The Sacred Theory of the Earth

THE SACRED THEORY OF THE EARTH.

Containing an ACCOUNT of the

Original of the Earth,

And of all the

GENERAL CHANGES

Which it hath already undergone, or is to

undergo, till the Consummation

of all Things.

The Two Last Books,

Concerning the Burning of the World,

And

Concerning the New Heavens, and New Earth.

Vol. II.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Hooke, at the Flower-de-luce, over-against

St. Dunstan’s Church, in Fleetstreet, 1726.

TO THE

QUEEN’s

Most EXCELLENT

MAJESTY.

MADAM,

Having had the Honour to present the first Part of this Theory to your Royal Uncle, I presume to offer the Second to Your Majesty. This Part of the Subject, I hope, will be no less acceptable, for certainly ’tis of no less Importance. They both indeed agree in this, that there is a World made and destroy’d in either Treatise. But we are more concern’d in what is to come, than what is past. And as the former Books represented to us the Rise and Fall of the first World; so these give an Account of the present Frame of Nature labouring under the last Flames, and of the Resurrection of it in the new Heavens and new Earth; which, according to the Divine Promises, we are to expect.

Cities that are burnt, are commonly rebuilt more beautiful and regular than they were before. And when this World is demolish’d by the last Fire, He that undertakes to rear it up again, will supply the Defects, if there were any, of the former Fabrick. This Theory supposes the present Earth to be little better than an Heap of Ruins; where yet there is Room enough for Sea and Land, for Islands and Continents, for several Countries and Dominions: But when these are all melted down, and refin’d in the general Fire, they will be cast into a better Mould, and the Form and Qualities of the Earth will become Paradisaical.

But, I fear, it may be thought no very proper Address, to shew Your Majesty a World laid in Ashes, where You have so great an Interest Your Self, and such fair Dominions; and then, to recompense the Loss, by giving a Reversion in a future Earth. But if that future Earth be a second Paradise, to be enjoyed for a Thousand Years; with Peace, Innocency, and constant Health; An Inheritance there will be, an happy Exchange for the best Crown in this World.

I confess, I could never persuade myself that the Kingdom of Christ, and of his Saints, which the Scripture speaks of so frequently, was designed to be upon this present Earth. But however, upon all Suppositions, they that have done some Good in this Life, will be Sharers in the Happiness of that State. To humble the Oppressors, and rescue the Oppressed, is a Work of Generosity and Charity, that cannot want its Reward; Yet, Madam, they are the greatest Benefactors to Mankind, that dispose the World to become Virtuous; and by their Example, Influence, and Authority, retrieve that Truth and Justice, that have been lost, amongst Men, for many Ages. The School-Divines, tell us, those that act or suffer great Things for the Publick Good, are distinguish’d in Heaven, by a Circle of Gold about their Heads. One would not willingly vouch for that: But one may safely for what the Prophet says, which is far greater: Namely, that They shall shine like Stars in the Firmament, that turn many to Righteousness. Which is not to be understood, so much, of the Conversion of single Souls, as of the turning of Nations and People; the turning of the World to Righteousness. They that lead on that great and happy Work, shall be distinguish’d in Glory from the rest of Mankind.

We are sensible, Madam, from Your Great Example, that Piety and Vertue seated upon a Throne, draw many to Imitation, whom ill Principles, or the Course of the World, might have led another Way. These are the best, as well as easiest Victories, that are gain’d without Contest. And as Princes are the Vicegerents of God upon Earth, so when their Majesty is in Conjunction with Goodness, it hath a double Character of Divinity upon it: And we owe them a double Tribute of Fear and Love. Which, with constant Prayers for Your Majesty’s present and future Happiness, shall be always Dutifully paid, by

Your MAJESTY’s

Most Humble and

Most Obedient Subject,

T. BURNET.

PREFACE TO THE READER.

I have not much to say to the Reader in this Preface to the Third Part of the Theory; seeing it treats upon a Subject own’d by all, and out of Dispute: The Conflagration of the World. The Question will be only about the Bounds and Limits of the Conflagration, the Causes and the Manner of it. These I have fixed, according to the truest Measures I could take from Scripture, and from Nature. I differ, I believe, from the common Sentiment in this, that, in following St. Peter’s Philosophy, I suppose, that the burning of the Earth, will be a true Liquefaction or Dissolution of it, as to the exterior Region. And that this lays a Foundation for new Heavens and a new Earth; which seems to me as plain a Doctrine in Christian Religion, as the Conflagration itself.

I have endeavour’d to propose an intelligible Way, whereby the Earth may be consum’d by Fire. But if any one can propose another, more probable, and more consistent, I will be the first Man that shall give him Thanks for this Discovery. He that loves Truth for its own sake, is willing to receive it from any Hand; as he that truly loves his Country, is glad of a Victory over the Enemy, whether himself, or any other, has the Glory of it. I need not repeat here, what I have already said upon several Occasions, that ’tis the Substance of this Theory, whether in this Part, or in other Parts, that I mainly regard and depend upon: Being willing to suppose, that many single Explications and Particularities may be rectified, upon farther Thoughts, and clearer Light. I know our best Writings, in this Life, are but Essays, which we leave to Posterity to review and correct.

As to the Style, I always endeavour to express myself in a plain and perspicuous manner; that the Reader may not lose Time, nor wait too long, to know my Meaning. To give an Attendant quick Dispatch, is a Civility, whether you do his Business or no. I would not willingly give any one the Trouble of reading a Period twice over, to know the Sense of it; lest, when he comes to know it, he should not think it a Recompence for his Pains. Whereas, on the contrary, if you are easy to your Reader, he will certainly make you an Allowance for it, in his Censure.

You must not think it strange however, that the Author sometimes, in meditating upon this Subject, is warm in his Thoughts and Expressions. For to see a World perishing in Flames, Rocks melting, the Earth trembling, and an Host of Angels in the Clouds, one must be very much a Stoick, to be a cold and unconcerned Spectator of all this. And when we are mov’d ourselves, our Words will have a Tincture of those Passions which we feel. Besides, in moral Reflections which are design’d for Use, there must be some Heat, as well as dry Reason, to inspire this cold Clod of Clay, this dull Body of Earth, which we carry about with us; and you must soften and pierce that Crust, before you can come at the Soul. But especially when Things future are to be represented, you cannot use too strong Colours, if you would give them Life, and make them appear present to the Mind. Farewel.

CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS.

The Third Book.

CHAP. I.

The Introduction; with the Contents and Order of this Treatise ... 1

CHAP. II.

The true State of the Question is propos’d. ’Tis the general Doctrine of the Antients, That the present World, or the present Frame of Nature, is mutable and perishable; to which the sacred Books agree: And natural Reason can alledge nothing against it ... 7

CHAP. III.

That the World will be destroyed by Fire, is the Doctrine of the Antients; especially of the Stoicks. That the same Doctrine is more antient than the Greeks, and deriv’d from the Barbarick Philosophy; and that probably from Noah, the Father of all traditionary Learning. The same Doctrine expresly authorized by Revelation, and inrolled into the Sacred Canon ... 19

CHAP. IV.

Concerning the time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World. What the Astronomers say upon this Subject, and upon what they ground their Calculations. The true Notion of the Great Year, or of the Platonick Year, stated and explain’d ... 35

CHAP. V.

Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World; Of what Order soever, Prophane or Sacred, Jewish or Christian. That no certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we are from the Conflagration ... 45

CHAP. VI.

Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration. The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire. With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos’d Causes of the Conflagration, by the Sun’s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the Earth’s throwing out the central Fire, examin’d and rejected ... 60

CHAP. VII.

The true Bounds of the last Fire, and how far it is Fatal. The natural Causes and Materials of it, cast into three Ranks. First, Such as are exterior and visible upon Earth, where the Volcano’s of this Earth, and their Effects, are consider’d. Secondly, Such Materials as are within the Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air ... 73

CHAP. VIII.

Some new Dispositions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter, Form, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Causes, and how far the Ministry of Angels may be engaged in this Work ... 92

CHAP. IX.

How the Sea will be diminish’d and consum’d. How the Rocks and Mountains will be thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior Frame of the Earth dissolv’d into a Deluge of Fire ... 104

CHAP. X.

Concerning the Beginning and Progress of the Conflagration, what Part of the Earth will first be burnt. The Manner of the future Destruction of Rome, according to the Prophetical Indications. The last State and Consummation of the general Fire ... 117

CHAP. XI.

An Account of these extraordinary Phænomena and Wonders in Nature, that, according to Scripture, will precede the Coming of Christ, and the Conflagration of the World ... 130

CHAP. XII.

An imperfect Description of the Coming of our Saviour, and of the World on Fire ... 143

The Conclusion ... 160

The FOURTH BOOK.

CHAP. I.

The Introduction; that the World will not be annihilated in the last Fire. That we are to expect, according to Scripture, and the Christian Doctrine, new Heavens and a new Earth, when these are dissolved or burnt up ... 184

CHAP. II.

The Birth of the new Heavens and the new Earth, from the second Chaos, or the Remains of the old World. The Form, Order, and Qualities of the new Earth, according to Reason and Scripture ... 191

CHAP. III.

Concerning the Inhabitants of the new Earth. That natural Reason cannot determine this Point. That, according to Scripture, the Sons of the first Resurrection, or the Heirs of the Millennium, are to be the Inhabitants of the new Earth: The Testimony of the Philosophers, and of the Christian Fathers, for the Renovation of the World. The first Proposition laid down ... 201

CHAP. IV.

The Proof of a Millennium, or of a blessed Age to come, from Scripture. A View of the Apocalypse, and of the Prophecies of Daniel, in reference to this Kingdom of Christ, and of his Saints ... 213

CHAP. V.

A View of other Places of Scripture, concerning the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ. In what Sense all the Prophets have born Testimony concerning it ... 229

CHAP. VI.

The Sense and Testimony of the Primitive Church, concerning the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ; from the Times of the Apostles, to the Nicene Council. The second Proposition laid down, when, by what Means, and for what Reasons, that Doctrine was afterwards neglected or discountenanc’d ... 246

CHAP. VII.

The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken from Scripture. Some Mistakes concerning it rectified ... 260

CHAP. VIII.

The third Proposition laid down, concerning the Time and Place of the Millennium. Several Arguments us’d to prove, that it cannot be till after the Conflagration; and that the new Heavens and new Earth, are the true Seat of the blessed Millennium ... 269

CHAP. IX.

The chief Employment of the Millennium DEVOTION and CONTEMPLATION ... 287

CHAP. X.

Objections against the Millennium answer’d. With some Conjectures concerning the State of Things after the Millennium: And what will be the final Consummation of this World ... 305

THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.

BOOK III.
Concerning the Conflagration.

CHAP. I.
The Introduction:
With the Contents and Order of this Work.

Seeing Providence hath planted in all Men a natural Desire and Curiosity of knowing Things to come; and such Things especially, as concern our particular Happiness, or the general Fate of Mankind; This Treatise may, in both respects, hope for a favourable Reception amongst inquisitive Persons; seeing the Design of it is, to give an Account of the greatest Revolutions of Nature that are expected in future Ages: and in the first Place, of the Conflagration of the World. In which universal Calamity, when all Nature suffers, every Man’s particular Concern must needs be involved.

We see with what Eagerness Men pry into the Stars, to see if they can read there the Death of a King, or the Fall of an Empire: ’Tis not the fate of any single Prince or Potentate, that we calculate, but of all Mankind: Nor of this or that particular Kingdom or Empire, but of the whole Earth. Our Enquiries must reach to that great Period of Nature, when all Things are to be dissolv’d; both Human Affairs, and the Stage whereon they are acted; when the Heavens and the Earth will pass away, and the Elements melt with fervent Heat. We desire, if possible, to know what will be the Face of that Day, that great and terrible Day! when the Regions of the Air will be nothing but mingled Flame and Smoke, and the habitable Earth turn’d into a Sea of molten Fire.

But we must not leave the World in this Disorder and Confusion, without examining what will be the Issue and Consequences of it. Whether this will be the End of all Things, and Nature, by a sad Fate, lie eternally dissolv’d and desolate in this manner? or, Whether we may hope for a Restoration: New Heavens and a New Earth, which the Holy Writings make mention of, more pure and perfect than the former? As if this was but as a Refiner’s Fire, to purge out the Dross and coarser Parts, and then cast the Mass again into a new and better Mould. These Things, with God’s Assistance, shall be matter of our present Enquiry: These make the general Subject of this Treatise, and of the remaining Parts of this Theory of the Earth. Which now, you see, begins to be a kind of Prophecy or Prognostication of Things to come, as it hath been hitherto an History of Things past; of such States and Changes as Nature hath already undergone. And if that Account which we have given of the Origin of the Earth, its first and Paradisaical Form, and the Dissolution of it at the universal Deluge, appear fair and reasonable; the second Dissolution by Fire, and the Renovation of it out of a second Chaos, I hope, will be deduc’d from as clear Grounds and Suppositions. And Scripture it self will be a more visible Guide to us in these following Parts of the Theory, than it was in the former. In the mean Time, I take occasion to declare here again, as I have done heretofore, That neither this, nor any other great Revolutions of Nature, are brought to pass, by Causes purely natural, without the Conduct of a particular Providence. And ’tis the sacred Books of Scripture that are the Records of this Providence, both as to Times past, and Times to come; as to all the signal Changes, either of the natural World, or of Mankind, and the different Oeconomies of Religion. In which respects, these Books, tho’ they did not contain a moral Law, would, notwithstanding, be, as the most mystical, so also the most valuable Books in the World.

This Treatise, you see, will consist of Two Parts: The former whereof is to give an Account of the Conflagration; and the latter, of the New Heavens, and New Earth following upon it; together with the State of Mankind in those new Habitations. As to the Conflagration, we first enquire, What the Antients thought concerning the present Frame of this World: Whether it was to perish or no: Whether to be destroyed, or to stand eternally in this Posture. Then, in what Manner they thought it would be destroy’d: By what Force or Violence: Whether by Fire or other ways. And with these Opinions of the Antients we will compare the Doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles, to discover and confirm the Truth of them. In the second Place, We will examine, What Calculations or Conjectures have been made concerning the Time of this great Catastrophe, or of the End of this World: Whether that Period be definable or no; and whether by natural Arguments, or by Prophecies. Thirdly, We will consider the Signs of the approaching Conflagration: Whether such as will be in Nature, or in the State of human Affairs; but especially such as are taken notice of, and recorded, in Scripture. Fourthly, Which is the principal Point, and yet that wherein the Antients have been most silent, What Causes there are in Nature, what Preparations, for this Conflagration: Where are the Seeds of this universal Fire, or Fuel sufficient for the Nourishing of it? Lastly, In what Order, and by what Degrees, the Conflagration will proceed: In what Manner the Frame of the Earth will be dissolv’d; and what will be the dreadful Countenance of a burning World.

These Heads are set down more fully in the Arguments of each Chapter; and seem to be sufficient for the Explication of this whole Matter: Taking in some additional Discourses, which, in pursuing these Heads, enter of their own accord, and make the Work more even and intire. In the Second Part, we restore the World that we had destroy’d: Build New Heavens and a New Earth, wherein Righteousness shall dwell. Establish that new Order of Things, which is so often celebrated by the Prophets: A Kingdom of Peace and of Justice, where the Enemy of Mankind shall be bound, and the Prince of Peace shall rule. A Paradise without a Serpent, and a Tree of Knowledge, not to wound, but to heal the Nations: Where will be neither Curse, nor Pain, nor Death, nor Disease: Where all Things are new, all Things are more perfect, both the World it self, and its Inhabitants: Where the First-born from the Dead, have the First-fruits of Glory.

We dote upon this present World, and the Enjoyments of it: And ’tis not without Pain, and Fear, and Reluctancy, that we are torn from them; as if our Hopes lay all within the Compass of this Life. Yet, I know not by what good Fate, my Thoughts have been always fix’d upon Things to come, more than upon Things present. These I know, by certain Experience, to be but Trifles; and if there be nothing more considerable to come, the whole Being of Man is no better than a Trifle. But there is Room enough before us in that we call Eternity, for great and noble Scenes; and the Mind of Man feels itself lessen’d and straiten’d in this low and narrow State; wishes and waits to see something greater. And if it could discern another World a coming, on this side Eternal Life: a beginning Glory, the best that Earth can bear, it would be a kind of Immortality to enjoy that Prospect before-hand. To see, when this Theatre is dissolv’d, where we shall act next, and what Parts; what Saints and Heroes, if I may so say, will appear upon that Stage; and with what Lustre and Excellency: How easy would it be, under a View of these Futurities, to despise the little Pomps and Honours, and the Momentary Pleasures of a mortal Life? But I proceed to our Subject.

CHAP. II
The true State of the Question is propos’d.

’Tis the general Doctrine of the Antients, that the present World, or the present Frame of Nature, is mutable and perishable: To which the Sacred Books agree; and natural Reason can alledge nothing against it.

When we speak of the End or Destruction of the World, whether by Fire or otherwise, ’tis not to be imagin’d that we understand this of the Great Universe; Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the highest Heavens; as if these were to perish or be destroy’d some few Years hence, whether by Fire or any other Way. This Question is only to be understood of the sublunary World, of this Earth and its Furniture; which had its Original about Six thousand Years ago, according to the History of Moses; and hath once already been destroyed, when the Exterior Region of it broke, and the Abyss, issuing forth, as out of a Womb, overflow’d all the habitable Earth, Gen. vii. 17. Job xxxviii. 8. The next Deluge is that of Fire; which will have the same Bounds, and overflow the Surface of the Earth, much what in the same Manner. But the Cœlestial Regions, where the Stars and Angels inhabit, are not concerned in this Fate: Those are not made of combustible Matter; nor, if they were, could our Flames reach them. Possibly those Bodies may have Changes and Revolutions peculiar to themselves, but in Ways unknown to us, and after long and unknown Periods of Time. Therefore, when we speak of the Conflagration of the World, these have no Concern in the Question; nor any other Part of the Universe, than the Earth and its Dependances. As will evidently appear when we come to explain the Manner and Causes of the Conflagration.

And as this Conflagration can extend no farther than to the Earth and its Elements, so neither can it destroy the Matter of the Earth; but only the Form and Fashion of it, as it is an habitable World. Neither Fire, nor any natural Agent, can destroy Matter, that is, reduce it to nothing: It may alter the Modes and Qualities of it, but the Substance will always remain. And accordingly the Apostle, when he speaks of the Mutability of this World, says only, The Figure or Fashion of this World passes away, 1 Cor. vii. 31. This Structure of the Earth and Disposition of the Elements; and all the Works of the Earth, as St. Peter says, 2 Epist. iii. all its natural Productions, and all the Works of Art or human Industry; these will perish, be melted or torn in Pieces by the Fire; but without an Annihilation of the Matter, any more than in the former Deluge. And this will be farther prov’d and illustrated in the Beginning of the following Books.

The Question being thus stated, we are next to consider the Sense of Antiquity upon these two Points: First, Whether this sublunary World is mutable and perishable: Secondly, By the Force and Action of what Causes, and in what Manner, it will perish; whether by Fire, or otherwise. Aristotle is very irregular in his Sentiments about the State of the World; he allows it neither Beginning nor Ending, Rise nor Fall; but wou’d have it eternal and immutable. And this he understands, not only of the great Universe, but of this sublunary World, this Earth which we inhabit; wherein he will not admit there ever have been, or ever will be, either general Deluges or Conflagrations. And, as if he was ambitious to be thought singular in his Opinion about the Eternity of the World, he says, All the Antients before him, gave some Beginning or Origin to the World; but were not, indeed, so unanimous as to its future Fate: Some believing it immutable, or, as the Philosophers call it, incorruptible; others, That it had its fatal Times and Periods, as lesser Bodies have; and a Term of Age prefix’d to it by Providence.

But before we examine this Point any farther, it will be necessary to reflect upon that which we noted before, an Ambiguity in the Use of the Word World, which gives frequent Occasion of Mistakes in reading the Ancients: When that which they speak of the great Universe, we apply to the sublunary World: Or, on the contrary, what they speak of this Earth, we extend to the whole Universe. And if some of them, besides Aristotle, made the World incorruptible, they might mean that of the great Universe, which they thought would never be dissolv’d or perish as to its Mass and Bulk: But single Parts and Points of it (and our Earth is no more) may be variously transform’d, and made habitable and unhabitable, according to certain Periods of Time, without any Prejudice to their Philosophy. So Plato, for Instance, thinks this World will have no Dissolution: For, being a Work so beautiful and noble, the Goodness of God, he says, will always preserve it. It is most reasonable to understand this of the great Universe; For, in our Earth, Plato himself admits such Dissolutions as are made by general Deluges and Conflagrations; and we contend for no other. So likewise in other Authors, if they speak of the Immortality of the World, you must observe what World they apply it to; and whether to the Matter or the Form of it: And if you remember that our Discourse proceeds only upon the sublunary World, and the Dissolution of its Form, you will find little in Antiquity contrary to this Doctrine. I always except Aristotle (who allow’d of no Providence in this inferior World) and some Pythagoreans falsly so call’d, being either fictitious Authors, or Apostates from the Doctrine of their Master. These being excepted, upon a View of the rest, you will find very few Dissenters from this general Doctrine.

Plato’s Argument against the Dissolution of the World, from the Goodness and Wisdom of God, would not be altogether unreasonable, tho’ apply’d to this Earth, if it was so to be dissolv’d, as never to be restor’d again. But we expect New Heavens and a New Earth, upon the Dissolution of these; better in all Respects, more commodious, and more beautiful. And the several Perfections of the Divine Nature, Wisdom, Power, Goodness, Justice, Sanctity, cannot be so well display’d and exemplify’d in any one single State of Nature, as in a Succession of States, fitted to receive one another according to the Dispositions of the moral World, and the Order of Divine Providence. Wherefore, Plato’s Argument from the Divine Attributes, all Things consider’d, doth rather prove a Succession of Worlds, than that one single World should remain the same throughout all Ages, without Change or Variation. Next to the Platonists, the Stoicks were most considerable in Matters relating to Morality and Providence: And their Opinion, in this Case, is well known; they being look’d upon by the Moderns, as the principal Authors of the Doctrine of the Conflagration. Nor is it less known that the School of Democritus and Epicurus, made all their Worlds subject to Dissolution; and by a new Concourse of Atoms restor’d them again. Lastly, The Ionick philosophers, who had Thales for their Master, and were the first Naturalists amongst the Greeks, taught the same Doctrine. We have, indeed, but an imperfect Account left us of this Sect, and ’tis great Pity; for as it was one of the most antient, so it seems to have been one of the most considerable amongst the Greeks for Natural Philosophy. In those Remains which Diogenes Laertius hath preserv’d, of Anaxagoras, Anaximenes, Archelaus, &c. all great Men in their Time; we find that they treated much of the Origin of the World, and had many extraordinary Notions about it, which come lame and defective to us. The Doctrine of their Founder, Thales, which made all Things to consist of Water, seems to have a great Resemblance to the Doctrine of Moses and St. Peter about the Constitution of the first Heavens and Earth, Gen. i. 2 Pet. ii. 5. But there is little in Laertius, what their Opinion was about the Dissolution of the World; other Authors inform us more of that. Stobæus, Ecl. Phys. l. 1. c. 24, joins them with Leucippus and the Epicureans: Simplicius with Heraclitus, and the Stoicks, in this Doctrine about the Corruptibility of the World. So that all the Schools of the Greek Philosophers, as we noted before, were unanimous in this Point, excepting the Peripateticks; whose Master, Aristotle, had neither Modesty enough to follow the Doctrine of his Predecessors, nor Wit enough to invent any Thing better.

Besides these Sects of Philosophers, there were Theologers amongst the Greeks, more Antient than these Sects, and more Mystical. Aristotle often distinguisheth the Naturalists, and the Theologues, Οἱ φυσικοὶ, οἱ θεόλογοι. Such were Orpheus and his Followers, who had more of the antient Oriental Learning, than the succeeding Philosophers. But they writ their Philosophy, or Theology rather, Mythologically and Poetically, in Parables and Allegories, that needed an Interpretation. All these Theologers supposed the Earth to rise from a Chaos; and as they said that Love was the Principle at first, that united the loose and severed Elements, and formed them into an habitable World; so they supposed that if Strife or Contention prevail’d, that would again dissolve and disunite them, and reduce Things into a Chaos; such as the Earth will be in, upon the Conflagration. And it farther appears, that both these Orders of the Learned in Greece, suppos’d this present Frame of Nature might perish, by their Doctrine of Periodical Revolutions, or of the Renovation of the World after certain Periods of Time; which was a Doctrine common amongst the Learned Greeks, and received by them from the ancient Barbarick Nations: As will appear more at large in the following Book, Ch. 3. In the mean Time we may observe, that Origen in answering Celsus, Lib. 9. about the Point of the Resurrection, tells him, That Doctrine ought not to appear so strange or ridiculous to him, seeing their own Authors did believe and teach the Renovation of the World, after certain Ages or Periods. And the Truth is, this Renovation of the World, rightly stated, is the same Thing with the First Resurrection of the Christians. And as to the second and general Resurrection, when the Righteous shall have Cœlestial Bodies; ’tis well known, that the Platonists and Pythagoreans cloathed the Soul with a Cœlestial Body, or, in their Language, an Æthereal Vehicle, as her last Beatitude or Glorification. So that Origen might very justly tell his Adversary, he had no Reason to ridicule the Christian Doctrine of the Resurrection, seeing their own Authors had the main Strokes of it in their Traditionary Learning.

I will only add one Remark more, before we leave this Subject, to prevent a Mistake in the Word Immortal or Immortality, when applied to the World. As I told you before, the Equivocation that was in that Term World, it being us’d sometimes for the whole Universe, sometimes for this inferior Part of it where we live; so likewise we must observe, that when this inferior World is said to be Immortal, by the Philosophers, as sometimes it is, that commonly is not meant of any single State of Nature, or any single World, but of a Succession of Worlds, consequent one upon another. As a Family may be said Immortal, not in any single Person, but in a Succession of Heirs. So as, many Times, when the Ancients mention the Immortality of the World, they do not thereby exclude the Dissolution or Renovation of it; but suppose a Vicissitude, or Series of Worlds succeeding one another. This Observation is not mine, but was long since made by Simplicius, Stobæus, and others, who tell us in what Sense some of those Philosophers who allowed the World to be perishable, did yet affirm it to be immortal: Namely, by successive Renovations.

Thus much is sufficient to shew the Sense and Judgment of Antiquity, as to the Changeableness or Perpetuity of the World. But ancient Learning is like ancient Medals, more esteem’d for their Rarity, than their real Use; unless the Authority of a Prince make them currant: So neither will these Testimonies be of any great Effect, unless they be made good and valuable by the Authority of Scripture. We must therefore add the Testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles, to these of the Greeks and Barbarians, that the Evidence may be full and undeniable. That the Heavens and the Earth will perish, or be chang’d into another Form, is, sometimes, plainly express’d, sometimes suppos’d and alluded to in Scripture. The Prophet David’s Testimony is express, both for the Beginning and Ending of the World: In Psal. cii. ver. 25, 26, 27. Of old hast thou laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: Yea, all of them shall wax old like a Garment; as a Vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy Years shall have no End. The Prophet Isaiah’s Testimony is no less express, to the same Purpose, ch. li. 6. Lift up your Eyes to the Heavens, and look upon the Earth beneath: For the Heavens shall vanish away like Smoke, and the Earth shall wax old like a Garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like Manner. These Texts are plain and explicit; and in Allusion to this Day of the Lord, and this Destruction of the World, the same Prophet often useth Phrases that relate to it: As the Concussion of the Heavens and the Earth, Isa. xiii. 13. The shaking of the Foundations of the World, ch. xxiv. 18, 19. The Dissolution of the Host of Heaven, ch. xxxiv. 4. And our Sacred Writers have Expressions of the like Force, and relating to the same Effect: As the Hills melting like Wax, at the Presence of the Lord, Psal. xcvii. 5. Shattering once more all the Parts of the Creation, Hagg. ii. 6. Overturning the Mountains, and making the Pillars of the Earth to tremble, Job ix. 5, 6. If you reflect upon the Explication given of the Deluge, in the first Part of this Theory, and attend to the Manner of the Conflagration, as it will be explain’d in the Sequel of this Discourse, you will see the Justness and Fitness of these Expressions: That they are not Poetical Hyperboles, or random Expressions of great and terrible Things in general, but a true Account of what hath been, or will be, at that great Day of the Lord. ’Tis true, the Prophets sometimes use such like Expressions figuratively, for Commotion in States and Kingdoms, but that is only by way of Metaphor and Accommodation; the true Basis they stand upon, is, That Ruin, Overthrow, and Dissolution of the Natural World, which was once at the Deluge, and will be again, after another Manner, at the general Conflagration.

As to the New Testament, our Saviour says, Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but his Words shall not pass away, Mat. xxiv. 35. St. Paul says, the Scheme of this World; the Fashion, Form, and Composition of it, passeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 31. And when mention is made of New Heavens and a New Earth, which both the Prophet Isaiah, Isa. lxv. 17. & lxvi. 22. and the Apostles St. Peter and St. John, Rev. xxi. 1. 2 Pet. iii. 13. mention, ’tis plainly imply’d, that the Old ones will be dissolv’d. The same Thing is also imply’d, when our Saviour speaks of a Renascency, or Regeneration, Mat. xix. 28. and St. Peter, of a Restitution of all Things, Acts iii. 21. For what is now, must be abolish’d, before any former Order of Things can be restor’d or reduced. In a Word, If there was nothing in Scripture concerning this Subject, but that Discourse of St. Peter’s, in his Second Epistle, and Third Chapter, concerning the triple Order and Successions of the Heavens and the Earth, past, present, and to come; that alone would be a Conviction, and Demonstration to me, that this present World will be dissolv’d.

You will say, it may be, in the last Place, we want still the Testimony of Natural Reason and Philosophy, to make the Evidence complete. I answer, ’tis enough if they be silent, and have nothing to say to the contrary. Here are Witnesses, Human and Divine, and if none appear against them, we have no reason to refuse their Testimony, or to distrust it. Philosophy will very readily yield to this Doctrine, that all material Compositions are dissolvable; and she will not wonder to see that die, which she had seen born: I mean this terrestrial World. She stood upon the Chaos, and saw it roll itself, with Difficulty, and after many Strugglings, into the form of an habitable Earth: And that Form she saw broken down again at the Deluge; and can as little hope or expect, now, as then, that it should be everlasting and immutable. There would be nothing great or considerable in this inferior World, if there were not such Revolutions of Nature. The Seasons of the Year, and the fresh Productions of the Spring, are pretty in their Way; but when the (Annus Magnus) Great Year comes about, with a new Order of all Things, in the Heavens, and on the Earth; and a new Dress of Nature throughout all her Regions, far more goodly and beautiful than the fairest Spring; this gives a new Life to the Creation, and shews the Greatness of its Author. Besides, these fatal Catastrophes are always a Punishment to degenerate Mankind, that are overwhelm’d in the Ruins of these perishing Worlds. And to make Nature herself execute the Divine Vengeance against rebellious Creatures, argues both the Power and Wisdom of that Providence that governs all Things here below. These Things Reason and Philosophy approve of; but if you further require, that they should shew a Necessity of this future Destruction of the World, from natural Causes, with the Time, and all other Circumstances of this Effect; your Demands are unreasonable, seeing these Things do not depend solely upon Nature. But if you will content yourself to know what Dispositions there are in Nature towards such a Change; how it may begin, proceed, and be consummate, under the Conduct of Providence, be pleased to read the following Discourse, for your further Satisfaction.

CHAP. III.

That the World will be destroy’d by Fire, is the Doctrine of the Ancients, especially of the Stoicks. That the same Doctrine is more ancient than the Greeks, and deriv’d from the Barbarick Philosophy; and That probably from Noah, the Father of all Traditionary Learning. The same Doctrine expressly authorized by Revelation, and inroll’d into the Sacred Canon.

That the present World, or the present Frame of Nature, will be destroy’d, we have already shewn. In what Manner this Destruction will be, by what Force, or what kind of Fate, must be our next Enquiry. The Philosophers have always spoken of Fire and Water, those Two unruly Elements, as the only Causes that can destroy the World, and work our Ruin; and accordingly, they say, all the great and fatal Revolutions of Nature, either past, or to come, depend upon the Violence of these Two; when they get the Mastery, and overwhelm all the rest, and the whole Earth, in a Deluge, or Conflagration. But, as they make these Two the destroying Elements, so they also make them the purifying Elements. And, accordingly in their Lustrations, or their Rites and Ceremonies for purging Sin; Fire and Water were chiefly made use of, both amongst the Romans, Greeks, and Barbarians. And when these Elements over-run the World, it is not, they say, for a final Destruction of it, but to purge Mankind, and Nature from their Impurities. As for Purgation by Fire and Water, the Stile of our Sacred Writings does very much accommodate itself to that Sense; and the Holy Ghost, who is the great Purifier of Souls, is compared in his Operation upon us, and in our Regeneration, to Fire or Water. And as for the external World, S. Peter, 1 Ep. iii. 21. makes the Flood to have been a kind of Baptizing or Renovation of the World. And S. Paul, 1 Cor. iii. 13. and the Prophet Malachi, c. iii. 2, 3. makes the last Fire, to be a purging and refining Fire. But to return to the Ancients.

The Stoicks especially, of all other Sects amongst the Greeks, have preserved the Doctrine of the Conflagration; and made it a considerable Part of their Philosophy, and almost a Character of their Order. This is a Thing so well known, that I need not use any Citations to prove it. But they cannot pretend to have been the first Authors of it neither. For, besides that amongst the Greeks themselves, Heraclitus and Empedocles, more ancient than Zeno, the Master of the Stoicks, taught this Doctrine; ’tis plainly a Branch of the Barbarick Philosophy, and taken from thence by the Greeks. For it is well known, that the most ancient and mystick Learning amongst the Greeks, was not originally their own, but borrowed of the more Eastern Nations, by Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, and many more, who travell’d thither, and traded with the Priests for Knowledge and Philosophy; and when they got a competent Stock, returned home, and set up a School, or a Sect, to instruct their Countrymen. But before we pass to the Eastern Nations, let us, if you please, compare the Roman Philosophy upon this Subject, with that of the Greeks.

The Romans were a great People, that made a Shew of Learning, but had little, in reality, more than Words and Rhetorick. Their Curiosity or Emulation in Philosophical Studies was so little, that it did not make different Sects and Schools amongst them, as amongst the Greeks. I remember no Philosophers they had, but such as Tully, Seneca, and some of their Poets. And of these Lucretius, Lucan, and Ovid, have spoken openly of the Conflagration. Ovid’s Verses are well known,

Esse quoque in fatis reminiscitur, affore tempus,

Quo mare, quo tellus, correptaque regia Cœli

Ardeat, & mundi moles operosa laboret.

A Time decreed by Fate, at length will come,

When Heavens, and Earth, and Seas, shall have their Doom;

A fiery Doom: And Nature’s mighty Frame,

Shall break, and be dissolv’d into a Flame.

We see Tully’s Sense upon this Matter, in Scipio’s Dream. When the old Man speaks to his Nephew Africanus, and shews him from the Clouds, this Spot of Earth, where we live; he tells him, tho’ our Actions should be great, and Fortune favour them with Success, yet there wou’d be no Room for any lasting Glory in this World; for the World itself, is transient and fugitive. And a Deluge, or a Conflagration, which necessarily happen after certain Periods of Time, will sweep away all Records of human Actions. As for Seneca, he being a profess’d Stoick, we need not doubt of his Opinion in this Point. We may add here, if you please, the Sybelline Verses, which were kept, with great Religion, in the Capitol at Rome, and consulted with much Ceremony upon solemn Occasions. These Sybils, were the Prophetesses of the Gentiles; and tho’ their Writings now have many spurious Additions, yet none doubt but that the Conflagration of the World, was one of their original Prophecies.

Let us now proceed to the Eastern Nations. As the Romans received the small Skill they had in the Sciences, from the Greeks; so the Greeks, receiv’d their chief Mystick Learning from the Barbarians: That is, from the Ægyptians, Persians, Phœnicians, and other Eastern Nations; for ’tis not only the Western, or Northern People, that they called Barbarians, but indeed, all Nations besides themselves. For that is commonly the Vanity of great Empires, to uncivilize, in a Manner, all the rest of the World; and to account all those People barbarous, that are not subject to their Dominion. These however, whom they called so, were the most ancient People, and had the first Learning that was ever heard of after the Flood. And amongst these, the Ægyptians were as famous as any; whose Sentiments in this particular of the Conflagration, are well known. For Plato, who liv’d amongst them several Years, tells us in his Timæus, that it was the Doctrine of their Priests, that the fatal Catastrophes of the World, were by Fire and Water. In like manner, the Persians made their beloved God, Fire, at length to consume all Things that are capable of being consum’d: For that is said to have been the Doctrine of Hydaspes, one of their great Magi, or Wise Men. As to the Phœnicians, I suspect very much, that the Stoicks had their Philosophy from them (Just. Mar. Apol. 2.) and amongst other Things the Conflagration. We shall take Notice of that hereafter.

But to comprehend the Arabians also, and Indians, give me leave to reflect a little upon the Story of the Phœnix. A Story well known, and related by some ancient Authors, and is in short this: The Phœnix, they say, is a Bird in Arabia, India, and those Eastern Parts, single in her Kind, never more than one at a Time, and very long-lived; appearing only at the Expiration of the Great Year, as they call it: And when she makes herself a Nest of Spices, which being set on fire by the Sun, or some other secret Power, she hovers upon it, and consumes herself in the Flames. But, which is most wonderful, out of these Ashes riseth a second Phœnix, so that it is not so much a Death, as a Renovation. I do not doubt but the Story is a Fable, as to any such kind of Bird, single in her Species, living, and dying, and reviving in that Manner: But ’tis an Apologue, or a Fable with an Interpretation, and was intended as an Emblem of the World; which, after a long Age, will be consum’d in the last Fire: And from its Ashes or Remains, will arise another World, or a new-form’d Heavens and Earth. This, I think, is the true Mystery of the Phœnix, under which Symbol the Eastern Nations preserv’d the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and Renovation of the World. They tell somewhat a like Story of the Eagle, soaring aloft so near the Sun, that by his Warmth and enlivening Rays, she renews her Age, and becomes young again. To this the Psalmist is thought to allude, Psal. ciii. 5. Thy Youth shall be renewed like the Eagles: Which the Chaldee Paraphrast renders, In mundo venturo renovabis, sicut Aquilæ, juventutem tuam. These Things to me seem plainly to be Symbolical, representing that World to come, which the Paraphrast mentions, and the firing of this. And this is after the Manner of the Eastern Wisdom; which always lov’d to go fine, cloath’d in Figures and Fancies.

And not only the Eastern Barbarians, but the Northern and Western also, had this Doctrine of the Conflagration amongst them. The Scythians, in their Dispute with the Ægyptians about Antiquity, argue upon both Suppositions, of Fire or Water, destroying the last World, or beginning This. And in the West, the Celts, the most ancient People there, had the same Tradition; for the Druids, who were their Priests and Philosophers, derived not from the Greeks, but of the old Race of Wise Men, that had their Learning traditionally, and, as it were, hereditary from the first Ages: These, as Strabo tells us, lib. 4. gave the World a kind of Immortality, by repeated Renovations; and the Principle that destroy’d it, according to them, was always Fire or Water. I had forgot to mention in this List, the Chaldeans, whose Opinion we have from Berosus, in Seneca, Nat. Quæst. 3. c. 29. They did not only teach the Conflagration, but also fix’d it to a certain Period of Time, when there should happen a great Conjunction of the Planets in Cancer. Lastly, we may add, to close the Account, the modern Indian Philosophers, the Reliques of the old Bragmans: These, as Maffeus tells us, lib. 16. Hist. Ind. declare, That the World will be renewed after an universal Conflagration.

You see of what Extent and Universality throughout all Nations, this Doctrine of the Conflagration hath been. Let us now consider, what Defects or Excesses there are, in these ancient Opinions, concerning this Fate of the World, and how they may be rectified: That we may admit them no further into our Belief, than they are warranted by Reason, or by the Authority of the Christian Religion. The first Fault they seem to have committed about this Point, is this, That they made these Revolutions and Renovations of Nature, indefinite or endless: As if there would be such a Succession of Deluges and Conflagrations to all Eternity. This the Stoicks seem plainly to have asserted, as appears from Numenius, Philo, Simplicius, and others. S. Jerome, Ep. 60. imputes this Opinion also to Origen; but he does not always hit the true Sense of that Father, or is not fair and just in the Representation of it. Whosoever held this Opinion, ’tis a manifest Error, and may be easily rectified by the Christian Revelation; which teaches us plainly, that there is a final Period and Consummation of all Things that belong to this Sublunary or Terrestrial World; When the Kingdom shall be delivered up to the Father; and Time shall be no more.

Another Error they committed in this Doctrine, is, the Identity, or Sameness, if I may so say, of the World’s succeeding one another. They are made, indeed, of the same Lump of Matter, but they supposed them to return also in the same Form. And, which is worse, that there would be the same Face of human Affairs; the same Persons and the same Actions over again; so as the second World would be but a bare Repetition of the former, without any Variety or Diversity. Such a Revolution is commonly call’d the Platonick Year: A Period when all Things return to the same Posture they had been some Thousand of Years before; as a Play acted over again, upon the same Stage, and to the same Auditory: This is a groundless and injudicious Supposition. For, whether we consider the Nature of Things, the Earth, after a Dissolution by Fire, or by Water, could not return into the same Form and Fashion it had before; Or whether we consider Providence, it would no way suit with the Divine Wisdom and Justice, to bring upon the Stage again, those very Scenes, and that very Course of human Affairs, which it had so lately condemn’d and destroy’d. We may be assur’d therefore, that, upon the Dissolution of a World, a new Order of Things, both as to Nature and Providence, always appears. And what that new Order will be, in both respects, after the Conflagration, I hope we shall, in the following Book, give a satisfactory Account.

These are the Opinions, true or false, of the Ancients; and chiefly of the Stoicks, concerning the Mystery of the Conflagration. It will not be improper to enquire, in the last Place, how the Stoicks came by this Doctrine: Whether it was their Discovery and Invention, or from whom they learned it. That it was not their own Invention, we have given sufficient ground to believe, by shewing the Antiquity of it beyond the Times of the Stoicks. Besides, what a Man invents himself, he can give the Reasons and Causes of it, as Things upon which he founded his Invention: But the Stoicks do not this, but, according to the ancient traditional Way, deliver the Conclusion without Proof or Premises. We named Heraclitus and Empedocles, amongst the Greeks, to have taught this Doctrine before the Stoicks; And, according to Plutarch (de Defec. Orac.) Hesiod and Orpheus, Authors of the highest Antiquity, sung of this last Fire in their Philosophick Poetry. But I suspect the Stoicks had this Doctrine from the Phœnicians; for if we inquire into the Original of that Sect, we shall find that their Founder Zeno, was a Barbarian, or Semi-barbarian, deriv’d from the Phœnicians, as Laertius and Cicero give an Account of him. And the Phœnicians had a great Share in the Oriental Knowledge, as we see by Sanchoniathion’s Remains in Eusebius. And by their mystical Books which Suidas mentions, from whence Pherecydes, Pythagoras’s Master, had his Learning. We may therefore, reasonably presume, that it might be from his Countrymen, the Phœnicians, that Zeno had the Doctrine of the Conflagration. Not that he brought it first into Greece, but strongly reviv’d it, and made it almost peculiar to his Sect.

So much for the Stoicks in particular, and the Greeks in general. We have also, you see, trac’d these Opinions higher, to the first Barbarick Philosophers; who were the first Race of Philosophers after the Flood. But Josephus tells a formal Story, of Pillars set up by Seth, before the Flood; implying the Foreknowledge of this fiery Destruction of the World, even from the Beginning of it. His Words, lib. 1. c. 3. are to this Effect, give what Credit to them you think fit: Seth and his Fellow Students, having found out the Knowledge of the Cœlestial Bodies, and the Order and Disposition of the Universe; and having also receiv’d from Adam, a Prophecy, that the World should have a double Destruction, one by Water, another by Fire: To preserve and transmit their Knowledge, in either Case, to Posterity, they raised two Pillars, one of Brick, another of Stone, and ingrav’d upon them their Philosophy and Inventions. And one of these Pillars, the Author says (Κατα τον Συριαδα) was standing in Syria, even to his Time. I do not press the Belief of this Story; there being nothing, that I know of, in Antiquity, Sacred or Prophane, that gives a joint Testimony with it. And those that set up these Pillars, do not seem to me, to have understood the Nature of the Deluge or Conflagration; if they thought a Pillar, either of Brick or Stone, would be secure, in those great Dissolutions of the Earth. But we have pursued this Doctrine high enough, without the Help of these ante-diluvian Antiquities: Namely, to the earliest People, and the first Appearances of Wisdom after the Flood. So that, I think, we may justly look upon it as the Doctrine of Noah, and of his immediate Posterity. And, as that is the highest Source of Learning to the present World; so we should endeavour to carry our Philosophical Traditions to that Original: For I cannot persuade myself, but that they had amongst them, even in those early Days, the main Strokes, or Conclusions of the best Philosophy: Or, if I may so say, a Form of sound Doctrine concerning Nature and Providence. Of which Matter, if you will allow me a short Digression, I will speak my Thoughts in a few Words.

In those first Ages of the World, after the Flood, when Noah and his Children peopled the Earth again, as he gave them Precepts of Morality and Piety, for the Conduct of their Manners; which are usually call’d Præcepta Noachidarum, the Precepts of Noah, frequently mention’d both by the Jews and Christians: So also he deliver’d to them, at least, if we judge aright, certain Maxims, or Conclusions about Providence, the State of Nature, and the Fate of the World: And these, in Proportion, may be call’d Dogmata Noachidarum, the Doctrines of Noah, and his Children. Which made a System of Philosophy, or secret Knowledge amongst them, delivered by Tradition from Father to Son; but especially preserv’d amongst their Priests and Sacred Persons, or such others as were addicted to Contemplation. This I take to be more ancient than Moses himself, or the Jewish Nation. But it would lead me too far out of my Way, to set down, in this Place, the Reasons of my Judgment. Let it be sufficient to have pointed only at this Fountain-head of Knowledge, and so return to our Argument.

We have heard, as it were, a Cry of Fire, throughout all Antiquity, and throughout all the People of the Earth. But those Alarums are sometimes false, or make a greater Noise than the Thing deserves. For my Part, I never trust Antiquity barely upon its own Account, but always require a second Witness, either from Nature, or from Scripture: What the Voice of Nature is, we shall hear all along in the following Treatise. Let us then examine at present, what Testimony the Prophets and Apostles give to this ancient Doctrine of the Conflagration of the World. The Prophets see the World a Fire at a Distance, and more imperfectly, as a Brightness in the Heavens, rather than a burning Flame: But S. Peter describes it, as if he had been standing by, and seen the Heavens and Earth in a red Fire; heard the cracking Flames, and the tumbling Mountains, 2 Pet. iii. 10. In the Day of the Lord, The Heavens shall pass away with a great Noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat: The Earth also, and the Works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Then, after a pious Ejaculation, he adds, Ver. 12. Looking for, and hastening the coming of the Day of God, wherein the Heavens being on Fire, shall be dissolv’d; and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat. This is as lively as a Man could express it, if he had the dreadful Spectacle before his Eyes. S. Peter had before taught the same Doctrine (ver. 5, 6, 7.) but in a more Philosophick Way; describing the double Fate of the World, by Water and Fire, with relation to the Nature and Constitution of either World, past or present. The Heavens and the Earth were of old, consisting of Water, and by Water: Whereby, the World that then was, being overflowed with Water, perished. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now, by the same Word are kept in Store, reserved unto Fire, against the Day of Judgment, and Perdition of Ungodly, or Atheistical Men. This Testimony of S. Peter being full, direct, and explicit, will give Light and Strength to several other Passages of Scripture, where the same Thing is exprest obscurely, or by Allusion. As when S. Paul says, The Fire shall try every Man’s Work in that Day, 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13. And our Saviour says, The Tares shall be burnt in the Fire, at the End of the World, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, 42. Accordingly it is said, both by the Apostles and Prophets, that God will come to Judgment in Fire. St. Paul to the Thessalonians, 2 Thess. ii. 7, 8. promiseth the persecuted Righteous Rest and Ease, When the Lord shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire; taking Vengeance on them that know not God, &c. And so to the Hebrews, St. Paul says, ch. x. 27. that for wilful Apostates, there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin, but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries, or Enemies of God. And in ch. xii. ver. 26, 27, 28, 29. he alludes to the same Thing, when, after he had spoken of shaking the Heavens, and the Earth once more, he exhorteth, as St. Peter does upon the same Occasion, to Reverence and godly Fear; for our God is a consuming Fire.

In like manner the Prophets, when they speak of destroying the Wicked, and the Enemies of God and Christ, at the End of the World, represent it as a Destruction by Fire. Psal. xi. 6. Upon the Wicked the Lord shall rain Coals, Fire, and Brimstone, and a burning Tempest: This shall be the Portion of their Cup. And Psal. l. 3. Our God shall come, and will not be slow: A Fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. And in the Beginning of those two triumphal Psalms, the lxviiith, and xcviith, we see plain Allusions to this coming of the Lord in Fire. The other Prophets speak in the same Style, of a fiery Indignation against the Wicked, in the Day of the Lord: As in Isaiah lxvi. 15. For behold the Lord will come with Fire, and with his Chariots like a Whirlwind, to render his Anger with Fury, and his Rebuke with Flames of Fire (and ch. xxxiv. 8, 9, 10) And in Daniel, c. vii. 9, 10. The Ancient of Days is placed upon his Seat of Judgment, covered in Flames. I beheld till the Thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose Garment was white as Snow, and the Hair of his Head like the pure Wool: His Throne was like the fiery Flame, his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministred unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: The Judgment was set, and the Books were opened. The Prophet Malachi, c. iv. 1. describes the Day of the Lord to the same Effect, and in like Colours; Behold the Day cometh, that shall burn as an Oven: and all the Proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as Stubble; and the Day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither Root nor Branch. And that Nature herself, and the Earth shall suffer in that Fire, the Prophet Zephany tells us, c. iii. 8. All the Earth shall be devoured with the Fire of my Jealousy. Lastly, this Consumption of the Earth by Fire, even to the Foundations of it, is exprest livelily by Moses in his Song, Deut. xxxii. 22. A Fire is kindled in my Anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Hell: and shall consume the Earth with her Increase, and set on Fire the Foundations of the Mountains.

If we reflect upon these Witnesses; and especially the first and last, Moses and Saint Peter; at what a great Distance of Time they writ their Prophecies, and yet how well they agree, we must needs conclude they were acted by the same Spirit; and a Spirit that saw thorough all the Ages of the World, from the Beginning to the End. These Sacred Writers were so remote in Time from one another, that they could not confer together, nor conspire either in a false Testimony, or to make the same Prediction. But being under one common Influence and Inspiration, which is always consistent with itself, they have dictated the same Things, tho’ at two thousand Years Distance sometimes from one another. This, besides many other Considerations, makes their Authority incontestable. And upon the whole Account, you see, that the Doctrine of the future Conflagration of the World, having run thro’ all Ages and Nations, is, by the joint Consent of the Prophets and Apostles, adopted into the Christian Faith.

CHAP. IV.

Concerning the Time of the Conflagration, and the End of the World. What the Astronomers say upon this Subject, and upon what they ground their Calculations: The true Notion of the Great Year, or of the Platonick Year, stated and explained.

Having, in this first Section, laid a sure Foundation, as to the Subject of our Discourse; the Truth and Certainty of the Conflagration whereof we are to treat; we will now proceed to enquire after the Time, Causes, and Manner of it. We are naturally more inquisitive after the End of the World, and the Time of that fatal Revolution, than after the Causes of it: For these, we know, are irresistible, whensoever they come, and therefore we are only solicitous that they should not overtake us, or our near Posterity. The Romans thought they had the Fates of their Empire in the Books of the Sibyls, which were kept by the Magistrates as a Sacred Treasure. We have also our Prophetical Books, more sacred and more infallible than theirs, which contain the Fate of all the Kingdoms of the Earth, and of that glorious Kingdom that is to succeed. And of all Futurities, there is none can be of such Importance to be enquired after, as this last Scene and Close of all human Affairs.

If I thought it possible to determine the Time of the Conflagration from the bare Intuition of natural Causes, I would not treat of it in this Place, but reserve it to the last; after we had brought into View all those Causes, weigh’d their Force, and examin’d how and when they would concur to produce this great Effect. But I am satisfied, that the Excitation and Concourse of those Causes does not depend upon Nature only; and tho’ the Causes may be sufficient, when all united, yet the Union of them at such a Time, and in such a Manner, I look upon as the Effect of a particular Providence; and therefore no Fore-sight of ours, or Inspection into Nature, can discover to us the Time of this Conjuncture. This Method, therefore, of Prediction from natural Causes being laid aside as impracticable, all other Methods may be treated of in this Place, as being independent upon any Thing that is to follow in the Treatise; and it will be an Ease to the Argument to discharge it of this Part, and clear the Way by Degrees to the principal Point, which is, The Causes and Manner of the Conflagration.

Some have thought it a Kind of Impiety in a Christian, to enquire after the End of the World; because of that Check which our Saviour gave his Disciples, when, after his Resurrection, enquiring of him about the Time of his Kingdom, he answer’d, It is not for you to know the Times or the Seasons, which the Father hath put in his own Power, Acts i. 7. And before his Death, when he was discoursing of the Consummation of all Things, He told them expresly, that though there should be such and such previous Signs as he had mention’d, yet, Of that Day and Hour knoweth no Man; no, not the Angels that are in Heaven, but my Father only, Matt. xxiv. 36. Be it so, that the Disciples deserv’d a Reprimand, for desiring to know, by a particular Revelation from our Saviour, the State of future Times; when many other Things were more necessary for their Instruction, and for their Ministry. Be it also admitted, that the Angels, at that Distance of Time, could not see thorow all Events to the End of the World; it does not at all follow from thence, that they do not know it now; when, in the Course of 1600 Years, many Things are come to pass, that may be Marks and Directions to them to make a Judgment of what remains, and of the last Period of all Things. However, there will be no Danger in our Enquiries about this Matter, seeing they are not so much to discover the Certainty, as the Uncertainty of that Period, as to human Knowledge. Let us therefore consider what Methods have been used, by those that have been curious and busy to measure the Duration of the World.

The Stoicks tell us, When the Sun and the Stars have drunk up the Sea, then the Earth shall be burnt. A very fair Prophecy! But, how long will they be a drinking? For unless we can determine that, we cannot determine when this Combustion will begin. Many of the Antients thought that the Stars were nourish’d by the Vapours of the Ocean and of the moist Earth, (Cicer. de Nat. D. lib. 2.) and when that Nourishment was spent, being of a fiery Nature, they would prey upon the Body of the Earth it self, and consume that, after they had consum’d the Water. This is old-fashion’d Philosophy, and now, that the Nature of those Bodies is better known, will scarce pass for current. ’Tis true, we must expect some Dispositions towards the Combustion of the World, from a great Drought and Desiccation of the Earth: But this helps us nothing on our Way; for the Question still returns, When will this immoderate Drought or Dryness happen? and that’s as ill to resolve as the former. Therefore, as I said before, I have no Hopes of deciding the Question by Physiology or Natural Causes; let us then look up from the Earth to the Heavens, to the Astronomers and the Prophets: These think they can define the Age and Duration of the World; the one by their Art, and the other by Inspiration.

We begin with the Astronomers; whose Calculations are founded either upon the Aspects and Configurations of the Planets, or upon the Revolutions of the fixed Stars: or, lastly, upon that which they call Annus Magnus, or the Great Year, whatsoever that Notion proves to be when it is rightly interpreted. As to the Planets, Berosus tells us, the Chaldeans suppose Deluges to proceed from a great Conjunction of the Planets in Capricorn, (Sen. Nat. qu. l. 3. c. 29.) And from a like Conjunction in the opposite Sign of Cancer, the Conflagration will ensue. So that if we compute by the Astronomical Tables how long it will be to such a Conjunction, we find at the same Time how long it will be to the Conflagration. This Doctrine of the Chaldeans some Christian Authors have owned, and followed the same Principles and Method.

If these Authors would deal fairly with Mankind, they should shew us some Connexion betwixt these Causes and the Effects which they make consequent upon them. For ’tis an unreasonable Thing to require a Man’s Assent to a Proposition, where he sees no Dependance or Connexion of Terms; unless it come by Revelation, or from an infallible Authority. If you say, the Conflagration will be at the first great Conjunction of the Planets in Cancer, and I say it will be at the next Eclipse of the Moon, if you shew no more Reason for your Assertion than I for mine, and neither of us pretend to Revelation or Infallibility, we may justly expect to be equally credited. Pray what Reason can you give why the Planets, when they meet, should plot together to set on Fire their Fellow-Planet, the Earth, who never did them any Harm? But now there is a plausible Reason for my Opinion; for the Moon, when eclips’d, may think herself affronted by the Earth interposing rudely betwixt her and the Sun, and leaving her to grope her Way in the Dark: She therefore may justly take her Revenge as she can. But you’ll say, ’tis not in the Power of the Moon to set the Earth on Fire, if she had Malice enough to do it. No, nor say I, is it in the Power of the other Planets that are far more distant from the Earth than the Moon, and as stark dull Lumps of Earth as she is. The plain Truth is, the Planets are so many Earths; and our Earth is as much a Planet as the brightest of them. ’Tis carried about the Sun with the same common Stream, and shines with as much Lustre to them, as they do to us: Neither can they do any more Harm to it, than it can do to them. ’Tis now well known, that the Planets are dark opake Bodies, generally made up of Earth and Water, as our Globe is; and have no Force or Action, but that of reverberating the Light which the Sun casts upon them. This blind superstitious Fear or Reverence for the Stars, had its Original from the antient Idolaters: They thought them Gods, and that they had Domination over human Affairs. We do not indeed worship them, as they did; but some Men retain still the same Opinion of their Vertues, of their Rule and Influence upon us and our Affairs, which was the Ground of their Worship. ’Tis full Time now to sweep away these Cobwebs of Superstition, these Relicks of Paganism. I do not see how we are any more concern’d in the Postures of the Planets, than in the Postures of the Clouds; and you may as well build an Art of Prediction and Divination, upon the one, as the other. They must not know much of the Philosophy of the Heavens, or little consider it, that think the Fate, either of single Persons, or of the whole Earth, can depend upon the Aspects, or figur’d Dances of those Bodies.

But you’ll say, it may be, Tho’ no Reason can be given for such Effects, yet Experience does attest the Truth of them. In the first Place, I answer, no Experience can be produced for this Effect we are speaking of, the Conflagration of the World. Secondly, Experience fallaciously recorded, or wholly in favour of one side, is no Proof. If a publick Register was kept of all Astrological Predictions, and of all the Events that followed upon them, right or wrong, agreeing or disagreeing, I could willingly refer the Cause to the Determination of such a Register, and such Experience: But that which they call Experience, is so stated, that if one Prediction of ten hits right, or near right, it shall make more Noise, and be more taken Notice of, than all the Nine that are false. Just as in a Lottery, where many Blanks are drawn for one Prize, yet these make all the Noise, and those are forgotten. If any one be so lucky as to draw a good Lot, then the Trumpet sounds, and his Name is register’d, and he tells his good Fortune to every Body he meets; whereas those that lose, go silently away with empty Pockets, and are asham’d to tell their Losses. Such a Thing is the Register of Astrological Experiences; they record what makes for their Credit, but drop all blank Instances, that would discover the Vanity or Cheat of their Art.

So much for the Planets. They have also a pretended Calculation of the End of the World, from the fix’d Stars and the Firmament. Which, in short, is this: They suppose these Bodies, besides the Hurry of their Diurnal Motion from East to West, quite round the Earth in 24 Hours, to have another retrograde Motion from West to East, which is more slow and leisurely: And when they have finished the Circle of this Retrogradation, and come up again to the same Place from whence they started at the Beginning of the World, then this Course of Nature will be at an End; and either the Heavens will cease from all Motion, or a new Set of Motions will be put a-foot, and the World begin again. This is a Bundle of Fictions tied up in a pretty Knot. In the first Place, there is no such Thing as a solid Firmament, in which the Stars are fix’d, as Nails in a Board. The Heavens are as fluid as our Air, and the higher we go, the more thin and subtle is the ethereal Matter. Then, the fix’d Stars are not all in one Surface, as they seem to us, not at an equal Distance from the Earth, but are placed in several Orbs higher and higher; there being infinite Room in the great Deep of the Heavens, every Way, for innumerable Stars and Spheres behind one another, to fill and beautify the immense Spaces of the Universe. Lastly, the fix’d Stars have no Motion common to them all, nor any Motion singly, unless upon their own Centres; and therefore, never leaving their Stations, they can never return to any common Station, which they would suppose them to have had at the Beginning of the World. So as this Period they speak of, whereby they would measure the Duration of the World, is merely imaginary, and hath no Foundation in the true Nature or Motion of the cœlestial Bodies.

But in the third Place, they speak of an Annus Magnus, a Great Year: A Revolution so call’d, whatsoever it is, that is of the same Extent with the Length of the World. This Notion, I confess, is more antient and universal, and therefore I am the more apt to believe that it is not altogether groundless. But the Difficulty is, to find out the Notion of this Great Year, what is to be understood by it, and then of what Length it is. They all agree that it is a Time of some grand Instauration of all Things, or a Restitution of the Heavens and the Earth to their former State; that is, to the State and Posture they had at the Beginning of the World; such therefore as will restore the Golden Age, and that happy State of Nature wherein Things were at first. If so, if these be the Marks and Properties of this Revolution, which is called the Great Year, we need not go so far to find the true Notion and Interpretation of it. Those that have read the first Part of this Theory, may remember, that in the 2d Book, Chap. 3. we gave an Account what the Posture of the Earth was at the Beginning of the World, and what were the Consequences of that Posture, a perpetual Spring and Equinox throughout all the Earth: And if the Earth was restor’d again to that Posture and Situation, all that is imputed to the Great Year, would immediately follow upon it, without ever disturbing or moving the fix’d Stars, Firmament, or Planets; and yet at the same Time all these three would return, or be restored to the same Posture they had at the Beginning of the World; so as the whole Character of the Great Year would be truly fulfill’d, tho’ not in that Way which they imagin’d; but in another, more compendious, and of easier Conception. My Meaning is this, If the Axis of the Earth was rectified and set parallel with the Axis of the Ecliptick, upon which the Planets, Firmament, and fix’d Stars are suppos’d to move, all Things would be as they were at first; a general Harmony and Conformity of all the Motions of the Universe would presently appear, such as they say, was in the Golden Age, before any Disorder came into the Natural or Moral World.

As this is an easy, so I do not doubt, but it is a true Account of that which was originally call’d the Great Year, or the Great Instauration; which Nature will bring to pass in this simple Method, by rectifying the Axis of the Earth, without those operose Revolutions, which some Astronomers have fancied. But however, this Account being admitted, how will it help us to define what the Age and Duration of the World will be? ’Tis true, many have undertaken to tell us the Length of this Great Year, and consequently of the World; but, besides that their Accounts are very different, and generally of an extravagant Length, if we had the true Account, it would not assure us when the World would end; because we do not know when it did begin, or what Progress we have already made in the Line of Time. For I am satisfied, the Chronology of the World, whether Sacred or Profane, is lost; till Providence shall please to retrieve it by some new Discovery. As to profane Chronology, or that of the Heathens, the Greeks, and the Romans knew nothing above the Olympiads; which fell short many Ages of the Deluge, much more of the Beginning of the World. And the Eastern barbarous Nations, as they disagreed amongst themselves, so generally they run the Origin of the World to such a prodigious Height, as is neither agreeable to Faith, nor Reason. As to sacred Chronology, ’tis well known, that the Difference there is betwixt the Greek, Hebrew, and Samaritan Copies of the Bible, make the Age of the World altogether undetermin’d: And there is no Way yet found out, how we may certainly discover which of the three Copies is most Authentick; and consequently, what the Age of the World is, upon a true Computation. Seeing therefore we have no Assurance how long the World hath stood already, neither could we be assur’d how long it hath to stand, tho’ by this Annus Magnus, or any other Way, the total Sum, or whole Term of its Duration was truly known; I am sorry to see the little Success we have had in our first Search after the End of the World, from Astronomical Calculations. But ’tis an useful Piece of Knowledge to know the Bounds of our Knowledge; that so we may not spend our Time and Thoughts about Things that lie out of our Reach. I have little or no Hopes of resolving this Point by the Light of Nature, and therefore it only remains now to enquire, whether Providence hath made it known by any Sort of Prophecy or Revelation. Which shall be the Subject of the following Chapter.

CHAP. V.

Concerning Prophecies that determine the End of the World: Of what Order soever, Profane or Sacred; Jewish or Christian. That no certain Judgment can be made from any of them, at what Distance we are now from the Conflagration.

The Bounds of human Knowledge are so narrow, and the Desire of knowing so vast and illimited, that it often puts Mankind upon irregular Methods of inlarging their Knowledge. This hath made them find out Arts of Commerce with evil Spirits, to be instructed by them in such Events as they could not of themselves discover. We meddle not with those Mysteries of Iniquity: But what hath appear’d under the Notion of divine Prophecy, relating to the Chronology of the World: Giving either the whole Extent of it, or certain Marks of its Expiration; These we purpose to examine in this Place: How far any Thing may, or may not, be concluded from them, as to the Resolution of our Problem, How long the World will last.

Amongst the Heathens, I do not remember any Prophecies of this Nature, except the Sibylline Oracles, as they are usually called. The antient Eastern Philosophers have left us no Account that I can call to mind, about the Time of this Fatality. They say, when the Phœnix returns, we must expect the Conflagration to follow; but the Age of the Phœnix they make as various and uncertain, as they do the Computation of their Great Year, Symbolum ἀποξαταστάσεως πολυχρονίου, Phœnix. Hor. Apol. l. 2. c. 57. which two Things are indeed, one and the same in Effect. Some of them, I confess, mention 6000 Years for the whole Age of the World: Which being the famous Prophecy of the Jews, we shall speak to it largely hereafter; and reduce to that Head, what broken Traditions remain amongst the Heathens of the same thing. As to the Sibylline Oracles, which were so much in Reputation amongst the Greeks and Romans, they have been tamper’d with so much, and chang’d so often, that they are become now of little Authority. They seem to have divided the Duration of the World into ten Ages, and the last of these they make a Golden Age, a State of Peace, Righteousness, and Perfection: But seeing they have not determin’d, in any definite Numbers, what the Length of every Age will be, nor given us the Sum of all, we cannot draw any Conclusion from this Account, as to the Point in question before us: But must proceed to the Jewish and Christian Oracles.

The Jews have a remarkable Prophecy, which expresseth both the Whole, and the Parts of the World’s Duration. The World, they say, will stand Six thousand Years: Two thousand before the Law, Two thousand under the Law, and Two thousand under the Messiah. This Prophecy they derive from Elias; but there were two of the Name, Elias the Thesbite, and Elias the Rabbin, or Cabbalist; and ’tis suppos’d to belong immediately to the latter of these. Yet this does not hinder, in my Opinion, but that it might come originally from the former Elias, and was preserv’d in the School of this Elias the Rabbin, and first made publick by him. Or he added, it may be, that Division of the Time into three Parts, and so got a Title to the whole. I cannot easily imagine, that a Doctor that lived Two hundred Years, or thereabouts, before Christ, when Prophecy had ceas’d for some Ages amongst the Jews, should take upon him to dictate a Prophecy about the Duration of the World, unless he had been supported by some antecedent Cabbalistical Tradition: Which being kept more secret before, he took the Liberty to make Publick, and so was reputed the Author of the Prophecy: As many Philosophers amongst the Greeks, were the reputed Authors of such Doctrines as were much more antient than themselves: But they were the Publishers of them in their Country, or the Revivers of them after a long Silence; and so, by forgetful Posterity, got the Honour of the first Invention.

You will think, it may be, the Time is too long, and the Distance too great, betwixt Elias the Thesbite, and this Elias the Rabbin, for a Tradition to subsist all the while, or be preserv’d with any competent Integrity. But it appears from St. Jude’s Epistle, that the Prophecies of Enoch, (who liv’d before the Flood) relating to the Day of Judgment and the End of the World, were extant in his Time, either in Writing or by Tradition: And the Distance between Enoch and St. Jude was vastly greater than betwixt the two Elias’s. Nor was any fitter to be inspir’d with that Knowledge, or to tell the first News of that fatal Period, than the old Prophet Elias, who is to come again and bring the Alarum of the approaching Conflagration. But however this Conjecture may prove as to the original Author of this Prophecy, the Prophecy itself concerning the Sexmillennial Duration of the World, is very much insisted upon by the Christian Fathers. Which yet I believe is not so much for the bare Authority of the Tradition, as because they thought it was founded in the History of the six Days Creation, and the Sabbath succeeding: As also in some other typical Precepts and Usages in the Law of Moses. But before we speak of that, give me Leave to name some of those Fathers to you, that were of this Judgment, and supposed the great Sabbatism would succeed after the World had stood Six thousand Years. Of this Opinion was St. Barnabas in his Catholick Epistle, ch. xv. Where he argues, that the Creation will be ended in Six thousand Years, as it was finish’d in six Days: Every Day according to the sacred and mystical Account, being a Thousand Years. Of the same Judgment is St. Irenæus, both as to the Conclusion, and the Reason of it, l. 5. c. 28, 29, 30. He saith, the History of the Creation in six Days, is a Narration as to what it past, and a Prophecy of what is to come. As the Work was said to be consummated in 6 Days, and the Sabbath to be the Seventh: So the Consummation of all Things will be in 6000 Years, and then the great Sabbatism to come on in the blessed Reign of Christ. Hippolytus Martyr, Disciple of Irenæus, is of the same Judgment, as you may see in Photius, c. 202. Lactantius in his Divine Institutions, l. 7. c. 14. gives the very same Account of the State and Condition of the World, and the same Proofs for it, and so does St. Cyprian, in his Exhortation to Martyrdom, c. 18. St. Jerome more than once declares himself of the same Opinion; and St. Austin, C. D. l. 20. c. 7. tho’ he wavers, and was doubtful as to the Millennium, or Reign of Christ upon Earth, yet he receives this Computation without Hesitancy, and upon the foremention’d Grounds. So Johannes Damascenus de Fide Orthodoxâ, takes seven Millennaries for the intire Space of the World, from the Creation, to the general Resurrection, the Sabbatism being included. And that this was a receiv’d and approv’d Opinion in early Times, we may collect from the Author of the Questions and Answers, ad Orthodoxos, in Justin Martyr. Who, giving an Answer to that Enquiry about the six thousand Years Term of the World, says, We may conjecture from many Places of Scripture, that those are in the right, that say, six thousand Years is the Time prefix’d, for the Duration of this present Frame of the World. These Authors I have examin’d my self: But there are many others brought in Confirmation of this Opinion: As St. Hilary, Anastasius Sinaita, Sanctus Gaudentius, Q. Julius Hilarion, Junilius Africanus, Isidorus Hispalensis, Cassiodorus, Gregorius Magnus, and others, which I leave to be examin’d by those that have Curiosity and Leisure to do it.

In the mean time, it must be confess’d, that many of these Fathers were under a Mistake, in one respect, in that they generally thought the World was near an End in their Time. An Error, which we need not take Pains to confute now; seeing we, who live twelve hundred or fourteen hundred Years after them, find the World still in being, and likely to continue so for some considerable Time. But it is easy to discern whence their Mistake proceeded: Not from this Prophecy alone, but because they reckon’d this Prophecy according to the Chronology of the Septuagint: Which setting back the Beginning of the World many Ages beyond the Hebrew, these six thousand Years were very near expir’d in the Time of those Fathers; and that made them conclude, that the World was very near an End. We will make no Reflections, in this Place, upon that Chronology of the Septuagint, lest it should too much interrupt the Thread of our Discourse. But it is necessary to shew how the Fathers grounded this Computation of six thousand Years, upon Scripture. ’Twas chiefly, as we suggested before, upon the Hexameron, or the Creation finish’d in six Days, and the Sabbath ensuing. The Sabbath, they said, was a Type of the Sabbatism, that was to follow at the End of the World, according to St. Paul, ch. v. to the Hebrews; and then by Analogy and Consequence, the six Days preceding the Sabbath, must note the Space and Duration of the World. If therefore they could discover how much a Day is reckon’d for, in this mystical Computation, the Sum of the six Days would be easily found out. And they think, that, according to the Psalmist (Psal. xc. 4.) and St. Peter, (2 Epist. iii. 8.) a Day may be estimated a thousand Years, and consequently six Days must be counted six thousand Years, for the Duration of the World. This is their Interpretation, and their Inference: But it must be acknowledged, that there is an essential Weakness in all typical and allegorical Argumentations, in comparison of literal. And this being allow’d in Diminution of the Proof, we may be bold to say, that nothing yet appears, either in Nature, or Scripture, or human Affairs, repugnant to this Supposition of six thousand Years: Which hath Antiquity and the Authority of the Fathers, on its Side.

We proceed now to the Christian Prophecies concerning the End of the World. I do not mention those in Daniel, because I am not satisfied that any there (excepting that of the fifth Kingdom itself) extend so far. But in the Apocalypse of St. John, which is the last Revelation we are to expect, there are several Prophecies that reach to the Consummation of this World, and the first Resurrection. The seven Seals, the seven Trumpets, the seven Vials, do all terminate upon that great Period. But they are rather Historical Prophecies than Chronological; they tell us, in their Language, the Events, but do not measure or express the Time wherein they come to pass. Others there are that may be call’d Chronological, as the treading under Foot the Holy City, Forty and two months, Apoc. xi. 2. The Witnesses opposing Antichrist One thousand Two hundred and sixty Days, Apoc. xi. 3. The Flight of the Woman into the Wilderness, for the same Number of Days, or for a Time, Times, and half a Time, Apoc. xii. 6 & 14. And lastly, The War of the Beasts against the Saints, Forty-two Months, Apoc. xiii. 5. These all, you see, express a Time for their Completion; and all the same Time, if I be not mistaken: But they do not reach to the End of the World. Or if some of them did reach so far, yet because we do not certainly know where to fix their Beginning, we must still be at a Loss, when, or in what Year they will expire. As for Instance, if the Reign of the Beast, or the Preaching of the Witnesses be 1260 Years, as is reasonably suppos’d; yet if we do not know certainly when this Reign, or this Preaching begun, neither can we tell when it will end. And the Epocha’s, or Beginnings of these Prophecies are so differently calculated, and are Things of so long Debate, as to make the Discussion of them altogether improper for this Place. Yet it must be confest, that the best Conjectures that can be made concerning the approaching End of the World, must be taken from a judicious Examination of these Points: And accordingly as we gather up the Prophecies of the Apocalypse, in a successive Completion, we see how by degrees we draw nearer and nearer to the Conclusion of all. But till some of these enlightening Prophecies be accomplish’d, we are as a Man that awakes in the Night, all is dark about him, and he knows not how far the Night is spent; but if he watch till the Light appears, the first Glimpses of that will resolve his Doubts. We must have a little Patience, and, I think, but a little; still eyeing those Prophecies of the Resurrection of the Witnesses, and the Depression of Antichrist: ’Till by their Accomplishment, the Day dawn, and the Clouds begin to change their Colour. Then we shall be able to make a near Guess, when the Sun of Righteousness will arise.

So much for Prophecies. There are also Signs, which are look’d upon as Forerunners of the Coming of our Saviour; and, therefore, may give us some Direction how to judge of the Distance or Approach of that great Day. Thus many of the Fathers thought the coming of Antichrist would be a Sign to give the World Notice of its approaching End. But we may easily see, by what hath been noted before, what it was that led the Fathers into that Mistake. They thought their six thousand Years were near an End, as they truly were, according to that Chronology they followed: and therefore they concluded the Reign of Antichrist must be very short, whensoever he came, and that he could not come long before the End of the World. But we are very well assur’d, from the Revelation of Saint John, that the Reign of Antichrist is not to be so short and transient; and from the Prospect and History of Christendom, that he hath been already upon his Throne many hundreds of Years. Therefore this Sign wholly falls to the Ground; unless you will take it from the Fall of Antichrist, rather than from his first Entrance. Others expect the coming of Elias, to give Warning of that Day, and prepare the Way of the Lord. I am very willing to admit that Elias will come, according to the Sense of the Prophet Malachi, Chap. iv. 5, 6. but he will not come with Observation, no more than he did in the Person of John the Baptist; He will not bear the Name of Elias, nor tell us he is the Man that went to Heaven in a fiery Chariot, and is now come down again to give us Warning of the last Fire. But some divine Person may appear before the second coming of our Saviour, as there did before his first coming, and by giving a new Light and Life to the Christian Doctrine, may dissipate the Mists of Error, and abolish all those little Controversies amongst good Men, and the Divisions and Animosities that spring from them: Enlarging their Spirits by greater Discoveries, and uniting them all in the Bonds of Love and Charity, and in the common Study of Truth and Perfection. Such an Elias the Prophet seems to point at; and may he come, and be the great Peace-maker and Preparer of the Ways of the Lord! But at present, we cannot from this Sign make any Judgment when the World will end.

Another Sign preceding the End of the World, is, The Conversion of the Jews; and this is a wonderful Sign indeed. St. Paul seems expresly to affirm it, Rom. xi. 25, 26. But it is differently understood, either of their Conversion only, or of their Restoration to their own Country, Liberties and Dominion. The Prophets bear hard upon this Sense sometimes, as you may see in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos. And to the same purpose the antient Promise of Moses is interpreted, Deut. xxx. Yet this seems to be a thing very unconceivable: Unless we suppose the ten Tribes to be still in some hidden Corner of the World, from whence they may be conducted again to their own Country, as once out of Ægypt, by a miraculous Providence, and establish’d there: Which, being known, will give the Alarm to all the other Jews, in the World, and make an universal Confluence to their old Home. Then our Saviour, by an extraordinary Appearance to them, as once to St. Paul, John xix. 37. and by Prophets, Apoc. i. 7. Mat. xxiii. 39. rais’d up amongst them for that purpose, may convince them that he is the true Messiah, and convert them to the Christian Faith; which will be no more strange, than was the first Conversion of the Gentile World. But if we be content with a Conversion of the Jews, without their Restoration; and of those two Tribes only, which are now dispersed throughout the Christian World, and other known Parts of the Earth: That these should be converted to the Christian Faith, and incorporated into the Christian Commonwealth, losing their National Character and Distinction: If this, I say, will satisfy the Prophecies, it is not a Thing very difficult to be conceived. For when the World is reduc’d to a better and purer State of Christianity, and that Idolatry, in a great measure remov’d, which gave the greatest Scandal to the Jews, they will begin to have better Thoughts of our Religion, and be dispos’d to a more ingenuous and unprejudic’d Examination of their Prophecies concerning the Messiah: God raising up Men amongst them of divine and enlarged Spirits, Lovers of Truth more than of any particular Sect or Opinion; with Light to discern it, and Courage to profess it. Lastly, It will be a cogent Argument upon them, to see the Age of the World so far spent, and no Appearance yet, of their long expected Messiah. So far spent, I say, that there is no Room left, upon any Computation whatsoever, for the Oeconomy of a Messiah yet to come. This will make them reflect more carefully and impartially upon him whom the Christians propose, Jesus of Nazareth, whom their Fathers Crucified at Jerusalem: Upon the Miracles he wrought in his Life, and after his Death; and upon the wonderful Propagation of his Doctrine throughout the World, after his Ascension. And lastly, upon the Desolation of Jerusalem, upon their own scattered and forlorn Condition, foretold by that Prophet, as a Judgment of God upon an ungrateful and wicked People.

This I have said to state the Case of the Conversion of the Jews, which will be a Sign of the approaching Reign of Christ. But, alas! what Appearance is there of this Conversion in our Days? or what Judgment can we make from a Sign that is not come to pass? ’Tis ineffectual as to us, but may be of Use to Posterity. Yet even to them it will not determine, at what Distance they are from the End of the World, but be a Mark only that they are not far from it. There will be Signs also, in those last Days, in the Heavens, and in the Earth, and in the Sea, Forerunners of the Conflagration; as the Obscuration of the Sun and Moon, Earthquakes, Roarings of the troubled Sea, and such like Disorders in the natural World, ’tis true; but these are the very Pangs of Death, and the Strugglings of Nature just before her Dissolution, and it will be too late then to be aware of our Ruin when it is at the Door. Yet these being Signs or Prodigies taken Notice of by Scripture, we intend, God willing, after we have explained the Causes and Manner of the Conflagration, to give an Account also whence these unnatural Commotions will proceed, that are the Beginnings or immediate Introductions to the last Fire.

Thus we have gone through the Prophecies and Signs that concern the last Day and the last Fate of the World. And how little have we learned from them as to the Time of that great Revolution? Prophecies rise sometimes with an even gradual Light, as the Day riseth upon the Horizon: and sometimes break out suddenly like a Fire, and we are not aware of their Approach ’till we see them accomplish’d. Those that concern the End of the World, are of this latter Sort, to unobserving Men; but even to the most observing, there will still be a Latitude; we must not expect to calculate the coming of our Saviour, like an Eclipse, to Minutes and half Minutes. There are Times and Seasons which the Father hath put in his own Power. If it was design’d to keep these Things secret, we must not think to out-wit Providence, and from the Prophecies that are given us, pick out a Discovery that was not intended we should ever make. It is determin’d in the Councils of Heaven just how far we shall know these Events beforehand, and with what Degree of Certainty: And with this we must be content, whatsoever it is. The Apocalypse of St. John is the last Prophetical Declaration of the Will of God, and contains the Fate of the Christian Religion to the End of the World, its Purity, Degeneracy, and Reviviscency. The Head of this Degeneracy is call’d The Beast, the false Prophet, the Whore of Babylon, in Prophetical Terms: And in an Ecclesiastical Term is commonly call’d Antichrist. Those that bear Testimony against this Degeneracy, are call’d the Witnesses: Who, after they have been a long Time in a mean and persecuted Condition, are to have their Resurrection and Ascension; that is, be advanc’d to Power and Authority. And this Resurrection of the Witnesses, and Depression of Antichrist, is that which will make the great Turn of the World to Righteousness, and the great Crisis, whereby we may judge of its drawing to an End. ’Tis true, there are other Marks, as the passing away of the second Woe, Apoc. c. ix. which is commonly thought to be the Ottoman Empire; and the Effusion of the Vials, Apoc. c. xvi. The first of these will be indeed a very conspicuous Mark, if it follow upon the Resurrection of the Witnesses, as by the Prophecy it seems to do, ch. xi. 14. But as to the Vials, tho’ they do plainly reach in a Series to the End of the World, I am not satisfied with any Exposition I have yet met with, concerning their precise Time or Contents.

In a Word, though the Sum and general Contents of a Prophecy be very intelligible, yet the Application of it to Time and Persons may be very lubricous. There must be Obscurity in a Prophecy, as well as Shadow in a Picture. All its Lines must not stand in a full Light. For if Prophecies were open and barefac’d as to all their Parts and Circumstances, they would check and obstruct the Course of human Affairs; and hinder, if it was possible, their own Accomplishment. Modesty and Sobriety are in all Things commendable, but in nothing more than in the Explication of these sacred Mysteries; and we have seen so many miscarry by a too close and particular Application of them, that we ought to dread the Rock about which we see so many Shipwrecks. He that does not err above a Century, in calculating the last Period of Time, from what Evidence we have at present, hath, in my Opinion, cast up his Accounts very well. But the Scenes will change fast towards the Evening of this long Day, and when the Sun is near setting, they will more easily compute how far he hath to run.

CHAP. VI.
Concerning the Causes of the Conflagration.

The Difficulty of conceiving how this Earth can be set on Fire. With a general Answer to that Difficulty. Two suppos’d Causes of the Conflagration, by the Sun’s drawing nearer to the Earth, or the Earth’s throwing out the central Fire, examin’d and rejected.

We have now made our Way clear to the principal Point, The Causes of the Conflagration: How the Heavens and the Earth will be set on Fire, what Materials are prepared, or what Train of Causes, for that purpose. The Antients, who have kept us Company pretty well thus far, here quite desert us: they deal more in Conclusions than Causes, as is usual in all Traditional Learning. And the Stoicks themselves, who inculcate so much the Doctrine of the Conflagration, and make the Strength of it such, as to dissolve the Earth into a fiery Chaos, are yet very short and superficial in their Explications, how this shall come to pass. The latent Seeds of Fire, they say, shall every where be let loose, and that Element will prevail over all the rest, and transform every Thing into its own Nature. But these are general Things, that give little Satisfaction to inquisitive Persons. Neither do the modern Authors, that treat of the same Subject, relieve us in this Particular: They are willing to suppose the Conflagration a superficial Effect, that so they may excuse themselves the Trouble of enquiring after Causes. ’Tis no doubt, in a Sort supernatural; and so the Deluge was: Yet Moses sets down the Causes of the Deluge, the Rains from above, and the Disruption of the Abyss. So there must be Treasures of Fire provided against that Day, by whose Eruption this second Deluge will be brought upon the Earth.

To state the Case fairly, we must first represent the Difficulty of setting the Earth on Fire; tye the Knot, before we loose it; that so we may the better judge whether the Causes that shall be brought into View, may be sufficient to overcome so great Opposition. The Difficulty, no doubt, will be chiefly from the great Quantity of Water that is about our Globe; whereby Nature seems to have made Provision against any Invasion by Fire, and secur’d us from that Enemy more than any other. We see half of the Surface of the Earth cover’d with the Seas, whose Channel is of a vast Depth and Capacity: Besides innumerable Rivers, great and small, that water the Face of the dry Land, and drench it with perpetual Moisture. Then within the Bowels of the Earth, there are Store-Houses of subterraneous Waters; which are as a Reserve, in case the Ocean and the Rivers should be overcome. Neither is Water our only Security, for the hard Rocks, and stony Mountains, which no Fire can bide upon, are set in long Ranges upon the Continents and Islands; and must needs give a Stop to the Progress of that furious Enemy, in case he should attack us. Lastly, the Earth itself is not combustible in all its Parts. ’Tis not every Soil that is fit Fewel for the Fire. Clay, and Mire, and such like Soils, will rather choak and stifle it, than help it on its Way. By these Means one would think the Body of the Earth secur’d; and though there may be partial Fires, or Inundations of Fire, here and there, in particular Regions, yet there cannot be an universal Fire throughout the Earth. At least, one would hope for a safe Retreat towards the Poles, where there is nothing but Snow, and Ice, and bitter Cold. These Regions sure are in no Danger to be burnt, whatsoever becomes of the other Climates of the Earth.

This being the State and Condition of the present Earth, one would not imagine by these Preparations, ’twas ever intended that it should perish by an universal Fire. But such is often the Method of Providence, that the exterior Face of Things looks one Way, and the Design lies another; ’till at length, touching a Spring, as it were, at a certain Time, all those Affairs change Posture and Aspect, and shew us which way Providence inclines. We must therefore suppose, before the Conflagration begins, there will be Dispositions and Preparatives suitable to so great a Work: and all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, does so far concur with us, as to admit and suppose that a great Drought will precede, and an extraordinary Heat and Dryness of the Air, to usher in this fiery Doom. And these being Things which often happen in a Course of Nature, we cannot disallow such easy Preparations, when Providence intends so great a Consequence. The Heavens will be shut up, and the Clouds yield no Rain; and by this, with an immoderate Heat in the Air, the Springs of Water will become dry, the Earth chapp’d and parch’d, and the Woods and Trees made ready Fewel for the Fire. We have Instances, in History, that there have been Droughts and Heats of this Nature, to that Degree, that the Woods and Forests have taken Fire, and the outward Turf and Surface of the Earth, without any other Cause than the Dryness of the Season, and the Vehemency of the Sun. And, which is more considerable, the Springs and Fountains being dry’d up, the greater Rivers have been sensibly lessen’d, and the lesser quite empty’d, and exhal’d. These Things, which happen frequently, in particular Countries and Climates, may, at an appointed Time, by the Disposition of Providence, be more universal throughout the Earth; and have the same Effects every where, that we see by Experience they have had in certain Places: And by this Means, we may conceive it as feasible to set the whole Earth on Fire in some little Space of Time, as to burn up this, or that Country after a great Drought. But I mean this, with Exception still to the main Body of the Sea; which will indeed receive a greater Diminution from these Causes, than we easily imagine; but the final Consumption of it will depend upon other Reasons, whereof we must give an Account in the following Chapters.

As to the Mountains and Rocks, their lofty Heads will sink when the Earthquakes begin to roar, at the Beginning of the Conflagration; as we shall see hereafter. And as to the Earth itself, ’tis true there are several Sorts of Earth that are not proper Fuel for Fire; but those Soils that are not so immediately, as clayey Soils, and such like, may, by the Strength of Fire, be converted into Brick, or Stone, or earthen Metal, and so melted down and vitrified. For, in Conclusion, there is no terrestrial Body that does not finally yield to the Force of Fire, and may either be converted into Flame, incorporated Fire, or into a Liquor more ardent than either of them. Lastly, As to the Polar Regions, which you think will be a safe Retreat and inaccessible to the Fire; ’tis true, unless Providence hath laid subterraneous Treasures of Fire there unknown to us, those Parts of the Earth will be the last consum’d. But it is to be observ’d, that the Cold of those Regions proceeds from the Length of their Winter, and their Distance from the Sun when he is beyond the Æquator; and both these Causes will be removed at the Conflagration. For we suppose the Earth will then return to its primitive Situation, which we have explain’d in the second Book of this Theory, chap. iii. and will have the Sun always in its Æquator; whereby the several Climates of the Earth will have a perpetual Equinox, and those under the Poles a perpetual Day: And therefore all the Excess of Cold, and all the Consequences of it, will soon be abated. However, the Earth will not be burnt in one Day, and those Parts of the Earth being uninhabited, there is no Inconvenience that they should be more slowly consum’d than the rest.

This is a general Answer to the Difficulty propos’d about the Possibility of the Conflagration; and being general only, the Parts of it must be more fully explain’d and confirm’d in the Sequel of this Discourse. We should now proceed directly to the Causes of the Conflagration, and shew in what manner they do this great Execution upon Nature: But to be just and impartial in this Enquiry, we ought first to separate the spurious and pretended Causes from those that are real and genuine; to make no false Musters, nor any shew of being stronger than we are; and if we can do our Work with less Force, it will be more to our Credit; as a Victory is more honourable that is gain’d with fewer Men.

There are two grand capital Causes which some Authors make use of, as the chief Agents in this Work, the Sun, and the Central Fire. These two great Incendiaries, they say, will be let loose upon us at the Conflagration; the one drawing nearer to the Earth, and the other breaking out of its Bowels into these upper Regions. These are potent Causes indeed, more than enough to destroy this Earth, if it was a thousand Times bigger than it is. But for that very Reason, I suspect they are not the true Causes; for God and Nature do not use to employ unnecessary Means to bring about their Designs. Disproportion and Over-sufficiency is one sort of false Measures, and ’tis a Sign we do not thoroughly understand our Work, when we put more Strength to it than the Thing requires. Men are forward to call in extraordinary Powers, to rid their Hands of a troublesome Argument, and so make a short Dispatch to save themselves the Pains of further Enquiries; but as such Methods as these commonly have no Proof, so they give little Satisfaction to an Inquisitive Mind. This Supposition of burning the Earth, by the Sun drawing nearer and nearer to it, seems to be made in Imitation of the Story of Phaeton, who driving the Chariot of the Sun with an unsteady Hand, came so near the Earth, that he set it on Fire. But however, we will not reject any Pretensions without a fair Trial: Let us examine therefore what Grounds they can have for either of these Suppositions, of the Approximation of the Sun to the Earth, or the Eruption of the Central Fire.

As to the Sun, I desire first to be satisfied in present Matter of Fact: Whether by any Instrument or Observation it hath or can be discover’d, that the Sun is nearer to the Earth now, than he was in former Ages? Or, If by any Reasoning or comparing Calculations, such a Conclusion can be made? If not, this is but an imaginary Cause, and as easily deny’d as propos’d. Astronomers do very little agree in their Opinions about the Distance of the Sun: Ptolemy, Albategnius, Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, and others more modern, differ all in their Calculations; but not in such a Manner or Proportion, as should make us believe that the Sun comes nearer to the Earth, but rather goes further from it. For the more modern of them make the Distance greater than the more ancient do. Kepler says, the Distance of the Sun from the Earth lies betwixt 700 and 2000 Semidiameters of the Earth: But Ricciolus makes it betwixt 700 and 7000: And Gottefred Wendelme hath taken 14656 Semidiameters, for a middle Proportion of the Sun’s Distance; to which Kepler himself came very near in his later Years. So that you see how groundless our Fears are from the Approaches of an Enemy, that rather flies from us, if he change Postures at all. And we have more Reason to believe the Report of the modern Astronomers, than of the antient, in this Matter; both because the Nature of the Heavens and of the celestial Bodies is now better known, and also because they have found out better Instruments and better Methods to make their Observations.

If the Sun and Earth were come nearer to one another, either the Circle of the Sun’s diurnal Arch would be less, and so the Day shorter; or the Orbit of the Earth’s annual Course would be less, and so the Year shorter: Neither of which we have any Experience of. And those that suppose us in the Centre of the World, need not be afraid ’till they see Mercury and Venus in a Combustion, for they lie betwixt us and Danger; and the Sun cannot come so readily at us with his fiery Darts, as at them who stand in his Way. Lastly, this languishing Death, by the gradual Approaches of the Sun, and that irreparable Ruin of the Earth, which at last must follow from it, do neither of them agree with that Idea of the Conflagration, which the Scripture hath given us; for it is to come suddenly and unexpectedly, and take us off like a Violent Fever, not as a lingring Consumption. And the Earth is also to be destroyed by Fire, as not to take away all Hopes of a Resurrection, or Renovation: For we are assur’d by Scripture, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after these are burnt up. But if the Sun should come so near us, as to make the Heavens pass away with a Noise, and melt the Elements with fervent Heat, and destroy the Form, and all the Works of the Earth, what Hopes or Possibility would there be of a Renovation, while the Sun continu’d in this Posture? He would more and more consume and prey upon the Carcass of the Earth, and convert it at length either into an Heap of Ashes, or a Lump of vitrified Metal.

So much for the Sun. As to the Central Fire, I am very well satisfied it is no imaginary Thing: All Antiquity hath preserv’d some sacred Monument of it: The Vestal Fire of the Romans, which was so religiously attended: The Prytoneia of the Greeks were to the same purpose, and dedicated to Vesta: And the Pyretheia of the Persians, where Fire was kept continually by the Magi. These all, in my Opinion, had the same Origin, and the same Signification. And tho’ I do not know any particular Observation, that does directly prove or demonstrate that there is such a Mass of Fire in the middle of the Earth; yet the best Accounts we have of the Generation of a Planet do suppose it; and ’tis agreeable to the whole Oeconomy of Nature: As a Fire in the Heart, which gives Life to her Motions and Productions. But, however, the Question is not at present, about the Existence of this Fire, but the Eruption of it, and the Effect of that Eruption; which cannot be, in my Judgment, such a Conflagration as describ’d in Scripture.

This Central Fire must be enclos’d in a Shell of great Strength and Firmness; for being of itself the lightest, and most active of all Bodies, it would not be detained in the lowest Prison without a strong Guard upon it. ’Tis true, we can make no certain Judgment of what Thickness this Shell is; but if we suppose this Fire to have a twentieth Part of the Semidiameter of the Earth, on either side the Centre, for its Sphere, which seems to be a fair Allowance; there would still remain nineteen Parts for our Safeguard and Security: And these nineteen Parts of the Semidiameter of the Earth will make 3268 Miles, for a Partition-Wall betwixt us and this Central Fire. Who would be afraid of an Enemy lock’d up in so strong a Prison? But you’ll say, it may be, tho’ the Central Fire, at the Beginning of the World, might have no more Room or Space than what is mention’d; yet being of that Activity that it is, and corrosive Nature, it may, in the Space of some thousands of Years, have eaten deep into the Sides of its Prison; and so come nearer to the Surface of the Earth by some hundreds or thousands of Miles, than it was at first. This would be a material Exception, if it could be made out. But what Phænomenon is there in Nature that proves this? How does it appear by an Observation, that the Central Fire gains Ground upon us? Or is increased in Quantity, or come nearer to the Surface of the Earth? I know nothing that can be offer’d in Proof of this: and if there be no Appearance of a Change, nor any sensible Effect of it, ’tis an Argument there is none, or none considerable. If the Quantity of that Fire was considerably increas’d, it must needs, besides other Effects, have made the Body of the Earth considerably lighter. The Earth having, by this Conversion of its own Substance into Fire, lost so much of its heaviest Matter, and got so much of the lightest and most active Element instead of it: and in both these respects, its Gravity would be manifestly lessen’d. Which if it really was in any considerable Degree, it would discover it self by some Change, either as to the Motion of the Earth, or as to its Place or Station in the Heavens. But there being no external Change observable, in this or any other respect, ’tis reasonable to presume that there is no considerable inward Change, or no great Consumption of its inward Parts and Substance; and consequently no great Increase of the central Fire.

But if we should admit both an Increase and Eruption of this Fire, it would not have that Effect which is pretended. It might cause some Confusion and Disorder in those Parts of the Earth where it broke out, but it would not make an universal Conflagration, such as is represented to us in Scripture. Let us suppose the Earth to be open, or burst in any Place; under the Pole, for Instance, or under the Æquator; and let it gape as low as the Central Fire: At this Chasm or Rupture we suppose the Fire would gush out; and what then would be the Consequence of this when it came to the Surface of the Earth? It would either be dissipated and lost in the Air, or fly still higher towards the Heavens in a Mass of Flame. But what Execution in the mean time would it do upon the Body of the Earth? ’Tis but like a Flash of Lightning, or a Flame issuing out of a Pit, that dies presently. Besides, this Central Fire is of that Subtilty and Tenuity, that it is not able to inflame gross Bodies: no more than those Meteors we call Lambent Fires, inflame the Bodies to which they stick. Lastly, in explaining the Manner of the Conflagration, we must have regard principally to Scripture; for the Explications given there are more to the purpose, than all that the Philosophers have said upon that Subject. Now, as we noted before, ’tis manifest in Scripture, that after the Conflagration, there will be a Restauration, new Heavens, and a new Earth. ’Tis the express Doctrine of St. Peter, besides other Prophets: We must therefore suppose the Earth reduc’d to such a Chaos by this last Fire, as will lay the Foundation of a new World, 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13. Which can never be, if the inward Frame of it be broke, the Central Fire exhausted, and the exterior Region suck’d into those central Vacuities. This must needs make it lose its former Poise and Libration, and it will thereupon be thrown into some other Part of the Universe, as the useless Shell of a broken Granado, or as a dead Carcass, and unprofitable Matter.

These Reasons may be sufficient why we should not depend upon those pretended Causes of the Conflagration, the Sun’s Advance towards the Earth, or such a Rupture of the Earth as will let out the Central Fire. These Causes, I hope, will appear superfluous, when we shall have given an Account of the Conflagration without them. But young Philosophers, like young Soldiers, think they are never sufficiently armed; and often take more Weapons, than they can make use of, when they come to fight. Not that we altogether reject the Influence of the Sun, or of the Central Fire; especially the latter: For in that great Estuation of Nature, the Body of the Earth will be much open’d and relaxated; and when the Pores are enlarg’d, the Steams of that Fire will sweat out more plentifully into all its Parts; but still without any Rupture in the Vessels, or in the Skin. And whereas these Authors suppose the very Veins to burst, and the vital Blood to gush out, as at open Flood-Gates, we only allow a more copious Perspiration, and think that sufficient for all Purposes in this Case.

CHAP. VII.

The true Bounds of the last Fire, and how far it is fatal. The natural Causes and Materials of it, cast into three Ranks: First, Such as are exterior and visible upon the Earth; where the Vulcano’s of the Earth, and their Effects, are consider’d. Secondly, Such Materials as are within the Earth. Thirdly, Such as are in the Air.

As we have, in the preceding Chapter, laid aside those Causes of the Conflagration which we thought too great and cumbersome; so now we must, in like manner, examine the Effect, and reduce that to its just Measures and Proportions, that there may be nothing left superfluous on either side; then, by comparing the real Powers with the Work they are to do, both being stated within their due Bounds, we may the better judge how they are proportion’d to one another.

We noted before, that the Conflagration had nothing to do with the Stars, and superior Heavens, but was wholly confin’d to this sublunary World. And this Deluge of Fire will have much what the same Bounds, that the Deluge of Water had formerly. This is according to St. Peter’s Doctrine, for he makes the same Parts of the Universe to be the Subject of both: Namely, the inferior Heavens and the Earth, 2 Pet. iii. 5, 6. The Heavens and the Earth which were then, perish’d in a Deluge of Water: ver. 7. But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, are reserv’d to Fire. The present Heavens and Earth are substituted in the Place of those that perish’d at the Deluge, and these are to be over-run and destroy’d by Fire, as those were by Water. So that the Apostle takes the same Regions, and the same Space and Compass for the one, as for the other, and makes their Fate different according to their different Constitution, and the different Order of Providence. This is the Sense St. Austin gives us of the Apostle’s Words, and these are the Bounds he sets to the last Fire; whereof a modern Commentator is so well assur’d, that he says, Estius in loc. They neither understand Divinity, nor Philosophy, that would make the Conflagration reach above the elementary Heavens.

Let these be then its Limits upwards, the Clouds, Air, and Atmosphere of the Earth. But the Question seems more doubtful, How far it will extend downwards, into the Bowels of the Earth? I answer still, to the same Depth that the Waters of the Deluge reach’d: To the lowest Abysses, and the deepest Caverns within the Ground. And seeing no Caverns are deeper or lower, at least according to our Theory, than the Bottom of the great Ocean, to that Depth, I suppose, the Rage of this Fire will penetrate, and devour all before it. And therefore we must not imagine, that only the outward Turf and habitable Surface of the Earth will be put into a Flame and laid waste: the whole exterior Region of the Earth, to the Depth of the deepest Part of the Sea, will suffer in this Fire; and suffer to that Degree, as to be melted down, and the Frame of it dissolv’d. For we are not to conceive that the Earth will be only scorcht or charkt in the last Fire, there will be a Sort of Liquefaction and Dissolution; Rev. xv. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Psal. xcvii. 5. it will become a molten Sea mingled with Fire, according to the Expression of Scripture. And this Dissolution may reasonably be suppos’d to reach as low as the Earth hath any Hollownesses, or can give vent to Smoak and Flame.

Wherefore, taking these for the Bounds and Limits of the last great Fire, the next Thing to be enquired into, are the Natural Causes of it: How this strange Fate will seize upon the sublunary World, and with an irresistible Fury subdue all Things to it self. But when I say Natural Causes, I would not be so understood, as if I thought the Conflagration was a pure Natural Fatality, as the Stoicks seem to do. No, ’tis a mix’d Fatality; the Causes indeed are Natural, but the Administration of them is from an higher Hand. Fire is the Instrument, or the executive Power, and hath no more Force given it than what it hath naturally; but the Concurrence of these Causes, or of these fiery Powers, at such a Time, and in such a Manner, and the Conduct of them to carry on and complete the whole Work without Cessation or Interruption, that I look upon as more than what material Nature could effect of itself, or than could be brought to pass by such a Government of Matter, as is the bare Result of its own Laws and Determinations. When a Ship falls gently before the Wind, the Mariners may stand idle; but to guide her in a Storm, all Hands must be at Work. There are Rules and Measures to be observ’d, even in these Tumults and Desolations of Nature, in destroying a World, as well as in making one, and, therefore, in both it is reasonable to suppose a more than ordinary Providence to superintend the Work. Let us not, therefore, be too positive or presumptuous in our Conjectures about these Things; for if there be an invisible Hand, Divine or Angelical, that touches the Springs and Wheels; it will not be easy for us to determine, with Certainty, the Order of their Motions. However, ’tis our Duty to search into the Ways and Works of God, as far as we can: And we may, without Offence, look into the Magazines of Nature; see what Provisions are made, and what Preparations for this great Day; and in what Method ’tis most likely the Design will be executed.

But before we proceed to mark out Materials for this Fire, give me leave to observe one Condition or Property in the Form of this present Earth, that makes it capable of Inflammation. ’Tis the Manner of its Construction, in an hollow cavernous Form: By reason whereof, containing much Air in its Cavities, and having many Inlets and Outlets, ’tis in most Places capable of Ventilation, pervious and passable to the Winds, and consequently to the Fire. Those that have read the former Part of this Theory, Book 1. ch. 6, 7. know how the Earth came into this hollow and broken Form; from what Causes and at what Time; namely, at the universal Deluge; when there was a Disruption of the exterior Earth that fell into the Abyss, and so, for a Time was overflow’d with Water. These Ruins, recover’d from the Water, we inhabit, and these Ruins, only will be burnt up; for being not only unequal in their Surface, but also hollow, loose, and incompact within, as Ruins use to be, they are made thereby capable of a second Fate, by Inflammation. Thereby, I say, they are made combustible; for if the exterior Regions of this Earth were as close and compact in all their Parts, as we have Reason to believe the interior Regions of it to be, the Fire could have little Power over it, nor ever reduce it to such a State as is requir’d in a compleat Conflagration, such as ours is to be.

This being admitted, that the exterior Region of the Earth stands hollow, as a well set Fire, to receive Air freely into its Parts, and hath Issues for Smoke and Flame: It remains to enquire, what Fuel or Materials Nature hath fitted to kindle this Pile, and to continue it on Fire ’till it be consum’d; or, in plain Words, what are the natural Causes and Preparatives for a Conflagration. The first and most obvious Preparations that we see in Nature for this Effect, are the burning Mountains, or Volcano’s of the Earth. These are lesser Essays or Preludes to the general Fire: set on purpose by Providence to keep us awake, and to mind us continually, and forewarn us of what we are to expect at last. The Earth, you see, is already kindled, blow but the Coal, and propagate the Fire, and the Work will go on, Isa. xxx. 33. Tophet is prepared of old; and when the Day of Doom is come, and the Date of the World expir’d, the Breath of the Lord shall make it burn.

But besides these burning Mountains, there are Lakes of Pitch and Brimstone, and oily Liquors dispers’d in several Parts of the Earth. These are to enrage the Fire as it goes, and to fortify it against any Resistance or Opposition. Then all the vegetable Productions upon the Surface of the Earth, as Trees, Shrubs, Grass, Corn, and such like; every thing that grows out of the Ground, is Fewel for the Fire; and tho’ they are now accommodated to our Use and Service, they will then turn all against us; and with a mighty Blaze, and rapid Course, make a Devastation of the outward Furniture of the Earth, whether natural or artificial. But these Things deserve some further Consideration, especially that strange Phænomenon of the Volcano’s or burning Mountains, which we will now consider more particularly.

There is nothing certainly more terrible in all Nature than fiery Mountains to those that live within the View or Noise of them; but it is not easy for us, who never see them, nor heard them, to represent them to ourselves with such just and lively Imaginations as shall excite in us the same Passions, and the same Horror as they would excite, if present to our Senses. The Time of their Eruption, and of their Raging, is, of all others, the most dreadful; but, many times, before their Eruption, the Symptoms of an approaching Fit are very frightful to the People. The Mountain begins to roar and bellow in its hollow Caverns; cries out, as it were, in Pain to be deliver’d of some Burthen too heavy to be born, and too big to be easily discharged. The Earth shakes and trembles, in Apprehension of the Pangs and Convulsions that are coming upon her; and the Sun often hides his Head, or appears with a discolour’d Face, pale, or dusky, or bloody, as if all Nature was to suffer in this Agony. After these Forerunners or Symptoms of an Eruption, the wide Jaws of the Mountain open: And first, Clouds of Smoke issue out, then Flames of Fire, and after that a Mixture of all Sorts of burning Matter; red hot Stones, Lumps of Metal, half-dissolv’d Minerals, with Coals and fiery Ashes. These fall in thick Showers round about the Mountain, and in all adjacent Parts; and not only so, but are carried, partly by the Force of the Expulsion, and partly by the Winds when they are aloft in the Air, into far distant Countries. As from Italy to Constantinople, and cross the Mediterranean Sea into Africk; as the best Historians, Procopius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Dion Cassius, have attested.

These Vulcano’s are planted in several Regions of the Earth, and in both Continents, this of ours, and the other of America. For by Report of those that have view’d that new-found World, there are many Mountains in it that belch out Smoke and Fire; some constantly, and others by Fits, and Intervals. In our Continent, Providence hath variously dispers’d them, without any Rule known to us; but they are generally in Islands, or near the Sea. In the Asiatick Oriental Islands they are in great Abundance, and Historians tell us of a Mountain in the Island Java, that in the Year 1586, at one Eruption, kill’d ten thousand People in the neighbouring Cities and Country: But we do not know so well the History of those remote Vulcano’s, as of such as are in Europe and nearer Home. In Iseland, tho’ it lie within the polar Circle, and is scarce habitable by reason of the Extremity of Cold, and abundance of Ice and Snow, yet there are three burning Mountains in that Island; whereof the chief and most remarkable is Hecla. This hath its Head always cover’d with Snow, and its Belly always fill’d with Fire; and these are both so strong in their kind, and equally powerful, that they cannot destroy one another. It is said to cast out, when it rages, besides Earth, Stones, and Ashes, a Sort of flaming Water; as if all Contrarieties were to meet in this Mountain, to make it the more perfect Resemblance of Hell, as the credulous Inhabitants fancy it to be.

But there are no Vulcano’s, in my Opinion, that deserve our Observation so much, as those that are in and about the Mediterranean Sea; There is a Knot of them, called the Vulcanian Islands, from their fiery Eruptions, as if they were the Forges of Vulcan; as Strombolo, Lapara, and others, which are not so remarkable now, as they have been formerly. However, without dispute, there are none in the Christian World to be compared with Ætna and Vesuvius; one in the Island of Sicily, and the other in Campania, overlooking the Port and City of Naples. These two, from all Memory of Man, and the most antient Records of History, have been fam’d for the Treasures of subterraneous Fires, which are not yet exhausted, nor diminsh’d, so far as is perceivable; for they rage still, upon Occasion, with as much Fierceness and Violence, as they ever did in former Ages; as if they had a continual Supply to answer their Expences, and were to stand till the last Fire, as a Type and Prefiguration of it, throughout all Generations.

Let us therefore take these two Volcano’s as a Pattern for the rest; seeing they are well known, and stand in the Heart of the Christian World, where, ’tis likely, the last Fire will make its first Assault. Ætna, of the two, is more spoken of by the Antients, both Poets and Historians; and we should scarce give Credit to their Relations concerning it, if some later Eruptions did not equal, or exceed the Fame of all that have been reported from former Ages: That it heated the Waters of the Sea, and cover’d them over with Ashes; crack’d, or dissolv’d the neighbouring Rocks; darken’d the Sun and the Air; and cast out, not only mighty Streams of Flame, but a Flood of melted Ore, and other Materials: These Things we can now believe, having had Experience of greater, or and Account of them from such, as have been Eye-Witnesses of these Fires, or of the fresh Ruins and sad Effects of them.

There are two Things especially, in these Eruptions of Ætna, that are most prodigious in themselves, and most remarkable for our Purpose: The Rivers of fiery Matter that break out of its Bowels, or are spew’d out of its Mouth; and the vast burning Stones which it flings into the Air, at a strange Height and Distance. As to these fiery Rivers, or Torrents, and the Matter whereof they are compounded, we have a full Account of them by Alphonsus Borellus, a learned Mathematician at Pisa; who, after the last great Eruption on the Year 1669, went into Sicily, while the Fact was fresh, to view and survey what Ætna had done or suffer’d; and he says, the Quantity of Matter thrown out of the Mountain at that Time, upon Survey, amounted to ninety three Millions, eight Hundred thirty eight Thousand, seven Hundred and fifty cubical Paces. So that if it had been extended in Length upon the Surface of the Earth, it would reach further than ninety three Millions of Paces; which is more than four times the Circumference of the whole Earth, taking a thousand Paces to a Mile. This is strange to our Imagination, and almost incredible, that one Mountain should throw out so much fiery Matter, besides all the Ashes that were disperst through the Air, far and near, and could be brought to no Account.

’Tis true, all this Matter was not actually inflam’d or liquid Fire; but the rest, that was Sand, Stone, and Gravel, might have run into Glass, or some melted Liquor like to it, if it had not been thrown out before the Heat fully reach’d it: However, sixty Million Paces of this Matter, as the same Author computes, were liquid Fire, or came out of the Mouth of the Pit in that Form; this made a River of Fire, sometimes two Miles broad, according to his Computation; but, according to the Observation of others who also viewed it, the Torrent of Fire was six or seven Miles broad, and sometimes ten or fifteen Fathoms deep; and forc’d its Way into the Sea near a Mile, preserving it self alive in the midst of the Waters.

This is beyond all the infernal Lakes and Rivers Acheron, Phlegeton, Cocytus; all that the Poets have talk’d of: Their greatest Fictions about Hell have not come up to the Reality of one of our burning Mountains upon Earth. Imagine then, all our Volcano’s raging at once in this manner——But I will not pursue that Supposition yet: Give me leave only to add here, what I mentioned in the second Place, the vast Burning Stones which this Mountain, in the time of its Rage and Æstuation, threw into the Air with an incredible Force. This same Author tells us of a Stone fifteen Foot long, that was flung out of the Mouth of the Pit, to a Mile’s Distance; and when it fell, it came from such an Height, and with such a Violence, that it buried it self in the Ground eight Foot deep. What Trifles are our Mortar-Pieces and Bombs, when compared with these Engines of Nature? When she flings, out of the wide Throat of a Volcano, a broken Rock, and twirls it in the Air like a little Bullet; then lets it fall, to do Execution here below, as Providence shall point and direct it! It would be hard to give an Account, how so great an Impulse can be given to a Body so ponderous: But there’s no disputing against Matter of Fact; and as the Thoughts of God are not like our Thoughts, so neither are his Works like our Works.

Thus much for Ætna. Let us now give an Instance in Vesuvius, another burning Mountain upon the Coast of the Mediterranean, which hath as frequent Eruptions, and some as terrible as those of Ætna. Lib. 66. Dion. Cassius (one of the best Writers of the Roman History) hath given us an Account of one that happened in the Time of Titus Vespasian; and tho’ he hath not set down Particulars, as the former Author did, of the Quantity of fiery Matter thrown out at that Time: yet supposing that proportionable to its Fierceness in other Respects, this seems to me as dreadful an Eruption as any we read of; and was accompanied with such Prodigies and Commotions in the Heavens and the Earth, as made it look like the Beginning of the last Conflagration. As a Prelude to this Tragedy, he says, there were strange Sights in the Air, and after that followed an extraordinary Drought: Then the Earth begun to tremble and quake; and the Concussions were so great, that the Ground seem’d to rise and boil up in some Places, and in others the Tops of the Mountains sunk in, or tumbled down: At the same Time were great Noises and Sounds heard; some were subterraneous, like Thunder within the Earth; others above Ground, like Groans or Bellowings. The Sea roared, the Heavens ratled with a fearful Noise, and then came a sudden and mighty Crack, as if the Frame of Nature had broke, or all the Mountains of the Earth had fallen down at once. At length Vesuvius burst, and threw out of its Womb, first, huge Stones, then a vast Quantity of Fire and Smoke, so as the Air was all darkned, and the Sun was hid, as if he had been under a great Eclipse. The Day was turn’d into Night, and Light into Darkness; and the frighted People thought the Giants were making War against Heaven, and fansied they saw the Shapes and Images of Giants in the Smoke, and heard the Sound of their Trumpets: Others thought, the World was returning to its first Chaos, or going to be all consumed with Fire. In this general Confusion and Consternation, they knew not where to be safe; some run out of the Fields into the Houses, others out of the Houses into the Fields; those that were at Sea hastened to Land, and those that were at Land endeavoured to get to Sea; still thinking every Place safer than that where they were. Besides grosser Lumps of Matter, there was thrown out of the Mountain such a prodigious Quantity of Ashes, as cover’d the Land and Sea, and filled the Air, so as besides other Damages, the Birds, Beasts and Fishes, with Men, Women, and Children were destroy’d, within such a Compass; and two entire Cities, Herculanium and Pompeios, were overwhelm’d with a Shower of Ashes, as the People were sitting in the Theatre. Nay, these Ashes were carried, by the Winds, over the Mediterranean into Africk, and into Ægypt and Syria. And at Rome they choak’d the Air on a sudden, so as to hide the Face of the Sun; Whereupon the People not knowing the Cause, as not having yet got the News from Campania, of the Eruption of Vesuvius, could not imagine what the Reason should be; but thought the Heavens and the Earth were coming together, the Sun coming down, and the Earth going to take its Place above. Thus far the Historian.

You see what Disorders in Nature, and what an Alarum, the Eruption of one fiery Mountain is capable to make. These Things, no doubt, would have made strong Impressions upon us, if we had been Eye-Witnesses of them; but I know, Representations made from dead History, and at a Distance, though the Testimony be never so credible, have a much less Effect upon us, than what we see ourselves, and what our Senses immediately inform us of. I have only given you an Account of two Volcano’s, and of a single Eruption in either of them: These Mountains are not very far distant from one another; let us suppose two such Eruptions, as I have mentioned, to happen at the same Time, and both these Mountains to be raging at once in this Manner; by that Violence you have seen in each of them singly, you will easily imagine what Terror and Desolation they would carry round about, by a Conjunction of their Fury, and all their Effects, in the Air, and on the Earth. Then, if to these two you should join two more, the Sphere of their Activity would still be enlarged, and the Scenes become more dreadful. But to compleat the Supposition, let us imagine all the Volcano’s of the whole Earth to be prepar’d, and set to a certain Time; which Time being come, and a Signal given by Providence, all these Mines begin to play at once; I mean, all these fiery Mountains burst out, and discharge themselves in Flames of Fire, tear up the Roots of the Earth, throw hot burning Stones, send out Streams of flowing Metals and Minerals, and all other Sorts of ardent Matter, which Nature hath lodg’d in those Treasuries: If all these Engines, I say, were to play at once, the Heavens and the Earth would seem to be in a Flame, and the World in an universal Combustion. But we may reasonably presume, that against that great Day of Vengeance and Execution, not only all these will be employ’d, but also new Volcano’s will be opened, and new Mountains in every Region will break out into Smoke and Flame; just as at the Deluge, the Abyss broke out from the Womb of the Earth, and from those hidden Stores sent an immense Quantity of Water, which, it may be the Inhabitants of that World never thought of before: So we must expect new Eruptions, and also new sulphureous Lakes, and Fountains of Oyl, to boyl out of the Ground: and these, all united with that Fewel that naturally grows upon the Surface of the Earth, will be sufficient to give the first Onset, and to lay waste all the habitable World, and the Furniture of it.

But we suppose the Conflagration will go lower, pierce under Ground, and dissolve the Substance of the Earth to some considerable Depth: Therefore, besides these outward and visible Preparations, we must consider all the hidden invisible Materials within the Veins of the Earth; Such are all Minerals, or mineral Juices and Concretions that are igniferous, or capable of Inflammation; and these cannot easily be reckoned up, or estimated; some of the most common are Sulphur, and all sulphureous Bodies, and Earths impregnated with Sulphur, Bitumen, and bituminous Concretions; inflammable Salts, Coal and other Fossils that are ardent; with innumerable Mixtures and Compositions of these Kinds, which, being open’d by Heat, are unctuous and inflammable, or by Attrition discover the latent Seeds of Fire. But besides consistent Bodies, there is also much volatile Fire within the Earth, in Fumes, Steams, and Exudations, which will all contribute to this Effect. From these Stores under Ground, all Plants and Vegetables are fed and supplied, as to their oily and sulphureous Parts, and all hot Waters in Baths or Fountains, must have their Original from some of these, some Mixture or Participation of them; and as to the British Soil, there is so much Coal incorporated with it, that when the Earth shall burn, we have Reason to apprehend no small Danger from that subterraneous Enemy.

These Dispositions, and this Fewel we find, in and upon the Earth, towards the last Fire. The third Sort of Provision is in the Air; all fiery Meteors and Exhalations engender’d and form’d in those Regions above, and discharg’d upon the Earth in several Ways. I believe there were no fiery Meteors in the antedeluvian Heavens; which therefore Saint Peter says, were constituted of Water, had nothing in them but what was watery; but he says the Heavens that are now, have Treasures of Fire, or are reserv’d for Fire, as Things laid up in a Store-House for that Purpose. We have Thunder and Lightning, and fiery Tempests, and there is nothing more vehement, impetuous, and irresistible, where their Force is directed. It seems to me very remarkable, that the Holy Writers describe the Coming of the Lord, and the Destruction of the Wicked, in the Nature of a Tempest, or a Storm of Fire, Psalm xi. 6. Upon the Wicked the Lord shall rain Coals, Fire and Brimstone, and a burning Tempest; this shall be the Portion of their Cup. And in the lofty Song of David, Psal. xviii. (which, in my Judgment, respects both the past Deluge and the future Conflagration) ’tis said, Ver. 13, 14, 15. The Lord also thundered in the Heavens, and the Highest gave his Voice, Hail-stones and Coals of Fire. Yea, he sent forth his Arrows and scattered them, and he shot out Lightnings and discomfited them. Then the Channels of Waters were seen, and the Foundations of the World were discover’d; at thy Rebuke, O Lord, at the Blast of the Breath of thy Nostrils. And a like fiery Coming is described in the 97th Psalm, as also by Isaiah, Isa. lxvi. 15. Daniel, Dan. vii. 9, 10. and St. Paul, 2 Thess. i. 8. And lastly, in the Apocalypse, when the World draws to a Conclusion, as in the seventh Trumpet (Chap. xi. 19.) and the seventh Vial (Chap. xvi. 18.) we have still mention made of this fiery Tempest of Lightnings and Thunderings.

We may therefore reasonably suppose, that, before the Conflagration, the Air will be surcharg’d every where (by a precedent Drought) with hot and fiery Exhalations: And as against the Deluge those Regions were burthen’d with Water and moist Vapours, which were pour’d upon the Earth, not in gentle Showers, but like Rivers and Cataracts from Heaven; so they will now be filled with hot Fumes and sulphureous Clouds, which will sometimes flow in Streams and fiery Impressions through the Air, sometimes make Thunder and Lightnings, and sometimes fall down upon the Earth in Floods of Fire. In general, there is a great Analogy to be observed betwixt the two Deluges of Water and of Fire, not only as to the Bounds of them, which were noted before; but as to the general Causes and Sources upon which they depend, from above and from below. At the Flood, the Windows of Heaven were open’d above, and the Abyss was open’d below; and the Waters of these two join’d together to overflow the World: In like manner, at the Conflagration, God will rain down Fire from Heaven, as he did once upon Sodom; and at the same time the subterraneous Store-houses of Fire will be broken open; which answers to the Disruption of the Abyss: And these two meeting and mingling together, will involve all the Heaven and Earth in Flames.

This is a short Account of the ordinary Stores of Nature, and the ordinary Preparations for a general Fire; and, in Contemplation of these, Pliny the Naturalist said boldly, It was one of the greatest Wonders of the World, that the World was not every Day set on Fire. We will conclude this Chapter with his Words, in the second Book of his Natural Hist. ch. 106, 107. Having given an Account of some fiery Mountains and other Parts of the Earth that are the Seats and Sources of Fire, he makes this Reflection: Seeing this Element is so fruitful, that it brings forth it self, and multiplies and encreases from the least Sparks; what art we to expect from so many Fires already kindled on the Earth? How does Nature feed and satisfy so devouring an Element, and such a great Voracity throughout all the World, without Loss or Diminution of herself? Add to these Fires we have mentioned, the Stars and the great Sun; then all the Fires made for human Uses; Fire in Stones, in Wood, in the Clouds, and in Thunder; IT EXCEEDS ALL MIRACLES, IN MY OPINION, THAT ONE DAY SHOULD PASS WITHOUT SETTING THE WORLD ALL ON FIRE.

CHAP. VIII.

Some new Dispositions towards the Conflagration, as to the Matter, Form, and Situation of the Earth. Concerning miraculous Causes, and how far the Ministry of Angels may be engaged in this Work.

We have given an Account, in the preceding Chapter, of the ordinary Preparations of Nature for a general Fire; we now are to give an Account of the extraordinary, or of any new Dispositions, which, towards the End of the World, may be super-added to the ordinary State of Nature. I do not, by these, mean Things openly miraculous and supernatural; but such a Change wrought in Nature, as shall still have the Face of natural Causes, and yet have a greater Tendency to the Conflagration. As, for Example, suppose a great Drought, as we noted before, to precede this Fate, or a general Heat and Dryness of the Air, and of the Earth; because this happens sometimes in a Course of Nature, it will not be look’d upon as prodigious. ’Tis true, some of the Antients speak of a Drought of forty Years, that will be a Fore-runner of the Conflagration; so that there will not be a watery Cloud, nor Rainbow seen in the Heavens, for so long a Time. And this they impute to Elias, who at his Coming, will stop the Rain, and shut up the Heavens to make way for the last Fire. But these are excessive and ill-grounded Suppositions; for half forty Years Drought will bring an universal Sterility upon the Earth, and thereupon an universal Famine, with innumerable Diseases; so that all Mankind would be destroyed, before the Conflagration could overtake them.

But we will readily admit an extraordinary Drought and Desiccation of all Bodies to usher in this great Fatality. And therefore, whatsoever we read in natural History, concerning former Droughts, of their drying up Fountains and Rivers, parching the Earth, and making the outward Turf take Fire in several Places; filling the Air with fiery Impressions, making the Woods and Forests ready Fewel, and sometimes to kindle by the Heat of the Sun, or a Flash of Lightning: These and what other Effects have come to pass in former Droughts, may come to pass again; and that in an higher Measure, and so as to be of more general Extent. And we must also allow, that by this means, a great degree of Inflammability, or Easiness to be set on Fire, will be super-induc’d, both into the Body of the Earth, and of all Things that grow upon it. The Heat of the Sun will pierce deeper into its Bowels, when it gapes to receive his Beams, and by Chinks and widened Pores makes way for their Passage to its very Heart. And, on the other Hand, it is not improbable, but that upon this general Relaxation, and Incalescency of the Body of the Earth, the Central Fire may have a freer Efflux, and diffuse itself in greater abundance every Way; so as to affect even these exterior Regions of the Earth, so far as to make them still more catching, and more combustible.

From this external and internal Heat acting upon the Body of the Earth, all Minerals, that have the Seeds of Fire in them, will be open’d, and exhale their Effluviums more copiously. As Spices, when warm’d are more odoriferous, and fill the Air with their Perfumes; so the Particles of Fire that are shut up in several Bodies, will easily fly abroad, when, by a further degree of Relaxation, you shake off their Chains, and open the Prison Doors. We cannot doubt, but there are many Sorts of Minerals, and many Sorts of Fire-stones, and of Trees and Vegetables of this Nature, which will sweat out their oily and sulphureous Atoms, when by a general Heat and Dryness their Parts are loosen’d and agitated.

We have no Experience that will reach so far, as to give us a full Account what the State of Nature will be at that Time; I mean, after this Drought, towards the End of the World; but we may help our Imagination, by comparing it with other Seasons and Temperaments of the Air. As therefore in the Spring the Earth is fragrant, and the Fields and Gardens are fill’d with the sweet Breathings of Herbs and Flowers; especially after a gentle Rain; when their Bodies are softened, and the Warmth of the Sun makes them evaporate more freely: So a greater degree of Heat acting upon all the Bodies of the Earth, like a stronger Fire in the Alembick, will extract another sort of Parts or Particles, more deeply incorporated, and more difficult to be disintangled; I mean oily Parts, and such undiscover’d Parcels of Fire, as lie fix’d and imprison’d in hard Bodies: These, I imagine, will be in a great measure set afloat, or drawn out into the Air, which will abound with hot and dry Exhalations, more than with Vapours and Moisture in a wet Season; and by this Means, all Elements and elementary Bodies will stand ready, and in a proximate Disposition to be inflamed.

Thus much concerning the last Drought, and the general Effects of it. In the next Place, we must consider the Earthquakes that will precede the Conflagration, and the Consequences of them. I noted before, that the cavernous and broken Construction of the present Earth, was that which made it obnoxious to be destroy’d by Fire; as its former Construction over the Abyss, made it obnoxious to be destroy’d with Water. This Hollowness of the Earth is most sensible in mountainous and hilly Countries, which therefore I look upon as most subject to burning; but the plain Countries may also be made hollow and hilly by Earthquakes, when the Vapours, not finding an easy Vent, raise the Ground, and make a forcible Eruption, as at the springing of a Mine. And tho’ plain Countries are not so subject to Earthquakes as mountainous, because they have not so many Cavities, and subterraneous Vaults, to lodge the Vapours in; yet every Region hath more or less of them: And after this Drought, the Vacuities of the Earth being every where enlarg’d, the Quantity of Exhalations much increas’d, and the Motion of them more strong and violent, they will have their Effects in many Places where they never had any before. Yet I do not suppose that this will raise new Ridges of Mountains, like the Alps, or Pyreneans, in those Countries that are now plain, but that they will break and loosen the Ground, make greater Inequalities in the Surface, and greater Cavities within, than what are at present in those Places: and by this means the Fire will creep under them, and find a Passage thorough them, with more Ease than if they were compact, and every where continu’d and unbroken.

But you will say, it may be, How does it appear that there will be more frequent Earthquakes towards the End of the World? If this precedent Drought be admitted, ’tis plain that fiery Exhalation will abound every where within the Earth, and will have a greater Agitation than ordinary; and these being the Causes of Earthquakes, when they are rarified and inflamed, ’tis reasonable to suppose, that in such a State of Nature, they will more frequently happen, than at other Times. Besides, Earthquakes are taken Notice of in Scripture, as Signs and Fore-runners of the last Day, as they usually are of all great Changes and Calamities. The Destruction of Jerusalem was a Type of the Destruction of the World, and the Evangelists always mention Earthquakes amongst the ominous Prodigies that were to attend it. But these Earthquakes we are speaking of at present are but the Beginnings of Sorrow, and not to be compar’d with those that will follow afterwards, when Nature is convuls’d in her last Agony, just as the Flames are seizing on her. Of which we shall have Occasion to speak hereafter.

These Changes will happen as to the Matter and Form of the Earth, before it is attack’d by the last Fire: There will be also another Change as to the Situation of it; for that will be rectified, and the Earth restor’d to the Posture it had at first, namely, of a right Aspect, and Conversion to the Sun. But because I cannot determine at what Time this Restitution will be, whether at the Beginning, Middle, or End of the Conflagration, I will not presume to lay any Stress upon it. Plato seems to have imputed the Conflagration to this only; which is so far true, that the Revolution, call’d the Great Year, is this very Revolution, or the Return of the Earth, and the Heavens to their first Posture. But tho’ this may be contemporary with the last Fire, or some way concomitant; yet it does not follow that it is the Cause of it, much less the only Cause. It may be an Occasion of making the Fire reach more easily towards the Poles, when by this Change of Situation their long Nights, and long Winters shall be taken away.

The new Dispositions in our Earth which we expect before that great Day, may be look’d upon as extraordinary, but not as miraculous, because they may proceed from natural Causes. But now in the last Place, we are to consider miraculous Causes: What Influence they may have, or what Part they may bear, in this great Revolution of Nature. By miraculous Causes we understand either God’s immediate Omnipotency, or the Ministry of Angels; and what may be perform’d by the latter, is very improperly and undecently thrown upon the former. ’Tis a great Step to Omnipotency: and ’tis hard to define what Miracles, on this side Creation, require an infinite Power. We are sure that the Angels are Ministring Spirits, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand about the Throne of the Almighty, to receive his Commands and execute his Judgments. That perfect Knowledge they have of the Powers of Nature, and of conducting those Powers to the best Advantage, by adjusting Causes in a fit Subordination one to another, makes them capable of performing, not only things far above our Force, but even above our Imagination: Besides, they have a radical inherent Power, belonging to the Excellency of their Nature, of determining the Motions of Matter, within a far greater Sphere than human Souls can pretend to. We can only command our Spirits, and determine their Motions within the Compass of our own Bodies; but their Activity and Empire is of far greater Extent, and the outward World is much more subject to their Dominion than to ours. From these Considerations it is reasonable to conclude, that the generality of Miracles may be, and are perform’d by Angels; it being less decorous to employ a sovereign Power, where a subaltern is sufficient; and when we hastily cast Things upon God, for quick Dispatch, we consult our own Ease more than the Honour of our Maker.

I take it for granted here, that what is done by an angelical Hand, is truly providential, and of divine Administration; and also justly bears the Character of a Miracle. Whatsoever may be done by pure material Causes, or human Strength, we account natural; and whatsoever is above these, we call supernatural and miraculous. Now what is supernatural and miraculous, is either the Effect of an angelical Power, or of a sovereign and infinite Power; and we ought not to confound these two, no more than natural and supernatural; for there is a greater Difference betwixt the highest angelical Power and Omnipotency, than betwixt an human Power, and angelical. Therefore, as the first Rule concerning Miracles is this, that we must not fly to Miracles, where Man and Nature are sufficient; so the second Rule is this, that we must not fly to a sovereign infinite Power, where an angelical is sufficient. And the Reason in both Rules is the same, namely, because it argues a Defect of Wisdom in all Oeconomies to employ more and greater Means than are sufficient.

Now to make Application of this to our present Purpose, I think it reasonable, and also sufficient, to admit the Ministry of Angels in the future Conflagration of the World. If Nature will not lay violent Hands upon her self, or is not sufficient to work her own Destruction, let us allow Destroying Angels to interest themselves in the Work, as the Executioners of the Divine Justice and Vengeance upon a degenerate World. We have Examples of this so frequently in sacred History, how the Angels have executed God’s Judgments upon a Nation or a People, that it cannot seem new or strange, that in this last Judgment, which by all the Prophets is represented as the Great Day of the Lord, the Day of his Wrath, and of his Fury, the same Angels should bear their Parts, and conclude the last Scene of that Tragedy which they had acted in all along. We read of the Destroying Angel in Ægypt, Gen. xii. 23. of Angels that presided at the Destruction of Sodom, Gen. xix. 13. which was a Type of the future Destruction of the World, (Jude vii.) 2. Thess. i. 7, 8. and of Angels that will accompany our Saviour when he comes in Flames of Fire; not, we suppose, to be Spectators only, but Actors and Superintendants in this great Catastrophe.

This Ministry of Angels may be either in ordering and conducting such natural Causes as we have already given an Account of, or in adding new ones, if Occasion be; I mean, increasing the Quantity of Fire, or of fiery Materials, in and about the Earth; so as that Element shall be more abundant and more predominant, and overbear all Opposition that either Water, or any other Body, can make against it. It is not material whether of these two Suppositions we follow, provided we allow that the Conflagration is a Work of Providence, and not a pure natural Fatality. If it be necessary that there should be an Augmentation made of fiery Matter, ’tis not hard to conceive how that may be done, either from the Heavens, or from the Earth, Isa. xxx. 26. The Prophets sometimes speak of multiplying or strengthening the Light of the Sun, and it may as easily be conceiv’d of his Heat as of his Light; as if the Vial that was to be pour’d upon it, Rev. xxvi. 8. and gave it a Power to scorch Men with Fire, had something of a natural Sense as well as moral. But there is another Stream of ethereal Matter that flows from the Heavens, and recruits the Central Fire with continual Supplies; this may be encreas’d and strengthened, and its Effects convey’d throughout the whole Body of the Earth.

But if an Augmentation is to be made of terrestrial Fire, or of such terrestrial Principles as contain it most, as Sulphur, Oyl, and such like, I am apt to believe, these will encrease of their own accord, upon a general Drought and Desiccation of the Earth. For I am far from the Opinion of some Chymists, that think these Principles immutable, and incapable of Diminution or Augmentation. I willingly admit that all such Particles may be broken and disfigur’d, and thereby lose their proper and specifick Virtue, and new ones may be generated to supply the Places of the former: Which Supplies, or new Productions being made in a less, or greater Measure, according to the general Dispositions of Nature; when Nature is heightened into a kind of Fever and Ebullition of all her Juices and Humours, as she will be at that Time, we must expect, that more Parts than ordinary, should be made inflammable, and those that are inflam’d should become more violent. Under these Circumstances, when all Causes lean that Way, a little Help from a superior Power will have a great Effect, and make a great Change in the State of the World. And as to the Power of Angels, I am of Opinion, that it is very great as to the Changes and Modifications of natural Bodies; that they can dissolve a Marble as easily as we can crumble Earth and Moulds, or fix any Liquor in a Moment, into a Substance as hard as Crystal: That they can either make Flames more vehement and irresistible to all Sorts of Bodies; or as harmless as lambent Fires, and as soft as Oyl. We see an Instance of this last, in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery Furnace, Daniel iii. 28. where the three Children walk’d unconcern’d in the midst of the Flames, under the Charge and Protection of an Angel: And the same Angel, if he had pleas’d, could have made the same Furnace seven times hotter than the Wrath of the Tyrant had made it.

We will therefore leave it to their Ministry to manage this great Furnace, when the Heavens and the Earth are on Fire: To conserve, increase, direct, or temper the Flames, according to Instructions given them, as they are to be tutelary or destroying. Neither let any Body think it a Diminution of Providence, to put Things into the Hands of Angels; ’tis the true Rule and Method of it: For to imploy an Almighty Power where it is not necessary, is to debase it, and give it a Task fit for lower Beings. Some think it Devotion and Piety to have recourse immediately to the Arm of God to salve all things; this may be done sometimes with a good Intention, but commonly with little Judgment. God is as jealous of the Glory of his Wisdom, as of his Power; and Wisdom consists in the Conduct and Subordination of several Causes, to bring our Purposes to Effect; but what is dispatched by an immediate supreme Power, leaves no room for the Exercise of Wisdom. To conclude this Point, which I have touch’d upon more than once; We must not be partial to any of God’s Attributes, and Providence being a Complexion of many, Power, Wisdom, Justice, and Goodness, when we give due Place and Honour to all these, then we must honour Divine Providence.

CHAP. IX.

How the Sea will be diminish’d and consum’d. How the Rocks and Mountains will be thrown down and melted, and the whole exterior Frame of the Earth dissolv’d into a Deluge of Fire.

We have now taken a View of the Causes of the Conflagration, both ordinary and extraordinary: It remains to consider the Manner of it; how these Causes will operate, and bring to pass an Effect so great and so prodigious. We took Notice before, that the grand Obstruction would be from the Sea, and from the Mountains; we must therefore take these to Task in the first Place: and if we can remove them out of our Way, or overcome what Resistance and Opposition they are capable to make, the rest of the Work will not be uneasy to us.

The Ocean indeed is a vast Body of Waters; and we must use all our Art and Skill to dry it up, or consume it in a good measure, before we can pass our Design. I remember the Advice a Philosopher gave Amasis King of Ægypt, when he had a Command sent him from the King of Æthiopia, that he should drink up the Sea. Amasis being very anxious and solicitous what Answer he should make to this strange Command, the Philosopher Bias advis’d him to make this round Answer to the King, That he was ready to perform his Command, and to drink up the Sea, provided he would stop the Rivers from flowing into his Cup while he was drinking. This Answer baffled the King, for he could not stop the Rivers; but this we must do, or we shall never be able to drink up the Sea, or burn up the Earth.

Neither will this be so impossible as it seems at first Sight, if we reflect upon those Preparations we have made towards it, by a general Drought all over the Earth. This, we suppose, will precede the Conflagration, and by drying up the Fountains and Rivers which daily feed the Sea, will by degrees starve that Monster, or reduce it to such a degree of Weakness, that it shall not be able to make any great Resistance. More than half an Ocean of Water flows into the Sea every Day, from the Rivers of the Earth, if you take them altogether. This I speak upon a moderate Computation. Aristotle says, the Rivers carry more Water into the Sea in the Space of a Year, than would equal in Bulk the whole Globe of the Earth. Nay some have ventur’d to affirm this of one single River, the Volga, that runs into the Caspian Sea. ’Tis a great River indeed, and hath seventy Mouths; and so it had need have, to disgorge a Mass of Water equal to the Body of the Earth, in a Year’s Time. But we need not take such high Measures; there are at least an hundred great Rivers that flow into the Sea from several Parts of the Earth, Islands and Continents, besides several thousands of lesser ones; let us suppose these, all together, to pour as much Water into the Sea-Channel every Day, as is equal to half the Ocean: And we shall be easily convinc’d of the Reasonableness of this Supposition, if we do but examine the daily Expence of one River, and by that make an Estimate of the rest. This we find calculated to our Hands in the River Po, in Italy; a River of much what the same Bigness with our Thames, and disburthens it self into the Gulpp of Venice. Baptista Riccioli hath computed how much Water this River discharges in an Hour, viz. 18000000 cubical Paces of Water, and consequently 432000000 in a Day; which is scarce credible to those that do not distinctly compute it. Suppose then an hundred Rivers as great as this, or greater, to fall into the Sea from the Land; besides thousands of lesser, that pay their Tribute at the same Time into the great Receipt of the Ocean: These all taken together, are capable to renew the Sea twice every four and twenty Hours. Which Suppositions being admitted, if by a great and lasting Drought these Rivers were dried up, or the Fountains from whence they flow, what would then become of that vast Ocean, that before was so formidable to us?

’Tis likely, you will say, these great Rivers cannot be dried up, tho’ the little ones may; and therefore we must not suppose such an universal Stop of Waters, or that they will all fail, by any Drought whatsoever. But great Rivers being made up of little ones, if these fail, those must be diminished, if not quit drain’d and exhausted. It may be, all Fountains and Springs do not proceed from the same Causes, or the same Original; and some are much more copious than others: For such Differences, we will allow what is due; but still the Dryness of the Air and of the Earth continuing, and all the Sources and Supplies of Moisture, both from above and from below, being lessen’d, or wholly discontinued, a general Decay of all Fountains and Rivers must necessarily follow, and consequently of the Sea, and of its Fulness, that depends upon them; and that’s enough for our present Purpose.

The first Step towards the Consumption of the Ocean, will be the Diminution or Suspension of the Rivers that run into it; the next will be an Evacuation by subterraneous Passages; and the last, by Eruptions of Fires in the very Channel of it, and in the midst of the Waters. As for subterraneous Evacuations, we cannot doubt but that the Sea hath Outlets at the Bottom of it, whereby it discharges that vast Quantity of Water that flows into it every Day; and that could not be discharg’d so fast as it comes from the wide Mouths of the Rivers, by Percolation, or Straining through the Sands. Seas also communicate with one another by these internal Passages; as is manifest from those particular Seas that have no external Outlet, or Issue, though they receive into them many great Rivers, and sometimes the Influx of other Seas. So the Caspian Sea receives not only Volga, which we mentioned before, but several other Rivers, and yet hath no visible Issue for its Waters. The Mediterranean Sea, besides all the Rivers it receives, hath a Current flowing into it, at either End, from other Seas; from the Atlantick Ocean at the Streights of Gibraltar, and from the Black Sea above Constantinople; and yet there is no Passage above Ground, or visible Derivation of the Mediterranean Waters out of their Channel; which seeing they do not overfill, nor overflow the Banks, ’tis certain they must have some secret Conveyances into the Bowels of the Earth, or subterraneous Communication with other Seas. Lastly, from the Whirlpools of the Sea, that suck in Bodies that come within their Reach, it seems plainly to appear, by that Attraction and Absorption, that there is a Descent of Waters in those Places.

Wherefore when the Current of the Rivers into the Sea is stopp’d, or in a great Measure diminished; the Sea continuing to empty it self by these subterraneous Passages, and having little or none of those Supplies that it used to have from the Land, it must needs be sensibly lessen’d and both contract its Channel into a narrower Compass, and also have less Depth in the Waters that remain. And in the last Place, we must expect fiery Eruptions in several Parts of the Sea Channel, which will help to suck up, or evaporate the remaining Waters. In the present State of Nature there have been several Instances of such Eruptions of Fire from the Bottom of the Sea; and in that last State of Nature, when all Things are in a Tendency to Inflammation, and when Earthquakes and Eruptions will be more frequent every where, we must expect them also more frequently by Sea, as well as by Land. ’Tis true, neither Earthquakes nor Eruptions can happen in the middle of the great Ocean, or in the deepest Abyss, because there are no Cavities, or Mines below it, for the Vapours and Exhalations to lodge in: But it is not so much of the Sea-Chanel that is so deep; and in other Parts, especially in Streights, and near Islands, such Eruptions, like Sea-Vulcano’s, have frequently happened, and new Islands have been made by such fiery Matter thrown up from the Bottom of the Sea. Thus, they say, those Islands in the Mediterranean, call’d the Vulcanian Islands, had their Original, being Matter cast up from the Bottom of the Sea, by the Force of Fire, as new Mountains sometimes are raised upon the Earth. Another Island in the Archipelago had the same Original; whereof Strabo gives an Account, Lib. 1. The Flames, he says, sprung up through the Waters four Days together, so as the whole Sea was hot and burning; and they rais’d by degrees, as with Engines, a Mass of Earth, which made a new Island, twelve Furlongs in Compass. And in the same Archipelago, Flames and Smoke have several times, (particularly in the Year 1650) risen out of the Sea, and fill’d the Air with sulphureous Scents and Vapours. In like manner in the Island of St. Michael, one of the Tercera’s, there have been, of later Years, such Eructations of Fire and Flames, so strong and violent, that, at the Depth of a hundred and sixty Fathoms, they forc’d their Way through the midst of the Waters, from the Bottom of the Sea into the open Air, as has been related by those that were Eyewitnesses.

In these three Ways, I conceive, the great Force of the Sea will be broken, and the mighty Ocean reduced to a standing Pool of putrid Waters, without Vent, and without Recruits. But there will still remain, in the midst of the Channel, a great Mass of troubled Liquors, like Dregs in the Bottom of the Vessel; which will not be drunk up, ’till the Earth be all on Fire, and Torrents of melted and sulphureous Matter flow from the Land, and mingle with this dead Sea. But let us now leave the Sea in this humble Posture, and go on to attack the Rocks and Mountains, which stand next in our Way.

See how scornfully they look down upon us, and bid Defiance to all the Elements; they have born the Thunder and Lightning of Heaven, and all the Artillery of the Skies, for innumerable Ages; and do not fear the crackling of Thorns and of Shrubs that burn at their Feet: Let the Towns and Cities of the Earth, say they, be laid in Ashes; let the Woods and Forests blaze away, and the fat Soil of the Earth fry in its own Grease; these Things will not affect us; we can stand naked in the midst of a Sea of Fire, with our Roots as deep as the Foundations of the Earth, and our Heads above the Clouds of the Air. Thus they proudly defy Nature; and it must be confess’d, that these, being, as it were, the Bones of the Earth, when the Body is burning, will be the last consum’d; and I am apt to think, if they could keep in the same Posture they stand in now, and preserve themselves from falling, the Fire could never get an entire Power over them. But Mountains are generally hollow, and that makes them subject to a double Casualty; first, of Earthquakes; secondly, of having their Roots eaten away by Water or by Fire; but by Fire especially in this Case; For we suppose there will be innumerable subterraneous Fires smothering under Ground, before the general Fire breaks out; and these by corroding the Bowels of the Earth, will make it more hollow, and more ruinous; and when the Earth is so far dissolv’d, that the Cavities within the Mountains are fill’d with Lakes of Fire, then the Mountains will sink, and fall into those boiling Cauldrons, which in Time will dissolve them, though they were as hard as Adamant.

There is another Engine that will tear the Earth with great Violence, and rend in pieces whatsoever is above or about those Parts of it; and that is the Element of Water, so gentle in it self when undisturb’d: But ’tis found by Experience, that when Water falls into liquid Metals, it flies about with an incredible Impetuosity, and breaks or bears down every Thing that would stop its Motion and Expansion. This Force I take to come from the sudden and strong Rarefaction of its Parts, which make a kind of Explosion, when it is sudden and vehement; and this is one of the greatest Forces we know in Nature: Accordingly I am apt to think, that the marvellous Force of Vulcano’s, when they throw out Lumps of Rocks, great Fragments of the Earth, and other heavy Bodies, to such a vast Height and Distance, that it is done by this way of Explosion: And that Explosion made by the sudden Rarefaction of Sea Waters, that fall into Pans or Receptacles of molten Ore and ardent Liquors, within the Cavities of the Mountain; and thereupon follow the Noises, Roarings, and Eruptions of those Places. ’Tis observ’d, that Vulcano’s are in Mountains, and generally, if not always, near the Sea; and when its Waters, by subterraneous Passages, are driven under the Mountain, either by a particular Wind, or by a great Agitation of the Waves, they meet there with Metals and fiery Minerals, dissolv’d; and are immediately, according to our Supposition, rarified, and, by way of Explosion, fly out at the Mouth or Funnel of the Mountain, bearing before them whatsoever stands in their Way. Whether this be a true Account, or no, of the present Vulcano’s and their Eruptions, ’tis manifest, that such Cases as we have mention’d, will happen in the Conflagration of the Earth, and that such Eruptions or Disruptions of the Earth will follow thereupon: and that these will contribute very much to the sinking of Mountains, the splitting of Rocks, and the bringing of all strong Holds of Nature under the Power of the general Fire.

To conclude this Point: The Mountains will all be brought low, in that State of Nature either by Earthquakes, or subterraneous Fires; Every Valley shall be exalted, and every Mountain and Hill shall be made low, Isa. xl. 4. Which will be literally true at the second coming of our Saviour, as it was figuratively apply’d to his first coming, Luke iii. 5. Now, being once levell’d with the rest of the Earth, the Question will only be, how they shall be dissolv’d? But there is no terrestrial Body indissolvable to Fire, if it have a due Strength and Continuance; and this last Fire will have both, in the highest degrees; so that it cannot but be capable of dissolving all elementary Compositions, how hard or solid soever they be.

’Tis true, these Mountains and Rocks, as I said before, will have the Privilege to be the last destroy’d. These, with the deep Parts of the Sea, and the polar Regions of the Earth, will undergo a slower Fate, and be consum’d more leisurely. The Action of the last Fire may be distinguish’d into two Times, or two Assaults; the first Assault will carry off all Mankind, and all the Works of the Earth that are easily combustible; and this will be done with a quick and sudden Motion. But the second Assault, being employ’d about the Consumption of such Bodies, or such Materials, as are not so easily subjected to Fire, will be of long Continuance, and the Work of some Years. And ’tis fit it should be so; that this flaming World may be view’d and consider’d by the neighbouring Worlds about it, as a dreadful Spectacle, and Monument of God’s Wrath against disloyal, and disobedient Creatures. That by this Example, now before their Eyes, they may think of their own Fate, and what may befal them, as well as another Planet of the same Elements and Composition.

Thus much for the Rocks and Mountains; which, you see, according to our Hypothesis, will be levell’d, and the whole Face of the Earth reduc’d to Plainness and Equality; nay, which is more, melted and dissolv’d into a Sea of liquid Fire. And because this may seem a Paradox, being more than is usually supposed, or taken notice of, in the Doctrine of the Conflagration, it will not be improper, in this Place, to give an Account, wherein our Idea of the Conflagration, and its Effects, differs from the common Opinion, and the usual Representation of it. ’Tis commonly supposed, that the Conflagration of the World is like the burning of a City, where the Walls and Materials of the Houses are not melted down, but scorch’d, inflam’d, demolish’d, and made uninhabitable: So they think in the burning of the World, such Bodies, or such Parts of Nature, as are fit Fewel for the Fire, will be inflam’d, and, it may be, consum’d, or reduc’d to Smoke and Ashes; but other Bodies, that are not capable of Inflammation, will only be scorch’d and defac’d, the Beauty and Furniture of the Earth spoil’d, and by that means, say they, it will be laid waste and become uninhabitable. This seems to me a very short and imperfect Idea of the Conflagration; neither agreeable to Scripture, nor to the Deductions that may be made from Scripture. We therefore suppose that this is but half the Work; this destroying of the outward Garniture of the Earth, is but the first Onset, and that the Conflagration will end in a Dissolution and Liquefaction of the Elements and all the exterior Region of the Earth; so as to become a true Deluge of Fire, or a Sea of Fire overspreading the whole Globe of the Earth. This State of the Conflagration, I think, may be plainly prov’d; partly by the Expressions of Scripture concerning it, and partly from the Renovation of the Earth that is to follow upon it. Saint Peter, who is our chief Guide in the Doctrine of the Conflagration, says, 2 Pet. iii. 10, 11. The Elements will be melted with fervent Heat; besides burning up the Works of the Earth. Then adds, Seeing all these Things shall be dissolv’d, &c. These Terms of Liquefaction and Dissolution cannot, without Violence, be restrained to simple Devastation, and superficial Scorching. Such Expressions carry the Work a great deal further, even to that full Sense which we propose. Besides, the Prophets often speak of the melting of the Earth, or of the Hills and Mountains, at the Presence of the Lord, in the Day of his Wrath, Isa. xxxiv. 3, 4. & xliv. 1, 2. Nah. i. 5. Psal. xcvii. 5. And Saint John (Apoc. xv. 2.) tells us of a Sea of Glass, mingled with Fire; where the Saints stood, singing the Song of Moses, and triumphing over their Enemies, the Spiritual Pharaoh and his Host, that were swallowed up in it. The Sea of Glass, must be a Sea of molten Glass; it must be fluid, not solid, if a Sea; neither can a solid Substance be said to be mingled with Fire, as this was. And to this answers the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which the Beast and false Prophet were thrown into alive, Apoc. xix. 20. These all refer to the End of the World, and the last Fire, and also plainly imply, or express rather, that State of Liquefaction which we suppose and assert.

Furthermore, the Renovation of the World, or the New Heaven and New Earth, which St. Peter, out of the Prophets, tells us shall spring out of these that are burnt and dissolved, do suppose this Earth reduc’d into a fluid Chaos, that it may lay a Foundation for a second World. If you take such a Skeleton of an Earth, as your scorching Fire would leave behind it; where the Flesh is torn from the Bones, and the Rocks and Mountains stand naked, and staring upon you; the Sea, half empty, gaping at the Sun, and the Cities all in Ruins, and in Rubbish; how would you raise a new World from this? And a World fit to be an Habitation for the Righteous? For so St. Peter makes that to be, which is to succeed after the Conflagration, 2 Pet. iii. 13. And a World also without a Sea? So St. John describes the new Earth he saw, Apoc. xxi. 1. As these Characters do not agree to the present Earth, so neither would they agree to your future one; for if that dead Lump could revive and become habitable again, it would however retain all the Imperfections of the former Earth, besides some Scars, and Deformities of its own. Wherefore, if you would cast the Earth into a new, and better Mould, you must first melt it down; and the last Fire, being as a Refiner’s Fire, will make an Improvement in it, both as to Matter and Form. To conclude, it must be reduc’d into a fluid Mass, in the Nature of a Chaos, as it was at first; but this last will be a fiery Chaos, as that was watery; and from this State it will emerge again into a Paradisaical World. But this being the Subject of the following Book, we will discourse no more of it in this Place.

CHAP. X.

Concerning the Beginning and Progress of the Conflagration, what Part of the Earth will first be burnt. The Manner of the future Destruction of Rome, according to prophetical Indications. The last State and Consummation of the general Fire.

Having remov’d the chief Obstructions to our Design, and shew’d a Method for weakning the Strength of Nature, by draining the Trench, and beating down those Bulwarks, wherein she seems to place her greatest Confidence: We must now go to Work; making Choice of the weakest Part of Nature for our first Attack, where the Fire may be the easiest admitted, and the best maintain’d, and preserv’d.

And for our better Direction, it will be of Use to consider what we noted before, viz. That the Conflagration is not a pure natural Fatality, but a mix’d Fatality; or a divine Judgment supported by natural Causes. And if we can find some Part of the Earth, or of the Christian World, that hath more of these natural Dispositions to Inflammation than the rest; and is also represented by Scripture as a more peculiar Object of God’s Judgments at the coming of our Saviour, we may justly pitch upon that Part of the World, as first to be destroy’d: Nature and Providence conspiring to make that the first Sacrifice to this fiery Vengeance.

Now as to natural Dispositions, in any Country or Region of the Earth, to be set on Fire, they seem to be chiefly these two; Sulphureousness of the Soil, and, an hollow mountainous Construction of the Ground. Where these two Dispositions meet in the same Tract or Territory, (the one as to the Quality of the Matter, and the other as to the Form) it stands like a Pile of fit Materials, ready set to have the Fire put to it. And as to divine Indications where this general Fire will begin, the Scripture points to the Seat of Antichrist, wheresoever that is, for the Beginning of it. The Scripture, I say, points at this two Ways: First, In telling us that our Saviour at his coming in Flames of Fire shall consume the wicked One, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition, with the Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his Presence, 2 Thess. i. 7. chap. ii. 8. Secondly, under the Name of Mystical Babylon; which is allowed by all to be the Seat of Antichrist, and by Scripture always condemn’d to the Fire. This we find in plain Words asserted by Saint John, in the xviiith Chapter of his Revelations (Verses 8, 19.) and in the xixth (Verse 3) under the Name of the Great Whore; which is the same City, and the same Seat, according to the Interpretation of Scripture it self, (Ch. xvii, xviii.) And the Prophet Daniel, when he had set the Antient of Days upon his fiery Throne, says, The Body of the Beast was given to the burning Flame, Dan. vii. 9, 10, 11. Which I take to be the same Thing with what St. John says afterwards, (Apoc. xix. 20.) The Beast and the false Prophet, were cast alive into a Lake of Fire, burning with Brimstone. By these Places of Scripture it seems manifest, that Antichrist, and the Seat of Antichrist will be consum’d with Fire, at the coming of our Saviour. And ’tis very reasonable and decorous, that the grand Traytor and Head of the Apostacy, should be made the first Example of the divine Vengeance.

Thus much being allow’d from Scripture, let us now return to Nature again; to seek out that Part of the Christian World, that from its own Constitution is most subject to burning; by the Sulphureousness of its Soil, and its fiery Mountains and Caverns. This we shall easily find to be the Roman Territory, or the Country of Italy: Which, by all Accounts, antient and modern, is a Store-house of Fire; as if it was condemn’d to that Fate by God and Nature, and to be an Incendiary, as it were, to the rest of the World. And seeing Mystical Babylon, the Seat of Antichrist, is the same Rome, and its Territory, as it is understood by most Interpreters of former, and latter Ages; you see both our Lines meet in this Point; and, that there is Fairness, on both Hands, to conclude, that at the glorious Appearance of our Saviour, the Conflagration will begin at the City of Rome, and the Roman Territory.

Nature hath sav’d us the Pains of kindling a Fire in those Parts of the Earth; for, since the Memory of Man, there have always been subterraneous Fires in Italy. And the Romans did not preserve their Vestal Fire with more Constancy, than Nature hath done her fiery Mountains in some Part or other of that Territory. Let us then suppose, when the fatal Time draws near, all these burning Mountains to be fill’d and replenish’d with fit Materials for such a Design; and when our Saviour appears in the Clouds, with an Host of Angels, that they all begin to play, as Fireworks, at the triumphal Entry of a Prince. Let Vesuvius, Ætna, Strongyle, and all the Vulcanian Islands, break out into Flames; and by the Earthquakes, which then will rage, let us suppose new Eruptions, or new Mountains open’d in the Apennines, and near to Rome; and to vomit out Fire in the same Manner as the old Vulcano’s. Then let the sulphureous Ground take Fire; and seeing the Soil of that Country, in several Places, is so full of Brimstone, that the Steams and Smoke of it visibly rise out of the Earth; we may reasonably suppose, that it will burn openly, and be inflam’d, at that Time. Lastly, the Lightenings of the Air, and the flaming Streams of the melting Skies, will mingle and join with these Burnings of the Earth; and these three Causes meeting together, as they cannot but make a dreadful Scene, so they will easily destroy and consume whatsoever lies within the Compass of their Fury.

Thus you may suppose the Beginning of the general Fire: And it will be carried on by like Causes, though in lesser Degrees, in other Parts of the Earth: But as to Rome, there is still, in my Opinion, a more dreadful Fate that will attend it; namely, to absorp’d, or swallow’d up, in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, after the Manner of Sodom and Gomorrah. This, in my Judgment, will be the Fate and final Conclusion of Mystical Babylon, to sink as a great Mill-stone into the Sea, and never to appear more. Hear what the Prophet says, A mighty Angel took up a Stone, like a great Mill stone, and cast it into the Sea, saying, Thus with Violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all, Apoc. xviii. 21. Simply to be burnt, does not at all answer to this Description of its perishing, by sinking like a Mill-stone into the Sea, and never appearing more, nor of not having its Place ever more found; that is, leaving no Remains or Marks of it. A City that is only burnt, cannot be said to fall like a Mill-stone into the Sea; or, that it can never more be found; for after the Burning of a City, the Ruins stand, and its Place is well known: Wherefore, in both Respects, besides this exterior Burning, there must be an Absorption of this Mystical Babylon, the Seat of the Beast, and thereupon a total Disappearance of it. This also agrees with the Suddenness of the Judgment, which is a repeated Character of it, Chap. xviii. 8, 10, 17, 19. Now what kind of Absorption this will be, into what, and in what Manner, we may learn from what Saint John says afterwards, Chap. xix. 20. The Beast and the false Prophet were cast alive into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone. You must not imagine, that they were bound Hand and Foot, and so thrown headlong into this Lake; but they were swallow’d up alive, they and theirs, as Corah and his Company; or, to use a plainer Example, after the manner of Sodom and Gomorrah, which perish’d by Fire, and at the same Time sunk into the Dead Sea, or a Lake of Brimstone.

This was a lively Type of the Fate of Rome, or Mystical Babylon: And ’tis fit it should resemble Sodom, as well in its Punishment, as in its Crimes. Neither is it a hard Thing to conceive how such an Absorption may come to pass, that being a Thing so usual in Earthquakes, and Earthquakes being so frequent in that Region. And lastly, That this should be, after the Manner of Sodom, turn’d into a Lake of Fire, will not be at all strange, if we consider, that there will be many subterraneous Lakes of Fire at that Time, when the Bowels of the Earth begin to melt, and the Mountains spew out Streams of liquid Fire. The Ground therefore being hollow and rotten in those Parts, when it comes to be shaken with a mighty Earthquake, the Foundations will sink, and the whole Frame fall into an Abyss of Fire below, as a Mill-stone into the Sea. And this will give Occasion to that Cry, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and shall never more be found.

This seems to be a probable Account, according to Scripture and Reason, of the Beginning of the general Fire, and of the particular Fate of Rome. But it may be propos’d here, as an Objection against this Hypothesis, that the Mediterranean Sea, lying all along the Coast of Italy, must needs be a sufficient Guard to that Country against the Invasion of Fire, or at least must needs extinguish it, before it can do much Mischief there, or propagate itself into other Countries. I thought we had in a good measure prevented this Objection before, by shewing how the Ocean would be diminished before the Conflagration, and especially the Arms and Sinus’s of the Ocean; and of these none would be more subject to this Diminution, than the Mediterranean; for, receiving its Supplies from the Ocean and the Black Sea, if these came to sink in their Channels they would not rise so high, as to be capable to flow into the Mediterranean at either End; and these Supplies being cut off, it would soon empty itself so far, partly by Evaporation; and partly by subterraneous Passages, as to shrink from all its Shores, and become only a standing Pool of Water in the Middle of the Channel: Nay, ’tis possible, by Floods of Fire descending from the many Vulcano’s upon its Shores, it might itself be converted into a Lake of Fire, and rather help than obstruct the Progress of the Conflagration.

It may indeed be made a Question, Whether this fiery Vengeance upon the Seat of Antichrist will not precede the general Conflagration, at some Distance of Time, as a Fore-runner and Fore-warner to the World, that the rest of the People may have Space to repent; and particularly the Jews, being Spectators of this Tragedy, and of the miraculous Appearance of our Saviour, may see the Hand of God in it, and be convinc’d of the Truth and divine Authority of the Christian Religion: I say, this Supposition would leave Room for these and some other Prophetick Scenes, which we know not well where to place; but seeing The Day of the Lord is represented in Scripture, as one entire Thing, without Interruption or Discontinuation, and that it is to begin with the Destruction of Antichrist, we have Warrant enough to pursue the rest of the Conflagration from this Beginning and Introduction.

Let us then suppose the same Preparations made in the other Parts of the Earth to continue the Fire; for the Conflagration of the World being a Work of Providence, we may be sure such Measures are taken, as will effectually carry it on, when once begun. The Body of the Earth will be loosen’d and broken by Earthquakes, the more solid Parts impregnated with Sulphur, and the Cavities fill’d with unctuous Fumes and Exhalations, so as the whole Mass will be but as one great Funeral-Pile, ready built, and wanting nothing but the Hand of a destroying Angel to give it Fire. I will not take upon me to determine which Way this devouring Enemy would steer his Course from Italy, or in what Order he will advance and enter the several Regions of our Continent; that would be an Undertaking as uncertain as useless: But we cannot doubt of his Success, which Way soever he goes; unless where the Channel of the Ocean may chance to stop him: But as to that, we allow, that different Continents may have different Fires: not propagated from one to another, but of distinct Sources and Originals; and so likewise in remote Islands; and therefore no long Passage, or Trajection, will be requir’d from Shore to Shore: And even the Ocean it self will, at length, be as fiery as any Part of the Land; but that, with its Rocks, like Death, will be the last Thing subdued.

As to the animate World, the Fire will over-run it with a swift and rapid Course, and all living Creatures will be suffocated, or consumed, at the first Assault; and at the same Time all the Beauty of the Fields, and the External Decorations of Nature will be defac’d: Then the Cities and the Towns, and all the Works of Man’s Hands, will burn like Stubble before the Wind. These will soon be dispatched; but the great Burthen of the Work still remains; which is, that Liquefaction we mention’d before, or a melting Fire, much more strong and vehement than these transient Blazes, which do but sweep the Surface of the Earth: This Liquefaction, I say, we prov’d before out of Scripture, as the last State of the fiery Deluge, Chap. IX. And ’tis this which, at length will make the Sea itself a Lake of Fire and Brimstone; when, instead of Rivers of Waters which used to flow into it from the Land, there come Streams and Rivulets of sulphureous Liquors, and purulent melted Matter, which following the Tract of their natural Gravity, will fall into this great Drain of this Earth; upon which Mixture, the remaining Parts of sweet Water will soon evaporate, and the Salt mingling with the Sulphur, will make a Dead Sea, an Asphaltites, a Lake of Sodom, a Cup of the Dregs of the Wine of the Fierceness of God’s Wrath.

We noted before two remarkable Effects of the burning Mountains, which would contribute to the Conflagration of the World, and gave Instances of both in former Eruptions of Ætna and Vesuvius; one was, of those Balls, or Lumps of Fire, which they throw about in the Time of their Rage; and the other, of those Torrents of liquid Fire, which rowl down their Sides to the next Seas or Valleys. In the first Respect, these Mountains are as so many Batteries, planted, by Providence, in several Parts of the Earth, to fling those fiery Bombs into such Places, or such Cities, as are marked out for Destruction; and, in the second Respect, they are to dry up the Waters, and the Rivers, and the Sea it self, when they fall into its Channel, Annal. Sic. dec. 1. l. 2. c. 4. T. Fazellas, a Sicilian, who writ the History of that Island, tells us of such a River of Fire (upon an Eruption of Ætna) near twenty eight Miles long, reaching from the Mountain to Port Longina; and might have been much longer, if it had not been stopt by the Sea. Many such as these, and far greater, we ought in Reason to imagine, when all the Earth begins to melt, and to ripen towards a Dissolution: It will then be full of these sulphureous Juices, as Grapes with Wine; and these will be squeez’d out of the Earth into the Sea, as out of a Wine-press into the Receiver, to fill up that Cup, as we said before, with the Wine of the Fierceness of God’s Wrath.

If we may be allowed to bring prophetical Passages of Scripture to a natural Sense, as doubtless some of those must that respect the End of the World; these Phrases which we have now suggested, of the Wine-press of the Wrath of God, Apoc. xiv. 10, 19. Ch. xvi. 19. Ch. xix. 15. Drinking the Fierceness of his Wine, poured, without Mixture, into the Cup of his Indignation; with Expressions of the like Nature, that occur sometimes in the old Prophets, but especially in the Apocalypse: These, I say, might receive a full and emphatical Explication from this State of Things which now lies before us. I would not exclude any other Explication of less Force, as that of alluding to the bitter Cup, or mixt Potion, that us’d to be given to Malefactors: But that, methinks, is a low Sense, when applied to these Places in the Apocalypse. That these Phrases signify God’s remarkable Judgments, all allow; and here they plainly relate to the End of the World, to the last Plagues, and the last of the last Plagues, Chap. xvi. 19. Besides, the Angel that presided over this Judgment, is said to be an Angel that had Power over Fire; and those who are to drink this Potion are said to be tormented with Fire and Brimstone, Chap. xiv. 10. This presiding Angel seems to be our Saviour himself (Chap. xix. 15.) who, when he comes to execute Divine Vengeance upon the Earth, gives his Orders in these Words, Gather the Clusters of the Vine of the Earth, for her Grapes are fully ripe, Ch. xiv. 18, 19. And thereupon the destroying Angel thrust in his Sickle into the Earth, and gather’d the Vine of the Earth, and cast it into the great Wine-press of the Wrath of God. And this made a Potion compounded of several Ingredients, but not diluted with Water; Τὸ κεκερασμένου ἀκράτου, (Ch. xiv. 10.) and was indeed a Potion of Fire and Brimstone, and all burning Materials mixt together. The Similitudes of Scripture are seldom nice and exact, but rather bold, noble and great; and according to the Circumstances which we have observed, this Vineyard seems to be the Earth, and this Vintage the End of the World; the pressing of the Grapes into the Cup or Vessel that receives them, the Distillation of burning Liquors from all Parts of the Earth into the Trough of the Sea; and that Lake of red Fire, the Blood of those Grapes so flowing into it.

’Tis true, this Judgment of the Vintage and Wine-press, and the Effects of it, seem to aim more especially at some particular Region of the Earth, Chap. xiv. 20. And I am not against that, provided the Substance of the Explication be still retained, and the universal Sea of Fire be that which follows in the next Chapter, under the Name of a Sea of Glass, mingled with Fire, Ch. xvi. 2. This, I think, expresses the highest and complete State of the Conflagration; when the Mountains are fled away, and not only so, but the exterior Region of the Earth quite dissolv’d, like Wax before the Sun: The Channel of the Sea fill’d with a Mass of fluid Fire, and the same Fire overflowing all the Globe, and covering the whole Earth, as the Deluge, or the first Abyss. Then will the triumphal Songs and Hallelujahs be sung for the Victories of the Lamb over all his Enemies, and over Nature it self, Apoc. xv. 3, 4. Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty: Just and true are thy Ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy Name? for thou only art holy: for all Nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy Judgments are made manifest.

CHAP. XI.

An Account of those extraordinary Phœnomena and Wonders in Nature, that, according to Scripture, will precede the coming of Christ, and the Conflagration of the World.

If we reflect upon the History of burning Mountains, we cannot but observe, that, before their Eruptions, there are usually some Changes in the Earth, or in the Air, in the Sea, or in the Sun it self, as Signs and Forerunners of the ensuing Storm. We may then easily conclude that when the last great Storm is a coming, and all the Vulcano’s of the Earth ready to burst, and the Frame of the World to be dissolv’d, there will be previous Signs, in the Heavens, and on the Earth, to introduce this tragical Fate: Nature cannot come to that Extremity, without some Symptoms of her Illness, nor die silently without Pangs or Complaint. But we are naturally heavy of Belief, as to Futurities, and can scarce fancy any other Scenes, or other State of Nature, than what is present, and continually before our Eyes: We will therefore, to cure our Unbelief, take Scripture for our Guide, and keep within the Limits of its Predictions.

The Scripture plainly tells us of Signs, of Prodigies, that will precede the Coming of our Saviour, and the End of the World: both in the Heavens, and on the Earth. The Sun, Moon, and Stars, will be disturb’d in their Motion, or Aspect; the Earth and the Sea will roar and tremble, and the Mountains fall at his Presence. These things both the Prophets and Evangelists have told us; but what we do not understand, we are slow to believe; and therefore those that cannot apprehend how such Changes should come to pass in the natural World, chuse rather to allegorize all these Expressions of Scripture, and to make them signify no more than political Changes of Governments, and Empires, and the great Confusions that will be amongst the People and Princes of the Earth, towards the End of the World. So that darkening of the Sun, shaking of the Earth, and such like Phrases of Scripture, according to these Interpreters, are to be understood only in a moral Sense.

And they think they have a Warrant for this Interpretation, from the prophetick Style of the Old Testament, where the Destruction of Cities, and Empires, and great Princes, is often describ’d by such Figures, taken from the natural World. So much is true indeed as to the Phrase of the old Prophets in some Places; but I take the true Reason and Design of that, to be a typical Adumbration of what was intended should literally come to pass in the great and universal Destruction of the World; whereof these partial Destructions were only Shadows and Prefigurations. But to determine this Case, let us take the known and approved Rule for interpreting Scripture, Not to recede from the literal Sense without Necessity, or where the Nature of the Subject will admit of a literal Interpretation. Now, as to those Cases in the Old Testament, History and Matter of Fact do shew, that they did not come to pass literally, therefore must not be so understood; but as for those that concern the End of the World, as they cannot be determin’d in that way, seeing they are yet future; so neither is there any natural Repugnancy or Improbability that they should come literally to pass: On the contrary, from the Intuition of that State of Nature, one would rather conclude the Probability or Necessity of them; that there may, and must be such Disorders in the external World, before the general Dissolution. Besides, if we admit Prodigies in any Case, or providential Indications of God’s Judgments to come there can be no Case suppos’d, wherein it will be more reasonable or proper to admit them, than when they are to be the Messengers of an universal Vengeance and Destruction.

Let us therefore consider what Signs Scripture hath taken notice of, as destin’d to appear at that Time, to publish, as it were, and proclaim the approaching End of the World; and how far they will admit of a natural Explication, according to those Grounds we have already given, in explaining the Causes and Manner of the Conflagration. These Signs are chiefly Earthquakes, and extraordinary Commotions of the Seas. Then the Darkness or bloody Colour of the Sun and Moon; the shaking of the Powers of Heaven, the Fulgurations of the Air, and the falling of Stars. As to Earthquakes, we have upon several Occasions shewn, that these will necessarily be multiplied towards the End of the World; when, by an Excess of Drought and Heat, Exhalations will more abound within the Earth; and, from the same Causes, their Inflammation also will be more frequent, than in the ordinary State of Nature. And as all Bodies, when dried, become more porous and full of Vacuities; so the Body of the Earth will be at that Time: And the Mines or Cavities wherein the Fumes and Exhalations lodge, will accordingly be of greater Extent, open into one another, and continued thro’ long Tracts and Regions; by which means, when an Earthquake comes, as the Shock will be more strong and violent, so it may reach to a vast Compass of Ground, and whole Islands or Continents be shaken at once, when these Trains have taken Fire. The Effects also of such Concussions, will not only affect Mankind, but all the Elements, and the Inhabitants of them.

I do not wonder that frequent and great Earthquakes should be made a Sign of an approaching Conflagration; and the highest Expressions of the Prophets concerning the Day of the Lord, may be understood in a literal Sense, if they be finally referr’d to the general Destruction of the World, and not terminated solely upon those particular Countries or People, to whom they are at first directed. Hear what Ezekiel says upon this Subject, Chap. xxxviii. 19, 20, 22. For in my Jealousy and in the Fire of my Wrath have I spoken; surely in that Day there shall be a great shaking in the Land of Israel: So that the Fishes of the Sea, and the Fowls of the Heaven, and the Beasts of the Field, and all creeping Things that creep upon the Earth; and all the Men that are upon the Face of the Earth, shall shake at my Presence; and the Mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep Places shall fall, and every Wall shall fall to the Ground.——And I will rain an overflowing Rain, and great Hail-stones, Fire and Brimstone. The Prophet Isaias, (Chap. xxiv. 18, 19, 20.) describes these Judgments in Terms as high, and relating to the natural World; The Windows from on high are open, and the Foundations of the Earth do shake. The Earth is utterly broken down, the Earth is clean dissolved, the Earth is moved exceedingly. The Earth shall reel to and fro like a Drunkard, and shall be removed like a Cottage, and the Transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again.

To restrain all these things to Judea, as their adequate and final Object, is to force both the Words and the Sense. Here are manifest Allusions and Footsteps of the Destruction of the World, and the Dissolution of the Earth; partly as it was in the Deluge, and partly as it will be in its last Ruin, torn, broken, and shatter’d. But most Men have fallen into that Error, to fancy both the Destructions of the World by Water and Fire, quiet, noiseless Things; executed without any Ruins or Ruptures in Nature: That the Deluge was but a great Pool of still Waters made by the Rains, and Inundation of the Sea; and the Conflagration will be only a superficial Scorching of the Earth, with a running Fire. These are false Ideas, and unsuitable to Scripture: For as the Deluge is there represented a Disruption of the Abyss, and consequently of the then habitable Earth; so the future Combustion of it, according to the Representations of Scripture, is to be usher’d in and accompanied with all sorts of violent Impressions upon Nature; and the chief Instrument of these Violences will be Earthquakes. These will tear the Body of the Earth, and shake its Foundations; rend the Rocks, and pull down the tall Mountains; sometimes overturn, and sometimes swallow up Towns and Cities; disturb and disorder the Elements, and make a general Confusion in Nature.

Next to Earthquakes, we may consider the Roarings of a troubled Sea. This is another Sign of a dying World. St. Luke, (Chap. xxi. 25, 26, 27.) hath set down a great many of them together: Let us hear his Words: And there shall be Signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, and in the Stars; and upon the Earth Distress of Nations, with Perplexity; the Sea and the Waves roaring. Mens Hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth; for the Powers of Heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud, with Power and great Glory, &c. As some would allegorize these Signs, which we noted before; so others would confine them to the Destruction of Jerusalem. But ’tis plain, by this coming of the Son of Man in the Clouds, and the Redemption of the Faithful, (Verse 28.) and at the same Time the Sound of the last Trumpet, (Matt. xxiv. 31) which all relate to the End of the World, that something further is intended than the Destruction of Jerusalem. And though there were Prodigies at the Destruction of that City and State, yet not of this Force, nor with these Circumstances. ’Tis true, those partial Destructions and Calamities, as we observ’d before, of Babylon, Jerusalem, and the Roman Empire, being Types of an universal and final Destruction of all God’s Enemies, have, in the Pictures of them, some of the same Strokes, to shew they are all from the same Hand, decreed by the same Wisdom, foretold by the same Spirit; and the same Power and Providence that have already wrought the one, will also work the other, in due Time, the former being still Pledges, as well as Prefigurations, of the latter.

Let us then proceed in our Explication of this Sign, the Roaring of the Sea, and the Waves, applying it to the End of the World. I do not look upon this ominous Noise of the Sea, as the Effect of a Tempest, for then it would not strike such a Terror into the Inhabitants of the Earth, nor make them apprehensive of some great Evil coming upon the World, as this will do; what proceeds from visible Causes, and such as may happen in a common Course of Nature, does not so much amaze us, nor affright us: Therefore ’tis more likely these Disturbances of the Sea proceed from below, partly by Sympathy and Revulsions from the Land; by Earthquakes there, and exhausting the subterraneous Cavities of Waters, which will draw again from the Seas what Supplies they can; and partly by Earthquakes in the very Sea it self, with Exhalations and fiery Eruptions from the Bottom of it: Things indeed that happen at other Times, more or less; but at this Conjuncture, all Causes conspiring, they will break out with more Violence, and put the whole Body of the Waters into a tumultuary Motion. I do not see any Occasion, at this Time, for high Winds; neither can I think a superficial Agitation of the Waves would answer this Phænomenon; but ’tis rather from Contorsions in the Bowels of the Ocean, which make it roar, as it were, for Pain. Some Causes impelling the Waters one Way, and some another, make intestine Strugglings, and contrary Motions; from whence proceed unusual Noises, and such a troubled State of the Waters, as does not only make the Sea innavigable, but also strikes Terror into all the maritime Inhabitants, that live within the View or Sound of it.

So much for the Earth and Sea. The Face of the Heavens also will be changed in divers Respects; the Sun and the Moon darken’d, or of a bloody or pale Countenance; the celestial Powers shaken, and the Stars unsettled in their Orbs. As to the Sun and Moon, their Obscuration or Change of Colour is no more than what happens commonly before the Eruption of a fiery Mountain. Dion Cassius, you see, hath taken notice of it in that Eruption of Ætna which he describes; and others upon the like Occasions in Vesuvius. And ’tis a Thing of easy Explication; for, according as the Atmosphere is more or less clear or turbid, the Luminaries are more or less conspicuous; and, according to the Nature of those Fumes, or Exhalations that swim in the Air, the Face of the Sun is discolour’d sometimes one Way, sometimes another. You see, in an ordinary Experiment, when we look upon one another through the Fumes of Sulphur, we appear pale like so many Ghosts; and in some foggy Days, the Sun hangs in the Firmament as a Lump of Blood: And both the Sun and Moon, at their Rising, when their Light comes to us through the thick Vapours of the Earth, are red and fiery. These are not Changes wrought in the Substance of the Luminaries, but in the Modifications of their Light, as it flows to us: For Colours are but Light in a Sort of Disguise; as it passes through Mediums of different Qualities, it takes different Forms, but the Matter is still the same, and returns to its Simplicity, when it comes again into a pure Air.

Now the Air may be changed and corrupted to a great Degree, tho’ there appear no visible Change to our Eye. This is manifest from infectious Airs, and the Changes of the Air before Storms and Rains, which we feel commonly sooner than we see, and some other Creatures perceive much sooner than we do. ’Tis no Wonder then, if, before this mighty Storm, the Dispositions of the Air be quite alter’d; especially if we consider, what we have so often noted before, that there will be a great Abundance of Fumes and Exhalations, thro’ the whole Atmosphere of the Earth, before the last Fire breaks out, whereby the Light of the Sun may be tinctur’d in several Ways: And lastly, it may be so order’d providentially that the Body of the Sun may contract at that Time some Spots, or Maculæ, far greater than usual, and by that means be really darkened, not to us only, but to all the neighbouring Planets: And this will have a proportionable Effect upon the Moon too, for the Diminution of her Light: So that upon all Suppositions, these Phænomena are very intelligible, if not necessary Forerunners of the Conflagration.

The next Sign given us, is, that the Powers of Heaven will be shaken. By the Heavens in this Place is either understood the Planetary Heavens, or that of the fix’d Stars; but this latter being vastly distant from the Earth, cannot be really affected by the Conflagration; nor the Powers of it, that is, its Motion, or the Bodies contained in it, any ways shaken or disorder’d. But, in Appearance, these celestial Bodies may seem to be shaken, and their Motions disorder’d; as in a Tempest by Night, when the Ship is toss’d with contrary and uncertain Motions, the Heavens seem to fluctuate over our Heads, and the Stars to reel to and fro, when the Motion is only in our own Vessel: So possibly the uncertain Motions of the Atmosphere, and sometimes of the Earth it self, may so vary the Sight and Aspect of this starry Canopy, that it may seem to shake and tremble.

But if we understand this of the planetary Heavens, they may really be shaken; Providence either ordering some great Changes in the other Planets, previously to the Conflagration of our Planet; as, ’tis probable, there was a great Change in Venus at the Time of our Deluge: Or the great Shakings and Concussions of our Globe at that Time, affecting some of the neighbouring Orbs, or at least that of the Moon, may cause Anomalies and Irregularities in their Motions. But the Sense that I should pitch upon chiefly for explaining this Phrase of Shaking the Powers of Heaven, comprehends, in a good measure, both these Heavens of the fix’d Stars and of the Planets: ’Tis that Change of Situation in the Axis of the Earth, which we have formerly mention’d, whereby the Stars will seem to change their Places, and the whole Universe to take another Posture. This is sufficiently known to those that know the different Consequences of a strait or oblique Posture of the Earth. And as the Heavens and the Earth were, in this Sense, once shaken, before, namely, at the Deluge, when they lost their first Situation; so now they will be shaken again, and thereby return to the Posture they had before that first Concussion. And this I take to be the true literal Sense of the Prophet Haggai, repeated by St. Paul, (Ch. ii. 6., and Heb. xii. 26.) Yet once more I shake not the Earth only, but also Heaven.

The last Sign we shall take Notice of, is that of falling Stars. And the Stars shall fall from Heaven, says our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 29. We are sure, from the Nature of the Thing, that this cannot be understood either of fix’d Stars, or Planets; for if either of these should tumble from the Skies, and reach the Earth, they would break it all in Pieces or swallow it up, as the Sea does a sinking Ship; and at the same Time would put all the inferior Universe into Confusion. It is necessary therefore, by these Stars, to understand either fiery Meteors falling from the Middle Region of the Air, or Comets and Blazing Stars. No doubt, there will be all sorts of fiery Meteors at that Time; and, amongst others, those that are call’d falling Stars; which, tho’ they are not considerable singly, yet if they were multiplied in great Numbers, falling (as the Prophet says, Isa. xxxiv. 4.) as Leafs from the Vine, or Figs from the Fig-tree, they would make an astonishing Sight. But, I think, this Expression does chiefly refer to Comets, which are dead Stars, and may truly be said to fall from Heaven, when they leave their Seats above, and those æthereal Regions wherein they were fix’d, and sink into this lower World; where they wander about with a Blaze in their Tail, or a Flame about their Head, as if they came on purpose to be the Messengers of some fiery Vengeance. If Numbers of these blazing Stars should fall into our Heaven together, they would make a dreadful and formidable Appearance; and, I am apt to think, that Providence hath so contriv’d the Periods of their Motion, that there will be an unusual Concourse of them at that Time, within the View of the Earth, to be a Prelude to this last and most tragical Scene of the sublunary World.

I do not know any more in Scripture relating to the last Fire, that, upon the Grounds laid down in this Discourse, may not receive a satisfactory Explication. It reaches beyond the Signs before-mention’d to the highest Expressions of Scripture: as, Lakes of Fire and Brimstone, a molten Sea mingled with Fire, the Liquefaction of Mountains, and of the Earth it self. We need not now look upon these Things as hyperbolical, and poetical Strains, but as barefac’d Prophesies, and Things that will literally come to pass as they are predicted. One thing more will be expected in a just Hypothesis, or Theory of the Conflagration; namely, that it should answer, not only all the Conditions and Characters belonging to the last Fire, but should also make Way, and lay the Foundation of another World to succeed this, or of new Heavens and a new Earth: For St. Peter hath taught this Doctrine of the Renovation of the World, as positively and expresly as that of its Conflagration; and therefore they that so explain the Destruction of the present World, as to leave it afterwards in an eternal Rubbish, without any Hopes of Restoration, do not answer the Christian Doctrine concerning it. But as to our Hypothesis, we are willing to stand this farther Trial, and be accountable for the Consequences of the Conflagration, as well as the Antecedents and Manner of it. And we have accordingly, in the following Book, from the Ashes of this, raised a New Earth, which we leave to the Enjoyment of the Readers. In the mean time, to close our Discourse, we will bid farewell to the present World, in a short Review of its last Flames.

CHAP. XII.

An imperfect Description of the Coming of our Saviour; and of the World on Fire.

Certainly there is nothing in the whole Course of Nature, or of Human Affairs, so great and so extraordinary, as the two last Scenes of them, THE COMING OF OUR SAVIOUR, and the BURNING OF THE WORLD. If we could draw in our Minds the Pictures of these, in true and lively Colours, we should scarce be able to attend to any thing else, or ever divert our Imagination from these two Objects: For what can more affect us, than the greatest Glory that ever was visible upon Earth, and at the same Time the greatest Terror; a God descending at the Head of an Army of Angels, and a burning World under his Feet?

These Things are truly above Expression; and not only so, but so different and remote from our ordinary Thoughts and Conceptions, that he that comes nearest to a true Description of them, shall be look’d upon as the most extravagant. ’Tis our Unhappiness to be so much used to little trifling Things in this Life, that when any Thing great is represented to us, it appears fantastical, an Idea made by some contemplative or melancholy Person: I will not venture therefrom, without premising Grounds out of Scripture, to say any thing concerning this glorious Appearance. As to the Burning of the World, I think we have already laid a Foundation sufficient to support the highest Description that can be made of it; but the Coming of our Saviour being wholly out of the way of natural Causes, it is reasonable we should take all Directions we can from Scripture, that we may give a more fitting and just Account of that sacred Pomp.

I need not mention those Places of Scripture that prove the second Coming of our Saviour in general, or his Return again to the Earth at the End of the World, (Matt. xxiv. 30, 31. Acts i. 11. and iii. 20, 21. Apoc. i. 7. Heb. ix. 28.) No Christian can doubt of this, ’tis so often repeated in those sacred Writings; but the Manner and Circumstances of this Coming, or of this Appearance, are the Things we now enquire into. And, in the first Place, we may observe, that the Scripture tells us, our Saviour will come in flaming Fire, and with an Host of mighty Angels; so says St. Paul to the Thessalonians, The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the second Place, our Saviour says himself, (Mat. xvi. 27.) The Son of Man shall come in the Glory of his Father, with his Angels. From which two Places we may learn; First, that the Appearance of our Saviour will be with Flames of Fire. Secondly, with an Host of Angels. Thirdly, in the Glory of his Father: By which Glory of the Father, I think, is understood that Throne of Glory represented by Daniel for the Antient of Days. For our Saviour speaks here to the Jews, and probably in a Way intelligible to them; and the Glory of the Father, which they were most likely to understand, would be either the Glory wherein God appeared at Mount Sinai, upon the giving of the Law, whereof the Apostle speaks largely to the Hebrews; or that which Daniel represents Him in at the Day of Judgment, (Chap. xii. 18, 19, 20, 21.) And this latter being more proper to the Subject of our Saviour’s Discourse, ’tis more likely this Expression refers to it. Give me leave therefore to set down that Description of the Glory of the Father upon his Throne, from the Prophet Daniel, ch. vii. 9. And I beheld ’till the Thrones were set,—and the Antient of Days did sit, whose Garment was white as Snow, and the Hair of his Head like the pure Wooll: His Throne was like the fiery Flame, and his Wheels as burning Fire. A fiery Stream issued and came forth from before him, thousand thousands ministred unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. With this Throne of the Glory of the Father, let us, if you please, compare the Throne of the Son of God, as it was seen by St. John in the Apocalypse, Chap. iv. 2, &c. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and behold a Throne was set in Heaven, and one sat on the Throne. And he that sat, was to look upon like a Jasper, and a Sardine Stone: And there was a Rainbow round about the Throne, in Appearance like unto an Emerald. And out of the Throne proceeded Lightnings, and Thunderings, and Voices, &c. and before the Throne was a Sea of Glass like unto Crystal.

In these Representations you have some Beams of the Glory of the Father, and of the Son; which may be partly a Direction to us, in conceiving the Lustre of our Saviour’s Appearance. Let us further observe, if you please, how external Nature will be affected at the Sight of God, or of this approaching Glory. The Scripture often takes Notice of this, and in Terms very high and eloquent. The Psalmist seems to have lov’d that Subject above others; to set out the Greatness of the Day of the Lord, and the Consternation of all Nature, at that Time. He throws about his Thunder and Lightning, makes the Hills to melt like Wax, at the Presence of the Lord, and the very Foundations of the Earth to tremble, as you may see in the xviiith Psalm, and the xcviith, and the civth, and several others which are too long to be here inserted. So the Prophet Habakkuk, in his prophetick Prayer, Chap. iii. hath many Ejaculations to the like Purpose. And the Prophet Nahum says, The Mountains quake at him, and the Hills melt, and the Earth is burnt at his Presence: yea, the World, and all that dwell therein.

But more particularly, as to the Face of Nature, just before the coming of our Saviour, that may be best collected from the Signs of his coming, mention’d in the precedent Chapter. Those all meeting together, help to prepare and make ready a Theatre, fit for an angry God to come down upon. The Countenance of the Heavens will be dark and gloomy; and a Veil drawn over the Face of the Sun. The Earth in a Disposition every where to break into open Flames. The Tops of the Mountains smoaking; the Rivers dry, Earthquakes in several Places; the Sea sunk and retir’d into its deepest Channel, and roaring, as against some mighty Storm. These Things will make the Day dead and melancholy; but the Night-Scenes will have more of Horror in them, when the blazing Stars appear, like so many Furies, with their lighted Torches, threatning to set all on Fire. For I do not doubt but the Comets will bear a Part in this Tragedy, and have something extraordinary in them, at that Time; either as to Number, or Bigness, or Nearness to the Earth. Besides, the Air will be full of flaming Meteors, of unusual Forms and Magnitudes; Balls of Fire rowling in the Sky, and pointed Lightnings darted against the Earth; mix’d with Claps of Thunder, and unusual Noises from the Clouds. The Moon and the Stars will be confus’d and irregular, both in their Light and Motions; as if the whole Frame of the Heavens was out of Order, and all the Laws of Nature were broken or expir’d.

When all Things are in this languishing or dying Posture, and the Inhabitants of the Earth under the Fears of their last End; the Heavens will open on a sudden, and the Glory of God will appear. A Glory surpassing the Sun in its greatest Radiancy; which, tho’ we cannot describe, we may suppose it will bear some Resemblance, or Proportion, with those Representations that are made in Scripture, of God upon his Throne. This Wonder in the Heavens, whatsoever its Form may be, will presently attract the Eyes of all the Christian World. Nothing can more affect them than an Object so unusual, and so illustrious; and, that (probably) brings along with it their last Destiny, and will put a Period to all human Affairs.

Some of the Antients have thought, that this coming of our Saviour would be in the dead of the Night, and his first glorious Appearance in the midst of Darkness, 2 Pet. iii. 10. God is often describ’d in Scripture as Light, or Fire, with Darkness round about him. He bowed the Heavens, and came down; and Darkness was under his Feet. He made Darkness his secret Place, Psal. xviii. 9, 11, 12. His Pavilion round about him were dark Waters, and thick Clouds of the Skies. At the Brightness that was before him, the thick Clouds passed, Psal. xcvii. And when God appeared upon Mount Sinai, the Mountain burnt with Fire unto the midst of Heaven, with Darkness, Clouds and thick Darkness, Deut. iv. 11. Or, as the Apostle expresses it, with Blackness, and Darkness, and Tempest, Heb. xii. 18. Light is never more glorious than when surrounded with Darkness; and, it may be, the Sun, at that Time, will be so obscure, as to make little Distinction of Day and Night. But however, this Divine Light over-bears, and distinguishes itself from common Light, tho’ it be at Mid-day. ’Twas about Noon that the Light shin’d from Heaven, and surrounded St. Paul, Acts xxii. 6. And ’twas in the Day-time that St. Stephen saw the Heavens opened; Acts vii. 55, 56. Saw the Glory of God, and Jesus standing at the Right Hand of God. This Light, which flows from a more vital Source, be it Day or Night, will always be predominant.

That Appearance of God upon Mount Sinai, which we mention’d, if we reflect upon it, will help us a little to form an Idea of this last Appearance. When God had declar’d, that he would come down in the Sight of the People, the Text says, There were Thunders and Lightnings, and a thick Cloud upon the Mount, and the Voice of the Trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the People that was in the Camp trembled. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a Smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in Fire. And the Smoke thereof ascended as the Smoke of a Furnace, and the whole Mount quaked greatly. If we look upon this Mount as an Epitome of the Earth, this Appearance gives us an imperfect Resemblance of that which is to come. Here are the several Parts, or main Strokes of it; first, the Heavens and the Earth in Smoke and Fire; then the Appearance of a Divine Glory, and the Sound of a Trumpet in the Presence of Angels. But as the second Coming of our Saviour, is a Triumph over his Enemies, and an Entrance into his Kingdom, and is acted upon the Theatre of the whole Earth; so we are to suppose, in proportion, all the Parts and Circumstances of it, more great and magnificent.

When, therefore, this mighty God returns again to that Earth, where he had once been ill treated, not Mount Sinai only, but all the Mountains of the Earth, and all the Inhabitants of the World, will tremble at his Presence. At the the opening of the Heavens, the Brightness of his Person will scatter the dark Clouds, and shoot Streams of Light throughout all the Air. But that first Appearance, being far from the Earth, will seem to be only a great Mass of Light, without any distinct Form; till, by nearer Approaches, this bright Body shews it self to be an Army of Angels, with this King of Kings for their Leader. Then you may imagine how guilty Mankind will tremble and be astonished; and while they are gazing at this heavenly Host, the Voice of the Archangel is heard, the shrill Sound of the Trumpet reaches their Ears, and this gives the general Alarum to all the World: For he cometh, for he cometh, they cry, to judge the Earth. The crucify’d God is return’d in Glory, to take Vengeance upon his Enemies: Not only upon those that pierced his sacred Body, with Nails, and with a Spear, as Jerusalem; but those that also pierce him every Day by their Profaneness, and hard Speeches, concerning his Person, and his Religion. Now they see that God, whom they have mock’d, or blasphem’d, laugh’d at his Meanness, or at his vain Threats; they see Him, and are confounded with Shame and Fear; and in the Bitterness of their Anguish and Despair, call for the Mountains to fall upon them, Isa. ii. 29. Fly into the Clefts of the Rocks, and into the Caves of the Earth, for fear of the Lord, Rev. vi. 16, 17. and the Glory of His Majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the Earth.

As it is not possible for us to express, or conceive the Dread, and Majesty of this Appearance; so neither can we, on the other Hand, express the Passions and Consternation of the People that behold it. These Things exceed the Measures of Human Affairs, and of Human Thoughts; we have neither Words, nor Comparisons, to make them known by. The greatest Pomp and Magnificence of the Emperors of the East, in their Armies, in their Triumphs, in their Inaugurations, is but like the Sport and Entertainment of Children, if compar’d with this Solemnity. When God condescends to an external Glory, with a visible Train and Equipage; when, from all the Provinces of his vast and boundless Empire, he summons his Nobles, as I may so say, the several Orders of Angels, and Archangels, to attend his Person; tho’ we cannot tell the Form or Manner of this Appearance, we know there is nothing in our Experience, or in the whole History of this World, that can be a just Representation of the least Part of it. No Armies so numerous as the Host of Heaven; and in the midst of those bright Legions, in a flaming Chariot, will sit the Son of Man, when he comes to be glorified in his Saints, and triumph over his Enemies: And instead of the wild Noises of the Rabble, which makes a great Part of our Worldly State, this blessed Company will breathe their Hallelujahs into the open Air, and repeated Acclamations of Salvation to God, which sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, Apoc. vii. 10. Now is come Salvation and Strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the Power of his Christ, ch. xii. 10.

But I leave the rest to our silent Devotion and Admiration. Only give me leave, whilst this Object is before our Eyes, to make a short Reflection upon the wonderful History of our Saviour; and the different States which that sacred Person, within the Compass of our Knowledge, hath undergone. We now see him coming in the Clouds, in Glory and Triumph, surrounded with innumerable Angels: This is the same Person, who, so many Hundred Years ago, enter’d Jerusalem, with another sort of Equipage, mounted upon an Ass’s Colt, while the little People, and the Multitude cry’d, Hosanna to the Son of David. Nay, this is the same Person, that, at his first Coming into this World, was laid in a Manger, instead of a Cradle; a naked Babe dropt in a Crib at Bethlehem (Luke ii. 12.) his poor Mother not having wherewithal to get her a better Lodging, when she was to be delivered of this sacred Burthen. This helpless Infant, that often wanted a little Milk to refresh it, and support its Weakness; that hath often cry’d for the Breast with Hunger and Tears, now appears to be the Lord of Heaven and Earth. If this Divine Person had fallen from the Clouds in a Mortal Body, cloath’d with Flesh and Blood, and spent his Life here amongst Sinners, that alone had been an infinite Condescension: But, as if it had not been enough to take upon him human Nature, he was content, for many Months, to live the Life of an Animal, or of a Plant, in the dark Cell of a Woman’s Womb. This is the Lord’s Doing, it is marvellous in our Eyes!

Neither is this all that is wonderful in the Story of our Saviour. If the Manner of his Death, be compar’d with his present Glory, we shall think either the one or the other incredible. Look up first into the Heavens; see how they bow under him, and receive a new Light from the Glory of his Presence; then look down upon the Earth, and see a naked Body, hanging upon a cursed Tree in Golgotha, crucified between two Thieves, wounded, spit upon, mock’d, abus’d. Is it possible to believe, that one, and the same Person can act or suffer such different Parts? That he that is now Lord and Master of all Nature, not only of Death and Hell, and the Powers of Darkness, but of all Principalities in heavenly Places, is the same Infant Jesus, the same crucified Jesus, of whose Life and Death the Christian Records give us an Account? The History of this Person is the Wonder of this World; and not of this World only, but of the Angels above, that desire to look into it (1 Pet. i. 11, 12.)

Let us now return to our Subject. We left the Earth in a languishing Condition, ready to be made a Burnt Offering, to appease the Wrath of its offended Lord. When Sodom was to be destroy’d (Gen. xviii.) Abraham interceded with God, that he would spare it for the Righteous Sake; and David (2 Sam. xxiv. 17.) interceded to save his guiltless People, from God’s Judgments, and the destroying Angel: But here is no Intercessor for Mankind in this last Extremity; none to interpose, where the Mediator of our Peace, is the Party offended. Shall then, the Righteous perish with the Wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right? Or, if the Righteous be translated and deliver’d from this Fire, what shall become of innocent Children and Infants? Must these all be given up to the merciless Flames, as a Sacrifice to Moloch? And their tender Flesh, like burnt Incense, send up Fumes to feed the Nostrils of Evil Spirits? Can the God of Israel smell a sweet Savour from such Sacrifices? The greater half of Mankind is made up of Infants and Children; and if the Wicked be destroy’d; yet these Lambs, what have they done? Are there no Bowels of Compassion for such an harmless Multitude? But we leave them to their Guardian Angels, and to that Providence which watches over all Things (Mat. xviii. 10.)

It only remains, therefore, to let fall that Fire from Heaven, which is to consume this Holocaust. Imagine all Nature now standing in a silent Expectation to receive its last Doom; the tutelary and destroying Angels to have their Instructions; every Thing to be ready for the fatal Hour; and then, after a little Silence, all the Host of Heaven to raise their Voice, and sing aloud, LET GOD ARISE, let his Enemies be scattered: As Smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as Wax melteth before the Fire, so LET the Wicked perish at the Presence of God. And upon this, as upon a Signal given, all the sublunary World breaks into Flames, and all the Treasuries or Fire are open’d in Heaven, and in Earth.

Thus the Conflagration begins. If one should now go about to represent the World on Fire, with all the Confusions that necessarily must be in Nature, and in Mankind upon that Occasion, it would seem to most Men a Romantick Scene: Yet we are sure there must be such a Scene; The Heavens will pass away with a Noise, and the Elements will melt with fervent Heat, and all the Works of the Earth will be burnt up: And these Things cannot come to pass without the greatest Disorders imaginable, both in the Minds of Men, and in external Nature, and the saddest Spectacles that Eye can behold. We think it a great Matter to see a single Person burnt alive; here are Millions shrieking in the Flames at once. ’Tis frightful to us to look upon a great City in Flames, and to see the Distractions and Misery of the People; here is an universal Fire through all the Cities of the Earth, and an universal Massacre of their Inhabitants. Whatsoever the Prophets foretold of the Desolations of Judea, Jerusalem, or Babylon (Isa. xxiv. Jer. li. Lament.) in the highest Strains, is more than literally accomplish’d in this last and general Calamity; and those only that are Spectators of it, can make its History.

The Disorders in Nature, and the inanimate World, will be no less, nor less strange and unaccountable, than those in Mankind. Every Element, and every Region, so far as the Bounds of this Fire extend, will be in a Tumult and a Fury, and the whole habitable World running into Confusion. A World is sooner destroyed than made; and Nature relapses hastily into that Chaos-State, out of which she came by slow and leisurely Motions: As an Army advances into the Field by just and regular Marches; but when it is broken and routed, it flies with Precipitation, and one cannot describe its Posture. Fire is a barbarous Enemy, it gives no Mercy; there is nothing but Fury, and Rage, and Ruin, and Destruction, wheresoever it prevails. A Storm, or Hurricano, tho’ it be but the Force of Air, makes a strange Havock where it comes; but devouring Flames, or Exhalations set on Fire, have still a far greater Violence, and carry more Terror along with them. Thunder and Earthquakes are the Sons of Fire; and we know nothing in all Nature more impetuous, or more irresistibly destructive than these two. And accordingly in this last War of the Elements, we may be sure, they will bear their Parts, and do great Execution in the several Regions of the World. Earthquakes and subterraneous Eruptions will tear the Body and Bowels of the Earth; and Thunders and convulsive Motions of the Air rend the Skies. The Waters of the Sea will boil and struggle with Streams of Sulphur that run into them; which will make them fume, and smoke, and roar, beyond all Storms and Tempests; and these Noises of the Sea will be answer’d again from the Land, by falling Rocks and Mountains. This is a small Part of the Disorders of that Day.

But ’tis not possible, from any Station, to have a full Prospect of this last Scene of the Earth; for ’tis a Mixture of Fire and Darkness. This new Temple is fill’d with Smoke, while it is consecrating, and none can enter into it. But I am apt to think, if we could look down upon this burning World from above the Clouds, and have a full View of it, in all its Parts, we should think it a lively Representation of Hell it self. For Fire and Darkness are the two chief Things by which that State, or that Place, uses to be described; and they are both here mingled together, with all other Ingredients that make that Tophet that is prepared of old, (Isa. xxx.) Here are Lakes of Fire and Brimstone; Rivers of melted glowing Matter; ten thousand Vulcano’s vomiting Flames all at once; thick Darkness, and Pillars of Smoke twisted about with Wreaths of Flame, like fiery Snakes; Mountains of Earth thrown up into the Air, and the Heavens dropping down in Lumps of Fire. These Things will all be literally true, concerning that Day, and that State of the Earth. And if we suppose Beelzebub, and his apostate Crew, in the midst of this fiery Furnace (and I know not where they can be else;) it will be hard to find any Part of the Universe, or any State of Things, that answers to so many of the Properties and Characters of Hell, as this which is now before us.

But if we suppose the Storm over, and that the Fire hath got an entire Victory over all other Bodies, and subdued every Thing to itself; the Conflagration will end in a Deluge of Fire, or in a Sea of Fire, covering the whole Globe of the Earth: For, when the exterior Region of the Earth is melted into a Fluor, like molten Glass, or running Metal, it will, according to the Nature of other Fluids, fill all Vacuities and Depressions, and fall into a regular Surface, at an equal Distance every where, from its Center. This Sea of Fire, like the first Abyss, will cover the Face of the whole Earth, make a kind of second Chaos, and leave a Capacity for another World to rise from it. But that is not our present Business. Let us only, if you please, to take Leave of this Subject, reflect, upon this Occasion, on the Vanity and transient Glory of all this habitable World; how, by the Force of one Element breaking loose upon the rest, all the Varieties of Nature, all the Works of Art, all the Labours of Men, are reduc’d to nothing; all that we admir’d and ador’d before, as great and magnificent, is obliterated or vanish’d; and another Form and Face of Things, plain, simple, and every where the same, overspreads the whole Earth. Where are now the great Empires of the World, and their great Imperial Cities? Their Pillars, Trophies, and Monuments of Glory? Shew me where they stood, read the Inscription, tell me the Victor’s Name. What Remains, what Impressions, what Difference or Distinction do you see in this Mass of Fire? Rome itself, eternal Rome, the great City, the Empress of the World, whole Domination and Superstition, antient and modern, make a great Part of the History of this Earth; what is become of her now? She laid her Foundations deep, and her Palaces were strong and sumptuous: She glorified herself, and liv’d deliciously; and said in her Heart, I sit a Queen, and shall see no Sorrow. But her Hour is come, she is wip’d away from the Face of the Earth, and buried in perpetual Oblivion. But ’tis not Cities only, and Works of Mens Hands, but the everlasting Hills, the Mountains and Rocks of the Earth, are melted as Wax before the Sun; and their Place is no where found. Here stood the Alps, a prodigious Range of Stone, the Load of the Earth, that covered many Countries, and reach’d their Arms from the Ocean to the Black Sea; this huge Mass of Stone is soften’d and dissolv’d, as a tender Cloud, into Rain. Here stood the African Mountains, and Atlas with his Top above the Clouds. There was frozen Caucasus, and Taurus, and Imaus, and the Mountains of Asia. And yonder, towards the North, stood the Riphæan Hills, cloath’d in Ice and Snow. All these are vanish’d, dropt away as the Snow upon their Heads, and swallow’d up in a red Sea of Fire, (Revel. xv. 3.) Great and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy Ways, thou King of Saints. Hallelujah.

The CONCLUSION.

If the Conflagration of the World be a Reality, as, both by Scripture and Antiquity we are assur’d it is; if we be fully persuaded and convinc’d of this; ’Tis a Thing of that Nature, that we cannot keep it long in our Thoughts, without making some moral Reflections upon it. ’Tis both great in itself, and of universal Concern to all Mankind. Who can look upon such an Object, a World in Flames, without thinking with himself, Whether shall I be in the midst of these Flames, or no? What is my Security that I shall not fall under this fiery Vengeance, which is the Wrath of an angry God? St. Peter, when he had delivered the Doctrine of the Conflagration, makes this pious Reflection upon it: 2 Ep. iii. 11. Seeing then, that all these Things shall be dissolved, what manner of Persons ought you to be, in all holy Conversation and Godliness? The Strength of his Argument depends chiefly upon what he had said before in ver. 7. where he told us, that the present Heavens and Earth were reserved unto Fire against the Day of Judgment, and the Perdition of irreligious Men. We must avoid the Crime then, if we would escape the Punishment. But this Expression of irreligious or ungodly Men, is still very general. St. Paul, when he speaks of this fiery Indignation, and the Persons it is to fall upon, is more distinct in their Characters. He seems to mark out for this Destruction, three Sorts of Men chiefly; The Atheists, Infidels, and the Tribe of Antichrist: These are his Words, 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then as for Antichrist and his Adherents, he says in the 2d Chapter, and viiith Verse, The Lord shall consume that wicked One, with the Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his Coming, or of his Presence. These, you see, all refer to the same Time with St. Peter: Namely, to the Coming of our Saviour, at the Conflagration; and three Sorts of Persons are characteriz’d as his Enemies, and set out for Destruction at that Time. First, Those that know not God; that is, that acknowledge not God, that will not own the Deity. Secondly, Those that hearken not to the Gospel; that is, that reject the Gospel, and Christian Religion, when they are preach’d and made known to them: For you must not think, that it is the poor barbarous and ignorant Heathens, that scarce ever heard of God, or the Gospel, that are threatned with this fiery Vengeance; no, ’tis the Heathens that live amongst Christians; those that are Infidels, as to the Existence of God, or the Truth of Christian Religion, tho they have had a full Manifestation of both: These are properly the Adversaries of God and Christ. And such Adversaries, St. Paul says in another Place, A fearful Judgment, and fiery Indignation shall devour: (Heb. x. 27.) Which still refers to the same Time, and the same Persons we are speaking of. Then as to the third Sort of Men, Antichrist, and his Followers; besides, this Text of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, ’tis plain to me in the Apocalypse, that Mystical Babylon is to be consum’d by Fire; and the Beast and False Prophet, to be thrown into the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone. Which Lake is no where to be found till the Conflagration.

You see then, for whom Tophet is prepar’d of Old; for Atheists, Infidels, and Antichristian Persecutors: And they will have for their Companions, the Devil and his Angels, the Heads of the Apostasy. These are all in open Rebellion against God and Christ, and at Defiance, as it were, with Heaven; excepting Antichrist, who is rather in a secret Conspiracy, than an open Rebellion: For, under a pretended Commission from Jesus Christ, he persecutes his Servants, dishonours his Person, corrupts his Laws and his Government, and makes War against his Saints. And this is a greater Affront and Provocation, if possible, than a barefac’d Opposition would be.

There are other Men, besides these, that are unacceptable to God, all Sorts of Sinners and wicked Persons; but they are not so properly the Enemies of God, as these we have mentioned. An intemperate Man is an Enemy to himself; and an unjust Man is an Enemy to his Neighbour; but those that deny God, or Christ, or persecute their Servants, are directly, and immediately Enemies to God: And, therefore, when the Lord comes in Flames of Fire, to triumph over his Enemies, to take Vengeance upon all that are Rebels or Conspirators against Him, and his Christ; these Monsters of Men will be the first, and most exemplary Objects of the Divine Wrath and Indignation.

To undertake to speak to these three Orders of Men, and convince them of their Error, and the Danger of it, would be too much for the Conclusion of a short Treatise. And as for the third Sort, the Subjects of Antichrist, none but the Learned amongst them are allow’d to be inquisitive, or to read such Things as condemn their Church, or the Governors of it; therefore, I do not not expect that this English Translation should fall into many of their Hands. But those of them, that are pleas’d to look into the Latin, will find, in the Conclusion of it, a full and fair Warning to come out of Babylon; which is there proved to be the Church of Rome. Then as to those that are Atheistically inclin’d, which I am willing to believe are not many; I desire them to consider, how mean a Thing it is, to have Hopes only in this Life; and how uneasy a Thing, to have nothing but Fears, as to the Future. Those, sure, must be little, narrow Souls, that can make themselves a Portion, and a Sufficiency, out of what they enjoy here; that think of no more; that desire no more: For, what is this Life, but a Circulation of little, mean Actions? We lie down and rise again; dress and undress; feed and wax hungry; work, or play, and are weary; and then we lie down again, and the Circle returns. We spend the Day in Trifles, and when the Night comes, we throw our selves into the Bed of Folly, among Dreams, and broken Thoughts, and wild Imaginations. Our Reason lies asleep by us; and we are, for the Time, as arrant Brutes, as those that sleep in the Stalls, or in the Field. Are not the Capacities of Man higher than these? And ought not his Ambition and Expectations to be greater? Let us be Adventurers for another World; ’tis, at least, a fair and noble Chance; and there is nothing in this, worth our Thoughts, or our Passions. If we should be disappointed, we are still no worse than the rest of our Fellow-Mortals; and if we succeed in our Expectations, we are eternally happy.

For my Part, I cannot be persuaded, that any Man, of atheistical Inclinations, can have a great and generous Soul; for there is nothing great in the World, if you take God out of it: Therefore, such a Person can have no great Thought, can have no great Aims, or Expectations, or Designs: For all must lie within the Compass of this Life, and of this dull Body. Neither can he have any great Instincts or noble Passions; for if he had, they would naturally excite in him greater Ideas, inspire him with higher Notions, and open the Scenes of the intellectual World. Lastly, he cannot have any great Sense of Order, Wisdom, Goodness, Providence, or any of the divine Perfections: And these are the greatest Things that can enter into the Thoughts of Man, and that do most enlarge and ennoble his Mind. And therefore I say again, that he that is naturally inclined to Atheism, being also naturally destitute of all these, must have a little and narrow Soul.

But you’ll say, it may be, this is to expostulate, rather than to prove: or to upbraid us with our Make and Temper, rather than to convince us of an Error in Speculation. ’Tis an Error, it may be, in Practice, or in Point of Prudence; but we seek Truth, whether it make for us, or against us: Convince us therefore by just Reasoning and direct Arguments, that there is a God, and then we’ll endeavour to correct these Defects in our natural Complexion. You say well, and therefore I have endeavour’d to do this before, in another Part of this Theory, in the Second Book, ch. II. concerning the Author of Nature: Where you may see, that the Powers of Nature, or of the material World, cannot answer all the Phænomena of the Universe, which are there represented. This you may consult at Leisure: But in the mean Time, ’tis a good Persuasive why we should not easily give our selves up to such Inclinations or Opinions, as have neither Generosity nor Prudence on their Side. And it cannot be amiss, that these Persons should often take into their Thoughts this last Scene of Things, the Conflagration of the World: Seeing if there be a God, they will certainly be found in the Number of his Enemies, and of those that will have their Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone.

The third Sort of Persons that we are to speak to, are the Incredulous, or such as do not believe the Truth of Christian Religion, though they believe there is a God. There are commonly Men of Wit and Pleasure, that have not Patience enough to consider, cooly and in due Order, the Grounds upon which it appears that Christian Religion is from Heaven, and of divine Authority. They ought, in the first Place, to examine Matter of Fact, and the History of our Saviour: That there was such a Person, in the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, that wrought such and such Miracles in Judea; taught such a Doctrine; was crucified at Jerusalem; rose from the Dead the third Day, and visibly ascended into Heaven. If these Matters of Fact be denied, then the Controversy turns only to an historical Question, Whether the Evangelical History be a fabulous, or true History? which it would not be proper to examine in this Place. But if Matter of Fact recorded there, and in the Acts of the Apostles, and the first Ages of Christianity, be acknowledged, as I suppose it is, then the Question that remains is this, Whether such Matter of Fact does not sufficiently prove the divine Authority of Jesus Christ and of his Doctrine? We suppose it possible, for a Person to have such Testimonials of divine Authority, as may be sufficient to convince Mankind, or the more reasonable Part of Mankind; and if that be possible, what, pray, is wanting in the Testimonies of Jesus Christ? The Prophecies of the old Testament bear Witness to him: His Birth was a Miracle, and his Life a Train of Miracles; not wrought out of Levity and vain Ostentation, but for useful and charitable Purposes: His Doctrine and Morality not only blameless, but noble; designed to remove out of the World the imperfect Religion of the Jews, and the false Religion of the Gentiles; all Idolatry and Superstition, and thereby improve Mankind, under a better and more perfect Dispensation. He gave an Example of a spotless Innocency in all his Conversation, free from Vice or any Evil; and liv’d in a Neglect of all the Pomp or Pleasures of this Life, referring his Happiness wholly to another World. He prophesied concerning his own Death, and his Resurrection; and concerning the Destruction of Jerusalem; which all came to pass in a signal Manner: He also prophesied of the Success of his Gospel; which, after his Death, immediately took Root, and spread itself every Way throughout the World, maugre all Opposition or Persecution from Jews or Heathens. It was not supported by any temporal Power for above three hundred Years: nor were any Arts used, or Measures taken, according to human Prudence, for the Conservation of it. But, to omit other Things, that grand Article of his rising from the Dead, ascending visibly into Heaven, and pouring down the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost, (according as he had promis’d) upon his Apostles and their Followers; this alone is to me a Demonstration of his divine Authority. To conquer Death, to mount, like an Eagle, into the Skies, and to inspire his Followers with inimitable Gifts and Faculties, are Things, without Controversy, beyond all human Power; and may and ought to be esteem’d sure Credentials of a Person sent from Heaven.

From these Matters of Fact we have all possible Assurance, that Jesus Christ was no Impostor or deluded Person; (one of which two Characters all Unbelievers must fix upon him) but commission’d by Heaven to introduce a new Religion; to reform the World, to remove Judaism and Idolatry; the beloved Son of God, the great Prophet of the later Ages, the true Messiah that was to come.

It may be, you will confess, that these are great Arguments, that the Author of our Religion was a divine Person, and had supernatural Powers: But withal, that there are so many Difficulties in Christian Religion, and so many Things unintelligible, that a rational Man knows not how to believe it, though he be inclined to admire the Person of Jesus Christ. I answer, if they be such Difficulties as are made only by the Schools and disputacious Doctors, you are not to trouble your self about them, for they are of no Authority: But if they be in the very Words of Scripture, then ’tis either in Things practical, or in Things merely speculative. As to the Rules of Practice in Christian Religion, I do not know any Thing in Scripture obscure or unintelligible; and as to Speculations, great Discretion and Moderation is to be used in the Conduct of them. If these Matters of Fact, which we have alledged, prove the Divinity of the Revelation, keep close to the Words of that Revelation, asserting no more than it asserts, and you cannot err: But if you will expatiate, and determine Modes, and Forms, and Consequences, you may easily be puzled by your own Forwardness. For besides some Things that are in their own Nature infinite and incomprehensible, there are many other Things in Christian Religion, that are incompleatly revealed; the full Knowledge whereof, it has pleased God to reserve to another Life, and to give us only a summary Account of them at present. We have so much Deference for any Government, as not to expect that all their Counsels and Secrets should be made known to us, nor to censure every Action, whose Reasons we do not fully comprehend; much more in the providential Administration of a World, we must be content to know so much of the Counsels of Heaven and of supernatural Truths, as God has thought fit to reveal to us. And if these Truths be no otherwise than in a general Manner, summarily and incompletely revealed in this Life, as commonly they are, we must not therefore throw off the Government, or reject the whole Dispensation; of whose divine Authority we have otherways full Proof, and satisfactory Evidence: For this would be, to lose the Substance in catching at a Shadow.

But Men that live continually in the Noise of the World, amidst Business, and Pleasures, their Time is commonly shar’d betwixt those two, so that little or nothing is left for Meditation; at least, not enough for such Meditations as require Length, Justness, and Order. They should retire from the Crowd for one Month or two, to study the Truth of Christian Religion, if they have any Doubt of it. They retire sometimes to cure a Gout, or other Disease, and diet themselves according to Rule; but they will not be at that Pains, to cure a Disease of the Mind, which is of far greater, and more fatal Consequence. If they perish by their own Negligence or Obstinacy, the Physician is not to blame. Burning is the last Remedy in some Distempers; and they would do well to remember, that the World will flame about their Heads one of these Days; and whether they be amongst the Living, or amongst the Dead, at that Time, the Apostle makes them a Part of the Fewel, which that fiery Vengeance will prey upon. Our Saviour hath been true to his Word hitherto; whether in his Promises, or in his Threatnings. He promis’d the Apostles to send down the Holy Ghost upon them after his Ascension, and that was fully accomplish’d: He foretold, and threaten’d the Destruction of Jerusalem; and that came to pass accordingly, soon after he had left the World: And he hath told us also, that he will come again in the Clouds of Heaven, Matt. xxiv. 30. with Power and great Glory; and, xxv. 32. &c. and that will be to judge the World. When the Son of Man shall come in his Glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then shall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory: and before him shall be gathered all Nations; and he will separate the Good from the Bad; and to the Wicked and Unbelievers he will say, Ver. 41. Depart from me, ye Cursed, into everlasting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his Angels. This is the same Coming, and the same Fire, with that which we mention’d before out of St. Paul, 2 Thess. i. 7, 8, 9; as you will plainly see, if you compare Saint Matthew’s Words with Saint Paul’s, which are these, When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with his mighty Angels, in flaming Fire, taking Vengeance on them that know not God, and that hearken not to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punish’d with everlasting Destruction, from, or by, the Presence of the Lord, and the Glory of his Power. This, methinks, should be an awakening Thought, that there is such a Threatning upon Record (by one who never yet failed in his Word) against those that do not believe his Testimony. Those that reject him now as a Dupe, or an Impostor, run a Hazard of seeing him hereafter coming in the Clouds to be their Judge. And it will be too late then to correct their Error, when the bright Armies of Angels fill the Air, and the Earth begins to melt at the Presence of the Lord.

Thus much concerning those three Ranks of Men, whom the Apostle Saint Paul seems to point at principally, and condemn to the Flames. But, as I said before, the rest of Sinners, and vicious Persons, amongst the Professors of Christianity, though they are not so directly the Enemies of God, as these are; yet being Transgressors of his Law, they must expect to be brought to Justice. In every well-govern’d State, not only Traitors and Rebels that offend more immediately against the Person of the Prince; but all others, that notoriously violate the Laws, are brought to condign Punishment, according to the Nature and Degree of their Crime: So in this Case, The Fire shall try every Man’s Work, of what Sort it is. ’Tis therefore the Concern of every Man, to reflect often upon that Day, and to consider what his Fate and Sentence is likely to be, at that last Trial. The Jews have a Tradition, that Elias sits in Heaven, and keeps a Register of all Mens Actions, good or bad. He hath his Under-Secretaries for the several Nations of the World, that take Minutes of all that passes; and so hath the History of every Man’s Life before him, ready to be produc’d at the Day of Judgment. I will not vouch for the literal Truth of this, but it is true in Effect: Every Man’s Fate shall be determined that Day, according to the History of his Life; according to the Works done in the Flesh, whether good or bad. And, therefore, it ought to have as much Influence upon us, as if every single Action was formally register’d in Heaven.

If Men would learn to contemn this World, it would cure a great many Vices at once. And, methinks, St. Peter’s Argument, from the approaching Dissolution of all Things, should put us out of Conceit with such perishing Vanities. Lust and Ambition are the two reigning Vices of great Men; and those little Fires might be soon extinguished, if they would frequently and seriously meditate on this last and universal Fire, which will put an End to all Passions, and all Contentions. As to Ambition, the Heathens themselves made use of this Argument, to abate and repress the vain Affectation of Glory and Greatness in this World. I told you before, the Lesson that was given to Scipio Africanus, by his Uncle’s Ghost, upon this Subject: And upon a like Occasion and Consideration, Cæsar hath a Lesson given him by Lucan, after the Battle of Pharsalia; where Pompey lost the Day, and Rome its Liberty. The Poet says, Cæsar took Pleasure in looking upon the dead Bodies, and would not suffer them to be buried, or, which was their Manner of burying, to be burnt: Whereupon he speaks to him in these Words.

Hos, Cæsar, populos si nunc non usserit Ignis,

Uret cum Terris, uret com gurgite Ponti.

Communis mundo superest rogus, Ossibus astra

Misturus. Quocunque Tuam Fortuna vocabit,

Hæ quoque eunt Animæ; non altius ibis in auras,

Non meliore loco Stygia sub nocte jacebis.

Libera fortuna Mors est: Capit omnia Tellus

Quæ genuit; Cœlo tegitur qui non habet urnam.

Cæsar,

If now these Bodies want their Pile and Urn,

At last, with the whole Globe, they’re sure to burn.

The World expects one general Fire: And Thou

Must go, where these poor Souls are wand’ring now.

Thou’lt reach no higher, in the ethereal Plain,

Nor ’mongst the Shades a better Place obtain.

Death levels all: And he that has not Room

To make a Grave, Heaven’s Vault shall be his Tomb.

These are mortifying Thoughts to ambitious Spirits. And surely our own Mortality, and the Mortality of the World itself, may be enough to convince all considering Men, that Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity under the Sun; any otherwise than as they relate to a better Life.

FINIS.

THE THEORY OF THE EARTH.

Containing an Account of the Original of the Earth,

And of all the

GENERAL CHANGES

Which it hath already undergone, or is to

undergo, till the Consummation

of all Things.

The Fourth Book,

Concerning the New Heavens, and New Earth,

AND

Concerning the Consummation of all Things.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Hooke, in Fleet-Street.

PREFACE TO THE READER.

You see it is still my Lot to travel into new Worlds, having never found any great Satisfaction in this: As an active People leaves their Habitations in a barren Soil, to try if they can make their Fortune better elsewhere. I first look’d backwards, and waded through the Deluge, into the primæval World, to see how they lived there, and how Nature stood in that original Constitution. Now I am going forwards, to view the new Heavens and new Earth, that will be after the Conflagration. But, gentle Reader, let me not take you any farther, if you be weary; I do not love a querulous Companion: Unless your Genius therefore press you forwards, chuse rather to rest here, and be content with that Part of the Theory which you have seen already. Is it not fair to have followed Nature so far, as to have seen her twice in her Ruins? Why should we still pursue her, even after Death and Dissolution, into dark and remote Futurities? To whom therefore such Disquisitions seem needless, or over-curious, let them rest here; and leave the Remainder of this Work, which is a kind of Prophecy concerning the State of things after the Conflagration, to those that are of a Disposition suited to such Studies and Enquiries.

Not that any part of this Theory requires much Learning, Art, or Science, to be Master of it; but a Love and Thirst after Truth, Freedom of Judgment, and a Resignation of our Understandings to clear Evidence. Let it carry us which way it will, an honest English Reader, that looks only at the Sense as it lies before him, and neither considers nor cares whether it be new or old, so it be true, may be a more competent Judge than a great Scholar full of his own Notions, and puffed up with the Opinion of his mighty Knowledge; for such Men think they cannot in Honour own any thing to be true, which they did not know before. To be taught any new Knowledge, is to confess their former Ignorance; and that lessens them in their own Opinion, and, as they think, in the Opinion of the World, which are both uneasy Reflections to them. Neither must we depend upon Age only for Soundness of Judgment: Men in discovering and owning Truth seldom change their Opinions after threescore, especially if they be leading Opinions: It is then too late, we think, to begin the World again, and as we grow old, the Heart contracts, and cannot open wide enough to take in a great Thought.

The Spheres of Mens Understandings are as different, as Prospects upon the Earth: Some stand upon a Rock or a Mountain, and see far round about; others are in an Hollow, or in a Cave, and have no Prospect at all. Some Men consider nothing but what is present to their Senses; others extend their Thoughts both to what is past, and what is future: And yet the fairest Prospect in this Life is not to be compar’d to the least we shall have in another. Our dearest Day here is misty and hazy; we see not far, and what we do see, is in a bad Light: But when we have got better Bodies in the first Resurrection, whereof we are going to treat; better Senses and a better Understanding, a clearer Light and an higher Station, our Horizon will be enlarged every Way, both as to the natural World, and as to the intellectual.

Two of the greatest Speculations that we are capable of in this Life, are, in my Opinion, The REVOLUTION OF WORLDS, and the REVOLUTION OF SOULS; one for the material World, and the other for the intellectual. Toward the former of these, our Theory is an Essay; and in this our Planet, (which I hope to conduct into a fixed Star, before I have done with it) we give an Instance of what may be in other Planets. ’Tis true, we took our Rise no higher than the Chaos, because that was a known Principle, and we were not willing to amuse the Reader with too many strange Stories; as that, I am sure would have been thought one, TO HAVE brought this Earth from a fixed Star, and then carried it up again into the same Sphere; which yet, I believe, is the true Circle of natural Providence.

As to the Revolution of Souls, the Footsteps of that Speculation are more obscure than of the former; for though we are assur’d by Scripture, that all good Souls will at length have cœlestial Bodies; yet, that this is a returning to a primitive State, or to what they had at their first Creation, that Scripture has not acquainted us with: It tells us indeed, that Angels fell from their primitive cœlestial Glory; and consequently we might be capable of a Lapse as well as they, if we had been in that high Condition with them; but that we ever were there, is not declared to us by any Revelation. Reason and Morality would indeed suggest to us, that an innocent Soul, fresh and pure from the Hands of its Maker, could not be immediately cast into Prison, before it had, by any Act of its own Will, or any Use of its own Understanding, committed either Error or Sin. I call this Body a Prison, both because it is a Confinement and Restraint upon our best Faculties and Capacities, and is also the Seat of Diseases and Loathsomness; and, as Prisons use to do, commonly tends more to debauch Mens Natures, than to improve them.

But though we cannot certainly tell under what Circumstances human Souls were plac’d at first, yet all Antiquity agrees, Oriental and Occidental, concerning their Præ-existence in general, in Respect of these mortal Bodies: And our Saviour never reproaches or corrects the Jews, when they speak upon that Supposition, Luke ix. 18, 19. John ix. 2. Besides, it seems to me beyond all Controversy, that the Soul of the Messiah did exist before the Incarnation, and voluntarily descended from Heaven to take upon it a mortal Body. And though it does not appear that all human Souls were at first placed in Glory, yet, from the Example of our Saviour, we see something greater in them; namely, a Capacity to be united to the Godhead, John iii. 13. and vi. 38. and 62. and xvii. 5. And what is possible to one, is possible to more. But these Thoughts are too high for us, while we find our selves united to nothing but diseased Bodies and Houses of Clay.

The greatest Fault we can commit, in such speculations, is to be over positive and dogmatical: To be inquisitive into the Ways of Providence and the Works of God, is so far from being a Fault that it is our greatest Perfection: We cultivate the highest Principles and best Inclinations of our Nature, while we are thus employ’d; and ’tis Littleness or Secularity of Spirit, that is the greatest Enemy to Contemplation. Those that would have a true Contempt of this World, must suffer the Soul to be sometimes upon the Wing, and, to raise herself above the Sight of this little dark Point, which we now inhabit. Give her a large and free Prospect of the Immensity of Gods Works, and of his inexhausted Wisdom and Goodness, if you would make her great and good; as the warm Philosopher says,

Give me a Soul so great, so high,

Let her Dimensions stretch the Sky;

That comprehends within a Thought,

The whole Extent, ’twixt God and Nought;

And from the World’s first Birth and Date,

Its Life and Death can calculate,

With all th’ Adventures that shall pass,

To ev’ry Atom of the Mass.

But let her be as Good as Great,

Her highest Throne a Mercy-Seat;

Soft and dissolving like a Cloud,

Losing herself in doing Good;

A Cloud that leaves its Place Above,

Rather than dry and useless move,

Falls in a Shower upon the Earth,

And gives ten thousand Seeds a Birth;

Hangs on the Flow’rs, and infant Plants,

Sucks not their Sweets, but feeds their Wants:

So let this mighty Mind diffuse,

All that’s her own to others Use;

And, free from private Ends, retain

Nothing of Self, but a bare Name.

BOOK IV.
Concerning the New Heavens and New Earth, AND Concerning the Consummation of all Things.

CHAP. I.

The Introduction; That the World will not be annihilated in the last Fire: That we are to expect, according to Scripture and the Christian Doctrine, new Heavens and a new Earth, when these are dissolv’d or burnt up.

We are now so far advanc’d in the Theory of the Earth, as to have seen the End of two Worlds; one destroy’d by Water, and another by Fire. It remains only to consider, whether we be yet come to the final Period of Nature; the last Scene of all Things, and consequently the utmost Bound of our Enquires: Or, whether Providence, which is inexhausted in Wisdom and Goodness, will raise up, from this dead Mass, new Heavens and a new Earth; another habitable World, better and more perfect than that which was destroyed: That, as the first World began with a Paradise, and a State of Innocency; so the last may be a kind of Renovation of that happy State, whose Inhabitants shall not die, but be translated to a blessed Immortality.

I know ’tis the Opinion of some, that this World will be annihilated, or reduc’d to nothing, at the Conflagration, and that would put an End to all farther Enquiries. But whence do they learn this? From Scripture or Reason, or their own Imagination? What Instance or Example can they give us of this they call Annihilation? Or what Place of Scripture can they produce, that says, the World, in the last Fire, shall be reduc’d to nothing? If they have neither Instance nor Proof of what they affirm, ’tis an empty Imagination of their own, neither agreeable to Philosophy, nor Divinity: Fire does not consume any Substance; it changes the Form and Qualities of it, but the Matter remains. And if the Design had been Annihilation, the employing of Fire would have been of no Use or Effect: For Smoke and Ashes are at as great a Distance from Nothing, as the Bodies themselves out of which they are made. But these Authors seem to have but a small Tincture of Philosophy, and therefore it will be more proper to confute their Opinion from the Words of Scripture, which hath left us sufficient Evidence, that another World will succeed after the Conflagration of that we now inhabit.

The Prophets, both of the Old and New Testament, have left us their Predictions concerning new Heavens and a new Earth. So says the Prophet Isaiah, ch. lxv. 17. Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth, and the former shall not be remembered, or come into Mind; as not worthy our Thoughts, in comparison of those that will arise when these pass away. So the Prophet St. John in his Apocalypse, when he was come to the End of this World, says, And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth: For the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away, and there was no more Sea, Apoc. xxi. 1. Where he does not only give us an Account of a new Heaven and a new Earth in general; but also gives a distinctive Character of the new Earth, that it shall have no Sea. And in the 5th Verse, he that sate upon the Throne says, Behold I make all Things new: which, consider’d with the Antecedents and Consequents, cannot be otherwise understood than of a new World.

But some Men make Evasions here, as to the Words of the Prophets, and say, they are to be understood in a figurative and allegorical Sense; and to be apply’d to the Times of the Gospel, either at first or towards the latter End of the World; so as this new Heaven and new Earth, signify only a great Change in the moral World. But how can that be, seeing St. John places them after the End of the World? And the Prophet Isaiah connects such Things with his new Heavens and new Earth, as are not compatible to the present State of Nature, ch. lxv. However, to avoid all Shuffling and Tergiversation in this Point, let us appeal to St. Peter, who uses a plain literal Style, and discourses downright concerning the natural World. In his 2d Epist. and 3d Chap. when he had foretold and explain’d the future Conflagration, he adds, But we expect new Heavens and a new Earth, according to his Promises. These Promises were made by the Prophets; and this gives us full Authority to interpret their new Heavens and new Earth to be after the Conflagration. St. Peter, when he had describ’d the Dissolution of the World in the last Fire, in full and emphatical Terms, as the passing away the Heavens with a Noise; the melting of the Elements, and burning up all the Works of the Earth; he subjoins, Nevertheless (notwithstanding this total Dissolution of the present World) we, according to his Promises, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness. As if the Apostle should have said, Notwithstanding this strange and violent Dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth, which I have describ’d to you, we do not at all distrust God’s Promises, concerning new Heavens and a new Earth, that are to succeed these, and to be the Seat of the Righteous.

Here’s no room for Allegories, or allegorical Expositions, unless you will make the Conflagration of the World an Allegory: For, as Heavens and Earth were destroyed, so Heavens and Earth are restored; and if, in the first Place, you understand the natural material World, you must also understand it in the second Place; they are both Allegories, or neither. But to make the Conflagration an Allegory, is not only to contradict St. Peter, but all Antiquity, sacred or prophane. And I desire no more Assurance, that we shall have new Heavens and a new Earth, in a literal Sense, than we have that the present Heavens and Earth shall be destroyed in a literal Sense, and by material Fire: Let it therefore rest upon that Issue, as to the first Evidence and Argument from Scripture.

Some will fancy, it may be, that we shall have new Heavens and Earth, and yet that these shall be annihilated: They would have these first reduc’d to nothing, and then others created, spick and span new, out of nothing. But why so, pray, what’s the Humour of that? Lest Omnipotency should want Employment, you would have it to do, and undo, and do again; as if new-made Matter, like new Cloaths, or new Furniture, had a better Gloss, and was more credible. Matter never wears; as fine Gold, melt it down never so often, it loses nothing of its Quantity: The Substance of the World is the same, burnt or unburnt, and is of the same Value and Virtue, new or old; and we must not multiply the Actions of Omnipotency without Necessity. God does not make, or unmake things, to try Experiments: He knows beforehand the utmost Capacities of every thing, and does no vain or superfluous Work. Such Imaginations as these, proceed only from want of true Philosophy, or the true Knowledge of the Nature of God and of his Works, which should always be carefully attended to in such Speculations as concern the natural World. But to proceed in our Subject.

If they suppose Part of the World to be annihilated, and to continue so, they philosophize still worse and worse: How high shall the Annihilation reach? Shall the Sun, Moon, and Stars be reduc’d to nothing? But what have they done, that they should undergo so hard a Fate? Must they be turn’d out of Being for our Faults? The whole material Universe will not be annihilated at this Bout, for we are to have Bodies after the Resurrection, and to live in Heaven. How much of the Universe then will you leave standing? or how shall it subsist with this great Vacuum in the Heart of it? This Shell of a World is but the Fiction of an empty Brain; for God and Nature, in their Works, never admit of such gaping Vacuities and Emptinesses.

If we consult Scripture again, we shall find that that makes mention of a Restitution and Reviviscency of all Things, at the End of the World, or at the Coming of our Saviour. St. Peter, whose Doctrine we have hitherto follow’d, in his Sermon to the Jews, after our Saviour’s Ascension, tells them, that he will come again, and that there will be then a Restitution of all Things, such as was promised by the Prophets. The Heavens, says he, must receive him until the Time of Restitution of all Things; which God hath spoken by the Mouth of his holy Prophets, since the World began, Acts iii. 21. If we compare this Passage of Saint Peter’s, with that which we alledged before, out of his Second Epistle, it can scarce be doubted but that he refers to the same Promises in both Places; and what he there calls a new Heaven, and a new Earth, he calls here a Restitution of all Things: For the Heavens and the Earth comprehend all, and both these are but different Phrases for the Renovation of the World. This gives us also Light how to understand what our Saviour calls the Regeneration or Reviviscency, when he shall sit upon his Throne of Glory, and will reward his Followers an hundred-fold, for all their Losses in this World, besides everlasting Life, as the Crown of all, Mat. xix. 28, 29. I know, in our English Translation, we separate the Regeneration from sitting upon his Throne, but without any Warrant from the Original. And seeing our Saviour speaks here of bodily Goods, and seems to distinguish them from everlasting Life, which is to be the final Reward of his Followers; this Regeneration seems to belong to his Second Coming, when the World shall be renew’d or regenerated, and the Righteous shall possess the Earth.

Other Places of Scripture that foretel the Fate of this material World, represent it always as a Change, not as an Annihilation. St. Paul says, The Figure of this World passeth away, 1 Cor. vii. 31. The Form, Fashion, and Disposition of its Parts, but the Substance still remains: As a Body that is melted down and dissolv’d, the Form perishes, but the Matter is not destroyed. And the Psalmist says, the Heavens and the Earth shall be chang’d, Psal. cii. 26. which answers to this Transformation we speak of. The same Apostle, in the eighth Chapter to the Romans, ver. 21, 22, 23, 24. shews also, that this Change shall be, and shall be for the better, and calls it a Deliverance of the Creation from Vanity and Corruption, and a Participation of the glorious Liberty of the Children of God; being a sort of Redemption, as they have a Redemption of their Bodies.

But seeing the Renovation of the World is a Doctrine generally receiv’d, both by antient and modern Authors, as we shall have Occasion to shew hereafter, we need add no more, in this Place, for Confirmation of it. Some Men are willing to throw all Things into a State of Nothing at the Conflagration, and bury them there, that they may not be oblig’d to give an Account of that State of things that is to succeed it. Those who think themselves bound in Honour to know every thing in Theology that is knowable, and find it uneasy to answer such Questions and Speculations as would arise upon their admitting a new World, think it more advisable to stifle it in the Birth, and so to bound all Knowledge at the Conflagration. But surely so far as Reason or Scripture lead us, we may and ought to follow, otherwise we should be ungrateful to Providence, that sent us those Guides, provided we be always duly sensible of our own Weakness: And, according to the Difficulty of the Subject, and the Measure of Light that falls upon it, proceed with that Modesty and Ingenuity, that becomes such fallible Enquirers after Truth, as we are. And this Rule I desire to prescribe to my self, as in all other Writings, so especially in this; where, though I look upon the principal Conclusions as fully prov’d, there are several Particulars, that are rather propos’d to Examination, than positively asserted.

CHAP. II.

The Birth of the new Heavens and the new Earth, from the second Chaos, or the Remains of the old World: The Form, Order, and Qualities of the new Earth, according to Reason and Scripture.

Having prov’d from Scripture, that we are to expect new Heavens, and a new Earth, after the Conflagration; it would be some Pleasure and Satisfaction to see how this new Frame will arise, and what Foundation there is in Nature for the Accomplishment of these Promises. For, though the Divine Power be not bound to all the Laws of Nature, but may dispense with them when there is a Necessity; yet it is an Ease to us in our Belief, when we see them both conspire in the same Effect. And in order to this, we must consider in what Posture we left the demolish’d World, what Hopes there are of a Restauration. And we are not to be discourag’d, because we see Things at present wrapt up in a confus’d Mass; for, according to the Methods of Nature and Providence, in that dark Womb usually are the Seeds and Rudiments of an Embryo-World.

Neither is there, possibly, so great a Confusion, in this Mass, as we imagine: The Heart, an interior Body of the Earth, is still entire; and that Part of it that is consum’d by the Fire, will be divided, of its own accord, into two Regions. What is dissolv’d and melted, being the heaviest, will descend as low as it can, and cover and inclose the Kernel of the Earth round about, as a molten Sea or Abyss; according as it is explain’d and set down in the precedent Book. But what is more light and volatile, will float in the Air; as Fumes, Smoke, Exhalations, Vapours of Water, and whatsoever terrestrial Parts can be elevated and supported by the Strength of Fire. These, all mingled together, of different Sizes, Figures, and Motions, will constitute an opake Cloud, or thick Region of Darkness round the Earth; so as the Globe of the Earth, with its Atmosphere, after the Conflagration is finished, will stand much-what in the Form represented in this Scheme.

The regions of the Earth, a series of concentric Circles, with A. A. denoting the Lower Region.

Book 4 Figure 1.

Now as to the lower of these two Regions, the Region of melted Matter, A. A. we shall have little Occasion to take Notice of it; seeing it will contribute nothing to the Formation of the new World. But the upper Region, or all above that Orb of Fire, is the true Draught of a Chaos; or a Mixture and Confusion of all the Elements, without Order or Distinction. Here are Particles of Earth, and of Air, and of Water, all promiscuously jumbled together by the Force and Agitation of the Fire. But when that Force ceases, and every one is left to its own Inclination, they will, according to their different degrees of Gravity, separate and sort themselves after this manner: First, the heaviest and grossest Parts of the Earth will subside, then the watery Parts will follow; then a lighter sort of Earth, which will stop, and rest upon the Surface of the Water, and compose there a thin Film or Membrane. This Membrane or tender Orb is the first Rudiment, or Foundation of a new habitable Earth: For, according as terrestrial Parts fall upon it, from all the Regions and Heights of the Atmosphere, or of the Chaos, this Orb will grow more firm, strong, and immoveable, able to support it self and Inhabitants too. And having in it all the Principles of a fruitful Soil, whether for the Production of Plants, or of Animals, it will want no Property or Character of an habitable Earth. And particularly, will become such an Earth, and of such a Form, as the first paradisaical Earth was, which hath been fully describ’d, in the first and second Books of this Theory.

There is no occasion of examining more accurately the Formation of this second Earth, seeing it is so much the same with that of the first; which, is set down fully and distinctly, in the fifth Chapter of the first Book of this Theory. Nature here repeats the same Work, and in the same Method; only the Materials are now a little more refin’d, and purg’d by the Fire: They both rise out of a Chaos, and that, in effect, the same in both Cases; for though in forming the first Earth, I suppos’d the Chaos or confus’d Mass, to reach down to the Center, I did that only for the Ease of our Imagination; that so the whole Mass might appear more simple and uniform. But in reality, that Chaos had a solid Kernel of Earth within, as this hath; and that Matter which fluctuated above in the Regions of the Air, was the true Chaos, whose Parts, when they came to a Separation, made the several Elements, and the Form of an habitable Earth, betwixt the Air and Water. This Chaos, upon Separation, will fall into the same Form and Elements; and so, in like manner, create or constitute a second Paradisaical World.

I say, a Paradisaical World; for it appears plainly, that this new-form’d Earth must agree with that primigenial Earth, in the two principal and fundamental Properties. First, it is of an even, entire, uniform, and regular Surface, without Mountains or Sea. Secondly, that it hath a straight and regular Situation to the Sun, and the Axis of the Ecliptick. From the Manner of its Formation, it appears manifestly, that it must be of an even and regular Surface. For the Orb of liquid Fire, upon which the first Descent was made, being smooth and uniform every where, the Matter that fell upon it would take the same Form and Mould: And so the second or third Region, that were superinduc’d, would still imitate the Fashion of the first; there being no Cause or Occasion of any Inequality. Then as to the Situation of its Axis, this Uniformity of Figure would determine the Center of its Gravity to be exactly in the Middle, and consequently there would be no Inclination of one Pole, more than another, to the general Center of its Motion; but, upon a free Libration in the liquid Air, its Axis would lie parallel with the Axis of the Ecliptick where it moves. But these Things having been deduc’d more fully in the second Book about Paradise and the primigenial Earth, they need no further Explication in this Place.

If Scripture had left us several distinct Characters of the New Heavens, and the New Earth, we might, by comparing with those, have made a full Proof of our Hypothesis. One indeed St. John hath left us in very express Terms; There was no Sea there, he says: His Words are these: And I saw a New Heaven, and a New Earth; for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away; AND THERE WAS NO MORE SEA. This Character is very particular, and you see it exactly answers to our Hypothesis; for in the new form’d Earth, the Sea is cover’d and inconspicuous, being an Abyss; not a Sea; and wholly lodg’d in the Womb of the Earth. And this one Character, being inexplicable upon any other Supposition, and very different from the present Earth, makes it a strong Presumption that we have hit upon the true Model of the new Heavens and new Earth which St. John saw.

To this Sight of the new Heavens and new Earth, St. John immediately subjoins the Sight of the new Jerusalem, ver. 2. as being contemporary, and, in some respects, the same Thing. ’Tis true, the Characters of the new Jerusalem, in these two last Chapters of the Apocalypse, are very hard to be understood; some of them being incompatible to a terrestrial State, and some of ’em to a celestial; so as it seems to me very reasonable to suppose, that the new Jerusalem, spoken of by St. John, is two-fold: That which he saw himself, ver. 2. and that which the Angel shewed him afterwards, ver. 9. For I do not see what need there was of an Angel, and of taking him up into a great and high Mountain, only to shew him that which he had seen before, at the Foot of the Mountain: But however that be, we are to consider, in this Place, the terrestrial new Jerusalem only, or that which is the new Heavens and new Earth. And as St. John hath joined these two together, so the Prophet Isaiah hath done the same thing before, Chap. lxv. 17, 18. when he had promised new Heavens and a new Earth, he calls them under another Name, Jerusalem; and they both use the same Character in Effect, in the Description of their Jerusalem. Ver. 19. Isaiah says, And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my People, and the Voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the Voice of crying, Apoc. xxi. 3, 4. St. John says also in his Jerusalem, God shall dwell with them, and they shall be his People: And he shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes; and there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor Crying, neither shall there be any more Pain. Now in both these Prophets, when they treat upon this Subject, we find they make frequent Allusions to Paradise and a paradisaical State; so as they may be justly taken as a Scripture Character of the new Heavens and the new Earth. The Prophet Isaiah seems plainly to point at a paradisaical State, throughout that Chapter, by an universal Innocency, and Harmlesness of Animals; and Peace, Plenty, Health, Longevity or Immortality of the Inhabitants. St. John also hath several Allusions to Paradise, in those two Chapters where he describes the new Jerusalem, Ch. xxi. and Ch. xxii. And in his Discourse to the seven Churches, in one Place (Ch. ii. 7.) To him that overcometh is promised, to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. And in another Place (Ch. iii. 12.) To him that overcometh is promised, to have the Name of the new Jerusalem writ upon him. These I take to be the same Thing, and the same Reward of Christian Victors; the new Jerusalem, or the new Heavens and new Earth, and the Paradise of God. Now this being the general Character of the new Earth, that it is paradisaical; and the particular Character that it hath no Sea; and both these agreeing with our Hypothesis, as apparently deducible from those Principles, and that Manner of its Formation which we have set down; we cannot but allow, that the Holy Scriptures, and the natural Theory agree in their Testimony, as to the Conditions and Properties of the New Heavens and New Earth.

From what hath been said in this and the precedent Chapter, it will not be hard to interpret what St. Paul meant by his habitable Earth to come; Τὴν οἰκουμένην τῆς μέλλουσαν; πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, Isai. ix. 6. which is to be subjected to our Saviour, and not to the Angels. In the second Chapter to the Hebrews, ver. 5. he says, For unto the Angels hath he not put in Subjection the WORLD TO COME; so we read it, but, according to the strictest and plainest Translation, it should be the habitable Earth to come. Now, what Earth is this, where our Saviour is absolute Sovereign; and where the Government is neither Human, nor Angelical, but peculiarly Theocratical? In the first Place, this cannot be the present World, or the present Earth, because the Apostle calls it future, or the Earth to come. Nor can it be understood of the Days of the Gospel; seeing the Apostle acknowledges, ver. 8. that this Subjection, whereof he speaks, is not yet made. And seeing Antichrist will not finally be destroyed till the Appearance of our Saviour, (2 Thess. ii. 8.) nor Satan bound, while Antichrist is in Power; during the Reign of these two (who are the Rulers of the Darkness of the World) our Saviour cannot properly be said to begin his Reign here, Ephes. vi. 12. ’Tis true, he exercises his Providence over his Church, and secures it from being destroyed: He can, by a Power paramount, stop the Rage either of Satan or Antichrist; Hitherto ye shall go, and no farther. As sometimes when he was upon Earth, he exerted a Divine Power, which yet did not destroy his State of Humiliation; so he interposes now when he thinks fit, but he does not finally take the Power out of the Hands of his Enemies, nor out of the Hands of the Kings of the Earth. The Kingdom is not deliver’d up to him, and all Dominion and Power; Ch. vii. 13, 25, 26. That all Tongues and Nations should serve him. For St. Paul can mean no less in this Place than that Kingdom in Daniel, Heb. ii. 8. seeing he calls it putting all Things in Subjection under his Feet, and says that it is not yet done. Upon this account also, as well as others, our Saviour might truly say to Pilate, Joh. xviii. 36. My Kingdom is not of this World. And to his Disciples, The Son of Man came not to be ministred unto, but to minister, Matt. xx. 28. When he comes to receive his Kingdom, he comes in the Clouds of Heaven (Dan. vii. 13, 14.) not in the Womb of a Virgin. He comes with the Equipage of a King and Conqueror: with Thousands and Ten Thousands of Angels; not in the Form of a Servant, or of a weak Infant, as he did at his first coming.

I allow the Phrase αἰὼν μέλλων, or in the Hebrew עולם הבא, the World to come, is sometimes used in a large Sense, as comprehending all the Days of the Messiah, whether at his first or second coming, (for these two comings are often undistinguished in Scripture) and respect the moral World, as well as the natural. But the Word οἰχομένη, Orbis habitabilis, which St. Paul here uses, does primarily signify the natural World, or the habitable Earth, in the proper use of the Word amongst the Greeks, and frequently in Scripture, Luke iv. 5. and xxi. 26. Rom. x. 18. Heb. i. 6. Apoc. iii. 10. Neither do we here exclude the moral World, or the Inhabitants of the Earth, but rather necessarily include them: Both the natural and moral World to come, will be the Seat and Subject of our Saviour’s Kingdom and Empire, in a peculiar Manner. But when you understand nothing by this Phrase but the present moral World, it neither answers the proper Signification of μέλλουσα, nor of οἰκουμένη, of the first or second Part of the Expression; and tho’ such like Phrases may be used for the Dispensation of the Messiah in Opposition to that of the Law, yet the height of that Distinction or Opposition, and the fulfilling of the Expression, depends upon the second coming of our Saviour, and upon the future Earth or habitable World, where he shall reign, and which does peculiarly belong to him and his Saints.

Neither can this World to come, or this Earth to come, be understood of the Kingdom of Heaven. For the Greek Word will not bear that Sense, nor is it ever us’d in Scripture for Heaven. Besides, the Kingdom of Heaven, when spoken of as future, is not properly till the last Resurrection and final Judgment. Whereas this World to come, which our Saviour is to govern, must be therefore that Time, and will then expire. For all his Government as to this World, expires at the Day of Judgment, 1 Cor. xv. 24, &c. and he will then deliver up the Kingdom into the Hands of his Father, that he may be all in all: Having reigned first himself, and put down all Rule and all Authority and Power. So that St. Paul, in these two Places of his Epistles, refers plainly to the same Time, and the same Reign of Christ; which must be in a future World, and before the last Day of Judgment, and therefore, according, to our Deductions, in the new Heavens and the new Earth.

CHAP. III.

Concerning the Inhabitants of the new Earth. That natural Reason cannot determine this Point. That according to Scripture, the Sons of the first Resurrection, or the Heirs of the Millennium, are to be the Inhabitants of the new Earth. The Testimony of the Philosophers, and of the Christian Fathers, for the Renovation of the World. The first Proposition laid down.

Thus we have settled the true Notion, according to Reason and Scripture, of the new Heavens and new Earth: But where are the Inhabitants, you’ll say? You have taken the Pains to make us a new World, and now that it is made, it must stand empty. When the first World was destroyed, there were eight Persons preserv’d, with a Set of living Creatures of every Kind, as a Seminary or Foundation of another World; but the Fire, it seems, is more merciless than the Water; for in this Destruction of the World, it does not appear that there is one living Soul left, of any sort, upon the Face of the Earth. No Hopes of Posterity, nor of any Continuation of Mankind, in the usual Way of Propagation; and Fire is a barren Element, that breeds no living Creatures in it, nor hath any Nourishment proper for their Food or Sustenance.

We are perfectly at a Loss therefore, so far as I see, for a new Race of Mankind, or how to People this new-form’d World. The inhabitants, if ever there be any, must either come from Heaven, or spring from the Earth; there are but these two Ways. But natural Reason can determine neither of these, sees no Track to follow in these unbeaten Paths, nor can advance one Step farther. Farewell then, dear Friend; I must take another Guide, and leave you here, as Moses upon Mount Pisgah, only to look into that Land, which you cannot enter. I acknowledge the good Service you have done, and what a faithful Companion you have been, in a long Journey; from the Beginning of the World to this Hour, in a Tract of Time of six thousand Years. We have travelled together thro’ the dark Regions of a first and second Chaos; seen the World twice shipwreck’d: Neither Water, nor Fire, could separate us; but now you must give place to other Guides.

Welcome, Holy Scriptures, the Oracles of God, a Light shining in Darkness, a Treasury of hidden Knowledge; and where Human Faculties cannot reach, a seasonable Help and Supply to their Defects. We are now come to the utmost Bounds of their Dominion; they have made us a New World, but, how it shall be inhabited, they cannot tell; know nothing of the History or Affairs of it. This we must learn from other Masters, inspir’d with the Knowledge of Things to come: And such Masters we know none, but the holy Prophets and Apostles. We must therefore now put our selves wholly under their Conduct and Instruction, and from them only receive our Information concerning the moral State of the future habitable Earth.

In the first place therefore, the Prophet Isaiah tells us, as a Preparation to our farther Enquiries, The Lord God created the Heavens, God himself that formed the Earth, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited, Isa. xlv. 18. This is true, both of the present Earth and the future, and of every habitable World whatsoever. For to what purpose is it made habitable, if not to be inhabited? That would be, as if a Man should manure, and plough, and every Way prepare his Ground for Seed, but never sow it. We do not build Houses, that they should stand empty, but look out for Tenants as fast as we can; as soon as they are made ready and become tenantable. But if Man could do things in vain, and without Use or Design, yet God and Nature never do any thing in vain; much less so great a Work as the making of a World; which if it were in vain, would comprehend ten thousand Vanities or useless Preparations in it. We may therefore, in the first place, safely conclude, that the new Earth will be inhabited.

But by whom will it be inhabited? This makes the second Enquiry. St. Peter answers this Question for us, and with a particular Application to this very Subject of the new Heavens and new Earth: They shall be inhabited, he says, by the Just or the Righteous. His Words which we cited before, are these; when he had described the Conflagration of the World, he adds, But we expect new Heavens and a new Earth, WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOUSNESS. By Righteousness here, it is generally agreed, must be understood righteous Persons; for Righteousness cannot be without righteous Persons. It cannot hang upon Trees, or grow out of the Ground; ’tis the Endowment of reasonable Creatures. And these righteous Persons are eminently such, and therefore call’d Righteousness in the Abstract, or purely righteous without Mixture of Vice.

So we have found Inhabitants for the new Earth, Persons of an high and noble Character; like those describ’d by St. Peter, (1 Eph. ii. 9.) A chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People. As if into that World, as into St. John’s new Jerusalem, nothing impure or unrighteous was to be admitted, Apoc. xxi. 27. These being then the happy and holy Inhabitants; the next Enquiry is, Whence do they come? From what Off-spring, or from what Original? We noted before, that there was no Remnant of Mankind left at the Conflagration, as there was at the Deluge; nor any Hopes of a Restauration that Way. Shall we then imagine that these new Inhabitants are a Colony wafted over from some neigbouring World; as from the Moon, or Mercury, or some of the higher Planets? You may imagine what you please, but that seems to me not imaginary only, but impracticable: And that the Inhabitants of those Planets are Persons of so great Accomplishments, is more than I know; but I am sure they are not the Persons here understood; for these must be such as inhabited this Earth before. We look for new Heavens and new Earth, says the Apostle: Surely to have some Share and Interest in them, otherwise there would be no Comfort in that Expectation. And the Prophet Isaiah said before, I create new Heavens and a new Earth, and the former shall come no more in Remembrance; but be YOU glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create. The Truth is, none can have so good Pretensions to this Spot of Ground we call the Earth, as the Sons of Men, seeing they once possessed it; and if it be restor’d again, ’tis their Propriety and Inheritance. But ’tis not Mankind in general that must possess this new World, but the Israel of God, according to the Prophet Isaiah; or the Just, according to St. Peter; and especially those that have suffer’d for the Sake of their Religion. For this is that Palingenesia, as we noted before, that Renovation, or Regeneration of all Things, where our Saviour says, those that suffer Loss for his Sake, shall be recompensed, Matth. xix. 28, 29.

But they must be then raised from the Dead. For all Mankind was destroyed at the Conflagration: and there is no Resource for them any other way, than by a Resurrection. ’Tis true: and St. John (Apoc. xx.) gives us a fair Occasion to make this Supposition, that there will be some raised from the Dead, before the general Day of Judgment. For he plainly distinguisheth of a first and second Resurrection, and makes the first to be a thousand Years before the second, and before the general Day of Judgment. Now, if there be truly and really a two-fold Resurrection, as St. John tells us; and that a Thousand Years Distance from one another: It may be very rationally be presum’d, that those that are raised in the first Resurrection, are those Just that will inhabit the New Heavens and New Earth; or whom our Saviour promis’d to reward in the Renovation of the World.

For otherwise, who are those Just that shall inhabit the New Earth, and whence do they come? Or when is that Restauration which our Saviour speaks of, wherein those that suffer’d for the Sake of the Gospel shall be rewarded? St. John says, the Martyrs, at this first Resurrection, shall live again, and reign with Christ: Which seems to be the Reward promis’d by our Saviour, to those that suffer’d for his sake, and the same Persons in both Places. And I saw the Souls of them (says St. John) that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God; and which had not worshipped the Beast, &c. and they lived and reigned with Christ a Thousand Years, Apoc. xx. 4. These, I say, seem to be the same Persons, to whom Christ had before promis’d and appropriated a particular Reward. And this Reward of theirs, or this Reign of theirs, is upon Earth; upon some Earth, new or old, not in Heaven. For, besides that we read nothing of their Ascension into Heaven after their Resurrection; there are several Marks that shew, it must necessarily be understood of a State upon Earth. For Gog and Magog came from the four Quarters of the Earth, and besieged the Camp of the Saints, and the beloved City, ver. 9. That Camp and that City therefore were upon the Earth. And Fire came down from Heaven, and devoured them. If it came down from Heaven, it came upon the Earth. Farthermore, those Persons that are raised from the Dead, are said to be Priests of God and of Christ, and to reign with him a thousand Years, ver. 6. Now these must be the same Persons with the Priests and Kings, mention’d in the fifth Chapter, ver. 10. which are there said expressly to reign upon Earth, or that they should reign upon Earth. It remains therefore only to determine, what Earth this is, where the Sons of the first Resurrection will live and reign. It cannot be the present Earth, in the same State, and under the same Circumstances it is now: For what Happiness or Privilege would that be, to be called back into a mortal Life, under the Necessities and Inconveniencies of sickly Bodies, and an incommodious World; such as the present State of Mortality is, and must continue to be, till some Change be made in Nature. We may be sure therefore, that a Change will be made in Nature, before that Time, and that the State they are rais’d into, and the Earth they are to inhabit, will be, at least, Paradisaical; and consequently can be no other than the New Heavens and New Earth, which we are to expect after the Conflagration.

From these Considerations, there is a great Fairness to conclude, both as to the Characters of the Persons, and of the Place or State, that the Sons of the first Resurrection will be Inhabitants of the New Earth, and reign there with Christ a Thousand Years. But seeing this is one of the principal and peculiar Conclusions of this Discourse, and bears a great Part in this last Book of the Theory of the Earth, it will deserve a more full Explication, and a more ample Proof, to make it out. We must therefore take a greater Compass in our Discourse, and give a full Account of that State which is usually call’d the Millennium; the Reign of the Saints a Thousand Years, or the Kingdom of Christ upon Earth. But before we enter upon this new Subject, give me leave to close our present Argument, about the Renovation of the World, with some Testimonies of the antient Philosophers, to that purpose. ’Tis plain to me, that there were among the Antients several Traditions, or traditionary Conclusions, which they did not raise themselves, by Reason and Observation, but received them from an unknown Antiquity. An Instance of this is the Conflagration of the World; a Doctrine as antient, for any Thing I know, as the World it self; at least as antient as we have any Records, and yet none of those Antients that tell us of it, give any Argument to prove it. Neither is it any Wonder, for they did not invent it themselves, but receiv’d it from others without Proof, by the sole Authority of Tradition. In like manner the Renovation of the World, which we are now speaking of, is an antient Doctrine, both amongst the Greeks and Eastern Philosophers: But they shew us no Method how the World may be renew’d, nor make any Proof of its future Renovation; for it was not a Discovery which they first made, but receiv’d it with an implicit Faith, from their Masters and Ancestors: And these traditionary Doctrines were all Fore-runners of that Light which was to shine more clearly at the Opening of the Christian Dispensation; to give a more full Account of the Fate and Revolutions of the natural World, as well as of the moral.

The Jews, ’tis well known, held the Renovation of the World, and a Sabbath after Six Thousand Years; according to the Prophecy that was current among them; whereof we have given a larger Account in the precedent Book, Chap. v. And that future State they called עולם הבא, Olam Hava, or the World to come, which is the very same with Saint Paul’s habitable Earth to come, ἡ οἰκουμένη ἥ μέλλουσα, Heb. ii. 6. Neither can I easily believe, that those Constitutions of Moses that proceed so much upon a septenary, or the Number seven, and have no Ground or Reason, in the Nature of the Thing, for that particular Number. I cannot easily believe, I say, that they are either accidental or humoursome, without Design or Signification; but that they are typical, or representative of some Septenary State, that does eminently deserve and bear that Character. Moses, in the History of the Creation, makes six Days Work, and then a Sabbath: Then, after six Years, he makes a Sabbath-Year; and after a Sabbath of Years, a Year of Jubilee, Levit. xxv. All these lesser Revolutions seem to me to point at the grand Revolution, the great Sabbath or Jubilee, after six Millenaries; which, as it answers the Type in point of Time, so likewise in the Nature and Contents of it; being a State of Rest from all Labour, and Trouble, and Servitude; a State of Joy and Triumph, and a State of Renovation, when Things are to return to their first Condition and pristine Order. So much for the Jews.

The Heathen Philosophers, both Greeks and Barbarians, had the same Doctrine of the Renovation of the World current amongst them, and that under several Names and Phrases; as of the Great Year, the Restauration, the Mundane Periods, and such-like. They suppos’d stated and fix’d Periods of Time, upon Expiration whereof there would always follow some great Revolution of the World, and the Face of Nature would be renewed: particularly after the Conflagration, the Stoicks always suppos’d a new World to succeed, or another Frame of Nature to be erected in the Room of that which was destroyed. And they use the same Words and Phrases upon this Occasion that Scripture useth. Chrysippis calls it Apocatastasis (Lact. l. 7. c. 23.) as St. Peter does, Acts iii. 21. Marcus Antonius in his Meditations, several times calls it Palingenesia, as our Saviour does, Matt. xix. 28. And Numenius hath two Scripture words, Resurrection and Restitution, (Euseb. præp. Ev. l. 7. c. 23.) to express this Renovation of the World. Then as to the Platonicks, that Revolution of all Things hath commonly been call’d the Platonick Year, as if Plato had been the first Author of that Opinion; but that’s a great Mistake; he receiv’d it from the Barbarick Philosophers, and particularly from the Ægyptian Priests, amongst whom he liv’d several Years, to be instructed in their Learning. But I do not take Plato neither to be the first that brought this Doctrine into Greece: For, besides that the Sibylls, whose Antiquity we do not well know, sung this Song of old, as we see it copy’d from them by Virgil in his fourth Eclogue; Pythagoras taught it before Plato, and Orpheus before them both; and that’s as high as the Greek Philosophy reaches.

The Barbarick Philosophers were more antient; namely, the Ægyptians, Persians, Chaldeans, Indian Brackmans, and other Eastern Nations. Their Monuments indeed are in a great measure lost; yet from the Remains of them which the Greeks have transcribed, and so preserv’d in their Writings, we see plainly they all had this Doctrine of the future Renovation. And to this Day the Posterity of the Brackmans in the East-Indies retain the same Notion, that the World will be renew’d after the last Fire. You may see the Citations, if you please, for all these Notions, in the Latin Treatise, Ch. v. which I thought would be too dry and tedious to be render’d into English.

To these Testimonies of the Philosophers of all Ages, for the future Renovation of the World, we might add the Testimonies of the Christian Fathers, Greek and Latin, antient and modern. I will only give you a bare List of them, and refer you to the Latin Treatise (Chap. ix.) for the Words or the Places. Amongst the Greek Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenæus, Origen: The Fathers of the Council of Nice, Eusebius; Basil; the two Cyrils, of Jerusalem and Alexandria: The two Gregories, Nazianzen and Nyssen; St. Chrysostom, Zacharias Mitylenensis; and of later Date, Damascen, Oecumenius, Euthymius, and others. These have all set their Hands and Seals to this Doctrine. Of the Latin Fathers, Tertullian, Lactantius, St. Hillary, St. Ambrose, St. Austin, St. Jerome; and many later Ecclesiastical Authors. These, with the Philosophers before-mention’d, I count good Authority, sacred and prophane; which I place here as an Out-guard upon Scripture, where our principal Force lies. These three united, and acting in Conjunction, will be sufficient to prove this first Post, and to prove our first Proposition, which is this; That after the Conflagration of this World, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth; and that Earth will be inhabited. (Propos. I.)

CHAP. IV.

The Proof of a Millennium, or of a blessed Age to come, from Scripture. A View of the Apocalypse, and of the Prophecies of Daniel, in reference to this Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints.

We have given fair Presumptions, if not Proofs, in the precedent Chapter, that the Sons of the first Resurrection will be the Persons that shall inhabit the new Earth, or the World to come. But to make that Proof complete and unexceptionable, I told you, it would be necessary to take a larger Compass in our Discourse, and to examine what is meant by that Reign with Christ a thousand Years, which is promis’d to the Sons of the first Resurrection, by St. John in the Apocalypse; and in other places of Scripture is usually call’d the Kingdom of Christ, and the Reign of the Saints: And by Ecclesiastical Authors, in Imitation of St. John, it is commonly styled, the Millennium. We shall indifferently use any of these Words or Phrases; and examine, first, the Truth of the Notion and Opinion, whether, in Scripture, there be any such an happy State promised to the Saints under the Conduct of Christ; and then we will proceed to examine the Nature, Characters, Place and Time of it. And I am in hopes when these Things are duly discuss’d and stated, you will be satisfied that we have found out the true Inhabitants of the new Heavens and new Earth; and the true Mystery of that State which is called the Millennium, or the Reign of Christ and of his Saints.

We begin with St. John, whose Words in the xxth Chapter of the Apocalypse, ver. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6. are express, both as to the first Resurrection, and as to the Reign of those Saints that rise with Christ for a Thousand Years; Satan in the mean Time being bound, or disabled from doing Mischief, and seducing Mankind. The Words of the Prophet are these; And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the bottomless Pit, and a great Chain in his Hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a Thousand Years. And I saw Thrones, and they sat upon them, and Judgment was given unto them; And I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads, or in their Hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand Years. But the rest of the Dead lived not again until the thousand Years were finished. This is the first Resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection; on such the second Death hath no Power, but they shall be Priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand Years. These Words do fully express a Resurrection, and a Reign with Christ a thousand Years. As for that particular Space of Time, of a Thousand Years, it is not much material to our present Purpose: but the Resurrection here spoken of, and the Reign with Christ, make the Substance of the Controversy, and in effect prove all that we enquire after at present. This Resurrection, you see, is call’d the first Resurrection, by way of Distinction from the second and general Resurrection; which is to be placed a Thousand Years after the first. And both this first Resurrection, and the Reign of Christ, seem to be appropriated to the Martyrs in this Place: For the Prophet says, The Souls of those that were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, &c. they lived and reigned with Christ a Thousand Years. From which Words, if you please, we will raise this Doctrine; that those that have suffer’d for the Sake of Christ, and a good Conscience, shall be raised from the Dead a Thousand Years before the general Resurrection, and reign with Christ in an happy State. This Proposition seems to be plainly included in the Words of St. John, and to be the intended Sense of this Vision; but you must have Patience a little as to your Enquiry into Particulars, till, in the Progress of our Discourse, we have brought all the Parts of this Conclusion into a fuller Light.

In the mean time there is but one Way, that I know of, to evade the Force of these Words, and of the Conclusion drawn from them; and that is, by supposing that the first Resurrection here mention’d, is not to be understood in a literal Sense, but is allegorical and mystical, signifying only a Resurrection from Sin to a spiritual Life: As we are said to be dead in Sin, and to be risen with Christ, by Faith and Regeneration. This is a manner of Speech which St. Paul does sometimes use, as Eph. ii. 6. and ver. 14, and Col. 3. 1. But how can this be applied to the present Case? Were the Martyrs dead in Sin? ’Tis they that are here rais’d from the Dead: Or, after they were beheaded for the Witness of Jesus, naturally dead and laid in their Graves, were they then regenerate by Faith? There is no Congruity in Allegories so apply’d. Besides, why should they be said to be regenerate a Thousand Years before the Day of Judgment? or to reign with Christ, after this Spiritual Resurrection, such a limited Time, a Thousand Years? Why not so to Eternity? For in this allegorical Sense of rising and reigning, they will reign with him for everlasting. Then, after a Thousand Years, must all the Wicked be regenerate, and rise into a Spiritual Life? ’Tis said here, the rest of the Dead lived not again, until the Thousand Years were finished, ver. 5. That implies, that at the End of these Thousand Years, the rest of the Dead did live again; which, according to the Allegory, must be, that, after a Thousand Years, all the Wicked will be regenerate, and rais’d into Spiritual Life. These Absurdities arise upon an allegorical Exposition of this Resurrection, if apply’d to single Persons.

But Dr. Hammond, a learned and worthy Divine, (but one that loves to contract and cramp the Sense of Prophecies) making this first Resurrection allegorical, applies it not to single Persons, but to the State of the Church in general: The Christian Church, he says, shall have a Resurrection for a Thousand Years; that is, shall rise out of Persecution, be in a prosperous Condition, and an undisturbed Profession of the true Religion, for so long a Time. But this agrees with the Prophecy as little as the former; if it be a State of the Church in general, and of the Church then in being, why is this Resurrection apply’d to the Martyrs? Why are they said to rise; seeing the State they liv’d in, was a troublesome State of the Church, and it would be no Happiness to have that reviv’d again? Then as to the Time of this Resurrection of the Church, where will you fix it? The Prophet Daniel places this Reign of Christ, at, or after the Dissolution of the fourth Monarchy; and Saint John places it a Thousand Years before the last Day of Judgment. How will you adjust the allegorical Resurrection of the Church to these Limits? Or if, in point of Time, you was free, as to Prophecy, yet how would you adjust it to History? Where will you take these Thousand Years of Happiness and Prosperity to the Church? These Authors suppose them past, and therefore must begin them either from the first Times of the Gospel, or from the Time of Constantine. Under the first Ages of the Gospel, were, you know, the great Persecutions by the Heathen Emperors; could those be call’d the Reign of Christ and of his Saints? Was Satan then bound? Or was this Epocha but a thousand Years before the Day of Judgment? And if you begin this Resurrection of the Church from the Days of Constantine, when the Empire became Christian, how will you reckon a thousand Years from that Time, for the Continuance of the Church in Peace and Purity? For the Reign of Christ and of his Saints must necessarily imply both those Characters. Besides, who are the rest of the Dead, (ver. 5.) that lived after the Expiration of those thousand Years, if they began at Constantine? And why is not the second Resurrection and the Day of Judgment yet come? Lastly, you ought to be tender of interpreting the first Resurrection in an allegorical Sense, lest you expose the second Resurrection to be made an Allegory also.

To conclude; The Words of the Text are plain and express for a literal Resurrection, as to the first, as well as the second; and there is no allegorical Interpretation that I know of, that will hold through all the Particulars of the Text, consistently with it self and with History. And when we shall have proved this future Kingdom of Christ from other Places of the Apocalypse, and of Holy Writ, you will the more easily admit the literal Sense of this Place; which, you know, according to the receiv’d Rule of Interpreters, is never to be quitted or forsaken, without Necessity: But when I speak of confirming this Doctrine from other Passages of Scripture, I do not mean as to that definite Time of a Thousand Years, for that is no where else mention’d in the Apocalypse, or in Scripture, that I know of; and seems to be mention’d here, in this Close of all Things, to mind us of that Type that was propos’d in the Beginning of all Things, of six Days and a Sabbath; whereof each Day comprehends a Thousand Years, and the Sabbath, which is the Millennial State, hath its Thousand; according to the known Prophecy of Elias, Book III. Ch. v. which, as I told you before, was not only receiv’d among the Jews, but also own’d by very many of the Christian Fathers.

To proceed therefore to other Parts of St. John’s Prophecies, that set forth this Kingdom of Christ; the Vision of the Seven Trumpets is one of the most remarkable in the Apocalypse; and the Seventh Trumpet, which plainly reaches to the End of the World, and the Resurrection of the Dead, opens the Scene to the Millennium; hear the Sound of it, Ch. xi. 15, 16, 17, 18. The seventh Angel sounded, and there were great Voices in Heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty Elders, which sat before God on their Seats, fell upon their Faces, and worshipped God; saying, we give thee Thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great Power, and hast reigned. And the Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is come, and the Time of the Dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give Reward unto thy Servants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them that destroy the Earth, &c. This is manifestly the Kingdom of Christ; and with this is joined the Resurrection of the Dead, and the rewarding of the suffering Prophets and Saints, as in the xxth Chapter. This is that Mystery of God that was to be finished in the Days of the Voice of the seventh Angel, as is said in the xxth Chap. ver. 7. As he hath declared to his Servants the Prophets; namely, the Mystery of this Kingdom, which was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Testament, and more especially by Daniel, as we shall see hereafter.

The new Jerusalem (as it is set down, Apoc. xxi. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.) is another Instance or Image of this Kingdom of Christ. And the Palm-bearing Company, Chap. vii. 9, &c. are some of the Martyrs that shall enjoy it. They are plainly describ’d there as Christian Martyrs; (ver. 14.) and their Reward, or the State of Happiness they are to enjoy, (ver. 15, 16, 17.) is the same with that of the Inhabitants of the new Jerusalem, Ch. xxi. 2, 3, 4, &c. as, upon comparing those two Places, will easily appear. Farthermore, at the Opening of the Seals, Chap. v. which is another principal Vision, and reaches to the End of the World, there is a Prospect given us of this Kingdom of Christ, and of that Reward of his Saints. For when they sing the new Song to the Lamb, (ver. 9, 10.) they say, Thou art worthy to take the Book, and to open the Seals thereof; for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God, by thy Blood; and hast made us into our God Kings and Priests, and we shall reign on the Earth. This must be the same State, and the same Thousand-Years-Reign mention’d in the xxth Chap. where ’tis said, (Ver. 6.) the Partakers of it shall be Priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a Thousand Years.

Another completory Vision, that extends it self to the End of the World, is that of the Seven Vials, Chap. xv. and xvi. And as at the Opening of the Seals, so at the pouring out the Vials, a triumphal Song is sung, and ’tis call’d the Song of Moses and of the Lamb, Ch. xv. 3. ’Tis plainly a Song of Thanksgiving for a Deliverance, but I do not look upon this Deliverance as already wrought, before the pouring out of the Vials, tho’ it be plac’d before them; as often the grand Design and Issue of a Vision is plac’d at the Beginning: It is wrought by the Vials themselves, and by their Effusion, and therefore upon the pouring out of the last Vial, the Voice came out of the Temple of Heaven, from the Throne, saying, Consummatum est; It is done, Ch. xvi. 17. Now the Deliverance is wrought, now the Work is at an End; or, the Mystery of God is finished, as the Phrase was before, concerning the 7th Trumpet, Chap. x. 7. You see therefore this terminates upon the same Time, and consequently upon the same State, of the Millennium; and that they are the same Persons that triumph here, and reign there, Chap. xx. you may see by the same Characters given to both of them, Ch. xv. 2. Here, those that triumph, are said to have gotten the Victory over the Beast, and over his Image, and over his Mark, and over the Number of his Name, Ch. xx. 4. And there, those that reign with Christ, are said to be those that had not worshiped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his Mark upon their Foreheads, or in their Hands. These are the same Persons therefore, triumphing over the same Enemies, and enjoying the same Reward.

And you shall seldom find any Doxology or Hallelujah in the Apocalypse, but ’tis in Prospect of the Kingdom of Christ, and the Millennial State: This is still the Burthen of the sacred Song, the Complement of every grand Vision, and the Life and Strength of the whole System of Prophecies in that Book: Even those Hallelujahs that are sung at the Destruction of Babylon, in the xixth Chapter, ver. 6, 7. are rais’d upon the succeeding State, the Reign of Christ. For the Text says, And I heard as it were a Voice of a great Multitude, and as the Voice of many Waters, and as the Voice of mighty Thunders, saying, Hallelujah: For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoyce, and give Honour to him: For the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready. This appears plainly to be the new Jerusalem, if you consult the 21st Ch. ver. 2. And I John saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. ’Tis, no doubt, the same Bride and Bridegroom, in both Places; the same Marriage or Preparations for Marriage, which are compleated in the Millennial Bliss, in the Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints.

I must beg your patience a little longer, in pursuing this Argument throughout the Apocalypse; As towards the latter End of St. John’s Revelation, this Kingdom of Christ shines out in a more full Glory; so there are the Dawnings of it in the very Beginning and Entrance into his Prophecies. As at the Beginning of a Poem, we have commonly, in a few Words, the Design of the Work, in like Manner Ch. i. 5, 6. St. John makes this Preface to his Prophecies, From Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, the first begotten of the Dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth; unto him that loved us, and washed us from our Sins in his own Blood; and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father; to him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever, Amen. Behold, he cometh in the Clouds, &c. In this Prologue the grand Argument is pointed at, and that happy Catastrophe and last Scene, which is to crown the Work, the Reign of Christ and of his Saints at his second Coming. He hath made us Kings and Priests unto God; this is always the Characteristick of those that are to enjoy the Millennial Happiness, as you may see at the Opening of the Seals, Ch. v. 10. and in the Sons of the first Resurrection, Ch. xx. 6. And this being joined to the Coming of our Saviour, puts it still more out of Doubt. That Expression also, of being washed from our Sins in his Blood, is repeated again both at the Opening of the Seals, chap. v. 9. and in the Palm-bearing Company, chap. vii. 14. both which Places we have cited before, as referring to the Millennial State.

Give me Leave to add farther, that as in this general Preface, so also in the introductory Visions of the seven Churches, there are, covertly or expresly, in the Conclusion of each, glances upon the Millennium; as in the first to Ephesus, the Prophet concludes, chap. ii. 7. He that hath an Ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the Churches: To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. This is the Millennial Happiness which is promised to the Conqueror; as we noted before concerning that Phrase. In like manner in the second to Smyrna, he concludes, chap. ii. 11. He that overcometh, shall not be hurt of the second Death. This implies, he shall be Partaker of the first Resurrection, for that’s the Thing understood; as you may see plainly by their being joyn’d in the xxth Chapter ver. 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath Part in the first Resurrection; on such the second Death hath no Power, but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand Years. In the third to Pergamus, the Promise is, chap. ii. 7. To eat of the hidden Manna, to have a white Stone, and a new Name written in it: But seeing the Prophet adds, which no Man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it, we will not presume to interpret that new State, whatsoever it is, chap. ii. 26, 27. In Thyatira, the Reward is, To have Power over the Nations, and to have the Morning Star; which is to reign with Christ, who is the Morning Star, in his Millennial Empire: Both these Phrases being us’d in that Sense in the Close of this Book, Ch. iii. 5. In Sardis the Promise is, To be cloathed in white Raiment, and not to be blotted out of the Book of Life. And you see afterwards the Palme bearing Company are cloathed in white Robes, Ch. vii. 9, 14. and those that are admitted into the new Jerusalem, Chap. iii. 12. are such as are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, Ch. xxi. 27. Then as to Philadelphia, the Reward promised there does openly mark the Millennial State, by the City of God; new Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from God, compar’d with Ch. xxi. 2. Lastly, to the Church of Laodicea is said, Ch. iii. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne. And that is the usual Phrase to express the Dignity of those that reign with Christ, in his Millennial Kingdom; as you may see, Apoc. xx. 4. Matt. xix. 28. Dan. vii. 9, 13, 14. So all these Promises to the Churches aim at one and the same thing, and terminate upon the same Point: ’Tis the same Reward express’d in different Ways; and seeing it is still fix’d upon a Victory, and appropriated to those that overcome, it does the more easily carry our Thoughts to the Millennium, which is the proper Reward of Victors, that is, of Martyrs and Confessors.

Thus you see how this Notion and Mystery of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, does both begin and End the Apocalypse, and run thorough all its Parts, as the Soul of that Body of Prophecies; a Spirit or Ferment that actuates the whole Mass. And if we could thoroughly understand that illustrious Scene, at the Opening of this Apocalyptical Theatre in the ivth and vth Chapter, I do not doubt but we should find it a Representation of the Majesty of our Saviour in the Glory of his future Kingdom; but I dare not venture upon the Explication of it, there are so many Things of Difficulty, and dubious Interpretation, coucht under those Schemes. Wherefore having made these Observations upon the Prophecies of St. John, we will now add to them some Reflections upon the Prophecies of Daniel: that by the Agreement and Concurrence of these two great Witnesses, the Conclusion we pretend to prove, may be fully established.

In the Prophecies of Daniel there are two grand Visions, that of the Statue or Image, Chap. ii. and that of the four Beasts, Chap. vii. and both these Visions terminate upon the Millennium, or the Kingdom of Christ. In the Vision of the Statue, representing to us the four great Monarchies of the World successively, whereof by the general Consent of Interpreters, the Roman is the fourth and last, after the Dissolution of the last of them, a fifth Monarchy, the Kingdom of Christ, is openly introduc’d, in these Words: And in the Days of these Kingdoms, shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the Kingdom shall not be left to other People, but it shall break in Pieces, and consume all those Kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever, Ch. ii. ver. 44. This may be verified, in some measure, by the first coming of our Saviour in the Days of the fourth Kingdom, when his Religion, from small Beginnings, in a short Time over-spread the greatest Part of the known World. As the Stone cut out without Hands, became a great Mountain, and filled the whole Earth, ver. 34, 35. but the full and final Accomplishment of this Prophecy cannot be till the second coming of our Saviour. For not till then will he, Ver. 35, break in pieces and consume all those Kingdoms; and that in such a manner, that they shall become like the Chaff of the Summer-threshing Floor, carried away by the Wind; so as no Place shall be found for them. This, I say, will not be done, nor an everlasting Kingdom erected in their place, over all the Nations of the Earth, till his second coming, and his Millennial Reign.

But this Reign is declared more expresly, in the Vision of the four Beasts, Ch. vii. ver. 13. For after the Destruction of the fourth Beast, the Prophet says, I saw in the Night Visions, and behold one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Antient of Days, and they brought him near before him: And there was given him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations and Languages should serve him; his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion, which shall not pass away; and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Accordingly, he says, Ver. 21, 22. The last Beast, and the little Horn, made war against the Saints, until the Antient of Days came, and Judgment was given to the Saints of the most High; and the Time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom. And lastly, in Pursuit still of the same Argument, he concludes to the same Effect in fuller Words, ver. 26, 27. But the Judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his Dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the End. And the Kingdom and Dominion, and the Greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High; whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominions shall serve and obey him.

Here is the End of the Matter, says the Prophet, Chap. vii. ver. 28. Chap. xii. ver. 13. Here is the Upshot and Result of all; here terminate both the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John, and all the Affairs of the terrestrial World. Daniel brings in this Kingdom of Christ, in the Conclusion of two or three Visions; but St. John hath interwoven it every where with his Prophecies, from first to last: And you may as well open a Lock without a Key, as interpret the Apocalypse without the Millennium. But after these two great Witnesses, the one for the Old Testament, the other for the New, we must look into the rest of the sacred Writers; for tho’ every single Author there, is an Oracle, yet the Concurrence of Oracles is still a farther Demonstration, and takes away all Remains of Doubt or Incredulity.

CHAP. V.

A View of other Places of Scripture concerning the Millennium or future Kingdom of Christ. In what Sense all the Prophets have borne Testimony concerning it.

The Wife of Zebedee came to our Saviour, and begg’d of him, like a fond Mother, that her two Sons might sit, one at his Right Hand, the other at his Left, when he came into his Kingdom, Matt. xx. 21. Our Saviour does not deny the Supposition, or general Ground of her Request, that he was to have a Kingdom; but tells her, the Honours of that Kingdom were not then in his Disposal. He had not drunk his Cup, nor been baptiz’d with his last Baptism; which were Conditions, both to him and others, of entring into that Kingdom. Yet, in another place, (Matt. xix. 28.) our Saviour is so well assur’d of his Interest and Authority there, by the Good-will of his Father, that he promises to his Disciples and Followers, that for the Losses they should sustain here, upon his Account, and for the Sake of his Gospel, they should receive there an hundred-fold, and sit upon Thrones with him, judging the Tribes of Israel. The Words are these: And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the Regeneration or Renovation, when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of his Glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of Israel. These Thrones, in all Reason, must be understood to be the same with those, which we mention’d in the foregoing Chapter out of Daniel vii. 9. and Apocal. xx. 4. and therefore mark the same Time, and the same State. And seeing, in those Places, they plainly signify the Millennial State, or the Kingdom of Christ and of his Saints, they must here signify the same, in this Promise of our Saviour to his suffering Followers. And as to the Word Palingenesia, which is here translated Regeneration, ’tis very well known, that both the Greek Philosophers, and Greek Fathers, use that very Word for the Renovation of the World; which is to be, as we shall hereafter make appear, at or before the Millennial State.

Our Saviour also, in his Divine Sermon upon the Mount, makes this one of his Beatitudes, Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth: But how, I pray, or where, or when, do the Meek inherit the Earth? Neither at present, I am sure, nor in any past Ages. ’Tis the great ones of the World, ambitious Princes and Tyrants, that slice the Earth amongst them; and those that can flatter them best, or serve them in their Interests or Pleasures, have the next best Shares: But a meek, modest and humble Spirit, is the most unqualified Person that can be, for a Court, or a Camp; to scramble for Preferment, or Plunder. Both he, and his self denying Notions, are ridicul’d, as Things of no Use, and proceeding from Meanness and Poorness of Spirit. David, who was a Person of an admirable Devotion, but of an unequal Spirit; subject to great Dejections, as well as Elevations of Mind; was so much affected with the Prosperity of the Wicked in this World, that he could scarce forbear charging Providence with Injustice. You may see several Touches of a repining Spirit in his Psalms, and in the lxxiiid Psalm, compos’d upon that Subject, you have both the Wound and the Cure. Now this Beatitude pronounc’d here by our Saviour, was spoken before by David, Psal. xxxvii. 11. the same David, that was always so sensible of the hard Usage of the Just in this Life. Our Saviour also, and his Apostles, preach’d the Doctrine of the Cross every where, and foretell the Sufferings that shall attend the Righteous in this World. Therefore neither David, nor our Saviour, could understand this Inheritance of the Earth, otherwise than of some future State, or of a State yet to come. But as it must be a future State, so it must be a terrestrial State; for it could not be call’d the Inheritance of the Earth, if it was not so. And ’tis to be a State of Peace, as well as Plenty, according to the Words of the Psalmist, But the Meek shall inherit the Earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of Peace. It follows therefore from these Premisses, that both our Saviour, and David, must understand some future State of the Earth, wherein the Meek will enjoy both Peace and Plenty; and this will appear to be the future Kingdom of Christ, when, upon a fuller Description, we shall have given you the Marks and Characters of it.

In the mean time, why should we not suppose this Earth, which the Meek are to inherit, to be that habitable Earth to come, which St. Paul mentions (Heb. ii. 6.) and represents as subject to our Saviour in a peculiar Manner, at his Disposal, and under his Government, as his Kingdom? Why should not that Earth be the Subject of this Beatitude, the promis’d Land, the Lot of the Righteous? This I am sure of, that both this Text and the former deserve our serious Thoughts; and tho’ they do not expresly, and in Terms, prove the future Kingdom of our Saviour, yet upon the fairest Interpretations they imply such a State. And it would be very uneasy to give a satisfactory Account, either of the Regeneration or Renovation, when our Saviour and his Disciples shall sit upon Thrones; or of that Earth which the Meek shall inherit: Or, lastly, of that habitable World, which is peculiarly subject to the Dominion of Jesus Christ, without supposing, on this side Heaven, some other Reign of Christ and his Saints, than what we see, or what they enjoy, at present.

But to proceed in this Argument, it will be necessary, as I told you, to set down some Notes and Characters of the Reign of Christ and of his Saints, whereby it may be distinguish’d from the present State and present Kingdoms of the World: And these Characters are chiefly three, Justice, Peace, and Divine Presence or Conduct, which uses to be called Theocracy. By these Characters it is sufficiently distinguish’d from the Kingdoms of this World; which are generally unjust in their Titles or Exercise, stain’d with Blood, and so far from being under a particular Divine Conduct, that Human Passions and Human Vices are the Springs that commonly give Motion to their greatest Designs: But more particularly and restrainedly, the Government of Christ is oppos’d to the Kingdom and Government of Antichrist, whose Characters arc diametrically opposite to these, being Injustice, Cruelty, and human or diabolical Artifices.

Upon this short View of the Kingdom of Christ, let us make Enquiry after it amongst the Prophets of the Old Testament; and we shall find, upon Examination, that there is scarce any of them, greater or lesser, but take notice of this mystical Kingdom, either expresly, or under the Types of Israel, Sion, Jerusalem, and such-like. And therefore I am apt to think, that when St. Peter, in his Sermon to the Jews, Acts iii. says, all the holy Prophets spoke of the Restitution of all Things, he does not mean the Renovation of the World separately from the Kingdom of Christ, but complexly, as it may imply both. For there are not many of the old Prophets that have spoken of the Renovation of the natural World, but a great many have spoken of the Renovation of the moral, in the Kingdom of Christ. These are St. Peter’s Words, Acts iii. 19, 20, 21. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your Sins may be blotted out, when the Times of refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the Heavens must receive until the Times of RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. The Apostle here mentions three Things, the Times of refreshing, the second coming of our Saviour, and the Times of Restitution of all Things: And to the last of these he immediately subjoins, which God hath spoken by the Mouth of all his holy Prophets, since the World began. This Restitution of all Things, I say, must not be understood abstractly from the Reign of Christ, but as in Conjunction with it; and in that Sense, and no other, it is the general Subject of the Prophets.

To enter therefore into the Schools of the Prophets, and enquire their Sense concerning this Mystery, let us first address our selves to the Prophet Isaiah, and the royal Prophet David; who seem to have had many noble Thoughts or Inspirations upon this Subject. Isaiah, in the lxvth Chapter, from the xviith Verse to the End, treats upon this Argument; and joins together the Renovation of the natural and moral World, as St. Peter, in the Place fore-mentioned, seems to do: And accordingly the Prophet, having set down several natural Characters of that State, as Indolency and Joy, Longevity, Ease, and Plenty, from ver. 18. to the 24th, he there begins the moral Characters of Divine Favour, and such a particular Protection, that they are heard and answer’d before they pray. And lastly, he represents it as a State of universal Peace and Innocency, ver. 23. The Wolf and the Lamb shall feed together, &c.

This last Character, which comprehends Peace, Justice and Innocency, is more fully display’d by the same Prophet, in the xith Chapter, where he treats also of the Kingdom of Christ. Give me leave to set down his Words, ver. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. But with Righteousness shall he judge the Poor, and reprove with Equity, for the Meek of the Earth: and he shall smite the Earth with the Rod of his Mouth, and with the Breath of his Lips shall he slay the Wicked. And Righteousness shall be the Girdle of his Loins, and Faithfulness the Girdle of his Reins. The Wolf also shall dwell with the Lamb, and the Leopard shall lie down with the Kid; and the Calf and the young Lyon, and the Fatling together, and a little Child shall lead them. And the Cow and the Bear shall feed, and their young Ones shall lie down together; and the Lyon shall eat Straw like the Ox. And the sucking Child shall play on the Hole of the Asp, and the weaned Child shall put his Hand on the Cockatrice-Den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Mountain; for the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. Thus far the Prophet. Now if we join this to what we noted before, from his lxvth Chapter, concerning the same State, ’twill be impossible to understand it of any Order of Things, that is now, or hath been hitherto in the World; And consequently it must be the Idea of some State to come, and particularly of that which we call the future Kingdom of Christ.

The same pacifick Temper, Innocency and Justice, are celebrated by this Prophet, when the Mountain of the Lord shall be established in the Top of the Mountains, Chap. ii. 2, 4. And he shall judge amongst the Nations, and shall rebuke many People; and they shall beat their Swords into Plow-shares, and their Spears into Pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up Sword against Nation, neither shall they learn War any more. And as to Righteousness, he says, in the xxiiid Chapter, Behold a King shall reign in Righteousness, and Princes shall rule in Judgment, &c. These Places, I know, usually are apply’d to the first coming of our Saviour; the Peaceableness of his Doctrine, and the Propagation of it thro’ all the World. I willingly allow this to be a true Sense, so far as it will go: But ’tis one thing to be a true Sense to such a Degree, and another thing to be the final Sense and Accomplishment of a Prophecy. The Affairs of the first and second coming of our Saviour are often mingled together in the Prophecies of the Old Testament; but in that Mixture there are some Characters whereby you may distinguish what belongs to his first, and what to his second coming; what to the Time when he came to suffer, and what to the Time when he shall come to reign. For Instance, in these Prophecies recited, though there are many Things very applicable to his first coming, yet that Regality which is often spoken of, and that universal Peace and Innocency that will accompany it, cannot be verified of his coming in the Flesh, seeing it is plain, that in his State of Humiliation he did not come as a King, to rule over the Nations of the Earth, (Matt. xx. 21. Luke xxiii. 42.) And he says himself expresly, That his Kingdom is not of this World, John xviii. 36. And the Prayer of Salome, and of the good Thief upon the Cross, suppose it not then present, but to come. Then as to the Establishment of Peace in his Kingdom, it does not at all appear to me that there is more Peace in the World now, than there was before our Saviour came into it; or that the Christian Parts of the World are more peaceable than the Unchristian. Therefore these great Promises of a pacifick Kingdom, which are express’d in Terms as high and emphatical as can be imagin’d, must belong to some other Days, and some other Ages, than what we have seen hitherto.

You’ll say, it may be, ’Tis not the Fault of the Gospel that the World is not peaceable, but of those that profess it, and do not practice it. This is true, but it does not answer the Prophecy; for that makes no Exception, and by such a Reserve as this, you may elude any Prophecy. So the Jews say, their Messiah defers his coming beyond the Time appointed by Prophecy, because of their Sins; but we do not allow this for a good Reason. The Israelites had their promised Canaan, tho’ they had render’d themselves unworthy of it; and by this Method of interpreting Prophecies, all the Happiness and Glory promised in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ may come to nothing, upon a pretended Forfeiture. Threatnings indeed may have a tacit Condition; God may be better than his Word, and, upon Repentance, divert his Judgments; but he cannot be worse than his Word, or fail of Performance, when, without any Condition express’d, he promises or prophecies good Things to come: This would destroy all Assurance of Hope or Faith. Lastly, this Prophecy concerning pacifick Times or a pacifick Kingdom, is in the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, subjoin’d to the Renovation of the Heavens and the Earth, and several Marks of a Change in the natural World; which Things we know did not come to pass at the first coming of our Saviour; there was no Change of Nature then, nor has been ever since: And therefore this happy Change, both in the natural and moral World, is yet to come.

But, as we said before, we do not speak this exclusively of the first coming of our Saviour, as to other Parts of these Prophecies; for no doubt that was one great Design of them. And in the Prophecies of the Old Testament, there are often three Gradations, or gradual Accomplishments; the first, in some King of Israel, or some Person or Affair relating to Israel, as National only: The second, in the Messiah at his first coming: And the last, in the Messiah, and his Kingdom at his second coming. And that which we affirm and contend for, is, that the Prophecies fore-mentioned have not a final and total Accomplishment, either in the Nation of the Jews, or at the first coming of our Saviour; and this we abide by.

The next Prophet that we mention’d as a Witness of the future Kingdom of Christ, is David; who, in his Psalms, seems to be pleas’d with this Subject above all others: And when he is most exalted in his Thoughts and prophetical Raptures, the Spirit carries him into the Kingdom of the Messiah, to contemplate its Glory, to sing Praises to its King, and triumph over his Enemies, Psal. lxviii. Let God arise, let his Enemies be scattered; Let them also that hate him flee before him: As Smoak is driven away, so drive them away; at Wax melteth before the Fire, so let the Wicked perish at the Presence of God: But let the Righteous be glad, &c. The plain Ground he goes upon in this Psalm, is the Deliverance out of Ægypt, and bringing the Israelites into the Land of Canaan; but when he is once upon the Wing, he soars to an higher Pitch (ver. 18.) from the Type to the Antitype; to the Days of the Messiah, the Ascension of our Saviour; and, at length, to his Kingdom and Dominion over all the Earth, ver. 32, &c. The xlvth Psalm is an Epithalamium to Christ and the Church, or to the Lamb and his Spouse. And when that will be, and in what State, we may learn from St. John, Apoc., xix. 7, 8. and chap. xix. 2, 9. Namely, after the Destruction of Babylon, in the New Jerusalem’s Glory. The Words and Matter of the two Prophets, answer to one another. Here, in this Psalm, there is a Fight and Victory celebrated as well as a Marriage; and so there is in that xixth Chapter of Saint John. Here the Prophet says, Gird thy Sword upon thy Thigh, O most Mighty, with thy Glory and thy Majesty. And in thy Majesty ride prosperously because of Truth and Meekness and Righteousness; and thy right Hand shall teach thee terrible Things. Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever: The Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter, &c. Psal. xlv. 3, 4, 6. There St. John says, having describ’d a Conqueror on a white Horse, Out of his Mouth goeth a sharp Sword, that with it he should smite the Nations, and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron; and he treadeth the Wine-press of the Fierceness and Wrath of Almighty God: And he hath on his Vesture, and on his Thigh a Name written, KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS, Apoc. xix. 15, 16. This is the same glorious Conqueror and Bridegroom in both Places; and this Victory is not gain’d, nor these Nuptials compleated, till the second Coming of our Saviour.

In many other Psalms there are Reflections upon this happy Kingdom, and the Triumph of Christ over his Enemies, as Psal. ii. Psal. ix. Psal. xxi. and xxiv. and xlvii. and lxxxv. and cx. and others. In these, and such-like Psalms, there are Lineaments and Colours of a fairer State than any we have yet seen upon Earth. Not but that in their first Instances and Grounds they may sometimes respect the State of Israel, or the Evangelical State; but the Eye of the Prophet goes farther; this does not terminate his Sight: His Divine Enthusiasm reaches into another World; a World of Peace, and Justice, and Holiness; of Joy, and Victory, and Triumph over all the Wicked; and consequently such a World, as neither we nor our Fathers, have yet seen. This is an Account of two Prophets David, and Isaiah; and of what they have more openly declar’d concerning the future Kingdom of Christ. But to verify St. Peter’s Words, in that fore-mention’d Place, Acts iii. 21. viz. That all of the Holy Prophets since the World began, have spoken of the Restauration of all Things at the second coming of Christ. I say, to verify this Assertion of St. Peter, we must suppose, that, where the Prophets speak of the Restauration and future Glory of Judah and Jerusalem, they do, under those Types, represent to us the Glory and Happiness of the Church in the future Kingdom of Christ: And most of the Prophets, in this Sense, and under these Forms, have spoken of this Kingdom; in foretelling the Restauration of Jerusalem and Sion; and happy Days, Peace, Plenty, and Prosperity to the People of Israel.

Most of the Prophets, I say, from Moses to Malachi, have spoken of this Restauration. Moses, in the xxxth of Deut. ver. 4, 5, 9. David also in many of those Psalms we have cited: Isaiah, besides the Places fore-mentioned, treats amply of this Subject, chap. li. and in several other Places. So likewise the Prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachary, Malachi: All these have, either expresly, or under the Types of Jerusalem and Sion, foretold happy Days, and a glorious Triumph to the Church of God. And seeing in the New Testament, and in the Prophecies of St. John, the Christian Church is still represented, as under Persecution and Distress, till the Fall of Anti-christ, and the millennial Kingdom; ’tis then, and not till then, that we must expect the full Accomplishment of these Prophecies; the Restauration that St. Peter says was spoken of, by all the Prophets; and the Mystery, which St. John says (Apoc. x. 7.) was declared by his Servants the Prophets, and would be finish’d under the seventh Trumpet, which ushers in the Kingdom of Christ.

It would be too long to examine all these Places in the Prophets, which you may consult at Leisure. However, it cannot seem strange that Jerusalem should be us’d in a typical or allegorical Sense, seeing we often find such Applications of it in the New Testament; as Gal. iv. 26. Heb. xii. 22. Apoc. iii. 12. And ’tis very natural that Jerusalem restor’d, should signify the same thing as new Jerusalem; and therefore that St. John, by his new Jerusalem, intended the same thing, or the same State, that the antient Prophets did by their Restauration of Jerusalem. And it neither can be understood in a literal Sense, which, I believe, you will not contend for, they must both be interpreted of the future Happiness and Glory of the Church in the Kingdom of Christ.

But to conclude this Point wholly as to Scripture; if we make Reflection upon all the Passages alledged in this and the foregoing Chapter, whether out of the Old or New Testament, we must at least acknowledge thus much, that there are happy Days, at one time or other: Days of Peace and Righteousness; of Joy and Triumph, of external Prosperity, and internal Sanctity; when Virtue and Innocency shall be in the Throne, and Vice and vicious Men out of Power or Credit. That there are such happy Days prophesied of in Scripture, and promised to the Church of God. Whether you call this the Reign of Christ and of his Saints or by any other Name, it is not material at present to determine; let the Title be what you will, as to the Substance it cannot be denied to be a general Doctrine of prophetical Scripture. And we must not imagine, that the Prophets wrote like the Poets; feigned an Idea of a romantick State, that never was, nor ever will be, only to please their own Fancies, or the credulous People. Neither is it the State of Heaven and eternal Life that is here meant or intended: For, besides that they had little or no Light concerning those Notions, in the Old Testament, the Prophets generally, in their Description of this Happiness, either express the Earth, or at least give plain Marks of a terrestrial State. Wherefore, the only Question that remains, is this, Whether these happy Days are past already, or to come? Whether this blessed State of the Church is behind us, or before us? Whether our Predecessors have enjoyed it, or our Posterity is to expect it? For we are very sure that it is not present. The World is full of Wars, and Rumours of Wars; of Vice and Knavery, of Oppression and Persecution: and these are things directly contrary to the Genius and Characters of the State which we look after.

And if we look for it in Times past, we can go no farther back than the beginning of Christianity. For St. John, the last of the Apostles, prophesied of these Times, as to come; and plac’d them at the End of his System of Prophecies; whereby one might conclude, that they are not only within the Compass of the Christian Ages, but far advanc’d into them. But however, not to insist upon that at present, where will you find a thousand Years, from the Birth of Christianity to this present Age, that deserves the Name, or answers to the Characters of this pure and pacifick State of the Church? The first Ages of Christianity, as they were the most pure, so likewise were they the least peaceable; continually, more or less, under the Persecution of the Heathen Emperors; and so far from being the Reign and Empire of Christ and his Saints over the Nations, that Christians were then, every where, in Subjection or Slavery; a poor, feeble, helpless People, thrust into Prisons, or thrown to the Lions, at the Pleasure of their Princes or Rulers. ’Tis true, when the Empire became Christian under Constantine, in the fourth Century, there was, for a time, Peace and Prosperity in the Church, and a good Degree of Purity and Piety; but that Peace was soon disturb’d, and that Piety soon corrupted. The growing Pride and Ambition of the Ecclesiasticks, and their easiness to admit or introduce superstitious Practices, destroy’d the Purity of the Church. And as to the Peace of it, their Contests about Opinions and Doctrines, tore the Christians themselves into Pieces; and, soon after, an Inundation of barbarous People fell into Christendom, and put it all into Flames and Confusion. After this Eruption of the Northern Nations, Mahometanism rose in the East; and swarms of Saracens, like Armies of Locusts, invaded, conquer’d, and planted their Religion in several Parts of the Roman Empire, and of the Christianiz’d World. And can we call such Times the Reign of Christ, or the Imprisonment of Satan? In the following Ages, the Turks overran the Eastern Empire and the Greek Church, and still hold that miserable People in Slavery. Providence seems to have so order’d Affairs, that the Christian World should be never without a WOE upon it, lest it should fancy it self already in those happy Days of Peace and Prosperity, which are reserv’d for future Times. Lastly, whosoever is sensible of the Corruptions and Persecutions of the Church of Rome, since she came to her Greatness; whosoever allows her to be Mystical Babylon, which must fall before the Kingdom of Christ comes on, will think that Kingdom duly plac’d by St. John at the End of his Prophecies, concerning the Christian Church; and that there still remains, according to the Words of St. Paul, (Heb. iv. 9.) a Sabbatism to the People of God.

Chap. IV.

The Sense and Testimony of the Primitive Church concerning the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ; from the Times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council. The second Proposition laid down. When, by what Means, and for what Reasons, that Doctrine was afterwards neglected or discountenanc’d.

You have heard the Voice of the Prophets and Apostles, declaring the future Kingdom of Christ: Next to these, the Primitive Fathers are accounted of good Authority; let us therefore now enquire into their Sense concerning this Doctrine, that we may give Satisfaction to all Parties; and both those that are guided by Scripture alone, and those that have a Veneration for Antiquity, may find Proofs suitable to their Inclinations and Judgment.

And to make few Words of it, we will lay down this Conclusion; That the millennial Kingdom of Christ was the general Doctrine of the Primitive Church, from the Times of the Apostles to the Nicene Council, inclusively. St. John out-liv’d all the rest of the Apostles, and towards the latter end of his Life, being banish’d into the Isle of Pathmos, he wrote his Apocalypse; wherein he hath given us a more full and distinct Account of the millennial Kingdom of Christ, than any of the Prophets or Apostles before him. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, and Martyr, one of St. John’s Auditors, as Ireneus testifies, Iren. Lib 5. c. 33. taught the same Doctrine after St. John. He was the familiar Friend of Polycarp, another of St. John’s Disciples; and either from him, or immediately from St. John’s Mouth, he might receive this Doctrine. That he taught it in the Church, is agreed on by all Hands; both by those that are his Followers, as Irenæus; and those that are not Well-wishers to this Doctrine, as Eusebius and Jerome.

There is also another Channel wherein this Doctrine is traditionally deriv’d from St. John, namely, by the Clergy of Asia; as Irenæus tells us in the same Chapter. For, arguing the Point, he shews that the Blessing promis’d to Jacob from his Father Isaac, was not made good to him in this Life, and therefore he says, without doubt those Words had a farther Aim and Prospect upon the Times of the Kingdom: (so they us’d to call the millennial State) when the Just rising from the Dead, shall reign; and when Nature renew’d and set at Liberty, shall yield Plenty and Abundance of all things; being blest with the Dew of Heaven, and a great Fertility of the Earth according as has been related by those Ecclesiaticks or Clergy, who saw S. John, the Disciple of Christ; and heard of him WHAT OUR LORD HAD TAUGHT CONCERNING THOSE TIMES. This you see, goes to the Fountain Head: The Christian Clergy receive it from St. John, and St. John relates it from the Mouth of our Saviour.

So much for the original Authority of this Doctrine, as a Tradition; that it was from St. John, and by him from Christ. And as to the Propagation and prevailing of it in the Primitive Church, we can bring a Witness beyond all exception, Justin Martyr, cotemporary with Irenæus, and his Senior. He says, that himself, and all the Orthodox Christians of his Time, did acknowledge the Resurrection of the Flesh (suppose the first Resurrection) and a thousand Years reign in Jerusalem restor’d, or in the new Jerusalem, Dial. with Tryphon the Jew. According as the Prophets Ezekiel, and Isaiah, and others, attest with common Consent. As St. Peter had said before, Acts iii. 21. That all the Prophets had spoken of it. Then he quotes the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, which is a Bulwark for this Doctrine, that never can be broken. And to shew the Jew, with whom he had this Discourse, that it was the Sense of our Prophets, as well as of theirs, he tells him, that a certain Man amongst us Christians, by Name John, one of the Apostles of Christ, in a Revelation made to him did prophesy, that the faithful Believers in Christ should live a thousand Years in the New Jerusalem; and after that should be the general Resurrection and Day of Judgment. Thus you have the Thoughts and Sentiments of Justin Martyr, as to himself; as to all the reputed Orthodox of his Time; as to the Sense of the Prophets in the Old Testament, and as to the Sense of St. John in the Apocalypse; all conspiring in Confirmation of the millennary Doctrine.

To these three Witnesses, Papias, Irenæus and Justin Martyr, we may add two more within the second Age of the Church; Melito, Bishop of Sardis, and St. Barnabas, or whosoever was the Author of the Epistle under his Name. This Melito, by some, is thought to be the Angel of the Church of Sardis, to whom St. John directs the Epistle to that Church, Apoc. iii. 1. but I do not take him to be so ancient; however, he was Bishop of that Place, at least in the second Century, and a Person of great Sanctity and Learning: He wrote many Books, as you may see in St. Jerome; and, as he notes out of Tertullian, was by most Christians reputed a Prophet (De Script. Eccles. Dogm. Eccl. c. lv.) He was also a declar’d Millennary, and is recorded as such, both by Jerome and Gennadius. As to the Epistle of Barnabas, which we mention’d, it must be very ancient, whosoever is the Author of it, and before the third Century; seeing it is often cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, who was himself within the second Century: The Genius of it is very much Millennarian, in the Interpretation of the Sabbath, the promis’d Land, a Day for a thousand Years, and concerning the Renovation of the World. In all which, he follows the Footsteps of the Orthodox of those Times; that is, of the Millennarians.

So much for the first and second Centuries of the Church. By which short Account it appears, that the millennary Doctrine was Orthodox and Catholick in those early Days; for these Authors do not set it down as a private Opinion of their own, but as a Christian Doctrine, or an Apostolical Tradition. ’Tis remarkable what Papias says of himself, and his way of Learning, in his Book call’d, The Explanation of the Words of the Lord, as St. Jerome gives an Account of it: (De Script. Eccles.) He says in his Preface, He did not follow various Opinions, but had the Apostles for his Authors: And that he consider’d what Andrew, and what Peter said; what Philip, what Thomas, and other Disciples of the Lord; as also what Aristion, and John the Senior, Disciples of the Lord, what they spoke. And that he did not profit so much by reading Books, as by the living Voice of these Persons, which resounded from them to that Day. This hath very much the Air of Truth and Sincerity, and of a Man that, in good earnest, sought after the Christian Doctrine, from those that were the most authentick Teachers of it. I know Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a double Character of this Papias; in one Place he calls him, A very eloquent Man in all Things, and skilful in Scripture; and in another, he makes him a Man of a small Understanding, (Vid. Hieron. Epist. 28. ad Lucinium.) But what Reason there is to suspect Eusebius of Partiality in this Point of the Millennium, we shall make appear hereafter. However, we do not depend upon the Learning of Papias, or the Depth of his Understanding; allow him but to be an honest Man and a fair Witness, and ’tis all we desire. And we have little reason to question his Testimony in this Point, seeing it is back’d by others of good Credit; and all because there is no Counter-Evidence, nor any Witness that appears against him: For there is not extant, either the Writing, Name, or Memory, of any Person that contested this Doctrine in the first or second Century: I say, that call’d in question this millennary Doctrine, propos’d after a Christian Manner, unless such Hereticks as denied the Resurrection wholly, or such Christians as deny’d the Divine Authority of the Apocalypse.

We proceed now to the third Century; where you find Tertullian, Origen, Victorinus, Bishop and Martyr; Nepos Ægyptius, Cyprian, and, at the End of it, Lactantius; all openly professing, or implicitly favouring, the millennary Doctrine. We do not mention Clemens Alexandrinus, contemporary with Tertullian, because he hath not any thing, that I know of, expresly either for, or against the Millennium: But he takes notice that the Seventh Day hath been accounted Sacred, both by the Hebrews and Greeks, because of the Revolution of the World, and the Renovation of all Things. And giving this as a Reason why they kept that Day holy, seeing there is not a Revolution of the World, every seven Days, it can be in no other Sense than as the Seventh Day represents the seventh Millennary, in which the Renovation of the World and the Kingdom of Christ, is to be. As to Tertullian, St. Jerome reckons him, in the first place, amongst the Latin Millennaries. And tho’ his Book, about the Hope of the Faithful, as also that about Paradise, which should have given us the greatest Light in this Affair, be both lost or suppress’d; yet there are sufficient Indications of his millennary Opinion in his Tracts against Marcion, and against Hermogenes. St. Cyprian was Tertullian’s Admirer, and inclines to the same Opinion, so far as one can judge, in this particular; for his Period of six thousand Years, and making the seventh Millennary the consummation of all, is wholly according to the Analogy of the millennary Doctrine. As to the two Bishops, Victorinus and Nepos, St. Jerome vouches for them: The Writings of the one are lost, and of the other so chang’d, that the Sense of the Author does not appear there now. But Lactantius, whom we nam’d in the last Place, does openly and profusely teach this Doctrine, in his Divine Institutions, (Book vii.) and with the same Assurance that he does other Parts of the Christian Doctrine; for he concludes thus, speaking of the Millennium, This is the Doctrine of the holy Prophets, which we Christians follow; this is our Wisdom, &c. Yet he acknowledges there, that it was kept as a Mystery or Secret amongst the Christians, lest the Heathens should make any perverse or odious Interpretation of it. And for the same or like Reason, I believe, the Book of the Apocalypse was kept out of the Hands of the Vulgar for some time, and not read publickly, lest it should be found to have spoken too openly of the Fate of the Roman Empire, or of this millennial State.

So much for the first, second, and third Centuries of the Church: But by our Conclusion, we engag’d to make out this Proof as far as the Nicene Council, inclusively. The Nicene Council was about the Year of Christ 325. and we may reasonably suppose Lactantius was then living; at least he came within the Time of Constantine’s Empire. But however, the Fathers of that Council are themselves our Witnesses in this Point; for in their Ecclesiastical Forms or Constitutions, in the Chapter about the Providence of God, and about the World, they speak thus: The World was made meaner, or less perfect, providentially; for God foresaw that Man would Sin: Wherefore we expect new Heavens and a new Earth, according to the holy Scriptures, at the Appearance and Kingdom of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And then, as Daniel says (chap. vii. 18.) The Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom, and the Earth shall be pure, holy, the Land of the Living, not of the Dead. Which David foreseeing by the Eye of Faith, cries out, (Psal. xxvii. 13.) I believe to see the good Things of the Lord, in the Land of the Living. Our Saviour says, happy are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth, Mat. v. 5. And the Prophet Isaiah says, (Chap. xxvi. 6.) the Feet of the meek and lowly shall tread upon it. So you see, according to the Judgment of these Fathers, there will be a Kingdom of Christ upon Earth; and moreover, that it will be in the new Heavens and the new Earth: And, in both these Points, they cite the Prophets, and our Saviour in Confirmation of them.

Thus we have discharg’d our Promise, and given you an account of the Doctrine of the Millennium, or future Kingdom of Christ, throughout the three first Ages of the Church, before any considerable Corruptions were crept into the Christian Religion. And those Authorities of single and successive Fathers, we have seal’d up all together, with the Declaration of the Nicene Fathers, in a Body. Those that think Tradition a Rule of Faith, or a considerable Motive to it, will find it hard to turn off the Force of these Testimonies: And those that do not go so far, but yet have a Reverence for Antiquity and the Primitive Church, will not easily produce better Authorities, more early, more numerous, or more uncontradicted, for any Article that is not fundamental: Yet these are but Seconds to the Prophets and Apostles, who are truly the Principals in this Cause. I will leave them all together, to be examin’d and weigh’d by the impartial Reader. And because they seem to me to make a full and undeniable Proof, I will now, at the Foot of the Account, set down our second Proposition, which is this, That there is a millennial State, or a future Kingdom of Christ and his Saints, prophesied of and promised, in the Old and New Testament; and receiv’d by the Primitive Church as a Christian and Catholick Doctrin. (Propos. I.)

Having dispatch’d this main Point; to conclude the Chapter and this Head of our Discourse, it will be some Satisfaction possibly to see, How a Doctrine so generally receiv’d and approv’d came to decay, and almost wear out of the Church, in following Ages. The Christian millennary Doctrine was not call’d into Question, so far as appears from History, before the middle of the third Century; when Dionysius Alexandrinus wrote against Nepos, an Ægyptian Bishop, who had declar’d himself upon that Subject. But we do not find that this Book had any great Effect; for the Declaration or Constitution of the Nicene Fathers was after; and in St. Jerome’s Time, who wrote towards the End of the fourth Century, this Doctrine had so much Credit, that he, who was its greatest Adversary, yet durst not condemn it, as he says himself; Quæ licet non sequamur, tamen damnare non possumus; quia multi Ecclesiasticorum virorum & martyres ista dixerunt: Which Things or Doctrines, speaking of the Millennium, tho’ we do not follow, yet we cannot condemn; because many of our Churchmen, and Martyrs have affirmed these things. And when Apollinarius reply’d to that Book of Dionysius, St. Jerome says, that, not only those of his own Sect, but a great Multitude of other Christians did agree with Apollinarius in that particular: Ut presagâ mente jam cernam, quantorum in me rabies concitanda sit; That now I foresee, how many will be enrag’d against me, for what I have spoken against the millennary Doctrine.

We may therefore conclude that in St. Jerome’s Time the Millennaries made the greater Party in the Church; for a little Matter would not have frighted him from censuring their Opinions. St. Jerome was a rough and rugged Saint, and an unfair Adversary, that usually run down with Heat and Violence, what stood in his Way. As to his Unfairness, he shews it sufficiently in this very Cause, for he generally represents the millennary Doctrine after a Judaical, rather than a Christian Manner. And in reckoning up the chief Patrons of it, he always skips Justin Martyr; who was not a Man so obscure as to be over-look’d: And he was a Man that had declar’d himself sufficiently upon this Point; for he says, Both himself and all the Orthodox of his time, were of that Judgment, and applies both the Apocalypse of St. John, and the lxvth Chapter of Isaiah, for the Proof of it; as we noted before.

As St. Jerome was an open Enemy to this Doctrine, so Eusebius was a back Friend to it; and represented every thing to its Disadvantage, so far as was tolerably consistent with the Fairness of an Historian. He gives a slight Character of Papias, without any Authority for it; and brings in one Gaius, that makes Cerinthus to be the Author of the Apocalypse and of the Millennium (Eccles. Hist. l. iii. c. 32.) and calls the Visions there, Τερετολογίας, monstrous Stories. He himself is willing to shuffle off that Book from John the Evangelist to another John a Presbyter; and to shew his Skill in the Interpretation of it, (l. 3. c. 32. de vit. Constan.) he makes the new Jerusalem in the xxith Chapter to be Constantine’s Jerusalem, when he turn’d the Heathen Temples there into Christian: A wonderful Invention. As St. Jerome by his Flouts, so Eusebius, by sinister Insinuations, endeavour’d to lessen the Reputation of this Doctrine; and the Art they both us’d was, to misrepresent it as Judaical. But we must not cast off every Doctrine which the Jews believ’d, only for that Reason; for we have the same Oracles which they had, and the same Prophets; and they have collected from them the same general Doctrine that we have, namely, that there will be an happy and pacifick State of the Church, in future Times. But as to the Circumstances of this State we differ very much: They suppose the Mosaical Law will be restor’d, with all its Pomp, Rites, and Ceremonies: whereas we suppose the Christian Worship, or something more perfect, will then take Place. Yet St. Jerome has the Confidence, even there where he speaks of the many Christian Clergy and Martyrs that held this Doctrine; has the Confidence, I say, to represent it, as if they held that Circumcision, Sacrifices, and all the Judaical Rites, should then be restor’d. Which seems to me to be a great Slander, and a great Instance how far Mens Passions will carry them, in misrepresenting an Opinion, which they have a Mind to disgrace.

But as we have Reason to blame the Partiality of those that opposed this Doctrine; so, on the other Hand, we cannot excuse the Patrons of it from all Indiscretions. I believe they might partly themselves make it obnoxious; by mixing some things with it, from pretended Traditions, or the Books of the Sybills, or other private Authorities, that had so sufficient warrant from Scripture; and things, sometimes, that Nature would not easily bear. Besides, in latter Ages, they seem to have dropt one half of the Doctrine, namely, the Renovation of Nature, which Irenæus, Justin Martyr, and the Antients, join inseparably with the Millennium: And by this Omission, the Doctrine hath been made less intelligible, and one Part of it inconsistent with another. And when their Pretensions were to reign upon this present Earth, and in this present State of Nature, it gave a Jealousy to temporal Princes, and gave occasion likewise to many of Fanatical Spirits, under the Notion of Saints, to aspire to Dominion, after a violent and tumultuary Manner. This I reckon as one great Cause that brought the Doctrine into Discredit. But I hope by reducing of it to the true State, we shall cure this and other Abuses for the future.

Lastly, It never pleas’d the Church of Rome; and so far as the Influence and Authority of that would go, you may be sure it would be depress’d and discountenanced. I never yet met with a Popish Doctor that held the Millennium; and Baronius would have it to pass for an Heresy, and Papias for the Inventor of it; whereas, if Irenæus may be credited, it was receiv’d from St. John, and by him from the Mouth of our Saviour. And neither St. Jerome, nor his friend Pope Damasus, durst ever condemn it for an Heresy. It was always indeed uneasy, and gave Offence to the Church of Rome; because it does not suit to that Scheme of Christianity, which they have drawn. They suppose Christ reigns already, by his Vicar, the Pope; and treads upon the Necks of Emperors and Kings: And if they could but suppress the Northern Heresy, as they call it, they do not know what a Millennium would signify, or how the Church could be in an happier Condition than she is. The Apocalyse of St. John does suppose the true Church under hardship and Persecution, more or less, for the greatest Part of the Christian Ages; namely, for 1260 Years, while the Witnesses are in sack-cloth. But the Church of Rome hath been in prosperity and Greatness, and the commanding Church in Christendom, for so long, or longer, and hath rul’d the Nations with a Rod of Iron; so as that Mark of the true Church does not favour her at all. And the Millennium being properly a Reward and Triumph for those that come out of Persecution, such as have liv’d always in Pomp and Prosperity, can pretend to no Share in it, or Benefit by it. This has made the Church of Rome have always an ill Eye upon this Doctrine, because it seem’d to have an ill Eye upon her; And as she grew in Splendor and Greatness, she eclips’d and obscur’d it more and more; so that it would have been lost out of the World as an obsolete Error, it it had not been revived by some of the Reformation.

Chap. VII.

The true State of the Millennium, according to Characters taken from Scripture; some Mistakes concerning it examin’d.

We have made sufficient Proof of a millennial State, from Scripture and Antiquity; and upon that firm Basis have settled our second Proposition. We should now determine the Time and Place of this future Kingdom of Christ: not whether it is to be in Heaven, or upon Earth; for that we suppose determin’d already; but whether it is to be in the present Earth, and under the present Constitution of Nature, or in the new Heavens, and new Earth, which are promis’d after the Conflagration: This is to make our third Proposition: And I should have proceeded immediately to the Examination of it, but that I imagine it will give us some Light in this Affair, if we enquire farther into the true State of the Millennium, before we determine its Time and Place.

We have already noted some moral Characters of the millennial State; and the great natural Character of it is this in general, that it will be Paradisaical; free from all Inconveniencies, either of external Nature, or of our own Bodies. For my part, I do not understand, how there can be any considerable Degree of Happiness without Indolency; nor how there can be Indolency, while we have such Bodies as we have now, and such an external Constitution of Nature. And as there must be Indolency, where there is Happiness; so there must not be Indigency, or want of any due Comforts of Life: For where there is Indigency, there is Solicitude, and Distraction, and Uneasiness, and Fear; Passions that do as naturally disquiet the Soul, as Pain does the Body. Therefore Indolency and Plenty seem to be two essential Ingredients of every happy State; and these two, in Conjunction, make that State we call Paradisaical.

Now the Scripture seems plainly to exempt the Sons of the new Jerusalem, or of the Millennium, from all Pain or Want, in those Words, Apoc. xxi. 4. And God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes: And there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more Pain: For the former Things are passed away. And the Lord of that Kingdom, He that sat upon the Throne, said, Behold I make all Things new, ver. 5. This Renovation is a Restauration to some former State; and I hope, not that State of Indigency and Misery, and Diseasedness, which we languish under at present; but to that pristine Paradisaical State, which was the Blessing of the first Heavens and the first Earth.

As Health and Plenty are the Blessings of Nature; so, in Civil Affairs, Peace is the greatest Blessing: And this is inseparably annex’d to the Millennium; an indelible Character of the Kingdom of Christ. And by Peace, we understand not only Freedom from Persecution upon religious Accounts, but that Nation shall not rise up against Nation, upon any Account whatsoever. That bloody Monster, War, that hath devoured so many Millions of the Sons of Adam, is now at length to be chain’d up; and the Furies, that run throughout the Earth, with their Snakes and Torches, shall be thrown into the Abyss, to sting and prey upon one another: All evil and mischievous Passions shall be extinguished; and that not in Men only, but even in brute Creatures, according to the Prophets. The Lamb and the Lion shall lie down together, and the sucking Child shall play with the Basilisk. Happy Days, when not only the Temple of Janus shall be shut up for a thousand Years, and the Nations shall beat their Swords into Plowshares; but all Enmities and Antipathies shall cease, all Acts of Hostility, throughout all Nature. And this universal Peace is a Demonstration also of the former Character, universal Plenty; for where there is a Want and Necessitousness, there will be quarrelling.

Fourthly, ’Tis a Kingdom of Righteousness, as well as of Peace: these also must go together: For unrighteous Persons will not live long in Peace, no more than indigent Persons. The Psalmist therefore joins them together; and Plenty, also, as their necessary Preservative, in his Description of the Kingdom of Christ, Psal. lxxxv. 10, 11, 12. Mercy and Truth are met together: Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and Righteousness shall look down from Heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give good, and our Land shall yield her Increase. This will not be a Medley-State, as the present World is, good and bad mingled together; but a chosen Generation, a royal Priesthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People. Those that have a Part in the first Resurrection, the Scripture pronounceth them Holy and Blessed; and says, The second Death shall have no Power over them. Satan is also bound and shut up in the bottomless Pit, and has no Liberty of tempting or seducing this People, for a thousand Years: but at the End of that Time, he will meet with a degenerate Crew, separate and Aliens to the holy City, that will make War against it, and perish in the Attempt. In a word, those that are to enjoy this State, are always distinguish’d from the Multitude, as People redeemed from the Earth, (Apoc. v. 9.) that have wash’d their Robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb; and are represented as Victors over the World; with such other Characters as are incompatible to any but the Righteous, ch. vii. 14. ch. xiv. 3, 4. ch. xxi. 27.

Fifthly, This will be a State under a peculiar divine Presence and Conduct. It is not easy indeed to determine the Manner of this Presence; but the Scripture plainly implies some extraordinary divine Presence to enlighten and enliven that State. When the new Jerusalem was come down, St. John says, Apoc. xxi. 3. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, behold the Tabernacle of God is with Men; and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his People; and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And the like is promis’d to the Palm-bearing Company, ch. vii. 19. where they are admitted to the Privileges of the new Jerusalem. When our Saviour was incarnate, and vouchsafed to dwell amongst the Children of Men, the same Phrase is us’d by this same Author, ἐσχήνωσε. Joh. i. 14. The Word was made Flesh, and tabernacled amongst us; and we beheld his Glory, &c. We read it, He dwelt amongst us, but render’d more closely, it is, He set his Tabernacle amongst us. And that which the Hebrews call the שכינה Shekinah, or divine Presence, Maimon. Mor. Nev. par. 1. c. 25 comes from a Word of the like Signification and Sound with the Greek Word here us’d. Therefore there will be a Shekinah in that Kingdom of Christ; but as to the Mode of it, I am very willing to confess my Ignorance.

The last Character that belongs to this State, or rather to those that enjoy it, is, that they are Kings and Priests unto God. This is a Character often repeated in Scripture, and therefore the more to be regarded. It occurs thrice in the Apocalypse in formal Terms, ch. i. 6. ch. v. 10. ch. xx. 6. And as to the Regal Dignity apart, that is farther exprest, either by the Donation of a Kingdom, as in Daniel’s Phrase, chap. vii. 18, 22, 27. Or by placing upon Thrones, with a judicial Power; which is the New Testament Style, Mat. xix. 28. Luke xxii. 29, 30. Rev. xx. 4. These two Titles, no doubt, are intended to comprehend the highest Honours that we are capable of; these being the highest Dignities in every Kingdom; and such as were by the Antients, both in the East and in the West, commonly united in one and the same Person; Their Kings being Priests, like Melchisedeck, or, as the Roman Emperor was, Pontifex Maximus. But as to the sacerdotal Character, that seems chiefly to respect the Temper of the Mind; to signify a People dedicated to God and his Service, separate from the World, and from secular Affairs, spending their time in Devotion and Contemplation, which will be the great Employments of that happy State. For where there is Ease, Peace, and Plenty of all Things, refin’d Bodies, and purified Minds, there will be more Inclination to intellectual Exercises and Entertainments; which they may attend upon, without any Distraction, having neither Want, Pain, nor worldly Business.

The Title of King implies a Confluence of all Things that constitute temporal Happiness. ’Tis the highest thing we can wish any in this World, to be a King; So as the Regal Dignity seems to comprehend all the Goods of Fortune, or external Felicity, and the Sacerdotal, the Goods of the Mind, or internal; both which concur in the Constitution of true Happiness. There is also a further Force and Emphasis in this Notion of the Saints being made Kings, if we consider it comparatively, with respect to what they were before in this World; where they were not only mean and despicable, in Subjection and Servility, but often under Persecution, abus’d and trampled upon by the Secular and Ecclesiastical Powers. But now the Scene is chang’d, and you see the reverse of Providence, according as Abraham said to the Rich-Man; Son, remember that thou in thy Life time receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Now they are set upon Thrones and Tribunals, who were before arraigned as Criminals, and brought before tyrannical Judicatures: They are now Laws and Law-givers to themselves, in a true State of Royal Liberty, neither under the Domination of evil Men, nor of their own evil Passions.

Some possibly may think, that this high Character of being made Priests and Kings to God, is not general to all that enjoy the Millennium; but a Prerogative belonging to the Apostles and some of the chief Martyrs, who are eminently rewarded for their eminent Services. But Scripture as far as I perceive, applies it to all that inherit that Kingdom. The redeemed out of every Kindred, and Tongue, and People, and Nation, are made Kings and Priests to God, and shall reign on the Earth, Apoc. v. 9, 10, And in the xxth chap. ver. 6. all the Sons of the first Resurrection are made Priests of God, and shall reign with him a thousand Years. Here is no Distinction or Discrimination thus far: Not that we suppose an unversal Equality of Conditions in the millennial State; but as to all these Characters which we have given of it, I do not perceive that they are restrain’d or confin’d by Scripture to single Persons, but make the general Happiness of that State, and are the Portion of every one that is admitted into the new Jerusalem.

Others possibly may think that this Privilege of the first Resurrection is not common to all that enjoy the millennial State. For tho’ St. John, who is the only Person that hath made express mention of the first Resurrection, and of the thousand Years Reign of Christ, does join these two as the same thing, and common to the same Persons; yet I know there are some that would distinguish them as things of a different Extent, and also of a different Nature. They suppose the Martyrs only will rise from the Dead, and will be immediately translated into Heaven, and there pass their Millennium in celestial Glory; while the Church is still here below, in her Millennium, such as it is: A State indeed better than ordinary, and free from Persecution, but obnoxious to all the Inconveniences of our present mortal Life, and a Medley of good and bad People, without Separation. This is such an Idea of the Millennium, as, to my Eye, hath neither Beauty in it, nor Foundation in Scripture. That the Citizens of the new Jerusalem are not a miscellaneous Company, but a Community of righteous Persons, we have noted before, and that the State of Nature will be better than it is at present. But, besides this, what Warrant have they for this Ascension of the Martyrs into Heaven at that Time? Where do we read of that in Scripture? And in those things that are not Matters of natural Order, but of divine Oeconomy, we ought to be very careful how we add to Scripture.

The Scripture speaks only of the Resurrection of the Martyrs, Apoc. xx. 45. but not a Word concerning their Ascension into Heaven. Will that be visible? We read of our Saviour’s Resurrection and Ascension, and therefore we have Reason to affirm them both. We read also of the Resurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses, (Apoc. xi.) in a figurative Sense; and in that Sense we may assert them upon good Grounds. But as to the Martyrs, we read of their Resurrection only, without any thing exprest or imply’d about their Ascension. By what Authority then shall we add this new Notion to the History or Scheme of the Millennium? The Scripture, on the contrary, makes mention of the Descent of the new Jerusalem, Apoc. xxi. 2. making the Earth the Theatre of all that Affair: And the Camp of the Saints is upon the Earth, ver. 9. and these Saints are the same Persons, so far as can be collected from the Text, that rose from the Dead, and reign’d with Christ, and were Priests to God, ver. 4, 5, 6. Neither is there any Distinction made, that I find, by St. John, of two sorts of Saints in the Millennium, the one in Heaven, and the other upon Earth. Lastly, the four and twenty Elders, chap. v. 10. tho’ they were Kings and Priests unto God, were content to reign upon Earth. Now who can you suppose of a superior Order to these four and twenty Elders? Whether they represent the twelve Patriarchs and twelve Apostles, or whomsoever they represent, they are plac’d next to him that sits upon the Throne, and they have Crowns of Gold upon their Heads, chap. iv. 4. ch. xi. 16. There can be no Marks of Honour and Dignity greater than these are; and therefore seeing these highest Dignitaries in the Millennium or future Kingdom of Christ, are to reign upon Earth, there is no Ground to suppose the Assumption of any other into Heaven, upon that Account, or upon that Occasion.

This is a short and general Draught of the millennial State, or future Reign of the Saints, according to Scripture. Wherein I have endeavour’d to rectify some Mistakes or Misconceptions about it; that viewing it in its true Nature, we may be the better able to judge, when and where it will obtain: which is the next Thing to be consider’d.

Chap. VIII.

The third Proposition laid down, concerning the Time and Place of the Millennium: Several Arguments us’d, to prove, that it cannot be till after the Conflagration; and that the new Heavens and the new Earth are the true Seat of the blessed Millennium.

We now come to the third and last Head of our Discourse; to determine the Time and Place of the Millennium. And seeing it is indifferent, whether the Proofs lead or follow the Conclusion, we will lay down the Conclusion in the first Place, that our Business may be more in View; and back it with Proofs in the following Part of the Chapter. Our third and last Proposition therefore is this, That the blessed Millennium, Propos. 3. (properly so called) according as it is describ’d in Scripture, cannot obtain in the present Earth, nor under the present Constitution of Nature and Providence; but it is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the Conflagration. This Proposition it may be, will seem a Paradox or Singularity to many, even of those that believe a Millennium: We will therefore make it the Business of this Chapter, to state it, and prove it, by such Arguments as are manifestly founded in Scripture and in Reason.

And to prevent Mistakes, we must premise this in the first Place; that tho’ the blessed Millennium will not be in this Earth; yet we allow that the State of the Church here, will grow much better than it is at present. There will be a better Idea of Christianity, and according to the Prophecies, a full Resurrection of the Witnesses, and an Ascension into Power, and the tenth Part of the City will fall; which things imply ease from Persecution, the Conversion of some Part of the Christian World to the reformed Faith, and a considerable Diminution of the Power of Antichrist. But this still comes short of the Happiness and Glory wherein the future Kingdom of Christ is represented; which cannot come to pass till the Man of Sin be destroyed, with a total Destruction. After the Resurrection of the Witnesses, there is a third WOE yet to come; and how long that will last, does not appear. If it bear proportion with the preceeding WOES, it may last some hundreds of Years. And we cannot imagine the Millennium to begin till that WOE be finished: As neither till the Vials be pour’d out, in the xvth chap. which cannot be all pour’d out till after the Resurrection of the Witnesses; those Vials being the last Plagues that compleat the Destruction of Antichrist. Wherefore allowing that the Church, upon the Resurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses, will be advanc’d into a better Condition, yet that Condition cannot be the millennial State; where the Beast is utterly destroy’d, and Satan bound, and cast into the bottomless Pit.

This being premis’d, let us now examine what Grounds there are for the Translation of that blessed State into the new Heavens and new Earth; seeing that Thought, it may be, to many Persons, will appear new and extraordinary. In the first Place, we suppose it out of Dispute, that there will be new Heavens and a new Earth after the Conflagration. This was our first Proposition, and we depend upon it, as sufficiently prov’d both from Scripture and Antiquity. This being admitted, how will you flock this new Earth? What use will you put it to? ’Twill be a much nobler Earth, and better built than the present; and ’tis a pity it should only float about, empty and useless in the wild Air. If you will not make it the Seat and Habitation of the Just in the blessed Millennium, what will you make it? How will it turn to Account? What hath Providence design’d it for? We must not suppose new Worlds made without Counsel or Design. And as, on the one Hand, you cannot tell what to do with this new Creation, if it be not thus employ’d; so, on the other Hand, it is every way fitted and suited to be an happy and paradisaical Habitation, and answers all the natural Characters of the millennial State; which is a great Presumption that it is design’d for it.

But to argue this more closely upon Scripture-grounds: St. Peter says, the Righteous shall inhabit the new Heavens and the new Earth: 2 Pet. iii. 13. Nevertheless, according to his Promise, we look for new Heavens and new Earth, Wherein Dwelleth Righteousness: that is, a righteous People, as we have shewn before. But who are these righteous People? That’s the great Question. If you compare St. Peter’s new Heavens and new Earth with St. John’s Apoc. xxi. 1, 2. it will go far towards the Resolution of this Question: For St. John seems plainly to make the Inhabitants of the new Jerusalem to be in this new Earth. I saw, says he, new Heavens and a new Earth, and the new Jerusalem descending from God out of Heaven; therefore descending into this new Earth, which he had mention’d immediately before. And there the Tabernacle of God was with Men, ver. 3. and there he that sat upon the Throne, said, Behold I make all Things new. Referring still to the new Heavens and new Earth, as the Theatre where all these Things are acted, or all these Scenes exhibited; from the first Verse to the eighth: Now the new Jerusalem State being the same with the Millennial, if the one be in the new Heavens and new Earth, the other is there also. And this Interpretation of St. John’s Word is confirm’d and fully assur’d to us by the Prophet Isaiah; who also placeth the Joy and Rejoicing of the new Jerusalem in the new Heavens and new Earth, Chap. lxv. 17, 18. For behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth; and the former shall not be remembred: but be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a Rejoicing, and her People a Joy: Namely, in that new Heavens and new Earth; which answers to St. John’s Vision of the new Jerusalem being let down upon the new Earth.

To these Reasons, and Deductions from Scripture, we might add the Testimony of several of the Fathers; I mean of those that were Millennaries: For we are speaking now to such as believe the Millennium, but place it in the present Earth before the Renovation; whereas the antient Millennaries suppos’d the Regeneration and Renovation of the World before the Kingdom of Christ came: As you may see in [1]Irenæus, [2]Justin Martyr, [3]Tertullian, [4]Lactantius, and [5]the Author ad Orthodoxos. And the Neglect of this, I look upon as one Reason, as we noted before, that brought that Doctrine into Discredit and Decay. For when they plac’d the Kingdom of the Saints upon this Earth, it became more capable of being abus’d, by fanatical Spirits, to the Disturbance of the World, and the Invasion of the Rights of the Magistrates, Civil or Ecclesiastical, under that Notion of Saints; and made them also dream of sensual Pleasures, such as they see in this Life: Or at least gave an Occasion and Opportunity to those, that had a Mind to make the Doctrine odious, of charging it with these Consequences. All these Abuses are cut off, and these Scandals prevented, by placing the Millennium aright: Namely, not in this present Life, or on this present Earth, but in the new Creation, where Peace and Righteousness will dwell. And this is our first Argument why we place the Millennium in the new Heavens and new Earth; and ’tis taken partly, you see, from the Reason of the Thing itself, the Difficulty of assigning any other use of the new Earth, and its fitness for this; and partly from Scripture-evidence, and partly from Antiquity.

The second Argument for our Opinion, is this; the present Constitution of Nature will not bear that Happiness, that is promis’d in the Millennium, or is not consistent with it. The Diseases of our Bodies, the Disorders of our Passions, the Incommodiousness of external Nature; Indigency, Servility, and the Unpeaceableness of the World; these are things inconsistent with the Happiness that is promis’d in the Kingdom of Christ. But these are constant Attendants upon this Life, and inseparable from the present State of Nature. Suppose the Millennium was to begin nine or ten Years hence, as some pretend it will; how shall this World, all of a sudden, be metamorphos’d into that happy State? Apoc. xxi. 4. No more Sorrow, nor crying, nor Pain, nor Death, says St. John: All former Things are past away. But how past away? Shall we not have the same Bodies; and the same external Nature; and the same Corruptions of the Air; and the same Excesses and Intemperature of Seasons? Will there not be the same Barrenness of the Ground, the same Number of People to be fed; and must they not get their living by the Sweat of their Brows, with servile Labour and Drudgery? How then are all former Evils past away? And as to publick Affairs, while there are the same Necessities of human Life, and a Distinction of Nations, those Nations sometimes will have contrary Interests, will clash and interfere one with another; whence Differences, and Contests, and Wars will arise, and the thousand Years Truce, I am afraid, will be often broken. We might add also, that if our Bodies be not chang’d, we shall be subject to the same Appetites, and the same Passions; and upon those Vices will grow, as bad Fruit upon a bad Tree: To conclude, so long as our Bodies are the same, external Nature the same, the Necessities of human Life the same; which things are the Roots of Evil; you may call it a Millennium, or what you please, but there will be still Diseases, Vices, Wars, Tears and Cries, Pain and Sorrow in this Millennium; and if so, ’tis a Millennium of your own making, for that which the Prophets describe, is quite another thing.

Farthermore, if you suppose the Millennium will be upon this Earth, and begin, it may be, ten or twenty Years hence, how will it be introduc’d? How shall we know when we are in it, or when we enter upon it? If we continue the same, and all Nature continue the same, we shall not discern when we slip into the Millennium. And as to the moral State of it, shall we all, on a sudden, become Kings and Priests to God? Wherein will that Change consist, and how will it be wrought? St. John makes the first Resurrection introduce the Millennium; and that’s a conspicuous Mark and Boundary: But as to the modern or vulgar Millennium, I know not how ’tis usher’d in. Whether they suppose a visible Resurrection of the Martyrs, and a visible Ascension; and that to be a Signal to all the World that the Jubilee is beginning; or whether ’tis gradual, and creeps upon us insensibly; or the Fall of the Beast marks it: These things need both Explication and Proof: for to me they seem either arbitrary or unintelligible.

But to pursue our Design and Subject: That which gives me the greatest Scandal in this Doctrine of the vulgar Millennium, is their joining Things together that are really inconsistent; a natural World of one Colour, and a moral World of another. They will make us happy in spight of Nature; as the Stoicks would make a Man happy in Phalaris his Bull; so must the Saints be in full Bliss in the Millennium, tho’ they be under a Fit of the Gout, or the Stone. For my part, I could never reconcile Pain to Happiness; it seems to me to destroy and drown all Pleasure, as a loud Noise does a still Voice: It affects the Nerves with Violence, and over-bears all other Motions. But if, according to this modern Supposition, they have the same Bodies, and breath the same Air in the Millennium, as we do now, there will be both private and epidemical Distempers, in the same Manner as now. Suppose then a Plague comes and sweeps away half an hundred thousand Saints in the Millennium, is this no Prejudice or Dishonour to the State? Or a War makes a Nation desolate; or, in single Persons, a lingring Disease makes Life a Burthen; or a burning Fever, or a violent Cholick tortures them to Death; where such Evils as these reign, christen the thing what you will, it can be no better than a Mock-Millennium. Nor shall I ever be persuaded that such a State as our present Life, where an aking Tooth, or an aking Head, does so discompose the Soul, as to make her unfit for Business, Study, Devotion, or any useful Employment; and that all the Powers of the Mind, all its Virtue, and all its Wisdom, are not able to stop these little Motions, or to support them with Tranquillity: I can never persuade my self, I say, that such a State was design’d by God or Nature, for a State of Happiness.

Our third Argument is this; the future Kingdom of Christ will not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy’d: But that will not be wholly destroy’d till the End of the World, and the appearing of our Saviour; therefore the Millennium will not be till then. Christ and Antichrist cannot reign upon Earth together; their Kingdoms are opposite, as Light and Darkness: Besides, the Kingdom of Christ is universal, extends to all the Nations, and leaves no room for other Kingdoms at that time. Thus it is describ’d in Daniel, in the Place mention’d before, chap. vii. 13, 14. I saw in the Night Visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, came with the Clouds of Heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days; and there was given him Dominion and Glory, and a Kingdom; that all People, Nations, and Languages, should serve him. And again ver. 27. And the Kingdom and Dominion, and the Greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven, shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High; whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all Dominion shall serve and obey him. The same Character of Universality is given to the Kingdom of Christ by David, Psal. ii. and Psal. lxxii. Isaiah ii. 2. and other Prophets. But the most direct Proof of this, is from the Apocalypse, where the Beast and false Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, (chap. xix. 20.) before the Millennium comes on, chap. xx. This, being cast into a Lake of Fire burning with Brimstone, must needs signify utter Destruction: Not a Diminution of Power only, but a total Perdition and Consumption. And that this was before the Millennium, of the Beast and false Prophets being in the Lake of Fire, as of a Thing past, and formerly transacted. For when Satan, at length, is thrown into the same Lake ’tis said, he is thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Beast and the false Prophets are, Apoc. xx. 10. They were there before, it seems; namely, at the beginning of the Millennium; and now at the Conclusion of it, the Devil is thrown in to them: Besides, the Ligation of Satan proves this Point effectually; for so long as Antichrist reigns, Satan cannot be said to be bound; but he is bound at the Beginning of the Millennium, therefore Antichrist’s Reign was then totally expir’d. Lastly, the Destruction of Babylon, and the Destruction of Antichrist go together; but you see Babylon utterly and finally destroy’d, (Apoc. xviii. and xix.) before the Millennium comes on: I say, utterly and finally destroy’d. For she is not only said to be made an utter Desolation, but to be consum’d by Fire; and absorpt as a Millstone thrown into the Sea; and that he shall be found no more at all, chap. xviii. 21. Nothing can express a total and universal Destruction more effectually, or more emphatically. And this is before the Millennium begins; as you may see both by the Order of the Prophesies, and particularly, in that upon this Destruction, the Hallelujah’s are sung, ch. xix. and concluded thus, ver. 6, 7. Hallelujah, for the God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Honour to him; for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her self ready. This, I suppose, every one allows to be the millennial State, which now approaches, and is making ready, upon the Destruction of Babylon.

Thus much for the first Part of our Argument, that the Kingdom of Christ will not take place, till the Kingdom of Antichrist be wholly destroy’d. We are now to prove the second Part, that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not be wholly destroy’d till the End of the World, and the coming of our Saviour. This, one would think, is sufficiently prov’d from St. Paul’s Words alone, 2 Thess. ii. 8. The Lord shall consume the Man of Sin, who is suppos’d the same with Antichrist, with the Spirit of his Mouth, and shall destroy him with the Brightness of his coming. He will not then be destroyed before the coming of our Saviour; and that will not be till the End of the World. For St. Peter says, Acts iii. 21. The Heaven must receive him, speaking of Christ, until the Times of Restitution of all things; that is, the Renovation of the World. And if we consider that our Saviour’s coming will be in Flames of Fire, as the same Apostle St. Paul tells us, 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. ’tis plain, that his coming will not be till the Conflagration; in which last Flames Antichrist will be universally destroy’d. This Manner of Destruction agrees also with the Apocalypse and with Daniel, and the Prophets of the Old Testament. As to the Apocalypse, Babylon, the Seat of Antichrist, is represented there as destroy’d by Fire, ch. xviii. 8, 18. ch. xiv. 11. ch. xix. 3, 20. And in Daniel, when the Beast is destroy’d, ch. vii. 11. His Body was given to the burning Flame. Then as to the other Prophets, they do not, you know, speak of Antichrist or the Beast in Terms, but under the Types of Babylon, Tyre, and such-like; and these Places or Princes are represented by them as to be destroy’d by Fire, Isa. xiii. 19. Jer. ii. 25. Ezek. xxviii. 18.

So much for this third Argument; the fourth Argument is this; the future Kingdom of Christ will not be till the Day of Judgment and the Resurrection; but that will not be till the End of the World: Therefore, neither the Kingdom of Christ. By the Day of Judgment here, I do not mean the final and universal Judgment; nor by the Resurrection, the final and universal Resurrection; for these will not be till after the Millennium. But we understand here the first Day of Judgment and the first Resurrection, which will be at the End of this present World; according as St. John does distinguish them, in the xxth chap. of the Apocalypse. Now that the Millennium will not be till the Day of Judgment in this Sense, we have both the Testimonies of Daniel and of St. John. Daniel, in chap. vii. ver. 9, &c. ver. 26, &c. supposes the Beast to rule till Judgment shall sit, and then they shall take away his Dominion, and it shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most High. St. John makes an explicit Declaration of both these, in his xxth chap. of the Apocalypse, which is the great Directory in this point of the Millennium; he says there were Thrones set, as for a Judicature, ver. 4. Then there was a Resurrection from the Dead, and those that rise, reigned with Christ a thousand Years: Here’s a judicial Session, a Resurrection, and the Reign of Christ joined together. There is also another Passage in St. John that joins the Judgment of the Dead with the Kingdom of Christ; ’tis in the xith Chapter, under the seventh Trumpet; the Words are these, ver. 15. And the seventh Angel sounded, and there were great Voices in Heaven, saying, the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever, And the four and twenty Elders, &c. And the Nations were angry, and thy Wrath is come, and the time of the Dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give Reward unto thy Servants the Prophets, and to the Saints, and them that fear thy Name. Here are two things plainly express’d and link’d together, The judging of the Dead, and the Kingdom of Christ; wherein the Prophets and Saints are rewarded. Now as the judging of the Dead is not in this Life, so neither is the Reward of the Prophets and Saints in this Life; as we are taught sufficiently in the Gospel, and by the Apostles, Mat. xix. 28. 1 Thess. i. 7. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 1 Pet. i. 7. and ch. v. 4. Therefore the Reign and Kingdom of Christ, which is joined with these two, cannot be in this Life, or before the End of the World: And as a farther Testimony and Confirmation of this, we may observe that St. Paul to Timothy hath joined together these three things; the Appearance of Christ, the Reign of Christ, and the judging of the Dead. I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, at his appearing, and his Kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 1.

This might also be prov’d from the Order, Extent and Progress of the Prophesies of the Apocalypse; whereof some are such as reach to the End of the World, and yet must be accomplish’d before the Millennium begins, as the Vials. Others are so far already advanc’d towards the End of the World, as to leave no room for a thousand Years Reign; as the Trumpets. But because every one hath his own Interpretation of these Prophesies, and it would be tedious here to prove any single Hypothesis in Contradistinction to all the rest, we will therefore leave this Remark, to have more or less Effect, according to the Minds it falls upon; and proceed to our fifth Argument.

Fifthly, The new Jerusalem State is the same with the millennial State; but the new Jerusalem State will not be till the End of the World, or till after the Conflagration; therefore neither the Millennium: That the new Jerusalem State is the same with the Millennium, is agreed upon, I think, by all Millennaries, ancient and modern: Justin Martyr, Irenæus and Tertullian, speak of it in that Sense; and so do the latter Authors, so far as I have observed. And St. John seems to give them good Authority for it; in the xxth chap. of the Apocalypse, he says, the Camp of the Saints, and the beloved City were besieg’d by Satan and his gigantick Crew at the End of the Millennium: That beloved City is the new Jerusalem, and you see it is the same with the Camp of the Saints, or, at least, contemporary with it. Besides, the Marriage of the Lamb was in, or at the Appearance of the new Jerusalem, for that was the Spouse of the Lamb, Apoc. xxi. 2. Now this Spouse was ready, and this Marriage was said to be come, at the Destruction of Babylon, which was the Beginning of the Millennium, chap. xviii. 7. Therefore the new Jerusalem run all along with the Millennium, and was indeed the same thing under another Name. Lastly, what is this new Jerusalem, if it be not the same with the millennial State? It is promis’d a Reward to the Sufferers for Christ Apoc. iii. 12. and you see its wonderful Privileges, chap. xxi. 3, 4. and yet it is not Heaven and eternal Life; for it is said to come down from God out of Heaven, ch. xxi. 2. and ch. iii. 12. It can therefore be nothing but the glorious Kingdom of Christ upon Earth, where the Saints shall reign with him a thousand Years.

Now as to the second Part of our Argument, that the new Jerusalem will not come down from Heaven till the End of the World; of this St. John seems to give us a plain Proof or Demonstration; for he places the new Jerusalem in the new Heaven and new Earth, which cannot be till after the Conflagration. Let us hear his Words, Apoc. xxi. 1, 2. And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away, and there was no more Sea. And I John saw the holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven; prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. When the new Earth was made, he sees the new Jerusalem coming down upon it; and this Renovation of the Earth not being till the Conflagration, the new Jerusalem could not be till then neither. The Prophet Isaiah had long before said the same thing, though not in terms so express; he first says, Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein you shall rejoice: Then subjoins immediately, Behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, Isa. lxv. 17, 18. This rejoicing is still in the same Place; in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerusalem. And St. John, in a like Method, first sets down the new Earth, then the new Jerusalem; and expresses the Mind of the Prophet Isaiah more distinctly.

This leads me to a sixth Argument to confirm our Conclusion: The Time of the Restitution or Restauration of all Things, spoken of by St. Peter and the Prophets, is the same with the Millennium; but that Restauration will not be till the coming of Christ, and the End of the World; therefore neither the Millennium. That this Restitution of all things will not be till the coming of our Saviour, St. Peter declares in his Sermon, Acts iii. 21. and that the coming of our Saviour will not be till the End of the World, or till the Conflagration, both St. Paul and St. Peter signify to us, 1 Thess. i. 7, 8. 2 Pet. iii. 10. therefore it remains only to prove, that this Restitution of all Things spoken of here by the Apostle, is the same with the Millennium. I know that which it does directly and immediately signify, is the Renovation of the World: but it must include the moral World as well as the Natural; otherwise it cannot be truly said, as St. Peter does there, that all the Prophets have spoken of it. And what is the Renovation of the natural and moral World, but the new Jerusalem or the Millennium?

These Arguments, taken together, have, to me, an irresistible Evidence for the Proof of our Conclusion; that the blessed Millennium cannot obtain in the present Earth, or before the Conflagration; but when Nature is renew’d, and the Saints and Martyrs rais’d from the Dead, then they shall reign together with Christ, in the new Heavens and new Earth, or in the new Jerusalem; Satan being bound for a thousand Years.

Chap. IX.

The chief Employment of the Millennium, Devotion and Contemplation.

We have now done with the Substance of our Discourse; which is comprehended in these three Propositions:

I. After the Conflagration of this World, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth, and that Earth will be inhabited.

II. That there is an happy millennial-State, or a future Kingdom of Christ and his Saints, prophesied of and promis’d in the Old and New Testament; and receiv’d by the Primitive Church, as a Christian and Catholick Doctrine.

III. That this blessed millennial-State, according as it is describ’d in Scripture, cannot take place in the present Earth, nor under the present Constitution of Nature and Providence; But is to be celebrated in the new Heavens and new Earth, after the Conflagration.

These three Propositions support this Work, and if any of them be broken, I confess my Design is broken, and this Treatise is of no Effect: But what remains to be spoken to in these last Chapters, is more circumstantial or modal; and an Error or Mistake in such things, does not wound any vital Part of the Argument. You must not therefore lay aside your Severity and rigorous Censures; we are very happy, if, in this Life, we can attain to the Substance of Truth; and make rational Conjectures concerning Modes and Circumstances, where every one hath Right to offer his Sense, with Modesty and Submission. Revelations made to us from Heaven in this present State, are often incompleat, and do not tell us all; as if it was on purpose to set our Thoughts a-work to supply the rest; which we may lawfully do, provided it be according to the Analogy of Scripture and Reason.

To proceed therefore; we suppose, as you see, the new Heavens and the new Earth to be the Seat of the Millennium, and that new Creation to be Paradisiacal: Its Inhabitants also to be righteous Persons, the Saints of the most High. And seeing the ordinary Employments of our present Life will then be needless and superseded, as Military-Affairs, Sea-Affairs, most Trades and Manufactures, Law, Physick, and the laborious part of Agriculture; it may be wonder’d, how this happy People will bestow their Time; what Entertainment they will find in a State of so much Ease, and so little Action. To this one might answer in short, by another Question, How would they have entertain’d themselves in Paradise, if Man had continued in Innocency? This is a Revolution of the same State, and therefore they may pass Time as well now as they could have done then. But to answer more particularly, besides all innocent Diversions, ingenuous Conversations, and Entertainments of Friendship, the greatest part of their Time will be spent in Devotion and Contemplation. O happy Employment, and next to that of Heaven it self! What do the Saints Above, but sing Praises unto God, and contemplate his Perfections! And how mean and despicable, for the most part, are the Employments of this present Life, if compar’d with those intellectual Actions! If Mankind was divided into ten Parts, nine of those ten employ their Time to get Bread to their Belly, and Cloaths to their Back; and what Impertinences are these to a reasonable Soul, if she was free from the Clog of a mortal Body, or if that could be provided for, without Trouble or lots of Time? Corporeal Labour is from Need and Necessity, but intellectual Exercises are matter of Choice, that please and perfect at the same Time.

Devotion warms and opens the Soul, and disposes it to receive divine Influences. It sometimes raises the Mind into an heavenly Ecstasy, and fills it with a Joy that is not to be express’d. When it is pure, it leaves a strong Impression upon the Heart, of Love to God; and inspires us with a Contempt of this World, having tasted the Pleasures of the World to come. In the State which we speak of, seeing the Tabernacle of God will be with Men, Apoc. xxi. 3. we may reasonably suppose that there will be greater Effusions and Irradiations of the Holy Spirit, than we have or can expect in this Region of Darkness; and consequently, all the Strength and Comfort that can arise from private Devotion.

And as to their publick Devotions, all Beauties of Holiness, all Perfection of divine Worship, will shine in their Assemblies. Whatsoever David says of Sion and Jerusalem, Psal. lxxxiv. are but Shadows of this New Jerusalem, and of the Glory that will be in those Solemnities, Psal. lxxxvii. Imagine what a Congregation will be there of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Christian Martyrs, and Saints of the first Rank, throughout all Ages: And these all known to one another by their Names and History. This very meeting together of such Persons, must needs create a Joy unspeakable: But when they unite in their Praises to God and to the Lamb, with pure Hearts full of divine Love; when they sing their Hallelujahs to him that sits upon the Throne, that hath wash’d them in his Blood, and redeem’d them out of every Kingdom, and Tongue, and People, and Nation: When, with their Palms in their Hands, they triumph over Sin and Death, and Hell, and all the Powers of Darkness; can there be any thing, on this side Heaven, and a Choir of Angels, more glorious or more joyful?

But why did I except Angels? Why may not they be thought to be present at these Assemblies? In a Society of Saints and purified Spirits, why should we think their Converse impossible? In the Golden Age, the Gods were always represented, as having freer Intercourse with Men; and before the Flood, we may reasonably believe it so. I cannot think, Enoch was translated into Heaven without any Converse with its Inhabitants before he went thither: And seeing the Angels vouchsafed often, in former Ages, to visit the Patriarchs upon Earth, we may with Reason judge, that they will much more converse with the same Patriarchs and holy Prophets, now they are risen from the Dead, and cleans’d from their Sins, and seated in the New Jerusalem. I cannot but call to mind, upon this Occasion, that Representation which St. Paul makes to us, of a glorious State and a glorious Assembly, too high for this present Earth: ’Tis, (Hebr. xii. 22, &c.) in these Words: But you are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable Company of Angels; to the general Assembly and Church of the First-born, which are written in Heaven; and to God the Judge of all, and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect. This, I know, several apply to the Times and State of the Gospel, in Opposition to that of the Law; and it is introduc’d in that manner; but here are several Expressions too high for any present State of Things; they must respect a future State, either of Heaven, or of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ: And to the latter of these Expressions agree, and have a peculiar Fitness and Applicability to it. And what follows in the Context, ver. 26, 27, 28. About shaking the Heavens and the Earth once more; removing the former Scenes, and bringing on a new Kingdom that cannot be shaken: All this, I say, answers to the Kingdom of Christ, which is to be establish’d in the new Heavens and new Earth.

But to proceed in their publick Devotions; Suppose this August Assembly, inflam’d with all divine Passions, met together to celebrate the Name of God, with Angels intermixt, to bear a Part in this holy Exercise: And let this Concourse be, not in any Temple made with Hands, but under the great Roof Heaven, (the true Temple of the most High,) so as all the Air may be fill’d with the chearful Harmony of their Hymns and Hallelujahs: Then, in the height of their Devotion, as they sing Praises to the Lamb, and to him that sits upon the Throne, suppose the Heavens to open, and the Son of God to appear in his Glory, Apoc. v. 11. with thousands and ten thousands of Angels round about him; that their Eyes may see him, who, for their Sakes was crucified upon Earth, now encircled with Light and Majesty. This will raise them into as great Transports as human Nature can bear: They will wish to be dissolv’d, they will strive to fly up to him in the Clouds, or to breathe out their Souls in repeated Doxologies of Blessing, Ch. v. 13. and Honour, and Glory, and Power, to him that sits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.

But we cannot live always in the Flames of Devotion; the Weakness of our Nature will not suffer us to continue long under such strong Passions, and such Intenseness of Mind. The Question is therefore, What will be the ordinary Employment of that Life? How will they entertain their Thoughts, or spend their Time? For we suppose they will not have that multiplicity of frivolous Business that we have now; about our Bodies, about our Children; in Trades and Mechanicks; in Traffick and Navigation; or Wars by Sea or Land. These things being swept away wholly, or in a great Measure, what will come in their Place? How will they find Work or Entertainment for a long Life? If we consider, who they are that will have a Part in this first Resurrection, and be Inhabitants of that World that is to come, we may easily believe that the most constant Employment of their Life will be Contemplation. Not that I exclude any innocent Diversions, as I said before; the Entertainments of Friendship, or ingenuous Conversation; but the great Business and Design of that Life is Contemplation, as preparatory to Heaven and eternal Glory. Ut paulatim assueseant capere Deum, L. 5. c. 32. as Irenæus says, that they may, by Degrees, enlarge their Capacities, fit and accustom themselves to receive God. Or, as he says in another Place, That they may become capable of the Glory of the Father; that is, capable of bearing the Glory and Presence of God; capable of the highest Enjoyment of him, which is usually call’d the Beatifical Vision; and is the Condition of the Blessed in Heaven.

It cannot be deny’d, that in such a Millennial State, where we shall be freed from all the Incumbrances of this Life, and provided of better Bodies and greater Light of Mind: It cannot be doubted, I say, but that we shall then be in a Disposition to make greater Proficiency in the Knowledge of all Things, divine and intellectual; and consequently of making happy Preparations for our entring upon a further State of Glory: For there is nothing certainly does more prepare the Mind of Man for the highest Perfections, than Contemplation, with that Devotion which naturally flows from it, as Heat follows Light. And this Contemplation hath always a greater or less Effect upon the Mind according to the Perfection of its Object; so as the Contemplation of the divine Nature is, of all others, the most perfective in it self, and to us, according to our Capacities and Decree of Abstraction. An immense Being does strangely fill the Soul; and Omnipotency, Omnisciency, and infinite Goodness, do enlarge and dilate the Spirit, while it fixily looks upon them. They raise strong Passions of Love and Admiration, which melt our Nature, and transform it into the Mould and Image of that which we contemplate: What the Scripture says of our Transformation into the divine Likeness; what St. John and the Platonists say of our Union with God; and whatever is not cant in the mystical Theology, when they tell us of being deified; all this must spring from these Sources of Devotion and Contemplation: They will change and raise us from Perfection to Perfection, as from Glory to Glory, into a greater Similitude and nearer Station to the divine Nature.

The Contemplation of God and his Works comprehends all Things; for the one makes the uncreated World, and the other the created: And as the divine Essence and Attributes are the greatest Objects that the Mind of Man can set before it self; so next to that are the Effects and Emanations of the Divinity, or the Works of the divine Goodness, Wisdom and Power in the created World. This hath a vast Extent and Variety, and would be sufficient to entertain their Time, in that happy State, much longer than a thousand Years; as you will easily grant, if you allow me but to point at the several Heads of those Speculations.

The Contemplation of the created World divides it self into three Parts; that of the intellectual World; that of the corporeal; and the Government and Administration of both, which is usually call’d Providence. These three, drawn into one Thought, with the Reasons and Proportions that result from them, compose that Grand Idea, which is the Treasury and Comprehension of all Knowledge; whereof we have spoken more largely in the last Chapter of the second Book of this Theory, under the Name of the Mundane Idea. But at present we shall only mention such Particulars, as may be thought proper Subjects for the Meditations and Enquiries of those who shall enjoy that happy State which we now treat of.

As to the intellectual World, excepting our own Souls, we know little, in this Region of Darkness where we are at present, more than bare Names: We hear of Angels and Archangels, of Cherubins and Seraphins, of Principalities and Powers, and Thrones, and Dominions: We hear the Sound of these Words with Admiration, but we know little of their Natures; wherein their general Notion, and wherein their Distinction consists; what peculiar Excellencies they have, what Offices and Employments, of all this we are ignorant; only in general, we cannot but suppose that there are more Orders and Degrees of intellectual Beings, betwixt us and the Almighty, than there are Kinds or Species of living Creatures upon the Face of the Earth; betwixt Man their Lord and Master, and the least Worm that creeps upon the Ground; nay, than there are Stars in Heaven, or Sands upon the Sea-shore. For there is an infinite Distance and Interval betwixt us and God Almighty, and all that is fill’d with created Beings of different Degrees of Perfection, still approaching nearer and nearer to their Maker. And when this invisible World shall be open’d to us, when the Curtain is drawn, and the Celestial Hierarchy set in order before our Eyes, we shall despise our selves, and all the petty Glories of a mortal Life, as the Dirt under our Feet.

As to the corporeal Universe, we have some Share already in the Contemplation and Knowledge of that; though little in Comparison of what will be then discover’d. The Doctrine of the Heavens, fixed Stars, Planets and Comets, both as to their Matter, Motion and Form, will be then clearly demonstrated; and what are Mysteries to us now, will become matter of ordinary Conversation: We shall be better acquainted with our neighbouring Worlds, and make new Discoveries as to the State of their Affairs. The Sun especially, the great Monarch of the planetary Worlds; whose Dominion reaches from Pole to Pole, and the Greatness of his Kingdom is under the whole Heaven: Who sends his bright Messengers every Day through all the Regions of his vast Empire; throwing his Beams of Light round about him, swifter and farther than a Thought can follow: This noble Creature, I say, will make a good part of their Study in the succeeding World. Eudoxus, the Philosopher, wish’d he might dye like Phaeton, in approaching too near to the Sun, provided he could fly so near it, and endure it so long, till he had discover’d its Beauty and Perfection. Who can blame his Curiosity? Who would not venture far to see the Court of so great a Prince, who hath more Worlds under his Command than the Emperors of the Earth have Provinces or Principalities? Neither does he make his Subjects Slaves to his Pleasure, or Tributaries to serve and supply his Wants: On the contrary, they live upon him, he nourishes and preserves them; gives them Fruits every Year, Corn, and Wine, and all the Comforts of Life: This glorious Body, which now we can only gaze upon and admire, will be then better understood. A Mass of Light and Flame, and ethereal Matter, ten thousand times bigger than this Earth; enlightning and enlivening an Orb that exceeds the Bulk of our Globe, as much as that does the least Sand upon the Sea-shore, may reasonably be presum’d to have some great Being at the Centre of it; but what that is we must leave to the Enquiries of another Life.

The Theory of the Earth will be a common Lesson there; carried through all its Vicissitudes and Periods from first to last, till its entire Revolution be accomplish’d. I told you in the Preface, the Revolution of the World was one of the greatest Speculations that we are capable of in this Life; and this little World where we are, will be the first and easiest Instance of it, seeing we have Records, Historical, or Prophetical, that reach from the Chaos to the End of the new Heavens and new Earth; which course of Time makes up the greatest part of the Circle or Revolution. And as what was before the Chaos, was but, in my Opinion, the first Remove from a fixed Star, so what is after the thousand Years Renovation, is but the last Step to it again.

The Theory of human Nature is also an useful and necessary Speculation, and will be carried on to Perfection in that State. Having fix’d the true Distinction betwixt Matter and Spirit, betwixt the Soul and the Body, and the true Nature and Laws of their Union, the original Contract, and the Terms ratified by Providence at their first Conjunction, it will not be hard to discover the Springs of Action and Passion; how the Thoughts of our Mind and the Motions of our Body act in dependance one upon another. What are the primary Differences of Genius’s and Complexions, and how our Intellectuals or Morals depend upon them? What is the Root of Fatality, and how far it extends? By these Lights they will see into their own and every Man’s Breast, and trace the Foot-steps of the divine Wisdom in that strange Composition of Soul and Body.

This indeed is a mix’d Speculation, as most others are, and takes in something of both Worlds, intellectual and corporeal; and may also belong in part to the third Head we mention’d, Providence: But there is no need of distinguishing these Heads so nicely, provided we take in, under some or other of them, what may be thought best to deserve our Knowledge now, or in another World. As to Providence, what we intend chiefly by it here, is the general Oeconomy of our Religion, and what is reveal’d to us in Scripture, concerning God, Angels, and Mankind. These Revelations, as most in Sacred Writ, are short and incompleat; as being design’d for Practice more than for Speculation, or to awaken and excite our Thoughts rather than to satisfy them. Accordingly, we read in Scripture of a Triune Deity; of God made Flesh in the Womb of a Virgin; barbarously crucified by the Jews; descending into Hell; rising again from the Dead; visibly ascending into Heaven; and sitting at the Right Hand of God the Father, above Angels and Archangels. These great things are imperfectly revealed to us in this Life; which we are to believe so far as they are revealed, in hopes these Mysteries will be made more intelligible in that happy State to come, where Prophets, Apostles and Angels, will meet in Conversation together.

In like manner, how little is it we understand concerning the Holy Ghost? that he descended like a Dove upon our Saviour, Mat. iii. 16. Like cloven Tongues of Fire upon the Apostles the Place being fill’d with a rushing mighty Wind, Acts ii. That he over shadow’d the blessed Virgin, and begot the Holy Infant, Mat. i. 18. That he made the Apostles speak all sorts of Tongues and Languages ex tempore, and pour’d out strange Virtues and miraculous Gifts upon the Primitive Christians, Luke i. 35. These things we know as bare Matter of Fact, but the Method of these Operations we do not at all understand. Who can tell us now, what that is which we call Inspiration? What Change is wrought in the Brain, and what in the Soul, and how the Effect follows? Who will give us the just Definition of a Miracle? What the proximate Agent is above Man, and whether they are all from the same Power? How the Manner and Process of those miraculous Changes in Matter may be conceiv’d? These Things we see darkly, and hope they will be set in a clearer Light, and the Doctrines of our Religion more fully expounded to us, in that future World. For as several things obscurely express’d in the Old Testament, are more clearly reveal’d in the New; so the same Mysteries, in a succeeding State, may still receive a farther Explication.

The History of the Angels, good or bad, makes another Part of this providential System. Christian Religion gives us some Notices of both Kinds, but very imperfect; what Interest the good Angels have in the Government of the World, and in ordering the Affairs of this Earth and Mankind? What Subjection they have to our Saviour? And what Part in his Ministry? Whether they are Guardians to particular Persons, to Kingdoms, to Empires? All that we know at present, concerning these Things, is but conjectural. And as to the bad Angels, who will give us an Account of their Fall and of their former Condition? I had rather know the History of Lucifer, than of all the Babylonian and Persian Kings; nay, than of all the Kings of the Earth. What the Birth-right was of that mighty Prince? What his Dominions? Where his Imperial Court and Residence? How he was depos’d? For what Crime, and by what Power? How he still wages War against Heaven, in his Exile? What Confederates he hath? What is his Power over Mankind, and how limited? What Change or Damage he suffer’d by the Coming of Christ, and how it alter’d the Posture of his Affairs? Where he will be imprison’d in the Millennium; and what will be his last Fate and final Doom? whether he may ever hope for a Revolution or Restauration? These things lie hid in the secret Records of Providence, which then, I hope, will be open’d to us.

With the Revolution of Worlds, we mention’d before the Revolution of Souls; which is another great Circle of Providence, to be studied hereafter: We know little here, either of the Pre-existence or Post-existence of our Souls. We know not what they will be, till the loud Trump awakes us, and calls us again into the corporeal World. Who knows how many Turns he shall take upon this Stage of the Earth, and how many Trials he shall have, before his Doom will be finally concluded? Who knows where, or what, is the State of Hell? Where the Souls of the Wicked are said to be for ever? What is the true State of Heaven? What our celestial Bodies? and, what that sovereign Happiness that is call’d the Beatifical Vision? Our Knowledge and Conceptions of these things are, at present, very general and superficial; but in the future Kingdom of Christ, which is introductory to Heaven it self, these Imperfections, in a great measure, will be done away; and such Preparations wrought, both in the Will and Understanding, as may fit us for the Life of Angels, and the Enjoyment of God in eternal Glory.

Thus you see in general, what will be the Employment of the Saints in the blessed Millennium: And tho’ they have few of the trifling Businesses of this Life, they will not want the best and noblest of Diversions. ’Tis an happy thing when a Man’s Pleasure is also his Perfection; for most Men’s Pleasures are such as debase their Nature. We commonly gratify our lower Faculties, our Passions, and our Appetites; and these do not improve, but depress the Mind; and besides they are so gross that the finest Tempers are surfeited in a little time. There is no lasting Pleasure but Contemplation; all others grow flat and insipid upon frequent Use; and when a Man hath run thorow a Set of Vanities, in the Declension of his Age he knows not what to do with himself, if he cannot Think; he saunters about, from one dull Business to another to wear out time; and hath no Reason to value Life, but because he is afraid of Death: But Contemplation is a continual Spring of fresh Pleasures. Truth is inexhausted, and when once you are in the right Way, the farther you go, the greater Discoveries you make, and with the greater Joy. We are sometimes highly pleased, and even transported, with little inventions in Mathematicks, or Mechanicks, or natural Philosophy; all these things will make part of their Diversion and Entertainment in that State, all the Doctrine of Sounds and Harmony, of Light, Colours, and Perspective, will be known in Perfection: But these I call Diversions, in comparison of their higher and more serious Speculations, which will be the Business and Happiness of that Life.

Do but imagine, that they will have the Scheme of all humane Affairs lying before them, from the Chaos to the last Period; the universal History and Order of Times; the whole Oeconomy of the Christian Religion, and of all the Religions in the World; the Plan of the Undertaking of the Messiah, with all other Parts and Ingredients of the Providence of this Earth: Do but imagine this, I say, and you will easily allow, that when they contemplate the Beauty, Wisdom and Goodness of the whole Design, it must needs raise great and noble Passions, and a far richer Joy than either the Pleasures or Speculations of this Life can exite in us; and this being the last Act and Close of all human Affairs, it ought to be the more exquisite and elaborate, that it may crown the Work, satisfy the Spectators, and end in a general Applause; the whole Theatre resounding with the Praises of the great Dramatist, and the wonderful Art and Order of the Composition.

Chap. X.

Objections against the Millennium, answer’d. With some Conjectures concerning the State of Things after the Millennium; and what will be the final Consummation of this World.

You see how Nature and Providence have conspir’d, to make the Millennium as happy a State, as any terrestrial State can be: For, besides Health and Plenty, Peace, Truth, and Righteousness will flourish there, and all the Evils of this Life stand excluded. There will be no ambitious Princes, studying Mischief one against another, or contriving Methods to bring their own Subjects into Slavery; no mercenary Statesmen to assist and intrigue with them, no Oppression from the Powerful, no Snares or Traps laid for the Innocent, no treacherous Friends, no malicious Enemies, no Knaves, Cheats, Hypocrites; the Vermin of this Earth, that swarm every where. There will be nothing but Truth, Candor, Sincerity and Ingenuity; as in a Society or Commonwealth of Saints and Philosophers: In a Word, ’twill be Paradise restor’d, both as to Innocency of Temper, and the Beauties of Nature.

I believe you will be apt to say, if this be not true, ’tis pity but it should be true: For ’tis a very desirable State, where all good People would find themselves mightily at ease. What is it that hinders it then? It must be some ill Genius; for Nature tends to such a Renovation, as we suppose; and Scripture speaks loudly of an happy State to be some time or other on this side Heaven: And what is there, pray, in this present World, Natural and Moral, if I may ask with Reverence, that could make it worth the while for God to create it, if it never was better, nor ever will be better? Is there not more Misery than Happiness? Is there not more Vice than Virtue in this World? As if it had been made by a Manichean God. The Earth barren, the Heavens inconstant; Men wicked and God offended: This is the Posture of our Affairs, such hath our World been hitherto, with Wars and Bloodshed, Sickness, and Diseases, Poverty, Servitude and perpetual Drudgery for the Necessaries of a mortal Life. We may therefore reasonably hope, from a God infinitely good and powerful, for better Times and a better State, before the last Period and Consummation of all Things.

But it will be objected, it may be, that, according to Scripture, the Vices and Wickedness of Men will continue to the End of the World; and so there will be no room for such an happy State, as we hope for, Luk. xviii. 8. Our Saviour says, When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find Faith upon the Earth? They shall eat and drink and play, as before the Destruction of the old World, or of Sodom, (Luke xvii. 26, &c.) and the Wickedness of those Men, you know, continued to the last. This Objection may pinch those that suppose the Millennium to be in the present Earth, and a thousand Years before the coming of our Saviour; for his Words seem to imply that the World will be in a State of Wickedness even till his coming. Accordingly Antichrist or the Man of Sin, is not said to be destroy’d till the coming of our Saviour, 2 Thess. ii. 8. and till he be destroy’d, we cannot hope for a Millennium. Lastly, The coming of our Saviour is always represented in Scripture as sudden, surprizing and unexpected; as Lightning breaking suddenly out of the Clouds, (Luke xvii. 24. and ch. xxi. 34, 35.) or as a Thief in the Night, 1 Thess. v. 2, 3, 4. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Apoc. xvi. 15. But if there be such a Fore-runner of it as the millennial State, whose Bounds we know, according as that expires and draws to an End, Men will be certainly advertis’d of the approaching of our Saviour: But this Objection, as I told you, does not affect our Hypothesis, for we suppose the Millennium will not be till after the coming of our Saviour, and the Conflagration. And also that his coming will be sudden and surprising; and that Antichrist will continue in being, tho’ not in the same degree of Power, till that time: So that they that place the Millennium in the present Earth, are chiefly concern’d to answer this first Objection.

But you will object, it may be, in the second Place, that this Millennium, wheresoever it is, would degenerate at length into Sensuality, and a Mahometan Paradise: For where there are earthly Pleasures and earthly Appetites, they will not be kept always in order without any Excess or Luxuriancy; especially as to the Senses to Touch and Taste. I am apt to think this is true, if the Soul have no more Power over the Body than she hath at present, and our Senses, Passions, and Appetites be as strong as they are now: But according to our Explication of the Millennium, we have great Reason to hope, that the Soul will have a greater Dominion over the Resurrection-Body, than she hath over this; and you know we suppose that none will truly inherit the Millennium, but those that rise from the Dead: Nor do we admit any Propagation there, nor the Trouble or Weakness of Infants. But that all rise in a perfect Age, and never die; being translated, at the final Judgment, to meet our Saviour in the Clouds, and to be with him for ever: Thus we easily avoid the Force of this Objection. But those that place the Millennium in this Life, and to be enjoy’d in these Bodies, must find out some new Preservatives against Vice, otherwise they will be continually subject to Degeneracy.

Another Objection may be taken from the personal Reign of Christ upon Earth, which is a thing incongruous, and yet asserted by many modern Millennaries; that Christ should leave that Right-Hand of his Father, to come and pass a thousand Years here below, living upon Earth in an heavenly Body: This, I confess, is a thing I never could digest, and therefore I am not concern’d in this Objection; not thinking it necessary that Christ should be personally present and resident upon Earth in the Millennium. I am apt to believe that there will be then a celestial Presence of Christ, or a Shekinah, as we noted before; as the Sun is present to the Earth, yet never leaves its Place in the Firmament; so Christ may be visibly conspicuous in his heavenly Throne, as he was to St. Stephen, Acts vii. 55, 56. and yet never leave the Right Hand of his Father. And this would be a more glorious and illustrious Presence, than if he should descend, and converse amongst Men in a personal Shape: But these things not being distinctly reveal’d to us, we ought not to determine any thing concerning them, but with Modesty and Submission.

We have thus far pretty well escap’d, and kept our selves out of the reach of the ordinary Objections against the Millennium: But there remains one, concerning a double Resurrection, which must fall upon every Hypothesis, and ’tis this. The Scripture, they say, speaks but of one Resurrection; whereas the Doctrine of the Millennium supposes two; one at the Beginning of the Millennium, for the Martyrs, and those that enjoy that happy State, and the other at the End of it; which is universal and final, in the last Day of Judgment. ’Tis true, Scripture generally speaks of the Resurrection in gross; without distinguishing first and second; and so it speaks of the Coming of our Saviour, without Distinction of first or second yet it does not follow from that, that there is but one coming of our Saviour, so neither that there is but one Resurrection. And seeing there is one place of Scripture that speaks distinctly of two Resurrections, namely, the xxth chap. of the Apocalypse, that is to us a sufficient Warrant for asserting two; as there are some things in one Evangelist that are not in another, yet we think them authentick if they be but in one: There are also some things in Daniel, concerning the Messiah, and concerning the Resurrection, that are not in the rest of the Prophets; yet we look upon his single Testimony as good Authority. St. John wrote the last of all the Apostles, and as the whole Series of his Prophecies is new, reaching through the latter Times to the Consummation of all Things; so we cannot wonder if he had something more particular reveal’d to him concerning the Resurrection: That which was spoken of before in general, being distinguish’d now into first and second, or particular and universal, in this last Prophet. See Mr. Mede. Some think St. Paul means no less, when he makes an Order in the Resurrection; some rising sooner, some later, 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24, 1 Thess.. iv. 14, 15, &c. but whether that be so or no, St. John might have a more distinct Revelation concerning it, than St. Paul had, or any one before him.

After these Objections, a great many Queries and Difficulties might be propos’d relating to the Millennium: But that’s no more than what is found in all other Matters, remote from our Knowledge. Who can answer all the Queries that may be made concerning Heaven, or Hell, or Paradise? When we know a Thing as to the Substance, we are not to let go our Hold, tho’ there remain some Difficulties unresolv’d; otherwise we should be eternally sceptical in most Matters of Knowledge. Therefore, tho’ we cannot, for Example, give a full Account of the Distinction of Habitations and Inhabitants in the future Earth; or, of the Order of the first Resurrection, whether it be perform’d by degrees and successively, or all the Inhabitants of the new Jerusalem rise at once, and continue throughout the whole Millennium: I say, tho’ we cannot give a distinct Account of these, or such like Particulars, we ought not therefore to deny or doubt whether there will be a new Earth, or a first Resurrection. For the Revelation goes clearly so far, and the Obscurity is only in the Consequences and Dependences of it; which Providence thought fit, without farther Light, to leave to our Search and Disquisition.

Scripture mentions one Thing, at the End of the Millennium, which is a common Difficulty to all; and every one must contribute their best Thoughts and Conjectures towards the Solution of it: ’Tis the strange Doctrine of Gog and Magog, Apoc. xx. 8, 9. which are to rise up in Rebellion against the Saints, and besiege the holy City, and the holy Camp: And this is to be upon the Expiration of the thousand Years, when Satan is loosen’d; for no sooner will his Chains be knock’d off, but he will put himself in the Head of this Army of Giants, or Sons of the Earth, and attack Heaven, and the Saints of the most High: But with ill Success, for there will come down Fire and Lightning from Heaven, and consume them. This, methinks, hath a great Affinity with the History of the Giants, rebelling and assaulting Heaven, and struck down by Thunder-Bolts: But that of setting Mountains upon Mountains, or tossing them into the Sky, that’s the poetical Part, and we must not expect to find it in the Prophecy. The Poets told their Fable, as of a thing past, and so it was a Fable; but the Prophets speak of it, as of a Thing to come, and so it will be a Reality: But how and in what Sense it is to be understood and explain’d, every one has the Liberty to make the best Judgment he can.

Ezekiel mentions Gog and Magog, ch. xxxviii. and xxxix. which I take to be only Types and Shadows of these which we are now speaking of, and not yet exemplify’d, no more than his Temple. And seeing this People is to be at the End of the Millennium, and in the same Earth with it, we must, according to our Hypothesis, plant them in the future Earth, and therefore all former Conjectures about the Turks, or Scythians, or other Barbarians, are out of Doors with us, seeing the Scene of this Action does not lie in the present Earth: They are also represented by the Prophet, as a People distinct and separate from the Saints, not in their Manners only, but also in their Seats and Habitations; for (Apoc. xx. 8, 9.) they are said to come up from the four Corners of the Earth, upon the Breadth of the Earth, and there to besiege the Camp of the Saints and the beloved City: This makes it seem probable to me, that there will be a double Race of Mankind in that future Earth; very different one from another, both as to their Temper and Disposition, and as to their Origin: The one born from Heaven, Sons of God, and of the Resurrection, who are the true Saints and Heirs of the Millennium. The other born of the Earth, Sons of the Earth, generated from the Slime of the Ground, and the Heat of the Sun, as brute Creatures were at first: This second Progeny or Generation of Men in the future Earth, I understand to be signified by the Prophet under these borrowed or feigned Names of Gog and Magog: And this Earth-born Race, increasing and multiplying after the Manner of Men, by carnal Propagation, after a thousand Years, grew numerous, as the Sand by the Sea; and thereupon made an Irruption or Inundation upon the Face of the Earth, and upon the Habitations of the Saints; as the barbarous Nations did formerly upon Christendom; or as the Giants are said to have made War against the Gods: But they were soon confounded in their impious and sacrilegious Design, being struck and consum’d by Fire from Heaven.

Some will think, it may be, that there was such a double Race of Mankind in the first World also: The Sons of Adam, and the Sons of God; because it is said, Gen. vi. When Men began to multiply upon the Face of the Earth, that the Sons of God saw the Daughters of Men, that they were fair, and they took them Wives of all that they lik’d. And it is added, presently, ver. 4. There were Giants in the Earth in those Days; and also after that, when the Sons of God came in unto the Daughters of Men, and they bare Children to them; the same became mighty Men, which were of old, Men of Renown. Here seem to be two or three Orders or Races in this Ante-diluvian World. The Sons of God; the Sons and Daughters of Adam; and a third Sort arising from the Mixture and Copulation of these, which are call’d Mighty Men of old, or Heroes. Besides, here are Giants mention’d, and to which they are to be reduc’d, it does not certainly appear.

This Mixture of these two Races, whatsoever they were, gave, it seems, so great Offence to God, that he destroy’d that World upon it, in a Deluge of Water. It hath been matter of great Difficulty to determine, who these Sons of God were, that fell in Love with and married the Daughters of Men. There are two Conjectures that prevail most; one, that they were Angels; and another, that they were of the Posterity of Seth, and distinguished from the rest, by their Piety, and the Worship of the true God; so that it was a great Crime for them to mingle with the rest of Mankind, who are suppos’d to have been Idolaters: Neither of these Opinions is to me satisfactory. For as to Angels, good Angels neither marry, nor are given in Marriage, Mat. xxii. 30. and bad Angels are not called the Sons of God. Besides, if Angels were capable of those mean Pleasures, we ought in Reason to suppose, that there are Female Angels, as well as Male; for surely those Capacities are not in vain through a whole Species of Beings. And if there be Female Angels, we cannot imagine, but that they must be of a far more charming Beauty than the dowdy Daughters of Men. Then as to the Line of Seth, it does not appear that there was any such Distinction of Idolaters and true Worshipers before the Flood, or that there was any such thing as Idolatry at that time, nor for some Ages after. Besides, it is not said, that the Sons of God fell in Love with the Daughters of Cain, or of any degenerate Race, but with the Daughters of Adam; which may be the Daughters of Seth, as well as of any other: These Conjectures therefore seem to be shallow and ill-grounded. But what the Distinction was of those two Orders, remains yet very uncertain.

St. Paul to the Galatians, (chap. iv. 21, 22, &c.) makes a Distinction also of a double Progeny; that of Sarah, and that of Hagar: One was born according to the Flesh, after a natural Manner; and the other by the divine Power, or in virtue of the divine Promise. This Distinction of a natural and supernatural Origin, and of a double Progeny; the one born to Servitude, the other to Liberty, represents very well either the Manner of our present Birth, and of our future, at the Resurrection; or that double Progeny and double manner of Birth, which we suppose in the future Earth. ’Tis true, St. Paul applies this to the Law and the Gospel; but typical Things, you know, have different Aspects and Complexions, which are not exclusive of one another; and so it may be here. But however, this double Race of Mankind in the future Earth, to explain the Doctrine of Gog and Magog, is but a Conjecture; and does not pretend to be otherwise considered.

The last Thing that remains to be considered and accounted for, is the Upshot and Conclusion of all; namely, what will become of the Earth after the thousand Years expir’d? Or after the Day of Judgment past, and the Saints translated into Heaven, what will be the Face of Things here below? There being nothing expresly reveal’d concerning this, we must not expect a positive Resolution of it: And the Difficulty is not peculiar to our Hypothesis; for though the Millennium, and the final Judgment, were concluded in the present Earth, the Quære would still remain, What would become of this Earth after the last Day? So that all Parties are equally concern’d, and equally free, to give their Opinion, What will be the last State and Consummation of this Earth: Scripture, I told you, hath not defin’d this Point; and the Philosophers say very little concerning it. The Stoicks indeed speak of the final Resolution of all things into Fire, or into Ether: which is the purest and subtlest sort of Fire: So that the whole Globe or Mass of the Earth, and all particular Bodies, will, according to them, be at last dissolv’d into a liquid Flame. Neither was this Doctrine first invented by the Stoicks; Heraclitus taught it long before them, and I take it to be as ancient as Orpheus himself; who was the first Philosopher amongst the Greeks: And he deriving his Notions from the Barbarick Philosophers, or the Sages of the East, that School of Wisdom may be look’d upon as the true Seminary of this Doctrine, as it was of most other natural Knowledge.

But this Dissolution of the Earth into Fire, may be understood two Ways; either that it will be dissolv’d into a loose Flame, and so dissipated and lost as Lightning in the Air, and vanish into nothing; or that it will be dissolv’d into a fix’d Flame, such as the Sun is, or a fix’d Star. And I am of Opinion, that the Earth after the last Day of Judgment, will be chang’d into the Nature of a Sun, or of a fix’d Star, and shine like them in the Firmament: Being all melted down into a Mass of æthereal Matter, and enlightning a Sphere or Orb round about it. I have no direct and demonstrative Proof of this I confess, but if Planets were once fixed Stars, as I believe they were, their Revolution to the same State again, in a great Circle of Time, seems to be according to the Methods of Providence, which loves to recover what was lost or decay’d, after certain Periods, and what was originally good and happy, to make it so again, all Nature, at last, being transform’d into a like Glory with the Sons of God, (Rom. viii. 21.)

I will not tell you what Foundation there is in Nature, for this Change or Transformation from the interiour Constitution of the Earth, and the Instances we have seen of new Stars appearing in the Heavens. I should lead the English Reader too far out of his Way, to discourse of these things: But if there be any Passages or Expressions in Scripture, that countenance such a State of things after the Day of Judgment, it will not be improper to take Notice of them. That radiant and illustrious Jerusalem, describ’d by St. John Apoc. xxi. ver. 10, 11, 12, &c. compos’d all of Gemms and bright Materials, clear and sparkling, as a Star in the Firmament: Who can give an Account what that is? Its Foundations, Walls, Gates, Streets, all the Body of it, resplendent as Light or Fire? What is there in Nature, or in this Universe, that bears any Resemblance with such a Phænomenon as this, unless it be a Sun or a fix’d Star? Especially if we add and consider what follows, ver. 23. That the City had no need of the Sun, nor of the Moon to shine in it, ver. 25. And that there was no Night there. This can be no terrestrial Body; it must be a Substance luminous in it self, and a Fountain of Light, as a fix’d Star: And upon such a Change of the Earth, or Transformation, as this, would be brought to pass the Saying that is written, Death is Swallowed up in Victory. Which indeed St. Paul seems to apply to our Bodies in particular, 1 Cor. xv. 54. But in the eighth Chap. to the Romans he extends it to all Nature, ver. 21. The Creation it self also shall be deliver’d from the Bondage of Corruption, into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God. And accordingly St. John, speaking of the same Time with St. Paul in that Place to the Corinthians, namely, of the general Resurrection and Day of Judgement, says, Death and Hades, which we render Hell, were cast into the Lake of Fire, Apoc. xx. 14. This is their being swallowed up in Victory, which St. Paul speaks of; when Death and Hades, that is, all the Region of Mortality, the Earth and all its Dependences, are absorpt into a Mass of Fire; and converted, by a glorious Victory over the Powers of Darkness, into a luminous Body and a Region of Light.

This great Issue and Period of the Earth, and of all human Affairs, tho’ it seem to be founded in Nature, and supported by several Expressions of Scripture; yet we cannot, for want of full Instruction, propose it otherwise than as a fair Conjecture: The Heavens and the Earth shall flie away at the Day of Judgment, says the Text, Apoc. xx. 11. And their Place shall not be found. This must be understood of our Heavens and our Earth; and their flying away must be their removing to some other Part of the Universe, so as their Place or Residence shall not be found any more here below. This is the easy and natural Sense of the Words; and this Translation of the Earth will not be without some Change preceeding, that makes it leave its Place, and, with a lofty Flight, takes its Seat amongst the Stars.——There we leave it; having conducted it for the Space of seven thousand Years thro’ various Changes, from a dark Chaos to a bright Star.

FINIS.

A REVIEW Of the Sacred Theory of the Earth,

And of its

PROOFS:

Especially in Reference to

SCRIPTURE.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Hooke in Fleet-street.

A Review.

To take a Review of this Theory of the Earth, which we have now finish’d, we must consider, first, the Extent of it, and then the principal Parts whereof it consists: It reaches, as you see, from one End of the World to the other; from the first Chaos to the last Day, and the Consummation of all Things. This probably, will run the length of seven thousand Years; which is a good competent Space of Time to exercise our Thoughts upon, and to observe the several Scenes which Nature and Providence bring into View within the Compass of so many Ages.

The Matter and principal Parts of this Theory are such things as are recorded in Scripture: We do not feign a Subject, and then discant upon it, for Diversion; but endeavour to give an intelligible and rational Account of such Matters of Fact, past or future, as are there specified and declared. What it hath seem’d good to the Holy Ghost to communicate to us, by History or Prophecy, concerning the several States and general Changes of this Earth, makes the Argument of our Discourse: Therefore the Things themselves must be taken for granted, in one Sense or other, seeing, besides all other Proofs, they have the Authority of a Revelation; and our Business is only to give such an Explication of them, as shall approve it self to the Faculties of Man, and be conformable to Scripture.

We will therefore first set down the Things themselves, that make the subject Matter of this Theory; and remind you of our Explication of them: Then recollect the general Proofs of that Explication, from Reason and Nature; but more fully and particularly shew how it is grounded upon Scripture. The primary Phænomena whereof we are to give an Account, are these five or six.

I. The Original of the Earth from a Chaos.

II. The State of Paradise, and the antediluvian World.

III. The universal Deluge.

IV. The universal Conflagration.

V. The Renovation of the World, or the new Heavens and new Earth.

VI. The Consummation of all Things.

These are unquestionably in Scripture; and these all relate, as you see, to the several Forms, States and Revolutions of this Earth. We are therefore oblig’d to give a clear and coherent Account of these Phænomena, in that Order and Consecution wherein they stand to one another.

There are also in Scripture some other Things, relating to the same Subjects, that may be call’d the secondary Ingredients of this Theory, and are to be referr’d to their respective primary Heads. Such are, for Instance,

I. The Longevity of the Ante-diluvians.

II. The Rupture of the great Abyss, at the Deluge.

III. The appearing of the Rainbow after the Deluge, as a Sign that there never should be a second Flood.

These things Scripture hath also left upon Record, as Directions and Indications how to understand the ante-diluvian State, and the Deluge it self. Whosoever therefore shall undertake to write the Theory of the Earth, must think himself bound to give us a just Explication of these secondary Phænomena, as well as of the primary; and that in such a Dependance and Connexion, as to make them give and receive Light from one another.

The former Part of the Task is concerning the World behind us, Times and Things past, that are already come to Light: The latter is concerning the World before us, Times and Things to come; that lie yet in the Bosom of Providence, and in the Seeds of Nature. And these are chiefly the Conflagration of the World, and the Renovation of it. When these are over and expir’d, then comes the End, as St. Paul says, 1 Cor. xv. Then the Heavens and the Earth fly away, as St. John says, Apoc. xx. Then is the Consummation of all Things, and the last Period of this sublunary World, whatsoever it is: Thus far the Theorist must go, and pursue the Motions of Nature, till all Things are brought to Rest and Silence: And in this latter Part of the Theory, there is also a collateral Phænomenon, the Millennium, or thousand Years Reign of Christ and his Saints upon Earth, to be consider’d. For this, according as it is reported in Scripture, does imply a Change in the natural World, as well as in the Morals and therefore must be accounted for in the Theory of the Earth: At least it must be there determin’d, whether that State of the World, which is singular and extraordinary, will be before or after the Conflagration.

These are the Principals and Incidents of this Theory of the Earth, as to the Matter and Subject of it; which, you see, is both important, and wholly taken out of Scripture: As to our Explication of these Points, that is sufficiently known, being set down at large in four Books of this Theory; Therefore it remains only, having seen the Matter of the Theory, to examine the Form of it, and the Proofs of it; for from these two things it must receive its Censure. As to the Form, the Characters of a regular Theory seem to be these three; Few and easy Postulatums; Union of Parts; and a Fitness to answer, fully and clearly, all the Phænomena to which it is to be apply’d.

We think our Hypothesis does not want any of these Characters: As to the first, we take but one single Postulatum for the whole Theory, and that an easy one, warranted both by Scripture and Antiquity; namely, That this Earth rise, at first, from a Chaos: As to the second, Union of Parts, the whole Theory is but one Series of Causes and Effects from that first Chaos. Besides, you can scarce admit any one Part of it, first, last, or intermediate, but you must, in Consequence of that, admit all the rest. Grant me but that the Deluge is truly explain’d, and I’ll desire no more Proof for all the Theory: Or, if you begin at the other End, and grant the new Heavens and new Earth after the Conflagration, you will be led back again to the first Heavens and first Earth that were before the Flood. For St. John says, that new Earth was without a Sea, Apoc. xxi. 1. And it was a Renovation, or Restitution to some former State of Things: There was therefore some former Earth without a Sea; which not being the present Earth, it must be the ante-diluvian. Besides, both St. John, and the Prophet Esaias, have represented the new Heavens and new Earth, as paradisiacal, according as it proved, Book IV. Chap. 2. And having told us the Form of the new-future-Earth, that it will have no Sea, it is a reasonable Inference that there was no Sea in the paradisiacal Earth. However, from the Form of this future Earth, which St. John represents to us, we may at least conclude, that an Earth without a Sea is no Chimæra, or Impossibility; but rather a fit Seat and Habitation for the Just and the Innocent.

Thus you see the Parts of the Theory link and hold fast one another, according to the Second Character: And as to the third, of being suited to the Phænomena, we must refer that to the next Head of Proofs. It may be truly said, that bare Coherence and Union of Parts is not a sufficient Proof; the Parts of a Fable or Romance may hang aptly together, and yet have no Truth in them: This is enough indeed to give the Title of a just Composition to any Work, but not of a true one; till it appear that the Conclusions and Explications are grounded upon good natural Evidence, or upon good Divine Authority. We must therefore proceed now to the third thing to be consider’d in a Theory, What its Proofs are? Or the Grounds upon which it stands, whether Sacred or Natural?

According to natural Evidence, things are proved from their Causes or their Effects; and we think we have this double Order of Proofs for the Truth of our Hypothesis: As to the Method of Causes, we proceed from what is more simple, to what is more compound, and build all upon one Foundation. Go but to the Head of the Theory, and you will see the Causes lying in a Train before you, from first to last; and tho’ you did not know the natural History of the World, past or future, you might, by Intuition, foretel it, as to the grand Revolutions and successive Faces of Nature, through a long Series of Ages. If we have given a true Account of the Motions of the Chaos, we have also truly form’d the first habitable Earth; and if that be truly form’d we have thereby given a true Account of the State of Paradise, and of all that depends upon it; and not of that only, but also of the universal Deluge. Both these we have shewn in their Causes; The one from the Form of that Earth, and the other from the Fall of it into the Abyss: And tho’ we had not been made acquainted with these things by Antiquity, we might, in Contemplation of the Causes, have truly conceiv’d them as Properties or Incidents to the first Earth. But as to the Deluge, I do not say, that we might have calculated the Time, Manner, and other Circumstances of it: These things were regulated by Providence, in subordination to the moral World; but that there would be, at one Time or other, a Disruption of that Earth, or of the great Abyss, and in Consequence of it, an universal Deluge; so far, I think, the Light of a Theory might carry us.

Farthermore, in Consequence of this Disruption of the primæval Earth, at the Deluge, the present Earth was made hollow and cavernous, [Theor. Book iii. chap. 7, and 8.] and by that means, (due Preparations being used) capable of Combustion, or of perishing by an universal Fire: Yet, to speak ingenuously, this is as hard a Step to be made, in virtue of natural Causes, as any in the whole Theory. But in Recompence of that Defect, the Conflagration is so plainly and literally taught us in Scripture, and avow’d by Antiquity, that it can fall under no dispute, as to the Thing it self; and as to a Capacity or Disposition to it in the present Earth, that I think is sufficiently made out.

Then, the Conflagration admitted, in that way it is explain’d in the third Book; the Earth, you see, is, by that Fire, reduc’d to a second Chaos. A Chaos truly so call’d; and from that, as from the first, arises another Creation, or new Heavens and a new Earth; by the same Causes, and in the same Form, with the paradisiacal. This is the Renovation of the World; the Restitution of all Things mention’d both by Scripture and Antiquity; and by the Prophet Isaiah, St. Peter and St. John, call’d the new Heavens and new Earth: With this, as the last Period, and most glorious Scene of all human Affairs, our Theory concludes, as to this Method of Causes, whereof we are now speaking.

I say, here it Ends as to the Method of Causes: For tho’ we pursue the Earth still farther, even to its last Dissolution, which is call’d the Consummation of all Things; yet all that we have superadded upon that Occasion, is but problematical, and may, without Prejudice to the Theory, be argued and disputed on either Hand. I do not know, but that our Conjectures there may be well grounded; but however, not springing so directly from the same Root, or, at least, not by Ways so clear and visible, I leave that Part undecided: Especially seeing we pretend to write no more than the Theory of the Earth, and therefore as we begin no higher than the Chaos, so we are not oblig’d to go any farther than to the last State of a terrestrial Consistency; which is that of the new Heavens and the new Earth.

This is the first natural Proof, from the Order of Causes: The second is from the Consideration of Effects; namely, of such Effects as are already in being: And therefore this Proof can extend only to that Part of the Theory, that explains the present and past Form and Phænomena of the Earth. What is future, must be left to a farther Trial, when the Thing comes to pass, and present themselves to be examin’d and compar’d with the Hypothesis. As to the present Form of the Earth, we call all Nature to Witness for us; the Rocks and the Mountains, the Hills and the Valleys, the deep and wide Sea, and the Caverns of the Ground: Let these speak, and tell their Origin: How the Body of the Earth came to be thus torn and mangled? If this strange and irregular Structure was not the Effect of a Ruin; and of such a Ruin as was universal over the Face of the whole Globe. But we have given such a full Explication of this, in the first Part of the Theory, from chap. ix. to the End of that Treatise, that we dare stand to the Judgment of any that reads those four Chapters to determine if the Hypothesis does not answer to all those Phænomena, easy and adequately.

The next Phænomenon to be consider’d, is the Deluge, with its Adjuncts: This also is fully explain’d by our Hypothesis, in the iid, iiid, and vith Chapters of the first Book: Where it is shewn, that the Mosaical Deluge, that is, an universal Inundation of the whole Earth, above the Tops of the highest Mountains, made by a breaking open of the great Abyss, (for thus far Moses leads us) is fully explain’d by this Hypothesis, and cannot be conceiv’d in any other Method hitherto propos’d. There are no Sources or Stores of Water sufficient for such an Effect, that may be drawn upon the Earth, and drawn off again, but by supposing such an Abyss, and such a Disruption of it, as the Theory represents.

Lastly, As to the Phænomena of Paradise, and the ante-diluvian World, we have set them down in Order in the second Book; and apply’d to each of them its proper Explication, from the same Hypothesis. We have also given an Account of that Character which Antiquity always assign’d to the first Age of the World, or the Golden Age, as they call’d it; namely, Equality of Seasons throughout the Year, or a perpetual Equinox. We have also taken in all the Adjuncts or Concomitants of these States, as they are mention’d in Scripture. The Longevity of the Ante-diluvians, and the Declension or their Age by degrees, after the Flood: As also that wonderful Phænomenon, the Rainbow; which appear’d to Noah for a Sign, that the Earth should never undergo a second Deluge. And we have shewn [Theor. Book ii. ch. 5.] wherein the Force and Propriety of that Sign consisted, for confirming Noah’s Faith in the Promise and in the Divine Veracity.

Thus far we have explain’d the past Phænomena of the natural World: The rest are Futurities, which still lie hid in their Causes; and we cannot properly prove a Theory from Effects that are not yet in Being: But so far as they are foretold in Scripture, both as to Substance and Circumstance, in Prosecution of the same Principles we have ante-dated their Birth, and shew’d how they will come to pass. We may therefore, I think, reasonably conclude, that this Theory has perform’d its Task and answer’d its Title; having given an Account of all the general Changes of the natural World as far as either Sacred History looks backwards, or Sacred Prophecy looks forwards; so far as the one tells us what is past in Nature, and the other what is to come; And if all this be nothing but an Appearance of Truth, ’tis a kind of Fatality upon us to be deceiv’d.

So much for natural Evidence, from the Causes or Effects: We now proceed to Scripture, which will make the greatest Part of this Review. The Sacred Basis upon which the whole Theory stands, is the Doctrine of St. Peter, deliver’d in his second Epistle and third Chapter, concerning the triple Order and Succession of the Heavens and the Earth; that comprehends the whole Extent of our Theory; which indeed is but a large Commentary upon St. Peter’s Text. The Apostle sets out a three-fold State of the Heavens and Earth, with some general Properties of each, taken from their different Constitution and different Fate. The Theory takes the same three-fold State of the Heavens and the Earth; and explains more particularly, wherein their different Constitution consists; and how, under the Conduct of Providence, their different Fate depends upon it. Let us set down the Apostle’s Words, with the Occasion of them; and their plain Sense, according to the most easy and natural Explication.

2 Pet. iii. ver. 3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last Days Scoffers, walking after their own Lusts.

4. And saying, where is the Promise of his coming? For since the Fathers fell asleep, all Things continue as they were from the Beginning of the Creation.

5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God, the Heavens were of old, and the Earth consisting of Water and by Water.

6. Whereby the World that then was, being overflowed with Water, perished.

7. But the Heavens and the Earth that are now, by the same Word, are kept in Store, reserved unto Fire against the Day of Judgment, and Perdition of ungodly Men.—

10. The Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night, in which the Heavens shall pass away with a great Noise, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat; the Earth also and the Works that are therein shall be burnt up.

13. Nevertheless we, according to his Promise, look for new Heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth Righteousness.

This is the whole Discourse so far as relates to our Subject: St. Peter, you see, had met with some that scoff’d at the future Destruction of the World, and the coming of our Saviour; and they were Men, it seems, that pretended to Philosophy and Argument; and they use this Argument for their Opinion, Seeing there has been no Change in Nature, or in the World, from the Beginning to this Time, why should we think there will be any Change for the future?

The Apostle answers to this, that they willingly forget, or are ignorant, that there were Heavens of old, and an Earth, so and so constituted; consisting of Water and by Water; by reason whereof that World, or those Heavens and that Earth, perish’d in a Deluge of Water. But, saith he, the Heavens and the Earth, that are now, are of another Constitution, fitted and reserved to another Fate; namely to perish by Fire: And after these are perish’d, there will be new Heavens and a new Earth, according to God’s Promise.

This is an easy Paraphrase, and the plain and genuine Sense of the Apostle’s Discourse; and no Body, I think, would ever look after any other Sense, if this did not carry them out of their usual Road, and point to Conclusions which they did not fancy. The Sense, you see, hits the Objection directly, or the Cavil which these Scoffers made; and tells them, that they vainly pretend that there hath been no change in the World since the Beginning; for there was one sort of Heavens and Earth before the Flood, and another Sort now, the first having been destroy’d at the Deluge. So that the Apostle’s Argument stands upon this Foundation, that there is a Diversity betwixt the present Heavens and Earth, and the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth; take away that, and you take away all the Force of his Answer.

Then as to his new Heavens and new Earth after the Conflagration, they must be material and natural, in the same Sense and Signification with the former Heavens and Earth; unless you will offer open Violence to the Text. So that this Triplicity of the Heavens and the Earth, is the first, obvious, plain Sense of the Apostle’s Discourse; which every one would readily accept, if it did not draw after it a long Train of Consequences, and lead them into other Worlds than they ever thought of before, or are willing to enter upon now.

But we shall have Occasion by and by, to examine this Text more fully in all its Circumstances: Give me leave in the mean time to observe, that St. Paul also implies that triple Creation which St. Peter expresses. St. Paul, I say, in the viiith Chapter to the Romans, ver. 20, 21. tells us of a Creation that will be redeem’d from Vanity, which are the new Heavens and new Earth to come. A Creation in Subjection to Vanity; which is the present State of the World; and a Creation that was subjected to Vanity, in hopes of being restored, which was the first Paradisiacal Creation: And these are the three States of the natural World, which make the Subject of our Theory.

To these two Places of St. Peter and St. Paul, I might add that third in St. John, concerning the new Heavens and new Earth, with that distinguishing Character, that the Earth was without a Sea: As this distinguisheth it from the present Earth, so, being a Restitution or Restauration, as we noted before, it must be the same with some former Earth; and consequently it implies, that there was another precedent State of the natural World, to which this is a Restitution. These three Places I alledge, as comprehending and confirming the Theory in its full Extent; But we do not suppose them all of the same Force and Clearness; St. Peter leads the Way, and gives Light and Strength to the other two: When a Point is prov’d by one clear Text, we allow others, as Auxiliaries, that are not of the same Clearness; but being open’d, receive Light from the primary Text, and reflect it upon the Argument.

So much for the Theory in general: We will now take one or two principal Heads of it, which virtually contain all the rest, and examine them more strictly and particularly, in reference to their Agreement with Scripture. The two Heads we pitch upon, shall be our Explication of the Deluge, and our Explication of the new Heavens and new Earth: We told you before, these two were as the Hinges, upon which all the Theory moves, and which hold the Parts of it in firm Union one with another. As to the Deluge, if I have explain’d that aright, by the Disruption of the great Abyss, and the Dissolution of the Earth that cover’d it, all the rest follows in such a Chain of Consequences as cannot be broken. Wherefore, in order to the Proof of that Explication, and of all that depends upon it, I will make bold to lay down this Proposition, That our Hypothesis concerning the universal Deluge, is not only more agreeable to Reason and Philosophy, than any other yet propos’d to the World, but is also more agreeable to Scripture: Namely, to such Places of Scripture as reflect upon the Deluge, the Abyss, and the Form of the first Earth: And particularly to the History of Noah’s Flood, as recorded by Moses. If I can make this good, it will, doubtless, give Satisfaction to all that are free and intelligent; and I desire their Patience, if I proceed slowly and by several Steps. We will divide our Task into Parts, and examine them separately; first, by Scripture in general, and then by Moses his History and Description of the Flood.

Our Hypothesis of the Deluge consists of three principal Heads, or differs remarkably in three Things from the common Explication. First, in that we suppose the ante-diluvian Earth to have been of another Form and Constitution from the present Earth; with the Abyss placed under it.

Secondly, In that we suppose the Deluge to have been made, not by any Inundation of the Sea, or overflowing of Fountains and Rivers; nor (principally) by an Excess of Rains; but by a real Dissolution of the exteriour Earth, and Disruption of the Abyss which it cover’d: These are the two principal Points; to which may be added, as a Corollary,

Thirdly, That the Deluge was not in the nature of a standing Pool; the Waters lying every where level, of an equal Depth, and with an uniform Surface; but was made by a Fluctuation and Commotion of the Abyss upon the Disruption: Which Commotion being over, the Waters retired into their Channels, and let the dry Land appear.

These are the most material and fundamental Parts of our Hypothesis; and these being prov’d consonant to Scripture, there can be no doubt of the rest.

We begin with the first: That the ante-diluvian Earth was of another Form and Constitution from the present Earth, with the Abyss placed under it: This is confirm’d in Scripture, both by such Places as assert a Diversity in general; and by other Places that intimate to us, wherein that Diversity consisted, and what was the form of the first Earth. That Discourse of St. Peter’s, which we have set before you concerning the past, present and future Heavens and Earth, is so full a Proof of this Diversity in general, that you must either allow it, or make the Apostle’s Argumentation of no Effect: He speaks plainly of the natural World, The Heavens and the Earth; and he makes a plain Distinction, or rather Opposition, betwixt those before and after the Flood. So that the least we can conclude from his Words, is a Diversity betwixt them; in answer to that Identity or Immutability of Nature, which the Scoffers pretended to have been ever since the Beginning.

But tho’ the Apostle, to me, speaks plainly of the natural World, and distinguishes that which was before the Flood, from the present; yet there are some that will allow neither of these to be contain’d in St. Peter’s Words; and by that means would make this whole Discourse of little or no Effect, as to our Purpose: And seeing we, on the contrary, have made it the chief Scripture-Basis of the whole Theory of the Earth, we are oblig’d to free it from those false Glosses or Mis-interpretations, that lessen the Force of its Testimony, or make it wholly ineffectual.

These Interpreters say, that St. Peter meant no more than to mind these Scoffers, that the World was once destroy’d by a Deluge of Water; meaning the Animate World, Mankind and living Creatures: And that it shall be destroyed again by another Element, namely, by Fire. So as there is no Opposition or Diversity betwixt the two natural Worlds, taught or intended by the Apostle; but only in reference to their different Fate or Manner of perishing, and not of their different Nature or Constitution.

Here are two main Points, you see, wherein our Interpretations of this Discourse of the Apostle’s differ. First, in that they make the Apostle (in that sixth verse) to understand only the World Animate, or Men in brute Creatures: That these were indeed destroy’d, but not the natural World, or the Form and Constitution of the then Earth and Heavens. Secondly, that there is no Diversity or Opposition made by St. Peter betwixt the antient Heavens and Earth, and the present, as to their Form and Constitution. We pretend that these are Mis-apprehensions or Mis-representations of the Sense of the Apostle in both respects, and offer these Reasons to prove them to be so.

For the first Point; That the Apostle speaks here of the natural World, particularly in the 6th verse; and that it perished, as well as the animate, these Considerations seem to prove.

First, because the Argument or Ground these Scoffers went upon, was taken from the natural World, its Constancy and Permanency in the same State from the Beginning; therefore if the Apostle answers ad idem, and takes away their Argument, he must understand the same natural World, and shew that it hath been chang’d, or hath perish’d.

You will say, it may be, the Apostle doth not deny, nor take away the Ground they went upon, but denies the Consequence they made from it; that therefore there would be no Change because there had been none. No, neither doth he do this, if by the World in the 6th verse, he understands Mankind only; for their Ground was this, There hath been no Change in the natural World; their Consequence this, Therefore there will be none, nor any Conflagration. Now the Apostle’s Answer according to you, is this, You forget that Mankind hath been destroy’d in a Deluge. And what then? What’s this to the natural World, whereof they were speaking? This takes away neither Antecedent nor Consequent, neither Ground nor Inference nor any way toucheth their Argument, which proceeded from the natural World, to the natural World. Therefore you must either suppose that the Apostle takes away their Ground, or he takes away nothing.

Secondly, What is it that the Apostle tells these Scoffers they were ignorant of? That there was a Deluge that destroy’d Mankind? They could not be ignorant of that, nor pretend to be so: It was therefore the Constitution of those old Heavens and Earth, and the Change or Destruction of them at the Deluge, that they were ignorant of, or did not attend to; and of this the Apostle minds them. These Scoffers appear to have been Jews by the Phrase they use, Since the Fathers fell asleep, which in both Parts of it is a Judaical Expression; and does St. Peter tell the Jews that had Moses read to them every Sabbath, that they were ignorant that Mankind was once destroyed with a Deluge in the Days of Noah? Or could they pretend to be ignorant of that without making themselves ridiculous both to Jews and Christians[6]? Besides, these do not seem to have been of the Vulgar amongst them, for they bring a Philosophical Argument for their Opinion; and also in their very Argument they refer to the History of the Old Testament, in saying, Since the Fathers fell asleep, amongst which Fathers, Noah was one of the most remarkable.

Thirdly, The Design of the Apostle is to prove to them, or to dispose them to the Belief of the Conflagration, or future destruction of the World; which I suppose you will not deny to be a Destruction of the natural World; therefore to prove or persuade this, he must use an Argument taken from a precedent Destruction of the natural World; for to give an instance of the perishing of Mankind only, would not reach home to his Purpose. And you are to observe here, that the Apostle does not proceed against them barely by Authority; for what would that have booted? If these Scoffers would have submitted to Authority, they had already the Authority of the Prophets and Apostles in this Point: but he deals with them at their own Weapon, and opposes Reasons to Reasons; What hath been done may be done, and if the natural World hath been once destroyed, ’tis not hard, nor unreasonable to suppose those Prophecies to be true, that say, it shall be destroyed again.

Fourthly, Unless we understand here the natural World, we make the Apostle both redundant in his Discourse, and also very obscure in an easy Argument: If his Design was only to tell them that Mankind was once destroy’d in a Deluge, what’s that to the Heavens and the Earth? The 5th verse would be superfluous; which yet he seems to make the foundation of his Discourse. He might have told them how Mankind had perished before with a Deluge, and aggravated that Destruction as much as he pleas’d, without telling them how the Heavens and the Earth were constituted then; what was that to the Purpose, if it had no Dependence or Connection with the other? In the precedent Chapter, ver. 5. when he speaks only of the Floods destroying Mankind, he mentions nothing of the Heavens or the Earth; and if you make him to intend no more here, what he says more is superfluous.

I also add, that you make the Apostle very obscure and operose in a very easy Argument: How easy had it been for him, without this Apparatus, to have told them, as he did before, that God brought a Flood upon the World of the ungodly; and not given us so much Difficulty to understand his Sense, or such a Suspicion and Appearance, that he intended something more? For that there is at least a great Appearance and Tendency to a farther Sense, I think none can deny; And St. Austin, Didymus Alex. Bede, as we shall see hereafter, understood it plainly of the natural World; also modern Expositors and Criticks; as Cajetan, Estius, Drusius, Heinsius, have extended it to the natural World, more or less, tho’ they had no Theory to mislead them, nor so much as an Hypothesis to support them; but attended only to the Tenor of the Apostle’s Discourse, which constrained them to that Sense, in whole or in Part.

Fifthly, The Opposition carries it upon the natural World: The Opposition lies betwixt the οἱ ἔκπαλαι οὐρανοὶ καὶ γῆ and οἱ νῦν οὐρανοὶ καὶ γῆ the Heavens that were of old, and the Earth, and the present Heavens and Earth, or the two natural Worlds: And if they will not allow them to be oppos’d in their Natures (which yet we shall prove by and by) at least they must be oppos’d in their Fate; and as this is to perish by Fire, so that perished by Water; and if it perish’d by Water, it perish’d; which is all we contend for at present.

Lastly, If we would be as easily govern’d in the Exposition of this Place, as we are of other Places of Scripture, it would be enough to suggest, that in Reason and Fairness of Interpretation, the same World is destroy’d in the 6th verse, that was describ’d in the foregoing verse; but it is the natural World that is describ’d there, the Heavens and the Earth, so and so constituted; and therefore in Fairness of Interpretation they ought to be understood here; that World being the Subject that went immediately before, and there being nothing in the Words that restrains them to the animate World or to Mankind. In the iid ch. ver. 5. the Apostle does restrain the Word κόσμος by adding ἀσεβῶν, the World of the ungodly; but here ’tis not only illimited, but, according to the Context, both preceding and following, to be extended to the natural World. I say by the following Context too; for so it answers to the World that is to perish by Fire; which will reach the Frame of Nature as well as Mankind.

For a Conclusion of this first Point, I will set down St. Austin’s Judgment in this Case; who in several Parts of his Works hath interpreted this Place of St. Peter, of the natural World. As to the Heavens, he hath these Words in his Expositian upon Genesis, Hos etiam aërios cœlos quondam periisse Diluvio, in quâdam earum, quæ Canonica appellantur, Epistolâ legimus. We read in one of the Epistles called Canonical, meaning this of St. Peter’s, that the aërial Heavens perished in the Deluge. And he concerns himself there to let you know that it was not the starry Heavens that were destroy’d; the Waters could not reach so high, but the Regions of our Air. Then afterwards he hath these Words, Faciliùs eos (cœlos) secundum illius Epistolæ authoritatem credimus periisse, & alios, sicut ibi scribitur repositos. We do more easily believe, according to the Authority of that Epistle, those Heavens to have perished; and others, as it is there written, substituted in their Place. In like manner, and to the same Sense, he hath these Words upon Psal. ci. Aerii utique cœli perierunt ut propinqui Terris, secundum quod dicuntur volucres cœli; sunt autem & cœli cœlorum, superiores in Firmamento, sed utrùm & ipsi perituri sint igne, an hi soli, qui etiam diluvio perierunt, disceptatio est aliquanto scrupulosior inter doctos. And in his Book de Civ. Dei, he hath several Passages to the same purpose, Quemadmodum in Apostolicâ illâ Epistolâ à toto Pars accipitur, quod diluvio periisse dictus est mundus, quamvis sola ejus cum suis cœlis pars ima perierit. These being to the same Effect with the first Citation, I need not make them English; and this last Place refers to the Earth as well as the Heavens, as several other places in St. Austin do, whereof we shall give you an Account, when we come to shew his Judgment concerning the second Point, the diversity of the ante-diluvian and post-diluvian World: This being but a Foretaste of his good Will and Inclinations towards this Doctrine.

These Considerations alledg’d, so far as I can judge, are full and unanswerable Proofs, that this Discourse of the Apostle’s comprehends and refers to the natural World; and consequently they warrant our Interpretation in this Particular, and destroy the contrary. We have but one Step more to make good, That there was a Change made in this natural World at the Deluge, according to the Apostle; and this is to confute the second Part of their Interpretation, which supposeth that St. Peter makes no Distinction or Opposition betwixt the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the present Heavens and Earth, in that respect.

This second Difference betwixt us, methinks is still harsher than the first; and contrary to the very Form, as well as to the Matter of the Apostle’s Discourse. For there is a plain Antithesis, or Opposition made betwixt the Heavens and the Earth of old (ver. the 5th) and the Heavens and the Earth that are now (ver. the 7th) οἱ ἔκπαλαι οῦρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, and οἱ νῦν οῦρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, and the adversitive Particle, δὲ but, you see marks the Opposition; so that it is full and plain according to Grammar and Logick. And that the Parts or Members of this Opposition differ in Nature from one another, is certain from this, because otherwise the Apostle’s Argument or Discourse is of no Effect, concludes nothing to the Purpose; he makes no Answer to the Objection, nor proves any thing against the Scoffers, unless you admit that Diversity. For they said, All Things had been the same from the Beginning in the natural World; and unless he say, as he manifestly does, that there hath been a Change in Nature, and that the Heavens and Earth that are now, are different from the ancient Heavens and Earth which perish’d at the Flood, he says nothing to destroy their Argument, nor to confirm the prophetical Doctrine of the future Destruction of the natural World.

This, I think, would be enough to satisfy any clear and free Mind concerning the Meaning of the Apostle; but because I desire to give as full a Light to this Place as I can, and to put the Sense of it out of Controversy, if possible, for the future, I will make some farther Remarks to confirm this Exposition.

And we may observe that several of those Reasons which we have given to prove, that the natural World is understood by St. Peter, are double Reasons; and do also prove the other Point in Question, a Diversity betwixt the two natural Worlds, the ante-diluvian and the present. As for Instance, unless you admit this Diversity betwixt the two natural Worlds, you make the 5th verse in this Chapter superfluous and useless; and you must suppose the Apostle to make an Inference here without Premises. In the vith verse he makes an Inference, [7]Whereby the World, that then was perish’d in a Deluge; What does this whereby relate to? by Reason of what? Sure of the particular Constitution of the Heavens and the Earth immediately before describ’d. Neither would it have signified any thing to the Scoffers, for the Apostle to have told them how the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth were constituted, if they were constituted just in the same Manner as the present.

Besides, what is it, as I ask’d before, that the Apostle tells these Scoffers they were ignorant of? does he not say formally and expresly (ver. 5.) that they were ignorant that the Heavens and the Earth were constituted so and so, before the Flood? But if they were constituted as these present Heavens and Earth are, they were not ignorant of their Constitution? Nor did pretend to be ignorant, for their own (mistaken) Argument supposeth it.

But before we proceed any further, give me leave to note the Impropriety of our Translation, in the 5th verse, or latter Part of it; Ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ δὶ ὕδατων (vel δὶ ὔδατος) συνισῶτα. This we translate standing in the Water, and out of the Water, which is done manifestly in compliance with the present Form of the Earth, and the Notions of the Translators, and not according to the natural Force and Sense of the Greek Words. If one met with this Sentence[8] in a Greek Author, who would ever render it standing in the Water, and out of the Water? Nor do I know any Latin Translator that hath ventur’d to render them in that Sense, nor any Latin Father; St. Austin and St. Jerome I’m sure do not, but Consistens ex aquâ, or de aquâ, & per aquam; for that later Phrase also συνεσάναι δὶ ὕδατος, does not with so good Propriety signify to stand in the Water, as to consist or subsist by Water, or by the Help of Water, Tanquam per causam sustinentem, as St. Austin and Jerome render it. Neither does that Instance they give from 1 Pet. iii. 20. prove any thing to the contrary, for the Ark was sustain’d by the Waters, and the English does render it accordingly.

The Translation being thus rectified, you see the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth consisted of Water, and by Water; which makes Way for a second Observation to prove our Sense of the Text; for if you admit no Diversity betwixt those Heavens and Earth, and the present, shew us pray, how the present Heavens and Earth consist of Water, and by Water? What watry Constitution have they? The Apostle implies rather, that the new Heavens and Earth have a fiery Constitution. We have now Meteors of all Sorts in the Air, Winds, Hail, Snow, Lightning, Thunder, and all Things engender’d of fiery Exhalations, as well as we have Rain; but according to our Theory, Book ii. c. 5. the ante-diluvian Heavens, of all these Meteors had none but Dews and Vapours, or watry Meteors only; and therefore might very aptly be said by the Apostle to be constituted of Water, or to have a watry σίζασις. Then the Earth was said to consist by Water, because it was built upon it, and at first was sustain’d by it. And when such a Key as this is put into our Hands, that does so easily unlock this hard Passage, and makes it intelligible, according to the just Force of the Words, why should we pertinaciously adhere to an[9] Interpretation, that neither agrees with the Words, nor makes any Sense that is considerable.

Thirdly, If the Apostle had made the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth the same with the present, his Apodosis in the 7th verse, should not have been οἱ δε νῦν οῦρανοι, but καὶ οἱ αὐτοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ τεθησαυρισμένοι εἰσί, &c. I say, it would not have been by way of Antithesis, but of Identity or Continuation; And the same Heavens and Earth are kept in store reserv’d unto Fire, &c. Accordingly we see the Apostle speaks thus, as to the Logos, or the Word of God, ver. 7. τῷ αὐτῷ λόγῳ, by the same Word of God; where the Thing is the same, he expresseth it as the same; and if it had been the same Heavens and Earth, as well as the same Word of God, why should he use a Mark of Opposition for the one, and of Identity for the other? To this I do not see what can be fairly answer’d.

Fourthly, The ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth were different from the present, because, as the Apostle intimates, they were such, and so constituted, as made them obnoxious to a Deluge; whereas ours are of such a Form, as makes them incapable of a Deluge, and obnoxious to a Conflagration; the just contrary Fate, Theor. Book i. c. 2.

If you say there was nothing of natural Tendency or Disposition in either World to their respective Fate, but the first might as well have perished by Fire as Water, and this by Water as by Fire, you unhinge all Nature and natural Providence in that Method, and contradict one main Scope of the Apostle in this Discourse. His first Scope is to assert, and mind them of that Diversity there was betwixt the antient Heavens and Earth, and the present; and from that, to prove against those Scoffers, that there had been a Change and Revolution in Nature: And his second Scope seems to be this, to shew that Diversity to be such, as, under the divine Conduct, leads to a different Fate, and expos’d that World to a Deluge; for when he had describ’d the Constitution of the first Heavens and Earth, he subjoins, δὶ ὧν ὅ τοτε κόσμος ὑδατι κατακλυοθεὶς ἀπόλετο. Quia talis erat, saith Grotius, qualem diximus, constitutio & Terræ & Cœli. WHEREBY the then World perish’d in a Flood of Water. This whereby notes some kind of casual Dependance, and must relate to some Means or Conditions precedent. It cannot relate to Logos, or the Word of God, Grammar will not permit that; therefore it must relate to the State of the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth immediately premis’d: And to what purpose indeed should he premise the Description of those Heavens and Earth, if it was not to lay a Ground for this Inference?

Having given these Reasons for the Necessity of this interpretation: in the last place, let us consider St. Austin’s Judgment and his Sense upon this Place, as to the Point in Question; as also the Reflections that some other of the Ancients have made upon this Doctrine of St. Peter’s. Didymus Alexandrinus, who was for some time St. Jerome’s Master, made such a severe Reflection upon it, that he said this Epistle was corrupted, and should not be admitted into the Canon, because it taught the Doctrine of a triple or triform World in this third Chapter; as you may see in his Enarr. in Epist. Canonicas. Now this three-fold World is first that in the 6th verse, The World that then was. In the 7th verse, The Heavens and the Earth that are now. And in the 13th verse, We expect new Heavens and a new Earth, according to his Promise. This seems to be a fair Account that St. Peter taught the Doctrine of a triple World; and I quote this Testimony, to shew what St. Peter’s Words do naturally import, even in the Judgment of one that was not of his Mind; and a Man is not prone to make an Exposition against his own Opinion, unless he thinks the Words very pregnant and express.

But St. Austin owns the Authority of this Epistle, and of this Doctrine, as deriv’d from it, taking notice of this Text of St. Peter’s in several Parts of his Works. We have noted three or four Places already to this purpose, and we may further take notice of several Passages in his Treatise, de Civ. Dei, which confirm our Exposition. In his xxth Book, ch. xxiv. he Disputes against Porphyry, who had the same Principles with these Eternalists in the Text; or, if I may so call them Incorruptarians; and thought the World never had, nor ever would undergo any Change, especially, as to the Heavens. St. Austin could not urge Porphyry with the Authority of St. Peter, for he had no Veneration for the Christian Oracles, but it seems he had some for the Jewish; and arguing against him, upon that Text in the Psalms, Cœli peribunt, he shews, upon Occasion, how he understands St. Peter’s Destruction of the old World. Legitur Cœlum & Terra transibunt, Mundus transit, sed puto quod præterit transit, transibunt aliquantò mitius dicta sunt quam peribunt. In Epistolà quoque Petri Apostoli, ubi aquâ inundatus, qui tum erat, periisse dictus est Mundus, satis clarum est quæ pars mundi a toto significata est, & quatenus periisse dicta sit, & qui Cœli repositi igni reservandi. This he explains more fully afterwards by subjoining a Caution (which we cited before) that we must not understand this Passion of St. Peter’s concerning the Destruction of the ante-diluvian World, to take in the whole Universe, and the highest Heavens, but only the aerial Heavens, and the sublunary World. In Apostolicâ illâ Epistola a toto pars accipitur, quod Diluvio periisse dictus est Mundus quamvis sola ejus, cum suis Cœlis pars ima perierit. In that Apostolical Epistle, a part is signified by the whole, when the World is said to have perished in the Deluge, although the lower part of it only, with the Heavens belonging to it, perished; that is, the Earth with the Regions of the Air that belong to it. And consonant to this, in his Exposition of that ci. Psalm, upon those Words, The Heavens are the work of thy Hands; they shall perish, but thou shalt endure. This perishing of the Heavens, he says, St. Peter tells us, hath been once done already, namely, at the Deluge: Apertè dixit hoc Apostolus Petrus, Cœli erant olim & Terra, de aquâ & per aquam constituti, Dei verbo; per quod qui factus est mundus, aquâ inundatus deperiit; Terra autem & Cœli qui nunc sunt, igni reservantur. Jam ergo dixit periisse Cœlos per Diluvium.

These Places shew us, that St. Austin understood St. Peter’s Discourse to aim at the natural World, and his periit or periisse (ver. 6) to be of the same Force as peribunt in the Psalms, when ’tis said the Heavens shall perish; and consequently that the Heavens and the Earth, in this Father’s Opinion, were as really changed and transformed at the Time of the Flood, as they will be at the Conflagration. But we must not expect from St. Austin, or any of the Antients, a distinct Account of this Apostolical Doctrine, as if they knew and acknowledg’d the Theory of the first World; that does not at all appear, but what they said was either from broken Tradition, or extorted from them by the Force of the Apostle’s Words and their own Sincerity.

There are yet other Places in St. Austin worthy our Consideration upon this Subject; especially his Exposition of this iiid Chapter of St. Peter, as we find it in the same Treatise, de Civ. Dei, cap. xviii. There he compares again, the Destruction of that World at the Deluge, with that which shall be at the Conflagration, and supposeth both the Heavens and Earth to have perish’d: Apostolus commemorans factum ante Diluvium, videtur admonuisse quodammodo quatenùs in fine hujus seculi mundum istum periturum esse credamus. Nam & illo tempore periisse dixit, qui tunc erat, mundum; nec solum orbem terræ, verum etiam cœlos. Then giving his usual Caution, that the Stars and starry Heavens should not be comprehended in that mundane Destruction, he goes on, Atque hoc modo (penè totus aër) cum terra perierat; cujus Terræ utique prior facies (nempe ante-diluviana) fuerat deleta Diluvia. Qui autem nunc sunt cœli & terra eodem verba repositi sunt igni reservandi; Proinde qui Cœli & quæ Terra id est, qui mundus, pro eo mundo qui Diluvio periit, ex eádem aquâ repositus est, ipse igni novissimo reservatur. Here you see St. Austin’s Sense upon the whole Matter; which is this, that the natural World, the Earth with the Heavens about it, was destroyed and chang’d at the Deluge into the present Heavens and Earth; which shall again, in like Manner, be destroyed and chang’d by the last Fire. Accordingly, in another place, to add no more, he saith, the Figure of the (sublunary) World shall be changed at the Conflagration, as it was chang’d at the Deluge: Tunc figura hujus mundi, &c. cap. xvi.

Thus you see, we have St. Austin on our side, in both Parts of our Interpretation; that St. Peter’s Discourse is to be referr’d to the natural inanimate World, and that the present natural World is distinct and different from that which was before the Deluge. And St. Austin having applied this expresly to St. Peter’s Doctrine by way of Commentary, it will free us from any Crime or Affectation of Singularity in the Exposition we have given of that Place.

Venerable Bede hath followed St. Austin’s Footsteps in this Doctrine; for, interpreting St. Peter’s original World (Αρχαῖος Κόσμος) 2 Pet. ii. 5. he refers both that and this (chap. iii. 6.) to the natural inanimate World, which he supposeth to have undergone a Change at the Deluge. His Words are these, Idem ipse mundus est (nempe quoad materiam) in quo nunc humanum genus habitat, quem inhabitaverunt hi qui ante diluvium fuerunt, sed tamen rectè Originalis Mundus, quasi alius dicitur; quia sicut in consequentibus hujus Epistolæ scriptum continetur, Ille tunc mundus aquâ inundatus periit. Cælis videlicet qui erant prius, id est, cunctis aëris hujus turbulenti spatiis, aquarum accrescentiun altitudine consumptis, ac Terrâ in alteram faciem, excedentibus aquis, immutatâ. Nam etsi montes aliqui atque convalles ab initio facti creduntur, non tamen tanti quanti nunc in orbe cernuntur universo. ’Tis the same World (namely, as to the Matter and Substance of it) which Mankind lives in now, and did live in before the Flood, but yet that is truly called the ORIGINAL WORLD, being as it were another from the present. For it is said in the Sequel of this Epistle, that the World that was then, perished in the Deluge; namely, the Regions of the Air were consumed by the Height and Excess of the Water; and by the same Waters the Earth was changed into another Form or Face. For although some Mountains and Valleys are thought to have been made from the Beginning, yet not such great ones as now we see throughout the whole Earth.

You see this Author does not only own a Change made at the Deluge, but offers at a farther Explication wherein that Change consisted, viz. That the Mountains and Inequalities of the Earth were made greater than they were before the Flood; and so he makes the Change, or the Difference betwixt the two Worlds gradual, rather than specifical, if I may so term it. But we cannot wonder at that, if he had no Principles to carry it farther, or to make any other Sort of Change intelligible to him. Bede [De 6 dier. creat.] also pursues the same Sense and Notion in his Interpretation of that Fountain, Gen. ii. 5. that watered the Face of the Earth before the Flood. And many other Transcribers of Antiquity have recorded this Tradition concerning a Difference, gradual or specifical, both in the ante-diluvian Heavens (Gloss. Ordin. Gen. ix. de Iride. Lyran. ibid. Hist. Scholast. c. 35. Rab. Maurus & Gloss. Inter. Gen. ii. 5, 6. Alcuin. Quæst. in Gen. inter. 135.) and in the ante-diluvian Earth, as the same Authors witness in other Places: As Hist. Schol. c. 34. Gloss. Ord. in Gen. vii. Alcuin. Inter. 118, &c. Not to Instance those that tell us the Properties of the ante-diluvian World under the Name and Notion of Paradise.

Thus much concerning this remarkable Place in St. Peter, and the true Exposition of it; which I have the more largely insisted upon, because I look upon this Place as the chief Repository of that great natural Mystery, which in Scripture is communicated to us concerning the triple State or Revolution of the World. And of those Men that are so scrupulous to admit the Theory we have propos’d, I would willingly know, whether they believe the Apostle in what he says concerning the new Heavens and the new Earth to come? ver. 13. and if they do, why they should not believe him as much concerning the old Heavens and the old Earth past? ver. 5, and 6. which he mentions as formally, and describes more distinctly than the other. But if they believe neither past nor to come, in a natural Sense, but an unchangeable State of Nature from the Creation to its Annihilation, I leave them then to their Fellow-Eternalists in the Text, and to the Character or Censure the Apostle gives them, Κατὰ τὰς ἴδιας αὐτῶν ἐπιθυμίας πορευόμενοι, Men that go by their own private Humour and Passions, and prefer that to all other Evidence.

They deserve this Censure, I am sure, if they do not only disbelieve, but also scoff, at this Prophetick and Apostolick Doctrine concerning the Vicissitudes of Nature and a triple World. The Apostle in this Discourse does formally distinguish three Worlds (for ’tis well known that the Hebrews have no Word to signify the natural World, but use that Periphrasis, the Heavens and the Earth) and upon each of them engraves a Name and Title that bears a Note of Distinction in it: He calls them the old Heavens and Earth, the present Heavens and Earth, and the new Heavens and Earth. ’Tis true, these three are one, as to Matter and Substance; but they must differ as to Form and Properties; otherwise what is the Ground of this Distinction and of these three different Appellations? Suppose the Jews had expected Ezekiel’s Temple for the third, and last, and most perfect; and that in the Time of the second Temple they had spoke of them with this Distinction, or under these different Names, the old Temple, the present Temple, and the new Temple we expect; would any have understood those three of one and the same Temple; never demolish’d, never chang’d, never rebuilt; always the same, both as to Materials and Form? No, doubtless, but of three several Temples succeeding one another. And have we not the same Reason to understand this Temple of the World, whereof St. Peter speaks, to be three-fold in Succession; seeing he does as plainly distinguish it into the old Heavens and Earth, the present Heavens and Earth? and the new Heavens and Earth. And I do the more willingly use this Comparison of the Temple, because it hath been thought an Emblem of the outward World.

I know we are naturally averse to entertain any Thing that is inconsistent with the general Frame and Texture of our own Thoughts; that’s to begin the World again; and we often reject such things without Examination. Neither do I wonder that the generality of Interpreters beat down the Apostle’s Words and Sense to their own Notions; they had no other Grounds to go upon, and Men are not willing, especially in natural and comprehensible things, to put such a Meaning upon Scripture, as is unintelligible to themselves; they rather venture to offer a little Violence to the Words, that they may pitch the Sense at such a convenient Height, as their Principles will reach to: And therefore though some of our modern Interpreters, whom I mention’d before, have been sensible of the natural Tendency of this Discourse of St. Peter’s, and have much ado to bear off the Force of the Words, so as not to acknowledge that they import a real Diversity betwixt the two Worlds spoken of; yet having no Principles to guide or support them in following that Tract, they are forc’d to stop or divert another way. ’Tis like entring into the Mouth of a Cave, we are not willing to venture farther than the Light goes: Nor are they much to blame for this, the Fault is only in those Persons that continue wilfully in their Darkness; and when they cannot otherwise resist the Light, shut their Eyes against it, or turn their Head another Way.—But I am afraid I have staid too long upon this Argument; not for my own sake, but to satisfy others.

You may please to remember that all that I have said hitherto, belongs only to the first Head: To prove a Diversity in general betwixt the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the present; not expressing what their particular Form was. And this general Diversity may be argued also by Observations taken from Moses his History of the World, before and after the Flood: From the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians; the Rainbow appearing after the Deluge; and the breaking open an Abyss capable to overflow the Earth. The Heavens that had no Rain-bow, and under whose benign and steady Influence, Men liv’d seven, eight, nine hundred Years and upwards, [See Theor. Book ii. ch. 5.] must have been of a different Aspect and Constitution from the present Heavens: And that Earth that had such an Abyss, that the Disruption of it made an universal Deluge, must have been of another Form than the present Earth; and those that will not admit a Diversity in the two Worlds, are bound to give us an intelligible Account of these Phænomena: How they could possibly be in Heavens and Earth, like the present? Or if they were there once, why they do not continue so still, if Nature be the same?

We need say no more, as to the ante-diluvian Heavens; but as to the Earth, we must now, according to the second part of the first Head, enquire, if that particular Form, which we have assign’d it before the Flood, be agreeable to Scripture. You know how we have described the Form and Situation of that Earth; namely, that it was built over the Abyss, as a regular Orb, covering and incompassing the Waters round about, and founded, as it were, upon them. There are many Passages of Scripture that favour this Description; some more expresly, others upon a due Explication. To this purpose there are two express Texts in the Psalms; as Psal. xxiv. 1, 2. The Earth is the Lord’s, and the Fulness thereof; the habitable World, and they that dwell therein. FOR he has founded it upon the[10] Sea, and established it upon the Floods. An Earth founded upon the Seas, and establish’d upon the Waters, is not this Earth we have describ’d? The first Earth, as it came from the Hands of its Maker? Where can we now find in Nature such an Earth, as the Seas and the Water for its Foundation? Neither is this Text without a second, as a Fellow Witness to confirm the same Truth; for in Psal. cxxxvi. ver. 4, 5, 6. we read to the same Effect, in these Words, To him who alone does great Wonders; to him that by Wisdom made the Heavens; to him that stretched out the Earth above the Waters. We can hardly express that Form of the ante-diluvian Earth, in Words more determinate than these are: Let us then, in the same Simplicity of Heart, follow the Words of Scripture; seeing this literal Sense is not repugnant to Nature, but, on the contrary, agreeable to it upon the strictest Examination. And we cannot, without some Violence, turn the Words to any other Sense. What tolerable Interpretation can these admit of, if we do not allow the Earth once to have encompass’d and over-spread the Face of the Waters? To be founded upon the Waters, to be establish’d upon the Waters, to be extended upon the Waters, what rational or satisfactory Account can be given of these Phrases and Expressions from any thing we find in the present Situation of the Earth? Or how can they be verified concerning it? Consult Interpreters, antient or modern, upon these two Places; see if they answer your Expectation, or answer the natural Importance of the Words, unless they acknowledge another Form of the Earth, than the present. Because a Rock hangs its Nose over the Sea, must the Body of the Earth be said to be stretched over the Waters? Or, because there are Waters in some subterraneous Cavities, is the Earth therefore founded upon the Seas? Yet such lame Explications as these you will meet with; and while we have no better Light, we must content our selves with them; but when an Explication is offer’d, that answers the Propriety, Force and Extent of the Words, to reject it, only because it is not fitted to our former Opinions, or because we did not first think of it, is to take an ill Method in expounding Scripture. This Foundation or Establishment of the Earth upon the Seas, this Extention of it above the Waters, relates plainly to the Body, or whole Circuit of the Earth, not to Parcels and Particles of it; as appears from the Occasion, and its being join’d with the Heavens, the other Part of the World. Besides, David is speaking of the Origin of the World, and of the divine Power and Wisdom in the Constitution and Situation of our Earth; and these Attributes do not appear from the Holes of the Earth, and broken Rocks, which have rather the Face of a Ruin, than of Wisdom; but in that wonderful Libration and Expansion of the first Earth over the Face of the Waters, sustained by its own Proportions, and the Hand of his Providence.

These two Places in the Psalms being duly consider’d, we shall more easily understand a third Place, to the same effect, in the Proverbs; delivered by WISDOM, concerning the Origin of the World, and the Form of the first Earth, in these Words, Chapter viii. 27. When he prepared the Heavens I was there, when HE SET an Orb or Sphere upon the Face of the Abyss. We render it, when we set a Compass upon the Face of the Abyss; but if we have rightly interpreted the Prophet David, ’tis plain enough what Compass is here to be understood; not an imaginary Circle, (for why should that be thought one of the wonderful Works of God?) but that exterior Orb of the Earth that was set upon the Waters: That was the Master-piece of the divine Art in framing of the first Earth, and therefore very fit to be taken Notice of by Wisdom. And upon this Occasion, I desire you to reflect upon St. Peter’s Expression, concerning the first Earth, and to compare it with Solomon’s, to see if they do not answer one another. St. Peter calls it, γῆ καθεστῶσα δὶ ὕδάτων, an Earth consisting, standing, or sustained by the Waters. And Solomon calls it חונ על בני תהום An Orb drawn upon the Face of the Abyss. And St. Peter says, that was done τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, by the Wisdom of God; which is the same Λόγος or Wisdom, that here declares her self to have been present at this Work. Add now to these two Places, the two foremention’d out of the Psalmist; An Earth founded upon the Sea, (Psal. xxiv. 2.) and an Earth stretched out above the Waters; (Psal. cxxxvi. 6.) Can any Body doubt or question; but all these four Texts refer to the same Thing? And seeing St. Peter’s Description refers certainly to the ante-diluvian Earth, they must all refer to it; and do all as certainly and evidently agree with our Theory concerning the Form and Situation of it.

The pendulous Form and Posture of that first Earth being prov’d from these four Places, ’tis more easy and emphatical to interpret in this Sense that Passage in Job ch. xxvi. 7. He stretcheth out the North over the Tohu, (for so it is in the Original) and hangeth the Earth upon nothing. And this strange Foundation or no Foundation of the exterior Earth seems to be the Ground of those noble Questions propos’d to Job by God Almighty, chap. xxxviii. Where wast thou, when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? Declare if thou hast understanding, whereupon are the Foundations thereof fastned, and who laid the Corner-Stone? There was neither Foundation, nor Corner-Stone, in that piece of Architecture; and that was it which made the Art and Wonder of it. But I have spoken more largely to these Places in the Theory it self, Book i. p. 119. And if the four Texts before mention’d be consider’d without Prejudice, I think there are few Matters of natural Speculation that can be so well prov’d out of Scripture, as the Form which we have given to the ante-diluvian Earth.

But yet it may be thought a just, if not a necessary Appendix to this Discourse, concerning the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth, to give an Account also of the ante-diluvian Abyss, and the Situation of it according to Scripture; for the Relation which these two have to one another, will be a farther Means to discover, if we have rightly determined the Form of that Earth. The Abyss or Tehom Rabbah is a Scripture Notion, and the Word is not us’d, that I know of, in that distinct and peculiar Sense in Heathen Authors. ’Tis plain that in Scripture it is not always taken for the Sea (as Gen. i. 2. and vii. 11. and xlix. 25. Deut. xxxiii. 13. Job xxviii. 14. and xxxviii. 16. Psal. xxxiii. 7. and lxxi. 20. and lxxviii. 15. and cxxxv. 6. Apoc. xx. 1, 3.) but for some other Mass of Waters, or subterraneous Store-house. And this being observ’d, we may easily discover the Nature, and set down the History of the Scripture-Abyss.

The Mother-Abyss is no doubt that in the Beginning of Genesis, v. 2. which had nothing but Darkness upon the Face of it, or a thick caliginous Air. The next News we hear of this Abyss is at the Deluge, (Gen. vii. 11.) where ’tis said to be broke open, and the Waters of it to have drowned the World. It seems then, this Abyss was clos’d up some Time betwixt the Creation and the Deluge, and had got another Cover than that of Darkness. And if we will believe Wisdom, (Prov. viii. 27.) who was there present at the Formation of the Earth, an Orb was set upon the Face of the Abyss, at the Beginning of the World.

That these three Places refer to the same Abyss, I think, cannot be questioned by any that will compare them and consider them. That of the Deluge, Moses calls there Tehom-Rabbah, the great Abyss; and can there be any greater than the forementioned Mother-Abyss? And WISDOM, in that Place in the Proverbs, useth the same Phrase and Words with Moses, Gen. i. 2. על פני תהום upon the Face of the Deep, or of the Abyss; changing Darkness for that Orb of the exterior Earth, which was made afterwards to inclose it. And in this Sort it lay, and under this Cover, when the Psalmist speaks of it in these Words, Psal. xxxiii. 7. He gathereth the Waters of the Sea, as in a[11] Bag; he layeth up the Abyss in Store-houses. Lastly, we may observe, that ’twas this Mother-Abyss, whose Womb was burst at the Deluge, when the Sea was born, and broke forth as if it had issued out of a Womb; as God expresseth it to Job, ch. xxxviii. 8. in which Place the Chaldee Paraphrase reads it, when it broke forth, coming out of the Abyss. Which Disruption at the Deluge seems also to be alluded to Job xii. 14, 15. and more plainly, Prov. iii. 20. by his Knowledge the Abysses are broken up.

Thus you have already a three-fold State of the Abyss, which makes a short History of it; first, open, at the Beginning; then covered till the Deluge; then broke open again, as it is at present. And we pursue the History of it no farther; but we are told, Apoc. xx. 3. That it shall be shut up again, and the great Dragon in it, for a thousand Years. In the mean time we may observe from this Form and Posture of the ante-diluvian Abyss, how suitable it is and coherent with that Form of the ante-diluvian Earth which St. Peter and the Psalmist had described, sustained by the Waters; founded upon the Waters; stretched above the Waters; for if it was the Cover of this Abyss (and it had some Cover that was broke at the Deluge) it was spread as a Crust of Ice upon the Face of those Waters, and so made an Orbis Terrarum, an habitable Sphere of Earth about the Abyss.

So much for the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth and Abyss; which as they aptly correspond to one another, so, you see, our Theory answers, and is adjusted to both; and, I think, so fitly, that we have no reason hitherto to be displeased with the Success we have had in the Examination of it, according to Scripture. We have dispatch’d the two main Points in Question, first, to prove a Diversity in general betwixt the two natural Worlds, or betwixt the Heavens and the Earth before and after the Flood. Secondly, to prove wherein this Diversity consisted; or that the particular Form of the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth was such according to Scripture, as we have describ’d it in the Theory. You’ll say, then the Work is done; what needs more, all the rest follows of Course? For if the ante-diluvian Earth had such a Form as we have propos’d and prov’d it to have had, there could be no Deluge in it but by a Dissolution of its Parts and exterior Frame: And a Deluge so made, would not be in the Nature of a Standing-Pool, but of a violent Agitation and Commotion of the Waters. This is true; these Parts of the Theory are so cemented, that you must grant all, if you grant any. However we will try, if even these two Particulars also may be prov’d out of Scripture; that is, if there be any Marks or Memorandums left there by the Spirit of God, of such a Fraction or Dissolution of the Earth at the Deluge; and also such Characters of the Deluge it self, as shew it to have been by a Fluctuation and impetuous Commotion of the Waters.

To proceed then; that there was a Fraction or Dissolution of the Earth at the Deluge, the History of it by Moses gives us the first Account, seeing he tells us, as the principal Cause of the Flood, that the Fountains of the great Abyss were cloven or burst asunder; and upon this Disruption the Waters gush’d out from the Bowels of the Earth, as from the widen’d Mouths of so many Fountains. I do not take Fountains there to signify any more than Sources or Stores of Water; noting also this Manner of their Eruption from below, or out of the Ground, as Fountains do. Accordingly in the Proverbs, (chap. iii. 20.) ’tis only said, the Abysses were broken open. I do not doubt, but this refers to the Deluge, as Bede, and others understand it; the very Word being us’d here, both in the Hebrew and Septuagint, נבקעו ἐῤῤάγησαν that express the Disruption of the Abyss at the Deluge.

And this breaking up of the Earth at that Time, is elegantly exprest in Job, by the bursting of the Womb of Nature, when the Sea was first brought to Light; ch. xxxviii. when after many Pangs and Throws and Dilacerations of her Body, Nature was delivered of a Burthen, which she had born in her Womb sixteen hundred Years.

These three Places I take to be Memorials and Proofs of the Disruption of the Earth, or of the Abyss, at the universal Deluge. And to these we may add more out of the Prophets, Job, and the Psalms, by Way of Allusion commonly to the State of Nature at that Time. The Prophet Isaiah, in describing the future Destruction of the World, chap. xxiv. 18, 19. seems plainly to allude and have respect to the past Destruction of it at the Deluge; as appears by that leading Expression, the Windows from on high are open, ארבות סמיום נפתחו θυρίδες ἐκ τῷ οὐρανῶ ἠνεώχθησαν, taken manifestly from Gen. vii. 11. Then see how the Description goes on; the Windows from on high are open, and the Foundations of the Earth do shake, the Earth is utterly broken down, the Earth is quite dissolved, the Earth is exceedingly moved. Here are Concussions, and Fractions, and Dissolutions, as there were in the mundane Earthquake and Deluge; which we had exprest before only by breaking open the Abyss. By the Foundations of the Earth here and elsewhere, I perceive many understand the Center; so by moving or shaking the Foundations, or putting them out of Course, must be understood a displacing of the Center; which was really done at the deluge, as we have shewn in its proper Place, Theor. Book ii. Chap. 3. If we therefore remember, that there was both a Dislocation, as I may so say, and a Fraction in the Body of the Earth, by that great Fall; a Dislocation as to the Center, and a Fraction as to the Surface and exterior Region, it will truly answer to all those Expressions in the Prophet, that seem so strange and extraordinary. ’Tis true, this Place of the Prophet respects also and foretels the future Destruction of the World; but that being by Fire, when the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat, and the Earth with the Works therein shall be burnt up, these Expressions of Fractions and Concussions, seem to be taken originally from the Manner of the World’s first distruction, and to be transferr’d, by way of Application, to represent and signify the second Destruction of it, though, it may be, not with the same Exactness and Propriety.

There are several other Places that refer to the Dissolution and Subversion of the Earth at the Deluge, Amos ix. 5, 6. The Lord of Hosts is he, that toucheth the Earth, and it shall melt, or be dissolv’d.——and it shall rise up wholly like a Flood, and shall be drowned as by the Flood of Ægypt. By this and by the next verse the Prophet seems to allude to the Deluge, and to the Dissolution of the Earth that was then. This in Job seems to be called breaking down the Earth, and overturning the Earth, chap. xii. 14, 15. Behold he breaketh down and it cannot be built again, He shutteth upon Man, and there can be no opening. Behold, he with-holdeth the Waters, and they dry up; also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the Earth: Which Place you may see paraphras’d, Theo. Book i. p. 124, 125. We have already cited, and shall hereafter cite, other Places out of Job; and as that ancient Author (who is thought to have liv’d before the Judaical Oeconomy, and nearer to Noah than Moses) seems to have had the Præcepta Noachidarum, so also he seems to have had the Dogmata Noachidarum; which were deliver’d by Noah to his Children and Posterity, concerning the Mysteries of natural Providence, the Origin and Fate of the World, the Deluge and ante-diluvian State, &c. and accordingly we find many Strictures of these Doctrines in the Book of Job. Lastly, In the Psalms there are Texts that mention the shaking of the Earth, and the Foundations of the World, in reference to the Flood, if we judge aright; whereof we will speak under the next Head, concerning the raging of the Waters in the Deluge.

These Places of Scripture may be noted, as left us to be Remembrancers of that general Ruin and Disruption of the Earth at the Time of the Deluge. But I know it will be said of them, that they are not strict Proofs, but Allusions only: Be it so; yet what is the Ground of those Allusions? Something must be alluded, and something that hath past in Nature, and that is recorded in Sacred History; and what is that, unless it be the universal Deluge, and that Change and Disturbance that was then in all Nature? If others say, that these and such like Places are to be understood morally and allegorically, I do not envy them their Interpretation; but when Nature and Reason will bear a literal Sense, the Rule is, that we should not recede from the Letter. But I leave these Things to every one’s Thoughts; which the more calm they are, and the more impartial, the more easily they will feel the Impressions of Truth: In the mean Time, I proceed to the last particular mention’d, The Form of the Deluge it self.

This we suppose to have been, not in the Way of a standing Pool, the Waters making an equal Surface, and an equal Height every where; but that the extream Height of the Waters was made by the extream Agitation of them; caus’d by the Weight and Force of great Masses or Regions of Earth falling at once into the Abyss; by which Means, as the Waters in some Places were press’d out, and thrown at an excessive Height into the Air, so they would also in certain Places gape, and lay bare even the Bottom of the Abyss; which would look as an open Grave ready to swallow up the Earth, and all it bore. Whilst the Ark, in the mean time, falling and rising by these Gulphs and Precipices, sometimes above Water, and sometimes under, was a true Type of the State of the Church in this World: And to this Time and State David alludes in the Name of the Church, Psalm. xlii. 7. Abyss calls unto Abyss at the Noise of thy Cataracts or Water-Spouts; all thy Water and Billows have gone over me. And again, Psal. xlvi. 2, 3. in the Name of the Church, Therefore will not we fear tho’ the Earth be removed, and tho’ the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Seas. The Waters thereof roar and are troubled, the Mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

But there is no Description more remarkable or more eloquent, than of that Scene of Things represented, Psalm. xviii. 7, 8, 9, &c. which still alludes, in my Opinion, to the Deluge-Scene, and in the Name of the Church. We will set down the Words at large.

Ver. 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cryed unto my God; He heard my Voice out of his Temple, and my Cry came before him into his Ears.

7. Then the Earth shook and trembled, the Foundations also of the Hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

8. There went up a Smoak from his Nostrils, and Fire out of his Mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

9. He bowed the Heavens also and came down, and Darkness was under his Feet.

10. And he rode upon a Cherub and did fly, he did fly upon the Wings of the Wind.

11. He made Darkness his secret Place; his Pavilion round about him was dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Sky.

12. At the Brightness before him the thick Clouds passed, Hail and Coals of Fire.

13. The Lord also thunder’d in the Heavens, and the Highest gave his Voice, Hail and Coals of Fire.

14. Yea, he sent out his Arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out Lightnings and discomfited them.

15. Then the Channels of Waters were seen, and the Foundations of the World were discovered; at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the Breath of thy Nostrils.

He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of great Waters. מים רבים

This is a rough, I think, Draught of the Face of the Heavens and the Earth at the Deluge, as the last Verses do intimate; and ’tis apply’d to express the Dangers and Deliverances of the Church: The Expressions are so far too high to be apply’d to David in his Person, and to his Deliverance from Saul; no such Agonies or Disorders of Nature as are here instanc’d, were made in David’s Time, or upon his Account; but ’tis a Scheme of the Church, and of her Fate, particularly, as represented by the Ark, in that dismal Distress, when all Nature was in Confusion. And though there may be some Things here intermixt to make up the Scene, that are not so close to the Subject as the rest, or that they may be refer’d to the future Destruction of the World; yet that is not unusual, nor amiss, in such Descriptions, if the great Strokes be fit and rightly placed. That there was Smoak, and Fire, and Water, and Thunder, and Darkness, and Winds, and Earthquakes, at the Deluge, we cannot doubt, if we consider the Circumstances of it: Waters dash’d and broken made a Smoak and Darkness, and no Hurricane could be so violent as the Motions of the Air at that Time: Then the Earth was torn in pieces, and its Foundations shaken. And as to Thunder and Lightning, the Encounters and Collisions of the mighty Waves, and the Cracks of a falling World, would make Flashes and Noises, far greater and more terrible, than any that can come from Vapours and Clouds. There was an universal[12] Tempest, a Conflict and Clashing of all the Elements; and David seems to have represented it so; with God Almighty in the midst of it, ruling them all.

But I am apt to think, some will say, all this is Poetical in the Prophet, and these are hyperbolical and figurative Expressions, from which we cannot make any Inference, as to the Deluge and the natural World: ’Tis true, those that have no Idea of the Deluge, that will answer to such a Scene of things, as is here represented, must give such a slight Account of this Psalm. But on the other hand, if we have already an Idea of the Deluge, that is rational, and also consonant to Scripture upon other Proofs, and the Description here made by the Prophet answer to that Idea, whether then is it not more reasonable to think, that it stands upon that Ground, than to think it a mere Fancy and poetical Scene of Things? This is the true State of the Case, and that which we must judge of. Methinks ’tis very harsh to suppose all this a bare Fiction, grounded upon no matter of Fact, upon no sacred Story, upon no Appearance of God in Nature. If you say it hath a moral Signification, so let it have, we do not destroy that: It hath reference, no doubt, to the Dangers and Deliverances of the Church; but the Question is, whether the Words and natural Sense be a Fancy only, a Bundle of random Hyperboles? or, whether they relate to the History of the Deluge, and the State of the Ark there representing the Church? This makes the Sense doubly rich, Historically and Morally; and grounds it upon Scripture and Reason, as well as upon Fancy.

That violent Eruption of the Sea out of the Womb of the Earth, which Job speaks of, is, in my Judgment, another Description of the Deluge; ’tis ch. xxxviii. 8, 9, 10, 11. Who shut up the Sea with Doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of a womb; when I made the Cloud the Garment thereof, and thick Darkness a swadling Band for it. And broke up for it my decreed Place.——Hitherto shalt thou come, &c. Here you may see the Birth and Nativity of the Sea, or of Oceanus, describ’d[13], how he broke out of the Womb, and what his first Garment and Swadling-Cloaths were; namely, Clouds and thick Darkness. This cannot refer to any thing, that I know of, but to the Face of Nature at the Deluge; when the Sea was born, and wrapt up in Clouds and broken Waves, and a dark impenetrable Mist round the Body of the Earth. And this seems to be the very same, that David had express’d in his Description of the Deluge, Psal. xviii. 11. He made Darkness his secret Place, his Pavilion round about him were dark Waters and thick Clouds of the Skies. For this was truly the Face of the World in the Time of the Flood, tho’ we little reflect upon it. And this dark Confusion every where, above and below, arose from the violent and confus’d Motion of the Abyss; which was dash’d in pieces by the falling Earth; and flew into the Air in misty Drops, as Dust flies up in a great Ruin. [See Theor. Book i. p. 136.]

But I am afraid, we have stay’d too long upon this Particular, The Form of the Deluge; seeing ’tis but a Corollary from the precedent Article about the Dissolution of the Earth. However, Time is not ill spent about any thing that relates to natural Providence, whereof the two most signal Instances in our sacred Writings, are, the Deluge and the Conflagration. And seeing Job and David do often reflect upon the Works of God in the external Creation, and upon the Administrations of Providence, it cannot be imagin’d, that they should never reflect upon the Deluge; the most remarkable Change of Nature that ever hath been, and the most remarkable Judgment upon Mankind. And if they have reflected upon it any where, ’tis, I think, in those Places and those Instances, which I have noted; and if those Places do relate to the Deluge, they are not capable, in my Judgment, of any fairer or more natural Interpretation, than that which we have given them; which you see, how much it favours and confirms our Theory.

I have now finished the Heads I undertook to prove, that I might shew our Theory to agree with Scripture in these three principal Points; first, in that it supposeth a Diversity and Difference betwixt the ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth, and the present Heavens and Earth: Secondly, in assigning the particular Form of the ante-diluvian Earth and Abyss; Thirdly, in explaining the Deluge by a Dissolution of that Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyss. How far I have succeeded in this Attempt, as to others, I cannot tell; but I am sure I have convinced my self, and am satisfied that my Thoughts, in that Theory, have run in the same Tract with the Holy Writings, with the true Intent and Spirit of them. There are some Persons that are wilfully ignorant in certain things, and others that are willing to be ignorant, as the Apostle phraseth it; speaking of those Eternalists that denied the Doctrine of the Change and Revolutions of the natural World: And ’tis not to be expected but there are many still of the same Humour, and therefore may be called willingly ignorant; that is, they will not use that Pains and Attention that is necessary for the Examination of such a Doctrine, nor Impartiality in judging after Examination; they greedily lay hold on all Evidence on one side, and willingly forget, or slightly pass over, all Evidence for the other. This, I think, is the Character of those that are willingly ignorant; for I do not take it to be so deep as a downright wilful Ignorance, where they are plainly conscious to themselves of that Wilfulness: but where an insensible Mixture of human Passions inclines them one Way, and makes them averse to the other; and in that Method draws on all the Consequences of a willing Ignorance.

There remains still, as I remember, one Proposition that I am bound to make good; I said, at first, that our Hypothesis concerning the Deluge was more agreeable not only to Scripture in general, but also to the particular History of the Flood left us by Moses; I say, more agreeable to it than any other Hypothesis, that hath yet been propos’d. This may be made good in a few Words; for in Moses’s History of the Deluge, there are two principal Points, the Extent of the Deluge, and the Causes of it; and in both these we do fully agree with that sacred Author. As to the Extent of it, he makes the Deluge universal; All the high Hills under the whole Heaven were cover’d fifteen Cubits upwards. We also make it universal, over the Face of the whole Earth; and in such a Manner as must needs raise the Waters above the Top of the highest Hills every where. As to the Causes of it, Moses makes them to be the Disruption of the Abyss, and the Rains, and no more; and in this also we exactly agree with him; we know no other Causes, nor pretend to any other but those two. Distinguishing therefore Moses his Narration as to the Substance and Circumstances of it, it must be allowed that these two Points make the Substance of it, and that an Hypothesis that differs from it in either of these two, differs from it more than ours; which, at the worst, can but differ in Matter of Circumstance. Now seeing the great Difficulty about the Deluge is the Quantity of Water required for it, there have been two Explications proposed, besides ours, to remove or satisfy this Difficulty; one whereof makes the Deluge not to have been universal, or to have reach’d only Judea and some neighbouring Countries, and therefore less Water would suffice; the other owning the Deluge to be universal, supplies it self with Water from the divine Omnipotency, and says new Waters were created then for the nonce, and again annihilated, when the Deluge was to cease. Both these Explications, you see, (and I know no more of Note that are not obnoxious to the same Exceptions) differ from Moses in the Substance, or in one of the two substantial Points, and consequently more than ours doth. The first changeth the Flood into a kind of National Inundation; and the second assigns other Causes of it than Moses had assign’d; And as they both differ apparently from the Mosaical History, so you may see them refuted upon other Grounds also, in the third Chapter of the first Book of the Theory.

This may be sufficient as to the History of the Flood by Moses: But possibly it may be said, the principal Objection will arise from Moses his six Days Creation in the first Chapter of Genesis; where another sort of Earth, than what we have form’d from the Chaos, is represented to us; namely, a terraqueous Globe such as our Earth is at present. ’Tis indeed very apparent, that Moses hath accommodated his six Days Creation to the present Form of the Earth, or to that which was before the Eyes of the People, when he wrote. But it is a great Question whether that was ever intended for a true Physical Account of the Origin of the Earth; or whether Moses did either Philosophize or Astronomize in that Description. The antient fathers, when they answer the Heathens, and the Adversaries of Christianity, do generally deny it; as I am ready to make good upon another Occasion. And the Thing it self bears in it evident Marks of an Accommodation and Condescension to the vulgar Notions concerning the Form of the World: Those that think otherwise, and would make it literally and physically true in all the Parts of it, I desire them, without entring upon the strict Merits of the Cause, to determine these Preliminaries. First, whether the whole Universe rise from a terrestrial Chaos? Secondly, what System of a World this six Days Creation proceeds upon; whether it supposes the Earth, or the Sun, for the Center? Thirdly, whether the Sun and fix’d Stars are of a later Date, and a later Birth, than this Globe of Earth? And lastly, where is the Region of the Super-celestial Waters? When they have determin’d these Fundamentals, we will proceed to other Observations upon the six Days Work, which will farther assure us, that ’tis a Narration suited to the Capacity of the People, and not to the strict and physical Nature of Things. Besides, we are to remember, that Moses must be so interpreted in the first Chapter of Genesis, as not to interfere with himself in other Parts of his History; nor to interfere with St. Peter, or the Prophet David, or any other sacred Authors, when they treat of the same Matter. Nor lastly, so, as to be repugnant to clear and uncontested Science. For, in things that concern the natural World, that must always be consulted.

With these Precautions, let them try if they can reduce that Narrative of the Origin of the World, to physical Truth; so as to be consistent, both with Nature, and with Divine Revelation every where. It is easily reconcileable to both, if we suppose it wrote in a vulgar Style, and to the Conceptions of the People; and we cannot deny that a vulgar Style is often made use of in the holy Writings. How freely and unconcernedly does Scripture speak of God Almighty, according to the Opinions of the Vulgar? Of his Passions, local Motions, Parts and Members of his Body: Which all are things that do not belong, or are not compatible with the Divine Nature, according to Truth and Science. And if this Liberty be taken, as to God himself, much more may it be taken as to his Works. And accordingly we see, what Motion the Scripture gives to the Sun; what Figure to the Earth; what Figure to the Heavens: All according to the Appearance of Sense and popular Credulity without any Remorse for having transgressed the Rules of intellectual Truth.

This vulgar Style of Scripture, in describing the Nature of Things, hath been often mistaken for the real Sense, and so become a Stumbling-Block in the Way of Truth. Thus the Anthropomorphites of old contended for the human Shape of God, from the Letter of Scripture, and brought many express Texts for their purpose; but sound Reason, at length, got the upper hand of literal Authority. Then several of the Christian Fathers contended, that there were no Antipodes; and made that Doctrine irreconcilable to Scripture; But this also, after a while, went off, and yeilded to Reason and Experience. Then, the Motion of the Earth must by no means be allow’d, as being contrary to Scripture; for so it is indeed, according to the Letter and vulgar Style. But all intelligent Persons see thorough this Argument, and depend upon it no more in this Case, than in the former. Lastly, the Original of the Earth from a Chaos, drawn according to the Rules of Phisiology, will not be admitted; because it does not agree with the Scheme of the six Days Creation. But why may not this be wrote in a vulgar Style, as well as the rest? Certainly there can be nothing more like a vulgar Style, than to set God to work by the Day, and in six Days to finish his Task; as he is there represented. We may therefore probably hope that all these Disguises of Truth will at length fall off, and that we shall see God and his Works in a pure and naked Light.

Thus I have finished what I had to say in Confirmation of this Theory from Scripture; I mean of the former Part of it, which depends chiefly upon the Deluge, and the ante-diluvian Earth. When you have collated the Places of Scripture, on either side, and laid them in the Balance, to be weigh’d one against another; if you do but find them equal, or near to an equal Poise, you know in whether Scale the natural Reasons are to be laid; and of what Weight they ought to be in an Argument of this kind. There is a great Difference betwixt Scripture with Philosophy on its side, and Scripture with Philosophy against it, when the Question is concerning the natural World: And this is our Case; which I now leave to the Consideration of the unprejudic’d Reader, and proceed to the Proof of the second Part of the Theory.

The latter Part consists of the Conflagration of the World, and the new Heavens and new Earth; and seeing there is no Dispute concerning the former of these two, our Task will now lie in a little Compass; being only this, to prove that there will be new Heavens, and a new Earth, after the Conflagration. This, to my Mind, is sufficiently done already, in the first, second and third Chapters of the ivth book, both from Scripture and Antiquity, whether Sacred or Prophane; and therefore, at present, we will only make a short and easy Review of Scripture-Testimonies, with design chiefly to obviate and disappoint the Evasions of such, as would beat down solid Texts into thin Metaphors and Allegories.

The Testimonies of Scripture concerning the Renovation of the World, are either express, or implicit: Those I call express, that mention the new Heavens and new Earth; and those implicit, that signify the same Thing, but not in express Terms. So when our Saviour speaks of a Palingenesia, or Regeneration; (Matt. xix. 28, 29.) or St Peter, of an Apocatastasis or Restitution; (Acts iii. 21.) these being Words used by all Authors, Prophane or Ecclesiastical, for the Renovation of the World, ought, in reason, to be interpreted in the same Sense in the Holy Writings. And in like Manner, when St. Paul speaks of his future Earth, or an habitable World to come, Hebr. ii. 5. ἡ οἰκουμένη ἡ μέλλουσα or of a Redemption or Melioration of the present State of Nature, Rom. iii. 21, 22. these lead us again, in other Terms, to the same Renovation of the World. But there are also some Places of Scripture, that set the new Heavens and new Earth in such a full and open View, that we must shut our Eyes not to see them. St. John says, he saw them, and observed the Form of the new Earth, Apoc. xxi. 1. Isa. lxv. 17. The Seer Isaiah spoke of them in express Words, many hundred Years before. And St. Peter marks the Time when they are to be introduc’d, namely, after the Conflagration, or after the Dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth, 2 Pet. iii. 12, 13.

These later Texts of Scripture being so express, there is but one Way left to elude the Force of them; and that is, by turning the Renovation of the World into an Allegory; and making the new Heavens and new Earth to be allegorical Heavens and Earth, not real and material, as ours are. This is a bold Attempt of some modern Authors, who chuse rather to strain the Word of God, than their own Notions. There are Allegories, no doubt, in Scripture, but we are not to allegorize Scripture without some Warrant; either from an Apostolical Interpretation, or from the Necessity of the Matter; and I do not know how they can pretend to either of these, in this Case. However, that they may have all fair Play, we will lay aside, at present, all the other Texts of Scripture, and confine our selves wholly to St. Peter’s Words; to see and examine whether they are, or can be turn’d into an Allegory, according to the best Rules of Interpretation.

St. Peter’s Words are these, 2 Pet. iii. 11, 12, 13. Seeing then all these Things shall be dissolved, what manner of Persons ought ye to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness? Looking for, and hasting the Coming of the Day of God; wherein the Heavens being on Fire shall be dissolved, and the Elements shall melt with fervent Heat. Nevertheless we, according to his Promise, look for new Heavens and a new Earth; wherein Righteousness shall dwell. The Question is concerning this last Verse, Whether the new Heavens and Earth here promis’d, are to be real and material Heavens and Earth, or only figurative and allegorical. The Words, you see, are clear; and the general Rule of Interpretation is this, That we are not to recede from the Letter, or the literal Sense, unless there be a Necessity from the Subject-matter; such a Necessity, as makes a literal Interpretation absurd. But where is that Necessity in this Case? Cannot God make new Heavens and a new Earth, as easily as he made the old ones? Is his Strength decayed since that Time, or is Matter grown more disobedient? Nay, does not Nature offer her self voluntarily to raise a new World from the second Chaos, as well as from the first; and, under the Conduct of Providence, to make it as convenient an Habitation as the primæval Earth? Therefore no Necessity can be pretended of leaving the litteral Sense, upon an Incapacity of the Subject-matter.

The second Rule to determine an Interpretation to be literal or allegorical, is the use of the same Words or Phrase in the Context, and the Signification of them there: Let’s then examine our Case according to this Rule. St. Peter had us’d the same Phrase of Heavens and Earth twice before in the same Chapter. The old Heavens and Earth, ver. 5. The present Heavens and Earth, ver. 7. and now he uses it again, ver. 13. the new Heavens and Earth. Have we not then Reason to suppose, that he takes it here in the same Sense, that he had done twice before, for real and material Heavens and Earth? There is no Mark set of a new Signification, nor why we should alter the Sense of the Words. That he used them always before for the material Heavens and Earth, I think none will question; and therefore, unless they can give us a sufficient Reason, why we should change the Signification of the Words, we are bound by this second Rule also, to understand them in a litteral Sense.

Lastly, The very Form of the Words, and the Manner of their Dependence upon the Context, leads us to a litteral Sense, and to material Heavens and Earth. Nevertheless, says the Apostle, we expect new Heavens, &c. Why Nevertheless! that is, notwithstanding the Dissolution of the present Heavens and Earth. The Apostle foresaw, what he had said might raise a Doubt in their Minds, whether all Things would not be at an End; nothing more of Heavens and Earth, or of any habitable World, after the Conflagration: And to obviate this, he tells them, Notwithstanding that wonderful Desolation that I have describ’d, we do, accordding to God’s Promises, expect new Heavens and a new Earth, to be an Habitation for the Righteous.

You see then the new Heavens and new Earth, which the Apostle speaks of, are substituted in the Place of those that were destroyed at the Conflagration; and would you substitute allegorical Heavens and Earth in the Place of Material? Shadow for a Substance? What an Equivocation would it be in the Apostle, when the Doubt was about the material Heavens and Earth, to make an Answer about allegorical. Lastly, The timing of the Thing determines the Sense: When shall this new World appear? after the Conflagration, the Apostle says: Therefore it cannot be understood of any moral Renovation, to be made at, or in the Times of the Gospel, as these Allegorists pretend. We must therefore, upon all Accounts, conclude that the Apostle intended a literal Sense; real and material Heavens, to succeed these after the Conflagration; which was the Thing to be prov’d. And I know not what Bars the Spirit of God can set, to keep us within the Compass of a literal Sense, if these be not sufficient.

Thus much for the Explication of St. Peter’s Doctrine concerning the new Heavens and new Earth; which secures the second Part of our Theory: For the Theory stands upon two Pillars, or two Pedestals, the ante-diluvian Earth and the future Earth; or in St. Peter’s Phrase, the old Heavens and Earth, and the new Heavens and Earth; and it cannot be shaken, so long as these two continue firm and immoveable. We might now put an End to this Review, but it may be expected possibly that we should say something concerning the Millennium? which we have, contrary to the general Sentiment of the modern Millennaries, plac’d in the future Earth. Our Opinion hath this Advantage above others, that all fanatical Pretensions to Power and Empire in this World, are, by these Means, blown away, as Chaff before the Wind. Princes need not fear to be dethroned, to make way to the Saints; nor Governments unhinged, that they may rule the World with a Rod of Iron. These are the Effects of the wild Enthusiasm; seeing the very State which they aim at, is not to be upon this Earth.

But that our Sense may not be mistaken or misapprehended in this Particular, as if we thought the Christian Church would never, upon this Earth, be in a better and happier Posture than it is in at present: We must distinguish betwixt a Melioration of the World, if you will allow that Word; and a Millennium. We do not deny a Reformation and Improvement of the Church, both as to Peace, Purity, and Piety: That Knowledge may increase, Mens Minds be enlarged, and Christian Religion better understood: That the Power of Antichrist shall be diminish’d, Persecution cease, Liberty of Conscience allow’d amongst the Reformed; and a greater Union and Harmony established: That Princes will mind the publick Good, more than they do now; and be themselves better Examples of Virtue and true Piety. All this may be, and I hope will be e’er long. But the apocalyptical Millennium, or the new Jerusalem, is still another Matter: It differs not in Degree only from the present State, but in a new Order of Things; both in the moral World and in the natural; and that cannot be till we come into the new Heavens and new Earth. Suppose what Reformation you can in this World, there will still remain many Things inconsistent with the true millennial State; Antichrist, tho’ weakned, will not be finally destroyed till the coming of our Saviour, nor Satan bound. And there will be always Poverty, Wars, Diseases, Knaves and Hypocrites, in this World, which are not consistent with the new Jerusalem, as St. John describes it, Apoc. xxi. 2, 3, 4, &c.

You see now what our Notion is of the Millennium, as we deny this Earth to be the Seat of it: ’Tis the State that succeeds the first Resurrection, when Satan is lock’d up in the bottomless Pit: The State when the Martyrs are to return into Life, and wherein they are to have the first Lot and chief Share: A State which is to last a thousand Years. And Blessed and Holy is he, that hath a Part in it; on such the second Death hath no Power; but they shall be Priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand Years. If you would see more particular Reasons of our Judgment in this Case, why such a Millennium is not to be expected in this World; they are set down in the 8th Chap. of the 4th Book, and we do not think it necessary that they should be here repeated.

As to that Dissertion that follows the Millennium, and reaches to the Consummation of all Things seeing it is but problematical, we leave it to stand or fall by the Evidence already given; and should be very glad to see the Conjectures of others more learned, in Speculations so abstruse and remote from common Knowledge. They cannot surely be thought unworthy or unfit for our Meditations, seeing they are suggested to us by Scripture it self: And to what end were they propos’d to us there, if it was not intended, that they should be understood, sooner or later?

I have done with this Review; and shall only add one or two Reflections upon the whole Discourse, and so conclude. You have seen the State of the Theory of the Earth, as to the Matters, Form, and Proofs of it, both natural and sacred: If any one will substitute a better in its Place, I shall think my self more obliged to him, than if he had shewed me the Quadrature of the Circle. But it is not enough to pick Quarrels here and there; that may be done by any Writing, especially when it is of so great Extent and Comprehension: They must build up, as well as pull down; and give us another Theory instead of this, fitted to the same natural History of the Earth, according as it is set down in Scripture; and then let the World take their Choice. He that cuts down a Tree, is bound in Reason to plant two; because there is an Hazard in their Growth and Thriving.

Then as to those that are such rigorous Scripturists, as to require plainly demonstrative and irresistible Texts for every thing they entertain or believe; they would do well to reflect and consider, whether, for every Article in the three Creeds (which have no Support from natural Reason) they can bring such Texts of Scripture as they require of others; or a fairer and juster Evidence, all things consider’d, than we have done for the Substance of this Theory. We have not indeed said all that might be said, as to Antiquity; that making no part in this Review, and being capable still of great Additions. But as to Scripture and Reason I have no more to add: Those that are not satisfied with the Proofs already produc’d upon these two Heads, are under a Fate, good or bad, which is not in my Power to overcome. FINIS.

AN ANSWER TO THE EXCEPTIONS MADE BY Mr. Erasmus Warren,

Against the Sacred THEORY OF THE EARTH.

The Fourth Edition.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Hooke, at the Flower de Luce in

Fleetstreet, MDCCXXVI.

AN ANSWER TO THE EXCEPTIONS MADE BY Mr. Erasmus Warren, AGAINST THE THEORY of the EARTH.

If it be Civility to return a speedy Answer to a Demand or Message, I will not fail to pay that Respect to the late Author of the Exceptions against the Theory of the Earth. I know, short Follies, and short Quarrels, are the best: And to offer Satisfaction at the first Opportunity, is the fairest Way to put an End to Controversies. Besides, such personal Altercations as these, are but Res perituræ, which do not deserve much Time or Study; but, like Repartees, are best made off hand, and never thought on more. I only desire that Friendliness, that some Allowance may be made as to Unaccuracy of Style: Which is always allow’d in hasty Dispatches.

I shall make no Excursions from the Subject, nor use any other Method than to follow the learned Exceptor from Chapter to Chapter, and observe his Steps and Motions, so far as they are contrary to the Theory. But if he divert out of his Way, for his Pleasure, or other Reasons best known to himself, I may take notice of it perhaps, but shall not follow him any farther than my Business leads me; having no design to abridge his Liberty, but to defend my own Writings where they are attack’d. Give me leave therefore, without any other Preface or Ceremony, to fall to our Work.

Chap. I.

This Chapter is only an Introduction, and treats of other Things, without any particular Opposition to the Theory. And therefore I shall only give you the Conclusion of it, in the Author’s own Words: So much for the first Chapter; which may be reckoned as an Introduction to the following Discourse. Which if any shall look upon as a Collection of Notes, somewhat confusedly put together, rather than a formal, well digested Treatise, they will entertain the best or truest Idea of it. A severe Censure: But every Man best understands his own Works.

Chap. II.

Here he begins to enter upon particular Exceptions: And his first Head is against the Formation of the Earth, pag. 45. as explained by the Theory. To this he gives but one Exception in this Chapter: Namely, That it would have taken up too much Time; the World being made in six Days. Whereas many Separations of the Chaos, and of the Elements, were to be made, according to the Theory, which could not be dispatch’d in so short a Time. To this Exception, the general Answer may be this; either you take the Hypothesis of an ordinary Providence, or of an extraordinary, as to the Time allowed for the Formation of the Earth: If you proceed according to an ordinary Providence, the Formation of the Earth would require much more Time than six Days: But if according to an extraordinary, you may suppose it made in six Minutes, if you please. ’Twas plain Work, and a simple Process, according to the Theory; consisting only of such and such Separations, and a Concretion: And either of these might be accelerated, and dispatch’d in a longer or shorter Time, as Providence thought fit.

However, this Objection does not come well from the Hands of this Author, who makes all the Mountains of the Earth (the most operose Part of it, as one would think) to be rais’d in a small Parcel of a Day by the Heat and Action of the Sun; as we shall find in the tenth Chapter, hereafter. He seems to proceed by natural Causes; for such are the Heat and Action of the Sun: And if so, he will find himself as much straiten’d for Time, as the Theorist can be. But if he say, the Work of Nature and of the Sun was accelerated by an extra-ordinary Power, he must allow us to say the same Thing of the Separations of the Chaos, and the first Concretion of the Earth. For he cannot reasonably debar us that Liberty which he takes himself, unless we have debarr’d and excluded our selves. Now ’tis plain, the Theorist never excluded an extraordinary Providence in the Formation and Construction of the Earth; as appears, and is openly express’d in many Parts of the Theory, Eng. Theor. p. 88. See, if you please, the Conclusion of the fifth Chapter, which treats about the Formation of the Earth. The last Paragraph is this: Give me leave only, before we proceed any farther, to annex here a short Advertisement, concerning the Causes of this wonderful Structure of the first Earth: ’Tis true, we have propos’d the natural Causes of it, and I do not know wherein our Explication is false or defective; but in Things of this Kind we may easily be too credulous: And this Structure is so marvellous, that it ought rather to be consider’d as a particular Effect of the Divine Art, than as the Work of Nature. The whole Globe of the Water vaulted over, and the exterior Earth hanging above the Deep, sustain’d by nothing but its own Measures and Manner of Construction: A Building without Foundation or Corner-stone. This seems to be a Piece of Divine Geometry or Architecture; and to this, I think, is to be referr’d that magnificent Challenge which God Almighty made to Job; Where wast thou, when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? Declare, &c. Moses also, when be had describ’d the Chaos, saith, The Spirit of God mov’d upon, or sat brooding upon, the Face of the Waters; without all doubt, to produce some Effects there. And St. Peter, when he speaks of the Form of the Anti-deluvian Earth, how it stood, in reference to the Waters, adds, By the Word of God, or by the Wisdom of God, it was made so. And this same Wisdom of God, in the Proverbs, as we observed before, takes notice of this very Piece of Work in the Formation of the Earth: When he set an Orb over the Face of the Deep, I was there. Wherefore to the great Architect, who made the boundless Universe out of nothing, and form’d the Earth out of a Chaos, let the Praise of the whole Work, and particularly, of this Master-piece, for ever, with all Honour, be given. In like Manner, there is a larger Account of Providence, both ordinary and extraordinary, as to the Revolutions of the natural World, in the last Paragraph of the eighth Chapter; and like Reflections are made in other Places, when Occasion is offer’d.

We have not, therefore, any where excluded the Influence and Benefit of superior Causes, where the Case requires it: Especially, when ’tis only to modify the Effect, as to Time and Dispatch. And in that Case, none will have more need of it than himself; as we shall find in the Examination of his tenth Chapter, about the Origin of Mountains.

The rest of this second Chapter is spent in three Excursions. One in justifying the Cartesian Way of forming Light and the Sun, as agreeable to Moses. The second about the Jewish Cabala, and Cabalistical Interpretations. And the third about mystical Numbers. But the Theory not being concern’d in these Things, I leave them to the Author, and his Readers, to enjoy the Pleasure and Profit of them. And proceed to the third Chapter.

Chap. III.

In this Chapter a second Exception against the Formation of the Earth, as propos’d in the Theory, is alledg’d: And ’tis this; The Fluctuation of the Chaos, or of that first watery Globe, would hinder, he says, any Concretion of Earth upon its Surface. Not that there were Winds or Storms then, to agitate those Waters; neither would the Motion of the Earth, or the Rotation of that Globe, disturb them, as he allows there; but the Disturbance would have Rise from Tides, p. 74. lin. 18, 19. or the Ebbings and Flowings of that great Ocean, which, he says, must have been then, as well as now; And the Reason he gives, is this; because the Flux and Reflux of the Sea depend upon the Moon; and the Moon was then present, as he says, in our Heavens, or in our Vortex: And therefore, would have the same Effect then, upon that Body of Waters which lay under it, that it hath now upon the Sea.

That the Moon was in the Heavens, and in our Neighbourhood, when the Earth was form’d, he proves from the six Days Creation: and spends two or three Pages in Wit and Scolding upon this Subject, p. 77, 78, 79. But, with his leave, when all is done, his Argument will be of no Force, unless he can prove, that the fourth Day’s Creation was before the third. I confess, I have heard of a Wager that was lost upon a like Case, namely, Whether Henry VIII. was before Henry VII? But that was done by Complot in the Company, to whom it was referr’d to decide the Question. We have no Plot here, but appeal fairly to that Judge the Exceptor hath chosen, namely, to Scripture, which tells us, that the Moon was made the fourth Day, and the Earth was form’d the third. Therefore, unless the fourth Day was before the third, the Moon could not hinder the Formation of the Earth.

But I hope, say you, this is a Misrepresentation. The Animadverter sure would not put the Matter upon this Issue. Yes, he does. For when he had oppos’d to our Formation of the Earth, the Fluctuation of the Waters, caus’d, as he phrases it, by the bulky Presence of the Moon, he concludes with these Words, (p. 77. Parag. 3.) But in reference to this Matter, there is a Doubt made by the Theorist, which must be consider’d and removed; otherwise most of what hath been said, touching the Instability and Fluctuation of these Waters, will be vain and groundless: The Doubt is, Whether the Moon were then in our Neighbourhood. You see that Matter is put upon this Issue, Whether the Moon was in the Neighbourhood of the Earth, at the Time of its Formation. We say she was not; and prove it by this plain Argument, If she was not in Being at that Time, she was not in our Neighbourhood: But unless the fourth Day was before the third, she was not in Being. Ergo.

But after all, if the Moon had been present then, and there had been Tides, or any other Fluctuation towards the Poles, we have no Reason to believe, according to the Experiences we have now, that that would have hinder’d the Formation of the Earth, upon the Surface of the Chaos. For why should they have hinder’d that more, than they do the Formation of Ice upon the Surface of the Sea? We know, in cold Regions, the Seas are frozen, notwithstanding their Tides; and in the Mouths of Rivers, where there is both the Current and Stream of the River on one hand, and the Counter-Current of the Tides on the other; these, together, cannot hinder the Concretion that is made on the Surface of the Water: And our Water is a Substance more thin, and easily broken, than that tenacious Film was, that cover’d the Chaos. Wherefore, upon all Suppositions, we have Reason to conclude, that no Fluctuations of the Chaos could hinder the Formation of the first Earth.

Lastly, The Observator opposes the Reasons that are given by the Theorist, why the Presence of the Moon was less needful in the first World. Namely, because there were no long Winter Nights; nor the great Pool of the Sea to move or govern. As to the second Reason, ’tis only hypothetical; and if the Hypothesis be true, That there was no open Sea at that Time, (which must be elsewhere examin’d,) the Consequence is certainly true. But as to the first Reason, he will not allow the Consequence, tho’ the Hypothesis be admitted. For he says, p. 79. As there were no long Winter Nights then, so there were no short Summer ones neither: So that set but the one against the other, and the Presence of the Moon may seem to have been as needful then, in regard of the Length of Nights, as she is now. This looks like a witty Observation, but it does not reach the Point. Is there as much need of the Moon in Spain, as in Lapland, or the Northern Countries? There is as much Night in one Place as another, within the Compass of a Year, but the great Inconvenience is, when the Night falls upon the Hours of Travel, or the Hours of Work and Business; for if it fall only upon Hours of Sleep, or of Rest and Retirement, as it does certainly more in Spain, and in those Climates that approach nearer to an Equinox; the Moon is there less necessary in that Respect: We can sleep without Moonshine, or without Light, but we cannot travel, or do Business abroad, without Hazard and great Inconvenience, if there be no Light. So that the Reason of the Theorist holds good, viz. That there would be more Necessity of Moon-shine in long Winter Nights, than in a perpetual Equinox.

We proceed now to the rest of this Chapter, which is made up of some secondary Charges against this Part of the Theory, concerning the Chaos and the Formation of the first Earth. As, First, That it is, p. 80, 81. Precarious: Secondly, p. 83. Unphilosophical: And, Thirdly, Antiscriptural; which we shall answer in order. He seems to offer at three or four Instances of Precariousness, as to the Ingredients of the Chaos, their Proportions and Separations; but his Quarrel is chiefly with the oily Particles: These he will scarce allow at all; nor that they could separate themselves in due Time to receive the terrestrial, at least in due Proportions.

First, He would have no oily Particles in the Chaos. But why so, I pray? What Proof or just Exception is there against them? Why may not there be original oily Particles, as well as original salt Particles? Such as your great Master Des Cartes supposes, Prin. ph. l. 4. §. 84. Meteor. c. 1. §. 8. He who considers that vast Quantity of oleaginous Matter that is dispers’d every where, in Vegetables, in Animals, and in many sorts of Earths, and that this must have been from the Beginning, or as soon as the Earth had any Furniture; will see Reason to believe that such Particles must be thought original and primeval; not forg’d below the Abyss, and extracted from the inferior Regions of the Earth: For that would require a Process of many Ages; whereas, these being the Principles of Fertility, it is reasonable to suppose, that a new World abounds with them more than an old one. Lastly, If we suppose oily Particles to be tenuious and branchy, as your Philosopher does, too gross to be Air, and too light for Water; why should we imagine that in that vast Mass and Variety of Particles, whereof the Chaos consisted, there should not be any of this Figure, as well as of others? Or, what Reason is there to suppose, that there are none of that Figure, but what are brought from the inferior Regions of the Earth? For, of all others, these seem to be the most unlikely, if not incapable, of being extracted from thence. And if there be only a gradual Difference, in Magnitude and Mobility, betwixt the Particles of Air and Oil, as that Philosopher seems to suppose, Prin. phil. l. 4. §. 76. why must we exclude these Degrees, and yet admit the higher and lower?

The second Thing which he charges with Precariousness, is the Separation of this oily Matter, in due time, so as to make a Mixture and Concretion with the terrestrial Particles that fell from above. This Objection was both made and answered by the Theorist; Eng. Theor. p. 79. which the Observator might have vouchsaf’d to have taken notice of; and either confuted the Answer, or spar’d himself the Pains of repeating the Objection.

The third Precariousness is, concerning the Quantity and Proportion of these Particles: And the fourth, concerning the Quantity and Proportion of the Water. The Exceptor, it seems, would have had the Theorist to have gauged these Liquors, and told him the just Measure and Proportion of each; but, in what Theory or Hypothesis is that done? Has his great Philosopher, in his Hypothesis of Three Elements, (which the Exceptor makes use of, p. 52.) or in his several Regions of the unform’d Earth, the Fourth Book of his Principles, defin’d the Quantity and Dimensions of each? Or in the mineral Particles and Juices, which he draws from the lower Regions, does he determine the Quantity of them? And yet these, by their Excess, or Defect, might be of great Inconvenience to the World: Neither do I censure him for these Things, as precarious. For, when the Nature of a Thing admits a Latitude, the original Quantity of it is left to be determin’d by the Effects; and the Hypothesis stands good, if neither any Thing antecedent, nor any present Phænomena, can be alledged against it.

But if these Examples, from his great Philosopher be not sufficient, I will give him one from an Author beyond all Exceptions; And that is from himself. Does the Animadverter, in his new Hypothesis concerning the Deluge, Ch. 15. give us the just Proportions of his Rock-Water, and the just Proportions of his Rain-Water, that concurred to make the Deluge? I find no Calculations there, but general Expressions, that the one was far greater than the other; and that may be easily presumed, concerning the oily Substance, and the watery Chaos: What Scruples therefore, p. 80, 81. he raises, in reference to the Chaos, against the Theorist, for not having demonstrated the Proportions of the Liquors of the Abyss, fall upon his own Hypothesis; for the same or greater Reasons. And you know what the old Verse says,

Turpe est Doctori, cum culpa redurguit ipsum.

But, however, he will have such Exceptions, p. 81. to stand good against the Theorist, though they are not good against other Persons; because the Theorist stands upon Terms[14] of Certainty, and in one Place of his Book, has this Sentence, Ego quidem, &c. These Words, I think, are very exceptionable, if they be taken with the Context: For this Evidence and Certainty, which the Theorist speaks of, is brought in there in Opposition to such uncertain Arguments, as are taken from the Interpretation of Fables and Symbols; or from Etymologies and Grammatical Criticisms, which are expresly mention’d in the preceding Discourse: And yet this Sentence, because it might be taken in too great an Extent, is left out in the second Edition of the Theory, and therefore, none had Reason to insist upon it. But I see the Exceptor puts himself into a State of War, and thinks there is no foul Play against an Enemy.

So much for his Charge of Precariousness. We now come to the second, which is call’d Unphilosophicalness. And, why is the Theorist, in this Case, unphilosophical? Because, says the Exceptor, he supposes terrestrial Particles to be dispers’d through the whole Sphere of the Chaos, as high as the Moon: And why not, pray, if it be a mere Chaos? Where, antecedently to Separations, all Things are mix’d and blended without Distinction of Gravity or Levity; otherwise it is not a mere Chaos: And when Separations begin to be made, and Distinction of Parts and Regions, so far it is ceasing to be a mere Chaos. But then, says the Observator, why did not the Moon come down, as well as these terrestrial Particles? I answer by another Question, Why does not the Moon come down now? Seeing she is still in our Vortex, and at the same Distance; and so the same Reason which keeps her up now, kept her up then: Which Reason he will not be at a loss to understand, if he understand the Principles of his great Philosopher.

We come now to the last Charge: That the Theory, in this Part of it, is antiscriptural. And why so? Because it supposes the Chaos dark, whereas the Scripture says, there was Light the first Day. Well, but does the Scripture say, that the Chaos was throughly illuminated the first Day? The Exceptor, p. 52. as I remember, makes the primigenial Light to have been the Rudiment of a Sun; and calls it there, lin. 17. a faint Light, and a feeble Light; and in this Place, lin. 27. a faint Glimmering. If then the Sun, in all its Strength and Glory, cannot sometimes dispel a Mist out of the Air, what could this faint, feeble Glimmering do, towards the Dissipation of such a gross caliginous Opacity, as that was? This Light might be sufficient to make some Distinction of Day and Night in the Skies; and we do not find any other Mark of its Strength in Scripture, nor any other Use made of it.

So we have done with this Chapter. Give me leave only, without Offence, to observe the Style of the Exceptor, in reference to Scripture, and the Theory. He is apt to call every Thing antiscriptural, that suits not his Sense; neither is that enough, but he must also call it, p. 78. a bold Affront to Scripture. He confesses, he hath made, p. 299. pen. a little bold with Scripture himself, in his new Hypothesis; how much that little will prove, we shall see hereafter. But however, as to that hard Word, Affront, a discreet Man, as he is not apt to give an Affront, so neither is he forward to call every cross Word, an Affront: Both those Humours are Extreams, and breed Quarrels. Suppose a Man should say boldly, God Almighty hath no Right Hand. Oh, might the Animadverter cry, That’s a bold Affront to Scripture: For I can shew you many and plain Texts of Scripture, both in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, where express Mention is made of God’s Right Hand. And will you offer to oppose Reason and Philosophy to express Words of Scripture, often repeated, and in both Testaments? O Tempora, O Mores! So far as my Observation reaches, weak Reasons commonly produce strong Passions. When a Man hath clear Reasons, they satisfy and quiet the Mind; and he is not much concern’d, whether others receive his Notions, or no: But when we have a strong Aversion to an Opinion, from other Motives and Considerations, and find our Reasons doubtful or insufficient; then, according to the Course of human Nature, the Passions rise for a farther Assistance; and what is wanting, in point of Argument, is made up by Invectives and Aggravations.

Chap. IV.

This Chapter is chiefly concerning the Central Fire, and the Origin of the Chaos; of both which, the Theorist had declared he would not treat: And ’tis an unreasonable Violence to force an Author to treat of what Things we please, and not allow him to prescribe Bounds to his own Discourse. As to the first of these, see what the Theorist hath said, Engl. Theor. p. 451, and 86, 67. By which Passages it is evident, that he did not meddle with the central Parts of the Earth; nor thought it necessary for his Hypothesis: As is also more fully express’d in the Latin Theory, p. 45. For, do but allow him a Chaos from the Bottom of the Abyss, upwards to the Moon, and he desires no more for the Formation of an habitable Earth: Neither is it the Part of Wisdom, to load a new Subject with unnecessary Curiosities.

Then as to the Origin of the Chaos, see how the Theorist bounds his Discourse as to that, [15]Engl. Theor. p. 451. I did not think it necessary to carry the Story and Original of the Earth, higher than the Chaos, as Zoroaster and Orpheus seem to have done; but taking that for our Foundation which Antiquity, sacred and profane, does suppose, and natural Reason approve and confirm, we have form’d the Earth from it. To form an habitable Earth from a Chaos given, and to shew all the great Periods and general Changes of that Earth, throughout the whole Course of its Duration, or while it remain’d an Earth, was the adequate Design of the Theorist. And was this Design so short or shallow, that it could not satisfy the great Soul of the Exceptor, p. 88. but it must be a Flaw in the Hypothesis, that it did go higher than the Chaos? We content our selves with these Bounds at present. And when a Man declares, that he will write only the Roman History, will you say his Work’s imperfect, because it does not take in the Persian and Assyrian?

These Things consider’d, to speak freely of this Chapter, it seems to me, in a great Measure, impertinent; unless it was design’d to shew the Learning of the Observator, who loves, I perceive, to dabble in Philosophy, though little to the Purpose: For, as far as I see, his Disquistions generally end in Scepticism; he disputes first one way, then another; and, at last determines nothing. He rambles betwixt Des Cartes and Moses, the Rabbies, the Septuagint, the Platonists, Magnetisme, striate Particles, and Præ-existence of Souls: And ends in nothing, as to the Formation of the Earth, which was to be the Subject of the Chapter. We proceed therefore to the next, in hopes to meet with closer Reasoning.

Chap. V.

From the manner of the Earth’s Formation, the Exceptor, p. 106. now proceeds to the Form of it, if compleated. And his first Exception is, That it would want Waters, or Rivers to water it. He says, there would either be no Rivers at all, or none, at least, in due time.

The Theorist hath replenish’d that Earth with Rivers, flowing from the extreme Parts of it, towards the middle, in continual Streams; and watering, as a Garden, all the intermediate Climates. And this constant Supply of Water was made from the Heavens, by an uninterrupted Stream of Vapours, which had their Course through the Air, from the middle Parts of the Earth towards the extreme; and falling in Rains, return’d again upon the Surface of the Earth, from the extreme Parts to the middle: For that Earth being of an oval or something oblong Figure, there would be a Declivity all along, or Descent, from the Polar Parts towards the Equinoctial; which gave Course and Motion to these Waters. And the Vapours above never falling in their Course, the Rivers would never fail below; but a perpetual Circulation would be establish’d, betwixt the Waters of the Heavens and of the Earth.

This is a short Account of the State of the Waters in the primeval Earth. Which you may see represented and explain’d more at large, in the second Book of the Theory, Chap. 5. And this, I believe, is an Idea more easily conceiv’d, than any we could form concerning the Waters and Rivers of the present Earth, if we had not Experience of them. Suppose a Stranger, that had never seen this terraqueous Globe, where we live at present, but was told the general Form of it; how the Sea lies, how the Land, and what was the Constitution of the Heavens: If this Stranger was asked his Opinion, whether such an Earth was habitable; and particularly, whether they could have Waters commodiously in such an Earth, and how the inland Countries would be supplied? I am apt to think, he would find it more difficult (upon an Idea only, without Experience) to provide Waters for such an Earth, as ours is at present, than for such an one as the primeval Earth was. ’Tis true, he would easily find Rains, possible and natural, but with no Constancy or Regularity; and these, he might imagine, would only make transient Torrents, not any fix’d and permanent Rivers. But as for Fountains deriv’d from the Sea, and breaking out in higher Grounds, I am apt to believe, all his Philosophy would not be able to make a clear Discovery of them: But Things that are familiar to us by Experience, we think easy in Speculation, or never enquire into the Causes of them. Whereas, other Things, that never fall under our Experience, though more simple and intelligible in themselves, we reject often as Paradoxes or Romances. Let this be applied to the present Case, and we proceed to answer the Exceptions.

Let us take that Exception first, as most material, p. 114. that pretends there would have been no Rivers at all in the primeval Earth, if it was of such a Form as the Theorist had describ’d. And for this, he gives one grand Reason, Because the Regions towards the Poles, where the Rains are suppos’d to fall, and the Rivers to rise, would have been all frozen and congeal’d; and consequently, no fit Sources of Water for the rest of the Earth. Why we should think those Regions would be frozen, and the Rains that fell in them, he gives two Reasons, the Distance, and the Obliquity of the Sun. As also the Experience we have now, of the Coldness and Frozenness of those Parts of the Earth. But as to the Distance of the Sun, He confesses, p. 118. that is not the Thing that does only or chiefly make a Climate cold. He might have added, particularly in that Earth, where the Sun was never at a greater Distance than the Equator. Then, as to the Obliquity of the Sun, neither was that so great, nor so considerable, in the first Earth, as in the present. Because the Body of that lay in a direct Position to the Sun; whereas the present Earth lies in an oblique. And though the Polar Circles or Circumpolar Parts of that Earth, did not lie so perpendicular to the Sun as the Equinoctial, and consequently were cooler, yet there was no Danger of their being frozen or congeal’d. It was more the Moisture and excessive Rains of those Parts that made them uninhabitable, than the extreme Coldness of the Climate, of it self. And if the Exceptor had well consider’d the Differences betwixt the present and primitive Earth, as to Obliquity of Position, and that which follows from it, the Length of Nights, he would have found no Reason to have charg’d that Earth with nipping and freezing Cold; where there was not, I believe, one Morsel of Ice, from one Pole to another: But that will better appear, if we consider the Causes of Cold.

There are three general Causes of Cold: The Distance of the Sun, his Obliquity, and his total Absence; I mean in the Nights. As to Distance, that alone must be of little Effect, seeing there are many Planets (which must not be look’d upon as mere Lumps of Ice) at a far greater Distance from the Sun, than ours: And as to Obliquity, you see it was much less considerable in the respective Parts of the Primitive Earth, than of the present. Wherefore, these are to be consider’d but as secondary Causes of Cold, in respect of the third, the total Absence of the Sun in the Night Time: And where this happens to be long and tedious, there you must expect Excess of Cold. Now, in the primitive Earth there was no such Thing as long Winter Nights, but every where a perpetual Equinox, or a perpetual Day. And consequently, there was no Room or Cause of excessive Cold in any Part of it. But on the contrary, the Case is very different in the present Earth; for in our Climate, we have not the Presence of the Sun, in the Depth of Winter, half as long as he is absent; and towards the Poles they have Nights that last several Weeks or Months together: And then ’tis that the Cold rages, binds up the Ground, freezes the Ocean, and makes those Parts more or less uninhabitable. But where no such Causes are, you need not fear any such Effects.

Thus much to shew that there might be Rains, Waters, and Rivers, in the primigenial Earth, and towards the extreme Parts of it, without any Danger of freezing. But however, says the other Part of the Exception, These Rivers would not be made in due Time. That’s wholly according to the Process you take; if you take a mere natural Process, the Rivers could not flow throughout the Earth, all on a sudden; but you may accelerate that Process, as much as you please, by a Divine Hand. As to this Particular indeed of the Rivers, one would think there should be no Occasion for their sudden flowing through the Earth, because Mankind could not be suddenly propagated throughout the Earth: And if they did but lead the Way, and prepare the Ground in every Country, before Mankind arrived there, that seems to be all that would be necessary upon their Account: Neither can it be imagined, but that the Rivers would flow faster than Mankind could follow; for it is probable, in the first hundred Years, Men did not reach an hundred Miles from Home, or from their first Habitations: And we cannot suppose the Defluxion of Water, upon any Declivity, to be half so slow. As to the Channels of these Rivers, the Manner of their Progress, and other Circumstances, those Things are set down fully enough in the fifth Chapter of the second Book of the English Theory, and it would be needless to repeat them here.

But the Anti-Theorist says, this slow Production and Propagation of Rivers is contrary to Scripture; both because of the Rivers of Paradise, and also, because Fishes were made the sixth Day. As to that of the Fishes, he must first prove that those were River-Fishes; for the Scripture, Gen. i. 21. and 22. makes them Sea-Fish, and instances in great Whales. But he says (p. 113, 114.) it will appear in the Sequel of his Discourse, that the Abyss could be no Receptacle of Fishes. To that Sequel of his Discourse therefore we must refer the Examination of this Particular. Then as to Paradise, that was but one single Spot of Ground, ch. xiii. according to the ordinary Hypothesis; which he seems to adhere to: And Rivers might be there as soon as he pleases, seeing its Seat is not yet determin’d. But as for the Lands which they are said to traverse or encompass, that they might be the Work of Time, when their Channels and Courses were extended and settled; as they would be, doubtless, long before the Time that Moses writ that Description: But as to the Rivers of Paradise, it would be a long Story to handle that Dispute here. And ’tis fit the Authors should first agree amongst themselves, before we determine the Original of its River, or Rivers.

Chap. VI.

We come now to the Deluge, where the great Exception is this, p. 121. That according to the Theory, the Deluge would have come to pass, whether Mankind had been degenerate, or no.

We know Mankind did degenerate, and ’tis a dangerous Thing to argue upon false Suppositions; and to tell what would have come to pass, in case such a Thing had not come to pass: Suppose Adam had not sinn’d, what would have become of the Messiah? Eph. i. 4. 1 Pet. i. 20. Apoc. xiii. 8. and the Dispensation of the Gospel, which yet is said to have been determin’d more early than the Deluge? Let the Anti-Theorist answer himself this Question, and he may answer his own.

But to take a gentler Instance, suppose Adam had not eaten the forbidden Fruit, how could he and all his Posterity have liv’d in Paradise? A few Generations would have fill’d that Place; and should the rest have been turn’d out into the wide World, without any sin or Fault of theirs? You suppose the Ante-diluvian Heavens and Earth to have been the same with the present, and, consequently, subject to the same Accidents and Inconveniences. The Action of the Sun would have been the same then as now, according to your Hypothesis: The same Excesses of Heat and Cold, in the several Regions and Climates; the same Vapours and Exhalations extracted out of the Earth; the same Impurities and Corruptions in the Air: And in Consequence of these, the same external Disposition to epidemical Distempers. Besides, there would be the same Storms and Tempests at Sea, the same Earthquakes, and other Desolations at Land. So that had all the Sons and Daughters of Men, to use the Exceptor’s elegant Style, p. 122. been as pure and bright as they could possibly have dropt out of the Mint of Creation, they should still have been subject to all these Inconveniences and Calamities. If Mankind had continued spotless and undegenerate ’till the Deluge, or for sixteen hundred Years, they might as well have continued so for sixteen hundred more. And in a far less Time, according to their Fruitfulness and Multiplication, the whole Face of the Earth would have been thick covered with Inhabitants: Every Continent and every Island, every Mountain and every Desert, and all the Climates from Pole to Pole. But could naked Innocency have liv’d happy in the frozen Zones, where Bears and Foxes can scarce subsist? in the midst of Snows and Ice, thick Fogs, and more than Ægyptian Darkness, for some Months together? Would all this have been a Paradise, or a paradisaical State, to these virtuous Creatures? I think it would be more advisable for the Exceptor, not to enter into such Disputes, grounded only upon Suppositions. God’s Prescience is infallible, as his Counsels are immutable.

But the Exceptor further suggests, p. 121. that the Theory does not allow a judicial and extraordinary Providence in bringing on the Deluge, as a Punishment upon Mankind. Which, I must needs say, is an untrue and uncharitable Suggestion, as any one may see, both in the Latin Theory [16] Chap. 6. and in the English, in several Places. So at the Entrance upon the Explication of the Deluge (Theor. p. 92.) are these Words, Let us then suppose, that at a Time appointed by Divine Providence, and from Causes made ready to do that great Execution upon a sinful World, that this Abyss was open’d, and the Frame of the Earth broke, &c. And accordingly in the Conclusion of that Discourse about the Deluge, are these Words, (Theor. p. 144.) In the mean time I do not know any more to be added in this Part, unless it be to conclude with an Advertisement to prevent any Mistake or Misconstruction, as if this Theory, by explaining the Deluge in a natural Way, or by natural Causes, did detract from the Power of God, by which that GREAT JUDGMENT WAS BROUGHT UPON THE WORLD, IN A PROVIDENTIAL AND MIRACULOUS MANNER. And in the three following Paragraphs (Theor. p. 144, 145, 146.) which conclude that Chapter, there is a full Account given both of an ordinary and extraordinary Providence, in reference to the Deluge, and other great Revolutions of the natural World.

But it is a Weakness however to think, that, when a Train is laid in Nature, and Methods concerted, for the execution of a Divine Judgment, therefore it is not providential. God is the Author and Governor of the natural World, as well as of the Moral: And he sees thorough the Futuritions of both, and hath so dispos’d the one, as to serve him in his just Judgments upon the other. Which Method, as it is more to the Honour of his Wisdom, so it is in no way to the Prejudice of his Power or Justice. And what the Exceptor suggests concerning Atheists, and their presum’d Cavils at such an Explication of the Deluge, is a Thing only said at random and without Grounds. On the contrary, so to represent the Sense of Scripture, in natural Things, as to make it unintelligible, and inconsistent with Science and Philosophick Truth, is one great Cause, in my Opinion, that breeds and nourishes Atheism.

Chap. VII.

This Chapter is about the Places of Scripture, alledg’d in Confirmation of the Theory: And chiefly concerning that remarkable Discourse in St. Peter, 2 Epist. iii. which treats of the Difference of the Ante-diluvian World, and the present World. That Discourse is so fully explain’d in the Review of the Theory, that I think it is plac’d beyond all Exception. And the Animadverter here makes his Exception only against the first Words, ver. 5. Λανσθάνει γὰρ αὐτοῦς τοῦτο θέλοντας, which we thus render, For this they willingly are ignorant of. But he generally renders it, wilfully ignorant of, and lays a great Stress upon that word wilfully. But if he quarrel with the English Translation, in this particular, he must also fault the Vulgate, and Beza, and all others that I have yet met withal. And it had been very proper for him, in this Case, to have given us some Instances or Proofs, out of Scripture or Greek Authors, where this Phrase signifies a wilful and obstinate Ignorance. He says it must have been a wilful Ignorance, otherwise it was not blameable: Whereas St. Peter gives it a sharp Reproof. I answer, There are many Kinds and Degrees of blameable Ignorance; a contented Ignorance, an Ignorance from Prejudices, from Non-attendance, and want of due Examination. These are all blameable in some Degree, and all deserve some Reproof; but it was not their Ignorance that St. Peter chiefly reproves, but their deriding and scoffing at the Doctrine of the coming of our Saviour, and the Conflagration of the World. And therefore he calls them, Scoffers, walking after their own Lusts.

But the Exceptor seems at length inclinable to render the forementioned Words thus, p. 137. They are willingly mindless or forgetful. And I believe the Translation would be proper enough. And what gentler Reproof can one give, than to say, you are willing to forget such an Argument, or such a Consideration; which implies little more than Non-attention, or an Inclination of the Will towards the contrary Opinion? We cannot tell what Evidence, or what Traditions they might have then concerning the Deluge, but we know they had the History of it by Moses, and all the Marks in Nature, that we have now, of such a Dissolution. And they, that pretended to philosophize upon the Works of Nature, and the Immutability of them, might very well deserve that modest Rebuke, that they were willing to forget the first Heavens and first Earth, and the Destruction of them at the Deluge, when they talk’d of an immutable State of Nature.

Neither is there any Thing in all this, contrary to what the Theorist had said, Theor. c. 1. concerning the ancient Philosophers: That none of them ever invented or demonstrated from the Causes, the true State of the first Earth. This must be granted; but it is one Thing to demonstrate from the Causes, or by way of Theory, and another Thing to know at large: Whether by Scripture, Tradition, or Collection from Effects. The Mutability and Changes of the World, which these Pseudo-Christians would not allow of, was a knowable Thing, taking all the Means which they might and ought to have attended to: At least, before they should have proceeded so far as to reject the Christian Doctrine concerning the future Changes of the World, with Scorn and Derision. Which is the very Thing the Apostle so much censor’d them for.

So much for what is said by the Exceptor concerning this place of St. Peter. To all the rest he gives an easy Answer, (in the Contents of this Chapter) viz., That they are figurative, and so not argumentative. The Places of Scripture upon which the Theory depends, are fixed distinctly and in order, in the Review: And, to avoid Repetitions, we must sometimes refer to that, Review, p. 371, 372. particularly, as to two remarkable Places, Psal. xxiv. 2. and Psal. cxxxvi. 6. concerning the Foundation and Extension of the Earth upon the Seas. Which the Exceptor quickly dispatches by the Help of a Particle and a Figure. על.

The next he proceeds to, is, Psal. xxxiii. 7. He gathereth the Waters of the Sea, as in a Bag: He layeth up the Abyss in Store-Houses. But, he says, it should be render’d, as on an Heap: Which is the English Translation. Whether the Authorities produced, in this case, by the Theorist, Eng. Theor. p. 117. or by the Exceptor, are more considerable, I leave the Reader to judge. But, however, he cites another place, Psal. lxxviii. 13. where the same Word is us’d and apply’d to the Red Sea, which could not be enclos’d as in a Bag. Take whether Translation you please for this second place; it is no Prejudice to the Theory, if you render it on an Heap: For it was a Thing done by Miracle. But the other Place speaks of the ordinary Posture and Constitution of the Waters, which is not on an Heap, but in a Level or spherical Convexity with the rest of the Earth. This Reason the Animadverter was not pleas’d to take notice of, tho’ it be intimated in that same Place of the Theory which he quotes, p. 86. But that which I might complain of most, is his unfair Citation of the next Paragraph of the Theory, Excep. p. 140. which he applies peculiarly to this Text of Psal. xxxiii. 7. whereas it belongs to all the Texts alledg’d out of the Psalms, and is a modest Reflection upon the Explication of them, as the Reader may plainly see, if he please to look the Theory, and compare it with his Citation.

The next Place he attacks, is, Job xxvi. 7. He stretches the North over the Tohu, or, as we render it, over the empty Places: And hangeth the Earth upon nothing. Here he says, p. 141. Job did either accommodate himself to the Vulgar, or else was a perfect Platonist. Methinks Plato should rather be a Jobist, if you would have them to imitate one another. Then he makes an Objection, and answers it himself: concluding, however, that Job could not but mean this of the present Earth, because in the next Verse he mentions Clouds. But how does it appear, that every Thing that Job mentions in that Chapter, refers to the same time?

The next Place, is, Job xxxviii. 4, 5, 6. Where wast thou when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? &c. These eloquent Expostulations of the Almighty, he applies all to the present Form of the Earth: Where he says, there are the Embossings of Mountains, the Enamelling of lesser Seas, the open Work of the vast Ocean, and the fret Work of Rocks, &c. These make a great Noise, but they might all be apply’d to the Ruins of an old Bridge, fallen into the Water. Then he makes a large Harangue in Commendation of Mountains, and of the present Form of the Earth: Which, if you please, you may compare with the tenth Chapter of the Latin Theory, and then make your Judgment upon both.

But it is not enough for the Exceptor to admire the Beauty of Mountains, but he, p. 146. will make the Theorist to do so too, because he hath exprest himself much pleas’d with the Sight of them. Can we be pleas’d with nothing in an Object but the Beauty of it? Does not the Theorist say there, in the very Words cited by the Exceptor, Sæpe loci ipsius insolentia & spectaculorum novitas delectat magis quam venustas in rebus notis & communibus. We are pleas’d in looking upon the Ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre, or a triumphal Arch, tho’ time have defac’d its Beauty. A Man may be pleas’d in looking upon a Monster, will you conclude therefore that he takes it for a Beauty? There are many Things in Objects, besides Beauty, that may please; but he that hath not Sense and Judgment enough to see the Difference of those Cases, and whence the Pleasures arise, it would be very tedious to beat it into him by Multitude of Words.

After his Commendation of Mountains, he falls upon the Commendation of Rain: Making those Countries, that enjoy it, to be better water’d than by Rivers; and consequently the present Earth better than that paradisaical Earth describ’d by the Theorist. And in this he says, he follows the Rule of Scripture, for these are his Words, p. 148, And that these Rules, whereby we measure the Usefulness of this Earth, and shew it to be more excellent than that of the Theory, are the most true and proper Rules, is manifest from God’s making use of the same, in a Case not unlike: For he, comparing Ægypt and Palestine, prefers the latter before the former; because in Ægypt the Seed sown was watered with the Foot, as a Garden of Herbs; but Palestine was a Land of Hills and Valleys, and drank Water of the Rain of Heaven, Deut. xi. 10, 11.

Let this rest a while: In the mean time let us take notice how unluckily it falls out for the Observator, that a Country that had no Rain, should be compared in Scripture, or join’d in Privilege, with Paradise it self, and the Garden of God. For so is this very Ægypt, Gen. xiii. 10, tho’ it had no Rain, but was water’d by Rivers. The Words of Scripture are these. And Lot lifted up his Eyes, and beheld all the Plain of Jordan, that it was well-watered every where (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) even as the Garden of the Lord, like the Land of Ægypt. The Plain of Jordan you see is commended for its Fruitfulness, and being well watered: And as the height of its Commendation, it is compar’d with Ægypt, and with the Paradise of God. Now in Ægypt we know there was little or no Rain: And we read of none in Paradise: But they were both water’d by Rivers. Therefore the greatest Commendation of a Land, for Pleasure and Fertility, according to Scripture, is its being well water’d with Rivers: Which makes it like a Paradise. Surely then you cannot blame the Theorist, having this Authority besides all other Reasons, for making the paradisaical Earth to have been thus water’d.

Now let the Exceptor consider how he will interpret and apply his place in Deuteronomy, and make it consistent with this Genesis. Till I see a better Interpretation, I like this very well, tho’ quite contrary to his: Namely, That they were not to expect such a Land as Ægypt, that was a Plain naturally fruitful, as being well water’d; but the Land they were to possess, depended upon the Benediction of Heaven: And therefore they might expect more or less Fertility, according as they kept God’s Commandments. And so much for those two Texts of Scripture.

Lastly, The Exceptor, p. 149. in the Conclusion of his Discourse about that place in Job, makes a Reflection upon the Impropriety of those Expressions made in Job, about Foundations and Corner-stones, if they be apply’d to the first Earth describ’d by the Theorist. But this seems to me an Elegancy in that Discourse, which he makes a Fault: Whether it be understood as an Allusion only to our manner of Building, by deep Foundations, and strong Corner-stones: Or an ironical Interrogation, as it seems to me; implying, that there was no Foundation (strictly so call’d) nor Corner-stone, in that great Work, tho’ we cannot build a Cottage or little Bridge, without such Preparations.

He proceeds then to the following Verses in that thirty-eighth Chapter. Who shut up the Sea with Doors, when it broke forth as if it had issued out of a Womb? This the Theorist understands of the Disruption of the Abyss at the Deluge, when the Sea broke forth out of the Womb of the Earth: Or out of that subterraneous Cavity, where it was enclosed as in a Womb. ’Tis plainly imply’d in the Words of the Text, that the Sea was shut up in some Womb, before it broke forth. I desire therefore to know in what Womb that was. You will find Interpreters much at a loss to give a fair Answer to that Question: What was that enclos’d State of the Sea? And what Place, or Part of Nature, was that Receptacle where it lay? But the Exceptor hath found out a new Answer. He says, it was that Womb of Non-entity. These are his Words, It just then (at its Creation) gushed out of the Womb of Nothing, into Existence. This is a subtle and far-fetch’d Notion. Methinks the Womb of Nothing, is much-what the same as no Womb. And so this is no Answer. But however let us consider how far it would suit this Case, if it was admitted. If you understand the Womb of Non-entity, Gen. i. 2. the Sea broke out of that Womb the first Day, and had no Bars or Doors set to it, but flow’d over all the Earth without Check or Control. Therefore that could not be the Time or State here spoken of. And to refer that Restraint, or those Bars and Doors, to another Time, which are spoken of here in the same Verse, would be very inexcusable in the Exceptor: p. 150. seeing he will not allow the Theorist to suppose those Things that are spoken of in different Verses, to be understood of different Times. To conclude, this metaphysical Notion of the Womb of Nothing, is altogether impertinent, at least in this Case: For the Text is plainly speaking of Things local and corporeal, and this Prison of the Sea must be understood as such.

He proceeds now to the last Place alleg’d, Prov. viii. 27, 28. When he prepared the Heavens, I was there: When he set a Compass upon the Face of the Deep. The word חוג which we tender Compass, he says, signifies no more than the Rotundity or spherical Figure of the Abyss. And so the Sense will run thus, When God set a Rotundity, or spherical Figure, upon the Face of the Abyss. But whereas the Word may as well signify a Sphere or Orb, the Theorist thinks it more reasonable that it should be so translated: And so the Sentence would run thus, When God set an Orb upon the Face of the Deep. And this Discourse of Solomon’s, referring to the Beginning of the World, he thinks it rational to understand it of the first habitable Earth: Which is really an Orb set over the Face of the Deep.

One cannot swear for the Signification of a Word in every particular Place, where it occurs: But when there are two Senses whereof it is capable, and the one is much more important than the other, it is a fair Presumption to take it in the more important Sense; especially in such a Place, and upon such an Occasion, where the great Works of the Divine Wisdom and Power are celebrated: As they are here by Solomon. And it cannot be deny’d, that our Sense of the Words is more important than the other: For of what Consequence is it to say, God made the Body of the Abyss round. Every one knows, that Fluids of their own accord run into that Figure. So as that would be a small Remark upon a great Occasion.

The Construction of this Orb we speak of, minds me of an Injustice which the Exceptor hath done the Theory, in the precedent Part of this Chapter, by a false Accusation. For he says, the Theory makes the Construction of the first Earth to have been merely mechanical. At least, his Words seem to signify as much, which are these, p. 143. And so its Formation, speaking of the first Earth, had been merely mechanical, as the Theory makes it. That the Construction was not merely mechanical, in the Opinion of the Theorist, you may see, Eng. Theor. p. 88. which, because we have cited it before, we will not here repeat. The Theorist might also complain, that the Exceptor cites the first Edition of the Theory for such Things as are left out in the second: Which yet was printed a Twelvemonth before his Animadversions. And therefore in Fairness he ought always to have consulted the last Edition, and last Sense of the Author, before he had censured him, or his Work. But this unfair Method, it seems, pleas’d his Humour better: p. 81. p. 100, last Part, as you may see in this Chapter, p. 154. p. 227, 228. p. 244. and in several other Places; where Passages are cited and insisted upon, that are no where to be found in the second Edition. Not to mention his defective Citations, omitting that Part that qualifies the Sentence, as p. 99. last Citation, and elsewhere, p. 279, 280. p. 288. I make this Note, that the Reader may judge, how well this answers that Sincerity, with which he profest he would examine this Work: Only as a Friend and Servant to Truth. And therefore with such Candor, Meekness, and Modesty, as becomes one who assumes and glories in so fair a Character, p. 43.

The rest of this Chapter is a general Censure of Citations out of Scripture, that are only tropical or figurative Schemes of Speech. These must be made so indeed, if our Sense of them be not allow’d. But what Necessity is there of a figurative interpretation of all these Texts? The Rule we go by, and I think all good Interpreters, is this, that we are not to leave the literal Sense, unless there be a Necessity, from the Subject-Matter. And there is no such Necessity in this Case, upon our Hypothesis: For it suits with the literal Sense. And ’tis to beg the Question, to say, the literal Sense is not to be admitted, because it complies too much with the Theory. But as for that Text of his own, which he instances in, The Pillars of the Earth tremble, that cannot be understood (by the same Rule) of Pillars literally; because there are no such Pillars of the Earth, upon any Hypothesis.

Chap. VIII.

This Chapter is concerning that grand Property of the ante-diluvian Earth, a perpetual Equinox, or a right Position to the Sun. This perpetual Equinox the Exceptor will by no means admit. But I’m afraid he mistakes the Notion: For as he explains it in the two first Sections of this Chapter, he seems to have a false Idea of the whole Matter. He thinks, I perceive, that when the Earth chang’d its Situation, it was translated from the Equator into the Ecliptick: And that before that Change in the ante-diluvian State, it moved directly under the Equator. For these are his Words, p. 158. So that in her annual Motion about the Sun, namely, the Earth, before that Change, she was carried directly under the Equinoctial, without any Manner of Obliquity in her Site, or Declination towards either of the Tropicks in her Course; and therefore could never cut the Equinoctial, by passing (as now she is presumed to do) from one Tropick to the other. By which Words, you see, he imagines that the Earth mov’d perpetually under the Equator, when it had a perpetual Equinox. And when it came out of that State, into this wherein it is now, it did not only change its Position, and the Posture of its Axis, but was also really translated from one Part of the Heavens into another, namely, from under the Equator to the Ecliptick, and so took another Road in its annual Course about the Sun. This is a great Mistake: And I cannot blame him, if he was so averse to admit this Change, seeing it lay so cross in his Imagination. For what Pullies or Leavers should we employ to remove the Earth out of the Equator into the Ecliptick? Archimedes pretended, if he had Ground to plant his Engines upon, that he would move the Earth out of its Place; but that it was done before, I never knew, nor heard of: And if the Exceptor had consider’d what is said in the Theory upon that Occasion, Lat. Theor. li. 2. c. 4. he might easily have prevented his Mistake. But we shall meet with the same Error again in another Place. Let us consider now, what Arguments he uses against this Change.

He says, p. 159. If there had been such a Change, either Providence, or Mankind, would have preserv’d the Memory of it. How far the Memory of it hath been preserv’d, we shall see hereafter. In the mean Time, we will give him Instances of other Things to reflect upon, that are lost out of Memory, unless he be the happy Man that shall retrieve them. The Age of the World hath been preserv’d, either by the Memory of Man, or by the Care of Providence. And was not that both a Thing of Importance, and of easy Preservation? Noah could not but know the Age of the World, for he was contemporary with five or six Generations, that were contemporary with Adam. And knowing the Age of the World himself, he could not easily forbear, one would think, to tell it to his Sons and Posterity. But, to this Day, we do not know what the true Age of the World is. There are three Bibles, if I may so say, or three Pentateuchs, the Hebrew, Samaritan, and Greek: Which do all differ very considerably in their Accounts, concerning the Age of the World: And the most learned Men are not yet able to determine with Certainty, which of the three Accounts is most authentick. Then, what think you of the Place of Paradise? How well is the Memory or Knowledge of that preserv’d? Could Noah be ignorant of it? And was it not a fit Subject to discourse of, and entertain his Sons and Nephews, and by them to communicate it to Posterity? Yet we seek it still in vain. The Jews were as much at a Loss as we are: p. 263, 264, 265. and the Christian Fathers, you think, were out in their Opinions, both about the Place and Conditions of it: Neither do you venture to determine them your self: So that Paradise is lost in a Manner out of the World. What Wonder then if this single Property of it be lost? If the Exceptor had well consider’d (Eng. Theor. p. 400, 401.) what the Theorist has said concerning the providential Conduct of Knowledge in the World, this Doubt or Objection might have been spar’d.

After a long Excursion, little to the Purpose, but to shew his Reading, p. 166. he tells us next, that Scripture does not favour this Notion of a perpetual Equinox before the Flood: And cites Gen. viii. 22. which the Theorist had cited as a Place that did suggest to us that Vicissitude of Seasons that was established after the Flood. The Words indeed are not so determinate in themselves, but that they may be understood, either of the Restoration of a former Order in the Seasons of the Year, or of the Establishment of a new one. And in whether Sense they are to be taken, is to be determin’d by collateral Reasons and Considerations. Such the Theorist had set down, to make it probable, that they ought to be understood as a Declaration of such an Order of the Seasons of the Year, as was brought in at that Time, and was to continue to the End of the World. The Exceptor hath not thought fit to take notice of, or refute those Reasons, and therefore they stand good, as formerly. Besides, the Exceptor must remember, that this Text stands betwixt two remarkable Phænomena, the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians in the old World, and the Appearance of the Rainbow in the new. Both which were Marks of a different State of Nature in the two Worlds.

He further excepts, p. 168. against that perpetual Equinox before the Flood, for another Scripture-reason: viz. Because the Earth was curst before that Time, and consequently, he says, had not a perpetual Equinox. But if that Curse was supernatural, it might have its Effect in any Position of the Earth. For God can make a Land barren, if he think fit, in spite of the Course of Nature. And so he also must suppose it to have been in this Case. For, upon all Suppositions, whether of a perpetual Equinox, or no, the Earth is granted to have been very fruitful at first: And so would have continued, if that Curse had not interven’d.

Lastly, He makes that an Argument, p. 169. that the Air was cold and intemperate in Paradise, and consequently no constant Equinox, because Adam and Eve made themselves Aprons to cover their Nakedness. So, he confesses, Interpreters generally understand, that it was to cover their Nakedness. But he will not allow that to be the true Sense, but says those Fig-Leaves were to keep them warm. And the other Interpretation of covering their Nakedness, he will not admit, for three Reasons: First, because the Scripture, as he pretends, does not declare it so. See, pray, Gen. iii. 7. Secondly, What Shame, says he, need there have been betwixt Husband and Wife? Thirdly, If it was Modesty; when they were innocent, they should have been more modest. Some Arguments answer themselves, and I do not think these deserve a Confutation. But, he says, p. 170. however God made them Coats of Skins afterwards, and that was to be a Defence against Cold. He must tell us in what Climate he supposes Paradise to have stood: And which way, and how far Adam and Eve were banish’d from it. When those Things are determin’d, we shall know what to judge of this Argument, and of Coats of Skins.

After Lastly, I expected no more: But he hath two or three Reasons after the Last. As first, he says, p. 171. upon our Hypothesis, one Hemisphere of the Globe must have been unpeopled: Because the torrid Zone was unpassable. And was not the Ocean as unpassable, upon your Hypothesis? How got they into America? And not only into America, but into all the Islands of the Earth, that are remote from Continents? Will you not allow us one Miracle, for your many? I’m sure the Theorist never excluded the Ministry of Angels; and they could as easily carry them thorough the torrid Zone, as over the Ocean. But secondly, he says, There could be no Rains to make the Flood, if there was a perpetual Equinox. Were not those Rains, that made the Flood, extraordinary, and out of the Course of Nature? You would give one angry Words that should deny it. Besides, the Flood-Gates of Heaven were open’d when the great Deep was broken up, (Gen. vii. 11.) and no Wonder the Disruption of the Earth should cause some extraordinary Commotions in the Air, Eng. Theor. p. 135. and either compress the Vapours, or stop their usual Course towards the Poles, and draw them down in Streams upon several Parts of the Earth. But the Exceptor says, this could not be, because the Theorist makes the Rains fall before the Disruption of the Abyss. But he does not suppose the Cataracts of Heaven to have been open’d before, which made the grand Rains. And how unfairly that Passage of the Theory is represented, we shall see hereafter in the fourteenth Chapter.

Lastly, He concludes all with this Remark, p. 176. That all sorts of Authors have disputed in what Season of the Year the Deluge came, and in what Season of the Year the World began: Therefore they thought there were then different Seasons of the Year. These Disputes, he confesses, did manifestly proceed from Inadvertency, or something worse: Because there could not be any one Season throughout all the Earth at once. He might have added, unless upon the Supposition of the Theory, which makes an universal Equinox at that Time. And why may not that have given Occasion to the general Belief, That the World begun in the Spring? And when the true Reason of the Tradition was lost, they fell into those impertinent Questions, In what Season of the Year the World began. But however, we do not depend upon the Belief, either of the Antients or the Moderns, as to the Generality: For we know they had other Notions of these Things than what the Theory proposes; otherwise it would have been a needless Work. But notwithstanding the general Error, that Providence did preserve some Traditions and Testimonies, concerning that ancient Truth, we shall see in the next following Discourse.

So much for Scripture and Reasons. He now comes to examine Authorities: Namely, such Testimonies as are alledg’d by the Theorist, to shew that there was a Tradition among the Antients, of a Change that had been, as to the Position of the Earth: And consequently, as to the Form and Seasons of the Year. The first Testimony that he excepts against, is, that of Diogenes and Anaxagoras; who witness plainly, p. 177. That there had been an Inclination of the Earth, or a Change of Posture, since it was form’d and inhabited. But the Exceptor says, they have not assign’d a true final Cause, nor such as agrees with the Theory. The second Testimony, is, that of Empedocles, p. 178. which he excepts against, because he hath not given a good efficient Cause of that Change. The third Witness is Leucippus; against whom he makes the same Exception, p. 179. that he doth not assign the Causes a-right. The fourth Witness, is Democritus; whom he, p. 180. quarrels with upon the same Account. But is this a fair hearing of Witnesses? Or are these just and legal Grounds of rejecting their Testimony, as to matter of Fact, because they are unskilful in giving the Causes and Reasons of that matter of Fact? That is not requir’d in Witnesses: And they are often impertinent when they attempt to do it. The Theorist does not cite these Authors to learn of them the Causes, either efficient or final, of that Inclination, or Change of Posture in the Earth, but only matter of Fact: To let you see, that according to their Testimony, there was a Tradition in that Time, which they took for true, concerning a Change made in the Posture of the Earth. And this is all we require from them. If you pretend to invalidate their Testimony, because they do not philosophize well about that Change; that’s as if you should deny that there was such a War as the Peloponnesian War, because the Historian hath not assigned the true Causes and Reasons of it: Or as if a Man should give you the History of a Comet, that appear’d in such a Year, was of such a Form, and took such a Course in the Heavens; and you should deny there was any such Comet, because the same Author had not given a good Account of the Generation of that Comet, nor of the Causes of its Form and Motion. The Exceptions made against the Testimonies of these Philosophers, seem to me to be no less injudicious.

After these Testimonies, he p. 181. makes three or four Remarks or Reflections upon them. But they all concern, either the Time of this Change, or the Causes of it. Neither of which the Theorist either engag’d or intended to prove from these Witnesses.

There is still one Testimony behind, which the Exceptor hath separated from the rest, that he might encounter it singly. ’Tis another Passage from Anaxagoras, which both notes this Inclination, and the Posture of the Heavens and Earth before that Inclination. But here the Exceptor quarrels, first, with the word θολοειδῶς: Because Ambrosius the Monk, would have it to be θολερπῶς, but without the Authority of any Manuscript: And, as Casaubon says, malè. Then, he says, Aldobrandinus translates it turbulentè, but gives no Reason for that Translation, in his Notes. Therefore he cannot rest in this, but in the third Place, he gives another Sense to Φορὰ Θολοειδής. And if that will not please you, he hath still a fourth Answer in reserve. I do not like when a Man shifts Answer so often; ’tis a sign he has no great Confidence in any one. But let us have his fourth Answer. ’Tis this, That Anaxagoras was a kind of heterodox Philosopher, and what he says is not much to be heeded. These are the Words of the Exceptor, p. 184. If this will not satisfy, I have one Thing more to offer. Grant that Anaxagoras should mean that very Declination, which the Theory would have him, yet this truly would contribute little towards the Proof of the Thing. For he was a Man as like to be heterodox; as like to broach and maintain false and groundless Opinions, as any of the learned Antients. Had he made this Exception against this Witness at first, it might have sav’d both himself and us a great deal of Pains. For we do allow, if you can prove a Witness to be persona infamis, or non compos mentis, ’tis sufficient to invalidate his Testimony.

But this is a rude and groundless Censure; shall that famous Anaxagoras, that was call’d MENS, κατὶ ἐοχὴν, not be thought so much as mentis compos; nor have Credit enough for an honest Witness? I am apt to think, from those Sentences, and those Remains we have left of him, that there was not a more considerable Man amongst the Antients, for Nobleness of Mind and natural Knowledge. I could bring the Testimonies of many antient Authors, and of many Christian Fathers, to clear his Reputation, and place it above Envy. ’Tis generally acknowledg’d, that he first introduc’d an intellectual Principle, in the Formation of the Universe, to dispose and order confus’d Matter. And accordingly Eusebius gives him this fair Character, Præp. Evan. l. 10. c. ult. p. 504. Col. δὴ πρῶτος διήρθρωσε, &c. He first rectified the Doctrine of Principles: For he did not only discourse about the Matter or Substance of the Universe, as other Philosophers: But also of the Cause and Principle of its Motion. And the same Author, in his fourteenth Book, ch. 14. p. 750. repeats and enlarges this Character.

I wonder the Exceptor, of all Men, should lessen the Name of Anaxagoras. For, besides his Orthodoxy as to the intellectual World; he was one that establish’d the Notion of Vortices, in the Corporeal. As you may see in Clem. Alexandrinus, Strom. 2. p. 364. and in Plato’s Phædo Phæd. p. 99. And tho’ the Father, and Socrates, (who never was a Friend to natural Philosophy) both blame him for it, yet the Exceptor, who is deservedly pleas’d with that system of Vortices, ought to have shew’d him some Favour and Esteem, for the Sake of this Doctrine. Lastly, as to his moral Temper, his Contempt of the World, and his Love of Contemplation; you may have many Instances of it in the short Story of his Life in Laertius. And I shall always remember that excellent Saying of his in Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. p. 416. Τὴν θεωρίαν τοῦ βίου τέλος εἶναι, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ ταύτης ἐλευθερίαν. That the End of Life is Contemplation; and that Liberty, that accompanies it, or flows from it.

But we are not to imagine, that all the Opinions of the ancient Philosophers, are truly convey’d or represented to us. Neither can we, in Reason or Justice, believe that they could be guilty of such absurd Notions, as are sometimes fathered upon them. The Exceptor instances in an extravagant Assertion, (as the Story is told to us) ascrib’d to Anaxagoras, of a Stone that fell from the Sun. This cannot be literally true, nor literally the Opinion of Anaxagoras, if he believed Vortice; therefore methinks so witty a Man as the Exceptor, and so well versed in the modern Philosophy, should rather interpret this of the Incrustation of a fix’d Star, and its Descent into the lower World: That a Star fell from the etherial Regions, and became an opake and terrestrial Body: Especially seeing Diogenes, as he says, supposes it a Star. Some Things were ænigmatically spoken at first: And some Things afterwards so much corrupted, in passing through unskilful Hands, that we should be very injurious to the Memory of those great Men, if we should suppose every Thing to have come so crudely from them, as it is now delivered to us. And as to this Philosopher in particular; as the Ionick Physiology, in my Opinion, was the most considerable amongst the Antients; so there was none, of that Order, more considerable than Anaxagoras. Whom, tho’ you should suppose extravagant, quoad hoc, that it would not invalidate his Testimony in other Things.

Upon the whole Matter, let us now sum up the Evidence, and see what it will amount to. Here are five or six Testimonies of considerable Philosophers: Anaxagoras, Diogenes, Empedocles, Leucippus and Democritus. To which he might have added Plato, both in his Politicus and Phædo, Li. 2. c. 10. p. 274. if he had pleased to have look’d into the second Edition of the Latin Theory. These Philosophers do all make mention of a Change that hath been in the Posture of the Earth and the Heavens. And tho’ they differ in assigning Causes, or other Circumstances, yet they all agree as to Matter of Fact; that there was such a Thing, or, at least, a Tradition of such a Thing. And this is all that the Defendant desir’d or intended to prove from them, as Witnesses in this Cause.

To these Philosophers, he might have added the Testimonies of the Poets, who may be admitted as Witnesses of a Tradition, though it be further questioned, whether that Tradition be true or false. These Poets, when they speak of a Golden Age, or the Reign of Saturn, tell us of a perpetual Spring, or a Year without Change of Seasons. This is expresly said by Ovid, Ver erat æternum, &c. And upon the Expiration of the Golden Age, he says;

Jupiter Antiqui contraxit tempora Veris,

Perque Hyemes, Æstusque, & inæquales Autumnos,

Et breve Ver, spatiis exegit quatuer annum.

Ovid liv’d in the Time of our Saviour. And the Tradition, it seems, was then a-foot, and very express too. Plato, who was much more antient, hath said the same Thing in his Politicus, concerning the Reign of Saturn. And if we may have any Regard to Mythology, (vid. Theor. Lat. li. 2. c. 10. in fine.) and make Janus the same with Noah, which is now an Opinion generally received, that Power, that is given him by the Antients, of changing Times and Seasons, cannot be better expounded, than by that great Change of Time, and of the Seasons of the Year, that happened in the Days of Noah. Neither must we count it a mere Fable, what is said by the Antients, concerning the Inhabitability of the Torrid Zone: And yet that never was, if the Earth was never in any other Posture, than what it is in now.

Lastly, as the Philosophers and Poets are Witnesses of this Tradition, so many of the Christian Fathers have given such a Character of Paradice, as cannot be understood upon any other Supposition, than of a perpetual Equinox. This Card. Bellarmine[17] hath noted to our Hands; and also observ’d, that there could not be a perpetual Equinox in the Countries of Asia, nor indeed in any topical Paradise, (unless it stood in the middle of the Torrid Zone) nisi alius tunc fuerit cursus solis, quam nunc est; unless the Course of the Sun, or, which is all one, the Posture of the Earth, was otherwise at that Time than what it is now: Which is a true Observation. The Jewish Doctors also, as well as the Christian, seem to go upon the same Supposition, when they place Paradise under the Equinoctial; see Eng. Theor. p. 351. Because they suppos’d it certain, as Eben Ezra tells us, that the Days and Nights were always equal in Paradise.

We have now done with the Examination of Witnesses: Philosophers, Poets, Jews, and Christians. From all these we collect, that there was an Opinion, or Tradition, amongst the Antients, of a Change made in the State of the natural World, as to the Diversity of Seasons in the Year: And that this did arise from the Change of the Posture of the Earth. Whether this Opinion, or this Tradition, was de jure, as well as de facto, is a Question of another Nature, that did not lie before us at present. But the Thing that was only in Debate in this Chapter, was matter of Fact, which I think we have sufficiently prov’d.

In the Close of this Chapter, the Exceptor makes two Queries: Still by way of Objection to the ante-diluvian Equinox. The first is this, p. 185. Supposing an Equinox in the Beginning of the World, would it (in Likelyhood) have continued to the Flood. If you grant the first Part, I believe few will scruple the second. For why should we suppose a Change before there appear any Cause for it? He says, the Waters might possibly have weigh’d more towards one Pole, than towards another. But why the Waters more than the Air? The Waters were not more rarified towards one Pole than towards another, no more than the Air was: For which the Exceptor, p. 180. had justly blam’d Leucippus before. But however, says he, that Earth would be very unstable, because, in Process of Time, there would be an empty Space betwixt the exterior Region of the Earth, and the Abyss below. But that empty Space would be fill’d with such gross Vapours, that it would be little purer than Water: And would stick to the Earth much closer than its Atmosphere that is carried about with it. We have no Reason to change the Posture of the Earth, till we see some antecedent Change that may be a Cause of it. And we see not any till the Earth broke. But then indeed, whether its Posture depended barely upon its Æquilibrium, or upon its Magnetism, either, or both of them, when its Parts were thrown into another Situation, might be changed. For the Parts of a Ruin seldom lie in the same Libration the Fabrick stood in. And as to the Magnetism of the Earth, that would change, according as the Parts and Regions of the Earth changed their Situation.

The second Query is this, granting there was such an Equinox in the first World, p. 187. Would not the natural World, towards the latter End of that World, have been longer, than in the former Periods of the same? Suppose this was true, which yet we have no Reason to believe, that the Days were longer towards the Flood, than towards the beginning of the World; why is this contrary to Scripture? He tells you how, in these Words, p. 188. That the Days just before the Flood were of no unusual Length, is evident in the very Story of the Flood; the Duration of which we find computed by Months, consisting of thirty Days a-piece. Whereas had Days been grown longer, fewer of them would have made a Month. This is a mere Paralogism, or a mere Blunder. For if thirty Days were to go to a Month, whether the Days were longer or shorter, there must be thirty of them; and the Scripture does not determine the Length of the Days. If thirty Circumgyrations of the Earth makes a Month, whether these Circumgyrations are slow or swift, thirty are still thirty. But I suppose that which he would have said and which he had confusedly in his Mind, was this, that the Month would have been longer at the Flood than it was before. Longer, I say, as to extent of Time, or Duration in general, but not as to number of Days. And you could not cut off a slip of one Day, and tack it to the next, through the intermediate Night, to make an Abridgment for the Whole. Therefore this Objection is grounded upon a Mistake, and ill Reasoning, which is now sufficiently detected.

Chap. IX.

This Chapter is against the oval Figure of the first Earth, p. 189. which the Theorist had asserted, and grounded upon a general Motion of the Waters, forc’d from the Equinoctial Parts towards the Polar. But before we proceed to his Objections against this Explication, we must rectify one Principle. The Exceptor seems to suppose, p. 190. that terrestrial Bodies have a Nitency inwards or downwards, towards their central Point. Whereas the Theorist supposes, that all Bodies moving round, have, more or less, a Nitency from the Centre of their Motion: And that ’tis by an external Force that they are prest down, against their first Inclination or Nitency.

This being premised, we proceed to his Exceptions: Where his first and grand Quarrel is about the Use of a Word; whether the Motion of the Water from the middle of the Earth towards the Poles, can be call’d defluxus; seeing those polar Parts, in this supposed Case, were as high, or higher than the Equinoctial. I think we do not scruple to say undæ defluunt ad littora: Tho’ the Shores be as high, or higher than the Surface of the Sea. For we often respect, as the Theorist did, the middle and the sides, in the use of that Word; And so, defluere è medio ad latera, is no more than prolabi ad latera. But ’tis not worth the while to contest about a Word; especially seeing ’tis explained in the second Edition of the Theory, p. 186, by adding detrusione: But it would have spoil’d all this Pedantry, and all his little Triumphs, if he had taken notice of that Explication.

Wherefore setting aside the Word, let us consider his Reasons against this Motion of the Waters towards the Poles; which, he says, could not be, because it would have been an Ascent, not a Descent. We allow and suppose that. But may not Waters ascend by Force and Detrusion; when it is the easiest way they can take to free themselves from that Force, and persevere in their Motion? And this is the Case we are speaking to. They were impell’d to ascend, or recede from the Centre, and it was easier for them to ascend laterally, than to ascend directly: Upon an inclined Plain, than upon a perpendicular one. Why then should we not suppose that they took that Course? Methinks the Observator, who seems to be much conversant in the Cartesian Philosophy, might have conceived this Detrusion of the Waters towards the Poles by the Resistance of the superambient Air, as well as their flowing towards, and upon the Shores, by the Pressure of the Air under the Moon. And if the Moon continued always in the same Place, or over the middle of the Sea, that Posture of the Waters would be always the same: Though it be an Ascent, both upon the Land and into the Rivers. And this, methinks, is neither Contradiction, nor Absurdity. But an Enemy, that is little us’d to Victory, makes a great Noise upon a small Advantage.

He proceeds now to shew, p. 195. that it was improbable that the Figure of the first Earth should be oval, upon other Considerations. As first, because of its Position; which would be cross to the Stream of the Air, that turns it round, or carries it about the Sun: As a Ship, he says, that stands side-ways against a Stream, cannot sail. But if that Ship was to turn round upon her Axis, as a Mill-Wheel, and as the Earth does, what Posture more likely to have such an Effect, than to stand cross to the Stream that turns it? And the Stream would take more hold of an oblong Body, than of a round. Then, as to its annual Course, which he mentions, that’s nothing, but so many Circumvolutions: For in turning round it is also progressive, as a Cylinder in rowling a Garden: And three hundred sixty five Circumgyrations compleat its annual Course. So that this Argument turns wholly against him, and does rather confirm the oval Figure of the Earth.

His second Argument against the oval Figure of the first Earth, is the spherical Figure of the present Earth. And how does he prove that? First from Authorities, Anaximander, Pythagoras, and Perminedes thought so. But how does he prove that their asserting the Earth to be round, was not meant in Opposition to its being plain; as the Epicureans and the Vulgar would have it? That was the Question Socrates promis’d himself to be resolv’d in by Anaxagoras, Plat. in Phæd. πότερεν ἡ γῆ πλατεῖα ἔπις, ἢ αρογγύλη. Whether the Earth was flat or round. And ’tis likely the Dispute was generally understood in that Sense. However the Theorist hath alledg’d many more Authorities than these, in favour of the oval Figure of the Earth. For besides Empedocles in particular, and those whom Plutarch mentions in general, the Philosophy of Orpheus, the Phœnician, Ægyptian, and Persian Philosophers, did all compare the Earth to an Egg; with respect to its oval external Form, as well as internal Composition. These you may see fully set down in the Theory: Lat. Theor. li. 2. c. 10. And it had been fair in the Exceptor to have taken some notice of them, if he would contend in that way of Authorities. But he has thought fit rather to pass them over wholly in Silence.

His Reasons, p. 197. to prove the Figure of the present Earth to be spherical, and not oval, are taken first from the Conical Figure of the Shadow of the Earth, cast upon the Moon. But that cannot make a Difference sensible to us at this Distance, whether the Body that cast the Shadow was exactly spherical or oval. His second Reason is from the Place of the Waters; which, he says, would all retire from the Poles to the Equator, if the polar Parts were higher. But this has been answer’d before. The same Cause that drives the Waters thither, would make them keep there: As we should have a perpetual Flood, if the Moon was always in our Meridian: And whereas he suggests, that by this Means the Sea should be shallowest under the Poles; which, he says, is against Experience: We tell him just the contrary, That, according to our Hypothesis, the Sea should be deepest towards the Poles; which agrees with Experience. That the Sea should be deepest under the Poles, if it was of an oval Form, p. 186. he may see plainly by his own Scheme, or by the Theory Scheme: Theor. Lat. li. 2. c. 5. So that if his Observation be true, of an extraordinary Depth of the Ocean in those Parts, it confirms our Suspicion, that the Sea continues still oval. Lastly, he urges, p. 198. If this Earth was oval, Navigation towards the Poles would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, because upon an Ascent. But if there be a continual Draught of Waters from the Equator towards the Poles, this will ballance the Difficulty, and be equivalent to a gentle Tide, that carries Ships into the Mouth of a River, though upon a gradual Ascent.

Thus much we have said in Complacency to the Exceptor. For the Theorist was not oblig’d to say any Thing in Defence of the oval Form of the present Earth, seeing he had no where asserted it: It not being possible, as to what Evidence we have yet, to determine in what Order the Earth fell, and in what Posture the Ruins lay after their Fall. But however, to speak my Mind freely upon this Occasion, I am inclinable to believe, that the Earth is still oval or oblong. What Things the Anti-theorist hath suggested, will not decide the Controversy; nor, it may be, any natural History, nor any of those Observations that we have already. The Surface of the Sea lies more regular than that of the Land, and therefore I should think that Observations made there would have the best Effect. I should particularly recommend these two: First, That they would observe toward the Poles, whether the Sun rise and set, according to the Rules of a true Globe, or of a Body exactly spherical. Secondly, That they would observe whether the Degrees of Latitude are of equal Extent in all the Parts of a Meridian; that is, if the Quantity of Sea or Land that answers to a Degree in the Heavens, be of equal Extent towards the Equator as towards the Poles. These two Observations would go the nearest of any I know, to determine whether the Figure of the Earth be truly spherical or oblong.

Chap. X.

This Chapter is concerning the original Mountains, and that they were before the Flood, or from the Beginning; which the Exceptor endeavours to prove from Scripture; not directly, but because Mention is made of them in the same Places where the Beginning of the Earth is mentioned, p. 291. as Psal. xc. 1, 2. and Prov. viii. 25. therefore they must be co-eval and contemporary. We have, I think, noted before, that Things are not always Synchronal that are mentioned together in Scripture. The Style of Scripture is not so accurate, as not to speak of Things in the same Place, that are to be referr’d to different Times. Otherwise we must suppose the Destruction of Jerusalem, and of the World, to have been intended for the same Time; seeing our Saviour joins them in the same Discourse, (Mat. xxiv.) without any Distinction of Time; or with such a Distinction, as rather signifies an immediate Succession, (ver. 29.) than so great a Distance as we now find to be betwixt the Destruction of Jerusalem and the End of the World. Greater than that, betwixt the Beginning and the Flood: So in the Prophets sometimes, in the same Discourse, one Part is to be referr’d to the first Coming of our Saviour, and another Part to the second. Isa. ix. 6, 7. Isa. ix. 1. &c. Luke i. 31, 32, 33. without making any Distinction of Time, but what is to be gather’d from the Sense. Neither is there any Incongruity in the Sense, or in the Tenor of the Words, if those Expressions in the Psalmist be referr’d to different Times. God existed before the Mountains were brought forth, and the Earth and the World were made. This is certainly true, whether you take it of the same or different Times. And if you take it of different Times, ’tis a way of Speaking we often use. As suppose a Man should say, concerning the Antiquity of Troy, that it existed before Rome and Carthage; that does not necessarily imply, that Rome and Carthage were built at the same Time; but only that Troy was before them both. And so this of the Psalmist may be very well thus exprest, by a Gradation from a lower Epocha to an higher. Then as for that Place, Prov. ch. viii. it would be very hard to reduce all those Things that are mentioned there, (from ver. 22. to 30.) to the same Time of Existence; and there is no Necessity from the Words that they should be so understood. The Design and Intention of the Holy Ghost is plain in both these Places: In the one to set out the Eternity of God, and in the other, of the Logos in particular. And this is done by shewing their Præ-existence to this Earth, and to all its greatest and most remarkable Parts.

He mentions also, p. 202. Deut. xxxiii. 15. where the Hills are call’d Lasting, and the Mountains Antient. And therefore they were before the Flood. This is a hard Consequence. The River Kishon is call’d the antient River, Judg. v. 21. but I do not therefore think it necessary, that that Brook should have been before the Flood. Things may very well deserve that Character of lasting or antient, though they be of less Antiquity than the Deluge. If one should say the lasting Pyramids, and antient Babylon, none could blame the Expression, nor yet think that they were therefore from the Beginning of the World.

After these Allegations from Scripture, p. 205. he descends to a natural Argument taken from the Mountains in the Moon; which, he says, are much higher than the Mountains upon the Earth: And therefore, seeing her Body is less, they could not be made by a Dissolution of that Planet, as these of the Earth are said to have been. Though we are not bound to answer for the Mountains in the Moon, yet however, ’tis easy to see that this is no good Argument: For, besides that the Orb there might be more thick, all Ruins do not fall alike. They may fall double, or in Ridges and Arches, or in steep Piles, some more than others, and so stand at a greater Height. And we have Reason to believe that those in the Moon fell otherwise than those of the Earth; because we do not see her turn round: Nor can we ever get a Sight of her Backside, that we might better judge of the Shapes of her whole Body.

From this natural Argument, p. 206. he proceeds to an historical Argument, taken from the Talmudists and Josephus. The Talmudists say, that many Giants sav’d themselves from the Flood upon Mount Sion. But this, the Exceptor confesses, is wholly fabulous. What need it then be mentioned as an Argument? Then he says, Josephus reports, that many sav’d themselves from the Flood upon the Mountain Baris in Armenia. But this also, p. 207. he says, is false in the Gross, and a formal Fiction. Why then, say I, is it brought in as an Argument? Lastly, he quotes a Passage out of Plato, who says, when the Gods shall drown the Earth, the Herdsmen and Shepherds shall save themselves upon Mountains. And this (ibid.) the Exceptor calls a Piece of confus’d Forgery. Why then, say I still, is it alledged as an Argument against the Theory? But however, says the Exceptor, these Things argue that many thought there were Mountains before the Flood. But did the Theorist ever deny, that it was the vulgar and common Opinion? Therefore such Allegations as these may be of some Use to shew Reading, but of no Effect at all to confute the Theory.

Yet the Exceptor is not content with these Stories, but he must needs add a Fourth; which, he says, p. 208. is a plain Intimation that there were Mountains in the Beginning of the World. Take his own Words for the Story, and the Application of it. I will only add that traditional Story which is told of Adam; namely, how that after his Fall, and when he repented of his Sin, he bewailed it for several hundred of Years, upon the Mountains of India. Another plain Intimation that THERE WERE MOUNTAINS in the Beginning of the World. This is a plain Intimation indeed, that those that made this Fable, thought there were Mountains then: But is it a Proof that there really was so? As you seem to infer. Does the Exceptor really believe, that Adam wander’d an hundred Years upon the Mountains of India? If the Matter of Fact be false, the Supposition it proceeds upon may as well be false. And he does not so much as cite an Author here, for the one or the other.

We are now come to the main Point, a new Hypothesis concerning the Original of Mountains, which the Exceptor, p. 208, 209, &c. hath vouchsafed to make for us: And, in short, it is this. When the Waters were drain’d off the Land on the third Day, while it was moist and full of Vapours, the Sun, by his Heat, made the Earth heave and rise up in many Places, which thereupon became Mountains. But lest we mistake or misrepresent the Author’s Sense, p. 209. we will give it in his own Words. Now the Earth, by this Collection of the Waters into one Place, being freed from the Load and Pressure of them, and laid open to the Sun, the Moisture within, by the Heat of his Beams, might quickly be turn’d into Vapours. And these Vapours being still increased by the continued rarifying Warmth from above, at length they wanted Space wherein to expand or dilate themselves. And at last, not enduring the Confinement they felt, by Degrees heaved up the Earth above; somewhat after the Manner that Leaven does Dough, when it is laid by a Fire; but much more forcibly and unevenly. And lifting it up thus in numberless Places, and in several Quantities, and in various Figures, Mountains were made of all Shapes and Sizes; whose Origin and Properties, he says, upon this Hypothesis, will be obvious, or at least intelligible, to thinking and philosophick Minds.

I must confess I am none of those thinking and philosophick Minds, to whom this is either obvious or intelligible: For there seem to me to be a great many palpable Defects or Oversights in this new Hypothesis: Whereof this is one of the grossest, that he supposes the Sun, by his Heat, the third Day to have raised these Mountains upon the Earth; whereas the Sun was not created till the fourth Day, p. 51. the fourth Day was the first Day of the Sun’s Existence: So that it had this powerful Effect, it seems, one Day before it came into Being.

But suppose the Sun had then existed: This is a prodigious Effect for the Sun to perform, in so short a Time, and with so little Force. The greatest Part of that Day was spent in draining the Waters from off the Land; which had a long Way to go, from some inland Countries, to reach the Sea, or their common Receptacle. And he says, p. 209, without an extraordinary Power, perhaps they could not have been drained off the Earth in one Day. Let us then allow, at least, half a Day for clearing the Ground; for the Sun might begin his Work about Noon; and before Night he had rais’d all the Mountains of one Hemisphere. It will require a strong philosophick Faith, to believe this could be all done by the Action of the Sun, an in so short a Time. Besides, we must consider, that the Sun, by Noon, had past all the Eastern Countries, yet covered with Water, or not well drain’d: So that after they were dried, he could only look back upon them with faint and declining Rays. Yet the Mountains of the East are as great and considerable as elsewhere. But there is still another great Difficulty in the Case, as to the Northern and Southern Mountains of the Earth; for they lie quite out of the Road of the Sun; being far remov’d towards either Pole; where, by reason of his Distance and Obliquity, his Beams have little Force. How would he heave up the Riphæan Mountains, those vast Heaps of Stone and Earth, that lie so far to the North? You see what Observations the Exceptor hath made(p. 119, 120.) concerning the Cold of those Countries: And it falls out very untowardly for this new Hypothesis, that the Northern Parts of the Earth, as Norway, Swedeland, Iseland, Scythia, Sarmatia, &c. should be such mountainous and rocky Countries; where he had before declar’d the Sun had so little Force. And, indeed, according to his Scheme, all the great Mountains of the Earth should have been under the Equator, or, at least, betwixt the Tropicks.

But to examine a little the Manner and Method of this great Action, and what kind of Bodies these new Mountains would be; either the Sun drew up only the Surface and outward Skin of the Earth, as Cupping-Glasses raise Blisters; or his Beams penetrated deep into the Earth, and heaved up the Substance of it, as Moles cast up Mole-Hills. If you take the first Method, these superficial Mountains would be nothing but so many Bags of Wind; and not at all answerable to those huge Masses of Earth and Stone, whereof our Mountains consist. And if you take the second Method, and suppose them push’d out of the solid Earth, and thrown up into the Air, imagine then how deep these Rays of the Sun must have penetrated in a few Hours Time, and what Strength they must have had, to agitate the Vapours to that Degree, that they should be able to do such Prodigies as these. Several Mountains, upon a moderate Computation, are a Mile high from the Level of the Earth. So that it was necessary that the Beams of the Sun should penetrate at least a Mile deep, in so short a Time; and there loosen and rarify the Vapours, and then tear up by the Roots vast Loads and Extents of Ground, and heave them a Mile high into the open Air: And all this in less than half a Day. Such Things surely are beyond all imagination, and so extravagant, that one cannot, in Conscience, offer them to the Belief of a Man. Can we think that the Sun, who is two or three Hours in licking up the Dew from the Grass in a May Morning, should be able, in as many more Hours, to suck the Alps and Pyreneans out of the Bowels of the Earth; and not to spend all his Force upon them neither? For he would have as much Work in other Countries. To raise up Taurus, for instance, and Imaus, and frozen Caucasus in Asia; and the mighty Atlas, and the Mountains of the Moon in Africk; besides the Andes in America, which, they say, far exceed all the Mountains of our Continent. One would be apt to think, that this Gentleman never saw the Face of a mountainous Country; for he writes of them, as if he had taken his Idea of Mountains, and the great Ridges of Mountains, upon the Earth, from the Devil’s Ditch, and Hogmagog Hills: And he raises them faster than Mushrooms out of the Ground. If the newborn Sun, at his first Appearance, could make such great Havock, and so great Changes upon the Face of the Earth, what hath he been doing ever since? We never heard nor read of a Mountain, since the Memory of Man, rais’d by the Heat of the Sun. We may therefore enquire, in the last Place,

Why have we no Mountains made now by the same Causes? We have no Reason to believe that the Heat or Strength of the Sun is lessen’d since that Time; why then does it not produce like Effects? But I imagine he hath an Answer for this: Namely, that the Moisture of the first Earth, when it was new drain’d and marshy, contributed much to this Effect; which now its Dryness hinders. But besides, that the Dryness of the Earth should rather give an Advantage, by the Collection of Vapours within its Cavities: However, we might expect, according to this Reason, that all our drain’d Fens and marshy Grounds, should presently be rais’d into Mountains; whereas we see them all to continue arrand Plains, as they were before. But if you think these are too little Spots of Ground to receive a strong Influence from the Sun, take Ægypt for an Instance: That’s capacious enough, and ’tis overflow’d every Year, and by that Means made soft and moist to your Mind, as the new Earth when it rises from under the Abyss. Why then is not Ægypt converted into Mountains, after the Inundation and Retirement of Nile? I do not see any Qualification wanting, according to the Exceptor’s Hypothesis: Ægypt hath a moist Soil, and a strong Sun, much stronger than the Alps or Pyreneans have; and yet it continues one of the plainest Countries upon the Earth. But there is still a greater Instance behind against this Hypothesis, than any of the former; and that is, of the whole Earth after the Deluge: When it had been overflow’d a second Time by the Abyss, upon the Retirement of those Waters it would be much what in the same Condition, as to Moisture, that it was in the third Day, when it first became dry Land. Why then should not the same Effect follow again, by the Heat of the Sun; and as many new Mountains be rais’d upon this second Draining of the Earth, as upon the first? These are plain and obvious Instances, and as plainly unanswerable. And the whole Hypothesis which this Virtuoso hath propos’d concerning the Origin of Mountains, is such an Heap of Incredibilities, and Things inconsistent one with another, that I’m afraid I shall be thought to have spent too much Time in Confutation of it.

In the Conclusion of this Chapter, p. 215. he hath an Attempt to prove that there were Mountains before the Flood, because there were Metals; which are commonly found about the Roots of Mountains. But the Theorist, he says, to shun this great Inconvenience, fairly consents to the abolishing of Metals out of the first State of Nature. Yet he is hard put to it, to prove that the Theorist hath any where asserted, whatsoever he thought, that there were no Metals then. The first Citation he produces, only recites the Opinion of others, and says, p. 216. he thinks they do not want their Reasons. Of the two other Citations out of the Preface, the first does not reach home, making no mention of Metals. And the second is wholly misconstrued, and perverted to a Sense quite contrary to what the Author intended, or the Context will bear. But however the Theorist appears doubtful, whether there were Metals or no in in the first World: And, upon this Doubt, the Exceptor lays this heavy Charge, p. 215. li. 24. Thus the Fidelity of Moses is assaulted, and another intolerable Affront put upon the HOLY GHOST: For do not both inform us, that the City Enoch was built, and the Ark prepared, before the Flood? But how could either be done without Iron-Tools? But does either Moses, or the Holy Ghost tell us, that there were Iron-Tools in building that City, or the Ark? If they do not, we only affront the Consequence, which the Exceptor draws from the Words, and not the Authors of them. By what divine Authority does the Animadverter assert, that there was Iron, or Iron-Tools, in Building this City, or that Ark? I’m sure Scripture does not mention either, upon those Occasions. And seeing it mentions only Gopher Wood and Pitch for the Building of the Ark, Gen. vi. 14. ’tis a Presumption rather, that there were no other Materials us’d. And as to the City, ’tis true, if he fancy the City which Enoch built, to have been like Paris, or London, he has Reason to imagine, that they had Iron-Tools to make it. But suppose it was a Number of Cottages, made of Branches of Trees, of Osiers and Bulrushes, (and what needed they any other House, when the Air was so temperate?) or, if you will, of Mud-Walls, and a Roof of Straw, with a Fence about it to keep out Beasts, there would be no such Necessity of Iron-Tools. Consider, pray, how long the World was without knowing the Use of Iron, in several Parts of it, as in the North, and in America: And yet they had Houses and Cities after their Fashion. For the Northern Countries you may see Olaus Magnus, li. 12. c. 13. For America, Pet. Martyr. Dec. 1. But the Exceptor will save you your Pains, as to the Indians, for he says himself, p. 250. in another Place, that they had no Instruments of Iron, when the Spaniards came amongst them. And if in those late Ages of the World, they were still without the Use of Iron, or Iron-Tools, we have less Reason to believe that the Children of Cain had them four or five thousand Years before.

It is also worthy our Consideration, how many Things must have been done, before they could come at these Iron-Tools. How came the Children of Cain to dig into the Earth, I know not to what Depth, to seek for a Thing they had never heard of before, when it was so difficult to dig into the Earth without such Tools? More difficult, methinks, than to build an House without them. But suppose they did this, we know not how; and, amongst many other Stones, or Earths, found that which we call Iron-Ore: How did they know the Nature and Use of it? Or, if they guess’d at that, how did they know the Way and Manner of preparing it, by Furnaces, Wind-Forges, and Smelting-mills? These would be as hard to make or build, without Iron Tools, as dwelling Houses. And when they had got a Lump of Iron, till they knew how to temper it, they could not make Tools of it still. Unless Cain’s Children had an Inspiration from Heaven, I do not see how they could discover all these Things, in so short a Time. And this is only to make good what the Theorist said, that such an Hypothesis does not want its Reasons. And as to Tubal-Cain, let those that positively assert that there was no Iron in the first World, tell us in what Sense that Place is to be understood. For, I believe, Iron or Brass is not once mention’d in all the Theory.

Chap. XI.

This Chapter is to prove that the Sea was open before the Deluge. ’Tis something barren of philosophical Arguments, but we will begin with such as it has, which are taken from this Topick, That the Fishes could not live in our Abyss: p. 224. and that for three Reasons. First, because it was too dark. Secondly, too close; and thirdly, too cold. As for Coldness, methinks he might have left that out, unless he suppose that there are no Fish in the frozen Seas, towards the North and South; which is against all Sense and Experience: For cold Countries abound most in Fish. And according to Reason, there would be more Danger of too much Warmth, in those subterraneous Waters, than of too much Cold, in respect of the Fishes.

Then as to Darkness and Closeness, this minds me of the Saying of Maimonides: That no Man ever would believe, that a Child could live so many Months, shut up in its Mother’s Belly, if he had never seen the Experience of it. There’s Closeness and Darkness, in the Highest Degree. And in Animals, that, as soon as born, cannot live without Respiration. Whereas Fishes, of all Creatures, have the least need of Respiration, if they have any. And as for Darkness, how many subterraneous Lakes have we still, wherein Fishes live? And we can scarce suppose the main and fathomless Ocean to have Light to the Bottom; at least when it is troubled or tempestuous. How the Eyes of Fish are, or might be, form’d or conform’d, we cannot tell, but we see they feed and prey on the Night Time, and take Baits as greedily as on the Day. But it is likely they were less active and agile in that Abyss, than they are now; their Life was more sluggish then, and their Motions more slow, Job xxxviii. 8. as being still in that Womb of Nature that was broke up at the Deluge. And as to Air, they would have enough for their imperfect way of breathing in that State. But if they have a more perfect now, which is still a Question, they might have some Passages in their Body open’d, (at the Disruption of the Abyss) when they were born into the Light and free Air, which were not open’d before. As we see in Infants, upon their Birth, a new Passage is made into their Lungs, and a new Circulation of the Blood, which before took another Course.

So much for pretended Reasons and Philosophy. The rest of this long Chapter is spent either in Consequences made from Scripture, or in a prolix Discourse about Rain. As to Scripture, p. 219, 220. he makes this the first Objection, that, whereas Adam had a Dominion given him over the Fish of the Sea, it could have no Effect, if they were inclosed in the Abyss. Adam had no more Dominion given him over the Fish of the Sea, than over the Fowls of the Air; which he could not come at, or seize at his Pleasure, unless he could fly into the Air after them. Adam was made Lord of all Animals upon this Earth, and had a Right to use them for his Conveniency, when they came into his Power: But I do not believe that Adam was made stronger than a Lyon, nor could master the Leviathan, or command him to the Shore. He had a Right, however, and his Posterity, to dispose of all Creatures for their Use and Service, whensoever, upon Occasion offered, they fell into their Power.

Next he says, p. 225, 226. The Waters were gather’d into one Place, and a Firmament was made to divide the Waters from the Waters. Well, allow this, tell us then what was that Firmament? For it is said there, Gen. i. 17. that God set the Sun, Moon, and Stars, in the Firmament. Therefore you can argue nothing from this, unless you suppose supercelestial Waters: Which, when you have prov’d, we will give you an Account of the subcelestial, and of the subterraneous. And here the Exceptor cites some Things from the Theory, that are not in the second Edition, and therefore the Theorist is not concern’d to answer them.

Lastly, The Exceptor comes to his long Harangue in Commendation of the Clouds and of Rain: Which takes up a great Part of this Chapter. In his Exordium he makes this Compliment to the Clouds, p. 234. Sometimes they mount up and fly aloft, as if they forgat, or disdain’d the Meanness of their Origin. Sometimes again they sink and stoop so low, as if they repented of their former proud Aspirings, and did remorseful humble Penance for their high Presumption. And though I may not say they weep to expiate their Arrogance, or kiss the Earth with bedewed Cheeks, in Token of their Penitence, yet they often prostrate in the Dust, and sweep the lowest Grounds of all, with their misty foggy Trains. One while they, &c. This Harangue about the Clouds and Rain, is pursued for fourteen or fifteen Pages, and, with Submission to better Judgments, I take it to be a Country Sermon, about the Usefulness of Rain: And, I believe, whosoever reads it, will, both from its Matter and Form, be of the same Opinion. I do not speak this in Derogation to his Sermon, but he would have done better, methinks, to have printed it in a Pamphlet by it self; there being no Occasion for it in this Theory.

Towards the Conclusion of the Chapter, p. 246. he answers an Objection made by the Theorist against the supposed Islands and Continents in the first Earth. Namely, That it would render the Propagation of Mankind difficult, into those broken Parts of the World. And the many imperfect shifting Answers which the Exceptor gives, or conjectures without Authority, do but confirm the Objection of the Theorist, or make his Words true, quod Res esset difficilis explicatu. Which is all that the Theorist said upon that Subject.

Chap. XII.

This is a short Chapter, and will be soon dispatch’d. ’Tis to prove that the Rainbow was before the Flood. And notwithstanding that, a good Sign that there should never be a Flood again. This is to me a Paradox, but he confirms it by a greater Paradox: For he says, God might as well (as to Significancy, or Authenticalness) have appointed the Sun, as the Rainbow, for a Sign that there never should have been another Flood. So that if God had said to Noah, I do assure thee there shall never be a second Deluge, and for a Sign of this, Behold I set the Sun in the Firmament: This would have done as well, he says, as the Rainbow. That is, in my Judgment, it would have done nothing at all more than the bare Promise. And if it had done no more than the bare Promise, it was superfluous. Therefore if the Rainbow was no more than the Sun would have been, it was a superfluous Sign. They to whom these two Signs are of equal Significancy and Effect, lie without the Reach of all Conviction, and I am very willing to indulge them in their own Opinions.

But he says, p. 257. God sometimes has made things to be Signs, that are common and usual. Thus the Fruit of a Tree growing in Paradise, was made a Sign of Man’s Immortality. But how does it appear that this was a common Tree; or that it was given to Adam as a Sign that he should be immortal? Neither of these appear from Scripture. Secondly, he says, 2 Kings xiii. 17. Shooting with Bow and Arrows upon the Ground, was made a Sign to Joash of his prevailing against the Syrians. This was only a Command to make war against Syria, and a Prophecy of Success; both deliver’d in a symbolical or hieroglyphical Way. The Command was signify’d by bidding the King shoot an Arrow, which was the Sign of War. And the Sign of Victory or of divine Assistance, was the Prophet’s strengthening the King’s Hands to draw the Bow. This is nothing as to a Sign given in Nature, or from the natural World, in Confirmation of a divine Promise: Which is the thing we are only to consider.

All the rest of this Chapter is lax Discourse without Proof. And as to the Significancy of the Rainbow, upon Supposition that it was a new Appearance; and its Insignificancy upon Supposition that it was an old Appearance, we have spoken so fully in the Theory it self, Eng. Theor. Book 2. ch. 5. that it would be needless here to make any longer Stay upon this Argument.

Chap. XIII.

This Chapter is concerning Paradise; but our Author fairly baulks all the Difficulties in that Doctrine, and contents himself with a few Generals, which every body knows. The Doctrine of Paradise consists chiefly of two Parts; the Site or Place of it; and the State or Properties of it. As to the first, if the Exceptor would have confuted the Theory, he should have let down the Conclusions that are advanc’d by the Theory, (Eng. Theor. Book. 2. c. 7.) concerning the Place of Paradise, which are these; first, the Place of Paradise cannot be determin’d by Scripture only. Neither the Word Mekeddem, (Gen. ii. 8.) nor the four Rivers mentioned there, make the Place of it defineable. Secondly, The Place of Paradise cannot be determin’d by the Theory. Seeing then neither Scripture, nor Reason determine the Place of Paradise, if we will determine it, it must be by Antiquity. And if we appeal to Antiquity in this Case, we shall find, First, That it was not in Mesopotamia. Secondly, That according to the Plurality of Votes, both amongst the Heathen and Christian Authors, it was plac’d in the other Hemisphere. And this is all the Theory says upon that Point. As you may see, Eng. Theor Book 2. ch. 7. and Lat. Theor. Edit. 2. p. 194. and p. 214, 215. Wherefore if the Animadverter would undertake to confute the Theory in this Point, he should have confuted those four Particulars. But he slips over these, p. 265. and gives us only a Paraphrase upon Verses in the second and third Chapters of Genesis, which says little to this Purpose, and yet more than it proves.

In the second Place, as to the State and Properties of Paradise, or the ante-diluvian World; the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians is the Thing he insists upon. But this he handles so loosely, p. 273. that in the Conclusion of his Discourse, one cannot tell whether he affirms it, or denies it. This sceptical Humour of the Exceptor hath been taken notice of before, and ’tis continued in this Chapter, where there is little or nothing positively determin’d. The Theorist, on the contrary, expressly affirms the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians, and gives these Reasons for his Assertion. First, Because all the Lives, and all the Generations recorded in Scripture, before the Flood, from Father to Son, in a Line of sixteen hundred Years, are longeval: Of six, seven, eight, nine hundred Years a-piece. Secondly, Antiquity, both Greek and Barbarian have attested the same thing, and recorded the Tradition; see the Table of both. Thirdly, The Generations recorded in Scripture after the Flood, as they exceed the Term of succeeding Ages, Eng. Theor. p. 204. so they decline by degrees from the ante-diluvian Longevity. Lastly, Jacob complains of the Shortness of his Life, and lowness of his Days, in Comparison of his Forefathers, when he had liv’d one hundred and thirty Years; Gen. xlvii. 9. which had been a groundless Complaint, if his Ancestors had not lived much longer.

These two last Reasons the Exceptor has not thought fit to take notice of. And, in Answer to the two former, he hath only the usual Subterfuges: As, that the long Lives of the ante-diluvian Patriarchs was a Thing extraordinary and providential, confin’d to their Persons; not of a general Extent, nor according to the Course of Nature. But how does this appear? It must be made out, either by Scripture or Reason. Scripture makes no Distinction, nor Exception of Persons in this Case; all, whereof it hath left any Account, as to Term of Life, are declar’d to have liv’d several hundred of Years. And why should we not conclude the same Thing concerning the rest? Then as to Reason, you cannot suppose Longevity, in that World, against Reason or Nature, unless you first suppose the Form and Constitution of that World to have been the same with the present: Which is to beg the Question. Admitting that Form and Constitution of the first Heavens and Earth, which the Theory hath given, Longevity will be a natural Consequence of it. Theor. Book 2. ch. 3, & 4. And having such a Course of Nature laid before us, as agrees with the Reports of Scripture, and with general Tradition, why should we quit that, to comply with an imaginary Presumption; that these were miraculously preserv’d, and all the rest were short-liv’d? I know he pretends, p. 277. we may as well conclude all Men were Giants in those Days, because Moses says, There were Giants upon the Earth in those Days, Gen. vi. 4. as conclude that all Men were long liv’d in those Days, because Moses mentions some that were so. There had been some Pretence for this, if Moses had made a Distinction of two Races of Men in the first World, long Livers and short Livers; as he hath distinguish’d the Giant from the common Race of Mankind: Or, as he hath said in one Case, There were Giants on the Earth in those Days; so if he had said in the other, There were long Livers upon the Earth in those Days, and upon that, had given us a List of the long-liv’d Patriarchs: This indeed would have made the Cases pretty parallel. But, on the contrary, Moses makes no such Distinction of long-living and short-living Races, before the Flood; nor yet notes it as a Mark of divine Favour, or extraordinary Benediction upon those Persons that liv’d so long. Therefore, not to suppose it general to Mankind at that Time, is a groundless Restriction, which is neither founded upon Scripture nor Reason.

As to the second Argument for ante-diluvian Longevity, taken from Tradition and the Testimony of the Antients, he objects, p. 276, 277. that Josephus does not seem to be firm in that Opinion himself. But what then? The Theorist lays no Stress upon Josephus’s single Opinion, but refers to the Testimonies of those Authors, whether Greeks, or such as have given on Account of the Ægyptian, Chaldean, and Phœnician Antiquities: Which are call’d in by Josephus, as Witnesses of this Truth or Tradition, concerning the long Lives of the first Men. And at last, the Exceptor seems content, this Tradition should be admitted, p. 278. seeing the Authors are too many, or too considerable, to have their Testimonies question’d or rejected. But then he will make a further Question, Why there should not also be a Tradition concerning the perpetual Equinox, or perpetual Spring, upon which this Longevity depended? But this Question is fully answer’d, and the Tradition fully made out before, in the eighth Chapter, which I need not here repeat. In like manner, all the secondary Questions, which he then mentions, depending upon, and being included in this first, receive their Resolution from it. For when a perpetual Equinox is once truly stated, there is no Difficulty concerning the rest.

After these Contests about Traditions, he hath one or two Reasons against this ante-diluvian Longevity, p. 279, 280. First, because the Earth, by this Means, would have been over-stock’d with People before the Time of the Deluge. Secondly, They should all have been of the same Longevity before the Flood. Neither of these, me-thinks, have any Strength in them. As to the first, That Earth was much more capacious than this is, where the Sea takes away half of its Surface, and renders it uninhabitable. And whereas he suggests, as a Recompence, ibid. That Mountains have more Surface and Capacity than Plains; that’s true, but they are also less habitable, by Reason of their Barrenness and Ruggedness. Who can believe that there are as many People in Wales, as in other Parts of England, upon the same Compass of level Ground? Or no more in Holland, than upon a like Number of Acres upon the Alps or Pyreneans? There would be room enough for twice as many People as there are in the World, and twice as many Animals, if there was Food enough to nourish them. But here I have two things to complain of, as foul Play: First, the Exceptor cites the Theory partially. Secondly, he does not mark the Place whence he takes that Citation; as if it was on purpose to hide his Partiality. The Words he cites are these: If we allow the first Couple, at the end of one hundred Years, or of the first Century, to have left ten Pair of Breeders, which is an easy Supposition, there would arise from these in fifteen hundred Years, a greater Number than the Earth was capable of; allowing every Pair to multiply in the same decuple Proportion the first Pair did, Eng. Theor. p. 32. Here the Exceptor stops, and makes this Inference; that upon an easy Supposition, which the Theorist makes and allows, the Earth would have been over-stock’d in fifteen hundred Years. This is an easy Supposition for the first Century, as the Theorist put it; but it would be a very uneasy one for the following Centuries, when they came to be at any considerable Distance from the Beginning. And therefore the Theorist tells you, in that very Page, The same Measure cannot run equally through all the Ages. And in his Calculation you see, after the first Century, he hath taken only a quadruple Proportion for the Increase of Mankind. As judging that a moderate and reasonable Measure betwixt the highest and the lowest. This the Exceptor might easily have observ’d, ibid. and as easily avoided this Misapplication of the Words of the Theorist.

His second Reason against the ante-diluvian Longevity is slighter than the first, p. 280. For he pretends that all Ante-diluvians, upon that Supposition, should have been equally long-liv’d. You may as well say, that all the Children of the same Parents, and that live in the same Place, should now be equally long-liv’d; the external World being the same to them all. But, besides Accidents, their Stamina and Constitutions might then be of a different Strength, as well as now; tho’ they were born of the same Parents, and liv’d in the same Air. Lastly, he moves a Difficulty about the Multiplication of Animals in the first World, p. 281. that they would have been too numerous before the Flood. I can say nothing to that, nor he neither, upon good Grounds: Unless we knew what Species of Animals were then made, and in what Degrees they multiplied. The Theorist always supposes a divine Providence to superintend, proportion, and determine, both the Number and Food of Animals upon the Earth; suitably to the Constitution and Circumstances of every World. And seeing that Earth was no less under the Care and Direction of Providence, than the present, we may conclude that due Measures were taken for adjusting the Numbers and Food of Animals in such manner, as neither to be a Burden to one another, nor to Man.

Chap. XIV.

This Chapter is against the Explication of the Deluge by the Dissolution of the Earth. That Dissolution, as is pretended, being unfit or insufficient to produce such an Effect. And to prove this, the Ante-theorist gives us five Arguments, whereof the first is this; p. 285. Moses having left us an accurate Description of Paradise, according to the proper Rules of Topography, such a Description would have been improper and insufficient to determine the Place of Paradise, and consequently useless, if the Earth had been dissolv’d; and by that means the Bounds of those Countries, and the Channels of those Rivers, broken and chang’d. This Objection, I’m afraid, will fall heavier upon Moses, or upon the Exceptor himself, than upon the Theorist. However, one would have expected that the Exceptor should have determin’d here the Place of Paradise in virtue of that Description. So learned and sagacious a Person, having before him an exact Draught of Paradise, according to the proper Rules of Topography, could not fail to lay his Finger upon the very Spot of Ground where it stood. Yet I do not find that he has ventur’d to determine the Place of Paradise, either in this Chapter, or in the preceding: Which gives me a great Suspicion, that he was not satisfy’d where it stood, notwithstanding the Mosaical Topography. Now if it cannot be understood or determin’d by that Topography, one of these two things must be allow’d, either that the Description was insufficient and ineffectual; or that there has been some great Change in the Earth, whereby the Marks of it are destroy’d; namely, the Bounds of Countries, and the Courses of the the Rivers. If he take the second of these Answers, he joins with the Theorist. If the first, he reflects, according to his way of arguing, upon the Honour of Moses, or confutes himself.

But here is still a further Charge, p. 286. Moses’s Description of Paradise would have been told (which he notes for horrid Blasphemy) if the Earth was broken at the Deluge: For then those Rivers, by which Moses describes Paradise, could not have been before the Flood. But why so, I pray? The Theorist supposes Rivers before the Flood, in great Plenty; and why not like to these? And if their Channels were very much chang’d by the Flood, that’s no more than what good Interpreters suppose. Being unable, upon any other Submission, to give an Account why it is so hard (notwithstanding Moses’s Description) to determine the Place of Paradise. Now where is the Blasphemy of this? Ibid. Horrid Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? A rude and injudicious Defence of Scripture, by Railing and ill Language, is the true Way to lessen and disparage it: Especially when we make our own Consequences to be of the same Authority with the Word of God; and whatsoever is against them, must be charg’d with Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Is it not a strange Thing, that the Dissolution of the Earth should be made Blasphemy, when the Prophets and inspir’d Authors speak so often of the Disruptions, Fractions, Concussions, and Subversions of the Earth? See Review, p. 380, &c. And that very Expression, that the Earth is dissolv’d, is a Scripture Expression, (Psal. lxxv. 3. Isai. xxiv. 19. Amos ix. 5) which, methinks, might have been enough to have protected it from the Imputation of Blasphemy. But there is nothing safe against blind Zeal, and opinionative Ignorance; which, by how much they find themselves weaker in Reasons, by so much they become more violent in Passions.

But to return to the Objection; upon the whole Matter, he casts the Burden of the Charge upon Moses himself, as we noted before: For take whether Hypothesis you will, that the Earth was, or was not broken, the Question still returns, if the Mosaical Topography was exact and sufficient, why can we not yet find out the Situation of Paradise? ’Tis now above three thousand Years since Moses died, and Men have been curious and very inquisitive in all Ages, to find out the Place of Paradise; but it is not found out to this Day to any Satisfaction: So that, methinks, upon the whole, the Theory, which supposeth the Earth very much chang’d, makes the fairest Apology both for Moses and Mankind, in this Particular. But to proceed to his second Argument.

Secondly, says the Exceptor, p. 288. The Dissolution of the Earth could not be the Cause of the general Flood, because it would have utterly destroy’d Noah’s Ark, and all that were in it. I thought the Theorist had effectually prevented this Objection, by putting the Ark under the Conduct of its Guardian Angels, and of a miraculous Providence; Eng. Theor. p. 147. These are his Words: I think it had been impossible for the Ark to have liv’d upon the raging Abyss, or for Noah and his Family to have been preserv’d, if there had not been a miraculous Hand of Providence to take Care of them. Now, either the Exceptor did not take notice of this Passage in the Theory, or he does not allow that a miraculous Hand was sufficient to preserve the Ark; or thirdly, he made an Objection, which he knew himself to be impertinent. And, I confess, I am inclinable to think the last is true: For as to the first, he confesses (p. 354.) that the Theory represents the Ark, with its Guardian Angels about it, in the Extremity of the Flood. And as to the second, he himself makes use of a miraculous Power to preserve the Ark upon his Hypothesis; in Answer to the eighth Objection, p. 351, 352, &c. Why then may not we make use of the same Power, and with the same Effect? It remains therefore, that he was conscious to himself that he made this Objection to no purpose.

But that is not all: He has also us’d foul Play in his Citation: For whereas the great Danger of the Ark would be at the first Fall of the Earth, or the Disruption of the Abyss; the Theorist, he says, to prevent this, makes the Ark to be a-float by the Rains, before the Abyss was broken. But is that all the Theorist says in that Place? Does he not assign another Way how the Ark might be a-float? Namely, in a River, or in a Dock. These are the Words of the Theory, p. 133, 134. So as the Ark, if it could not float upon these Rain-Waters, at least taking the Advantage of a River, or of a Dock or Cistern made to receive them, it might be a-float before the Abyss was broken open. And these Words being in the same Place whence he makes his Citation, it must be a wilful Dissimulation not to take notice of them. But he saw they would have taken off the Edge of his Objection, and therefore thought fit not to touch upon them. But after all, there is no Necessity that the Ark should be a-float before the Earth broke: Those Things, were premis’d in the Theory, only to soften the Way to Men that are of hard Belief in such extraordinary Matters: For the Angels (whose Ministry we openly own, upon these grand Occasions) could as easily have held the Ark a-float, in the Air, as on the Water. And the Ark, being an Emblem of the Church, God certainly did give his Angels Charge over it; that they should bear it up in their Hands, that it might not be dash’d against a Stone. And this having been more than once profess’d by the Theorist, we must again conclude this Objection superfluous and useless.

The third Objection is this. If the Earth had been thus dissolv’d, p. 289. The present Earth would have been, in likelihood of another Figure, than what now it bears. These are his Words; but I suppose he means, that it would have been of another Form, as to Sea and Land. And the Reason he gives is this: Because, says he, it would have broke first in the Equator, and consequently that Part falling down first, would have been swallowed up by the Waters, and become all Sea. Whereas we find, that under the Equator that then was (which he supposeth (ibid.) the present Ecliptick) the dry Ground is of most spacious Extent and Continuity. We need not examine his Account of Sea and Land, because it proceeds upon a false Supposition, (See p. 27. before.) He relapses here into his former astronomical Error, or to his first adds a second; viz. That the Earth, when it chang’d its Situation, chang’d its Poles and Circles. This is a great Mistake; the Change of Position in Respect of the Heavens, did not change the Places of its Circles in Respect to its own Globe. As when you change a Sphere or a Globe out of a right Situation into an oblique, the Circles do not change their Places, as to that Sphere or Globe; but have only another Position to the Heavens. The Earth’s Ecliptick runs thorough the same Places it did before; and the equinoctial Regions of that Earth were the same with the equinoctial Regions of this, only bear another Posture to the Heavens and the Sun. These Circles have not chang’d Places with one another, as he imagines; and which is worse, would father this imagination upon the Theory, in these Words, Under the Ecliptick (which, in the present Situation of the Earth, (ACCORDING TO THE THEORY) was its Equinoctial, and divided the Globe into two Hemispheres, as the Equator does now) the dry Ground, &c. He that affirms this, with Respect to the Earth, neither understands the Theory, nor the Doctrine of the Sphere. But let’s press no further upon a Mistake.

The fourth Objection is this; p. 290. That such a Dissolution of the Earth, would have caus’d great Barrenness after the Flood: Partly by turning up some dry and unfruitful Parts of the Earth; and partly by the Soil and Filth that would be left upon its Surface. As to the first, I willingly allow, that some of the interior and barren Parts of the Earth might be turn’d up; as we now see in mountainous and wild Countries; but this rather confirms the Theory, than weakens it. But as to the second, that the Filth and Soil would have made the Earth more barren, I cannot allow that. For good Husbandmen overflow their Grounds, to make their Crop more rich. And ’tis generally suppos’d, that the Inundation of Nile, and the Mud it leaves behind it, makes Ægypt more fruitful. Besides, this Part of the Objection lies against the common Explication of the Deluge, as well as against that which is given by the Theory. For if you suppose an universal Deluge, let it come from what Causes you please, it must overflow all the Earth, and leave Mud and Slime and Filth upon the Surface of it: And consequently cause Barrenness, according to this Argumentation.

He adds another Consideration under this Head, p. 292. namely, that if the Earth had been dissolv’d in this manner, All the Buildings erected before the Flood, would have been shaken down, or else overwhelm’d. Yet we read of some that outstood the Flood, and were not demolish’d. Such were the Pillars of Seth, and the Cities Henochia and Joppa. As to Seth’s Pillars, they are generally accounted fabulous; and I perceive the Exceptor will not vouch for them: For he concludes, (p. 295) I know the very Being is question’d of Seth’s Pillars, &c. If he will not defend them, why should I take the Pains to confute them? I do not love to play with a Man, that will put nothing to the Stake; that will have his Chance to win, but can lose nothing, because he stakes nothing. Then as to the City Henochia, it hath no Authority, but that of Annius Viterbiensis, and his Berosus: A Book generally exploded, as fictitious. Lastly, As to Joppa, the Authority indeed is better, tho’ still uncertain. But however, suppose the Ruins of one Town remain’d after the Flood, does this prove that the Earth was not dissolv’d? I do not doubt, but there were several Tracts of the Earth, much greater than that Town, that were not broken all to Pieces by their Fall. But you and your English Historian, are mistaken, if you suppose the Altars and Inscriptions mention’d by Mela, to have been ante-diluvian Altars and Inscriptions: Unless you will make the Fable of Perseus and Andromeda, and the Sea-Monster, to have been an ante-diluvian Fable. Neither hath your Historian been lucky in translating those Words of Mela, cum religione plurima, with the Grounds and Principles of their Religion, which signify only, with a religious Care of Superstition. But to leave Fables, and proceed:

His last Argument against the Dissolution is this, p. 296. Had the Dissolution of the Earth been the Cause of the Deluge, It would have made God’s Covenant with Noah, a very vain and trifling Thing. So much is true, That the Deluge, in the course of Nature, will not return again in the same Way. But unless God prevent it, it both may, and will return in another Way. That is, if the World continue long enough, the Mountains will wear and sink, and the Waters in Proportion rise, and overflow the whole Earth; as is plainly shewn, by a parallel Case, in the first Book of the Theory, ch. iv. Besides, God might, when he pleas’d, by an extraordinary Power, and for the Sins of Men, bring another Deluge upon the World. And that is the Thing which Noah seems to have fear’d, and which God, by his Covenant, secur’d him against. For, as the Exceptor hath said himself, in answering an harder Objection, (p. 152.) When God assigned to the Waters the Place of their Abode, he did not intend to fortify them in it against his own Omnipotence, or to divest himself of his Soveraign Prerogative of calling them forth when he pleased. This being allowed, with what we said before, that Covenant was not vain nor trifling, either in Respect of an ordinary or extraordinary Providence.

Thus we have done with all the Exceptions against the Theory: For the two next Chapters are concerning a new Hypothesis of his own; and the last of all excepts not against the Truth of the Theory, but the Certainty of it. In Reflection upon this whole Matter, give me leave to declare two Things: First, That I have not knowingly omitted any Objection that I thought of moment: Secondly, That I have not, from these Exceptions, found Reason to change any Part of the Theory, nor to alter my Opinion, as to any Particular in it. No doubt there are several Texts of Scripture, which, understood according to the Letter in a vulgar Way, stand cross, both to this, and other natural Theories. And a Child, that had read the first Chapters of Genesis, might have observ’d this as well as the Exceptor; but could not have loaded his Charge with so much Bitterness. Some Men, they say, though of no great Valour, yet will fight excellently well behind a Wall. The Exceptor, behind a Text of Scripture, is very fierce and rugged: But in the open Field of Reason and Philosophy, he’s gentle and tractable. Eng. Theor. Book 2. c. 9. at the End. The Theorist had declar’d his Intentions, and oblig’d himself, to give a full Account of Moses his Cosmopœia, or six Day’s Creation; but did not think it proper to be done in the vulgar Language, nor before the whole Theory was compleated. This might have spared much of the Exceptor’s Pains; but till that Account be given, if the Exceptor thinks fit to continue his Animadversions, and go through the two last Books, as he hath done the two first, it will not be unacceptable to the Theorist; provided it be done with Sincerity, in reciting the Words, and representing the Sense of the Author.

Chap. XV.

In this Chapter the Ante-theorist lays down a new Hypothesis for the Explication of the Deluge, p. 299. And the War is chang’d, on his Side, from offensive, to defensive. ’Tis but fair that he should lie down in his Turn; and if some Blows smart a little, he must not complain, because he begun the Sport. But let’s try his Hypothesis, without any further Ceremony, p. 299, 300. The first Proposition laid down for the establishing of it, is this: That the Flood was but fifteen Cubits high, above the ordinary Level of the Earth. This is an unmerciful Paradox, and a very unlucky Beginning; for under what Notion must this Proportion be received? As a Postulatum, or as a Conclusion? If it be a Postulatum, it must be clear from its own Light, or acknowledg’d by general Consent. It cannot pretend to be clear from its own Light, because it is matter of Fact, which is not known, but by Testimony. Neither is it generally acknowleg’d; for the general Opinion is, that the Waters covered the Tops of the Mountains; nay, that they were fifteen Cubits higher than the Tops of the Mountains. And this he confesses himself, in these Words, p. 300. We shall find there is a great Mistake in the common Hypothesis, touching their Depth: Namely, of the Waters. For whereas they have been supposed to be fifteen Cubits higher than the highest Mountains: They were indeed but fifteen Cubits high in all, above the Surface of the Earth. And this Opinion, or Doctrine, he calls, p. 329. lin. 19. c. 31. The general standing Hypothesis: The usual Hypothesis: p. 339. lin. 18. The usual Sense they have put upon the Sacred Story. It must not therefore be made a Postulatum, that such an Hypothesis is false, but the Falsity of it must be demonstrated by good Proofs. Now I do not find that this new Hypothesis, of a fifteen Cubit Deluge, offers at any more than one single Proof, namely, from Gen. vii. 20. But before we proceed to the Examination of that, give me leave to note one or two Things, wherein the new Theorist seems to be inconsistent with himself, or with good Sense.

At his Entrance upon this new Hypothesis, he hath these Words, (p. 300.) Not that I will be bound to defend what I say, as true and real, &c. But why then does he trouble himself or the World, with an Hypothesis, which he does not believe to be true and real? Or, if he does believe it to be so, why will he not defend it? For we ought to defend Truth. But he says moreover, (p. 302. lin. 19.) Our Supposition stands supported by Divine Authority; as being founded upon Scripture. Which tells us, as plainly as it can speak, that the Waters prevailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth. If his Hypothesis be founded upon Scripture; and upon Scripture, as plainly as it can speak, why will not he defend it as true and real? For to be supported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture, is as much as we can alledge for the Articles of our Faith; which every one surely is bound to defend.

But this is not all the Difficulty we meet with. The whole Period which we quoted, runs thus: Not that I will be bound to defend what I say, as true or real; any more than to believe (what I cannot well endure to speak) that the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational way of explaining the Deluge: Which yet the must needs have done, if there be no other rational Method of explaining it, and no other intelligible Causes of it, than what the Theory has propos’d. Now for the Word Theory, put the Word Exceptor, or Exceptor’s Hypothesis, and see if this Charge, that the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational way of explaining the Deluge, does not fall as much upon the Exceptor’s new Hypothesis, as upon the Theory. If the Church Hypothesis was rational, what need he have invented a new one? Why does he not propose that Hypothesis, and defend it? I’m afraid it will be found that he does not only contradict the Church Hypothesis, but reject it as mistaken and irrational. For what is the Church Hypothesis, but the common Hypothesis? (p. 300. l. 24.) The general standing Hypothesis; the usual Hypothesis; the usual Sense they put upon the sacred Story; all these he rejects and disputes against, as you may see in the Places fore-cited: And also he calls them, p. 312. ult. such Inventions, as have been, and justly may be disgustful, not only to nice and squeamish, but to the best and soundest philosophick Judgments. And p. 319. he says, by his Hypothesis, We are excused from running to those Causes or Methods, which seem unreasonable to some, and unintelligible to others, and unsatisfactory to most. And to name no more, he says, p. 330. the ordinary Supposition, that the Mountains were cover’d with Water in the Deluge, brings on a Necessity of setting up a new Hypothesis for explaining the Flood. Now, whose Methods, Inventions, and Suppositions are these, which he reflects upon? Are they not the commonly receiv’d Methods and Suppositions? ’Tis plain, most of those which he mentions, (p. 310, 311, 313, 314, 318.) are not the Theorist’s: For the Theorist had rejected before, (Eng. Theor. ch. 2, and 3.) those very Methods and Inventions, which the Exceptor rejects now; and so far he justifies the Theory[18]: These Reflections therefore must fall upon some other Hypothesis; and what Hypothesis is that, if it be not the Church Hypothesis? To conclude, I argue thus, in short, to shew the Exceptor inconsistent with himself in this Particular. The Church Way of explaining the Deluge, is either rational, or irrational. If he say it is rational, why does he desert it, and invent a new one? And if he says it is irrational, then that dreadful Thing, which he cannot well endure to speak, that the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge, falls flat upon himself.

Thus much in general, for his Introduction. We proceed now to examine particularly his new Hypothesis: Which, as we told you before, consists chiefly in this, That the Waters of the Deluge were but fifteen Cubits higher than the common unmountainous Surface of the Earth. This, which seems so odd and extravagant, he says, p. 301. is the Foundation of the Hypothesis. And, which is still more surprizing, he says this Depth, or rather Shallowness of the Waters of the Deluge, is told us by Scripture, as plainly as it can speak, p. 302. l. 23. This must needs raise our Curiosity, to see that Place of Scripture, which has been overlook’d by all the Learned hitherto. Well, ’tis Gen. vii. 20. in these words, Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail. This, methinks, is somewhat general; for the Basis of these fifteen Cubits not express’d in these Words. But why does our Author stop in the middle of a Verse? Why does he not transcribe the whole Verse; for the last Part of it is as good Scripture as the first? And that says plainly, that the Mountains were cover’d with the Waters. The whole Verse runs thus: Fifteen Cubits upwards did the Waters prevail; AND THE MOUNTAINS WERE COVERED. Now, if the Basis of these fifteen Cubits was the common Surface, or plain Level of the Earth, as this new Hypothesis will have it; how could fifteen Cubits, from that Basis, reach to the Tops of the Mountains? Are the highest Mountains but fifteen Cubits higher than the common Surface of the Earth? 1 Sam. xvii. 4. Goliah was six Cubits and a Span high; so Pic Tenariff would not be thrice as high as Goliah: Yet David flung a Stone up to his Forehead. Take what Cubit you please, sacred or common, it does not amount to two Foot. So the Height of the greatest Mountains, from Bottom to Top, must not be thirty Foot, or ten Paces, according to this new Hypothesis. Who ever measured Mountains at this Rate? The modern Mathematicians allow for their Height a Mile perpendicular, upon a moderate Computation; and that makes three thousand Foot: How then could Waters that were not thirty Foot high, cover Mountains that were three thousand Foot high? That the highest Mountains of the Earth were cover’d with the Waters, you may see express’d more fully in the precedent Verse, Gen. vii. 19. And the Waters prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth. And all the high Hills that were under the whole Heavens were cover’d. There can scarce be Words more plain and comprehensive. The Exceptor says, the Scripture tells us, as plainly as it can speak, that the Waters were but fifteen Cubits high from the common Surface of the Earth: And I say, the Scripture tells us as plainly as it can speak, That all the high Hills under the whole Heaven were covered with Water. And it must be a strange sort of Geometry, that makes fifteen Cubits of Water reach to the Top of the highest Hills. Lastly, the same History of Moses says, the Tops of the Mountains were discover’d, when the Waters begun to decrease, Gen. viii. 5. Is not that a plain Demonstration that they were cover’d before, and cover’d with those Waters?

We may therefore safely conclude two Things: First, that this new Hypothesis, besides all other Faults, is contrary to the general Exposition of the Text of Moses[19]. Secondly, that it is contrary to the general receiv’d Doctrine of the Deluge. And if he has deliver’d a Doctrine, contrary to the two, methinks it should be hard for him to maintain his Ground, and not pronounce, at the same Time, what he dreads so much to speak, That the Church of God has ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge. But let’s reflect a little upon this fifteen-cubit Deluge; to see what Figure it would make, or what Execution it would do upon Mankind, and upon other Creatures. If you will not believe Moses as to the overflowing of the Mountains, at least I hope you will believe him, as to the universal Destruction made by the Deluge. Hear his Words, Gen. vii. 21, 22, 23. we’ll take only the last Verse, which is this, And every living Substance was destroyed, which was upon the Face of the Ground, both Man and Cattle, and creeping Things, and the Fowl of the Heavens; and they were destroyed from the Earth; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the Ark. Now I would gladly know, how this could be verified in a fifteen-cubit Deluge? The Birds would naturally fly to the Tops of Trees, when the Ground was wet; and the Beasts would retire, by Degrees, to the Mountains and higher Parts of the Earth, as the lower begun to be overflow’d: And if no Waters could reach them there, how were they all destroy’d, while they had so many Sanctuaries and Places of Refuge?

Or if you suppose some of these Creatures had not Wit enough to save themselves, (though their Wit and Instincts lie chiefly in that) at least Mankind would not be so stupid; when Men see the Waters begin to rise, they could not fail to retire into Mountains: And tho’ the upper Stories of their Houses might be sufficient to save them from fifteen Cubits of Water; yet if Fear made them think themselves not secure there, whither could it drive them, but still into higher Places? And an House seated upon an Eminency, or a Castle upon a Rock, would be always a safe Retreat from this diminutive Deluge. I speak all this upon the Suppositions of the Exceptor, p. 215, 216, 292, &c. who allows, not only Mountains and Rocks, but also Castles and Cities before the Deluge, built of good Timber, and Stone, and Iron, and such substantial Materials. But how, in such a Case, and in such a State of Things, all Mankind (except Noah and his Family) should be destroy’d by fifteen Cubits of Water, is a Lump of Incredibilities, too hard and big for me to swallow.

But there is still another Difficulty, that we have not mention’d: As those that were upon the Land might easily save themselves from Ruin, so those that were upon the Sea in Ships, would never come in Danger. For what would it signify to them, if the Sea was made a few Fathoms deeper, by these new Waters? It would bear their Vessels as well as it did before, and would be no more to them than a Spring-Tide. And lastly, how shall we justify the Divine Wisdom, which gave such punctual Orders, for the Building of an Ark, to save Noah, and a Set of Creatures for a new World, when there were so many more easy and obvious Ways to preserve them without that Trouble?

These Objections, in my Opinion, are so plain and full, that it is not needful to add any more: Nor to answer such Evasions as the new Theorist attempts to make to some of them. As, for Instance, to that plain Objection from Moses’s Words, p. 330. that the Mountains were covered with the Waters; he says, first, that it is a Synecdoche, where the Whole is put for a Part: Or, secondly, ’tis an Hyperbole, where more is said than understood: Or, thirdly, ’tis a poetical History: Or, lastly, if none of these will do, by the Tops of the Mountains is to be understood the Bottoms of the Mountains, p. 331, 333. and that cures all. The Truth is, he has taken a great deal of Pains in the next Chapter, to cure an incurable Hypothesis. We will give you but one Instance more: ’Tis about the Appearance of the Tops of the Mountains at the Decrease of the Deluge; which argue strongly that they were cover’d in the Deluge. But take it in his own Words, with the Answer, p. 337. It is recorded, Gen. viii. 5. that the Waters decreased continually until the tenth Month, and on the first Day of the Month WERE THE TOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS SEEN. Now if the Mountains had not been quite under Water, and so invisible for the Time they were overwhelmed, how could they be said to become visible again, or to be seen upon the Floods going off? This is a plain and bold Objection: And after two Answers to it, which he seems to distrust, his third and last is this, p. 339. If these two Considerations will not satisfy, we must carry on the Enquiry a little farther, and seek for a third. And truly some one or other must needs be found out.—Thirdly, therefore we consider, that the Tops of the Mountains may be said to be seen at the Time mentioned, upon account of their EMERGENCY OUT OF DARKNESS, NOT OUT OF WATERS. This is his final Answer. The Tops of the Mountains, at the Decrease of the Deluge, were seen; not that they were covered before with Water, says he, but with Darkness. Where finds he this Account: ’Tis neither in the Text, nor in Reason. If it was always so dark, and the Tops of the Mountains and Rocks naked and prominent every where, how could the Ark avoid them in that Darkness? Moreover, if the Deluge was made in that gentle way that he supposes, I see no Reason to imagine that there would be Darkness, after the forty Days Rain. For these Rains being fallen, and all the Vapours and Clouds of the Air discharg’d, methinks there should have ensued an extraordinary Clearness of the Air, as we often see after rainy Seasons. Well, ’tis true: But the Rains he supposes were no sooner fallen, but the Sun retracted them again in Vapours, with that Force and Swiftness, that it kept the Air in perpetual Darkness. Thus he says afterwards, p. 341. He’s mightily beholden to the Sun, upon many Accounts; and the Sun is no less beholden to him; for he gave him a miraculous Power to raise Mountains, and draw up Waters. ’Tis well the Sun did not presently fall to his old Work again, of raising Mountains out of this moist Earth, as the Exceptor says he did, when the Earth was first drain’d. See Chap. 10. That he contented himself to suck up the Waters only, and let the Earth alone: We are not a little beholden to him for this. For he seems to have had the same Power and Opportunity, at the Decrease of the Deluge, of making new Ravages upon the Earth, that he had before when it was first drain’d. But let’s see how, or when, these Waters were suck’d up, or resolv’d into Vapours.

Upon the Expiration of the forty Days Rain, whether was the Air purg’d of Vapours and clear, or no? Yes, it was purg’d, he says, (p. 343.) The Atmosphere was never so exhausted of Vapours, and never so thin, as when the Waters were newly come down. Then, in that clear Air the Tops of the Mountains might have been seen, if they lay above Water. But Moses says, Gen. viii. 5. it was in the tenth Month that they begun to be seen, when the Waters were decreas’d; ’twas therefore the Waters, not the gross Air, that hinder’d the Sight of them before. And according to this Method of the Exceptor, after the first forty Days, the Deluge begun to decrease. For the Sun forthwith set his Engines a-work, and resolv’d the Waters into Vapours and Exhalations at such a Rate, p. 341. that he presently made the Atmosphere dark with thick Mists and Clouds; and, in Proportion, lessen’d the Waters of the Deluge. But we do not read in Moses, of any Abatement in the Deluge, till the End of one hundred and fifty Days; (Gen. viii. 3.) which is four Months after this Term. The Truth is, the whole Notion of spending the Waters of the Deluge by Evaporation, is no better than what the Exceptor suspected it would be thought, p. 343. A mere Fancy, a whimsical groundless Figment. For what could the Sun do, in the Northern and Southern Parts of the World, towards the exhaling of these Waters? And in the temperate Climates, why should they not fall again in Rains, (if he had a Power to exhale them) as they do now? Was not the Earth in the same Position, and the Sun of the same force? Besides, where does he find this Notion in Scripture, that the Waters of the Deluge were consum’d by Evaporation? Moses says, the Waters returned from off the Earth, in going and returning, Gen. viii. 3, 5. That is, after frequent Reciprocations, they settled at length in their Channels; where Bounds were set them, that they might not pass over; that they return not again to cover the Earth. Seeing therefore this Notion hath no Foundation, either in Scripture or Reason, ’tis rightly enough stil’d, in the Exceptor’s Words, a mere Fancy, and groundless Figment.

But I think we have had enough of these Shifts and Evasions. Let us now proceed to the second Part of his new Hypothesis, which is this, p. 303. That the Abyss, or Tehom-Rabbah, which was broken open at the Deluge, and (together with the Rains) made the Flood, was nothing but the Holes and Caverns of Rocks and Mountains; which open’d their Mouths at that Time, and pour’d out a great Quantity of Water. To support this new Notion of Tehom-Rabbah, he alledgeth but one single Text of Scripture, Psal. lxxviii. 15. He clave the Rocks in the Wilderness, and gave them Drink, as out of the great Depths; that is, copiously and abundantly, as if it were out of the great Deep. So the next Verse implies, and so it is generally understood: As you may see both by Interpreters, and also by the Septuagint and Vulgate Translations, and those of the Chaldee Paraphrase, and the Syriack. But the Exceptor, by all Means, will have these Holes in the Rocks to be the same with the Mosaical Abyss, or great Deep, that was broken open at the Deluge: So the great Deep was not one Thing, or one continued Cavity, as Moses represents it, but ten thousand Holes, separate and distant one from another. Neither must the great Deep, according to him, signify a low Place, but an high Place: For he confesses these Caverns were higher than the common Level of the Earth[20]. But I do not see how, with any tolerable Propriety, or good Sense, that which is higher than the Surface of the Earth can be called the great Deep. An Abyss in the Earth, or in the Water, is certainly downwards, in respect of their common Surface, as much as a Pit is downwards; and what is downwards from us, we cannot suppose to be above us, without confounding all Dimensions, and all Names of Things; calling that low which is high, a Mountain a Valley, or a Garret a Cellar.

Neither is there any Thing in this Text, Psal. lxxviii. 15. that can justly induce us to believe the great Abyss to be the same Thing with Caverns in Rocks. For whether you suppose it to be noted here as a miraculous Thing, that God should give them Water out of a Rock, or out of a Flint[21], as plentifully as if it had been out of the great Abyss; or whether you understand the Original of Fountains to be noted here, which are said in Scripture to come from the Sea, or the great Abyss; neither of these Senses make any Thing to the Purpose of the new Hypothesis, and yet they are the fairest and easiest Sense that can be put upon the Words; and that which agrees best with other Places of Scripture, where the same Matter of Fact, or the same History is related: And therefore there can be no Necessity, from this Text, of changing the general Notion and Signification of Deep, or Abyss; both from that which it hath in common Use, and that which it hath in Scripture Use.

I say, as in the common Use of Words, Deep, or Abyss, signifies some low or inferior Place; so the general Use of it in Scripture is, in the same Sense, either to signify the Sea, or some subterraneous Place. Who shall descend into the (Abyss, or) Deep? says the Apostle, Rom. x. 7. Is that as much as if he had said, Who shall ascend into the Holes of the Rocks? And when Jacob speaks of the Blessings of the Abyss, or of the Deep, he calls them the Blessings of the Deep that lyeth under, Gen. xix. 25. In like Manner, Moses himself calls it the Deep that couched beneath, Deut. xxxiii. 13. And I know no Reason why we should not understand the same Deep there, that he mentioned before in the History of the Deluge; which therefore was subterraneous, as this is. Then, as for the other Use of the Word, namely, for the Sea, or any Part of the Sea, (whose Bottom is always lower than the Level of the Earth,) that is the most common Use of it in Scripture. And I need not give you Instances which are every where obvious.

One must needs think it strange, therefore, that any Man of Judgement should break thorough both the common Use of a Word, and so many plain Texts of Scripture, that show the Signification of it, for the sake of one Text, which, at most, is but dubious; and then lay such Stress upon that new Signification, as to found a new Doctrine upon it: And a Doctrine that is neither supported by Reason, nor agrees with the History of the Deluge. For, as we noted before, at the Decrease of the Deluge, the Waters are said to return from off the Earth, Gen. viii. 3. Did they not return to the Places from whence they came? But if those Places were the Caverns in the Rocks, whose Mouths lay higher than the Surface of the Deluge, as he says they did, p. 303, 305. I see no Possibility of the Waters returning into them. But the Exceptor hath found out a marvellous Invention to invade this Argument. He will have the returning of the Waters to be understood of their returning into their Principles, (that is, into Vapours,) not to their Places: In good Time: So the Dove’s returning was her returning into her Principles; that is, into an Egg, not into the Ark. Subtleties ill-founded, argue two Things, Wit and Want of Judgment. Moses speaks as plainly of the local Return of the Waters, in going and returning; as of the local going and returning of the Raven and Dove. See Gen. viii. 3, and 5. compar’d with Verse seventh and ninth.

Lastly, That we end this Discourse; the whole Notion of these Water-Pots in the Tops of Mountains, and of the broaching of them at the Deluge, is a groundless Imagination. What Reason have we to believe, that there were such Vessels then, more than now, if there was no Fraction of the Earth at the Deluge, to destroy them? And he ought to have gag’d these Casks, (according to his own Rule, Ch. 3.) and told us the Number and Capacity of them, that we might have made some Judgment of the Effect. Besides, if the opening the Abyss at the Deluge had been the opening of Rocks, why did not Moses express it so; and tell us, that the Rocks were cloven, and the Waters gushed out, and so made the Deluge? This would have been as intelligible, if it had been true, as to tell us that the Tehom-Rabbah was broken open. But there is not one Word of Rocks, or the cleaving of Rocks, in the History of the Flood. Upon all Accounts, therefore, we must conclude, that this Virtuoso might have as well suspected, that his whole Theory of the Deluge, as one Part of it, p. 343. would be accounted a mere Fancy, and groundless Figment.

Chap. XVI.

This Chapter is made up of eight Objections, against his own Hypothesis. And those that have a mind to see them, may read them in the Author. I have taken as much Notice of them as I thought necessary, in the precedent Chapter; and therefore leave the Exceptor now to deal with them all together. I omitted one Objection (p. 311.) concerning the shutting up of the Abyss, and the Fountains of the Abyss, because it was answer`d before in the English Theory, p. 143. namely, there were Fountains in the Abyss, as much as Windows in Heaven; and those were shut up, as well as these; that is, ceas’d to act, and were put into a Condition to continue the Deluge no longer.

Chap. XVII.

There is nothing in this Chapter against the Truth of the Theory; but the Author is blam’d for believing it to be true: I think it had been more blame-worthy, if he had troubled the World with a Theory which he did not believe to be true, and taken so much Pains to compose what he thought himself no better than a Romance. As to what the Theorist has said in Reference to his Assurance or Belief of the Theory, which the Exceptor calls Positiveness, upon Examination, I cannot find any Thing amiss in his Conduct, as to that Particular. For, first, he imposes his Sentiments upon no Man; he leaves every one their full Liberty of dissenting. Preface to the Reader at the End. Lastly, in Things purely speculative, as these are, and no Ingredients of our Faith, it is free to differ from one another in our Opinions and Sentiments; and so I remember St. Austin hath observed upon this very Subject of Paradise. Wherefore, as we desire to give no Offence our selves, so neither shall we take any at the Difference of Judgment in others; provided this Liberty be mutual, and that we all agree to study PEACE, TRUTH, and a GOOD LIFE. And as the Theorist imposes his Sentiments upon no Man; so, as to Matter of Certainty, he distinguisheth always betwixt the Substance of the Theory, and Particularities. So, at the latter End of the first Book, this Profession is made, Eng. Theor. p. 207. I mean this only, speaking about Certainty, as to the general Parts of the Theory. For as to Particularities, I look upon them only as problematical; and accordingly I affirm nothing therein, but with a Power of Revocation, and a Liberty to change my Opinion when I shall be better inform’d. And accordingly he says in another Place, Eng. Theor. p. 12. I know how subject we are to Mistakes, in these great and remote Things, when we descend to Particularities. But I am willing to expose the Theory to a full Trial, and to shew the Way for any to examine it, provided they do it with Equity and Sincerity. I have no other Design than to contribute my Endeavours to find out Truth, &c. Lastly, to cite no more Places, he says, Eng. Theor. p. 402. There are many particular Explications that are to be consider’d with more Liberty and Latitude; and may, perhaps, upon better Thoughts, and better Observations, be corrected, &c. The Theorist having thus stated and bounded his Belief or Assurance, and given Liberty of dissenting to all others, according to their particular Judgments or Inclinations, I see nothing unfair or undecent in this Conduct. How could the Observator have made it more unexceptionable? Would he have had the Theorist to have profess’d Scepticism, and declar’d that he believ’d his own Theorist no more than a Romance or fantastical Idea? that had been both to bely his own Conscience, and to mock the World. I remember I have heard a good Author once with, that there were an Act of Parliament, that whoever printed a Book, should, when he took a License, swear, that he thought the Contents of his Book to be true, as to Substance: And I think such a Method would keep off a great many Impertinencies. We ought not to trouble the World with our roving Thoughts, merely out of an Itch of Scripturiency, when we do not believe our selves what we write. I must always profess my Assent to the Substance of that Theory; and am the more confirm’d in it by the Weakness and Inefficacy of these Exceptions.

We need not take Notice of the particular Citations he makes use of, to prove this Positiveness of the Theorist; for they only affirm what we still own: That the Theory is more than an Idea, or that it is not an imaginary Idea, or that it is a Reality: And, together with its Proofs from Scripture, especially from St. Peter, hath more than the Certainty of a bare Hypothesis, or a moral Certainty. These are the Expressions he cites, and we own all, that, in fair Construction, they amount to; and find no Reason, either from the Nature of the Thing, or from his Objections, to change our Opinion, or make any Apology for too much Positiveness.

I wish the Exceptor had not more to answer for, as to his Partiality, than the Theorist hath, for his Positiveness. And now, that we draw to a Conclusion, it will not be amiss to observe, how well the Exceptor hath answered that Character, which he gave himself at the Beginning of his Work. These are his Words, p. 43. This I will endeavour to do, namely, To examine the Theory, with all Sincerity; and that only as a Friend and Servant to Truth: And therefore, with such Candor, Meekness, and Modesty, as becomes one who assumes and glories in so fair a Character: And also with such Respect to the Virtuoso who wrote the Theory, as may testify to the World, that I esteem his Learning, while I question his Opinion. ’Tis of little Consequence what Opinion he has of the Virtuoso, as he calls him: But let us see with what Sincerity and Meekness, he has examin’d his Work. As to his Sincerity, we have given you some Proofs of it before, (p. 26.) both in his defective and partial Citations; and also, in his never taking Notice of the last Edition of the Theory; where several Citations he has made use of, are not extant. Now, by his own Rule, he ought to have had regard to this; for he says, (p. 356.) he will there take Notice only of the English Edition, as coming out after the other; and so with more Deliberation and mature Thoughts of Things. By the same Reason, say I, he ought to have taken Notice of the last Edition of the Theory, as being the last Product, and the most deliberate and mature Thoughts of the Author. But this, it seems, was not for his Purpose.

So much for his Sincerity: Now for his Meekness. So impatient he is to fall upon his Adversary, that he begins his Charge in the Preface, and a very fierce one it is, (p. 3.) The Theorist hath assaulted Religion, and that in the very Foundation of it. Here I expected to have found two or three Articles of the Creed assaulted or knock’d down by the Theory. But that is not the Case, it seems, he understands something more general, namely, our contradicting Scripture: For so he explains himself in the next Page. In several Things (as will appear by our Discourse) it contradicts Scripture; and by too positive asserting the Truth of its Theorems, makes that to be false, upon which our Religion is founded. Let us remember, that this contracting Scripture here pretended, is only in natural Things; and also observe, how far the Exceptor himself, in such Things, hath contradicted Scripture. As for other Reproofs which he gives us, those that are more gentle, I easily pass over; but somewhere he makes our Assertions, p. 78. too bold an Affront to Scripture. And in another Place represents them, as (either directly, or consequentially) p. 286. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which is the unpardonable Sin, Matt. xii. 31.

There is no Pleasure in repeating such Expressions, and dreadful Sentences. Let us rather observe, if the Exceptor hath not made himself obnoxious to them. But first, we must state the Case truly, that so the Blame may not fall upon the Innocent. The Case therefore is this, Whether, to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture, in Things that relate to the natural World, be destroying the Foundations of Religion, affronting Scripture, and blaspheming the Holy Ghost? In the Case propos’d, We take the Negative, and stand upon that Plea. But the Exceptor hath taken the Affirmative; and therefore, all those heavy Charges must fall upon himself, if he go contrary to the literal Sense of Scripture, in his philosophical Opinions or Assertions. And that he hath done so, we will give you some Instances, out of this Treatise of his; p. 314. He says, It it most absurd to think, that the Earth is the Center of the World. Then the Sun stands still, and the Earth moves, according to his Doctrine. But this is expressly contrary to Scripture, in many Places. The Sun rejoices, as a strong Man, to run his Race, says David Ps. xix. 5, 6. His going forth is from the End of the Heaven, and his Circuit unto the Ends of it, Josh. x. 12, 13. 2 Kings xx. 10, 11. Isa. xxxviii. 8. No such Thing, says the Exceptor; the Sun hath no Race to run; he is fix’d in his Seat, without any progressive Motion. He hath no Course from one End of the Heavens to the other. In like manner, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, says the sacred Author, and the Sun stood still. No, says the Exceptor, ’twas the Earth stood still, upon that Miracle; for the Sun always stood still. And ’tis absurd, yea, most absurd, to think otherwise, p. 157. And he blames Tycho Brahe for following Scripture in this Particular. Now, is not this, in the Language of the Exceptor, to destroy the Foundations of Religion, to affront Scripture, and blaspheme against the Holy Ghost? But this is not all: The Exceptor says, (Chap. 10.) the Sun rais’d up the Mountains on the third Day; and the Sun was not in being till the fourth Day, according to Scripture, Gen. i. 14. The Moon also, which, according to Scripture, was not created till the fourth Day, he says, would hinder the Formation of the Earth, which was done the third Day. Lastly, in this new Hypothesis, p.74. he makes the Waters of the Deluge to be but fifteen Cubits higher than the Plain, or common Surface of the Earth; which Scripture affirms expressly to have cover’d the Tops of the highest Hills, or Mountains, under Heaven, Gen. vii. 19, 20. These two Things are manifestly inconsistent. The Scripture says, Gen. viii. 5. they cover’d the Tops of the highest Mountains: And the Exceptor says they reached but fifteen Cubits about, or upon the Skirts of them. This, I think, is truly to contradict Scripture; or, according to his Talent of loading Things with great Words, p. 216. This is not only flatly, but loudly contradictory to the most express Word of the infallible God.

These Observations, I know, are of small Use, unless, perhaps, to the Exceptor himself. But, if you please, upon this Occasion, let us reflect a little upon the literal Style of Scripture; and the different Authority of that Style, according to the Matter that it treats of. The Subject Matter of Scripture is either such as lies without the Cognizance and Comprehension of human Reason, or such as lies within it: If it be the former of these, ’tis what we call properly and purely Revelation; and there we must adhere to the literal Style, because we have nothing to guide us but that. Such is the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Incarnation; wherein we have nothing to authorize our Deviation from the Letter and Words of Scripture: And therefore the School-Divines, who have spun those Doctrines into a Multitude of Niceties and Subtleties, had no Warrant for what they did, and their Conclusions are of no Authority.

The second Matter or Subject of Scripture is such as falls under the View and Comprehension of Reason, more or less; and, in the same Proportion, gives us a Liberty to examine the literal Sense; how far it is consistent with Reason. and the Faculties of our Mind. Of this Nature there are several Things in the holy Writings, both moral, theological, and natural, wherein we recede from the Letter, when it is manifestly contrary to the Dictates of Reason. I will give some Instances in every kind: First, as to moral Things. Our Saviour says, Mat. v. 29, 30. If thy right Eye offend thee, pluck it out: If thy Right Hand offend thee, cut it off. There is no Man that thinks himself obliged to the literal Practice of this Doctrine; and yet it is plainly delivered, you see, in these Terms in the Gospel. Nay, which is more, our Saviour backs and enforces the Letter of this Doctrine with a Reason: For it is profitable for thee that one of thy Members should perish, and not that thy whole Body should be cast into Hell: As if he had intended, that his Precept should have been really executed according to the Letter. In like manner our Saviour says, If any Man wilt sue thee at Law, and take away thy Coat, let him have thy Cloak also. And yet there is no Christian so good-natur’d as to practice this, nor any Casuist so rigid as to enjoy it, according to the Letter. Other Instances you may see in our Saviour’s Sermon upon the Mount, where we do not scruple to lay aside the Letter, when it is judg’d contrary to the Light of Nature, or impracticable in human Society.

In all other Things also, that lie within the Sphere of human Reason, we are allowed to examine their Practicability, or their Credibility. To instance in something theological, the Words of Consecration in the Sacrament. Our Saviour, when he instituted the last Supper, us’d these Words: This is my Body, taking the Bread into his Hand; which Words, join’d with that Action, are very formal and expressive; yet we do not scruple to forsake the literal Sense, and take the Words in another Way: But upon what Warrant do we this? because the literal Sense contains an Absurdity; because it contradicts the Light of Nature; because it is inconsistent with the Idea of a Body, and so destroys it self. In like Manner, upon the Idea of the Divine Nature, we dispute absolute Reprobation, and Eternity of Torments, against the Letter of Scripture. And, lastly, whether the Resurrection Body consists of the same individual Parcels and Particles, whereof the mortal Body consisted, before it was putrefied or dispers’d? And, Phil. iv. 3. Apoc. iii. 5 and xx. 12. whether the Books of Life are to be understood in a literal Sense?

The last Head is of such Things as belong to the natural World. And to this may be reduced innumerable Instances, where we leave the literal Sense, if inconsistent with Science or Experience. And the Truth is, if we should follow the vulgar Style and literal Sense of Scripture, we should all be Anthropomorphites, as to the Nature of God: And as to the Nature of his Works in the external Creation, we must renounce Philosophy and natural Experience, if the Descriptions and Accounts given in Scripture, concerning the Heavens, the Earth, the Sea, and other Parts of the World, be received as accurate and just Representations of the State and Properties of those Bodies. Neither is there any Danger, lest this should affect or impeach the Divine Veracity; for Scripture never undertook, nor was ever designed to teach us Philosophy, or the Arts and Sciences: And whatsoever the Light of Nature can reach and comprehend, is improperly the Subject of Revelation. But some Men, out of Love to their own Ease, and in Defence of their Ignorance, are not only for a Scripture Divinity, but also for a Scripture Philosophy. ’Tis a cheap and compendious Way, and saves them the Trouble of farther Study or Examination.

Upon the whole, you see, it is no Fault to recede from the literal Sense of Scripture; but the Fault is, when we leave it without a just Cause: As it is no Fault for a Man to separate from a Church, or for a Prince to make War against his Neighbour, but to do the one or the other, without a just Cause, is a real Fault. We all leave the literal Sense in certain Cases, and therefore that alone is no sufficient Charge against any Man. But he that makes a Separation, if I may so call it, without good Reasons, he is truly obnoxious to Censure. The great Result of all, therefore, is this, to have some common Rule to direct us, when every one ought to follow, and when to leave, the literal Sense. And that Rule which is generally agreed upon by good Interpreters, is this, Not to leave the literal Sense, when the Subject-Matter will bear it, without Absurdity or Incongruity. This Rule I have always proposed to my self, and always endeavoured to keep close to it. But some inconsiderate Minds make every Departure from the Letter, let the Matter or Cause be what it will, to be an Affront to Scripture: And there, where we have the greatest Liberty, I mean in Things that relate to the natural World, they have no more Indulgence or Moderation, than if it was an Intrenchment upon the Articles of Faith. In this Particular I cannot excuse the present Animadverter; yet, I must needs say, he is a very Saint in Comparison of another Animadverter, who hath writ upon the same Subject; but neither like a Gentleman, nor like a Christian, nor like a Scholar. And such Writings answer themselves.

A SHORT CONSIDERATION OF Mr. Erasmus Warren’s DEFENCE OF HIS EXCEPTIONS AGAINST THE THEORY of the EARTH.

In a Letter to a Friend.

SIR,

I have read over Mr. Erasmus Warren’s Defence of his Exceptions against the Theory of the Earth; which, it may be, few will do after me; as not having Curiosity or Patience enough to read such a long Pamphlet, of private or little Use. Such Altercations as these, are to you, I believe, as they are to me, a sort of Folly; but the Aggressor must answer for that, who makes the Trouble unavoidable to the Defendant. And ’tis an unpleasant Exercise, a kind of Wild-goose-chase; where he that leads must be followed, through all his Extravagancies.

The Author of this Defence must pardon me, if I have less Apprehensions both of his Judgment and Temper, than I had before: For, as he is too verbose and long-winded ever so make a close Reasoner; so it was unexpected to me to find his Style so captious and angry, as it is in this last Paper. And the same Strain continuing to the End, I was sorry to see that his Blood had been kept upon the Fret, for so many Months together, as the Pamphlet was a making.

He might have made his Work much shorter, without any Loss to the Sense. If he had left out his popular Enlargements, juvenile Excursions, Stories and Strains of Country-Rhetorick, (whereof we shall give you some Instances hereafter) his Book would have been reduc’d to half the Compass: And if from that reduc’d half, you takeaway again trifling Altercations and pedantick Repartees, the Remainder would fall into the Compass of a few Pages. For my part, I am always apt to suspect a Man that makes me a long Answer; for the precise Point to be spoken to, in a multitude of Words, is easily lost, and Words are often multiplied for that very Purpose.

However, if his Humour be verbose, it might have been, at least, more easy and inoffensive; there having been no Provocation given him in that kind. But let us guess, if you please, as well as we can, what it was in the late Answer, that so much discomposed the Exceptor and altered his Style: Either it must be the Words and Language of that Answer, or the Sense of it, without Respect to the Language. As to the Words, ’tis true, he gives some instances of Expressions offensive to him; yet they are but three or four, and those, methinks, not very high, p. 31. tho’ he calls them the Brats of Passion; they are these, indiscreet, rude, injudicious and uncharitable. These Characters, it seems, are applied to the Exceptor, in some part of the Answer, upon Occasion offer’d; and whether those Occasions were just or no, I dare appeal to your Judgment. As to the Word rude, which seems the most harsh, I had said indeed, that he was rude to Anaxagoras; and so he was, not to allow him to be a competent Witness in matter of Fact, whom all Antiquity, sacred and prophane, hath represented to us as one of the greatest Men amongst the Antients. I had also said in another Place, that a rude, and injudicious Defence of Scripture, by Railing and ill Language, is the true way to lessen and disparage it. This I still justify as true; and if he apply it to himself, much good may it do him. I do not remember that it is any where said, that he was rude to the Theorist; if it be, ’tis possibly upon his charging him with Blasphemy, horrid Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, for saying, the Earth was dissolv’d at the Deluge. And I appeal to any Man, whether this is not an uncharitable, and a rude Charge. If a Man had cursed God, or call’d our Saviour an Impostor, what could he have been charg’d with more, than Blasphemy, horrid Blasphemy? And if the same things be charg’d upon a Man, for saying, the Earth was dissolv’d at the Deluge, either all Crimes and Errors must be equal, or the Charge must be rude. But however it must be rude in the Opinion of the Theorist, who thinks this neither Crime nor Error.

What says the Defence of the Exceptions to this; p. 153. it makes use of Distinctions for Mitigation of the Censure; and says, it will indirectly, consequentially, or reductively be of blasphemous Importance. Here Blasphemy is changed into blasphemous Importance, and horrid Blasphemy into consequential, &c. But taking all these Mitigations, it seems however, according to his Theology, all Errors in Religion are Blasphemy or of blasphemous Importance. For all Errors in Religion must be against Scripture one way or other; at least consequentially, indirectly, or reductively; and all that are so, according to the Doctrine of this Author, must be Blasphemy, or of blasphemous Importance. This is crude Divinity, and the Answerer had Reason to subjoin what he cited before, that a rude and injudicious Defence of Scripture, is the true way to lessen and disparage it.

Thus much for rude and uncharitable; as for the other two Words, indiscreet and injudicious, I cannot easily be induc’d to make any Apology for them. On the contrary, I’m afraid I shall have Occasion to repeat these Characters again, especially the latter of them, in the Perusal of this Pamphlet. However, they do not look like Brats of Passion, as he calls them; but rather as cool and quiet Judgments, made upon Reasons and Premisses. I had forgot one Expression more: The Answer, it seems, somewhere calls the Exceptor a Dabler in Philosophy, which he takes ill: But that he is a Dabler, both in Philosophy and Astronomy, I believe will evidently appear upon this second Examination of the same Passages upon which that Character was grounded. We will therefore leave that to the Trial, when we come to those Passages again, in the following Discourse.

These, Sir, as far as I remember, are the Words and Expressions which he hath taken Notice of, as offensive to him, and Effects of Passion. But, methinks, these cannot be of Force sufficient to put him so much out of Humour, and change his Style so much, as we find it to be in this last Pamphlet: And therefore I am inclinable to believe, that ’tis the Sense, rather than the Words, or Language of the Answer, that hath had this Effect upon him; and that some unhappy Passages, that have expos’d his Mistakes, were the true Causes of these Resentments. Such Passages I will guess at, as well as I can, and note them to you as they occur to my Memory.

But give me leave, first, upon this occasion of his new way of Writing, to distinguish and mind you of three sorts of arguing, which you may call reasoning, wrangling, and scolding. In fair reasoning, Regard is had to Truth only, not to Victory, let it fall on whether side it will. But in wrangling and scolding, ’tis Victory that is pursued and aim’d at in the first Place, with little Regard to Truth. And if the Contention be managed in civil terms, ’tis but wrangling; if in uncivil, ’tis scolding. I will not so far anticipate your Judgment, as to rank this Arguer in any of the three Orders: It you have Patience to read over his Pamphlet, you will best see how and where to set him in his proper Place.

We now proceed to those Passages in the Answer, which probably have most exasperated the Author of the Exceptions and the Defence, Exc. p. 77, &c. In his Exceptions he had said, the Moon being present, or in her present Place in the Firmament, at the time of the Chaos, she would certainly trouble and discompose it, as she does now the Waters of the Sea; and, by that Means, hinder the Formation of the Earth. To this we answer’d, that the Moon that was made the fourth Day, could not hinder the formation of the Earth, which was made the third Day. This was a plain intelligible Answer, and at the same time discover’d such a manifest Blunder in the Objection, as could not but give an uneasy Thought to him that made it.

However we must not deny, but that he makes some Attempt to silence it off in his Reply; for he says, Def. p. 12. The Earth formed the third Day was Moses’s Earth, which the Exceptor contends for; but the Earth he disputes against is the Theorist’s, which could not be formed the third Day. He should have added, and therefore would be hinder’d by the Moon, otherwise this takes off nothing. And now the Question comes to a clear State; for when the Exceptor says, the Moon would have hinder’d the Formation of the Earth, either he speaks upon Moses’s Hypothesis, or upon the Theorist’s Hypothesis. Not upon the Theorist’s Hypothesis, for the Theorist does not suppose the Moon present then; Eccl. p. 77, 78. Def. p. 73. l. 12, 13. And if he speaks upon Moses’s Hypothesis, the Moon that was made the fourth Day, must have hinder’d the Formation of the Earth the third Day. So that the Objection is a Blunder upon either Hypothesis.

Furthermore, whereas he suggests that the Answerer makes use of Moses’s Hypothesis to confute his Adversary, but does not follow it himself: ’Tis so far true, that the Theorist never said that Moses’s six Days Creation was to be understood literally; but however it is justly urged against those that understand it literally, and they must not contradict that Interpretation, which they own and defend.

So much for the Moon, and this first Passage, which I suppose was troublesome to our Author. But he makes the same Blunder in another Place, as to the Sun: Both the Luminaries, it seems, stood in his Way. In the tenth Chapter of his Exceptions, he gives us a new Hypothesis about the Origin of Mountains, which, in short, is this; that they were drawn or suck’d out of the Earth by the Influence and Instrumentality of the Sun: Whereas the Sun was not made, according to Moses, till the fourth Day, and the Earth was form’d the third Day. ’Tis an unhappy Thing to split twice upon the same Rock, and upon a Rock so visible. He that can but reckon to four, can tell whether the third Day, or fourth Day came sooner.

To cure this Hypothesis about the Origin of Mountains, he takes great pains in his Defence, pag. 97, 98, 99, 100, 101. and attempts to do it by help of a Distinction, dividing Mountains into Maritime and Inland. Now ’tis true, says he, These maritime Mountains, and such as were made with the Hollow of the Sea, must rise when that was sunk or deprest; namely, the third Day. Yet inland ones, he says, might be raised some earlier, and some later, and by the Influence of the Sun. This is a weak and vain Attempt to defend his Notion; for, betides that this Distinction of maritime and inland Mountains, as arising from different Causes, and at different Times, is without any Ground, either in Scripture or Reason, if their different Origin was admitted, the Sun’s extracting these inland Mountains out of the Earth, would still be absurd and incongruous upon other Accounts.

Scripture, I say, makes no such Distinction of Mountains, made at different Times, and from different Causes. This is plain, seeing Moses does not mention Mountains at all in his six Days Creation, nor any where else, till the Deluge: What Authority have we then to make this Distinction; or to suppose that all the great Mountains of the Earth were not made together? Besides, what length of Time would you require, for the Production of these inland Mountains? Were they not all made within the six Days Creation? Hear what Moses says at the end of the sixth Day. Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished, and all the Host of them, Gen. c. xxi. And on the seventh Day, God ended his Work which he had made. Now if the Exceptor says, that the Mountains were all made within these six Days, we will not stand with him for a Day or two; for that would make little Difference as to the Action of the Sun. But if he will not confine their Production to Moses’s six Days, how does he keep to the Mosaical Hypothesis? Or how shall we know where he will stop in his own Way? For if they were not made within the six Days, for any thing he knows, they might not be made till the Deluge; seeing Scripture no where mentions Mountains before the Flood.

And as Scripture makes no Distinction of maritime and inland Mountain, so neither hath this Distinction any Foundation in Nature or Reason: For there is no apparent or discernable Difference betwixt maritime and inland Mountains, nor any Reason why they should be thought to proceed from different Causes, or to be rais’d at different Times. The maritime Mountains are as rocky, as ruderous, and as irregular and various in their Shape and Posture, as the inland Mountains. They have no distinctive Characters, nor any different Properties, internal or external, in their Matter, Form, or Composition, that can give us any Ground to believe, that they came from a different Original. So that this Distinction is merely precarious, neither founded in Scripture nor Reason, but made for the nonce to serve a Turn.

Besides, what Bounds will you give to these maritime Mountains? Are they distinguished from inland Mountains barely by their Distance from the Sea, or by some other Character? If barely by Distance, tell us then how far from the Sea do the maritime Mountains reach, and where do the inland begin, and how shall we know the Terminalis Lapis? Especially in a continued Chain of Mountains, that reach from the Sea many hundreds of Miles, inland; as the Alps from the Ocean to Pontus Euxinus, and Taurus, as he says, Def. p. 143. fifteen hundred Miles in length, from the Chinese Ocean to the Sea of Pamphylia. In such an uninterrupted Ridge of Mountains, where do the Land-Mountains end, and Sea-Mountains begin? Or what Mark is there, whereby we may know that they are not all of the same Race, or do not all spring from the same Original? Such obvious Enquiries as these, shew sufficiently, that the Distinction is merely arbitrary and ficticious.

But suppose this Distinction was admitted, and the maritime Mountains made the third Day, but inland Mountains I know not when: The great Difficulty still remains, How the Sun rear’d up these inland Mountain’s afterward? Or if his Power be sufficient for such Effects, why have we not Mountains made still to this Day? Seeing our Mountain-maker, the Sun, is still in the Firmament, and seems to be as busy at Work as ever. The Defender hath made some Answer to this Question, in these Words, Def. p. 99. The Question is put, why have we no Mountains made now? It might as well have been ask’d, says he, Why does not the Fire make a Dough-bak’d Loaf swell and puff up? And, he says, this Answer must be satisfactory to the Question propounded. It must be, that is, for want of a better; for otherwise this Dough-comparison is unsatisfactory upon many Accounts. First, there was no Ferment in the Earth, as in this Dough-cake: at least it is not prov’d, or made appear, that there was any. Nay, when this Hypothesis was propos’d, there was no Mention at all made of any Ferment or Leaven in the Earth; but the Effect was wholly imputed to Venus and the Sun. But to supply their Defects, he now ventures to add the Word, fermentive, as he calls it. A fermentive, flatulent Principle, which heav’d up the Earth, as Leaven does Dough. But, besides, that this is a mere groundless and gross Postulatum, to suppose any such Leaven in the Earth; if there had been such a Principle, it would have swollen the whole Mass uniformly, heav’d up the exterior Region of the Earth every where, and so not made Mountains, but a swollen bloated Globe.

This, Sir, is a second Passage, which I thought might make the Defender uneasy. We proceed now to a third and fourth in his Geography and Astronomy. In the 14th Chapter of his Exceptions, p. 289. speaking of the Change of the Situation of the Earth, from a right Posture to an oblique, he says, according to the Theory, the Ecliptick in the primitive Earth, was its Equinoctial now. This, he is told by the Answer, is a great Mistake; namely, to think that the Earth, when it chang’d its Situation, chang’d its Poles and Circles. What is now reply’d to this? He speaks against a Change, says the Defence, in the Poles and Circles of the Earth; a needless Trouble, and occasioned by his own Oversight. For had he but looked into the Errata’s, he might have seen there, that these Parentheses, upon which he grounded what he says, should have been left out. So this is acknowledg’d an Erratum it seems, but an Erratum Typographicum; not in the Sense, but only in the Parentheses, which, he says, should have been left out. Let us then lay aside the Parentheses, and the Sentence stands thus: For under the Ecliptick, which in the primitive Situation of the Earth, according to the Theory, was its Equinoctial, and divided the Globe into two Hemispheres, as the Equator does now. The dry Ground, &c. How does this alter or mend the Sense? Is it not still as plainly affirm’d, as before, that according to the Theory, the Ecliptick in the primitive Earth was equinoctial? And the same thing is suppos’d throughout all this Paragraph, Exc. p. 289, 290. And if he will own the Truth, and give Things their proper Name, ’tis downright Ignorance, or gross Mistake in the Doctrine of the Sphere, which he would first father upon the Theory, and then upon the Parentheses.

And this leads me to a fourth Passage, much-what of the same Nature, where he would have the Earth to have been translated out of the Æquator into the Ecliptick, and to have chang’d the Line of its Motion about the Sun, when it chang’d its Situation. His Words are these, Exc. p. 158, 159. So that in her annual Motion about the Sun, she, namely the Earth, before her Change of Situation, was carried directly under the Equinoctial. This is his Mistake; the Earth mov’d in the Ecliptick, both before and after her Change of Situation; for the Change was not made in the Circle of her Motion about the Sun, but in her Posture or Inclination in the same Circle: Whereas he supposes that she shifted both Posture, and also her Circuit about the Sun, Ibid. p. 159. as his Words are in the next Paragraph. But we shall have Occasion to reflect upon this again in its proper Place. We proceed now to another astronomical Mistake.

A fifth Passage, which probably might disquiet him, is his false Argumentation at the end of the eighth Chapter concerning Days and Months, Exc. p. 187. He says there, if the natural Days were longer towards the Flood than at first, (which no body however affirms) fewer than thirty would have made a Month; whereas the Duration of the Flood is computed by Months, consisting of thirty Days a-piece; Therefore, says he, they were no longer than ordinary. This Argumentation the Answer told him, was a mere Paralogism, or a mere Blunder: For thirty Days are thirty Days, whether they are longer or shorter; and Scripture does not determine the Length of the Days. There are several Pages spent in the Defence, to get off the Blunder: Let’s hear how he begins, p. 78, 79, 80, 81. Tho’ Scripture does not limit or account for the Length of Days expresly, yet it does it implicitly, and withal very plainly and intelligibly. This is deny’d: And if he makes this out, that Scripture does very plainly and intelligibly determine the Length of Days at the Deluge, and makes them equal with ours at present, then, I acknowledge, he hath remov’d the Blunder; otherwise it stands the same, unmov’d and unmended. Now observe how he makes this out: For, says he, Scripture gives us to understand, that Days before the Flood, were of the same Length, that they are of now, BY INFORMING US, that Months and Years, which were of the same Length then that they are of at present, were made up of the same Number of Days. Here the Blunder is still continued, or, at best, it is but transferr’d from Days to Months, or from Months to Years. He says, Scripture informs us that Months and Years were of the same Length then, that they are of at present. If he mean by the same Length, the same Number of Days, he relapses into the old Blunder, and we still require the Length of those Days. But if Scripture informs us that the Months and Years at the Flood, were of the same Length that they are of now, according to any absolute and known Measure, distinct from the Number of Days, then the Blunder is sav’d. Let’s see therefore by whether of these two Ways he proves it in the next Words, which are these: For how could there be just twelve Months in the Year, at the time of the Deluge; and thirty Days in each of those Months, if the Days then had not consisted, as they do now, of twenty four Hours a-piece? We allow a Day might then consist of twenty four Hours, if the Distinction of Hours was so ancient. But what then? the Question returns concerning the Length of those Hours, as it was before concerning the Length of the Days; and this is either idem per idem, or the same Error in another Instance. If you put but Hours in the place of Days, the Words of the Answer have still the same Force: Twenty four Hours were to go to a Day, whether the Hours were longer or shorter, and Scripture does not determine the Length of the Hours. This, you see, is still the same Case, and the same Paralogism hangs upon both Instances.

But he goes on still in this false Tract, in these Words: And as Providence hath so ordered Nature, that Days (that depend upon its diurnal Motion) should be measur’d by Circumgyrations of the Earth——So it hath taken Care that each of these Circumrotations should be performed in twenty four Hours; and consequently that every Day should be just so long, that thirty of them (in way of round reckoning) might complete a Month. Admit all this, that thirty Days complete a Month; still if Scripture hath not determin’d the Length of those Days, nor the Slowness or Swiftness of the Circumgyrations that make them, it hath not determin’d the Length of those Months, nor of the Years that depend upon them. This one would take to be very intelligible; yet he goes on in the same Maze, thus: But now had the Circumgyrations of the Earth grown more slow towards the Deluge (by such Causes as the Exceptor suggested) so as every Day had consisted of thirty Hours, &c. But how so, I pray? This is a wild Step; why thirty Hours? Where does Scripture say so, or where does the Theorist say so? We say the Day consisted then, as now, of twenty four Hours, whether the Hours were longer or shorter; and that Scripture hath not determin’d the Length of those Hours, nor consequently of those Months, nor consequently of those Years. So after all this ado, we are just where we were at first, namely, that Scripture not having determin’d the absolute Length of any one, you cannot by that determine the Length of any other. And by his shifting and multiplying Instances, he does but absurda absurdis accumulare, ne perpluant.

We offer’d before, in our Answer, to give the Exceptor some Light into his Mistake, by distinguishing in these Things, what is absolute from what is relative: The former whereof cannot, under these or any such like Circumstances, be determin’d by the latter. For Instance: A Man hath ten Children, and he will not say absolutely and determinatively what Portion he will give with any one of them; but he says, I will give my eldest Child a tenth Part more than my second; and my second a ninth Part more than my third; and my third an eighth Part more than my fourth; and so downwards, in proportion to the youngest: Not telling you, in any absolute Sum, what Money he will give the youngest, or any other; you cannot, by this, tell what Portion the Man will give with any of his Children. I leave you to apply this, and proceed to a nearer Instance, by comparing the Measures of Time and Longitude. If you know how many Inches make a Foot, how many Feet a Pace, how many Paces a Mile, &c. you cannot by these Numbers determine the absolute Quantity of any one of the aforesaid Measures, but only their relative Quantity as to one another. So if Scripture had determin’d, of how many Hours a Day consisted; of how many Days a Month; of how many Months a Year; you could not by this alone determine the absolute Duration or Quantity of any one of these, nor whether they were longer or shorter than our present Hours, Days, Months, or Years. And therefore, I say still, as I said at first, thirty Days are thirty Days, whether they are longer or shorter; and thirty Circumgyrations of the Earth are thirty, whether they be slower or swifter: And that no Scripture-Proof can be made from this, either directly or consequentially, that the Days before the Flood were, or were not, longer than they are at present. But we have been too long upon this Head.

We proceed now from his Astronomy to his Philosophy. ’Twas observ’d in the Answer, p. 38. that the Exceptor in the Beginning of the ninth Chapter, suppos’d terrestrial Bodies to have Nitency inwards, or downwards, towards the Center. This was noted as a false Principle in Philosophy, and to rectify his Mistake, he now replies, Def. p. 82. That he understood that Expression only of self-central and quiescent Bodies: Whereas, in truth, the Question he was speaking to, was about a fluid Body turning upon its Axis. But however, let us admit his new Sense, his Principle, I’m afraid, will still need Rectification; namely, he affirms now, that quiescent earthly Bodies are impregnated with a Nitency inward, or downward towards the Center. I deny also this reform’d Principle; if Bodies be turn’d round, they have a Nitency upwards, or from the Center of their Motion. If they be not turn’d round, nor mov’d, but quiescent, they have no Nitency at all, neither upwards nor downwards, but are indifferent to all Lines of Motion, according as an external Impulse shall carry them, this Way or that Way. So that his Impregnation with a Nitency downwards, is an occult and fictitious Quality, which is not in the Nature of Bodies, whether in Motion or in Rest. The Truth is, the Author of the Exceptions makes a great Flutter about the Cartesian Philosophy, and the Copernican System, but the frequent Mistakes he commits in both, give a just Suspicion that he understands neither.

Lastly, we come to the grand Discovery of a fifteen-cubit Deluge, which, it may be, was as uneasy to him upon second Thoughts, as any of the rest; at least one would guess so, by the Changes he hath made in his Hypothesis. For he hath now, in this Defence, p. 181, 182. reduc’d the Deluge to a Destruction of the World by Famine, rather than by Drowning. I do not remember in Scripture any Mention made of Famine in that great Judgment of Water brought upon Mankind; but he thinks he hath found out something that favours his Opinion; namely, that a good Part of Mankind at the Deluge, were not drown’d, but starv’d for want of Victuals. And the Argument is this, because in the Story of the Deluge, Men are not said to be drown’d, but to perish, die, or be destroy’d. But are they said any where in the Story of the Deluge, to have been famish’d? And when God says to Noah, Gen. vi. 17. I will bring a Flood of Waters upon the Earth, to destroy all Flesh; does it not plainly signify, that that Destruction should be by drowning? But however, let us hear our Author; when he had been making use of this new Hypothesis of starving, to take off some Arguments urged against his fifteen-cubit Deluge, (particularly, that it would not be sufficient to destroy all Mankind) he adds these Words by way of Proof: Def. p. 182. And methinks there is one Thing which seems to insinuate, that a good Part of the animal World might perhaps came to an End thus; by being driven to such Straights by the overflowing Waters, as to be FAMISH’D or STARV’D to Death. The Thing is this, in the Story of the Deluge, it is no where said of Men and living Creatures, that they were drown’d, but they died, or were destroyed. Those that are drown’d are destroy’d, I imagine, as well as those that are starv’d; so this proves nothing. But that the Destruction here spoken of, was by drowning, seems plain enough, both from God’s Word to Noah before the Flood, and by his Words after the Flood, when he makes his Covenant with Noah, in this Manner: I will establish my Covenant with you, neither shall all Flesh be cut off any more by the Waters of a Flood, Gen. ix. 11. Now, to be cut off, or destroy’d by the Waters of a Flood, is, methinks, to be drown’d; And I take all Flesh to comprehend the animal World, or, at least, all Mankind. Accordingly our Saviour says, Matth. xxiv. 39. in Noah’s Time, the Flood came and took them all away; namely, all Mankind.

This is one Expedient our Author hath found out, to help to bear off the Inconveniencies that attend his fifteen-cubit Deluge; namely, by converting a good Part of it into a Famine. But he hath another Expedient to join to this, by increasing the Waters; and that is done by making the common Surface of the Earth, or the highest Parts of it, as he calls them, Def. 165 and 180, to signify ambiguously, or any Height that pleases him; and consequently fifteen Cubits above that, signifies also what Height he thinks fit. But in reality, there is no Surface common to the Earth, but either the exterior Surface, whether it be high or low; or the ordinary Level of the Earth, as it is a Globe or Convex Body. If by his common Surface he mean the exterior Surface, that takes in Mountains as well as Lowlands, or any other superficial Parts of the Earth. And therefore, if the Deluge was fifteen Cubits above this common Surface, it was fifteen Cubits above the highest Mountains, as we say it was. But, if by the common Surface he mean the common Level of the Earth, as it is a Globular or Convex Body, then we gave it a right Name, when we call’d it the ordinary Level of the Earth; namely, that Level or Surface that lies in an equal Convexity with the Surface of the Sea: And his fifteen Cubits of Water from that Level, would never drown the World. Lastly, if by the common Surface of the Earth, he understand a third Surface, different from both these, he must define it, and define the Height of it; that we may know how far this fifteen-cubit Deluge rise, from some known Basis. One known Basis is the Surface of the Sea, and that Surface of the Land that ties in an equal Convexity with it: Tell us then, if the Waters of the Deluge were but fifteen Cubits higher than the Surface of the Sea, that we may know their Height by some certain and determinate Measure; and upon that examine the Hypothesis: But tell us they were fifteen Cubits above, not the Mountains or the Hills, but the Highlands, or the highest Parts of the common Surface of the Earth, and not to tell us the Height of these highest Parts from any known Basis; nor how they are distinguish’d from Hills and Mountains, which incur our Senses, and are the Measures given us by Moses: This, I say, is but to cover his Hypothesis with Ambiguities, when he had made it without Grounds, and to leave room to set his Water-Mark higher or lower, as he should see Occasion or Necessity. And of this indeed we have an Instance in his last Pamphlet; for he has rais’d his Water-Mark there, more than an hundred Cubits higher than it was before. In his Exceptions, he said, p. 300. not that the Waters were no where higher than just fifteen Cubits above the Ground, they might in most Places be thirty, forty, or fifty Cubits higher. But, in his Defence, he says, p. 180. the Waters might be an hundred or two hundred Cubits higher than the general ordinary Plain of the Earth. Now what Security have we, but that, in the next Pamphlet they may be five hundred or a thousand Cubits higher than the ordinary Surface of the Earth?

This is his second Expedient, raising his Water-Mark indefinitely. But if these two Methods be not sufficient to destroy Mankind, and the animate World, he hath yet a third, which cannot fail; and that is, destroying them by evil Angels, Def. p. 90. Flectere si nequeo—This is his last Refuge; to which Purpose he hath these Words, When Heaven was pleas’d to give Satan leave, he caus’d the Fire to consume Job’s Sheep, and caused the Wind to destroy his Children. And how easily could these Spirits, that are Ministers of God’s Vengeance, have made the Waters of the Flood fatal to those Creatures that might have escaped them, if any could have done it? As suppose an Eagle, or a Faulcon; the Devil and his Crew catch them all, and held their Noses under Water: However, methinks, this is not fair Play to deny the Theorist the Liberty to make use of the Ministry of good Angels, when he himself makes use of evil Spirits.

These, Sir, and such like Passages, where the Notions of the Exceptor have been exposed, were the Causes, I imagine, of his angry Reply. Some Creatures, you know, are more fierce after they are wounded; and some, upon a gentle Chase, will fly from you; but if you press them, and put them to Extremities, they turn, and fly in your face. I see, by our Author’s Example, how easily, in these personal Altercations, Reasoning degenerates into Wrangling, and Wrangling into Scolding. However, if I may judge from these two Hypotheses which he hath made, about the Rise of Mountains, and a fifteen-Cubit Deluge, of all Trades, I should never advise him to turn Hypothesis-Maker. It does not seem at all to lie to his Hand; and Things never thrive that are undertaken, Diis iratis, Genioque sinistro.

But as we have given you some Account of this Author’s philosophical Notions, so it may be you will expect that we should entertain you with some Pieces of his Wit and Eloquence. The Truth is, he seems to delight and value himself upon a certain kind of Country-Wit and popular Eloquence, and I will not grudge you the Pleasure of enjoying them both, in such Instances as I remember. Speaking in Contempt of the Theory and the Answer, (which is one great Subject of his Wit) he expresses himself thus, Def. p. 48. But if Arguments be so weak, that they will fall with a Phillip, why should greater Force be used to beat them down? To draw a Rapier to stab a Fly, or to charge a Pistol to kill a Spider, I think would be preposterous. I think so too; in this we are agreed. In another Place, being angry with the Theorist, that he would not acknowledge his Errors to him, he hath these Words, p. 128. ’Tis unlucky for one to rest his Head against a Post; but when he hath done, if he will say he did not do it, and stand in, and defend what he says, ’tis a Sign he is as senseless as he was unfortunate, and is fitter to be pitied than confuted. This Wit, it may be, you’ll say is downright Clownery. The Truth is, when I observ’d, in reading his Pamphlet, the Coarseness of his Repartees, and of that sort of Wit wherein he deals most, and pleases himself, it often rais’d in my Mind, whether I would or no, the Idea of a Pedant, of one that had seen little of the World, and thought himself much wittier and wiser than others would take him to be: I will give you but one Instance more of his rustical Wit. Telling the Theorist of an Itch of Writing, p. 214. Methinks, says he, he might have laid that prurient Humour, by scratching himself with the Briars of a more innocent Controversy, or by SCRUBBING SOUNDLY against something else than the Holy Scripture. He speaks very sensibly, as if he understood the Disease, and the Way of dealing with it: But I think Holy Scripture does not come in well upon that Occasion.

All this is nothing, Sir, in comparison of his popular Eloquence: See with what Alacrity he runs it off-hand, in a Similitude betwixt Adam and a Lord Lieutenant of a County, p. 113. When the King makes a Gentleman Lord Lieutenant of a County, by virtue of his Commission is he presently the strongest Man that is in it? Does it enable him to encounter whole Regiments of Soldiers in his single Person? Does it impower him to carry a Cannon upon his Neck? Or when the great Gun is fired off, to catch the Bullet as it flies, and put it up in his Pocket? So when God gave Adam Dominion over the Fowls, did he mean that he should dive like a Duck, or soar like a Falcon? That he should swim as naturally as the Swan, and hunt the Kite or Hobby, as Boys do the Wren? Did he mean that he should hang up Ostriches in a Cage, as People do Linnets, or fetch down the Eagles to feed with his Pullen, and make them perch with his Chickens in the Henroost?

So much for the Fowls; now for the Fish. Ibid. When God gave Adam Dominion over the Sea, was he to be able to dwell at the Bottom, or to walk on the Top of it? To drain it as a Ditch, or to take all its Fry at once in a Drag-Net? Was he to snare the Shark, as we do young Pickarels; or to bridle the Sea-Horse, and ride him for a Pad; or to put a Slip upon the Crocodile’s Neck, and play with him as with a Dog? &c. Sir, I leave it to you, as a more competent Judge, to set a just Value upon his Gifts and Elocution. For my Part, to speak freely, dull Sense, in a phantastick Style, is to me doubly nauseous.

But lest I should cloy you with these luscious Harangues, I will give you but one more; and ’tis a Miscellany of several Pieces of Wit together. Def. p. 68. Should twenty Mariners, says he, confidently affirm that they sailed in a Ship from Dover to Calais, by a brisk Gale out of a Pair of Bellows? Or if forty Engineers should positively swear, that the Powder-Mill near London was late blown up, by a Mine then sprung at Great Waradin in Hungary, must they not be grievously perjur’d Persons?——Or if the Historian that writes the Peloponnesian War, had told that the Soldiers who fell in it, fought only with Sun-beams, and single Currants which grew thereabouts, and that hundreds and thousands were stabb’d with the one, and knocked on the Head with the other; who would believe that ever there were such Weapons in that War, that ever there was such a fatal War in that Country? Even so, &c. These, Sir, are Flights and Reaches of his Pen, which I dare not censure, but leave them to your Judgment.

Thus much is to give you a Taste only of his Wit and Eloquence; and if you like it, you may find more of the same Strain, here and there, in his Writings. I have only one Thing to mind him of, that he was desired by the Theorist, Eng. Theor. p. 401. to write in Latin (if he was a Scholar) as being more proper for a Subject of this Nature. If he had own’d and follow’d that Character, I’m apt to think it would have prevented a great many Impertinences: His Tongue, probably, would not have been so flippant in popular Excursions and Declamations, as we now find it. Neither is this any great Presumption or Rashness of Judgment, if we may guess at his Skill in that Language by his Translations here and there: Except, p. 293. Cum plurima Religione is rendered with the Principle of their Religion. And if he say he followed Sir W. Rawleigh in his Translation, he that follows a bad Translator, without Correction or Notice, is suppos’d to know no better himself: And this will appear the more probable, if we consider another of his Translations, in this present Work. Rei Personam he translates the Representation of the Thing, instead of the Person of the Guilty, or the Person of him that is Reus not Actor: And in this, I dare say, he was seduc’d by no Example. But lest we should be thought to misrepresent him, take his own Words, such as they are, Def. 168, 169. Yea, tho’ it was spoken never so positively, it was but to set forth REI PERSONAM, to make the more full and lively Representation of the supposed Thing. Here, you see, he hath made a double Blunder; first, in jumbling together Person and Thing; then, if they could be jumbled together, Rei Persona would not signify the full and lively Representation of the Thing, but rather a Disguise or personated Representation of the Thing. However, I am satisfied from these Instances, that he had good Reason, notwithstanding the Caution or Desire of the Theorist to the contrary, to write his Books in his Mother’s Tongue.

Thus we have done with the first Part, which was to mark out such Passages, as we thought might probably have enflam’d the Author’s Style in this Reply: When Men are resolved not to own their Faults, you know there is nothing more uneasy and vexatious to them, than to see them plainly discovered and expos’d. We must now give you some Account of the Contents of his Chapters, so far as they relate to our Subject. Chap. i. Nothing. Chap. II. is against extraordinary Providence; or that the Theorist should not be permitted to have Recourse to it upon any Occasion. This Recourse to extraordinary Providence being frequently objected in other Places, and of use to be distinctly understood; we will speak of it apart at the latter end of the Letter. Chap. III. is about the Moon’s hindring the Formation of the Earth before she was formed herself, or in our Neighbourhood, as we have noted before. Another Thing in this Chapter, is, his urging oily or oleaginous Particles not to have been in the Chaos, but made since: I’ll give a short Answer to this; either there was or was not oleaginous Matter in the new-made Earth, (I mean in its superficial Region,) when it came first out of a Chaos? If there was, there was also in the Chaos, out of which that Earth was immediately made: And if there was no oleaginous Matter in the new-made Earth, how came the Soil to be so fertile, so fat, so unctuous? I say not only fertile, but particularly fat and unctuous: For he uses these very Words frequently in the Description of that Soil, Exc. p. 211. Def. p. 69, and p. 98. And all fat and unctuous Liquors are oleaginous; and accordingly we have used those Words promiscuously, in the Description of that Region: (Eng. Theor. Chap. V.) understanding only such unctuous Liquors as are lighter than Water, and swim above it, and consequently would stop and entangle the terrestrial Particles in their Fall or Descent: And seeing such unctuous and oleaginous Particles were in the new-made Earth, they must certainly have been in the Matter out of which it was immediately formed, namely, in the Chaos. All the rest of this Chapter we are willing to leave in its full Force; apprehending the Theory, or the Answer, to be in no Danger from such Argumentations or Reflections.

The fourth Chapter is very short, and hath nothing argumentative. The fifth Chapter is concerning the Cold in the circumpolar Parts, which was spoken to in the Answer sufficiently, and we stand to that: What is added about extraordinary Providence, will be treated of in its proper Place. The sixth Chapter is also short, against this Particular, that it is not safe to argue upon Suppositions actually false. And I think there needs no more to prove it, than what was said in the Answer. Chap. VII. is chiefly about Texts of Scripture, concerning which I see no Occasion of saying any more than what is said in the Review of the Theory. He says, (p. 49.) that the Theorist catches himself in a Trap, by allowing that Ps. xxxiii. 7. is to be understood of the ordinary Posture of the Waters, and yet applying it to their extraordinary Posture under the Vault of the Earth: But that was not an extraordinary Posture according to the Theorist, but their natural Posture in the first Earth: Yet I allow the Expression might have been better thus, in a level or spherical Convexity, as the Earth. He interprets גן יהוה (p. 53.) which we render the Garden of the Lord, Gen. xiii. x. not to be Paradise, but any pleasant Garden; yet gives us no Authority either of ancient Commentator or Version, for this novel and paradoxical Interpretation. The Septuagint render it παράδεισος τοῦ θεοῦ: The Vulgate, Paradisus Domini, and all ancient Versions that I have seen, render it to the same Sense. Does he expect then that his single Word and Authority should countervail all the ancient Translators and Interpreters? To the last Place alledged by the Theorist, Prov. viii. 28. he says, the Answerer charges him unjustly, that he understands by that Word חון no more than the Rotundity or spherical Figure of the Abyss; which, he says, is a Point of Nonsense: I did not think the Charge had been so high however, seeing some Interpreters understand in so: But if he understand by תונ the Banks or Shores of the sea, then he should have told us how those Banks or Shores are על פבי תהום super faciem Abissi, as it is in the Text.

Page 59. He says the Exceptor does not misrepresent the Theorist when he makes him to affirm the Construction of the first Earth to have been merely mechanical; and he cites to this purpose two Places, which only prove, that the Theorist made use of no other Causes, nor see any Defect in them; but never affirm’d that these were the only Causes. You may see his Words to this purpose expressly, Eng. Theor. p. 88. whereof the Exceptor was minded in the Answer, p. 3. In the last Paragraph of this Chapter, p. 60. if he affirms any Thing, he will have the Pillars of the Earth to be understood literally. Where then, pray, do these Pillars stand that bear up the Earth? Or if they bear up the Earth, what bears them up? What are their Pedestals, or their Foundations? But he says Hypotheses must not regulate Scripture, though in natural Things, but be regulated by it, and the by the Letter of it: I would gladly know then, how his Hypothesis of the Motion of the Earth, is regulated by Scripture, and by the Letter of it? And he unhappily gives an Instance, just contrary to himself, namely, of the Anthropomorphites; for they regulate natural Reason and Philosophy, by the Letter or literal Sense of Scripture, and therein fall into a gross Error: Yet we must not call the Author injudicious, for fear of giving Offence.

The eighth Chapter, ibid. begins with the Earth’s being carried directly under the Equinoctial, before its Change of Situation; without any manner of Obliquity in her Site, or Declination towards either of the Tropicks in HER COURSE. Here you see, when the Earth changed its Situation, it chang’d according to his Astronomy, two Things; its Site, and its Course; its Site upon its Axis, and its Course in the Heavens: and so he says again in the next Paragraph, Put the Case the Earth shift her Posture, and also her Circuit about the Sun, in which the persisted till the Deluge. Here is plainly the same Notion repeated; that the Earth changed not only its Site, but also its Road or Course about the Sun: And in consequence of this, he supposes its Course formerly to have been under the Equinoctial, and now under the Ecliptick; it being translated out of the one into the other, at its Change. Yet he seems now to be sensible of the Absurdity of this Doctrine, and therefore will not own it to have been his Sense; and as an Argument that he meant otherwise, he alledges, that he declared before, that by the Earth’s right Situation to the Sun, is meant that the Axis of the Earth was always kept in a Parallelism to that of the Ecliptick, p. 61. But what’s this to the Purpose? This speaks only of the Site of the Earth, whereas his Error was is supposing its Course or Annual Orbit about the Sun, as well as its Site upon its own Axis, to have been different, and changed at the Deluge; as his Words already produced against him, plainly testify.

What follows in this Chapter, is concerning the perpetual Equinox: And as to the reasoning Part of what he says in Defence of his Exceptions, we do not grudge him the Benefit of it, let it do him what Service it can. And as to the historical Part, he will not allow a Witness to be a good Witness, as to Matter of Fact, if he did not assign true Causes of that Matter of Fact. To which I only reply, tho’ Tiverton Steeple was not the Cause of Goodwin Sands, as the Kentish Men thought, yet their Testimony was so far good, that there were such Sands, and such a Steeple. He also commits an Error as to the Nature of Tradition: When a Tradition is to be made out, it is not expected that it should be made appear that none were ignorant of that Tradition in former Ages; or that all that mentioned it, understood the true Grounds and Extent of it; but is is enough to shew the plain Footsteps of it in Antiquity, as a Conclusion, tho’ they did not know the Reasons and Premisses upon which it depended. For Instance, the Conflagration of the World is a Doctrine of Antiquity, traditionally deliver’d from Age to Age; but the Causes and Manner of the Conflagration, they either did not know, or have nor deliver’d to us. In like manner, the first Age and State of the World was without Change of Seasons, or under a perpetual Equinox: Of this we see many Footsteps in Antiquity, amongst the Jews, Christians, Heathens, Poets, Philosophers; but the Theory of this perpetual Equinox, the Causes and Manner of it, we neither find, nor can reasonably expect, from the Antients: So much for the Equinox.

This Chapter, as it begun with an Error, so it unhappily ends with a Paralogism; namely, that, because thirty Days made a Month at the Deluge, therefore those Days were neither longer nor shorter than ours are at present. Tho’ we have sufficiently exposed this before, yet one thing more may be added, in answer to his confident Conclusion, in these Words: But to talk, as the Answerer does, that the Month should be lengthened by the Days being so, is a fearful Blunder indeed: For let the Days (by slackening the Earth’s diurnal Motion) have been never so long, yet (its Annual Motion continuing the same) the Month must needs have kept its usual Length, only fewer Days would have made it up. ’Tis not usual for a Man to persevere so confidently in the same Error, as if the Intervals of Time, Hours, Days, Months, Years, could not be proportionably increas’d, so as to contain one another in the same Proportion they did before, and yet be every one increas’d as to absolute Duration. Take a Clock, for Instance, that goes too slow; the Circuit of the Dial-plate is twelve Hours, let these represent the twelve Signs in his Zodiack, and the Hand to be the Earth that goes through them all; and consequently, the whole Circuit of the Dial-plate represents the Year. Suppose, as we said, this Clock to go too slow, this will not hinder, but still fifteen Minutes make a Quarter in this Clock, four Quarters make an Hour, and twelve Hours the whole Circuit of the Dial-plate: But every one of these Intervals will contain more Time than it did before, according to absolute Duration, or according to the Measures of another Clock that does not go too slow: This is the very Case which he cannot or will not comprehend, but concludes thus in Effect, that because the Hour consists still of four Quarters in this Clock, therefore it is no longer than ordinary.

The ninth Chapter also begins with a false Notion, that Bodies quiescent (as he hath now alter’d the Case) have a Nitency downwards: Which Mistake we rectified before, if he please. Then he proceeds to the oval Figure of the Earth, and many Flourishes and Harangues are made here to little purpose; for he goes on upon a false Supposition, that the Waters of the Chaos were made oval by the Weight or Gravitation of the Air; a Thing that never came into the Words or Thoughts of the Theorist. Yet upon this Supposition he runs into the Deserts of Bilebulgerid, Def. p. 85, 86. and the Waters of Mare del Zur; Words that make a great Noise, but to no Effect. If he had pleas’d he might have seen the Theorist made no Use of the Weight of the Air upon this Occasion, by the Instance he gave of the Pressure of the Moon, and the Flux of the Waters by that Pressure: Which is no more done by the Gravitation of the Air, than the Banks are prest in a swift Current and narrow Channel, by the Gravitation of the Water. But he says, rarified Air makes less Resistance than gross Air; and rarified Water in an Æolipile, it may be he thinks, presses with less Force than unrarified. Air possibly may be rarified to that Degree as to lessen its Resistance; but we speak of Air moderately agitated, so as to be made only more brisk and active. Moreover, he says, the Waters that lay under the Poles must have risen perpendicularly, and why might they not, as well have done so under the Equator? The Waters that lay naturally and originally under the Poles, did not rise at all; but the Waters became more deep there, by those that were thrust thither from the middle Parts of the Globe. Upon the whole, I do not perceive that he hath weaken’d any one of the Propositions upon which the Formation of an oval Earth depended; which were these: First, That the Tendency of the Waters from the Centre of this Motion, would be greater and stronger in the Equinoctial Parts, than in the Polar, or in those Parts where they moved in greater Circles; and consequently swifter, than in those where they were moved in lesser Circles and slower. Secondly, Agitated Air hath more Force to repel what presses against it than stagnant Air; and that the Air was more agitated and rarified under the Equinoctial Parts, than under the Poles. Thirdly, Waters hinder’d and repell’d in their primary Tendency, take the easiest way they can to free themselves from that Force, so as to persevere in their Motion. Lastly, To flow laterally upon a Plain, or to ascend upon an inclin’d Plain, is easier than to rise perpendicularly. These are the Propositions upon which that Discourse depended, and I do not find that he hath disprov’d any one of them. And this, Sir, is a short Account of a long Chapter, Impertinences omitted.

Chapter X. Is concerning the Original and Causes of Mountains, which the Exceptor unhappily imputes to the Heat and Influence of the Sun. Whether his Hypothesis be effectually confuted or not, I am very willing to stand to the Judgment of any unconcern’d Person, that will have the Patience to compare the Exceptions and the Answer, in this Chapter. Then, as to his Historical Arguments, as he calls them, to prove there were Mountains before the Flood, from Giants that saved themselves from the Flood upon Mount Sion, and Adam’s wandering several hundred of Years upon the Mountains of India: These, and such like, which he brought to prove that there were Mountains before the Flood, he now thinks fit to renounce, Def. p. 97. and says he had done so before by an anticipative Sentence: But if they were condemn’d before by an anticipative Sentence, as Fables and Forgeries, why were they stuff’d into his Book, and us’d as traditional Evidence against the Theory?

Lastly, He contends in this Chapter for Iron and Iron Tools before the Flood, and as early as the Time of Cain; because he built a City, which, he says, could not be built without Iron and Iron-Tools: To which it was answer’d, Ans. p. 49, 50. that, if he fancied that City of Cain’s, like Paris or London, he had Reason to believe that they had Iron-tools to make it: But suppose it was a Number of Cottages, made of Branches of Trees, of Osiers and Bulrushes; or, if you will, of Mud-Walls, and a Roof of Straw, with a Fence about it to keep out Beasts, there would be no such Necessity of Iron-Tools.

Consider, pray, how long the World was without knowing the Use of Iron, in several Parts of it, as in the Northern Countries and America, and yet they had Houses and Cities after their Fashion. And to come nearer Home, consider what Towns and Cities our Ancestors, the Britains, had in Cæsar’s Time, more than two thousand Years after the Time of Cain: Com. li. 5. Oppidum Britanni vacant, cum Sylvam impeditam vallo atque fossa munierant; quo incarsionis hostium nitandæ causa, convenire consueverunt: Why might not Henochia, Cain’s City, be such a City as this?

And as to the Ark, which he also would make a Proof that there were Iron and Iron-Tools before the Flood, Ibid. ’twas answer’d, that Scripture does not mention Iron or Iron-Tools in building of the Ark; but only Gopher-Wood and Pitch: To which re replies, Def. p. 103. If Scripture’s Silence concerning Things be a Ground of Presumption that they were not, what then shall we think of an oval and unmountainous Earth, an inclosed Abyss, a paradisaical World, and the like, which the Scripture makes no mention of? I cannot easily forbear calling this an injudicious Reflection, tho’ I know he hath been angry with that Word, and makes it a Brat of Passion’s. But I do assure him, I call it so coolly and calmly. When a Thing is deduc’d by natural Arguments and Reason, the Silence of Scripture is enough: if he can prove the Motion of the Earth by natural Arguments, and that Scripture is silent in that Point, we desire no better Proof. Now in all those Things which he mentions, an oval and unmountainous Earth, an inclosed Abyss, a paradisaical World, Scripture is at least silent; and therefore ’tis natural Arguments must determine these Cases: And this ill reasoning he is often guilty of, in making no Distinction betwixt Things that are, or that are not prov’d by natural Arguments, when he appeals to the Interpretation of Scripture.

Chap. XI. Is to prove an open Sea (such as we have now) before the Flood: All his Exceptions were answered before, Answ. c. 11. and I am content to stand to that Answer, reserving only what is to be said hereafter concerning the literal Sense of Scripture. However, he is too lavish in some Expressions here, as when he says, (p. 115.) That Adam died before so much as one Fish appeared in the World: And a little before he had said, p. 114. For Fishes, if his Hypothesis be believed, were never upon this Earth in Adam’s Time. These Expressions, I say, cannot be justified upon any Hypothesis: For why might not the Rivers of that Earth have Fish in them, as well as the Rivers of this Earth, or as our Rivers now? I’m sure the Theory, or the Hypothesis he mentions, never said any Thing to the contrary, but rather suppos’d the Waters fruitful, as the Ground was. But as to an open Sea, whether Side soever you take, that there was, or was not any before the Flood; I believe, however, Adam, to his dying Day, never saw either Sea or Sea-fish, nor ever exercis’d any Dominion over either.

Chap. XII. Is concerning the Rainbow, and hath no new Argument in it, nor Reinforcement: But a Question is moved, whether as well necessarily signifies as much. The real Question to be consider’d here, setting aside Pedantry, is this whether that Thing (Sun or Rainbow, or any other) could have any Significancy as a Sign, which signified no more than the bare Promise would have done without a Sign: This is more material to be consider’d and resolved, than whether as well and as much signify the same.

Chap. XIII. Is concerning Paradise, and to justify or excuse himself why he baulked all the Difficulties, and said nothing new or instructive upon that Subject: But he would make the Theorist inconsistent with himself in that he had said, Def. p. 125. that neither Scripture nor Reason determine the Place of Paradise; and yet determines it by the Judgment of Christian Fathers. Where’s the Inconsistency of this? The Theory, as a Theory, is not concerned in a Topical Paradise; and says moreover that neither Scripture, nor Reason, have determin’d the Place of it; but if we refer our selves to the Judgment and Tradition of the Fathers, and stand to the Majority of their Votes, (when Scripture and Reason are silent,) they have so far detetmin’d it, as to place it in the other Hemisphere, rather than in this, and so exclude that shallow Opinion of some Moderns, that would place it in Mesopotamia: And to baffle that Opinion was the Design of the Theorist, (as) this Author also seems to take notice, p. 131.

After this, and an undervaluing of the Testimonies of the Fathers, he undertakes to determine the Place of Paradise by Scripture, and particularly that it was in Mesopotamia, or some Region thereabouts. And his Argument is this, because in the last Verse of the third Chapter of Genesis, the Cherubims and flaming Sword are said to be plac’d מקדם לגן עדן, which he says is, to the East of the Garden of Eden. But the Septuagint (upon whom he must chiefly depend for the Interpretation of the Word מקדם in the first Place, Chap. ii. 8.) read it here ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδεῖσου τῆς τρυφῆς; And the Vulgate renders it, Ante Paradisum voluptatis; and according to the Samaritan Pentateuch, ’tis render’d ex adverso. Now, what better Authorities can he bring us for his Translation? I do not find that he gives any, as his usual Way is, but his own Authority. And as for the Word מקדם in the second Chapter and eighth Verse, which is the principal Place, ’tis well known, that except the Septuagint, all the antient Versions, Greek and Latin, (besides others) render it to another Sense: And there is a like Uncertainty of Translation in the Word עדן as we have noted elsewhere. Lastly, the Rivers of Paradise, and the Countries that are said to run through or encompass, are differently understood by different Authors, without any Agreement or certain Conclusion: But these are all beaten Subjects, which you may find in every Treatise of Paradise, and therefore ’tis not worth the Time to pursue them here.

Then he proceeds to the Longevity of the Ante-Deluvians, which, so far as I can understand him to affirm any Thing, he says, p. 139. was not general; but the Lives of some few were extraordinary, lengthen’d by a special Blessing; the Elongation being a Work of Providence, not of Nature. This is a cheap and vulgar Account, (and so are all the Contents of this Chapter) prov’d neither by Scripture, nor Reason, and calculated for the Humour and Capacity of those that love their Ease more than a diligent Enquiry after Truth. He hath indeed a bold Assertion afterwards, that Moses does distinguish as much, or more, betwixt two Races of Men before the Flood; the one Long-Livers, and the other Short-Livers; as he hath distinguish’d the Giants before the Flood, from the common Race of Mankind. These are his Words, p. 141. Is not his Distinction equally plain in both Cases? Speaking of this fore-mentioned Distinction: Or, if there be any Difference, does he not distinguish better betwixt Long-Livers, and Short-Livers, than he does betwixt Men of gigantick and of usual Proportion? Let’s see the Truth of this; Moses plainly made mention, Gen. vi. 4. of two Races of Mankind: The ordinary Race, and those of a gigantick Race, or Giants. Now, tell me where he plainly makes mention of Short-Livers before the Flood: And if he no where makes mention of Short-Livers, but of Long-Livers only, how does he distinguish as plainly of these two Races, as he did of the other two; for in the other he mentioned plainly and severally both the Parts or Members of the Distinction, and here he mentions but one, and makes no Distinction.

Then he comes to the Testimonies cited by Josephus for the Longevity of the Ante-Diluvians, or first Inhabitants of the Earth: And these he roundly pronounces to be utterly false. This Gentleman does not seem to be much skill’d in Antiquity, either sacred or prophane; and yet he boldly rejects these Testimonies (as he did those of the Fathers before) as utterly false, p. 142. which Josephus had alledged in Vindication of the History of Moses. The only Reason he gives is, because these Testimonies say, they liv’d a thousand Years; whereas Moses does not raise them altogether so high. But the Question was not so much concerning the precise Number of their Years, as about the Excess of them beyond the present Lives of Men, and a round Number in such Cases is often taken instead of a broken Number. Besides, seeing, according to the Account of Moses, the greater Part of them liv’d above nine hundred Years, at least he should not have said these Testimonies in Josephus were utterly false, but false in part, or not precisely true.

Now, he comes to his Reasons against the ante-diluvian Longevity, which have all had their Answers before, and those we stand to. But I wonder he should think it reasonable, p. 144, 145. that Mankind throughout all Ages, should increase in the same Proportion as in the first Age: And, if a decuple Proportion of Increase was reasonable at first, the same should be continued all along; and the Product of Mankind, after sixteen hundred Years, should be taken upon that Supposition. I should not grudge to admit that the first Pair of Breeders might leave ten Pair; but that every Pair of these ten should also leave ten Pair, without any Failure: and every Pair in their Children should again leave ten Pair; and this to be continued, without Diminution or Interruption, for sixteen hundred Years, is not only a hard Supposition, but utterly incredible. For still the greater the Number was, the more Room there would be for Accidents of all Sorts; and every Failure towards the Beginning, and proportionably in other Parts, would cut off Thousands in the last Product.

Chap. XIV. Is against the Dissolution of the Earth, and the Disruption of the Abyss at the Deluge, such as the Theory represents. Here is nothing of new Argument, but some Strokes of railing Wit, after his Way: He had said in his Exceptions, that the Dissolution of the Earth was horrid Blasphemy: Now he makes it reductive Blasphemy, as being indirectly, consequentially, or reductively, p. 153, 154. contrary to Scripture. By this Rule, we told him, all Errors in Religion would be Blasphemy; and if he extend this to Errors in Philosophy also, ’tis still more harsh and injudicious. I wonder how he thinks the Doctrine which he owns, about the Motion of the Earth, should escape the Charge of Blasphemy; that being not only indirectly, but directly and plainly contrary to Scripture. We thought that Expression, the Earth is dissolved, being a Scripture Expression, would thereby have been protected from the Imputation of Blasphemy, and we alledged to that Purpose, (besides Psal. lxxv. 3.) Isa. xxiv. 19. Amos ix. 5. He would have done well to have proved these Places in the Prophets Isaiah and Amos, to have been figurative and tropological, as he calls it; for we take them both to relate to the Dissolution of the Earth, which literally came to pass at the Deluge: And he not having proved the contrary, we are in Hopes still that the Dissolution of the Earth may not be horrid Blasphemy, nor of blasphemous Importance.

Then having quarrell’d with the Guard of Angels, which the Theorist had assign’d for the Preservation of the Ark, in the Time of the Deluge, he falls next into his Blunder, that the Equator and Ecliptick of the Earth were interchang’d, when the Situation of the Earth was chang’d. This Error in the Earth is Cousin-German to his former Error in the Heavens, viz. that the Earth chang’d its Tract about the Sun, and leap’d out of the Equator into the Ecliptick, when it chang’d its Situation. The Truth is, this Copernican System seems to lie cross in his Imagination: I think he would do better to let it alone. However, tho’ at other Times he is generally verbose and long-winded, he hath the Sense to pass this by in a few Words; laying the Blame upon certain Parentheses or Semicircles, whose Innocency not withstanding we have fully clear’d, and shew’d the Poison to be spread throughout the whole Paragraph, which is too great to be made an Erratum Typographicum.

Then after, p. 160, 161. Hermus, Caister, Menander and Caius; Nile and its Mud, Piscenius Niger, who contended with Septimus Severus for the Empire, and reprimanded his Soldiers for hankering after Wine; Du Val, an ingenious French Writer, and Cleopatra and her admired Anthony: He concludes, that the Waters of the Deluge raged amongst the Fragments, with lasting, incessant, and unimaginable Turbulence.

And so he comes to an Argument against the Dissolution of the Earth, p. 162. That, all the Buildings erected before the Flood, would have been shaken down at that Time, or else overwhelmed. He instanc’d in his Exceptions in Seth’s Pillars; Henochia, Cain’s City; and Joppa: These he suppos’d such Buildings as were made before, and stood after the Flood. But now, Seth’s Pillars and Henochia being dismiss’d, he insists upon Joppa only, and says, this must have consisted of such Materials, as could never be prepared, formed and set up, without Iron-Tools. Tho’ I do not much believe that Joppa was an ante-diluvian Town, yet whatever they had in Cain’s Time, they might, before the Deluge, have Mortar and Brick, which, as they are the first stony Materials, that we read of, for Building; so the Ruins of them might stand after the Deluge. And that they had no other Materials is the more probable, because after the Flood, at the Building of Babel, Moses plainly intimates that they had no other Materials than those. For the Text says, Gen. xi. 3. They said one to another, Go to, let us make Brick and burn them thoroughly; and they made Brick for Stone, and Slime had they for Mortar. But now this Argument, methinks, may be retorted upon the Exceptor with Advantage: For, if there were no Dissolutions, Concussions, or Absorptions, at the Deluge, instead of the Ruins of Joppa, methinks we might have had the Ruins of an hundred ante-diluvian Cities; especially, if, according to his Hypothesis, they had good Stone, and good Iron, and all other Materials, fit for strong and lasting Building: And, which is also to be consider’d, that it was but a fifteen-cubit Deluge; so that Towns built upon Eminences or high Lands, would be in little Danger of being ruin’d, much less of being abolish’d.

His last Argument, (p. 163.) proves, if it prove any Thing, that God’s Promise, that the World should not be drown’d again, was a vain and trifling Thing to us, who know it must be burn’d: And consequently, if Noah understood the Conflagration of the World, he makes it a vain and trifling Thing to Noah also. If the Exceptor delight in such Conclusions, let him enjoy them, but they are not at all to the Mind of the Theorist.

Chapter XV. Now we come to his new Hypothesis of a fifteen-cubit Deluge; and what Shifts he hath made to destroy the World with such a diminutive Flood, we have noted before: First, by raising his Water-Mark, and making it uncertain: Then by converting the Deluge, in a great Measure into a Famine: And, Lastly, by destroying Mankind and other Animals, with evil Angels. We shall now take notice of some other Incongruities in his Hypothesis. When he made Moses’s Deluge but fifteen Cubits deep, we said that was an unmerciful Paradox, and ask’d whether he would have it receiv’d as a Postulatum, or as a Conclusion. All he answers to this, is, that the same Question may be ask’d concerning several Parts of the Theory; p. 166. Particularly, that the primitive Earth had no open Sea. Whether is that, says he, to be receiv’d as a Postulatum, or as a Conclusion? The Answer is ready, as a Conclusion, deduced from Premisses, and a Series of antecedent Reasons. Now, can he make this Answer for his fifteen-cubit Deluge? Must not that still be a Postulatum, and an unmerciful one? As to the Theory, there is but one Postulatum in all, viz. that the Earth rise from a Chaos. All the other Propositions are deduc’d from Premisses, and that one Postulatum also is prov’d by Scripture and Antiquity. We had noted further in the Answer, that the Author had said in his Exceptions, that he would not defend his Hypotheses as true and real; and we demanded thereupon, Why then did he trouble himself or the World with what he did not think true and real? To this he replies, Many have written ingenious and useful Things, which they never believ’d to be true and real. Romances suppose, and poetical Fictions: Will you have your fifteen-cubit Deluge pass for such? But then the Mischief is, where there is neither Truth of Fact, nor Ingenuity of Invention, such a Composition will hardly pass for a Romance, or a good Fiction. But there is still a greater Difficulty behind. The Exceptor hath unhappily said, Exc. p. 302. Our Supposition stands supported by Divine Authority, as being founded upon Scripture; which tells us as plainly as it can speak, that the Waters prevailed but fifteen Cubits upon the Earth. Upon which Words the Answerer made this Remark, Ans. p. 67. If his Hypothesis be founded upon Scripture, and upon Scripture as plainly as it can speak, why will he not defend it as TRUE and REAL? For to be supported by Scripture, and by plain Scripture, is as much as we can alledge for the Articles of our Faith. To this he replies now, Def. p. 168. that he begg’d Allowance at first, to make bold with Scripture a little: This is a bold Excuse, and he especially, one would think, should take heed how he makes bold with Scripture, lest, according to his own Notion, he fall into Blasphemy, or something of blasphemous Importance, indirectly, consequentially, or reductively, at least: However, this Excuse, if it was a good one, would take no Place here; for to understand and apply Scripture, in that Sense that it speaks as plainly as it can speak, is not to make bold with it, but modestly to follow its Dictates and plain Sense.

He feels this Load to lie heavy upon him, and struggles again to shake it off with a Distinction. When he said his fifteen-cubit Deluge was supported by Divine Authority, &c. this, he says, ibid. was spoken by him, in an hypothetick or suppositious Way, and that it cannot possibly be understood otherwise by Men of Sense. Here are two hard Words: Let us first understand what they signify, and then we shall better judge how Men of Sense would understand his Words. His hypothetick or suppositious Way, so far as I understand it, is the same Thing as by way of Supposition: Then his Meaning is, he supposes his fifteen-cubit Deluge is supported by Divine Authority; and he supposes it is founded upon Scripture, as plainly as it can speak: But this is to suppose the Question, and no Man of Sense would make or grant such a Supposition; so that I do not see what he gains by this hypothetick and suppositious Way. But to draw him out of this Mist of Words, either he affirms this, that his Hypothesis is supported by Divine Authority, and founded upon Scripture as plainly as it can speak, or he denies it, or he doubts of it: If he affirm it, then all his Excuses and Diminutions are to no purpose, he must stand to his Cause, and shew us those plain Texts of Scripture; if he deny it, he gives up his Cause, and all that Divine Authority he pretended to; if he doubt of it, then he should have express’d himself doubtfully: As, Scripture may admit of that Sense, or may be thought to intimate such a thing, but he says with a Plerophory, Scripture speaks it as plainly as it can speak: And to mend the Matter, he unluckily subjoins in the following Words, p. 168, 169. Yea, tho’ it was spoken never so positively, it was but to set forth REI PERSONAM: To make a more full and lively Representation of the supposed thing. He does well to tell us what he means by Rei Personam; for otherwise no Man of Sense, as his Phrase is, would ever have made that Translation of those Words. But the Truth is, he is so perfectly at a Loss how to bring himself off, as to this Particular, that in his Confusion, he neither makes good Sense nor good Latin.

Now he comes to another Inconsistency which was charg’d upon him by the Answerer: Namely, that he rejects the Church Hypothesis concerning the Deluge, and yet had said before, Exc. p. 300. I cannot believe (which I cannot well endure to speak) that the Church hath ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge: That he does reject this Church Hypothesis, was plainly made out from his own Words, because he rejects the common Hypothesis; (see the Citation in the Answer, p. 68.) the general standing Hypothesis; the usual Hypothesis; the usual Sense they put upon Sacred Story, &c. These Citations he does not think fit to take Notice of in his Reply; but puts all upon this general Issue, which the Answerer concludes with: The Church Way of explaining the Deluge, is either rational or irrational: If he say it is rational, why does he desert it, and invent a new one: And if he say it is irrational, then that dreadful thing, which he cannot well endure to speak, that the Church of God hath ever gone on in an irrational Way of explaining the Deluge, falls flat upon himself. Let’s hear his Answer to this Dilemma. Def. p. 170. We say, says he, that the Church Way of explaining the Deluge, (by creating and annihilating Waters for the Nonce) is very rational. Then say I still, why do you desert it, or why do you trouble us with a new one? Either his Hypothesis is more rational than the Church Hypothesis, or less rational: If less rational, why does he take us off from a better, to amuse us with a worse? But if he say, his Hypothesis is more rational than that of the Church: Then Woe be to him, in his own Words, p. 171. that so black a Blemish should be fasten’d upon the wisest and noblest Society in the World, as to make himself more wise than they, and his Hypothesis more rational than theirs. The Truth is, this Gentleman hath a mind to appear a Virtuoso, for the new Philosophy, and the Copernican System; and yet would be a Zealot for Orthodoxy, and the Church-Way of explaining Things: Which two Designs do not well agree, as to the natural World; and betwixt two Stools he falls to the Ground, and proves neither good Churchman, nor good Philosopher.

But he will not still be convinc’d that he deserts the Church Hypothesis, and continues to deny the Desertion in these Words. Ibid. We say we do not desert or reject the Church-Way of explaining the Deluge. Now, to discover whether these Words are true or false; let us observe, First, What he acknowledges to have said against the Church Hypothesis: Secondly, What he hath said more than what he acknowledges here. He acknowledges, that he said, the Church Hypothesis might be disgustful to the best and soundest philosophick Judgments; and this is no good Character. Yet this is not all, for he hath fairly dropp’d a principal Word in his Sentence, namely, justly, Exc. p. 312. His Words in his Exceptions, were these, such Inventions (which he applies to the Church Hypothesis) as have been, and JUSTLY may be disgustful, not only to nice and squeamish, but to the best and soundest philosophick Judgments. Now judge, whether he cited this Sentence before, truly and fairly, and whether in these Words, truly cited, he does not disparage the Church Hypothesis, and justify those that are disgusted at it.

He farthermore acknowledges, that the usual Ways of explaining the Deluge seem unreasonable to some, and unintelligible to others, and unsatisfactory to the most: But, it seems, he will neither be of these, some, others, or most. Lastly, He acknowledges that he said, Def. p. 171. The ordinary Supposition, that the Mountains were covered with Waters in the Deluge, brings on a Necessity of setting up a new Hypothesis for explaining the Flood. If so, what was this ordinary Supposition? was it not the Supposition of the Church? And was that such, as made it necessary to set up a new Hypothesis for explaining the Flood? then the old Hypothesis was insufficient or irrational.

Thus much he acknowledges; but he omits what we noted before, his rejecting or disapproving the common Hypothesis, the general standing Hypothesis, the usual Sense they put upon the Sacred Story, &c. And do not all these Phrases denote the Church Hypothesis? He farther omits, that he confess’d, (Excep. p. 325.) he had expounded a Text or two of Scripture about the Deluge, so as none ever did; and, deserting the common receiv’d Sense, puts an unusual Gloss upon them. And is not that common receiv’d Sense the Sense of the Church, and his unusual Gloss contrary to it? Lastly, he says, by his Hypothesis, we need not fly to a new Creation of Waters, and gives his Reasons at large against that Opinion; which you may see, Except. p. 313. Now, those Reasons he thought either to be good Reasons or bad Reasons; if bad, why did he set them down, or why did he not confuse them? If good, they stand good against the Hypothesis of the Church; for he makes that new Creation and Annihilation of Waters at the Deluge to be the Hypothesis of the Church, Def. p. 170. I fear I have spent too much Time in shewing him utterly inconsistent with himself in this Particular. And I wonder he should be so sollicitous to justify the Hypothesis of the Church in this Point, seeing he openly dissents from it in a greater; I mean in that of the System of the World. Hear his Words, if you please, to this Purpose, Def. p. 136. And what does the famous Aristotelian Hypothesis seem to be now, but a Mass of Errors; where such a System was contriv’d for the Heavens, and such a Situation assign’d to the Earth, as neither Reason can approve, nor Nature allow. Yet so prosperous and prevailing was this Hypothesis, that it was generally receiv’d, and successfully propagated for many Ages. This prosperous prevailing Error, or Mass of Errors, was it not espoused and supported by the Church? And to break from the Church in greater Points, and scruple it in less, is not this to strain at Gnats, and swallow Camels?

So much for his Inconsistency with himself: The rest of this Chapter in the Answer, shews his Inconsistency with Moses, both as to the Waters covering the Tops of the Mountains, which Moses affirms, and the Exceptor denies; and as to the Decrease of the Deluge, which Moses makes to be by the Waters retiring into their Chanels, after frequent Reciprocations, going and coming. But the Exceptor says, the Sun suck’d up the Waters from the Earth, just as he had before suck’d the Mountains out of the Earth: These Things are so groundless, or so gross, that it would be tedious to insist longer upon them. And whereas it is not reasonable to expect that any others should be idle enough, as we must be, to collate three or four Tracts, to discern where the Advantage lies in these small Altercations; I desire only, if they be so dispos’d, that they would collate the Exceptions, Answer, and Defence in this one Chapter, which is our Author’s Master-Piece: And from this I am willing they should take their Measures, and make a Judgment of his good or bad Success in other Parts.

What Shifts he hath us’d to make his fifteen-cubit Deluge sufficient to destroy all Mankind, and all Animals, we have noted before; and here it is (p. 181, 182.) that he reduces them to Famine. And after that he comes to a long Excursion of seven or eight Pages, about the Imperfection of Shipping after the Flood, Def. p. 183, 185, &c. a good Argument for the Theorist, that they had not an open Sea, Iron-Tools, and Materials for Shipping before the Flood: For what should make them so inexpert in Navigation for many Years and Ages after the Flood, if they had the Practice and Experience of it before the Flood: And what could hinder their having that Practice and Experience, if they had an open Sea, and all Iron and other Materials, for that Use and Purpose?

Lastly, he comes to his Notion of the great Deep, or Tehom-Rabbah, Def. p. 191. which he had made before, in express Words, to be the Holes and Caverns in the Rocks; I say, in express Words, such as these, Exc. p. 312. Now supposing that the Caverns in the Mountains were this great Deep, speaking of Moses’s great Deep, according to this new Hypothesis. He says farther, (p. 105.) In case it be urg’d, that Caverns, especially Caverns so high situate, cannot properly he called the great Deep. Where you see his own Objection supposes that he made those Caverns the great Deep. And in the same Page, speaking of the Psalmist’s great Deeps, (in his own Sense of making them Holes in Rocks,) and Moses’s great Deep, he says, the same Thing might be meant by both. By all these Expressions one would think it plain, that by his great Deep he meant his Caverns in Rocks; yet now, upon Objections urged against it, he seems desirous to fly off from that Notion, but does not yet tell us plainly what must be meant by Moses’s great Deep: If he, upon second Thoughts, would have the Sea to be understood by it, why does he not answer the Objections that are made by the Theorist against that Interpretation? Engl. Theor. p. 110, &c. Nay, why does he not answer what he himself had objected before (Except. p. 310.) against that Supposition? He seems to unsay now, what he said before, and yet substitutes nothing in the Place of it, to be understood by Moses’s Tehom. Rabbah.

Chap. XVI. is a few Words concerning these Expressions of shutting the Windows of Heaven, and the Fountains of the Abyss, after the Deluge: And these were both shut alike, and both of them no less than the Caverns in the Mountains.

Chap. XVII. hath nothing of Argumentation or Philosophy, but runs on in a popular declamatory Way, and (if I may use that forbidden Word) injudicious. All amounts to this, whether we may not go contrary to the Letter of Scripture, in natural Things, when that goes contrary to plain Reason. This we affirm, and this every one must affirm, that believes the Motion of the Earth, as our Virtuoso pretends to do: Then he concludes all with an harmonious Close, that he follows the great Example of a Reverend Prelate, Def. p. 215. and militates under that Episcopal Banner. I am willing to believe that he wrote at first, in hopes to curry Favour with certain Persons, by his great Zeal for Orthodoxy; but he hath made such an Hotch-potch of new Philosophy and Divinity, that I believe it will scarce please the Party he would cajole; nor so much as his Reverend Patron. I was so civil to him in the Answer, as to make him a Saint in comparison of the former Animadverter; but, by the Stile and Spirit of this last Pamphlet, he hath forfeited with me all his Saint-ship, both absolute and comparative.

Thus much for his Chapters; and as to his Reflections upon the Review of the Theory, they are so superficial and inconsiderable, that I believe he never expected that they should be regarded: I wonder however, that he should decline an Examination of the second Part of the Theory: It cannot be for want of good Will to confute it; he hath shewn that to the Height, whatsoever his Power was: Neither can it be for want of Difference or Disagreement in Opinion, as to the Contents of this latter Part; for he hath reckon’d the Millennium amongst the Errors of the antient Fathers, (Def. p. 136) and the Renovation of the World he makes Allegorical, (p. 214, &c.) It must therefore be for want of some third Thing, which he best knows.

But before we conclude, Sir, we must remember that we promised to speak apart to two Things, which are often objected to the Theorist by this Writer, and to little Purpose; namely, his flying to extraordinary Providence, and his flying from the literal Sense of Scripture. As to extraordinary Providence, is the Theorist alone debarr’d from recourse to it, or would he have all Men debarr’d, as well as the Theorist? If so, why doth he use it so much himself? And if it be allow’d to others, there is no Reason it should be deny’d the Theorist, unless he have disown’d it, and so debarr’d himself that common Privilege: But the contrary is manifest, in a multitude of Places, both of the first and second Part of the Theory, Eng. Theor. p. 144, &c. For, besides a Discourse on Purpose upon that Subject, in the eighth Chapter of the first Book, in the last Chapter, and last Words of the same Book (Latin) he does openly avow, both Providence (Natural and Moral) and Miracles; in these Words, Denique cum certissimum sit à divina Providentia pendere res omnes, cujuscunque ordinis, & ab eâdem vera miracula edita esse, &c. And as to the second Part of the Theory, the Ministry of Angels is there acknowledg’d frequently, both as to natural and moral Administrations. From all which Instances it is manifest, that the Theorist did not debar himself, by denying either Miracles, angelical Ministry, or extraordinary Providence: But, if the Exceptor be so injudicious (pardon me that bold Word) as to confound all extraordinary Providence with the Acts of Omnipotency, he must blame himself for that, not the Theorist. The Creation and Annihilation of Waters is an Act of pure Omnipotency: This the Theorist did not admit of at the Deluge; and if this be his Fault, as it is frequently objected to him, (Def. p. 9, 66, 170, &c.) he perseveres in it still, and in the Reasons he gave for his Opinion, which are no where confuted: Eng. Theor. p. 25, 26. But as for Acts of angelical Power, he does every where acknowledge them in the great Revolutions, even of the natural World: Theor. Lat. p. 73. Engl. p. 146, 147. If the Exceptor would make the Divine Omnipotency as cheap as the Ministry of Angels, and have recourse as freely and as frequently to that, as to this; if he would make all extraordinary Providence the same, and all Miracles, and set all at the Pitch of infinite Power, this may be an Effect of his Ignorance or Inadvertency, but is no way imputable to the Theorist.

In the next Place it may be observ’d, that the Theorist hath no where asserted, that Moses’s Cosmopœia (which does not proceed according to ordinary Providence) is to be literally understood; and therefore what is urg’d against him from the Letter of that Cosmopœia, is improperly urg’d and without Ground. There are as good Reasons, and better Authorities, that Moses’s six Days Creation should not be literally understood, than there are, why those Texts of Scripture that speak about the Motion of the Sun, should not be literally understood: And as to the Theorist, he had often intimated his Sense of that Cosmopœia, that it was express’d more humano, & ad captum populi, as appears in several Passages in the Latin Theory: Speaking of the Mosaical Cosmogonia, he hath these Words, Theor. lib. 2. c. 8. Constat hæc Cosmopœia duabus parcibus quarum prima, massas generales atque rerum inconditarum statum exbibet; seqniturque eadem principia, & eundem ordinem, quem Antiqui usque retinuerunt. Atque in hoc nobiscium conveniunt omnes fere interpretes Christiani; nempe, Tohu Bohu Mosaicum idem esse ac Chaos Antiquorum. Tenebras Mosaicas, &c. bucusque convenit Mosi cum anfiquis Philosophis,——methodium autem illam Philosophicam hic abrumpit, aliamque orditur, bumanam, aut, si mavis, Theologicam; quo, motibus Chaos, secundum leges natura, & divini amoris actionem, plane neglectis, & successivis ipsius mutationibus in varias regiones, & elementa: His inquam posthabitis, popularem narrationem de ortu rerum hoc modo instituit: Res omnes visibiles in sex classes, &c. This is a plain Indication how the Theorist understood that Cosmopœia: And accordingly in the English Theory the Author says, p.402. &c. I have not mention’d Moses’s Cosmopœia, because I thought it deliver’d by him as a Law-giver, not as a Philosopher; which I intend to shew at large in another Treatise, not thinking that Discussion proper for the vulgar Tongue. The Exceptor was also minded of this in the Answer, p. 66. Now, ’tis much that he, who hath search’d all the Corners, both of the English and Latin Theory, to pick Quarrels, should never observe such obvious Passages as these, but still make Objections from the Letter of the Mosaical Cosmopœia, which affect the Theorist no more than those Places of Scripture that speak of the Motion of the Sun, or the Pillars of the Earth.

In the last Place, the Theorist distinguish’d two Methods for explaining the natural World, that of an ordinary, and that of an extraordinary Providence: And those that take the second Way, he said, might dispatch their Task as soon as they pleas’d, if they engag’d Omnipotency in the Work. But the other Method would require Time, it must proceed by distinct Steps, and leisurely Motions, such as Nature can admit; and, in that Respect, it might not suit with the busy Lives, or impatient Studies of most Men, whom he left notwithstanding to their Liberty, to take what Method they pleas’d, provided they were not troublesome in forcing their hasty Thoughts upon all others. Thus the Theorist hath express’d himself at the End of the first Book, c. 12. Interea cum non omnes a natura ita compositi simus, ut Philosophia studiis delectemur: Neque etiam liceat multis, propter occupationes vitæ, iisdem vacare, quibus per ingenium licuisset; iis jure permittendum est, compendiario sapere, & relictis viis naturæ & causarum secundarum, quæ sæpe longiusculæ sunt, per cansas superiores philosophari; idque potissimum, cum ex piis affectivus hoc quandoque fieri possit; quibus, vel male fundatis, aliquid dandum esse existimo, modo non sint turbulenti. Thus the Theorist, you see, sets two Ways before them; and ’tis indifferent to him whether they take, if they will go on their Way peaceably. And he does now, moreover, particularly declare, That he hath no Ambition, either to make the Exceptor, or any other of the same Dispositions of Will, and the same Elevation of Understanding, Proselytes to his Theory.

Thus much for Providence: As to the literal Sense of Scripture, I find, if what was noted before in the Answer, p. 82, 83, &c. had been duly consider’d, there would be little need of Additions upon that Subject. The Matter was stated freely and distinctly, and the Remarks or Reflections which the Exceptor hath made in his Defence upon this Doctrine, are both shallow and partial. I say partial, in perverting the Sense, and separating such Things as manifestly depend upon one another. Thus the Exceptor falls upon that Expression in the Answer, Def. p. 202. Let us remember that this contradicting Scripture, here pretended, is only in natural Things, where he should have added the other Part of the Sentence, and also observe how for the Exceptor himself, in such Things, hath contradicted Scripture. Here he makes an odious Declamation, as if the Answerer had confess’d that he contradicted Scripture in natural Things; whereas the Words are contradicting Scripture, here pretended; and ’tis plain by all the Discourse, that ’tis the literal Sense of Scripture that is here spoken of, which the Exceptor is also said to contradict. Such an unmanly Captiousness shews the Temper and Measure of that Spirit, which, rather than say nothing, will misrepresent the plain Sense of an Author. In like manner, when he comes to those Words in the Answer, The Case therefore is this, whether to go contrary to the Letter of Scripture in Things that relate to the natural World, be destroying the Foundation of Religion, affronting Scripture, and blaspheming the Holy Ghost. Def. p. 206. He says, This is not to state the Case truly, for it is not, says he, going contrary to the Letter of Scripture that draws such evil Consequences after it, but going contrary to the Letter of Scripture, where it is understood: And this the Theorist does, he says, and the Exceptor does not. But who says so besides himself? This is fairly to beg the Question; and can he suppose the Theorist so easy as to grant this without Proof? It must be the Subject Matter that determines, what is, and what is not, to be literally understood. However, he goes on, begging still the Question in his own behalf, and says, Those Texts of Scripture, that speak of the Motion and Course of the Sun, are not to be understood literally. But why not? Because the literal Sense is not to his Mind? Of four Texts of Scripture which the Theorist alledg’d against him, for the Motion of the Sun, he answers but one, and that very superficially, to say no worse. ’Tis Psal. xix. where the Sun at his rising is said to be as a Bridegroom coming out of his Chamber, and to rejoice as a strong Man to run his Race: And his going forth is from the end of the Heaven, and his Circuit to the end of it, p. 207. which he answers with this vain Flourish: Then the Sun must be a Man, and must be upon his Marriage, and must be dress’d in fine Clothes, as a Bridegroom is: Then he must come out of a Chamber, and must give no more Light, and cast no more Heat, than a Bridegroom does, &c. If a Man should ridicule at this rate, the Discourse of our Saviour concerning Lazarus in Abraham’s Bosom, and Dives in Hell, with a great Gulph betwixt them, yet talking audibly to one another; Luk. xvi. and that Lazarus should be sent so far, as from Heaven to Hell, only to dip the Tip of his Finger in Water, and cool Dives’s Tongue. He that should go about thus to expose our Saviour’s Parable, would have a thankless Office, and effect nothing: For the Substance of it would stand good still; namely, that Mens Souls live after Death, and that good Souls are in a State of Ease and Comfort, and bad Souls in a State of Misery. In like manner, his ridiculing some Circumstances in the Comparison made by the Psalmist, does not at all destroy the Substance of that Discourse; namely, that the Sun moves in the Firmament, with great Swiftness and Lustre, and hath the Circuit of its Motion round the Earth. This is the Substance of what the Psalmist declares, and the rest is but a Similitude, which need not be literally just in all Particulars.

After this, he would fain persuade the Theorist, that he hath excused the Exceptor for his receding from the literal Sense, as to the Motion of the Earth; Def. p. 208. Because he hath granted, that in certain Cases, we may and must recede from the literal Sense. But where, pray, hath he granted, that the Motion of the Earth was one of those Cases? Yet suppose it be so, may not the Theorist then enjoy this Privilege of receding from the literal Sense upon occasion, as well as the Exceptor? If he will give, as well as take this Liberty, let us mutually enjoy it; but he can have no Pretence to deny it to others, and take it himself. It uses to be a Rule in Writing, that a Man must not stultum fingere Lectorem. You must suppose your Reader to have common Sense. But he that accuses another of Blasphemy for receding from the literal Sense of Scripture in natural Things, and does himself at the same Time, recede from the literal Sense of Scripture, in natural Things; one would think, quo ad hoc, either had not, or would not exercise common Sense, in a literal Way.

Lastly, he comes to the common known Rule, assign’d to direct us, when every one ought to follow, or leave the literal Sense; which is, p. 215. not to leave the literal Sense, when the Subject Matter will bear it, without Absurdity or Incongruity. This he repeats in the next Page thus. The Rule is, when no kind of Absurdities or Incongruities accrue to any Texts, from the literal Sense. If this be his Rule, to what Text does there accrue any Absurdity or Incongruity, by supposing the Sun to move? For Scripture always speaks upon that Supposition, and not one Word for the Motion of the Earth. Thus he states the Rule; but the Answerer supposed, that the Absurdity or Incongruity might arise from the Subject Matter. And accordingly he still maintains, that there are as just Reasons, (from the Subject Matter,) and better Authorities, for receding from the literal Sense in the Narrative of the six Days Creation, than in those Texts of Scripture, that speak of the Motions and Course of the Sun: And to affirm the Earth to be mov’d, is as much Blasphemy, and more contrary to Scripture, than to affirm it to have been dissolv’d, as the Theorist hath done.

Sir, I beg your Excuse for this long letter, and leave it to you to judge whether the Occasion was just or no. I know such Jarrings as these must needs make bad Musick to your Ears: ’Tis like hearing two Instruments play, that are not in Tune, in Concert with one another: But you know Self-Defence, and to repel an Assailant, is always allow’d; and he that begins the Quarrel, must answer for the Consequences. However, Sir, to make amends for this I trouble, I am ready to receive your Commands upon more acceptable Subjects.

Your most humble Servant, &c.

FINIS.

REFLECTIONS UPON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH

REFLECTIONS UPON THE THEORY OF THE EARTH,

Occasion’d by a

Late Examination of it.

In a Letter to a FRIEND.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Hooke, at the Flower-de-Luce in

Fleet-Street. M.DCC.XXVI.

Advertisement of the Bookseller.

The following Tract hath been much enquired after by some curious Persons, but was so scarce, that a Copy could not be procured at the Time of the Printing the former Edition of the Theory. Since that, an intimate Friend of Dr. Burnet’s hath favoured me with a Copy; so that the Reader may be assured, it it genuine, and was wrote by Dr. Burnet; and it is apprehended, it may very well deserve a Place in his Works.

REFLECTIONS, &c.

Sir,

I Receiv’d the Honour of your Letter, with the Book you was pleas’d to send me, containing an Examination of the Theory of the Earth: And, according as you desire, I shall give you my Thoughts of it, in as narrow a Compass as I can. The Author of the Theory, you know, hath set down in three Propositions, the Foundation of the whole Work; and so long as those Propositions stand firm, the Substance of the Theory is safe, whatsoever becomes of particular Modes of Explication in some Parts; which are as Problems, and may be explained several Ways, without prejudice to the Principles upon which the Theory stands.

The Theorist takes but one single Postulatum, viz. That the Earth rose from a Chaos: This is not call’d into Question; and this being granted, he lays down three Propositions consecutively. First, That the primitive or ante-diluvian Earth was of a different Form and Construction from the present Earth. Secondly, That the Face of that Earth, as it rose from a Chaos, was smooth, regular and uniform; without Mountains or Rocks, and without an open Sea. Thirdly, That the Disruption of the Abyss, or Dissolution of that primeval Earth, and its Fall into the Abyss, was the Cause of the universal Deluge, and of the Destruction of the old World: As also of the irregular Form of the present Earth.

These are the three Fundamental Propositions laid down in the fourth, fifth and sixth Chapters of the Theory. And for a farther Proof and Confirmation of them, especially of the last, another Proposition is added (Chap. VII.) in these Words, The present Form and Structure of the Earth, both as to the Surface, and as to the interior Parts of it, so far as they are accessible and known to us, do exactly answer to the foregoing Theory, concerning the Form and Dissolution of the first Earth, and is not so justly explained to any other Hypothesis yet known. This is offer’d as a Proof à Posteriori, as they call it, or from the Effects; to shew the Consent and Agreement of the Parts and Construction of the present Earth, to that Supposition of its being a sort of Ruin, or the Effect and Remains of a Disruption or Dissolution. And to make this good, the Theorist draws a short Scheme of the general Form of the present Earth, and its Irregularity: Then shews more particularly the Marks or Signatures of Ruin or Disruption in several Parts of it; as in Mountains and Rocks, in the great Chanel of the Sea, and in subterraneous Cavities, and other broken and disfigur’d Parts of the Earth.

These Conclusions, with their Arguments, are the Sum and principal Contents of the first Book; but I must also mind you of a Corollary in the second Book, drawn from these primary Propositions, which concerns the Situation of the primitive Earth: For the Theorist supposes, that the Posture of that Earth, or of its Axis, was not oblique to to the Axis of the Sun, or of the Ecliptick, as it is now, but lay parallel with the Axis of the Sun, and perpendicular to the Plane of the Ecliptick; by reason of which Position, there was a perpetual Spring, or perpetual Equinox, in that primitive Earth. This, tho’ a Consequence only from the first Propositions, I thought fit to mind you of, as being one of the peculiar and distinguishing Characters of this Theory.

This being the State of the Theory, or of those Parts of it that support the rest, and wherein its Strength consists, he that will attack it to purpose, must throw down, in the first Place, these leading Propositions. If the Examiner had taken this Method, and confuted the Proofs that are brought in Confirmation of each of them, he needed have done no more; for the Foundation being destroyed, the Superstructure would fall of its own accord. But if, instead of this, you only pick out a loose Stone here or there, or strike off a Pinacle, this will not weaken the Foundation, nor have any considerable Effect upon the whole Building. Let us therefore consider, in the first Place, what this Examiner hath said against these fundamental Propositions, and accordingly you will better judge of the rest of his Work.

His first Chapter is to shew, that the Deluge might be made by a Miracle: But whoever denied that? No doubt God by his Omnipotency may do whatsoever he pleases, to the utmost Extent of Possibilities. But he does not tell us wherein this Miracle consisted? Doth he suppose that the Deluge could be made without any Increase of Waters upon the Earth? If there was an Increase of Waters, either they were created a-new, or brought thither from some other Part of the Universe: So far is plain; and if he supposes a new Creation of Waters for this Purpose, and an Annihilation of them again at the end of the Flood, it had been fair to have answered the Arguments that are given against that Hypothesis, in the third Chapter of the English Theory. And seeing there is no mention made of any such thing in the sacred History, if he asserts it, he must bring some Proof of his Assertion; for we are not upon such Terms, as to trust upon bare Word. On the other Hand, if he proceed upon such Waters as were already in being, and for his purpose either bring down supercelestial Water, or bring subterraneous, he must tell us what those Waters are, and must answer such Objections as are brought against either sort in the second and third Chapters of the Theory; we must have some fix’d Point, some Mark to aim at, if the Case be argued. Upon the whole, I think this his first Chapter might have been spar’d, as either affirming nothing particularly, or giving no Proof of what is affirm’d.

In his next Chapter about the Chaos, I was in hopes to have found something more considerable, but (besides his long excerpta out of the Theory, both here and elsewhere, which make a good part of his Book) I find nothing but two small Objections against the Formation of the first Earth, as it is describ’d by the Theorist. This Examiner says, p. 37, 38. That the little earthy Particles of the Chaos would not swim upon the Surface of Oil, or any such unctuous Liquor; for how little soever, yet being earthy, and Earth being heavier than Oil, they must descend through it. But he grants that Dust will swim upon Oil; and I willingly allow, if these descending Parts were huge Lumps of solid Matter, such as we shall meet with in his next Chapter, they would easily break through both the Oil and the Water under it; but that little tenuious Particles or small Dust should swim upon Oil, I think is no wonder: And he is so kind as to note an Instance of this himself; and to subjoin his Reasons for it. We see Dust, saith he, p. 38, 39. though specifically heavier than Oil, yet not to sink when cast upon it. And the Reason is, because all terrestrial Bodies, tho’ fluid in their kind yet in some degree resist Separation; and consequently, I add, viscous Liquors which have some sort of Entanglement amongst themselves, resist Separation more than others. Then he remarks farther, that according as Bodies are less, they have more Surface in Proportion to their Bulk, and consequently, that small Bodies, whose Weight or Force to separate the Parts of the Fluid is but very little, may have a Surface so large, that they cannot overcome the Resistance of the Fluid: That is, they cannot make Way for their Descent through the Fluid, and therefore must swim upon the Surface of it. Be it so, then the Particles here mentioned by the Theorist, being little, and of large Surfaces in Proportion to their Bulk, would swim upon the Surface of the Fluid, or mix with it, which is all the Theorist affirms or supposes: And as this tender Film grew into a Crust, and that into a solid Arch, the Parts of it would mutually support one another; the Concave Superficies of the Orb overspreading and leaning upon the Waters: And this also shews that his Instance of a solid Globe sinking in a Fluid, is little to the Purpose in this Case.

But he hath a second objection behind, p. 40. or another Consideration to prove that those little Particles would pierce and pass through this oily Liquid. This Consideration is, the great Height of the Place from which they descended; whereby, he thinks, they would acquire such a Celerity and Force in their Descent, that they must needs break through this Orb of oily Liquors when they came at it. But this is to suppose that they descended without Interruption, or without having their Course stopp’d, and their Force broken in several Parts of their journey. This is an arbitrary and groundless Supposition: For these floating Particles did not fall like a Stone, or a ponderous Body, in one continued Line, but rather like Fleaks of Snow, hovering and playing in the Air, their Course being often interrupted and diverted, and their force broken again and again, before they came to the end of their Journey; so that this Suggestion can be of no Force or Effect in the present Case. However, if that will gratify him, we can allow that thousands and millions of these little Particles might slip or creep through this clammy Liquor, yet there would enough of them entangled there to make it, first, a gross Liquid, then a sort of Concretion, so as to stop the succeeding Particles from passing through it.

I have done with all that is argumentative in this Chapter: But this Writer is pleased to go sometimes out of his way of Philosophising, to make Reflections of another kind. Accordingly, here and elsewhere he makes Insinuations and Suggestions, as if the Theorist did not own the Hand of Providence, or of a particular and extraordinary Providence in the Formation of the Earth; or as if all Things in the great Revolutions of the natural World were carried on solely by material and mechanical Causes. This Suggestion ought to be taken Notice of, as being contrary to the Sense of the Theorist, as it is express’d in several Places. In speaking of the Motions of the Chaos, the Theorist makes the steady Hand of Providence which keeps all Things in Weight and Measure, to be the invisible Guide of all its Motions, p. 45. And in concluding his Discourse about the Formation of the Earth (Chap. V. p. 45.) the Theorist says, This Structure is so marvellous, that it ought rather to be consider’d, as a particular Effect of the Divine Art, than as the Work of Nature; with many other Remarks there to the same purpose. Then as to the Dissolution of the Earth, and the Conduct of the Deluge, ’tis made miraculous also by the Theorist[22]: And upon that Occasion an Account is given of Providence, both ordinary and extraordinary, in reference to the Government of Nature; and that not only as to the formation and Dissolution of the Earth, but also as to its Conflagration and Renovation: For the Theorist always puts those great Revolutions under the particular Conduct and Moderation of Providence. Lastly, As to the whole Universe, he is far from making that the Product either of Chance or Necessity, or of any purely material or mechanical Causes; as you may see at large in the two last Chapters of the Theory, Book II. So that what this Author hath said (rudely enough, according to his Way) of Mr. Wotton, Introd. p. 15. that he either understands no Geometry, or else that he never read D.C. his Principles, may with a little Change be apply’d to himself in this Case, that either he never read over, or does not remember, or, which is still worse, does wilfully misrepresent what the Theorist hath wrote upon this Subject. The Sum of all is this, Deus non deficit in necessariis, nec redundat in superfluis: God is the God of Nature; and the Laws of Nature are his Laws: These we are to follow so far as they will go, and where they fall short, we must rise to higher Principles; but we ought not to introduce a needless Exercise of the divine Power, for a Cover to our Ignorance.

To conclude this Chapter, I will leave one Advertisement with the Examiner concerning the Chaos. When he speaks of the World’s rising from the Mosaick Chaos, if by World he understand the whole Universe, as he seems to do; not this inferior World only, but the fix’d Stars also, and all the Heavens: If that, I say, be his Meaning and Opinion, he will meet with other Opponents besides the Theorist, that will contest that Point with him.

We come now to the third Chapter, concerning the Mountains of the Earth, which is a subject indeed that deserves Consideration, seeing it reaches to the three fundamental Propositions before mentioned, and the Form of the ante-diluvian Earth; which Form the Examiner would have to be the same with that of the present Earth, to have had Mountains and Rocks, an open Chanel of the Sea, with all the Cavities and Irregularities within or without the Surface of it, as at present. If he can prove this, he needs go no farther; he may spare his Pains for the rest: I’ll undertake that the Theorist shall make no farther Defence of his Theory, if the Examiner can make good Proof of this one Conclusion. But, on the other Hand, the Examiner ought to be so ingenuous as to acknowledge that all that he hath said besides, till this be prov’d, can be of little or no Effect, as to the Substance of the Theory. Let us then consider how he raises Mountains and Rocks, and gives us an Account of all the other Inequalities that we find in the present Form of the Earth, by an immediate Formation or Deduction from the Chaos.

To shew this, he supposes, p. 49, 51. that the Chaos had Mountains and Rocks swimming in it, or, according to his Expression, huge Lumps of solid Matter. These are Things, I confess, which I never heard of before in a Chaos; which hath been always describ’d and suppos’d a Mass of fluid Matter all over. But this Author confidently says, p. 48. We must conclude THEREFORE, that the Chaos was not so fluid a Mass, &c. This therefore refers us to an antecedent Reason, which is this; he says, ibid. to make the Chaos an entirely fluid Mass is hard to be granted, since the greatest Parts of Bodies we have in the Earth, at least so far as we can discern, are hard and solid, and there is not such a Quantity of Water in the Earth, as would be requisite to soften and liquify them all; besides a great part of them, as Stones and Metals, are uncapable of being liquified by Water. Very good, what is this to the Theory? Does the Theorist any where affirm or suppose that there were Stones or Metals in the Chaos; or that they were liquified by Water? This must refer to some Hypothesis of his own, or to some other Author’s Hypothesis that ran in his Mind: The Theorist owns no such Doctrine or Supposition.

However, let’s consider how this new Idea of a Chaos is consistent with the Laws of Nature: What made these huge Lumps of solid Matter, whether Stone or Metal, to swim in the fluid Mass? This is against all Rules of Gravity, and of Staticks, as he seems to acknowledge, and urged it when he thought it to his Purpose. In the precedent Chapter (p. 42.) when he speaks of Stones and Minerals, he says, ’Tis certain that these great heavy Bodies must have sunk to the Bottom, if they were left to themselves: And he that will not allow Dust or little earthy Particles, to float upon an oily Liquor, I wonder how he will make, not little Particles, but these huge solid Lumps of Stone, Metals, or Minerals, to float in the Chaos.

He seems to own and be sensible of this Inconvenience, (p. 50) and thereupon finds an Expedient or Evasion which a lesser Wit would not have thought on. He supposes, p. 51 that these huge firm solid Lumps were hollow, like empty Bottles, and that would keep them from sinking. But who told him they were hollow? Is not this precarious? Or, if one would use such Terms as he does, is not this chymerical and ridiculous? What made those solid firm Lumps hollow? When, or where, or how were their inward Parts scrap’d out of them? Nor would this Hollowness, however they came by it, make them swim, unless there was a mere Vacuum in each of them. If they were filled with the liquid Matter of the Chaos, they would indeed be lighter than if wholly solid; but they would still be heavier than any equal Bulk of the fluid Chaos, and consequently would sink in it; the Preponderancy that would arise from the Shell or solid Part still remaining.

Now let’s consider how such Mountains, or long Ridges of Mountains as we have upon the Earth, were formed and settled by these floating Lumps. He says, p. 50, 51. Part of these Lumps or Masses standing out, or being higher than the Fluid, would compose a Mountain, as there are Mountains of Ice that float upon the Northern Seas. But are not Mountains of Rock and Stone, such as ours commonly are, heavier than Mountains of Ice, that is specifically lighter than Water? This might have been consider’d by the Examiner in drawing the Parallel: And still I’m at a Loss what Fluid it is he means, when he says, These Lumps or Masses standing out, or being higher than the Fluid. Does he mean by this Fluid the Whole Chaos? Did these Mountains stand at the Top of the Chaos, partly within, and partly above it? Then what drew them down below, if they stood equally pois’d there in their Fluid, and as high as the Moon, if the Chaos reach’d so high. This, one would think, could not be his Meaning, ’tis so extravagant; and yet there was no other Fluid than the general Chaos, till that was divided and distinguish’d into several Masses. Then, indeed, there was an Abyss, or Region of Waters that covered the interior Earth, and was separate from the Air above. Let us then suppose this Abyss to be the Waters or Fluid this Author means, upon which his Mountains stood; then the rest of the Earth, as it came to be form’d, must be continu’d and join’d with these Mountains, and in like Manner laid over the Waters; so as in this Method, you see, we should have an Orb of Earth built over the Abyss. This is a very favourable Stroke for the Theorist, and grants him in Effect his principal Conclusion, viz. That the first ante diluvian Earth was built over the Abyss: This being admitted, there could be no universal Deluge without a Disruption of that Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyss, which is a main Point gain’d. And ’tis plain we make no false Logick in collecting this from his Principles and Concessions: For, as we said before, if these Mountains were founded upon the Abyss, they must have a Continuity and Conjunction with the rest of the Surface of the Earth, if they were such as our Mountains are now, and so all the habitable Earth must be spread upon the Abyss.

But still he hath another Difficulty to encounter, how the great Chanel of the Sea was made upon this Supposition: Why was not that Part of the Globe fill’d up by the Descent of the earthy Particles of the Chaos as well as the rest? The Chanel of the Ocean is commonly suppos’d to take up half of the Globe, how came this gaping Gulph to remain unfill’d, seeing it was encompass’d with the Chaos as well as any other Parts? Was the Motion of the Particles suspended from descending upon that Part of the Globe; or were they fill’d up at first, and afterwards thrown out again to make room for the Sea? This may deserve his Consideration, as well as the Mountains: And how dextrous soever this Author may be in other Things I know not, but, in my Mind, he hath no good Hand in making Mountains; and I’m afraid he would have no better Success in forming the Chanel of the Sea, which he is wisely pleased to take no Notice of.

And indeed the Examiner seems to be sensible himself that he hath no good Luck in assigning the efficient Causes of Mountains from the Chaos, and therefore he is willing to bear off from that Point, and to lay the whole Stress upon their final Causes, without any regard to their Origin, or how they came first into being. His Words are these, p. 52. But supposing the efficient Causes of Mountains unknown, or impossible to be assign’d, yet still there remain the final Causes to be enquir’d into, which will do as well for our Purpose, with what follows there concerning those Authors that exclude final Causes. If there be such Authors, let them answer for themselves, the Theorist is not concern’d. Grant the first Point, that Mountains could not arise from any known efficient Causes in the first Concretion of the Chaos, or in the first habitable Earth that rose from it, the Theorist readily allows (as appears fully in the two last Chapters of the second Book of the Eng. Theor.) the Use of final Causes in the Contemplation of Nature, as being great Arguments of the Wisdom and Goodness of God. But this ought not to exclude the efficient Causes in a Theory, otherwise it would be no Theory, but a Work of another Nature. Though a Man knew the final Cause of a Watch or Clock, namely, to tell him the Hour of the Day, yet, if he did not know the Construction of its Parts, what was the Spring of Motion, what the Order of the Wheels, and how they mov’d the Hand of the Dial, he could not be said to understand that little Machine; or at least not to understand it so well as he that knew the Construction and Dependence of all its Parts, in virtue whereof that Effect was brought to pass. In many Cases we do not understand the final Causes, and in many we do not understand the efficient; but, notwithstanding, we must endeavour, so far as we are able, to join and understand them both; the End and the Means to it: For by the one, as well as the other, the divine Power and Wisdom are illustrated; and seeing every Effect hath its efficient Cause, if we cannot reach it, we must acknowledge our Speculations to be so far imperfect.

After this Excursion about final Causes, he concludes, p. 54. That it is impossible to subsist or live without Rocks or Mountains; consequently no Earth is habitable without Rocks and Mountains. But how can he tell this? Hath he been all over the Universe to make his Observations? or hath he had a Revelation to tell him that there is no one habitable Planet throughout all the Works of God, but what is of the same Form with our Earth as to Rocks and Mountains. Who hath ever observ’d Mountains and Rocks in Jupiter, or in the Remains of Saturn? I should think such a general Assertion as he makes, a bold and unwarrantable Limitation of the divine Omniscience and Omnipotency. Who dares conclude that the infinite Wisdom and Power of God is confin’d to one single Mode or Fabrick of an habitable World? We know there are many Planets about our Sun besides this Earth, and of different Positions and Constructions: Neither do we know but there may be as many about other Suns, or fix’d Stars: Must we suppose that they are all cast in the same Mold? that they are all formed after the Model of our Earth, with Mountains and Rocks, and Gulphs and Caverns?

Urbem, quam dicunt Romam, Melibœe, putavi

Stultus ego, huic nostræ similem.

This was the Judgment of the Shepherd, who could imagine nothing different, or nothing better than his own Town or Village; those may imitate him that please. ’Tis true, Suum cuique pulchrum, is an usual Saying, but we think that to proceed from Fondness rather, and Self-Conceit, than from a true and impartial Judgment of Things. In contemplating the Works of God, we ought to have Respect to his Almighty and Infinite Wisdom, τῆν πολυπαίκιλον σοφίαν, multiformem sapientiam Dei, rather than to the Measures of our own Experience and Understanding. We may remember how an[23] Heathen hath upbraided and derided that Narrowness of Spirit, Quæ tantæ sunt animi angustiæ, ut si Seryphi natus esses, nec unquam egrossus ex Insulá, in quâ Lepusculos Vulpeculasque sæpe vidisses, non crederes Leones & Pantheras esse, cúm tibi quales essent diceretur: Si verò de Elephanto quis diceret, etiam rideri te putares. We may as well say, that there can be no Animals of another Form from those we have upon this Earth, as that there can be no Worlds, or habitable Earths of another Form and Structure from the present Earth. An quicquam tam puerile dici potest, says the same Author, quám si ea genera belluarum quæ in Rubro mari, Indiâve gignantur, nulla esse dicamus? Atqui ne curiosissimi quidem homines exquirendo andire tam multa possunt, quam sunt multa quæ Terræ, Mari, Paludibus, Fluminibus existunt; quæ negemus esse quia nunquam vidimus? I mention such Instances to shew, that ’tis Rashness or Folly, to confine the Varieties of Providence and Nature, to the narrow Compass of what we have seen, or of what falls under our Imagination. This is a more strange and assuming Boldness, as he terms it, p. 54 than what he ascribes to the Theorist for saying, We can observe no Order in the Situation of Mountains, nor Regularity in their Form and Shape. If the Examiner knows any, why does he not tell us what it is, and wherein it consists? Is it necessary that Mountains should be exact Pyramids or Cones, or any of the regular Bodies? or rang’d upon the Earth in Rank and File, or in a quincuncial Order, or like pretty Garden-Knots? If they had been design’d for Beauty, this might have done well; but Providence seems on Purpose to have left these Irregularities in their Figure and Site, as Marks and Signatures to us, that they are the Effects of a Ruin.

But to shew farther and more particularly the Necessity of Mountains, the Examiner says, p. 55. and 61. Without them ’tis impossible there should be Rivers, or without Rivers an habitable World. Neither of these Propositions seems to me to be sure; they run still upon Impossibilities, which is a nice Topick, and lies much out of our Reach. I think Vapours may be condens’d other Ways than by Mountains, and an Earth might be so fram’d, as to give a Course to Rivers, though there were no particular Mountains, if the general Figure of it was higher in one Part than another. Then as to the absolute Necessity of Rivers, to make an Earth habitable, that is questionable too. We are told by good Authors, of some Countries or Islands that have no Rivers or Springs, and yet are habitable and fruitful, being water’d by Dews. This may give us an Advertisement, from a Part to the Whole, that an Earth may be made habitable without Rivers. If at first Vapours ascended, and fell down in Dews, so as to water the whole Face of the Earth, Gen. ii. 6. God might, if he had pleas’d, have continued the same Course of Nature. And it is the Opinion of many Interpreters, and seems to have been an antient Tradition, that there was no Rain till the Deluge. If there was no Rainbow in the first Earth, (which I think the Theorist hath undeniably prov’d, Theor. Book II. c. 5.) it will be hard to prove that there were then any watery Clouds in the habitable Parts of the Earth. And our best[24] Observators will allow no Clouds or Rains in the Moon, (and some of them no Rivers,) yet will not suppose the Moon unhabitable. To conclude, ’tis a great Vanity to say no worse, for short-sighted Creatures, and of narrow Understandings, to prescribe to Providence what is necessary and indispensable to the Frame and Order of an habitable World.

We proceed to his fourth Chapter; which is to shew the Inconveniencies that would fall upon the Inhabitants of the Earth, in case it had such a Posture as the Theorist hath assign’d to the ante-diluvian Earth: Namely, that its Axis was parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick, or perpendicular to its Plane, and not oblique as it stands now. But will this Author vouch, that there are no habitable Planets in the Universe, or even about our Sun, that have this Posture which he blames so much? Jupiter is known to have a perpetual Equinox, and his Axis parallel to the Axis of the Ecliptick; and Mars hath little or no Obliquity that is observable. And must this be a Reflection upon Providence? Or must we suppose, that these Planets have no Inhabitants, or that their Habitations are very bad and incommodious? Jupiter is the noblest Planet we have in our Heaven, whether you consider its Magnitude, or the Number of its Attendants. If then a Planet of that Order and Dignity, have such a Position and Aspect to the Sun, why might not our Earth have had the same, proper to that State, and agreeable to the Divine Wisdom? Yet he is so bold as to say, or suppose, p. 66. That this cannot well agree with the infinite Wisdom of its Maker; as if he was able to make a Measure or Standard for all the Works of God. ’Tis a crude and injudicious Thing, from a few Particulars, the rest unknown, to make an universal Conclution, which forward Wits are apt to do. Πρὸς ὀλίγα ἐπιθλεψάμενετ.—Ad pauca respiciens, facile pronuncias, was Aristotle’s Observation of old, and it holds in all Ages.

This Examiner, p. 76. censures the Theorist very rudely, for making use of physical Causes, and not arguing from final Causes, which, he says, are the true Principles of natural Philosophy. But, if this be the Use he makes of final Causes, to tell God Almighty what is best to be done, in this or that World, I had rather content myself with physical Causes, to know what God hath done, and conclude it to be the best, and that we should judge it so, if we had the same Extent of Thought and Prospect its Maker had. There are indeed some final Causes that are so manifest, that I should think it Sottishness or Obstinacy for a Man to deny them; but I should also think that Man presumptuous, that should pretend to draw the Scheme and Plan of every World, from his Idea of final Causes. There are some Men that mightily cry out against Reason, yet none more fond of it than they are, when they can get it on their Side: So some Men inveigh against physical Causes, when others make use of them, and yet as gladly as any make use of them themselves, when they can make them serve their Purpose; and when they cannot reach them, then they despise them, and are all for final Causes. This Author says, p. 63. God always chuses such Constitutions and Positions of Things, as bring with them the greatest Good and Utility to the Universe. Very true, to the Universe? but who made him judge what is best to the Universe? Does he look upon this Earth as the Universe, whereof it is but a small Particle, or an Atom in comparison? Must there be no Variety in the numberless Worlds which God hath made? Must they all be one and the same Thing repeated again and again? That I’m sure does not well agree with the infinite Wisdom and Power of God.

But suppose we did confine our Thoughts to this Earth, we may be assur’d that it hath undergone and will undergo, within the Compass of its Duration, very different States, and yet all accommodate to Providence. Those that suppose the Heavens and the Earth never to have had any other Constitution and Construction than what they have now, or that there hath never been any great Change and Revolution in our natural World, follow the very Doctrine which St. Peter opposes and confutes in his second Epistle, Chap. 3. I mean the Doctrine of those Scoffers, as he calls them, who said, All Things, the Heavens and the Earth, have remained in the same State they are in now, from the Beginning, or from the Creation, and are to continue so. In Confutation of this Opinion, St. Peter there minds them of the Change made at the Deluge, and of the different Constitution and Construction of the Heavens and the Earth, before and after the Deluge, whereby they were dispos’d to undergo a different Fate, one by Water, and the other by Fire. And he tells us in the same Place, that after the Conflagration, there will be new Heaven; and a new Earth: So that there is no one fix’d and permanent State even of this Earth, according to the Will and Wisdom of Providence. But enough hath been said by the Theorist upon this Subject (Theor. Lat. l. 1. c. 1 & 2. Review, p. 160. &c. Archæol. l. 2. c. 3, 5, 6.) And if they will not consider the Arguments propos’d there, ’twould be in vain to repeat them here.

These Things premis’d, let’s consider what Inconveniencies are alledged, or what Arguments against that Equality of Seasons, or the grand Cause of them, the Parallelism of the Axis of the Earth, with the Axis of the Sun. He says, upon this Supposition, there is more Heat now in the Climates of the Earth, than could have been then. And what if there be? Whether his Computation (which is aim’d against another Author) be true or false, ’tis little to the Theory: If the Heat was equal and moderate in the temperate and habitable Climates, who would desire the extreme Heats of Summer? But he says, p. 66. That Heat would not be sufficient for the Generation of Vegetables. How does that appear? supposing that Heat constant throughout the whole Year. Does he think there are no Vegetables in Jupiter, which hath still the same Position the Theorist gave to the ante-diluvian Earth. And as to Heat, that Planet is at vastly a greater Distance from the Sun than our Earth, and consequently hath so much less Heat; yet I cannot believe that great Planet to be only a huge Lump of bald and barren Earth. As to our ante-diluvian Earth, ’tis probable that the Constitution of Plants and Animals, was different then from what it is now, as their Longevity was different, to which any Excesses of Heat or Cold are noxious; and the Frequency and Multiplicity of Generations and Corruptions in the present Earth, is Part of that Vanity to which it was subjected. But this Examiner says moreover, If the first Earth had that Position, the greatest Part of it would not be habitable. But how much less habitable would it be than the present Earth? where the open Sea, which was not then, takes up half of its Surface, and makes it unhabitable. ’Tis likely the torrid Zone was unhabitable in that Earth; but ’tis probable the Poles or Polar Parts were more habitable than they are now, seeing they would have the Sun, or rather Half-Sun perpetually in their Horizon: And as to the temperate Climates, as we call them, they would be under such a gentle and constant Warmth, as would be more grateful to the Inhabitants, and more proper and effectual for a continual Verdure and Vegetation, than any Region of the present Earth is now.

But this Objector does not consider, on the other hand, what an hard Life they would lead in those Days, at least in many Parts of the Earth, if the Seasons of the Year were the same they are now, and they confin’d to Herbs, Fruits, and Water; for that was the Diet of Mankind till the Deluge. Should we not think it an unmerciful Imposition now, to be interdicted the Use of Flesh-Meat all the Year long? Or rather is it possible that the Life of Man could be supported by Herbs and Fruits, and Water in the colder Climates, where the Winters are so long and barren, and the Cold so vehement? But, if you suppose a perpetual Spring throughout the Earth, the Heavens mild, and the Juices of Fruits and Plants more nutritive, that Objection would cease, and their Longevity be more intelligible.

We come now to the Causes of the Change in the Posture of the Earth, where the Theorist hath set down his Conjectures, what he thought the most probable to be the Occasion of it: Namely, either some Inequality in the Libration of the Earth, after it was dissolved and broken; or a Change in the Magnetism of its Body, consequent upon its Dissolution, and the different Situation of its Parts. But this Examiner will neither allow any Change to have been made in the Position of the Earth since the Beginning of the World; nor, if there was a Change, that it could be made from such Causes. The first of these Points you see is Matter of Fact; and so it must be prov’d, partly by History, and partly by Reason. Some Things are noted before, which argue that the ante-diluvian Earth was different from the present, in its Frame and Constitution, as also in reference to the Heavens; and the Places are referred to, where the Matter is treated more largely by the Theorist. If it be granted, that there was a permanent Change made in the State of Nature at the Deluge, or any other Time, but deny’d that it was made by a Change of the Situation of the Earth, and the Consequences of it, then this Writer must assign some other Change made, which would have the same Effects; that is, which will answer and agree with the Phænomena of the first Earth, and also of the present. When this is done, if it be clear and convictive, we must acquiesce in it: But I do not see that it is so much as attempted by this Author.

This suppos’d Change, I say, is Matter of Fact, and therefore we must consult History and Reason for the Proof or Disproof of it. As to History, the Theorist hath cited to this Purpose Leucippus, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Empedocles, Plato and Diogenes. These were the most renowned Philosophers amongst the Antients; and all these speak of an Inclination of the Earth or the Poles, which hath been made in former Ages. These, one would think, might be allow’d as good Witnesses of a former Tradition concerning a Change in the Situation of the Earth, when nothing is brought against them. And this Change is particularly call’d by Plato ἀναρμοσία or ἀνωμαλία, a Disharmony or Disconcerting of the Motions of the Heavens, which he makes the Source and Origin of the present Evils and Inconveniencies of Nature. Besides, he dates this Change from the Expiration of the Reign of Saturn, or when Jupiter came to take the Government upon him: And this, you know, in the Style of those Times, signifies the End of the Golden Age. Thus far Plato carries the Tradition: Now, the Poets tell us expressly that there was a perpetual Spring, or a perpetual Equinox in the Time of Saturn, and that the Inequality of the Year, or the Diversity of Seasons was first introduc’d by Jupiter. The Authors and Places are known and noted by the Theorist; I need not repeat them here. You see what this Evidence amounts to, both that there hath been a Change, and such a Change, as alter’d the Course of the Year, and brought in a Vicissitude of Seasons; and this according to the Doctrines or Traditions remaining amongst the Heathens. The Jews and Christians say the same Thing, but in another Manner: They do not speak of the Golden Age, nor of the Reign of Saturn or Jupiter, but of the State of Paradise, or Gan-Eden; and concerning that, they say the same Things, which the Heathen Authors say, in different Words. The Jews make a perpetual Equinox in Paradise, the Christians a perpetual Serenity, a perpetual Spring; and this cannot be without a different Situation of the Earth from what it hath now. He may see the Citations if he please, in the Theory, or Archæologia.

It were to be wish’d, that this Examiner would look a little into Antiquity, when he hath Time: It may be, that would awaken him into new Thoughts, and a more favourable Opinion of the Theory as to this Particular. Give me leave to mind him in his own Way, what some antient Astronomers have said relating to this Subject. Baptista Mantuanus, speaking of the Longevity of the Ante-Diluvians, says, Erant illis, ut Astronomia & Experimento constat, Cœli propitiores; volunt namque Astronomi, &c. This he explains by an uniform and concentrical Motion of the Heavens and the Earth, at that Time; to which he imputes the great Virtue of their Herbs and Fruit, and the long Lives of their Animals. Petrus Aponensis, who liv’d above an Age before Mantuan, give us much what the same Account: For making an Answer to this Question, utrum natura humania sit debilitata ab eo quod antiquitus, necne? He says, Cum capita Zodiaci mobilis & immobilis ordinati & directè concurrebant, tunc virtus perfectiori modò à primo principio per medias causastaliter ordinatas fortiori modo imprimebatur in ista inferiora, cum causæ tunc sib invicem correspondeant——Propter quod concludendum est, tunc naturam humanam illo tempore, ut sic fortiorem & longæviorem extitisse. I give it in his own Words as they are in his Conciliator. Differ. 9.

Georgius Pictorius, or an Author under his Name, unto the same Question about the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians, gives a like Answer from the same Astronomer, in these Words: Petrus Aponensis adsert rationem, & pro vario cursu & dispositione coelorum modo vitam humanam breviari, modo produci seribit. Ex Astronomiá argumentum colligens, cùm ait duos Zodiacos, unum in noná sphærâ, alterum in octava (quam Firmamentum vocani) in initio rerum & temporum, sic à Deo fuisse dispositos, ut Aries Arieti, Taurus Tauro, Geminis Gemini jungerentur: & amborum cocuntibus in unum viribus fortior in Terras fieret fluxus. Unde herbas tunc salubriores & fructus terræ meliores, & longiores vitas animantium fuisse affirmat. Sed dennò illá syderali dissolutá ab invicem per motum societate, totum ait inferiorem mundum ægrotare, atque per decrementum claudicare cæpisse. This, you see, is Astronomy in an old-fashion’d Dress; but you can easily take off the Disguise, and apply it to the true System of the Heavens. The same Author refers you, for a more full Explication of that Matter, to his Lectiones succisivæ, Dial. prim. which Book I have not yet had an Opportunity to see. I believe it is in his Opera Philologica, printed in Octavo at Basil.

But since the first writing of the Theory, there have been Æthiopick Antiquities produc’d from an Abyssine Philosopher, and transmitted to us by Francisco Patricio in his Dialogues. If that Account he gives of the Æthiopian Archæologia be true and genuine, they exceed all other upon this Subject: for they do not only mention this Particular, of the Unity of Seasons in the primitive Earth, but the other principal Parts of the Theory: As the Concussion and Fraction of the Earth; that the Face of it before was smooth and uniform, and upon that Disruption it came into another Form, with Mountains, Rocks, Sea and Islands. These and other such Characters are mentioned there, whereof the Examiner may see an Account, if he please, in the last Edition of the English Theory, p. 189. The Story indeed is surprizing, which way soever you take it, whether it was the Invention of that Abyssine Philosopher, or a real Tradition deriv’d from the Æthiopian Gymnosophists. However that be, there are otherwise such conspicuous Footsteps in philosophick History, and in what may be call’d Ecclesiastick, amongst the Jews and Christians, of some Revolution in the System of the World, as must give occasion to any thinking Man to suppose, that there hath been a Change made in the Situation of the Earth. This, by some of the forementioned Authors, is ascrib’d expresly to the Earth; and what by others (according to their Hypothesis) is ascrib’d to the higher Heavens, we know upon a just Interpretation belongs to the Earth. Those also that ascribe such Phænomena to Paradise, or the Golden Age, as are not intelligible upon any other Supposition, must also be referr’d to this Change of the Site or Posture of the Earth: So that upon all Accounts (mediately or immediately) the Matter of Fact, that the Earth hath undergone such a Change, is testified by History, Antiquity and Tradition. It deserves also to be observ’d, that there was a general Tradition amongst the Antients, concerning the Inhabitability of the Torrid Zone; which may be an Argument or Confirmation, that there was a State of Nature at one time or other, when this was true, and that such a general Opinion could not arise, and be continued so long without some Foundation.

So much for History to determine Matter of Fact: Now as to Reason (which we mentioned as the other Head, to prove or disprove this Conclusion.) That the Form of the primitive Earth which is assign’d by the Theorist, being suppos’d, namely, that it was regular, uniform, and had an equal Libration, it would naturally take an even and parallel Position with the Axis of its Orbit, or of the Ecliptick, as is set down more at large in the Theory: Nor can any Reason be alledg’d to the contrary. ’Tis true, this Examiner, p. 83. notwithstanding any Uniformity and Equilibration of that Earth, pretends it would be indifferent to any Position, or retain any Position given, as a Sphere will do, put in a Fluid. This might be, if that Sphere or Globe was resting; but if it was turn’d about its Axis, and the Axis of the Fluid (which is the present Case) it would certainly take a Position parallel to the Axis of its Fluid, if there was no other Impediment.

The Matter of Fact being settled with the Cause of it, what the Causes of the Change were, is more problematical. The Philosophers forecited gave their Reason; Aristarchus Samius gives another, and a Comet by some is made the occasion of it: The Theorist thinks that the Dissolution of the Earth was the fundamental Cause, and that the Change came to pass at that time, as many Indications and Arguments shew. And as to the immediate Cause or Causes of it, I know none more probable than what the Theorist hath proposed; Eng. Theor. p. 267. Either the Change of its Center of Gravity, or of its Magnetism; the Line of Direction to those magnetick Particles, and their passing through the Earth being so alter’d, as to turn the Earth into another Posture, and hold it there. As to those Expressions that he seems to quarrel with, of the Inclination of the Earth, or the Pole, towards the Sun, ’tis the Expression of the antient Philosophers, tho’ I think it might more properly be called an Obliquation. Then that the former State is called situs rectus, is another Expression which he finds fault with; though every one sees that a right Situation in such Places, is opposed to an oblique, or inclined Position to the Axis of the Sun or Ecliptick, and had been called parallel in several other Places; and which he himself, p. 71. sometimes, as well as other Authors, call a right Position. This is but trifling about Words: If he grants that the primitive Earth being uniform, and consequently equally pois’d, its Axis would be parallel (which for shortness, is sometimes call’d right) to the Axis of its Orbit, and is now in a different and oblique Posture, this is all the Theorist desires, as to Matter of Fact. I conceive the whole Matter thus: When the Earth was in that even and parallel Posture with the Axis of the Sun, it had a perpetual Equinox and Unity of Seasons, the Equator and Ecliptick being coincident: And as to the Heavens, they with the fix’d Stars mov’d or seem’d to move uniformly and concentrically with the Earth. But when the Earth chang’d its Posture to that which it hath now, the Year became unequal, and the Equator and Ecliptick became distinct Circles, or, if you will, a new Circle arose from the Distinction. The Earth in the mean time continuing its annual Course in the Ecliptick, had the Position of its Axis chang’d to a Parallelism with the Axis of the Equator, which it holds throughout the whole Year. As to the Heavens, they seem’d to turn upon another Axis, or other Poles than they did before, and different from those of the Sun or the Earth: And this fundamental Change in the Site of the Earth, had a farther Chain of Consequences, as is noted by the Theorist, in reference to the State both of the animate and inanimate World, This is, in short, the State of the Case, which is sometimes express’d in different Terms, especially by the Antients, who generally followed another System of the Heavens and the Earth, and were not always accurate in their Expressions.

This Author would square and conform all the Planets to the Model of the present Earth: Whereas there is Diversity of Administrations in the natural World, as well as spiritual, yet the same Providence every where. The Axes of the Planets are not all parallel to that of the Sun, nor all oblique; and those that are so, have not all the same Degrees of Obliquity, yet we have Reason to think them all habitable. In some there are no different Seasons of the Year, and in some they differ in another manner than ours; and the Periods of their Years are very different. In like manner, as to the Days, in some they are longer, in others shorter: In the Moon a Day lasts fourteen or fifteen of our Days, and their Nights are proportionably longer than our Nights. In Jupiter, the Days are but of five Hours, and so the Nights; that Planet being turned in ten Hours about his Axis. In Mercury we know little what the Seasons or Days are, but its Year must be much shorter than ours; as also is that of Venus; and their Heat from the Sun, must be much greater. Jupiter and Saturn are at vast Distances from the Sun, and must proportionably have less Heat; and Saturn must have a greater Difference of Summer and Winter than we have, by reason of his greater Obliquity to the Sun. These and such like Observations, show what Vanity it is to make an universal Standard from the State of our Earth: Or to say, this is best, and to make Things otherwise, would be inconsistent with the infinite Wisdom of their Maker, as this Examiner, p. 66. pretends to do.

But to return to his Objections: This he suggests, ibid. as one, that in case of a perpetual Equinox, the annual Motion of the Earth about the Sun would be to no Purpose. Of this we are no competent Judges, no more than of the other Differences foremention’d in the Conditions of the Planets. Yet, in that Case, a Distinction and Computation of Time might be made, by their Aspect to the different Signs of the Zodiack. There may be, (for any Thing we know,) in the Extent of the Universe, Planets, or great opaque Bodies, that have no Course about their Suns, for Reasons best known to their Maker; and others that have no diurnal Motion about their Axes: Nor ought such States, tho’ very different from ours, to be concluded incongruous. If this Objection of his were of any Force, it would lie against Jupiter as well as against the ante-diluvian Earth. And this minds me of his Objection taken from Saturn and Jupiter, whose Axes, he says, are Inclined to the Axis of the Ecliptick; and yet, according to the Theorist, they have suffer’d no Deluge. This is an unhappy Argument, for I think it hath two Errors in it: But let us set down his Words, that there may be no Mistake or Misrepresentation, p. 76. Another Argument which may be brought to convince the Theorist that the Axis of the Earth was at first inclined to the Plane of the Ecliptick is, that it is certain by Observation, that Saturn and Jupiter (whom the Theorist will allow to have suffered no Deluge as yet) have their Axes not perpendicular, but inclined to the Planets of their Orbits; and the Position is true of all the other Planets, as far as they can be observ’d. And therefore, &c. First, as to Saturn, I’m sure the Theorist never thought that Planet to be now in its original Form, but to be broken, and to have already suffer’d a Dissolution, as you may see in both Theories, English and Latin[25]. Then as to the Position of Jupiter, I know not whence he has this certain Observation, that its Axis is oblique to the Plane of its Orbit: For[26] Hugenius tells us just the contrary, and that it hath a perpetual Equinox. Let these Things be examin’d, and hereafter let us be cautious how we take Things upon the Examiner’s Word, if he be found to have committed two Faults in one Objection.

Farthermore, he intimates, (p. 94.) that the Theorist hath no Mind to the Notion of Attraction; I believe so too, nor in Philosophy to any other Notion that is unconceivable. He must tell us how this Attraction differs from an occult Quality, whether it is a mechanical Principle or no; and if not, from what Principle it arises. When he hath told us this, we shall be better able to judge of it.

After all, to conclude this Chapter, the one grand Question with the Theorist (whatsoever there may be with other Authors) is this, whether the Earth has chang’d its Situation since the Beginning of the World: And that it has done so, the Theorist does still positively maintain.

Having insisted more largely upon these four first Chapters, as being most fundamental in the Controversy, we shall dispatch more readily this fifth and the seventh, leaving the sixth Chapter to a more particular Disquisition in the last Place.

This fifth Chapter is designed against the Rivers of the primitive Earth, according to that Origin and Derivation that is given them by the Theorist. But it is to be noted in the first Place, that supposing they had any other Origin or Course than what is there assign’d (excepting only an Origin from Mountains,) the Theory continues still in Force. For this Point about the Waters of the first Earth, and the Explication of them, is one of those Explications that admit of Latitude and Variety; and therefore as to the Theory, the Question is only this, Whether an habitable Earth may have Rivers without Mountains. For if any Earth may have them without Mountains, why not the primitive Earth? Now it will be hard for the Examiner, or any other, to prove, that in every World, where there are Waters and Rivers, there are Mountains. We intimated before, that the general Frame of an Earth might be such as would give a Course to Waters without particular Mountains. But we will leave that at present to a farther Consideration, and observe now what his Proofs are, that there could be no Rivers in the primitive Earth.

First he says, p. 87. According to the Theorist’s Own Hypothesis, there could be no Rivers for a long Time after the Formation of the Earth. Where is this said by the Theorist? His Hypothesis supposes, that the soft and moist Earth could not but afford Store of Vapours at first, as this Author in another Place hath noted for the Sense of the Theorist, (p. 86.) and now he says the quite contrary: The Chanels of the Rivers indeed would not be so deep and hollow at first as they are now, their Cavities being wrought by Degrees; but still there would not want Vapours to supply them.

Then he says, p. 88. when that first Moisture of the Earth was lessened, there could be no Supply of Vapours from the Abyss; seeing the Heat of the Sun could not reach so far, nor raise Vapours from it, or at least not in a sufficient Quantity, as he pretends to prove hereafter: But in the mean Time he speaks of great Cracks or Pits, whose Dimensions and Capacities he examines at Pleasure, and by these he makes the Theorist to suppose the Vapours to ascend. Now I do not find that the Theorist makes any Mention of these Pits, nor any Use of those Cracks for that Purpose. The only Question is, whether the Heat of the Sun in that Earth would reach so low as the Abyss, when the Earth was more dried, a»d its Pores enlarg’d: So that this Objection, as he states it, seems to refer to some other Author.

But now supposing the Vapours rais’d, he considers what Course they would take, or which Way they would move in the open Air. But before that be examin’d, we must take Notice how unfairly he deals with the Theorist, when he seems to make him suppose, p. 94, 95. that Mountains make way for the Motion and Dilatation of the Vapours; which he never suppos’d, nor is it possible he should suppose it in the first Earth, where there were no Mountains. Neither does the Theorist suppose, as this Author would insinuate, that Mountains or Cold dilate Vapours, but on the contrary, that they stop and compress them, as the Words are cited, even by the Examiner a little before, p. 86.

Then as to the Course of the Vapours, when they are rais’d, the Theorist supposes that would be towards the Poles and the coldest Climates. But this Author says, p. 97. they would all move Westward, or from East to West; there being a continual Wind blowing from the East to West, according to the Motion of the Sun. Whether that Wind come from the Motion of the Sun, or of the Earth, (which is contrary,) is another Question; but however, let them move at first to the West, the Question here is, Where they would be condens’d, or where they would fall. And there is little Probability that their Condensation would be under the Equator, where they are most agitated, but rather by an Impulse of new Vapours, they would soon divert towards the Poles, and losing their Agitation there, would fall in Dews or Rains. Which Condensation being made, and a Passage open’d that Way for new ones to supply their Places, there would be a continual Draught of Vapours, from the hotter to the colder Parts of the Earth.

We proceed now to the seventh Chapter, which is in a good Measure upon the same or a like Subject with this, namely, concerning the Penetration of the Heat of the Sun into the Body of the Earth. This, he says, p. 148. cannot be to any considerable Depth; nor could it pass the exterior Orb of the first Earth, and affect the Abyss, or raise Vapours from it. To prove this, he supposes that exterior Earth divided into so many Surfaces as he pleases, then supposing the Heat diminished in every Surface, he concludes it could not possibly pass through so many. Thus you may divide an Inch into an hundred or a thousand Surfaces, and prove from thence, that no Heat of the Sun could pierce through an Inch of Earth. We must rather consider Pores than Surfaces in this Case; and whether those Pores were straight or oblique, the Motion would pass however, though not the Light: And the Heat of the Sun might have its Effect, by a direct or indirect Motion, to a great Depth within the Earth, notwithstanding the Multitude of Surfaces that he imagines. Those that think a Comet, upon its nearer Approach to the Sun, would be pierc’d with its Heat through and through; and to such a Degree, as to become much hotter than red hot Iron, will not think it strange, that at our Distance from the Sun, its Heat should have some proportionable Effect upon the inward Parts of the Earth. And all those imaginary solid Surfaces do not hinder, you see, the magnetick Particles from running through the Body of the Earth, and making the Globe one great Magnet.

But let those Considerations have what Effect they can, this Supposition however is nothing peculiar to the Theorist. I know some learned Men think the Heat of the Sun does penetrate deep into the Bowels of the Earth; others think it does not, and either of them have their Arguments. These alledge the equal Temper of Vaults and Mines at different Seasons of the Year: The other say, ’tis true, subterraneous Places keep their Equality of Temper much better than the external Air, and those Differences that appear to us, are in a great Measure by comparison with the Temper of our Bodies. Then for their own Opinion, they take an Argument from the Generation of Metals and Minerals in the Bowels of the Earth, and other subterraneous Fossiles. These, we see, are ripen’d by degrees in several Ages, and cannot, as they think, be brought to Maturity, and raised into the exterior Earth, without the Heat and Influence of the Sun: Of the same Sun that actuates all the vegetable World, that quickens Seeds, and raises Juices into the Roots of our deepest, and Tops of our highest Oaks and Cedars.

But let this remain a Problem; I will instance in another remarkable Phænomenon, which is most for the present Purpose, I mean Earthquakes. Let us consider the Causes of them, and the Depths of them: I think all agree, that Earthquakes arise from the Rarefaction of Vapours and Exhalations, and that this Rarefaction must be made by some Heat; and no other is yet proved to us by this Author than that of the Sun. Then as to the Depth of Earthquakes, we find they are deeper than the Bottom of the Sea: For, besides that they communicate with different Countries divided by the Sea, they are found sometimes to arise within the Sea, and from the Bottom of it, at great Depths. This seems to prove, that there may be a strong Rarefaction of Vapours and Exhalations far within the Bowels of the Earth; and the Theorist desires no more. If in the present Constitution of the Earth, there may be such Concussions and Subversions for a great Extent, we have no Reason to believe, but there might be (at a Time appointed by Providence) an universal Disruption, as that Earth was constituted. Finally, whatsoever the Causes of this Disruption and Dissolution were, ’tis certain there was a Disruption of the Abyss, and that Disruption universal as the Deluge was; which answers sufficiently the Design of the Theory. However, if he have a mind to see, how this agrees with History, both sacred and prophane, he may consult, if he pleases, what the Theorist hath noted upon that Argument, Archæol. l. 2. c. 4. besides other Places.

But this Author says farther, That supposing such a Disruption of the Abyss, and Dissolution of the exterior Earth, no universal Deluge however could follow upon it; because there could not be Water enough left in the Abyss to make or occasion such a Deluge: For the Rivers of the Earth being then supply’d from the Abyss, by such a Time, or before the Time of the Deluge, he says, there would be no Water left in it. Thus he goes from one Extreme to another: Before he said, the Power of the Sun could not reach or affect the Abyss to draw out any Vapours from it; now he would make the Evaporation so excessive, that it would have emptied the great Abyss before the Deluge. This is a great Undertaking, and to make it good he takes a great Compass: He pretends to shew us, what Quantity of Water all the Rivers of the Earth throw into the Sea every Day; and beginning with the River Po, and taking his Measure from that, he supposes there are such a certain Number of equivalent Rivers upon the Face of the whole Earth; and if the Po casts so much Water into the Sea, the rest will cast so much more, and in Conclusion so much as would empty the Abyss.

You will easily believe, Sir, there must be great Uncertainties in this Computation: But, if that was certain, as it is far from it, still he goes upon Suppositions that are not allow’d by the Theorist. For, first, he supposes the Waters of the present Sea to be equal to the Waters of the great Abyss: Whereas, supposing them of the same Depth, there would be near twice as much Water in the great Deep, as is now in the Ocean; seeing the Abyss was extended under the whole Earth, and the Sea reaches but to half of it. Secondly, He should prove that the Rivers of the ante-diluvian Earth were as many, and as great, as we have now. The Torrid Zone then had none, and much less would serve the temperate Climates than is requisite now for the Earth. Besides, the Rivers of that Earth were not supplied by Vapours only from the Abyss, but also from all the Earth, and all the Waters upon the Earth: And when the Rivers were partly lost and spent in the Torrid Zone, they were in a great Measure exhal’d there, and drawn into the Air by the Heat of the Sun, and would fall again in another Place, to make new Rains and a new Supply to the Rivers. So, in like manner, when he supposes, p. 158. the Rivers that were upon the Earth, at the Time of the Disruption or the great Deep, to have thrown themselves off the Land, as if they were lost; and makes a Computation how much Water all the Rivers of the Earth amount to: This, I say, is a needless Computation as to the present Purpose. For whatsoever Mass of Waters they amounted to, it would not be lost: If they fell down and joined with the Abyss, they would increase its Store, and be thrown up again by the Fall of the Fragments, making so much a greater Mass to overflow the Earth; So that nothing is gain’d by this Supposition. The Effect would be the same as to the Deluge: Whether the Waters above the Earth, and those under the Earth met together sooner or later, when their Forces were joined, they would still have the same Effect, as we said before of the Vapours. And to conclude that Point, the whole Sum of Waters, or Vapours convertible into Waters, that were from the Beginning, or at any Time, would still be preserv’d above Ground, or under Ground: And that would turn to the same Account, as to the Flood.

These Waters and Vapours all collected, the Theorist supposes sufficient, upon a Dissolution of the Earth, to make the Deluge: Not indeed in the Nature of a Standing Pool, as it is usually conceiv’d; a quiet Pool, I say, overtopping and standing calm over the Heads of the highest Mountains; but as a rushing Sea, overflowing and sweeping them with its raging Waves and impetuous Fluctuations, when it was violently forc’d out of all its Chanels, and the Vapours condensed into Rain. Such an Inundation as this, would be sufficient to destroy both Man and Beast, and other Creatures, those few excepted, that were miraculously preserv’d in the Ark. This is the Theorist’s Explication of the Deluge, and I see nothing in this Argument, that will destroy or weaken it.

Now, this being the State of the Deluge, according to the Theorist, what this Author says in the next Paragraph (p. 167.) is either a Misrepresentation, or an Equivocation. For the eight Oceans requir’d by the Theorist, is the Quantity of Water necessary for a Deluge in the Way of a Standing Pool: Whereas this Author represents it, as if the Theorist required so much Water to make a Deluge upon his Hypothesis. This, I suppose, upon Reflection, the Author cannot but see to be a Mistake, or a wilful Misrepresentation.

This is the Sum of his seventh Chapter: There are besides some Suggestions made, which it may be were intended for Objections by the Author: As when he says, (p. 151.) that the Heat of the Sun would be intolerable upon the Surface of the Earth, if it could pierce and operate upon the Abyss. We allow, that its Heat was intolerable in the Torrid Zone, which thereby became unhabitable; and there only the Sun was in its full Strength, and had its greatest Effect upon the Abyss. But in the other Climates, the Heat would be moderate enough; nay, so moderate, that this Author says in another Place, p. 66, 69, &c. it would not be sufficient to ripen Fruits, and in the Whole, of less Force than it is now in the present Constitution of the Earth. So apt is Contention to carry one out of one Extreme into another.

His last Objection is about the Duration of the Flood, that it could not last in its Force a hundred and fifty Days, if it had been made by a Dissolution of the Earth, and an Eruption of the Abyss. But as this is affirm’d by him without Proof, so the contrary is sufficiently explain’d and made out, both in the Latin and English Theory, p. 52, 56.

I had forgot to tell him, that he ought not to suppose, as he seems to do, when he is emptying the Abyss, (p. 165.) that after the Torrid Zone was soak’d with Waters by the Issues of the Rivers, no more Waters or Vapours were drawn from it then, than were before, or consequently no less from the Abyss. For when the middle Parts of the Earth had drunk in those Waters, the Force of the Sun would be less upon the Abyss through those Parts, and the Vapours would be more and greater from them, than before when they were drier, and in the same Proportion they needed less Supplies from the Abyss.

CHAP. VI.
Concerning the Figure of the Earth.

I Deferr’d the Consideration of this Chapter to the last, because I thought it of a more general Concern, and might deserve a fuller Disquisition. ’Tis now, you know, become a common Controversy or Enquiry, what the Figure of the Earth is. Many think it not truly Spherical, as it was imagin’d formerly, but a Spheroid, either oblong or oblate; that is, either extended in Length toward the Poles, like an oval; or, on the contrary, swelling in Breadth under the Equator, and so shorter than a just Sphere betwixt Pole and Pole, and broader in the middle Parts. ’Tis true, the Theorist is not directly concern’d in this Controversy, because he does not in the Theory affirm the present Earth to be oblong or oval, not knowing what Change might be made at its Dissolution. However, it may be worth the while to enquire what Arguments are bought, either from Causes or Effects, to determine the Figure of the Earth, whether past or present.

’Tis easy indeed by Observation to determine, that the Earth is a convex Body, not plain, as the Epicureans fansied; and convex on all Sides, and therefore in some sort orbicular; but whether it be truly spherical, those common Observations will not determine. The Theorist nam’d and pointed at such Observations, as he thought would be most likely to discover the precise Figure of the Earth: As to observe, for Instance, whether the Extent of a Degree was the same all the Earth over, in different Latitudes, or at different Distances from the Equator. Then to observe whether the Shade of the Earth in a total Eclipse of the Moon be truly round, or any other ways irregular. And also to observe, if towards the Poles, the Return of the Sun into their Horizon, be according to the Rules of a spherical Surface of the Earth. Let us consider these separately, as to the present Earth.

As to the Measure of a Degree in different Latitudes, we find that Authors are not all of the same Mind. Some will have them unequal, and in such a manner, according to their Distance from the Equator, as from that to infer, that the Earth is oblong. This Examiner takes Notice of Dr. Eisensmidius, as one that hath made that Observation, and that Inference from it, and gives him very rude Words upon that occasion, making him a Man of prodigious Stupidity, and Crackpot, p. 140, and one that did not understand the first six Elements of Euclid, or indeed those of common Sense, p. 143. Whatsoever this Professor was, he was not the first that made that Observation and Inference. For another Mathematician, better known, had made the same, some time before him: I mean Milliet Deschales, in his general Principles of Geography, Fr. l. 1. propos. 29. But, ’tis true, he says, this Conjecture of his, that the Figure of the Earth is oval or ecliptick, would not be well grounded, if the Shade of the Earth in Lunar Eclipses was found to be always perfectly round; of which we shall have occasion to speak hereafter. For this, which he makes a Scruple against his own Opinion, is by others made an Occasion of suspecting that the Earth is really Oval. But we must also acknowledge, that the same Deschales in his Latin Works does not own the Observation, but owns the Inference, which is that the Examiner quarrels with. He owns it, I say, in these Words,[27] Si figura terræ esset ovalis, plura milliaria decurrenúa essent versus Æquinoctialem ad inveniendum in elevatione poli mutationem unius gradûs quàm versus polos. And he gives this Reason, Quià ovalis figura prope vertices minorem sphæram imitatur: versus Æquinoctialem autem in majorem sphæram degenerat. And again, having taken Notice of the various Computations of a Degree upon the Earth, he subjoins[28], Hæc observationum discrepantia nonnullis suspicionem fecit, Tellurem non omninò sphæricam esse, sed sphæroidem ellipticam, ita ut versus polos in minorem circulum abiret. Sed opus est pluribus observationibus adid persuadendum. The Theorist did not assert either the Observation to be true or the Inference, but mark’d it as an Observation that deserv’d to be enquir’d into, in order to determine the Figure of the Earth. For it seems apparent, that if the Body of the Earth be oblong or oblate, the Extent of a Degree will not be really the same as if it was truly spherical. Neither do I know any single Observation that would give us more Light, or better help us to discover what the Configuration of the Earth is, than the Measure of a Degree exactly taken in different Latitudes.

I happened lately to be in Company with a learned Gentleman, and amongst other Things that fell into Discourse, I ask’d his Opinion, what Inequality there would be in the Degrees of the Earth, in case it was oval, and where it would fall; whether they would be greater towards the Poles, or towards the Equator. We were suddenly interrupted by the coming in of new Company, but he said he would send me his Thoughts upon a little Reflection; and accordingly, after a few Days he was pleased to send me this Letter.

SIR,

A Circle, with various Points marked.

Figure 5.

Having now some Leisure (the Elections for Parliament, wherein I had any Concern, being over) I have here sent you my Thoughts on a Subject we lately discours’d of at Kensington. Whether in case the Earth is a long Spheroid, the Degrees of Latitude would be greater near the Equator, or near the Poles. I conceive they would be greater near the Equator. Let the Ellipsis BDCF. represent the Earth, draw the Line gp. which may be a Tangent to the Ellipsis, and likewise meeting with the Axis BC, and its Transverse FD (after they are produc’d) make the Triangle gAp an Isosceles, and consequently the Angles at the Base Agp, Apg each 45 Degrees. I say HC will measure the 45 Degrees of Latitude near the Pole, and DH (which by Inspection without farther Demonstration is evidently bigger) those near the Equator. (I ought to have premis’d that B and C represent the Poles.) It is plain the Inhabitants at H will be in the Latitude of 45 Degrees, by reason their horizontal Plane gp is by Construction 45 Degrees distant to the Horizon of the Inhabitants under the Line at D, which lies parallel to the Axis BC.

If the Earth be a broad Spheroid, D and F representing the Poles, then by the same Method of Reasoning, the Degrees of Latitude will be greatest near the Poles: But as the longest and shortest Diameter of the Earth has in no wise so great a Disproportion as in their Figure (their Difference not exceeding the two hundredth Part at most) the Inequality of the Degrees of Latitude will be proportionally less; but in all Cases, the long Spheroid makes the Degrees greatest near the Equator; and the broad Spheroid those greatest near the Poles. I hope in a Fortnight to have the Satisfaction of seeing you in London, and remain,

Sir, Your most Humble Servant.

The Examiner would do well to consider this, lest all the reproachful Characters he casts upon Eisensmidius, should recoil upon himself. ’Tis Prudence, as well as good Manners not to be fierce and vehement in Censures, for fear of a Mistake, and a Blackblow. However, the pretended Demonstration which this Examiner brings to prove, that, in case the Earth was oblong, the Degrees would be greater toward the Poles, does not affect Eisensmidius, for it proceeds upon a Supposition which that Author does not allow; namely, that the Vertical Lines, or the Lines of Gravity are to be drawn directly to the Center of the Earth: Whereas Eisensmidius supposes they ought to be drawn at right Angles, to the Tangent of each respective Horizon, and would not in all Figures lead directly to the Center. However, we do not wonder that he is so rude to Strangers, seeing he bears so hard in other places, upon some of our own learned Countrymen.

We proceed now to the Theorist’s second Observation, about Lunar Eclipses and the Shade of the Earth. This Shade is generally presumed to be exactly round, as the Section of a Cone: And yet the best Astronomers have doubted of it, and some upon that Occasion have doubted of the Figure of the Earth. Kepler[29] in an Observation of a Lunar total Eclipse, not finding the Shade of the Earth perfectly round, but rather oblong, ut ejus dimetiens à Zona Torrida consurgentis sit minor dimetiente ejus à Polis Terræ surgentis, suspects that the Figure of the Earth was so too. And that we must conclude it to be so from this Observation, if there was not some Obliquity in the Rays of the Sun, whereof he shews no Cause or Occasion. Si retinenda esset, inquit, rectitudo radiorum, Globus ipse Terræ fiet oviformis, diametro per Polos longiore. And a like Observation to this he cites from Tycho Brahé, in a central, or next to central Eclipse of the Moon. These two great Astronomers, it seems, did not find the Shade of the Earth to be justly conical; and thereby take away the Reason or lessen the Doubt, which hindered M. Deschales from concluding (upon another Observation) the Figure of the Earth to be oval.

The third Observation of the Theorist remains, which is about the Return of the Sun unto the polar Parts of the Earth, whether that be according to the Rules of a spherical Surface. The Observations that have been made hitherto in the Northern Climates about the Return of the Sun to them, make it quicker than will easily consist with a spherical Figure of the Earth; much less are they favourable to a gibbous Form: For that Gibbosity under the Equator must needs hinder the Appearance and Discovery of the Sun in the respective polar Parts, more than a spherical Figure would do. Now it hath been observ’d in Nova Zembla, that the returning Sun appear’d to them seventeen Days sooner than they expected, according to the Rules of Astronomy, the Earth being supposed truly spherical; and this may be thought an Argument that the Earth is rather depress’d in its middle Parts. I leave the Matter to farther Examination. I know ’tis usually imputed to Refractions, but that is upon the Presumption that the Earth is justly spherical; and a better Answer (upon that Supposition) I think cannot be found. Though, I think, it will not be easy in that Way, and upon that Solution to make all the Phænomena agree, or to shew that the Refractions could make so great a Difference. However, this is no improper Topick to be consider’d in reference to the Determination of the Figure of the Earth, and for that purpose it was noted by the Theorist.

We have now done with that side of the Question, that respects the oblong Figure of the Earth, and it remains to consider the other Part; I mean the Opinion of those that make the Earth protuberant about the Equator, or an oblate Spheroid. This the learned Monsieur Hugens[30] thinks may be prov’d by Experiments made about the different Vibrations of Pendulums in different Latitudes of the Earth. ’Tis found, he says, by Experience that a Pendulum near the Equator, makes its Vibrations slower than another of the same Length, farther from the Equator; and gives an Instance of it from an Experiment made at Caiene in America (which is four or five Degrees from the Equator) compar’d with another made at Paris. From this Trial he concludes, first, that the Gravitation is less under and near the Equator than towards the Poles, according to their several Degrees of Latitude. Then he infers, by Consequence, that the Land and the Sea are higher towards the Equator, than towards the Poles. And in Conclusion, that the Figure of the Earth is protuberant and gibbous in the Middle, and more flatted, or of a shorter Diameter betwixt Pole and Pole.

In this Conclusion, you see, there are several Things to be considered according to the Premisses. First, Matter of Fact, concerning the Inequality of Vibrations in equal Pendulums, according to their different Latitudes; then the following Inferences made from that Inequality. As to the Matter of Fact, Monsieur Hugens seems to be doubtful himself: He does not vouch it from his own Experience, but he takes it from the Report of Monsieur Richer; whose Person or Character I do not know, nor whether his Relation be extant in Print. However, Monsieur Hugens speaks dubiously of the Experiment, as such an one whereof we ought to expect farther Confirmation. For he says[31], we cannot trust entirely to this first Observation, whereof we have not any Circumstance noted to us; and still less to those that are said to be made at Guadeloupe, (at a greater Latitude,) where the Pendule is said to be shorter by two Lines than that at Paris.[32] We must expect to be more justly inform’d of these different Lengths of Pendules, as well under the Line as in other Climates. And he refers us to a farther Trial by his Clocks, rectified for a second Voyage, whereof I have yet heard no Report. If Matter of Fact be dubious, or Experiments discordant, we cannot be assur’d of the Conclusion. It were to be wish’d, that this different Gravitation in different Latitudes, might be prov’d by other Experiments than that of the Pendulum. Methinks, in ponderous Bodies, this Difference might become sensible: Not indeed by a Balance or Scales, for the supposed Decrease of Gravity would have the same Effect upon the Counterpoise as upon the Body weighed; but by other Powers that do not depend immediately upon Gravity, as Springs, or any other Engines, or by Rarefactions, or whatsoever hath the Force to raise, sustain, or remove ponderous Bodies. For such Powers have a less Effect with us than near the Equator, where the Gravitation of Bodies that make the Counterpoise, is supposed to be much lessen’d. Neither do I know if they have try’d the Barometer, whether that will discover any such Elevation, at, or near the Equator; the Mercury sinking there much lower than with us, or indeed to nothing, if the Height be comparatively so great as is supposed. It seems strange, that the Difference of seventeen Miles (call it little, or call it great, compar’d with the Semidiameter of the Earth) should have a sensible Effect upon Pendulums and upon nothing else.

Methinks, that Height of the Equator should make a different Horizon (as to the Heavens, or the Earth, and Sea) East and West, from North and South; the Figure of the Earth being a Sphere one way and a Spheroid in the other. The Sea also must be a prodigious Depth at the Equator; deeper by seventeen Miles, than at or near the Poles. I would gladly know what Experience there is of this. Then in reference to our Rivers, how swift and rapid, upon this Hypothesis, must the Rivers be that rise at or near the Equator, or how slow the Motion of those that ascend towards it, if at all they can be supposed to climb so great an Hill. The great River of the Amazons, in Southern America, is in some Parts of it four or five Degrees from the Equator, others say much more; yet runs up to the Equator with that vast load of Water, and throws it self there into the Ocean. In the Northern America, Rio Negro is represented to us, as having a longer Course against the bent of the Earth, and crossing the Equator, falls down Southward several Degrees: So the Nile in Africa crosses the Line, and hath a long Course on this side of it. Rivers do not rise higher by a natural Course than their Fountain’s Head, and Hydrographers usually assign two Foot, or two Foot and an half in a Mile for the Descent of Rivers, but upon this Hypothesis there will be fourteen or fifteen Foot (in respect of the Center of the Earth) for every Mile, in Rivers descending from the Equator; which is a Precipitation rather than a navigable Stream. Suppose a Canal cut from the Equator to the Pole, ’twould be a Paradox to say the Water would not flow in this Chanel, nor descend towards the Pole, having fourteen or fifteen Foot Descent for every Mile, according to your Figure of the Earth: And also it would be as great or a greater Paradox, to suppose that Rivers would rise to the Equator, and with the same Celerity (as we see they do) upon an Ascent of so many Feet. And after all, to conclude the Argument, if this Difference of Pendulums be found, it will still bear a Dispute from what physical Causes that Difference proceeds.

Thus far we have considered what Arguments have been brought for the oblate Figure of the Earth from Effects; and have noted such Observations to be made, as we thought might be useful for Discovery of Truth, on what side soever it may fall. We are now to consider an Argument taken from the Causes, and brought by these Authors to prove the same spheroidical Figure of the Globe. To this purpose they observe, as is obvious and reasonable, that in the diurnal Motion of the Earth, the middle Parts about the Equator (where the Circles are greatest, and consequently the Motion swiftest) would fly off with a greater Force, and so rise higher than the other Parts that were mov’d in lesser Circles in the same time, and would have less Force to remove themselves from the Center of their Motion. This is agreed on all Hands, and was own’d by the Theorist in a fluid Globe turn’d about its Axis, in case there was no Impediment to hinder the rising or recession of those middle Parts. But before we speak to that, on both sides you see it must be suppos’d and granted, that the Globe of the Earth was once fluid, or the exterior Orb of it; and we ought to consider when, or at what Time this was. It must have been surely at the first Formation of the Earth, when it rose from a Chaos, and before its Parts were consolidated and grown hard. Supposing then that the interior Orb of the Earth was once cover’d over with an Orb of Water, the Question will be, how this Orb of Water came to be cover’d with dry Land, or came to be divided into Land and Water, as it is now.

The Earth, covered with Water.

Figure 6

The Earth, as it is now.

Figure 7

Let (A) represent an Hemisphere of the Earth, in its first State, when covered with Water; and (B) the same Hemisphere as it is now. This Author must tell us, consistently with his Hypothesis, how the Earth could pass out of one of these States into the other, without passing through some intermediate State; or how this Change was made in its Surface, from what Causes, and in what manner. If the first Earth was a Concretion upon the Face of the Waters, then indeed it would have the same Figure with the watery Globe under it; but if it was from the Beginning in this present Form firm and solid, as it is now rocky and mountainous, then the Question is, how the Parts or Regions of the Earth about the Equator could be raised above a spherical Figure, or into an oblate Spheroid, as they say the Earth is now. I take it for granted, that they suppose the Land raised as well as the Water; for otherwise the Ocean would overflow at those Parts of the Earth. Suppose then the Waters raised by the Circumvolution of the Earth, how was the Terra firma rais’d, or how could it be rais’d by that or any such Cause?

These Questions are no matter of Difficulty to the Theorist, who supposes the first Earth to have covered the Waters, and to have taken their Shape, whatsoever it was, as upon a Mold: Then upon its Dissolution and Disruption at the Deluge, to have fallen into that uneven and uninterrupted Form it hath now. But feeling this Method does not please the Examiner, he must tell us how, upon his Hypothesis, the Land or solid Parts of the Earth could be rais’d above a spherical Convexity into such a gibbous Figure, as he supposes them now to have under the Equator.

Monsieur Hugens[33] makes this broad Spheroid of the Earth to have been the Effect of Gravity in the Formation of the Earth; the Matter whereof being then turned round, it would, as he thinks, be brought to settle in this oblate Figure. Very well! But this must be in its very first Concretion from a Chaos, before it was fix’d and compact as it is now; for the Rotation of the Earth could have no such effect upon it after it was hard. Now if you admit the exterior Globe of the Earth, to have been in such a State betwixt Fixtness and Fluidity, it will lead us directly to the Theorist’s Hypothesis, which supposes a soft and tender Concretion at first, over all the Face of the Waters. I say, over all the Face of the Waters: For it must be universal; both because there is no Reason why these earthy Particles that made the Concretion, should not fall upon one Part of the Globe, as well as upon another; and also if they did not fall upon the Equinoctial Parts, how came there to be Land in that part, or that Land rais’d higher than the rest, as this Hypothesis will have it?

In these Remarks upon the protuberant Figure of the Earth, you see it is allow’d, that there would be a greater Tendency from the Center in the middle Parts of the Globe, and the Waters would rise there, if there was no Impediment. But the Theorist did believe that the Vortex, or circumfluent Orb was streighter, or of a shorter Diameter there than through the Poles; and consequently the Waters having less room to dilate, would be press’d and detruded towards the Poles. These Authors, it may be, will allow no Vortices to the Planets; but then they must assign some other sufficient Cause to carry the Planets in their periodical Motions (and with the same Velocity for innumerable Ages) about their common Center; and the Secondary about their Primary: As also what gives them their diurnal Rotation, and the different Position of their Axes. Neither would it be easy to conceive, how a great Mass of fluid and volatile Matter, having no Current, or Determination any one way, and being often check’d in its progressive Motion, should not fall into circular Motions, or into Vortices of one sort or other; especially if you place in this Mass some great solid Bodies turned about their Axes.

These are more general Problems; and when they are determin’d with Certainty, we shall better judge of the Particulars that depend upon them. But I say still, that neither Figure of the Earth, oblong or oblate, can be prov’d from the Rotation of the Earth and its Gravity, without supposing the Globe form’d into that Shape before it came to be harden’d, before it came to be loaded and stiffen’d by Rocks and stony Mountains. Therefore upon both Hypotheses it must be allow’d, that there was such a Time, such a State of the Earth, when its tender Orb was capable of those Impressions and Modifications; and that Orb must have lain above the Waters, not under them, nor radicated to the Bottom of them, for then such Cause could not have had such an Effect upon it. And in the last place, this Concretion upon the Waters must have been throughout all the Parts of the Earth, or all the Parts of the Land which are now rais’d above a spherical Surface; and no reason can be given, as we noted before, why the rest should not be cover’d as well as those. So that in effect both the Hypotheses suppose that all the watery Globe was at first cover’d with an earthy Concretion.

Now this being admitted, you have confirm’d the main Point of the Theory: Namely, that the Abyss was once, or at first cover’d with a terrestrial Concretion, or an Orb of Earth. Grant this, and we’ll compound for the rest, let the Earth at present be of what Figure it will: If there was such an original Earth that cover’d the Waters, both the Form and Equilibration of the Earth may easily appear, and how by a Dissolution of it a Deluge might arise. But as to the present Earth, the Theorist never affirm’d that its Figure was oval, but he[34] noted such Observations made or to be made, as he thought might be proper to determine its Figure, and still desires that they may be pursued. He added also, that he would be glad to receive any new ones, that would demonstrate the precise Figure of the Earth. And accordingly, he is willing to consider in this Particular and all others, the Arguments and Remarks of such eminent Authors, as have lately given a new Light to the System of the World.

This may suffice to have spoken in general concerning these two spheroidical Figures of the Earth. We must now consider what particular Objections are made by the Examiner against its oval Figure. He says, p. 103, 104, &c. admitting the oval Figure of that first Earth, it would not be capable however, to give a Course to the Rivers from the polar Parts, towards the Equinoctial. And his Reason is this; because the same Causes which cast the Abyss or the Ocean towards the Poles, would also keep the Rivers from descending from the Poles: But there is no Parity of Reason betwixt the Abyss or the Ocean, and the Rivers. We see in the Flux and Reflux of the Ocean, let the Cause of it be what it will, it hath not that Effect upon Rivers, nor upon Lakes, nor upon lesser Seas; yet the Circum-rotation of the Earth continues the same. And his confounding the Ocean and Rivers in the ante-diluvian Earth is so much the worse, seeing there never was an Ocean and Rivers together in that Earth. While there was an open Ocean, there were no Rivers, and when there were Rivers, there was no open Ocean, but an inclos’d Abyss: So though he makes large Transcripts there and elsewhere out of the Theory, he does not seem always to have well digested the Method of it.

After this Objection, the Examiner charges the Theorist with want of Skill in Logick; but his Charge is grounded upon another Misunderstanding or Misrepresentation. He pretends there, p. 107. that the Theorist hath made such a Ratiocination as this. All Bodies by reason of the Earth’s diurnal Rotation, do endeavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion; but by reason of the Pressure of the Air, and the Streightness of the Orb, they cannot recede from the Axis of their Motion, therefore they will move towards the Poles, where they will come nearer to the Axis of their Motion. These are the Examiner’s Words in that Place, where he says he will put the Theorist’s Reasoning in other Words: But I do not like that Method, unless the Examiner were a more judicious or faithful Paraphrast than he seems to be: Let every one be tried by their own Words, and if there be any false Logick or Nonsense in the forecited Words of the Examiner, let it fall upon their Author. The Theorist said[35], that Bodies, by reason of the Earth’s Motion did, conari à centro sur motûs recederè: These Words this Translator renders, endeavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion; and by changing the Word Center into Axis (whether carelesly or wilfully I know not) of plain Sense he hath made Nonsense; and then makes this Conclusion, p. 108. (which follows indeed from his own Words, but not from those of the Theorist) because all Bodies do endeavour to recede from the Axis of their Motion, therefore they will endeavour to go to the Axis of their Motion.

The Theorist’s Argumentation was plainly this: Seeing in the Rotation of the Earth, Bodies tend from the Center of their Motion, if they meet with an Impediment there, they will move laterally in the next easiest and openest way; and therefore the Waters under the Equator being stopp’d in their first Tendency, would divert towards the Poles; wherein, I think, there is no false Logick. That there was no Impediment there, he must prove by other Arguments than his own Dictates or bare Assertion, which will not pass for a Proof.

He proceeds now to discourse of the centrifugal Force and the Effects of it, together with Gravity: But he should have given us a better Notion of the centrifugal Force, than what he sets down there; for he says (p. 110. l. 24.) A centrifugal Force, is that Force by which a Body is drawn towards the Center: This is a strange Signification of that Word. And in the next Page (p. 111. l. 22.) he says, by this centrifugal Force, Bodies endeavour to recede from the Center of their Motion; which is true, but contrary to what he said just before. I think ’tis Gravity, not centrifugal Force, that brings Bodies towards the Center.

But to pass by this Contradiction, and to proceed: What he says, from others, about the Proportions of the centrifugal Force and Gravity in Bodies turn’d round, and particularly in Fluids, how they would fly off more or less, according to the Circles of their Motion, was always (as hath been mention’d before) suppos’d and allow’d by the Theorist, if there was no Restraint or Pressure upon one Part more than another of the fluid Globe: So that he might have spared here six or seven Pages.

In like manner, he might have spar’d what he hath transcrib’d in his following Pages from those excellent Authors we referr’d to before, about calculating the Diminutions of Gravity made by the centrifugal Force, in different Latitudes; with other such Excursions. These, I say, might have been spar’d, as needless upon this Occasion, or to the Confutation of the Theory, till the principal Point, upon which they depend, be better prov’d. I made bold to say, they were transcrib’d from those Authors, as any one may see that pleases to consult the Originals, Newt. Philos. Nat. Princ. Math. l. 3. prop. 18, 19, 20. Hugens Discour. de la cause de la Pesanteur, p. 147, 148, &c. And this French Discourse of Monsieur Hugens, he hath not so much as once nam’d, though he hath taken so much from it. And after all, when these Things are determin’d in Speculation, it will still be a Question what the true physical Causes of them are.

At last, for a farther Confirmation of the broad spheroidical Figure of the Earth, he adds an Observation from the Planet Jupiter, which is found to be of such a Figure. And therefore, he says, p. 137, 138. We need not doubt, but that the Earth, which is a Planet like the rest, and turns round its Axis, as they do, is of the same Figure. He might as well conclude, that every Planet, as well as the Earth, is of the same Figure. And what Reason can he give, why all the Planets that have a Rotation upon their Axis, are not broad Spheroids, as well as those two which he supposes to be so? If that be a sufficient Cause, and be found in other Planets as well as those, why hath it not the same Effect? Or he might as well conclude, that the Earth hath a perpetual Equinox, because Jupiter hath so. This is the same Fault which he hath so often committed, of measuring all the Works of God by one or two. If a Man was transported into the Moon, the nearest Planet; or into Mercury that is so near the Sun, or into Saturn, (or any of his Satellites) that is so remote from it; would he not find, think you, a much different Face and State of those Planets, from what we have upon this Earth? Inhabitants of a different Constitution, the Furniture of every World different, Animals, Plants, Waters, and other inanimate Things: As also different Vicissitudes of Days and Nights, and the Seasons of the Year; according to their different Positions, Revolutions and Forms? Therefore not without Reason we noted before, how much the Narrowness of some Mens Spirits, Thoughts and Observations, confine them to a particular Pattern and Model, nor considering the infinite Variety of the divine Works, whereof we are not competent Judges.

Now comes in his rude Censure of Dr. Eisensmidius, both for his Mathematicks and bad Logick, or want of common Sense; but to this we have spoken before. He also, in the same Paragraph, p. 142. wonders at the Theorist’s strange Logick, to make the centrifugal Force of Bodies upon the Earth, to be the Cause of its oblong Figure. That indeed would be strange Logick if it was made the proximate Cause of it. But that is not the Theorists’s Logick but the Examiner’s, as it is distorted and misrepresented by him. The Theorist suppos’d the Pressure of that Tumour of the Waters, occasion’d by the centrifugal Force (as its original Cause) to be the immediate Cause of the oblong Figure of the Earth; and that Pressure suppos’d, there is nothing illogical in the Inference. He had formerly taken Notice, p. 101, 103. of this Reason, from the Streightness of the Orb in that Part, when he gave the Theorist’s Account of that Figure; but he thought fit to forget it now, that his Charge might not appear lame.

This, Sir, is a short Account of this Author’s Objections; but there are some Things so often repeated by him, that we are forc’d to take Notice of them more than once; as that about Miracles and final Causes. He truly notes, p. 31. that to be a much easier and shorter Way of giving an account of the Deluge, or other Revolutions of Nature: But the Question is not, which is the shortest and easiest Way, but which is the truest. No Man in his Senses can question the divine Omnipotency, God could do these Things purely miraculously, if he pleas’d; but the Thing to be consider’d is, whether, according to the Methods of Providence, in the Changes and Revolutions of the natural World, the Course of Nature and of natural Causes is not made use of so far as they will go. Both Moses and St. Peter mention material Causes, but always including the divine Word and Superintendency. The Theorist does not think (as is sufficiently testified in several Places) that purely material and mechanical Causes, guided only by the Laws of Motion, could form this Earth, and the Furniture of it; and does readily believe all Miracles recorded in Holy Writ, or elsewhere, well grounded: But Miracles of our own making or imagining, want Authority to support them. Some Men when they are at a loss in the Progress of their Work, call in a Miracle to relieve them in their Distress. You know what hath been noted both by [36]Philosophers and others to that purpose.

As to final Causes, the Contemplation of them is very useful to moral Purposes, and of great Satisfaction to the Mind, where we can attain to them. But we must not pretend to prove a thing to be so or so in Nature, because we fancy it would be better so; nor deny it to be in such a manner, because to our Mind it would be better otherwise. Almighty Power and Wisdom, that have the whole Complex and Composition of the Universe in View, take other Measures than we can comprehend or account for. Even in this small Earth that we inhabit, there are several Plants and Animals, which to us appear useless or noxious, and yet no doubt would be found proper for this State, if we had the whole Prospect and Scheme of Providence. As to efficient Causes, they must be either material or immaterial, and whatsoever is prov’d to be the immediate Effect of an immaterial Cause, is so much the more acceptable to the Theorist, as it argues a Power above Matter. But as to purely material Causes, they must be mechanical; there being no other Modes, or Powers of Matter (at least in the Opinion of the Theorist) but what are mechanical: And to explain Effects by such Causes, is properly natural Science.

We have taken Notice before of this Author’s ambiguous use of Words, without declaring in what Sense he uses them: And he is no less ambiguous as to his Opinions. When he speaks of the Origin and Formation of the WORLD, he does not tell us what he means by that Word; whether the great Compound of the Universe, or that small Part only where we reside. His centrifugal Force he interprets in contrary Senses, or in contrary Words, and reserves the Sense to himself. Sometimes he speaks of the Motion of the Sun, and sometimes of the Motion of the Earth, and sticks to no System: Neither does he tell us what he means by the Mosaical Abyss, or Tehom Rabbah, which the Theorist supposes to have been broken up at the Deluge. We ought to know in what Sense and Signification he uses Words or Phrases: at least if he use them in a different Sense from that of the Theorist’s.

I know, Sir, you will also take Notice of his hard Words and coarse Language, as, that’s false, that’s absurd, that’s ridiculous. This, you will say, is not the usual Language amongst Gentlemen; but we find it too usual with some Writers, according to their particular Temper and Experience in the World. For my part, I think Rudeness or Disingenuity in examining the Writings of another Person, fall more heavy (in the Construction of fair Readers) upon him that uses them, than upon him that suffers them. I am,

SIR,

Your most humble Servant,

FINIS.

Footnotes

1.  Lib. 5. ch. 32, &c.

2.  Dial. cum Tryph.

3.  Contra Marc.

4.  Lib. 7.

5.  Quest. & respon. 93.

6.  There was a Sect amongst the Jews that held this Perpetuity and Immutability of Nature; and Maimonides himself was of this Principle, and gives the same Reason for it with the Scoffers here in the Text, Quod mundus retinet & sequitur Consuetudinem suam. And as to those of the Jews that were Aristoteleans, it was very suitable to their principles to hold the Incorruptibility of the World, as their Master did. Vid. Med. in loc.

7.  δὶ ῀ὠν, per que. Vulgat. Quamobrem, Beza. Quâ de causâ, Grot. Nemo interpretum reddidit δὶ ῀ὠν, per quas; subintelligendo aquas. Hoc enim argumentationem Apostolicana tolleret, supponeretque illusores illos ignorâsse quod olim fuerit Diluvium; Quod supponi non posse supra ostendimus.

8.  This Phrase or manner of Speech συνισάναι ἐκ vel ἐξ is not usual in Greek Authors; and upon a like Subject, Plato saith, τὸν δὲ κόσμον συνισάναι ἐκ πυρὸς ὕδατος, ἀέρος, γῆς, but he that should translate Plato, the World stands out of Fire, Water, &c. would be thought neither Grecian, nor Philosopher. The same Phrase is us’d in reciting Heraclitus his Opinion, τὰ πάντα ἐκ πυρὸς συνεσάναι, καὶ εἰς τοῦτο ἀναλιέως. And also in Thales his which is still nearer to the Subject, ἐκ τοῦ ὑδατός, φηοι, συνιζάναι πάντα, which Cicero renders, ex aquâ, dixit, constare omnia. So that it is easy to know the true Importance of this Phrase, and how it is ill render’d in the English, standing out of the Water.

9.  Whether you refer the Words ἐξ ὕδατ. καὶ δὶ ὕδατ separately to the Heavens and the Earth, or both to the Earth, or both to both, it will make no great Difference as to our Interpretation.

10.  I know some would make this Place of no effect by rendering the Hebrew Particle על juxta, by or near to; so they would read it thus, he had founded the Earth by the Sea-side, and establish’d it by the Floods. What is there wonderful in this, that the Shores should lie by the Sea-side? Where could they lie else? What Reason or Argument is this, why the Earth should be the Lord’s? The Earth is the Lord’s, for he hath founded it near the Seas. Where is the Consequence of this? But if he founded it upon the Seas, which could not be done by any other Hand but his, it shews both the Workman and the Master. And accordingly in that other, Psal. cxxxvi. 6, if you render it, He stretched out the Earth near the Waters, How is that one of God’s great Wonders, as it is there represented to be? Because in some few Places this Particle is rendered otherwise, where the Sense will bear it, must we therefore render it so when we please, and where the Sense will not bear it? This being the most usual Signification of it, and there being no other Word that signifies above more frequently or determinately than this does, why must it signify otherwise in this Place? Men will wriggle any way to get from under the Force of a Text, that does not suit to their own Notions.

11.  This reading or translating is generally followed, (Theor. Book i. p. 86.) though the English Translation read on a heap, unsuitably to the Matter and to the Sense.

12.  See Philo Judæus his Description of the Deluge, both as to the Commotions of the Heavens, and the Fractions of the Earth. In his first Treatise de Abrahamo, mih, p. 279.

13.  Uti comparatio præcedens, ver. 4, 5, 6. de ortu Telluris, sumitur ab ædificio, ita hæc altera de orsu maris, sumitur à partu; & exhibetur Oceanus, primùm, ut fœtus inclusus in utero, dein ut erumpens & prodeuns, denique ut fasciis & primus suis panniis involvutus. Atque ex aperto Terræ utero prorupit aquarum moles, ut proluties illæ, quam simul cum fœtu profundere solet puerpera.

14.  Eg: quidem i et sum sententis, so in barum resum de quibus agnt regnitienem, a alarum qunque, quo mements snt, sum s Des aut Natur ut pat estes perviniendi, ratio i ce est, aliq claris invi: Non eujecturatis, v, Quetras nimpe i, que opesmi sui, qui meimi sicavent ab, quam amcteren.

15.  Si admittamus insupor Ignam Centratem, sive Maisom ignir in centra Terra, quod quidem ain est basus argumenti. Neque partem intimam Chaos, niji ibiter & pro formo, conjiaeravi, cum ad um, nesram non spestet. Vid. etiam p. 186.

16.  Notandum verò, quamvis mundi veteris dissolutionem & rationes Diluvii secundum ordinem causarum naturalium, explicemus, quòd eo modo magis clarè & distinctè intelligantur; non ideò in pœnam humani generis ordinatum suisse diluvium, singulisque ipsius motibus præfuisse providentiam, inficiamur: imò in eo elucet maximè Sapientia divina, quòd mundum naturalem morali ita coaptet & attemperet, ut hujus ingenio, illius ordo & dispositio semper respondeat: & amberum libratis momentis, simul concurrant & unà compleantur utriusque tempora & vicissitudines; ipse etiam Apostolus Petrus diluvii & excidii mundani causas naturales assignat, cùm ait, δὶ ὧν, &c.

17.  De Grat. prim. tm. c. 12.

Accedit adbat, quad Paradisus ita deferiditus à Sinsto Basilio, in I. ’to de Paradiso; à Joan. Damasceno, Libre secundo, de fide, capit; à Sano Augustino Libre decim: quarto et cevit ete Dei, capit. 10. Ab A, A & Claud. Ma.

18.  The Exceptor rejects, first the Waters of the Sea: Then the Waters in the Bowels of the Earth: Then the supercelestial Waters: Then a new Creation of Waters: Then the Mass of Air chang’d into Water: And lastly, a partial Deluge. And therefore he puts Men fatally, either upon the Theory, or upon his new Hypothesis.

19.  This he acknowledges, p. 325. (We expound a Text or two of Scripture so as none ever did; and deferring the common received Sense, put an unusual Gloss upon them, not to say, ἰδίαν ἐπίλυσιν, a private Interpretation,) and p. 359.

20.  P. 303. But though these Caverns be called Deeps, we must not take them for profound Places, that went down into the Earth, below the common Surface of it: On the contrary, they were situate above it.

21.  Psal. cxiv. 7, 8. Tremble, then Earth, at the Presence of the Lord, at the Presence of the God of Jacob: Which turned the Rock into a standing Water, the Flint into a Fountain of Waters.

Numb. xx. 10, 11. And Moses and Aaron gathered the Congregation together before the Rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, you Rebels; must we fetch you Water out of this Rock? And Moses lift up his Hand, and with his Rod he smite the Rock twice, and the Water came out abundantly.

22.  Engl. Theor. Chap. VIII. p. 112, &c.

23.  Cic. de Nat. Dict. l. 1.

24.  Galil. Syst. Cos. p. 133. Hugen. Cosmetô. c. 2. p. 115.

25.  Engl. p. 230, &c. Lat. p. 107.

26.  Cosmoth. p. 135.

27.  l. s. Prop. 4.

28.  Ibid. Prop. 56.

29.  Ephames. par. 2. ad An. 1624.

30.  P. 145.

31.  Disc. de la Pesant. p. 149.

32.  Ibid. p. 165.

33.  M. Hugens de la Pesant, p. 152. Il est a croire, que la Terre a pris cette figure, lors qu’ elli a esté assemblee par l’effect de la Pesanteux: sa matiere sient des mouvement circulatoire de 24 heures.

34.  Lat. Theor. lib. 2. p. 185.

35.  Theor. l. 2. 5. p. 186.

36.  Plat. Cratyl. m. p. 425. Ἐπειάν τι ἀπορῶσιν, ἐτὶ τάς μηχανὰς καταθεύγουσι, θεοῦς αἴροντεσ. Cum rei alicujus engusios, ad machines consugiunt & D inducunt. This is also remark’d and render’d in other Words by Tully in Nat. Dor. l. 1. Cum explicare argumenti exitum non pet, confugitis ad Deum. St. Austin also speaking about the supercelestial Waters, hath noted this Method, and reprov’d it, in these Words, Nec quisquam echos refellere, ut decat secundum omnpotentism Dei sunt possibatis nos credere equas etiam am era quam novimus atque sentimus, corpori in que sunt sydera, super sufas: Nunc enim quam Deus rerum secundum Scripturam ejus, nec qu convenit, non solus quad in vel ad misacutum omnipotent. You see Discretion and Moderation is to be used in these and such like Matters.

Transcriber’s Notes:

Footnotes have been collected at the end of the text, and are linked for ease of reference.