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THIS BOOK
FORMS PART OF THE
ORIGINAL LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
BOUCHT IN EUROPE
1838 TO 1839
BY
ASA GRAY
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278
TELLIAMED.
:
OR,
DISCOURSES
Between an
INDIAN PHILOSOPHER
Α Ν D A
FRENCH MISSIONARY
ON THE
DIMINUTION of the SEA, the For-
mation of the Earth, the Origin
of Men and ANIMALS,
And other
Curious Subjects, relating to NATURAL
HISTORY and PHILOSOPHY.
Being a Tranſlation from the French Original of
Mr. MAILLE T,
AUTHOR of the Deſcription of EGYPT.
LONDON:
Printed for T. OSBORNE, in Gray's-11111
.
MDCCL.
1750
Putri
Τ Η Ε
AUTHOR's DedicATION,
To the illuſtrious
Cyrano de Bergerac,
Author of the imaginary Travels
thro the Sun and Moon.
Illuſtrious CYRANO,
Hope
will not take it ill
that I addreſs my preſent Work
to you, ſince I could not poſſibly
have
I
A 2
iv
DEDICATION.
+
have made Choice of a more wor-
thy Protector of the Romantic
Flights of Fancy which it con-
tains. 'Tis indeed true, that there
is as little Analogy between your
extravagant Sallies and mine, as
there is between Fire and Water,
and as great a Diſtance between
the one and the other, as there is
between Heaven and Earth. This,
my illuſtrious Traveller, is a Cir-
cuinſtance of no Moment. The
Difference is ſo ſmall, that it
ought not to prevent your gene-
rous Acceptance of the Homage I
now pay you. All Men have an
equal Title to be extravagant; I
may travel thro' the Sea, as well
as you have done thro’ the Sun
and Moon. For the Truth of this
I appeal to the Teſtimonies of all
the Philoſophers, who have either
gone before, or may come after
Is there one of them, who
when treating of the Flux and
Re-
us.
DEDICATION.
V
Reflux of the Sea, liàs not attempt-
ed to eſtabliſh fome Syſtem, as fa-
bulous as mine, and as ridiculous
as yours.
A peculiar Conformity of Ge-
nius and Sentiments, has embol-
dened me to throw my Eyes on
you, illuſtrious Cyrano, as the Pa-
tron and Support of this Product
of the Reveries of my Imagina-
tion. Tho' your Merit is
Merit is perfect-
ly eſtabliſhed, yet I inuft frankly
confeſs, that when travelling thro
France, where I had the Happi-
neſs to meet with your ingenious
Fictions, I in that Country found
your Reputation ſomewhat fuper-
annuated. But Fame, who car-
ries the Names of original Authors
thro' all the Quarters of the Uni-
verſe, has, for thïs Diſrepute into
which
your Philoſophy has fallen,
amply recompens'd you in my
Country, where your Manner of
Thinking ſpreads as faſt as Fire
does among the moſt combuſtible
Sub-
A 3
vi
DEDICATION.
Subſtances; and I aſſure you, that
at preſent People have their Reve-
ries in the Indies, as you formerly
had yours in Europe.
I muſt however tell you (for be-
tween Philoſophers nothing ought
to be concealed) that in my Coun-
try, as well as in your own, you are
accus'd with having ſuffered your-
ſelf to be groſsly deceived in the
Courſe of your marvellous Voyages,
by certain Men of the Lunar
World, who told you more of it
than was really true. You are alſo
charged with having inſerted a great
many Foolries into your Deſcripti-
ons. The Natives of my Country alſo
blame you for ſome indecent Al-
luſions and Reflections which fa-
vour of Libertiniſm ; for in Point
of Decency and Morality we In-
dians cannot bear Raillery. But
your Partizans have dexterouſly
parried the Blow, by laying the
Blame of what was laid to your
Charge
DEDICATION.
vii
11
Charge on a certain GreekAuthor*,
ſtill more looſe and corrupted than
you, and whoſe Writings, they ſay,
have ſerved as a Plan and Model for
your Work
You need not doubt, illuſtrious
Cyrano, but, being a zealous Ad-
mirer of your incomparable Ta-
lents, I on this Occaſion ſtrongly
ſupported thoſe who undertook
your Defence. I at all Times pro-
miſe you the fame Ardour in main-
taining the Intereſt of
ons, againſt all who ſhall dare to
oppoſe them, being ſo thoroughly,
as I am,
your Viſi-
Illuſtrious CYRANO,
Of your Romantic Lordſhip,
The very faithful Imitator,
TELLIAMED.
* Lucian,
.
1
1
( ix )
I....
PREFACE.
lit:
I
FS T is a ſtrange Deſign to at-
tempt to prove to Men that
they are in an Error; but it
would be fill ſiranger to te
willing to force them to con-
feſs that they are ſo. In a Word, as a ct-
lebrated Poeteſs of our Age has very well
expreſſed herſelf *
Nul n'eſt content de la fortune,
Ni mecontent de ſon eſprit I.
Man is naturally prepofeled in Favour of
his own Knowledge ; Experience every Day
in vain attempts to Mew him his Ignorance
and his Blindneſs. When he has been a
hundred Times ſhewn bis Error, be does
not for this believe himſelf leſs clear-ſighted,
01
* Mad. des Houlieres,
I No Man is content with his Fortune, nor dil-
content with his Judgment.
X
PRE FACE.
1
or leſs infallible. Provided we grant bim
but this one Point, he will perhaps condemn
all the reſt. The Qualities of the Heart,which
are the Bonds of Society for which he was
born, ſeem to intereſt himn leſs ſenſibly, than the
agreeable Idea he has conceired of the Ex-
tent of his Genius. He is at firſt diſpoſed
to revolt againſt every Thing which bas a
Tendency to rectify his Judgment, and ſhew
him that he is deceived. Every one con-
fents readily to be deceived by bis Heart,
but nobody is willing to be deceived by his
Judgment.
There are, however, Errors, which are
not the leſs ſuch for being generally believed.
The Antiquity or Univerſality of an Opinion,
is by no Means the Standard of Truth. I anz
of the Opinion of an illuſtrious Author *,who
thinks that in order to guard againſt Error,
the Antiquity of an Opinion is leſs a Proof
of its Authenticity, than a juſt Reaſon to
call it in Doubt, ſuſpect it, and con-
ſequently not embrace it till after mature
Deli-
* The fecond Principle that lays a Foundation for
Error, is a blind Veneration for Antiquity. Our
Fathers, ſay we have believed ſuch a Doctrine, why
ſhould we pretend to be wiſer than they? If a Folly
is but ever ſo ſlightly eſtabliſhed, this Principle pre-
ſerves it for ever.
It forbids us to extricate our-
felves from an Error, becauſe we have been in it for
ſome Time. Fontenelle of the Origin of Fables.
2
PRE FACE.
xi
;
Deliberation. To ſay that our Anceſtors
have believed a Thing, is a pitiful and per-
nicious Argument, which cramps the Mind,
deſtroys Reafon, favours Ignorance and Er-
ror, and only proves, that in all Ages Men
have been credulous ; that ſince the Num-
ber of ignorant and focliſh Men is greater
than that of the wiſe and ſagacious, Truth
is not always to be eſtimated by the Multi-
fude * that the more ancient an Opinion
is, the nearer it approaches to the fabulous
Times; and that conſequently there is 110
Sentiment leſs worthy of Reception, than
that which has no more folid Foundations
than thoſe of Time, and the Multitude of
Votaries. Experience furniſhes us with ſo
many Proofs of this Truth, that it would
be an Affront to the Judgment of the Rea-
der, to pretend to give him Inſtances of it.
It ſeems the Work now preſented to the
publick, has been formed upon theſe Prin-
ciples. It is ſo fingular, ſo much an Ori-
ginal, and ſo very different from the com-
711012
* The Teſtimony of thoſe who believe a Thing
already eſtabliſhed, has no Force to ſupport that
Thing ; but the Teſtimony of thoſe who do not be-
lieve it, has Force to deſtroy it. Fontenelle's Hiſtory
of Oracles, Diſſert. 1. Chap. 8.
Grave etiam argumentum tibi videbatur, quod opinio
de Diis immortalibus, et omnium eſſet, et quotidie cref-
cerct. Placet igitur tantas res opinione fultorum judi-
cari, prefertim qui illos infanos" elle dicatis.
Cic. de Nat. Decr. Lib. 5.
xii
PREFACE.
11.011 Way of thinking, that the Reader muſt
acknowledge the whole to be new. The Cha-
racter of the Author is fo conſpicuous as not
to be miſtaken. He is a beld Philoſopher,
who reaſons with uncommon Liberty, and
from plauſible Obſervations, and inconteſt-
able Facts, builds a connected and coberent
Syſtem. His Name and Manner of writ-
ing are so well known in the Republick of
Letters, that he can hardly be concealed
from the Publick. This is all I ſhall ſay of
him at preſent. If bis Work is bad, he has
the Mortification of not ſucceeding, and if
it is good, we reap the Profit of bis dili-
gent Reſearches.
As this Work may fall into the Hands of
the Learned, as well as the Ignorant, we
heartily wiſh that both may find their Account
in it. It is a great Advantage for an
Author, when he knows how to mix Delight
with Profit, without permitting Erudition
to loſe any Thing of its Value, or ſuffering
pleaſant Raillery to, degenerate into Pedan-
try and Oftentation. But our Indian Phi-
lolopher is fo grave, that he never quits the
ſerious and ſcientific Strain. Theſe Indians
are an admirable Set of Men, and perhaps of
all the Animals God has made, none are leſs
addicted to laughing. We muſt bowever
appriſe thoſe Readers, who ſeek for nothing
but Amuſement in Books, that this work is
not abſolutely deſtitute of entertaining Nar-
ratives :
i
PRE FACE.
xlii
t
He never
ratives ; that the ſecond and ſixth Conver-
ſations, for Inſtance, will furniſh them with
a conſiderable Number of Fasts, which tho'
related ſimply, and without Ornament, will
not fail to pleaſe them; and that the read-
ing of the reſt, will only coſt them a mode-
rate Application. The Reaſonings of our
Indian are generally ſo eaſy, and ſo far fron
being abſtruſe, that they require 110 more At-
tention than that which our Ladies daily be
ftow on a Play or a Romance.
preſents us with theſe metaphyſical Ideas,
whoſe Traces ſometimes eſcape the Reach of
the greateſt Penetration. He follows Na-
ture Step by Step, repreſents ber moſt or-
dinary, and ſometimes her mot rare and
fingular Productions. Is there
Is there any Thing
more pleaſing than an Obſervation of what
Nature daily performs before our Eyes ?
What is more agreeable than to catch her
as it were at Work, and force her to dif-
play her moſt ſecret Myſteries to us ?
The Author could not have choſen a ſuba
ject more capable of exciting the Curioſity,
not only of the Learned, but of every Man
who is at the Pains to think. Nothing is
more important to us, than to be acquaint-
ed with the Nature of the Globe which we
inhabit, which our Anceſtors inhabited before
us, and which our Poſterity will inhabit so
long as it ſhall ſubſiſt in the Aby/s of Ages,
the End of which is unknown to us; to ex-
amine
xiy
PR E F A C E.
amine whence it proceeded, how it was
formed, what Revolutions it has undergone,
what its preſent State is, and to what Vi-
ciſſitudes it may be afterwards expoſed. If
Man is born to Induſtry, it is inore rea-
ſonable that he ſhould be induſtrious about
that which nearly concerns him, than about
Things which do not affe&t him.
The Author of the new Dialogues of
the Dead *, ingeniouſly rallies thoſe Philom
ſophers, who by an unpardonable Abuſe of
their Time and Talents, tread upon Man,
becauſe they do not know him, and often
addičt themſelves to Studies, which only tend
to render them more vain and ridiculous
than they were before. This Reproach is
equally due to moſt Men of Learning. But
this perverſe Uſe of the human Powers,
is in 110 Cafe more diſcernable, than in what
relates to Man himſelf. I know the ſur-
prizing Progreſs which within theſe twa
Ages Philoſophy has made on this Subječt.
Anatomy brought to a greater Perfection,
and the Nature of the Soul better deſcribed,
than for five or fix thouſand Years before,
are ſenſible Proofs of the Genius, and juſt
Diſcernment of our Moderns. Among a
vaſt Number of frivolous Studies, they do
not negleEt ſuch as are moſt important.
The Nature and Origin of our Globe
have not been ſo well treated of by any other
Author ;
* Dialogue between Paracelſus and Moliere.
PREF AC E.
XV
Author ; with reſpect to its Origin, among
the various Opinions, which in all Ages have
divided Mankind, all have agreed, that
there was a Period in which the World be-
gan to be inhabited, whether it was from
Eternity, as ſome of the ancient Philoſophers
maintained, or whether it began to exiſt in
Time, as Reaſon and Religion induce us to
believe. But the human Judgment has not
as yet penetrated farther. Religion in fome,
in others the Prejudice of Education, and
in all, the Obſcurity of the Subject, binder
them from carrying their Reſearches far-
ther. If ſome ancient Philoſophers, and
even learned Nations, have pretended to ex-
plain the Manner in which this Univerſe was
formed, the Ages in which they lived have
ſeen that they only ſpread Fables and Ro-
mances under their moſt ſubtil Syſtems, and
moſt myſterious Allegories.
What relates to the Nature of our Globe,
has 12ot been better cleared up. This rude
and unformed Maſs which ſupports and noua
riſhes us, includes in its Entrails numberleſs
Miracles, worthy of the longeſt and deepeſt
Study; ſuch as Minerals, Metals, Foſſils,
&c. and among theſe different Species there
is an infinite Variety, the Cauſe of which
is but little known, ſince we have not made
it our Buſineſs to find it out. Prepoljeſed
with this general Idea, that God by a ſingle
Word, in an Inſtant, produced the World.
out
svi
P R E F AC E.
out of nothing, we fooliſhly imagine, that
this inhabited Globe came from bis Hands
in the State in which we fee it, and upon
this Principle we have haſtily concluded that
it was needleſs to ſeek for any other Reafora
than bis Omnipotence and Will, for the pro-
digious Variety obſervable in the Compoſition
of this Globe. I leave Mankind to judge
of the Truth of the Conſequence, by the Ab-
ſurdity of the Principle; for without ex-
patiating on this Subject, let us only c011-
ſider the different Colours daily feen ſo whim-
fically mix'd in the ſame Piece of Marble.
To have Recourſe to the Will of God, in
order to explain this Variety, is to have
Recourſe to the occult Qualities of the An-
cients, and tacitly confeſs our own Igno-
ránce ; for to attribute this infinite Vari-
ety to a Supreme Intelligence, without fup-
poſing an End for it, is at once to affirm
and deny bis Exiſtence. Now what End
worthy of God can we find in theſe Inſtru-
ments of human Vanity, so long buried in
the Abyſs which concealed thein.
What mall I ſay of that infinite Number
of extraneous Bodies found in the hardeſt
Stonės and Marbles, or of thoſe whole Mouri-
tains of Shells and Sea Bodies, which Na-
ture ſeems to have collected on Purpoſe in
Places the moſt remote from thoſe in which
they were formed. To conteſt the Truth of
thefe Facts, as fome bave done, to deny the
Hetero.
PRE FACE.
xvii
Heterogeneity of theſe Bodies inſerted in
others of a quite different Species, and not
to grant the Origin of theſe sea-Bodies
found in Grounds the moſt remote from their
Element, is not only to belye the conſtant
Teſtimony of our Senſes, but alſo to renounce
Reaſon, and contradiet good Senſe. Some
learned Men bave for this Reafon deter-
mined, not to inveſtigate the cauſe of an
Effeet which they could not call in Queſtion.
Their different Sentiments are explained or
refuted in this work. 'Tis true fome have
had
ſuch abſurd Opinions of this matter, that
they do not deſerve Refutation. Others
with more penetrating Eyes, and leſs
prejudiced in favour of vulgar Opinions,
have carefully obſerved the Compoſition of
the different Grounds of our Globe. They
have had conſiderable Penetration, and feem
tu kave had a glimmering View of Truth;
but becauſe their Eyes were as yet too wiak
to bear ber Splendor, she made her Eſcape
from them. Nature ſeemed to offer herſelf
to them, without being hid in Clouds. They
wanted but to make one Step into the moſt
ſecret Place of her Sanctuary. But the
Small Succeſs of a great many Reſearches
has too often proved, that tkis lalt Step
is the longeſt, and the moſt difficult to be
made. It was therefore reſerved for Tel-
liamed, firſt to penetrate into the dark Re-
ceſſes, where Nature ſeems to wrap herſelf
b
up
A
xviii
PR EF A CE.
up in Myſteries, to force her thence, and to
reveal ber Secrets to us. 'Tis be, who,
concerning the Origin and Nature of this
Globe, gives us not ſimple Conje&tures, as
many have done before him, but a certain
Knowledge founded on long, laborious, and
exact Reſearches, on inconteſtable Facts, and
upon laſting and ſenſible Monuments of the
great Principles of the Truths which he has
diſcovered, and of the Conſequences which
he has drawn from them.
'Tis aſtoniſhing, that in order to ac-
quire this Knowledge, he ſeems to have per-
verted the natural Order, fince inſtead of
firſt attempting to inveſtigate the Origin of
our Globe, he has begun with inſtructing
himſelf concerning its Nature. This Re-
verſement of Order has been in him the Ef-
fext of a happy Genius, which has led him
Step by Step to the moſt ſublime Diſcove-
ries.
'Tis in decompounding this Globe
by an exact Anatomy of all its Parts, that
he has firſt learned of what Subſtances it
was compoſed, and what Arrangements theſe
Subſtances obſerved among each other. This
Knowledge joined to that ariſing from Compa-
riſon, always neceſſary in the Man who‘at-
tempts to penetrate the Vails in which Na-
ture loves to hide her ſelf, has ſerved as a
Guide to our Philoſopher, to arrive at the
moſt important Knowledge. By the Mat-
ter and Arrangement of theſe Compoſitions,
be
I
PRE FACE.
xix
He has diſcovered the true Origin of this
Globe, how and by whom it was formed.
Hence, by natural Conſequences, be has fix-
ed in fome Meaſure, not the firſt Inſtant of
its Exiſtence, which he did not believe pof-
fible for humanReaſon to do, but the Period at
which it commenced to be habitable, that in
which it began to be peopled, and that in
which it may ceaſe to be ſo. He has alſo
laid before us all the Revolutions, to which
not only this Globe, but all the others in
the Univerſe, may be ſubject in the Immen-
fity of Ages.
We can only judge by reading the Book
itſelf, how many Meditations and Reſearches
were requiſite to produce a Syſtem to nero
and ſingular, ſo connezted and coherent. .
Perhaps it will not be improper to give a
Hort Analyſis of it here. I 110/t however
promiſe, that I have no Deſign to take any
Party for or againſt him ; and that confé-
quently
, if there is any Thing advantageous
in this Extract, to the Syſtem of the Indian
Philoſopher, it ought be looked upon as
coming from an Author who is highly
charmed with his Ideas.
That all the Grounds of which our Globe
is compoſed, even the higheſt Mountains,
have riſen out of the Waters; that they are
the Work of the Sea, and have all been
formed in her Bofom, muſt at firſt certainly
be thought a Paradox, but, if we follow the
b 2
De-
XX
PREFACE.
Deductions and Reſearches of Telliamed,
this Paradox will appear to be a Truth.
If we narrowly examine, Jays this Phi-
loſopher, the Subſtance of our Grounds, we
obſerve nothing uniform in them, nothing
but what indicates in their Compoſition, the
Effeet of a blind and ſucceſſive Cauſe ;
Sand, Mud, Flints, confounded together,
and united by a Cement which makes but
one Maſs of theſe different Bodies ; Beds
of thoſe Subſtances applied over each other,
and preſerving always the ſame Arrange-
ment, when they have not been diſturbed by a
foreign tho' known Cauſe. If the Sea forms
in her Boſom ſimilar Collections, compoſed
of the ſame Subſtances united by the Salt
which is proper to theſe Waters, and which
ſerves as a Cement to them, arranged alſo
in Beds and Layers, and diſpoſed in the
jame Direction, bow is it poſſible for us
not to be ſtruck with ſuch an Agreement ?
But if this Reſemblance extends to the Po-
ſition of theſe Collections ; if it is the ſame
in the Bofom of the Sea as upon Land ; if
there as well as here, they are ſituated in
the ſame Manner ; if on the Grounds on
dry Land we obſerve, as well as in
tbofe covered by the Waters, evident
Traces of the Work of the Sea, and of the
Afaults ſhe has made upon them; who will
be ſo obſtinate as to refuſe his Aſent to the
Truth
PRE FACE.
xxi
Truth ariſing ſo clearly from this Diſco-
very.
This fo fenſible Proof of the Origin of our
Grounds, continued be, becomes a Demon-
Pratici, by the extraneous Bodies inſerted
in their substances. We can diſtinguiſh two
different Species of theſe, rebich both con-
cur to efiabliſh this Truth. The firſt are
terreſtrial Bodies, ſuch as Trees, Leaves,
Plants, Wcod, Iron, Reptiles, and even
buman Bones, found in the Heart of the
bardeſt Stories and Marbles. The ſecond
are Sea-Eodies, ſuch as Shells of all sorts,
known and unknoun, Coralls, Beds of Oy-
ſters, Bcnes of Sea Fiſh, and even Fiſh
themſelves either intire or mutilated. Theſe
Sea-Bodies spread on the Surface of tke
Earth, are not in a ſmall, but in an al-
moſt infinite Number. They are not to be
found in one ſingle Quarry perhaps placed on
the Coaſt, but are to be met with in all
Countries of the World, in Places the moſt
diſtant from the Sea, on the Surface of the
Mountains, and even at the Bottom of their
Entrails. There are whole Mountains of
them, and theſe Sea-Bodies are really frici,
notwithſtanding the ſorry Reaſons of ſome
Literati, who at the Expence of good Senſe
have dared to maintain the contrary.
Now from theſe two Species of extraneous
Bodies inſerted in the Subſtance of our Globe,
there reſults
, according to Telliamed, a
Demon-
b 3
xxii
PREFACE.
Demonſtration of bis Principle, that our
Grounds are the Works of the Sea. In a word,
ſays he, it is evident, that theſe Bodies whe-
ther terriſtrial or marine, could not have
penetrated into the Maſſes in which they are
at preſent found, except at a Time when the
Subſtances of theſe Maſſes were ſoft and li-
quid; neither is it leſs evident, that theſe
Sea-Bodies could have only been car-
ried by the Sea into Places at preſent fo far
diſtant from her. It is alſo certain, that
theſe extraneous Bodies either of the Ter-
reſtrial or Sea-Kind, are found on the Tops
of our higheſt Mountains. To attribute
this Prodigy to the Deluge, is, according to
cur Philoſopher, an indefenſible Opinion.
We muſt therefore, ſays he, draw this cer-
tain and neceſſary Concluſion, that there.
has been a Time when the Sea covered the
higheſt Mountains of our Globe ; that ſhe
covered them for a conſiderable Number of
Years or Ages, in order to knead and form
them in her Boſom; and that ſhe has after-
wards diminiſhed by all the Bulk of the
Waters ſuppoſed to be contained between
their bigbeſt Summits, and her preſent Sur,
face. This Proof, continues be, which at
firſt ſceins frocking, is confirmed daily, by
the actual Prolongation of our Lands, which
are viſibly enlarged, and which Mew us
Shores and Harbours filled up and effaced,
while others appear to ſupply their Places.
With
PRE FACE.
xxiii
With how many Examples does Hiſtory furniſh
us of Cities which the Sea has left, and of
Countries which ſhe has deſerted ?
The apparent Grounds then of our Globe,
are inconteſtably, adds he, the Work of the
Sea ; and ſince she has been diminiſhed by all
their Height, it is evident that the Cauſe of
this Diminution ſubſiſting always, flue ſtill
continues to diminiſh in like Manner. From
this Principle arifes a Diſcovery, from
which Tellianned knows how to draw a nu-
merous Train of Conſequences. In a Word,
Says he, if it is true that the Sea diminiſhes,
it is no leſs evident, that there is no Iin-
poſibility of finding the juft Meaſure of her
real Diminution. Noro in comparing this
preſent Diminution with the Elevation of
our bigheſt Mountains, cannot we alſo diſ-
cover the Period of Time, which the Sea
has employed in ſubſiding from all this Ele-
vation to her preſent Surface, and confe-
quently know the Number of Ages elapſed
Since our Globe became habitable By com-
paring this Sort of Diminution at preſent,
with the actual Depth of the Sea, cannot we
alſo have the juft Meaſure of her future Di-
minution, and conſequently foreſee the Num-
ber of Ages neceſſary for her total Exhau-
ftion, and perhaps for the burning of the
whole Globe ?
The Indian Philoſopher is not content
with having found out the Origin of the
Earth
1
.
b A.
xxiv
PRE FACE.
Earth which we inhabit ; the Knowledge
be acquired in ſtudying this Subject, kas
conducted him to other Diſcoveries equally
curious, and fill more intereſting.
Тbe
very Foundation of his Syſtem has furniſhed
him with a Proof, that in Proportion as this
Globe exiſts, and as the Animation of all
that bas Life in it continues, there are
formed, even in its Bofom, the Cauſes of
the Annibilation of that vital Spirit which
muſt one Day ceaſe in it, and lay a Foun-
dation for its burning. It is nearly tkus,
that during Life the buman Body accumu-
lates and collects what will one Day be the
Principle of its Deſtruction. Now from
this, by a natural Conſequence, the Indian
Philoſopher has concluded, that the ſame
Thing happened in all the other Globes. In
a Word, be has obſerved that there is a per-
petual Motion in this Univerſe, even with
refpe&t to its Subſtance, and that there is a
continual Change in all the Globes of which
it is compoſed ; that very confiderable
Changes are obſervable in the Moon, as well
as in the Globe of the Earth, and in the
Body of the Sun, as well as in the moſt
diſtant of our Planets ; that after having
Mined for ſeveral Ages, certain Stars have
diſappeared totally, while others have ap-
peared which we never ſaw before. From
theſe Obſervations, and ſome other Pheno-
mena which paſs in the Heavens, be
C011-
PREF A CE.
XXV
2
concludes, that at the End of a certain Time
the opaque Globes become luminous, while
thoſe laſt become dark, and intirely loſe their
Light ; that both are not regular in this
State of Change ; that by the Exhauſtion
and Extinction of the Spirit of Life, with
which they are impregnated, theſe Globes
which are become opaque, are enflamed and
and ſet on Fire a-new ; that the new lu-
minous Globes, when the Matter which fer-
ved as Aliment to them is totally conſumed,
fall into their primitive Obſcurity, and that
this continual Circle of Revolutions is forin-
ed and renewed perpetually in the vaſt Im-
menſity of Matter.
Such are the Principles which Tellia-
med has laid down and explained in the
five firſt Diſcourſes of this work. He
might have ſtopped bere, and ought to have
done ſo. His Syſtem by no Means obliged
bim to explain, how in the Palage from
Light to Obſcurity, Men and Animals
might be renewed in the ſeveral Globes of
the Univerſe. He had acted wiſely, in re-
ferring theſe Things to the ſupreme Intel-
ligence, who governs all.
governs all. But the Itch of
Reaſoning, so common among Philoſophers,
has not permitted bim to confine himſelf with-
in juſt Bounds; and in order to puſh bis
Syſtem as far as it would go, he has car-
ried Things too far., This is the Subject of
the Sixth and laſt Converſation, which is
a's
XXVI
P R E F A C E.
A
as fingular, and as much an Original as
the others. In it Telliamed follows the
Jamie Method, ſupporting himſelf much more
upon the Strength of Facts, than the Subtil-
ty of Reaſoning. It will 120 doubt appear
very ſingular, to find Men and Animals
coming out of the Sea; but the Indian Phi--
lofopher has only propoſed this as an Hypo-
theſis. We muſt however grant, that he
proves beyond Contradi&tion, that the Paf-
fage of any Animal which lives in the Wa.
ter, to Reſpiration in the Air, is not ſo im-
poſſible, as is commonly believed ; that Re-
Spiration become neceſſary to Animals come
out of the Sea, is not a ſufficient Reaſon to
rejett this Opinion ; that it ſeems founded
on a great Number of Facts which cannot
be eaſily denied, and which can hardly be
explained on the ordinary Hypotheſis. Be
this as it will, we have Reaſon to believe,
that many of the Learned will find the whole
Syſtem of the Indian Philoſopher ſufficiently
curious and fingular to deſerve their At-
tention
The Caſe is not the ſame with another
Claſs of Perſons, to whom this Idea of No-
velty and Singularity will perhaps appear a
juſt Reaſon for condemning the Work; I
rilean thoſe Perfons remarkable for their ex-
cefive Scruples and Delicacies in point of
Religion. I grant indeed, we cannot too
much reſpect this Delicacy, when it is en
lightened
•PREFACE.
xxvii
lightened and guided by Reaſon ; but it is
equally certain that this exceffive Zeal fome-
times only proceeds from Ignorance and
Meanneſs of Spirit, ſince it often degene-
rates into falle Prejudices, and a barbarous
and ridiculous Blindneſs *
that without
giving a Shock to Religion, we may boldly
attack ill-grounded Scruples, which are 012-
ly the Effects of an inexcuſable Superſtition ;
and that if we are obliged to ſupport the
pure and ſalutary Ideas of the former, wei
are equally bound to oppoſe the
Propagation of
the ſtupid Opinions ſet on Foot by the latter;
for it is hardly credible, how ſubtil Error
is to inſinuate itſelf into the Minds of Men,
how powerful it is to eſtabliſh itſelf there,
after it has taken Poféſion, and to main-
tain itſelf, how dextrous to graſp at every
Thing which can favour the Empire it has
ufurped. I. Can we therefore be ſurprized,
that it should cover itſelf with a Cloak of
Relim
* Superſtitio fuſa per gentes oppreffit omnium fere
animos, atque. hominum imbecilitatem occupavit.
Nec vero, ſuperſtitione tollenda, religio tollitur.
Quamobrem, ut religio propaganda etiam eſt, quæ
eſt conjuncta cum cognitione naturæ, fic ſuperſti-
tionis ftirpes omnes elidendæ ſunt ; inftat enim & ur-
get, & quocumque te verteris perſequitur.
Cic. de Divin. Lib. 2.
| Errors once eſtabliſhed among Men, generally
ſpread "deep and wide Roots, and cling about every
Thing which ſupports them.
Fontenelle's Origin of Fables.
xxviii
PRE FACE.
Religion, than which nothing is inore vene-
rable.
Be this as it will, theſe Perfors are the
more troubleſome, becauſe “ though we can
give them very good Reaſons, yet they
“ have a Privilege not to yield to the
beſt Reaſons if they do not like them *
Now 'tis hardly to be doubted, but that up-
on the firſt Appearance they will imagine
there is ſomething dangerous to Religion in
the Syſtem of the Indian Philoſopher, and
that upon this Account they will treat it as
impious, atheiſtical and abominable. We
might anſwer them in general, that we
ought not to condemn Nightly, and that if
we were to found our Judgment upon Ap-
pearances, or upon Conſequences often very
remote, there would be few Chriſtian Schools,
and even few ancient Fathers of the Church,
who ſhould be ſcreened from Cenſure. But
the graver the Accufation is, the more it
deſerves a formal Anſwer. Let us there-
fore fairly, and without Prejudice, examine,
whether inſtead of being oppoſite to Religion,
the Syſtem of Telliamed is not on the con-
trary highly conformable to the moſt juſt
and ſalutary Ideas, which Religion gives us
of the Deity.
Let us therefore ſeparate from this Syf-
tem every Thing which is foreign to it.
Of this Kind are the Eternity of Matter,
ab
* Preface to the Plurality of Worlds.
P. R EF A CE.
xxix
ab ante, and the Origin of Man, ſuch as
our Indian has repreſented it.
It is evi-
dent, that he only propoſes both as Hypothe-
ſes, and we cannot be offended at his taking
this Liberty; fince it is authoriſed by the
conſtant Practice of all the Schools. The
Eternity of Matter, tho' ſupported by ſome
of the ancient Philoſophers, is an Opinion
so abſurd, that in an Age ſo knowing as
ours, it is ſurprizing that Men who want
to be thought bright Geniuſes, ſhould be the
Abettors of it. With reſpest to the Ori-
gin of Man, what our Philoſopher has ſaid
of it in this Treatiſe, is no more than a
Conjecture formed by a warın Imagination,
and can never make any Impreſion 012 the
Mind of the Reader. As to the Deluge, it
is needleſs here to enter into the celebrated
Controverſy, whether it has been really uni-
verſal, and whether the Words of Geneſis
ought to be underſtood of an Inundation truly
general, and which covered the whole Earth.
Telliamed in ſome Paſſages ſeems to deny
this, but proteſts that it is indifferent to
him which ever Side of the Queſtion the
Reader eſpouſes. And in a Word, we find
that the Sentiments he has produced againſt
the Univerſality of the Deluge, only termi-
nate in ſome Doubts; that if on theſe diffe-
rent Subjects he propoſes certain Notions and
Reaſonings, which ſeem to oppoſe Revealed
Religion, he only does it to sew, that there is
710
XXX
P R E F A CE:
1
no Object about which the human Reafort
may not form either very great Difficulties
;
or very probable Syſtems, and that there are
Doctrines certainly true, which it combats
with almoſt unanſwerable Objections. Be-
fides, it is to be remembered, that even irr
Chriſtian Schools, we make a great Diffe:
rence between conteſting a received Docu
trine, and conteſting fome Reaſons alledged
to prove that it ought to be jo. Natural
Equity therefore demands that we should
pardon our Indian Philoſopher on thoſe three
Points, fince in handling them, he has not
pretended to eſtabliſh a particular Sentiment,
and has never paſſed the Bounds obſerved
by the moſt ſanguine Defenders of Ortho-
doxy, who have always claimed a Right of
examining the Reaſons uſed to defend the
Truths of Religion, or to refute the oppoſite
Sentiments.
Let us 110w proceed to thoſe Opinions,
which our Philoſopher bas either eſtabliſhed
or ſuppoſed in this Treatiſe, tho they are
not peculiar to himſelf. Of this Kind are
the Plurality of Globes, inhabited by Crea-
tures of our Species, which is the Baſis of
the fifth Converſation ; and the Species of
future Eternity aſcribd to theſe Globes in
the ſame Palage. But I'm not of Opinion
that what Telliamed has ſaid on this Sub-
ject, can be any juſt Reaſon to fufpect his
Religion, Not to mention Cyrano, known
for
PREFACE.
xxxi
for bis imaginarỳ Voyages into the Sun and
Moon, the Author of the ingenious Conver-
ſations on the Plurality of Worlds, has not
been blam'd for his ingenious Raillery :
And tho' we find a great deal of Oſtenta-
tion, and little Solidity, in the Work which
Huygens compoſed on the ſame Subject, yet
he was far from being treated as an impious
Man, and an Atheiſt, on that Account. It
bas in our own Days been mewn *, that
this Sentiment is by no Means new, that it
was known in the firſt Ages of Chriſtianity;
that tho this Opinion has been attri-
buted to fome Heretics of, and tho' an Au-
thor in the fourth Century ranks it amongſt
the Number of Hereſies I, yet it has been
fuſtain'd, at leaſt as a poſſibility Il, in a
Work compos'd expreßly againſt Pagans, by
one of the matt ancient and venerable Fa-
thers of the Church.
We may ſuy the ſame of the future
Eternity of our Globe, or ratber of this
Uni-
* Memoirs of Literature, Tom. 9. Differtation
entituled, Sentiments of the ancient Philoſophers on the
Plurality of Worlds.
+ Iraneus attributes it to the Valentinians. Adverſ.
Hærer. Lib. 2.
# Philafires Biſhop of Breſce. Hærcf. 65. Tom. 2.
Bibl. P. P.
| Nec enim quia unus eft Creator, idcirco unus !
mundus ; poterat enim Deus, et alios inundos facere.
Athan. contra Gentes,
..
xxxii
PREFACE
mult
contrary
***
;
Univerſe. It is evident, that the Scrip-
ture, which teaches us that this World
one Day have an End, no where informs us
that it is to be annibilated; that even in
ſeveral Paſages it formally indicates the
that the primitive Chriſtians
have been of this laſt Opinion, and univer-
ſally believed, that the general Conflagra-
tion would only purify this World, without
annihilating its Matter ; that the moſt ce-
lebrated Fathers of the Church, ſuch as
Origen and Auguſtin I, thought the ſame.
Shall we therefore condemn in a Philoſopher,
what we ought to reſpect in the Defenders
of the Faith?
Of all the Syſtem then of Telliamed,
there are only two Points on which perhaps
any
* For behold I create new Heavens, and a new
Earth, and the former ſhall not be remembered, nor
come into Mind, Ifa. Ixv. 17. And I faw a
new Heaven, and a new Earth, and the firſt Heaven
and the firſt Earth were paſſed away; and there was
no more Sea, Rev. xxi. 1. Nevertheleſs, we ac-
cording to his Promiſe look for new Heavens, and a
new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteouſneſs, 2 Pet.
jii. 13.
I Ši mutabuntur Cæli, utique non perit quod muta-
tur ; & fi habitus mundi tranſit non omni modo, ex-
terminatio, vel perditio fubftantiæ materialis oftenditur :
Sed immutatio quædam fit qualitatis, atque habitus tranſ-
Cap In lit-
teris quidem legitur, præterit figura hujus mundi ; le-
gitur mundus tranfit ; legitur Cælum & Terra tranſ-
bunt ; ſed puto quod præterit, tranſit, tranſibunt, aliquanto
mitius dicta ſunt genom beribunt. Auguft. dc Civitat.
Dei, Lib. 2. Ca.
.
PREF A CE.
Xxxiii
any Accuſation may be formed againſt him,
I mean the Origin of our Earth, ſuch as he
eſtabliſhes it, and the Perpetuity of Motion,
which he admits in the other Globes; for
when we tell you that this Globe which we
inhabit is the work of the Sea, if you rea-
ſon but a little, you at once judge, that in
order to admit this propoſition, you muſt
renounce the Hiſtory of the Creation, ſuch
as we read it in Geneſis; and if you take
one Step farther, you think yourſelf obliged
to acknowledge the Pre-exiſtence of Matter.
This bolds true of that eternal Circulation
of Changes, by means of which our Philo-
ſopher pretends to fizero; that the State of
the Univerſe may perpetrate itfolf. The
Reader
may at firſt imagine, that this Prin-
ciple has a Tendency to oppoſe the actual
Concurrence of a ſupreme and intelligent
Cauſe, and conſequently to deſtroy Provi-
dence * Let us therefore énquire what we
ought to think of theſe Conſequences ; by re-
ducing Things to their juſt Value, perhaps
we ſhall
find that the diſadvantageous Idea,
which People may entertain of this Work,
is at Bottom no more than a Bug-bear, and
a Phantom, only capable of terrifying pre-
poleſed Imaginations.
Let
1
..
с
* This is what Clemens Alexandrinus found: Fault
with in the Vortices of Anaxagaras.
Stromat. Lib. 2. Cap. 4.
Xxxiv
PR E F A CE.
!
Let us begin with the Origin of our
Globe. It is at firſt viſible, that the Opi-
nion of the Pre-exiſtence of Matter, as it is
explained or ſuppoſed in this Treatiſe
, gives
110 Shock to the Omnipotence of the Creator,
and the Gratitude due to him from the Crea-
ture, for the Being he has conferred upon
it : For whether the Creation of Matter
has, or has not, for many Ages preceded the
actual Arrangement of this Univerſe, which
Telliamed ſuppoſes in his Syſtem, God will
for this be neither the leſs powerful and
glorious, nor leſs the Author and Creator of
all Things.
'Tis true this Sentiment is not generally
received ; becauſe it is oppoſite to the com-
mon Belief, that the Univerſe was produced
from nothing in the ſame State in which we
ſee it ; and becauſe it ſeems to combat what
the Scriptures teach us concerning the Ori-
gin of the World. But we know that Va-
tablius, Grotius, and other learned Men,
have maintained, that in order to give the
true Senſe of the firſt Verſe of Geneſis, it
ought to be tranſlated, When God crea-
ted the Heavens and the Earth, Matter
was without Form, which clearly eſta-
bliſhes the Pre-exiſtence of Matter. If this
Opinion is not true, it may at leaſt be look-
ed upon, as probable, and we muſt grant,
that a ſimple Probability is ſufficient to lay
& Foundation for a Philoſophical Syſtem. It
would
+
PRE FACE.
XXXV
1
above the Waves, the Earth as yet larien,
would be eaſy to mew, that if the Syſtem of
Telliamed concerning the Origin of the
Earth, is not entirely conformable to the
Moſaic Hiſtory of the Creation, yet it is not
abſolutely contrary to it.
What means that Maſs in the Beginning
without Shape and Form, that Darkneſs
ſpread upon the face of the Deep ; the Spi-
rit of God moving upon the Face of the
Waters; and that Separation of the Wa-
ters from the Waters, mentioned in Ge-
neſis ? What other Ideas do theſe Ex-
preſions naturally convey to the Mind,
than thoſe which our Philoſopher gives us,
when he repreſents this Globe as buried at
firſt under the Waters of the Sea, which
animated by that Spirit of Life with which
the Creator had impregnated them, formed
our Grounds and our Mountains in their
Bolom. Theſe Waters afterwards diminiſz-
ed in the Manner explained by Telliamed,
their Surface ſubſided, and our higheſt
Mountains beginning to their their Tops
foon gave the firſt Marks of her Fertility :
Then the began to be cloathed with Herbs,
and the verdant Paſtu-age, neceſſary for
the Nouriſhnient of the Animals with which
she was afterwards ſtocked. Man was the
laft Work of the Hand of God, and in all
theſe Reſpects, Scripture and the Philoſophy
of
C 2
Xxxvi
PREFACE.
3
of our Indian, preſent our Minds with the
Same Images.
It
may perhaps be ſaid, that ſince in Ge-
neſis, the Word Day is uſed to denote the Time
in which God produced the Works of Crea-
tion, we ought by a neceſary Conſequence to
believe, that they were accompliſhed in the
Space of ſix Days, or of ſix Revolutions of
our Globe round its Center. But it is evio
dent from Geneſis itſelf, that the Sun was
not created till the fourth Day, and that
conſequently before that Time, we could nei-
ther count Days nor Nights; whence we
may conclude, that the Word Day is in that
Part uſed improperly, metaphorically, and
to fignify the Succeſion with which the ſun
preme Intelligence executed the different
Works there mentioned. Beſides, the longeſt
or the morteſt Meaſure of Time which this
Formation of the Univerſe coſt him, is by no
means capable of taking fron, or adding to
his Power; God would not have been greater,
tho' he had produced the World in an 112-
ſtant, or to uſe the Scripture Expreſion by
a Let it be. Thus neither the fix Days in
which, according to Geneſis, be laboured at
his Production, nor a longer Space of Time,
ſuch as we may imagine, according to the
Syſtem of Telliamed, nor what the Scrip-
ture ſays concerning his reſting on the ſea
venth Day, as if he had been fatigued by
bis
F
!
PREF A CE.
Xxxvii
;
1
his Labour, in the leaſt diminiſh lis Glory.
There is no Time in him; the Paſt and the
Future are in him indiviſible; and if Moſes
has ſaid, that he employed ſix Days to create
the Heavens, the Earth, and all that they
contain, it is perhaps a Method of ſpeak-
ing which he uſed, to inform us that all
theſe Things were made ſucceſively
.
With reſpect to Providence, we want to
know what we cught to underſtand by tlat
Term and whether a Work compoſed with
ſo much Wiſdom and Art, that without re-
touching it, its very Deſtruction ſhould
prove the Principle of its Renovation,
would
not be an infallible Mark of a Wiſdom
much more perfect, powerful, and attentive
to the Good of thoſe for whom this Work
was formed, than if at every Inſtant the
Artificer was obliged to put his Hand to it?
What Compariſon could we make between a
Clock-maker, who had Skill enough to make
a Clock fo curįouſly, that by the Diſorder
which Time fould produce in ker Parts and
Movements, there ſhould be new Wheels and
Springs formed out of the Pieces, which had
been worn and broken ; and another Artiſt
of the ſame Profeſion, whoſe Work fiould
EV Day, every Hour, and Minute, 7°C~
quire his Attention to rectify its Errors,
and eternal Variations ?
Permit me to uſe this Compariſon, zchich
in the preſent Café, I confeſs has no Foun-
C3
dation,
xxxviii
PRE FACE.
dation, rxcept in the narrow Limits of our
Underſtanding and Ideas : This is preciſely
the Caſe which remains to be determined be-
tween Telliamed and his Oppfers.
Theſe repreſent' the Creator under the
Idea of a bungling and unſkilful Artificer,
whuſe Work is ſo Night and unjut, that
its total Ruin is every Moment expected.
The Workman in vain puts his Hand to it,
and employs all his Pains' to re&tify its
Faults. After a conſtant and aſſiduous Ap-
plication, after reiterated Attempts which
coſt him no lefs Labour than the original
Production, he is no farther advanced than
he was the firſt Day; and he will always
have his Toil to begin, till be deſtroys the
Jorry Work of ſo much" Care and Pains.
I defy the moſt moderate Abettors of the di-
vine Concurrence to ſay, that I have exag-
gerated this Deſcription of their Opinion.
Do they not maintain, that to every Action
of the Creature, whatever it is, the Inter-
vention of the general Cauſe is abſolutely
neceſſary, and that every Inſtant of Pré-
ſervation is ą niew Creation ? Aš others
have ſufficiently mewn the terrible Conſe-
quences ariſing from this Syſtem, 'I ſhall not
here touch upon them.
The Indian Philoſopher preſents us with a
quite different Image of the Deity. He de-
ſcribes him under the idea of a ſkilful
Artiſt, infinitely Maſter of his Buſineſs,
who
PRE FACE.
xxxix
who in the Production of his Work, employs
all the Means proper to render it durable,
uſeful, and beautiful. Time which conſumes
all Things, and the Nature of human Affairs,
always ſubject to Viciſſitudes,in vain attempt
a Change in his Maſter-piece ; they cannot
produce its Deſtruction. Theſe very Dif
orders which he foreſaw muſt happen, will
contribute to its Preſervation. It will per-
petuate itſelf by the ſame Means, which in
other Works prove the Principles of their
Ruin ; and from the Bofom of its own
Wrecks, it will ariſe as perfekt and beaut-
tiful, as it appeared on its firſt Forma-
tion.
Now of theſe two Repreſentations, which
gives us the moſt noble, fublime, and exalt-
ed Idea of the Deity? What is more pro-
per to excite our Gratitude and Love, than
to ſee him ſo far concerned for our Tran-
quillity, as to prevent our Dread, left bis
Works, abandoned by bis powerful Hand,
Mould one Day return to that Chaos whence
his Goodneſs drew them for our Sakes ?
What more glorious for God, than to have
so formed the World, which we inhabit,
that in preſerving always, nearly the ſame
Number of opaque and luminous Globes, the
Deſtruction of ſome ſhould contribute to the
Renovation of others, without being obliged
to produce new ones? What more worthy of
the Creator, than to have eſtabliſhed ſuch
с 4
anz
x1
PRE FACE.
an Order in the Nature of the Univerſe,
that it ſhould carry in itſelf the Principles
both of its Life and Death; that animated
with that Spirit of Life, with which he has ·
impregnated it, it should be in its Infancy the
Author of all thoſe Productions, which were
either useful or receſſary to the Subſiſtence
of the Creatures, deſtined to inhabit it;
that it afterwards pould wax old, by the
Weakening of this Jame Spirit; that it ſhall
be ſet on Fire by the Extin&tion of this Spi-
rit, and by its Return, like the Phenix riſe
out of its own Aſbes? Surely, if Nature
always uſes the beſt Oeconomy in producing
the greateſt Deſigns *, horó can we think
to honour the Author of Nature, by fub-
jecting him to fo painful and continual At-
tentions to a Deſign of ſo ſmall Impor-
tance to bim, as the Preſervation of this
Univerſe?
It may, perhaps, be ſaid, that this Prin-'
ciple tends to eſtabliſh the idle Deity of Epi-
curus ; and in order to render the Opinion .
of Telliamed odious, People will not fail
in Imitation of Cicero -p, to draw a rin
diculous
* Dialogues on the Plurality of Worlds, i Eve-
ning.
† Neque enim tam defipiens fuiffet Epicurus, ut how
munculis fimilem Drum fingeret, lineamentis duntaxat
extremis, non habitu folide membris hominis præditunr
omnibus non membrorum, 16 minimo quidern, exilem.
quendam
2
1
PREFACE.
xli
reans.
diculous Pikture of this Divinity. Hence
People will conclude, like him, that to imam
gine a God like this, is, in effect, to acknowe
ledge none at all. We might anſwer, that
to conſult even the Roman Orator in the
Compariſon, the inſenſible Idol of the Epicu-
reans, was, perhaps, far more valuable
than the reſtleſs active Deity, to whom the
Stoics gave ſo many Occupations ſo bigbly
below him. But we have at preſent no
Buſineſs either with the Stoics or Epicu-
It is ſuficient to have fewn, that
the Sentiment of Telliamed, is fa far fron
ſtriking at the Wiſdom, the Goodneſs, and
the Omnipotence of God, that it is on the
contrary infinitely favourable to theſe Divine
Attributes, which both Reaſon and Scripa
ture oblige us to acknowledge in the ſupreme
Being
We certainly cannot eaſily force our Phi-
lofopher to grant, that God is continually
employ'd in the Preſervation of the Univerſé;
and that he is ſo strongly attached to this
Work, that at every Moment it is requiſite
for him to uſe the utmoſt Efforts of his
Power to ſuſtain it. Beſides, he will rea-
dily acknowledge, that the Work of Preſerva-
quemdam atque ,perlucidum, nihil cuiquam tribuentem,
nihil gratificantem, omnino nihil curantem, nihil agentem
quæ natura primum nulla eſſe poteft
.
Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. I.
tion,
xlii.
PRE FACE.
tion, is truly the Work of the Hand of God;
that nothing happens in the World without
bis Permiſion, and in Conformity to his
eternal Decrees; and that among all the ſe-
cond Cauſes, there is not one which is not ſub-
ordinate to bis omnipotent Will. The Dee
fenders of the actual Divine Concurrence
will not be content with this Conceſſion. But
is not this, perhaps, as much a Fault in
their Manner of Thinking, as in that of
our Philoſopher? Can they refuſe to grant,
that the Operations of God do by no Means
reſemble any thing that is ſuggeſted by our
weak and ſhallow Ideas ? And upon this
Principle, is it not evident, that they attri-
bute to the Deity a Providence no more than
purely human, and bounded by Hours and
Moments, ſuch as we may conceive in a wife
Man? Is not a Providence, thus limited
and imperfect, a Providence, the End of
which is nothing elſe than to make God the
Autbor of Sin, and to fap the Foundations
of Morality, I infinitely unworthy of a fou
vereignly perfe&t Being ? Can we more ef-
fettually bonour this ſupreme Intelligence,
than in diſengaging him from the Slavery to
which theſe baſe and ſervile Ideas ſeem to
reduce him?
T
This is what the Diſciples of Deſcartes and Mal-
branche are upbraided with.
18,
PREFACE.
lxiii
If, however, there ſhould remain any Scru-
ples with reſpext to theſe Points, every one is
at Liberty to look upon what Telliamed has
wrote on them as the Diverſion of his Mind,
founded on Conje&tures, on ſome Phenomena,
or on Conſequences very remote from the so-
lidity of the Proofs, which he advances for
the Diminution of the Sea. The Proteſta-
tions he frequently makes of his having no
Mind to take any part in theſe Differences,
but only to ſuſtain his Sentiment as a pure
Hypothefis, leave us no Room to doubt of the
Restitude of his Intentions, and of the little
Diſpoſition he had to appear a Dogmatiſt,
We ought therefore to read his two laſt
Conferences, with the ſame Turn of Mind,
that we read the agreeable Reveries of Cy-
rano, and the ingenious Fictions contained
in the Diſcourſes on the Plurality of Worlds.
No Body ever upbraided theſe Authors on
Account of what they wrote, and Telliamed
expects the ſame 'Indulgence from his Rea-
ders.
This is what I bud to ſay in Defence of
our Indian Philoſopher, without pretending
to be his Diſciple, or to juſtify him; and I
proteſt that I only look upon bis Syſtem, as
well as the other Syſtems of ancient and mo-
dern Philoſophers, to be an ingenious Chime-
ra. I fall add one Reflection, which can-
7101
xliv
PREFA C'E.
rrot fail to make an Impreffon on the Minds
of wife Men. When the Philoſophy of Def-
cartes appeared, what Outcries were made
againſt his Doctrine ? The moſt bot and zea-
lous aſſerted, that it had a Tendency to na-
rbing leſs than the Deſtruction of Religion,the
very Foundations of which it fappid. How-
ever, this for dangerous Syſtem was after-
wards adopted and maintained, at leaſt in
part, thro all the moſt Orthodox Chriſtian
Scboals. Wby ſo? Becauſe in the Judg-
ment of prepoleſſed and ignorant People, it
is fufficient for a Doctrine to have an Air
of Novelty, to be judg'd pernicious. Time
wears of this falſe Impreſion, and it becomes
šefs fufpected in proportion as it grows older,
or rather as it begins to be better known.
Let me add, that in our Days we know bet-
ter than ever, the extreme Difference there
is between the Doctrines of Faith and Ideas
purely human. In a Word, it is now gene-
rally granted, that Religion and Philoſophy
bave Rights very diſtinct, and a Manner
of Reaſoning peculiar to each of them; that
the one is ſuperior to Nature, whoſe Laws
God may reverſe at his Pleaſure; and that
the other is the Science of Nature herſelf;
wboſe Laws God has permitted us to trace
and inveſtigate ; that Faith is above Reaſon ;
and that on the contrary, Reaſon is the
Candle which ought to light us to all natural
Knowledge.
Upon
PRE FACE.
xly
Upon this Principle let the Reader look
upon Telliamed, as a Philoſopher who has
by no Means attempted to compoſe a Treatiſe
of Theology. Let him therefore be permit-
ted to reaſon like a Philoſopher ; and let
us in his Diſcourſes only ſeek for Syſtems
purely philoſophical. Let thoſe who want to
inſtruct themſelves in their Religion, con-
ſult the many excellent Works, in all Ages
wrote in its Defence. As for the Indian
Philoſopher he bere proteſts, that be only
pretends to intereſt Renfon in his Syſtem,
and that, if People do him Juſtice, they can
nly attack him by the Light of Reaſon.
Cum de religione agitur, T. Corunca-
nium, P. Scipionem, P. Scævolam, ponti-
fices maximos, non Zenonem, aut Clean-
them, aut Chryfippum ſequor ; habeoque
C. Lælium augurem, eundem fapientem,
quem potius audiam de religione dicentem
in illa oratione, quam quemquam princi-
pem Stoicorum ; mihi unum ſatis erat, ita
nobis majores noſtros tradidiffe. Sed tu
auctoritates omnes contemnis ; ratione pug-
nas, patere igitur rationam meam, cum
tua ratione contendere,
Cic. de Nat. Deor. 1.
3.
PLAN
1
|
( xlvii )
T
PLAN
OF
TELLIAME D'S SYSTEM:
FIRST
DA 1.
PR
ROOFS of the Diminution of the Sea.
Foundation and Origin of this Syf-
tem,
Aquatic Lanthorn of a ſingular Invention.
Principles of this Syſtem.
Proofs of this syſtem by the Diſpoſition of
our Grounds.
By their Compoſition.
By the Sea Bodies found in them.
By their exter::al Form and Appear.
ance.
New Proofs of this Syſtem.
Petrification of Flints.
Variegated Stones and Marbles.
Rock
xlviii Plan of Telliamed's Syſtem.
Rock and Gravel Stones.
Waved Marbles.
Our large Mountains.
Primitive State of our Globe.
Reaſon of the Difference obſervable in the
Subſtance of our Mountains.
SECOND DAY.
SET
+
Equel of the ſame Doctrine proved by
Facts.
Extraneous Bodies found in Stones and
Marbles.
Ships, and Parts of Ships, petrified.
Flints, Sea Flints, and Stones of a different
Colour.
Herbs and Plants.
Sea-Bodies diſperſed in all Parts of the
Globe.
Mountains of Shells, Corals, &c.
Small Muſhrooms.
Banks of Oyſter-Shells.
Whether theſe Facts can be attributed to
the Deluge.
Towns of Lybia buried under the Sand.
Future Conſequences of the Diminution of
the Sea.
How our Grounds began to appear.
The actual Enlargement of ur dry Land.
Examples of this Enlargement,
THIRD
Plan of Telliamed's Syſtem.
xlix
THIRD DAY.
NY
EW Proofs of the Diminution of the
Sea.
Eſtimation of this Diminution.
The Waters of the Sea are not diminiſhed
by : Change of Place.
They have not retired into the Center of
the Globe.
The Cauſe of their Diminution is not an
Efferveſcence. .
Defect of our Hiſtories.
Invention to aſcertain the Progreſs of the
Diminution of the Sea,
Ancient Examples of Menſurations of this
Kind.
Eſtimation of this Diminution,
Difficulty of fixing it.
FOURTH DAY,
E
Xamination of the different Syſtems
concerning the Origin and Nature
of the Sea-Bodies found in our Moun-
tains.
Syſtem concerning the Origin of our
Mountains, and its Refutation.
Anſwer to come Difficulties drawn from
this Syſtem.
d
Differ-
-
1
Plan of Telliamed's Syſtem.
Diſſertation of Scilla on the ſame Subject.
Sea-Bodies found in the Earth, are not the
Effects of Chance.
Anſwer to fome Objections made upon
this Subject.
New Proofs from Scilla.
Sentiment of Langius, and its Refutation.
Sentiment of Omar,
Laſt Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea.
Recapitulation of the Proofs of this
Syſtem.
Uſe that may be made of it.
FIFTH DAY.
Auſes of the Diminution of the Sea ;
Conſequences of this Syſtem, with
reſpect to the paſt, preſent, and fu-
ture State of the Univerſe.
Whether Matter and Motion are eternal.
Syſtem of the general Motion of the
Globes.
Alterations and Viciſſitudes to which they
are ſubject.
Reaſon of the Inequality of the Days, and
of the Viciſſitudes of the Seaſons.
Changes which have happened in the State
of the Heavens,
The Nature of the Sun.
The Appearance of Comets.
The
Plan of Telliamed's Syſtem.
11
The Entrance of our Earth into the Vor-
tex of the Sun.
The great Age of the primitive Men.
Renovation of the Globes.
Origin of Vulcanos.
Uncertainty of the future Fate of our
Earth.
The State of the fixed Stars,
Refutation of Huygens'sSyſtem concerning
the Plurality of Worlds.
Various Thoughts on the fame Subject.
SIX TH D A 7.
OF
F the Origin of Men aud Animals,
and of the Propagations of the va-
rious Species by means of their re-
ſpective Seeds.
Terreſtrial Plants that grow in the Sea.
The Origin of Animals.
Their Refemblance to certain Fiſhes.
Eaſineſs of the Paſſage from Water to the
Air.
Birds.
Terreſtrial Animals.
Phocaſes, or Sea-Calves.
Sea-Dogs, or Wolves.
The Origin of Man.
Sea-Men,
Savage, or Wild Men.
Men
d 2
I
lii
Plan of Telliamed's Syſtem.
Men with Tails.
Men without Beards.
Men with one Leg, and one Hand.
Blacks.
Giants.
Dwarfs.
The Paſſage of Men from the Water into
the Air
Anſwer to ſome Objections on this Sub-
ject.
Tradition of the Chilineſe.
An Animal may paſs from the Reſpiration
of the Water to that of the Air, and
from the latter to the former.
Anſwer to fome Difficulties.
The Propagation of the various Species by
their reſpective Seeds.
How theſe Seeds become fruitful.
Conformity of this Syſtem with the Book
of Geneſis.
!
I E L-
[1]
TELLI AMED:
OR,
DISCOURSES
ON THE
Diminution of the Sea, &c.
FIRST DA Y.
Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea.
S
SIR,
INCE you deſire that I ſhould entertain
you with the whimſical Opinion of an
Indian Traveller, whom I ſaw at Grand
Cairo in the Years 1715 and 1716, I
ſhall grant your Requeſt, and perforin my
Talk as exactly as I poſſibly can. I have ſtill
ſo lively an Idea of the remarkable Things I
learn'd of him, that I hope I ſhall not omit the
leaſt Particulars. This Stranger repoſed a
great Confidence in me, and thought he lay
under ſingular Obligations to me for ſome
ſmall Services I did him in Egypt. He
readily diſcloſed his Mind to me, when ſome
Days before his Departure for the Indies, I
aſked him concerning his Country, his Name,
B
his
2
TELLI A MED: Or,
his Family, his Religion, and the Motives of
his Travelling; he accordingly ſpoke to me
nearly in the following Manner:
Sir, I have always declined ſpeaking to
you of my Religion, becauſe it can be of no
uſe to you, and becauſe all Men being na-
turally prepoſſeſſed in favour of that in which
they are born, it offends them to contra-
dict the Articles of it. For this Reaſon,
and by the Advice of my deceas'd Father,
I have all my Life avoided entering into this
Matter, that I might not give riſe to Diſputes
in which every Man thinks it a Point of Ho-
nour and Conſcience to ſupport his own O-
pinion, and which never terminate but in
mutual Animoſities. For this Reaſon, Sir,
I hope you will pardon me for not ſatisfying
your Curioſity in this particular. I would
not have even ſpoke my Sentiments to you,
on the Compoſition of the Globe, the Study
of which is the Cauſe of my Travels, if I had
not diſcerned in you, a Soul capable of tri-
umphing over the Prejudices of Birth and
Education, and above being provoked at the
Things I intend to communicate to you ; per-
haps they will at firſt appear to you oppoſite
to what is contained in your ſacred Books, yet
I hope in the End to convince you that they
are not really fo. Philoſophers (permit me to
claſs myſelf among that Number, however
unworthy of the Name) rarely find theſe
happy Diſpoſitions; they have not
met with them in the Ages and in the Coun-
tries of Liberty, where it has been often dan-
gerous for ſome of them who have dared to
ſpeak againſt the Opinions of the Vulgar.
Beſides, continued our Indian, you have tra-
velled
even
Diſcourſes on-the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 3
h
1
velled a great deal, you have travelled thro'
many Maritime Countries, you ſeem to think:
that the Secrets of Nature are not unworthy
of your Curioſity. You have learned to
doubt, and every Man who can do fo, has
a great Advantage over him who believes im-
plicitly, and without taking ihe Trouble to
examine. You therefore poſſeſs, Sir, the prin-
cipal · Diſpolītions neceſſary for reliſhing the
Obſervations I am about to make. This gives
me Reaſon to hope that you will yield to the
Evidence of the Proofs I ſhall bring, for the
Support of my Syſtem.
As for my Family, my Name, and my
Country, what I can tell you is, that I am
the Son of a father who was far advanced in
Years when I was brought into the World;
as for my Country, it is far diſtant from
yours. My Name, which you are curious to
know, only from a Principle of Friendſhip
to me and my Son, is Telliamed. My Father,
who was bleſs'd with the Goods of Fortune,
was by my Grandfather educated in the Stu-
dy of the. Sciences, eſpecially of Natural
Hiſtory, which he himſelf had greatly
cultivated. My Father took Care to nouriſh
in me the fame Inclination which he had re-
ceived as hereditary from my Grandfather,
and to initruct.ine concerning the Compoſi-
tion of this habitable Globe, which was his
own principal Study. Such was his paternal
Affection, that notwithſtanding his Age, he
travelled along with me and affiſted my
Thoughts and Meditations. Death, which
cut him off too ſoon, did not permit him to
perfect me in theſe ſublime Branches of Know-
ledge: However, the Paſſion with which he
B 2
had
474
H
4
TELLI AMED: Or,
tem.
had inſpired me for them, and the Deſire
of communicating them to my Son, render
me now, though advanced in Years, a Tra-
veller through the World with him.
Fo'ında. An Obſervation which my Grandfather
tion and made, and which he communicated to my
Origin of Father, was the Cauſe of a Courſe of Study,
this Syſ- which laſted all their Lives, and which has
been the principal Occupation of mine. The
Houſe of my Anceſtors, which I ſtill poſſeſs,
is built on the Sea-ſide, at the Point of a very
narrow but long Peninſula. It is cover'd by a
ſmall Iſland, the whole of which is a hard Rock
perfectly Horizontal with the Sea. My Grand-
father, as he affur'd my Father, had in his
Youth obſerv'd, that in the greateſt. Calm,
the Sea always remained above the Rock, and
cover'd it with Water: Twenty-two Years,
however, before his Death, the Surface of
this Rock appeared dry and began to riſe.
This Event ſurpriz'd my Grandfather, and
made him entertain ſome Doubts,concerning the
generally eſtabliſhed Opinion, that the Sea is
not diminiſhed.
He even thought that if
there was any Reality in this apparent Dimi-
nution, it could only be the Continuation of a
preceding. Diminution, of which the Grounds
or Soils higher than the Sea, would no doubt
bear or include in them the ſenſible Marks.
This Idea engaged him to examine theſe
Grounds with more Attention than he had
done before. · He accordingly found that
there was no Difference between the Places
far from the Sea, and theſe which were
either near to it or ſtill waſhed by it ; that
they had the fame Aſpect, and that the form-
er as well as the latter had Sea-ſhells adher-
ing
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. .
5
ing to, and inſerted in their Surfaces. He
found twenty Kinds of Petrifications which
had no Reſemblance to each other; ſome were
deep, and others ſuperficial ; ſome were of
an uniform, and others of different Subſtances.
He obſerved Quarries of Free-Stone hard and
ſoft, of various Colours and different Grains.
He found other Quarries of Flint or of in-
laid Stones, white, black, greyiſh, and often
of a whimſical Aſſemblage of Colours. Some
of the Quarries were Marble, white, black,
of che Colour of Agate, ſhaded and not
ſhaded,
The Origin of this ſo great Variety of Soils,
join'd to the Strata or Beds different in Sub-
ſtance, Thickneſs and Colour, of which
moſt of theſe Quarries were compoſed, ſtrange-
ly perplexed his Reaſon. On the one hand, if
this Globe had been created in an Inſtant, in
the ſame State in which we ſee it, by the
Power of a Will as efficacious as abſolute, he
thought that its ſolidSubſtance would have been
compoſed of one ſingle Matter ; and eſpecial-
ly that it would not have been arrang'd in
Beds laid over each other with Juſtneſs, even
in their Inequality of Subſtance and Colour.
This denotes a ſucceſſive Compoſition, which
is alſo juſtified by the Inſertion of ſo many
extraneous Bodies, even ſuch as have had
Life, into thoſe Beds. But if it had been ne-
ceſſary to have Recourſe to another Origin of
our Soils, though both within and without
thefe Petrifications he remark'd almoſt infal-
lible Traces of the Action of the Sea, how
could he comprehend that it could have form-
ed them, ſince it was now ſo far below them?
How could he perſwade himſelf that it had
B 3
drawn
6
TELLI AMED: Or,
drawn from its Boſom, the fo different Ma-
terials which he ſaw employed in the Compo-
ſition of theſe Soils.
Theſe Reflections induced him to go to the
Sea-ſide, to ſee whether in meditating
on what
happened there daily, it was poſſible for
him to remove his Doubts, and diſcover the
true Origin of the terreſtrial Globe. He
thought that as the Literati, who were the Or-
naments of his Timè, were moſtly employ-
ed in vain and frivolous Studies, he might
well employ his Days in the Reſearch of a
Subject ſo intereſting as the Origin of thoſe
Soils or. Earths which carry us, of which
our Cities are built, and which ſupply our
Wants. With this View, he ſlowly wander'd
along the Sea-ſhore, ſometimes on Foot, and
at others in a light Chaiſe, often very near,
and ſometimes at a greater Diſtance, that he
might have a greater Extent of Ground under
his Eyes, and be able to obſerve the Diſpo-
ſition of a whole Coaſt. He ſtop'd for fe-
veral Hours on one Shore, and in a particu-
lar Place obſerv'd (if I may ſo call it) the
Labour of the Waves, which broke at his
Feet: the Sand and the Flints which the Bil-
lows brought along, as they were either calm
or tempeſtuous. Sometimes he ſat down on
the Summit of a ſteep Rock, which the Sea
waſhed; and from thence, as well as the
Waves permitted him, he obſerved whatever
was moſt remarkable.
His principal Study at this Time, was to
diſcover the Diſpoſition of Subaquatic Soils,
the Motion and the Labour of the Waves of
the Sea. For this Purpoſe he hired ſeveral
ſkilful Divers, whom he uſed when the Depth
of
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 7
of the Water no longer permitted his Eye to
diſtinguiſh Objects and the Qualities of Soils.
Theſe Divers had Caps of Cere-Cloth and
Maſks; to the Tops of theſe Caps, which
below were lin’d with a large Quantity of
Cotton, and ſo cloſely tied about the Neck
that no Water could enter, were tied long
Thongs of Leather, by means of which they
could dive into very deep Places, and remain
under the Water for ſeveral Hours. Each
of them had a Compaſs in his Hand and a
ſmall ſharp-pointed Stick, with a Streamer
at one End. By thruſting this Stick in-
to the Bottom they perceived the Force and
Direction of the Current ; they could alſo
walk eaſily under Water, when the Bottom
was not too foft. This my Grandfather put in
Execution in the greateſt Calm, far from the
Shore, and in Places where it was poſſible to
reach the Bottom with the Thongs. He re-
peated his Experiments in the ſame Place
ſeveral Times, and when oppoſite Winds
blew. By this Means he knew whether there
were any Variations in the Currents and in
the different Obſervations he had made on the
ſame Places.
As he deſired to know the State of the
Seas where the Divers could not go either
by the Thongs or the Afſtance of their
Breath, he invented a Machine, which ſuc-
ceeded with him to the greateſt Perfection.
It gave him an Opportunity of continuing
his Diſcoveries even in the deepeſt Places
where no Sound could reach. This Inven-
tion is ſo fingular, that it deſerves a Deſcrip-
tion.
B 4
Of
8
TELLIAM ED: Or,
An aqua-
Of a very light but ſtrong and thick Wood,
tic Lan- he ordered Cašks to be made, narrow at the
thorn of a
ſingular
Bottom, one of whole Extremities terminated
Invention like the Arex or Top of a Sugar-Loaf.
Theſe Lanthorns, ſeven or eight Feet in
Height, and about the Middle three or four
wide, had eight Apertures.
The four leaſt
made at equal Diſtances, and diſpoſed fe-
verally as high as the Eyes of a Man when
he ſtood upright in the Lanthorn, were ex-
actly cloſed by Saſhes and cryſtal Glaſſes.
The four others, a Foot and a half broad and
three Feet long, cut below the others, were
cloſed up by tough and thin Leather paſted
and nailed to the Outſide of the Wood, ſo
that the Water could enter into none of the
Apertures. The firſt mentioned Holes were
deſign’d to facilitate the Diver's Power of
conſidering all the Bottom which ſurrounded
him, when he dived with this Lanthorn. The
others, by the Air always mix'd with the
Water, and tranſpiring through the Leather
which cloſed them, ferved to refreſh the Per-
fon contained in the Lanthorn, and render
Reſpiration eaſy. Theſe Skins being gently
ſtretch'd, had alſo another uſe, which was to
yield to the double Motion of this Reſpira-
tion ; and to follow that of another Leather,
nailed in form of a Purſe, to the inner Side
of the Bottom of the Lanthorn, when the
Diver wanted to puſh it outwards.
To underſtand this the better, imagine to
yourſelf, that in the Thickneſs of the Wood
of which the Bottom was made, and which
was two Inches thick, there was an Aperture
made a Foot and a half in Diameter, cover'd
externally by a Plate of Iron, nailed to the
Wood,
V
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, Sc. 9.
A
1
Wood, and internally to this Leather in
form of a Purſe : Betwixt the Iron and the
Leather, was introduced into the Aperture a
Foot and a half ſquare, a Piece of Wood ex-
actly fitted to it, and of the fame Thickneſs
with the Bottom. This Piece of Wood was
ſuſpended in the Cavity which it fitted, at the
Diſtance of an Inch from the Plate of Iron,
by means of a Spring tied to it at one of the
Ends, and at the other, nailed to the Wood
of the Bottom. The Toughneſs of the Lea-
ther, with which it was covered internally,
and the Largeneſs of the Square, permitted
this Elevation. By this Means the Piece of
Wood had a Spring; for in Proportion as it
was preſs’d, it was depreſſed into its Aper-
ture as far as the Plate to which it correſpond-
ed, and it roſe an Inch and more as ſoon
as the Preſſure ceas'd, which produced the
fame Effect in the Pieces of Leather nailed
to the Sides of the Lanthorn.
In the Middle of this Piece of Wood, was
made a long Notch an Inch broad, corre-
fponding to a ſimilar one in the Place of Iron
nailed upon the Outſide of the Aperture ;
the Notch in the Plate was deſign'd to admit
a Piece of Iron, furniſhed with Beards on its
Sides, like thoſe with which Padlocks are
ſhut. The Notch made in the Wood, a
little narrower by ſome Lines, ſerved to catch
theſe Beards, and diſengage them from the
Edges of the Plate.
To this bearded Iron was tied a Rope of
fome Fathoms length, and which had its o-
ther End fixed to a Ball of Stone. When
the Lanthorn was to be us'd, after putting
the Diver into it, this Ball of Stone, deſtin'd
to
IÓ
TELLIAM ED: Or,
to alliſt its Deſcent, was fixed to its lower
End, by introducing the bearded Iron into
the Aperture made in the Plate. By this Dif-
poſition, when the Diver wanted to return
from the Bottom of the Sea, he had nothing
to do, but with his Foot to preſs the Piece of
Wood contained in the Purſe of Leather:
Upon this the Beards of the Iron fixed in
the Plate, being re-united to their common
Trunk, gave the Lanthorn, diſengag'd from
its Weight, and become much lighter than
the Column of Water it occupied, a full
Liberty of remounting to the Surface.
To keep this Lanthorn upright in its Ar-
cent, as the Weight of the Ball of Stone did
its Deſcent ; there were tied to the lower End
of the Lanthorn two other Ropes, furniſhed
with Leads of five or fix Pound Weight:
Theſe Ropes were longer by a Fathom, than
that to which the Ball of Stone was fixed.
The ſuperior End of the Lanchorn was fur-
niſhed with a large Piece of Cork, terminat-
ing in a Point, and fixed to the Lanthorn by
a Bar of Iron running through it. At the
Top of this Bar was a Ring, through which
a Rope pafs’d, in order to fuſpend the Lan-
thorn by the Yard or Maſt of a Ship, when
it was to be put into the Sea. In this con-
dition, after having introduced the Diver, it
was let down into the Water as far as the
Cork. Here it was kept for ſome time, to give
the Diver an Opportunity of preparing him-
ſelf, and of knowing whether the Lanthorn
leak'd ; and as ſoon as he made a Signal
that every thing was in order, the Lanthorn
was let down, either by cutting the Rope, or
letting it flip through the Ring.
Upon
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
II
Upon this, ſays our Philoſopher, who had
his Eyes fixed on mine, I ſee you have an ar-
dent Deſire to know whether, on theſe Occa-
fions, our Divers have ever been expoſed to
Danger from Sea-Monſters, or whether they
have not ſeen ſome of them of an extraordi-
nary Form. Fiſhes, continued he, are rare
in Seas that are deep, and far from Land
which furniſhes them with Nouriſhment.
The Divers have indeed frequently met with
Animals, creeping or walking in the Bottom
of the Sea, of a Form approaching to that
of Animals, which creep or walk in the
Earth. If any Fiſhes were in their Way,
they got off ſpeedily, being no doubt, aſto-
niſhed to ſee in the Abyſs which they inhabited,
ſo great a Prodigy, and to hear the Noiſe of
ſome Bells tied to the Lanthorn, which were
continually moved by the Air in its Deſcent
and Aſcent.
My Grandfather inſtantly mark'd down
what the Divers had diſcover'd, as well as the
Quality and Colour of the Slime, which the
Leads brought from the Bottom. He was not
even afraid ſometimes to deſcend in Perſon
into the Sea, in order to inform himſelf by
his own Eyes, with reſpect to ſome remaining
Doubts, or extraordinary Things, with which
the Divers could not acquaint him. By theſe
Reſearches and Experiments, which he made
in the Bottom of the Sea, he form'd Charts,
eſpecially when the Diſcoveries were made
near the Coafts ; and upon theſe Charts, the
Force and Direction of the Currents were
exactly mark'd. The Divers knew theſe
Currents, by means of a red or green Ribbon,
a Yard or two long, which was tied to the
Top
12
TELLI AMED: Or,
Top of the Lanthorn, and which the Currents
mov'd more or leſs, according as they were
ſtronger or weaker.
After this Labour, my Grandfather com-
pared the State of the Bottom of the Sea, with
that of the Land which correſponded to it,
in order to know the Relation there was be-
tween them, either in their Conformation, or
between the Currents, and the Winds moſt
common on the neighbouring Coaſts; of which
he took great Care to inform himſelf. He
alſo obferv'd, whether in the Bottom of the
Sea there were Cavities correſponding to the
Gulphs of the neighbouring Grounds, or
on the contrary, Elevations, in Confe-
quence of Capes, which almoſt always hap-
pened. He continued long on the Ilies and
Rocks of the Coaſts, which he viſited, and
thence he conſidered at Leiſure, what hap-
pened during the Tempeſt and the Calm, not
only on the Shore where he was, but alſo on
that of the adjacent Continent. His Deſign
was the better to judge by the Labour of the
Sea, whether ſhe had really formed theſe dir-
ferent Soils, which only ſeem'd to have been
raiſed as Barriers for her. In this Study, he
employed near two Years, during which, to
the Eaſt and Weſt of his own Houſe, he
viſited an hundred and fifty Miles of the
Coaft, and made Experiments on the Bottom
of the neighbouring Seas; and from theſe
laborious Reſearches he made the following
Obſervations.
Principles That the Sea contained Currents almoſt in
of this
all its Extent ; that ſome of theſe were ge-
Syſtem,
neral, that is, conſiderable, going from one
Part of the Globe to another : For Example,
from
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 13
;
from the North to the South, from the Eaſt
to the Weſt, or in contrary Directions; that
ſome were alternate, and returned on them-
ſelves after a certain Space of Time, like the
Flux and Reflux of the Sea, eſpecially in the
Neighbourhood of Coaſts, and in great Gulphs;
that others were continual, and without any
other Variation than their greater or leſſer Rapi-
dity during their Courſe; that ſome were pro-
per to certain Coaſts, and that they were
aided or oppos'd ſometimes by Winds, and
ſometimes by a ſuperior Sea, favourable or
oppoſite
That when a Current meets another directly
oppoſite to it, which often happens, there
is the ſame Combat between them, as there
is between the Waters of a River, and thoſe
of the Sea, when they oppoſe each other
that the fame Effect was alſo produced by
them; that is, at the Point of their Junction
there was a kind of Bar or Ridge compoſed
of the Subſtances which were in the Currents;
and Heaps of Sand or Mud accumulated,
higher or harder in Proportion to the Largeneſs
and Force of the Currents, and the Deepneſs
of the Seas.
That there were alſo Currents which croſs'd
each other, that the ſtrongeſt in this caſe,
cut the weakeſt, whoſe Courſe upon this ter-
minates, ſtopping at its Sides the Subſtances
carried along in the other, which often forms
a Ridge of Mountains, and ſometimes a dou-
ble one, when ſome powerful and rapid Cur-
rent ſeparates the two oppoſite ones, and
leaving them on its Right and Lefr, continues
its Road between their depoſited Subſtances,
as in a deep Valley.
That
1
1
:
14
TELLIAMED: Or,
That the Waters of the Sea, however clear
they may appear, always contain ſome Sub-
ſtances, which they take up in fome Places
and lofe in others; that they collect theſe Sub-
ſtances according to the Rapidity of their
Currents, the Diſpoſition of the Bottom thro
which they paſs, or by Accidents happening
during their Courſe.
That in paſſing through narrow Places the
Currents undermine and carry off their Sub-
ſtances with them, as we obſerve, that a Ri-
ver pent up between its Banks, or which in
its Rapidity meets with a Bottom which is
ſhallow and ſoft, wears them away, and carries
them along with it; that after having exhauſted
the Matter of certain Beds or Soils, which
they or other Currents had formed, which
they ſucceſſively carry off, they at laſt elſe-
where form Arrangements of theſe Sub-
ftances.
That when great Tempeſts happen'd in the
Places whence theſe Currents proceeded, or
through which they paſs'd, what they de-
tach'd from certain Parts of the Bottom, the
Shells, and the Fiſhes, which they either kil-
led or bruiſed, the Trees, the Plants, the
Leaves of Trees which the Rivers and Tor-
rents had carried into the Sea, where theſe
Currents were, were all carried along by them,
and depoſited partly in their Courſe; when
being leſs confined by the Diſpoſition of the
Places thro' which they paſs'd, they flow'd
but ſlowly in the Places where they ter-
minated. That in theſe laſt Places, there were
always Heaps of Sand or Mud, lying in the
Bottom of the Sea, which as yet covered
them, or other ſimilar Congeſtions which it
2
no
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 15
no longer covered, ſuch as Rocks, Iſands,
Banks, or Continents, appearing at preſent on
our Globe.
That when theſe Currents reach particular
Coaſts, they there find Materials of another
Kind which they alſo employ in their different
Fabrications, according to the Diverſity of
Subſtances, and the Diſpoſition of the Places
where they arrange them.
That near the Diſemboguements of Rivers,
Brooks, and Torrents, into the Sea, there are
form'd in the Sea, Barrs or Beds, compoſed
ſome of Sand, Gravel, and Flints; others of
Slime or Mud, different in Colour and Quan-
tity, according to the Quality of the Sub-
ſtances which the adjacent Rivers brought
along with them ; that theſe ſmall Moun-
tains were more firm when only compoſed of
Slime or Mud; that theſe laſt included a
great many Herbs, which ſtopping on their
Surfaces, were afterwards covered by new
Slime added to the firſt ; that by the Softneſs
of their Subſtance they were ſubject to be
mov’d, and their Beds expoſed to be diſora
der'd or confounded, ſince after violent Tem-
peſts, or the overflowing of adjacent Rivers,
the Divers, and my Grandfather himſelf, of-
ten found the former Figures of theſe Beds
chang'd, made flat, or lengthen'd.
That on the ſhallow Coaſts, the Sea threw
every Thing with which it met, as far on
Shore as it poſſibly could; that on Coafts co-
ver'd by Inands or Rocks, which the Sea could
break, in Gulphs where there were Rocks,
whoſe.Wrecks fell into a fandy Bottom, where
Rivers and rapid Torrents terminated, car-
rying with them Stones, Flints, Gravel, and
Sand,
16
TELLI AMED: Or,
Sand, the Sea having received theſe, con-
vey'd them to the Shore, toſs'd them, rubb'd
them a long Time together, and by this
Means made them round"; that the Sea at
laſt plac'd them in ſuch a Manner, that it's
Billovas had no longer Force to carry back
with tham the Flints, to which the little
Water which remained, could only add ſome
Gravel and then ſome Sand ; that this Aug-
mentation was not great, ſince after a very
inconſiderable Addition, the Sand remained
dry, at firſt in Calms, and then in every
State of the Sea.
That on the contrary, when Coafts were
expoſed to a vaſt Sea, this Sea only brought
on Shore fome Shells, with Sand and Mud,
according to the Subſtance of the Bottom
over which it rolls.
That at the foot of ſteep Shores, there were
new Mountains form’d, compoſed ſometimes
of large and ſometimes of ſmall Stones, ac-
cording to the Nature of the Stones in theſe
higher Places, which the Injury of Time broke,
and which fell into the Sea ; that among theſe
great and fmall Stones there were often ſome
of a different Quality and Colour, which had
been brought by Accident from other Parts ;
and that theſe Stones were united together by
the Mud or Sand, into which they had fallen,
or that the Waters of the Sea had ſince
inſerted themſelves between them; that
there were only
extraneous Bodies and
Stones found in theſe congeſtions, when the
Boitom of the Sea was fandy; that on the
contrary, we fee almoſt none of them when
the Bottom is muddy, becauſe they are re-
tain d
.
L
17
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
tained in their Courſe, by the Softneſs of the
Slime in which they ſunk.
That at the Foot of ſteep Rocks where the
Sea is deep, the Bottom is always muddy,
ſince the Waters being repelled by the Rocks
and returning on themſelves cannot convey
any thing weighty thither ; that this Mud is
ting'd by the Waters which fall from the
Mountains during the Rains, and which re-
tain the Colour of the Earth they have carri-
ed along, ſometimes yellow, ſometimes red,
or of different colours, according to the Im-
preſſion they receive from the Nature of Trees,
from their Leaves or Fruit, from Plants or
Herbs, and from all other Bodies which theſe
Soils produce, and which either periſh in their
Boſoms, or are mixed with them.
That with reſpect to Shores of Stone or
Rocks which are not ſteep but rugged, and
to which the Sea flows on a nearly ſimilar
Bottom, it daſhes on them almoſt always
inildly, on account of the Rocks which op-
poſe its Courſe, and break the Force of its
Billows, that it then brings with it Sand,
ſmall Flints, various and numerous Shells,
an incredible deal of Impurities and light
Bodies, which it collects in paſſing over a
rugged Bottom; that with theſe Subſtances it
augments the Rocks on the Shore; that theſe
are alſo augmented by the Wrecks of the Fiſh
and Shell-filh, which are found in thoſe Parts;
and which adhering to the Stones formed in
theſe Parts, live on the Impurities which the
Sea brings along with her.
My Grandfather had found in ſhallow
Places, and thoſe where there were indurat-
çd. Rocks of Sand covered with Mud, cer-
C
tain
+
18
TELLI AMED: Or,
of our
tain Shell-fiſh unknown or very rare on the
Coaſts. Thoſe whoſe Fiſh were ſtill alive,
could hardly be torn from the Rock; and
thoſe whoſe Fiſh were dead, were ſo ſunk in
the Mud, with which many of them were fill-
ed, that by theſe Diſpoſitions it was eaſy to
know why they were never, or at leaſt very
rarely ſeen upon our Shores.
Proofs of
After theſe different Reſearches and Expe-
this Syr.
tem by riments, nothing remained but to make the
the Com. Application of them to the preſent State of
poſition our Soils, and to compare with their Compo-
ſitions, what paſſed in the Sea or upon its
Soils.
Shore. With this View my Grandfather for
ſome time viſited the Mountains near his own
Houſe and the Coaſt, in order to diſcover
more nearly the external Appearance, and the
Diſpoſition which he had before but view'd
at a Diſtance from the Shore or from his Boat
uſed in his Reſearches. He examin'd a long
Ridge of theſe Mountains, ſtopping fome-
times on their Summits, ſometimes on their
Declivities, and ſometimes in the deepeſt Val-
lics, that he might conſider them in all Di-
rections and Manners, often one after another,
and ſometimes altogether. In a Word, after
reiterated Reſearches, he was perſuaded their
external Appearance and their Afpect did not
differ in any thing from thoſe of the Eleva-
tions and Vallies which the Sea covered, and
that they were arranged on the Earth by the
ſame Means as thoſe which he ſaw in the Sea.
The Direction of the Beds which compoſed
Compo- both, and perfectly correſponded to each
fition.
other, and even the Conforinity, of the Sub-
ſtances?, of which theſe Beds were formed,
were to him a new Demonſtration of his Opi-
nion,
mm
By their
Nu
Hor
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
19
nion.
He had obſerved ſimilar Beds formed
in the Sea of Depoſitions of Sand or Mud,
which were arranged on each other in a
Manner almoſt always horizontal ; ſometimes
however the Direction of theſe Beds varied,
when by the Diſpoſition of the Bottom, the
Currents carrying theſe Subſtances were forc-
ed to ſink or riſe againſt them, forming
then their Beds according to the winding of
the Ground, but always of an equal Thick-
neſs. This he remark'd moſt generally, eſpe-
cially on the Surfaces of high Mountains. He
found other Mountains which were not form-
ed Beds or Strata ; and in theſe he diſco-
vered the Collection of different. Subſtances,
which he had ſeen formed in the Sea, near the
Difemboguements of Rivers and Torrents, or
at the Foot of ſteep Shores.
The prodigious Number of Sea-ſhells of By the
Sca-bo-
all Kinds, cemented to the Surface of both
dies with
theſe Concretions, from the Sea-ſhore to the which
higheſt of our Mountains, as is obſervable they are
on the Coaſt and in the Parts adjacent to it,
mixed.
was not a leſs convincing Proof to him of
their Fabrification in the Sea, where theſe
Fiſh are produced, live and die.
. Con-
ſiderable Beds of Oyſters which he found
on ſome Hills, others which appeared infert-
ed into the Subſtance of the Mountains ; en-
tire Mountains of Shells ſituated on the Tops
or Sides of other Hills and Vallies, which
were covered with them to the Height
of ſeveral Feet; an incredible Nuniber of Sea-
ſhells coming out of the Subſtance of Mouns
tains which Time had undermined, and many
other Sea-bodies which every where appeared
to
C2
20
TELLIA MED: Or,
By the
1
to him, repreſented a juſt Image of what he had
ſeen in the Sea itſelf.
He faw nothing in the whole external Ap-
Form of
pearance of the Mountains which did not con-
their ex. vince lim of the fame Truth. The Marks of
ternal Ap-
the Attacks of the Sea in Tempeſts, were
pearances.
deeply imprinted in a hundred ſteep Places of
thele Mountains; Amphitheatres were formed
by the Action of the Sea : Steps under Steps
were produced on their Sides, according to
the Diminution of the Sea, which was there
evidently marked. Corals which it had left
adhering there, after it had given Birth to
them, and nouriſhed them in theſe Places,
where they were petrified. The Holes of Sea-
worms, which only live in the Water, and
which were found imprinted on many Rocks,
were to him convincing Proofs of the real
Origin of our Mountains, and of their ancient
State.
The High and the Low, between which
they are divided, were to him the laſt Proof
which did not permit him to doubt, but theſe
Mountains were the ſame Work which the
Sea performs every Day in making Roads
thro' the Slime and Sand, which ſhe raiſes at
the Junction of two Currents, which are either
oppoſite, or cut each other. Thus we ſee the
Waters of Rivers, after having formed Bars
at their Diſemboguements, compoſed of the
Subſtances they brought along with them,
break thro' theſe Bars, by beating them down
in certain Parts when they require a more
free and open Paſſage. There is, however,
this Difference between the Collections of
Matter in the Sea, and theſe form'd near the
Dif-
!
61
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
21
14
Diſembogument of Rivers, that theſe laſt are
not fo indurated as not to be ſubdued by the
Waters which firſt formed them. The for-
mer, on the contrary, which are generated in
the Sea, being petrified at the End of a cer-
tain Time, ſubdue it. It is by this Means,
that it at preſent ſeems ſubjected to all theſe
Banks which have reſiſted it. However they
ſtill retain the Forın of the Paſſages, which
the Currents had made when their Matter
was ſoft, and which the Flax and Reflux of
the Sea, had long entertained, whilſt as yet
waſhing them, it ſometimes raiſed itſelf be-
tween the Apertures which the Waves had
made, and afterwards left them. This is ob-
ſervable on the Coaſts in a vaſt Nuinber of
Places, which differ in nothing with reſpect to
their Conformation, from thoſe which are al-
ready far diſtant from it.
After theſe general Notions of the Surface New
of our Soils, and of fome Parts of their in- Proofs af
ternal Compoſition; which are obſervable this Syf-
in Places which are either ſteep or undermin-
ed by Torrents, my Grandfather reſolved to
make an exact Diſſection of them, beginning
at their Surfaces, and paſſing to their deepeſt
Entrails. He began this new Labour on the
Places moft adjacent to his own Houſe. I
may ſay, on this Occaſion, that as Nature had
placed a Rock under his Windows; of fo par-
ticular a Form that it ſeeined to have been
made to teach Men the inſenſible Diminution
which the Sea ſuffered every Day, ſo the Parts
adjacent offer'd him ſo many other Proofs of
it, that it was natural to think, that all this
could not be the Effect of Chance. It was,
no doubt, the work of ſome happy Genius,
(if
tem.
C3
1
1
22
TELLIA MED: Or,
(if a Philoſopher may be allow'd to ſpeak ſo)
who had made it his Buſineſs to convince us
in this ſhort Method, of the Manner in which
this whole habitable Globe was formed; as if,
by this Means he had intended to ſupply the
Remembrance of Facts, or the Writings which
Time had deſtroyed, and which could have
inſtructed us concerning them.
In theſe different Parts my Grandfather
found all kinds of Petrifactions in the Surfaces'
of the Mountains; and theſe Petrifactions
were in Places very diſtant from each other.
Petrifac. One of the firſt which preſented was a Com-
l'lint-beds poſition of Stones, Flints, Wood, and other
Subſtances, this is called a Flint-bed, which
is often of a conſiderable Extent, but always
fhallow. He obſerved that this kind of Pe.
trifaction was rarely found except in ſuch
Places as were either even, or had but a very
ſmall Declivity. Afterwards comparing theſe
Compoſitions, with the Work he had ſeen
performed by the Sea, on her Coaſts, and
· where ſhe could freely roll Stones and Flints,
he knew that theſe Beds of Flints were ſituat-
ed preciſely in theſe Grounds, whoſe Diſpoſi-
tion did not naturally differ from thoſe in
which the Sea daily forms ſimilar Collections.
At laſt examining exactly the Compoſition of
theſe Flint-beds, he found that it included ab-
ſolutely the ſame 'Subſtances which the Sea
brought to the Shore; and that nothing
might be wanting to a compleat Proof, that
the one came from the other, he found vari-
ous Shells and Fiſh-bones in the Collection of
Subſtances whicli form'd theſe Flint-beds. He
even found that the Sand by which the whole
Maſs was united, was of the fame Nature and
Quality
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
23
Quality with that of the adjacent Sea; ſo that
it was not poſſible to doubt but this kind of
Petrifaction was a preceding Effect of the
actual Work of the ſame Sea upon its Shores.
He was alſo confirmed in the fame Senti-
ment, by a Bed of hard Sand and ſmooth
Stone which was not very thick, and with
which theſe Beds of Flint are generally co-
vered. He knew that this ſuperior Bed was
the laſt Work of the Sea, bearing on theſe
Collections, and only conveying Sand mixed
with Shells to them. Theſe Collections being
in a State of perfect Reft by the Retreat of
the Water, had at laſt contracted that extreme
Hardneſs, and Adheſion, which they had not,
when agitated by the Billows: My Grand-
father found this kind of Petrifaction in Places
very far from the Sea, and even on the Tops
of very high Hills, which was a certain De-
monſtration that the Sea had reached thither,
and that after having long remain'd there,
and labour'd for the Collection of theſe Sub-
ſtances, her Waters had ſubſided all the
Height of theſe Mountains, to their preſent
Surface.
Flint-beds are very frequent about your
City of Marſeilles. A Bed of this Kind, five
or ſix Foot chick, covers the whole Plain of
St. Michael, and over it is another Bed of
ſmooth Stone, very thin, and formed by the
Sand which the Sea had left in that Plain.
The new Walls of Marſeilles are built of this
Flint, in which I have often obſerved Picces
of Earth incruſtated. We alſo find Veins of
it in almoſt all the Roads which lead to the
pleaſant Farms which adorn its ftony Soil.
C 4
Thus
1
24
TELLI AMED: Or,
Tius Nature ſeems to have taken Pleaſure,
t) place in the Middle of that City, which
owes its Riches and Reputation to the Sea,
this ſenſible and infallible Proof, that the
Rock on which it is built, was formed in the
Sea.
Theſe Beds of concreted Stone, lodg'd be-
tween two Beds of ſmooth Stone, have not
been formed by Flints and Stones which the
Torrents of the neighbouring Mountains may
have brought thither, becauſe the little Hill
on which Marſeilles ſtands, is on all ſides
ſeparated from theſe Torrents by Vallies. The
Sea alone, which ſtill reaches to that Mount,
whoſe Summit was diſpoſed to receive them,
has raiſed them by its Billows on the North-
veſt, on a Ground ſomewhat lower. The Sea
alone could bring them thither, as you will
caſily judge on your Return, by conſidering
the Places, if you do not remember them
fufficiently to comprehend what I now have
the Honour of telling you.
One of the
Arches of the Aqueducts which conveys Water
to Marſeilles, is built on a ſimilar Bed of Flint
oppoſite to Aix-gate. On the side of St. Vic-
tor, there are ſome of thoſe Beds very re-
markable, by the Pains which have been
taken to make Streets in that ſtony Ground.
Torrents and Rivers may indeed form ſimi-
lar Collections, and ſuch are formed on the
Declivities of Mountains, and at their Feet
by the Stones and Flints which tumble from
their Summits. But theſe Collections have
no Conſiſtence, becauſe the Earth by which
they are joined, is not petrified like the Sand
which is ſalted by the Sea. If there iş Sand
inixed
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
25
mixed with the Collections, formed by Cur-
rents and Rivers which may compoſe a hard
Concretion, yet 'cis certain that neither Fiſh-
bones, nor any Sea-ſhells are found in them.
A ſecond Kind of Concretion in the Surface Variegat-
of the Mountains, or which, at leaſt, is nei-ed Stones
ther conſiderably deep nor extenſive, attracted a d Mar-
bles.
the Attention of my Grandfather, becauſe it is
frequent. It is a Collection of Pieces of Stone
or Marble, large in ſome Quarrics, ſmall in
others, generally of uniform Colours and Quali-
ties, tho' ſome of them are of a different Kind.
Theſe Pieces are united by a Mortar, fome-
times white, ſometimes gray, sometimes
brown, ſometimes black, yellow, rediſh, or
of a different Hue mix'd of all theſe Colours.
This Mortar is as hard and ſolid as the Stones
which it unites ; and in this Aſſemblage, we
rarely find petrified Wood, incruſtated Stones
and Flints, which are generally found in
Flint-beds. Theſe Quarries were generally
placed at the Foot of ſome Mountain, but
were not arranged in Beds like the others. On
the contrary, their Subſtance was perfectly
equal, and without any Difference or Diviſi-
In medicating on this particularly, my
Grandfather judg’d by the Poſition of thele
Quarries, that they might be the ſame Work
at which, according to his Obſervations, the
Sea daily laboured, at the foot of tteel
Mountains, whoſe Wrecks falling into her,
along with what the Rains carry off, and what
Chance brings, are receiv'd into her Botton,
buried at firſt in the Mud, and afterwards co-
vered by other Subſtances which Time throws
on.
upon them.
In
26
TELLI AMED: Or,
1
In order to know whether theſe Quarries
really owed their Origin to this Labour, my
Grandfather compard the Stones of their
Compoſition, with theſe of the ſuperior Places,
and the Cement which united them, with the
Mud of the adjacent Seas. With reſpect to
the Stones, he found they were really of the
fame Colour with theſe of the Mountains
raiſed above theſe Quarries : But he obſerved
this Difference between them, that ſuch as
were included in theſe Compoſitions had a finer
Grain, and were more weighty than thoſe con-
tain'd in the ſuperior Places. As for the Mud,
he obſerved, that it was alſo of the fame Qua-
lity with that of the Bottom of the adjacent
Sea, but of a different Colour.
Theſe Differences perplexed him at firſt,
but it was not long before he knew the Rea-
ſon of them. He wiſely judged that the
great Hardneſs of the Pieces of Stone included
in theſe Concretions,. could only be owing to
the long Continuance of theſe Stones detach'd
from the ſuperior Quarries in the Sea, in
a weighty Mud in which they were buried.
He did not doubt but the Change of the Co-
lour of the Mud proceeded from the Hue
which the riſing Grounds, carried to the Sea
by the Rains, had communicated to it. In a
Word, when the Earth of the Places ſuperior
to theſe Quarries was white, brown or black-
iſh, the Mud which ſeemed to unite thefe
Stones retain'd perfectly the ſame Colour
and it was red, yellow or greeniſh, when the
more elevated Earths were of theſe Colours.
For this Reaſon the Marble of Saraveſſa is ſo
beautiful, becauſe, on the adjacent Mountains
there
;
>
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
27
1
there is an Earth of ſo lively a red, that the
Canals thro' which the Rain Waters flow from
theſe Mountains to the Sea, ſeem to be ting'd
with Blood. Thịs is eaſily obſervable by
thoſe who in Boats paſs from Geneva to Porto-
venere ; nor is it to be doubted, but in the
Places where the Rain Waters diſcharge them-
ſelves into the Sea, there are Quarries of
Marble preparing for our Poſterity, like that
of Saraveſſa, or at leaſt of a Quality approach-
ing to it. The Marble of Sicily variegated
with a beautiful yellow, which makes it fo
much eſteemed, has the farne Origin. This
may be proved by the Earth of the ſame
Colour and Beauty ſtill found on the Moun-
tains ſuperior to the Quarry of that Marble.
This, in a Word, is the Reaſon of all the
other Colours with which the Quarries of this
Kind are variegated in all the different Coun-
tries of the World.
'Tis however to be obſerved, that the Co-
lour of the Mud which ſerves to form theſe
Quarries, is often more beautiful and lively
than that of the ſuperior Earths. The Rea-
fon of this is evident; theſe Earths having
at firſt been pure, as all Virgin Earths are,
and being ſo at the Time of the Compoſition,
of theſe Quarries, to the Mud of which they
have ſerved to give a Tincture, they have
been afterwards altered, either by the Mix-
ture of the Things they nouriſhed in their Bo-
ſom, and which liave been there petrified and
confounded, or by extraneous Earths which
the Winds have conveyed thither. However
they always retain Marks enough of their firſt
State, to convince us, that they have formerly
ferved
!
28
TELLIAMED: Or,
ſerved to tinge the Cements of the Quarries
which are forin'd below them.
The Reaſon why theſe Quarries include
neither petrified Woods nor bak'd Earths,
was alſo obvious to my Grandfather ; for be-
ing formed under the Water of the Sea, of
Subſtances which have been thrown into it,
there cannot be Wood found in them, which
rarely goes to the Bottom ; neither can baked
Earths be found in them, except on very ex-
traordinary Occaſions: The broken Pieces of
Bricks and Tiles, which are the Wrecks of
our Houſes, are not convey'd into the Sea
from the Tops of ſteep Mountains, at the
Feet of which theſe Quarries are form’d, ſince
very little is built on their Summits, but on
Places of a gentle Declivity. Neither do we
diſcover in theſe Quarries, at leaſt, not com-
monly, Stones and Flints made round, be-
cauſe Stones do not become round in the Sea,
till they have been long rubed againſt each
other, upon a ſhallow Bottom, either of Stone
or firm Sand. The Sea, as I have already
obſerved, cannot perform this work in deep
Water, nor convey Flints to the Tops of ſteep
Mountains, which break the Force of her Bil-
lows and Currents, and force her to return upon
herſelf. Beſides, in theſe Places, the Bottom
conſiſting generally only of Mud, every
thing weighty or bulky is ſtopt at a Diſtance
by the Softneſs of the Slime. In a Word,
my Father comprehended that theſe Moun-
tains could not be compoſed of Beds, ſuch as
are found in the Mountains lodg'd in a free
and open Sea, ſince the former are only the
Wrecks of theſe latter Mountains, which fall-
ing
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
29
ing at their Feet are received into a Mud pro-
per to reunite them, and form them into a
Solid, Whole, or Maſs. The ſmall Extent
of theſe Quarries, and their oblong Form,
always terminating in a Point, were ſtill, to
my Grandfather, evident Demonſtrations of
their Origin.
He alſo obſerved, that the Quarries of this
Kind, when placed at the Feet of Mountains of
a Subſtance which was ſoft and eaſily broken
by the Impreſſions of the Air, ſuch as the
Quarries of black, gray, or agate-colour'd
Marble, were compoſed of very ſmall Pieces;
whereas, when they were ſituated at the Foot
of Mountains, compoſed of hard Stones that
are with Difficulty mouldered, ſuch as all the
Mountains made of Mud or fine Sand, the
Pieces which compoſed theſe inferior Quar-
ries, were of a much larger Bulk. In order
to convince himſelf that the one came from
the other, he obſerv'd, that the higher and
ſteeper the ſuperior Mountains were; the more
conſiderable were the Quarries formed at their
Feet, which could only proceed from the great-
er Quantity of their Wrecks, which had had
Leiſure to fall, and be accumulated in a long
Space of Time neceſſary to exhauſt a deep
Sea. In a Word, to omit nothing proper
to inſtruct him in the Origin of theſe Concre-
tions, and to eſtabliſh their Truth, he pound-
ed the Stones of them, in the Compoſition
of which he found, as in the Flint-beds, cho'
leſs frequently, the Bones of Sea-fiſhes, and
Shells. After this he thought he had no Rea-
ſon to doubt, but that theſe ſmall Quarries
were the Work of the Waters of the Sea, as
well as the Flint-beds. From this he con-
1
ta
cluded,,
. 1.
30
TELLI AMED: Or,
cluded, that the Sea had beat a long time on
the Parts where the Quarries were ſituated,
ſince it had been able to form ſimilar Collecti-
ons, and conſequently had been diminiſhed
by all the Elevation obſerved from its Surface
to theſe Quarries. The Mountains in our
Neighbourhood are intermixed with Pertifi-
cations of this Kind all of Marble. There
are alſo a great many of them in Europe, both
of Marble and Stone. There are Petrifications
of this kind in ſome Places in Provence, and
even theſe conſiderably high, ſince they are
found in the Neighbourhood of St. Baume.
There are alſo others in France. There are
many of them in Spain, eſpecially in the Pe-
Tinean Mountains ; in Flanders ; in Lorrain ;
in the States of Geneva ; in Switzerland; and
in Sicily. There are ſome of them very beau-
tiful in Afin, but always at the Foot of Moun-
tains, and of the ſame Colour with their Sub-
ſtance. When this kind of Petrification is
Marble, it is very agreeable to the Eye, by
the Variety obſervable in it on account of the
Cement tinged in a hundred different Man-
ners, and ſerving to unite the pieces of which
it is compoſed. This Marble is the Matter
of a great many Pillars, with which your
Churches are adorned, eſpecially in Italy.
Tables are alſo made of it, and Decorations
for Chimnies in Houſes and Palaces.
Of Rock
Two other kinds of Petrification near the
and Pu-
Surface of the Mountains, and which may be
mice.
ſtone. reduced to one, ſince they are of the ſame
Kind, were alſo the Objects of my Grandfa-
ther's Reflections; I mean the Rock-ſtone
and the Pumice, which hardly differ in the
Poſition of their ſmall Quarries, and but very
little
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
31
little in the Subſtances of which they are com-
poſed. The Pumice is only leſs ſolid than
the Rock-ſtone; it is alſo more porous, and
leſs equal in its Compoſition.
In order to know the Reaſon of this Diffe-
rence, it is to be obſerved, that the Bottom
of the Sea furniſhes a great deal more Inpu-
rities in ſome Places than in others. It is
fuller of theſe Impurities on the Coaſt, where
Rivers and Torrents diſcharge themſelves,
than at a greater Diſtance from the Shore.
In a Word, there are much fewer Impurities
in Bottoms which are Sand or Mud, than on
the Shores, which are often embarraſſed with
Rocks, where theſe Impurities are collected,
and to which they adhere. Thus, when in a
Tempeſt the Billows of the Sea have torn
from theſe Rocks and ſhallow Places, the
Viſcoſities, Moſs, Snails, Shells, and a thou-
ſand other Impurities, which are proper to
them, as may be diſtinguiſhed by the Eye,
in Bottoms of this kind, they are carried to
the Shore with the Sand and ſmall Flints.
There with the Cement of the Froth and the
Salt of the Water, the Sea fixes all theſe Sub-
ſtances to the Surfaces of the Shores, which
ſhe ſtill waſhes with the Extremity of her
Waves, and makes of the whole a Compoſi-
tion as unequal in Hardneſs, as the Natures
of the Subſtances employed in its Formation
are different. The Holes contained in this
Pumice are the Cavities formed by a little
Moſs, the Viſcoſity of Snails, or other bulky
Subſtances, without a due Conſiſtence, which
have entered the original Compoſition. Theſe
Subſtances have been conſumed by Time,
which reduced them to a little Duſt or Earth,
which
32
TELLIA MED: Or,
which is to be found in theſe Cavities.: On the
contrary, when the Sea by its Billows throws.on
Shore more equal Subſtances, and fewer Vil-
coſities and Mofles, ſhe compoſes a leſs rough,
and a better formed Stone, which is called
Rock-ſtone. The mouldering of certain
Mountains alſo contributes to the Compoſiti-
on of this Stone, becauſe the Sand and ſmall
Gravel which are detached from them, and
which are carried to the Sea by a gentle De-
clivity, are re-united by the Waves at the
Foot of theſe Mountains, with the other Sub-
ſtances which they convey thither.
My Grandfather, who had ſtudied the va-
rious Works performed in the Bottom of the
Sea, eſpecially on the Coaſts, eaſily diſcover-
ed this Truth : He found in theſe two kinds
of Stone, the ſame Compoſition which the
Sea daily produces, almoſt every Moment,
in fixing to ſtony Bottoms or ſınall Rocks,
which it ſtill waſhes with the Extremity of its
Waves, the Subſtances which its Waters con-
tained, or which were carried to them from
the adjacent Mountains. The Poſition of
theſe Quarries of Pumice and Rock-ſtone,
had the fame Aſpect as thoſe Places where the
Sea had formed ſimilar ones upon the Coaſts,
Thus the ſuperficial Quarries in the large
Mountains, which he had found very near
their higheſt Summits, were to him new
Proofs, both of the long Continuance of the
Sea in ſuch elevated Places, and of the prodi-
gious Diminution of her Water, if we form
an Eſtimate of this Affair from her preſent
Boundaries, and the Elevation of theſe Places.
Theſe two kinds of Quarries are however
much leſs frequent and thick near the Tops
of
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
33
of high Mountains, than about the Middle ;
and ſtill leſs fo about their Middle, than
at their Feet, and in Places at preſent near
the Sea. The Reaſon of this is obvious ;
the Rock and Punrice Stones are compoſed
of the Wrecks of certain Mountains, of ſmall
Stones which the Sea detaches from them,
of ſmall Flints which ſhe contains, of Shells
and Impurities which ſhe brings along with
her. Now nothing of all this exiſted at the
Time of the Diſcovery of the firſt Soils. The
Sea could not break thein, nor convey their
Wrecks to their Feet, till after they had ap-
peared : Its Waters at firſt contained but very
few Shells, ſince theſe are only found near
the Shores, which were but of a ſmall Extent
at firſt. The Sea-water was not chen full of
all the Impurities which the Rain-water, and a
certain Slime it brings along with it, pro-
duce and nouriſh in the Bofom of the Sea
ſince the firſt Grounds were of a ſmall Ex-
tent, had not as yet been mouldered by the
Injuries of the Air, and only furniſhed the
Sea with ſome Veins of Water, or at leaſt
with ſmall Rivulets. As yet their Waters
muſt have been very pure, ſince they only
waſhed Rocks without Earth, without Herbs,
and without Shrubs. All theſe Circumſtances
are changed by the longer Duration of
Grounds, by the Loſs which the Rocks have
ſuſtained of a part of their Subſtance, by the
Multiplication of Herbs and Leaves, by the
Abundance of turbid Waters which the Sea
has ſince received, and by the Adherence of
Shells, and all the Impurities which ſhe has
contracted. Theſe Works were alſo aug-
mented in Proportion as our Grounds were
D
un-
34
TELLI AMED: Or,
i
uncovered, the Subſtances which the Sea em-
ploys in her Labours being increaſed accord-
ing to the Diminution of her Waters. Hence
it happens, that all kinds of Stone or Marble
· in the Surfaces of Mountains, of the Wrecks
of which they have been form'd, are much
leſs frequent and deep in high, than in low-
lying Places, becauſe in theſe laſt, the Sea
has found more Materials to work upon.
In general, my Grandfather, in this Petrifi-
cation in the Surface of our Soils, found num-
berleſs Shells, fome known, others abſolutely
unknown, or ſuch as are very rare on the ad-
jacent Coaſts. He found in particular a great
many Corneamons, which are very frequent
in the Stones of France, tho' none of them
are found on the Coaſts of France. He alſo
obſerved that the unknown Shells were more
deeply funk in theſe compoſitions, whereas
thoſe which are frequent on our Coaſts were
ſituated nearer their Surfaces. In ſearching
for the Reaſon of this Difference, he judged
that it proceeded from this, that the Shells
unknown on our Shores, which he had found
in certain Bottoms, had been petrified in theſe
Bottoms, with the Mud, before it could be
uncovered by the Water; that afterwards this
Petrification approaching to the Surface of
the Sca, or being already at it, another Kind
of Shells, ſuch as we ſee on our Coafts, and
ſuch as love the Air more than the former,
had compoſed a Cruft on this firſt Stone, as it
was common for the Sea to cloath the Rocks it
ſtill waſhed, with them, before it left theſe
Rocks; and that conſequently theſe laſt Shells
muſt be found in the external Parts of the
Mars,
+
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
35
Maſs, before we arrive at the internal Parts,
where the firſt mentioned Shells are included.
My Grandfather afterwards diſcovered
Waved
other Petrifications deeper and larger than the Marbleo.
former, but which were not of a very great
Extent. Theſe were certain ſmall Mountains
ſeparated from the large ones, and generally
plac'd at their Foot, or at a ſmall Diſtance,
moſt frequently at the Entry of large Vallies,
or in Places not far from them. Theſe ſmall
Mountains, I call them ſo in Compariſon of
the Height and Excent of the other Mountains,
are the ſame, and in the ſame Poſition with
the Quarries of Slate, or of certain tender
Marbles, ſuch as the black, the agate-colour-
ed, thoſe mixed of red and green, and of yel-
low and white, and ſome other Species. In
examining the Variegation of theſe Marbles,
my Grandfather diſcovered that there were
two kinds of them ; the firſt is the Effect of
certain Waves which are principally found in
the agate-coloured, the rediſh, the green, and
ſuch as approach to theſe Colours.
deal of this kind is employed in the Houſes
of Paris. The accidental Variegation con-
liſts in certain Streaks, generally white or
yellow, which are found in theſe Marbles,
and in ſeveral Quarries of Stone.
He judged that theſe Waves obſervable in
certain Marbles, proceeded from certain ſtrong
Impulſes, which their Subſtance, as yet almoſt
liquid and without Conſiſtence, could not re-
filt; that the greeniſh Colour with which
ſome of theſe Stones are ting'd, could pro-
ceed from nothing elſe but Herbs inſerted in
their Compoſition, into which they could not
enter, except when the Matter was foft; and
D
thac
A great
36
TELLIAMED: 'Or,
suph
that the Waves obſervable in their Subſtance
was an undoubted Proof of this Truth:
Theſe Waves, in a Word, ſuppoſed the ſame
State of theſe Subſtances, without which the
Mixtures of the different Slimes of which
theſe Marbles were compoſed, could not have
been made. The Eaſineſs with which theſe
Marbles were reduced to Scales or Flakes,
convinced him that they were only compoſed
of Mud and Slime indurated. In a Word,
conſidering their Poſition, he concluded that
ſuch Collections were natural in theſe Places,
and muſt have been formed there by the
Slime of the Rivers and Torrents, which
flow'd from the Vallies into the Sea, at the
Time when ſhe was ſuperior to theſe Quarries.
Thus, in his Obſervations on the daily Labour
of the Sea, he knew, that ſimilar Collections
were at preſent made in her, near the Diſem-
boguements of Rivers or Torrents which fall
into her. This appeared ſufficiently evident
to him from the various Bones of Sea and
and River Fiſh which he found in ſeveral of
theſe Quarries, ſince with their Waters and
their Slime, theſe Rivers muſt have carri-
ed to the Sea ſome of the Fiſh they con-
tained, either dead or alive.
As for the Streaks with which almoſt all
theſe Marbles are variegated, at leaſt on their
Surfaces, he knew that they were an Effect
poſterior to the Appearance of theſe ſmall
Hills above the waters of the Sea, that being
formed of a muddy Matter which is eaſily
warp'd, and that being acted upon by the
Air, the Sun and Froſt, they had been di-
vided into Clefts, into which receiving the
Rain and Sea Waters which ſometimes cover-
ed
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
37
ed them, they had contracted theſe Variegati-
ons, according to the Earths and Slimes con-
tained in theſe Waters, this Matter, which
may be looked upon as a kind of Glew or
Cement, having ſerved to reunite the different
Pieces or Flakes into which their Surfaces were
already divided
In order to ſupport this Sentiment he ob-
ſerved, that theſe Streaks were of the ſame
Colour with the various Slimes of the Sea, by
which the Quarries were waſhed, or with the
Earth on their Summits; and that where the
Earth was whiteiſh, the Streaks of the Marble
were equally ſo. Such is the Variegation of
ſeveral Quarries of black Marble, found in
Switzerland and ſome other parts. Such alſo
is the Variegation of ſeveral Stones dug up
in Tuſcany, with which the Streets of Legn
horn are pav'd; and of a hundred other
Kinds of Stones, whoſe Subſtances, tho?
ſolid, is yet eaſily warp'd and fiffur'd. He
found on the contrary, that in the Places
where the Earth on the Summit of theſe Quar-
ries was yellowiſh, as in the Ine before Porto-
venere, whence black Marble, mark'd with
yellow Streaks approaching to a Gold Colour,
is dug, the Stones were variegated with the
fame Colour. This was a new Proof that the
Variety of Streaks common to ſo many Mar-
bles, lias no other Origin than that now men-
cioned. We alſo ſometimes ſee in the ſame
Piece of Marble, Streaks of a white, and
others of a yellow Colour. Whence proceeds
this Difference? if not from this, that ſome
of them are the work of a Vein of Water,
ting'd yellow with an Earth of that Colour
which it imbib'd; and others, that of a
Water which had run chro' a white Earth.
That
D 3
To 11
39
TELLIAMED: Or,'
That theſe Streaks really proceed from the
Warping and Fiſſures of theſe Stones and
Marbles after the Sea has left them, my Grand-
father found another ſenſible Proof, which is,
that if the Foot of theſe Quarries is ſtill waſh-
ed by the Waves, we do not at their Bottom
find the Variegations to be obſerved at their
Summits ; that they are of an equal Colour,
or at leaſt way'd and varied without any Mix-
ture of theſe Streaks, and even in the
Places where theſe Quarries are far from the
Sea, their internal Part which is ſheltered from
the Wind, the Cold and the Sun preſents none
of theſe Variegations. This I myſelf have
obſerved in ſeveral Quarries of your Europe,
eſpecially that ſituated before Porto-venere,
whoſe Variegations are diminiſhed in Propor-
țion as we go farther from the Surface, and at
laſt totally diſappear. In a Word, he found
in the Matter of theſe Streaks, Flies and va-
rious other Land Infects, which could not en-
ter into it, if theſe Streaks had not been poſte-
rior to the Fabrication of the Subſtance of
theſe Stones, and to their appearing above the
Waters of the Sea. Frequently alſo, ſeveral
of theſe Streaks were marked with green,
which proceeded from the Leaves or Herbs,
which being convey'd into theſe Clefts or Fif-
ſures by the Rain-water, had tinged the Mud
which they touch'd.
The Nature of theſe Quarries, and their
Poſition, were, to my Grandfather, prepar-
ed by the Obſervations he had made on the
Works of the Sea, near the Diſemboguements
of Rivers and Torrents, new Proofs of the
Diminution of her Waters. At the Foot of
theſe Quarries, whoſe Surface is eaſily warp'd
and reduced to Flakes, there are generally
others,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
39
others, eſpecially on the ſteepeſt Coaſts. Theſe
have been form'd of the \Vrecks of the Sub-
ſtance of the others, reunited by the Sand or
Mud of the Sea into which they had fallen
when it was ſtill at the Foot of chem; and
this Aſſemblage alſo ſubject *o warp, and by
that Means ſuſceptible of Variegations, com-
poſes a Kind of ſpeckled or Mofaick Work,
very agreeable to the Eye, and of which we
find ſome Ornaments in the Houſes of Paris.
The Pieces of which there Quarries are form-
ed, are generally very ſmall. In this they
differ from thoſe I have mentioned, the Sub-
ſtance of which is not ſo eaſily broken ; but
the Quality of the Marble, Sand and Mud,
which compoſe theſe ſmall Quarries, the Sea-
ſhells inſerted in them, and their Poſition,
are, as well as in the others, certain Proofs of
the State of the Water of the Sea, at the Time
of their Formation, and conſequently of the
Diminution which has ſince happened to that
Water.
After the Examination of theſe various Pe- of the
trifications on the Surface of the large Moun- large
tains, of which we might ſay the former are
Moun-
the Daughters, my Grandfather refolved to
uſe all his Application in examining the Com-
poſition and Origin of theſe alſo. With this
View he ordered deep Pits to be dug in fe-
veral Parts, even in the moſt lofty Summits
of theſe Mountains, as far as their loweſt En-
trails. He viſited the Quarries wlience Stones
were dug in the places where the Mountains
were higheſt, or he went to theſe Places
where the Mountains were cither ſplit, under-
mined by Time, cut, penetrated, or razed to
a level, in order to make Roads, raiſe Fortifi-
cations,
tais,
D A
40
TELL I AMED: Or,
čations, or afford Paſſages for Rivers. He
carefully interrogated theſe who had the
Charge of theſe Works, the Diggers of the
Stones, thoſe who cut them, and theſe em-
ployed in digging the Pits. He with no leſs
Attention examined the Mountains or little
Hills of hard Sand, which are never ſo high
as Mountains of Stone, neither have they been
formed till long after them out of their
Wrecks, Beſides they are in ſuch a Situati-
on, that the Agitation of the Waves which
waſhed the Parts where thev are, the Quality
of the Sands which compoſe them, and the
Mixture of the freſh Water, have not per-
mitted them to be petrified. My Grandfa-
ther ſpent ſeveral Years in this Occupation,
and after long Meditations on the internal
and external Parts of all Mountains, he, with
my
deceaſed Father, who imitated him in this
Study, and whom he conducted every where
with him, made a Collection of Obſervations,
the Subſtance of which is as follows:
That all Mountains or Soils are originally
but Sand or Stone; that tone is compoſed of
indurated Sand or Mud, or of a Mixture of
both, or formed of Clay and theſe other De-
poſitions of the Water of the Sea, which
. are found in its Bottom by Means of the
Plummet, or by Diving.
That the Diverſity of Colour in Stones pro-
ceeds from the Diverſity of the Grain, and of
the Subſtances which have entered into their
reſpective Petrifications.
That all primitive Mountains of Stone, and
even of hard Sand not petrified, are compor.
ed of Beds arranged over each other, almoſt
always horizontally, thicker or thinner, and
ofren
Diſcourſes in the Diminution of the Sea, &cc.
1
41
often of an unequal Colour and Hardneſs,
which can only proceed from the ſucceſſive
Arrangement of the different Matters of which
theſe Collections are formed.
That theſe Arrangements are found from
the Tops of the higheſt Mountains, to their
profoundeſt Abyſſes, and even till we arrive at
Water. That when we go beyond the Water,
we only ſearch with little Certainty, and can
diſtinguiſh nothing with reſpect to the Ar-
rangement of the Subſtances found there.
That it is not poſſible to imagine, that the
Arrangement of theſe Matters different in
Quality, Subſtance, Colour, and Hardneſs,
which we find in the Beds of all large Moun-
tains, could be produced otherwiſe than in
the Sea, and by the different Matters which
ics Waters contain during the Time neceffary
to the Fabrication of theſe prodigious Col-
lections ; nor that the other Petrifications ad-
hering to them, and formed of their Wrecks,
were formed by another Cauſe, than the Al-
ſiſtance of the Sea, acting ſucceſſively upon
them.
That for a Proof of this Truth, the Sea on
her Bottom ſtill continues the ſame Labour, às
may be prov'd by diving into her ; that along
her Shores, we find the ſame Arrangement of
Beds of different Matters, as yet not indurat-
ed, at leait in ſeveral Places; and that we al-
ſo find upon the Coaſts, Collections of the
ſame Matters which are employed in the Petri-
fications, adhering to the Surface of all large
Mountains.
That beſides theſe obvious Proofs that all
large Mountains have been formed in this
Manner, they alſo contain a great many others
which
2
Ін
42
TELLIAMED: Or,
!
which admit of no Reply. In a Word, that
even in Places moſt diſtant from the Sea, they
are to this Day covered in a thouſand Parts
of their Surfaces, with a prodigious Number
of Shells; and that on the Summits of the
higheſt Mountains, we find ſeveral Rocks en-
tirely compoſed of Shells; that the internal
Parts of Mountains alſo include an infinite
Number of the fame Shells, and of all kinds
of Sea Fiſh, the largeſt not excepted ; that
whole Banks of Oyſters are found inſerted in
their Boſoms, and a ſurpriſing Quantity of
extraneous Bodies all arranged in the ſame
Manner ; that from this we ought to con-
clude, that theſe Bodies could only enter into
theſe enormous Maſſes, and be included in
them, becauſe ar the Time of the Fabrication
of theſe Mountains, they have been thrown
to theſe Parts, and buried at the Height
where we find them, as are the Materials of a
Wall which we ſee built.
That the Difference of Quality and Colour,
of one Bed of the ſame Stone, from another,
proceeds from this, that the Currents proper
to the Waters of the Sea, as the Winds are to
the Air which we breathe, after having paſſed
thro' certain Places with Rapidity, and carri-
ed off the Matter with which they are im-
pregnated, find Matter of another Kind which
they alſo convey ſucceſſively to the Places
where they terminate ; that they there form,
by the Depoſition of all theſe Matters, Beds as
different in Subſtance, as the Slimes are which
they contain
That there are Sea-ſhells, and a much
larger Quantity of other extraneous Matter in
the Subſtance of certain Quarries, and that in
con:
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
43
conſidering the Diſpoſition of the Places where
they are ſituated, it is evident that we ought
not to ſeek for any other Reaſon for theſe
Facts, than that there Quarries liave been
form'd in the Bottom of a Gulph, or in Parts
where Currents muſt naturally convey ſuch
Things, rather than to other places.
That theſe extraneous Bodies, eſpecially
Shells, and the Bones of Sea-filh, are very
rare at the Bottom of Quarries, leſs rare at
their Middle, and more frequent towards their
Surface, which proceeds from this, that the
Waters of the Sea muft naturally contain few
Fiſh, and almoſt no Shells, when they co-
vered the Tops of our Mountains ; that in a
Word, there was nothing in the Bottom of
the Sea proper for the Nouriſhment of either,
ſo that they have not been multiplied nor
perhaps form'd, except when the firſt Summits
of our Mountains were ready to appear, becauſe
in order to be brought to Life, they required
the Aliſtance of the adjacent Air.
In order, Sir, continued our Philoſopher, Primitive
to give you a general Idea of the primitive State of
State of our Globe, and to conduct you in- ourGlobe.
ſenſibly to a Knowledge of the Compoſition
of our Soils, imagine to yourſelf, as I have
begun to prove to you, that the Sea has been
a great many Cubits higher than the higheſt
of all our Mountains.* The preciſe Eleva-
tion
* 'Tis under this Image that Ovid repreſents the Earth
in the Chaos, that is, before the Ground began to appear.
Quaque crat és tellus, illic & pontus & aer,
Metam. Lib I.
This is alſo the Idea Moſes gives of it in Gen. i. 2. And
Darknejo was upon the face of the Deep.
44
AMED
TELLIAMED: Or,
tion of its Waters above their Summits, is
unknown to us, and the Meaſure of it cannot
be aſcertained. But we cannot doubt, after
the Proofs I am to advance, but there has
been a Time when the Waters covered theſe
Mountains, and that they did not begin to be
diminiſhed till after they had form’d the laſt
Beds of them
Whatever might have been the Elevation of
the Waters above our Mountains, they did
not then contain Shells and Fiſh. It is at
leaſt certain, thar they contained very few of
theſe, becauſe there were then no Grounds
near the Surface of the Water, which alone
are able to ſupply them with proper Nou-
riſhment ; and that long after the firſt Di-
minution of the Waters, the Fiſh and Shells
were very few.
few. A Proof of what I advance,
is, that at preſent there are very few Fiſh
in ſuch Seas as are either far from the Shore,
or very deep. For this Reaſon, inſtead of
finding indifferently in all the Quarries of
our Globe, Fiſh-bones, Shells, or other ex-
traneous Bodies, we find in ſome nothing
but a ſimple and uniform Subſtance ; ſuch is
that obſervable in primitive Mountains, I
mean theſe high and large Mountains which
furpaſs all thoſe round them, and which we
muſt carefully diſtinguiſh from theſe laſt which
were form’d pofterior to them, and of their
Wrecks. Now 'tis principally in theſe laſt,
that we find extraneous Bodies, Bones of
Fiſh and Shells, which are very rare in the
others, or which are only diſcovered on their
Surfaces.
1
By
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. : 45
By what I have ſaid, Sir, you may eaſily Reaſon of
the Diffe-
comprehend the Reaſon of this Difference.
rence ob-
In a Word, while the Waters of the Sea co- fervable in
vered the Summics of the higheſt Moutains, our Moun-
that is, while they were employed in forming tains,
them, there could nothing but Sand or Mud
enter their Compofition, ſince the Sea con-
tained nothing elſe which ſhe could uſe for
that Purpoſe ; as ſhe then nouriſhed but very
few Shell-fiſh, we muſt but rarely meet
with Shells in theſe firſt Collections. The
Currents employed in this work, containing
only Sand or Slime, which they detached from
certain Bottoms, or which they had contract-
ed in the Manner I ſhall afterwards mention;
had as yet no other Materials to work upon.
But when the Summits of theſe primitive
Mountains were ready to appear above the
Waters, the Herbs began to grow upon the
Eminences next to the Air. Ac the ſame time
the Fiſh and the Shells were multiplied, and
began to enter into the new Compoſitions,
which the Sea continued to form at the sides of
the great Mountains, on their Declivities, or
at the Intervals which her Currents had made
between them.
It was in theſe Mountains poſterior to the
others, that Plants, Leaves of Trees, Fiſh-
bones, and Sea-ſhells, began to be found. If
in theſe laſt, we alſo find ſome other extra-
neous Bodies, ſuch as Flints and others dif-
ferent from their own Subſtance, the Reaſon
for this is very natural : The Summits of the
firſt Mountains having appeared, were attack'd
by the Impetuoſity of the Winds and of the
Waves natural to the Surface of the Sea.
Their Subſtance being as yet tender, was by
them
1
"...
46
TELLIA MED: Or,
them broken and inouldered in ſeveral Parts.
Heat and Cold aided the Billows, which were
alſo affifted by the Rivers and Torrents which
the Rains forni'd. Every thing which was
by this Means decach'd from the Subſtance of
the firſt Grounds, began to enter into the new
Labours of the Sea : Of theſe new Collections,
the next to the Summits of the firſt Moun-
cains were attack'd and broken in their Turn,
in proportion as they appeared above the Sur-
face of the Waves; and their Wrecks were
in the ſame manner employed in the Com-
poſition of fimilar Works, which the Sea
form'd below them.
The Ruins of theſe three, afterwards ſerv'd
the ſame End, and lower Mountains were
form’d of them ; theſe generated others, and
theſe Works will continue as long as there are
Seas, which the ſuperior Mountains ſhall,
with their Wrecks, ſupply Materials to the
Waves and Currents, to compoſe new Col-
lections at their Feet, as long as the Rains, the
Rivers, and the Torrents thall convey Sub-
{tances thither, and as long as the Impetuoſity
of the Winds ſhall carry chicher the Sand and
Duft, which it has blown from the Land.
This is the Reaſon, why in the Subſtance of
ſeveral Marbles, we find ſo many Stones and
Flints of a Nature abſolutely different. In
a Word, an infinite Number of theſe hetero-
gencous Bodies has peahaps already ſerv'd
to the Fabrication of five or ſix other dif-
ferent Quarries, from which they have been
ſucceſſively detach'd. 'Tis alſo for this Rea-
fon, that ſome of theſe Pieces are ſtreaked
with white and yellow, tho' theſe treaks
are not common to other contiguons Pieces,
which
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
47
which certainly proceeds from this, that be-
fore entering into theſe laſt Compoſitions, theſe
Pieces making a Part of the Surface of a Moun-
tain anterior to this, had there been cloven and
re-united in the Manner above explained.
Herbs, the Leaves of Trees, Fruits, Inſects,
Animals, and ſeveral other Things which
the Earth produces, and which are inſerted
in the white or yellow of theſe Streaks, are
evident Proofs of their Origin.
'Tis then principally ſince the uncovering
of the Tops of the higheſt Mountains, and
in the manner I have explained to you, that
extraneous Bodies, Fiſh-boncs, and Shells,
have entered into the Works of the Sea, then
the Wrecks of theſe Mountains multiplying,
contributed to the Multiplication of new
Works, which lengthened the Riſing-grounds.
By the Extent of her Shores, the Sea nou-
riſhes in her Waters a greater number of
Fiſh and Shell-fiſh; and there are more and
more multiplied in her, in proportion as her
Diminution becomes more conſiderable. We
have not only found in the Subſtance of theſe
Works, poſterior to the primitive Mountains,
Shells, and Fiſh-bones ; but alſo, whole Fiſh
of all kinds in their deepeſt Encrails. Theſe
are to be found in Quarries of Marblé, Slate,
and Stone, though more frequently in ſome
than in others. There are no kinds of Animals
either on the Earth, or in the Sea, which are
not found in them. As for Sea-ſhells, there
are in theſe Quarries a vaſt Number of them,
the Species of which are entirely unknown to
us.
At this Part of our Converſation, I began
to reliſh the Obſervations of our Philoſopher ;
but
88
TELLIAMED: Or,
but we were interrupted by the coming of an
· Indian Chriſtian ; he came to beg me to go
immediately, and be a Witneſs to the Death
of an Indian Merchant, who was a Chriſtian as
well as himſelf.
Though I had no Connection with theſe
Indians, yet my Religion did not permit me
to neglect ſo favourable an Opportunity of
doing Good. I beg'u Tellianed to defer the
reſt of his Converſation tiil next Day, and
ran to the Merchant whom I found at the
Point of Death. I ſhall not give you an Ac-
count of everything I ſaw in that Place.
What ſurpriz'd me moſt, was a Baſon near
the dying Perſon, full of a thick and green-
iſh Liquor, with which they ſprinkled him
now and then: I at firſt took it for ſome
Compoſition proper to ſtrengthen and com-
fort him, but having aſked what it was, I
was to my great Surprize, told that it was
Holy-Water, in which Cow's Dung had been
ſteep'd. You know, Sir, the ſtupid Reſpect
which the idolatrous Indians retain for that
Animal, to but I could not have thought to
find ſo groſs and ridiculous a Piece of Super-
ftition
+ One of the greateſt Marks of this ſuperſtitious Re-
fpe&t, is, that the Indians can think of no greater Happi-
neſs than that of holding a Cow's Tail in their Han',
when they are dying. As theſe l'eople believe the
Tranſmigration of Souls, they imagine that by this
Means the Soul will paſs directly into the Body of that
Animal ; and they think they cannot wiſh for a more 4-
grecable ribode. The uſe which they make of the Ex-
crements of this Animal, in their blutions and Purifica-
tions, is ſufficiently known. Though they have committed
the moſt atrocious Crimes, they believe themſelves fanc-
tified as ſoon as they are rubb.d with it from Head to
Foot.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
49
ſtition among Chriſtians, I diſcovered my
Diſlike of it to two or three Friends of the
Merchant, who had attended him during his
Illneſs; but they ſtope my Mouth by telling
me, that the Miſſionaries had never found
Fault with it ; that they uſed no other Holy
Water in their Churches; that ſince they had
preſerved the Lingan*, they ſaw no Reaſon
why they ſhould baniſh the Uſe of Cows
Dung. This Fact which may, perhaps, ap-
pear incredible to you, is confirmed by a
French Miſſionary, who having reſided fe-
veral Years in the Indies, was obliged to tole-
rate it on account of the Complaiſance ne-
ceſſary to gain that people to Chriſtianity :
But I leave you to judge of what Kind this
pretended Chriſtianity muſt be.
* The obſcene Figure of an Idol which theſe people
adore, and which they hang about their Necks.
SE C O N D DA Y.
The ſame Truth and its Conſequences proved
by Faets.
T
Elliamed did not fail to keep his Allig.
nation the next Day, and accoſting me
with an Air of Confidence ; I know not, Sir,
faid he, what you think of our Yeſterday's
Converſation, or whether I have had the Hap-
pire's to convince you of the Truth concern-
ing which I wanted to inſtruct you. The
Variety of different 'Matters of which this
E
Globe
50
TELLIA MED: Or,
1
4
found in
Globe is compoſed, the Cement which unites
them, their alınoſt uniform Arrangement of
Beds horizontally placed over each other ; in
a Word, their Poſition, Aſpect, and the ſur-
prizing Conformity I have ſhown you in all
this with the Labour of the Sea, in her Bot-
tom, or upon her Shores; all theſe Circum-
ſtances in Conjunction, infallibly and ſen-
ſibly prove the Origin of our Soils. But if
you ſhould ſtill doubt of it, permit me by
evident and well-atteſted Facts to confirm
what I have ſaid, and by that Means de-
monſtrate the Truth of my Syſtem.
Extranc An Arabian Author whom you lent me, re-
ous Bodies Lates, that in digging a Well behind the Caſtle
of Cairo, which in the Arabian Language is
Stone and
Marble. called Carafe, after having pierced a Rock
more than two hundred Feet deep, when the
Labourers came to the Water they found a
whole Beam of Timber: But as the Teſtimo-
ny of an Author of that Nation may be ſuf-
pected by you, I ſhall give you another con-
cerning a Diſcovery of the ſame Kind, which
will not permit you to doubt of the former
Fact.
In the Year 1714 of your Æra, the Great
Duke of Tuſcany having employed Men to dig
a Ditch from the old Infirmary of Leghorn,
to the new, called St. James, thro' a Rock,
which at the Depth of twenty Feet terminated
on Mud, in which was found a Tree of ten
or twelve Feet in length, hollow within, and
which I and others take to have been a Pump
to fome Ship; it was ſunk two or three
Feet deep in a clayey Soil, in which were al-
ſo various Sea-ſhells, of Kinds unknown in
the neighbouring Sea; ſome Pine Apples en-
tire,
i
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
SI
tire, the Horns, the Bones, and the Teeth of
Animals. I was at Leghorn, and preſent at
the Time this Diſcovery was made, and with
my own Eyes ſaw two large Baſkets filled
with theſe Subſtances, which with the Beam
of Wood were preſented to the Grand Duke.
I have alſo ſeen in a ſteep Rockof the Apen-
nine Mountains, which a Torrent had under-
min'd, the Prow of a Ship which ſtood out
ſix Cubits. It was petrified, and its Hard-
neſs had reſiſted the Force of the Torrent,
while the Stone of the Rock was undermined
by it. This place is not far from Man-joue.
I wanted a long Rope to deſcend from the
Summit of the Mountain to the Part where
this Ship appeared, in order to examine it
more accurately. It would be curious to
draw the whole of it from the Rock, in or-
der to know the Form of the Ships uſed at
the Time when it was wreck'd. Tho' it is
very cominon to find the Wrecks of Ships in
Quarries, yet it is very difficult to know the
Forn of them, becauſe, at preſent, inaking
a Part of the Stone itſelf, they are broken by
the Workmen, before it can be known what
the Whole was, which theſe Parts form'd.
Theſe Facts will, no doubt, appear ſur-
priſing, but they are confirmed by Authors of
Veracity who do not invent Prodigies. Ful-
goſe an Italian Author, relates that in 1460
there was found in the Canton of Berne, in a
Place where Miners were working, and a
hundred Fathoms deep, a whole Ship, almoſt
like thoſe uſed at preſent ; and in this Ship, in
which the Marks of the Sails, Cordage and
Anchors were ſtill obſervable, were the Bodies
or Bones of forty Perſons. This Ship which
then
ވެ
E 2
52
TEL LIA MED: Or,
then made a great Noiſe in Switzerland, and
even in the whole Chriſtian World, was ſeen
by an incredible Number of Witneſſes, from
many
of whom the Author aſſures us he had
the Account of ir. Bertazzolo alſo relates,
that in laying the Foundation of the Sluice of
Governolo in the Territories of Mantua, he in
digging the Earth found ſeveral Pieces of
Ships, and a large Quantity of Sea-Ruſhes
and Herbs.
In Dalmatia, a few Years ago, when the
Labourers were working on the Fortifications
of the Caſtle above the Citadel of Caſtelnuovo
upon the Gulph of Cattaro, ten Fear under the
Foundation of the ancient Walls, they found an
Iron Anchor lo conſumed by Tiine and Ruſt,
chat it bended like Lead. Bernard, the French
Engineer, who had the Charge of theſe For-
tifications, aſſured me, that he ſaw the An-
chor. Another was alſo found about twenty-
five or thirty Years before, in digging the
Foundation of a Houſe in Padua.
It is very common for thoſe who travel
thro' the fandy Defarts of Lybia and Africa, to
find in digging Wells, ſmall pieces of petrified
Ships, which were no doubt wreck'd when the
Sea cover'd theſe Parts. They alio find there a
great many Pieces of petrified Wood, which are
probably the Wrecks of ſome other ſimilarShips.
About a Day and an half, or at moſt two Days
Journey to the Weſtward of Cairo, there is in
the Middle of a Deſart of Sand, a pretty long
Valley bounded and interſperſed with Rocks,
and at preſent partly filled with Sand. This
Place is by the Arabs called Bahar-Balaama,
that is, without Water, becauſe the Plain is
dried up. In it are found a great many Barks
and
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
53
1
other Ani.
and Ships which had been formerly wrecked,
and are now petrified: we there find Mafts
and Yards, many of which are entire. When
this Place was a Bed for the Sea, it was, no
doubt, very dangerous for Navigation, as the
Remains of theſe Ships pil'd upon each other,
ſufficiently prove.
What is aſtoniſhing is, that in Stones we Bones of
find the Bones of Men and other Animals. Men and
In the Royal Library of Paris, I have ſeen a mals.
Bone taken from the Skeleton of a Man en-
tirely petrified, and found in the Plaiſter
Quarry of Montmartre. I was alſo aſiur'd in
that Capital, that ſome time before, there
was another found in the Quarries of Arcueil,
and near it a Sword much conſumed by Ruſt.
Not long ago there was one dug up at St.
Angel, near Moret in Gatenois, from Ground
belonging to Mr. Caumartin : It was found
in a Mountain of Marble, and was four-
teen Feet long, which proves that there
have been Giants. About thirty Years ago
there was a Fourth found at Cape Coronne
near Mortigues, in the Quarries of Free-ſtone
uſed for building the Houſes of that Town :
This Body, lying on its Back, had its Legs
turned up, and was certainly one of theſe fre-
quent Victims which the Gulph of Lyons re-
ceived. A few Years ago there was another
found in a large Piece of Stone, employed in
building a Church in that City; and when I
was there, they ſhew'd me a piece of Stone, in
which was the Thigh of a Man petrified.
What ſurprized me was, that in this Thigh I
found the Bone and the Fleſh equally perrifi-
fied, which I had never ſeen before. Some
Years ago, in a Stone taken from the Plaiſter
Quarry
E 3
?.
54
TELLIAMED: Or,
in
ex-
Quarry of Piſſe-fontaine near Poiſi, there was
found an Egg as big as thoſe of an Indian
Turkey, full of a yellowiſh Liquor ; and hard
by it, a large Sea-ſhell. Philip the Fifth of
Spois having ordered ſome Embelliſhments
to be made in the Eſcurial, the Workmen in
ſawing a Stone found a Serpent which had re-
mained without Alterațion. They extracted
it, and found the Hole in the Stone to be ſpi-
ral, according to the Poſition of its Body.
The whole Court of Spain was Witneſs to this
Prodigy.
All the Stones the World,
cept thoſe form'd before the uncovering the
Summits of high Mountains, are more or
leſs filled with ſuch Bodies. Theſe Bodies of
a different Nature, and ofren of a different
Colour from thoſe in which they are inſerted,
are, as well as thoſe I ſhall afterwards men-
tion, a certain and inconteſtable Proof that
they have entered into the Compoſition of the
Stones, at the Time when the Fabrication of
theſe Quarries was only at the Height at which
ſuch Bodies are found, that they were conſe-
quently of a ſoft and almoit liquid Subſtance,
whether the Cement of them be Sand or Mud;
that this Fabrication could not be carried on
without the Aſſiſtance of the Sea, and out of
her Boſom; and that to raiſe the Maſs af
theſe Mountains to their higheſt Summits,
and to rear theſe lofty Edifices, it was neceſ-
fary that the Waves ſhould cover them to-
tally.
Sea Flints There are a great many ſmall pieces of
and Stones Flint, or of large Gravel in your Free-ſtone of
of diffe-
Paris, eſpecially in Parts where the Quarries
rent Co-
lours,
terminate in Beds of Sand, on which we fee
they
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
55
they have been formed of another more fine
and proper for Petrification. Theſe Stones
are more beautiful or ugly to a certain Thick-
neſs. Whence, Sir, does this proceed, if not
from this, that when the ugly Bed was form-
ed, the Flints or Gravel have been carried to
it by the Waters of the Sea; and that after
ſome time, the Gravel and Flint failing, the
Water has brought a finer Sand thither? 'Tis
thus, as I obſerved to you before, that Na-
ture operates in the Formation of Flint-
beds *.
In a Word, how without this could it hap-
pen, that in the white Stone employed in
building the Cathedral of Rouen, and in a
hundred other places of Normandy, we ſhould
find large Pieces of black Stone, and elſe-
where Pieces of white Stone in black or large
Flints of a very different Quality from the
Stones which include them, Pieces of Marble
incloſed in common Stone, and common
Stone incloſed in Marble, Marle, and a hun-
dred other extraneous Bodies, even in the hard-
eft Flints? How can we account for this pro-
digy, if we do not admit, that while the Sea
was employed, for Example, in forming this
white Stone, the Currents or a Tempelt, have
carried into the Mud or Sand of that Colour,
which was then collecting into a Heap, fome
* In the Quarries of Free-ſtone near St. leu Taveri, I
have ſeen Stores ſplit, in which were Shells and ſmall Scą
Flints, of which the Sea is generally full, and I have ob-
ſerved, that the Surface of theſe Beds of free-ſtone is co-
vered with Sand entirely, like that on the Sea-ſhore. juſ
fieu Diſſert. on Herbs, Sea-ſhells, and other Bodies found
in certain Stones in St. Chaumont in Lyons.
Pieces
E 4
56
TELL I ÅMED: Or,
Pieces detached from a black Rock, and in-
ſerted them in that Sand or Mud, in the
Middle of which we now find theſe Variega-
tions?
I have been aſſured, when at Paris, that in
fawing that large Piece of Stone whoſe equal
Parts form the Top of the Frontiſpiece of the
great Entry of the Louvre on the side of St.
Germain, the Workmen about the Middle of
it found a Bar of Iron like the Barrel of a
Gun, which the Saw could not cut on either
Side; ſo that they were obliged to uſe Wedges
in order to ſeparate the two Pieces o Store.
This Fact is ſo much the more ſingular as it is
notorious, aud proves that there is a Kind of
Iron which Ruſt does not conſume.
Are not ſuch Things daily found preparing
in the ſame manner on the Sea-ſhore, for the
uſe of future Ages ? When the Sea in her
Reflux leaves Plains of Sand or Mud, do we
not find Pieces of Stone or Flint, of a diffe-
rent Colour from this Sand or Mud, alrea-
dy half immerſed in them and do we not
a few Days after, find them totally covered
by new Sand or Mud? We find the ſame
Kind of Work in ſearching the neighbouring
Mountains. This is particularly obſervable
in the Mountains which run along the Coaſt
of the River Seine, from Havre de Grace to
Paris. This is diſcoverable in the Stone with
which the Fortifications of the Havre, and
the Moles of that Port are built. In the Ille
of Scio, I have, in a Place riſing much higher
than the Sea, obſerved Pieces of green Stones
inſerted in ſuch as were white ; and in ſearch-
ing the shores of that and, I obſerved that
to-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
57
towards the North, green Stones were formid
by means of an Herb, which is nouriſhed in
the Sea, and by its Juice tinges the Sand col-
lected there, with a greeniſh Colour. It is
natural to think, that this Herb has always
grown about that Iſland ; that 'tis in this
Manner our green Marbles have receiv'd their
Colour, and that at the Time when theſe
Pieces of green Stone were inſerted into the
white, more than an hundred Fathoms from
the preſent Surface of the Sea, the Waves ſtill
waſhed the Part where I obſerved this Singu-
larity ; that they then laboured at the Fabri-
cation of this Quarry of white Stone, to
which in fome Tempeſt they conveyed theſe
Pieces of green Stone detach'd and ſeparated
from ſome other Rocks of the fame Nature.
But in a great number of Quarries we very Herbs and
Plants.
commonly find Herbs and Plants, which are
often unknown, or only grow in far diſtant
Countries, inſerted in Stones, and there form-
ing a kind of natural Herbage. What a
a learned Author * relates on this Subject,
when ſpeaking of certain Stones, which he
had found about Lyons, is too remarkable
not to command your. Attention.
Theſe Stones, ſays he are ſcaley near the Beds
of Coal, among which they are found ; and
according as they are near to or far from there,
they are more clear or leſs tranſparent, blackert
when neareſt to them, and leſs ſo, when diſ-
tant from them, when they are only of a
greyiſh or cinericious Colour
Among
Julieu Differt. On the Herbs, Sea-ſhells, and the other
Bodies found in certain Stones at Chaumont in the Province
of Lyons,
58
TELLIAMED: Or,
1
Among the Scales of theſe Stones are found
the Impreſſions of various kinds of Herbs,
which are eaſily diſtinguiſh'd, but do not pe-
netrate into the Subſtance of the Stone, juſt
as fome Stones in Florence are impregnated
with the Colour of Herbs between their
Scales or Flakes.
The Number of theſe ſmall Leaves, conti-
nues the fame Author, the Facility of ſepa-
rating them, and the great Variety of Plants,
which I have ſeen thus impreſs'd, made me
look upon theſe Stones as ſo many Volumes of
Botany, which in the ſame Quarry included
the moſt antient Library in the World ; which
was ſo much the more curious, becauſe theſe
Plants exiſt no more, or if they do, 'tis in
ſo diſtant Countries, that we have not come
to a Knowledge of them. We are however
certain, that they are Plants of the capillary
kind, ſuch as Spleen-wort,
as Spleen-wort, Polypody, ,
Maiden - hair, Harts - tongue, Oſmonds,
and Species of Ferns, which approach to
thoſe diſcovered by Father Plumer, and Sir
Hans Sloane, in the Ifes of America, and thoſe
which have been ſent to the Engliſh from the
Eaft and Weſt-Indies, and communicated to
Plunkenet, in order to be inſerted in his Col-
lection of rare Plants. One of the principal
Proofs that they are of this Species, is, that
as they have their Fruit adhering to the Backs
of their Leaves, the deep Impreſſions of their
Seeds are ſtill eaſily diſtinguiſh'd upon theſe
Stones. The Multitude of the Differenees of
theſe Plants, is ſo great about St. Chaumont,
that every Quarry ſeems to be a Source of
incredible Varieties.
Beſides
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 59
!
I
Beſides theſe Impreſſions of the Leaves of
capillary Plants, I have alſo remarked others
which ſeemed to have been made by Palm-
Trees, and others of a foreign Growth. I
have alſo obſerved particular Stalks and Seeds,
and upon opening ſome of theſe Stones, I
have ſeen a black Duſt come from ſome Va-
cuities in them, which was nothing elſe but
the Remains of the Plant putrified, and in-
cluded between two Beds, perhaps for more
than three thouſand Years.
A ſingular Remark, continues he, is, that
we do not find in the Country any of the
Plants whoſe Impreſſions are marked upon
thefe Stones; and that among the Leaves of
an infinite Number of different Plants, tho
fome may be broken, yet none are folded ;
ſince they are all ſtraight as if they had been
artificially paſted on. This ſuppoſes that theſe
Plants unknown in Europe, could only come
from the Countries, where they grow, which
are the Indies and America ; and that they
could only be thus impreſs'd and arrang'd in
different Directions, becauſe they only floated
in the Water, which covered the Bed on which
they inſenſibly fell as they were kept extended
hy the Water; and that the Water of the Sea
was abſolutely neceſſary to bring them from
ſo great a Diſtance.
Thus one of your greateſt Botaniſts and
natural Hiſtorians, has expreſs'd himſelf in
favour of my Syſtem. Theſe Proofs of the
Diminution of the Sea, and of the Fabrication
of our Soils or Ores in her Bofom, are cer-
tainly very ſtrong ; but I add, that you have
a Demonstration of theſe Things in the Shells
· and other Sea-bodies, with which the Plains
and
1
60
TELLIAM ED: Or,
1
and Mountains of our Globe are inter-
ſperſed.
Sea-bodies You have no doubt ſeen, continued our
diffus’d, Philoſopher, ſome Stones of Syria, full of
thro' all
the Parts
ſmall petrified Fiſh ; (at the ſame time he
the Globe. pulled two or three of theſe Stones out of his
Pocket) obſerve, continued he, the Form
and the Diverſity of theſe ſmall Fiſh ; they
are abſolutely the ſame with thoſe catched at
preſent on the Coaſt of Syria ; and the Quar-
ries from which I took theſe Stones, are two
Days Journey diſtant from that Sea, and con-
liderably higher than its Surface. Theſe
Stones are found in two different Quarries,
ſeparated from each other about four or five
Leagues, as we may reaſonably ſuppoſe
from their Diverſity of Colours. Now
theſe ſmall Fiſh could only be thrown into
and buried in the petrified Sand, in which
they are found, by the Waters of the Sea,
and at a Time when they ſtill covered theſe
Places.
Obſerve, I pray you, that all the Fiſh
are found between the Beds of the Stone,
which are ſituated horizontally with the Sea,
as well as all other extraneous Bodies found
in the Compoſition of the Stones and Marbles
of our Mountains. This Obſervation is of
great Importance, ſince it is a Proof, that
theſe Bodies have fallen, or have been thrown
and conveyed to the Parts where they are
found, at the Time when theſe Places were
Beds of the Sea ; and that all the Stone and
Marble which cover them at preſent, have
been afterwards collected Stratum ſuper Stra-
tum, between which we find every where in
the
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
61
the Univerſe Shells and Sea-fiſh, ſome whole
and others broken : Of this Kind I could re-
count to you a thouſand Singularities, which
have been diſcovered in the Quarries and
Mountains of my Country; but that I may
quote nothing of this Kind, the Truth of
which is out of your Reach, or of which
you are not perhaps already convinc'd, I ſhall
content myſelf with mentioning the follow-
ing Facts.
In travelling through the Mountains which
run along the Moſelle, I enter'd a Valley to the
Right, between Metz and Thionville. Curioſity
had drawn me thither to view an Iron Mine,
in which the Labourers were at work ; higher
up near a Village called Moyeuvre, ſituated
between two very high Mountains, in the
Middle of which is a Rivulet which works the
the Forge. I entered the Mine of the Quarry
which is very near the Forge ; the Vein or
Bed of this Quarry, which is almoſt fix Feet
thick, not only extends itſelf horizontally un-
der one of theſe Mountains, to the Height
of two or three Fathoms above the Rivulet,
but alſo runs to a ſimilar Height and Thick-
neſs under the oppoſite Mountain, and all
thoſe contiguous to them, whether ſeparated
from them by deep Valleys or not. I again
found the fame Mine, and at the ſame Height,
under the Mountains of German Lorraine be-
yond the Moſelle, and under other Mountains
of Baligny, and the adjacent Countries; that
is to ſay, at the Diſtance of more than thirty
Leagues. ''Tis not to be doubted, but the lo
equal Bed of this vaſt Mine is a Depoſition
which the Waters of the Sea form'd in theſe
Parts before all the Mountains, with which
ic
62
TELLIAM ED: Or,
it is covered, began to be formed. This is
evinced not only by the vaſt Excent of this
Mine, whoſe Bounds are not as yet known,
or the Quality and Thickneſs of its Bed, which
are the ſame in all Places where it is diſcover'd,
but alſo by the infinite Number of. Sea-adders,
and Shells of Corneamons, found petrified in
that ferruginous Mud or Soil.
How could theſe Animals be petrified un-
der theſe large and thick Mountains, in the
muddy Sand which compoſes this Mine, if
they had not lived and multiplied there ? But
how could they live there, except at a time
when this Mud, as yet liquid, was not buried
under the Weight of the Mountains which
cover it ? ſo that it left to theſe Animals the
Liberty of reſpiring the Air, which is always
mixed with the Water, and the Means of inul-
tiplying in that Mine, then pervious to, and
habitable by them. This firſt Matter was fuc-
ceeded by another of a different Quality which
quite covered it, and ſuffocated the Serpents
and Shell-fiſh. This was ſucceeded by all the
reſt, of which the different Beds of this Moun-
tain are compoſed, from this Mine to their
very Summits. 'Tis alſo to be obſerv'd that
in theſe Beds we find a vaſt number of other
Shells, eſpecially about Thionville. The Stone
there uſed for making the beſt Lime, and
compoſed of a Mud different from that of
the Iron-Mine, is alſo full of Sea-ſhells, which
certainly render the Lime much ſtronger than
it would be otherwiſe.
I have, alſo ſeen the Rib of a Whale in the
ſteep Rock, on which the Fortreſs of Porto
Hercole is built. This Rib was ſhewn to
Philip V. of Spain, when his Galleys went into
that
2
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
63
that Port, to convoy him from Naples to the
Dutchy of Milan.
But tho the Mountains and Quarries of
Europe, like ours, include numerous Teſtimo-
nies of the Manner in which they have been
formed, yet I find no where ſuch a Quantity
of them as in the Mountains and Repoſitories
or publick Buildings of Switzerland. The
Repoſitory of Mr. Scheuchzer at Zurich is
adorned with a prodigious Number of Stones,
in which petrified Fiſh of various Kinds are to
be ſeen ; in one of theſe Stones there is a pe-
trified Feather. I from that Country brought
ſeveral, which I broke off from fome Moun-
tains, and which include various kinds of
Fish. I have a very ſingular Stone which I
found in my Paſſage to Malta, when I viſited
a Quarry at the Bottom of the Port ; it in-
cludes the Fin of a large Fiſh, which a Stroke
of the Wedge ſo happily divided thro' the
Middle, that it is ſeen entire in both Parts of
the Stone in which it was buried. The Quar-
ry in which I found theſe two Pieces was
more than thirty Fathoms above the preſent
Surface of the Sea, and thirty Fathoms of it
were already conſumed, as might be eaſily
known from the reſt of the Top of that Moun-
tain. Thus this Fin was buried in the Center
of that Maſs fixty Fathoms higher than the
Sea.
Beſides theſe ſenſible Teſtimonies of the Moun-
tains of
Fabrication of our Mountains in the Sea, you Shells
,
have alſo in their Surfaces evident Proofs, that Corals
,
the higheſt of them have been long buried un-&'c.
der the Waves, as a great many others are at
preſent. Mount Pelare in Switzerland, ſitu-
ated in Lucerne, ſupports another very high
Moun-
64
TELL I AMED: Or,
Mountain, called in the Language of the
Country, the Field of the Ram, on which we
fee very large Rocks, whoſe whole Subſtance
is compoſed of petrified Sea-ſhells. In con-
ſidering them we cannot doubt but the Sea
has formed them, as it ſtill forms others of
the ſame Kind in a thouſand Parts of theſe
Coaſts, by adding, during whole Ages, Shell
after Shell, and uniting them to each other with
Sand and Salt, which ſerves as a Cement to
them. There are Rocks of this kind in all the
large Mountains on Continents, in the Pyrencan
Mountains, and thoſe of China and Peru. We
find the ſame Diſpoſition in all Countries
where there are high Mountains, tho' it is
inore remarkable in ſome Parts than others.
We almoſt every where find upon the De-
clivities of the Mountains, Sea-ſhells which ad-
here to them, eſpecially in Parts which the
the Wrecks of the Rocks and Earth have
covered and ſecured from the Injuries of Time.
We alſo find there a Kind of Fiſh *, ſtill ad-
hering to the Stones t; and Pipes form’d by
certain Sea-worms which include themſelves
in thein : This infallibly proves, that theſe
* Madrepores.
+ I had the Honour ſome Years ago to preſent to the
Academy true Madreporcs, till united to their Rock,
which I had ſeparated from the Farth at Chaumont, near
Giſors : As alſo ſome petrified Plants, which only grow in
the Bottom of the Sea, and which are the moſt certain
Marks we can have, that this part of the Continent was
formerly a Part of the Sea. Mr. Billetet, Profef-
for of Botany at Beſançon, ſent me fome Picces of Rocks
taken from the Quarries of French Compté, on which were
found ſome of theſe Pipes formed by certain Sea-worms
which lodge in them, and ſuch as in our Seas we find on
the Rocks which produce the Coral. Julieu ubi fupra.
Places
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
65
ons,
Places have formerly been Beds of the Sea, in
which theſe Wornis are only produced. We
alſo find Corals petrified, and ſtill adhering
to the Rocks, which alone can produce them
in the Sea. Some of theſe we find buried in
the Subſtance of Mountains, and making a
Part of their Petrification, which is an infal-
lible Proof of the preceding State of the Places
where there Bodies are found.
The Muſhrooms with Branches uſed by Mulh:
the Inhabitants of the Guadeloupe for making rooms
Lime, are a Kind of Sea-tree which is only with Ra-
mificati
produced in its Boſom; or on very ſhallow
Coaſts. They grow very quickly, and ſpring
up from their former Trunks, when cut by
thoſe who ſearch for them. This petrifi-
ed Tree, like all the other Sea-trees, has its
Trunk ſometimes a Foot in Diameter, and is
no ſooner raiſed above the Soil in which it
grows, than it is inflated on all ſides, like a
Fungus or Muſhroom, juſt as the Oak does
when it is planted in a bad Soil. From this
Fungus ariſe ſeveral Branches in the Form of
Hat Fingers; and theſe Fingers fend off others
of the fame Figure. The Fibres of the Trunk
are perpendicular, and thoſe of the Fingers
horizontal. As in digging the Earth of Gua-
deloupe and the Continent adjoining, we find
a great many of theſe Trees ſtill ſtanding,
ſome whole, and others broken; ſo it is cer-
tain, that the Sea in which they have been pro-
duced, once covered the Places in which they
are found ; and that conſequently its Waters
are diminiſhed in Proportion to the Height
of theſe Places above their preſent Surface.
F
Buc
66
TELLI A MED: Or,
Banks of
Oyſter-
ſhells.
But of this Kind I have ſeen nothing more
ſingular or worthy of Attention, or inſtruc-
tive, than the Banks of Oyſter-ſhells with
which ſeveral Mountains of Tuſcany are co-
vered, eſpecially thoſe of Piſa, becauſe they
are in the Neighbourhood of the Town of
that Name. Some of theſe Banks are two
or three Miles in Extent, and covered with
Earth or Sand three or four Feet deep, which
the Winds have conveyed thither ſince there
Hills roſe above the Sea, and the Shells which
have been detach'd from theſe Banks by the
Rain, or by any other Means conveyed into
the neighbouring Fields, cover all the adja-
cent Grounds, juſt as ours are covered with
Pebbles and Flints. Father Feuille who went
to America to make his Obſervations, aſſures
me, that he has ſeen ſuch Works of the Sea,
in the Mountains of Peril. A celebrated Eng-
liſhman told me, that he met with ſome of
them in the Mountains of Virginia. They are
alſo found in the Country of the Acaoukas in
Miſfilipi, a hundred and fifty Leagues from
the Sea-ſhore. There are ſome of them very
remarkable on the coaſt of the Dauphine
Illand. There are ſome of them found in
in France about fix Leagues from Bourdeaux,
in the Pariſh of St. Croix du Mont, between Ca-
dillac and St. Macaire, about ſeven or eight
hundred Paces from Garonne. There, on the
Top of a pretty high Mountain, which riſes
among others, from which it is ſeparated by
Vallies, we find between two Beds of Stone,
the uppermoſt of which is five or fix Feet
thick, a Bed of Oyſters twenty or twenty-
four Feet thick, and extended about a hun-
dred
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 67
dred Fathoms which were viſible, the reſt be-
ing hid in the Rock. In this the Inhabitants
have hewed out a Chapel fifteen Feet high,
in which they celebrate the Maſs. Moſt of
theſe Oyſters are cloſe, and contain a ſmall
Quantity of argillacious Earth, which is cer-
tainly the Subſtance of the Oyſter diffolved.
Theſe Oyſter-ſhells are united in the Bank by
a Sand, which being mixed and petrified with
them, at preſent forms but one common
Body. The Literati of Pourdeaux, who
are ſo affiduous in preparing a Hiſtory of the
Earth *, can certainly give you an Account
of the Manner in which this Bank was form-
ed, if the Prejudices of Educacion do
not hinder them from diſcovering the Rea-
ſon of this phænomenon. For my own l'art,
I think it is certain from the View of theſe
Banks of Oyſters, eſpecially thoſe in the Hills
of Piſa, which are ſo numerous, fo large, and
only covered with a little Sand, that they were
all Beds of Oyſters when the Sea covered
them totally, like to thoſe which it includes
at preſent in numberleſs Places, and from
which we take the Oyſters we eat.
A great many other countries of our Globe
furnith evident and uncontroverted Teſtimo-
* At Bourdeaux the Literati are preparing to publiſh 2
Hiſtory of the farth, and of all the Changes which have
happened to it, as well general as particular, whether by
Earthquakes, Innundations, or other Cauſes, with an ex-
act Deſcription of the different Progreſſes of the sea and
Land, of the Formation and Diſappearance of lands,
Rivers, Mountains, Vallies, Lakes; Gulphs, Straits,
Capes, and all their Changes; with the phyfical Cauſe of
all thoſe Effects. Fourr. des Ssavans. Mars 1719. .
F2
nies,
68
TELLI AMED: Or,
.
nies, that the Sea has been higher than it is in
its preſent Sta e, and that it has long covered our
riſing Grounds. We were then ſitting on
the Mountain of Mokatan, at the Foor of
which Grand Cairo is built. This is the Place
where Herodotus ſays, in his Time, there were
Rings of Iron to be ſeen in the Stones, to
which the Ships which arrived at Memphis
were tied. Three Miles hence, continued our
Philoſopher, and in this long Tract of Moun-
tains, which terminating at that City, extends
to the Frontiers of Abyſinia, there is a long
Valley, which by a gentle Declivity conducts
the Traveller in three Days Time to the Red
Sea. This Valley, which is a Mile, and in
ſome Parts two broad, has its Bottom cover-
ed to the Height of ſeveral Cubits, with Shells
of all kinds. from its Entrance to the Sea-
ſhore, where they are daily multiplied more
and more. What can we conclude from this,
if not that theſe Shells have been collected by
the Waves, and heap'd up in this Valley; and
that the Sea has left them there ſucceſſively,
in retiring within the Boundaries in which we
now ſee it. How, without ſuppoſing a very
-long Continuance in, and a real Superiority
of the Water to thefe Places, in which we
find theſe Sea-bodies, can we account for the
Collections which are made of them in all the
Parts of the World?
About half a League from Francfort, on
the other ſide of the Main, there is a Moun-
tain called Saxenhauſen, whence Stones are
dug, the whole of whoſe Subſtance is com-
poſed of ſmall petrified Shells. Theſe are
united by a fine Sand, which forms a very
'hard
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 69
.
hard Stone, of which the ſtrong Walls of that
beautiful City are built. Moſt of theſe Shells
include their reſpective Fiſh, which are alſo
petrified. At Vaguine, a ſmall Town in Pro-
vence, we find another Mountain full of Sea-
ſhells and large Oyſters, ſome of which are
ſtill alive. The Fields adjacent to Havre de
Grace are full of Oyſter-ſhells; which are al-
ſo to be met with in a great many parts of
France. There is a Bank
of Sea-ſhells at ily,
near Paris ; Tuſcany contains a prodigious
Number of them, beſides thoſe I have men-
tioned to you ; in a Word, there are Num-
bers of them to be found in all parts of the
World.
How then can we doubt but this Globe
which we inhabit is the work of the Sea, and
has been formed in its Borom, in the Manner
that ſimilar Compoſicions are ſtill produced
under her Waters, as we ſee with our own
Eyes on ſhallow Coaſts, and as the Divers af-
ſure us? There in the Bottom of the Sea ob-
ſerve Mountains, Vallies, Plains, ſteep Places,
and even Ridges of Mountains, ſuch as in
fome Parts of our Continents, extend to three,
four, or five hundred Leagues in length.
That Ridge, ſo well known in Europe, which
begins at the Peninſula of Jutland, and reaches
more than three hundred Leagues, under the
Waters of the Sea, which are ready to let it
appear above their Surface, is an authentick
Teſtimony of what I advance. It convinces
us, that as the Formation of theſe Ridges of
ſubaquatick Mountains, is the Effect of two
oppoſite Currents which have raiſed a Heap
of Sand or Mud between them, ſo the long
Mountains on our Globe, have been formed
in
1
F 3
7
TÈLLIAMED: Or,
in the ſame Manner, while the Sea covered
them. The Sea-ſhells and Fiſh which theſe
Mountains include, and the Poſition of chefe
Sea-bodies always laid fat, leave us no Man-
ner of room to doubt of it. It is thus, that
the Mountains which bound the Plain of An-
tiocb from Eaſt to Weſt, as far as Tartary,
have been formed between two Currents flow-
ing from the South and North, while theſe
Mountains have been ſeparated by a Third,
which cutting theſe from the Eaſt to the Weſt,
has digged and preſerved the Valley obſerv-
able between them. This is eaſily diſtinguiſh-
ed from the Top of the Caſtle of Antioch,
whence we diſcover the Place thro' which this
Current flow'd from the Mediterranean, and
the Road it kept in its way to Tartary.
Theſe Ridges of Mountains are often form-
ed in another Manner by double Currents
for the one, for Example, running from the
Eaſt to the Weſt, and the other from the
Weſt to the Eaſt, form between them a Ridge
in their proper Direction, according to the
Diſpoſition of the Bottom of the Sea. It is in
this Manner, that the Current which runs
from the Straits of Gibraltar, towards the Eaſt
along the Coaſts of Barbary; and that which
runs from the Eaſt thro' the Mouth of the
Dardanells, and terminates in the Straits, go-
ing along the Coafts of Mcrea, Italy, France
and Spain, have formed the Inands of Yvica,
Majorca, Minorca, Corſica, Sardima, and Sicily,
almoſt in a right Line, as we ſee them in the
Maps and Charts.
You no doubt conceive, continued our Phi-
Joſopher, that in Roads, ſo long as from
pur Mediterranean to Tartary, and from the
Straits
+
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
71
Straits of Gibraltar to the fartheſt Part of the
Mediterranean, the Waters of theſe Currents
received Impreſſions, which ſometimes make
then deviate from a right Line ; that a Part
of their Waters is alſo detach’d, runs through
the Mud and Sand, which it ſeparates, and
by which its Beds are encloſed ; and that theſe
ſmall Currents detached from the large ones,
inſinuating themſelves into theſe Collections
of Sand and Mud, forin particular Roads for
themſelves in them. Theſe are the Valleys
and Inequalities which you obſerve in your
Mountains, and which you find equally in
thoſe which the Sea ſtill includes in her Bo-
ſom. The Separations of our Mountains, and
the Valleys by which they are cut, ſhews
the various Roads which the Currents of the
Sea kept, when covering them totally ſhe
laboured at their Fabrication, and point out
to us the Manner in which they have been
form'd. The Flux and Reflux of the Sea, going
into the Straits between certain Mountains, or
into Mouths of Rivers, and recurning immedi-
ately, teaches you the Manner in which Valleys
have become deep, and by what Means the
Waters of the Sea have form'd the Courſe of
Rivers and Brooks. This is one of the no-
bleſt Studies, to which we can apply, and I
hope your Literati, eſpecially thoſe belonging
to Academies in Sea-coaſt Towns, after hav-
ing well conſidered the Diſpoſition of the
Mountains, will give us the Hiſtory of the
Formation of our Globe by the Currents of
the Sea ; with a juſt Deſcription of its exte-
rior Parts, and an exact Plan of the Earth
uncovered.
For
1
F4
?
+
72
TELLI AMED: Or,
For in order to deſtroy this Truth, and
clude ſo many Facts, which infallibly eſta-
bliſhed it; it is to no Purpoſe, Sir, with
ſome of your Authors, to oppoſe to me the
Hiſtory of the univerſal Deluge, which you
pretend has covered the whole Face of the
Earth. In order to confute this Opinion, it
is evident that one of the moſt learned Doc-
tors of your Church, * grants that ſo con-
ſiderable an Event was abſolutely unknown
to the Greek and Roman Hiſtorians. Joſe-
phus + aſſures us that Beroſus the Chaldean,
Nicholaus Damafcenus, and Jerome the Egyp-
tien, had ſpoke of it nearly in the fame Man-
ner as Moſes did. But muſt the Fact paſs for
manifeſt? Is it aſtoniſhing that Beroſus and
the others who lived in the Eaſt under the
Empire of the Macedonians, at a Time and
in a Country where the Jews were ſo well
known, ſhould inſerc into their Hiſtories,
what the Jewiſh Books contained on that Sub-
ject ? I add, that even the Circumſtances
related by thoſe Hiſtorians, convince us how
little we may depend upon their Veracity, if it
is true that they have wrote what otherAuthors
repreſent as their Opinions : In a Word, the
Paſſage which Joſephus quotes from Berojus,
mentions the Remains of the Ark, which,
ſays that Author, are to be ſeen at preſent, on
a Moun-
Quanquam Ogygius ipfe quando fuerit, cujus tem.
poribus etiam diluvium magnum factum eſt (non illud
maximum quo nulli homines evaſerunt niſi qui in arca
elle potuerunt quod gentium nec Græca, nec Latina, no-
vit hiftoria) ſed tamen majus quam poftea, tempore Deu-
calionis fuit inter ſcriptores hilloriæ non convenit.
Auguftin. de civ. Dei, Lib. 18. Cap. 8.
of Antiq. Jud. Lib. 1. Cap. 3.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c,
73
.
a:Mountain in Armenia, and of which Pieces
are carried off by way of Reliques or facred
Memorials: I grant, ſome ignorant Armenians
are ſtill of this ridiculous Opinion, with re-
ſpect to the Remains of the Ark. But, 'tis
ſufficiently certain, that our moſt judicious
Travellers readily grant, that this is no more
than a childiſh Fable ; that Mount Ararat on
which the Ark was ſaid to land, is perpetu-
ally covered with Snow, and fo inacceſſible,
that it has never been poſſible to go half Way
to its Top. It is therefore evident really that we
could never know whether the Ark reſted on
that Mountain, or whether there are any Re-
mains of it there, unleſs we ſuppoſe that
ſome Favourite of Heaven has learned the
mighty Secret by a particular Revelation
from God, which is not as yet proved. Be-
ſides the Inhabitants of the Country, have a
Tradition with reſpect to Mount Ararat, which
is by no Means compatible with what the
Jews relate concerning the Deluge : They
ſay, that Noah ſaved himſelf in the Ark,
together with feventy-nine Perſons and that
the Town of Tamanin, ſituated at the Foot
of this Mountain, has taken its Name, which
in the Arabic ſignifies fourſcore, from the
Number of Perſons which came out of the
Ark, and ſettled in that Part.
Beſides, it is as aſtoniſhing that the Greeks,
who fo greedily ſwallowed every thing that
was marvellous, and the Romans who were ſo
dextrous in diſtinguiſhing Truth from Fable,
and who have tranſmitted to us the Memory
of the Deluges of Oſiris, Ogyges, and Deuca-
lion, have not ſpoke a ſingle Word of the
univerſal Deluge, which is ſaid to have ſwal-
lowed
;
74
TEL LIAMED: Or,
1
lowed up all Mankind. Is it conceivable,
that an Event ſo remarkable and ſo terrible,
ſhould be aboliſhed from the Memory of Men,
who had been preſerved from it, and from
the Memories of all their .Pofterity, to ſuch
a. Degree, that neither the Indians nor the
Chineſe, whoſe Hiſtories are ſo ancient, and
even before the Epocha you aſſign to this De-
luge, nor any other Nations of the World,
have preferv'd the leaſt Remembrance of it ;
ſo that anEvent which equally intereſts all Man-
kind; is not to be found in the Traditions of
any Country or Nation, except in that little
Corner of the Earth inhabited by the Jews, a
People whom Hiſtory and Experience prove
to have been, and ſtill to be during their Hu-
miliation, the vaineſt and moſt credulous Mor-
tals in the Univerſe.
Shall I add to this general Silence of the
Nations, with reſpect to ſo important and ſo
ſenſible a Fact, that it is not poſſible to con-
ceive whence in forty Days this prodigious
Quantity of Water could come, capable of
raiſing the Sea from where it is at preſent, to
the Height of forty Cubits above the higheſt
Mountains of the World, that neither can
we comprehend where this immenſe Quantity
of Water retired in ſo ſhort a time, ſince I
defy any Man to prove that a Collection of
Water capable of covering our higheſt Moun-
tains, could find Room in the Center of the
Earth, ſince the contrary is eaſy to be de-
monſtrated ; that in a Word, it is equally in-
conceivable, that in a few Months thoſe War
ters could be diffipated, ſince in order to make
them ſink three or four Feet, ſome thouſands
of Years are at preſent requiſite, as I ſhall
after.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
75
afrerwards ſhew. Is it not from this natural
to conclude, that in order to ſupport this
Opinion of the Univerſality of the Deluge,
we muſt have recourſe to a Miracle, and ſay,
that God after having drawn this prodigious
Quantity of Water from nothing, he after-
wards annihilated it, which is abſurd ? For
why ſhould the Almighty take ſo much un-
neceſſary Pains, why furniſh out ſo ſumptu-
ous an Apparatus, in order to deſtroy a Race
of ſinful Mortals ? Could he not have anni-
hilated them by a ſingle Act of his Power,
or a Word of his Mouth ? Beſides, conti-
nued our Philoſopher, this Fact is contradicted
hy your own ſacred Books: Do not theſe tell
us, that the Deluge was the Effect of a ſimple
Rain, which laſted only forty Days, and
which could not conſequently be equal to
thoſe which fall for five Months in Abyſinia,
and in fome other Countries of the World ?
Do they not add, that theſe Waters only re-
tired by little and little *, which only denotes
the ſucceſſive Effect of natural Cauſes, and
not a ſudden Prodigy wrought by the Om-
nipotence of God.
You are provoked, continued Telliamed,
and no doubt take it ill, that I ſhould ſo
powerfully attack a Tradition, authoriſed by
your
1
3
**** All the Fountains of the great Deep were broken
up, and the Windows of the Heavens were open'd.
And the Rain was upon the Earth forty Days and
« forty Nights.. And the Waters returned from off the
“ Earth continually, and after the End of the hundred
" and fifty Days, the Waters werç abated. Gen. vii. 11, 12,
and chap. vjii. 3:
76
TELLI A MED: Or,
your Scriptures. However, if you will but
beſtow a little Attention, you will grant that
my Sentiment, with reſpect to this ſo fa-
mous Truth, is by no Meant oppoſite to
what is taught you by thoſe Books which
you look upon as ſacred; that theſe Words
the whole Earth, which they uſe in order to
denote the Space of Land covered by the
Deluge, may be equally underſtood either of
the whole Globe, or only one Part of it ;
for Example, of that Country in Aſia inha-
bited by Noah and his Family; that in Rea-
lity they have been underſtood in this Senſe
by many of your Literari, who have not
thought themſelves obliged to acknowledge
this Univerſality, which is by ſome maintain
ed in Oppoſition to all the powerful Argu-
ments againſt it; that your Scriptures themſelves
favour this laſt Opinion ; becauſe, from every
thing they contain, it is evident that Mofes had
only an Intention to write the Hiſtory of the
Jews, and by no Means that of other Nations.
So that we may ſay with him, that the De-
luge of which he truly ſpeaks, really cover'd
the whole Earth, that is, the whole Country
inhabited by Noah and his Neighbours ; that
we cannot beſides underſtand that Writer o-
therwiſe, without giving the moſt abſurd Ex-
plication to his Words; that when he ſays,
for Example, t all Fleſh died that moved on the
Earth, it is impollible to underſtand theſe
Words of the Fiſh, who came not out of their
Element during the Deluge ; that it is equal-
ly
+." All Fleſh died that moved upon the Earth. Gen, vii.
21,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 77
ly abſurd and ridiculous to think, that all
other created Beings periſhed in this general
Inundation, and only perpetuated themſelves
by the Care which Noab took to preſerve them
in the Ark ; ſince in order to ſupport this
Fable, ic. is neceſſary to admit that he took
along with him not only Elephants, Rhino-
ceros, Camels, and other large or mon-
ſtrous Animals, which muſt take up a great
deal of Room in ſuch a ſmall Place; not only
Fleas and Bugs, and other very incommo-
dious Vermin, but alſo Hand-worms, and
a thouſand other Animals, which tho' ſmaller
than the Hand-worm, yet exiſt in Nature. In a
Word, that as the Deluge of Deucalion paſs'd
among the ancient Greeks, as yet ignorant, for
univerſal, tho' it only happened in Greece; and
as according to your own Books, after the burn-
ing of Sodom, the Sons of Lot imagined
that their Father was the only Man alive, it
would be by no Means aſtoniſhing, if Noah,
faved with his Family from a Deluge which
had inundated all his Country, ſhould believe
that this Deluge had really cover'd the whole
Face of the Univerſe.
But even admitting your Syſtem, with re-
ſpect to this Subject, I affirm, that it cannot
account for every Thing, which in our Globe
evinces the inſenſible Fabrication of our Soils,
and of the differenc Materials which the Sea
has employed in their Formation. What you
have ſaid of this Deluge, has engaged me
more narrowly to examine the Mountains of
Armenia, on one of which you pretend Noah's
Ark ſtopp'd. Now I have obſerved, that
thefe Mountains, as well as any others in
the World, contained in their Entrails the
Bones
78
TELLIAMED: Or,
Bones of Sea-fiſh, Shells, and other Matters
extraneous to their Subſtance, all laid flat and
horizontal, as they are elſewhere, which is an
infallible Proof that they have not been inſert-
ed there in the Time of the Deluge.
In a Word, if the Inſertion of ſuch extra-
neous Bodies in theſe enormous Maſſes, muſt
be attributed to this great Event, is it not
certain, that they would be placed there with
Confuſion and in all Directions, the ſhort Du-
ration of that Deluge, not having permitted
thein to fall naturally flat and horizontal to
the Globe? Beſides, in order to comprehend
that theſe extraneous Bodies have penetrated
into theſe Mountains, we muſt ſuppoſe either
that theſe entire Maffes were formed during the
ſhort Duration of the Deluge, which is impoſſi-
ble, and even contradicted by your Scriptures,
which ſuppoſe that they exiſted before; or we
muſt ſay, that thefe Mountains muſt have be-
come ſo ſoft that ſuch Bodies could enter in-
to them. Now, I aſk you, if it is not ab-
ſurd to think ſo? Whom will you perſuade
that the Waters, however abundant you ſup-
poſe them, were able in ſix or ſeven Months
to penetrate, ſoften, and liquify, a Rock of
Marble or Stone, four or five hundred Feet
thick? For theſe extraneous Bodies are found
in the Boſoms of the Mountains, as well as
in other parts of them. To produce fuch an
Effect, would not a new Miracle be neceſſa-
ry? Beſides, at the End of the ſeventh Month
of the Deluge, did not the Ark remain on
the Mountains of Armenia *? Did not the
* And the Ark reſted in the ſeventh Month, on the ſe-
ventcenth Day of the Month, upon the Mountains of Ara.
Gen, viü. 4.
Dove
rat,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
79
1
Dove bring back an Olive Branch to Noab,
as yet ſhut up in the Ark +? Theſe Moun-
tains were not then ſoft and fluid Maſles, ſince
they were capable of ſupporting ſo clumſey a
Machine as the Ark, and bore Olive Trees,
which we know are long in growing,
But let us return to the Proofs of the Dimi-
nution of the Sea.
Egypt, in which we now are, has furniſhed
Towns of
me with a very ſingular, and in my opinion, Lybia bu-
a very convincing Kind of Proofs. About ried in the
Sand,
two or three Days Journey from the Nile, on
the side of Lybia, and in the Deſarts which
terininate Egypt towards the Eaſt, we find
ſeveral Ruins of conſiderable Towns. The
Sands under which they are buried, have pre-
ſerved the Foundations, and even a part of
the Edifices, Towers, and Fortreſſes with
which they were accompanied ; and as in theſe
Places it never rains, or at leaſt very little and
rarely, it is probable that theſe Remains will
fubfiſt there for ſeveral thouſand Years. Theſe
deſtroyed Towns are ſituated nearly in a Line,
from the North to the South ; or if you will,
from the Mediterranean towards Nubia. They
are, as I have ſaid, two or three Days Jour-
ney diſtant from the habitable Parts of Egypt,
and reach as far into the Defarts. Their Dif-
tance from each other is two, and ſometimes
three Days Journey.
If
you
conſult the Arabian Authors who
have wrote the Hiſtory of Egypt, or liſten to
the Traditions of that Country, with reſpect
to thefe Ruins, you will find that they are the
+ And the Dove came to him in the Evening, and lo,
in her Mouth was an Olive Leaf.pluck'd off, Gen. viii. 11.
Re-
80
TELLIA MED: Or,
Remains of ſeveral Towns built either by the
Magi, or by Princes who wanted to ſignalize
their Power by making Choice of fo extra-
ordinary Situations for Colonies : Or perhaps
theſe Towns were built as ſo many Shelters
from Enemies, ſince they are in Places almoſt
inacceſſible by large Armies. It would be
eaſy to ſhew the Impoſſibility and Folly of
building Towns in Places two or three Days
Journey diſtant from an inhabited Land. Such
Towns could not have been built, nor could
the Inhabitants have lived, without an incre-
dible Expence, ſince it would have been ne-
ceſſary to have carried even Water to them,
and ſince by the ſmalleſt Interruption of the
Egyptian Caravans, the Settlers muſt have died
of Hunger and Thirſt. Beſides, the Inhabi-
tants of theſe Towns, which from the Extent
of their Ruins muſt have been very populous,
could not have had any Commerce for their
Support, unleſs we ſuppofe that the Sea once
bordered upon them.
There Independently of theſe conſiderations, let us
Towns examine the Situation of theſe Towns, begin-
have been ing with that in which the Temple of Jupiter
Anionon was built in the Time of Alexander,
and the Romans : By doing ſo we ſhall evident-
ly find, that they have ſucceſſively been the
Sea Ports of Egypt. The City and Ports of
Alexandria, have ſucceeded the City and Port
celebrated on account of the Temple of Jupi-
ter Ammon. This City ſucceeded the next to
it in going towards Nubia ; and the reſt ſuc-
ceſſively followed each other. As a Proof of
this, we obſerve before all theſe Ruins,' to-
wards the North and the Mediterranean, the
Places which have ſery'd them as Harbours,
Theſe
Sea-ports.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
81
Theſe Harbours are not ſo totally deſtroyed
but that we may eaſily diſtinguiſh the Form
and Extent of them. I don't doubt but if we
were to dig into the Sand, with which theſe
Harbours are in a great Meaſure fill'd, we
ſhould find the Reinains of a good many
Ships: But I had neither Men, Viêtuals, nor
Water enough for undertaking a Taſk which
might have been longer than I was aware of.
The Poſition of theſe Ruins is always higher
than the Harbours, which are almoſt all ſur-
rounded with Rocks, except in ſome places
where the Entries of the Harbours have cer-
tainly been. Before ſome of theſe Ruins we
fee Grounds raiſed as high as themſelves, with
ſome Remains of Buildings. Theſe were pro-
bably Inands contiguous to the Port. Theſe
Cities could ſerve for no other End than that
of Sea-Ports, neither was it poſſible that their
Inhabitants could ſubſiſt without the Aid and
Aſſiſtance of the Sea. They could only be
employed in Commerce, and could not receive
the Neceſſaries of Life, but by Means of Ships
which brought them from the Mouth of the
Nile, then much higher than the place where
they are ſituated.
In Proportion as that City, which was next
to Nubia, was left by the Sea, there was ano-
ther built nearer the Shore in the Place moſt
proper for the Reception of Ships. We meet
with the ſecond of theſe ruin'd Cities, in de-
ſcending thro' the Defart of Nubia to the Sea.
This is ſucceeded by a third, which was ſuc-
ceeded by that in which the Temple of 74-
jiter Ammon was built. This laſt was ſuc-
ceeded by the City and Port of Alexandria,
which receives the Ships coming to Egypt on
G
the
TELLI AMED: Or,
the Weſt of the Nile, as Damiette receives
thoſe which arrive on the Eaſt: But in a
little Time this Port, already half fill'd, will
oblige the Merchants to forſake it, and look
out for a new Harbour, in conſequence of the
ſucceſſive Diminution of the Sea. Riſing
Grounds on a Coaſt already ſhallow, will at
laſt appear entirely dry; and I am perſuad-
ed that in two or three thouſand Years, Alex-
andria will be farther from the Sea-ſhore than
the Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter Ammon,
in which we only find a few antient Burying-
places. The fine Churches of Alexandria con-
verted into Moſques are, as you very well
know, the only Edifices within the new
Walls which for ſix or ſeven hundred Years
have inclos'd that City. The Houſes are
built on the Sand, which for two or three
hundred Years has filled up a large part of the
Harbour
The greater and the ſmaller Syrtes, ſo re-
nowned in Roman Hiſtory, and both fituated
on the Sea-ſhore about ſixteen or ſeventeen
hundred Years ago, are now at a great Dif-
tance from it. This, indeed, happens on Ac-
count of the Shallowneſs of all the African
Coaſt, as well as of the Diminution of the
Sea. If you go into the Deſarts contiguous
to this Coaſt, or into Egypt, you will find the
Remains of numberleſs Cities and Harbours.
The Appearances of Ports and the Veſtiges of
the Buildings which ſurrounded them, are to
· be found in a hundred Places. Ships petrifi-
ed entirely or in Part, and found thirty or
forty Days Journey from the Sea, as well as
in Places nearer it, numberleſs Shells mixed
with the Sand of the Deſarts, or adhering to
the
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 83
the Rocks and Mountains, Vallies at the Feeç
of the Mountains alſo covered with Shells,
and whole Beds of Shells in other Parts, are
infallible Proofs, that the Sea once covered
theſe Countries.
In a Word, if the Sea had not been ſuperi-
or to them, if ſhe had not once overflowed
the ſcorching Deſarts of Lybia, could we find
there Traces of her Abode ſo diſtant from
herſelf, eſpecially ſuch a Number of Sea-ſhells,
with which theſe Deſarts abound, or which
adhere to the Rocks in that Country? Have
we ever to this Day perceived even Land-
Shells produced in Places which at preſent
have ſo little Humidity for their Nouriſhment
and Support ?
Viſit, Sir, continued our Philoſopher, the
the little Hill ſituated to the South-eaſt of the
largeſt of the Pyramids, ſuperior to their Ba-
ſis by fome Fathoms, and anly two or three
hundred diſtant from them, and you will find
upon its Summit, numberleſs Shells and other
Marks of the Sea. The Defart at the Entry
of which this Hill and the Pyramids are ſitu-
ated, is that which conducts to Lybia, and its
Dryneſs, notwithſtanding its Contiguity to the
Nile, is as great as that found in its fartheſt
Extremities.
The Names of a great Number of Places,
which the Sea has covered there, as well as
in all the other parts of Africa, are evident
Proofs of my Doctrine, among the People now
moſt contiguous to theſe Delarts Thus they
ſay the Seas of Carca, Borneo, Cyrene, and
Jupiter Ammon, in order to give proper
Names to the Beds or Channels in which theſe
Seas
G2
84
TELLI AMED: Or,
+
Seas once ran, Geographers themſelves retain
theſe very Names in their Charts and Maps,
ſince they are ſenſible that they have preſerv-
ed them ever ſince they have been left by the
Waves of the Sea. In the Hiſtory of the firſt
and fecond Ages of Mahometiſm, we are in-
formed, that a Canal was dug from the Port
of Cairò to the Red Sea, thro' which, by the
Aliſtance of the Nile, Proviſions were convey-
ed to Mecca and Arabia ; of this Canal we
have at preſent no Remains. We only find
at the Extremity of the Red Sea, the End of
a Canal dug in a Rock, the reſt of which is
covered with Sand. Whether this is the Ca-
nal mentioned in Hiſtory or not, yet ſtill it is
certain that when it was dug, the Sea was by
ſome Feet ſuperior to its Bottom, which is at
preſent a great many Feet ſuperior to the
Surface of the fame Sea; which is an evident
Proof of the Diminution of the latter. Beſides,
Vefſels which arrived at Swez fifty Years ago,
are now obliged to land fifteen or ſixteen
Miles from that Port. We are even igno-
rant where the City and Port of Colzum ſtood,
which the firſt Hiſtories of Mahometiſm have
mentioned, and which then gave their Names
to the Extremity of the Red Sea.
'Tis Pity that Nero did not finiſh the Canal
Conſe-
he began to dig between Epirus and Morea.
quences of
the Dimi. This would have been a ſenſible and remark-
nution of able Proof of the Diminution of the Sea,
the Sea, which he intended ſhould paſs thro' that
as yet : 0 Channel. There are, however, in
happer.
HIG
your
tories, as well as ours, continued 'our inge-
vious Indian, a great many Inſtances of ſimi-
lar Works carried to their full Perfection,
tho
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 85
+
tho' we have but little attended to the Cauſes,
of their Abolition, or the Ceſſation of their.
Uſes. Some time there will be a Paſſage from
France into England, and from Spain into
Africa, on dry Ground, when perhaps thoſe
who thus pafs, will be as ignorant of the Di-
minution of the Sea, as we are at preſent, in
travelling over Countries which heretofore
were ſeparated by Seas leſs deep. How many
Iſands have been thus united ? And by this
Means how often have our Continents been
enlarged ? The Union of one Spot of Ground
to another, is the real Conſequence of the
Diminution of the Sea: But as this Work is
long and inſenſible, we are but little acquaint-
ed with it, or with the Cauſe which produces
it, becauſe we are ignorant of the State of
Places already effaced from the Memory of
Man. How much will People be aſtoniſhed,
when 'by the Exhauſtion of the Seas which
run from Spain to America, they find Mexican
Piaſters and Ingots of Gold and Silver in the
Grounds which theſe Seas have left. Some
of theſe Subſtances will be found in the Stones
dug from the Mountains in order to build
Houſes. In theſe Stones there will be Eme-
ralds, Pearls, Diamonds, and ſuch precious
Stones as are commonly brought from the
Eaſt, and have been loſt with the Ships
which were daſhed to Pieces in their para
fage between our Coaſts and the American
Shores. We ſhall there even find entire Ships
and if Braſs and Iron were not ſubject to ruſt
and be conſumed, we might there find Braſs
and Iron Cannon, the Uſe of which our Pa-
Iterity may not perhaps then know: But they
ſhall
G 3
86
TELLIAM E : Or,
ſhall obſerve their Forms as it were funk into
the Stones, and what will appear ftill more
ſurpriſing, they will diſcover the Impreſſions
of the Coats of Arms of our braſs Cannon.
How, Sir, ſaid I, on this Occaſion, is it
poffible that in Plains far diſtant from all Con-
tinents, Plains which at preſent are covered
by the Sea, and in which there are neither
Rivers nor dry Land, there ſhould one Day
be Inhabitants? How is it poſſible that in ſuch
Places there ſhould be Cities built, or that
the Boſoms of the Mountains ſhould be o-
pen'd in order to furniſh the Materials pro-
per for building Towns ? Grancing it was
poſſible (as you intend to perſuade ine) that
che immenſe Quantity of Water, with which
theſe Parts are cover d, was tocally exhauſted,
how could theſe brackiſh Grounds of a Tandy
or muddy Subſtance, become fertile, habirable,
and actually inhabited, without the Aſſiſtance
of freſh Water.
How our
Yes, Sir, replied our Traveller, all this is
Grounds very poſſible : It will happen as I predict it
have be- to you, and theſe Plains which are now under
gun to ap. Water, will one Day be as fertile, at leaſt in
pear.
fome Parts, as the beſt cultivated Countries
in Europe. You muſt obſerve, Sir, that Brooks,
Rivers, Rivulets, and even the peculiar Sub-
ſtance of our Soils, are Things accidental to
our Globe, and poſterior to the Appearance
of our firſt Ground ; and that the former
derive their Origin from the latter. Imagine
to yourſelf then, that there were no Rivers
and Brooks, when our higheſt Mountains be-
gan to raiſe their Tops above the Waters;
thcſc Tops were enlarged, in proportion as the
Waters of the Sea ſublided, and augmenting
gra-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. . &q
gradually at laſt, formed fmall Iflands. The
Waters which ſeparated them, continuing to
fubfide more and more, theſe Mountains were
united and formed a Tract of Land of a
greater Extent. This which once happened
in one Part of the Globe, afterwards happen-
ed in ſeveral others. From theſe new Grounds,
at firſt very fmall, by the inſenſible and con-
tinual Diminution of the Sea, have ſince ari.
fen theſe vaſt Continents, which we inhabit,
that Infinity of Iſlands, with which they are
ſurrounded, and of which 'the Sea is full ;
thefe Iſlands and theſe Continents will form but
one continued Tract of Land, when the Wa-
ters of the Sea are totally exhauſted.
Whether there have been Winds blowing
on the Sea, or not, before our firſt Lands
began to appear, is a Thing of no great Im-
portance to know ; but there were certainly
Currents in the Sea, ſince it is by their Means
that our Mountains were raiſed, and our Val-
leys produced, the Matter of which has cer-
tainly ſerved to their Compoſition.
As ſoon as there were Grounds, there were
certainly Winds and Rains which fell upon
the firſt Rocks ; then there were Veins of
Water form’d, which carried back theſe
Rains to the Sea, whence they had been exha-
led. Theſe Veins became larger and longer,
in proportion as the Grounds became more
extenſive. The Veins of Water form'd Brooks,
ſeveral Rivulets formed large Rivers ; the
Rays of the Sun, the Heat, the Cold and the
Winds, and the Rains acting on the Summits
of the Rocks, moulder'd their Surfaces
away.
A Part of their Duft and Wrecks, by the
Winds and Rains, carried from the ſuperior
G
to
88
TELLIAMED:'Or,
1
to the inferior Places, was there collected.
Another Part was by the Rivulets conveyed
into the Boſom of the Sea, and another ſtopt
at the Mouths of the Rivulets. Here the
Herbs, Roots, and Trees, which the Sea
formerly nouriſh'd in her brackiſh Waters,
finding a ſofter Mud, receiv'd a new Sub-
ſtance which made them loſe their Bitterneſs
and Acrimony : Thus the Plants which were
before Sea-plants became terreſtrial ones.
Our Naturaliſts, I know, pretend, that a
Transformation of our Sea Productions into
thoſe of the terreſtrial Species, is as impor-
ſible as the Change of certain Subſtances into
others, becauſe their Efrences are immutable:
I ſhall afterwards have an opportunity of ex-
amining this Point ; beſides, if it is true, as
we cannot doubt, that various kinds of Trees
grow in the Sea ; that in the Red Sea, there
grew ſeveral Species of very perfect Muſh-
rooms, which being ſoft at firſt are afterwards
petrified ; that all Seas produce an infinite
Number of Herbs, even ſuch as are good to
eat ; why ſhould we not believe that the
Seeds of theſe have produced the Herbs and
Roots which we ſee on the Land, and which
we daily uſe for Nouriſhment. When by
the Reflux of the Sea, the Water is very low
on the Coaſt of Ireland, the Inhabitants pull
from the Rocks, a criſp'd Herb which is very
good to eat, and reſembles Succory; they
falt it and put it up in Barrels for uſe. The
Divers of Chili go three or four Fathoms deep
in ſearch of this Herb, which they call Goi-
mon, and which they love greatly. Our
criſp'd Succory has probably ſprung from this
Sea-plant. 'Tis thus, I'm perſuaded, that the
Earth
PT
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
89
1
Earth was firſt ſtock'd with Herbs and Plants,
which were before contained in the Sea. 'Tis
in this manner that the Grounds left by che
Sea, being watered by the Rain and Rivulets,
daily produce new Trees and Plants.
In proportion then, as theſe ſubaquatic
Plains, of which I firſt ſpoke, ſhall be un-
cover'd and enrich us with new Stores, the
Rivers of Europe will alſo be daily extended ;
and through the uncovered Lands, follow the
Sea, which ſeparates them from America. The
Rivers of America will alſo advance to Eu-
rope through the Lands which the Sea. ſhall
have left, till all theſe. Rivers meet with each
other, or terminate in the deepeſt Place and
there form a Lake. Such is that of the Caf-
pian Sea, into which ſeveral Rivers from all
Parts of Aſia diſcharge themſelves. The Rains
which afterwards fail, upon the new Grounds,
will form Rivulets, and theſe Rivulets will
produce Rivers, which augmenting the Fer-
tility of theſe new Lands, will furniſh the Ne-
ceflaries of Life to the Inhabitants of theſe
Countries,
But before the Ocean lays bare the vaſt
Tracts which it covers between Europe and
America, numberleſs Places ready to appear
in a hundred Parts of the Sea will lay a
Foundation for the Multiplication of the hu-
man Species, by multiplying and enlarging
the Places whence it draws Subfiitence. Such
are the Shallows between Corſica and Majorca;
ſuch is our Archipelago or the White Sea,
which is ſo ſhallow, and numberleſs Places in
the Mediterranean ; ſuch is the Archipelago of
St. Lazarus in the Indies, the great Bank of
Newfoundland, the ſhallow Sea which ſeparates
England
!
w
go
TELLIAMED: Or,
England from Norway, and thoſe which waſh
the Coaſts of Germany, Holland, and France ;
ſuch in the Baltick Sea is that Ridge of Moun-
tains called the Borneur or Boundary; and a
thouſand other parts which the Sea is ready to
uncover to our View : The Baſon of the Me-
diterranenih, and thoſe of the Caſpian and
Baltic Seas, will be dried up long before the
Ocean affords a free Paſſage by Land to Ame-
rica.
All the Rivers and Rivulets which now
terminate in the Mediterranean, will however
continue to flow through the Straits of Gibral-
tar to the Ocean, on the Plains which ſhe ſhall
.
have laid bare, till the Mediterranean Sea has
ſubſided in ſuch a Manner, that the Bottom of
the Straits has become ſuperior to the Level
or Surface of her Waters. The Black Sea
will ceaſe to communicate with the Mediter-
Tanean, by the Boſphorus of Thrace, which is
ſo ſhallow ; ſo that the Black and Mediter-
ranean Seas, ſhall like the Caſpian, be no more
but Lakes without any Communication with
each other, or with the Ocean. Theſe Lakes
themſelves, at firſt ſupplied hy the Rivers
diſcharged into them, will like the Ocean
afterwards have their Surfaces diminiſhed,
becauſe theſe Rivers will become ſmaller, the
Rains being no longer ſupported by ſo many
Clouds and Vapours exhaled from the Seas,
which are now more extenſive than they will
be then. In a Word, is there not more dry
Weather at Marſeilles, than there was forty or
fifty Years ago, before on the side of the Rhone
they had drained a Lake which afforded more
copious Rains, and by that Means rendered
the Soil more fertile ? "Tis for this Reaſon
that
1
t
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 91
that it almoſt never rains in this Country, nor
in thoſe Countries of Africa, which are far
diſtant from the Sea, nor at Ispahan, nor in
the greateſt Part of Perfia, which is without
Rivers and Lakes capable of ballancing their
Diſtance from the Sea. 'Tis for a contrary
Reaſon that Rains are frequent in Countries,
which are near the Sea, or which abound with
Rivers and Lakes from which the Winds can
borrow Moiſture and Humidity.
I doubt not, Sir, continued Telliamed, but you of the ac-
have obſerved the Manner, in which on the tual En-
largement
the Brinks of the Ocean, the Beds of thoſe Rivers
of the
are form'd, which run into it. The Flux and Land,
Reflux of the Sea firſt dig Paſſages for her Wa-
ters; ſhe on this Occaſion, runs with Violence
into the leaſt elevated Places, and afterwards leav-
ing them with the ſame Rapidity, ſhe preſerves
Roads which are ſucceeded by Rivers and
Rivulets. This Agitation of the Waves be-
ing often repeated lince the Appearance of the
firſt Mountains, the Roads which the Sea has
made, ſerve as ſo many Canals for conveying
all the Waters which fall on the Surface of the
Globe to the Ocean. That I may give you
a known Example of this Truth, 'tis thus that
the Valley in which the Seine now runs from
its Source to the Ocean, has been formed by
this Flux and Reflux, which ſtill continues to
dig it even at its Mouth near Havre de Grace.
The Reaſon why the Waters do not now pro-
duce the fame Effects in the Rivers which flow
to the Mediterranean,is becauſe they are hindered
from it by the Barriers, which Spain and
Africa have oppoſed to their Flux and Re-
fux, and becauſe the Waters confined in a
ſmall Bafon, have not as formerly the Agi-
tation
92
TELLI AMED: Or,
tation which they receive in vaſt Seas, from
the annual Gyration of the Globe round the
Sun, and from its daily Motion round its
own Axis. Thus the Water carried in the
Hand in a ſmall Cup, is not ſubject to the
fame Motion as Water carried in a very large
Veffel.
'Tis this fame Flux and Reflux, ſeconded
by the Winds, which towards one Coaſt ele-
vates the Surface of the Sea, the Weight of
which preſſing the inferior Waters afterwards,
obliges them to retire with Rapidity towards
the oppoſite Shore, where it produces the
ſame Effect. 'Tis the ſucceſſive Elevation of
the Waters, which this Motion cauſes, ſome-
times towards one Part of theſe Coaſts, and
ſometimes towards another, which occaſions
the alternate Currents of all our Seas, by
which our Mountains, and the Valleys which
continually divide them, have been formed ;
for paſſing with Rapidity over their Bottoms
between Collections of Sand or Mud, ſome-
times in one Direction and ſometimes in ano-
ther, they undermine and ſeparate them, com-
poſing theſe Eminencies and Depreſſions
which we obſerve in them. This is the eter-
nal Work of the Sea in all Places where her
Flux and Reflux join'd to the Currents arrives
with Freedomn. Theſe Currents add Mud to
Places where before there was but Sand, and
carry Sand to Places where before there was
but Mud. By this Means they diminiſh in
one Part thoſe Maſſes which they have form-
ed, in order to augment them in another.
This is what we obſerve in our Mountains
already raiſed out of the Sea, and what our
Poſterity will find in thole which ſhall after-
wards
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 93
1
wards appear. Such will thoſe be between
which the Seine ſhall afterwards flow from
the Havre, where her Waters are now diſ-
charged into the Sea, to the moſt diſtant Parts
where her Waters ſhall afterwards flow.
Theſe Mountains ſhall in no Reſpects be dif-
ferent from thoſe which run along her Shores
from Paris to Havre de Grace; we ſhall there
find Beds of Marle, petrified Mud, and indu-
rated Sand with Mixtures of Sea-ſhells, Fiſh-
bones, and other extraneous Subſtances, as
we now find in the Compoſition of Moun-
tains, between which theſe are carried to the
Sea, which has formed them all, and conti-
nues to form the reſt of them by retiring
from England and Ireland.
'Tis in vain to object, that on the Coaſts Example
of Normandy, the Sea continually gains of this En-
upon the Land.
Is it not evident that largement.
Harfleur, which formerly ſerv'd as a Port to
the City of Rowen, and where we ſtill ſee the
Towers which the Sea has ruin'd by her Bil-
lows, is already diſtant from the Sea ? Havre
de Grace, which ſucceeded it, and which has
been lately built on the Sand and Mud which
the Sea had collected between Harfleur and
herſelf, will not long keep its Place: Art
muſt labour afreſh to form another Harbour
for the Reception of the Shipping, which
from foreign Countries ſhall bring Neceffaries
and Commodities to the Inhabitants of Rowen
and Paris.
Such is the Fate of all maritime Places ;
the preſent Marſeilles is not ſituated where that
of the Romans was placed'; its Port is neither
that in thoſe Times, nor even that of old
Marſeilles. It is a Work of Art dug aſ the
Sice
1
94
TELLIA MED: Or,
Side of the former Harbour, and a Reſtitu-
tion made to the Sea, of a Place which ſhe
had abandoned. This new Port, which Art
has lately formed of a Marſh, will be for ever
abandoned and rendered uſeleſs by the Re-
treat of the Sea, as the old one was, while
the Inands of it, united to the Continent an
the side of the old Infirmaries, and deprived
of the little Water which ſurrounds them,
will form a more beautiful one. We hardly
now remember the Poſition of old Marſeilles
and its Harbour, and afterwards our Pofterity
will as little remember the Situation of the
Port of modern Marſeilles.
Frejus, a Port formerly ſo famous for the
Shelter it gave the Roman Gallies; and where
I have ſeen the Baron in which they anchored,
is another authentic Proof of the Diminution
of the Sea. This Baſon is not only at a con-
ſiderable Diſtance from the Sea-ſhore, ſince
there is a Lake of freſh Water between them,
but it is alſo evident, that though all the
Ground which ſeparates them was removed,
the Sea could not return into this Baron, to
the Height at which it is thought to have
been in the Time of the Romans. I even
doubt, whether if by a Canal, ic was brought
back to the Walls of Aiguemorts, at the Foot
of which St. Louis embarked in the Ship which
carried him to the Eaſt, it would be ſo high
as it was ſo few Ages ago. Is not Ravenna,
another Roman Port, totally laid in Heaps,
and is not this City already at a conſiderable
Diſtance from the Sea ? The Port of hrun-
dufium is become uſeleſs, more by the Dimi-
nution of the Sea, than the Induſtry of the
Venetians, who want to fill it up. Moſt of
the
2
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 95
the Coaſts of Italy and the Mediterranean have
chang'd their Face within theſe ſeventeen or
eighteen hundred Years. Read the Itineraries
of the Romans, and compare what they ſay
of your Ports of Provence with thoſe now
found there, and you will fee, that if ſome of
theſe which they mention ſtill ſubfiſt, there
are a great many effaced, while new ones have
appeared. The firſt being at that Time very
ſhallow, have ceaſed to be Harbours for Ver-
fels, either on account of the Sand which has
overflowed them, or the Diminution of the
Sea. For the ſame Reaſon thoſe which ſub-
fiſt are perhaps become better, while the new
ones, unknown to the Romans have been form-
ed in the ſame Manner.
The Places near the City of Hieres, as much
as any others on that Coaſt, furniſh ſenſible
Proofs of this Truth. Between the Place
called the Signal, where it is ſaid the Son of a
Count of Provence was drowned, and the Sea,
there are, at preſent, three large Quarters of
a League ; and the Progreſs of the Enlarge-
ment of this round is remarkable from Year
to Year, not only by the Diminution of the
Sea, but by the Sand and Dirt, which a ſmall
Rivulet coming from the Mountains conveys
thither continually. Beſides, in this place the
Depth is ſo inconſiderable, that at five hun-
dred Fathoms from the Shore, there are no
more than two Feet of Water.
'Tis upon this Botton that towards the Eaſt
they have erected a Pier, at the Foot of a
finall Hill, on which an Hermitage is built,
running towards the ide of Gien, from the
North to the South Coaſt, and that another
Pier ſimilar to this, and ſituated to the Weſt-
ward
+
96
TELLI AMED: Or,
1
ward of it, is built from the Foot of the ſmall
H-ill to the ſame land. Theſe two Piers
form a Lake almoſt ſquare, and three Quar-
ters of a League in Diameter. By this Means
the Inand of Gien is become a Peninſula, and
is join’d to the Continent. The Lake, as I
have ſaid, is in general no more than two
Feet deep. Thus by fortifying and elevating
the two Piers more, it would have been caly
to draw the Water out of the Lake with
Pumps, and render it a fruitful Meadow.
But they thought it better to leave an Aper-
ture in the Eaſtern Pier, in order to admit the
Sca, which by this Means communicating
with the Lake, makes it abound with Fiſh,
on account of the Shelter which they there
find in Storins. Now it will be upon this
Bottom, that by Means of the Sand and Dirt,
every Year conveyed thither in a great Quan-
tity by the Torrent of Capeaugy, and with the
Alliftance of the Mud which the Sea carries
into the Lake, joined with the Diminution of
her Waters, there will, no doubt, ſoon appear
a Plain with which the Continent of Hieres
will be augmented. It is in this Manner, as
I have been aſſured by an old Inhabitant of
the Place, that forty other Lakes at leaſt,
have within theſe hundred Years become
beautiful Meadows, and now ſerve as Paſturage
for Flocks.
'Tis certainly in this Manner, that all the
Rivers and Rivulets which diſcharge them-
ſelves into the Channel, by which England is
ſeparated from the Main Land, will ſome time
after this, by the Sand and Dirt conveyed
thither, form a ſolid Earth, which will gra-
dually be enlarged till both are united. Thus
after
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
97
/
after chefe Subſtances ſhall have ſeveral Times
filled up the ſucceſlive Harbours, England, by
its being united with Ireland, will become a
Peninſula, and Sailors muſt go round it, from
the Ports of the Lower Germany, to arrive at
the Coaſts of France, and muſt do the ſame
when they ſet out from theſe Coaſts for any of
the Ports of Germany.
In a Word, is it not in this Manner, that
the Whole of Holland has but a few Ages ago
riſen out of the Sea? You will, perhaps, ſay,
that the Sea daily attacks its Moles : But this
Objection is eaſily anſwered. The Hollanders,
by the Sea, confin’d within narrow Limits,
have endeavoured to put her at a greater Dif-
tance, and have ſucceeded by Means of Moles
erected upon her and againſt her. By theſe
Methods they have prevented the Diminution
of her. Waters. Thus, when the Waves are
favoured by the Wirds and Tides, it is not
ſurpriſing, that they ſhould break thro' the
Moles, and recover a part of the Ground
which had been taken from them, eſpecially,
when at preſent, by importing the Riches of
the Indies, they have introduced a pernicious
Set of Worms, which deſtroy the Stakes uis'd
in the Fortification of the Barriers. The
continual Attacks of the Soa, are not Proofs
of the Augmentation of the Water in that
Part. They only evince, that we have en-
croached upon, and by that Means prevented
her apparent Diminution. Thus, it is highly
probable, that the Waters of the Ocean, will
be long dreaded by the Inhabitants of the
neighbouring Plains, till the Downs are ſo
enlarged on the Coaſt of Holland, as to form
H
a Bar-
98
TELLIAMED: Or,
a Barrier before that, which Art has erected a.
gainſt their Impetuoſity,
But it is equally certain, that theſe Plains
are daily enlarged towards the Ocean. How
much Sand, Earth, and other Subſtances, are
by the Tamiſe on one ſide of the Rhine, and
by the Meuſe and Eſcaut on the other, car-
ried to the Sea, fince Holland became a Re-
publick? Do you believe, Sir, that the Port
of Texel will laſt for ever? Does not the
Number of Veſſels loſt every Year in attempt-
ing to arrive at it, thro' the Mountains of
Sand which they are obliged to avoid, de-
nounce its ſpeedy End? Amſterdam itſelf will
not be long the Reſidence of the Merchants
employed in negociating with the other Cities
of Europe, Aſia, and America. If we com-
pare the oldeſt Maps of theſe Provinces and
Coaſts with the modern, we muſt certainly
perceive that the Coaſts of Flanders and Hoi.
land which are contiguous to them, daily un-
dergo Alterations and Augmentations perni-
cious to the Entrance and Arrival of Shipping.
Oſtend, which in the Dutch Wars with the
Spaniards, was ſo large and ſo commodious a
Harbour, is now good for nothing. You
will perhaps object, that the Dutch have en-
deavoured to fill it up : But have the other
Ports of that Coaſt ſuffered leſs ? How much
has it coſt to keep that of Dunkirk in ſuch a
Situation as to be of any Uſe? St. Omer, now
conſiderably diſtant from the Sea, was hard by
it a few Years ago.
Who can realonably doubt, but in time it
will be the ſame with Venice? Very ſoon that
City will be on the Continent, which daily
ap-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
99
approaches it by the Enlargement of the Land.
Several Inands are already formed in the Bafon
which ſurrounds that beautiful City; and not-
withſtanding the Care to make it deep, the
Slime collected in it will daily render the Sea
farther and farther diſtant from it. It is al-
ready a Difficulty for large Veſſels to paſs the
Mouths of Malamock and enter and come out
of theſe Arſenals, notwithſtanding the repeat-
ed Labours to keep them deep. The Lower
Lombardy is a new Acquiſition made on the
Sea; and the Plains of Italy, from Boulogne to
the Adriatic, have been but for a few Ages
left by that Sea. The Borders of Italy on one
fide of that Sea, and the Roman Ground on
the other, have conſiderably advanced to each
other within theſe fifteen hundred Years. The
Places near the Baltic on the Side of Germany
and Gottenbourg, are recent Conqueſts made
upon the Sea. The Heaths found in ſo many
Parts of Europe, ſuch as Germany and France,
are Plains of Sand without any Fertility, be- .
cauſe, ſince the Sea left them, they have not
had Time to acquire that Quality : But they
will, in proceſs of Time become fertile, as choſe
Plains are, which are farther diſtant from the
Sea. Bauſſe and Champagne were formerly in the
fame State. The Plains of Sand which the Sea
forms at the Mouths of the Rhone, and the
Plain of Cran, which ſhe has covered a few
Ages ago, will become as fertile as thoſe of
Arles and Languedoc, which were once in the
fame Situation with the former.
If you turn over the Sands of our Heaths,
even in Places at the greateſt Diſtance from the
Sea, how many Shells and Veſtiges of the
Water in which they were formed, do you
H2
1
C
IO
TELLIA MED: Or,
1
not find ? If in theſe Plains, you conſider
the Extremities by which they touch the Sea,
do you not daily ſee them enlarged towards
her, form themfelves in the fame Man-
ner, and aſſume a Soil abſolutely like that
found in Places far diſtant from her. There
is only this Difference, that thoſe laſt have
already acquired fome Fertility from the Sweet-
neſs of the Rain with which they have been
waſhed for ſome Ages; from the Duft mix'd
with the Sand, and from the Putrefaction of
ſome Herbs, Brooms, Ferns, and other Plants
of a ſimilar Nature, which have grown and
died there. The Walls of Copenhagen and Ca-
diz, a few Years ago waſhed by the Sea, are
now at a conſiderable Diſtance from it, and
this Effect cannot be aſcrib'd to an Augmen-
tation of the Sand thrown to the Feet of theſe
Walls. The Lower Egypt roſe out of the
Sea, within theſe four thouſand Years. In
the Days of Herodotus, were there not, near
Memphis, Rocks with Rings of Iron fixed in
them for ſecuring the Shipping ? Notwith-
ſtanding this, Memphis is at preſent twenty-
five Leagues from the Sea. The City of Da-
miette, which was ſituated at the mouth of
the Nile, when St. Lewis beſieged and took it,
is already nine or ten Italian Miles diſtant
from it. Have not you told me, that ac
your Arrival in Egypi the Caſtle of Roſette,
now more than a Mile from the Sea, was with-
in a Gun-ſhot of it? You know, we muſt
grant
that the Fortreſs of Damiette was hard
by the Mouth of the Nile fifty Years ago, in
order to hinder the Chriſtian Corſairs from en-
tering that River.
Theſe
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 101
Theſe Enlargements of Earth near Rivers,
which like the Nile, the Loire, the Rhone, and
the Garonne, carry a great deal of Sand to
the Sea, have indeed ſomething very dubious,
when conſidered as Proofs of its Diminution.
Its Waters, I know, may be put at a Diſ-
tance from theſe Places by the Matter convey-
ed thither by the Rivers, without their Sur-
face being ſunk. But it is not ſo with the
Marks which you fee of her Diminution at
the high Mountains and Rocks on which ſhe
beats. Conſider in Provence, the ſteep Rocks
which ſerve as a Mole to the Sea. Examine
the Coaſt of Genes, eſpecially from Seſtri, on
the Eaſt, to Porto-venere, you will there find,
without any Poſſibility of Doubt or Miſtake,
the Parts at which the Sea has arrived, but
which ſhe does not now touch. You will
there obſerve the ſame Shells, which ſhe fixes
to the Places where the beats; but whitened,
as well as the Rocks, by the Air, in Propor-
tion as they roſe above the Surface of the
Water, You will there obſerve the ſame De-
preſſions which the Billows form in the ten-
dereft Parts of the Rocks againſt which they
beat. The Perſons who are ever ſo much
pre-
judiced againſt the Diminution of the Sea,
muſt in theſe Parts read their own Condem,
nation.
The Number of Ages, and the Degree of
Diminution of the Sea, are known upon
Rocks. We can, at leaſt, diſtinguiſh the
Period of a thouſand Years, by the different
Impreſſions made from the Top to the Foot
of thoſe Mountains, and upon , the Shells
which the Sea has fixed to them. Have
H
3
you
upon there
H 3
IO2
TELLIAM ED: Or,
you ever conſidered that high Rock which
forms a Cape in coming out from the Har-
bour of Crouta to go to Marſeilles, that
Eagle's-Bill, which is the Nime it receives,
ſo much clévated above the surface of the
Sea, that at no Time the Billows can riſe
to half its Height? The whole Cruſt of this
Rock is an equal Compoſition of Shells,
which the Sea has fixed to it at different
Times, from its Top to the Part where ſhe
now is.
Tho' the various Injuries which
you at preſent obſerve on the Coaſt of Genes,
are not ſo fully marked upon that Rock, nor
the Impreſſion of the Billows ſo ſenſible, be-
cauſe it is compoſed of Beds more equally hard
than the Mountains of Liguria, they are ne-
vertheleſs ſufficiently obſervable.
What I have told you of your own Coaſts,
I can affirm to be true of all the others I have
ſeen. There is no high Mountain or Rock,
againſt which the Sea now beats, in which we
do not find evident Proofs of her Diminution.
A thouſand Teſtimonies of this are found on
the Coaſts of England and Ireland. But it is
not only on the Mountains contiguous to the
Sea that we find Proofs of her Diminution,
ſince there are found alſo in Places far-diſtant
from her, and even in the Center of her Con-
tinents. Very remarkable Inſtances of this
appear in the Mountains between Gap and
Ciſteron in Dauphine, where we diſcover the
different Degrees of the Diminution of the Sea,
by ſo many Amphitheatres which ſhe has form-
ed from the Top to the Bottom of theſe
Mountains. There are alſo very ſingular
Proofs of this in the Mountains near An-
tioch,
I
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
103
/
tioch, and along the Coaſts of Caramania and
Syria. We may ſay in general, that the
Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea, are com-
mon to all the Mountains in the World, but
eſpecially to the ſteepeſt, and thoſe whoſe
Hardneſs has beſt reſiſted the Shocks of Time.
Is there any more convincing Proof of this,
than the Mountains of congealed Mud be-
tween which we paſs, in going into and com-
ing out of Toulon? Whence proceed theſe
Collections of Mud, and theſe narrow Vallies,
which divide them in certain Places? How
were theſe form'd except in the Sea by "her
Waters and Currents ? Are not theſe Rocks
called the Brothers, as yet in the Sea, with-
in Sight of that Town, the Effect of the
ſame Cauſe, tho' produced more ſlowly than
the former? Does not the Appearance of all
the Idlands of the World, eſpecially thoſe that
are rough and compoſed of petrified Mud,
ſuch as thoſe on the Coaſt of Provence, parti-
cularly before Marſeilles, inform you that they
were but recently formed by the Sea ? The
Similarity of the Grounds of theſe Inand's
where ſhe arrives no more, with the Soils of
theſe which ſhe ſtill waſhes; the fame Shells
adhering in Places the moſt diſtant from her,
as thoſe in Parts the moſt contiguous, inform
us that they are equally her Work; that ſome
of them are already come out of her Boſom
not to enter into it again, while others come
out of it, and return into it when her Waters
are ſwelled by a violent Tempeſt.
This Diminution of the Waters of the Sea,
has given Riſe to the Opinion, that the Stones
grow upon her Shorės; and that the Rocks
are augmented in her Boſom. 'Tis this Di-
minution
H 4
4
104
TELLIAMED: Or,
minution of the Sea which has furniſhed us
with Ifands unknown to former Ages, and
made us lofe ſo many others which were for-
merly known, but which we now ſearch for in
vain. It is this Diminution which makes the
ancient Geographers paſs for ignorant or in-
accurate in the Deſcriptions they have left us.
One of my principal Studies, in my native
Countrv, has been to ſearch for ancient
Hydrographic Charts. I have, in the moſt
ancient, found ſeveral conſiderably largě
Cities mark'd, which now ſubliſt no more,
and I perceived the 'want of a great many
others, which are now found upon our Coaſt.
However, as moſt of theſe Charts were made
upon the Diſputes, which happened about
Frontiers, between contiguous Nations and
Cities, and were depoſited by both Parties in
the public Archives, to ſerve as common Titles
to the reſpective. Parties, it is not poſſible
to doubt of the Fidelity and Exactneſs with
which they have been compoſed. Hence we
muft neceffarily conclude, that the Faults ob-
ſerved in the Charts are the Effects of Time,
and of the Changes which the Diminution of
the Sea has. made on the Grounds, by join-
ing to the Continent, Iſlands which were ſe-
parated from it, or by making new Iſlands
appear which were not ſeen when theſe Charts
were made...
But,. Sir, reply'd I here, is it not poſſible
that the Waters of the Sea may diminiſh on
one Coaſt, and be augmented on another ;
that they may appear to diminiſh, whereas
they only change their Place ?. That they may
rven ſubſide in their Surface without a Di-
minution, by linking into the Earth, or fall-
ing
.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c, 105
ing into vaft Caverns? For it is difficult to
believe, that theſe Waters are either diffipated
ör transformed into another Element.
You give me a Pleaſure, reply'd our Phi-
loſopher, in affording me ari Opportunity of
ſatisfying your Doubts, and even of anſwer
ing the ſtrongeſt Objections, which have hi-
therto been made to my Syſtem : But as this
Subject requires ſome Extent, and as I muſt
alſo refute the Opinion of thoſe who are per-
fuaded that ſo many Proofs of the Diminu-
tion of the Sea, and of the Fabrication of all
our Grounds in her Boſom, are the Effects of
Chance, the Sports of Nature, or purely na-
tural Productions, let me defer the Pleaſure
of entertaining you on this Subject, till ano-
ther Day.
THIRD DA Y.
Other Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea, an
Eſtimate of this Diminution, and a Refuta-
tion of ihe contrary Syſten.
NE
EXT Day our Philoſopher came to
my Appartments at his uſual Hour,
accompanied with other Indians, who before
their Departure" from him aſk'd Letters of
Recommendation from me, to ſome of our
Merchants eſtabliſhed at Pondicherry and Su-
iat. I promis'd to grant their Requeſt, and
as ſoon as they retired, Telliamed reſumed his
Converſation in the following Strain.
If
106
TELLIAMED: Or,
the Sea
are not
ed by
Place.
That the If the Diminution of the Sea, was only con-
Waters of fined to her fubfiding a few Cubits, we might
perhaps think, that by Means of ſome Earth-
diminiſh- quake, which might have opened a Road for
her, 'to lower Channels than thoſe in which
Changcof
The formerly wąs, or to ſome deep Cavern in
the Entrạils of the Globe, this Quantity_of
Water, tho' immenſe, with reſpect to its Ex-
tent, might have followed ſuch a. Road. It
would not even be abſurd to ſuppoſe, that an
extraordinary Impulſe may have carried the
Waters. to a certain Shorę, which it may have
drawn from the oppoſite one : But yeſterday,
Sir, I made you obſerve, that the Waters of
the Sea, have not only covered our higheſt
Mountains, but I alſo by numerous and evi-
dent Proofs ſhewed you, that ſhe had reared
them in her Boſom from their Foot to their
Top; and that ſhe conſequently muſt have
furmounted them confiderably.
With Lucretius's Leave, it is not the Earth
which has engendered the Mountains, as he
pretends *, 'tis the Sea which has formed
them in her Bofom, and afterwards brought
them forth by her Diminution. In a Word,
if it was not fo ; if the Waves in every Part
of our Globe had not been, at leaſt, equal to
* In the fifth Book, Lucretius, when explaiping why
the Earth poſſeſſes the Center of the Univerſe, ſays, that
at its Origin, the Rays of the Sun happening to ſtrike up-
on its Surface when laid bare, forced it to condenſe to-
wards its Center, that then the Vallies became low, and
the Mountains rear'd their Tops in conſequence of the
Rocks, whoſe Bulk and Parts could not equally fubſide.
Sedebant campi crefcebant montibus altis
Afcenfus ; nequc epim proterant fubfidere faxa, &c.
2
the
5
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 107
the Tops of our higheſt Mountains, how
could we in the Compofition of the moſt cle-
vated Places find the ſame Subſtances, which
at preſent the produces on her Shore? With--
out ſuppoſing ſuch a preceding Elevation, how
can we account for this ſurpriſing Phænome-
non, that in the Stones of Europe, and eſpe-
cially France, and other Countries at preſent
far füperior to the Sea, there ſhould be Shells,
Plants, and Leaves of Trees, which only
grow in China, Afia, or America, or which
are only conveyed to us from their Seas :
That in the Compoſition of the Stones of
thefe other parts of the World, we find
other Shells, Plants, and Leaves, whoſe
Species are only produced in Europe, or
in her Seas: That in a Word, in all theſe
Parts of the World we obſerve a great many
other Species of Shells and Leaves of Trees
abſolutely unknown, and which probably
grow in "Places as yet undiſcovered? How
could theſe foreign and unknown Shells,
Plants, and Leaves, paſs from one part of the
Globe to another? How could they be inſert-
ed in the Stones of the Mountains in theſe
Places? How could they have been convey.
ed without the Affiſtance of the Sea, and of
her alternate Currents from one of theſe Parts
to another ? Conſequently the Waves muſt
have covered the Places, in the Stones of
which theſe Bodies are found. If in Europe
the Sea covered the Mountain of Chaumont in
the Foreſt, and a part of the Helvetian Hills,
the Alps and Pyrenean Mountains, in the Sub-
ſtance of which we find Plants which only
grow in Afia or America, if ſhe covered cer-
tain Mountains in Armenia and China, in the
Com
1
+
108
TELLI A MED: Or,
Compoſition of which we find ſo many Planta
and Leaves of Trees peculiar to Europe, the
whole Globe certainly,then contained but ſome
few flands, which were but little raiſed above
the Surface of the Sea.
Beſides, in order to convince you farther,
that theſe Fabrications have no other Cauſe
than the Sea, conſider, if you pleaſe, the
other Marks which you find in the Poſition
of theſe Eminencies, the Sea-Aints, ſo called,
becauſe the Sea has formed them; in the
Holes of the Sea-worms, and in the various
Sea-ſhells adhering to the adjacent Rocks.
Then examine the Arrangement of the Plants
or Leaves in the Stones in which they are
found. You cannot doubt but they have been
placed there horizontally to the Globe, and
ſo arranged that they appear to have been ap-
plied with the Hand : You will indeed find
ſome of them bruiſed or divided, no doubt
by the Impetuoſity of the Torrents which car-
ried them from the Mountains ſuperior to the
Sea, or by the Violence of her Wayes; but
you will find none of them folded, which is
an infallible Proof that they were kept in that
Extenſion by the Waters in which they float-
ed when they were at laſt precipitated to the
Bottom. Hence we muſt conclude, that our
Grounds have been formed in this Manner,
and gradually in the Borom of the Sea, of
Mud, Sand, and other Subſtances which the
Waves contain, at all Times, and which they
carry from one Part to another, where they
arrange them ſucceſſively.
Now if the Sea has reared our Mountains
from Foot to Top, as it is impoſſible to doubç
after
A
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 109
after the Obſervations I have made ; if theſe
Compoſitions could not be formed unleſs the
Waters furmounted their higheſt Summit
if the Sea has ſince diminiſhed to its preſent
Surface, as the one ſuppoſes the other; that
prodigious Quantity of Water, which was
certainly greater than that which remains to
be exhauſted cannot have paſſed from one Part
of the Globe to another, fince the Sea is equal
ly diminiſhed in all parts of the World. It
would therefore be unreaſonable to think, that
the Waters are augmented in Heiglic in ſome
few Places which have not yet been diſcover-
ed, while they are diminiſhed in all other
Parts. Beſides, the Surface of the Sea is not
leſs convex than that of the Earth. If thac
State which is peculiar to the Waters round a
ſpherical Body which turns upon its Axis,
ſuffers ſome ſlight Alteration in a Tempeſt,
which raiſes the Billows in one Part, and de-
preſſes them in another by ſome Cubits, this
Tempeſt no ſooner ceaſes, than they return to
their natural Situation. Thus their Elevation
ought to be equal all over the Globe, and
their Situation uniform.
The Waters of the Sea could not be col- That the
Waters
lected in the Center of the Globe, where there
have not
has never any Vacuity been found below the retired to
Surface of the Waters, large enough to con- the Cen-
tain the Quantity which is wanting from the ter of the
Globe,
Summits of the Mountains to their preſent
Level. This is eaſily demonſtrable. If our
Mountains had only been form'd and rear'd
upon an empty Cruſt, which by opening,
might have received the Waters, and occa-
fioned their prodigious Diminution; would
not
jo
TELL I AMED: Or,
not the Waters which we find in the Boſom
of the Earth after we have pierced this Cruſt,
be falt like thoſe of the Sea ? However, the
deeper Wells are, the ſweeter Waters they
: contain. Beſides, this Vacuity when once
filled, would prove no longer an Occaſion of
the Diminution of the Sea, which is daily con-
tinued. It is therefore evident beyond Diſ-
pute, that this Diminution of the Sea is real and
actual, otherwiſe her Surface, inſtead of ſubſiding,
would be raiſed; for the Rivers, Torrents and
Rains, continually carrying a Part of the
Grounds which they waſh, to her, and the
Winds perpetually conveying Duſt into her,
the Bulk of all theſe Subſtances muſt raiſe her
Waters proportionably; but on the con-
trary her Surface is daily and viſibly diminiſh-
ed. This is cvident from the ſenſible Marks
of her Diminution, which ſhe has imprinted
on the ſteep Rocks on which ſhe as yet
beats.
I know, continued our Philofopher, you
firmly believe that the Elements are
tranſmutable. I ſhall not confine myſelf to
the Proofs you have of the contrary among
yourſelves, nor to the Experiment made at
Paris of the Change of Water included in a
thick Glaſs Bottle hermetically ſealed for thirty
Years, into Earth. Neither ſhall I affirm that
the Water of the Sea is changed into Earth,
ſince it is only by her Diminution, that our
Mountains have appeared, and that the viſible
Part of the Globe was uncovered. There
· would be neither Mountains nor Vallies, nor
Sea nor Water, if ſuch a Transformation had
been made. I do not affirm that any Part of
Matter is loft; and in this I
and in this I agree with you
and
not
.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
III
and with Lucretius *. The Waters of the Sea, as
I ſhall afterwards ſhew, ſubfift, notwithſtanding
the Diminution they have ſuffered, and which
they ſtill daily ſuffer.
I do not believe that this Diminution pro- That the
ceeds from the weakening of her Efferveſ- Cauſe of
cence, which was greater before than it is now. the Dimi-
nution of
It would not be impoſſible that this ſhould
the Sea, is
happen in conſequence of a Diminution of not an EF-
the Heat of the Sun, or of the Volcanos in- fervef-
cluded in the Bowels of the Earth, which cence.
might have formerly inflated her Waters to
ſuch a Degree, as to make them cover our
higheſt Mountains. Thus Water heated in a
Veffel, is augmeented or diminiſhed, in pro-
portion to the Degree of Heat which agitates
it; but I am perſuaded that the Diminution
of the Sea proceeds from the Waters taken
from her. I ſhall explain the Cauſes of this
in another Converſation, and hope that in
this you will ſuffer' me' to confine myſelf to
the Proofs of this Diiminution.
The Hiſtories we have left, are ſo recent, Defect of
confuſed, and uncertain, in proportion to their
our Hiſto-
Diſtance of Time 'from us, that it is ſurpriz- ries.
ing we ſhould be ignorant of what has pre-
* It is in the fifteenth Book, where this poet attempts
to prove the unchangeable State of Matter, which is ne-
ver more compact or extended, which is not ſuſceptible
of Augmentation or Diminution ; ſo that the Motion of
the Principles of Things, is always maintained in its Im-
mutability
1
Nec ftipata magis fiuit unquam materiai
Copia, nec porro majoribus intervallis :
Nam hegue adaugeſcit:quidquam neque deferit inde.
ceded
II2
TELLI A MED: Or;
ceded us by ſome thouſands of years. If the
Memory of it ſtill fubfiited, we ſhould in this
Tradition, or in our Books, have inconteſt-
able Proofs of the Diminution of the Sea:
There is no Reaſon to doubt, that there have
been maritime Cities for an incredible Time
paſt, and that Navigation has been in uſe, for
a great Number of Ages. The Ship found
in Sweden a hundred Fathoms deep, in a Place
where Labourers were working a Mine, is a
convincing Proof of this. If we juſtly knew
the Poſition of the Towns built on the Sea,
and that of the moſt ancient Ports, we ſhould
have no Occaſion for other Proofs to deſtroy
the almoſt general Prepoſſeſſion againſt the
Diminution of the Sea ; for there certainly
were before, in Places four or five hundred
or a thouſand Fathoms above her preſent Sur-
face, Habitations and Ports, frequented as ours
are at preſent
I do not pretend that Cities and Ports have
been built on our higheſt Mountains, being
perſuaded that this Globe was neither habita-
ble, nor inhabited till many Ages after the
Appearance of our firſt Grounds; that Navi-
gation itſelf, and the Uſe of that Art in order
to paſs from one Iſand to another, were not
known till long after the Exiſtence of Men ;
and that after a Beginning, which was made
by a Plank, the Progreſs of Navigation
has been ſo flow, that from that Time till the
Building of the Ship found in Sweden, we
nay
reckon an incredible Number of Years,
and perhaps the half of the Age of the Earth.
Nevertheleſs, what in your Hiſtories goes be-
yond three or four thouſand Years, is not only
oba
11
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
IS3
obſcure, but even totally deſtitute of Facts.
I want no other Proofs of this than your
own Bible, the Hiſtory of the Dynaſties of
Egypt, and that of the Chineſe themſelves,
though it goes to Ages far before thoſe which
you admit.
1
Have you ſometimes thrown your Eye on
the Bibliotheca of your Herbelot? It is a Com-
pilation of all that can be read in that of the
Son of Callezanne, and in ſeveral other Arabian
Authors: Of how many Monarchies, Wars,
Deſtructions of Cities and Nations, and ge-
neral Viciſſitudes, do you not ſee the laſt
Traces, of which you do not find the finalleſt
Marks in the European Authors. Theſe vaſt
Provinces of Aſia and Arabia, which have
been the Theatre of theſe Events, only pre-
ſerve Hiſtories of them, which are very im-
perfect, and fo fummary, that they leave more
Facts in Obſcurity than they relate. Theſe
Provinces are reduced to ſo ſmall a Number
of Inhabitants, that they are almoſt Deſarts.
Theſe Inhabitants are already ignorant of the
Names of the Towns, on the prodigious
Ruins of which their ſmall Cottages are built.
Were there ever upon Earth, two Cities more
large, populous, and famous, than Epheſus
and Alexandria ? However, there is not at
preſent a ſingle Cottage, nor a ſingle Inhabi-
tant in the Place where Epheſus formerly ſtood;
hardly do we know the Parc were its Temple,
ſo much celebrated and frequented, was built.
Of the lofty and vaſt Alexandria, which ex-
tended from the Bigueirs to the Tower of the
Arabians, forty Italian Miles, there now re-
mains no more than ſome Pillars ſtanding or
thrown down, and ſome Ciſterns found in the
I
Middle
114
TELLI AMED: Or,
Middle of the Mountains compoſed of their
own Ruins. The preſent Alexandria, which
only contains ſome Refugees from Barbary and
Morca, is not ſo much as ſituated within the
Bounds pofſeffed by ancient Alexandria, ſince
it is built upon the Sand which has filled up
the ancient Harbour of that City.
'Tis not therefore ſurpriſing, that we have
loſt the Memory of the Poſition of the an-
tient maritime Towns; and that we at preſent
find ſome of them bearing their firſt Names
in Places different from thoſe which they for-
merly poſſeſſed. They have had the ſame
Fate with Alexandria ; they have changed
their Places, retaining their firſt Denomina-
tion, and following the Sea, which is removed
from their ancient Situation. If we are igno-
rant where a hundred famousCities were placed
about two thouſand Years ago, in Aſia and in
Africa, is it ſurpriſing that we in vain ſearch
for the Poſition of Cities, which perhaps ex-
iſted fifteen thouſand Years ago ? Muft they
not have been ſubject to the Deſertion of their
Inhabitants, in proportion as by the Retreat
of the Sea they became uſeleſs for the Pur-
poſes of Commerce ?
Do you believe, Sir, that in a ſmall Num-
ber of Years, the People will have more
Certainty of the Poſition of the preſent ma-
ritime Towns, than we now have of theſe
in ſo remote Ages? Do you think that they
will then be better inſtructed wirh reſpect to
the preſent State of our Coaſts, Continents,
Iſlands and Harbours; or that from the Change
happening in the Surface of the Sea, which
muſt be ſucceeded by that of the Land by
which ſhe is bounded, they can judge more
ſurely
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 115
ſurely of her Liminution ? No, Sir, the Fate
of Nations, Cities, Kingdoms, and the State
of the Earth and Sea, which have preceded
our Days, will be that of our Cities, Ge gra-
phical Maps, Obſervations and Hiſtories.
The famous Library of the Fatimian Califs,
of which ſo many thouſand Volumes were
written in Gold, was diſperſed by the igno-
rant Saledin, who did not know the ineſti-
mable Worth of it. Another as famous,
had been formerly burnt at Alexandria,
under the Reign of one of the Poolemies.
Thoſe of the Moſques of Cairo, Damaſcus, and
Babylon , partly enlarged with thoſe of the
Fatimian Califs ; and in which, among many
other Arabian Books, were the moſt beautiful
Works of the Greek and Roman Authors tran-
Nated at the Expence of Calif Aaron, by the
learned Men of his Nation, whom he had
ſent to Conſtantinople for that Purpoſe, have
been allo diſperſed and loft. Thoſe of the
Greek Emperors have not been more lucky.
Yours will one Day have the ſame Deſtiny,
notwithſtanding the favourable Appearance of
their Duration, and the Paſſion to collect ſuch
Numbers of them, with which the Princes and
Grandees of Europe are at preſent animated.
The Deſcriptions they contain of all the
Coaſts which Navigation has made known,
of the Iſlands we have diſcovered, of the
undings and Shelves obſerved in the Sea,
the particular State of the principal Capes and
Harbours of the World ; their Depth and
Extent, the Maps which have been drawn of
them with ſo much Exactneſs, and which
Painting or Sculpture might have rendered
capable in ſome thouſands of Years, to prove
the
1
I 2
116
TELLIA MED: Or,
the Diminution of the Sea, and the Increaſe
of the Inands and Continents; all theſe Things
will not be tranſmitted to a very late Poſte-
rity.
No, 'tis not for want of Hiſtorians,
that we are ignorant of the Actions of the
Heroes, who lived before the Trojan Wars;
it is becauſe the Books compoſed before the
Iliad and the Odyſſey are loft, and with them
the Memory of the Facts they contained ;
that of ſucceeding Heroes ſhall not have a
better Fate, The Names of our Alexanders,
our Cefars and our Pompeys, ſhall about two
thouſand Years hence, be buried in Oblivion,
with the Works which ſpeak of them ; the
Name of Lewis XIV. who has made fo much
Noiſe in the World, thoſe of a Conde, a Tila
renne, a Vendome, and a Villars, the principal
Inſtruments of the Victories he obtained, ſhall
alſo periſh with the Hiſtory of their Maiter.
It will indeed be late, but they will at laſt
periſh ; and the Generation four or five thou-
ſand Years after us, will no longer know thelc
great Men, juſt as we are already ignorant of
thoſe who were the Ornaments of their Age
about as long ago.
'Tis not even preſent Fame and the Force of
the nioſt fplendid Actions, which determine the
Duration of Names, and the Remembrance of
Poſterity ; Chance, and certain Facts of great
Importance to Mankind, have often a greater
Share in this than any other Thing. The
Name of Americus Veſpucius, will probably
live longer than that of Charles V. who em-
ployed him ſo uſefully for Spain, and for all
Europe. I am even perſuaded that the Name
of this Emperor will be long preſerved from
Oblir
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
117
Oblivion, by that of this Florentine, but they will
boch periſh at laſt. The Egyptians, who had
in their Hieroglyphical Characters found an
inalterable Method of Writing, by means of
which they thought to tranſmit the Obſerva-
tions they had made on the State of the Hea-
vens and the Earth to the lateſt Poſterity, have
not, however, been able to preſerve them from
the Shocks of Time, nor tranſmit the Know-
ledge of them to us. The Meaning of their
Hieroglyphics is already loſt, and the Tem-
ples, as well as Pillars on which they were
engraved, demoliſhed and deſtroyed.
To prevent, therefore, with reſpect to the
Subject of the Diminution of the Sea, the
Effects of Oblivion and Obſcurity inſeparable
from a great length of Time, my Grandfather
found nothing more proper than to uſe the
Means, which in a few Years furniſh certain
Proofs of this Diminution. He could ima-
gine nothing more proper for this Deſign,
than to eſtabliſh infallibly,and by durable Mo-
numents, the actual Height of the Waters of
the Sea, and the Epocha of this firſt Obſer-
vation. He with Grief law, that the Marks
ſhe had imprinted in a hundredi different Man-
ners, and for a great many Ages, of her pre-
ceding Elevation, could no longer give Man-
kind a Knowledge of the Proportion of this
Diminution. The little Care that has been
hitherto taken, to fix the Time in which the
Sea has written each of theſe Characters as in-
telligible as ineffaceable, in the natural Books
with which our Mountains have preſented us,
has rendered them uſeleſs to us. He judged,
that the actual Height, and the Time in which
this Height was acknowledged, being once
I 3
eſtabliſhed,
+
İ18
TELLIAM ED: Or,
eſtabliſhed, theſe Facts would not only infal-
libly convince Poſterity of the Diminution of
the Sea which is not dubious, but alſo deter-
mine the preciſe Progreſs of this Diminution,
which is a Circumſtance of great Iinportance
to judge of the paſt and future Ages of the
Globe.
My Grandfather had about 6 or 7000
Crowns a Year, and about 30,000 which he
had laid up. He did not heſitate to employ
the Money for the Purpoſes of travelling, not-
withſtanding the Love he bore to my Father,
who inſtead of being angry at his Conduct, en-
couraged his Expences of this kind. The
Lands which my Grandfather poffefred, were
ſituated in Places where Wages and the Nou-
riſhment of the Labourers coſt but little.
The Quarries of Stone and Marble belong'd
to him, and were near his Houſe. All theſe
Circumſtances facilitated the Means of his ex-
ecuting his Deſign in the following Manner :
He out of his Quarries choſe the four Sorts
of the hardeſt Stone and Marble, of which he
cauſed four octagon Pillars to be erected. He
then cauſed a ſolid Wall twenty Feet thick
and twenty high, to be erected round the
little Iſand or Rock fituated before his Houſe,
which had laid a Foundation for his Obſer-
vations, and after having fortified the side of
the Wall oppoſite to the Sea, with large Rock
Stones heaped on each other, the Interſtices
of which were filled with large Flints, in or-
der the better to defend the Wall from the
Impetuoſity of the Billows, he ordered four
Wells ten Feet deep each to be dug in the
Incloſure, which was about ſix hundred Paces
in Circumference.
He
Diſcourſes or the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 119
He afterwards made in their Bottonis a
ſmall horizontal Canal, which communicated
with the Sea, in order to admit Water to the
Wells every time it was neceſſary. Theſe
Wells were paved and lined with the hardeſt
and beſt cemented Stones. He folidly crect-
ed the Pillars in the Middle of the Weils, and
after having for eighteen Months introduced
at different Times the Waters of the Sea, at
the greateſt Calms, if was eaſy to know the
preſent State of her Surface, which in that
Interval he found nearly at the ſame Height.
Then my Grandfather ordered the Pillars and
the sides of the Wells, to be divided into
Lines and Inches, and took care that upon
both, the Year of this Obſervation relatively to
the Æras of all known Nations ſhould be cut
in deep Letters.
Not content with theſe Precautions, he or-
dered a double Dome to be erected round the
four Walls. The firſt was built of Bricks,
and the outer one of cold Stone, and both
were ten Feet thick. Care had alſo been
taken, ſo to elcvate the Window which was
the only Entry to the firſt Dome, that the
Waves of the Sea could not reach it in their
greateſt Agitation. My Grandfather alſo
made the Cutſides of theſe Domes be for-
tified with large Stones, as he had before
done to the Wall round the Edges of the
Iſland, in order the better to defend them
againſt the Shock of the Waves. In a Word,
the Domes were covered with Plates of Lead
ſeveral Inches in Thickneſs. Beſides the
Vaults compoſed of cold Stone were built in
ſuch a Manner, that they could have reſiſted
the Rain and the Injuries of the Air, for a
great
I 4
720
TELL I AMED: Or,
1
great Number of Ages, tho' the Lead ſhould
have been deſtroyed or conſumed by length of
Time. When his Meaſurings of the Sea were
repeated, which was twice a Year, in the
the Spring and Autumn, he opened the Ca-
nals, which paſſed between the Bottoms of the
Wells and the Sea, and which were covered
with a large Plate of Lead. They were clos'd
up after the Operation, and the Water taken
out of the Wells, that nothing might be left
to make an Impreſſion upon the Marbles,
which were carefully cleaned.
My Grandfather carried his Care and In-
duſtry ſtill farther. He ordered another Well
to be made in the Continent, a ſmall Way
from his own Houſe, and about three hundred
Paces diſtant from the Sea. But he made it
much larger and deeper, and placed in it four
Columns of Stone different from thoſe uſed
for the others. Theſe Columns were alſo divided
into Degrees, and had the actual Height of
the Sea engraved upon them, with the Date of
this Obſervation, in the four Languages em-
ploy'd in marking the firſt Pillars: The Cha-
racters uſed for this Purpoſe, were formed of
Stones of different colours inſerted in the
others, in order to render this Writing in-
effaceable. From the Sea to this Well, they
dug a deep and winding Canal thro' the Rock
which ſeparated them. This Canal ferves to
bring the Water to the Well, at the Times of
Obſervation; except on this Occaſion, it is al-
ways cloſed up at that Extremity which ter-
minates in the Sea.
That theſe Wells might be preſerved, and
thựObſervations carried on without Interrup-
tion,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
121
.
tion, my Grandfather round this laſt Well
built a firm and agreeable Houſe, and affixed
to it Revenues in Land capable of ſupporting
ſix learned Men to watch over it: After
this Favour he impoſed no other Taſk upon
them, than that of ſtudying all their Lives
what paſſed upon the Earth with reſpect to
the Change produced in it by the Diminution
of the Ce:, and thus to augment the Proofs of
this Diminution, ſo great a Number of which
he had collected. With this Deſign two of
them in Company now and then travel into
the various Countries of the Globe, to make
,a Collection of the Opinions or Traditions
which relate to this Study. The Collections
which they make of theſe is to be wrote on
Parchment in four different Languages like
the Inſcriptions of the Wells, and depoſited
every twenty-five Years in ſix Parts of the
Empire, ſo that my Grandfather in that Houſe
depoſited the Charts of the Coaſt contiguous
to his Habitation, which he had prepared with
the greateít Care and Exactneſs.
I do not pretend to know that my Grand-
father found the moſt juſt and certain Me-
thod of determining the Diminution of the
Sea, and its Progreſs, nor that the Walls he
built could not be in a inore favourable Poſi-
tion than where he has placed them. He has
been obliged to conform himſelf to the Ground
with which his Houſe is ſurrounded, and to
the Situation of the Lands which he could ſet
apart for the Support of theſe Wells. I am
even perſuaded that Iſlands are more proper
than Continents for theſe Menſurations, eſpe-
cially ſuch Inands as arc fmalleſt, moſt diſtant
from the main Land, and againſt the shores of
which
1
122
TELLIA MED: Or,
which the Currents and the Waves cannot
ſtop, and raiſe themſelves as they do againſt
extenſive Coaſts.
I know not a Place more proper for this
Purpoſe, than that Lake which I mentioned
to you yeſterday, ſituated on the Coaſt of Pro-
vence, and which joins the Idle of Gien. to the
Continent of Hieres. We might even erect a
graduated Pillar in the Middle of a Baſon, of
hard Stone, ſituated on a Level with the real
Bottom of the Lake, and divided internally
by Inches and Lines. By making the firſt
Operation in a Calm, we ſhould have the pre-
ciſe Meaſure of the real Height of the Waves;
and bringing them afterwards back into this
Baſon, it would be eaſy to know, both how
much the Bottom of the Lake is raiſed by the
Slime brought to it by the Sea, and how much
the Sea hörſelf hias been demoliſhed, ſince the
firft Obſervation.
The Illand of Malta has alſo appeared more
proper to me for ſuch a Menſuration, than any
other in the Mediterranean. Beſides the Ad-
vantage of its Situation, which is pretty far
from Africa and Sicily, there is Reaſon to be-
lieve, that the preſent Government, and that
Species of Republick, will laſt as long as the
Borders of the Lake in which it is included,
and ſhall, as at preſent, be divided among Chri-
ftian and Mahometan Princes. This Inand has
round it two large Rocks to the Eaſt and the
South, and a third to the Weſt, between it
and the Ine of Goſe, which will be of them-
ſelves, flow, but immoveable Teſtimonies of
the Diminution of the Sea. It will be ſuffi-
cient, to evince this, to conſult an exact Chart
of its Coaſts and Parts adjacent, in which the
Shelves
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 123
Shelves and Depths are mark'd with Preci-
ſion. The City of Malta itſelf, its Fortis
fications, and its Batteries on a Level with
the Water, whoſé Diſpoſition juſtly elta-
bliſhes the preſent State of the Sea, and its
Height, may without any other Afift-
ance, teach Poſterity the Diminution of the
Sea, if the Plans of them are exactly pre-
ſerved ; and if in changing a Fortification or
Battery; Care is taken to mark upon new
Plans the Changes which they have made, and
the Reaſons which have induced them to make
them. However, the Wells dug on the Rocks
and little INands, as higli as Malta, or on Mal-
ta itſelf, will greatly advance the Teſtimonies
of this Dininution, without which this Ope-
ration would be pretty expenſive.
What Hape might not a Great-Maſter,
who is generally a Lover of his Reputation
and Memory, conceive, of immortalizing his
Name, by ſucceeding in this Enterprize? I
Speak of that Immortality with which we may
Aatter ourſelves here below, and of a Spacey
which tho' ſhort, yet appears a Kind of Eter-
nity, in the Eyes of human Weakneſs. If
'the Names of Europe and Africa are ſtill laſt-
ing, if that of America will laſt for a great
Number of Ages, as we cannot doubt; why
ſhould not the Name of him be immortal,
who ſhould teach inadvertent Men prejudiced
in Favour of the contrary Opinion, that this
Globe which they inhabit has been formed in
the Boſom of the Sea, and afterwards ſhew,
by the Diminution of the Waters, how long it
is ſince the Earth appeared above them, and
how long it has been inhabited ?
1
After
.
124
TELLI AMED: Or,
After the Example of my Grandfather, ſeve-
ral Governors of Sea-port Towns, and a great
Number of private Perſons who have Habita-
tions on the Sea-ſhore, have eſtabliſhed ſimi-
lar Menſurations. Some have placed in the
Sea, on Rocks inferior to her Surface, Pillars,
on the Top of which they have accurately
marked the actual Height of her Waters.
Others have raiſed Rocks fuperior to her Sur-
face, and equalled them with it, affixing at
the ſame Time Plates of Marble, which ceſti-
fy the Year in which ſuich Works were pro-
duced. Some have on ſteep Rocks, againſt
which ſhe ſtill beats, marked the preſent
Height of her Waters, and above it written
this Obſervation and its Date, after having at
divers Times obſerved the Elevation of her
Waves. Others have dug Wells in Rocks
ſcreened from the Agitation of the Sea, and in
certain Grounds almoſt like thoſe which my
Grandfather made choice of. Experiments
of a hundred different kinds have been made,
and we have Reaſon to hope, that ſome of
theſe Teſtimonies will ſubſiſt long enough, to
triumph over the Incredulity of Men with re-
ſpect to the Diminution of the Sea, and to
teach us the preciſe Degree of this Diminu-
tion.
Old Ex I have ſeen Examples of this kind in ſome
amples of Monuments of Antiquity, with which I hope
thcfe
you will not take it ill if I now entertain you.
Menſura-
tions.
At Cape Carthage, in the Ruins of a Fortreſs
which might have been that of Bothra, built
by the Carthaginians, I have ſeen three Aper-
tures in that part of the Wall which was next
to the Sea, which is at preſent twelve or fif-
teen Feet high, and ſome Fathoms in length,
though
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
325
thaugh its Thickneſs is greatly diminiſhed.
Theſe Apertures about four Feet broad, whofe
Depth could not be meaſured, becauſe their
Bottoms were filled up, but whoſe Height is
ſtill five or ſix Feet, had been made to intro-
duce the Sea into that Fortreſs.
An infallible Proof that theſe Apertures
were deftin'd for this Purpoſe, is that their
Roofs as yet covered with Free-ſtones as well
as their Sides, though the Wall is only built
of ſmall Flints united by a Cement as hard
as Iron, are raiſed higher towards the Sea,
than at the Part where they terminate on the
Side of the Fortreſs. Now if theſe Apertures
had not been made to introduce the Waters of
the Sea, they would at leaſt have been equal ;
but if theſe Apertures had been made to faci-
litate the Diſcharge of the Waters from the
Fortreſs, they would have been built quite dif-
ferently, that is, higher within the Fortreſs,
and lower without it. We muſt believe from
the Form of theſe Roofs or Arches, that ac
the Time when this Fortreſs was built, the
Sea was higher than the higheſt of theſe Aper-
tures ; hier Surface, however, is now fix Feet
inferior to them. She cannot even arrive at
the Foot of theſe Apertures, from which ſhe
is only two or three Fathoms diſtant, except
in a violent Tempeſt, produced by an Eaſter-
ly or a North-Eaſt Wind. Hence I con-
clude, that the Sea was at leaſt five or fix Feet
higher, than ſhe is at preſent, when this For-
treſs was built; which, as we have good Rea-
ſon to believe, was more than two thouſand
Years ago. As far as I could judge, theſe
Apertures were deſtin'd for introducing the
Water of the Sea into a Bafan contained in
the
1
126
TELLIA MED: Or,
the Middle of the Fortreſs.
Some Galleys
could formerly land here in an Entry plac'd
at the Side of the Fortreſs, and now filled up
by its Ruins; this Baſon perhaps alſo ſerved
for building Ships, after which the Water was
let in through theſe Apertures, in order to
bring them out by others larger.
I found at Alexandria, at that Point of the
main Land which leads to the Rock on which
the Pharillon is built, ſeveral ſmall Canals
cụt in the Rock, terminating in the Sea, and
communicating with the Ruins of fome Build-
ings, obſervable on that Point. Theſe Canals
were certainly deſtin'd either to introduce the
Waters of the Sea into theſe Edifices, or to
convey Water from them to the Sea. There
is, however, a great Probability, that they
were rather made to admit the Water of the
*Sea into Baths, the Forms of which are as
yet diſtinguiſhed there, than to ſerve as Dif-
charges for other Waters conveyed to theſe
Baths. I form this Judgment, becauſe they
rather decline from the Sea to the Land, than
from the Land to the Sea, or at leaſt, there
was no Inclination towards the latter. The
loweſt of theſe Canals, which was yet pretty
entire, and which might be two Feet in height
and fifteen or ſixteen Inches broad, was at the
Time I ſaw it, covered with the Sea-water to
the Height of two or three Fingers-breadth;
but the Wind which then agitated the Waves
rais'd them at leaſt the whole Height of the
Water, which that Canal contained, The
fuperior Canals were abſolutely dry,
I ſaw others of the fame Kind at St. John
d'Acre, formerly called the Ptolemaide ; they
were
E
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 127
were dug in that ſmooth and pretty large
Rock, which is before this Fortreſs, and
which being formerly covered with Free-ſtone,
ſerved as a Plat-form and a Mole to its Har-
bour. Theſe Canals were numerous, and al-
moſt as high and broad as thoſe of Alexan-
dria ; ſome of them were like the former,
dry, and others of them filled with the Sea-
water to the Height of two or three Inches.
They were not only horizontal, and without
a Declivity to the Sea, but there were alſo one
or two of them in which thoſe Extremities,
which were next the Sea, were not opened,
but ſhut up by the Stone of the Rock itſelf.
Hence it is obvious, that they were deſtin'd
to receive the Water of the Sea, and to con-
vey it into the City; and that the Sea was
conſequently ſuperior to theſe Canals. In a
Word, without this ſhe could not have en-
tered into thoſe which were cloſed up, or her
Waters muſt have been admitted by a ſupe-
rior Aperture. When I ſaw theſe Canals, the
Wind alſo agitated the Sea, and raiſed her
Waters at leaſt half a Foot.
I confeſs, that from the Obſervation of theſe Eftimati-
Places, it is not poſſible to paſs a certain Judg-
on of this
Diminuti-
ment of the actual Degree of the Diminution
of the Sea. In a Word, we know not pre- Difficulty
ciſelyeither the Time in which theſe Canals have offixing it.
been dug at Alexandria and the Ptolemaide, theſe
Cities having ſucceſſively paſſed under the Go-
vernment of various Nations, or in what Year
the Fortreſs of Carthage was built, in which the
Apertures I have mentioned are found. We
are alſo ignorant what the actual Height of
the Sea was, when the Alexandriaus work'd
at that Fortreſs, and at theſe Canals ; how-
ever,
on.
328
TELL I AMED: Or,
1
ever, if we conſider the Diminution obſerved
in the Wells made by my Grandfather ſeven-
ty-five Years ago, which is at preſent about
two Inches, we may eſtimate that made in a
Century, to be about three Inches, and in a
thouſand Years three Feet. Now according
to this Eſtimation, the Sea having diminiſhed
fix Feet in two thouſand Years, which we
may account from the building the Fortreſs
of Bothra, whoſe Ruins we fee at Cape Car-
thage, ſhe muſt have been ſuperior to the
Apertures obſervd there. Thus alſo the
Sea, leſs than eight hundred Years ago, was
ſuperior to the Canals, which I found in the
Point of Ground joined to the Pharillon of
Alexandria, and upon the Plat-form ſituated
before the City of St. Jean d'Acre.
However, by other Teſtimonies, the Di-
minution of the Sea ſeems to be quicker ; for
not to cite Facts, but what you have an Op-
portunity of examining, as I have already
begun, there is between Genes and the Gulph
of Specia, a Rock called Grimaldi, from the
Name of a noble Genoeſe, who loſt a Veffel
againſt that Shelve, about ninety Years ago.
According to T'radition, that Rock did not
then appear, though at preſent in a Calm it is
near two Feet above the Surface of the Sea.
I have alſo been ſhewn upon the Coaſts of
Languedoc, between Agde and Narbonne ano-
ther Rock pretty much raiſed above the Sea,
though I was told that it only firſt appeared
about ſixty or feventy Years ago. In the Mo-
tion which always agitatès the Waters of the
Sea, even in a Calm, it is difficult to mark
a fixed Point for her Surface, which a pre-
ceding. Wind- might have raiſed; beſides,
that
Diſcourſes dir the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 129
that ſeveral Rocks grow in the Sea by means
of the Sand and Shells which ſhe attaches to
them in certain Places, while ſhe undermines
in others.
Now from the Eſtimation I have made, of
the Diminution of the Sea, that is about a
Foot in three Centuries, and three Feet four
Inches in a thouſand Years; you muſt con-
ceive, Sir, how difficult it is for a Man in
the ordinary Courſe of Life, of fifty or ſixty
Years (for we muſt be twenty before Reaſon
is duely formed) to diſtinguiſh this inſen-
ſible Diminution amidſt the Flux and Reflux
of the Sea, and the perpetual Agitation of
her Waves, cauſed by the Winds and the
Currents, which ſometimes raiſe them in one
Part while they diminiſh them in another.
To theſe Difficulties, add, that thoſe who have
gone before us died ignorant of this Dimi-
nution, for want of having thoroughly ſtudied
the Compoſicion of the Globe, and compared
what paſſes daily on the Shore of the Sea, and
in her Boſom, with what we ſee from her
Coaſts to the Summits of our higheſt Moun-
tains. To theſe Obſtacles, add, that our Rea-
ſon is. ſeduced by the Poſition of certain Ci-
ties of very ancient Names, which we know
to have been ſituated on the Sea-fhore, in very
diſtant Ages, and which we find ſituated there
ſtill.
People are not at the Pains to obſerve,
that theſe are the ancient Names, but not
the ancient Situacions of theſe Cities ; for the
Inhabitants of maritime Places at firſt extend
their Habitations on the Grounds which the
Sea uncovers, as being moſt near to her, and
conſequently moſt favourable for Commerce,
К.
fo
130
TELLIAMED: Or,
ſo that Cities change their Poſition by follow-
ing the Sea, without changing their Denomi-
nation, and without their Change of Place
being perceived.
'Tis not therefore ſurpriſing that the Dimi-
nution of the Sea, and the true Origin of our
Globe, have been hitherto unknown to moſt of
the human Race, notwithſtanding all the Cir-
cumſtances in Nature, which point them out.
However, now, and then, and in all Countries,
there have been Men, whoſe Genius and Ap-
plication to natural Things, have triumph'd
over the Prejudices of Birth and Education.
The Opinion of the preceding Superiority
of the Waters of the Sea, to the Lands at preſent
viſible, and of their long Continuance above
theſe Lands, has been that of ſeveral ancient as
well as modern Philoſophers. Bernard Palili,
a ſimple Potter, who lived under Henry III.
arrived at this piece of Knowledge, by ſearch-
ing into the Mountains in queſt of Minerals,
for the Improvement of his Art, at that
Time very imperfect
. He dared to main-
tain the Truth of his Syſtem in public Con-
ferences held at Paris, where the moſt learn-
ed Perſons of his Time, did him the Honour
to hear him, not diſdaining to pay the Tri-
bute which his Poverty obliged him to exact
of thoſe who attended his Leſſons. He had
poſted up publickly, that he would return
their Money to thoſe who ſhould prove the
Falſhood of any of the Opinions he taught ;
but no Body contradicted the ſenſible Teſti-
monies he had collected of his Opinion, in
ſeveral Petrifactions, which he had in his Ca-
binet, and which he had taken out, of the
Mountains and Quarries of France ; eſpecially
of
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 133
1
of Ardennes, and thoſe on the Banks of the
Meuſe and the Moſelle. His Works have been
printed at Paris, and the Facts which I have
cited, are in them eſtabliſhed.
Telliamed was going to continue; when an
unforeſeen Accident, and ſuch as was pretty
new for the Country in which we were, made
us think of ſomething elſe. It was ſuch a
Rain, as for fixteen Years had not fallen at
Cairo, where it ſometimes does not rain once
in four Years. Though this Rain was none
of the moſt violent, yet it wet us ſo as to
oblige us to quit the Field. We parted un-
der a Promiſe to meet next Day in the fame
Place; and while our Indian ran to the City as
faſt as he could, I who am not by Nature
favoured with the Talent of running well,
being wet to the Skin, fought for the beſt
Shelter I could find againſt this little Deluge.
FOURTH DA Y.
An Examination of the different Syſtems, with
reſpect to the Origin and Nature of the
Sea-Bodies found in the Bofom of our Moulin
tains.
TH
THE Rains are never of long Conti-
nuance in Egypt." In a few Hours a
ferene Sky ſucceeded the Storm, which had
pärted us, and the next Day was one of the
fineſt that could be wiſhed for.
K 2
Telliamed
;
132
TELLIAMED: Or,
Telliamed was faithful to his Appointment,
and reſuming the Converſation : I yeſterday
mentioned to you, ſaid he, one of your mo-
dern Philoſophers, to whom the Syſtem I
now explain to you, was not unknown, and
who dar'd to maintain it in the Capital of
France. When I was at Paris, continued he,
I ſaw an anonymous Work compoſed by a
modern Philoſopher, and entitled New Con-
jestures on the Globe of the Earth. The Author
affirms, that in examining the internal Parts
of the Globe, it is 'not poſſible to doubt but
it is a Compoſition of ſeveral Beds of Slime
arrang'd upon each other, by the Waters of
the Rivers, and conſiſting of the Subſtances
which they contain, at leaſt, to a ſeventeen
hundredth Part, and which theſe Rivers carry
off from the riſing Grounds, in order to
depoſit them on their Banks or in the Bartom
of the Sea, to which they run ; that the
Globe of the Earth was originally formed of
a fiat Cruſt compoſed of theſe Depoſitions ;
that this Cruſt being very thin, ſince the Au-
thor only allows it to be two thouſand three
hundred and fourſcore Fathoms thick, in-
cludes a very ſubtile Air, is ſupported by the
Weight of a double Atmoſphere, which ſur-
joundsit and preſs’d on all Parts both externally
and internally; that this Equilibrium having
ceaſed at the time of the Deluge, this Cruſt was
broken and ſhatter'd ; that its Wrecks float-
ing in the Sea, as the Clouds do in the Air,
or the Shoals of Ice in the Water, were
heaped on each other, and in certain Parts
ſo accumulated, as to form certain Promi-
nences or Elevations; that our Mountains
proceeded from this; that by this Subſtracz
tion
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 133
tion from the Cruſt of the Earth, of the
Pieces by which the Mountains were then
formed, there remained Vacuities in this
Cruſt, perhaps, ſays he, two or three hun-
dred Leagues in Diameter ; that it is by means
of theſe Apertures, that the Seas of both Sur-
faces of this Cruſt, at preſent communicate
with each other; that theſe' Seas enter by the
Poles into the Cavity of the Globe, and that
turning round this Cavity in a ſpiral Line,
they come out between the Tropics ; that
the Entries of theſe Waters from the external
to the internal Surface of the Earth, and their
Departure from the internal to the external
Surface, are the Cauſes of the Flux and Re-
flux of the Sea, which are more ſenſible in one
Part than in another, according to the Pofi-
tion and Largeneſs of the Paſſages, thro'
which theſe Seas enter or come out.
The Author however does not believe that
there is any thing animated, within the Globe,
except the Fiſh that ſwim in the Seas. Be .
fides, he is perſuaded, that there are Rains in
the Sea, and that there are in her ſeveral Ri-
vers, with which the internal Surface of the
Globe is watered; and which, by their over-
flowing, ſpread Slime upon the Ground. He
alſo admits of feveral Volcanos in the Cavity
of the Earth, which maintain a mild and
gentle Heat in it; and believes, that the Rays
of the Sun, paſſing thro' the Waters, tranſ-
mit their favourable Infuence thither. Upon
theſe Principles I ſee no Reaſon why the Au-
thor ſtop'd,' and did not favour this internal
World with the Production of every thing
found in this, even of Animals and Men. In
a Word, admitting his Opinion, it is highly
probable, that there are.
The
134
TELLIA MED; Or,
The Proof he adduces for the Thickneſs of
the Cruſt of the Earth, is drawn from the De-
gree of the Elevation of the Mercury in the
Barometer, in Proportion as it is raiſed above
the Surface of the Sea, or depreſſed below it.
By this Experiment, it is evident, that Mer-
cury thrown into the Sea, in one of the Parts
where it pierces from one side of this Cruſt to
the other, would remain ſuſpended to the
Height of eleven hundred fourſcore and
fifteen Fathoms, which aſcertains the Middle
or the Center of theſe two Surfaces, without
including in this Thickneſs the Elevation of
the Mountains, ſome of which are fifteen
hundred Fathoms high. He alſo gives the
Reaſon why the Seas on the internal and
external Surfaces of the Globe, cannot. a-
bandon the Channels they poſſeſs, in what-
ever Poſition the Globe may be when turning
daily round its Axis. This happens, faid he,
on account of the extreme Rapidity with
which the Earth is carried from the Weſt ta
the Eaſt. Thus the Water in a Glaſs fixed to a
Cord moved circularly with Rapidity, does
not quit the Bottom of the Glaſs, tho' its
Mouth is turned from the Center of the Earth,
or towards the Horizon.
The different Motions of the Earth during
its annual Courſe round the Sun, were parti-
cularly explained in this Treatiſe, with a pe:
culiar Brevity and Accuracy. I am perſuad-
ed, that if the Author, whoſe Erudition and
Diſcoveries deſerve uncommon Eſteem, had
been acquainted with what paſſes in the Boſom
of the Sea, or if he had more attended to the
extraneous and marine Bodies, which our
Grounds contain, he would eaſily have ac,
knowledgedą
+
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
135
knowledged, that they were the Productions of
the Sea, and that, in order to account for
their Origin, there was no Neceſſity to have
Recourſe to a Syſtem ſo unnatural as his.
No one can readily comprehend, how a Refutati-
Globe full of Air ſo large as our Earth, was on of this
formed ; conceive of what Matter this vaſt Sentiment
Bladder was compoſed; nor find out what
Blaſt extended it to its preſent Bulk. We
know that Children form Bubbles, by blow-
ing thro' a Pipe whoſe Extremity is dipt in
ſoapy Water. But if the Globe of the Earth
had at firſt been formed in this Manner, of
an unctuous Matter, by Means of an impe-
tuous Wind blowing within it, how could its
weak Sides have been ſupported againſt the
Rays of the Sun, which puſh'd it with ſuch
Violence as to make it move Millions of
Leagues in an Hour's Time!
But whatever the Origin of this Globe has
been, how was it afterwards fortified by the
Bed of Matter, which the Author acknow-
ledges to be added to its firſt Cruſt, by the
Subſtances which the Rivers carry along with
them? The Rivers could not exiſt, till there
were Grounds proper for collecting the Rains
and conveying them to the Sea. It was not
even poſſible that there ſhould be Rains, if
there were not previouſly Seas, Lakes, or
Marſhes, whence the Waters of the Rains
ſhould be exhaled. The Rivers could not,
on this Occaſion, flow without a Declivity.
Thus before the Origin of Rivers, it muſt have
been neceffary that there ſhould be Water
upon the Earth, to ſupply the Rains. Thac
there muſt have been Elevations whence the
K 4
Waters
1
136
TELLIA MED: Or,
1
Waters ſhould flow to the Sea, and whence
they ſhould borrow the Matter of which our
Globe is formed. Now what were theſe
firſt Grounds in the Globe, before theſe Beds
were compoſed? This is what is not eaſily
comprehended, ſince abſtracting from the Water,
which deprives us of a Knowledge of the in-
ferior Grounds, we diſcover none which is not
formed by the Subſtances carried off by the
Waters, or by Beds of Matter applied over
each other. Hence it is natural to conclude,
that the Subſtances carried off by the Waters,
muſt have had their Beginning in the Borom
of the Waters themſelves, and before the Ex-
iſtence of the Rivers,
Some, however, ſuppoſe with the Author,
that the Cruft of the Globe of the Earth, was
flat, or almoſt fat, till the univerſal Deluge,
when it was broken. How in this Caſe could
the Wrecks of this Cruſt be heaped on each
other in the Sea, into which they fell, and
upon this Cruft form Mountains fifteen
hundred Fathoms high? Tis true, that by
Means of a certain Form which renders the
Exhalations light, they are capable of being
fuſtained for ſome time in the Air, and car-
ried over each other according to their greater
or ſmaller Elevation. It is alſo certain, that
Ice being lighter than Water, floats upon it,
that by this Means the pieces of Ice happen-
ing to ſtrike againſt each other, ſome of them
are thruſt toward the Bottom; whence their
Lightneſs bringing them towards the Surface,
they often remain engaged under others which
they raiſe, while they themſelves are raiſed by
others,
.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. *137
others, ſo that the Elevation of the ſuperior
Shoals
grows in Proportion to the Number
of thoſe collected below chem. 'Tis in this
Manner that the Mountains of Ice are formed.
But can that which happens in the Air and
Water, with reſpect to the Clouds and Ice
which fluctuate in them, happen to the Beds
of Stone which cannot float in the Sea, be en-
gaged over each other in fimilar Motions,
and form Elevations? Our Mountains could
not therefore be raiſed in this Manner, in the
Middle of the Sea, above the Cruſt of the
Earth, as our Author ſuppoſes.
In a Word, let us with him ſuppoſe, that
Mercury thrown into the Sea cannot deſcend
more than eleven hundred fourſcore and fif-
teen Fathoms, which happens to be the Cen-
ter of the Earth's Cruſt; yet upon this
Principle, the Wrecks of the Cruſt of our
Globe, which on its Rupture muſt have fallen
ſide-ways into the Sea, could not have been
ſunk below that Depth, nor puſh towards the
oppoſite Side, other Parts of this Cruſt pro-
per to form Mountains. Thus we cannot
conceive that they could have been formed,
either by the Elevations produced by the Wa-
ters, in which the pieces of which they were
compoſed would have floated, nor by the Im-
merſion into the Waters, of thoſe Pieces which
would have puſhed and raiſed others in the
oppoſite Part. Neither can we conceive how
the pieces of the Cruſt of the Earth, could
have been plunged into the Sea. In Parts
where there was no Earth, the Pieces of Earth
could not poſſibly fall into the Sea; and where
there were Seas, was not this Cruſt defective
by all their Depth ?
We
11
1
138
TELLIAMED: Or,
We cannot even comprehend, that the Wa-
ter of the internal and external Seas, which
according to our Author does not exceed the
ſixth Part of the folid Cruſt of the Globe,
whoſe Diameter is only two thouſand three
hundred and fourſcore Fathoms, ſhould in
the Time of the Deluge be able to riſe upon
the two Surfaces of this Cruſt, higher than
fifteen hundred Fathoms, in order to form
Mountains of that Height. Far from riſing
above their firſt Level, the Waters of the
Sea, muſt have on all parts of this Cruft ſub-
ſided, in order to fill the Cavities which the
Wrecks employed in the Compoſition of the
Mountains muſt have left. The Author, in
vain, ſuppoſes a violent Agitation in the
Waters of the Sea, which has thus raiſed
thein on one Side of the Cruſt, and then on
another, and by this Means produced Moun-
tains fifteen hundred Fathoms high. I believe
he is the only perſon who can think ſo, or
find the leaſt Probability in the Opinion. No
Book, no Tradition, has ever ſpoken of any
thing ſimilar to this. Beſides, we ſee by your
own Writers, to whom the Author appeals,
that there were Mountains before the Deluge,
that theſe Mountains bore Trees, and that the
Ark of Noah reſted on one of theſe Emi.
nences,
It alſo follows from the Proof drawn from
the Mercury, included in a Barometer, that
tho' the Waters of the two Seas join, yet they
cannot paſs from one Part of the Globe ta
another, nor advance beyond that Semidia.
meter of the Cruſt where the Mercury would
ftop. Beſides, if the Globe of the Earth was
con-
1
139
E
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
compoſed of a Cruſt ſo thin as the Author
fuppoſes it, and if it had opened in as many
Places as he imagines, ſhould not we on the
Surface of the Sea obſerve ſome of theſe. Aper-
tures, which ſhould pierce from a Ground on
its external to another on its internal Part;
without their being filled with Water, and
without the View of the whole Thickneſs of
the Globe being intercepted. If there were
none of theſe Apertutes, whoſe Cavity the Wa-
ter had not filled, yet at leaſt ſome of them
might be ſeen, on the Edges of which we
might diſcover the Surface of this Water. We
muſt there obſerve Ebullitions and Gyrations
of Water, which the Author allures us hap- '
pen in theſe Parts, and which he pretends are
the Cauſes of the Flux and Reflux of the Sea.
If it were alſo true, that a Part of the ſu-
perior Seas were plunged at the Poles in the
internal Part of the Earth, and that after hay-
ing run thro' this internal Part in a ſpiral Line,
it ſhould come out between the Tropics, the
dreadful and rapid Currents thus maintained
between one Part of the Globe and another,
would again throw up what had been plung-
ed internally towards the Poles. We ſhould,
at leaſt in the meridional Seas, know Places
which ſhould continually vomit Mountains of
Water, and occaſion ſuch rapid Currents as
would render it impoſſible to approach them.
But there is no Place hicherto in the known Seas
is not acceſlible to Ships. If, however, in
this Partya Portion of the ſuperior Sea was con-
veyed to the Cavity of the Globe, no Ship durft
approach it by ſeveral Leagues, without being
carried
40
TELLIAMED: Or,
carried off and ſwallowed up. Can the Boats
which fail upon your Rivers of Canada, ap-
proach certain Caſcades by half a League,
without being carried off in their Falls?
In a Word, if the Globe of the Earth was
hollow, and compoſed of a Cruſt ſo thin as
the Author ſuppoſes it, we might conclude
that all the other Globes, whether opaque or
luminous, in the Univerſe, were the ſame.
Now if it was ſo, ſince thoſe of the Sun and
Stars are ſet on fire, their Cruft would have
certainly been conſumed, and theſe Globes
deſtroyed. There would alſo be a Poſſibility
of founding every where, tho' we do not find
the Bottom at fifteen hundred Fathoms deep.
Mount Gemini in Switzerland, tho' not the
higheſt in the Country, is near two thouſand
Fathoms high. Our Seas then, and our
Mountains are of a greater Depth and Height
than our Author attributes to them.
Anſwer to But to convince you ſtill more, Sir, that
Some Dif- our Mountains, are not formed in the Manner
ficulties which this Author ſuppoſes, permit me for a
from his Moment to make you conſider their external
Syſtem. Parts, of which the apparent Confufion has
produced the. Error of this Modern. It is
true, there are Grounds where the Beds of
Matter, of which they are compoſed, are con-
ſiderably diſtant from the horizontal Direction
of the Globe; there are even ſome Beds ab-
ſolutely perpendicular : But with reſpect to
theſe, obſerve, I pray you, that ſuch Collecti,
ons of Mud and Sand, as the Currents of the
Sea carry off from the Depoſition of Matters
with which her Waters are more or leſs im-
pregnated, remain long ſoft, before they are
pes
I
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 141
A
petrified. It is therefore natural and ordinary,
that ſome of the Elevations happening to be
undermined by thoſe Currents which formed
them, or by others, ſhould be cloven, and
that the undermined Parts ſhould fall upon
the neighbouring Bottom. Thus the Edges
of Rivers, undermined by the fame Matters
which have formed the different Beds of them,
tumble into their Channels. It is in this Man-
ner that certain Elevations of Sand or Mud,
which were horizontal in the Sea, are become
perpendicular.
But independently of theſe rare Caſes, the
Diſpoſitions of the Bottom of the Sea, are
alone ſufficient to produce an almoſt per-
pendicular Intermixture of theſe Subſtances.
The Waters which run over it, continual-
ly apply to it the Matters which they
contain. Thus a Bruſh dipt in Water
whitened with Lime, and applied to a Wall,
leaves one Layer of the Lime, which a Re-
petition augments, and renders thick enough
to cover the Blackneſs and Deformity of the
Wall. It is from this, that in going from
Septeme to Aix, we fee Beds of Mud of confi-
derable Thickneſs, and almoſt horizontal, ap-
plied to each other for near a League. They
have certainly been formed here by a Current
coming from the North-weſt and from the
Side of the Sea, which has formed them ſuc-
ceſſively after each other in ſeveral thouſand
Years. To explain this Fact, it is not necef-
fary to have Recourſe to the Wrecks of a
bedded Cruft, nor the heaping of its Pieces
upon each other. This Application ſideways,
would be repugnant to this, ſince according
10
142
TELLIAMÈD: Or,
to the Syſtem of the Author, the Wrecks of
the Cruft ought to have been heaped up on
each other.
It is alſo to be obſerved, that in a violent
Tenipeſt, the Waters of the Sea puſhed be-
tween the Rocks, boil, as it were, and run a
hundred different Ways, ſometimes riſing a-
gainſt them, and afterwards falling from their
Summits, into their proper Abyffes. In like
Manner the Waters puſhed by rapid Cur-
rents, aided by a violent Wind, in the Middle
of certain Heaps of Mud which the Waves
have formed, elevate themſelves, ſubſide, and
run back upon themſelves in an hundred ways,
running according to the Diſpoſition of this
Collection, building and deſtroying in their
Agitation, ſometimes in one Direction, and
ſometimes in another : The Effect of this we
at preſent obſerve in theſe high Mountains of
petrified Mud near Olioure, in going from
Toloufe to Marſeilles, and almoſt all along the
Coaſt of Provence. Theſe Mountains were
long ago formed by the Sea, when ſhe cover-
ed them, and when the Currents from the
North-Weſt, feconded by the Wind, were
thruſt thither with Violence from the Main
Ocean ; fò that being pent up among theſe.
Heights and Depreſſionis obſervable there,
they exerciſed their Fury by a hundred Mo-
tions oppoſite to each other. It was thus that
in their Agitation they formed theſe whimſi-
cal Arrangements, where you fo plainly diſ-
cover the work of the Sea, if you give but
the ſmalleſt Attention, that you muſt
neceſſa-
rily grant, that theſe Compoſitions can be
aſcrib'd to no other Cauſe,
We
í
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 143
1
1
We ſhould therefore be in the Wrong, to
be ſurprized at this Confuſion, which is ob-
fervable in the different Beds of our Moun-
tains, and which to the Author I have quot-
ed, has been a Reaſon to doubt, whether they
were originally formed in the Places where
they are now ſituated. On the contrary, this
Confuſion' well conſider'd with reſpect to the
preſent and paſt State of the Sea, is a Proof
of their Fabrication in theſe Places of the
Depoſitions, which the Waters have conveyed
thither, and applied over each other with this
Diverſity at the Times of their Agitations.
Can theſe Beds, wav'd without any Rupture
obfervable in ſo many Mountains, leave us
the leaſt doubt, but they are the natural Work
of the waſhing of the Sea ? Could their Mat-
ter already petrified, as it muſt have been,
according to the Author, on the Cruſt of the
Earth at the Time of the Deluge, have been
thus. moulded and ready to yield to all Di-
rections. We muſt therefore grant, that this
could not happen, except when their Matters
were ſoft, and conſequently in the ſame Po-
ſition where theſe Mountains were at pre-
fent.
This Truth is alſo confirmed by what I
have ſaid of the prodigious Number of ex-
traneous or Sea-bodies which all the Grounds
of the World include, and which could only
be inſerted at the Time of their Compoſition,
and in the Bofom of the Sea ; beſides, the
Subſtances contained in- Rivers; could not be
petrified. but in the Sea, and by a certain Salt
only proper to her Waters. Beſides, if on the
Surface of the Globe, there are ſome Petri-
fications formed of Subſtances which the Ri-
::
vers
1A
.
144
TELLIAMED: Or,
F
vers ſpread on it, it is eaſy to diſtinguiſh them
from thoſe form'd in the Sea. The former
have but little Conſiſtence, and contain no
Sea-bodies.
The general State of the Globe of the
Earth, which the Author had not well confi-
dered, is alſo a certain Proof of their Origin;
for the horizontal or nearly horizontal Beds,
of which moſt of them are compoſed: from
Top to Bottom, extend almoſt always to thoſe
which are contiguous to them, which ought
not to happen, according to the Syſtem of
the Author. The Interruption which the
Valleys, and certain Arms of the Sea, put
between theſe Mountains, fortifies this Teſti-
mony of their Formation in the Parts where
they are. In a Word, notwithſtanding theſe
Interruptions, we may often find in contigu-
ous Mountains the ſame Beds equally thick,
and at equal Heights ? Can this Uniformity
be explained on the Syſtem which this Author
endeavoured to defend? On the contrary, does
it not demonſtrate the Fallhood of it? Thus
the State of the Mountains is ſo far from giv-
ing him Reaſon to think, that they were only
compoſed of Pieces collected and confuſedly
arrang'd over each other in the Deluge, that
the Order obſervable in them, and which the
Sea herſelf, though ſhe ſeparates them in ſome
Places, 'has not been able to interrupt, ought
to have convinced him, that they have been
formed gradually, and in the ſame Poſition,
ſtill obſervable in all their Parts, except a
very few Changes. I ſhall not reſume what I
faid to you concerning the Opinion of an
univerfal Deluge. The Author ought not to
have had Recourſe to a Fact of that Nature,
for
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &e.
145
for an Explication of the actual State of our
Mountains.
Scilla, an Italian Painter of the Royal Aca- Differtati-
demy of Painting eſtabliſhed at Meljina, go- on of Scil-
ing one Day from Regio to Muforira in la on the
Calabria, found in a Place, at which he could fame Sub-
ject.
arrive from the Plain in two Hours, a whole
Mountain of petrified Shells; though lie could
find none in the Neighbourhood. At this Sight
he was ſo ſtruck with Surprize, that he reſolv-
ed to read the ancient and modern Authors,
in order to know what they thought of theſe
Singularities. This Study, and the Knowledge
he had acquir'd by his own Meditations on
the Compoſition of our Mountains, put him
in a Condition afterwards of compoſing a
learned Differtation, in form of a Letter, a-
gainſt the Opinion of Crollius and a Doctor in
his Time, who pretended that the Shells,
wliether broken or entire, found in the Sub-
ſtance of Stones, eſpecially the Teeth of Fiſh,
fo copious in thoſe of Malta, and which are
called Serpents Eyes or Tongues, according
to their round or pointed Figures, were only
the Effects of a Sport of Nature, and fortui-
tous Configurations. In this Diſſertation of
Scilia, Sir, which is entitled, Vain speculation
cured of Prejudices, and which was printed at
Naples with Permiffion, in 1670, you will
find all that the ancient and modern Natura-
liſts have wrote on this Subject. You will
there find the Opinion of the former, who
were perſuaded that Egypt, Africa, and ſome
other Countries at preſent far from the Sea,
were forinerly her Channels; you wili there
alſo read, that a very great Number of mo-
dern Philoſophers are of the fame Sentiment.
L
Scilla
146
TELLI A MED: Or,
in the
That the Scilla makes it his particular Buſineſs to
Sea-bo-
dies found
prove, that the Shells, Bones, and Teeth of
Fiſh, found in all the Petrifications of the
Ground Globe, are true Sea-bodies; that they are the
are notthe Spoils, the Remains or Parts of theſe Bodies
Sports of which were generated in the Sea, and former-
ly lived in it. He proceeds to the Demonſtra-
tion of this Truth in the following Manner :
In the Proofs of any Truth, ſays he, the
moſt certain and leaſt dubious, is that ariſing
from Eye-fight ; for there is a great Diffe-
rence between imagining that the apparent
Figure of a Creſcent, which the Panther bears
upon his left Shoulder, is a Repreſentation
imprinted on it by the new Moon; and that
the Streaks with which the muſical Shell is
figured, are true muſical Notes ; or judging
that Shells inſerted in a Maſs of Stone, which
I know by my Eyes are abſolutely ſimilar to
thoſe of the Sea, are really Shells, which come
from it, and which by ſome Accident, are in-
ſerted and petrified in the Subſtance of theſe
Stones. I have ſeen, continues he, in the
Cabinets of ſeveral Princes and Noblemen,
Stones, in which they pretended to ſhew me
Men, Animals, and Landſkips. But I have
never found one of theſe perfect. I readily
believe, that the Stone in which the Ancients
imagined they found the Portrait of Galba,
that which Carneades aſſerted to contain the
Image of Panifcus, that which was ſaid to
give a juſt Repreſentation of Mount Parnaf-
Jus, and which Pyrrhus wore on his Finger,
bore ſome reſemblance to the Figures which
People imagined they obſerved in them. But
I ſhall never believe thar, without the Affift-
anco
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
147
ance of Art, 'they could perfectly repreſent
either Mount Parnaſſis, or the Heads of Golba
and Panifcus.
This is not the Caſe, continues he, with
Shells, and other Sea-bodies, which I find in
the Subſtance of ſeveral Petrifications. I ſee
theſe preciſely ſuch as thoſe of the Sea are.
I find them ſo ſimilar in Subſtance, Figure,
and every Part, that I cannot doubt but they
are the fame. Of theſe I ſee not one, but ten
thouſand Kinds; and I ſee ten Millions of
each Kind without the leaſt Difference. Now,
continues he, there would be no more Reaſon
to imagine, that theſe Shells, of ſo many Forms,
ſo different, ſo numerous, whole, and broken,
and of fo fingular and natural an Agreement
between their broken Parts, are the Effects of
Chance, and the Sports of Nature; than to
believe the Mountain compoſed of broken Pots
obſervable at the Gates of Rome, a fortuitous
Production of Nature in that Place, without
any of theſe Pieces of broken Pots, having
ever been a Part of a real earthen Pot.
It is far from being true, continues Scilla,
that the great number of Shells and Teeth of
Fiſh, found in the Subſtance of moſt Mount
tains, is as Crollius and his Adherents would
have it, a Reaſon to doubt of their being true
Sea-bodies, or true Parts of theſe. Bodies. On
the contrary, their Multitude and Diverſity
fully atteſt their Origin, ſince they are ſufficient
to prove that theſe Bodies are not the Effects
of Chance ; neither is the Scarceneſs of ſome
Sea-bodies in Seas adjacent to Mountains,
where ſome of ſuch Bodies are petrified, a
Reaſon to doubt of their being true Sea-bodies.
In:a. Word, at the Seaſons when the South-
L 2
east
148
TELLIA MED: Or,
eaſt Winds blow violently into the Mediter-
ranean, its Currents carry towards the Coaſts
of Catania, ſo great a Quantity of Shells, whoſe
Species are unknown in the neighbouring Seas
and Coafts, that whole Buildings might be
erected with them.
Anſwer to
Martin Liſter, an Engliſhınan, in the Preface
Tome Ob- to his Treatiſe on Sea-ſhells and thoſe of Freſh-
jections. water, printed at London 1678, after Scilla's
Differtation, of which he probably knew no-
thing, alſo appears to doubt whether the
Shells, &c. found in great Quantities in the
Stones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, were
true Sea-bodies. His Doubt is founded on
this, that thoſe Mountains contain various
Species unknown on the contiguous Coaſts,
and that the Shells included in the Stones, are
of the fame Colour with the Stones themſelves.
When ſpeaking of the unknown Species, he
ſays, that the Fiſh of them muſt have totally
periſhed in Nature; that they muſt have liv'd
in Seas ſo deep, or have ſo plung'd themſelves
into the Mud, that they are never ſeen in
the Sea
You have been convinced, Sir, by the Ob-
ſervations of my Grandfather, on the preſent
State of the Sea, that there are Shells ſo buried
in the Mud, that the Species of them are un-
known in the neighbouring Coaſt. We find
in the Stones of Europe, twenty-four Kinds
of Shells called Corneamons, of which we
have hardly hitherto found two or three
Species not petrified. But this ſmall Num-
ber is fufficient
ſufficient to prove the Reality
of all the other species, which have
not been diſcovered ; the unknown Species
may
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 149
may have alſo failed and periſhed by the
drying up of the Waters in which they ſub-
Gfted. There are few Seas which have not
particular Shells as well as Fiſh, and theſe
Seas happening to dry up, all the Fiſh they
nouriſh muſt fail with them. Theſe Species
may have alſo been no longer carried from
the Coafts where they ſubſiſt at preſent, to
the Shores whither they were formerly con-
veyed, if between theſe two Places there is a
Barrier formed by the Diminution of the Sea.
If for Example, the Shells conveyed to the
Coaſts of Catania come from the Archipelago,
as we have Reaſon to think, it is certain that
the Iſland of Candia, prolonging itſelf by the
Diminution of the Mediterranean as far as
Caramania on the Eaſt, and to the Morea on
the Weſt, theſe Shells could be no longer con-
veyed to the Shores of Catania, without the Spe-
cies having periſhed. The Cale may be the ſame
with thoſe found in the Mountains of England,
and of which we find none in the Seas with
which that Ifand is ſurrounded. Theſe Shells
may in former Times have been carried thi-
ther by the Currents of the Sea, from the
various Parts of the Globe, which correſpond
to thoſe Coafts, and by the Diminution of the
Sea, ceaſe to be conveyed thither afterwards.
Your Mountains of France contain a thou-
fand evident Teſtimonies of this Interception
of Paſſage from one Part of the Globe to a-
nother ; ſince they include Plants and Shells of
a thouſand Kinds, proper to other Parts of
the Globe, and which neither grow nor are
produced in your Country, as I have obſerved
to you.
With
I 3
750
TELLIAM.ED: Or,
With reſpect to the Colour of the Shells re-
ſembling that of the Stones, Liſter was in tho
Wrong from this Circumſtance to doubt of
their being true Sca-bodies: As theſe Shells
are compoſed of tranſparent Pellicules applied
to each other, it is natural, eſpecially after
the Death of the Fiſh, that they ſhould. im
bibe the Mud, Slime, or Sand in which they
are buried, and aſſume the Colour of theſe.
But they are alſo diſtinguiſhed by their Sur-
face, from the Subſtance of the Stones in
which they are found ; by a vitriolic Matter,
and by a Smoothneſs which renders them
eaſily ſeparable from the Stone. If you ſuf-
fer them to ſoak long in Water, they loſe their
Petrification, and in ſome Meaſure the Co-
lour they had contracted, which evidently
proves that theſe Shells, Bones, and Teeth of
Fiſh, are true Sea-bodies,
Scilla gives us an Account of ſeveral Groupes
Other
of
Proofs of
very remarkable Petrifications. In ſome
Sc.lla, we fee ſeveral of theſe Shells mixed with each
other, and the Teeth of Fiſh interwoven.
Thoſe of the upper Jaw-bone are there di-
ſtinguiſhed from thoſe of the inferior ; and
thoſe of the right are different from thoſe
of the left. Woodward, an Engliſh Author,
has ſince compoſed a Treatiſe to prove, that
moſt of thoſe found in the Stone of the Iſand
of Malta, are the Teeth of a Fiſh called the
Sea-Dog. A ſingular Groupe engraved in the
Differtation of Scilla, is that exhibiting a pe-
trified Jaw-bone, with three of the Teeth ſtill
fixed in it. From this the Author concludes,
that thoſe feparated from their Jaw-bones
could have no other Origin. Some of theſe
Teeth are alſo found in theſe Groupes with their
Roots,
L
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 15 i
Roots, as well as without them. We there'allo
ſee ſome of theſe Teeth with their Enamel,
and others in which no Part is wanting.
If theſe Productions proceeded from the
Stone itſelf, ſays Scilla, the Subſtance and the
Colouring of theſe Teeth would be cqual ;
but the Enamel is harder than the internal
Part, and of a different colour. If they were
formed in the Stone, this Formation would
be either by a gradual Increaſe, or all at once.
But in beginning to grow from a ſmall to a
larger Bulk, the Tooth would meet with an
Obſtacle to its Growth from the Hardneſs of
the Stone. On the contrary, if we admit
that they were there forined originally in all
their Bulk, we run counter to the Rules of
Nature, who produces her Works fuccef-
ſively.
In theſe Groupes we alſo find ſome of the
Teeth conſiderably worn. Now, why ſhould
they be ſo, if they had never been uſed ?
Theſe Figures alſo exhibit various Shells ſhac-
tered, which could not have happened if they
had been formed in the Stone. Others are
broken into ſeveral Pieces, which are diſtin-
guiſhed by the Agreement of one Piece with
another. We there fee Sea Hedge-hogs, with
their Prickles petrified as well as themſelves,
and theſe, when re-united, would form the
perfect Hedge-hog, juſt as the pieces of a
broken China Saucer, when put together and
cernented, compleat the Saucer.
Beſides, the pieces of the Shells bear fen-
fible Marks of their Rupture ; for we evidenc-
ly ſee that they have been broken. On the
contrary, if theſe Wrecks were the Work of
Nacure, the Edges of them would be ſmooth
I 4
2S
156
TELLIAMED: Or,
+
as the reſt of the Shell, and rounded like
thoſe of a Veffel, prepared by a Tradeſman:
Such are the Extremities of a truncated
Body formed in the natural Matrix. Let
Nature produce an Animal without a Foot or
an Arm, and the Extremities at which this
Foot or Arm are wanting, are not in the
ſamc State as if theſe Parts had been cut off
with a Knife, or ſeparated by any other Acci-
dent, ſince they will be covered with Skin, and
ſniooth as the reſt of the Body.
We alſo find in theſe Groupes, Repreſen-
tations of Matrixes of Shells, ſome of which
are in their Infancy, while others are more
advanced. We there ſee Corals and Skins of
Serpents in great Number, One of the moſt
ſingular is that which repreſents the Breaſt of
a Sea-crab, holding in its Claws a Shell-fiſh
already half broken. Is it poſſible, ſays the
Author, that this ſhould be the Effect of pure
Chance, who ſo perfectly imitated whaç daily
pffe si the Sea, between the Crabs and the
Shell-fiſh which are their Prey? In a Word,
among theſe Groupes there is a Shell, in which
the Animal itſelf is petrified ; an evident Proof
that it once lived there,
Scilla afterwards juftly obſerves, that the
Point in Diſpute is not to know, whether
theſe numberleſs Bodies found in Petrifications
are true Sea-bodies, which have exiſted in the
Sea, or Parts of theſe Bodies; that the Mat-
ter is to determine by what Means, or Event,
they are either inſerted in the Stones, or at-
tached to their Surfaces. Some, continues
he, pretend, that this Inſertion was made aç
the Time of the Deluge; others affirm, that
theſe
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 153
theſe Shells or Fiſh being produced in ſome
Salt-water River or Lake, have by ſome In-
undation, or even by ſubterraneous Canals,
been placed where we now find them. To-
wards the End of his Diſſertation the Author
confeſſes, that he had been formerly of this
laſt Sentiment: But fays, that after he had
conſidered the Grounds where theſe Sea-bodies
are found in greateſt Plenty, after having re-
flected on the Extent, the Height, and Thick-
neſs of the Mountains which include them,
the Largeneſs of the Fiſh inſerted in them,
and the Diſpoſitions of theſe Mountains them-
ſelves, he had changed his Opinion'; that,
in a Word, it was impoſible to conceive, that
any Lakes or Rivers ſhould be capable of
furniſhing theſe prodigious Collections of Pe-
trifications in the Places where they are now
found. He confeſſes that he was ignorant
how this Tranſmigration could be brought
about; and only adds, that he could not
doubt, by the Compoſition of ſeveral Moun-
tains, eſpecially thoſe little Hills with which,
the City of Melhina is ſurrounded, and which
are all compoſed of Beds and Layers, but
theſe repeated Beds have been formed at diffe-
rent Times, and are the work of as many
Inundations, in which the Waters of the
Sea have reached above all the Mountains.
The Ways of Petrification, continues he,
are different in Nature ; a certain volatile Salt,
a Salt-water, an Humidity alone long preſerv-
ed in the Subſtance, are fufficient for Petrifica-
tion; but it is requiſite that the Quality of the
Matrix ſhould be proper for this Petrification,
ļx is from this, that. Shells inſerted in the
Sub-
154
TÉLLIA MED: Or,
of Lan-
Subſtance of Mountains, either petrify with
them, or do not petrify at all, or receive a
greater or ſinaller Hardneſs in their Petrifica-
tion, according as the Matter in which they
äre included is capable of receiving the one
or the other. They are not petrified in the
Subſtance of tlie little Hills with which Mef-
fina is ſurrounded, becauſe the Subſtance of
theſe Hills is of a Sand which is not diſpoſed
to Petrification.
Sentiment
Langius, Profeſſor of Philoſophy and Me-
dicine in the City of Lucern, where he was
gius. born, has compoſed a Treatiſe to refute the
Opinion, not only of Srilla, and his Adverſa-
ries Crollius and others, but alſo that which at-
tributes to the Deluge, the Shells found either
inſerted in our Mountains, or affixed to their
Surfaces. With this View he has faithfully
collected, in the firſt Part of this work printed
at Venice in 1708, all the Reaſons which cach
Party advanced. Then in the ſecond he lays
down thoſe on which he pretends to found his
Opinion, which is certainly very ſingular. He
had from Scilla's Reaſonings perceived the
Abſurdity of aſcribing theſe Petrifications to
a Sport of Nature; he at the ſame time faw
the Impoffibility that the Waters of the De-
luge, which laſted ſo ſhort a Time, ſhould
be able to inſert into the internal Parts of the
Mountains, at that time folid, and even raiſed
to their greateſt Height, Shells as heavy as
Lead, and often of fifteen or twenty Pounds
Weight. He conceived at the ſame time,
that he could not deny but theſe extraneous
Bodies included in our Mountains, were either
true Sea-bodies, or Parts of them. What he
there-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
155
therefore imagined to explain, and illuſtrate
this Doctrine, which is the moſt difficult in
the whole Compaſs of natural Hiſtory, is
what follows:
He pretends, that all the Shells found in
our Mountains, whether whole or broken,
have proceeded from the Seed of the fame
Sea-bodies, entire or ſeparated; that by ſub-
terraneous Caverns having been carried by the
Waters of the Sea to the Foot of the moſt
diſtant Mountains, it has been elevated thros
their Stones, often to their very Sumniits, and
rendered fruitful in the Places where theſe
Bodies are, eſpecially at the Tops of Moun-
tains, by the l'ecundity proper to the Snow,
with which they are generally covered s that
theſe Sea-bodies are more or leſs perfect, more
entire or divided, according as the Seed of
which they have been produced, has remain-
mained in it totally or been divided, and accord-
ing as the Diſpoſition of the Stones is proper
or improper to fertilize this Seed ; tha thus,
for Example, the Seed of an Oyſter, or other
Sea-ſhell Fiſh, preſerved entire, and meeting
in the Place where it is rendered fruitful, an
Aliment proper for its Growth, there pro-
duces two Shells; that on the contrary, in
other Parts we only find one Shell, becauſe
the Seed of which it was produced, was only
proper for the Generation of that half. Lar-
gius extends this Diviſion of the Seed to every
Part of the Animal, ſuch as the Head alone,
2 Jaw-bone with or without Teeth, a ſingle
Tooth, the Bone of a Fiſh's Back, to one of its
Sides or Fins; but alſo to Parts of Parts.
Thus, a Shell broken into twenty Pieces, for
Example, the Prickles of a Sea Hedge-hog,
which
1
156.
TELLIAMED: Or,
which are fo plentifully found in all Stones,
have, according to him, proceeded from ſo
many Portions of the Seed proper for each of
thefe Parts.
Does not this Sentiment, Sir, appear admi-
rable to you? It has for a principal Founda-
ţion, ſays he, a Kind of Fleſh found at certain
Seaſons of the Year, without Bones or Ani-
mal. This is what we call Foſſile Fleſh,
which is certainly nothing elſe but a Collec-
tion of the Seed of Inſects, or of Inſects
themſelves, beginning to unfold and diſ-
play themſelves; which can have no relation
to the Production of Sea-bodies, or of their
Parts in the Subſtance of Stones. Beſides,
was it ever known, that there was a Diviſion
of the Seed proper for the Generation of a
Body, to form only a Foot, an Arm, or a
Leg, even in a Matrix proper for that Gene-
ration, and ſtill leſs a Part of theſe Parts, a
Finger, a Bone or any other Thing? Is not
this Sentiment ſo abſurd, that the contrary
ſeems to be already demonſtrated? We have
feen Bodies. born without Arms, Legs, or
even Heads; but did ever any Perſon hear of
Arms or Legs born without a Body. Shells,
whatever they be, are the Skins, the Houſe,
or the Defence of the Animal. It forms it
for itſelf, in Proportion to its Growth, and
enlarges it daily, by a glutinous Matter which
tranſpires from its Body. The Skin of an
Animal grows with it, the Bark with the
Tree, and the Shell with the Kernel. But
we have never ſeen even in natural Matrixes,
che Skin of an Animal produced without the
Animal itſelf, the Bark without the Tree, and
the Kernel or Skin of the Fruic independently
of
.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 157
of the Subſtance, of which they are the Defence
and Covering. This would, however, ſeem a
thouſand Times more natural, than the Gene-
ration, without the Fiſh, of the Surface of cer-
tain Sea-bodies, or of ſome of the Parts of
this Surface in the Subſtance of Stones, which
is abſolutely foreign to them.
However, after a great many Inductions
drawn from certain Facts, which have no re-
lation to his Opinion, Langius concludes his
Treatiſe in theſe Terms. It is evident from
all theſe Facts, that the Production of Sea-
ſhells in our Mountains, is ſo far from being
impoſſible, that it is highly probable; I
hope, on the contrary, you will conclude
with me, that this is not only impoſſible, but
alſo improbable to the laſt Degree: There have
as yet never been, nor never will be found,
as the Ignorant imagine, ſubterraneous Canals
which lead to the Bottoms of the Mountains
the moſt diſtant from her. If there were any
ſuch, we ſhould diſcover the Courſes of them,
which we have not as yet done. But tho'
theſe chimerical Canals ſhould exiſt, is it pro-
bable, that the Seed of Fiſh and Sea Animals
fliould be filtrated thro' the Subſtance of the
Mountains, often to their Summits, or be-
come fruitful after they have arrived thither?
The Diviſion of Seeds, and the Generation
by Parts, which the Author ſuppoſes, is a
Monſter in Nature, and in the Syſtem of Ge-
neration. Beſides, in the Subſtance of the
Stones, there are not only the Limbs and
* Parts of Sea Bodies, but alſo all Sorts of Land
Animals, either whole or in Part, as is proved
by a learned German, in a particular Treatiſe
concerning the ſingular Things found in the
Stoncs
!
158
TELLI A MED:. Or,
1
Stones of his own Country. Now, certainly
the Paſſage of the Seed proper for the Gene-
ration of Land Animals,could not happen from
the Earth which they inhabit, thro' the Sub-
ſtance of the Mountains, and much leſs be-
come fruitful there. The Point in Difpute is
not only concerning the Bodies of Sea and
Land Animals, and their -Parts, which the
Mountains include, as I have obſerved to you,
but alſo concerning all Bodies extraneous to
their Subſtance, ſuch as Ships, Anchors,
Maſts, Stones of a different colour or Qua-
lity, Pieces of Agate, or any other Subſtance,
or Pieces of Gold and Silver Coin. Theſe
Bodies evidently could not have been produced
in theſe Stones by any Seed, and are, no leſs
than the Bodies of Sea and Land Animals,
irrefragable Proofs that our Mountains were
formed in the Boſom of the Sea.
Senti-
The Eaſt alſo produces ſeveral Authors, who
ments of have treated of the Marks which the Sea has
Omar, left of her Abode on different Parts of the
Globe. But among all thoſe, he who has
carried this Branch of Knowledge farthet, is
Omar el Aalem, that is, The learned Omar, who
taught Philoſophy at Samaracande, about nine
hundred Years ago. He maintained, that
there were in every part of the Globe, and in
its Boſom, inconteſtable Proofs, that it had
riſen out of the Sea, by an inſenſible Dimi.
nution of her Waters, which ſtill continued
to be carried on. He founded his Opinion
on this, that its Cruft was, according to him,
kneaded with a Cement compoſed of ſeveral
Shells of Fiſh, and that this Paſte, mixed with
theſe different Subſtances, penetrated ſo deep
into its Maſs, chat in Proportion to the pre-
fent
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
159
ſent Labour of the Sea, the muſt have em-
ployed ſeveral hundreds of Years in the Com-
poſition of this Cruſt, for the Preſervation of
which ſhe every Day labours on her Coaſts.
He conducted his Diſciples thither, from
thence carried them to the Mountains, and
ſhewed them, from a Compariſon of the Si-
milarity of both Places, that they were the
fame Work, with this Difference, that the
one was more ancient than the other.
He ſupported his Sentiment by geographi-
cal Maps, which he had the Happineſs to re-
cover, prepared more than two thouſand
Years before with the greateſt Exactneſs, by
the Care of the Kings of Perſia and the 112-
dies. He ſhewed, by the former State of
the Coaſts of theſe Kingdoms, that moſt of
them had already changed either Meridian or
Longitude, by lengthening themſelves more
or leſs towards the Sea, even to the Extent of
two Degrees, according to the flatter or more
elevated Diſpoſition of the Ground. This
was ſo true, that on the Coaſts where the Sea
on theſe antient Charts was marked as ſhallow,
and where there were Iſands, theſe were al-
ready joined to the Continent; while others,
before not ſeen, appeared at a conſiderable
Diſtance in the Sea. On the contrary, there
was no lengthening of the Ground on theſe
Coaſts, at the foot of which it was obſery-
able in theſe Maps, that the Sea had been
deeper, the Diminution of her Waters in theſe.
Places, or the Elevation of her Bottom, not
having been conſiderable enough to become
ſenſible.
Omar to thefe Maps, join'd geographical
Treatiſes of the fame Time, in which were
marked
166
TELLIAMED: Or,
."
an.
marked the Names of the principal Sea Towns,
Promontories and Inands, their Extent and
Figure, the Depth of the Sea on their diffe-
rent Coaſts where they could be founded, and
their Diſtance from the Line and firſt Meridi-
Theſe Treatiſes ferved to confirm the
Accuracy of the ancient Maps which I have
mentioned. At the ſame Time Omar, by this
Means, proved the Change which had hap-
pened in the Figure of theſe Coaſts, as well
by the Diminution of the Sea, (which that Au-
thor, from various Obſervations, calculated
to be about three Inches in a Century) as by
the Sand, Slime, or other Subſtances, which
ſhe every Day threw towards her Shore, and
which in Places flat and proper to receive
thefe Subſtances, made the Diminution appear
more conſiderable and quick than it really
was.
But, continued Telliamed, beſides the many
Laſt Proof
of the Di. Proofs I have already given you of the Dimi-
minution nution of the Sea, the brackish or Salt-water
of the
found in the Sandy Plains of Africa or Egypt,
Sea.
and in a great many other Countries, when
we dig Wells in them, is a new Proof of this
Truth. Are they not the Effect of the Salt
which the Sea has mixed with theſe Sands when
ſhe threw them into theſe Places? Why are
the Waters of theſe Wells, and all others dug
in Places where it rarely or never rains, more
ſalt than other Wells ? Are not the Salt-
Wells found in ſeveral Countries far from the
Sea, the Mines and Quarries of Salt diſcover-
ed in certain Places, whoſe Hardneſs, or the
Ground which covers them, have not permitted
the Rain to penetrate and melt, and the Salt
Lakes of hot Countries where the Rains are
very
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 161
li
very rare, evident Proofs that the Waters of
the Sea have formed, and for a long time
covered the Cruſt of the Globe ? Why
is Salt ſo ſcarce in Ethiopia, and all the Coun-
tries under the two Tropics, if not from this,
that it there rains four Months in the Year,
and that the continual Fall of theſe freſh Wa-
ters has waſhed away and diſſolved the Salt of
the Grounds which they penetrate? But with
whatever Rain Countries are waſhed, and of
whatever Nature their Subſtance is, whether
Rocks, Sand, Earth, or Stone, the Salt
which the Sea has mixed with their Compoſi-
tions, is always preſerved more or leſs. In
a Word, if we calcine Stones or Sand; if
we paſs Metals, Earth, Wood, Plants, ani-
mate or inanimate Bodies, whatever the Earth
includes or produces, and in ſhort, freſh
Water, thro' an Alembic, we find Salt in each
of them, and diſcover the Veſtiges of the
Sea, to which all things owe their origin.
In a Word, Sir, independently of ſo many
Proofs, theSurfaces of certain Mountains are the
ſtrongeſt and moſt ſenſible Teſtimonies of the
Hand employed in forming them. Theſe Tef-
timonjes, eſpecially in elevated Places, ſo per-
fectly repreſent the Effect which a Torrent
or rapid River produces on the Ground in-
undated by it, that it is impoſſible not
to diſcover in thoſe Mountains the ſame Con-
figuration which the Waters of the Sea have
imprinted on the Subſtances which the con-
veys thither. We muſt neceſſarily obſerve
theſe equal Arrangements, the Juſtneſs of
which no Art is capable of imitating, nor of
following the Windings which the Sea has
M
fuc-
162
TELLI AMED: Or,
ſucceſſively formed on the Inequality of
Grounds.
This is obſervable in going from Marſeilles
to Aix, ahout three quarters of a League from
Septeme, where, on the Summit of a Moun-
tain, ſituated on the left; the Mud conveyed
from the North-weſt Coaſt, or from Mar.
tigues, has in ſtopping formed the juſt Ar-
rangement of Beds which terminate that Emi-
nence. At Tripoli in Syria we ſee a ſimilar
Arrangement, on the left, in looking towards
Mount Libanus, from a Ship anchored in that
Road. Theſe diſtinguiſhed Beds are arrang-
ed with ſo much Juſtneſs, upon the various
Windings of the Ground, that they are no
thicker in one place than another, which is an
evident Proof that they have been produced
by the Depoſitions of different Subſtances
which the Sea has made in theſe Places. It
is viſible that theſe Subſtances have been
brought from Tripoli, by Currents running
from the South, or from Damaſcus. From
the ſame Coaſts thoſe Subſtances have been
carried, which form the Beds obſervable in the
Mountains of Cape Bon, and in all the reſt,
which on the African Coaſt border upon the
Mediterranean Sea. On the contrary, the
Beds of the oppoſite Mountains, ſuch as
thoſe of Genes, the Appenine, thoſe of Morea,
and Caramania, have been formed of a Matter
carried from the Currents flowing from the
North-eaſt. The long Rock on the right,
near Melun, coming from Fountainbleau to
Paris, has alſo been compofed of Beds, ſome
tender and others hard, of the various Subſtances
which the Waters of the Sea, coming from
the
Diſcourſes otathe Diminution of the Sca, &c. 163
A.
!
the Coaſts of Bife carry along with them.
croſs Current which runs in the Direction of
the River Seine, and which has dug its Chan-
nel, does not permit them to carry the Sub-
ſtances they bring along with them farther.
It is in this Manner, that the Mountains
which border on the Mediterraneant, and nuinber-
leſs others compoſed like them of the Master of
certain Currents have been terminated by others
which bore upon them and oppoſed their Pro-
longation. You cannot walk on the Bulwarks
of Paris, near the Port of St. Antony, without
obſerving the ſame Work in the Mountains
adjacent to Montfacon, not conſider the Buc-
treſs of that Place, without diſcovering this
Arrangement of Beds, and different Subſtances;
the Places wlience they have been brought, and
the Direction of the Currents which have ter
minated them. The Flux and Reflux of the Seal
by which theſe Currents were alliſted, paſſed
then on the Ground where Paris is ſituated;
entering there with Rapidity from the Direction
of the Seine, and extending over the Plains of
St. Germain, and St. Denis, left on the right the
Mountain of Montfacon, andon the left that
of St. Genevieve, which it waſh'd away, whilo
at the Mouth of the Gulph it formed the ſma l
Mountain of Montmartre. Thus nor only iku
Aſpect of all ſteep Mountains acquaints us
with the Manner of their Compoſition by Beds,
but alſo the Termination of theſe Mountains.
teaches us the place whence the Matter which
compoſes them has come. The leaſt Inſpec"
tion then into the Fabrication of our Mours:
tains, affords us evident Teſtimonies of their
Origin.
M 2
The
1
164
TELLIA MED: Or,
1
Recapitu The Conformation of the dry Part of the
lation of Globe, and of that Part which the Sea ſtill
the Proofs
of this
conceals from us, together with the external
Syſtem. and internal Parts of our Mountains, are irrc-
fragable Proofs of the Truth of my Syſtem.
The Poſition and Aſpect of theſe Mountains,
the Subſtances of which they are compoſed, the
Stones of all kinds, the Marbles whether uni-
form or variegated in Colour, which are on-
ly Congelations, the Beds of Flint included
between two others of Sand, the Reſemblances
of theſe Subſtances to thoſe which the Sea
daily, employs in her Bottom and on her
Shores, the Beds which they compoſe, and
their Arrangement; the terreſtrial and extra-
neous Bodies, Wood, Iron, Plants, Bones of
Men and other Animals, Stones of a different
Subſtance inſerted in our Mountains; the
numberleſs Shells known and unknown, ad-
hering to their Surfaces, and contained in
their internal Parts; the whole Beds of them
which we find in ſome parts of the Earth, fo
many other Sea-bodies found in their Boſom,
ſo many Shells, Plants and Leaves proper to
certain Regions, diſcovered in the Grounds of
other Countries ſituated in diſtant Parts of the
Globe, the always horizontal Manner in which
ſuch Bodies are arranged in the Grounds, the
old Inands united to the Continent, and the
new ones which have appeared, the Harbours
filled up, while others are produced, the
Towns forſaken by the Sea, the new Grounds
with which our Continents are viſibly aug.
mented, the falt Lakes and Wells, the brackiſh
Waters, the Quarries of pure Salt in Places
far diſtant from the Sea, a thouſand Effects
proper
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 165
tem.
proper to her found in Countries far diſtant
from her, the Aſpect of the Ground near
her, ſo like to that with which ſhe preſents
us, that it is almoſt impoſſible to diſtinguiſh
them“; in a Word, every thing in Nature
informs us, that our Grounds are the Work
of the Sea, and that they have only appeared
by che Diminution of her Waters.
This, Sir, continued Telliamed, is no leſs Uſe of
certain, than the Proportion and Degree of this Syſ-
this Diminution. There has been a Time
when the firſt Mountains of the Globe have
begun to be covered with Trees and Graſs,
another when Animals appeared upon them,
and another when they began to be inhabited
by Men. If theſe Periods cannot juſtly be
determined, we may, at leaſt, gueſs pretty
nearly at them, by laying it down as a Foun-
dation, that ſince the Appearance of the firſt
Grounds, the Diminution of the Sea has al-
ways preſerved a Degree of Equality propor-
tioned to the Extent of their Surface; ſo that
being leſſened from Age to Age, and becom-
ing daily more impregnated with a large Nuin-
ber of extraneous Bodies, her Diminution is
accelerated proportionally every Day.
Theſe Principles being granted, our Buſi-
neſs is to find out the Degree of the actual Di-
minution of the Sea, and of the Augmenta-
tion of the Earth, which may be eſtabliſhed
by the Menſuration of the Sea, for two or
three hundred Years at moſt. After this it
will be eaſy to know the Number of Ages
ſince the firſt of our Mountains appeared above
the Sea, by taking the Elevation of the highest
Mountain, above the actual Surface of the Sea
at this Time. This Elevation being known, we
M3
can
165
TELL I AMED:
can by the prefent Progreſs of the Dimi-
tion of the Sea, during an Age, deter-
mine that of preceding Aces; confequent-
ly we can aſcertain the Time ſhe has em-
ployed in this Diminution, ſince the Appear-
ance of the higheſt Mountains, conſidering at
the fame Time, that their Summits have loſt
ſome of their primitive Height; and certain-
ly this Lofs muſt be very conſiderable, ſince
for ſo many Ages thefe Summits have been
expoſed to the Attacks of Winds, Rains,
Snows, Heat and Cold, which muſt have
mouldered them away and made them lower.
We may alſo from a Knowledge of the
Progreſs of the Diminution of the Sea, from
one Age to another, nearly judge of the
Time ſince this Globe was inhabited by Men.
It will be ſufficient for this, to examine the
higheſt Parts of the Mountains, in the Pe-
trification of which we find earthen Ware,
which is the work of Man. Then by mea-
furing the Elevation of theſe Places above
the preſent Surface of the Sea, we can know
the time when theſe Waters were employed
in this Petrification, which will be a Proof
that Mankind then exiſted upon the Earth.
For Example, if we found Pieces of Brick or
carthen Ware in Quarries twelve hundred
Feet above the Sea, ſuppoſing the common
Degree of her Diminution to be three Inches
in a Century, we ſhall find that the Earth has
been inhabited by Men, near five thouſand
Years, and perhaps more. I ſay more, con-
tinued our Philoſopher, becauſe it is certain,
that Men did not from their Origin invent the
Art of making carthen Ware for their Com-
modity, and becauſe we cannot be ſure that
the
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 167
the higheſt Part, where this earthen Ware is,
is the moſt elevated of any others which may
contain it. But we muſt at leaſt know thie
Time ſince this Petrification was formed;
and it will be evident that Mankind exift-
ed then.
We ſhall go farther, Sir, and conſider the
uſeful Object of this Study, adding to this
Knowledge, that of the preſent Extent and
Depth of the Sea, which is not impoſſible to
be found ; the Surface of the Globe being at
preſent nearly all known, we may judge of
the Progreſs of the future Diminution of the
Sea, relatively to the Waters which remain in
it, and the Depth which their Surface con-
ceals from us. Now from this Progreſs it
will be eaſy to conclude, how many Ages will
be neceſſary to the draining the preſent Seas,
and nearly to determine when the Earth will
ceaſe to be habitable, Man and other Animals
periſhing with the Things which Moiſture and
the Heat of the Sun produced, and which
ſerved as Nouriſhment for them,
We ſhall arrive at this Knowledge of what is
paſt, and what is to come, by ſuppoſing that
the State of the Heaven, with reſpect to the
Globe of the Earth, has been always the ſame
ſince the Summits of our Mountains began to
riſe above the Sea, and that this State will not
be changed till the entire Diffolution of
Things. But what, Sir, will ſurprize you,
is, that notwithſtanding the generally received
Opinion, that the State of the World, ſuch
as it now appears, has always been the ſame,
and will be ſo till its total Annihilation, this
Syſtem is not ſo certain, but that the oppoſite
Sentiment
M 4
168
TELLIAMED: Or,
/
Sentiment is ſupported by well-founded Facts
and Traditions. This is what I ſhall enter-
tain you with next Time I ſee you ? and in
order to prepare you the more eaſily to com-
prehend what I ſhall ſay on this Subject, I
beg you would once more read the Evenings
of the Plurality of Worlds, which I ſee among
your Books. The ingenious Author has there
lo ſenſibly eſtabliſhed the State of the other
opaque Globes of our Syſtem, which are in
nothing different from that which we inhabit,
that you will not be obliged to hear from my
Mouth with leſs Pleaſure than you will have
in reading that agreeable Work, Things ſo
ſingular, that they are above our Views and
Imaginations.
FIFTH
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 169
FIFTH DA Y.
Cauſes of the Diminution of the Sea, and Corr-
ſequences of this Syſtem, with reſpect to the
paſt, preſent, and future State of the Univerſe.
I
Did not ſee Telliamed for two Days, be-
cauſe he was preparing for his Departure.
I was ſo enamoured with his Syſtem, that I
waited with Impatience till he ſhould com-
municate to me the fingular Things he had
promiſed to explain. My reading the Plura-
lity of Worlds had ſtrongly excited my Deſire
of hearing our Philoſopher reaſon on that Sub-
ject. I before knew the Turn of his Thought,
and expected ſomething very ſurpriſing from
him. I was not diſappointed ; for in two
Days he returned to me, and made ſome Ex-
cuſes for his Abſence. But I interrupted him,
becauſe I was unwilling to loſe in Compli-
ments, a Portion of Time which I thought
might be employed to better Purpoſe. I
teſtified my joy in ſeeing him again, and
beg'd of him to proceed : He granted my Re-
queſt, and ſpoke in the following Strain.
The Diminution of the Sea from the Sum-
mits of our higheſt Mountains, to her preſent
Surface, ſuppoſes, Sir, as you very well
know, a preceding State of this Globe, in
which it was totally covered with Water. It
is our preſent Buſineſs to enquire into the
Reaſon of theſe different States, or how it
came about, that the Sea ſhould ſurmount all
the
1070
TELLIAMED: Or,
!
Matter
the Matter of which our Grounds are compar-
ed, and what is become of her Waters.
Gadrois, one of your Authors, in 1675,
printed a Treatiſe, in which, according to
the new Opinion of one of our greateſt Philo-
ſophers, he pretended to account for the For-
mation of all the opaque and luminous Bo-
dies which compoſe this Univerſe. He ſup-
pofed then, according to your Principles, a
Creation in Time, of Matter and Motion, by
Means of which, and the different Figures of
this created Matter, there was, ſaid he, a Se-
paration made, of which the Arrangement
we fee, the Planets, the Stars, the Sun, the
Light, and theſe regular Motions which we
behold, are the Effects.
Whether It would be eaſy for me to prove, that this
Syſtem of the Beginning of Matter and Mo-
and Mo- tion in Time, is repugnant to Reaſon, and
eternal.
cannot be ſupported by your own Philofo-
phers. I could from the Authorities of Gro-
tius and Vatablius, two of your moſt celebrat-
ed Interpreters of Scripture, ſhew, that theſe
Words, In the Beginning God created the Hea-
ven and the Earth, are a very improper Ver-
fion of the Hebrew'; that the Words uſed in that
Language ſignify only made or formed the Hea-
vens and the Earth, and that the juſt Tranſla-
tion of the Hebrew Phraſe is, When God made
the Heaven and the Earth, Mattor was with-
out Form; that, in a Word, the Septuagint has
rendered the Hebrew. Word Barach by a Greek
one, which fignifies no more than inade or
formed; that according to the Remark of the
learned Burnet in his Theory of the Earth,
the Word Create is a new Term, invented a
few.
tion are
+
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
171
where
few Ages ago, to expreſs a new Idea, and
has no Word correſponding to it either in the
Hebrew, Greek, or Latin ; and that thus your
Bible ſuppoſes the Pre-exiſtence of Matter,
which God put in Motion from all Eternity,
and of which he form'd the Heavens and the
Earth.
But if I conſulted Reaſon, which is the
only Guide of a Philoſopher, I ſhould tell
you, that I cannot comprehend how Mat-
ter and Motion had a Beginning, and muſt
conſequently believe them to be eternal ; that
I have known able Philoſophers among you,
who pretended to adduce invincible Proofs
that Matter could not be annihilated ; and
that if this is granted, we may thence con-
clude, that it has exiſted in every Period of
Time, and is not leſs eternal, a parte ante,
than a parte poſt, the one being a natural Con-
ſequence of the other.
In a Word, to uſe the Thought of one of
your Authors *, can they who know Nature,
and have a reaſonable Idea of God, compre-
hend that Matter, and Things created, ſhould
be only fix thouſand Years old ; that God
had deferr'd the Production of his Works
during the preceding Part of Eternity, and
that he only lately exerted his creative Power?
Did he ſo, becauſe he could not, or becauſe
he would not exert it? If he could not do it
at one Time, he could not do it at another ;
ſo that it muſt have been becauſe he did
not chuſe it. But as there is no Succeſſion in
God, if we admit that he once willed a Thing,
he muſt have willed it from Eternity.
You'll
* Perfian Letters. Let. 109.
pothee
1
172
TELLI AMED: Or,
You'll perhaps object to me, continued
Tell aned, theſe trivial Difficulties ſo often re-
futed, and always advanced with ſo little Suc-
ceſs: If the World was eternal, why, during
this Eternity, ſhould not the Mountains be-
come flat ? Why ſhould not Arts and Sciences
have been ſooner invented ? Would Printing,
the Mariner's Compaſs, and Gun-powder, ſo ,
beautiful and uſeful Inventions, have remain-
ed unknown to Mankind for an infinite Num-
ber of Ages? Theſe Objections, however ſpeci-
ous to ſuperficial and prepoſſeſs’d Minds, which
only touch on the Surface of Things, vanish
like Smoke, before the clear and reſplendent
Light of Reaſon. I ſhall not mention the
Changes which, ſuppoſing the Eternity of
the World, muſt have happened to the Globe
of the Earth. It has ſuffered very remark-
able ones, even within theſe four thouſand
Years, according to the Accounts of all Hif-
torians. Very confiderable Changes have hap-
pened to the reſt of the Univerſe, and I ſhall
by and by ſhew, that the Globe we inhabit,
as well as all the others in the vaſt Extent of
Matter, is really ſubject to ſuch Viciſſitudes
that ſuppoſing it to be eternal, it muſt at pre-
ſent appear to us in no other State than that
in which we now ſee it.
To the Objection drawn from Arts and
Sciences, independently of my Syſtem, which
removes the greateſt Force of the Difficulty,
we anſwer, that the human Mind invents but
by little and little, and ſo ſlowly, that in order
to produce the ſmalleſt Novelty, it requires
ſeveral
j
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 173
ſeveral Ages *; that we have loſt an infinite
Number of curious Secrets, of which Hiſto-
ry has only preſerved the Remembrance to us;
and that the Diſcoveries of whatever Kind
made two Centuries ago, will certainly one
Day be buried in Oblivion ; the Ancients have
perhaps had a greater Number which have not
come to our Knowledge; that the Invention
of Arts and Sciences, is not ſo recent as is
pretended, as may be ſhewn by tracing back
to the moſt diftant Ages; that the Romans
who, modeſtly ſpeaking, were not inferior to
us in uſeful and agreeable Arts, owed almoſt
all their knowledge to the Greeks ; that the
Greeks borrowed from the Egyptians all that
Skill which has rendered them fo famous;
that numberleſs Ages ago, theſe laſt had ac-
quired Perfection in all the Arts and Sciences;
ſince according to your own Hiſtorians, they
were remarkable for their Improvement, when
the Jewiſh Nation was but in its Infancy ;
that the Chaldeans did not yield to them in
this Reſpect ; and that the Chineſe diſpute their
Title with both.
We may add, that of theſe modern Inven-
tions ſo much extoll's, ſuch as Teleſcopes, the
Mariner's Compaſs, Gun-powder, and Print-
ing, the two laſt, eſpecially, are not new,
but to ſome People; that they are, on the
contrary,
* With what prodigous Slowneſs do Men arrive
at any
thing reaſonable, how ſimple ſoever in itſelf ? To pre-
ſerve the Memory of Facts, ſuch as they have happen'd,
is, one would think no hard Taſk ; however, ſeverat
Ages muſt paſs before we are capable of doing it ; and
even then the Facts we remember will appear to be but
Viſions or Dreams. Fontenelle dell Origin de Fables.
+
174
TELLIAMED: Or,
1
contrary, very old in China, which renders it
very probable that they have alſo been known
to other Nations; and that if they are loft
there, it is, perhaps, becauſe they have been
there neglected and deſpiſed, as the Turks have
for a long Time neglected and deſpiſed Print-
ing; that what we read of the Voyages and
maritime Commerce of the Phenicians, Cartha-
ginians, and ſome other Nations, leaves it dubi-
ous, whether they had not the Means of ſupply-
ing the Mariner's Compaſsby ſome other Secret
unknown to us; that after all, theſe new Diſco-
veries have much more Splendourthan Solidity,
and thatperhaps, they are not at preſent new, but
becauſe they are uſeleſs *; that in a Word we
do not now live longer, nor are more ſound
and robuſt, on Account of our Improve-
ment in Anatomy ; that by the Diſcovery of
ſome Stars, Aſtronomy is not more perfect; that
for want of knowing what we call new Inventi-
ons, the Romans and Greeks, the Egyptians and
Cbaldzans, were neither leſs great and powerful,
leſs rich, knowing and learned'; that ſince,
for ſo many Ages, Men have lived in the Ig-
norance of theſe Diſcoverics, it is not im-
poſſible but they may ſtill be older, and that
the World having been without them for fix
or ſeven thouſand Years, may be as well
without them for fixty or ſeventy thouſand..
But, continued Telliamed, not to enter upon
a Queſtion, which you look upon to be ne-
ceſſarily
* There is a certain Degree of uſeful Branches of
Knowledge, which Mankind acquir'd very errly, to which
they have not added very much, and which they will not
exceed a great deal: As for other Things which are not ſo
neceſſary, they are diſcovered gradually, and in a long
Series of Years. Dial, des Morts d'Erajiſtrat & Herv.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
175
ceſſarily connected with your Religion, tho' in
my own Opinion, the former is quite in dif-
ferent to the latter, let us be here content not
to fix a Beginning to that which perhaps ne-
ver had one. Let us not meaſure the paſt
Duration of the World, by that of our own
Years. Let us carefully conſider what pre-
ſents itſelf to our View in this Univerſe, this
Immenſity of the Firmanent, where we ſee
ſo many other Stars like our own ſparkling,
and which without doubt, only appear ſo
little on account of their Diſtance. Let us
imagine to ourſelves what is rendered highly
probable ſince the Invention of Teleſcopes, that
if we were placed at the higheſt Point of this
Diſtance from our Earth, which we can reach
with them, we ſhould perhaps diſcover as many
Worlds above us, which would be no leſs diſtant
from our View. Let us enquire after the manner
in which this univerſal Syſtem perpetuates itſelf
nearly in the Order in which we have found it.
A Knowledge of this will teach us how it has
been form'd, better than all our Conjectures. Syſtem of
Our Eyes, Reaſon, Experience, and the the gene-
Diſcoveries made in the Heavens, ſince the ral Mo-
tion of the
Invention of Teleſcopes, have taught us that
Globe.
the Sun, by his Heat and the Motion peculiar
to him, makes our Earth, and the other
Planets within the Sphere of his Fire, or with-
in his Vortex, as your Philoſophers expreſs it,
turn round him. We alſo know, that car-
rying them round him in this Vortex of
Matter which ſurrounds them, and in a ſhort-
er or longer Time, according to their greater
Proximity to, or Diſtance frorn his Diſk, he
alſo makes them turn round themſelves, ſome
more quickly, and others more ſlowly accord-
ing
2
176 TELLIAMED: Or,
ons and
ing to their peculiar Diſpoſitions. We muſt
however except the Satellites of Jupiter, and
thoſe of Saturn, which indeed turn round
the Sun, but are in their Circuit carried along
by their proper Planets, from the Motion of
which round that Star, they borrow and re-
ceive their own. Thus the Moon borrows
and receives hers from our Earth, without
turning round her own Axis ; ſo that ſhe ne-
ver preſents us but with one half of her Sur-
face, which is always the ſame.
This no
Doubt holds equally true with reſpect to the
Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn.
Alterati.
To theſe general Obſervations, let us add,
Viciffi-
that the Sun, or at leaſt the Force of his
tudes, to Heat, is from time to time ſubject to Altera-
which tions, The Roman Hiſtory, for Example,
they are informs us, that after the Death of Julius Cæfar,
fubject.
the Heat was for two Years ſo weak, that
the Things neceſſary for the Support of Life,
could hardly arrive at Maturity. Beſides, we
at certain Intervals obſerve in his Diſk, Spots,
which approach and recede from each other,
and are afterwards diſſipated. With Teleſcopes
we alſo perceive in him, a prodigious Num-
ber of Volcanos or Mouths, which diſcharge
Flames, and whoſe Borders being obſcure
render them more ſenſible.
We alſo know that his Rays do not pro-
duce the ſame Effect, when they fall upon
the Waters, as when they ſtrike upon the
ſolid Parts of the Globe, and that even their
Vibrations are not always equal." Hence it
happens that our Days are a little longer than
they were formerly, and that in the Reign
of Julius Cæfar they were alſo longer than they
had
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 177
had been ſome time before.
We muſt cer-
tainly believe ſo, ſince it was then neceſſary
to retrench a certain Number of them, to
bring the Equinoxes to the true Point whence
they had receded, and compoſe a new Calen-
dar, which took its Name from that Dictator.
But under the Pontificate of Pope Gregory IX.
who made a ſimilar Reformation, was it not
neceſſary to retrench eleven Days of the Year,
to bring the Seaſons back to the natural Point
whence they had varied ? In a Word, after
the ſmall Number of Years elapſed, ſince this
ſecond Reformation, is there not at preſent a
Neceſſity for retrenching two other Days,
which can only proceed from an Alteration of
the Force in the Heat of the Sun, or from a
Change in the Surface of our Globe by the
Diminution of the Sea ?
In a Word, I pray you with me to make Reaſon of
the Ine-
one eſſential Obſervation, ſince it leads us to
quality of
a Knowledge of the Reaſons of this Variation the Days,
in Nature, whether with reſpect to the Seaſons and of the
produced by the annual Courſe of the Earth Viciffi-
round the Sun, or with reſpect to the Length
tudes of the
Seaſons
of the Days, and the greater Number of
Circles it ſeems to deſcribe in the Northern,
than in the Southern Part, a Phenomenon
which Philoſophers have had ſo much Diffi-
culty to explain ? It is certain that the Figure
of the Earth is not round, as was formerly
imagin’d, but oblong. This has been diſco-
vered by exactly meaſuring the Degrees of the
Meridian from one Extremity of France to
the other, that is, from the Northern to the
Southern Part. One Pole is about thirty-two
or thirty-four of our Leagues longer than the
N
other ;
178
TELLI AMED: Or;
---
other; ſo that its Form is that of an Egg.
It is even a little longer from the Equator, to-
wards the Arctic Pole, than from the ſameEqua-
tor towards the oppoſitePole at leaſt it is heavier,
ſince from the point where, in its annual Circuit
round the Sun, it cuts the Equinoctial, enter-
ing into the Northern Part, till its Return to
the ſame Line, it turns ſix or ſeven Times
round its Axis, oftener than in the Southern
Part. This greater Length in one of the
Poles, is the true Reaſon why the Globe of
the Earth cannot vary its State in turning
round its own Axis, and round the Sun. Thus
to explain this Stability, it is no longer neceſ-
fary, as formerly, to have Recourſe to chefe
ſubtile Matters and Currents of Air, fuppor-
ed to paſs from one Pole to the other. The
Figure of the Earth alone, and its greater
Weight towards the Arctic, than the oppoſite
Pole, is the only Reaſon why it cannot change
its Axis, and incline more to the North in
raiſing itſelf as much towards the South Pole.
The Globe chen of the Earth is like a
Spindle placed over a Baſon of Water at Reſt,
and drawn by a Perſon at one of the Edges by
a Thread wrapt about it. It would curn in
ſuch a manner as is natural to ſuppoſe, and in
the Direction according to which it is round-
ed, and it would be maintain'd in this State
by the lengthened Form of its two Extrémi-
ties ; but if one of its Ends was larger and
heavier than the oppoſite one, it is plain that
in rolling, the weightier Part would be plung-
ed in the Baron, while the other would be
proportionably raiſed above the Level of the
Water
Now
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 1-79
Now 'tis thus that the Earth ſtruck by the
Rays of the Sun, which on it produce the ſame
Effect with the Thread on the Spindle, turns
round its own Axis in twenty-four Hours;
that by the greater Weight of the Arctic Pole,
it is more depreſſed towards that Pole, in the
calm Air, in which it moves, while the
op-
poſite Pole is elevated in Proporcion ; and
that by the lengthened Form of theſe two
Poles, it is kept in this Diſpoſition with re-
fpect to the Sun and other Stars, without
being able to change its Axis, either in its
diurnal Motion, or in its annual Courſe, which
it performs in three hundred and fixty-five
Days and about a quarter. 'Tis for this Rea-
ſon that in this Situation, it runs not through
the Equinoctial Line, but the Zodiac which
cuts the former; and by that Means, twice
lays a Foundation for the Inequalities of
Nights and Days, and the Diverſity of Seaſons.
It is alſo for this Reaſon that the Earth re-
mains longer, and turns ſix or ſeven Times
oftener round her Axis in the Northern than
in the Southern Part of the Zodiac:
Such are the two Motions which one In-
pulſe communicates to the Earth. Struck with
the Rays of the Sun ſhe turns round herſelf
in one of our Days; and inclined twenty-
three Degrees towards the Arctic Pole, ſhe in
a Year runs through all the Points of the
Ecliptic, at two Seaſons of the Year, Spring
and Autumn, cuts the Equinoctial Line, and
in that annual Courſe feels the four Sea-
fons in her different Parts.
Obferve alſo, Sir, that when the whole Globe
was covered with Water, which I proved muſt
have
N 2
180
TELL I AMED: Or,
have been the Caſe,the Equinoctial Linewas that,
or nearly that, through which the Earth deſcrib-
ed her Circle round the Sun ; then during the
whole Year, the Days would have been equal
to the Nights, to the Inhabitants, if there had
been any, and they were nearly ſuch to the firſt
Men. Then alſo, all the Days of her Yearly
Circuit round the Sun, were nearly equal, but as
the Waters of the Sea, included much larger
Mountains in the Northern than in the Sou-
thern Parts, whoſe Seas were conſequent-
ly much deeper in Proportion as the Waters
were diminiſhed, the Equality which had be-
fore ſubliſted between the two parts of the
Globe was leſſened ; then by the Diminution
of its Waters, the South Pole loſt thatWeight
which is preſerved in the North, becauſe theſe
Seas contained Mountains ready to appear,
whoſe Weight ſtill ſubſiſts. Thus in the Poles
of the Earth is produced that Variation rela-
tively to the Poſition of the Sun, and the
State of the Firmament, of twenty-three De-
grees, which keeps the Arctic Pole always as
much lower as the oppoſite is elevated. If
Men were numerous, ſtrong, and active e-
nough to tranſport a ſufficient Quantity of
Stones and Earth from the Northern Parts,
it is not to be doubted, but they might re-eſta-
bliſh the Equilibrium loft, reform the Situa-
tion of the Globe, and change the Diſpoſition
of Nature.
We have alſo lately diſcovered, that there
is in the Globe of the Moon, an Inclination
of the Axis, that is an Ecliptic, which tho'
it inclines twenty-three Degrees on our Earth,
- is only three in the Moon. This Inclination
certainly proceeds from the ſame Cauſe which
has
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c 181
has produced the ſame Effect in this Earth, I
mean the Diminution of her Waters. 'Tis pre-
tended that the Ecliptic formerly inclined more
upon the Earth, and that ſince a certain Time
it has approached one Degree to the Equator :
The Reaſon of this is eaſily comprehended, if
from that Time we ſuppoſe there is more Earth
collected in the Southern Seas, than there was
formerly, the greater or ſmaller Inclination
depending, as I have ſaid, on the greater or
leſs Weight found in the two Poles.
We alſo obſerve a Variation in the Length
of the annual Circuit of the Earth round the
Sun, and even in that of her diurnal Motion.
This is what makes the natural Day ſhorter
at the Equinoxes, and longer at the Solſtices;
ſo that the Months of December and June, are
longer about 20 Minutes than thoſe of March and
September. But this Variation proceeds always
from the Diminution of the Waters of the
Sea, and from this, that in ſome parts of the
Globe ſhe has uncovered Grounds, while in
others ſhe ſtill covers many of its Parts. In
a Word, as there is more Land than Sea,
under the Equinoctial Line, the Globe being
more ſtrongly ſtruck by the Rays of the Sun,
when it preſents its terreſtrial, than when it
ſhews its aquatic Parts, where the Force of
theſe Rays is blunted and loſt, it then turns
more quickly than at the Solſtices, where
there are more Seas ; and it turns with more
Velocity at the Summer, than at the Winter
Solſtice, becauſe the terreſtrial Parts of the
South-Pole are even now interſperſed with
more Seas. Thus the Change of the Confor-
macion in the Globe of the Earth by the Di-
minu-
N 3
182
TELL I AMED: Or,
whicn
minution of the Sea, is the Cauſe of the
Variation of the Time, which ſhe protracts,
according to the Calculations of our an-
tient Aſtronomers, to perform her annual
Courſe round the Sun. This Variation has
laid a Neceſſity for the Reformations and Re-
trenchments hitherto made in our Calendars,
and will prove the cauſe of the ſubſequent
Reformations, which may alſo depend on the
Variation which will happen in the Force of
the Sun's Heat, which muſt neceſſarily be
daily weakened more and more.
Charges Permit me, Sir, continued our Philoſopher,
to add to thoſe Obſervations, ſome on the
have hap-
State of the Heavens. The Hiſtories, both
pened in
the Head of the moſt remote and modern Times, in-
form us, that ſome Stars have diſappeared,
fwhile others have ſhewn themſelves, that
little ones have become large, while ſuch as
were large have become little. The Conſtel-
lation called Pleiades, for Inſtance, was firſt
compoſed of ſeven Stars, though we can now
count but fix *. We have loſt one in the lef-
fer Bear, and another in Andromeda ; but ſince
1664, we have diſcovered two new ones in
Eridanus; and there are at preſent four to-
wards the Pole, of which the antient Philofo-
phers have not ſpoken. There are other Stars
which ſometimes appear, and afterwards ceafe
to ſhew themſelves. In 1572, there was a
new one diſcovered in the Conſtellation of
Caſſiopeia, with a more reſplendent Light than
the others; it afterwards diminiſhed, and to-
tally
vens,
Se
* Pleiades anté genu feptem radiare feruntur:
tantum apparent, fub opaca, feptima nube eſt.
Ovid. Mitam.
2.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 183
tally diſappeared at the End of two Years.
In 1601, there appeared one in the Breaſt of
the Swan, but twenty-five Years after it was
not to be ſeen ; three Years after it ſhewed it-
ſelf in the ſame Place, but daily diminiſhed
fo conſiderably, that two Years after it was no
more to be found ; but at the End of other
five Years, and in 1636, it again appeared,
tho' much leſs than at its former Appearances.
That in the Neck of the Whale, and another
in the Girdle of Andromeda, have in like man-
ner appeared and diſappeared ſeveral Times.
Beſides theſe Phenomena, the Hiſtories of
almoſt all Nations mention a great Number
of Comets, which have appeared at Intervals,
ſome large and ſome leſs, ſome in one, and
others in the oppoſite Part of the Heaven,
ſometimes for a long Time, and at others on-
ly during a few Days. Some have been ſeen,
which occupied three Signs of the Zodiac,
and remained in View for three whole Months.
A Man in the Courſe of a moderately long
Life, muſt certainly have an opportunity of
obſerving ſome of theſe Bodies.
Among the Number of Obſervations made
concerning the Heaven, we may place the ſen-
ſible Changes, which Teleſcopes ſhew us to
happen every Day in the numberleſs Globes
which revolve there. We have remarked fe-
veral in the Moon and in Jupiter, and there is
hardly a Month in which Mars is not ſubject
to theſe Variations.
Then returning to Facts, which we have a
better Opportunity of knowing, we find in
antient Hiſtories, that there have been Times
when Men lived a Thouſand Years, and did
not
N A
184
TELL IA MED: Or,
of the
Sun.
not propagate their Species till they were an
Hundred and Fifty Years old. According to
your own Hiftories, the Men of the firſt Cen-
turies lived to theſe great Ages. Thoſe of the
Egyptians mention a Prince, who, they ſay,
reigned a Thouſand Years over them. Now
in meditating on all theſe Pieces of Know-
ledge, and combining them with each other,
I cannot doubt, but that, without any Alte-
ration of that Whole, of which the Univerſe
is compoſed, there is, nevertheleſs, a real
Transformation of the State and Diſpoſition
in which we have found it, into another,
which will be no leſs ſubject to Change.
of the What has formerly paſſed, and daily paffes
Nature of in the Sun, informs me, that he is a Globe
the Globe
totally ſet on Fire, of the Nature of ours,
which, as yet, is ſo but very little, and in ſome
Parts only; that theſe Torrents of Fire con-
ſume him ; that there has been a Time when
theſe inflanied Seas, have been cover'd by the
Rubbiſh of the Subſtances,'which ſerve as Ali-
ment to them ; and that we ought to judge
thus of the Thing, by the Spots from Time
to Time obſerved in the Sun, and which after-
wards diſappear ; that the Fire continually
acts on the Matter of which that Globe is
compoſed ; and that a Time will happen,
when having conſumed the whole of it, it
will be entirely extinguiſhed, after becoming
inſenſibly weaker in Proportion to the Dimi-
nution of its Aliment. The Extinction of
the ſeventh Star ſeen in the Pleiades, and that
of many others equally well known, and
which have diſappeared, render this Opinion
the more certain, ſince we cannot ſay that
thefc
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 185
•
theſe Bodies have been annihilated. The Ap-
pearance of certain others, which had not be-
fore ſhewn themſelves, alſo confirms me in
this Opinion ; for you cannot certainly ima-
gine, that they owed their Origin to a new
Creation, ſince this would be a Prodigy of
which Nature furniſhes us with no Example.
We cannot therefore doubt, but theſe are
opaque Bodies ſufficiently ſet on Fire to be-
come viſible, tho' they were before impercep-
tible on account of their State.
The Appearance of Comets is a new Proof of the
of theſe Viciffitudes. I know what moſt of Appear-
your Philoſophers have thought on this Sub-ance of
Comets.
ject, and how little Uniformity there is in
their Sentiments. For my own Part, I do not
doubt but theſe Comets are opaque Globes,
which the Sun, by whom they were governed,
has, by the Extinction or Weakneſs of his
Fire, whoſe Activity retained them in his Vor-
tex, ſet at Liberty, if I may ſo ſpeak, to feek
their Fortunes elſewhere. Perhaps alſo, as we
have reaſon to believe, theſe are the Wrecks
of the ſame Sun, which paſſing near enough
to us to be perceived, remain longer or ſhorter
viſible, and appear to have Tails, Beards, or
Hairs, according as they approach us more or
leſs, and reflect to us the Rays of the Sun,
which ſtrike upon them. I do not doubt, for
Example, but that Comet whoſe Tail poffeffed
three Signs of the Zodiac, was the Wreck of
ſome broken Sun, whoſe different Pieces fol-
lowed each other, and formed that long Chain.
I'm alſo of Opinion, that theſe Bodies re-
main erratic, till paſſing near enough to ano-
ther Sun, to enter into his Vortex, they are
there
186
TELLIA MED: Or,
there ſtopp'd by the Activity of his Fire,
which forces them to turn round him.
Now in this Event, if they enter into this
Vortex in a Part where there is another ſmal-
ler opaque Globe already placed, they carry it
round themſelves, whereas formerly it was
carried round its own Sun. On the contrary,
that which enters into the particular Vortex
of a larger Globe than itſelf, is carried round
that large Body, and whirling round it, is
along with it carried round the Sun which
animates that Vortex. For Example, if the
Earth, which is larger than the Moon, enter-
ed after her into the Vortex of the Sun, as I
have reaſon to believe, ſhe entered into it at
the Diſtance of the parallel Circle which the
Moon deſcribed round the Sun. There ſhe
was ſtopped, and obliged to turn round her-
ſelf and round the Sun at that Diſtance. The
Moon in the mean Time performing her
Courſe, and paſſing into the Matter, which
turned with the Earth, was ſtopped in that
particular Vortex, and obliged to turn round
the Earth, whereas before the only turned
round the Sun. If, on the contrary, the
Earth had been placed in this Vortex before
the Moon, this laſt having entered there, at
the Part which the Earth occupied, and fal-
ling into the Vortex proper to it, was car-
ried round it, and along with it round the
Sun. In like manner, if a Comet larger than
Mars ſhould at preſent enter into our Vortex,
at the parallel Circle which Mars deſcribes
round the Sun, there is no doubt, but that
being ſtopt there by the Force of the Rays of
the Sun, and obliged to turn round its own
Axis,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 187
Axis, when Mars ſhould come into the Mat-
ter of the particular Vortex of that Comet, he
would be forced to turn round that new Pla-
net,' and jointly with him round the Sun. It
is thus certainly, that the four Satellites of
Jupiter have been engaged in his Vortex, and
obliged to turn round him in a ſhorter or
longer Time, in Proportion to their greater
or ſmaller Diſtance from that Planet. We
muſt think the ſame of Saturn. His Ring is
alſo, perhaps, formed by the Wrecks of a
broken Sun, which have been engaged in his
particular Vortex,
Let us return to my Opinion of the Proba- Of the
bility, that our Globe entered into the Vortex Entry of
of the Sun, after the Moon was placed there, the Globe
in the Parallel of the Circle which the Moon Earth in-
there deſcrib'd. I found this Opinion on an to the
ancient Tradition of the Arcadians, which Ovid Vortex of
has preſerved t. You know that this Peo- the Sun.
ple called themſelves the moſt ancient in
the Earth ; but what is ſurpriſing, they
added, that their Anceſtors had inhabited it
before the Sun and Moon appeared to them ;
and that theſe were made for them. You will,
no doubt, ſay, that this Pretenſion of the Ar-
cadians, ought to be looked upon as an Ef-
fect of their Vanity, or perhaps a ſimple poe-
tical Expreſſion, which implies no more than
that this people was very antient. But beſides
+ It is in the focond Book of the Faits, where relating
the Origin of the Lupercalia, and why the Prieſts of Pan
rän naked in that Ceremony, he ſays,
Ante Jovem genitum, serram babitafe feruntur
Arendes, & luna, gens prior illa fuit.
that
188
TELLIAMED: Or;
that Ovid relates this Tradition as certain ;
and that Pauſanias alſo ſpeaks of it, it is evi-
dent that it was commonly believed, ſince
both the Greek and Roman Authors uſed a
Name for that people, which imported that
they were on the Earth before the Appearance
of the Moon.
Beſides the great Care which the Egyptians,
who were great Aſtronomers, and accurate
Obſervers of the Heavens, have taken in their
Temples which they conſecrated to the Sun,
to dedicate Altars to each of the Planets, and
there to place them in the Order which they
obferve round the Sun, with their Names,
their Courſes, and the Times they take to
perform theſe Courſes; theſe Precautions, I
fay, ſhould incline me voluntarily to believe,
that they were intended to eſtabliſh ſo great
an Event, and to perpetuate the Memory of
it. But from theſe Circumſtances we can on-
ly draw Conjectures, having already loſt the
Knowledge of the hieroglyphical Characters,
which we ſtill fee engrav'd round theſe Al-
tars, and on the Walls of theſe, Temples.
This Event, and the new Arrangement of the
Heaven to us, which happened on that Occa-
ſion, were, no doubt, marked there with
Accuracy.
However this be, if to the Tradition of
Of the
grcat Age
the Arcadians, and the Precautions of the
of the firit Egyptians, we join what Hiſtories inform us
of thoſe great Ages which Men lived to ſeven
or eight thouſand Years ago ; theſe. Lives of
near ten Centuries of which your Geneſis
makes mention, that Reign of a thouſand
Years of a King of Egypt, whoſe Memory is
ſtill
Men.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 189
ſtill ſubſiſting, we will find in the Union of
theſe Circumſtances, a very ſtrong Proof of
an Arrangement of our Globe round a Sun
different from that which now enlightens us.
In a Word, the Life of Man has never
been either longer or ſhorter, as People fool-
iſhly imagine. The Duration of it is found-
ed on the Nature of Things. If we could ad-
mit any Difference, it would be in favour of the
wiſe and moderate Men of the preſent Genera-
tion. Have they not more Means and Op-
portunities of preſerving and prolonging their
Lives, than our Anceſtors had when they in-
habited Caves, lay upon the Leaves of Trees,
or upon the hard Ground, and only liv'd up-
on the Herbs and Fruits which the Earth pro-
duced ſpontaneouſly, and without Culture.
On the other hand, theſe numberleſs Years for
which we have endeavoured to find a Mea-
ſure which ſhould approach to Probability,
were not certainly lunar Years, ſince, upon
that Suppoſition the Difficulty could not be
removed. Neither were they Years of one
ſingle Moon, as ſome of your Authors have
imagin'd, much leſs were they Years of three
Months, as others of them have aſſerted. The
one of theſe Terms is too ſhort, and the other
too long. We are not, generally, capable of
propagating our Species when we are a hun-
dred and twenty, or a hundred and forty
Months old ; and the Propagation would be
too late, if it was not to happen to the End
of four hundred and fifty Months. There
would alſo be nothing extraordinary in a
Life of a thouſand Moons. Beſides a Period
about three thouſand Months would not agree
with
Igo
TELLIAMED: Or,
with the Laws of Nature, which change or
vary but very little. Hence I draw this con-
fequence, that the Years then were meaſured,
as they are at preſent, -by the Duration of the
Earth's Courſe round the Sun: But I think that
this Duration was a Mean between the Time of
one Moon and our-three Months; ſo that in that
Time the Earth performed her annual Courſe,
The Sun which then regulated her, was cer-
tainly leſs than the preſent Sun, or more pro-
bably, the Activity of his Fire was ſo weak,
that our Earth could perform her Circuit
round him in ſixty Days, or ſomewhat leſs.
This Fire dying was alſo the Cauſe of theſe
continual Rains which occaſioned that Deluge
whoſe Waters covered, I do not ſay, perhaps,
the whole Earth, but a great Part of the Land.
This Deluge was felt in Greece and in Egypt,
as we are informed by the Hiſtories of theſe
Countries *. But the Mountains of Theſſaly
* It is pretended that there have been ſeveral Deluges,
which have ſo overflowed fome Countries, that hardly
could a few of their Inhabitants be preſerved. The most
ancient are thoſe of Oſyris and Ogyges, and the moſt fa-
mous is that of Deucalion. All theſe Deluges well con-
ſidered, may perhaps be found to be but one. No one is
ignorant of the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha. Juſtin ex-
plains it in the ſecond Book of his Hiſtory. In the Time of
Amphy&tion King of Athens, a Deluge, ſays he, deſtroyed the
greateſt Part of the People of Greece, only they eſcaped
who could retire to the Mountains, and a few others who
in Boats conveyed themſelves into Tbefaly, where Dexca-
lion then reigned. Thus it is ſaid of him, that he re-
ſtored the Race of Mankind. We may alſo ſay, that by
theſc Stones which were animated in the Hands of. Deuca-
lion and Pyrrha, the Ancients intended to repreſent the
Barbarity of that firſt Race of Men (prung from another,
and which ow'd its Origin to this Event.
and
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 191
+
1
and Arcadia, and that of Mokatan which bor-
ders on the Nile, proved Shelters to the Inha-
bitants of theſe Lands. The Arcadians have
preſerved to us the Memory of the Change
then made in the Heaven with reſpect to the
Earth, and of the Appearance of a new Sun
and a new Moon. The Egyptians were, per-
haps, willing to tranſmit the fame Fact to us.
Your Hiſtory allo tells us, that after the De-
luge, the Life of Man was reduced to a
hundred and twenty Years.
Hence we
ought to conclude, that the Earth having
changed its Motion and its Sun, a hundred
and twenty Circulations round the preſent
Sun, were the Meaſure of nine hundred and
fifty, or thereabouts, of thoſe which the de-
fcribed round the former Şun. In a Word,
alnoſt a thouſand Years, which ſome of your
Patriarchs lived, is a Term infinitely above
the Life of Man, if you count theſe Years
the Number of Circles which the Globe of
the Earth defcribes, at preſent, round the
Sun. On the other hand, to count theſe Years
by the Moons, is, as I have ſaid, too ſhort 'a
Meaſure for a hundred and twenty of theſe
Revolutions, to which Mofes aſſures us that
the Life of Man was bounded after the De-
luge. We muſt therefore chuſe one of
theſe Opinions, either the Years were count-
ed by Moons before the Deluge, and had
a longer Meaſure after that grand Event,
which Mofes ought to have told us, which
however he has not done: or we muſt
grant, that as it was not by the Duration of
a Moon, that the Year was counted ſince the
Deluge,
H
192
TELLI AMED: 01,
1
Deluge, ſo it muſt have another Meaſure be-
fore it. Now it is evident, that this Mea-
fure can be no other, before as well as after
the Deluge, than the Courſe of the Earth
round the Sun, according to which Men did
not die till the Age of nine hundred Years,
tho' at the ſame time they did not live longer
than we do now. Hence we ought to con-
clude, that before the Deluge, the Circle of
the Earth round the Sun was much ſmaller
than that which it deſcribes at preſent ; and
that conſequently it chang'd its Motion on
that Occaſion. Now it is evident that this
could not happen, but by that Tranſmigra-
tion from one Vortex to another, of which
Pauſanias and Ovid have preſerved the Me-
mory.
If the Hiſtories of the Chineſe really contain,
as we are aſſured, Events which have happen-
ed for forty thouſand Years paſt, I do not
doubt but we ſhall there find Teſtimonies of
this Tranſmigration too memorable to have
been omitted. But theſe forty thouſand Years
will not be all of the ſame length, as you,
muſt imagine from what I have ſaid, that a
hundred and twenty of our Years make near
a thouſand of thoſe which preceded the Change
of Motion in our Globe. Theſe Annals of
forty thouſand Years would not therefore
make ten thouſand of our preſent Years, but
they would be ſufficient to confirm the Truth
of this grand Event.
This is ſo much the more credible, becauſe
by the Nature of our Sun which is inſenſibly
.conſumed; by the Appearance of ſome new
Stars,
1.93
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
Stars, and the Extinction of ſeveral old ones;
by the Number of Comets which have been
ſeen by our Anceſtors, or which we ourſelves
have ſeen by the preſent State of our Earth,
which convinces us, that this Globe has been
in a very different Diſpoſition, we cannot
doubt that this whole Syſtem which we fee,
and this fine Ordeif which we admire, are ſub-
ject to Changes, and that whať we know to
have happened, or what we ſee ſtill to hap-
pen, may continue to be repeated; that
the Süns are extinguiſhed after a certain Du-
ration, and that opaque Bodies are inflam'd,
as we know that this has already: happened ;
that the opaque Globes included in the Vor-
tices of the Suns which are extinguiſhed, be-
come erratic, in the Extent of the vaſt empy-
rean Heaven, till they are carried into another
Vortex, where they are ſtop'd by the Actie
vity of the Fire of that Sun, as they were for-
merly in that of their own, and as all thoſe
have been which we call Comets that what
has happened to them may perhaps before
have happened to the Planets of our Vortex,
as well as to the Suns by which they were
governed, and may afterwards happen both
to our Sun, and to the Planets which he go-
verns; that, in fine, in theſe Revolutions,
our Planets entering into other Vortices, are,
with reſpect to the principal Stat, in Diſpoſi-
tions, different from that in which they are at
preſent, with reſpect to our Sun, whether they
carry ſmaller Globes along with them, whe-
ther they are themſelves carried off in the par-
ticular Vortex of a larger Globe, or, in a
Word,
194
TELLIAM-E'D: Or,
Word, whether they are placed at a greater
or a ſmaller Diſtance from a new Sun.
Now in theſe Differences, the Waters with
which they are now covered, will be aug-
mented; or diminiſhed according to their
greater or leſs Proximity to the Star. Thus
we ſee the Waters of the Globe diminiſhed,
which have certainly cover'd it totally, as I
have ſhewn, and which have perhaps been
collected there, in a Poſition with reſpect to
a preceding Sun different from that in which
they now are, No Part of Matter is loſt *:
and theſe. Waters now wanting, · which we
know to have ſurmounted the higheſt of our
Mountains, have not been annihilated, they
ſubſiſt in whatever Places they have been car-
ried to. The Diminution of the Waters of
our Seas, proceeds from a true Evaporation,
which elevates them to other Globes.
Of the The Subſtances which the Rays of the Sun
Renova. carry off from the Globes next him, the Duſt,
tion of
the Particles of Water, with which they are
Globes,
loaded in making theſe Globes move, and
in paſſing with Rapidity to the moſt diſtant ;
what theſe Rays contain of the proper Sub-
ſtance of the Sun, which they devour, whence
they proceed and are darted; all theſe, I ſay,
are carried thro' the Fluid of the Air to the
Extremity of the Vortex, where the Activity
of theſe Rays being at laſt dead' and languid,
has no more Force than the Rays of the Sun
reflected from the Moon upon us in the Night-
time.
1
Neque enim adaugeſcit quidquam neque deperit inde.
LUCRET. lib.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 195
--
T २
It is there; that in the Middle of an Air
almoſt without Motion, the Rays are depriv-
ed of the Subſtances with which they are load-
ed. It is alſo at this Extremity of the Vor-
tex where the Body of the extinguiſhed Sun,
which ſhall have been puſhed thither on ac-
count of its Lightneſss receives the Depoſi-
tions of theſe Matters, and by their Means re-
covers what it had loſt of Humidity and
Weight while it was inflamed. If is there;
thai enriching themſelves with the Spoils of
others, theſe Globes are again covered with
Water, and with it regain Slime, which re-
ſtores to them the. Weight and Subſtance they
had loft. It is in the Boſom of theſe Waters
that the Aſhes remaining after the Burning of
theſe Globes, Sands, Metals, and calcined
Stones are rolled and agitated by the Cur-
rents of the new Seas there collected. Of all
theſe, upon the Cruſt of the ſpongeous Part,
there are new Beds formed, fome of fine, and
others of coarſe Sand ; ſome of Clay, and
others of Slime and Mud, of different Quali-
ties and different Colours. Theſe Beds will,
one Day, compoſe Quarries of Stone of diffe-
rent Kinds, ſuch as Marble, Slate, Mines of
all kinds of Minerals, and with them the
· Hills and Mountains of theſe Globes, when
by the Succeſſion of. Time, and the Viciffi
tudes which ſhall happen in the Vortices, the
Waters in which all theſe Things ſhall be
formed and arranged, ſhall ceaſe to increaſes
and begin to diminiſh ; for it is by their Vi-
minution that the Mountains of theſe new
Earths will appear, juſt as it happened in
ours.
02
IC
- 296.5
TELLIAM.E.D: Or;
:
It may however happen in the Diffolution
of a Vortex, that a Globe already inhabited,
may be placed at ſuch a Diſtance from the
Star of the Vortex where it is 'ſtopt, that this
Globe, whoſe Waters were before in Part di-
miniſhed by its Poſition, may acquire new
Waters inſtead of loſing what it had ; that its
Waters inay augment ſo as totally to cover it,
and deſtroy its Inhabitants; and that thus,
without paſſing thro' the State of Fire, it may
be augmented by new Slime. If we could dig
to the Center of our Globe, and there run
thro' the various Arrangements of Matter of
which it is compoſed, we ſhould be able to
judge whether it has been ſeveral times ſuc-
ceſſively and totally covered with Water after
having been inhabited, without having been the
Prey of the Flames. In this caſe we ſhould
find in the Globes the Veſtiges of ſeveral
Worlds arranged over each other, entire
Cities, durable Monuments, and all that
we now obſerve on the Surface of our Globe;
for we muſt think, that if in the preſent State
our Globe ſhould be totally covered with the
Waters of the Sea, before it is inflamed, all
that we now fee would be buried under the
Slime, Sand, and Mud of the Sea, with
which it ſhould be covered that theſe Wa-
· ters happening afterwards to diminiſh, there
: would ariſe from them a 'new World ſituat-
:cd upon this, which would be unknown to
its Inhabitants, as we are ignorant of that
which has preceded Gurs, and which is too
deeply buried in the Entrails of the Earth, for
us to arrive at the Veſtiges of it.
1
In
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 197
.
· In order the better to make you compre- Origin of
hend the different Manners in which theſe Vulcanos.
Changes may happen to the Globes, permit
me, Sir, to put you in Mind, that in our pre-
ceding Entertainments I have diſtinguiſhed
two Kinds of Mountains, ſome of which I have
called Primordial, and which have been form-
cd in the Bofom of the Waves, when they
covered the whole Surface of the Earth, others
which are only, as it were, the Daughters of
the former, and which, ſince the Appearance of
the firſt Grounds, have been formed of their
Wrecks. I have obſerved to you, that the
Sea not being capable of producing Herbs,
Plants and Fiſh, except where ſhe was ſhal-
low, that the Rays of the Sun might render
them fit for Fecundity, theſe large and pri-
mordial Mountains included no extraneous
Matter, that they were only compoſed of
Sand finer, or coarfer, without any Mixțure of
all theſe heterogeneous Bodies found in the
other.
It was then, after the Appearance of theſe
firſt Grounds, when they were cloathed with
Herbs and Plants, and when the Sea was
ſtocked with Shell-fiſh and others, that theſe
poſterior Mountains were formed out of the
Wrecks of the former, and of the different
Subſtances which the Currents of the Sea con-
cained. It is alſo in theſe poſterior Moun-
tains that we find ſo many extraneous Bodies,
ſuch as Plants, Herbs, Trees, Fiſh, and Shells.
It is in them we meet with Metals, Minerals,
precious Stones, all the Ornaments of the
Globe, the Commodities of Life, the Sup-
Port of Luxury, the Objects of Ambition
and
O 3
198
TELLIAMED:
1
and Avarice. Now it is by the Compoſition
of theſe laſt Mountains, that in the Duration
of their Exiſtence, and the State of their Fer-
țility, the opaque Globes contract what will
one Day make them ceaſe to be opaque.
Whence, in a Word, do you imagine thač
the Vulcanos draty their Origin, if not from
the Oils and Fats of all theſe different Bodies
inſerted in the Subſtance of theſe Mountains ?
All theſe Aniinals which live and die in the
Borom of the Sea, (and ſome of them are very
large, ſuch as Whales, from which we ob
tain ſo great a Quantity of Oil) ſo many rot-
ten Trees, Plants, and Herbs, make a Parc
of theſe Mountains which the Sea has raiſed:
It is with theſe oleous and combuſtible Sub-
ſtances, that the Mountains of Veſuvius and
Etna, and ſome others, which like them vo:
mit Torrents of Fire, have their Entrails fill-
ed. Is the Sea-coal found in England and ſo
many other Countries, any thing elſe but a
Collection made by the Sea in the Places
where it is found, of Herbs and the Fat of
Fiſh? Is it not this which renders it combuſti-
ble, as well as of a bad Smell? It is to theſe
Vulcanos, whether viſible or not, that we
owe all our Minerals and Merals, our Gold,
Silver, Copper, Lead, Braſs, Iron, Sulphur,
Allum, Vitriol, and Quick-ſilver, which their
Fire has fixed to the Chimnies or Vents which
their Flames had made. It is in Imitation
of theſe that Chymiſtry has been formed, and
improved, and that labouring to diſcover the
Secret of transforming Metals, and changing
Effences, we have found out that of impo
veriſhing
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 1993
I
yeriſhing ourſelves, in ſeeking to become rich;
a juſt Puniſhment for our Folly !
But not to ſay more of this vain and dan-
gerous Science, to which, however, we owe
the Diſcovery of a thouſand curious and uſeful
Secrets, we muſt be perfuaded that 'tis theſe
Vulcanos which inſenſibly produce the Extinc-
tion of the Spirit of Life in the Globes, and at
laſt their rotal Conflagration ; for though they
are not equally combuſtible in all their Parts,
yet the Parts which are really ſo, ac laſt burn
thoſe which are leſs ſo, ſuch
as Stone
and Marble. Such is the Order eſtabliſhed by
the Author of Nature, to render his Works
eternal; the Fat and Oil of all the Animals, Fiſh
and other Bodies, which may ſerve to the Inflam-
mation of opaque Bodies, are collected in cer-
tain Places, where by the Succeſſion of Time,
theſe Bodies are ſet on Fire. Hence arife Vul-
canos, which at laſt communicate with each .
other, inflame the Globe, deprive all its Ani-
mals of the Power of Generation, and make
a true Sun of it. This new Sun, by his Heat,
communicates to other opaque Globes that
Power of Generation which he has loſt him-
felf," till by his Activity having conſumed all
that wliich in his Subſtance is proper to en-
tertain this prodigious Heat, he is weakened,
extinguiſh'd, and returns to his former opaque
State.
It is alſo to be obſerved, that in Proportion
as the Sun is extinguiſhed, he muſt naturally, on
Account of the Lightneſs he has contracted,
in the Fire which has penetrated and devoured
him, be carried to the Extremity either of his
O
O A
Own
1
Flos
TELLI A MED: Or,
own or ſome other Vortex: If it is to the
Extremity of his own, our Sun for Example,
being extinguiſhed, would be carried behind
the Planet moft diſtant from the Center which
he poſſeſſes. This Center would be then oc-
cupied by Mercury, as being the neareſt Planet,
and conſequently the moſt diſpoſed to be fuffi-
ciently inflamed to ſucceed the Sun. At the
fame time the other Planets would be brought
nearer this Center of the Vortex, and would
come ſtill nearer to it, when the Fire
of Mercury being extinguiſhed, and his
Wrecks carried behind the former Sun, Venus
would poſſeſs his Place. This Succeſſion con-
tinuing thus eill Saturn, the moſt diſtant Planet
of the Vortex, was become the Sun and Mover
of it, after the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and
Jupiter had been ſo in their Turns, it would
liappen that the moſt diſtant of the Planets
would gain inſtead of loſing by this means ;
that is, it would acquire the Waters and Sub
ftances carried off from the others, till ap-
proaching towards the Center of the Vortex,
it would ceaſe to acquire any more and begin
to loſe. Thus we have Reaſon to believe, that
the Waters of Saturn are ſtill increaſing, and
perhaps thoſe of Jupiter and his Satellites, but
if the Succeſſion of the Earth to the Center of
the Vortex ſhould happen, the Waters of Jupiter
would certainly begin to diminiſh, if they do
not already fo. We muſt think the ſame of
Saturn, behind whom would be the Bodies of
the Sun, Mercury and Venus, which would there
receive what Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, began
to loſe,
Byt
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Seå, &c. 291
But if at the Extinction of the Sun of ond -
Vortex, his Planets are carried off with him,
without any certain Direction, towards other
Vortices, which is moſt probable, and ſeems
to be evinced by Comets, the Waters of theſe
Planets will be augmented or diminiſhed ac-
cording to their Arrangement round the Sun,
which ſhall ſtop them. 'Tis in the like E-
vent that our Earth may be totally covered
again with Waters, inſtead of continuing to
loſe them, according as it is placed at a greater
or ſmaller Diſtance from the Sun. Chance is by
no Means the Difpofer of theſe Arrangements.
The heavier a Planet is, the more it is in a
Condition to approach to the Sun of the Vor-
tèx ; on the contrary, the lighter it is, the
greater its Bulk will be in Proportion, like
the Bodies of extinguiſhed Suns; the further
alſo the Rays of the Star, which poſſeſſes the
Center of the Vortex, puſh it, only admitting
it to the Extremicy, and that Part where
their Activity has almoſt loſt all its Force.
Tlius the future Fate of our Earth is un-
Uncer.
certain : Before our Sun is extinguiſh'd, ſhe
tainty of
may be totally burnt, form a particular and the future
leparate Vortex, take from the Sun fome of Fate of the
Earth,
his Planets, and perhaps acquire ſome from
other neighbouring Vortices. If on the con-
trary ſhe is totally burnt, ſhe may continue
to loſe her Waters by the Arrangement ſhe
may acquire in another Vortex, if ſhe is near
enough to the Star for the Continuation of
that Diminution; or if ſhe is placed at too
great a Diſtance, her Waters will be augment-
ed, ſo that ſhe will be covered by them to-
tally or in part, according to the Duration
of
202
TELLIAM:ED: Or,
of her Situation at that, Time. But whatever
may be, the Fate of the Earth and her Inha-
bitants, there is, Reaſon to believe, that in
the numberleſs Multitude of, Globes contain-
ed in the univerſal Syſtem, ſome inflam'd and
others.opaque, of which we perceive but the
ſmalleſt Part, there will always be ſome whoſe
Waters and Matter will be augmenting, while
a proportional Diminution will be continued
in others, There will always be ſome of
them which will be totally inflam'd, and ſerve
as Suns to thoſe which are not inflam'd;
others will be extinguiſhed, and paſs into Dif-
poſitions proper to the State in which they
were, before they were burnt.
An Arabian Author relates, that among
the different Opinions of the Philoſophers of
his. Nation, concerning the Antiquity of this
World, its Duration and End, there was
one who aſſerted, that the Earth had been
formed fifty thouſand Years before it was in-
habited, thaç it had been inhabited fifty thou-
ſand Years, and ſhould continue to be ſo for
fifty thouſand more. But how can we other-
wiſe than by the Conſequences I propoſed,
conjecture how long it remained a Déſart, how
many. Years it has been peopled, and how long
a Time it may ſtill be inhabited. 'Tis in the
Works of Nature, and in the faintNotions which
main to us, of ſome ſingular Events which
have happened in the Heavens and the Earth,
that we ought to feek, the Hiſtory of a very
remote Antiquity, and the Knowledge of a
Futurity which will perhaps be ſtill more
extenſive. We cannot otherwiſe hope to learn
the State of two Extremities ſo diſtant from
us
114
111
IK
Diſcourſes on the Diminution ofithe Sea, &c.
203
Us" as'theſe. This is the Study to which; in
Iinitation of my Father and Grandfather; :I
have applied myſelf from my earlieſt Youth.
My Sentiments, with reſpect to future Things,
are more flattering and alluring for Men thani
any hitherto propoſed to them, ſince without
deſtroying the Opinion with which they are
prepoſſeſſed, that the World will be deſtroyed
by Fire, I leave them the Hope of a Pofteri-
ty, which will perhaps be more durable.
I have done more; for I have even inform
ed them what will become of the Globe which
they inhabit, when after ſeveral Viciſſitudes, it
ſhall have been conſumed by Fire, and I have
proved, that like the Phenix
it will ſpring out
of its own Aſhes. In a Word, though this:
does not at firſt appear fo probable as the
other Changes which ſhall previouſly happer.
to the Earth, yet this Conſequence is not leſs
neceſſarily deduced from the Diminution of the
Sea, and the Compoſition of our Mountains;
for if theſe have been really form'd in the Sea,
the Earth has been totally covered with her
Waters. Now this could not have happened,
but in a Poſition and Arrangement of the Globe,
different from that in which it is at preſent, and
at ſo great Diſtance from the Sun, that her
Waters muſt have augmented inſtead of being
diſſipated. Tis therefore manifeſt that the
Globes change their State and Diſpoſition ;
that in a certain Arrangement, they are cover-
ed with Water, while in another Poſition theſe
Waters are diminiſhed, which l'ays a Neceſſity
for all the Viciffitudes' which I have attribut-
ed to the Globes, even that in which having
been conſumed by Fire, and ſerved as a Sun
to
A
204
TELLIAMED: Or,
to other Globes, they are conveyed into Places
where they recover their Weight and Moi-
fture.
Theſe Tranſitions from one State to another,
from luminous to opaque, and from the latter
to the former, are, as I have irrefragably
proved, by Stars which have ſaid, diſappeared,
and others which have appeared afreſh ; for
we cannot ſay, that the Appearance of Stars
lately diſcovered, is the Effect of a new Crea-
tion, nor that thoſe which have diſappeared,
have been annihilated. You need not there-
fore doubt, but the Remains of theſe laſt
Bodies exiſt in Nature ; when Experience has
convinced you of the Diminution of the Sea,
you muſt with me allow, that the Waters
carried off from her, exiſt elſewhere ; that in
changing their Place they carry with them all
the Subſtances which they contained ; and that
the whole of this, on which the Rays of the
Sun act, is carried to the greateſt Diſtance from
the Star, and is depoſited and received by the
Bodies which exiſt there. 'Twas perhaps
there that our Earth formerly received the
immeniſe Waters, with which the higheſt of
our Mountains were covered ; and 'tis in a
fimilar Poſition that in the Ages to come, after
having paſſed through the Fire, her dry and
arid Remains may recover the Waters and
Subſtances which they may have loft. Theſe
are infallible Viciffitudes, and muſt neceffari,
ly be admitted on the Principles which I have
eſtabliſhed ; they will follow each other with-
out Interruption. The opaque Bodies will be-
come luminous, and, as I have before obſery-
ed, of luminous theſe will become opaque.
Their
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
205
.
Their Matter and their Waters will be aug-
mented, when they are the greateſt Diſtance
from the Star of the Vortex in which they
are placed. They will augment; on the con-
trary in a Diſpoſition which will render them
nearer to this Star. They will at firſt become
habitable, and then be inhabited till they
ceaſe to be ſo, and be totally burnt. Both
the opaque and luminous Globes contained in
this.vaſt Univerſe, will undergo thefe Alterna-
tives a hundred and a hundred Times. They
will paſs ſucceſlively from one of theſe States to
another, changing their Poſition and Vortex.
Though theſe Viciffitudes are often concealed
from our Eyes, they are not the leſs certain
nor perhaps the leſs frequent, in this Immen-
ſity of Globes, to which our higheſt Imagi-
nations cannot attain...
In a Word, Sir, cried I, you had Reaſon
to ſay, that you would explain to me Things
of ſo ſingular a Nature that I ſhould be ſur->
priſed at them. I confeſs to you, that not-
withſtanding the ſmall Foundation I find in
your Syſtem, I am charmed to hear you ſpeak
with as much Aſſurance of what you think
paſſes in the vaſt Extent of the Univerſe, as
if from infinite Ages, flying from Vortex to
Vortex, you had been an Eye-witneſs of what
you relate concerning them. Go on, Sir,
to unveil your Myſteries to me : Tell me
what you think with Reſpect to the State of
the fixed Stars, which always preſerve the
ſame Order, and ſeem to me to float by
Chance in the Extent of this grand Whole, or
in this Liquid of the Air, as you call it. I
hope you will alſo deign to give me your
Opinion
206
TELLI A MED: Or,
Opinion of the Origin of Men and Animals,
which in your Syſtem, are no doubt the
Productions of Chance, a Doctrine which
neither my Religion nor my Reaſon permit
me to believe. I am already perſuaded that
what you ſhall ſay to me, on theſe two Sub-
jects, will be neither-leſs curious nor ſingular,
than all you have hitherto told me.
I own to you, replied our Philoſopher,
that I am as much perſuaded of the Truth
of theſe Viciſſitudes, with which I have en-
tercained you, as if for a long Time running
through the State of the Heaven, and the
Globes it contains, I had with my own Eyes
feen theſe different Revolutions. But I ought
for my Juſtification to add, that if I embrace
fo extraordinary an Opinion, 'tis not till after
more than thirty Years Meditations and Re-
ſearches, Doubts and Objections, which I
have formed to myſelf, or which have been
propoſed to me by others; after the moſt
exact Study of the Philoſophers, and of the
the different Sects upon that Subject ; and in
à Word, becauſe I have found nothing more
conformable to the Events which have hitherto
happened in the Heavens and the Earth, more
agreeable to the invincible Proofs we have of
the Diminution of the Sea, to the Conforma-
tion of our Globe, to the Hiſtories and Tra-
ditions which remain, and in a Word, to
Reaſon ; ſo that my Aſſurance in what I have
related to you, does by no Means deſerve to
be treated as Temerity.
As to the Queſtions you propoſe to me, I
State of, think it is eaſy to conceive how the Stars are
the fixed
Stars.
ſtop'd' or fixed in an Expanſe, ſuch as that
which
Of the
!
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
207
which the Heavens, preſent to our Views and
our Imaginations. This Expanſe is what I
call the Fluid of the Air, or more properly
the Vacuity through which it flows, or the
tranquil Scene of the Paſſage and Motion of
every Thing that exiſts.
I have told you that the inflamed Globes
have not been ſo always, but that from an
opaque they have paſs'd to a luminous State.
I'muſt add, that in this State, they have ac-
quired a proper Motion, which has made them
turn round their own Axis, and fix'd them
in thoſe Parts of the Vacuity which they poſ-
feſs. 'Tis nearly thus that a Bowl or Wheel
of artificial Fire, placed upon a large Sheet of
calm Water; and kindled, would not change
its Place ſo long as its Fire laſted, and
inade it turn round itſelf. 'Tis in this Man-
ner, that the Stars ſtop'd at that Part of the
Vacuty where they are ſet on Fire, turn there,
and will always do ſo till the Extinction of the
Fire, which penetrates them, without reced-
ing from their Poſition.
But in the Arrangements of all theſe burn-
ing Bodies, which at preſent exhibit to our
View a certain State of the whole Syſtem, an
univerſal Change will happen at the End of
a particular Time ; all the Stars will be extin-
guiſh'd, perhaps, one after another, as ſeveral
of them are already, of which we ourſelves
have been Witneſſes. New ones will ſuccef-
ſively ariſe by means of opaque Globes which
will take Fire, and theſe will not always'ſhew
themſelves in the fame Parts where the others
have diſappeared. Thus the State of the
Heaven,
41
298
TELLI AMED: Or,
Heaven, which now ſeems fix'd to us, will be
totally chang'd, and in a Time which we can+
not aſcertain, it will not be the ſame that it
is now. It will be ſo renew'd, that our Porte-
rity ſhall not perhaps ſee one of the Stars
which we at preſent obſerve.
If Comets in paſſing near us ſeem to keep
a certain Road; conform to the Courſe of our
Planers.; this happens, becauſe, approaching
near our Vortex, they participate of the Mo-
tion which the Sun communicates to the
Globes with which he is ſurrounded. They
are alſo, no doubt, aſſiſted by the Influence
of the Rays of ſome other contiguous. Stars,
which by the ſubtile Matter fowing from
them,: form in the Spaces by which they are
are ſeparated from ours, a kind of Currents,
by' which theſe Comets perform their Mo-
tions rather in one Direction than another:
After all, there may be other natural Reaſons
for the Arrangement of infamed Globes, of
which we cannot fix the Number. 'Tis no
Affront to our weak and limited Underſtand-
ing, not to attain to ajuſt Knowledge of Things
ſo prodigiouſly diſtant from our Eyes as theſes
and of which to judge foundly, the Aſtro-
nomical Obſervations of an Infinity of Years
would be neceffary.
Refutati. Hugenius, continued our Indian, has com-
on of the pofed a Treatiſe on the Plurality of Worlds,
Sentiment in which he pretends to prove, not only that
of Hugcni-
there are Men and Animals in our Planets
cerning and their. Satellites, but alſo, that theſe Men
the Plura- have the ſame Knowledge as we in Aſtrono-
lity of
Worlds. my and Geometry, in all the Arts we know,
and in all the Sciences we have acquired. The
Author has entered into a Detail in which he
is
Ws, con-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 209
1
is more ſucceſsful in ſhewing his Learning,
than in convincing the Reader that in the ha-
bitable Globes, there are Men of our Species,
and that among them we find all the Sciences
of which we are Maſters. 'Tis not impoffi-
ble that there may be Globes where all theſe
may be found even in greater Perfection than
in ours; but even ſuppofing all theſe Globes
inhabited, 'tis very probable that there are
many of them in which moſt of the Arts and
Sciences acquired by the Men of our Globe,
are abſolutely unknown.
In a Word, whence have we learned that
the Moon was a Globe ſuch as our Earth ;
that there were Linds and Seas, and Moun-
tains and Valleys in her ; that ſhe had, like
ours, regular Days and Nights ; that conſe-
quently ſhe might be inhabited, her Seas
ſtocked with Fiſh, her Lands with Animals,
and perhaps a Species of reaſonable Creatures
either approaching to them, or differing from
them? Whence, I ſay, could we derive this
Knowledge, if not from the Diſcoveries we
have made in that Planet ?
If then as the Earth has the Moon for a Sa-
tellite, as Jupiter has four, as Mars has five,
and perhaps a much greater Number in the
Ring with which he is ſurrounded, all the
opaque Globes had in like manner Satellites ;
or if theſe Globes were at leaſt near enough
to each other, that People might from one
diſtinguiſh what happens in another, the Opi-
nion of Hugenius would be much more fup-
portable. But are the Inhabitants of Mercury,
if there are any who can live in ſo great a
Proximity to the burning Sun, round which
P
they
N
W
210
TÉLLIAMED: Or,
they turn, ſo near to us or Venus, as to know
the Conformation of our Globes, or judge
whether they are ſimilar to the ſmall Globe
which they inhabit? Are the Inhabitants of
Mars and Venus, to whom our Earth, and its
Satellite, muſt appear no larger than their
Planets do to us, able to make this Compa-
riſon of our Globe with their own ? 'Tis how-
ever from the Knowledge we have acquired
of the Conformation of the Moon, that we
draw this natural Conſequence, that all the
Planets, and all their Satellites which we ob-
ferve in the Vortex of our Sun, are probably
compoſed in the fame Manner, and conſe-
quently habitable, and may be inhabited.
Hence we muſt conclude, that if the ſuppoſed
Inhabitants of the other Planets cannot have
the fame Aſſiſtance, it is very probable that
they cannot equal us in this part of our Know-
ledge.
Various
Tis true, that if by this means we have
Thoughts fome Advantages over the pretended Inhabi-
fame Suba tants of ſeveral Globes which have not Satel-
ject. lites like ours, yet we may in ſome ſuppoſe
Men, who if they really exiſted, muſt infi-
nitely ſurpaſs us in Knowledge. I ſhall on
this Occaſion relate to you, added Telliamed,
the Diſcourſe of an Engliſh Nobleman, whom
I mer, when at London, walking one Even-
ing in St. James's Park. You will find him
no leſs prepoſſeſſed than Hugenius in Favour
of a Plurality of Worlds.
Our Converſation turned on the Nature and
Species of Creatures, which he pretended in-
habited not only our Planets and their Satel-
lites, but alſo that numberleſs Multitude of
ſmall
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c 211
5
ſmall opaque Globes which roll in the Vor-
tices of all the Suns of which the Milky Way
is compoſed. My Lord pointing with his
Finger at Jupiter and Saturn ; do you ſee, ſaid
he, theſe two Stars, and eſpecially Saturn,
which is nine or ten thouſand Leagues in Dia-
meter? Could you believe that he turns round
his own Axis in ten of our Hours? This
Motion is certainly prodigious, and muſt, no
doubt, make the Heads of his Inhabitants
giddy, ſince in the Space of an Hour his Sur-
face runs over more than three thouſand
Leagues. But what is no leſs remarkable is,
that the Inhabitants of this Planet are fo
near the firſt Moon that turns round ir, that
this Moon deſcribes her Circle in a Day and
twenty-one Hours. Conſequently the bor-
ders ſo near upon Saturn, that the Inhabitants
of both Places may from the Tops of their
higheſt Mountains almoſt ſhake Hands with
each other, or at leaſt fee and ſpeak together.
For a ſtill ſtronger Reaſon, the Inhabitants of
this firſt Moon may converſe with thoſe of
the ſecond, which performs her Courſe round
the principal Planet in two Days and ſeven-
teen Hours. Beſides, continued he, the In-
habitants of the firſt Moon might jump into
Saturn, and thoſe of the ſecond jump into the
firſt; at leaſt theſe three People, if they have
like us the Uſe of Teleſcopes, and ſpeaking
Trumpets, may eaſily fee one another, and
carry on a Converſation together. In a Word,
you cannot deny, continued he, but they can
at leaſt reciprocally perceive the large Cities
built in theſe three Globes, and the Veſſels
ſailing on their Seas ; neither can you refuſe
P 2
chac
1
i.
212
TELLIAMED: Or,
that they hear from one to another, the Noiſe
of Cannon, and eſpecially that of Thunder,
formed at the Extremities of the Air which
ſeparates them.
Another Engliſhman ſtill improved on this,
and called the Milky Way, the Summary of
Suns and opaque Globes. They were there,
ſaid he, fo contiguous to, and ſo mixed with
each other, that they were ready to touch one
another in the Circles which they deſcribed
round the Suns by which they were governed,
ſo that their reſpective Inhabitants muſt know
one another, and pay frequent Viſits. He
even took it highly ill, that I ſhould believe
nothing of his Syſtem, and only applaud fo
ſtrange a Propoſition by a Smile.
What a third told me of the Proximity of
Saturn to his firſt Moon, and of this to the
ſecond ; of that of Jupiter to his firſt Satel-
lite, &c. appeared more rational and probable.
If we have drawn, ſaid he, ſo much Know-
ledge from the Proximity of the Moon to our
Earth, eſpecially ſince the Invention of Tele-
ſcopes, what Advantages over us have not
the Inhabitants of ſeveral Globes ſo near each
other, and within the Reach of ſo great a
Number of luminous Bodies? How mucli
more eaſy is it for them to be better acquaint-
ted than we, with every Thing which hap-
pens in the opaque Globes, and in the Stars,
whether, when there is a new one formed by
the Inflammation of one of theſe Bodies, or
whether others have their Fires extinguiſhed,
which with their Eyes they gradually obſerve
to conſume the Matter which nouriſhes them,
and
!
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 213
and which are inſenſibly weakened in Pro-
portion as this is conſumed?
Theſe Degrees of Knowledge, ſaid our Philo-
ſopher, cannot be denied theInhabitants of theſe
Globes ſo contiguous to each other, if they
are inhabited. As for us, continued he, we
cannot hope to arrive at ſuch Knowledge,
but by the Extinction of our Sun, and by
the Tranſmigration of our Globe into another
Vortex. Then if what I have explained to
you ſhould reach Poſterity, nothing of what I
have ſaid, as likely to happen, could ſurprize
our Offspring, ſince they would be appriſed of
the future Changes which Time will produce
in the State of the Heavens ; that is, in the
Stars and opaque Globes deſtined for an eter-
nal Paſſage from Obſcurity to Light, and
from Light to Obſcurity.
But tho' nothing durable can be promiſed
amidſt theſe continual Viciſſitudes, we ought
however to hope, that whatever may hap-
pen on the Earth, till the human Species is
totally deſtroyed, theſe Pieces of Knowledge
will not be abſolutely loft.
If in this Age
there are learned Men, who have found that
the Univerſe may include many Worlds, that
ertain Stars have diſappeared, that new ones
have ſhewn themſelves, that theſe loſt Stars were
ſo many extinguiſhed Suns, and that the new
ones proceeded from the Inflammation of
opaque Bodies; ſo long as the Earth is not
deſtitute of Men, there will always be ſome,
who, attaining to the Knowledge of theſe
Things, will teach their Fellow-inortals what
I have this Day explained to you.
P 3
The
I
214
TELLI AMED: Or,
Thus upon
The Men who ſhall live in theſe remote
Ages, may from the Diſcoveries of ours, and
from future Events, judge more ſurely than
we,of the Diminution of the Sea. Thus
the Eſtimation of this Diminution, incaſuring
the deepeſt Seas, they may judge of the Time
in which they muſt be totally exhauſted, in-
dependently of the weakening of the Sun's
Fire, which may be exhauſted, and of the
Multiplication of our Vulcanos, which are
already very numerous in America.
From what I have ſaid, Sir, you muſt con-
clude, that the Earth may equally loſe its In-
habitants, either by the total Diſſipation of
the Waters of the Sea, which are the Sources
of the Rivers and Rains neceffary to Fertility,
or by the general kindling of its Vulcanos,
and conſequently the burning of the whole
Earth, or by lo conſiderable a weakening of
the Fire of the Sun, that at his Extinction
the Sca muſt univerſally cover it. Now
if the Deſtruction of the human Race is
to happen by a total Exhauſtion of the Wa-
ters of the Sea, the Men deſtined to be the
Witneſſes of it, will retire into profound Val-
leys, and dig Wells, in order to maintain Fer-
tility, and provide for their Subſiſtence, or
they will paſs towards the Poles, where they
will long find a Freſhneſs, which will be ba-
niſhed from the meridional Countries, and a
Fruitfulneſs which will ſubfift in no other
Parts of the Earth.
But if in Proportion as the Force of the
Sun is weakened, or his Extinction approaches,
the Inhabitants of the Earth have Reaſon to
dread a total Submerſion, they will not be
alarmed
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 215
alarmed. They will build large Veſſels, in
which placing their Flocks and neceſſary Pro-
viſions, they will wait for their Delivery from
this melancholy Situation by the total Ex-
tinction of the Sun, and by the Paſſage of the
Earth into another Vortex where her Waters
may be diminiſhed. in a Word, if happily
for them, the Sun is extinguiſhed before our
Globe is ſet on Fire, and totally deprived of
its Waters, our Obſervations will aſſure them
againſt the total Extinction of Mankind, and
even make them hope, that in a new Ar-
rangement of the Earth in another Vortex,
ſhe may find a favourable Situation, which
reſtoring her a part of her Waters without
drowning her, will preſerve this Generation to
very diſtant Ages.
Telliamed, in a Hurry, and without Inter-
ruption, pronounced this Prophecy, with an
Ardour and Enthuſiaſm which almoſt made
me take him for an inſpired Man. But, ad-
ded he, I muſt leave you, the Night which
draws on, obliges me to ſtop ; to-morrow I
ſhall endeavour to anſwer the Queſtion which
you have propoſed to me concerning the Ori-
gin of Man.
1
P4
SIXTH
:
2.16
TELLIA MED: Or,
SIX TH D A Y.
Of the Origin of Man and Animals, and of
the Propagation of the Species by Seeds.
TH
HE Philoſopher kept his Aſſignation
very early in the Morning, and told
me that he was that Evening to ſet out for
Ormus. I am come, ſaid he, to take my
Leave of you ; and tho? the Time yet per-
mițs me to inform you, as I promiſed yeſter-
day, what I think of the Origin of Men and
Animals, yet I hope you will freely excuſe
me for not keeping my Word. Beſides, it
would be uſeleſs for me to expatiate with you
on a Subject which is independent of the Syr-
tem of the Diminution of the Sea, and con-
cerning which you are forbid to believe any
Thing beſides what your Scripture teaches
you.
You injure both me and yourſelf, replied I,
in depriving me of that which is certainly the
moſt curious in your Syſtem. I conceive that
the Truth of your Opinion concerning the
Diminution of the Sea, does not depend on
the Origin of Man ; but I'm perſuaded that
your Sentiments on this Subject are not leſs
ſingular than all I have hitherto heard from
you, and you muſt confeſs I ſhould have Rea-
ion to complain of you, if you left me igno-
rant of what I cannot learn from any Perſon
elſe. Let us make the beſt Uſe of the finall
Time which remains ; you may ſpeak your
Thoughts with Freedom, without any Fear of
offending me. I already know what ſome
Philo.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 217
Philoſophers advance againſt the Creation of
Man by him who created all Things. The
Reaſons on which they found this Opinion are
ſo frivolous and abſurd, that they only ſerve
more and more to confirm a wiſe Man in a
ſteady Belief, that Men and Animals are the
Work of God.
You do not do me Juſtice, Sir, replied
our Philoſopher. It is by no means as you
think, a natural Conſequence of my Opi-
nion on the Formation of our Earth, and its
coming out of the Waters of the Sea, that
Men and Animals have been formed by blind
Chance, and at Random. I know there are
Abundance of Philoſophers both with us and
you, who believe all Productions, even that
of Man, to be the Effect of a Concourſe of
Atoms, or of a Generation proper and na-
tural to Matter. Have not the Egyptians pre-
tended, that the firſt Man was formed in this
manner, out of the Slime of the River Nile,
warmed by the Heat of the Sun ? How many
other Nations have maintained, that the Earth
produced Men in their own Countries ? Some
have fooliſhly believed, that Men and Animals
were let down from Heaven by a Chain of Gold.
This is nearly your Sentiment, ſince you believe
them formed upon Earth by the Hands of
God. Others have maintained that they came
out of the Sea.
Lucretius, as you know, has condemned
both theſe Opinions *, and I agree with him,
that
:
+ In the fifth Book, where attributing the Origin of
all Animals to the Earth, he ſays,
Nam neque de cælo cecidiffe animalia poffunt,
Nec terreftria de falfis exifle Lacunis.
218
TELLI AMED: Or
the Sea.
that Men have not deſcended from Heaven.
But granting Matter to be created, if we fup-
poſe alſo the Creation of Men and Animals,
by the Hand of God, in that Senſe in which he
is the Author of their Production and their Spe-
cies, I do not conceive that the Salt proper
to the Waters of the Sea, is a Reaſon ſufficient
to hinder the Animals with which the Earth is
ſtock’d, from drawing their Origin from theſe,
the Salt of which the Earth ſtill includes in
her Boſom.
In a Word do not Herbs, Plants, Roots,
Terrent.
rial Plants Grains, and all of this Kind, that the Earth
which produces and nouriſhes, come from the Sea ?
grow in Is it nof at leaſt natural to think ſo, ſince we
are certain that all our habitable Lands came
originally from the Sea ? Beſides, in ſmall
Inands far from the Continent, which have
but appeared a few Ages ago at moſt, and
where it is manifeſt that never any Man had
been, we find Shrubs, Herbs, Roots, and-
ſometimes Animals. Now you muſt be forced
to own, either that theſe Productions owed
their Origin to the Sea, or to a new Crea-
tion, which is abfurd.
Independently of theſe Proofs of my Sen-
timent, Experience furniſhes us with invinci-
ble Arguments for it. I know you have reſided
a long Time at Marſeilles ; now you can bear
me Witneſs, that the Fiſhermen daily find
in their Nets, and among their Fiſh, Plants of
a hundred Kinds, with their Fruits ſtill
upon
them ; and though theſe Fruits are not ſo
large, and ſo well nouriſhed as thoſe of our
Earth,
2
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 219
Earth, yet the Species of theſe Plants is in
no other Reſpect dubious. They there find
Cluſters of white and black Grapes, Peach-
trees, Pear-trees, Prune-trees, Apple-trees,
and all Sorts of Flowers. When in that City,
I ſaw in the Cabinet of a curious Gentleman,
a prodigious Number of theſe Sea Productions
of different Qualities, eſpecially of Roſe-trees,
which had their Rofes very red when they
came out of the Sea. I was there preſented
with a Cluſter of black Sca-grapes. It was at
the Time of the Vintage, and there were
two Grapes perfectly ripe.
· As for the Origin of terreſtrial Animals, of the
I obſerve that there are none of them, whe- Origin of
Animals.
ther walking, flying, or creeping, the ſimilar
Species of which are not contained in the Sea ;
and the Paſſage of which from one of theſe
Elements to another, is not only poſſible and
probable, but even ſupported by a prodigious
Number of Examples. I ſpeak not only of
amphibious Animals, Serpents, Crocodiles,
Otters, various kinds of Sea-Calves, and a
prodigious Number of others, which live
cqually in the Sea and the Air, or partly in
the Water, and partly on the Land, but I alſo
ſpeak of thoſe which can only live in the Air.
You have no doubt read the Authors of
your
own Country, who have wrote of the various
Species of freſh and Salt-water Fiſh known at
preſent, the Repreſentations of which they have
given us in their Books. The Diſcovery of
America, and its Seas, has furniſhed us with a
great Number of new Fiſh, which are pro-
per to them, as there are others found in the
Seas
1:
220
TELLI AMED: Or,
Seas of Europe, Africa, and Aſia ,which are not
to be met with elſewhere. We may even fay,
that among the Fiſh of the ſame Species which
are equally caught every where, there is always
fome Difference according to the Difference
of the Seas ; whether we have placed under
the ſame Claſs, Species which only approach
to each other, or whether theſe Fiſh are really
of the fame Species, only with ſome Diffe-
rence in their Form. Thus the Species of
Sea-fiſh, which have entered into Rivers and
ſtock'd them, have undergone ſome Change
in their Figure, as well as their Taſte. Thus
the Sea-carp, Perch, and Pike, differ from ſuch
of their Species as are taken in freſh Waters.
Ofthere The Reſemblance in Figure, and even In-
femblance clination, obſervable between certain Fiſh and
of Ani-
ſome Land-Animals, is highly worthy of .
mals with
artain
our Attention; and it is ſurpriſing that no
one has laboured to find out the Reaſons of
this Conformity. Without attempting to
treat fo vaft a Subject with that Carc and Ac-
curacy it deſerves, permit me, Sir, to make
a few Obſervations relative to it. We know
from the Relation of the moſt famous Divers
of Antiquity, of whoſe Hiſtories we have pre-
ferved the Memory ; from the Teſtimony of
thoſe whom my Grandfather employed for
eighteen Months in examining what paſſes in
the Bottom of the Sea, and in its Borom,
and from our own Knowledge, that the Ani-
mals produced by the Sea are of two Kinds ;
the one being volatile, raiſes itſelf from the
Bottom to the Surface of the Waters, in
which it ſwims, walks, and purſues its Prey ;
the other creeps in the Bottom, is not ſepa-
rated,
Fish.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 122
A
1
rated, except very rarely, from it, and has
no Diſpoſition to ſwim. Who can doubt,
that from the volatile Filh ſprung our Birds,
which raiſe themſelves in the Air ; and that
froni thoſe which creep in the Sea, aroſe our
terreſtrial Animals which have neither a Dif-
poſition to fly, nor the Art of raiſing them-
ſelves above the Earth ?
In order to convince ourſelves, that both
have paſſed from a marine to a terreſtrial State,
it is ſufficient to examine their Figure, their
Diſpoſitions, their reciprocal Inclinations, and
to compare them with each other. To begin
with the volatile Kind, attend, I beſeech you,
not only to the Form of all our Birds, but
alſo to the Diverſity of their Plumage and In-
clinations, and you will not find one, but
you will meet with Fiſh in the Sea of the
ſame Conformation, whoſe Skins or Scales
are ſmooth, painted, or varied in the ſame
Way, have the Fins placed in the fame Man-
ner, which ſwim in the Water as the Birds of
their Figure fly in the Air, which make their
Courſe ſtraight or round, and their Chace,
if they are Birds of Prey, juſt as the Fiſh of
their Form do in the Sea..
You muſt obſerve, Sir, that the Paſſage Facility
from Water into Air is much more natural of the Par-
than is generally believed. The Air with fage from
which the Earth is ſurrounded, at leaſt to a con-
into Air.
ſiderable Height, is mixed with a great many
Particles of Water. Water is an Air impreg-
nated with a great many Parts more coarſe,
humid, and weighty, than that ſuperior Fluid,
to which we have given the Name of Air,
tho' they are in reality the ſame thing. Thus
in
Water
222
TELLIAMED: Or,
n
in a Tun full of any Liquor, tho' the inferior
Part is mixed with coarſer Particles, and con-
fequently is leſs clear and thicker, than the
ſuperior ; yet it is evident, that a part of the
Liquor ſtill ſubſiſts in the precipitated Lie;
and that a part of this Lie, in like Manner
remains mixed with the ſuperior Liquor, but
in a greater Quantity, immediately above the
Lie, than in the uppermoſt Part of the Li-
quor. Thus immediately above the Waters,
the Air is împregnated with more aqueous
Parts, than at a greater Elevation. Thus.in
a Tempeſt, with which the Sea, the Lakes,
and Rivers, are agitated, the Air is fuller of
the Particles of Water than after Rains, which
reſtore to the Sea, &c. the aqueous Particles
which the Winds had raiſed and mixed with
the Air. It is thus, in a Word, that in cer-
tain Climates, and at certain Seaſons, the Air,
with which the Earth and the Sea is ſurround-
ed, is ſo impregnated with aqueous Parts,
that it ought to be conſidered as an equal
Mixture of Air and Water. It is therefore
caſy to conceive, that Animals accuſtomed to
the Water may preſerve Life in reſpiring an
Air of this Quality. The inferior Air, ſays
one of your Authors *, is nothing but an
( extended Water. It is moiſt becauſe it
comes from the Water; and it is hot, be-
cauſe it is not ſo cold as it may be when it
returns into Water.' He adds a little
lower, - There are in the Sea, Fiſh of
• almoſt all the Figures of. Land-Animals, and
6.even of Birds. She includes Plants, Flowers,
1
* Sorel.- page 249:
6 and
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
223
1
and ſome Fruits ; the Nettle, the Roſe, the
Pink, the Melon, and the Grape, are to be
< found there.'
Add, Sir, to theſe Reflections, the favour-
able Diſpoſitions, which may concur in cer-
tain Regions for the Paſſage of aquatic Ani-
mals from their Abode in the Water to that
in the Air. Conſider even the Neceſſity of
this Paſſage in fome Circumſtances; for Ex-
ample, when the Sea has left them in Lakes,
whoſe Waters are ſo diminiſhed that they
have been forced to accuſtom themſelves to
live upon Land. This may alſo be the Ef-
fect of ſome of thoſe Accidents, which are not
looked upon as very extraordinary; for it
may happen, as it often does, that winged
or flying Fiſh, either chaſing, or being chaſed,
in the Sea, ſtimulated by the Deſire of Prey,
or the Fear of Death, or puſhed near the
Shore by the Billows, have fallen among
Reeds or Herbage, whence it was not poſſible
for them to reſume their Flight to the Sea,
by which Means they have contracted a grea-
er Facility of flying. Then their Fins being
no longer bathed in the Sea-water, were ſplit
and became warped by their Dryneſs. While
they found among the Reeds and Herbage
among which they fell, any Aliments 'to ſup-
port them, the Veſſels of their Fins being le-
parated were lengthened and cloathed with
Beards, or to ſpeak more juſtly, the Mem-
branes which before kept them adherent to
each other, were metamorphoſed. The Beard
formed of theſe warped Membranes was
lengthened. The Skin of theſe Animals was
inſenſibly covered with a Down of the fame
Colour
224
TELLI AMED: Or,
1
Colour with the Skin, and this Down gra-
dually increaſed. The little Wings they had
under their Bellŷ, and which like their Fins
helped them to walk in the Sea, became Feet,
and ſerved them to walk on Lånd. There
were alſo other ſmall Changes in their Figure.
The Beak and Neck of ſoñe were lengthened,
and thoſe of others ſhortened. The Confor-
mity, however, of the firſt Figúre ſubfifts in
the Whole, and it will be always eaſy to know
it.
Of Birds. Examine all the Species of Fowls, large
and ſmall, even thoſe of the Indies, thoſe
which are tufted or not, thoſe whoſe Feathers
are reverſed, ſuch as we ſee at Damiette, that
is to ſay, whoſe Plumage runs from the Tail
to the Head, and you will find Species quite
ſimilar, ſcaley or without Scales. All Spe-
cies of Parrots, whoſe Plumages are ſo diffe-
rent, the rareſt and the moſt ſingularly mark-
ed Birds, are conformable to Fiſh, painted
like them with black, brown, gray, yellow,
green, red, violet Colour, and thoſe of gold
and azure; and all this preciſely in the ſame
Parts, where the Plumages of theſe Birds are
diverſified in ſo curious a Manner. All kinds
of Eagles, Falcons, Kites, Birds of Prey, and in
a Word, all that we know flying in the Airs
even the different Species of Flies, large and
ſmall, with long as well as with ſhort Wings,
are conformable to ſimilar Species contained
in the Sea, and have not only the ſame Form
and Colour, but alſo the fame Inclinations.
The Transformation of a Silk-worm or a
Caterpillar into a Butterfly, would be a
thouſand Times more hard to be believed than
that
1
Diſcorerſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 225
chat of Fiſh into Birds, if this Metamophoſis
was not daily made before our Eyes. Are
there not Ants which become winged at a
certain Time? What would be more incre-
dible to us than theſe natural Prodigics, if
Experience did not render them familiar to
us? How eaſy is it to conceive the Change
of a winged Fiſh flying in the Water, fome-
times even in the Air, into a Bird flying al-
ways in the Air, in the Manner I have ex-
plained? The Seeds of theſe Filli'conveyed
into Marſhes; may have alſo laid a Founda-
tion for this Tranſmigration of the Species,
from an Abode in Sea to that on Land. If
a hundred thouſand have periſhed in con-
tracting the Habitude, yet if two have acquir-
ed it, they are ſufficient to give Birth to the
Species.
With reſpect to walking or creeping Ani- of terreſ-
mals, their Paſſage from the Water to the trial Ani,
Land is ſtill more eaſily conceived. There is
no Difficulty, for Inſtance, in believing that
Serpents and Reptiles may equally live in
either of the Elements. Experience does not
permit us to doubt of it.
As for Quadrupeds, we not only find in
the Sea, Species of the fame Figure and Incli-
nations, and in the Waves living on the ſame
Aliments by which they are nouriſhed on
Land, but we have alſo Examples of theſe
Species living equally in the Air and in the
Water. Have not the Sea-Apes preciſely
the ſame Figure with clofe of the Land ?
There are allo ſeveral Species of them. Thoſe
of the Southern are different from thoſe of
Northern Seas.; and among theſe laft our Au-
thors
mals:
4
Q
.
226
TELLI AMED: Ör,
thors diſtinguiſh the Daniſh Ape from the
other Species. Do we not find in the Sea a
Fiſh with two Teeth like thoſe of the Ele-
phant, and on its Head a Trunk with which
it draws in the Water, and with it the Prey
neceſſary for its Subſiſtence ? One of theſe
was ſhewn at London very lately. Would it
be abſurd to believe that this Sea-Elephant has
laid a Foundation for the Species of Land-
Elephants ?
The Lion, the Horſe, the Ox, the Hog,
the Wolf, the Camel, the Cat, the Goat, the
Sheep, have alſo Fiſh in the Sea ſimilar to
them. In the preceding Age, there were
ſome Sea-Bears ſhewn at Copenhagen, which
had been ſent to the King of Denmark. After
having chained them they were permitted to
go into the Sea, where they were feen to
ſport together for ſeveral Hours. Ex-
amine the Figures of the Filh which are
known to us, and you will find in them near-
ly the Form of moſt of our Land-animals.
Of Pho There are twenty kinds of Phocas's, or
cas's, or Sea-Calfs, large and ſmall. Your Hiſtories,
Sca-calfs. and the Journals of your Literati, ſpeak e-
nough of the Occaſions on which they have
been taken, and even tamed. The City of
Phocea, as is ſaid, drew its Name from the
great Nnmber of theſe Animals always ſeen
in the Sea contiguous to it. At Smyrna,
about twenty-five Years ago, one of theſe
came to repoſe itſelf every Day, for five or
fix Weeks ſucceſſively, in a convenient Place.
She threw herſelf out of the Sea upon ſome
Planks about two or three Feet from the
Shore, where ſhe paſs’d ſome Hours, figh-
ing like a Perſon in Diſtreſs. This Animal
ceaſing
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 227
ceaſing to appear, came back three Days afa
ter, with a young one clafp'd in one of its
fore Legs. After this, it continued to ſhow
itſelf for more than a Month, eating and ſuck-
ing Bread and Rice, which were thrown to
it.
Much about the ſame Time, another Sea-
Calf appeared in the Middle of the Harbour
of Conſtantinople. It threw itſelf out of the
Sea into a Barge loaden with Wine, and
laid hold of a Sailor who was fitting on a
Hogſhead ; this Wine belong'd to M. de
Ferrol your Embaſſador to the Port. The
Calf ſecured the Man with one of his fore
Legs, and plunging with him into the Seas
he came up about thirty Paces thence, ſtill
holding the Man, as if he had gloried in his
Conqueſt, after which he diſappeared. This
Animal, ſome of your Poets would ſay, was
a Nymph or a Nereid, who falling in Love
with the Sailor, carried him off in order to
conduct him into one of her aquatic Palaces.
*Tis highly probable, that Facts of this kind,
happening in former Ages, have given Riſe
to the Hiſtories of your Metamorphoſes.
About a hundred Years ago, one of the
petty Indian Kings tamed one of theſe Phocas's
or Sea-Oxen ; he called it Guinabo, from
the Name of the Lake to which it retired,
after having eaten its Food at the King's Palace,
to which it went every Day, when called,
followed by a Crowd of Children. This con-
tinued nineteen or twenty Years, till a Spaniſh
Soldier having thrown a Dart at it, it no lon-
ger came out of the Water, while it ſaw on
the Shore Men with Arms and Beards. Ic
Q 2
was
228
TELLI AMED: 'Or,
was ſo familiar with the Children, and at the
fame Time ſo large and ſtrong, that one Day
it carried fourteen of them on its Back, from
one Side of the Lake to another.
That taken at Nice, about ſixty Years ago,
was very different from this : It was not much
larger than a common Calf, having very
Short Legs, and a large Head. It lived ſeveral
Days without doing any Harm, and caring
whatever was given it. It died when they were
tranſporting it to Turin, to fhew it to the
Duke of Savoy.
The Phocas's are very common in the
Scotch Seas: They come to repoſe themſelves
on the Sand by the Sea-ſide, and there ſleep
ſo found, that they do not wake.till People
are very near them ; then they throw them-
ſelves into the Sea, and aftewards riſe out of
the Water to look at Perſons on the Shore.
There are alſo a great many of them on the
Coaſts of Hiſpaniola; they enter into the Rivers
and feed upon the Grafs and Herbs on their
Banks. At Rome they were fed with Hay
and Millet, which they eat ſlowly, and as
ir were ſucking it.
You can eaſily conceive, Sir, that what
Art can do in Phocas's, Nature can do the
fame of herſelf; and that on certain Occa-
fions theſe Animals, having for ſeveral Days
lived well out of the Water, it is not im-
poſſible, but they may be accuſtomed to live
always fo, even by the Impoſſibility of return-
ing to it. 'Tis thus certainly that all terreſ-
trial Animals have paſſed from the Waters
to the Reſpiration of the Air, and have con-
tracted the Faculty of lowing, howling, and
making
4
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c 229
making themſelves underſtood, which they
had not, or which they had but very imper-
fectly in the Sea.
During the Embaſſy of the Marquis de Of Sea-
Ferrol, whom I have mentioned, there was a
Dogs or
Wolves,
ſmall Sea-Dog about a Foot high, taken near
Conſtantinople, on the Brink of the River.
His Mother, who was higher than a Calf,
large and thick, had brought him to Land.
She came with Fury to the Mariners, who had
ſeized her Puppy ; but ſome Balls ſhot at her
obliged her to return to the Sea. This Puppy,
which was carried to the Ambaffador's Palace
and lived there ſix Weeks, could ſcarce bark
when it was taken, but its Voice was ſtronger
and louder daily. This Species was, in that
Reſpect, different from that of certain Dogs of
Canada, which continue always dumb; which
invincibly proves that they deſcend from Sea-
Dogs, that of which I ſpeak, was ugly and
fierce ; he had ſmall Eyes, ſhort Ears, and a
long and ſharp Snout; his Hair was ſhort, hard,
and of a brownish Colour ; his Tail termi-
nated like that of certain Fiſh, and of Beavers,
in the Form of an Helm or Rudder, in order
to direct his Courſe in the Sea,
Do they not in the Lower Germany, feed
in Ponds of Freſh-Water, Sea-Bears, which
may be alſo called Sea-Dogs, and which are
very common in the Seas of cold Countries?
Have not theſe the Colour and the Hair of
Daniſh Dogs ? When I went to Dantzick, I
faw one of them in a Pond. At the ſmal-
leſt Noiſe he heard on the Brink of the
Pond, he lifted up his Head, to ſee what
Q3
was
230
TELLIA M:ED: Or,
was the Occaſion of it. Is it to be doubted
that our Dogs have come from theſe Sea-
Dogs, ſince they reſemble them ſo perfectly
in Figure, Colour, and other Circumſtances ?
Of the As for Man, who ought to be the princi-
Origin of pal Object of our Attention, you have, no
Man,
doubt, read, continued our Philoſopher, what
your ancient Hiſtories relate concerning the
Tritons or Sea-Men ; but I ſhall not mention
what the Ancients have wrote on this Subject,
I ſhall paſs over in Silence, what Pliny, who
is perhaps unjuſtly branded as a Lyar, has
faid concerning a Triton, who was ſeen in the
Sea playing on the Flute. His Muſic, to be
fure, could not be very delicate and harmo-
nious. I ſhall not ſpeak of that generally re-
ceived Tradition that there are human Forms
perfect from the Middle upwards, 'and ter-
minating in a Fiſh below. This has with
you paſſed into a Proverb, in order to denote
å Work whoſe End does not correſpond to
its Beginning *. I ſhall alſo omit the Hiſtory
of the Syrens, who by the Sweetneſs of their
Songs, as 'tis faid, only allured Men, in
order to devour them. In a Word, I ſhall
reject every Thing which may be ſuppoſed to
be the Effect of Fancy and Imagination, in
the Works of the ancient Poets, and only
adhere to well-atteſted Facts, which have
happened in or near our own Time, and which
every one has an Opportunity of enquiring
into.
Of Sca-
I have in your Hiſtories read, that in the
luch. Year 592 of your Æra, on the 18th of March,
an Officer of one of the Towns of the Delta,
or
* Definit in piſcem, mulier formoſa fuperne. Hor.de
Art.Peet:
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 231
or the Lower Egypt, walking one Evening
with ſome of his Friends on the Banks of the
Nile, perceived pretty near the Shore, a Sea-
man, followed by his Female, the Male rai-
ſing himſelf often above the water, as far as
his ſecret Parts, and the Female only to the
Navel. The Man had a fierce Air, and a
terrible Aſpect, his Hair was red, and ſome-
what briſtly, and his Skin of a browniſh Co-
lour. He was like to us in all the Parts
which were ſeen. On the contrary, the Air
of the Woman's Countenance was ſweet
and mild, her Hair was black, and floating
on her Shoulders, her Body white, and her
Breaſts prominent. Theſe two Monſters re-
mained near two Hours in the Sight of this
Officer, his Friends, and thoſe of the Neigh-
bourhood, who had come to fee ſo extraordinary
a Fact. An Atteſtation of it was drawn up,
ſigned by the Officer and many other Wit-
nefles, and ſent to the Emperor Maurice who
then reigned.
During the Stay which Salan made at
Derbent, when he was ſent by Vatel, Calif
of the Race of Aballides, to the Caſpian Sea,
in order to review the Fortreſs, which the
Ancients ſaid was built to hinder the northern
Nations from making Incurſions into Aſia,
there happened a Fact of a ſtill more ſingular
and ſurpriſing Nature. It was related by
Cafvini, a celebrated Arabian Author, who in
his Book intiled Agaub, el Malkloukat, that is,
the marvellous Things found in the Creatures,
places it in the Year of the Hegyra 288, which
correſponds to the Year 894, of your Æra.
He ſays, that the Prince of that Country,
going
4
232
TELLI AMED: Or,
going onę. Day to fiſh on the Caſpian Sea,
took Salanı with him: In the Courſe of the
Diverſion, they took a large Fiſh, which was
immediately opened, and in whoſe Belly was
a Sea-Girl ſtill alive; ſhe had on a pair of
Drawers without a Seam, made of a Skin.
like that of a Man, and which came down
to her Knees, This Girl ſometimes held her
Hands on her Face, and at others tore out
her Hair. She fetched deep Sighs, and lived
but a few Moments after ſhe was taken from the
Belly of this Moniter. Cafvini adds, that
the Tarik Magreb, an Arabian Hiſtory of
Perſia, confirnis chis Narration by other Facts
which he quotes, concerning the Syrens and
the Tritons found in the Sea.
The Hiſtory of the Netherlands alſo relates,
that in the Year 1430, after a great Inunda-
tion, which was conſiderably diminiſhed, ſome
Women of the Town of Edam, ſituated on the
Sea of Zealand at the Extremity of the little
River Tye going from their Town in a Boat to
Prumeraude, where their Cows were feeding,
found in their way a Sea-Girl half buried
in the Mud ; that they took her up, waſhed
her, cleared her, and took her to Edan,
where they cloathed her : The Hiſtory adds,
that they taught this Girl to ſpin, and to make
the Sign of the Croſs, but that they could
never teach her to pronounce one Word, tho?
they had taken her to Haerlem, where ſome
Literati attempted to make her ſpeak. She
was entirely like to our Women, except in
a very few Particulars. She retained a great
Love for the Sea, and even for the Waters
of Rivers and Canals, ſo that they were oblig-
ed
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 233
ed to watch her left ſhe ſhould throw herſelf
into them, as ſhe had ſeveral Times attempt-
ed. But after having ſome Years contracted
a Habitude of reſpiring nothing but Air,
perhaps ſhe could not have afterwards lived in
the Element in which ſhe was born.
The following Fact is taken from an AC-
count drawn up by Peter Luce, Captain Com-
mander of the Quarters of the Diamant in
Martinico, on the thirty-firſt of May 1671, and
given to Peter de Beville, Notary of the
Quarters of his Company, in the Preſence of
P. Julian a Jeſuit, and three other Witneſſes
who have ſigned the Account, which is alſo
corroborated by the ſeparate and conjunct
Depoſitions of two Frenchmen, and four Ne-
groes. This Account teſtifies, that on the
twenty-third of May theſe Frenchmen and
Negroes, having gone in a Boat to the Iſlands
of the Diamant, in order to fiſh, and return-
ing about Sun-ſet, they ſaw near the Shore
of an Illand where they were, a Sea-Monſter
of a human Form from the Middle upwards,
and terminating below like a Fiſh. His Tail
was large and ſplit, like that of a Ca-
rangue, a Filh very common in that Sea.
His Head was of the Bulk and Form of that
of an ordinary Man, with ſtraight black Hair
intermixed with gray, hanging over his Shoul-
ders. His Countenance was large and full,
his Noſe big and flat, his Eyes of the uſual
Form, and his Ears large ; his Beard, which
like the Hair of his Head was mixed with
gray Hairs, was ſeven or eight Inches long.
his Stomach was covered with Hair of the
fame Colour; his Arms and Hands were like
ours, and when he appeared above Water,
he
234
TELLIA MED: Or,
he ſeemed to wipe his Face with them ſeveral
Times, and on his coming up ſnorted as Dogs,
do when they come up after being plunged
in Water; his Body, which was raiſed above
tlie Water as far as his Middle, was ſlender
like that of a young Man of fifteen or ſix-
teen Years of Age; his Skin was moderate-
ly white, and the Length of tlie whole Body
feemed to be about five Feet ; His Air was
fierce, and he looked at them all one after
another with great Attention, without ap-
pearing to be aſtoniſhed. When
When they firſt
ſaw him he was not above ſeven Paces from
the Rock on which they were. He plunged
ſometime after, and came up only about four
Paces from them, Diving again, he came
up about three Feet from them, and was fo
near that one of the Company preſented his
Line to him, in order to ſee if he could catch
him ; then he made off towards the Savanna
contiguous to the Iſland where they were, and
plunging a third Time diſappeared.
The Deſcription of this Sea-man, agrees
with that which I have before related, except
in this, that the Man and Woman feen in
the Nile, were at ſo great a Diſtance that the
Spectators could not diſtinguiſh the inferior
Figure of their Bodies, which was under the
Water. That taken at Seſtri in the State of
Genes, appeared alſo in the Sea to be termi-
nated like a Fiſh, and to have his Tail divid-
ed like that taken at Martinico. He was,
however, a Man from the Middle downwards
as well as upwards. It is eaſy to perceive the
Reaſon of the Error which our Eyes fall into,
when we view a Man in an upright Poſition
in
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
235
in the Sea. It is ſufficient for this to re-
flect, that in order to keep ourſelves up-
right and elevated above the Waters, we
muſt keep our Thighs and Legs cloſe,
and move our Feet up and down, which
to the Sight produces in the inferior Part
of a Man, the Figure of a Fiſh, and af
a Tail divided by the Separation of the Extre-
mity of one of the Feet from the other. On
the contrary, a Man who ſwims flat on the
Water ſwims naturally like a Frog, ſeparat-
ing his Thighs and uniting them, in order to
act the more ſtrongly on the Water, with the
Soals of his Feet.
This Sea-man taken at Seſtri in 1682, was
feen by all the Inhabitants of that ſmall City.
He in every reſpect reſembled that taken at
Martinico, except that inſtead of Hair and a
Beard, he had a Kind of Moſs on his Head,
about an Inch long, and a little very ſhort
Down on his Chin. In the Day-time he was
placed on a Chair, where he fat very calmly
for ſome time; which evidently proves, that
his Body was flexible, and that he had Joints,
which Fiſh have not. He lived thus for ſome
Days, weeping and uttering lamentable Cries,
but would take nothing either to eat or drink.
I got this Account twenty-five Years ago at
Seſtri, where I found a Lady of my Acquain-
tance, of great Wit and Curioſity, and who,
as well as I, inform'd herſelf of theſe Parti-
culars.
Such alſo was the form of another Sea-man
who was kill'd in the Night-time by a Muf-
ket-ſhot, about ſeven' or eight Years ago, in
the Dirch at the Foot of the Walls of Boulogne,
where
.
236
TELLIAMED: Or,
where the Reflux of the Sea had left him, and
from whence he attempted to get out.
The
Centinel taking him for an ordinary Man who
refuſed to ſpeak, ſhot him. Mr. Mafon has
given a Deſcription of him in the Book he
has compoſed concerning the Fiſh and Shell.
fiſh of that Coaſt, printed at Paris. This Dif-
ference of Hair and Beard among Sea-men,
proves that both thoſe of the Human Race,
who have long Hair, ſuch as the Whites, and
thoſe who have on their Head and Chin a
Kind of Wool, as the Blacks, equally derive
their Origin from the Sea.
I ſhall add a Fact well known at Martinico,
and poſterior by more than thirty Years to
that in 1671, which I have related. Mr.
Larcher, an Inhabitant of the Place, return-
ing one Day to. Fort Royal, from a Houſe
he had at the three Iſles, being in his Canoe,
armed with eight Negroes, and having his
Head turned from the Negroes, theſe cry'd
out all at once, A white Man in the Sea. Up-
on this Mr. Larcher turning his Head towards
them, only perceived the Bubbling of the
Water in the Part where the Monſter had diſ-
appeared. The eight Negroes ſeparately at-
teſted, that they had ſeen a Man, ſuch as the
Whites, raiſed above the Water, and atten-
tively looking at them. They added, that
he plunged into the Sea, the Moment they
cry'd out, a white Man.
Theſe Examples then are not ſo rare as
People are apt to imagine ; and if ſuch Sea-men
are found in the moſt frequented Seas, is it
not probable that they muſt be found in
greater
I
5
.
:
1
1:
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 237
1
greater Abundance, in thoſe contiguous to
deſart Coaſts?
We read in the Hiſtory of Portugal, and in the
Account of the Eaſt-Indies, that ſome people
having on the Indian Coaſt one Day caught a
conſiderable Number of Tritons, or Sea-men and
Women, they could bring none of them to Don
Emanuel, who then reigned, except one Woman
and her Daughter, all the reſt having died,
either ſoon after they were taken out of the
Water, or in their Paſſage from the Indies to
Liſbon. This Woman and her Daughter were
ſo extremely melancholy, that nothing could
comfort them, and they eat ſo very little,
they ſenſibly decay'd. The King touch'd
with their Condition, and perhaps prompted
by Curioſity, ordered, that after having
chained them that they might not eſcape,
they ſhould be put into ſome ſhallow
Part of the Sea. They ruſh'd into it eagerly,
and having plunged themſelves, they ſported
together, and in the Water, where they were
diſtinctly ſeen, performed a thouſand Tricks
which teftified their Satisfaction and their
Joy. They remained three Hours under
Water, without coming above its Surface to
reſpire. From that Day, when the King and
all his Court had the Pleaſure to be Wit-
neſſes of ſo new a Spectacle, they continued
every Day to lead them to the fame Place,
and permit them to enjoy the ſame Pleaſure,
by Means of which they lived ſome Years S;
but they could never learn to articulate a
fingle Word.
The Fact I am now to relate to you is of
another Kind, and much more ſingular. To-
wards
:11
238
TÉL Lİ AMED: Or,
wards the End of the laſt Age, an Engliſh Vefa
fel belonging to the City of Hull, ſituated one
hundred and fifty Miles from London, on the
North Coaſt of England, when fiſhing for
Whale in the Seas of Greenland, a hundred
and fifty Leagues from Land, was ſurround-
ed about Noon by fixty or eighty ſmall Boats,
in each of which there was a Man. The
Sailors had no ſooner diſcovered them, than
they put out their Ship's Boats, in order to
come up with ſome of them. But the Men
in the ſmall Boats, which they conducted
with two ſmall Oars, perceiving this, and ſee-
ing that the Ship's Boats gained Ground of
them, plunged all at once into the Sea, with
their Boats, and none of them appeared the
whole Day after, except one.
This returned
to the Surface of the Water, a Minute after,
becauſe, in plunging, one of the Oars was
broken. After four Hours Chace, and a
hundred new Plunges, in Proportion as the
Ship’s Boats approached, the little Boat
was at laſt taken, together with the Man that
was in her. He was brought on board the
Ship, where he liv'd twenty Days, without
ever taking any Nouriſhment, or utter-
ing any Cry or Sound which could make
People ſuſpect that he had the Uſe of Speech;
but he figh'd continually, and the Tears flow-
ed from his Eyes. He was ſhap'd like us
with a Beard and Hair pretty long, but from
the Middle downward, his Body was all co-
vered with Scales.
As for the Boat, it was eight or nine Feet
long, and was very narrow, eſpecially at the
IWO
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
239
two Extremities. The Ribs of it, and even the
Seat on which he fat, were Fiſh-bones. It was
covered within and without, with the Skins of
the Sea-dog ſtitch'd to each other. This Boat
had in the Middle an Opening large enough
to let the Rower in, and the Aperture was ſur-
rounded by a Kind of Sack or Purſe of the
fame Skin, with which the Man introduced
to the Middle into the Boat girt himſelf fo
perfectly with Bands alſo made of the ſame
Skin, that the Water could not enter into
the Boat. Before the Man were two Pieces
of the ſame Skin fixed to the Covering,
where they formed two kinds of Pouches.
In the one were found Lines and Hooks alſo
made of Fiſh-bones, and in the other ſome
Fiſh, which appeared to have been but late-
ly taken. At the Rower's Sides were two
ſmall Oars, alſo fix'd to the Boat by Straps
of the Sea-dog's Skin. All theſe Curioſities,
together with the Man himſelf dried, are ſtill
to be ſeen in the Town-Hall of Hull
;
and the Account itſelf atteſted by the Captain
and all the Crew, is to be found in the Ar-
chives of that Place.
The Conſequences of a Fact ſo ſingular, and
ſo authenticated, are ſuch ſtrong Proofs of.
the Poſſibility of the Human Race coming
out of the Sea, that it even ſeems impoſſible,
after what has been ſaid, to doubt of it. In a
Word, except in Point of Reaſon, of which
we are not here ſpeaking, the Men belonging
to theſe little Boats, were Men, ſuch as we are,
dumb indeed, but capable of living in the Sea
as well as in the Air, ſince during the whole
Day, there only appeared one on the Surface
of
4
240
TELLIAMED: Or,
+
of the Water. They certainly drank ,the
Water of the Sea, ſince there was no freſh
Water in the Boat which was taken, and ſince
they were an hundred and fifty Leagues from
Land, on which they muſt have certainly
built their Boats, and found the Wood for
making their Oars. They muſt therefore have
known how to return into theſe Places, whe-
ther they had this Knowledge from the Diſpo-
ſition of the Stars and Sun, or from the Bot-
tom of the Sea, under which they could walk
and reſt by Means of their Oars. It was al-
ſo neceſſary, that they ſhould refit their ſmall
Boats in the Places where they had built them,
and where, perhaps, they had their Wives and
Children. All theſe are Circumſtances worthy
of ſingular Attention, and of the moſt pro-
found Reflection.
Father Henriquez, a Jeſuit, relates, in one of
his Letters printed at Venice in 1543, and 1552,
that being in the Eaſt-Indies, near the Indian
Point, he was one Day invited to ſee ſixteen
Tritons, ſeven Male and nine Female, which
they had taken at one Hawl of the Net. I
was aſſured, that in the Texel, about thirty
Years ago, there was a Sea-man taken, who
lived three Days, and was ſeen by all the Peo-
ple of Amſterdam. They who fail in the
Greenland Seas affirm, that on the Coaſt of
that Country they often meet with thoſe Fi-
gures Male and Female, but of a larger Size
than thoſe in the other Seas. A thouſand fi-
milar Examples found in your Books, eſpe-
cially in your Voyages, evince that theſe
Monſters, are frequently ſeen by Ships Crews,
during the Courſe of their Navigation, even
fo
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 241
1
N
fo near, that it is often eaſy to view them and
their Shapes perfectly.
The following is a Proof of what I have
advanced, ſo recent, fo circumſtantiate, and ſo
authentic, that we muſt renounce our Reaſon,
and bid adieu to all Evidence, if we do not
yield to it. In 1720, on Thurſday the 8th of
Auguft, the Wind variable, being Eaſt South-
Eaſt, in twenty-eight or thirty Fathoms of
Water, ſeven Ships in view mooring on the
Banks of Newfoundland, about ten o'clock
in the Morning, there appeared near a French
Veſſel called the Mary de Grace, commanded
by Oliver Morin, a Sea-man, who firſt ſhewed
himſelf under the Roundlet of the Maſter, whoſe
Name was William L'Aumone. The Mafter forth-
with took a Gaff in order to draw him on board.
But the Captain hindered him, for fear the
Monſter ſhould drag him along. For this Rea-
ſon he only gave him a Blow on the Back with
it, without piercing him.
When the Monſter felt the Blow he turned
his Face to the Maſter, like a Man in Wrach,
who wanted to make Repriſals. He ſwan
round the Ship, and when he was behind her
laid hold of the Rudder with both Hands,
which obliged the Crew to fix its Handle to
both sides of the Ship, leſt he ſhould endan-
Then he repaſſed by the Star-
board, ſwimming always as if he had been an
ordinary Man, and when he was before the
Veſel, he ſtop'd to look at the Figure on the
Bow, which was that of a beautiful Woman.
After hav.:g long conſidered it he laid hold
of the lowelt Rope of the Bowfprit, and raiſ-
ed himſelf out of the Water with a ſeeming
R
In-
1
ger her.
242
TELLI A MED: Or,
Intention to ſeize the Figure. They tied a
Caſk to a Rope, and allowing it to hang at
the side of the Ship, he took it and handled
it without breaking it.
He afterwards ſwan to the windward of
the Ship, about a Cable's length, and paſſing
behind her, again laid hold of the Rudder. The
Captain having ordered a Harpoon to be pre-
pared, tried to harpoon him, but miſt his
Blow. The Handle only ſtruck his Back, up-
on which he for a long Time turned his Face
to the Captain, as he had to the Maſter, and
with the ſame Geſtures. After this he paſſed
before the Ship, and again ſtop'd to conſider
the Figure, upon which the Maſter ordered
the Harpoon to be brought to him: But be-
ing afraid left this Sea-man had been the
Ghoſt of a Sailor called Commune, who the
Year before had made away with himſelf on,
board the Ship, the 8th of the ſame Month,
which was Auguft, his trembling Hand ill
directed the Blow, ſo that for a third Time
the Monſter was only ſtruck with the Baton,
to which the Harpoon was fixed. Then he
preſented his Countenance with a menacing
Air, as he had done the two former Times.
This, however, did not hinder him to come
nearer, and to lay hold of a Line with which
one John Marie was fiſhing. After this he
again ſwam to the windward of the Ship, to
the Diſtance of a Gunſhot.
He afterwards returned, came very near,
and raiſed himſelf out of the Water as far as
his Navel, ſo that all the Company diſtinctly
obſerved, that he had a Breaſt as full as that
of a Woman. Then he turned himſelf on
his
LE
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 243
his Back, and with his Hands laid hold of
his private Parts, which were as large as those
of a Horſe. After this he fwam round the
Ship, and again laid hold of the Ruddır.
Swimming from thence ſlowly, he raiſed him-
ſelf out of the Water, and turning his Back
towards the Ship, he voided his Excrements
againſt her Side. After this he moved off till
we could ſee him no longer.
This Entertainment laſted from ten o'Clock
in the Morning till Noon, the Monſter hav-
ing all that Time been near the Veſſel, and of-
ten not above two or three Feet diſtant, ſo
that the Crew, compoſed of thirty-two Men,
had both the Pleaſure and Convenience of re-
niarking the following Particulars ; that his
Skin was brown and tann'd, but without
Scales; that all the Motions of his Body,
from Head to Foot, were like thoſe of a real
Man ; that his Eyes were well proportioned ;
that his Mouth was of a moderate Sizes con-
lidering the Length of his Body, which by
the Crew was computed to be about eight
Feet ; that his Noſe was large and very
flat, his Tongue thick, his Teeth large
and white; his Flair black and ſtraight, his
Chin furniſhed with a downy Beard, and Mou-
Itaches of the fame Kind under his Noſe, his
Ears like thoſe of an ordinary Man, his Feet
and Hands the ſame, except that his Fingers
were join'd with a Pellicule, ſuch as that
found in the Feet of Geeſe and Ducks. In a
Word; his Body was as well ſhap'd as that of
an ordinary Man:
R2
This
1
*
244
TELLI AMED: Or,
This Detail is taken from an Account drawn
up by John Martin Pilot of the Veſſel, ſigned
by the Captain and all thoſe of the Crew who
could write, and ſent from Breft by Mr. Hau-
tefort, to the Count de Maurepas, on the 8th
of September 1725.
In 1731, about two Leagues from Nice,
there was a large Fiſh found, in the Belly of
which there was a Hand like that of a Man,
ſeparated from the Arm, as if it had been cut
by a Hatcher. This Hand was ſo ſound, that
by the ſmall Impreſſion the Digeſtion of the
Animal had made upon it, it was eaſy to ſee,
thac it was but very lately ſwallowed. It was
ſeen by a prodigious Number of People, and
among the reſt by Mr. L' Honoré Procurator
of the Court of Turin, from whom I had
this Relation, as well as from a Fiſherman
who was preſent at the Opening of this Fiſh.
The Fingers of the Hand, entirely like thoſe
of a Man, were united by a Pellicule like
that in the Feet of Geeſe and Ducks;' a cer-
tain Proof that it could be no other than the
Hand of a Sea-man, which the Filh had juſt
bit off, without being able to ſwallow the
whole Man, or a more conſiderable Part of
his Body
Of Wild Perhaps, Sir, you will ſay, that theſe Facts
tend to prove, that there are different Species
vage-men. of Men; for my own Share, I think it im-
poſſible to doubt of it, after all theſe Tefti-
monies. Is it not ſufficiently known, that in
the Inand of Madagaſcar there is a Kind of
Wild or Savage-men ſtill dumb, and ſo ſwift
Runners, that it is almoſt impoſſible to come
up to them, or take them ?
A ſhort
or Sa.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 245
A ſhort Time ago, two Veſſels coming
from your Coaſts, in order to purchaſe Blacks
at Senegal, one of them was ſeparated from
her Convoy by a Tempeſt, and for want of
freſh Water put in to a Land little frequented.
The King of the Country made a Preſent to
the Captain of an Animal all cover'd with
Hair, which he put on board, believing it to
be an Ape of an extraordinary Figure. The
Veſſel fet fail, and was afterwards expoſed to
ſo many Tempeſts, that the Sailors, who are
generally ſuperſtitious, imagined that ſuch
bad Weather proceeded from the ſtrange Ani-
mal they had on board. They begged that
it might be thrown into the Sea ; and the
Captain, who would have gladly preſerved it,
was obliged to ſatisfy them. Some time af-
ter arriving at a Port not far from the former,
he underſtood with Aſtoniſhment and Regret,
that what was taken for an Ape, was a Man
of a particular Species, who inhabit the Moun-
tains of the Country where he had been em-
barked.
Nothing is more common than thoſe Sa-
vage-men; in 1702, the Dutch East-India
Company ſent out two Veſſels from Batavia,
for the Coaſts of New Guinea, and the South-
ern Countries, in order to trade and make
Diſcoveries. During that Expedition, which
was of no Uſe, the Dutch ſeized two Male
Animals, which thcy brought to Batavia,
and which, in the Language of the Country
where they were taken, they called Orangs-Oll-
tangs, that is, Men who live in the Woods.
They had the whole of the human Form, and
like us walk'd upon two Legs. Their Legs
R3
and
246
TELLIA M:ED: Or,
and Arms were very ſmall, and thick-co-
vered with biair, ſome of which they alſo
hüd on the whole of their Body, their Faces
not excepted. Their Feet were flat, where
tacy are joined to the Leg, ſo that they re-
ſembled a Piece of Plank with a Baton driven
into it. Theſe Orangs-outangs had the Nails of
their Fingers and Toes very long, and ſome-
what crooked. They could only articulate
Sounds very indiſtinctly, but were very nie-
lancholy, gentle, and peaceable. The one
died at Batavia, and the other in the Road to
Eolland, whither he was ſent as a Curioſity
worthy the Admiration of all Europe. In a
Word; if we could not ſay, that theſe living
Creatures were Men, yer they reſembled then
ſo much, that it would have been Raſhnefs to
pronounce that they were only Brutes.
To return to the different Species of Men.
Can thoſe who have Tails, be the Sons of
them who have none? As Apes with Tails do
not certainly deſcend from thoſe which have
none, is it not alſo natural to think, that
Men born with Tails are of a different Spe-
cies from thoſe who have never had any ?
They are alſo characteris'd by very different
Qualities. I know that a great many Peo-
ple are perſuaded, either that there are no Men
with Tails, or that if there are, it is an Error
of Nature, or an Effect of the Mother's Ima-
gination : But they who think in this Man-
ner, are certainly deceived in ſuppoſing, that
ſuch Men and Women either do not exiſt
at all or are very rare. It is true the Shame
and Turpitude attached to this Deformity,
the fierce Character, and the little Senſe of
all
Of Men
witi
'1 ail;
Diſcourſes or the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 247
1
all thoſe ſubject to it, and their natural Hairy-
neſs, oblige them to conceal their Misfortune
from the Perſons among whom they live.
They take the ſame Care of their Children,
and theſe inſtructed by their Parents uſe the
ſame Precautions with reſpect to their Porte-
rity. Beſides, it is evident, that this Race
of Men with Tails, is much more numerous
than we imagine, and that the Expreſſion ſo
common among you ( homines caudati) Men
with Tails, in order to denote People of little
Senſe, is by no means metaphorical, but
founded on Truth. There are a great many
of theſe Men in Ethiopia, Egypt, the Indies,
England, and eſpecially Scotland, according to
all your Relations. Some of them are alſo
found in France, where I have ſeen ſeveral of
them. But I ſhall only relate ſome recent
Inſtances of this Kind, of the Truth of which
you may have an opportunity of being con-
vinced.
Mr. Cruvillier, who with no leſs Courage
than Succeſs made an Expedition againſt the
Turks, and who died in Caramania in a Ship
which one of the Officers, in order to be re-
venged of his Captain, blew up, was equally
remarkable for the Tail with which he was
born, as for his valiant Actions. He was on-
ly a Clerk of a Merchant-ſhip, when one
Day that Ship mooring in the Port of Alex-
andria, a Baſhaw, who was going to Cairo,
having heard of the Exploits of this young
Man, propoſed to him to wreſtle with a
Black, whom he had in his Service, and pro-
miſed him thirty Sequins if he came off vic-
torious. The Black had killed fifteen or ſix-
R
teen
248
TELLIA MED: Or,
tean Men in this Exerciſe. Tho' Mr. Cru-
villier was' informed of this, yet he accepted
the Propoſal of the Baſhaw, and came to
the Place appointed without any Preparation.
The Black, on the contrary, came naked,
and his Body rub'd with Oil, after the Cuſ-
toin of the ancient Wreſtlers, having only a
Imall Bit of Cloth to cover his Nakedneſs.
They, at firſt, view'd each other for ſome
time, without engaging. At laſt, after ſome
Feints, the Black ſuddenly ruſh'd upon Mr.
Cruvillier, with a Reſolution to ſeize him :
But Mr. Cruvillier, who had ſtretch'd out his
Arms to prevent him, beat the Black ſo in the
Siiles, that they reſiſted his Fiſts no more than
if they had been Butter. By this Means he
depriv'd him of Reſpiration and Strength, and
taking his Neck between his Hands, totally
ſuffocated liim; then lifting him off the
Ground, he threw him upon his Head with
ſuch Force, that the whole Head was plung.
ed in the Sand. The Baſhaw, Witneſs (toge-
ther with all the People and Strangers at Alex-
andria) of fo extraordinary a Strength, tho?
touch'd with the Loſs of his Black, ordered
Mr. Cruvillier the thirty Sequins which lie had
promiſed him. Cruvillier when on a Cruiſe, and
about to engage, leſt to his Crew the Choice,
either of weighing the Anchors while he hoiſt-
cd the Sails, or of hoiſting the Sails while
he weigh'd the Anchors. He had a Brother
of equal Strength, who reſiding at Tripoli in
Barbary, was by the Turks obliged to turn
Mahometail. 'Tis faid, that he alſo had a
Tail.
When
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 249
When I went to Tripoli ſome time ago, I
ſaw a Black called Mahammed, of an extraor-
dinary Strength. By the Help of two Oars
he alone row'd a large Sloop, with greater
Swiftneſs than twenty ordinary Men could
have done. With one Hand he could throw
down two or three Men at once, and could
carry Burdens of an aſtoniſhing Weight. He
was covered with Hair, contrary to what is
uſual among the Blacks, and had a Tail half
a Foot long, which he ſhewed me. I enquir-
ed into his Country, which he told me was
that of Borneo. He aſſured me that his Fa-
ther had a Tail like his, as well as moſt of the
Men and Women of his Country, who go
naked, and among whom this Tail has no-
thing diſhonourable, as in Europe. The Mer-
chants of Tripoli, who deal in black Slaves,
alſo aſſured, me, that thoſe of that Country
were more fierce, ſtrong, and hard to be ſub-
dued, than thoſe of any other Part; that they
had almoſt all Tails, Women as well as Men;
that many of them paſſed thro' their Hands;
that they ſold them well on the Coaſts of
Caramania, where they were employed in
cutting Wood.
It is by no‘Means ſhameful for a Naturaliſt
to dive into Facts, which may inſtruct him
in the Secrets of Nature, and conduct him to
the Knowledge of certain Truths. Being
at Piſa in 1710, I was informed that there
was a Courteſan, who boaſted of having known
a Stranger who had been there three Years
before, and who was one of the Species of
Men with Tails. This inſpired me with a
Curioſity to ſee her, and examine her with
reſpect
1
250
TELLI AMED: Or,
reſpect to the Fact. She was at that Time
no more than eighteen Years of Age, and
was very beautiful. She told me, that in re-
turning from Liburnia to Pifa, in a Paſſage-
Boat, in 1702, ſhe met with three French
Officers, one of whom fell in Love with her.
Her Gallant was large, well-made, and about
thirty-five Years of Age ; he was of a very
fair Complexion, his Beard was black and
thick, and his Eye-brows were long and
Maggy. He lay all Night with her, and
came very near that Labour for which Hercules
is no leſs famous in Fable than for his other
Exploits. He was ſo ſhaggy that Bears
themſelves are hardly more ſo. The Hair
with which he was covered, was very near
half a Foot long. As the Courtefan had never
met with a Man of this Kind; Curioſity led
her to handle him all over, and putting her
Hand to his Buttocks ſhe felt a Tail as large
as ones Finger, and half a Foot long, and
ſhaggy as the reſt of the Body, upon which
ſhe aſked him what it was. He reply'd with
a harſh and angry Tone, that it was a Piece
of Fleſh he had had from his Infancy, in
Conſequence of his Mother's longing for a
Tail of Mutton when ſhe was big with him.
From that Monient the Courtefan obſerved,
that he no more teſtified the ſame Affection
for her ; the Smell of his Sweat was ſo ſtrong
and particular, and ſmelt, as ſhe ſaid, ſo much
of the Savage, that ſhe could not get quit of
it for a Month afterwards.
A Perſon of your country aſſured me,
that the deceas'd Mr. Barſabas, and his Siſter
a Nụn, both remarkable for particular Fea-
tures
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 251
1
1
1
tures expreſſive of Strength, had each of them
a Tail.
When paſſing through Orleans, I
faw a Man who had one, and who was alſo
very ſtrong and ſhaggy. I have been ſince
informed, that wanting to have this Tail cut
off, he died under the Operation, as we
are informed in the Mercury for the Month
of September 1718. At Aix in the Street called
the Courtiſſade, there is a poor Woman called
Louiſa Martin, who when thirty-five Years of
Age was ſeized with a contagious Diſeaſe,
which rag'd in that City ; the People who
had the Charge of her in her Illneſs, diſcovered
that ſhe had a Tail, and ſhewed it to feveral
Perſons, ſo that the Story became publick.
This Woman has a ſtrong Beard with black
Hair and Eye-brows, is pofleſſed of an ex-
traordinary Strength, and carries on her Shoul-
ders two large Sacks of Corn with as much
Eafe as moſt other people carry a Faggot.
One Day ſhe gave a Man ſo ſevere a Blow,
that he fell flat on the Ground, and remain-
ed half an Hour in a fainting Fit. There is
now at Aix, one Mr. Berard a Procurator,
called Hog's-Tail, becauſe he was ſeen to have
a Tail when baching himſelf, neither does he
deny it. He is not of a ſtrong Complexion
like the Woman I have now mentioned, but
his Face is full of Freckles,
To theſe Facts, which all the Curious may
enquire into, I might add a great many others
in diſtant Countries; but I hope theſe are ſuf-
ficient to perſuade you, that the Men with
Tails found now and then, are not born with
theſe Tails by an Effect of Chance, or the
Force of the Mother's Imagination. They
are
1
25?
· TELLIAMED: Or,
are probably Men of a Species as different
from ours, as the Species of Apes with Tails
is different from that without them. The
Ferocity of theſe Men, their extraordinary
Strength, their Hairyneſs, and the Communi-
cation of theſe Tails from Parents to Children,
feem to be certain Proofs of a different Species.
If this extraordinary Ferocity and Hairyneſs
are not always equal in all the Perſons of this
Kind, it proceeds from this, that their Species
mixed with ours, no doubt loſes fome of its
Properties; and that ſome are preſerved in a
Perſon produced from this Mixture, while the
others are weaken'd or concealed for a Time.
Thus a Son begot by a Father who has a
Tail, and born of a Mother who has none,
may be without a Tail, and this Son may by
a Wife without a Tail beget a Son like his
Grandfather ; he may be ſhaggy without hay-
ing a Tail, or he may have a Tail without
being ſhaggy.
One of your Authors pretends, that in the
Southern Part of the Illand of Formoſa, there
are whole Races with Țails ; ſuch as thoſe of
Africa, mentioned to me by the Merchants
of Tripoli. Another t aſſures us, that he has
found whole Nations with Tails, in the Mo-
lucca and Philippine Iſlands. This is certain,
becauſe as I have told you, notwithſtanding
the Mixture of their Race with ours, it is
always perpetuated, ſometimes remaining ſuch
as it was in its origin, and ſometimes par-
raking of both; and after having become
fpurious, it may again reſume the whole
Force
+ Gemelli in his Voyage raund the World.
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 253
Force of its Eſſence, if a Perſon produced by
this Mixture, finds another in the ſame Cafe.
This is one of the Cauſes of the Diverſity
obfervable in the Conſtitution of theſe Men.
The Americans, and eſpecially thoſe of or Men
Canada, except the Eſquines, have neither without
Beards nor Hair on any Parts of their Body.
Beards.
If we tranſport the Braſilians into Portugal,
and the Natives of Canada into France or
England, they and their Poſterity will always
remain without Beards and Hair. On the
contrary, the Portugueſe Children when they
have lived for two hundred Years in Braſil,
and the French Children eſtabliſhed in Canada
equally long, have as much Hair on their
Heads, and as long Beards as their Anceſtors.
Do the Men who are born without Beards and
Hair, in cold and hot Climates, proceed from
the bearded Race of Men in the ſame Coun-
tries? Do the black and white Moors of
Africa, and the Northern Countries, ſo diffe-
rent from ordinary Men by their Features,
and by the Wool with which their Heads are
covered inſtead of Hair, deſcend from Men
who have an Air, a Stature, and Hair ſo dif-
ferent from theirs ? At Cairo are ſold Blacks
of a certain Canton of Africa, whoſe Penis in
Erection is crooked from the Middle to the
Extremity. Do theſe Men proceed from the
other Blacks, in whom no ſuch Singularity is
obſervable? There is another Race of Blacks,
the outermuſt Parts of whoſe Eyes are rediſh,
whereas ours are white, and this Species are of
ſo bad natural Diſpoſitions, that no Body will
purchaſe them. There are ſome Black's whoſe
Legs and Arms are no bigger than Spindles.
I have
i
b.
1
254
TELLI AMED: Or;
Of Men I have already mentioned the Eſquines, who
with only of all the Nations of Canada, are the only
one Leg
and one People who have Hair and Beards. About
Hand. two or three Years ago, theſe People made
an Incurfion towards the Fort of Pontchar-
traine, on which Occaſion two of their Men
and two of their Girls were taken Priſoners.
Theſe laſt, one of whom was about ſixteen,
and the other fourteen Years of Age, were
conducted to the Fort, and lodged in the
Houſe of the Cominander's Mother, from
whom I have this Account. The youngeſt
of theſe Girls died, and the other having a
fine Genius, ſoon learned the French Lan-
guage, and remained two Years in the Fort.
One Day viewing the Sailors who arrive in
that Road for the Sake of Fiſhing, this young
Savage aſked her Miſtreſs, why in that Na-
tion, there were not Men with one Leg, as
among the Eſquines. The Lady anſwered
her, that there were Men in France as well as
elſewhere, who had loſt one of their Legs,
but that theſe Men were no longer fit for the
Purpoſes of Navigation. Theſe, replied the
young Savage, are not the Men I mean ; there
are alſo ſuch among us ; but I ſpeak of a
Race of People, the Men and Women of
which have but one Leg and one Hand,
ſhaped in a very extraordinary Manner. Theſe
Men are very numerous, never ſmile, and
can only walk by a kind of juinping or leap-
ing. They are employed in raiſing our Boats
when they ſink, and in taking up what falls
into the Sea, on theſe Occaſions. They ſpeak,
reaſon, and act like the other Eſquines. In vain
did her Miſtreſs endeavour to make her vary
from
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
255
from this Declaration, by pretending that the
Thing was impoſſible. This Girl, who ne-
ver contradicted herſelf, at twenty different
Examinations, aſſerted that there were great
Numbers of ſuch Men and Women, and that
there was even a whole Nation of them.
I could relate twenty other Particularities, Of Blacks,
which ſeem to prove that there are different
Species of Men: But I ſhall aſk you in gene-
ral, whether you believe, that the Black Men
are deſcended from the White ; and why in
the former rather than the latter, there ſhould
be, immediately below the Epidermis, a fine
Membrane, which is thought to be the Cauſe
of their Blackneſs? In a Word, this Coat
blunts and abſorbs the Rays of Light;
whereas, on the contrary, a Leaf of Quick-
ſilver applied to the Back of a Glaſs, rever-
berates and reflects them. Mabomet was ſo
ſtruck with the Difference of the Species of
black and white. Men, that he did not heſi-
tate to aſſert that God had made the one of
black and the other of white Earth. He
could not imagine, that Men ſo different,
not only in Colour, but alſo in Shape
and Inclination, could have the ſame Ori-
gin. He obſerves in another Place, that
tho' there have been Prophets of all other
Nations, yet there have never been any among
the Blacks, which denotes that they have ſo
little Senſe, that the Gift of Fore-Knowledge,
the Effect of a natural Wiſdom, which has,
in ſome, been honour'd by the Name of Pro-
phecy, has never been the Portion of any of
the Blacks.
There
2
256
TELLIAMED: Or,
Of Giants, There are, in my opinion, ſtill more re-
markable Differences among the ſeveral Races
of Men which we know ; for beſides theſe I
have mentioned to you, do you imagine that
the Giants proceed from the ſame Origin with
us? About fifty Years ago, fix Leagues
from Salonica, in a Tomb built of large
Stones at the foot of a ſmall Hill ncar a
Town called Katikioi, the Body of a Man
forty-five Cubits long was found. Upon the
Report of this News, Mr. Duſquenet, then
French Conſul in that City, ſent People, and
Janiſaries, furniſhed him by Care-Ailam-Iſmael-
Pacha, Commander of Salonica, to take up
the Bones of that Giant. Such of them as
were found, were ſent in two large Boxes to
Paris, where the greateſt Part of them ſtill re-
main in the King's Library. The Head was
carried to Salonica, and hung up on the Top
of a public Gate, in order to perpetuate the
Memory of this Prodigy. But the Injuries
of Time having rotted it, its great Weight
made it fall ſome Years ago, when it was un-
fortunately broken. The Cranium was ſo large,
that before it was hung up, it contained ſeven
Quilots of the Corn of that Country, which
weigh'd ſeventeen hundred French Pounds.
One of the Fore-Teeth, and another of the
Jaw-Teeth having been weigh’d, the former
was found to weigh a hundred and forty, and
the other four hundred and twenty Drams;
that is, the one was about a Pound and an
half, and the other about four Pounds in
Weight
9
Diſcourſes ciż the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 257
Weight. One of the Men ſent by the Con-
ſul, to raiſe the Bones of this Giant, was ſtill
alive, when I paſſed thro' Salonica, and o-
bligingly recounted theſe Particularities to
me.
There have been alſo Giants in France. Not
longer than five hundred Years ago there was
in Dauphine, one eighteen Feet high, whofe
Tomb, Bones, and Figure are drawn on the
Walls of the Church in which he was buried.
During this laſt Age a Man between eight
and ten Feet high, was ſhewn 'publickly
at Paris ; and in America a whole Nation of
Giants are lately diſcovered, of whom I have
got the following Account.
Four Savages of the Village of Sejou in Ca-
nada, having gone, according to the Canadian
Cuſtom, to take a Priſoner, in Stead of
one of their own who had been affiffin'd,
took their Road towards the Weſt, and croſſ-
ed ſeveral Countries, the People of which were
ſometimes their Enemies. They avoided
them, and went farther, in order to execute
this Reſolution, which amorg them is look'd
upon as a Piece of Generoſity and Bravery.
They travelled in this Manner for ten Months,
till they came to a Country where the Men
were ten or twelve Feet high. Pleas'd to find
theſe Giants, they propoſed to bind one of
them and carry him off with them. With this
Deſign they concealed themſelves in the Thic-
kets adjacent to one of their Habitations,
where they remained three Days. During
that Time they ſaw ſeveral paſs and repaſs,
but durft not attack them, becauſe they were
in Companies. At the End of that Time
they ſaw one alone, at vhom they all fhoc
S
their
258
TELL IA MED: Or,
their Arrows at once. The Giant being
wounded fell on the Ground, and as his
Wounds were too conſiderable to admit of
carrying him off, they cut off his Head, and
carried it to their own Country, after being
about eighteen Months abfent. This Head,
with the Hair which they had torn off from
it, was ſeen by Mr. Pachot, a French Officer,
then in theſe Quarters, with a Detachment of
the Colony of Canada. According to his Re-
lation, this Head was at leaſt as large as three
ordinary Heads.
There has lately been ſhewn at London the
Hand of a Sea-giant killed near Virginia, by
a Cannon-Ball, and having with him another
ſmaller Giant, who was, no doubt, one of his
Children. This Hand was four Feet from the
Wriſt to the Extremity of the Fingers. It
was ſo perfectly like our Hands, with Lines,
Nails, and Fingers, ſo ſimilar, that it was not
poſſible to doubt of its being a human Hand.
Several Surgeons thought it artificial; but,
upon probing it they were undeceived. Í
have this Fact from my Lord Baltimore's
Brother, who aſſures me that he has ſeen and
touched this Hand, as well as the Sea-ele-
phant ſhewn at the ſame Time in London.
The Giants are not therefore a Race of ima-
ginary Mortals, ſince there have been, and ſtill
are ſuch Men. I have ſeen a Book intituled,
The Univerſal Hiſtory of the Eaſt-Indies, wrote
by Witfliet in Latin, tranſlated into French,
and in 1707 printed at Doway. The Author
there relates, that in 1522, Magellan being
near the Straits called by his Name, ordered
ſeveral Soldiers and Sailors to deſcend to the
Port,
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 259
Port, ſince called the Port of St. Julian.
Theſe having entered pretty far into the
Country, found a Houſe ſeparated into two
Apartments. In the one were three Men,
ten Feet high, and in the other their Wives
and Children. By fome Stratagem they got
one of theſe Men on Ship-board, but the
other two made their Eſcape. This Giant
had a Throat ſo wide, that he could put an
Arrow a Foot and an half long down
it. He was ſo ſtrong, that no fewer than eight
Men could tie him. He eat a Baſket full of
Biſcuits, and drank a Gallon of Wine. This
Land was called the Land of Giants or Pata-
gons, and ſtill retains the fame Name. The
People of Magellan found, that the Coaſts on
both sides of the Streights were inhabited by a
gigantic Race of Men.
Now, do theſe Giants of paſt or preſent of
Times, deſcend, in your Opinion, from the Duvarfs.
fame Fathers with our Race of five or ſix Feet
high, or that of two Feet and an half? That
of the Giants and ours are; perhaps, inter-
mixed ; and the Giants of the laſt Ages are
the Remains of the ſpurious Seed of the firſt.
Thus thae Species is itill renewed on particu-
lar Occaſions, and preſents us with Diminu-
tives of the original Race, which no longer
fubfiſt without a Mixture in Aſia and Europe,
becauſe our Species being more ſubtil, dex-
terous, and without doubt more numerous
than theirs, have almoſt deſtroy'd them. Does
the Race of Dwarfs about three Feet high,
ſuch as theſe of Lapland, and the Eſquines in
Canada, deſcend from a Race about five or
ſix Fect high? or can this Smallneſs of Sta-
S2
ture
-
'260
TELLI A MED: Or,
+
Words ;
ture be aſcrib'd to the Country of which they
are Natives? But as the Dwarfs of Lapland,
and among the Eſquines, are ſurrounded by
People of an ordinary Height, who live in
the fame Climates, is it not probable that they
have a different Origin? In 1698, there died
at London a little Ma'i brought from Dangola,
on the Coaſt of Africa. The Literati of Lon-
don had taught him to pronounce ſome
he walked ſometimes on his
Feet, but more frequently on his Feet and
Hands like a Beaſt. His Head and Back
were preciſely like thoſe of another Man, but
the other Parts of his Body, were not ſo fully
ſimilar to thoſe of Man.
Some Years ago
there were two Dwarfs no more than three
Feet high, ſhewn in Boxes at Paris. Their
Heads were very large, and their Voices very
rough. They had no Teeth, and their Bodies
were ſquare.
Mr. David Vanderboele, a Philoſopher of
the laſt Age, whoſe Meditations on the Prin-
ciples of natural Things, wrote in Latin,
were publiſhed at Hamburg in 1678, pretends,
that the Generation of Dwarfs and Giants
only proceeds from a Difference of the Hu-
mours; that there being more or leſs denſe,
change the Determination, or the rectilinear
Motion of the acid and volatile Sulphur of
the Seed, which contains the Repreſentations
of the Species, by diffuſing them for Giants,
and contracting them for Pigmies. This Syl-
tem might be defenſible, if we were only
treating of rare and ſingular Caſes; but as
there are whole: Nations of Giants and Pig-
mies, this: Sentiment cannot be maintained. :
Beſides,
!
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 261
11
Beſides, I muſt confeſs to you, that I do not
thoroughly underſtand what the Author means
by Humours more or leſs denſe, and chang-
ing the Determination, or rectilinear Motion
of the Sulphur.
As for my own Share, if I was not afraid
of depreciating Men too much, I ſhould com-
pare the different Species of them to theſe of
the Brute Creation. How many Species are
there of Apes, Oxen, and Goats, in the Parts
of the World known to us? How many Spe-
cies of Dogs are there? How great is the
Difference between a ſmall Boulogne Dog, and
a Maitiff of England or St. Malo ; between a
Grey-hound and a Spaniel ; between a rough
Dog, and one without Hair? You include
however all theſe Differences under the Genus
or Kind of the fame Animals, becauſe they
inix with each other. Do you, however, be-
lieve, that all the Species of Apes and Dogs,
which we fee, deſcend from the ſame Origin ?
But if we give theſe a different Origin, why
ſhould we not admit the ſame in Men, ſince the
Thing is no leſs probable ?
As all the Species of Sea-men are not known, of the
ir is impoſſible to determine thoíc from which Paſſage of
the various Human Races particularis'd by Men from
the Wa.
Figure, Diſpoſitions and Qualities proper to
each, may have deſcended. It is at leaſt cer- the Air.
tain, that ſome of them who have been taken,
reſpir'd in the common Air, as well as in the
Sea. However, tho' the Reſpiration in the
Air is as natural to them as that in the Sea,
we ought not to doubt, but the former being
ſudden and forced, eſpecially when ſuch a
Tranſition happens in warm Climates, the Di-
verſity
1
.
ter into
S 3
262
TELL IA MED: Or,
1
verſity of the Air and Water which they
quit, is very prejudicial to the Species. It is
not cherefore ſurpriſing, that Sea-men taken
in temperate or warm Climates, have either
lived ſo ſhort a Time, or by their melancholy
Air teftified the Change of their Health.
Men born and bred in Plains and certain
Marſhy Grounds, either ſoon die, or are ſub-
jected to Diſorders, when they are obliged to
breathe the pure Air of the Mountains; and
theſe born on the Mountains, are, as it were,
ſuffocated, by reſpiring the groſs Air of
low and marſhy Places. 'Tis for the ſame
Reaſon, that Birds only riſe to a particular
Height above the Earth.
Beſides, it is not to be doubted, but Nature
chuſes proper Times and Places for the Tranſ-
migration of the Sea-Races to the Reſpiration
of the Air. Now, it is certainly towards the
Poles, and in cold Countries, that the Diſpo-
ſitions to theſe Paſſages are moſt favourable,
becauſe in theſe Climates the Air being always
moiſt, and full of thick Fogs the greateſt
Part of the Year, is not very different in Cold
and Moiſture from the Water of the Sea.
Thus, it is probably in theſe Countries that
the Sea-Races have paſſed and ſtill paſs moſt
frequently from one Element to another.
Theſe Sea-Races may however become ter-
reſtrial in all parts of the Globe, by the
Advantage of certain Diſpoſitions, as in deep
Vallies, where the Elevation and Proximity of
the Mountains maintain a perpetual Coldneſs
and Moiſture, and where thick and gloomy Fo-
reſts, or large Caverns, ſheltered theſe Races
at their Departure from the Water, from the
warm
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 263
warm Air, which might at that Time have
been incommodious to their Breaſt and Lungs.
But it is more probable, that the Tranſmi-
grations of the Sea-Species, always have, and
always will be more frequent towards the
Poles, and in cold Climates. It is for this
Reaſon that the immenſe Multitudes of Men
with which the Southern Parts of Aſia and
Europe are peopled, have come from theſe Nor-
thern Countries. It is alſo for this Reaſon,
thar Waters in theſe cold Regions, are more
fertile in monſtrous Fiſh, and Sea-Calfs, than
thoſe of warm Climates, and that theſe Lands
are better ſtocked with Birds and Animals of
unknown Species, than temperate Countries.
The moiſt and cold Air, as I have ſaid, of
theſe Northern Places, is more favourable for
the Paſſage of Sea-Animals from thar Element
to another.
It may, perhaps, be objected, that if Men Anſwer to
had drawn their Origin from the Sea, the fome Ob-
Tradition of this Origin would have been jections
preſerved among them; whereas there is no this Doc-
Account now ſublifting, except that the Earth trine.
produced them. But
this Tradition itſelf fa-
vours my Opinion. A ſingle Reflection will,
I am perſuaded, convince you that it is fo.
In what Condition do you believe the Human
Races were at their Departure from the Sea ?
Why, being fierce, dumb, and without a
Power of Reaſoning, they have long wander-
ed upon the Earth, and inhabited Caverns be-
fore they had acquired the Power of articulat-
ing Sounds, appropriating them to certain
Ideas, and communicating their Thoughts
and Knowledge to their Children. There
was,
S4
264
TELLIAMED: Or,
was, no doubt, a long Time wherein the Me-
mory of the Places whence the firſt of them
came, was loſt, when they began to ſpeak,
and ſtill longer, when they found the Art of
conveying their Sentiments to Pofterity in
Writing. There are, to this Day, Nations
ſo barbarous, that they hardly have the Uſe
of Speech. Almoſt all the Natives of Ame-
rica and Africa, except thoſe who live on the
Borders of the Red Sea, and the Mediterra-
nean, are ſtill ignorant of the Art of Writ-
ing
What could ſavage and barbarous Men
imagine, as thoſe of the firſt Ages were after
their Departure from the Sea ? and what more
reaſonable Thought could they entertain of
their Origin, than that they had been produced
by the Earth which they inhabited? There was
among them no Tradition that they were
ſprung from Fathers, who had come from
the Sea, becauſe theſe Fathers had certainly.
never been in a Condition to communicate this
Knowledge of their Origin to their Children.
Many of theſe people inhabited Illands, the
narrow Bounds of which they took for the
whole World. Cthers, tho' in a Country the .
Excent of which they knew not, had never
feen other Men than thoſe of their own Fa-
mily or Troop, and, like the others, believ-
ed themſelves to be the only Inhabitants of
the Earth. In this State could they imagine
any thing more probable, than that the firſt
among them was born of the Earth?
I have however found in Witfliet's Hiſto-
Tradition
ry, already mentioned, a Teſtimony con-
Chilinef. cerning the Origin of theſe Men who came
from the Sea, no leſs ſingular, than natural
and
of the
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 265.
c
the Re-
and probable. In Page 89, the Author in
ſpeaking of the Chilineſe, has the following
Words : ' A great many fabulous Things
are related of the Origin of this Nation ; for
they ſay that their Anceſtors, who were the
' firſt Men, proceeded from a certain Lake.'
The Word proceeded is ſo expreſſive, that the
Meaning of the Tradition cannot by Words
be rendered leſs dubious. Let the Author
treat it as fabulous, as much as he pleaſes, I
am yet of Opinion, that it deſerves to be tranſ-
mitted to Poſterity.
But if the Paſſage from the Reſpiration of That Ani-
the Water to that of the Air is natural, if it is mals may
prov'd by a great many Facts, and well-found-paſs from
ed Conſequences, the Return of the Reſpira- fpira-
tion of the Air to that of the Water, tho'tion of the
much leſs extraordinary, is yet ſupported by Water, to
that of
a conſiderable Number of Examples. I have
the Air.
read in one of the Relations of your Country, and from
that one Baker, having about forty Years ago that of the
the Command of a Dutch Veffél called the Air, to
Swallow, and being on the Coaſts of Holland,
the Wa.
a Sea-man jumped from the Sea amidſt the
Crew of Sailors, to whom the Captain was
ſpeaking. Their Aſtoniſhment was ſtill in-
creas'd when they heard him ſpeak Dutch,
and in that Language aſk for a Pipe of To-
bacco, which was readily granted him. He
was covered with Scales, and had Hands like
the Fins of a Filh. They aſk'd him, Who
he was? Upon which he reply'd, he was a
Dutchman, and that having embarked when
eighteen Years of Age, in a Veſſel which was
loſt with all her Crew, he had ſince lived in
the Sea, without knowing how ſuch a mi-
raculous
that of
ter,
1
266
TELLIAMED: Or,
raculous Thing happened. But perceiving
that the Captain made a Sign to the Sailors
to lay hold of him, he threw away the Pipe,
änd by a Spring jumped into the Sea. The
Captain and Company forthwith drew up an
Account of the Fact, which they lodged in
the Admiralty of Amſterdan, as ſoon as the
Ship landed, and confirmed by their Depo-
fitions.
This Fact, lowever ſingular, will only ap-
pear incredible to thoſe who are ignorant of
the Anatomy of the human Body, eſpecially
that of the Breaſt and Lungs, and who have
not reflected on what paſſes when we are includ-
ed in the Womb of our Mothers. We then
live without Reſpiration. This Reſpiration,
which only ferves to refreſh the Blood, and
convey it through the Arteries to all the Parts
of the Body, for the Preſervation of Life,
is only ſupply'd by two Apertures, which
correſpond to the four large Veſſels, thro’ which
the Blood, on its Departure from the Heart,
paſſes from one Veſſel to another, without
entering the Lungs. Of theſe two Apertures
the one is called the Foranen ovale, becauſe
of its oval Shape, and was diſcovered
but a few Years ago. The other is called
the Arterial Duet, becauſe of its arterial Con-
ſtruction. It ariſes from the Vena Cava, paffes
into the right Ventricle of the Heart, above
the right Auricle, and terminates in the pul-
monary Vein. Its Conſtruction is ſuch, that
by particular Valves, or Suckers, it permits
the Blood to circulate from the Vena Cava,
into thofe of the Lungs, and hinders it
from returning from theſe laſt to the firſt;
fo
2
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 267
1
ſo that in a Fætus, the Blood neither paſſes
through the Lungs, nor enters into the left
Ventricle of the Heart.
Now theſe two Canals thus diſpoſed, are
dried up and obſtructed, when the Infánt is
born, and after the Air entering into the
Lungs dilates them, and opens another and
eaſier Road to the Blood, in which it circu-
lates ever after. Thus in Adults, there are
generally no Marks of theſe two Apertures
which ſupply Reſpiration in the Fætus. How-
ever, it ſometimes happens that theſe Aper-
tures are not abſolutely cloſed up, as we find
in the Diſſections of various Bodies. This
has been obſerved, eſpecially in famous Di-
vers, and in the Bodies of Criminals which
could not be hanged. This formerly, and
before Anatomy was brought to its preſent
Perfection, was attributed to the Hardneſs
of the Larynx. 'Tis by means of this con-
formation that Sea-men and Sea-calves live in
the Sea without Reſpiration. 'Tis not there-
fore to be doubted but this young Hollander,
who lived in the Sea, without being ſuffo
cated, had theſe two Holes open when he
was ſhipwreck'd ; and that he had reſumed
the Habit of living without Reſpiration, as
he did in his Mother's Belly.
Conſult, Sir, the moſt ſkilful Surgeons, and
thoſe who make frequent Diffections, and
they will tell you that our Bodies are origi-
nally diſpoſed to live without Reſpiration, as
well as with it, and that our Lungs are al-
moſt nothing when we are firſt born. Hence
it happens that Sea-men of a conſiderable
Age, before they are taken, have no Voice,
becauſe
1
268
TELLIAMED: Or,
becauſe they want Lungs, which are the Inſtru-
ment fubfervient to the Reſpiration of the Air,
and becauſe the Airis the Matter of the Voice.
Perhaps alſo they have not the Diſpoſitions
in the Larynx, produced in Land-men, nor
in the Mouth, thoſe which are proper for the
juſt Articulation and Modulation of Sounds.
The Divers celebrated by Antiquity, and of
whoſe Hiſtory we have preſerved the Remem-
brance; theſe who in the Indies ſearch for
Pearl, and remain under the Water for whole
Hours, and thoſe who are juſtly famed at
preſent, were Subjects in whom theſe Aper-
tures are not entirely blocked up. If ever
we catch a Sea-man and diffect him after his
Death, we ſhall find that theſe Apertures are
fubfiſting, and that he has no Lungs at all,
or at leaſt very little, and theſe withered and
decayed.
There is in all Men an indelible Mark, that
they draw their Origin from the Sea. In a
Word, conſider their skin with one of our
lately invented Microſcopes, which magnify
a Grain of Sand to the Bulk of an Oſtrich's
Egg, and you will find it all 'covered with
ſmall Scales like thoſe of a Carp. Beſides,
we have ſeveral Men covered with Scales vi-
fible to the naked Eye, which ſtill confirms
this Origin. If therefore the Men who now
inhabit the Earth, are deſcended from other
Men, who lived originally in the Sea, is it not
probable, as the former Obſervations atteſt,
that ſome of them, eſpecially in their Youth,
might recover the Habit of living in the
Sea, as there Forefathers did ?
M
I.
Diſcourges on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 269
Is it, after this, ſurpriſing, that many of
the Greek Philoſophers ſhould affert, that Wa-
ter was the firſt Principle of all Things ?
Thales, Anaxagoras, and many others, have
been of this Opinion. Anaximenes gave this
Prerogative to the Air, which amounts to the
fame Doctrine ; ſince, according to Sorel, Wa-
ter is only a condenſed Air, and Air a rarified
Water, ſince there is Air in Water, and Wa-
ter in Air, and in both a terreſtrial Matter,
which becomes viſible in the Sediment. All
thoſe who have ſaid, that the Earth and the
Air were the Principles of all Things, have
looked upon Water as the Cauſe of the Ge-
neration of every Thing which has either a
ſenſitive or a vegetative Life. Has not Homer
advanced, that the Ocean was the Father of
the Gods, and Thetis their Mother? Truth
has its diſtinguiſhing Marks even in Fable.
Theſe Fictions at leaſt indicate to us, that the
memorable Men of Antiquity, who were by
the Barbarity of the Ages made Gods, owed
their Origin to the Sea, which includes Air
and Earth, and even Fire, when her Waters
are warmed by the Rays of the Sun. Thus
ſhe re-unites in herſelf every Thing that can
concur to the Generation of all Species capa-
ble of Life, Animals, Trees, and Plants.
This Opinion has not only been eſpouſed
by many ancient Philoſophers, but alſo lays
a Foundation for ſeveral concluſive Proofs,
that Men owe their Origin to the Sea. How
many Diſorders do your Phyſicians cure only
by the Uſe of Water ? Has it not been known
to be the moſt ſpeedy and efficacious Remedy,
to extinguiſh in a Patient's Veins the ſcorch-
ing
270
TELLIA MÉD: Or,
ing Heat of a Fever, which conſumes him ?
Has it not been found; that of two Runners,
if the conquered, baths himſelf and runs
afreſh, he will gain the Prize, and beat his
Antagoniſt? The frequent Ablutions daily
ordered to the Mahometans are indeed religious
Ceremonies, but at the ſame time Things con-
trived by the Wiſdom and Knowledge of
their Legiſlators, as the beſt Preſervatives of
Health. What Cures are at preſent produced
in England, by plunging Patients for two
or three Minutes in very cold Water? What
Augmentation of Strength and Vigour do not
theſe Immerſions produce in Perſons who are
in a State of Health ?
The Naturaliſts of the Eaſtern Countries,
where it is cuſtomory for Men of eaſy Cir-
cumſtances, to have Baths of their own, af-
ſure us, that if they copulate with their Wives
in theſe tepid Waters, Generation almoſt ne-
ver fails. Bathing is in theſe Countries an
infallible Remedy for Sterility, provided the
Huſband embraces the Wife in the Water..
No. Body doubts, but warm Baths excite to
the Pleaſures of Love, and favour Genera-
tion. This was the Intention of the Romans
in. erecting Baths wherever they could find
Water. The Priapus found at Aixi in
ſearching through the old Buildings erect-
ed, at the Source of the hot waters of
that City, ſufficiently indicate the Advan-
tages ariſing from theſe Baths.
'Tis no
doubt from theſe happy Qualities obſervable
in Water, that our Poets have feigned that
Venus ſprung from the Froth of the Sea. Do
we not ſtill uſe both natural and artificial
Baths,
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
271
1
Baths, in order to cure Sterility in both
Sexes.
If we reflect on all this, have we not Rea-
ſon to believe, that as our Species find Alift-
ance in the moſt important Myſteries in Na-
ture, that is, in the Deſire of perpetuating
themſelves, in the Cure of ſeveral Diſeaſes,
and the Reſtoration of Strength, from this
ſo favourable Element, ſo it muſt be natural
to us? If the Conſtitution is altered or weak-
ened by Diſeaſes, we have no more ſure and
ſpeedy Method of recalling Nature to her
Functions, and baniſhing her Weakneſs, than
by re-uniting her to her Principle.
But, Sir, ſaid I, if the Races of terreſtrial
Animals proceeded from thoſe of the Sea,
ſhould we not ſtill obſerve this Paſſage, and
fee Animals coming from the Sea, very dif-
ferent from thoſe which came from it long
ago ? Yes, replied Telliamed, you would no
doubt obſerve this Difference, if you lived in
the Countries where this Tranſmigration hap-
pens; that is, in the coldeſt Countries, and
thoſe neareſt the Poles, where I have told you
that this Paſſage from one Element to another
muſt occur moſt frequently. The primitive
Races of Men, after their firſtAppearance on dry
Land, muſt have lived much in the Sea, be-
cauſe you know that Animals which come
from the Sea, are at firſt ſo favage, that every
Thing extraordinary which they either fee
or hear, frightens them, and makes them
fly to the Sea again.
But granting that this Dodrine ſhould not
on the firſt View appear probable, yet the
fierce and ſavage Humour of ſo many of the
Inha-
!
272
TELLI AMED: Or,
Inhabitants of the cold Nations, and of the Ani-
mals found in them, is a juſt Image of the recent
Tranſmigration of thefe Races from the Water
to the Air. This alone is a Proof of their late
Change of State and Condition. You may
obſerve recent Traces of this both with re-
spect to Men and Animals, in almoſt all the
Parts of the habitable World. Theſe Crea-
tures taken by the Dutch on the Coaſt of
Terra del Feugo in 1708, who only differed
from ordinary Men by the Want of Speech ;
theſe of a human Form met with in Mada-
gaſcar, who walk as we do, and who are
deprived of the uſe of Voice, though both
Species comprehend what we ſay ; theſe very
Men, who hardly appear to be Men, are per-
haps People who have lately come out of the
Sea, and who have no Voice, juſt as ſome
Dogs of Canada are deprived of it. But both
will certainly acquire the Uſe of it in ſome
Generations to come.
'Tis true, all the Species have not the ſame
Diſpoſitions. There are now Races of Blacks
in Africa, whoſe Language we do not under-
ftand, either perhaps becauſe they are lately
come from the Sea, or becauſe that Race is ſo
barbarous as not to learn to articulate Sounds
juſtly. Perhaps this may proceed from ſome
natural Defect of the Organs.
Organs. May we
not ſafely. affirm, that there are certain
Races of Men, as well as Species of Trees,
which muſt be grafted in others in order to
perfect them?
Thus from a Race, dumb,
and without Senſe, mixed with another more
perfect, there is a Poſterity very different
from the original Stock produced. A Chineſe
which
1
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 273
Author has aſſerted, that Men were only a
Species of Apes more perfect than thoſe which
did not ſpeak. Though I am far from adopt-
ing this Opinion, yet it is certain that from
the Copulation of Men with them, there ariſes
a Race which has the Uſe of Speech. The
ſame holds true in the Conjunction of Men
with Bears. Near Moſcow, ſome Years ago
there was found in the Cave of a Bear, amidſt
ſome young Bears, a Child of nine or ten
Years of age, who had no Uſe of Speech,
and who probably was begot by that Ani-
mal and a Woman; for if it had been a Child
which the Bear had carried off, it would pro-
bably have had ſome Language, unleſs it had
been ſnatched from its Mother's Breaſt. Be-
ſides, it is highly probable, that the Bear
would have not ſpared it ſo many Years, if it
had not been his own Offspring.
If your Countries were leſs peopled with
Men, ſo long accuſtomed to the Land, and
civilized, if they had deſart Coaſts, where the
Tranſmigration of Races from the Water to
the Air, might be made in the Silence of ne-
ver frequented Forreſts, you would no doubt
be acquainted with Examples of this primi-
tive Barbarity. I may add that there have
lately been, and ſtill are Examples of this
Kind, notwithſtanding the unfavourable Dif-
poſitions to ſuch a Paſſage, in Countries where
the Coaſts and Mountains are ſo well inhabic-
ed. Of how many Monſters found in your
Country, do Hiſtories make mention ? Are
theſe Monſters Dragons, or winged Serpents,
as they are repreſented in your Books Are
they not perhaps Animals juſt eſcaped from
T
the
274
TELLI A MED: Or,
the Sea, or carried to Land by its Waves, tho'
we aru not as yet ſufficiently acquainted with
their Forms !
'Tis not therefore ſurpriſing, that on ac-
count of the Situation of our Countries, we
ſhould not obſerve this firſt Departure of aqua-
tic Animals from the Sea. Let us be content
to be Witneſſes of the Ruſticity and Stupidity
of thoſe who are perhaps lately come from it,
and whom we have an opportunity of ſeeing.
What Barbarity ſtill reigns among the human
Races found in Greenland, Spitberg, the Coun-
try adjacent, to the Streights of St. David,
and Hudſon's Bay ? I ſhall not ſpend Time
in pointing out to you the extreme Difference
between theſe Barbarians, probably lately
come from the Sea, and certain Races of
Men, who have come from it long ago. You
well enough know the Extent of this Diffe-
rence ; perhaps a good many Generations were
neceſſary, and even a Change of Climate, to
bring them to the Point of Perfection at whichi
ours has already arrived. I am perſuaded that
certain Races, ſuch as the Blacks of ſome
of the Cantons of Africa, will not arrive at
ſuch Perfection in fifty Ages, except by their
Mixture with other People of more favourable
Diſpoſitions.
The learned Author of the Origin of Febles,
has a Piece of Reaſoning which agrees per-
fectly with this Subject, According, ſays
" he, to the Traditions of Peru, Inca-Manco-
" Guyna-Capac, Son to the Sun, found Means
" by his Eloquence to draw from the Bottoms
6 of the Foreſts, the inhabitants of the
“ Country, who lived there after the Manner
of
"
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 275
CC
66
06
ol Beaſts, and to make them live under
(6 reaſonable Laws. Orpheus did the ſame
“ good Office to the Greeks, and he was alſo
" the Son of the Sun, which ſhews that the
" Greeks were alſo Savages as well as the Ame-
"ricans, and that they were brought from
" Barbarity by the fame Means, ſince the
" Greeks with all their Wit, when they were
a new People, did not think more reaſon-
“ably than the Barbarians of America, who
were, according to all Appearance, a very
new People when they were diſcovered by
" the Spaniards, and there is no Reaſon to
believe, but the Americans would have at
" laſt thought as reaſonably as the Greeks, if
they had had Leiſure for it.” There is no
People in the World, to whom this Reaſon-
ing may not be applied. This we may ſay,
ſince after the Deluge there was a Time when
the Aſyrians, Egyptians, and Chaldeans, not-
withſtanding all their Wit, thought as un-
Creaſonably as the Americans did, who were a
new People when the Spaniards diſcovered
them. There is Reaſon to believe, that there
was a Time after the Deluge, in which all
Nations of the Earth have been a new Race.
I conceive, Sir, ſaid I to Telliamed, that
every Thing living on the Earth may draw
its Origin from the Sea ; but in order to eſta-
bliſh this Opinion, you have a great Difficul-
ty to reſolve ; for when in this Globe there
were no Species perhaps, becauſe they had
been totally deſtroyed by Fire, as you ſuppoſe
that may have happened, how was it peopled
without the Aſiſtance of a new Creation, or
at leaſt without a Tranſportation of Animals to
T2
it,
276 TELLI A MED: Or,
tion of
the Spe.
cies by
the opaque
it, from a new Globe where they ſubſiſted be-
fore? How could this Tranſmigration have
been made ? What to you ſeems ſo difficult,
replied the Indian, is by no Means ſo. I am
now to convince you, that without the Help
of this new Creation, all the Species which
now live in the Globe might have been there
naturally produced, tho' they had been ex-
tinguiſhed.
Of the In order to underſtand this Oeconomy of
Propaga. Nature, imagine to yourſelf, Sir, that the
whole Extent of the Air which our Eyes ſee,
Globes they perceive, and thoſe
Seeds. which they do not diſcover, and even the
Parts of the inflamed Globes, which are not
as yet penetrated by the Fire ; imagine, I
ſay, that the whole of this Space is full of the
Seeds of every Thing which can live on the
Earth. Beſides, theſe Seeds are ſo delicate
and fine, even for the Productions of Ani-
mals, which grow to the moſt enormous Bulk,
that it is impoflible to perceive them with the
Aſliſtance of the beſt Microſcopes.
Some
Authors have aſſerted that the original Seeds
of living Creatures, are little, indiviſible, and
conſequently not capable of periſhing in their
Eſſence. · Among other Proofs of this they
affirm, that when they burn the Seeds of the
Poppy and the Palm-tree ever ſo long, and in
ever ſo intenſe a Fire, yet if we ſprinkle the
Alhes on the Ground, and water them, they
ſhoot up into Poppies and Palm-Trees.
Obſerve alſo, that the Air we breathe, the
Aliments we eat, and the Water we drink,
are ſo full of theſe Seeds, that they make a
Part of ft. 'Tis equal to me whether this
Con-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 277
Conſtitution and Mixture, are eſtabliſhed by
the invariable Laws of Nature, or by thoſe of
the Creator. My Reaſonings on all the Pieces
of Knowledge I have hitherto acquired, diſ-
cover nothing more probable.
Now theſe
Seeds ſpread in the Extent of
this vaſt Univerſe, are however more nume-
rcus round the opaque Globes in thick Airs,
and in Waters, than in the immenfe Spaces
by which theſe Globes are ſeparated, becauſe
they are not fixed there by the fame Arrange-
ments which kcep them near the Globes.
'Tis almoſt in this Manner, that the Filings
of Iron are arranged, and adhere about a
Loadſtone which attracts them. In this po-
ſition, theſe Seeds are always ready to yield
to the Operations of Nature. There is no
Inſtant in which ſome of them do not receive
Diſpoſitions which render them more capable
of arriving at Life.
What paſſes in the Generation of Animals How
by the Species is the Image of that which Na. theſe
ture alone operates in theſe Seeds in the Boſom
of the Waters where they are ſpread. The fruitful.
Generation of Man and moſt other Animals
by their Species, is according the moſt ſkill-
ful Anatomiſts, perform'd in che following
Manner:
When the Male has arrived at a certain.
Age, the Seeds of his Species reunite in him,
by the Air which he reſpires, and the Ali-
ments with which he is nouriſhed, according to
a general Law of Nature, which wills that
every thing ſhould tend to be attached to its
own Species, 'Then theſe Seeds are prepared
for Fertility in the Veſſels of the Male, by the
T
3
Dil
Seeds be.
come
+
278
TELLI AMED: Or,
1
Diſpoſitions which Puberty has put into
them. If with a good Microſcope you ex-
amine the Seed when warm, you will ſee it
compoſed of ſmall Animals, like Fiſh, which -
move up and down, but after the Seed is
grown cold they loſe the Motion, and, no
doubt, the Life which they had acquired in
theſe Veſſels. Hence it is evident, that theſe
Seeds receive in the Veſſels of the Male, a Dif-
poſition to Life, and to Augmentation, which
they had not when they were introduced thi-
ther.
Theſe Veſſels are therefore a Kind of firſt Ute-
rus, where the Seeds are prepared for a great-
er Growth, which they are to receive in the
Uterus of the Female. In a Word, when
come to this firſt State, they are pour'd into
the ſecond Uterus, there aſſume a much more
conſiderable Bulk, and acquire Strength, by
Means of which, they are puſhed out either
into the Water or the Air, according as the
Species either reſpire the one, or live in the
other. Then they have Liberty to ſeek for
themſelves a ſtronger Nouriſhment, by which
they arrive at the Bulk proper to their Species,
and become capable of contributing to the
Continuation of that fucceffive Generation.
The Operation of Nature alone on theſe
Seeds in the Boſom of the Sea, is performed
nearly in the faine Manner. The Waters
with which the Globes are ſurrounded, be-
come at certain Times, and by certain Diſpo-
ſitions, proper for Fruitfulneſs. In them is the
firſt Uterus, in which the Seeds receive that
Beginning
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 279
Beginning of Extent and Motion which they
acquire in the Veſſels of the Male. Your
Moſes has, like a great Philoſopher, explained
this Preparation of the Waters for the Fecun-
dity of the Species which they contain, when
he ſays, that in the Beginning the Spirit of
God moved on the Face of the Waters; and
in another Part, that he covered them ; that
is, by the Heat of the Sun he diſpoſed to Fe-
cundity, the Seeds contained in them, by be-
ginning to unfold theſe Seeds.
The Effect which this Spirit of Life pro-
duced on the Seeds contained in the Waters,
is juſtify'd, by what is obſervable in taking
a Drop of Water on the Point of a Needle
from any Vefſel in which ſome Herbs have
been ſteeped for two or three Days. By the
Aſſiſtance of a Microſcope we find in this
Drop of Water, a prodigious Number of Ani-
mals, even of different Species ; for the dif-
ferent Herbs produce different Species. Some
of them have a human Form, like that of an
Infant in ſwaddling Cloths, their Arms be-
ing, no doubt, too flender to appear. Some of
them go in a ſtraight Line and ſwiftly, while
others walk in a Round ſlowly. We may ſee
them grow, ſince their Parts are daily aug-
mented.
Now, Sir, permit me to obſerve to you,
that the Animals alive in this Drop of Water,
were the Sons of the Air, the Seeds which
produced them adhering to the Herbs which
had grown in the Air. This Particularity,
join'd to that obſerved in the Seed of terre-
ſtrial Animals proves, that all are made to live
in
T 4
280
TELLI AMED: Or,
in the Water, as well as in the Air. The Ex-
tenſion of this firſt Senſation of Life, which
Happens to theſe Seeds, is the fame Effect,
which the Spirit of God, mentioned by Moſes,
produced in the Seeds contained in the Wa-
cers which firſt covered the Globe of the
Earth. Theſe are the ſame Diſpoſitions which
they acquire in the Veſſels of the Male, be-
fore they are poured into the fecond Uterus,
where thefe Beginnings of Life are augment-
ed to a certain Point. Theſe Seeds, thus prem
pared for Life, in the Waters of the Sea, as
in their firſt Uterus, afterwards, find in the
Diverſity of the Diſpoſitions which the Wa-
ters diminiſhing daily, continually produces
in the Botcom, that is, in the fat Slime, or
other more favourable Subſtances, a ſecond
Uterus which ſupplies that of the Female.
It is in this Slime, by the Affiftance of a
proper Heat, that they acquire a Bulk and
Force ſo conſiderable, as to get out of it, and
go in Queſt of their Nouriſhment in the
Waters.
I believe, Sir, continued our Philofopher,
I have ſufficiently prov'd the Probability of
the Syſtem which makes Terreſtrial deſcend
from Sea-Animals, and which eſtabliſhes the
Formation of theſe laſt in the Sea, by the
Seeds with which her Waters are impregnac-
ed, whether theſe Seeds are ſuppoſed eternal,
or whether they exiſt by Creation, which you
admit. After this .it is ealy to conceive the
Manner of the Generation of all things living,
ſenſitive and vegetative, in a Globe, whether
it is re-peopled, or whether it has never been
peopled
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c.
28.1
peopled before. Beſides, whether theſe Seeds
have exiſted always, or have been created in
Time, each of theſe Opinions is equally agrec-
able to my Syſtem. If I at firſt appeared to
defend the former, it was only to convince
you that it was not abſolutely without a
Foundation.
Obſerve, Sir, that your facred Books ex-
actly agree with me, in regard to the Forma-
tion of the Globe, and all the animated Beings
it contains. They denote all the ſucceſſive
States, thro' which I have ſhewn that the
Earch has paſſed, before it arrived at that in
which we ſee it. They grant, that the Earth
was originally no more than a rude Maſs co-
vered with Waters, on which the Spirit of
God moved; that theſe Waters diminiſhed by
the Separation made of them, and becauſe a
Part of them was tranſported into other
Places; that by Means of this Separation, the
Earth at firſt appeared dry and parched, but
was afterwards covered with Graſs ; that after
this it was ſtocked with Animals; and that
Man was the laſt Production of God, who
had before made all the reſt. Now this is
preciſely what I think, and what I have .ex-
plained to you. The Expreſſion fix Days men-
tioned in your facred Books, for the Perfecti-
on of all theſe Works, is metaphorical, as you
may eaſily imagine. It cannot fo much as
denote the Time which the Earth employs in
turning fix times round herſelf, in her annual
Courſe about the Sun, "ſince, according to
theſe Books, the Sun was not made till the
fourth Day. The Perſians have a particular
Term
1
+
282
TELLIAMED: Or,
1
Term to expreſs the Days in which God cre-
ated the World according to the Tradition of
che ancient Magi : But as they do not believe
that theſe Days have been conſecutive, they
have placed theſe fix Times in different
Months of the Year, and even aſcribed five
Days to each of them.
You may alſo conceive, continued Tellia,
-ned, that what is there ſaid of the Uſe of the
Sun, Moon and Stars, ought not to be taken
literally. If the Sun enlightens our Globe, he
alſo renders it warm and fruitful, neither does
he refuſe the ſame good Offices to the other
Planets in his Vortex. With reſpect to the
Moon, beſides that ſhe is not luminous of
herſelf, and conſequently, cannot be called a
Luminary, if ſhe gives ſome Light to the
Earth in the Abſence of the Sun, this only
happens during the half of the Year, and the
herſelf receives the ſame Office from the
Earth. The Stars would have but a dimi-
nutive Object, and be of little Uſe, if they had
been only formed to teach Men the Know-
ledge of the Seaſons. We perceive but the
ſmalleſt part of them. What can be the End
of thoſe, which, on account of the Weakneſs
of our Eyes, we cannot diſcover? Of what
Uſe to our Forefathers, were thoſe which have
only lately appeared ? WhatNeceſity was there,
for their Advantage, that others ſhould dif-
appear? Of what Service could the Satel-
lites of Jupiter be to them, or thoſe of Saturn
and his Ring, the Exiſtence of which they
were ſo long ignorant of? It is too much
Ig-
Diſcourſes on the Diminution of the Sea, &c. 283
Ignorance or Preſumption in Men to perſuade
themſelves, that the Stars were only made
for their Uſe, when at the ſame Time they
are ſo uſeleſs to them. It would be ſtill more
abſurd to believe, that they have been only
made for their Pleaſure. What muſt we then
think of this Subject ? That they were deſtined
to elevate Man to his Creator, and to declare
the Glory and marvellous Works of God? I
readily grant it ; but as they have this in
common with all other Creatures, it muſt ne-
ceſſarily be allowed, that like them, they muſt
have been created for another End proper to
themſelves, and muſt conſequently have ano-
ther Uſe.
It is but to form a mean Judgment of this
vaſt Univerſe, only to aſcribe an End to it ſo
limited as that of the Uſe of Man. The
Views of God are as extenſive and as incom-
prehenſible as himſelf. To fix a Beginning to
his Works, or condemn them to Annihila-
tion, is to find a Meaſure and an End to him
who has none. He is that Being who had no
Beginning, but gave it to all Things, and
to that Infinity of Globes with which we are
ſurrounded. Man is in that which we inha-
bit, the leaſt imperfect Image of this eternal
and infinite Spirit. Other Globes may con-
tain others far more excellent. When theſe
Images are effaced in one, they appear in ano-
ther, perhaps with more Perfection. If a Sun
is extinguiſhed, it is ſupply'd by a new one.
If a Globe like our's is ſet on fire, and all the
living Creatures in it deſtroyed, new Gene-
rations will make up the Loſs in another.
The
I
284
TELLIAMED, &c.
The Suns, the inhabited Globes, and ſuch as
are ready to become ſo, will ſubfift for ever,
even in the Viciſſitudes which ſeem to deſtroy
them. This Perpetuity of Motion does not
deſtroy either the Creation, or the Exiſtence
of a firſt Cauſe. On the contrary, it ſuppoſes
a God as its Beginning and its Origin. If I
attempted to carry my Ideas farther they would
be loſt, as the Sight is in a Cloud which it tries
to pierce.
Hæc Carneades agebat, non ut Deos tolleret,
quid enim philofopho minus Conveniens ; fed ut
Stoicos nihil de Diis explicare convinceret.
Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. 3.
!
The Indian Philoſopher here ended the phi-
loſophical Diſcourſes which he had promiſed
me. He exhorted me to recollect all he had ſaid
for the Support of his Syſtem, alluring me, that
the more I reflected on his Reaſonings, the
better founded I would find them, and the
more ſtrongly ſupported by inconteſtable Facts.
I durſt not again let him know to what De-
gree his Syſtematic ļdeas had ſurprized me.
I thanked him in the moſt obliging Manner
I could, for the freſh Teſtimony he had given
me of his Friendſhip, and he made a grateful
Acknowledgment of all the Services I had
done him. We embraced each other tender-
ly, and the next Day he ſet out on his Journey.
F I N I S.,
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