2 X - 4^- LIBRA.RY OF THE ( Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N.J. Case, .s?^.S??rr Diyision Shelf, C>l<:Xo ( Section. 1 BQoh, .-r. .f^.*. .-: ■ ! 1 THE WISDOM of GOD Manlfefted in the OR O THE <^ CREATION. In TWO PARTS. VIZ. The heavenly Bodies, Elements, Meteors, FoffiJs, Vegetables, Animals, (Beafts, Birds, Fiflies, and Infects) more particularly in the Body of the Ea^rth, its Figure, Motion, and Confiftency \ and in the admirable Stru(51:L!re of the Bodies of Man and other Animals: as alfo in their Generation, l^c. With Anfwers to fome Obje61:ions. '* s/J Evil that human Nature was capable of fuffei'ing 5 Nay (faith "he) / was Jbmetimes compelVd to'honjhit to C'ornelius Cdfus, /to 7^ %\as:Jo\ neither did hi% % - K- Jleajom T'he Epijik Dedicatory. Reafons feem to me abfurd^ we being compounded of two Parts, Soul and Body, of which the frji is the better, the latter the worfer -, the great eft Good 7nuft be the beft thing belonging to the better Fart, that is^ Wifdom 'y and the great eft Evil the worft thi?ig i?2ci- dent to the worfer Part (the Body) that is^ Pain. Now, tho' I know not whether tliis Reafon be firm and conclufive, yet I am of accord with ^im, that of all the Evils we are fenfible of in this World it is the foreft, the moft refolute Patience being baffled and proftrated by a fierce and laft- ing Paroxyfm of the Gout, or Stone, or Cholick, and compeird to yield to its furious Infults, and confefs itfelf vanquifh'd, the Soul being unable to divert, or to do any thing elfe but pore upon the Pain j and therefore thofe Stoical Vaunts of their wife Man's being happy mPhalaris^ Bull, I utterly rejecSt and explode, as vain Rhodomon- tades and chimerical Figments, for that there never was fuch a wife Man among them, or in- deed could be ; yet do I not fay that the Patience of a good Man can be fo far conquered by the fliarpeft and fevereft Torments as to be compell'd to deny or blafpheme God or his Religion^ yea, or fo much as to complain of his Injuftice; tho' perchance he may be brought with fob to curfe his Day, yet not curfe his God, as his Wife tempt- ed him to do. Now^that the great kydv6^Ti\^ and B^Semonftratio7ts of this fundamental Truths but not common to all Perfons or I'imes^ and Jo liable to Ca- vil and 'Exception by atheijiical Perfons^ as inward . Illuminations of Mindy a Spirit of Prophecy ^ and foretelling future Contingent s^ illujtrious Miracles, and the like ^ but thefe Proofs^ taken from EffeBs and OperatioJiSy expos d to every Mans VieWy not to be denyd or quejtiond by any, are moji effectual to convince all that deny or doubt of it ; neither are they only conviBive of the great eft and fubtleft Ad- verfarieSy but intelligible alfo to the meanefi Capa- cities y for you may hear illiterate PerfonSy cj the loweft Rank of the Commonalty y affirming^ that they need no Proof of the Being of a God, for that every Pile of Graf or Ear of Cornfufficiently proves that ; for ^ fay tbey^ all the Men of the World cannot make 9 fich The PREFACE. fuch a thing as one ofthefe ; and if they cannot do it^ who can or did make it but God? To tell them that it made itfelf^ or fprung up by chance^ would be as ridiculous as to tell the great eji Philojbpher fo. Secondly, The Particulars of this Difcourfe ferve not only to de^nonjlrate the Being of a 'Deity ^ but alfa to illiijlrate fome of his principal Attributes ; aSy namely^ his infinite Power a7id Wifdom\ the vafl * Multitude of Creatures^ and thofe 7iot only fmall^ but imme?ifely greats the Sun arid Moon^ and all the hea-- 'vejily Hofi^ are EffeBs and Proofs of his Almighty Power, The Heavens declare the Glory of God^ and the Firmament iheweth his Handy-work, PfaL xix. I. The admirable Co7itrivance of all and each of them y the adapting all the Parts of Animah to their feveral Ufes^ the Provifion that is made for their Suftenance^ which is often taken notice of in Scripture, Pfal. cxlv. 15, 16. The Eyes of all wait upon thee: thou giveft them their meat in due feafon. Thou opened thy hand, and fatisfieft the deiire of every living thing. Matth. vi. 26. Behold the fowls of the air, for they fow not, nei- ther do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Pfil- cxlvii. 9. He giveth to the beaft his food, and to the young Ravens when they cry. And lafily^ their ??mtual Subferviency to each others and imani?HOus confpiring to promote and carry on the Publick Good^ are e-vt- de?2t Demonft rat ions cf his Sovereign IVifdom. Laft!y, They few e to fiir up and increafe in us the Afi-ecl ions a?id Habits of Adtniration^ Hu?ni!ityy and Gratitude. Pfal, viii. 3. When I confider the heavens, the work of thy fin§ers> the moon B z and the P R E F A C E. 'And the ftars which thou haft ordain'd : What U jnan that thou art mindful of him, or the fon of man that thou viliteft him ? j^nd to thefe Furpojh the holy Pfalmijl is njery frequent in the Enumera- tion and Conjideration of thefe Works, u^hich may warrant me doing the like^ andjuftify the denonn- nating fuch a Difcourfe as this rather theological than philofophicaL \Notey That by the Works of the Creation in the Title, I mean the Works created by God at firft, and by him conferv'd to this Day in the fame State and Condition in which they were at firft made; for Confervation (according to the Judgment both of Philofophers and Divines) is a continud Creation^ T H E s^< mj^ THE CONTENTS O F T H E FIRST PART. e232K332S232--S2(K;S2K2SD3aiCS2''3C'SCS0 THE Multitude of Creatures an Argument of the Wifdom and Power of God, Page i8. and 26. That the fixed Stars are innumerable, agreed on all Sides, as 'well as by fuch as embrace the new Hypothefis. That there are fo many Suns placed at unequal Difiances, and each having its Planets moving about it, furnifly'd with their Inhabit" tants, like the Earth ; as by thofe that adhere to the old, that they are all fituate in the fame fpherical Superficies. p. 18, 19, 20. A Guefs at the Number of terrejirial Bodies. 1 . Inanimate, as Stones, Earths, concrete and inconcrete Juices, Metals and Minerals. ■ 2. Animals, Birds, Beafis , Fijhes and Infers. 3. Plants, Herbs , and Trees. p- 21, 22, 23, 24. Working the fame Effect by divers Means and Infiruments, an Argu- ment of Wifdom ; and that God doth this in the Works of the Cre-* ation, proved by feveral Examples. . p. 25, 26, 27, 28. That the material Works of God are wifely contrived and adapted to Ends both general and particular. p- 29, 30< The Ariiloteljan Hypothefis , That the World was (O-eternal with God, condemned, " P- 3o> i'* Bj Tbi The CONTENTS. ^he Epicurean Hypothefis, 7hat the World was made by a eafual Concurrence and Cohejton of Atoms ^ rejeBed^ 31, 32, 33. T^heir Declination of Atoms jujily deride dj and their whole Hypothefis ingenioujly confuted by Cicero. Page 34, 35, 36, 37. ^e Cartefian Hypothefis, That fuppojing God had only created Mat- ter, divided it into a certain Number of Parts y and put it into Motion, according to afezv Laws, it would of itfelf have produced the World without any more ado, confuted in Dr. CudworthV Words. P- 37> &^c. to 46. pes Cartes his AJfertion, That the Ends of God in any of his Works are equally undifcoveid by us, cenfur d and reproved. p. 38, 39, 40, 41. His Opinion concerning the Caufe of the Motion of the Heart. p. 45, 46, 47. ^e honourable Mr. BoylcV Hypothefis confder'd, and pleaded ^« gainjl. p. 48, 49, 50. The Author^s Miflake concerning the Hypothefis of Mr. Boyle, ac- knozvled^d. p- 50. The Parts of the Body forin^d and fituated contrary to the Laws of the fpecifick Gravity. P- 5 1 ♦ \4 plajiick Nature under God, fuperintending and e feeing natural Produ5lions. p. 52, 53. Their Opinion that hold the Souls of Brutes to be material, and the whole animal Body and Soul to be a mere Machine, not agreeable to ihe general Senfe of Mankind. p. 54, 55, 56. Of the vifible Works of God, and their Diviflon, p. $"], 58. The atomick Hypothefis approved. p. 59. ^be Works of Nature far more exquijitely formed than the Works of Art. p. 59, 60. Hhe various Species of inanimate Bodies to be attributed to the divers Figures of their Principles, or minute component Particles, p. 60. That thefe Principles are naturally indivifible, proved, ibid. They are not very nufnerous. . p. 61. Of the heavenly Bodies, p. 61. That the whole Vnlverfe is divided into two Sorts of Bodies, viz. thin and fluid, denfe and confiflent, ibid. That this laji Sort are endtCd zvith a twofold Power, i . Of Gravity. 2. Of circular Motion, and zvhy, p. 62. The heavenly Bodies 7nov''d in the mojl regular, facil, and convenient manner. p. 63, 64. f>f the Sun , his Ufes , and the Co?ivenience of his Situation and Motion. p. 65. Of the Moon, and its Ufes. p. 66. Of the reft of the Planets, and fixed Stars ; the Regularity and Con- jlancy of their Motions ; zobence Cicero rationally infers, that they are govertid by Reafon, p. 67. '^clipjes The C O N T E N T S. Eclipfes ufeful to fettle Chronology ^ and determine Longitudes, Page 68. Of terreflrial inanimate fimple Bodies , as Elements , commonly fa called: i. Fire, its various Ufes i p. 69, 70. Of Air, its JJfs and Neceffity for breathing to all Sorts of Animals, aquatick as well as t err ef rial; nay, in a fort to Plants themfelves, p. 71, 72, 73. ne Effects and Ufes of its Gravity and elaflick ^ality, P- 72 7? That the Foetus in the Womb hath a kind ofRefpiration, and whence it receives the Air. P- 73» 74, 75. That the Air infinuates itfelf into the Water for the Refpiration ef Fifhes, p. 76. and even into fubterraneous Waters, whence it clears * the Mines of Da?nps, p. 76, yj. A plafiick Nature necejfary for putting the Diaphragm and Mufcles for Refpiration into motion at firft- p. 77. Of Water, its Ufes, p. 78, Of the Sea, and its Tides, p. 79. An ObjeBion concerning the Needlefnefs of fo much Sea, of 710 Ufe to Mankind , anfwer d ; and the Wifdom of God in thus unequally dividing Sea and Land, manifefled and ajferted, p. 80, 8 1 . The XJfe of Floods. p. 82, 83. That the Winds bring up more Vapours from the Sea than they carry down thither. p. 84, 8 c. That the Motion of the Water levels the Bottom of the Sea, p. 8r, The reafon why the Sea Plants grow for the mofi part flat, like a Fan, and none in the great Depths. p. 86. Of Springs and Rivers, Baths and mineral Waters. Simple Water nourifheth not. P- 87. Of the Earth, its Ufes and Differences. ibj^, Cy Meteors, or Bodies' imperfeStly mix'd. And, \. Of Rain, p. 88. 2. Of Wind, and its various Ufes. p, oq^ Of tnanirnate mix'd Bodies. \. Stones, their ^talities and Ufes, p.- 91 » 92» 93- Particularly of the Loadftone , its admirable Phcenomejia, Effe^s and Ufes, p. 95. 2. Metals, their various Ufes, of great bnportance to Mankind, as Iron, without which we could have had nothing of Culture or Civility ; Gold and Silver for the coining of Money, which how many ways ufeful, is fhezvn out of Dr. Cockburn'j Effays. p. ^6, 97. That the minute component Particles of Bodies are naturally indivi- fible, proved. p. cj8, 99. 0/ Vegetables or Plants, their Stature and Magnitude, Figure, Shape, and Site of Leaves, Flowers, and Fruits, and their Part s; all deter- mind, as alfo their Age and Duration, p. 100, 101. The admi- rable explication of the feminal Plants, p. loi , 102. The Ufes of the feveral Parts of Plants, Roots, Fibres, Vejels, Barks and Leaves y p. 103, 104. -The Beauty and Elegancy of the Leaves^ B 4 Flowers j^ The C O N T E N T S. flow its, and Fruits of Plants^ p. 105. That there is fuel a thing as Beauty and Cornel inefs of Proportion, proved. Page io6. TheUfes of Flowers, p. 107. Of Seeds ^ and their Teguments, and Obfervations concerning them, p. 108, 109. Their lajiing Vita- lity or Fcecundity, p. no. The pappons Plumage of Seeds, ibid. 7'he Tendrels and Prickles of Plants, of what Ufe. p. 1 1 1 . 7bat Wheat, the beji of all Grains, is patient both of Heat and Cold, and fear ce refufeth any Climate, and that fear ce any Grain is more fruitful. p. 112. Of the Signatures of Plants, p. 113. Of Animals, the Provifion that is made for the Continuance of Spe- cies, p. 114. That Females have within them from the beginning the Seeds of ail the Young they pall ever bring forth, p. 1 1 5- -/in Obfervation of Q'lctro's about multiparous Creatures, p. 116. Why Birds lay Eggs, ibid. Of zvhat Ufe the Tolk of the Egg is to the Chicken, p. 117. Birds that cannot number, yet omit not any one of their Young in feed- ^^g (f them, p. 117. Tho' they cannot number, yet that they can diftinguif? many from fezv, proij'd, p. 118. The fpeedy Growth of the 'young Birds in the Neft, p. 119. The Procefs of building their Nejis, and Incubation, p. 120. Feeding, breeding, and defending their Young, and the admirable STcf> w, ibid. The due nufnerical Proportion between Males and Females in all Kinds of Animals kept np conflantly, p. 121. The Conveniency of the Time of the Year ^ when the feveral Sorts of Animals are brought forth, p. 122. Why Birds fwallozu Pebble-Stoves, p. 1 30. The Provifion of Nature for keeping ofBirds-Nefis clean, p. 132,133. Various firange InfiinRs cf Animals, p. 125, 126, 127, &c. as, that Animals fhould knozu -where their natural Weapons are fituate, and how to make ufe of them I that the Weak and Timorous fhould be made fzvift of Foot or IVing for Flight ; that they fljould naturally know their Enemies, end fuch as prey upon them, tho' they had never feen them before ; that as foon as they are brought forth they fhould knozv their proper Food ', that Ducklings, tho' led by a Hen, fo foon as they fee Water fhould venture into it, the Hen in vain endeavouring to hinder or reclaim them ; that Birds of the fame Kind fhould make Nefts ex- actly aliki, wherefoever bred, and tho^ they had never feen a Nefi made. 7he Migration of Birds from one Country to another , a f range and unaccountable Aa ion, p. 128. Thi The CONTENTS. Ihe zvonderful Art ohfevjnhle in the ConflruBion^ Situation, and Tt- gure of the Cells in Honcy-Combsy p. 132, 133, 134. ^hat Bees and other Animals lay up in Jlorc^ either for the Food of their Toungy or their own Winter Frovifon. Page 135. The Frovifion that is made for the F refer-:' ation and Security of zveak and timorous Creatures, and for the diminijhing of the rapacious. p. 136, 137, 133. Tbe Fitnefs of the Parts of the Bodies of Animals to every one'^s Nature and manner of living y injlanc^d in. i. ne Szuine^ p. 139, &c. 2. The Mole , p. 141. 3. The Tamnndua, or Ant -Bear y p. 142. 4. The Chamselion, p. 143. 5. 77?^ whole Genus ^Wood-peckers, ijpid. 6. Swallows, p. 144. 7. Doukers or Loons, p. 145, In Birds all the Members are fitted for the life of flying, p. 146, &o The Ufe of the Tail in Birds. p. 1 47. ^^he Bodies ofFiJhes mojl conveniently forrnd and provided for the Ufe of fzuimming y p. 150, 151. And particularly thofe of cetaceous FiJheSy for the Refpiration, and preferving their natural Heat, p 151, 152. And of amphibious Creatures. ibid. The fitting of the Farts of Animals one to another y viz. the Genitals of the Sexes y p. 153. The Nipples of the Faps to the Mouth and Organs of Su ft ion, ibid. The admirable Stru5lure of the Breajls or PapSy for the preparing and feparatingy the cofitaining and retain- ing of the Milky that it doth not flow out without Frejfure or Suction . p. 154. Several Obfervations (?/*Ariflotle'i relating to the Fitnefs of the Parts to the Creatures Nature and manner of living, and to their refpe- aive Ufes. p. 155, 156. Another remarkable Inftancey in proportioning the Length of the Necks to that of Legs in Animalsy p. 157, 158. Of the Aponeurofis in the Necky why given to moft ^adrupeds, and not to Many p. 157. That fome Birds have but Jhort LegSy and yet long Necks ; and why, p. 158. That this Infiance cannot be accounted for by Athcijls. ibid. The various Kinds of Voices the fame Animal ufes on divers Occafions, and to divers Purpofes, argumentative of Providence and Council in conferring them upon it, being fo extrea?nly ufeful and fervice^ able to the Creature. p. 159. An Objection again/} the Ufe of fever a I Bodies I have infianc''d in re- lating to Man, anfzver'd, p. i6o. A Difourfe in the P erf on of Almighty Qod to Man. p. 161, 162, &c. The incredible Smallnefs and Subtlcnefs of fome Animalcule s, an Argu- ment and Proof vf the admirable Art of the Creator, p. 166, 167. Pralfical The C O N T E N T S. "PraBical Inferences from the precedent Difcourfe, wherein it is fhewn^ that the World was in fome Senfe made for Man, yet not fo as to have 710 other End or Vfe of its Creation but to ferve him, p. 169, 1 70, &c. The Contemplation and Confideration of the Works of Cod may probably be fome Part of our Employment in Heaven^ Page 171, 172. ^he Sun, Moon, Stars, Sec. are called upon to praife God, which they can do no otherwife, than by affording Man, and other intelligent Being\ Matter or Subject of praifing him ; and therefore Men and Angels are called upon to confider thofe great EffeBs of the divine Tower, Wifdom and Goodnefs, and to give God the Praife and Glory due to him for them, p. 178, 179, 180, &c. T:hat God dotb, and may jujily intend and deftgn his own Glory. p. 182, 183, 184, 185, T II E THE CONTENTS O F T H E SECOND PART. I./^ F the whole Body of the Earth \ and fir Jl of its Figure, which \_) is demonjlrated to be fpherical. Page 190, 191. *Ihe Conveniences of this Figure Jhewn for Union of Parts y Strength, CoTivenience of Habitation, and circular Motion, upon its own Poles ^ p. 191, 192, 193. II. Of its Motion, both diurnal upon its own Poles, and annual in the Ecliptick ; and both thefe fhewn to be rational, and not dijjonanf to Scripture, p. 193, 194, &c. The prefent Direction and conftant Parallelifm of its Axis tu itfelf, fiezvn to be moft convenient for the Inhabitants of the Earth, by the Inconvenience of any different Po- fit ion, p. 196, 197, 198, &c. That the Torrid Zone is habitable, and Jlor'd with great Multitudes of Men and other Animals, con- trary to the Opinion of fome of the Ancients, p. 200. Neither are the Heats there prejudicial to the Longevity of Men, ibid. A Di- grejjion, to prove that the Lives of Men are longeji in the hottefi Countries, p. 201, 202- That it zuould not be more convenient for the Inhabitants of the Earth if the Tropicks food at a greater di- fiance, proved, p. 204, 205. A very confiderable, and heretofore ujiobfervd Convenience of this Inclination of the Earths Axi?, which Mr. Keill affords us. p. 203, 204. Of the Ufefulnefs of the prefent Figure y Conftitution, and Confifiency of the feveral Parts of this terraqueous Globe. p. 205, 20b, 207. An Enu?nerativn of fome Plants which afford almoji whatever is ne- ceffary for human Life. p. 208, 209, 210, &c. Pla?its having a kind of Cijlerns or Bafons forni'd of their Leaves compacted together y for the containing and preferving of Water, Scq: p. 212. Of The C O N T E N T S. Of Mountains, and their Ufes, Pa^e 215. to 220. II. The Wifdom of God dijcover'd in the Stru^ure of the Bodies ef Men and other Animals. "Eleven general Obfervations demonf rating this Wifdom and Goodnefs of God in forming our Bodies. 1. The ereB Foflure of the Body of Man, p. 221. commodious, [i.} For the fujlaining of the Head, p. 222. [2.] For ProfpeSt, ibid. [3.] For walking and uftng our Hands, p. 223, 224. That this EreSlion of the Body zuas intended by Nature, proved by fever at Arguments, and particularly by the faftcning the Cone of the Heart to the Midriff', of -which an Account is given out of Dr. TyfonV Anatomy of the Orang-Outang. p. 225, 226. 2. In that there is nothing deficient or redundant in the Body of Man, p. 227. J notable Story of a Man^s giving Suck to- a young Child, well attefted. ibid. 3. The Parts of the Body mof conveniently fituate, for Ufe, for Or- nament , and for mutual Afftjiance. p. 229, 230. 4. Ample Provifion made for the Defence and Security of the principal Parts, Heart, Brain, and Lungs. p. 231, 232, 233,. 5. Abundant Provifion made againft evil Accidents and Inconveni- ences, p. 234, 235. ^ome Obfervations concerning Sleep, p. 235, 236. ^hat the Infenfiblenefs of Pain during Sleep proceeds^ rather from the Relaxation of the Nerves than their ObJiruBion. p. 237. 6. The Con [I an cy obferv'd in the Number, Figure, and Site of the principal Parts, and the Variety in the lefs. p. 238. 7. The annexing of Plea Jure to thoje Anions that are neceffary for )he Support of the Individuum, and the Continuation and Propagation of the Kind. p. 239. 8. The Multitude of Intentions the Creator mujl have in the Forma- tion and fitting the fever al Parts for their refpefiive ASlions and ^f^' _ p. 240, 241. 9. The fitting and accommodating fome Parts to divers Offices and Ufes, an Argument of Wifdom and Defign in the Contrivance of the Body of Man and other Animals. p. 241, 242. 1 o. In the Nourijhment of their Bodies, viaking that Food -which is proper to preferve them in a healthful State, grateful to the Tafie, and agreeable to the Stomach. Of the great Ufe of Pain. p. 243, 244. II. The Variety of Lineaments and Difftmilitude of the Faces of Men, as alfo of their Voices and Hand-zvritings, all of mighty Importance to Man. p. 245, 246, 247. Of The C O N T E N T S. Of the particular Parts of the Body. And; i. Of the Head arid Hair, p. 248. 'The reafoTi ofBaldnefs. 2. Of the Eye, its Beauty, p. 249. Its Humours and Tun ides tranfparent , p. 250, Src. [i.] For the Clearnefs, [2.] For the Difin>^nefs of Fifon, ibid. The Parts of the Eye of a Figure moft co?wenie?it for the Collet^ ion of the vifual Rays, viz. convex, p. 252. The uveous Tunicle hath a inufculous Pozuer for contraBing and dilating of the Pupil, ibid. Its infide^ and that of the Choroids, why blackened, p. 253. The Figure of the Eye alterable, according to the Exigency of the ObjeB, in re- Jpe8 of Dijlance or Propinquity, p. 254, 255. Why the optick Nerve is not infer ted right behind the Eye, ibid. PFhy, tho' the Rajs be decuffated in the Pupil of the Eye, the Object is not feen. inverted, p. 255. The Ufe of the aqueous Humour, and that it is fuddenly reparable, p. 256. The Tunica Cornea protuberant above the White of the Eye, and why, p. 257. The Ufe of the Mufcles if the Eye, ibid. The Provifion for the Defence and Security of this precious Part, p. 258. The Ufes of the Eye-lids, and their frequent winking, p. 259. That as Man wants, fo he needs not the feventh or fufpenfory Mufcle, zuhich is of great Uje and NeceJJity ta Brutes, p. 261. The Need and Ufe of the nictating Membrane in Brutes, and that Man needs it not. ibid. Tliirdly, Of the Ear, p. 262. The Ufe of the Auricula, p. 263. Of the TyTc\'^^ViWvci of theEar, its Bones, and their Mufcles -, and of the Ufe of the Ear -wax. See. p. 264. Fourthly, Of the Teeth, nine remarkable Obfervations concerning their Situation, StruBure, and Ufes. p. 264, 265, 266, Sic, Fifthly, Of the Tongue, and its various Ufes -, for tajiing, and ga- thering of Food ; for managing of Majiication ; for forming of Words, &c. p. 268. Speaking proper to Man, ibid. Of the Du- ctus Salivales, and of the great Ufe of the Saliva, or Spittle, p. 269. Sixthly,* Of the Wind-pipe, its admirable StruBure and Ufes. p. 270. Seventhly, Of the Heart, the Ufe and Neceflty of its Pulfe for the Circulation of the Blood, and the admirable Make and Contrivance cf it for that Office, p. 271 , 272, &c. Oj the ?nufcular Coat, ajid Palfe of the Arteries, effected by a kind of Conjlri^ion, or perijUl- tick Motion, and not merely by a Wave of the Blood every Pulfe, P- 273' 274, &c- The wonderful Artifice cf Nature in regulating the Motion of the Blood in the Veins and Arteries, by i fifing and promoting it in the one, and ?nod crating it in the other. The Ufe of the Vena iine pari. ' p. 277. Eighthly, Of the Hand, its Stru^ure and various Ufes, not eaftly to le enumerated. . ' p. 278, 279. s Ninthly,. The C O N T E N T a Ninthly, Of the Back- Bone, its Figure y and why divided into Vertehres, Page 282, 283. Ihe Provifio7i that is made for the eafy and expedite Motion of the Bones in their Articulation by a twofold Juice, i. An oily one, Jupplfd by the Marrow. 2. Mucilaginous ^ prepared and feparated iy certain Glandules made for that purpofe, p. 284, 285. This JnunSlion of the head of the Bones with theje Juices is ujefdy 1 . To facilitate Motion, 2. To prevent Attrition. p. 286. Why the Bones are made hollozu. p. 287. Why the Belly is flejhy^ and not inclosed with Bones like the Breaft, p. 288. The Motion of the GutSy p. 289. Of the Liver, and Ufe of the Gall, ibid. Of the Bladdery its Stru^ure and Ufe', of the Kidneys, and Glan- dules^ and Ureters, their Compojition and Ufes, ibid. The adapting all the Bones, Mufcles and Veffels to their fever al Ufes, a?id the pining and co?np acting of them together noted. p. 290- The geometrical Contrivance of the Mufcles, and fitting them for their feveral Motions and Actions , according to the exa^eji Rules of Mechanicks. ibid. The packing and thrvfiing together fuch a Multitude of various and different Parts fo clofe, that there pould be no unneceffary Vacuity in the Body, nor any clajhing between them, but mutual JJJiJlance, admirable. ibid. Membranes capable of a prodigious Extenfion , Ufe in Geftation of Twins, Sec. p. 291. The Parts that feem of little or no Ufe, as the Y2X,Jhetun to be greatly ufeful, p. 292. How feparated from the Blood, and received into it again. - P- 293, 294. The Confideration of the formation of the Foetus in the Womb zvav d, and luh). p- 295, 296. What a Fitnefs the^eed hath to fajhion and form, and why the Child refembles the Parent, and Jometimes the Ancejior. p. 296. The ConflruBion of a Set of temporary Parts for the Ufe of the Fcetus only while in the Wo?nb, a clear Proof of Defign. p. 297. JVtf equivocal or fpontaneous Generation, but that all Animals are ge- nerated by Animal Parents of their own Kind, p. 298, 299. And probably all Plants too produc'^d by Seed , and none fpontaneous , proved and vindicated , and the Obje£tions againfi it anjwer''d, p. 300. to 307. That the CofTus of the Ancients was not the Hexapod of a Beetle, as I thought, but an Eruca, agreed with Dr. Lifter. p. 307. The Loufe fear thing out fordid and nafiy Clothes to harbour and breed in, probably drfign^d to deter Men and Women from Sluttifhnefs and Unclcaniimfs. p. 308. Ati The C O N T E N T S. An additional and moft effe5lual Argument again/} fpontaneous Geni- ration, viz. ^hat thtre are no new Species of Animals produced. Page 308, 309. Whence thofe vajl Numbers of f mall Frogs, which have been obfervd to appear upon refrejhing Shozvers after Drought, do probably pro- ceed, Jhez&n in an Injiance of his own Obfervations by Mr. Derham. p. 316, 317. Of Toads found in the Heart of Timber Trees, and in the middle of great Stones. P- 323, 324. Mifcdlaneoui Obfervations concerning the StruHure, Anions and Ufes of fome Parts of Animals, omitted in the fir Jl Part-, as alfo the Reafons of fome InJlinBs and Anions of Brutes, p. 325, 326, &c, TSe Stvine''s Snout fitted for digging up of Roots, which are his na- tural Food, as likewife the Porpeffe for rooting up of Sand-Eels , ibid. The Manner and Organs of Refpiration accommodated to the Temper of Animals, their Place and manner of living, fhewn in three Sorts of Refpiration. i . By Lungs, with two Ventricles of the Heart in hotter ^ni?nals, p. 327. 2. By Lungs, with but one Ventricle, 3. By Gills, with one only Ventricle of the Heart, p. 329, &c. Why the Foramen Ovale is kept open in fome amphibious Animals, p. 330. In fome of them the Epiglottis is large, and why, P- 33i- No Epiglottis in Elephants, and zvhy ; and hozu that Creature fe- cures himfelf from Mice creeping up his Proborcis into his Lur.gs. p. 332, Two notable Obfervations of the Sagacity of the Tortoife, the one of the Land, the other of the Si a Tortoife. P- 333» 334- The Armour of the Hedge-Hog ^;^^ Taton, and their Power of con- tracing themfehes into a round Ball, a great Infiance of Defign for their Defence and Security. P- 335» 33^- The Manner and Ufe of the extending and withdrawing the Curtain cf the- Periophthalmium , or nictating Membrane, in Beafts and Birds, p. 338, 339. That the aqueous Humour of the Eye will not freeze. p. 343. Of the Make of a CamePs Foot, and his Bags to referve Water in his Stomach for his Needs. p. 344, 345. The Ufe of rapacious Creatures . fwallowing fome of the Hair, Furr and Feathers of the Beafis or Birds they prey upon. ibid. A Conjecture by zuhat means cartiL^ginous Fifkes raife and fink tbem- J elves in the Water. p. 346. That Nature employs all the Methods and Artifices of Chymifis, in analizing of Bodies , and feparating their Part- , and out-does them, and t^e fever al Particulars infianc'^d in. p. 347- Obfervations about the Gullet and Diaphrag?n. p. 348. Ar, The CONTENTS. An admirable Story out of Galen, about the taking a Kid out of the Womb of its Damy and bringing it up by hand ; and Remarks upon it. Page 349, 350. 7be natural Texture of Membranes fo made, as to be ifnmenfely dila- table, oj- great Ufe and Necejfity in Gejlation. p. 353. A notable hijlance of Providence in the Make of the Veins and Arteries near the Heart. p. 354, 355. An Anfzuer to an Objection againji the Wifdom of God in making' in- ferior Ranks of Creatures. p. 357. The Atheijis main Subterfuge and Pretence, to elude and evade all our Arguments and Inftances, to detnonjirate the 'Necejfity of Pro- vidence, Defgn and Wifiom, in the Formation of all the Parts of the World, viz. That Things made Ufes, and not Ules Things, precluded and confuted. p- 357, 358. Of the Ufe ofthofe vaft Numbers of prodigioujly fmall Infers that are bred in the Waters. p. 363, 364. An ObjeSlion againji the Wifdoin of God in creating fuch a Multitude of ufelefs InJ'e^s, and fome aljo noxious and pernicious to Man, and other Animals, anfzver'd j and the various Ufes of them dcclar''d, p. 368, 369, &c. MaJiy practical Inferences and Obfervations, from 375 to the End of the Book. THE WISDOMofGOD Manifeiled in the WORKS O F T H E CREATION, ^^^59?SiScCSi3fiCC33fiCE ] iScia355£fJ r iVrrr'r ts n' tY rrm ' F33?« PART. I. rrt rnf rfTr-ni r in t s r ^nn rrfri Ps AL. civ. 24. How manifold are thy Worh^ Lord! In Wijdoin hajl thou made them alL N thefe Words are two Claufes j in the firfl whereof the Pfahnift ad- mires the Multitude of God's Works, H(nv inanifold are thy Wo7^ks, V Lord! In the fecond he celebrates his Wifdom in the Creation of them j In Wijdom haji thou made them all, ^ C Of i8 77)eWisDou of GOD Parti. Of the firft of thefe I fhall fay little, only briefly run over the Works of this vifible World, and give fome guefs at the Number of them ; whence it will appear, That upon this Account they will deferve Admiration, the Number of them being uninveftigable by us, and fo afford- ing us a demonflrative Proof of the unlimited Extent of the Creator's Skill, and the Foecundi- ty of his Wifdom and Power. That the Num- ber of corporeal Creatures is unmeafurably great, and known only to the Creator him- felf, may thus probably be coUedled : Firft of all. The Number of fixed Stars is on all Hands acknowledg'd to be next to infinite : Se- condly, every fix'd Star, in the now-receiv'd HypotheJiSy is a Sun, or Sun-like Body, and in like Manner incircled with a Chorus of Planets moving about it ; for the Fixd Stars are not all placed in one and the fame concave Spheri- cal SuperJicieSy and equidiftant from us, as they feem to be, but are varioufly and diforderly fituate, fome nearer, fome further off, juft like Trees in a Wood or Foreft, as Gajfendus ex- emplifies them. And as in a Wood, tho' the Trees grow never fo irregularly, yet the Eye of the Spectator, wherever plac'd, or whitherfo- ever remov'd, defcribes ftill a Circle of Trees : So would it in like Manner whenever it were in the Foreft of Stars, defcribe a Spherical Su- perjicies about it. Thirdly, Each of thefe Pla- nets is in all likelihood furnifhed with as great Variety of corporeal Creatures, animate and in- animate, as the Earth is, and all as different I in Fart I. /;^ /^^ C R E A T r o N. 19 in Nature as they are in Place from the Terre- ftrial, and from each other. Whence it will fol- low, That thefe muft be much more infinite than the Stars ; I do not mean abfolutely according to Philofophick Exadnefs infinite, but only infi- nite or innumerable as to us, or their Number prodigioufly great. That the fix'd Stars are innumerable, may thus be made out : Thofe vifible to the naked Eye are by the leaft Account acknowledged to be above a Thoufand, excluding thofe towards the South Pole, which are not vifible in our Horizon : Befides thefe, there have been incom- parably more detected and brought to Light by the Telefcopes ; the Milky-way being found to be (as was formerly conjedur'd) nothing but great Companies or Swarms of Minute Stars fingly invifible, but by reafon of their Proximity mingling and confounding their Lights, and appearing like lucid Clouds. And ic is likely that, had we more perfed: Telefcopes, many Thoufands more might be difcovered ; and yet, after all, an incredible Multitude remaim, by reafon of their immenfe Uiftance beyond all Ken, by the beft Telefcopes that could poflibly be invented or polifti'd by the Wit and Hand of an Angel: For if the World be (as Des Cartes would have it) indefinitely e^^ten- ded, that is, fo far as no human Luelledl- can fancy any. Bound of it -, then what we fee, or can come to fee, muft be the leaft Part of what is undifcoverable by us, the whole Univerfe extending a thoufand times farther beyond the C 2 ^ utmoft 20 The Wisdom vf GOD Part I. xnmoft Stars we can poffibly dcfcry, than thofe i)e diftant from the Earth we live upon. This Hypothejh of the Fix'd Stars being fo many Su7iSy &c. feems more agreeable to the -Divine Great- nefs and Magnificence. But that which in- duces me much to doubt of the Magnitude of the Univerfe, and immenfe Diftance of the Fixd StarSy is the ftupendous P/j^nome?ia of Comets^ their fudden Accefilon, or Appearance in full Magnitude, the Length of their Tails, and Swift- nefs of their Motion, and gradual Diminution of Bulk and Motion, 'till at laft they difap- pear. That the Univerfe is indefinitely ex- tended, des Cartes^ upon a falfe Ground, (that the formal Ratio of a Body was nothing but Extenfion into Length, Breadth, and Profun- dity, or having partes extra partes^ and that Body and Space were fynonymous Terms) af- ferted ; it may as well be limited this Way, as in the old HypothefSy which places the Fix'd Stars in the fame Spherical Superficies ; according to which (old Hypothefis) they may alfo be de- monftrated by the fame Mediums to be innu- merable, only inftead of their Diftance fubfti- tuting their Smalnefs for the Reafon of their Invi- fibility. But leaving the Ccelefiial Bodies, I come now to the T^errefliial ; which are either inani- mate ^ or aiiimate. The inanimate are the £/^- mejits. Meteors^ and Fojils of all Sorts, at the Number of which laft I cannot give any pro- bable Guefs : But if the Rule, which fome con- fiderate Philofophers deliver, holds good, mz. t how Part L 171 the Creation. 21 how much more imperfecft any Genus^ or Order of Beings, is, fo much more numerous are the Species contain'd under it. As for Example: Birds being a more perfed: Kind of Animals than- Fi(hes, there are more of thefe than of thofe 3 and for the like Reafon more Birds than Quadrupeds, and more Infefts than of any of the Reft, and fo more Plants than Animals, ISlature being more fparing in her more excel- lent Produdions. If this Rule, I fay, holds good, then fliould there be more Species of FcJ^ Jils^ or generally of inanimate Bodies^ than of Vegetables^ of which there is fome Reafon to doubt, unlefs we will admit all Sorts of formed Stones to be diftincS: Species, Animate Bodies are divided into four great Genera, or Orders, Beajis^ Birds, Fijhes, and InfeBs, The Species of Beajis, including ahb Serpents, are not very numerous: Of fuch as are certainly known and defcrib'd, I dare not Hiy above 150; and yet I believe, not many, that are of any con- fiderable Bignefs, in the known Regions of the World, have efcap'd the Cognizance of the Cu- rious. (I reckon all Dogs to be of one Species,^ they mingling together in Generation, and the Breed of fuch Mixtures being prolifick.) The Number of Birds known and defcrib'd may be near 500 ; and the Number oi Fijhes, fecluding. Sbell-Fijh, as many : But if the ShelL Fijld be taken in, more than fix times the Num- ber. How many of each Genus remain yet un- difcover'd, one cannot certainly nor very near- C 3 - ly 22 He Wisdom of GOD Parti. ly conjedlure ; but we may fuppofe the whole Sum of Beajls and Birds to exceed by a third Part, and Fijhes by one half, thofe known. The InfeBs, if we take in the Exanguious both Terrejirial and Aquatick^ iriay, in Deroga- tion to the precedent Rule, for Number, vie even with Plants themfelves : For the Exangui" cus alone, by what that Learned and Critical Naturalift, my honour'd Friend, Dr. Martin JJjier^ hath already obferv'd and delineated, I conjedure, cannot be fewer than 3000 Species^ perhaps many more. The Butterflies or Beetles are fuch numerous Tribes, that I beheve in our own native Coun- try alone the Species of each Kind may amount to 150 or more. And if we ihould m.ake the Caterpillers and Hexapods^ from whence thefe come, to be diftind: Species, as moft Naturalifts have done, the Number will be doubled, and thefe two Genera will afford us 600 Species-, But if thofe be admitted for diftindl Species^ I fee no Reafon but their Aureli(2 alfo may pre- tend to a fpecifick Difference from the Caterpil- lers and Butterfies, and fo we fhall have 300 Species more ; therefore we exclude both thefe from the Degree of Species, making them to be the fame hifeB under a different Larva or Habit. The Fly-kind, if under that Name we com- prehend all other flying Infers, as well fuch as have four, as fuch as have but two Wings, of both which Kinds there are many fubordinate Genera^ will be found in Multitude of Species to Part I. /;^ /^^ C R E A T I o N. 23 to equal, if not exceed, both the foremen tion'd Kinds. The creepmg InfeBs that never come to be wing'd, tho' for Number they may fall fliort of the flying or winged, yet are they alfo very nu- merous ; as by running over the feveral Kinds I could eafily demonftrate. Supppfing then there be a Thoufand feveral Sorts of Infedte in this Ifland and the Sea near it, if the fame Propor- tion holds between the Infedls native in England^ ann thofe of the reft of the World, as doch be- tween Plants domejiick and exotick^ (that Is, as I guefs, near a Decuple) the Species of Infects in the whole Earth (Land and Water) will amount to loooo, and I do believe they rather exceed than fall {hort of that Sum. Since the Writing hereof, having this Summer, Ann. 169 1, with fome Diligence profecuted the* Hiftory of our Englijh InfedVs, and making Collections of the feveral Species of each Tribe, but particu- larly and efpecially of the Butt erf ics^ both no- durnal and diurnal, I find the Number of fuch of rhefe alone as breed in our Neighbourhood (about Braintree and Notely in Ejjex) to exceed the Sum I laft Year afiign'd to all England^ ha- ving my felf obfcrv'd and defcrib'd about 200 Kinds great and fmall, many yet remaining, as I have good Reafon to believe, by me undifco- ver'd. This I have, fmce the writing hereof, found troie in Experience, having every Year obferv'd not a few new Kinds: Nor do I think that, if I fhould live 20 Years longer, I fljould by- my utmoft Diligence and Induftry in fearch^ C 4 . ing 24 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. ing them out, come to an End of them. If then, within the fmall Compafs of a Mile or two, there are fo many Species to be found, furely the moft modeft Conjecture cannot eftimate the Number of all the Kinds of Fapilio\ native of this Illand to fall (hort of 500, which is twice fo many as I Igft Summer guefs'd them to be ; wherefoBe, ufing the fame Argumentations, the Numiber of all the Britifh hijedfs will amount to aooo, and the total Sum of thofe of the whole Earth will be 20000. The Number of Plants contained in C. Bauhtn^ Penax is about 6000, which are all that had been defcrib'd by the Au- thors that wrote before him, or obferv'd by himfelf ; in which Works, befides Miftakes and Repetitions incident to the mofl wary and know- ing Men in fuch a Work as that, there are a great many,* I might fay fome Hundreds, put down for different Species, which in my opini- on are but accidental Varieties : Which I do not fay to detrad: from the excellent Pains and Per- formance of that Learned, Judicious and La- borious Herbarift, or to defraud him of his de- ferv'd Honour, but only to fhew that he was too much fway'd by the Opinions then gene- rally current among Herbarifts, that, different Colour or Multiplicity of Leaves in the Flower, and the like Accidents, were fufficient to con- ftitute a fpecijfick Difference. But fuppofing there had been 6000 then known and defcrib'd, I cannot think but that there are in the World more than triple that Number j there being in the vaft Continent of America as great a Variety of Part I. in the Creation. 25 of Species as with us, and yet but few common to Europe, or perhaps Africk and AJia, And if, on the other Side the Equator, there be much Land ftill remaining undifcover'd, as probably there may, we mull fuppofe the Number of Plants to be far greater. What can we infer from all this? If the Num^ ber of Creatures be fo exceeding great, how great, nay immenfe, mufl: needs be the Power and Wifdom of him who form'd them all ! For (that I may borrow the Words of a noble and excel- lent Author) as it argues and manifells more Skill by far in an Artificer, to be able to frame both Clocks and Watches, and Pumps, and Mills^ and Granadoes, and Rockets, than he could dif- play in making but one of thofe forts of En- gines; fo the Almighty difcovers more of his Wifdom in forming fuch a vaft Multitude of different Sorts of Creatures, and all with admi- rable and irreproveable Art, than if he had cre- ated but a few; for this declares the Greatnefs and unbounded Capacity of his Underftanding. Again • the fame Superiority of Knowledge would be difplay'd, by contriving Engines of the fame Kind, or for the fame Purpofes, after different Fafhions, as the moving of Clocks or other Engines by Springs inftead of Weights: So the infinitely wife Creator hath fhewn in many Inflances, that he is not confin'd to- one only Influument for the working one Effed:, but can perform the fame Thing by divers Means^ So, tho' Feathers feem neceffary for flying, yet hath he enabled feveral Creatures to fly without them, *26- ne Wis-Dou of GOD Parti. them, as two Sorts of Fifhes, one Sort of Lizard, and the Batt , not to mention the numerous Tribes of flying Infeds. In like Manner, tho' the Air-bladder in Fiflies feems neceffary for fwimming, yet fome are fo form'd as to fwim without it, viz, Firft, the Cartilagineous Kind, which by what Artifice they poize themfelves, afcend and defcend at Pleafure, and continue in what Depth of Water they lift, is as yet un- known to us. Secondly the Cetaceous Kind, or Sea-beafts, differing in nothing almoft from Qua- drupeds but the Want of Feet. The Air which in Refpiration thefe receive into their Lungs, may ferve to render their Bodies equiponderant to the Water; and the Conftridtion or Dilata- tion of it, by the Help of the Diaphragm and Mufcles of Refpiration, may probably affift them to afcend or defcend in the Water, by a light Impulfe thereof with their Fins. Again, Tho' the Water being a cold Ele- ment, the moft wife God hath fo attemper'd the Blood and Bodies of Fifhes in general, that a fmall Degree of Heat is fufficient to preferve their due Confiftency and Motion, and to maintain Life; yet to (hew that he can preferve a Crea- ture in the Sea, and in the coldeft Part of the Sea too, that may have as great a Degree of Heat as Quadrupeds themfelves, he hath created Va- riety of thefe cetaceous Fiflies, which converfe chiefly in the Northern Seas, whofe whole Bo- dy being incompafs^d round with a copious Fat or Blubber ( which, by reflecting and redoub- ling the internal Heat, and keeping oflfthe exter- nal Part I. in /^^ C R e at i o n. 27 nal Cold, doth the fame thing to them that Cloaths do to us) is enabled to abide the great- eft Cold of the Sea- water. The Reafon why thefe Fijhes delight to frequent chiefly the Nor^ them Seas, is, I conceive, not only for the Quiet which they enjoy there, but becaufe the Northern Air, which they breathe in, being more fully charg'd with thofe Particles fuppos'd nitrous, which are the Element of Fire, is fitteft to main- tain the vital Heat in that Adivity which is fufficient to move fuch an unweildy Bulk as their Bodies are with due Celerity, and to bear up a- gainft and repel the ambient Cold; and may likewife enable them to continue longer under Water than a warmer and thinner Air could. Another Inftance to prove that God can and doth by different Means produce the fame EfFedt, is the various Ways of extradling the nutritious Juice out of the Aliment, in feveral Kinds of Creatures. I. In Man and viviparous ^adrupeds the Food moiften'd with the Spittle (faliva) is firft chew'd and prepared in the Mouth, then fwal- lowed into the Stomach, where being mingled with fome diffolvent Juices, it is by the Heat hereof concodted, macerated, and reduc'd into a Chyle or Cremor, and fo evacuated into the In- teftines, where being mixed with the Choler and Pancreatick]\ncQy it is further fubtiliz'd and rcn- der'd fo fluid and penetrant, that the thinner and finer Part of it eafily finds its Way in at the ftreight Orifices of the lafteous Veins. 2. In- fi8 TkWi%Dou of GQD PartL 2. In Birds there is no Maftication or Gom- minution of Meat in the Mouth.^ but in fuch as are not Carniverous, it is immediately fwal- low'd into the Crop or Craw, or at leaft into a Kind of Anteftomach ( which I have obferv'd in many, efpecially in Pijcivorous Birds) where it is moiftned and mollified by fome proper Juice from the Glandules diftilling in there, and thence transfer 'd into the Gizard or Mufculous Sto- mach, where by the working of the Mufcles compounding the Side of that Ventricle, and by the Affiftance of fmall Pebbles ( which the Creature fwallows for that Purpofe) it is, as it were by Mill-ftones, ground fmall, and fo tranf- mitted to the Guts, to be further attenuated and fubtiliz'd by the fore-mentioned Choler and Pancreatick Juice. . 3. In oviparous ^ladrupeds^ as ChamelionSy Lizards^ Frogs, as alfo in all Sorts of SerpentSy there is no Maftication or Comminution of the Meat either in Mouth or Stomach ; but as they fwallow Infects or other Animals whole, fo they avoid their Skins unbroken, having a Heat, or Spirits, powerful enough to extradt the Juice they have Need of, without breaking that which contains it; as the Parijian Academijis leW us. I myfelf cannot warrant the Truth of the Ob- fervation in all. Here, by the by, we take No- tice of the wonderful Dilatability orExtenfive- nefs of the Throats and Gullets of Serpents : I myfelf have taken two entire adult Mice out of the Stomach of an Adder, whofe Neck was not bigger than my little Finger. Thefe Creatures, I fay, draw out the Juice of what they fwallow with- Part I. in //^^ C r e at i o n. 29 without any Comminution, or fo much as break- ing the Skin ; even as it is feen that the Juice of Grapes is drawn as well * whole Grapes pluck'd from the * Rape, where from the Ciufter, and thev remain whole , as "^i^e pour'd upon the^i from a Vat, where they are ^^ ^ ^''^^"^• bruis'd ; to borrow the Parijian Philofophers Similitude. 4. Fipes^ which neither chew their Meat in their Mouths, nor grind it in their Stomachs, do by the Help of a diffolvent Liquor, there by Nature provided, corrode, and reduce it, Skin, Bones and all, into a Chylus or Cremor ; and yet (which may feem wonderful ) this Liquor ma- nifefts nothing of Acidity to theTafte : But not- withftanding , how mild and gentle foever it fcems to be, it corrodes Flefh very ftrangely and gradually, 2^^ Aquafortis^ or the like corro- five Waters, do Metals, as appears to the Eye \ for I have obferved Fifli in the Stomachs of others thus partially corroded, iirfl the fuper- ficial Part of the Flefh, and then deeper and deeper by Degrees to the Bones. I come now to the fecond Fart of the Words, /;; Wijdom haft thou jnadethem all-, in difcourfing whereof I fhall endeavour to make out in Particulars what the Pfalmiji here afTerts in ge- neral concerning the Works of God, that they are all very wifely contrived and adapted to Ends both particular and general. But before I enter upon this Taflc, I fliall, by Way of Preface^ or IntroduBion^ fay fonnctning concerning thofe Syftems which undertake to give 30 TheWisDOM of GOD Parti. give an Account of the Formation of the Uni- verfe by Mechanical Hypothefes of Matter, mov'd either uncertainly, or according to fome Catho- Hck Laws, without the Intervention and Affi- ftance of any fuperior immaterial Agent. There is no greater, at leaft no more palpa- ble and convincing Argument of the Exiftence of a Deity, than the admirable Art and Wifdom that difcovers itfelf in the Make and Conftitu- tion, the Order and Difpofition, the Ends and Ufes of all the Parts and Members of this (late- ly Fabrick of Heaven and Earth : For if in the Works of Art (as for Example) a curious Edifice, or Machine, Council, Defign, and Direction, to * an End appearing in the whole Frame, and in all the feveral Pieces of it, do neceffarily infer the Being and Operation of fome intelligent Architeft, or Engineer ; why fhould not alfo, in the Works of Nature, that Grandeur and Mag- nificence, that excellent Contrivance for Beauty, Order, Ufe, &c, which is obfervable in them, wherein they do as much tranfcend the EfFeds of human Art, as infinite Power and Wifdom exceeds finite, infer the Exiftence and Efficiency of an Omnipotent and All- wife Creator ?. To evade the Force of this Argument, and to give fome Account of the Original of the World, Atheiftical Perfons have fet up two Hypothefes. Thefirft is that of Ariftotle, that the World was from Eternity in the fame Condition that now it is, having run through the Succeffions of infinite Generations} to which they add, Self- ex- Part L in //^^ C r e at i o n. 3 j exiftent and Unproduc'd : For Arijlotle doth not deny God to be the efficient Canfe of the World \ but only aflerts, that he created it from Eter- nity, making him a neceflary Caiife thereof; it proceeding from him by Way of Emanation, as Light from the Sun. This Hypofhejis, which hath fome Shew of Reafon, for fomething muft necefTarily exift of itfd ; and if fomething why may not all Things ? This Hypothejis^ I fay, is fo clearly and fully confuted by the Reverend and Learned Dr. I'illotjon^ late Lord Archbifliop of Ca?iter- hury^ and Primate of all England^ in his firil printed Sermon ; and the Right Reverend Fa- ther in God, "Jokn^ late Lord Biiliop of Chejler^ in Book I. Chap. V. of his Treatife of the Principles of Natural Religion^ that nothing ma- terial can by me be added: To whom there- fore I refer the Reader. T'bc Epicurean Hypothejis rejeBed. The fecond Hypothefu is that of the Epicii- ream ^ who held, that there were two Prin- ciples felf-exiftent. Firft, Epace^ or Vacuity ^ Secondly, Matter^ or Body \ both of infinite Duration and Extenfion. In this infinite Space, or Vacuity, which hath neither Beginning, nor End, nor Middle, no Limits, or Extreams, in- numerable minute Bodies, into which the Mat- ter was divided, call'd Atoms, becaufe by Rea- fon of their perfed; Solidity they were really in- divifible (for they hold no Body capable of Di- vifion, 32 Hoe Wisdom of GOD Parti. vifion , but what hath Vacuities interfpers'd with Matter, of various but a determinate Num- ber of Figures, and equally ponderous, do per- pendicularly defcend, and by their fortuitous Concourfe make compound Bodies, and at laft the World itfelf But now, hecaufe if all thefe Atoms (hould defcend plum down with equal Velocity, as according to their Dodlrine they ought to do, being (as we faid ) all perfectly folid andimporous, and the Facuum notrefifting their Motion, they would never the one over- take the other, but like the Drops of a Shower would alv/ays keep the fame Diftances, and fo there could be no Concourfe, or Coh^lion of them, and confequently nothing created ; partly to avoid this deftrudtive Confequence, and partly to give fome Account of the Freedom of Will ( which they did aflert contrary to the Democratick Fate ) they did abfurdly feign a De- clination of fome of thefe Principles, without any Shadow, or Pretence of Reafon. The former of thefe Motives you have fet down by Liicrc^ tim de Nat, Rerum^ L. 2. in thefe Words : Corpora cum deorfum reBum per inane fenintur Ponderibus propriisy incerto T'empore forte^ Incertifque locis^ Spatio difcedere paulum \ Hantum quod 7iomen mutatum dicer e pojjis. And again, ^od niji declinare filer ent^ omnia deoffium Imbris uti guttce caderent per inane profundum^ Necforet offenjus natiiSy nee plaga creata Trincipiis^ it a nilunquam natura credjfet. Now Part I. ifi the Creation.- 33 Now Seeds in downward Motion muft decline, Tho' vary little from th' exadleft Line ; For did they dill move ftrait, they needs muft fall Like Drops of Rain, diffolv'd and fcatter'd all. For ever tumbling thro' the mighty Space, And never join to make one fingle Mafs. >The fecond Motive they had to introduce this gratuitous Declination, of Atoms, the fame Poet gives us in thefe Verfes, Lib, 2. Sifemper motm conneBitur omnis^ Et vet ere exoritur femper novus 07^di?2e certo j Nee declinajido faciimt primordia motiis Principiiim qiwddam quod fat i feeder a rumpat^ Ex infifiito ne caufam caufafequatur -, Libra per terras unde hcec animantibus, extafy Unde hac eji^ inqiiam^ fatis avolfa 'voluntas ? Befides, did all Things move in direcfl Line^ And ftill one Motion to another join In certain Order, and no Seeds decline. And make a Motion fit to diffipate The well-wrought Chains of Caufes and ftrong Fate ; Whence comes that Freedom living Creatures find? Whence comes the Will fo free, fo unconfin'd^ Above the Power of Fate ? The Folly and Uiireafonablenefs of this ridi- culous aod ungrounded Figment, I cannot bet- D ^ ter 34 T^^ Wisdom of GOD Part L ter difplay and reprove than in the Words oF Cicero, in the Beginning of his firft Book De Finibus Bonoriim & Malorum. This Declination (faith he) is altogether childifhly feign'd, and yet neither doth it at all folve the Difficulty, or effed: what they defire : For, firft, They fay the Atoms decline, and yet affign no Reafon why. Now nothing is more fhameful and unworthy a Natural Philofopher \turpius Phyjico] than to aflert any thing to be done without a Caufe, or to give no Reafon of it. Befides, this is con- trary to their own Hypothefis taken from Senfe, that all Weights do naturally move perpendi- cularly downwards. Secondly, Again fuppofing this were true, and that there were fuch a Decli- nation of Atoms, yet will it not effedt what they intend ; for either they do all decline, and fo there will be no more Concourfe than if they did perpendicularly defcend ; or fome decline, and fome fall plum down, which is ridiculoufly to affign diftindt Offices and Tasks to the Atoms, which are all of the fame Nature and Solidity. Again, in his Book De FatOy he fmartly derides this fond Conceit thus 5 What Caufe is there in Nature which turns the Atoms afide ? Or do they caft Lots among themfelves which fhall decline, which not ? Or why do they decline the leaft Interval that maybe, and not a greater? why not two or three minima as well as one ? Optare hoc quidem eji non dijpiitare. , For nei- ther is the Atom by any extrinfical Impulfe di- verted from its natural Courfe ; neither can there be any Gaufe imagin'd in the Vacuity through I which Part. I. in /^^ C r e a t i o n. 35 which it is carried, why it fhould not move di- redlly ; neither is there any Change made in the Atom it felf, that it fliould not retain the Mo^ tion natural to it, by Force of its Weight or Gravity. As for the whole Atoinical Hypothefis^ either Epicurean or Democritick^ I fliall not, nor need I, fpend Time to confute it 3 this having been already folidly and fufficiently done by many learned Men, but efpecially Dr. Cudworth^ m his IntelleBual Syjiem of the Univerfe, and the late Bifhop of Worcejler^ Dr. Stillingjleet^ ia his Oiigines Sacra, Only I cannot omit the C/- ceronian Confutation thereof, which I find in the Place firft quoted, and in the firft and fecond Books De Naturd Deorum^ becaufe it may ferve as a general Introdudion to the following Par- ticulars. Such a turbulent ConcouFfe of Atoms could never, (faith he) hu?7c mundi ornatum effL- cere^ compofe fo w^ell-order'd and beautiful a Strudure as the IVorld-, which therefore both in Greek and Latin hath from thence \ab ornatti & munditie] obtain'd its Name. And again mod fully and appofitely in his fecond De Nat, Deorum : If the W oiks oi Nature are better, more exad and perfed, than the Works oi Arty 2indi Art effeds nothing without Reafon, neither can the Works of Nature be thought to be efifeded with- out Reafon; for, is it not abfurd and incon- gruous, .that when thou beholdeft a Statue or curious Pidure, thou fliould'ft acknowledge that Art was us'd to the making of it ; or when thou feed the Courfe of a Ship upon the Waters, thou D 2 ^ fliouldft 3^ The W 1 ^jyou of GOD Part I. fhouldft not doubt but the Motion of it is regu- lated and diredled by Reafon and Art ; or when thou conlidereft a Sun-dyal or Clock, thou fhouldft underftand prefently, that the Hours are fliewn by Art, and not by Chance ; and yet imagine or believe, that the World, which com- prehends all thefe Arts and Artificers, was made without Counfel or Reafon ? If one fliould car- ry into Scythia or Britain fuch a Sphere as our Friend PqlJidofiitis lately made, each of whofe Converfions did the fame Thing in the Sun, and Mooriy and other five Planets, which we fee ef- fefted every Night and Day in the Heavens, who among thofe Barbarians would doubt that that Sphere was compos'd by Reafon and Art? A Wonder then it muft needs be, that there (hould be any Man found fo ftupid and forfaken of Rea- fon, as to pc^-fuade himfelf, that this mofl: beau- tiful and adorn'd World, was, or could, be pro- duced by the fortuitous Concourfe of Atoms. He that can prevail with himfelf to believe this, I do not fee why he may not as well admit, that if there were made innumerable Figures of the one and twenty Letters, in Gold, fuppofe, or any other Metal, and thefe well {haken and mixt together, and thrown down from fome high Place to the Ground, they, when they light- ed upon the Earth, would be fo difpos'd and rank'd that a Man might fee and read in them E?iniuss A?inah -, whereas it were a great Chance if he fhould find one Verfe thereof among them all : For if this Concourfe of Atoms could make a whole World, why may it not fometimes make, I and Part L /;/ /^^ C r e a t i o n. 37, and why hath it nof fomewhere or other in the Earth made, a Temple, or a Gallery, or a For- tico, or a Houfe, or a City ? which yet it is fo far from doing, and every Man fo far from be- lieving, that {hould any one of us be caft, fup- pofe, upon a defolate I [land, and find there a mag- nificent Palace, artificially contriv'd according to the exadteft Rules of Architedlure, and curi- blifly adorned and furnifli'd, it would never once enter into his Head, that this was done by an Earthquake, or the fortuitous fliuffling together of its component Materials 3 or that it had flood there ever iince the Conftruftion of xht Worlds or firft Coha^fion of Atoms ', but would pre fen t- ly conclude, that there bad been fome intelligent Architev^l there, the Effe6l of whofe i\rt and Skill it was. Or fhould he fi-nd there hut one fingle Sheet of Parchment or Paper, an Epiftle or Ora- tion written, full of profound Senfe, exprefs'd in proper and fignificant Words, illuflrated and adorn'd with elegant Phrafe ; it were beyond the Poflibility of the Wit of Man to perluade him that this was done by the temerarious Dafli- es of an unguided Pen, or by the rude Scattering of Ink upon the Paper, or by the lucky Pro- jidtion of fo many Letters at all Adventures; but he v/ould be convinced by the Evidence of the Thing at firft Sight, that there had been not on- ly fome Man, but fome Scholar there. T[ke Cartcfian Flypothefis confider'd and ccnjurd. •Having rejefted this Atheifllck Thpotbejh of D 3 ' ^ Epicurus 38 I'he Wisdom of GOD Parti. 'Epicurus and Democritus, I fhould now proceed to give particular Inftances of the Art and Wif- dom clearly appearing in the feveral Parts and Members of the Univerfe ; from which we may juftly infer this general Conclufion of the Pfal- mift. In Wtfdom haji thou made them all: But that there is a Sort of profeffed Theijlsy I mean Monf. Des Cartes^ and his Followers, who en- deavour to difarm us of his decretory Weapon to evacuate and exterminate this Argument, which hath been fo fuccefsful in all Ages to de- monftrate the Exiftence, and enforce the Belief, of a Deity, and to convince and filence all Athe- iftick Gainfayers. And this they do, Firft, By excluding and banifliing all Confi- deration of final Caufes from Natural Philofo- phy, upon Pretence, that they are all and eve- ry one in particular undifcoverable by us j and that it is Raflinefs and Arrogance in us to think *we can find out God's End, and be Partakers of his Councils. Atque ob hanc u?iicam raiionemy totum illud caufarum genus quod a fine peti folet^ in rebus Phyficis nullum ufum habere exijiimo \ non enim abfque temeritate me puto invefiigare pojj'es fines Dei, Medit. Metaph. And for this only Reafon, I thinks all that Kind of Caufes which is wont to be taken from the End^ to have no life in Thyfics or natural Matters j for I cannot with- out Rafionefs thiiik my felf able to find out the Ends of God, And again, in his Principles of Philo- fophy ; Nullas unquam rationes circa res NaturaleSy a fine quern Deus aut Natura in iis faciendis fibi propofuity admittimuSy quia non tantum nobis de- ^ bemus Part L in the Creation. 39 bemiis arrogare ut ejus Concilioriun participes effe pcfjimus. We can by ?20 Means admit any Reajbns about natural Thifigs^ take?! from the E?id which God or Nature proposed to themfclves in making of them ; becaufe we ought not to arrogate fo 7nuch to our felves, as to think we may be Partakers of his Counjels. And more exprefly in his fourth Anfwer, viz. to GaJJendus\ Objedions ; Nee fingi potefi^ oiiquos Dei fines viagis quam alios in propatulo elTe-, omnes enim imperfcrutabili ejus S apt entice. abyjTo funt eodem modo reconditi ; That is, Neither can nor ought we to feign or imagine that fome of God's Ends are inore manifejl than others -, for all lie in like Manner^ or equally hidden^ in the unfearchahle Abyfs of his Wifdom. This confident Aflertion of Des Cartes is ful- ly examin'd and reprov'd by that honourable and excellent Perfon, Mr. Boyle^ in his Difquifition about the final Caufes of natural l^hi?tgs^ Sed:. i. from page 10. to the End 5 and therefore I ihall not need fay much to it, only in brief this, that it feems to me falfe, and of evil Confequence, as being derogatory from the Glory of God, and deftru6tive of the Acknowledgment and Belief of a Deity. For firft, Seeing (for Inftance) that the Eye is employ'd by Man and all Animals for the Ufe of Vifion, which, as they are fram'd, is fo neceifary for them, that they could not live without it; and God Almighty knew that it would be fo ; and feeing it is fo admirably fit- ted and adapted to this Ufe, that all the M^it and D 4 Art 40 "The Wisdom of GOD Part L jlrt of Men and Angels could not have contriv'd it better, if fo well 5 it muft needs be highly abfurd and unreafonable to afnrm, either that it was not defign d at all for thisUfe, or that it is impoffible lor Man to know whether it was or not. Secondly, How can Man give Thanks and Praife to God for the Ufe of his Limbs and Sen-r- fes, and tliofe his good Creatures which ferve for his Suftenance, when he cannot be fure .they were made in any Refpeft for him ; nay, when 'tis as likely they were not, and that he doth but abufe them to ferve Ends for which they were never intended? Thirdly, This Opinion, as I hinted before, fuperfedes and caffates the beft Meditwi we have to demonftrate the Being of a Deity, leaving us no other demonftrative Proof but that taken from the innate Idea-, which, -if it be a Demon-r ftration, is but an obfcure one, not fatisfying many of the Learned theinfelves, and being too fabtle and metaphyseal to be apprehended by vul- gar-Capacities, and confequently of no Force to perfuade and convince them. Secondly, They endeavour to evacuate and difannul our great Argument, by pretending to folve all the FljcZ:nomena of Nature, and to give an Account of the Production and EfFormation of the Univerfe, and all the corporeal Beings therein, both celeftial and terreftrial,- as well animate as inanimate, not excluding Animals themfelves, by a flight Hypothejis of Matter fo and fo divided and mgved. Tht Hypothefis you have Parti. //^ //6^ Cre ATioN. 41 have in Des Cartes^ Principles ofPhilofoph)\ Part 2. All the Matter of this vijible PVorld is by him fuppos'd to ha've been at firji divided by God into Farts nearly equal to each other ^ of a nieafi Size^ viz. about the Bigne/'s of tho/e whereof the Hea- njenly Bodies are now co7npounded \ all together having as much Motion as is now found in the World ; and thefe to have been equally movd feve- roMy every one by it felf about its own Center^ and among one another^ Jb as to coinpoje a fluid Body \ and alfo many of them joi?2tly^ as in company^ about fever al other Points Jo far difiant fro?n one another^ and in the fame Manner difposd as the Centers of the fix d Stars ?ww are. So that God had no more to do than to create the Matter, divide it into Parts, and put it into Motion, according to fome few Laws, and that would of it felf produce the World, and all Creatures therein. For a Confutation of this Hypothefisy I might refer the Reader . to Dr. Cudwortb's Syltem p. 603, 604. but for his Eafe I will tranfcribe the Words: God, in the mean Time, {landing by as* an idle Spectator of this Luciis Atomorum^ this fportful Dance of Atoms^ and of the various Refults thereof Nay, thefe mechanick Thcifts have here quite outftripp'd and outdone the yi/i?- mick Theifts themfelves, they being much more extravagant than ever thofe were ; for the pro- feffed Atheifis durft never venture to affirm, that this regular Syflem of Things refulted from the ' fortuitous Motions of Atoms at the very firft, before they had for a long Time together pro- duced many other inept Combinations^ or aggregate Forms 42 jrl}e WnsDOM of GOD Parti. Forms of particular Things,and mnfenfica/ Syjiems of the Whole; and they fuppos'd alfo, that the Regularity of Things here in this World would not always continue fuch neither, but that fome Time or other, Confufion and Diforder will break in again. Moreover, that befides this World of ours, there are at this very Inftant innume- rable other Worlds irregular, and that there is but one of a thoufand, or Ten Thoufand among the infinite Worlds that have fuch Regularity in them J the Reafon of all which is, becaufe it was generally taken for granted, and look'd upon as a common Notion,that ruv aVo tv^^m ^cl\ Tov ctVTO/Lioirov ovS'h ciei corce ylvirai, as Arijiotle ex- preffeth it ; none of thofe Things which are from Fortune, or Chance, come to pafs always alike. But our mechanick 'Theijls will have their Atoms never fo much as once to have fumbled in thefe their Motions, nor to have produc'd any inept Syftem, or incongruous Forms at all, but from the very firft all along to have taken up their Places, and ranged themfelves fo orderly, me- thodically and direftly, as that they could not poflibly have done it better had they been dire- fled by the moll perfect Wifdom. Wherefore thefe Atomrck Theijh utterly evacuate that grand Argument for a God taken from the Phc^nome- noii of the Artificial Frame of Things, which hath been fo much infilled upon in all Ages, and which commonly makes the flrongeft Impreflion of any other upon the Minds of Men, ^c, the Atheijisy in the mean Time, laughing in their Sleeves^ and not a little triumphing to fee the Caufc Part I. in the Creation. 43 Caufe of Tbeifm thus betrayed by its profefs'd Friends and Afferters, and the grand Argument for the fame totally flurr'd by them, and fo their Work done, as it were, to their Hands. Now as this argues the greateft Infenfibility of Mind, or Sottifhnefs and Stupidity in pretended Theijisy not to take theleaft Notice of the regular and artificial Frame of Things, or of the Signa- tupesof the Divine Art and Wifdom in them, nor to look upon the World and Things of Nature with any other Eyes than Oxen and Horfes do;,fo are there many Phanomenasin Nature, which be- ing partly above the Force of thefe mechmiick Powers^ and partly contrary to the fame, can therefore never be folv'd by them, nor without Jinal CaufeSy and fome vital Principles : As for Ex- ample, that of Gravity, or the Tendency of Bo- dies downward, the Motion of the Diaphragm in Refpiration, the Syjiole and Diajiole of the Heart, which is nothing but a Mufcular Conllridion and Relaxation, and therefore not mechanical but vital. We might alfo add, among many othefs, the Interfedtion of the Planes of the Equator and Ecliptick^ or the Earth's diurnal Motion upon an Axis not parallel to that of the Eclipticky nor perpendicular to the Plane there- of: For tho* Des Cartes would need imagine this Earth of ours once to have been a Sun, and fo it felf the Centre of a leffer Vortex^ whofe Axis was^ then direded after this Manner, and which therefore ftill kept the fame Site or Po- fture, by Reafon of the ftrait Particles finding no fit Pores, or Traces, for their PalTages through 44 T/^e Wis-DOM of GOD Parti. it, but only in this Diredion-; yet does he himfelf confefSj that becaufe thefe two Motions of the Earth, the Annual and Diurnal, would be much more conveniently made upon parallel ^xeSy therefore, according to the Laws of Mechanifm, they {hould be perpetually brought nearer and nearer together, till at length the Equator and Ecliptick come to have their ^;c^^ parallel, which, as it hath not yet come to pafs, fo neither hath there been for thefe laft Two Thoufand Years (according to the beft Obfervations and Judg- ments of Aftronomers) any nearer Approach made of them one to another. V/herefore the Continuation of thefe two Motions of the Earth, the Annual and Diurnal, upon :A:>^e^s not parallel, is refolvable into nothing but ^ f?2al and mental Caufe, or the to BlAri^cr, becaufe it was beft it fhould be fo, the Variety of the Seafons of the Year depending thereupon. But the greateft of all the particular Pfe;2(5;;^^77^, is' the Formation and Organization of the Bodies of Animals, con- fifting of fuch Variety and Curiofity, that thefe mechanick Philofophers being no way able to give an Account thereof from the neceffary' Mo- tion of Matter, imgiiided by Mind for Ends^ pru- dently therefore break off their Syftem there, when they fhould come to Aninials, and fo leave it altogether untouch'd. We acknowledge indeed there is a Pojlhumous Piece extant, imputed to Carter, and entitled, De la Formation du Fcetus^ wherein there is fome Pretence made to folve all this fortuitous Mechanifm. But as the The- ory thereof is built wholly upon a falfe Suppo- fition, Parti. 7>//;5^ Cre ATioK. 4^ lition, fufficiently confuted by our Harvey, m his Book of Generation, 'that the Seed doth ma- terially enter into the Compofition of the Egg ; fa is it all along precarious and exceptionable : Nor doth it extend at all to Differences that are in feveral Animals, nor offer the leail Reafon why an Animal of one Species might not be formed out of the Seed of another. Thus far the Docior, wich whom for the main I do confent. I fhall only add, that Natural Philofophers, when they endeavour to give an Account of any of the Works of Nature, by preconceived Principles of their own, are for the moil: Part grofly miftaken, and confuted by Experience ; as Des Cartes in a Matter that lay before him, obvious to Senfe, and infinitely more eafy to find out the Caufe of, than to give an Account of the Forma- tion of the World ; that is, the Pulfe of the Heart, which he attributes to an Ebullition and iiidden Expanfion of the Blood, in its Ventri- cles, after the Manner of the Milk, which being heated to fuch a Degree, doth fuddenly, and as it were all at once, flu ill uo and run over the Veffel. Whether this Ebullition be caus'd by a Nitro-Sulphureous Ferment lodg'd efpecially in the left Ventricle of the Heart, which mingling with the Blood, excites fuch an Ebullition, as we fee made by the Mixture of fome chymical Liquors, viz. Oil of Vi- triol, and deliquated Salt of Tartar ; or, by the vital Flame warming and boiling the Blood. But this Conceit of his is contrary both to Rea- fon and Experience : For, firfr, it is altogether unrea- 46 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. unreafonable to imagine and affirm that the cool venal Blood fhould be heated to fo high a Degree in fo fhort a Time as the Interval of two Pulfes, which is lefs than the lixth Part of a Minute. Secondly, in cold Animals, as for Example, Rehy the Heart will beat for many Hours after it is taken out of the Body, yea, tho' the Ventricle be open'd, and all the Blood fqueez'd out. Thirdly, The Procefs of the Fibres which com- pound the Sides of the Ventricles running in Spiral Lines from the Tip to the Bafe of the Heart, fome one Way, and fome the contrary, do clearly feew that the Syjlole of the Heart is nothing but a Mufcular Conftridion, as a Purfe is fhut by drawing the Strings contrary-ways; which is alfo confirmed by Experience : For if the Vertex of the Heart be cut off, and a Fin- ger thruft up into one of the Ventricles, in every Syjlole the Finger will be fenfibly and ma- nifeftly pinch'd by the Sides of the Ventricle. But for a full Confutation of this Fancv, I refer the Reader to Dr. Loii-ers Treatife De Corde^ cap. 2. and Des Cartess Rules concerning the transferring of Motion from one Body in Motion to another in Motion, or in Reft, are the moft of them by Experience found to be falfe y as they affirm who have made Trial of them. The Pulfe of the Heart Dr. Cudworth would have to be no Mechanical, but a Vital Motion, which to me feems probable, becaufe it is not under the Command of the Will; nor are we confcious of any power to caufe^ or to reftrain it, but it is carried on and continued without our Know- Part L in /^^ C r e at i o n. 47 Knowledge, or Notice ; neither can it be caufed by the Impulfe of any external Movent, unlefs it be Heat. But how can the Spirit, agitated by Heat, unguided by a vital Principle^ produce fuch a regular reciprocal Motion? If that Site which the Heart and its Fibres have in the Diajiole be moft natural to them, (as it feems to be) why doth it again contrad: it felf, and not reft in that Pojfture ? If it be once contracted in a Syjiole by the Influx of the Spirits, why, the Spirits conti- nually flowing in without Let, doth it not al- ways remain fo ? [for the Syjiole feems to refemble the forcible Bending of a Spring, and the Dia/lole its flying out again to its natural Site.] What is the Spring and principal Efficient of this Re- ciprocation ? What diredts and moderates the Motions of the Spirits ? They being but ftupid and fenfelefs Matter, cannot of themfelves con- tinue any regular and conftant Motion, without the Guidance and Regulation of fome intelligent Being. You will fay. What Agent is it which you would have to eflfed: this? The fenfitive Soul it cannot be, becaufe that is indivifible ; but the Heart when feparated wholly from the Body . in fome Animals ^ continues ftill to pulfe for a confiderable Time: Nay, when it hath quite ceas'd, it may be brought to beat a-new by the Application of warm Spittle, or by pricking it gently with a Pin, or Needle. I anfwer, it may be in thefe Inftances, the fcattering Spirits re- maining in the Heart, may for a Time, being agitated by the Heat, caufe thefe faint Pulfations> tho' I fhould ratloer attribute them to a plajiick ^ Nature^ 48 The Wisdom of GOD . Parti. Nature^ or vital Princple, as the Vegetation of Plants muft alfo be. But, to proceed, neither can I wholly ac- quiefce in the Hypothefis of that Honourable and defervedly Famous Author, I formerly had Occa- fion to mention, which I find in ]i\s free Enquiry into the vulgar Notion of Nature, p. 77, 78. de- livered in thefe Words. " " I think it probable, "' that the great and wife Author of Things did, " when he firft form'd the Univerfe and undi- " ftinguifh'd Matter into the World, put its Parts " into various Motions, whereby they were ne- *' cefiarily divided into numberlefs Portions of " differing Bulks, Figures, and Situations, in Re- '' fped; of each other : And that by his infinite " Wifdom ftjfid Power, he did fo guide and over- " rule the Motions of thefe Parts, at the Begin- " ning of Things, as that (whether in a fhorter '' or a longer Time, Reafon cannot determine) *' they Y^ere finally difpos'd into that beautiful '' and orderly Frame that we call the IVorld; *' among whofe Parts fome were fo curioufly^ " contrived, as to be fit to become the Seed, or '' feminal Principles, of Plants and .Animals. '' And, I further conceive, that he fettled fuch " Laws, or Rules, of local Motion among the *' Parts of the Univerfal Matter, that by his or- " dinary and preferving Concourfe, the feveral " Parts of the Univerfe thus once com pleated, " fhould be able to maintain the .great Con- '' ftrudion, or Syftem, and Oeconomy of the *' Mundane Bodies, and propagate the Species '' of living Creatures." The i'^mt ■ Hypothejis he repeats Part I. in the C?.-EATio n. 49 repeats again, pag. 124, 125. of the fame Trea- tife. ThAsHypothefSy I fay, I cannot fully acquiefce in, becaufc an intelligent Being feems to me requifire to execute the Laws of Motion : For firll, Motion being a fluent Thing, and one Part of its Duration being abfolutely independent upon another, it doth not follow, that becaufe ahy thing moves this Moment, it 'muft necef- farily continue to do fo the next, unlefs it were aftually polTefs'd of its future Motion, which is a Contradidion ; but it ftands in as much Need of an Efficient to preferve and con- tinue its Motion, as it did at firft to produce it. Secondly, Let Matter be divided into the fub- tileft Parts imaginable, and thefe be mov'd as fwiftly as you will, it is but a fenfelefs and ftu- pid Being ftill, and makes no nearer approach to Senfe, Perception, or vital Energy, than it had before ; and do but only flop the internal Motion of its Parts, and reduce them to Reft, the fineft and mofl fubtile Body that is, may be- come as grofs' and heavy, and flifF, as Steel, or Stone. And, as for any external Laws, or efla- blifh'd Rules of Motion, the flupid Matter is not capable of obferving, or taking any Notice of them, but would be as fuUen as the Moun- tain was that MaJmnet commanded to come down to him \ neither can thofe Laws execute themfelves : Therefore there mufl, befides' Matter and Law, be fome Efficient, and that either a Quality, or Power, inherent in the Mat- ter it felf, v/hich is hard to conceive, or fome E ' external 50 77je Wisdom of GOD Parti. external intelligent Agent, either God himfelf immediately, or fome Plajlick Nature^ Happening lately to read The Chrijitan Vir- ttiqfdy written by the fame Author of the Enquiry into the vulgar Notiom of Nature^ (the illuftri- ous Mr. Boyle) I find therein thefe Words : *' Nor will the Force of all that has been faid " for God*s fpecial Providence be eluded, by *' faying, w'ith fome Deifts, That after the firil *' Formation of the Univerfe, all Things were " brought to pafs by the fettled Laws of Nature. " For though this be confidently, and not with- *' out Colour, pretended, yet, I confefs, it doth " not fatisfie me : For I look upon a Law as " a Moral, not Phyfical Caufe, as being indeed " but a notional Thing, according to which an '* intelligent and free Agent is bound to regukte " its Adtions. But inanimate Bodies are utterly " uncapable of underftanding what it is, or what " it enjoins, or when they aft conformably, or *' unconformably to it : Therefore the Adions " of inanimate Bodies, which cannot incite, or " moderate their own Adlions, are produced by ** real Power, not by Laws. All this being confonant to what I have here written, againft what I took to be this Honour- able Perfon's Hypothejis, I muft needs, to do him Right, acknowledge my felf miftaken -, perceiving now, that his Opinion was, that God Ahnighty did not only eftablifh Laws and Rules of local Motion among the Parts of the univerfal Mat- ter, but did, and does al fo himfelf, execute them, or move the Parts of Matter^ according to Part I. in the Cky. AT 10"^. 51 to them : So that we are in the main agreed, differing chiefly about the Agent that executes thofe Laws, which he holds to be God himfelf immediately, we a Plaftick Nature ; for the Reafons aliedg'd by Dr. Cudworthy in his Sy- ftem, pag. 149. which are, Firft, Becaufe the former, according to vulgar Apprehenfion, would render the Divine Providence operofe, folicitous, and diftraftious ; and thereby make the Belief of it entertained with greater Difficulty, and give Advantage to Atheifts. Secondly, It is not fo decorous in Refpefl: of God, that he £hould cLvrcvpyeiv cvnxvroLy fet his own Hand, as it were, to every Work, and immediately do all the mean- eft and trifling'ft Things himfelf drudgingly, without making Ufe of any inferior or fubordi- nate Minifter. Thefe two Reafons are plauflble, but not cogent j the two following are of greater Force. Thirdly, The flow and gradual Procefs that is in the Generation of Things, which would feem to be a vain and idle Pomp, or tri- fling pormality, if the Agent were omnipotent. Fourthly, Thcfe aV^pT>i/>6ara, as Arijiotle calls them, thofe Errors and Bungles which were com- mitted when the Matter is inept, or contumacious, as in Monfters, &c, which argue the Agent not to be irreflftible ; and that Nature is fuch a Thing as is not altogether uncapable, as well as human Art, of being fometimes fruftrated. and difap- pointed by the Indifpofition of the Matter: Whereas an omnipotent Agent would always do its Work infallibly and irrefiftibly, no Inepti- tude, or Stubbornefs of the Matcer^ being ever. E 2 able T2 neWisDouo/GOD Parti. able to hinder fuch an one, or make him bungle, or fumble in any thing. So far the Dodlor. For my Part, I flaould make no Scruple to attribute the Formation of Pla?2ts, their Growth and Nu- trition, to the vegetable Soul in them ; and like- wife the Formation of Afzimalsy to the Vegetative Power of their Souls 5 but that the Segments and Cuttings of fome Plants, nay, the very Chips and fmalleft Fragments of their Body, Branches, or Roots, will grow and become per- fect Plants themfelves, and fo the vegetable Soul, if that w^ere the Architedl, would be divifible, and confequently no fpiritual, or intelligent Be- ing; which the Tlafiick Principle vnuG: be, as we have {hewn: For that muft prefide over the whole Oeconomy of the Plant, and be one fin- gle Agent, which takes Care of the Bulk and Figure of the Whole, and the Situation, Figure, Texture of all the Parts, Root, Stalk, Branches, Leaves, Flowers, Fruit, and all their VefTels* and Juices. I therefore incline to Dr. Cudworth'% Opinion, that God ufes for thefe Eifefts the fub- ordinate Miniftry of fome inferior Plajtick Na- ture ; as, in his Works of Providence, he doth of Angels. . For the Defcription whereof I refer the Reader to his Syjiem. Secondly, In particular I am difficult to be- lieve, that the Bodies of Ajiimah can be form'd by Matter divided and mov'd by what Laws you will, or can imagine, without the immediate Preiidency, Diredion, and Regulation of fome intelligent Being. In the Generation,, or firft For- mation of, fuppofe, the human Body out of I (tho' Part I. in it/je Cke ATio"^. 53 (tlW not an homogeneous Liquor, yet) a fluid Subflance, the only material Agent, or Mover, is a moderate Heat. Now how this, by pro- ducing an inteftine Motion in the Particles of the Matter, which can be conceiv'd to differ in no- thing elfe but Figure, Magnitude, and Gravity, fhould, by Vertue thereof, not only feparate the Heterogeneous Parts, but affemble the Ho- iiK)geneous into Mafles, or Syftems, and that not each Kind into one Mafs, but into many and disjoined Ones, as it were fo many Troops 5 and that in each Troop the particular Par- ticles fhould take their Places, and caft them- felves into fuch a Figure ; as for Example, the Bones, being about 300, are form'd of various Sizes and Shapes, fo fituate and conneded, as to be fubfervient to many hundred Intentions and Ufes, and many of them confpire to one and the fame Adiion, and all this contrarily to the Lawg of Specifick Gravity, in whatever Pofture the Body be formed ; for the Bones, whofe compo- nent Parts are the heavier, will be above fome Part's of the Flefh which are the lighter ; how much more then, feeing it is form'd with the Head, (which for its Bignefs is the heavieft of all the Parts) upperm.oft. This, I fay, I cannot by any Means conceive. I might inftance in all the Homogeneous Parts of the Body, either Sites and Figures, and ask by what imaginable Laws of ^Motion their Bulk, Figure, Situation, and Connedion can be made out ? What Ac- count can be given of the Valves, of the Veins and Arteries of the Heart, and of the Veins E 3 ^ elfe- 54 ^^ Wisdom of GOD Parti, elfewhere, and of their Situation ; of the Fi- gure and Confiftency of all the Humours and Membranes of the Eye, all confpiring and ex- adly fitted to the Ufe of Seeing ? But I have touched upon that already, and fhall difcourfe it largely afterward. You will ask me. Who, or what, is the Operator in the Formation of the Bodies of Man,- and other Animals ? I anfwer. The fenfitive Soul it felf, if it be a fpiritual and immaterial Subftance, as I am inclinable to be- lieve ; but if it be material, and confequent- ly the whole Anunal but a mere Machine, or Automaton^ as I can hardly admit, then muft we have recourfe to a Plajiick Nature, That the Soul of Brutes is material, and the whole Animal, Soul and Body, but a mere Ma- chine, is the Opinion, publickly own'd and de- clared, of Des Cartes^ Gajfendus, Dr. Willis^ and others. The fame is alfo neceffarily confequent upon the Dodlrine of the Peripateticks, viz. That the fenfitive Soul is educed out of the Power of the Matter ; for nothing can be educed out of the Matter but what was there before ; which mufl: be either Matter, or fome Modification of it. And therefore they cannot grant it to be a fpiritual Subftance, unlefs they will affert it to be educed out of nothing. This Opinion, I fay, I can hardly digeft : I ihould rather think, Animals to be endu'd with a lower Degree of Reafon, than that they are mere Machines. I could inftance in many Adions of Brutes, that are hardly to be accounted for with- out Reafon and Argumentation j as that com- monly Part I. in the Ckv. ATio n. 5 5 monly noted of Dogs, that running before their Mafters, they will ilop at a Divarication of the Way, 'till they fee which Hand their Mafters will take ; and that when they have gotten a Prey, which they fear their Mafters will take from them, they will run away and hide ir, and afterwards return to it. What Account can be given why a Dog, being to leap upon a Table which he fees tp be too high for him to reach at once, if a Stool, or Chair, happens to ftand near it, doth firft mount up that, and from thence the Table ? If he was a Machine, or Piece of Clockwork, and this Motion caused by the ftriking of a Spring, there is no Reafon imaginable why the Spring being fet on Work, fhould not carry the Ma- chine in a right Line tov^^ard the Objedt that put it in Motion, as well when the Table is high as when it is low ; whereas I have often ob- ferv'd the firft Leap the Creature hath taken up the Stool, not to be diredly toward the Table, but in a Line oblique, and much declining from the Objed: that mov'd it, or that Part of the Ta- ble on which it ftood. Many the like Adions there are, which I fhall not fpend Time to relate. Should this be true, that Beafts were Automata^ or Machines, they could have no Senfe, or Perception of Plea- fure, or Pain, and confequently no Cruelty could be exercis'd towards them; which is contrary to the doleful Significations they make when beaten, or tormented, and contrary to the com- mon Senfe of Mankind, all Men naturally pity- ing them, as apprehending them to have fuch a E 4 . Senfe 56 7%e Wis-DOM, of GOD Parti. « Senfe and Feeling of Pain and Mifery as thcm- felves have ; vv^hereas no Man is troubled to fee a Plant torn, or cut, or ftampt, or man- gled how you pleafe ; and at laft feemingly con- trary to the Scripture too ; for it is faid, Prov. xii. lo. ^ righteous Man regardeth the Life of his Beajiy but the tender Mercies of the Wicked are cruel. The former Claufe is ufually Englifli'd, A good Man is merciful to his Beaji ; which is the true Expofition of its as appears by the oppoiite Claufe,. that the Wicked are crueL What lefs then can be inferred from this Place, than that Cruelty may be exercis'd towards Beafts, which, were they mere Machines, it could not be r To which I do not fee what can be anfwer'd, but that the Scripture accommodates it felf to the common, tho' falfe. Opinion of Mankind, who take thefe Animals to be endued with Senfe of Pain, and think that Cruelty may be exercised towards them 5 tho', in reality, there is no fuch thing : Befides, having the fame Members and Organs of Senfe as we have, it is very probable they have the fame Senfations and Perceptions with us. To this Des Cartes anfwers, or in- deed faith, he hath nothing to anfwer ; but that if they think as well as wcj they have an immortal Soul as v/eU as we: Which is not at all likely, bccaufe there is no Reafon to be- lieve it of fome Animals without believing it of all ; whereas there are many too imperfedi to believe it of them, fuch as are OyJterSy and SpongeSy and the like. To which I anfwer, That there is no Ncceflity they (hould be immortal, be- Part I. in //6^ C r e at i o n. 57 becaufe it is pdfTible they may be deflroy'd, or annihilated. But I fhall not wade further into this Controverfy, tecaufe it is befide my Scope, and there hath u^n as much written of it already, as I have to fay, by Dr. Moore^ Dr. Ciidworth^ Des Cartes^ Dr. Willisy and others. Pro and Con. Of the njijible Works of God ^ and their Divifon. I come now to take a View of the Works of the Creation, and to obferve fomething of the Wifdom of God difcernable in the Formation of them, in their Order and Harmony, aqd in their Ends and Ufes : And firft, I (hall run them over (lightly, remarking chiefly what is obvi- ous and exposed to the Eyes and Notice of the more carelefs and incurious Obferver. Second- ly, I (hall feled: one or two particular Pieces, and take a more exad: Survey of them ; tho* even in thefe, more will efcape our Notice than can be difcover d by the moft diligent Scrutiny; for our Eyes and Senfes, however arm*d or aflifted, are too grofs to difcern the Curiofity of the Workman(hip of Nature, or thofe mi- nute Parts by which it ad:s, and of which Bo- dies are compos'd y and our Underftanding too dark and infirm to difcover and comprehend all the Ends and Ufes to which the infinitely wife Creator did defign them. But before 1 proceed, being put in Mind thereof by the mention of the A(ri (lance of our Eyes, I cannot omi-t one general Obfervation concerning the Curiofity of the Works of Na- ture 58 The Wisdom of GOD Part L ture in Comparifon of the Works of Art, which I fhall propofe in the late Bifliop of Chejlers Words, \TreatiJe of Natural Religion^ Lib. i. c. 6.) " The Obfervations which have been made in " thefe latter Times by the Help of the Micro- *' J'cope^ fince we had the Ufe and Improvement *' of it, difcover a vaft Difference between Na- *^ tural and Artificial Things. Whatever is Na- '' tural, beheld thro' that, appears exquifitely *' formed, and adorn'd with all imaginable Ele- *' gancy and Beauty. There are fuch inimita- «^ ble Glidings in the fmallefl Seeds of Plants, " but efpecially in the Parts of Animals, in the *' Head, or Eye, of a fmall Fly ; fuch Accu- *' racy. Order, and Symmetry in the Frame of ** the utmoll minute Creatures, a Loufe^ for Hx- *' ample, or a Mite^ as no Man were able to con- «' ceive without feeing of them. Whereas the *' moft curious Works of Art, the {liarpeft and «' fineft Needle, doth appear as a blunt rough «' Bar of Iron, coming from the Furnace, or the «' Forge: The moft accurate Engravings, orEm- <' bofments, feem fuch rude, bungling, and de- «' form'd Work, as if they had been done with a «' Mattock, or Trowel ; fo vaft a Difference is <' there betwixt the Skill of Nature, and the «' Rudenefs and Imperfection of Art. I might «' add, that the Works of Nature, the better '* Lights and Glaffes you ufe, the more clear " and exadtly form'd they appear; whereas the " Effedts of human Art, the more curioufly they ** are viewed and examin'd, the more of Defor- " mity they difcover. This Part I. if;^ //>£? C R E AT I o N. 59 This being premifed, for our more clear and diftind: Proceeding in our curfory View of the Creation, I fhall rank the Parts of this material and vifible World' under feveral Heads. Bodies are either inanimate or animate. Inanimate Bo- dies are either calejiial or terreftriaL Ccelejlialy as the Sun^ Moon, and Stars ; Terrejirial, are ei- ther fimple, as the four Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air ; or mixt, either imperfedlly, as the Meteors, or more perfedly, as Stones, Metals, Minerals, and the like. Animate Bodies are ei- ther fuch as are endued with a Vegetative Soul, as Plants ; or a Senjitive Soul, as the Bodies of Animals, Birds, Beajis, Fijhes, and hije.5ls ; or a Rational Soul, as the Body of Man, and the Ve- hicles of Angels, if any fuch there be. I make ufe of this Divifion to comply with the common and receiv'd Opinion, and for ea- fier Comprehenfion and Memory ; tho' I do not think it agreeable to Philofophick Verity and Accuracy, but do rather incline to the Atomick Hypothejis : For thefe Bodies, we call Elements, ate only the Ingredients of mix'd Bodies ; nei- ther are they abfolutely fimple themfelves, as they do exift in the World, the Sea Water con- taining a copious Salt manifeft to Senfe ; and both Sea and Frefh-water fufficing to nourifli many Species of Fi{h, and confequently con- taining the various Parts of which their Bodies are compounded. And I believe there are many Species of Bodies which the Peri'pateticks call mix'd, which are as fimple as the Elements them- felyes, as Metals, Salts, and fome Sorts of Stones. 6o "The Wisdom of GOD Parti. Stones. I fliould therefore, with Dr. Grew, and others, rather attribute the various Species of inanimate Bodies to the divers Figures of the minute Particles of vs^hich they are made up : And the Reafon w^hy there is a Set, and con- ftant Number, of them in the World, none de- ftroy'd, nor any new ones produc'd, I take to be, becaufe the Sum of the Figures of thofe minute Bodies into which Matter was at firft divided, is determinate and iix'd. 2. Becaufe thofe mi- mute Parts are indivifible, not abfolutely, but by any natural Force ; fo that there neither is, nor can be, more or fewer of them : For were they divifible into fmall and diverfly-figur*d Parts by Fire, or any other natural Agent, the Species of Nature muft be confounded, fome might be loft and deftroy'd, but new ones would certainly be produc'd ; unlefs we could fuppofe thefe new diminutive Particles fliould again aflemble and marfhal themfelves into Corpufcles of fuch Figures as they compounded before ; which I fee no Poffibility for them to do, without fome ©«c^ dirh iJinyJia; to dired: them : Not that I think thefe inanimate Bodies to confift wholly of one Sort o? Atoms, but that4:heir Bulk confifts main- ly or chiefly of one Sort. But whereas it may be objedled that Metals (which of all others feem to be moft fimple) may be tranfmuted one into another, and fo the Species doth not de- pend upon the being compounded of Atoms of one Figure ; I anfwer, I am not fully fatisfied of the Matter of Fad:: But if any fuch Tranf- mutation be, poflibly all Metals may be of one Species, Part I. in />6^ C r e at i o n. 6 1 Species, and the Diverfity may proceed from the Admixture of difierent Bodies with the Princi- ples of the Metal If it be ask'd, Why may not Atoms of different Species concur to the Com- polition of Bodies ? And fo, tho' there be but a few ' Sorts of original Principles, may there not be produced infinite Species of compound Bodies, as by the various Difpoiitions and Com- binations of Twenty-four Letters innumerable Words may be made up? I anfwer, hecaufe the Heterogeneous Atoms or Principles are not naturally apt to cohere and ftick together when they are mingled in the fame Liquor, as the Homogeneous readily do. I do not believe that the Species of Princi- ples, or indivifible Particles, are exceeding nu- merous ; but poffibly the immediate component Particles of the Bodies of Plants and Animals may be themfelves compounded. Of the Heavenly Bodies, Before I come to treat of the Heavenly Bo- dies in particular, I fhall premife in general, that the whole Univerfe is divided into two Sorts of. Bodies, the one very thin and fluid, the other more denfe, folid and confiftent. The thin and fluid is the Ether^ comprehending the Air or Atmofphere encompafling the particu- lar Stars 'and Planets. Now, for the Stability and Perpetuity of the whole Univerfe, the Divine Wifdom and Providence hath given to the folid and ftable Pares a two-fold Power, one of 62 77)e Wisdom of GOD Parti. of Gravity, and the other of Circular Motion. By the firft they are preferv'd from Diffolution and DifTipation, which the fecond would other- wife infer : For it being by the Confent of Philofophers, an innate Property of every Body mov'd circularly about any Centre, to recede, or endeavour to recede, from that Centre of its Motion, and the more ftrongly the fvvifter it is mov'd, the Stars and Planets being whirl'd about with g^at Velocity, would fuddenly, did no- thing inhibit it, at leaft in a ihort Time, be fhatter'd in Pieces, and fcatter'd every Way thro' the Ether. But now their Gravity unites and binds them up faft, hindring the Difperfion of their Parts. I will not difpute what Gravity is s only I will add, that, for ought I have heard, or read, the Mechanical Philofophers have not as yet given a clear and fatisfadiory Account of it. The fecond Thing is a circular Motion upon their own AxeSy and in fome of them alfo, it's probable, about other Points, if we admit the Hypothefis of every fix'd Stars being a 'Sun or Sun-like Body, and having a Choir of JPla- nets in like Manner moving about him. Thefe Revolutions, we have Reafon to believe, are as exad:ly equal and uniform as the Earth's are ; which could not be, were there any Place for Chance, and did not a Providence continually over-fee and fecurc them from all Alteration or Imminuation, which either internal Changes in their own Part, or external Accidents and Oc- currences, would at one Time or other nece^arily induce. Part I. i?t the Cke AT 10^. 63 induce. Wldiouc this circular Motion of the Earth, here could be no living : One Hemi- fphere would be condemned to perpetual Cold and Darknefs, the other continually roafted and parch'd by the Sun- beams. And it is reafona- ble to think, that this circular Motion is as neceflary to moft other Planetary Bodies, as it is to the Earth. As for the fix'd Stars, if they be Suft-like Bodies, it is probable alfo each of them moves' circularly upon its own Axis^ as ^e Sun doth : But what Neceffity there is of fuch a Motion, for want of underftanding the Nature of thofe Bodies, I muft confefs my felf not yet to comprehend ; tho' that it is very great, I doubt not, both for themfelves, and for the Bo- dies about them. Firft, for the Celeftlal, or Heavenly Bodies, the Equability and Conftancy of their Motions, the Certainly of their Periods and Revolu- tions, the Conveniency of their Order and Situ- ations, argue them to be ordain'd and govern'd by Wifdom and Underftanding ; yea, fo much Wifdom as Man cannot eafiiy fathom or com- prehend : For we fee, by how much the Hy- potbejes of Aft.ronomers are more fimple and conformable to Reafon, by fo much do they give a better Account of the Heavenly Motions. It is reported oi Alphonfm King of Arragon^ (I know not whether truly) that when he law and con- fider'd the many Eccentricks^ Epicycles^ Epi- cycles upon Epicycles, Lihrations, and Contra- riety of Motions, which were requifite in the old Hypothejis to give an Account of the Cele- 1 ^ Jlial 64 Tl^e Wisdom of GOD Parti. Jlial Phanome7ta, he fhauld prefume blafphemouf- ly to fay, that the Univerfe was a bungling Piece 5 and that if he had been of God's Coun- fel, he could have diredled him to have made it better. A Speech as ra{h and ignorant, as daring and prophane. For it w^as nothing but Ignorance of the true Procefs of Nature, that induced the Contrivers of that Hjpothefis to invent fuch abfurd Sup- politiofts, and him to accept them for .true, and attribute them to the great Author of the Heavenly Motions : For in the New Hypothefis of the Modern Aflronomers, we fee moft of thofe Abfurdities and Irregularities re<5Vify'd and removed ;. and I doubt , not but they would all vanifh, could we certainly difcover the true Method and Procefs of Nature in thbfe Revo- lutions : For feeing in thofe Works of Nature which we converfe with, we conftantly find thofe Axioms true, Natiira no?i facit circuituSy Nature doth not fetch a Compafs when it may proceed in a ftraight Line ; and Natura nee abim- dat in fuperfluisy nee deficit in neeejfariisy Nature abounds not in what is fuperfluous, neither is deficient in what is necefiTary : We may alfo rationally conclude concerning the Heavenly Bodies, feeing there is fo much Exadnefs ob- ferv'd in the Time of their Motions, that they punctually come about in the fame Periods to the Hundredth Part of a Minute, as may, be- yond Exception, be demonftrated by comparing their Revolutions ; furcly there is alfo us'd the rpoft fimple, facile, and convenient Way for the Part I. in the C^-Ei ATI o n. 6^ the Performance of them. Among thefc Hea- venly Bodies, Firft, the Sun^ a vaft Globe of Fire, efteem^d by the ancienter and moft modeft Computatioa above 160 Times bigger than the Earth; the very Life of this inferior World, without vsrhole falutary and vivifick Beams all Motion^ both Animal, Vital and Natural, would fpeedi- \y ceafe, and nothing be left here below btit Darknefs and Death. All Plants and Animals muft needs in a very fliort Time be not only mortified, but, together with the Surface of Land and Water, frozen as hard as a Flint 01 rida- mant : So that of all the Creatures of the World, the ancient Heathens had moft Reafon to worfhip him as a Godj tho' no true Reafon , becaufe he was but a GreaturCj and not God: And we Chriftians do think, that the Service of the Animals that live upon the Earth, and prin- cipally Man, was one End of his Creation; feeing without him there could no fuch Things have been. This Sim, I fay, according to the old Hypothefis, whirl'd round aboiit the Earth daily with incredible Celerity, making Night and Day by his rifing and fetting ; Winter and Summer, by his Accefs to the feveral Tropicks, creating fuch a grateful Variety of Seafons^ en- lightning all Parts of the Earth by his Beams^ and cherifhing them by his Heat, fituate and mov*d fo»in refpedt of this fublunary Worlds (and it's likely alfo in refpedt of all the Planets about him) that Art and Council could not have delign'd either to have placed him better, F ^ or 66 ^ 7l)e Wisdom of GOD Parti. or mov'd him more conveniently for the Ser- vice thereof, as I could eafily make appear by the Inconveniences that v^ould follow upon the Suppofition of any other Situation and Motion, fhew forth the great Wifdom of him who fo difpos'd and mov'd him. Secondly, The Moon, a Body in all Probabi- lity fomewhat Hke the Earth we live upon, by its conftant and regular Motion, helps us to di- vide our Time, reflects the Sun-beams to us, and fo by illuminating the Air, takes away in fome Meafure the difconfolate Darknefs of our Winter- Nights; procures, or at leaft regulates, the Fluxes and Refluxes of the Sea, whereby the Water is kept in conftant Motion, and preferv'd from Pu- trefaction, and fo render'd more falutary for the Maintenance of its Breed, and ufeful and fervice- able for Man's Convenience of Fifliing and Na- vigation ', not to mention the great Influence it is fuppos'd to have upon all moift Bodies, and the Growth and Increafe of Vegetables and Ani- mals : Men generally obferving the Age of the Moon in the planting of all Kinds of Trees, fowing of Grain, grafting and inoculating, ' and pruning of Fruit-Trees, gathering of Fruit, cutting of Corn or Grafs -, and thence alfo ma- king Prognofticks of Weather, becaufe fuch Ob- fervations feem to me uncertahi. Did this Lu- tninavj ferve to no other Ends and Ufes, as 1 am^ perfuaded it doth many, efpecially to maintain the Creatures which in all likelihood breed and inhabit there, for which I refer you to the inge- nious Treatifcs written by Bifbop Wilkins, and Monfieur Part I. in tie Creatio n. 67 Monfieur Fontenelle^ on that Subjed ; yet thefe were enough to evince it to be the Effed; an4 Produdt of Divine Wifdom and Power. Thirdly, As for the reft of the PlaneU^ be- fides their particular Ufes, which are to us un- known, or merely conjedlural, their Courfes and Revolutions, their Stations and Retrogradations, obferv'd conftantly fo many Ages together in moft certain and determinate Periods of Time, do fufficiently demonftrate, that their Motions are inftituted and governed by Counfel, Wifdom and Underftanding. Fourthly, The like may be faid of the jixd Stars^ whofe Motions are regular, equal and conftant : So that we fee nothing in the Hea- vens which argues Chance, Vanity, or Error ; but on the contrary, Rule, Order, and Con- ftancy ; the EfFefts and Arguments of Wifdom: Wherefore, as Cicero excellently concludes, Ca- lejiem ergo admirabilem ordinem^ incredibilemque conjiantianiy ex qua converfatio & falus omnium omnis oritur^ qui vacare mente putat, nee ipji mentis expers habendus ejt : " Wherefore who- " foever thinketh that the admirable Order, and ** incredible Conftancy, of the Heavenly Bodies, ^' and their Motions, whereupon the Preferva*- " tion and Welfare of all Things doth depend, is " not govern d by Mind and Underftanding, he " himfelf is to be accounted void thereof.'^ And again, " Shall we (faith he) when we fee aa *' Artificial Engine, as a Sphere or Dyal, or " the like, at firft ^ight acknowledge, that it is *< a Work of Reafon and Art ? Cum autcra impe^ F 2 turn 68 77)eWisDouofGOD Parti. turn cceli^ admirabili cum celeritate moveri ver^ tique videamm conjiantijjime conjicientetn vicijji" tudiiies anniverfarias^ cum fummd Salute & Con- fervatione rerum omnium^ dubitare quin ea non folum ratione jimit^ Jed excellenti quddam Divind- que ratione: " And can we, when we fee the Force of the Heavens mov*d and whirled about with admirable Celerity, moft conftantly finifhing its anniverfary Viciffitudes, to the eminent Welfare and Prefervation of all Things, doubt at all that thefe Things are performed not only by Reafon, but by a cer- tain excellent and divine Reafon ? To thefe Things I fhall add an Obfervation, which I muft confefs my felf to have borrowed of the honourable Perfon more than once mentioned already, that even the Eclipfes of the Sun and Moon, tho* they be frightful Things to the Superftitious Vulgar, and of ill Influence on Mankind, if we may believe the no lefs fuperftitious Aftrologers, yet to know- ing Men, that can skilfully apply them, they are of great Ufe, and fuch as common Heads could never have imagined : Since not only they may on divers Occafions, help to fettle Cbro^ nology^ and redifie the Miftakes of Hijiorians that writ many Ages ago; but which is the* a lefs Wonder, yet of greater Utility, they are (as Things yet ftand^ neceifary to define with competent Certainty, the Longitude of Places or Points on the Terraqueous Globe, which is a Thing of very great Moment not only to Geography^ but to the moft ufeful and impor- 2 tant Part T. in the C r e a t i o n. 69 tant Art of Navigation, To which may be ad- ded, which I fhall hereafter mention, that they ferve to demonftrate the fpherical Roundnefs of the Earth : So that I may well conclude with the Pfalmift, Fjal xix. i. T!he Heavens declare the Glory of Gody and the Firmament peweth his Handy-work, Of Terrejlrial and Inanimate Simple Bodies, I come now to confider the Terreftrial Bo- dies. I fhall fay nothing of the whole Body of the Earth in general, becaufe I referve that as one of the Particulars I Ihall more carefully and curioufly examine. Terreftrial Bodies, according to our Method before propounded, are either ina^iifnatey or ani-- mate ; and the inanimate either fvnple^ or mixt ; Simple, as the four Elements, Fire, Water^ Earth and Air : I call thefe Elements in Com- pliance (as I faid before) with the vulgarly-re- ceiv'd Opinion ; not that I think them to be the Principles or component Ingredients of all other fublunary Bodies : I might call them the four great Aggregates of Bodies of the fame Species, or four Sort of Bodies, of which there are great Aggregates. Thefe, notwithftanding they are endued with contrary Qualities, and are continually encroaching one upon another, yet they are fo balanced, and kept in fuch an. Equi- libriiim,^ that neither prevaileth over other, but what one gets in one Place it lofeth in another. Firft, Fire cheriflieth and reviveth by its Heat, without which all Things would be tor- F 3 . pid. yo T:be Wisdom of GOD PattL Did, and without Motion, nay, without Fife, no Life, it being the vital Flame refiding in the Blood that keeps the bodily Machine in Mo- tion, and renders it a fit Organ for the Soul tq work by. The Ufes of Fire (I do not here fpeak of the Peripateticks Elementary Fire in the Concave of the Moon, which is but a mere Figment, but our ordinary Culinary) are in a Manner infinite for dreffing and preparing of Viftuals, bak'd, boil'd and roaft -, for melting and refining of Metals and Minerals -, for the Fufion of Glafs, [a Material whofe Ufes are fo many, that it is not eafy to enumerate them, it ferving us to make Windows for our Hou- fes, Drinking- Veffels, Veffels to diftil and pre- ferve all Sorts of fermented Liquors, diftiU'd Water, Spirits, Oils, Extrads, and other Chy- mical Preparations, as alfo Veffels to diftil and prepare them in ; for Looking-Glaffes, Speda- cles, Microfcopes and Telefcopes, whereby our Sight is not only relieved, but wonderfully affifted to make rare Difcoveries] for making all Sorts of Inftrumcnts for Husbandry, mecha- nick Arts and Trades, all Sorts of Arms or Wea- pons of War defenfive and offenfive ; for ful- minating Engines; for burning of Lime, ba- king of Bricks, Tiles, and all Sorts of Potters Veffels, or earthen Ware ; for cafting and forging Metaline Veffels and Utenfils; for Diftillations, and all Chymical Operations hin- ted before in the Ufe of Glafs ; for affording us Lights for any Work or Exercife in Winter- Nights j for digging in Mines and dark Ca- verns ; and finally, by its comfortable Warmth fecu- Part I. f;^ //6^ C R E A T I o N. 71 fecuring us from the Injuries of Cold, or re- lieving us when we have been bitten and be- num'd with it. A Subjedl or Utenlil of fo va- rious and inexplicable Ufe, who could have in- vented and formed, but an infinitely wife and powerful Efficient? Secondly, The Air ferves us, and all Ani- mals, to breathe in, containing the Fewel of that yital Flame we fpeak of, without which it would fpeedily languifh and go out 5 fo ne- ceifary it is for us, and other Land-Animals, that without the Ufe of it we could live but very few Minutes : Nay, FiQ>es and other Water-Animals cannot abide without the Ufe of it 'y for if you put Fifh into a VelTel of a narrow Mouth full of Water, they will live and fwim there, not only Days and Months, but even Years; but if with your Hand, or any other Cover, you flop the Veffel fo as wholly to exclude the Air, or interrupt its Commu- nication with the Water, they will fuddenly be fufFocatedj as Rondeletiiis affirms he often experimented. If you fill not the Vefll^l up to the Top, but leave fome Space empty for the Air to take up, and then clap your Hand up-r on the Mouth of the VeiTel, the Fiffies will prefently contend which fhall get uppermoft in the Water, that fo they may enjoy the open Air; which I have alfo obferv'd them to do in a Pool of Water that hath been almofi: dry in the*Summer-Time, becaufe the Air that in- finuated it felf into the Water did not fuffice them for Refpiration. Neither is it lefs ne- F 4 ccflary 72 He Wisdom of GOD Parti, ceffary for InfeGs than it is for other Animalsj, but rather more, thefe having more Air-Vef- fels for their Bulk by far than they, there be- ing many Orifices on each Side their Bodies for the Admiflion of Air, which if you flop with Oil or Honey, the Infedl prefently dies, and revives no more. This was an Obfervation of the Ancients, though the Reafon of it they did not underftand j (Oleo illito InJeBa omnia ex- animantur. Plin.) which was nothing but the intercluding of the Air ; for tho' you put Oil upon them, if you put it not upon, or obftrucft thofe Orifices therewith, whereby they draw the Air, they fuffer nothing : If you obftrudt only fome, and not others, the Parts which are near and.fupplied with Air, from thence are by and by convulfed, and fhortly relaxed and deprived of Motion, the reft that were un- touched ftill retaining it. Nay, more than all this. Plants themfelves have a Kind of Refpi- ration, being furnifh'd with Plenty of Veffels for the Derivation of Air to all their Parts; as huth been obferv'd, nay, firft difcover'd, by that great and curious Naturalift Malpighius, Another Ufe of the Air is to fuftain the Flight of Birds and Infefts. Moreover, by its Gravity it raifes the Water in Pumps, Siphons, and other Engines, and performs all thofe Feats which former Philofophers, through Ignorance of the Efficient Caufe, attributed to a Final, namely Nature's Abhorrence of a Vacuity or empty Space. The elaftick or expanfive Faculty of the Air, whereby it dilates it felf, when comprefTed, (indeed Part I. in /^^ C r e at i o n. 73 (Indeed this lower Region of it, by Reafon of the Weight of the Superincumbent, is always in a compreffed State) hath, been made Ufe of in the common Weather-Glafles, in Wind-Guns, and in feveral ingenious Water- Works, and doubtlefs hath a great Intereft in many natural EfFedts and Operations. Againft what we have faid of the Neceffity of tha Air for the Maintenance of the Vital Flame, it may be objeded, That the Foetus in the Womb lives, its Heart pulfes, and its Blood circulates \ and yet it draws in no Air, neither hath the Air any Accefs to it. To which I an- fwer. That it doth receive Air, fo much as is fufRcient for it in its prefent State, from the maternal Blood by the Placenta Uterina^ or the Cotyledons, This Opinion generally propounded, viz. That the Refpiration of the Dam did ferve the Fcetus alfo, or fupply fufficient Air to it, I have met with in Books ; but the explicit Notion of it I owe to my Learned and Worthy Friend Dr. Edward Hulfe, which, comparing with -mine own Anatomical Obfervations, I found fo confonant to Reafon, and highly pro- bable, that I could not but yield a firm Aflent to it. I fay then, That the chief Ufe of the Circulation of the Blood through the Cotyledons of a Calf in the Womb, (which I have often diffefted) and by Analogy thro' the Placenta Ute^ r/;^^ in an ^u man Fcetus, feems to be the Im- pregnation of the Blood with Air, for the Y^^A- ing of the Fital Flame : For if it were only for Nutrition, what Need of two fuch great Arte- ries 74 TI)e Wisdom of GOD Parti. ries to convey the Blood thither ? It would (one might rationally think) be more likely, that as in the Abdomen of every Animal, fo here, there fhould have been fome ladleal Veins form'd, beginning from the Placenta^ or Cotyledons^ v^hich concurring in one common DuBus^ fhould at laft empty themfelves into the Vena Cava, Se- condly, I have obferved in a Calf, the Umbilical Veffels to terminate in certain Bodies divided into a Multitude of carneous Fapillce^ (as I may fo call them) which are receiv'd into fo many Sockets of the Cotyledons growing on the Womb ; which carneous Papillca may without Force, or Laceration, be drawn out of thofe Sockets. Now tliefe Paptllcz do well refemble xh^AriJla^ or Radii ^ of a Fifh's Gills, and very probably have the iame Ufe to take in the Air j fo that the ma- ternal Blood which flows to the CotyledonSy and encircles thefe Papillce^ communicates by them to the Blood of the Fatus^ the Air wherewith it felf is impregnate i as the Water flowing about the carneous Radii of the Fifh's Gills doth the Air that is lodg'd therein to them. Third- ly, That the maternal Blood flows moil co- fioufly to the Placenta Vterina in Women, is manifefl from the great Hemorrhagy that fucceeds the Separation thereof at the Birth. Fourthly, After the Stomach and Inteftines are form'd^ the E^tus feems to take in its whole Nou- rilhment by the Mouth, there being always found in the Stomach of a Calf, Plenty of the Liquor contain'd in the Amnios wherein he fwims, -and F^ca in bis Inteftines, and abun- dance Part L in /^ C r e at i on. jf dance of Urine in the Allantoides ; fo that the Fcetus in the Womb doth live, as it were, the Life of a Fifh. Laftly, Why clfe fhould there be fuch an inftant Neceffity of Refpiration fo foon as ever the Fatus is fallen off from the Womb. I know that if the Fcetm be taken out of the Womb inclos'd in the Secundines, it will con- tiniji^ to Hve, and the Blood to circulate for a considerable Time, as Dr. Harvey obferves. The Reafon whereof I conceive to be, becaufc the Blood ftill circulates through the Cotyledons^ or Place72ta^ which are now exposed to the open Air, and fo from thence receives fufHcient Sup- plies thereof, to continue its gentle Motion, arKi feed the vital Flame. But when, upon Ex- clulion of the Young, the Umbilical Veffels are broken, and no more Air is receiv'd that Way, the Plaftick Nature, to preferve the Life of the Animal, fpeedily raifes the Lungs, and draws into them Air in great abundance, which caufes a fudden and mighty Accenfion in the Blood* ^ to the Maintenance whereof a far greater Quantity of Air is requifite, than would fervc to feed the mild and languid Flame be- fore. This Way we may give a facile and very probable Account of it, to wit, becaufe recei- ving no more Communications of Air from its Dam, or Mother, it muft needs have a fpeedy Supply from without, or elfe extinguifh and die for Want of it j being not able to live longer without 76 The WisBOM of GOD PartL without Air at its .firft Birth, than it can do afterward. Upon this Occafion, give me leave to dif- courfe a little concerning the Air's infinuating it felf into the Water. I fay therefore , That the Air, at leaft that Part of it which is the Aliment of Fire, and Fewel of the Vital Flame in Animals, eafily penetrates the Body of Wa- ter exposed to it, and diffufeth it felf through every Part of it. Hence it is that we find Fifli in fubterraneous Rivers, and foffil Fifli in the Earth it felf; which can no more live without Air there than in the open Waters : Hence the Miners, when they come once at Water, are out of all Dangers and Damps. You'll fay. How gets the Air into the Water in Subter- raneous Rivers, and into the Earth to the foffil Fiihes ? I anfwer. The fame Way that tne Water doth : Which I fuppofe to be by its upper Superficies ; the Water defcending by Pores and PaiTages that there it finds into Chinks and Veins, and by Confluence of many of them by Degrees fwelling into, a Stream, the Air ac- companies and follows it by a conftant Succef- fion. As for foffil Fiflies, fome make their Way into the Earth up the Veins of Water, opening into the Banks of Rivers, where they lie till they grow fo great that they cannot re- turn: In which Veins they find Air enough to ferve their Turn, needing not much by reafon that they lie ftill, and move but little. O- thers in Times of Floods are left in the Mea- dows, and with the Water fink into the Earth at Parti. Z;^ /i&^ Creation. "jj at fome Holes and Pores that the Water finds, or makes, by which alfo they are fupplied with Air. The Reafon why the Miners are out of Danger of Damps when they come to Water, I conceive is, becaufe then presently the Air that ftagnated in the Shaft finks into the Water, and frefh Air defcends and fucceeds, and fo there is a Circulation ; in the fame Manner as by the finking of an Air-Shaft the Air hath Liberty to circulate, and carry out the Steams both of the Miners Breath and the Damps, which would otherwife fi:agnate there. Indeed, though there were no Damps, yet the nitrous Part of the Air being fpent and confum'd by the Breathing of the Miners, the remaining Part fhould be ren- dered altogether unfit for Refpiration, unlefs new and frefli Air could fucceed. And here, methinks, appears a Neceflity of bringing in the Agency of fome fuperinten- dent intelligent Being, be it a Plajiick Nature^ or what you will: For what elfe fliould put the Diaphragm, and all the Mufcles ferving to Refpiration, in Motion all of a fudden fo foon as ever the Fcetus is brought forth ? Why could they not have refl:ed as well as they did in the Womb ? What aileth them that they muft needs beftir themfelves to get in Air to maintain the Creature's Life ? Why could they not patiently fuflfer it to die ? That the Air of it felf could not rufli in, is clear j for that, on the contrary, there is requir'd fome Force to remove the in- cumbent Air, and make room for the External to enter. You will fay, the Spirits do at this Time ^8 T^^e Wisdom of GOD Part L Time flow to the Organs of Refpiration, the Diaphragm, and other Mufcles which concur to that Adion, and move them. But what roufes the Spirits, which were quiefcent during the Continuance of tlje Foetus in the Womb ? Here is no appearing Impellent but the External Air^ the Body fuffering no Change but of Place, out of its clofe and warm Prifon into the open and cool Air : But how, or why, that fliould have fuch an Influence upon the Spirits, as to drive them into thofe Mufcles cleftively, I am not fubtil enough to difcern. As for the Refpira- tion of the Chick in the Egg, I fuppofe the Air not only to be included in the White, but alfo to be fupply'd through the Shell and Mem- branes. Thirdly, Water is one Part, and that not the leaft of our Suftenance, and that affords the greatefl Share of Matter in all Productions; being not (as it exifts in the World) a fimple and unmix'd Body, but containing in it the Prin- ciples, or minute component Particles of all Bodies : To fpeak nothing of thofe inferiour Ufes of Wafhing and Bathing, drefling and preparing Viftuals. But if we fhall confider the great Concepticiila and Congregations of Water, and the Diflnbution of it all over the dry Land ia Springs and Rivers, there will occur abundant Arguments of Wifdom and Underftanding. The Sea, what infinite Variety of Fifhes doth it nourifli ! FfaL civ. 25. In the Verfe next to my Text, T'fo Earth is full of thy Riches ; So is this great and wde Sea, wherein are Things creeping Part I. in /;6^ C r e at i o n. 79. creeping innumerable^ both [mall and great BeaJiSy &c. How doth it exa<5]:ly compofe it lelf to a Level, or equal Superficies, and in the Earth make up one Spherical Roundnefs? How doth it conftantly obferve its Ebbs and Flows, its Spring and Nepe-tides, and ftiU retains its Salt- nefs^ fo convenient for the Maintenance of its Inhabitants, ferving alfo the Ufes of Man for Navigation, and the Convenience of Carriage ? That it (hould be confined by Shores, and Strands^ and Limits, I mean at firft, when it was natural to it to overflow and ftand above the Earth. All thefe Particulars declare abundance of Wif- dom in their Primitive Conftitution. This lafl the Pfalmift takes Notice of in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Verfes of this Pfalm : Speaking of the Earth at the firft Creation, he faith, Thou coverdyi it with the Deep as with a Garment^ the Waters Jiood above the Mount ai?is: At thy Re-- buke they fled^ at the Voice of thy Thunder they hajied away (the Mountains afcend^ the Valleys dejcend) unto the Place thou haji prepared for them. ' Thou haji fet a Bound that they may not pafs over: That they turn not again to cover the Earth, But what Need was there (may fome fay) that the Sea fhould be made fo large, that its Superficies fhould equal, if not exceed, that of the dry Land ? Where is the Wifdom of the Creator in making fo much ufelefs Sea, and fo little dry Xand, which would have been far more beneficial and ferviceable to Mankind? Might not at leaft half the Sea have been fpar'd, and added to the Land, for the Entertainment 2 . and 8o T:he Wisdom of GOD Partf. and Maintenance of Men, who by the continual Striving and Fighting to enlarge their Bounds, and encroaching upon one another, feem to be ftraitned for want of Room. To this Objection againft the Wifdom of God in thus dividing Sea and Land^ Mn Keill^ in his Examination of Dr, Burnet'j Theory of the Earthy p. 92, 93. thus anfwers ; "this, as moji other of the Athetfis Argument s^^ proceeds from a deep Ignorance of Natural Philofophy ; for if there were but half the Sea that now is, there would be ^Ifobut half the ^antity of Vapours, and confequent- ly we could have but half fo many Rivers as now there are to fupply all the dry La?id we have at prefenty and half as much more , for the ^antity of Vapours which are raisd, bears a Proportion to the Surface whence they are raisd, as well as to the Heat which raisd them. The Wife Creator therefore did fo prudently order it^ that the Sea fhould be large enough to fupply Vapours fufficient for all the Land, which it would not do if it were lefs than now it is. But againft this it may be objedted, Why fliould not all the Vapours which are rais'd out of the Sea fall down again into it by Rain ? Is there not as much Reafon that the Vapours which are exhaled out of the Earth fliould be carried down to the Sea, as that thofe raifed out of the Sea be brought up upon the dry Land ? If fome by Winds be driven from the Sea up Land, others by the fame Caufe will be blown down from Land to Sea, and fo ba- lancing one another, they will in Sum fall equally Part I. //^ //6^ C R E A T I o N. 8 1 equally upon Sea and Land ; and confequenily the Sea contribute nothing to the Watering of the Earth, or the Maintenance of Rivers. To which I anfwer, That as to the Watering of the Earth there needs no Supply from the Sea, there being fufficient Water exhaled out of it felf to do that ; there is no more returned upon it by Rain, fo as to reft upon it, than an equivalent Quantity to what was rais'd out of it. But the Rivers muft be fupply'd other ways. Our Opinion is, that they have their Supply from Rain and Vapours. The Queftion is , Whence thcfe Vapours are brought ^ We an- fwer, From the Sea. But what brings them up from the Sea ? I anfwer. The Winds ; And fo I am arrived at the main Difficulty, Why fhould not the Winds carry them that are exhaled out of the £^r/A down to the Sea, as well as bring them up upon the Earth, which are rais'd from the Sea ? Or, which is all one, why (hould not the Wind blow inditferently from Sea and Land ? To which I anfwer, That I muft needs acknowledge my felf not to comprehend the Reafon hereof God is truly faid, Pja!, cxxxv. j- 'To Sring the Wind out of his T^reajures, But the Matter of Fa6t is moll: certain, viz. That the Winds do bring abundantly more Vapours up from the Sea than they carry down thither. . Firft, Becaufe otherwife there can no Ac- count be given of Floods. It is clear. That Floods with us proceed from Rain j and it is often a vail Quantity of Water they carry down G . to 8x The Wisdom of GOD Part L 10 thie Sea. Whence come thofe Vapours which fupply all this Water ? I hope thole who bring up Springs and Rivers from the great ^i?y/s, will not bring thofe Vapours, which unite into Drops, and defcend in Rain from thence too. Should they rife from the dry Land only, they would foon render it dry indeed ; more parch'd than the Defarts of Libya, We fhould quickly come to an End of Floods, and of Rain too, if nothing were return'd from the Sea again 5 not to mention, that the Sea muft needs in fuch a Cafe overflow its Shores, and enlarge its Bounds. But this Way there is an eafy Account to be given. It is clear, that the Sun doth exhale Va- pours both from Sea and Land; and that the Superficies of Sea and Land is fufficient to yield Vapours for Rain, Rivers and Floods, when heat- ed to fuch a Degree as the Sun heats it : So that there wants only Wind to bring up fo great a Pro- portion of Vapours from the Sea as may afford Water for the Floods ; that is, fo much as is re- turn'd back again to the Sea. Some may perchance demand, To what Pur- pofe ferve the Floods? What Ufe is there of tijiem' ? I anfv^er. To return back to the Sea the Surpiufage of Water after the Earth is fated with Rain. It may be further ask'd, What need more Rain be poured upon the Earth than is fufficient to water it? I reply, That the Rain brings down from the Mountains and higher Grounds a great Quantity of Earth, and in Times of Floods fpreads it upon the Meadows and Levels, rendering them thereby fo fruitful as to I - fland Part I. in the Cke ATio n. 83 ftand in need of no Culture, or Manuring. So we fee the Land of Egypt owes its great 'Fer- tility to the annual Overflowing of the River Nilus: And it's likely the Countries bordering upon the River of Ganges may receive the like Benefit by the Overflowing thereof. Moreover all Rain-Water contains in it a copious Sediment of Terreftrial Matter, which by {landing it pre- q^itates, and is not a fimple Elementary Water. This Terreftrial Matter ferves for the Nourifh- ment of Plants, and net the Water it felf, which is but a Vehicle to derive this Nutriment to all the Parts of the Plants: And therefore the more Rain, the more of this Nutricious Matter may be precipitated upon the Earth, and fo the Earth rendered more fruitful. Befides all this, it's not unlikely, that the P.ain- Water may be endued with fome Vegetating or Prolifick Virtue, de- rived fromfome Saline or Oleofe Particles it con- tains: For we fee, that Aquatick Plants, which grow in the very Water, do not thrive andflou- riili in dry Summers, when they are not alfo wa- ter'd with the Dew of Heaven. Secondly, Another Argument to prove. That the Winds bring up more Vapours from the Sea than they carry down thither, is, Becaufe the Winds do more frequently blow from the Sea than to the Sea. This appears from the Trees which grow on and near the .Sea-(hores all along the Weftern Coaft of Eng/and, whofe Heads and Bougli^ I have obferv'd to run out far to Land- ward J but toward the Sea to be fo fnub'd by the G 2 Wind^, 84 neV^isDouof GOD Parti. Winds, as if their Boughs and Leaves had been pared or fhaven off on that Side. It is alio obferv'd, that the Weftern Wind, which is the moft violent and boifterous of all with us in Englafid, v^hich comes from off the great Atlantick Ocean, is of longeft Continuance. Julius Cajar^ in his 5th Book oi Commentaries de Bello Galileo^ faith of it, Magnam partejiz omnis temporis fn bis locis JJuere cofifuevit -, it is wont to blow in thefe Quarters a great Part of the whole Year : Which Obfervation holds true at this Day, the Wind lying in that Corner at leafl three Quar- ters of the Year. Since this Motion of the Winds is conflant, there is doubtlefs a conftant and fettled Caufe of it, which defer ves to be enquired into, and fearch'd out, by the Study and Endeavours of the moft fagaclous Naturalifts. But however the Wind be raised, it may more eafily blow from Sea to Land, than from Land to Sea, becaufe the Superficies of the Sea being even, or level, there is nothing to flop its Courfe 5 but on the Land there are not only Woods, but Mountains to hin- der and divert it, Having my felf ittn fo much of the Bottom of the Sea round about the Coafts o'i England^ and a great Part of the Low Countries^ of Italy and Sicihs I mull: needs adhere to what I de- liver'd, That where the Bottom of the Sea is not Rocky, hut Earth, Owze, or Sand, and that is incomparably the greateft Part of it, it is by the Motion of the Waters, fo far as the Recipro- cation of the Sea extends to the Bottom, brought to Part I. in the Creation. 85 to a Level; and if it fliould be now unequal^ would in Time be level'd again. By Level I do not mean fo as to have no Declivity (for the " Reciprocation preferves that, the Flood hindering the conflant carrying down of the Bottom) but only to have an equal and uniform Defcent from the Shores to the Deeps. Now all thofe Rela- tions of Urinators belong only to thofe Places where they have dived, which are always rocky;. for there is no Reafon why they (liould dive where the Bottom is level and fandy. That the Motion of the Water defcends to a good Depth, I prove from thofe Plants that grow deepeft in the Sea, becaufe they all generally grow flat, in Manner of a Fan, and not with Branches on all Sides like Trees, which is fo contrived by the Providence of Nature ; for that the Edges of them do in that Poflure with moft Eafe cur the Water flowing to and fro ; and fliould the flat Side be objeded to the Stream, it would foon be turn'd Edge-wife by the Force of it, becaufe in that Site it doth leafl: refifl: the Motion of the Water : Whereas, did the Branches of thefe Plants grow round, they would be thrown back- ward and forward every Tide. Nay, not only the Herbaceous and Woody Submarine Plants, b'Jt alfo the - Lithophytaxhitm- Vams".^' felves, affecS this manner of growing, as I have obrferv'd in various Kinds of Ccrals and Fori, Hence I fufped alL thofe Relations con- cerning Trees growing at the Bottom of the Sea, and bringing forth Fruit there: And as for the Mafdiva Nut, till better information, I adliere G 3 . to 86 r^^ Wisdom of GOD Patt I. to Garcias's Opinion, which may be feen in Ciu-^ Jjus. Farther, I do believe, that in the great Depths of the Sea, there grow no Plants at all, the Bottom being too remote from the External Air, which though it may pierce the Water fo low, yet I doubt whether in Quantity fufficient for the Vegetation of Plants: Nay, we are told. That in thofe deep and bottomlefs Seas there are BO Fifh at alh yet, not becaufe there are no Plants, or Infeds, to feed them, for that they can live upon Water alone, Rojtdeletiuss Expe- riment about keeping them in a Glafs doth un- deniably prove, but becaufe their Spawn would be loft in thofe Seas, the Bottom being too cold for it to quicken there, or rather becaufe being lighter than the Water there, it would not fmk to the Bottom, but be buoy'd up by it, and car- ried away to the Shallows. Again, The great Ufe and Convenience, the Beauty and Variety of fo many Springs and Fountains, fo many Brooks and Rivers, fo many Lakes and ftanding Pools of Water, and thefe fo fcatter'd and difpers'd all the Earth over, that BO great Part of it is deftitute of them, without which it muft, without a Supply otherways, be defolate and void of Inhabitants, afford abun- dant Arguments of Wifdom and Council: That Springs fnould break forth on the Sides of Moun- tains moft remote from the Sea : That there fhould Way be made for Rivers thro' Straits and Rocks, and fubterraneous Vaults, fo that one would think that Nature had cut a Way on Purpofe to derive the Water, which elfe would Part I. in the Cke kTiom 87 would overflow and drown whole Countries : That the Water pafling thro' the Veins of the Earth, fliould be rendred fre{h and potable, which it cannot be by any Percolations we can make, but the Saline Particles will pafs through a tenfold Filtre: That infome Places there fhould fpring forth Metalick and Mineral Waters,* and hot Baths, and thefe fo conftant and permanent for many Ages; fo convenient for divers Medici- nal Intentions and Ufes, the Caufes of which Things, or the Means and Methods by which they are perform'd, have not been as yet certainly difcover'd; only in General, PAV^y's Remark may be true, "l^ales funt aqu/e^ qiialis terra per quam fuunt. Hence they are Cold, Hot, Sweet, Stink- ing, Purgative, Diuretick, or Ferrugincous, Sa- line, Petrefying, Bituminofe, Venenofe, ai:d of other Qualities. Laftly, The Earth, which is the Bafis and Support of all Animals and Plants, and affords them the hard and folid Part of their Bodies, yielding us Food and Suftenance, and partly alfo Cloathing ; for I do not think that Water fupplies Man, and other Animals, or even Plants them- felves, with their Nouri(hment, but ferves chiefly for a Vehicle to the Alimentary Particles, to con- vey and diftribute them to the feveral Parts of the Body. Water, as it exifts in the World, is not a fimple unmix'd Body, but contains the Ter- rellrial component Parts of the Bodies of Animals and Plants : Simple Elementary Water nouriflies iK)t at all. How varioully is the Surface of this G 4' Earth 88 He Wisdom of GOD Part! Earth diftinguifh'd into Hills, and Valleys, and Plains, and high Mountains, affording pleafant Profpedts ? How curioufly cloath'd and adorn'd with the grateful Verdure of Herbs and ftately Trees, either difpers'd and fcatter'd fmgly, or as it were affembled in Woods and Groves, and all thefef beautified and illuflrated with Elegant Flowers and Fruits, qiwriim omnium incredibilis tnultitudo^ injatiabili varietate dijlinguitur^ as T«/- ly faith. This alfo fhews forth to them that con- fiderit, both the Power and Wifdom of God: So that we may conclude with Solomon^ Prov. iii. 19. *Ihe Lord by Wijdom hath founded the Earthy by Under jlmiding hath he eJiabUpfd the Heavens. But now, if we pafs from Simple to Mix'd Bodies, we (hall ftill find more Matter of Admi- ration, and Argument of Wifdom. Of thefe we {hall firft confider thofe they call imperfedly Mix'd, ox Meteors. 0/ Meteors. As firft of all, Rain^ which is nothing elfe but Water, by the Heat of the Sun divided into very fmall invifible Parts, afccnding in the Air, till encountring the Cold, it be by Degrees con- densed into Clouds, and defcends in Drops j this though it be exhaled from the Salt Sea, yet by this Natural Diftillation is render'd frefh and potable, which our Artificial Diftillations have hitherto been hardly able to effed, notwith-? ftanding the eminent Ufe it would be of to Na- vigators, and the Rewards promis'd to thofe that fhould Parti. Z;^ //6^ Cr E ATioN. 89 fhoLild refolve that Problem of diftilling frefh Water out of Salt. That the Clouds fhould be fo carried about by the Winds, as to be almofl equally difperfed and diftributed, no Part of the Earth wanting convenient Showers, unlefs when it pleafeth God, for the Punifhment of a Nation, to with-hold Rain by a fpecial Interpofition of his Providence; or, if any Land wants Rain, they ha\ie a Supply fome other way -, as the Land of Egypfy tho' there feldom falls any Rain there, yet hath abundant Recompence made it by the annual overflowing of the River. This Diftri- bution of the Clouds and Rain is to me (I fay) a great Argument of Providence and divine Difpo- fition ; for elfe I do not fee but why there might be in fome Lands continual fucceflive Droughts for many Years, till they were quite depopula- ted ; in others as lafting Rains, till they were overflown and drown'd 5 and thefe, if the Clouds mov'd cafually, often happening ; whereas, iincc the ancienteft Records of Hiftory, we do not read or hear of any fuch Droughts or Liunda- tions,' unlefs perhaps that of Cyprus, wherein there fell no Rain there for Thirty-fix Years, till the Ifland was almoft quite deferted, in the Reign of Co?jJia?itine 5 which doubtlefs fell not out without the wife Difpofition of Providence, for great and weighty Reafons. Again, If we confider the manner of the Rain's Defcent , . difl:illing down gradually , and by Drops, which is moft convenient for the water- ing of the Earth j whereas if it fhould fall down • in 90 T/)e Wisdom of GOD Parti. in a continual Stream like a River, it would gall the Ground, wafh away Plants by the Roots, overthrow Houfes, and greatly incommode, if not fufFocate Animals: If, I fay, we confider thefe Things, and many more that might be ad- ded, we might in this refped: alfo cry out with the Apoftle, O the Depth of the Riches both of the Wifdom and Knowledge of God ! Secondly , Another Meteor is the Wind ; which how many Ufes it doch ferve to, is not eafy to enumerate, but many it doth, viz, to ventilate and break the Air, and diffipate noifom and contagious Vapours, which otherwife ftag- nating, might occafion many Difeafes in Ani- mals ', and therefore it is an Obfervation concern- ing our native Country, Anglia ventofa , fi no?t ventofdy venenofa: To transfer the Clouds from Place to Place, for the more commodious water- ing of the Earth : To temper the Exceffes of the Heat, as they find who in Brafl^ New Spain^ the neighbouring Iflands, and other the like Coun- tries near the Equator, reap the Benefit of the Breezes: To fill the Sails of Ships, and carry them on their Voyages to remote Countries ; which, of what eminent Advantage it is to Man- kind, for the procuring and continuing of Trade and mutual Commerce between the moft diftant Nations , the illuftrating every Corner of the Earth, and the perfecting Geography and Natu- ral Hiftory, is apparent to every Man. That the Monfoons and Trade- Winds fhould be fo con- flant and periodical, even to the 30th Degree of Latitude all round the Globe, and that they Ihould Parti. //^ /^^ Cre ATioN. 91. fhould lb feldom tranfgrefs or fall fhort of thofe Bounds, is a Subjed: worthy of the Thoughts of the greateft Philofophers. To this may be ad- ded the driving about of Windmills for grinding of Corn, making of Oil, draining of Pools, rai- fmg of Water, fawing of Wood, fulling of Cloth, Gf^. That it fhould feldom or never be fo violent and boifterous as to overturn Houfes, yea, whole Citi^ ; to tear up Trees by the Roots, and pro- ftrate Woods ; to drive the Sea over the lower Countries; as, were it the EfFed: of Chance, or mere natural Caufes, not moderated by a fupe- rior Power, it would in all likelihood often do. Hurricanes, Spouts, and Inundations, would be more frequent than they are. All thefe Things declare the Wifdom and Goodnefs of him who bringeth the Wind out of his '\treajures. Of inanimate mixd Bodies. I proceed now to fuch inanimate Bodies as are Qz}\td, perfect e mixta, perfectly mix'd, improperly enough, they being many of them (for ought I know) as fimple as thofe they call Elements. Thefe are Stones, Metals, Minerals, and Salts. In Stones, which one would think were a neg- lefted Genus, what Variety? what Beauty and Elegancy ? what Conftancy in their Temper, and Confiftency in their Figures and Colours ? I (hall fpeak of fiiA fome notable Qualities wherewith fome of them are endued: Secondly, The re- markable Ufes they are of to us. The Qualities liliall 92 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. 1 fhall inftance in are: Firft, Colour^ which in fome of them is moft lively, fparkling, and beau- tiful ; the Carbuncle^ or Riibine fhining with Red, the Sapphire with Blue, the Emerald with Green, the Topaz y or Chrjfolite of the Ancients^ with a Yellow, or Gold Colour, the Amethiji as it were tinftur'd with Wine, the Opal varying its Colours like changeable TafFata, as it is diverfly exposed to the Light. Secondly, Hardnefs^ wherein fome Stones exceed all other Bodies, and among them the Adamant all other Stones, being exalted to that degree thereof, that Art in vain endeavours to counterfeit it, the fidlitious Stones of Chymifts in Imitation being eafily detefted by an ordinary Lapidift. Thirdly, F/^^/r^ : Many of them fhoot into regular Figures, as Cryjial and Bajiard Diamonds into hexagonal ; others into thofe that are more elegant and compounded, as thofe for- med in Imitation of the Shells of Teftaceous Filhes of all Sorts , Sharks Teeth and Vertebres, &c, if thefe be originally Stones, or primary Pro- dudlions of Nature in Imitation of Shells, and Fifhes Bones, and not the Shells and Bones them- felves petrify'd, as we have fometimes thought. Some have a kind of Vegetation and Refem- blance of Plants , as Corals, Fori, and Fimgites , which grow upon the Rocks like Shrubs: To which I might add our ordinary Star-Stones and Trochites^ which I look upon as a Sort of Rock- Plants. Secondly, Part I. in /Z'^ C r e at i o N. 93 Secondly, For the Ufes ; fome ferve for Build- ing, and many Sorts of VeiTels and Utenfils ; for Pillars and Statues, and other carv'd Works in relievo^ for the Temples, Ornament of Palaces, Portico's, Piazza's, Conduits, G?r. as Freeftone and Marble -, fome to burn into Lime , as Chalk and Lime-ftone ; fome , with the Mixture of Beriglia or Kelp^ to make Glafs, as that the Ve- netians call Cuogiilo, and common Flints, which ferve alfo to ftrike Fire 5 fome to cover Houfes, as Slates, fome for marking, as MorochthuSy and the fore-mention'd Chalk, which is a 7nX6^py\^QVy ferving moreover for manuring Land, and fome medicinal Ufes ; fome to make VeiTels of which w^ill endure the Fire, as that found in the Coun- try of Chiavenna near Plurs, To thefe ufeful Stones I might add the Warming-Jlone^ digg'd in Cornwall^ which being once well heated at the Fire, retains its Warmth a great while, and hath been found to give Eafe and Relief in feveral Pains and Difeafes, particularly in that of the in- ternal Haemorrhoids. I might alfo take notice, that. fome Stones are endu'd with an eleSrical or attradical Virtue. " My honoured Friend, " Dr. Tancred Robin/on, in his Manufcript ///- " nerary of Italy ^ relates the many various Fi- *' gures he obferv'd naturally delineated and " drawn on feveral Sorts of Stones digg'd up in ** the Quarries, Caverns and Rocks about Flo- " rence, and other Parts of Italy , not only repre- " fenting Cities, Mountains, Ruins, Clouds, " oriental Charaftera, Rivers, Woods, Animals, " but 94 77)e Wisdom of GOD Part L " but alfo fome Plants (as Ivy, MolTes, Maiden- ** hair, Ferns, and fuch Vegetables as grow in " thofe Places) fo exadlly defign'd and imprefs'd " upon feveral Kinds of Stones, as though fome " fkilful Painters or Sculptors had been working " upon them. The DoBor obferves alfo the " wonderful Diverfity of Shapes and Colours " that Oars and other Fofiils fhoot into, refem- " bling almoft every thing in Nature, for which " it feems very difficult to him to affign any " Caufe or Principle. In the Pyrites alone he " believes he himfelf may have feen at Home *' and Abroad above a Hundred Varieties, and " yet he confejflTes he has been but a rude Obfer- " ver of them. In the diaphanous Foffils (as '* Ambers, Cryftals, Agates, &c.) preferv'd in " the Cabinets of the Great Duke of T^ufcany^ ^' Cardinal: Chigi^ Settali ^ Mofcardi^ and other *' Repoiitories or Mufaeums of that curious '' Country, he takes notice of the admirable Di- " verfity of Bodies included and naturally im- " prifon'd within them, as Flies, Spiders, Frogs, " Locufts, Bees, Pifmires, Gnats, Gralhoppers, *' Drops of Liquor, Hair, Leaver, Rufhes, Mofs, " Seeds , and other Herbage ; which feem to *' prove them to have been once in a State of " Fluidity. The Bononia Stone digg'd up in the " Appenines is remarkable for its Ihining Quali- " ty. The Af?iianthus for its Incumbufiibility. " The Oculus Mu7idi for its Motion and Change " of Colour. The Lapis Nephrkiciis^' Calamina- " ris^ OJliocolla, /Etitcs^ &€. for their medicinal " Ufes;' , I might Part I. in tl)e Creation. 95 I might fpend much Time in the difcourfing of the mofl ftrange and unaccountable Nature and Power of the Loadftone, a Subjed: which hath exercised the Wits and Pens of the mofl acute and ingenious Philofophers ; and yet the Hypothefes which they have invented to give an Account of its admirable Phanomena feem to me lame and unfatisfadory. What can we fay of the Subtilty, Adivity, and Penetrancy of its mfluvia^ which no Obftacle can flop or repel, but they will nlake their w^ay thro' all Sorts of Bodies, firm and fluid, denfe and rare, heavy and light, pellucid and opake ? nay, they will pafs thro' a Vacuity or empty Space, at leafl devoid of Air and any other fenfible Body. Its attractive Power of Iron was known to the Ancients : It& Verticity and Diredion to the Poles of the Earth is of later Invention ; which, of how infinite Ad- vantage it hath been to thefe two or three kft Ages, the great Improvement of Navigation, and Advancement of Trade and Commerce, by ren- dring the remotefl Countries eafily acceffible; the noble Difcovery of a vaft Continent or new World, befides a Multitude of unknown King- doms and Iflands 3 the refolving experimentally thofe ancient Problems of the fpherical Round- nefs of the Earth 3 of the Being of Antipodes^ or the Habitablenefs of the Torrid Zone\ and the rendring the whole terraqueous Globe circum- navigable, do abundantly demonflrate : whereas formerly they were w^ont to Coafl it, and creep along the Shores, fcarce daring to venture out of the 96 T6eWisD0M of GOD Parti. the Ken of Land; when they did,having no other Guide but the Cynofura^ or Pole-Star, and thofe near it, and in cloudy Weather none at all. As for Metals^ they are fo many ways ufeful to Mankind, and thofe Ufes fo well known to all, that it would be loft Labour to fay any thing of them : Without the Ufe of thefe we could have nothing of Cultule or Civility ; no Tillage or Agriculture ; no Reaping or Mowing ; no Ploughing or Digging ; no Pruning or Lopping, Grafting, or Incifion ; no mec*hanical Arts or Trades 5 no Veflels or Uteniils of Houfhold-ftufF; no convenient Houfes or Edifices ; no Shipping or Navigation. What a kind of barbarous and fordid Life we muft neceflarily have liv'd, the Indians in the northern Part of America are a clear Demonftration. Only it is remarkable, that thofe which are of moft frequent and ne- ceflary Ufe, as Iron, Brafs, and Lead, are the moft common and plentiful : Others that are more rare, may better be fpar'd, yet are they thereby qualified to be made the common Mea- fure and Standard of the Value of all other Com- modities, and fo ferve for Coin or Money, to which Ufe they have been employed by all Civil Nations in all Ages. ' Now of what mighty Importance the Ufe of Money is to Mankind, the learned and ingeni- ous Dr. Cockbiirn (hews us, in the Second Part of his Ejjdy concerning the Nature of Chrijiian Faith, ^.88. Whenever, faith he, the Ufe of Money began , it was an admirable Contri- vance for rewarding and encouragnig Induftry, for Part L in the Creation. 97 for carrying on Trade and Commerce certainly, eafily, and fpeedily ; for obliging all to employ their various Parts and feveral Capacities for the common Good, and engaging every one to com- municate the Benefit of his. particular Labour, without any Prejudice to himfelf Covetoufnefs indeed, or an inordinate Love of Money, is vi- cious, and the Root of much EviJ, and ought to be remedied ; but the Ufe of Money is necelfary, ai^d attended with manifold Advantages. Where Money has not yet taken Place, where the Ufe of it hath not yet been introduc'd, Arts and Sciences are not cultivated, nor any of thofe Exercifes ply'd, which polite Men's Spirits, and which abate the Uneafmefs of Life. Men there are bru- tifli and favage, none mind any Thing but Eat- ing and Drinking, and the other Adts of brutal Nature ; their Thoughts afpire no higher than merely to maintain their Life and Breath : Like the Beafts they walk abroad ail the Day long, and range about from Place to Place, only to feek their Food. Whatever may be fuppos'd to follow if all were ad:ed with great Generofity and true Charity, yet, according to the prefenc Temper of Mankind, it is abfolutely neceffary that there be fome Method and Means of Com- mutation, as that of Money, forrenderingall and every one mutually ufeful and ferviceable. Now Gold and Silver by their Rarity are wonderfully fitted and acconntmodared for this Ufe of Permutation for all Sorts of Commodi- ties, or making Money of: Whereas were they H as 98 Tie Wisdom of GOD Part L as common and eafy to come by as Straw or Stub- ble, Sand or Stones, they would be of no more Ufe for Bartering and Commerce than they. And here he goes on to ihew the wonderful- Providence of God, in keeping up the Value of Gold and Silver, notwithftanding the vafh Quan- tities which have been digg'd out of the Earth in all Ages, an^ fo continuing them a fit Mate- rial to make Money of For which I refer to the Book. Of thefe, Gold is rerharkable for its admirable Dudtility and Ponderofity, wherein it excels all other Bodies hitherto known. I fhall only add,, concerning Metals, that they do pertinacioufly refift all Tranfmutation -, and tho' one would fometimes think they were turn'd into a different Subftance, yet do they but as it were lurk under a Larva or Vizard, and may be reduced again into their natural Form and Complexions, in Dcfpite of all the Tortures of Vulcaji or corrofive Waters. Note, "That this ivas written above T'hir^ ty Tears fjice^ when I thought I had Reafon to dif- trujl whatever had then been reported or written to ajfirm the Transmutation of Metals one into ano- ther, I fhall omit the Confideration of other Mi- nerals, and of Salts and Earths, becaufe I have nothing to fay of their Ufes, but only fuch as refer to Man, which I cannot affirm to have been the fole or primary End of the Formation of them. Indeed, to fpeak in general of thefe Terreftrial Inanimate Bodies, they having no fuch Organization of Parts as the Bodies of Ani- 2 mals,. t^art t. in the Ckeatio n. 99 mals, nor any fo intricate Variety of Texture, but that iheir Production may plaufibly be account- ed for by an Hypotkcjis of Matter divided into mi- nute Particles or Atoms naturally indivifible, of various but a determinate Number of Figures, and perhaps alfo differing in Magnitudcj and thefe mov'd, and continually kept in Motion ac- cording to certain eftablifli'd Law^ or Rules; we cannot fo clearly difcover the Ufes for which rfiey were created, but may probably conclude, that among other Ends they were made for thofe for v/hich they ferve us and other Animals 5 as I fliall more fully make out hereafter. It is here to be noted, That, according to out Hypothejis^ the Number of the Atoms of each feveral Kind that is of the fame Figure and Magnitude is not nearly equals but there be infinitely more of fome Species than of others, as of thofe that compound thofe vaft Aggregates of ^/r, Water, and Earthy more abundantly than of fuch as make up Metals and Minerali : The Reafon whereof may proba- bly be, becaufe thofe are neceflary to the Life and Being of Man and all other Animals, and therefore muft be always at Hand^ thefe only ufe- ful to Man, and ferving rather his Conveniences than NeceiTities. The Reafon why I affirm the minute component Particles of Bodies to be na- ttirally indivifible by any Agent we can employ^ (even Fire it felf) which is the only Catho- lick DiiTolvent, other Menjlruiinn h^m% i2x\\d: Inllrunlents than Efficients in all Solutions, apt by Reafon of the Figure and Smalinefs of their H 2 Parts ICO Tie Wisdom of GOD Part L Parts to cut and divide other Bodies (as Wedges cleave Wood) v^hen actuated by Fire or its Heat> which elfe would have no Efficacy at all (as Wedges have not, unlefs driven by a Beetle:) The Reafon, I fliy, I have already given ; I fhall now inftance in a Body whofe minute. Parts ap- pear to be indiffoluble by the Force of Fire, and that is comnQon Water, which diftil, boil, cir- culate, work upon how you will by Fire, you can only diflblve it into Vapour, which when the Motion ceafes, eafily returns into Water a- gain ; Vapour being nothing elfe but the minute Parts thereof, by Heat agitated and feparated one from another. For another inftance, fome of the moft learned and experienced Chymifts do affirm Quickfilver to be intranfmutable, and therefore call it Liquor at emus. And I am of Opinion, that the fame holds of all fimple Bo- dies, that their component Particles are indiffo- luble by any natural Agent. We may here note the Order and Method that Metals and Minerals obferve in their Growth, how regularly they ftioot, ferment, and as it were vegetate and regenerate; Salts in their proper and conftant Figures, as our ingenious Country- man Dr. Jordan obferves at large in his Difcourfe of Baths and Mineral Waters. Of Vegetables or Plants, I have how done with inanimate Bodies both fimple and mix'd. The Animate are, Firft, Part I. in the C'B.Y. AT lo n. i P i Firft, Such as are endued only with a Vegeta- tive Soul, and therefore commonly called Vegeta- bles or Plants ; of which, if we confider either their Stature and Shape, or their Age and Dura- tion, we (hall find it wonderful ; for why (hould fome Plants rife up to a great Height, others creep upon the Ground, which perhaps may have equal Seeds ? nay, the leffer Plant many tjmes the greater Seed. Why {hould each Parti- cular fo obferve its Kind, as conflantly to produce the fame Leaf for Confiftency, Figure, Divifion and Edging, and bring forth the fame Kind of Flower, and Fruit, and Seed ? and that tho' ycu tranflate it into a Soil which naturally puts forth no fuch Kind of Plant, fo that it is fome * A^o^ ainpjuLctriKk^ which p^^^^^J^"^^ doth effedl this, or rather fome intelli- virtue. gent plajlick Nature ; as we have before intimated: For what Account can be given of the Determination of the Growth and Magnitude of Plants from Mechanical Principles, of Mat- ter movd without the Prefidency and Guidance of fome fuperior Agent ? Why may not Trees grow up as high as the Clouds or Vapours af- cend ? Or if you fay the Cold of the fuperior Air checks them, Why may they not fpread and extend their lateral Branches fo far till their Di- ftance from the Centre of Gravity deprefs them to the Earth, be the Tree never fo high ? ^ How comes it to pafs that tho' by Culture and Manure they may be highly improv'd, and augmented to a double, treble, nay, fome a much greater Propor- tion in Magnitude of all their Parts, yet is this Ad- H 3 vance 102 The Wisdom of GOD Parti, vance reftrain'd within certain Limits ? There is maximum quod fic which they cannot exceed. You can by no Culture or Art extend a Fennel-Stalk to the Stature and Bignefs of an Oak: Then why iliould fonie be very long-liv'd, others only An- nua! or Biennial ? How can we imagine that any Laws of Motion can determine the Situation of the Leaves^ to come forth by Pairs, or alternate- ly, or circling the Stalk ; xht Flowers to grow fingly, or in Company and Tufts, to come forth the Bofoms of the Leaves and Branches, or on the Tops of Branches and Stalks ; the Figure of the Leaves, that they fhould be divided into fo many Jags or Efcallops, and cBrioully indented round the Edges ; as alfo of the Flower>leaves, their Number and Site, the Figure and Number of the Stamina and their Jpices^ the Figure of the Stile and Seed-Veffel, and the Number of Cells into which it is divided? That all this be done, and all thefe Parts duly proportioned one to another, there feems to be necelTary fome intelligent plajiick Nature^ which may underftand and re- gulate the whole Oeconomy of the Plants : For this cannot be the Vegetative Soul, becaufe that is material and divifible together with the Bo- dy ; which appears, in that a Branch cut off of a Plant will take Root, and grow, and become a perfe£t Plant it felf, as we have already ob- ferv'd. I had almoft forgotten the Complication of the Seed-leaves of fome Plants in the Seed, which is fo ftrange, that one cannot believe it to be done by Matter, however mov'd by any Laws or Rules imaginable. Some of them being fo clofe- Parti. in the Creation. 103 clofe-plaited, and ftraitly folded up and thruft together within the Membranes of the Seed, that it would puzzle a Man to imitate it, and yet none of the Folds flicking or growing together; fo that they may eafily be taken out of their Ca- fes, and fprcad and extended even with one's Fingers. Secondly, If we confider each particular Part of a Plant, we fhall find it not without its End or Ufe ; the Root^ for its Stability and drawing Nourifliment from the Earth; th^ Fibres ^ to con- tain and convey the Sap ; befides which, there is a large Sort of VefTels to contain the proper and fpecifick Juice of the Plant, and others to carry Air for fuch a Kind of Refpiration as it needeth; of which we have already fpoken. The outer and inner Bark in Trees ferve to defend the trunk and Boughs from the ExcefTes of Heat and Cold, and Drought, and to convey the Sap for the an- nual Augmentation of the Tree ; for in Truth, every Tree may in fome Senfe be faid to be an annual Plant, both Leaf, Flower and Fruit proceeding from the Coat that was fuperin- duced over the Wood the lafl Year, which Coat alfo never beareth any more, but together with the old Wood ferves as a Form or Block to fu- llain the fucceeding annual Coat. The Leaves before the Gemma or Bud be explicated to em- brace and defend the Flower and Fruit, .which is even then perfedly form'd 3 afterwards to preferve the Branches, Flowers and Fruit from the Injuries of the. Summer-Sun, which would H 4 too 104 ^^ Wisdom of GOD Parti. too much parch and dry them, if they lay open and expos'd to its Beams without any Shelter : The Leaves, I lay, qualify and contemper the Heat, aiidferve aifo to hinder- the too hafty Eva- poration of the Moifture about the Root : But the principal Ufe of the Leaves (as we learn of Signior Malpbigii^ Monfieur Perault^ and Mon-. fieur Mariotte) is to con cod: and prepare the Sap for the INouriihment of the Fruit, and the whole Plants not only that which afcends from the Root, but what they take in from without, from the Dew, moift Air and Rain. This they prove, becaufe many Trees, if defpoil'd of their Leaves, will die ; as it happens fometimes in Mulberry- Trees^ when they are pluck'd off to feed Silk- *worms. And becaufe if in Summer-Time you denude a Vine-Branch of its Leaves, the Grapes will never come to Maturity : But tho' you ex- pofe the Grapes to the Sun-Beams, if you pluck not off the Leaves, they will ripen notwithiland- ing. That there is a Regrefs of the Sap in Plants, from above downwards, and that this defcen- dent Juice is that which principally nouri{heth both Fruit and Plant, is clearly prov'd by the Experiments of Signior Malp^higii^ and thofe late ones of an Ingenious Country- * Phnofop. Man of our own, ^ "Thomas Brother^ Num.\87. '^^^^ Efquire, of which I (hall mention only one, that is, If you cut off a Ring of Bark from the Trunk of any Tree, that Part of the Tree above the Barked Ring fhall grow and increafe in Bignefs, but not that be- neath. But Part I. in the Cke at loi^. 105 But whether there be fuch a conftant Cir- culation of the Sap in Plants as there is of the Blood in Animals, as they would from hence infer, there is fome Reafon to doubt. I might add hereto the pleafant and deledable cooling and refrefhing Shade they afford in the Sum- mer-Time ; which was very much efleem'd by the Inhabitants of hot Countries, who always took great Delight and Pleafure to fit in the (?pen Air, under iliady Trees. Hence that Ex- preiTion fo often repeated in Scripture, of every Man's Jitting under his own Vijie^ a?id under his own Fig-'T'ree^ where alfo they us'd to eat ; as appears by Abrahams entertaining the Angels under a Tree, and {landing by them when they did eat, Gen. xviii. 8. Moreover, the Leaves of Plants are very beautiful and ornamental. That there is great Pulchritude and Comeli- nefs of Proportion in the Leaves, Flowers and Fruits of Plants, is attefted by the general Ver- did: of Mankind, as Dr. Moore and others well obferve. The adorning and beautifying the Temples and Buildings in all Ages, is an evi- dent and undeniable Teftimony of this; for what is more ordinary with ArchitcBs than the taking in Leaves and Flowers and Fruitage for the garnifliing of their Work ; as the Roman the Leaves oi Achanthiis fat, and the y^ic^z/Z? of Palm-1'rees and Pomegranats? And thefe.more frequently than any of the five regular Solids, as being rhore comely and pleafant to behold. If any Man (hall obje(5t, that Comelinefs of Propor- tion io6 The Wis DOM of GOD Part I. tion and Beauty is but a mere Conceit, and that all Things are alike handfome to fome Men who have as good Eyes as others ^ and that this ap- pears by the Variation of Fafhions, which doth fo alter Men's Fancies, and what e're-while fcem'd very handfome and comely, when it is once worn out of fafhion appears very abfurd, uncouth and ridiculous. To this I anfwer, That Cuftom and Ufe doth much in thofe Things where little of Proportion and Symmetry {hew themfelves, or which are alike comely and beau- tiful, to difpararge the one, and commend the other : But there are Degrees of * Antidote Things ; for (that I may ufe ^ Dr. Sm,/t Af'^^^'s Vv^ords) I dare appeal to any €. 5. Man that is not funk into fo forlorn a Pitch of Degeneracy, that he is as ftu- pid to thefe Things as the bafeft Beafts, whe-^ ther, for Example, . a rightly-cut Tetraedromy Cube or Icofaedrom have no more Pulchritude in them than any rude broken Stone lying in the Field or High- ways ; or, * to name other folid Figures, which tho' they be not regular, proper- ly fo caird, yet have a fettled Idea and Nature, as a Co7ie^ Sphere or Cy Under ^ whether the Sight of thofe do not more gratify the Minds of Men, and pretend to more Elegancy of Shape, than thofe rude Cuttings or Chippings of Free-ilone that fall from the Mafon's Hands, and ferve for nothing but to fill up the Middle of the Wall, as fit to be hid from the Eyes of Men for their Uglinefs ? And therefore it is obfervable, that if Nature fhape any Thing but near to this Geo- metrical Parti. ^';^ //^^ Creation. 107 rnetrical Accuracy^ that we take Notice of it with much Content and Plealure, and greedily gather and treafure it up. As if it be but ex- ad:ly round, as thofe fpherical Stones found in Cubdy and fome ahb in our own Land ; or have but its Sides parallel, as thofe rhomboideal Sele^ nites found near St. Ives in Huntingtonpire^ and many other Places in England, Whereas ordina- ry Stones of rude and uncertain Figures we pafs By, and take no notice of at all. But tho* the Fi- gures of thefe Bodies be pleafing and agreeable to our Minds, yet (as we have already obferv'd) thofe of the Leaves, Flowers and Fruits of Trees, more. And it is remarkable, that in the Circumfcri- ption and Complication of many Leaves, Flow- ers, Fruits, and Seeds, Nature affeds a regular Figure. Of a Pentagonal or Quincunial Difpo- fition. Sir T'homas' Brown oi Norwich produces feveral Examples in his Difcourfe about the .%/- cunx. And doubtlefs Inftanccs might be given in other regular Figures, were Men but obfervant. The Flowers ferve to cheriih and defend the firft and tender Rudiments of the Fruit ; I might alfo add the mafculine or prolifick Seed contained in the Chives or Apices of the Stamina, Thefe, befides the Elegancy of their Figures, are many of them endued with fplendid and lovely Co- lours, * and likewife moft grateful and fragrant Odours. Indeed fuch is the Beauty and Luftre of fome Flowers, that our Saviour faith of the Lillies'of the Fields (which fome, not without Reafon, fuppofe to have been 'T'ulips) that Solo- mon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of theje.. io8 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. * ^^-^^ tbefe. And it is obferv'd by * Spi^ 7iam. ^^ ^ geliiis. That the Art of the moft skil- ful Painter cannot io mingle and tem- per his Colours, as exactly to imitate or coun- terfeit the native ones of the Flowers of Vegeta- bles. As, for the Seeds oiPlmits^ \ Dr. f Antidote More efteems it an evident Sign of ^^m^L 2. r. 2. Divine Providence, that every Kind hath its Seed: For it being no necef- fary Refult of the Motion of the Matter, fas the whole Contrivance of the Plant indeed is not) and it being of fo great Confequence that they have Seed for the Continuance and Propagation of their own Species, and alfo for the gratifying Man's Art, Induftry and Neceffities, (for much of Husbandry and Gardening lies in this) it can- not but be an hOt of Counfcl to furnifli the fe- veral Kinds of Plants with their Seeds. Now the Seed being fo neceffary for the Main- tenance and Increafe of the feveral Species^ it is worthy the Obfervation, what Care is taken to fecure and preferve it, being in fome doubly and trebly defended. As for Inflance, in the Walnut^ Almond, and Plumbs of all Sorts ; we have firft a thick pulpy Covering, then a hard Shell, within which is the Seed enclosed in a double Membrane. In the Nutmeg another Te- gument is added befides all thefe, viz, the Mace between the green Pericarpium and the hard Shell, immediately inclofing the Kernel. Nei- ther yet doth the exterior Pulp of the Fruit or Pericavhium ferve only for the Defence and Secu- Part I. in the Cre at ion. 109 Security of the Seed whilft it hangs upon the Plant, but after it is mature and fallen upon the Earth, for the Stercoration of the Soil and Pro- motion of the Growth, tho' not the firfl Germi- nation of the feminal Plant. Hence (as * Petrus de Crefcentiis tells us) * ^s^^^- ^- 2- Hufbandmen, to make their Vines bear, manure them with Vine Leaves, or the Hulks of expreffed Grapes 5 and they obferve fhofe to be mofl fruitful which are fo manured with their own ^ which Obfervation holds true alfo in all other Trees and Plerbs. But befides this Ufe of the Pulp or Pericarphim for the Guard and Benefit of the Seed, it ferves alfo by a fecon- dary Intention of Nature in many Fruits for the Food and Suftenance of Man and other Animals. Another thing worthy the noting in Seeds, and argumentative of Providence and Defign, is that papofe Plumage growing upon the Tops of fome of them, whereby they are capable of being waft- ed with the Wind, and by that means fcattered and diffeminated far and wide. Furthermore, moft Seeds having in them a ferhinal Plant perfedly form'd, as the Young is in the Womb of Animals, the elegant Compli- cation thereof in fome Species is a very pleafant and admirable Spedacle ; fo that no Man that hath a Soul in him can imagine or believe it was fo form'd and folded up without Wifdorn and Providence. But of this I have fpoken already. Laftly, iio "The Wisdom of GOD Parti Laftly, the immenfe Smallnefs of fome Sceds^ not to be feen by the naked Eye, fo that the Number of Seeds produced at once in fome one Plant, as for Example, Reedmace [Tipba Palu^ Jiris] Hartjlongiiey and many Sorts of Ferns, may amount to a Million, is a convincing Argument of the infinite Underftanding and Art of the Former of them. And it is remarkable that fuch Moffes as grow upon Walls, the Roofs of Houfes, and other high Places, have Seeds fo exceffively fmall, that when fliaken out of their Veffels they appear like Vapour or Smoke, fo that they may either afcend of themfelves, or by an eafy Impulfe of the Wind be rais'd up to the Tops of Houfes, Walls or Rocks ; and we need not wonder how the Moffes got thither, or imagine they fprung up fponta-^ neoufly there. I might aifo take notice of many other Parti- culars concerning Vegetables, as, Firft, that be- caufe they are defign'd for the Food of Animals,, therefore Nature hath taken more extraordi- nary Care, and made more abundant Provifion for their Propagation and Increafe ; fo that they are multiplied and propagated not only by the Seed, but many alfo by the Root, producing OfF-fets, or creeping under Ground; many by Strings or Wyres running above Ground, as Strawberry^ and the like, fome by Slips or Cut^ tings, and fome by feveral of thefe ways. And for the Security of fuch Species as are produc'd only by Seed, it hath endu'd all Seed with a laft^ ing Vitality, that fo if by reafon of exceffive Cold Part I. in the Creation. hi Cold or Drought, or any other Accident, it hap- pen not to germinate the firft Year, it will con- tinue its Foecundity^ I do not fay two or three, nor fix or feven, but even twenty or thirty Years; and when the Impediment is removed, the Earth in fit Gafe, and the Seafon proper, fpring up, bear Fruit, and continue its Species. Hence it is that Plants are fometimgs loft for a while in Places where they formerly abounded, and again after f6me Years appear new ; loft, either becaufe the Springs were not proper for their Germination, or becaufe the Land was fallow'd, or becaufe plenty of Weeds or other Herbs prevented their coming up, and the like, and appearing again when thefe Impediments are remov'd. Secondly, That fome Sorts of Plants, as Vines^ all Sorts of Fiilfe^ HopSy Briony, all pomiferous Herbs, Pum- pio?2Sy MelonSy Gourds, Cucumbers y and divers o- ther SpecieSy that are weak and unable to raife or fupport themfelves, are either endu'd with a Fa- culty of twining about others that are near, or elfe furnifh'd with Clafpers and Tendrils, where- by, as it were with Hands,^ they catch hold of them, and fo ramping upon Trees, Shrubs, Hedges or Poles, they mount up to a great height, and fecure themfelves and their Fruit. Thirdly, that others are arm'd with Prickles and Thorns, to fecure them from the browfmg of Beafts, as alfo to ftielter others that grow under them y moreover, they are hereby render'd very ufeful to Man, as if defign*d by Nature to make both quick and dead Hedges and Fences. The. great 112 TI)e Wisdom of GO D Parti. great Naturalift Pliny hath given an ingenious Account of the Providence and Deiign of Nature in thus arming and fencing them in thefe Words : Ijide (fpeaking of Nature) excogitavit aliquas aJpeBu hifpidas^ taBu truces^ ut tantum mn vocem ipjius Naturce fingenth illas^ rationemque reddentis exaudtre videamur^ nefe depafcat avida quadrupeSy 7je procaces manus rapiant^ n» negleBa vejitgia ob- terant y ne i?ijidens ales ififringat ; his 7nuniendo aciileis telifque armandoy remediis ut Jdha ac tut a fint, Ita hoc qiioqiie quod in iis odimus hominum causa excogitatum eft. It is worthy the noting, . that Wheats which is the beft Sort of Grain, of which the purefl:, moft favoury and wholfome Bread is made, is patient of both Extremes, Heat and Cold, growing and bringing its Seed to Maturity not only in tempe- rate Countries, but alfo on one hand in the cold and northern, viz. Scotland ^ Denmark ^ &c. on the other, in the hotteft and moft foutherly, as Egypt y Barhary y Mauritania ^ the Eajl-hzdies^ Guiney, Madagafcar , &c. fcarce refufing any Climate. Nor is it lefs obfervable, and not-to be com- memorated without Acknowledgment of the divine Benignity to us, that (as Fliny rightly notes) nothing is more fruitful than Wheat ^ ^od ei natura (faith he) \t^e5lius nature Fa- rens\ tribuit ^ quid eo maxime ko?ninem alit^ ut- pote cim e modio^ fi & aptum folum, quale in By-- zacio Africa campo centcni quinquaginta modit reddentur. Mifit ex eo loco Divo Augujlo procu- rator Parti. in the C^EATioH. 113 rator ejus ex uno grano (vix credibile diBu) 400 paucis 77iinus germina : Mifit & Neroni fimiliter 360 Jiipidas ex uno grano, " Which Fertility *' Nature, (he fliou'd have faid, ^ the Author of " Nature) hath conferred upon it, becaufe it " feeds Man chiefly with it. One Bufhel, if *' fown in a fit and proper Soil, fuch as is Byza- *' dim, a Field of Ajricdy yielding 150 of an- l' nual lucreaie. Augujlus^^ Procurator fent him " from that Place 400 within a few Blades "" fpringing from the fame Grain : And to Ne^ *' ro were fent thence 360." If PU?iy, a Hea- then, could make this Fertility of Wheat argu- mentative of the Bounty of Godto Man, ma- king fuch plentiful Provifion for him of that which is of mod pleafant Tafte and wholefome Nourifliment, furely it ought not to be palTed •over by us Qhrijliam without Notice taking and Thankfgiving, As for the Signatures of Plants, or the Notes impre/Ted upon them, as Lidices of their Virtues, though ^" fome lay * ^^- ^'^^^ great Strefs upon them, accounting c. 6. them ftrong Arguments to prove, that fome under ftanding Principle is the highefl: Ori^ ginal of the Works of Nature, as indeed they were, could it certainly be made appear, that there were fuch Marks defignedly fet upon them ; becaufe all that I find mention'd and colJedted by Authors, feem to me to be rather fancied by Men, than defign'd by Nature to fignify or point out any fuch Virtues or Qualities as they would make us believp. I have elfewhere, Inhink . I V upon ii4 75^^ Wisdom of GOD Parti. upon good Grounds, rejefted them : and finding no Reafon, as yet, to alter my Opinion, I (hall not further infift on them : Howbeit, I will not deny, but that.the noxious and malignant Plants do many of them difcover fomething of their Nature by the fad and melancholick Vifage of their Leaves, Flowers and Fruit. And that I may not leave that Head wholly untouched, one Obfervation I (hall add relating to the Virtues of Plants, in which I think there is fomething of Truth 5 that is, that there are, by the wife Dif- pofition of Providence, fuch Species of Plants produc'd in every Country, as are moft proper and convenient for the Meat and Medicine of the Men and Animals that are bred and inhabit there : Infomuch that Sole?2ander writes, that from the Frequency of the Plants that fprung up naturally in any Region, he could eafily gather what Endemial Difcafes the Inhabitants thereof were fubjedl to : So in Denmark, Friezland^ and Holland, where the Scurvy ufually reigns, the proper Remedy thereof, Scurvy-Grafs, doth plen- tifully grow. Of Bodies endued with a fenfttive Soul, or Ani- mals. I proceed now to the Confideration of Animate Bodies endu'd with a fenfitive Soul, call'd Ani- mals, Of thefe I {hall only make fome general Obfervations, not curioufly confider the Parts of each particular Species, fave only as they ferve for Inftances or Examples. I Firft Part !• /;? //6^^ C R E A T I o N. 115 Firil of alj, becaufe it is the great Defign of Providence to maintain and continue every Spe- cies, I fhall take Notice of the great Care and abundant Provifion that is made for the fecuring this End. ^aiita ad earn rem vis, ut injuo quce- que ge?2ere perrnaneat'i Gc, Why can we ima- gine all Creatures fliould be made Male and Fe- male but to this Purpofe ? Why fliould there be ^implanted in each Sex fuch a vehement and inex- pugnable Appetite of Copulation ? Why in vivi- parous Animals, in the Time of Geftation, fliould the Nourishment be carried to the Emhryon in the Womb, which at other Times goeth not that Way ? When the Young is brought forth, how comes all the Nourilliment then to be trans- ferr'd from the Womb to the Breafh or Paps, leaving its former Chanel, the Dam at fuch Time being for the moft Part lean and ill-favour'-d ? To all this I might add, as a great Proof and In- fiance of the Care that is taken, and Provifion made for the Prefervation and Continuance of the S:pecies, the lafting Foecundity of the Ani- mal Seed or Egg in the Females of Man, Beafts and Birds. I fay, the Animal Seed, becaufe it is t?) me highly probable, that the Females, as wdl of Bealls as Birds, have in them from their firft Formation the Seeds of all the Young they will afterwards bring forth, which when they are all fpent and exhauiled by what Meansfoever, the Animal becomes barren and effete. Thefe Seeds in fome Species of Animals continue Fruit- ful, and apt to take Life by the Admixture of* the Male-feed fifty Years or more, and in Tome I 2 ^ Birds il6 The Wisdom of GOD Part I. Birds fourfcore or an hundred. I^re I cannot omit one very remarkable Obfervation I find in Cicero : Ataue ut intelligamiis (faith he) nihil ho- rum ejfe fortiiitum^ fed h(zc omnia provida Jblert if- que naturce^ qua multiplices fcetm procreant^ ut fues^ ut canes^ his mammarum data eft multitudOy quas eafdem paucas hahent ece befiice qu£ pauca gig- nunt, That we may underfiand that none of thefe Things (he had been fpeaking of) is fortuitous^ but that all are the EjfeBs of provident and faga- cious Nature -, multiparous ^adrupeds^ as Swine ^ and Dogs ^ are furnijloed with a Multitude of Paps: Whereas thofe Beafis which bring forth feWy have but a few* That flying Creatures of the greater Sort, that is, Birdsy fhould all lay Eggs, and none bring forth live Young, is a manifeft Argument of Divine Providence, defigning thereby their Pfe- fervation and Security, that there might be the more Plenty of them ; and that neither the Birds of Prey, the Serpent, nor the Fov/ler/ fhould ftraiten their Generation too much: For if they had been viviparous, the Burden of their Womb, if they had brought forth any compe- tent Number at a time, had been fo gr^at and heavy, that their Wings would have fail%4:hem, and they become an eafy Prey to their Enemies : Or, if they had brought but one or two at a time, they would have been troubled all the Year long with feeding their Young, or bearing them in their Womb. Dr. More Antid, Atheifm, I 2. This Parti. Z;^ //6^ Creation. 117 This Mention of feeding their Young puts me in mind of two or three confiderable Obfer- vations referring thereto. Firft, feeing it would be for many Reafons inconvenient for Birds to give fuck, and yet no lefs inconvenient, if not deftrudtive, to the Chicken upon Exclufion, all of a fudden, to make fo great a Change in its Diet, as to pafs ^from liquid to hard Food, before the Stomach be gradually confolidated, and by Ufe ftrengthen'd and habituated to grind and concodt it, and its tender and pappy Flefli fitted to be nouriih'd by fuch ftrong and folid Diet, and before the Bird be by little and little accuftom'd to ufe its Bill, and gather it up, which at firft it doth but very flowly and imperfectly ; therefore Nature hath provided a large Yolk in every Egg, a great Part whereof remaineth after the Chicken is hatch'd, and is taken up and enclos'd in its Belly, and by a Chanel made on purpofe, receiv'd by degrees into the Guts, and ferves inftead of Milk to nou- rifh the Chick for a confiderable time 5 which neverthelefs mean while feeds it felf by the Mouth a little at a time, and gradually more and more, as it gets a perfeder Ability and Habit of. gathering up its Meat, and its Stomach is ftrengthen'd to macerate and concod it, and its Flefli harden'd and fitted to be nourifli'd by it. Secondly, That Birds which feed their Young in the Neft, tho' in all likelihood they have no Ability of counting the Number of them, fliould yet (tho' they bring but one Morfel of Meat at a time, and have not fewer (it may be) I 3 ^ than 1 1 8 rhe\N ui>oM of GOD Part L than feven or eight Young in the Neft together, which at the Return of their Dams, do all at once with equal Greedinels, hold up their Heads and gape) not omit or forget one of them, but feed them all ; which, unlefs they did carefully ob- ferve and retain in Memory which they had fed, which not, were impoffible to be done : This, I fay, feems to me moft ft range and admirable,, and beyond the Poffibiliry of a mere Machine to perform. Another Experiment I fhall add, to prove, that tho' Birds have not an exadl Power of num- bring, yet have they of diftinguifliing many from few, and knowing when they come near to a certain Number : And that is, that when they have laid fuch a Number- of £g-^j, as they can conveniently cover and hatch, they give over and begin to lit ; not becaufe they are neceffarily determined to fuch a Number ; for that they are not, as is clear, becaufe they are in Ability to go on and lay more at their Pleafure., Hens, for Example, if you let their Eggs alone, when they have laid fourteen or fifteen, will give over and begin to fit j whereas, if you daily with- draw their Eggs^ they will go on to lay five Times that Number : [Yetfome of them are fo cunning, that if you leave them but one Egg^ they will not lay to it, but forfake their Neft,] This holds not only in domeftick and manfuete Birds, for then it might bethought the Effed of Cicuration or Inftitution, but alfo in the wild ; for my ho- nour'd Friend Dr. Martin Lijier inform'd me, that Part I. in the Ck^atio-^. 119 that of his owu Knowledge one and the fame Swallow, by the fubftrading daily of her Eggs proceeded to lay nineteen fucceflively, and then gave over ; as I have * elfevvhere noted. Now that I am upon this ^J Pj^face to Subject of the Number of £^^i, give ^y^ ornfthoi. . me leave to add a remarkable Obfer- vation referring thereto, viz. That Birds, and fuch oviparous Creatures, as are long-liv'd, have *Eggs enough at firft conceived in them to ferve them for many Years laying, probably for as ma- ny as they are to live, allowing fuch a Propor- tion for every Year, as will ferve for one or two Incubations -, whereas Infed:s, which are to breed but once, lay all their Eggs at once, have they never fo many. Now, had thefe Things been govern'd by Chance, I fee no Reafon why it fhould conftantly fall out fo. Thirdly, The marvellous fpeedy Growth of / Birds that are hatch'd in Nefts, and fed by the Old ones there, 'till they are fledg'd, and come almoft to their full Bignefs, at which Perfedion they arrive within the fhort Term of about one Fortnight, feems to me an Argument of Provi- dence, defigning thereby their Prefervation, that they might not lie long in a Condition exposed to the Ravine of any Vermine that may find them, being utterly unable to efcape or fliift for them- felves. Another and no lefs efFedlual Argument may be taken from the Care and Providence us*d for the Hatching and Rearing their Young : And fixft, they fearch out a fecret and quiet Place I 4 where .120 1136 Wisdom of GOD Part L where they may be fecure and undifturb'd in their Incubation ; then they make themfelves Nefts every one after his Kind, that io their Eggs and I^oung may he foft and warm, and their Exclufion and Growth be promoted. Thefe Nefts are fome of them (o elegant and artificial, that it is hard for Man to imitate them and make the like. I have feen Nefts of an hidian Bird fo artificially composed of the Fibres, I think, of fome Roots, fo curioufly interwoven and plat- ted together, as is admirable to behold: Which Nefts they hang on the Ends of the Twigs of Trees over the Water, to fecure their Eggs and Young from the Ravage of Apes and Monkeys^ and other Beafts, that might elfe prey upon them. After they have laid their Eggs^ how diligently and patiently do they fit upon them 'till they be hatch'd, fcarce affording themfelves time to go off" to get them Meat ? Nay, with fuch an ar- dent and impetuous Defire of fitting are they infpired, that if you take away all their Eggs:,- they will fit upon an empty Neft : And yet one would think that fitting were none of the moft pleafant Works. After their Young are hatch'd, for fome time they do almoft conftantly brood them under their Wings, left the Cold and fome- times perhaps the Heat ftiouid harm them. All this while alfo they labour hard to get them Food, fparing it out of their own Bellies, and pining themfelves almoft to Death rather than they Ihould want. Moreover, it is admirable to obferve with what Courage they are at that time infpir'd, that they wull even venture their own Lives Parti. in ibe Creation. 121 Lives in Defence of them. The moft timorous, as Hens and Geefe, become then fo couragious, as to dare to fly in the Face of a Man that fhall moleft or difquiet their Young, which would never do fo much in their own Defence. Thefe things being contrary to any Motions of Senfe, or Inftin6l of Self-prefervation, and fo eminent pieces of Self-denial, mud needs be the Works of Providence, for the Continuation of the Spe- cies, and upholding of the World : Efpecially if we confider that all thefe Pains is beftow'd upon a Thing which takes no Notice of it, will render them no Thanks for it, nor make them any Requital, or Amends ; as alfo, that after the Tou77g is come to fome Growth, and able to (hift for it felf, the old One retains no fuch crop^J) to it, takes no further Care of it, but will fall upon it, and beat it indifferently with others. To thefe I fhall add three Obfervations more relating to this Head. The firft borrow'd of Dr. Ciidworth, Syftem, pag. 69. One thing ne- ceflary to the Confervation of the Species of Ani- mals, that is, the keeping up conftantly in the World a due numerical Proportion between the Sexes of Male and Female, doth necelTarily in- fer a fuperintending Providence. For did this depend only upon Mechanifm, it cannot well be conceived, but that in fome Ages or other there {hou'd happen to be all MaleSy or all Fe^ males J ^ and fo the Species fail. Nay, it cannot well be thought otherwife, but that there is in thijs a Providence, fuperior to that of the Pla- Jlick 122 "The Wisdom of COD Parti. Jiick or Spermatick Nature^ which hath not fo much of Knowledge and Difcretion allowed to it, as whereby to be able to govern this Af- fair. • The Second of Mr. Boyle in his Treatife of the high Veneration Man's IntelleB owes to Gody p. 32. that is, the Conveniency of the Seafon (or Time of Year) of the Produ&on of Animals, when there is proper Food and Entertainment ready for them. So we fee^ thaty according to the ufual Coiirfe of Nature^ Lamhs, Kids^, and many other living Creatures^ are brought into the World at the Spring of the Tear ; when tender GrafSy and other Nutritive Plants^ are provided for their Food, And the like may be obfervd in the FroduBion of Silk-worms^ (yea, all other Eruca s, and many Infeds more) whofe Eggs^ accordi?ig to Nature s Injiitiition^ are hatched when Mulberry-Threes begin to bud^ and put forth thofe Leaves y whereon thofe precious InfeBs are to feed% the Aliments being tender y whiljl the Worms themr Jelves arefoy and growing more jirong and fubftan-^ tialy as the InfeBs increafe in Vigor and Bulk, To thefe I {hall add another Inftance, that is, of the Wafpy whofe Breeding is deferr'd till after the Summer-Solftice, few of them appearing be- fore July : Whereas one would be apt to think the vigorous and quickning Heat of the Sun in the Youth of the Year (hould provoke them to generate much fooner : [Provoke them, I fay, becaufe every Wafp's-Neft is begun by one great Mother-Wafp, which over-lives the Winter, ly- ing Part I. in /y6^ C r e at i o n. 123 ing hid in feme hollow Tree or other Latibu- /urn-,] becaufe then, and not till then, Pears, Plumbs, and other Fruit, defign'd principally for their Food, begin to ripen. The Third is mine own, That all Infedts which do not themfelves feed their Young, nor treafure up Provifion in Store for their Sufte- nance, lay their Eggs in fuch Places as are moft convenient for their Exclufion, and where, when hatch'd, their proper Food is ready for them: So, for Example, we fee two Sorts of white Butterfies - faftening their Eggs to Cabbage- Leaves, becaufe they are fit Aliment for the Cat- terpillers that come of them ; whereas fhould they affix them to the Leaves of a Plant impro- per for their Food, fuch Catterpillers mull needs be loft, they chuling rather to die than to tafte of fuch Plants ; for that Kind of Infc6l (I mean Catterpillers) hath a nice and delicate Palate, fome of them feeding only upon one particular Species of Plant, others on divers indeed, but thofe of the fame Nature and Quality ; utterly refufing them of a contrary. Like Inftances might be produced in the other Tribes of In- fed:s y it being perpetual in all, if not hindered or imprifon'd, eledlively to lay their Eggs in Places where they are feldom loft or mifcarry, and where they have a Supply of Nourifhment for their Young fo foon as they are hatch'd, and need it : Whereas fhould they fcatter them care- lefly and indifferently in any Place, the greatcft Part of the Young would in all likelihood perifli foon 124 ^^^ Wisdom of GOD Parti. foon after their Exclufion for want of Food, and fo their Numbers continually decreafing, the whole Species ina few Years would be in Danger to be loit : Whereas no fuch thing, I dare fay, hath happened fince the firft Creation. It is here very remarkable, that thofe Infeds, for whofe Young Nature hath not made Provi- vilion of fufficient Suftenance, do themfelves ga- ther and lay up in ftore for them. So for Ex- ample: The Bee, the proper Food of whofe * Eulas is Honey, or perchance £r/- ^» Bee-Mag- ^j^^^^^ ^^j^j^j^ we englifh B^^-£r^^^) neither of which Viands being any where to be found amafs'd by Nature in Quan- tity fufficient for their Maintenance, doth her- felf with unwearied Diligence and Induftry, fly- ing from Flower to Flower, colled: and treafure them up. To thefe I fhall now add an Obfervation of Mr. Lewenhoeck's, concerning the fudden Growth of fome forts of Infeds, and the Reafon of it. - It is (faith he) a wonderful Thing, and wor- thy the Obfervation, in Flefh-Flies, that a Fly- Maggot, in five Days fpace after it is hatch'd, arrives at its full Growth and perfed Magni- tude. For if to the perfeding of it there were required, fuppofe a Month's time or more, (as in fome other Maggots is needful) it is impof- fible that about the Summer-Solftice any fuch Flies fhou'd be produced, becaufe the Fly-Mag- gots have no Ability to fearch out any other Food than that wherein they are placed by their Dams. Now this Food, fuppofe it be Flefh;, Fifli, or Part I. in the C^y. atio n. 125 or the Entrails of Beads, lying in the Fields, ex- posed to the hot Sun-beams, can laft but a few- Days in Cafe and Condition to be a fit Aliment for thefe Creatures, but will foon be quite parch'd and dry'd up, and therefore the moil: wife Crea- tor hath given fuch a Nature and Temperament to them, that within a very few Days they attain to their juft Growth and Magnitude; whereas Cifi the contrary, other Maggots, who are in no fuch danger of being flraiten'd for Food, conti- nue a whole Month or more before they give over to eat and ceafe to grow. He proceeds fur- ther to tell us, that feme of thefe Fly-maggots which he fed daily with frefh Meat, he brought to Perfedlion in four Days time ; fo that he con- ceives that in the Heat of Summer the Eggs of a Fly, or the Maggots contained in them, may in lefs than a Month's Space run through all their Changes, and come to perfedl Flies, which may themfelves lay Eggs again. Secondly, I fhali take notice of the various ftrange Inftinds of Animals, which will neceffa- rily demonftrate that they are direfted to Ends unknown to them by a wife Superintendent : As I. That all Creatures fliould know how to de- fend themfelves and offend their Enemies, where their natural Weapons are fituate, and how to make ufe of them. A Ccilf will fo manage his Head as tho* he would pulh with his Horns even before ihey (hoot. A Boar knows the Ufe of his Tuflies; a Dog of his Teeth; a Horje of his Hoofs ; a Ccck of his Spurs ; a Bee of her Stin-^ ; a Rai?i w ill butt with his Head, yea tho' he be brought 126 TieWisDOM of GOD Parti. brought up tame, and never faw that manner of lighting. Now, why another Animal which hath no Horns fliould not make a (hew of puili- ing, or no Spurs, of ftriking with his Legs, and the Hke, I know not, but that every Kind is pro- videntially direded to the Ufe of its proper and natural Weapons. 2. That thofe Animals that are weak, and have neither Weapons nor Cou- rage to fight, are for the moft part created fwift of Foot or Wing, and fo being naturally timo- rous, are both willing and able to fave themfelves by Flight. 3. That Poultry, Partridge, and other Birds, ihould at the fiift fight know Birds of Prey, and make fign of it by a peculiar Note of their Voice to their Young, who prefently there- upon hide themfelves s that the Lamb (hould ac- knowledge the IFolf its Enemy, tho' it had never feen one before, as is taken for granted by mofl Naturalifts, and may for ought I know be true, argues the Providence of Nature, or more truly the Gqd of Nature, who for their Prefervation hath put fuch an Infl:inft into them. 4. That young Animals as foon as they are brought forth Ihould know their Food j as for Example, fuch as are nourifh'd with Milk prefently find their way to the Paps, and fuck at them; whereas none of thofe that are not defign'd for that Nou- rifhment ever offer to fuck, or feek out any fuch Food. Again, 5. That fuch Creatures as are whole-footed or Fin-toed, viz. feme Birds, and Quadrupeds, are naturally direded to go into the Water, andfwim there^ as we iee DucklingSy tho* Part I. in the G r e a t i o n. 127 tho' hatched and led by a Hen, if fhe brings them to the Brink of a River or Pond of Water, they prefently leave her, and in they go, though they never faw any fuch thing done before, and tho' the Hen clucks and calls, and doth what Ihe can to keep them out. This Pliny takes notice of, Hijt, Nat, lib, 10. cap, 55. in thefe Words, fpeak- ing of Hens : Super omnia eft Anatum Ovis fub^ d'ltis atqiie exclufis admiratio^ pri?no no7i plane ag- nofcentis fcetum : mox iucertos incubitus Jbllicite ^onvocantis : Pojlremo I amenta circa pifcince Jlag- na^ mergentibiis fe ptdlis naturd duce. So that we fee every Part in Animals is fitted to its Ufe, and the Knowledge of this Ufe put into them : For neither do any Sort of Web-footed Fowls live confl:antly upon the Land, or fear to enter the Water, nor any Land-Fowl fo much as attempt to fwim there. 6. Birds of the fame Kind make their Nefts of the fame Material, laid in the fame Order, and exadty of the fame Figure ; fo that by the fight of the Neft one may certainly know what Bird it belongs to -, and this they do tho'- living in diftant Countries, and though they never faw nor could fee any Neft made, that is, though taken out of the Neft and brought up by Hand ; neither were any of the fame Kind ever obferv'd to make a different Neft, either for Matter or Fafhion : This, together with the cu- rious and artificial Contexture of fuch Nefts, and their Fitnefs and Conveniencie for the Reception, hatching and cherifhing the E^^i and Toufig oi their refpedive Builders (which we have before taken 128 7"^^ Wisdom of GOD Parti. taken notice of) is a great Argument of a fupe- rior Author of their and other Natures, who hath endu'd them with thefe Inftind^s, whereby they are as it were adted and driven to brmg about Ends which themfelves aim not at (fo far as we can difcern) but are directed to; for (as Arijiotle obferves) m-n -nym^ cvtz ^yiTkKjyjV-nz, ovrz iSorjhd^o-Dl/jucvct TTDiS, they a^ not by Art^ neither do they enquire^ neither do they deliberate about what they do. And therefore, as Dr. Cudworth faith well, they are not Mafters of that Wifdom ac- cording to which they adl, but only paffive to the Inftinds and Imprefles thereof upon them. And indeed to affirm that brute Animals do all thefe things by a Knowledge of their own, and which themfelves are Mafters of, and that with- out Deliberation and Confu^tation, were to make them to be endu'd with a moft perfed Intelleft, far tranfcending that of human Reafon ; whereas it is plain enough that Brutes are not above Con- fultation, but below it, and that thefe Inftinds of Nature in them are nothing but a kind of Fate upon them. The Migration of Birds from an hotter to a colder Country, or a colder to an hotter, accor- ding to the Seafons of the Year, as their Nature is, 1 know not how to give an Aqcount of, it is fo ftrange and admirable. What moves them to fbift their Quarters ? You will fay, the Difagree- ablenefs of the Temper of the Air to the Con- ftitution of their Bodies, or want of F^od. But Parti. /;^ /i6^ Creation. 129 But how come they to be dire(fled to the fame Place yearly, tho' fometimes but a little Iiland,as the Soland-Goofe to the Baffe of Edinburgh-Frith^ which they could not poflibly fee, and fo it could have no Influence upon them that way ? The Cold or the Heat might poflibly drive them in a right Line from either 5 but that they fhould im- pel Land-Birds to venture over a wide Ocean, of which they can fee no End, is fl:range and unac- countable 5 one would think that the Sight of fo much Water, and prefent Fear of drowning, fliould overcome the Senfe of Hunger, or Dif- agreeablenefs of the Temper of the Air. Befides, how come they to fleer their Courfe aright to their fcveral Quarters, which before the Com- pafs was invented was hard for a Man himfelf to do, they being not able, as I noted before, to fee them at that diftance? Think we that the ^ails, for inftance, could fee quite crofs the Mediterranean-Sea? and yet it is clear they fly out of Itzily into Jfrick^ lighting many times on. Ships in the midft of the Sea, to reft themfelves whe'n tir'd and fpent with flying. That they (hould thus fliift Places, is very convenient for them, and accordingly we fee they do it y which feems to be impofllble they fliould, unlefs them- felves were endu'd with Reafon, or direded and afted by a fuperior intelligent Caufe. The like may be faid of the Migration of di- vers Sorts of Fiflies: As for Example 5 the SaU motiy which from the Sea yearly afcends up a Rivier fometimes 406 or 500 Miles, only to caft K their 130 7%e Wisdom of GOD Part L their Spawn, and fecure it in Banks of Sand, for the Prefervation of it till the Young be hatched or excluded, and then return to Sea again. How thefe Creatures when they have been wandring a long time in the wide Ocean, fhould again find out and repair to the Mouths of the fame Rivers, feems to me very ftrange, and hardly accountable, without recourfe to Inftinft and the Diredlion of a fuperior Caufe. That Birds, feeing they have no Teeth for the Maftication and Preparation of their Food, {hould for the more convenient Comminution of it in their Stomachs or Giz- zards, fwallow down little Pebble-ftones , or other hard Bodies ; and becaufe all are not fit or proper for that Ufe, (hould firft try them in their Bills, to feel whether they be rough or angular, for their Turns, which if they find them not to be, they rejefl: them ; when thefe by the work- ing of the Stomach are worn fmooth, or too fmall for their Ufe, they avoid them by Siege, and pick up others; that thefe are of great Uie to them for the grinding of their Meat, thei;e is no doubt: And I have obferv'd in Birds that have been kept up in Houfes, where they could get no Pebbles, the very Yolks of their Eggs have changed Colour, and become a great deal paler than theirs who have their liberty to go abroad. Befides, I have obferv'd in many Birds, the Gullet, before its entrance into the Gizzard, tO be much dilated, and thick fet, or as it were granulated, with a multitude of Glandules, each I w^hereof Parti. Z;^ /;5^ Creation. 131 whereof was provided with its excretory VefTel, out of which, by an eafy PrcfTure, you might fqueeze a Juice or Pap, which ferved for the fame Ufe which the Saliva doth in Quadrupeds, that is, for the macerating and diflblution of the Meat into a Chyle 5 for that the Saliva^ not- withftanding its Infipidnefs, hath a notable Vir- tue of macerating and difTolving Bodies, appears by the Effefts it hath in killing of Quickfilver, fermenting of Dough like Leaven or Yeaft , ta- king away Warts, and curing other cutaneous Diftempers; fometimcs exulcerating the Jaws, and rotting the Teeth. Give me leave to add one Particular more con- cerning Birds, which fome may perchance think too homely and indecent to be mentioned in fuch a Difcourfe as this; yet becaufe it is not belov^ the Providence of Nature, and defign'd for Cleanlinefs, and fome great Men have thought it worth the obferving, I need not to be afham'd to take notice of it; that is, that in young Birds that are fed in the Neft, the Excre- ment that is voided at one time is fo vifcid, that it hangs together in a great Lump, as if it were inclofed in a Film, fo that it may eafily be taken up and carried away by the old Bird in her Bill; befides, by a ftrange Inftinfl: the young Bird ele- vates her hinder Parts fo high, for the moft part, that (he feldom fails to caft what comes from her elear over the fide of the Neft ; fo we fee here is a double Provifion made to keep the Neft: clean J v/hich, if it were defiled with Ordure, K 2 the 132 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. the young Ones muft neceffarily be utterly marr'd and ruin'd. y. The Bee^ a Creature of the loweft Forms of Animals, fo that no Man can fufpeft it to have any confiderable Meafure of Underftanding , or to have Knov^ledge of, much lefs to aim at any End, yet makes her Combs and Cells with that geometrical Accura- cy, that fhe muft needs be ad:ed by an Inftincft implanted in her by the wife Author of Nature ; for firft fhe plants them in a perpendicular Po- fture, and fo clofe together as with Conveniency they may, beginning at the top and working downwards, that fo no room may be loft in the Hive, and that fhe may have eafy Accefs to all the Combs and Cells ; befides, the Combs being wrought double, that is, with Cells on each fide, a common Bottom or partition Wall could not in any other Site have fo conveniently, if at all, received or contain'd the Honey; then (he makes the particular Cells moft geometrically and arti- ficially, as the famous Mathematician Pappus demonftrates in the Preface to his third Book of Mathematical ColleBiohs. Firft of all (faith he, fpeaking of the Cells) it is convenient that they be of fuch Figures as may cohere one to another, and have common Sides, elfe there would be empty Spaces left between them to no Ufe, but to the weakening and fpoiling of the Work, if any thing ihould get in there ; and therefore, tho' a round Figure be moft capacious for the Honey, and moft convenient for the Bee to creep into, yet did ftie not make choice of that, be- I caufe Parti. in />6^ Cre ation. 133 caufe then there muft have been triangular Spa- ces left void. Now there are only three redi- lineous and ordinate Figures which can ferve to this Purpofej and inordinate, or unlike ones, muft have been not oiily lefs elegant and beau- tiful, but unequal. [Ordinate Figures are fuch as have all their Sides and all their Angles equal.] The three ordinate Figures are, "Triangles, Squares^ and Hexagons *y for the Space about any Point ifiay be fiU'd up either by fix equilateral Tria?:^ gles^ or four Squares^ or three Hexagons ; whereas three Pentagons are too little, and three Hepta- gons too much. Of thefe three, the Bee makes ufe of the Hexagon, both becaufe it is more ca- pacious than either of the other, provided they be of equal compafs, and fo equal Matter fpent in the Conftruftion of each ; and fecondly, be- caufe it is moft commodious for the Bee to creep into; and laftly, becaufe in the other Figures more Angles and Sides muft have met together at the fame Point, and fo the Work could not have been fo firm and ftrongj moreover, the Combs being double, the Cells on each fide the Partition are fo ordered, that the Angles on one fide infift upon the Centers of the Bottoms of the Cells on the other fide, and not Angle upon or againft Angle, which alfo muft needs contri- bute to the Strength and Firmnefs of the Work ; thefe Cells flie fills with Honey for her Winter Provifion, and curioufly clofes them up 'with Covers of Wax, that keep the included Liquor from fpilling, and from external Injuries, as K 3 Mr. 134 T/je Wisdom of GOD Part L Mr. Boyle truly obferves, Treatife of final Caufes^ f, 169. Another Sort of Bee I have obferv'dj may be called the Tree-Bee^ whofe Induftry is admirable in making Provifion for her Young. Firft, fhe digs round Vaults or Burrows [Cwii- culos] in a rotten or decayed Tree, of a great length, in them {he builds or forms her cylin- drical Nefls or Cafes, refembling Cartridges, or a very narrow Thimble, only in proportion longer, of pieces of Rofe, or other Leaves, which fhe fhears off with her Mouth, and plats and joins clofe together by fome glutinous Subflance ; thefe Cafes fhe fills with a red Pap, of a thinner Confiftence than an Eleduary, of no pleafant Tafte, which where fhe gathers I know not -, and which is mofl remarkable, fhe forms thefe Cafes and flores them with this Provifion before fhe hath any young One hatch'd, or fo much as an Egg laid ; for on the top of the Pap fhe lays one Egg, and then clofes up the VefTel with a Cover of Leaves : the inclos'd Egg foon becomes an Eula, or Maggot, which feeding upon the Pap till it comes to its full Growth, changes to a Nympha, and after comes out a Bee, Another Infedt noted for her feeming Prudence, in ma- king Provifion for the Winter, propofed by Solo- mo?i for our Imitation, is the Ant, which (as all Naturalifls agree) hoard up Grains of Corn a- gainfl the Winter for her Suflenance, * ^o^' ^" "* and is reported by fome to * bite off the Germen of them, lefl they fhould fprout by the Moifture of the Earth, which I look Part I. Z;^ />^^ C R E A T I ON. 1 35 look upon as a mere Fiftion ; neither fliould 1 be forward to credit the former Relation, were it not for the Authority of the Scriptu7^e^ becaufe I could never obferve any fuch ftoring of Grain by our Country Ants. Yet there is a Quadruped taken notice of even by the Vulgar, for laying up in ftore Provifion for the Winter; that is, the Squirrel^ whofe Hoards of Nuts are frequently found, and pillaged by rfiem. The Beaver is by credible Perfons, Eye-Wit- neffes, affirmed to build him Houfes for Shelter and Security in Winter-time. See Mr, Boyle of final CauJeSy p, 173. Befides thefe I have mentioned, an Hundred others may be found in Books relating efpecially to Phyfick: as, that Dogs when they are fick, {hould vomit thcmfelves by eating Grafs; that Swine fliould refufe Meat fo foon as they feel themfelves ill, and fo recover by Abftinence; that the Bird Ibis fliould teach Men the way of adminiftring Clyfters, Plin. lib, 8. cap, 27. the wild Goats of Dictamus for drawing out of Darts and healing Wounds; the Swallow the Ufe of Celandine for repairing the Sight, &c, ibid. Of the Truth of which, becaufe I am not fully fatisfied, I fhall make no Inference from them. nirdly^ I fliall remark the Care that is taken for the Prefervation of the Weak, and fuch as are -exposed to the Injuries, and preventing the Increafe of fuch as are noifome and hurtful ; for K 4 as 136 Hoe Wisdom of GOD Part L as it is a Demonftration of the divine Power and Magnificence to create fuch Variety of Animals, not only great but fmall, not only ftrong and courageous, but alfo weak and timorous ; fo is it no lefs Argument of his Wifdom to give to thefe Means, and the Power and Skill of ufing them, to preferve themfelves from the Violence and Injures of thofe. That of the Weak, fome fhouid dig Vaults and Holes in the Earth, as Rabbets^ to fecure themfelves and their Young ; others fliould be arm'd with hard Shells ; others with Prickles ; the reft that have no fuch Arma- ture, fhouid be endu'd with great Swiftnefs or Pernicity ; and not only fo , but fome alfo have their Eyes ftand fo prominent, as the Hare^ that they can fee as well behind as before them, that fo they may have their Enemy alway m their Eye^ and long, hollow, moveable Ears, to receive and convey the leaft Sound, or that which comes from far, that they be not fudden- ly furprized or taken ( as they fay ) napping. Moreover, it is remarkable, that in this Animal, and in the Rabbet^ the Mufcles of the Loins and hind Legs are extraordinarily large in proportion to the reft of the Body, or thofe of other Ani- mals, as if made on purpofe for Swiftnefs, that they may be able to efcape the Teeth of fo many Enemies as continually purfue and chafe them ; ^dd hereto the Length of their hind Legs, which is no fmall Advantage to them, as is noted by 'Pgimt Julan Barm in an ancient Dialogue in Verfe betyveen the Huntfman and his Mail ; The Man there Part I. in //6^ C r e at i on. 137 there asks his Matter, What is the Reafon, why the Hare when fhe is near fpent makes up a Hill ? The Matter anfwers, That Nature hath made the hinder-legs of the Hare longer than the Fore-legs 5 by which Means (lie climbs the Hill with much more Eafe than the Dogs, whofe Legs are of equal Length, and fo leaves the Dogs behind her, and many Times efcapes away clear, and faves her Life. This laft Obfervation, I mutt confefs my felf to have borrowed out of the Papers of my honoured Friend Mr. John Aubrey^ which he was pleafed to give me a Sight of. I might here ardd much concerning the Wiles and Rufes, which thefe timid Creatures make ufe of to fave themfelves, and efcape their Perfe- cutors, but that I am fomewhat diffident of the Truth of thofe Stories and Relations. I fhall only aver what my felf have fometimes obferv*d of a Duck, when clofely purfued by a Water-Dog ; fhe not only dives to fave herfelf, (which yet (he never does but when driven to an exigent, and jutt ready to be caught, becaufe it is painful and difficult to her) but when fhe comes up again, brings not her whole Body above Water, but only her Bill, and Part of her Head, holding the reft underneath, that fo the Dog, who the mean time turns round and looks about him, may not efpy her, 'till fhe have recovered Breath. As for Sheep ^ which have no natural Wea- pons* or Means to defend or fecure themfelves, i;either Heels to run, nor Claws to dig ^ they are delivered 138 "The Wisdom of GOD Parti, delivered into the Hand, and committed to the Care and Tuition of Man ; and ferving him for divers Ufes, are nourished andprotefted by him; and fo enjoying their Beings for a Time, by this Means propagate and continue their Species : So that there are none deftitute of fome Means to preferve themfelves, and their Kind ; and thefe Means fo effedual, that notwithftanding all the Endeavours and Contrivances of Man and Beafl: Co deftroy them, there is not to this Day one Species loft of fuch as are mentioned in Hiftories, and confequently and undoubtedly neither of fuch as w^ere at firft created. Then for Birds of Prey, and rapacious Ani- mals, it is remarkable wrhat Arifiotle obferves. That they are all folitary, and go not in Flocks, llaL^'\mv')(jtiv ov^h dyehaiovy no Birds of Prey are gregarious. Again, that fuch Creatures do not greatly multiply, rm yctfjL^o^vtl^oov oAiyorojccc Trdv ra. They for the moft Part breeding and bring- ing forth but one or two, or at leaft, a few Young Ones at once : Whereas they that are fee-' ble and timorous are generally multiparous ; or, if they bring forth but a few at once, as Pigeojts^ they compenfate that by their often breeding, viz. every Month but two throughout the Year; by this Means providing for the Continuation of their Kind. But for the Security of thefe ra- pacious Birds, it is worthy the noting, that be- caufe a Prey is not always ready, but perhaps they may fail of one fome Days, Nature hath made them patient of a long inedia^ and belides, when Part I. in /y&^ C r e at i o N. 139 when they light upon one, they gorge them- felves fo therewith, as to fufRce for their Nou- rifliment for a confiderable Time. Fourthly y I fhall note the exadt Fitnefs of the Parts of the Bodies of Animals to every one's Nature and Manner of Living. A notable In- ftance of which we have in the Swine, a Crea- ture well known, and therefore what I fhall ob- ferve of it is obvious to every Man. His proper and natural Food being chiefly the Roots of Plants, he is provided with a long and ftrong Snout 5 long, that he might thruft it to a fuffi- cient Depth into the Ground without Offence to his ^Eyes ; ftrong and conveniently formed for the rooting and turning up the Ground. And befides, he is endued with a notable Sagacity of Scent, for the finding out fuch Roots as are fit for his Food. Hence in Italy, the ufual Me- thod for finding and gathering of Trufes, or fub- terraneous Mufhromes, (called by the Italians Tartiifali, and in Latin I^ubera terra) is, by ty- ing a Cord to the Hind- leg of a Pig, and dri- ving him before them into fuch Paflures as ufual- ly produce that Kind of Mufhrome, and ob- ferving where he ftops and begins to root, and there digging, they are fure to find a T'rufle ; which when they have taken up, they drive away the Pig to fearch for more. So I have my felf obferved, that in Paflures where there are Earth-nuts to be found up and down in feveral Patthes, tho' the Roots lie deep in the Ground, and the Stalks be dead long before and quite gone, I40 He Wisdom of GOD Part L gone, the Swine will by their Scent eafily find Siem out, and root only in thofe Places where they grow. This rooting of the Hog in the Earth, calls to mind another Inftance of like Nature, that is the Porpejfe^ which, as his Englijh Name Por- • S i efifli ^^' ^*^* * Pore pefce^ imports, re- ^^^^" * fembles the Hog, both in the Strength of his Snout, and alfo in the Manner of getting his Food by rooting ; for we found the Stomach of one we differed full of Sand-Eels^ or LaunceSy which for the moft Part lie deep in the Sand, and cannot be gotten but by root- ing or digging there. We have feen the Coun- try-People in Cornwall^ when the Tide was out, to fetch them out of the Sand with Iron- Hooks thruft down under them, made for that Purpofe. Furthermore, that very Adlion for which the Swine is abominated, and look'd upon as an un- clean and impure Creature, namely wallowing in the Mire, is defign'd by Nature for a very good End and Ufe, 'viz. not only to cool his Body, for the fair Water would have done that as well, nay, better, for commonly the Mud and Mire in Summer-time is warm \ but alfo to fufFocate and deftroy Lice, Fleas, and other noifom and importunate Infefts, that are trou- blefome and noxious to him. For the fame Reafon do all the Poultry-kind, and divers other Birds, bask themfelves in the Duft in Summer- time Part I. in tbe Ck'e atio^. 141 time and hot Weather, as is obvious to every one to obferve. 2. A fecond and no lefs remarkable Inftance, I fhall produce, out of Dr. More's Antidote againji Atheijm, lib. 2. cap. 10. in a poor and contemp- tible Quadruped, the Mole, Firft of all (faith he) her Dwelling being un- der Ground, where nothing is to be feen, Na- *ture hath fo obfcurely fitted her with Eyes, that Naturalifts can fcarcely agree, whether (he hath any Sight at all or no. [In our Obfervation, Moles have perfeft Eyes, and Holes for them through the Skin, fo that they are outwardly to be feen by any that fhall diligently fearch for them ; tho' indeed they are exceeding fmall, not much bigger than a great Pin's Head.] But for Amends, what (he is capable of for her Defence and Warning of Danger, (he has very eminently conferred upon her; for fhe is very quick of hearing, [doubtlefs her fubterraneous Vaults are lik Trunks to convey any Sound a great Way.] And then her fhort Tail and fhort Legs, but broad Fore- feet armed with fharp Claws, we fee by the Event to what purpofe they are, flie fo fwiftly working herfelf under Ground, and making her Way fo faft in the Earth, as they that behold it cannot but admire it. Her Legs therefore are fliort, that flie need dig no more than will ferve the mere Thicknefs of her Body: And her fore- feet are broad, that (he may fcoup away rnuch Earth at a Time : And (he has little or no Tail, becaufe (he courfes it not on the Ground like a i?^/ or Monfe, but lives under the Earth, 142 TAeWisDOM of GOD Parti. Earth, and is fain to dig herfelf a Dwelling there ; and {he making her Way thro' fo thick an Element, which will not eafily yield as the Water and Air do, it had been dangerous to draw fo long a Train behind her; for her Ene- my might fall upon her Rear, and fetch her out before fhe had perfed:ed and got full Pof- feffion of her Works : Which being fo, what more palpable Argument of Providence than (he? Another Inftance in Quadrupeds might be the Tamandua ox Aftt-Bear^ defcrib'd by Marc- grave and PifOy who faith of them, that they are Night-walkers, and feek their Food by Night. Being Jcept tame, they are fed with Fleiih, but it muft be minced fmall, becai^fe they have not only a flender and fharp Head and Snout, but alfo a narrow and toothlcfs Mouth j their Tongue is like a great Lute-firing (as big as a Goofe-quill) round, and in the greater Kind (for there are two Species) more than two Foot long, and therefore lies doubled in a Chanel between the lower Parts of the Cheeks. This when hungry they thruft forth, being well moiftned, and lay upon the Trunk of Trees, and when it is covered with Ants^ fuddenly draw it back into their Mouths ; if the Ants lie fo deep that they cannot come at them, they dig up the Earth with their long and ftrong Claws, wherewith for that Purpofe their Fore- feet are armed. So we fee how their Parts are fitted for this Kind of Diet, and no other j for the catching of it, and for the eating of it, it re- quiring Parti. /?> if^^ Creation. 143 quiring no Comminution by the Tectji, as ap- pears alfo in the Chamcelion^ which is another Qnadruped that imitates the Tamandua in this Property of darting out the Tongue to a great Length, with wonderful Celerity ; and for the fame Purpofe too of catching of Jnfefts. Befides thefe Quadrupeds, there are a whole Genus of Birds^ called Pici Marcii^ or Wood- .'Peckers^ that in like Manner have a Tongue which they can £hoot forth to a very great Length, ending in a fharp ftiff bony Rib, dented on each Side ; and at pleafure thruft it deep into the Holes, Clefts, and Crannies of Trees, to ftab and draw out CoJJj, or any other Infects lurk- ing there, as alfo into Ant-hiUs, to ftrike and fetch out the Ants and their Eggs, Moreover, they have ihort, but very ftrong Legs, and their Toes ftand two forwards, two backwards, which Diipofition (as Aldrovandiis well notes) Nature, or rather the Wifdom of the Creator, hath grant- ed to Woodpeckers^ becaufe it is very coavenieut for the climbing of Trees, to which alfo condu- ces' the Stiffnefs of the Feathers of their Tails, and their bending downward, whereby they are fitted to ferve as a Prop for them to lean up- on, and bear up their Bodies. As for the Chamte- lion, he imitates the Woodfpite, not only in the Make, Motion, and Ufe of his Tongue for ftriking Ants^ Flies, and other Infects \ but alfo in rhe Site of his Toes, whereby he is wonder- fully qualified to run upon Trees, which he doth 14+ 77)eWisDoM of GOD Parti. does with that Swiftnefs, that one would think he flew, whereas upon the Ground he walks very clumfily and ridiculoufly. A full Defcrip- tion of the outward and inward Parts of this Animal, may be feen at the End of Penarolus's Obfervat. It is to be noted, that the Chamcelion^ tho' he hath Teeth, ufes them not for chev/ing his Prey, but fwallows it immediately. I fhall add two Inftances more in Birds, and thofe are, I. TheSwalloWy whofe proper Food is fmall Beetles, and other Infedls flying about in the Air ; as we have found by diflTeding the Sto- machs both of old Ones and Nefl:lings : Which is wonderfully fitted for the catching of thefe Animalcules J for fhe hath long Wings, and a forked Tail, and fmall Feet, whereby {he is as it were made for fwift Flight, and enabled to continue long upon the Wing, and to turn nim- bly in the Air : And (he hath alfo an extraordi- nary wide Mouth, fo that it's very hard for any Infedt, that comes in her Way to efcape her. It is thought to be a Sign of Rain, when this Bird flies low near to the Ground -, in which there may be fome Truth ; becaufe the Infedls which ftie hunts may at fuch Times, when the fuperior Air is charged with Vapours, have a Senfe of it, and defcend near the Earth. Hence, when there are no more Infefts in the Air, as in Winter- time, thofe Birds do either abfcond, or betake themfelves into hot Countries. 2. The Part L in the GK'^kTio n. i 45 2. The Colymbi, ox Doicchers^ or Loo?2S, whofe Bodies are admirably fitted and conformed for diving under Water, being cover'd with a very- thick Plumage, and the Super/ides of their Fea- thers fo fmooth and flippery, that the Water cannot penetrate, or moiften them ; whereby their Bodies are defended from the Cold, the Water being kept at a Diftance, and fo poifed^ jhat by a light Impulfe they may eafily afcend in it. Then their Feet are fituate in the hind- moft Part of their Body, whereby they are en- abled, fliooting their Feet backwards^ and ftri- king the Water upwards, to plunge themfelves down into it with great Facility, and likewife to move forwards therein. Then their Legs are made flat and broad, and their Feet cloven into Toes with appendant Membranes on each Sidej by which Configuration they eafily cut the Wa- ter, and are drawn forward, and fo take their Stroke backwards -, and befides> I conceive, that by means of this Figure, their Feet being mov'd to the Right and Left-hand, ferve them as a Rudder to enable them to turn under Water: For fome conceive, that they fwim eafier under Water than they do above it. How they raife themfelves up again^ whether their Bodies e- merge of themfelves by their Lightnefs^ or whether by ftriking againft the Bottom, in Man- ner of a Leap, or by fome peculiar Motion of their Legs, I cannot determine. That they dive to the Bottom is clear ; for that in the Sto- machs both of the greater and lefler Kinds we found Grafs and other Weeds, and in the lef- L . ■ fer 146 The'Wisj>ou ef GOD Part L fer kind nothing elfe ; though both prey upon Fifh. Their Bills alfo are made ftreight and fharp for the eafier cutting of the Water, and ftriking their Prey. Could we fee the Motions G)f their Legs and Feet in the Water, then we jfhould better comprehend how they afcend, de- fcend, and move to and fro ; and difcern, how wufely and artificially their Membecs are formed and adapted to thofe Ufes. II. In Birds^ all the Members are moft ex- actly fitted for the Ufe of Flying. Firft, The Mufcles, which ferve to move the Wings, are the greateft and ftrongeft, becaufe much Force is required to the Agitation of them ^ the under- fide of them is alfo made Concave, and the up- per Convex, that they may be eafily lifted up, and more ftrongly beat the Air, which by this Means doth more refill the Defcent of their Bo- dy downwards. Then the Trunk of their Bo- dy doth fomewhat refemble the Hull of a Shipj- the Head, the Prow, which is for the moft part fmall, that it may the more eafily cut the Air, and make v/ay for their Bodies ; the Train ferves to fteer, govern, and dired; their Flight ; and however it may be held ered in their {land- ing, or walking, yet is direfted to lie almoft in the fame Plain with their Backs, or rather a little inclining when they fly. That the Train ferves to fleer and direft their Flight, and turn their Bodies like the Rudder of a Ship, is evident in the Kite, who, by a light turning of his Train, moves Parti. in the Creation, 147 moves his Body which Way he pleafes. lidem indenfur artem guhernandi docuijfe caiida fexibus^ in Cf^lo 7nonfirante natiira quod opus ejfet in pro- fundo, Plin. Lib. 10. c. 10. I'hey Jeem to have taught Men the Art of fleering a Ship by the Flexures of their T'ails > Nature JJjewing in the Air "what was yieedful to he done in the Deep, And it's notable that Arijlotle truly obferves, that whole-footed Birds, and thofe that have long Legs, have for the moft part (hort Tails ; and therefore whilft they fly, do not, as others, draw them up to their Bellies, but ftretch them at length backvvards, that they may ferve to fteer and guide them inftead of Tails. Neither doth the Tail ferve only to diredl and govern the Flight, but alfo partly to fupport the Body, and keep it even j wherefore, when fpread, it lies parallel to the Horizon, and ftands not perpen- dicular to it, as Fiihes do. Hence Birds that^ have no Tails, as fome Sorts of Colymbi^ or Duck- ers, fly very inconveniently with their Bodies al- moft ered. . To this I (hall add further, That the Bodies of Birds are fmall in Comparifon of Quadru- peds, that they may more eafily be fupported in the Air during their Flight ; which is a great Argument of Wifdom and Defign: Elfe why lliould not we fee Species of Pegafi, or Flying- Horfes, of Grijfins, of Harpies, and an Huu* dj*ed more, which might make a Shift to liye well enough, notwithftanding they could make no Ufe of their Wings : Befides, their Bodies . are not only fmall, but of a broad Figure, that . L 2 ^ the 148 7%eWisDouof GOD Parti. the Air may more reiift their Defcents , they are alfo hollow and light ; nay, their very Bones are light : For though thofe of tjie Legs and Wings are folid and firm, yet have they ample Cavities, by which Means they become more rigid and ftifF) it being demonftrable, that a hollow Body is more ft iff and inflexible than a fo- lid one of equal Subftance and Matter. Then the Feathers alfo are very light, yet their Shafts • hard and ftiff, as being either empty, or filled with a light and fpungy Subftance, and their Webs are not made of continued Membranes ; for then, had a Rupture by any Accident been made in them, it could not have been confoli- dated, but of two Series of numerous Pumulcey or contiguous Filaments, furniflied all along with Hooks on each fide, whereby catching hold on one another, they ftick faft together 5 fo that when they are ruffled, or difcompofed, the Bird with her Bill can eafily preen them, and reduce them to their due Pofition again. And for their firmer Cohasfion, the wife and bountiful Author of Nature hath provided and placed on the Rump two Glandules, having their excretory Veffels, round which grow Feathers in Form of a Pen- cil, to which the Bird turning her Head, cat- ches hold upon them with her Bill, and a little comprefling the Glandules, fqueezes out and brings away therewith an oily Pap, or Liniment, moft fit and proper for the Inundtion of the Fea- thers, and caufing their Filaments more ftrongly t,o cohere. And is not this ftrange and admira- ble, Parti. in the Creation. 149 ble, and argumentative of Providence, that there fhould be fuch an Unguent, or Pap, prepared, fuch an open Veflel to excern it into, to receive and retain it ; that the Bird fl^^ould know where it is fituate, and how, and to what Purpofes to ufe it ? And becaufe the Bird is to live many Years, and the Feathers in time would, and mufl neceffarily be worn and fhatter'd, Nature hath made Provifion for the cafting and renew- ing of them Yearly. Moreover, thofe large Bladders, or Membranes, extending to the Bot^ toms of the Bellies of Birds, inro which the Breath is received, conduce much to the alle- viating of the Body, and facilitating the Flight : For the Air received into thefe Bladders, is by the Heat of the Body extended into twice, or thrice, the Dimenfions of the External, and fo muft needs add a Lightnefs to the Body. And the Bird when (lie would defcend, may either comprefs this Air by the Mufcles of the Abdo- men, or expire as much of it as may enable her to defcend fwifter, or (lower, as (lie pleafes. I niight add the Ufe of the Feathers in cheri(hing and keeping the Body warm ; which, the Crea- ture being of fmall Bulk, mull needs (land in great Stead againft the Rigour of the Cold. And for this Reafon we fee, that Water-Fowls, which were to fwim, and fit long upon the cold Wa- ter, have their Feathers very thick (et upon their Breafts and Bellies, and befides a plentiful Down there growing, to fence againft the Cold of the Water, and to keep oft' its immediate Contad. L c; ^ Thac 1^0 The Wis-Dou of GOD Parti. Thiat the Tails of all Birds in general do not conduce to their turning to the Right and Left, ucccrding to the common Opinion, but rather for their Alcent and Defcent, fome modern Phi- lofophers have obferv'd and prov'd by Experi- ment ; for that if you pluck off, for Inltance, a Pigeon's Tail, fhe will neverthelels, with equal Facility, turn to and fro : Which upon fecond Thoughts, and further Confideration, I grant to be true, in Birds whofe Tails are pointed, and end in aright Line : But in thofe that have fork- ed Tails, Autopfy convinceth us that it hath this Ufe ; and therefore they pronounce too bold- ly of all in general. For it is manifeft to Sight, that the fork'd-tail Kite, by turning her Train fideways, elevating one Horn, and depreffing the other, turns her whole Body. And doubtlefs the Tail hath the fame ufe in Swallows, who make the moft fudden Turns in the Air of any Birds, and have all of them forked Tails. III. As for Flfhes, their Bodies are long and {lender, or elfe thin, for the moft Part, for their more eafy fwimming, and dividing the Water. The Wind-bladder, wherewith moft of them are furnifhed, ferves to poife their Bodies, and keep them equiponderant to the Water, which elfe wou'd fink to the Bottom, and lie grove- ling there, as hath, by breaking the Bladder, been experimentally found. By the Contradtion and Dilatation of this Bladder, they are able to taife, or fink themfelves at Pleafure, and continue in what Depth of Water they lift. 2 The Part I. //? /^^ C R E A T ro N. 151 The Fins, madeofgriftly Spokes, or Rays, con- neded by Membranes, lb that they may be' con- traded, or extended iike Womens Fans, and fur- niflied with Mufcles for Motion, ferve partly for Progreffion, but chiefly to hold the Body up- right; which appears in that when they are cut off, it wavers to and fro, and fo foon as the Fifh . dies, the Belly turns upwards. The great Strength by which Fifhes dart themfelves for- * ward with incredible Celerity, like an Arrow out of a Bow, lies in their Tails, their Fins, mean time, left they (hould retard their Motion, being held clofe to their Bodies. And therefore almoft the whole Mufculous Fleih of the Body is beftow'd upon the Tail and Back, and ferves for the Vibration of the Tail, the Heavlnefs and Corpulency of the Water requiring a great Force to divide it. In Cetaceous Fiflies, or, as the Latim call them, * Sea-Beafts, the Tail hath a dif- ^ ferent Pofition from what it hath in all MarL^^ other Fifties ; for whereas in thefe it is ereded perpendicular to the Horizon, in them it lies parallel thereto, partly to fupply the Ufeof the hinder Pair of Fins which thefe Creatures lack, and partly to raife and deprefs the Body at pleafure. For it being necelTary that thefe Fifties ihould frequently afcend to the Top of the Water to breathe, or take in and let out the Air, it was fitting and convenient that they ftiould be pro- vided with an Organ to facilitate their Afcent and Defcent as they had Occafion. And as for their turning of their Bodies m the Water, they L 4 muft 152 Tie Wisdom of GOD Partit muft perform that as Birds do, by the Motion of one of their Fins, while the other is quiefcent. It is no lefs remarkable in them, that their whole Body is incompafied round with a copious Fat, which our Fifhermen call the Bhibber, of a great Thicknefs ; which ferves partly to poife their Bodies, and render them equiponderant to the Water y partly to keep off the Water at fome Diftance from the Blood, the immediate Con- tadt whereof would be apt to chill it ; and part- ly alfo for the fame Ufe that Clothes ferve us, to keep the Fi(h warm, by refleding the hot Steams of the Body, and fo redoubling the Heat, as we have before-noted. For we fee, by Ex- perience, that fat Bodies are nothing near fo fenfible of the Impreffions of Cold as lean. And I have obferved fat Hogs to have lain abroad in the open Air, upon the cold Ground, in Winter Nights ; whereas the lean Ones have been glad to creep into their Cotes, and lie upon Heaps to keep themfelves warm. I might here take Notice of thofe Amphibious Creatures, which w^e may call Aquatic Quadru- peds (though one of them there is that hath but two Feet, viz. the Maimti, or Sea-Cow) the Beaver^ the Otter ^ the Phoca^ or Sea-Calf, the Water-Rat^ and the F;7?g*, the Toes of whofe Feet are joined by Membranes, as in Water- Fowls, for fwirnming 5 and who have very fmall Ears, and Ear-holes, as rhe Cetaceous Fifhes have, for hearing in the Water. To this Head belongs the adapting of the Parts that miniiter to Generation in the Sexes 2 one Part L in the C r e at i o n. 153 one to another ; and in Creatures that nourifli their Young with Milk, the Nipples of the Breaft to the Mouth and Organs of Sudion ; which he muft needs be wilfully blind and void of Senfe, that either difcerns not, or denies to be intended and made one for the other. That the Nipples fhould be made fpungy, and with fuch Perforations, as to admit Paffage to the Milk when drawn, otherwife to retain it j and * the Teeth of the Young either not fprung, or fo foft and tender, as not to hurt the Nipples of the Dam, are Effeds and Arguments of Providence and Defign. A more full Defcription of the Breafts and Nipples I meet with, in a Book of that ingenious Anatomift and Phyfician, Antonhts Niick^ enti- tled, Ademgrafhia Curiofa^ cap. 2. He makes the Breafts to be nothing but Glandules of that Sort they call Conglomerated^ made up of an infi- nite Number of little Knots, or Kernels, each whereof has its excretory Veffel, or Lactiferous Dudt \ three, or four, or five of thefe prefently meet, and join into one fmall Trunk, in like' Manner do the adjacent Glandules meet and u- nite ; feveral of thefe leflfer Trunks, or Branches, concurring, make up an excretory Veffel of a notable Bignefs, like to that of the Pajtcreas^ but not fo long, yet fufficiently large, to receive and retain a good Quantity of Milk ; whjch be- fore it enters the Nipple, is again contracted, and ftraitned to that Degree, that it will fcarce admit a fmall Bridle. Who nov/ can be fo im- pudent as to deny, that all this was contrived and defigncd 154 "n^e Wisdom of GOD Part L defigned purpofely to retain the Milk, that it fhould not flow out of it felf, but eafily be drawn out by PrelTure and Sudion ; or to affirm that this fell out accidentally, than which there could not have been a more ingenious Contrivance for the Ufe to which it is employed, invented by the Wit of Man? To this Head of the Fitnefs of the Parts of the Body to the Creature's Nature, and Manner of Living, belongs that Obfervation oi Arijiotle^ i:Sov opviQoev QdoL /Lch yji}Ji-\(jcvo')^aL aatpKOCpxyx ircivra. Such Birds as have" crooked Beaks and Talons, are all Carnivorous; and fo of Quadrupeds, aap^ccpo^ovTct, Caniivora omnia. All that have Serrate Teeth, are Carnivorous, This Obferva-. tion holds true concerning all European Birds ; but I know not but that Parrots may be an Ex- ception to it. Yet it is remarkable, that fuch Birds as are Carnivorous have no Gizzard, or Mufculous, but a Membranous Stomach, , that Kind of Food needing no fuch Grinding, or Com- minution as Seeds do, but being torn into Strings, orfmall Flakes, by the Beak, may be eafily con- coded by a Membranous Stomach. To the Fitnefs of all the Parts and Members of Animals, to their refpedive Ufes, may alfo be referred another Obfervation of the fame Arijiotle^ Udvra. rd ?««, apriai; i^n TrS'a;. All Animals have even Feet, not more on one Side than another; which, if they had, would ei- ther hinder their walking, or hang by not on- ly ufelefs, but alfo burthenfome. For though a Creature might make a limping Shift to hop, fuppofe Part I. in /^^ C r e at i o n. 155 fuppofe with three Feet, yet nothing fo conve- niently or fteddily to walk or run, or indeed to ftand ; fo that we fee Nature hath made choice of what is moft fit, proper, and ufeful : They have alfo not only an even Number of Feet, an- fwering by Pairs one to another, which is as well decent as convenient, but thofe too of an equal Length, I mean, the feveral Pairs ; whereas were thofe on one fide longer than they on the other, ?t would have caus'd an inconvenient halting or limping in their going. I iliall mention but one more Obfervation of Ariftotle^ that is, Xitrwlv fjJ^vov bcS^V, there is no Creature only volatile, or no flying Animal, but hath Feet as well as Wings, a Power of walking or creeping upon the Earth, becaufe there is no Food, or at leaft not fufficient Food for them to be had always in the Air ; or if in hot Countries we may fuppofe there is, the Air being never without Store of Infefts flying about in it, yet could fuch Birds take no Reft, for having no Feet they could not pearch upon Trees 5 and if they fl^ould alight upon the Ground, they could by no means raife themfelves any more, as w^e fee thofe Birds which have but fhort Feet, as the S^wift and Martinet ^ with difficulty do ; befides, they would want means of breeding, having no where to lay their Eggs, to fit, hatch, or brood their Young. As for the Story of the Manucodi^ ata^ or Bird of Paradijiy which in the former Age's was generally receiv'd and accepted for true, even by the Learned, it is now difcover'd to 156 The Wisdom of GOD Parti. to be a Fable, and rejedted and exploded by all Men, thofe Birds being well krtown to have Legs and Feet as well as others, and thofe not (hort, fmall, nor feeble ones, but fufficiently great and ftrong, and ann'd with crooked Talons, as being the Members of Birds of Prey. It is alfo very remarkable, that all flying Infedls Ihould be cover'd with flielly Scales, like Armour, partly to fecure them from external Violence, from Injuries by Blows and Preflures; partly to defend their tender Mufcles from the Heat of the Sun-beams, which would be apt to parch and dry them up, being of fmall Bulk; partly alfo to reftrain the Spirits, and to prevent their Eva- poration. I fhall now add another Inflance of the Wif- dom of Nature, or rather the God of Nature, in adapting the Parts of the fame Animal one to a- nother, and that is, the proportioning the Length of the Neck to that of the Legs. For feeing ter- reflrial Animals, as well Birds as Quadrupeds, are endu'd with Legs, upon which they ftand, and wherewith they transfer themfelves from Place to Place to gather their Food, and for o- ther Conveniences of Life, and fo the Trunk of their Body muft needs be elevated above the Su- perficies of the Earth, fo that they could not con- veniently either gather their Food or Drink if they wanted a Neck, therefore Nature hath not only furnifli'd them therewith, but with fuch an one as is commenfurable to their Legs, except here the Elephant, which hath indeed a fliorc Neck, Part L in the Ckv, ATio-^. 157 Neck, for the exceflive Weight of his Head and Teeth, which to a long Neck would have been infupportable, but is provided with a Trunk, wherewith, as with a Hand, he takes up his Food and Drink, and brings it to his Mouth. I lay, the Necks of Birds and Quadrupeds are com- menfurate to their Legs, fo that they which have 'long Legs have long Necks, and they that have (liort Legs, fhort ones, as is feen in the Crocodile^ and all Lizards ; and thofe that have no Legs, as they do not want Necks, fo neither have they any, as Pipes, This Equality between the Length of the Legs and Neck, is efpecially ktn in Beafts that feed conftantly upon Grafs, whofe Necks and Legs are always very near equal ; very near, I fay, becaufe the Neck muft neceflarily have fome Advantage, in that it cannot hang perpen- dicularly down, but muft incline a little; more- over, becaufe this Sort of Creatures muft needs hold their Heads down in an inclining Pofture for a confiderable time together, which would be very laborious and painful for the Mufcles, therefore on each fide the Ridge of the Vertebres of the Neck Nature hath placed an STcy^'p^jnc, or nervous Ligament, of a great thicknefs and ftrength, apt to ftretch, and (brink again, as need rec^ires, and void of Senfe, extending from the Head ( to which, and the next Vertebres of the Neck, it is faften'd at that end) to the middle Vertebres of the Back (to which it is knit at the other) to aflift them to fupport the Head in that Pofture ; which Apmeurojis is taken notice of by the 158 7/jeWisi>oM of GOD Parti. the Vulgar by the Name of Fixfax^ or Pack-wax^ or White-leather. It is alfo very obfervable in Fowls that wade in the Water, which having long Legs, have alfo Necks anfwerably long 5 only in thefe too there is an Exception, exceed- ing worthy to be noted 3 for fome Water-Fowl, which are Palmipeds^ or whole-footed, have very long Necks, and yet but fliort Legs, as Swans and GeeJ'e^ and fome Indian Birds; wherein we may obfeTve the admirable Providence of Na- ture. For fuch Birds as were to fearch and ga- ther their Food, whether Herbs or Infedls, in the bottom of Pools and deep Waters, have long Necks for that purpofe, though their Legs, as is moil; convenient for fwimming, be but fhort; whereas there are no Land- Fowl to be iztxi with fhort Legs and long Necks, but ail have their Necks in Length commenfurate to their Legs. This Inftance is the more confiderable, becaufe the Atheirts ufual Flam will not here help them out \ for (fay they) there were many Animals of difproportionate Parts and of abfurd and uncouth Shapes produced at iirft, in the Infancy of the World, but becaufe they could not gather th.eir Food, or perform other Fundions neceflary to maintain Life, they foon perifh'd, and were loft again. For thefe Birds we fee can gather their Food upon Land conveniently enough notwith- ftanding the Length of their Necks. For Ex- ample, Geefe graze upon Comm^ons, and can feed themfelves fat upon Land ; yet is there not one Land Bird which hath its Neck thus difpro- portionate to its LegSj nor one Water one neither, but Part I. in the C?.^ ATI Q n. i 5 9 but fuch as are deftin'd by Nature in fuch man- ner as we have mention'd to fearch and gather their Food ; for Nature makes not a long Neck to no purpofe. Lajilyy Another Argument of Providence and Council relating to Animals, is the various Kinds of Voices the fame Animal ufes on divers Occa- iions, and to different Purpofes. Hen Birds, for ^Example, have a peculiar fort of Voice when they would call the Male 3 which is fo eminent in ^ailsy that it is taken notice of by Men, who by counterfeitbig tnis Voice with a Quail-Pipe, eafily draw the Cocks into their Snares. The common Hen, all the while flie is broody, fits, and leads her Chickens , ufes a Voice which we call Clockings another ilie employs v/hen fhe calls her Chickens to partake of any Food (he hath found for them, upon hearing whereof they fpee« dily run to her ; another when upon fight of a Bird of Prey, or Apprehenfion of any Danger, {he would fcare them, bidding them as it were to {hift for themfelves, whereupon they fpeedily run away, and feek Shelter among Bufhes, or in the thick Grafs, or elfewhere difperfmg themfelves far and wide. Thefe Adions do indeed neceffa- rily infer Knowledge and Intention of, and Di- redion to the Ends and Ufes to which they ferve, not in the Birds themfelves, but in a fuperior Agent, who hath put an Inftindt in them of ufing fuch a Voice upon fuch an Occafion ; and in the Young, of doing that upon hearing of it, which by Providence was^ intended. Other Voices llie hath when angry, when (he hath laid an Egg, whca i6o T/jeWisT>ou of GOD Parti when in Pain or great Fear, all fignificant; which may more eafily be accounted for, as being EfFedts of the feveral Paffions of Anger, Grief, Fear, Joy ; which yet are all argumentative of Provi- dence, intending their feveral Significations and Ufes. I might alfd inftance in Quadrupeds, fome of which have as great a Diverfity of Voices as Hens themfelves, and all of them fignificant ; for Ex- ample, that common domeftick Animal the Caty as is obvious to every one to obferve, and there- fore I (hall not fpend Time to mention Particu- lars. ObjeB, But againft the Ufes of feveral Bodies I have inftanc^d in that refer to Man, it may be objedVed, that thefe Ufes were not defign'd by Nature in the Formation of the Things, but that the Things were by the Wit of Man accommo- dated to thofe Ufes. To which I anfwer, with Dr. More^ in the Appendix to his Antidote agaijiji Atheifm^ that the feveral ufeful Dependencies of this Kind, (viz, of St07ies, 'timber y and Metals^ for build- ing of Houfes or Ships, the Magnet for. Na- vigation, &c. Fire for melting of Metals, and forging of Inftruments for the Purpofes menti- oned) we only find, not make them. For whe- ther we think of it or no, it is, for Example, manifeft, that Fuel is good to continue Fire, and Fire to melt Metals, and Metals to make Inftruments to build Ships and Houfes, and fo on. Wherefore it being true, that there is fuch Part I. //^ /^^ C R E A T I o N. 1 6 1 fuch a fubordinate Ufefulnefs in the Things themfelves that are made to our Hand, it is but Reafon in us to impute it to fuch a Caufe, as was aware of the Ufefulnefs and Serviceablenefs of its own Works. To which I (hall add, that fince we find Materials fo fit to ferve all the Ne- ceflities and Conveniencies, and to exerc.ife and employ the Wit and Induftry of an intelligent and adive Being ; and fince there is fuch an one * created that is endued with Skill and Ability to ufc them, and which by their Help is enabled to rule over and fubdue all inferior Creatures, but without them had been left necefTitous, help- lefs, and obnoxious to Injuries above any other; and fince the Omnifcient Creator could not but know all the Ufes, to which they might and would be employed by Man, to them that ac- knowledge the Being of a Deity ; it is little lefs than a Demonftration, that they were created intentionally, I do not fay only, for thofe Ufes. Methinks, by all this Provifion for the Ufe and Service of Man, the Almighty interpreta- tively fpeaks to him in this Manner: 1 have now placed thee in a fpacious and well-furnifh'd World ; I have endued thee with an Ability of underftanding what is beautiful and proportion- able, and have made that which is fo, agree- able and delightful to thee; I have provided thee with Materials whereon to exercife and employ thy Art and Strength ; I have given thee an excellent Jnftrument, the Hand, ac- commodated to make ufe of them all ; I have M . diftin- i62 7^^ Wisdom of GOD Part L diftinguiflied the Earth into Hills and Vallies^ and Plains, and Meadows, and Woods ; all thefe Parts, capable of Culture and Improvement by thy Induftry ; I have committed to thee for thy Affiftance in thy Labours of Plowing, and Carrying, and Drawing, ' and Travel, the labo- rious Ox, the patient Afs^ and the ftrong and ferviceable Horfe ; I have created a Multitude of Seeds for thee to make Choice out of them, of what is moft pleafant to thy Tafte, and of moft whokfome and plentiful Nourifhment ; I have alfo made great Variety of Trees, bearing Fruit both for Food and Phyfick, thofe too capa- ble of being meliorated and improved by Tranf- plantation, Stercoration, Incifion, Pruning, Wa- tering, and other Arts and Devices. Till and manure thy Fields, fow them with thy Seeds ; extirpate noxious and unprofitable Herbs ; guard them from thelnvafion and Spoil of Beafts; clear and fence in thy Meadows and Paftures ; drefs and prune thy Vines, and fo rank and difpofe them as is moft fuitable to the Climate ; plant thee Orchards , with all Sorts of Fruit-Trees, in fuch Order as may be moft beautiful to the Eye, and moft comprehenfive of Plants ; Gardens for culinary Herbs, and all Kinds of Salleting 5 for delectable Flov^ers, to gratify the Eye with their agreeable Colours and Figures, and thy Scent with their fragrant Odours ; for Odorife- rous and Ever-greert Shrubs and Suffrutices ; for Exotick and Medicinal Plants of all Sorts j and difpofe them in that comely Order, as may be both pleafant to behold, and commodious for I Accefs* Parti. in //6^ Creation. 163 Accefs. I have furnifhed thee with all Materials for Building, as Stone, and Timber, and Slate, and Linne, and Clay, and Earth, whereof to make Bricks and Tiles 5 deck and befpangle the Country with Houfes and Villages conve- nient for thy Habitation, provided with Out- houfes and Stables for the harbouring and fhel- ter of thy Cattle, with Barns and Granaries for the Reception, and Cuftody, and ftoring up thy * Corn and Fruits. I have made thee a fociablc Creature, Zci'oi' 7ro^m?tci/, for the Improvement of thy Underftanding by Conference, and Com- munication of Obfervations and Experiments; for mutual Help, and Afliftance, and Defence ; build thee large Towns and Cities with ftreight and well-pav'd Streets, and elegant Rows of Houfes, adorn'd with magnificent Temples for my Honour and Worship, with beautiful Pala- ces for thy Princes and Grandees, with jftately Halls for publick Meetings of the Citizens and their feveral Companies, and the Seffions of the Court of Judicature ; befides publick Portico's and Aqu^dufts. I have implanted in thy Na- ture a Defire of feeing ftrange and foreign, and finding out unknown Countries, for the Im- provement, and Advance of thy Knowledge in Geography^ by obferving the Bays, and Creeks, and Havens, and Promontories, the Out-lets of Rivers, the Situation of the Maritime Towns and Cities, the Longitude and Latitude, ^c. of'thofe Places: In Politicks^ by noting their Government, their Manners, Laws, and Cu- ftoms, their Diet and Medicines, their Trades M 2 . and 164 7%eWisDouof GOD Parti. and Manufaftures, their Houfes and Buildings, their Exercifes and Sports, &c. In Phyfiology^ or Natural Hiftory, by fearching out their Na- tural Rarities, the Produdlions both of Land and Water; what Species of Animals, Plants, and Minerals, of Fruits and Drugs are to be found here, what Commodities for Bartering and PermutatioUj whereby thou mayeft be ena- bled to make large Additions to Natural Hiftory, to advance thofe other Sciences, and to benefit and enrich thy Country by Increafe of its Trade and Merchandize. I have given thee Timber and Iron to build the Hulls of Ships, tall Trees for Mafts, Flax and Hemp for Sails, Cables, and Cordage, for Rigging. I have armed thee with Courage and Hardinefs to attempt the Seas, and traverfe the fpacious Plains of that liquid Element. I have affifted thee with a Compafs, to direft thy Courfe when thou {halt be out of all Ken of Land, and have nothing in View but Sky and Water. Go thither for the Purpofes before-- mentioned, and bring Home what may be ufe- ful and beneficial to thy Country in general, or thy felf in particular. I perfuade my felf, that the bountiful and gracious Author of Man's Being and Faculties, and all Things elfe, delights in the Beauty of his Creation, and is well pleafed with the In- duftry of Man, in adorning the Earth with beau- tiful Cities and Caftles ; with pleafant Villages and Country-Houfes ; with regular Gardens and Orchards, and Plantations of all Sorts of Shrubs, I and Parti. in the Creation. 165 and Herbs, and Fruits, for Meat, Medicine, or moderate Delight ; with (hady Woods and Groves, and Walks fet with Rows of elegant Trees ; with Pa/lures ckathed with Flocks, and Valleys cover d with Corn, and Meadows bur- thened with Grafs, and whatever elfe differen- ceth a civil and well-cultivated Region, from, a barren and defolate Wildernefs. , If a Country thus planted and adorn'd, thus polifhed and civilized, thus improved to the Height by all Manner of Culture for the Support and Suftenance, and convenient Entertainment of innumerable Multitudes of People, be not to be preferred before a barbarous and inhofpitable Scythia, without Houfes, without Plantations, without Corn-fields or Vineyards, where the roving Hords of the favage and truculent Inhabi- tants transfer themfelves from Place to Place in Waggons, as they can find Pafture and Forage for their Cattle, and live upon Milk, and Flefli roafted in the Sun, at thePomels of their Sad- dles ; or a rude and unpoliflied America, peopled with flothful and naked Indians, inftead of welU built Houfes, living in pitiful Huts and Cabbins, made of Poles fet end- ways ; then fu rely the brute Beafls Condition, and Manner of Living, to which, what we have mentioned doth near- ly approach, is to be efteem^d better than Man's, and Wit and Reafon was ir> vain beftowed on him. M 3 Laflk, i66 neWisDOM of GOD Part L Laftly, I might draw an Argument of the ad- mirable Art and Skill of the Creator and Com- pofer of them, from the incredible Smalnefs of fome of thofe natural and enlivened Machines, the Body of Animals. Any Work of Art of extraordinary Finenefs and Subtlety, be it but a fmall Engine or Move- ment, or a curious carved or turned Work of Ivory or Metals, fuch as thofe Cups turned of Ivory by O/walJiis Nerlinger of Suevia, men- tion'd by Joa??, Faber^ in his Expofitions of Rec-- chus his Mexican Animals, which all had the perfecft Form of Cups, and were gilt with a Golden Border about the Brim, of that wonder- ful Smalnefs, that F^^^r himfelf put a thoufand of them into an excavated Pepper-corn ; and when he was weary of the Work, and yet had not filled the Veflel, his Friend, John Carlm Schad^ that {hewed them him, put in four hundred more. Any fuch Work, I fay, is beheld with Admiration, and purchafed at a great Rate, and treafured up as a fmgular Rarity in the MuJ'ceiim$ and Cabinets of the Curious, and as fuch is one of the firft Things fhewed to T^ravellen and Strangers. But what are thefe for their Finenefs and Parvity (for which alone, and their Figure, they are confiderable) to thofe minute Machines endued with Life and Motion, I mean, the Bo- dies of thofe A?iimalcida^ not long fince difcover- ed in Pepper-water, by Mr. Leuenboek, of Delft in Holland, (whofe Obfervations were confirm- ed and improved by our Learned and Worthy Country- Part L in /)6^ C r e a t i o n. 1 67 Country-man, Dr. Robert Hook) who tells us, That fome of his Friends (whofe Teftimonials he defired), did affirm. That they had feen loooo, others 30000, others 45000 little liv- ing Creatures, in a Quantity of Water no big- ger than a Grain of Millet ; and yet he made it his Requeft to them, that they would only ju- ftify (that they might be within compiafs) half ♦ the Number that they believed each of them faw in the Water. From the greateft of thefe Numbers he infers, that there will be 8280000 of thefe living Creatures feen in one Drop of Water j which Number (faith he) I can with Truth affirm, I have difcerned. This (proceeds he) doth exceed Belief: But I do affirm, if a large Grain of Sand were broken into 8000000 of equal Parts, one of thefe would not exceed the Bignefs of one of thofe Creatures. Dr. Hook tells us, That after he had difcovered vaft Mul- titudes of thofe exceeding fmall Creatures which Mn Lmenhoek had defcribed, upon making ufe of other Lights and GlaiTes, he not only magni- fied thofe he had difcovered to a very great Big^ nefs, but difcovered many other forts very much fmaller than them he firft faw, and fome of them fo exceeding fmall, that Millions of MillioriJ^ might be contained in one Drop of Water. If Fliny, confidering fuch Infeds as were known to him, and thofe were none but what Wjbre vi- fible to the naked Eye, was moved to cry our, That the Artifice of Nature was no where more confpicuous than in thefe. And again, In hii, M 4 tarn i68 7%e Wisdom of GOD Part L tarn parvis at que tarn nullis qua ratio, quanta vis, quam inextricabilis perfeBio ? And again, Rerum natura niifquam magis quam in miiiirnis tota eji, Hift. Nat. 1. 1 1, c. I. What would he have faid, if he had feen Animals of fo ftupendous Small- nefs, as I have mentioned ? How would he have been rapt into an Extafie of Aftonifhment and Admiration ? Again : If confidering the Body of a Gnat, (which by his own Confeffion is none of the leaft of Infefts) he could make fo many admi- ring Queries, Where hath Nature difpofed fo ma- ny Se77fe.s in a Gnat ? TJhi vijum prcetendit ? Vbi gujiatum applicavit ? Ubi odoratum injeruit ? Vbi *vero truculent am ill am & portione maxim am vocem ingeneravit? ^id fubtilitate pennas adnexuitf Fralongavit pedum crura ? Difpofuit jejunam ca-- veam uti ahum ? Avidam fanguinis & potijjimum humani Jitim accendit? T'elum verb perfodiendo tergori quo fpiculavit ingenio ? Atque ut in capaci, cum cerni non pojjit exilitas, it a reciproca gemi- navit arte, ut fodiendo acuminatum pariter for- bendoque fifulofum effet. Which Words fhould I tranfla;te, would lofe of their Emphafis and Elegancy; if, I fay, he could make fuch Que- ries about the Members of a Gnat, what may we make, and what would he in all likelihood have made, had he feen thefe incredibly fmall living Creatures ? How would he have admired the immenfe Subtilty (as he phrafes it) of their Parts ? For to ufe Dr. Hook's Words in his Mi^ crpfcopium, p. 103. If thefe Creatures be foex-^ feeding Parti. in iheCKEATiQ}^. 169 ceeding fmall, what muft we think of their Mufcles and other Parts ? Certain it is, that the Mechanifm by which Nature performs the Muf- cular Motion, is exceeding fmall and curious, and to the Performance of every Mufcular Mo- tion, in greater Animals at leaft, there are not fewer diftindt Parts concerned than many Mil- lions of Millions, and thefe vifible through a Mi- crofcope. Ufe. Let us then confider the Works of God, and obferve the Operations of his Hands: Let us take notice of, and admire his infinite Wif- dom and Goodnefs in the Formation of them : No Creature in this fublunary World is capable of fo doing, befides Man, and yet we are defi- cient herein : We content ourfelves with the Knowledge of the Tongues, or a little Skill in Philology, or Hiflory perhaps, and Antiquity, and negled that which to me feems more mate- rial, I mean, Natural Hiftory, and the Works of the Creation : I do not difcommend or dero- gate from thofe other Studies : I fhould betray mine own Ignorance and Weaknefs fhould I do fo ; I only wifh they might not altogether juflle out, and exclude this. I wifh that this might be brought in Fafhion among us j I wifli Men would be fo equal and civil, as not to difparage, deride, and vilifie thofe Studies which themfelves skill not of, or are not converfant in ; no Knowr- ledge can be more pleafant than this, none that doth fo fatisfie and feed the Soul ^ in Compari- fon lyo I'he Wisdom of GOD Parti. parifon whereto that of Words and Phrafes feem to me infipid and jejune. That Learning (faith a wife and obfervant Prelate) which confifts only in the Form and Pedagogy of Arts, or the criti- cal Notions upon Words and Phrafes, hath in it this intrinfical Imperfection, that it is only fo far to be efteemed, as it conduceth to the Know- ledge of Things, being in it felf but a kind of Pe(kntry, apt to infed: a Man with fuch odd Humours of Pride, and Affediation, and Curio- fity, as will render him unfit for any great Em- ployment. Words being but the Images and Matter, to be wholly given up to the Study of thefe, what is it but Pygmaliori^ Frenzy, to fall in Love with a Pidure or Image ? As for Ora- tory^ which is the beft Skill about Words, that hath by fome wife Men been efteem'd, but a vo- luntary Art, like to Cookery, which fpoils wholefome Meats, and helps unwhojefome, by the Variety of Sauces, ferving more to the Plea- fure of Tafte, than the Health of the Body. It may be (for ought I know, and as fome Divines have thought) part of our Bufinefs and Employment in Eternity, to contemplate the Works of God, and to give him the Glory of his Wifdom, Power, and Goodn.efs, mani- fefted in the Creation of them. I am fure it is part of the Bufxnefs of a Sabbath-day, and the Sabbath is a Type of that Eternal Reft ; for the Sabbath feems to have been firft infti- tuted for a Commemoration of the Works of the Part I. in the Creation. 171 the Creation, from which God is faid to have refted upon the Seventh Day. It is not likely that Eternal Life (hall be a tor- pid and unadlive State, or that it fhall confift only in an uninterrupted and endlefs Ad: of Love; the other Faculties ihall be employed as w^ell as the Will in Adions fuitable to and perfedive of tjaeir Natures; efpecially the Underftanding, the fupreme Faculty of the Soul, which chiefly dif- ferenceth us from brute Beafts, and makes us ca- pable of Virtue' and Vice, of Rewards and Pu- niihments, fhall be bufy'd and employed in con- templating the V^orks of God, and obferving the divine Art and Wifdom, manifefted in the Structure and Compofition of them, and refledl- ing upon their great Architect the Praife and Glory due to him ; then fhall we clearly fee, to our great Satisfaction and Admiration, the Ends and Ufes of thefe things, which here were either too fubtle for us to penetrate and difcover, or too remote and unacceiTible for us to come to any 'diflindl View of, viz, the Planets and fixed Stars, thofe illuflrious Bodies, whofe Contents and Inhabitants, whofe Stores and Furniture, we have here fo longing a Delire to know, as alfo their mutual Subferviency to each other. Now the Mind of Man being not capable at once to advert to more than one thing, a particular View and Examination of fuch an innumerable Num- ber of vaft Bodies, and the great Multitude of Species, both of animate and inanimate Beings, which 172 T/je Wisdom of GOD Parti, which each of them contains, will afford Mat- ter enough to exercife and employ our Minds, I do not fay to all Eternity, but to many Ages, ftiould we do nothing elfe. Let it not fuffice us to be Book-learn'd, to read what others have written, and to take upon Truft more Falfhood than Truth ; but let us our felves examine Things as we have Opportunity, and converfe with Nature as well as Books. Let us endeavour to promote and increafe this Know- ledge, and make new Difcoveries, not fo much diftrufting our own Parts, or defpairing of our own Abilities, as to think that our Induftry can add nothing to the Invention of our Anceftors, or correft any of their Miftakes. Let us not think that the Bounds of Science are fixed, like Hercules's Pillars, and infcrib'd with a A^^ plus ultra ; let us not think we have done when we have learn'd what they have delivered to us -, the Treafures of Nature are inexhauftible ; here is Employment enough for the vafteft Parts, the moft indefatigable Induftries, the happieft Op^ portunities, the moft prolix and undiilurb'd Va- cancies. Multa 'venientis cevi populus ignota nobis fciet : Multa jkculis tunc futuris^ cum memaria nojiri exoleverit rejervanlur, Pufilla res mundus ejl^ nifi in eo quod qucerat omnis mu7idus habeat. Seneca Nat. Quaeft. Lib. 7. Cap. 3 1. T^he People of the next Age jh all know many things unknown to us : Many are refervdfor Ages then to come^ when we fhall be quite forgotten^ no Memory ofm remain-^ ing. Part I. in the Creation. 173 i?7g. The World would be a pitiful fmall thing in- deedy if it did not contain enough for the Enquiries of the ii;hole W^orld. Yet, and again, Epijl, 64. Multum adhuc rejlat Operis, multimque rejlabit^ nee ulli nato poji milk fcecula pracludetur occafo aliquid adhuc adjiciendi. Much Work fill re^ tnains^ and much will remain 5 neither to him that fall be born after a thoifand Ages^ will Matter be wanting for neiv Additiofis to what hath already been invented. Much might be done would we but endeavour, and nothing is infuperable to Paiiis and Patience. I know that a new Study at firft feems very vaft, intricate, and difficult ; but after a little Refolution and Progrefs, after a Man becomes a little acquainted, as I may fo fay, with it, his Underftanding is wonderfully cleared up and enlarged, the Difficulties vanifh, and the thing grows eafy and familiar. And for our Encouragement in this Study, obferve what the Pfalmift faith, Ffal cxi. 2. T& Works of the Lord are great ^ fought out of all them that have Pleafure therein. Which tho' it be principally fpoken of the Works of Providence, yet may as well be verify'd of the Works of the Creation. I am forry to fee fo little Account made of real experimental Philofophy in this * Univerfity, and that thofe ingeni- ^^helT^hffu- ous Sciences of the Mathematicks thor liv'd at are fo much negleded by us j and the firji ^wH- therefore do earneilly exhort thofe ^^"^'^J^^^^- that are young, efpecially Gentlemen, to fet upon thefe Studies j ^ they may poffibly invent fomething 174 TieWisDoM of GOD Parti. fomething of eminent Ufe and Advantage to the World 'y and one fuch Difcovery would abun- dantly compenfate the Expence and Travel of one Man's v^hole Life. Hov^ever, it is enough to maintain and continue what is already invent- ed ; neither do I fee what more ingenious and manly Employment they can purfue, tending more to the Satisfadion of their own Minds, and the lUuftration of the Glory of God, for he is wonderful in all his Works. But I would not have any Man crofs his na- tural Genius or Inclinations, or undertake fuch Methods of Study as his Parts arc not fitted to, or not ferve thofe Ends to which his Friends, upon mature Deliberation, have defign'd him; but thofe who do abound with Leifure, or who have a natural Propenfion and Genius inclining them thereto ; or thofe who by reafon of the Strength and Greatnefs of their Parts, are able to compafs and comprehend the whole Latitude of Learning. Neither yet need thofe who are defign'd to Divinity it felf fear to look into thefe Studies, or think they will engrofs their whole Time, and that no confiderable Progrefs can be made therein, unlefs Men lay afide and negled: their ordinary Callings and neceffary Employments. No fuch Matter. Our Life is long enough, and we might find Time enough did we huf- band it well : Vitam non accepimns brevem^ fed fccimuSy Parti. in the CR^ATio't^. 175 JecimuSy nee mopes ejus, fed frodigi fiimm^ as *S^- neca faith, We have not received a fbort Life^ but have made it Jo -, neither do we want Time^ but are prodigal of it. And did bui young Men fill up that Time with thefe Studies, which lies upoa their Hands, which they are incumbered with, and troubled how to pafs away, much might be done even fo. I do not fee but the Study of true Phyfiology may be juftly accounted a proper, or ifpoTmi^ix Preparative to Divinity. But to leave that, it is a generally receiv'd Opinion, that all this vifible World was created for Man ; that Man is the End of the Creation ; as if there were no other End of any Creature, but fome way or other to be ferviceable to Man. This Opinion is as old as Tully ; for, faith he, in his Second Book, De Nat, Deorum, Principio ipfe Mundus Deorum hominumque caufd fa^us eji : quceque in eo funt omnia ea parata ad fruBum hominum & inventa funt. But tho' this be vul- garly receiv'd, yet wife Men now-a-days think otherwife. Dr. More affirms, * That Creatures are made to enjoy themlelves * Antidot. as well as to Jerve us ; ana that tt ts a ^ „ grofs piece of Ignorance and Rujiicity to think otherwife. And in another Place: This comes only out of Pride and Ignorance^ or a haughty Prefhnption \ becaufe we are encouraged to believe that in fome Senfe all Things are made for Man^ therefore to think that they are not at all made for themfelves. But he that pro?iounceth this^ is igfio- rani of the Nature of Man^ and the Knowledge of Things : 176 TieWisboM of GOD Parti. Things : For if a good Man be merciful to his Beafiy then furely a good God is bountiful and be- nign^ and takes Pleafure that all his Creatures en- joy themfeheSy that have Life and Senfe^ and are capable of Enjoyment. Thofe Philofophers indeed who hold Man to be the only Creature in this fublunary World endu'd with Senfe and Perception, and that all other Animals are mere Machines or Puppets, have fome reafon to think that all Things here below were made for Man. But this Opinion feems to me too mean, and unworthy the Ma- jefty, Wifdom, and Power of God ; nor can it well confift with his Veracity, inftead of a Mul- titude of noble Creatures, endu'd with Life and Senfe, and fpontaneous Motion, as all Mankind till of late Years believ'd, and none ever doubted of (fo that it feems we are naturally made to think fo) to have ftock'd the Earth with divers Sets of Automata^ without all Senfe and Percep- tion, being wholly afted from without, by the Impulfe of external Objedts. But be this fo, there are infinite other Crea- tures without this Earth, which no confiderate Man can think were made only for Man, and have no other Ufe. For my part, I cannot be- lieve that all Things in the World were fo made for Man, that they have no other Ufe. For Part I. in the CviEATio n. 177 For it feems to me highly abfurd and unrea- fonable, to think that Bodies of fuch vaft Mag- nitude as the fix'd Stars, were only made to twinkle to us, nay, a Multitude of them there are, that do not fo much as twinkle, being ei- ther by reafon of their Diftance, or of their Smalnefs, altogether invifible to the naked Eye, and only difcoverable by a Telefcope ; and it is likely, perfeder Telefcopes than we yet have, ■jnay bring to light many more; and who knows, how many lie out of the Ken of the beft Tele- fcope that can poffibly be made ? And, I* be- lieve, there are many Species in Nature, even in this fublunary World, which were never yet taken Notice of by Man, and confequently of no Ufe to him, which yet we are not to think were created in vain ; but may be found out by, and of Ufe to, thofe who fliall live after us in future Ages. But though in this Senfe it be not true, th^t all Things were made for Man 5 yet, thus far it is that all the Creatures in the V/orld may be fome way or other Ufeful to us, at leaft to Qxercife our Wits and Underftandings, in con-r fidering and contemplating of them, and fo af- ford us Subjed: of adjniring and glorifying their and our Maker. Seeing then, we do believe, and alTert, that all Things were in fome Senfe made for us, we are thereby oblig'd to make ufe of them for thofe Purpofes for which.they ferve us, elfe we fruftrate this End of their Creation. Now fom.e of them ferve only to ex- ercife our Minds ,: Many others there be, which N might 178 The Wisdom of GOD Part L might probably ferve us to good Purpofe, whofe Ufes are not difcovered, nor are they ever like to be, without Pains and Induftry. True it is, many of the greateft Inventions have been accidentally ftumbled upon ; but not by Men fupine and carelefs, but bufy and inquifitive. Some Reproach methinks it is to learned Men, that there fhould be fo many Ani- mals in the World, vsrhofe outv^ard Shape is not yet taken Notice of, or defcrib'd, muchlefs their Way of Generation, Food, Manners, Ufes, ob- ferved. The Scripture, Tfal, 148. calls upon the SiiUy Mooriy and Stars ^ Fire and Hail^ Snow and Va- four^ Jlormy Winds and Tempejis^ Mount aiiis and all Hilhy fruitful 'TreeSy and all Cedars^ Beajis and all Cattle y creeping Tubings and flying Fowly &c. to praife the Lord. How can that be ? Can fenfelefs and inanimate Things praife God ? fuch as are the Sun, and Moon, and Stars. And al- though Beafts be advanced higher to fome De- gree of Senfe and Perception ; yet being void of Reafon and Underllanding, they know nothing of the Caufes of Things, or of the Author and Maker of themfelves, and other Creatures. All that they are capable of doing, in reference to the praifing of God, is (as I faid before^ by af- fording Matter, or Subjed, of praifmg him, to rational and intelligent Beings. So the Pfalmift, P/al.xix. I. jTfo Heavens declare the ^ Glory of Ggdy a?id the Firmament Jheweth his Handy-work. And therefore the Pfalnufty when he calls upon I Sun, Parti. in the Creation. 179 Sun, and Moon, and Stars, to praife God, doth in effedt call upon Men and Angels, and other rational Beings, to confider thofe great EfFeds of the divine rower and Wifdom, their vaft Di- menfions, their regular Motions and Periods, their admirable Difpofition and Order, their emi- nent Ends and Ufes in illuminating and enliven- ing the Planets, and other Bodies about them, .and their Inhabitants, by their comfortable and cherifhing Light, Heat, and Influences, and to give God the Glory of his Power, in making fuch great and illuftrious Bodies, and of his Wifdom and Goodnefs in fo placing and difpofing of them, fo moving them regularly and conftant- ly, without clafhing, or interfering, one with another, and enduing them with fuch excellent Virtues and Properties, as to render them fo fer- viceable and beneficial to Man, and all other Creatures about them. The like may be faid of Fire, Hail, Snow, and other Elements and Meteors, of Trees, and ether Vegetables, of Beafls, Birds, Infeds, and all Animals, when they are commanded to praife God, which they cannot do by them- felves ; Man is commanded to confider them particularly, to obfefve and take notice of their curious Strudure, Ends, and Ufes, and give God the Praife of his Wifdom, and other At- tributes dierein manifefted. ^ N 2 And i8o 77)eWisDouof GOD Part L And therefore thofe who have Leifure, Op- portunity, and Abilities, to contemplate and confider any of thefe Creatures, if they do it not, do as it were rob God of fome Part of his Glory, in negleding or flighting fo eminent a Subjed of it, and wherein they might have dif- covered fo much Art, Wifdom, and Contri- vance. And it is particularly remarkable, that the Di- vine Author of this P/hlm, amongft other Crea- tures, calls upon Infeds alfo to praife God; which is as much as to fay, Ye Sons of Men, negled none of his Works, thofe which feem moft vile and contemptible : there is Praife be- longs to him for them. Think not that any Thing he hath vouchfafed to create, is unwor- thy thy Cognizance, to be flighted by thee. It is Pride and Arrogance, or Ignorance and Fol- ly, in thee fo to think. There is a greater Depth" of Art and Skill in the Structure of the meaneft Infed, than thou art able for to fathom, or com- prehend. The Wifdom, Art, and Power of Almighty God, fliines forth as vifibly in the Strudlure of the Body of the minuted Infed, as in that of a Horfe, or Elephant : Therefore God is faid to be, Maximiis in ^ninimis.. We Men efteem , it a more difficult Matter, and of greater Art and Curio- iwvy to frame a fmall Watch, than a large Clock : I And Part I. Z;^ />6^ C R E A T I O N. I 8 I And no Man blames him who fpent his whole Time in the Confideration of the Nature and Works of a Bee, or thinks his Subjed was too narrow. Let us not then efteem any Thing con- temptible, or inconfiderable, or below our no- tice taking 5 for this is to derogate from the Wif- dom and Art of the Creator, and to confefs our- felves unworthy of thcfe Endowments of Know- ledge and Underflanding which he hath beftow- fed on us. Do we praife D^dalus, and Architas^ and Hero, and Callicrates, and Albertus MagnuSy and many others which I might mention, for their Cunning in inventing, and Dexterity in framing. and compofing a few dead Engines, or Movements, and {hall we not admire and mag- nify the Great A/i/zi^p^o^ K3o-//«, Former of the World, who hath made fo many, yea, 1 may fay, innumerable, rare Pieces, and thofe too not dead Ones, fuch as ceafe prcfently to move fo foon as the Spring is down ; but all living, and themfelves performing their own Motions, and thofe fo intricate and various, and requiring fuch a Multitude of Parts and fubordinate Machines, that it is incomprehenfible what Art and Skill, and Induftry, mull be employed in the framing of one of them ? I have already noted out of Dv, Hook, that to the Performance of every Mufcular Motion, at leaft in greater Animals, there are not fewer dLftinft Parts concerned, than many Millions of Millions. N 3 Further, i82 ne Wisdom of GOD Parti. Further, from the Conlideration of our own Smallnefs and Inconfiderablenefs, in refped: of the Greatnefs and Splendor of thofe glorious heavenly Bodies, the Sun, Moon, and Stars, to which our Bodies bear no Proportion at all either in Magnitude, or Luftre ; let us with the Holy Pfalmiji raife up our Hearts to magnify the Goodnefs of God towards us in taking fuch Notice of us, and making fuch Provifion for us, and advancing us fo highly above all his Works, jy^/.viii. 3. When I conjider the Heavens^ the Work of thy Fingers^ the Moon and the Stars which thou haft ordained. What is Man that thou art mindful of him ^ and the Son of Man that thou vi- Jitef him ? For thou haji made him a little lower than the Angels^ and haJi crowned him with Glory and Honour^ &c. But it may be objedledj that God Almighty- was not fo felfilh and defirous of Glory, as to, make the World, and all the Creatures therein, only for his own Honour, and to be praifed by Man. To affert this, wxre, in Des Cartes' s> Opi- nion, an abfurd and childifh Thing, and a re- fembling of God to a proud Man. It is more worthy the Deity, to attribute the Creation of the World, to the Exundation and Overflow- ing of his tranfcendent and infinite Goodnefs, which is of its own Nature, and in the very Notion of it, moft free, difFufive, and commu- nicative. To Parti. in //^^ Cre ation. 183 To this I {hall anfwer in two Words ; Firft, The Teftimony of Scripture makes God in all his Ad:ions to intend and defign his own Glory mainly, Prov, xvi. 4. God made all Tubings for himfelf. How ! for himfelf ? He hath no Need of them : He hath no Ufe of them. No, he made them for the manifeftation of his Power, Wifdom, and Goodnefs, and' that he might re- *ceive from the Creatures that were able to take Notice thereof, his Tribute of Praife, PfaLX, 14. Offer unto God Thankfghijig. And in the next Verfe, I will deliver thee^ and thou Jloalt glorify me. And again in the la ft Verfe, Whofo offer eth Praije^ glorijieth me. So Praife is called a Sa- crifice, and the Calves of the Lips, Plof xiv. 2. Ifa. xlii. 8. I am the Lord^ that is my Name, a?id my Glory will I not give to another, Ifa. xlviii. 1 1. And I will not give my Glory to another. The Scripture calls upon the Heavens, the Earth, and Sun, and Moon, and Stars, and all other Creatures, to praife the Lord ; that is, by the Mouth of Man, (as I (hewed before) who is hereby required to take notice of all thefe Crea- tures, and to admire and praife the Power, Wif- dom, and Goodnefs of God, manifefted in the Creation and Defignations of them. Secondly, It is moft reafonable that God Al- mighty (hould intend his own Glory : For he being infinite in all Excellencies and Perfecti- ons, and independent upon any other Being; N 4 nothing 184 T^oe Wisdom of GOD Parti, nothing canbefaid or thought of him too Great, and which he may not juftly challenge as his due ; nay, he cannot think tdo highly of him- felf, his other Attributes being adequate to his Underftanding 5 fo that, though his Underftand- ing be infinite, yet he underftands no more than his Pov/er can effeft, becaufe that is infinite al- fo. And therefore it is fit and reafonable, that he fhouldown and accept the Creatures Acknow- ledgments and Celebrations of thofe Virtues and Perfedions, which he hath not received of any other, but pofleffeth eternally and originally of himfelf And indeed, (with Reverence be it fpoken) what elfe can we imagine the ever-blef- fed Deity to delight and take Complacency in for ever, but his own infinite Excellencies and Perfeftions, and the Manifeflations and Effeds of them, the Works of the Creation, and the Sacrifices of Praife and Thanks offered up by fuch of his Creatures as are capable of confidering thofe Works, and difcerning the Traces and- Footfteps of his Power and Wifdom appearing in the Formation of them ; and moreover, whofe bounden Duty it is fo to do ? The Reafon why Man ought not to admire himfelf, or feek his own Glory, i», becaufe he is a Dependent Crea- ture, and hath nothing but what he hath re- ceived ; and not only dependent, but imperfed:; yea, weak and impotent : And yet I do not take Humility in Man to confift in difowning, or denying any Gift or Ability that is in him, but in a juft Valuation of fuch Gifts and Endow- liients, yet rather thinking too meanly . than too highly Parti. //^ /i6^ Creation. 185 highly of them 5 becaufe human Nature is fo apt to err in running into the other Extreme, to flatter it felf, and to accept thofe Praifes that ' are not due to it ; Pride being an Elation of Spirit upon falfe Grounds, or a Defire and Ac- ceptance of undue Honour. Otherwife, I do not fee why a Man may not admit, and accept the Teflimonies of others, concerning any Per-*. ftd:ion, Accomplifhment, or Skill, that he is really pofTefTed of, yet can he not think of him- felf to deferve any Praife or Honour for it, be- caufe both the Power and the Habit are the Gift of God: And confidering that one Virtue is counter-balanced by many Vices, and one Skill or Perfeftion with much Ignorance and Infir- mity. The End of the Firji Part. ^\!/// ^M.^\l///^\l///.^\Il/^^Mm/i5^\^M The SECONDPARTofthe WISDOMofGOD Manifefted in the WORKS O F T H E CREATION Particularly in the I. Whole Body of the E a r t h. II. Bodies of Man, And other Animals. •m/m^mhmfWhm/m itQMki5SMkJSS\dk£iMkiQMkiSi\ ■^jmtmmMm^mt ^mmm THE WISDOM of G O D Manifefted in the WORKS O F T H E CREATION. riiMiiMirji^gsi^MiriiMirggMiriiy^isisi P A R T 11. I Proceed now to feleft fome particular Pieces of the Creation, and to confider them more dillinftly. They fhall be only two. I. The whole Body of the Earth. II. The Body of Man. Firjl, The Body of the Earth ; and therein I {hall take notice of, i. Its Figure. 2. Its Mo- tion. 3. The Conflitution of its Parts, . ■ By igo 7/)e Wisdom of GOD Part IL By Earth I here underftand not the dry Land> c^r the Earth contradiftinguifh'd to Water, or the Earth confider*d as an Element, but the whole terraqueous Globe, ' compofed of Earth and Water. I. For the Figure^ I could eafily demonftrate it to be fpherical. That the Water, which by reafon of its Fluidity fhould, one would think, compofe it felf to a Level, yet doth not fo, but hath a gibbofe Superficies^ may to the Eye be demonftrated upon the Sea. For when two Ships failing contrary ways lofe the fight one of another, firft the Keel and Hull difappear, after- wards the Sails; and if when upon the Deck you have perfedlly loft fight of all, you get up to the top of the Main-Maft, you may defcry it again. Now what fhould take away the fight of thefe Ships from each other but the Gibbofity of the interjacent Water? The Roundnefs of the Earth from North to South is demonftrated from the appearance of northern Stars above the Horizon, and lofs of the fouthern to them that travel northward ; and on the contrary, the lofs of the northern, and appearance of the fouthern to them that travel fouthward. For were the Earth a Plain, we fhould fee exad:ly the fame Stars wherever we were placed on that Plain. The Roundnefs from Eaft to Weft is demonftra- ted from EcUpfes of either of the great Lumina- ries, For why the fame Eclipje^ fuppole of the Swi^ which is feen to them that live more eafter:^ ly, when the Sun is elevated fix Degrees above the Part II. in //6^ C r e a t ion. 191 the Horizon, fhould be feen to them that live one degree more wefterly, when the Sun is but five Degrees above the Horizon, and fo lower and lower proportionably to them that live more and more wefterly, till at laft it appear not at all, no Account can be -given but the Globofity of the Earth. For were the Earth a perfedt Plain, the Sun would appear eclips'd to all that live upon that Plain, if not exadlly in the fame Ele- vation, yet pretty near it ; but to be fure it would never appear to fome, the Sun being elevated high above the Horizon; and not at all to others. It being clear then that the Figure of the Earth is fpherical, let us confider the Conveniences of this Figure. 1. No Figure is fo capacious as this, and con- fequently whofe Parts are fo well compa6i:ed and united, and lie fo near one to another for mutual Strength. Now the Earth, which is the Bafis of all Animals, and, as fome think, of the whole Creation, ought to be firm, and ftable, and folid, and as much as is poflible fecur'd from all Ruins and Concuflions. 2. This Figure is moft confonant and agree- able to the natural Nutus^ or Tendency of all heavy Bodies. Now the Earth being fuch a one, and all itj Parts having an equal PropenfioA or Connivency to the Center, they mull needs be in greatefl Reft, and moft immoveable, when they are all equidiftant from it; whereas were it an angular 192 ThWisDOM of GOD PartIL angular Body, all the Angles would be vaft and fteep Mountains, bearing a confiderable Propor- tion to the whole Bulk, and therefore thofe Parts being extremely more remote from the Center than thofe about the middle of the Plains, would confequently prefs very ftrongly thitherward, and unlefs the Earth were made of Adamant or Mar- ble, in time the other Parts would give way, till all were levell'd. 3. Were the Earth an angular Body, and not round, all the whole Earth would be nothing elfe but vaft Mountains, and fo incommodious for Animals to live upon, for the middle Point of every Side would be nearer the Center than any other, and confequently from that Point, which way foever one travell'd, would be up-hill, the Tendency of all heavy Bodies being perpendicu- larly to the Center 5 befides, how much this would obftruft Commerce, is eafily feen ; for not only the Declivity of all Places would render them very difficult to be travelled over, but likewife the midft of every Side being loweft and neareft the Center, if there were any Rain, or any Rivers, muft needs be fiU'd with a Lake of Water, there being no way to difcharge it, and poffibly the Water would rife fo high as to overflow the whole Latus, But, furely, there would be much more Danger of the Inundation of whole Countries than now there is, all the Waters falling upon the Earth, by reafon of its De- clivity every way, eafily defcending ipwn to the Part II. in the Creation. 193 the common Receptacle the Sea. And thefe Lakes of Water being far diftantone from ano^ ther, there could be no Commerce between far remote Countries, but by Land. 4. A Spherical Figure is mod commodious for Dinetial Motion, or Revolution, upon its ov/n Axis; for in that, neither can the Medium ^t all refift the Motion of the Body, becaufe it ftands not in its way, no Part coming into any Space but what the Precedent left, neither doth one Part of the Superficies move fafter than ano- ther: Whereas were it Angular, the Parts about the Angles would find ftrong Refiftance from the Air, and thofe Parts alfo about the Angles would move much fafter than thofe about the Middle of the Planes, being remoter from the Center than they. It remains therefore that this Figure is the moft commodious for Motion. • Here I cannot but take Notice of the Folly and Stupidity of the Epicurea?2Sy who fancied the Earth to be flat and contiguous to the Hea- vens- on all Sides, that it defcended a great way with long Roots 5 and that the Sun was new made every Morning, and not much bigger than it feems to the Eye, and of a flat Figure, and many other fuch grofs Abfurdities as Children among us would be afliamed of. Sesondly.y I come now to fpcak of the Motion of the Jiarth, That the E^rth (fpeaking ac- i:Q.rding to Philofophical Accuratenefs) doth O move 194 ^^^ Wisdom of GOD Part 11. move both upon its own Poles, and in the Eclip- tick, is now the received Opinion of the moil learned and skilful Mathematicians, To prove the Diurnal Motion of it upon its Poles, I need produce no other Argument than, Firji, The vaft Difproportion in refped: of Magnitude, that is between the Earth and the Heavens, and the great Unlikelihood that fuch an infinite Num- ber of vaft Bodies {hould move about fo incon- fiderable a Spot as the Earth, which in Compar- rifon with them, by the concurrent Suffrages of Mathematicians of both Perfwafions, is a mere Point, that is, next to nothing. Secondly^ The immenfe and incredible Celerity of the Motion of the Heavenly Bodies in the ancient Hypothejis, thirdly ^ Of its Annual Motion in the Ecliptick, the Stations and Retrogradations of the fuperior Planets are a convincing Argument, there being a clear and facile Account thereof to be given from the mere Motion of the Earth in the Eclip- tick J whereas in the old Hypothefis no Account can be given, but by the unreafonable Fiction of Epicycles, and contrary Motions ; add hereto, the great Unlikelihood of fuch an enormous Epicycle as Ve?2iis muft defcribe about the Sun, not under the Sun, as the old Aflronomers fan- cied. About the Sun, I fay, as appears by its being hid or eclipfed by it, and by its feveral Phafes, like the Moon. So that whofoever doth tlearly underftand both Hypothefcs, cannot, I perfwade my felf, adhere to the Old, and reject the Part II. /;^ /;5^ C R E A T I o N. 195 the New, without doing fome Violence to his Faculties. Againft this Opinion lie two Objedions, Ftrjt^ That it is contrary to Senfe, and the common Opinion and Belief of Mankind. Seco?2dlyy That it feemeth contrary to fome Expreffions in Scri- pture, To the firft I anfwer, That our Senfes are fometimes miftaken, and what appears to j:hem is not always in reality fo as it appears. For Example : The Sun, or Moon, appear no bigger, at moft, than a Cart-wheel, and of a flat Figure. The Earth feems to be plain : The Heavens to cover it like a Canopy, and to be contiguous to it round about : A Fire-brand nimbly moved round, appears like a Circle of Fire ; and to give a parallel Inftance, a Boat lying ftill at Anchor in a River, to him that Sails and Rows by it, feems to move apace ; and when the Clouds pafs nimbly under the Moon, the Moon it felf feems to move the con- trary way. And there have been whole Books written in Confutation of vulgar Errors. aS*^- condly\ As to the Scripture^ when fpeaking of thefe Things, it accommodates it felf to ths common and received Opinions, and employs the ufual Phrafes and Forms of Speech (as all wife Men alfo do, though, in Stridtnefs, they be of a different or contrary Opinion) without In- tention of delivering any thing Doftrinally con- cerning thefe Points, or confuting the contrary : And yet by thofethat maintain the Opinion of the Earth's Motion; there might a convenient O 2 Inter- 196 T/^eWisDouof GOD Part If. Interpretation be given of fuch Places as feem to contradid: it. Hovvbeit, becaufe feme pious Perfons may be offended at fuch an Opinion, as favouring of Novelty, thinking it inconfiftent with Divine Revelation, I fhall not pofitively affert it, only propofe it as an Hypothefn not al- together improbable. Suppofing then, that the Earth doth move about upon its ov^n Poles, and in the Ecliptick about the Sun, I fhall fhew hov^ admirably its Situation and Motion are contrived for the Conveniency of Man, and o- ther Animals : Which I cannot do more fully and clearly than Dr. More hath already done in his Aiitidote againji Atheijm^ whofe Words there- fore I fhall borrov^. Firft, Speaking of the Varalleltjm of the Axis of the Earthy he faith, I demand w^hether it be better to have the Axis of the Earth fteady and perpetually parallel to it felf, or to have it care- lefly tumble this way and that way as it happens, or at leaft very varioufly and intricately ? And- you cannot but anfwer me, it is better to have it fteady and parallel \ for in this lies the neceffa- ry Foundation of the Art of Navigation and Di- alling. For that fteady Stream of Particles, which is fuppofed to keep the Axis of the Earth parallel to it felf, affords the Mariner both his Cymjura^ and his Compafs. The Load-Jlone and the Load-Jlar depend both upon this. The Load- Jione^ as I could demonftrate, were it not too great a Digreffion 5 and the Load-Jlar., becaufe that which keeps the Axis parallel to it felf, I makes Part II. in the Creation. 197 makes each of the Fole^ conftantly refpeftfuch a Point in the Heavens; as for Example, the North-Pole to point almoll diredly to that which we call the Pole-Jlar. And befides, JD/- alling could not be at all without this Steadinefs of the Axis. But both thefe Arts are pleafant, and one efpecially of mighty Importance to Mankind. For thus there is an orderly Mea- furing of our Time for Affairs at home, and an Opportunity of Traffick abroad, with the moft remote Nations of the World, and fo there is a mutual Supply of the feveral Commodities of all Countries, befides the enlarging our Underfland- ings by fo ample Experience we get both of Men and Things. Wherefore if we were ra- tionally to confult, whether the Axis of the Earth were better be held fteady and parallel to it felf, or left at random, we would conclude it ought to be fteady, and fo we find it de FaBOj though the Earth move floating in the Liquid Heavens, So that appealing to our own Facul- ties we are to affirm. That the conflant Di-' redtion of the Axis of the Earth was eilabliflied by a Principle of Wifdom and Council. Again, There being feveral Poflures of this fteady Diredion of the Axis of the Earthy viz. either perpendicular to a Plane, going through the Center of the Sun, or Co-incident, or In- clining, I demand which of all thefe Reafoji and Knowledge would make choice of? Not of a perpendicular Pofture ; for fo both the pleafant Variety, and great Convenience of Summer and O 3 Wnitcr, 198 The WisBOM of GOD Part 11. Winter, Spring and Autumn, would be loft, and for want of Acceffion of the Sun, thefe Parts of the Earth, which nov/ bring forth Fruits, and are Habitable, would be in an Incapacity of ever bringing forth any ; fith then, the Heat could never be greater than now it is at our loth of March, or the nth oi September, and there- fore not fufficient to bring their Fruits and Grain to Maturity, and confequently could entertain no Inhabitants^ and thofe Parts that the full Heat of the Sun could reach, he plying them always alike without any annual Receffion, or Intermiffion, would at laft grow tired, or ex- haufled, or be wholly dried up, and want Moi- fture, the Sun diffipating and cafting off the Clouds Northwards and Southwards. Befides, we obfervethat an orderly Viciffitude of Things, doth much more gratifie the Contemplative Pro- perty in Man. And now in the fecond Place, neither would Reafon make choice of a co-incident Pofition^ For if the Axis thus lay in a Plane that goeth through the Center of the Sun, the Ecliptick would, like a Colure, or one of the Meridians^ pafs through the Foles of the Earth, which would put the Inhabitants of the World into a pitiful Condition. For they that efcape beft in the Temperate Zone, would be accloyed with long Nights very tedious, no lefs than forty Days, and thofe that now never have their Night above twenty-four Hours, as Friejland^ ' Iceland-^ Part IL Z;^ /^^ C R E A T I o N. 1 99 Iceland^ the furtheft Parts of Riiffia and Norway y would be deprived of the Sun, above an Hun- dred and Thirty Days together. Our felves in England, and the reft of the fame CHme, would be clofed up in Darknefs no lefs than a Hundred, or Eighty Days -, and fo proportionably of the reft, both in and out of the Temperate Zones. And as for Summer and Winter, though thofc Viciflitudes would be, yet it could not but taufe raging Difeafes, to have the Sun ftay fo long, defcnbing his little Circles fo near the Poles, and lying fo hot on the Inhabitants, that had been in fo long Extremity of Darknefs and Cold before. It remains therefore, that the Pofture of the Axis of the Earth be inclining, not perpendicu- lar, not co-incident to the fore-mention'd Plane. And verily, it is not only inclining, but in fo fit a Proportion, and there can be no £tter imagined to make it, to the utmoft Capacity, as well plea- fant as habitable. For though the Courfe of the Sun be curbed between the Tropicks, yet are not thofe Parts diredly fubjedi: to his perpendi- cular Beams, either Unhabitable, or extremely Hot, as the Ancients fancied : By the Teftimo- ny of Travellers, and particularly Sir Walter Raleigh, the Parts under and near the Line, being as fruitful and pleafant, and fit to make a Paradife of, as any in the World. And that they are as. fultable to the Nature of Man, and as 'convenient to live in, appears from the O 4 Longai- 200 He Wisdom of GOD Fart IL Longsevity of the Natives ; as for Inftance, the lEtkiopes^ called by the Ancients MaxpJ/Swi ; but efpecially in the Brafilians in America^ the ordi- nary Term of whofe Life is a Hundred Years, as is fet down by P//^, a Learned Phyfician of Holland^ who travelled thither on purpofe to augment Natural Knowledge, but efpecially what related to Phyfick. And reafonable it is that this fhould be fo ; for neither doth the Sun lie long upon them, their Day being but Twelve Hours, and their Night as long, to cool and re- frefli them: And befides, they have frequent Showers, and conftant Breezes, or fre(h Gales of Wind from the Eafl, It was the Opinion of AfdepiadeSy as Plutarch reports, that generally the Inhabitants of Cold Countries are longer liv'd than thofe of Hot, becaufe the Cold keeps in the Natural Heat, as it were locking up the Pores to prevent its Evaporation; whereas in Hot Regions the Heat is eafily diffipated, the Pores being large and open to give it way. Which , Opinion, becaufe I find fome Learned Men ft ill to adhere to, I (hall produce fome further In- ftances out of Monfieur Rocbeforfs Hiftory of the Antilles Illands, to confirm the contrary, and to (hew how often and eafily we may be deceived, if we trufi: to our own Ratiocina- tions, how plaufible foever, and confult not Ex- perience. The ordinary Life (faith he) of our Caribbemis is an Hundred and Fifty Years long, and fome- times more. There were fome among them not long fince living, who remembred to have feea Part II. in /^^ C r e at i o n. 20 1 feen the firft Spaniards that boarded America, who we may thence conclude, liv'd to beat leaft 160 Years old. The Hollanders who traffick in the Molucca Iflands, affure us, that the ordinary term of Life of the Natives there is one hundred and thirty Years. Vincent le Blanc tells us, that in Sumatra, Ja- va, and the neighbouring Iflands, the Life of t?he Inhabitants is extended to 140 Years, and that in the Realm of Cajfuby it reaches 150. Francis Pirara promotes the Life of the Brajj- Hans beyond the Term we have fet it, v. g, to 160 Years or more, and fays that in Florida and Ju- catan there are Men found who pafs that Age. And it is faid, that the French in Laudoniors Voyage into Florida, Anno 1564. faw a certain old Man, who affirmed himfelf to be three hun- dred Years old, and the Father of five Genera- tions j And well he might be of double that num- ber, LafHy, Mapheous reports, that a certain Be?!- galife vaunted himfelf to be 335 Years old. So far Monfieur Rochejort, Indeed thefe two laft Inftances, being perchance Angular and extra- ordinary, do not prove the Point 3 for even a- mong us, where the ordinary term of Life is about threefcore and ten, or fourfcore, there occur fome rare Inftances of Perfons, who have lived 130, 140, 150 Years and more. But the other Teftimonies being general, prove it beyond contradidtion 5 neither yet is the thing in it felf impro- 202 The Wisdom of GOD Part IL improbable •, for there being not fo great Inequa- lity of Weather in thofe hot Countries, as there is in cold, the Body is kept in a more equal Tem- per, and not having fuch frequent Shocks, as are occalion'd by fuch Air, and often Changes, and that from one Extreme to another, holds out much longer. So we fee infirm and crazy Perfons, when they come to be fo weak as to be fixed to their Beds, hold out many Years, fome I have heard of, that have laid bed-rid 20 Years: Becaufe in the Bed they are always kept in an almoft equal Temper of Heat, who, had they been expofed to the Exceffes of Heat and Cold, would not probaby have furvived one. Seeing then, this bed pofture which our Rea- fon could make choice of, we fee really eftablifli- ed in Nature, we cannot but acknowledge it to be the iffue of Wifdom, Counfel, and Provi- dence. Moreover, a further Argument to evince this is, That though it cannot but be acknow- ledged, that if the Axis of the Earth were per- pendicular to the Plane of the Ecliptick, her Motion would be more eafy and natural, yet notwithftanding, for the Conveniences fore- mentioned, we fee it is made in an inclining po- fture. Another very confiderable, and heretofore unobferv'd Convenience of this inclination of the Earth's Axisy Mr. Keill aifords us in his Ex- amination of Dr. Burnet'^ 'theory of the Earthy p. 69. There Part II. in //5^ C r e at i o n. 203 There is (faith he) one more [befides what he had mentioned before] confiderable Advantage, which we reap by the prefent Pofition of the Earth, which 1 will here infert, becaufe I do not know that it is taken notice of by any ; and it is, that by the prefent Inclination of the Earth's Axis to the Plane of the Ecliptick^ we who live beyond 45 Degrees of Latitude, and ftand moft in need of it, have more of the Sun's Heat through- cfut the Year than if he had fhin'd always in the Equator j that is, if we take the Sum of the Sun's Actions upon us both in Summer and Winter, they are greater than its Heat would be if he mo- ved always in the Equator-, or which is the fame thing, the Aggregate of the Sun's Heat upon us while he defcribes any two oppofite Parallels, is greater than it would be if in thofe two Days he defcrib'd the Equator -, whereas in the Torrid Zone^ and even in the Temperate, almoft as far as 45 Degrees of Latitude, the Sum of the Sun's Heat in Summer and Winter is lefs than it would be, were the Axis of the Earth perpendicular to the Plane of the Ecliptick ; for the Demonftra- tion of which I refer the Reader to the Book it felf. I think (proceeds he) this Confideration cannot but lead us into a tranfcendent Admiration of the divine Wijdom^ which hath placed the Earth in fuch a Pofture, as brings with it feveral Conve- niences beyond what we can eafily difcover with- out Study and Application ; and I make no que- ftion, but if the reft of the Works of Nature were well 204 "The Wisdom of GOD Part I L well obferv^d, we (hould find feveral Advantages which accrue to us by their prefent Conftitution, which are far beyond the Ufes of them that are yet difcover'd 5 by which it will plainly appear, that God hath chofen better for us than we could have done for our felves. If any Man fhould objedl and fay, it would be more convenient for the Inhabitants of the Earth if the Tropicks flood at a greater diftance, and the Sun mov'd further northward and fouthward, for fo the North and South Parts would be re- lieved, and not expos'd to fo extreme Cold, and thereby rendered uninhabitable, as now they are: To this I anfwer, That this would be more inconvenient to the Inhabitants of the Earth in general, and yet would afford the North and Houth Parts but little more Comfort ; for then as much as the Diftances between the Tropicks were enlarged, fo much would alfo the Artick and Antartick Circles be enlarg'd too; and fo we here in Englandy and fo on northerly, fhould not have that grateful and ufeful Succeflion of Day and Night, but proportionably to the Sun's coming towards us, fo would our Days be of more than Twenty-four Hours Length \ and according to his recefs in Winter, our Nights proportionable ; which how great an Inconvenience it would be, is eafily feen ; whereas now the whole Latitude of the Earth, which hath at any time above twenty-four Hours Day and twenty-four Hours Night, is little and inconfiderable in comparifon of Part II. in //6^ C r e at i o n. 205 of the whole Bulk, as lying neir the Poles ; and yet neither is that Part altogether unufeful, for in the Waters there live Fifhes, which other where are not obvious; fo we know the chief Whale-ffttJig is in Greenland -.y yea, not only Fifli, but great Variety of Water-Fowl, both whole and cloven-footed, frequent the Waters, and feed there, breeding alfo on the Cliffs by the Sea- fide, as they do with us ; the Figures and De- fcriptions of a great many whereof are given us by Martin in his Voyage to Spitzberg^ or Gree?7- hmdy and on the Land Bears, and Foxes, and Deer, in the moft northerly Country that was ever yet touched ; and doubtlefs, if we fhall dif- cover further to the very Nortb Pole, we {hall find all that Trad not to be vain, ufelefs, or un- occupy'd. thirdly, The third and laft thing I proposed was, the Conftitution and Confiftency of the Parts of the Earth. And firft, admirable it is that the Waters fcould be gathered together into fuck great Conceptacula, and the dry Land ap- pear ; and tho' we had not been affur'd thereof by divine Revelation, we could not in reafon but have thought fuch a Divifion and Separation to have been the 'Work of Omnipotency, and infi- nite Wifdom and Goodnefs ; for in this Condi- tion the Water nourifhes and maintains innume- rable Multitudes of various Kinds of Fiflies, and the dry Land fupports and feeds as great Variety of Plants and Animals, which have their firm Footing 2o6 T:he Wi s D oM of GOD Part IL Footing and Habitation j whereas had all been 'Earthy all the Species of Fijhes had been loft, and all thofe Commodities which the Water affords us ; or all Water^ there had been no living for Plants, or terreftrial Animals, or Man himfelf, and all the Beauty, Glory and Variety of this in- ferior World had been gone, nothing being to be feen, but one uniform dark Body of Water ; or had all been mix d and made up of Water and Earth into one Body of Mud or Mire, as one would think fhould be moft natural ^ for why fuch a Separation as at prefent we find {hould be made, no Account can be given but Providence ; I fay, had all this Globe been Mire or Mud, then could there have been no Poffibility for any Ani^ mals at all to have liv'd, excepting fome few, and thofe very dull and inferior ones too. That therefore the Earth fhould be made thus, and not only fo, but with fo great Variety of Parts, as Mountains, Plains, Vallies, Sand, Gravel, Lime, Stone, Clay, Marble, Argilla, &c, which are fo deledable and pleafant, and likewife fo ufeful and convenient for the breeding and living of various Plants and Animals, fome affecting Mountains, fome Plains, fome Vallies, fome wa- tery Places, fome Shade, fome Sun, fome Clay, fome Sand, fome Gravel, ^c. That the Earth fliould be fo figured as to have Mountains in the mid-land Parts, abounding with Springs of Wa- ter, pouring down Streams and Rivers for the NecelTities and Conveniences of the Inhabitants of Part II. in /i&i^ C r e a t i o n. 207 of the lower Countries, and that the Levels and Plains fhould be form'd with fo eafy a Declivity as to caft off the Water, and yet not render Tra- velling or Tillage very difficult or laborious; thefe things, I fay, mull needs be the Refult of Counfel, Wifdom, and Defign ; efpecially when (as I faid before) not that w^ay which feems more facil and obvious to Chance is chofen, but that virhich is more difficult and hard to be trac'd, when it is moft convenient and proper for thofe nobler Ends and Defigns which were intended by its wife Creator and Governor. Add to all this, that the whole dry Land is, for the moft part, cover'd over v/ith a lovdy Carpet of green Grafs, and other Herbs, of a Colour not only moft grateful and agreeable, but moft ufeful and falutary to the Eye ; and this alfo decked and adorn'd with great Variety of Flowers of beauti- ful Colours and Figures, and of moft pleafant and fragrant Odours, for the Refr^fhment of our Spirits and our innocent Delight ; as alfo ^with beautiful Shrubs and ftately Trees, affording us npt only pleafant and nouriihing Fruits, many Liquors, Drugs, and good Medicines, but Tim- ber, and Utenfils for all Sorts of Trades and the Conveniences of Man ; out of many Thoufands of which we will only juft name a few, left wc fhould be tedious and too bulky. Fir/?, The Coco, or Coker-Nut Tree, that fup- plies the Lidiafu with almoft whatever they ft and I in 2o8 7y5^ Wi s D o M of GOD Part II. in need of, as Bread, Water, Wine, Vinegar, Brandy, Milk, Oil, Honey, Sugar, Needles, Thread, Linnen, Clothes, Cups, Spoons, Bee- foms, Bafkets, Paper, Mafts for Ships, Sails, Cordage, Nails, Coverings for their Houfes, ^c. which may be feen at large in the many printed Relations of Voyages and Travels to the E^- IfidieSy but moft faithfully in the Hortiis Mala- baricus, publifh'd by that immortal Patron of natural Learning, He7iry Van Reede Van Draa- kenjiein^ who has had great Commands and Em- ploys in the Dutch Colonies. Secondly^ ThQ J^loe Muricafa^ vel Aculeata ^ which yields the Americans every thing their Neceffities require, as Fences and Houfes, Darts, Weapons, and other Arms, Shoes, Linnen, and Clothes, Needles and Thread, Wine and Honey, beiides many Utcnfils ; for all which Hernandes^ Garcililafo de la Vega, and Margrave, may be confvilted. l^hirdlyy The Bandiira Cmgalenfium, called by fome the Priapus Vegetabilis, at the end of whofe Leaves hang long Sacks or Bags, containing a pure limpicT Water, of great Ufe to the Natives when they want Rain for Eight or Ten Months together. A parallel Inftance to this of the. Bandiira, my learned and worthy Friend Dotlor Sloane af- fords Part II. in the CviY. AT I on. 209 fords us in a Plant by him obferved in the Ifland of Jamaica, and delcribed by the Title of ViJ^ cum Caryophiikides Maximum flore tripetalo paU tide luteo, Jhnine filamentojo, which is commonly caird, in that 'ifland, Wild Pine, Philofopb. "TrajifaB, N° 251. Page 114. I fliall not tran- fcribe the whole Defcription, bat only that Pare of it which relates to this ParticuUir : " From '' the Root (wliich he had defcribed before) arife " Leaves on every fide, after the manner of '' Leeks, or Ananas y whence the Name of '* Wild' Pine, or Aloes, being folded or inclofed " one within another, each of which is two '' Foot and an half long, and from a three Inch " Breadth at Beginning, or Bafe, ends in a " Point, having a very hollow or concave in- *^ ward Side, and a round or convex outward *-' one : So that by all their hollow Sides is made " within a very large Prefervatory Ciftern or Ba- *' fin, (it to contain a pretty Quantity of Water, ^ which in the ruiny Seafon ialls upon the ut- " moil Parts of the fpreading Leaves, which have " -Chanels in them, conveying it down to the " Ciftern where it is kept, as in a Bottle, the " Leaves, after they are fvvelled out like a bul- ** bous Root to make the-Bottle, bending inward " or coming again clofe to the Stalk, by that " means hindring the Evaporation of the Wa- " ter, by the Heat of the Sun-Beams. '* In the mountainous, as well as the dry " low Woods, ip Scarcity of Water, this Re- *■ fervatory is nor only neceflary and fufficienc P '' for 2IO the V/isDOM of GOD Part II. " for the Nourifliment of the Plant it felf, but '' likewife is very ufeful to Men, Birds, and all " Sorts of Infedts, whither in Scarcity of Wa- *' ter they come in Troops, and feldom go away " without Refrefhment. " Captain Dampier^ in his Voyages, Vol II. " oi Campeche, tells us. That thefe Bafins made " of the Leaves of the Wild-Pine^ will hold a " Pint and half or a Quart of Water, and that *' when they find thefe Pinesy they flick their " Knives into the Leaves juft above the Roots, " and that lets out the Water, which they catch " in their Hats, as (faith he) I have done many *' times, to my great Relief. Fourthly, The Cinnamon-Tree of Ceylon, in whofe Parts there is a wonderful Diverfity : Out of the Root they get a Sort of Camphire, and its Oil ; out of the Bark of the Trunk, the true Oil of Cinnamon ; from the Leaves, an Oil like that oi Cloves \ out of the Fruit, 2iyu?iipcr 0\\, with a Mixture of thofe of Cinnanwi and Cloves -, be- fides, they boil the Berries into a Sort of Wax, out of which they make Candles, Plaifters, Un- guents. Here we may take Notice of the Candle- Trees of the Wejl-Indies, out of whofe Fruit, boil'd to a thick fat Confiftence, are made very good Candles, many of which have been lately diftributed by that moft ingenious Merchant, Mx. Charles Dubois. Fifth!:!, Part II. in the Cky. AT lo"^. 211 Fifthly^ The Fount aim ^ or Dropping-Trees, m the I lies of Ferro, St. Thomas^ and in Guiney^ which ferve the Inhabitants inftead of Rain, and frefli Springs : ' My honoured Friend, Dr. T^an- cred Robinjon^ in a late Letter to me, is not of VoJJiiis's Opinion, that thefe Trees are of the Farulaceous YawA, becaufe he obferves, that by ^ the Defcriptions of Eye-witneiTes, and by the dry'd Sample fent by Paludafius to the Duke of Wirtenberg, the Leaves are quite different from thofe of the Ferula ^^ coming nearer to the Sefeli Fthiopicum Salicis vel Periclymeni folio : There- fore the DoBor rather thinks them to be of the haurel-YxwA^ though he concludes here may be many different Sorts of thefe running Aqueous- Trees ; becaufe that Pba?2ome?2on does not de- pend upon, or proceed from any Peculiarity of the Plant, but rather from the Place and Situa- tion ; of which he writes more at large, in a Letter printed in another Difcourfe of mine. 'Sixthly^ and Lajily, We will only mention the Names of fome other Vegetables, which,, with Eighteen or Twenty Thoufand more of that Kind , do manifeft to Mankind the illu- ftrious Bounty and Providence of the Almighty and • Omnifcient Creator, towards his unde- ferving Creatures 5 as the Cotton-Tree's y the J^anyoc^ or Cajfava -, the Potatoes the Jefuit'S' Bark Tree j the Poppy ; the Rhubarb ^ the Scam- P 2 mony-^ 212 T/)eWisDouof GOD Part II. mony -, the Jalap -, the Coloqui7itida ; the China ; Sarfa-y the Serpent aria Virginiana ^ or Snake- weed 5 the A^///, or Gen/eg -, the Numerofe Bal- fam^ and Gum-tree^', many of which are of late much illuftrated by the great Iilduftry and Skill of that moft difcerning Botanift, Dr. Leonard Plukenet. Of what great Ufe all thefe, and in- numerable other Plants, are to Mankind in the feveral Parts of Life, few or none can be igno- rant ; befides the known Ufes in Curing Dif- eafes, in Feeding and Cloathing the Poor, in Building, in Dying: In all Mechanicks there may be as nuny more not yet difcovered, and which may be referved on purpofe to exercife the Faculties beftowed on Man, to find out what is neceffary, convenient, pleafant, or profitable to him. To fum up all in brief: This T' err aqueous Globe we know is made up of two Parts j 1. A thin and fluid. 2. A firm and confiftent.. The former, called by the Name of Water , the latter, of Earthy or Dry Land. The Land^ being the more denfe and heavy Body, doth naturally defcend beneath the Water, and oc- cupy the lower Place ; the Water afcends* and floats above it. But we fee that it is not thus : For the Land, though the more heavy, is for- cibly and contrary to its Nature fo elevated as to cafl: off the Water, and ftand above it, be- Part II. Z;^ />6^ C R E A T I o N, 213 ing (as the Pfalmifl phrafes it) founded upcn or above the Seas, and eJiabliJISd above the Floods ^ Plal. xxiv. 2. and this in fuch manner, that not only on one fide of the Globe, but on all fides, there were probably Continents and Iflands, rai- fed fo equally as to counterbalance one another, the Water flowing between them, and filling the hollow and depreflTed Places; neither was the ^ dry Land only raifed up and made to appear, but fome Parts (which we call Mountains) were high- ly elevated above others, and thofe fo difpos'd and fituated (as we have fhewn) in the mid-land Parts, and in continued Chains running Eajl and Weji, as to render all the Earth habitable, a great Part whereof otherv^ife would not have been fo ; but the Torrid Zone mull indeed have been fuch a Place as the Ancients fancy 'd it, unhabitable for Heat. Let us now confider how much be<:ter it is that the dry Land fiaould be thus raifed up, and the Globe divided almoft equally between Earth and Water, than that all its Surface fiiould be one uniform and dark Body of Water j I fay Water, becaufe that naturally occupies the fupe- rior Place, and not Earth ; for were it all Water, the whole Beauty of this inferior Vv^orld were gone; there could be no fuch pleafant and deli- cious Profpeds as the Earth now aftbrds us ; no Diftindlion, and grateful Variety of Mountains and Hills, Plains and Vallies, Rivers and Pools, and Fountains; no (h ad y Woods, ficr'd with lofty and towring Trees for Timber, lowly and more fpread ones for Shade and Fruit ; no ami- P ^ able 214 77)e WisTiOM of GOD Part IL able Verdure of Herbs, befpangled with an in- finite Variety of fpecious and fragrant Flowers ; for thofe Plants that grow at the bottom of the Sea, are for the moft part of a dull, fullen, and dirty Olive Colour, and bear no Flowers at all ; inftead of the elegant Shapes and Colours, the Sagacity and Docility of ingenious Beafts and Birds, the mufical Voices and Accents of the aereal Chorifters, there had been nothing but mute, and ftupid, and indocil Fifhcs, which feem to want the very Senfe of Difcipline, as may be gathered from that they are not vocal, and that there appear in them no Organs of hearing, it being alfo doubtful whether the Element they live in be capable of tranfmitting Sounds^ the beft Senfe they have, even their Sight, can be but dull and imperfed:, the Element of Water being femi-opake, and reflecting a good part of the Beams of Light ; the moft noble and ingenious Creatures that live there, the Cetaceous Kind, being near a-kin to terreftrial Animals, and breathing in the fame Element, the open Air. Had, I fay, all been Water, there had been no Place for fuch a Creature as Man, as we fee there is no fuch there i there is no Bufinefs for him, no Subjedl to employ his Art and Faculties, and confequently there could be no Effeds of them ; no fuch Things as Houfes and Cities, and (late- ly Edifices ; as Gardens and Orchards, and Walks, and Labyrinths j as Corn-Fields and Vineyards, and the reft of thefe Ornaments, wherewith the Wit Part II. /;^ /y^^ C R E A T I o N. 215 Wit and Induflry of Man hath embelifli'd the World. Thefe are great things, and worthy the Care and Providence of the Creator; which whofo confidereth, and doth not difcern and acknow- ledge, muft needs be as ftupid as the Earth he goes upon. But becaufe Mountains have been look'd upon by fome as Warts, and fuperfiuous Excrefcen- cies, of no Ufe or Benefit, nay, rather as Signs and Proofs that the prefent Earth is notliing elfe but a Heap of Rubbifh and Ruins, I ihall reduce and demonftrate in Particulars the great Ufe, Benefit, and NecefTity of them. I. They are of eminent Ufe for the Produdion and Original of Springs and Rivers; without Hills and Mountains there could be no fuch things, or at leafl: but very few, no more than we now find in plain and level Countries, that is, fo few, that it was never my hap to fee one ; in Winter-time indeed we might have Torrents and Land-floods, and perhaps fomecimes great Inundations; but in Summer nothing but ftag- nating Water, referv'd in Pools and Cifterns, or drawn up out of deep Wells; but as for a great Part of the Earth (all lying within or near the Tropicks) it would neither have Rivers, nor any Rain at all ; we jQiould confequently lofe all thofe Conveniences and Advantages that Rivers aftbrd P 4 u^ 2i6 Tie Wisdom of GOD Part II. us, ofFiftiing, Navigation, Carriage, driving of Mills, Engines, and many others. This End of Mountains I find affign'd by Mr. Edmund Hally^ a Man of great Sagacity and deep Infight into the Natures and Caufes of Things, in a Dif- courle of his publifli'd in .the Philojhph, '^franf- aBionSy Numb. 192. in thefe Woids: l^his, if njoe may allow final Caufes [Hardime?it, the thing is clear, pronounce boldly, without any Ifs or ji?2ds] nisfeems to be one Defgnofthe Hills, that their Ridges being placd through the midft of their Continents, might ferve as it were fir Alembicks, to d'fiilfrefj Water for the Ufe of Man and Beaji ; and their Heights to give a Defcent ofthofe Strea?r.s ; to run gently, like fo many Veins of the Microcofn, to be the more beneficial to the Creation, II. They are of great Ufe for the Generation, and convenient digging up of Metals and Mine- rals; which how neceffary Inflruments they are of Culture and Civility, I have before ihewn ; thefe we fee are all digg'd out of Mountains, and I doubt whether there is or can be any Genera- tion of them in perfedly plain and level Coun- tries j but if there be, yet could not fuch Mines, without great Pains and Charges, if at all, be wrought; the Delfs would be fo flown with Waters (it being impoflible to make any ^^i/if^ or Soughs to drain them) that no Gins or Ma- chines could fufSce to lay and keep them dry. III. They Part 11. in t^e Great ION. 217 III. They are ufeful to Mankind in affording them convenient Places for Habitation, and Si- tuations of Houfes and Villages , ferving as Skreens to keep off the cold and nipping Blafts of the Northern and Bajierly Winds, and reflect- ing the benign and cheriihing Sun-beams, and fo rendring their Habitations both more comforta- ble and more chearly in Winter ; and promoting tfie Growth of Herbs and Fruit-Trees, and the Maturation of their Fruits in Summer ; belides cafting off the Waters, they lay the Gardens, Yards, and Avenues to the Houfes dry and clean, and fo as well more falutary as more elegant ; whereas Houfes built in Plains, unlefs fhaded with Trees, lie bleak, and expos'd to Wind and Weather, and all Winter are apt to be grievoufly annoy'd with Mire and Dirt. IV. They are very ornamental to the Earth, affording pleafant and delightful Profpedts, both, I. To them that look downwards from them upon the fubjacent Countries, as they muft needs acknowledge w^ho have been but on the Downs of Sujfex^ and cnjoy'd that ravifliing Profpedl of the Sea on oijc hand, and the Country far and wide on the other. And, 2. To thofe th.ic look upwards, and behold them from the Plains and low Grounds, which what a Refrefliing and Pleafure it is to the Eye, they are beft able to judge who have liv'd in the Ifle of £/)', or other level 2i8 T'he Wisdom of GOD Part I L level Countries, extending on all Sides further than one can ken; or have been out far at Sea, where they can fee nothing but Sky and Water. That the Mountains are pleafant Objects to be- hold, appears, in that the very Images of them, their Draughts and Landlkips, are fo much efteem'd. V. They ferve for the Produftion of great Va- riety of Herbs and Trees ; for it is a true Obfer- vation, that Mountains do efpecially abound with different Species of Vegetables, becaufe of the great Diverfity of Soils that are found there, every Vertex or Eminency almoft affording a new Kind. Now thefe Plants ferve partly for the Food and Suftenance of fuch Animals as are pro- per to the Mountains, partly for medicinal Ufes, the chief Phyfick Herbs and Roots, and the beft In their Rinds, growing there ; it being remark- able that the greateft and moft luxuriant Species in moft Genera of Plants are native of the Moun- tains; partly alfo for the Exercife and Diverfion of fuch ingenious and induftrious Perfons as are delighted in fearching out thefe natural Rarities, and obferving the outward Form, Growth, Na- tures and Ufes of each Species^ and reflecting upon the Creator of them his due Praifes and Benedid:ions. VI. They ferve for the Harbour, Entertain- ment, and Maintenance of various Animals, Birds, Beafts, and Infefts, that breed, feed, and frequent Part II. ////^^ C REATioN. 219 frequent there ; for the higheft Tops and Pikes of the Alps themfelves are not deftitute of their Inhabitants ; the Ibcx^ or Steift-Buck^ the Riipi- capra or Chamois among Quadrupeds ; the La- gopus among Birds ^ and I my felf have obferv'd beautiful Papilios^ and Store of other Infedts, upon the Tops of fome of the Alpine Mountains; nay, the higheft Ridges of many of thofe Moun- tains ferve for the Maintenance of Cattel for the Service of the Inhabitants of the Valleys ; the Men there, leaving their Wives and younger Children belov^, do not without fome difficulty clamber up the Acclivities, dragging their Kine with them, where they feed them, and milk them, and make Butter and Cheefe, and do all the Dairy- Work, in fuch forry Hovels and Sheds as they build there to inhabit in during the Sum- mer Months ; this I my felf have feen and ob- ferv'd in Mount Jura^ not far from Geneva^ which is high enough to retain Snow all the Winter. The fame they do alfo in the Grifons Country, which is one of the higheft Parts of the AlpSy travelling through which I did not fet Foot off Snow for four Days Journey, at the latter End of March. VII. Thofe long Ridges and Chains of lofty and topping Mountains which run through the whole Continents Eajl and Weji (as I have elfe- where 220 The Wisdom of GOD Part If. where obferv'd) ferve to flop the Evagation of the Vapours to the North and South in hot Coun- tries, condenfing them, like Alemhick Heads, into Water, and fo by a kind of external Diftil- lation giving Original x.o Springs and Rivers ; and likewife by amaffing, cooling, and conftipa- ting of them, turn them into Rainj by thofe means rendring the fervid Regions of the Torrid Zone habitable. This Difcourfe concerning the Ufe of Moun- * The Diffo' t^ii^s, I have made ufe of in ano- luiion of the ther * Treatife ; but becaufe it is World. proper to this Place, I have (with fome Alterations and Enlargements) here re- peated it. I had almoft forgotten that Ufe they are of to Mankind, in ferving for Boundaries and De- fences to the Territories of Kingdoms and Com- monwealths. A fecond Particular I have made choice of more exadtly to furvey and confider, is the Body of Man ; wherein I ihall endeavour to difcover fomething of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God : Firft, by making fome general Obfervations concerning the Body. Secondly, by running over and difcourfing upon its principal Parts and Members. I. Then, Part II. i7t ^>6^ C R E AT I O N. 2 21 I. Then, in general, I fay, the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God appears in the ereB Pojlure of the Body of Man, which is a Privilege and Ad- vantage giv^en to Man above other Animals; but tho' this be fo, yet I would not have you think that all the Particulars I (hall mention are pro- per only- to the Body of Man, divers of them agreeing to many other Creatures. It is not my Bufinefs to confider only the Prerogatives of Man above other Animals, but the Endowments and Perfedtions which Nature hath conferr'd on his Body, tho* comm.on to them with him. Of this EreBion of the Body of Man the Ancients have taken notice, as a particular Gift and Fa- vour of God, Fronaq\ climfpeclent Animalia cater a terram^ Os homini fublime dedit^ ccelumque tueri Jicffit^ & eredfos ad Sydera tollere vultus, Ovid. Metam. i. And before him, ^idly in his Second Book, De Nat. Deorum ; Ad banc providentiam jjatura tarn diligentem tarnque Jolertem adjiingi multa poffunty e quibus in- teiUgatur quanta res hominibiis a Deo^ quamque eximia trtbutce J'unt^ qui primiim ecs humo exi:ita' toSy celjbs & ereBos conjlituit^ lit Deorum cognitio" nem cerium intuentes capcre pojfent. Sunt enltn e terra hojiiines^ non iit^iiKolc^ citque kabitatores^ fed quafi 222 T/je Wisdom of GOD Part 11. qua/i fpedtatores fup^rariim reriim atque ccelejiium^ quaruni fpeBaculum ad nullum aliiid genus ani- mantium pertinet. Man being the only Creature in this fublunary World made to contemplate Heaven, it was con- venient that he ihould have fuch a Figure, or Situs of the Parts of his Body, that he might conveniently look upwards. But to fay the Truth in this refpedt, of contemplating the Hea- vens, or looking upwards, I do not fee what Advantage a Man hath by this Eredion above other Animals, the Faces of moft of them being more fupine than ours, which are only perpen- dicular to the Horizon^ v>rhereas fome of theirs ftand reclining 5 but yet two or three other Ad- vantages we have of this Ercftion, which I fhall here mention. Firjl^ It is more commodious for the fuftain- ing of the Flead, which being full of Brains, and very heavy (the Brain in Man being far larger, in proportion to the Bulk of his Body, than in any other Animal) would have been very painful and wearifom to carry, if the Neck had lain parallel or inclining to the Horizon. Seccndhy This Figure is moft convenient for Profped]:, and looking about one; a Man may fee further before him, which is no fmall Advan- tage for avoiding Danger, and difcovering what- ever he fearches after, mrdl)\ Part II. in ^h Cre ATioN. 223 nirdly. The Convenkncy of this Site of our Bodies will more clearly appear, if we confider what a pitiful Condition we had been in, if we had been conftantl)^ neceffitated to ftand and walk upon all Four ; Man being, by the Make of his Body, of all Quadrupeds (for now I mufl compare him with them) the moft unfit for that kiijd of InceJJas^ as I ihall fliew anon ; and be- fides that, we fhould have wanted, at leaft in a great meafure, the Ufe of our Hand, that inva- luable Inftrument, without which he had want- ed moft of thofe Advantages we enjoy as reafon- able Creatures, as I (hall mors particularly de- monftrate afterwards. But it may be perchance objefted by fome, that Nature did not intend this Ereftion of the Body, but that it is fuperinduc'd and artificial ; for that Children at firft creep on all four, ac- cording to that of the Poet -, M(>x ^ladrupeSy rituque tulit Jua memhra fe- 7" arum. Ovid. To which I anfwer, that there is fo great an Inequality in the Length of our Legs and Arms, as w^ould make it extreamly inconvenient, if not impoffible for us to walk upon all four, and fee us almoft upon our Heads ; and therefore we fee that Children do not creep upon their Hands and Feet/ but upon their Hands and Knees; fo that 224 The Wisdom of GO D Part IL that it is plain that Nature intended us to walk as we do, and not upon all four. 2. I argue from the SifuSy or Pofition of our F^ces ; for had we been to walk upon all four, we had been the moft prone of all Animals, our Faces being parallel to the Horizon, and look- ing diredtly downwards. 3. The Greatnefs and Strength of the Mufcles of the Thighs and Legs above thofe of the Arms, is a clear Indication that they were by Nature in- tended for a more difficult and laborious Adion, even the moving and transferring the whole Bo- dy, and that Motion to be fometimes continued for a great while together. As for that Argument taken from the contrary Flexure of the Joints of our Arms and Legs to that of Quadrupeds, as that our Knees bend for- ward, whereas the fame Joint of their hind Legs bends backward ; and that our Arms bend back- ward, whereas the Knees of their fore Legs bend forward ; although the Obfervation be as old as Jrijlotle, becaufe I think there is a Miftake in it, in not comparing the fame Joints (for the firft and uppermoft Joint in a Quadruped's hind Legs bends forward as well as a Man's Knees, which anfwer to it, being the uppermoft Joint of our Legs, and the like mutatis mutandh may be faid of the Arms) I fl:iall not infift upon it. Another Part II. m tie Creation. 225 Another Particular which may ferve to demon- flrate that this ered: Pofture of the Body of Man was intended and defign'd by the wife and good Author of Nature, is the faftning of the Cone of the Pericardium to the Midriff, an Account whereof I (hall give tiie Reader out of the inge- nious Dr. Tyfons Anatomy of the Orang-Outang^ or Pig7nic\ p. 49. Vefalius (faith he) and others make it a Peculi- arity to Man, that the Pericardium^ or Bag that inclofes the Heart, {l:iould be faften d to the Dia^ phragm, Vefalius tells us (De Corporis Humani fabric a y lib. 6. cap. 8.) Cateriim i?2voliicri miicro^ .& dextri ipfius lateris egregia portio Septi traiif- "verji nerveo circulo validi/Jime amploqiie admodicm Jpatio counafcitur, quod Hominibus ejl peculiars, T'he Point of the Pericardium, and a vefj conjide" rable Portion of its right Side^ is 77ioft jirjnly fajl^ end to the nervous Circle of the Midriff for a large Space ^ which is peculiar to Mankind, So B Lin- ear dius^ An at, P,eformat. cap. 2. p. 8. Homo pr^s cceteris Ammalibus hoc peculiare habet^ quod ejus Pericardium Septi tranjherji medio femper accref- cat^ ciun idem in '^ladrupedum genere liberum & aliquanto Jpatio ab ipjb remotumfit : Man hath this peculiar to him^ and differ eiit from other Animals^ that his Pericardium doth always grow to the mid- dle of the Midriff', whereas in the ^adrupedKind it is free ^ and remov'd Jbme diftance fro7n it- The Pericardium in Man is therefore thu5 faft- t mieht affift the Dia^ Q_^ . ftok .en*d, that in Expiration it mieht affift the Dia 226 "The Wisdom of GOD Part II. Hole of the Diaphragm^ for otherwife the Liver and Stomach being fo weighty, they would draw it down too much towards the Abdomen^ fo that upon the Relaxation of its Fibres in its Diajlole it would not afcend fufficiently into the 'Thorax, fo as to caufe a Subfidency of the Lungs, by lef- fening the Cavity there. In ^ladrupeds there is no need of this Adhefion of the Pericardium to the Diaphragviy for in them in Expi-ratio?i, when the Fibres of the Diaphragm are relax'd , the weight of the Vifcera of the Abdomen will eafily prefs the Diaphragm up into the Cavity of the Thorax , and fo perform that Service ; befides, were the Pericardium faften'd to the Diaphragm in ^ladriipeds^ it would hinder its Syftole in /;?- fpiration, or its Defcent downwards upon the Contradtion of its mufcular Fibres, and the more, becaufe the Diaphragm being thus ty'd up, it could not then fo freely force down the weight of the Vifcera, which are always preffing upon it, and confequently not fufficiently dilate the Cavi- ty of the Thorax, and therefore muft hinder their Infpiration. Thus we fee how neceffary it is that in Ma?i the Pericardiu?n fhould be faften'd to. the Diaphragm, and in ^ladrupeds how inconvenient it would be. And Jince %ve find this difference be- tween the Hearts of Brutes and Men in this Parti- cular, how can we- imagiiie but that it miifi needs be the Effect of Wifdom and Defign, and that Man was intended by N atiire to walk creel, and not upon all four, as ^adrupcds do ? IL The Part II. i?t thz Creation. 227 II. The Body of Man may thence be proved to be the Effedt of Wifdom, becaufe there is nothing in it deficient, nothing fuperfluous, nothing but hath its Ei)d and Ufe. So true are thofe Maxims we have ah"eady made ufe of ; Natura nihil fa cit Jriiftra, and Natura non abundat infiiperjhiis^ nee deficit in necejfariii^ no Part that we can well fpare. T^he Eye cannot fay to the Handy I have 710 need of thee ; nor the Head to the Feet^ I have no need of you, i Cor. xii. 21. that I may ufurp the Apodle's Simihtude. The Belly cannot* quarrel with the Members, nor they with the Belly for her feeming Sloth ; as they provide for Meat for her, fo fhe concodts and diftributes it to them ; only it may be doubt- ed to what Ufe the Paps in Men (hould ferve. I anfwer, partly for Ornament, partly for a kind of Conformity between the Sexes, and partly to defend and cherifh the Heart ; in fome they con- tain Milk, as in a Danijh Family we read of in Bartholines Anatotnical Obfervatiom ; however, it follpws not that they or any other Parts of the Body are ufclefs becaufe we are ignorant. I have lately met with a Story in Signior Paulo Boccones natural Obfervaiions, printed at Bologna in Italy 1684, well attefted, concerning a Coun- tryman call'd Billardirio di Billo, living in a Vil- lage belonging to the City of Nocera in Umb7^iay call'd Scwareggio, whofe Wife dying, and leaving a young Infant, he nouriih.'d it with his own Milk. This Man,, citfer becaufe in the fmall Q^jj Village 228 ^njeWisDouof GOD Part I L Village where he liv'd there was not a wet Nurfe to be had, or becaufe he was not able to hire one, took the Child, and applying it to his own Bo- fom, and putting the Nipples of his Breafls into its Mouth, invited it to luck, which. the Infant did, and after divers times drawing, fetch'd fome Milk s whereat the Father encouraged, continued to apply it, and fo after a while it brought dov^n the Milk fo plentifully as to nourifh it for many Months, till it was fit to be wean'd. Hereupon my Author, having prov'd by fufficient Autho- riry of able Anatomifts, fuch as Fra72cifcus Ma- ria Florentinus J and Marcellus Malpighius^ that the Paps of Men have the fame Strudlure and the iame Veffels with thofe of Women, conclude?, that Nature hath not given Paps to Men either to no putpofe, or for meer Ornament, but, if need requires, to fupply the Defedt of the Fe- male, and give Suck to the Young. Had we been born with a large Wen upon our Faces, or a Bavarian Poke under our Chins, or a great Bunch upon our Backs like Camels^ or any the like fuperfiuous Excrefcency, which fhould be not only ufelefs but troublefome , not only Hand us in no ftead, but alfo be ill-favour'd to behold and burdenfome to carry about, then we might have had fome Pretence to doubt whether an intelligent and bountiful Creator had been our Archited: ; for had the Body been made by Chance, it muft in all likelihood have had ma- ny of thefe fuperfiuous and unnecellary Parts. I But Part 11. in the Creation. 229 But now feeing there is none of our Members but hath its Place and Ufe, none that we could fpare, or conveniently live without, were it but thofe we account Excrements, the Hair of our Heads, or the Nails on our Fingers ends, we mull: needs be mad or fottifh, if we can conceive any other than that an infinitely good and wife Qod was our Author and -Former. III. We may fetch an Argument of the Wil- dom and Providence of God from the convenient Situation and Difpofition of the Parts and Mem- bers of our Bodies ; they are feated mioil: conve- niently for Ufe, for Ornament, and for mutual Alfiftance. F/r/?, For Ufe. So we fee the Senfes, of fuch eminent Ufe for our well-being, iituate in the Head, as Sentinels in a Watch-Tower, to receive and convey to the Soul the Impreffions of exter- nal Objed:s. Sen jus autem interpretes ac nuntii rerum in capite tanqiiam in arce mirifce ad itjia 7teceffarios & faBi & collocati fant. Cic. de Nat. Deorum. The Eye can more eafily fee Things at a diflance, the Ear receive Sounds from afar ; how could the Eye have been better placed, ei- ther for Beauty and Ornament, or for ihe Gui- dance and Direction of the whole Body ? As CV- cero^ proceeds well. Nam Oculi tanquam fpecula- tores altijjimiim locum ohtinent^ ex quo plurima coji- Jpicienfes fungu7itur Jko munere : Et Aures qu£ fo- Q_.3 num 2 30 rhe WisGo M of GOD Part ll. nuw recipere debent^ qui naturci in Jublime fertufy reBe in altis corpcriim par'tibus collccatce funt ; itemque Nares^ eo quod omnis odor ad Jiiperiora fertiir^ re5te fiirfumjuiit. For the Eyes^ like Scu- tinelsj occupy the higheji Place, from ^vhetice feeing many things, they perform their FunBiciis 5 and the Ears, which are made jor the Reception of Sounds ^ which naturally are carrfd upwards, are rightly placed in the uppcrmofi Tarts of the Body ; aljo the Nofrils, becauje all Odours afcend, are fitly fituate in the fuperior Farts, I might inftance in the other Members \ how could the Hands have been more conveniently placed for all Sorts of Exerci- fes and Works, and for the Guard and Security of the Head and principal Parts ? the Heart, to difpenfe Life and Heat to the whole Body, viz, near the Center ? and yet bccaufe it is harder for the Blood to afcend than defcend, fomewhat nearer the Head? It is alfo obfervable, that the Sinks of the Body are removed as far from the Nofe and Eyes as may be, which Cicero takes notice of in the fore-mention'd Place : Vt in Mdificis ArchiteBi avertunt ab Oculis & Naribus Dominorum ea quce profuentia necefdrio efjhit tetri aliquid habitura,fic natura resfitmlesprocul aman- davit afenfibus, Secondly, For Ornament : What could have been better contriv'd, than that thofe Members which are Pairs, iliouid ftand by one another in equal Altitude, and anfwer on each Side one to another ? And, - ■ T^hirdly^ Part II. m t/>e Creation. 231 T^hirdly^ For mutual Affiftance. We have be- fore ihew'd how the Eye ftands moft convenient- ly for guiding the Hand, and the Hand for de- fending the Eye ♦, and the like might be faid of the other Parts, they are fo fituate as to afford Direction and Help one to another; this will ap- pear more clearly, if we imagine any of the Mem- bers fituate in contrary Places or Pofitions. Had a Man's Arms been fitted only to bend back- wards behind him, or his Legs only to move back- wards, what Diredlion could his Eyes then have afforded him in working or walking? or how could he then have fed himfelf ? na}^ had one Arm been made to bend forward, and the other diredly backward, we had then loft half theUfe of them, fince they could not have aliifted one the other in any Adion. Take the Eyes, or any other of the Organs of Senfe, and fee if you can find any fo convenient a Seat for them in the whole Body as that they now poffefs. IV. From the ample Provifion that is made for the Defence and Security of the principal Parts; thofe are, i. The Hearty which is the Fountain of h\ic and Vegetation, OJpchia Spi?-i- tuiim vitalium,, Prindpium <^ Pons Caloris nativi^ Liicerna hiuuidi radicdh ; and that I may fpeak with the Chymifts, Ipfe Sol Microcofmi^ the very Sun of the Microcofm^ or little World, in which is contained that vital Flame, or heavenly Fire, which Pr^/WtYZw/i^ is fabled to have ftole from 232 He Wisdom (?/ GOD Part IL Jupiter \ or, as Arijlotle phrafes it, that 'AixM- -yv TSif ¥ d^XoLV'2v 9^i'^l'^> Divimim quid refpon- de72S Ektnejito Stellarum, This for more Security is iituate in the Center of the Trunk of the Bo- dy, covered firft with its own Membrane, call'd Tericardium^ lodg'd within the foft Bed of the Lungs, encom.pafs'd round with a double Fence, (i.) Of firm Bones or Ribs, to bear off Blows: (2.) Of thick Mufcles and Skins, befides the Arms conveniently plac'd, to fence off any Violepce at a diftance, before it can approach to hurt it. 2. The Brairij which is the Principal of all Senfe and Motion, the Fountain of the animal Spirits, the chief Seat and Palace Royal of the Soul, upon whofe Security depends whatever Privilege be- longs to us as fenfitive or rational Creatures; this, I fay, being the prime and immediate Organ of the Soul, from the right Conftitution whereof proceeds the Quicknefs of Apprehenfion, Acute- nefs of Wit, Solidity of Judgment, Method and Order of Invention, Strength and Power of Me- mory (which if once weaken'd and diforder'd, there follows nothing but Confufion and Diilur- bance in our Apprehenfions", Thoughts and Judg- ment) is environed round about with fuch a po- tent Defence, that it mull be a mighty Force indeed that is able to injure it. I. A Skull, fo hard, thick and tough, that it is almofi: as eafy to fplit a Helmet of Iron as to make a Fradure in it. 2. This is cover'd with jSkin and Hair, which ferve to keep it warm, be- ing Part II. /;/ //6^ C R E AT I o N. 233 ing naturally a very cold Part, and alfo to quench and diffipate the force of any Stroke that fliall be dealt it, and retund the Edge of any Weapon. 3. And yet more than all this, there is ftill a thick and tough Membrane, which hangs loofcr about it, and doth not fo clofely embrace it (that they call Dura Mater) and in cafe the Skull hap- pens to be broken, doth often preferve it from Injury and Diminution. And laftly, a thin and fine Membrane, ftrait, and clofely adhering, to keep it from qua(hing and fliaking. The many- Pairs of Nerves proceeding from it, and after- wards diftributing and branching themfelves to all the Parts of the Body, either for Nutrition or Motion, are wonderful to behold in prepared Bodies, and even in the Schemes and Figures of Dr. Willis and Vieuffens, I might inftance (3.) in the Lungs, which are fo ufeful to us as to Life and Senfe, that the Vul- gar think our Breath is our very Life, and that we breathe cut our Souls from thence; fuitable to which Notion both A?iima and Spiritus in Latin^ and 'zd-v^jj^ in Greek, are derived from Words that fignify Breath and Wind -, and effiare^ or exhalare Animam^ fignify to die. And the old Romajis ufed to apply Mouth to Mouth and re- ceive the lafi; Gafps of their dying Friends, as if their Souls had come out that way ; from hence perhaps might firft fpring that Opinion of the Vehicles of Spirits ; the Vulgar, as I hinted be- forej conceiving that the Breath v/as, if not the Soul it felf, yet that .wherein it was wafted and carry 'd 2 34 72^ Wi s D o M of GOD Part II. carry 'd away. Theft Liings^ I fay, are, for their better Security and Defence, iliut up in the fame Cavity with the Heart. V. In the abundant Provifion that is made againft evil Accidents and Inconveniences. And the Liberality of Nature as to this Particular ap- pears, I. In that {he hath given many Members (which are of eminent Ufe) by Pairs, as two Eyes, two Ears, twoNoflrils, two Hands, two Feet, two Breafts \Mamm(z\ tv/o Reins ; that fo, if by any crofs or unhappy Accident one fliould be dis- abled or rendered ufelefs, the other might ferve us tolerably well; whereas had a Man but one Hand or one Eye, ©f . if that were gone, all were gone, and we left in an evil Cafe. See then and acknowledge the Benignity of the Deity, who hath beftow'd upon us two Hands and two Eyes, and other the like Parts, not only for our Necef- lity but Conveniency fo long as we enjoy them, and for our Security in cafe any Mifchance de- prive us of one of them. 2. In that all the Veffels of the Body have many Ramifications, which particular Branches, tho' they ferve mainly for one Member or Mufcle, yet fend forth fome Twigs to the neighbouring Mufcles, and fo in- terchangeably the Branches that ferve thefe fend to them ; fo that if one Branch chance to be cut off or obftruded, its Defeat may in fome meafure be fupply'd by the Twigs that come from the neighbouring Veffels. 3. In that fhe hath pro- vided fo many ways to evacuate what might be hurtful Part 11. in /^^ C r e at i b n. 235 hurtful to us, or breed Difeafes in our Bodies; if any thing opprefs the Head, it hath a Power to free it felf by fneezing ; if any thing fall into the Lungs, or if any Humour be difcharg'd upon them, they have a Faculty of clearing themfelves and carting it up by coughing ; if any thing clog or burden the Stomach, it hath an Ability of con- trading itfelf and throwing it up by Vomit. Be- fic^es thefe ways of Evacuation, there are Siege, Urine, Sweating, Hamorrhaiges from the Nofe, and hc^morrhodialV tm%, Fluxes of Rheum. Now the reafon why Nature hath provided fo many- ways of Evacuation is, becaufe of the different Humours that are to be voided or cafl out ; when therefore there is a Secretion made of any noxious Humour, it is carry'd off by that Emundlory, whofe Pores are fitted to receive and tranfmit the minute Parts of it ; if at leaft this Separation be made by Percolation, as we will now fuppofe, but not affert, yet I doubt not but the fame Hu- mour may be cafl off by divers Emundories, as is clear in Urine and Sv>^eat, which are for the main- the fame Humour carry'd ofFfeveral ways. To this Head of Provifion againfl Inconveni- ences, I fhall add an Obfervation or two concern- ing Sleep. I. Sleep being neceffary to Man and other Ani^mals for their Refreflimeiit, and for the Re- paration of that great Expence of Spirits which is made i^i the Day-time by the conftant Exercife of 236 Hje Wisdom of GOD Part I L of the Senfes and Motions of the Mufcles, that it might cafe and refrefh us indeed. Nature hath provided, that tho* we He long upon one Side, we {hould have no Senfe of Pain or Unealinefs during our Reft, no, nor when we awake ; where- as in reafon one would think, that the whole Weight of the Body preffing the Mufcles and Bones on which we lie, jQiould be very burden- fome and uneafy, and create a grievous Senfe of Pain ; and we find by Experience that it doth fo when we lie long awake in the Night, we being not able (efpecially if never fo little indifpofed) to reft one Quarter of an Hour in the fame Po- fture, without (hif ting of Sides, or at leaft etch- ing this way and that way, more or lefs. How this may be effedled, is a great Queftion. To me it feems moft probable that it is done by an In- flation of the Mufcles, whereby they become both foft, and yet renitent, like fo many Pillows, diffipating the Force of the Preffure, and fo pre- venting or taking away the Senfe of Pain. That the Mufcles are in this manner inflated in time of Reft, appears to the very Eye in the Faces of Children, and may be prov'd from that, when we reft in our Cloaths we are fain to loofen our Garters, Shoe-ftrings, and other Ligatures, to give the Spirits free Paflage, elfe we iliall expe- rience Pain and Uneafinefs in thofe Parts, which when we are waking we find not. The Part II. in the Cke ATio-^. 237 The reafon of this Pkdemmcnoji ^ viz, that dvct'Kyymot^ or want of Pain we experience in Sleep, during and after a long decubitus on one Side, 'Dv, Lifter in his Journey to Paris, p. 113. and Dr. Jo72es in his Treatife of ^he Myjieries of Opium reveal' d, attribute to the Relaxation of the Nerves and Mufcles in time of Sleep ; and the Sepfe of Pain and Uneafinefs when we lie awake, to the Teniion of them during that time: This I do not deny, but yet I think the Reafon I have affign'd hath a great Intereft in that Reft and Ealinefs we enjoy when afleep. 2. Becaufe Sleep is inconfiftent with the Senfe of Pain , therefore during Reft , thofe Nerves which convey that Motion to the Brain, which excites in the Soul a Senfe of Pain, are obftrud;- ed i this I my felf have had frequent Experience of fince I have been troubled with Sores on my Legs ; upon fudden awaking finding my felf at perfed Eafe, and void of all Senfe of Pain for a Minute's time or more, the Pain then by degrees returning ; which I could attribute to nothing but the diffipating that Vapour, or whatever elfe it were, which obftruded the Nerves, and giving the dolorifick Motion free Paffage again. Upon fecond Thoughts, and reading what Dr. Lijler and Dr. Jones have written concerning this Subjed, I rather incline to believe, that the Motion caufing a Senfe of Pain, is convey 'd to the 238 ne Wisdom of GOD Part IJ. the Brain by the Nerves themfelves in Tenfion, as we fee in Cords, any the leaft touch at one end, pafTes fpeedily to the other when they are ftretch'd, which it doth not when they are re- lax'd , and not by the Spirits paffing thro' them ; and on the other fide, the Infenliblenefs of Pain proceeds rather from the Relaxation of the Nerves than their Obftrudion ; but yet this Tenfion of the Nerves and Mufcles is owing to the Spirits flowing down into them and diftending them. VI. From the Conftancy that is obferv'd in the Number, Figure, Place, and Make of all the principal Parts, and from the Variety in the lefs. Man is always mending and altering his Works, but Nature obferves the fame Tenor, becaufe her V^orks are fo perfedt, that there is no place for Amendments, nothing that can be reprehended -, the moil fagacious Men in fo many Ages have not been able to find any Flaw in thefe divinely contrived and form'd Machines, m Blot or Error in this great Volume of the Worlds as if any thing had been an imperfeB Efay at the fr'Ji (to ufe the Bifnop of Chejiers Words) nothing that can be alter'd for the better, nothing but if it were al- tered would be marr'd ; this could not have been had Man's Body been the Work of Chance, and not Council and Providence : Why fhould there be conilantly the fame Parts ? why fhould they retain conilantly the fame Places? why fhould they be endu'd with the fame Shape and Figure ? Nodiing fo contrary as Conilancy and Cliance. Should Part II. in the Cv.e a t i o n. 239 Should I fee a Man throw the fame Number a thoufand times together upon but three Dice, could you perfuade me that this were accidental, and that there was no neceflary Caufe of it ? How much more incredible then is it, that Con- ftancy in fuch a Variety, fuch a Multiplicity of Parts, fhould be the Refult of Chance ? Neither yet can thefe Works be the Effefts of Neceffity or pafe, for then there would be the fame Con- ftancy obferv'd in the fmaller as well as the larger Parts and Veflels ; whereas there we fee Nature doth ludere^ as it were fport it felf, the minute Ramifications of all the VeiTels, Veins, Arteries, and Nerves , infinitely varying in Individuals of the fame Species, fo that they are not in any two alike. VII. The great Wifdom of the divine Creator appears, in that there is Pleafure annexed to thofe Adlions that are neceflfary for the Support and Prefervation of the Individuum ^ and the Conti- nuation and Propagation of the Species j and not only fo, but Pain to the Ncgledt or Forbearance of them. For the Support of the Perfon, it hath annexed Pleafure to eating and drinking, which elfe, out of Lazinefs or Multiplicity of Bufinefs, a Man would be apt to neglccl, or fometimes forget; indeed to be oblig'd to chew and fwallow Meat daily for two Hours Space, and to find no Relifh or Pleafure in it, would be one of the moft burdenfom and ungrateful Talks of a Man's whole Life ,; but becaufc this Adion is abfolutely neceflary. 240 TZeWisDOM of GOD PartIL neceffary, for abundant Security Nature hath in- lerted in us a painful Senfe of Hunger, to put us in mind of it ; and to reward our Performance hath adjoin'd Pleafure to it 5 and as for the Con- tinuation of Kind, I need not tell you that the Enjoyments which attend thofe Ad:ions are the higheft Gratifications of Senfe. VIII. The wonderful Art and Providence of the Contriver and Former of our Bodies, appears in the Miiltitude of Intentions he muft have in the Formation of the feveral Parts, or the Qua- lifications they require to fit them * Bijipop of for their feveral Ufes. * Galen in ^^j^g^''^-J^ his Book de Formatione F(Etus, takes €. 6, notice, " That there are in a human " Body above Six-hundred feveral " Mufcles, and there are at leaft Ten feveral In- " tentions or due Qualifications to be obferv'd " in each of thefe ; proper Figure, juft Mag- " nitude, right Difpofition of its feveral Ends, '' upper and lower, Pofition of the whole, the " Infertion of its proper Nerves, Veins, and '' Arteries, which are each of them to be du- '' ly placed J fo that about the Mufcles alone '' no lefs than Six thoufand feveral Ends or '' Aims are to be attended to. The Bones are " reckon'd to be 284. The diflincft Scopes or '' Intentions in each of thefe are above 40 ; in " all about looooo. And thus it is in Ibme '' Proportion with all the other Parts, the " Ski/7y Ligaments, Feffe/s, Glandules, Uimours : " ■ '' But Part 11. in the C r e a t i o n. 241 " But more efpecially with the feveral Members " of the Body, which do, in regard of the great " Variety and Multitude of thofe feveral Inten- " tions required to them, very much exceed the *' homogeneous Parts ; and the failing in any one " of thefe would caufe Irregularity in the Body, *' and in many of them fuch as would be very *^ notorious/* Now to imagine that fuch a Ma- chine , composed of fo many Parts, to the right Form, Order and Motion whereof fuch an infi- nite Number of Intentions are required, could be made without the Contrivance of fome wife Agent, muft needs be irrational in the higheft degree. This wonderful Mechanifm of human Bodies, next to viewing the Life, may be k^n at large in the excellent Figures of Spigelius and Bidloo^ their Situation, Order, Connexion, and manner of fe- parating them, in Lyferus his Cult, Anatom, The almoft infinite Ramifications and Inofculations of all the feveral Sorts of Veflels, the Structures of the Glands, and other Organs, may eafily be detefted by Glaffes, and trac'd by blowing in of Air and drying them, or by injedling thro' pecu- liar Syringes melted Wax or Quickfilver, the Operations whereof may be learned out of Swam* merdamy Cafpar Bartholiney ^nd Antonio Nuck. IX. Another Argument of Wifdom and Pe- lign in Contrivance of the Body of Man and o- ther Animals, is the fitting of fome Parts to di- vers Offices and Ufes^ whereby Nature doth (as R the 242 77j^ Wisdom of GOD Part II. the Proverb is) Una Jidelid duos parietes dealbare, Jiop two Gaps with one Bujh ; fo (for inftance) the T'ongiie ferves not only for tailing, but alfo to af- fift the Maftication of the Meat and Deglutition, by turning it about, and managing it in the Mouth, to gather up the Food, in Man by lick- ing ♦, in the Dog and Cat-Kind by lapping ; in Kine by pkicking up the Grafs j particularly in Man it is of admirable Ufe for the Formation of Words and fpeaking. The Dlaphragmy and Mufcles o^ th& Abdomen^ or lower Belly, are of ufe not only for Refpira- tion, but alfo for compreffing the Inteftines, and forcing the Chyle into the ladeal Veins, and like- wife out of the faid Veins into the thoracick Chan- nel ; and here (to note that by the way) appears the ufe of a common Receptacle of Chyle, that by the Motion of the Mufcles of Refpiration it being prefs'd upon, the Chyle might with more Facility be impelFd into the fore- mentioned Dudt ; befides , this Adion of Refpiration and Motion of the faid Diaphragm and Mufcles, may ferve alfo for the Comminution and Concodlioa of the Meat in the Stomach (as fome, not with- out reafon, think) by their conftant Agitation and Motion upwards and downwards, refembling the pounding or braying of Materials in a Mor- tar. And to inftance in no more, the mufcular Con- : adlion and Pulfe of the Heart ferves not only for the Circulation of the Blood, but alfo for the more Part If. in the Creation. 243 more perfedl Mixture of its Parts, preferving its due Crafis and Fluidity, and incorporating the Chyle, and other Juices it receives, with it. X. The Wifdom and Goodnefs too of the di- vine Former of our Bodies, appears in the Nou- rifliment of them ; for that Food which is of a wholfome Juice, and proper to nourifli and pre- ferve them in a healthful State, is both pleafant t(5 the Tafte and grateful and agreeable to the Stomach, and continues to be fo till our Hunger and Thirft be well appeased, and then begins to be lefs pleafant, and at laft even naufeous and loathfome. The full Stomach loaths the Honey- Comb, On the other fide, that which is unwholfome and unfit for Nourifhment, or deftru6live of Health, is alfo unpleafant to the Tafte and un- grateful and difagreeable to the Stomach, and that more or lefs, according as it is more or lefs improper or noxious ; and though there be fome Sorts of Food lefs pleafant to the Tafte, which by ufe may be render'd grateful, yet to Perfons that are in health, and in no neceffity of ufing fuch Viands, I think it were better to abftain from them, and follow Nature, in eating fuch things as are agreeable to their Palate and Sto- mach ; for fuch unpleafant Diet muft needs alter the Temper of the Body before it can become acceptable, and doubtlefs for the worfe. R 2 I might 244 TheWisDouofGOD PartIL I might add hereto, that even Pain, which is the moll grievous and affli only I cannot but take notice, that it is a 'OTAwjj/pMpr, a thing of manifold Ufes, and neceflary for the Govern- Part II. 7/^ //5^ C R E A T I o N. 245 Government both of Commonwealths and Fa- milies. XI. Some fetch an Argument of Providence from the Variety of Lineaments in the Faces of Men, which is fuch, that there are not two Faces in the World abfolutely alike ; which is fome- what ftrange, fmce all the Parts are i?i Specie the fame. Were Nature a blind Architeft, I fee not but the Faces of fome Men might be as like as Eggs laid by the fame Hen, or Bullets caft in the fame Mould, or Drops of Water out of the fame Bucket. This Particular I find taken notice of by Pliny in his Seventh Book, cap. i. in thefe Words : Jam in facie vultuque nojiroy ciimjint de- cern aut paulo plura membra^ ?iiillas duas in tot mil'* lihus hominum indifcretas ejigies exiftere^ quod Jlrs nulla in paucis numero prajlet affedlando. To which, among other things, he thus prefaces : Jslaturce vero rerum vis atque majejias in omnibus momentis fide caret. Tho' this at firft may feem to be a Matter of fmall moment, yet, if duly confider'd, it will appear to be of mighty Importance in all human Affairs ; for fhould there be an undifcernable Si- militude between divers Men, what Confufion and Difturbance would neceffarily follow? What Uncertainty in all Sales and Conveyances, in all Bargains and Contrads? What Frauds and Cheats, and fuborning of Witneffes ? What a Subverfion of all Trade and Commerce ? What hazard in all judicial Proceedings, in all Affaults R 3 and 246 r^^ Wisdom of GOD Part 11. and Batteries, in all Murders and Affaffinations ? In Thefts and Robberies what Security would there be to Malefadlors ? who could fwear that fuch and fuch were the Perfons that committed the Fafts, tho' they faw them never fo clearly ? Many other Inconveniences might be inftanc'd in 5 fo that we fee this is no contemptible Argu- ment of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God. Neither is the difference of Voices lefs confi- derable, for the diflinguifliing of Sexes and par- ticular Perfons, and Individuals of all Animals, than that of Faces ; as Dr. Cockburn makes out, EJfay, &c. Part II. Pag, 68. &c. Nay, in fome Cafes more ; for hereby Perfons in the dark and thofe that are blind may know and diftinguilh one another, which is of great Importance to them, for otherwife they might be moft grofly cheated and abus'd. Farther we may add out of the fame Author, f. J I, '' And to no other Caufe [than the wife " Providence of God] can be referr'd the no lefs *' ftrange Diverfuy of Hand-writings. Common <« Experience fhews, that though Hundreds and *' Thoufands were taught by one Mailer, and <* one and the fame Form of Writing, yet they *' ftiould all write differently: Whether Men " write Court or Ro7nan Hand, or any other, " there is fomething peculiar in every one*s Wri- " ting which diftinguiflieth it. Some indeed can " counterfeit another's Charadter and Subfcrip- " tion, but the Inftances are rare, nor is it done *^ without Pains and Trouble 5 nay, the moft " Expert €i - pear of that fame Colour wherewith their Eyes are infedted j this, they fay, is in a great meafure true, altho* they are much miftaken about the Organ and Manner of Vifion, and the Ufes of the Humours and Membranes of the Eye. Two Reafons therefore may be affign'd why all the Membranes and Humours of the Eye are perfeft- ly pellucid, and void of Colour : Firfi^ For the Clearnefs. Secondly ^ For the JJiftindnefs of Vifion. Firjiy The Clearnefs; 'for had the Tunicles and Humours of the Eye, all, or any of them, been colorate, many of the Rays proceeding from the vifible Objedt would have been ftopt and fufFoca- ted before they could come to the bottom of the Eye, where the formal Organ of Vifion is fituate; for it is a moft certain Rule, how much any Bo- dy hath of Colour, fo much hath it of Opacity; and by fo much the more unfit it is to tranfmit the Species. Secondly^ For the Diftindnefs of Vifion : For, as I faid before, and the Peripateticks obferve well, were the Humours of the Eye tinftur'd with any Colour, they would refund that Colour upon the Objed, and fo it would not be repre- fented to the Soul as in it felf it is ; fo we fee that thro' Part II. 7;^/^^ Great I ON. 251 thro' a coloured Glafs things appear as well more dim and obfcure as tindtur'd with the Colour thereof. Secondly, The Parts of the Eye are made con- vex, and efpecially the cryftalline Humour, which is of a lenticular Figure, convex on both fides, that by the Refractions there made, there might be % Direction of many Rays coming from one Point in the Objeft, viz, as many as the Pupil can receive, to one Point anfwerable in the bottom of the Eye, without which the Senfe would be very obfcure, and alfo confused. There would be as much difference in the Clearnefs and Diftindtion of Vifion, were the outward Surface of the Tu^ 7iica Cornea plain, and the cryftalline Humour remov'd, as between the Pidture received on white Paper in a dark Room thro' an open or empty Hole, and the fame received through a Hole fur- nifh'd with an exaftly polifli'd lenticular Cryftal ; which, how great it is, any one that hath but feen this Experiment made, knows wxll enough ; indeed, this Experiment doth very much explain the manner of Vifion, the Hole anfwering to the Pupil of the Eye, the cryftalline Humour to the lenticular Glafs, the dark Room to the Cavity containing the vitreous Humour, and the white Paper to the T'unica Retina. Thirdly y The uveous Coat^ or Iris of the Eye, hath a mufculous Power, and can dilate and con- trail that round Hole ^ia it call'd the Pupil, or Sight 252 T^he Wisdom of GOD Part If. Sight of the Eye 5 it contrafts it, for the exclu- ding fuperfluous Light, and preferving the Eye from being injured by too vehement and lucid an Objedt, and again dilates it, for the apprehending Objedls more remote, or plac'd in a fainter Light; iam miro artificio (faith Scheiner) quam muntfica natures largitate. If any one defires to make Ex- periment of thefe Particulars, he may, following Scheiner and Des Cartes their Dired:ion, take a Child, and fetting a Candle before him, bid him look upon it, and he fhall obferve his Pupil con- traft it felf very much, to exclude the Light, with the Brightnefs w^hercof it would otherwife be dazzled and offended 5 as we are, when after we have been fome time in the dark, a bright Light is fuddenly brought in and fet before us, till the Pupils of our Eyes have gradually con- trafted themfelves j let the Candle be withdrawn or remov'd afide, he {hall obferve the Child's Pupil by degrees to dilate it felf; or let him take a Bead, or the like Objeft, and holding it near the Eye, command the Child to look at it, the Pupil will contradt much when the Objeft is near; but let it be withdrawn to a greater di- ftance in the fame Light, and he {hall obferve the Pupil to be much enlarged. Fourthly^ The uveous Coat, and alfo the infide of the Chorides, are blackened, like the Walls of a Tennis-Court, that the Rays may be there fufFo- cated and fuppreffed, and not refledted back- wards , to confound the Sight -, and if any be by the Part II. in tbe C^E ATio^. 253 the fetiforfn Coat reflefted, they are foon choak'd in the black infide of the Uvea-, whereas were they reflefted to and fro, there could be no di- ftindt Vifion ; as we fee the Light admitted into the dark Room we even now fpeak of, oblite- rates the Species which before were {Qcn upon the white Cloth or Paper. Fifthly, Becaufe the Rays from a nearer and from a more remote Objedt do not meet ju ft in the fame diftance behind the cryftalline Humour (as may eafily be obferv'd in lenticular Glafs, where the Point or Concourfe of the Rays from a nearer Objeft is at a greater diftance behind the Glafs, and from a farther at a lefler) therefore the ciliary Procejes, or rather the Ligaments ob- ferv'd in the infide of the fclerotick Tunicles of the Eye by a late ingenious Anatomift, do ferve inftead of a Mufcle, by their Contraftion to alter the Figure of the Eye, and make it broader, and confequently draw the Retina nearer to the cry- ftalline Humour 5 and by their Relaxation fuffer it to return to its natural diftance, according to the Exigency of the Objed, in refpeft of Diftance or Propinquity; and befides, poflibly the ciliary Proceffes may, by their Conftriftion or Relaxa- tion, render the Cryftalline it felf more gibbofe or plain, and with the help of the Mufcles a lit- tle alter the Figure of the whole Eye for the fame reafon. To what I have faid might be ^dded, that the retiform Tunicle is whitifli, for the bet- "Ter and more trup Reception of the Species of Things ; 254 TieWisDoM of GOD Part II- Things J that there being a diftance neceiTarily required for the CoUedion of the Rays received by the Pupil, viz, thofe that proceed from one Point of the Objedl to one Point again in the bot- tom of the Eye, the Retiita muft needs be fet at a diftance from the cryftalline Humour j and therefore Nature hath provided a large Room, and fiird it with the pellucid vitreous Humour, moft fit for that purpofe. I muft not omit a notable Obfervation concern- ing the Place of the Infertion of the optick Nerve into the Bulb of the Eye, and the reafon of it ; which I owe to that learned Mathematician Pe^ ter Herigon : Ncrvus opticus (faith he in his O/- tica) ad latus ponitur^ ne pars imaginis in ejus fo-^ ramen incidens piBurd car eat: The Optick Nerve is notftuate directly behind the Eye, but on one fide ^ lefi that Part of the Image that falls upon the Hole of the optick Nerve Jhould want its PiBure, This I do not conceive to be the triie Reafon of this Situation y for even now as it is fituate, that Part of the Objeft whofe Rays fall upon the Center, or Hole of the optick Nerve, wants its Pifture, as we find by Experience, that Part not being feen by us, tho' we heed it not ; but the reafon is, becaufe if the optick Axis fhould fall upon this Center (as it would do were the Nerve feated juft behind the Eye) this great Inconvenience would follow, that the middle Point of every Objedt we view'd would be invifible, or there would be a dark Spot appear in the midft of it j Z thus Part 11. 7';^ /^^ Creation. 255 thus we fee the admirable Wifdbm of Nature in thus placing the optick Nerve in refped of the Eye, which he that did not confider or under- fland, would be apt to think more inconvenient- ly fituate for Vifion than if it had been right behind. Another thing alfo concerning Vifion is moft remarkable, that tho' there be a Decuffation of the Rays in the Pupil of the Eye, and fo the Image of the Objecft in the Retina or bottom of the Eye be inverted, yet doth not the Objed ap- pear inverted, but in its right or natural Poflure ; the reafon whereof is, becaufe the vifual Rays coming in ftraight Lines by thofe Points of the Senfory or Retina which they touch, affed: the common Senfe or Soul, according to their Dire- diion ; that is, fignify to it, that thofe feveral Parts of the Objed: from whence they proceed lie in ftraight Lines (Point for Point) drawn thro' the Pupil to the feveral Points of the Senfory, where they terminate, and which they prefs upon> whereupon the Soul muft needs conceive the Objed, not in an inverted, but a right Pofture ; and that the Nerves are naturally made, not only to inform the Soul of external Objeds which prefs upon them, but alfo of the Situation of fuch Objeds, is clear; becaufe if the Eyes be diftort- ed, the Objed, will we nill we, will appear dou- ble ; fo if the fore and middle Fingers be crois'd, and a round Body put between them, and mov'd, it will feem to be two; the reafon is, becaufe in that :256 i:U WisBOM of GOD PartU. that Pofture of the Fingers the Body touches the outfides of them, which in their natural Site are diftant one from another, and their Nerves made to fignify to the Soul Bodies feparate, and diftant in like manner, two Fingers lying between them ; and tho' our Reafon, by the help of our Sight, correds this Error, yet cannot we but fancy it to be fo. Neither is the aqueous Hiimoury as fome may fupinely imagine, altogether ufelefs or unpro- fitable as to Vifion, becaufe by its Help the Uvea tunica is foftained, which elfe would fall flat upon the cryftalline Humour ; and fluid it muft be to give way to the Contraction and Dilatation of the uveous ; and becaufe the outermoft Coat of the Eye might chance to be wounded or pricked, and this Humour, being fluid, let out, therefore Nature hath made Provifion fpeedily to repair it again in fuch a Cafe, by the help of certain Water-Pipes , or Lymphaedufts , inferted into the Bulb of the Eye, proceeding from Glandules defign^d by Nature to feparate this Water from the Blood for that Ufe. Antontm Nuck afiirms, that if the Eye of an Animal be pricked, and the aqueous Humour fqueez'd out, in ten Hours Space the faid Humour and Sight fhall be te- ftored to the Eye, if at leaft the Creature be kept in a dark Place. And that he did pub- lickly demonftrate the fame in the Anatomical Theatre at Leyden, in a Dog, out of whofe Eye, being wounded, the aqueous Humour did 2 fo Part II. in the C r e a t i o n. 25 7 fo copioufly flow, that the Membranes appeared flaccid, and yet in fix Hours Space the Bulb of the Eye was again replete with its Humour, and that without the Application of any Medicines. Antoniui Niick dc Duclu novofaUvaliy &c. Moreover, it is remarkable, that the Cornea T^iinica [horny or pellucid Coat of the Eye] doth i\pi lie in the fame Superficies with the White of the Eye, but rifeth up, as it were a Hillock, a- bove its Convexity, and is of an hyperbolical or parabolical Figure 5 fo that tho' the Eye feems to be perfectly round, in reality it is not lb, but the Iris thereof is protuberant above the White ; and the reafon is, becaufe that if the Cornea tu- nica, or cryftalline Humour, had been concen- trical to the Selerodes^ the Eye could not have admitted a whole Hemifphere at one View, & fie Aniraalis incolumitati in multis rebus minus caiitum ejfet^ as Scheiner well obferves. In many things there had not been fufficient Caution or Care ta- ken for the Animal's Safety. And now (that I may ufe the ^^- MoreV ^/?- Words of a late Author of our 'l^^L'^""-^ ^' own) xhe Eye is already fo perfedt, that I believe the Reafon of a Man would eafily have refl:ed here, and admir'd at his own Contri- vance. For he being able to move his whole Body upward and downward, and on every fide, might have unawares thought himfelf fufiicient- ly well iprovided for; but Nature hath added Mujcles alfo to the Eyes, that no Perfedion S . mi^hc 258 7%eWisjyou of GOD Part II, might be wanting ; for we have often occalion to move our Eyes, our Head being unmov'd, as in reading and viewing more particularly an Ob- jed: fet before us, by transferring the ^xes of our Eyes all over it -, and that this may be done with the more Eafe and Accuracy, {he hath furnifh'd this Organ with no lefs than fix Mufcles, to move it upward^ downward, to the Right and Left, obliquely, and round about. I (hall now confider what Provifion is made for the Defence and Security of this moft excel- lent and ufeful Part. Firji, The Eyes are funk in a convenient Val- ley, latent utiliter^ and are encompaffed round with eminent Parts, as with a Rampart, Q? excel-^ Jis undique farttbm Jepiuntur^ * Cic. dcmmTl ^^ ^^e defended from the Strokes of any flat or broad Bodies. Above ftand the Eye-brows, to keep off any thing from run- ning down upon them, as Drops of Sweat from the Forehead, or Duft, or the like. Superiora fuperciliis ohdii5la fudorem a capite iS front e defu- entem repelliint, • Cic. Then follow the Eye-lids ^ which fence them from any fudden and lefler Stripes 5 thefe alfo round the Edges are fortified with ftiflF Briftles, as it were Palifadoes, againft the Incurfions of importunate Animals, ferving partly as a Fan to ftrike away Flies, or Gnats, or any other troublefome Infed: ; and partly to keep off fuperfluous Light. Munitceque Jimt palpebra tanquum Part II. in the Creation. 259 tanquam vallo piloriim^ qiiibus & apertis oculis Ji- quid infideret repelleretur. Idem, ibid. And be- caufe it was neceffary that Man and other Ani- mals fhould fleep, which could not be fo well done if the Light came in by the Windows of the Eyes, therefore hath Nature provided thefe Cur- tains to be then drawn to keep it out. And be- caufe the outward Coat of the Eye ought to be pellucid, to tranfmit the Light, which, if the Efyes fliould always fland open, would be apt to grow dry and fhrink, and lofe their Diaphaneity, therefore are the Eye-lids fo contriv'd as often to wink, that fo they may as it were glaze and var-* nifh them over with the Moifture they contain, there being Glandules on purpofe to feparate a Humour for that Ufe, and withal wipe off what- ever Duft or Filth may flick to them; and this, left they fliould hinder the Sight, they do with the greateft Celerity. Cicero hath taken notice, that they are made very foft, left they fhould hurt the Sight. MoliJJime ta5iu ni Icederent aciem, ap^ tijjime faBa & ad claudendas pupillas ne quid i?2ci- derety & ad aperiendas, idque providit iit identic demjieri pojfet maxima cum celeritate. Secondly, If we confider the Bulb or Ball of the Eye, the exterior Membrane or Coat thereof is made thick, tough and ftrong, that it is a very hard matter to make a Rupture in it, and befides fo flippery, that it eludes the Force of any Stroke, to which alfo its globular Figure gives it a very- great Advantage. S 2 Lajilyy 26o neWisDouof GOD Part II. Lajlly, Becaufe for the Guidance and Dire- aion of the Body in walking, and any Exercife, it is neceffary the Eye fliould be uncovered and expos'd to the Air at all Times and in all Wea- thers, therefore the moft wife Author of Nature hath provided for it a hot Bed of Fat, which fills up the Interilices of the Mufcles, and be fides made it more patient and lefs fenfible of Cold than our other Parts 5 and tho' I cannot fay with Cicero, abfolutely free from Danger or Harm by that Enemy, yet leaft obnoxious to the Injuries thereof of any Part, and not at all, unlefs it be immoderate and extreme. To all this I might add the Convenience of the Situation of the Eye in refped: of its Proximity to the Brain, the Seat of Apprehenfion and com- mon Senfe; whereas had it been farther removed, the Optick Nerves had been liable to many more Dangers and Inconveniences than now they are. Seeing then the Eye is composed of fo great Variety of Parts, all confpiring to the Ufe of Vifion, whereof fome are abfolutely neceffary, others very ufeful and convenient, none idle or fuperfluous j and which is remarkable, many of them of a different Figure and Confiftency from any others in the Body befides, as being tranfpa- rent, which it was abfolutely neceffary they fhould be, to tranfmit the Rays of Light ; who can but believe that this Organ was defign'd and made purpofely for the Ufe for which it ferves ? ■ Neither Part II. in the C R e a t i on. 261 Neither is it to be efteem'd any Defedl or Im- perfection in the Eyes of Man, that they want- the feventh Mufcle, or the nidlating Membrane, which the Eyes of many other Animals arc fur- nifli'd withal i for tho' they be very ufeful, and in a manner neceffary to them, confidering their manner of living, yet they are not fo to Man. T*o fuch Beads as feed upon Grafs, and other Herbs, and therefore are forc'd to hold their Eyes long in a hanging Pofture, and to look downwards for the chufing and gathering of their Food, the feventh or fufpenfory Mufcle is very ufeful, to enable them to do fo without much Pain or Wearinefs •, yet to Man, who doth not, nor hath any occafion, indeed cannot hold his Head or look long downwards, it would be ufe- lefs and fuperfluous. As for the nidating Mem.- brane, or Periophtkalmiiwt^ which all Birds, and I think moft Quadrupeds are furnifli'd with, I have been long in doubt what the Ufe of it might be, and have fometimes thought it was for the more abundant Defence and Security of the Eye; but then I was puzzled to give any tolerable Ac- count why Nature fhould be more follicitous for the Prefervation of the Eyes of Brutes than Men, and in this Refpedt alfo to be a Step-mother to the moft noble Creature. But the honourable * Author ^ * Boyle of final formerly mentioned gives a pro- ^-^/^j* p- 53» 54-. bable Account why Frogs and Birds are furnifli'd' S 3 with 262 ne Wisi>ou of GOD Part IL with fuch a Membrane. Frogs, becaufe being amphibious Animals, defign'd to pafs their Lives in watery Places, which for the moft part abound with Sedges, and other Plants endow'd with fharp Edges or Points 5 and the progreffive Mo- tion of this Animal being to be made not by walking, but by leaping, if his Eyes were not provided of fuch a Sheath, he muft either (hut them, and fo leap blindly, and by confequence dangeroufly, or by leaving them open run a ven- ture to have the Cornea cut, prick'd, or other- wife offended by the Edges or Points of the Plants, or what may fall from them upon the Animal's Eye; whereas this Membrane (being fomething tranfparent as well as ftrong) is like a kind of Speftacle, that covers the Eye without taking away the Sight. Birds are likewife fur- nifh'd with it, becaufe being deftinated to fly among the Branches of Trees and Bu(hes, their Prickles, Twigs, Leaves, or other Parts, would be apt otherwife to wound or offend their Eyes. But yet flill v\^e are to feek why it is given to other Quadrupeds, whofe Eyes are in no fuch danger. thirdly, The Ear, another Organ of Senfe, Jiow admirable it is contrived for the receiving and conveying of Sounds. Firjiy There is the outward Ear, or Auricula^ made hollow, and contracted by degrees, to draw the Sound inward, to take in as much as may be of it, as we ufe a fuDBcl to pour Liquor into any VefTely and therefore Part IL in the Ckeatio^. 263 therefore if the Auricula be cut clear off the Hearing is much impaired, and almoft quite marr'd, as hath been by Experience found. From the Auricula is extended a fmall, long, round Hole inward into the Head, to intend the Mo- tion, and fo augment the Force of the Sound, as we fee in a Shooting-Trunk, the longer it is to a certain Limit, the fwifter and more forcibly the Air paiTes in it and drives the Pellet. At the end of this Hole is a Membrane faften'd to a round boney Limb, and ftretch'd like the Head of a Drum, and therefore by Ana torn ifts call'd alfo Tympanum^ to receive the Impulfe of the Sound, and to vibrate or quaver according to its recipro- cal Motions or Vibrations ; the fmall Ear-bones being at the end faften'd to the Tympanum^ and furnifh'd with a Mufcle, ferve for the Tenlion of that Membrane, or the Relaxation of it, ac- cording to the Exigency of the Animal, it being ftretch'd to the utmoft when it would hearken diligently to a lower or more diftant Sound. Be- hind the Drum are feveral Vaults and anfraduous Cavities in the Ear-bone, fiU'd only with what Naturalifts call the implanted Air, fo to intend the leaft Sound imaginable that the Senfe might be affected with it ; as we fee in fubterraneous Caves and Vaults how the Sound is redoubled, and what a great Report it makes however mo- derate it be ; and becaufe it was for the behoof of the Animal^ that upon any fudden Accident it might be awaken'd out of its Sleep, therefore S 4 were 264 Tie Wisdom of GOD Part II. were there no Shuts or Stopples made for the Ears, that fo any loud or fharp Noife might awaken it, as alfo a foft and gentle Voice of Murmur provoke it to fleep. Now the Ears, for the Benefit and Conveniences of the Animal^ be- ing alv^ays to ftand open, becaufe there was fome danger that Infeds might creep in thereat, and eating their way thro' the I'ympanum harbour in the Cavities behind it, therefore hath Nature lo- ricated or plaifter'd over the fides of the fore- mention'd Hole with Ear-wax, to flop and en- tangle any Infects that ihould attempt to creep in there. But I muft confefs my felf not fuffi- ciently to underftand the nature of Sounds, to give a full and fatisfaftory Account of the Stru- dxire and Ufes of all the Parts of the Ear^ they who have a mind to fearch into the curious Ana- tomy and Ufe of this Part, may confult Mon- fieur du Verney. Fourthly, The next Part I fhall take notice of fhall be the 'Teethy concerning which I find feven Obfervations in the honourable Mr. Boyle's Trea- tife of filial Caufes, which I fhall briefly recapitu- late, and add one or two more. I. That the Teeth alone, among the Bones, continue to grow in length during a Man's whole Life, as appears by the unfightly Length of one Tooth, when its Oppofite happens to fall or be puU'd out, which was mofl providently defign'd to repair the Wafte that is daily made of them by Part 11. in the Ck EAT I on. 265 by the frequent Attrition in Maftication. Here, by the by, I inight advife Men to be careful how they attempt to cure this Blemifh, by filing or cutting off the head of fuch an overgrown Tooth, left that befal them which happen'd to a certain Nun in Padua, who upon cutting off a Tooth in that manner, was prefen^y convulfed, and fell into an Epilepfy, as Bartholine in his Anatomy reports. II. That that Part of the Teeth which is ex- tant above the Gums is naked, and not inverted with that fenfible Membrane call'd Periojieuniy wherewith the other Bones are covered. III. That the Teeth are of a clofer and harder Subftance than the reft of the Bones, for the more eafy breaking and comminution of the more folid Aliments, and that they might be more durable, and not fo foon worn down by grinding the Food. IV. That for the nourifhing and cherifliing thefe fo neceffary Bones, the all-wife Author of Things has admirably contrived an unfeen Cavity in each fide of the Jaw-bone, in* which greater Channel are lodg'd an Artery, a Vein, and a Nerve, which thro' leffer Cavities, as it were thro* Gut- ters,, fend their Twigs to each particular Tooth. V. Eecaufe 266 T^he Wisdom of GOD Part 11. V. Becaufe Infants were for a confiderabic Time to feed upon Milk, which needs no chew- ing, and left Teeth {hould hurt the tender Nip- ples of the Nurfe, Nature hath dcferr'd the Pro- ducSion of them for many Months in a human Fcetus'y whereas thofe^of divers other Animals, which are reduc'd to feek betimes Food that needs Maftication, are born with them. VI. The different Figure and Shape of the Teeth is remarkable. That the fore Teeth {hould be form'd broad, and with a thin and (harp Edge, like Chiffels, to cut off and take away a Morfel from any folid Food, call'd there- fore Incijores, The next, one on each fide, ftrong- er, and deeper rooted, and more pointed, call'd therefore Camm^ in Englijh^ Eye-Teeth, to tear the more tough and refifting fort of Aliments. The reft, call'd Jaw-teeth, or Grinders, in Latin^ Molares^ are made flat and broad a-top, and withal fomewhat uneven and rugged, that by their Knobs and little Cavities they may the better re- tain, grind, and commix the Aliments. VII. Becaufe the Operations to be performed by the Teeth oftentimes require a confiderable Firmnefs and Strength, partly in the Teeth them- felves, partly in the Inftruments which move the lower Jaw, which alone is moveable, Nature hath provided this with ftrong Mufcles, to make it bear forcibly againft the upper Jaw 5 and thus not Part II. 7/2/^^ Creation. 267 not only plac'd each Tooth in a diflinft Cavity of the Jaw-bone, as it were in a clofe, ftrong, and deep Socket, but has furnifli'd the feveral Sorts of Teeth with Holdfafts fuitable to the Strefs, that by reafon of their different Offices they are to be put to , and therefore, whereas the Cutters and Eye-teeth have ufually but one Root (which in thefe laft nam'd is wont to be very lojig) the Grinders, that are employed to crack Nuts, Stones of Fruit, Bones, or other hard Bo- dies, are furniih'd with three Roots, and in the upper Jaw often with four, becaufe thefe are pendulous, and the Subftance of the.Jaw fome* what fofter. VIII. The Situation of the Teeth is moft con- venient, viz, the Molar es or Grinders behind, neareft the Center of Motion, becaufe there is a greater Strength or Force required to chew the Meat than to bite a piece -, and the Cutters before, that they may be ready to cut off a Morfel from any folid Food, to be tranfmitted to the Grin-- ders, ' IX. It is remarkable that the Jaw in Men, and fuch Animals as are furnifh'd with Grinders, hath an oblique and tranfverfe Motion, which is neceffary for chewing and comminution of the Meat, which it is obferv'd not to have in thofe Ani/nals that want the Molares. ISiov/ 268 Tie Wisdom of G OD Part 11^ Now if (as Galen faith) he that fhall marfhal a Company but of Thirty-two Men in due Or- der, is commended for a fkilful and induftrious Perfon, fliall we not admire Nature, which hath fo fkilfuUy rank'd and difpos'd this Quire of our Teeth ? Fifthly^ The Tongue is no lefs admirable for the Contexture and manifold Ufes of it. Firjiy It is the Organ of Tailing ; for being of a fpon- gy Subftance, the fmall Particles of our Meat and Drink being mingled with the Saliva^ eafily infinuate themfelves into the Pores of it, and fo do either gratefully affeft it, or harflily grate up- on it, accordingly as they are figured and mov'd ; and hereby we difcern what is convenient or in- convenient for our Nourifhment. It helps us likewife in the chewing and fwallowing of our Meat. And lajilyy it is the main Inftrument of Speaking, a Quality fo peculiar to Man, that no Beaft could ever attain to it. And altho' Birds have been taught to form fome Words, yet they have been but a few, and thofe learn'd with great difficulty ; but what is the chief, the Birds underftand not the meaning of them, nor ufe them as Signs of Things, or their own Concep- tions of them, tho' they may ufe them as Expref- iions of their Paffions; as Parrots having been ufed to be fed at the Prolation of certain Words, may afterwards, when they are hungry, pro- nounce the fame. For this Des Cartes makes his main Part II. in /^^ C r e a t i o n. 269 main Argument to prove that Brutes have no Cogitation, becaufe the highefh of them could never be brought to lignify thqir Thoughts or Conceptions by any artificial Signs, either Words or Geflures (which, if they had any, they v^ould in all likelihood be forward enough to do;) whereas all Men, both Fools and Mutes, make ufe of Words or other Signs to exprefs their Thoughts about any Subjects that prefent them- felves, which Signs alfo have no reference to any of their Pailionsj whereas the Signs that brute Animals may be taught to ufe, are no other than fuch as are the Motions of fome of their Paffions, Fear, Hope, Joy, Gfc. Hence fome of die jVw- ijld Rabbins did not fo abfurdly define a Man * Animal loqiiens^ 2l fpeaking nn!2^n * Creature. Having had occafion juit now to mention the Saliva^ or Spittle, I am put in mind of the eminent Ufe of this Humour, which is commonly taken for an Excrement. Becaufe a great Part of our Food is dry, there- fore Nature hath provided feveral Glandules to fepar^te this Juice from the Blood, and no lefs than four Pair of Channels to convey it into the Mouth, which are of late- Invention, and call'd by Anatomifts Du6ius Salivales^ thro' which the Saliva diftilling continually, ferves well to ma- cerate and temper our Meat, and make it fit to be chewed and fwallow'd. If a copious Moifture did not .by thefe Conduit-Pipes inceffantly flow . down into the Mouths of Horjes and Kine, how were it poilible they fliould for a long time to- I gether 270 ne Wisdom of GOD Part II. gether grind and fwallow fuch dry Meat as Hay and Straw? Moreover, it is ufeful not only in the Mouth, but in the Stomach too, to promote Concodiion, as we have already noted. Sixthly y To the Mouth fucceeds the Windpipe^ no lefs wonderful in its Conformation ; for be- caufe continual Refpiration is neceflary for the Support of our Lives, it is made with annulary Cartilages, to keep it conftantly open, and that the fides of it may not flag and fall together ; and left, when we fwallow, our Meat or Drink ihould fall in there and obftruft it, it hath a ftrong Shut or Valve, call'd Epiglottis^ to cover it clofe and ftop it when we fwallow: For the more convenient bending of our Necks, it is not made of one entire continued Cartilage, but of many annular ones, join'd together by ftrong Membranes, which Membranes are mufcular, compounded of ftraight and circular Fibres, for the more effedlual Contradion of the Windpipe in any ftrong or violent Expiration or coughing; and left the Afperity or Hardnefs of their Carti- lages ftiould hurt the Oejophagus or Gullet, which is tender, and of a fkinny Subftance, or hinder the fwallowing of our Meat, therefore thefe an- nulary Griftles are not made round, or entire Circles ; but where the Gullet touches the Wind- pipe, there to fill up the Circle, is only a foft Membrane, which may eafily give way to the Dilation of the Gullet ; and to demonftrate chat this was defignedly done for this End and Ufe, fo Part 11. m t/je C^EA^io]^. 271 fo foon as the Windpipe enters the Lungs, its Cartilages are no longer deficient, but perfect Circles or Rings, becaufe there was no necefiity they fhould be lb, but it was more convenient they {hould be entire. Lajily^ For the various Modulation of the Voice, the upper end of the Windpipe is endu*d with feveral Cartilages and Mufcles, to contrad: or dilate it, as we would haye our Voice flat or fharp ; and moreover, the whole is continually moiften'd with a glutinous Humour, iffuing out of the fmall Glandules that are upon its inner Coat, to fence it againfl the (harp Air received in, or Breath forc'd out ; yet is it of quick and tender Senfe, that it may be eafily provoked to caft out by coughing whatever may fall into it from without, or be difcharg'd into it from within. It is alfo very remarkable which Cafpar Bar^- tholine hath obferv'd in the Gullet, that where it perforateth the Midriff, the carneous Fibres of that mufcular Part are infled:ed and arcuate, as it were a Spinier embracing and clofing it fafl:^ by a great Providence of Nature, left in the per- petual motion of the faid Midriff the upper Ori- fice of the Stomach fhould gape, and caft out the Viduals as faft as it receiv'd it. Seventhly, The Heart , which hath been alvvays efteem'd, and really is one of tlie principal Parts of the Body, the primum vivem, & ultimum mo- riens^ the firft Part that quickens, and the laft I that 272 7^/^^ Wisdom of GOD Part II. that dies, by its inceflant Motion diftribut;ing the Blood, the Vehicle of Life, and with it the vital Heat and Spirits, throughout the whole Body, whereby it doth continually irrigate, nouriih, and keep hot, and fupple all the Members. Is it not admirable that from this Fountain of Life and Heat there fhould be Channels and Conduit-pipes to every, even the leaft and m.oft remote Part of the Body ? Juft as if from one Water-houfe there fhould be Pipes conveying the Water to every Houfe in a Town, and to every Room in each Houfe ; or from one Fountain in a Garden there ihould be little Channels or Dikes cut to every Bed, and every Plant growing therein, as we have feen more than once done beyond the Seas. I confefs the Heart feems not to be defign'd to fo noble an Ufe as is generally believ'd, that is, to be the Fountain or Confervatory of the vi- tal Flame, and to infpire the Blood therewith (for the Lungs ferve rather for the Accenfion, or maintaining that Flame, the Blood receiving there from the Air thofe Particles which are one Part of the Pabuhimy or Fuel thereof, and fo impreg- nated, running back to the Heart) but to ferve as a Machine to receive the Blood from the Veins, and to force it out by the Arteries thro* the whole Body, as a Syringe doth any Liquor, though not by the fame Artifice ; and yet this is no ignoble Ufe, the continuance of the Circu- lation of the Blood being indifpenfably neceffary for, the quickning and enlivening of all the Mem- bers of the Body, and fupplying of Matter to the Brain, for the Preparation of the animal Spi- rit^. Part II. in /y6^ Great ion. 273 rits, the Inftrumenrs of all Senfe and Motion. Now for this Ufe of receiving and pumping out of the Blood, the Heart is admirably contrived. For, Firfl^ being a mufcular Part, the Sides of it are composed of two Orders of Fibres, running circularly or fpirally from Bafe to Tip, contra- rily one to the other, and fo being drawn or con- trad:ed contrary ways, do violently conftringe ai^ ftraiten the Ventricles, and ftrongly force out the Blood, as we have formerly intimated ; then the Veffels vi^e call Arteries^ which carry from the Pleart to the feveral Parts, have Valves, v^hich open outwards, like Trap-doors, and give the Blood a free Paffage out of the Heart, but will not fufFer it to return back again thither; and tlie Veins^ which bring it back from the feveral Members to the Heart, have Valves or Trap-doors, which open inwards, fo as to give way unto the Blood to run into the Heart, but prevent it from running back again that way ; befides, the Arteries confift of a quadruple Coar, the third of which is made up of annular or or- bicular carneous Fibres to a good thicknefs, and is of a mufcular nature, after every Pulfe of the Heart, ferving to contrad the Veffel fucceflively with incredible Celerity, fo by a kind of periftal- tick Motion impelling the Blood onwards to the capillary Extremities and thro' the Mufcles with great Force and Swiftnefs 3 fo the Pulfe of -the Arte/ies is not only caus'd by the Pulfation of the Heart driving the Blood thro* them in manner T of 274- T'^^ Wisdom of GOD Part IL of a Wave or Flufh, as Des Cartes and others would have it, but by the Coats of the Arteries themfelves, which the Experiments * Cartes Ep. of a Certain * Lovai?i Phyfician (the df Sep. ^' ^'^' fi^'f*^ whereof is Galen i) do, in my Opinion, make good againft him. *' Firft, faith he, if you flit the Artery, and " thruft into it a Pipe, fo big as to fill the Cavi- " ty of it, and caft a ftrait Ligature upon that *' Part of the Artery containing the Pipe, and fo " bind it faft to the Pipe ; notwithflanding the " Blood hath free Paffage thro' the Pipe, yet " will not the Artery beat below the Ligature; ^' but do but take off the Ligature, it will com- " mence again to beat immediately." But be- caufe one might be ready to reply to this Expe- riment, that the reafon why v/hen bound it did not beat, was becaufe the Current of the Blood being ftraiten'd by the Pipe, when beneath the Pipe it came to have more liberty, was not fuffi- cient to ftretch the Coat of the Artery, and fo caufe a Pulfe, but when the Ligature was taken off it might flow between the inclos'd Tube and the Coat of the Artery ; therefore he adds ano- ther, which clearly evinces that this could not be the reafon, but that it is fomething flowing down the Coats of the Artery that caufes the Pulfe ; that is, if you fl:raiten the Artery never fo much, provided the Sides of it do not quite meet and ftop all Paffage of the Blood, the. Veffel will notwithfl:anding continue ftill to beat below or beyond the Coardation. So we fee fome Phyfl- ciaaS;> Part If. in tha Creation. 275 cians, both ancient (as Galen) and modern, were of opinion that the Pulfe of the Arteries was ow- ing to their Coats; tho' the firft that I know of who obferv'd the third Coat of an Artery to be a mufcular Body, composed of annular Fibres, was Dn Willis. This mention of the periftaltick Motion puts me in mind of an ocular Demon- ftration of it in the Gullet of Kine when they cbew the Cud, which I have often beheld with Pleafure ; for after they have fwallow'd one Morfel, if you look ftedfaftly upon their Throat you will foon fee another afcend, and run pretty fwiftly all along the Throat up to the Mouth, which it could not do, unlefs it were impell'd by the fucceffive Contradion or periftaltick Mo- tion of the Gullet continually following ; and it is remarkable that thefe ruminant Creatures have a Power by the Imperium of their Wills of dire- (fting this periftaltick Motion upwards or down- wards. I fhall add no more concerning the Heart, but that it and the Brain do mutuus operas tradere^ enable one another to work ; for, firfi^ the Brain cannot itfelf live unlefs it receive con- tinual Supplies of Blood from the He:irr, but lefs can it perform its Fundlions, of preparing and diftributing the animal Spirits, nor the Heart Pulfe, unlefs it receives Spirits or fomething elfe that defcends from the Brain by the Nerves \ for do but cut afunder the Nerves that go from the Brain to the Heart, the Motion thereof, in moft perfed: and hot Creatures, ceafeth immediately. Which Part began this Round is the Queftion. T 2 ^ I find 276 neWisDouof GOD PartlL I find in the Philofopbical T^ranfaBlom^ N<5 280. fome notable Obiervations of the famous Anato- mift ^x, William Cowper^ concerning the Artifice of Nature in regulating the Motion of the Blood in the Veins and Arteries, to aflTift and promote it in the one, and moderate it in the other, which I fhall give you in his own \Yords. " As the Arteries (faith he) are known to ex- port the Blood, fo the Veim to carry it back again to the Heart ; but having already defcri- bed their Extremities, we come now to the large Trunks of the Veins-, and here, as in the Arteries^ we find the common Pradlice of Na- ture, in difpofing the Branches of Veins to dif- charge the refluent Blood into the next adjacent Trunk, and fo on to the Heart. As the Arte- ries afford abundance of Inftances of Checks given to the Velocity of the Current of Blood thro* feveral Parts, fo the Veins fupply us with as many Artifices to afljft its regular Return to the Hearty as well as favour thofe Contrivan- ces in the Arteries, " The carotid, vertebral, and fplenick Arteries, are not only varioufly contorted, but alfo here and there dilated, to moderate the Motion of the Blood; fo the Veins that correfpond to thofe Arteries are alfo varioufly dilated. The Beginnings of the internal Jugular shawQ a bul- bous Cavity, which are diverticula to the re- fluent Blood in the Si?2us's of the Dura Mater, I . " left Part IL i7t the Creation. 277 " left it fhould defcend too faft into the ^ugu- " lars. The hke has been taken notice of by ** Dr. Lower in the vertebral Sijtuss. The fple- " nick Vein has divers Cells opening into it near " its Extremities in human Bodies, but in Qua- " drupeds the Cells open into the Trunks of the " fplenick Veins. " Thtjpermatick Veins do more than equal the " ^Length of the Arteries of the l^ejies m Men ; " their various Divifions, and feveral Inofcula- " tions, and their Valves, are admirably contri- " ved to fufpend the Weight of the Blood, in or- " der to difcharge it into the larger Trunks of " the Veins-, and were it not that the refluent " Blood from the Tejies is a Po?idus to the influ- " ent Blood from the Arteries, and ftill lellens " its Current in the Tejies, thefe fpermatick Veins, " like thofe of other Parts, might have difcharg'd " the Blood into the next adjacent Trunk. " Who can avoid Surprize at the Art of Na- " ture, in contriving the Veins that bring part of ** the refluent Blood from the lower Parts of the " Body, when they confider the neceflity of pla- " cing the human Heart, as well as that of moft " Quadrupeds, fo far from the Center of the " Body towards its upper Part; it is for chat " End neceflfary that the large Trunks of the " Veins and Arteries {hould not afl!bciate each " other; for if all the Blood fent to the lower " Parts by the defcending Trunk of the Aorta^ " fhould return to the Heart again by one fingle " Trunk (as it is fent out from thence) the- T 3 " Weight 278 ne Wisdom of GOD Part 11. Weight of fo much Blood in the afcending Trunk of the Fena Cava would oppofe all the Force the Heart could give it from the Arte- ries, and hinder its Afcent ; for this reafon the Vena Azygos ox fine Pari is contriv'd to convey the Blood fent to the Mufcles of the Back and T'horax into the defcending Trunk of the Vena Cava above the Heart 5 hence it is evident that more Blood comes into the Heart by the de- fcending or upper Trunk of the Vena Cavay than paffes out by the afcending Trunk of the Aorta ; nor does the Quantity of Blood con- veyed to the Heart by the fuperior Trunk of the Vena Cava, feem, without fome other De- fign in Nature befides tranfporring it thither, to free the inferior Trunk from its Weight ; but perhaps it was neceffary fo much Blood fhould be ready there to join with the Chyle, for its better Mixture, before it reaches the right Auricle of the Heart." So far Mr. Cowper. Eighthly, The next Part I fball treat of fhall be the Hand, this opyzvov opyximy or fuperlative Inftrument, which ferves us for fuch a multitude of Ufes, as it is not eafy to enumerate j whereto, if we confider the Make and Structure of it, we fhall find it wonderfully adapted. Firf, It is divided into four Fingers bending forward, and one oppofite to them bending backwards, and of greater Strength than any of them fingly, which ^'e call the Thumb, to join with them feverally or Part II. //^ /^^ Creation. 279 or united, whereby it is fitted to lay hold of Ob- jeds of any Size or Quantity -, the lead things, as any fmall fingle Seed, are taken up by the Thumb and fore Finger, thofe a Httie greater by the Thumb and two Fingers, which alfo we chiefly employ to manage the Needle in fewing and the Pen in writing; when we would take up a greater Quantity of any thing, we make ufe of the Thumb and all the Fingers; fometimes we ufe one Finger only, as in pointing at any thing, picking things out of Holes or long and narrow VefTeb; fometimes all feverally at one time, as in flopping the Strings when we play upon any mufical Inilruments. Secondly^ The Fingers are ftrengthen'd with feveral Bones, jointed together for Motion, and furnifli'd with feveral Mufcles and Tendons, like fo many PuUics, to bend them circularly forwards, which is moft convenient for the firm holding and griping of any Objed:^ which of how great, conftant and ncceflary Ufe it is in pulling or drawing, but efpecially in ta- king up and retaining any fort of Tool or Inftru- ment to work withal in Hufbandry and all me- chanick Arts, is fo obvious to every Man's Ob- fervation, that I need not fpend Time to inftance in Particulars ; m.oreover, the feveral Fingers are furnifli'd with feveral Mufcles, to extend and open the Hand, and to move to the Right and Left ; and fo this divifion and motion of the Fin- gers dQth not hinder but that the whole Hand may be employed as if it were all of a piece, as we fee it is, either expanded, as in flriking out, T 4 fmooth- 28o He Wisdom of GOD Part II. fmoothing and folding up of Clothes, and fome mechanick Ufes ; or contraded, as in fighting, kneading of Dough, and the like ; it is alfo nota- ble, and indeed wonderful, that the Tendons bending the middle Joint of the Fingers fliould be perforated, to give Paflage to the Tendons of the Mufcles which draw the uppermoft Joints, and all bound down clofe to the Bone with ftrong Fillets, left they ihould ftart up and hin- der the Hand in its Work, ftanding like fo many Bow-ftrings. Thirdly^ The Fingers-ends are ftrengthen'd with Nails, as we fortify the ends of our Staves and Forks with Iron Hoops or Fe- rules ; which Nails ferve not only for Defence, but for Ornament, and many Ufes. The Skin upon our Fingers-ends is thin, and of moft ex- quifite Senfe, to help us judge of any thing we handle. If now I fliould go about to reckon up the feveral Ufes of this Inftrument, Time would fooner fail me than Matter. By the help of this we do all our Works, we build ourfelves Houfes to dwell in , we make ourfelves Garments to wear, we plow and fow our Grounds with Corn, drefs and cultivate our Vineyards, Gardens and Orchards, gather and lay up our Grain and Fruits, we prepare and make ready our Victuals ; Spin- ning, Weaving, Fainting, Carving, Engraving, and that divinely invented Art of Writing, where- by we tranfmit our own Thoughts to Pofterity, and converfe with and participate the Obferva- tions and Inventions of them that are long ago dead, all perform'd by this -, this is the only In- ftrument Part II. in the Ck EAT I oi^. 281 ftrument for all Arts whatfoevcr, no Improve- ment to be made of any experimental Knowledge without it. Hence (as Arijiotle faith well) they do amifs that complain that Man is worfe dealt with by Nature than any other Creatures; where- as they have fome Hair, fome Shells, fome Wool, fome Feathers, fome Scales, to defend themfelves from the Injuries of the Weather, Man alone is bo;*n naked and without all Covering ; whereas they have natural Weapons to defend themfelves and offend their Enemies, fome Horns, fome Hoofs, fome Teeth, fome Talons, fome Claws, fome Spurs and Beaks ; Man hath none of all thefe, but is weak and feeble, and unarm'd fent into the World : why, a Hand, with Reafon to ufe it, fupplies the Ufes of all thefe, that's both a Horn and a Hoof, a Talon and a Tulk, &c. becaufe it enables us to ufe Weapons of thefe and other fafhions, as Swords, and Spears, and Guns; befides, this Advantage a Man hath of them, that whereas they cannot at pleafure change their Coverings, or lay afide their Weapons, or make ufe of others as Occafion ferves, but muft abide Winter and Summer, Night and Day with the fame Cloathing on their Backs, and fleep with their Weapons upon them -, a Man can alter his Cloathing according to the Exigency of the Weather, go warm in Winter and cool in Sum- mer, cover up himfelf hot in the Night, and. lay afide his Cloaths in the Day, and put on or off more or fewer, according as his Work and Ex- ercife is; and can, as Occafion requires, make Ufe 282 The Wisdom of GOD Part IL Ufe of divert Sorts of Weapons, and Choice of fuch at all Turns as are mofl proper and conve- nient; whereby we are enabled to fubdue and rule over all other Creatures, and ufe for our own Behoof thofe Qualities wherein they excel, as the Strength of the Ox, the Valour and Swift- nefs of the Horfe, the Sagacity and Vigilancy of the Dog, and fo make them as it were our own. Had we wanted this Member in our Bodies we muft have liv'd the Life of Brutes, without Houfe or Shelter, but what the Woods and Rocks would have afforded, without Cloaths or Covering, with- out Corn, or Wine, or Oil, or any other Drink but Water ; without the Warmth and Comfort, or other Ufes of Fire, and fo without any artifi- cial bak'd, boird, or roaft Meats; but muft have fcrambled with the wild Beafts for Crabs, and Nuts, and Acorns, and fuch other things as the Earth puts forth of her own accord ; we had laid open and exposed to Injuries, and had been un- able to refift or defend ourfelves againft almoft the weakeft Creature. The remaining Parts I fhall but briefly run over. That tht Back-Bone (hould be divided into fo many Vertebres for commodious bending, and not be one entire rigid Bone, which being of that Length would have been often in danger of fnap- ping in funder ; that it fhould be made tapering, in form of a Pillar, the lower Vertebres being the broadeft and largeft, and the fuperior in order lefler and leffer, for the greater Fkmnefs and Sta- bility Part 11. in /^^ C r e at i o n. 2 83 bility of the Trunk of the Body 5 that the feveral Vertebres (hould be fo elegantly and artificially compacted and join'd together, that they are as ftrong and firm as if they were but one Bone \ that they (hould be all perforated in the middle, with a large Hole for the fpinal Marrow or Pith to pafs along, and each Particular have a Hole on each fide to tranfmit the Nerves to the Mufcles of the Body, to convey both Senfe and Motion ; that by reafon of the fore-mention d clofe Con- nexion of the Vertebres, it fhould be fo form'd as not to admit any great Flexure or Recefs from a right Line any angular, but only a moderate cir- cular bending, left the fpinal Pith fhould be com- prefs'd, and fo the free Intercourfe or Paffage of the Spirits to and fro be ftopt. One Obfervation relating to the Motion of the Bones in their Articulations I fhall here add, that is, the Care that is taken and the Provifion that is made for the eafy and expediate motion of them, there being to that purpofe a twofold Li- quor .prepared, for the Inundion and Lubrifica- tion of their Heads or Ends. i. An oily one, furni{l:i'd by the Marrow. 2. A mucilaginous, fupply'd by certain Glandules feated in the Arti- culations, both which together make up the moft apt and proper Mixture for this Ufe and End that can be invented or thought upon 5 for not only both the Ingredients are of a lubricating na- ture, but there is this Advantage gain'd from their Compofiiion, that they do mutually improve one another \ 284 I'he Wisdom of GOD Part 11. another ; for the Mucilage adds to the Lubricity of the Oil, and the Oil preferves the Mucilage from Infpiffation, and contracting the Coniift- ency of a Gelly. Now this Inundlion is ufeful, indeed neceffary, for three Ends chiefly. 1. For the facilitating of Motion. For tho' the Ends of the Bones are very fmooth, yet were they dry they could not with that Readinefs and Eafe, nay, not without great Difficulty, yield to and obey the Plucks and Attraftions of the mo- tory Mufcles ; as we fee Clocks and Jacks, tho' the Screws and Teeth of the Wheels and Nuts be never fo fmooth and polilh'd, yet if they be not oil'd will hardly move, tho' you clog them with never fo much Weight ; but if you apply but a little Oil, they prefently whirl about very fwiftly with the tenth Part of the Force. 2. For preferving the Ends of the Bones from an Incalefcency, which they, being hard and fo- lid Bodies, would necelTarily contradt from a fwift and long continuing Motion 5 fuch as that of running, or mowing, or threfhing, orfawing, and the like, if they afe immediately touch'd and rubb'd againft one another with that Force they muft needs do, efpecially in running, the whole Weight of the Body bearing upon the Joints of the Thighs and Knees. So we fee in the Wheels of Waggons or Coaches, the Hollows of the Naves, by their fwift Rotations on the Ends of the Axle-trees, produce a Heat, fometimes fo in- tenfe Part II. //^ /y6^ Cr E ATioN. 285 tenfe as to fet them on fire ; to prevent which they (land in need to be frequently anointed or belmear'd with a Mixture of Greafe and Tar, imitating the fore-mention'd natural Compofi- tion of Oil and Mucilage. Nay, Bodies fofter a great deal than Metals contrad: a great Heat by Attrition, as is evident from thofe black cir- cular Lines we fee on Boxes, Diflics, and other turp'd Veflels of Wood, which are the EfFed:s of Ignition, caus'd by the Preffure of an edg'd Stick upon the Veffel turn'd nimbly in the Lathe. And if there had not been a Provifion in the Joints againft fuch a preternatural Incalefcence upon their violent motion, this would have made a flothful World, and confin'd us to leifurely and deliberate Movements, when there were the moft urgent and hafty Occafions to quicken us. 3. P'or the preventing of Attrition, and wear- ing down the ends of the Bones by their motion and rubbing one againft another, which is fo vio- lent and lafting fometimes, that it is a Wonder any Inundion fhould fuffice to fecure their Heads from wafting and confumption. I have often feen the Tops of the Teeth (which are of a hard- er Subftance than the reft of the Bones) worn off by Maftication, in Perfons who have loft moft of their Grinders, and been compell'd conftantly to make ufe of three or four only in chevvdng,-.fo low^ that at laft the inward Marrow arid Nerve lay bare, and they could no longer for Pain make ufe of them ; (o that bad there not been this Pro- vifion 286 neWisDOM of GOD Part IL vifion made for the anointing the Bones, the cu- rious Workmanfhip of Nature in adapting them fo exadly one to another, as was moft fit for the eafy Performance of all thofe Motions to which they were deftin d, would not fuffice for Ufe ; but the ftirring Part of Mankind would foon find themfelves fitter for an Hofpital than for Adion and the Purfuit of Bufinefs. Thefe Obfervations I acknowledge myfelf to * M r/ ^^^^ borrowed of a late ingenious Haz^ers, ^^^"^ * Writer of OJieokgy, who thus con- cludes his Difcourfe upon this Sub- jedl. And here we cannot avoid the Notice of the vijible Footjieps of an infinite Reafon^ which as they are deeply imprefsd upon the Univerje^ fo more efpe- cially on the fenfible Farts of it in thofe rational Contrivances which arefoimd in Animals: And we can never fufficiently admire the Wifdom and Fro* vidence of our great Creator^ who has given all Farts in thefe animated Bei?2gSy not only fuch a StruBure as renders them fit for their necejfary Motions and defignd FunBions^ but withal the Be- nefit and Advantage of whatever may preferve themy or facilitate their ABion. Moreover, the Artifice of Nature is wonderful in the Conflrudlion of the Bones that are to fup- port the Body, and to bear great Burdens, or to be employed in ftrong Exercifes, they being made hollow, for Lightnefs and StifFnefs. For we have before noted, a Body that is hollow may be demon- Part 11. /;/ /^^ Creation. 287 demonftrated to be more rigid and inflexible than a folid one of the fame Subilance and Weight ; fo that here is Provifion made for the Stiffnefs and Lightnefs of the Bones. But the Ribs, which are not to bear any great Weight, or to be ftrong- ly exercis'd, but only to fence the Breaft, have no Cavity in them, and towards the fore part or Breaft are broad and thin, that fo they might bend and give way without danger of Frailure ; when bent returning by their elaftick Property to their Figure again. Yet is not the Hollow of the Bones altogether ufelefs, but ferves to contain the Marrow, which fupplies an Oil for the main- taining and inundion of the Bones and Liga- ments, and fo facilitating their Motion in the Articulations ; and particularly (which we men- tioned not before) of the Ligaments, preferving them from Drynefs and Rigidity, and keeping them fupple and flexible, and ready to comply with all the Motions and Poftures of that move- able Part to which they appertain ; and laftly, to fecure them from Difruption, which, as ftrong as they are, they would be in fome danger of, up- on a great and fudden Stretch and Contortion, if they were dry, Gfc. See more to this Purpofe in the Treatife fore quoted, ^.183. That whereas the Breaft is encompafs'd with Ribs, the Belly is left free, that it might give way to the motion of the Midriff in Refpiration, and to the neceffary Reception of Meat and Drink, I ^ as 288 r^^ Wisdom of GOD Part II. as alfo for the convenient bending of the Body ; and in Females for that extraordinary Extenfion that is requifite in the time of their Pregnancy. That the Lungs (hould be made up of fuch innumerable Air-pipes and Veficles, interwoven with Blood- Veffels, in order to purify, ferment, or fupply the fanguineous Mafs w^ith Nitro-aerial Particles, which rufli in by their elaftick Power upon the mufcular Extenfion of the Thorax, and fo feed the vital Flame and Spirits ; for upon ob- flru6ling this Communication all is prefently ex- tind, no Circulation, no Motion, no Heat, nor any Sign of Life remains. That the Stomach fhould be membranous, and capable of Dilatation and Contraction, according to the Quantity of Meat contained in it ; that it fhould be fituate under the Liver, which by its Heat might cherifli it, and contribute to Con- cod:ion; that it (hould be endu'd with an acid or glandulous Ferment, or fome corruptive Qua- lity, for fo fpeedy a DifTolution of the Meat and Preparation of Chyle ; that after Concoilion it fhould have an Ability of contradting itfelf, and turning out the Meat. That the Guts fhould immediately receive it from the PhyloruSy farther elaborate, pre- pare Part II. in 2f>5^ C r e a t i o n. 289 pare and feparate it, driving by their periftaltick Motion the Chyle into the Ladteals, and the ex- crementitious Parts to the Podex, from whence there is no Regrefs, unlefs when the Valve of the . Colon is torn and relax'd. But for the curious Strudure of thefe Parts fee more in Kerkringiusy Glijfony Willis^ and Preyer, ^That the Bladder {hould be made of a mem- branous Subftance, and fo extremely dilatable, for receiving and containing the Urine till oppor- tunity of emptying it j that it fliould have Shuts for the Ends of the Ureters, fo artificially con- triv'd as to give the Urine free entrance, but to flop all Paffage backward, fo that they will not tranfmit the Wind, tho' it be ftrongly blown and forc'd in. That the Liver fliould continually feparate the Choler from the Blood, and empty it into the Inteftines, where there is good Ufe for it, not only to provoke Dejedion, but alfo to attenuate the Chyle, and render it fo fubtile and fluid as to enter in at the Orifices of the ladeous Veins. That in the Kidneys there fliould be fuch innu- merable little Siphons or Tubes, conveying the urinous Particles to the Pelves and Ureters, firft difcover'd by Belli??!, and illuftrated by Malpighi-, that indeed all the Glands of the Body fliould be Congeries of various Sorts of Veflels cur'd, cir- cumgyrated and complicated together, whereby they. give the Blood time to flop and feparate U . thro', 290 77je Wisdom of GOD Part 11. thro* the Pores of the capillary Veffels into the fecretory ones, which afterwards all exonerate themfelves into one common DuBus ; as may be feen in the Works of Dr. Whaf^touy Graaf^ Bar- tholiney Rudback^ Bilfius^ Malpighi^ Nuck^ and others. That the Glands fhoiild feparate fuch Variety of Humours, all different in Colour, Tafte, Smell, and other Qualities. Finally, That all the Bones, and all the Muf- cles, and all the Veffels of the Body, {hould be fo admirably contrived, and adapted, and compact- ed together for their feveral Motions and Ufes, and- that moft geometrically^ according to the ftrifteft Rules of Mecba?2icks -, that if in the whole Body you change the Figure, Situation and Con- junftion but of one Part, if you diminifh or in- creafe the Bulk and Magnitude ; in fine, if you endeavour any Innovation or Alteration, you marr and fpoil inftead of mending ; how can all thefe things put together but beget Wonder and Afto- nifhment ? In the Mufcles alone there feems to be more Geometry than in all the artificial Engines in the World J and therefore the different Motions of Animals are a Subjed fit only for the great Ma- thematicians to handle, amongft whom Sleno, Dr. Croo?2, and above all, Alphofifo Borelli, have made their Effays towards it. That under one Skin there fhould be fuch in- finite Variety of Parts, varioufly mingled, hard with foft, fluid with fix'd, folid with hollow, thofe in Reft with thofe with Motion ; fome I with Part II. in the Creation, 29I with Cavities, as Morteffes to receive, others w^ith Tenons to fit thofe Cavities, all thefe fo packed and thruft fo clofe together, that there is no un- ncceflary Vacuity in the whole Body, and yet fo far from clafliing or interfering one with another, or hindring each others Motions, that they do all friendly confpire, all help and aflift mutually one the other, all concur in one general End and De- lign, the Good and Prefervation of the whole, are certainly Arguments and Effefts of infinite Wif- dom and Council ; fo that he muft need^ be worfe than mad that can find in his Heart to imagine all thefe to be cafual and fortuitous, or not pro- vided and defign'd by a moft wife and intelligent Caufe. Every Part is cloath*d, join'd together and cor- roborated by Membranes, which upon feveral Occafions (as Extravafations of Humours, Com- preflions or Obftrudions of Veffels) are capable of a prodigious Extenfion, as we fee in the Hy- datides of the Female Tefticles or Ovaries, in hy- dropical Tumors of the LyrnphceduEis^ of the Scro^ turn -or Peritonceum^ out of the laft of which a- lone twenty, and even forty Gallons of Water have been drawn by a Pm-acentefis, or Tapping ; for which we have the undoubted Authority of ^idpiiis^ Meekren^ Pechlin^ Blaftus ^ and other medical Writers. What vaft Sacks and Bags are necefl^ary to contain fuch a CoUedion of Water, which feems to ifTue from i\\cLy77tph^duffs^ either delacerated or obftrudled, and exonerating them- felves into the Foldings, or between the Dupli- catures of the Membranes ? U 2 ^ Thofe 292 T^he Wisdom of GOD Part IL Thofe Parts which one would think were of little Ufe in the Body, ferving chiefly to fill up empty Spaces, as the Fat^ if examined ftridly, will be found very beneficial and ferviceable to it. I. To cherifh and keep it warm, by hindring the Evaporation of the hot Steams of Blood; as Cloaths keep us warm in Winter, by refleding and doubling the Heat. 2. To nourifli and main- tain the Body for fome time when Food is want- ing, ferving as Fuel to preferve and continue the natural Heat of Blood, which requires an oily or iulphurous Pabulum as well as Fire. Hence upon long Abftinence and fafting the Body grows lean. Hence alfo fome Beafts, as the Marmotto^ or Mus AlpinuSy a Creature as big or bigger than a Rabbet y which abfconds all Winter, doth (as Hildanus tells us) live upon its own Fat -, for in the Autumn^ when it fhuts itfelf up in its Hole (which it digs with its Feet like a Rabbet, making a Neft with Hay or Straw to lodge itfelf warm) it is very fat; [Hildanus took out above a Pound and a half of Fat between the Skin and Mufcles, and a Pound out of the Abdome}i\ but on the contrary, in the Spring-time, when it comes forth again, very lean, as the Hunters experience in thofe they then take. 3. The internal Fat ferves for the Defence and Security of the Veffels, that they might lie foft, and be fafely convey'd in their Paffage, wherefore it is efpecially gathered about them. By what Pores, or Pafiages, or Veffels, the Fat is feparated from the Blood when it is redundant, I and Part 11. in t&e Cre AT loi^. 293 and again abforb'd into it when it is deficient, ia a Matter of curious Enquiry, and worthy to be induftrioufly fought out by the moft fagacious and dextrous Anatomifts. The Veffels whereinto it is received, and wherein contain'd, are by the Microfcope detedted to be Bladders, and thofe doubtlefs perforated and pervious one into ano- ther ; and tho' for their exceffive Subtilty and TJiinnefs they appear not in a lean Body, yet feerji to have been primitively formed and provi- ded by Nature to receive the Fat upon occalion. Why the Fat is collecfled chiefly about fome par- ticular Parts and Veifels, and not others; as for Example, the Reins and the Caul, I ealily con- fent with Galen and others the Reafon to be, the cherifhing and keeping warm of thofe Parts upon which fuch Veffels are fpread -, fo the Caul ferves for the warming the lower Belly, like an Apron or piece of woollen Cloth. Hence a certain Gla- diator, whofe Caul Galen cut out, was fo liable to fuffer from the Cold, that he was conftrain'd to keep his Belly conftantly cover'd with Wool ; for the Inteftines containing a great deal of Food, there to undergo its laft Concoftion, and no Vef- fels of Blood penetrating it and flowing thro' it to keep it warm, they had need be defended from the Injuries of the external Air by outward Co- verings. Why there fhould be fuch copious Fat gathered about the Reins to inclofe them, i§ not fo-eafy to difcern, but furely there is a great and conftant Heat requir'd there, for the Separatiori pf the Urine from the Blood, the conftant Sepa- U 3 ration 294 77)eWisr>ou of GOD Part IL ration and Excretion whereof is neceffary for the Prefervation of Life ; and we fee if the Blood be in any degree chill'd, the Secretion of Urine is in a great meafure ftopt, and the Serum caft upon the Glandules of the Mouth and Throat; and if the Blood be extraordinarily heated by Exercife, or otherwife, it calls off its Serum plentifully by Sweat, which may be effefted by the fwift mo- tion of the Blood thro' the Glandules of the Skin, where its plentiful Streams being ftrengthen'd and conftipated into a Liquor, force their way thro' thofe Emundtories, which at other times tranfmit only infenfible Vapours. Some fuch Effeds may be wrought upon the Blood by the Heat of the Kidneys. Certain it is that the Hu- mours excern'd by Sweat and Urine are near a-kin, if not the fame 5 and therefore it is wonthy the Confideration, whether there might not be fome Ufe made of fweating in a Suppreffion of Urine. But I digrefs too far. I {hall only add to this Particular, that becaufe the Defign of Nature in coUedting Fat in th^fe places is for the fore-mention d Ufe, it hath lor the effeding thereof fitted the Veffels there with Pores or Paflfages proper for the Separation and Tranfmiffion of it. I (hould now proceed to treat of the Genera- tion and Formation of the Foetus in the Wpmb> but that is a Subjed too difficult for me to han- dle, the Body ot Man and other Animals being formed Part jr. Z;^ />5^ Creation. 295 form'd in the dark Recefles of the Matrix^ or, as the Ffalmiji phrafes it, PfaL cxxxix. 14. made in Jecret^ and curioujly wrought in the loivejl Parts of the Earth. This Work is fo admirable and un- accountable, that neither the Atheifts nor me- chanical Philofopher.s have attempted to declare the Manner and Procefs of it, but have (as I no- ted before) very cautioufly and prudently broke off their Syftems of natural Philofophy here, and left this Point untouch'd j and thofe Accounts which fome of them have attempted to give of the Formation of a few of the Parts, are fo ex- ceffively abfurd and ridiculous, that they need no other Confutation than ha^ ha^ he. And I have already farther (hewn, that to me it feems im- poffible that Matter divided into as minute and fubtle Parts as you will or can imagine, and thofe mov'd according to what Catholick Laws foever can be devis'd, fhould without the Prelidency and Diredion of fome intelligent Agent, by the mere Agitation of a gentle Heat, run itfelf into fuch a curious Machine as the Body of Man is. Yet muft it be confefs'd that the Seed of Ani- mals is admirably qualify'd to be failiion'd and form'd by the Plajiick Nature into an organical Body, containing the Principles or component Particles of all the leveral homogeneous Parts thereof; for indeed every Part of the Body feems ta club and contribute to the Seed, elfe why {hould Parents that are born blind or deaf, or that want a Finger or any other Part, or have one fu- ll 4 periiuous. 296 "The Wisdom of GOD Part 11. perfluous, fometimes generate Children that have the fame Defers or Imperfedions 5 and yet (which is wonderful) nothing of the Body or groffer Matter of the Seed comes near the firft Principle of the Fcetia^ or in fome fo much as enters the Womb, but only. fome contagious Va- pour or fubtle RJiuviiims thereof, which feems to animate the Gemina or Cicatricula of the Egg contain d in the Female Ovary before it paffes thro' the T^iihe^ or Cornua into the Uterus. How far the Animalcules obferv'd in the Seed of Males may contribute to Generation, I leave to the more fagacious Philofophers to enquire, and (hall here content myfelf with referring the Reader to the feveral Letters publifli'd by Mr. Lewenhoek, But to what (hall we attribute th^Fatus its Likenefs to the Parents, or omitting them, to the precedent Progenitors; as I have obferv'd, fome Parents that have been both black hair'd, to have generated moft red hair'd Children ; be- caufe their Anceftors Hair hath been of that Co- lour ? Or why are Twins fo often extremely a- iike ? Whether this is owing to the Efficient, or to the Matter ? Thofe Effluvia we fpake of in the Male Seed, as fubtile as they are, yet have they a great, if not the greateft Stroke in Generation, as is clearly demonftrable in a Mule, which doth more re- femble the Male Parent, that is, the Afs, than the Fernale, or Horfe. But now, why fuch diffe- rent Part II. in the Cku AT ION. 297 rent Species fliould not only mingle together, but alfo generate an Animal, and yet that that hybri- dous Produdion (hould not again generate, and fo a new Race be carry 'd on, but Nature fhouid flop here, and proceed no farther, is to me a Myftery, and unaccountable. One thing relating to Generation I cannot omjt j that is, the Conftrudion of a Sett of tem- porary Parts (like Scaffolds in a Building) to ferve a prefent End, which are afterwards laid afide^ afford a ftrong Argument of Council and Defign. Now for the Ufe of the Young during its Inclo-r fure in the Womb there are feveral Parts form'd, as the Membranes inveloping it, call'd the Secun- dineSy the umbilical Veffels, one Vein, and two Arteries; the Uracbus^ to convey the Urine out of the Bladder, and the Placenta Uterina-, part whereof fall away at the Birth, as the Secundines and Placenta ; others degenerate into Ligaments, as the UrachuSy and part of the umbilical Vein ; befides which, becaufe the F^tus during its abode in the 'Womb hath no Ufe of Refpiration by the Lungs, the Blood doth not all, I may fay, not the greateft part of it, flow thro' them, but there are two Paffages or Channels contrived, one call'd the Foramen Ovale^ by which part of the Blood brought by the Vena Cava paffeth immediately into the Left Ventricle of the Heart, withput entrjng the Right at all; the other is a large ar- terial Channel paffnig from the pulmonary Arte- ry immediately into the Aortay or great Artery, which 298 7^^ Wisdom of GOD Part 11. which likewife derives part of the Blood thither, without running at all into the Lungs; thefe two are clos'd up foon after the Child is born, when it breathes no more (as I may fo fay) by the Placenta Vterina, but Refpiration by the Lungs is needful for it. It is here to be noted, that tho* the Lungs be form'd fo foon as the other Parts, yet during the abode of the F^stus in the Womb they lie by as ufelefs. In like manner I have ob- ferv'd, that in ruminating Creatures the three foremoft Stomachs, not only during the conti- nuance of the Young in the Womb, but fo long as it is fed with Milk, are unemployed and ufelefs, the Milk pafling immediately into the fourth. Another Obfervation I ftiali add concerning Generation, which is of fome moment, becaufe it takes away fome Conceffions of Naturalifts that give countenance to the Atheifts fiditious and ri- diculous Account of the firft Produftion of Man- kind and other Animals, viz. That all Sorts of Infeds, yea, and fome Quadrupeds too, as Frogs and Mice, are produc'd fpontaneoufly. My Ob- fervation and Affirmation is, that there is no fuch thing in nature as aequivocal or fpontaneous Ge- neration, but that all Animals, as well fmall as great, not excluding the vileft and moid contemp- tible Infed:, are generated by animal Parents of the fame Species with themfelves; that noble Italian Virtuofo Francijco Redi haying experi- mented, that no putrify'd Fleih (which one would think were the moil likely of any thing) will Part 11. in /^^^ C r e at i o n. 299 will of itfelf, if all Infeds be carefully kept from it, produce any. The fame Experiment I remem- ber Dr. WilkinSy late Bifhop of Chejier, told me had been made by fome of the Royal Society. No Inftance againft this Opinion doth fo much puz- zle me as Worms bred in the Inteftines of Man and other Animals. But feeing the round Worms do manifeftly generate, and probably the other Kin;is too, it is likely they come originally from Seed, which, how it was brought into the Guts, may afterwards poffibly be difcover'd. Moreover, I am inclinable to believe that all Plants too, that themfelves produce Seed (which are all but fome very imperfed: ones, which fcarce deferve the Name of Plants) come of Seed themfelves. For the great Naturalift Malpighius^ to make Experiment whether Earth would of itfelf put forth Plants, took fome purpofely digged out of a deep place and put it into a Glafs Veffel, the top whereof he cover'd with Silk many times doubled, and ftrain'd over it, which would ad- mit the Water and Air to pafs thro', but exclude the leaft Seed that might be wafted by the Wind ; the Event was, that no Plant at all fprang up in it. Nor need we wonder how in a Ditch, Bank or Grafs-plat newly digged, or in the Fen-Banksv in the IJle of Ely, Muftard fhould abundantly fpring up^ where in the Memory of Man none hath been known to grow, for it might come of Seed, which had lain there more than a Man's •^Age, fome of the Antients mentioning fome Seeds that retain their Fecundity forty Years ; and I have 3©o 77>e Wisdom of GOD Part If. have found in a Paper received from a Friend, but whom I have forgotten, that Melon-Seeds after thirty Years are beft for raifing of Melons. As for the Muftard that fprung up in the IJJe of Ely^ tho' there had never been any in that Country, yet might it have been brought down in the Channels by the Floods, and fo being thrown up the Banks together with the Earth, might germinate and grow there. And indeed a fpontaneous Generation of Ani- mals and Plants, upon due Examination, will be found to be nothing lefs than a Creation of them; for after the Matter was made, and the Sea and dry Land feparated, how is the Creation of Plants and Animals defcrib'd, but by a commanding, that is, effeftually caufing the Waters and Earth to produce their feveral Kinds without any Seed ? Now Creation being the Work of Omnipotency, and incommunicable to any Creature, it muft be beyond the Power of Nature or natural Agents to produce Things after that manner. And as for God Almighty, he is faid to have refted from his Work of Creation after the feventh Day. But if there be any fpontaneous Generation, there was nothing done at the Creation but what is daily done y for the Earth and Water produced Animals then without Seed, and fo they do ftilL • Becaufe fome, I underftand, have been offend- ed at my confident Denial of all fpontaneous Ge* neration, accounting it too bold and groundlefs, Ifhall Part II. //^ />5^ C R E A T I o N. 301 I fliall a little enlarge upon it, and give my Rea- fons, in order to their Satisfadlion. Firjl^ Then, I fay, fuch a fpontaneous Gene- ration feems to me to be nothing lefs than a Crea- tion 5 for Creation being not only a Produdion of a thing out of nothing, but alfo out of indif- pos'd Matter, as may be clearly inferr'd from the Scripture, and is agreed by all Divines, this fpon- taneous Generation being fuch a Produdion, wherein doth it differ from Creation ? Or v^hat did God Almighty do at the firft Creation of Ani- mals and Plants more than what (if this be true) we fee every Day done ? To me, I muft confefs, it feems almoft demonftrable,that whatever Agent can introduce a Form into indifpos'd Matter, or difpofe the Matter in an Inftant, muft be fuperior to any natural one, not to fay omnipotent. Secondly, Thofe who have with the greateft Diligence and Application confider'd and fearch'd into this Matter, as thofe eminent Virtuofi, Mar-- cellus Malpighius, Fr and feus Redi , John Swam- merdam, Lewenhoek, and many others, are una- nimoufly of this Opinion, fave that Francifcus Redi would except fuch Infeds as are bred in Galls, and fome other Excrefcencies of Plants. Now their Authority weighs more with me than the general Vogue, or the concurrent Suffrages of a_ thoufand others, who never examin'd the ^thing fo carefully and circumfpedly as they have done. 302 T/)eWisDou of GOD Part 11. done, but run away with the Cry of the com- mon Herd of Philofophers Firft of all, Dr. Swammerdam^ who hath been, to the beft Purpofe of any Man I know of, bu- fy'd in fearching out and obferving the Nature of all Infecfts in general ; all in general I fay, for as to one particular Infedt, to wit, the Silk-Worm, I muft except Signior Malpighi -y and to one Genus of them, to wit. Spiders, Dr. Lifter, in his general Hiftory of Infefts, written in Low Dutch, and tranflated into Frejich, p. 47. hath thefe Words, Nous difons quit nej$fait dam toute la nature aucune generation par accident, &c. JVe affirm that there is not in all Nature any accidental \orJpontaneous\ Generation, but all come by Propa^ gation ; wherein Chance hath not the leajt Fart or Inter eft. And in p, 159. fpeaking of the Gene- ration of Infefts out of Plants, in Contradiction I fuppofe to Signior Redi, he faith. Nous croyons abjolument^ &c. We do abfolutely believe that it is not pojjible to prove by Experience that any Infedis are engendered out of Plants-, but on the contrary, we are very well informed and ajfur'd, that thefe little Animals are not fjut up in or inclosd there for any other reafon tha?i to draw thence their Nou- rifloment. It is true indeed, that by a certain, conftant, and immutable Order of Nature, we fee many Sorts of Infedts affix'd to particular Species of Plants and Fruits, to- which the refpe- ttive Kinds fallen themfelves as \t were by In- ftindt ; Part II. in the Cr^ ATioN. 303 ftincl ; but we are to know that they all come of the Seed of Animalcules of their own Kind, that were before laid there ; for thefe InfecSs do thruft their Seed or Eggs fo deep into the Plants, that they come to be afterwards as it were united wich them, and the Aperture or Orifice by which they entered quite clos'd up and obliterated, the Eggs being hatch'd and nourifh'd within. We have often found the Eggs of Infefts fo deeply funk into the tender Buds of Trees, that without hurting of them it was impoffible to draw them out. Many Inftances he produces in feveral Sorts of Infe(5ts making their way into Plants, which, tho' they be well worth the reading, are too long to tranfcribe. Secondly, That great and fagacious Naturalift, and moft accurate Examiner of thefe Things, Signior Malpighi, in his Trcatife of Galhy under which Name he comprehends all preternatural and morbofe Tumours and Excrefcencies of Plants, doth demonftrate in particular, that all fuch Warts, Tumours and Excrefcencies, where any Infers are found, are excited or rais'd up ei- ther by fome venenofe Liquor, which together with their Eggs fuch Infeds fhed upon the Leaves, or Buds, or Fruits of Plants, or boring with their Terebrcey inftil into the very Pulp of fuch Buds or Fruits y or by the contagious Vapour of the very Eggs themfelves, producing a Mortification or Syderation in the Parts of Plaurs on which they are 304 7^^ Wis D o M of GOD Part It are laid; or laftly, by the Grubs or Maggots hatched of the Eggs laid there, making their way with their Teeth into the Buds, Leaves or Fruit/ or even the Wood itfelf of fuch Plants on v^hich their Eggs were laid. So that at the laft he con-^ eludes : Erunt itaque Gallce & reliqui plant a^ rum tumores morbofce excrefcentic^^ vi depofiti ovi a turhata pluiitarum compage^ & vitiato humo^ rum motu excitatce ^ quibus inclufa ova & ani- malcula velut in utero fove7itur & augentur^ donee manifeftatis firmatijque propriis partibus^ quaji exoriantur nova?n exoptafitia auram. We con- clude therefore that Galls^ and other Tumors of Plants^ are nothing elfe but morbofe Excrefcencies^ raisd up by the Force of the Eggs there laid, di- flurbing the Vegetation and Temper of the Plants^ and perverting the Motion of their Humours and Juices-, wherein the inclosed Eggs and Animal- cules are cherijh'd, nourifh'd, and augmented, till their proper Parts being manifefied, explicated^ and harden d, or firengthend, they are as it were new born, affeBing to come forth into the open Air. In the fame Treatife he defcribes the hol- low Inftrument (Terebra he calls it, and we may Englijh it Piercer) wherewith many Flies are provided, proceeding from the Womb, with which they perforate the Teguments of Leaves, Fruits, or Buds, and through the Hol- low of it injed their Eggs into the Holes, or Wounds which they have made, where in pro- cefs of Time they are hatch'd and nourifh'd. This Part II. in the CK^ATion. 305 This he beheld one of thefe Infeds doing with his own Eyes in the Bud of an Oak ; the man- ner whereof he defcribes, p. 47. which I {hall not tranfcribe, only take notice, that when he had taken off the Infedt he found in the Leaf very lit- tle and diaphanous Eggs, exadly like to thofe which yet. remained in the Tubes of the Fly's Womb. He adds farther, that it is probable that there may be Eggs hidden in divers Parts of Plants, whereof no Footftep doth outwardly ap- pear, but the Plant remains as entire and thrives as well as if there were no Infed: there ; nay, that fome may be hidden and cherifti'd in dry Places (not wanting any Humour to feed them) as in Sear- Wood, yea, in Earthen Veflels, and Marbles themfelves. Indeed to me it feems unreafonable that Plants, being of a lower Form or Order of Being, fhould produce Animals ; for either they muft do it out of indifpos'd Matter, and then fuch Producftion would amount to a Creation, or elfe they mufl prepare a fit Matter, which is to adl beyond their Strength, there being requir'd to the Preparation of the Sperm of Animals a great Apparatus of Veffels, and many Secretions, Concodions, Re- fledlions, Digeftions and Circulations of the Mat- ter, before it can be redify'd and exalted into fo noble a Liquor; and befides, there muft be an Egg too ; for we know ex ovo omnia ;. to the Per- fedlion whereof there are as many Veflels and as long a Procefs requir'd. Now in Plants there are X no 3o6 T'^^ Wisdom of GOD PartlL no fuch Veflels, and confequently no fuch Pre- paration of Eggs or Sperm, which are the necef- fary Principles of Animals. Thirdly, That worthy Author of our own Country, I mean Dr. Ltjler^ in his Notes upon Geodartius hifeB, Numb, i6. p, 47. hath thefe Words : Non e7iim indiicor tit credanty hoc, vel alt- tid quodvis Animal, modo quodamfpontaneo e Plant a froduci, & alii caufa cuicunque originem fuam de^ here quam Farmti Animali \ i. e. / cannot be fer^ fiiaded or induced to believe, that this, or any other Animal, is for can be) prodiicd out of a Plant in a fpontaneous manner, or doth owe its Original to any other Caiife ^whatever, than an Animal Parent of its own Kind. And in his third Note upon InfeB, Numb, 49. thefe: .^load fpontaneam Ei^ucce hujus aliorumque Inferior urn generatiojiem, pro parte ne- gativa jam fententiam fneam tradidi,&cc. As to the Jpontaneous Generation of this Eruca, and other In- feBs, 1 have already delivered my Opinion for 'the Negative, T'his is mof certain, that thefe Coffi are produced of Eggs laid by Animal Pare?2ts : It is aU Jh alike clear, that thefe diminutive Caterpillars are able by degrees to pierce or bore their way into a Tree , which very [mail Holes, after they are fully enter d, do perchance grow together, and quite dif- appear, at leaft become fofmally that they are not to be difcern'd, unlefs by Lynceus'^ Eyes, Add more- over^ that phchance they imdergo no Transfoj'wa- iion, but continue under the Vizard of [Erucae] Caterpillars for many Tear s^ which doth very well accord Part II. in the Creation. 307 accord with my Obfervations. Moreover^ that this Caterpillar [Eruca] is propagated by Animal Pa- rentSy to wit, Butterfies^ after the common Origi- nation of all Caterpillars, In all this I fully con^ fent with the Dodtor, only crave Leave to differ in his attributing to them the Name of Cajji which were accounted by the Antients a deli- cate Morfel, and fed for the Table; fori take thpfe to have been the Hexapods, from which the greater Sort of Beetles come -, for that that Sort of Hexapods are at this Day eaten in our American Plantations, as I am informed by my good Friend Dr. Hans Sloane^ who alfo prefented me with a Glafs of them preferv'd in Spirit of Wine. Having lately had an Opportunity more curi- oufly to view and examine the great Flefh-co- lour'd, thin-hair'd, Englijld Caterpillar (which is fo like that fent me by Dr. Sloane^ that it differs little but in Magnitude, which may be owing to the Climate) I obferv'd that it had a Power of drawing its eight hind Legs or Stumps fo far up in its- Body that they did altogether difappear, fo that the Creature feem'd to want them, and of thrufting them out again at pleafure ; whereupon I conjectured, that that Infed: oi Jamaica fenc me by the Dodor (which I took to be the Cojfus or Hexapods previous to fome large Beetle) had likewife the fame Power of drawing up its hind Legs, fo that tho* to appearance it wanted them, yet really it did not fo, but had only drawn thenpi up and hid them in its Body when ic was ini«- X 2 mcrs'd 3c8 neWisDouofGOD FartIL mers'd in the Spirit of Wine, and confequently was not the Hexapod of a Beetle, but an Eruca^ like to, or indeed fpecifically the fame with that of our own Country by me obferv*d ; and being eaten at this Day by the Inhabitants of Jamaica^ is in all likelihood the fame with the Cojjus of the ^ntient Romans^ which was fed for the Table, as Fliny affures us ; efpecialJy if we confider, that Dr. Lijler found this Eruca in the Body of an Oak newly cut down and faw'd in pieces j on which Tree Pliny faith they feed. Thus much I thought fit to add . to Dr. Lijier^ and do the Truth right, by retracing my former Conjedure concerning the CoJJu 3. My third Argument againft fpontaneous Generation is, becaufe there are no Arguments or Experiments which the Patrons of it do or can produce which do clearly evince it. For the ge- neral and vulgar Opinion, that the Heads of Chil- dren, or the Bodies of thofe that do not change their Linnen, but wear that which is fweaty and fordid, breeds Lice 5 or that Cheefe of itfelf breeds Mites or Maggots ; I deny, and look upon it as a great Error and Miftakej and do affirm, that all fuch Creatures are bred of Eggs laid in fuch for- did Places by fome wandring Loufe, or Mite, or Maggot ; for fuch Places being moft proper for the hatching and exclufion of their Eggs, and for the Maintenance of their Young, Nature hath endued them with a wonderful Acutenefs of Scent and Sagacity, whereby they can, tho' far 2 diftant^ Part II. i;^ */^^ Creation. 309 diftant, find out and make towards them^ and even Lice and Mites themfelves, as flow as they feem to be, can, to my Knowledge, in no long time march a confiderable way to find out a con- venient Harbour for themfelves. Here, by the by, I cannot but look upon the ftrange Inftindl of this noifome and troublefome Cr&aturc a Loufe, of fearching out foul and nafty Clothes to harbour and breed in, as an Eflfed: of divine Providence, defign'd to deter Men and Women from Sluttiihnefs and Sordidnefs, and to provoke them to Cleanlinefs and Neatnefs. God himfelf hateth Uncleanlinefs , and turns away from it, as appears by Dtv//. xxiii. 12, 13, 14. But if God requires and is pleas'd with bodily Cleanlinefs, much more is he fo with the Pure- nefs of the Mind. Bkjfed are the pure in Hearty for they pall Jie God^ Matth. v. 10. As for the Generation of Infedts out of putrid Matter, the Experiments of Francifcus Redi, and fome of our own Vtrtuoji^ give me fuflicient rea- fon to rejed: it. I did but juft now mention the quick Scent that Infefts have, and the great Sa- gacity in finding out a proper and convenient Harbour or Matrix to cherifh and hatch their Eggs and feed their Young ; they are fo adted and directed by Nature, as to caft their Eggs in fuch Places as are moft accommodated for the Exclu- fion of their Young, and where there is Food ready for them as foon as they be harch'd ; nay, it is a very hard matter to keep off fuch Infedts X -; ^ from 3IO rhe Wisdom of GOD Part IL from {bedding their Seed in fuch proper Places. Indeed if an InjeB ?nay be thus equivocally genera-- ted^ v)hy not fometimes a Bird^ a ^adruped, a Man, or even an Univerfe ? Or^ why no new Species of Animals now and then ? As my learned Friend Dr, Tancred Robinfon very well argues in his Letters ; for there is as much Art fhewn in the For- mation of thofe as of thefe. A fourtb and mod efFedual Argument againft fpontaneous Generation is, that there are no new Species produced, which would certainly now and then, nay, very often happen were there any fuch thing ; for in fuch pretended Generations, the generant or a6live Principle is fuppos'd to be the Sun, which being an inanimate Body, cannot aft otherwife than by his Heat, which Heat can only put the Particles of the paffive Principle into motion; the paffive Principle is putrid Matter, the Particles whereof cannot be conceived to dif- fer in any thing but Figure, Magnitude and Gra- vity ; now the Heat putting thefe Particles in mo- tion, may indeed gather together thofe which are homogeneous, or of the fame nature, andfepa- rate thofe that are heterogeneous, or of a diffe- rent, but that it fhould fo fituate, place and con- ned: them as we fee in the Bodies of Animals, is altogether inconceivable \ which if it could, yet that it fhould always run them into fuch a Ma- chine as is already extant, and not often into fome new-falhion'd one, fuch as was never feen before, no Reafon can be affign'd or imagined. This the Epicurean Poet Lucretius was fo fenfible of, that he Part II. Z;^ />$^ C R E A T I o N. 311 he faw a neceflity of granting Seeds or Principles to determine the Species. For (faith he) if all Sorts of Principles could be connected, Fulgo fieri portent a videres^ Semiferas hominum Jpecies exifiere^ G? alto^ Inter dum rainos egigni corpore vivoy Multdque conneBi terrejlria membra marinis ; Turn fiafnmam retro fpir antes ore chimaras Pa/cere naturam per terras omniparenteis ^orum nil fieri manifefium efi^ omnia quando Seminibus certis^ certa genetrice^ creata Confervare genus crefcentia pojfe videmus^ &c. That is Thence would rife Vafi Monfiers^ Nature s great Ahjurdities ; Something half Bea/l, half Man, and fome would Tall Trees above, and /mimals below, (grow Some joi?id of Fijh and Beafis, a?id every where Frightful Chimaera's breathing Flaines appear. But fince we fee no fuch, and Things arife From certain Seeds, of certain Shape and Size^ And, keep their Ki?id as they increafe and grow ^ There s fome fix d Reajbn why it pould be fo. The raining of Frogs, and their Generation in the Clouds, tho' it may be attefled by many and great Authors, I look upon as utterly falfe and ridiculous j it feems to me no more likely that Frogs fliould be engend&r'd in the Clouds, than S'panifh Gennets begotten by the Wind, for that hath good Authors too 3 and he that can fwallow the raining of Frogs, hath made a fair Step to- X 4 wards 312 7%e Wisdom of GOD Part II. wards believing that it may rain Calves alfo, for we read that one fell out of the Clouds in Avicens Time ; nor do they much help the matter, who fay, that thofe Frogs that appear fometimes in great Multitudes after a Shower, are not indeed engendered in the Clouds, but coagulated of a certain fort of Duft commix'd and fermented with Rain- Water -, to which Hypothefis Fromon- dus adheres. But let us a little confider the Generation of Frogs in a natural way. i. There are two diffe- rent Sexes, which muft concur to their Genera- tion. 2. There is in both a great Apparatus of fpermatick VefTels, wherein the nobler and more fpirituous Part of the Blood is by many Dige- ilions, Concoftions, Refledions and Circulations exalted into that generous Liquor we call Sperm ; and likewife for the preparing of the Eggs. 3. There muft be a Copulation of the Sexes, which I rather mention becaufe it is the moft remarka- ble in this that ever I obferv'd in any Animal ; for they continue in complexu venereo at leaft a Month indefinitely, the Male all that while refling on the Back of the Female, clipping and embracing her with his Legs about the Neck and Body, and holding her fo faft, that if you take him out of the Water he will rather bear her whole Weight than let her go -, this I obferv'd in a Couple kept on purpofe in a VeiTel'of Water by riiy learned and worthy Friend Mr. John Nid, Fellow of trinity 'College J long fince deceas'd 3 after this the Spawn muft be caft into Water, where the Eggs lie Part II. in the Cv.n AT loi^. 313 lie in the mldft of a copious Jelly, which ferves them for their firft Nouriihment for a confidera- ble while ; and at laft the Refult of all is not a perfed: Frog, but a Tadpole, without any Feet, and having a long Tail to fwim withal ; in which Form it continues a long time, till the Limbs be grown out and the Tail fallen away, before it arrives at the Perfeftion of a Frog. Now if Frogs can be generated fpontaneoufly in the Clouds out of Vapour, or upon the Earth out of Duft and Rain-Water, what needs all this a-do ? To what purpofe is there fuch an Appara- tus of Veflels for the Elaboration of the Sperm and Eggs ? fuch a tedious Procefs of Generation and Nutrition? This is but an idle Pomp; the Sun (for 'he is fuppos'd to be the equivocal Gene- rant or Efficient by thefe Philofophers) could have difpatch'd the Bufinefs in a Trice ; give him but a little Vapour, or a little dry Duft and Rain- Water, he will produce you a quick Frog, nay, a whole Army of them, perfe6lly form'd, and fit for all- the Fundions of Life, in three Minutes, nay, in the hundredth Part of one Minute, elfe muft fome of thofe Frogs that were generated in the Clouds fall down half formed and imperfect, which I never heard they did; and the Procefs of Generation have been obferv'd in the Produdlion of Frogs out of Duft and Rain- Water, which no Man ever pretended to mark or difcern. But that there can be no Frogs generated in the Clouds, may further be made appear, i. From the :j 1 4 "The Wisdom of GOD Part II. the extreme Cold of the middle Region of the Air, where the Vapours are turn'd into Clouds, which is not at all propitious to Generation ; for did not fo great Men as Arijiofle and Erajmus report it, I could hardly be induced to believe that there could be one Species of Infefts genera- ted in Snow. 2. Becaufe if there were any Ani- mals engendered in the Clouds, they muft needs be maim'd and dafh'd in pieces by the Fall, at leaft fuch as fell in the High- ways and upon the Roofs of Houfes ; whereas we read not of any fuch broken or imperfect Frogs found any where. This laft Argument wasfufficient to drive off the. learned Fromondus from the Belief of their Gene- ration in the Clouds ; but the Matter of Fad: he takes for granted, I mean, the fpontaneous Gene- ration of Frogs out of Duft and Rain- Warter,from an Obfervation or Experiment of his own at the Gates of Tournay in Flanders^ to the Sight of wliich Spedacle he call'd his Friends who were there pLefcnc, .that they might admire it with him. Afudden Shower (filth* hS)faili7ig upon the '■v.cry dry Dujiy there fuddenly appear d fuch an Ar^ my of little FrogSy leaping about every where upon the dry hand^ that there was almojl nothing elj'e to, he feen ; they were alfo of one Magnitude and Co- lour ; neither did it appear out of what lurking Places [Latibula] fo many Myriads could creep out^. and fuddenly difcover tbemf elves upon the dry and. dufly Soil^ which they hate. But faving the Reve- rence due to fo great a Man, I doubt not but they did all creep out of their Holes and Coverts, in- > vited Patt II. in the C?.^ AT 10^. 315 vited by the agreeable Vapour of the Rain- Water; this, however unlikely it may feem, is a thoufand times more probable than their inftantaneous and undifcernible Generation out of a little dry Dufl and Rain- Water, which alfo cannot have any time to mix and ferment together, which is the Hypothe/is ht 2idhcvcs to 'y nay, I affirm, that it is not at all improbable; for he that fhall walk out in Summer Nights, when it begins to grow dark, may obferve fuch a Multitude of great Toads and Frogs crawling about in the High-ways, Paths and Avenues to Houfes, Yards, and Walks of Gardens and Orchards, that he will wonder whence they came, or where they lurk'd all the Winter and all the Day-time, for that then it is a rare thing to find one. To which add, that in fuch Frogs as we are fpeaking of, Monfieur Perault hath upon DifTe- ftion often found the Stomach full of Meat, and the Inteftines of Excrement; whence he juftly concludes, '' that they were not then firft formed, " but- only appear'd of a fudden; which is no " great Wonder, fmce upon a Shov^er after a *' Drought, Earth-worms and Land-Snails innu- *' merable come out of their lurking Places in " like manner. In Confirmation of what I have here written aga.infk the fpontaneous Generation of Frogs, ei- ther in the Clouds out of Vapour, or on the Earth out of Dufl and Rain- Water commix'd, endea- vouring 3i6 "The Wisdom of GOD Part If. vouring to prove by Force of Argument that there is no fuch thing, I have lately received from my learned and ingenious Friend Mr. William Der- ham^ Reftor of Upminjler, near Rumford in EJfex^ a Relation parallel to that oi FromonduSy concern- ing the fudden Appearance of a vaft Number of Frogs, after a Shower or two of Rain, marching crofs a fandy Way, that before the Rain was very dufty, and giving an Account where, in all like- lihood, they were generated by Animal Parents of their own Kind, and whence they did proceed. The whole Narrative I (hall give the Reader in his own Words. Some Tears ago^ as I was riding forth one After- noon in Berks, / happened upon a prodigious Multi- tude creeping crofs the Way ; // was a fandy Soil, a?2d the Way had been full of Duji^ by reafon of a dry Seafon that then was ; but an Hour or two be- fore a refrefnng fragrant Shower or two of Rain had laid the Dujt ; whereupon what I had heard or read of the rainifig of Frogs, immediately came to my Thoughts, as it eafily might do, there being pro- bably as good reafon then for me, as I believe any ever bad before, to conclude that thefe came from the Clouds, or were iizftantaneoufly generated \ but being prepofefsd with the contrary Opinion, v\z, that there was no equivocal Generation, I was very cu- rious in enquiring whence this vaji Colony might pro- bably come ; and upon fe arching I found two or three Acres of hand cover d with this black Regiment, and that they a'l march' d the fame way towards fome Part 11. in tieCRnATio"^. 317 fome Woods^ Ditches^ and fuch like cool Places in their Fronts and from large Ponds in their Rear; I tracd them backwards^ even to the very fide of c?ie of the Po?ids \ thefe Ponds in fpawning'time aU ivays usd to abound much with Frogs, whofe croak- ing I have heard at a confderable dijiancc y and a great deal of Spawn I have found there. From thefe Circumjlances I concluded that this vaji Colony was bred in tbofe Ponds, from whence^ ward they Jieerd their Courfe-, that after their In- cubation (if I may fo call it) or hatching by the Sun^ and their having fafs'd their Tadpole State, they had livd (till that time of their Migration) in the Waters, or rather on the Shore, among the Flags^ Rujhes, and long Grafs 5 but now being i?ivited out by the refrejhing Showers, then newly fallen, which made the Earth cool and moifi for their March, that they left their old Latibula, where perhaps they had devour d all their proper Food, and were now in purfuit of Food, or a more convenient Habitation^ This I think not only reafonable to be concluded^ but withal fo eafy to have been difcoverd by any in- quifitive Obferver, who in former Times met with the like Appearance, that I cannot but admire that fuch fagacious Philofophers as Ariftotle, Pliny, and many other fnce, Jhould ever imagine Frogs to fall from the Clouds, or be any way injiantaneoufiy^ or fpontaneoufly generated, efpecially confidering how ^ openly they aH their Coition, produce Spawn^ this Spawn Tadpoles, and Tadpoles Frogs. Neither 3i8 T/jeWisDOM of GOD Part IL Neither in Frogs only^ but alfo in many other Creatures^ as Lice, F/eJJj-FlieSy Silk-Worms, and €ther Voi^iYio s>y an uniform regular Generation was eWisDOM of GOD Partll. ^Explication we may give a better Account of the VomitingS'Up of Tadpolesy Snails, ajid other Ani- mals , recorded ifi medical Hijlories, than by any Hypothefs of equivocal Generation, As to InfeBs found in finking Flejh or rotten Vegetables, I could never obferve or find any of them different from thoj'e Parent-Infecis which hover about or feed upon fuch Bodies. If any (hall objed the infinite Multitudes of Animalcules difcover'd in Pepper- Water , and defire an Account of their Generation ; to him I fhall fay, that it is probable that fome few of thefe Animals may be floating in all Waters, and that finding the Particles of Pepper fwimming in the Water, very proper for the cheriihing and ex- cluding of their Eggs, by reafon of their Heat, or fome other unknown and fpecifick Quality, they may faflen their Eggs to them, and fo there may be a fudden Breed of infinite Swarms of them ; but thefe being not to be difcern d by the moft piercing and Lyncean Sight without the Affiftance of a Microfcope, I leave the Manner of their Generation to future Difcovery. No lefs difficult is it to give an Account of the Original of fuch Infeds as are found, and feem to be bred in the Bodies of others of different Kinds. Out of the Sides and Back of the moft common Caterpillar, which feeds upon Cabbage , Cole- wort , aind Turnep- Leaves,- Part II. /;/ />^^ C R E A T I o N. 321 Leaves, which we have defcrib'd in the Catalogue oi Cambridge Plants, we have feen creep out fmall Maggots to the Number fometimes of Threefcore or more, which fo foon as ever they came forth began to weave themfelves filken Cafes of a yel- low {hining Colour, wherein they chang'd, and after fome time came out thence in the form of fmall Flies with four Wings ; for a full Defcrip- tioHL and Hiftory whereof I ihall refer the Reader to the fore-mention'd Catalogue, The like I have alfo obferv'd in other Caterpillars of a different Kind, which have produc'd no lefler Number of Maggots, that in like m.anner immediately made themfelves up in Cafes. Others, inftead of change ing into Aurelias, as in the ufual Procefs of Na- ture they ought to do, have turn'd into one, two, or three, or more Flefli-Fly- Cafes, at leaft con- tained fuch Cafes within them, out of which after a while were excluded Flefh-Flies. Other Cater- pillars, as that caird the /3//V^;j Maggot, found in the dry Heads of Teafel, by a dubious Meta- 7norphofn^ fometimes chang'd into the Aurelia of a Butterfly, fometimes into a Fly-Cafe. You'll fay, how comes this to pafs ? Muft we not here neceffarily have recourfe to a fpontaneous Gene- ration ? I anfwer, No ; the moft that c^n be in- ferred from hence is, a Tranfmutation oi Species -y one Infedl may, inflead of generating another of its own Kind, beget one or more of^a different; but I can by no means grant this ; 1 do believe^ 'that thefe Flics do either caft their Eggs -upon the '^• very Bodies of the fore-mention'd Caterpillars, Y or 322 77j^ Wisdom of GOD PartIL or upon the Leaves on which they feed, all in a String ; which there hatching, eat their way into the Body, where they are nouriih'd till they be come to their full Growth ; or it may be the Fly may with the hollow and fharp Tube of her Womb punch and perforate the very Skin of the Erucay and caft her Eggs into its Body 5 fo the Ichneumon will convey her Eggs into Caterpillars. The Difcovery of the Manner of the Genera- tion of thefe Sorts of Infedts I earneftly recom- mend to all ingenious Naturalifts as a Matter of great moment -, for if this Point be but clear'd, and it be demonftrated that all Creatures are ge- nerated univocally by Parents of their own Kind, and that there is no fuch thing as fpontaneous Generation in the World, one main Prop and Support of Atheifm is taken away, and their ftrongeft Hold demolifh'd -, they cannot then ex- emplify their foolifh Hypothejis of the Generation of Man and other Animals at firft by the like of Frogs and lafedls at this prefent Day. It will be farther objeded that there have live Toads been found in the midft of Timber Trees, nay, of Stones when they have been fawn afunder. To this I anfwer, that I am not fully fatisfy*d of the Matter of Fad ; I am fo well acquainted with the Credulity of the Vulgar, and the Delight they, and many of the better Sort too, have in telling of Wonders and ftrange things, that I muft I have Part IL in the Creation. 323 have a thing well attefted before I can give a firm Aflent to it. Since the v^riting hereof the Truth of thefe Relations, of live Toads found in the midft of Stones, hath been confirm'd to me by fufficient and credible Eye-witneffes, who have feen them taken out ; fo that there is no doubt of the Mat- ter of Fad. But yet, fuppofe it be true, it may be account- ed for; thofe Animals when young and little finding in the Stone fome fmall Hole reaching to the middle of it, might, as their nature is, creep into it, as a fit Latibulmn for the Winter, and grow there too big to return back by the Pafiage by which they entered, and fo continue impri- fon'd therein for many Years, a little Air, by rea- fon of the Coldnefs of the Creature, and its lying torpid there, fufficing it for Refpiration 5 and the Humour of the Stone, by feafon it lay immove- able, and fpent not, for Nouri{hment -, and I do believe that if thofe who found fuch Toads had diligently fearch'd, they might have difcover'd and trac'd the way whereby they enter'd in, or fome Footfteps of it ; or elfe there might fall down into the lapideous Matter, before it was concrete into a Scone, fome fmall Toad (or fome Toad-Spawn) which being not able to extricate itfelf and get out again, might remain there im- prifon'd till the Matter about it were condensed, and compafted into a Stone; but however it Y 2 came 324 T^eWi^t^buof GOD PartIL came there, I dare confidently affirm it .was not there fpontaneoully generated ; for elfe either there was fuch a Cavity in the Stone before the Toad was generated, which is altogether impro- bable, and gratis diBum^ alTerted" without any ground, or the Toad was generated in the folid Stone, which is more unlikely than the other, in that the fo ft Body of fo fmall a Creature fhould extend itfelf in fuch a Prifon, and overcome the Strength and Refiftance of fuch a great and pon- derous Mafs of folid Stone. And whereas the Aflertors of equivocal Gene- ration were wont to pretend the Imperfedion of thefe Animals as a ground to facilitate the Belief of their fpontaneous Generation, I do affirm that they are as perfed: in their Kind, and as much Art {hewn in the Formation of them as of the greateft, nay, more too in the Judgment of that great Wit and natural Hiftorian * Lib. II. ^ Pliny, ' In magnis fiquidem corpo- rihiis (faith he) aut certe major ibm facilis qfficinafequaci materia fuit -, in his tarn par^ vis atque tarn nullis, quce ratio, quanta vis, quam inextricabilis perfeSiio?. In the greater Bodies the Forge was eafy, the Matter being ducftil and fe- quacious, obedient to the Hand and Stroke of the Artificer, apt to be drawn, formed or mould- ed into fuch Shapes and Machines even by clum- fy Fingers 5 but in the Formation of thefe, fuch diminutive Things, fuch Nothings, what Cun- ning and Curiofity ! what Force and Strength was Part IL hi /^^^ G r e a t i o n. 325 was requifite, there being in them fuch inextri* cable Perfedtion! To what Proofs or Examples of fpontaneous Generation may be brought from Infed:s bred in the Fruits or Excrefcencies of Plants, I have al- ready made anfwer in my fecond Particular, which contains the Teftimonies of our beft mo- detn Naturalifts concerning thefe Things. In my Denial of the fpontaneous Generation of Plants, I am not fo confident and peremptory, but yet there are the fame Objedions and Argu- ments againft it as againft that of Animals, 'vix, becaufe it would be a Produdion out of indif- pos'd Matter, and confequently a Creation; or if it be faid there is difpos'd Matter, prepared by the Earth, or Sun, the Heat, or whatever other Agent you can aflign \ I reply, this is to make a thing ad beyond its Strength, that is, an inferior Nature, which hath nothing of Life in it, to pre- pare Matter for a fuperior, which hath fome de- gree of Life, and for the Preparation of which it hath no convenient Veffels or Inflruments ; if it could do fo, what need of all that Apparatus of Veffels, Preparation of Seed, and, as I alfo fup- pofe, Diftindion of Mafculine and Feminine that we fee in Plants ? I demand farther, whether any of the Patrons of fpontaneous Generation in Plants did ever fee any Herbs or Trees, except thofe of the Grafs-Leav'd Tribe, come up with- out two Seed-Leaves ? which if they never did or Y 3 could, 326 Tie Wisdom of GOD Part IL could, it is to me a great Argument that they came all of Seed, there being no reafon elfe why they fhould at firft produce two Seed-Leaves dif- ferent from the fubfequent > and if all thefe Spe^ cies (which are far the greateft Number) come from Seed, there is not the leaft reafon to think that any of the reft come up fpontaneoufly ; and this, with what I have written before, may fuffice concerning this Point. Whereas I have often written in many Places that fuch and fuch Plants are fpontaneous, or come up fpontaneoufly, I mean no more by that Expreflion, but that they were not planted or fown there induftrioufly by Man. Having fpoken of the Body of Man, and the Ufes of its feveral Parts and Members, I fhall add fome other Obfervations, giving an Account of the particular Strudture, Acftions and Ufes of fome Parts, either common to whole Kinds of Animals, or proper to fome particular Species^d^i^^vtm from thofe of Man, and of the reafon of fome Inftinfts and Aaions of Brutes. Fbjt of all, the manner of Refpiration^ and the Organs ferving thereto in various Animals, are accommodated to their Temper of Body, and their Place and Manner of Living ; of which I have obferv'd in more perfeft Animals three Dif- ferences, I. The Part IL /// /^^ C R E A T I o N. 327 I. The hotter Animals, which require abun- dance of Spirits for their various Motions and Exercifes, are provided with Lungs, which inde- finitely draw in and expel the Air alternately, without Intermiflion, and have a Heart furnifh'd with two Ventricles ; becaufe to maintain the Blood in, that degree of Heat which is requifite to the Performance of the Ad:ions of all the Mufcles, there is abundance of Air neceffary. I (hall not now take notice of the difference that is between the Lungs of Quadrupeds and Birds, how the one are fix'd and immoveable, the other loofe and moveable; the one perforated, tranfmitting the f: Air into large Bladders, the other inclos'd with ' a Membrane. It is here worth the notice taking, that many Animals of this Kind, both Birds and Quadru- peds, will endure and bear up againft the extream- ell Rigor of Cold that our Country is expos'd to ; Horfe^ Kine, and Sheepy as I have experienc'd, will lie abroad in the open Air upon the cold Ground during our long Winter-Nights, in the fliarpeft and fevereft Frofts that ever happened with us, without any Harm or Prejudice at all -, whereas one would think, that at leafl the Extre- mities of their Members (hould be bitten, benum- med and mortify'd thereby. Confidering with myfelf by what means they were enabled to do this, and to abide and refift the Cold, it occurr'd to my Thoughts, that the Extremities of their Y 4 Toes 328 Tlje Wisdom of GOD Part IL Toes were fenc'd with Hoofs, which in good meafurc fecur'd them ^ but the main thing wasiy that the Cold is, as it were, its own Antidote j for the Air being fully charg'd and fated with ni- trous, or fome other fort of Particles (which are the great Efficients of Cold, and no lefs alfo the pabulum of Fire) when infpir'd, doth by means of them caufe a great Accenfion and Heat in the Blood (as we fee Fuel burns raflily in fuch Wea- ther) and fo enable it to refift the Impreffions of the Cold for fo fhort a time as its more nimble Circulation expofes it thereto, before it comes to another beating. From hence may an Account be given why the Inhabitants of hot Countries may endure longer Fafting and Hunger than thofe of colder ; and thofe feemingly prodigious, and to us fcarce credible Stories, of the Faflings and Abftinence of the Egyptian Monks, be ren^ der'd probable, 2. Other Animals, which are of a colder Tem- per, and made to endure a long Inedia or fafting, and to lie in their Holes almoft torpid all Winter, as all Kinds of Serpents and Lizards^ have indeed Lungs, but do not inceffantly breathe, or when they have drawn in the Air, neceffarily expire it again, but can retain it at their Pleafure, and live without Refpiration whole Days together, as was long fince experimented by Sir "Thomas Brown, M. p. in a Frog ty'd by the Foot under Water for that purpofe by him. This Order of Crea- tures have but one Ventricle in their Hearts, and the Part IL in M^ C r e at i o n. 329 the whole Blood doth not fo often circulate thro' the Lungs as it doth thro* the reft of the Body ; this manner of breathing is fufficient to maintain in them that degree of Heat which is fuitable to their Nature and manner of living ; for to our Touch they are always cold, even in Summer- time, and therefore fome will then put Snakes into their Bofom to cool them. > 3. Fifhes, which were to live and converfe always in a cold Element, the Water, and there- fore were to have a Temper not excelling in Heat, becaufe otherwife the conftant immediate Contrad: of the Water (unlefs fome extraordinary Provifion were made) could not have been fup- ported by them, that they might not be neceffi- tated continually to be coming up to the top of the Water to draw in the Air, and for many other Reafons that might be alledg'd, perform their Refpiration under Water by the Gills, by which they can receive no more Air than is difpers'd in the Pores of the Water, which is fufficient to preferve their Bodies in that Temper of Heat that is fuitable to their Nature and the Place wherein they live; thefe alfo have but one Ventricle in their Hearts. But now tho' this be thus, the great and moft wife GOD, as it were purpofely to demonfti-ate that- he is not by any Condition or Quality of Place neceffarily determin'd to one manner of Refpiration, or one Temper of Body in Fifhes, he 330 The Wisdom of GOD Part II. he hath endu'd the Bodies of fome of that Tribe of aquatick Creatures with Lungs like viviparous Quadrupeds, and two Ventricles of the Heart, and an Ability of breathing like them, by draw- ing in and letting out the open Air, fo contriving their Bodies as to maintain in the midft of the cold Water a degree of Heat anfwerable to that of the fore-mention'd Quadrupeds. Another remarkable thing relating to Refpira- tion is, the keeping the Hole or PalTage between the Arteria Venofa and Vena Cava, call'd Foramen ovale, open in fome amphibious Quadrupeds, viz, the Phoca, or Vitulus Marinus, calFd in Rnglijlo, Sea-Calf 2inA Seal -y and, as is generally held, the Beaver too. We have already given the reafon of the twofold Communication of the great Blood- Veffels in the Fc^tiis or Young fo long as it con- tinues in the Womb ; the one between the two Veins entring the Heart, by a Hole or Window ; the other between the two Arteries, by an arterial Channel extended from the pulmonary Artery to the Aorta, or great Artery ; which was, in brief, to divert the Blood from the Lungs. Thefame reafon for keeping open this Foramen ovale there is in thefe amphibious Creatures. For, i. The Lungs probably being not extended, but empty'd of Air when they abide long under Water, and flaccid, it is not eafy for the whole Blood every Circulation to make its way thro' them. 2. To maintain that degree of Heat. and Motion in the Blood as is fufficient for them while they are un- der Part II. in /;&^ C r e at i o N. 331 der Water, there is not fo much Air required as is when they are above, the Blood then moving but gently, as doth that of the Feetus in the Womb. Farther, in reference to Refpiration, it is oh- ferv'd by the Parifian Academifts, that fome am- phibious Quadrupeds, particularly the Sea-Calf or Sealj hath his Epiglottis extraordinarily large in»proportion to other Animals, it extending half an Inch in length beyond the Glottis^ to cover it. I believe the Beaver hath the like Epiglottis^ ex- aftly clofing the Larynx or Glottis^ and hindring all Influx of Water -, becaufe in one difTecSed by WepferuSy that fuiFocated itfelf in the Water, there v^as not a Drop of Water found in the Lungs ', it is probable (fay they) that this is done more exacftly to clofe the Entrance of the Afpera Arteriay or Windpipe, when the Animal eats his Prey at the bottom of the Sea, and to hinder the Water from running into his Lungs. An Ele- phant (as is obferv'd by Dr. Moulins^ I think, in the Anatomy of that Creature) hath no Epiglottis at all', there being no danger of any thing falling into their Lungs from eating or drinking, feeing there is no Communication between the Oefopha- gus and it j for he thus defcribes the Oejophagus or Gullet : The Tongue of this Creature (faith he) had this peculiar in it, that the PafTage to the Ventricle was thro' it, for there was a Hole near the Root of it, and exadtly in the middle of that Part, which Hole was the beginning of the Oejo- phagus ; there was no Communication between this 332 The Wisdom of GOD Part I L this and the Paffage into the Lungs, contrary to what we may obferve in Men, in all Quadrupeds and Fowl, that ever I had Opportunity to diife(ft ; for the Membrana pitiiitaria anterior reached to the very Root of the Tongue, below the Oejo- phagiiSy and fo quite llopt the Paffage of the Air into the Mouth. But tho' there be no danger of Meat or Drink falling into the Lungs, yet were they not fufficiently fecur'd from fmall Anirttals creeping in there ; for though, to fupply in fome meafure the want of an Epiglottis^ by leffening the Glottis, there grew to the outfide of the Car- tilages czWdylrytenoides, another capable of mo- tion up and down, by the help of fome Mufcles that were implanted in it, ftrong on both (ides of the Afpera Arteria^ but on the under fide, oppo- lite to that of the Oefophagus, very limber, want- ing about two Inches and a half of coming round the aforefaid Cartilages on the upper fide, or the next to the Oefophagus \ yet did not this Cartilage fo (hut up the way againft them, but that even a Moufe creeping up his Probofcis might get into his Lungs, and fo ftifle him; whence we may guefs at the reafon why the Elephant is afraid of a Motife ; and therefore to avoid this Danger, this Creature (the Elephant^ which this Author de- fcrib'd) was obferv'd always when he flept to keep his Trunk (Probofcis) fo clofe to the Ground that nothing but Air could get in between them , this is a ftrange Sagacity and Providence in this Animal, or elfe an admirable Inftind:. Again, Part IL in /^^ C r e a t i on* 333 Again, the Parifian Academifts oblerve of the Sea Tortoife^ that the Cleft of the Glottis was ftraic and clofe; which exad: Inclofure I do rather be- lieve is to prevent the Water from entring into the Windpipe when the Tortoifes are under Water, than to afTift the Effedt of the Compref- fion of the Air in the Lungs, as they would have it ; /or they make the main reafon of Refpiration and Ufe of the Lungs in this Creature to be, to take in and retain Air, by the Compreffion and Dilatation whereof, made by the Mufcles, it can raife or fmk itfelf in the Water, as need requires ; tho' I do not exclude this. But if this be the main Ufe of the Lungs and Refpiration in this Animal, what is it in Land Animals, which have a like Conformation of Lungs and manner of Re- fpiration as the Cameliofi, Serpents^ and Lixai-ds ? But before I difmifs the Tortoife, I fhall add two notable Obfervations concerning him, bor- rowed of the faid French Academifts^ which feem to argue fomething of Reafon in him, and more than a bare Liftind. The firft is in the Land Tortoije ; and it is his manner of turning himfelf, and getting upon his Feet again when he is caft upon his Back, which they defcribe in thefe Words : At the great Aperture of the Shell before^ there was at the top a rais'd Border^ to grant mnrc liberty to the Neck and Head^ for lifting them j elves ^upwards ; and this InfeBion of the Neck is of great Vfe to the 'J'ortoifes^ for it fcrves them to turn again 'when 334 T/^e Wisdom of GOD Part II. when they are upon their Backs 5 and their Indujiry upon this Account is very admirable. We have ob- jervd in a living Tortoife, that being turned upon its Backy and not being able to make tije of its Paws for the returning of itfelfy becaufe they could but only bend towards the Belly, it could help itfelf only by its Neck and Head^ which it turn d Jbmetimes en one fide, fometimes on the other, by pufhing a- gainfi the Ground, to rock itfelf as in a Cradle, to find out the fide towards which the Inequality of the Ground might more eafily permit it to rowl its Shell ', for when it had found it, it made all its En- deavours on that fide. The fecond is in the Sea tortoife, as follows. Arifiotle and Tliny have remarked, that when T'ortoifes have been a long time upon the Water during a Calm, it happens that their Shell being dry'd in the Sun, they are eafily taken by the Fifhermen, by reafon they cannot plunge into the Water nimbly enough, being become too light ', this fhews what Equality there ought to be in their /Equilibrium, feeing fo little a Change as this, which may happen by the fole drying of the Shell, is capable of making it ufelefs. This Eafinefs to be taken at fuch a time, thefe Aca- demifis do not refer merely to the Lightnefs of this Creature's Body (for he could eafily let Air enough out of his Lungs to render it heavier than the Water, and fo enable himfelf to, fink) but to a wonderful Sagacity and Caution of this Animal ; for (fay they) it is probable that the Tortoife, which Part II. in ihe CKtArio^. 335 which is always careful to keep himfelf in this /Equilibrium^ fo as other Animals are to keep themfelves on their Legs, in this Cafe, by the fame Inftind) dares not let the Air out of his Lungs, to acquire a Weight which might make him fpee- dily to fink, becaufe he fears that his Shell being wet it fhould become fo heavy, that he being funk to the bottom of the Water, might never haye Power afterw^ards to re-afcend ; if this may be the reafon why he expofes himfelf to the dan- ger of being taken at fuch a time, rather than he will defcend fuddenly to the bottom, it is clear that he is endu'd with an admirable Providence and Forefight, and a Power of Argumentation. That Nature doth really defign the Preferva- tion and Security of the more infirm Creatures, by the defenfive Armour that it hath given to fome of them, together with Skill to ufe it, is, I think, demonfl:rable in the common Hedge-hog^ or Urchin^ and one Species of T^atou^ or Arma- dillo. The Hedge-hog hath his Back, Sides and Flanks thick fet with ftrong and fliarp Prickles, and befides, by the help of a Mufcle given him for that purpofe, is enabled to contradl himfelf into a globular Figure, and fo to withdraw, in- clofe, and hide his whole Under-part, Head, Belly and Legs (which for the Neceflities and Conveniences of Life mufl be left deftitute of thi§ Armour) within his Covert or Thicket of Prickles ; fo that Dogs, or other rapacious Crea- tures, cannot lay hold upon him or bite him without 336 T'he Wisdom of GOD Part IL without wounding their own Nofes and Mouths* The Mufcle whereby he is enabled to draw him- felf thus together, and gather up his whole Body like a Ball, the Parijtan Academijis defcribe to be a diftindt carnofe Mufcle, extended from the 0[fa imiominata to the Ear and Nofe, running along the Back-bone , without being faften'd thereto. Olaus Borrichius^ in the Danick Tranf- adions, makes it to be an almoft circular Muf- cle, embracing the Panniculus carnofus^ of a won-* derful Fabrick, varioufly extending its Lacinice^ or Procefles, to the Feet, Tail, and Head of the Creature. The other Creature which doth thus contrad: and draw up itfelf into a globular or oval Figure for its Defence, is the fecond Sort of Tatou^ or Ar- madillo^ largely defcrib^d by Marcgrave^ Lib, 6. cap. 9. by the Name of Tatu Apara^ which is co- vered on its Back and Sides with a ftrong fcaly Cruft or Shell, of a hard or honey Subftance, joint- ed like Armour, or the Scales of the Tail of a Lobfter, by four tranfverfe Commiffures in the middle of the Body, connected by tough Mem- branes. When it fleeps (as it doth for the moft part in the Day-time, going forth to feed in the Night) or when one goes about to lay hold on it^ gathering up its fore and hind Legs as it were to one Point, and drawing its Ears with its Head inward, and bringing its Tail to its Head by reafon of the fore-mention'd Commiflbres, it Part II. in itie Creation. 337 it bends its Back fo far till its Head comes to touch its hind Part, and fo with Armour gather itfelf into a round Ball, the lateral Extremities of the Shell touching one another, and inclofing the Body on the Sides, and the fore and hind Parts coming fo near together, that there is no- thing to be feen but the Armature of the Head and Tail, which, like Doors, fhut up the Hole wfeich the Shells of the Body left open ; this it performs by the Acflion of a notable Mufcle on each Side, of a great length, having the form of the Letter X, made up of many Fibres, decufla- ting one another long- ways, by the help whereof it can contraft its Shell, and hold it contracted with fuch a mighty Force, that he muft be a ftrong Man indeed that is able to open it. Had fuch a Mufcle as this, and fuch an Abi- lity of Contraction, been given to any Creature that was cover'd with foft Hair or Fur, there might have been fome Pretence to fancy that this was accidental, and not defign'd -, but feeing there is not one Inftance of this kind in Nature, it muft be great Stupidity to believe it, and an Im- pudence to aifert it; neither will the Atheifts ufual }cpn(7(pvyi it is an Experiment I have met with in fome Books, and made myfelf, that if you put Blue-bottles, or other blue Flowers into an Ant-hill, they will prefently be ftain'd with red ; the reafon (which thefe Authors render not) is, becaufe the Ants thruft in their Stings in- to the Flowers, and inftil into or drop upon them a fmall Mite of their flinging Liquor, which hath the fame Effed: that Oil of Vitriol would have in changing their Colour, which is a fign that both Liquors are of the fame nature. Cafper Bartholine hath obferv'd, that where the Gullet perforates the Midriff, the carneous Fibres of that mufcular Part are infleded and arcuate, as it were a SphinBe?" embracing and clofing it fafl, by a great Providence of Nature, lefl in the perpetual Motion of the Diaphragm the upper Orifice of the Stomach fhould gape, and cafl out the Victuals as fafl as it received it; and Peyena thinks he hath obferv'd, that in ruminating Crea- tures the Connection of the Gullet with the Dia- phragm is far flraiter and flronger than in Man and other Animals, to the end that there fhould not be more than one Morfel forced out at once ; for that external Sphincfter inhibits a too great Dilatation of the Gullet, and doth as it were mea- fure out the Morfels, and fit them to. the Capa- city of the Oefopbagia, I fhaU Part II. in /^^ C r e a t i o n. 3 4.9 I (hall conclude with a notable Relation of Gakfi's, Lib, 6. de locis effeBis^ cap. 6. concerning a Kid taken by him alive out of the Dam's Belly, and houriflVd and brought up. c)KovoiJi.ict?^ lu^av 'm'n 'f^ovoAov to "ifji.Cfvov AmKvcn ^dv i^i ^'- ^ Ki'nV bin T«T« XJUffd/l/^OV Ivi r ^aoi'^v T *OK^^V^ ^ T OTt^T??, iva^yai h^avm omf 'I'tt'ttok^.tK V^H ^tV«^ (^«dyy et-f)' tfkKToi . JLcu ToiyuM }y dvidfi'^dfivip haeivc fo iei^(QV eiefb' /j^ 71 ns^ff(pi^fj^ov v^e^v « 7B j^i'Art/woj/oi', d}^a y^ rtM* ciMfMmfMiV 'ewra fMhttK^i dKfi[j.Qva4 ^'^vav 7^ xj ^i/T&Tr, ^a. ty TiAx {.cccKcLKvi aK^ifAOvas ftihiv ^AozL^oi myjii a.yiC(i»<7ttv AK'TrKccyviTtf ^ r r ^coav Jhveiiu/iffi' (iiya. fjS^ 3^ M ;^ TO irmliio^v J^d re th fo^T©- j^ a- ^(UjyLA it JJoould grind aftd Jinooth /V, afterwards fwallow it again^ not into the fame Stomachy but i^ito another ^ feenid to us wonderful indeed. But many negledi fuch Works of NaturCy admiri?2g only flrange and unufual Sights. So far Gaht. This pleafant and admirable Story, fhould one confider all the Particulars of it, and en- deavour to give an Account of them, as alfo all the Inferences that might be drawn from it, one might fill- a w^hole Volume with Com- ments upon it. All that I fhall at prefent fay is this. That in all this Oeconomy, and thefe Aftions, Council and Defign doth fo clearly appear, that he muft needs be very ftupid that doth not difcern it, or impudent that can de- ny it. I might add, that there feems to be fomething more than can be performed by mere Mechanifm in the Election this Creature made of its Food; for before it would eat of any, it fmell'd to all the Liquors before it, and when it had done fo, betook itfelf to the Milk, and devoured that; he doth not fay that the Milk was the laft Liquor it fmeird to, or that when it had once fmell'd to that, it pre- fently drank it up. The like alfo he faith of all Part IT. f;^ //5^ C R E A T I o K. 353 all the Sprouts and Branches of Plants that were laid before it. By the by we may take notice of one thing very remarkable, that this Kid of its own accord drank Milk after the manner it had done in the Womb; whereas had it once drawn by the Nipple, it would hardly have fupp'd the Milk; and therefore in weaning young Creatures the beft way is never to let them fuck the Paps at al>, for then they will drink up Milk without any difficulty ; whereas if they have fuck'd, fome will very hardly, others by no means be brought to drink : But how do the Young with fuch Facili- ty come to take the Nipple, and to fuck at it, which they had never before us'd to do ? Here we muft have recourfe to natural Inftind:, and the Diredion of fome fuperior Caufe. Notice hath been already taken in an Obferva- tion communicated by my learned Friend Dr. Tancred Robin/on^ of the Providence of Nature in fo forming the Membranes of the Body as to be capable of a prodigious Dilatation and Extenfion, which is of great Ufe in fome Difeafes ; for Ex- ample, the Dropfy, to continue Life for fome time till Remedy may be had ; and if not, to give time to prepare for Death: But the Wifdom and Delign of this Texture doth in no Inftance more clearly appear, than in the neceflity of it for the Womb in the time of Geftation ; for were not the Womb in Women, which during Virginity is not bigger than a fmall Purfe, almoft infinitely dila- table, and alfo the Ferttomum^ not to mention A a the 354 7^^ Wisdom of GOD Part 11. the Skin and the Cuticula^ how were it poffible it ihould contain the Child, nay, fometimes Twins, with all their Appurtenances, the Secundines, the Placenta^ the Liquor or Waters, and what elfe is neceflary for the Defence, Nutrition, Refpiration, and foft and convenient lodging of them, till they come to their due Perfedion and Maturity for Exclufion ? How could the Child have room to grow there to his Bignefs, and flir and turn him- felf, as is requifite ? Add hereto another Obferva- tion of Blafiiis^y particularly relating to this Sub- jed ; he hath obferv'd that the Veffels of the in-» terior glandulous Subftance of the Womb are ftrangely contorted and ^refledled with Turnings and Meanders, that they might not be too much ftrain'd, but their Folds being extended and abo^ liih'd, they might accommodate themfelves with- out danger of Rupture to the neceiTary Extenfion of the uterine Subftance at that time. Another remarkable Proof of Counfel and De- lign may be fetched from the Formation of the Veins and Arteries near the Heart, which I meet with in Dr. Lowers Treatife, de Corde. Juft before the entrance of the Right Auricle of the Heart (faith he) to wit, where the afcending Trunk of the Ve?ia Cava meeting with the defcending, is ready to empty itfelf into the faid Right Auricle, there occurs in it a very remarkable Knob or Bunch [T'uberculum'] rais'd up from the fubjacent Fat, by the Interpofition whereof the Blood fal- ling down by the defcending Vein is diverted in the Part II. i7i the Creation. 355 the Auricle, which otherwife encouiitring and bearing upon that of the afcendcnt Trunk, would very much hinder and retard the motion of it upward towards the Heart ; and becaufe in an ere6l Site and Figure of the Body there is a grea- ter and more imminent danger of fuch an Acci- dent, therefore the Vena Cava in Mankind hath this Tubercle far greater and of more extent than it is in Brutes ; fo that if you thruft your Finger into either Trunk, you can hardly fihd Paffage or Admittance into the other. But in Quadrupeds, as in Sheepy DogSy Horfe, Kine^ in which the Courfe of the Blood from ei- ther Extreme of the Body is more equal, and as it were in a plainer Level ; and becaufe the Heart by rcafon of its Bulk and Weight hanging down- wards, both Trunks of the Vena Cava have fome little Declivity towards it, there is no need of fo great a Bar and Diverfion in them, yet are they not altogether devoid of it. Moreover, left the Blood here in its Conflux fhould make a kind of Flood and Whirlpool, whilft the Auricle being contracted doth not give it free Ingrefs, therefore in this place the Vena Cava in great Animals, as well Man as Quadru- peds, is round about mufculous, as well that it may be reftrain'd and kept within its due Limits of Extenfion, as that it may more vigoroufly and ftrongly urge and impel the Blood into the Cavi- ty of the Auricle. ^ A a 2 Befides, 356 neWisDouof GOD PartlL Befides, there is no lefs Providence and Cau- tion us'd that the Blood, when it is forcibly caft out of the Left Ventricle of the Heart, be not un- equally diftributed to the fuperior and inferior Parts j for whereas this Gate or Orifice of the Heart opens right upwards, if that Channel which receives the firft Impulfe of the Blood did lead in a ftrait Line up to the Region of the Head, it could not be but that it muft be pour'd too fwift- ly upon the Brain, and fo the inferior Parts of the Body muft needs be defrauded of their vital Li- quor and Aliment ; which Inconvenience, that the .divine Architedt of the Body might wholly ob- viate and avoid in Animals, whofe Hearts are more ftrongly mov'd, he fo artificially contrived the Trunk of the Aortay which is next the Heart, that the Blood runs not diredly into the axillary and carotid Arteries, but doth as it were fetch a Compafs y for in the middle Space between the Ventricle and thofe Arteries it is very much in- flefted or bent -, whence it comes to pafs that that crooked Angle fuftains the Force and firft Stroke of the ejefted Blood, and diredls the great- eft Torrent of it towards the defcending Trunk of the Aorta, which otherwife would rufti too forcibly into the fuperior Branches thereof, di- ftending them immoderately, and foon opprefs and burden the Head. So far Dr. Lowther. To elude or evade the Force of all thefc Inftan- ces, and innumerable others which might be pro- duced, to demonftrate that the Bodies of Men and z all Part IL in the Creation. 357 all other Animals were the EfFedls of the Wifdom and Power of an intelligent and almighty Agent, and the feveral Parts and Members of them de- fign'd to the Ufes to which now they ferve, the Atheift hath one Subterfuge, in which he moft confides, 17/2;. that all thefe Ufes of Parts are no more than what is neceffary to the very Exiftence of the Things to whom they belong, and what Tilings made Ufes, and not Ufes Things. Nil ideo natum eft in corpore ut uti Pojfemus, fed quod natum eji id procreat ufum, Saith Lucretius^ Lib. 4. And having inftanc'd in feveral Members, he concludes, — Omnia denique membra Antefuere^ ut opinor^ eorum quamfuit ufus, I fhall give you their Senfe, together with the Confutation of it, in Dr. Bentleys Words, bor- row'd out of his fifth Ledlure, &c, Thefe things (fay * they) are mi- * rh Atheijis. ftaken for Tokens of Skill and Con- trivance, whereas they are but neceffary Confe- quences of the prefenc Exiftence of thofe Crea- tures to which they belong ; for he that fuppofeth any Animals to fubfift, doth by that very Suppo- fition allow them every Member and Faculty that are neceffary to Subfiftence; and therefore uulefs A a 3 we 358 T6e Wisdom of GOD Part 11. we can prove a priori, and independent on this Ufefulnefs, now that Things are once fuppos'd to have exifted and propagated, that among al~ moft infinite Trials and Effays at the beginning of Things, among Millions of monftrous Shapes and imperfeft Formations, a few fuch Animals as now exift could not pofjibly be produc'd, thefe after-Confiderations are of very little moment ; becaufe if fuch Animals could in that way pojfibly be form'd, as might live and move, and propagate their Beings, all this admir'd and applauded Ufe- fulnefs of their feveral Fabricks is but a neceffary Condition and Confequence of their Exiftence and Propagation. This is the laft Pretence and Sophiftry of the Atheijh againft the Propofition in my Text \AEis xvii. 27.] that we receiv'd our Life arid Being from a divine Wifdom and Power ; and as they cannot juftly accufe me of concealing or baulk- ing their grand Objection, f o I believe thefe fol- lowing Confiderations will give them no reafon to boaft that it cannot receive a juft and fatif- fadory Anfwer, (i.) Firji^ therefore, we affirm that we can prove, and have done it already by Arguments a friori (which is the Challenge of the Atheijls) that thefe Animals that now eiift could not pof- iibly have been form'd at firft by Millions of Tri- aJs j for feeing they allow by their very Hypothefis (and without llaniing to that Courtefy we have prov'd Part I L in the Cke ATio^. 3.59 prov'd it before) that there can be no cafual or Spontaneous motion of the Particles of Matter, it will follow, that every fingle Monfter, among fb many fuppos'd Myriads, muft have been me- chanically and necelfarily form'd, according to the known Laws of Motion, and the Tempera- ment and Quality of the Matter it was made of, which is fufficient that no fuch Monfters were or Gpuld have been form'd ; for to denominate themr even Monfters they muft have had fome rude kind of drganical Bodies, fome Stamina of Life, tho' never fo clumfy, fome Syjlem of Parts, compoun- ded of Solids and Liquids, that executed (tho' but bunglingly) their peculiar Motions and Functions. But we have lately fliewn it impoffible for Na- ture unaflifted to conftitute fuch Bodies, whofe Strudlure is againft the Law of fpecifick Gravity ; fo that flie could not make the leaft Endeavour towards the producing of a Monfter, or of any thing that hath more vital and organ ical Parts than we find in a Rock of Marble or a Fountain of Water. And again, tho' we fhould not con- tend with them about* their Monfters and Abor- tions, yet feeing that they fuppofe even the per- fed: Animals that are ftill in being to have been form'd mechanically among the reft, and only add fome Millions of Monfters to the Reckoning, they are liable to all the Difficulties in the for- mer Explication, and are exprefly refuted thro' the whole preceding Ser?no?i^ where it is abun- . dantly fliewn that a fpontaneous Production is againft the CathoUck Laws of Motion, and a- A a 4 gainft 360 Tbe Wisdom of GOD Part II. gainft Matter of Fadt, a thing without Example, not only in Man and the nobler Animals, but in the fmalleft of Infefts and the vileft of Weeds ; tho' the Fertility of the Earth cannot be faid to have been impaired fince the beginning of the World. (2.) Secondly, We may obferve that this Eva- fion of the Atbeijt is fitted only to elude fuch Ar- guments of' divine Wifdom as are taken from Things neceffary to the Confervation of the Ani- mal, as the Faculties ofSight, and Motion, and Nutrition, and the like, becaufe fuch Ufefulnefs is indeed included in a general Suppofuion of the Exlftence of that Animal; but it miferably fails him againit other Reafons, from fuch Members and Powers of, the Body as are not neceffary ab- folutely to living and propagating, but only much conduce to our better Subfiftence and happier Condition. So the moft obvious Contemplation of the Frame of our Bodies, as that we all have double Senfories^ two Eyes^ two Ears, two No- firih, is an effectual Confutation of this atheiflical Sophifm; for a double Organ , of thefe Senfes. is not at all comprehended in the Notion of bare Exiftence, one of them being fufRcient to have preferv'd Life and continu'd the Species, as com- mon Experience witneffeth. Nay, even the very Nails of our Fingers are an infallible Token of Delign and Contrivance, for they are ufeful and convenient, to give Strength and Firmnefs to thofe i'arts in the various Funftions they are put to, and Part 11. in the Cke AT ION. 361 and to defend the numerous Nerves and Tendons- that are under them, which have a moft exquifite Senfe of Pain, and without that native Armour would continually be expos'd to it j it is manifeft therefore that there was a Contrivance and Fore- fight of the Ufefulnefs of Nails antecedent to their Formation j for the old ftale Pretence of the Atheijis^ that Things were firft made fortuitoufly, an(^ afterwards their Ufefulnefs was obferv'd or difcover'd, can have no place here, ufilefs Naik were either abfolutely requifite to the Exiftence of Mankind, or were found only in fome Indivi- duals or fome Nations of Men, and fo might be afcrib'd to Neceffity upon one Account, or to Fortune upon another. But from the Atheifls Suppofition, that among the infinite Diverfity of the firft terreftrial Productions, thei;e were Ani- mals of all imaginable Shapes and Structures of Body, all of which furviv'd and multiply'd, that by reafon of their Make and Fabrick could pofil- bly do fo. It neceflTarily follows that we fliould now have fome Nations without Nails upon their Fingers, others with one Eye only, as the Poets defcribe yht Cyclopes in Sicily^ and the Arimafpi in Scythia ; others with one Ear, or with one No- ftri], or indeed without any Organ of fmelling, becaufe that Senfe is not neceflary to Man's Sub- fiftence -, others deftitute of the Ufe of Language, feeing that Mutes alfo may live. One People would have the Feet of Goats, as the feign'd Satyrs and Panifci-, another would refemble the liead of Jupiter Ammon, or the horned Statues of 362 "The Wisdom of GOD Part II, of Bacchus \ the Sciopedes and EnotocetcCy and other monftrous Nations, would be no longer Fables, but real Inftances in Nature; and in a word, all the ridiculous and extravagant Shapes that can be imagined, all the Fancies and Whimfies of Poets and Painters, and /Egyptian Idolaters, if fo be they are confiftent with Life and Propagation, would be now adually in Being if our Atbeijh Notion were true; which therefore may defer- vedly pafs' for a mere Dream and an Error, till they pleafe to make new Difcoveries in the 'terra iTicognita^ and bring along with them fome Sava- ges of all thefe fabulous and monftrous Configu- rations. Thus far Dr. Bentley: who adds four Confiderations more to confute this Fancy, ex abunda7itt^ granting the Atheiji all the abfurd Sup- pofitions he «can make ; for which, tho' they be very well worth the reading, yet being too long to tranfcribe, I refer the Reader to the Sermon itfelf I fliall now farther prove by a notable Inftance that Ufes made Things, that is to fay, that fome Things were m-ade defignedly and on purpofe for fuch an Ufe as they ferve to ; and that is, the Tendrels or Clafpers of Plants, becaufe they are given only to fuch Species as have weak and in- firm Stalks, and cannot raife up to fupport them- felvesby their own Strength ; we fee not fo much as one Tree, or Shrub, or Herb, that hath a firm and ftrong Stem, and that is able to mount up and ftand alone without Affiftance, furnifti'd with them ; whereas had they been without Defigi> " fcatter'd Part II. in ^>&^ C r e at i o n. 363 fcatter'd (as I may fay) indifferently and carelefly among Plants, it could not poffibly have hap- pen'd but among fo many thoufand Species they rauft have fallen to the Lot of fome few at leaft, fome one of the ftrong, and not only of the v^eak ; the fame hath been prov'd by the Inftance of the Power given to the Hedge-hog and Armadillo^ of contracting their Bodies into a globular Figure, and fo hiding and fecuring their tender and un- armed Parts. 2. I fhall prove by another eminent Inftance that Things did not make Ufes, becaufe there is a Sort of Creatures which have all the Parts and Organs which are fitted for a certain Aftion, and employed for the Exercife of it by another Sort, and yet make no ufe of them for that purpofe ; that is, the Ape-Kind; the Parifian Academijii in their Anatomy of fome Animals of this Kind tell us, that the Mufcles of the Os Hyoides^ Tongue, Larynx and Pharynx, which do moft ferve to ar- ticulate a Word, were wholly like to thofe of Man; and a great deal more than thofe of the Handy which neverthelefs the Ape, which fpeaks not, ufes with as much Perfedion as a Man ; which demonftrates that Speech is an Adlion more peculiar to Man, and which more diftinguiflies him from Brutes than the Hands, which Anaxa- goras, Arijiotle and Galen have thought to be the Organ which Nature has given to Man as to the wifeft of all Animals, for want perhaps of this Refiedion j for the Ape is found provided by Na- tuie 364 7^^ Wisdom of GOD Part I L ture of all thofe marvellous Organs of Speech lyeith fo much Exadnefs, that the very three fmall Mufcles which do take their Rife from the Apo- ihefis Styhides are not wanting, altho' this Apo^ tbejts be extremely fmall -, this Particularity doth likewife fhew that there is no reafon to think that Agents do perform fuch and fuch Adtions becaufe they are found w^ith Organs proper thereunto; for according to thefe Philofophers Apes {hould fpeak, feeing that they have all the Inftruments neceffary for Speech 5 all this is confirmed and approv'd by the learned and accurate Dr. T'yfon in his Anatomy of the Orang-Outrang or Pigmy y he finding in the Animal he defcrib'd (which was of the Ape-Kind) the whole Strufture of the Larynx and Os Hyoides exadly as it is in Man ; and the Refledion which the Pariftans make upon their Obfervation of thefe and the neighbouring Parts, he thinks very juft and valuable ; and adds farther, that this is not the only Inftance which may ju- ftify fuch an Inference, tho' he thinks it fo ftrong an one as the Atheijis can never anfwer. It is farther confiderable , and adds to ' the Weight of this Inftance, that tho' Birds have been taught to imitate human Voice, and to pronounce Words, yea, Sentences; yet Quadrupeds never, tho* they have Organs far more fit for that pur- pofe, and fome of them, viz. Dogs and HorfeSy converfe almoft perpetually with Men; and o- thers, as Apes, are given naturally to imitate Mens AtUonpj as if Providence had defign'd purpofely to Part II. in tbe Cr-e ATio^. 365 to confute this fond Conceit of the Atheijisy by denying them the Power to make ufe of thefe Organs of Speech, which, whether they under- ftand what they faid or not, they otherwife might and would have done in Imitation of Man, and that to greater Perfed:ion than Birds do, or are capable of doing. Earther, To prove that thofe 72ohI.er Faculties of the Soul, Reafon and IJnderJianding^ cannot be produced by Matter organiz'd , but muft have a higher Principle, * he » Dr. T%for. thus argues : It is an Obfervation of Vefaliuss^ that the Brain of Man, in rcfpedof his Body, is much larger than what is to be met with in any other Animals, exceeding in Bignefs three Oxes Brains ; whence he infers, that as Animals excel in the Largenefs of the Brain, fo they do Jikewife in the principal Faculties of the Soul ^ which Inference the Dodor cannot allow. It is (faith he) a generally receiv'd Opinion, that the Brain is the immediate Seat of the Soui itfelf ; whence one would be apt to think, tku feeing there is fo great a Difparicy between the Soul of a Man and a Brute^ the Organ in which it is plac'd fhculd be very different too ; yet, by comparing the Brain of our Pigmy [the Orang-^ Oiitra?ig, or wild Ma?i\ with that of a Ma72^ and with, the greateft Exad:nefs obferving each Part 'in both, it was very furprizing to me to find (o great a Refemblance of the one to the other, as nothing 366 T6eWisDOM of GOD Part 11, nothing could be more; and that in proportion to its Body its Brain was alfo as large as a Man's. Since therefore (he proceeds) the Brain of our Pigmy doth in all Refpeds fo exadly refemble a Man's, I might here make the fame Reflection the Parijiaiis did upon the Organs of Speech^ that there is no reafon to think that Agents do per- form fuch and fuch Aftions becaufe they are found with Organs proper thereunto, for then our Pigmy might be really a Man; the Organs in animal Bodies are only a regular Compages of Pipes and Veffels for the Fluids to pafs thro', and are paffive ; what adtuates them are the Humours and Fluids, and animal Life confifts in their due and regular Motion in this organical Body j but thofe nobler Faculties in the Mind of Man muft certainly have a higher Principle, or Matter orga- nizd could never produce them ; for why elfe, where the Organ is the fame, fhould not the ^^/(?w be the fame too? Objeft. Some may here objeB and argue : If the Body of Man be thus perfe^, why did God make any other Animals '? For the mofi perfeB Being, the bejl, an infinitely good Agent ^ which wants neither Wifdom 7ior Power, pould (one would think) only produce the mofi perfect. Anfw, To which I anfwcr : i. That according to this Argumentation one might infer, that God muft produce but one Kind of Creature, and that the Part II. in the Ckil AT 10 k. 367 the moft perfed: that he is able, which is impoi- fible ; for he being infinite in all Perfedion, can- not adt ad extremum viriuniy unlefs he could pro- duce an infinite Creature, that is, another God, which is a Contradidtion ; but whatever he makes muft want Degrees of infinite Perfedion, of which he could ftill (if he pleas'd) add more and more to it. 2. The inferior Creatures are perfed in their Order and Degree, wanting no Quality or Per-r feftion that is neceflary or due to their Nature and Condition, their Place, and manner of living; now, why God might not make feveral fubordi- nate Ranks and Degrees of Creatures, they being good, I fee no reafon. 3. Thefe feveral Ranks and Degrees of Crea^ tures are fubfervient one to another, and the moft of them ferviceable, and all fome way or other ufeful to Man -, fo that he could not well hava been without them. 4. God made thefe feveral Orders and Degrees, and in each Degree fo many Varieties of Creatures^ for the manifeftation and difplaying of his infinite Power and Wifdom ; for we have {hewn before by a familiar Inftance, that there is more Art and Wifdom fhewn in contriving and forming a Mul- titude of different Kinds of Engines than in on? only. 5. Yet do I not think that he made all thefe Creatures to no other End but to be ferviceable to Man, but alfo to partake themfelves of his overflowing Goodnefs, and to enjoy their own Beings, If we admit all other Creatures in this 2 ^ inferior 368 72^ Wisdom of GOD Part II. inferior World befides Man to be mere Machines or Automata^ to have no Life, no Senfe nor Per- ception of any thing, then I confefs this Reafon is out of Doors, for being uncapable of Pleafure or Pain they can have no Enjoyment ; upon this account aUb, among others, I am lefs inclinable to that Opinion. I fhould now proceed to anfwer fome Obje- aions which might be made againft the Wifdom and Goodnefs of God in the Contrivance and Go- vernance of the World, and all Creatures therein contain d; but that is too great and difficult a Talk for my Weaknefs, and would take up more Time than I have at prefent to fpare were I qua- *M Robert ^^^1 ^ ^^^ ^^' ^^^ befides fwell this BurfcQugh of Volume to too great a Bulk ; only I ffotnefs , in {^^11 fay fomething to one Particular •^^^^'^* which was fuggefted to me by a learn- ed and pious ^ Friend. Objeft. A wife Agent a6is for Ends. Now 'what End can there be of creating fuch a vajl Mul- titude of Infers as the World is JiWd withy moji of which feem to be ujelefsy and fome alfo noxious and pernicious to Man and other Creatures? Anfw. To this I {hall anfwer: i. As to the Multitude of Species or Kinds. 2. As to the Number of Individuals in each Kind. Firjly As to the Multitude of Species (which we muft needs acknowledge to be exceed- ing great, they being not fewer, perchance more Part il. //^ />6^ C R E A T I o N. 369 more than Twenty Thoufand.) I anfvver, there were lb many made, 1. To manifeft and difplay the Riches of the Power and Wifdom of God, Pfalm civ. 24. The Earth is full of thy Riches, fo is the great and wide Seay wherein are Things creeping injiumerable, &c* We fhould be apt to think too meanly of thofe Attributes of our Creator, fhould we be able to come to an End of all his Works, even in this fublunary World ; and therefore I believe never any Man yet did, never any Man fhall fo long as the World endures, by his utmoft Induftry attain to the Knowledge of all the Species of Nature ; hitherto we have been fo far from it, that in Ve- getables the Number of thofe which have been difcover'd this laft Age hath far exceeded that of all thpfe which were known before j fo true is that we quoted before out of Seneca: Fufilla res eji munduSy niji in eo quod qucerat omnis, mundus, habeat. The World is fo richly furnifh'd and pro- vided, that Man need not fear want of Employ- ment fhould he live to the Age of Methujelah, or ten times as long ; but of this, having touch'd it already, I {hall add no more. 2. Another reafon why fo many Kinds of Crea- tures were made, might be to exercife the con- templative Faculty of Man, which is in nothing fo much pleas'd as in variety of Objects ; we foon grow weary of one Study, and if all the Objects of the World could be comprehended by us, we fhould with Alexander think the World too little for us, and grow weary of running in a Round of B b feeing 370 "The Wisdom of GOD Part II. feeing the fame Things ; new Objefts afford us great Delight, efpecially if found out by our own Induftry. I remember Clufius faith of himfelf, *' That upon the Difcovery of a new Plant he " did not lefs rejoice than if he had found a rich " Treafure/* Thus God is pleas'd, by referving things to be found out by our Pains and Induftry, to provide us Employment moft delightful and agreeable to our Natures and Inclinations. 3. Many of thefe Creatures may be ufeful to us whofe Ufes are not yet difcover'd, but referv*d for the Generations to come, as the Ufes of fome we now know are but of late Invention, and were unknown to our Forefathers ; and this muft needs be fo, becaufe, as I faid before, the World is too great for any Man or Generation of Men, by his or their utmoft Endeavours, to difcover and find out all its Store and Furniture, all its Riches and Treafures. Secondly^ As to the Multitude of Individuals in each Kind of InJeB, I anfwer : I. It is defign'd to fecure the Continuance and Perpetuity oi the feveral Species, which if they did not multiply exceedingly, fcarce any of them could efcape the Ravine of fo many Enemies as continually aifault and prey upon them, but would be in danger to be quite deftray'd and lofl: out of the World. z 2. This Part IL in the Creation. 37 i 2. This vaft Multitude of Infeds is ufeful to Mankind, if not immediately, yet mediately. It -Cannot be deny'd tlmt Birds are of great tFfe to us, their Flefli affording us a good Part of our Food, and that the molt delicate too, and their other Parts Phyfick, not excepting their very Ex- crements 'y their Feathers ferve to iluff our Beds and Pillows, yielding us foft and warm Lodging, which is no fmall Convenience and Comfort to us,efpeGlally in thefe northern Parts of the World ; fome of them have alfo been always employed by military Men in Plumes, to adorn their Crefts, and render them formidable to their Enemies ; their Wings and Quills are made ufe of for writing- Pens, and to bru{h and cleanfe our Rooms, and their Furniture ; befides, by their melodious Ac- cents they gratify our Ears ; by their beautiful Shapes and Colours they delight our Eyes, being very ornamental to the World, and rehdring the Countpy, where the Hedges and Woods are full of thenhf, very pleafant and chearly, which with- out them would be no lefs lonely and melancho- ly J not to mention the Exercife, Diveriion and Recreation v^^hich fome of them give us. Now Infedsfupply Land Birds with the chiefeft Part of their Suftenance ; fome, as the entire Genu^ of Swallows, live wholly upon them, as I could eafily make out did any Man deny or doubt of it ; and not Swallows alone, but alfo Wood-peckers, if riot wholly, yet chiefly 5 and all other Sorts of Birds partly, efpecially in Winter-time, as appears by diffedtine their Stomachs. " B b 2 As 372 iTjeWisDouof GOD Part IL As for young Birds which are brought up in the Neft by the old, they are fed chiefly if not folely by Infeds ; and therefore for the time when Birds for the moft part breed, in the Spring, when there are Multitudes of Caterpillars to be found on all Trees and Hedges -, moreover, it is very re- markable, that of many fuch Birds as when grown up feed almoft wholly upon Grain, the young ones are nourifh'd by Infefts ; for example, Phea- fants and Partridges^ which are well known to be granivorous Birds, the Young live only or moftly upon Ants Eggs. Now Birds, being of a hot Na- ture, are very voracious Creatures, and eat abun- dantly, and therefore there had need be an infi- nite Number of Infedls produc'd for their Sufte- nance,. Neither do Birds alone, but many Sorts ofFifhes, feed upon Infcds, as is well known to Anglers, who bait their Hooks with them -, nay, which is more ftrange, divers Quadrupeds feed upon Infeds, and fome live wholly upon them, as two Sorts of "Tamundiius upon Ants, which therefore are call'd in EngliJId Ant-Bears ; the Cn- melion upon Flies -, the Mole upon Earth-worms; the Badger alfo lives chiefly upon Beetles, Worms, and other Infeds. Here we may take notice by the way, that be- caufe fo many Creatures live upon Ants and their Eggs, Providence hath fo ordered it, that they fliould be the mofl: numerous of any Tribe of In- iefts that we know. Confor- Part II. in /^^ C r e a t i o n. 373 Conformable to this Particular is the Reafon my ingenious and inquifitive Friend Mr. Derbmn^ before remember'd, hath given of the Produdlion of fuch innumerable Multitudes of fome aquatick Infed:s. I have often thought (faith he) that there v^as fome more than ordinary Ufe in the Creation for fuch Infeds as are vaftly numerous, fuch as the Pulices aquaticiy which are in fuch Swarms as to difcolour the Waters,and many others ; and there- fore I have bent my Enquiries to find out the Ufes of fuch Creatures, wherein I have fo far fuc- ceeded, as to difcover, that thofe vaftly fmall Ajti- malcula^ not to be feen without a Microfcope, with which the Waters are replete, fcrve for Food to fome others of the fmall Infedts of the Water, particularly to the Nympha Culicaria [Hirjuta it may be call'd] figur'd in S'wammerdam 5 for view- ing that Nympha one Day, to obferve the motion of its Mouth, and for what purpofe it is in fuch continual motion, whether as Fifh to get Air, or to fuck in Food, or both, I could plainly perceive the Creature to fuck in many of the moft minute Animalculay that were fwimming brifkly about in the Water 5 neither yet do thefe Animalcules ferve only for Food to fuch Nymphce, but alfo to ano- ther, to me anonymous Infed of the Waters, of a dark Colour, cleft as it were in funder, and fcarce fo big as the fmalleft Pin's Head ; thefe Inieds hunt thefe AnunalcideSy and other fmall Creatures that occur in the Water, and devour them ; and I am apt to think, altho' I have not yet feen it, B b 3 that 374 T6e Wisdom of GOD Part II. that the Pulex aquaticus arborefcens liveth upon thefe, or more minute and tender AnimalculeSy and that it is to catch them that it fo leaps in the Water. This to me feems a wonderful Work of God, to provide for the minuteft Creatures of the Wa- ters Food proper for them, that is, minute and tender, and fit for their Organs of fwallowing. As for noxious Infeds, why there j(hquld be fo many of them produc'd, if it be demaj^ded, I anfwer, i. That many that are noxipus to us, are falutary to other Creatures i and fomc that are Poifon to us, are Food to them. So we fee the Poultry-Kind feed upon Spiders-, nay, there is fcarce any noxious Infedt but one Bird or other eats ir, either for Food or Phyfick; for many, nay, moft of thofe Creatures whofe Bite or Sting is poifonous, may fafely be taken entire into the Stomach ; and therefore it is no Wonder that not only the Ibis of Egypt, but even Storks and Pea- cocks, prey upon and deftroy all Sorts of Serpents as well as Locujis and Caterpillars, 2. Some of the mofl venomous and pernicious of Infedis afford us noble Medicines, as Scorpions, SpiderSy and Cantharides, 3. Thefe Infeds feldom make ufe of their of- fenfive Weapons, unkfs affaulted or provok'd in their own Defence, or to revenge an Injury i let them Part jr. in the CKi^kTio^. 375 them but alone, and annoy them not, nor difturb their Young, and, unlefs accidentally, you fhall feldom fufFer by them. Lajil)\ God is pleased fometimes to make ufe of them as Scourges, to chaftizc or punifli wic- ked Perfons or Nations, as he did Herod and the Egyptians -, no Creature fo mean and contempti- bfe, but God can when he pleafes produce fuch Armies of them, as no human Force is able to conquer or deftroy, but they fhall of a fudden confume and devour up all the Fruits of the Earth, and whatever might ferve for the Sufte- nance of Man, as Locujls have often been obferv'd to do. Did thefe Creatures ferve for no other Ufe, as they do many, yet thofe that make them an Ob- je(5llon againft the Wifdom of God, may (as Dr. Cockhurn well notes) as well upbraid the Pru- dence and Policy of a State for keeping Forces, which generally are made up of very rude and infolent People, which yet are neceflary, either to fupprefs Rebellions, or punifh Rebels, and o- ther diforderly and vicious Perfons, and keep the World in Quiet. From that Part of this Difcourfe which relates to the Body of Man, I fliall make thefe pradtical Inferences. B b 4 Infer. 376 Tie Wisdom of GOD Part II. Infer, i. Firji^ Let us give Thanks to Almigh- ty God for the Perfection- and Integrity of our Bodies 5 it would not be amifs to put it into the euchariftical Part of our daily Devotions: We praife thee, O God, for the due Number, Shape, and Ufe of our Limbs and Senfes j and in general, of all the Parts of our Bodies ; we blefs thee for the found and healthful Conftitution of them, Ffal. X. It is thou that haft made us, and not we ourfelves ; in thy Book were all our Members writ- ten. The Formation of the Body is the Work of God, and the whole Procefs thereof attributed to him, Pfal cxxix. 13, 14, 15. The Mother that bears the Child in her Womb is not confcious to any thing that is done there, fhe underftands no more how the Infant is form'd than itfelf doth ; but if God hath beftow'd upon us any peculiar Gift or Endowment wherein we excel others, as Strength, or Beauty, or Activity, we ought to give him fpecial Thanks for it; but not to think the better of ourfelves therefore, or defpife them that want iu Now becaufe thefe bodily Perfedions being common Bleffings, we are apt not at all to con- fider them, or not to fet ajuil Value on them; and becaufe the Worth of Things is beft difcern*d by their want, it v/ould be ufeful fometimes to imagine or fuppofe ourfelves, by fom^ Accident, to be deprived of one of our Limbs or Senfes, as ii Hand, or a FooCj or an Eye, for then we can- not Part II. 7;^ /)&^ Creation. 377 not but be fenfible that we (hould be in worfe Condition than now we are, and that we fhould foon find a difference between two Hands and one Hand, two Eyes and one Eye, and that two excel one as much in Worth as they do in Num- ber ; and yet, if we could fpare the Ufe of the loft Part, the Deformity and Unfightlinefs of fuch a Defedt in the Body would alone be very grie- vous to us. Again, which is lefs, fuppofe we only that our Bodies want of their juft Magni- tude, or that they or any of our Members are crooked or diflorted, or difproportionate to the reft, either in Excefs or Defed:; nay, which is leaft of all, that the due Motion of any one Part be perverted, as, but of the Eyes in fquinting, the Eye-lids in twinkling, the Tongue in ftam- mering, thefe things are fuch Blemifhes and Of- fences to us, by making us Gazing-ftocks to o- thers, and Objeds of their Scorn or Derifion, that we could be content to part with a good Part of our Eftates to repair fuch Defeds or heal fuch Infirmities. Thefe things confider'd, and duly weigh'd, would furely be a great and effe- ctual Motive to excite in us Gratitude for this Integrity of our Bodies, and to efteem it no fmall Bleffing, I fay, a Bleffmg and Favour of God to US; for fome there be that want it, and why might not we have been of that Number? God was no way obliged to beflow it upon us. And 378 T^he Wisdom of GOD Part II. And as we are to give Thanks for the Integri- ty of our Body, fo are we likewife for the Health of it, and found Temper and Conftitution of all its Parts and Humours; Health being the princi- pal Bleffing of this Life, without which we can- not enjoy or take Comfort in any things befide. Neither are we to give Thanks alone for the firft Collation of thefe Benefits, but alfo for their Prefervation and Continuance. God preferves our Souls in Life, and defends us from Dangers and fad Accidents, which do fo befet us on every iide, that the greateft Circumfpedion in the World could not fecure us, did not his good Pro- vidence continually watch over us ; we may be faid to walk and converfe in the midft of Snares ; befides, did we but duly confider the Make and Frame of our Bodies, what a multitude of minute Parts and Veffels there are in them, and how an Obftrudion in one redounds to. the Prejudice of the whole, we could not but wonder how fo cu- rious an Engine as Man's Body could be kept in Tune one Hour as we ufe it, much lefs hold out fo many Years; how it were poffible it fliould endure fuch Hardfhips, fuch Blows, fo many Shocks and Concuffions, nay, fuch Violences and Outrages as are offered it by our frequent ExccfTes, and not be diforder'd and rendered ufclefs; and acknowledge the tranfcendent Art and Skill of him who fo put it together, as to render it thus firm and durable. Infer, z. Part II. in the Ckeatioi^. 379 Ifjfer, 2. Secondly, Have a care thou doft not by any vicious Pradice deface, marr, or deftroy the Workmanfliip of God ; fo ufe this Body as to preferve the Form and Comelinefs, the Health and Vigor of it. I. For the Form and Beauty of the Body, whiph Mankind generally is fond enough of, and which muft be acknowledg'd to be a natural En- dowment and Blefiing of God, a thing defirable, which all Men take Complacency in, which ren- ders Perfons gracious and acceptable in the Eyes of others -, of which yet we do not obferve that brute Beafts take any notice at all : Of this I (hall obferve, that outward Beauty is a fign of inward; and that handfome P^erfons are naturally well in- clin'd, till they do either debauch themfelves, or are corrupted by others, and then with their Manners they marr their Beauty too ; for a Man may obferve, and ealily difcern, that as Perfons are better or worfe inclin'd, the very Air of their Vifage.v^ill alter much -, and that vicious Courfes, defacing the inward Pulchritude of the Soul, do cha?2ge even the outward Coun- * Z?r. Morft. tenance into an abhor r d Hue "* ; as is evident in the Vices of Intemperance and Anger, and may, by fagacious Perfons, be obferv'd in others alfo. No better Cofmeticks than a fevere Temperance and Purity, a real and unaffedted -Modedy and Humility, a gracious Temper and Calmnefs 380 Hoe Wisdom of GOD Part II. Calmnefs of Spirit, a fincere and univerfal Cha- rity ; no true Beauty without the Signatures of thefe Graces in the very Countenance ; they therefore who thro* the contrary Vices do deface and blot out this natural Character and Imprefs, and do Violence to their own Inclinations, that facrifice this Jewel to their Lufts, that rejedt this Gift of God, and undervalue the Favour of Man, aggravate their Sin and Mifery, and purchafe Hell at fomewhat a dearer Rate than others do ; and thofe that have but a mean Portion of this Gift, are the more obliged by virtuous Practices, not only to preferve, but to improve it. Virtue ( as Cicero obferves ) if it; could be ktn with corporeal Eyes, admira-' biles flit Atnores excitaret ; it would excite a wonderful hove oj itjelf, ^y the Signatures it^ there impreffes, it is in fome meafure vifible in the Faces of thofe that pra.6tife it, and fo muft needs impart a Beauty and Amiablenefs to them. T>iogenes Laertius , in the Life of Socrates , tells us , that the Philofopher was wont to advife young Men, (Tuv^'J(2c; •ii^.r^itr^^ic^i-, often to behold themfelves in their Looking-Glaffes or Mirrors. Grammercy, Socrates, that is good Coimfel indeed ! will our young Gentlemen and Ladies be ready to fay: We like it very well , and we pradlife accordingly : And it feems we are injurioufly tax'd and reprehended by Part II. in t/je Creation. 381 by Divines for fpendlng (o much Time between a Comb and a Glafs. Be not over hafty, take what remains along with you : Mark the End for which the Philofopher exhorts this, ^oLfhlct T ^a&^eicw '^^}i^?iv^Tcievy I'hat if they be handfome^ they might appro^ce thcmjehes wor- thy of their Form ; but if they be otherwife^ they may by Difcipline and Injiitution hide their Z)^- formity ; and fo by their virtuous Behaviour compenfate the Hardnefs of their Favour, and by the Pulchritude of their Souls make up what is wanting in the Beauty of their Bodies; and truly I believe a virtuous Soul hath In- fluence upon its Vehicle, and adds a Luftrc even to the outward Man, (l:iining^ forth in the very Face. 2. So ufe the Body as to preferve the Health and Vigor, and confequently prolong the Life of it ; thefe are Things that all Men covet ; no more effedlual Means for the Maintenance and Prefervation of them than a regular and virtuous Life. That Health is impaired by Vice, daily Experience fufficiently evinceth ; 1 need not fpend Time to prove what no Man doth or can deny. And as for Length of Days, we find by the fame Experience, that intemperate and diforderly Perfons are, for the moft part, -(hort-liv'd > moreover, immoderate Cares and Arujciety are obferv'd ^ fuddenly to bring grey Hairs 382 7he Wisdom of GOD Part 11. Hairs upon Men, which are ufually the Signs and Forerunners of Death j and therefore the way to live long muft needs be in all Points to ufe our Bodies fo as is moft agreeable to the Rules of Temperance, and Purity, and right Reafon ; every Violence offered to it weakens and impairs it, and renders it lefs durable and lafting. One Means there is which Phyficians take notice of as very effedtual for the Prefef- vation of Health, which I cannot here otnit, that is, a quiet and chearful Mind, not afflift- ed with violent Paflions , or diftraded with immoderate Cares, for thefe have a great and ill Influence upon the Body ; now, how a Man can have a quiet and chearful Mind under a great Burden and Load of Guilt, I know not, unlefs he be very ignorant , or have a feared Confcience ; it concerns us therefore, even^ upon this Account, to be careful of our Converfation, and to keep our Confciences void of Offence both toward God and toward Men. Infer, 3. "Thirdly^ Did God make the Body ? let him have the Service of it, Rom, xii. i. I be* feech youy Brethren^ by the Mercies of God^ that you prefent your Bodies a living Sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God y which is your reafonable Service. How we fhould do that, St. Chryfo- fiom tells us in his Commentary upon this Place, Part II. in the C'RE ATio"^. 383 fx^Sip yj yXoooSoL XctKivrod alay^uy 5^ "^yve ^ur^ts- Q\Q'H^u'mfj{^^ &c. Let the Eye behold no evil things and it is made a Sacrifice \ let the Hongue fpeak no filthy Word^ and it becomes an Oblation ; let the Hand do no unlawful ABion^ and you render it a Holocauft. Tet it is not enough thus to refirain them from Evily but they mufi alfo be employ d and exercisd in doing that which is good 'y the Hand in giving Almsy the tongue in blejfing them that curfe us and defpite fully ufe us ; the Ear in hearkening to divine LeBures aiid Difcourfes, I Cor. vi. 20. Glorify God in your Body^ or with your Body^ and in your Spirit^ which are God's-, and that not by Redemption only, of which the Apoftle there fpeaks, but by Creation alfo: Rom, vi, 13. Neither yield ye your Members as Inflruments oj Unrighteoujnejs unto Siny but as Infiruments of Righteoufnefs wito God, And again , ver. 1 9, Even jo now yield your Members Servants of Righteoufnejs unto Ho- linefs, 1 {hall inftance in two Members, which are efpecially to be guarded and reftrain'd from Evil, and employ'd in the Service of God. Firfiy The Eye, We muft turn away our Eyes from beholding Vanity , as David pray'd 'God would his, Tfal, exix. 37. We muil make a Covenant with our Eyes^, as Job did, Job xxxi. i. Thefe 384 ThWisBOM of GOD Partll. Thefe are the Windows that let in exterior Ob-* jeds to the Soul ; by thefe the Heart is afFefted ; this way Sin entered firft into the World j our firft Parent faw that the ^ree and its Fruit was plea- fant to the Eyes^ and fo was invited to take and eat it. There are four Sins efpecially for which the Eye is noted, as either difcovering themfelves in the Eyes, or whofe Temptations enter in by, and fo give Denomination to the Eye. 1. There is d, proud Eye, Pro v. xxx. 13. 'Tbere is a Generation, O how lofty are their Eyes I And their Eye4ids are lifted up. Chap. vi. 17. A proud hook is reckoned the firft of thofe fix things that God h^ieSyPfaL xviii. 27. God (the Pfalmiji faith) will bring down proud or high Looks. Pfal. ci. 5. Him that hath a high hook and a proud Heart (faith David) I will not fuffer. And in Pfalm cxxxi. I. he faith of himfelf, that his Heart is not haughty, nor his Eyes lofty. By which Places it appeareth that Pride (heweth forth itfelf in the Eyes efpecially, and that they are as it were the Seat or Throne of it. 2. There is a wanton Eye, which the Pro- phet Ifaiah fpeaks of in his third Chapter, at the i6th Verfe, Becaufe the Daughters of ^erujdlem ivalk with Jlretched-out Necks and wanton Eyes. The Apoftle St. Peter, in his Second Epiftlc, Chap. ii. 24. mentions Eyes full of Adultery ; for by thefe Cafements enter in fuch Objeds as 2 may Part II. ^';? /y^^ C R E A T I o N. 385 may provoke and ftir up adulterous Thoughts in the Mind, as they did in David's -, and like- wife impure Thoughts conceived in the Heart, may difcover themfelves by the Motions of the Eye ; and therefore in this refpedt we fliould do well, with holy Job, to make a Covenant with our Eyes, not to gaze upon any Objedl which may tempt us to any inordinate Appetite or De- iire 5 for our Saviour tells us, it were better to pluck out our Right Eye than that it fhould be an Offence to us ; which I fuppofe refers to this Matter , becaufe it immediately follows thofe Words, He that looketb upon a Woman to luji after her, hath already committed Adultery with her in his Heart, 3. There Is a covetous Eye, By Covetoufnefs I underftand, not only a defiring what is another Man*s, which is forbidden in the Tenth Com- mandment, but alfo an inordinate Delire of Ri- ches, which the Apoftle St. John feems to under- ftand in his firft Epiftle, Chap. ii. 16. by the Lu[i of the Eye, And Covetoufnefs may well be call'd the LuJi of the Eye, becaufe, i. The Temptation or tempting Objedl enters by the Eye ; fo the fee- ing the Wedge of Gold and BabyloniJJo Garment ftirr'd up the covetous Defire in Achan, 2. Be- caufe all the Fruit a Man reaps of Riches, more than will furnifli his Neceffities and Convenien- ces, is the feeding of his Eye, or the Pleafure he takes in the beholding of them, Ecclef, v. 11. C c When 386 77j^ Wisdom of GOD Patt IL When Goods increafe^ &c. what Good is there to the Owners thereof^ faving the beholding them with their Eyes ? 4. There is an envious Eyey which by otir Sa- viour is caird an evil Eye, Matth, xx. 15. Is thine Eye evil becaufe I am good ? That is, envieft thou thy Brother becaufe I am kind to him ? And Chap. vii. 22. one of thofe evil things v^hich pro- ceed out of the Heart and defile a Man, is an evil Eye, Envy is a repining at the Profperity or Good of another, or Anger and Difpleafure at any Good of another v^hich we want, or any Advan- tage another hath above us ; as in the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard, thofe that came in firfl envy'd the laft, not becaufe they receiv'd more than they> but becaufe they receiv'd equal Wages for lefs Time ; thofe that are fubjecSt to this Vice cannot endure to fee another Man thrive, and are apt to think his Condition better than theirs, when indeed it is not. Let us then fo govern our Eyes that we difco- ver by them none of thefe Vices 5 let the Humi- lity and Purity of our Minds appear even in our outward Looks j let neither Pride nor Luft ma- nifeft themfelves in the Pofture or Motions of our Eyes J let us have a care that thefe Members be neither the Inlets nor Outlets of any of the fore- mention'd Vices, that they neither give Admif- fion to the Temptation, nor be expreffive of the Concep- Part II. in /^^ Creation. 387 Conception of them ; let Us employ them in read- ing the Word of God and other Books, fpr the Increafe of our Knowledge and Diredion of our Prad:ice ; in diligently viewing and contempla- ting the Works of the Creation, that we may dif- cefn and admire the Footfteps of the divine Wif- dom, eafily to be trac'd in the Formation, Dif- pofition, and Defignations of them; let us take notice of any extraordinary Events and EfFeds of God's Providence towards curfelves or others, perfonal or national, that as they are the Iffues of his Mercy or Juftice, they may Ilir up fuicable Affedions in us of Thankfulnefs or Fear • let thofe fad and miferable Objedls that prefent them-, felves to our Sight move us to Pity and Commit feration ; and let our Eyes fometimes be exercised in weeping for the Miferies and Calamities of others, but efpecially for our own and their Sins. Secondly y Another Member I {l:iall mention is, the To?2guey which as it is the chief Inftrument of Speech, fo it may be well or ill employ'd in the Exercife of that Adtion, and therefore ftands irt need of Diredlion and Reftraint. I remember I once heard from an m^tmoxxs Aitatomiji oi Padua this Obfervation, that there are but two Members in the Body that have a natural Bridle, both which do very much need it ; the Tongue, and another I fliall not name ; the Signification where- of may be, that they are not to be let loofe, but diligently curbed and held in. That the Tongue C c 2 needs 388 neWisj^ouof GOD Part IL needs a Bridle, you will readily grant, if you read what .the Apoftle St. James hath written of it. Chap. iii. 6. The Tongue is a fire ^ a world of Ini- quity : fo is the Tongue among our Members^ that it defileth the whole Body, andjetteth on fire the courfe of Nature^ and is fet on fire of Hell, For every KindofBeaftSy and of Birds ^ and of Serpent Sy and of things in the Sea^ is tamedy and hath been tamed of Mankind \ but the Tongue can no Man tame^ it is an unruly Evil, full of deadly Poifon, For the better Government of the Tongue, I fhall note fome Vices of Speech which muft carefully be avoided ; firft of all. Loquacity or Garrulity, this the Contrivance of our Mouths fuggefts to us; our Tongues are fenced and guarded with a dou- ble Wall or Mound of Lips and Teeth, that our Words might not rafhly and unadvifedly flip out j then Nature hath furnifh'd us with two Ears and but one Tongue, to intimate that we mufl hear twice fo much as we fpeak. Why Loquacity is to be avoided the wife Man gives us a fufficient Reafon, Prov, x. 19. In the multitude of words there waiiteth not Sin, And, Ecclef. v. 7. In many words there are divers vanities. To which we may add another, of great Force with moft Men, viz, that it hath been always efteem^d an EfFed: and Argument of Folly, Ecclef, v. 3. yf FooPs Voice is hiown by multitude of Words, And on the contrary, to be of few Words is a Sign of Wif- dom ; and he that is wife enough to be filent, tho' a Fool, may pafs undifcover'd j befides all this, a talkative Part IL in the Creation. 389 a talkative Perfon muft needs be impertinent, and fpeak many idle Words, and fo render himfelf burdenfome and odious to Company, and may perchance run himfelf upon great Inconveniences, by blabbing out his own or others Secrets; for a Word once uttered, fuglt irrevocabile^ is irrevo- cable, whatever the Confequence of it be ; great need therefore have we to fet a Watch over our Mouths^ and to keep the Door of our hips, Pfal. cxli. 1. and not fufFer our *//^^'^>' ^^' longues ^ ^^r^^')^eiv tn<; dtxvpict^ wit. as IJbcrates phrafeth it. Secondly^ Lying, or falfe fpeaking. There is difference between mentiri and mendaciwn dicere^ that is, lying, and fpeaking of an Untruth, or a thing that is falfe. Mentiri y is contra mentem ire, which, though it be no good Etymology of the Word, is a good Notion of the thing ; that is, to go againft one's Mind, or fpeak what one does not think. As Homer expreffes it, to conceal one thing in the Mind, and fpeak another with the Tongue j heuice a Man may fpeak an Untruth and yet not lie, when he thinks he fpeaks the Truth j and C c 3 on 390 The Wisdom of GOD Part li- on the contrary, may fpeak what is materially true and yet lie, when he fpeaks what he thinks not to be true. The Tongue was made to be the J7idex of the Mind, Speech the Interpreter of Thought, therefore there ought to be a perfedt Harmony and Agreement between thefe twos fo that lying is a great Abufe of Speech, and a per- vertino- the very End of it, which was to com- municate our Thoughts one to another j it hath alfo an ill Principle for the moft part, proceed- ing either from Bafenefs of Spirit^ or Cowardice^ as in them that have committed a Fault, and deny it for fear of Punifliment or Rebuke ; and therefore the ancient Perjians^ as Xenopkon tells us in his Kyp« TTsttS^eia, made it one of the three thingc they diligently taught their Children, which were linT^&iVy 59 To|<^'«r, ?^ aMi^v&tV to Ridc^ to Shoot y and to /peak thel'ruth: Or from Ccvetoufnefs^ as in Tradefmen, who falfly com- mend their Commodities, that they may vend them for a greater Price; or from Vanity and Vain-glory^ in them who falfly boaft of any Qua- lity or Adion of their own. It is odious both to God and Man ; to God, Trov, vi. 17. A lying Tongue is one of thofe fix or feven things that are an Abomination to him ; to Men, as Hojner wit- nelTeth in the Verfe preceding the fore-quoted. Part 11. ?>/ ^>6^ Creation. 391 ^E^^CP^ ;S jLui TteLVQ^ ofjut)^ AiStto 'TTuAmy Sec, He that tells Lies is as hateful to me as the Gates of Hell or Death. The Pradice of lying is a diabolical Exercife, and they that ufe it are the Devil's Children, as our Saviour tells us, yohn viii. 44. Te are of your Father the Devils 6^c. for he is a Liar^ and the Father of it, An4, laftly, it is a Sin that excludes out of Heaven, and depreffes the Soul into Hell. All Liars Jloall have their Part in the Lake which burns with Fire and Brimjioney which is the fecond Death. T'hirdlyy Another Vice, or Abufe of Speech, or vicious Adion, to which the Tongue is in- ftrumental, is Slandering -, that is, raifing a falfe Report of any Man, tending to his Defamation j this might have been comprehended under the former Head, being but a kind of lying, pro- ceeding from Enmity or lU-v^illj it is a very great Injury to our Neighbour, Mens Reputation being as dear to them as Life itfelf 5 fo that it is grown to be a Proverb among the Vulgar, Take away my good Name and take away my Life, And that which enhanfes this Injury is, that it is irre- parable ; we cannot, by any contrary Declaration, fo clear the Innocency of our Neighbour, as wholly to extirpate the pre-conceiv'd Opinion out of the Minds of thofe to whom our Confef- fion comes 5 and many will remain whom the C c 4 Calumny 392 "The Wisdom of GOD Part IL Calumny hath reached, to whom the Vindication probably will not extend, the Pravity of Man's Nature being more apt to fpread and divulge an ill Report than to flop and lilence it. I might inftance in flattering of others and boafting of ourfelves, for two Abufes of Speech^but they may both be referred to lying, the one to pleafe others, and puft them up with Self-conceit, and a falfe Opinion, that they have fome excellent Quality or Endowment, which they want, or have not in fuch a degree, or that they are better thought of by others than indeed they are, and more ho- noured ; the other, to gain more Honour than is due to ourfelves. Neither yet is boafting only of what we have not, but alfo what we have, condemned and difallow'd by God and Men, as being contrary to that Humility and Modefty that ought to be in us, Prov. xxvii. 2. Let aito- ther Man praife thee^ and not thine own Mouthy a Stranger^ and not thine own Lips, And Mora* lifts proceed fo far as to cenfure all unneceflary 'Tn^oLVTXiTKoyict^ that is, talking of a Man's felf, Fourthly, Obfcene and impure Words are ano- ther vicious Effe(5t of the Tongue ; thofe are principally the (toli^^\ Ko')s>iy rotten Speeches the Apoftle fpeaks of, Eph, v. 29. fuch ^s chafte Ears abhor, which tend only to the depraving and corrupting the Hearers, and are to be ftudioufly 1 ^ ar\c} Part II. ^';^ /Z>^ Cre ATioN. 393 and carefully avoided by all that pretend to Chri- ftianity, Eph, v. 3. But Fornication^ and all Un- cleannejs^ let it not be once nanid among you. Fifthly^ Curfing, and railing or reviling Words, are alfo a great Abufe of Speech, and outrageous Effeds and Expreflions of Malice and Wicked- nefs," PfaL x. 7. The Pfalmiji makes it Part of the Character of a wicked Man, that his Mouth is full of Curfing', which Paflage we have quoted by the Apoftle, Roin, iii. 14. whofe Mouth is full of Curfing and Bitternefs, Sixthly, Swearing, and irreverently ufing the Name of God in common Difcourfe and Con- verfe, is another Abufe of the Tongue 5 to which I might add, vehement AiTeverations upon flight and trivial Occafions. I do not deny, but in a Matter of weight and moment, which will bear out fuch Atteftation, and where Belief will not be obtain'd without them, and yet it may much. import the Hearer or Speaker that his Words be believ'd, or where the Hearer would not other- wife think the Matter fo momentous or impor- tant as indeed it is, Proteftations and AiTevera- tions, yea, Oaths, may lawfully be us'd 3 but to call God to witnefs to an Untruth, or a Lie per- haps^ or to appeal to him on every trivial Occa- fion in conamon Difcourfe, cuftomarily, without any 394 ^^^ Wisdom of GOD Part II. any Confideration of what we fay, is one of the highefl Indignities and Affronts that dan be offered him, being a Sin to which there is no Tempta- tion ; for it is fo far from gaining Belief (which is the only thing that can with any (hew of Rea- fon be pleaded for it) that it rather creates Diffi- dence and Diftruft ; for as multa jidem promijfa levant^ io multa jur amenta too -y it being become a Proverb, lie that willfwear will lye j and good reafon there is for it, for he that fcruples not the Breach of one of God's Commands, is not likely to make Confcience of the Violation of another. Lajily^ (for I will name no more) fcurrilous Words, fcoffing and jeering, flouting and taunt- ing, are to be cenfur'd as vicious Abufes of Speech. This Scoffing and Derifion proceeds from Con- tempt, and that of all Injuries Men do moft im- patiently bear, nothing offends more or wounds deeper ; and therefore what greater Violation of that general Rule of Chriflian Pradlice, to do to ethers a^ we would theyjhould do unto us ? This Inju- ry of being derided the Pfalmijl himfelf complains of, PfaL Ixix. II, 12. I became a Proverb to them. They that fit in the Gate /peak againji me^ and I was the Song of the Drunkards, And PfaL xxxv. 15. according to the Church Tranflation, The very AbjeBs came together againfl me unawares^ making Mows at me^ and ceafed not. And the Prophet Part II. /« /^^ C R E AT I o N. 395 Prophet "Jeremy^ Jer. xx. 7. I am in Derifion daily ^ every 07ie mocketh me. And tho' there may be ibme Wit fhewn in fcoffing and jefting upon others, yet is it a Pradiice inconfiftent with true Wifdom. The Scorner and the Wife Man are frequently opposed in Scripture, Prov, ix. 8. and Chap. xiii. i, 6. / mil fpeak of the glo- rious Honour of thy Majefy, and of thy wondrous Works, 3. In Prayer to God. 4. In Confeffion of him and his Religion, and publickly owning it before Men, whatever the Hazard be. 5. In teaching, inftrufting, and counfelhng of others, 6. In exhorting them. 7. In comforting them that need it. 8. In reproving them. AIJ w^hich Parti- 396 Hdc Wisdom o/GOD Part If. Particulars I might enlarge upon, but becaufe they come in here only as they refer to the Tongue,, it may fuffice to have mentioned them fummarily. ^hirdlyy Let us hence learn duly to prize and value our Souls. Is the Body fuch a rare Piece, what then is the Soul ? The Body is but the Hufk or Shell, the Soul is the Kernel , the Body is but the Cafk, the Soul the precious Liquor contained in it ', the Body is but the Cabinet, the Soul the Jewel; the Body is but the Ship or Veflel, the Soul the Pilot ; the Body is but the Tabernacle, and a poor Clay Tabernacle or Cottage too, the Soul the Inhabitant; the Body is but the Ma- chine or Engine, the Soul that ov^v 77, that adluates and quickens it ; the Body is but the dark Lantern, the Soul or Spirit is the Candle of the Lord that burns in it: And feeing there is fuch difference between the Soul and the Body in refped of Excellency, furely our better Part chal- lenges our greateft Care and Diligence to make Provifion for it. Bodily Provifion is but half Provifion, it is but for one Part of a Man, and that the meaner and more ignoble too, if we con- fider only the Time of this Life ; but if we con- lider a future Eftate of endlefs Duratipn after this Life, then bodily Provifion will appear to be, I do not fay, quarter Provifion, but no Provifion at all in comparifon, there being no Proportion be- tween Part II. in tde Cre ATio^. 397 tween fo fhort a Period of Time aad the infinite Ages of Eternity ; let us not then be fo foolifh as to employ all our Thoughts and beftow all our Time and Pains about cherifliing, accommoda- ting and gratifying our Bodies, in wakwg Provi- Jion for the Flefi to fulfil the Lujls thereof^ as the Apoftle phrafeth it, and fufFer our Souls to lie by negleded in a miferable, and poor, and blind, and paked Condition. Some Philofophers will not allow the Body to be an effential Part of Man, but only the Veflel or Vehicle of the Soul; Anima cujufque ejl quifque \ the Soul is the Man. Tho' I would not be fo unequal to it, yet I muft needs acknowledge it to be but an inferior Part; it is therefore fo to be treated, fo dieted and pro- vided, as to render it moft calm and compliant with the Soul, moft tradable and obfequious to the Didates of Reafon ; not fo pamper'd and in- dulged, as to encourage it to caft its Rider, and to take the Reins into its own Hand, and ufurp Dominion over the better Part, the td h'}^ujovt}dvy to fink and deprefs it into a fordid Compliance with its own Lufts, Atque affigere humi droinc^ farticulam aura. This is our Duty ; but alas ! what is our Pra- dice? Our great Partiality towards our Bodies, and Negled of our Souls, (hews clearly which Part we prefer ; we are careful enough of wound- ing or maiming our Bodies, but we make bold -to la(h and wound our Souls daily j for every Sin we ^98 Tl)eWisDoM of GOD Part IL i we commkj being contrary to its Nature, is a teal Stripe, yea, a mortal Wound to the Soul j and we fliall find it to be fo, if our Confciences be once awaken'd to feel the Sting and Smart of it. We are induftrious enough to preferve our Bodies from Slavery and Thraldom, but we make nothing of fuffering our Souls to be Slaves and Drudges to our Lufts, and to live in the vileft Bondage to the moft degenerate of Creatures, the Devil. We are thrifty and provident enough, not to part with any thing that may be fervice- able to our Bodies under a good Confideration, and we fo efteem them as that we will part with all we have for the Life of them ; but we make little Account of what is moft beneficial to our Souls, the Means of Grace and Salvation, the Word of God, and Duties of his Worfhip and Service ; nay, we can be content to fell our Souls themfelves for a Trifle, for a thing of nothing, yea, for what is worfe than nothing, the fatisfy- ing of an inordinate and unreafonable Appetite or Paffion. We highly efteem and ftand much upon our Nobility, our Birth and Breeding, tho' we derive nothing from our Anceftors but our Bodies and corporeal Qualities ; and it is ufeful fo far to value and improve this Advantage, as to provoke us to imitate the good Examples of our Progenitors, not to degenerate from them, nor to do any thing unworthy of our Breeding ; and yet the divine Original of our Souls, which are Beams from the Father of Light, and the imme- I diate Part II. if^ 2^^^ C R E A T I o N. 399 diate OfF-fpring of God himfelf, tS ;^ 3§ yiyo^ idfjiAvy hath little Influence upon us to engage us to walk worthily of our Extraftion, and to do nothing that is bafe or ignoble, and unfuitable to the Dignity of our Birth. You will fay, how fhall we manifefl: our Care of our Souls ? What fliall we do for them ? I an- fwer, the fame we do for our Bodies. Firjiy We feed our Bodies, our Souls are alfa to be fed ; the Food of the Soul is Knowledge, efpecially Knowledge in the Things of God, and the Things that concern its eternal Peace and Happinefs; the Dodrine of Chriftianity, the Word of God read and preach'd, i Pet, iL 2. As new born Babes defire the [nicer e Milk of the Word^ that ye may grow thereby^ Heb. v. I2. The Apo- ftle fpeaks both of Milk and of ftrong Meat. Milk he there calls the Principles of the Dodrine of Chrift. And again, i Cor, ii. 3. I have fed you with Milky and not with Meat ; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it. So we fee in the Apoftle's Phrafe, feeding of the Flock, is teaching and in- ftruding of them. Knowledge is the Foundation of Pradice > it is impoffible to do God s Will be- fore we know it ; the Word muft be received in- to an honeft and good Heart, and underftood, be- fore any Fruit can be brought forth. Secondly, 400 7X^ Wi s D o M of GOD Part IL Secondly^ We heal and Cure our Bodies, when they are inwardly iick, or outwardly harm'd : Sin is the Sicknefs of the Soul. Matth ix. 12. T^hey that be whole need not a Phyftcian^ but they that be Jick, faith our Saviour by way of Simili- tude ; which he explains in the next Verfe, / am not come to call the Righteous^ but Sinners to Re- fentance. For the Cure of this Difeafe, an hum- ble, ferious, hearty Repentance, is the only Phy- fick ; not to expiate the Guilt of it, but to qua- lify us to partake of the Benefit of that Atone- ment which our Saviour Chrift hath made by the Sacrifice of himfelf, and reftore us to the Favour of God, which we had forfeited, it being, as much as in us lies, an undoing again what we have done. Thirdly^ We cloath and adorn our Bodies j in- deed too much Time and too many Thoughts we beftow upon that ; our Souls alfo are to be cloath'd with holy and virtuous Habits, and adorn'd with good Works, i Pet, v. 5. Be ye cloath' d with Humility, And in the fame Epi- ftle, Chap. ii. 2. he exhorts Women to adorn themfehes , not with that outward adorning of plaiting the Hair^ and wearing Gold^ &c. but with the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit ^ which is in the Sight of God of great Price : And. Part II. in the Creation. 40 1 And in Rev. xix. 8. The Righteoufnefs of the Saints is caird fine Linen. And the Saints are faid to be cloath'd in white Raijnent. Matth. xxiii. 1 1. Works of Righteoufnefs and a Converfation be- coming the Gofpel is call'd a Wedding Garment, Colojf.'in. 10. Put on the ?iew Ma?i. And again. Put on therefore^ as the EleB of God^ Bowels of Mercy, Meeknefs, &c. On the contrary, vicious Habits and finful A6lions are compar'd to filthy Garments. So, Zech. iii. 3. J of ma the High- Prieft is faid to be cloath'd with filthy Garments \ which in the next Verfe are interpreted his Ini- , quities, either perfonal, or of the People whom he reprefented : / have caufed thy Iniquity to pafs from thee^ and will cloath thee with Change of Raiment, Fourthly, We arm and defend our Bodies, and our Souls have as much need of Armour as they; for the Life of a Chriftian is a continual Warfare ; and we have potent and vigilant Enemies to en- counter withal, the Devil, the World, and this corrupt Flefh we carry about us ; we had need therefore to take to us the Chriftian Panoply, to put on the whole Armour of God, that we may with- fand in the evil day, and having done all, may f and \ having our Loins girt with T'ruth, and having on the Br eaf -plate of Righteoifnefi, and our Feet Jhod with the Preparation of the Gofpel oj Peace. 'Above aM, taking the Shield of Faith \ and for an Helmet^ the Hope of Salvation, and the Eword of the Spij'it^ which u the Word of God, Eph. vi. 13, 14. D d He 402 Hoe Wisdom of GOD Part II. He that with this Chriftian Armour manfully fights againft and repels the Temptations and Af- faults of his fpiritual Enemies ; he that keeps his Garments pure, and his Confcience void of Of- fence towards God and towards Man, (hall enjoy perfedt Peace here, and Aflurance for ever. T^z- citus faith of the Finnic a northern People> that they were feciiri adverfus homines, feciiri adverfm Deos, They need not fear v>^hat God or Man could do to them, becaufe they were in as bad a Condition as could conlift with living in the World 3 they could not be banifli'd into a worfe Country, nor put into worfe Circumftances than they were in already. I might fay of the Man that keeps a good Confcience, that he is fecure againft God and Man ; not in that Senfe the Jp//z- ni were, but fecure of any Evil befalling him from either. God can do him no Harm, not for want of Power, but for want of Will, which is regulated by his Truth and Juftice. He is alfo fecure in refpeft of Men, becaufe he is under the Protedion of the Almighty; and if any there be that would do him Harm, they (hall either be re- ftrain'd by the divine Providence, or if they be permitted to injure him, it fhall tend only to the Exercife and Imiprovement of his Faith and Pa- tience, and enhanfing his future Reward at that great Day, when the Almighty ihall difpenfe Aureohe to thofe Champions who have fignaliz'd their Valour and Fidelity by heroick Aftions, or patient Sufferings of unworthy things for his fake. 3. A good Confcience not only fecures a Man from Part II. in //5^ C R e a t i o n. 403 from God and Men, but from himfelf tooj there is no Peace to the Wicked ^ faith my Gody no inward Peaces fuch a Man is at odds with himfelf ; for the Commandments of God being agreeable to the Nature of Man, and perfedly conformable to the Didlates of right Reafon,* Man's Judgmenc gives Sentence with the divine Law, and con- demns him when he violates any of them -, and fo the Sinner becomes an Heauto?2timoriimenos, a Tormentor of himfelf Prima ejl hac ultio^ quod Je Jiidice nemo nocem abfohitiir. No guilty Per- fon is abfolv'd at his own Tribunal, himfelf be- ing Judge. Neither let any profligate Perfon, who hath bidden Defiance to his Confcience, and is at War with himfelf, think to take Sanduary in Atheifm, and becaufe it imports him highly there fliould be no God, ftoutly deny that there is any. For firft, fuppofing that the Exigence of a Deity were not demonftrably or infallibly prov'd (as it moft certainly is) yet he cannot be fure of the contrary, that there is none. For 7io Man can he fure df a pure Negative, namely^ that fuch a thing is noty unlefs he iiuill either pretend to have a certain Knowledge of all things that are or may be^ than which nothing can be more monjlroufly and ridtcu^ loujly arrcga7it ; or elj'e^ unlcfs he he fure that the being of nsjhat he denies doth imply a ContradiBion^ for which there is not the leaf. Colour in this 'Cafe % the true Notion of God conffiing in this, that he is a Being of all polTible Perfection, that I may bor- row my Lord Biihop of Chefers Words, in his Difcourfe of natural Religion, Page 94. D d 2 ^ Now 404 T/je Wisdom of GOD Part II, Now if he be not fure there is no Deity, he cannot be without fon^e Sufpicion and Fear that there may be one. Secondly, If tloere Jkoidd be a Deity ^ fo holy^ and juji^ and powerful, as is Jupposdy what Vengeance and Indigfiation may fuch vile Mifcreants and Re^ bels expeB, who have made it their Bujinefs to banijh him out of the World, who is the great Creator and Governor of it \ to undermine his Being, and eradi- cate all Notions of him out of their own and other Mens Minds ; to provoke his Creatures and Vaffals to a Contempt of him, a flighting of his Fear and Worfoip, as being fuch imaginary Chimaera's as are fit only to keep Fools in awe ? Certainly as this is the higheji Provocation that any Man can be guilty of fojhatl it be punifod with theforefi Vengeance. Now a flender Sufpicion of the Exiftence of a Being , the Denial whereof is of fo fad Confequence, muft needs difturb the Atheift's Thoughts, and fill him with Fears, and qualify and allay all his Pleafures and Enjoyments, and render him miferable even in this Life. But on the other fide, he that believes and owns a God, if there fdoiild be none, is in no danger of any bad Confequent 5 for all the Inconvenience of this Belief 'will be, that he may be hereby occafion'd to tye himfelf up tofome needlefs Refiraints during this Jkort T^ime of his hife^ wherein notwithfianding 2 there Part 11. in the C r e at i o N. 405 there is, as to the prefent, much Peace, ^liet, a?id Safety ; and as to the future, his Error Jhall die with him, there being none to call him to an Account for his Mijlake. Thus far the Bifhop. To which I fhall add, that he not only fufFers no Damage, but reaps a confiderable Benefit from this Miftakej for during this Life he enjoys a pleafant Dream or Fancy of a future bleffed State, with the Thoughts and Expedlations whereof he folaces himfelf and agreeably entertains his Time, and is in no danger of being ever awakened out of it and convinced of his Error and Folly, Death making a full End of him. FINIS, Books printed for W. Inn\s and R. Manby. PHilofophical Letters between the late learned Mr. Kaj and fe- veralof his ingenious Correfpondents, Natives and Foreigners; to which are added thofe of Francis IFilloughby Efq; the whole con- j&fting of many curious Difcoveries and Improvement«; in the Hillo- ry of Quadrupeds, Rirds, Fifhes, Infeds, Plants, Foffils, Fountains, i^'c. Publifh'd by Mr. D^r>^/7w. ^-vo. 1718. Three Phyfico-Theological Difcourfes concerning, I. The pri- mitive Chaos and Creation of the World. 11. The general Deluge, its Caufes and EfFedls. III. The Diflblution of the World, and future Conflagration ; wherein are largely difcufs'd, the Produdlion and Ufe of Mountains, the Original of Fountains, of form'd Stones and Sea-Fifhes Bones and Shells found in the Earth, the Effefts of particular Floods and Inundations of the Sea, the Eruptions of Vul- cano's, the Nature and Caufes of Earthquakes ; alfo an hiilorical Account of thofe two late remarkable ones in Jamaica ^ind England', with pra6lical Inferences ; illulbated with Copper Plates. By John Ray, late Fellow of the Royal Society. The 5'th Edit. ^vo. 1732. Joannis Rail Synopfis Methodica Avium & Pifcium ; Opus Pofl- humum, quod vivus recenfuit & perfecit ipfe infigniffimus Author: in quo multas fpecies, in ipfius Ornithologia & Itchthyologia defi- deratas, adjecit : Methodumque fuam Pifcium Naturae magis conve- nientem reddidit. ^Cum Appendice. & Iconibus. 1713. Phyfico-Theology : Or, A Demonfiration of the Being and At- tributes of God from his Works of Creation ; with large Notes, and many curious Obfervations. By Williafn Derhafn, Re^flor of Vpminfier in EJfex, Canon of Windjor^ and F. R. 5. The Eighth Edition, Svo. 1732. Aflro-Theology : Or, A Demonftration of the Being and Attri- butes of God from a Survey of the Heavens ; illuftrated with Cop- per Plates. The Fifth Edition. By the fame Author, S'jo. iyzS. Philofophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Audlore Ifaaco Newtono Equite Aurato. Editio terria, au61a & emcndata. 4/^. Opticks : or, a Treatife of the Refleclicns, Refraftions, Inflexions, and Colours of Light. The Third Edition, correded. By Sir Jfaac NezvtoUy Kt. Svo. Optice, five de Reflexionibus, Refracffionibus, Inflexionibus, & Coloribus Lucis. Libri tres, Authore Ifaaco Newtono, Equite Au- rato. Latine reddidit Samuel Clarke, S. T. P. Editio fecunda au61ior. Szw. Sir Ifaac Newto?i\ Algebra. Epiftola ad amicum de Cotefii Tnvenlis, Curvarum ratione, qua2 cum Circulo & Hyperbola comparationem admittunt ; cui additur Appendix, auftore Hen, Pemberton, M. D. R. S. S. 4/^. Philofophical Books printed for W. Innys a?t'd R. Manby. ^ Philofophical Tranfacftions, giving fome Account of the prefcnt Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious, in many con- fiderablc Parts of the World, from 1665 to 1727. Continu'd and publilh'd by Dr. Mort'uner. In 37 Vols. \to. N. B. There arc 432 Numbers, molt of which may be had feparate. Philofophical Experiments and Obfervations of the late eminent Dr. Robert Uookcy S. R. S. and Geom. Prof. Grefh. and eminent Virtuofo's in his Time ; with Copper Plates. Publifh'd by IV. Derham. F. R. S. %vo. \jz6. The philofophical Works of the honourable Robert Boyle Efq; abridg'd, methodiz'd, and difposM under the general Heads of Phy- ficks, Staticks, Pneumaticks, Natural Hillory, Chymiftry, and Me- dicine ; the whole illuitrated with Notes, containing the Improve- ments made in the feveral Parts of natural and experimental Know- ledge fmcc his Time. By Peter Shaw, M. D. 3 Vols. \to. 1725. Perfuafive to a holy Life, from the Happinefs which attends it, both in this World and in the World to come. By Mr. Ray. A Treatife of Algebra, in two Books ; the firft treating of ths arithmetical, and the fecond of the geometrical Part. The Second Edition, with Additions. ^-^ Philip Ronayne, Gent. %vo. 1727. EkxTicnta Arithmeticae Numerofas & Speciofae, in ufum Juventu- tis Academics, Audtore Edv. Wells, S. T. P. Editio altera Auflior, ^vo, 1726. Introdu(flio ad Veram Phyficam. Authore Joanne Keill, M. D. Aftr. Prof. Sav. R. S. S. Editio quarta, %vo. 1719. A new mathematical Didionary ; wherein is contain'd, not only the Explanation of the bare Terms, but likewife a Hiitory of thc- Rife, Progrefs , State, Properties, ^c. of Things, both in pure Mathematicks and natural Philofophy, fo far as it comes under a mathematical Confideration, '^vo. 1726. An EfTiy on Perfpe^tive. By W. J. 'sGravefande, ^c. 2>vo. 1724. The religious Philofopher ; or the right Ufe of contemplating the Works of the Creator, ly?, In the wonderful Structure of animal Bodies, and in particular Man. zdly. In the no lefs wonderful and wife Formation of the Elements, tlieir various Effeds upon animal and vegetable Bodies. And, 3^/)', In the molt amazing Structure of the Heavens, with all its Furniture, defign'd for the ConviAion of Atheifls and Infidels. By that learned Mathematician Dr. Neu- wentyt : To which is preiix'd a Letter to the Tranflator, by the Reverend J T. Defaguliers, L. L. D. F. R. S. The Fourth Edi- tion, adorn'd with Cuts. 3 Vols. '^vo. An a^nalytick Treatife of conic Sedions, and their Ufe, for refol- ding ot Equations in determinate and indeterminate Problems, being jhe pofthumcus Works of the Marquis de rtiofpital, ^io. 1723. The great and wonderful Worlds oi God humbly reprefented, and the jult and equal Diitributions of Providence demonltrated i with an Appendix concerning St. Paul. By an ancient Doftor oi Phy- iiek. Zvo. 1727. Allrono- Books printed for W. Innys and R. Manby. Aflronomical Principles of Religion, natural and revealM, in ninff Parts. I. Lemmata : Or, the known Laws of Matter and Motion. II. A particular Account of the Syftem of the Univerfe. III. The Truth of that Syilem briefly demonftrated. IV. Certain Obferva- tions drawn from that Syftem. V. Probable Conjedlarcs of the Nature and Ufes of the feveral celeftial Bodies contain'd in the fame Syftem. VI. Important Principles of natural Religion demonftra- ted from the foregoing Obfervations. VII. Important Principles of divine Revelation conlirm'd from the foregoing Conjeflures. VIII. Such Inferences fhewn to be the common Voice of Nature and Reafon, from the Teftimonies of the moft confiderable Perfons of all Ages. IX. A Recapitulation of the whole, with a large and ferious Addrefs to all, efpecially the Scepticks and Unbelievers of our Agei together with a Preface, of the Temper of Mind necefia- rv for the Difcovery of divine Truth, and of the degree of Evidence that ought to be expe£led in divine Matters. By William WhiJioHy M. A. fometime Profeflbr of the Mathematicks in the Univerfity of Cambridge. Sz/o. 1725. . Religion of Nature delineated. 4/^. An Introduction to natural Philofophy, or philofophical Le(5lures read in the Univerfity of Oxford, A. D. 1 700. To which are ad- ded, the Demonftrations of Monfieur Huygens\ Theorems, concern- ing the centrifugal Force and circular Motion. By John Keill, M. D. Savilian Profeflbr of Aftronomy, F. R. S. The Second Edition. %v'o. 1726. Dr. Robert Hook's pofthumous Works, in which the prefent Defi- ciency of natural Philofophy is difcours'd of, with the Methods of xendring it more certain and beneficial, ^c, Publifli'd by Richard Waller £fq; I olio. Johannis Seldeni Jurifconfulti Opera omnia, tarn edita quam in- cdita, in tribus Voluminibus, collegit ac recenfuit, Vitam Auftoris, Prsefationes & Indices adjecit David Wilkim, S. T. P. Archidiaco- nus Sufl'olcienfis, Canonicus Cantuarienfis, Reverendiflimo in Chri- fto Patri ac Domino Gulielmo, Divina Providentia Archiepifcopo Cantuarienfi, ^r. a Sacris Domefticis. In 6 Tom. Fol. Lo?id. 1726. The philofophical Tranfaftions (from the Year 1720 to the Year J 732) abridg'd, and difpos'd under general Heads, by Mr. Rei d znd John Gray, A. M. F. R.'S. In two Volumes; being a Continua- tion of the Abridgment done by Mr. Lowtharp, Jones, and Motte. ^TF* ouf: m m^' ^isi»yi-^ »-