DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure %oom 1 I V \ r-r THE SACRED THEORY O F T H E EARTH. Containing an A C C O U N T of the Original of the Earth, And of all the GENERAL CHANGES Which it hath already undergone, or is to undergo, till the Consummation of all Things. - — ^ The Two Last Books, Concerning the Burning of the World, And Concerning the New Heavens, and New Earth. Vol. II. L O N T> O N: Printed for J. Ho o k e, at the Flower-de-luce, over- againft St. Dunftans Churchy in lFleetfireet y 1 726. -» * Tr.1T v.~SL TO THE QUEE N's University L&rwy Moft EXCELLENT M Aj'EST Y. MJ&JM, A VING had the Honour to prefent the firft Part of this Theory to your Royal Uncle, I prefume to offer the Second to Your Majefty. This Pare of the Subject, I hope, will be no lefs A 2 ac- The Epifile Dedicatory. acceptable, for certainly 'tis of no lefs Importance. They both indeed agree in this, that there is a World made and deftroy'd in either Treatife. But we are more concern'd in what is to come, than what is paft. And as the former Books reprefented to us the Rife and Fall of the firft World 5 fp thefe give an Ac- count of the prefent Frame of Nature labouring under the laft Flames, and of the Refurrection of it in the new Heavens and new Earth 3 which, according to the Divine Promifes, we are to expect. Cities that are burnt, are commonly rebuilt more beautiful and regular than they were before. And when this World is demolifli'd by the laft Fire, He that undertakes to rear it up again, will Hip- ply the Defects, if there were any, of the former Fabrick. This Theory fuppofes the prefent Earth to be little better than an. Heap of Ruins 5 where yet there is Room The Epifile Dedicatory. Room enough for Sea and Land, for Iflarids and Continents, for feveral Coun- tries and Dominions : But when thefe are all melted down, and refin'd in the general Fire, they will be caft into a bet- ter Mould, and the Form and Qualities of the Earth will become TaradifakaL But, I fear, it may be thought no very proper Addrefs, to mew Your Majefty a World laid in Allies, where You have fo great an Intereft Your Self, and fuch fair Dominions 3 and then, to recorripenfe the Lofs, by giving a Re- verfion in a future Earth. But if that future Earth be a fecond Faradifej to be enjoyed for a Thoufand Years 3 with Peace, Innocency, and conftant Health 3 An Inheritance there will be, an happy Exchange for the beft Crown in this World. A3 I con- The Epifile Dedicatory. I confefs, I could never perfuade my- felf that the Kingdom of Chrift, and of his Saints, which the Scripture fpeaks of fo frequently, was defigned to be upon this prefent Earth. But however, upon all Suppofitions, they that have done fome Good in this Life, will be Sharers in the Happinefs of that State. To humble the OpprefTors, and refcue the Opprefled, is a Work of Generofity and Charity, that cannot want its Reward $ Yet, Madam, they are the greateft Benefactors to Mankind, that difpofe the World to become Virtuous 5 and by their Example, Influence, and Authority, retrieve that Truth and Justice, that have been loft, amongft Men, for many Ages* The School-Divines, tell us y thofe that a£t or fuffer great Things for the Publick Good, are diftinguillh'd in Heaven, by a Circle of Gold about their Heads. One would not willingly vouch for that : But one The Epijile Dedicatory. one may fafely for what the Prophet fays, which is far greater : Namely, that They fhall (Trine like Stars in the Firma- ment, that turn many to Right eoufnefs. Which is not to be underftood, fo much, of the Converfion of fingle Souls, as of the turning of Nations and People $ the turning of the World to Righteoufnefs. They that lead on that great and happy Work, mail be diftinguifli'd in Glory from the reft of Mankind* We are fenfible, Madam, from Your Great Example, that Piety and Vertue feated upon a Throne, draw, many to Imitation, whom ill Principles, or the Courfe of the World, might have led another Way. Thefe are the beft, as well as eafieft Victories, that are gain'd without Conteft* And as Princes are the Vicegerents of God upon Earth, fo when their Majefty is in Conjunction with Goodnefs, it hath a double Cha- A 4 rafter 7*he Epijlle Dedicatory, rafter of Divinity upon it : And we owe them a double Tribute of Fear and Love. Which, with conftant Prayers for Your Majesty's prefent and fu- ture Happinefs, fhall be always Dutifully paid, by Tour M A J E S T Y's Mojt Humble and Moji Obedient SubjeB, T. BURNET. PRE- PREFACE T O T H E READE R. HAVE not much to fay to the Reader in this Preface to the Third Part of the Theory 5 feeing it treats upon a Subject own d by all, and out of Difpute : The Conflagration of the World. The Queftion will be only about the Bounds and Limits of the Conflagration, the Caufes and the Man- ner of it. Thefe I have fixed, according to the trueft Meafures I could take from Scripture, and from Nature. I differ, I believe, from the common Sentiment in this, that, in following St. Teter's Philofophy, I fuppofe, that the burning of the Earth, will be a true Lique- faction or DiiTolution of it, as to the exterior Region. And that this lays a Foundation for new Heavens and a new Earth ; which feems to me as plain a Doctrine in Chriftian Religion, as the Conflagration itfelf. I have the TREFACE. I have endeavour'd to propofe an intelligi- ble Way, whereby the Earth may be eon- fum'd by Fire. But if any one can propofe another, more probable, and more confident, I will be the firft Man that fhall give him Thanks for this Difcovery. He that loves Truth for its own fake, is willing to receive it from any Hand -, as he that truly loves his Country, is glad of a Vi&ory over the Ene- my, whether himfelf, or any other, has the Glory of it. I need not repeat here, what I have already faid upon kvcral Occafions, that 'tis the Subftance of this Theory, whether in this Part, or in other Parts, that I mainly re- gard and depend upon : Being willing to fup- pofe, that many {ingle Explications and Parti- cularities may be rectified, upon farther Thoughts, and clearer Light. I know our beft Writings, in this Life, are but Ejjays, which we leave to Pofte* rity to review and correct. As to the Style, I always endeavour to ex* prefs myfelf in a plain and perfpicuous man- ner i that the Reader may not lofe Time, nor wait too long, to know my Meaning. To give an Attendant quick Difpatch, is a Civility, whether you do his Bufinefs or no. I would not willingly give any one the Trouble of reading a Period twice over, to know the Senfe of it 5 left, when he comes to know it, he fhould not think it a Recompence for his Pains. Whereas, on the contrary, if you are eafy to your Reader, he will certainly make you an Allow- ance for ir, in his Cenfure. You The "PREFACE. You muft not think it ftrange however, that the Author fometimes, in meditating up- on this Subject, is warm in his Thoughts and Ex- preflions. For to fee a World perifhing in Flames, Rocks melting, the Earth trembling, and an Hoft of Angels in the Clouds, one muft be very much a Stoick, to be a cold and un- concerned Spectator of all this. And when we are mov'd ourfelves, our Words will have a Tin&ure of thofe Paffions which we feel. Befides, in moral Reflections which are de- iign'd for Ufe, there muft be lome Heat, as well as dry Reafon, to infpirc this cold Clod of Clay, this dull Body of Earth, which we car- ry about with us 5 and you muft foften and pierce that Cruft, before you can come at the Soul. But cfpecially when Things future are to be reprefented, you cannot ufe too ftrong Colours, if you would give them Life, and make them appear prefent to the Mind. Farewel. C O N- 1 CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS- T The Third Book. CHAP. I. H E Introduction ; with the Contents and Or- der of this Treatife Page t CHAP. II. *tbe true State of the g)ueftion is proposed. ic tis the general Dcffrine of the Antients, 'that theprefent Worlds or the prefent Frame of Nature, is mutable and perifiable -, to which the facred Books agree : And natural Keafon can alledge nothing againft it 7 CHAP. III. Zhat the World will be defiroyed by Fire, is the DotJrine of the Antients, efpeciaUy of the Stoicks. tfhat the fame Dofirine is more antient than the Greeks, and derivdfrom the Barbarick Philofophy ; and that probably from Noah, the Father of all tra* dttionan The CONTENTS. ditionary Learning. the fame Doctrine exprefly au- thorized by Revelation, and inrolled into the Sacred Canon 19 CHAP. IV. Concerning the 'time of the Conflagration, and the End of the IVorld. What the Aflronomers fay upon this Subject, and upon what they ground their Calcu- lations, 'the true Notion of the Great Tear, cr of the Platonick Tear, fated and explain' d 35 CHAP. V. Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of fne World j Of what Order foever, Prophane or Sacred, Jewiflj or Cbrtftian. that no certain Judg- ment can be made from any of them, at what Difiance we are from the Conflagration 45 CHAP. VI. Concerning the Caufes of the Conflagration, ^the Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be fet on Fire. With a general Anfwer to that Difficulty, two fuppos'dCaujes of the Conflagration, by the Suns drawing nearer to the Earth, or the Earth's throwing out the central Fire, examin'd and rejected 60 CHAP. VII. 'the true Bounds of the lafi Fire, and how far it is Fatal, the natural Caufes and Materials of it, caft into three Ranks. Firft, Such as are exterior and vifible upon Earth, where the Volcano'.* of this Earth, and their Effects, are confiderd. Secondly^ Such Materials as are within the Earth, thirdly, Such as are in the Air 73 CHAP The CONTENTS. CHAP. VIII. Some new Difpofitions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter, Form, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Caufes, and how far the Mini- fir y of Angels may he engaged in this Work. gz CHAP. IX. How the Sea will he diminijb'd and confumd. How the Rocks and Mountains will he thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior Frame of the Earth diffolvd into a Deluge of Fire 1 04 CHAP. X. Concerning the Beginning and Progrefs of the Conflagration, what Part of the Earth will firft he hurnt. I'he Manner of the future DeftrucJwn of Rome, according to the Prophetical Indications. which they thought would never be diilblv'd zo The Theory of the Earth. diflblv'd or periili as to its Mafs and Bulk : But fmgle Parts and Points of it ( and our Earth is no more) may be varioufly transform^, and made habitable and unhabitable, according to certain Periods of Time, without any Prejudice to their Philofophy. So Plato, for Inftance, thinks this World will have no DiiTolution : For, being a Work fo beautiful and noble, the Good- nefs of God, he fays, will always preferve it. It is moll: reafonable to underftand this of the great Univerfe ; For, in our Earth, Plato himfclf ad- mits fuchDifTolutions as are made by general De- luges and Conflagrations $ and we contend for no other. So likewife in other Authors, if they fpeak of the Immortality of the World, you muft ob- ferve what World they apply it to ; and whether to the Matter or the Form of it : And if you re- member that ourDifcourfe proceeds only upon the fublunary World, 2nd the DiiTolution of its Form, you will find little in Antiquity contrary to this Doclrine. I always except Ariftotle ( who al- low'd of no Providence in this inferior World) and fome 'Pythagoreans falfly fo call'd, being ei- ther fiditious Authors, or Apoftates from the Do- ctrine of their Mafler. Thefe being excepted, up- on a View of the reft, you will find very few Dif- fenters from this general Doctrine. Plato's Argument againft the DiiTolution of the World, from the Goodnefs and Wifdom of God, would not be altogether unreafonable, tho' apply'd to this Earth, if it was fo to be dif- Jfolv'd, as never to be refior'd again. But we expect New Heavens and a New Earth, upon the Concerning the Conflagration. ti the DifTolution ofthefe; better in all Refpafts, more commodious, and more beautiful. And the fevcral Perfections of the Divine Nature, Wifdom, Power, Goodneis, Juitice, Sanctity, cannot be Co well diiplay'd and exemplify 'd in any one ilngle State of Nature, as in a Succefll- on of States, fitted to receive one another ac- cording to the Difpofitions of the moral World, and the Order of Divine Providence. Where- fore, 'Plato's Argument from the Divine Attri- butes, all Things confider'd, doth rather prove a Succeffion of Worlds, than that one fingle World mould remain the fame throughout all Ages, without Change or Variation. Next to the Platonifts, the Stoicks were rnoft confi- derable in Matters relating to Morality and Providence : And their Opinion, in this Cafe, is well known ; they being look'd upon by the Mo- derns, as the principal Authors of the Doctrine of the Conflagration. Nor is it lefs known that the School of ^Democritus and Epicurus, made all their Worlds fubject to DiiToiution ; and by a new Concourfe of Atoms reftor'd them again. Laltly, The Ionick Philofophers, who had Thales for their Matter, and were the firft Naturalifts amongft the Greeks, taught the fame Doctrine. We have, indeed, but an imperfect Account left us of this Seel, and 'tis great Pity ; for as it was one of the moil: antient, fo it feems to have been one of the molt confiderable amongft the Greeks for Natural Philofophy. In thole Remains which Tiiogenes Laert'ras hath pre- ferv'd, of Anaxagoras, Anaximenes, Arche- lans, 12, The Theory of the Earth." laus, &c. all great Men in their Time j we find that they treated much of the Origin of the World, and had many extraordinary Notions a- bout it, which come lame and defective to us. The Doctrine of their Founder, Thales, which made ail Things to confift of Water, feems to have a great Refemblance to the Doctrine of Mofes and St. 'Pe- ter about the Conftitution of the firft Heavens and Earth, Gen. i. 2 Pet. ii. 5. But there is little in LaertiuSy what their Opinion was about the Dif- fblution of the World 5 other Authors inform us more of that. Stobaus, Eel. Thy/A. 1 . c. 24. joins them with Leucippus and the Epicureans : Simpli- cius with HeraclitMSy and the Stoicks, in this Do- ctrine about the Corruptibility of the World. So that all the Schools of the Greek Philofophers, as we noted before, were unanimous in this Point, excepting the Veripateticks ; whofe Matter, Ari- ftotle, had neither Modefty enough to follow the Doctrine of his PredecefTors, nor Wit enough to invent any Thing better. Befides thefe Sects of Philofophers, there were Theologers amongit the Greeks, more Antient than thefe Sects, and more Myftical. Arifiotle often diftinguifheth the Naturalifts, and the Theologues, 0\ pi/mo/, cl S-zfaoyoi. Such were Orpheus and his Followers, who had more of the antient Oriental Learning, than the fuc- ceeding Philofophers. But they writ their Phi- lofophy, or Theology rather, Mythologically and Poetically, in Parables and Allegories, that needed an Interpretation. All thefe Theologers fuppofed the Earth to rife from a Chaos; and as they Concerning the Conflagration. 13 they faid that Love was the Principle at full, that united the loofe and fevered Elements, and formed them into an habitable World ; fo they fuppofed that \i- Strife or Contention prevaifd, that would again diiloive and difunite them, and reduce Things into a Chaos ; fuch as the Earth will be in, upon the Conflagration. And it far- ther appears, that both thefe Orders of the Learn- ed in Greece j fuppos'd this prefent Frame of Na- ture might perifh, by their Doctrine of Periodical Revolutions, or of the Renovation of the World after certain Periods of Time; which was a Doctrine common amongft the Learned Greeks, and received by them from the ancient Barbarick Nations : As will appear more at large in the following Book, Ch. 3 . In the mean Time we may obfervc, that Origen in anfvver- ing Celfus, Lib. 9, about the Point of the Re- furre&ion, tells him, That Doctrine ought not to appear fo flrange or ridiculous to him, fee- ing their own Authors did believe and teach the Renovation of the World, after certain Ages or Periods. And the Truth is, this Renovation of the World, rightly ftated, is the fame Thing with the Firfl Refurrection of the Chriftians. And as to the fecond and general Refurre&ion, when the Righteous fhall have CcekfUal Bo- dies; 'tis well known, that the Tlatonifts and Pythagoreans cloathed the Soul with a Cceleftial Body, or, in their Language, an Ethereal Ve- hicle, as her laft Beatitude or Glorification. So that Origen might very juftly tell his Ad- , yerfary, he had no Reafon to ridicule the Chri- ftian 14 The Theory of the Earth. ftian Doctrine of the Refurrection, feeing their own Authors had the main Strokes of it in their Traditionary Learning. I will only add one Remark more, before we leave this S Lib j eel, to prevent a Miftake in the Word hnmortal or Immortality, when applied to the World. As I told you before, the Equi- vocation that was in that Term World, it being us'd fometimes for the whole Univerfe, lbme- times for this inferior Part of it where we live, fo like wife we muft obferve, that when this inferior World is faid to be Immortal, by the Philofophers, as fometimes it is, that common- ly is not meant of any fingle State of Nature, or any fingle World, but of a Succefllon of Worlds, confequent one upon another. As a Family may be faid Immortal, not in any fingle Perfon, but in a Succeillon of Heirs. So as, many Times, when the Ancients mention the Immortality of the World, they do not there- by exclude the Diflblution or Renovation of it; but fuppofe a Viciffitude, or Series of Worlds fjeceeding one another. This Obfervation is not mine, but was long fmce made by Stmplu cms, Stobans, and others, who tell us in what Senfe fome of thofc Philofophers who allowed the World to be perifhable, did yet affirm it to be immortal : Namely, by fuccefllve Renovations. Thus much is fufficient to mew the Senfe and Judgment of Antiquity, as to the Changeableneis or Perpetuity of the World. But ancient Learn- ing is like ancient Medals, more efteem'd for their Rarity, than their real Ufe 5 unlefs the Authority of Concerning the Conflagration. 15 of a Prince make them currant : So neither will thefe Teftimonies be of any great Effect, un- lefs they be made good and valuable by the Autho- rity of Scripture. We muft therefore add the Tefti- monies of theProphets and Apoftles, to there of the Greeks aw& Barbarians, that the Evidence may be full and undeniable. That the Heavens and the Earth will perifli, or be chan£d into another Form, is, fometimes, plainly expreiyd,.fometimes fuppos'd and alluded to in Scripture. The Prophet 'David's Teftimony is exprefs, both for the Beginning and Ending of the World : In 'Pfal. cii. ver. 25, 26, 27. Of old haft thou laid the 'Foundation of the Earthy and the Hea- vens are the Work of thy Hands. They jhall perijh, but thou Jhalt endure : Tea, all of them Jhall wax old like a Garment 5 as a Vefture Jhalt thou change them, and they Jhall be changed. But thou art the fame, and thy Tears Jhall have no End. The Prophet Ifaiah's Teftimony is no le/s exprefs, to the fame Purpofe, ch. li. 6. Lift up your Eyes to the Heavens, and look upon the Earth beneath : For the Heavens Jhall vanijh away like Smoke, and the Earth Jo all wax old like a Garment, and they that dwell t herein J hall die in like Manner. Thefe Texts are plain and explicit- and in Allufion to this Day of the Lord, and this Deftru&ion of the World, the fame Prophet often ufeth Phrafes that relate to it : As the ConcujJion of the Heavens and the Earth, Ifa. xiii. 1 3 . The Jhaking oj the Foun- dations of the World, ch. xxiv. 18,19. The T)if- JolutionoftheHoft of Heaven, ch.xxxiv.4. And our * i6 The Theory of the Earth. our Sacred Writers have Expreflions of the like Force, and relating to the fame EfFecl: : As the Hills melting like Wax, at the Prefence of the Lord, Pfal. xcvii, 5. Shattering once more all the Parts of the Creation, Hagg. ii. 6. Over- turning the Mountains, and making the Pillars of the Earth to tremble, Job he. 5, 6. If you reflect upon the Explication given of the De- luge, in the firft Part of this Theory, and attend to the Manner of the Conflagration, as it will be explained in the Sequel of this Difcourfe, you will lee the Juftneis and Fitnefs of thefe Exprefli- ons : That they are not Poetical Hyperboles, or random Expreflions of great and terrible Things in general, but a true Account of what hath been, or will be, at that great Day of the Lord. Tis true, the Prophets fometimes ule fuch like Ex- preflions figuratively, for Commotion in States and Kingdoms, but that is only by way of Meta- phor and Accommodation ; the true Bafis they ftand upon, is, That Ruin, Overthrow, and Dif- folution of the Natural World, which was once at the Deluge, and will be again, after another Manner, at the general Conflagration. As to the New Teftament, our Saviour fays, Heaven and Earth fhallpafs away , but his Words Jh all not pafs away. Mat. xxiv. 3 5- St. Paul (ays, the Scheme of this World-, the Fafhion, Form, and Compofition of \t,pajfeth away, 1 Convii; 31. And when mention is made of New Hea- vens and a New Earth, which both the Pro- phet Ifaiah, Ifa. lxv. 17. & lxvi. 22. and the Apoftles StfPeter and St. John, Rev, xxi. 1 . 2 Pet. iii. 13* Concerning the Conflagration.^ \j im» 13. mention, 'tis plainly imply'd, that the Old ones will be dillblv d. The fame Thing is alfo imply'd, when our Saviour fpeaks of a Renafcency, or Regeneration, Mat. xix. 28. and St.Teter, of a Reft itut ion of all Things, AcJs ih\ 21. For what is now, mud be abolihYd, be- fore any former Order of Things can be reftor'd or reduced. In a Word, If there was nothing in Scripture concerning this Subject, but that Difcourle of St. 'Peters, in his Second Epiftle, and Third Chapter, concerning the triple Order and Succtflions of the Heavens and the Earth, paft, prefent, and to come 5 that alone would be a Conviction, and Demonftration to me> that this prefent World will be diflblv'd. You will fay, it may be ; in the laft Place, we want ftill the Teftimony of Natural Reafon and Philolbphy, to make the Evidence complete. I anfwer, 'tis enough if they be filent, and have nothing to fay to the contrary, Here are WitnefTes, Human and Divine, and if none appear againft them, we have no reafon to re- fute their Teftimony, or to diftruft it. Philofo- phy will very readily yield to this Dodrine^ that all material Compofmons are difiblvable ; and fhe will not wonder to fee that die, which fhe had feen born : I mean this terreflrial World. She flood uoon the Chaos, and faw it roll itfelf, with Difficulty, and after many Smugglings, into the Form of an habitable Earth 5 And that Form me faw broken down again at the Deluge 5 and can as little hope or expect, now, as then, that it mould be cvcrlafling and Book III, C im- 1 8 The Theory of the Earth^ immutable. There would be nothing great or considerable in this inferior World, if there were not fuch Revolutions of Nature. The Seafons of the Year, and the frefli Productions of the Spring, are pretty in their Way ; but when the {Annus Magnus) Great Tear comes about, with a new Order of all Things, in the Heavens, and on the Earth 5 and a new Drefs of Nature throughout all her Regions, far more goodly and beautiful than the faireft Spring; this gives a new Life to the Creation, and fhews the Greatnefs of its Author. Befides, thefe fatal Cataftrophes are always a Puniih- ment to degenerate Mankind, that are over- whelm^ in the Ruins of thefe perifhing Worlds. And to make Nature herfelf execute the Di- vine Vengeance againft rebellious Creatures, argues both the Power and Wifdom of that Providence that governs all Things here below. Thefe Things Reafon and Philofophy approve of; but if you further require, that they mould fhew a Necejfity of this future Deftruftion of the World, from natural Caufes, with the Time, and all other Circumllances of this Effect 5 your Demands are unreafonablc, feeing thefe Things do not depend folely upon Nature. But if you will content yourfelf to know what Dif- pofitions there are in Nature towards fuch a Change; how it may begin, proceed, and be conlummate, under the Conduct: of Providence, be pleafed to read the following Difcourfe, for your further Satisfaction. CHAP. Concerning the Conflagration. 19 CHAP. III. That the World will be dejlrofd by Fire, is the c Doc~ir'me of the Ancients, efpecially of the Stoicks. That the fame Doctrine is more an- cient than the Greeks, and deriv'd from the Barbarick 'Philcfophy ; and That probably from Noah, the Father of all Traditionary Learning. The fame ^Dofirine exprefly au- thorized by Revelation, and inroll'd into the Sacred Canon. r I ^HAT the prefent World, or the prefent JL Frame of Nature, will be deftroy'd, we have already fhewn. In what Manner this Dellru&ion will be, by what Force, or what kind of Fate, mull: be our next Enquiry. The Philofophers have always fpoken of Fire and JVnter, thofe Two unruly Elements, as the only Caufes that can deftroy the World, and work our Ruin 5 and accordingly, they fay, all the great and fatal Revolutions of Nature, either paft, or to come, depend upon the Violence of thefe Two 5 when they get the Maftery, and overwhelm all the reft, and the whole Earth, in a Deluge, or Conflagration. But, as they make thefe Two the deftroying Elements, io they alfo make them the purifying Elements. And, accordingly in their Luurations, or their Rites and Ceremonies for purging Sin ; Fire and Water were chiefly made ufe of, both amongft the Romans, Greeks, and Barbarians. And when thefe Elements over-run the World, it is C 2 not, zo The Theory of the EARTri, not, they fay, for a final Deftru&ion of it, but to purge Mankind, and Nature from their Impurities. As for Purgation by Fire and Water, the Stile of our Sacred Writings does very much accommo- date itfelf to that Senfe; and the Holy Gholi, who is the great Purifier of Souls, is compared in his Operation upon us, and in our Regeneration, to Fire or Water. And as for the external World, S. Teter, i Ep. iii. 1 1 . makes the Flood to have been a kind of Baptizing or Renovation of the World. And S. Taut, i Cor. iii. 13. and the Prophet Mala- chi, c. iii. 2, 3 . makes the laft Fire, to be a purg- ing and refining Fire. But to return to the Ancients. The Stoicks especially, of all other Seels amongft the Greeks, have preferved the Do&rine of the Conflagration ; and made it a confiderable Part of their Phiiofophy, and almoft a Character of their Order. This is a Thing fo well known, that I need not ufe any Citations to prove it. But they cannot pretend to have been the firft Au- thors of it neither. For, befides that amongft the Greeks themfelves, Her adit us and Empedo- cles, more ancient than Zeno, the Mafter of the Stoicks, taught this Doctrine ; 'tis plainly a Branch of the Barbarick Phiiofophy, and taken from thence by the Greeks. For it is well known, that the moll: ancient and myftick Learning amongft the Greeks, was not originally their own, but borrowed of the more Eaftern Nations, by Or- pheus, ^Pythagoras, Tlato, and many more, who travell'd thither, and traded with the Priefts for Knowledge and Phiiofophy • and when they got a competent Stock, returned home, and fee up Concerning the Conflagration. z\ up a School, or a Seel:, to inftruct their Country- men. But before we pais to the Eaftern Nations, let us, if you pleafe, compare the Roman Philo- ibphy upon this Subject, with that of the Greeks. The Romans were a great People, that made a Shew of Learning, but had little, in reality, more than Words and Rhetorick Their Curi- ofity or Emulation in Philofophical Studies was fo little, that it did not make different Seels and Schools amongft them, as amongft the Greeks. I remember no Philofophers they had, but fuch as Tulfy, Seneca, and (bme of their Poets. And of thefe Lucretius, Luc an, and Ovid, have fpoken openly of the Conflagration. Ovid's Verfes are well known, Ejfe quoque infatis reminifcitur, affore tempus, Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia Cceli Ardeat, & mundi moles operofa labor et* A Time decreed by Fate, at length will come, When Heavens, and Earth, and Seas, Jh all have their 'Doom ; A fiery Doom : And Nature's mighty Frame, Shall break, and be dijfolv'dinto a Flame. We fee Fully 's Senfe upon this Matter, in Set- pio's Dream. When the old Man fpeaks to his Nephew Jfricanus, and fhews him from the Clouds, this Spot of Earth, where we live 5 he tells him, tho' our A&ions fhould be great, and fortune favour them with Succefs, yet there wou'd be no Room for any lading Glory in this World * C 3 for 2 2 The Theory of the Earth. for the World itfelf, is tranllent and fugitive* And a Deluge, or a Conflagration, which necek. farily happen after certain Periods of Time, will iweep away all Records of human Actions. As for Seneca, he being a profefs'd Stoick, we need not doubt of his Opinion in this Point. We may add here, if you pleafe, the Sybelline Verfes, which were kept, with great Religion, in the Capitol at Rome, and confulted with much Ceremony upon folemn Occafions. Thefe Sybils, were the Prophetefies of the Gentiles -, and tho' their Writings now have many fpurious Additions, yet none doubt but that the Conflagration of the World, was one of their original Prophecies. Let us now proceed to the Eaftern Nations. •As the Romans received the fmall Skill they had in the Sciences, from the Greeks j fo the Greeks, receiv'd their chief Myftick Learning from the Barbarians : That is, from the (^/Egyptians, Terfians, 'Phoenicians, and other Eaftern Nati- ons ; for 'tis not only the Weftern, or Northern People, that they called Barbarians, but indeed, all Nations beildes themfelves. For that is com- monly the Vanity of great Empires, to uncivi- Jize, in a Manner, all the reft of the World -, and to account all thofe People barbarous, that are not fubjecl: to their Dominion. Thefe however, whom they called fo, were the moft ancient People, and had the firft Learning that was ever heard of after the Flood. And amongft thefe, the ^/Egyptians were as famous as any ; whole Sentiments in this particular of the Conflagration, are well known. For Tlato, who liv'd amongft them Concerning the Conflagration. 23 them fcveral Years, tells us in his Tirnam, that it was the Doctrine of their Prieils, that the fa- tal Catailrophes of the World, were by Fire and Water. In like manner, the Terfians made their beloved God, Fire, at length to confume all Things that are capable of being confum'd : For that is faid to have been the Doctrine o£ Hydafpes, one of their great Magi, or Wife Men. As to thcThcenicians, I fufpect very much, that the Sto- ic ks had their Philofophy from them {Juft. Mar. A$ol. 2.) and amongft other Things the Conflagra- tion. We fhall take Notice of that hereafter. But to comprehend the Arabians alfo, and Indians, give me leave to reflect a little upon the Story of the 'Phoenix. A Story well known, and related by fome ancient Authors, and is in fhort this : The Phoenix, they fay, is a Bird in Arabia, In- dia, and thofe Eaffern Parts, fingle in her Kind, never more than one at a Time, and very long- lived ; appearing only at the Expiration of the Great Tear, as they call it : And then fhe makes herfelf a Neil of Spices, which being fet on fire by the Sun, or fome other fecret Power, fhe ho- vers upon it , and confumes herfelf in the Flames. But, which is molt wonderful, out of thele Afhes rifeth a fecond Phoenix, fo that it is not Co much a Death, as a Renovation. I do not doubt but the Story is a Fable, as to any fuch kind of Bird, fingle in her Species, living, and dying, and reviving in that Manner : But 'tis an Apo- logue, or a Fable with an Interpretation, and was intended as an Emblem of the World ; which, after a long Age, will be confum'd in the laft C 4 Fue: 24 The Theory of the Earth. Fire: And from its Afhes or Remains, will arife another World, or a new-form'd Heavens and Earth. This, 1 think, is the true Myftery of the ^Phoenix, under which Symbol the Eaftern Nati- ons prefervM the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and Renovation ot the World. They tell fome- what a like Story of the Eagle, foaring aloft fb near the Sun, that by his Warmth and enlivening Rays, fhe renews her Age, and becomes young again. To this the Pfalmift is thought to allude, Pfal. ciii. 5. Thy Tout h jh all be renewed like the Eagles : Which the Chaldee Paraphraft renders, In mundo venturo renovabis, ficut AqiiiU, juven- tutem tuam. Thefe Things to me feem plainly to be Symbolical, reprefenting that World to come, which the Paraphraft mentions, and the firing of this. And this is after the Manner of the Eaftern Wifdomj which always lov'd to go fine, cloath'd in Fiaures and Fancies. And not only the Eaftern Barbarians, but the Northern and Weftern alfo, had this Doctrine of the Conflagration amongft them. The Scythians, in their Difpute with the ^/Egyptians about Anti- quity, argue upon both Suppofitions, of Fire or Water, deftroying the laft World, or beginning This. And in the Weft, the Celts, the mod an- cient People there, had the fame Tradition ; for the "Druids, who were their Priefts and Philofophers, derived not from the Greeks, but of the old Race of Wife Men, that had their Learning tradition- ally, and, as it were, hereditary from the firft Ages : Thefe, as Strabo tells us, lib, 4. gave the "VVorld a kind of Immortality, by repeated Reno- vations 1 Concerning the Conflagration. ij vations; and the Principle that deftroy'd ir, ac- cording to them, was always Fire or Water. I had forgot to mention in this Lift, the Chalde- ans, whofe Opinion we have from Berofus, in Seneca, Nat. Quaft. 3- c. 29. They did not only teach the Conflagration, but alfo fixd it to a certain Period of Time, when there mould happen a great Conjunction of the Planets in Cancer. Laftly, we may add, to clofe the Account, the modern Indian Philofophers, the Reliques of the old Bragmans: Thefe, as Maffeus tells us, lib. 1 6. Hift. Ind. declare, That the World will be renewed after an univerfal Conflagration. You fee of what Extent and Univerfality throughout all Nations, this Doctrine of the Conflagration hath been. Let us now confidcr, ■what Defects or Excefles there are, in thefe ancient Opinions, concerning this Fate of the World, and how they may be re&ified : That we may admit them no further into our Belief, than they are warranted by Reafon, or by the Authority of the Chriftian Religion. The firft Fault they leemtohave committed about this Point, is this, That they made thefe Revolutions and Renovations of Nature, indefinite or endiefs : As if there would be fuch a Succeflion of Deluges and Conflagrations to all Eternity. This the Stoicks feem plainly to have aiTerted, as appears from Nurnenius, ^Philo, Simpli- cms, and others. S. Jerome, Ep. 60. imputes this Opinion alio to Origen ; but he does not always hit the true Senfe of that Father, or is not fair and juft in the Reprefentation of it. Whofoever held this Ppinion, 'tis a manifeft Error, and may be eafuy redifiecl z6 The Theory of the Earth. rectified by the Chriftian Revelation ; which teaches us plainly, that there is a final Period and Confummation of all Things that belong to this Sublunary or Terreftrial World ; When the Kjngdem (hall be delivered up to the Father 5 and Time fhall be no more. Another Error they committed in this Doctrine, is, the Identity, or Samenefs, if I may fo fay, of the World's fucceeding one another. They are made, indeed, of the fame Lump of Matter, but they fuppofed them to return alfo in the fame Form. And, which is worfe, that there would be the fame Face of human Affairs 5 the fame Perfons and the fame Actions over again,- fo as the fecond World would be but a bare Repetition of the for- mer, without any Variety or Diverilty. Such a Revolution is commonly call'd the Tlatonick Tear : A Period when all Things return to the famePofture they had been fome Thoufand of Years before -, as a Play acled over again, upon the fame Stage, and to the fame Auditory : This is a ground- lefs and injudicious Suppofition. For, whether we confider the Nature of Things, the Earth, after a Dhfolution by Fire, or by Water, could not return into the fame Form and Fafhion it had before i Or whether we confider Provi- dence, it would no way fuit with the Divine Wis- dom and Juftice, to bring upon the Stage again, thofe very Scenes, and that very Courfeof human Affairs, which it had fo lately condemn'd and deftroy'd. We may be affur'd therefore, that, upon the Dif- folutionof a World, a new Order of Things, both as to Nature and Providence., always appears : And Concerning the Conflagration. 27 And what that new Order will be, in both re- fpecls, after the Conflagration I hope we mall, in the following Book, give a fatisfa&ory Account. Thefe are the Opinions, true or falfe, of the Ancients ; and chiefly of the Stoicks, concern- ing the Myftery of the Conflagration. It will not be improper to enquire, in the laft Place, how the Stoicks came by this Doctrine: Whe- ther it was their Difcovery and Invention, or from whom they learned it. That it was not their own Invention, we have given fufficient ground to believe, by mewing the Antiquity of it beyond the Times of the Stoicks. Be- fides, what a Man invents himfelf, he can give the Reafons and Caufes of it, as Things upon which he .founded his Invention : But the Sto- icks do not this, but, according to the ancient traditional Way, deliver the Conclufion without Proof or Premifes. We named Her acli tits and Empedocles, amongft the Greeks, to have taught this Doctrine before the Stoicks; And, accord- ing to 'Plutarch (de 'Defec. Orac.) Hejiod and Orpheus, Authors of the highelt Antiquity, fungof this laft Fire in their Philofophick Poetry. But I iufpect the Stoicks had this Doctrine from the 'Phoenicians > for if we inquire into the Original of that Seel, we (hall find that their Founder Zeno, was a Barbarian, or Semi-barbarian, deriv'd from the 'Phoenicians, as Laertms and Cicero give an Account of him. And the Phoenicians had a great Share in the Oriental Knowledge, as we fee by Sanchoniathwrh Remains in Eufebius, And by their myftical Books which Suidas men- tions, 28 The Theory of the Earth^ tions, from whence Therecydes, Vythagoras's Matter, had his Learning. We may there- fore, reafonably prefume, that it might be from his Countrymen, the Phoenicians, that Zeno had the Doctrine of the Conflagration. Not that he brought it firft into Greece, but ftrongly reviv'd it, and made it almoft peculiar to his Sect:. So much for the Stoicks in particular, and the Greeks in general. We have alfo, you fee, trac'd thefe Opinions higher, to'the firft BarbarickPhilo- fophers; who were the firft Race of Philofophers after the Flood. But Jofephus tells a formal Story, of Pillars fet up by Seth, before the Flood 5 imply- ing the Foreknowledge of this fiery Deftruclion of the World, even from the Beginning of it. His Words, lib. 1. c. 3. are to this Effect, give what Credit to them you think fit : Seth and his Yellow Students, having found out the Knowledge of the Coslejltal Bodies, and the Order and c Difpofition of the Univerfe ; and having alfo receivd from Adam, a Prophecy, that the World Jhould have a double ^DeJlrucJion, one by JVater, another by Fire : To preferve and tranfmit their Knowledge, in either Cafe, to Pofterity, they raifedtwo Pillars; one of Brick, another of Stone, andingrav'd upon them their Philofophy and Inventions. A?id one of thefe Pillars, the Author fays (Kara r S^aSa) was /landing m Syria, even to his Time. I do not prefs the Belief of this Story ; there being no- thing, that I know of, in Antiquity, Sacred or Pro- phane, that gives a joint Teftimony with it, And thofe that fet up thefe Pillars, do not feem to me, to have understood the Nature of the 'Deluge or Cm* Concerning the Conflagration. 22 Conflagration ; if they thought a Pillar, cither of Brick or Stone, would be fecure, in thofe great Diflblutions of the Earth. But we have purfued this Do&rine high enough, without the Help of thefe ante-diluvian Antiquities : Namely, to the earlieft People, and the ririt Appearances of Wi£ dom after the Flood. So that, I think, we may juftly look upon it as the Doctrine of Noah, and of his immediate Posterity. And, as that is the higheft Source of Learning to the prefent Worlds fo we mould endeavour to carry our Philofophical Traditions to that Original : For I cannot per- fuade myfelf, but that they had amongit them, even in thofe early Days, the main Strokes, or Conclufions of the Deft Philoibphy : Or, if I may (b fay, a Form of found Doctrine concern- ing Nature and Providence. Of which Matter, if you will allow me a fhort Digreffion, I will fpeak my Thoughts in a few Words. In thofe flrft Ages of the World, after the Flood, when Noah and his Children peopled the Earth again, as he gave them Precepts of Morality and Piety, for the Conduct of their Manners 5 which are ufually call'd Pracepta Noachidarum, the 'Precepts of Noah, frequently mentioned both by the Jews and Chriflians : So alfo he deliver 'd to them, atleaft, if we judge aright, certain Maxims, or Conclufions about Providence, the State of Na- ture, and the Fate of the World : And thefe, in Proportion, may be call'd 'Dogmata Noachidarum* the c Doc~irines of Noah, and his Children Which made a Syftem of Philofophy, or fecret Know- ledge amongft them, delivered by Tradition from 3o The Theory of the Earth* from Father to Son ; but especially preferv'd amongft their Priefts and Sacred Perfbns, or fuch others as were addicted to Contemplation. This I take to be more ancient than Mofes himfelf, or the Jewifl Nation. But it would lead me too far out of my Way, to fet down, in this Place, the Reafons of my Judgment. Let it be fuffici- ent to have pointed only at this Fountain-head of Knowledge, and lb return to our Argument. We have heard, as it were, a Cry of Fire, throughout all Antiquity, and throughout all the People of the Earth. But thofe Alarums are fometimes falfe, or make a greater Noife than the Thing deferves. For my Parr, I never truft Antiquity barely upon its own Account, but al- ways require a fecond Witnefs, either from Nature* or from Scripture : What the Voice of Nature is, we mall hear all along in the following Trea- tife. Let us then examine at prefent, what Teili- mony the Prophets and Apoftles give to this an- cient Do&rine of the Conflagration of the World. The Prophets fee the World a Fire at a Diflance, and more imperfectly, as a Brightness in the Heavens, rather than a burning Flame : But S. 'Peter defcribes it, as if he had been (landing by, and feen the Heavens and Earth in a red Fire ; heard the cracking Flames, and the tum- bling Mountains, 2 Pet. iii. 10. In the Day of the Lord, The Heavens fiall pafs away with a great Noife, and the Elements fiali melt with fervent Heat : The Earth alfo, and the Works that are therein, jhall be burnt up. Then, af- ter a pious Ejaculation, he adds, Ver. 12. Look- ing Concerning the Conflagration. 31 ingfor, and haft ening the coming of the 'Day of God, wherein the Heavens being on Fire, foall be diffolvd -, and the Elements foall melt with fervent Heat. This is as lively as a Man could exprefs it, if he had the dreadful Spectacle before his Eyes. S. 'Peter had before taught the fame Doctrine {ver. 5, 6, 7.) but in a more Philofophick Way 5 defcribing the double Fate of the World, by Water and Fire, with relation to the Nature and Conftitution of either World, pail or prcfent. The Heavens and the Earth were of old, conjift- ing of Water, and by Water : Whereby, the World that then was, being overflowed with Water, pe- rifhed. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the fame Word are kept in Store, re- fervedunto Fire, againft the 'Day of Judgment ^ and Perdition of Ungodly, or Atheijtical Men. This Testimony of S. Teter being full, dired, and explicit, will give Light and Strength to feveral other Parages of Scripture, where the fame Thing is expreft obfcurely, or by Allufion. As when S. Paul fays, The Fire Jh all try every Man's Work in that Day, 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13. And our Saviour: fays, The Tares Jhall be burnt in the Fire, at the End of the World, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, 42. Accordingly it is faid, both by the Apoftles and Prophets, that God will come to judgment in Fire. St. Paul to the Theffalonians, 2 Thejf ii. 7, 8. promifeth the perfecuted Righteous Reft and Eafe, When the Lord Jhall be reveal- ed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire-, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, &c. And fo to the Hebrews, St. 3-z The Theory of the Earth, St. Taut fays, ch. x. 27. that for wilful Apoftates^ there rcmaineth rio more Sacrifice for Sin, but a certain fear jul looking for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation, which fhall devour the Adverfaries, or Enemies of God. And in ch. xii. ver. 26, 27, 28, 29. he alludes to the fame Thing, when, after he had fpoken oifhaking the Heavens, and the Earth once more, he exhorteth, as St. Teeter docs upon the fame Occailon, to Reverence and godly Fear ; for our God is a confuming Fire. In like manner the Prophets, when they ipeak of deftroying the Wicked, and the Enemies of God and Chrift, at the End of the World, re» prefent it as a Deftrudion by Fire. Pfal. xi. 6, Upon the Wicked the Lord fhall rain Coals, Fire, and Brimflone, arid a burning Tempeft : This fhall be the Portion of their Cup. And Pfah J. 3. Our God fhall come, and will not be flow : A Fire fhall devour before him, and it fhall be very tern- pefluous roundabout him. And i n the Beginning of rhofe two triumphal Plalms, thelxviiith,and xcviith, we fee plain Allufions to this coming of the Lord in Eire. The other Prophets fpeak in the fame Style, of a fiery Indignation againft the Wicked, in the Day of the Lord : As in lfaiah lxvi. 1 5 . For behold the Lord will come with Fire, and with his Chariots like a Whirlwind, to render his Anger with Fury, and his Rebuke with Flames of lire (and ch. xxxiv. 8, 9, 10 ) And in "Daniel, c. vii. 9, 10. The Ancient of Days is placed up- on his Seat of Judgment, covered in Flames. / beheld till the Thrones were fet, and the Ancient of Days did fit, whofe Garment was white Concerning the Conflagration. 35 white as Snow, and the Hair of his Head like the pure Wool : His Throne was like the fiery Flame, his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream iffited and came forth from before him : thoufand thoufands miniftred unto him y and ten thoufand times ten thoufand flood before him : The Judgment was fet, and the Books were opened. The Prophet Malachi, c. iv. 1. defcribes the Day of the Lord to the fame Effect, snd in like Colours ; Behold the Day comet h, that fh all burn as an Oven : and all the Troud, yea, and all that do wickedly, jhall be as Stubble -, and the 'Day that cometh jhall burn them up, faith the Lord of Hofls, that it Jhall leave them neither Root nor Branch. And that Nature hertelf, and the Earth fhall fuffer in that Fire, the Prophet Zephany tells us, c. hi. 8. All the Earth Jhall be devoured with the Fire of my Jealouff. Lauly, this Confumption of the Earth by Fire, even to the Foundations of it, is expreft livelily by Mofes in his Song, *Deut. xxxii. 22. A Fire is kindled in my Anger, and fhall burn unto the lowefi Hell : and Jhall confume the Earth with her Increafe, ana^ fet on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains. If we reflect upon thefe WitnelTes ; and espe- cially the firft and laft, Mofes and Saint Teter 5 at what a great Diftance of Time they writ their Prophecies, and yet how well they agree, we muft needs conclude they were a&ed by the fame Spirit ; and a Spirit that faw thorough all the Ages of the World, from the Beginning to the End. Thefe Sacred Writers were io remote in Time from one anorher, that they Book III. D could 34- The Theory of the Earth. could not confer together, nor confpire either in a falfe Teftimony, or to make the fame Prediction. But being under one common Influence and Infpi- ration, which is always confiftent with itfelf, they have dictated the fame Things, tho' at two thou- fand Years Diftance fbmetimes from one another. This, befides many other Confiderations, makes their Authority incontestable. And upon the whole Account, you fee, that the Doctrine of the future Conflagration of the World, having run thro J all Ages and Nations, is, by the joint Confent of the Prophets and Apoftles, adopted into the Chriftian Faith. '3k. & \ &. & S& $L .$£ I .&- & &t ^5,1^. $& *~t-s. r-4-a ' «?l£» »SC5» «SF^ r^rt rs£i tN^a *>& CNFa «t*^ ' c& M>£h l ^£&3&3fa^-^S&£fa£(& CHAP. IV. Concerning the Time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World. What the Aftronomers fay upon this Subject, and upon what they ground their Calculations : The true Notion of the Great Tear, or of the Platonick Tear, ft at ed and explained. HAVING, in this firft Sedion, laid a fure Foundation, as to the Subject of our Difcourfe j the Truth and Certainty of the Conflagration whereof we are to treat ; we will now proceed to enquire after the Time, Caufes, aud Manner of it. We are naturally more inquifitive after the End of the World, aud the Time of that fatal Revolution, than after Concerning the Conflagration. 35 after the Caufes of it : For thefe, we know, are irrefiftible, whenfoever they come, and therefore we are only folicitous that they mould not over- take us, or our near Pofterity. The Romans thought they had the Fates of their Empire in the Books of the Sibyls, which were kept by the Magiftrates as a Sacred Treafurc. We have alfo our Prophetical Books, more facred and more infallible than theirs, which contain the Fate of all the Kingdoms of the Earth, and of that glorious Kingdom that is to fuc- ceed. And of all Futurities, there is none can be of fuch Importance to be enquired after, as this laft Scene and Clofe of all human Affairs. If I thought it pofllble to determine the Time of the Conflagration from the bare Intuition of natural Caufes, I would not treat of it in this Place, but referve it to the laft ; after we had brought into View all thofe Caufes, weigh'd their Force, and examin'd how and when they would concur to produce this great Effect. But I am fatisfkd, that the Excitation and Concourfe of thofe Caufes does not depend upon Nature only 5 and tho' the Caufes may be fufficient, when all united, yet the Union of them at fuch a Time, and in fuch a Manner, I look upon as the Effect of a particular Providence ; and therefore no Fore- fight of ours, or Infpection into Nature, can dis- cover to us the Time of this Conjuncture. This Method, therefore, of Predi&ion from natural Caufes being laid afide as impracticable, all other Methods may be treated of in this Place, as being independent upon any Thing that is to follow in the Treatife ; and it will be an Eafe to the D h Argu- 3 6 The Theory of the Earth. Argument to difcharge it of this Part, and clear the Way by Degrees to the principal Point, which is, The Caufes and Manner of the Conflagration. Some have thought it a Kind of Impiety in a Chriftian, to enquire after the End of the World j becaufe of that Check which our Sa- viour gave his Difciples, when, after his Refur- reclion, enquiring of him about the Time of his Kingdom, he anfwer'd, It is not for you to know the Times or the Seafons, which the Fa- ther hath put in hn own 'Power, Ads i. 7. And before his Death, when he was difcourfing of the Conlummation of all Things, He told them expieily, that though there fhould be fuch and fuch previous Signs as he had mention'd, yet, Of that T>ay and Hour knoweth no Man 5 no, not the Angels that are in Heaven, but my Father only, Matt xxiv. 3 6. Be it to, that the Difciples deferv'd a Reprimand, for defiring to know, by a particular Revelation from our Saviour, the State of future Times ; when many other Things were more neccfTary for their Inftru£tion, and for their Miniftry. Be it alfo admitted, that the Angels, at that Diftance of Time, could not fee thorow all Events to the End of the World ; it docs not at all follow from thence, that they do not know it now ; when, in the Courfe of 1 600 Years, many Things are come to pafs, that may be Marks and Dire&ions to them to make a Judg- ment of what remains, and of the laft Period of all Things. However, there will be no Danger in our Enquiries about this Matter, feeing they are not fo much to difcover the Certainty, as the Un- * 4* certainty Concerning the Conflagration. 37 certainty of that Period, as to human Knowledge. Let us therefore confider what Methods have been ufed, by thofe that have been curious and bufy to meafure the Duration of the World. The Stoicks tell us, When the Sun and the Stars have drunk up the Sea, then the Earth mall be burnt. A very fair Prophecy ! But, how long will they be a drinking ? For unlefs we can deter- mine that, we cannot determine when this Com- buftion will begin. Many of the Antients thought that the Stars were nourim'd by the Vapours of the Ocean and of the moift Earth, {Ctcer. de Nat. C D. lib. 2.) and when that Nourifhment was fpenr, being of a fiery Nature, they would prey upon the Body of the Earth it felf, and con fume thar, after they had confum'd the Water. This is oid- fafhion d Philofophy, and now, that the Nature ot thofe Bodies is better known, will fcarce pafs for current. Tis true, we muft expect fome Dif- poiltions towards the Combuftion of the World, from a great Drought and Deilccation of the Earth: But this helps us nothing on our Way 5 for the Queflion mil returns, IVhen will this immoderate Drought or Drynefs happen ? and that's as ill to refolve as the former. Therefore, as I faid before, I have no Hopes of deciding the Queftion by Phy- siology or Natural Caufes ; let us then look up from the Earth to the Heavens, to the Aftronomers and the Prophets : Thefe think*hey can define the Age and Duration of the World ; the one by their Art, and the other by Infpiration. D 5 Wc 3 8 The Theory of the Eart h. We begin with the Aftronomers 5 whofe Calcu- lations are founded either upon the Afpetts and Configurations of the Planets, or upon the Revolu- tions of the fixed Stars : or, laftly, upon that which they c^W Annus Magnus, or the Great Tear, what- foever that Notion proves to be when it is rightly interpreted. As to the Planets, Berofus tells us, the Chaldeans fuppofe Deluges to proceed from a great Conjunction of the Planets in Capricorn, {Sen. Nat. qu. I. 3 . c. 29.) And from a like Conjunction in the oppoilte Sign of Cancer, the Conflagration will enfue. So that if we compute by the Astro- nomical Tables how long it will be to fuch a Con- junction, we find at the fame Time how long it will be to the Conflagration. This Do&rine of the Chaldeans ibme Chriftian Authors have owned, and followed the fame Principles and Method. If thefe Authors would deal fairly with Man- kind, they fliould mew us fome Connexion betwixt thefe Caufes and the Effects which they make confequent upon them. For 'tis an unreafonable Thing to require a Man's Aflent to a Proportion, where he kcs no Depcndance or Connexion of Terms 5 unlefs it come by Revelation, or from an infallible Authority. If you fay, the Conflagration will be at the firft great Conjunction of the Planets in Cancer, and I fay it will be at the next Eclipfe of the Jvloon, if you fhew no more Reafon for your Afiertion than I for mine, and neither of us pretend to Revelation or Infallibility, "we may juftly expect to be equally credited. Pray what Reafon can you give why the Planets, when Concerning the Conflagr a tion^ 3 9 they meet, fhould plot together to fet on Fire their Fellow- Planet, the Earth, who never did them any Harm? But now there is a plaufible Reafon for my Opinion 5 for the Moon, when eclips'd, m«iy think herfelf affronted by the Earth interpofing rudely betwixt her and the Sun, and leaving her to grope her Way in the Dark : She therefore may juftly take her Revenge as fhe can. But you'll fay, 'tis not in the Power of the Moon to let the Earth on Fire, if fhe had Malice enough to do it. No, nor fay I, is it in the Power of the. other Planets that are far more diftant from the Earth than the Moon, and as ftark dull Lumps of Earth as fhe is. The plain Truth is, the Planets are fo many Earths ; and our Earth is as much a Planet as the brighteft of them. 'Tis carried about the Sun with the fame common Stream, and fhines with as much Luftre to them, as they do to us : Neither can they do any more Harm to it, than it can do to them. 'Tis now well known, that the Planets are daik opake Bodies, generally made up of Earth and Water, as our Globe is ; and have no Force or Action, but that of reverberating the Light which the Sun cafts upon them. This blind fupermtious Fear or Reverence for the Stars, had its Ori- ginal from the antient Idolaters : They thought them Gods, and that they had Domination over human Affairs. We do not indeed worfhip them, as they did j but fome Men retain (till the fame Opinion of their Vertues, of their Rule and Influence upon us and our Affairs, which was the Ground of their Worfhip. D 4 Tis 40 The Theory of the Earth. J Tis full Time now to fweep away thefe Cobwebs of Superftition, thefe Relicks of Pa- ganifm. I do not ice how we are any more concern'd in the Poftures of the Planets, than in the Poftures of the Clouds ; and you may as well build an Art of Prediction and Divination, upon the one, as the other. They muft not know much of the Phiiofophy of the Heavens, or little confider it, that think the Fate, either of imgle Perfbns, or of the whole Earth, can depend upon the Afpe&s, or figur'd Dances of thofe Bodies. But you'll fay, it may be, Tho' no Reafon can be given for fuch Effects, yet Experience does atteft the Truth of them. In the firft Place, I anfwer, no Experience can be produced for this Effect: we are fpeaking of, the Conflagration of the World. Secondly, Experience fallacioufly recor- ded, or wholly in favour of one fide, is no Proof. If a publick Regifter was kept of all Aftrological Predictions, and of all the Events that followed upon them, right or wrong, agreeing or difagreeing, I could willingly refer the Caufe to the Determination of fuch a Regifter, and fuch Experience : But that which they call Experi- ence, is fo ftated, that if one Prediction of ten. hits right, or neat right, it fhall make more Noife, and be more taken Notice of, than all the Nine that are falfe. Juft as in a Lottery, where many Blanks are drawn for 'one Pi ze, yet thefe make all the Noife, and thofe arid forgotten. If any one be fo lucky as to draw a good Lor, then the Trumpet founds 1 his Name is regifter'd, and he tells his good For- tune Concerning the Conflagration. 41 tune to every Body he meets ; whereas thofe that lofe, go filently away with empty Pockets, and are afham'd to tell their Lories. Such a Thing is the Regifter of Aftrological Expe- riences ; they record what makes for their Cre- dit, but drop all blank Inftances, that would di^ cover the Vanity or Cheat of their Art. So much for the Planets. They have alfo a pretended Calculation of the End of the World, from the fix'd Stars and the Firmament. Which, in fhort, is this : They fuppofe thefe Bodies, be- fides the Hurry of their Diurnal Motion from Eaft. to Weft, quite round the Earth in 24 Hours, to have another retrograde Motion from Weft to Eaft, which is more flow and leifurely : And when they have finifhed the Circle of this Retrogradation, and come up again to the Tame Place from whence they flatted at the Beginning of the World, then this Courfe of Nature will be at an End ; and either the Heavens will ceafe from all Motion, or a new Set of Motions will be put afoot, and the World begin again. This is a Bundle of Fictions tied up in a pretty Knot. In the firft Place, there is no fuch Thing as a folid Firmament, in which the Stars are fix'd, as Nails in a Board. The Heavens are as fluid as our Air, and the higher we go, the more thin and fub- tle is the ethereal Matter. Then, the fix'd Stars are not all in one Surface, as they feem to us, not at an equal Diftance from the Earth, but are placed in feveral Orbs higher and higher ; there being infinite Room in. the great Deep of the Heaven?, every Way, for innumerable Stars 4 2 The Theory of the Earth.' Stars and Spheres behind one another, to fill and beautify the iramenfe Spaces of the Univerie. Laftly, the fix'd Stars have no Motion common to them all, nor any Motion ftngly, unlefs upon their own Centres ; and therefore, never leaving their Stations, they can never return to any com- mon Station, which they would fuppofe them to have had at the Beginning of the World. So as this Period they fpeak of, whereby they would meafure the Duration of the World, is merely imaginary, and hath no Foundation in the true Nature or Motion of the ccdeftial Bodies, But in the third Place, they fpeak of an Annus Magnus, a Great Tear : A Revolution fo call'd, whatfoever it is, that is of the fame Extent with the Length of the World. This Notion, I confefc, is more antient and univerfal, and there- fore I am the more apt to believe that it is not altogether groundlefs. But the Difficulty is, to find out the Notion of this Great Tear, what is to be underftood by it, and then of what Length it is. They all agree that it is a Time of iome grand Inftauration of all Things, or a Reftitution of the Heavens and the Earth to their former State ; that is, to the State and Pofture they had at the Beginning of the World 5 fuch therefore as will reftore the Golden Age, and that happy State of Nature wherein Things were at firft. If Co, if thefe be the Marks and Properties of this Revolution, which is called the Great Tear, we need not go fo far to find the true Notion and Interpretation of it. Thole that have read the firfi Tart of. this Theory, may re mem- Concerning the Conflagration. 43 remember, that in the 2d Book, Chap. 3 . we gave an Account what the Pofture of the Earth was at the Beginning of the World, and what were the Confequences of that Pofture, a perpetual Spring and Equinox throughout all the Earth : And if the Earth was reftor'd again to thatPofture and Situation, all that is imputed to the Great Tear, would im- mediately follow upon it, without ever difturbing or moving the fix'd Stars, Firmament, or Planets 5 and yet at the fame Time all thele three would return, or be reftored to the fame Pofture they had at the Beginning of the World ; fo as the whole Character of the Great Tear would be truly fulfiil'd, tho' not in that Way which they imagin'd 5 but in another, more compendious, and of eafier Con- ception. My Meaning is this, If the Axis of the Earth was^ rectified and fet parallel with the Axis of the Ecliptick, upon which the Planet?, Firma- ment, and fix'd Stars are fuppos'd to move, all Things would be as they were at firft ; a general Harmony and Conformity of all the Motions of the Univerfe would prefently appear, fuch as they fay, was in the Golden Age, before any Diforder came into the Natural or Moral World. As this is an eafy, fo I do not doubt, but it is a true Account of that which was originally call'd the Great Tear, or the Great Inftauration $ which Nature will bring to pafs in this fimple Method, by re&ifying the Axis of the Earth, without thofe operofe Revolutions, which fome Aftronomers have fancied. But however, this Account being admitted, how will it help us to define what the Age and Duration of the World 44 The Theory of the Earth. World will be? Tis true, many have under- taken to tell us the Length of this Great Tear, and confequently of the World ; but, befides that their Accounts are very different, and generally of an extravagant Length, if we had the true Ac- count, it would not allure us when the World would end; becaufe we do not know when it did begin, or what Progrefs we have already made in the Line of Time. For I am fatisfkd, the Chronology of the World, whether Sacred or Pro- fane, is loft j till Providence fliall pleafe to re- trieve it by fome new Difcovery. As to profane Chronology, or that of the Heathens, the Greeks, and the Romans knew nothing above the Olym- piads -, which fell fhort many Ages of the De- luge, much more of the Beginning of the World. And the Eaftern barbarous Nations, as they dis- agreed amongft themfclves, fo generally they run the Origin of the World to fuch a prodigious Height, as is neither agreeable to Faith, norReafon. As to facred Chronology, 'tis well known, that the Difference there is betwixt the Greek, He- brew, and Samaritan Copies of the Bible, make the Age of the World altogether undetermined : And there is no Way yet found out, how we may certainly difcover which of the three Copies is moil Authentick ; and confequently, what the Age of the World is, upon a true Computation. Seeing therefore we have no AfTurance how long the World hath flood already, neither could we be affur'd how long it hath to ftand, tho' by this Annus Magnus, or any other Way, the total Sum, or whole Term of its Duration was truly known j I am Concerning the Conflagration.' 45- I am forry to fee the little Succefs we have had in our firft Search after the End of the World, from Agronomical Calculations. But 'tis an ufe- ful Piece of Knowledge to know the Bounds of our Knowledge 5 that fo we may not fpend our Time and Thoughts about Things that lie out of our Reach. I have little or no Hopes of refolving this Point by the Light of Nature, and therefore it only remains now to enquire, whether Providence hath made it known by any Sort of Prophecy or Revelation. Which fhall be the Subject of the following Chapter. CHAP,, V. Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World : Of what Order foever, Profane or Sacred \ Jewijh or Chriftian. That no certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what 'Diftance we are now from the Conflagration. TH E Bounds of human Knowledge are fo narrow, and the Defire of knowing fo vaft and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods of inlarging their Know- ledge. This hath made them find out Arts of Commerce with evil Spirits, to be inftru&ed by them in fuch Events as they could not of them- felves difcover. We meddle not with thofe Myfteries of Iniquity : But what hath appear'd under 46 The Theory of the Earth* under the Notion of divine Prophecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving ei- ther the whole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration j Thefe we purpofe to examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be concluded from them* as to the Refoluti- on of our Problem, How long the World will laft . Amongft the Heathens, 1 do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature, except the Sibylline Oracles, as they are ufually called. The antient Eaftern Philofophers have J eft us no Account that I can call to mind, about the Time of this Fa- tality. They fay, when the Phoenix returns, we muft expect the Conflagration to follow ; but the Age of the 'Phoenix they make as various and un- certain, as they do the Computation of their Great Tear, Symbolum diTQx.cL\a.gcL5 Error, and abolifh all thofe little Controverfies amongft good Men, and the Divifions and Ani- mofities that fpring from them : Enlarging their Spirits by greater Difcoveries, and uniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common Study of Truth and Perfection. Such an Elias the Prophet feems to point at ; and may he come, and be the great Peace- maker and Pre- parer of the Ways of the Lord ! But at prcfenr, we cannot from, this Sign make any Judgment when the World will end. Another Sign preceding the End of me World, is, The Converfion of the Jews 5 and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. Paul Teems exprefly to affirm it, Rom. xi. 25, 26. But it is differently underftood, either of their Converfion only, or of their Reftoration to their own Country, Liberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Senfe fometimes, as you may fee in Ifaiab, Ezekiel, Hofea, Amos. And to the fame purpofe the antient Promife of Mofis is interpreted,©^". xxx. Yet this feems to be a thing very uncon- ceivable : Unlefs we fuppofe the ten Tribes to be (till in fomc hidden Coiner of the World, from whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once out of <^yEgypt y by a miracu- lous Providence, and eftablifh'd there : Which, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other Jews, in the World, and make an univerfal Con- fluence to their old Home. Then our Saviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St.Tauly John xix. 37. and by Prophets, Apoc. I 7. Mat. xxiii. 39. rais'd up amongfl: them for E 4 that $6 The. Theory of the Earth. that purpofc, may convince them that he is the true MeJJiahy and convert them to the Christian Faith ; which will be no more ftrange, than was the firft Converfion of the Gentile World. But if we be content with a Converfion of the Jews, w ithout their Reftoration ; and of thofe two Tribes only, which are now difperfed throughout the Chriftian World, and other known Parts of the Earth : That thefe ihould be converted to the Chriftian Faith, and incorporated into the Chriftian Commonwealth, lofing their National Character and Diftinc~tion: If this, I fay, will fatisfy the Pro- phecies, it is not a Thing very difficult to be con- ceived. For when the World is reduc'd to a better and purer State of Chriftianity, and that Idolatry, in a great meafure remov'd, which gave the greateft Scandal to the Jews, they will begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be difpos'd to a more ingenuous and unpre- judic'd Examination of their Prophecies con- cerning the Mejjiah : God railing up Men amongft them of divine and enlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sedt or Opinion 5 with Light to difcern it, and Courage to profeis it, Laftly, It will be a co- gent Argument upon them, to fee the Age of the World fo far fpent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected Meffiah. So far fpent, I fay, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation whatfoever, for the Oeconomy of a Meffiah yet to come. This will make them reflecl: more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Chriftians propofe, Jefus of Naza- Concerning the Conflagration. 57 Nazareth, whom their Fathers Crucified at Jerufalem : Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his Death ; and upon the wonderful Propagation or his Doctrine through- out the World, after his Afcenfion. And laftly, upon the Defolation of Jerufalem, upon their own fcattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by that Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an un- grateful and wicked People. This I have faid to itate the Cafe of the Con- verfion of the Jews, which will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Chrift. But, alas ! what Appearance is there of this Converfion in our Days? or what Judgment can we make from a Sign that is not come to pafs ? 'Tis inefFe&ual as to us, but may be of Ute to Pouerity. Yet even to them it will not determine, at what Diflance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only that they are not far from it. There will be Signs alfo, in thofe laft Days, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of the Conflagration, as the Objura- tion of the Sun and Moon, Earthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and fuch like Difbrders in the natural World, 'tis true ; but thefe are the very Pangs of Death, and the Smugglings of Na- ture juft before her Diffblution, and it will be too late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet thefe being Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God willing, after we have explained the Caufes and Manner of the Conflagration, to give an Ac- count alfo whence theie unnatural Commotions will '$$ The Theory of the Earth. will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate Introductions to the laft Fire. Thus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the laft Day and the laft Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from them as to the Time of that great Revolution ? Prophecies rife fometimes with an even gradual Light, as the Day rifeth upon the Horizon : and iometimes break out fuddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their Approach 'rill we fee them accompliuYd. Thofe that con* cern the End of the World, are of this latter Sort, to unobferving Men ; but even to the moft obfer- ving, there will ftill be a Latitude ; we muft not expecl: to calculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipfe, to Minutes and half Minutes. There are Times and Seafons which the father hath put in his own Tower. If it was defign'd to keep thefe Things fecret, we muft not think to out- wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given us, pick out a Difcovery that was not intended we mould ever make. It is deter- mine in the Councils of Heaven juft how far we fhall know thefe Events beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty ; And with this we muft be content, whatfoever it is. The Apocalypfe of St. John is the laft Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate of the Chriftian Reilgion to the End of the World, its Purity, Degeneracy, and Re- vivilcency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call'd The Beaft, the falfe Prophet, the Whore of Babylon, in Prophetical Terms : And in an Eccle- Concerning the Conflagration. . 59 Ecclefiaftical Term is commonly call'd Antichrifl. Thofe that bear Teftimony againlt this Degene- racy, are call'd the Wttneffes : Who, after they have been a long Time in a mean and perfe- cuted Condition, are to have their Refurre&ion and Afcenfion 5 that is, be advanc d to Power and Authority. And this Refurre&ion of the IVit- nejfes, and Depreflion of Antichrift, is that which will make the great Turn of the World to Righ- teoufnefs, and the great Crifis, whereby we may judge of its drawing to an End. Tis true, there are other Marks, as the palling away of the fecond Woe, Apoc. c. ix. which is commonly thought to be the Ottoman Empire ; and the Effufion of the Vials, Apoc. c. xvi. The firlt of thefe will be indeed a very confpicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Refurrettion of the WitneiTes, as by the Pro- phecy it feems to do, ch. xi. 14. But as to the Vials, tho' they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not fatisfled with any Expofition I have yet met with, concerning their precife Time or Contents. In a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very intelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Perfons may be very lubricous. There mult be Obfcurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a Picture. All its Lines muft not ftand in a full Light. For if Prophecies were open and barefae'd as to all their Parts and Circumftances, they would check and obftruct the Courfe of human Af- fairs -, and hinder, if it was pofllble, their own Accomplimment. Modefty and Sobriety are in 60 The Theory of the Earth. in all Things commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of thefe facred Myfteries ; and we have feen fo many mifcarry by a too clofe and particular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about which we fee fo many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Cen- tury, in calculating the laft Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at prefent, hath, in my Opinion, call up his Accounts very well. But the Scenes will change fall: towards the Evening of this long Day, and when the Snn is near fet- ting, they will more eafily compute how far he hath to run. CHAP. VI. Concerning the Caufes of the Conflagration. The 'Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be fet on Fire. With a general Anfwer to that 'Difficulty. Two fupposd Caufes of the Con- flagration, by the Sun's drawing nearer to the Earth j or the Earth's throwing out the central Fire t examin'd and rejected. WE have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, The Caufes of the Conflagration : How the Heavens and the Earth will be fet on Fire, what Materials are prepared, or what Train of Caufes, for that purpofe. The Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite de- fcrt Concerning the Conflagration^ 61 fert us : they deal more in Concluflons than Caufes, as is ufual in all Traditional Learning, And the Stokks themfelves, who inculcate lo much the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it fuch, as to diflblve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very fhort and fuperficial in their Explications, how this mail come to pafs. The latent Seeds of Fire, they fay, fhall every where be let loofe, and that Element will prevail over all the reft, and transform every Thing into its own Nature. But thefe are general Things, that give little Satisfaction to inquifitive Pcrfons. Neither do the modern Authors, that treat of the fame Subject, relieve us in this Particular : They are willing to fuppofe the Conflagration a •fuperficial Effect:, that fo they may excufe them- felves the Trouble of enquiring after Caufes. Tis no doubt, in a Sort fupernatural ; and fo the De- luge was : Yet Mofes lets down the Caufes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and theDifruption of the Abyls. So there muft be Treafures of Fire provided againfl that Day, by whole Eruption this fecond Deluge will be brought upon the Earth. To (late the Cafe fairly, we mult firft re- prefent the Difficulty of letting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loofe it; that fo we may the better judge whether the Caufes that fhall be brought into View, may be fuffi- cient to overcome fo great Oppofition. The Difficulty, no doubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about our Globe * whereby Nature feems to have made Provifion againft any Invaiion by Fire, and fecur'd us from 62 The Theory of the Earth. from that Enemy more than any other. We feS half of the Surface of the Earth cover'd with the Seas, whofe Channel is of a vaft Depth and Capacity : Befides innumerable Rivers, gteat and fmall, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with perpetual Moifture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are Store- Koufes of fubterraneous Waters ; which are as a Referve, in cafe the Ocean and the Rivers fhould be overcome. Neither is Water our only Security, for the hard Rocks, and ftony Mountains, which no Fire can bide upon, are fet in Jong Ranges upon the Continents and Iilands j and muft needs give a Stop to the Progrefs of that furious Enemy, in cafe he fhould attack us. Laftly, the Earth itlelf is not combumble in all its Parts. 'Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and Mire, and fuch like Soils, will rather choak and ftifle it, than help it on its Way. By thefe Means one would think the Eody of the Earth fecur'd 5 and though there may be partial Fires, or Inun- dations of Fire, here and there, in particular Regi- ons, yet there cannot be an univerialFire through- out the Earth. At leafr, one would hope for a fafe Retreat towards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter Cold. Thefe Regions fure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatibever becomes of the other Climates of the Earth. This being the State and Condition of the prefent Earth, one would not imagine by thefe Preparations, 'twas ever intended that it fhould perifli by an univcrfal Fire, But fuch is often the Concerning the Conflagration. 6$ the Method of Providence, that the exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Deflgn lies another ; 'till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all thole Affairs change Pofture and AfpecT:, and fhew us which way Pro- vidence inclines. We mull therefore iuppofe, before the Conflagration begins, there will be Diipoiltions and Preparatives fuitable to fo great a Work : and all Antiquity, facred and prophane, does fo far concur with us, as to admit and fup- pofe that a great Drought will precede, and an extraordinary Heat andDrynefs of the Air, to timer in this fiery Doom. And thefe being Things which often happen in a Courfe of Nature, we cannot difallow fuch eafy Preparations, when Providence intends fo great a Confequence. The Heavens will be fhut up, and the Clouds yield no Rain ; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of Water will become dry, the Earth chapp'd and parch'd, and the Woods and Trees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have lnftances, in Hiltory, that there have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that De- gree, that the Woods and Foiefts have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface of the Earth, without any other Caufe than the Drynefs of the Seaion, and the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more confiderable, the Springs and Fountains being dry'd up, the greater Ri- vers have been fenfibly leiTen'd, and the leiTer quite empty'd, and exhal J d. Thefe Things, which happen frequently, in particular Coun- tries and Climates, may^ at an appointed Time, by 64 The Theory of the Earth. by the Difpofition of Providence, be more uni- verial throughout the Earth ; and have the fame Effects every where, that we fee by Ex- perience they have had in certain Places : And by this Means, we may conceive it as feafible to fet the whole Earth on Fire in fome little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a great Drought. But I mean this, with Exception mil to the main Body of the Sea ; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from thefe Caufes, than we eafily imagine ; but the final Confumption of it will depend upon other Reafons, whereof we muft give an Account in the following Chapters. As to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will fink when the Earthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration ; as we fhall fee hereafter. And as to the Earth itfelf, 'tis true there are feveral Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire 5 but thofe Soils that are not fo immediately, as clayey Soils, and fuch like, may, by the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen Metal, and fo melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclufion, there is no terreftrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and may either be conver- ted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor more ardent than either of them. Laftly, As to the Polar Regions, which you think will be a fafe Retreat and inaccefiible to the Fire ; 'tis true, unleis Providence hath laid fubterraneous Trea- fures of Fire there unknown to us, thole Parts of the Earth will be the laft conium'd. But it is Concerning the Conflagration. 6$ js to be obferv'd, that the Cold of thofc Regions proceeds from the Length of their Winter, and their Diftance from the Sun when he is beyond the ^Equator j and both thele Cau fes will be re- moved at the Conflagration; For we fuppofe the Earth will then return to its primitive Situation, which we have explaind in the lecond Book of this Theory , chap. iii. and will have the Sun always in its ^Equator j whereby the ieveral Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox, and thofe under the Poles a perpetual Day : And therefore all the Excefs of Cold, and all the Confequences of it, will foon.be abated. However, the Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and thofePans of the Earth being uninhabited^ there is no Inconveni- ence that they fhould be more flowly confunVd than the ren\ This is a general Anfwer to the Difficulty pro- pos'd about the PoiTibility of the Conflagration 5 and being general only, the Parts of it muft be more fully explain'd and confirm u in the Sequel of this Difcourie. We fhould now proceed directly to the Caufes of the Conflagration, and fhew in what manner they do this great Execution upon Na- ture : But to be juft and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought flrft to feparate the ipurious and pretended Caufes from thofe that are real and genuine ; to make no falfe Mutters, nor any fhew of being flron- ger than we are ; and if we can do our Work with lefs Force, it will be more to our Credit j as a Victory is more honourable that is gain'd with fewer Men. There are two grand capital Caufes which fome Authors make ufe of, as the chief Agents Book III. $ in 66 The Theory of the Earth. in this Work, the Sim, and the Central Fire. Theie two great Incendiaries, they fay, will be let loofc upon us at the Conflagration ; the one draw- ing nearer to the Earth, and the other breaking out of its Bowels into thefe upper Region?. Thcfe are potent Caufes indeed, more than enough to deftroy this Earth, if it was a thoufand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reafon, I fufpeel: they are not the true Caufes 5 for God and Nature do not ufe to employ unneceflary Means to bring about their Defigns. . Difproportion and Over-fufficiency is one fort of falie Meafures, and 'tis a Sign we do not thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than the Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to rid their Hands of a troublefome Argument, and fo make a fhort Difpatch to fave themlclves the Pains of further Enquiries ; but as fuch Methods as thefe com- monly have no Proof, fo they give little Satis- faction to an Inquifitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun drawing nearer and nearer to it, teems to be made in Imitation of the Story of Phaeton? who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unikady Hand, came fo near the Earth, that he fet it on Fire. But however, we will not reject any Prctcnfions without a fair Trial : Let us examine therefore what Grounds they can have for either of thefe Suppofitions, ot the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the Central Fire. As to the Sun, I defire firft to be fatisfied in prdent Matter of Fa& : Whether by any In- strument Concerning the Conflagration. $j ftrument or Obfervation it hath or can be difco- vcr'd, that the Sun is nearer to the Earth now^, than he was in former Ages? Or r If by any Rea- soning or comparing Calculations, fuch a Con- clufion can be made? If not, this is but an ima- ginary Caufe, and as eafily deny'd as propos'd. Aftronomers do very little agree in their Opini- ons about the Diftance of the Sun : Vtokmy^ Albategnius, Copernicus, Tycho> Kepler, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations 5 but not in fuch a Manner or Proportion, as mould make us believe that the Sun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the more modern of them make the Diftance greater than the more ancient do. Kepler fays> the Diftance of the Sun from the Earth lies be- twixt 700 and 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth : But Ricciolus makes it betwixt 700 and 7000 ; And Gottefred IVendelme hath taken 14656 Se- midiameters, for a middle Proportion of the Sun's Diftance ; to which Kepler himfelf came very near in his later Years. So that you fee how groundlefs our Fears are from the Ap- proaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if he change Pofturcs at all. And we have more Reafon to believe the Report of the modern Aftronomers, than of the antient, in this Mattery both becaufe the Nature of the Heavens and of the celeftial Bodies is now better known, and alfd becaufe they have found Out better !nftrumentsan4 better Methods to make their ObfervatiOns. If the Sun and Earth were come nearer to fcne another^ cither the Circle of the Sun's di- F i utnai 6& The Theory of the Earth. urnal Arch would be lefs, and fo the Day fhortcr ; or the Orbit of the Earth's annual Courfe wonld be lefs, and fo the Year fhorter : Neither of which we have any Experience of. And thofe that fuppofe us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid 'till they fee Mercury and Venus in a CombufHon, for they lie betwixt us and Danger 5 and the Sun cannot come (6 readily at us with his fiery Darts, as at them who ftand in his Way. Laftiy, this languifhing Death,, by the gradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Eaith, which at laft muft follow from it, do neither of them agree with that Idea of the Conflagration, which the Scrip- ture hath given us -, for it is to come fuddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent Fever, not as a lingring Confumption. And the Earth is alfo to be deftroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Refurre&ion, or Renovation : For we are aflur'd by Scripture, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after thefe are burnt up. But if the Sun mould come fo near us, as to make the Heavens pafs away with a Noife, and melt the Elements with fervent Heat, and deftroy the Form, and all the Works of the Earth, what Hopes or Poflibility would there be of a Re- novation, while the Sun continued in this Pofture \ He would more and more confume and prey upon the Carcals of the Earth, and convert it at length either into an Heap of Aflies, or a Lump of vitrified Metal. So much for the Sun. As to the Central Fire, I am very well fatisfied it is no imaginary Thing ; Concerning the Conflagration. 69 Thing : All Antiquity hath preferv'd fome fa- cred Monument of it : The Veftal Fire of the Romans, which was fo religioufly attended : The Prytoneia of the Greeks were to the fame purpofe, and dedicated to Vefta : And the Pyre- theta of the Perjians, where. Fire was kept con- tinually by the Magi. Thcfe all, in my Opinion, had the fame Origin, and the fame Signification. And tho' I do not know any particular Obferva- tion, that does directly prove or demonurate that there is fuch a Mafs of Fire in the middle of the Earth ; yet the belt Accounts we have of the Gene- ration of a Planet do fuppofe it ; and 'tis agree- able to the whole Oeconomy of Nature : As a Fire in the Heart, which gives Life to her Motions and Productions. Bur, however, the Queflion is not at prefent, about the Exiftence of this Fire, but the Eruption of it, and the Effect of that Erup- tion ; which cannot be, in my judgment, fuch a Conflagration as defcrib'd in Scripture. This Central Fire muft be enclos'd in a Shell of great Strength and Firmnefs 5 for being of itfelf the lighterf, and mod active of all Bodies, it would not be detained in that loweft Prifon without a ftrong Guard upon it. Tis true, we can make no certain Judgment of what Thicknefs this Shell is; but if we fuppofe this Fire to have a twentieth Part of the Semidia- meter of the Earth, on either fide the Centre, for its Sphere, which feems to be a fair Allow- ance; there would (till remain nineteen Parts for our Safeguard and Security : And thefe nineteen Parts of the Semidiameter of the F 3 Earth jo The Theory of the Earth. Earth will make 3268 Miles, for a Partition- Wall betwixt us and this Central Fire. Who would be afraid of an Enemy lock'd up in fo ftrong a Prifon? Bat you'll fay, it may be, tho' the Central Fire, at the Beginning of the World, might have no more Room or Space than what is mentioned ; yet being of that Activity that it is, and corrofive Nature, it may, in the Space of fome thoufands of Years, have eaten deep into the Sides of its Prifon -, and fo come nearer to the Surface of the Earth bv fome hundreds or thoufands of Miles, than it was at firft. This would be a material Exception, if it could be made out. But what Phenomenon is there in Nature that proves this ? How does it appear by an Obfervation, that the Central Fire gains Ground upon us ? Or is increafed in Quantity, or come nearer to the Surface of the Earth ? I know nothing that can be offer'd in Proof of this: and if there be no Appearance of a Change, nor any fenfible Effect of it, 'tis an Argument there is none, or none confiderable. If the Quantity of that Fire was confiderabJy increas'd, it liiuft needs, befides other Effects, have made the Body of the Earth confiderably lighter. The Earth having, by this Conveifion of its own Subftancc into Fire, loft fo much of its heaviefl Matter, and got fo much of the lighted and mod active Element in- stead of it: and in both thefe refpecls, its Gravity would be manifeftly leflen'd. Which if it really was in any confiderable Degree, it would difco- ver it felf by fome Change, either as to the Morion of the Earth, or as to its Place or Stati- on Concerning the Conflagration. 71 on in the Heavens. But there being no external Change obfervable, in this or any other re i 'peel, 'tis reafonable to prefiime that there is no confide- rable inward Change, or no great Consumption of its inward Parts and Subftance ; and conlequently no great Increafe of the central Fire. But if we fhould admit both an Increafe and Eruption of this Fire, it would not have that Effect which is pretended. It might caufe fome Confufion and Diforder in thole Parts of the Earth where it broke out, but it would not make an univerfal Conflagration, fucJj as is rcprefentcd to us in Scripture. Let us fuppofe the Earth to be open, or burft in any Place 5 under the Pole, for Inftance, or under the cyEquator 5 and let it gape as low as the Central Fire : At this Chafm or Rupture we fuppofe the Fire would £ufh out ; and what then would be the Confe- quence of this when it en me to the Surface of the Earth ? It would either be diilipated and loft in the Air, or fly mil higher towards the Heavens in a Mafs of Flame. But what Execution in the mean time would it do upon the B^dy of the Earth } ' Tis but like a Flaili of Lishtning, or a Fiame ifluing out of a Pit, that dies presently. Befides, this Central Fire is of that Subtilty and Tenuity, that it is not able to inflame grols Bodies : no more than thofe Meteors we call Lambent Fires, inflame the Bodies 'to which they flick. Laftly, in explaining the Manner of the Conflagration, we mud have regard principally to Scripture 5 for the Explications given there are more to the purpofe, than all F 4 that 72 The Theory of the Earth. that the Philofophers have faid upon that Sub- ject. Now, as we noted before, 'tis manifeft in Scripture, that after the Conflagration, there will be a Reflauration, new Heavens, and a new Earth. Tis the expre fs Doctrine of St. Teter, befuies other Prophets ; We mutt therefore fup- pofe the Earth redue'd to fuch a Chaos by this laft Tire, as will lay the Foundation of a new World, 2 ^Pet. iii. 12, m. Which can never be, if the inward Frame of it be broke, the Central Fire exhaufted, and the exterior Region fuck'd into thofe central Vacuities. This mull: needs make it lofe its former Poife and Libration, and it will thereupon be thrown into fome other Part of the Univerfe, as the ufclefs Shell of a broken Granado, pr as a dead Carcafs, and unprofitable Matter. Thefe Reafons may be fufficient why we fhould not depend upon thofe pretended Caufes of the Conflagration, the Sun's Advance towards the Earth, or fuch a Rupture of the Earth as will Jet out the Central Fire. Thefe Caufes, I hope, will appear fuperfluous, when we (hall have given an Account of the Conflagration without them. But young Philofophcrs, like young Soldiers, think they are never fuffieiently armed ; and of- ten take more Weapons, than they can make ufe of, when they come to fight. Not that we alto- gether reject the Influence of the Sun, or of the Central Fire ; efpecially the latter : For in that great Equation of Nature, the Body of the Earth will be mnch open'd and relaxated ; and when the Pores are enlarged, the Steams of that fire will fweat out more plentifully into all its Parts j Concerning the Conflagration. 73 Parts; but {till without any Rupture in the VelTels, or in the Skin. And whereas thefe Authors iup- pofe the very Veins to burft, and the vital Blood togufh out, as at open Flood-Gates, we only al- low a more copious Perfpiration, and think that fufficient for all Purpoies in this Cafe. CHAP. VII. The true Bounds of the loft Fire, and how far it U fatal. The natural Caufes and Mate- rials of it, cafl into three Ranks : Firft, Such as are exterior andvifible upon the Earth j where the VulcanoV of the Earth, and their Effects ; are confiderd. Secondly ', Such Mate- rials as are within the Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air. AS we have, in the preceding Chapter, laid afide thofe Caufes of the Confla- gration which we thought too great and cum- berfome ; Co now we muft, in like manner, examine the Effect, and reduce that to its juft Meafures and Proportions, that there may be nothing left fuperfluous on either fide ; then, by comparing the real Powers with the Work they are to do, both being ftated within their due Bounds, we may the better judge how they are proportioned to one another. We noted before, that the Conflagration had nothing to do with the Stars, and fuperior Heavens, but was wholly confind to this fub- lunary 74- The Theory of the Earth. lunary World. And this Deluge of Fire will have much what the fame Bounds, that the De- luge of Water had formerly. This is according to St. Peter's Doctrine, for he makes the lame Parts of the Univerfe to be the Subject of both: Namely, the inferior Heavens and the Earth, 2 Pet. iii. 5, 6. The Heavens and the Earth which were then y perijh'd in a 'Deluge of JVater : ver. 7. But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, are refervd to Fire. The prefent Heavens and Earth are fubftituted in the Place of thofe that perim'd at the Deluge, and thefe are to be over- run and dedioy'd by Fire, as thofe were by Water. So that the Apoftle takes the fame Regions, and the fame Space and Compafs for the one, as for the other, and makes their Fate different according to their different Conftitution, and the different Or- der of Providence. This is the Senfe St. Aitflin gives us of the Apoftle's Words, and thefe are the Bounds he fets to the lad Fire ; whereof a mo- dern Commentator is lb well afliir'd, that he fays, Eftius in loc. They neither imderftand Divinity, nor Philofophy, that would make the Conflagration reach above the elementary Heavens. Let thefe be then its Limits upwards, the Clouds, Air, and Atmofphere of the Earth. But the Quedion feems more doubtful, How far it will extend downwards, into the Bowels of the Earth ? 1 anfwer (till, to the fame Depth that the Waters of the Deluge reach'd : To the lowed Abyffes, and the deeped Caverns within the Ground. And feeing no Caverns are deeper or lower, at lead according to our Theory, than the Bottom of Concerning the Conflagration. 75 of the great Ocean, to that Depth, I fuppofe, the Rage of this Fire will penetrate, and devour all be- fore it. And therefore we muft not imagine, that only the outward Turf and habitable Surface of the Earth will be put into a Flame and laid wafte : the whole exterior Region of the Earth, to the Depth of the deeped Part of the Sea, will fufFer in this Fire 5 and fufTer rp that Degree, as to be melted down, and the Frame of it diflblv'd. For we are not to conceive that the Earth will be only icorcht or charkt in the laft Fire, there will be a Sort of Liquefaction and Diflblution j Rev. xv. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Pfal. xcvii. 5. it will become a molten Sea mingled with Fire, according to the Expreilion of Scripture. And this Diflblution may reafonably be fuppos'd to reach as low as the Earth hath any Hollownefies, or can give vent to Smoak and Flame. Wherefore, taking thefe for the Bounds and Limits of the laft great Fire, the next Thing to be enquired into, are the Natural Canfes of it : How this ft range Fate will feize upon the fublunary World, and with an irrefiftible Fury fubdue all Things to it felf. But when I lay Natural Caufis, I would not be fo under- ftood, as if I thought the Conflagration was a pure Natural Fatality, as the Stoicks feem to do. No, 'tis a mixd Fatality ; the Caufes in- deed are Natural, but the Adminiftration of them is from an higher Hand. Fire is the Inftrumenr, or the executive Power, and hath no more Force given it than what it ha have attefted. Thefe So The Theory of the Earth* Thefe Vulcano's are planted in feveral Regions of the Earth, and in both Continents, this of ours, and the other of America. For by Report of thofe that have view'd that new-found World, there are many Mountains in it that belch out Smoke and Fire 5 fome conflantly, and others by Fits, and Intervals. In our Continent, Providence hath variously difpers'd them, without any Rule known to us 5 but they are generally in Iflands, or near the Sea. In the Afiatick Oriental Iflands they are in great Abundance, and Hiftorians tell us of a Mountain in the Ifland Java, that in the Year 1586, at one Eruption, kill'd ten thoufand People in the neighbouring Cities and Country : But we do not know fo well the Hiftory of thofe remote Vulcano's, as of fuch as are in Europe and nearer Home. In Ifeland, tho' it lie within the polar Circle, and is icarce habitable by reafon of the Extremity of Cold, and abundance of Ice and Snow, yet there are three burning Moun- tains .in that Ifland ; whereof the chief and mod remarkable is Hecla. This hath its Head always cover'd with Snow, and its Belly always fill'd with Fire ; and thefe are both fo ftrong in their kind, and equally powerful, that they cannot deftroy one another. It is faid to call: out, when it rages, beildes Earth, Stones, and Allies, a Sort of fla- ming Water j as if all Contrarieties were to meet in this Mountain, to make it the more perfect Refemblance of Hell, as the credulous Inhabitants fancy it to be. But there are no Vulcano's, in my Opinion* that deferve our Observation fo much, as thole that Concerning the Conflagration. 1 si that are in and about the Mediterranean Sea ; There is a Knot of them, called the Vulcanian IJlands, from their fiery Eruptions, as if they were the Forges of Vulcan ; as Strombolo, Lapa- ra, and others, which are not lb remarkable now, as they have been formerly. However, without difpute, there are none in the Chriftian World to be compared with <^/Etna and Vefuvius-, one in the Ifland of Sicily, and the other in Campa- nia, overlooking the Port and City of Naples. Thefe two, from all Memory of Man, and the moft antient Records of Hiftory, have been fam'd for their Treafures of fubterraneous Fires, which are not yet exhaufted, nor diminifh'd, fo far as as is perceivable ; for they rage mil, upon Occa- sion, with as much Fiercenei's and Violence, as they ever did in former Agesj as if they had a continual Supply to anfwer their Expences, and were to Hand till the laft Fire, as a Type and Pre- figuration of ir, throughout all Generations. Let us therefore take thefe two Volcano's as a Pattern for the reft -, feeing they are well known, and ftand in the Heart of the Chrifti- an World, where, 'tis likely, the laft Fire will make its firft AfTault. were overwhelm d with a Shower of Ajhes, as the People were fitting in the Theatre, Nay, thefe Afheswere carried, by the Winds, over the Medi- terranean into Africk, and into ^gypt andS)i\z : And at Rome they choak'd the Air on a fudden, fo as to hide the Face of the Sun j Whereupon the ^People not knowing the Caufe, as not having yet got the News from Campania, of the Eruption of Vcfuvius, coidd not imagine what the Reafon (hould be ; but thought the Heavens and the Earth were coming together, the Sun coming down-, and the Earth going to take its Tlace above, Thus far the Hiftorian. You fee what Diforders in Nature, and what an Alarum, the Eruption of one fiery Moun- tain is capable to make. Thefe Things, no doubt, would have made ftrong Imprefllons upon us, if we had been Eye-WitnelTes of them ; but I know, Rep re fen rations made from dead Hiftory, and at a Diftance, though the Teftimony be never fo credible, have a much lefs Effed upon us, than what we fee ourfelves, and what our Senfes immediately inform us of. I have only given you an Account of two Vol- cano's, and of a fingle Eruption in either of them : Thefe Mountains are not very far dis- tant from one another 5 let us fuppofe two fuch Eruptions, as I have mentioned, to happen at the lame Time, and both thefe Mountains to be raging at once in this Manner 5 by that Vio- lence Concerning the Conflagration. %j Icncc you have feen in each of them fingly, you will eafiiy imagine what Terror and Defolation they would carry round about, by a Conjunc- tion of their Fury, and all their Effects, in the Air, and on the Earth. Then, if to thefe two you iliould join two more, the Sphere of their Adiviry would (till be enlarged, and the Scenes become more dreadful. But to compleat the Suppofition, let us imagine all the Volcano's of the whole Earth to be prcpar'd, and let to a certain Time j which Time being come, and a Signal given by Providence, all thefe Mines begin to play at once ; I mean, all thefe fiery Mountains burif out, and difcharge themfelves in Flames of Fire, tear up the Roots of the Earth, throw hot burning Stones, fend out Streams of flowing Metals and Mineral?, and all other Sorts of ardent Matter, which Nature hath lodg'd in thofe Treafuries : If all thefe Engines, I fay, were to play at once, the Heavens and the Earth would feem to be in a Flame, and the World in an univerfal Combui- tion. But we may reafbnably prefume, that againft that great Day of Vengeance and Exe- cution, not only all thefe will be employ cl, but alfo new Volcano's will be opened, and new Mountains in every Region will break out into Smoke and Flame ; jult as at the Deluge, the Abyfs broke out from the Womb of the Earth, and from thole hidden Stores fent an immenfc Quantity of Water, which, it may be the Inha- bitants of that World never thought of be- fore : So we mud expect new Eruptions, and alio new fulphurcous Lakes, and Fountains of G 4 OyJ, S 8 The Theory of the Eart h. Oyl, to boyl out of the Ground : and thefe, all united with that Fewel that naturally grows upon the Surface of the Earth, will be (ufficient to give the firft Onfet, and to lay wafte all the habitable L World, and the Furniture of it. But we fuppofc the Conflagration will go lower, pierce under Ground, and diflblve the Subftance of the Earth to fome confiderable Depth : There- fore, beftdes thefe outward and vifible Preparations, we muft confidcr all the hidden invifible Mate- rials within the Veins of the Earth ; Such are all Minerals, or mineral Juices and Concretions that are igniterous, or capable of Inflammation • and thefe cannot eafily be reckoned up, or eftimated ; fome of the moft common are Sulphur, and all fulphureous Bodies, and Earths impregnated with Sulphur, Bitumen, and bituminous Concretions ; inflammable Salts, Coal and other Foflils that are ardent ; with innumerable Mixtures and Compo- fitions of thefe Kinds, which, being open'd by Heat, are unttuous and inflammable, or by Attri- tion difcover the latent Seeds of Fire. But befides confident Bodies, there is alfo much volatile Fire within the Earth, in Fumes, Steams,and Exudations, which will all contribute to this Effect. From thefe Stores under Ground, all Plants and Vegetables are fed and fupplicd, as to their oily and fulphureous Parts, and all hot Waters in Baths or Fountains, muft have their Original from fome of thefe, fome Mixture or Participation of them 5 and as to the Britifo Soil, there is fo much Coal incorporated with it, that when the Earth fhall burn, we have •j« Rcafon Concerning the Conflagration. 89 Reafon to apprehend no fmall Danger from that fubterraneous Enemy. Thefe Difpofitions, and this Fewel we find, in and upon the Earth, towards the laft Fire. The third Sort of Provifion is in the Air ; all fiery Meteors and Exhalations engender'd and form'd in thofe Regions above, and difcharg d upon the Earth in fcveral Ways. I believe there were no fiery Me- teors in the antedeluvian Heavens ; which there- fore Saint Peter fays, were conftituted of Water y had nothing in them but what was watery 5 but he fays the Heavens that are now, have Trea- fures of Fire, or^are referv'd for Fire, as Things laid up in a Store- Houfe for that Purpofe. We have Thunder and Lightning, and fiery Tempefts, and there is nothing more vehement, impetuous, and irrefimble, where their Force is directed. It feems to me very remarkable, that the Holy Writers defcribe the Coming of the Lord, and the Destruction of the Wicked, in the Nature of a Tempeft, or a Storm of Fire, Tfalm xi. 6. Upon the Wicked the Lord (hall rain Coals, Fire and Brimftone, and a burning Tempeft ; this Jhall be the 'Portion of their Cup. And in the lofty Song of 'David, *PfaL xviii. (which, in my Judgment, refpc&s both the paft Deluge and the future Conflagration) 'tis faid, Ver. 13, 14, 15. The Lord alfo thundered in the Heavens, and the Highefl gave his Voice, Hail-ftones and Coals of Fire. Tea, he fent forth his Ar- rows and fcattered them, and he fhot out Light- nings and difcomfited them. Then the Channels of Waters were feen ? and the Foundations of the 9p The Theory of the Earth. the World were difcover'd ; at thy Rebuke, O Lord, at the Blaft of the Breath of thy Noftrils. And a like fiery Coming is defcribed in the 97th Tfalm, asalfo by Ifaiah, Ifa. Jxvi. 15. Daniel, 1>an. vii. 9, 10. and St. Paul, 2 Theff. i. 8. And laftly, in the Afocalypfe, when the World draws to a Conclufion, as in the feventh Trumpet {Chap. xi. 19.) and the feventh Vial [Chap. xvi. 18.) we have ft ill mention made of this fiery Tempeft of Lightnings and Thunderings. We may therefore reafonably fuppofe, that, be- fore the Conflagration, the Air will be furcharg'd every where (by a precedent Drought) with hot and fiery Exhalations : And as againft the Deluge thole Regions were burthen d with Water and moift Vapours, which were pour'd upon the Earth, not in gentle Showers, but like Rivers and Cataracts from Heaven -, fo they will now be filled with hot Fumes and fulphureous Clouds, which will fometimes flow in Streams and fiery ImpreiTions through the Air, fometimes make Thunder and Lightnings, and fometimes fall down upon the Earth in Floods of Fire. In general, there is a great Analogy to be obferved betwixt the two Deluges of Water and of Fire, not only as to the Bounds of them, which were noted before ; but as to the general Caufes and Sources upon which they depend, from above and from below. At the Flood, the Windows of Heaven were open'd above, and the Abyfs was open'd below ; and the Waters of thefe two join'd together to overflow the World : In like manner, at the Conflagration, God will rain down Fire from Heaven, as he did once Concerning the Conflagration. 9; once upon Sbdom 5 and at the fame time the fub- terraneous Store-houies of Fire will be broken open j which anfwers to the Diliuption of the Aby fs : And thefe two meeting and mingling together, will involve all the Heaven and Earth in Flames. This is a fhort Account of the ordinary Stores of Nature, and the ordinary Preparations for a general Fire ; and, in Contemplation of thefe, ^Pliny the Naturalift faid boldly, It was one of the great eft Wonders of the Worlds that the World was not every Day fet on Fire. We will conclude this Chapter with his Words, in the fecond Book of his Natural Hift. ch. 106, 107. Having given an Account of fome fiery Mountains and other Parts of the Earth that are the Scats and Sources of Fire, he makes this Reflection : Seeing this Element is fo fruitful, that it brings forth itfelf, and multiplies and encreafes from the lea ft Sparks 5 what art we to expecl from fo many Fires already kindled on the Earth ? How does Nature feed and fatisfy fo devouring an Element '; and fie h a great Voracity throughout all the World \ without Lofs or 'Diminution of her f elf ? Add to thefe Fires we have mentioned, the Star's and the great Sun ; then all the Fires made for human Ufes ; Fire in Stones, in Wood, in the Clouds , and in Thunder -, IT E X- CEEDS ALL MIRACLES, IN MT OPINION, THAT ONE DAT SHOULD TASS WITHOUT SETTING THE WORLD ALL ON FIRE. CHAP. gfe The Theory of the Earth. r 4ft. 4fc I 45- 45- 4& 46. 4$. I 4&- 4J£ 45 4fe ! Jfe &' CHAP. VIII. &??#£ »*sc> T^ifpojitions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter, Form, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Caufes, and how far the Miniftry of Angels may be engaged in this Work. WE have given an Account, in the preceding Chapter, of the ordinary Preparations of Nature for a general Fire ; we now are to give an Account of the extraordinary, or of any new DiC- pofitions, which, towards the End of the World, may be fuper-added to the ordinary State of Nature. I do not, by thefe, mean Things openly miraculous and fupernatural ; but fuch a Change wrought in Na- ture, as fhall ftill have the Face of natural Caufes, and yet have a greater Tendency to the Conflagra- tion. As, for Example, fuppofe a great Drought, as we noted before, to precede this Fate, or a ge- neral Heat and Drynefs of the Air, and of the Earth ; becaufe this happens fometimes in a Courfe of Nature, it will not be look'd upon as prodigi- ous. 'Tis true, fome of the Antients (peak of a Drought of forty Years, that will be a Fore-run- ner of the Conflagration ; Co that there will not be a watery Cloud, nor Rainbow fecn in the Heavens, for fo long a Time. And this they im- pute to EliaSy who at his Coming, will flop the Rain, Concerning the Conflagration. 93 Rain, and fhut up the Heavens to make way for the laft Fire. But thefe are exceflive and ill- grounded Suppofitions 5 for half forty Years Drought will bring an univerfal Sterility upon the Earth, and thereupon an univerfal Famine, with innu- merable Difeafes ; fo that all Mankind would be deftroyed, before the Conflagration could over- take them. But we will readily admit an extraordinary Drought and Deficcation of all Bodies to ufhec in this great Fatality. And therefore, whatfoever we read in natural Hiftory, concerning former Droughts, of their drying up Fountains and Ri- vers, parching the Earth, and making the out- ward Turf take Fire in feveral Places 5 filling the Air with fiery Impreilions, making the Woods and Forefts ready Fewel, and fometimes to kin- dle by the Heat of the Sun, or a Flafh of Light- ning : Thefe and what other Effects have come to pafs in former Droughts, may come to pafs again 5 and that in an higher Meafure, and fo as to be of more general Extent. And we muft alio allow, thar by this means, a great degree of Inflammability, or Eaimefs to be fet on Fire, will be fuper-induc'd, both into the Body of the Earth, and of all Things that grow upon it. The Heat of the Sun will pierce deeper into its Bowels, when it gapes to receive his Beams, and by Chinks and widened Pores makes way for their Paflage to its very Heart. And, on the other Hand, it is not improbable, but that upon this general Relaxation, and Incalefcency of the Body of the Earth, the Central Fire may have £4 The Theory of the Earth. have a freer Efflux, and diffufe itfelf in greater abundance every Way ; fo as to affecT: even thefe exterior Regions of the Earth, fo far as to make them mil more catching, and more com- buftible. From this external and internal Heat acting up- on the Body of the Earth, all Minerals, that have the Seeds of Fire in them, will be open'd, and exhale their Effluviums more copioufly. As Spi- ces, when warm'd are more odoriferous, and fill the Air with their Perfumes ; fo the Particles of Fire that are fhut up in leveral Bodies, will eafily fly abroad, when, by a further degree of Relaxa- tion, you ihake off their Chains, and open the Prifon Doors. We cannot doubt, but there are many Sorts of Minerals* and many Sorts of Fire- ftones, and of Trees and Vegetables of this Na- ture, which will fweat out their oily and fulphure- ous Atoms, when by a general Heat and Drynefs their Parts are loofen'd and agitated. We have no Experience that will reach fo far, as to give us a full Account what the State of Nature will be at that Time; I mean, after this Drought, towards the End of the World ; but we may help our Imagination, by compa- ring it with other Scafons and Temperaments of the Air. As therefore in the Spring the Earth is fragrant, and the Fields and Gardens are fill'd with the fweet Breathings of Herbs and Flowers; efpecially after a gentle Rain -, when their Bo- dies are foftened, and the Warmth of the Sun makes them evaporate more freely : So a greater degree of Heat atting upon all the Bodies Concerning the Conflagration. 95 Bodies of the Earth, like a ftronger Fire in the Alembick, will extract another ibrt of Parts or Particles, more deeply incorporated, and more difficult to be diflntangled ; I mean oily Parts, and fuch undifcover'd Parcels of Fire, as lie fix'd and imprifon'd in hard Bodies : Thele, I imagine, will be in a great meafure fet afloat, or drawn out into the Air, which will abound with hot and dry Exhalations, more than with Vapours and Moifture in a wet Seafon ; and by this Means, all Elements and elementary Bodies will ftand ready, and in a proximate Difpofition to be in- flamed. Thus much" concerning the laft Drought, and the general Effects of it. In the next Place, we muft confider the Earthquakes that will precede the Conflagration, and the Confequences of them. I noted before, that the cavernous and broken Conftruction of the prefent Earth, was that which made it obnoxious to be deftroy'd by Fire; as its former Conftru&ion over the Abyfs, made it ob- noxious to be deftroy'd with Water. This Hol- lowneis of the Earth is moft fenftble in moun- tainous and hilly Countries, which therefore I look upon as moft fubject to burning ; but the plain Countries may alfo be made hollow and hilly by Earthquakes, when the Vapours, not finding an eafy Vent, raife the Ground, and make a forcible Eruption, as at the lpringing of a Mine. And tho' plain Countries are not fo fubject to Earthquakes as mountainous, becaufe they have not fo many Cavities, and fubterraneous Vaults, to lodge the Vapours in; yet every Region hath more 96 The Theory of the Earth. more or lefs of them : And after this Drought, the Vacuities of the Earth being every where enlargcl, the Quantity of Exhalations much increas'd, and the Motion of them more ftrong and violent, they will have their Effects in many Places where they never had any before. Yet I do not fuppofe that this will raife new Ridges of Mountains, like the Alps, or 'Pyreneans, in thofe Countries that are now plain, but that they will break and loofen the Ground, make greater Inequalities in the Sur- face, and greater Cavities within, than what are at prefent in thole Places : and by this means the Fire will creep under them, and find a Paf- fage thorough them, with more Eafe than if they were compact, and every where continud and unbroken. But you will fay, it may be, How does it appear that there will be more frequent Earth- quakes towards the End of the World ? If this precedent Drought be admitted, 'tis plain that fiery Exhalation will abound every where within the Earth, and will have a greater Agitation than ordinary ; and thefe being the Caufes of Earthquakes, when they are rarified and in- .flamed, 'tis reafonable to fuppofe, that in fuch a State of Nature, they will more frequently happen, than at other Times. Befides, Earth- quakes are taken Notice of in Scripture, as Signs and Fore-runners of the laft Day, as they ufu- ally are of all great Changes and Calamities. The Deftru&ion of Jerufakm was a Type of the Deftruction of the World, and the Evan- gelists always mention Earthquakes amongft the Concerning the Conflagration^ 9? the ominous Prodigies that were to attend it. But thefe Earthquakes we are fpeaking of at prcfent are but the Beginnings of Sorrow, and not to be compar'd with thofe that will fol- low afterwards, when Nature is eonvuls'd in her laft Agony, juft as the Flames are feizing on her. Of which we fhall have Occafion to fpeak hereafter. Thefe Changes will happen as to the Matter and Form of the Earth, before it is attaek'd by the laft Fire : There will be alfo another Change as to the Situation of it ; for that will be rectified, and the Earth reftor'd to the Pofture it had at firft, namely, of a right Afpecl, and Converfion to the Sum But becaufe I cannot determine at what Time this Reftitution will be, whether at the Be* ginning, Middle, or End of the Conflagration, I will not prefume to fay any Strefs upon it. Plato feems to have imputed the Conflagration to this only ; which is fo far true, that the Revolution, cali'd the Great Tear, is this very Revolution, or the Return of the Earth, and the Heavens to their firft Pofture. But tho* this may be contempo- rary with the laft Fire, or fome way concomi* tant; yet it does not follow that it is the Caufe of it, much lefs the only Caufe. It may be an Occafion of making the Fire reach more eafily towards the Poles, when by this Change of Situ- ation their long Nights, and long Winters fhall be taken away 5 The new Difpofitions in our Earth which we expert before that great Day* may be look'd upon as extraordinaryj but not as miraculous. $s The Theory of the Earth, becaufe they may proceed from natural Caufes* But now in the laft Place, we are to confider miraculous Caufes : What Influence they may have, or what Part they may bear, in this great Revolution of Nature. By miraculous Caufes we underftand cither God's immediate Omnipotency, or the Miniftry of Angels; and what may be per- form'd by the latter, is very improperly and unde- cently thrown upon the former. 'Tis a great Step to Omnipotency : and 'tis hard to define what Miracles, on this fide Creation, require an infinite Power. We are fure that the Angels are Miniuring Spirits, and ten thoufand times ten thoufand ftand about the Throne of the Almigh- ty, to receive his Commands and execute his Judgments. That perfect Knowledge they have of the Powers of Nature, andofcondu&ing thofe Powers to the beft Advantage, by adjufting Cau- fes in a fit Subordination one to another, makes them capable of performing, not only things far above our Force, but even above our Imagi- nation : Befides, they have a radical inherent Power, belonging to the Excellency of their Nature, of determining the Motions of Mat- ter, within a far greater Sphere than human Souls can pretend to. We can only command our Spirits, and determine their Motions with- in the Compafs of our own Bodies ; but their Activity and Empire is of far greater Extent, and the outward World is much more fubjeft to' their Dominion than to ours. From thefe Con- federations it is reafonable to conclude, that the generality of Miracles may be, and are pcrform'd by Concerning the Conflagration. 99 by Angels ; .it being Ids decorous to employ a fovereign Power, where a fubaltern is fufficient 5 and when we haftily call Things upon God, for quick Difpatch, we confult our own Eafe more than the Honour of our Maker. I take it for granted here, that what is done by an angelical Hand, is truly providential, and of divine Administration 5 and alfo juftly bears the Character of a Miracle. Whatfoever may be done by pure material Caufes, or human Strength, we account natural $ and whatfoever is above thefe, we call fupernatural and miraculous. Now what is fupernatural and miraculous, is either the Effect of an angelical Power, or of a fovereign and infi- nite Power j and we ought not to confound thefe two, no more than natural and fupernatural 5 for there is a greater Difference betwixt the higheft angelical Power and Omnipotency, than betwixt an human Power, and angelical. Therefore, as the firft Rule concerning Miracles is this, that we muft not fly to Miracles, where Man and Na- ture are fufficient 5 fo the fecond Rule is this, that we muft not fly to a fovereign infinite Power, where an angelical is fufficient. And the Reafon in both Rules is the fame, namely, becaufe it argues a Defect of Wifdom in all Oeconomies to employ more and greater Means than are fuffi- cient. Now to make Application of this to our pre- fent Purpofe, I think it reafonable, and alfa fufficient, to admit the Miniftry of Angels in the future Conflagration of the World. If Nature will not lay violent Hands upon her H * felf, i oo The Theory of the Eart h. felf, or is not fufficient to work her own De- ft mdion, let us allow c Deflroying Angels to intereft themfelves in the Work, as the Execu- tioners of the Divine Juftice and Vengeance upon a degenerate World. We have Examples of this fo frequently in facred Hiftory, how the Angels have executed God's Judgments upon a Nation or a People, that it cannot feem new or ftrange, that in this laft Judgment, which by all the Prophets is reprefented as the Great 'Day of the Lord, the Day of his Wrath, and of his Fury, the lame Angels mould bear their Parts, and con- clude the laft Scene of that Tragedy which they had acted in all along. We read of the TDeftroy- ing Angel in ^Egypr, Gen. xii. 23. of Angels that prefided at the Deftru&ion of Sodom, Gen. xix. 13. which was a Type of the future Deftruction of the World, (Jude vii.) 2. Thejf. i. 7, 8. and of Angels that will accompany our Saviour when he comes in Flames of Fire j nor, we fuppofe, to be Spec- tators only, but Aclors and Superintendantsin this great Cataftrophe. This Minithy cf Angels may be either in ordering and conducling fuch natural Caufes as we have already given an Account of, or in adding new ones, if Occailon be ; I mean, in- creaflng the Quantity of Fire, or of fiery Ma- terials, in and about the Earth ; fo as that Element mail be more abundant and more predominant, and overbear all Oppofition that either Water, or any other Body, can make againft it. It is not material whether of thefe two Suppofitions we follow, provided we allow that Concerning the Conflagration. ioi that the Conflagration is a Work of Providence, and not a pure natural Fatality. If it be ncceiTary that there fhould be an Augmentation made of fiery Matter, 'tis not hard to conceive how that may be done, either from the Heavens, or from the Earth, I fa. xxx. 26. The Prophets fometimes fpeak of multiplying or (lengthening the Light of the Sun, and it may as eafily be conceiv'd of his Heat as of his Light j as if the Vial that was to be pound upon it, Rev, xxvi. 8. and gave it a Power to fcorch Men with Fire, had fomething of a natural Senfe as well as moral. But there is another Stream of ethereal Matter that flows from the Heavens, and recruits the Central Fire with continual Sup. plies ; this may be encreas'd and nrengthened, and its EfYe&s conveyed throughout the whole Body of the Earth. But if an Augmentation is to be made of terreftrial Fire, or of fuch terreftrial Principles as contain it mod, as Sulphur, Oyl, and luch like, I am apt to believe, thefe will encreafe of their own accord, upon a general Drought and Deficcation of the Earth. For I am far from the Opinion of fome Chymifls, that think thefe Principles immutable, and incapable of Diminu- tion or Augmentation. 1 willingly admit that all fuch Particles may be broken and disfigur'd, and thereby lofe their proper and fpecifick Vir- tue, and new ones may be generated to fupply the Places of the former : Which Supplies, or new Productions being made in a lefs, or greater Meafure, according to the general Difpofitions of Nature 5 when Nature is heightened into a H 3 kind 102 The Theory of the Earth. kind of Fever and Ebullition of all her Juices and Humours, as fhe will be at that Time, we muft expeft, that more Parts than ordinary, fhould be made inflammable, and thofe that are inflam'd fhould become more violent. Under thefe Circumftances, when all Caufes lean that Way, a little Help from a fuperior Power will have a great Erlet~t, and make a great Change in the State of the World. And as to the Power of An- gels, I am of Opinion, that it is very great as to the Changes and Modifications of natural Bodies ; that they can difiblve a Marble as eaflly as we can crumble Earth and Moulds, or fix any Liquor in a Moment, into a Subftance as hard as Cryftal : That they can either make Flames more vehement and irrefiftible to all Sorts of Bodies ^ or as harmless as lambent Fires, and as foft as Oyl. We fee an Inftance of this lait, in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery Furnace, 'Daniel iii. 28. where the three Children walk'd unconcern'd in the midft of the Flames, under the Charge and Protection of an Angel : And the fame Angel, if he had pleas'd, could have made the fame Furnace feven times hotter than the Wrath of the Tyrant had made it. We will therefore leave it to their Miniflry to manage this great Furnace, when the Hea. vens and the Earth are on Fire : To conferve, increafe, direct, or temper the Flames, accord- ing to Inftru&ions given them, as they are to be tutelary or deftroying. Neither let any Body think it a Diminution of Providence, to put Things into the Hands of Angels 5 'tis the true Concerning the Conflagration. 103 true Rule and Method of it: For to imploy an Almighty Power where it is nor neceilary* is to debafe it, and give it a Task fit for lower Beings. Some think it Devotion and Piety to have recourfe immediately to the Arm of God to falve all things; this may be done fometimes with a good Intention, but commonly with lit- tle Judgment. God is as jealous of the Glory of his Wifdom, as of his Power $ and Wifdom confifts in the Conduct and Subordination of fe- veral Caufes, to bring our Purpofes to Effe& ; but what is difpatched by an immcoTate fupreme Power, leaves no room for the Exercife of Wif- dom. To conclude this Point, which 1 have touch'd upon more than once 5 We muft not be partial to any of God's Attributes, and Providence being a Complexion of many, Power, Wifdom, Juftice, and Goodnefs, when we give due Place and Honour to all thefe, then we muft honour Divine Providence. H 4 CHAP. \ 04 The Theory of the Eart^. CHAP. IX. How the Sea will be diminijh'd and confumd. How the Rocks and Mountains will be thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior Frame of the Earth dtffolv'd into a 'Deluge of Fire. WE have now taken a View of the Caufes of the Conflagration, both ordinary and extraordinary : It remains to conilder the Manner of it ; how thefe Caufes will operate, and bring to pafs an Effect fo great and fo prodigious. We took Notice before, that the grand Obftrudion would be from the Sea, and from the Moun- tains 5 we muft therefore take thefe to Task in the firft Place: and if we can remove them out of our Way, or overcome what Refiftance and Op- pofition they are capable to make, the reft of the Work will not be uneafy to us. The Ocean indeed is a vaft Body of Waters; and we muft ufe all our Art and Skill to dry it up, or confume it in a good meafurc, before we can pafs our Deflgn. I remember the Ad- vice a Philofopher gave Amafis King of c^£- gypt, when he had a Command fent him from the King of ayEthiopia, that he Jbould drink up the Sea. Amafis being very anxious and foli- citous what Anfwer he fhould make to this grange Command, the Philofopher Bias ad- vis'd Concerning the Conflagration. ioj vis'd him to make this round Anfvverto theKing, That he was ready to perform his Command \ and to drink tip the Sea, provided he would flop the Rivers from flowing into his Cup while he was drinking. This Anfwer baffled the King, for he could not flop the Rivers ; but this we muft do, or we mall never be able to drink up the Sea, or burn up the Earth. Neither will this be fo impofllble as it feems at firfi Sight, if we reflect upon thofe Preparati- ons we have made towards ir, by a general Drought all over the Earth. This, we fuppofe, will precede the Conflagration, and by drying up the Fountains and Rivers which daily feed the Sea, will by degrees ftarve that Monfter, or re- duce it to fuch a degree of Weaknefs, that it mall not be able to make any great Refinance. More than half an Ocean of Water flows into the Sea every Day, from the Rivers of the Earth, if you take them altogether. This 1 fpeak upon a mode- rate Computation. Ariftotle lays, the Rivers car- ry more Water into the Sea in the Space of a Year, than would equal in Bulk the whole Globe of the Earth. Nay fbme have ventur'd to affirm . this of one fingle River, the Volga, that runs into the Cafpian Sea. 'lis a great River indeed, and hath feventy Mouths -, and (o it had need have, to difgorge a Mafs of Water equal to the Body of the Earth, in a Year's Time. But we need not take fuch high Meafures ; there are at leaft art hundred great Rivers that flow into the Sea from feveral Parts of the Earth, Iflands and Continents^ befides feveral thoufands of lefTer 106 The Theory of the Earth. lelTer ones ; let us fuppofe thefe, all together, to pour as much Water into the Sea-Channel every Day, as is equal to half the Ocean : And we fhall be eafily convince! of the Reafonablenefs of this Suppofition, if we do but examine the daily Ex- pence of one River, and by that make an Efti- mate of the reft. This we find and bid Defiance to all the Elements ; they have born the Thunder and Lightning of Hea- ven, and all the Artillery of the Skies, for in- numerable Ages ; and do not fear the crack- ling of Thorns and of Shrubs that burn at their Feet : Let the Towns and Cities of the Earth, fay they, be laid in Allies j let the Woods and Forefts blaze awav, and the fat Soil of the Earth fry in its own Greafe ; thefe Things will not affecl: us ; we can ftand naked in the midft of a Sea of Fire, with our Roots as deep as the Foundations of the Earth, and our Heads above the Clouds of the Air. Thus they proudly defy Nature j and it muft be confefs'd, that thefe, being, as it were, the Bones of the Earth, Concerning the Conflagr ation^ i t i Earth, when the Body is burning, will be the laft confum'd ; and I am apt to think, if they could keep in the fame Pofture they ftand in now, and preferve themfelves from falling, the Fire could never get an entire Power over them. But Mountains are generally hollow, and that makes them fubjed to a double Cafualty ; firft, of Earth- quakes i fecondly, of having their Roots eaten away by Water or by Fire ; but by Fire efpecially in this Cafe : For we fuppofe there will be innu- merable fubterraneous Fires fmothering under Ground, before the general Fire breaks out 3 and thefe by corroding the Bowels of the Earth, will make it more hollow, and more ruinous 5 and when the Earth is fo far diffolv'd, that the Cavities within the Mountains are fill'd with Lakes of Fire, then the Mountains will fink, and fall into thofe boil- ing Cauldrons, which in Time will difibive them, though they were as hard as Adamant. There is another Engine that will tear the Earth with great Violence, and rend in pieces whatfoever is above or about thofe Parts of it; and that is the Element of Water, fo gentle in it felf when undifturb'd : But 'tis found by Experience, that when Water falls into liquid Metals, it flies about with an incredible Impe- tuofity, and breaks or bears down every Thing that would flop its Motion and Expanfion. This Force I take to come from the fudden and ftrong Rarefaction of its Parts, which make a kind of Exploilon, when it is fudden and ve- hement ; and this is one of the greateft Forces we know in Nature: Accordingly. I am apt to think ii2 The Theory of the Earth.' think, that the marvellous Force of Vulcano's, when they throw out Lumps of Rocks, great Fragments of the Earth, and other heavy Bodies, to fuch a vaft Height and Diftance, that it is done by this way of Explofion : And that Explofion made by the iudden Rarefaction of Sea Waters, that fall into Pans or Receptacles of molten Ore and ardent Liquors, within the Cavities of the Mountain ; and thereupon follow the Noifes, Roarings, and Eruptions of thofe Places. Tis obferv'd, that Vulcano's are in Mountains, and generally, if not always, near the Sea; and when its Waters, by fubterraneous Paflages, are driven under the Mountain, either by a particular Wind, or by a great Agitation of the Waves, they meet there with Metals and fiery Minerals diflblv'd ; and are immediately, according to our Supposi- tion, ratified, and, by way of Explofion, fly out at the Mouth or Funnel of the Mountain, beat- ing before them whatlbever ftands in their Way. "Whether this be a true Account, or no, of the prefent Vulcano's and their Eruptions, 'tis mani- feft, that fuch Cafes as we have mention'd, will happen in the Conflagration of the Earth, and that fuch Eruptions or Difruptions of the Earth will follow thereupon : and that thefe will con- tribute very much to the finking of Mountains, the fplitting of Rocks, and the bringing of all ftrong Holds of Nature under the Power of the general Fire. To conclude this Point : The Mountains will all be brought low, in that State of Nature either by Earthquakes, or fubterraneous Fires j 4- Every Concerning the Conflagration. ii$ Every Valley Jhall be exalted, and every Moun- tain and Hill Jhall be made law, lfa. xl. 4. Which will be literally true at the fecond coming of ouc Saviour, as it was figuratively apply 'd to his firft coming, Luke iii. 5. Now, being once levell'd with the reft of the Earth, the Queftion* will only be, how they mall be diflblv'd? But there is no terreftrial Body indilTblvable to Fire, if it have a due Strength and Continuance -, and this lad Fire will have both, in the higheft degrees; fo that it cannot but be capable of diiTblving all ele- mentary Compofitions, how hard or iblid foevec they be. 'Tis true, thefe Mountains and Rocks, as I faid before, will have the Privilege to be the laft de- ftroy'd. Thefe, with the deep Parts of the Sea, and the polar Regions of the Earth* will undergo a flower Fate, and be confum'd more ieifurely. The Action of the laft Fire may be diftinguim'd into two Times, or two Aflaults \ the firft AlTault will carry off all Mankind, and all the Works of the Earth that are eafily combuftible; and this will be done with a quick and fudden Motion. But the fecond Aftault, being employ'd about the Con- sumption of fuch Bodies, or fuch Materials, as are not fo eafily iubje&ed to Fire, will be of long Continuance, and the Work of fome Years. And 'tis fit it mould be fo ; that this flaming World may be view'd and confider'd by the neighbour- ing Worlds about it* as a dreadful Spectacle, and Monument of God's Wrath againft difloyal, and difobedient Creatures. That by this Ex- ample, now before their Eyes, they may think Book III, I of H4 The Theory of the Earth. of their own Fate, and what may befal them, as well as another Planet of the fame Elements and Compofition. Thus much for the Rocks and Mountains; which, you fee, according to our Hypothefis, will be levell'd, and the whole Face of the Earth re- due'd to Plainnefs and Equality; nay, which is more, melted and diflblv'd into a Sea of liquid Fire. And becaufe this may feem a Paradox, being more than is ufually fuppofed, or taken notice of, in the Doctrine of the Conflagration, it will not be improper, in this Place, to give an Account, wherein our Idea of the Conflagration, and its Effects, differs from the common Opini- on, and the ufual Reprefentation of it. Tis com- monly fuppofed, that the Conflagration of the World is like the burning of a City, where the Walls and Materials of the Houfes are not mel- ted down, but fcorch'd, inflam'd, demolifh'd, and made uninhabitable : So they think in the burn- ing of the World, fuch Bodies, or fuch Parts of Nature, as are fit Fewel for the Fire, will be in- flam'd, and, it may be, confum'd, or redue'd to Smoke and Allies 5 but other Bodies, that ate not capable of Inflammation, will only befcorch'd and defae'd, the Beauty and Furniture of the Earth fpoil'd, and by that means, fay they, it will be laid wafte and become uninhabitable. This feems to me a very fhort and imperfect Idea of the Conflagration ; neither agreeable to Scripture, nor to the Deductions that may be made from Scripture. We therefore fuppofe that this is but half the Work 5 this destroying of the out- ward Concerning the Conflagration. 115 ward Garniture of the Earth, is but the firft Onfet, and that the Conflagration will end in a DilTolution and Liquefaction of the Elements and all the exterior Region of the Earth -, fo as to become a true Deluge of Fire, or a Sea of Fire overfpreading the whole Globe of the Earth. This State of the Conflagration, I think, may be plainly prov'd ; partly by the Expreilions of Scripture concerning it, and partly from the Renovation of the Earth that is to follow upon it. Saint Peter, who is our chief Guide in the Doctrine of the Conflagration, fays, 2 Pet. ill 10, 11. The Elements will be melted with fer- vent Heat ; befides burning up the Works of the Earth. Then adds, Seeing all thefe Things Jhallbediffolvd, &c. Thefe Terms of Liquefaction and 'Diffblution cannot, without Violence, be reftrained to Ample Devaluation, and fuperficiai Scorching. Such Expreilions carry the Work a great deal further, even to that full Senfe which we propofe. Befldes, the Prophets often (peak of the melting of the Earth, or of the Hills and Mountains, at the Prefence of the Lord, in the Day of his Wrath, Ifa. xxxiv. 3> 4< & xliv. 1, 2. Nah. i. 5. Tfal. xcvii. 5. And Saint John {Apoc. xv. 2.) tells us of a Sea of Glafs, mingled with Fire -, where the Saints flood, finging the Song of Mofes, and triumphing over their Ene- mies, the Spiritual Tharaoh and his Hofl, that were fwallowed up in it. The Sea of Glafs t muft be a Sea of molten Gla fs ; it muft be fluid, not folid, if a Sea 5 neither can a folid Subftance be faid to be mingled with Fire, as this was. I 2 And i 1 6 The Theory of the Earth. And to this anfvvers the Lake of Fire and Brinf- ftone, which the Beaft and falfe Prophet were thrown into alive, J foe. xix. 20. Thefe all refer to the End of the World, and the laft Fire, and alio plainly imply, Or exprefs rather, that State of Liquefaction which we fuppofe and aflat. Furthermore, the Renovation of the World, or the New Heaven and New Earth, which St. Peter, out of the Prophets, tells us fhall Jpring out of thefe that are burnt and difiblved, do fuppofe this Earth redue'd into a fluid Cha- os, that it may lay a Foundation for a fecond World. If you take fuch a Skeleton of an Earth, as your fcorching Fire would leave be- hind it ; where the Flefh is torn from the Bones, and the Rocks and Mountains ftand naked, and flaring upon you ; the Sea, half empty, ga- ping at the Sun, and the Cities all in Ruins, and in Rubbifh ; how would you raife a new World from this ? And a World fit to be an Habitation for the Righteous ? For fo St. Peter makes that to be, which is to fuccecd after the Conflagrati- on, 2 'Pet. iii 13. And a World alfo without a Sea? So St. John defcribes the new Earth hefaw, Afoc. xxi. 1 . As thefe Characters do not agree to the present Earth, 10 neither would they agree to your future one; for if that dead Lump could revive and become habitable again, it would however retain all the Imperfections of the for- mer Earth, befides fome Scars, and Deformi- ties of its own. Wherefore, if you would caft the Earth into a new, and better Mould, you muft full melt it down $ and the laft Fire, be- ing Concerning the Conflagration. 117 ing as a Refiner's Fire, will make an Improvement in it, both as to Matter and Form. To conclude, it muft be rcduc'd into a fluid Mafs, in the Nature of a Chaos, as it was at firft ; but this laft will be a fiery Chaos, as that was watery ; and from this State it will emerge again into a Paradifai.cal World. But this being the Subject of the following Book, we will difcourfe no more of it in this Place. St $t \ St 3t & OQjOC gt 1 $t &t & 3& &. ^a efa [•*? c¥a ' c¥a c¥a c£» cr» era CHAP. X. Concerning the Beginning and Trogrefs of the Conflagration, what Vart of the Earth will fir ft be burnt. The Manner of the future Tie- ftrufiion of Rome, according to prophetical Indications. The la(l State and Qonfurnmation of the general Fire. HAving remov'd the chief Obftructions to our Defign, and fhew'd a Method for weakning the Strength of Nature, by draining the Trench, and beating down thofe Bulwarks, wherein fhe feems to place her greateft Confidence : We muft now goto Work 5 making Choice of the weakeft Part of Nature for our firft Attack, where the Fire may be the eafieft admitted, and the beft maintained, and preferv'd. And for our better Direction, it will be of -JJfe to confider what we noted before, vip. I 3 That 1 1 8 The Theory of the Eart h. That the Conflagration is not a pure natural Natality ', but a mixd Fatality ; or a divine Judgment fupported by natural Caufes. And if we can find ibme Part of the Earth, or of the Chriftian World, that hath more of thele natural Difpofitions to Inflammation than the reft ; and is alio reprefentcd by Scripture as a more peculiar Object of God's Judgments at the coming of our Saviour, we may juftly pitch upon that Part of the World, as firft to be deftroy'd : Nature and Provi- dence confpiring to make that the firft Sacrifice to this fiery Vengeance. Now as to natural Difpofitions, in any Coun- try or Region of the Earth, to be fet on Fire, they feem to be chiefly thefe two ; Sulphureoufnefs of the Soil, and, an hollow mountainous Conftrutti- on of the Ground. Where thefe two Difpofiti- ons meet in the fame Tract or Territory, (the one as to the Quality of the Matter, and the other as to the Form) it ftands like a Pile of fit Materials, ready fet to have the Fire put to it. And as to divine Indications where this general Fire will be- gin, the Scripture points to the Seat of Antichrift, wherefoever that is, for the Beginning of it. The Scripture, I fay, points at this two Ways : Firft, In telling us that our Saviour at his coming in Flames of Fire jljall con fume the wicked One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Ferdition, with the Spi- rit of his Mouth, and fhall deftroy him with the Brightnefs of huF refine e, 2 ThelT. i. 7. chap. ii. 8. Secondly, under the Name of My flic al Babylon -, which is allowed by all to be the Seat of Antichrift, and by Scripture always con* \ demnd Concerning the Conflagr a tion.^ i i 9 demn'd to the Fire. This we find in plain Words afferted by Saint John, in the xviiith Chapter of his Revelations {Verfes 8, 19.) and in the xixth {Verfe 3 ) under the Name of the Great Whore 5 which is the fame City, and the fame Seat, according to the Interpretation of Scripture it felf, (Ch. xvii, xviii.) And the Prophet Daniel^ when he had fet the Antient of 'Days upon his fiery Throne, fays, The Body of the Beafl was given to the burning Flame, Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11. Which I take to be the fame Thing with what St. John fays afterwards, {Apoc. xix. 20.) The Beafl and the falfe 'Prophet, were caft alive into a hake of Fire, burning with Brimflone. By thefe Places of Scripture it feems manifeft, that Antichrift, and the Seat of Antichrift will be confum'd with Fire, at the coming of our Saviour. And 'tis very rea- fonable and decorous, that the grand Tray tor and Head of the'Apoftacy, mould be made the firft Example of the divine Vengeance. Thus much being allowed from Scripture, let us now return to Nature again ; to feek out that Part of the Chriftian World, that from its own Conftitution is moll: fubjecl: to burning * by the Sulphureoufnefs of its Soil, and its fiery Mountains and Caverns. This we iTiall ealily find to be the Roman Territory, or the Country of Italy : Which, by all Accounts, antient and modern, is a Store-houfe of Fire; as if it was condemn'd to that Fate by God and Nature, and to be an Incendiary, as it were, to the reft of the World. And feeeing Myjlical Ba- bylon, the Seat of Antichrift, is the fame Rome, I 4 and 'no The Theory of the Earth. and its Territory, as it is underftood by moft Inter- preters of former, and latter Ages ; you fee both bur Lines meet in this Point 5 and, that there is Fairnefs, on both Hands, to conclude, that at the glorious Appearance of our Saviour, the Confla- gration will begin at the City of Rome, and the Roman Territory. Nature hath fav'd us the Pains of kindling a Fire in thofe Parts of the Earth ; for, fmce the Memory of Man, there have always been fubterraneous Fires in Italy. And the Romans did not preferve their Veftal Fire with more Conftancy, than Na- ture hath done her fiery Mountains in fome Part or other of that Territory. Let us then fuppofe, when the fatal Time draws near, all thefe burn- ing Mountains to be fill'd and replenifh'd with fit Materials for fuch a Defign ; and when our Saviour appears in the Clouds^ with an Hoft of Angels, that they all begin to play, as Fire- works, at the triumphal Entry of a Prince. Let Vefuvim, z_/Etna, Strongyle, and all the Vul- canian Iflands, break out into Flames j and by the Earthquakes, which then will rage, let us fuppofe new Eruptions, or new Mountains open'd in the Apennines, and near to Rome ; and to vomit out Fire in the fame Manner as the old Vulcands. Then let the fulphureous Ground take Fire ; and feeing the Soil of that Country, in feveral Places, is fo full of Brimfione, that the Steams and Smoke of it viilbly rife out of the Earth ; we may reafonably fuppofe, that it will burn openly, and be inflarn d, at that Time, the Lightenings of the Air, and the flaming Concerning the Conflagration. \i\ flaming Streams of the melting Skies, will mingle and join with thefe Burnings of the Earth j and thele three Caufes meeting together, as they can- not but make a dreadful Scene, fo they will eaftly deftroy and confume whatfoever lies within the Compafs of their Fury. Thus you may fuppofe the Beginning of the general Fire : And it will be carried on by like Caufes, though in leiTer Degrees, in other Parts of the Earth : But as to Rome, there is ftill, in my Opinion, a more dreadful Fate that will attend it ; namely, to be abforp'd, or fwallow'd up, in a Lake oi Fire and Brimflone, after the Manner of Sodom and Gomorrah. This, in my Judgment, will be the Fate and final Conclufion of Myflical Babylon, to fink as a great Mill- ftone into the Sea, and never to appear more. Hear what the Prophet fays, A mighty Angel took up a Stone, like a great Mill- ft one, and caft it into the Sea, faying, Thus with Violence jh all that great City Babylon be thrown down, and Jhall be found no more at all, Apoc. xviii. 21. Simply to be burnt, does not at all anfwer to this Defcription of its perifhing, by finking like a Mill- (lone into the Sea, and never appearing more y nor of not having its Tlace ever more found > that is, leaving no Remains or Marks of ir. A City that is only burnt, cannot be faid to fall like a Mtll-ftone into the Sea -, or, that it can never more be found ; for after the Burning of a City, the Ruins ftand, and its Place is well known : Wherefore, „ in both Refpe&s, beiides this exterior Burning, there muft be an 122 The Theory of the E;arth. an Abforption of this Myflical Babylon, the Seat of the Beaft, and thereupon a total Difap- pearance of it. This alfo agrees with the Sud- den nefs of the Judgment, which is a repeated Character of it, Chap, xviii. 8, 10, 17, 19. Now what kind of Abforption this will be, into what, and in what Manner, we may learn from what Saint John fays afterwards, Chap. xix. 20. The Beaft and the falfe Trophet were cafi alive into a hake of Fire and Brimftone. You muft not imagine, that they were bound Hand and Foot, and fo thrown headlong into this Lake ; but they were fwallow'd up alive, they and theirs, as Corah and his Company ; or, to ufe a plainer Example, after the manner of Sodom and Gomorrah, which perifh'd by Fire, and at the fame Time funk into the Dead Sea, or a Lake of Brimftone. This was a lively Type of the Fate of Rome, or Myflical Babylon : And 'tis fit it fhould refemble Sodom, as well in its Punifhment, as in its Crimes. Neither is it a hard Thing to conceive how fuch an Abforption may come to pafs, that being a Thing fo ufual in Earthquakes, and Earthquakes being fo frequent in that Region. And laftly, That this fhould be, after the Manner of Sodom, turn'd into a Lake of Fire, will not be at all ftrange, if we confider, that there will be many fubterraneous Lakes of Fire at that Time, when the Bowels of the Earth begin to melt, and the Mountains ipew out Streams of liquid Fire." The Ground therefore being hollow and rotten in thofc Parts, when it comes to be fhaken with a mighty Concerning the Conflagration. 123 a mighty Earthquake, the Foundations will fink, and the whole Frame fall into an Abyfs of Fire below, as a Mill-ftone into the Sea. And this will give Occafion to that Cry, Babylon the great is fallen, vs fallen, and mall never more be found. This Teems to be a probable Account, ac- cording to Scripture and Reafon, of the Be- ginning of the general Fire, and of the particu- lar Fate of Rome. But it may be propos'd here, as an Objection againft this Hypothefis, that the Mediterranean Sea, lying all along the Coaft of Italy, muft needs be a fufficient Guard to that Country againft the Invafion of Fire, or at leaft muft needs extinguifh it, before it can do much Mifchief there, or propagate itfelf into other Countries. I thought we had in a good meafure prevented this Objedion before, by fhewing how the Ocean would be diminifhed before the Con- flagration, and efpecially the Arms and Sinus's of the Ocean 5 and of thefe none would be more fubject to this Diminution, than the Mediter- ranean 5 for, receiving its Supplies from the Ocean and the Black Sea, if thele came to fink in their Channels they would not rife fo high, as to be capable to flow into the Mediterra- nean at either End 5 and thefe Supplies being cut off, it would foon empty itfelf fo far, partly by Evaporation ; and partly by fubterraneous PalTages, as to fhrink from all its Shores, and become only a ftanding Pool of Water in the Middle of the Channel : Nay, 'tis poflible, by Floods of Fire defcending from the many Vulcano's Z;24 The Theory of the Earth. Vulcano's upon its Shores, it might itfelf be converted into a Lake of Fire, and rather help than obftruct the Progrefs of the Conflagra- tion. It may indeed be made a Queftioh, Whether this fiery Vengeance upon the Seat of Antichrift: will not precede the general Conflagration, at fome Diftance of Time, as a Fore runner and Fore- warner to the World, that the reft of the People may have Space to repent ; and particu- larly the Jews, being Spectators of this Tragedy, and of the miraculous Appearance of our Savi- our, may fee the Hand of God in it, and be convine'd of the Truth and divine Authority of| the Chriftian Religion : I fay, this Suppofition would leave Room for thefe and fome other Pro- phetick Scenes, which we know not well where to place ; but feeing The Day of the Lord is represented in Scripture, as one entire Thing, without Interruption or Difcontinuation, and that it is to begin with the Deftruction of Antichrift, we have Warrant enough to purfue the reft of the Conflagration from this Beginning and Intro- duction. Let us then fuppofe the fame Preparations made in the other Parts of the Earth to con- tinue the Fire 5 for the Conflagration of the World being a Work of Providence, we may be fure fuch Meaiures are taken, as will effec- tually carry it on, when once begun. The Body of the Earth will be loofen'd and broken by Earthquakes, the more folid Parts impreg- nated with Sulphur, and the Cavities fill'd witji unctuous Concerning the Conflagration. 125? unctuous Fumes and Exhalations, Co as the whole Mafs will be but as one gteat Funeral-Pile, ready- built, and wanting nothing but the Hand of a de- ftroying Angel to give it Fire. I will not take upon me to determine which Way this devouring Enemy would fteer his Courfe from Italy, or in what Order he will advance and enter the feveral Regions of our Continent ; that would be an Un- dertaking as uncertain as ufelefs: But we cannot doubt of his Succefs, which Way foever he goes; unlefs where the Channel of the Ocean may- chance to flop him: But as to that, we allow, that different Continents may have different Fires : not propagated from one to another, but of diftincl: Sources and Originals ; and fo like- wife in remote Iflands; and therefore no long Paffage, or Trajeclion, will be requir'd from Shore to Shore : And even the Ocean it felf will, at length, be as fiery as any Part of the Land 5 but that, with its Rocks, like Death, will be the laft Thing fubdued. As to the animate World, the Fire will over- run it with a Iwift and rapid Courfe, and all living Creatures will be fuffocated, or confumed, at the firft Affault; and at the fame Time all the Beauty of the Fields, and the External De- corations of Nature will be defae'd : Then the Cities and the Towns, and all the Works of Man's Hands, will burn like Stubble before the Wind. Thefe will foon be difpatched ; but the great Burthen of the Work ftill re- mains ; which is, that Liquefaction we men- tion'd before, or a melting Fire, much more 4- ftrong 126 The Theory of the Earth. ftrong and vehement than thefe transient Blazes, which do but fweep the Surface of the Earth : This Liquefa&ion, I fay, we prov'd before out of Scripture, as the laft State of the fiery Deluge, Chap. IX. And 'tis this which, at length will make the Sea itlelf a Lake of Fire and Brimftone 5 when, inftead of Rivers of Waters which ufed to flow into it from the Land, there come Streams and Ri- vulets of fulphureous Liquors, and purulent melt- ed Matter, which following the Tract of their natural Gravity, will fall into this great Drain of this Earth ; upon which Mixture, the remaining Parts of fweet Water will fbon evaporate, and the Salt mingling with the Sulphur, will make a Dead Sea, an Afphaltites> a Lake of Sodom, a Cup of the Dregs of the Wine of the Fiercenefs of God's Wrath. We noted before two remarkable Effects of the burning Mountains, which would contri- bute to the Conflagration of the World, and gave Inftances of both in, former Eruptions of t^Etna and Vefuvius ; one was, of thofe Balls, or Lumps of Fire, which they throw about in the Time of their Rage ; and the other, of thofe Torrents of liquid Fire, which rowl down their Sides to the next Seas or Valleys. In the firft Refpect, thefe Mountains are as fo many Batteries, planted, by Providence, in feveral Parts of the Earth, to fling thofe fiery Bombs into fuch Places, or fuch Cities, as are marked out for Deftrucfion ; and, in the fecond Refpecl:, they are to dry up the Waters, and the Rivers, and the Sea it ielf, when they fall into its Channel, Concerning the Conflagration. 127 Channel, Annal. Sic: dec. 1. /. 2. c. 4. T. Fa* zellas, a Sicilian, who writ the Hiftory of that Ifland, tells us of fuch a River of Fire (upon an Eruption o£ Jhaking of the Earth, and fuch like Phrales of Scripture, according to thefe Interpreters, are to be underftood only in a moral Senfe. And they think they have a Warrant for this Interpretation, from the prophetick Style of the Old Teftament, where the Deftru&ion of Cities, and Empires, and great Princes, is often defcrib'd by fuch Figures, taken from the natural World. So much is true indeed as to the Phrafe of the old Prophets in fome Places; but I take the true Reaibn and DeHgn of that, to be a typical Adumbration of what was intended fhould literally come to pafs in the great and univerfal Deftru&ion of the World 5 whereof thefe partial Deftru&ions were only Shadows and Prefiguiations. But to determine this Cafe, let us take the known and approved Rule for interpreting Scripture, Not to recede K z from 132 The Theory of the Earth. from the literal Senfe without Neceffity, or where the Nature of the Subjed will admit of a literal Interpretation. Now, as to thofe Cafes in the Old Teftament, Hiftory and Matter of Fa& do fliew, that they did not eome to pafs literally, therefore muft not be fo underftood ; but as for thofe that concern the End of the World, as they cannot be determined in that way, feeing they are yet future ; fo neither is there any natural Repugnancy or Improbability that they fhould come literally to pals : On the contrary, from the Intuition of that State of Nature, one would rather conclude the Probability or Neceflity of them j that there may, and muft be fuch Difor- ders in the external World, before the general Diilblution. Befides, if we admit Prodigies in any Cafe, or providential Indications of God's Judgments to come, there can be no Cafe fup- pos'd, wherein it will be more reafonable or pro- per to admit them, than when they are to be the Meflengers of an univerfal Vengeance and De- ftmciion. Let us therefore confider what Signs Scrip- ture hath taken notice of, as deftin'd to appear at that Time, to publifh, as it were, and pro- claim the approaching End of the World ; and how far they will admit of a natural Explica- tion, according to thofe Grounds we have al- ready given, in explaining the Caufes and Man- ner of the Conflagration. Thefe Signs are chiefly Earthquakes, and extraordinary Com- motions of the Seas. Then the Darknefs or bloody Colour of the Sun and Moon ,• the fhaking Concerning the Conflagration. 133 fhaking of the Powers of Heaven, the Figurati- ons of the Air, and the falling of Stars. As to Earthquakes, we have upon fcveral Occafions fhewn, that thefe will neccflarily be multiplied towards the End of the World ; when, by an Excels of Drought and Heat, Exhalations will more abound within the Earth; and, from the fame Caufes, their Inflammation aifo will be more frequent, than in the ordinary State of Na- ture. And as all Bodies, when dried, become more porous and full of Vacuities; fo the Body of the Earth will be at that Time: And the Mines or Cavities wherein the Fumes and Exha- lations lodge, will accordingly be of greater Ex- tent, open into one another, and continued thro' long Tracts and Regions ; by which means, when an Earthquake comes, as the Shock will be more ftrong and violent, fo it may reach to a vail: Compafs of Ground, and whole lllands or Continents be fhaken at once, when thefe Trains have taken Fire. The Effects aifo of fuch Concuflions, will not only affect Mankind, but all the Elements, and the Inhabitants of them. I do not wonder therefore that frequent and great Earthquakes mould be made a Sign of an approaching Conflagration ; and the high- eft Exprellions of the Prophets concerning the 'Day of the Lord, may be underftood in a literal Scnfe, if they be finally referni to the general Deftru&ion of the World, and not terminated folely upon thole particular Countries or People, to whom they are at firft directed. Hear K 3 what 134 The Theory of the Earth. what Ezekiel fays upon this Sub) cCt^Chap. xxxviii. 19, 20, 22. For in my Jealou/y and in the Fire of my Wrath have I fpoken ; fitrely in that T>ay there (hall be a great fhaking in the Land of Ifrael : So that the Ftjhes of the Sea, and the fowls of the Heaven, and the Beafts of the Field, and all creeping Things that creep upon the Earth i and all the Men that are upon the face of the Earth, fiall fiake at my T re fence-, and the Mountains fhall be thrown down, and the fteep ^Places (loallfall, and every Wall flo all fall to the Ground. And I will rain an overflowing Rain, and great Hailftones, Fire and Brimflone. The Prophet Ifaias, (Chap. xxiv. 18, 19,20.) defcribes theie Judgments in Terms as high, and relating to the natural World 5 The Windows from on high are open, and the Foundations of the Earth do Jhake. The Earth is utterly broken down, the Earth is clean diffolved, the Earth is moved ex- ceedingly: The Earth fhall reel to and fro like a 'Drunkard, and fo all be removed like a Cottage, and theTr anfgrejfwn thereof fhall be heavy upon it, and it fhall fall, and not rife again. To reftrain all thele things to Judea, as their adequate and final Object, is to force bcth the Words and the Senfe. Here are manifeft A 1- Jions and Footfteps of the Deftruclion pi the World, and the Diffbiution of the Earth rt- Jy as it was in the Deluge, and partly » i > ill be in its laft Ruin, torn, broken, and fliat- ter'd. But moll: Men have fallen \iao ihat Error, to fancy both the Deftruc',,. p& <^ f he World by Water and Eire, quiet, ieis Concerning the Conflagration. 135 Things 5 executed without any Ruins or Rup- tures in Nature : That the Deluge was but a great Pool of lull Waters made by the Rains, and Inundation of the Sea; and the Conflagrati- on will be only a fuperficial Scorching of the Earth, with a running Fire. Thefe are falfe Ideas, and undatable to Scripture : For as the Deluge is there reprefented a Difruption of the A by fs ? and confequently of the then habitable Earth; Co the future Combuftionof it, according to the Repre- fentations of Scripture, is to be ufher'd in and ac- companied with all forts of violent Impreflions upon Nature ; and the chief Instrument of thefe Violences will be Earthquakes. Thefe will tear the Body of the Earth, and fluke its Foundations; rend the Rocks, and pull down the tall Moun- tains? fometimes overturn, and lometimes fwal- low up Towns and Cities; difturb and diibrdcr the Elements, and make a general Confuflon in Nature. Next to Earthquakes, we may confider the Roarings of a troubled Sea. This is another Sign of a dying World. St. Luke, (Chap. xxi. 25, 26, 27.) hath fet down a great many of them together : Let us hear his Words : And there jhall be Signs An the Sun, and in the Moon, and in the Stars ; and upon the Earth ^Diftrefs oj Nations, with 'Perplexity \ the Sea and the Waves roaring. Mens Hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after thofe things which are coming on the Earth; for the Powers of Heaven Jhall be fhaken. And then Jhall they fee the Son of Man coming in a Cloud, with K 4 Power 1 3 6 The Theory of the Earth. Tower and great Glory •, &c. As fome would allegorize thefe Signs, which we noted before ; fo others would confine them to the Deftruclion of Jerufalem. But 'tis plain, by this coming of the Son of Man in the Clouds, and the Redemp- tion of the Faithful, (Verfc 28.) and at the fame Time the Sound of the lafl Trumpet ', (Matt. xxiv. 31.) which all relate to the End of the World, that fomething further is intended than the De- ftruclion of Jerufalem. And though there were Prodigies at the Deftruclion of that City and State, yet not of this Force, nor with thefe Circum- ftances. Tis true, thofe partial Dcftru&ions and Calamities, as we obferv'd before, of Babylon, Jerufakm, and the Roman Empire, being Types of an univerfal and final Dcftruction of all God's Enemies, have, in the Pictures of them, fome of the fame Strokes, to fhew they are all from the fame Hand, decreed by the fame Wifdom, fore- told by the fame Spirit 5 and the fame Power and Providence that have already wrought the one, will alfo work the other, in due Time, the former being ftill Pledges, as well as Prefigurations, of the latter. Let us then proceed in our Explication of this Sign, the Roar'mg of the Sea, a?id the Waves, applying it to the End of the World. I do not look upon this ominous Noife of the Sea, as the Effect of a Tempefr, for then it would not {hike fetch a Terror into the Inhabitants of the Earth, nor make them apprehenfive of fome great Evil coming upon the World, as this will do 5 what proceeds from villble Caufes, and fuch Concerning the Conflagration. 137 fuch as may happen' in a common Courfe of Nature, does nor ro much amaze us, nor affright us : Therefore 'tis more likely thefe Difturbances of the Sea proceed from below, partly by Sym- pathy and Revulfions from the Land ; by Earth- quakes there, and exhaufting the fubterraneous Cavities of Waters, which will draw again from the Seas what Supplies they can \ and partly by Earthquakes in the very Sea it felf, with Exhala- tions and fiery Eruptions from the Bottom of it : Things indeed that happen at other Times, mote or left 5 but at this Conjuncture, all Caufes con- spiring, they will break out with more Violence, and put the whole Body of the Waters into a tu- multuary Motion. I do not fee any Occafion, at this Time, for high Winds ; neither can I think a Superficial Agitation of the Waves would anfwer this Phenomenon; but 'tis ra- ther from Contortions in the Bowels of the Ocean, which make it roar, as it were, for Pain. Some Caufes impelling the Waters one Way, and fome another, make inteftine Strug- lings, and contrary Motions; from whence pro- ceed unufual Noifes, and fuch a troubled State of the Waters, as does not only make the Sea in- navigable, but alfo mikes Terror into all the ma- ritime Inhabitants, that live within the View or Sound of it. So much for the Earth and Sea. The Face of the Heavens alfo will be changed in divers Refpe&s ; the Sun and the Moon darken'd, or of a bloody or pale Countenance ; the ce- leftial Powers fhaken, and the Stars unlettled 138 The Theory of the Earth. in their Orbs. As to the Sun and Moon, their Objuration or Change of Colour is no more than what happens commonly before the Erup- tion of a fiery Mountain. ^Dion CaJJius, you fee, hath taken notice of it in that Eruption oi<^yEtna which he defcribes; and others upon the like Oc- casions in Vefuvius. And 'tis a Thing of eafy Explication; for, according as the Atmofphere is more or left clear or turbid, the Luminaries are more or lefs con(picuous; and, according to the Nature of thofe Fumes, or Exhalations that fvvim in the Air, the Face of the Sun is difcolour'd fometimes one Way, fometimcs another. You fee, in an ordinaiy Experiment, when we look upon one another through the Fumes of Sul- phur, we appear pale like fo many Ghofts ; and in fome foggy Days, the Sun hangs in the Fir- mament as a Lump of Blood : And both the Sun and Moon, at their Rifing, when their Light comes to us through the thick Vapours of the Earth, are red and fiery. Thefe are not Changes wrought in the Subftance of the Luminaries, but in the Modifications of their Light, as it flows to us : For Colours are but Light in a Sort of Difguile ; as it paiTes through Mediums of different Qualities, it takes different Forms, but the Matter is {till the fame, and returns to its Simplicity, when it comes again into a pure Air. Now the Air may be changed and corrupted to a great Degree, tho' there appear no vifible Change to our Eye. This is manifeft from in- fectious Airs, and the Changes of the Air be- fore Concerning the Conflagration. 139 fore Storms and Rains, which we feel common- ly fooner than we fee, and fome other Creatures perceive much fooner than we do. Tis no' Won- der then, if, before this mighty Storm, the Difpo- fitions of the Air be quite alter'd; cfpecially if we confider, what we have fo often noted before, that there will be a great Abundance of Fumes and Exhalations, thro' the whole Atmofphere of the Earth, before the laft Fire breaks out, where- by the Light of the Sun may be tin&ur'd in fe- veral Ways : And laftly, it may be fo order'd providentially that the Body of the Sun may con- trad at that Time fome Spots, or Macula, far greater than uiual, and by that means be really darkened, not to us only, but to all the neigh- bouring Planets: And this will have a proporti- onable Effed upon the Moon too, for the Dimi- nution of her Light: So that upon all Suppofi- tions, thefe Phenomena are very intelligible, if not necelTary Forerunners of the Conflagration. The next Sign given us, is, that the Powers of Heaven will be Jhaken. By the Heavens in this Place is either underftood the Planeta- ry Heavens, or that of the fxd Stars ; but this latter being vaftly diftant from the Earth, can- not be really affected by the Conflagration j nor the Powers of it, that is, its Motion, or the Bodies contained in it, any ways fhaken or diforder'd. But, in Appearance, thefe cele- ftial Bodies may feem to be fhaken, and their Motions diforder'd j as in a Tempeft by Night, when the Ship is tofs'd with contrary and un- certain Motions, the Heavens feem to fluctuate over i4o The Theory of the Earth. over our Heads, and the Stars to reel to and fro, when the Motion is only in our own Vef- fel : So pofiibly the uncertain Motions of the Atmofphere, and fometimes of the Earth it felf, may fo vary the Sight and Afped of this ftarry Canopy, that it may feem to ihake and tremble. • But if we understand this of the planetary Hea- vens, they may really be fhaken ; Providence either ordering ibme great Changes in the other Planers, previoufly to the Conflagration of our Planet ; as, 'tis probable, there was a great Change in Venus at the Time of our ^Deluge : Or the great Shakings and Concufllons of our Globe at that Time, affecting fome of the neighbouring Orbs, or at lead that of the Moon, may caufe Anomalies and Irregularities in their Motions. But the Senfe that I mould pitch upon chiefly for explaining this Phrafe of Jhaktng the Powers of Heaven, comprehends, in a good meafure, both thefe Heavens of the fix d Stars and of the Pla- nets : Tis that Change of Situation in the Axis of the Earth, which we have formerly mention'd, whereby the Stars will feem to change their Places, and the whole Univerfe to take another Pofture. This is fuffidently known to thofe that know the different Confequences of a ftrau or oblique Pofture of the Earth. And as the Heavens and the Earth were, in this Senfe, once fhaken, be- fore, namely, at the Deluge, when they loft their firft Situation ; fo now they will be fhaken again, and thereby return to the Pofture they had before that firft Concuftion. And this Concerning the Conflagration. i+t this I take to be the true literal Senfe of the Pro- phet Haggai, repeated by St. 'Paul, (Ch. ii. 6. and Heb. xii. 26,) Tet once more I Jhake not the Earth only, but alfo Heaven. The Jaft Sign we mall take Notice of, is that of falling Stars. And the Stars Jhall fall from Heaven, lays our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 29. We are fure, from the Nature of the Thing, that this cannot be undcrftood either of hYd Stars, or Planets 5 for if either of thefe mould tumble from the Skies, and reach the Earth, they would break it all in Pieces or (wallow it up, as the Sea does a finking Ship 5 and at the fame Time would put all the inferior Univerfe into Confufion. It is necellary therefore, by thefe Stars, to under- ftand eithet fiery Meteors falling from the Middle Region of the Air, or Comets and Blazing Stars. No doubt, there will be all forts of fiery Meteors at that Time* and, amongft others, thofe that arc call'd falling Stars ; which, tho' they are not confiderable fingly, yet if they were multiplied in great Numbers, falling (as the Prophet fays, Ifa. xxxiv. 4.) as Leafs from the Vine, or Figs from the Fig-tree, they would make an aftonifhing Sight. But, I think, this Exprellion does chiefly refer to Comets, which are dead Stars, and may truly be faid to fall from Heaven, when they leave their Seats above, and thofe a'thercal Re- gions wherein they were fix'd, and fink into this lower World ; where they wander about with a Blaze in their Tail, or a Flame about their Head, as if they came on purpofe to be the MelTengcrs of fome fiery Vengeance. If Numbers 142 The Theory of the Earth. Numbers of thefe blazing Stars fhould fall into our Heaven together, they would make a dreadful and formidable Appearance ; and, I am apt to think, that Providence hath fo contriv'd the Peri- ods of their Motion, that there will be an unufual Concourfe of them at that Time, within the View of the Earth, to be a Prelude to this laft and mod tragical Scene of the fublunary World. I do not know any more in Scripture relating to the laft Fire, that, upon the Grounds laid down in this Difcourfe, may not receive a fatis- factory Explication. It reaches beyond the Signs before- mention'd to the higheft Expreflions of Scripture: as, Lakes of Fire and Brimftone, a molten Sea mingled with Fire, the Liquefaction of Mountains, and of the Earth it felf. We need not now look upon thefe Things as hyper- bolical, and poetical Strains*, but as barefae'd Prophefies, and Things that will literally come to pafs as they are predicted. One thing more will be expected in a juft Hypothefis, or The- ory of the Conflagration ; namely, that it fhould anfwer, not only all the Conditions and Characters belonging to the laft Fire, but fhould alfo make Way, and lay the Foundation of another World to fucceed this, or of new Hea- vens and a new Earth: For St. 'Peter hath taught this Doctrine of the Renovation of the World, as pofitively and exprefly as that of its Conflagration ; and therefore they that fo ex- plain the Deftruction of the prefent World, as to leave it afterwards in an eternal Rubbifh, without any Hopes of Reftoration, do not an- fwer Concerning the Conflagr ation^ 143 fwer the Chriftian Doctrine concerning ir. But as to our Hypothecs, we are willing to ftand this farther Trial, and be accountable for the Confe- quences of the Conflagration, as well as the An-J tecedenrs and Manner of ir. And we have ac- cordingly, in the following Book, from the Allies of this, raifed a New Earth, which we leave to the Enjoyment of the Readers. In the mean time, to clofe our Difcourfe, we will bid fare- well to the prefent World, in a ihort Review of its laft Flames. ! & Let us be Adventurers for another World ; 'tis, at lealt, a fair and noble Chance • and there is nothing in this, worth our Thoughts, or our Paffions. If we fhould be difappointed, wc are. (till no worfe than the reft of our Fellow- Mortals i Concerning the Conflagration. \6$ Mortals ; and if we fuccecd in our Expectations, we are eternally happy. For my Part, I cannot be perfuaded, that any Man, of atbeiftical Inclinations, can have a great and generous Soul ; for there is nothing great in the World, if you take God out of it : There- fore, fuch a Person can have no great Thought, can have no great Aims, or Expectations, oc Deltgns : For all mult lie within the Compafs of this Life, and of this dull Body. Neither can he have any great Inftincts or noble Pafllons ; for if he had, they would naturally excite in him greater Ideas, infpire him with higher No- tions, and open the Scenes of the intellectual "World. Laftly, he cannot have any great Senfe of Order, Wifdom, Goodnefs, Providence, or any of the divine Perfections : And thefe are the greateft Things that can enter into the Thoughts of Man, and that do molt enlarge and ennoble his Mind. And therefore I fay again, that he that is naturally inclined to Athcifm, being alio naturally deftitute of all thefe, mult have a little and narrow Soul. But you'll fay, it may be, this is to expoftu- late, rather than to prove : or to upbraid us with our Make and Temper, rather than to convince us of an Error in Speculation. 'Tis an Error, it may be, in Practice, or in Point of Prudence ; but we feek Truth, whether it make for us, or againft us : Convince us therefore by juft Reafoning and direct Arguments, that there is a God, and then we'll endeavour to correct thefe Defects in our natural Com- M 3 plexion. 1 66 The Theory of the Earth. plexion. You fay well 3 and therefore I have enckavour'd to do this before, in another Part of this Theory, in the fecond Book, ch. n. con- cerning the Author of Nature : Where you may fee, that the Powers of Nature, or of the mate- rial World, cannot anfwer all the Phenomena of the Univeric, which are there reprefented. This you may confult at Leifure : But in the mean Time, 'tis a good Perfuafive why we fhould not eafily give our felves up to fuch Inclinations or Opinions, as have neither Generofity nor Pru- dence on their Side. And it cannot be amift, that thele Perions fhould often take into their Thoughts this laft Scene of Things, the Conflagra- tion of the World : Seeing if there be a God, they will certainly be found in the Number of his Enemies, and of thofe that will have their Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimftone. The third Sort of Perfons that we are to fpeak to, are the Incredulous, or fuch as do not believe the Truth of Chriftian Religion, though they believe there is a God. Thefe are com- monly Men of Wit and Pleafure, that have not Patience enough to confider, cooly and in due Order, the Grounds upon which it appears that Chriftian Religion is from Heaven, and of divine Authority. They ought, in the firft Place, to examine Matter of FacJ, and the Hiftory of our Saviour : That there was fuch a Perfon, in the Reigns of Auguftus and Tiberius, that wrought fuch and fuch Miracles in Judea 5 taught fuch a Doctrine ; was cru- cified Concerning the Conflagration. 167 cined at Jerufalem ; 10 fe from the Dead the third Day, and vifibly afcended into Heaven. If thefe Matters of Fact be denied, then the Controverfy turns only to an hiftorical Queftion, Whether the Evangelical Hiftory be a fabulous, or true Hiftory ? which it would not be proper to examine in this Place. But if Matter of Fact recorded there, and in the Acts of the Apoftlcs, and the firft Ages of Chriftianity, be acknow- ledged, as I fuppofe it is, then the Queftion that remains is this, Whether fuch Matter of Fact does not fufficiently prove the divine Authority of Jefus Chrift and of his Doctrine ? We fuppofe it poflible, for a Perfon to have fuch Teftimonials of divine Authority, as may be fufficient to con- vince Mankind, or the more reafonable Part of Mankind ; and if that be poflible, what, pray, is wanting in the Teftimonies of Jefus Chrift ? The Prophecies of the old Teftament bear Wit- nefs to him : His Birth was a Miracle, and his Life a Train of Miracles ; not wrought out of Levity and vain Oftentation, but for ufeful and charitable Purpofes : His Doctrine and- Mo- rality not only blamelefs, but noble ; defigned to remove out of the World the imperfect Religion of the Jews, and the falie Religion of the Gen- tiles ; all Idolatry and Superftition, and thereby improve Mankind, under a better and more perfect Difpenfation. He gave an Example of a fpotlels Innocency in all his Convcrfation, free from Vice or any Evil ; and liv'd in a Neglect pf all the Pomp or Pleafures of this Life, re- M 4 ferring 1 68 The Theory of the Earth. ferring his Happinefs wholjy to another World. Heprophefted concerning his own Death, and his Refurrection ; and concerning the Deftru&ion of J&rufalem ; which all came to pafs in a fignal Manner : He ajfo prophcfied of the Succefsof his Gofpel ; which, after his Death, immediately took Root, and fpread itielf every Way throughout the World, maugre all Oppofuion or Perfecution from Jens or Heathens'. It was not fupported by any temporal Power for above three hundred Years : nor were any Arts ufed, or Meafures ta- ken, according to human Pri:jknce, for the Con- iervation of it. But, to omit other Things, that grand Article of his rifing from the Dead, amend- ing vifibly into Heaven, and pouring down the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghoft, (according as he had promis'd) upon his Apoftles and their Fol- lower? ; this alone is to me a Demonftration of his divine Authority. To conquer Death, to mount, like an Eagle, into the Skies, and to in- fpire his Followers with inimitable Gifts and Facul- ties, are Things, without Controversy, beyond all human Power 5 and may and ought to beefkem'd fure Credentials of a Perfbn fentfrom Heaven. From thele Matters of Fact we have all pof- fjble AlTurance, that Jefus Chrift was no Impoftor or deluded Perfon 5 (one of which two Charac- ters all Unbelievers mud fix upon him) but com- miflion'd by Heaven to introduce a new Religi- on ; to reform the World, to remove Judatfin and Idolatry 5 the beloved Son of God, the great Prophet of the later Ages, the true Meillah that was to come. It Concerning the Conflagration. T69 It may be, you will confefs, that thefe arc great Arguments, that the Author of our Reli^ gion was a divine Perfon, and had fupernaturai Powers : But withal, that there are fo many Difficulties in Chriftian Religion, and fo many Things unintelligible, that a rational Man knows not how to believe it, though he be inclined to admire the Perfon of Jefus Chrift. 1 anfwer, if they be fuch Difficulties as are made only by the Schools and difputacious Doctors, you are not to trouble your felf abqut them, for they are of no Authority : But if they be in the very Words of Scripture, then 'tis either in Things practical, or in Things merely fpeculative. As to the Rules of Practice in Chriftian Religion, I do not know any Thing in Scripture oblcure . or unintelligible ; and as to Speculations, great Discretion and Moderation is to be ufed in the Conduct: of them. If thefe Matters of Fact, which we have alledged, prove the Divinity of the Revelation, keep clofe to the Words of that Revelation, aliening no more than it alTerts, and you cannot err : But if you will expatiate, and determine Modes, and Forms, and Confe- quences, you may eafily be puzled by your own Forwardness. For befides fome Things that are in their own Nature infinite and incomprehen- sible, there are many other Things in Chrittiart Religion, that are incompleatly revealed ; the full Knowledge whereof, it has pleafed God to referve to another Life, and to give us only a fummary Account of them at prefent. We have fo much Deference for any Government, as not to- expect 170 The Theory of the Earth. expect that all their Counfels and Secrets mould be made known to us, nor to cenfure every Acti- on, whofe Reafons we do not fully comprehend; much more in the providential Adminiftration of a World, we muft be content to know fo much of the Counfels of Heaven and of fupernatural Truths, as God has thought fit to reveal to us. And if thefe Truths be no otherwife than in a general Manner, fummarily and incompletely revealed in this Life, as commonly they are, we muft not therefore throw off the Government, or reject the whole Difpenfation ; of whofe divine Authority we have otherways full Proof, and fatisfactory Evidence : For this would be, to lofe the Sub- fiance in catching at a Shadow. But Men that live continually in the Noife of the World, amidft Buftnefs, and Pleafures, their Time is commonly fhar'd betwixt thofe two, fo that little or nothing is left for Meditation $ at leaft, not enough for fuch Meditations as require Length, Juftnefs, and Order, They mould retire from the Crowd for one Month or two, to ftudy the Truth of Chriftian Religion, if they have any Doubt of it. They retire fometimes to cure a Gout, or other Difeafe, and diet themfelves according to Rule 5 but they will not be at that Pains, to cure a Difeafe ot the Mind, which is of far greater, and more fatal Ccnfequence. If they perifli by their own Negligence or Obftinacy, the Phyfician is not to blame. Burning is the laft Remedy in fome Diftempers 5 and they would do well to remember, that the World will flame about their Heads one of thefe Days ; and whether they be Concerning the Conflagration. 171 be amongft the Living, or amongft the Dead, at that Time, the Apoftle makes them a Part of the Fewel, which that fiery Vengeance will prey upon. Our Saviour hath been true to his Word hitherto j whether in his Promifes, or in his Threatnings. He promis'd the Apoftles to lend down the Holy Ghoft upon them alter his Afcen- fion, and that was fully accomplifh'd : He fore- told, apd threaten d the Deftrudionof Jerufalcmi and that came to pafs accordingly, foon after he had left the World : And he hath toid us alio, that he will come again in the Clouds of Heaven, Matt, xx iv. 30. with 'Power and great Glory ; and, xxv. 32. &c. and that will be to judge the World. When the Son of Man flail, come tn his Glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then flail he fit upon the Throne of his Glory : and before him flail be gathered all Nations ; and he will feparate the Good from the Bad ; and to the Wicked and Unbelievers he will lay, Ver. 41. 'Depart from me, ye Cur fed, into ever lofting Fire, prepared for the 'Devil and his Angels. This is the fame Coming, and the fame Fire, with that which we mentioned before out of St. Taul, 2 Thejf. i. 7, 8, 9 ; as you will plainly fee, if you compare Saint Matthew's Words with Saint Paul's, which are thefe, When the Lord Jefus flail be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming fire, taking Vengeance o?i them that know not God, and that hearken not to the Gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift : Who [hall be pmifl'd with everlafting DeftrucJion, from, or by, the Trefence of the Lord, and the Glory 172 The Theory of the Earth. Glory of his Tower. This, methinks, fhould be an awakening Thought, that there is fuch a Threatning upon Record (by one who never yet failed in his Word) againft thofe that do not believe his Teftimony. Thofe that re j eel: him now as a Dupe, or an Impoftor, run a Hazard of feeing him hereafter coming in the Clouds to be their Judge. And it will be too late then to correct their Error, when the bright Armies of Angels fill the Air 9 and the Earth begins to melt at the Prcfcnce of the Lord. 1 hus much concerning thofe three Ranks of .Men, whom the Apoftle Saint JPaul feems to point at principally, and condemn to the Flames. But, as I . faid before, the reft of Sinners, and vicious Pcrfons, amongft the Profeflbrs of Chriftianity, though they are not fo directly the Enemies of God, as thefe arc ; yet being TranfgreiTbrs of his Law, they mult expect to be brought to Juftice. In every well-govern'd State, not only Traitors and Rebels that of- fend more immediately againft the Perfon of the Prince ; but all others, that notorioufly violate the Laws, are brought to condign Pu- nifhment, according to the Nature and De* gree of their Crime : So in this Cafe, The Fire Jh all try every Man's Work, of what Sort it is. Tis therefore the Concern of every Man, to reflect often upon that Day, and to confider what his Fate and Sentence is likely to be, at that J aft Trial. The Jews have a Tradition, that Elias fits in Heaven, and keeps a Rcgiftcr of all Mens Actions, good or bad. Ke Concerning the Conflagration. 173 He hath his Under-Secretaries for the feveral Nations of the World, that take Minutes of all that paiics ; and lo hath the Hiftory of every Man's Life l-uore him, ready to be produe'd at the D*y of Judg- ment. I will not vouch for the literal Truth of this, but it is true in Effect: Every Man's Fate fhail be determined that Day, according to the Hiftory of his Life; according to the Works done in the Flefh, whether good or bad. And, theielore, it ought to have as much Influence upon us, as if every ftngie Action was formally regifter'd in Heaven. If Men would learn to contemn this World, it would cure a great m^ny Vices at once. And, methinks, St. Peter's Argument, from the ap- proaching DiiTolution of all Things, fhould put us out of Conceit with fuch perifhing Vanities. Luft and Ambition are the two reigning Vices of great Men ; and thofe little Fires might be foon extinguifhed, if they would frequently and ferioufly meditate on this laft and univerfai Fire, which will put an End to all Paflions, and all Conten- tions. As to Ambition, the Heathens thcmfelves made ufe of this Argument, to abate and rcprefs the vain Affectation of Glory and Greatnefs in this World. I told you before, the LelTon that was given to Scipio Africanm, by his Uncle's Ghoft, upon this Subject : And upon a like Occafion and Conftderation, Cafar hath a LeiTon given him by Lucan, after the Battle of Pharfalia 5 where c Pompey loft the Day, and Rome its Liberty. The Poet fays, defar took Pleafure in looking upon the dead Bodies, ajid 174- The Theory of the Earth. and would not fuffer them to be buried, or,' which was their Manner of burying, to be burnt : Whereupon he fpeaks to him in thefe Words. JJtoSy C;esar, populos fi nunc non ujjhrit Ignis, Uretcum ferns, uret cumgurgite \Ponti. Communis mando fuperefl- rogus, OJJibus aflra Mifiurus. guocunque Tmm Fort una vocal? it, H 6 N: Printed for J. Hooke, in Fleet- Street, PREFACE T O T H E READER ?\0U fee it is ft ill my Lot to travel into new Worlds, having never found any great Satisfaction i?i this : As an active People leaves their Habita- tions in a barren Soil, to try if they can make their Fortune better elfewhere. 1 fir ft look'd backwards, and waded through the 'Deluge, into the primaval World, to fee how they lived there, and how Nature flood in that original Con- ft it ut ion. Now I am going forwards, to view the new Heavens and new Earth, that will be after the Conflagration. But, gentle Reader let me not take you any farther, if you be weary ; / do not love a querulous Companion : Unlcfs your Genius therefore prefs you forwards, chufe ra- ther to reft here, and be content with that Tart of the Theory which you have feen already. Is it not fair to have followed Nature fo far, as N to The PREFACE. to have feen her twice in her Ruins ? 'Why (hould we flill purfue her, even after 'Death and "Diffolution, into dark and remote Futurities ? To whom therefore fuch c Difquifitions feem need- It fs, or over-curious,- let them reft here ; and leave the Remainder oj this Work, which is a kind of Prophecy concerning the State of things after the Conflagration, to thofe that are of a 'Difpofition fuited to fuch Studies and Enquiries. Not that any part of this Theory requires much Learning, Art, or Science, to be Mafter of it -, but a hove and Thirfl after Truth, Freedom of Judgment, and a Resignation of our Underftand- ings to clear Evidence. Let it carry us which way it will, an honefl Englifh Reader, that looks only at the Senfe as it lies before him, and neither confiders nor cares whether it be new or old, fo it be true, may be a more co?npetent Judge than a great Scholar full of his own Notions, and puffed up with the Opinion of his mighty Knowledge ; for fitch Men think they cannot in Honour own any thing to be true, which they did not know before. To be taught any new Knowledge, is to confefs their former Ignorance ; and that lejjens them in their own Opinion, and } as they think, in the Opinion of the World, which are both uneafy Reflections to them. Neither mitfl we depend upon Age only for Soundnefs of Judg- ment : Mat in difcovering and owning Truth feldom change their Opinions after threefcore, efpecially if they be leading Opinions : It is then too late, we think, to begin the World again, and as we grow eld, the Heart con- tracts, The PREFACE. tratfs, and cannot open wide enough to take in a great Thought. the Spheres of Mens Under (landings are as dif- ferent y as Profpecls upon the Earth : Some fl and upon a Rock or a Mountain, and fee far round about ; others are in an Hollow, or in a Cave, and have no Tro/pecJ at all. Some Men confider nothing but what is prefent to their Senfes -, others extend their Thoughts both to what is pafl, and what is future : And yet the fair eft 'ProfpecJ in this Life is not to be compafd to the leaf we Jhall have in another. Our cleareft T>ay here is mifty and hazy ; we fee not far, and what we do fee, is in a bad Light : But when we have got better Bodies in the fir ft Refurreclion, whereof we are going to treat 5 better Senfes and a better Under- ftanding, a clearer Light and an higher Station, our Horizon will be enlarged every Way, both as to the natural World, and as to the intellectual. Two of the greateft Speculations that we are capable of in this Life, are, in my Opinion^ The REVOLUTION OF WORLT>S, and the REVOLUTION OF SOULS, one for the material World, and the other for the intel- lectual. Toward the former of thefe, our Theory is an Ejjay ; arid in this our Vianet, (which I hope to conducl into a fixed Star, before I have done with it) we give an Inftance of what may be in other Planets. 'Tis true, we took our Rife no higher than the Chaos y becaufe that was a known Principle, and we were not willing to amufe the Reader with too many ft range Sto- ries 5 as that, I am fare would have been N 2 thought The PREFACE. thought one, TO HAVE brought this Earth from a fixed Star, and then earned it up again into the fame Sphere -, which yet, I believe, is the true Circle of natural 'Providence. As to the Revolution of Souls, the Footfleps of that Speculation are more obfeure than of the former ; for though we are ajfufd by Scripture, that all good Souls will at length have cxleftial Bodies -, yet, that this is a returning to a pri- mitive State, or to what they had at their fir/l Creation, that Scripture has not acquainted us with : It tells us indeed, that Angels fell from their primitive coeleftial Glory ; and confequently we might be capable of a Lapfe as well as they, if we had been in that high Condition with them 5 but that we ever were there, is not declared to us by any Revelation. Reafon and Morality would indeed fuggefl to us, that an innocent Soul, frejh and pure from the Hands of its Maker, could not be i?nmediately caft into Prifon, before it had, by any Act of its own JVill, or any Ufe of its own Underftanding, committed either Error or Sin. I call this Body a Prifon, both becaufe it is a Confinement and Reflraint upon our beft Faculties and Capacities, and is alfo the Seat of c Difeafes and Lcathfomnefs -, and, as Prifons ufe to do, commonly tends more to debauch Mens Natures, than to improve them. But though we cannot certainly tell under what Circumflances human Souls were plac'd at firft, yet all Antiquity agrees, • Oriental and Occidental, coyicerning their Pra-exiflence in cneral, in Refpefi of thefe mortal Bodies : And The PREFACE. And our Saviour never reproaches or corrects the Jews, when they fpeak upon that Suppofition, Luke ix. is, ig> John ix. 2. Be fides, it ft ems to me beyond all Controverfy, that the Soul of the Meffiah did exift before the Incarnation, and vo- luntarily d fc ended from Heaven to take upon it a mortal Body. And though it does not appear that all human Souls were at fir ft placed in Glory, yet, from the Example of our Saviour, we fee fomcthing greater in them -, namely, a Capacity to be wilted to the Godhead, John iii. 13. and\\. 3 S. and 62. and xvii. 5. And what is pcjjibleto one, is poffible to more. But thefe Thoughts are too high for us, while we find our f elves united to no- thing but difeafed Bodies and Houfes of Clay. The great eft Fault we can commit, in fitch Specu- lations, is to be over pofitive and dogmatical : To be inquifttive into the IVays of Providence arid the Works of God, is fo far from being a Fault that it is our grcateft Perfe&ion : We cultivate the high eft ^Principles ayid befl Inclinations of our Mature, while we are thus employ'd ; and 'tis Littlencfs or Secular ity of Spirit, that is the greateft Enemy to Contemplation. Thofe that would have a true Contempt of this World, muft fiiffer the Soul to be fometimcs upon the Wing, and, to raife herfelf above the Sight of this little dark Point, which we now inhabit. Give her a large and\ree Trofpecl of the hnmenftty of God's Works, and of his inexhaufted Wifdom and Goodnefs, if you would make her great and good ; as the warm Thilofopher fays, N ; Give The PREFACE Give me a Soul fo great, fo high, Let her Dimenfions ftretch the Sky 5 That comprehends within a Thought, The whole Extent, 'twixt God and Nought 3 And from the World's firft Birth and Date, Its Life and Death can calculate, With all th' Adventures that mall pafs, To ev'ry Atom of the Mafs. But let her be as Good as Great, Her higheft Throne a Mercy- Seat ; Soft and diilblving like a Cloud, Lofing herielf in doing Good 5 A Cloud that leaves its Place Above, Rather than dry and ufelefs move, Falls in a Shower upon the Earth, And gives ten thoufand Seeds a Birth j Hangs on the Flow 'rs, and infant Plants, Sucks not their Sweets, but feeds their Wants So let this mighty Mind difFufe, All that's her own to others Ufe ; And, free from private Ends, retain Nothing of Self, but a bare Name. THE THE THEORY O F T H E EARTH. BOOK IV. Concerning the New Heavens and New Earth, AND Concerning the Confummation of all Things. CHAP. I. The Introduction -, That the World will not be annihilated in the lafl Fire : That we are to expeffi, according to Scripture and the Chri/lian 'DoEirine, new Heavens and a new Earth, when thefe are diffolvd or burnt up, E are now lb far advanc'd in the Theory of the Earth, as to have feen the End of two Worlds 5 one deftroy'd by Wa- ter, and another by Fire. It remains only to confider, whether we be yet come to the N 4 final 184 The Theory of the Earth. - final Period of Nature ; the laft Scene of all Things, an4 confequcntly the utmoft Bound of our En- quiries : Or, whether Providence, which is inex- haullcd in Wifdom and Goodnefs, will raife up, from this dead JVlafs, new Heavens and a new Earth ; another habitable World, better and more perfect than that which was deftroyed : That, as the firft World began with a Paradife, and a State of Innocency j fo the laft may be a kind of Renovation of that happy State, whole Inha- bitants mall not die, but be tranflated to a blefled Immortality. I know 'tis the Opinion of fome, that this World will be annihilated, or redue'd to no- thing, at the Conflagration, and that would put an End to all farther Enquiries. But whence do they learn this ? From Scripture or Reafon, or their own Imagination ? What Inftance or Example can they give us of this thty call Anni- hilation j? Or what Place of Scripture can they produce, that fays, the World, in the laft Fire, fhall be redue'd to nothing ? If they have nei- ther Inftance nor Proof of what they affirm, 'tis an empty Imagination of their own, nei- ther agreeable to Philofophy, nor Divinity : Fire does not confume any Subftance * it changes the Form and Qualities of it, but the Matter remains- And if the Dellgn had been Annihi- /ation, the employing of Fire would have been of no Ufe or Effect : For Smoke and Allies are at as great a Diftance from Nothing, as the Bodies themfelves out of which they are made. But thefe Authors feem to have but a ima'l Tincture Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 185 Tincture of Philoibphy, and therefore it will be more proper to confute their Opinion from the Words of Scripture, which hath left us luf- flcient Evidence, that another World will fuc- ceed after the Conflagration or that we now inhabit. The Prophets, both of the Old and New Teftament, have left us their Predictions con- cerning new Heavens and a new Earth. So fays the Prophet Ifaiah, ch. lxv. 1 7. Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth, and the former (hall not be remembered, or come into Mind $ as not worthy our Thoughts, in comparifon of thofc that will arife when theie pais away. So the Prophet St. John in his Apocalypfe, when he was come to the End of this World, lays, And I faw a new Heaven ayid a new Earth : For the firft Heaven and the fir ft Earth were pajfed away, and there was no more Sea, Apoc. xxi. 1 . Where he does not only give us an Account of a new Heaven and a new Earth in general -, but alfo gives a diftinctive Character of the new Earth, that it fhail have no Sea. And in the 5 th Verfe, he that fate upon the Throne lays, Behold I make all Things new : which, confider'd with the Antece- dents and Confequents, cannot be otherwifc un- derftood than of a new World. But fome Men make Evaiions here, as to the Words of the Prophets, and fay, they are to be underftood in a figurative and allegorical Senfe ; and to be apply'd to the Times of the Gofpel, either at 'firft or towards the latter End of the World $ fo as this new Heaven and new Earthy iS6 The Theory of the Earth. Earth, fignify only a great Change in the moral World. But how can that be, feeing St. John places them after the End of the World ? And the Prophet lfaiah connects fuch Things with his new Heavens and new Earth, as are not compatible to the prefent State of Nature, ch. lxv. However, to avoid all Shuffling and Tergiverfation in this Point, let us appeal to St. Peter, who ufes a plain literal Style, and difcourfes downright concerning the natural World. In his 2d Epift. and 3d Chap. when he had foretold and explained the future Conflagration, he adds, But we expeel: new Hea- vens and a new Earth \ according to his Promifes. Thefe Promifes were made by the Prophets 5 and this gives us full Authority to interpret their new Heavens and new Earth to be after the Conflagra- tion. St. Peter, when he had defcrib'd the Dif- folution of the World in the laft Fire, in full and emphatical Terms, as the pajjing away the Hea- vens with a Noife 5 the melting of the Elements, and bnrrimg up all the Works of the Earth 5 he fubjoins, Neverthelefs (notwithftanding this total DitTolution of the prefent World) we, according to his 'Promifes, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Right eoufnefs. As if the Apoftie mould have faid, Notwithftanding this ftrange and violent DitTolution of the prefent Hea- vens and Earth, which 1 have defcrib'd to you, we do not at all diftruft God's Promifes, con- cerning new Heavens and a new Earth, that are to fucceed thefe, and to be the Seat of the Righ- teous. Here's Concerning the new Heavens > &c. 187 Here's no room for Allegories, or allegorical Ex- pofitions, unlefs you will make the Conflagration of the World an Allegory : For, as Heavens and Earth were deftroyed, fo Heavens and Earth are reftored ; and if, in the firft Place, you underftand the natural material World, you muft alfo under- ftand it in the fecond Place 5 they are both Allego- ries, or neither. But to make the Conflagration an Allegory, is not only to contradict St. 'Peter, but all Antiquity, facred or prophane. And I defire no more Aflurance, that we mail have new Heavens and a new Earth, in a literal Sen(e, than we have that the prefent Heavens and Earth fhall be deftroyed in a literal Senfe, and by material Fire : Let it therefore reft upon that Iftlie, as to the firft Evidence and Argument from Scripture. Some will fancy, it may be, that we fliall have new Heavens and Earth, and vet that thefe fhall be annihilated : They would have thefe firft re- due'd to nothing, and then others created, fpick and fpan new, out of nothing. But why fo, pray, what's the Humour of that ? Left Omni- potency fhould want Employment, you would have it to do, and undo, and do again ; as if new-made Matter, like new Cloaths, or new Furniture, had a better Glofs, and was more credible. Matter never wears 5 as fine Gold, melt it down never fo often, it lofes nothing of its Quantity : The Subftance of the World is the fame, burnt or unburnt, and is of the fame Value and Virtue, new or old ; and we muft not multiply the Actions of Omnipotency with- out Neceillty. God does not make, or unmake things, iS8 The Theory of the Earth. things, to try Experiments : He knows before- hand the utmoft Capacities of every thing, and does no vain or fuperfluous Work. Such Imagi- nations as thefe, proceed only from want of true Philofophy, or the true Knowledge of the Nature of God and of his Works, which iliould always be carefully attended to in fuch Specuiaiions as con- cern the natural World. But to proceed in our Subject If they fuppofc Part of the World to be anni- hilated, and to continue fo, they philofophize Hill worfe and worfe : How high fliall the Annihila- tion reach ? Shall the Sun, Moon, and Stars be reduc'd to nothing? But what have they done, that they mould undergo fo hard a Fate ? Muft they be turnd out of Being for our Faults ? The whole material Univerfc will not be annihilated at this Bout, for we are to have Bodies after the Refur- re&ion, and to live in Heaven. How much of the Univerfe then will you leave (landing ? or how mall it fubfift with this great Vacuum in the Heart of it ? This Shell of a W^orld is but the Fiction of an empty Brain; for God and Nature, in their Works, never admit of fuch gaping Vacuities and Empti- neiTes. If we confult Scripture again, we fhall find that that makes mention of a Re ft it ut ion 2^6. Revivify cency of all Things, at the End of the World, or at the Coming of our Saviour. St. 'Peter, whole Doctrine we have hitherto followed, in his Ser- mon to the yews, after our Saviour's Afcenfion, tells them, that he will come again, and that there will be then a Refiitution of all Things, fuch as was Concerning the new Heavens, &c. is$jf was promifed by the Prophets. The Heavens, fays he, mttfi receive him until the Time of Reftitution of all Things i which God hath /poken by the Mouth of his holy Prophets, fince the World began, Ads iii. 21. If we compare this PalTagc of Saint Jeter's, with that which we alledged before, out of his Second Epiftle, it can fcarce be doubted but that he refers to the fame Promises in both Places; and what he there calls a new Heaven, and a new Earth, he calls here a Reftitution of all Things : For the Heavens and the Earth comprehend all, and both thefe are but different Phrafes for the Renovation of the World. This gives us alfo Light how to underftand what our Saviour calls the Regenera- tion or Revivifcency, when he fhall fit upon his Throne of Glory, and will reward his Follow- ers an hundred- fold, for all their Lolles in this World, befides everlafting Life, as the Crown of all, Mat. xix. 28, 29. I know, in our Englijh Tranflation, we feparate the Regeneration from fitting upon his Throne, but without any Warrant from the Original. And feeing our Saviour (peaks here of bodily Goods, and feems to diftinguifh them from everlafting Life, which is to be the final Reward of his Followers ; this Regeneration feems to belong to his Second Coming; when the World mall be renew'd or regenerated, and the Righteous fhall poflefs the Earth. Other Places of Scripture that foretel the Fate of this material World, reprefent it al- ways as a Change, not as an Annihilation. St. Paul fays, The Figure of this World pajfeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 3 1. The Form, Fafhion, and Difpo- r90 The Theory of the Earth. Difpofition of its Parts, but the Subftance ftill remains : As a Body that is melted down and diflblv'd, the Form perifhes, but the Matter is not deuroyed. And the Pfalmift fays, the Heavens and the Earth fhall be chang'd, Pfal. cii. 26. which anfwers to this Transformation we fpeak of. The fame Apoftle, in the eighth Chapter to the Romans, ver. 21, 22, 23, 24. fhews alfo, that this Change fhall be, and fhall be for the better, and calls it a 'Deliverance of the Creation fro?n Vanity and Corruption, and a Participation of the glorious Liberty of the Children of God 5 being a fort of Redemption, as they have a Re- demption of their Bodies. But feeing the Renovation of the World is a Dodrinc generally receiv'd, both by antient and modern Authors, as we (hall have Occafion to fhew hereafter, we need add no more, in this Place, for Confirmation of it. Some Men are wil- ling to throw all Things into a State of Nothing at the Conflagration, and bury them there, that they may not be oblig'd to give an Account of that State of things that is to fucceed it. Thofe who think themfelvcs bound in Honour to know every thing in Theology that is knowablc, and find it uneaiy to anfwer fuch Queftions and Speculations as would arife upon their admitting a new World, think it more advifable to ftifle it in the Birth, and fo to bound all Knowledge at the Confla- gration. But iurely fo far as Reafon or Scripture lead us, we may and ought to follow, otherwife we mould be ungrateful to Providence, that fent us thole Guides $ provided we be always duly fenfible Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 1 9 i fenfible of our own Weakncfs : And, according to the Difficulty of the Subject, and the' Meafure of Light that falls upon it, proceed with that Modefty and Ingenuity, that becomes fuch fallible Enquirers after Truth, as we are. And this Rule I defire to prefcribe to my felf, as in all other Writings, fo efpecially in this 5 where, though I look upon the principal Conclufions as fully prov'd, there are feveral Particulars, that are rather propos'd to Examination, than polltively atferted. io>.@ic> 33 CHAP. II. The Birth of the new Heavens and the new Earth, from thefecond Chaos, or the Remains of the old World : The Form, Order, and Qualities of the new Earth, according to Reafon and Scripture. HAving prov'd from Scripture, that we are to expect new Heavens, and a new Earth, after the Conflagration ; it would be fome Pleafure and Satisfaction to fee how this new Frame will arife, and what Foundation there is in Nature for the Accomplishment of thefe Promifes. For, though the Divine Power be not bound to all the Laws of Nature, but may difpenfe with them when there is a Ne- ceflity ; yet it is an Eafe to us in our Belief, when we fee them both confpire in the fame Effect. i9i The Theory of the Earth. Effect. And in order to this, we muft conflder irt what Pofture we left the demolifh'd World, what Hopes there are ofaReitauration. And we are not to be difeburag'd, becaufe we fee Things at prefent wrapt up in a confus'd Mafs j for, according to the Methods of Nature and Providence, in that dark Womb ufually are the Seeds and Rudiments of an Embryo- World. Neither is there, poflibly, fo great a Confufion, in this Mafs, as we imagine : The Heart, an inte- rior Body of the Earth, is mil entire ; and that Part of it that is conlum'd by the Fire, will be divi- ded, of its own accord, into two Regions. What is diffolv'd and melted, being the heavieft, will defcend as low as it can, arid cover and inclofe the Kernel of the Earth round about, as a molten Sea or Abyfs ; according as it is explained and fct clown in the precedent Book. But what is more light and volatile, will float in the Air ; as Fumes, Smoke, Exhalations, Vapours of Water, and what- soever terreftrial Parts can be elevated and fup- ported by the Strength of Fire. Thefe, all mingled together, of different Sizes, figures, and Motions, will conftitute an opake Cloud, or thick Region of Darknefs round the Earth ; ib as the Globe of the Earth, with its Atmofphere; after the Confla- gration is finimed, will ftand much- what in the Form reprefented in this Scheme. Now as to the lower of thefe two Regions, the Region of melted Matter, A. A. we iliall have little Occafion to take Notice of it ; feeing it will contribute nothing to the Formation of the new World. But the upper Region, or all above /*>/. 2 f/. lO% Jiaok . 4 Concerning the Nczv Heavens, &c. 193' above that Orb of Fire, is the true Draught of a Chaos; or a Mixture and Confufion of all the Elements, without Order or Diftinclion. Here are Particles of Earth, and of Air, and of Wa± ter, all promifcuouily jumbled together, by the Force and Agitation of the Fire. But when that Force ceafes, and every one is left to its own In- clination, they will, according to their different degrees of Gravity, feparate and fort themfelves after this manner : Firft, the heavieft and grofTeft Parts of the Earrh will fubfide, then the watery Parts will follow ; then a lighter fort Of Earth, which will flop, and reft upon the Surface of the Water, and compofe there a thin Film or Mem- brane. This Membrane or tender Orb is the firft Rudiment, or Foundation of a new habi- table Earth: For, according as terreftrial Parts fall upon it, from all the Regions and Heights of the Atmofphere, or of the Chaos, this Orb will grow more firm, ftrong, and immoveable, able to fupport it (elf and Inhabitants too. And having in it all the Principles of a fruitful Soil, whether for the Production of Plants, or of Ani- mals, it will want no Property or Character of an habitable Earth. And particularly, will be- come fuchan Earth, and of fuch a Form, as thefirft paradifaical Earth was, which hath been fully de- fcrib'd, in the firft and fecond Books of this Theory. There is no oceafion of examining more ac- curately the Formation of this fecond Earth, feeing it is fo much the fame with that of the firft ; which is fet down fully and diftin&Iy, in the fifth Chapter of the firft Book of this Book IV, O Theory. 194 The Theory of the Earth* Theory. Nature here repeats the fame Work* and in the lame Method 5 only the Materials are now a little more rcfind, and purg d by the Fire : They both rife out of a Chaos,' and that, in effed* the fame in both Cafes ; for though in forming the fnft Earth, I fuppos'd the Chaos or confus'd Mais, to reach down to the Center, I did that only for the Eafe of our Imagination ; that fo the whole Mafs might appear more ftmple and uni- form. But in reality, that Chaos had a folid Kernel of Earth within, as this hath 5 and that Matter which flu&uated above in the Regions of the Air, was the true Chaos, whofe Parts, when they came to a Separation, made the feverai Ele- ments, and the Form of an habitable Earth, be- twixt the Air and Water. This Chaos, upon Se- paration, will fall into the fame Form and Ele- ments; and fo, in like manner, create or confti- tute a fecond Faradifaical World. I fay, a Taradifaical World 5 for it appears plainly, that this new- form a Earth muft agree with that primigenial Earth, in the two prin- cipal and fundamental Properties. Firft, it is of an even, entire, uniform, and regular Sur- face, without Mountains or Sea. Secondly, that it hath a maight and regular Situation to the Sun, and the Axis of the Ecliptick. From the Manner of its Formation, it appears manifestly, that it muft be of an even and regular Surface. For the Orb of liquid Fire, upon which the flrft Defcent was made, being fmooth and uniform every where, the Matter that fell upon it would take the fame Form and Mould : And fo the fe- cond Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 19$' cond or third Region, that were fuperinduc'd± would mil imitate the Fafhion of the firft 5 there being no Caufe or Occafion of any Inequality. Then as to the Situation of its Axis, this Unifor- mity of Figure would determine the Center of its Gravity to be exactly in the Middle, and confe- quently there would be no Inclination of one Pole, more than another, to the general Center of its Motion; but, upon a free Libration in the li- quid Air, its Axis would lie parallel with the Axis of the Eciiptick where it moves. But thefe Things having been dedue'd more fully in the fe- cond Book about c Paradife and the primigenial Earth, they need no further Explication in this Place. If Scripture had left us feveral diftinct Cha- racters of the New Heavens, and the New Earth, we might, by comparing with thofe, have made a full Proof of our Hypothecs. One indeed St. John hath left us in very exprefs Terms; There was no Sea there, he fays : His Words are thefe : And I jaw a New Heaven, and a New Earthy for the firft Heaven and the firft Earth were paged away \ A NT> THERE WAS NO MORE SEA. This Character is very parti- cular, and you fee it exactly anfwers to our Hy- pothefis ; for in the new form'd Earth, the Sea is cover'd and inconfpicuous, being an Abyis, not a Sea ; and wholly lodgd in the Womb of the Earth. And this one Character, being inexplicable upon any other Suppofition, and very different from the preterit Earthy makes it a ftrong Prefumptioii that we have hit upon the true Model of the V % New ip6 The Theory of the Earth. new Heavens and new Earth which St. John faw. • To this Sight of the new Heavens and new Earth, St. John immediately fubjoins the Sight of the new Jerufalem, ver. 2. as being contem- porary, and, in fome refpeds, the fame Thing. Tis true, the Characters of the new Jerufalem, in thefe two laft Chapters of the Apocalypfe, are very hard to be underftcod; fome of them being in- compatible to a terreftrial State, and fome of em to a celeftial; Co as it feems to me very reafon- abie to fuppofe, that the new Jerufalem, fpoken of by St. John, is two- fold : That which he faw himfelf, ver. 2. and that which the Angel fhew- ed him afterwards, ver 9. For I do not fee what need there was of an Angel, and of taking htm up into a great and high Mountain, only to fhew him that which he had feen before, at the Foot of the Mountain : But however that be, we are to consider, in this Place, the terreftrial new Jerufalem only, or that which is the new Heavens and new Earth. And as St. John hath joined thefe two together, fo the Prophet Ifaiah hath done the lame thing before, Chap. Ixv. 17, 18. when he had promifed new Hea- vens and a new Earth, he calls them under another Name, Jerufalem ; and they both ule the lame Character in Effect, in the Defcription of their Jerufalem, Ver. 1 9. Ifaiah lays, And I will re Joyce in Jerufalem, and joy in my Teople, and the Voice of weeping Jhall be no more heard in her, nor the Voice of crying, Apoc. xxi. 3, 4. St. John fays alfo in his Jerufalem, God Jhall dwell Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 197 dwell with them, and they (hall be his People : And he jlo all wipe away all Tears from their Eyes ; and there Jhall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor Crying, neither Jhall there be any more Pain. Now in both thcie Prophets, when they treat upon this Subject, we rind they make frequent Allufions to Taradife and a paradijaical Stare ,• fo as they may be juftly taken as a Scripture Character of the new Heavens and the new Earth. The Prophet Ifaiah fcems plainly to point at zparadi- faical State, throughout that Chapter, by an uni- verlal Innocenc : and Harmlcfnefs of Aniir ' ; and Peace, Plenty, Health, Longevity or Im tality of the Inhabitants. St. John £i'o hat!" 1 , ral Allufions to Taradife, in thole two Chapters where he defcribes the new Jerufalem, Ch. xxi. and Ch. xxii. And in his Dilcourfe to the feven Churches, in one Place (Ch. ii. 7.) To him that overcometh is promifed, to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midft of the Paradfe of God. And in another Place (Ch. iii. 12 ) To him that over- cometh is promifed, to have the Name of the new Jerufalem writ upon him. Thefe I take to be the fame Thing, and the fame Reward of Chrifti- an Victors ; the new jerufalem, or the new Hea- vens and new Earth, and the. 'Tar ad fe of God. Now this being the general Character of the new Earth, that it is paradifaical ; and the particular 'Character that it hath no Sea; and both thefe agreeing with our Hypothecs, as apparently deducible from thofe Principles, and that Manner of its Formation which" we have let down j we cannot but allow, that the Holy O 3 Scrip- 198 The Theory of the Earth. Scriptures, and the natural Theory agree in their Teftimony, as to the Conditions and Properties of" the New Heavens and New Earth. From what hath been faid in this and the prece- dent Chapter, it will not be hard to interpret what St. Paul meant by his habitable Earth to come * r@o di£v(&,, Ifai. ix. 6. which is to be fubjecled to our Saviour, and not to the Angels. In the fecond Chapter to the Hebrews, ver. 5. he fays, Tor unto the Angels hath he not put in Subjection the WORLT) TO COME-, fo we read it, but, according to the ftricteft and plained Transla- tion, it fliouid be the habitable Earth to come. Now, what Earth is this, where our Saviour is abfolute Sovereign ; and where the Government is neither Human, nor Angelical, but peculiarly Theocratical ? In the firft Place, this cannot be the prefent World, or the prefent Earth, be- caufe the Apoftle calls it future, or the Earth to come. Nor can it be underftood of the Days of the Goipel ; fdeing the Apoftle acknowledges, ver. S. that this Subjection, whereof he (peaks, is not yet made. And feeing Antichrift will not finally be deftroyed till the Appearance of our Saviour, (2 Thejf. ii. 8.) nor Satan bound, while Antichrift is in Power 5 during the Reign of thefe two (who are the Rulers of the Darknefs of the World) our Saviour cannot properly be faid to begin his Reign here, Ephef. vi. 12. Tis true, he exercifes his Providence over his Church, and fecures it from being deftroyed : He can, by a Power paramount, flop the Rage either of Satan Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 199 Satan or Antichrift ; Hitherto ye Jhall go, and no farther. As fometimcs when he was upon Earth, he exerted a Divine Power, which yet did not deftroy his State of Humiliation ; 10 he interpofes now when he thinks fit, but he docs not finally take the Power out of the Hands of his Enemies, nor out of the Hands of the Kings of the Earth. The Kingdom is not deliver d tip to him, and all dominion and Power; Ch. vii. 13, 25, 26. That all Tongues and Nations floould ferve him. For St. Paul can mean no lefs in this Place than that Kingdom in 'Daniel, Heb. ii. 8. feeing he calls it putting all Things in Subjection under his Feet, and fays that it is not yet done. Upon this account al- fo, as well as others, our Saviour might truly (ay to Pilate, (J oh. xviii. 3 6. My Kingdom is not of this World. And to his Difciples, The Son of Man came not to be miniftred unto, but to mini- Jler, Matt. xx. 28. When he comes to receive his Kingdom, he comes in the Clouds of Heaven (T)an. vii. 13,14.) not in the Womb of a Virgin. He comes with the Equipage of a King and Con- queror: with Thoufands and Ten Thoufands of Angels; not in the Form of a Servant, or of a weak Infant, as he did at his firft coming. I allow the Phrafe a&v fxkXXoov, or in the Hebrew son C3>tv, the IVorld to come, is fome- times ufed in a large Senfe, as comprehending all the Days of the Meiliah, whether at his firft or fecond coming, (for thcfe two comings are often undiftinguifhcd in Scripture ) and refped the moral VVorld, as well as ^he natu- ral. But the Word chzuevYi, Orbis habitabilis, O 4 which 200 The Theory of the Earth. which St. 'Paul here ufes, does primarily fignify the natural World, or the habitable Earth, in the proper ufe of the Word amongft the Greeks , and frequently in Scripture, Luke iv. 5. and xxi. 26. Rom. x. 18. Heb.'i. 6. dpoc.'ui.io. Neither do we here exclude the moral World, or the Inhabi- tants of the Earth, but rather neceffarily include them : Both the natural and moral World to come, will be the Seat and Subject of our Saviours Kingdom and Empire, in a peculiar Manner. Bufc when you underftand nothing by this Phirafe but the prefent moral World, it neither anfwers the proper Signification of /z/AAaarz, nor of ohxjulvii* of the firft or fecond Part of the Expreflion ; and tho' fuch like Phrafes may be ufed for the Difpen- f it ion df the Mefliah in Opposition to that of the Law, yet the height of that Diftin&ion or Opposi- tion, and the fulfilling of the Expreflion, depends upon the fecond coming of our Saviour, and up- on the future Earth or habitable World, where he (hall reign, and which does peculiarly belong to him and his Saints. Neither can this World to come, or this Earth to come, be underftood of the Kingdom of Heaven. For the Greek Word will not bear that Sen fe, nor is it ever us'd in Scripture for Heaven. Bcfides, the Kingdom of Heaven, when fpoken of as future, is not properly till the lafl Refurredion and final Judgment. Whereas this World to come, which our Saviour is to go- vern, muft be therefore that Time, and will ihen expire. For all his Government as to this World, expires at the Day of Judgment, 1 Go* f xv Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 201 xv. 24, &c. and he will then deliver up the King- dom into the Hands of his Father, that he may be all in all: Having reigned firft himfelf, and put down all Rule and all Authority and Tower. So that St. Paul, in theie two Places of his Epiftles, refers plainly to the fame Time, and the fame Reign of Chriftj which muft be in a future World, and before the laft 'Day of Judgment, and there- fore, according, to our Deductions, in the new Heavens and the new Earth. CHAP. III. Concerning the Inhabit ants of the new Earth. That natural Reafon cannot determine this Point. That according to Scripture, the Sons of the firfi Re- furrefiion, or the Heirs of the Millennium, are to be the Inhabitants of the new Earth. The Teftimony of the Philofophers, and of the Chri- Jlian Fathers, for the Renovation of the World. The firft Tropofition laid down. THUS we have fettled the true Notion, according to Reafon and Scripture, of the new Heavens and new Earth : But where are the Inhabitants, you'll fay ? You have taken the Pains to make us a new World, and now that it is made, it muft ftand empty. When the firft World was deftroyed, there were eight Perfons preferv'd, with a Set of living Creatures of every Kind, as a Seminary or foundation of another World 5 but the Fire, it 202 The Theory of the Earth. it feems, is more mercilefs than the Water j for in this Deflru&ion of the World, it docs not ap- pear that there is one living Soul left, of any forr, upon the Face of the Earth. No Hopes of Pofte- rity, nor of any Continuation of Mankind, in the ufual Way of Propagation ; and Fire is a barren Element, that breeds no living Creatures in it, nor hath any Nourifhment proper for their Food or Suftenance. We are perfectly at a Lofs therefore, fo far as I fee, for a new Race of Mankind, or how to People this new form'd World. The Inhabitants, if ever there be any, muft either come from Hea- ven, or fpring from the Earth : there are but thefe two Ways. But natural Reafon can determine neither of thefe, fees no Track to follow in thefe unbeaten Paths, nor can advance one Step far- ther. Farewell then, dear Friend ; I muft take another Guide, and leave you here, as Mofes upon Mount Tijgahj only to look into that Land, which you cannot enter. I acknowledge the good Ser- vice you have done, and what a faithful Compa- nion you have been, in a long Journey ; from the Beginning of the World to this Hour, in a Trad of Time of fix thoufand Years. We have travelled together thro' the dark Regions of a firft and fe- cami Chaos.; feen the World twice (hipwreck'd : Neither Water, nor Fire, could feparatc us ; but now you muft give place to other Guides. Welcome, Holy Scriptures, the Oracles of God, a Light mining in Darknefs, a Treafury of hidden Knowledge ; and where Human Fa- culties cannot reach, a feafonable Help and Supply Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 203 Supply to their Defects. We are now come to the utmoft Bounds of their Dominion ; they have made us a New World, but, how it fhall be in- habited, they cannot tell ; know nothing of the Hilk>ry or Affairs of it. This we muft learn from other Matters, infpir'd with the Knowledge of Things to come: And fuch Matters we know none, but the holy Prophets and Apoftles. We muft therefore now put our felves wholly under their Conduct and Inftrudtion, and from them only receive our Information concerning the mo- ral State of the future habitable Earth. In the flrft place therefore, the Prophet Ifaiah tells us, as a Preparation to our farther Enquiries, The Lord God created the Heavens, God himfelf that formed the Earth, he created it not in vrim, he formed it to be inhabited, Ifa. xlv. 18. This is true, both of the prefent Earth and the future, and of every habitable World whatfoever. For to what purpofe is it made habitable, if not to be inhabited? That would be, as if a Man mould manure, and plough, and every Way prepare his Ground for Seed, but never fow it. We do not Ipuild Houfes, that they fhould ftand empty, but look out for Tenants as fall: as we can ; as foon as they are made ready and become tenantable. But if Man could do things in vain, and with- out \Ufe or Defign, yet God and Nature never do any thing in vain ; much lefs fo great a Work as the making of a World ; which if it were in vain, would comprehend ten thou- sand Vanities or ufelefs Preparations in it. We may therefore, in the firft place, fafely con- clude, 204 The Theory of the Earth. elude, that the new Earth will be inhabited. But by whom will it be inhabited? This makes the fecond Enquiry. St. 'Peter anfwers this Quefti- on for us, and with a particular Application to this very Subject of the new Heavens and new Earth: They mail be inhabited, he fays, by the Ju/l or the Righteous. His Words which we cited before, are thefe ; when he had defcribed the Conflagration of the World, he adds, But we expect new Heavens and anew Earth, WHE RE- IN T>WELLETH RIGHTEOUS MESS. By Right e on fnefs here, it is generally agreed, muft be underftood righteous Perfons; for Rightcouf- nefs cannot be without righteous Perfons. It can- not hang upon Trees, or grow out of the Ground ; 'tis the Endowment of reafonable Creatures And thefe righteous Perfons are eminently fuch, and therefore call'd Righteoufnefs in the Abftrad, or purely righteous without Mixture of Vice. So we have found Inhabitants for the new Earth, Perfons of an high and noble Charac- ter 5 like thofe defcrib'd by St. Teter, (i Eph. ii. 9.) A chofen Generation, a royal Priejl- hood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People. As if into that World, as into St. Johns new Jerufalem, nothing impure or unrighteous was to be admitted, Apoc. xxi. 27. Thefe being then the happy and holy Inhabitants 5 the next Enquiry is, Whence do they come? From what Off-lpring, or from what Original ? We noted before, that there was no Remnant of Mankind left at the Conflagration, as there was at the Deluge -, nor any Hopes of a Reftau- f ration Concerning the New Heavens, Sec. 205- ration that Way. Shall we then imagine that thefe new Inhabitants are a Colony wafted over from fome neigbouring World -, as from the Moon, or Mercury, or fome of the higher Pla- nets ? You may imagine what you pleafe, but that feems to me not imaginary only, but im- practicable : And that the Inhabitants of thofe Planets are Perlbns of fo great Accomplishments, is more than I know ; but I am fure they are not the Perfons here undeiftood ; for thefe mull be fuch as inhabited this Earth before. We look for new Heavens and new Earth, fays the Apo- ftle : Surely to have fome Share and Jntereft in them, otherwife there would be no Comfort in that Expectation. And the Prophet Ifaiah faid before, I create new Heavens and a new Earth, and the former mail come no more in Remem- brance ; but be TO U glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create. The Truth is, none can have (6 good Pretentions to this Spot of Ground we call the Earth, as the Sons of Men, feeing they once poileHed it ; and if it be reftor'd again, 'tis their Propriety and Inheritance. But 'tis not Mankind in general that muft pofieis this new World, but the Ifrael of God, according to the Prophet Ifaiah -, or the Jtift, according to St. Peter ; and efpecially thofe that have fuffer'd for the Sake of their Religion. For this is that Valingenefia, as we noted before, that Renovation, or Regeneration of all Things, where our Saviour fays, thofe that furfer Lofs for his Sake, fhall be recompenfed, Matth,x\x. 28,29. But they muft be then raifed from the Dead. For 2o6 The Theory of the Earth. For all Mankind was deftroyed at the Con- flagration : and there is no Refource for them any other way, than by a Re furred-ion. Tis true : and St. John {Apoc. xx.) gives us a fair Occa- fion to make this Suppofition, that there will be fome raifed from the Dead, before the general Day of judgment. For he plainly diftinguifheth of a fir ft and fecond Refurredion, and makes the firft to be a thoufand Years before the fecond, and before the general Day of Judgment. Now, if there be truly and really a two-fold Refur- redion, as St. John tells us ; and that a Thoufand Years Diftance from one another : It may be very rationally be prefum'd, that thofe that are raifed in the firft Refurredion, are thofe Jitft that will inhabit the New Heavens and New Earth ; ot whom our Saviour promis'd to reward in the Re- novation of the World. For otherwifc, who are thofe Juft that fhall inhabit the New Earth, and whence do they come? Or when is that Reftauration which our Saviour fpeaks of, wherein thofe that fuf- fer'd for the Sake of the Gofpel fhall be reward- ed ? St. John fays, the Martyrs, at this firft Refurredion, fhall live again, and reign with Chrift ; Which feems to be the Reward pro- mis'd by our Saviour, to thofe that fuffer'd for his fake, and the fame Perfons in both Places. And I faw the Souls of them (fays St. John) that were beheaded for the Witnefs of JefuSj and for the Word of God -, and which had not worfhipped the Beaji, &c. and they lived and reigned with Chrift a Thoufand Tears, Apoc. xx. 4. . f Thefe Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 207 Thefe, I lay, feem to be the lame Perfons, to whom Chrilt had before promis'd and appropri- ated a particular Reward. And this Reward of theirs, or this Reign of theirs, is upon Earth ; upon fomc Earth, new or old, not in Heaven. For, befidcs that we read nothing of their Afcen- fion into Heaven after their Refurrection ,• there are feveral Marks that fhevv, it mult neceilarily be understood of a State upon Earth. For Gog and Magog came from the four Quarters of the Earthy and befieged the Camp of the Saints, and the beloved City, ver. 9. That Camp and that City therefore were upon the Earth. And Fire came down from Heaven, and devoured them. If it came down from Heaven, it came upon the Earth. Farthermore, thofe Perfons that are railed from the 'Dead, are faid to be 'Priefts of God and of Chrift, and to reign with him a thoufand Tears, ver. 6. Now thefe mult be the fame Perfons with the Priefts and Kings, mention'd in the fifth Chapter, ver. 10. which are there faid exprefly to reign upon Earth, or that they fhould reign upon Earth. It remains therefore only to determine, what Earth this is, where the Sons of the firft Re- furreclion will live and reign. It cannot be the prefent Earth, in the fame State, and un- der the fame Circumftances it is now : For what Happinefs or Privilege would that be, to be called back into a mortal Life, un- der the Necellities and Inconveniencies of fickly Bodies, and an incommodious World ; fuch as the prefent State of Mortality is, and muft Jlos The Theory of the Earth. muft continue to be, till fome Change be made in Nature. We may be fine therefore, that a Change will be made in Nature, before that Time, and mat the State they are rais'd into, and the Earth they are to inhabit, will be, ar leaft, Para- difaical \ and confequently can be no other than the New Heavens and New Earthy which we are to expect after the Conflagration. From thefe Confederations, there is a great Fair- nefs to conclude, both as to the Characters of the Perfons, and of the Place or State, that the Sons of the fir ft RefurreBion will be Inhabitants of the New Earth, and reign there with Chrift a Thou- fand Years. But feeing this is one of the princi- pal and peculiar Conclufions of this Difcourfe, and bears a great Part in this laft Book of the Theory ot the Earth, it will deferve a more full Explication, and a more ample- Proof, to make it out. We muft therefore take a greater Com- pafs in our Dilcourfe, and give a full Account of that State which is ufually cali'd the Millen- nium', the Reign of the Saints a Thouland Years, or the Kingdom of Chrift upon Earth. But before we enter upon this new Subject, give me leave to clofe our prefent Argument, about the Renovation of the World, with fomc Te- stimonies of the antient Philofophers, to that purpofe. 'Tis plain to me, that there were among the Antients feveral Traditions, or tra- ditionary Conclufions, which they did not raife themfelves, by Reafbn and Obferva- tion, but received them from an unknown Antiguity. An Inftance of this is the Con- flagration Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 209 Antiquity. An Inftaiice of this is the Conflagra- tion of the World ; a Doctrine as antient, for any Thing I know, as the World it felf 5 at leaft as antient as we have any Records, and yet none of thofe Antients that tell us of it, give any Argu- ment to prove it. Neither is it any Wonder, for they did not invent it themfelves, but receiv'd it from others without Proof, by the ible Authority of Tradition. In like manner the Renovation of the World, which we are now f peaking of. is an antient Doctrine, both amongft the Greeks and Eaftern Philosophers : But they fhew us no Me- thod how the World may be renew'd, nor make any Proof of its future Renovation ; for it was not a Difcovery which they firft made, but receiv'd it with an implicit Faith, from their Matters and Anceftors : And thefe traditionary Doctrines were all Fore-runners of that Light which was to ihine more clearly at the Opening of the Chriltian Dif- penfation ; to give a more full Account of the Fate and Revolutions of the natural World, as well as of the moral. The Jews, 'tis well known, held the Re* novation of the World, and a Sabbath after Six Thoufand Years -, according to the Pro- phecy that was current among them 5 where- of we have given a larger Account in the precedent Book, Chap. v. And f that future State they called var\ chiy, Olam Hava, or the World to come, which is the very fame with Saint Paul's habitable Earth to come, n oUaum h juciWaaa, Heb. ii. 6. Neither can I eafily believe, that thofe Conftitutictfis of Mofes Book IV. P that zio The Theory of the Earth. that proceed fo much upon a feptenary, or th€ Number feven, and have no Ground or Reafon,in the Nature of the Thing, for that particular Num- ber. I cannot eafily believe, I fay, that they are either accidental or humourfome, without Defign or Signification 5 but that they are typical, or re- presentative of fome Septenary State, that does eminently defervc and bear that Character. Mofes 7 in the Hiftory of the Creation, makes fix Days Work, and then a Sabbath: Then, after fix Years, he makes a Sabbath-Tear 5 and after a Sabbath of Years, a Year of Jubilee, Levit. xxv. All thefe letter Revolutions feem to me to point at the grand Revolution, the great Sabbath or jubilee, after fix Millenaries ; which, as if anfwcrs the Type in point of Time, fo likewife in the Nature and Contents of it ; being a State of Reft from all Labour, and Trouble, and Servitude ; a State of Joy and Triumph, and a State of Renovation, when Things are to return to their firft Condition and prifline Order. So much for the Jews. The Heathen Philofophers, both Greeks and Barbarians, had . the fame Doclrine of the Renovation of the World current amongft them , and that under feveral Names and Phrafes ; as of the Great Tear, the Reftaura- tion , the Mundane Periods , and fuch-like. They fuppos'd ftated and fix'd Periods of Time, upon Expiration whereof there would always follow fome great Revolution of the World, and the Face of Nature would be renewed : particularly after the Conflagration, the Stoicks always fuppos'd a new World to fucceed, or another Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 211 another Frame of Nature to be erected in the Room of that which was deftroyed. And they ufe the fame Words and Phrafes upon this Occafi- on that Scripture uleth. Chryfippis calls it Apoca- taftafis (Lacl. 1. 7. c. 23.) as St. Peter does, Acls iii. 21. Marcus Antonius in his Medita- tions, feveral times calls it Palingenefia, as our Saviour does, Matt, xix. 2 8 . And Namenius hath two Scripture words, Refurreflion and Re/litutim, (Eufeb. prap. Ev, 1. 7. c. 23.) to exprefs this Re- novation of the World. Then as to the Tlato- nicks, that Revolution of all Things hath com- monly been call'd the PlatonickYzzx, as HTlato had been the firft Author of that Opinion; but that's a great' Miftake; he receiv'd it from the Barbarick Philofophers, and particularly from the ^/Egyptian Priefts, amongft whom he liv'd fe- veral Years, to be inftructed in their Learning; But I do not take Plato neither to be the firft that brought this Doctrine into Greece : For, befides that the Sibylls, whofe Antiquity we do not well know, fung this Song of old, as we fee it copy'd from them by Virgil in his fourth Eclogue j Pythagoras taught it before 'Plato, and Orpheus before them both ; and that's as high as the Greek Philofophy reaches. The Barbarick Philofophers were more anti- ent 5 namely, the (^/Egyptians, Perftans, Chal- deans, Indian Brackmans, and other Eafterri Nations. Their Monuments indeed are in a great meafure loft; yet from the Remains of them which the Greeks have tranfcribed, and fo prderv'd in their Writings, we fee plainly P 2 they 2 r 2 The Theory of the Eart a. they all had this Do&rine of the future Renovali* on. And to this Day the Pofterity of the Brack- mans in the Eaft- Indies retain the fame Notion, that the World will be renew'd after the laftFire. You may fee the Citations, if you pleafe, for all thefe Notions, in the Latin Treatife, Ch. v. which I thought would be too dry and tedious to be render'd into Englijh. To thefe Teftimonies of the Philofbphers of all Ages, for the future Renovation of the World, we might add the Teftimonies of the Chriftian Fathers, Greek and Latin, antient and modern. I will only give you a bare Lift of them, and re- fer you to the Latin Treatife {Chap, ix.) for the Words or the Places. Amongft the Greek Fa- thers, Jujiin Martyr ', Irenaus, Origen : The Fa- thers of the Council of Nice, Eufebius, Bafil 5 the two Cyrils , of Jerufalem and Alexandria : The two Gregories, Nazianzen and NyJ/en, St. Chryfqftom, Zacharias Mitylenenfis -, and of later Date, c Damafcen, Oecumenius, Euthymius, and others. Thefe have all fet their Hands and Seals to this Doctrine. Of the Latin Fathers, Tertullian, Laclantius, St. Hillary, St. Ambrofe, St. Auftin, St. Jerome , and many later Ecclefi- allical Authors. Thefe, with the Philofophers be- fore- mention'd, I count good Authority, facred and prophane ; which I place here as an Out- guard upon Scripture, where our principal Force lies. Thefe three united, and acting in Conjunc- tion, will be fufflcient to fecure this firft Poft, and to prove our firft Propofition, which is this 5 That after the Conflagration of this JVorld, there Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 215 there will be new Heavens and a new Earth ; and that Earth will be inhabited. (Propof. I.) l!A|411!ii.l,l CHAP. IV. The TrooJ of a Millennium, or of a bleffed Age to come, from Scripture. A View of the Apo- calypfe, and of the Prophecies ^Daniel, in re- ference to this Kingdom of Chrijl and of his Saints. WE have given fair Prefumptions, if not Proofs, in the precedent Chapter, that the Sons of the firft Refurre&ion will be the Per- fons that fliall inhabit the new Earth, or the World to come. But to make that Proof complete and unexceptionable, I told you, it would be necefla- ry to take a larger Compafs in our Difcourfe, and to examine what is meant by that Reign with Chrijl a thoufand Tears, which is promis'd to the Sons of the frjl RefurrecJion, by St. John in the Apocalypfe j and in other places of Scripture is ufually call'd the Kingdom of Chrijl, and the Reign of the Saints: And by E.cclefiaftical Au- thors, in Imitation of St. John, it is commonly ftyled, the Millennium. We fliall indifferently uie any of thefe Words or Phrafes,- and examine, firft, the Truth of the Notion and Opinion, whether, in Scripture, there be any fuch an happy State promifed to the Saints under the Conduct of Chrift 5 and then we will pro- P $ ceed 2.14 The Theory of the Earth, cecd to examine the Nature, Characters, Place and Time of ir. And I am in hopes when thefe Things are duly difcufs'd and ftatcd, you will be fatisfied that we have found out the true Inhabitants of the new Heavens and new Earth; and the true My- ftcry of that State which is called the Millennium, or the Reign of Chrift and of his Saints. We begin with St. John, whofe Words in the xxth Chapter of the Apocalypfe, ver. i, 2, 4, 5, 6. are cxprefs, both as to the firft Refurrection, and as to the Reign of thofe Saints that rife with Chrift for a Thoufand Years -, Satan in the mean Time being bound, or difabled from doing Mifchief, and feducing Mankind. The Words of the Prophet are there; And I faw an Angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the bottomlefsTit, and a great Chain in his Hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which is the 'Devil and Satan, and bound him a Thoufand Tears. And I faw Thrones, and they fat upon them, and Judgment was given unto them -, And I faw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the JVitnefs of Jefus, and for the Word of God, and which had not wor /hipped the Beaft, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their. Tore heads, or in their Hands ; and they lived and reigned with Chrift a thoufand Tears. But the reft ofthe c Deadlivednot again until the thoufand Tears were finifhed. This is thefirft Rejur reel ion. Bleffed and holy is he that hath part in the fir ft Refur- recJion; onfuch the fecond "Death hath no Tower, but they fhall be Priefts of God, and of Chrift, and fhall reign with him a thoufand Tears. Thefe Words Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 215 Words do fully exprefs a Refurreclion, and a Reign with Chrift a thoufand Years. As for that particular Space of Time, of a Thoufand Tears, it is not much material to our prefent Purpofe : but the Refurrecliqn here fpoken of, and the Reign with Chrift, make the Subftance of the Controveriy, and in effecl prove all that we en- quire after at prefent. This Refurreclion, you fee, is call'd the fift Refurreclion, by way of Diftinclion from the fecond and general Refur- reclion 5 which is to be placed a Thoufand Years after the firft. And both this firft Refurreclion, and the Reign of Chrift, feem to be appropriated to the Martyrs in this Place : For the Prophet fays, The Souls of thofe that were beheaded for the IVitnefs of Jefus, &c. they lived and reigned with Chrift a Thoufand Tears. From which Words, if you pleale, we will raife this Doclrine; that thofe that have [uffefd for the Sake of Chrift, and a good Conference, fhall be rai fed from the 'Dead a Thoufand Tears before the general Refur- reclion, and reign with Chrift in an happy State. This Proportion feems to be plainly included in the Words of St. John, and to be the intended Senie of this Vifion; but you muft have Patience a little as to your Enquiry into Particulars, till, in the Progrefs of our Difcourfe, we have brought all the Parts of this Conclufion into a fuller Light. In the mean time there is but one Way, that I know of, to evade the Force of theie Words, and of the Conclufion drawn from them ; and that is, by fuppofing that the firft Refurreclion here mentioned, is not to be underftood in a P 4. literal 2.16 The Theory of the Earth. literal Senfe, but is allegorical and myftica], Sig- nifying only a Rcfurre&ion from Sin to a fpiri- tual Life: As we are faid to be dead in Sin, and to be rifen r jvith Chrift, by Faith and Regenerati- on. This is a manner of Speech which St. Paul does fometimes ufe, as Eph. ii. 6. and ver. 14. and Col. 3. 1. But how can this be applied to the prefent Cafe ? Were the Martyrs dead in Sin? ? Tis they that are here rais'd from the Dead : Or, after they were beheaded for the Witnefs of Jefus, naturally dead and laid in their Graves, were they then regenerate by Faith ? There is no . Congmity in Allegories fo apply'd. Beftdes, why fhould they be faid to be regenerate a Thoufand Years before the Day of Judgment? or to reign with Chrift, after this Spiritual Refurrettion, fuch a limited Time, a Thoufand Years ? Why not to to Eternity ? For in this allegorical Senfe of rifing and reigning^ they will reign with him for ever- lasting. Then, after a Thoufand Years, muft all the Wicked be regenerate, and rife into a Spiri- tual Life ? 'Tis faid here, the reft of the T)ead lived not again, until the Thoufand Tears were fnijhed, ver. 5. That implies, that at the End of thefe Thoufand Years, the reft of the Dead did live again 5 which, according to the Allegory, muft be, that, after a Thoufand Years, all the Wicked will be regenerate, and rais'd into Spiritual Life. Thefe Abfurdities arife upon an allegorical Ex- pofition of this Refurreclion, if apply'd to fingle Perform But Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 217 r But Dr. Hammond, a learned and worthy Di- vine, (but one that loves to contract and cramp the Senfe of Prophecies) making this firft Refur- rection allegorical, applies it not to fingle Per- fons, but to the State of the Church in general : The Chriftian Church, he fays, (hall have a Re- furre&ion for a Thoufand Years ; that is, fhall rife out of Perfecution, be in a profperous Con- dition, and an undifturbed Profellion of the true Religion, for ib long a Time. But this agrees with the Prophecy as little as the former 5 if it be a State of the Church in genera], and of the Church then in being, why is this Refurre&ion apply 'd to the Martyrs ? Why are they faid to rile 5 feeing the State they liv'd in, was a trouble- fome State of the Church, and it would be no Happinefs to have that reviv'd again? Then as to the Time of this Refurre&ion of the Church, where will you fix it ? The Prophet ^Daniel places this Reign of Chrift, ar, or after the Difiolution of the fourth Monarchy 5 and Saint John places it a Thoufand Years before the laft Day of Judgment. How will you adjuft the allegorical Refurrection of the Church to thefe Limits ? Or if, in point of Time, you was free, as to Prophecy, yet how would you adjuft it to Biftory ? Where will you take thefe Thoufand Years of Happinefs and Pro- fperity to the Church ? Thefe Authors fuppofc them pall:, and therefore muft begin them either from the firft Times of the Gofpel, or from the Time of Conftantine. Under the firft Ages pf the Gofpel, were, you know, the great Per- fections zi S The Theory of the Earth. fecutionsby the Heathen Emperors j could thofe be call'd the Reign of Chrift and of his Saints? Was Satan then bound? Or was this Epocha but a thou- fand Years before the Day of Judgment? And if you begin this Refurrection of the Church from the Days of Conftantine, when the Empire be- came Chriftian, how will you reckon a thoufand Years from that Time, for the Continuance of the Church in Peace and Parity ? For the Reign of Chrift and of his Saints muft neceflarily imply both thofe Characters. Befides, who are the rejt of the 'Dead, (ver. 5 .) that lived after the Expi- ration of thofe thoufand Years, if they began at Conftantine ? And why is not the fecond^Refur- icction and the Day of Judgment yet come > Laftly, you ought to be tender of interpreting the firft Refurre&ion in an allegorical Senfe, left you expofe the fecond Refurrection to be made an Allegory alio. To conclude 5 The Words of the Text are plain and exprefs for a literal Refurrection, as to the firft, as well as the fecond ; and there is no alle- gorical Interpretation that I know of, that will hold through all the Particulars of the Text, con- fidently with it felf and with Hiftory. And when we mail have proved this future Kingdom of Chrift from other Places of the Apocalypfe, and of Holy Writ, you will the more eafily admit the literal Senfe of this Place \ which, you know, according to the receiv'd Rule of Interpreters, is never to be quitted or forfaken, without Neceflity : But when I fpeak of confirming this Doctrine from other Parages of Scripture, I •f do Concerning the New Heavens, &c 2 1 9 do not mean as to that definite Time of a Thou- [and Tears ', for that is no where elfe mentioned in the Apocalypfe, or in Scripture, that I know of; and leems to be mention'd here, in this Clofe of all Things, to mind us of that Type that was pro- pos'd in the Beginning of all Things, of fix 'Days and a Sabbath-, whereof each Day comprehends a Thoufand Years, and the Sabbath, which is the, Millennial State, hath its Thoufand ; accord- ing to the known Prophecy of Ellas, Book IIF. Ch. v. which, as I told you before, was not only receiv'd among the Jews, but alfo own'd by very many of the Chriltian Fathers. To proceed therefore to other Parts of St. John's Prophecies, that fet forth this Kingdom of Chrift ; the Vifion of the -Seven Trumpets is one of the mod remarkable in the Apocalypfe -, and the Se- venth Trumpet, which plainly reaches to the End of the World, and the Refurrcclion of the Dead, opens the Scene to the Millennium 5 hear the Sound of it, Ch. xi. 15, 16, 17, 18. The feventh Angel founded, and there were great Voices in Heaven, faying, The Kingdoms of this IVorld are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Chri/l, and he (hall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty Elders, which fat before God on their Seats, fell upon their Faces, and worfhipped God-, faying, IVe give thee Thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and waft, and art to come -, becaufe thou haft taken to thee thy great 'Power, and haft reigned. And the Nations were angry, and thy IVrath is come, and the Time of the Dead, that they fhould be judged, and 220 The Theory of the Earth. and that thou Jhouldefi give Reward unto thy Ser- vants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name, frnall and great, and fhouldeft deflroy them that deftroy the Earth, &c. This is manifeftly the Kingdom of Chrift j and with this is joined the Rcfurre&ion of the Dead, and the rewarding of the fuffering Prophets and Saints, as in the xxth Chapter. This is that My fiery of God that was to be jimjhed in the T)ays of the Voice of the feventh Angel, as is faid in the xxth Chap. ver. 7. As he hath declared to his Servants the Trophets j namely, the Myftery of this King- dom, which was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Teftament, and more efpecially by 'Daniel, as we mall fee hereafter. The new Jerufalem (as it is fet down, Afoc. xxi. 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, 7.) is another Inftance or Image of this Kingdom of Chrift. And the Palm-bear- ing Company, Chap. vii. 9, &e. are fome of the Martyrs that fhall enjoy it. They are plainly de- fcrib'd there as Chriftian Martyrs; {ver. 14.) and their Reward, or the State of Happinefs they are to enjoy, (ver. 15, 16, 17.) is the fame with that of the Inhabitants of the new Jerufalem, Ch. xxi. z, 3,4, e^r. as, upon comparing thofe two Places, will eafily appear. Farthermore, at the Opening of the Seals, Chap. v. which is another principal Vifion, and reaches to the End of the World, there is a Profpecl: given us of this Kingdom of Chrift,and of that Reward of his Saints. For when they fing the new Song to the Lamb, (ver. 9, 10.) they fay, Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the Seals thereof -, for thou waft Concerning the New Heavens, &c. zzi waft jlain and haft redeemed us to God, by thy Bloods and haft made us unto our God Kings and Priefts, and we Jhall reign on the Earth. This muft be the fame State, and the fame Thoufand- Years-Reign mention'd in the xxth Chap, where 'tis faid, (Ver. 6.) the Partakers of it Jhall be ^Priefts of God, and of Chrifl, and Jhall reign with him a Thoufand Tears. Another completory Vifton, that extends it felf to the End of the World, is that of the Seven Vials, Chap. xv. and xvi. And as at the Open- ing of the Seals, lb at the pouring out the Vials, a triumphal Song is fung, and 'tis call'd the Song of Mofes and of the Lamb, Ch. xv. 3. Tis plainly a Song of Thank fgiving for a Deliverance, but I do not look upon this Deliverance as already wrought, before the pouring out of the Vials, tho' it be plac d before them 5 as often the grand Defign and Ififue of a Vifion is plac'd at the Beginning : It is wrought by the Vials themfelves, and by their Effuflon, and therefore upon the pouring out of the laft Vial, the Voice came out of the Temple of Heaven, from the Throne, faying, Confumma- tum eft-, It is done, Ch. xvi. 17. Now the Delive- rance is wrought, now the Work is at an End ; or, the Myftery oj God is finijhed, as the Phrafe was before, concerning the 7th Trumpet, Chap. x. 7. You fee therefore this terminates upon the fame Time, and confequently upon the fame State, of the Millennium 5 and that they are the fame Perfons that triumph here, and reign there, Chap. xx. you may fee by the fame Cha- racters given to both of them, Ch, xv. 2. Here, f thofe ±zz The Theory of the Earth. thofe that triumph, are faid to have gotten the Victory over the Beafr, and over his Image, and over his Mark, and over the Number of his Name, Ch. xx. 4. And there, thole that reign withChrift, arc faid to be thole that hadnot worfhipedthe Beaft, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads, or in their Hands. Thefe are the fame Pcrfons therefore, triumphing over the fame Enemies, and enjoying the lame Reward. And you fliall feldom find any Doxology or Hallelujah in the Apocalypfe, but 'tis in Pro- fpeft of the Kingdom of thrift, and the Mil- lennial State : This is ftill the Burthen of the facred Song, the Complement of every grand Villon, and the Life and Strength of the whole Syftem of Prophecies in that Book : Even thole Hallelujahs that are lung at the Deftruclion or Babylon, in the xixth Chaprer, ver. 6, 7. are rais'd upon the fucceeding State, the Reign of Chrift. For the Text fays, And I heard as it were a Voice of a great Multitude, and as the Voice of many Waters, and as the Voice of mighty Thunders, faying, Hallelujah: For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoyce, and give Honour to him : For the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready." This ap. pears plainly to be the new Jerufalem, if you con- iult the 2 ill Ch. ver. 2. And I John fa w the Holy City, new Jerufalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. Tis, no doubt* the fame Bride and Bridegroom, in both Places; the Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 225 the fame Marriage or Preparations for Marriage, which are compleated in the Millennial Blifs, in the Kingdom of Chiifl: and of his Saints. I muft beg your Patience a little longer, in purfuing this Argument throughout the Apocalypfe ; As towards the latter End of St. John's Revelation, this Kingdom of Chrift fhincs out in a more full Glory ; lo there are the Dawnings of it in the very Beginning and Entrance into his Prophecies. As at the Beginning of a Poem, we have commonly, in a few Words, the Defign of the Work, in like Manner, Ch. i. 5,6. St. John makes this Pre- face to his Prophecies, From Jefus Chrifl, who is the faithful Witnefs, the firft begotten of the Dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth; unto him that loved us, and wafhed us from our Sins in his own Blood-, a??d hath made us Kings and F'riefts unto God and his Father -, to him be Glory and 'Dominion for ever and ever, Amen. Behold, he comet h in the Clouds, &c. In this Prologue the grand Argument is pointed at, and that happy Cataftrophe and lad Scene, which is to crown the Work, the Reign of Chrift and of his Saints at his fccond Coming. He hath made us Kings and Triefls unto God -, this is always the Charafteriftick of thofe that are to enjoy the Millennial Happinefe, as you may fee at the Opening of the Seals, Ch. v. 10. and in the Sons of the fir ft RefurrecJion, Ch. xx. 6. And this be- ing joined to the Coming of our Saviour, puts it ftill more out of Doubt. That Exprefllon alfo, of being wafhed from our Sins in his Blood, is re- peated again both at the Opening of the Seals, Ch. v. 224. The Theory of the Earth. chap. v. 9. and in the Palm-bearing Company^ chap. vii. 14. both which Places we have cited before, as referring to the Millennial State. Give me Leave to add farther, that as in this general Preface, fo alfo in the introductory Vifions of the feven Churches, there are, covertly or expreQy, in the Conclufion of each, glances upon the Millennium 5 as in the fkft to Ephefus, the Pro- phet eoncludes, chap, ii. 7. He that hath an Ear, let him hear?wfcat\he Spirit fays to the Churches : To HIM THAT OVjERCOMETH, WILL I GIVE TO EAT OF THE TREE OF LlFE, WHICH IS IN THE midst of the Paradise of God. This is the Millennial Happinefs which is promifed to the Conqueror j as we noted before concerning that Phraie. In like manner in the fecond to Smyrna, he concludes, chap. ii. 11. He that overcometh, Jhall not be hurt of the fecond Death. This im- plies, he fhall be Partaker of the firft RefurrecJion, for that's the Thing understood 5 as you may fee plainly by their being joyn'd in the xxth Chapter ver. 6. Blejfed and holy is he that hath Part in the fir fl Refurreflion ; on fuch the fecond T)eath hath no Power, but they Jhall be friefts of God and of Chrifty and fhall reign with him a thoufand Tears. In the third to Pergamus, the Promifc is, chap. ii. 7. To eat of the hidden Manna, to have a white Stone, and a new Name written in it : But feeing the Prophet adds, which no Man know- eth t faving he that receiveth it, we will not pre- fume to interpret that new State, whatlbever it is, chap. ii. 26, 27. In Thyatira, the Reward is, To have Tower over the Nations, and to have the Morning Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 225 Morning Star-, which is to reign with Chrift, who is the Morning Star, in his Millennial Em- pire : Both thefe Phrafes being us'd in that Scnfe in theClofe of this Book, Ch. iii. 5. In Sardis the Prom i & is, To be c loathed in white Raiment, and not to be blotted oat of the Book of Life. And you fee afterwards the Palme- bearing Company are cloathed in white Robes, Ch. vii. 9, 14. and thofe that are admitted into the new Jerufalem, Chap. iii. 12. arefuch as are written mthe Ldmti\ Book of Life, Ch. xxi. 27. Then as to RhilaX. delphia, the Reward promifed there does fljpenly mark the Millennial State, by the City of God 5 new Jerufalem which cometh down out of Hea- ven from God, compar'd with Ch. xxi. 2. Laftly, to the Church of Laodicea is faid, Ch. iii. 21. To him that over cometh wi 11 T grant to Jit with me in my Throne. And that is the ufual Phrafe to exprefs the Dignity of thofe that reign with Chrift, in his Millennial Kingdom,; as you may fee,dj>oc. xx. 4. Matt. xix. 28. T>an. virr'9, 13, 14. So all thefe Promifes to the Churches aim at one and the fame thing, and terminate upon the fame Point : Tis the fame Reward exprefs'd in different Ways 5 and feeing it is (till fix'd upon a Victory, and appro- priated' to thofe that overcome, it does the more eafily carry our Thoughts to the Millennium, which is the proper Reward of Victors, that is ? of Mar- tyrs and Confeflbrs. Thus you fee how this Notion and Myftery of the Millennial Kingdom of Chrift, does both be- gin and End the Apocalypfe, and run thorough all its Parts, as the Soul of that Eody of Prophe- Book IV* Q^ cies; 22 6 The Theory of the Earth. cicsj a Spirit or Ferment that a&uates the whole Mais. And if we could thoroughly underftand that illuitrious Scene, at the Opening of this Apo- calyptical Theatre in the ivth and vth Chapter, I do not doubt but we mould find it a Reprefen- tation of the Majefty of our Saviour in theGlory of his future Kingdom ; but I dare nor venture upon the Explication of it, there are fo many Things of Difficulty, and dubious Interpretation, coucht under thofe Schemes. Wherefore having made thefe Obfervations upon the Prophecies of St. John, we will now add to them fome Reflecti- ons upon the Prophecies of Daniel : that by the Agreement and Concurrence of thefe two great WitneiTes, the Conclufion we pretend to prove, may be fully eftablifhed. In the Prophecies of 'Daniel there are two grand Vifions, that of the Statue or Image, Chap. ii. and that of the four Beafts, Chap. vii. and both thefe Vifions terminate upon the Millennium, or the Kingdom of Chrift. In the Vifion of the Statue, reprcfenting to us the four great Monarchies of the World fuccefiivcly, (whereof by the general Confent of Interpreters, the Roman is the fourth and laft, after the DilToiution of the laft of them, a fifth Monarchy, the Kingdom of Chrift, is openly introdue'd, in thefe Words : And in the Days of thefe Kingdoms, jhall the God of Hea- ven fet up a Kjngdom, which jhall never be de- flroyed-, and the Kingdom f 3 all not be left to other 'People, but it foall break in Pieces, and confume all thofe Kingdoms, and it foall Jl and for ever, Ch. ii. Ver. 44. This may be verified, in fome \ meafure, Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 227 meafure, by the firft coming of our Saviour in the Days of the fourth Kingdom, when his Reli- gion, from fmall Beginnings, in a fhort Time over-fpread thegreateft Part of the known World. As the Stone cut out without Hands, became a great Mountain, and filled the whole Earth, Ver* 34, 35. but the full and final Accomplifhment of this Prophecy cannot be till the fecond coming of our Saviour. For not till then will he, Ver. 3 5, break in pieces and confume all thofe Kingdoms -, and that in fuch a manner, that they (hall become like the Chaff of the Summer- threjhing Floor, carried away by the Wind; fo as no Place Jh all be found 'for them. This, I fay, will not be done, nor an everlafting Kingdom erected in their place, over all the Nations of the Earth, till his fecond coming, and his Millennial Reign. But this Reign is declared more exprefly, in the Vifion of the four Beafts, Ch. vii. Ver. 1 3 . For af- ter the DeftrudHon of the fourth Beaft, the Pro- phet fays, Ifaw in the Night Viftons, and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Antient of 'Days, and they brought him near before him: And there was given htm 'Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all 'People, Nations and Languages ftoould ferve him •, his 'Dominion is an everlafting 'Do- minion, which jhall not pafs away -, and his Kingdom that which Jhall not be deflroyed. Ac- cordingly, he fays, Ver. 21, 22. Thelaft Beaft, and the little Horn, made War againft the Saints, until the Antient of 'Days came, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the moft High ; and Q^ 2 the 228 The Theory of the Earth. the Time came that the Saints pojfejjed the King- dom. And laftly, in Purfuit full of the fame Ar- gument, he concludes to the fame Effect in fuller Words, ver. 26, 27. But the Judgment Jhall Jit, and they Jhall take away his 'Dominion, to confume and to dejlroy it unto the End. And the Kingdom and 'Dominion, and the Great- nefs of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, Jhall be given to the ^People of the Saints of the mo ft High ; whofe Kingdom is an everlajting Kingdom, and all Dominions Jhall Jerve and obey him. Here is the End of the Matter, fays the Pro- phet, Chap. vii. ver. 28. Ghap. xii. ver. 13. Here is the Upmot and Refult of all ; here terminate both the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John, and all the Affairs of the ter reft rial World. Daniel brings in this Kingdom of Chrift, in the Conclu- sion of two or three Viiions > but St. John hath interwoven it every where with his Prophecies, from firft to laft : And you may as well open a Lock without a Key, as interpret the Apocalypfe without the Millennium. But after thefe two great Witnefl.es, the one for the Old Tejlament, the other for the New, we muft look into the reft of the facred Writers; for tho' every An- gle Author there, is an Oracle, yet the Con- currence of Oracles is ftill a farther Demon- stration, and takes away all Remains of Doubt or Incredulity. CHAP. Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 229 CHAP. V. A View of other 'Places of Scripture concerning the Millennium or future Kingdom of ChrifL In what Senfe all the 'Prophets have borne Teflimony concerning it, TH E Wife of Zebedee came to our Saviour, and begg'd of him, like a fond Mother, that her two Sons might fit, one at his Right Hand, the other at his Left, when he came into his Kingdom, Matt. xx. 21. Our Saviour does not deny the Suppofition, or general Ground of her Requeft, that he was to have a Kingdom*, but tells her, the Honours of that Kingdom were not then in his Difpofal. He had not drunk his Cup, nor been baptiz'd with his lafl Baptifm ; which were Conditions, both to him and others, of entring into that Kingdom. Yet, in another place, (Matt. xix. 28.) our Saviour is fo well afiur'd of his Intereft and Authority there, by the Good- will of his Father, that he promifes to his Difciples and Followers, that for the Lofles they fhould fuftain here, upon his Account, and for the Sake of his Gofpel, they mould receive there an hundred-fold, and fit upon Thrones with him, judging the Tribes of Ifrael. The Words are. thefe : And Jefus faid unto them, Verily 1 fay unto you, that ye which have followed me, m the Regeneration or Renovation, when the Son of Man fkall fit in the Throne of his Glory, ye alfo Jhall fit upon twelva Thrones, judging Q 3 the 230 The Theory of the Earth. the twelve Tribes of Ifrael. Thefe Thrones, in all Reafon, rauft be underftood to be the fame with thofe, which we mention'd in the foregoing Chapter out of 'Daniel vii. 9. and Apocal. xx. 4, and therefore mark the fame Time, and the fame Stare. And feeing, in thofe Places, they plainly fignify the Millennial State, or the Kingdom of Chrift and of his Saints, they muft here ilgnify the fame, in this Promife of our Saviour to his fufTering Followers. And as to the Word Pa- I'mgenefia, which is here tranflatcd Regeneration, 'tis very well known, that both the Greek Philo- sophers, and Greek Fathers, ufe that very Word for the Renovation of the Worlds which is to be, as we mall hereafter make appear, at or be- fore the Millennial State. Our Saviour alfo, in his Divine Sermon upon the Mount, makes this one of his Beatitudes, Bleffed are the Meek, for they pall inherit the Earth : But how , I pray , or where, or when, do the Meek inherit the Earth? Neither at prefenr, I am lure, nor in any paft Ages. *Tis the great ones of the World, ambitious Princes and Tyrants, that' (lice the Earth amongft them j and thofe that can flatter them beft, or jferve them in their Interefts or Pleafures, have the next beft Shares : But a meek, modelt and humble Spirit, is the mod unqualified Perfon that can be, for a Court, or a Camp 5 to fcram- ble for Preferment, or Plunder. Both he, and his felf denying Notions, are ridicul'd, as Things of no Ufe, and proceeding from Meannels and Poornefs of Spirit, David, who was a Perfon of Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 231 of an admirable Devotion, but of an unequal Spirit; iubjeel to great Dejections, as well as Elevations of Mind ; was To much affected with the^Profperity of the Wicked in this World, that he could fcarce forbear charging Providence with Injuftice. You may fee feveral Touches of a repining Spirit in his Tfilms, and in the Jxxiiid Pfalm, compos d upon that Subject, you have both the Wound and the Cure. Now this Bea- titude pronoune'd here by our Saviour, was fpoken before by 'David, 'Pfal. xxxvii. n. the fame David, that was always (0 fenfible of the hard Ufage of thejuftin this Life. Our Savi- our alfo, and his Apoftles, preach'd the Doctrine of the Crois every where, and foretell the Suf- ferings that lliall attend the Righteous in this World. Therefore neither 'David, nor our Saviour, could underftand this Inheritance of the Earth, otherwife than of fome future State, or of a State yet to come. But as it mull be a future State, fo it mud be a terreftrial State ; for it could not be cali'd the Inheritance of the Earth, if it was not fo. And 'tis to be a State of 'Peace, as well as Plenty, according to the Words of the Tfalmifl, But the Meekjhall in- herit the Earth, and jhall delight themfelves in the abundance of Peace. It follows there- fore from thele Premiffes, that both our Savi- our, and David, muft underftand fome future State of the Earth, wherein the Meek will enjoy both Peace and Plenty ; and this will appear to be the future Kingdom of Chrifr, when, upon a fuller Ddcription, we mall Q^ 4 have 232 Th$ Theory of the Earth, have given you the Marks and Characters of it. In the mean time, why mould we not fuppofc this Earth, which the Meek are to inherit, to be that habitable Earth to come, which St. Paul mentions {Heb. ii. 6.) and reprefents as iubjett to our Saviour in a peculiar Manner, at his Dif- pofalj, and under his Government, as his King- dom ? Why mould not that Earth be the Subject of this Beatitude, the promis'd Land, the Lot of the Righteous ? This I am fure of, that both this Text and the former deferve our ferious Thoughts ; and tho' they do not exprefly, and in Terms, prove the future Kingdom of our Saviour, yet upon the faireft Interpretations they imply fuch a State. And it would be very uneafy to give a jfatisfactory Account, either of the Regeneration or Renovation, when our Saviour and his Difci- ples fhall fit upon Thrones ; or of that Earth which the Meek fiall inherit : Or, laftly, of that habitable J For Id, which is peculiarly fubject to the Dominion of Jefus Chrift, without fuppo- ftng, on this fide Heaven, fome other Reign of Chrift and his Saints 3 than what we fee, or what they enjoy, at p-refent. But to proceed in this Argument, it will be neceffary, as I told you, to fet down fome Notes and Characters of the Reign of Chrift and of his Saints, whereby it may be diftinguifh'd from the prefent State and prcfent Kingdoms of the World: And thefe Characters are chiefly three, Jujfice, Peace, and Divine Prefince or Conduct, which ufes to be called Theocracy. By thefe Characters it is fufficiently diftinguifh'd from the Kingdom? Of Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 233 of this World ; which are generally unjuft in their Titles or Exercife, (hind with Blood, and fo far from being under a particular Divine Conduct, that Human Pailions and Human Vices are the Springs that commonly give Motion to their great- elt Defigns: But more particularly and rcftraincd- Jy, the Government of Chrift is oppos'd to the Kingdom and Government of Antichrift, whole Characters are diametrically oppofite to thcfc, being Injuftice, Cruelty, and human or diabolical Artifices. Upon this fhort View of the Kingdom of Chrift, let us make Enquiry after it amongft the Prophets of the Old Teftament 5 and we fhall find, upon Examination, that there is fcarce any of them, greater or Iefier, but take notice of this myftical Kingdom, either ex- prefly, or under the Types of Ifrael, Sion, Je- rufalem, and fuch-like. And therefore I am apt to think, thar when St. Peter, in his Ser- mon to the Jews, Atls iii. fays, all the holy Prophets fpoke of the Reftttution of all Things, he docs not mean the Renovation of the World feparately from the Kingdom of Chrift, but complexly, as it may imply both. For there are not many of the old Prophets that have fpoken of the Renovation of the natural World, but a great many have fpoken of the Renovation of the moral, in the Kingdom of Chrift. Thefe are St. Peter's Words, Jcls iii. 19, 20, xi. Repent ye therefore, and be con- verted, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of refrejhing fhall come from the V re- fence % 234 The Theory of the Earth. fence of the Lord: And he (hall fend Jefus Chrift which before was preached unto you ; whom the Heavens muft receive until the Times of RESTI- TUTION OF ALL THINGS. The Apoftle here mentions three Things, the Times of refrejh- ing, the fecond coming of our Saviour, and the Times of Refiitution of all Things : And to the laft of thefe he immediately fubjoins, which God hathfpoken by the Mouth of all his holy Prophets, fince the World began. This Refiitution of all Things \ I lay, muft not be underftood abftractly from the Reign of Chrift, but as in Conjunction with it ; and in that Senfe, and no other, it is the general Subject of the Prophets. To enter therefore into the Schools of the Prophets, and enquire their Senfe concerning this Myftery, let us firft addrefs our felves to the Pro- phet ifaiahy and the royal Prophet 'David j who feem to have had many noble Thoughts or Infpi- rations upon this Subject. I/aiab y in the lxvth Chapter, from the xviith Verfe to the End, treats upon this Argument ; and joins together the Re- novation of the natural and moral World, as St. 'Peter j in the Place fore-mentioned, fcems to do : And accordingly the Prophet, having fet down feveral natural Characters of that State, as Indolency and Joy, Longevity, Eafe, and Plenty, from ver. 18. to the 24th, he there begins the moral Characters of Divine Favour, and (uch a par- ticular Protection, that they are heard and anfwer'd before they pray. And laftly, he reprefents it as a State of univerfal Peace and Innocency, ver. 23. The Wolf and the Lamb ft all feed together, &c. This t Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 235 This laft Character, which comprehends Teace, Juftice and Innocency, is more fully difplay'd by the fame Prophet, in the xith Chapter, where he treats alfo of the Kingdom of Chrift. Give me leave to fet down his Words, vcr. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. But with Righteoufnefs Jloall he judge the Toor, and reprove with Equity, jor the Meek of the Earth : and he Jhall fmite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouth, and with the Breath of his Lips ]h all he (lay the IVicked. And Right e> oufnefs fJoall be the Girdle of his Loins, and Faith- fulnefs the Girdle of his Rems. The Wolf alfo Jh all dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard Jhall lie down with the Kid ; and the Calf and the young Lyon, and the Fat ling together, and a little Child [hall lead them. And the Cow and the Bear Jhall feed, and their young Ones Jhall lie down together ; and the Lyon Jhall eat Straw like the Ox. And the fucking Child Jhall p>lay on the Hole of the Afp, and the weaned Child Jhall put his Hand on the Cockatrice-'Den. They Jhall not hurt nor deftroy in all my holy Mountain ; Jor the Earth fo all be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. Thus far the Prophet. Now if we join this to what we noted before, from his Ixvth Chapter, concerning the fame State, 'twill be impoffible to underftand it of any Order of Things, that is now, or hath been hitherto in the World 5 And confequently it muft be the Idea of fomc State to come, and particularly of that which we call the future Kingdom of Chrift. The fame pacifkk Temper, Innocency and Juftice, are celebrated by this Prophet, when - the 236 The Theory of the Earth. the Mountain of the Lord jhall be ejlablijhed in the Top oj the Mountains, Chap. ii. 2, 4. And he Jhall judge amongjl the Nations, and Jhall re- buke many Teople 5 and they Jhall beat their Swords into Plow-Jhares, and their Spears into Truning-hooks. Nation Jhall not lift up Sword againjl Nation, neither Jhall they learn War any more. And as to Righteoufnefs, he fays, in the xxiiid Chapter, Behold a King Jhall reign in Rigb- teoujnefs, and ^Princes Jhall rule in Judgment, &c. Thefe Places, I know, ufually are apply'd to the firft coming of our Saviour; the Peaceablenefs of his Doctrine, and the Propagation of it thro* all the World. I willingly allow this to be a true Senfe, fo far 2s it will go : But 'tis one thing to be a true Senfe to fuch a Degree, and another thing to be the final Senfe and Accomplishment of a Prophecy. The Affairs of the firft and fe- cond coming of our Saviour are often mingled together in the Prophecies of the Old Tefia- merit ; but in that Mixture there are fome Cha- racters whereby you may diftinguifh what be- longs to his firft, and what to his fecond coming ; what to the Time when he came to fuffer, and what to the Time when he fhall come to reign. For Inftance, in thefe Pro- phecies recited, though there are many Things very applicable to his firft coming, yet that Regality which is often fpoken of, and that univerfal Peace and Innoccncy that will accom- pany it, cannot be verified of his coming in the Flefh, feeing it is plain, that in his State of Humiliation he did not come as a King, to rule Concerning the New Heavens , &c. 237 rule over the Nations of the Earth, {Matt. xx. 2 1 . Luke xxiii. 42.) And he fays him fclf exprefly, That his Kingdom is not of this World, John xviii. 3 6. And the Prayer of Salome, and of the good Thief upon the Crofs, fuppofe it not then pre- fent, but to come. Then as to the EftabJifliment oi'Peace in his Kingdom, it docs not at all ap- pear to me that there is more Peace in the World now, than there was before our Saviour came into it j or that the Chriftian Parts of the World are more peaceable than theUnchriftian. There- fore thefe great Promifes of a pacifick Kingdom, which are exprefs'd in Terms as high and empha- tical as can be imagin'd, muft belong to fome other Days, and fome other Ages, than what we have feen hitherto. You'll fay, it may be, 'Tis not the Fault of the Gofpel that the World is not peaceable, but of thole that profefs it, and do not pra&ife it. This is true, but it does not anfwer the Prophecy •, for that makes no Exception, and by fuch a Rcferve as this, you may elude any Prophecy. So the Jews lay, their MeJJiah defers his coming be- yond the Time appointed by Prophecy, becaulc of their Sins ; but we do not allow this for a good Reafon. The Israelites had their promifed Canaan, tho' they had render'd themfelves unwor- thy of it ; and by this Method of interpreting Prophecies, all the Happinefs and Glory promifed in the Millennial Kingdom of Chrift may come to nothing, upon a pretended Forfeiture. Threat- nings indeed may have a tacit Condition ; God may be better than his Word, and, upon Repen- 238 The Theory of the Earth. Repentance, divert his Judgments ; but he cannot be worfe than his Word, or fail of Performance, when, without any Condition exprefs'd, he pro- mifes or prophecies good Things to come : This would deftroy all AfTurance of Hope or Faith. Laftly, this Prophecy concerning pacifick Times or a pacifick Kingdom, is in the lxvth Chapter of Ifaiah, fubjoin'd to the Renovation of the Heavens and the Earthy and feveral Marks of a Change in the natural World ; which Things we know did not come to pals at the firft coming of our Saviour ; there was no Change of Nature then, nor has been ever fince : And therefore this happy Change, both in the natural and moral World, is yet to come. But, as we faid before, we do not fpeak this exclufively of the firft coming of our Saviour, as to other Parts of thefe Prophecies $ for no doubt that was one great Defign of them. And in the Prophecies of the Old Teftament, there are often three Gradations, or gradual Accomplishments ; the firft, in fome King of Ifrael, or fome Per- fon or Affair relating to Ifrael, as National only : The fecond, in the Median at his firft coming : And the laft, in the Meffiah, and his Kingdom at his fecond coming. And that which we affirm and contend for, is, that the Prophecies fore- mentioned have not a final and total Accom- plifhment, either in the Nation of the Jews, or at the firft coming of our Saviour ; and this we abide by. The next Prophet that we mention'd as a Witnefs of the future Kingdom of Chrift, is 'David, who, mhisTfalms, feems to be pleas'd with Concerning the New Heavens, &c. 2 3 9 with this Subject: above all others : And when he is moft exalted in his Thoughts and prophetical Raptures, the Spirit carries him into the King- dom of the MeiTiah, to contemplate its Glory, to fmg Praifes to its King, and triumph over his Enemies, 'Pfal. lxviii. Let God arife, let his Enemies be fcattered 5 Let them alfo that hate him flee before him : As Smoak is driven away 9 fo drive them away 5 as Wax melteth before the Fire, fo let the Wicked perifh at the Trefence of God : But let the Righteous be glad, &c. The plain Ground he goes upon in this 'Pfalm, is the Deliverance out of of LO R^DS, Apoc. xix. 15, 16. This is the fame gloriousConqueror and Bridegroom in both Places; and this Victory is not gain'd, nor thefe Nuptials compleated, till the fecond Coming of our Saviour. In many other Pfalms there are Reflecti- ons upon this happy Kingdom, and the Tri- umph of Chrift over his Enemies, as Pfal. ii. "PfaL ix. 'Tfal. xxi. and xxiv. and xlvii. and lxxxv. and ex. and others. In thele, and luch-like Pfalms, there are Lineaments and Colours of a fairer State than any we have yet feen upon Earth. Not but that in their firit Inftances and Grounds they may fomctimes refpect the State of Ifrael, or the Evangelical State ; but the Eye of the Pro- phet goes farther; this does not terminate his Sight : His Divine Enthuftafm reaches into another World ; a World of Peace, and Juftice, and Ho- lme fs ; of Joy, and Victory, and Triumph over all the Wicked 5 and confequently fuch a World, as neither we nor our Fathers, have yet feen. This is an Account of two Prophets 'David, f and Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 241 and Ifaiah -, and of what they have more open! declar'd concerning the future Kingdom of Chrift. But to verify St. 'Peter's Words, in that fore-mention'd Place, AEts iii. 21. viz. That all the Holy Prophets fince the JVorld begayi, have fpokcn of the Reftauration of all Things at the iecond coming of Chrift. 1 lay, to verify this Aflcrtion of St. Peter, we muft fuppofe, that, where the Prophets fpeak of the Reftauration and future Glory of Judah and Jerufalem,. they do, under thofc Types, repre- sent to us the Glory and Happincfs or the Church in the future Kingdom of Chrift ; And mod of the Prophets, in this Senfe, and under thefe Forms, have fpoken of this King- dom ; in foretelling the Reftauration of Jem falem and Sion ; and happy Days, Peace, Plen- ty, and Profperity to the People of Ifrac? -Moll of the Prophets, I fay, from Mdfes to Malachi, have fpoken of this Reftauration. Mo- fesy in the xxx th ofDeut. vcr. 4, 5, 9. ?) in many of thofe Pfalms we have cited : Ifii. befides the Places fore-mention'd, treats am of this Subj ed, chap. li. and in feveral otru Places*. So like wife the Prophets Ezekie; Daniel, Hofea, Joel, Amos, Ohadiah, Mi cah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zaclary, Malachi: All thefe have, either cxprefty, or under the Types of Jerufalem and Sion, foretold happy * Ifaiah c/p. yi\.cb.yX\\\.cb. xlix. 13, tcc.cb. ixvi. Ezekiel, eh. xxvilu cb. xxxvii. Hofea, cb. iii. and cb. xiv. Joel iii. 18. Amo, cb. ix, Obad. ver. 17, &c. Mich. cb. iv. cb. v. Teph. iii. 14. gcc. Haggai, cb. ii. Zach. ii. 10, Sec. and cb, ix. 9, &c. and cb. xiv. Mil. cb. iii. cb. iv. Book IV. R Days? 24- The Theory of the EarT h. Days, and a glorious Triumph to the Church of God. And feeing in the New Teftament, and in the Prophecies of St. John, the Chriftian Church is ftill reprefented, as under Perfecuti- on and Diftrefs, till the Fall of Anti-chrift, and the millennial Kingdom 5 'tis then, and not till then, that we muft expect: the full Accom- plifhment of thefe Prophecies; the Refkaurati- on that St. Peter fays was fpoken of, by all the 'Prophets -> and the Myftery, which St. John fays (Apoc. x. 7.) was declared by his Servants the 'Prophets, and would befinifh'd under the fe- "jentb Trumpet, which ufhers in the Kingdom of Chrift. It would be too long to examine all thefe Pla- ces in the Prophets, which you may confult at Leiiure. However, it cannot feem ftrange that Jerufalem(ho\i\d be us'd in a typical or allegori- cal Senfe, feeing we often find fuch Applicati- ons of it in the New Teftament ; as Gal. iv. 26. Heb.xii.22. Apoc.iii. 12. And 'tis very natural that Jerufalem reftofd, mould fignify the fame thing as new Jerufalem -, and therefore that St. John, by \±\&new Jerufalem, intended the fame thing, or the fame State, that the antient Pro- phets did by their Reftauration of Jerufalem. And if neither can be understood in a literal Senfe, which, I believe, you will not contend for, they muft both be interpreted of the fu- ture Happinefs and Glory of the Church in the Kingdom of Chrift. But to conclude this Point wholly as to Scrip- ture ; if we make Reflection upon all the Pana- res allcdged in this and the foregoing Chapter, whether, Concerning the new Heavens > &c. 243 whether out of the Old or New Teftament, \vc nuift at leaft acknowledge thus much, that there are happy Days, at one time or other : Days of Peace and Righteoumeis; of Joy and Triumph, of external Profperity, and internal Sanctity ; when Virtue and Innocency fhall be m the Throne, and Vice and vitious Men ourof Power or Credit.That there are fuch happy Days prophefied of in Scripture, and promifed to the Church of God. Whether you cali this the Reign ofChrifi and of his Saints,or by any other Name, it is not material at prtfent to deter- mine ; let the Title be what you will, as to the Subftancc it cannot be denied to be a gene- ral Doctrine of prophetical Scripture. And we mult not imagine, that the Prophets wrote like the Poets 5 feigned an Idea of a roraan- tick State, that never was, nor ever will be, only to pleafe their own Fancies, or the cre- dulous People. Neither is it the State of Hea- ven and eternal Life that is here meant or in- tended : For, befides that they had little or no Light concerning thofe. Notions, in. the Old Teftament, the Prophets generally, in their Defcription of this Happinefs, either ex- prefs the Earth, or at leaft give plain Marks of a terreitrial State. Wherefore, the only Queftion that remains, is this, Wbetker thefe happy Days are paft already, or to come ? Whether this blcffed State of the Church is behind us, or before us ? Whether our Prede- ceflbrs have enjoyed it, or our Pofterity is to expect it ? For we are very lure that it is not prcfent. The World isfuli of Wars, andRu- R 2 mours 244 The Theory of the Earth. 1 mours of Wars ; of Vice and Knavery, of Op- prcflion and Perfccution : and thcfe arc things directly contrary to the Genius and Characters of the State which we look after. And if we look for it in Times paft, we can go no farther back than the beginning of Chri- itianity. For St. John> the laft of the Apoftles, propheiTed of thefe Times, as to come -, and plac d them at the End of his Syftem of Prophe- cies ; whereby one might conclude,that they are not only within the Compafs of the Chriftian Ages, but far advanced into them. But however, not to infill upon that at prefent, where will you find a thoufand Years, from the Birth of Chri- ftian ity to this prefent Age, that deferves the Name, or anfwers to the Characters of t\\\spure and pacifick State of the Church? Thefirft A- ges of Chriftianity,asthey were the moft pure, fo iikcwife were they the leaft peaceable 5 conti- nually ; moreorlefs,underthePeriecutionofthe Heathen Emperors ; and fo far from being the Reign and Empire of Chrift and his Saints over the Nations, that Chriftians were then, every where, in Subjection or Slavery 5 a poor, feeble, hclplefs People, thruft into Prifons, or thrown to the Lions, at the Pleafure of their Princes or lUilers. 'Tis true, when the Empire became Chriftian under Conftantine, in the fourth Cen- tury, there was, for a time, Peace and Profpe- rity in the Church, and a good Degree of Pu- rity and Piety 5 but that Peace was foon di- fturb'd, and that Piety foon corrupted. The growing Pride and Ambition of the Eccleft- .aiUcks, and their cafmeis to admit or intro- duce Concerning the new Heavens] &c. 245 duce fuperftitious Pra&iccs, deftroy'd the Pu- rity of the Church. And as to the Peace of it, their Contefts about Opinions and Doc- trines, tore the Chriftians themfelves into Pieces ; and, loon after, an Inundation of barbarous People fell into Chriftendom, and put it all into Flames and Confufion. After this Eruption of the Northern Nations, Ma- hometanifm rofe in the Ea/l ; and fwarms of Saracens, like Armies of Locufts, invaded, conquer'd, and planted their Religion in le- veral Parts of the Roman Empire, and of the Chriftianiz'd World. And can we call fuch Times the Reign of Chrift, or the Imprifon- ment of Satan ? In the following Ages, the Turks overran the Eaftern Empire and the Greek Church, and ftill hold that miferable People in Slavery. Providence feems to have fo order'd Affairs, that the Chriftian World fhould be never without a W O E upon it, left it fhould fancy it felf already in thofe happy Days of Peace and Profperity, which are referv'd for future Times. Laftly, who- foever is fenfible of the Corruptions and Per- fections of the Church of Rome, fmce ihe came to her Greatnels* whofoever allows her to be Myftical Babylon, which muft fall be- fore the Kingdom of Chrift comes on, will think that Kingdom duly plac'd by St. John at the End of his Prophecies, concerning the Chriftian Church ; and that there ftill re- mains, according to the Words of St. 'Paul, (Heb. iv. 9.) a Sabbatifm to the People of Goo], R 3 Chap. ^\6 The Theory of the Earth. C h a p. IV. TheScnfe andTeftimony ofihePrimitiveChurch concerning the Millennium, or future Kin?- dom of Chrift -, from the Times of the Apo- JiLs to the Nicenc Council. The fecoyid Pro- portion laid down. When-, by what Means , and for what Reafons, that T>ottrine was afterwards neglected or difcountenancd. YO U have heard the Voice of the Prophets and ApoftleSj declaring the future King- dom of Chrift : Next to theie, the 'Primitive Fathers are accounted of good Authority 5 let us therefore now enquire into their Senfe con- cerning this Doctrine, that we may give Satis- faction to all Parties 5 and both thole that are guided by Scripture alone, and thofe that have a Veneration for Antiquity, may find Proofs iuitable to their Inclinations and Judgment. And to make few Words of it, we will lay down this Conclufion ; That the millennial Kingdom of Chrift was the general 'Doctrine of the Primitive Church, from the Times of the Apoflles to the Nicene Council, inclufively. St. ^/^out-liv'd all the reft of the Apoftles, and towards the latter end of his Life, being banifh'd into the Ifle of Pathmos, he wrote his Apocalypfe ; wherein he hath given us a more ful 1 and diftincl Account of the millennial King- dom of Chrift, than any of the Prophets or Apo- ftles before him. Papias, Biftiop of Hierapolis, and Martyr,onc of St. Johns Auditors,as Irena- ps teftifies, Jren. Lib 5. c. 33. taught the fame Doctrine Concerning the new Heaven?, &c. 247 Doftrine after St. John. He was the familiar Friend of Tolycarp, another of St. John'sDiC- ciples 5 and either from him, or immediately from St. Johns Mouth, he might receive this Do&rine. That he taught it in the Church, is agreed on by all Hands ; both by thole that are his Followers, as Irepaus ; and thofe that are not Weil-wifhers to this Doctrine, as Eufebius and Jerome. There is alfo another Channel wherein this Do&rine is traditionally deriv'd from St. John, namely, by the Clergy of Afia ; as Irenaus tells us in the fame Chapter. For, arguing the Point, he fhews that the Biefling promis'd to Jacob from his Father Ifdac, was not made good to him in this Life, and therefore he fays, without doubt thofe f Fords had a farther Aim andTrofpefl upon the Times of the Kingdom : (fo they us'd to call the millennial State) when the J lift rifingfrom the c Dead,ft>all reign ; and when Nature renew' d and fet at Liberty? jhall yield Plenty and Abundance of all things j being blejl with the 'Dew of Heaven-, and a great Fertility of the Earth according as has been related by thofe Ecclefiaflicks or Clergy, whofaw S.]o\mjhe DifcipleofChrift ; and heard of him WHAT OUR LORT) HAT> TAUGHT CONCERNING THOSE TIMES. This you fee, goes to the Fountain-Head : The Chri- ftian Clergy receive it from St. John, and St. John relates it from the Mouth of our Saviour. So much for the original Authority of this Dodhine, as a Tradition 5 that it was from St. John, and by him from Chrift. ' And as to B, 4 the 243 The Theory of the E art h. the Propagation and prevailing of it in the Pri- mitive Church, we can bring a Witncfs beyond ail Exception, Juftin Martyr, cotemporary with Irenaus, and his Senior. He fays, that himjelf and all the Orthodox Chriftiansofhis Time ', did acknowledge the Refur reel ion of the Flefh (luppoic the firflRefurrection) and a thou- fand Tears reign in Jerufalcm reftor'd, or in the newJerufalem,- c D/tf/. with Tryphon the few. According as the 'Prophets Ezekiel, and Ifaiah, and other s y atteft with common Confent. As St. 'Peter had faid before, Acts iii. 2 1 . That all the Prophets had Jpoken of it. Then he quotes the lxv th Chapter of Ifaiah, which is a Bulwark for this Doctrine, that never can be broken. And to fhew the few, with whom he had this Pifcourfe, that it was the Senfe of our Prophets, as well as of theirs, he tells him, that a certain Man amongjl us Chriflians, by Name John, one of the Apo files of Chrift, in a Revelation wade to him did prop he fy, that the faithful Believers in Chrift fkould live a thou- fand Tears in the new ]erufalemj and after fhatfoorddbe the general Re fur recTwn and\Day 9J Judgment. Thus you have the Thoughts and Sentiments of jfuftin Martyr, as to him- ielfj as to all the reputed Orthodox cf his Time; as to the Senfe of the Prophets in the Old Tefhmcnt, and as to the Senfe ot' St. John jn thp Apocalypf • all confpiring in Confir- mation of the millcnnary Doct rine. To thefe three Witnefles, Papias, Jrenatts and Juftin Martyr, we may add two more \vithin the iccond Age of the Church -, Melito, Biihop Concerning the new Heavens, &c? 24^ lUfhop of Sardis, and St. Barnabas, or who-r foever was the Author of the Epiftle under his Name. This Melito, by fome, is thought to be the Angel of the Church of Sardis, to whom St. John directs the Epiftle to that Church, Apoc. iii. 1. but I do not take him to be fo ancient 5 however, he was Bifhop of that Place, at leaft in the fecond. Century, and a Peribn of great Sanctity and Learning : He wrote many Books, as you may ice in St. Jerome \ and, as he notes out of Tertul- lian, was by mofl Chriftians reputed a 'Pro- phet (T)e Script. Ecckf.T>ogm. EccL c. lv.) He was alio a declar'd Milleymary ', and is re- corded as fuch, both by Jerome and Gcnna- dius. As to the Epiftle of Barnabas, which we mentioned, it muft be very ancient, whofo- ever is the Author of it, and before the third Century ; feeing it is often cited by Clemens Alexandrians, who was himfelf within the fecond Century ; The Genius of it is very much Millennarian, in the Interpretation of the Sabbath, thepromis'd Land, a 'Day for a thou- f and Tears, and concerning the Renovation of the JVorld. In all which, he follows the Foot- fteps of the Orthodox of thofe Times 5 that is, of the Millennarians . So much for the firft and fecond Centuries of the Church. By which fhort Account it appears, that the miliennary Doctrine was Or- thodox and Catholick in thofe early Days -, for thele Authors do not fct it down as a private Opinion of their own, but as zChrifiian'Docr pine, or an Apofiolical 'Tradition. J Tis re- markably £$6 The Theory of the E art h.^ markable what Tapias fays of himfelf, and his way of Learning, in his Book call'd, The Explanation of the Words of the Lord, as St. Jerome gives an Account of it : {T)e Script. Ecclef) He fays in his Preface, He did mot follow 'various Opinions, but had the A- foftles for his Authors : And that he con- fidefd what Andrew, and what Peter [aid ; what Philip, what Thomas, and other ^Dif ciples of the Lord •, as alfo what Ariftion, and John the Senior, T>ifciples of the Lord, what they /poke. And that he did not pro- fit fo much by reading Books, as by the li- ming Voice of thefe Perfons, which refounded from them to that "Day. This hath very much the Air of Truth and Sincerity, and of a Man that, in good carneft, fought after the Chri- flian Doclrine, from thofe that were the mod tiuthentick Teachers of it. I know Eufebius, in his Ecclefiajlical Hi/lory, gives a double Character of this Papias -, in one Place he calls him, A very eloquent Man in all Things, and skilful in Scripture ; and in another, he makes him a Man of a fmall Under ft anding^ (Vid. Hie- xon.Epift. 28.^/Lucinium.) But whatRea- fon there is to fufpecl Eufebius of Partiality in this Point of the Millennium, we fhall make ap- pear hereafter. However, we do not depend upon the Learning of Tapias, or the Depth of hisUndcrftanding j allow him but to be an ho- neft "Man and a fair Witnefs, and 'tis all we defire. And we have little reafon to queftion his Teftimony in this Point, feeing it is back'd \>y others of good Credit 5 and all becaufe there Concerning the new Heavens, ttc. 251 there is no Counter-Evidence, nor any Wit- nefs that appears againft him : For there is not extant, either the Writing, Name, or Memory, of any Pcrfon that contefted this Po&rinc in the firft or fecond Century : I fay, that call'd in queftion thismiliennary Doelrinc, propos'd after a Chriftian Manner, unlefs fuch Hereticks as denied the Refurredion wholly, or fuch Chriftians as deny'd the Divine Au- thority of the Apocalypfe. We proceed now to the third Century; where you find Tertullian, Origen, Vitforinus, Bifhop and Martyr ; Nepos <^/Egyptius, Cy- prian, and, at the End of it, LacJantius ; all openly profefllng, or implicitly favouring, the mill en nary Doctrine. We do not mention Clemens Ale xandr inns, contemporary with Tertullian , becaufe he hath not any thing, that I know of, exprefly either for, or againft the Millennium : But he takes notice that the feventh 'Day hath been accounted Sacred, both by the Hebrews and Greeks, becaufe of the Revolution of the World, and the Renovation of all Things. And giving this as a Reafon why they kept that Day holy, feeing there is not a Revolution of the World, every feven Days, it can be in no other Senfe than as the feventh Day reprefents the feventh Millennary ', in which the Renovation of the World and the Kingdom of Chrift, is to be. As to Tertullian, St. Jerome reckons him, in the firft place, a- niongft the Latin Millennaries. And tho' his Book, about the Hope of the Faithful, as alio {hat about 'Paradife, which mould have given 1 us w$ z The Theory of the Earth? us the greateft Light in this Affair, be both loft or fupprefs'd ; yet there arc fufficient Indi- cations of his millennary Opinion in hisTratts againft Marcion , and againft Hermogenes. St. Cyprian was Tertulliaris Admirer, and in- clines to the fame Opinion, fo far as one can judge, in this particular ; for his Period of fix thou fund Tears, and making the feventh Millennary the confummation of all, is wholly according to the Analogy of the millennary Doctrine. As to the two Bifhops, VtElori- %us and Nepos, St. Jerome vouches for them : The Writings of the one are loft, and of the other fo chanGj'd, that the Senfe of the Author does not appear there now. But LacJantms, whom we nanVd in the laft Place, does open- ly and profufely teach this Doctrine, in his 'Divine Inflitutions, (Book vii.) and with the fame Afiurance that he does other Parts of the Chriftian Doctrine ; for he concludes thus, fpeaking of the Millennium, This is the T>oc- tri?ie of the holy 'Prophets, vohich vje Chrijli- ans follow j this is our Wifdom, &c. Yet he ac- knowledges there, that it was kept as a My- ftcry or Secret amongft the Chriftians, left the Heathens mould make any peiverfe or odious Interpretation of it. And for the fame or like Rcafon, I believe, the Book of the Apocalypfe was kept out of the Hands of the Vulgar for fome time, and not read publickly, left it mould be found to have fpoken too open- ly of the Fate of the Roman Empire, or of this millennial State. So much for the fhrft-j fecond and third Centuries Concerning the new Heavens, &c 25 5 Centuries of the Church : But by our Coa- clufion, we engag'd to make out this Proof as far as the Nicene Council, inclusively. The A 7 /- cene Council was about the Year of Chrift 525, and we may reafonably fuppofe LacJantius was then living 5 at lealt he came within the Time of Conjlantine's Empire. But however, the Fathers of that Council are themfelvcs our Witnefles in this Point j for in their Ecclefiaftical Forms or Conftitutions, in the Chapter about the 'Provi- dence of God, and about the World, theyfpealc thus : The World was made meaner, or lefs per- fect, providentially ;for Godforefaw that Man would Sin : Wherefore we expeff new Heavens and a new Earth, according to the holy Scriptures y at the Appearance and Kingdom of the great God, and our Saviour J efus Chrift. And then, as ^Daniel fays (chap. vii. 18.) The Saints of the moft High Jhall take the Kingdom, and the Earth Jhall be pure, holy, the Land of the Living, not of the Dead. Which David fore- feeing by the Eye of Faith, cries out.CPfal. xxvii. 13.)/ believe to fee the good Things of the Lord, in the Land of the Living. Our Saviour fays, happy are the Meek, for they pall infie- r it the Earth, Mat. v. 5. And the Prophet lfaizh. fays, (Chap. xxvi. 6.) the Feet of the meek and lowly Jhall tread upon it. So you fee, ac- cording to the Judgment of thefe Fathers, there will be a Kingdom of Chrift upon Earth ; and moreover, that it will be in the new Heavens and the new Earth : And, in both thefc Points, they cite the Prophets, and our Saviour in Confirmation of them, Thus 254 The Theory of the Earth. Thus we have difcharg' d our Promife, ant? given you an account of the Doclrine of the Millennium> or future Kingdom of Chrift, throughout the three firft Ages of the Church, before any confiderable Corruptions were crept into the Chriftian Religion. And thofe Authorities of fingle and fucceflive Fathers, we have feal'd up all together, with the Decla- ration of the Nicene Fathers, in a Body. Thofe that think Tradition a Rule of Faith, or a confiderable Motive to it, will find it hard to turn off the Force of thefe Teftimonies : And thofe that do not go fofar, but yet have a Reverence for Antiquity and the Primitive Church, will not eafily produce better Autho- rities, more early, more numerous, or more uncontradicted, for any Article that is not fundamental : Yet thefe are but Seconds to the Prophets and. Apoftles, who are truly the Principals in this Caufe. I will leave them all together, to be examin'd and weigh'd by the impartial Reader. And becaufe they feem to me to make a full and undeniable Proof, I will now, at the Foot of the Account, fet down our fecond Proportion, which is this, That there is a millennial State ', or a future Kingdom of Chrift and I. is Saints, prophefied of and pro- inifed, in the Old and New Teftament ; and receivd by the Trimitive Church as a Chrift i- anandCatholick'Docfrin. (Propof. I.) HxWING difpatch'd this main Point; to conclude the Chapter and this Head or our Difcourfe, it will be fome Satisfaction poflibly Cemernhg the new Heavens., &c 2 5 $ pofiibly to fee, How a Doctrine fo generally receiv'd and approv'd came to decay, and ai- moft wear out of the Church, in following Ages. The Christian mihcnnary Doctrine was not call'd into Question, fo far as appears from Hiitory, before the middle of the third Century; y/thcn^Dionyfrns Alexandrinus wrote againft Nepos, an (^Egyptian Bifcov, who had declar'd himfelf upon that Subject. But we do not find that this Book had any great Ef- fe& ; for the Declaration or Constitution of the Nicene Fathers was after ? and in St. Je- rome's Time, who wrote towards the End of the fourth Century, this Doctrine had fo much Credit, that he, who was its greateft Adverfary, yet durfl: not condemn it, as he fays himfelf; §)u£ licet non fequamur, tamen damnare nonpoffumtts ; quia multi Ecclefiafiico- rum virorum & martyr es ifia dixerunt : Which Things or c Doc~trines, fpeaking of the Millen- nium, tho' we do not follow, yet we cannot condemn j becaufe many of our Churchmen, and Martyrs have affirmed thefe things. And when Apollinarius reply'd to that Book of c Dionyfius, St. Jerome fays, that, not only thofe of his own Sect-, but a great Multitude of other Chrijlians did agree with A polli na- nus in that particular : Ui prefaga mente jam cernam, quantorum in me rabies concitanda ft -•> That now I fore fee, how many will be en- rag d againft me, for what I have fpoken a- gainft the millennary T>ocirine, We may therefore conclude that in St. Je- romes Time the Milknnaries made the greater *" Party 256 The Theory of the Earth.' Party in the Church ; for a little Matter would not have frighted him from cenfuring their Opinions. St. Jerome was a rough and rugged Saint, and an unfair Adverfary, that ufually run down with Heat and Violence, what flood in his Way. As to his Unfairnefs, he fhews it fufficiently in this very Caufe, for he generally reprefcnts the millennary Doctrine after zjudaical, rather than zChriftian Man- ner. And in reckoning up the chief Patrons of it, he always skips Juflin Martyr s who was not a Man fo obfeure as to be over-look'd : And he was a Man that had declar'd himfelf fufficiently upon this Point 5 for he fays, Both himfelf and all the Orthodox of his time, were of that Judgment-, and applies both the dpo- calypfe of St. John, and the lxv th Chapter of Ifaiah, for the Proof of it 5 as we noted before. As St. Jerome was an open Enemy to this Doctrine, lb Eufebius was a back Friend to it 5 and reprefented every thing to its Difadvan- tage, fo far as was tolerably confident with the Fairnefs of an Hiftorian. He gives a flight Character of Tapias, without any Authority for it 5 and brings in one Gains, that makes Cerinthus to be the Author of the Apocalypfe and of the Millennium {Ecclef Hift. I. iii. c. 32.) and calls the Vifions there, Tip^joKoyUq, mon- ffrous Stories. He himfelf is willing to muffle off that Book from John the Evangelifl to an- other John a 'Presbyter ; and to fhew his Skill in the Interpretation of it, (/. 3. c. 32. de t/t. Conflan.) he makes the new Jerufalem in the xxi th Chapter to be Conftantines Jerufalem, when Concerning the new Heaven t ', &c. 257 when he tum'd the Heathen Temples there into Chriftian : A wonderful Invention. As St. "Jerome by his Flouts, fo Ettfebius, by fini- fter Infinuations, endeavour'd to leiTen the Reputation of this Doctrine 5 and the Art they both us'd was, to mifreprefent it as JudaicaL But we muft not call off every Doctrine which the Jews believ'd, only for that Reafon ; for we have the lame Oracles which they had, and the fame Prophets ; and they have collect- ed from them the fame general Doctrine that we have, namely, that there will be an happy andpacifick State of the Churchy in fu- ture Times. But as to the Circumftances of this State we differ very much : They fuppofe the Mofaical Law will be reftor'd, with all its Pomp, Rites, and Ceremonies : whereas we fuppofe the Chriftian Worfhip, or fomething more perfect, will then take Place. Yet St. Jerome has the Confidence, even there where he fpeaks of the many Chriftian Clergy and Martyrs that held this Doctrine 5 has the Confidence, I fay, to reprefent it, as if they held that Circumcifion, Sacrifices, and ail the Judaical Rites, mould then be reftor'd. Which feems to me to be a great Slander, and a great Inftance how far Mens Paflions will carry them, in mifreprefenting an Opinion, which they have a Mind to difgrace. But as we have Reafon to blame the Par- tiality of thofe that oppofed this Doctrine ; fo, on the other Hand, we cannot excufe the Pa- trons of it from all Indifcretions. I believe they might partly themfelves make it obno- Book IV. S xious 258 The Theory of the Eart h. xious ; by mixing fome things with it, from pretended Traditions, or the Books of the Sybills, or other private Authorities, that had fo fufficient warrant from Scripture -, and things, fometimes, that Nature would not eafily bear. Befidcs, in latter Ages, they feem to have dropt one half of the Doctrine, name- ly, the Renovation of Nature, which Irenxus, Jujlin Martyr, and the Antients, join infepa- rably with the Millennium : And by this O- miflion, the Doctrine hath been made lefs in- telligible, and one Part of it inconfiftent with another. And when their Pretentions were to reign upon this prefent Earth, and in this prefent State of Nature, it gave a jealoufy to temporal Princes, and gave occafion like- wife to many of Fanatical Spirits, under the Notion of Saints, to afpire to Dominion, after a violent and tumultuary Manner. This I reckon as one great Caufe that brought the Doctrine intoDilcredit. But I hope by redu- cing of it to the true State, we {hall cure this and other Abufes for the future. Laftly, It never pleas'd the Church of Rome \ and fo far as the Influence and Authority of that would go, you may be fure it would be deprefs'd and difcountenanced. I never yet met with a Popifh Doctor that held the Mil- lennium •■> and Baronius would have it to pafs for an Herefy, and Tapias for the Inventor of it; whereas, if Irenteus may be credited, it was receiv'd from St. John, and by him from the Mouth of our Saviour. And neither St. Jerome, nor his Friend Pope Tiamafus, durft ever Concerning the new Heavens, See. 1 5 9 ever condemn it for an Herefy. It was al- ways indeed uncafy, and gave Offence to the Church of Rome ; becaufe it does not fuit to that Scheme of Chriftianity, which they have drawn. They fuppole Chrift reigns al- ready, by his Vicar, the Pope ; and treads upon the Necks of Emperors and Kings : And if they could but fupprefs the No r them Herc- fiy as they call it, they do not know what a Millennium would fignify, or how the Church could be in an happier Condition than fhc is* The Apocalyfe of St. John does fuppofe the true Church under hardfnip and Pcrfccution, more or lefs, for the grearcit Part of the Chrif- tian Ages ,• namely, for 1260 Years, while the Witneflfes are in lack-cloth. But the Church of Rome hath been in profperity and Greatnefs, and the commanding Church in Chriftendom, for fo long, or longer, and hath rui'd the Nations with a Rod of Iron ; fo as that Mark of the true Church does not favour her at all. And the Millennium being proper- ly a Reward and Triumph for thofe that come out of Perfecution, fuch as have liv'd always in Pomp and Profperity, can pretend to no Share in it, or Benefit by it. This has made the Church of Rome have always an ill Eye upon this Doftrinc, becaufe it feenVd to have an ill Eye upon her ; And as fhe grew in Splendor and Greatnefs, fhe eclips'd and ob- fcur'd it more and more 5 fo that it would have been loll out of the World as an ob- folete Error, if it had not been revived by fome of the Reformation. S a CH A P.. z do The Theory of the Eart h. Chap. VII. The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken from Scripture ; fome Miftakes concerning it examind. WE have made fufficient Proof of a mil- lennial State, from Scripture and An- tiquity 5 and upon that firm Bails have fettled our fecond Propofition. We mould now de- termine the Time and T 'lace of this future Kingdom of Chrift : not whether it is to be in Heaven, or upon Earth j for that we fup- pofe determin'd already 5 but whether it is to be in the prefent Earth, and under the prelent Conftitution of Nature, or in the new Hea- venSy and new Earth, which are promis'd after the Conflagration : This is to make our third ^Propofition : And I fhould have proceed- ed immediately to the Examination of it, but that I imagine it will give us fome Light in this Affair, if we enquire farther into the true State of the Millennium, before we determine its Time and Place. We have already noted fome moral Charac- ters of the millennial State ; and the great na- tural Character of it is this in general, that it will be Paradifaical - y free from all Incon- veniencies, either of external Nature, or of our own Bodies. For my part, I do not under- ftand, how there can be any confiderable De- gree of Happinefs without Indolency ; nor how there can be Indolency, while we have fuch Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 2 6 1 fuch Bodies as we have now, and fuch an ex- ternal Constitution of Nature. And as there muft be Indolency, where there is Happinefs ; fo there mull: not be Indigency, or want of any due Comforts of Life : For where there is Indigency, there is Solicitude, and Diftra&ion, and Uneafinefs, and Fear 5 Pailions that do as naturally difquiet the Soul, as Pain does the Body. Therefore Indolency and Plenty feem to be two erTential Ingredients of every happy States and thefetwo, in Conjunction, make that State we call Taradifaical. Now the Scripture feems plainly to exempt the Sons of the new Jerufalem,ot of the Millen- nium, from all Tain or Want, in thofe Words, Apoc . xxi. 4. And God fhall wipe away all Tears from their Ryes : And there Jhall be no more TDeath, neither Sorrow, nor crying 5 neither fhall there be any more Tain: For the former Things are paffed away. And the Lord of that Kingdom, He that fat upon the Throne, faid, Behold I make all Things new, ver. 5. This Renovation is a Reftauration to fome former State 5 and I hope, not that State of Indigency and Mifery, and Difeafednefs, which we lan- guifh under at prefent; but to that priftine Taradifaical State, which was the Bleffing of the firft Heavens and the firit Earth. As Health and Plenty are the Bleillngs of Nature ; fo, in Civil Affairs, Teace is the great- eft Eleiling : And this is infeparably annex'd to the Millennium ; an indelible Charader of the Kingdom of Chrift. And by Teace, we under ftand not only Freedom from Perfecu? S 3 tioa 262 The Theory of the Eart h. tion upon religious Accounts, but that Nati- on fhall not rife up againfi Nation-, upon any Account whatsoever. That bloody Monfter, War, that hath devoured Lb many Millions of the Sons of Adam, is now at length to be chained up % and the Furies, that run through- out the Earth, with their Snakes and Torches, fhall be thrown into the Abyfs, to fting and prey upon one another : All evil and mifchie- vous Pallions fhall be extinguished ; and that not in Men only, but even in brute Creatures, according to the Prophets. The Lamb and the Lion fhall lie dow?i together, and the fucking Child fhall play with the BafilisL Happy Days, when not only the Temple of 'Janus fhall be fhut up for a thouland Years, and the Nations fhall beat their Swords into Plow- fhares; but all Enmities and Antipathies fhall ceafe, all Ads of Hoftility, throughout all Nature. And this universal Peace is a De- monftration alfo of the former Character, u- niverfal Plenty 5 for where there is a Want and Neceilitoufnefs, there will be quarrelling. Fourthly, 'Tis a Kingdom ofRighteoufnels, as well as of Peace : thefe alio mult go toge- ther : For unrighteous Perfons will not live Jong in Peace, no more than indigent Perfons. ThcPfalmif therefore joins them together -, and Plenty, alfo, as their neceffary Preferva- tive, in his Defcription of the Kingdom of Chrift, Pfal. lxxxv. 10,11,12. Mercy and Truth are met together : Right eoufnefs and Peace have kiffed each other. 'Truth fljall fpring out vfthe Earth, and Right eoufnefs fhall look down pom Concerning the new Heavens, &c 263 from Heaven. Tea y the Lord Jh all give good, and our Land fiall yield her Increafe. This will not be a Medley-State, as the prefent World is, good and bad mingled together; but a chofeti Generation, a royal 'Prtejlhood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People. Thofe that have a Part in the firft Refurrection, the Scripture pronounceth them Holy and Bleffed} and fays, The fecondT>eath foall have no Tower over them. Satan is alfo bound and {hut up in the bottomlefs Pit, and has no Liberty of tempting or ieduring this People, for a thoufand Years : but at the End of that Time, he will meet with a degenerate Crew, Ccparate and Aliens to the holy City, that will make War againfl it, and perifh in the Attempt. In a word, thofe that are to enjoy this State, are always diftin- guiflfd from the Multitude, as People redeem- ed from the Earth, {Apoc. v. 9.) that have wafh'd their Robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb ; and are reprefented asVic- tors over the World ; with fuch other Charac- ters as are incompatible to any but the Righte- ous, ch. vii. 14. ch. xiv. 3,4. ch. xxi. 27. Fifthly, This will be a State under a peculiar divine Prefence and Conduct. It is not ea(y indeed to determine the Manner of this Pre* fence; but the Scriptute plainly implies fome extraordinary divine Prefence to enlighten and enliven that State. When the new Jerusalem was come down, St. John fays, Apoc. xxi. 3. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, faying, behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men--, and he will dwell with them, and S 4 they 264 The Theory of the Ear th. they jhall be his People 3 and God himfelffhal/ be with them,andbe their God, And the like is pro- mised to the Palm- bearing Company, f^.vii. 1 5» where they are admitted to the Privileges of the new Jerufalem. When our Saviour was incar- nate, and vouchfafed to dwell amongft the Chil- dren of Men, the famePhrafeisus'dby this fame Author, ia-/,'/\vod 9 &c. We read it, He dwelt a- mong/l its, but render'd more cloiely, it is, He fet his Tabernacle among ft us. And that which the Hebrew* call then yyu Skekinah, or di- vine T re fence, Maimon. Mor. Nev.par. i.e. 2s. comes aom a Word of the like Signification and Sound with the Greek Word here us'd. Therefore there will be a Shekinah in that King- dom of Chrift 5 but as to the Mode of it, I am very willing to confefs my Ignorance. The 1 aft Char after that belongs to this State, or rather to thofe that enjoy it, is, that they are Kings and Triefts unto God. This is a Cha- racter often repeated in Scripture, and therefore the more to be regarded. It occurs thrice in the Apocalypfe in formal Terms, ch. i. 6. ch. v. 10. ch. xx. 6. And as to the Regal Dignity apart, that is farther expreft, either by the do- nation of a Kingdom, as in 'Daniel's Phrafe, chap. vii. 18, 22, 27. Or by placing upon Thrones, with a judicial Power j which is the New Teftament Style, Mat. xix. 28. LukexxYu 29,30. Rev. xx. 4. Thefe two Titles, no doubt, are intended to comprehend the higheft Ho- nours that we are capable of > thefe being the higheft Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 2 6$ higheft Dignities in every Kingdom ; and fuch as were by the Antients, both in the Eafi and in the fVefi, commonly united in one and the fame Per ion 5 Their Kings being Priefts, like Melchifedcck, or, as the Roman Emperor was, ^Pontifex Maximiis. But as to the facerdotal Character, that feems chiefly to refpcc~t the Temper of the Mind ; to fignify a People de- dicated to God and his Service,feparate from the World, and from fecular Affairs, fpending their time in Devotion and Contemplation, which will be the great Employments of that happy State. For where there is Eafe,Peace,and Plenty of all Things,refin'd Bodies, and purified Minds, there "will be more Inclination to intellectual Exercifesand Entertainments j which they may attend upon, without any Diftra&ion, having neither Want, Pain, nor worldly Bufinefs. The Title of King implies a Confluence of all Things that conftitute temporal Happinefs. 'Tis the higheft thing we can wifh any in this World, to be a King 5 So as the Regal Dignity feems to comprehend all the Goods of Fortune, or external Felicity, and the Sacerdotal, the Goods of the Mind, or internal ; both which concur in the Conftitution of true Happinefs. There is alfo a further Force and Emphafis in this Notion of the Saints being made Kings, if we confider it comparatively ', with refpett to what they were before in this World 5 where they were not only mean and defpicable, in Subje&ion and Servility, but often under Perfe- ction, abus'd and trampled upon by the Secu- lar and Ecclefiaftical Powers, But now the Scene 266 The Theory of the Earth. 1 Scene is chang'd, and you fee the reverfe o£ Providence, according as Abraham laid to the Rich- Man 5 Son, remember that thou in thy Life time receive dft thy good things ; and like- wife Lazarus evil things : But now he is com- forted, and thou art tormented. Now they are let upon Thrones and Tribunals, who were be- fore arraigned as Criminals, and brought before tyrannical Judicatures: They are now Laws and Law-givers to themfelves, in a true State of Royal Liberty, neither under the Dominati- on of evil Men, nor oi their own evil Paffions. Some poilibly may think, that this high Characler of being made briefs and Kings to God, is not general to all that enjoy the Millen- nium > but a Prerogative belonging to the Apo- ftles and fome of the chief Martyrs, who are eminently rewarded for their eminent Services. But Scripture as far as I perceive, applies it to all that inherit that Kingdom. The redeemed out of every Kitidred, and Tongue, and Teople, and Nat ion ,are made Kings and "Triefls to God y and fi all reign on the Earth, Apoc. v. 9, 10, And in the xx th chap. ver. 6. all the Sons of the rlrit Refurrection are made Triefts of God, and fhall reign with him a thoufand Tears. Here is no Diftinction or Difcriminationthus far : Not that we fuppofe an unverfal Equality of Con- ditions in the millennial State ; but as to all thefe Characters which we have given of it, \ do not perceive that they are reftrain'd or con- fin'd by Scripture to fingle Perfons, but make the general Happinefs of that State, and are the Portion of every one that is admitted into the new Jerufalem. 4 Others Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 267 Others poflibly may think that this Privi- lege of the jirft RefurrecJion is not common to all that enjoy the millennial State. For tho' St. John, who is the only Perfon that hath made exprefs mention of the fir ft: RefurrecJion, and of the thoufand Tears Reign of Chrilt, does join thefe two as the fame thing, and common to the fame Perfons 5 yet I know there are fome that would diftinguilh them as things of a different Extent, and alfo of a different Nature. They fuppofe the Martyrs only will rife from the Dead, and will be immediately tranflated into Heaven, and there pafs their Millennium in celeftialGlory ,• while the Church is (till here below, in her Millennium^ fuch as it is: A State indeed better than ordinary, and free from Perfecution, but obnoxious to all the Inconveniences of ourprefent mortal Life, and a Medley of good and bad People,\vithout Sepa- ration. This is fuch an Idea of the Millennium-, as, to my Eye, hath neither Beauty in it, nor Foundation in Scripture. That the Citizens of the new Jerufalem are not a mifcellaneous Company, but a Community of righteous Perfons, we have noted before, and that the State of Nature will be better than it is at prefent. But, befides this, what Warrant have they for this Afcenfton of the Martyrs into Heaven at that Time ? Where do we read of that in Scripture ? And in thofe things that are not Matters of natural Order, but of divine Oeconomy, we ought to be very careful how We add to Scripture. The Scripture fpcaks only of the Refurrec- tion 268 The Theory of the Earth. tion of the Martyrs, Apoc.xx.. 45. but not a Word concerning their Afcenfion into Heaven* Will that bevifible? We read of our Saviour's Refurredion and Afcenfion, and therefore we have Reafon to affirm them both. We read alfo of the Refurredion and Afcenfion of the Witnejfes, {Apoc. xi.) in a figurative Senfe - 3 and in that Senfe we may affert them upon good Grounds. But as to the Martyrs, we read of their Refurredion only, without any thing ex- preft or imply'd about their Afcenfton. By what Authority then fhall we add this new Kotion to the Hiftory or Scheme of the Mil- lennium ? The Scripture, on the contrary, makes mention of the Defcent of the new Jerufalem, Apoc. xxi. 2. making the Earth the Theatre of all that Affair : And the Camp of the Saints is upon the Earth, ver. 9. and thefe Saints are the fame Perfons, fo far as can be colleded from the Text, that rote from the < Dead y and reign' divith Chrijl, and were Trie/Is to Godj ver. 4, 5, 6. Neither is there any Di- ftindion made, that I find, by St. John, of two forts of Saints in the Millennium, the one in Heaven, and the other upon Earth. Laftly, the four and twenty Elders, chap. v. 10. tho' they were Kings and Triefts unto God, were content to reign upon Earth. Now who can you fuppofe of a fuperior Order to thefe four and twenty Elders ? Whether they reprefent the twelve Patriarchs and twelve Apoftles, or whomfoever they reprefent, they are plac'd next to him that fits upon the Throne, and they have Crowns of Gold upon their Heads, chap, iv, Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 269 chap. iv. 4. ch. xi. 1 6. There can be no Marks of Honour and Dignity greater than thefe are 5 and therefore feeing thefe higheft Dignitaries in the Millennium or future Kingdom of Chrift, are to reign upon Earth, there is no Ground to fuppofe the Aflumption of any other in- to Heaven, upon that Account, or upon that Oecafion. This is a fhort and general Draught of the millennial State, or future Reign of the Saints, according to Scripture. Wherein I have en- deavour'd to rectify fome Miftakes or Mifcon- ceptions about it -, that viewing it in its true Nature, we may be the better able to judge, when and where it will obtain : which is the next Thing to be confider'd. Chap. VIII. The third c PropoJition laid down-, concerning the Time and 'Place of the Millennium : Several Arguments usd, to prove, that it cannot be till after the Conflagration $ and that the new Heavens and the new Earth are the true Seat of the bleffed Millennium. WE now come to the third and laft Head of our Difcourfe -, to determine the Time and 'Place of the Millennium. And fee- ing it is indifferent, whether the Proofs lead or follow the Conclufton, we will lay down the Conclufion in the firft Place, that our Bufinefs may be more in View ; and back it with Proofs 4 in %yo The Theory of the Eart h. in the following Part of the Chapter. Our third and laft Proportion therefore is this, That the bleffed Millennium, Tropof. 3 . (pro- perly ib called) according as it is defer ib'd in Scripture, cannot obtain in the prefent Earthy nor under the prefe?it Conftitution of Nature and 'Providence ; hit it is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth y after the Con- flagration. This Proportion it may be, will feem a Paradox or Singularity to many, even of thole that believe a Millennium: We will therefore make it the Bufmefs of this Chapter, to ftate it, and prove it, by fuch Arguments as are manifeftly founded in Scripture and in Reafon. And to prevent Miftakes, we mull premife this in the rirft Place ; that tho' the bleffed Mil- lennium will not be in this Earth 5 yet we allow that the State of the Church here, will grow much better than it is at prefent. There will be a better Idea of Chriftianity, and ac- cording to the Prophecies, a full RefurretJion of the IVitneffes, and an Afcenfion into Power, and the tenth Part of the City will fall ; which things imply eaie from Perfccution, the Converfion of fome Part of the Chriftian World to the reformed Faith, and a confider- able Diminution of the Power of Antichrift. But this ftill comes fhort of the Happinefs and Glory wherein the future Kingdom of Chrift is reprefented; which cannot come to pafs till the Man of Sin be deftroyed, with a total Deftruclion. After the Refurrection oi the Witneffes, there is a third JVOE yet to come ; and Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 271; and how long that will laft, docs not appear. If it bear proportion with the preceeding WO E S, it may laft fome hundreds of Years. And we cannot imagine the Millennium to be- gin till that WOE be finifhed : As neither till the Vials be pour'd out, in the xv th chap, which cannot be all pour'd out till after the Remrrcc- tion of the Witneffes 5 thofe Vials being the laft Plagues that compleat the Deftruclion of Antichrift. Wherefore allowing that the Church, upon the Refurrc&ion and Afcenfton of the Witnefies, will be advane'd into a bet- ter Condition, yet that Condition cannot be the millennial State ; where the Beaft is utter- ly deftroy'd, and Satan bound, and caft into the bottomlefs Pit. This being premis'd, let us now examine what Grounds there are for the Tranflation of that bleflfed State into the new Heavens and new Earth -, feeing that Thought, it may be, to many Perfons, will appear new and extra* ordinary. In the firft Place, we mppofe it out of Difpute, that there will be new Hea- vens and a new Earth after the Conflagration. This was our firft Propofition. and we depend upon it, as fufficiently prov'd both from Scrip- ture and Antiquity. This being admitted, how will you ftock this new Earth? What ule will you put it to ? 'Twill be a much nobler Earth, and better built than the prefent ; and 'tis a pity it fhould only float about, empty and ufelefs in the wild Air. If you will not make it the Seat and Habitation of the Jiift in the blelTed Millennium, what will you make it ? How 27 * The Theory of the Earth. How will it turn to Account? What hath Pro- vidence defign'd it for \ We muft not fuppofe new Worlds made without Counfel or Defign. And as, on the one Hand* you cannot tell what to do with this new Creation, if it be not thus employ 'd ; fo, on the other Hand, it is every way fitted and fuited to be an happy and paradifaical Habitation, and anfwers all the natural Characters of the millennial State $ which is a great Prefumption that it is defign'd for it. But to argue this more clofely upon Scrip- ture-grounds : St. Peter fays, the Righteous fhall inhabit the new Heavens and the new Earth : 2 'Pet. iii. 1 3. Never ihe/ep, according to his Promife, we look for new Heavens and new Earth, WhereinDwelleth Righ- teousness : that is, a righteous People, as we have fhewn before. But who are thefe righteous People ? That's the great Queftion. If you compare St. Peter's new Heavens and new Earth with St. John's Apoc. xxi. 1, 2. it will go far towards theRefolution of this Que- ition : For St. John feems plainly to make the Inhabitants of the new Jerufalem to be in this new Earth. I faw, lays he, new Heavens and a new Earth, and the new Jerufalem defc ending from God out of Heaven ; therefore defcending into this new Earth, which he had mention'd immediately before. And there the Tabernacle of God was with Men, ver. 3 . and there he that fat upon the Throne, laid, Behold I make all Things new. Referring ftill to the new Heavens and new Earth, as the Theatre where Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 273 where all thefe Things are acted, or all thefe Scenes exhibited $ from the firft Verfe to the eighth : Now the new Jerufalem State being the Tame with the Millennial, if the one be in the new Heavens and new Earth, the other is there alio. And this Interpretation of St. John's Word is confirm'd and fully afiur'd to us by the Prophet Ifaiah ; who alio placeth the Joy and Rejoicing of the new Jerufalem in the new Heavens and new Earth, Chap. lxv. 17, 18. For behold I create new Heavens and 4 new Earth ; and the former fh all not be remem- bred : but be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create $ for behold, I create jeru- falem a Rejoicing, and her Teaple a Joy : Namely, in that new Heavens and new Earth 5 which anfwersto St. John's Vifion of the new Jerufalem being let down upon the new Earth. To thefe Reafons,and Deductions from Scrip- ture, we might add the Teftimony of feverat of the Fathers 5 1 mean of thofe that were Mil- lenaries : For we are fpeaking now to fuch as believe the Millennium, but place it in the prefent Earth before the Renovation 5 wherca9 the anticntMillennaries fuppos'd the Regenera- tion and Renovation of the World before the Kingdom of Chrift came : As you may fee in * Iremeus, \ Juftin Martyr, a Tertullian> b Lafiantius, and c the Author adOrthodoxos. And the Negledt of this, I look upon as one Reafon, as we noted before, that brought that * Lib. f.cb. 32, &c. f Dial, cum Tryph. a Contra Marc. * Lib. 7. c J£u*Jl. & rtfton. 9$. Book IY. T Doarine 2 74 The Theory of the Hart h. Do&rine into Difcredit and Decay. For when they plac'd the Kingdom of the Saints upon this Earth, it became more capable of being abus'd, by fanatical Spirits, to the Difturbance of the World, and the Invafion of the Rights of the Magistrates, Civil or Ecclesiastical, un- der that Notion of Saints ; and made them alfo dream of fenfual Pleafures, fuch as they fee in this Life : Or at least gave an Occafion and Opportunity to thofe, that had a Mind to make the Doctrine odious, of charging it with thefe Confcquences. All thefe Abufes are cut off, and thefe Scandals prevented, by placing the Millennium aright : Namely, not in this prefent Life, or on this prefent Earth, but in the new Creation, where Peace and Righteouf- nefs will dwelL And this is our firft Argument why we place the Millennium in the new Hea- vens and new Earth ; and 'tis taken partly, you fee, from the Reafon of the Thing itfelf, the Difficulty of afligning any other ufe of the new Earth, and its fitnefs for this ; and partly from Scripture-evidence, and partly from Antiquity. Tile fecond Argument for our Opinion, is this j the prefent Constitution of Nature will not bear that Happinefs, that is promis'd in the Millennium, or is not confident with it. The Difeafes of our Bodies, the Diforders of our Paf- fions, the Incommodioufnefs of external Na- ture 5 Indigency, Servility, and theUnpeacea- blenefs of the World 5 thefe are things in- confiitent with the Happinefs that is promis'd in the Kingdom of Christ. But thefe are con- stant Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 275 ftant Attendants upon this Life, and insepara- ble from the prefent State of Nature. Suppoie the Millennium was to begin nine or ten Years hence, as fome pretend it will 3 how ihall this World, all on a liiddcn, be metamcr- phos'd into that happy State > Apoc. xxi. 4. No more Sorrow, nor crying, nor 'Pain, nor 'Death, fays St. John : All former. Things are paft away. But how pad away > Shall we not have the fame Bodies •-, and the fame ex- ternal Nature ;;and the fame Corruptions of the Air 3 and the fame ExceiTes and Intemperature of Seafons ? Will there not bathe famcoar- rennefs of the Ground, the fame Number of People to be fed j and muft they not get their living by the Sweat of their Brows, with Jfervile Labour and Drudgery? How then are all former Evils paft away ? And as to pub- lick Affairs, while there are the fame Ne- ceilitiesof human Life, and a DHtintlioii of Nations, thofe Nations fomctimes will have contrary Interefts, willclafh and interfere one with another j whence Differences, and Con- tends, and Wars will arife, and the thoufand Tears Truce, I am afraid, will be often broken, We misrht add alfo, that if our Bodies be not chang d, we (ball be fubjeel: to the fame Ap- petites, and the fame Padions 5 and upon thofe Vices will grow, as bad Fruit upon a bad Tree : To conclude, Co long as our Bo- dies are the fame, external Nature the fame, the Neceilities of human Life the fame 5 which things are the Roots of Evil 3 you may T a call 276 The Theory of the Eart «.• call it a Millennium, or what you pleafe, but there will be ftill Difeafes, Vices, Wars, Tears and Cries, Pain and Sorrow in this Millen- ninni ; and if fo, 'tis a Millennium of your own making, for that which the Prophets defcribe is quite another thing. Farthermore, if you fuppofe the Millennium will be upon this Earth, and begin, it may be, ten or twenty Years hence, how will it be in- troduc'd ? How fhall we know when we arc in it, or when we enter upon it ? If we con- tinue the fame, and all Nature continue the fame, we fhall not difcern when we flip into the Millennium. And as to the moral State of it, fhall we all, on a fudden, become Kings andTrieJls to God? Wherein will that Change confift, and how will it be wrought > St. John makes the firft Refurreflion introduce the Millennium -, and that's a confpicuous Mark and Boundary ; But as to the modern or vul- gar Millennium, I know not how 'tis ufher'd in. Whether they fuppofe a vifible Refur- rection of the Martyrs, and a vifible Afcen- fion ; and that to be a Signal to all the World that the jubilee is beginning; or whether 'tis gradual, and creeps upon us infenfibly 5 or the Pall of the Bead marks it : Thefe things need both Explication and Proof: for tome they feem cither arbitrary or unintelligible. But to purfue our Dcfign and Subject : That which gives me the greateft Scandal in this Doctrine of the vulgar Millennium, is their joining Things together that are really inconfiftent ; Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 277 inconfiftent 5 a natural World of one Colour, and a moral World of another. They will make us happy in fpight of Nature 5 as the Sto~ icks would make a Man happy in 'Phalaris his Bull--, fo mult the Saints be in full Blifs in the Millennium, tho' they be under a Fit of the Gout, or the Stone. For my part, I could never reconcile Pain to Happinefs ; it feems to me to deftroy and drown all Pleafure, as a loud Noife does a ftill Voice : It affects the Nerves with Violence, and over-bears all o- ther Motions. But if, according to this mo^ dern Supposition, they have the fame Bodies, and breath the fame Air in the Millennium, as we do now, there will be both private and epidemical Diftempers, in the fame Manner as now. Suppofe then a Plague comes and fweeps away half an hundred thoufand Saints in the Millennium, is this no Prejudice or Difhonour to the State ? Or a War makes a Nation defolate ; or, in fingle Perfons , a lin- gring Difeafe makes Life a Burthen ; or a burn- ing Fever, or a violent Cholick tortures them to Death ; where fuch Evils as thefe reign, chri- ften the thing what you will, it can be no bet- ter than a Mock-Millennium. Nor mall I ever be perfuaded that fuch a State as our prefent Life, where an aking Tooth, or an aking Head, does fo difcompofe the Soul, as to make her unfit for Bufinefs, Study, Devotion, or any ufefui Employment ; and that all the Powers of the Mind, all its Virtue, and all its Wif- dom, are not able to ftop thefe little Motions, T 3 o* 27 S Xk e Theory of the Earth. or to fupport them with Tranquillity : I can never perfuade my felf, I fay, that fuch a State was deftgn'd by God or Nature, for a State of Happinefs. pur third Argument is this ; the future King- dom oi Chrift will not take place , till the Kingdom of Antichrili be wholly deftroy'd ; But that will not be wholly deftroy'd till the End of the World, and the appearing of our Saviour ; therefore the Millennium will not be till then. Chrift and Antichrift cannot reign upon Earth together; their Kingdoms are oppofite, as Light and Darkncfs : Befides, the Kingdom of Chrift is univerfal, extends to all the Nations, and leaves no room for other Kingdoms at that time. Thus it is de- fcrib'd in 'Daniel, in the Place mention'd be- fore, ckap. vii. 13, 14. I faw in the Night Vifions, and behold, one like the Son of Man-, came isoith the Clouds of Heaven, andca?neto the Ancient of Days > and there was given him 'Dominion and Glory, and a Kingdom - 3 that all 'People, Natic?is, and Languages, fhouldferve him. And again ver. 27. And the Kingdom andDominion,andthe Greatnefsofthe King- dom under the whole Heaven, fiall be given ta the 'People of the Saints of the moft High j vjhofe Kingdom is an everlaflingKingdom, and all Dominion (ball ferve and obey him. The lame Character of Univerfal ity is given to the Kingdom of Chrift by David, Pfal. ii. and Pfal. lxxii. Ifaiah ii. 2. and other Prophets. Eut the moft direct Proof of this, is from the Apoca- Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 279 'Apocalypfe, where the Beaft and falfe Trophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brim- flone, {chap. xix. 20.) before the Millen- nium comes on, chap. xx. This, being caft m> to a Lake of Fire burning with Brimftone, muft needs fignify utter Denru&ion : Not a Diminution of Power only, but a total Per- dition and Confumption. And that this was before the Millennium, of the Bead and falfe Prophets being in the Lake of Fire, as of a Thing paft, and formerly tranfacted. For when Satan, at length, is thrown into the fame Lake 'tis faid, he is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimftone, where the Beaft and the falfe Tro- fhets are, Apoc. xx. 1 o. They were there be- fore, it feems 5 namely, at the beginning of the Millennium ; and now at the Conclusion of it, the Devil is thrown in to them : Be- fides, the Ligation of Satan proves this Point effectually ; for fo long as Antichrift reigns, Satan cannot be faid to be bound j but he is bound at the Beginning of the Millennium, therefore Antichri it's Reign was then totally expir'd. Laftly, the Deftruttion of Babylon, and the Deftruction of Antichrift go together; but you fee Babylon utterly and finally de- ftroy'd, {Apoc. xviii. and xix. ) before the Mil- lennium comes on : I fay, utterly and finally deftroyd. For fhe is not only faid to be made an utter Defolation, but to be confum'd by Fire >f and abforpt as a Millftone thrown in- to the Sea ; and that he fhall be found no more at all, chap, xviii.- 21. Nothing can ex- T 4 preis 2 So The Theory of the Eart h. prcfs a total and univerfal DeftrudHon more effectually, or mote emphatically. And this is before the Millennium begins 5 as you may fee both.by the Order of the Prophefies, ancl particularly, in that upon this Deftruttion,the Hallelujah's are fung, ch. xix. and concluded thus, ver. 6, 7. Hallelujah, for the God omni- potent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Honour to him? for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her f elf ready. This, I fuppofe, every one allows to be the millennial State, which now approaches, and is making ready, upon the Deftru&ion of Babylon. Thus much for the firft Part of our Argu-* ment, that the Kingdom of Chrift will not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrift be wholly deftroy'd. We are now to prove the fecond Part, that the Kingdom of Antichrift will not be wholly deftroy'd till the End of the World, and the coming of our Saviour. This, one would think, is fufliciently prov'd from St. c Pauh Words alone, 2 ThejJ. ii. 8. The Lord fhall confume the Man of Sin, who is fuppos'd the fame with Antichrift, with the Spirit of his Mouth, andjhall defiroy him with the Brightnefs of his coming. Hz will not then bedeftroyed before the coming of our Saviour; and that will not be till the End of the World. Eor St.. Peter fays, Atis iii. 21. The Heaven mufl receive him, fpcaking of Chrift, until the Times of Reftitution of all things , that is, the Renovation of the World. And if we con- fider; Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 28 1 fiderthat ourSaviour's coming will be mFlames of Fire, as the fame Apoftle St. Taut tells us, 2 Thejf. i. 7, 8. 'tis plain, that his coming will not be till the Conflagration; in which laft Flames Antichrift will be univerfally deftroy'd. This Manner of Deftru&ion agrees alfo with the Apocalypfe and with 'Daniel, and the Pro- phets of the Old Teftament. As to the Apoca- lypfe, Babylon, the Seat of Antichrift, is repre- sented there as deftroy'd by Fire, c h. xviii. 8, 1 8. ch. xiv. 11. ch. xix. 3 , 20. And in Daniel, when the Beaft is deftroy'd, ch. vii. 1 1 . ffjjt Body was given to the burning Flame. Then as to the other Prophets, they do not, you know, fpeak of Antichrift or the Beaft in Terms, but under the Types of Babylon, Tyre, and fuch-likej and thefe Places or Princes arc reprefented by them as to be deftroy'd by Fire, Ifa. xiii. 19. JerA'i. 25. Ezek. xxviii. 18. So much for this third Argument 5 the fourth Argument is this ; the future Kingdom of Chrift will not be till the Day of Judgment and the Refurre&ion ; but that will not be till the End of the World: Therefore, neither the Kingdom of Chrift. By the Day of Judg- ment here, I do not mean the final and uni- verfal Judgment j nor by the Refurrection, the final and univerfal Refurre&ion ;forthcic will not be till after the Millennium. But we underftand here the firft Day of Judgment and the firft Refurrection, which will be at the End of this prefent World ; according as St. John does diftinguifli them, in the xxth chap. of the Apocahpfe. Now that the Millennium 282 The Theory of the Earth. will not be till the Day of Judgment in this Senfe, we have both the Teilimonies of Da- me I and of St. John. Daniel, in chap. vii. ver, 9, &c. ver. 26, cWvfuppofes theEcaft to rule till Judgment Jh all Jit, and then they ft all take away his 'Dominion, and it fhall be given to the People of the Saints of the moft High. St. John makes an explicit Declaration of both thefe, in his xxth chap, of the Afioca- lypfe, which is the great Directory in this point of the Millennium; he fays there were Thrones {ct, as for a Judicature, ver. 4. Then there was a Refurreciion from the Dead, and thofe that rife, reigned with Chrift a thou land Years: Here's a judicial Sellion, a Rcfuircclion, and the Reign of Chrift joined together. There is alio another Paffage in St. John that joins the Judgment of the Dead with the Kingdom of Chrift ; 'tis in the xi th Chapter, under the feventh Trumpet 5 the Words are thefe, ver. 15. And the feventh Angel founded, and there were great Voices in Heaven, faying, the Kingdoms af this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Chrift •■> and he fhall reign for ever and ever, Arid the four and twenty Elders, &c. And the Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is come, and the time of the T>ead, that they floould be judged, and that thou flooiddfl give Reward unto thy Servants the 'Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name. Here are two things plainly exprefs-d and link'd together, The judging of the Dead, and the Kingdom of Chrift • Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 283 Chr'tft 5 wherein the Prophets and Saints are rewarded. Now as the judging of the T>ead is not in this Life, fo neither is the Reward of the Prophets and Saints in this Life -, as we are taught iufficiently in the Gofpel, and by the Apoftles, Mat. xix. 28. 1 Thejf. i. 7. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 1 Tet. i. 7. zn&ch. v. 4. Therefore the Reign and Kingdom of Chrift, which is joined with thefe two, cannot be in this Life, or before the End of the World : And as a farther Teftimony and Confirmation of this, we may obferve that St. Paul to Timothy hath joined together thefe three things; the Ap- pearance of Chrift y the Reign oj Chrift \ and the judging of the 'Dead. I charge thee there- fore before God and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who flail judge the quick and the dead, at his appearing, arid his Kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 1. This might alio be prov'd from the Order, Extent and Progrefs of the Propheiies of the Apocalypfe ; whereof fome are luch as reach to the End of the World, and yet muft be ac- complifh'd before the Millennium begins, as the Vials. Others are fo far already advane'd towards the End of the World, as to leave no room for a thoufand Years Reign; as the Trumpets. But becaufe every one hath his own Interpretation of thefe Prophefies, and it would be tedious here to prove any fmgle Hy- pothefis in Contradiftin&ion to all the reft, we will therefore leave this Remark, to have more or lels Effect, according to the Minds it falls upon 5 and proceed to our fifth Argument. 1 fifthly, 2 $4- The Theory of the Earth. Fifthly, The new Jerufalem State is the fame with the millennial State; but the new Jerufalem State will not be till the End of the World, or till after the Conflagration j there- fore neither the Millennium : That the new Jerufalem State is the fame with the Millen- nium, is agreed upon, I think, by all Milien^ naries, ancient and modern: Juf in Martyr, Irenaus and Tertullian, fpeak of it in that Senfe j and fo do the latter Authors, fo far as I have obferved. And St. John feemstogive them good Authority for it 5 in the xxth chap, of the Apocalypfe, he fays, the Camp of the Saints-, and the beloved City were beiieg'd by Satan and his gigantick Crew at the End of the Millennium : That beloved City is the new Jerufalem, and you fee it is the fame with the Camp of the Saints, or, at leaft, con- temporary with it. Befides, the Marriage of the Lamb was in, or at the Appearance of the new Jerufalem, for that was the Spoufe- of the Lamb, Apoc. xxi. 2. Now this Spoufe was ready, and this Marriage was faid to be come, at the Dcftru&ion of Babylon, which was the Beginning of the Millennium, chap, xviii. 7. Therefore the new Jerufalem run all along with the Millennium, and was indeed the fame thing under another Name. Lately, what is this new Jerufalem, if it be not the fame with the millennial State? It is promis'd a Reward to the Sufferers for Chrift Apoc. iii. 1 2. and you fee its wonderful Pri\?i J le£cs,chap. xxi. 3,4. and yet it is not Heaven an,4 Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 2 s 5 and eternal Life s for it is faid to come down fromGod out of Heavens h. xxi. 2 . and ch. iii. 1 2 . It can therefore be nothing but the glorious Kingdom of Chrift upon Earth, where the Saints fhall reign with him a thoufand Years. Now as to the fecond Part of our Argument, that the new Jerufalem will not come down from Heaven till the End of the World - } of this St. John feems to give us a plain Proof or Demonftration ; for he places the new Jeru- falem in the new Heaven and new Earthy which cannot be till after the Conflagration. Let us hear his Words, Afioc.xxi. 1,2. And If aw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for thefirft Heaven and the firfl Earth were faf- fed away, and there was no more Sea. And I John f&w the holy City, new .Jerufalem^ coming down from God out of Heaven ; prepa- red as a Bride adorned for her Husband. When the new Earth was made, he fees the new Jerufalem coming down upon it -, and this Renovation of the Earth not being till the Conflagration, the new Jerufalem could not be till then neither. The Prophet Ifaiah had long before faid the fame thing, though not in terms fo exprefs ; he firft fays, Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein you fhall rejoice : Then fubjoins immediately, Be- hold, I create Jerufalem a rejoicings Ifa. lxv. 17, 18. This rejoicing is ftill in the fame Place* in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerufalem. And St. John, in a like Method, firft fets down the new Earth, then the 286 The Theory of the EaIlt h. the new Jerufalem ; and exprelTes the Mind of the Prophet Ifaiah more diftinc~tly. This leads me to a lixth Argument to con- firm our Conclufion : The Time of the Re- ft it ut ion or Reft duration of all Things, fpoken of by St. Peter and the Prophets, is the fame with the Millennium j but that Reftauration will not be till the coming of Chrift, and the End of the World j therefore neither the Mil- lennium. That this Reftitution of all things will not be till the coming of our Saviour, St. 'Peter declares in his Sermon, Afts iii. 2 1 . and that the coming of our Saviour will not be till the End of the World, or till the Con- flagration, both St. Paul and St. Peter fignify to us, 1 Thejf. i. 7, S. 2 Pet. iii. 10. there- fore it remains only to prove, that thisRefti- tution of all Things fpoken of here by the Apoftle, is the fame with the Millennium. I know that which it does dire&ly and imme- diately fignify, is the Renovation of the World; but it mult include the moral World as well as the Natural 5 otherwife it cannot be truly iaid, as St. 'Peter does there, that all the Pro- phets have fpoken of it. And what is the Renovation of the natural and moral World, but the new Jerufalem or the Millennium? Thefe Arguments, taken together, have, to me, an irrefiLtible Evidence for the Proof of our Conclufion ; that the blelTed Millennium cannot obtain in the prefent Earth, or before the Conflagration j but when Nature is re- new'd, and the Saints and Martyrs rais'd from Concerning the new Heavens] &c. i%y from the Dead, then they fhall reign toge- ther with Chrift, in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerufalem ; Satan being bound for a thoufand Years. Chap. IX. The chief Employment of the Millennium, D e vot i on and C on t em plat ion. WE have now done with the Subftance of our Difcourfe ; which is compre- hended in thefe three Propofitions : L After the Conflagration of this World, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth^nd that Earth will be inhabited, II. That there is an happy millennial-State, or a future Kingdom of Chrift and his Saints, praphefied of and promised in the Old and New Teftament-, and re- ceivd by the Primitive Church, as a Chrijiian and Catholick 'Doctrine. III. That this blejfed millennial St ate, ac- cording as it is defcrib'd in Scripture, cannot take place in the prefent Earth, nor tinder the prefent Conflitution of Nature and 'Providence ; But is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earthy after the Conflagration. Thefe three Propofitions fupport this Work, and if any of them be broken, I confefs my Defign is- broken, and this Treatife is of no r z 8 s The Theory of the Earth. no Effect: But what remains to be fpokert to inthefe laft Chapters, is more circumftan- tial or modal ; and an Error or Miftake in fuch things, does not wound any vital Part of the Argument. You muft not therefore lay afide your Severity and rigorous Cenfures i we are very happy, if, in this Life, we can attain to the Subftance of Truth 5 and make rational Conjectures concerning Modes and Circum- ftances, where every one hath Right to offer his Senfe, with Modefty and Submimon. Re- velations made to us from Heaven in this pre- fent State, are often incompleat, and do not tell us all ; as if it was On purpofe to fet bur Thoughts a- work to fupply the reft ; which we may lawfully do, provided it be according to the Analogy of Scripture and Reafon. To proceed therefore - y we fuppofe, as you fee, the new Heavens and the new Earth to be the Seat of the Millennium, and that new Creation to be Taradi/iacal : Its Inhabitants alfo to be righteous Perfons, the Saints of the moft High. And feeing the ordinary Em- ployments of our prefent Life will then be needlefs and fuperfeded, as Military-Affairs, Sea- Affairs, moft Trades and Manufactures, Law, Phyfick, and the laborious part of Agri- culture 5 it may be wonder'd, how this happy People will bcftow their Time; what Enter- tainment they will find in a State of fo much Eafe, and fo little Action. To this one might anfwer in fhort, by another Queftion, How would they have entettain'd themfelves in Para- Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 289 Paradife, if Man had continued in Innoccncy ? This is a Revolution of the fame State, and therefore they may pafs Time as well now as they could have done then. But to anfwer more particularly, befides all innocent Diver- ftons, ingenuous Conventions, and Entertain . ments of Friendfhip, the greateft part of their Time will be fpent in 'Devotion and Content- plat ion. O happy Employment, and next to that of Heaven it fell" ! What do the Saints Above, but ling Praifes unto God, and con- template his Perfections ! And how mean and defpicable, for the mod part, are the Employ- ments of this prefent Life, if compar'd with thofe intellectual A&ions ! If Mankind was divided into ten Parts, nine of thofe ten em- ploy* their Time to get Bread to their Belly, and Cloaths to their Back; and what Imper- tinences are thefe to a reafonable Soul, if fhe was free from the Clog of a mortal Body, or if that could be provided for, without Trouble or lofs of Time ? Corporeal Labour is from Need and Neceillty, but intellectual Exercifes are matter of Choice, that pleafe and perfect at the fame Time. Devotion warms and opens the Soul, and difc pofes it to receive divine Influences. It fome- times raifes the Mind into an heavenly Ecftafy, and fills it with a Joy that is not to be exprefs'd* When it is pure, it leaves a ftrong Imprellion upon the Heart, of Love to God ; and infpires us with a Contempt of this World, having tafted the Pleafures of the World to come. In Book IV, U the 290 The Theory of the Earth. 1 the State which we fpeak of, feeing the Taber- nacle of God'ujill be with Men, Apoc. xxi. 3. we mayreafonably fuppofe that there will be grea- ter ErTufions and Irradiations of the Holy Spirit, than we have or can expect in this Region of Darknefs; andconfequently,all theStrength and Comfort that can arife from privateDevotion. And as to their publick Devotions, all Beau- tics of Holinefs, all Perfection of divine Wor- fhip, will mine in their Aflemblies. What- foever T>avid^s of Sion and Jernfalem, 'Pfal. lxxxiv. are but Shadows of this New Jenifa- lem, and of the Glory that will be in thofe So- lemnities, Tfal. Ixxxvii. Imagine what a Con- gregation will be there of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apoftles, Chriftian Martyrs, and Saints of the firftRank, throughout all Ages : Andthefeall known to one another by their Names and Hiftory. This very meeting together of fuch Ferfons, mult needs create a Joy unfpeakable : But when they unite in their Praifes to God and to the Lamb, with pure Hearts full of di- vine Love ; when they fing their Hallelujahs to him that ius upon the Throne, that hath wafh'd them in his Blood, and redeem'd them out of every Kingdom , and Tongue , and People, and Nation : When, with their Palms in their Hands, they triumph over Sin and Death, and Hell, and ail the Powers of Darknefs ; can there be any thing, on this fide Heaven, and a Choir of Angels, more glorious or more joyful > But why did I except Angels? Why may not they be thought to be prcfcnt at theie Af- fcmblies ? Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 292 femblies ? In a Society of Saints and purified Spirits, why fhould we think their Convcrfe impofllble ? In the Golden Age, the Gods were always reprefented, as having freer Intercourfe with Men 5 and before the Flood, we may rea- fonably believe it fo. I cannot think, Enoch was tranflated into Heaven without any Con- verfe with its Inhabitants before he went thi- ther : And feeing the Angels vouchfafed of- ten, in former Ages, to vifit the Patriarchs up- on Earth, we may with Reafon judge, that they will much more converfe with the fame Pa- triarchs and holy Prophets, now they are ri fen from the Dead, and cleans'd from their Sins,and featcd in the New Jerufalem. I cannot but call to mind, upon this Occafion,thatReprefentati- 011 which St. 'Paul makes to us, of a glorious State and a glorious Affcmbly, too high for this prefent Earth: 'Tis, (Hebr. xii. 22, &c.) in thefe Words: But you are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, and to an innumerable Company of Angels - y to the general Affembly and Church of the Firfl-bom, which are writ- ten in Heaven 5 and to God the Judge of all y and to the Spirits of juft Men made perfect. This, I know, feveral apply to the Times and State of the Gofpel, in Oppofition to that of the Law 5 and it is introduced in that manner* but here are feveral Exprellions too high for any prefent State of Things 5 they mult re- fpect a future State, either of Heaven, or of the Millennial Kingdom of Chrift : And to the U 2 latter 292 The Theory of the Earth. latter of thefe Expreflions agree, and have a peculiar Fitnefs and Applicability to it. And what follows in the Context, ver. 26, 27, 28. About JJoaking the Heavens and the Earth once more-, removing the former Scenes, and bring- ing on a new Kingdom that cannot be fhaken : All this, I lay, anfwers to the Kingdom of Chrift, which is to be eftablrfh'd in the new Heavens and new Earth. But to proceed in their publick Devotions 1 Suppofe this Auguft Afiembly, inflam'd with all divine Pafiions, met together to celebrate the Name of God, with Angels intermixt, to bear a Part in this holy Exercife : And let this Concourfc be, not in any Temple made with Hands, but under the great Roof Heaven, (the true Temple of the moll High,) fo as all the Air may be rill'ci with the chearful Harmony of their Hymns and Hallelujahs : Then, in the height of their Devotion, as they fing Praifes to the Lamb, and to him that fits upon the Throne, fuppofe the Heavens to open, and the Son of God to appear in his Glory, Apoc. v. 1 r, with thouiands and ten thoufands of Angels round about him j that their Eyes may fee him, who, for their Sakes was crucified upon Earth, now encircled with Light and Majefty.This will raife them into as great Tranfports as human Nature can bear : They willwifhto be diflblv'd, they will ilriveto fly up to him in the Clouds, or to breathe out their Souls in repeated Doxo- logiesofi? * /effing , Ch. v. 13. and Honour, and : Glory, and Tower, to him that Jits upon the Throne-, Concerning the new Heavens, Sec. 293 Throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever. But we cannot live always in the Flames of Devotion 5 the Weaknefsofour Nature will not fuflfer us to continue long under fuch ftrongPaf- fions, and fuch Intenfenefs of Mind. The Quef* tion is therefore, What will be the ordinary Employment of that Life? How will they en- tertain their Thoughts, or fpend their Time ? For we fuppofe they will not have that mul- tiplicity of frivolous Bufinefs that we have now s about our Bodies, about our Children ; in Trades and Mechanicks s in Traffick and Na- vigation ; or Wars by Sea or Land. Thefe things being fwept away wholly, or in a great Meafure, what will come in their Place ? How will they find Work or Entertainment for a long Life ) If we confider, who they are that will have a Part in this firft Refurre&ion, and be Inhabitants of that World that is to come, we may eafily believe that the mod conftant Employment of their Life will be Contem- plation. Not that I exclude any innocent Diverfions, as I faid before ; the Entertain- ments of Friendfhip, or ingenuous Convcrfa- tion; but the great Bufinefs and Defign of that Life is Contemplation, as preparatory to Hea- ven and eternal Glory. Ut paitlatim afuefcant caper e 'Deum, L. 5. c. 32, as Iren or particular and univerfal, in this laft Prophet. See Mr. Mede. Some think St. 'Paul means no lefs, when he makes an Order in the Refurreclion 5 fome rifing fooner, fome later, 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24.. i Thejf. iv. 14, 15, &c. but whether that be lo or no, St. John might have a more diftinct Revelation concerning it, than St. Paul had, or any one before him. After thefe Objections, a great many Que- ries and Difficulties might be proposed relating to the Millennium : But that's no more than what Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 311 what is found in all other Matters, remote from our Knowledge. Who can anfwer all the Queries that may be made concerning Heaven-, or Hell, or Taradife ? When we know a Thing as to the Subftance, we are not to let go our Hold, tho' there remain fomc Difficulties unre- folv'd 5 otherwife we mould be eternally feep- tical in mod Matters of Knowledge. Therefore, tho' we cannot, for Example, give a full Ac- count of the Diftinction of Habitations and In- habitants in the future Earth > or, of the Order of the firfl Refurrecfion, whether it be per- formed by degrees and fucceilively, or all the In- habitants of the newjerufalem rife at once, and continue throughout the whole Millennium : I fay, tho' we cannot give a diftind Account of thele, or fuch like Particulars, we ought not therefore to deny or doubt whether there will be a new Earth, or & fir ft RefurreEiion. For the Re- velation goes clearly fo far, and the Obfcurity is only in the Confequences and Dependences of it j which Providence thought fit,without farther Light, to leavato our Search and Difquifition. Scripture mentions one Thing, at the End of the Millennium, which is a common Difficulty to all ; and every one muft contribute their beft Thoughts and Conjectures towards the So- lution of it : 'Tis the ftrange Doctrine of Gog and Magog, Apoc. xx. 8, 9. which are to rite up in Rebellion againft the Saints, and be- fiege the holy City, and the holy Camp : And this is to be upon the Expiration of the thoufand Years, when Satan is loofen'd 5 for X 4 'no 1 1 z The Theory 'of the Earth. no fooner will his Chains be knock'd off, but he will put himfelf in the Head of this Army of Giants, or Sons of the Earth, and attack Heaven, and the Saints of the moft High : But with ill Succefs, for there will come down Eire and Lightning from Heaven, and confume them. This, methinks, hath a great Affinity with the Hiftory of the Giants, rebelling and affaulting Heaven, and (truck down by Thun- der-Bolts : But that of fetting Mountains upon Mountains, or tofling them into the Sky, that's the poetical Part, and we rnuft not ex- pect to find it in the Prophecy. The Poets told their Fable, as of a thing pair, and fo it was a Fable ; but the Prophets fpeak of it, as of a Thing to come, and io it will be a Re- ality : But how and in what Scnfe it is to be underftood and explain'd, every one has the Liberty to make the beft Judgment he can. Ezekiel mentions Gog andALigog,ch. xxxviii. and xxxix. which I take to be only Types and Shadows of thefe which we are now ipeaking of, and not yet exemplify'd, no more than his Temple. And feeing this People is to be at the End of the Millennium, and in the fame Earth with it, we muft, according to our Hypothefis, plant them in the future Earth, and therefore all former Conjectures about the Turks, or Scy- thians, or other Barbarians, are out of Doors with us, feeing the Scene of this Act ion does not lie in the prefent Earth : They are alfo reprefented by the Prophet, as a People di- stinct and feparate from the Saints, not in their i Manners Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 315 Manners only, but alfo in their Seats and Habitations; for {Apoc. xx. 8, 9. ) they arc faid to come up from the four Corners of the Earth, upon the Breadth of the Earth, and there to befiege the Camp of the Saints and the beloved City : This makes it feem proba- ble to me, that there will be a double Race of Mankind in that future Earth ; very dif- ferent one from another, both as to their Temper and Difpofition, and as to their O- rigin : The one born from Heaven, Sons of God, and of the Refurrection, who are the true Saints and Heirs of the Millennium. The other born of the Earth, Sons of the Earth, generated from the Slime of the Ground, and the Heat of the Sun, as brute Creatures were at fir ft: This fecond Progeny or Generation of Men in the future Earth, I underftand to be fignified by the Prophet under thefe borrow- ed or feigned Names of Gog and Magog : And •this Earth-born Race, increaftng and multi- plying after the Manner of Men, by carnal Propagation, after a thoufand Years, grew nu- merous, as the Sand by the Sea; and there- upon made an Irruption or Inundation upon the Face of the Earth, and upon the Habitati- ons of the Saints ; as the barbarous Nations did formerly upon Chriftendom ; or as the Giants .are faid to have made Waragainft the Gods: But they were foon confounded in their im- pious and facrilegious Defign, being (truck and confum'd by Fire from Heaven, Some 3 14 The Theory of the Eart h. Some will think, it may be, that there wa$ fuch a double Race of Mankind in the firft World alfo : The Sons of Adam, and the Sons of God-> becaufe it is laid, Gen. vi. IVhen Men began to multiply upon the Face of the Earthy that the Sons of God saw the Daughters of Men, that they were fair, and they took them Wives of all that they lik'd. And it is added prefently, ver. 4. There were Giants in the Earth in thofe *Days ; and alfo after that, when the Sons of God came in unto the daughters of Men, and they bare Children to them ; the fame became mighty Men, which were of old. Men of Renown. Here feem to be two or three Orders or Races in this Ante-diluvian World. The Sons of God-, the Sons and daughters of Adam ; and a. third Sort arifing from the Mixture and Co- pulation of thefe, which are call'd Mighty Men of old, or Heroes. Befides , here are Giants mention d, and to which they are to be reduc'd, it does not certainly appear. This Mixture of thefe two Races, whatfo- ever they were, gave, it feems, fo great Of- fence to God, that he deftroy'd that World upon it, in a Deluge of Water. It hath been matter of great Difficulty to determine, who thefe Sons of God were, that fell in Love with and married the daughters of Men. There are two Conje&ures that prevail moil; one, that they were Angels ; and another, that they were of the Pofterity oiSeth, and diitinguifh- ed frt>m the reft, by their Piety, and the Wor- 4 {hip Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 3 1 $ fhip of the true God; fo that it was a greajt Crime for them to mingle with the reft of Mankind, who are fuppos'd to have been I- dolaters: Neither of thefe Opinions is tome fatisfadory. For as to Angels, good Angels neither marry, nor are given in Marriage, Mat. xxii. 30. and bad Angels are not called the Sons of God. Befides, if Angels were capa- ble of thoie mean Pleafurcs, we ought in Reafon to fuppofe, that there are Female An- gels, as well as Male 5 for furely thofe Capa- cities are not in vain through a whole Spe- cies of Beings. And if there be Female An- gels, we cannot imagine, but that they muft be of a far more charming Beauty than the dowdy Daughters of Men. Then as to the Line of Seth, it does not appear that there was any fuch Diftindion of Idolaters and true Worfhipers before the Flood, or that there was any fuch thing as Idolatry at that time^ nor for fome Ages after. Befides, it is not faid, that the Sons of God fell in Love with the Daughters of Cain, or of any degenerate Race, but with the Daughters of Adam ; which may be the Daughters of Seth, as well as of any other : Thefe Conjedures therefore lcem to be fhallow and ill-grounded. But what the Diftindion was of thoie two Orders, remains yet very uncertain. St. *Paul to the Galatians, {chap. iv. 21, 22, &c.) makes a Diftindion alio of a double Pro- geny ; that of Sarah, and that of Hagar : One was born according to the Fleih, after a na- tural '3 1 6 The Theory of the Earth. tural Manner ; and the other by the divine Power, or in virtue of the divine Promife. This Diftin&ion of a natural and fupernatural Origin, and of a double Progeny j the one born to Servitude, the other to Liberty, reprefents very well either the Manner of our prefent Birth, and of our future, at the Refurre&ion ; or that double Progeny and double manner of Birth, which we fuppofe in the future Earth. Tis true, St, 'Paul applies this to the Law and the Gofpelj but typical Things, you know, have different Afpecls and Complexions,which are not exclufive of one another ; and fo it may be here. But however, this double Race of Mankind in the future Earth, to explain the Doctrine of Gog and Magogs is but a Con- jecture; and does not pretend to be other- wife confidered. The lad Thing that remains to be confider- ed and accounted for, is theUpfhot and Con- clufion of all - s namely, what will become of the Earth after the thoufand Years expir'd ? Or after the Day of Judgment paft, and the Saints tranflated into Heaven, what will be the Face of Things here below \ There being nothing exprefly reveal'd concerning this, we muft not expect a pofitive Refolution of it : And the Difficulty is not peculiar to our Hy- pothecs ; for though the Millennium, and the final Judgment, were concluded in the pre- fent Earth, the Qtixre would mil remain, What would become of this Earth after the laft Day ? So that all Parties ate equally concern'd, and equally Concerning the new Heavens ', &c. 3 1 7 equally free, to give their Opinion, JVldat will be the /<*/? State and Confummation of this Earth : Scripture, I told you, hath not defin'd this Point ; and the Philofophers fay very little concerning it. The Stoicks indeed fpeak of the final Refolution of all things in- to Fire, or into Ether : which is the pureft and fubtleft fort of Fire : So that the whole Globe or Mafs of the Earth, and all particular Bodies, will, according to them, be at laft dif- folv'd into a liquid Elaine. Neither was this Doctrine firft invented by the Stoicks 5 He- raclitus taught it long before them, and I take it to be as ancient as Orpheus himfelf 5 who was the firft Philofopher araongft the Greeks : And he deriving his Notions from the Bar- barick Philofophers, or the Sages of the Eaft, that School of Wifdom may be look'd upon as the true Seminary of this Doctrine, as it was of mod other natural Knowledge. But this Diffolution of the [Earth into Fire, may be underftood two Ways ; either that it will be diffolv'd into a loofe Flame, and fo diilipated and loft as Lightning in the Air, and vanifh into nothing; or that it will be diffolv'd into a fix'd Flame, fuch as the Sun is, or a fix'd Star. And I am of Opinion, that the Earth after the laft Day of Judgment, will be chang'd into the Nature of a Sun, or of a fix'd Star, and mine like them in the Firma- ment: Being all melted down into a Mafs of aethereal Matter, and enlightning a Sphere or Orb round about it. I have no direct and de- 4 monftrative 3 1 8 The Theory of the E ar t h. monftrative Proof of this I confcfs, but if PIa : nets were once fixed Stars, as I believe they were, their Revolution to the fame State a- gain, in a great Circle of Time, feems to be according to the Methods of Providence, which loves to recover what was loft or decay 'd, af- ter certain Periods, and what was originally good and happy, to make it fo again , all Nature, at laft, being transformed into a like Glory with the Sons of God, [Rom. viii. 21.) I will not tell you what Foundation there is in Nature, for this Change or Transforma- tion from the interiour Conftitution of the Earth, and the Inftances we have feen of new Stars appearing in the Heavens. I fhouldlead the Englijh Reader too far out of his Way, to difcourle of thefe things : But if there be any Paflages or Expreflions in Scripture, that coun- tenance fuch a State of things after the Day of Judgment, it will not be improper to take Notice of them. That radiant and illuftrious Jerufalem, defcrib'd by St. John Jlpoc. xxi. ver. 10, 11, 12, &c. compos'd all of Gemms and bright Materials, clear and fparkling, as a Star in the Firmament: Who can give an Account what that is ? Its Foundations, Walls, Gates, Streets, all the Body of it, rcfplendent as Light or Fire ? What is there in Nature, or in this Univerfe, that bears any Refemblance with fuch a Phenomenon as this, unlets it be a Sun or afix'd Star ? Efpecially if we add and confidcr what follows, wr. 23. That//^ City had no need of the Sun, nor of the Moon to Concerning the new Heavens, &c. 319 to Jhinein it, r uer. 25. And that there was no Night there. This can be no terreltrial Body 3 it muft be a Subftancc luminous in it ielf, and a Fountain of Light, as a fix'd Star : And upon iuch a Change of the Earth, or Trans- formation, as this, would be brought to pafs the Saying that is written. Death is Swal- lowed up in Victory. Which indeed St. Paul feems to apply to our Bodies in parti- cular, t Cor. xv. 54. But in the eighth Chap* to the Rowans he extends it to all Nature* A REVIEW of former Earth without a Sea ; which not being the prefent Earth, it muft be the ante-diluvian. Befides, both St. John, and the Prophet Efaias, have reprefented the new Heavens and new Earth^s paradifiacal, according as it pro- ved, Book IV. Chap. 2. And having told us the Form of the new-future-Earth, that it will have no Sea, it is a reafonable Inference that there was no Sea in the paradifiacal Earth. However, from the Form of this fu- ture Earth, which St. John reprefents to us, we may at leaft conclude, that an Earth with- out a Sea is no Chimaera, or Impoflibility 5 but rather a fit Seat and Habitation for the Juft and the Innocent. Thus you fee the Parts of the Theory link and hold faft one another, according to the fecond Character : And as to the third, of htm* fuited to the 'Phenomena, we muft refer that to the next Head of 'Proof s. It may be truly faid, that bare Coherence and Union of Parts is not a fufficient Proof; the Parts of a Fable or Romance may hang aptly together, and yet have no Truth in them : This is enough indeed to give the Title of a juft Com- pofition to any Work, but not of a true one; till it appear that the Conclufions and Explications are grounded upon good natural Evidence, or upon good Divine Authority. We muft therefore proceed now to the third thing to be confider'd in a Theory, What its Proofs are 8 Or the Grounds upon which it ftands, whether Sacred or Natural ? According The Theory of the E a r t h. 329 According to natural Evidence, things are proved from their Caufcs or their EfFe&s ; and we think we have this double Order of Proofs for the Truth of our Hypothefis : As to the Method of Caufes, we proceed from what is more fimple, to what is more compound, and build all upon one Foundation. Go but to the Head of the Theory, and you will fee the Caufes lying in a Train before you, from firft to laft; and tho' you did not know the natural Hiftory of the World, pall or future, you might, by Intuition, foretel it, as to the grand Revolutions and fucceilive Faces of Na- ture, through a long Series of Ages. If we have given a true Account of the Motions of the Chaos, we have alfo truly form'd the firft habitable Earth j and if that be truly form'd we have thereby given a true Account of the State of Taradife, and of all that depends up- on it ; and not of that only, but alfo of the univerfal Deluge. Both thcfe we have fhewn in their Caufes 5 The one from the Form of that Earth, and the other from the Fall of it into the Abyfs : And tho.' we had not been made acquainted with thefe things by Anti- quity, we might, in Contemplation of the Caufes, have truly conceiv'd them as Proper- ties or Incidents to the firft Earth. But as to the Deluge, I do not fay, that we might have calculated the Time, Manner, and other Cir- cumftancesof it: Thefe things were regulated by Providence, in fubordination to the moral World 3 but that there would be, at one Time Of 3 30 A REVIEW of or other, a Disruption of that Earth, or of the great Abyfs, and in Confequence of it, an univerfal Deluge ; fo far, I think, the Light of a Theory might carry us. Farthermore, in Confequence of this Di(- ruption of the primaeval Earth, at the Deluge, the prefent Earth was made hollow and ca- vernous, £ Theor. Book iii. chap. 7, and 8 . ] and by that means, ( due Preparations being ufed ) capable of Combuflion, or of perifhing by an univerfal Fire : Yet, to fpeak ingenuouf- 3y, this is as hard a Step to be made, in virtue of natural Caufes, as any in the whole Theory. But in Recompence of that Defect, the Con- flagration is fo plainly and literally taught us in Scripture, and avow'd by Antiquity, that it can fall under no difpute, as to the Thing it felf 5 and as to a Capacity or Difpofitionto it in the prefent Earth, that I think is fufficiently made out. Then, the Conflagration admitted, in that way it is explain'd in the third Book 3 the Earth, you fee, is, by that Fire, redue'd to a fecond Chaos. A Chaos truly fo call'd; and from that, as from the firft, arifes another Creation, or new Heavens and a new Earth -, by the fame Caufes, and in the fame Form, with the pa- radifiacal. This is the Renovation of the World; the Reftitution of all Things men- tion'd both by Scripture and Antiquity 5 and by the Prophet Ifaiah-, St. Tetev and St. John, call'd the new Heavens and new Earth : With ^his, as the laft Period, and mod glorious Scene of The Theory of the Earth.' 3 3 x of all human Affairs, our Theory concludes, as to this Method of Caufes, whereof we are now fpeaking. I fay, here it Ends as to the Method of Cau- fes : For tho' we purfue the Earth (till farther, even to its laft Diflblution, which is caird the Confummation of all Things , yet all that we have fuperadded upon that Occafion, is but pro- blematical, and may, without Prejudice to the Theory, be argued and difputed on either Hand. I do not know, but that our Conjectures there may be well grounded; but however, not fpringing fo directly from the fame Root, or, at leaft, not by Ways fo clear and vifible, I leave that Part undecided : Efpecially feeing we pretend to write no more than the Theory of the Earth, and therefore as we begin no higher than the Chaos, fo we arc not oblig'd to go any farther than to the laft State of a terreftrial Confiftency ; which is that of the new Heavens and the new Earth. This is the firft natural Proof, from the Or- der of Caufes: The fecond is from the Con- federation of Effects ; namely, of fuch Effects as are already in being : And therefore this Proof can extend only to that Part of the Theory, that explains the prefent and paft Form and Pheno- mena of the Earth. What is future, muft be left to a farther Trial, when the Thing comes to pafs, and prefent themfclves to be examind and compar'd with the Hypothecs. As to the prefent Form of the Earth, we call all Nature to Witnefs for us 5 the Rocks and trie Moun- tains, U z A REVIEW of tains, the Hills and the Valleys, the deep and wide Sea, and the Caverns of the Ground : Let thefe fpeak, and tell their Origin : How the Body of the Earth came to be thus torn and mangled? If this ftrange and irregular Structure was not the Effect of a Ruin ; and of fuch a Ruin as was univerfal over the Face of the whole Globe. But we have given fuch a full Explication of this, in the firft Part of the Theory, from chap. ix. to the End of that Treatife, that we dare ftand to the Judgment of any that reads thofe four Chapters to de- termine if the Hypothecs does not anfwer to all thofe Phenomena, eafy and adequately. The next Phenomenon to be confider'd, is the T>eluge 7 with its Adjuncts : This alfo is fully explain'd by our Hypothefis, in the ii d , iii d , andvi th Chapters of the firft Book : Where it is fhewn, that the Mofaical ays Scoffers, walk- ing after their own Lufls. 4. And faying, where is the Tromife of his coming ? The Theory of the E art h.~ 3 3 y coming? For flnce the Fathers fell afleep, afi Things continue as they were from the Begin- ning of the Creation. 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of that by the Word of God, the Heavens were of old y and the Earth confifting of Water and by Water. 6. Whereby the World that then was, being overflowed with Water, perished. 7> But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, by the fame Word, are kept in Store, re- fervedunto Fire againfl the 'Day of Judgment > and Perdition of ungodly Men. 1 o. The Day of the Lor dwill come as a Thief in the Night, in which the Heavens Jhall pafs away with a great Noije, and the Elements- flail melt with fervent Heat -, the Earth alfa and the Works that are therein ft> all be burnt up. 1 3 . Neverthelefs we, according to his Tro- mife, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Right eoufnefs. This is the whole Difcourfe fo far as relates to our Subject : St. 'Peter, you fee, had met with fome that icofPd at the future Deftruction of the World, and the coming of our Saviour ; and they were Men, it feems, that pretended to Phi- loibphy and Argument ; and they ufe this Argu- ment for their Opinion, Seeing there has been no Change in Nature, or in the World, from the. Beginning to this Time, why Jhould we think. there will be any Change for the future ? The Apoftle anfwers to this, that they wil- lingly forget, or arc ignorant, that then- were Heavens 336 A REVIEW of Heavens of old, and an Earth, fo and To confti* tuted i confuting of Water and by Water 5 by reafon whereof that World, or thofe Heavens and that Earth, perifh'd in a Deluge of Water. But, faith he, the Heavens and the Earth that are now, are of another Conftitution, fitted and referved to another Fate j namely to perifh by Fire : And after thefe are perifh'd, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth, according to Gods Promife. This is an eafy Paraphrafe, aad the plain and genuine Senfe of the Apoftle's Difcourfe 5 and no Body, I think, would ever look after any o- ther Senfe, if this did not carry them out of their ufual Road, and point to Conclufions which they did not fancy. The Senfe, you fee, hits the Objection directly, or the Cavil which thefe Scoffers made ; and tells them, that they vainly pretend that there hath been no change in the World iince the Beginning ; for there was one fort of Heavens and Earth before the Flood, and another Sort now, the firft having been deftroy'd at the Deluge. So that the Apoftle's Argument fiands upon this Foundation, that there is a Di- verfity betwixt the prefent Heavens and Earth, and the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth ; take away that, and you take away all the Force of his Anfwer. Then as to his new Heavens and new Earth after the Conflagration, they muft be material and natural, in the fame Senfe and Signification with the former Heavens and Earth 5 unlefs you will offer open Violence to the The Theory of the Earth. 337 the Text, So that this Triplicity of the Hea- vens and the Earth, is the firft, obvious, plain Scnie of the Apoftlc's Difcourfe ; which every one would readily accept, if it did not draw after it a long Train of Confequences, and lead them into other Worlds than they ever thought of before, or are willing to enter upon now. But we fhall have Occasion by afrfa by, to examine this Text more fully in all its C.i -cum- ftances : Give me leave in the me; : to ob(erve, that St. :fW;/alfo implies that t- Creation which St. 'Peter cxpi\iT\s. St: I fay, in the vfii* Chapter to the Rcmnns, ver. 20, 21. tells us of a Creation that will be redeem' d from Vanity, which are the new Hea- vens and new Earth to come. A Creation hi Subjection to Vanity ; which is theprefent Si\ue of the World; and a Creation that was fub- je&ed to Vanity, in hopes of being reftorcd , which was the fttft.'ParadiJiaca! Creation : And thefe are the three States of the natural World, which make the Subject of our Theory. To thefe two Places of St. Teter and St. Taiil, I might add that third in St. fc concerning the new Heavens and new Earth, with that diftinguiihing Character, that the Earth was without a Sea: As this diftingui'h- eth it from the prefent Eart-h, Co, being a Re- fitutionov Reft an? at ion, as we noted before, it mult be the fame with fome former Earth ; and confequently it implies, that there was another precedent State of the natural World, to which this is a Reftitutiom Thefe three Z Placeg 33 8 A REVIEW of Places I alledge, as comprehending and con- firming the Theory in its full Extent ; But we do not fuppofe them all of the fame Force and Clearnefs ; St. Teter leads the Way, and gives Light and Strength to the other two : When a Point is prov'd by one clear Text, we allow others, as Auxiliaries, that are not of the fame Clearnefs; but being open'd, receive Light from the primary Text, and reflect it upon the Argument. So much for the Theory in general : We will now take one or two principal Heads of it, which virtually contain all the reft, and examine them more ftric"tly and particularly, in reference to their Agreement with Scripture. The two Heads we pitch upon, fhall be our Explication of the Deluge, and our Explica- tion of the new Heavens and new Earth : We told you before, thefe two were as the Hinges, upon which all the Theory moves, and which hold the Parts of it in firm Union one with another. As to the Deluge, if I have explained that aright, by the Difruption of the great Abyfs, and the DhTolution of the Earth that cover'd it, all the reft follows in fuch a Chain of Confequences as cannot be broken. Wherefore, in order to the Proof of that Explication, and of all that depends upon it, I will make bold to lay down thisPropofi- tion, That our Hypothejis concerning the uni- versal T)eluge, is not only more agreeable to Reafon and Thilofophy, than any other yet pro- ps d to the World, but is alfo more agreeable to The Theory of the E ar *h. 339 to Scripture : Namely, to fuch Places of Scrip- ture as refletl: upon the 'Deluge, the Abyfs y and the Form of the firft Earth : And parti- cularly to the Hiftory tf/Noah'j" Flood, as re- corded by Mofes. If I can make this good, it will, doubtlefs, give Satisfaction to all that are free and intelligent ; and I defire their Patience, if I proceed (lowly and by feveral Steps. We will divide our Task, into Parts, and examine them ieparately ; firft, by Scrip- ture in general, and then by Mdfes his Hiftory and Defcription of the Flood. Our Hypothefis of the Deluge confifts of three principal Heads, or differs remarkably in three Things from the common Explication. Firft, in that we fuppofe the ante-diluvian Earth to have been of another Form and Con- stitution from the prefent Earth 5 with the Abyfs placed under it. Secondly, In that we fuppofe the Deluge to have been made, not by any Inundation of the Sea, or overflowing of Fountains and Ri- vers ; nor (principally) by an Excefs of Rains ; but by a real Diflblution of the exteriour Earth, and Difruption of the Abyfs which it cover'd: Thefe are the two principal Points ; to which may be added, as a Corollary, Thirdly, That the Deluge was not in the nature of a (landing Pool ; the Waters lying every where level, of an equal Depth, and with an uniform Surface > but was made by a Fluctuation and Commotion of the Abyfs upon the Difruption : Which Commotion be- Z 2 ing 34o A REVIEW of ins; over, the Waters retired into their Chan* nels, and let the dry Land appear. Thefe are the moft material and fundamen- tal Parts of our Hypothecs ; and thefe bc*ing prov'd confonant to Scripture, there can be no doubt of the reft. We begin with the firft : That the ante- diluvian Earth was of another Form and Con- ftitution from the prefent Earth, with the Abyfs placed under it : This is confirm'd in Scripture, both by mch Places as aflert a Di- verfity in general 5 and by other Places that intimate to us, wherein that Diverfity con- fided, and what was the Form of the firft Earth. That Difcourfc of St. Teter's, which we have fet before you concerning the paft, prefent and future Heavens and Earth, is fo full a Proof of this Diverfity in general, that you muft cither allow it, or make the Apoftle's Argumentation of no Effccl: : He fpeaks plain- ly of the natural World, The Heavens and the Earth ; and he makes a plain Diftinclion, or rather Oppofition, betwixt thofe before and after the Flood. So that the leaft we can con- clude from his Words, is a Diverfity betwixt them 5 in anfwer to that Identity or Immu- tability of Nature, which the Scoffers pretend- ed to have been ever fmce the Beginning. But tho' the Apoftle, to me, fpeaks plainly of the natural World, and diftinguifhes that which was before the Flood, from the prefent > yet there are fome that will allow neither of thefe to be contain d in St. ^Peter's Words ; and The Theory of the Earth. 341 and by that means would make this whole Dif- courfe of little or no Effed, as to ourPurpofe : And feeing we, on the contrary, have made it the chief Scripture-Bafis of the whole Theory of the Earth, we are oblig'd to free it from thofe falfe Gloffes or Mif-interpretations, that leffen the Force of its Teftimony, or make it wholly ineffectual. Thefe Interpreters fay, that St. Peter meant no more than to mind thefe Scoffers, that the World was once deftroy'd by a Deluge of Wa- ter ; meaning the Animate l¥orld y Mankind and living Creatures : And that it fhall be de- stroyed again by another Element, namely, by Fire. So as there is no Opposition orDiverfity betwixt the two natural Worlds, taught or in- tended by the Apoftle ; but only in reference to their different Fate or Manner ofperifhing, and not of their different Nature or Conftitution. Here are two main Points, you fee, wherein our Interpretations of this Difcourfe of the A- poftle's differ. Firft, in that they make the A- poftle {xnxhatjixth verfe) to underftand only the World Animate^ or Men in brute Crea- tures : That thefe were indeed deftroy'd, but not the natural World, or the Form and Gon- ltimtion of the then Earth and Heavens. Se- condly, that there is no Divcrfity or Oppositi- on made by St. 'Peter betwixt the antient Hea- vens and Earth, and the prefent, as to their Form and Conftitution. We pretend that thefe arc Mif-apprehenfions, or Mif-reprefentations of theSenfeof the Apoftleinbothrelpeds, and Z 3 offer 342 A REVIEW of offer thefe Reafons to prove them to be fol For the firft Point -, That the Apoftle fpeaks here of the natural World, particularly in the 6th verfe; and that it perifhed, as well as the animate, thefe Conftderations fcem to prove. Firft, becaufetiie Argument or Ground thefe Scoffers went upon, \\ as taken from the natu- ral World, its Conftancy and Permanency in the fame State from the Beginning j therefore if the Apoftle aniwers ad idem, and takes away their Argument, he muft underft and the fame natural World, and fhew that it hath been changed, or hath perifh'd. You will fay, it may be, the Apoftle doth not deny, nor take away the Ground they went up- on, but denies the Confequence they made from it ; that therefore there would be no Change hecaufe there had been none. No, neither doth he do this, if by the World in the 6th verfe, he understands Mankind only j for their Ground was this, There hath been no Change in the natural World - s their Confequence this, There- fore there will be none, nor any Conflagration. Now the Apoftle's Anfvver according to you, is this, Ton forget that Mankind hath been de~ flrofdin a 'Deluge. And what then? What's this to the natural World, whereof they were fpcaking ? This takes away neither Antecedent nor Confequent, ncitherGround nor Inference nor any way toucheth their Argument, which proceeded from the natural World, to the na- tural World. Therefore|y ou muft either fuppofe that the Apoftle takes away their Ground, or he takes away nothing. Secondly, The Theory of the Earth. 34? Secondly, What is it that the Apoftle tells thefe Scoffers they were ignorant of? That there was a Deluge that deftroy'd Mankind ? They could not be ignorant of that, nor pre- tend to be fo : It was therefore the Conftitu- tion of thofe old Heavens and Earth, and the Change or Deftrudtion of them at the Deluge, that they were ignorant of, or did not attend to i and of this the Apoftle minds them. Thefe Scoffers appear to have been Jews by the Phrafe they ufe, Since the Fathers fell a fleep y which in both Parts of it is a Judaical Ex- preflion ; and does St. *Peter tell the Jews that had Mofes read to them every Sabbath, that they were ignorant that Mankind was once deftroyed with a T>eluge in the 'Days of Noah ? Or could they pretend to be ignorant of that without making themfelves ridiculous both to Jews and Chtiftians *? Befides, thefe do not feem to have been of the Vulgar amongft them, for they bring a Philofophical Argu- ment for their Opinion i and alfo irf their very Argument they refer to the Hiftory of the Old Teftament, in faying, Since the Fa- thers fell afleep, amongft which Fathers, Noah was one of the moft remarkable. * There was a Sett amongft the Jews that held this Perpetuity and Immutability of Nature; and Matmonides bimfelf was of this Principle, and gives the fame Reafon for it with the Scoffers here in the Text, 6faod mtrndus retinet & fequitur Confuetundinttn fuam. And as to thofe| of the Jews that were Arijloteleans, it was very fuitable to their Principles to hold the Incorruptibility of the World, as their Mailer did. Vid. Med. in he. 2 4 Thirdly, 344- A REVIEW of Thirdly ', The Defign of the Apoftle is to prove them, ortodiipoie them to the Belief of the Conflagration, or future Deftruction of the World 5 which I fuppofe you will not de- ny to be a Deir ruction of the natural World ; therefore to prove or permade this, he muft uie an Argument taken from a precedent De- flru&ion of the naiural World ; for to give an Inftanee of the perifhing of Mankind only, would not reach home to his Purpoic. And you are to obierve here, that the Apoftle does not proceed againft them barely by Au- thority 5 for what would that have booted? If thefe Scoffers would have fubmittcd to Au- thority, they had already the Authority of the Prophets and Apoftlcs in this Point; but he deals with them at their own Weapon, and oppofes Reafons to Reafons: What hath been cone may be done , and if the natural World hath been once dcitroyed, 'tis not hard, nor unreafonable to fuppole thole Prophe- cies to»be true, that. fay, it Ihall be deftroyed again. Fourthly y Unlcfs we understand here the natural World, we make the Apoftle both redundant in his Difcourfe, and alio very ob- fcure in an eafy Argument : If his Defign was only to tell them that Mankind was once de- ftroy'd in a Deluge, what's that to the Hea- vens and the Earth ? The 5 th verfe would be fuperfluoUs; which yet he fcemsto make the Foundation of his Difcourfe. He might have told them how Mankind had perifhed before with. The theory of the Eart h.^ 345 with a Deluge, and aggravated that Definition as much as hie plcas'd, without telling them How the Heavens and the Earth were confti- tuted then ; what was that to the Purpofe, if it had no Dependence or Connection with the other ? In the precedent Chapter, ver. 5. when he fpeaksonly of the Floods deftroying Mankind, he mentions nothing of the Heavens or the Earth 5 and if] you make him to intend no more here, what fie fays more is fuperfluous. I alfo add, that you make the Apoftle very oblcure and operole in a very eafy Argument : How eafy had it been for him, without this Ap- paratus, to have told them, as he did before, that God brought i\ Plood upon the World of the ungodly ; and not given us fo much Diffi- culty to underftand his Senfe, or fuch a Sufpici- on and Appearance, that he intended fomething more ? For that there is at leaft: a great Appear- ance and Tendency to a farther Senfe, I think none can deny ■■> and St. Auftin, c Didymus Alex, Bede, as we mall fee hereafter, underffood it plainly of the natural World; alfo modern Ex- pofitors and Criticks, as Cajetan, Eflins, TDru- JiuSyHeinJtuSy have extended it to the natural World, more or lefs, tho' they had no Theory to miflead them, nor fo much as an Hypothecs to fupport them ; but attended only to the Te- nor of the Apoftle'sDifcourfe, which conftrain- cd them to that Senfe, in whole or in Part. Fifthly, The Oppofttion carries it upon the natural World : The Oppofttion lies betwixt the 0; £K7rct,Aou xgpvot Kj yyj, and Gi VVV X^jp/Oi Kj y-'jy 1 u rhe 34^ A REVIEW of the Heavens that were of old, and the Earthy and the prefent Heavens and Earth, or the two natural Worlds : And if they will not allow them to be oppos'd in their Natures ( which yet we fhall prove by and by ) at leaft they muft be oppos'd in their Fate ; and as this is to pe- rifh by Fire, fo that periflied by Water ; and if it perifh'd by Water, it perifh'd 5 which is all we contend for at prefent. Laftly, If we would be as eaiily govern'd in the Expofition of this Place, as we are of other Places of Scripture, it would be enough to fug- geft, that in Reafon and Fairnefs of Interpre- tation, the fame World is deftroyM in the 6th verfe, that was defcrib'd in the foregoing verfe ; but it|is the natural World that isdefcrib'd there the Heavens and the Earth, fo and fo confti- tuted ; and therefore in Fairnefs of Interpre- tation they ought to be underftood here 5 that World being the Subject that went immediate- ly before, and there being nothing in the Words that reftrains them to the animate World or to Mankind. In the ii d ch. ver. 5.theApoftle does reurain the Word ycoo-p^ by adding cL<7i(i£v, the World of the ungodly ; but here 'tis not only illimited, but, according to the Context, both preceding and following, to be extended to the natural World. I fay by the fol- lowing Context too ; for fo it anfwers to the World that is to perifh by Fire 5 which will reach the Frame of Nature as well as Mankind. For a Conclufion of this firft Point, I will fet down St. Aufiitts Judgment in this Cafe 5 who in The Theory of the Earth.' 3 47 in feveral Parts of his Works hath interpreted this Place of St. Peter, of the natural World, As to the Heavens, he hath thefe Words in his Expofttion upon Genefis, Hos etiam a'erios ccelos quondam per iifte : Diluvio, in quadam ea- rum, qua Canonica appellantur,Epiftold legimus. We read in one of the Epiftles called Canonical, meaning this of St. 'Peters, that the aerial Heavens perifloed in the 'Deluge. And he con- cerns himfelf there to let you know that it was not the itarry Heavens that were deftroy'd 5 the Waters could not reach fo high, but the Re- gions of our Air. Then afterwards he hath thefe Words, Fac iliu s eos{ ccelos) fecundum il- lius Epiftola authoritatem credimusperiijje, & alios, ficitt ibi fcribitur, repofitos. We do more eafily believe, according to the Authority of that Epiftle, thofe Htavens to have perijhed; and others, as it is there written, fubftituted 'in their 'Place. In like manner, and to the fame Senfe, he hath thefe Words upon Pfal. ci. Aerii titi- que cceli perierunt ut propinqui Terr is, fecundum quod dicuntur volucres cceli ; funt autem & cceli ccelorum, fuperiores in Firmamento, fed utrum & ipfi perituri (int igne, an hi foli, qui etiam diluvio perierunt, difceptatio eft aliquant fcrU' pulnfior inter docfos. And in his Book de Civ. 'Dei, he hath feveral Pafiages to the fame pur- pofe, Quemadmodum in Apoftolica ilia Epi- Jlola a tot Pars accipitur, quod diluvio periiffe dicJus eft mundus,quamvis fola ejus cumjuis coelis pars ima perierit. Thefe being to the fame EfFett with the firft Citation, I need not make 34 8 A REVIEW of make them Englifh ; and this laft Plate refers to the Earth as well as the Heavens, as feve- ral other Places in St. Anftin do, whereof we fhall give you an Account, when we come to fhew his Judgment concerning the fecond Point, the diver jit y of the ante-dduvian and foft-diluvian World: This being but a Fore- tafte of his good Will and Inclinations to- wards this Do&rine. Thefe Considerations alledg'd, fo far as lean judge, are full and unanfwerable Proofs, that this Difcourfe of the Apoftle's comprehends and refers to the natural World; and confe- quentlythey warrant' our Interpretation in this Particular, and deftroy the contrary. We have but one Step more to make good, That there was a Change made in this natural World at the 'Deluge, according to the Apoftle ; and this is to confute the fecond Part of their In- terpretation, which fuppofeth that St. \Peter makes no Diftinction or Oppofition betwi 't the antediluvian Heavens and Earth, and the prefent Heavens and Earth, in that refpect. This fecond Difference betwixt us, me thinks is ftill harfher than the firft ; and contrary to the very Form, as well as to the Matter of the Apoftle's Difcourfe. For there is a plain Anti- thefts, or Oppofition made betwixt the Hea- vens and the Earth of old (ver. the $th) and the Heavens and the Earth that are now (ver. the 7th) c'i ox.7raXcLi xpjLvci ii j yq, and o'i vvv x^a- vol k. v\ yr,, and the advcrfitive Particle, £g but, you fee marks the Oppofition > fo that it is fuU The Theory of the Eart h. 349 full and plain according to Grammar and Lo- sick. And that the Parts or Members of this Oppofition differ in Nature from one another, is certain from this, becaufe otherwife the A- poftle's Argument or Difcourfe is of no EfTed, concludes nothing to the Purpofe; he makes no Anfwer to the Objection, nor proves any thing agatnft the Scoffers, unlefs you admit that Diverfity. for they faid, All Things had been the fame from the Beginning in the natural World-, and unlefs he fay, as he manifcftly does, that there hath been a Change in Nature, and that the Heavens and Earth that are now, are different from the ancient Heavens and Earth which perifh'd at the Flood, he fays no- thing to deftroy their Argument, nor to con- firm the prophetical Doctrine of the future Deftru&ioii of the natural World. This, I think, would be enough to fatisfy any clear and free Mind concerning the Meaning of the Apoftlej but becaufe I deftre to give as full a Light to this Place as I can, and to put the Senfe of it out of Controverfy, ifpof- fible, for the future, I will make fome farther Remarks to confirm this Expofition. And we may obferve that feveral of thofe Reafons. which we have given to prove, that the natural World \s underftood by St. 'Peter, are double Reafons ; and do alfo prove the other Point in Queftion, a < DiverJity betwixt the two natural Worlds y the antc-diluvian and the prefent. As for Inftance, unlefs you ad- mit this Diverfity betwixt the two natural Worlds, 35 o A REVIEW of Worlds, you make the 5 th verfe in this Chap* ter fuperfluous and ufelefs ; and you mult fup- pofe the Apoftle to make an Inference here without Premifes. In the vi h verfe he makes an Inference, * JVhereby the World, that then was periflYd in a Deluge 5 What does this thereby relate to ? by Reafon of what? Sure of the particular Conftitution of the Heavens and the Earth immediately before defcrib'd. Neither would it have fignihed any thing to the Scoffers, for the Apoftle to have told rhem how the ante- diluvian Heavens and Earth \vereconftituted,if they were conftituted j Lift in the fame Manner as the prefent. Befides, what is it, as I ask'd before, that the Apoftle tells thefe Scoffers they were ig- norant of? does he not fay formally and exprefly (ver. 5 .) that they were ignorant that the Hea- vens and the Earth were conftituted fo and lb, before the Flood ? But if they were conftituted as thefe prefent Heavens and Earth are, they were not ignorant of their Conftitution? Nor did pretend to be ignorant, for their own (miftaken) Argument fuppofeth it. But before we proceed any farther, give me leave to note the Impropriety of our Tran- flation, in the y h verfe, or latter Part of it j '££ voctT^ x. Si vhctruv ( vel hi vhctj^ ) cvvicra.. * 0' &/, per qut, Vulgat. Quamobrem, Beza. §>ua de caufa, Grot. Nemo wterpretum reddidit o' city, per quas ; fubintelhgendo aquas. Hoc enim argumentatioaem Apojlolicam lolleret, fupponeret- que illufores illos ignordjfe quod ohm fuerit Diluvium ; 3huod fup~ pmi wow foffifuprk $jlendtmHs. This The Theory of the E art h. 351 This we tranflate (landing in the Water, and out of the Water, which is done manifestly in compliance with the prefent Form of the Earth, and the Notions of the Tranflators, and not according to the natural Force and Senfe of the Greek Words. If one met with this Sentence * in a Greek Author, who would ever render it Jianding in the Water, and out of the Water? Nor do I know any Latin Tranflator that hath ventur'd to render them in that Senfe, nor any Latin Father ; St. Au- fiin and St. Jerome I'm fure do not, but Con- fiftens ex aqua, or de aqua, & per aquam ; for that later Fhrafe alfo trvyirdvcu $i v }<$<&>, does not with fo good Propriety flgnifiy to Jiand in the Water, as to confift or fubfift by Water, of by the Help of Water, Tanquam per caufam fujiinentem, as St. Auftin and Je- rome render it. Neither does that Inftance they give from 1 'Pet. iii. 20. prove any thing to the contrary, for the Ark was fuftain d by the Waters, and the Englijh does render it accord- ingly. The Tranflation being thus rectified, you * This Phrafe or manner of Speech o-^s ?■«?«» I* vcl i\ is not ufual in Greek Authors ; and upon a like Subject, Plato faith, rot ct n5mo%. And alfo in Tholes his which is ftill nearer to the Subject. I* rsu i'JWs, f the World, whereof St. 'Peter fpeaks, to be three-fold in SucceiTion ; feeing he does as plainly diftinguifh it into the 0/*/ Heavens and Earth, the prefent Heavens and Earth,? and the The Theory of the Earth. 363 the new Heavens and Earth. And I do the more willingly ufe this Companion of the Temple, becaufe it hath been thought an Em- blem of the outward World. I know we are naturally averfe to entertain any Thing that is inconfiitcnt with the general Frame and Texture of our own Thoughts } that's to begin the World again 5 and we often reject fuch things without Examination. Nci- do I wonder that the generality of Interpre- ters beat down the Apoftle's Words andSenfe to their own Notions; they had no other Grounds to go upon, and Men are not willing, efpecially in natural and comprehenfible things, to put fuch a Meaning upon Scripture, as is un- . intelligible to themlelves -, they rather ven- ture to offer a little Violence to the Words, that they may pitch the Senie at fuch a conve- nient Height, as their Principles will reach to : And therefore though fomc of our modern Interpreters, whom I mention'd before, have been fenfible of the natural Tendency of this Difcourfe of St. 'Peter's, and have much ado to bear off the Force of the Words, fo as not to acknowledge that they import arealDiver- fity betwixt the two Worlds fpoken of 5 yet having no Principles to guide or fupport them in following that Tract, they are fore'd to ftop or divert another way. 'Tis like entring into the Mouth of a Cave, w are not willing to venture farther than the Light goes : Nor are they much to blame for this, the Fault is only in thole Perfons that continue wilfully in 3 6 4 'A REVIEW of in their Darknefs 5 and when they cannot other- wife refill the Light, (hut their Eyes againft it, or turn their Head another Way.-~-But I am afraid I have (laid too long upon this Argu- ment 5 not for my own fake, but to fatisfy others. You may pleafe to remember that all that I have faid hitherto, belongs only to the firft Head : To prove a c Diverfity in general betwixt the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the prefent j not expremng what their particular Form was. And this general Diverlity may be argued alfo by Obfervations taken from Mofes his Hiftory of the World, before and after the Flood : From the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians ; the Rainbow appearing af- ter the Deluge; and the breaking open an Abyfs capable to overflow the Earth. The Heavens that had no Rain-bow, and under whofe benign and fteady Influence, Men liv'd feven, eight, nine hundred Years and up- wards, [See Theor. Book ii. ch. 5.] muft have been of a different Afpec"t and Conftitution from the prefent Heavens : And that Earth that had fuch an Abyfs, that the Difruption of it made an univerfal Deluge, muft have been of another Form than the prefent Earth ; and thofe that will not admit a Diverfity in the two Worlds, are bound to give us an intelligible Account of thefe Phamomena : How they could poflibly be in Heavens and Earth, like the prefent? Or if they were there once, why they do not continue fo (till, if Nature be the fame ? 3 We The Theory of the Earth. 365 We need fay no more, as to the ante-dilu- vian Heavens; but as to the Earth, we mult now, according to the fecond part of the firft Head, enquire, if that particular Form, which we have aflign'd it before the Flood, be agree- able to Scripture. You know how we have defer ibed the Form and Situation of that Earth; namely, that it was built over the Abyfs, as a regular Orb, covering and incompaflmg the Waters round about, and founded, as it were, upon them. There are many Paflages of Scrip- ture that favour this Defcription ; fome more exprefly, others upon a due Explication. To this purpofe there are two exprefs Texts in the *Pfalms -, as Tfal. xxiv. 1,2. The Earth is the Lord's, and the Fulnefs thereof -, the habitable World, and they that dwell therein. FOR he has foundedit upon the * Sea, and eftablifned it * I know fome would make this Place of no effeit by ren- dering the Hebrew Particle ""?£? juxta, by or near to ; fo they would read it thus, he bad founded the Earth by the Sea-fide y and eftablifh'd it by the Floods. What is there wonderful in this, that the Shores mould lie by the Sea- fide? Where could they lie elfe? What Reafon or Argument is this, why the Earth fhoufd be the Lord's ? The Earth is the Lord's, for he hath founded it r,et>.r the Seas. Where is the Confequenceof this.? But if he founded it upon the Seas, which could not be done by any other Hand but hi~, it (hews both the Workman and the Matter. And accordingly in that other, Vfal. exxxvi. 6. if you render ir, He fir -etched out the Earth near the Waters, How is that one of God's great Wonders, as it is there reprefented to be ? Becaufe in fome few Places this Particle is rendered orherwife, where the Senfe will bear ir. muft we therefore render it fo when we pleafe, and where the Senfe will not bear it ? This being the mod: ufual Signification of it, and there being no other Word that fignifies above more frequently or deter* minately than this does, why muft it fignify otherwife in this Place ? Men will wriggle any way to get from under the Force of a Ter-t, that docs not fuitto their own Notion*. upon 3 66 A REVIEW of upon the Floods. An Earth founded upon the Seas, and cftablifh'd upon the Waters, is not this Earth we have defcrib'd ? The firlt Earth, as it came from the Hands of its Maker? Where can we now find in Nature fuch an Earth, as the Seas and the Water for its Foundation? Nei- ther is this Text without a fecond, as a Fellow Witnefs to confirm the lame Truth ; for in 'Pfal. exxxvi. ver. 4, 5,6. we read to the fame Effect, in thefe Words, To him who alone does great I Fonder s s to him that byWifdommade the Heavens - 3 to him that fir etched out the Earth above the Waters. We can hardly expreis that Form of the ante-diluvian Earth, in Words more determinate than thefe are : Let us then, in the fame Simplicity of Heart, follow the Words of Scripture, feeing this literal Senfe is not repugnant to Nature, but, on the con- trary, agreeable to it upon the ftri tz ©£*, by the Wifdom of God ; which is the fame Aoy@» or Wifdom, that here declares her felf to have been prefent at this Work. Add now to thefe two Places, the two fore- The Theory of the E art h. 3 69 foremention'd out of the Pfahnift 5 An Earth founded upon the Sea y (Pfal. xxiv. 2.) and an Earth flr etched out above the Waters -> {Tfal. cxxxvi. 6.) Can any Body doubt or queftion > but all thefe four Texts refer to the fame Thing? And feeing St. 'Peter's Defcription refers certainly to the ante-diluvian Earth, they muft all refer to it ; and do all as certainly and evidently agree with our Theory concerning the Form and Situation of it. The pendulous Form and Pofture of that firfi: Earth being prov'd from thefe four Places, 'tis more eafy and emphatical to interpret in this Senfe that PafTage in Job ch. xxvi. 7. He ftretcheth out the North over the Tohu, (for fo it is in the Original) and hang °th the Earth upon nothing. And this ftrange oundation or no Foundation of the exterior Karth feems to be the Ground of thofe noble Something muft be alluded, and fomething that hath pad in Nature, and that is re- corded in Sacred Hiftory ; and what is that, unlefs it be the univerlal Deluge, and that Change and Disturbance that was then in all Nature ? If others fay, that thefe and fuch like Places are to be underftood mo- rally and allegorically, I do not envy them their Interpretation ; but when Nature and Reafon will bear a literal Senfe, the Rule is, that we mould not recede from the Let- ter. But I leave thefe Things to every one's Thoughts i which the more calm they are, and the more impartial, the more ea- fily they will feel the Impreilions of Truth : 3 In 37* A REVIEW of In the mean Time, I proceed to the laft particular mention'd, The Form of the 'Deluge it felf This we fuppofe to have been, not in the Way of a {landing Pool, the Waters making an equal Surface, and an equal Height every where 5 but that the extream Height of the Waters was made by the extream Agitation of them 5 caus'd by the Weight and Force of great MafTes or Regions of Earth falling at once into the Abyfs ; by which Means, as the Waters in fome Places were prefs'd out, and thrown at an exceilive Height into the Air, fo they would alfo in certain Places gape, and lay bare even the Bottom of the Abyfs ; which would look as an open Grave ready to lwallow up the Earth, and all it bore. Whilft the Ark, in the mean time, falling and rifing by thefe Gulphs and Precipices, fometimes above Water, and fometimes under, was a true Type of the State of the Church in this World : And to this Time and. State David alludes in the Name of the Church, Tfalm. xlii. 7. Abyfs calls unto Abyfs at the Noife of thy Cataratls or Water- Spout s -, all thy Water and Billows have gone over me. And again, Tfal. xlvi. 2, 3. in the Name of the Church, Therefore will not we fear tho' the Earth be removed, and tho' the Mountains be carried into the midft of the Seas. The Waters thereof roar and are troubled, the Mountains Jhake with the fuel- ling thereof. But The Theory of the Earth. 379 But there is no Defcription more remark- able or more eloquent, than of that Scene of Things represented, Tfalm. xviii. 7, 8,9, &c. which ftill alludes, in my Opinion, to the De- luge-Scene, and in the Name of the Church. We will fet down the Words at large. Ver. 6. In my diftrefs J called upon the Lord, and cry ed unto my God; He heard my Voice out of his Temple , and my Cry came be- fore him into his Ears. 7. Then the Earth [hook and trembled, the Foundations alfo of the Hills moved and were fhaken, becaufe he was wroth. 8 . There went up a Smoakfrom his Noflrils, and Fire out of his Mouth devoured ; Coals were kindled by it. 9. He bowed the Heavens alfo and came down, and ^Darknefs was under his Feet. 10. And he rode upon a Cherub and did fly, he did fly upon the Wings of the Wind. 1 1 . He made T>arknefs hisfecret 7 lace ; his 'Pavilion round about him was dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Sky. 12. At the Brightnefs before him the thick Clouds paffedy Hail and Coals of Fire. 1 3 . The Lord alfo thunder 'd in the Hea- vens, and the Higheft gave his Voice, Hail and Coals of Fire. 14. Tea, he fent out his Arrows, and feat- tered them 5 and he foot out Lightnings and difcomfited them. 3 15. Then jso A REVIEW of 1 5 . Then the Channels of Waters werefeen, and the Foundations of the World were di f co- ver eds at thy rebuke \ O Lord, at the blaft of the Breath of thy Noftrds. He fent from above, he took me ; he drew me out of great Waters. IS^n oo This is a rough, I think, Draught of the Face of the Heavens and the Earth at the Deluge, as the laft Verfes do intimate -, and 'tis apply'd to exprefs the Dangers and Deliverances of the Church : The Expreffions are fo far too high to be apply'd to IDavid'm his Perfon, and to his Deliverance from Saul-, no fuch Agonies or Diforders of Nature as are here inftanc'd, were made in ^David's Time, or upon his Ac- count ; but 'tis a Scheme of the Church, and of her Fate, particularly, as reprefented by the Ark, in that difmal Diftrefs, when all Nature was in Confufion. And though there may be fome Things here intermixt to make up the Scene, that are not fo clofe to the Sub- ject as the reft, or that they may be refer'd to the future Deftrudtion of the World $ yet that is not unufual, nor amifs, in fuch Defcriptions, if the great Strokes be fit and rightly placed. That there was Smoak, and Fire, and Water, and Thunder, and Darknefs , and Winds, and Earthquakes, at the Deluge, we cannot doubt, if we confider the Circumftances of it : Waters dafh'd and broken made a Smoak and Darknefs, and no Hurricane could be fo vi- olent as the Motions of the Air at that Time : Then The Theory of the E art h. 381 Then the Earth was torn in pieces, and its Foundations fhaken. And as to Thunder and Lightning, the Encounters and Collifions of the mighty Waves, and the Cracks of a fal- ling World, would make Flames and Noifes, far greater and more terrible, than any that can come from Vapours and Clouds. There was an univerfal * Temped, a Conflict and Claming of all the Elements; and 'David feems to have reprefented it fo,- with God Al- mighty in the midft of it, ruling them alk But 1 am apt to think, fome will fay, all this is Poetical in the Prophet, and thefe are hyperbolical and figurative ExprelTions, from which we cannot make any Inference, as to the Deluge and the natural World : Tis true, thofe that have no Idea of the Deluge, that will anfwer to fuch a Scene of things, as is here reprefented, muft give fuch a flight Account of this 'Pfalm. But on the other hand, if we have already an Idea 01 the De- luge, that is rational, and alfo confonant to Scripture upon other Proofs, and the Defcrip- tion here made by the Prophet anfwer to that Idea, whether then is it not more reafonable to think, that it ftands upon that Ground, than to think it a mere Fancy and poetical Scene of Things ? This is the true State of the Cafe, and that which we muft judge of. Methinks 'tis very harfh to fuppofe all this a bare Fic- * See Vkilo Jud&us his Defcription of the Deluge, both as to the Commotions of the Heavens, and the Fra&ions of the Earth. In his firft Treatife de Abrabamo, mih, f. 270. tion, 3 82 A REVIEW of tion, grounded upon no matter of Fatl, upon no facred Story, upon no Appearance of God in Nature. If you fay it hath a moral Signi- fication, fo let it have, we do not dcftroy that : It hath reference, no doubt, to the Dan- gers and Deliverances of the Church; but the Queftion is, whether the Words and natural Senfe be a Fancy only , a Bundle of random Hyperboles? or, whether they relate to the Hiftory of the Deluge, and the State of the Ark there reprefenting the Church ? This makes the Senfe doubly rich, Hiftorically and Morally ; and grounds it upon Scripture and Reafon, as well as upon Fancy. That violent Eruption of the Sea out of the Womb of the Earth, which Job fpeaks of, is, in my Judgment, another Defcription of the Deluge 5 'tis ch. xxxviii. 8, 9> I o, 1 1 . Who flout up the Sea with 'Doors, when it broke forth, as if it had iffued out of a womb ; when I made the*Cloudthe Garmetit thereof and thick c Darkne[s a fwadling Band for it. And broke up for it my decreed ^Place. Hitherto fhalt thou come, &c. Here you may fee the Birth and Nativity of the Sea, or ofOceanus, defcrib'd *, how he broke out of the Womb, and what his firft Garment and Swadling - Cloaths were 5 * tfii comparatio prjtcedens, Ver. 4, f,6. de ortnTeIluri<,futnitur ab ttdifiao, tta b&c altera de ortu maris, fumitur pro- denns, dcnique ut fafais C5> primts fuii panniis mvohutus. At que ex aperto Terr a utero prorupit aquarum moles, fit proluxies HU> quam fimtil cum faetu frcfmdert folet puerpera. namely, The Theory of the E art h. 3 g j namely, Clouds and thick Darknefs. This cannot refer to any thing, that I know of, b it to the Face of Nature at the Deluge ; when tbc Sea was born, and wrapt up in Clouds and broken Waves, and a dark impenetrable Mifl round the Body of the Earth. And this fectiis to be the very fame, that 'David had exprciiAi in his Defcription of the Deluge, Pfl.wui. 11. He made Darknefs his fecret 'Place, his "Pavilion roundabout him were dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Skies. For this was tnuy the Face ot the World in the Time ot tiv. Flood, tho' we little reflect upon it. And tl:u> dark Confufton every where, above and be o\v, aroie from the violent and confus'd Motion or" the Abyfs; which was dafh'd in pkc -.-s by the failing Earth; and flew into the Air !i- ■luil) Drops, as Dull flies up in a great Ruin. [$£e Theor. Book i. p. 13 6.] But 1 am afraid, we have ftay'd too long upon this Particular, The Form of the Deluge 5 feeing 'tis but a Corollary from the precedent Article about the DilTolution of the Earth. However, Time is not ill fpent about any thing that relates to natural Providence, whereof the two moft fignal Inftances in our facred Writings, are, the Deluge and the Conflagra- tion. And feeing Job and David do often reflect upon the Works of God in the external Creation, and upon the Adminiftrations of Providence, it cannot be imagin'd, that they mould never reflecl: upon the Deluge; the moft remarkable Change of Nature that ever hath 384 A REVIEW of hath been , and the moffi remarkable Judg- ment upon Mankind. And if they have re- flected upon it any where, 'tis> 1 think, in thofe Places and thofe Inftances, which I have noted ; and if thofe Places do relate to the Deluge, they are not capable, in my Judgment, of any fairer or more natural Interpretation, than that which we have given them 5 which you fee, how much it favours and confirms our Theory. I have now finimed the Heads I undertook to prove, that I might fhew our Theory to agree with Scripture in thefe three principal Points 5 firft, in that it fuppofeth a Diversity and Difference betwixt the ante-diluvian Hea- vens and Earth, and the prefent Heavens and Earth : Secondly, in afligning the particular Form of the ante-diluvian Earth and Abyfs : Thirdly, in explaining the Deluge by a Dif- folution of that Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyfs. How far I have fucceeded in this Attempt, as to others, I cannot tell ; but I am fure I have convinced my felf, and am fatisfied that my Thoughts, in that Theory, have run in the fame Tract with the Holy Writings, with the true Intent and Spirit of them. There are fome Perfons that are wilfully ignorant in certain things, and others that are willing to be ignorant, as the Apoftle phrafeth it ,* fpeaking of thofe Eternalifts that denied the Doctrine of the Change and Revo- lutions of the natural World : And 'tis not to be expected but there are many ftill of the fame The Theory of the E art h. 385 Tame Humour, and therefore may be called wil- lingly ignorant ; that is, they will not ule that Pains and Attention that is neceiTary for the Examination of fuch a Do£trine, nor Imparti- ality in judging afterExarnination; they greedi- ly lay hoid on all Evidence on one fide, and willingly forget, or ilightly pals over, all Evi- dence for the other. This, I think, is the Cha^ racier of thofe that are willingly ignorant -, for I do not take it to be io deep as a downright wil- ful Ignorance, where they are plainly confei- ousto themfelvesof that Wilfulnefs : but where an infenfible Mixture of human Pailions in- clines them one Way, and makes them averfe to the other j and in that Method draws oil all the Confequences of a willing Ignorance. There remains mil, as I remember , one Proportion that I am bound to make good j I faid, at firft, that our Hypothefis concern- ing the Deluge was more agreeable not only to Scripture in general, but alio to the particu- lar Hiftory of the Flood left us by Mofes ; I fay, more agreeable to it than any other Hy- pothecs, that hath yet been propos'd. This may be made good in a few Words; for in Mo- fes's Hiltory of the Deluge, there are two prin- cipal Points, the Extent of the Deluge, and the Caufes of it -, and in both thefe we do fully agree with that facred Author. As to the Extent of it, he makes the Deluge univerfai ; All the high Hills under the whole Heaven were cover 'd fifteen Cubits upwards. We alfo make it univerfai, over the Pace of the C c whole 3 86 'A REVIEW of whole Earth; and in fuch a Manner as muft needs raife the Waters above the Top of the higheft Hills every where. As to the Caufes of it, Mofes makes them to be the Disruption of the Abyfs, and the Rains, and no more j and in this alfo we exactly agree with him; we know no other Caufes, nor pretend to any other but thofe two. Diftinguifhing 'there- fore Mofes his Narration as to the Subftance and Circumftances of it, it muft be allowed that thefe two Points make the Subftance of it, and that an Hypothecs that differs from it in either of thefe two, differs from it more than ours ; which, at the worft, can but differ in Matter of Circumftance. Now feeing the great Difficulty about the Deluge is the Quantity of Water required for it, there have been two Explications propofed, befides ours, to remove or fatisfy this Difficulty ; one whereof makes the Deluge not to have been universal, or to have reach'd only Jndea and fome neighbour- ing Countries, and therefore lefs Water would fuffice; the other owning the Deluge to be univerfal, fupplies it felf with Water from the divine Omnipotency , and fays new Waters were created then' for the nonce, and again annihilated, when, the Deluge was to ceafe. Both thefe Educations, you fee, (and I know no more of Note that are not obnoxious to the fame Exceptions) differ from Mofes in the Subftance, or in one of the two fubftantial Points, and confequently more than ours doth. The firft changeth the Flood into a kind of National The Theory of the Ear t h. 387 National Inundation ; and the fccond afligns other Caufes of it than Mofes had afllgn'd i And as they both differ apparently from the the Mofnical Hiftory, id you may fee them re- futed upon other Grounds alfo, in the third Chapter of the fir(t Book of the Theory. This may be fufficient as to the Hiftory of the Flood by Mofes: But poilibly it may be faid, the principal Objection will arife from Mofes his fix Days Creation in the firft Chap- ter of Genefis ; where another fort of Earth, than what we have form'd from the Chaos, is reprefented to us; namely, a terraqueous Globe fuch as our Earth is at prefent. Tis indeed very apparent, that Mofes hath accommodated his fix Days Creation to the prefent Form of the Earth, or to that which was before the Eyes of the People, when he wrote. But it is a great Qucftion whether that was ever in- tended for a truePhyfical Account of the Origin of the Earth 5 or whether Mofes did either Phi- lofophize or Altronomize in that Defcription. The antient Fathers, when they anfwer the Heathens, and the Adverfaries of Cnriftianity, do generally deny it 5 as I am ready to make good upon another Occafion. And the Thing it felf bears in it evident Marks of an Accom- modation and Condefcenfion to the vulgar No- tions concerning the Form of the World : Thofe that think otherwife, and would make it literally and phyfically true in all the Parts of it, I defire them, without entrlng upon the f^ritt Merits of the Caufe, to determine thefe C c 2 Preli- 5 S8 A REVIEW of Preliminaries. Firft, whether the whole Uni- verfe rile from a terreftrial Chaos? Secondly, what Syftem of a World this fix Days Crea- tion proceeds upon; whether it fuppofes the Earth, or the Sun, for the Center ? Thirdly, whether the Sun and fix'd Stars are of a later Date, and a later Birth, than this Globe of Earth ? And laftly, where is the Region of the Super- celeftial Waters? When they have determin'd thele Fundamentals, we will pro- ceed to other Oblervations upon the fix Days Work, which will farther allure us, that 'tis a Narration fuitcd to the Capacity of the Peo- ple, and not to the ftri& and phyfical Nature of Things. Befides, we are to remember, that Mofes mull be fo interpreted in the firft Chap- ter of Genefis, as not to interfere with him- ielf in other Parts of his Hiftory ; nor to inter- fere with St. Teter , or the Prophet 'David, or any other facred Authors, when they treat of the fame Matter. Nor laftly, fo, as to be repugnant to clear and uncontefted Science. For, in things that concern the natural World, that mult always be confulted. With thefe Precautions, let them try if they can reduce that Narrative of the Origin of the World, to phyfical Truth ; fo as to be con- fident, both with Nature, and with Divine Revelation every where. It is eafily reconcile- able to both, if we fuppofc it wrote in a vulgar Style, and to the Conceptions of the People ; and we cannot deny that a vulgar Style is often made ufe of in the holy Writings. How a freely The Theory of the Eart h. 389 freely and unconcernedly does Scripture fpeak of God Almighty, according to the Opinions of the Vulgar? OtKis'Paffions, local Motions, *P arts and Members of his Body : Which all are things that do not belong, or are not com- patible with the Divine Nature, according to Truth and Science. And if this Liberty be taken, as to God himfelf, much more may it be taken as to his Works. And accordingly we fee, what Motion the Scripture gives to the Sun ; what Figure to the Earth $ what Fi- gure to the Heavens : All according to the Ap- pearance of Senfe and popular Credulity with- out any Remorfe for having tranfgrefled the Rules of intellectual Truth. This vulgar Style of Scripture, in defcribing the Nature of Things, hath been often mifta- ken for the real Senfe, and fo become a Stum- bling-Block in the Way of Truth. Thus the Anthropomorphites of old contended for the human Shape of God, from the Letter of Scrip* ture, and brought many exprefs Texts for their purpofe ; but found Reafon, at length, got the upper hand of literal Authority. Then feve- ral of the Chriftian Fathers contended, that there were no Antipodes ; and made that Doctrine irreconcilable to Scripture 5 But this alfo, after a while, went off, and yeilded to Rea- fon and Experience. Then, the Motion of the Earth muft by no means be allow'd, as being contrary to Scripture 5 for fo it is indeed, accor- ding to the Letter and vulgar Style. But all intelligent Perfons fee thorough this Argument, C c 3 and 3 9o 'A REVIEW of and depend upon it no more in this Cafe, than in the former. Laftly, the Original of the Earth from a Chaos, drawn according to the Rules of Phifiology, will not be admitted; be- cause it does not agree with the Scheme of the fix Days Creation. But why may not this be wrote in a vulgar Style, as well as the reft ? Cer- tainly there can be nothing more like a vulgar Style, than to fet God to work by the 'Day, and in fix Days to finifh his Task ; as he is there re- prcicntcd. We may therefore probably hope that all thefe Difguifes of Truth will at length fall off, and that we mail fee God and his Works in a pure and naked Light. Thus I have finifhed what I had to fay in Confirmation of this Theory form Scripture : I mean of the former Part of it, which de- pends chiefly upon the Deluge, and the ante- diluvian Earth. When you have collated the Places of Scripture, on either fide, and laid them in the Balance? to be weigh'd one a- gainft another j if you do but find them equal, or near to an equal Poife, you know in whe- ther Scale the natural Reafons are to be laid 3 and of what Weight they ought to be in an Argument of this kind. There isa. great Dif- ference betwixt Scripture with Philofophy on its fide, and Scripture with Philofophy againft it, when the Queftion is concerning the na- tural World : And this is our Cafe ; which I now leave to to the Confideration of the un- prejudiced Reader, and proceed to the Proof p!l the fecond Part of the Theory. THE The Theory of the Earth. 391 TH E latter Part conftfts of the Confla- gration of the World, and the new Heavens and new Earth $ and feeing there is no Difpute concerning the former of thefe two, our Task will now lie in a little Compafs : being only this, to prove that there will be new Heavens, and a new Earth, after the Conflagration. This, to; my Mind, is fuffici- ently done already, in the firft, fecond and third Chapters of the iv th Book, both from Scripture and Antiquity, whether Sacred or Prophane; and therefore, at prefent, we will only make a fhort and eafy Review of Scrip - ture-Teftimonies, with defign cheirly to ob- viate and difappoint the Evaftons of fuch, as would beat down folid Texts into thin Meta- phors and Allegories. The Teftimonies of Scripture concerning the Renovation of the World, are either cx- prefs, or implicit : Thole I call expre fs, that mention the new Heavens and new Earths and thofe implicit , that fignify the fame Thing, but not in exprefs Terms. So when our Saviour ipeaks of a Talmgenefla, or ay of God ; wherein the Heavens being on Fire fhall be diffolved, and the Elements fhall melt with fervent Heat. Neverthelefs we, according to his Tromife, look for new Heavens and a new Earth -, wherein Right eoufnefs fhall dwell. The Queftion is concerning this laft Verfe, Whether the new Heavens and Earth here promis'd, are to be real and material Hea- vens and Earth, or only figurative and alle- gorical. The Words, you lee, are clear 5 and the general Rule of Interpretation is this, That we are not to recede from the Letter, or the literal Senfe, unlefs there be a Neceffity from the SubjecV matter -, fuch a Neceflity, as makes a literal Interpretation abfurd. 394 A REVIEW of abfurd. But where is that Neceflity iri this Cafe ? Cannot God make new Heavens and a new Earth, as eafily as he made the old ones ? Is his Strength decayed fmce that Time, or is Matter grown more difo- bedient ? Nay, does not Nature offer her felf voluntarily to raife a new World from the fecond Chaos, as well as from the firft \ and, under theCondud of Providence, to make it as convenient an Habitation as the primaeval Earth ? Therefore no Neccili- ty can be pretended of leaving the litteral Senfc, upon an Incapacity of the Subject- mart cr. The fecond Rule to determine an In- terpretation to be literal or allegorical , is the ufe of the fame Words or Pharfc in the Context, and the Signification of them there : Let's then examine our Cafe accor- ding to this Rule, St. 'Peter had us'd the fame Phrafe of Heavens and Earth twice before in the fame Chapter. The old Hea- vens and Earth, and a Millen- nium. We do not deny a Reformation and Improvement of the Church, both as to Peace, Purity, and Piety : That Knowledge may in- crease, Mens Minds be enlarged, and Chriftian Religion better underftood : That the Power of Antichrift mail be diminifh'd, Perfecution ceafe, Liberty of Confcience allow'd amongft the Reformed ; and a greater Union and Har- mony eftablifhed : That Princes will mind the publick Good, more than they do now j and be thcmfelves better Examples of Virtue and true Piety. All this may be, and I hope will be e'er long. But the apocalyptical Millen- nium-, or the new Jerufalem, is itill another Matter: It differs not in Degree only from the prefent State, but in a new Order of Things ; both in the moral World and in the natural ; and that cannot be till we come into the new Heavens 398 A REVIEW of Heavens and new Earth. Suppofe what Re- formation you can in this World, there will flili remain many Things inconfiftent with the true millennial State ; Antichrift, tho* weak- ned, will not be finally deftroyed till the com- ing of our Saviour, nor Satan bound. And there will be always Poverty, Wars, Difeafes, Knaves and Hypocrites, in this World, which are not confident with the new Jerufalem, as St. John defcribes it, Apoc. xxi. 2, 3, 4, <&c. You fee now what our Notion is of the Mil- lennium, as we deny this Earth to be the Seat of it: Tis the State that-fucceeds the flrft Refurre Where, antecedently to Separations, all Things are mix'd and blended without Diftin&ion of Gravity or Levity ; otherwife it is not a mere Chaos : And when Separations begin to be made, and Diliinclion of Parts and Regions, fo far it is ceaiing to be a mere Chaos. But then, fays the Obfervator, why did not the Moon come down, as well as thefe terreftrial Particles? I anfwer by another Queftion, Why does not the Moon come down now ? Seeing flic is ftill in our Vortex, and at the fame Diftance ; and fo the fame Reafon which keeps her up now, kept her up then: Which Reafon he will not be at a lofs to underftand, if he underftand the Principles of his great Philofopher. * Egt quidem in tS fum fententia, fi in barum rerun* de quibus agitur, cog- nitionem, aut aliarum quarumcunque qu.i 14. that pretends there would have been no Rivers at all in the primeval Earth, if it was of fuch a Form as the Theorift had defcrib'd. And for this, he gives one grand Reafon, Becaufe the Regions towards the Poles, where the Rains are fuppos'd to fall, and the Rivers to rife, would have been all frozen and congeal'd ; and confe- quently, no fit Sources of Water for the reft of the Earth. Why wefhould think thofe Regions would be frozen, and the Rains that fell in them, he gives two Reafons, the Diftance, and the Obliquity of the Sun. As alfo the Ex- perience we have now, of the Coldnefs and Frozennefs of thofe Parts of the Earth. But as to the Diftance of the Sun, He confeffes,^. 118. that is not the Thing that does only or chiefly make a Climate cold. He might have added, particularly in that Earth, where the Sun was ne- ver at a greater Diftance than the Equator . Then, as to the Obliquity of the Sun, neither was that fo great, nor fo confiderable, in the firft Earth, as in the prefent. Be- caufe the Body of that lay in a direct Polition to the Sun ; whereas 4i 6 An AnJweP to the Exceptions made whereas the prefent Earth lies in an oblique. And though the Polar Circles or Circumpolar Parts of that Earth, did not lie fo perpendicular to the Sun as the Equinoctial, and confequently were cooler, yet there was no Danger of their being frozen or congeal'd. It was more the Moi- fture and excefiive Rains of thofe Parts that made them uninhabitable, than the extreme Coldnefs of the Climate, of it felf. And if the Exceptor had well confider'd the Differences betwixt the prefent and primitive Earth, as to Obliquity of Pofition, and that which follows from it, the Length of Nights, he would have found no Reafon to have charg'd that Earth with nipping and freezing Cold ; where there was not, I believe, one Morfel of Ice, from one Pole to another : But that will better appear, if we confider the Caufes of Cold. There are three general Caufes of Cold: The Diftance of the Sun, his Obliquity, and his total Abfence ; I mean in the Nights. As to Diftance, that alone muft be of lit- tle Effect, feeing there are many Planets (which muft not be look'd upon as mere Lumps of Ice) at a far greater Diftance from the Sun, than ours : And as to Obliquity, you fee it was much lefs confiderable in the refpective Parts of the Primitive Earth, than of the prefent. Where- fore, thefe are to be confider'd but as fecondary Caufes of Cold, in refpect of the third, the total Abfence of the Sun in the Night Time: And where this happens to be long and tedious, there you muft expect Excels of Cold. Now, in the primitive Earth there was no fuch Thing as long Winter Nights, but every where a perpetual Equi- nox, or a perpetual Day. And confequently, there was no Room or Caufe of excefiive Cold in any Part of it. But on the contrary, the Cafe is very different in the pre- fent Earth ; for in our Climate, we have not the Prefence of the Sun, intheDepth of Winter, half as long as he is abfent ; and towards the Poles they have Nights that laft feveral Weeks or Months together : And then 'tis that the Cold rages, binds up the Ground, freezes the Ocean, and makes thofe Parts more or lefs uninhabitable. But where no fuch Caufes are, you need not fear any fuch Effeds. Thus much to fhew that there might be Rains, Wa- ters, and Rivers, in the primigenial Earth, and towards the extreme Parts of it, without any Danger of freezing. But however, fays the other Part of the Exception, Thefe Rivers would not be made in dae Time. That's wholly according agalnji the Theory of the Earth. 417 according to the Procefs you take ; if you take a mere natural Procefs, the Rivers could not flow throughout the Earth, all on a fudden ; but you may accelerate that Procefs, as much as you pleafe, by a Divine Hand. As to this Particular indeed of the Rivers, one would think there fhould be no Occalion for their fudden flowing through theEarth, becaufe Mankind could notbefudden- ly propagated throughout the Earth : And if they did but lead the Way, and prepare the Ground in every Country, before Mankind arrived there, that feems to be all that would benecefTaryupon their Account : Neither can it be imagined, but that the Rivers would flow falter than Man- kind could follow; for it is probable, in the firft hun- dred Years, Men did not reach an hundred Miles from Home, or from their firft Habitations : And we cannot fuppofe the Defluxion of Water, upon any Declivity, to be half fo flow. As to the Channels of thefe Rivers, the Manner of their Progrefs, and other Circumftances, thofe Things are fet down fully enough in the fifth Chapter of the fecond Book of the Englifo Theory, and it would be needlefs to repeat them here. But the Anti-Theorift fays, this flow Production and Propagation of Rivers is contrary to Scripture; both be- caufe of the Rivers of Paradife, and alfo, becaufe Fiflies were made the fixth Day. As to that of the Fiflies, he muft firft prove that thofe were River-Fifhes; for the Scrip- ture, Gen.'x. 21. and 22. makes them Sea-Fifh, and in- fiances in great Whales. But he fays {p. 113, 114.) it will appear in the Sequel of his Difcourfe, that the Abyfs could be no Receptacle of Fiflies. To that Sequel of his Difcourfe therefore we muft refer the Examination of this Particular. Then as to Paradife, that was but one Angle Spot of Ground, f^.xiii. according to the ordinary Hypothec's ; which he feems to adhere to : And Rivers might be there as foon as he pleafes, feeing its Seat is not yet determin'd. But as for the Lands which they are faid totraverfe or encompafs, that they might be the Work of Time, when their Channels and Courfes were extended and fettled ;as they would be, doubtlefs, long before the Time that Mofes writ that Defcription : But as to the Ri- vers of Paradife, it would be a long Story to handle that Difpute here. And 'tis fit the Authors fhould firft agree amongft themfelves, before we determine the Original of its River, or Rivers. E e Chap 4i 8 An jfnfwer to the Exceptions made Chap. VI. WE come now to the Deluge, where the great Ex- ception is this, p. 121. That according to theTheo- ry, the Deluge would have come to pafs, whether Man- kind had been degenerate, or no. We know Mankind did degenerate, and 'tis a dange- rous Thing to argue upon falfe Suppositions ; and to tell what would have come to pals, in cafe fuch a Thing had not come to pafs: Suppofe Adam had not finn'd, what would have become of the MeJJiah ? Eph. i. 4. 1 Pet. i. 20. Apoc, xiii. 8. and the Difpenfation of the Gofpel, which yet is faid to have been determin'd more early than the Deluge ? Let the Anti-Theorift anfwer himfelf this Queftion, and he may anfwer his own. But to take a gentler Inftance, fuppofe Adam had not eaten the forbidden Fruit, how could he and all his Po- fterity have liv'd in Paradife? A few Generations would have fill'd that Place ; and fhould the reft have been turn'd out into the wide World, without any Sin or Fault of theirs ? You fuppofe the Ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth to have been the fame with theprefent, and, confe- quently, fubject to the fame Accidents and Inconvenien- ces. The Action of the Sun would have been the fame then as now, according to your Hypothefis : The fame •ExcelTes of Heat and Gold, in the feveral Regions and Climates; the fame Vapours and Exhalations extracted out of the Earth ; the fame Impurities and Corruptions in the Air : And in Confequence of thefe, the fame ex- ternal Difpofition to epidemical Diflempers. Befides, there would be the fame Storms and Tempefts at Sea, the fame Earthquakes, and other Defolations at Land. So that had all the Sons and Daughters of Men, to ufe the Excep- tor's elegant Style, p. 122. been as fur e and bright as they c'ould pojjibly have dropt out of the Mint of Creation, they 'fhould Jlill have been fubjecl to all thefe Inconveniences and Calamities. If Mankind had continued fpotlefs and nndegenerate 'till the Deluge, or for fixteen hundred Years, they might as well have continued fo for fixteen hundred more. And in a far lefs Time, according to their Fruit- fulnefs and Multiplication, the whole Face of the Earth would have been thick covered with Inhabitants : Every Continent and erery Ifland, every Mountain and every Defert, agalnft the Theory ofthe'EkKTU. 419 Defert, and all the Climates from Pole to Pole. But could naked Innocency have liv'd happy in the frozen Zones, where Bears and Foxes can fcarce fubiift > in the midft of Snows and Ice, thick Fogs, and more than . /Egyptian DzrkneCs, for fome Months together ? Would all this have been a Paradife, or a paradifaical State, to thefe virtuous Creatures ? 1 think it would be more ad- vifable for the Exceptor, not to enter into fuch Difputes, grounded only upon Suppolit'ons. God's Prefcience is infallible, as his Counfels are immutable. But the Exceptor further fuggefts, p. 121. that the Theory does not allow a judicial and extraordinary Pro- vidence in bringing on the Deluge, as aPunifhment upon Mankind. Which, I muft needs fay, is an untrue and uncharitable Suggeftion, as any one may fee, both in the Latin Theory * Chap. 6. and in the EngUJh, in fe- veral Places. So at the Entrance upon the Explication of the Deluge (Theor. p. 92.) are thefe Words, Let us then fuppofe, that at a Time appointed by Divine Providence, and jromCaufes made ready to do that great Execution upon ajinful World, that this A by fs was opened, and the Frame of the Earth broke, &c. And accordingly in the Conclufion of that Difcourfe about the Deluge, are thefe Words, (Theor. p. 144.) In the mean time I do not know any more to be added in this Part, unlcfs it be to conclude with an Advertifement to prevent any Mi (lake or Mifconflrutlion, as if this Theor)', by explaining the Deluge in a natural Way, or by natural Caufes, did detract from the Power of Cod, bv which that GREAT JUDGMENT WAS BROUGHT UPON THE WORLD, IN A PROVI- DENTIAL AND MIRACULOUS MANNER. And in the three following Paragraphs {Theor. p. 144, 145", 146.) which conclude that Chapter, 'there is a full Ac- count given both of an ordinary and extraordinary Provi- * Notandum verb, quamvis mundi veteris dijolutionem iff rationts Diluvii fe+ tundum crdinem cauftirum naturalium, explicemut, quod eo modo magit dare iff jijiintle intelligantur j non ideb in pxnam bumarti generis ordinatum fuijfi diluvi- *m, fngulifque ipjitti motibus pr^fuije providentiam, inficiatnur : imb in eo elu- ttt maxime Sapitntia divxna, quod mundum naturalem morali ita coaptet iff at- tetHpcret, ut bujus ingenio, iliiut ordo iff difpolitio femper refpondeat : & author u tit Hhratit momentii, jimul cencurrant iff una compleantur utriufque ttmpoia iff «'~ tijfttudinet j ipfe etiam Apufiolut Pttrut diluvii iff excidii mmdani can/as natu» tiles affignat, dm ait Zl lv, &C. , E e 2 deuce, 420 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made dence, in reference to the Deluge, and other great Revo- lutions of the natural World. But it is a Weaknefs however to think, that, when a Train is laid in Nature, and Methods concerted, for the execution of a Divine Judgment, therefore it is not pro- vidential. God is the Author and Governor of the na- tural World, as well as of the Moral : And he fees tho- rough the Futuritions of both, and hath fo difpos'd the one, as to ferve him in his juft Judgments upon the other. Which Method, as it is more to the Honour of his Wis- dom, fo it is no way to the Prejudice of his Power or Juftice. And what the Exceptor fuggefts concerning A- theifts, and their prefum'd Cavils at fuch an Explication or the Deluge, is a Thing only faid at random and without Grounds. On the contrary, fo to reprefent the Senfe of Scripture, in natural Things, as to make it unintelligible, and inconfiftent with Science and Philofophick Truth, is one great Caufe, in my Opinion, that breeds- and nourifhes Atheifm. Chap. VII. '"PHIS Chapter is about the Places of Scripture, al- -*■ ledg'd in Confirmation of the Theory : And chiefly concerning that remarkable Difcourfe in St. Peter , 2 E- fift. iii. which treats of the Difference of the Ante-dilu- vian World, and the prefent World. That Difcourfe is fo fully explain'd in the Review of the "Theory, that I think it is plac'd beyond all Exception. And the Animadverter here makes his Exception only againft the firft Words, •ver. 5". AuveQccvei yd? civrtiq tbto fleAovW which We thus render, For this they willingly are ignorant of. But he ge- nerally renders it, wilfully ignorant of and lays a great Strefs upon that word wilfully. But if he quarrel with the Englijh Tranflation, in this particular, he muft alfo fault the Vulgate, and Beza, and all others that I have yet met withal. And it had been very proper for him, in this Cafe, to have given us fome Inftances or Proofs, out of Scripture or Greek Authors, where this Phrafe fignifies a •wilful and objlinate Ignorance, He fays it muft have been a wilful Ignorance, otherwife it was not blameable: Whereas St. 'Peter gives it a fharp Reproof. I anfwer, Therearc manykinds andDegrees ofblameablelgnorance; a contented Ignorance, an Ignorance from Prejudices,from Non- againft the Theory of the E art h \ 411 Non-attendance, and want of due Examination. Thefe are all blameable in fome Degree, and all deferve fome Reproof; but it was not their Ignorance that St. 'Peter chiefly reproves, but their deriding and fcoffing at the Doc- trine of the coming of our Saviour, and the Conflagra- tion of the World. And therefore he calls them, Scoffers^ walking after their own Lufts. But the Exceptor feems at length inclinable to render the forementioned Words thus, p. 137. They are wil- lingly mindlefs or forgetful. And I believe the Tranfla- tion would be proper enough. And what gentler Re- proof can one give, than to fay, you are willing to forget fuch an Argument, or fuch a Consideration ; which im- plies little more than Non-attention, or an Inclination of the Will towards the contrary Opinion? We cannot tell what Evidence, or what Traditions they might have then concerning the Deluge, but we know they had the Hifto- ry of it by Mofes, and all the Marks in Nature, that we have now, of fuch a DiiTblution. And they, that pre- tended to philofophize upon the Works of Nature, and the Immutability of them, might very well deferve that modeft Rebuke, that they were willing to forget the fir ft Heavens and firft Earth, and the Deftruction of them at the Deluge, when they talk'd of an immutable State of Nature. Neither is there any Thing in all this, contrary to what theTheorift had faid, T'heor. c. 1. concerning the ancient Philofophers : That none of them ever invented or de- monftrated from the Caufes, the true State of the firft Earth. This muft be granted ; but it is oneThing to de- rnonftrate from the Caufes, or by way of Theory, and another Thing to know at large: Whether by Scripture, Tradition, or Collection from Effects. The Mutability and Changes of the World, which thefe Pfeudo-Chriftians would not allow of, was a knowable Thing, taking all the Means which they might and ought to have attended to: At leaft, before they fhould have proceeded fo far as to reject the Chriftian Doctrine concerning the future Changes of the World, with Scorn andDeriflon. Which is the very Thing theApoftlefo much cenfur'd them for. So much for what is faid by the Exceptor concerning this place of St. Peter. To all the reft he gives an eafy Anfwer, (in the Contents of this Chapter) viz. That they are figurative, andfo not argumentative. The Places ©f Scripture upon which the Theory deperids, are ftated E e 3 ditlintfly 422 An Anjwer to the Exceptions made diftinctly and in order, in the Review: And, to avoid Repetitions, we mud fometimes refer to that, Review, p. 371, 372. particularly, as to two remarkable Places, Pfal. xxiv. 2. and Pfal. cxxxvi. 6. concerning the Foundation and Extenfion of the Earth upon the Seas. Which the Exceptor quickly difpatches by the Help oi %P article and a Figure, by The next he proceeds to, is, Pfal. xxxiii. 7. He gather- eth the Waters of the Sea, as in a Bag : He layeth up the Abyfs in Store- Houfes. But, he fays, it fhould be render'd, as on an Heap: Which is the £»£///# Tranflation. Whe- ther the Authorities produced, in this cafe, by the Theo- rift, Eng. Theor. p. 117. or by the Exceptor, are more conliderable, I leave the Reader to judge. But, however, he cites another place, Pfal. Ixxviii. 13. where the fame Word is us'd and apply'd to the Red Sea, which could not be enclos'd as in a Bag. Take whether Translation you pleafe for this fecond place; it is no Prejudice to the Theory, if you render it on an Heap : For it was a Thing done by Miracle. But the other Place fpeaks of the ort dinary Pofture and Conftitution of the Waters, which is not on an Heap, but in a Level or fpherical Convexity with the reft of the Earth. This Reafon the Animadverter was not pleas'd to take notice of, tho' it be intimated in that fame Place of the Theory which he quotes, p. 86. But that which I might complain of mod, is his unfair Cita- tion of the next Paragraph of the Theory, Excep.p. 140. Which he applies peculiarly to this Text of Pfal. xxxiii. 7. whereas it belongs to all the Texts alledg'd out of the Pfalmsj and is a modeft Reflection upon the Explication of them, as the Reader may plainly fee, if he pleafe to look the Theory, and compare it with his Citation. The next Place he attacks, is, Job xxvi. 7. He flretches the North over the Tohu, or, as we render it, over the etnpty 'Places: And hangeth the Earth upon nothing. Here heiays,/>. 141. Jobdid either accommodate himfelf to the Vulgar, or elfe was a perfect Platonifl. Methinks Plato fhould rather be a Jobijl, if you would have them to imitate one another. Then he makes an Objection, and -anfwers it himfelf; concluding, however, that Job could not but mean this of the prefent Earth, becaufe in the next Verfe he mentions Clouds. But how does it appear, that every Thing that Job mentions in that Chapter, refers to the fame time ? The agalnft t he Theory of the E a rt h . 423 The next Place, is, Job xxxviii. 4, 5-, 6. Where waft thou when I laid the Foundations of the Earth" 1 . &c. Thefe eloquent Expostulations of the Almighty, he applies all to the prefent Form of the Earth : Where he fays, there are the Embojfmgs of Mountains the Enamelling of lejj'er Seas, the open Work of the vaft Ocean, and the fret Work of Rocks, &c. Thefe make a great Noife, but they might all be apply'd to the Ruins ot an old Bridge, fallen into the Water. Then he makes a large Harangue in Commenda- tion of Mountains, and of the prefent Form of the Earth : Which, if you pleafe, you may compare with the tenth Chapter of the Latin Theory, and then make your Judg- ment upon both. But it is not enough for the 'Exceptor to admire the Beauty of Mountains, but he, p. 146. will make theThe- orift to do fo too, becaufe he hath exprelt himfelf much pleas'd with the Sight of them. Can we be pleas'd with nothing in an Objecl but the Beauty of it? Does not the Theoriftfay there, in the very Words cited by the Excep- tor, Scepe loci ipfius infolentia & fpeclaculorum novitas de- le flat magis quam venuflas in rebus not is & communibus . We are pleas'd in looking upon the Ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre, or a triumphal Arch, tho' time have de- fae'd its Beauty. A Man may be pleas'd in looking upon a Monfter, will you conclude therefore that he takes it foraBeauty? There are many Things in Objedts, betides Beauty, that may pleafe ; but he that hath not Senfe and Judgment enough to fee the Difference of thofe Cafes, and whence the Pleafurcs arife, it would be very tedious to beat it into him. by Multitude of Words. After his Commendation of Mountains, he falls up- on the Commendation of Rain : Making thofe Coun- tries, that enjoy it, to be better water'd than by Rivers; and confequently the prefent Earth better than that para- difaical Earth defcrib'd by the Theorilt. And in this he fays, he follows the Rule of Scripture, for thefe are his Words, p. 148. And that thefe Rules, whereby we mea- fure the Ufefulnefs of this Earth, and Jhew it to be more ex* cellent than ihat of the Theory, are the mojl true and pro- per Rules, is manifejl from God's making life of the fame, in a Cafe not unlike : For he, comparing iEgypt ^WPaleftine, prefers the latter before the former; becaufe in iEgypt the Seed fown was watered with the Foot, as a Garden of Herbs; but Palejline was a Land of Hills and Valleys, and drank Water of the Rain of Heaven, T)eut.\\. 10,11. E e 4 Let 424 AnAnfwer to the Exceptions made Let this reft a while: In the mean time let us take no- tice how unluckily it falls out for the Obfervator, that a Country that had no Rain, fhould be compared in Scrip- ture, or join'd in Privilege, with Paradife it felf, and the Garden of God. For fo is this very JEgypt, Gen. xiii. 10. tho' it had no Rain, but was water'd by Rivers. The Words of Scripture are thefe. And Lot lifted up his Eyes y and beheld all the 'Plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where {before the Lord dejlroyed Sodom and Gomor- rah) even as the Garden of the Lord, like the Land of JE- gypt. The Plain of 'Jordan you fee is commended for its -Fruitfulncfs, and being well watered : And as the height of its Commendation, it is compar'd with JEgypt, and with the Paradife of God. Now in JEgypt we know there was little or no Rain : And we read of none in Paradife: But they were both water'd by Rivers. There- fore the greateft Commendation of a Land, for Pleafure and Fertility, according to Scripture, is its being well water'd with Rivers : Which makes it like a Paradife. Surely then you cannot blame the Theorift, having this Authority befides all other Reafons, for making the para- difaical Earth to have been thus water'd. Now let the Exceptor confider. how he will interpret and apply his place in Deuteronomy, and make it confiftent with this in Genejis. Till I fee a better Interpretation, I like this very well, tho' quite contrary to his: Namely, That they were not to expect fuch a Land us JEgypt, that was a Plain naturally fruitful, as being well water'd ; but the Land they were to poffefs, depended upon the Benediction of Heaven: And therefore they might expecl more or lefs Fertility, according as they kept God's Com- mandments. And fo much tor thofe two Texts of Scripture, Laftly, The Exceptor,/?. 149. in theConclufion of his Difcourfe about that place in Job, makes a Reflection up- on the Impropriety of thofe Expreffions made in Job, about Foundations and Corner-Jlones, if they be apply'd to the firft Earth defcrib'd by the Theorift. But this feems to me an Elegancy in that Difcourfe, which he makes a Fault : Whether it be underftood as an Allufion only to our man- ner of Building, by deep Foundations, and frrong Corner- Hones : Or an ironical Interrogation, as it feems to me; implying, that there was no Foundation (ftrictlyfocall'd) nor Corner-Hone, in that great Work, tho' we can- not dgainfl the Theory of the Earth. 415 not build a Cottage or little Bridge, without fuch Prepa- rations. He proceeds then to the following Verfes in that thirty- eighth Chapter. Who [hut up the Sea with Doors, when it broke forth as if it had iJJ'ued out of a Womb ? This the Theorirt underftands of the Difruption of the Abyfs at the Deluge, when the Sea broke forth out of the Womb of the Earth : Or out of that fubterraneous Cavity, where it was enclo- fed as in a Womb. 'Tis plainly imply'd in the Words. of the Text, that the Sea was fhut up in fome Womb, be- fore it broke forth. I defire therefore to know in what Womb that was. You will find Interpreters much at a lofs to give a fair Anfwer to that Ouetlion : What was that enclos'd State or the Sea? And what Place, or Part of Nature, was that Receptacle where it lay? But the Ex- ceptor hath found out anew Anfwer. Hefays, it was that Womb of Non-entity. Thefe are his Words, It juji then (at its Creation) guped out of the Womb of Nothing, into Exijience. This is a fubtle and far-fetch'd Notion. Me- thinks the Womb of Nothing, is much-whatthe fame as#a Womb. And fo this is no Anfwer. But however let us confider how far it would fuit this Cafe, if it was admit- ted. If you underftand xhtWomb of Non-entity, Gen.'x.z. the Sea broke out of that Womb the firft Day, and had no Bars or Doors fet to it, but flow'd over all the Earth without Check or Control. Therefore that could not be the Time or State here fpoken of. And to refer that Reftraint, or thofe Bars and Doors, to another Time, which are fpoken of here in the fame Verfe, would be very in- excufable in the Exceptor: p. i^o. feeing he will not al- low theTheorilt to fuppofe thofe Things that are fpoken of in different Verfes, to be underftood of different Times. To conclude, this metaphyfical Notion of the Womb of Nothing, is altogether impertinent, at leaft in this Cafe : For the Text is plainly fpeaking of Things local and cor- poreal, and this Prifon of the Sea muft be underftood as fuch. He proceeds now to the lalt Place alledg'd, Prov. viii. 27, 28. When he prepared the Heavens, L was there : When he fet a Compafs upon the Face of the Deep. The word >MT\ which we render Compafs, he fays, fignifies no more than the Rotundity or fphcrical Figure of the Abyfs. And fo the Senfe will run thus, When God fet a Rotundity, Or fpherical Figure, tipon the Face of the Abyfs. But where- as the Word may as well fignify a Sphere or Orb, the Theoriff 416 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made Theorift thinks it more reafonable that it (hould be fb tranflated : And fo the Sentence would run thus, When God fet an Orb upon the Face of the Deep. And this Dif- courfe of Solomon's, referring to the Beginning of the World, he thinks it rational to underftand it of the firft habitable Earth: Which is really an Orb fet over the Face of the Deep. One cannot fwear for the Signification of a Word in every particular Place, where it occurs : But when there are two Senfes whereof it is capable, and the one is much more important than the other, it is a fair Preemption to take it in the more important Senfe ; efpecially in fuch a Place, and upon fuch an Occalion, where the great Works of the Divine Wifdom and Power are celebrated : As they are here by Solomon. And it cannot be deny'd, that our Senfe of the Words is more important than the other : For of what Confequence is it to lay, God made the Body of the Abyfs round. Every one knows, that Fluids of their own accord run into that Figure. So as that would be a fmall Remark upon a great Occafion. The Conftrudtion of this Orb we fpeak of, minds me of anlnjuftice which the Exceptor hath done the Theory, in the precedent Part of this Chapter, by a falfe Accufa- tion. For he fays, the Theory makes the Conftru&ionof the firft Earth to have been merely mechanical. At lead, . his Words feem to lignify as much, which arethefe,^. 143. Andfo its Formation, fpeaking of the firft Earth, had been merely mechanical, as the Theory makes it. That the Con- flrucltion was not merely mechanical, in the Opinion of the Theorift, you may fee, Eng. Theor. p. 88. which, becaufe we have cited it before, we will not here repeat. TheTheorift might alfo complain, that the Exceptor cites the firft Edition of theTheory for fuch Things as are left out in thefecond: Which yet was printed a Twelvemonth before his Animadverfions. And therefore in Faimefs he ought always to have confulted the laft Edition, and laft Senfe of the Author, before he had cenfured him, or his Work. But this unfair Method, it feems, pleas'd his Hu- mour better :p. 81. p. 100, laft Part, as you may fee in this Chapter, p. 15-4. p. 227, 228. p. 244. and in feveral other Places ; where PalTages are cited and iniifted upon, that are no where to be found in the fecond Edition. Not to mention his defective Citations, omitting that Part that qualifies the Sentence, as p. 99. laft Citation, and elfe- where, p. 279, 280. p. 288. I make this Note, that the Reader againft the Theory o/^Earth. 427 Reader may judge, how well this anfvvers that Sincerity, with which he profeft he would examine this Work : Only as a Friend and Servant to Truth. And therefore with fuch Candor, Meekncfs, andModcfly,as becomes one who af- fumes and glories in fo fair a Character, ^.43. The reft of this Chapter is a general Cenfure of Citations out of Scripture, that are only tropical or figurative Schemes of Speech. Thefe muft be made fo indeed, if our Senfe of them be not allow'd. But whatNeceflity is there of a figurative Interpretation of all thefe Texts ? The Rule we go by, and I think all good Interpreters, is this, that we are not to leave the literal Senfe, unlefs there be aNeceflity, from the Subject-Matter. And thereisno fuch NecelTity in this Cafe, upon our Hypothec's : For it fuits with the literal Senfe. And 'tis to beg the Que- ftion,to fay, the literal Senfe is not tobeadmitted, becaufe it complies too much with the Theory. But as for that Text or his own, which he inftances in, The Pillars of the Earth tremble, that cannot be underftood (by the lame Rule) of Pillars literally ; becaufe there are no fuch Pil- lars of the Earth, upon any Hypothefis. Chap. VIII. T^HIS Chapter is concerning that grand Property of ■*• the ante-diluvian Earth, a perpetual Equinox, or a right Polition to the Sun. This perpetual Equinox the Exceptor will by no means admit. But I'm afraid he miftakes the Notion : For as he explains it in the two firft Sections of this Chapter, he feems to have a falfe Idea of the whole Matter. He thinks, I perceive, that when the Earth chang'd its Situation, it was tranflated from the Equator into the Ecliptick: And that before that Change in the ante-diluvian State, it moved directly under the Equator. For thefe are his Words, p. 1 j8. So that in her anmial Motion about the Sun, namely, the Earth, be- fore that Change, fhe was carried direcJly under the Equi- noctial, without any Manner of Obliquity in her Site, or De- clination towards cither of the Tropicks in her Courfe ; and therefore could never cut the Equinoctial, by faffing {as now Jhe is pre fumed to do) from one Tropick to the other. By which Words, you fee, he imagines that the Earth mov'q perpetually under the Equator, when it had a perpetual .Equinox. And when it came out of that State, into this wherein 428 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made wherein it is now, it did not only change its Pofition, and the Pofture of its Axis, but was alfo really tranflated from one Part of the Heavens into another, namely, from under the Equator to the Ecliptick, and fo took another Road in its annual Courfe about the Sun. This is a great Miftake: And I cannot blame him, if he wasfo averfeto admit this Change, feeing it lay fo crofs in his Imagination. For whatPullies or Leavers (hould we employ to remove the Earth out of the Equator into the Ecliptick ? Archi- medes pretended, if he had Ground to plant his Engines upon, that he would move the Earth out of its Place; but that it was done before, I never knew, nor heard of: And if the Exceptor had confider'd what is faid in the Theory upon that Occafion, Lat. Theor. li. 2. c. 4. he might ea- fily have prevented his Miftake. But we fhall meet with the fame Error again in another Place. Let us confider now, what Arguments he ufes againft this Change. He fays, p. 15-9. If there had been fuch a Change, either Providence, or Mankind, would have preferv'd the Memo- ry of it. How far the Memory of it hath been preferv'd, we fhall fee hereafter. In the mean Time, we will give him Inftances of other Things to reflect upon, that are loft out of Memory, unlefs he be the happy Man that fhall retrieve them. The Age of the World hath been preferv'd, either by the Memory of Man, or by the Care of Provi- dence. And was not that both a Thing of Importance, and of eafy Prefervation ? Noah could not but know the Age of the World, for he was contemporary with five or fix Generations, that were contemporary with Adam. And knowing the Age of the World himfelf,he could not ea- iily forbear, one would think, to tell it to his Sons and Pofterity. But, to this Day, we do not know what the true Age of the World is. There are three Bibles, if I may fo fay, or three Pentateuchs, the Hebrew, Samaritan^ and Greek: Which do all differ very considerably in their Accounts, concerning the Age of the World : And the mod learned Men are not yet able to determine with Certainty, which of the three Accounts is mod authen- tick. Then, what think you of the Place of Paradife ? How well is the Memory or Knowledge of that preferv'd ? Could Noah be ignorant of it ? And was it not a fit Sub- ject to difcourfe of, and entertain his Sons and Nephews, and by them to communicate it to Pofterity? Yetwefeek it ftill in vain. The Jews were as much at a Lofs as we are: p. 263, 264, 265'. and the Chriftian Fathers, you think, againft the Theory of the Earth. 429 think, were out in their Opinions, both about the Place and Conditions of it : Neither do you venture to deter- mine them your felf : So that Paradife is loft in a Man- ner out of the World. What Wonder then if this lingle Property of it be loft? If the Exceptor had well confider'd (Eng. Theor. p. 400, 401.) what the Theorift has faid concerning the providential Conduct of Knowledge in the World, this Doubt or Objection might have been fpar'd. After a long Excurfion, little to the Purpofe, but to fhew his Reading, p. 166. he tells us next, that Scripture does not favour this Notion of a perpetual Equinox before the Flood : And cites Gen. viii. 22. which the Theorift had cited as a Place that did fuggeft to us that VicifTitudeof Seafons that was eftablifhed after the Flood. The Words indeed are not fo determinate in themfelves, but that they may be underftood, either of the Reftauration of a former Order in the Seafons of the Year, or of the Eftablifhment of a new one. And in whether Senfe they are to be ta- ken, is to be determin'd by collateral Reafons and Confi- derations. Such the Theorift had fet down, to make it probable, that they ought to be underftood as a Declara- tion of fuch an Order of the Seafons of the Year, as was brought in at that Time, and was to continue to the End of the World. The Exceptor hath not thought fit to take notice of, or refute thofe Reafons, and therefore they Hand good, as formerly. Befides,the Exceptor muft re- member, that this Text ftands betwixt two remarkable Phaenomena,the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians in the old World, and the Appearance of the Rainbow in the new. Both which were Marks of a different State of Nature in the two Worlds. He further excepts, p. 168. againft that perpetual Equi- nox before the Flood, for another Scripture-reafon : viz. Becaufe the Earth was curft before that Time, and confe- quently, he fays, had not a perpetual Equinox. But if that Curfewas fupernatural, it might have its Effect in any Pofition of the Earth. For God can make a Land barren, if he think fit, in fpite of the Courfe of Nature. And fo he alfo muft fuppoie it to have been in this Cafe. For, upon all Suppofitions, whether of a perpetual Equinox, or no, the Earth is granted to have been very fruitful at firft : And fo would have continued, if that Curfe had not interven'd. Laftly, 430 An Anfaer to the Exceptions made Laftly, He makes that an Argument, p. 169. that the Air was cold and intemperate in Paradife, andconfequent- ly no conflant Equinox, becaufe Adam and Eve made tbemfelves Aprons to cover their Nakednefs. So, he con- feiTes, Interpreters generally underftand, that it was to cover tbetr Nakednefs. But he will not allow that to be the true Senfe, but fays thofe Fig-Leaves were to keep them warm. And the other Interpretation of covering their Nakednefs, he will not admit, for three Reafons: Firft, becaufe the Scripture, as he pretends, does not declare it fo. See, pray, Gen. iii. 7. Secondly, What Shame, fays he, need there have been betwixt Husband and Wife ? Thirdly, If it was IModefly, -when they were innocent, they JJiould have been more modefl. Some Arguments anfwer themfelves, and I do not think thefe deferve a Confutation. But, he fays, p. 170. however God made them Coats of Skins af- terwards, and that was to be a Defence again/} Cold. He mult tell us in what Climate he fuppofes Paradife to have flood: And which way, and how fax A dam and Eve were banilh'd from it. When thofe Things are determin'd, we fhall know what to judge of this Argument, and of Coats tf Skins. After Lajlly, I expected no more : But he hath two or three Reafons after the Laft. As firft, he fays, p. 171. upon our Hypothec's, one Hemifphere of the Globe muft have been unpeopled : Becaufe the torrid Zone was un- payable. And was not the Ocean as unpaiTable, upon your Kypothefis ? How got they into America ? And not only into America, but into all the Iflands of the Earth, that are remote from Continents ? Will you not allow us one Miracle, for your many? I'm furethe The- orilt never excluded the Miniftry of Angels ; and they could as eafily carry them thorough the torrid Zone, as over the Ocean. But fecondly, he fays, There could be no Rains to make the Flood, it there was a perpetual Equinox. Were not thofe Rains, that made the Flood, extraordinary, and out of the Courfe of Nature? You would give one angry Words that fhould deny it. Be- fides, the Fiood-Gates of Heaven were opeifd when the great Deep was broken up, {Gen. vii. n.) and no Wonder the Difruption of the Earth fhould caufe fome extraordina- ry Commotions in the Air, E/tg. Theor. p. 135-. and ei- ther comprefs the Vapours, or (lop their ufual Courfe to- wards the Poles, and draw them down in Streams upon ieveral Parts of the Earth. But the Exceptor fays, this could againft the Theory of the Ea rt h. 431 could not be, becaufe the Theorift makes the Rains fall before the Disruption of the Abyfs. But hedoesnotfup- pofe the Cataracts of Heaven to have been open'd before, which made the grand Rains. And how unfairly that Paffage of the Theory is reprefented, we fhall fee here- after in the fourteenth Chapter. Laftly, He concludes all with this Remark, p. 176. That all forts of Authors have difputed in what Seafon of the Year the Deluge came, and in what Seafon of the Year the World began : Therefore they thought there were then different Seafons of the Year- Thefe Difputes, he confeffes, did raanifeflly proceed from Inadvertency, or fomething worfe : Becaufe there could not be any one Seafon throughout all the Earth at once. He might have added, unlefs upon the Suppolition of the Theory, which makes an univerfal Equinox at that Time. And why may not that have given Occafion to the general Belief, That the World begun in the Spring ? And when the true Rea- fon of the Tradition was lo(t, they fell into thofe imper- tinent Queftions, In what Seafon of the Tear the World be* gan. But however, we do not depend upon the Belief, either of the Antients or the Moderns, as to the Generali- ty : For we know they had other Notions of thefe Things than what the Theory propofes; otherwife it would have been a needlefs Work. But notwithstanding the general Error, that Providence did preferve fome Traditions and Teftimonies, concerning that ancient Truth, we fhall fee in the next following Difcourfe. So much for Scripture and Reafons. He now comes to examine Authorities: Namely, fuch Teftimonies as are alledg'd by the Theorift, to fhew that there was a Tradition among the Antients, of a Change that had been, as to the Pojition of the Earth: And confequently, as to the Form and Seafons of the Year. The firft Teftimony that hf excepts againft, is, that of Diogenes and Anaxa- goras ; who witnefs plainly,/?. 177. That there had been an Inclination of the Earth, or a Change of Poflure, fince it was form'd and inhabited. But the Exceptor fays, they have not affign'd a true final Caxfe, nor fuch as agrees with the Theory. The fecond Teftimony, is, that of Em- pedocles, p. 178. which he excepts againft, becaufehe hath not given a good efficient Caufe of that Change. The third Witnefs is Leuappus ; againft whom he makes the fame Exception, />. 179. that he doth not afllgntheCaufes a-right. The fourth Witnefs, is Democritus; whom he. f. 1S0. 43^ An Anfwer to the Exceptions made p. 180. quarrels with upon the fame Account. But is this a fair hearing of Witneffes? Or are thefe juft and le- gal Grounds of rejecting their Teftimony, as to matter of Fa&, becaufe they are unskilful in giving the Caufes and Reafons of that matter of Facl ? That is not requir'd in Witnefies : And they are often impertinent when they attempt to do it. The Theorift does not cite thefe Au- thors to learn of them the Caufes, either efficient or final, of that Inclination, or Change of Pofturein the Earth, but only matter of Fa6t : To let you fee, that according to their Teftimony, there was a Tradition in that Time, which they took for true, concerning a Change made in the Pofture of the Earth. And this is all we require from them. If you pretend to invalidate their Teftimony, be- caufe they do not philofophize well about that Change; that's as if you (hould deny that there was fuch a War as the Peloponnejian War, becaufe the Hiftorian hath not af- figncd the true Caufes and Reafons of it : Or as if a Man (hould give you the HiftoryofaComet, that appear'd in fuch a \ ear, was of fuch a Form, and took fuch a Courfe in the Heavens; and you fhould deny there was any fuch Comet, becaufe the fame Author had not given a good Account of the Generation of that Comet, nor of the Cau- fes of its Form and Motion . The Exceptions made againft the Teftimonics of thefe Philofophers, feem to me to be no lefs injudicious. After thefe Teftimonies, he/»»i8i. makesthree orfour Remarks or Reflections upon them. But they all concern, either the Time of this Change, or the Caufes of it. Nei- ther of which the Theorift either engag'd or intended to prove from thefe Witnefies. There is ftill one Teftimony behind, which the Excep- tor hath feparatedfrom the reft, that he might encounter it fingly. 'Tis another Paffage from Anaxagoras, which both notes this Inclination, and the Pofture of the Heavens and Earth before that Inclination. But here the Exceptor quarrels, firft, with the word 6oao£^. And if that will not pleafe you, he hath ftill a fourth Anfwer inreferve. I do not like when a Man (hifts Anfwer fo often ; 'tis a lign he has again ft the Theory of the Earth. 433 has no great Confidence in any one. But let us have his fourth Anfwer. 'Tis this, That Anaxagoraswas a kind of heterodox Philofopher, and what he lays is not much to be heeded. Thefe are the Words of the Exceptor, p. 1 84. If this will not fatisfy, I have one Thing mere to offer. Grant that Anaxagoras jhould mean that very De- cimation, 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 falfe and groundiefs Opinions, as any of the learned Antients. Had he made this Exception againft this Witnefs ar firft, it might have fav'd both himfelf and us a great deal of Pains. For we do allow, if you can prove a Witnefs to beperfona infamis, oxnon combos raen~> tis, 'tis fufficient to invalidate his Teftimony. But this is a rude and groundiefs Cenfure; fhall that famous Anaxagoras, that was call'd MENS, hut Ifyyfr/, not be thought fo much as mentis compos; nor have Credit enough for an honeft Witnefs ? I am apt to think, from thofe Sentences, and thofe Remains we have left of him, that there was not a more considerable Man a- mongft the Antients, for Noblenefs of Mind and natural Knowledge. I could bring the Teftimonies of many an- tient Authors, and of many Chriftian Fathers, to clear his Reputation, and place it above Envy. 'Tis generally acknowledg'd, that he firft introdne'd an intellectual Prin- ciple, in the Formation of the Univerfe, to difpofe and order confus'd Matter. And accordingly Eufebius gives him this fair Character, tPncp. Evan. 1. 10. c. ult. p. 5-04. Col. && s^ vpuro; 5<»jp9pt». 281. that they would have been too numerous before the Flood. I can fay nothing to that, nor he neither, upon good Grounds: Unlefs we knew what Species of Animals were then made, and in what Degrees they multiplied. TheTheorift always fup- pofes a divine Providence to fuperintend, proportion, and deter- again fl the Theory of t he E a r t h . 457 determine, both the Number and Food of Animals upon the Earth ; fuitably to the Conftitution and Circum- ftances of every World. And feeing that Earth was no lefs under the Care and Direction of Providence, than the prefent, we may conclude that due Meafures were taken for adj lifting the Numbers and Food of Animals in fuch manner, as neither to be a Burden to one another, nor to Man. Chap. XIV. '"PHIS Chapter is againfl the Explication of the Deluge •*- by the DiJJ'olution of the Earth. That DilTolution, las is pretended, being unfit or infufficient to produce fuch an EfrecT:. And to prove this, the Ante-theorift gives us five Arguments, whereof the firft is this; p. 285". A/a/ex having left us an accurate Description of Paradife, according to the f roper Rules of Topography, fuch aDefcription would have been improper and infufficient to determine the Place of Paradife, and confequently ufelefs, if the Earth had been diffolv'd ;and by that means the Bounds of thofe Countries, and the Channels of thofe Rivers, broken and chang'd. This Objection, I'm afraid, will fall heavier upon Mofes, or upon the Exceptor himielf , than upon the Theorift. However, one would have expected that the Exceptor ihould havedetermin'd here the Place of Paradife in virtue of that Defcription. So learned and fagacions a Perfon, having before him an exact Draught of Paradife, according to the proper Rules of Topography, could not fail to lay his Finger upon the very Spot of Ground where it ftood. Yet I do not find that he has ventur'd to determine the Place of Paradife, either in this Chapter, or in the preceding: Which gives me a great Sufpicion, that he was not fatis- fy'd where it ftood, notwithftanding the Mofaical Topogra- phy. Now if it cannot be underftood ordetermin'd by that Topography, one of thefe two things muft be allow'd, ei- ther that the Defcription was infufficient and ineffectual ; or that there has been fome great Change in the Earth, whereby the Marks cf itaredeftroy'd ; namely, theBounds of Countries, and the Courfes of the Rivers. If he take the fecond of thefe Anfwers, he joins with the Theorift. If the firft, he reflects, according to his way of arguing, upon the Honour of Mofes, or confutes himfelf. But here is ftill a further Charge, p. 286. Mofes's De- fcription of Paradife would have been falfe (which he notes 4 $8 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made notes for horrid Blasphemy) if the Earth was broken at the Deluge : For then thofe Rivers, by which Mofes de- fcribes Paradife, could not have been before the Flood. But why fo, I pray ? The Theorift fuppofes Rivers be- fore the Flood, in great Plenty ; and why not like to thefe ? And if their Channels were very much chang'd by the Flood, that's no more than what good Interpreters fup- pofe. Being unable, upon any other Submiffion, to give an Account why it is fo hard (notwithftanding Mofes'' s Delcription) to determine the Place of Paradife. Now where is the Blafpbemy of this ? Ibid. Horrid Blafphemy againft the Holy GhoftX A rude and injudicious Defence of Scripture, by Railing and ill Language, is the true Way to leflen and difparage it : Efpecially when we make our own Confequences to be of the fame Authority with the Word of God ; and whatfoever is againft them, muft be charg'd with Blafphemy againft the HolyGhoft. Is it not a ftrange Thing, that the Diflblution of the Earth fhould be made Blafphemy, when the Prophets and infpir'd Authors fpeak fo often of the 'Difruptions, Fractions, Concuffions, and Subverfions of the Earth ? See Review, p. 380, &c. And that very Exprefllon, that the Earth is dijjolv'd, is aScrip- ture Exprefllon, (fPfalAxxv. 3. Ifai. xxiv. 19. Amos'xx. 5-.) which, methinks, might have been enough to have protect- ed it from the Imputation of Blafphemy. But there is no- thing fafe againft blind Zeal, and opinionative Ignorance; which, by how much they find themfelves weaker inRea- fons, byfo much they become more violent inPaffions. But to return to the Objection ; upon the whole Mat- ter, he cafts the Burden of the Charge upon Mofes him- felf, as we noted before: For take whether Hypothefis you will, that the Earth was, or was not broken, the Ques- tion ftill returns, if the Mofaical Topography was exact and Sufficient, why can we not yet find out the Situation of Paradife? 'Tis now above three thoufand Years fince Mofes died, and Men have been curious and very inquili- tive in all Ages, to find out the Place of Paradife ; but it is not found out to this Day to any Satisfaction : So that, methinks, upon the whole, the Theory, which fup- pofeth the Earth very much chang'd, makes the faireft Apo- logy both for Mofes and Mankind, in this Particular. But to proceed to his fecond Argument. Secondly, fays the Exceptor, p. 2S8. The Diffolution of the Earth could not be theCaufe of the genera! Flood, becattfe it againft the Theory of the Earth. 459 it would, have utterly dejlroy'd NoahV Ark, and all that were in it. I thought theTheorift had effectually prevented this Objection, by putting the Ark under the Conduct of its Guardian Angels, and of a miraculous Providence; Eng. The or. p. 147. Thefe ate his Words : / think it had been impojfible for the Ark to have liv'd upon the raging A- h'fi-, or for Noah and his Family to have been prefervd, if there had not been a miraculous Hand of Providence to take Care of them. Now, either the Exceptor did not take notice of this PafTage in the Theory, or he does not al- low that a miraculous Hand was fufficient to preferve the Ark; or thirdly, he made an Objection, which he knew himfelf to be impertinent. And, I confefs, I am incli- nable to think the laft is true: For as to the firft, he con- fefTes {p. 35-4.) that the Theory reprefents the Ark, with its Guardian Angels about it, in the Extremity of the Flood. And as to the fecond, he himfelf makes ufe of a mira- culous Power to preferve the Ark upon his Hypothecs ; in Anfwer to the eighth Objection, p. 35-1, 3 p., &c Why then may not we make ufe of the fame Power, and with the fame Effect ? It remains therefore, that he was confcious to himfelf that he made this Objection to no purpofe. But that is not all : He has alfo us'd foul Play in his Citation : For whereas the great Danger of the Ark would be at the firft Fall of the Earth, or the Difruption of the Abyfs; theTheorift, he fiys, to prevent this, makes the Ark to be afloat by the Rains, before the Abyfs was bro- ken. But is that all the Theorift fays in that Place ? Does he not aflign another Way how the Ark might be a-float ? Namely, in a River, or in a Dock. Thefe are the Words of the Theory, p. 133, 134. So as the Ark, if it could not float upon thefe Rain-kVaters, at leajl taking the Advantage of a River, or of a Dock or Cijlern made to re- ceive them, it might be a-float before the Abyfs was broken open. And thefe Words being in the fame Place whence he makes his Citation, it mutt be a wilful Diffimulation not to take notice of them. But he faw they would have taken off the Edge of his Objection, and therefore thought fit not to touch upon them. But after all, there is no Neceffity that the Ark fnould be a-float before the Earth broke: Thofe Things were premis'd in the Theory, only to foften the Way to Men that are of hard Belief in fuch extraordinary Matters : For the Angels ( whofe Miniftry we openly own, upon thefe grand Occafions) could asea- fily 460 An Anjwer to the Exceptions made lily have held the Ark a- float, in the Air, as on the Wa- ter. And the Ark, being an Emblem of the Church, God certainly dldgive his Angels Charge over it; that they Jhould bear it up in their Hands, that it might not be dajh'd againfi a Stone. And this having been more than once prorefs'dby theTheorift, we mult again conclude this Ob- jection fuperfluous and ufelefs. The third Obje£tion is this. If the Earth had been thus dilToIv'd, p. 289. The prefent Earth would have been, in likelihood of another Figure, than what now it bears. Thefe are his Words; butlfuppofehemeans, that it would have been of another Form, as to Sea and Land. And the Reafon he gives is this: Becaufe, fays he, it would have broke firft in the Equator, and confequently that Part fal- ling down firft, would have been fwallowed up by the Waters, and become all Sea. Whereas we find, that un- der the Equator that then was (which he iuppofeth (ibid.) the prefent Ecliptick) the dry Ground is of moft fpacious Extent and Continuity. We need not examine his Ac- count of Sea and Land, becaufe it proceeds upon a falle Suppofition, (See p. 27. before.) He relapfes here into his former aftronomical Error, or to his firft adds a fecond ; viz- That the Earth, when itchang'd its Situation, chang'd its Poles and Circles. This isagreatMiftake; the Change of Pofition in Refpect of the Heavens, did not change the Places of its Circles in Refpect to its own Globe. As when you change a Sphere or a Globe out of a right Si- tuation into an oblique, the Circles do not change their Places, as to that Sphere or Globe; but have only another Pofition to the Heavens. The Earth's Ecliptick runs thorough the fame Places it did before ; and the equinoc- tial Regions of that Earth were the fame with the equi- noctial Regions of this, only bear another Pofture to the Heavens and the Sun. Thefe Circles have not chang'd Places with one another, as he imagines; and which is worfe, would father this Imagination upon the Theory, in thefe Words, Under the Ecliptick (which, in the pre- fent Situation of the Earth, (ACCORDING TO THE THE RT) -was its Equinoctial, and divided the Globe into two Hemifpheres, as the Equator does now) the dry Ground, &c. He that affirms this, with Refpect to the Earth, neither underftands theTheory, nor the Dofirine of the Sphere. But let's prefs no further upon a Miftake. The fourth Objection is this; p. 200.That fuch a Dif- folmion of the Earth, would have caused great Barrennefs after again ft the Theory of the Earth. 461 after the Flood : Partly by turning up fome dry and un- fruitful Parts of the Earth; and partly by the Soil and Filth that would be left upon its Surface. As to the flril, I willingly allow, that fome of the interior and barren Parts of the Earth might be turn'd up; as we now fee in mountainous and wild Countries ; but this rather confirms the Theory, than weakens it. Put as to the fecond, that the Filth and Soil would have made the Earth more bar- ren, I cannot allow that. For good Husbandmen over- flow their Grounds, to make their Crop more rich. And 'tis generally fuppos'd, that the Inundation of Nile, and the Mud it leaves behind it, makes JEgypt more fruitful. Befides, this Part of the Objection lies againft the com- mon Explication of the Deluge, as well as againft that which is given by the Theory. For if you fuppofe an univerfal Deluge, let it ccme from what Caufes you pleafe, it mud overflow all the Earth, and leave Mud and Slime and Filth upon the Surface of it : And confequently caufe Barrcnnefs, according to this Argumentation. He adds another Consideration under this Head, p. 292. namely, that if the Earth had been diiTolv'd in this man- ner, All the Buildings ereiled before the Flood, would haze been Jljaken down, or elfe overwhelm 'd. Tet we read of fome that outflood the Flood, and, were not der/iolifhfd. Such were the pillars of Seth, and the Cities Henochia and joppa. As to Seth's Pillars, they are generally ac- counted fabulous; and 1 perceive the Exceptor will not vouch for them : For he concludes, (p. 29s) I know the very Being isqueflion'dofSetWs (Pillars, &c. If he will not defend them, why fhould I take the Pains to confute them? I do not love to play with a Man, that will put nothing to the Stake; that will have his Chance to win, but can lofe nothing, becaufe he flakes nothing. Then as to the City Henochia, it hath no Authority, but that of Annius Viterbienf.s, and his Berofus: A Book generally exploded, as fictitious. Laftly, As to Joppa, the Autho- rity indeed is better, tho' ftill uncertain. But however, fuppofe the Ruins of oncTownrcmain'd after the Flood, does this prove that the Earth wss not diiTolv'd? I do not doubt, but there were feveral Tracts of the Earth, much greater than that Town, that were not broken all to Pie- ces by their Fall. But you and your £»£///& Hiftorian, are miftaken, if you fuppofe theAltars and lnfcriprionsmen- tion'd by Mela, to have been ante-diluvian Altars and In- fcriptions : Unlefs you will make the Fable of Perfeu: and 462 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made and Andromeda, and the Sea-Monfler, to have been an ante-diluvian Fable. Neither hath your Hiftorian been lucky in tranflating thofe Words of Mela, cum religione plurima, with the Grounds and Principles of their Religi- on, which fignify only, with a religious Care of Superjli- tion. But to leave Fables, and proceed : His laft Argument againlt the Diflblution is this, p. ig6. Had the Diflblution of the Earth been the Caufe of the Deluge, It would have made God's Covenant with Noah, a very vain and trifling 'Thing. So much is true, That the Deluge, in the Courfe of Nature, will not return again in. the fame Way. But unlefs God prevent it, it both may, and will return in another Way. That is, if the World continue long enough, the Mountains will wear and fink, and the Waters in Proportion rife, and overflow the whole Earth ; as is plainly fhewn, by a parallel Cafe, in the firji Book of theTheory, ch.iv. Befides, God might, when he pleas'd, by an extraordinary Power, and for the Sins of Men, bring another Deluge upon the World. And that is the Thing which Noah feems to have fear'd, and which God, by his Covenant, fecur'd him againlt. For, as the Exceptor hath faid himfelf, in anfwer- ing an harder Objection, (p. iyz.) When God ajjigned to the Waters the 'Place of their Abode, he did not intend to fortify them in it againfl his own Omnipotence, or to divejl himfelf of his Soveraign 'Prerogative of calling them forth when he pleafed. This being allowed, with what we faid before, that Covenant was not vain nor trifling, either in Refpect of an ordinary or extraordinary Providence. Thus we have done with all the Exceptions againfl: the Theory : For the two next Chapters are concerning a new Hypothelis of his own ; and the laft of all excepts not againfl: the Truth of the Theory, but the Certainty of it. In Reflection upon this whole Matter, give me leave to declare two Things: Firft, That I have not knowingly omitted any Objection that I thought of moment: Se- condly, That I have not, from thefe Exceptions, found Reafon to change any Part of the Theory, nor to alter my Opinion, as to any Particular in it. No doubt there are feveral Texts of Scripture, which, underftood ac- cording to the Letter in a vulgar Way, ftand crofs, both to this, and other natural Theories. And a Child, that had read the firft Chapters of Ge nefis, might have obferv'd this as well as the Exceptor ; but could not have loaded his Charge with fo much Bitternefs, Some Men, they lay, againft the Theory of the Earth. 463 fay, though of no great Valour, yet will fight excellently well behind a Wall. The Exceptor, behind a Text or Scripture, is very fierce and rugged : But in the open Field of Reafon andPhilofophy, he's gentle and tradable. Eng. Theor. Book i. c. 9. at the End. The Theorift had declar'd his Intentions, and oblig'd himfelf, to give a full Account of Mofes his Cofmopoeia, or fix Day's Crea- tion ; but did not think it proper to be done in the vulgar Language, nor before the whole Theory was compleated. This might have fpared much of the Exceptor's Pains; but till that Account be given, if the Exceptor thinks fit to continue his Animadverfions, and go through the two lad Books, as he hath done thetwofirft, it will not be un- acceptable to the Theorift; provided it be done with Sin- cerity, in reciting the Words, and reprefenting the Senfe of the Author. Chap. XV. TN this Chapter theAnte-theorift lays down a newHy- •*• pothefis for the Explication of the Deluge, p. 299. And the War is chang'd,on his Side, from ofFenfive, to defen- sive. • 'Tis but fair that he Should lie down in his Turn ; and if fome Blows fmart a little, he muft not complain, becaufe he begun the Sport. But let's try his Hypothec's, without any further Ceremony, p. 299, 300. The firft Proposition laid down for the establishing of it, is this : 'That the. Flood was but fifteen Cubits high, above the ordi- nary Level of the Earth. This is an unmerciful Paradox, and a very unlucky Beginning ; for under what Notion muft this Proposition be received ? As a Pojlulatum, or as aConclufion 7 . If it be a Pojlulatum, it muft be clear from its own Light, or acknowledg'd by general Confent. It cannot pretend to be clear from its own Light, becaufe it is matter of Fadt, which is not known, but by Tefti- mony. Neither is it generally acknowleg'd ; for the general Opinion is, that the Waters covered the Tops of the Mountains ; nay, that they were fifteen Cubits higher than the Tops of the Mountains. And this he confefles himfelf, in thefe Words, p. 300. H^e fij all find there is a great Miflake in the common Hypothejis, touching their Depth: Namely, of the Waters. For whereas they have been fuppofed to be fifteen Cubits higher than the highe/l Mountains : They were indeed but fifteen Cubits high in ail, Above 464 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made above the Surface of the Earth. And this Opinion, or Doc- trine, he calls, p. 329. I'm. 19. c. 31. The general (landing Hypothefis : The ufual Hypothecs : p. 339. I'm. 18. The ttfual Senfe they have put upon the [acred Story. It muft not therefore be madea Po/lulatum, that fuch an Hypothefis is falfe, but the Falfity of it muft be demonftrated by good Proofs. Now I do not find that this new Hypothefis, of a fifteen Cubit 'Deluge, offers at any more than one fingle Proof, namely, from Gen. vii. 20. But before we pro- ceed to the Examination of that, give me leave to note one or two Things, wherein the newTheoiilt feems to be inconfiftent with himfelf, or with good Senfe. At his Entrance upon this new Hypothefis, he hath thefe Words, (p. 300.) Not that I will be bound to defend what I fay, as true and real, &c. But why then does he trouble himfelf or the World, with an Hypothefis, which he does not believe to be true and real ? Or , if he does believe it to be fo, why will he not defend it? For we ought to defend Truth. But he fays moreover, (p. 302. lin. 19.) Our Suppojition ftands fupported by 1)i~ vine Authority ; as being founded upon Scripture. IVhich tells us, as plainly as it can fpeak, that the Waters prevailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth. If his Hypothefis be founded upon Scripture ; and upon Scripture, as plain- ly as it canfpeak, why will not he defend it as true and real ? For to be fupported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture, is as much as we can al ledge for the Articles of our Faith ; which every one furely is bound to de- fend. But this is not all the Difficulty we meet with. The whole Period which we quoted, runs thus : Not that I will be bound to defend what I fay, as true or real ; any more than to believe {what I cannot well endure to fpeak) that the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational way of explaining the Deluge : IVhich yet pe muft needs have done, if there be no other rational Method of explain- ing it, and no other intelligible Caufes of it, than what the Theory has proposed. Now for the Word Iheory, put the Word Exceptor, or Exceptors Hypothefis, and fee if this Charge, that the Church of God has ever gone on in an ir- rational way of explaining the Deluge, does not fall 'as much upon the Exceptor's new Hypothefis, as upon the Theory. If the Church Hypothefis was rational, what need he have invented a new one? Why does he notpro- pofe that Hypothefis, and defend it? I'm afraid it will be found again ft the Theory of the Earth. 46 $ found that he does not only contradict the Church Hypo- thecs, but reject it as miltaken and irrational. For what is the Church Hypothelis, but the common Hypotbejis ? C^.300. /. 24.) The general ft an ding Hypothelis; the ufu- al Hypothelis ; the ufual Senfe they put upon the facred Story ; all thefe he rejects and dilputes againft, as you may fee in the Places lore-cited : And alfo he calls them, />. 312. ult. fuch Inventions, as have been, and juftly may be difguftful, not only to nice andfquea?nijh, but to the befl and foundeft philofophick Judgments . And p. 319. he fays, by his Hypothelis, IVeare excufed from running to thofe Caufes or Methods , which fe em unre a fonable to fome, and unintelligible to others, and unfatisfittory to moft. And to name no more, hefays,/>.333. the ordinary Suppofition, that the Moun- tains were cover'd with Water in the Deluge, brings on a Neceffity of fetting up a new Hypotbejis for explaining the Flood. Now, whole Methods, Inventions, andSuppofi- tions are thefe, which he reflects upon ? Are .rhey not the commonly receiv'd Methods and Suppositions ? 'Tis plain, moft of thofe which he mentions, {p. 310, 311, 313, 314, 318.) are not the Theoriit's : For the rheorilt had rejected before, {Eng. Theor. ch.i, and 3.) thofe ve- ry Methods and InventionSj which the Exceptor rejects now; and fofar he juftifies the Theory*: Thefe Reflec- tions therefore mull fall upon fome other Hypothelis; and what Hypothelis is that, if it be not the Church Hypothe- lis? 10 conclude, I argue thus, in Ihort, to fhew the Ex* ceptor inconliftent with himfelf in this Particular. The Church Way of explaining the Deluge, is either rational, or irrational. If he fay it is rational, why does he defert it, and invent a new one ? And if he .fays it is irrational, then that dreadful Thing, which he cannot well endure to fpeak, that the Church of God has ever gone on in an ir- rational IVay of explaining the Deluge, falls flat upon him- felf. 'Thus much in general, for his Introduction. We pro- ceed now to examine particularly his new Hypothelis : Which, as we told you before, conlilts chiefly in this, * The Exceptor reje£h, finl the Waters of the Sea : Then the Waters in the Bowels of the Earth : Then the fufercelejliai Waters : Then a nev Creation *f Waters : Then the Mafs of Air chang'd into Water : And laftly, a partial Deluge. And therefore he puss Men fatally, either upon the Theory, or upon kis new Hypothelis, H h Wat 466 An An fixer to the Exceptions made 'That the Waters of the Deluge were hut fifteen Cubits higher than the common unmountainous Surface of the Earth. This, which feems fo odd and extravagant, he fays, p. 301. is the Foundation of the Hypotheiis. And, which is ftillmorefurprizing, he fays this Depth, or rather Shallownefs of the Waters of the Deluge, is told us by Scripture, as plainly as it canfpeak, p. 302. 1. 21. This muft needs raife our Curioiity, to fee that Place of Scrip- ture, which has been overlook'd by all the Learned hi- therto. Well, Ws'Gen. vii. 20. in thefe words, Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail. This, methinks, is fomewhat general ; for the Bafis of thefe fifteen Cubits is not exprefs'd in thefe Words . But why docs our Author flop in the middle of a Verfe ? Why does he not tran- fcribe the whole Verfe ; for the laft Fart of it is as good Scripture as the firft? And that fays plainly, that the Moun- tains were cover' d t with the Waters. The whole Verfe runs thus : Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail ; AND THE MOUNTAINS WERE GOFER- ED. Now, if the Bafis of thefe fifteen Cubits was the common Surface, or plain Level of the Earth, as this new Hypotheiis will have it ; how could fifteen Cubits, from that Bafis, reach to the Tops of the Mountains ? Are the higheft Mountains but fifteen Cubits higher than the common Surface of the Earth? 1 Sam. xvii. 4. Goliah was fix Cubits and a Span high ; fo c Pic Tenariff would not be thrice as high as Goliah : Yet 2)avid flung a Stone up to his Forehead. Take what Cubit you pleale, facred or common, it does not amount to two Foot. So the Height of the greateft Mountains, from Bottom to Top, muft not be thirty Foot, or ten Paces, according to this new Hypotheiis. Who ever meafured Mountains at this Rate? The modern Mathematicians allow for their Height a Mile perpendicular, upon a moderate Computation ; and that makes three thoufand Foot : How then could Waters that were not thirty Foot high, cover Mountains that were three thoufand Foot high? That the higheft Mountains of the Earth were cover 'd with the Waters, you may fee exprefs'd more fully, in the precedent Verfe, Gen. vii. 19. And the Waters prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth. And all the high Hills that were under the whole Heavens were cover 'd. There can fcarce be Words more plain and comprehenlive. The Exceptor fays, the Scripture tells us,, as plainly as it can fpeak, that the Wa- ters were but fifteen Cubits high from the common Surface of againft the Theory of the Earth. 467 of the Earth : And I fay, the Scripture teJls us as plainly as it can ffeak, That all the high Hills under the whole Heaven were covered with Water. And it mult be a ilrange fort of Geometry, that makes fifteen Cubits of Water reach to the Top of the higheft Hills. Laftly, thefameHiftoryof/V/o/^ fays, the Tops of the Mountains were difcover'd, when the Waters begun to decreafe, Gen. viii. 5-. Is not that a plain Demonltration that they were cover'd before, and cover 'd with thofe Waters? We may therefore fafely conclude two Things : Firft, that this new Hypothelis, befides all other Faults, is con- trary to the general Expofition of the Text of Mofes*. Secondly, that it is contrary to the general receiv'd Doc- trine of the Deluge. And if he has deliver'd a Doctrine, contrary to thefe two, methinks, it fhould be hard for him to maintain his Ground, and not pronounce, at the lame Time, what he dreads ib much to fpeak, That the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational IVay of explaining the 1>dugc. But let's reflect a little upon this fifteen-cu- bit Deluge ; to fee what Figure it would make, or what Execution it would do upon Mankind, and upon other Creatures. If you will not believe Mofes as to the over- flowing of the Mountains, at lead I hope you will be- lieve him, as to the univerfal Defiruclion made by the De- luge. Hear his Words, Gen.vu. 21,22,23. we'll take only the laft Verfe, which is this, And every living Sub/lance was deftroyed, which was upon the Face of the Ground, both Man and Cattle, and creeping Things, and the Fowl of the Heavens ; and they were deftroyed from the Earth ; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the Ark. Now I would gladly know, how this could be verified in a fifteen-cubit Deluge ? The Birds would naturally fly to the Tops of Trees, when the Ground was wet; and the Beafts would retire, by De- grees, to the Mountains and higher Parts of the Earth, as the lower begun to be overflow'd : And if no Waters could reach them there, how were they all deftroy'd, while they had fo many Sancluaries and Places of Refuge? * This he acknowledges, p. 325. (We expound a Text or two of Scripture fo as none ever did ; and defetting the common received Senfe, put an uvufita* C-lofi upon tbem, not to fay, «'8»«v Initoatv, ° private Interpretation,) and P- 359- Hhi Or 468 AnArifwer to the Exceptions made Or if you fuppofe fome of thefe Creatures had not Wit enough to fave themfelves, (though their Wit and Inftin&s lie chiefly in that) at leaft Mankind would not be fo ftupid ; when Men fee the Waters begin to rife, they could not fail to retire into Mountains : And tho* the upper Stories of their Houfes might be fufficient to fave them from fifteen Cubits of Water ; yet if Fear made them think themfelves not fecure there, whither could it drive them, but ftill into higher Places > And an Houfe feated upon an Eminency, or a Caftle upon a Rock, would be always a fafe Retreat from this diminu- tive Deluge. I fpeak all this upontheSuppofitionsof the Exceptor, p. 21 f, 216, 292, &c. whp allows not only Mountains and Rocks, but alfo Caftles and Cities before the Deluge, built of good Timber, and Stone, and Iron, and fuch fubftantial Materials. But how, in fuch aCafe, and in fuch a State of Things, all Mankind (except Noah and his Family) fhould be deftroy'd by fifteen Cubits of Water, is a Lump of Incredibilities, too hard and big for me to fwallow. But there is ftill another Difficulty, that we have not mention'd : As thofe that were upon the Land might ea- lily fave themfelves from Ruin, fo thofe that were upon the Sea in Ships, would never come in Danger. For what would it fignify to them, if the Sea was made a few Fathoms deeper, by thefe new Waters ? It would bear their VefTels as well as it did before, and would be no more to them than a Spring-Tide. And laftly, how ihall we juftify the Divine Wifdom, which gave fuch punctual Orders, for the Building of an Ark, to fave Noah, and a Set of Creatures for a new World, when there were fo many more eafy and obvious Ways topre- ferve them without that Trouble ? Thef: Objections, in my Opinion, are fo plain and full, that it is not needful to add any more : Nor to anfwer fuch Evalions as the new Theorift attempts to make to fome of them. As, for Inftance, to that plain Objection from fflofes*s"W ^rds, p. 330. that the Mountains were co- vered wuh the Waters; he fays,firft, that it is ^.Synecdoche , where the Whole is put for a Part : Or, fecondly, 'tis an Hvpere>o/e i where more is faid than underftood : Or, third- ly, : ris a poetical Hi/lory : Or, laftly, if none of thefe will do, by the Tops of the Mountains is to be underftood the Bottoms of the Mountains, p. 332, 333. and that cures all. The Truth is, he has taken a great deal of Pains in the againft the Theory of the Earth. 469 the next Chapter, to cure an incurable Hypothecs. We will give you but one Inliance more: 'Tis about the Ap- pearance of the Tops of the Mountains at the Decreafe of the Deluge ; which argue ftrongly that they were cover 'd in the Deluge. But take it in his own Words, with the Anfwer, p. 337. It is recorded, Gen. viii. f. thatthe Wa- ters decreafed continually until the tenth Month, and on the firjl Day of the Month WERE THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS SEEN. Now if the Mountains had not been quite under Water, and fo invijible for the Time they were overwhelmed, how could they be faid to become vijible again, or to be feen upon the Floods going off ? This is a plain and bold Objection : And after two Anfwers to it, which he feems to diftruft, his third and lafl is this,/>. 339. If thefe two Confederations will not fatisfy, we mujl carry on the Enquiry a little farther , and feek for a third. And truly fome one or other muft needs be found out. Third- ly, therefore we conjider, that the Tops of the Mountains may be faid to be feen at the Time mentioned, upon account of their EMERGENCT OUT OF DARKNESS, NOT OUT OF WATERS. This is his final Anfwer. TheTops of the Mountains, at the Decreafe of the Deluge, were feen ; not that they were covered before with Water, fays he, but withDarknefs. Where finds he this Account: 'Tis nei- ther in theText,norinReafon. If it was always fo dark, and the Tops of the Mountains and Rocks naked and prominent every where, how could the Ark avoid them in that Darknefs? Moreover, if the Deluge was made in that gentle way that he fuppofes, I fee no Reafunto ima- gine that there would be Darknefs, after the rorty Days Rain. For thefe Rains being fallen, and all rhe Vapours and Clouds of the Air difcharg'd, methinks there fhould have enfued an extraordinary Clearnefs of the Air, as we often fee after rainy Seafons. Well, 'tis true : But the Rains he fuppofes were no fooner fallen, but the Sun re- tracted them again in Vapours, with that Force and Swi t- nefs, that it kept the Air in perpetual Darknefs. Thus he fays afterwards, p. 341. He's mightily beholden to the Sun, upon many Accounts; and the Sun is no lefs be- holden to him; for he gave him a miraculous Power to raife Mountains, and draw up Waters. 'Tis well the Sundidnotprefentlyfalltohis old Work again, of railing Mountains out of this moi/t Earth, as the Exceptor fays he did, when the Earth was firftdrain'd.^VC/^. 10. That he contented himfelf to fuck up the Waters only, and H h 3 ltt 470 An Anjwer to the Exceptions made let the Earth alone: We are not a little beholden to him for this. For he feems to have had the fame Power and Opportunity, at the Decreafe of the Deluge, of making new Ravages upon the Earth, that he had before when it was fitft drain'd. But let's fee how, or when, thefe Wa- fers were luck'd up, or refolv'd into Vapours. Upon the Expiration of the forty Days Rain, whether was the Air purg'd of Vapours and clear, or no? Yes, it was purg'd, he fays, (p. 343.) The Atmofphere was never fo exhaufied of Vapours, and never fo thin, as when the Waters were newly come down. Then, in that clear Air the Tops of the Mountains' might have been feen, if they lay above Water. But Mofes fays, Gen. viii. 5. it was in the tenth Month that they begun to be feen, when the Waters were decreas'd ; 'twas therefore the Waters, notthegrofs Air, that hinder 'd the Sight of them before. And according to this Method of the Exceptor, after the firft forty Days, the Deluge begun to decreafe. For the Sun forthwith fet his Engines a-work, and re- folv'd the Waters into Vapours and Exhalations at fuch a Rate, ^.341. that he prefently made trie Atmofphere dark with thick Mifts and Clouds ; and, in Proportion, leffen'd the Waters of the Deluge. But we do not read in Mofes, of any Abatement in the Deluge, till the End of one hundred and fifty Days ; (Gen. viii. 3.) which.is four Months after this Term. The Truth is, the whole No- tion of fp 'ending the Waters of the Deluge by Evaporation, is no better than what the Exceptor iufpe£ted it would be thought, p. 343. A mere Fancy, awhimjicalgroundlefs Fig- ment. For what could the Sun do, in the Northern and Southern Parts of the World, towards the exhaling of thefe Waters ? And in the temperate Climates, why fhould they not fall again inRains, (if he had a Power to exhale them) as they do now ? Was - not the Earth in the fame Pofition, and the Sun of the fame Force ?'Befides, where does he find this Notion in Scripture, that the Waters of the Deluge were confum'd by Evaporation? Mofes fays , . e Waters returned from off the Earth, in going and re- turning, Gen. viii. 3, $. That is, after frequent Reci- procations, they fettled at length in their Channels ; where Bounds were fet them, that they might not pafs over ; that they return not again to cover the Earth. Seeing therefore this Notion hath no Foundation, either in Scripture or Reafon, 'tis rightly enough ftil'd, in the Exceptor's Words, a mere Fancy, and groundlefs Figment. But agaznft the Theory of the Earth^ 471 But I think we have had enough of thefe Shifts andE- vafions. Let us now proceed to the fecond Part of his new Hypothe/is, which is this, p. 303. That therfbyfs, or Tehom-Rabbah, which was broken open at the Deluge, and (together with the Rains) made the Flood, was nothing but the Holes and Caverns of Rocks and Mountains; which open'd their Mouths at that Time, and pour'd out a great Quantity of Water. To fupport this new Notion of Tehom-Rabbah, he alledgeth but one fingle Text of Scripture, Pfal. lxxviii. 15". He clave the Rocks in the Wil- dernefs, and gave them Drink, as out of the great Depths ; that is, copiouily and abundantly, as if it were out of the great Deep. So the next Verfe implies, and fo it is generally underftood : As you may fee both by Interpre- ters, and alfo b^ the Septuagint and ^/g-^Tranflations, and thofe of the Chaldee Paraphrafe, and the Syriack. But the Exceptor, by all Means, will have thefe Holes in the Rocks to be the fame with the Mofaical Abyfs, or great Deep, that was broken open at the Deluge : So the great Deep was not one Thing, or one continued Cavity, as Mofes reprefents it, but ten thoufand Holes, feparate and diftant one from another. Neither mull the great Deep, according to him, fignify a low 'Place, but an high Place ; For he confefTes thefe Caverns were higher than the common Level of the Earth *. But I do not fee how, with any tolerable Propriety, or good Senfe, that which is higher than the Surface of the Earth can be called the great Deep. An Abyfs "in the Earth, or in the Water, is certainly downwards, in refpect of their common Surface, as much as a Pit is downwards ; and what is downwards from us, we cannot fuppofe to be above us, without confounding all Dimenfions, and all Names of Things ; calling that low which is high, a Mountain a Valley, or a Garret a Cellar. Neither is there any Thing in this Text, 'Pfal. lxxviii. 1 f. that can juftly induce us to believe the great Abyfs to be the fame Thing with Caverns in Rocks. For whether you fuppofe it to be noted here as a miraculous Thing, that God fhould give them Water out of a Rock, or out of a * P. 303. But thwgh thefe Caverns be called Deeps, we mufi not take them for profound Placer, that went down into the Earth-, below the common Surface of •t : Qn tbetontrarfi tbey rstre Jltnate above it. H h 4 Flint *, 472 An Anfwer to the Exceptions made **int *, as plentifully as if it had been out of the great ^* byfs; or whether you underlHnd the Original of Foun- *?ins to be noted here, which are faid in Scripture to come * r om the Sea, or the great A byfs ; neither of thefe Senfes m akeanyThingtothePurpofeof the newHypothelis, and y e t they are the faired and eaiielt Senfe that can be put pPon the Words; and that which agrees bell with other •Maces of Scripture, w r here the fame Matter of Fact, or the fame Hiltory is related ; And therefore there can be no Neceffity, from this Text, of changing the general Notion and Signification of Deep, ox A byfs; both from that which it hath in common Ule, and that which it hath in Scripture Ufe. I lay, as in the common Ufe of Words, Deep, or A byfs, fignifies fomc low or inferior Place; fo .the general fjfe of it in Scripture is, in the fame Senfe, either to fignify the Sea, or fome fubterraneous Place. Who fhalldefcend into the (Abyfs, or) 'Deep' 1 , fays the Apoftle, Ro-m.\.y. Is that as much as if he had laid, Who (hall afcend into the Holes of the Rocks ? And when Jacob fpeaks of the Blef- fings of the Abyfs, or of the Deep, he calls them the Blef- fings of the Deep that lyeth under, Gen.\\\. 25-. In like Manner, Alofes himfelf calls it the Deep that couched be- neath, Deut.TLTS.iti. 13. And I know no Reafon why we fhould not underftand the fame Deep there, that he men- tioned before in the Hiftory of the Deluge; which there- fore was fubterraneous, as this is. Then, as for the other Ufe of the Word, namely, for the Sea, or any Part of the Sea, (whofe Bottom is always lower than the Le^ vel of the Earth,) that is the molt common Ufe of it in Scripture. And I need not give you Inltances which are every where obvious. One mult needs think it itrange, therefore, that any Man of Judgment fhould break thorough both the common Ufe of a Word, and fo many plain Texts of Scripture, that fhew the Signification of it, for the fake of one * Pfal. cxiv. 7. 8. TremUe, tbou Earth, at the Prtfence of the Lord, at thi Preftnct of tht God of Jacob : Which turned the Rock into a {landing Water , tit Hint into a Fountain of Wattrt. Numb. XX. 10, 11. And Mofes'J^ Aaron gathered the Congregation together iefort tit Rock, and be faid unto them, War nov, you Rebth • muft ret fitch you Water out of this Rock ? And Mofcs lift up bii Hind i and vitb bit Rod be fmote tit Reck twite, and tie Waf.r tame tut thndJhtfj, ■ <* Tm > againft the Theory of the Earth. 475 Text, which, at moft, is but dubious ; and then lay fuch Strefs upon that new Signification, as to found a new Doctrine upon it: And a Doctrine that is neither fup- ported byReafon, nor agrees with the Hiftory of the De- luge. For, as we noted before, at the Decreafe of the Deluge, the Waters are faid to return from off the Earth, Gen. viii. 3. Did they not return to the Places from whence they came? But if thofe Places were the Caverns in the Rocks, whofe Mouths lay higher than the Surface of the Deluge, as he fays they did, p. 303, 305-. I fee no Poflibility of the Waters returning into them. But the Exceptor hath found out a mavellous Invention to invade this Argument. He will have the returning of the Wa- ters to be underftood of their returning into their Prin- ciples, (that is, into Vapours,) not to their Places : In good Time : So the Dove's returning was her returning into her Principles; that is, into an Egg, not into the Ark. Subtleties ill-founded, argue two Things, Wit and Want of Judgment. Mofes fpeaks as plainly of the local Return of the Waters, in going and returning ; as of the local going and returning of the Raven and Dove. See Gen. viii. 3, and f. compar'd with Verfe feventh and ninth. Laftly, That we end this Difcourfe; the whole No- tion of thefe Water-Pots in the Tops of Mountains, and of the broaching of them at the Deluge, is a groundlefs Imagination. What Reafonhave we to believe, that there were fuch Veffels then, more than now, if there was no Fraction of the Earth at the Deluge, to deftroy them? And he ought to have gag'd thefe Casks, (according to his own Rule, Ch. 3.) and told us the Number and Capacity of them, that we might have made fome Judgment of rU e Effect. Befides, if the opening the Abyfs at the Deluge had been the opening of Rocks, why did not Mofes ex- prefs it fo; and tell us, that the Rocks were cloven, and the Waters gujhed out, and fo made the Deluge? This would have been as intelligible, if it had been true, as to tell us that the Tehom-Rabbah was broken open. But there is not one Word of Rocks, or the cleaving of Rocks, in the Hif- tory of the Flood. Upon all Accounts, therefore, we mull conclude, that this Virtuofo might have as well fuf- pected, that his whole Theory of the Deluge, as one Part of it, p. 343. would be accounted a mere Fancy, and groundlefs iigment, C H A P. 474 ^ n dnjwer to the Exceptions made Chap. XVI. '"THIS Chapter is made up of eight Objections, a- * gainft his own Hypothefis. And thofe that have a mind to fee them, may read them in the Author. I have taken as much Notice of them as I thought neceiTary, in the precedent Chapter ; and therefore leave the Exceptor now to deal with them all together. I omitted one Ob- jection (p. 311.) concerning tne ihutting up of the Abyfs, and the Fountains of the Abyfs, becauie it was anfvver'd before in the Englijh Theory, p. 143. namely, there were Fountains in the Abyfs, as much as Windows in Heaven ; and thofe were fhut up, as well as thefe ; that is, ceas'd to act, and were put into a Condition to continue the Deluge no longer. Chap. XVII. ■"THERE is nothing in this Chapter againft the Truth -*" of the Theory ; but the Author is blam'd for belie- ving it to be true : 1 think it had been more blame-worthy, if he had troubled the World with a Theory which he did not believe to be true, and taken fo much Pains to com- pofe what he thought himfelf no better than a Romance. As to what theTheorift has laid in Reference to his Alfu- ranceor Belief of theTheory, which the Exceptor calls Pofitivencfs, upon Examination, I cannot find any Thing amifs in his Conduct, as to that Particular. For, firft, he impofes his Sentiments upon no Man ; he leaves every one their full Liberty of difTenting. Preface to the Reader at the End. Laflly, in Things pur eh fpeculative, as thefe are, and no Ingredients of our Faith, it is free to differ from one another in our Opinions and Sentiments ; andfo I remember St. Auftin hath obferved upon this very Subject of Paradife. Wherefore, as we dejire to give no Offence our felves, fo neither Jhall we take any at the Tjifference of 'Judgment in others; -provided this Liberty be mutual, and that we all agree to fiudy PEACE, TRUTH, and a GOO'D LIFE. And as the Theorift impofes his Sentiments upon no Man; fo, as to Matter of Certainty, he dim'nguifheth always betwixt the Subflance of theTheory, and Particu- larities. So, at the latter End of the firfl Book, this Pro- feflion agatnft the Theory of the E art h . 47 $ feffion is made, Eng. Theor. p. 207. / mean this only, fpeaking about Certainty, as to the general 'Parts of the Theory. For as to Particularities, I look upon them only as problematical ; and accordingly I affirm nothing therein, but with a Power of Revocation, and a Liberty to change my Opinion when I pall be better inform 'd. And accordingly he fays in another Place, Eng. Theor. p. 12. I know how fubjeii we are to Mijlakes, in thefe great and remote 'Things, when we descend to 'Particularities. But I am willing to expofe the Theory to a full 'Trial, and to /hew the Way for any to examine it, provided they do it with Equity ana Sin- cerity. I have no other Dejign than to contribute my Endea- vours to find out Truth, &c. Laftly, to cite no more Places, he fays, Eng. Theor. p. dpi. There are many par- ticular Explications that are to be confider'dwich more Li- berty andLatitude ; and may, perhaps, upon better Thoughts, and better Obfervations, be corrected, &c. The Theorift having thus ftated and bounded his Belief or Aifurance, and given Liberty of diiTenting to all others, according to their particular Judgments or Inclinations, I fee nothing unfair or undecent in this Conduct. How could the Ob- fervator have made it more unexceptionable? Would he have hadtheTheorift to have profefs'dScepticifm, and de- clar'd that he believ'd his own Theorift no more than a Romance or fantaftical Idea? that had been both to bely his own Confcience, and to mock the World. I remem- ber I have heard a good Author once wifh, that there were an Act of Parliament, that whoever printed a Book, fhould, when he took a Licenfe, fwear, that he thought the Contents of his Book to be trite, as to Subftance : And I think fuch a Method would keep off a great many Im- pertinencies. We ought not to trouble the World with cur roving Thoughts, merely out of an Itch of Scriptu- riency, when wedo not believe our felves what wewrite. I muft always profefs my AfTent to the Subftance of that Theory ; and am the more confirm'd in it by the Weak- nefs and Inefficacy of thefe Exceptions. We need not take Notice of the particular Citations he makes ufe of, to prove this Pofitivenefs of the Theo- rift; for they only affirm what we ftill own: That the Theory is more than an Idea, or that it is not an imagina- ry Idea, or that it is a Reality : And, together with its Proofs from Scripture, efpecially from St. Peter, hath more than the Certainty of a bare Hypothejis, or a moral Certainty. Thefe are the Expreffions he cites, and we own 47 6 An Anfiver to the Exceptions made own all, that, in fair Conftruction, they amount to; and lind no Reafon, either from the Nature of the Thing, or from his Objections, to change our Opinion, or make any Apology for too much Politivenefs. I wilh the Exceptor had not more to anfwer for, as to his Partiality, than the Theoriit hath, for his P ofitivenefs . And now, that we draw to a Conclufion, it will not be amifs to obferve, how well the Exceptor hath anfwered that Character, which he gave himfelf at theBegiuning of his Work. Thefe are his Words, p. 43. This I will en- deavour to do, namely, To examine the Theory, with all Sincerity ; and that only as a Friend and Servant to Truth : And therefore, with fuch Candor, Meeknefs, and Modejiy, as becomes one who atfumes and glories in Jo fair a Charac- ter : And alfo with fuch Reflect to the Vtrtuofo who wrote the Theory, as may teflify to the World, that I efteem his Learning, while I aueflion his Opinion. 'Tis of little Con- fequence what Opinion he has of the Virtuofo, as he calls him : But let us fee with what Sincerity and Meeknefs, he has examin'd his Work. As to his Sincerity, we have given you fome Proofs of it before, {p. 16.) both in his de- fective and partial Citations; and alio, in his never taking Notice of the laft Edition of the Theory; where feveral Citations he has made ufe of, are not extant. Now, by his own Rule, he ought to have had regard to this ; for he fays, (p. 35-6.) he will there take Notice only of the En- glijh Edition, as coming out after the other ; andfo with more Deliberation and mature Thoughts of Things. By the fame Reafon, fay I, he ought to have taken Notice of the laft Edition of the Theory, as being the laft Product, and the molt deliberate and mature Thoughts of the Author. But this, it feems, was not for his Purpofe. So much for his Sincerity : Now for his Meeknefs. So impatient he is to fall upon his Adverfary, that he begins his Charge in the Preface, and a very fierce one it is, (p. 3.) The Theorifi hath aJJ'aulted Religion, and that in the very Foundation of it. Here I expected to have found two or three Articles of the Creed aflaulted or knock'd down by the Theory. But that is not the Cafe, it feems, he underftands fomething more general, namely, our contradicting Scripture : For fo he explains him- felf in the next Page. In feveral Things {as will appear by our Difcourfe ) it contradicts Scripture ; and by too po- fitive averting the Truth of its Theorems, makes that to be falfe, upon which our Religion is founded. Let us re« member, agalnji the Theory of the Earth. 477 member, that this contradicting Scripture here pretended, is only in natural Things ; and alfo obferve, how far the Exceptor himfelf, in fuch Things, hath contradicted Scrip- ture. As for other Reproofs which he gives us, thofe that are more gentle, I eafily pals over ; but fomewhere he makes our Aifertions, p 78. too bold an Affront to Scrip- ture. And in another Place reprefents them, as (either directly, or confequentially ) p. 286. Blafphemy againfl th* Holy Ghofl, which is the unpardonable Sin, Matt. xii. 31. There is no Pleafure in repeating fuch Expreflions, and dreadtul Sentences. Let us rather obferve, if the Exceptor hath not made himfelf obnoxious to them. But firft, we muft ftate the Cafe truly, that fo the Blame may not fall upon the Innocent. The Cafe therefore is this, Whether, to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture, in Things that relate to the natural World, be deflroying the Foun- dations of Religion, affronting Scripture, and blafpheming the Holy Ghofl) In the Cafe proposed, IVe take the Ne- gative, and Hand upon that Plea. But the Exceptor hath taken the Affirmative ; and thererore,all thofe heavy Charges muft fall upon himfelf, if he go contrary to the literal Senfe of Scripture, in his philolbphical Opinions or Af- fertions. And that he hath done fo, we will give you fome Inftances, out of this Treatife of his; p. 314. He lays, It is rn'jjl absurd to think, that the Earth is the Center of the World. Then the Sun Hands ftill, and the Earth moves, according to his Doctrine. But this is expreily contrary to Scripture, in many Places. The Sun rejoices, as aflrong Man, to run his Race, fays David, Pf. xix. 5", 6. His going forth is from the End of the Heaven, and his Circuit unto the Ends of it, Jo/h. X. 12, 13. 2 Kings XX. 10, 11. If a. xxxviii. 8. Mo fuch Thing, fays the Ex- ceptor; the Sun hath no Race to run ; he is flx'd in his Seat, without any progreflive Motion. He hathnoCourfe from one End of the Heavens to the other.* In like man- ner, Sun, flandthouflill upon Gibeon, fays the facred Au- thor, and the Sun flood ftill. No, fays the Exceptor, 'twas the Earth flood ftill, upon that Miracle ; for the Sun al- ways flood ftill. And 'tis abfurd, yea, moft abfurd, to think otherwife, p. 15-7. And he blames Tycho Brahe for following Scripture in this Particular. Now, is not this, in the Language of the Exceptor, to deflroy the Founda- tions of Religion, to affront Scripture, and blafpheme againfl the Holy Ghofl ? But this is not all : The Exceptor fays, {Chap. io.) the Sun rais'd up the Mountains on the third Day ; 47 8 An jtfnfwer to the Exceptions made Day; and the Sun was not in being till the fourth Day, according to Scripture, Gen. i. 14. The Moon alfo, "which, according to Scripture, was not created till the fourth Day, he fays, would hinder the Formation of the Earth, which was done the third Day. Laftly, in this new Hypothecs, p. 74. he makes the Waters of the Deluge to be but fifteen Cubits higher than the Plain, or common Surface of the Earth ; which Scripture affirms exprefly to have cover'd the Tops of the higheft Hills, or Moun- tains, under Heaven, Gen. vii. 19,20. Thefe two Things are manifestly inconliftent. The Scripture fays,GV». viii. 5". they cover'd the Tops of the higheft Mountains : And the Exceptor fays they reached but fifteen Cubits about, or upon the Skirts of them. This, I think, is truly to con- tradict Scripture; or, according to his Talent of loading Things with great Words, p. 216. This is not only flatly, but loudly contradictory to the mojl exprefs Word of the infallible God. Thefe Obfervations, I know, are of fmall Ufe, un- lefs, perhaps, to the Exceptor himfelf. But, if you pleafe, upon this Occafion, let us reflect a little upon the literal Style of Scripture; and the different Authority of that Style, according to the Matter that it treats of. The Subject Matter of Scripture is either fuch as lies without the Cognizance and Compreheniion of human Reafon, or fuch as lies within it: If it be the former of thefe, 'tis what we call properly and purely Revelation ; and there we muft adhere to the literal Style, becaufewe have nothing to guide us but that. Such is the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Incarnation; wherein we have no- thing to authorize our Deviation from the Letter and Words of ;Scripture: And therefore the School-Divines, who have fpun thofe Doctrines into a Multitude of Nice- ties and Subtleties, had no Warrant for what they did, and their Conclufions are of no Authority. The fecond Matter or Subject of Scripture is fuch ns falls under the View and Compreheniion of Reafon, more or lefs ; and, in the lame Proportion, gives us a Li- berty to examine the literal Senfe; how far it is coniiitent with Reafon. and the Faculties of our Mind. Of this Nature there are feveral Things in the holy Writings, both moral, theological, and natural, wherein we recede from the Letter, when it is manifeltly contrary to the Dictates of Reafon. 1 will give fome Inftances in every kind: Firft, as to moral Things. Our Saviour fays, Mat. v. 29, 30. If thy Right Eye offend thee, pluck it out. againft the Theory of the Earth. 479 out: If thy Right Hand offend thee, cut it off. There is no Man that thinks himlelf obliged to the literal Practice of this Dodrine ; and yet it is plainly delivei'd, you ice, in thele Terms in the Gofpel. Nay, which is more, our Saviour backs and enforces the Letter of this Doc- trine with a Reafon : For it is profitable for thee that one of thy Members jhould perifo, and not that thy whole Body Jhould be c aft into Hell : As if he had intended, that his Pre- cept fhould have been really executed according to the Letter. Jn like manner our Saviour fays, If any Man will fue thee at Law, and take away thy Coat, let htm have thy Cloak alfo. And yet there is no Chfiftian fo good- natur'd as to pra&ife this, nor any Cafuift fo rigid as to enjoy it, according to the Letter. Other Inftances you may fee in our Saviour's Sermon upon the Mount, where we do notfcruple to layafide the Letter, whenitisjudg'd contrary to the Light of Nature, or impracticable inhu- man Society. In all other Things alfo, that lie within the Sphere of human Reafon, we are allowed to examine their Practi- cability, or their Credibility. To inftance in fomething theological, the Words of Confecration in the Sacra- ment. Our Saviour, when he militated the laft Supper, us'd thefe Words : This is my Body, taking the Bread into his Hand; which Words, joih'd with that Action, are very formal and expreflive; yet we do not lcruple to forfake the literal Senfe, and take the Words in ano- ther Way : But upon what Warrant do we this? becaufethe literal Senfe contains an Abfurdity ; becaufe it contradicls the Light of Nature ; becaufe it is inconfiftent with the Idea of a Body, and fo deftroys it felf. In like Manner, upon the Idea of the Divine Nature, we difpute abfolute Reprobation, and Eternity of Torments, againft the Let- ter of Scripture. And, laftly, whether the Refurredion Body confifts of the fame individual Parcels and Parti- cles, whereof the mortal Body conlifted, before it was putrefied or difpers'd ? And, Phil.W. 3. Apoc.\\\. f. and xx. 12. whether thzBooks of Life are to be underftood in a literal Senfe? The laft Head is of fuch Things as belong to the na- tural World. And to this may be reduced innumera- ble Inftances, where we leave the literal Senfe, if incon- liftent with Science or Experience. And the Truth is, if we fliould follow the vulgar Style and literal Senfe of Scripture, we fliould all be Anthropomorphites, as to the Nature 480 An An fiver to the Exceptions made Nature of God : And as to the Nature of his Works in the external Creation, we mull renounce Philofophy and natural Experience, if the Descriptions and Accounts given in Scripture, concerning the Heavens, the Earth, the Sea, and other Parts of the World, be received as accurate and juft Representations of the State and Proper- ties of thole Bodies. Neither is there any Danger, left this fhould affect or impeach the Divine Veracity ; for Scripture never undertook, nor was ever defigned to teach us Philofophy, or the Arts and Sciences : And whatso- ever the Light of Nature can reach and comprehend, is improperly the Subject of Revelation. ■' But fome Men, out of Love to their own Eafe, and in Defence of their Ignorance, are not only foraScripture Divinity, but alio for a Scripture Philofophy. 'Tis a cheap and compendi- ' ous Way, and faves them the Trouble of farther Study or Examination. Upon the whole, you fee, it is no Fault to recede from the literal Senfe of Scripture ; but the Fault is, when we leave it without a juft Caufe : As it is no Fault for a Man to feparate from a Church, or for a Prince to make- War again ft his Neighbour, but to do the one or the other, without a juft Caufe, is a real Fault. We all leave the literal Senfe in certain Cafes, and therefore that alone is no fufficient Charge againft any Man. But he that makes a Separation, if I may fo call it, without good Reafons, he is truly obnoxious to Cenfure. The great Refult of all, therefore, is this, to have fome common Rule to direct us, when every one ought to follow, and when to leave, the literal Senfe. And that Rule which is generally agreed upon by good Interpreters, is this, Not to leave the literal Senfe, when the Subject-Matter will bear it, without Abfurdity or Incongruity. This Rule I have always propofed to my felf, and always endeavour- ed to keep clofe to it. But fome inconliderate Minds make every Departure from the Letter, let the Matter or Caufe be what it will, to be an Affront to Scripture: And there, where we have the greateft Liberty, I mean in Things that relate to the natural World, they have no more Indulgence or Moderation, than if it was an In- trenchment upon the Articles of Faith. In this Particu- lar I cannot excufe the prefent Animadverter ; yet, I mult needs fay, he is a very Saint in Comparifon of an- other Animadverter, who hath writ upon the fame Sub- ject; but neither like a Gentleman, nor like a Chriftian, nor like a Scholar. And fuch Writings anfvver themfeives. A SHORT A SHORT CONSIDERATION « • OF Mr. Erasmus Warren's DEFENCE O F H I S EXCEPTIONS AGAINST THE THEORT of the EARTH. In a Letter to a Friend. SIR, private you, I HAVE read over Mr. Erafmus Warren's Defence of his Exceptions againft the 'Theory of the Earth ; which, it may be, few will do after me ; as not having Curiolity or Patience enough to read fuch a long Pamphlet, of or little Ufe. Such Altercations as thefe, are to believe, as they are to me, a fort of Folly j but J i the '48 2 Afhort Confederation of the Defence of the the AggrefTor muft anfwer for that, who makes the Trou- ble unavoidable to the Defendant. And 'tis an unplea- fant Exercife, akind ofWild-goofe-chafe ; where he that leads muft be followed, through all his Extravagancies. The Author of this Defence muft pardon me, if I have lefs Apprehenfions both of his Judgment and Temper, than I had before : For, as he is too verbole and long- winded ever to make a clofe Reafoner ; fo it was unex- pected to me to find his Style fo captious and angry, as it is in this laft Paper. And the fame Strain continuing to the End, I was forry to fee that his Blood had been kept upon the Fret, for fo many Months together, as the Pamphlet was a making. He might have made his Work much ihorter, without any Lofs to the Senfe. If he had left out his popular Enlargements, juvenile Excurflons, Stories and Strains of Country-Rhetorick, (whereof we fhall give you fome Inftances hereafter) his Book would have beenreduc'd to half the Compafs : And if from that reduc'd half, you takeaway again trifling Altercations and pedantick Repar- tees, the Remainder would fall into the Compafs of a few Pages. For my part, I am always apt to fufpeet a IVIan that makes me a long Anfwer; for the precife Point to be fpoken to, in a multitude of Words, is eafily loft, and Words are often multiplied for that very Purpofe. However, if his Humour be verbofe, it might have been, at leaft, more eafy and inoffenfive; there having been no Provocation given him in that kind. But let us guefs, if you pleafe, as well as we can, what it was in the late Anfwer, that fo much difcompofed the Exceptor and al- tered his Style : Either it muft be the Words and Lan- guage of that Anfwer, or the Senfe of it, without Re- fpect to the Language. As to the Words, 'tis true, he gives fome Inftances of ExprefTions offenfive to him; yet they are but three or four, and thofe, methinks, not very high, p. 31. tho' he calls them the Brats of Pajjion ; they are thefe, indiscreet, rude,, injudicious and uncharitable. Thefe Characters, it feems, are applied to the Exceptor, in fome part of the Anfwer, upon Occafion offer'd ; and whether thofe Occasions were juft or no, I dare appeal to your Judgment. As to the Word rude, which feems the molt harfh, I had faid indeed, that he was rude to Anax- c£oras\ and fo he was, nottoallowhimtobeacompetent Witnefs in matter of Fact, whom all Antiquity, iacred and prophane, hath reprefented to us as one of the greater Mea Exceptions againft the Theory of the Earth, 485 Men amongft the Antients. I had alfo faid in another Place, that a rude, and injudicious Defence of Scripture, by Railing and ill Language, is the true way to lejj'en and difparage it. This I ftill juftify as true; and if he apply it to himfelf, much good may it do him. I do not remem- ber that it is any where faid, that he was rude to the Theorift ; if it be, 'tis poffibly upon his charging him with Blafphemy, horrid Blafphemy againft the Holy Ghoft, for faying, the Earth was diffolvd at the Deluge. And I ap- peal to any Man, whether this is not an uncharitable, and a rude Charge. If a Man had curfed God, or call'd our Saviour an Impoftor, what could he have been charg'd with more, than Blafphemy, horrid Blafphemy ? And if the fame things be charg'd upon a Man, for faying, the Earth was dhTolv'd at the Deluge, either all Crimes and Errors mud be equal, or the Charge mud be rude. But however it muft be rude in the Opinion of the Theorift, who thinks this neither Crime nor Error. What fays the Defence of the Exceptions to this ; p. t$$* it makes ufe of Diftin&ions for Mitigation of the Cenlure ; and fays, it will indirectly, confequentially, or reducJively be of blafphemous Importance. Here Blafphe- my is changed into blafphemous Importance, and horrid Blafphemy into confequentidl, &c. But taking all thefe Mi- tigations," it ieems however, according to his Theology, all Errors in Religion are Blafphemy, or of blafphemous Importance. For all Errors in Religion muft be againft Scripture one way or other; at leaft confequentially, in- directly, or reduclively ; and all that are fo, according to the Do&rine of this Author, muft be Blafphemy, or of blafphemous Importance. This is crude Divinity, and the Anfwerer had Reafon to fubjoin what he cited before, that a rude and injudicious Defence of Scripture, is the true way to leffen and difparage it. Thus much for rude and uncharitable ; as for the other two Words, indifcreet and injudicious, I cannot eafily be induc'd to make any Apology for them. On the contra- ry, I'm afraid I fhall have Occaiion to repeat thefe Cha- racters again, efpecially the latter of them, in the Peru- fal of this Pamphlet. However, they do not look like Brats of Pajfion, as he calls them ; but rather as cool and quiet Judgments, made upon Reafons and Premiifes. I had forgot one Expreflion more : The Anfvver, it feems, ibmewhere calls the Exceptor a D abler in Philofophy, I i ^ which 484 A fbort Confederation of the Defence of the which he takes ill : But that he is a Dabler, both in Phi- lofophy and Aftronomy, I believe will evidently appear upon this fecond Examination of the fame Paffag- supon which that Character was grounded. We will therefore leave that to the Trial, when we come to thofe Paffages again, in the following Difcourfe. Thefe, Sir, as far as I remember, are the Words and Exprcffions which he hath taken Notice of, as offenfive to him, and Effects of Paffion. But, methinks, thefe cannot be of Force fufficient to put him fo much out of Humour, and change his Style fo much, as we find it to be in this laft Pamphlet: And therefore I am inclinable to believe, that 'tis the Senfe, rather than the Words, or Language of the Anfwer, that hath had this Effect upon him; and that fome unhappy Paffages, that have expos'd his Ivliftakes, were the true Caufes of thefe Refentments. Such Paffages I will guefs at, as well as I can, and note them to you as they occur to my Memory. But give me leave, firft, upon this occafion of his new way of Writing, to diftinguiih and mind you of three forts of arguing, which you may call reafoning, wrangling, and fcolding. In fair reafoning, Regard is had to Truth only, not to Victory, let it fall on whether fide it will. But in wrangling and fcolding, 'tis Victory that is purfued andaim'd at in the firft Place, with little Regard to Truth, And if the Contention be managed in civil Terms, 'tis but wrangling; if in uncivil, 'tis fcolding. I will not fo far anticipate your Judgment, as to rank this Arguerinanyof the three Orders : If you have Patience to read over his Pamphlet, you will bed fee how and where to fet him in his proper Place. We now proceed to thofe Paffages in the Anfwer, which probably have mod exafperated the Author of the Exceptions and the Defence, Exc.f. yy, &c. In his Ex- ceptions he had faid, the Moon being prefent, or in her prefent Place in the Firmament, at the time of the Chaos, ihe would certainly trouble and difcompofeit, asfhedoes now the Waters of the Sea; and, by that Means, hinder the Formation of the Earth. To this we anfwer'd, that the Moon that was made the fourth Day, could not hinder the Formation of the Earth, which was made the third Day, This was a plain intelligible Anfwer-, and atthefametime difccver'd fuch a manifeft Blunder in the Objection, as could not but give an uneafy Thought to him that made it. How- Exceptions againfl the Theory of the Earth. 48 J However we mull not deny, but that he makes fome Attempt to fhift it off in his Reply; for he fays, Def.p. 12. The Earth formed the third %)ay uwMofesV Earth, which the Exceptor contends for ; but the Earth he difputes a- gainfi is the Theor'ifVs, which could not be formed the third Day. He fhouM have added, and therefore would be hin- dered by the Moon, otherwife this takes off nothing. And now the Queftion comas to a clear State; for when the Exceptor fays, the Moon would have hinder'd the Forma- tion of the Earth, either he fpeaks upon Mofes's Hypothefis, or upon the Theorili's Hypothefis. Not upon the Theorift's Hypothefis, for the Theorift does not fuppofe the Moon prefenethen; Ecc/.p. yy, 78. jDefp.y^. I. 12,13. And if he fpeaks upon Mofes's Hypothefis, the Moon that was made me fourth Day, mull have hinder'd the Formation of the Earth the third Day. So that the Objection is a Blunder upon either Hypothefi?. Furthermore, wnereas he fuggefts that the Anfvverer makes ufe of Mofes's Hypothefis to confute his Adverfa- iy, but does not follow it himfelf : 'Tis fo far true, that the Theorift never faid that Mofes\ fix Days Creation was to be underftood literally ; but however it is juftly urged againft thofe that underftand it literally, aud they muft not contradict that Interpretation, which they own and defend. So much for the Moon, and this firft Paffage, which I fuppofe was troublefome to our Author. But he makes the fame Blunder in another Place, as to the Sun: Both the Luminaries, it feems, ftoodinhis Way. In the tenth Chapter of his Exceptions, he gives us a new Hypothefis about the Origin of Mountains, which, in fhort, is this ; that they were drawn or fuck'd out of the Earth by the Influence and Inftrumcntality of the Sun : Whereas the Sun was not made, according to Mofes, till the fourth Day, and the Earth was form'd the third Day. Tis an unhappy Thing to fplit twice upon the fame Rock, and upon a Rock fo vifible. He that can but reckon to four, can tell whether the third Day, or fourth Day came fooner. To cure this Hypothefis about the Origin of Mountains, he takes great pains in his Defence, pag. 97, 98, 99, 100, 101. and attempts to do it by help of a Diftin&ion, di- viding Mountains into Maritime and Inland. Now 'tis true, fays he, 'Thcfe maritime Mountains, andfuchaswere made with the Hollow of the Sea, mujl rife when that was I i 3 funk 486 A jhort Confederation of the Defence of the $ unk or deprejl ; namely, the third Day. Yet inland ones, he fays, might be railed fome earlier, and feme later, and by the Influence of the Sun. This is a weak and vain Attempt to defend his Notion ; for, befides that this Diftinction of maritime and inland Mountains, as ariling from different Caufes, and at different Times, is without any Ground, cither in Scripture or Reafon, if their diffe- rent Origin was admitted, the Sun's extracting thefe inland Mountains out of the Earth, would ftill be abfurd and incongruous upon other Accounts. Scripture, I fay, makes no fuchDiftinction of Moun- tains, made at different Times, and from different Cau- fes. This is plain, feeing Mofes does not mention Moun- tains at all in his fix Days Creation, nor any where elfe, till the Deluge : What Authority have we then to make this Diflinction ; or to fuppofe that all the great Moun- tains of the Earth were not made together? Befides, what length of Time would you require, for the Production of thefe inland Mountains ? Were they not all made within the fix Days Creation ? Hear what Mofcs fays at the end of the lixth Day. Thus the Heavens and the Earth were jinijhed, and all the Hofp of them, Gen. c. xxi. And on the feventh Day, GodendedhislVorkwhich hehadmade. Now if the Exceptor fays, that the Mountains were all made within thefe fix Days, we will not (land with him for a Day or two; for that would make little Difference as to the Action of the Sun. But if he will not confine their Production to Mofes's fix Days, how does he keep to the Mofaical Hypothefis ? Or how fhall we know where he will flop in his own Way? For if they were not made within the fix Days, for any thing he knows, they might not be made till the Deluge; feeing Scripture no where mentions Mountains before the Flood. And as Scripture makes no Diftinction of maritime find inland Mountains, fo neither hath this Diflinction any Foundation in Nature or Reafon : For there is no appa- rent or difcernable Difference betwixt maritime and inland Mountains, nor any Reafon why they fhould be thought to proceed from different Caufes, or to be rais'd at diffe- rent Times. The maritime Mountains are as rocky, as ruderous, and as irregular and various in their Shape and Poflure, as the inland Mountains. They have no diltinc- tive Characters, nor any different Properties, internal or external, in their Matter, Form, or Compofition, that can give us any Ground to believe, that they came from a dif- ferent Exceptions agaiuft the Theory of the Earth, 487 »erent Original. So that this Diftin£tion is merely preca- rious, neither founded in Scripcure nor Reafon, but made for the nonce to ferve a Turn. Befides, what Bounds will you give to thefe maritime Mountains ? Are they diftinguiflied from inland Moun- tains barely by their Diftance from the Sea, or by fome other Character? If barely by Difhnce, tell us then how far from the Sea do the maritime Mountains reach, and where do the inland begin, and how (hall we know the 7* to take off ibme Arguments urged againft his fifteen-cubit Deluge, (particularly, that it would not be fufficient to deftroy all Mankind) he adds thele Words by way of Proof: 5Def. p. 182. A?id me thinks there is one Thing which feems to in- JInuate f that a good Part of the animal World might perhaps come Exceptions againft the Theory of the Earth 493 come to an End thus ; by being driven to fuch Straights by the overflowing Waters, as to be FAMISH' Dor STAiiV'D to Death. The Thing is this, in the Story of the Deluge, it is no where faid of Men and living Creatures, that they were drown'd, but they died, or were deftroyed. Thole that are drown' d are dc'jlroyd, I imagine, as well as thofs that arcjlarv'd; fo this proves nothing. But that the De- struction here fpoken of, was by drowning, Teems plain enough, both from God's Word to Noah before the Flood, and by his Words after the Flood, when he makes his Covenant with Noah, in this Manner : / will eflablip ray Covenant with you, neither pall all Flcjh be cut off any more by the Waters of a Flood, Gen. ix. 1 1. Now, to be cut off, or deflroy'd by the Waters of a Flood, is, me- thinks, to be drown'd : And I take all Flep to compre- hend the animal World, or, at leaft, all Mankind. Ac- cordingly our Saviour lays, Matth. xxiv. 39. in Noah's Time, the Flood came and took them all away ; namely, all Mankind. This is one Expedient our Author hath found our, to help to bear off the Inconveniencics that attend his fifteen- cubit Deluge ; namely, by converting a good Part of it into a Famine. But he hath another Expedient to join to this, by increaiing the Waters ; and that is done by making the common Surface of the Earth, or the higheft Parts of it, as he calls them, T)ef. 16$ and 180, to fignify ambi- guoufly, or any Height that pleafes him; and confequent- ly fifteen Cubits above that, fignifies alfo what Height he thinks fit. But in reality, there is no Surface common to the Earth, but either the exterior Surface, whether it be high or low; or the ordinary Level of the Earth, as it is a Globe or Convex Body. If by his common Surface he mean the exterior Surface, ih&t takes in Mountains as well as Lowlands, or any other fuperficial Parts of the Earth. And therefore, if the Deluge was fifteen Cubits above this common Surface, it was fifteen Cubits above the higheft Mountains, as we fay it was. But, it by the common Surface he mean the common Level of the Earth, as it is a Globular or Convex Body, then we gave it a right Name, when we callM it the ordinary Level of the Earth ; name- ly, that Level or Surface that lies in an equal Convexity with the Surface of the Sea : And his fifteen Cubits of Water from that Level, would never drown the World. Laftly, if by the common Surface of the Earth, he under- (land a third Surface, different from both thele, he muft define 494 •Afhon Conjtderation of the Defence of the define it, and define the Height of it; that we may know how far this fifteen-cubit Deluge rife, from fome known Bads. One known Bafis is the Surface of the Sea, and that Surface of the Land that lies in an equal Convexity with it : Tell us then, if the Waters of the Deluge were but fifteen Cubits higher than the Surface of the Sea, that we may know their Height by fome certain and determi- nate Meafure ; and upon that examine the Hypothefis : But tell us they were fifteen Cubits above, not the Moun- tains or theHills, but the Highlands, or the higheft Tarts of the common Surface of the Earth, and not to tell us the Height of thefe higheft Parts from any known Bafis; nor how they are diftinguifh'd from Hills and Mountains, which incur our Senfes, and are the Meafures gh'en us by Mofes: This, I fay, is but to cover his Hypothefis with Ambiguities, when he had made it without Grounds, and to leave room tofet his Water-Mark higher or lower, as he mould fee Occafion or NeceiTity. And of this indeed we have an Inftance in his laft Pamphlet ; for he has rais'd his Water-Mark there, more than an hundred Cubits higher than it was before. In his Exceptions, he faid, p. 300. not that the IVaters VJere no where higher than juji fifteen Cu- bits above the Ground, they might in mod Places be thirty, fortv, ox fifty Cubits higher. But, in his Defence, he fays, />.i8o. the Waters might be an hundred or two hundred Cubits higher than the general ordinary Plain of the Earth. Now what Security have we, but that, in the next Pam- phlet they may be five hundred or a thoufand Cubits higher than the ordinary Surface of the Earth ? This is his fecond Expedient, railing his Water-Mark indefinitely. But if thefe two Methods be not fuffkient to deltroy Mankind, and the animate World, he hath yet a third, which cannot fail; and that is, deftroyingthemby evil Angels, Def. p-9Q. Flefterefi nequco —This is his laft Refuge; to which Purpofe he hath thefe Words, When Heaven was pleas' d to give Satan leave, he cans' d the Fire to con fume Job'/ Sheep, and caufed the Wind to dejlroy his Children. And how eafily could thefe Spirits, that are Mi- niflers of God's Vengeance, have made the IVaters of the Flood fatal to thofe Creatures that might have efc aped them, if am could have done it ? As fuppofe an Eagle, or a Faulcon; theDevil and his Crew catch them all, and held their Nofes under Water : However, methinks, this is not fair Play to deny the Theorift the Liberty to make ufe Exceptions again ft the Theory of the Earth. 495 life of the Mmxhr*] o£ good Angels, vthzxi he himfelf makes ule of evil Spirits. Thefe, Sir, and fuch likePafTages, where the Notions of the Exceptor have been expos'd, were the Caufes, I imagine, of his angry Reply. Some Creatures, you know, are more fierce after they are wounded; and fome, upon a gentle Chafe, will fly from you ; but if you prefs them, and put them to Extremities, they turn, and fly in your Face. I fee, by our Author's Example, how eaiily, in thefe per- fbnal Altercations, Rcafoning degenerates intoWrang ling, and Wrangling into Scolding. However, if I may judge from thefe two Hypothefes which he hath made, about the Rife of Mountains, and a fifteen-cubit Deluge, of all Trades, I ihould never advife him to turn Hypothefis- Maker. It does not feem at all to lie to his Hand ; and Things never thrive that are undertaken, Diis iratis, Ge- nioque Jinijlro. But as we have given you fome Account of this Au- thor's philofophical Notions, fo it may be you will ex- pect that we fliould entertain you with lbme Pieces of his Wit and Eloquence. The Truth is, he fcems to de- light and value himfelf upon a certain kind of Country- Wit and popular Eloquence, and I will not grudge you the Pleafure of enjoying them both, in fuch Inftances as I remember. Speaking in Contempt of the Theory and the Anfwer, (which is one great Subject of his Wit) he expreffes himfelf thus, Def p. 48.. But if Arguments be fo weak, that they will fall with a Phillip, why Jhould greater Force be ufed to beat them doivn ? 'To draw a Rapier to flab a Fly, or to charge a Piftol to kill a Spider, I think would be prepojlerons. I think fo too; in this we are a- greed. In another Place, being angry with tlieTheoriif, that he would not acknowledge his Errors to him, he hath thefe Words,, p. 108. 'Tis unlucky for one to run his Head againjl a \Pofl ; but when he hath done, if he will fay he did not do it, and (land in, and defend vfhat he fays, "'tis a Sign he is asfenfelefs as he was unfortunate, and is fitter to be pitied than confuted. This Wit, it may be, you'll fay is downright Clownery. The Truth is, when I obferv'd, in reading his Pamphlet, the Coarfenefs of his Repartees, and of that fort of Wit wherein he deals mod, and pleai.es himfelf, it often rais'd in my Mind, whether I would or no, the Idea of a Pedant, of one that had feen little of the World, and thought himfelf much wittier and wifer than others would take himtobe: I will give youbutone Jnftance r 49^ -A fart Confideratton of the Defence of the Inftance more of his ruftical Wit. Telling the Theorift of an Itch of Writing, p. 214. Methinks, fays he, he might have laid that prurient Humour, by Scratching himfelfwith the Briars of a more innocent Controverfy, or by SCRUB* &ING SOUNDLY againft fomething elfe than the Holy Scripture. He fpeaks very ieniibly, as if he underftood the Difeafe, and the Way of dealing with it : But I think Holy Scripture does not come in well upon that Oc* calion. All this is nothing, Sir, in comparifon of his popular Eloquence : See with what Alacrity he runs it off-hand, in a Similitude betwixt Adam and a Lord Lieutenant of a County, p. 113. When the King makes a Gentleman Lord Lieutenant of a County, by virtue of his Commiffion is he prefently the jlrongeji Man that is in it ? iDoes it en- able him to encounter whole Regiments of Soldiers in his fwgle c Perfon ? Does it impower him to carry a Cannon sipon his Neck? Or when the~great Gun is fired off, to catch the Bullet as it flies, and put it up in his 'Pocket ? So when God gave Adam 'Dominion over the Fowls, did he mean that he ftould dive like a Duck, or foar like a Falcon" 1 . That he jhould fwim as naturally as the Swan, and hunt the Kite or Hobby, as Boys do the tVren ? Did he mean that he fljould hang up OJlriches in a Cage, as '■People do Linnets, or fetch down the Eagles to feed with his Pullen, and make them perch with his Chickens in the Henroojl ? So much for the Fowls ; now for theFifh. Ibid. When God gave Adam Dominion over the Sea, was he to be able to dwell at the Bottom, or to walk on the "Top of it ? To drain it as a Ditch, or to take all its Fry at once in a Drag-Net ? Was he to fnare the Shark, as we do young Pickarels ; or to bridle the Sea-Horfe, and ride him for a Pad ; or to put a Slip upon the Crocodile' 's Neck, and play with him as with a Dog ? &c. Sir, I leave it to you, as a more competent Judge, ; to fet a juft Value upon his Gifts and Elocution. For my Part, to fpeak freely, dull Senfe, in a phantaftick Style, is to me doubly naufeous. But left I fhould cloy you with thele lufcious Harangues, I will give you but one more ; and 'tis a Mifcellany or fcveral Pieces of Wit together. Defp.6%. Should twenty Mariners, fays he, confidently affirm that they failed in a Ship from Dover to Calais, by a brisk Gale out of a Pair of Bellows ? Or iffo t ty Engineers pould pofitively fwear, that the Powder-Mill near London was late blown up, by a Mine then fprung at Great Waradin in Hungary, mufl they Exceptions againft the Theory of the Earth. 497 they not be grievoujly perjur'd Perfons ? Or if the Hiftorian that writes the Peloponnefian/fdr, had told that the Soldiers who fell in it, fought only with Sun-beams, and Jingle Currants which grew thereabouts, and that hundreds and thoufands were ftabfid with the one, and knocked on the Head with the other ; who would believe that ever there were fuch Weapons in that War, that ever there was fuch a fatal War in that Country ? Even fo, &c. Thele, Sir, are Flights and Reaches of his Pen, which I dare not cenfure, but leave them to your Judgment. Thus much is to give you a Tafte only of his Wit and Eloquence; and if you like it, you may find more of the lame Strain, here and there, in his Writings. I have only one Thing to mind him of, that he was defired by the Theorift, Eng. Theor. p. 401. to write in Latin (if he was a Scholar) as being more -proper for a Subject of this Nature. If he had own'dand follow'd that Character, I'm apt to think it would have prevented a great many Impertinen- ces : His Tongue, probably, would not have been io flippant in popular Excurfions and Declamations, as we now find it. Neither is this any great Prefumption or Rafhnefs of Judgment, if we may guefs at his Skill in thatLanguage by hisTranflations hereand there: Except. p. 293. Cum plurima Religione is rendered with the Prin- ciple of their Religion. And if he fay he followed Sir W. Rawleigh in his Tranflation, he that follows a bad Tranflator, without Correction or Notice, isfiippos'dto know no better himfelf : And this will appear the more probable, if we confider another of his Tranflations, in this prefentWork. Rei'Perfonam he tranflates the Repre* fentation of the Thing, inftead of the Perfon of the Guilts' or the Perfon of bim that is Reus not Aclor: And in this' I dare fay, he was feduc'd by no Example. But left we fhould be thought to mifreprefent him, take his own Words, fuch as they are, Def 168, 169. Yea, tho* it was fpoken never fo pojittvely, it was but to fet forth REl PERSONAM, to make the more full and lively Repre- fentation of the fuppofed Thing. Here, you fee, he hath made a double Blunder ; firft, in jumbling together Perfon and Thing; then, if they could be jumbled together Rei Perfona would not lignify the full and lively Reprefentation of the Thing, but rather aDifguifeor perfonated Reprefen- tation of the Thing. However, I am fatisfied from thefe Inftances, that he had good Reafon, notwithftandino- the K k Caurion 49 8 Ajhort Conjideration of the Defence of the Caution or Defire of the Theorift to the contrary, to write his Books in his Mother's Tongue. Thus we have done with the tirft Part, which was to mark out fuch PaiTages, as we thought might probably have enflam'd the Author's Style in this Reply : When Men are refolved not to own their Faults, you know there is nothing more uneafy and vexatious to them, than to fee them plainly diicovered and expos'd. We mull: now give you fome Account of the Contents of his Chapters, fo far as they relate to our Subject. Chap. I. Nothing. Chap. II. is againlt extraordinary '•'Providence ; or that, the Theorift fhould not be permitted to have Recourfe to it upon any Occaiion. This Recourfe to extraordinary Providence, being frequently objected in other Places, and of ufe to be diftinctly understood ; we will fpeak of it apart at the latter end of the Letter. Chap. III. is about the Moons hindring the Formation of the Earth before jhe ivas formed herfelf, or in our Neighbour- hood, as we have noted before. Another Thing in this Chapter, is, his urging oily or oleaginous Particles not to have been in the Chaos, but made fince : I'll give a fhort Anfwer to this ; either there was or was not oleaginous Matter in the new-made Earth, (I mean in its fuperfi- cial Region,) when it came flrir out of a Chaos ? If there was,there was alfo in the Chaos, out of which that Earth was immediately made : And if there was no oleaginous Matter in the new-made Earth, how came the Soil to be fo fertile, fo fat, fo unctuous?) I fay not only fertile, but particularly fat and uncluous : For he ufes thele very Words frequently in the Defcription of that Soil, Exc. p. 211. Def.p. 69, and p. 98. And all fat and unctuous Liquors are oleaginous ; and accordingly we have ufed thofe Words promifcuouily, in the Defcription of that Region: (Eng.Theor.Chap.V.) understanding only fuch unctuous Liquors as are lighter than Water, and fwim above it, and confequently would flop and entangle the terrcitrial Particles in their Fall orDefcent : And feeing fuch unctuous and oleaginous Particles were in the new- made Earth, they muft certainly have been in the Matter out of which it was immediately formed, namely, in the Chaos. All the reft of this Chapter we are willing to leave in its full Force; apprehending the Theory, or the Anfwer, to be in no Danger from fuch Argumentations or Reflections. The Exceptions againft the Theory of the Earth 499 The fourth Chapter is very fhort, and huh nothing argu- mentative. The fifth Chapter is concerning the Cold in the circumpolar Parts, which was fpoken to in the An- fwer fufficiently, and we ftand to that : What is added about extraordinary Providence, will be treated of in its proper Place. The fixth Chapter is alfo fhort, againft this Particular, ^*£ it is notfafe to argue upon Suppojitions actually falfe. And I think there needs no more to prove it, than what was faid in the Anfwer. Chap. VII. is chiefly about Texts of Scripture, concerning which I fee no Oc- cafion of faying any more than what is faid in the Review oftheTheory. He fays, (p. 49.) that the Theoriit catches himfelf in a Trap, by allowing that 'JPf. xxxiii. 7. is to be underftood of the ordinary Pofture of the Waters, and yet applying it to their extraordinary Pofture under the Vault of the Earth : But that was not an extraordinary Pofture according to the Theoriit, but their natural Pofture in the firft Earth : Yet I allow the ExprefTion might have been better thus, in a level or fpherical Convexity, as the Earth. He interprets njrpp (p. 5-3.) which we render the Garden of the Lord, Gen. xiii. x. not to be Pa- radife, but any pleafant Garden ; yet gives us no Autho- rity either of ancient Commentator or Verlion, for this no- vel and paradoxical Interpretation. The Septuagint render it TapaSau©- tS 6e« : The Vulgate, Paradifus Do* mini, and all ancient Verfions that I have feen, render it to the fame Senfe. Does he expect then that his fingle Word and Authority fhould countervail all the ancient Tranllators and Interpreters ? To the laft Place alledged by the Theoriit, Pnw.viii.28. he fays, -the Anfwerer charges him unjuftly, that he underitands by that Word 3jn no more than the Rotundity or fpherical Figure of the Abyfs ; which, he fays, is a Point of Nonfenfe : I did not think the Charge had been fo high however, feeing fome In- terpreters understand it fo : But if he understand by Stn the Banks or Shores of the Sea, then he fhould have told us how thole Banks or Shores are Dpn n 3D by fuper fa- ciera Abiffi, as it is in the Text. 'Page 5-9. He fays the Exceptor does not mifreprefent the Theorift when'he makes him to affirm the Conftrufti- 011 of the firfl Earth to have been merely mechanical ; and he cites to this purpofe two Places, which only prove, that the Theoriit made ufe of no other Caufes, nor fee any Defect in them ; but never affirm' d that thefe were the only Caufes. You may fee his. Words to this purpofe ex- Ivk 2 prefly '500 A fljort Confederation of the Defence of the prefly, Eng. Theor. p. 88. whereof the Exceptor was minded in the Anfwer, p. 3. In the laft Paragraph of this Chapter, p. 60. if he affirms any Thing, he will have the Tillars of the Earth to be underftood literally. Where then, pray, do thefe Pillars ftand that bear up the Earth ? Or if they bear up the Earth, what bears them up? What are their Pedeftals, or their Foundations? But he fays Hy- pothefes mult not regulate Scripture, though in natural Things, but be regulated by it, and by the Letter of it : I would gladly know then, how his Hypothecs of the Mo- tion of the Earth, is regulated by Scripture, and by the Letter of it ? And he unhappily gives an Inftance, juft contrary to himfelf, namely, of the Anthropomorphites ; for they regulate natural Reafon and Philofophy, by the Letter or literal Senfe of Scripture, and therein fall into a grofs Error: Yet we mult not call the Author injudi- cious, for fear of giving Offence. The eighth Chapter, ibid, begins with the Earth's being carried direct" ly under the Equinoclial, before its Change of Situation ; without any manner of Obliquity in her Site, or Declination towards either of the Tropicks in HER. C UR S E. Here you fee, when the Earth changed its Situation, it chang'd according to his Aftronomy, two Things ; its Site, and its Courfe ; its Site upon its Axis, and its Courfe in the Heavens : And fo he fays again in the next Paragraph, Put the Cafe the Eartbfhift her 'Pojlure, and alfo her Circuit about the Sun, in which Jhe perfijled till the Deluge. Here is plainly the fame Notion repeated ; that the Earth changed not only its Site, but alfo its Road or Courfe about the Sun: And in confequenceof this, he fuppjfes its Courfe formerly to havebeen under the Equi- noctial, and now under the Ecliptick; it being translated out of the one into the other, at its Change. Yet he feems now to be fenfible of the Abfurdity of this Doc- trine, and therefore will not own it to have been his Senfe; and as an Argument that he meant otherwife, healledges, that he declared before, that by the Earth's right Situation to the Sun, is meant that the Axis of the Earth was always kept in a'Parallelifm to that of the Ecliptick, p. 61. But what's this to the Purpofe? This fpeaks only of the Site of the Earth, whereas his Error was in fuppoiing its Courfe or Annual Orbit about the Sun, as well as its Site upon its own Axis, to have been different, and changed at the De- luge; as his Words already produced againlt him, plainly teftify. What Exceptions againfi the 'Theory of the Earth, $01 What follows in this Chapter, is concerning the perpe~ tual Equinox: And as to the reaibning Part of what he fays in Defence of his Exceptions, we do not grudge him the Benefit of it, let it do him what Service ic can. And as to the hiftorical Part, he will not allow a Witnefs to be a good Witnefs, as to Matter of Fact, if he did not af- fign true Caufes of that Matter of Fatt. To which I only reply, tho' Tiverton Steeple was not the Caufe of Goodwin Sands, as the Kentijh Men thought, yet their Teftimony was fo far good, that there were fuch Sands, and fuch a Steeply He alio commits an Error as to the Nature of Tradition : When a Tradition is to be made out, it is not expe6red that it fhould be made appear that none were ignorant of that Tradition in former Ages; or that all that mentioned it, undcrftood the true Grounds and Extent of it ; but it is enough to (hew the plain Foot- iteps of it in Antiquity, as a Conclulion, tho' they did not know theReafons and Premifles upon which it depended. For Inftance, the Conflagration of the World is a Doc- trine of Antiquity, traditionally deliver'd from Age to Age ; but the Caufes and Manner of the Conflagration, they either did not know, or have not deliver'd to us. In like manner, the firft Age and State of the World, was without Change of Seafons, or under a perpetual Equinox ; Of this we fee many Footfteps in Antiquity, amongft the Jews, Chriftians, Heathens, Poets, Philo- fophers; but the Theory of this perpetual Equinox, the Caufes and Manner of it, we neither find, nor can rea- sonably expe£t, from the Antients : So much for the Equinox. This Chapter, as it begun with an Error, fo it un- happily ends with a Paralogifm ; namely, that, becaufe thirty 2)ays made a Month at the 1)eluge, therefore thofe Days were neither longer nor Jhorter than ours are at prcfent. Tho' we have fufficiently expofed this before, yet one thing more may be added, in anfwer to his confident Conclufion, in thefe Words: But to talk, as the Anfwer er does, that the Month Jhould be lengthened by the Days being fo, is a fearful Blunder indeed: For let the Days (by Jlackening the Earth's diurnal Motion) have been never fo long, yet (its Annual Motion continuing the fame) the Month mufi needs have kept its ufual Length, only fewer Days would have made it up. 'Tis not uiual for a Man to perfevere fo confidently in the fame Error, as if the Intervals of Time, Hours, Days, Months, Years, K k 3 could 502 A fhort Confiderrftton of the Defence of the could not be proportionally increas'd, fo as to contain one another in the fame Proportion they did before, and yet be every one increas'd as to abfolute Duration. Take a Clock, for Inftance, that goes too flow; the Circuit of the Dial-plate is twelve Hours, let thefe reprefent the twelve Signs in his Zodiack, and the Hand to be the Earth that goes through them all; and confequently, the whole Circuit of the Dial-plate reprefents the Year. Suppofe, as we faid, this Clock to go too flow, this will not hin- der, but ftill fifteen Minutes make a Quarter in this Clock, four Quarters make an Hour, and twelv€|Hours the whole Circuit of the Dial-plate : But every one of thefe Inter- vals will contain more Time than it did before, accord- ing to abfolute Duration, or according to the Meafures . of another Clock that does not go too flow : This is the very Cafe which he cannot or will not comprehend, but concludes thus in Effect, that becaufe the Hour confifts (till of four Quarters in this Clock, therefore it is no longer than ordinary. The ninth Chapter alfo begins with a falfe Notion, that Bodies quiefce-at (as he hath now alter'd the Cafe) have a Nitexcy downwards : Which Miftake we rectified before, if he pleafe. Then he proceeds to the oval Figure of the Earth, and many Flourifhes and Harangues are made here to little purpofe; for he goes on upon afalfeSuppo- fition, that the Waters of the Chaos were made oval by the Weight or Gravitation' of the Air ; a Thing that never came into the Words or Thoughts of theTheorifl. Yet upon this Suppofition he runs into the Deferts of Bilebul- gerid, Def.^.8f,86. and the Waters of Mare del Zur ; Words that make a great Noife, but to no Effect. If he had pleas'd he might havefeen theTheorjft made no Ufe of the Weight of the Air upon this Gccaiion, by the Inftance he gave of the Preflure of the Moon, and the Flux of the Waters by that Prcffure : Which is no more done by the Gravitation of the Air, than the Banks are preft in a fwift Current and narrow Channel, by the Gravitation of the Water. But lie fays, rarified Air makes lefs Refift- ance than grofs Air ; and rarified Water in an iEolipile, it may be he thinks, preiTes with lefs Force than unrati- fied. Air poffibly may be rarified to that Degree as to leffen its Reiiltance; but we fpeak of Air moderately agitated, fo as to be made only more brisk and active. Moreover, he fays, the Waters that lay under the Poles mnft have rifen perpendicularly, and why might they not, as Exceptions againft the Theory of the Earth. $0% as well have done fo under the Equator? The Waters that lay naturally and originally under the Poles, did not rife at all; but the Waters became more deep there, by thofe that were thruft thither from the middle Parts of the Globe. Upon the whole, I do not perceive that he hath weaken'd any one of the Propofitions upon which the Formation of an oval Earth depended ; which were thefe : -F/r/7, That the Tendency of the Waters from the Centre of this Motion, would be greater and Wronger in the Equinoctial Parts, than in the Polar, or in thofe Parts where they moved in greater Circles ; and confe- quently fwifter, than in thofe where they were moved in leffer Circles and flower. Secondly, Agitated Air hath more Force to repel what prefles againft it than ftagnant Air; and that the Air was more agitated and rarined un- der the Equinoctial Parts, than under the Poles. Thirdly ', Waters hinder'd and repelPd in their primary Tendency, take the eafieft way they can to free themfelves from that Force, fo as to perfevere in their Motion. Laftly, To flow laterally upon a Plain, or to afcend upon an inclin'd Plain, is eafier than to rife perpendicularly. Thefe are the Propofitions upon which thatDifcourfe depended, and I do not find that he hath difprov'd any one of them. And this, Sir, is a Ihort Account of a long Chapter, Im- pertinences omitted. Chapter X. Is concerning the Original and Caufes of Mountains, which the Exceptor unhappily imputes to the Heat and Influence of the Sun. Whether his Hypothefis be effectually confuted or not, lam very willing to Hand to the Judgment of any unconcern'd Perfon, that will have the Patience to compare the Exceptions and the An- fwer, in this Chapter, Then, as to his Hiftorical Argu- ments, as he calls them, to prove there were Mountains before the Flood, from Giants that faved themfelves from the Flood upon Mount Sion, dWAdamV wandering fever al hundred of Tears upon the Mountains of India : Thefe, and fuch like, which he brought to prove that there were Mountains before the Flood, he now thinks fit to re- nounce, Def.p. 97. and fays he had done fo before by an anticipative Sentence : But if they were condemn'd be- fore by an anticipative Sentence, as Fables and Forge- ries, why were they ftuff'd into his Book, and us'd as traditional Evidence againft the Theory? Laflly, He contends in this Chapter for Iron and Iron T'ools before the Flood, and as early as the Time of Cain j K k 4 becaufe 5 °4 "A Short Confederation of the Defence of the becaufe he built a City, which, he fays, could not be built without Iron and Iron-Tools : To which it wasan- fwer'd, Anf. p. 49, 5-0. that, if he fancied that City of Cain's, like Paris or London, he had Realbn to believe that they had Iron-tools to make it : But fuppofe it was a Number of Cottages, made of Branches of Trees, of Ofiers and Bulrufhes; or, if you will, of Mud-Walls, and a Roof of Straw, with a Fence about it to keep out Beafts, there would be no fuch Neceffity of Iron- Tools. Confider, pray, how long the World was without knowing the Ufe of Iron, in feveral Parts of it, as in the Northern Countries and America, and yet they had Houfes and Cities after their Fafhion. And to come nearer Home, confider what Towns and Cities our An- ceftors, the Britains, had in Cafars Time, more than two thoufand Years after the Time of Cain: Com. //'. $. Op- pidum Britanni vacant, cum Sylvam imp edit am vallo at- que fojfa munierant ; quo incurfionis hoflium nitanda caufa, convenire conf never unt : Why might not Henochia, Cain's City, be fuch a City as this ? And as to the Ark, which he alfo would make a Proof that there were Iron and Iron-Tools before the Flood, Ibid, 'twas anfwer'd, that Scripture does not mention Iron op Iron-Tools in building of the Ark ; but only Gopher-lVoodand Pitch : To which he replies, /)fo. And the Vulgate renders it, Ante Paradifum voluptatis ; and according to the Samaritan Pentateuch, 'tis render'd ex adverfo. Now, what better Authorities can he bring us for his Tranflation ? I do not find that he gives any, as his ufual Way is, but his own Authority. And as for the Word DlpCr in the fecond Chapter and eighth Verfe, which is the principal Place, 'tis well known, that except the Septuagint, all the an- tient Verfions, Greek and Latin, (befides others) render it to another Senfe : And there is a like Uncertainty of Tranflation in the Word py, as we have noted elfe- where. Laftly, the Rivers of Paradife, and the Countries they are faid to run through or encompafs, are differently underftood by different Authors, without any Agreement or certain Conclufion : But thcfe are all beaten Subjects, which you may find in every Treatife of Paradife, and therefore 'tis not worth the Time to purfue them here. Then he proceeds to the Longevity of the Antc-Diluvians, which, fo far as I can underftand him to affirm any Thing, he fays, p. 139. was not general; but the Lives of fome few were extraordinary, lengthen d by a fpecial BleJ/ing ; the Elongation being a Work of 'Providence, not of Nature. This is a cheap and vulgar Account, (and fo are all the Contents of this Chapter) prov'd neither by Scripture, nor Reafon, and calculated for the Humour and Capacity of thofe that love their Eafe more than a diligent Enquiry after Truth. He hath indeed a bold AfTertion afterwards, that Mofes does diftinguifh as much, or more, betwixt ivjo Races of Men before the flood; the one Long-Livers^ and Exceptions againfl the 'Theory of the Earth, $07 and the other Short-Livers ; as he hath dillinguifh'd the Giants before the Flood, from the common Race of Mankind. Thefe are his Words, p. 141. Is not his Dif- t'tnd'ion equally plain in both Cafes ? fpeaking of this fore- mentioned Diftin&ion : Or, if there be any (Difference, does he not difimguijh better betivixt Long-Livers, and Short- Livers, than he does betivixt Men of gigantic k and of tifual (Proportion 1 -. Let's fee the Truth of this ; Mofes plainly made mention, Genvi. 4. of two Races of Mankind: The or- dinary Race,andthofe of a gigantick Race,or Giants. Now, tell me where he plainly makes mention of Short-Livers before the Flood : And if he no where makes mention of Short-Livers, but of Long-Livers only, how does he diilin- guifh as plainly of thefe two Races, as he did of the other two ; for in the other he mentioned plainly and fevcrally both the Parts or Members of the Diftin&ion, and here he mentions but one, and makes no Diltindtion. Then he comes to the Teftimonies cited by Jofcphus for the Longevity of the Ante-'Diluvians, or firft Inhabi- tants of the Earth: And thefe he roundly pronounces to be utterly falfe. This Gentleman does not feem to be much skill'd in Antiquity, either facred or prophane; and yet he boldly rejecls thefe Teftimonies (as he did thole of the Fathers before) as utterly falfe, p. 142. which Jofephus had alledged in Vindication of the Hiliory of Mofes. The onlyReafon he gives is, becaufe thefe Tefti- monies fay, they liv'd a thoufand Tears ; whereas Mofes does not raife them altogether fo high. But the Queftion . was not fo much concerning the precife Number of their Years, as about the Excefs of them beyond the prefent Lives of Men, and a round Number in fnch Cafes is often taken inftead of a broken Number. Beiides, feeing, according to the Account of Mofes, the greater Part of them liv'd above nine hundred Years, at ieaft he fhould not have faid thefe Tellimonies in 'Jofephus were utterly falfe, but falfe in part, or not precifely true. Now, he comes to his Reafons againft the ante-dilu- vian Longevity, which have all had their Anfvvers befofe, and thole we {land to. But I wonder he fhould think it reafonable, p. 144, 145". that Mankind throughout all Ages, fhould increafe in the fame Proportion as in the fir ft Age : And, if a decuple Proportion of Increafe was rea- fonable at fir ft, the fame fhould be continued all along; and theProdutt of Mankind, after fixteen hundred Years, ihould be taken upon that Supposition, I fhould not grudge to 508 A [loon Confideration of the Defence of the to admit that the firft Pair of Breeders might leave ten Pair ; but that every Pair of thefe ten fhould alfo leave ten Pair, without any Failure; and every Pair in their Children fhould again leave ten Pair; and this to be continued, with- out Diminution or Interruption, for fixteen hundred Years, is not only a hard Suppolition, but utterly incredible. For ftill the greater the Number was, the more Room there would be for Accidents of all Sorts ; and every Failure towards the Beginning, and proportionably in other Parts, would cut off Thoulands in the laft Product. Chap.XlV. Is again ft theDiffolution of theEarth, and the Difruption of the Abyfs at the Deluge, fuch as the Theory reprefents. Here is nothing of new Argument, but fome Strokes of railing Wit, after his Way : He had faid in his Exceptions, that the DifJ'olution of the Earth was horrid Blafphemy : Now he makes it reductive Blafp he my, as being indirectly, consequentially ', or reduftively, p. 15-3^ 15*4. contrary to Scripture. By this Rule, we told him, all Errors in Religion would be Blafphemy; and if he ex- tend this to Errors in Philofophy alfo, 'tis ftill more harm and injudicious. I wonder how he thinks the Doctrine which he owns, about the Motion of the Earth, fhould efcape the Charge of Blafphemy ; that being not only in- directly, but directly and plainly contrary to Scripture. We thought that Expreffion, the Earth is diffolved, being a Scripture Expreffjon, would thereby have been protected from the Imputation of Blafphemy, and we alledged to that Purpofe, (betides PfalAxxv. 3.) Ifa. sxiv. 19. A- mos ix. f. He would have done well to have proved thefe Places in the Prophets Ifaiah and Amos, to have been figurative and tropological, as he calls it; for we take them both to relate to the DifTolution of the Earth, which lite- rally came to pafs at the Deluge : And he nothavingpro- ved the contrary, we are in Hopes ftill that the Diffolution of the Earth may not be horrid Blafphemy, nor of blaf- phemous Importance. Then having quarrell'd with the Guard of Angels, which the'Theorifl had aflign'd for the Prefervation of the Ark, in the Time of the Deluge, he falls next into his Blunder, that the Equator and Ecliptick of the Earth were inter - chang'd, when the Situation of the Earth was chang'd. This Error in the Earth is Cou fin-German to his former Error in the Heavens, viz. that the Earth chang'd its Tract about the Sun, and leap'd out of the Equator into the Ecliptick, when it chang'd its Situation. The Truth is. Exceptions againfl the Theory of the Earth. ?oo is, this Copernican Syjlem feems to lie crofs in his Imagi- nation : I think he would do better to let it alone. How- ever, tho' at other Times he is generally verbofe and long- winded, he hath the Senfe to pafs this by in a few Words ; laying the Blame upon certain Parentheses or Semicircles, whole Innocency notwithstanding we have fully clear 'd, and fhew'd the Poifon to be fpread throughout the whole Paragraph, which is too great to be made an Erratum Typographicum. Then after, p. 160, 161. Hermus, Caifter, Menandcr and Cains; Nile and its Mud, Pifcenius Niger, whs con- tended with Septimus Severus for the Empire, and repri- manded his Soldiers for hankering after Wine : Du Val , an ingenious French Writer, and Cleopatra and her admired Anthony; He concludes, that the Waters of the Deluge raged amongft the Fragments, with lajiing, incejfant, and unimaginable Turbulence. And fo he comes to an Argument againft the DilTolu- tion of the Earth, p. 162. That, all the Buildings erecHed before theFlood,would have been fhaken down at that 'Time, or elfe overwhelmed. He inftanc'd in his Exceptions in SethV Pillars ; Henochia, Cain'j C*Vy; and Joppa: Thefe he fuppos'd luch Buildings as were made before, and flood after theFlood. But now, Seth's Pillars and Heno- chia being difmifs'd, he infills upon 'Joppa only, and fays, this muft have confided of fuch Materials, as could never be prepared, formed and fet up, without Iron-Tools. Tho' I do not much believe that Joppa was an ante-diluvian Town, yet whatever they had in Cain's Time, they might, before the Deluge, have Mortar and Brick, which, as they are the firft ftony Materials, that we read of, for Build- ing; fo the Ruins of them might ftand after the Deluge. And that they had no other Materials is the more proba- ble, becaufe after the Flood, at the Building of Babel, Mofes plainly intimates that they had no other Materials than thole. For the Text fays, Gen. xi. 3. They J aid one to another , Go to, let us make Brick, and burn them thoroztgh- ly; and they made Brick for Stone, and Slime had they for Mortar. But now this Argument, methinks, may be re- torted upon the Exceptor with Advantage: For, if there were no Diffolutions, Concuflions, or Abforptions, at the Deluge, inftead of the Ruins of Joppa, methinks we might have had the Ruins of an hundred ante-diluvian Cities ; efpecially, if, according to his Hypothelis, they had good Stone, and good Iron, and all other Materials, fit 510 Afljort Gmjideration of the Defence of the fit for itrong and lafting Building : And, which is alfo to be coniider'd, that it was but a fifteen-cubit Deluge; fo that Towns built upon Eminences or high Lands, would be in little Danger of being ruin'd, much lefs of being abolifn d. His iart Argument, {p. 163.) proves, if it prove any Thing, that God's Promife, that the World fhould not be drown d again, was a vain and trifling Thing to us, who know it mult be burn'd: And confequently, if Noah un- derftood the Conflagration of the World, he makes it a •vain and trifling Thing to Noah alfo. If the Exceptor de- light in fuch Oonclulions, let him enjoy them, but they are not at all to the Ivlind of the Thcorift. Chapter XV. Now, we come to his new Hypothesis of a fifteen-cubit Deluge ; and what Shifts he hath made to deitroy the World with fuch a diminutive Flood, we have noted before : Firft, by railing his Water-Mark, and making it uncertain : Then by converting the Deluge, in a great Meafure into a Famine: And, Lallly, by deftroy- ing Mankind and other Animals, with evil Angels. We fhall now take notice of fome other Incongruities in his Hypothecs. When he made Mofes's Deluge but fifteen Cubits deep, wefaid that was an unmerciful Paradox, and ask'd whether he would have it receiv'd as a Poftulatum, or as a Condujion. All he anfwers to this, is, that the fame Quefiion may be ask'd concerning feveral Parts of theTheory; p. 166. Particularly, that the primitive Earth had no open Sea. Whether is that, fays he, to be receiv'd as & Poftulatum, ox. as a Condujion 7 . The Anfwer is ready, as a Condujion, deduced from PremiiTes, and a Series of antecedent Realbns. Now, can he make this Anfwer for his fifteen-cubit Deluge ? Mud not that (till be a Poftulatum, and an unmerciful one ? As to the Theory, there is but one Poftulatum in all, viz. that the Earth rife from a Chaos All the other Propositions are dedue'd from PremiiTes, and that one Poftulatum alfo is prov'd by Scripture and Antiquity. We had noted further in the Anfwer, that the Author had faid in his Exceptions, that he would not defend his Hypothefis as true and real ; and we demanded thereupon, Why then did he trouble him- felf or the World with what "he did not think true and real 7 . To this he replies, Many have written ingenious and ufejul Things, which they never believ'd to be true and real. Romances fuppofe,and poetical Fictions : Will you have your fifteen- cubit Deluge pafs for luch ? But then the Exceptions againft the 'Theory of the Earth. $11 the Mifchief is, where there is neither Truth of Fact, nor Ingenuity of Invention, fuch a Compolition will hardly pafs for a Romance, or a goodFi&ion. But there is ftill a greater Difficulty behind. The Exceptor hath un- happily laid, Exc. p. 302. Our Suppofitwnflands fupported by Divine Authority, as being founded upon Scripture ; which tells us as plainly as it can [peak, that the Waters pre- vailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth. Upon which Words the Anfwerer made this Remark, Anf p.6y. If his Hypothejis be founded upon Scripture, and upon Scrip- ture as plainly as it can fpeak, why will he not defend it as TRUE and REAL ? For to be fupported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture, is as much as we can alledge for the Articles of our Faith. To this he replies now, Def. p. 168. that he begg'd Allowance at firfl, to make bold with Scrip- ture a little: This is a boldExcufe, and he efpecially,one would think, fhould take heed how he makes bold with Scripture, left, according to his own Notion, he fall in- to Blajphemy, or fomething of blafphemous Importance, indirectly, confe que nti ally, or reduttively, at lead : How- ever, this Excufe, if it was a good one, would take no Place here; for tounderftand and apply Scripture, in that Senfe that it fpeaks as plainly as it can fpeak, is not to make bold with it, but modeftly to follow its Di&ates and plain Senfe. He feels this Load to lie heavy upon him, and ftrug- gles again to (hake it off with a Diftin&ion. When he faid his fifteen-cubit Deluge was fupported by Divine Au- thority, &c. this, he fays, ibid, was fpoken by him, in an hypothetick or fuppofitious Way, and that it cannot pojfibly be underflood otherwife by l\len of Senfe. Here are two hard Words: Letusfirft underftand what they fignify, and then we fhall better judge how Men of Senfe would un- derftand his Words. His hypothetick or fuppofitious Way, fo far as I underftand it, is the fame Thing as by way of Suppojition: Then his Meaning is, he fupp oj es his fifteen- cubit Deluge is fupported by ^Divine Authority; and he fuppofes it is founded upon Scripture, as plainly as it can fpeak: But this is to fuppofe theQueftion, and no Man of Senfe would make or grant fuch a Suppolition; fo that I do not fee what he gains by this hypothetickand fuppofitious Way. But to draw him out of this Mift of Words, ei- ther he affirms this, that his Hypothejis is fupported by Di- vine Authority, and founded upon Scripture as plainly as it 512 A fbort Conjtderation of the Defence of the can fpeak, or he denies it, or he doubts of it : If he affirm it, then all his Excufes and Diminutions are to no pur- pofe, hemuft ftand to his Caufe, and fhewusthofe plain Texts of Scripture •, if he deny it, he gives up his Caufe, and all that Divine Authority he pretended to ; if he doubt of it, then he fhould have exprefs'd himfelf doubt- fully : As, Scripture may admit of that Senfe, or may be thought to intimate fuch a thing, but he fays with a Plero- phory, Scripture fpeaks it as plainly as it can [peak : And to mend the Matter, he unluckily fubjoins in the follow- ing Words, ^.168,169. Tea, tho" 1 it was fpoken never fo fojitively, it was but to fet forth RE I PERSONAM: To make a more full and lively Re^refentation of the fup- pofed thing. He does well to tell us what he means by Rei Perfonam ; for otherwife no Man of Senfe, as his Phrafe is, would ever have made thatTranflationofthofe Words. But the Truth is, he is fo perfectly at a Lofs how to bring himfelf off, as to this Particular, that in his Confufion, he neither makes good Senfe nor good Latin. Now he comes to another Inconfiftency which was charg'd upon him by the Anfxverer: Namely, that he re- jects the Church Hypothefis concerning the Deluge, and yet had faid before, Exc . p. 300. / cannot believe {which I cannot xvell endure to fpeak) that the Church hath ever gone on in an irrational IVay of explaining the Deluge : That he does reject this Church Hypothefis, wasplainly made out from his own Words, becaufe he rejects the common Hypothefis ; (fee the Citation in the Anfwer, p. 68.J the general /landing Hypothefis; the ufual Hypothefis ; the ufual Senfe they put upon facred Story, &c. Thefe Citati- ons he does not think fit to take Notice of in his Reply ; but puts all upon this general IiTue, which the Anfwerer concludes with : The Church Way of explaining the 'De- luge, is either rational or irrational : If he fay it is ratio- nal, why does he defert it, and invent a new one : And if he fay it is irrational, then that dreadful thing, which he cannot well endure to fpeak, that the Church of God hath ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge, falls flat upon himfelf Let's hear his Anfwer to this Dilemma. Def p. 1 70. We fay, fays he, that the Church Way of explaining the Deluge, (by creating andannihiiating Waters for the Nonce) is very rational. Then fay I ftilJ, why do you defert it, or why do you trouble us with a new one? Either his Hypothefis is more rational than the Exceptions ag&inft the Theory of the Earth'. 51^ the Church Hypothefis, or lefs rational : If lefs ra- tional, why does he take us off from a better, to amufe us with a worfe? But if he fay, his Hypothefis is more rational than that of the Church : Then Woe be to him, in his own Words, p. 171. that fo black a Blemijh jhould be fajlend upon the ivifeji and nobleft Society in the World, as to make himfelf more wife than they, and his Hypothefis more rational than theirs. The Truth is, this Gentleman hath a mind to appear a Virtuofo, for the new Philofophy, and the Copernican Syftem ; and yet would be a Zealot for Orrhodoxy, and the Church- Way of explaining Things : Which two Defigns do not well agree, as to the natural World ; and betwixt two Stools he tails to the Ground, and proves neither good Church- man, nor good Philofopher. But he will not ftill be convinc'd that he deferts the Church Hypothefis, and continues to deny the Defertion m thefe Words. Ibid. We fay we do not defert or rejeti the Church-Way of explaining the Deluge. Now, to di£- cover whether thefe Words are true or falfe; let us ob- ferve, Firfl, What he acknowledges to have faid againft the Church Hypothefis : Secondly, What he hath faid more than what he acknowledges here. He acknowledges, that he faid, the Church Hypothefis might be difguflful to the befl and foundefl philofophick 'Judgments ; and this is no good Character. Yet this is not all, for he hath fairly dropp'd a principal Word in his Sentence, namely, juftly s Exc p. 312. His Words in his Exceptions, were thefe, fuch Inventions (which he applies to the Church Hypo- thefis) as have been, and JUS'TLT may be difgujlful, not only to nice and f^ueamifh, but to the bcjl and foundefl p.hilofophick Judgments. Now judge, whether he cited this Sentence before, truly and fairly, and whether in thefe Words, truly cited, he does not difparage the Church Hypothefis, and juftify thofe that are dilgufted at it. He farther more acknowledges, that the ufual Ways of explaining the Deluge feem unreasonable to forne, and un- intelligible to others, and nnfatisfaiiory to the mofl : Bur, it ■ feems, he will neither be of thefe, fame, others, or mofl. Laftly, He acknowledges that he faid, Def. p. 171. The ordinary Suppojitiop, that the Mountains were covered with Waters in the Deluge, brings on a Neceffity of fetting up a new Hypothefis for explaining the Flood. If fo, what was this ordinary Suppofit ion 7 , was it not the Suppolition of the Church? And was that fuch, as made it neceiTary to fel L \ uv '5 1 4 'Afhtort Conjideration of the Defence of the up a new Hypothefis for explaining the Flood? then the old Hypothefis was infufficient or irrational. Thus much he acknowledges; but he omits what we noted before, his rejecting or difapproving the common Hypothefis, the gtneral [landing Hypothefis , the ufual Sen ft they put upon the Sacred Story, &c. And do not all thefe Ph'rafes denote the Church Hypothefis ? He farther omits, that he confefs'd, (Excep. p. 325'.) he had expounded a 'Text or two of Scripture about the Deluge, fo as none ever did; and, deferting the common received Senfc, puts an un- ■tifiial Glofs upon them. And is not that common received Senfs theSenfe of the Church, and his unufual Glofs con- trary to it? Laftly, he fays, by his Hypothefis, we need not fly to a new Creation of Waters, and gives hisReafons at large againft; that Opinion ; which you may fee, Except, p. 313. Now, thofc Reafons he thought either to be good Reafons or bad Reafons ; if bad, why did he fet them down, or why did he not confute them ? If good, they (land good againft the Hypothefis of the Church ; for he. inakes that new Creation and Annihilation of Waters at the Deluge to be the Hypothefis of the Church, Def p. 1 70. I fear I have fpent too much Time in fhewing him utterly inconfiftent with himfelf in this Particular. And I won- der he fhould be fo follicitous to juftify the Hypothefis of theChurch in this Point, feeing he openly diffents from it in a greater ; I mean in that of the Syjlem of the World. Hear his Words, if youpleafe, to this Purpofe, Z)/>£ and coming. But Exceptions againji the TJjeory of the Earth. $ I 5? But the Exceptor fays, the Sun fuck'd up the Waters from the Earth, juft as he had before fuck'd the Mountains out of the Earth : Thefe Things are fogroundlefs, orfogrofs, that it would be tedious to iniift longer upon them. And whereas it is not reafonable to expect that any others fhould be idle enough, as we muft be, to collate three or four Tracts, to difcern where the Advantage lies in thefe fmall Altercations ; I defire only, if they be fo difpos'd, that they would collate the Exceptions , Anfwer, and De- fence in this one Chapter, which is our Author's Matter- Piece : And from this I am willing they fhould take their Meafures, and make a Judgment of his good or badSuc- cefs in other Parts. What Shifts he hath us'd to make his fifteen-cubit De- luge fufficient to dettroy all Mankind, and all Animals, we have noted before; and here it is (/>.i 81,182.) that he reduces them to Famine. And after that he comes to a long Excurfion of feven or eight Pages, about the Imperfection of Shipping after the Flood, Def p. 183, 1 85-, &c. a good Argument for the Theorift, that they had not an open Sea, Iron-Tools, and Materials for Ship- ping before the Flood : For what ihould make them ib inexpert in Navigation for many Years and Ages after the Flood, if they had the Practice and Experience of it before the Flood: And what could hinder their having that Practice and Experience, if they had an open Sea, and all Iron and other Materials, for that Ufe and Purpofe ? Laftly, he comes to his Notion of the great Deep, or r Jtehom-Rabbah, Def. p. 191. which he had made before, in exprefs Words, to be the Holes and Caverns in the Rocks ; I fay, in exprefs Words, fuch as thefe, Exc. p. 312. Now fnppofing that the Caverns in the Mountains were this great Deep, fpeaking of Mofes's great Deep, according to this new Hypothefis. He fays farther, (/MOf.) In cafe it be urgd, that Caverns, efpe daily Caverns fo high fituate, cannot properly be called the great Deep. Where you fee his own Objection fuppofes that he made thofe Caverns the great Deep. And in the fame Page, fpeaking of the Pfalmift's£r elementa : His inquam poflhabitis, popularem narrationem de ortu rerum hoc modo inftituit: Res omnes vifibiles infex clajfes, &c. This is a piain Indication how the Theorift underftood that Cofmo- poeia: And accordingly in the Englijh Theory the Author fays, £.402. &c. / have not mention 'd MofesV Cofmo- poeia, becaufe I thought it delivered by him as a Law-giver y not as a c Philofopher ; which I intend to poevj at large in another Treatife, not thinking that 2)ifcuJJion proper for the vulgar Tongue. The Exceptor was alfo minded of this in the Anfwer, p. 66. Now, 'tis much that he, who hath fearch'd all the Corners, both of the Englifo and Latin, Theory, to pick Quarrels, fhould never obferve fuch ob- vious Paffages as thefe, but ftill make Objections from the Letter of the Mofaical Cofmopoeia, which affect the Theorift no more than thofe Places of Scripture that fpeak Exceptions againfl the Theory of the Earth, 519 fpeak of the Motion of the Sun, or the Pillars of the Earth. In the laft Place, the Theorift diftinguifh'd two Me- thods for explaining the natural World, that of an ordi- nary, and that of an extraordinary Providence : Andthofe that take the fecond Way, he faid, might difpatch their Task as foon as they pleas'd, if they engag'd Omnipo- tency in the Work. But the other Method would require Time, it muft proceed by diftindt Steps, and leifurely Mo- tions, fuch as Nature can admit ; and, in that Refpedt, it might not fuit with the bufy Lives, or impatient Studies of moft Men, whom he left notwithstanding to their Li- berty, to take what Method they pleas'd, provided they were not troublefome in forcing their hafty Thoughts upon all others. Thus the Theorift hath exprefs'd him- felf at the End of the firft Book, c. 12. Interea cum non omnes a natura ita compojiti Jimus, ut Philofophia Jludiis deletlemur : Neque etiam lice at multis, propter occupationes vita, iifdem vac are, quibus per ingenium licuiffet; its jure fermittendum ejl, compendiario fapere, £5* reliSiis viis na- tura & caufarum fecundarum, qua fape longiufcula funt, per caufas fuperiores philofophari ; idque potijfimum, cum ex piis affettibus hoc quandoque fieri pojjit ; quibus, vel male fundatis, aliquid dandurn ejfe exiflimo, modo non (int tur- bulenti. Thus the Theorift, you fee, fets two Ways before them; and 'tis indifferent to him whether they take, if they will go on their Way peaceably. And he docs now, more- over, particularly declare, That he hath no Ambition, ci- ther to make the Exceptor, or any other of the fame Dif- pofitions of Will, and the lame Elevation of Underf land- ing, Profelytes to his Theory. Thus much for Providence; As to the literal Senfe of Scripture, I find, if what was noted before in the Anfwer, p. 82, 83, &c. had been dulyconfider'd, there would be little need of Additions upon that Subject. The Matter was ftated freely and diftinctly, and the Remarks or Re- flections which the Exceptor hath made in his Defence upon this Doctrine, are both fhallow and partial. I fay partial, in perverting the Senfe, and feparating inch Things as manifestly depend upon one another. Thus the Ex- ceptor falls upon that Expreffion in the An five r, Def. p. 202. Let us remember that this contradicting Scripture, here pre- tended, is only in natural Things, where he fhould have added the other Part of the Sentence, and alfo ebferve how far the Exceptor himfelf, in fuch Things, hath contradUied L 1 4 Scripture, 5 2c r A fbort Conjideration of the Defence of the Scripture. Here he makes an odious Declamation, asff the Anfwerer had confefs'd that he contradicted Scripture in natural Things ; whereas the Words are contradicting Scripture, here pretended; and 'tis plain by all the Dil- courfe, that 'tis the literal Senfe of Scripture that is here fpoken of, which the Exceptor is alfo faid to contradict. Such an unmanly Captioufnefs fhews the Temper and Meafure of that Spirit, which, rather than fay nothing, will mifreprefent the plain Senfe of an Author. In like man- ner, when he comes to thofe Words in the Anfwer, The Cafe therefore is this, whether to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture in Things that relate to the naturallVorld, be dejlroying the Foundation of Religion, affronting Scrip- ture, and blafpheming the Holy Ghoft. Def.p.io6. He fays, This is not to ftate the Cafe truly, for it is not, fays he, going contrary to the Letter of Scripture that draws fuch C7>il Confequences after it, but going contrary to the Letter of Scripture, where itisunderftood: And this the Theorifl does, he fays, and the Exceptor does not. But who fays fo befides himfelf ? This is fairly to beg the Queftion ; and can he fuppofe the Theorifl: fo eafy as to grant this without Proof? It muft: be the Subje&Matter that deter- mines, what is, and what is not, to be literally under- Itood. However, he goes on, begging frill the Queftion in his own behalf, and fays, Thofe Texts of Scripture, that fpeak of the Morion and Courfe of the Sun, are not to be underftood literally. But why not ?' Becaufethe li- teral Senfe is not to his Mind? Of four Texts of Scrip- ture which the Theorifl: alledg'd againll him, for the Mo- tion of the Sun, he anfwers but one, and that very fu- perficially, to fay no worfe. 'Tis Pfal. xix. where the Sun at his riling is faid to be as a Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber, and to rejoice as a flrong Man to run his Race : And his going forth is from the end of the Heaven, and his Circuit to the end of it, p. 207. which he anfwers with this vain Flourifh : Then the Sun muflbe a Man, and muft be upon his Marriage, and muft be drefs'd in fine Clothes, as a Bridegroom is : Then he muft come out of a Chamber, and muft give no more Light, and caft no more Heat, than a Bridegroom does, &c. If a Man fhould ri- dicule at this rate, the Difcourfe of our Saviour con- cerning Lazarus in Abraham % Bofom, and D/fwin Hell, with a great Gulph betwixt them, yet talking audibly to one another; Luk. xvi. and that Lazarus fhould be fent fo far, as from Heaven to Hell, only to dip the Tip of his Exceptions againfl the Theory of t/je Earth. 521 his Finger in Water, and cool 'Dives's Tongue. He that ihould go about thus to expofe our Saviour's Parable, would have a thanklefs Office, and effecl nothing : For the Subltance of it would Hand good dill ; namely, that M ens Souls live after Death, and that good Souls are in a State of Eafe and Comfort, and bad Souls in a State of Mifery. In like manner, his ridiculing fome Circumltan- ces in the Comparifon made by the Pfalmift, does not at all deltroy the Subltance of that Difcourfe; namely,that the Sun moves in the Firmament, with great Swiftnefs and Luftre, and hath the Circuit of its Motion round the Earth. This is the Subltance of what the Pfalmift de- clares, and the reft is but a Similitude, which need not be literally jult in all Particulars. After this, he would fain perfuade the Theori(t,thathe hath excufed the Exceptor for his receding from the literal Senfe, as to the Motion of the Earth; 2)ef. p. 208. Be- caule he hath granted, that in certain Cafes, we may and mult recedefrom the literal Senfe. Butwhere, pray, hath he granted, that the Motion of the Earth was one of thole Cafes ? Yet fuppofe it be fo 7 may not the Theorilt then enjoy this Privilege of receding from the literal Senfe upon occafion, as well as the Exceptor? If he will give, as well as take this Liberty, let us mutually enjoy it ; but he cau have no Pretence to deny it to others, and take it himfelf. It ufes to be a Rule in Writing, that a Man muft wot ftultum fingere LeSiorem. You mult fup- pofe your Reader to have common Senfe. But he that ac~ cufes another of B la fphemy for receding from the literal Senfe of Scripture in natural Things, and does himfelf at the fame Time, recede from the literal Senfe of Scrip- ture, in natural Things; one would think, quoad hoc, ei- ther had not, or would not exerctfe common Senfe, in a literal Way. Laftly, he comes to the common known Rule, af- fign'd to direcl us, when every one ought, to follow, or leave the literal Senfe; which is, p. 215. not to leave the literal Senfe, when the Subject Matter will bear it, without Absurdity or Incongruity. This he repeats iu the next Page thus. The Rule is, when no kind of Absurdities or Incon- gruities accrue to any Texts, from the literal Senfe. If this be his Rule, to whatTe>,ts does there accrue any Abfur- dity or Incongruity, by fuppoling the Sun to move? For Scripture always fpeaks upon that Supposition, and not one Word for the Motion of the Earth. Thus he Hates the '5 2 2 A fbort Confederation of the Defence of the the Rula ; but the Anfwerer fuppofed, that the Abfurdity or Incongruity might arife from the Subjefi Matter. And accordingly he ftill maintains, that there are as juft Rea- fons, (from the Subject Matter,) and better Authorities, for receding from the literal Senfe in the Narrative of the fix Days Creation, than in thofe Texts of Scripture, that ipeak of the Motions and Courfe of the Sun : And to af- firm the Earth to be movd, is as much Blafphemy^ and more contrary to Scripture, than to affirm it to have been dijfolvd, as the Theorift hath done. Sir, I beg your Excufe for this long Letter, and leave it to you to judge whether the Occafion was juft or no, I know fuch Jarrings as thefe muft needs make bad Mu- fick to your Ears : 'Tis like hearing two Instruments play, that are not inTune, inConcert with one another: But you know Self-Defence, and to repel an AiTailant, is al- ways allow'd; and he that begins the Quarrel, muft an- fwer for the Confequences. However, Sir, to make amends for this Trouble, I am ready to receive your Commands upon more acceptable Subjects. Tour mofi humble Servant^ &c. FINIS. REFLECTIONS UPON THE THEORY O F T H E EARTH, Occafion'd by a Late Examination of it. In a Letter to a FRIEND. LONDON: Printed for J. Hooke, at the Flower-de-Luce in Fleet-Street. M. DCC. XXVI. Advertiftmcnt of the Bookfeller. THE following 'I rail hath been much enquired after by fame curious Perfons, but was fo fcarce^ that a Copy could not be procured at the Time of the Printing the former Edition of the Theory. Since that % an intimate Friend of Dr. Burnet'* hath favoured me with a Copy ; fo that the Reader may be afjured, it is genuine, and was wrote by Dr. Burnet ; and it is apprehendedy it may very well defcrvc a Place in hii Works. REFLECTIONS, 8V. Receiv'd the Honour of your Letter, with the Book you was pleas'd to fend me, con- taining an Examination of the Theory of the Earth : And, according as you defire, f fliall give you my Thoughts of it, in as nar- row a Compafs as I can. The Author of the Theory, you know, hath fet down in three Propor- tions, the Foundation of the whole Work; and fo long as thofe Propofitions ftand firm, theSubftanceof theTheery is fafe, whatfoever becomes of particular Modes of Ex- plication in fome Parts ; which are as Problems, and may be explained feveral Ways, wirhout prejudice to the Principles upon which the Theory (lands. TheTheorift takes but one finglePoftulatum,^. That the Earth rofe from a Chaos: This is not calFd intoQue- ftion ; and this beinggranted, he lays down three Propofi- tions confecutively. Firft, That the primitive or ante-di- luvian Earth was of a different Form and Conflruflionfrorn the prejent Earth. Secondly, 7 hat the Face of that Earth, as it rofe from a Chaos, was fmooth, regular and uniform ; without Mountains or Rocks, and without an open Sea. Thirdly, That the 2)ifruption of the Absf, or c Dijfolution of that primeval Earth, and its Fall into the Absfs, was the Caufe of the univerfal Deluge, and oj the Deflruilion of the old World: As alfo of the irregular Form of the prefent Earth. Thefe are the three Fundamental Propofitions laid down in the fourth, fifth and fixth Chapters of the Theory. And for a farther Proof and Confirmation of them, efpe- cially of the laft, another Propofition is added QChap.VU.) in thefe Words, The prefeni Form and Structure of the Eartlt $i6 Reflections uj>on the Earth, both as to the Surface , and as to the interior Parts of it, fo far as they are accejjible and known to us, do exactly anjwer to the foregoing Theory, concerning the Form and Diffolution of the firji Earth, and is not fo jujily explained by any other Hypothejis yet known. This is of- fer'd as a Proofs Pojie'risri, as they call it, or from the Effects; to fhew the Confent and Agreement of the Parts and Construction of the prefent Earth, to that Supposition of its being a fort of Ruin, or the Effect and Remains of aDifruptionorDilTolution. And to make this good, the Theorist draws a fhort Scheme of the general Form of the prefent Earth, and its Irregularity : Then (hews more particularly the Marks or Signatures of Ruin or Disrup- tion in feveral Parts of it; as in Mountains and Rocks, in the great Chanel of the Sea, and in fubterraneous Ca- vities, and other broken and disfigur'd Parts of the Earth. Thefe Conclusions, with their Arguments, are the Sum and principal Contents of the firft Book; but I muft alfo mind you of a Corollary in the fecond Book, drawn from thefe primary Propositions, which concerns the Situation of the primitive Earth : For the Theorift fuppofes, that the Pofture of that Earth, or of its Axis, was not oblique to the Axis of the Sun, or of the Ecliptick, as it is now, but lay parallel with the Axis of the Sun, and perpendi- cular to the Plane of the Ecliptick ; by reafon of which Position, there was a perpetual Spring, orperpetual Equi- nox, in that primitive Earth. This, tho' a Confequence only from the firft Propositions, I thought fit to mind you of, as being one of the peculiar and diftinguifhing Charac- ters of this Theory. This being the State of the Theory, or of thofe Parts of it that fnpport the reft, and wherein its Strength confifts, he that will attack it to purpofe, muft throw down, in the flrft Place, thefe leading Propositions. If the Examiner had taken this Method, and confuted the Proofs that are brought in Confirmation of each of them, he needed have done no more; for the Foundation being deftroyed, the Superstructure would fall of its own accord. But if, in- ftead of this, you only pick out a loofe Stone here or there, or ftrike off a Pinacle, this will not weaken the Foundation, nor have any considerable Effect upon the whole Building. Let us therefore consider, in the firft Place, what this Examiner hath faid againft thefe fundamen- tal Propositions, and accordingly you wi'.l betterjjudge of the reft of his Work. Hi^ firft Chapter is to fhew, that the Deluge might be made Theory of the Earth, 517 made by a Miracle: But whoever denied that? No doubt God by his Omnipotency may do whatfoever he pleafes, to the utmoft Extent of Poflibilities. But he does not tell us wherein this Miracle confided? Doth he fuppofe that the Deluge could be made without any Increale of Wa- ters upon the Earth? If there was an Incrcafe of Waters, either they were created a-new, or brought thither from fome other Part of the Univerfe : So far is plain ; and if he fuppofes a new Creation of Waters for this Purpofe, and an Annihilation of them again at theend of the Flood, it had been fair to have anfwered the Arguments that are given againfl that Hypofhefis, in the third Chapter of the Englifo Theory. And feeing there is no mention made of any fuch ching in the facrcd Hiftory, if he aiferts it, he muft bring fome Proof of his Afferu'on ; for wc are not upon fuch Terms, as to truft upon bare Word. On the other Hand, if he proceed upon fuch Waters as were al- ready in being, and for his purpofe either bring down fu- percelcltial Water, or bring up iubterraneous, he muft tell us what thofe Waters are, and mu{Vanfwer fuch Objecti- ons as are brought againft either fort in the fecond and third Chapters of the Theory; we rnuft have fome fix'd Point, fome Mark to aim at, if the Cafe be argued. Up- on the whole, I think this hisflrft Chapter might have been fpar'd, as either affirming nothing particularly, or giving no Proof of what is afErm'd. In his next Chapter about the Chaos, I was in hopes to have found fomething moreconfiderable, but (befides his long excerpta out of the Theory, both here and elfewhere, which make a good part of his Book) I find nothing but two fmall Objections againft the Formation of the flrir. Earth, as it is defcrib'd by the Theorifi. This Examiner fays, p. 37, 38. That the little earthy Particles of the Chaos would not fwim upon the Surface of Oil, or any fuch unctuous Liquor; for how little foever, yet being earthy, and Earth being heavier than Oil, they muftde- fcend through it. But he grants that Duft will fwim up- on Oil ; and I willingly allow, if thefe defcending Parts were huge Lumps offolid Matter, fuch as we jhall meet with in his next Chapter, they would eafily breakthrough both the Oil and the Water under it; but that little tenui- ous Particles or fmall Dull fliould fwim upon Oil, I think is no wonder : And he is fo kind as to note an Inftance of this himfelf, and to fubjoin his Reafons for it. We fee Duff, faith he, ^.38, 39. though fpecirically heavier than Oil, yet not to fink when caft upon it. AndtheReafon is. 528 Reflections upon the is, becaufe all terreftrial Bodies, tho' fluid in their kind yet in fome degree refift Separation; and confequently f add, vifcous Liquors which have fome iort of Entangle- ment amongft themfelves, refift Separation more than o- thers. Then he remarks farther, that according as Bo- dies are lefs, they have more Surface in Proportion to their Bulk, and confequently, that fmall Bodies, whofe IVe'tght or Force to feparate the Parts of the Fluid is but very little may have a Surface fo large , that they cannot overcome the Rejijlance of the Fluid: That is, they cannot make IV ay for their Defcent through the Fluid, and therefore mufl fwrm upon the Surface of it. Be it fo, then the Particles here mentioned by the Theorift, being little, and of large Sur- faces in Proportion to their Bulk, would fwim upon the Surface of the Fluid, or mix with it, which is all the Theorift affirms or fuppofes : And as this tender Film grew into a Crufr, and that into a folid Arch, the Parts of it would mutually fupport one another; the Concave Superficies of the Orb over/preading and leaning upon the Waters : And this alfofhews that his Inftance of a folid Globe finking in a Fluid, is'Iittle to thePurpofe in this Cafe. But he hath a fecond Objection behind, p. 40. or ano- ther Confideration to prove that thofe little Particles would pierce and pafs through this oily Liquid. This Confidera- tion is, the great Height of the Place from which they defcended ; whereby, he thinks, they would acquire fuch a Celerity and Force in their Defcent, that they mult needs break through this Orb of oily Liquors when they came at it. But this is to fuppofe that they defcended without Interruption, or without having their Courfe ftopp'd, and their Force broken in feveral Parts of their Journey. This is an arbitrary and groundlefsSuppofition : Forthefe floating Particles did not fall like a Stone, or a ponderous Body, in one continued Line, but rather like Fleaks of Snow, hovering and playing in the Air, their Courfe be- ing often interrupted and diverted, aud their Force bro- ken again and again, before they came to the end of their Journey; fo that this Suggeftion can be of no Force or Effect in the prefent Cafe. However, if that will gratify him, we can allow that thoufands and millions of thefe little Particles might flip or creep through this. clammy Liquor, yet there would enough of them be entangled there to make it, firft, agrofs Liquid, then a fort of Con- cretion, fo as to flop the fucceeding Particles from paf- ling through it. I have done with all that is argumentative in this Chapi- ter : Theory of the Earth. 5x9 ter : But this Writer is pleafed to go ibmetimes out of his way of Philofophifing, to make Reflections of another kind. Accordingly, here and elfewhere he makes Insi- nuations and Suggestions, as if the Thcoriit did not own the Hand of Providence, or of a particular and extraordinary Providence in the Formation of the Earth ; cr as if all Things in the great Revolutions of the natural World were carried on iblely by material and mechanical Caufcs. This SuggeftiOn ought to be taken Notice of, as being contrary to the Senfe of the Theorift, as it is exprefs'd in feveral Places. Infpeakingof the Motions of the Chaos, the The- orift makes the fleady Hand of Providence which keep all '"Things in Weight and Meafure, to be the invijible Guide of_ all its Motions, p. 45-. And in concluding his Difcourie about the Formation of the (Earth {Chap. V. p> 4^.) the Theorift fays, This Structure is fo marvellous, that it ought rather to be conjider'd, as a particular Effedl of the Divine Art, than as the Work of Nature ; with many other Re- marks there to the fame purpofe. ThenastotheDuTolu- tion of the Earth, and the Conduct of the Deluge, 'tis made miraculous alfo by the Theorift * : And upon that Occalion an Account is given of Providence, both ordinary and ex- traordinary, in reference to the Government of Nature; and that not only as to the Formation and DiiTolutionof theEarth, but alfo as to its Conflagration and Renovation : For the Theorift always puts thofe great Revolutions un- der the particular Conduct and Moderation of Providence. Laftly, As to the whole Univerfe,he is far from making that the Product either of Chance or Necejfity, or of any purely material or mechanical Caufes; as you may fee at large in the two laft Chapters of the Theory, Book II. So that what this Author hath faid (rudely enough, accord- ing to his Way) ofMv.Wotton, Introd. p. 15-. that he either underftands no Geometry, or elfe that he never read D. C. his Principles, may with a little Change be apply 'd to himfelf in this Cafe, that either he never read over, or does not remember, or, which is ftill worfe, does wilfully mifreprefent what the Theorift hath wrote upon this Subject. The Sum of all is this, Deus non deficit in ncceJJ'ariis, nee redundat in fuperfluis : God is the God of Nature; and the Laws of Nature are his Laws : Thefewe are to follow fo far as they will go, and where they fall Ihort, wemuftrife to higher Principles-, but weoughtnot to introduce a needlefs Exercife of the divine Power, for a Cover to our Ignorance. * Ei'sL Tbw. Qh*<>. VIII. r. i + i, &t. M m To 53© Reflections upon the To conclude this Chapter, I will leave one Advertife- ment with the Examiner concerning the Chaos. When he fpeaks of the World's riling from the Mofaick Chaos, if by#V/^heunderftand the whole Univerfe,ashefeems to do ; not this inferior World only, but the fix'd Stars alfo, and all the Heavens : If that, I fay, be his Mean- ing and Opinion, he will meet with other Opponents be- iides the Theorift, that will conteft that Point with him. We come now to the third Chapter, concerning the Mountains of the Earth^Which is a Subject indeed that de- fences Confederation, feeing it reaches to the three funda- mental Proportions before mentioned, and the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth ; which 1' orm the Examiner would have to be the fame with that of the prefent Earth, to have had Mountains and Rocks, an open Chanel of the Sea, with all the Cavities and Irregularities within or without the Surface of it, as at prelent. If he can prove this, he needs go no farther ; he may fpare his Pains for the reft : I'll undertake that the Theorift fhall make no farther De- fence of his Theory, if the Examiner can make good Proof of this one Conclufion. But, on the other Hand, the Examiner ought to be fo ingenuous as to acknow- ledge that all that he hath faid belides, till this be prov'd, can be of little or no Effect, as to the Subftance of the Theory. Let us then confider how he raifes Mountains and Rocks, and gives us an Account of all the other In- equalities that we find in the prefent Form of the Earth, by an immediate Formation or Deduction from the Chaos. To fhewthis, hefuppofes, p. 49, 5-1. that the Chaos had Mountains and Rocks fwimming in it, or, according to his Expreflion, huge Lumps of [olid Matter. Thefe are Things, I confefs, which I never heard of before in a Chaos ; which hath been always defcrib'd and fuppos'd a Mafs of fluid Matter all over. But this Author confidently fays, p. 48. We mujl conclude THE R E FO R E, that the Chaos was not fo fluid a Mafs, &c. This therefore refers us to an antecedent Reafon, which is this; he fays, ibid, to make the Chaos an entirely fluid Mafs is hard to be gran- ted, fince the greatejl Parts of Bodies we have in the Earthy at leafl fo far as we can difcern, are hard and J olid, and there is not fuch a Quantity of Water in the Earth, as would be reqxifite tofoften and liquify them all ; befides a great part of them, as Stones and Metals, are uncap able of being liquified by Water. Very good, what is this to the Theory ? Does the Theorift any where affirm or fuppofe that there were Stones Theory of the Earth. 5 3 i Stones or Metals in the Chaos; or that they were liquified by Water ? This mult refer to lbme Hypothecs of his own, or to fome other Author's Hypothecs that ran in his Mind : TheTheorift owns no fuch Doftrine or Sup- pofition. However, let's confider how this new Idea of aChaos is con fiftent with the Laws of Nature: What made thefe huge Lumps of folid Matter, whether Stone or Metal, to fwim in the fluid Mafs ? This is againit all Rules of Gra- vity, and of Staticks, as he feems to acknowledge, and urged it when he thought it to his Purpofe. In the prece- dent Chapter fj>-4 2 -) when he fpeaks of Stones and Mi- nerals, he fays, 'Tis certain that thefe great heavy Bodies mu(l have funk to the Bottom, if they were left to thvmfe Ives : And he that will not allow Dull or littleearthy Particles, to float upon an oily Liquor, I wonder how he will make, not little Particles, but thefe huge folid Lumps of Stone, Metals, or Minerals, to float in the Chaos. He feemsto own and befenfible of this Inconvenience, (p. SO.) and thereupon finds an Expedient or Evaiion Which a lefTer Wit would not have thought on. He fnp- pofes, p. si- that thefe huge firm folid Lumps were hol- low, like empty Bottles, and that would keep them from finking. But who told him they were hollow? Is not this precarious? Or, if one would ufe fuch Terms as he does, is not this chymerical andridiculous 2 . What made thofe fo- lid firm Lumps hollow? When, or where, or how were their inward Parts fcrap'd out of them? Nor would this Hollownefs, however they came by it, make them fwim, unlefs there was a mere Vacuum in each of them. If they were filled with the liquid Matter of the Chaos, they would indeed be lighter than if wholly folid"; but they would flill be heavier than any equal Bulk of the fluid Chaos, and confequently would fink in it; the Preponderancy that would an'fefrom the Shell or folid Part ftill remaining. Now let's confider how fuch Mountains, or long Ridges of Mountains as we have upon the Earth, were formed and fettled by thefe floating Lumps. He lays, p. 50, fi. Part of thefe Lumps or Majfes /landing out, or being higher than the Fluids would compofe a Mountain, as there are Mountains of Ice that float upon the Northern Seas. But are not Mountains of Rock and Stone, fuch as ours com- monly are, heavier than Mountains of Ice, that is fpecifi- cally lighter than Water? This might have been conlider'd by the Examiner in drawing the Parallel : And ftill I'm at a Lofs what Fluid it is he means, when he fays, Thefe M m 2 Lump ^2 Reflections upon the Lumps or Mattes ftanding out, or being higher than thi Fluid. Does he mean by this Fluid the whole Chaos? Did thefe Mountains ftand at the Top of the Chaos, partly within, and partly above it? Then what drew them down below, if they flood equally pois'd there in their Fluid, and as high as the Moon, if the Chaos reach'd fo high. This, one would think, could not be his Meaning, 'tis fo extrava- gant; and yet there was no other Fluid than the general Chaos, till that was divided and diftinguifh'd into ieveral Maffes. Then, indeed, there was an Abyfs, or Region of Waters that covered the interior Earth, and was fepa- rate from the Air above. Let us then fuppofe this Abyfs to be the Waters or Fluid this Author means, upon which his Mountains ftood; then the reft of the Earth, as it came to be form'd,muft be continu'd and join'd with thefe Moun- tains, and in like Manner laid over the Waters; fo as in this Method, you fee, we fhould have an Orb of Earth built over the Abyfs. This is a very favourable Stroke for the Theorift, and grants him in Effect his principal Conclu- iion^viz. That the firjl ante-dilwvian Earth was built over the Abyfs: This being admitted, there could benouniver- fal Deluge without a Difruption of that Earth, and anE- ruption of the Abyfs, which is a main Point gain'd. And 'tis plain we make no falfe Logick in collecting this from his Principles and Conceffions : For, as we faid before, if thefe Mountains were founded upon the Abyfs, they mull: have a Continuity and Conjunction with the reft of the Surface of the Earth, if they were fuch as our Mountains are now, and fo all the habitable Earth muft be fpread upon the Abyfs. But ftill he hath another Difficulty to encounter, how the great Chanel of the Sea was made upon this Suppofi- tion: Why was not that Part of the Globe fill'd up by the Defcent of the earthy Particles of the Chaos as well as the reft ? The Chanel of the Ocean is commonly fup- pos'd to take up half of the Globe, how came this gaping Gulph to remain unfill'd, feeing it was encompafs'd with the Chaos as well as any other Parts? Was the Motion of the Particles fufpended from defcending upon that Part of the Globe; or were they fill'd up at firft, and after- wards thrown out again to make room for the Sea ? This may deferve hisConiideration, as well as the Mountains : And how dextrous foever this Author may be in other Things I know not, but, in my Mind, he hath no good Hand in making Mountains; and I'm afraid he would have no better Succefs informing the Chanel of the Sea, which he is wifely pleafed to take no Notice of. And Theory of the Earth. 5^3 And indeed the Examiner feems to be fenfible himfdf that he hath no good Luck in aligning the efficient Caufes of Mountains from the Chaos, and therefore he is wil- ling to bear off from that Point, and to lay the whole Strefs upon their final Caujes, without any regard to their Origin, or how they came firft into being. His Words are thefe, p. 5-2. But fuppofing the efficient Caufes of Moun- tains unknown, or impoffible to be affigrid, yet ftill there re- main the final Caufes to be enquired into, which will do as well for our'Purpofe, with what follows there concerning thofe Authors that exclude final Caufes. If there be fuch Authors, let them anfwer for themfelves, theTheorift is jiot concern'd. Grant the firft Point, that Mountains could not arife from any known efficient Caufes in the firft Concretion of the Chaos, or in the firft habitable Earth that rofe from it, the Theorift readily allows (as appears fully in the two laft Chapters of the fecond Book of the Eng. Theor.) the Ufe of final Caufes in the Contemplation of Nature, as being great Arguments of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God. But this ought not to exclude the ef- ficient Caufes in a Theory, otherwife it would be noThe- ory, but a Work of another Nature. Though a Man knew the final Caufeof a Watch or Clock, namely, to tell him the Hour of the Day, yet, if he did not know the Con* ftruction of its Parts, what was the Spring of Motion, what the Order of the Wheels, and how they mov'd the Hand of the Dial, he could not be faid to underftand that little Machine; or at leaf! not to underftand it fo well as he that knew the Conftruction and Dependance of all its Parts, in virtue whereof that Effect was brought to pafs. In many Cafes we do not underftand the final Caufes, and in many we do not underftand the efficient; but,not- withftanding, we muft endeavour, fo far as we are able, to join and underftand them both; the End and the Means to it : For by the one, as well as the other, the divine Power and Wifdom are illuftrated; and feeing every Ef- fect hath its efficient Caufe, if we cannot reach it, we muft acknowledge our Speculations to be fo far imperfect. After this Excurfion about final Caufes, he concludes, p. 5-4. That it is impoffible to fubjift or live without Rocks or Mountains ; confequently no Earth is habitable with- out Rocks and Mountains. But how can he tell this ? Hath he been all over the Univerfe to make his Obferva- tions ? or hath he had a Revelation to tell him that there is no one habitable Planet throughout all the Works of God, but what is of the fame Form with our Earth as t'a M m 3 Rocks <; 3 4 Reflections upon the Rocks and Mountains. Who hath ever obferv'd Moun- tains and Rocks in Jupiter, or in the Remains of Saturn 7 . I fhould think fuch a general AfTertion as he makes, a bold and unwarrantable Limitation of the divine Omnifcience and Omnipotency. Who dares conclude that the infinite Wifdom and Power of God is confin'd to one (ingle Mode orFabrick of an habitable World? We know there are many Planets about our Sun befides this Earth, and of different Pofitions and Conftrudtions : Neither do we know baf there may beas many about other Suns, or fix'd Stars : Muft we foppofe that they are all caft in the fame Mold ? that they are all formed after the Model of our Earth, withMountains and Rocks,and Gulphs and Caverns? Urbem, quam dicunt Romam, Meliboee, putavi Stultus ego, huic nojlrce fimilcm. This was the Judgment of the Shepherd, who could imagine nothing different, or nothing better than his own Town or Village ; thofe may imitate him that pleafe. 'Tis true, Suum cuique pulchrum, is an ufual Saying, but we think that to proceed from Fondnefs rather, and Self- Conceit, than from a true and impartial Judgment of Things. In contemplating the Works of God, we ought to have Refpecl to his Almighty and Infinite Wifdom, vviv aoAuTtfiwAov Syji. Cof. f. I 33. Hugtn. C'/nittb. I. 2. /. 1 j ; -. Mm 4 fay ^6 Reflections upon the fay no worfe, for fhort- lighted Creatures, and of narrow Understandings, to prefcribe to Providence what is necef- fliry and indifpenfabie to the Frame and Order of an habi- table World. We proceed to his fourth Chapter ; which is to fhew the Inconveniencies that would fall upon the Inhabitants of the Earth, in cafe it had fuch a Pofture as theTheorift hath afTign'd to the ante-diluvian Earth : Namely, that its Axis was parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick,or perpen- dicular to its Plane, and not oblique as it ftands now. But will this Author vouch, that there are no habitable Planets in the Univerfe,or even about our Sun, that have this Po- fture which he blames fomuch? Jupiter is known to have a perpetual Equinox, and his Axis parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick ; and Mars hath little or no Obliquity that is obfervable. And muft this be a Refledtion upon Provi- dence? Or mull we fuppofe, that thefe Planets have no In- habitants, or that their Habitations are very bad and in- commodious ? Jupiter is the nobleft Planet we have in our Heaven, whether you confider its Magnitude, or the Number of its Attendants. If then a Planet of that Or- der and Dignity, have fuch a Pofition and AfpecT: to the Sun, why might not our Earth have had the fame, proper to that State, and agreeable to the Divine Wifdom? Yet he is fo bold as to fay, or fuppofe, p. 66. That this cannot iv ell agree with the infinite H 7 ifdom of its Maker ; as if he was able to make a Meafure or Standard for all the Works of God. 'Tis a crude and injudicious Thing, from a few Particulars, the reft unknown, to make an univerfal Con- clusion, which forward Wits are apt to do. Ufoq ixtya. ?TieA<=%|^(x£i/©-. — Ad pauca refpiciens, facile pronuncias , was Arijlotle's Obfervation of old, and it holds in all Ages. This Examiner,/?. 76. cenfures theTheorift very rudely, for making life of phyfical Caufes, and not arguing from final Caufes, which, he fays, are the true Principles of natural (Philojophy. But, if this be the Ufe he makes of final Caufes, to tell Gbd Almighty what is beft to be done, in this or that World, I had rather content myfelf with phyfical Caufes,to know what God hath done, and conclude it to be the beft, and that we fhould judge it fo, if we had the fame Extent of Thought and ProfpecT: its Maker had. There are indeed fome final Caufe s that are fo manifeft, that I fhould think ft Sottifhnefs or Obftinacy for a Man to deny them; but I fhould alfo think that Man prefump- tuous, that fhould pretend to draw the Scheme and Plan of every World, from his Idea of final Caufes. There are Theory of the Earth. 537 are fome Men that mightily cry out agamft Reafon, yet none more fond of it than they are, when they can get it on their Side : So fome Men inveigh againit pbyfical Caufes, when others make ufe of them, and yet as gladly as any make ufe of them themfelves, when they can make them ferve their Purpofe; and when they cannot reach them, then they defpife them, and are all fox final Caufes. This Author fays, p. 63. God always cbufes fuchConflitu- tions and 'Pofitions of Things, as bring with them the great- eft Good and Utility to the Univerfe. Very true, to the £/»?'- •verfe ? but who made him judge what is belt to the Uni- verfe? Does he look upon this Earth as the Univerfe, whereof it is but a fmall Particle, or an Atom in com- panion ? Mult there be no Variety in the numberlefs Worlds which God hath made? Mult they all be one and the fameThing repeated again and again ? That I'm fure does not we II agree with' the infinite Wifdom and Power of God. But fuppofe we did confine our Thoughts to this Earth, we may be affur'd that it hath undergone and will under- go, within the Compafs of its Duration, very different States, and yet all accommodate to Providence. Thole that fuppofe the Heavens and the Earth never to have had any other Conltitution and Conftru&ion than what they have now, or that there hath never been any great Change and Revolution in our natural World, follow the very Doctrine which St. 'Peter oppofes and confutes in his fc- cond Epiftle, Chap. 3. I mean the Dodtrine of thofe Scof- fers, as he calls them, who faid, All Things, the Heavens and the Earth, have remained in the fame State they are in now, from the Beginning, ox. from the Creation, and are to continue fo. In Confutation of this Opinion, St. Peter there minds them of the Change made at the Deluge, and of the different Conltitution andConftruction of the Hea- vens and the Earth, before and after the Deluge, whereby they were difpos'd to undergo a different Fate, one by Water, and the othec by Fire. And he tells us in the fame Place, that after the Conflagration, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth: So that there is no one fix'd and permanent State even of this Earth, according to the Will and Wifdom of Providence. But enough hath been faid by the Theoritt upon this Subject ('Theor.Lat. 1. 1. c. 1 & 1. Review, p. 160, CS>V. Archceol. 1. 1. c 3, 5", 6.) And if they will not confider the Arguments propos'd there, 'twould be in vain to repeat them here. Thefe Things premis'd, let's confider what Inconve- niences are alledged, or what Arguments againit that Equa- lity 538 RefleBions upon the lity of Seafons, or the grand Caufe of them, the Paralle- lifm of the Axis of the Earth, with the Axis of the Sun. He fays, upon this Supposition, there is more Heat now in the Climates of the Earth, than could have been then. And what if there be ? Whether his Computation (which is aim'd againft another Author) be true or falfe, 'tis little to the Theory : If the Heat was equal and moderate in the temperate and habitable Climates, who would defire the extreme Heats of Summer? But he fays, p. 66. That Heat would not be fufficient for the Generation of Vege- tables. How does that appear? fuppofing that Heat con- {lant throughout the whole Year. Does he think there are no Vegetables in Jupiter, which hath ftill the fame Pofi- tion the Theorist gave to the ante-diluvian Earth. And as to Heat, that Planet is at vaftly a greater Diftance from the Sun than our Earth, and confequently hath fo much lefsHeat ; yet I cannot believe that great Planet to be only a huge Lump of bald and barren Earth. As to our ante- diluvian Earth, 'tis probable that the Constitution of Plants and Animals, was different then from what it is now, as their Longevity was different, to which any Exceffes of Heat or Cold are noxious ; and the Frequency and Multiplicity of Generations and Corruptions in the prefent Earth, is Part of that Vanity to which it was fub- je&ed. But this Examiner fays moreover, If the firft Earth had that Pofition, the greateft Part of it would not be habitable. But how much lefs habitable would it be than the prefent Earth ? where the open Sea, which was not then, takes up half of its Surface, and makes it un- habitable. 'Tis likely the torrid Zone was unhabitable in that Earth; but 'tis probable the Poles or Polar Parts were more habitable than they are now, feeing they would have the Sun, or rather Half-Sun perpetually in their Ho- rizon: And as to the temperate Climates, as we call them, they would be under fuch a gentle and conftant Warmth, as would be more grateful to the Inhabitants, and more proper and effectual for a continual Verdure and Vegeta- tion, than any Region of the prefent Earth is now. Bur thisObjc&or does not confider, on the other hand, what an hard Life they would lead in thofeDays, at leaft in many Parts of the Earth, if the Seafons of the Year were the fame they are now, and they confin'd to Herbs, Fruits, and Water; for that was the Diet of Mankind till the Deluge. Should we not think it an unmerciful Impo- fition now, to be interdicted theUfe of Flefh-Meat all the Year long ? Or rather is it poflible that the Life of Man could Theory of the Earth. 5-39 could be fupported by Herbs and Fruits, and Water in the colder Climates, where the Winters are fo long and barren, and the Cold fo vehement > But, if you fuppofe a perpetual Spring throughout the Earth, the Heavens mild, and the Juices of Fruits and Plants more nutritive, that Objection would ceafe, and their Longevity be more intelligible. We come now to the Caufes of the Change in the Po- fture of the Earth, where the Theorilt hath let down his Conjectures, what he thought the molt probable to be the Occalion of it: Namely, either fome Inequality in the Libration of the Earth, after it was diflblved and bro- ken ; or a Change in the Magnetifm of its Body, confe- quent upon its Diffolution, and the different Situation of its Parts. But this Examiner will neither allow any Change to have been made in the Polition of the Earth fince the Beginning of the World; nor. if there was a Change, that it could be made from fuch Caufes. The firir of thefe Points you fee is Matter of Fad ; and fo it muft be prov'd, partly byHiftory,and partly byReafon. Some Things are noted before, which argue that the ante-diluvian Earth was different from the prefent, in its Frame and Conftitution, as alfo in reference to the Heavens; and the Places are referred to, where the Matter is treated more largely by theTheorift. If it be granted, that there was a permanent Change made in the State of Nature at the Deluge, or any other Time, but deny'd that it was made by a Change of the Situation of the Earth, and the Conferences of it, then this Writer muft affign fome other Change made, which would have the fame Effects ; that is, which will anfwer and agree with the Phenomena of the firft Earth, and alio of the prefent. When this is done, if it be clear and conviclive, we muft acquiefce in it: But 1 do not fee that it is fo much as attempted by this Author. This fuppos'd Change, I fay, is Matter of Fact, and therefore we muft confult Hiltory and Reafon for the Proof or Difproof of it. As to Hiftory, theTheorift hath cited to this Purpofe Leucippus, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Empedocles, Plato and Diogenes. Thefe were the moft re- nowned Philofophers amongft the Antients; and all thefe fpeak of an Inclination of the Earth or the Poles, which hath been made in former Ages. Thefe, one would think, might beallow'd as good WitnefTes of a former Tradition concerning a Change in the Situation of the Earth, when nothing is brought againft them. And this Change is par- ticularly calPd by Tlato avap^orr«or The n as to the Pofition of Jupiter, I know not whence he has this certain Obfervation, that its Axis is oblique to the Plane of its Orbit: For \Hugenius tells usjuftthe con- trary, and that it hath a perpetual Equinox. Let thefe Things be examin'd, and hereafter let us be cautious how we take Things upon the Examiner's Word, if he be found to have committed two Faults in one Objection. Farthermore, he intimates, {p . 94.) that the Theorift hath no Mind to the Notion of Attraction ; I believe fo too, nor in Philofophy to any other Notion that is unconceiva- ble. He mull tell us how this Attraction differs from an occult Quality, whether it is a mechanical Principle or no; and if not, from what Principle it arifes. When he hath told us this, we fhall be better able to judge of it. After all, to conclude this Chapter, theonegrand Quef- don with the Theorift (whatfoever there may be with other Authors) is this, whether the Earth has chang'd its Situation flnce the Beginning of the World: And that ic has done fo, the Theorift does ftill pofitively maintain. Having infifted more largely upon thefe four firft Chap- * Engl, f, 230, iff*, l*t. /. J07. f Ctfmotb. p. 135. Nn ten, ^0 Reflexions upon the ters, as being moft fundamental in the Controverfy, we fhn.ll difpatch more readily this fifth and the feventh, lea- ving the fixth Chapter to a more particular Difquifitron in the laft Place. This fifth Chapter is defigned againft the Rivers of the primitive Earth, according to that Origin and Derivation that is given them by theTheorift. But it is to be notedin the firft Place, that fuppofing they had any other Origin or Courfe than what is there affign'd (excepting onlyanOri- fiu from Mountains,) the T^ory continues (till in Force, 'or this Point about the Waters of the firft Earth, and the Explication of them, is one of thofc Explications that admit of Latitude and Variety ; and therefore as to the Theory, the Queflion is only this, Whether an habitable Earth" may have Rivers without Mountains. For if any Earth may have them without Mountains, why not the primitive Earth ? Now it will be hard for the Examiner, or any other, to prove, that in every World, where there are Waters and Rivers, there are Mountains. We intimated before, that the general Frame of an Earth might be fucfi as would give a Courfe to Waters without particular Mountains. But we will leave that at prefent to a farther Confideration, and obferve now what his Proofs are, that there could be no Rivers in the primitive Earth. Firft he fays, p. 87. According to the TheoriJVs own Hy- pothecs, there could be no Rivers for a long Time after the Formation of the Earth. Where is this faid by theTheo- riit ? His Hypothefis fuppofes, that the foftand moift Earth could not but afford Store of Vapours at firft, as this Au- thor in another Place hath noted for theSenfe of the The- orift, (/?.86.) and now he fays the quite contrary: The Chanels of the Rivers indeed would not be fo deep and hollow at firft as they are now,thcir Cavities being wrought by Degrees; but ftill there would not want Vapours to ilipply them. Then he fays, p. 88. Whert that firft Moilture of the Earth was leffened, there could be no Supply of Vapours from the Abyfs; feeing the Heat Of the Sun could not reach fo far, nor raife Vapours from it, or at leaft not in a fufficient Quantity, as he pretends to prove hereafter ; But in the mean Time he fpcaks of great Cracks or Pits, whofeDimenlions and Capacities he examines at Pleafure, and by thefe he makes theTheoriit tofuppofe the Vapours to afcend. Now I do not find that the Theorift makes any Mention of thefe Pits, nor anyUfe of thofe Cracks for that Purpofe. The only Queflion is, whether the Heat of "the Theory of the Earth. \tf the San in that Earth would reach fo low as the Abyfs, when the Earth was more dried, and its Pores enlarg'd : So that this Objection, as he dates it, feems to refer to fome other Author. But now fuppofing theVapours rais'd, he considers wha t Courfe they would take, or which Way they would move in the open Air. But before that be examin'd, we rnuft. take Notice how unfairly hedeals with theTheorift, when he feems to make him fuppofe.J7.94, 95" . that Mountains make way for the Motion and ^Dilatation of the Vapours * which he never fuppos'd, nor is it poflible he ftiould fup- pofe it in the firft Earth, where there were no Mountains. Neither does the Theorift fuppofe, as this Author would infinuate, that Mountains or Cold dilate Vapours, but on the contrary, that they flop and comprefs them, as the Words are cited, even by the Examiner a little before, p. 86„ Then as to the Courfe of the Vapours, when they are rais'd, theTheorift fuppofes that would be towards the ^oles and the coldeft Climates. But this Author fays, p. 97. they would all move Weft ward, or from Eaft to Weft; there being a continual Wind blowing from theEafltoWeJi^ according to the Motion of the Sun. Whether that Wind come from the Motion of the Sun, or of the Earth, (which is contrary,) is another Queftion; but however, let them move at firft to the Weft, the Queftion here is, Where they would be condensed, or where they would fall. And there is little Probability that their Condenfation would be under the Equator, where they are moil agitated, but ra- ther by an Impulfe of new Vapours, they would foon di- vert towards the Poles, and lofing their Agitation there, would fall in Dews or Rains. Which Condenfation be- ing made, and a Paflage open'd that Way for new ones to fupply their Places, there would be a continual Draught of Vapours, from the hotter to the colder Parts of the Earth. We proceed now to the feventh Chapter, which is in a good Meafure upon the fame or a like Subject with this, namely, concerning the Penetration of the Heat of the Sun into the Body of the Earth. This, he fays, p. 14S. cannot be to any confiderable Depth; nor could it pafs the exterior Orb of the firft Earth, and affect: the Abyfs, or raife Vapours from it. To prove this, he fuppofes that ex- terior Earth divided into fo many Surfaces as he pleafes, then fuppofing the Heat diminifhed in every Surface, he concl udes it could not poffibly pafs through fo many. Thus you may divide an Inch into an hundred or a thouland Sur- N n 2, faces,. «|48 Reflections upon the faces, and prove from thence, that no Heat of the Sun could pierce through an Inch of Earth. We mud rather coniider Pores than Surfaces in this Cafe ; and whether thofe Pores were ftraight or oblique, the Motion Would pafs however, though not the Light: And the Heat of the Sun might have its Effect, by a direct or indirect Motion, to a great Depth within the Earth, notwithstanding the Multi- tude of Surfaces that he imagines. Thofe that think a Comet, upon its nearer Approach to the Sun, would be pierc'd with its Heat through and through ; and to fuch a Degree, as to become much hotter than red hot Iron, will not think it ftrange, that at ourDiftance from the Sun, its Heat fhould have fome proportionable Effect upon the in- ward Parts of the Earth. And all thofe imaginary folid Sur- faces do not hinder, you fee, the magnetick Particles from running through the Body of the Earth, and making the Globe one great Magnet. But let thofe Confederations have what Effect they can, this Suppofuion however is nothing peculiar to the The- orift. I know fome learned Men think the Heat of the Sun does penetrate deep into the Bowels of the Earth ; o- thers think it does not, and either of them have their Ar- guments. Thefe alledge the equal Temper of Vaults and Mines at different Seafons of the Year : The other fay, 'tis true, fubterraneous Places keep their Equality of Temper much better than the external Air, and thofe Differences that appear to us, are in a. great Meafure by comparifon with the Temper of our Bodies. Then for their own O- pinion, they take an Argument from the Generation of Metals and Minerals in the Bowels of the Earth, and other fubterraneous Foffiles. Thefe, we fee, are ripen'd by de- grees in feveral Ages, and cannot, as they think, be brought to Maturity, and railed into the exterior Earth, without the Heat and Influence of the Sun : Of the fame Sun that ac- tuates all the vegetable World, that quickens Seeds, and raifes Juices into the Roots of our deepeft, and Tops of our highelt Oaks and Cedars. But let this remain a Problem; I will inftance in ano- ther remarkable Phenomenon, which is molt for theprefent Purpofe, I mean Earthquakes. Let usconfider theCaufes of them, and the Depths of them: I think all agree, that Earthquakes arifefrom the Rarefaction of Vapours and Ex- halations, and that this Rarefaction muft be made by fome Heat; and no other is yet proved to us by this Au- thor than that of the Sun. Then as to the Depth of Earth- quakes, we find they are deeper than the Bottom of the Sea; Theory of the Earth, $49 Sea: For, befides that they communicate with different Countries divided by the Sea, they are found fometimes to arife within the Sea, and from the Bottom of it, at great Depths. This feems to prove, that there may be a ftrong Rarefaction of Vapours and Exhalations far within the Bowels of theEarth ; and theTheorift defires no more. If in the preferrtConftitution of theEarth, there maybe fuch Concuffions and Subverfions for a great Extent, we have no Realbn to believe, but there might be (at a Time appoint- ed by Providence) an univerfal Difruption, as that Earth was constituted. Finally, whatfoever the Caufes of this Difruption and DifTolution were, 'tis certain there was a Difruption of the Abyfs, and that Difruption univerfal as the Deluge was; which anfwers fufficiently the Defign of the 'Theory.' However, if he have a mind to fee, how this agrees with Hiftory, both facred and prophane, he may confult, if he pleafes, what theTheorift hath noted upon that Argument, ArchxolA.x. c.q. befides other Places. But this Author fays farther, That fuppofing fuch aDif- ruption of the Abyfs, and DifTolution of the exterior Earth, no univerfal Deluge however could follow upon it; be- caufe there could not be Water enough left in the Abyfs to make or occafion fuch a Deluge: For the Rivers of the Earth being then fupply'd from the Abyfs, by fuch a Time, or before the Time of the Deluge, he fays, there would be no Water left in it. Thus he goes from one Extreme to another: Before he faid, the Power of the Sun couW not reach or affect the Abyfs to draw out any Vapours from it ; now he would make the Evaporation fo exceffive, that it would have emptied the great Abyfs before the Deluge. This is a great Undertaking, and to make it good he takes a great Compafs : He pretends to fhew us, what Quantity of Water all the Rivers of the Earth throw into the Sea every Day; and beginning with the River Po, and taking his Meafure from that, he fuppofes there are fuch a cer- tain Number of equivalent Rivers upon the Face of the whole Earth ; and if the^Po cafts fo much Water into the Sea, the reft will caft fo much more, and in Concluiion fo much as would empty the Abyfs. You will eafily believe, Sir, there muft be great Uncer- tainties in this Computation: But, if that was certain, as it is far from it, ftill he goes upon Suppofitions that are not allow'd by the Theorift. For, firft, he fuppofes the Wa. ters of the prefent Sea to be equal to the Waters of the great Abyfs : Whereas, fuppofing them of the fame Depth, there would be near twice as much Water in the great N n 3 Dcp '^o Refle-iitons ufon the Deep, as is now in the Ocean ; feeing the Abyfs was ex- tended under the whole Earth, and the Sea reaches but to hair of it. Secondly, He fhould prove that the Rivers of the ante-diluvian Earth were as many, and as great, as: we have now. The Torrid Zone then had none, and much lefs would ferve the temperate Climates than is requilite now for the Earth. Befides, the Rivers of that Earth were not fupplied by Vapours only from the Abyfs, but alfo from all the Earth, and all the Waters upon the Earth : And when the Rivers were partly loft and fpent in the Torrid Zone, they were in a great Meafure exhafd there, and drawn into the Air by the Heat of the.Sun, and would fall again in another Place, to make new Rains and a new Supply to the Rivers, So, in like manner, when he fuppofes,/?. if 8. the Rivers that were upon the Earth, at the Time of the Difruption or the great Deep, to have thrown themfelves off the Land, as if they were loft ; and makes a Computation how much Water all the Rivers of the Earth amount to: This, I fay, is a needlefs Com- putation as to the prefent Purpofe. For whatloever Mafs of Waters they amounted to, it would not be loft : If they fell down and joined with the Abyfs, they would in- creafe its Store, and be thrown up again by theFall of the Fragments, making fo much a greater Mafs to overflow the Earth; So that nothing is gain'd by this Suppofition. The Effect would be the fame as to the Deluge : Whether the Waters above the Earth, and thofe under the Earth met together fooner or later, when their Forces were joined, they would ftill have the fame Effect, as we faid before of the Vapours. And to conclude that Point, the whole Sum of Waters, or Vapours convertible into Waters, that were from the Beginning, or at any Time, would ftill be preferv'd above Ground, or under Ground: And that would turn to the fame Account, as to the Flood. Thefe Waters and Vapours all collected, the Theorift fuppofes fufflcient, upon a Diffolution of the Earth, to make the Deluge : Not indeed in the Nature ot a Stand- ing Pool, as it is ufually conceiv'd ; a quiet Pool, I fay, overtopping and (landing calm over the Heads of the higheft Mountains ; but as a rufhing Sea, overflowing and fweeping them with its raging Waves and impetuous Fluc- tuations, when it was violently forc'd out of all itsCha- nels, and the Vapours condens'd into Rain. Such an In- undation as this, would be fufficient to deftroy both Man and Theory of the Earth. 551 andBeaft, and other Creatures, thofe few excepted, that were miraculouflypreferv'd in the Ark. This is the Theo- ries Explication of the Deluge, and I fee nothing in this Argument, that will deftroy or weaken it. Now, this being the State of the Deluge, according to the Theorifr, what this Author fays in the next Paragraph (p. 167.) is either a Mifreprefentation, or an Equivoca- tion. For the eight Oceans requir'd by theTheorilt,is the Quantity of Water neceffaryfor a Deluge in the Way of a Standing Pool : Whereas this Author reprefents it, as if the Theorift required fo much Water to make a Deluge upon his Hypothecs. This, I fuppofe, upon Reflection, the Author cannot but fee to be a Mittakc, or a wilful Mifreprefentation. This is the Sum of his feventh Chapter : There are be- fides fome Suggestions made,which it may be wereintended for Objections by the Author : As when he fays, (p. ifi.) that the Heat of the Sun would be intolerable upon the Surface of the Earth, if it could pierce and operate upon the Abyfs. We allow, that its Heat was intolerable in the Torrid Zone, which thereby became unhabitable; and there only the Sun was in its full Strength, and had its greateft Etfedt upon the Abyfs. But in the other Climates, the Heat would be moderate enough; nay, fo moderate, that this Author fays in another Place, p. 66, 69, csY. it would not be fufficient to ripen Fruits, and in the Whole, of lefs Force than it is now in the prefentConititution of the Earth. So apt is Contention to cany one out of one Extreme into another. His laft Obje&ion is about the Duration of the Flood, that it could not laft in its Force a hundred and fifty Days, if it had beenmadebyaDilTolutionof the Earth, and an Erup- tion of the Abyfs. But as this is affirm'd by him without Proof, fo the contrary is fufficiently explain'd and made out, both in the Latin and Englijh Theory, p. J2, 5-6. I had forgot to tell him, that he ought not to fuppofe, as he feems to do, when he is emptying the Abyfs, {p. 1 6f-> that after the Torrid Zone was foak'd with Waters by the Iffues of the Rivers, no more Waters or Vapours were drawn from it then, than were before, or confequently no lefs from the Abyfs. For when the middle Parts of the Earth had drunk in thofe Waters, the Force of the Sun would be lefs upon the Abyfs through thofe Parts, and the Vapours would be more and greater from them, than be- fore when they were drier, and in the fame Proportion they needed lefs Supplies from the Abyfs. N114 CHAP, 5$i Reflexions upon the CHAP. VI. Concerning the Figure of the Earth. I" Deferr'd the Confideration of this Chapter to the laft, •■ becaufe I thought it of a more general Concern, and might deferve a fuller Difquifition. 'Tis now, you know, become a common Controverfy or Enquiry, what the Figure of the Earth is. Many think it not truly Sphe- rical, as it was imagin'd formerly, but a Spheroid, either oblong or oblate ; that is, either extended in Length to- ward the Poles, like an oval; or, on the contrary, f wel- ling in Breadth under the Equator, and fo fhorter than a juft Sphere betwixt Pole and Pole, and broad :r in the middle Parts. 'Tis true, theTheorilt is not directly con- cerned in this Controverfy, becaufe he does not in the 'Theory affirm the prefent Earth to be oblong or oval, not knowing what Change might be made at its DifTolution. However, it may be worth the while to enquire what Arguments are bought, either from Caufes or Effects, to determine the Figure of the Earth, whether paft or prefent. 'Tis eafy indeed by Obfervation to determine, that the Earth is a convex Body, not plain, as the Epicureans fanfied ; and convex on all Sides, and therefore in fome fort or- bicular; but whether it be truly fpherical, thofe common Obfervations will not determine. The Theorift nam'd and pointed at fuch Obfervations, as he thought would be moft likely to difcoverthe precife Figure of the Earth: As to obferve, for Inftance, whether the Extent of aDe- gree was the fame all the Earth over, in different La- titudes, or at different Diftances from the Equator. Then to obferve whether the Shade of the Earth in a total E- clipfe of the Moon be truly round, or any other ways irregular. And alfo to oblerve, if towards the Poles, the Return of the Sun into their Horizon, be according to the Rules of a fpherical Surface of the Earth. Let us confider thefe feparately, as to the prefent Earth. As to the Meafure of a Degree id different Latitudes, we find that Authors are not all of the fame Mind. Some will have them unequal, and in fuch a manner, accord- ing to their Diltance from the Equator, as from that to infer, that the Earth is oblong. This Examiner takes Notice of Dr. Eifenfmidtus ', as one that hath made that Obfervation, and that Inference from it, and gives him very rude Words upon that occafion, making him a Man of prodigious Stupidity , and Car ekfnefs, p. 140. and one tha.t Theory of the Earth. if^s that did not underfland tbefirfljix Elements of Euclid, or indeed thofe of common Senfe, p. 143. Whatfoever this ProfeiTor was, he was not the firft that made that Obferva- tion and Inference. For another Mathematician, better known, had made the fame, fome time before him : I mean Milltet Defc bales, in hi s general Principles of Geography, Fr. /.i. propof.29. But, 'tis true, he lays, this Conjecture of his, that the Figure of the Earth is ovalorecliptick, would not be well grounded, if the Shade of the Earth in Lunar Eclipfes was found to be always perfectly round ; of which we fhall have occafion to fpeak hereafter. For this, which he makes a Scruple againft his own Opinion, is by others made an Occafion of fafpecting thattheEarth is really Oval. But we muft alfo acknowledge, that the fame Defcbales in his Latin Works does not own the Ob- fervation, but owns the Inference, which is that the Ex- aminer quarrels with. He owns it, I fay, in thefe Words, * Sifigura terra effet ovalis, pltira milliaria decurrenda ef- fent verfus JEquinodialem ad inveniendum in elevations poli mutationem unius grad&s quam verfus polos. And he gives this Reafon, Quia ovalis figura prope vertices mino- remfpbaram imitatur: verfus JEquino&ialemaut em in ma» jorem fpbaram degenerat. And again, having taken No- tice of the various Computations of a Degree upon the Earth, he fubjoinsf, Heec obfervationum difcrepantia nan- nullis fufpicionem fecit, Tellur em non omn'tnb fpharicam effe y fed fpharoidem ellipticam, ita ut verfus polos in minorem circulum abiret. Sed opus ejl pluribus obfervationibus ad id perfuadendum. The Theorift did not alTert either the Ob- fervation to be true or the Inference, but mark'ditasan Obfervation that deferv'd to be enquir'd into, in order to determine the Figure of the Earth. For it feems apparent, that if the Body of the Earth be oblong or oblate, the Extent of a Degree will not be really the fame as if it was truly fpherical. Neither do I know any (ingle Obferva- tion that would give us more Light, or better help us to difcover what the Configuration of the Earth is, than the Meafure of a Degree exactly taken in different Latitudes. I happened lately to be in Company with a learned Gentleman, and amongft other Things that fell into Dif- courfe, I ask'd his Opinion, what Inequality there would be in the Degrees of the Earth, in cafe it was oval, and where it would fall ; whether they would be greater to- wards the Poles, or towards the Equator. We were fuddenly interrupted by the coming in of new Company, * Gugi.l. I. P/cp. 4.. -J J*'4. Prof. 3G» but «J54 Reflections upon -the but he faid he would fend me his Thoughts upon a little Reflection; and accordingly, after a few Days he was pleafed to fend me this Letter. SIR, HAving now fome Leifure (the Elections for Parlia- ment, wherein I had any Concern, being over) I have here fent you my Thoughts on a Subject we lately difcours'd of at Kenjington. Whether in cafe the Earth is a long Spheroid, the Degrees of Latitude would be greater near the Equator, or near the Poles. I conceive they would be greater near the Equator. LetrheEllipfis BDCF. represent the Earth, draw the Line g p. which may be a Tangent to the Ellipfis, and likewife meeting with the Axis BC, and its Tranfverfe FD (after they are produc'd) make the Triangle gAp an Ifofceles, and con- sequently the Angles at the Bafe Agp, Apg each 45* De- grees. I fay HC will meafure the 45- Degrees of Lati- tude near the Pole, and D H (which by Infpe&ion with- out farther Demonstration is evidently bigger) thofe near the Equator. (I ought to have premis'd thatB and C re- prefent the Poles.) It is plain the Inhabitants at //will be In the Latitude of 45- Degrees, by reafon their horizon- tal Theory of the Earth. 555 .tal Plane £/> is by Conftruction 4? Degrees diftan t the Horizon of the Inhabitants under the Line at D, which lies parallel to the Axis B C. If the Earth be a broad Spheroid, D and F reprefenting the Poles, then by the fame Method of Reafoning, the Degrees of Latitude will be greateft near the Poles : But as the longeft and fhorteft Diameter of the Earth has in no wife lb great a Difproportion as in their Figure (their Difference not exceeding the two hundredth Part at moll) the Inequality of the Degrees of Latitude will be propor- tionably lefs; but in all Cafes, the long Spheroid makes the Degrees greateft near the Equator ; and the broad Spheroid thole greateft near the Poles. I hope in a Fortnight to have the Satisfaction of feeing you in London, and remain, Sir, Tour mojl Humble Servant. The Examiner would do well to confider this, left al 1 the reproachful Characters he calls upon Eifenfmidius^fhowld recoil upon himfelf. *Tis Prudence, as well as good Man- ners not to be fierce and vehement in Cenfures, for fear of a Miftake, andaBlackblow. However, the pretended Pemonftration which this Examiner brings to prove, that, in cafe the Earth was oblong, the Degrees would be great- er toward the Poles, does not afreet Eijenfmidius, for it proceeds upon a Suppofuion which that Author does not allow ; namely, that the Vertical Lines, or the Lines of Gravity are to be drawn directly to the Center of the Earth : Whereas Eifenfaidius fuppofes they ought to be drawn at right Angles, to the Tangent of each refpective Horizon, and would not in all Figures lead directly to the Center. However, we do not wonder that he is fo rude to Strangers, feeing he bears fo hard in other places, upon fomeof our own learned Countrymen. We proceed now to theTheoriir's fecondObfervation, about Lunar Eclipfes and the Shade of the Earth. This Shade is generally prefumed to be exactly round, as the Section of a Cone: And yet the belt Aftronomers have doubted of it, and fome upon that Occafion have doubted of the Figure of the Earth. Kepler f in an Obfervation of a Lunar total Eclipfe, not finding the Shade of the Earth perfectly round, but rather oblong, ut ejus dimetiens a Zona Torridd confurgentis Jit minor dimetiente ejus a Polis T'erne J'urgentis, fufpects that the Figure of the Earth was fo too. And that we muft conclude it to be | Efbtmt. $n. 2* »i An. 1624 . fo «j$6 Reflections upon the fo from this Obfervation, if there was not fome Obliqui- ty in the Rays of the Sun, whereof hefhews noCaufeor Occafion. Si retinenda eff'et, inquit, refthudoradiorum, Globus ipfe Terr.e fiet oviformis, d'tarnetro per Polos longi- ore. And a like Obfervation to this he cites from Tycho Brahe\ in a central, or next to central Eclipfe of the Moon. Thefe two great Aftronomers, it feems, did not find the Shade of the Earth to be juftly conical ; and thereby take away the Reafon or leffen the Doubt, which hindered M. Deft hales from concludingCupon another Ob- fervation) the Figure of the Earth to be oval. The third Obfervation of theTheorift remains, which is about the Return of the Sun unto the polar Parts of the Earth, whether that be according to the Rules of a fpheri- cal Surface. The Obfervatiohs'that have been made hi- therto in the Northern Climates about the Return of the Sun to them, make it quicker than will ealily confift with a fpherical Figure of the Earth ; much lefs are they favour- able to a gibbous Form : For that Gibboiity under the Equa- tor muft needs hinder the Appearance and Difcovery of the Sun in the refpecf ive polar Parts, more than a fpherical Figure would do. Now it hath been obferv'd in Nova Zembla, that the returning Sun appear'd to them feven- teen Days fooner than they expected, according to the Rules of Aftronomy, the Earth being fuppofed truly fphe- rical; and this may be thought an Argument that the Earth is rather deprefs'd in its middle Parts. I leave the Matter to farther Examination. I know 'tis ufually im- puted to Refractions, but that is upon the Prefumption that the Earth is juftly fpherical ; and a better Anfwer (up- on that Suppofition) I think cannot be found. Though, I think, it will not be eafy in that Way, and upon that Solution to make all the Phenomena agree, or to fhew that the Refractions could make fo great a Difference. However, this is no improper Topick to be confider'd in reference to the Determination of the Figure of the Earth, and for that purpofe it was noted by the Theorift. We have now done with that fide of the Queftion, that refpe&s the oblong Figure of the Earth, and it re- mains to confider the other Part; I mean the Opinion of thofe that make the Earth protuberant about the Equator, or an oblate Spheroid. This the learned Monfieur Hu~ gens* thinks may be prov'd by Experiments made about the different Vibrations of Pendulums in different Lati- D'fi. it I* Ft/ant. f. 145-, &c. tudes Theory of the Earth. 55 j tudes of the Earth. 'Tis found, he fays, by Experience that a Pendulum near the Equator, makes its Vibrations flower than another of the fame Length, farther from the Equator; and gives anlnftancc of it from an Experiment made at Caiene in America (which is four or rive Degrees from the Equator) compar'd with another madeat'7W.r. From this Trial he concludes, firft, that the Gravitation is lefs under and near the Equator than towards the Poles, according to their feveral Degrees of Latitude. Then he infers, by Confequence, that the Land and the Sea are higher towards the Equator, than towards the Poles. And in Concluiion, that the Figure of the Earth is protuberant and gibbous in the Middle, and more flatted, orofaflior- ter Diameter betwixt Pole and Pole. In this Concluiion, you fee, there are feveral Things to be confidered according to the Premifles. Firfr, Matter of Fact, concerning the Inequality of Vibrations in equal Pendulums, according to their different Latitudes ; then the following Inferences made from that Inequality. As to the Matter of Fact, Monfieur Hugens feems to be doubt- ful himfelf : He does not vouch it from his own Experi- ence, but he takes it from the Report of Monfieur /6. 103, 104,'ejV. admitting the oval Figure of that firft Earth, it would not be capable however, to give a Courfe to the Rivers from the polar Parts, towards the Equinoctial. AndhisReafon is this ; becaule the fame Caufes which call: the Abyfs or the Ocean towards the Poles, would alfo keep the Rivers from defcending from the Poles : But there is no Parity of Reafon betwixt the Abyfs or the Ocean," and the Rivers. We fee in the Flux and Reflux of the Ocean, lettheCaufe of it be what it will, it hath not that Effecl: upon Rivers, nor upon Lakes, nor upon lefTer Seas ; yet the Circum- rotation of the Earth continues the fame. And his con- founding the Ocean and Rivers in the ante- diluvian Earth is fo much the worfe, feeing there never was an Ocean and Rivers together in that Earth. While there was an open Ocean, there were no Rivers, and when there were Rivers, there was no open Ocean, but an inclos'd Abyfs: So though he makes large Tranfcripts there and elfewhere out of the Theory, he does not feain always to have well digefted the Method of it. f i«J. Tbtcr, lii.z. p. iSw O02 After ^4 RefleElions upon the After this Obje&ion, the Examiner charges the Theo- rift with want of Skill in Logick ; but his Charge is grounded upon another Mifunderftanding or Mifrepre- fentation. He pretends there, /MC7. that the Theorift hath made fuch a Ratiocination as this. All Bodies by reafon of the Earth' 's diurnal Rotation, do endeavour to re- cede from the Axis of their Motion ; but by reafon of the Trejfure of the Air, and the Streightuefs of the Orb, they cannot recede from the Axis of their Motion, therefore they will move towards the 'Poles, where they will come nearer to the Axis of their Motion. Thefe are the Examiner's Words in that Place, where he fays he will put the Theorift's Rea- foning in other Words : But I do not like that Method, unlefs the Examiner were a more judicious or faithful Pa- raphraft than he feems to be: Let every one be tried by their own Words, and if there be any falfe Logick or Nonfenfe in the forecited Words of the Examiner, let it fall upon their Author. The Theorift faid*, that Bodies, by reafon of the Earth's Motion did, conari a centro fui motus recedere : Thefe Words this Tranflator renders, en- deavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion ; and by changing the Word Center into Axis (whether carelefly or wilfully I know not) of plainSenfe hehath madeNon- fenfe ; and then makes this Conclufion, p. 10S. (which follows indeed from his own Words, but not fromthofe of the Theorift) becaufe all Bodies do endeavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion, therefore they will endea- vour to go to the Axis of their Motion. The TheorilVs Argumentation was plainly this : Seeing in the Rotation of the Earth, Bodies tend from the Cen- ter of their Motion, if they meet with an Impediment there, they will move laterally in the next ealieft and openeft way ; 'and therefore the Waters under the E- quator being ftopp'd in their flrft Tendency, would di- vert towards the Poles,- wherein, I think, there is no falfe Logick. That there was no Impediment there, he muft prove by other Arguments than his own Dic- tates or bare Afleition, which will not pafs for a Proof. He proceeds now to difcourfe of the centrifugal Force and the Effects of it, together with Gravity: Buthefhould have given us a better Notion of the centrifugal Force, than what he fets down there; for he fays (f no. /. 24.) A centrifugal Force, is that Force by which a Body is drawn towards the Center : This is a ftrange Signification of that * Tkstr. 1 1, 2. i. jr. f, 186. Word. Theory of the Earth. 56$ Word. And in the next Page (/>. in. /. 22.) he fays, by this centrifugal Force, Bodies endeavour to recede -from the Center of their Motion ; which is true, but contrary to what he laid juft before. I think 'tis Gravity, not cen- trifugal Force, that brings Bodies towards the Center. But to pals by this Contradiclton, and to proceed : What he fays, from others, about the Proportions of the centrifugal Force and Gravity in Bodies turn'd round, and particularly in Fluids, how they would fly off more or lefs, according to the Circles of their Motion, was al- ways (as hath been mention'd before) fuppos'd and al- low d by the Theoriit, if there was no Restraint or Prel- fure upon one Part more than another of the fluid Globe: £0 that he might have lpared here fix or feven Pages. In like manner, hemighthave fpar'd what he hathtran- fcrib'd in his following Pages from thofe excellent Au- thors we referr'd to before, about calculating the Dimi- nutions of Gravity made by the centrifugal Force, in dif- ferent Latitudes; with other fuch Excurlions. Thefe, I fay, might have been fpar'd, as needlefs upon this Occa- iion, or to the Confutation of the Theory, till the princi- pal Point, upon which they depend, be better prov'd. I made bold to fay, they were tranfcrib'd from thofe Au- thors, as any one may fee that pleafes to confult the Ori- ginals, Neivt. Pbilof. Nat. Prim. Math. I. 3. prop. 18, 19, 20. Hugcns 2)ifcour. de la caufe de la Pefanteur, p. 147, 148, &c. And this French Difcourfe of Moniieur Hugens, he hath not Jp much as once nam'd, though he hath taken fo much Trom it. And after all, when thefe Things are determin'd in Speculation, it will ilillbea Qucltion what the true phyfical Caufes of them are. At laft, for a farther Confirmation of the broad fpheroi- dical Figure of the Earth, -he adds an Obfervation from the Planet Jupiter, which is found to be of fuch a Figure. And therefore, he fays, p. 137, 138. We need not doubt, but that the Earth, which is a 'Planet like the rejl, and turns round its Axis, as they do, is of the fame Figure. He might as well conclude, that every Planet, as well as the Earth, is of the fame Figure. And what Reafon can he give, why all the Planets that have a Rotation upon their Axis, are not broad Spheroids, as well as thole two which, he fuppofes to be fo ? If that be a fufficient Caufe, and be found in other Planets as well as thofe, why hath it not the fame Effed? Or he might as well conclude, that the Earth hath a perpetual Equinox, becaufe Jupiter hath £0, This is the fame Fault which he hath fo often com- mitted, ^66 Reflections upon the mitted, of meafuring all the Works of God by one or two. If a Man was tranfported into the Moon, the nearefl: Planet; or into Mercury that is fo near the Sun, or into Saturn, (or any of his Satellites) that is fo remote from it; would he not find, think you, a much different Face and State of thofe Planets, from what we have upon this Earth ? Inhabitants of a different Conftitution, the Furni- ture of every World different, Animals, Plants, Waters, and other inanimate Things : As alfo different Vicifiltudes of Days and Nights, and the Seafons of the Year ; ac- cording to their different Positions, Revolutions and Forms ? Therefore not without Reafon we noted before, how much the Narrownefs of fomeMensSpirits,Thoughts and Obfervations, confine them to a particular Pattern and Model, nor confidering the infinite Variety of the divine Works, whereof we are not competent Judges. Now comes in his rude Cenfure of Dr. Eijenjmidlus y both for his Mathematicks and bad Logick, or want of common Senfe ; but to this we have fpoken before. He alfo, in the fame Paragraph, p. 142. wonders at theTheo- rift's ftrange Logick, to make the centrifugal Force of Bodies upon the Earth, to be the Caufe of its oblong Fi- gure. That indeed would be ftrange Logick if it was made the proximate Caufe of it. But that is not the The- orifts's Logick but the Examiner's, as it is diftorted and mifreprefented by him. The Theorift fuppos'd thePref- fure of that Tumour of the Waters, occafion'd by the centrifugal Force (as its original Caufe) to be the imme- diate Caufe of the oblong Figure of the Earth ; and that Preffure fnppos'd, there is nothing illogical in the Infe- rence. He had formerly taken Notice, p. 102, 103. of this Reafon, from the Streightnefs of the Orb in that Part, when he gave the Theorift's Account of that Figure ; but he thought fit to forget it now, that his Charge might not appear lame. This, Sir, is a fhort Account of this Author's Objec- tions ; but there are fome ThingsTo often repeated by him, that we are forc'd to take Notice of them more than once; as that about Miracles and final Caufes. Hetruly notes, p. 31. that to be a much eafier and (horter IVay of giving an account of the Deluge, or other Revolutions of Nature: But the Queftion is not, which is thefhorteftand eafieftWay, but which is the trueft. No Man in his Sen- fes can queftion the divine Omnipotency, God could do thefe Things purely miraculoufly, if he pleas'd ; but the Thingtobeconiider'dis, whether, according to the Me- thods Theory of the Earth* \Gy thods of Providence, in the Changes and Revolutions of the natural World, the Courfe of Nature and of natural Caufes is not made ufe of fo far as they will go. Both Mofes and St. Peter mention material Caufes, but always including the divine Word and Superintendency. The Theorift does not think (as is fufficiently teftified infeve- ral Places) that purely material and mechanical Caufes, guided only by the Laws of Motion, could form this Earth, and the Furniture of it ; and does readily believe all Miracles recorded in Holy Writ, or elfewhere, well grounded : But Miracles of our own making or imagi- ning, want Authority to fupport them. Some Men when they are at a lofs in the Progrefs of their Work, call in a Miracle to relieve them in their Diftrefs. You know what hath been noted both by * Philofophers and others to that purpofe. As to final Caufes, the Contemplation of them is very tifeful to moral Purpofes, and of great Satisfaction to the Mind, where we can attain to them. But we mud not pretend to prove a thing to be fo or fo in Nature, becaufe we fancy it would be better fo ; nor deny it to be in fuch a manner, becaufe to our Mind it would be better other- wife. Almighty Power and Wifdom, that have the whole Complex and Compofition of the Univerfe in View, take other Meafures than we can comprehend or account for. Even in this fmall Earth that we inhabit, there are feveral Plants and Animals, which to us appear ufelefs or noxious, and yet no doubt would be found proper for this State, if we had the whole Prcfpec~t and Scheme of Providence. As to efficient Caufes, they muft be either material or immaterial, and whatfoever is prov'd to be the immediate ErTedt of an immaterial Caufe, is fo much the more ac- ceptable to the Theorift, as it argues a Power above Mat- ter. But as to purely material Caufes, they muft be me- * Plat. Cratyl. m. p. 4.25. 'EtejSavtj UTropwiriv, iicl rclg w%ctvcct;xcAci~ Qtvytift , 6eb? at'povle^. Cw» tli alkujus angvjliis h^rent, ad machinal €or\fugiunt i# Deot inducunt. This is alfo remark'd and rendcr'd 111 other Words by Tully de Hat. Dear. i. 1. Cum explicare argumenti exitum non potejiis, tonfugitis ad Deum.^ St. Avfiin alfo fpeaking atom the fuperceleltial Wa- ters, hath noted this Method, and reprov'd it, in thefe Words, Nee quifquam ifios ita debit rcfellerc, ut dicatficundum omnipotentiam Dei cui cunBafunt pcjjtbitia, tporterc not credere aqua 1 etiam tarn graves quam novimut atque ftntiw.us, cceltfii corpori inqmfunl fydera,f,.pcrfttfas : Nunc enim quemadmodum Deut injtjtuerit na- turae rerum fecundum Scripturam ejui, not quxrere convenit > non autem quod ipfe in iit vet ex iir ad miraculum omnipotent!* fu* velit optrari, I. 2.- G">. ad lift You fee Difcretion and Moderation is to be uted in thefe and fuch-like Matters. chanical; 568 Reflections upon the, SVc. chanical ; there being no other Modes, or Powers of Mat- ter (at leatl in the Opinion of the Theorift) but what are mechanical : And to explain Etfecls by fuch Caufes, is properly natural Science. We have taken Notice before of this Author's ambigu • ous ufe of Words, without declaring in what Senfe he ufes them: And he is no lefs ambiguous as to his Opini- ons. When he fpeaks of the Origin and Formation of the WORLD, he does not tell us whathemeans by that Word; whether the great Compound of the Univerfe, or that fmall Part only where we refide. His centrifugal Force he interprets in contrary Senfes, or in contrary Words, and referves the Senfe to himfelf. Sometimes he fpeaks of the Motion of the Sun, and fometimes of the Motion of the Earth, and flicks to no Syftem: Neither does he tell us what he means by the Mo- faical Abyfs, or Tehom Kabbah, which the Theorift fup- pofes to have been broken up at the Deluge. We ought to know in what Senfe and Signification he ufes Words orPhrafes; atlealtif he ufe them in a different Senfefrom that of the Theorift's . I know, &r, you will alfo take Notice of his hard Words and coarfe Language, as, that's falfe, that's abfurd, that's ridiculous. This, you will fay, is not the ufual Lan- guage amongft Gentlemen; but we find it too ufual with lbme Writers, according to their particular Temper and Experience in the World. For my part, I think Rude- nefs or Difingenuity in examining the Writings of an- other Perfon, fall more heavy (in the Conftruclion of fair Readers) upon him that ufes them, than upon him that fuffers them. I am, SIR, Tour mojl humble Servant, FINIS.