_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._