shaken down , or else overwhelmed . Yet we read of some that outstood the Flood , and were not demolisht . Such were the Pillars of Seth , and the Cities Henochia , and Ioppa . Touching which ( to avoid quoting of several Authors ) I shall only recite what I meet with in * * Sir W. Raleigh's Hist. of the World , l. 1. c. 3. § 5. one . And for a more direct proof , that the Flood made no such destroying alteration , Josephus avoweth that one of those Pillars erected by Seth , the third from Adam , was to be seen in his days ; which Pillars were set up above fourteen hundred twenty and six years before the Fl●od , counting Seth to be an hundred years old at the erection of them ; and Josephus himself to have lived some forty or fifty years after CHRIST : of whom although there b●●no cause to believe all that he wrote , yet that which he avoucheth of his own time , cannot ( without great derogation ) be called in question . And therefore possibly some foundation or ruine thereof might then be seen . Now that such Pillars were rear'd by Seth , all Antiquity hath avowed . It is also written in Berosus ( to whom though I give little credit , yet I cannot condemn him in all ) that the City of Enoch built by Cain about the Mountains of Libanus , was not defaced by length of time ; yea , the ruines thereof Annius ( who commented upon that fragment which was found ) saith , were to be seen in his days , who lived in the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile . And if these his words be not true , then was he exceeding impudent ; f●r speaking of this City of Enoch , he conludeth in this sort ; Cujus maxima & ingentis molis fundamenta visuntur , & vocatur ab incolis regionis , Civitas Cain , ut nostri mercatores , & peregrini referunt . The large foundations of which huge mass are to be seen , and it is called by the inhabitants of the Country , the City of Cain , as our Merchants and Strangers do report . It is also avowed by Pomponius Mela ( to whom I give more credit in these things ) that the City of Jopa was built before the Flood , over which Cephas was King : whose name , with his Brother Phineas , together with the grounds and principles of their Religion , was found graven upon certain Altars of Stone . And it is not impossible that the ruines of the other City , called Enoch , by Annius , might be seen , though founded in the first Age. Solinus also witnesseth concerning Joppa , that it was oppidum antiquissimum orbe toto , utpote ante inundationem terrarum conditum ; the most ancient Town in the whole World , as being built before the Flood upon the Earth .

Now if things were thus ; that is to say , if a Pillar of Seth's erecting ( whereon was * * Vid. Joseph . Ant. l. 1. c. 3. ingraved the rules of Science ) was standing after the Flood , in the Country of Lycia : If the City Enoch was so far from being ruined by the Deluge , that it was not defaced : If Ioppa was so far from being swallowed up or made an heap of Rubbish , that the Altars in it were plainly discernible , and standing in such order , that the Inscriptions upon them were legible : then most certainly the Earth's Dissolution , and Fall into the Deep , could not cause the Flood . For them , suppose that the Ground had fallen but a Mile , or a Mile and a quarter downward ; which we must grant it did at least ( according to the heighth of the present Mountains , set at ten Furlongs , when carefully † † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Plut. Paul . Aemil. measured by Xenagoras of old ) and it would have given such a terrible jar or jounce , as would have shattered the abovesaid Structures all down , and laid them flat upon the Earth , if not sunk them into it .

And that which would have made it more difficult for them to have continued standing , was their Situation . For Enoch is said to be built about the Mountains of Libanus . But then about the Mountains the Waters would have been most irresistably violent , had the Flood proceeded from the Earth's Dissolution . So we are assured by the Theory . * * Pag. 75. The pressure of a great mass of Earth falling into the Abyss — could not but impel the Water with so much strength , as would carry it up to a great height in the Air ; and to the top of any thing that lay in its way , any eminency or high fragment whatsoever : and then rowling back again , it would sweep down with it whatsoever it rusht upon , Woods , Buildings , Living-creatures , and carry them all headlong into the great Gulf. So that Enoch being situate about the Mountain Libanus , the very force of the Waters alone perhaps might have born it down . And then as to Ioppa , I have some where read , That it is oppidum monte situm too , a Town situate on an Hill . Or if it be not , for certain it stands just upon the brink of the Mediterranean Sea : and so could never have escaped being overturn'd . For besides that it must have been shaken with the general fall of the Ground ; it was placed just where the mighty Fragment , which dived into the Mediterranean , or made the bottom of it , was riven off ; and so at the time of its hideous splitting off , the poor City must needs have suffered a very dismal Concussion . And the like may be said , in a good measure , of the Pillar of Seth , it standing not far from the Sea neither .

I know the very Being is questioned of Seth's Pillar , &c. But what some doubt , others believe : and having all Antiquity ( as the cited Historian says ) on our side ; we have ventured to put in this piece of Exception among others . Valeat quantum valere potest .

7. Lastly , Had the Dissolution of the Earth , been the Cause of the Deluge ; it would have made GOD's Covenant with Noah , a very vain and trifling thing . Soon after the Flood was dried up , it pleased the great GOD to make an explicit and gracious Covenant with that Patriarch himself , and his Children ; and in behalf of all Living Creatures then in being , or afterward to exist ; that the World should be drown'd no more with such a general Deluge . And this Covenant he was pleased to ratifie with a remarkable Sign , that of the Rainbow ; which was to be a lasting token of remembrance to HIM , as well as a Pledge of assurance to us . So we find Gen. 9 from the 8 th verse , to the 17 th . And GOD spake unto Noah , and to his sons with him , saying , And I , behold , I establish my covenant with you , and with your seed after you : and with every living creature that is with you , of the fowl , of the cattle , and of every beast of the earth with you , from all that go out of the Ark , to every beast of the earth . And I will establish my covenant with you , neither shall all flesh be cut off any more , by th● waters of a flood , neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth . And GOD said , This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you , and every living creature which is with you , for perpetual generations . I do set my bow in the cloud , and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth . And it shall come to pass , when I bring a cloud over the earth , that the bow shall be seen in the cloud . And I will remember my covenant , which is between me and you , and every living creature of all flesh : and the water shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh . And the bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it , that I may remember the evelasting covenant between GOD and every living creature , of all flesh that is upon the earth . And GOD said unto Noah , This is the token of the covenant , which I have established between me and all flesh , that is upon the earth . Now if the Earth had been drowned the Theory's way , what need of all this ? Then it had been but GOD's telling Noah , how the Flood came ; and that would have made him , and all his Posterity , both sensible and secure enough at once , that such another Flood could never happen . Yea , that scarce need to have been told him neither ; inasmuch as the thing would have been throughly apparent , to them that lived in both the Worlds , from the great changes they must have observed : and so the Covenant would have been vain and useless . Yea , which is worse , it would have been perfect Mockery and Collusion ; because then the Earth could not have been capable of , or liable to , such another Deluge . So that GOD's covenanting not to drown it any more ; would have been as if he should have covenanted that a thing impossible should not be done : that the Fire should not freeze , or the Sun shine darkness . For as neither Sun nor Fire can do such things , so long as they continue what they are ; no more could the Earth be drowned a second time , so long as it continued a dissolved Earth . Yet that it may be delug'd again , is clear from GOD's covenanting that it shall not , and from the Terms of that Covenant . For the Bow in the Cloud is said to be a Token of the Covenant . And that when that Bow is seen , GOD will remember his Covenant . And that he will look upon it , to that very end , that he may remember the everlasting Covenant . Plainly intimating , that if that Covenant were not made ; or being made , if by GOD it were not remembred ; the Earth might again be drowned , with as universal and fatal a Flood as ever . But then if it may be so , from thence it will follow , that Noah's Flood could not be caused by the Earth's Dissolution . Because then Nature could no longer have been subject to a second Deluge , and GOD need not have covenanted to prevent it ; His very doing it must have been a kind of imposing upon Men , as being but an ingaging to save them from an impossible evil ; and to keep that sad Calamity off them , which nothing but miracle or his own Omnipotence was able to bring on . So that in fine , the case is come to this issue ; Either that the Glorious GOD has done mighty unworthily ( pardon the word ) in making a Covenant , which has nothing but vanity and mockage in it ; or else that the Theory determines falsely , in making the Deluge to flow from the Dissolution and Falling in of the Earth .

CHAP. XV. 1. The Flood Explicable , another way , as well as by that in which the Theory goes . 2. What the height of its Waters might be , viz. Fifteen Cubits upon the surface of the Earth . 3. The Probability of the Hypothesis argued from Scripture . 4. What the Fountains of the great Deep were . 5. A Second Argument for the Hypothesis , from the easie and sufficient Supply of Waters to raise the Flood to such an height . 6. A Third , from its agreeableness with St. Peter's Account of the Deluge . 7. A Fourth , from the Habitableness of the Earth , at the Flood 's going off . 8. A Fifth , from its Consistency with Geography .

1. WE are now come to the last Vital , or Primary Assertion of the Theory , which is this , That neither Noah's Flood , nor the present Form of the Earth , can be explained in any other method that is rational , nor by any other Causes that are intelligible . That is , besides those which the Theory makes use of , or assigns . Now as to the present Form of the Earth , we have spoken something to that already . So that could but such an Explication of the Flood be given in , as would solve it , and the several Phaenomena's of it , as rationally and intelligibly as the Theory does ; this Assertion likewise would be sufficiently encountred in our way of Excepting against it . Let us therefore be allowed but some of that liberty which the Theory takes ; that is , to make bold with Scripture a little , as that has done a great deal ; and we 'll try what may be done of this nature . Not that I will be bound to defend what I say , as real and true ; any more than to believe ( what I cannot well endure to speak ) that the Church of GOD has ever gone on in an irrational way of explaining the Deluge . Which yet she must needs have done , if there be no other rational method of explaining it , and no other intelligible Causes of it , than what the Theory has proposed .

2. We are now therefore attempting or ●oving at a New Explication of the Flood . And if in any thing it seems strange , let none wonder or be offended at it . We are only trying whether we can hit upon somewhat , that may be as rational and intelligible as to the matter in hand , as what the Theory offers ; though it be as extravagant as that is . So that where we speak never so positively , still what we deliver , is to be lookt upon , not as an Absolute , but Comparative Hypothesis .

And first let us sound the Waters of the Flood . I mean by a true and infallible Plumb-line ; even the same which Moses reaches out unto us , in the Seventh of Genesis . So we shall find there is a great mistake in the common Hypothesis touching their Depth . For whereas they have been supposed , to be fifteen Cubits higher than the highest Mountains ; they were indeed but fifteen Cubits high in all , above the surface of the Earth . Not that the Waters were no where higher than just fifteen Cubits above the Ground : they might in most places be thirty , forty , or fifty Cubits high or higher . The reason is evident ; because the surface of the Earth , were all its Hills gone , would be still ●even , and some parts of it considerably higher than others . Thus , * * Some think Italy the highest ; because the ascent up the Alpes is very great on the French and German side ; but the descent on the Italian side , inconsiderable . Helvetia is reckoned the highest Country in Europe . And in proof of as much , it sends forth four great Rivers into the four several Quarters of the Europian World . That is to say , the Danube , Eastward ; the Rosne , Westward ; the Rhine , Northward ; and the Po , Southward . For though the Earth be a Globe , yet it is not one so true and exact , but were the Mountains taken off it , I say , it would still be rising or prominent in some places by the height of many Cubits , over what it is in others . At which rate , when the Flood ascended fifteen Cubits above the Earth where it is highest ( which was the true height of the Flood ) most of the surface of the Earth might be four or five times as deep under water . Thus , when Switzerland ( suppose ) was drowned to the height of fifteen Cubits ; most of Europe might be drowned many times as high . And indeed that the Earth was uneven ( as we have said ) and much higher in some places than in others ; cannot be doubted : it being but a wise and most necessary piece of Providence , that it should be so contrived . For otherwise spacious plain Countries ( if habitable at all ) would have yielded but incommodious Dwellings . I mean , because they must have been perfectly level , and so would have lacked devexities needful for Water-courses . For Rivers , we know , never flow but in way of decurse or running downward , off precipices , steepnesses , or declivities .

3. This therefore we lay down as the Foundation of our Hypothesis , that the highest parts of the Earth , that is , of the common surface of it , were under Water but fifteen Cubits in depth : which would drown the rest of its superficies , very sadly and sufficiently . And this , I say , we learn from Moses ; who knowing it himself by Inspiration , to inform us of as much , has committed it to writing , in the Seventh Chapter of Genesis . For there we read at the eighteenth Verse , That the waters prevailed greatly upon the earth . And at the nineteenth Verse , that the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth . And how greatly and exceedingly did they prevail upon the Earth ? That we have specified in the twentieth ver. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fifteen Cubits upward did the waters prevail . What can be more clear or express ? They prevailed fifteen Cubits and no more . Fifteen Cubits upward ; that is , upon the Earth . Upon which they are said to prevail greatly , and to prevail exceedingly ( in the two foregoing Verses ) that is upon the highest parts of its common surface .

And thus our Supposition stands supported by Divine Authority , as being founded upon Scripture . That tells us , as plainly as it can speak , that the Waters prevailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth . ( The cited Text , as a certain Plumb-line , shows them to have been no deeper , where the Earth bosoms out , and is most prominent . ) And so it puts an useful key into our hands , to help us to unlock the mystery of the Deluge , and to free the Doctrine of it from great difficulties and inconveniencies ; which have run Men , it seems , upon irrational and unintelligible means and methods of explaining it .

4. Before we lay down any other Arguments in confirmation of the Hypothesis ; let us try if the light of Scripture , which shows the Depth of the Flood so plainly , will not also discover to us more clearly than yet has been done , what those Fountains of the great Deep were , which at the time of the Flood were cleaved , or * * Gen. 7. 11. broken up . And truly this it seems to do very notably ; giving us to understand , that they were but certain Caverns . Such Caverns , I mean , as were contained in Rocks and Mountains . And so the breaking up of the Fountains of Tehom Rabbah , or the great Deep , ( which the Theory insists so much upon ) was no more than the breaking up of such Caverns . This is evident from Psal. 78. 15. Where it is said , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , He clave the Rocks ( the Rock Rephidim , and the Rock in Cadesh ) and gave them drink 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , † † So Schindler , Buxtor● , Bithnor , &c. read the word : tho in a Copy by me , it is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Abyssis magnis , in the great Deeps . That is , he gave them that for drink , which was in those great Deeps till he fetcht it out of them . And what great Deeps could they be , but great deep Caverns in the Rocks ? and the better to evince , that the breaking open of the Fountains of the great deep , Gen. 7. 11. and the cleaving of those Rocks in the Wilderness , Psal. 78. 15. were , in effect , but the same thing : the same Hebrew * * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , is Moses's word : 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Psalmist's . So , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , are Moses's words : and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Psalmist's . words are used in both places .

But though these Caverns be called Deeps , we must not take them for profound places that went down into the Earth below the common surface of it : on the contrary , they were situate above it . And therefore the Waters issuing out of them , came running down . So we find in the next verse of the same Psalm , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , He caused them to run down . And Wisd. 11. 4. the Water is said to be given de petra altissima , from a most high Rock . And Gejerus upon that place in the 78 th Psalm , does not only observe , that GOD made the Waters to descend , ex petra praeeminente , out of a very high Rock ; but also notes the reason why he did so , ut origo aquarum omnibus pateret ; that the source of the Waters might appear to all . We cannot but remember likewise , that this water is said , 1 Cor. 10. 4. to follow the Israelites . Which speaks it to have had a fall from an elevated Situation . And indeed if it had not , it could not so well have run along with their Camp perhaps to Cadesh , where we next find them at a want for Water . Though if the Rock in Rephidim did supply them all-a-long in their intermediate marches and stages ; we must needs conclude there were extraordinary accessions of Water into the great Deeps , or Caverns of it ; out of which it flowed with so very plentiful and lasting Streams . The least that can be imagined , is , That they were so framed as to draw abundance of Vapours into themselves ; which being dissolved in the Vaults within , from thence gushed out in a continued Torrent . Not unlike to the Waters in Tenariff , which every day pour down from a most high mountain ; being generated ( I conceive ) of great store of Vapours which gather in some large hollownesses of the same , and through secret passages ascend to its Top. For on it there stands a certain Tree , continually covered with a Misty Cloud ; which every day melting at Noon , discharges it self so copiously as to serve the whole Island ; on which there never yet fell a showre , save that one which was forty days long .

I have set down the high situation of these Caverns or Fountains , as forestalling an Objection , that might thus be made . If the great Deeps , whose Waters help'd to raise the Flood ; were no other than Caverns ; the Waters they afforded would contribute nothing to that use : for as soon as they had come out , others would have run into their places immediately , and so they had as good have kept in still . But now these Caverns being of an eminent or raised site , the Waters they yielded towards the Flood , might help to swell it to its due pitch , according as we have set it ; without any kind of danger , or indeed possibility , either of their own returning , or of others running into their room .

In case it be urged that Caverns , especially Caverns so high situate , cannot properly be called great DEEPS : I answer , The HOLY GHOST has been pleased to give them that name , and his authority is not to be disputed . So we find him styling the Red Sea , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , * * Isai. 51. 10. the great Deep ( as big a name as can be given to the vastest profoundest Ocean now , and a bigger than was given to the whole Mass of Waters at first , it being called but , the Deep , simply ) which yet , for a Sea , was neither Great , nor Deep . Though those Caverns which were opened at the Flood , might well be as Deep , as they were Great ; measuring their Depths , from above , downward , towards the surface of the Earth .

And whereas the Psalmist speaks of the great DEEPS , as of many ; and Moses of the great DEEP , as but of one : this does not argue but the same thing might be meant by both . For as in Scripture , a Plural word , is sometimes but of a Singular signification ; ( thus the Ark is said to rest upon the Mountains of Ararat , when it could rest but upon one single Mountain : ) so a Singular word , does sometimes carry the force of a Plural one with it ; ( thus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Quail , is put for the numberless multitude of them , Exod. 16. 13. ) And therefore the different Numbers used by the Holy Writers in this Case , need not set them at variance , or imply , that they intended different things . And then tho' Moses speaks of the great Deep , singularly , as but of , one ; yet he speaks of all the Fountains of that Deep , as of , many : which makes the Expression somewhat more parallel to the Psalmist's , great Deeps . And then though the Psalmist puts the Substantive , DEEPS , in the Plural Number ; yet he puts , GREAT , the Adjective , in the Singular : and so goes as far to meet Moses ( as I may say ) as Moses comes to meet him . And lastly , the Septuagint and Vulgar both , do render the Psalmist's , DEEPS in the Singular Number , Deep : as if it were no matter * * So , the Red Sea , which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Deep , Esai. 51. 10. is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Deeps , Exod. 15. 5. Yea , Isaiah , who in 51. of his Prophecy , calls it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the Singular Number ; in 63. Chap. 13. calls it , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the Plural . whether Number were used .

Should it be urged farther yet , that no such Deeps or Caverns are found in the Earth now adays , and therefore it may be questioned , whether there ever were any or no : It might be answered . Though there are many of them , yet they may be of no easie discovery ; as being inclosed with very thick Walls , and shut up within vastest and highest Mountains or Rocks . And truly so closely and strongly were they immur'd , in the Prediluvian State ; that had not ALMIGHTY GOD broken them up by his own Power ( as he did those in Rephidim ) they might have continued entire and undiscerned to this very day . Though when by Omnipotence these mighty Cisterns of Nature were let go , and their Waters run out in a great measure ; no wonder at all that the sides of many of them should cave in ; making the Mountains or Rocks whereunto they belonged , very rough , and craggy , and deformed things ; and scattering huge Stones , and such heaps of Rubbish whereabouts they fell , as might imitate the Ruines of a dissolved World ; and show not only the Scars of a broken-fac'd Earth , but moreover ( as one would think ) the very Entrails of it strangely burst out , and as it were , torn and mangled all to pieces . And as a little marvel it is again , that the Crowns of several high Rocks and Hills , sinking right down into the Caverns beneath them , and being not able to fill them up ; should leave huge Pans on their Tops respectively . While innumerable others yet , that were broached and well nigh drawn off at the Flood ; have for many Ages stood dry and gaping : and have been Dens for wild Beasts ; and sometimes Refuges , and sometimes , it may be , Habitations for Men ; as being of very considerable Capacities . Of this sort , 't is like , was that Cave in Engedi , which was able to receive David and his Six hundred Men : and for ought we know , might have held as many more . For these are said to * * 1 Sam. 24. 3. remain in the sides of the Cave , and were so well hidden ; that King Saul , who was there at the same time , perceived not one of them . And that there were store of such Caves in Palestine , into which ( in time of Invasion by Enemies , &c. ) the Inhabitants of the Country used to retire , even by whole Villages or Towns at once ; is very well known . * * Antiq. l. 14. c. 27. Iosephus makes mention of some of these Caves in high Rocks and Mountains ; which being possessed by Robbers , King Herod was fain to let down armed Souldiers an unspeakable depth into them , in Chests with Iron Chains , to fight the Wretches in those their Fastnesses . † † Lib. 16. Strabo likewise reports , That towards Arabiae , and Iturea , there are steep Mountains famous for deep Caves , one of which is able to receive Four thousand Men. Nor is it to be doubted but that in all rocky and mountainous Regions , there are plenty of most capacious Caverns . a a Saepius enim in consiniis vel in ipsis visceribus montium , quàm alibi , capacissimae cavernae reperiumeur . Pag. 68. The Theory it self allows them to be more common in such places , than elsewhere .

Should any go on to object , That the Waters issuing out of these Caverns , upon their Disruption , would have made but a slender contribution towards raising the mighty Universal Deluge : I answer ,

First , They contributed as much to that purpose , as Divine Providence thought fit and necessary .

Secondly , They increased the Waters which ran down the Mountains at the time of the Flood ; and so did service in hindring both Men and other Creatures from ascending those Mountains ; which might be the chief work they were designed to do .

Thirdly , Scripture it self lays the main of the Flood upon the Rain-waters , ascribing it mostly to them . For so GOD declares , Gen. 7. 4. Yet seven days , and I will cause it to rain upon the Earth , forty days , and forty nights ; and every living substance that I have made , will I destroy from of the face of the Earth . Where the great Deluge which was to destroy the then Animal World ; is owned as proceeding from the forty days Rain . Intimating that the Waters of it , were to rise mainly from them ; and as for those flowing out of the Fountains of the Deep , they were not to be of equal quantity or use . And indeed had they been so , they would have swelled the Flood to too high a pitch . And therefore though they made but the least part of that fatal Deluge ; yet so long as they did what was proper and needful , and what the great GOD intended they should do ; that was sufficient .

If , Lastly , it be objected ; How could Waters come into these Caverns ? I answer ; By a very natural and easie way ; even the same way that Springs do now rise and flow out of Rocks and Mountains . For great Mountains having great Caverns in them , upon the account of their Origination ( as being heaved up by the force of that flatuous fermentive moisture ( turn'd into vapours ) wherewith the Earth at first abounded ) how easily would those Caverns be filled with vapours , by the influence of the Sun ; and then those vapours condensed into Water , by the coldness of those Caverns ? For what were the great Mountainous Caverns , but as it were the Heads of vast Stills , as much disposed by Nature to condense Vapours ; as the other are by Art . Yea , as cold Water , or wet Cloths , are applied to the Heads of artificial Stills , to help forward their work : So huge quantities of Snow , which outwardly and continually cover the higher parts of some Mountains ; might have the like effect on Caverns within . Now these Vapours being thus changed into Waters ; the Particles of that would certainly be too gross , to sink down into the Earth again through the little Pores , by which they ascended or were drawn up out of it . So that unless it could find ways , whereby to run forth and discharge it self at places in the nature of Springs ; there it was bound to stay till Providence should release it from its close imprisonment ; which it did miraculously at the time of the Flood , by breaking up the Caverns , or great Deeps that contain'd it , and suffering a very great deal of it to run out .

So that still the great Deep Caverns of the Mountains , may very well pass for the Fountains of Moses 's Tehom Rabbah . And that which helps to encourage ( not to say ) and confirm the Notion ; is , That no one of the several things , which have been understood to be that great Deep ; can fill up the Character of it so fairly , and at the same time answer the ends and uses of it , in respect of the Deluge , so fully ; as these Caverns . Not the Open Sea ; for as it could not properly be broke open , as being open already ; so the Waters of that were by no means sufficient to make such a Flood , as Noah's has been all-a-long reputed . Or in case they had been sufficient ; yet being drawn out of the Sea , to drown the Earth , what Waters should have filled the Sea again ? Or if it stood empty , what should have hindred the same Waters from running back into it ? Not the Waters in the Bowels of the Earth : for if they were there in such plenty ( as 't is confest there is room enough for them ) as to have been able to have made a much greater Flood than Noah's ; yet then against their nature they must have risen above their Source ; and being so risen , they must have stood , so long as the Flood lasted , in a miraculous opposition to their own nature , inclining them to retire from whence they came . Not the Supercelestial Waters : for then the breaking up of the Fountains of the great Deep ; and the opening of the Windows of Heaven ; must be one and the same thing . Whereas by Moses they are very plainly and carefully distinguisht . Not the inclosed Abyss ; for then ( besides that the whole Hypothesis , so improbable , must be allowed ) the forty days Rain would have been utterly needless . Because then the falling of the Earth into the Abyss , being the breaking up of the Fountains of the great Deep ; it must have fallen in , the very first day that Noah went into the Ark ; because on that very day all the Fountains of the great Deep were broken up , Gen. 7. 11. And if by the Earth's falling into the Abyss , the World were drowned the first day that Noah entered the Ark ( as of necessity it must have been , if the Earth were dissolved and fell that day ) to what purpose should it after that , rain for forty days together ? And whereas it is said , Gen. 8. 2. That the Fountains of the Deep were stopped ; the Earth broken down into the Abyss was never made up again , nor the Abyss it self covered ; but remains still as open as ever : To which Particular Heads , let me add but one more , which has a kind of general Relation to them all . If either the open Sea , or the Waters within the Earth , or the Waters above the Heavens , or the Abyss under the Earth , had been the great Deep meant by Mos●s ; none of them had any true or proper Fountains in them . And so what will become of , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , all the Fountains of the great Deep ?

But now supposing that the Caverns in the Mountains were this great Deep ; how surprizingly do all these things fall in with them ? For First , They are called great Deeps by the HOLY GHOST ( as has been noted ) Psal. 78. Secondly , They were capable of being cleaved or broke open ; as being fast shut up . Thirdly , They were able to afford a competent quantity of Water ; even as much as it was necessary they should yield . Fourthly , The Water that came forth of them , could never return into them more . Fifthly , The breaking them up , must be quite another thing , than opening the Windows of Heaven . Sixthly , They might all be broke up the same day that Noah took into the Ark. Seventhly , The Rain which fell in the forty days , would still have been as needful as ever . Eighthly , They were stopped again , as strictly and literally , as they were broken up . Lastly , They were as true and distinct Fountains , as any in the World . So that if they were not the real Fountains of the Mosaic Tehom Rabbah ; one would think they might well have been so .

5. But let us now pass ( as it is time we should ) to a Second Ground upon which we build the probability of our Hypothesis , above specified ; namely , That the Flood was but fifteen Cubits higher than the highest parts of the surface of the Earth . And that Ground is this : Supposing that to have been the true height of the Flood , it will not only be possible , but very easie to find Water enough for it , without recourse to such Inventions ; as have been , and justly may be disgustful , not only to nice and squeamish , but to the best and soundest Philosophic Judgments .

For thus , in the First place , we need not call in the Theory's assistance ; an Hypothesis ( how ingenious soever in the contrivance and contexture of it ) guilty of unjustifiable absurdities .

Nor , Secondly , need we fly to a New Creation of Water , to gain a sufficient quantity of it . An Expedient that sounds harshly in the Ears of many . And that not only because they are of Opinion , that GOD finisht the work of Creation in the first six days ; But because he has expresly declared , That the true and only Causes of the Deluge were these Two ; The breaking up of all the Fountains of the great Deep , and the opening of the Windows of Heaven . To which may be added , That the Creation of so vast a quantity of Water , as should have surmounted the highest Hills ; would certainly have inferred , either an enlargement of the whole Universe to receive it ; and so a Dislocation , and consequently a disorder of its parts respectively : or else a Penetration of the Dimensions of Bodies ; while so much new matter should have sprung into being , more than ever existed ; and yet have been confined to the same space of aboad , that was before fill'd up in its whole capacity .

Nor need we , Thirdly , to fetch Waters from the Supercelestial Regions . Where , if the Heavens be Fluid , how could they have kept from falling down , so long ? And if they be Solid , how could they possibly have descended at last ? For in their descent they must have bored their way through several Orbs as hard as Crystal , and how thick , we know not . Besides , these Waters must have been lodg'd either below the Stars , or above them . If below them , they would have hid them from our sight . The Sun himself cannot be seen through a watry Cloud ; how much less the Stars through a watry Ocean ? Nor will it help , to say , the Element of Water above is more fine and transparent than the Waters below . For were it as thin as an ordinary Mist , still it would hide the Sun's Face from us , though it might transmit his light . In case they were plac'd above the Stars , they must have been delug'd before the Earth could have been so ; as intercepting them in their fall . Nor could they have slid off the Stars again , dropping down to the Earth , unless that were the Center of the Universe , which is hard to prove ; yea , most absurd to think .

Nor will it be necessary , in the Fourth place , to suppose the Mass of Air , or greatest part of it , was changed into Water , to make the Deluge . A change which some will by no means admit of , as being not hitherto proved by Experiment . Yet I cannot but own that the best Philosophers have thought it fecible , and also believed it to be actually done . The * * Vid. Diog. Laert. Pro●em . Egyptians conceived ( Manethus and Hecataeus both attest ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That Rains were made by the version of Air. † † In Timaeo . Plato was of the same Opinion ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . That Air being thickned and condensed , made Clouds and Mists . And so was Philo. For besides that he affirms * * Lib. de Somn. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that it varies and runs through all manner of mutations : He says expresly in † † Lib. de Mund. incorrupt . another Place , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. That Air , being condensed , turns to Water . And again , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . That the Air being condensed may be compressed into Water . And then brings in Heraclitus affirming , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Destruction of Air , to be the generation of Water . To this also the Lord Verulam consents , offering to make it good by sundry * * Nat. Hist. Cent. 1. Exper . 27 , 76 , 77 , 78 , &c. Experiments . Though all of them , I think , come short of Demonstration , or of a clear and satisfactory proof of the Phaenomenon . ( And to name the two greatest Philosophers next . ) Aristotle asserts this transmutation , in his Book de Mundo . And Des-Cartes subscribes to it as possible and real . a a Cùm isti globuli paulo minus solito agunt , aquam in glaciem mutent , & particulas aeris in aquam . Princip. Part. 4. Artic. 48. When those Globules move a little slower than ordinary , they may change Water , into Ice ; and the Particles of Air , into Water . And the Famous and Honourable b b Exper. Physico-mechan . Mr. Boyle ( in his 22. Experiment ) leaves it undetermin'd , whether or no Air be a primigenial Body , that cannot now be generated and turned into Water . And truly as Clavius his Glass of Spring-water ( mentioned in that Experiment ) Hermetically sealed up for fifty Years past , and reposited in the Musaeum Kercherianum ; does not prove that Water can't be turn'd into Air , because the Water continu'd there so long without diminution : so neither will M. Rohault's Glass seal'd up the same way full of Air , and kept in a Vessel of Water in a Wine-Cellar three whole Years ; argue that Air can't be turn'd into Water , because none of that Air at the three Years end , was found to have suffered such a change ; there being not the least drop of Water in the Glass . We only learn from hence , that we have not yet attain'd to the right Operation , of changing these Elements into one another .

We will grant therefore that by the power of Nature , Air may be turned into Water . Yet neither will that take off the whole Difficulty in this Case . For if most of the Air incircling the Earth , had been thus changed ( and all of it could not , because then respiration would have been impossible to Mankind , and the surviving Animals in the Ark ) it could not have furnisht Water enough for the Flood ; a great deal of Air going to make up a little quantity of Water : ( Which the proportion of gravity betwixt Water and Air , of equal bulk , it being ( found to be ) as of a thousand to one ; does sufficiently evince . ) But in case it could have yielded Water enough , yet inconveniences would still have remained . Particularly , it would have endangered sucking down the Moon , as the Theorist ‖ ‖ English Theor. p. 21. observes . The changing also of one great Body into another , which after transmutation takes up so much less room than it did before ; does either suppose that the whole Frame of the World must sink closer together ( which would occasion a strange discomposure in it ) to fill up the space that Change would make empty : or that in Nature there must be a Vacuum . Though ( by the way ) when our SAVIOUR multiplied Bread upon Earth , that need have no such influence on the World , either as to expansion or contraction of it ; as the new Creation of Waters above mentioned , or this production of them by transmutation , does imply . For besides that the Matter changed was much less in quantity ; the change might be made in such a Substance , as did take up just the same room in the World before its mutation , as after it .

Fig: 4 Pag: 317

Nor need we trouble our selves in the Sixth place about Sub-terrestrial Waters . Which ( if never so free passages had been opened for them ) could no more have flowed up out of the Bowels of the Earth ; than Waters can do out of our deepest Wells . Yea , with much more difficulty they must have ascended , in regard they were far deeper in the ground ; and also must have boiled up against the weight and pressure of the incumbent Flood , even then when perhaps it was a Mile or two high .

As for Blood flowing out of a Vein ( when prickt ) in a Man's Head ; it is nothing like a Proof that Water may rise and flow above its source . For there is a vital strength and motion forcing it out , and Nature conspires as much to help the Course of that Blood , as she does to hinder this Course of the Waters we speak of . Engines it may be in the heart of the Earth , might be able to send up Waters on to the surface of it ; as the Heart in the midst of the Body , sends Blood to its Extremities . But we hear of no Engines made to raise the Flood .

Nor need we , in the Last place , to betake our selves to a Topical or Partial Deluge . A thing which some have done , meerly to avoid the necessity of such a vast deal of Water , as they knew not where to have for a general Flood , according to the rate of the old Hypothesis : or in case they could have had it , knew not how to get rid of it again . Whereas let fifteen Cubits above the Earth , be the highest Water-mark of the Flood ; and then as the Clouds and Caverns would have yielded Water enough to raise it : so when its work was done , the quantity of this Water would not have been so excessive , but it might easily be dried up in that space of time , in which Moses declares it was so .

And this is that which in the Second place , gives countenance to our Hypothesis . It makes the Flood to be such , as Nature out of her Store-houses could very well send on to the Earth ; and when she had done , as conveniently take it off again . And so we are excused from running to those Causes or Methods , which seem unreasonable to some , and unintelligible to others , and unsatisfactory to most .

6. A Third thing , which gives credit to our Conjecture , and makes it look like truth ; is its agreeing so handsomely with St. Peter's Description of the Deluge . The Heavens were of old , and the Earth standing out of the Water and in the Water , whereby the World that then was , being overflowed with Water , perished , 2 Pet. 3. 5 , 6. How exactly does this suite with the Hypothesis proposed ? For according to it , the Earth stood partly , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , in the Water ; the most of it being overflowed ; and in such a measure , as that the Animal World thereby perished . And yet a great part of the Earth ( as much as the upper parts of high Mountains come to ) was standing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , out of the Water , at the same time . Yea , if a Zeugma in the words , makes , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , standing , relate to , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Heavens , as well as to , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Earth ; yet our Explication of the Deluge will fall in very fairly with that too . Inasmuch as the Heavens stood then in the Water , and out of the Water , as well as the Earth . For their Territories were then invaded in some measure ; the Water rising , where it incroached least , fifteen ; in most places , it may be , thirty , forty , or fifty Cubits into them . And therefore so high they were standing in the Water ; as all above was standing out of the same . And which is something more , the Heavens and the Earth will thus be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , standing together out of the Water and in the Water ( as some will have the word signifie there ) both of them being in the like circumstances , at the same juncture of time . I will only add under this head , That taking the Heavens here mention'd , for the lowest Region of the Air , or for the lower part of that Region ; is but consonant to the Sacred Style .

7. A Fourth advantage commending our Hypothesis , is , That it puts the drowned Earth , into a far more habitable condition at the Flood 's going off , than otherwise it could have been in . That Noah's Flood was Universal , is most clear from Scripture . Behold , I , even I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth , to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life , from under heaven , and every thing that is in the earth shall die , Gen. 6. 17. So the ALMIGHTY threatned ; and what he threatned he fully made good . And all flesh died that moved upon the earth , both of fowl , and of cattel , and of beast , and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth , and every man . All in whose nostrils was the breath of life , of all that was in the dry land , died . And every living substance was destroyed , which was upon the face of the ground , both man and cattel , and the creeping things , and the fowl of heaven ; they were destroyed from the earth ; and Noah only remained alive , and they that were with him in the ark , Gen. 7. 21 , 22 , 23. And if all flesh under heaven , and every thing in the earth , even every living substance upon the face of the ground , were destroyed and died ; and Noah only remained alive , and the creatures in the ark : hence it will follow , that the whole Earth was drowned , or else that Mankind was not generally spread through all the Regions of the same . But that the Earth was generally inhabited before the Deluge , we need not doubt , nor can we well deny . For the Consequence would be , That the Prediluvians begat fewer Children , or lived shorter lives , than the Postdiluvians ; which would not be phanciful only , but false . Though truly if some Countries had not been peopled , still they must have been drowned ; that so fowl and creeping things , &c. might be destroyed , according to the Testimony of the HOLY GHOST . Yet admitting this , that the entire Earth was overflowed ; and that to such an height , that the loftiest Hills ( as is commonly believed ) had their Tops fifteen Cubits under Water : and what a Case must the Earth have been in , upon drying up of the Flood ? What abundance of Mud , Slime , and Filthiness , must every where have covered the surface of it ? How thick must it have lain ? How close must it have stuck ? And how hard would it have been to have clear'd the ground of it ? Attica , upon this account , ( as was observed before ) after a far less Flood , was not peopled for the space of three hundred Years .

Nor will the Theory's Explication of the Deluge , help here ; unless it be to make things worse ▪ For had the Flood been caused by so strange a fraction and falling in of the Earth , as that supposeth ; this would have added very much to its ●oulness , and so to its Barrenness for a time ( as above remembred ) and consequently to its unfitness for immediate habitation .

But now according to the way that we go , the uppermost parts of Mountains could never be drowned ; and so never clogg'd neither , or dawb'd over with the filth of the roiled Waters . So that let but the floating Ark , have stopped at last by the side of some very large Hill ; and the Earth would there have been ready to receive all that came out of it . And that after all its Tossings , it did rest near to , or in some sense upon such a tall vast Hill ( perhaps the biggest the Earth has ) is rightly believed , as being taught from above . And indeed its doing so , seems to be no other than a signal Providence , and a special effect of Heavens particular Care . That so those few Creatures , which out-lived that grievous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or general destruction that fell so heavy on the animate World , might not be destitute of fit habitations and sustenance .

And truely that Mankind , upon quitting the Ark , did inhabit Mountains for a considerable time ; may be gathered ( as some think ) out of the Tenth and Eleventh Chapters of Genesis . For there it appears that they were grown numerous ( say they ) when they left the Hills , and came down to settle in the Plains of Shinar . But then if they did chuse the Hills for their Seat , and stay there so long before they removed their Quarters ; one reason might be the unfitness of the lower grounds to entertain them , as affording at first no commodious Dwellings . And whereas they would have them to keep on the Hills with design to secure themselves from future Floods : such a Design would have been utterly vain . For what security could they expect , by their abode in Mountains , from Floods to come ; when the highest Mountains were over-top'd no less than fifteen Cubits , by one so lately past ?

8. A Fifth Plea which may be taken up in favour of our Hypothesis , is its Coherence with Geography . Wherein it seems to be much more plausible than the old Hypothesis , or that of the Theory . It falls in with it , by a far more natural and justifiable Compliance , than either of them do . As for the Theory , it flatly denies that there were Hills or Valleys , or Seas , or Islands before the Flood : which Geography hitherto never dreamt of . The old Hypothesis also makes the Mountains of Ararat or Armenia , the highest in the Earth : and this , Geography again cannot down with . And indeed the chief reason why they have been reputed the highest , is , because the Ark has always been presumed to rest on the top of them ; and in that regard it was requisite they should be the highest . But our Hypothesis ties up none to the belief of this neither . Nor indeed does it seem to be worthy of credit , as shall be noted by and by .

CHAP. XVI . 1. Objections must be answered . 2. Our Exposition of Scripture not to be made an Objection by the Theorist , or any that hold with him . 3. The First Objection from the Hills being covered , answered . 4. The Second , from the Arks resting upon the Mountains of Ararat , answered . 5. The Third , from the appearing of the Tops of the Mountains , upon the decrease of the Waters , answered . 6. The Fourth , from the possibility of Mens being saved from the Flood without the Ark , answered . 7. The Fifth , from the likelihood of other Creatures escaping , answered . 8. The Sixth , from the imaginary excess of Water , answered . 9. The Seventh , from the Raven which Noah sent out of the Ark , answered . 10. The Eighth , from danger of Shipwrack which the Ark would have been in . 11. A General Answer to farther Objections .

1. WE have seen a New way of explaining the Flood proposed : or a New Hypothesis concerning it erected . We have seen how it is built ; upon what Grounds it stands ; and with what reasons and considerations it is supported and establisht . But as things that are new and any whit strange , are commonly received with more than ordinary Notice ; so new Doctrines , and strange Hypotheses , are usually entertain'd with Disputes and Objections . It will be necessary therefore to look out a little , and to see what Objections are like to meet us in the way that we go : and so to apply Answers to them respectively ; at least to the chief of them .

2. But first , I must premise , that we have no reason to take this for an Objection ( I mean from the Theorist , or others who take their measures from him ) that we expound a Text or two of Scripture so as none ever did ; and deserting the common received sense , put an unusual Gloss upon them ( not to say , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , a private interpretation . ) This , I say , is not to be urged against us by the Theorist , or by those that think fit to abide by his Hypothesis . For himself exceeds us in the same thing . We only take a few steps , out of the beaten path of Expositors ; and that with open and professed diffidence : whereas he has advanced , in as untroden a way , with a great deal of boldness .

3. The First Objection may be raised , from the Hills being covered . So we read Gen. 7. 19. That all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered . And verse 20. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail , and the mountains were covered . Whence it has been concluded , That the Waters of the Flood prevailed to such an height , that they covered the tops of the highest Hills under Heaven Fifteen Cubits upward . But the Holy Text says no such thing . It tells us indeed , That the Waters prevailed fifteen Cubits upwards ; but this might be meant as to the Earth only : upon which , it had told us just before , the Waters prevailed 〈◊〉 , and prevailed exceedingly . And truly when they came to be fifteen Cubits upward on the highest parts of the surface of the Earth ; whereby they might be four or five times as high above its general Superficies ( as we have observed ) this was really a great and exceeding prevalence . But where it speaks of the high hills and mountains , it says no more of them , than , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and they were covered . And so indeed they were , and fifteen Cubits upward too , that is , on their sides . For the Waters prevailing so high above the surface of the Earth whereon they were founded , the bottoms of them must needs stand up so deep in those Waters . But to affirm the Tops of them did so , is perhaps to make the Comment out-run the Text , they being not said to be covered .

And as the Original may bear this Interpretation ; so the Septuagint seems not to disallow it . For that renders the Hebrew thus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the water was lifted up fifteen Cubits upwards . But it does not in the least express , that it was lifted up so many Cubits above the tops of the high Hills and Mountains . Nor will the Vulgar Latin dissent from it , if rightly understood . It says , Quindecim cubitis altior fuit aqua super montes quos operuerat . The Water was fifteen Cubits higher upon the Mountains which it had covered . But then , altior super montes , may not signifie , that it was higher upon the tops ( as was said before ) but only upon or about the sid●s of the Mountains . And so ( I remember ) when Q. Curtius would express Peoples sitting about a Table ; he says , They were super mensam . And when he would express their sitting about a Banquet ; he says , They were super vinum & epulas . According to which , Water fifteen Cubits high super montes ; may be Water so high about the Mountains : and so high indeed it had covered them .

And the truth is , the Waters of the Flood never were , nor could be fifteen Cubits above the Tops of the highest Mountains ; though we allow the Assertors of the Old Hypothesis , to expound the Story of the Flood their own way . To make this out ,

We read , Gen. 8. 4. That the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , says the Hebrew ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , say the LXX . it sat there . That is ( as the Assertors of the Old Hypothesis will have it ) * * Arcae moles aquas penetravit . à Lapide in Gen. 8. 5. The bulk of the Ark pierced through the Waters , and so the bottom of it stood upon the Mountain under it . Nor could it rest or sit there otherwise , because the Tops of the Mountains were not as yet above Water , the Flood being at its height . For when was it that the Ark thus rested ? Why , in the Seventh Month , on the seventeenth day of the Month. And then was the Deluge at the highest . For it is said ( Chap. 7. 24. ) That the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days . That is ( according to the Assertors of the Old Hypothesis ) they were increasing , or kept as high as ever for so long time . Which ( as the Iews used to reckon their Months , making them all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to consist of thirty days apiece ) will amount to five Months precisely . So that count from the seventeenth day of the Second Month , when the Flood began to come in ; to the sev●●teenth day of the Seventh Month , when the Ark sat upon the Mountains of Ararat : and the hundred and fifty days will be expired just . But then if the Ark rested upon those Mountains at that time , and in that manner , as is said ; it is most certain that the tops of the highest Hills , could never be covered by Water , fifteen Cubits upward . For then if the bottom of the Ark had rested on the Mountains , the whole Body of it must have been quite under Water , and we know not how deep . The reason is , because there are Mountains in the World , very much higher than those of Ararat . For by those Mountains , the Assertors of the common Hypothesis , generally understand the Mountains of Armenia . And the Vulgar says expresly , That the Ark rested upon the Mountains of Armenia . And the Septuagint sometime renders Ararat , Armenia . Yea , the Chaldee Paraphrast uses the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , as pointing at the Cordiaean Hills . But that there are Mountains much higher than they , is evident enough from most considerable Writers . † † Hist. of the World , l. 1. c. 7. §. 10. † X. Sir Walter Raleigh declares that the Mountains of Ararat , or any parts of them , are not of equal stature to many other Mountains in the World . And again , That the Mountains of Gordiaei — are the highest of the World , the same is absolutely false . Nor does he deliver this as his own judgment only , but presently adds , * * † XI . That the best Cosmographers , with others that have seen the Mountains of Armenia , find them far inferior and underset to divers other Mountains even in that part of the World , and elsewhere . And then he instanceth in Athos as one ●ar surmounting any Mountain that ever hath been seen in Armenia : and cites Castaldus for it . And to that he adds Mount Olympus , 〈◊〉 to be of that height , as neither the Winds , Clouds , or Rain overtop it . Solinus , I confess , says as much , and his authority , I presume , has given credit to the thing . But Ludovicus * * Co● D. Aug. Civit. l. 15. c. 27. Vives seems to confute it ; and tells us of one , who going up the Mountain to search out the truth of the report , found it to be false . Though when Sir W. Raleigh preferred Olympus , as to its height , before the Armenian Hills ; he was certainly in the right . He brings in Antandrus also , averring that for height , to be of a far more admiration , than any in Armenia . And also the famous Mountains of Atlas , so high that the eye of no mortal Man can discern the top : for which he quotes Herodotus . And lastly , he concludes the Pike of Teneriff , to be the highest Mountain of the known World . And so do others as well as he , whereof Varennius is one . Yet some again take the American Andes to surpass all . Though Caucasus alone might have done our business . For as that is a part of Taurus , as the Mountains of Ararat are ; so it is known to all ( who know any thing of that nature ) to be much higher than they .

Now the Mountains of Ararat being certainly much lower than several others ; here is perfect demonstration ( to the Assertors of the general standing Hypothesis of the Flood ) that the Waters could not ( according to their Hypothesis , and their own Exposition of the Story of the Flood ) cover all the high Hills under heaven fifteen Cubits upward , I mean , the tops of them . For then the Ark could not have rested on the lower ones of Ararat , without being plunged under Water , and wholly swallowed up ; the Flood being at its highest pitch when it rested there .

And since it is evident , yea , plainly demonstrated , that the tops of the highest Hills could not be covered according to the tenor of the usual Hypothesis ; it is absolutely necessary , not only in regard of our Hypothesis , but in respect to the very Story of the Flood ; to interpret the Mountains being covered , to some other sense than has been put upon it . And that will bring on a like necessity of setting up a new Hypothesis for explaining the Flood ; whether ours may be it or no.

Let us now therefore ( as it is necessary ) enquire after another sense of the Mountains being covered . And First , there is a known Figure that frequently occurs in the Holy Volume ( as might be proved by a large Induction of instances ) whereby what is true of a thing but in part ; is notwithstanding affirmed of the whole . And in this sense all the high Hills under Heaven might be said to be covered ; because in part they were so , that is so far as the Waters reach'd up the sides of them . Or ,

Secondly , If there be not a Synecdoche in the case , there may be an Hyperbole . The Mountains may be said to be covered , to raise the representation of the Flood , and make it more stately , by putting an Air of excessive greatness into it . so we may observe , that there are few very grand and remarkable things in Scripture ; but the Mountains or Hills are brought in , to bear a part in their Character : to adorn and signalize , or set off their magnificence or excess . Thus a great steadiness is express'd by the stability of Mountains , Psal. 125. 1. They that trust in the LORD , shall be as mount Zion , which cannot be removed . A great safeguard or protection ; by an inclosure or incompassment with Mountains : as in the next Verse . The mountains are round about Ierusalem ; so the LORD is round about his people . A great destruction ; by the trembling of Mountains and removing of Hills , Jer. 4. 24. I beheld the Mountains , and lo they trembled , and all the Hills moved lightly . So a great fear is expressed by Mens calling out to Mountains to fall on them , and to hills to cover them , S. Luk. 23. 30. A great change ; by the passing away or disappearing of mountains , Rev. 16. 20. A great victory ; by threshing the mountains , and making the hills as chaff , Isai. 41. 15. A great joy ; by the singing of mountains Isai. , 44. 23. A great slaughter ; by Blood reaching to the Mountains . So GOD threatens to water the land of Egypt with blood , even to the mountains , Ezek. 32. 6. And that the mountains shall be melted with the blood of nations , Isai. 34. 3. As if Blood were not only to swim about the Mountains , and to run over the tops of them , as Noah's Waters ( are presum'd to have done ) but even to dissolve them and wash them quite down . Well might Moses hyperbolize as he did , in describing the Deluge of Water ; when the Prophet thus exceeds him in foretelling an Inundation of Blood .

By no means , may some object : and you have hinted the reason of it . Even because what Isaiah spake was in way of Prediction ; and such Hyperboles though they be common in Prophecies , are not used in History . I answer , Such Hyperbolical Schemes of Speech , are used in Historical , as well as in Prophetical matters . Thus the Psalmist referring to the majestic or great solemnity at the Promulgation of the Law ; says , the hills melted like wax , Psal. 97. 5. And relating some circumstances of Israels passing out of Egypt , he says the mountains skipped like rams , and the little hills like lambs , Psal. 114. 4. And if against this it be objected , that the Psalms are Poetical , and so these may be flights of Phancy , allowable to Poets only ; ( though to inspired ones , as well as to other : ) I answer , The like occurs in other Books of Scripture . Isaiah , for instance , reflecting upon great and terrible things that GOD had done for his People ; sets them forth by this Expression , The mountains flowed down at thy presence , Isai. 64. 3. And Habakkuk commemorating GOD 's miraculous proceedings in bringing the Israelites into Canaan ; says , the everlasting mountains were scattered , the perpetual hills did bow , Hab. 3. 6. And at the tenth Verse , the mountains saw thee , and they trembled .

So that when Moses described the Deluge , in so superlative or transcendent a strain , as by its covering the mountains , and all the high hills under heaven ; it might be but to ingrandize or amplifie the thing . It might be but an high flying ornamental Hyperbole , used to grace and greaten the Flood in his Description of it , and to render it the more stately . Or ,

Lastly , We must know ; that to cover a thing in Holy Style , is not always to surmount and overwhelm it : but very frequently to surround it only , or to be about it in great plenty or abundance . For so the HOLY GHOST does commonly express the copiousness of one thing by its covering another . Thus precious stones , are said to be a covering to the Tyrians , Ezek. 28. 13. because they wore them in great plenty about them . And the Iews are said to cover the altar of the LORD with tears and weeping , and with crying out , Mal. 2. 13. because they shed their Tears , and uttered their complaints very freely and plentifully thereabouts . So ( in the same sense ) some are said to be covered with shame ; and others , to be covered with confusion ; and others , to be covered with violence . Whence it is evident , that it is a Phrase whereby is expressed the plenty or exuberance of one thing above another . And so the Mountains and high Hills being covered with Waters , will signifie no more , than that they were surrounded with vast quantities of them . But a more adequate and evictive instance of this , Moses himself ( the fittest Man that could be in the case ) has given us . Who , setting down the Story of the Quails , Exod. 16. 13. says , That at even the quail came up and covered the camp . And how did these Quails cover the Camp ? He informs us , Numb. 11. 13. they fell by the camp as it were a days journey on this side , and a days journey on that side , round about the camp . But then as the Camps being covered with the Quails , was no more ( in Moses's language ) than its being surrounded with a multitude of them ; so the Mountains being covered with Waters , was no more than their being surrounded with great plenty of them . And , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which signifies , covered , Gen. 7. 19 , 20. and , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , that signifies , covered , here , Exod. 16. 13. do both spring from , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and are but one and the same word . As if by using the same word in both places , he would intimate , that he meant but the same thing in both Stories .

4. A Second Objection , may be the arks resting upon the mountains of Ararat , Gen. 8. 4. For that implys that the Waters of the Flood did certainly swell up above the tops of those Mountains ; else how could the Ark have been carried up thither , and have rested there ? I answer ,

First , That , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which is there rendred , upon ; does sometimes in Scripture , signifie , by . As 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the rivers of water , Psal. 1. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , by the camp , Numb. 11. 13. And so here , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , may signifie no more than , by the mountains of Ararat .

Secondly , If we yield the Ark to have rested upon the Mountains of Ararat ; yet then it might rest somewhere upon the foot or lowest part of those Mountains : for it is no where said to rest upon the top of them . And so this passage in the Divine Story , will not infer the least necessity of that vast height of the Flood , which it has usually been set at .

And then as to Civil Story , which tells how the Ark rested on the top of those Mountains ; we take leave to observe , that it is all-a-long chargeable either with incertainty , or with incongruity . It is still either Doubtful , as to the Thing ; or inconsistent with it self . Thus , for example , * * Antiq. l. 1. c. 4. Iosephus gives account out of Berosus , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. that a part of the Ship ( the Ark ) is in Armenia , on the Mountain of the Cordiaeans . But then this is ushered in with a , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , so it is said ; which makes the thing doubtful . And then , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may as well be rendred , near the Mountain , as on it . The same Iosephus , in the same Chapter also , thus certifies out of Nicolaus Damascenus . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , &c. Above Minias there is a great Mountain in Armenia called Baris , on which many that fled thither were saved in time of the Flood : and that a certain Man brought in an Ark , arrived at the top of the Mountain , and that the reliques of the Timber were kept there a long time . But then this is delivered incertainly again , with a , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , so it is reported . And for a matter to be reported , is one thing ; and really to be so , is another . And indeed this report agrees not with truth . For it says , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 : that many flying to this Mountain were saved . Whereas Scripture on the contrary assures us that but few were saved : and that not one was saved by flight , but all by the Ark alone . And then it is inconsistent with it self too . For how could the Ark drive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , up the very tip-top of a Mountain if there were no Water upon it ; but so much dry ground , as that many might be saved there , living together , not only Days , and Weeks ; but several Months , one after another .

Eusebius likewise and Cyril do both recite out of Abydenus the Assyrian , how 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Ship ( Ark ) in Armenia , did out of its Wood afford Amulets to them that dwelt thereabouts . But then the other circumstances of the account are strangely odd and fabulous . Namely , That Saturn who reigned at that time , forewarned Sisithrus ( Noah ) that there should fall abundance of Rain on the fifteenth of Desius ; and commanded him to hide what learned writings he had , in Heliopolis . Which , Sisithrus having done , he sailed directly into Armenia , and there quickly found what the GOD had told him , to be true . But then on the third day after the Tempest , sending out Birds to try whether they could see any Land that was not covered with Sea ; they returned again , as not finding any place where they could rest . After them he sent forth others ; and when he had sent the third time , the Gods took him away from amongst Men. Where the absurdities and incongruities of the Story ( if brought home to the truth of things ) are so many , and gross , and obvious ; that time would be perfectly lost , should I spend any in noting them .

I pass therefore to Benjamin the Iew , from whom I borrow the last citation of this nature . He says in his Itinerary , that the Ark of Noah rested upon the Hills of Ararat ; and that one Omar , of the Materials of it , built a Mahometan Synagogue . But then he adds that the Prince took it down , è Cacumine duorum montium , from the top of two Mountains . And that the Ark should be divided into two parcels , and the remains of it lodg'd upon the tops of two Hills at once ; is a passage that gives but small Credit to the Traveller's Report ; but is enough , methinks , as to this Particular , to call his fidelity into question .

Notwithstanding therefore what we meet with in History concerning it , we may lawfully conclude , that the Ark might not rest upon the top of the Armenian Mountains . Only one or two Writers of note , mistaking Moses , it may be , at first ; and telling the World with confidence , That the Ark rested on the top of these Mountains ( when he might mean no more than that it rested by them , or on some low Ridge of them ) others might follow them , and others them again ; and so all might run on in a Track of error , as smoothly as if they had been in the way of truth . Thus , when St. Chrysostom , Epiphanius , Isidore , and others , tell that the Ark rested upon the top of these Mountains ; and that certain , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , remnants of it were to be seen there in their days : they were probably over-rul'd by History or Hearsay ; and so easily mis-led by such as went before them . And indeed that the thing was utterly false , we have great reason to conclude ; when if it were true , it must either impeach Scripture , which ( in the sense of all Men hitherto ) taught all-a-long that the Flood was fifteen Cubits above the tops of the highest Mountains ; and that in the height of this Flood the Ark rested on the top of Ararat : or else clash with Geography , which never allowed the Hills of Ararat to be ( by a great deal ) the highest : or else sink the Ark quite under Water , to make it rest upon those Hills .

5. A Third Objection may be formed from the appearing of the tops of the Mountains upon the decrease of the Waters . So it is recorded , Gen. 8. 5. That the waters decreased continually until the tenth month , and on the first day of the month were the tops of the mountains seen . Now if the Mountains had not been quite under Water , and so invisible for the time they were overwhelmed ; how could they be said to become visible again , or to be seen upon the Floods going off ?

In answer to this , we may consider , First , That by the tops of the Mountains , in Scripture , are not always meant the higher , but sometimes the inferior parts of them . Thus it is prophesied , Amos 1. 2. That the top of Carmel shall wither . Where by top , the sides or lower parts of that Hill may be intended chiefly . For the withering of the meer top of it only , would not ( 't is like ) have either caused or signified such a scarcity of feed , as should have occasioned such affliction to Shepherds , as is there foretold ; the principal part of an Hill for Pasture , being usually towards the bottom of it . So Exod. 19. 20. it is said , That Moses went up to the top of mount Sinai . But that he did not go up to the very top of that Mount we have great cause to believe , for Two reasons . First , Because the LORD descended upon it in fire , ver. 18. in such a fire as was not only real , but raging ; for it made the Mountain smoak as a furnace . Yea , it is said , Exod. 24. 17. to be like devouring fire on the top of the mount . And so devouring was it , that it seiz'd most terribly upon the Mountain ; insomuch that it is said to have burnt with fire unto the midst of heaven , Deut. 4. 11. But how then could Moses go up to the top of this Mountain ? Nor , Secondly , could he well do it , by reason of its height , and the great difficulty of its ascent . For Iosephus assures us , That it is the highest Hill beyond comparison of all that Country , and long of its strange height , and its steep inaccessible craggy Rocks , is not only unfrequented by Men , but not to be lookt up to , it puts the eye to such pain . And yet if Moses did not go up to the top of this Hill in strictness , we know not how much below it he might present himself . And in case he stood on any lower ridge or part of that Mount ; it is clear that by the tops of high Hills in Scripture , may be meant but the lower parts of the same . And therefore where we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Deut. 33. 15. from the top of the mountains ; the Arabic reads it , from the roots of them . And so by the tops of the Mountains being seen upon the drying up of the Flood ; will be meant no more , than that some lower parts of them , not far from the bottoms , were made bare and expos'd to view again , which before were hidden under Water . or ,

Secondly , By the tops of the Mountains , said to be seen on the first day of the tenth Month ; may be meant , but the tops of some lower Mountains , which were quite overwhelm'd with Water , by its ascending fifteen Cubits upward upon the highest parts of the plain of the Earth . If these two Considerations will not satisfie ; we must carry on the Enquiry a little farther , and seek for a Third . And truly some one or other must needs be found out . For certain it is , that the tops of the highest Mountains could not be said to be seen , by reason of the Waters sinking down below them ; because , as we have sufficiently proved , they could not possibly be above them . That is , according to the common measures Men have taken of the Flood , and the usual sense they have put upon the sacred Story of it .

Thirdly , Therefore ( in way of answer to the Objection ) we consider ; that the tops of the Mountains may be said to be seen , at the time mentioned , upon account of their emergency out of darkness , not out of the Waters . Nor let it seem strange , that at the time of the Flood , there should be darkness over the whole face of the Earth . For then there was a solution of the continuity of the Atmosphaere : all the vapours almost contained in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or comprehension of it , turning into Clouds , and resolving a great pace into Rains . And as it is but reasonable , to think it was dark then ( considering the state of the Atmosphaere ) so it was very requisite it should be so . For when the Rains began to fall , and that at such a rate , as to threaten in good earnest to make that Deluge which Noah had foretold : this must needs startle and alarm Men dreadfully . Then , had there been light in the World , in any good degree ; what could have been expected , but that People who dwelt nearest to that place where the Ark stood ; should have run directly to it , and rudely assaulting and invading it , have turned out Noah , his Friends , and all Creatures ; and have taken immediate possession of it themselves , as the only probable means of their own preservation . And therefore that the Earth was then wrapt up in nightsome darkness ( it being not only likely in respect of Nature , but necessary in point of Providence ) we need not fear to conclude .

And as it was dark all the time that the Flood was coming in and waxing ; so the Air might well be very foggy and misty during the continuance and decrease of the same . For the Atmosphaere being put into so great a disorder ( and even dissolution ) as it was ; it could not quickly resettle into its wonted clearness .

And then we must heedfully attend to that account of the Floods abatement and drying up , which the HOLY GHOST has given us . The waters returned from off the Earth continually , says he , Gen. 8. 3. Where , the word , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , returned , does often signifie in Scripture , the returning of a thing into its Principles . So Psal. 90. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , return ye sons of men . As much as to say , be resolved into Dust and Spirit , the primigenial parts , or constituent principles of your Nature . And Gen. 3. 19. it is used in the like sense ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , to dust shalt thou return . And Psal. 146. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he returneth to his Earth . According to which , where it is said , That the Waters returned from off the Earth continually ; we are to understand their continual version or return into that Principle out of which they were made ; namely , Vapours . And the same is to be understood concerning them , where it is said , Gen. 8. 5. That the waters decreased continually . 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , They were going and decreasing . And so the Expression does not denote a violent motion or agitation of those Waters ( as hath commonly been thought ) so much as a constant wasting or diminution of them , by going quite away . And indeed , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , signifies , it went away : and as * * Ad vocabulum in Lexic. Schindler notes , is spoken de rebus evanescentibus , of things that are vanishing . Yea , the learned Lexicographer brings in this very Passage , as one instance of that its signification . Which farther insinuates , That when the Waters of the Flood decreased , it was done by their vanishing or going away into their first natural Principle : by their returning or being converted into Vapours . Now this being done at a great rate , or very fast ( as we may gather from so much Water being dried up in so short a time ; and from the miraculous Wind , Gen. 8. 1. sent on purpose to hasten the work , by helping forward the attenuation of the liquid Element ) it must ( in likelihood ) overcast and bemist the Air ; and so conspissate and obscure it , as to render things invisible at a little distance from the beholder's Eye . Whence it will follow , That when the tops of the Mountains were seen , this might come to pass , not by the Waters sinking below those tops ( whither they never ascended ) but by the clearing up of the Sky , and the wearing off of its unusual thickness and fogginess . And yet this their visibility or new appearance might properly be ascrib'd to the decrease of the Waters too : inasmuch as till they were so diminisht , as not to afford Vapours enough , to thicken and darken the Air any longer , at the rate they had done ; the Mountains tops could not be seen .

Should it here be objected , That according to this way of explaining their appearance , they could not have been seen so soon as in the tenth Month ; because the Waters were then upon the Earth in great abundance : that Objection might be thus taken off . Though there were waters * * Gen. 8. 9. upon the face of the whole earth then ; yea , and † † Ver. 6. forty days after that ( which was the reason why Noah's Dove could find no rest ) yet these Waters were so far exhaled , drawn so low , and grown so gross and muddy ; that now they did not return or go away into vapours , half so fast as before . The Atmosphaere also was now come pretty well to its old consistency again ; and so the attractive power of the Sun was much damped and weakened , and he did not draw vapours so briskly and plentifully as he had done . And yet the lower Regions of the Air might be very thick and foggy still ; so that the Mountains might not be seen by looking right on , but rather by looking upward . And so the highest parts of the Mountains , that by thrusting up aloft did intercept the lightsomeness of the glimmering Skie , and terminate the eye-sight ; might by that means be discerned . And therefore indeed only the tops of them were said to be seen .

Nor let it be thought a meer phancy , a whimsical groundless Figment of ours , that the Waters of the Deluge did decrease in this manner . I mean by going or returning into Vapours , and that at such a rate , as to fill the Air , for a time , with constant Mists , and make it very caliginous and dark . This is so far from being an empty fiction or conceit ; that I may venture to say , It was a necessary Phaenomenon . For when the Earth was so generally drown'd , the Water being of a smooth Superficies , if the Air had been clear , yea , if it had not been more than ordinarily thick , it would certainly have been most exceeding cold . Even as cold as it is now in its middle Region , where Icy Meteors are continually floating . So that in the Natural Course of things , the Waters of the Flood would presently have been frozen extreamly hard . And if we can suppose they should ever have been melted again ( as by the force of meer Nature they hardly could ) yet they could not have been so in that space of time , wherein the Deluge went off , and the Earth became dry .

And that a vehement Frost would have seiz'd the Waters of the Flood , as soon as they were come down ( if the Air had not been strangely thick ) is but reasonable to conclude upon this account . Because the Atmosphaere was never so exhausted of Vapours ; and so never so thin ; and so never so sharp and terribly cold , since the World began ; as it was at that time .

And then lastly , that the closeness and thickness of the Air was such , as to darken and benight the whole Earth at once ; may fairly be inferred from Gen. 8. ult . For there GOD promiseth that while the Earth remaineth , there shall be day , as will as seed-time , and harvest . Implying , That during the Flood , there was as perfect an intermission of day upon Earth , as there was of seed-time , and harvest .

6. A Fourth Objection may be framed from the Possibility and easiness of Mens escaping the Flood . For if the Waters prevailed but fifteen Cubits upwards upon the Plain of the Earth ; and the tops of the spacious aspiring Mountains stood bare ( excepting a little of the lower parts of them ) all the time of the Deluge : how easily might Men have run up those Mountains , and so have been saved from the violence of the Waters ? and then what need of an Ark to preserve them .

To this it may be answered . For People to ascend these high Mountains , when the Flood was coming in ; could be no such easie matter . For at what rate soever the Rains descended in other places ; it is not to be doubted but they fell in great abundance about the lofty Mountains . For the pitchy , swollen , loaden Clouds , which then hung every where bagging in the Air ; driving and crouding , and squeezing against those Mountains , could not but empty themselves there ( like full Spunges when pressed or nipped ) in prodigious Showres , that would have run down in furious and mighty Torrents . Yea , 't is more than probable , that these squeezed Clouds , would not only have discharged themselves in immoderate Showres thereabouts ; but in kind of Ecnephiae , or Exhydyriae . ( such as sometimes fall in the Pacific Ocean ) very terrible Tempests ; wherein Rain pours down as it were out of Spouts or Buckets , and falls in whole Sheets of Water at once . So that the sides of the Hills would have been full of Cataracts , and the Waters would have come roaring and gulling down them so forcibly , that no living Creatures would have been able to stand , much less to climb up against them . And then the higher sort of Mountains , as the Alpes , and the like , being covered with huge quantities of Snow ; that would have melted a great pace too , and contributed to the dreadful Torrents we speak of . And then the Waters of the Great Deep , being no other ( as we suppose ) than such as flowed out of the Caverns of high Rocks and Mountains , when the power of Heaven had broke them up : these also would have augmented the mighty De●luxions , and made them more violent and irresistable . And this was one main end of GOD's breaking up those Fountains ; even to increase the Downfals of Water off the Mountains , and to make them so copious and fierce , as that Men might not be able to ascend the Mountains . And truly for them to have fled to the Mountains to be saved from the Flood , down which such impetuous Streams came rolling and roaring in most hedious sort : would have been like plunging themselves into the Sea , to prevent drowning .

And truly if any Houses , Towns , or Cities , stood so high upon Mountains , as to be above the Water-mark of the Flood : yet the aforesaid Downfals of Water , would have ruined them all . Or if any could have supported themselves by their great strength , the Inhabitants would still have been drowned in them . Which might be one main Reason , why GOD appointed Noah to build an Ark ( and not an House , or a Castle upon any high Mountains ) to save himself , and such other Creatures as were to be preserved .

7. A Fifth Objection may be drawn from the likelihood of some other Animals escaping the Flood . That is , such as lived within the Earth , in the upper and undrowned parts of the Mountains . For however they could not get up on the Hills , or if they had been upon them , could not have harboured there ; but must have been washed down into the common Gulf that swallow'd all : yet having their aboad under ground , and perhaps a good depth under it too ; they might be secure in their subterraneous Dwellings . For though the Waters fell in great plenty , and with as great violence ; yet shedding off the Mountains apace , and hasting downward swiftly ; they could not soak so far into the Earth , as to incommode , much less destroy the Creatures there lodg'd , and so well intrencht and fortified against them . The Consequence would be no less , than that Moses must faulter in what he relates ; That every living substance was destroyed , Gen. 7. 23.

I answer . Where the Historian tells this , that every living substance was destroyed ; he immediately puts a restriction or plain limitation upon it ; adding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , which was upon the face of the ground . So that if any creatures were so deep under ground , as to continue alive and safe , notwithstanding the Deluge : this would be no contradiction or repugnancy to the Inspired Writer . For still every living substance might be destroyed which was upon the face of the Ground : and that was as much as he affirmed .

Lest that Answer should not satisfie , let me put in another . The Waters falling so plentifully and violently on the Mountains ; where they could not soak in , and drown the Creatures earthed in them ; by their continued beating and running upon the Ground for forty days together , they did either so settle it , that it squeezed them to death : or else so stop up the pores of it , that they were smothered .

8. A Sixth Objection may be taken from the Quantity of Waters as like to exceed very much ( some may imagine ) even so as to surmount our supposed limit . For they that issued from the Fountains of the Great Deeps , joined with those that fell in the forty days ; must needs have raised a Flood much higher than fifteen Cubits above the Plain of the Earth .

But the answer says , No. For besides the huge deal of Water which the Earth drank up ( especially in its sandy Regions ) before its thirst could be quenched ; and the vast deal that sank into its invisible hollownesses , before they could be filled ; and the abundance that was absorpt by its numberless pits and capacious valleys , before they could be replenisht , and the Water brought to a level : And besides how much it then took up , to raise the Flood one Cubit around the Globe , as well upon the Sea , as dry Land ; and how much more to raise a second Cubit , than the first ( the higher circumference being still the larger ; ) and how much more to raise a third Cubit , than the Second ; and so on till the fifteen Cubits were full : Besides all this , I say , the Rains by which the Deluge was chi●fly caused , might not descend at any extraordinary rate of violence . For however about the Mountains , they might be monstrous and intolerable ; yet every where else they might be quite otherwise : and the immensity and destructiveness of the Waters they raised , may be imputed to the generality and duration of them , rather than to their excessive greatness . We are told indeed , Gen. 7. 11. That the cataracts or windows of heaven were opened . Yet that might betoken nothing extraordinary in the Rains , save their continuance . For Mal. 3. 10. GOD promiseth his People ( as a signal mercy ) to open ( 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ) the cataracts or windows of heaven for them . And what does the Expression there import ? Why , no more than that he would send such moderate Rains , as should make their grounds fruitful . So says Lyra ; GOD opened the Cataracts of Heaven , * * Dando plu●ias & rores ad foecunditatem terrae convenientes . In loc. by giving rains and dews convenient to make the ground fruitful . And if the opening of the cataracts of heaven , implys but an ordinary descent , or moderate downfal of gentle fructifying Rains and Dews : then notwithstanding these Cataracts were opened at the Flood , the Rains might then in most places distill , with a wonted gentleness and moderation . Which granted , there would be no danger of their swelling the Flood above that height to which our Supposition limits it . And though according to Marsennus's account , forty days Rain might raise the Waters an hundred and fifty Feet : yet who can tell whether the Rains fell so fast in those forty days ; as they did at the time , and place , when , and where , he made his Experiment and Calculation ? Others I am sure are of the mind ( and Osiander for one ) that they were only sufficient to set the Ark afloat . And they quote that Passage for it , Gen. 7. 17. The flood was forty days upon the Earth : and the waters increased , and bare up the Ark , and it was lifted up above the Earth .

9. A Seventh Objection may be made from the Raven which Noah sent out of the Ark , Gen. 8. 7. It is there said , That that Raven went forth to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth . Whence some conclude , That he was forced to return into the Ark again and again , still as he went out , because by reason of the Waters , there was no convenient place of abode for him abroad . And consequently they infer , That the Waters which were so high then , could not but cover the tops of the Mountains , when they were at their full height . To this it might be answered ,

First , That if the Raven did return , this does not argue that the Waters were then at such a mighty height ( and so that they had been higher than the loftiest Hills ) because it is said , That he went to and fro ( that is , to and from the Ark , as our Objectors would have it ) until the waters were dried up . So that his returning was not occasioned by the excess of Waters , not suffering him to remain at large ; nor does it prove them to have been so excessive as they would make them . For even when they were abated , and so abated that the tops of the Mountains were seen ( ver. 5. ) where he might have had both rest and prey ; still ( according to the Hebrew Phrase ) he was going and returning from and to the Ark. Yea , he continued to do thus all-a-long , even untill the waters were dried up from off the earth . Which makes it plain , that as the excess of the Waters could not be the cause of his returning to the Ark ; so his continual returning could not argue the Waters to be so excessive : inasmuch as he never ceased returning , till the Waters were quite dried up . But ,

Secondly , I answer . The Raven in likelihood returned not at all . And therefore the Vulgar is positive in the case ; egrediebatur & non revertebatur ; he went out , and did not return . And so is the Septuagint ; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . And Bochart says , That if the Negation be taken out of the Original Text , there will be no sense in it . And therefore he thinks that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ▪ putting the Future Tense for the Praeterperfect . And then the Raven for certain did never return to Noah . And the Arabian Proverb intimates as much , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , he stays as long as Noah 's Crow . To which the Latin one is near akin , Corvus nuncius : Or , Corvum misimus . So that the Objection against us , will at last be a piece of an Argument for us . So far , that is , as the Raven 's not coming home again , after he was sent out ; shows the Waters were low : and that he had Food enough to live upon , and Room enough to fly up and down in from place to place ; which might be that going and returning of his , mentioned , ver. 7.

Indeed the Dove which was sent out after , found no rest for the sole of her foot , and therefore she returned to Noah into the ark , verse 9. And no wonder . For though the Waters were much abated , yet still they were on the face of the whole earth , covering its Superficies in most places . And the Dove being a more nice and tender Creature than the Crow ; might want proper Food and a warm Roost , and for the sake of these , be glad to fly back to the Ark where it had found both . And therefore the second time that it was sent forth , it returned not till the evening ; that is , till the coolness of the approaching night , made it sensible of the want of a convenient Lodging . And for the same reasons ( especially it being a tamish Bird ) it might perhaps have come back to Noah , when he sent it out last : only the Earth and Air being now grown more dry , and warm , and pleasant ; probably it was tempted to fly so far from the Ark , as not to be able to find the way to it again . Yet it s not returning might be really to Noah , what he took it to be ; a sign that the Waters were dried up .

10. An Eighth Objection may be the Danger the Ark would have been in , of being stav'd or wrackt . For if during the Flood , the tops of the great Hills had been all above Water ; how easily might the Ark have run aground , and have been broken and shattered all to pieces ?

It may be answered thus , The great Deluge from the Beginning to the End of it , was in great measure a miraculous work . Yea , even where GOD was pleased to make Nature his Instrument ; He took her , as I may say , into his own hand , and wielded her by his own Omnipotent Arm ; and so inabled her to do , what in her own way , and by her own strength , she could never have effected . Look into the inspired Story , and what a great deal of miracle shall we see , in the very Praelusories or preparatives to that mighty Inundation ?

Thus , as GOD preacquainted the Patriarch Noah , with his design of bringing it in ; so he ordered him to build an Ark against it came , to save himself and his Family , from that fearful ruine which was to attend it . He directed him of what Timber to make it , and of what Dimensions ; how to frame it without , and to fashion it within : and the whole Vessel seems to have been all of his wise contriving . Such Creatures also as were to be kept alive for future propagation , he appointed Noah to admit into this Ark ; inclining them at the same time , to come in their several species , and offer themselves to him . For as the Father says ; * * Non ea Noe capta intromitt●bat , sed venientia & intrantia permittebat . Aug. de Civit. l. 15. c. 27. Noah did not catch them and put them in , but when they came and went in , he suffered them to do so . And thus much he will have signified , Gen. 6. 20. Two of every sort shall come unto thee . Non scilicet hominis actu , sed Dei nutu . Not by the diligence of man , that is to say , but by the disposition of GOD. And as he injoined Noah to receive these Animals into the Ark , and harbour them there ; so likewise to provide sustenance for them , instructing him as to the quality and quantity of the same . So says the same Father . a a Quid mirum si vir ille sapiens & justus , etiam divinitus admonitus , quid cuique congrueret ; aptam cuiqu● generi alimoniam praeparavil & recondidit ? Ibid. What wonder , if that wise and righteous man who also was divinely taught what was agre●able to every creature ; did procure and lay up sutable nourishment to every kind ? And to the end he might have all in a due readiness against the time , GOD gave him a weeks notice , just before the irruption of the fatal Waters , Gen. 7. 4. And lastly , when the good Man and his Relatives entred the Ark ( whose Cargo was such , as no single Ship , nor the mightiest Fleet could ever boast of , though the Sea it navigated was as wonderful , as its Lading ) the LORD himself is said to shut them in , Gen. 7. 16. That is , by the Ministry of his Holy Angels .

And when the ALMIGHTY was thus miraculously ingag'd in ordering the Preparatives to the Flood ; we may be sure it was no less concern'd in bringing in the Flood it self . And therefore GOD openly proclaims it to be his own Fact , and challenges and appropriates it to himself alone , as peculiarly belonging to his Providential Efficience , Gen. 6. 17. and 7. 4. And St. Peter expresly declares , That GOD brought in the flood upon the world , 2 Pet. 2. 5. Where ( upon view of the Context ) it will appear , that the Apostle makes the bringing in of the Flood , to be as much GOD's Work , as ever it was to cast the sinning Angels down to Hell , to save Noah ; to burn Sodom ; or to deliver Lot : all which were undeniably immediate and miraculous Acts of his . And truly that the Windows of Heaven should be opened ; and all the Fountains of the Great Deep broke up : that they should be opened and broke up on the same day : that they should be so opened and broke up , as to yield such a quantity of Water at that time , as they never did before , and never did since , and never shall do again : what could this be but a special and wonderful Work of GOD ?

I might farther observe the like miraculous workings of the DEITY , in shutting up those Windows of Heaven again ; and in stopping the aforesaid Fountains of the Deep ; and in drying up the Waters of the Deluge so fast , &c. but I wave that ( as I have done other things ) to avoid prolixity .

Now when the Flood in all the periods of it , was thus disposed and govern'd by an Omnipotent and Miraculous hand ; that the same hand should at once defend and direct the Ark ; and so guard and steer it , as to keep it from Ship-wrack : is not at all to be wondred at . We may rather wonder , and wonder very much , if any should think otherwise .

To which add , That a miraculous protection and care of the Ark , would have been altogether as necessary , according to the Theory , or the Old Hypothesis . For , according to the Theory , the Ark must have sunk as low as the falling Earth ; and then have been thrown up higher than the highest Mountains ; and have been toss'd with such terrible and hideous jactations , as that the worst which are suffered on the roughest Seas , would scarce be shadows to them . So that unless a miraculous Providence superintended it , how could it be safe ? And therefore indeed the Theory represents it , with its Guardian Angels about it , in the extremity of the Flood . And then according to the Old way , the tops of the Mountains must have been above Water , all the time that the Deluge was waxing . And so without such a Providence again , the Ark would have been as much imperill'd by those Mountains ( if not more ) as if they had been drown'd no deeper than we suppose them . Yea , in that very juncture when the Flood ( according to the common account ) was at its highest ; the Ark struck upon the Mountains of Ararat , and was stranded there . And to save it in such circumstances , a most miraculous Providence was necessary indeed . But then the same may as lawfully be challenged by , and ought as readily to be allowed to , our Hypothesis likewise .

11. Which grant ; and then if in this memorable Flood , any difficulties be started , that Men are puzzled to make out : any Phaenomena's arise , that are too big to proceed from Nature alone ; and too intricate to be understood by Reason : lo , here 's a general Answer to them , if not solution of them . The Flood was a Miracle in good measure . Or had so much miracle running through it , and interwoven with it ; that all passages in it , are not to be accounted for by Reason and Philosophy . And truly where Nature was over-ruled by Providence ; it is but fit that Philosophy should give place to Omnipotence : and Faith sway out Minds to assent to those things , which Reason is unable to apprehend and explicate .

CHAP. XVII . 1. The Positiveness of the Theory . 2. Noted in the English Edition of it . 3. It s Authors Intentions laudable . 4. The Conclusion .

1. HAving gone over the several Vital or Primary Assertions of the Theory ; I shall now only desire leave , briefly to note the Positiveness of it . It being indeed of an unusual Strain , and such as is seldom found in a new Hypothesis ; especially at its first setting up , and sallying out into the World .

2. This Positiveness is very apparent , both in the Latin , and English Editions of the Theory . But I shall observe it only in the latter ; that coming out after the other , and so with more deliberation and mature thoughts of things . It there discovers it self in such Passages as these :

I am willing to add here a Chapter or two , to shew that what we have delivered is more than an Idea , and that it was in this very way that Noah's Deluge came to pass , pag. 79.

As we do not think it an unhappy discovery to have found out ( with a moral certainty ) the seat of the Mosaical Abyss , — so this gives us a great assurance , that the Theory we have given of a general Deluge , is not a meer Idea , but is to be appropriated to the Deluge of Noah , as a true explication of it , pag. 84.

That our Description is a reality , both as to the Antediluvian Earth , and as to the Deluge , we may farther be convinc'd from St. Peter's Discourse , pag. 85.

We may safely conclude that this is no imaginary Idea , but a true account of that ancient Flood whereof Moses hath left us the History , ibid.

If they ( the ancient Earth and Abyss ) were in no other form , nor other state , than what they are under now , the expressions of the sacred Writers concerning them are very strange and inaccountable ; without any sufficient ground , or any just occasion for such uncouth representations . I fear there is something more than Positiveness in this clause ; which occurs , pag. 93.

We have proved our Explication of the Deluge to be more than an Idea , or to be a true piece of Natural History ; and it may be the greatest and most remarkable that hath been since the beginning of the World . We have shown it to be the real account of Noah's Flood , pag. 96.

I confess , for my own part , when I observe how easily and naturally this Hypothesis doth apply it self to all the particularities of this Earth , hits and falls in so luckily and surprizingly with all the odd postures of its parts , I cannot , without violence , bear off my mind from fully assenting to it , pag. 113.

To speak the truth , this Theory is something more than a bare Hypothesis , pag. 149.

It will never be beaten out of my head , but that St. Peter hath made the same distinction ( we make of the Antediluvian Earth and Heavens from the Postdiluvian ) sixteen hundred years since , and to the very same purpose ; so that we have sure footing here again , and the Theory riseth above the Character of a bare Hypothesis . — We must in equity give more than a moral certitude to this Theory , pag. 150.

I think there is nothing but the uncouthness of the thing to some Mens understandings , the custom of thinking otherwise , and the uneasiness of entring into a new sett of thoughts , that can be a bar or hindrance to its reception , pag. 170.

The Theory carries its own light and proof with it , pag. 274.

These are the Vitals of the Theory , and the Primary Assertions whereof I do freely profess my full belief , pag. 288.

Now I confess , I should have been much at a loss , whither to impute such extraordinary positive confidence , as shows it self ( by these excerptions ) in a Man so ingenious , touching things so precarious ; had he not told me in this Maxim of his own : A strong inclination , with a little evidence , is equivalent to a strong evidence , pag. 297. Which considered ; we need not wonder that strong Perswasions should sometimes be built upon weak grounds . Or to speak it in the Theorists next words ; we are not to be surprised , if we find Men confident in their Opinions many times far beyond the degree of their evidence .

3. Yet that his Intentions , in conposing and publishing his Book , were good and laudable ; we have no reason to doubt . His own Declaration speaks them so . I have no other design than to contribute my endeavours to find out the truth in a subject of so great importance , and wherein the World hath hitherto had so little Satisfaction , pag. 97. A noble aim ; but he that would cleverly hit the mark , must beware of shooting through S●ripture , and wounding it at the rate the Theorist has done .

4. To Conclude . If so be , sincere and upright Intentions will justifie the failures of a Pen , and in any measure serve to extenuate or excuse them ; I can take up that Plea in behalf of mine . And whereas in the new Explication of the Deluge , I may seem to have run out into a kind of lax interpretation of one or two Texts of Holy Scripture ; I have sufficiently apologiz'd for that excursion already , by owning that ( besides it is necessary to expound those Scriptures a new way , upon the account of the old Hypothesis of the Flood ) it was made but to vie with the Theory ; and to try if we could hit upon another way of explaining the Deluge that might pass for rational and intelligible . And therefore I only add this , which I do most heartily , I had rather , much rather my Papers should be burnt to Ashes , and my self with them ; than that I should knowingly and wilfully write any thing , in way of opposition to , depravation of , or derogation from , any Divine Truth .

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . FINIS .
Books lately Printed for Richard Chiswell .

DOctor Towerson's Explication of the Creed , Lords ●rayer , Ten Commandments and Sacraments , in Four Volumes , Fol.

The Parable of the Pilgrim : By Symon Patrick , D. D. now Lord Bishop of Chichester .

Dr. Wake 's Tracts in 2. Volumes , 4o .

— His 15. Sermons in 8o .

Popery not Founded in Scripture , or the Texts which Papists Ci●e out of the Bible for the Proof of the Points of their Religion . Examined in 17. Tracts , with a Table : By several London Divines . In ● . Vol. 4o .

Cardinal Bellarmine's Notes of the Church , Examined and Confuted , in 19. Tracts , and a Table . By several London Divines . 4o .

The Judgment of God upon the Roman Catholick Church , from its first Rigid Laws for Universal Conformity to it , unto its last End . With a prospect of these near approaching Revolutions , viz. The Revival of the Protestant Profession in an Eminent Kingdom , where it was totally suppressed . The last End of all Turkish Hostilities . The general Mortification of the power of the Roman Church in all parts of its Dominions . By Dr●e Cressener , D. D.

JAcobi Usserii Armachani Archiep. Historia dogmatica Controversiae inter Orthodoxos & Pontisicios de Scripturis & Sacris Vernaculis , nunc primum ●dita . Accesserunt ejusdem dissertationes de Pseudo-Dionysii scriptis , & de Epistola ad Laodicenos antehac ineditae . Descripsit , digessit & notis atque An●tuario completavit Henricus Wharton , A. M. Revere●dissimo Archiep. Ca●●uari●nsi à Sacris Domesticis .

Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Literaria à C●risto nato usque ad Saeculum XIV . Facili methodo digesta . Qua de Vita illorum a● Rebus gestis , de Secta , Dogmatibus , Elogio , Stylo ; de Scriptis genuinis , dubiis , supposititiis , ineditis , deperditis , Fragmentis ; deque variis Operum Editionibus perspicu● agitur . Accedunt Scriptores Gentiles , Christianae Religionis Oppugnatores ; & cujusvis Saeculi Breviarium . Inseruntur suis locis Veterum aliquot Opuscula & Fragmenta , tum Graeca , tum Lalina hactenus inedita . Prae●issa denique Prolegomena , quibus plurima ad Antiquitatis Ecclesi●sticae studium spectantia traduntur . Opus Indicibus necessariis instructum . Autore GVILIELMO CAVE , SS. Theol. Profes . Canonico Windesoriensi . Accedit ab aiia Manu Appendix ab in●unte Saeculo XIV . ad Annum usque MDXVII . Fol. 1689.

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