_A general Objection against this Theory, viz. That if there had
been such a Primitive Earth, as we pretend, the Fame of it would
have sounded throughout all Antiquity. The Eastern and Western
Learning consider’d. The most considerable Records of both are lost.
What Footsteps remain relating to this Subject. The Jewish and
Christian Learning consider’d; how far lost as to this Argument, and
what Notes or Traditions remain. Lastly, how far the sacred Writings
bear witness to it. The providential Conduct of Knowledge in the
World. A Recapitulation and State of the Theory._
HAVING gone through the two first Parts, and the two first Books of this
Theory that concern the primitive World, the universal Deluge, and the
State of _Paradise_, we have leisure now to reflect a little, and
consider what may probably be objected against a Theory of this Nature.
I do not mean single Objections against single Parts, for those may be
many, and such as I cannot foresee; but what may be said against the
Body and Substance of the Theory, and the Credibility of it appearing
new and surprizing, and yet of great Extent and Importance. This, I
fancy, will induce many to say, surely this cannot be a Reality; for if
there had been such a primitive Earth, and such a primitive World as is
here represented, and so remarkably different from the present, it could
not have been so utterly forgotten, or lain hid for so many Ages; all
Antiquity would have rung of it; the Memory of it would have been kept
fresh by Books or Traditions. Can we imagine that it should lie buried
for some thousands of Years in deep Silence and Oblivion? And now only
when the second World is drawing to an End, we begin to discover that
there was a first, and that of another Make and Order from this.
TO satisfy this Objection, or Surmise rather, it will be convenient to
take a good large Scope and Compass in our Discourse; we must not
suppose that this primitive World hath been wholly lost out of the
Memory of Man, or out of History, for we have some History and
Chronology of it preserv’d by _Moses_, and likewise in the Monuments of
the Ancients, more or less; for they all suppos’d a World before the
Deluge. But ’tis the Philosophy of this primitive World that hath been
lost in a great Measure; what the State of Nature was then, and wherein
it differ’d from the present or postdiluvian order of Things. This, I
confess, hath been little taken notice of; it hath been generally
thought or presum’d, that the World before the Flood was of the same
Form and Constitution with the present World: This we do not deny, but
rather think it design’d and providential, that there should not remain
a clear and full Knowledge of that first State of Things; and we may
easily suppose how it might decay and perish, if we consider how little
of the remote Antiquities of the World have ever been brought down to
our Knowledge.
THE _Greeks_ and _Romans_ divided the Ages of the World into three
Periods or Intervals, whereof they call’d the first the _Obscure_
Period, the second the _Fabulous_, and the third _Historical_. The dark
and obscure Period was from the Beginning of the World to the Deluge;
what pass’d then, either in Nature, or amongst Men, they have no
Records, no Account, by their own Confession; all that Space of Time was
cover’d with Darkness and Oblivion; so that we ought rather to wonder at
those Remains they have, and those broken Notions of the Golden Age, and
the Conditions of it, how they were sav’d out of the common Ship-wrack,
than to expect from them the Philosophy of that World, and all its
Differences from the present. And as for the other Nations that pretend
to greater Antiquities, to more ancient History and Chronology, from
what is left of their Monuments, many will allow only this Difference,
that their fabulous Age begun more high, or that they had more ancient
Fables.
BUT besides that our Expectations cannot be great from the Learning of
the _Gentiles_, we have not the Means or Opportunity to inform our
selves well what Notions they did leave us concerning the primitive
World; for their Books and Monuments are generally lost, or lie hid
unknown to us. The Learning of the World may be divided into the Eastern
Learning and the Western; and I look upon the Eastern as far more
considerable for philosophical Antiquities, and philosophical
Conclusions; I say _Conclusions_, for I do not believe either of them
had any considerable Theory, or Contexture of Principles and Conclusions
together: But ’tis certain that in the East, from what Source soever it
came, humane or divine, they had some extraordinary Doctrines and
Notions disperst amongst them. Now as by the western Learning we
understand that of the _Greeks_ and _Romans_; so by the eastern that
which was amongst the _Egyptians_, _Phœnicians_, _Chaldæans_,
_Assyrians_, _Indians_, _Ethiopians_, and _Persians_; and of the
Learning of these Nations, how little have we now left? Except some
Fragments and Citations in _Greek_ Authors, what do we know of them? The
modern _Brackmans_, and the _Persees_, or _Pagan Persians_, have some
broken Remains of Traditions relating to the Origin and Changes of the
World: But if we had not only those Books entire, whereof we have now
the Gleanings and Reversions only; but all that have perish’d besides,
especially in that famous Library at _Alexandria_; if these, I say, were
all restor’d to the World again, we might promise our selves the
Satisfaction of seeing more of the Antiquities, and natural History of
the first World, than we have now left, or can reasonably expect. That
Library we speak of at _Alexandria_, was a Collection, beside _Greek_
Books, of _Egyptian_, _Chaldæan_, and all the Eastern Learning; and
_Cedrenus_ makes it to consist of an hundred thousand Volumes: But
_Josephus_ saith, when the Translation of the Bible by the _Septuagint_
was to be added to it, _Demetrius Phalerius_, (who was Keeper or
Governor of it) told the King then, that he had already two hundred
thousand Volumes, and that he hop’d to make them five hundred thousand;
and he was better than his Word, or his Successors for him; for
_Ammianus Marcellinus_, and other Authors, report them to have increas’d
to seven hundred thousand. This Library was unfortunately burnt in the
sacking of _Alexandria_ by _Cæsar_, and considering that all these were
ancient Books, and generally of the eastern Wisdom, ’twas an inestimable
and irreparable Loss to the Commonwealth of Learning. In like manner we
are told of a vast Library of Books of all Arts and Sciences in _China_,
burnt by the Command or Caprice of one of their Kings. Wherein the
_Chineses_, according to their Vanity, were us’d to say, greater Riches
were lost, than will be in the last Conflagration.
WE are told also of the _Abyssine_, or _Ethiopick_ Library, as something
very extraordinary. ’Twas formerly in great Reputation, but is now, I
suppose, embezzled and lost. But I was extreamly surpriz’d by a Treatise
brought to me some few Months since, wherein are mention’d some
_Ethiopick_ Antiquities relating to the primæval Earth and the Deluge:
To both which they give such Characters and Properties as are in Effect
the very same with those assign’d them in this Theory. They say the
first Earth was much greater than the present, higher and more advanc’d
into the Air: That it was smooth and regular in its Surface, without
Mountains or Valleys, but hollow within; and was spontaneously fruitful,
without plowing or sowing. This was its first State: but when Mankind
became degenerate and outragious with Pride and Violence, the angry
Gods, as they say, by Earthquakes and Concussions, broke the habitable
Orb of the Earth, and thereupon the subterraneous Waters gushing out,
drown’d it in a Deluge, and destroy’d Mankind. Upon this Fraction it
came into another Form, with a Sea, Lakes and Rivers, as we now have.
And those Parts of the broken Earth that stood above the Waters became
Mountains, Rocks, Islands, and so much of the Land as we now inhabit.
This Account is given us by _Barnardinus Ramazzinus_, (in his Treatise
_De Fontium Mutinensium Scaturigine_.[2]) Taken from a Book writ by
_Fransisco Patricio_, to whom this wonderful Tradition was deliver’d by
Persons of Credit, from an _Æthiopian_ Philosoper then in _Spain_. I
have not yet had the good Fortune to see that Book of _Francisco
Patricio_; ’twas writ in _Italian_ with this Title, _Della Rhetorica
degli Antichi_: Printed at _Venice_, 1562. This Story indeed deserves to
be enquired after, for we do not any where amongst the Ancients, meet
with such a full and explicit Narration of the State of the first and
second Earth. That which comes nearest to it are those Accounts we find
in _Plato_, from the _Ægyptian_ Antiquities, in his _Timæus_,
_Politicus_, and _Phœdo_, of another Earth, and another State of Nature
and Mankind. But none of them are so full and distinct as this
_Æthiopian_ Doctrine.
AS for the Western Learning, we may remember what the _Ægyptian_ Priest
says to _Solon_, in _Plato_’s _Timæus_, _You Greeks are always
Children_, and know nothing of Antiquity; and if the _Greeks_ were so,
much more the _Romans_, who came after them in time; and for so great a
People, and so much civiliz’d, never any had less Philosophy, and less
of the Sciences amongst them than the _Romans_ had: They studied only
the Art of Speaking, of Governing, and of Fighting; and left the rest to
the _Greeks_ and eastern Nations, as unprofitable. Yet we have Reason to
believe, that the best philosophical Antiquities that the _Romans_ had,
perish’d with the Books of _Varro_, of _Numa Pompilius_, and of the
ancient _Sibyls_, (_De Civ. Dei, lib. 6. Dion. Halic. Ant. Rom. lib.
4._) _Varro_ writ, as St. _Austin_ tells us, a Multitude of Volumes, and
of various Sorts, and I had rather retrieve his Works, than the Works of
any other _Roman_ Author; not his Etymologies and Criticisms, where we
see nothing admirable, but his _Theologia Physica_, and his
_Antiquitates_; which in all Probability would have given us more Light
into remote Times, and the natural History of the past World, than all
the _Latin_ Authors besides have done. He has left the foremention’d
Distinction of three Periods of Time; He had the Doctrine of the
_Mundane Egg_, as we see in _Probus Grammaticus_; and he gave us that
Observation of the Star _Venus_, concerning the great Change she
suffered about the Time of our Deluge.
_Numa Pompilius_ was doubtless a contemplative Man, and ’tis thought
that he understood the true System of the World, and represented the Sun
by his _Vestal Fire_; tho’, methinks, _Vesta_ does not so properly refer
to the Sun, as to the Earth, which hath a sacred Fire too, that is not
to be extinguish’d. He order’d his Books to be buried with him, which
were found in a Stone Chest by him, four hundred Years after his Death:
They were in all twenty-four, whereof twelve contain’d sacred Rites and
Ceremonies, and the other twelve the Philosophy and Wisdom of the
_Greeks_; the _Romans_ gave them to the _Prætor Petilius_ to peruse; and
to make his Report to the Senate, whether they were fit to be publish’d
or no: The _Prætor_ made a wise politick Report, that the Contents of
them might be of dangerous Consequence to the establish’d Laws and
Religion; and thereupon they were condemn’d to be burnt, and Posterity
was depriv’d of that ancient Treasure, whatsoever it was. What the nine
Books of the _Sibyl_ contain’d, that were offer’d to King _Tarquin_, we
little know; she valued them high, and the higher still, the more they
seem’d to slight or neglect them; which is a Piece of very natural
Indignation or Contempt, when one is satisfied of the Worth of what they
offer. ’Tis likely they respected, besides the Fate of _Rome_, the Fate
and several Periods of the World, both past and to come, and the most
mystical Passages of them. And in these Authors and Monuments are lost
the greatest Hopes of natural and philosophick Antiquities, that we
could have had from the _Romans_.
AND as to the _Greeks_, their best and sacred Learning was not
originally their own; they enrich’d themselves with the Spoils of the
East, and the Remains we have of that eastern Learning, is what we pick
out of the _Greeks_; whose Works, I believe, if they were intirely
extant, we should not need to go any further for Witnesses to confirm
all the principal Parts of this Theory. With what Regret does one read
in _Laertius_, _Suidas_, and others, the promising Titles of Books writ
by the _Greek_ Philosophers, Hundreds or Thousands, whereof there is not
one now extant; and those that are extant are generally but Fragments?
Those Authors also that have writ their Lives, or collected their
Opinions, have done it confusedly and injudiciously. I should hope for
as much Light and Instruction, as to the Original of the World, from
_Orpheus_ alone, if his Works had been preserv’d, as from all that is
extant now of the other _Greek_ Philosophers. We may see from what
remains of him, that he understood in a good Measure how the Earth rose
from a Chaos, what was its external Figure, and what the Form of its
inward Structure: The Opinion of the _Oval_ Figure of the Earth is
ascrib’d to _Orpheus_ and his Disciples; and the Doctrine of the
_Mundane Egg_ is so peculiarly his, that ’tis call’d by _Proclus_, the
_Orphick Egg_; not that he was the first Author of that Doctrine, but
the first that brought it into _Greece_.
THUS much concerning the Heathen Learning, Eastern and Western, and the
small Remains of it in Things Philosophical; ’tis no Wonder then if the
Account we have left us from them of the primitive Earth, and the
Antiquities of the natural World be very imperfect. And yet we have
trac’d, (in the precedent Chapter, and more largely in our _Latin_
Treatise) the Footsteps of several Parts of this Theory amongst the
Writings and Traditions of the Ancients, and even of those Parts that
seem the most strange and singular, and that are the Basis upon which
the rest stand. We have shewn there, that their Account of the Chaos,
tho’ it seem’d to many but a poetical Rhapsody, contain’d the true
Mystery of the Formation of the primitive Earth, (_Tell. Theor. lib. 2.
c. 7._) We have also shewn upon the same Occasion, that both the
external Figure and internal Form of that Earth were compriz’d and
signified in their ancient Doctrine of the Mundane Egg, which hath been
propagated through all the learned Nations, (_Ibid._ _cap. 10._) And
lastly, as to the Situation of that Earth, and the Change of its Posture
since, that the Memory of that has been kept up, we have brought several
Testimonies and Indications from the _Greek_ Philosophers, (_Ibid._) And
these were the three great and fundamental Properties of the primitive
Earth, upon which all the other depend, and all its Differences from the
present Order of Nature. You see then, tho’ Providence hath suffer’d the
ancient Heathen Learning and their Monuments, in a great Part, to
perish, yet we are not left wholly without Witnesses amongst them, in a
Speculation of this great Importance.
YOU will say, it may be, tho’ this Account, as to the Books and Learning
of the Heathen, may be look’d upon as reasonable, yet we might expect
however, from the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Authors, a more full and
satisfactory Account of that primitive Earth, and of the old World.
First, as to the _Jews_, ’tis well known that they have no ancient
Learning, unless by Way of Tradition, amongst them. There is not a Book
extant in their Language excepting the Canon of the Old Testament, that
hath not been writ since our Saviour’s Time. They are very bad Masters
of Antiquity, and they may in some Measure be excus’d, because of their
several Captivities, Dispersions, and Desolations. In the _Babylonish_
Captivity their Temple was ransack’d, and they did not preserve, as is
thought, so much as the Autograph, or original Manuscript of the Law,
nor the Books of those of their Prophets that were then extant, and kept
in the Temple; and at their Return from the Captivity after seventy
Years, they seem to have forgot their native Language so much, that the
Law was to be interpreted to them in _Chaldee_, after it was read in
_Hebrew_; for so I understand that Interpretation in _Nehemiah_, (_Chap.
viii. 7, 8._) ’Twas a great Providence, methinks, that they should any
Way preserve their Law, and other Books of Scripture, in the Captivity,
for so long a Time; for ’tis likely they had not the Liberty of using
them in any publick Worship, seeing they return’d so ignorant of their
own Language, and, as ’tis thought, of their Alphabet and Character too.
And if their sacred Books were hardly preserv’d, we may easily believe
all others perish’d in that publick Desolation.
YET there was another Destruction of that Nation, and their Temple,
greater than this, by the _Romans_; and if there were any Remains of
Learning preserv’d in the former Ruin, or any Recruits made since that
Time, this second Desolation would sweep them all away. And accordingly
we see they have nothing left in their Tongue, beside the Bible, so
ancient as the Destruction of _Jerusalem_. These and other publick
Calamities of the _Jewish_ Nation may reasonably be thought to have
wasted their Records of ancient Learning, _if they had any_; for to
speak Truth, the _Jews_ are a People of little Curiosity, as to Sciences
and philosophical Enquiries: They were very tenacious of their own
Customs, and careful of those Traditions that did respect them, but were
not remarkable, that I know of, or thought great Proficients in any
other sort of Learning. There has been a great Fame, ’tis true, of the
_Jewish Cabala_, and of great Mysteries contain’d in it; and, I believe,
there was once a traditional Doctrine amongst some of them, that had
extraordinary Notions and Conclusions: But where is this now to be
found? The _Essenes_ were the likeliest Sect, one would think, to retain
such Doctrines; but ’tis probable they are now so mixt with Things
fabulous and fantastical, that what one should alledge from thence would
be of little or no Authority. One Head in this _Cabala_ was the Doctrine
of the _Sephiroth_, (_Vide Men. ben Isr. de Creat. prob. 28._) and tho’
the Explication of them be uncertain, the inferior _Sephiroth_ in the
corporeal World cannot so well be apply’d to any Thing, as to those
several Orbs and Regions, infolding one another, whereof the primigenial
Earth was compos’d. Yet such Conjectures and Applications, I know, are
of no Validity, but in Consort with better Arguments. I have often
thought also, that their first and second Temple represented the first
and second Earth or World; and that of _Ezekiel_’s, which is the third,
is still to be erected, the most beautiful of all, when this second
Temple of the World shall be burn’d down. If the Prophecies of _Enoch_
had been preserv’d, and taken into the Canon by _Ezra_, after their
Return from _Babylon_, when the Collection of their sacred Books is
suppos’d to have been made, we might probably have had a considerable
Account there, both of Times past and to come, of Antiquities and
Futuritions; for those Prophecies are generally suppos’d to have
contain’d both the first and second Fate of this Earth, and all the
Periods of it. But as this Book is lost to us, so I look upon all others
that pretend to be Ante-mosaical or Patriarchal, as spurious and
fabulous.
THUS much concerning the _Jews_. As for _Christian_ Authors, their
Knowledge must be from some of these foremention’d _Jews_ or _Heathens_;
or else by Apostolical Tradition: For the _Christian_ Fathers were not
very speculative, so as to raise a Theory from their own Thoughts and
Contemplations, concerning the Origin of the Earth. We have instanc’d,
in the last Chapter, in a _Christian_ Tradition concerning _Paradise_,
and the high Situation of it, which is fully consonant to the Scite of
the Primitive Earth, where _Paradise_ stood, and doth seem plainly to
refer to it, being unintelligible upon any other Supposition. And ’twas,
I believe, this Elevation of _Paradise_, and the Pencil Structure of
that _Paradisiacal_ Earth, that gave Occasion to _Celsus_, as we see by
_Origen_’s Answer, to say, that the _Christian Paradise_ was taken from
the pensile Gardens of _Alcinous:_ But we may see now what was the
Ground of such Expressions or Traditions amongst the Ancients, which
Providence left to keep Men’s Minds awake; not fully to instruct them,
but to confirm them in the Truth, when it should come to be made known
in other Methods. We have noted also above, that the ancient Books and
Authors amongst the _Christians_, that were most likely to inform us in
this Argument, have perish’d, and are lost out of the World, such as
_Ephrem Syrus de ortu rerum_, and _Tertullian de Paradiso_; and that
Piece, which is extant of _Moses Bar Cepha_’s upon this Subject,
receives more Light from our _Hypothesis_, than from any other I know;
for, correcting some Mistakes about the Figure of the Earth, which the
Ancients were often guilty of, the Obscurity or Confusion of that
Discourse in other Things may be easily rectified, if compar’d with this
Theory.
OF this Nature also is that Tradition that is common both to _Jews_ and
_Christians_, and which we have often mentioned before, that there was a
perpetual Serenity, and perpetual Equinox in _Paradise_; which cannot be
upon this Earth, not so much as under the Equinoctial; for they have a
Sort of Winter and Summer, there, a Course of Rains at certain times of
the Year, and great Inequalities of the Air, as to Heat and Cold,
Moisture and Drought. They had also Traditions amongst them, _That there
was no Rain from the Beginning of the World till the Deluge_, and _that
there were no Mountains till the Flood_, (Lat. Treat. Lib. 2. c. 10.)
and such like. These, you see, point directly at such an Earth, as we
have describ’d. And I call these _Traditions_, because we cannot find
the Original Authors of them; the ancient _ordinary Gloss_ (upon
_Genesis_) which some make eight hundred Years old, mentions both these
Opinions; so does _Historia Scholastica_, _Alcuinus_, _Rabanus Maurus_,
_Lyranus_, and such Collectors of Antiquity. _Bede_ also relates that of
the _Plainness_ or Smoothness of the _Antediluvian_ Earth. Yet these are
reported Traditionally, as it were, naming no Authors or Books from
whence they were taken: Nor can it be imagin’d that they feign’d them
themselves; to what End or Purpose? It serv’d no Interest; or upon what
Ground? Seeing they had no Theory that could lead them to such Notions
as these, or that could be strengthen’d and confirm’d by them. Those
Opinions also of the Fathers, which we recited in the seventh Chapter,
placing _Paradise_ beyond the Torrid Zone, and making it therefore
inaccessible, suit very well to the Form, Qualities, and Bipartition of
the Primæval Earth, and seem to be grounded upon them.
THUS much may serve for a short Survey of the ancient Learning, to give
us a reasonable Account, why the Memory and Knowledge of the Primitive
Earth should be so much lost out of the World; and what we retain of it
still; which would be far more, I do not doubt, if all Manuscripts were
brought to light, that are yet extant in publick or private Libraries.
The Truth is, one cannot judge with Certainty, neither what things have
been recorded and preserv’d in the Monuments of Learning, nor what are
still; nor what have been, because so many of those Monuments are lost:
The _Alexandrian_ Library, which we spoke of before, seems to have been
the greatest Collection that ever was made before Christianity, and the
_Constantinopolitan_ (begun by _Constantine_, and destroy’d in the fifth
Century, when it was rais’d to the Number, as is said, of one hundred
twenty thousand Volumes) the most valuable that was ever since, and both
these have been permitted by Providence to perish in the merciless
Flames. Beside those Devastations of Books and Libraries that have been
made in Christendom, by the _Northern_ barbarous Nations overflowing
_Europe_, and the _Saracens_ and _Turks_, great Parts of _Asia_ and
_Africk_. It is hard therefore to pronounce what Knowledge hath been in
the World, or what Accounts of Antiquity; neither can we well judge what
remain, or of what things the Memory may be still latently conserv’d:
For beside those Manuscripts that are yet unexamin’d in these Parts of
Christendom, there are many, doubtless, of good Value in other Parts;
beside those that be hid in the unchristianiz’d Dominions. The Library
of _Fez_ is said to contain thirty two thousand Volumes in _Arabick_;
and though the _Arabick_ Learning was most what _Western_, and therefore
of less Account, yet they did deal in _Eastern_ Learning too; for
_Avicenna_ writ a Book with that Title, _Philosophia Orientalis_. There
may be also in the _East_, Thousands of Manuscripts unknown to us, of
greater Value than most Books we have: And as to those Subjects we are
treating of, I should promise my self more Light and Confirmation from
the _Syriack_ Authors than from any others. These things being
consider’d, we can make but a very imperfect Estimate, what Evidences
are left us, and what Accounts of the primitive Earth; and if these
Deductions and Defalcations be made, both for what Books are wholly
lost, and for what lie asleep or dead, in Libraries, we have Reason to
be satisfied in a Theory of this Nature, to find so good Attestations as
we have produc’d for the several Parts of it; which we purpose to
enlarge upon considerably at another time and occasion.
BUT to carry this Objection as far as may be, let us suppose it to be
urg’d still in the last Place, that though these Humane Writings have
perish’d or be imperfect, yet in the Divine Writings at least, we might
expect that the Memory of the old World, and of the primitive Earth
should have been preserv’d. To this I answer in short, that we could not
expect in the Scriptures any natural Theory of that Earth, nor any
Account of it, but what was general; and this we have, both by the
_Tehom Rabba_ of _Moses_, and the Description of the same Abyss in other
Places of Scripture, as we have shewn at large in the first Book. _Chap.
vii._ And also by the Description which St. _Peter_ hath given of the
antediluvian Heavens and Earth, and their different Constitution from
the present; which is also prov’d by the Rainbow, not seen in the first
World. You will say, it may be, that that Place of St. _Peter_, _2 Pet.
iii. 5, 6_, _&c._ is capable of another Interpretation; so are most
Places of Scripture, if you speak of a bare Capacity, they are capable
of more than one Interpretation: But that which is most natural, proper,
and congruous, and suitable to the Words, suitable to the Argument, and
suitable to the Context, wherein is nothing superfluous or impertinent,
that we prefer and accept of as the most reasonable Interpretation.
Besides, in such Texts as relate to the natural World, if of two
Interpretations propos’d, one agrees better with the Theory of Nature
than the others, _cæteris paribus_, that ought to be prefer’d. And by
these two Rules we are willing to be try’d, in the Exposition of that
remarkable Discourse of St. _Peter_’s, and to stand to that Sense which
is found most agreeable to them.
GIVE me leave to conclude the whole Discourse with this general
Consideration: ’Tis reasonable to suppose, that there is a Providence in
the Conduct of _Knowledge_, as well as of other Affairs on the Earth;
and that it was not design’d that all the Mysteries of Nature and
Providence should be plainly and clearly understood throughout all the
Ages of the World; but that there is an Order establish’d for this, as
for other Things, and certain Periods and Seasons; and what was made
known to the Ancients only by broken Conclusions and Traditions will be
known (in the latter Ages of the World) in a more perfect way, by
Principles and Theories. The Increase of Knowledge being that which
changeth so much the Face of the World, and the State of humane Affairs,
I do not doubt but there is a particular Care and Superintendency for
the Conduct of it; by what Steps and Degrees it should come to light, at
what Seasons and in what Ages; what Evidence should be left, either in
Scripture, Reason, or Tradition, for the Grounds of it; how clear or
obscure, how dispers’d or united: All these things were weigh’d and
consider’d, and such Measures taken as best suit the Designs of
Providence, and the general Project and Method propos’d in the
Government of the World. And I make no Question but the State both of
the Old World, and of that which is to come, is exhibited to us in
Scripture in such a Measure and Proportion, as is fit for this
formentioned Purpose; not as the Articles of our Faith, or the Precepts
of a good Life, which he that runs may read; but to the attentive and
reflective, to those that are unprejudic’d, and to those who are
inquisitive, and have their Minds open and prepar’d for the Discernment
of Mysteries of such a Nature.
THUS much in Answer to that general Objection which might be made
against this Theory, _That_ it is not founded in Antiquity. I do not
doubt but there may be many particular Objections against Parts and
Sections of it, and the exposing it thus in our own Tongue may excite
some one or other, it may be, to make them; but if any be so minded, I
desire (if they be Scholars) that it may rather be in _Latin_, as being
more proper for a Subject of this Nature; and also that they would keep
themselves close to the Substance of the Theory, and wound that as much
as they can: But to make Excursions upon Things accidental or
collateral, that do not destroy the _Hypothesis_, is but to trouble the
World with Impertinencies. Now the Substance of the Theory is this, THAT
there was a _Primitive Earth_ of another Form from the present, and
inhabited by Mankind till the Deluge: That it had those Properties and
Conditions that we have ascrib’d to it, namely, a perpetual Equinox or
Spring, by reason of its _right_ Situation to the Sun; was of an oval
Figure, and the exterior Face of it smooth and uniform, without
Mountains or a Sea. That in this Earth stood _Paradise_; the Doctrine
whereof cannot be understood but upon Supposition of this primitive
Earth, and its Properties. Then that the Disruption and Fall of this
Earth into the Abyss, which lay under it, was that which made the
universal Deluge, and the Destruction of the old World; and that neither
_Noah_’s Flood, nor the present Form of the Earth, can be explain’d in
any other Method that is rational, nor by any other Causes that are
intelligible, at least, that have been hitherto propos’d to the World.
These are the Vitals of the Theory, and the primary Assertions, whereof
I do freely profess my full Belief; and whosoever by solid Reasons will
shew me in an Error, and undeceive me, I shall be very much oblig’d to
him. There are other lesser Conclusions which flow from these, and may
be call’d Secondary, as that the Longevity of the Ante-diluvians
depended upon their perpetual Equinox, and the perpetual Equality and
Serenity of the Air: That the Torrid Zone in the primitive Earth was
uninhabitable, and that all their Rivers flow’d from the extream Parts
of the Earth towards the Equinoctial; there being neither Rain nor
Rainbow in the temperate and habitable Regions of it: And lastly, That
the Place of _Paradise_, according to the Opinion of Antiquity, (for I
determine no Place by the Theory) was in the southern Hemisphere. These,
I think, are all truly deduc’d and prov’d in their several Ways, tho’
they be not such essential Parts of the Theory, as the former. There are
also besides, many particular Explications that are to be consider’d
with more Liberty and Latitude, and may be perhaps upon better Thoughts,
or better Observations, corrected without any Prejudice to the general
Theory. Those Places of Scripture, which we have cited, I think, are all
truly apply’d; and I have not mention’d _Moses_’s _Cosmopœia_, because I
thought it deliver’d by him as a Lawgiver, not as a Philosopher; which I
intend to shew at large in another Treatise, not thinking that
Discussion proper for the vulgar Tongue. Upon the whole, we are to
remember, that some Allowances are to be made for every _Hypothesis_
that is new propos’d and untry’d; and that we ought not, out of Levity
of Wit, or any private Design, discountenance free and fair Essays; nor
from any other Motive but the only Love and Concern of Truth.
Footnote 2:
Page 41. _Franciscus Patricius, Vir eruditione sat clarus, in quodam
libello suo de Antiquorum Rhetoricâ, Italico idiomate conscripto, ac
Venetiis impresso per Franciscum Senensem, Dialogo primo satis lepidam
narrationem habet, quam referi Julium Strozzam à Comite Balthasare
Castilioneo audivisse, Illum verò à Philosopho quodam Abyssino in
Hispaniâ accepisse. Narrabat ergo sapiens ille Abyssinus in
antiquissimus Æthiopiæ Annalibus descriptam esse historiam perditionis
humani generis & disruptionis totius Terræ. In Mundi scilicet
primordiis fuisse Terram multo ampliorem quam nunc est, ac Cœlo
proximiorem, perfectè rotundam, sine Montibus ac Vallibus, totam tamen
intras cavernosam ad instar spongiæ, hominesque in illâ habitantes, ac
æthere purissimo gaudentes, jucundum ævum duxisse, Terrâ inaratâ
optimas fruges, & fructus ferente. Cum autem post diuturnum sæculorum
fluxum homines superbiâ elati à priscâ illâ bonitate descivissent,
Deos irates Terram adeo validè concussisse, ut major illius pars intra
proprias externas deciderit, atque hoc pacto Aquam in latebræsis
recessibus ante conclusam, expressam violenter fuisse, atque ita
Fontes, Fiumina, Lacus & Mare ipsium ortum duxisse. Eam vero Terra
portionem que intra has non deculisset, sed reliquâ elatior fluisset.
Montium formam. Insulas porrò & scopulos in medio mari ad aliud esse
nisi segmenta Terra cavernosa ab illo istius terrenæ milos præcipere
casu superstitis._
CHAP. X.
Concerning the Author of Nature.
SEEING the Theory which we have propos’d in this Work is of that Extent
and Comprehension, that it begins with the first Foundation of this
World, and is to reach to the last Period of it, in one continued Series
or Chain of Nature; it will not be improper, before we conclude, to make
some Reflections and Remarks what _Nature_ is, and upon what superior
Causes she depends in all her Motions and Operations: And this will lead
us to the Discovery of the _Author_ of Nature, and to the true Notion
and State of _Natural Providence_, which seems to have been hitherto
very much neglected, or little understood in the World. And ’tis the
more reasonable and fitting that we should explain these Notions before
we shut up this Treatise, lest those natural Explications which we have
given of the Deluge, and other Things, should be mistaken or misapply’d;
seeing some are apt to run away with Pieces of a Discourse, which they
think applicable to their Purpose, or which they can maliciously
represent, without attending to the Scope or just Limitations of what is
spoken.
BY _Nature_ in general is understood all the Powers of finite Beings,
with the Laws establish’d for their Action and Conduct according to the
ordinary Course of Things. And this extends both to intellectual Beings
and corporeal; but seeing ’tis only the material World that hath been
the Subject of our Discourse, Nature, as to that, may be defin’d, the
Powers of _Matter_, with the Laws establish’d for their Action and
Conduct. Seeing also Matter hath no Action, whether from it self, or
imprest upon it, but Motion, as to the corporeal World, Nature is no
more than the Powers and Capacities of Matter, with the Laws that govern
the Motions of it. And this Definition is so plain and easy, that, I
believe, all Parties will agree in it; there will also be no great
Controversy what these Laws are. As that one Part of Matter cannot
penetrate another, nor be in several Places at once; That the greater
Body overcomes the less, and the swifter the slower; That all Motion is
in a right Line, till something obstruct it or divert it; which are
Points little disputed as to the Matter of Fact; but the Points
concerning which the Controversy ariseth, and which are to lead us to
the Author of Nature, are these; _Who_ or _what_ is the Author of these
_Laws_ of this _Motion_, and even of _Matter_ it self; and of all those
Modes and Forms of it which we see in Nature?
THE Question useth chiefly to be put concerning _Motion_, how it came
into the World; what the first Source of it is, or how Matter came at
first to be mov’d? For the simple Notion of Matter, not divided into
Parts, nor diversified, doth not imply Motion, but Extension only: ’Tis
true, from Extension there necessarily follows _Mobility_, or a Capacity
of being mov’d by an external Power, but not actual or necessary Motion,
springing from it self. For Dimensions, or Length, Breadth, and Depth,
which is the _Idea_ of Matter, or of a Body, do no Way include local
Motion, or Translation of Parts; on the contrary, we do more easily and
naturally conceive simple Extension as a Thing steady and fix’d; and if
we conceive Motion in it, or in its Parts, we must superadd something to
our first Thought, and something that does not flow from Extension. As
when we conceive a Figure, a Triangle, Square, or any other, we
naturally conceive it fix’d or quiescent; and if afterwards we imagine
it in Motion, that is purely accidental to the Figure; in like Manner it
is accidental to Matter, that there should be Motion in it, it hath no
inward Principle from whence that can flow, and its Nature is compleat
without it; wherefore, if we find Motion and Action in Matter, which is
of it self a dead inactive Mass; this should lead us immediately to the
Author of Nature, or to some external Power distinct from Matter, which
is the Cause of all Motion in the World.
IN single Bodies, and single Parts of Matter, we readily believe and
conclude, that they do not move, unless something move them, and why
should we not conclude the same Thing of the whole Mass? If a Rock or
Mountain cannot move it self, nor divide it self, either into great
Gobbets, or into small Powder, why should it not be as impossible for
the whole Mass of Matter to do so? ’Tis true, Matter is capable both of
Motion and Rest; yet to conceive it undivided, undiversified and
unmoved, is certainly a more simple Notion, than to conceive it divided
and mov’d; and this being first in Order of Nature, and an adequate
Conception too, we ought to enquire and give our selves an Account how
it came out of this State, and by what Causes, or, as we said before,
how _Motion came first into the World_.
IN the second Place, That Diversity which we see in Nature, both as to
the Qualities of Matter, and the Compositions of it, being one Step
further than bare Motion, ought also to be a further Indication of the
Author of Nature, and to put us upon Enquiry into the Causes of this
Diversity. There is nothing more uniform than simple Extension, nothing
more the same throughout, all of a Piece, and all of a Sort, similar,
and like to itself every where; yet we find the Matter of the Universe
diversified a thousand Ways, into Heavens and Earth, Air and Water,
Stars, Meteors, Light, Darkness, Stones, Wood, Animals, and all
terrestrial Bodies; These Diversifications are still further Removes
from the natural Unity and Identity of Matter, and a further Argument of
some external and superior Power that hath given these different Forms
to the several Portions of Matter, by the Intervention of Motion. For if
you exclude the Author of Nature, and suppose nothing but Matter in the
World, take whether _Hypothesis_ you will, either that Matter is without
Motion of it self, or that it is of it self in Motion, there could not
arise this Diversity, and these Compositions in it. If it was without
Motion, then the Case is plain, for it would be nothing but an hard
inflexible Lump of impenetrable Extension, without any Diversity at all.
And if you suppose it mov’d of it self, or to have an innate Motion,
that would certainly hinder all Sort of natural Concretions and
Compositions, and in Effect destroy all Continuity. For Motion, if it be
essential to Matter, it is essential to every Atom of it, and equally
diffus’d throughout all its Parts; and all those Parts or Atoms would be
equal to one another, and as little as possible; for if Matter was
divided into Parts by its own innate Motion, that would melt it down
into Parts as little as possible, and consequently all equal to one
another, there being no reason why you should stop those Divisions, or
the Effect of this innate _Impetus_ in any one Part sooner than in
another, or in any Part indeed, till it was divided as much as was
possible: wherefore upon this Principle, or in this Method, all the
Matter of the Universe would be one liquid or volatile Mass, smaller
than Pin-dust, nay, than Air or Æther; and there would be no Diversity
of Forms, only another sort of Identity from the former, when we
suppos’d it wholly without Motion. And so, upon the whole, you see, that
Matter, whether we allow it Motion, or no Motion, could not come into
that Variety of Tempers and Compositions in which we find it in the
World, without the Influence and Direction of a superior external Cause,
which we call the Author of Nature.
BUT there is still a further and stronger Argument from this Head, if we
consider not only the Diversity of Bodies that the Mass of Matter is cut
into, but also that that Diversity is _regular_, and in some Parts of it
admirably artful and ingenious. This will not only lead us to an Author
of Nature, but to such an Author as hath Wisdom as well as Power. Matter
is a brute Being, stupid and senseless; and tho’ we should suppose it to
have a Force to move it self, yet that it should be able to meditate and
consult, and take its Measures how to frame a World, a regular and
beautiful Structure, consisting of such and such Parts and Regions, and
adapted to such and such Purposes, this would be too extravagant to
imagine; to allow it not only Motion from it self, but Wit and Judgment
too; and that before it came into any organical or animate Composition.
YOU’ll say, it may be, the Frame of the World was not the Result of
Counsel and Consultation, but of _Necessity_; Matter being once in
Motion under the Conduct of those Laws that are essential to it, it
wrought it self by Degrees from one State into another, till at length
it came into the present Form which we call the World. These are Words
thrown out at Random, without any Pretence of Ground, only to see if
they can be confuted; and so they may easily be; for we have shewn
already, that if Matter had innate Motion, it would be so far from
running into the orderly and well dispos’d Frame of the World, that it
would run into no Frame at all, into no Forms or Compositions, or
Diversity of Bodies; but would either be all fluid, or all solid; either
every single Particle in a separate Motion, or all in one continued
Mass, with an universal Tremor, or Inclination to move without actual
Separation; and either of these two States is far from the Form of a
World. Secondly, As to the Laws of Motion, as some of them are essential
to Matter, so others are not demonstrable, but upon Supposition of an
Author of Nature. And thirdly, Tho’ all the Laws of Motion be admitted,
they cannot bring Matter into the Form of a World, unless some Measures
be taken at first by an intelligent Being; I say, some Measures be taken
to determine the primary Motions upon which the rest depend, and to put
them in a Way that leads to the Formation of a World. The Mass must be
divided into Regions, and Centers fixt, and Motions appropriated to
them; and it must be consider’d of what Magnitude the first Bodies, or
the first Divisions of Matter should be, and how mov’d: Besides, there
must be a determinate Proportion, and certain Degree of Motion imprest
upon the universal Matter, to qualify it for the Production of a World;
if the Dose was either too strong or too weak, the Work would miscarry;
and nothing but infinite Wisdom could see thro’ the Effects of every
Proportion, or every new degree of Motion, and discern which was best
for the Beginning, Progress, and Perfection of a World. So you see the
Author of Nature is no Way excluded, or made useless by the Laws of
Motion; nor if Matter was promiscuously mov’d, would these be sufficient
Causes of themselves to produce a World, or that regular Diversity of
Bodies that compose it.
BUT ’tis hard to satisfy Men against their Inclinations, or their
Interest: And as their Regularity of the Universe was always a great
Stumbling-stone to the _Epicureans_; so they have endeavour’d to make
Shifts of all Sorts to give an Account and Answer to it, without
Recourse to an intelligent Principle; and for their last Refuge, they
say, that Chance might bring that to pass, which Nature and Necessity
could not do; the Atoms might hit upon a lucky Set of Motions, which,
tho’ it were casual and fortuitous, might happily lead them to the
forming of a World. A lucky hit indeed, for Chance to frame a World: But
this is a mere Shuffle and Collusion; for if there was nothing in Nature
but Matter, there could be no such Thing as _Chance_, all would be pure
_Mechanical Necessity_; and so this Answer, tho’ it seem very different,
is the same in effect with the former, and _Epicurus_ with his
anatomists are oblig’d to give a just mechanical Account, how all the
Parts of Nature, the most compound and elaborate Parts not excepted,
rise from their Atoms by pure Necessity: There could be no accidental
Concourse or Coalition of them, every step, every motion, every
composition was fatal and necessary, and therefore ’tis Nonsense for an
_Epicurean_ to talk of Chance, as Chance is oppos’d to Necessity; and if
they oppose it to _Counsel_ and _Wisdom_, ’tis little better than
Nonsense, to say the World and all its Furniture rose by Chance, in that
Notion of it. But it will deserve our Patience a little, to give a more
full and distinct Answer to this, seeing it reacheth all their Pleas and
Evasions at once.
WHAT Proof or Demonstration of Wisdom and Counsel can be given, or can
be desir’d, that is not found in some Part of the World, animate or
inanimate? We know but a little Portion of the Universe, a mere Point in
Comparison, and a broken Point too; and yet in this broken Point, or
some small Parcels of it, there is more of Art, Counsel and Wisdom
shewn, than in all the Works of Men taken together, or than in all our
_Artificial_ World. In the Construction of the Body of an Animal, there
is more of Thought and Contrivance, more of exquisite Invention, and fit
Disposition of Parts, than is in all the Temples, Palaces, Ships,
Theatres, or any other Pieces of Architecture the World ever yet saw:
And not Architecture only, but all other Mechanism whatsoever, Engines,
Clock-work, or any other, is not comparable to the Body of a living
Creature. Seeing then we acknowledge these artificial Works, wheresoever
we meet with them, to be the Effects of Wit, Understanding and Reason,
is it not manifest Partiality, or Stupidity rather, to deny the Works of
Nature, which excel these in all Degrees, to proceed from an intelligent
Principle? Let them take any Piece of humane Art, or any Machine fram’d
by the Wit of Man, and compare it with the Body of an Animal, either for
Diversity and Multiplicity of Workmanship, or Curiosity in the minute
Parts, or just Connexion and Dependance of one Thing upon another, or
fit Subserviency to the Ends propos’d, of Life, Motion, Use and Ornament
to the Creature; and if in all these Respects they find it superior to
any Work of humane Production, (as they certainly must do) why should it
be thought to proceed from inferior and senseless Causes? Ought we not
in this, as well as in other Things, to proportion the Causes to the
Effect, and to speak Truth, and bring in an honest Verdict for Nature as
well as Art?
IN the Composition of a perfect Animal, there are four several Frames or
Compages join’d together, the natural, vital, animal and genital: Let
them examine anyone of these apart, and try if they can find any Thing
defective or superfluous, or any Way inept for Matter or Form. Let them
view the whole Compages of the Bones, and especially the admirable
Constitution, Texture, and Disposition of the Muscles, which are join’d
with them for moving the Body, or its Parts. Let them take an Account of
the little Pipes and Conduits for the Juices and the Liquors, of their
Form and Distribution; or let them take any single Organ to examine, as
the Eye, or the Ear, the Hand, or the Heart: In each of these they may
discover such Arguments of Wisdom, and of Art, as will either convince
them, or confound them; tho’ still they must leave greater undiscover’d.
We know little the insensible Form and Contexture of the Parts of the
Body, nor the just Method of their Action: We know not yet the Manner,
Order and Causes of the Motion of the Heart, which is the chief Spring
of the whole Machine; and with how little Exactness do we understand the
Brain, and the Parts belonging to it? Why of that Temper and of that
Form: How Motions are propagated there, and how conserv’d: How they
answer the several Operations of the Mind: Why such little Discomposures
of it disturb our Senses, and upon what little Differences in this the
great Differences of Wits and Genius’s depend. Yet seeing in all these
Organs, whose Make and Manner of Action we cannot discover, we see
however by the Effects, that they are truly fitted for those Offices to
which Nature hath design’d them, we ought in Reason to admire that Art
which we cannot penetrate. At least we cannot but judge it a Thing
absurd, that what we have not Wit enough to find out or comprehend, we
should not allow to be an Argument of Wit and Understanding in the
Author, or Inventor of it. This would be against all Logick, common
Sense, and common _Decorum_. Neither do I think it possible to the Mind
of Man, while we attend to Evidence, to believe that these, and such
like Works of Nature came by _Chance_, as they call it, or without
Providence, Forecast and Wisdom, either in the first Causes, or in the
proximate; in the Design, or in the Execution; in the Preparation to
them, or in the finishing of them.
WHEREFORE, in my Judgment, if any be of this Persuasion, it cannot be so
much the Effect of their Understanding, as of their Disposion and
Inclination; and in moral Things, Mens Opinions do as often spring from
the one, as from the other. For my Part, I do generally distinguish of
two Sorts of Opinions in all Men, _Inclination-opinions_, and
_Reason’d-opinions_; Opinions that grow upon Mens Complexions, and
Opinions that are the Results of their Reason; and I meet with very few
that are of a Temperament so equal, or a Constitution so even pois’d,
but that they incline to one Set of Opinions rather than another,
antecedently to all Proofs of Reason: And when they have espous’d their
Opinions from that secret Sympathy, then they find out as good Reasons
as they can, to maintain them, and say, nay think sometimes, that ’twas
for the sake of those Reasons that they first embrac’d them. We may
commonly distinguish these Inclination-opinions from the rational,
because we find them accompanied with more Heat than Light, a great deal
of Eagerness and Impatience in defending of them, and but slender
Arguments. One might give Instances of this, both in Sects of Religion
and Philosophy, in _Platonists_, _Stoicks,_ and _Epicureans_, that are
so by their Temper more than their Reason; but to our Purpose it will be
sufficient to instance in one hearty _Epicurean_, _Lucretius_, who is
manifestly such, more from his Inclination, and the Bent of his Spirit,
than from the Force of Argument. For tho’ his Suppositions be very
precarious, and his Reasonings all along very slight, he will many times
strut and triumph, as if he had rested the Thunder out of _Jove_’s right
Hand; and a Mathematician is not more confident of his Demonstration,
than he seems to be of the Truth of his shallow Philosophy. From such a
Principle of natural Complexion as this, I allow a Man may be
Athestical, but never from the calm Dictate of his Reason; yet he may be
as confident and as tenacious of his Conclusion, as if he had a clear
and distinct Evidence for it. For I take it to be a true Maxim in humane
Nature, that _a strong Inclination, with a little Evidence, is
equivalent to a strong Evidence_. And therefore we are not to be
surpriz’d if we find Men confident in their Opinions many times far
beyond the Degree of their Evidence, seeing there are other Things,
besides Evidence, that incline the Will to one Conclusion rather than
another. And as I have instanc’d in natural Complexion, so _Interest_
hath the same Effect upon humane Nature, because it always begets an
Inclination to those Opinions that favour our Interest, and a
Disinclination to the contrary: And this Principle may be another
Ingredient, and secret Persuasive to Atheism; for when Men have run
themselves so deep into Vice and Immorality, that they expect no Benefit
from a God, ’tis in a Manner necessary to their Quiet, and the Ease of
their Mind, that they should fancy there is none; for they are afraid,
if there be a God, that he will not stand neuter, and let them alone in
another World. This, I say, is necessary to the Quiet of their Mind,
unless they can attain that great Art, which many labour after, of
_Non-reflection_, or an _unthinking Faculty_, as to God and a World to
come. But to return to our Argument, after this short Digression——
AND as that regular Diversity which we see in the Forms of Nature, and
especially in the Bodies of Animals, could not be from any blind
Principle, either of Necessity or of Chance; so in the last Place, that
_Subordination_ which we see in the Parts of Nature, and Subserviency to
one another, the less Noble to the more Noble, the Inanimate to the
Animate, and all Things upon Earth unto Man, must needs have been the
Effect of some Being higher than Matter; that did wisely dispose all
Things so at first, and doth still conserve them in the same order. If
Man had been born into the World, and a numerous Host of Creatures,
without any Provision or Accommodation made for their Subsistence and
Conveniences, we might have suspected that they had come by Chance, and
therefore were so ill provided for: But which of them can complain?
Thro’ their various kinds and orders, what is there awanting? They are
all fitted to their several Elements, and their ways of living, Birds,
Beasts, and Fishes, both by the Form and Shape of their Bodies, the
manner of their Covering, and the Quality of their Food. Besides, they
are instructed in little Arts and Instincts for their Conservation; and
not only for their proper Conservation, but also to find a way to make
and bring up young ones, and leave behind them a Posterity: And all this
in so fit a Method, and by such a pretty Train of Actions, as is really
admirable.
MAN is the Master of all, and of him a double Care is taken; that he
should neither want what Nature can afford, nor what Art can supply. He
could not be provided of all Conveniences by Nature only, especially to
secure him against the Injuries of the Air; but in Recompence, Nature
hath provided Materials for all those Arts which she saw would be
needful in humane Life, as Building, Cloathing, Navigation, Agriculture,
_&c._ that so Mankind might have both wherewithal to answer their
Occasions, and also to employ their Time, and exercise their Ingenuity.
This Oeconomy of Nature, as I may call it, or well ordering of the great
Family of living Creatures, is an Argument both of Goodness and of
Wisdom, and is every way far above the Powers of Brute Matter. All
regular Administration we ascribe to Conduct and Judgment: If an Army of
Men be well provided for, in things necessary both for Food, Cloaths,
Arms, Lodging, Security and Defence, so as nothing is awanting in so
great a Multitude, we suppose it the Effect of Care and Forecast in
those Persons that had the Charge of it: They took their Measures at
first, computed and proportion’d one thing to another, made good
Regulations, and gave Orders for convenient Supplies. And can we suppose
the great Army of Creatures upon Earth, managed and provided for with
less Fore-thought and Providence, nay, with none at all, by mere Chance?
This is to recede from all Rules and Analogy of Reason, only to serve a
Turn, and gratify an unreasonable Humour.
TO conclude this Argument; there are two general Heads of things, if I
recollect aright, which we make the Marks and Characters of Wisdom and
Reason, Works of Art, and the Conduct of Affairs or Direction of Means
to an End; and wheresoever we meet, either with regular material Works,
or a regular Ordination of Affairs, we think we have a good Title and
Warrant to derive them from an intelligent Author: Now these two being
found in the natural World, and that in an eminent Degree, the one in
the Frame of it, and the other in the Oeconomy of it, we have all the
Evidence and Ground that can be, in arguing from Things visible to
Things invisible, that there is an Author of Nature, superior both to
humane Power and humane Wisdom.
BEFORE we proceed to give any further Proofs or Discoveries of the
Author of Nature, let us reflect a little upon those we have already
insisted upon; which have been taken wholly from the material World, and
from the common Course of Nature. The very Existence of Matter is a
Proof of a Deity, for the _Idea_ of it hath no Connexion with Existence,
as we shall shew hereafter; however we will take leave now to set it
down with the rest in Order as they follow one another.