An essay toward a natural history of the earth and terrestrial bodies, especially minerals : as also of the sea, rivers, and springs : with an account of the universal deluge : and of the effects that it had upon the earth / by John Woodward ...

PART VI. Concerning the State of the Earth, and the Productions of it, before the Deluge.

THE Thread of this Discourse draws now near to an End; and I have reason to fear that, by this time, the Reader, as well as my self, thinks it high time that it were quite spun out. For which reason I shall not any longer presume upon his Pati∣ence farther than needs I must.

In the five foregoing Parts of this Essay I lay down what I have to pro∣pose relating to the Condition of the Earth during the time of the Deluge, and ever since that time. And here I am to make a Stand: to look a great way back: and make some Reflections upon the Posture of Things before the Deluge.

The Method I take may perhaps be censured by some as preposterous, be∣cause I thus treat last of the Antedilu∣vian Earth, which was first in order of Nature. But they will, I hope, let fall that Censure, when they are acquainted that 'tis a thing of Con∣straint, and not of Choice: and that 'twas for want of Footing, and good ground to go upon, that I did not take that Earth under Consideration sooner. The truth is, there was no way for me to come to any competent Knowledge of it, or to give any sure Judgment concerning it, but meerly by Inducti∣on: and by Contemplation of the Shells, Bones, and other Remains of it, which are still in being. Now be∣fore I could inferr any thing from these, it lay upon me to make out that they all belonged to the Earth, and were the genuine Products of it: to shew likewise how they became bu∣ried and disposed in the manner we now find them: and by what means they were preserved till now. And that is what I have been hitherto about; so that this is indeed but the proper place for this Disquisition con∣cerning the Antediluvian Earth: and

it could not well have been brought in before.

Had there not been still remaining a great many Animal and Vegetable Bodies that were the legitimate Off∣springs of that Earth, 'twould have been an extravagant and impracticable Undertaking to have gone about to have determined any thing concerning it; and the more so because the Earth it self was dissolved and destroyed . But I prove that there are such Re∣mains of it, enclosed in great plenty in the Marble, Stone, and the other compacter Strata of the present Earth; whereby they have been preserved, through so many Ages, quite down to our Times: and are like to endure, many of them, much longer; even as long as the Strata themselves continue in the Condition they now are; and so will be a sure and lasting Monu∣ment and Witness of the Truth of that extraordinary Accident (the De∣struction of the Earth and of Mankind by the Deluge) to Posterity, quite down to the End of the World.

Now because the Observations which I make use of in the former Parts of this Work give an Account of

the said Productions thus preserved, I proceed upon those Observations, as hitherto, and, by Inferences which ea∣sily, clearly, and naturally flow from them, shew what was the Condition and State of that Earth, and wherein it differ'd from this we now inhabit.

And in regard that, from a Theory which, how much soever it may relish of Wit and Invention, hath no real Foundation either in Nature or Histo∣ry, the Author so often mentioned al∣ready hath set forth an imaginary and fictitious Earth: whose Posture to the Sun he supposes to have been much different from that which the Earth at present obtains, and such that there could be no Alteration of Heat and Cold, Summer and Winter, as now there is, but a constant Uniformity of Weather and Equality of Seasons †: An Earth without any Sea: without Mountains, or other Inequalities ‖: and without either Metalls or Mine∣rals : in few words, one perfectly un∣like what the Antediluvian Earth was in truth and reality: and perfectly unlike that which Moses hath repre∣sented; I shall therefore interpose some Consectaries which would have

been otherwise needless and superflu∣ous: which are directly levelled against these Mistakes: and evince that where∣ever he hath receded from the Mosaick Account of that Earth, he hath at the same time also receded from Nature, and Matter of Fact; and this purely from the aforesaid Observations; from which I shall prove,

[ 1] That the Face of the Earth, before the Deluge, was not smooth, eaven, and uniform: but unequal, and distinguish'd with Mountains, Valleys, and Plains: also with Sea, Lakes, and Rivers.

[ 2] That the Quantity of Water upon the Surface of the Globe was nearly the same as now: the Ocean of the same Extent, and possest an equal share of the Globe; intermixing with the Land so as to checquer it into Earth and Water, and to make much the same Diversities of Sea and Land that we behold at present.

[ 3] That the Water of the Sea was sa∣turated with Salt, in like manner as now it is: that it was agitated with Tides, or a Flux and Reflux: with Storms, and other Commotions.

[ 4] That the Sea was very abundantly replenished with Fish of all kinds: as

well of the cartilaginous and squam∣mose, as of the testaceous and crusta∣ceous kinds: and that the Lakes and Rivers were as plentifully furnish'd with Lake and River-Fish of all sorts.

That the Earth was very exuberant∣ly [ 5] beset with Trees, Shrubs, and Herbs: and stock'd with Animals of all sorts, Quadrupeds, Insects, and Fowls: and this on all sides, and in all parts of it, quite round the Globe.

That the Animal and Vegetable [ 6] Productions of the Antediluvian Earth did not in any wise differ from those of the present Earth. That there were then the very same kinds of Animals and Vegetables, and the same subordi∣nate Species under each kind that now there is. That they were of the same stature and size, as well as of the same shape: their Parts of the same Fabrick, Texture, Constitution, and Colour, as are those of the Animals and Vege∣tables at this day in being.

That there were both Metalls and [ 7] Minerals in the Antediluvian Earth.

That the Terraqueous Globe had [ 8] the same Site and Position in respect of the Sun that it now hath. That its Axis was not parallel to that of the

Ecliptick, but inclined in like manner as it is at present: and that there were the same Successions of Heat and Cold, Wet and Dry: the same Vicissitudes of Seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, that now there is.

It hath been already noted, that these Propositions are founded on Ob∣servations made upon the Animal and Vegetable Remains of the Antediluvian Earth. From those Remains we may judge what sort of Earth that was: and see that it was not much different from this we now inhabit . Now though 'tis not to be expected that I here for∣mally lay down those Observations, that being not the Business of this Tract, yet untill I have Opportunity both of doing so, and of shewing in what manner the foregoing Propositions flow from them, it may be very conveni∣ent that I give some short Directions how the Reader, for his present Satis∣faction, may, of himself, and without my Assistance, make out the principal Articles of these Propositions from the Observations already delivered in the several Parts of this Discourse, and from one or two more that I shall add upon this Occasion. And that he may

at one View discover how consonant the Account which Moses hath left us of the Primitive Earth, is to this which we have from Nature, and how much the late Theory of the Earth differs from both, I will set down that Writer's Sense of the Matter under each Head as we pass along.

To begin therefore with the Sea; That there was one before the Deluge, there needs not, I think, any other Proof than the Productions of it yet in being: the Shells, the Teeth, and Bones of Sea-Fishes ‖. And for Moses, he is not at all averse hereto; but as expresly asserts that there was then a Sea, as the Theory does, that there was none. Take it in his own words. † And God said, Let the Waters under the Heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the Dry-land appear: and it was so. And God called the Dry-land Earth, and the gathering together of the Waters called he SEAS: and God saw that it was good. And though the The∣orist flatly denies that there was then any such thing, yet he does not go about to dispute the Translation of this Passage, but readily owns, that Mo∣ses hath here used a word that was com∣mon

and known to signifie the Sea. Accor∣ding to him therefore, we see the Sea was formed at the beginning of the World, and after its Formation appro∣ved of as good•• that is, very necessary and serviceable to the Ends of Provi∣dence in the Kingdom of Nature; and this indeed it is so many ways, that it must needs be granted that that would have been a very wild World had it been without any Sea. The separa∣ting of the Sea and Land, and deter∣mining the set Bounds of each, is here † reckoned part of the Work of the third Day: as the stocking of the Sea with Whales and other Fishes, is ‖ of the fifth. And God created great Whales, &c. and blessed them, saying, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Waters in the SEAS. And when on the sixth Day the finishing Hand was set to the Work, and Man created, God gives him Do∣minion over the Fish of the SEA . 'Twould have been but a scanty and narrow Dominion, and Adam a very mean Prince, had there then been nei∣ther any Fish existent nor Sea to con∣tain them. Nay, this had been little better than a downright illusion and abusing of him: and what is more,

that World had been so far from excel∣ling ••••rs in the Abundance of its Pro∣ductions, which is what the Theorist contends for on another Occasion, that 'twould have fallen far short of it: have wanted a very noble and large share of the Creation which we enjoy: been deprived of a most excellent and whol∣some Fare, and very many delicious Dishes that we have the use and be∣nefit of. But the Case was really much otherwise: and we have as good proof as could be wish'd that there were not any of all these wanting. The things many of them yet extant speak aloud for themselves: and are back'd with an early and general Tradition. For Moses is so far from being singular in thus relating that the Sea is of as old a Date and Standing as the Earth it self is, that he hath all, even the first and remotest Antiquity of his side; the Gentil Account of the Creation making the Ocean to arise out of the Chaos al∣most as soon as any thing besides. But we have in store a yet further Testi∣mony that will be granted to be be∣yond all Exception. 'Tis from the mouth of God himself, being part of the Law promulgated by him in a most

solemn and extraordinary manner. Exod. 20.11. In six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the SEA, and all that in them is. 'Tis very hard to think the Theorist should not know this: and as hard that, knowing it, he should so openly dissent from it.

Then for the Dimensions of the Sea; that it was as large, and of as great ex∣tent as now it is, may be inferr'd from the vast▪ Multitudes of those Marine Bodies which are still found in all Parts of the known World †. Had these been found in only one or two places: or did we meet with but some few Species of them, and such as are the Products of one Climate or Country, it might have been suspected that the Sea was then, what the Caspian is, on∣ly a great Pond or Lake, and confined to one part of the Globe. But seeing they are dug up at Land almost every where, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 at least as great variety and plenty as they are observed at Sea: since likewise the fossil Shells are many of them of the same kinds with those that now appear upon the neighbour∣ing Shores, and the rest such as may well be presumed to be living at the bottom, or in the interiour and deeper

Parts of the adjacent Seas †, but never any that are peculiar to remoter Seas or to the Shores of distant Countries, we may reasonably conclude, not only that the Sea was of the same bigness and capacity before the Deluge, but that it was of much the same form also, and interwoven with the Earth in like manner as at this time: that there was Sea in or near the very same places or Parts of the Globe: that each Sea had its peculiar Shells, and those of the same Kinds that now it hath: that there was the same diversity of Climates, here warmer and more agreeable to the Southern Shells, there colder and bet∣ter suited to the Northern ones: the same variation of Soils, this Tract af∣fording such a Terrestrial Matter as is proper for the Formation and Nourish∣ment of one sort of Shell-fish, that of another: in few words, much the same Appearance of Nature, and Face of Things that we behold in the present Earth. But of this more by and by.

That the Water of the Sea was salt, as now it is, may be made out like∣wise from those Shells and other the Productions of it; they being of the same constitution, and consisting of

the same sort of Matter that do the Shells at this day found upon our Shores . Now the Salt wherewith the Sea-water is saturated, is part of the Food of the Shell-fish residing therein, and a main Ingredient in the Make of their Bodies; they living up∣on this, and upon the Mud and other Earthy Matter there.

And that the Sea Ebbed and Flowed before the Deluge, may be inferr'd, not so moch from the Necessity of that Motion, and the many and great Uses of it in the Natural World †, as from certain Effects that it had upon the Shells, and other like Bodies yet pre∣served. 'Tis known that the Sea, by this Access and Recess, shuffling the empty Shells, or whatever else lies exposed upon the Shores, and bearing them along with it backward and for∣ward upon the Sand there, frets and wears them away by little and little, in tract of time reducing those that are concave and gibbose to a flat, and at length grinding them away almost to nothing. And there are, not un∣commonly, found Shells so worn en∣closed, amongst others, in Stone.

As the Sea-shells afford us a sure Ar∣gument

of a Sea, so do the River-ones of Rivers in the Antediluvian Earth. And if there were Rivers, there must needs also have been Mountains; for they will not flow unless upon a De∣clivity, and their Sources be raised above the Earth's ordinary Surface, so that they may run upon a Descent ‖; the Swiftness of their Cur∣rent, and the Quanti∣ty of Water refunded by them, being pro∣portioned generally to the height of their Sources, and the Big∣ness of the Mountains out of which they arise. Mountains be∣ing proved, nothing need be said concern∣ing Valleys; they ne∣cessarily following from that Proof, as being nothing but the Intervalls betwixt the Mountains. But let us see what Moses hath on this Subject . And the Wa∣ters (he is treating of the Deluge)

prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth; and all the HIGH HILLS that were un∣der the whole Heaven were covered. Fif∣teen Cubits upwards did the Waters pre∣vail; and the MOVNTAINS were co∣vered. And all flesh dyed: — all in whose Nostrils was the breath of Life. The Theorist averrs, that there were no Mountains in the first Earth. I am not willing to suppose that he charges a Falshood or Mistake upon the Passage, but rather that he would have this to be understood of those Mountains which were raised afterwards. Which yet cannot be; for the Historian here plainly makes these Mountains the Standards and Measures of the Rise of the Water; which they could never have been had they not been standing when it did so rise and overpour the Earth. His Intention in the whole is to acquaint us that all Land-Creatures whatever, both Men, Quadrupeds, Birds, and Insects, perish'd and were destroy∣ed by the Water, Noah only excepted, and they that were with him in the Ark. And at the same time, to let us see the Truth and Probability of the Thing: to convince us that there was no way for any to escape, and par∣ticularly

that none could save them∣selves by climbing up to the tops of the Mountains that then were, he as∣sures us that they, even the highest of them, were all covered and buried un∣der Water. Now to say that there were then no Mountains: and that this is meant of Mountains that were not formed till afterwards, makes it not intelligible, and indeed hardly common Sense.

The extreme Fertility of both Sea and Land before the Deluge, appears sufficiently from the vast and almost incredible Numbers of their Producti∣ons yet extant ; not to insist upon those which are long ago rotted and gone †. Nor need we much wonder at this their abundant Fruitfulness, when we know from what Source it pro∣ceeded; which our Historian hath opened to us in very significant words ‖. And God said, let the Waters bring forth abundantly the moving Creature that hath life, &c. — And God blessed them, say∣ing, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the Waters in the Seas: and let Fowl multi∣ply in the Earth, &c. Here was we see a Blessing, handed out with the first Pairs of Animals at the moment of

their Creation, very liberal and exten∣sive; and it had effect with a Witness, A Man that does but behold the migh∣ty Sholes of Shells, to take them for an Instance, that are still remaining, and that lye bedded and cumulated in many places heap upon heap, a∣mongst the ordinary Matter of the Earth, will scarcely be able to believe his Eyes, or conceive which way these could ever live or subsist one by ano∣ther. But yet subsist they did: and, as they themselves testifie, well too; an Argument that that Earth did not deal out their Nourishment with an over-sparing or illiberal Hand.

That these Productions of the Origi∣nal Earth, differ not from those of the Present, either in Figure, in Magni∣tude, in Texture, or any other respect, is easily learn'd by comparing of them. The exact Agreement betwixt the Ma∣rine Bodies I have shewn already : and shall in due place shew the same of the Terrestrial ones.

And as there were such great Num∣bers of Animals and Vegetables in the Primitive Earth, so that there were also Metalls and Minerals, and these in no less plenty than in ours, is very

clear from what hath been delivered in the Fourth Part of this Essay, which need not be repeated here. Nor is Moses defective in this Point †. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-Cain, an In∣structer of every Artificer in Brass and Iron. The Theorist, quite contrary, says, As for Subterraneous Things, Me∣talls and Minerals, I believe they had none in the first Earth; and the happier they; no Gold, nor Silver, nor coarser Metalls. Amongst these coarser Metalls are Copper, or Brass, and Iron. Now if there were none of these, 'tis a great Mystery to me, I confess, how Tubal-Cain, who certainly died either before or at the Deluge ‖, could ever have taught the Workmanship and Use of them. And yet if this Theory be true, there neither was nor could be any within their reach, or that they could ever possibly come at. For the truth of the Theory I am in no wise con∣cerned: the Composer of it must look to that; but that there were really both Metalls and Minerals before the Deluge, is most certain. For besides the Testimony that we have of the Thing from Nature, and the Passage already alledged out of Moses, there is

another for which we are also obliged to the same Author, that acquaints us there were both even in Paradise it self. 'Tis in his second Chapter . The name of the first River is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole Land of Havi∣lah, where there is Gold. And the Gold of that Land is good: there is Bdellium and the Onyx-stone. He speaks here, I grant, only in the Present Tense, there is Gold: but must mean not only that there was Gold and Gemms there in his time, but that there was so like∣wise from the beginning of the World, of which he is giving an Account in these two Chapters, or, with Submis∣sion, I conceive 'twould not be any thing to his purpose. He is here speak∣ing of Paradise; which he represents as a most charming and delightful Place: besett with every Tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ‖: watered with refreshing Streams and excellent Rivers: and abounding with Things not only useful and conveni∣ent, but even the most rare and valu∣able, the most costly and desirable: particularly Gold, Precious Stones, and Perfumes; which were all much esteem∣ed and admired by the Jews, to whom

he wrote this. Nor is it any Paradox, notwithstanding that Dissolution of the Earth which happened at the Deluge , to suppose there was this or that Me∣tall or Mineral in the same Part of the Globe afterwards where it was before that happened. The Water of the Abyss indeed changed its Place, du∣ring the time: So did the Sea, and bore the Bodies it contained, many of them, out along with it. But for the Terrestrial Parts of the Globe, Metalls, Minerals, Marble, Stone, and the rest, they, though dissolved, and assumed up into the Water, did not flitt or move far, but, at the general Subsi∣dence, settled down again in or near the same Place from which they were before taken up. For the Water was all out upon the Face of the Earth be∣fore ever these stirr'd, or were fetch'd up out of their native Beds: and they were all sunk down into the same Beds again, before the Water began to shift away back to its old Quarters; so that it could not contribute any thing to the Removal of them. Even the very Vegetables, and their Seeds, which were many of them naturally lighter than the Water, assisted by the

heavier Terrestrial Matter that had in this Jumble and Confusion fasten'd and stuck to them, fell all to the bot∣tom: and the Water was in great measure clear, and disengaged from the Earthy Mass, before it went off. And 'twas well it was so; for had the Mineral Matter of the Globe not been held to its former Station, but hurried about and transposed from place to place, 'tis scarcely to be conceived how many and great Inconveniences it would have occasioned. The same likewise for Vegetables. Had the Seeds of the Pepper Plant, the Nutmeg, the Clove, or the Cinnamon Trees, been born from Iava, Banda, the Moluccoes, and Ceylon, to these Northern Coun∣tries, they must all have starved for want of Sun: or had the Seeds of our colder Plants shifted thither, they wou'd have been burnt up and spoil'd by it. But Things generally kept to their pro∣per Places: to their old natural Soil and Climate; which had they not done, all would have been confound∣ed and destroyed. 'Tis true, the Ve∣getables, being comparatively lighter than the ordinary Terrestrial Matter of the Globe, subsided last †; and con∣sequently

lying many of them upon the Surface of the Earth, those which were of considerable Bulk, as the big∣ger sorts of Trees, which had large and spreading Heads, would lye with their Branches stretch'd up to a great height in the Water, (and, when that was withdrawn in the Air ‖,) and so being very much in the Waters way, when it began to depart and retire back again, would be apt to be remo∣ved and driven forward along with it, especially those which lay in such pla∣ces where the Current happened to run strong. Accordingly we now find of these Trees in Islands, and the other bleaker and colder Parts of the Earth, where none now do, or perhaps ever did, grow . And there they are of mighty use to the Inhabitants, afford∣ing them a Supply of Timber which their own Country doth not yield, and which they employ not only for Fewel, which yet is much needed in those cold Countries, but for Building likewise, and many other Purposes; whereas in the Places whence they were thus dri∣ven they would have been useless, yea but an Incumberance, and might be easily spared, for as long as the Seeds

remained behind, lodged in a natural and agreeable Soil, all was safe enough: they would soon vegetate, and send forth a new Sett of Trees there, so that 'twas not much matter what became of the Old ones. But to the Parts whereunto they were thus removed, they are of great advantage. And, which is in truth very remarkable, and an Argument that there was something more than meer Chance in this Affair, there are hardly any Countries that are destitute of Timber of their own growth, which have not a very large Supply of these Stray-Trees, if I may so call them. But to proceed. After that the Terrestrial Matter was once sunk down into its several Beds, and well settled there, the Mountains were cast up, and the Springs and Rivers burst forth, in such Numbers, and at such Distances from one another, in all Parts of the Globe, as best answered the Necessities and Expences of each: and therefore undoubtedly in much the same Places that they were before the Deluge. All Things were so contri∣ved and ordered in the re-sitting up the Globe at this time, that they might best execute and perform each their

several Ends and Offices. There were the same Measures taken, and the same Process used in this Re-formation of it, that were when 'twas first built: and much such an Earth arose out of the Deluge, as at the Creation, sprung out of Nothing ‖. But the Reader will more clearly discover all this, with the Reasons of it, if he give but him∣self the trouble to compare Part 2. Cons. 2. & seq. Part 3. Sect. 1. pag. 154. & seq. & Sect. 2. Cons. 2, 3, & 7. Part 4. Cons. 3. & Part 6. Cons. 9. This pre∣mised, 'twould be, I think, not strange should we find Paradise at this Day where Adam left it: the same Rivers: the same Face of the Ground: the same Metalls and Minerals, that then there were. And I the rather Note this, because I see there are some so earnest in quest of it. Learned Men have been now a long time a search∣ing after the happy Country from which our first Parents were exiled. If they can find it, with all my heart: and there have been some that have sought it with that Industry that I think they deserve it for their pains whenever they make the Discovery.

To deal freely, I am of opinion there's no part of the present Earth that does come up fully to the Mosaick Descri∣ption of Paradise. The Country about Babylon, or Bagdet, bids fairest for it: and I am persuaded that it was there∣abouts. But if so, whoever shall com∣pare this Country, as now it stands, with that Description, will find that it sustained some Alterations from the Deluge, perhaps more than any Part of the Earth besides. And there's an obvious Reason why it should. There was a Paradise before, but was to be none after the Deluge. The Case was altered, and the Reason of the thing ceased. So that all that denominated it Paradise, and that distinguish'd it from the rest of the Globe, was lop'd off by the Deluge, and that only left which it enjoyed in common with its neighbour Countries. Upon the whole, 'tis, I think, apparent that what I offer in this Discourse is so far from doing any Diskindness to the Cause these Gentlemen are, and have been so long, engaged in, that it does them a real Service, and helps them out with the main thing whereat they

stuck: fairly solving all Difficulties in the Mosaick Relation of Paradise. Wherefore now to proceed to the last Head to be discuss'd, the Vicissitude of Seasons, Summer and Winter, Hot and Cold, in the Antediluvian World.

And that there really was such a Vicissitude we need not go any further for proof than to the aforesaid Animal and Vegetable Bodies still preserved; the general Tenour of them speaking it out so plainly as to leave no room for doubt. There are, we know, some sorts of Vegetables which consist of Particles very fine, light, and active: and which therefore require only a smaller degree of Heat to raise them from out the Earth up into the Seeds, Roots, or Bodies of those Vegetables, for their growth and nourishment. So that for the raising of these, the Suns Power, when only lesser, is suffi∣cient. And therefore they begin to appear in the earlyer Months, in Fe∣bruary and March; when they first peep forth of the Ground: after a while they display themselves, shew∣ing their whole Tire of Leaves: then their Flowers: next their Seeds: and

lastly when, in the following Months, April and May, the Sun is further ad∣vanc'd, and (to speak in the Phrase of the Vulgar, which I choose all along for the sake of plainness) hath gained a greater strength, the Heat becomes too powerful and boisterous for them; it now mounting up the Terrestrial Matter with such force and rapidity, that the Plants cannot assume that part of it which is proper for their Nourishment, as it passeth through them, nor incorporate it with them, as before they were wont when it pass'd more gently and leisurely. Nay the Heat at length grows so great, that it again dissipates and bears off those very Corpuscles which before it brought; the Parts of these Plants be∣ing very tender, as consisting of Cor∣puscles which are extremely small and light, and therefore the more easily dissipable. So that then these Plants dye away, shrink down again into the Earth, and all, save only their Roots and Seeds, vanish and disappear. But when the Sun's Heat is thus far ad∣vanc'd, 'tis but just come up to the pitch of another Sett of Vegetables;

and but great enough to excite and bear up the Terrestrial Particles, which are more crass and ponderous. And therefore those Plants which consist of such, begin then to shoot forth, and display themselves. So that the Months of April and May present us with ano∣ther Crop and Order of Plants. For the same reason also, Iune, Iuly, and August go farther, and exhibit a still different Shew of Vegetables, and Face of Things. But when, in the Months of September and October, the Sun's Power is again diminish'd, and its Heat but about equivalent to that of March and April, it again suits the Plants which were then in season, so that they many of them spring up afresh in these Months, and flourish over a-new, in like manner as before they did in those; till being check'd by the Cold of the succeeding Winter, the Sun being gone0off, and having now no longer Power great enough to bring up and supply them with fresh Matter, they presently begin to decline for want thereof, and at length quite dwindle away and disappear, untill the Arrival of the Spring Season, when they take

their Turns over again as formerly. Yea the more tender and frigitive Parts, the Leaves, and the like, of ma∣ny of the more sturdy and vigorous Vegetables, Shrubs, and Trees, suffer the same Fate, and fall off for want of the Supply from beneath; those only which are more tenacious, consistent, and hardy, enduring the Brunt, and making a shift to subsist for the time without such Recruit and Reparation. 'Tis therefore, we see, most apparent that this Succession of Things upon the Face of the Earth, is purely the Re∣sult and Effect of the Vicissitude of Seasons: and is as constant and certain as is the Cause of that Vicissitude, the Sun's Declination: so certain, that were a Man kept for some time blind∣fold, in such manner that he could have no Notice how the Year pass'd on, and were at length turn'd forth in∣to the next Field or Garden, he would not need any other Almanack to in∣form him what Season of the Year it then was.

But if instead of this Variation of Heat, we suppose that there was an Equality or constant Temperature of

it before the Deluge, which is what the Theorist contends for, the Case would be very much altered, and that altogether for the worse. A Man can hardly at first imagine what a Train of ill Consequences would fol∣low from such a Condition and Po∣sture of Things; of which 'twould not be the least that such a Mediocri∣ty of Heat would deprive the World of the most beautiful and the most useful Parts of all the whole Creation: and would be so far from exalting the Earth to a more happy and Paradisia∣cal State, which is what he brought it in for, that 'twould turn it to a general Desolation, and a meer barren Wilderness, to say no worse. Such an Heat would be too little for some sorts of Vegetables, and too great for others. The more fine and tender Plants, those which will not bear a degree of Heat beyond that of April, would be all burnt up, and destroyed by it: whilst it could never reach the more lofty and robust, nor would there be near Heat enough to ripen their Fruits and bring them to Perfe∣ction. Nothing would suit and hit▪

all, and answer every End of Nature, but such a gradual Increase and De∣crease of Heat as now there is. I must not descend to the Animal World, where the Inconveniences would be as many and as great as in the Vege∣table: and such a Situation of the Sun and Earth as that which the Theorist supposes, is so far from being prefer∣able to this which at present obtains, that this hath infinitely the Advantage of it in all respects.

Be that how it will, for I have no need to insist upon it, but may take the thing in his way, and suppose that such a Temperature would have all the happy Effects that he expects from it; yet there is one very conside∣rable Phaenomenon of the Vegetable Remains of that Earth, which affords us a sure and plain Indication that there was not then any such Tem∣perature. From these it clearly appears that there was the same Order and Suc∣cession of Things upon the Face of the Earth that there is at this time. Now this Succession being, as we have seen, caused meerly by the Va∣riation of the Sun's Heat, it must needs

follow, that there was then the same Variations of it, and consequently the same Alternations of Seasons, that now there is. Had there been an Equality of Heat, if we grant that it could have produced all the Plants in Nature, which 'tis impossible it ever should, it must have done it indifferently and un∣certainly. There could be no reason why they should flourish at any one set time rather than another; that's peculiarly the Effect of the Sun's Va∣riation. So that they must needs have been all in Confusion, and this Succession of Things would have been quite overturned. The Plants which now appear in the most different and distant Seasons, would have been all in Prime, and flourishing together at the same time: so that they would have had February and May, Iuly and September, all in one Scene. Nay, the several Individuals of the same kind must have been as greatly at odds: one arrived to Seed, and that fully ripe, and ready to shed, whilst ano∣ther was not so much as come to Flower, but in as differing a State and Hue as can be. In brief, there

would have been all the Diversity, Uncertainty, and Disorder, in the Vegetable Kingdom that can well be conceived. Which indeed is no more than what he freely owns: telling us that then Every Season was a Seed-time to Nature, and every Season an Harvest. This is what he does, and must grant: and this is as much as is needful for the overturning his Hypothesis. For the Vegetable Remains of that Earth say no such thing: they give not any the least Countenance to these Conje∣ctures, but the quite contrary: and these, being many of them enclosed in very fine and close Stone, are preser∣ved to this day very curiously and en∣tire to Admiration. By them we may easily judge how Things then stood. And there is so great an Uniformity, and general Consent amongst them, that from it I was enabled to discover what time of the year it was that the De∣luge began†; the whole Tenour of these Bodies thus pre∣served clearly point∣ing forth the Month

of May‖; nor have I ever met with so much as one single Plant, or other Body, amongst all those vast multitudes which I have carefully view∣ed, that is peculiar to any other Season of the Year: or any thing that happens earlier or later: any of them short, or any further advanc'd in Growth, Seed, or the like, than they now usually are in that Month; which sure∣ly I must needs have done, had there really been such an equality of Seasons, and constant tem∣perature of Heat as is imagined by the Theorist. There are some Phaenomena of the Animal Remains of that Earth which afford us more Arguments to the same purpose, and those not less concluding than the others; but these I shall wholly wave for the present, there being indeed no occasion to make use of them here.

I shall now only look a little into the Mosaick Archives, to observe what they furnish us with upon this Sub∣ject, and I have done; for I perceive I have, before I am aware, much ex∣ceeded the Measures I design'd, which on so copious a Subject 'twas hard not to do. Gen. 1.14. And God said, let there be LIGHTS in the Firmament of the Heaven, to divide the Day from the Night: and let them be for Signs, and for SEASONS, and for Days and Years. This Passage, we see, does not at all favour the Opinion that there was no Variation of Seasons before the Deluge: so far from it, that should a Man go about with never so set Study and De∣sign to describe such a Natural Form of the Year as is that which is at pre∣sent establish'd, he could scarcely ever do it in so few Words again that were so fit and proper, so full and express; especially if, by Signs, in this place, Months are intended, for then we have here first the Year: and that subdivi∣ded into its usual Parts, the four Quar∣ters or Seasons, the twelve Signs or Months, and Days; nay at the same time, from the 19th Verse, we learn that this Establishment is, within four

days, as old as the World. But further, Gen. viii. 21, 22. And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground, — neither will I again smite any more every thing living as I have done. While the Earth remaineth, Seed-time and Har∣vest, and Cold and Heat, and Summer and Winter, and Day and Night, shall not cease. This was pronounc'd upon Noah's Sacrificing, at his coming forth of the Ark, after the Deluge was over: and implies, that there had indeed then lately been a mighty Confusion of Things, for the time: an Interruption and Perturbation of the ordinary Course of them: and a Cessation and Suspension of the Laws of Nature: but withall gives Security and Assurance that there should never be the like any more to the End of the World: that for the future they should all run again in their old Chanel: and that particularly there should be the same Vicissitudes of Seasons, and Alternations of Heat and Cold that were before the Del••ge.

FINIS.

Notes

• Part 2. Cons. 2.
• †

  Theory of the Earth, l. 1. c. 6. & l. 2. c. 3.
• ‖

  L. 1. c. 5.
• Ibid. l. 2. c. 6.
• Conf. Pag. 84. & seq.
• ‖

  Conf. Part 2.
• †

  Gen. 1.9, 10.
• L. 1. c. 7.
• †

  Vers. 13.
• ‖

  Vers. 21, 22.
• Vers. 28.
• †

  Conf. Pag. 6. & Part 2.
• †

  Conf. Pag. 26. supra.
• Vid. pag. 22. & 23. supra.
• †

  Conf. pag. 48. & 156.
• ‖

  Part 3. Sect. 1. Pag. 153. & 154. The Theorist, I know, sup∣poses both the Antediluvian and the present Earth to be of an Oval Figure, and protended towards the Poles, as thinking that such a Figure would afford him a Plane so much inclined towards the AEquator, that the Rivers might flow upon it though there were no Mountains. But 'tis plain they could not. Nor are there any the least Grounds to be∣lieve that the first Earth was of that Figure. If he had had any thing that had look'd like a Proof of it, he had done well to have produced it. But 'tis manifest though we imagine the Earth formed that way he proposes, it would not have fallen into any such Figure. And for the pre∣sent Earth, 'tis of a Figure as different from that which he as∣signs as it well could be; it being a Sphaeroides Prolatus, as ap∣pears from the late Discoveries concerning it.
• Gen. vii. 19. & seq.
• Vid. Part 2.
• †

  Conf. Pag. 32.66.77. & Part 3. Sect. 2. Cons. 11.
• ‖

  Gen. i. 20. & seq.
• Pag. 22, 23. Conf. Gen. i. 11, 12, 21, 24, 25. & vi. 20.
• †

  Gen. iv. 22.
• ‖

  Con••er. Gen. vii. 23. & 1 Pet. iii. 20.
• Gen. ii. 11, 12.
• ‖

  Vers. 9.
• Part 2.
• †

  Confer. P••r•• 2. C••ns••ct. 3.
• ‖

  In which Posture 'tis probable the Olive-Tree lay from which the Dove pluck'd off the Leaf that she brought unto Noah, Gen. viii. 11.
• Conf. pag. 113. supra.
• ‖

  Vid. pag. 97. supra.
• Vid. Par•• 3. Sect. 1. Cons. 8. Pag. 125.
• †

  Gen. vii. 11. In the second Month, the seventeenth day of the Month, — were all the Foun∣tains of the great Deep broken up, and the windows of Heaven were opened. Moses▪ writing to the Jews his▪ Country-men, makes use of the Form of the Year then received amongst them, which was indeed the first and most ancient, but had been disused during the time of their Abode in Egypt, and but newly re-esta∣blish'd when this was wrote [Exod. xii. 2.] In this, Nisan, or; as 'twas also call'd, Adib was the first Month: and Ijar the se∣cond, upon the 17th day whereof thé waters of the Deluge came forth, according to this Rela∣tion. And truly the time (which is not d little remarkable) falls within the Compass here chalk'd out by Nature so very punctually, that one can scarcely forbear concluding that th••se Strokes and Lines of Nature, and those of that Relation, came both from the same Hand; but this only by the by. The Particulars of the Computation I here use shall be given at fall elsewhere, they being too bulky for this place.
• ‖

  Conf. Part 3. Sect. 2. Conf. 5.