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PART III. Of Minerals.
SECT. I. Of STONES.
IT hath been much disputed, and is not yet resolv'd, of many subterraneal Bodies, which have the semblance of Animals, or Parts of them, Whether they were ever such, or no. And I am not ignorant of the Arguments offer'd on both hands. If I may speak my own sense a little, Why not? Is there any thing repugnant in the matter? Why not a petrify'd Shell, as well as wood? Or is the place? If Shells are found under ground, far from Sea, or in Hills, unchanged; as we are sure they are; then why not petrify'd? Or is the form, to which no Species of Shells doth answer? The assertion is precarious: no man can say, how many are known to some one or other; much less, how many are not known: I have reason to believe, that scarce the one half of the under Species of Shells are known to this day. And so for Artisicials: if Coyns are found, every day under ground, then why not sometimes also Pictures, and other Works, in time petri∣fy'd? And although Nature doth often imitate her self; yet to make her in any case to imitate Art, is unphiloso∣phical and absurd: for the one, a natural reason may be given, not for the other.